It's late and I'm beyond tired when I hear the rustle of cloth and look up to find her standing in the doorway of my lab. Her eyes are intense, smoky blue grey, and I wonder how long she's been watching me. I have been concentrating so intently on the multiple stab wounds on the victim before me that I didn't hear her come in. Although she looks as tired as I feel, I get a rush of pure joy when I look up to see her unexpectedly standing there. I feel myself start to smile.

"Hey stranger! To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" I grin at her.

"Sam wants to know if there is an ID on the woman we found in the Queen St. dumpster this afternoon." She sighs and sags against the doorframe.

"Not yet. She doesn't match any local missing persons reports and her prints aren't in the system." I stand up stripping the purple gloves from my hands and throwing them in the trash.

"Cause of death?" She pushes off and swaggers into the room, giving my John Doe a wide birth.

"Nope. Although I am hoping to get the results of her tox-screen and DNA back soon." I answer.

We have been on opposite schedules for the past two weeks and both of us have been working double shifts and overtime due to an outbreak of the flu in our departments.

"Do you have to rush right back?" I take a step around the autopsy table towards her.

"Are you all covered in gross, germy, dead guy stuff?" she eyes me suspiciously.

"No." I feel my smile growing wider as I step closer.

"Are you sure?" She scuttles backwards with her hands held up defensively before her chest. "Cuz you were just, like, touching… that!" She points at the man on my exam table, narrowing her eyes, trying not to smirk.

She is such a brat!

"I was wearing gloves, if you hadn't noticed." I wriggle my fingers menacingly at her and continue to advance.

She evades me and scoots behind my desk, which is the worst strategy ever if she is trying not to have me catch her. Hasn't she learned anything from countless hours of gaming and watching The Walking Dead? She clutches the back of my desk chair, rolling it between us. Her eyes twinkle.

"I donno Holly, those were just covering your hands, what about the rest of you…" Her eyes run suggestively over my body.

"Well, given that I haven't actually started this autopsy yet, no additional gear was required." I laugh softly at her, "But if you think I'm too contaminated to be in close proximity to, I guess I could just eat my dinner alone." I arch my eyebrows playfully, turn and walk in the direction of the break room.

"Wait! You have food?" I hear her scramble from behind my desk. I knew that would get her attention. "You didn't say you had food!" She hurries after me.

"Uh huh…" I hum back at her without turning around. "I got the leftover catering from tonight's administrative meeting. But I thought you were in a hurry to get back to Sam with that report…" I tease as I pull a large tray of sushi from the fridge.

Earlier, there was fully catered budget meeting with upper level management and other city officials discussing, in part, the latest research grant I landed for our department. If we hadn't been so understaffed, I would have been there myself to present my proposal for equipment upgrades and one more staff tech position. But, my boss made sure to bring the good news of the acceptance of my proposals as well as all of the catering leftovers to me herself.

She looks at the sushi. She looks at me. "Sam who?" she replies with a grin.

"Why don't you take this to my non-germy office upstairs, while I put John Doe back in the cooler and get cleaned up." I smile at her.

"Don't you have to deal with him tonight?" she asks

"Not really, no." I shrug. "He isn't a top priority case. The guy who stabbed him is at Mercy General and has already plead guilty to murder in the second degree. I was only going over some preliminaries and cleaning up loose ends while I was waiting for your lab results. I won't do the full autopsy on him until tomorrow morning when my staff is on hand."

"Oh." She looks confused.

"I was actually hoping to get home and find a hot blonde chick in my bed at some point tonight…" I say, pursing my lips at her. "You wouldn't happen to know where I might find one of those, would you officer?"

She huffs and rolls her eyes at me.

"I'm never getting out of here…" She whines.

Just then her phone starts to buzz.

"Hey Sam," She answers, "No, no, not yet."

" Uh huh."

" Yeah, I can wait for it. Ok, see you then…"

She looks up at me, and smiles. "I have to wait around for those DNA results."

Ten minutes later, I enter my office to find Gail happily munching on a maki roll with her legs crossed and her feet up on the edge of my desk. I should be annoyed that her feet are on my desk, but I am just so happy to see her. She gets up to greet me as I close the door behind me.

