Again, the reviews are much appreciated.

Yup, angst. Going to give Gail a little time to process. I just listened to the song Same Mistakes by Echo Friendly on repeat as I wrote this week. A lot of Lykke Li for Chapters 1 and 2, in case you were interested.

Apparently double-shifting at work, actually meant having a lot of down time, with time to write and get paid for it. So this chapter is angsty, but I'm going to post the next chapter in a couple of days. I think the next chapter will make the angst worth it though. Maybe?

Also, I have thought of a fluff scene that I am so excited to write, I almost skipped ahead and wrote it first.

Let me know what you think. Happy Reading.

Chapter 3 Run, baby, run

"Idiot," Gail sighed, as she fixed her hair in the mirror. She was getting ready for shift at the station and looked as tired as she felt.

Gail had found herself wide-awake at Holly's earlier this morning. She couldn't have calmed her mind or body for anything, after the intimacy they had shared. So she just lay there, staring at Holly as she slept. Like a crazy person, Gail thought.

She had felt so utterly overwhelmed, so undone by her emotions, that she had panicked. I fled like a perp, Gail rebuked herself. She hadn't even left a note. As soon as she had left, she regretted her decision, but she couldn't get back into the building, and a part of her was still telling her to run like hell. So she had continued her long walk of shame. This wasn't Gail's first walk of shame, but this one was different. For one thing, she wasn't hung-over. For another, she actually felt shame this time. Not for having slept with Holly, but for having left like she had. What is wrong with me?

Gail left the locker room, walked to the parade room, and slumped down in her chair, waiting for the morning brief to start.

Holly had never had a woman run-out on her before, never experienced the indignity of waking up naked and alone. She wasn't a fan. Holly hadn't needed to check the bathroom or the kitchen to know that Gail had done a runner. She had known as soon as she had woken-up and seen that Gail wasn't by her side.

Gail warned me she was a runner. That silly cat metaphor she told me when we didn't even know each other, and I was wondering what the hell she was talking about. Still, I was hoping she wouldn't run on me. Holly was concerned more than anything. She was also a bit bemused, as she often was with Gail.

Holly got ready for work and sat down to eat some breakfast before she headed out. Her eyes repeatedly wandered over to her silent phone. With a sigh, she finally picked it up. Holly wasn't a game-player; she was concerned about Gail, wanted to know how she was, so she was just going to text her.

I had this really wonderful dream last night. Strangely enough I woke up naked, but it couldn't possibly have been real because –

Holly hit the delete button. No, that wasn't funny.

I've never made a girl cry before. Was it that bad –

Holly quickly hit the delete button again. That's not even a little funny. She didn't want to come across as pressuring Gail, but humour didn't seem like the way to go either.

Instead of trying to be clever, she finally just wrote: Are you ok? and hit send. Holly stared pensively at her phone for a moment, then left for the morgue.

Gail's phone vibrated in her pocket. Her heart raced when she saw that she had a text from Holly. Her heart thumped heavily in her chest as she opened the message. Am I ok? I really don't know how to even begin to answer that question right now. Frank walked into the room to begin the briefing. Gail pocketed her phone and sat-up a little straighter, as Frank began to talk.

"I want to start-out by making an announcement: I am very happy to tell you that Chloe is awake and doing much better," he said, relief etched on his face. "Doctors say she is recovering faster than they could have hoped for."

Gail felt relief flood her body. She was especially relieved for Dov's sake. Chloe came across as a goof, but she was obviously a fighter. And besides, Chloe was quintessentially herself, and Gail begrudgingly admired that.

"I'm very sorry that I am not able to give the same news about Sam yet," Frank continued, somberly. "He remains in critical condition. I know this is a very difficult time for everyone. But it is exactly in these difficult times, when we need to come together as a family. We are obviously short-handed right now, and I'm going to need all of you to step-up. I'm looking for volunteers to take extra shifts right now…"

Gail's hand immediately shot-up. Drowning herself in work seemed like the perfect thing to do right now. Nick also raised his hand. Gail looked over at him and arched her brow. The irony wasn't lost on her. They were both trying to avoid their personal lives, but for very different reasons, that had nothing to do with each other anymore.

At the end of the brief, Frank went down the list of who was riding together.

"…Peck and Collins…" he announced.

Nick cast a wary glance over at Gail, but her face could have been carved from stone.

"Because of course I am," Gail muttered under her breath.

Holly was having trouble concentrating at work. She was becoming more worried and more frustrated every hour she didn't hear from Gail. She was like an obsessive compulsive checking her phone. She told herself to stop checking, but it was as if her hand had a mind of its own.

