A/N: I still don't own Rookie Blue or Rookie Blue's characters. Bailey is still the awesomest beta around. But Traci wanted me to tell you that I love reviews and to, in her words, "keep 'em comin'".

Traci and Holly sat side by side in the bar of Holly's hotel. Each lost in their own thoughts. Thoughts that centered on a certain detective.

Holly finally broke the silence, "Traci, I'm sorry. I knew I was putting you in a bad position. I didn't mean to damage your friendship with Gail."

"Don't. I knew what I was doing. You needed a friend you could trust," Traci said as she placed her hand over Holly's on the bar and squeezed lightly then let go.

"You've been friends for so long, Traci. I know she considers you a good friend. Surely, she'll forgive you. When I see her, I can try to…"

Traci shook her head slowly, "Holly, Gail's a Peck."

"God, I wish people would quit telling me that! She's more than her last name. You know that!"

"Whoa there girl, I do know. How much do you know about Gail's family?"

"Honestly? Not a lot."

"Okay. Some of this comes from knowing Gail, and some of it comes from having dated Steve. When we were in our rookie year, Andy and Chris caused an investigation of Steve's partner. Steve got very offended by it. He had asked them to let him take care of it. He made Gail choose between him and Chris, who she was dating at the time."

"What do you mean?"

"He made her pick who she was going to be loyal to…Loyalty, is like duty to them. They hold it above a lot of things. Two years ago, Steve shared some information with me. It affected Dex, Leo's dad, and I owed it to Leo to make sure that his dad was okay. Steve…he…he didn't see it that way. He saw it as a betrayal of our relationship.

"If you ask Gail what she likes about herself, she'll tell you that she's loyal. That's what made the Nick thing and cheating on him so hard for her. It's why Perik was able to read the guilt on her face when she went into that interrogation room with him before. She violated the Peck code."

"What's that?" Holly asked.

Traci ticked them off on her fingers, "Know who you are. Work harder than everyone else. Don't screw up. In that order. That was the advice her mother gave her. In Gail's mind, not being loyal is to screw up."

"So…she perceives that you chose me over her," Holly stated.

"Yes."

"But, what if I try to explain?"

"Holly, you don't understand. It doesn't matter why I did it. The fact is that I made my 'alliance'. Gail would think that this means that I don't have her back. She won't trust me again easily, if ever," Traci said, as she saw tears well up in Holly's eyes.

"I'm so, so, sorry, Trace. So sorry."

"Hey, you needed someone to talk to. Someone you could trust. I'm glad you trusted me. I'm sorry Gail doesn't see it that way. I knew she would have an issue with it. I did it anyway. I'd probably do it again. I don't know that I ever agreed with keeping her out of the loop…"

"Trace…"

"I know you had your reasons, Holly, but look at it from her perspective. She's a decorated police officer. She's a phenomenal detective. You and her mother conspiring to keep this from her…makes her look like a child."

"That's not why…"

"Holly, I'm not telling you why you did it. I'm telling you what it looks like."

Holly took a deep breath and said, "I wonder why out of all of that, the thing you said that bothers me the most is that Elaine and I 'conspired' to keep this from her."

"Because you know about Gail's relationship with her mother?" Traci smiled sadly. "Do you think she's shot Ryan yet?"

"I doubt it," Holly laughed. "I sent Ryan over there with her favorite Vietnamese meal. You know the way around Gail is through her stomach." Traci laughed in response to that. Holly continued, "Plus, they're cut from the same cloth."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Stubborn. Dedicated. Soft spot for kids. Come from law enforcement families. Ryan's father and grandfather were Texas Rangers."

"And both of them are drop dead gorgeous."

"That too," Holly said, as she took a large drink of her Manhattan not looking at Traci. Traci was dying to ask more about the enigmatic Special Agent but decided that she was not about to know more than Gail did about Holly anytime in the near future. She was in enough trouble already.

