Part 15

Gail eyed Elizabeth from the doorway to the living room. The younger girl had showered as soon as they had arrived back and was currently in some sweats and a thick woolly jumper she had stolen from Holly.

Gail didn't really want to disturb whatever crap the girl was watching on TV but she needed some answers about how the sisters had spent their day and why Holly was up in the loft right now all bundled up watching the snow fall. Holly hadn't been acting upset but she seemed down, sad. And Gail hated that.

With a sigh Gail walked into the room and sat down beside Elizabeth.

"Hey, that for me?" Elizabeth asked with a smile as Gail held out a steaming mug of something.

"Hot chocolate." Gail told her as she handed it over. The blonde had already took Holly coffee and her own was sitting on the kitchen counter.

Elizabeth grinned and blew on the surface to cool the liquid down as she drew her knees up to her chest.

"So," Gail began, eyeing the girl before casually turning to stare at the TV show on. "What did you guys get up to today?"

"Well, obviously, we cleared all your shit from in here." Elizabeth informed the blonde with a gesture around the now box free room. "Holly actually wanted to, I however just wanted to snoop." She finished with a sly grin.

Gail snorted believing every word of that.

"I kinda didn't mind the brunette look."

Gail looked at Elizabeth, not sure how to feel about the girl going through her personal things even if there wasn't much to find. "And what, Holly did?"

Elizabeth shrugged, she didn't really have a clue what Holly thought, her sister had grabbed the pictures out of her hands when she'd commented on it.

"So after that we went into town for lunch, she has some really cute pictures of the two of you on her phone. Did you know that?" Elizabeth asked Gail with a chuckle.

Gail narrowed her eyes. "And how would you know?"

"I needed to send Jace one, remember the bet? I needed proof." Elizabeth explained.

Gail could buy that so she didn't feel too bothered even if she knew some of the pictures were better left unseen or maybe even deleted. "So which one did you send?" She enquired.

Elizabeth grinned widely and sipped her chocolate, making the blonde wait. She chuckled as she remembered Holly coming back from the restroom only to see her messing with her phone. "The one of you both in bed only Holly's sleeping. Mostly on you."

Which Gail recalled was Holly's naked back covering her naked chest while she smugly looked at the camera because she'd worn the brunette out after a long love making session.

She fought hard not to blush as Elizabeth continued to chuckle beside her.

"Jason called her almost right away."

Gail frowned. "And is that why she's upset?"

"I don't think so, actually I think he invited you both down for a visit." Elizabeth said then she sighed and played with her sock. "I think it was something I said this morning."

Gail settled back and watched Elizabeth closely, she tried to recall what had been said that morning between the three of them or if it was something that happened when she hadn't been there.

Elizabeth spotted the confused look on the blonde. "About making up having a girlfriend." She told Gail. "A little Stewart family history. Holly came out when she was about twenty-one?" She tried to remember right. "I was fifteen and it was the tail end of the summer so I was out with my friends a lot. Anyway, so Holly was here at school but she came down for a visit. I wasn't around much but when I was everything seemed normal right, she took me shopping, out to the cinema, that kinda thing."

Gail nodded but didn't interrupt.

"So we had a big family dinner that Sunday, she was going back in the morning. But there was something wrong you could tell, there was this tension at the table all through dinner. I didn't really understand it, but Holly looked pretty ill and dad was so quiet." Elizabeth sighed wishing she'd been able to understand what her sister was going through at the time.

"So what happened?" Gail asked softly.

Elizabeth shrugged slowly. "I left after dinner and Holly was gone by the time I got home. I didn't find out until later Holly had come down to ask if she could bring the girl she was dating home for Thanksgiving. She didn't visit for over two years after that. We still talked on the phone all the time you know?" Elizabeth said as she felt herself tear up remembering how Holly had always said she'd been busy with school, that she sent gifts home instead, or invited her up to Toronto for part of the school holidays.

Gail shifted closer to Elizabeth as she watched the girl become emotional. She put her arm around her shoulders in an awkward hug. "Hey, it fine, you don't need to talk about this." She was sorry for bring this up, she should have just gone up to Holly and tried to cheer up her girlfriend.

Elizabeth shook her head leaning into the blonde. "I called her after I kissed a girl at a party one night and started freaking out about it. Holly calmed me down and said everything would be fine." She gave Gail a smile to show that it had been. "Holly turned up the next day and everything was. We talked, really talked and she let me know it was okay if I wanted to kiss girls, or if I didn't or if I wanted to kiss both."

Gail was grinning now. "She is kinda awesome isn't she?"

Elizabeth nodded like they were sharing a secret.

"I think she told my parents before I did, and they were great about it, saying it didn't change who I was and all that stuff." Then she sighed. "I don't think they were that accepting when it was Holly telling them about herself." She said sadly.

Gail let out a long sigh. That wasn't anything she could fix with a smile and a few words. And really, should she even let Holly know Elizabeth had told her all of this?

