Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue, the characters, or anything like that.

Author's Note: So this story takes place a few weeks after the shooting. I started writing this before season five premiered so it doesn't follow that canon at all. Though I might borrow bits and pieces of it if it helps move the story along. I know there are a lot of "morning after" and "what happens next fic's out there. But I just had to add mine into the mix. The way that I've outlined the story is that every chapter is basically acting as if it were an episode. Hence why they're so long. The story is mostly Gail/Holly centric but does have a lot of the other members of 15th to. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter One

Gail knew she was in trouble when she and her friends had gone to the Penny, it was a Friday night and they all had miraculously managed to get the weekend off. And all she could do was look around and wish that Holly was there. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend the time with her friends. After everything that happened they needed a bit of normalcy in their lives. And nothing was more traditional then spending a few hours after shift at the Penny and drinking to the fact that they had survived another day. Paired with that the good news that Chloe was going to be released from the hospital in a few days and Sam was making a remarkable recovery. She should have been having a better time than she was. But it didn't feel right, it felt incomplete and Gail was sure that Holly's absence had something to do with it.

It wasn't like Gail hadn't tried to get Holly to come. In fact Gail had pulled out every persuasive technique she'd learned to try and get Holly to abandon her research for the night and come join them. But Holly had told Gail that she should spend this time with her friends, that it was special for them to get this time and Gail should make an effort to give them the attention they deserved. Gail had of course, in true Gail Peck style, rolled her eyes and told Holly that her friends weren't going to care. To which Holly only smiled and returned to work.

Gail 9:13pm: Come to the Penny.

Gail hit send and slid her phone back into her pocket. She'd been casually listening to the conversations going on around her. Dov was talking to Chris about all of the modifications he wanted to do on their apartment when Chloe got home from the hospital. Gail suspected she should be listening more intently to what Dov was saying but she didn't care enough. If they needed to accommodate any need Chloe had, they would, even if it was inconvenient. Andy and Traci were talking about something to do with Leo's school.

Holly 9:15pm: No.

Gail glared into her phone as if the ire she felt, and the frustration at being denied something she wanted might somehow reach Holly wherever she might be. Gail didn't know why she was so bothered that she wasn't going to be able to see Holly. She didn't know why she missed Holly so much. But she did, and it was driving her insane. Gail Peck didn't miss people, she didn't wish they were around all the time because that would imply that she needed them. And Gail didn't need anyone.

Gail 9:16pm: Please?

"Careful Gail, glare any harder and that phone might just go up in flames." Traci teased looking at her friend and seeing the staring contest that Gail was having with her phone.

"What is up with you anyway? You've been lost in your phone all night. You've only had one drink." Andy asked bravely. Things between the two of them had calmed down since Sam had been shot. When Gail realized that the grudge that she was holding against Andy, while no less justified, was pointless in the long run. Things weren't all forgiven or forgotten but Gail was working on it. They'd made it far enough that Gail's immediate response hadn't been to bite Andy's head off with a harsh comment.

"She's upset because she hasn't been able to see Holly today." Chris chimed in. Gail's gaze darted towards Chris angry that he'd said the words out loud, opening her up to be ridiculed by her friends, and also because he was right.

"Shut up." Gail bit back but it was pointless, her tone didn't have the same biting nature that would normally have actually shut Chris up. And Chris only smiled brighter. Of all of them he had seen the effect that Holly had on Gail. He saw it that day in the hospital when Holly had come to see Gail in the waiting room. The way that Gail was around Holly was different than it had been when the two of them had been in a relationship.

"Why didn't you invite her?" Traci asked.

"I did. She said that I should spent the time with you guys." Gail replied. There was no point in hiding it. Her friends knew her well enough to know that Holly was important to her. And Gail didn't even want to lie and pretend that Holly wasn't.

"So you two have gotten close then huh?" Traci hadn't had the time to ask Gail about her newfound friendship with Holly.

"Gail spends all of her time over at Holly's now. We barely see her." Chris answered before Gail had a chance.

"She's significantly less annoying than the both of you."

"And now you're bothered because you won't see her tonight?" There was a knowing look in Andy's eyes that annoyed Gail. Knowing that Andy knew how she was feeling towards Holly made her feel weak and vulnerable.

"I'm not bothered." Gail protested.

"It's okay if you are. I remember when I first started dating Sam, I wanted to see him all the time. We must have racked up at least a thousand text messages a week." Andy rambled. The table fell silent, no one had voiced what they all had assumed that Gail and Holly were in fact a couple. They were all too afraid to ask. But Andy had barreled through without even realizing it. The table fell silent as everyone looked between Andy and Gail. Waiting for the typical Gail Peck lashing out. Even Andy seemed to brace herself for it.

"I don't know if we're dating." Gail replied instead shocking everyone. Gail Peck was opening up to them? About her feelings? Dov seemed to recover first.

"Have you guys talked about it?" He asked.

"Not really. I mean, things have been going so great as they are why should we mess them up by throwing around labels and stuff?" Looking around the table Gail legitimately wanted advice. She needed them to tell her what to do because she was shit at relationships and she at least could admit that to herself.

