Oh Wow. I feel a little bit like Sally Field. I mean "You like me. You really like me!" Thank you to everyone who took the time to favorite, follow or review. Remember reviews are the only payment a fanfic writer gets.

Shoutout again to bailchab for being a wonderful, patient beta. Hopefully, this next chapter can answer some of the questions about the last one.

"What?" Gail asked squinting her eyes. Luke thought that he saw hurt on her face for a moment but then it was gone. It was hidden again behind the mask.

"Gail, it took two months for them to convince her to come here and do this. She finally agreed to it on the provision that you couldn't know about it," he said as he finally let go of her shoulders.

"Well, you know, in the immortal words of the Rolling Stones, 'You can't always get what you want.' I certainly didn't get what I wanted when that freak kidnapped me," Gail said voice rising. "I certainly didn't get what I wanted when Holly left me and moved to San Francisco without any input from me. So I don't give a flying fuck about what she wants! Move! I'm going to see her!"

"Gail!" Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into an empty room off the hallway. It looked like a janitor's closet. Once inside, he put her down and began speaking as he grabbed her by the shoulders again, "Gail, if you see her before she sees Perik, then it'll throw her off her game. You can't do that to her. You can't do that to the investigation. You can't do that to the victim's families. You're too good a cop for that. Think!"

Gail threaded her fingers together behind her head and pushed her elbows together. "Aarrgghhhh! Dammit, Callahan!" She paused to look him in the eye. "Fine. But I'm watching her interview with him from an observation room, and I want in. Whatever this is, I want in. I'm on the team from this point forward or I intercept her, and I don't give a good goddamn what happens then."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You don't mean that. You wouldn't do that. You're too much of a cop to do that."

"Try me," she said as she stared back at him with glacial eyes.

Callahan held up his left hand and rubbed his eyes wearily with his right. "Fine. Whatever." He waved his hand. "I'll get you in after she goes in, but you're out before she comes out. At least for now."

"Fine," she replied. Luke began walking to the door. "Luke," she called to him and he turned around, "give her the same speech you gave me when I had to talk to him."

"Already did."

"Good," she murmured under her breath.

"Gail."

"Yeah?"

"Hair looks good," he said and then walked out of the room.

True to his word, Luke came and got Gail, and pulled her into the observation room right after Holly went in to the room to wait for Perik. He even brought her a cup of half decent coffee. She walked in to find the room already occupied by a tall gorgeous blonde with shoulder length wavy hair in a black pantsuit. The woman was staring into the interrogation room intently and didn't see Gail at first. Holly was already seated with her back to the mirror. Gail's breath caught in her throat at the sight of Holly. Her hair was in a tight bun like the first day they met. She was wearing the blue button-down. The same one she was wearing the day Gail kissed her in an interrogation room at 15. That's all Gail needed was for Perik to see Holly in that shirt. That shirt featured heavily in The Dream every so often. Perik did not need to know about that shirt. Gail sighed.

The blonde turned to look at Gail and did a double-take. "Jesus Christ! Fuck, what is she doing here, Callahan?"

"And fuck you too," Gail said serenely taking a sip of her coffee.

"She was here when I got here. She already knew about it. She's in from this point forward. We'll break it to Holly gently. She's leaving this room before Holly gets in it. She agreed," Luke responded. Gail nodded in agreement.

The blonde examined Gail carefully and relented. "Whatever. Peck, what do you know about this guy? What can you tell me that's not in the reports?"

Gail glared at her. "Seeing as how I haven't seen the reports, I'm not sure what to say. You seem to know my name but I never got yours."

"Ryan Parker, FBI profiler." She held out her hand. Gail looked at it then shook it reluctantly.

"You don't look like a 'Ryan'," Gail replied.

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

At that moment Holly stood, turned around, and checked her reflection in the two-way mirror. Gail sucked in a surprised breath. Holly looked gaunt. She had dark circles under her eyes which were puffy. She had lost at least fifteen pounds by Gail's estimate. "Is she sick?" Gail asked looking to Parker.

Ryan looked back at her, something Gail couldn't identify crossed her face. "It's the case. It's been hard on her."

Gail tentatively touched the glass near Holly's face. She couldn't help herself. Luke averted his eyes discreetly, trying to give Gail some privacy. Ryan just closed hers momentarily. "How long?" Gail asked never taking her eyes off Holly.

"How long what?" Ryan responded opening her eyes.

"When was the first victim found?"

"Six months ago."

Six months ago, Gail thought. Six months ago when she stopped returning my calls and texts. She cut me out of her life when this started.

Gail's train of thought was derailed by Perik's arrival into the interrogation room. Holly stood back leaning against the mirror with her arms crossed while the two guards shackled him to the table. He smiled at her predatorily as the guards finished and then walked out of the room leaving the two of them alone.

"Dr. Stewart, you're quite beautiful, even if I do prefer blondes. I think we both do," he quipped.

"Mr. Perik, I'm here to ask you some questions. Are you going to cooperate and answer them?"

"I'll make the same deal with you that I did with Gail. For everything you tell me, I'll tell you something."

"Mr. Perik…"

"Ross, please call me Ross."