"Trace, even though I tried to stay on task, all I could think when I was in that room today with that monster was about what he did, and almost did to Gail." Holly took a deep breath and continued, "When we were together, some nights she'd whimper in her sleep. Some nights she'd wake up screaming. I…God, I'm sorry. I know this is especially hard for you. I shouldn't be dumping this on you."

"What Perik took from me doesn't make Gail's pain any less. I love Gail like a sister. I know she still feels needlessly guilty about it. I don't blame her. I never have. None of us ever have, except Gail."

"I know," Holly sighed.

"Yeah. So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Traci asked.

"We're supposed to report at 9am in the conference room at 15. According to Luke, we're going to be meeting to discuss the old Perik cases; see if any of them have any connection to our current cases that we missed."

"Will Gail be there?"

"That's what he said. He said she would. He told me to prepare myself for it." Holly held up a finger to the bartender to order another drink.

"Should you…"

"Trace, I'm…Ryan told me the other day I'm holding myself together with duct tape and bailing wire, whatever the hell that means. But it feels accurate. I don't want to be here. I don't want to see her like this. I…don't want her to see me like this. So I'm going to drink until I can go upstairs and not dream."

Traci put her hand back on Holly's. "Holly, if Gail is going to be there tomorrow, she's going to have to give her account of her abduction and Jer…Jerry's stabbing. I think we both need to prepare ourselves for that."

"Hey, make mine a double, and another for my friend here," Holly called to the bartender as she squeezed Traci's hand tightly. "I know. I know, Traci. We'll get to the other side of this. Maybe not as the same people that we were, but we're gonna get there."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gail hated public speaking. More than hated. It petrified her. She had gotten out of giving her speech when she was at the academy. She dodged every speech her mother tried forcing her into giving. Every one that she could anyway. Now, as she sat in the conference room at 15, she wondered if she'd have a Pitch Perfect projectile vomiting episode.

She watched warily as Ryan strode confidently into the room, accompanied by Holly, who, when she saw Gail, averted her eyes. Figures. Ryan was at Gail's apartment late last night going over the case files. Gail had made suggestions and gone over as much of her personal history with Ryan as she had with anyone. Ryan was sorta perfect and she hated her for it just a little bit. She was everything Gail wasn't: confident, easy-going, warm, and open. At least that's the way Gail saw her.

Honestly though, the only reason that she could really think of to hate Ryan was Holly. Ryan had carefully avoided almost any way to bring Holly into the conversation last night, with the exception of her telling Gail about the fingerprint incident and the dressing down of the idiot tech. She kept any mention of Holly completely professional and that told Gail all she needed to know about their relationship. Nobody was that professional. Gail should know. She had lived with her mother, who bled police blue, but wasn't professional all the time.

Gail looked around the room. Tracy and Oliver were here, along with two men she assumed were with the FBI. Luke was setting up his part of the board with the older Perik cases. Ryan had evidently already set up her side of the board with the new cases from the unsub. Gail was looking it over when none other than Elaine Peck walked into the room.

"Gail, I'd like to speak with you for a moment before we get started, please. Oliver, may we use your office?" Elaine asked but didn't wait for Oliver to answer or to see if Gail was going to follow before she turned on her heel and walked out of the room. Gail rose and reluctantly followed her.

"Who was that?" Ryan asked as her eyebrows drew together.

"That, was Superintendent Elaine Peck." Oliver answered with a frown.

"Gail's mother?" Ryan asked.

"The one and the same." Traci answered.

"She was…reptilian. Is that a word?" Ryan questioned.

"It is and it suits her." Holly stated. "Oliver, could you?"

"It's better for Gail if there are no witnesses. She doesn't like for anyone to see or comment I've learned."

"Oh," Holly looked crestfallen.

"She'll be fine," Oliver squeezed Holly's shoulder.

Ten minutes later Gail propelled herself into the conference room alone and landed in a seat with all the grace and forethought of a five year old. The look on her face matched. Holly hid a smirk behind her hand. Gail had won, but obviously the effects of the conflict lingered. Ryan raised an eyebrow at Holly who subtly shook her head. Gail was lost in her own world and missed the exchange.