"But wouldn't it be nice to know?" Andy asked leaning forward focusing her attention on this conversation. She felt in some way that she owed it to Gail to help her figure this out. Since she had been directly responsible for the breakdown of Gail's last relationship.

"You guys aren't the least bit surprised that I'm suddenly contemplating dating a woman?" Gail asked confused. She'd expected that they would be surprised, upset, and angry, in disbelief, some sort of reaction other than what she was getting.

"Gail, you're allowed to have feelings for whoever you have feelings for. And Holly's great. She brings out a side to you that we all knew was in there but hadn't ever seen." Chris offered.

"Yeah, I need to talk to her about that. She's making me all nice and stuff." Gail grimaced at the thought. It was true, things that had annoyed her before she just found herself overlooking. She hadn't been a bitch to anyone lately. Standoffish and a bit socially awkward, but that was Gail, she didn't go out of her way to be mean to anyone.

"Oh please don't. We loved the old Gail, but we also really love this Gail."

Gail looked down at her phone, she really wanted to see Holly. Like she had never wanted to see anyone before. But it made her feel needy. She'd been occupying all of Holly's time lately. Always over at her apartment, always texting her, always calling her, Holly had been talking about a paper she'd needed to finish but Gail had always been there to distract her. Holly never said anything but Gail was starting to feel bad.

"I just miss her."

"That's sweet."

"Shut it McNally."

"Sorry."

"It's not sweet. It's sad, it's only been a day. It's not sweet. It's annoying and distracting and-."

"The greatest feeling ever?"

"Yeah if feeling queasy and kinda like you're going to pass out whenever you're around the person. Sure." Gail said rolling her eyes. She wasn't fooling any of them but she still had to try. She had an image she was fiercely protective of and she wasn't quite ready to let that go yet.

"Aw so Gail Peck does have a heart buried under that layer of ice." If there was anyone at the table that could get away with making a joke like that it was Traci. Traci who had first started to see the crack in the otherwise impenetrable Peck armor.

"Ugh I'm going to need another drink." Gail said finishing off her current drink in one gulp. As if on cue one of the waitresses arrived with a tray of drinks.

"Uh we didn't order those." Andy said as a drink was passed to her.

"Bartender got a call from Holly. She said to send you a round of whatever you had just had. And an extra shot for Peck." The waitress said with a smile. Gail pulled out her phone and saw that she had a new text from Holly.

Holly 10:23pm: Enjoy your night Gail.

"Okay, so Holly can definitely stay."

Gail was pretty sure this was as pathetic as she had ever gotten. Even when she was in the dog house with whoever she was dating at the time she never got up two hours before she needed to, went to get coffee for someone, and then waited for them to show up at their office. Holly was due to arrive at work any minute and Gail was practically buzzing with excitement to see the brunette. It had been a weekend and Gail felt like she was being punished, denied her newest favorite thing for some crime she didn't remember committing. At first she'd tried to be nonchalant about it. But come Sunday, there was no hope for Gail.

When she saw Holly rounding the corner, lost in whatever her phone said it took a minute for Holly to realize that there was someone standing in front of her office.

"Gail?" Holly asked obviously confused as to why Gail was standing outside her office. She would have remembered if Gail had mentioned that she was going to stop by.

"I brought you coffee." Gail announced awkwardly holding the cup out to the brunette. Holly took the offered cup a slow smile forming on her face. Holly had missed Gail like crazy over the past few days. It had been too easy to fall into a habit of seeing Gail every day, talking to her every day, and it was becoming extremely difficult not to fall for Gail having her around so much. Holly had needed the distance as much as she was sure Gail needed it to.

"Thank you." Holly unlocked her office and pushed open the door knowing that Gail would follow her even if she didn't verbally invite the blonde in.

"I've never been to your office before. I had to look up where it was." Gail said looking around. It was as Gail expected it would be, neat and spacious, everything in its proper place. On one side of the room was a large desk with a computer on it. There were bookshelves lining one wall except for where the window looked out into a courtyard of some sort.

"Sorry, I don't spend a whole lot of time here. I'm usually in the lab." Holly replied dumping her stuff at her desk and then moving to lean against the front of the desk, watching Gail look around. Holly liked that about Gail, Gail always needed to inspect everything and take in every detail. Gail had done the same thing at her apartment. Each and every room she had gone in and looked around.

"It kinda suits you. A little colder than I'd expect but still." Gail said.

"Colder?"

"Not as decorated as I'd expect. Your apartment has this warmth to it, even the lab seems more your space."

"Ah. So, what're you doing here Gail?" Holly asked. Gail turned to look at Holly shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"I missed you." Gail offered so softly it was almost a whisper. Holly's heart melted at that and she felt her stomach flip at the simple admission.

"I missed you too."

"We can't do that again."

"What?"

"Go that long without seeing each other. I didn't like it." Holly couldn't fight the laugh that bubbled up at how much Gail reminded her of a little kid not getting her way. It was adorable.

"It was a weekend Gail." Holly said reasonably.

"You said you missed me too." Gail pouted. Actually, honest to God pouted, and not because she knew that it was going to get her something she wanted. But because the thought that Holly hadn't missed her as much as Gail had been going crazy without Holly made Gail hurt inside.

"I did." Holly reassured quickly. Gail visibly relaxed, a bit of the more familiar overconfident Gail returning.