"She never really brought anyone to meet mom and dad, I mean, if I came up and she was dating someone she would always introduce us and if mom and dad were visiting they'd all go for dinner but, like Jace lived at home through college and he had a new girl staying every weekend it seemed like." Elizabeth explained. "He just made a bit of a joke of it sometimes if she came down for the holidays on her own, like how could she be a lesbian if she never had a girlfriend with her?"

"Yeah, I can see how that would hurt." Gail replied. Steve had girlfriends and she'd dated as well but they both would never have subjected them to the Peck family dinners. But she remembered Steve sometimes making suggestive comments at the dinner table alluding to her dating someone and that she should bring them around sometime. "My brother was a pain in the ass growing up too. Still is actually."

"The redhead from the pictures?" Elizabeth asked.

Gail nodded and stood up feeling like Elizabeth had shared more than enough of Holly's personal history. "Get up." She said to Holly's sister who after a moment got up with a puzzled look and put her drink down. Gail steadied herself then pulled the girl into a tight hug. She held her long enough for Elizabeth to wrap her own arms around Gail and hug her back.

"Thank you for sharing that with me." Gail whispered before releasing Elizabeth.

Elizabeth looked a little bashful at that as she sat back down. "Yeah, well, you love her right? So it's kinda your job to look after her." She told Gail.

Gail smiled. Was she actually starting to like the other girl? She put her closed fist out in front of Elizabeth who stared at it bewildered.

"So then, we've both got her back right?" Gail asked.

Smiling Elizabeth got it and knocked her fist with Gail's and the both shared a look. Then she pulled her fist back and spread her fingers as she made an exploding sound as she giggled.

Gail rolled her eyes and started walking away. "See, maybe that's why you're still single."

"Hey, now that's just mean!"

Gail chuckled to herself as she made her way upstairs.

xxxxxxx

Holly turned from the book in her hands as she heard soft footfalls headed in her direction. Soon enough Gail's blonde head appeared in the doorway. "Hey!" She said with a smile.

"Hey, you mind if I join you?" Gail asked tentatively, she'd tucked Holly up here on her own with a book and some coffee for company to watch the snow falling through the glass panel that took up half of the back wall overlooking the garden. The room had two walls that were shelved in books that covered sci-fi, autobiographies, and all kinds of fiction books as well as a how to section for DIY jobs around the house.

There were only two pieces of furniture in the loft, the oversized sofa Holly was spread out on and a recliner near the wood burning stove next to where Gail was stood. There was also a computerised Celestron telescope tucked away in the far corner beside the glass wall.

"Sure." Holly replied moving to sit up but Gail moved quicker and was soon wedging herself between the sofa back and Holly's body. It made Holly smile and settle back down.

Gail adjusted the throw over them both and cuddled against Holly with her arms coming around to hug Holly around her waist.

"Comfy?" Holly asked turning her head as best as she could to give the blonde a raised eyebrow look.

Gail smiled into Holly's shoulder. "Yes." She replied rubbing her face into Holly's neck until she found the perfect spot and pressed her lips to skin. "Good book?"

"Mmh, yeah. Not bad."

Gail sighed quietly to herself and closed her eyes, relaxing as Holly went back to her book.

She wasn't sure how long she dosed for but when Holly started to shift to face her she blinked her eyes open. Holly had taken off her glasses and the room was a little darker, a quick glance over Holly's shoulder let her know the snow had turned to rain and it looked like a storm was in store for the night.

Holly played with Gail's hair, tucking a few strands behind the blonde's ear out of the way as she inched the distance between them and kiss Gail gently on the lips. She pulled back and the blonde was grinning at her through tired eyes.

"I never thanked you for taking care of my stuff, although I've been informed you let Elizabeth snoop all she wanted." Gail said and her hands pressed against Holly's back to keep their bodies in contact. "So maybe 'thanks' with a strong hint of sarcasm."

Holly shook her head in denial. "She didn't help a bit, just sat there watching. Wasn't my fault you marked one of the boxes 'photos and shit'."

Gail chuckled, she had done that.

"So don't go blaming me." Holly continued as she felt hands wander under her top.

Gail shrugged. There really hadn't been much to see, a couple of family pictures she had no choice in, a few with Steve, one or two from her college days and a couple of the gang at 15. She'd never been one to pose with her boyfriend's so she was spared that embarrassment.

And all her pictures with Holly were on their cell phones and Elizabeth had already gotten to Holly's.

There was nothing sacred between siblings apparently.

"Plus, this way you can't just run off now, you'll have to find all your stuff first. And that could take you a while." Holly said with a small chuckle. She'd seen the way Gail had treated her clothes while she'd lived with Dov and Chris and it hadn't been pretty. She'd done the blonde a favour even if she was reluctant to acknowledge it.

Gail rolled her eyes at the running off comment. She wasn't planning on going anywhere. "Tomorrow morning will be fun in that case, did you at least put my spare uniform somewhere accessible?" She asked.

