Deathless

Gail was being an annoying as shit poltergeist.

Holly recently realized a ghost was haunting the 15 Division building, and ever since said ghost noticed that someone could see her, she had been in a fantastic mood. A ridiculous, fantastic, prankster mood. She would make faces at her during important, serious conversations, or walk into Holly, who would, of course, flinch away instinctively. Those were just several instances, but the point was, dead officer Gail Peck had been a dick ever since they met and it was starting to make Holly seem insane.

Like when Holly was working quietly in the lab, along with an intern. Gail strode through the doors.

Literally.

Through the glass.

"Hey Holly, I'm getting some coffee, do you want anything?" Gail asked, stopping in front of her.

In a lapse of judgement, she answered, "No, thanks."

The intern, Max, shot her a weird look around the time Holly realized what just happened. "What?"

Gail was grinning from ear to ear when Holly glanced up, and she had to actively prevent herself from chewing out the ghost. She turned to Max, plastering on an innocent face. "What?"

"You just said 'no thanks'?" he asked, visibly hesitating.

She paused as if he just said something incredible. "No, I didn't."

"Oh." He glanced away. "Ugh, I gotta stop drinking late," he muttered, rubbing his eyes before going back to work.

"Wow, I can't believe that worked," Gail said, still highly amused.

Holly gave her the stink eye, unable to use her words to communicate.

Gail just wiggled her eyebrows. "Say nothing if you think I'm fantastic."

She ignored the cheeky blonde as she reached for her phone. "Sorry, I gotta take this," she told Max, who gave her a thumbs up without looking away from his paperwork. She looked at Gail purposefully as she brought the phone to her ear, "Look, you can't keep bothering me whenever you're bored. I'm working."

"Holly," Gail sighed, sitting down in an empty chair, "I'm like a cat."

Holly tilted her head, eyebrows dipping down in confusion.

"I require attention at the most impossible of times, and you can't say no to this face," she finished, shooting her a bit of a self-satisfied look. "Also, I haven't spoken to a human being in over a year so you have no say in this matter."

Holly rubbed at her forehead with her available hand. She couldn't believe she was bargaining with a ghost to get some peace and quiet. "Can't you go read a book or something?"

"I will if you flip the pages," Gail countered, lazily twirling in the chair that didn't move along with her.

"What if we met after hours? Would you let me work then?"

Gail pretended to contemplate this, pursing her lips. "Okay."

That proved to be a big, fat lie not much later.

Gail was touching things. Important, sensitive machinery. Holly wasn't sure if she could actually touch things, but she'd rather be safe than sorry. Besides, Max had gone off, so she could talk to herself as much as she wanted.

Wow, was she going insane or what?

"Stop that," she said from her place above the most recent body.

"What?" Gail asked, phasing through the centrifuge with the tip of her finger. It felt weirder than passing through other things.

"Poking things."

"Relax, I can't touch anything." Gail stepped away anyway, rubbing her fingers together. It felt different, smoother somehow.

Holly observed her a moment longer, wondering if Gail missed the touching of things. She must certainly miss interacting with humans if she was willing to spend so much time with her. "Sorry."

Gail snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Holly. "What? What for?"

"That you're, well, dead," Holly shrugged.

Gail scoffed. "Not dead enough."

Holly couldn't really think of anything else to say. She didn't know Gail that well, so she settled for a sympathetic look.

It made Gail slightly uncomfortable, so she brushed it off. "Whatever."

Gail didn't actually follow her home that day and Holly didn't question it, secretly glad for the personal space. However, the following days, they were falling in a routine of sort. Gail would wait for her in the morning and stick around all work day, trying to make Holly laugh by muttering private thoughts about the people around her. Holly didn't mind as much because apparently, she was the only one to see her and she felt kinda sorry for her. Also, the more time progressed, the less she'd try to screw Holly over, for which she was much obliged. They were — dare she even think it — maybe even becoming friends.

"Good morning!" Gail chirped from her place in Holly's desk chair. Holly hadn't even put her things down yet and she was already suspicious of the ghost. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Gail continued.

"You're chipper this morning," Holly noted, moving over to put her bag down.

"You would be too if you weren't living in social isolation anymore."

"Oh, so I'm useful now, huh?" She shot Gail a lopsided grin and was rewarded with driest of looks.

"Are you kidding? I could kiss you," she said, leaning forwards on the desk and resting her cheek on an open palm. "If I wouldn't fall through, anyway."

"Now there's an image," Holly chuckled, putting away her coat. She draped it over her bag, only glancing up when she still felt Gail's eyes on her.

The look was enough to prompt Gail to speak. "Do you ever think about us?"

Holly stared at her, at a loss for words.

Gail's eyes widened when she realized what she said. "I meant why you're the only one who can see me."

Strangely enough, Holly hadn't thought about it. It was such an outlandish situation disguised in every day happenings that she hadn't really questioned it. It was just there, like furniture. "No, actually."