"How much?" Gail asked inching forward. Holly's mouth went dry as she saw the glint in Gail's blue eyes that told her she would be in a lot of trouble if she let Gail get any closer.

"Gail…" Holly warned. She wasn't worried anyone would come into her office, not without knocking first anyway. But that was besides the point. This, whatever it was had already gone too far and Holly needed to put a stop to it before either of them got hurt.

"How much did you miss me Holly? It's a simple question. A lot? Not much? A passing thought about how I might be fairing? Come on Holly, tell me how much you missed me." Gail continued her voice dropping several octaves to an almost purr. Holly knew she would be in for a world of trouble if Gail ever found out what that voice did to her.

Gail came to stand in front of Holly effectively pinning the brunette against her desk. Framing Holly's body with her arms Gail pressed her palms against the cool glass of Holly's desk top.

"I'll tell you how much I missed you. I couldn't stop thinking about you. It was driving me crazy. I wanted you. I even had a dream about you." Smiling softly Holly turned her head feeling Gail's nose brushing against her cheek. Gail's warm breath on her skin was driving Holly crazy and her resolve was fading quickly.

"A dream huh?"

"Holly I want you to kiss me." Gail whispered against the shell of Holly's ear, her hand running up the length of Holly's arm until it was cradling the side of Holly's neck. Gail could feel how tense Holly was. How hard she was fighting the temptation.

"I missed you a lot." Holly answered finally.

"Good." Both of them felt the intensity of the spark that happened between them. Gail was sure she felt it in her toes as she shifted closer to Holly, needing to be as close as possible. She needed it more than she needed air, more than she could ever remember needing anything. To feel the warmth of Holly's body pressed tightly against her own made her feel alive.

"But I'm not going to kiss you in here." Holly said. The effect was like pouring ice cold water on them and Gail stepped away, expression changed from seductive and charming to incredulous and pissed.

"Why not?" Gail demanded her head spinning. How could Holly not kiss her? Not after feeling what had just passed between them. Holly reached out and took Gail's hand in hers, linking their fingers despite Gail's weak attempt at fighting her.

"Because we're in my office before I start work and before you start your shift. We haven't talked about what is going on between us, I'm all for playing it by ear and seeing where things go. But if I'm going to make out in my office with someone I want to know that it's at least going somewhere." Holly tried to choose her words in a way that wouldn't send Gail running. But she was being honest and she needed Gail to understand that she may be a patient person but she had her limits. Holly watched as Gail processed her words and the pissed off look fell away into at least some form of understanding.

"Okay, we can talk about whatever this is between us." Gail said crossing her arms. Holly thought she looked a bit like she was going into an interrogation. Her body language was both defensive and also meant to intimidate.

"Gail I like you, a lot. I feel something happening between us that is more than friendship. But you've been through a lot these last few weeks and I know that it isn't fair to expect anything from you. And I don't."

"But you can. Holly I want this. Whatever this is I can't…it's like I've seen and felt what it could be like to have this and now not having it would kill me. You are the most amazing person I've ever met. You make me feel these wonderful things that I used to consider weakness. I woke up this morning determined to see you because the thought of not seeing you today made me sad. Do you get how strange that is for me? You have this power over me Holly, I can't do what I do with other people and keep you at arms length because with you I don't want to keep you away I just want to pull you closer." Gail felt a bit nauseous confessing all of this to Holly. Like she was revealing her heart and giving Holly every chance to crush it and hoping that she wouldn't.

For several minutes Holly was stunned into silence. She didn't know what to say to that. No one had ever said anything like this to her before. Her heart soared at the prospect of being with Gail. Having imagined that whatever they could be together would be amazing. But her mind screamed at her to be careful. Gail was exactly the type of woman that could lead her into heart break. She could get her heart shattered when Gail decided that she was done experimenting with women. When the crisis was over.

"You could totally wreck me you know." Gail continued. She hated the silence that filled the office around them. Things with Holly had never been tense before. Even their silences had been comfortable. Except for this one, when she was waiting desperately to hear something form Holly. Anything.

"Let's just agree to try not to wreck each other okay?" Holly said finally, her voice sounding less confident than she wanted it but Gail smiled.

"One day at a time?"

"One day at a time."

"But I am seeing you tonight." Gail insisted. Holly laughed, the tension between them broken and the easiness was slowly washing back in. Gail was back to being her usual self, demanding and infuriatingly seductive in her bravado.

"As if I had a choice."

"I have to go, get changed and ready for work." Gail said reluctantly looking at the clock on Holly's wall announcing she now had half an hour to get ready for parade.

"Be careful."

"I will. I have a date tonight I better not get hurt." Gail gave Holly's hand a squeeze before leaving the office. Holly stood watching the door Gail had just gone through playing the conversation she'd just had over and over. She and Gail were going on a date. Gail wanted this. What had she just gotten herself into?

Gail sat next to Andy in parade, listening to Best drone on about what they needed to be focused on. The streets had been eerily quiet since the shooting. Traffic stops and tickets for jay walking seemed to be in their future but Gail didn't mind. A slow day gave her more time to allow her mind to wander towards a certain forensic pathologist.

"Peck it looks like you're with me today." Oliver said coming up behind Gail and throwing his arm around her shoulder.