"Hi." she says quietly, sliding around my desk and into my arms

"Hi." I whisper back.

I close my eyes as our foreheads touch and take a moment to breathe her in. I feel her body begin to relax and melt into mine as our lips connect and she threads her fingers through my hair.

"Mmm… I've missed you." She hums into my mouth.

"Me too!" I whisper. Our lips brush softly together.

I know we're still at work, but it is after midnight. I can't help but leaning in to kiss her again slow and soft and deep, letting my tongue glide across the surface of her lips and finally into her mouth. My eyes slide shut again as she pulls me in tighter sliding the hand that was resting on my waist up under my sweater. Her nails rake delicately down the sensitive skin of my back as we pull apart. It takes her a moment to look back up at me, naked longing still in her eyes. I know how she feels. All I want to do is touch her and fall asleep in her arms, but as I keep reminding myself, we are in my office.

"Holly," she moans as I step away from her body and help myself to a salmon hand roll, "I can't believe we haven't had a single day off together in over two weeks."

"I know Babe," I sigh, "but Eric called and said he might be feeling well enough to come back to work tomorrow, and Jen gets back from Vancouver on Monday. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon."

"I hate it!" She grumbles stepping forward to press her body into my back.

"Gail…" I start to complain half heartedly as she snakes a hand between us and begins to gently rub the inner contour of my ass. "Gail…"

I try to sound offended, but it comes out more like a hushed moan as my body betrays my need for her. I push back, into the sensation of her palm against me, my half eaten hand roll forgotten. Her touch is mesmerizing. Pulling back momentarily to release the buckle of her utility belt, she suddenly stops rubbing her hand between my legs. As it clatters to the floor, she's back, bending me slightly over my desk and pushing her pelvis against the curve of my butt, her hands working franticly at the buckle of my belt and the zipper of my jeans. I brace myself on my desk and push back, hungry to feel her body against mine.

"Fuck!" is all I can manage to I breathe out, as her fingers find their way beneath my clothes to caressing my wanting flesh. I feel her breath hitch, her lips against the back of my neck, and her whole body shake at her first dip into the wet heat she discovers. My hips rock abruptly back into her, seeking more contact. I gasp, she whimpers quietly in response.

"Gail…" I try again, twisting in her arms to face her. "I… we…" I pant, "We can't…" before she leans in to kiss me, harder, insistent.

Oh God! She's addictive! My head is spinning. Without thought, my fingers work at the buttons on her shirt. She tastes of every aching need I have ever felt. She starts to push me onto my desk and stops as a stack of paperwork hits the floor with a bang.

"Shit!" She laughs softly into my lips.

"Gail! We, we're in my office!" I try to sound stern but end up laughing too.

"Come on Holly! It's after midnight! We have got to be the only ones here!" She smirks while pushing me down into my desk chair and easing my pants down around my ankles.

She does have a point. There is an inferno raging in my head and between my legs. I must have her! I unzip her pants as well before pulling her down to straddle my right thigh, the fabric of her uniform rough against my naked skin. My hips buck, and her mouth on mine muffles the moan that escapes as her fingers find my clit again. Sliding my hands down the back of her pants to find intoxicating bare skin. I pull her in tighter, my fingers digging into her butt. Our bodies rock and strain together to the rhythm of her fingers. Desperately holding on, we franticly breathe the same air, our faces touching. And then I hear it.

"Gail!" I hiss at her as I freeze in motion.

"Oh shit!" Her eyes fly open, suddenly becoming wide and round.

Yes, that was definitely the sound of footsteps in the hallway getting rapidly closer.

I pull my hands out of her pants and unceremoniously shove her by her shoulders under my desk as the footsteps stop outside my office. Gail's utility belt scrapes across the floor to disappear under my desk as well. The door to my outer office and physical evidence file room opens. The footsteps quickly cross to my office door and knock before the door swings open.

Holy Shit!

"Um, uh, hi Elaine! What are you doing here?" I ask the woman leaning against my door jam.

Gail starts to shake with silent laughter. I reach down to pinch her ear, hard.