"Well, don't you think it's weird?" Gail prodded.

"Yes," she answered immediately, theories already tumbling through her head. The most prevalent one being that she was losing her mind.

"And..."

"I still have to determine if you were an actual person." She moved through the lab, going through her morning routine to get ready for the day and making a note to check the records later.

"Wow, gee, thanks. Kick a person while they're down, why don't you," Gail huffed, sitting back.

In reply, Holly just chuckled.

"Convinced I'm a person yet?" Gail asked, poking her head through the wall.

Holly gasped, automatically grasping at her heart in her fright. Her other hand barely managed to keep a hold of the folder she was leafing through. "Jesus, Gail."

She just grinned and walked fully into the room.

Holly eyed her for a moment, her attention being drawn down to the floor where Gail was standing. "How do you do that?"

"What?" Gail looked down at her feet but saw nothing of interest.

"Phase through things but not fall into the earth," Holly pointed out, opening the file again.

Gail froze for a second, only moving again after she was sure that particular horror scenario wasn't going to play out. She shot Holly a warning look. "Don't even joke about that."

Holly chuckled, looking down at the collection of papers on officer Peck and her mysterious, untimely death. Gail tried to peek into the open file cabinet while Holly leafed through several documents. "I guess you were an actual person," she concludes pretty quickly.

"Are you sure it doesn't say devil spawn?" she asked offhandedly, giving up on trying to see anything interesting in there.

"Nope." Holly took a moment longer to read through the autopsy report, which indicated that nothing was out of the ordinary. That in itself was weird, since, y'know, Gail was dead. "Just a normal human female."

"Huh."

Holly shut the folder and turned to Gail. "How did you die?"

"I dunno," she answered, shrugging.

Holly's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Like, you don't remember or...?"

Gail averted her eyes, obviously uncomfortable with the topic at hand. "Like, one moment I was fine and the next I'm watching people freak out over a dead body."

"Huh," she mutters, mimicking Gail's earlier response.

"So do you think I was murdered?" Gail asked, leaning forwards in between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat.

This time, Holly didn't jump seven feet in the air, but gripped the steering wheel a whole lot tighter instead. It was a good thing she was waiting for the light to turn green or she might have driven herself into her own untimely death. She turned to glance at Gail before focusing on the road, even managing a normal reply. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know you ditched Charlotte over the phone," she answered. "Wasn't your type?"

"Uh, no," Holly replied, a little thrown off. "It was a stupid thing that just—why are we talking about this?"

"My death does seem more pressing, doesn't it?" Gail wondered out loud.

Holly shook her head, vaguely amused. "To answer your question, I have no idea. There's been some serious resources put into the investigation, and I doubt I could even do better."

Gail sighed, leaning back in her seat. She stayed silent for so long, Holly thought she left the car—or at least that the conversation was over. "They're still looking into it on their off time," she said quietly, and it broke Holly's heart that everyone was trying so hard but getting nowhere.

"I'm going to change," Holly announced.

Gail tore her attention away from the bookcase to look at Holly, unsure why she announced that. "Okay?"

"That was a subtle indication for you to leave the bedroom," she explained, weirdly amused by Gail's behavior.

Gail grinned at her, then turned back to look at the various books, getting a feel for who Holly really was. "It's nothing I haven't seen before, believe me," she said absentmindedly. "I've seen some weird shit, being invisible and all. Besides, you can't make me do anything."

"Gail..."

"I mean, who you gonna call?" She was smiling again, thinking herself pretty funny for that Ghostbusters reference.

Holly breathed out a laugh. "You're such a nerd," she jibed, grabbing the change of clothes and walking into the bathroom.

Gail perked up, offended. "Hey, you take that back."

Holly was gone for maybe five minutes, but some very crucial five minutes, nevertheless. She had just donned a fresh shirt to sleep in when the lights went out. "Gail?" she called, finding her way back into the bedroom. It was dark, but not dark enough to completely obscure Gail in shadows.

"Sorry?" Gail squeaked, like she wasn't sure it was her or random coincidence.

"What just happened?" She slowly made her way over to the nightstand, where she'd been charging her phone, planning to use it as a flashlight.

"The light was flickering when I came near it, so I—ow, Jesus—on a stick," she cursed suddenly, after a mysterious thump.

Holly was instantly at her side (at least, she was pretty sure the moving form in her bedroom was Gail), alert to the fact that ghosts shouldn't be feeling pain. "What? What did you do?"

"I think I walked into your bedpost," Gail hissed.

Holly paused, letting that sink in. "You... bumped into a solid object," she repeated slowly. Curious, she reached out with her hands, coming into contact with clothed shoulders. "Gail, I can touch you."

The lights flickered back on, illuminating Gail's confused face.