"Best news I've had all day." Gail said dramatically.

"Oh you're hilarious Peck. I'll meet you at the car in 20." Gail watched him go with a fondness she didn't show everyone. Oliver was definitely one of her favorites to ride with. He was her mentor, a strange surrogate father in some ways.

"Hey, you look happy this morning. Did you see Holly?" Traci asked as Gail joined her at her desk. Gail couldn't help the smile that burst across her face answering Traci's question.

"We're going out tonight." Gail said. Traci beamed with excitement for her friend. Gail deserved this.

"Where to?"

"I don't know. As long as it's not the batting cages again I'm good with anything." Gail mused.

"Whoa batting cages? She got you to do sports? Holly must be a miracle worker." Traci teased receiving a playful shove in return.

"It was horrible. I was so humiliated. But to make me feel better she bought me dinner and beer. And told me that she liked me regardless of my athletic ability."

"Next time we all go to the Penny are you going to bring her? I need to meet this woman."

"I'll ask her. I have to go meet Oliver. I'll talk to you later."

"I need the details Gail. All of them!" Traci insisted as Gail left.

"I thought she was straight." Holly had needed someone to talk to about what was going on with Gail so on her lunch break she had called the only person she could think of. Sitting across from her at a small table was her brother Thomas. Unlike Holly's more casual style of jeans and a button down blouse Thomas fancied a nice three piece suit. He liked to exude charm and sophistication when he was in the court room.

"Technically I said that I didn't know for sure." Holly replied drinking her coffee.

"Okay, but you've done this dance before and I remember not liking the aftermath so much." Thomas was protective of Holly. Mostly because he knew how big Holly's heart was and how people liked to take advantage of that. He'd watched as girls had taken Holly's heart and smashed it into billions of pieces and he saw each time how Holly picked up those pieces but never lost hope that there was someone out there for her.

"Gail's different. Complicated is an understatement but she just makes me feel so incredible I just couldn't not give this a shot. We're keeping it low key, we're taking it one day at a time." Holly explained. They were only minutes apart in age but Thomas took the role of older brother very seriously. Plus it didn't hurt that as a lawyer he knew all of the different legal loopholes that could help him get away with murder. Though he'd only threatened someone once.

"Just be careful Hol."

"I will."

"What do your med school friends think about this?"

"I haven't told them. You know how they are, they'd never understand. I want to figure out what Gail and I are before we bring other people into it. You're just lucky that I like to share all the sordid details of my life with you." Holly said playfully.

"Anytime baby sis."

"By five minutes!" Holly exclaimed laughing while they went back to their lunch.

"What are you and Holly doing for your date?" Andy asked conversationally as they changed out of their uniforms and into their street clothes. Gail shrugged, they hadn't talked about what they were going to do. Realistically for their first official date it should be something flashy and nice, a date meant to impress. It was what Gail expected when guys took her out on a date. But Holly was different. They didn't need all that.

"I'm not sure. I think we can figure it out." Gail replied checking her appearance. She looked nice, casual but like she had put effort into what she was wearing. With what she was wearing they could pretty much go anywhere.

"Are you nervous?"

"Of course not." Gail was lying through her teeth. She was nervous, an official date with Holly. But she wasn't going to admit that to anyone, especially McNally.

Grabbing her bag Gail left the locker room not making eye contact with anyone not wanting to be stopped by anyone. Holly had texted Gail, telling her that she would meet her outside the station. Shouldering her bag Gail walked out of the station and found Holly waiting for her, leaning against her car with a warm smile on her face.

"Evening officer." Holly greeted.

"Hey." Gail stopped in front of Holly. Wanting to reach out and wrap her arms around Holly but not sure if she could or should. Gail wasn't used to being the nervous ones on dates. She always took charge. She always made men feel nervous.

"So, where are we going?" Holly asked casually. Her calm had a way of leeching into Gail and calming her.

"No idea. Where does one take a girl on a date?" Gail asked. Holly found herself oddly charmed by the question. Gail wanted to impress her and didn't know how. That was a huge step for Gail.

"Gail relax. I would be happy just spending time with you. I figure after shift you're probably hungry because you're always hungry so we could go get something to eat. Or we could go get a drink. Or we don't have to do anything. There isn't a guide book. Let's just be us." Holly said reaching out and grabbing Gail's hands linking their fingers and tugging Gail closer but keeping a respectable enough distance so any of Gail's coworkers wouldn't think anything was up. "Let's go to the Penny and get some drinks."

"No." Gail said.

"No?"

"No, I don't want my friends to crash our first official date. So, why don't we go to this Italian place on Queen?"

"Okay."

Dinner went by with pleasant conversation about the general boredom of their days. One thing that Gail was learning to appreciate about Holly was the way that she could explain everything she did, all the medical jargon that would normally have made no sense to Gail, in a way Gail could understand. And she didn't make her feel stupid because of it.

"Can I tell you something?" Gail asked as they sat parked in Holly's car outside Gail's apartment.

"Anything."

"I'm a mess when it comes to relationships. My ex told me that I wasn't girlfriend material and I hated him for it. I wanted to be offended but he was right. I don't know how to be a girlfriend because I don't know how to let people in. I run hot and cold. And I can't promise that I won't do that with you sometimes. You saw a glimpse of it already, when I kissed you and then a few hours later pretended that it didn't happen. It's just something that I do and I don't know how to stop and-."