She also couldn't stop thinking about last night. She couldn't stop thinking about how adorable Gail looked in her Star Wars t-shirt. How nice it was to have her in her home. She couldn't stop thinking about holding her and kissing her and going to bed with her. She knew she could get used to having all of that, but didn't want to admit how much she wanted it already.

She also couldn't stop thinking about Gail's naked body. The way her eyes burned with desire. The look on her face when she felt pleasure, the sounds that she made. The softness of Gail's skin pressed against hers. The way that Gail had touched her body…

Holly shook her head, escaping from her reverie. As a forensic pathologist, thinking about sex at work was more than a little weird. Get it together Holly, she implored herself.

She checked her phone one more time.

Gail and Nick hadn't said a superfluous word to each other, since their shift together had started. They had gone through their morning and afternoon tasks together, taking various calls, and only speaking when they needed to communicate about the job. In the long moments of silence in the squad car, Gail's mind would wander to thoughts of last night.

She thought about Holly's cozy little apartment. The way Holly had taken care of her when she needed her, just like she always had for the brief time that Gail had known her. She thought about how safe she felt in her arms, how natural it felt to fall asleep there. If she was honest with herself, she couldn't think of anywhere else she would rather be.

Gail knew her face was flushed every time she thought of Holly's naked body. Nick would give her a puzzled look, when he caught her thinking about Holly wrapping her legs around her. Dumbass probably thinks I'm flushed because I'm sitting next to him. This thought made Gail snort with derision, and Nick cast another uncertain glance in her direction.

Gail hadn't ever really thought about being with women before she met Holly. Sex usually satisfied, left her finished and ready to move on, but not with Holly. Having her only made her want her more. Her desire was endless; she didn't think her need could be satiated. Gail had allowed herself to be completely vulnerable, sexually, for the first time in her life, and it scared the ever-living hell out of her. She didn't know what this meant in the grand scheme of things, but she could no longer deny it.

She didn't want to think about that right now.

With a sigh, she turned to Nick in the driver's seat of the squad. "I'm not mad anymore," she said almost inaudibly.

"Sorry, did you say something?" he asked.

"I said I'm not angry anymore," Gail yelled, too loudly this time. "About you and Andy. If you want to be together, you should be. Be happy…with each other…together."

Nick was so shocked he almost swerved into the oncoming traffic barreling down the opposite side of Bathurst Street. He jerked the wheel back, and glanced over at Gail, mouth agape.

"Um…" Nick replied. Nick considered telling her that he didn't really need her permission. But he knew Gail was being charitable. He knew it must have taken a lot for her to say something like that to him. "Thank you," he said, finally.

"You know, if she decides she doesn't want to be with Sam," she said, in her very Gailish way.

"And she's back, " Nick mumbled.

"But I mean it," Gail said, voice softening. "Be with whoever makes you happy, no matter what."

"What's gotten into you?" Nick said, baffled.

Gail sighed. "I don't know. I'm working some stuff out. I'll get back to you."

Holly was in bed, but she couldn't sleep. She still hadn't heard from Gail, and it was driving her crazy. In her mind, she weighed the implications of pressuring Gail by contacting her again and her own desire to find out what the hell was going on in that complex, blonde head.

Holly picked up her phone and dialed Gail's number. The call went to voicemail.

"Gail, it's me. I don't want to push you into anything, ok? I don't know if you're freaked-out because you slept with a woman for the first time...or what. But I've spent my day thinking about you. Worrying about you. I deserve better than to be left in bed, without even a note. I deserve better than to be ignored. Let me know if you are ok. Let me know something, Gail. Bye."

Holly ended the call and placed her forearm along her tired eyes.

Gail listened to Holly's voicemail for the fourth time. A small part of her was just thrilled to hear her voice; a larger part of her felt guilty and ashamed at how she was acting.

Gail struggled to sort through her emotions. Frankly, Gail didn't care that Holly was a woman. She didn't care that her friends, her family, society, would want her to put a label on her feelings. She was only frightened by the depth of her emotion, the depth of her attraction. She had literally run from it. And now here she sat, no closer to the courage she would need to let herself go and feel that way for another human being.

Gail opened her text history for Holly, her thumb hovering over the keyboard on her screen. It's not you, it's me, was a bullshit thing to say, even if it was the truth, so she wasn't going to say that. Gail struggled to find the words.

Holly, I just need some time to work some things out. Can I please have some time to do that? I'm sorry for the way I left.

Gail resisted the urge to type a million other things. Holly absolutely deserved better than this. Gail really did need time to think though. She wouldn't say anything else, until she had figured things out.

Gail's phone buzzed.

Ok, take the time that you need. I'll be here.

"Please be patient with me," Gail sighed.