"Mr. Perik, I'm not going to bargain with you. If you don't want to provide any insight into these cases, then that's your prerogative. I don't really want to be here anyway. I believe it's a waste of time," Holly said as she walked to the table and picked up the folder in front of her.

"Does it bother you that they look like her?" he said as she turned to face the mirror. Gail saw the emotion storm across Holly's face, just for a moment, and she understood. The victims look like her. Gail staggered back from the mirror. Parker's hand came up automatically to steady her.

"You didn't get the full story did you?" Ryan asked softly. Gail shook her head.

Inside the interrogation room Holly turned from the mirror. "All death bothers me, Mr. Perik, especially murder."

"Then you went into the wrong profession, Dr. Stewart. You see death every day. I think you're more like me than you think. Death fascinates you…You love a good puzzle. You get lost in the medicine of it. You can shut everything down normally, but not when they look like her. She's special. I know it, and you know it."

"Mr. Perik, the fact that the women look like Detective Peck has no bearing on this case or my conduct on it."

"Say her name!"

"Excuse me?" Holly tilted her head.

"You can't even say her name! Say her name, Dr. Stewart. Say it and I'll answer your questions."

"Gail," Holly whispered out and Gail felt it pass through her body like a caress.

"There, that's better. I feel like we're being more honest now. Like how I know she was second best to even you, the one she chose. You picked your career over her. She wasn't enough to make you stay."

Holly tilted her head again and sat down across from him, "That's what you told her isn't it Mr. Perik? That she'd always be second best. Why?"

"I didn't tell her that. She told me that she was jealous of her boyfriend…Nick, I think it was, and she slept with someone to feel better. I just tried to sympathize with her. I asked if she'd been replaced and then said it must be tough being second choice. It does seem to be a pattern in her life. Have you replaced her, Holly?"

"It's Dr. Stewart, Mr. Perik. You're not allowed to call me Holly."

He ignored her and continued to speak. "Is there anything you want to tell her? She's here. I can smell something uniquely Gail." Holly turned to the mirror slightly, her face impassively blank.

In the interrogation room Gail stiffened, not knowing how to make it better. Ryan flew into action. She stripped off her jacket and shirt. "Peck, give me your sweater." Gail stood there unmoving. She looked over at Ryan in confusion. "Peck, move!" Gail began to strip off her sweater. Luke looked away. Ryan handed over her jacket and shirt. Then she pulled the sweater over her head, mussed her hair slightly and opened the door to the interrogation room.

"Mr. Perik, I'm Ryan Parker. I'm with the FBI. I was the only woman in the interrogation room."

Perik's face fell. He looked at Ryan and said, "I thought…did you do it on purpose?"

Perik is too preoccupied to notice the look that passed over Holly's face when she saw Ryan in Gail's sweater. Ryan saw it, but ignored it, and addressed him, "I didn't. Would you like me to stay, Mr. Perik? I heard you say you like blondes. You and I can chat."

"No. Dr. Stewart and I are doing just fine. Aren't we, Holly?"

By the time Holly corrected him by saying, "Dr. Stewart," she had schooled her face.

"I'm so sorry. Yes, of course, Dr. Stewart," Perik said pseudo-submissively. He looked at Ryan briefly and asked, "Why didn't she come?"

"She told me to tell you, 'you're still just a guy shackled to a table,'" Ryan answered and walked back into observation.

Gail looked at Ryan and said, "Niiice."

"I thought you'd like that," Ryan replied and began to strip out of the sweater to give it back to Gail. Gail couldn't help but notice that her abs rivaled Holly's.

In interrogation, Perik recovered quickly and addressed Holly, "Our Gail, not the friendliest girl."

"Mr. Perik, Detective Peck is not our anything." Holly took a deep breath. "Now, what can you tell me about these women and the person killing them?"

"The women look like Gail. The person doing this is a…'collector' of sorts. There's something about these women that's appealing."

"Is it something that they all have in common? Is it just the fact that they look like Detective Peck?"

"That's part of it," he replied evasively.

"What's the rest of it?"

"Is it true that you got her into a batting cage? I can't imagine our Gail doing that."

Gail looked between Luke and Ryan, "How the fuck does he know that?!"

"No idea, but we need to find out," Luke said his eyes never leaving Perik and Holly.

"You seem to be well informed Mr. Perik. How well informed are you about these women? What do they have in common? What makes them collectable?"

"Don't you know?" Perik looked smug.

"Mr. Perik…"

"Please, call me Ross."

"Ross, what do these women have in common?"

"On the surface they look the same but they are…"

"They're what, Ross?"

"I think I want to go back to my cell now. I'm tired. Perhaps Gail will come with you the next time you come. Guard! I'm done!"

Luke turned to Gail, "That's your cue." Gail reluctantly left the observation room.

Holly waited until the guards took Perik out and unsteadily got to her feet. She walked into observation and straight into Ryan's arms. Holly's body shook with the effort to hold in her tears. Ryan held onto her tightly. After a few moments, Holly raised her head, "Where is she?" Luke and Ryan looked at one another. "I'm not stupid, Ryan. I gave her that fucking sweater. You smell like her all over. Where is she?"