"You don't need to explain who you are to me Gail." Holly interrupted. She hated that Gail was so self-depreciating. Gail seemed to be the only one that couldn't see how remarkable she was. "Sometimes I wish you could see you the way that I do. Because then you would see the woman who has a big heart, who cares so deeply for everyone in her life she'd do anything for them. Sure you're snarky, you can be a bitch, but when it comes down to it when everything falls apart you're there to hold them together. And that, that woman is the woman that I know and the one that I am falling for."

"You really see that?" Gail whispered, she felt tears stinging her eyes and she blinked hard trying to keep from letting them fall.

"I know who you are Gail. I think that I'm for the challenge."

"God, how are you so perfect?" It sounded like an accusation but Holly knew that Gail meant it as a compliment. Gail sounded truly awed just by how Holly was and the sound of it made Holly blush.

"I'm not."

"You sure about that?"

"Pretty sure. We all have our flaws Gail, the trick is finding someone who's flaws compliment ours."

"Will you come inside?"

"Slow remember?" Holly said seeing Gail pout at the reminder. Laughing softly wondering if Gail knew how tempted she really was to take her up on that offer. Holly wasn't a saint.

"How much slower are we going to take this? You haven't even kissed me yet. Not since that night. You realize that's not exactly how I operate right?" Gail demanded. She couldn't think of anything else, she wanted to feel Holly's lips against hers again. She wanted to remember the way that her head seemed to spin in the most delightful way when Holly kissed her.

"Patience is a virtue Gail."

"Definitely not one of mine."

"Kay, get out." Holly instructed. Gail stared incredulously for a minute before opening the door. For a second Gail felt her defensiveness flare, her anger spike. Was Holly really kicking her out of the car? What had she done? Had she offended Holly? Her nerves cooled a bit when she heard Holly's door open too and watched Holly circle around the car to come and stand next to Gail.

Gail had a million different one liners at the ready, teasing barbs that were sure to get at least a smirk out of Holly. But all of them flew out the window when Holly reached up to cradle the sides of Gail's neck, blunt fingernails scratching at the back of Gail's neck. Looking into Holly's eyes, seeing the intensity in them and knowing that Holly could see right through her. Down into her soul even. And for the first time it didn't make Gail want to run.

The first brush of Holly's lips against hers made Gail gasp. Her hands tentatively finding a home on the curve of Holly's hips clutching around the fabric of Holly's shirt. Different than their first kiss, this kiss was slow and exploratory, tentative and sweet. Gail had only the briefest taste of Holly's lips when Holly pulled away. One taste and Gail was hooked. She needed to taste the sweetness of Holly's lips again.

Inching closer to Holly, Gail brought their lips together in a deeper more lingering kiss. Where the first had been innocent bordering on chaste even this one was different. Lips parted and the moment Holly felt Gail's tongue slip into her mouth a low moan escaped. She couldn't believe that she was kissing Gail. That Gail's hands were clutching at her, pulling her closer. It seemed like a dream and one that Holly never wanted to wake from.

I'm kissing Holly. She tastes so good. God! She's an amazing kisser. That seemed to be all Gail was able to think about before her mind went foggy and she was lost in the sensation of being thoroughly kissed senseless by Holly. Her back pressed against the side of Holly's car as Holly pressed against her, their kiss growing hungrier, lips more insistent and tongues getting more daring. Gail heard herself whimper as Holly's teeth caught her bottom lip and tugged gently sending a pleasurable jolt through her entire body.

Gail's hands disappeared into Holly's jacket, the heat from Holly's body burning into her palms as her fingers sought skin. Every moment spent anticipating what this might be like, what kissing Holly again would feel like couldn't hold a candle to it actually happening.

"Gail…Gail we have to stop." Holly murmured against Gail's lips not wanting to pull away for even a second. But Gail took the opportunity to trail kisses along Holly's jaw until she reached just under Holly's ear. Holly's reaction to Gail's lips on her sensitive skin was immediate her hand tightened into a fist grabbing a handful of Gail's hair making the blonde hiss as both pleasure and pain mingled.

"Sure you don't want to come up?" Gail asked nipping at the skin teasingly.

"I knew kissing you would be dangerous." Holly sighed.

"Just come inside. We don't have to do anything. I just don't want to have the night end." Gail said pulling away from Holly and looking at the brunette. Stunned when she saw the desire that seemed to radiate from Holly, the raw arousal and want that Holly had for her. No one had ever looked at Gail like that before.

"I really want to Gail."

"But you're going to be chivalrous." Gail sighed, she wanted to be mad that Holly was turning her invitation down. But she knew why Holly was doing it and she could at least appreciate Holly's attempt to take things slow for her benefit.

"Yeah."

"You're lucky I like you so much. Otherwise my ego might not be able to take this rejection." Gail teased seeing Holly smile as they both put some much needed space between them.

"Believe me your ego has nothing to worry about. You are temptation personified Gail."

"Ooh I like the sound of that."

"I thought you might."

"Okay, I'm going to go inside now. Before I, you know, jump you again." Gail said moving past Holly their shoulders brushing.

