Drinkingcristinastequila: AU where Holly had to do the autopsy on Ford and wasn't there to fix Gail's hair so she had to show up at work the next day with her 90's punk rock lawn mower cut.
Holly rubs tiredly at her eyes and lifts her hand up to her mouth to stifle a yawn that's broken only by the gentle rattling of knuckles against her office door. Working throughout the night to get the Kevin Ford autopsy completed as quickly as possible for 15 division has left Holly more than a little exhausted, and she knows her eyes are heavy and weary, but she's not sure they're weary enough to be seeing Gail standing in her doorway, at this unbelievably early hour, with her usually long and beautiful blonde tresses butchered at crazy, weird angles.
"I kind of, maybe, accidentally stumbled into a drunken Gail with scissors situation," Gail says sheepishly, her eyes flicking away from Holly's almost immediately as she shifts awkwardly from foot to foot.
Holly forces her shocked, open mouth to close and clears her throat to try and regain her composure. "I can see that," Holly replies, her eyes still taking in the mess Gail has made for herself. "Why would you...?"
"Feelings," Gail responds without missing a beat, lifting her eyes back up to Holly's and shrugging. "It was a long day. A difficult day, and I just... I wanted to go back, you know?" Holly nods slowly, reading between the lines of Peck-speak. "Back before everything turned to shit, and I just freaked out and..." Gail trails off, gesturing at her hair with finger-scissors. "...snip, snip, snip."
Holly pushes herself up from her desk chair and steps tentatively towards Gail, offering her a small smile. "It's very 90s punk rocker meets lawn mower attack," Holly quips, reaching out to run her fingers through the choppy edges that remain, and watching as Gail's mouth twists into a scowl momentarily before she breaks out into a smile and playfully shoves Holly away from her.
"You're an ass, Lunchbox," Gail fires back through a painfully amused breath. "I came to you for help and you wound me further by mocking me? Where's your loyalty to your 'do no harm' doctor oath?"
"It's the Hippocratic oath," Holly corrects with a smirk that makes Gail roll her eyes, and reaches for Gail again, tugging at Gail's arm until she stops resisting and relents enough to let Holly have a proper look at the hack job she's created. "What exactly did you think I'd be able to do about this?" Holly asks as she assesses the extent of the damage done.
Gail shrugs back at her. "I dunno, you're a doctor, I'm sure you'll figure it out."
She says it with a small smile but Holly can see the panic and vulnerability lingering beneath the cool blue of her normally calm eyes. She's come to Holly because she trusts her to put things right, and so that's exactly what Holly will try her best to do.
"I've only ever cut hair when I need to get a proper look at a corpse's skull, and even then that's mostly just shaving a piece of hair away," Holly admits and then feels her brow furrow when she realises that's not a very reassuring comment.
Gail scrunches her face up in amusement and then raises her eyebrow pointedly at her. "Just don't make me completely bald and everything will be fine."
Holly lets out a deep breath in response. "Okay, I'll try not to maim you any more then you already are," she says, taking Gail's hand in her own and leading her out of her office and into the lab. She pats the vacant autopsy table, signalling for Gail to take a seat.
"Really?" Gail retorts. "You want me to sit on the dead people table while we do this? So gross."
Holly stares warningly back at her. "Do you want to wait a few more hours until the hair salons open or do you want me to do this now?"
"I want you to do it now," Gail mumbles in response, lowering her gaze and pouting in a way that is so petulant and so cute that Holly feels her heart melting at the sight of it.
"I'm sorry," she says, walking back towards Gail and touching her cheek gently so that Gail looks back at her. "It's just... it's been a long night, you know?"
Gail nods, and points at her hair again. "Yeah, I know," she echoes quietly, turning her face to kiss Holly's palm. "Thank you for helping me."
"Don't thank me yet," Holly replies as Gail pulls herself up onto the autopsy table and stares back at Holly affectionately. "I could make it worse," she breathes as she steps between Gail's knees, scissors clutched tightly in her hand.
"You won't," Gail murmurs back softly, reaching out to pull Holly's hand between her own and gently unwinding her tight hold around the scissors. "You always make everything better," she confesses quietly as she holds Holly's gaze, reassuring her. "I trust you."
Holly shudders at the gentle admission and nods her head resolutely, accepting the scissors back from Gail, and holding her eyes for a second longer before turning Gail's face slightly to the side as she makes her first cut.
Twenty minutes later Holly sets the scissors down and lifts her hands to brush the chopped strands of hair from Gail's shoulders, blowing gently across the back of her neck to make sure she removes as much of it as she can.
Gail shivers beneath her hands as she does so, her breath catching audibly in her throat and making her turn her head to find Holly's eyes. If Holly wasn't such a scientist she would swear she could physically see the sparks passing between them, but before she has much time to process her silly line of thought, Gail is spinning to face her fully, and the only thing that suddenly matters is Gail's lips pressing forward to search out her own.
The kiss is soft and gentle, and unbearably sweet in its lingering exploration. Holly feels her head spin as Gail pulls back slowly, her eyes wide and a little unsure as she stares back desperately at Holly for answers.
Holly smiles adoringly back at her and responds by giving her answer the only way she knows how; by drawing Gail in and kissing her again and again and again until she feels Gail melting into her, utterly convinced by her reply.