Luke stepped up to the podium and began. "Folks, I think everyone here knows each other with the exception of Gail Peck. Gail, you know the guys from 15, and Holly and Ryan. The two men you do not know are from the FBI: Marc Trask and Brandon Bishop. Marc is a Special Agent assigned to the violent crimes taskforce. Brandon is a Special Agent who specializes in profiling. Both of them have been with Ryan's unit since the second victim in the States.

"Marc and Brandon, this is Gail Peck the only survivor of the Ross Perik abductions that we've found."

"Boys," Gail twirled her index finger in the air in greeting. They nodded in response. Marc was a burly six feet with dark brown hair. Brandon was a tall and gangly ginger and looked more like a basketball player than a federal agent.

"Today, I'm going to present what we know about Ross Perik and see if any of these cases are relevant to your current ones. We began…" Luke started, but Gail could recite the details from memory. She didn't need to go over it one more time. She needed to prepare for what came next. She had to do what came next. She was sure that Holly was in danger, but she was sure that she, Gail, was Perik's endgame. If being part of this investigation meant putting her biggest failure up in neon lights, that's exactly what she would do. If that was the toll to be paid, then she'd pay it. She would do whatever it took to keep Holly safe.

"Perik's last abduction was Gail Peck, a police officer from 15 Division. He was unaware that she was a police officer at the time of her abduction. He confirmed in subsequent interviews that he believed her to be an escort at the time he decided to abduct her. He stated that he eavesdropped on her as she left a voicemail for Nick Collins while she rode in the back of his cab. He used this information to determine the apartment she was staying in for the night and came back a few minutes later prepared to abduct her. He had drugs, prepared syringes of ketamine and ACP, and zip ties. There was a struggle and he drugged her and bound her. Officer McNally, also of 15 Division, came home unexpectedly and he drugged her as well, but left her. During the search for Gail, one of 15's detectives, Jerry Barber, contacted Ross Perik as a routine part of the investigation. He was fatally stabbed, but was able to plant his phone on Perik to facilitate the return of then Officer Peck. Gail? Would you like to add anything?" Luke asked almost gently. Gail hated that they still tiptoed around her. She hated that more than public speaking.

She stood and walked to the podium, resolutely only looking at the FBI agents directly in front of her, "I guess I have a unique perspective on what one of their 'victims' feels like. I struggled with Perik in Andy's, Officer McNally's, apartment, but after he dosed me, I didn't feel like I was part of my body anymore. I felt, they told me the term is 'disassociated' from it, like I was apart from it. I couldn't control my movements. There was a helplessness to it that I've never experienced before or since.

"When I woke up in that basement, I was blindfolded and bound to a table. He spoke to me like someone who had practice speaking to women that way. It was terrifying. I tried using all the training I'd received at the academy, but I couldn't get my brain to engage enough. I…begged…him not to dose me again. He did anyway. I was in no way in control of what happened in that basement.

"The next time he came down, he was angry. Angry that I was a police officer. He dragged me upstairs with a gag in my mouth and my hands bound. My arms and legs wouldn't work. My legs felt like they could barely support me. Jerry…Detective Barber charged Perik. That must have been when he put the phone in his pocket. Perik fought him off. I don't think his heartrate even increased. His entire demeanor was of that of someone going on a vacation, except that he was angry with me that he'd been inconvenienced. He had no remorse for killing Detective Barber that I could see.

"He took me to his car and shoved me in the trunk. I passed out and I'm not sure how much time had passed. The trunk was dark and smelled like exhaust fumes and decomp, but honestly, I was having some pretty weird hallucinations at that point from the drugs, so I'm not sure. The next thing I know Chris and Nick are pulling me out of the trunk."

"Questions?" Luke asked. No one offered any.

"I can tell you this. If this apprentice is linked to Perik, and I believe that he is, then we're dealing with a highly intelligent sociopath that likes order and being prepared for all contingencies." Gail sat down, her head bowed. She missed Traci and Holly silently crying in the back.