"Goodnight Gail."

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"What? You're not going to come to my office again?" Holly asked in mock outrage.

"Maybe if you're lucky." Gail ascended the stairs, casting one last lingering look at Holly before disappearing inside. Holly loitered for a few more minutes before returning to her car and driving home.

Gail was distracted. Her mind still lingering on the kiss that she and Holly had shared. She'd never experienced a kiss like that before. Nothing that left such a vivid imprint on her mind. Nothing that made her replay it over and over in her mind desperate to cling to the memory. She felt girly. She expected this kind of reaction from someone like McNally or Chloe. But she was Gail Peck. She didn't swoon like this. And what was more surprising was that she was just itching to talk about it. To scream from the rooftops that she was happy but she didn't have that person. The one that she could tell about this. Her person was Holly. And it seemed too weird to talk to Holly about Holly.

"You okay Gail? You look really distracted." Andy asked as they drove. The two had been partnered together and Andy had expected some sort of reaction from Gail. But she hadn't gotten one. Gail had just silently grabbed her stuff and met her at the car.

"I'm fine." Gail answered clearly still distracted. Her gaze was unfocused as she watched the city speed by them.

"Is everything okay with you and Holly?" Andy automatically assumed that if Gail was so far out of it something might have happened.

"What? Why would you ask that?"

"I don't know, you just have been really happy lately. And now you aren't. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay." Gail sighed, she knew that Andy was trying. Before the whole thing with Nick the two of them had been good friends. Gail had tried to convince herself that they hadn't been. But that wasn't true and she knew it.

"Okay, but you have to promise that you won't get all girly on me okay?" Gail warned.

"I can do that." Andy said with a bit more enthusiasm than was probably necessary.

"We kissed last night. After our date." Gail started glancing at Andy to read her response. Andy nodded, trying to keep her reaction schooled.

"How was it?"

"You know how people always describe their perfect first kiss as seeing fireworks or sparks or whatever cliché shit they use to describe it?" Gail asked. Andy was starting to get a little nervous. Had the kiss gone badly?

"Uh huh." Gail took a deep breath.

"Yeah, they were right."

"That's great Gail." Andy said beaming.

"Yeah."

"Now you don't sound so sure. It was good right?"

"It was amazing Andy. Holly is amazing. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me and she came totally out of the blue. I wasn't looking for her."

"That's the best part Gail, when you stop looking for it love finds you."

"You sound like a Hallmark card." Gail spat.

"Are you freaking out?"

"No. I'm not. Being with Holly feels great. It feels right and its easy and effortless. And that is what freaks me out."

"I don't understand."

"After the whole thing with Perik I didn't think that I could feel. I didn't want to. Any emotion just hurt, if I was happy I felt guilty because Jerry was dead, if I was sad I felt pathetic and weak. It was easier to just not feel anything. And then Holly came along." Gail stopped, she didn't really know where she was going with this. But she needed to say it and Andy was offering to listen.

"You deserve to be happy Gail."

"That's what Traci said."

"Because it's true. You blame yourself for what happened with Jerry but no one else does. Time to move on from that and let yourself be happy. Live for the moment okay? I learned that with what happened to Sam. Life is short. Who knows if we're going to make it back from shift? We need to keep the people who mean something to us close and remind them every day how much they mean to us. Who knows if we get that chance again?"

"I've never had that person I needed to worry about. That person that would care if something happened to me. I mean, I have you losers and everything. But I've always dated cops, people that understand what it means to do the job that we do. What if Holly can't handle it?"

"She can."

"How the Hell do you know that?"

"I can just see it in the way that she looks at you."

"I guess that's what freaks me out. I'm not worried that I'll run. I'm afraid she will." There it was. The heart of Gail's freak out. She was terrified that Holly would realize what it was that she was getting into with dating a cop.

"Have you talked to her about that?"

"No."

"I think you should. If it's something that you're really worried about."

"1523- 911 call reporting a body found. Are you available to respond?"

"1523 responding."

Gail welcomed the distraction. Thinking about work gave Gail a way of avoiding the thoughts driving her crazy. As their car pulled up they saw they weren't the first or the last car to respond. Oliver and Nick were standing just inside the police tape talking, while Dov and Chris were questioning the witnesses. The thing that caught their attention was that Traci seemed to be having a heated conversation with the coroner.

"Hey, what's going on?" Andy asked when it looked like Traci was about to throw a punch.

"What's going on is that the coroner took one look at the body and refuses to go near it." Traci ranted frustration rolling off of her in waves.

"I told you Detective that this is above my pay grade and I placed a call to my boss." The coroner said. Gail never liked coroners, when she had to deal with them they always seems so creepy.

"Above your pay grade it's a body." Gail gestured towards the body covered with a tarp to preserve it. The body was in a grass clearing just off the side of the road.

"You have protocols you have to follow. So do I." He said defensively.

Watching as one of the lab's SUV's pulled up next to the squad cars Gail saw Holly step out and despite everything, the fact that they were both at work, and that there was a dead body less than ten meters away, Gail felt her breath catch and her heart start to beat a little faster. Holly was breathtaking.

"Dr. Stewart, finally!" The coroner exclaimed looking at Holly as if she were his saving grace.