"Oh Holly, I see that you're eating. Don't get up." She smiles at me.

My pants are around my ankles and Gail is clinging to my shins, I have no intention of trying to get up.

"The head of your department, Jane, and I were just having a post meeting drink and we were wondering if you would like to join us." Elaine continues.

"Thank you Elaine." I reply, swatting lightly at Gail's head as she bites my leg. "But I'm still working on the Queen St. dumpster case. The detectives need my report as soon as it's ready." I am going to kill her!

"I see. Well maybe next time." she replies. "Oh. Has my daughter been here? I understand she has been working on that case."

Gail laughs harder into my thigh. She really is a dead woman if we survive this. I dig my fingers into her shoulder hard enough to leave a mark and let go.

"She was here a while ago, and I think she may be back for my report." I answer, hoping that I sound convincing.

"Holly dear, are you ok? You seem rather flushed, and not quite yourself." Elaine narrows her eyes at me and takes a step forward into my office.

Oh God! We're all going to die! Gail clutches my shins tighter, her whole body convulsing with laughter. Now, she is sucking on my inner thigh in an attempt to remain silent. Not helping!

"You know, Elaine, I haven't been feeling all that well for the past few hours. I hope I'm not coming down with that flu that has been making the rounds." I say as smoothly as I can muster. "Thank you for asking."

"Oh." She takes a hasty step back at this, and I remember that Elaine is perhaps even more germ phobic than Gail. "Well, I won't keep you then. And if you do see my daughter, tell her to call me!" She backs away quickly.

"I'll be sure to let her know." I call after her retreating form. "Good night Elaine!"

She turns and gives me a little wave over her shoulder as she disappears into the hall. I hold my breath until I no longer hear her footsteps ringing against the hard tile floor, and then I push back my chair to allow Gail to emerge from her hiding place. Her eyes are bright, her cheeks are wet, she staggers to her feet sucking in a large gulp of air and dissolving again into uncontrollable laughter.

"You!" I huff at Gail while pulling up my pants and trying to look indignant, "You owe me big time for this one!"

"Uh huh." She snickers, while buttoning up her shirt. "Oh God!" She clutches her chest trying to catch her breath, "I almost had a heart attack! What was she doing here anyway?"

"I warned you that there was an interdepartmental budgetary meeting tonight." I say while twitching my sweater back into place.

"Jesus Holly!" She breathes while sagging against my desk, still smirking.

Just then my computer chimes, to tell me that the lab results we are waiting for are in. I pull them from my printer and scan them quickly. Sure enough, I find levels of Rohypnol and GHB in her tissue samples that are each elevated enough to kill someone. I hand the report off to Gail with a sour look on my face. She looks at it, and then back up at me.

"What does this mean Holly?" She asks, with a sudden look of concern.

"I'm afraid your night club rapist is back." I sigh. "And whoever did this either knows their chemistry, or has access to someone who does. The GHB in her system is far too clean to have been cooked up in a back kitchen somewhere."

"Good to know." She replies.

"Listen," I say adjusting my glasses, which I'm sure have been askew since we were fooling around in my desk chair, "You should take that report and get out of here before Jane comes down to check on the state of my health." I arch my eyebrows suggestively at her.

"Yeah, you're probably right.." She smiles back at me.

"You should take some of that sushi with you if you're still hungry and I'll bring the rest home after I finish up here." My lips twitch in a knowing smile.

"Holly, I'm always hungry." She says, trying to look serious, and failing.

I hand her a covered container of Alligator Maki and Spicy Tuna Rolls. "If you hurry, I might even be up, and let you finish what you started when you get home."

"Oh really?!" Her eyes darken dangerously.

"Umm humm…" I hum at her, as I see the effect my words have had.

She leans in, her face just inches from mine, "Well what are you waiting for Holly? Hurry up! Clean up this mess!"

She spins on her heal and swaggers toward the door.

"You know I'm going to make you pay for that when you get home, officer!" I step forward and smack her on the butt as she goes by.

"Oh Holly, I'm counting on it! But you know that." She shoots back over her shoulder with a wink. And she's gone into the night.