"Not telling."

Holly was grinning like an idiot but Gail could feel the tension in the brunette's back, she was obviously expecting Gail to react somehow. And who was Gail to disappoint her girlfriend?

"Oh, is that so?" She asked enjoying the playful yet slightly nervous look in Holly's face. Gail closed her grip on Holly's hips ensuring the older woman had no chance of escape.

"Yup!" Holly said although she was already starting to brace herself as she knew that look in Gail's eyes.

"Well then…" And with that Gail rolled onto Holly and set about finding each and every ticklish spot the pathologist had on her body.

"No!" Holly screamed as she tried to tuck herself into a ball but it was impossible with Gail on top of her. Her last resort, as they both continued laughing and struggling against each other, was to try and trap Gail's hands.

Gail got in touches to the brunette's side and the back of her knee before allowing her hands to be captured as she made an attempt at Holly's bare feet, a particularly susceptible spot to her tickle fingers.

"You are so mean to me." Holly bemoaned as she tried to get her breath back and retain hold of Gail's hands.

Grinning, Gail leaned down to Holly's ear. "That's not mean, mean is me telling you that as turned on as I am with the thought of pinning you to this couch and fucking you all night, I'm going to refrain because you, my dear, have been drinking all day." She said softly, adding a nip of Holly's earlobe which earned her a gasp, before pulling back to see the effect her words had.

Holly kept her eyes shut tight as her body shuddered. "That's not fair." She managed to say, finally opening her eyes to see the blonde tilt her head and shrug in response.

"As an officer of the law, I'd hate to be accused of taking advantage of you in such a vulnerable state."

Holly huffed at the blonde. She turned Gail's wrist to check the time from the blonde's wrist watch. "I haven't had an alcoholic drink in almost three hours and I've had coffee since then too."

"Are you begging for sex?" Gail asked beyond amused now as she sat up straight still straddling Holly. "Weren't you the one worried all we did was have sex?" She asked.

Holly pouted. "It's not all we do." She protested.

Gail looked down at her girlfriend who was looking a little frustrated by the conversation. The blonde was sure Holly wasn't completely sober but she obviously wasn't blind drunk either.

Holly had let go of Gail's wrists and the blonde was currently pressing their palms together and lacing and unlacing their fingers.

Gail turned her head away and tried to look thoughtful. "I suppose we would have to see if you're sober enough."

"And how would we do that?" Holly asked as a smirk grew on her face. Gail was totally playing with her.

"Obviously there would be tests involved." Gail warned with an arched eyebrow.

Holly grinned and darted up for a quick kiss. "I'm good at tests."

"Well," Gail had to swallow as the look being directed at her changed from annoyance to amusement, and then to now, a mixture of lust and love. It derailed her whole train of thought and she gently extracted her hands to cradle Holly's face. She lowered herself onto her girlfriend and stared into those dark eyes for a moment before they both leaned in and shared one of the sweetest, gentlest kisses Gail had ever experienced.

When the kiss ended Gail shifted and they both settled onto their sides still holding on to one another.

Holly sighed peacefully and ducked her head to press her lips to the exposed skin of Gail chest, just above her heart. It was such a precious gift, made all the more so when Holly had seen further into Gail's life and saw how she struggled not just with her mother but even in her friendships.

She vowed to never take it for granted. She pressed another kiss there to seal her promise before lifting her head and kissing the blonde.

"So these tests?" She asked into an ear as she hooked her leg over Gail's hip and drew the blonde closer.

Gail's hand traced over Holly's thigh and then into the sweats Holly wore, cupping her butt with a squeeze of her hand as she then tried to push them down over hips. She grunted when Holly kept her leg in place, stopping her from taking them completely off but her hand just went in the opposite direction and worked Holly's loose jumper up.

Holly giggled but shifted and help the blonde remove her top only to grip Gail's and have the favour returned. She leaned in again for another kiss before reminding the blonde, "Tests Gail?"

"Right, ugh," Holly was not helping and Gail closed her eyes and tried to steal herself as a hand cupped and massaged her breast. "Right, they ugh, involve fine motor skills…shit!"

Holly grinned as she thought a pinch to Gail's nipple covered that one. "And?" She whispered.

Gail bit her lip to hold back a moan as Holly added another twist before moving on to her other breast. "Hand and eye coordination." She bit out quickly as she received another pinch causing her to gasp at the sensation.

Holly could hardly believe Gail wasn't retaliating but she liked it when the blonde let her have control. "Oh, you mean like…this?" She asked trailing her hand down a pale abdomen and into Gail's underwear.

"Fuck!"

"Shh!" Holly said with a smug grin on her face. "Wouldn't want to make too much noise, we have a guest staying."

Gail growled and pressed forward, capturing Holly's lips and delving in with her tongue, mirroring Holly's fingers as they entered her.

Drunk or sober, she'd never regret a moment with Holly.

Damn she hoped Elizabeth remembered her comment about earplugs.