"Thanks Mike. I got it from here. Will you stick around for when I'm ready to transport the body?" Holly said with a disarming smile. She glanced at Gail and in the briefest moment their eyes met there was a softness in them, a warmth that made Gail need to bite the inside of her cheek to have to fight.

"Sure thing. I'll be over there."

"Detective Nash." Holly greeted knowing that Traci was one of Gail's really good friends but wanting to keep things professional.

"So, why couldn't the coroner do his job?" Traci bit. She was beyond frustrated. She had been battling with the man for an hour on why he wouldn't touch the body and she just wanted to make some sort of progress on the case.

"Suspicious circumstances require someone above a coroner to do the initial survey of the body. Sorry, I was in an autopsy this morning. I came as soon as I could." Holly apologized walking towards the body. The first thing she saw was the tarp and she took a deep, calming breath. "Who put the tarp on the body?"

It was one of the police issued tarps, she recognized it from other cases she'd worked.

"I did." Nick volunteered, standing proudly with his chest puffed out.

"It's contaminating my scene." Holly replied sharply. At that Gail couldn't fight the smile.

"Sorry, but people were staring and…" Nick stammered.

"Really don't care." Holly answered leaving Nick to gawk after her. Gail glanced at Nick, smile still well in place and followed Holly. Holly knew that the CSU tech's had already photographed everything and there was a familiar face from the lab waiting for her camera at the ready for when she lifted the tarp.

"Dr. Stewart." Gail greeted playfully.

"Don't worry Officer I promise I'm supposed to be here." Holly tossed back referring back to their first meeting.

Gail, Traci, and Andy held back a few feet letting Holly do her work without getting in the way. But the three of them were curious as to what was under the tarp. Gail just wanted to watch Holly in action. Her girlfriend was hot, and there was something extremely sexy about watching Holly strut her stuff. Holly nodded allowing for the assistants to lift the tarp and take it for evidence.

The body underneath the tarp was laying on his back, his skin the bluish hue of death but his eyes were open staring at the sky. The only sound that filled the air around them was the shutter snapping of the camera taking pictures of everything. When they were finally silenced Holly circled the body taking in everything she could visually. The officers let Holly do that until the suspense was too much for Gail.

"What can you tell about the guy?" Gail asked curiously. Her notebook was out and she was ready to write down everything that Holly said. It was after all, her job. It just didn't hurt that she didn't mind listening to Holly talk medical speak.

"Male, approximately 350lbs, mid to late 50's. Wasn't killed here." Holly answered kneeling down and pulling her 'lunchbox' as Gail called it closer so she could get the tools that she needed.

"How can you tell?" Traci asked curiously.

"There isn't any blood around the body. He was dead when he was dumped here." Holly replied pulling out the thermometer to take his liver temp. Gail watched with a mixture of fascination and disgust as Holly stabbed the man with the tool before reading off the results to her assistant who was also writing everything down.

"How long has he been dead?"

"About 3-5 hours."

"Any idea how?"

"Won't know until I get him on my table." Holly said when something caught her eye. The man was wearing a button down shirt but the buttons didn't go all the way up and she could see the beginnings of an incision vertically along his chest.

"Keep me posted? I'll send McNally and Peck with you to the lab."

"You sure you don't need them?" Holly asked curiously. She wondered if the reason Traci was sending Gail with her was because she knew of their relationship. Hoping that Traci wouldn't do that but not knowing her well enough.

"Yeah, we're going to get a lot of pressure on this one."

"Alright. I'll meet you guys in the lab." Holly said giving Gail a small smile, which was returned. Gail had to admit she was excited at the prospect of spending the entire day with Holly. Like she had the first day they'd met. But she wasn't as thrilled with having Andy also be there.

"This is kind of exciting right? I've never seen an autopsy before." Andy rattled on as they walked down the hallway towards the lab. Gail rolled her eyes wondering how long it would be until Andy lost her lunch into the waste basket. Gail had only watched Holly do one autopsy out of curiosity once and even she had nearly lost it.

"It's not that exciting McNally."

"But we get to spend the day with Holly." Andy said the implication not lost on Gail.

"We're working. Let's try and keep it professional."

When the two officers walked into Holly's lab the body was already on the table. The lab tech was prepping the body for the autopsy and already his clothes had been removed. Both Gail and Andy chose to stay into the far corner of the room, away from the body so they didn't have to see much. Holly came in a few minutes later changed from the clothes that she had been wearing into scrubs with a surgical gown over that. Her hair pulled up into a lose bun.

"You guys really don't have to be in here for that. You can wait in my office if you want." Holly offered glancing at the body.

"My first autopsy." Andy blurted out like an excited child. Holly glanced at Gail who shrugged and leaned against the wall, arms crossed casually over her chest.

"Alright, a few rules then. Don't touch anything, if you're going to throw up try and make it out there. If you can't there is a waste basket by the door. And stay over there." Holly said venturing towards the body. The first thing that she focused on was the incision that she had gotten a peak of before. It looked like the kind of incision that was made for heart surgery but it was recent. Running her gloved hand over the chest, feeling for any of the signs that this man had gone through open heart surgery she felt the rib cage give slightly.

Gail watched transfixed as Holly conducted the autopsy, dictating her notes into a voice recorder so that she could go over it later. Holly did everything with such care, as if the guy could still feel what she was doing. She wasn't unnecessarily harsh with the body even though the guy was already dead. Her focus though was on Holly not the body, so when McNally stormed out of the room about to hurl Gail remembered that they were in an autopsy.

"What the…" Gail recognized that tone. The one that meant that something had surprised and baffled Holly.

"What?" Gail asked her instinct was to get closer to look. Though there was a very low probability that she would be able to know any more than Holly on the subject.

"Uh I think I know cause of death."

"That's good right? What is it?" Gail asked pulling out her cell phone about to call Traci.

"His heart was cut out of his chest." Gail's gaze darted up to look at Holly. With the mask on all she could really see was Holly's eyes but Gail could tell that this was a new one for Holly.

"Sorry, run this by me one more time." Traci asked looking at Holly like the brunette had spoken a foreign language to her. Luke looked equally baffled.

"The cause of death was this man had his chest cracked open and his heart removed. While it was still beating." Holly explained looking at the body though the window. She could only hope that he had been unconscious during that time. Or the pain would have been incomprehensible.

"How can you tell?" Gail asked unable to keep her curiosity from bubbling over. No one seemed to mind that she was asking questions.

"The amount of blood in the chest cavity. That isn't the strangest part though. The strange part is that the heart was put back incorrectly." Pointing at the pictures of the x-rays none of the officers could really tell by looking at it. "The heart is backwards."

"Backwards?"

"Whoever did this has some sort of knowledge of anatomy. It takes a lot of skill to know how to make the right incision, crack open the rib cage and remove the heart like this. Someone who maybe went through a few years of medical school or more." Holly offered. It was just a guess, the detectives were going to handle that part of it. But that would be her best hypothesis.

"So we're looking for a doctor?" Luke asked looking up from his notes.

"It's a very likely possibility."

"Thought you guys took an oath to do no harm?" Gail quipped. Holly glanced at her, lips curling in a small smirk before returning her attention to the detectives.

"Thanks Holly."

"I'll send you guys my report when it's finished."

"McPeck, you guys good staying here?" Luke asked glancing between the two uniformed officers. Holly's eyebrows arched at the nickname. She'd heard of 'Peckstein' but didn't know the blending of last names was a thing.

"We're good here." Andy said smiling awkwardly at Luke. She wished things weren't still weird between them. But they were. And she was beginning to suspect they always would be.

"McPeck?" Holly asked when they were alone.

"It's something the D's like to do." Andy offered.

"It'll be a couple of hours before the lab is done analyzing the samples I sent them. You guys really don't have to hang out." Holly knew how much Gail hated being stuck in one place. She liked to be out on patrol, she liked being out and doing things.

"I don't mind." Andy said. Gail leaned against Holly's desk wishing that she could stop thinking about their kiss. Wondering if Holly was having the same trouble she was keeping her mind off of it. Holly didn't seem as preoccupied with it as Gail was. What did that mean? Did it not mean as much to Holly as it meant to Gail? These were things that Gail would have asked if Andy weren't in the room.

"So you outrank the coroner?" Gail asked conversationally. Holly looked up at the question, seeing that Gail was trying to look disinterested but knowing that Gail was impressed.

"Technically." Holly replied modestly. She didn't like to think of it with a ranking system.

"Why?" Andy chimed in knowing that she would never live it down if she were not have spent the entire day with Holly and not gotten any details to relay back to their group.

"I went to medical school and he didn't. Most of the time coroners can handle the retrieval of the body and depending on the cause of death they'll do the autopsy and then me or another forensic pathologist will look over the results and make sure everything is in order and then we'll sign off of it. On the tougher cases then we get called in."

"Huh, so you're like a super nerd?" Gail deadpanned. Andy shot her a glare not understanding the way that Gail and Holly worked.

"Pretty much."

"That's kind of hot." Gail whispered as she passed behind Holly. Holly blushed and looked up at Andy who was trying to make it look like she wasn't paying attention.

Holly's phone rang interrupting the moment that they had. Gail watched as a look of what could only be described as alarm crossed over Holly's face and she asked very forcefully if whoever was on the other end of the line was absolutely sure of what they were telling her.

"What's up?"

"You should call Detective Nash." Holly replied going back to the drawer that Holly had put the body in. Pulling out the metal drawer revealing the body once again now with a distinctive 'Y' incision.

Traci and Luke arrived within ten minutes asking what the results were.

"It's not his heart." Holly announced.

"Excuse me?" Traci asked incredulously.

"The lab results just came in. I sent a tissue sample because the organ was removed and the tissue and DNA don't match with the rest of the body. Whoever killed this guy removed his heart and replaced it with another."

"So there is another victim out there?"

"I guess? That's your job not mine."

"Thanks Holly."

"Sure. I'll let you know if I find anything else." Holly said watching as the baffled cops turned to leave her lab. Gail lingered for a few minutes after everyone had gone.

"So, I know that we just spent the better part of the day together. But if you weren't busy later I was thinking maybe we could…I mean unless you're sick of me and I don't blame you if you were-."

"I'll text you when I'm off." Holly interrupted saving Gail from any further babbling.

"Okay."

So...thoughts?