Holly was going to say something more, but Gail had already launched herself forwards, hugging Holly tightly to herself. "I can touch you," she whispered incredulously. "I can feel you."

It knocked all the words from Holly, and she found herself unable to answer, barely remembering to return the embrace.

"This is weird," Gail added, but didn't move away. She just squeezed tighter and inhaled Holly's scent; it was her first human contact since she died and she wasn't prepared to let it be over just yet.

Holly had to agree, "I'm hugging a dead cop in my bedroom."

"Holly?"

"Yeah?" Holly settled in the embrace. Besides the fact that it was sort of really pleasant, she was also aware that Gail had to go without touch for a long while and may be craving it.

"Shut your face," Gail said calmly.

Holly chuckled, and Gail marveled at feeling the rumble in her chest. "Okay."

Later, during dinner, they theorized that Gail must have somehow caused a short circuit and taken that energy to become temporarily corporal.

Somehow.

Holly got a headache from the technical details while Gail was at peace with, 'electricity good.'

"Ugh, I hate you," Gail muttered, staring longingly at Holly's lips.

Holly swallowed her mouth full of food, averting her eyes from the movie they were watching. "What? Why now?"

"I want those chips so badly." Gail sighed.

A beat.

"I'd give my life for them."

Holly almost choked on her laugh. "You're such an ass."

"Do you sleep?" Holly asked, about to suggest going to bed.

Gail was so satisfied with being able to choose a channel, she didn't bother to take her eyes off the TV. "No," was the simple answer.

"Then what do you usually do?" She shot her a questioning look. "What will you do tonight?"

She shrugged. "I'm still deciding between watching you sleep and catching up on a year's worth of TV."

Holly went for a playful nudge to the ribs, but it went straight through Gail and she slapped the couch instead.

Gail snorted. "Nerd."

As the days dragged on Holly started to notice how inseparable they had become. Gail wasn't necessarily around her 24/7, but she would always drift back to her. It made sense since she was the only one who could see her and everything, but it was more than that. They had become good friends and Holly started to miss the woman whenever she was gone for longer periods of time. It was supremely weird and normal at the same time, and she had no idea what to do about it. So she didn't do anything and just let it play out.

Which is probably why she didn't see it coming.

A cool sensation at the back of her neck made the fine hairs everywhere on her body stand on end. She could even see water from the shower catch on the hair of her arms. "Gail?" She chanced a glance over her shoulder and did, indeed, see the blonde lean her forehead against her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I'm glad it was you," Gail said, and if it weren't for the devastated undertone, Holly would've kicked her out because let's face it, she was naked.

"Can't this wait until I finish?" She tried to be as gentle as possible since Gail seemed to be in a bad place, but she was naked.

Gail chuckled a little humorlessly. "Yeah, sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"Wait." Holly frowned, trying to concentrate on the feel of Gail. Something was off. "Touch me."

The feeling at her shoulder disappeared when Gail reared back. "What?"

"I mean—" Well, that was awkward. She rolled her eyes and cursed the crazy timing. "Just try it. I thought I could feel you."

Gail hesitantly raised a hand, feeling like an incredible pervert all of a sudden, and touched Holly's shoulder. Actually touched. Her hand didn't pass through her. It looked like it was absorbing the water and using it to create substance. "I know I should think this is weird and awkward, but it's really cool."

Holly chuckled, feeling much the same way. "I'm not even that surprised by you showing up here, to be honest."

"We're a pair of weirdos," Gail agreed, lowering her hand to look at Holly properly. "I am touching you in the shower and wow, you are... really... naked."

This time, Holly shot her a mischievous smile over her shoulder. "That almost sounds like you're impressed." She didn't receive an answer right away, and when she turned just enough to see Gail's face, she knew why. "Gail?"

Gail watched her, slack-jawed, as she closed the distance between them almost automatically. "Hmn?"

"You're dead," Holly felt the need to point out even though she was turning into Gail as she got near.

"I don't care," Gail said resolutely, entering the shower spray before capturing Holly's lips in a kiss. That pretty much shut up all thoughts about water somehow making her solid enough to touch, because wow, Holly was a fantastic kisser. Like, great enough to make her question why the earth is round.

Even when they parted, she was unaware of how her usual gear had gone wet, too absorbed in brown eyes staring her down.

"Maybe you should... so I can..." Holly said quietly.

Gail nodded, backing away into the wall. "Ow." She rolled her eyes at herself as she took the human route out of the shower, Holly trying not to laugh at the attempt to phase through the wall.

She was about to finish her shower when she heard more stumbling and cursing. "Are you okay?"

The only sound she heard for a moment was water dripping, until the answer came, "Fine!"

Holly shook her head, silently amused.

"We are so screwed," Gail said later that night while lying in bed, facing Holly.

"Yeah," Holly agreed, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure I'm a necrophile now."

That earned her a laugh. "What does that make me?"

"Healthy?" she guessed before realizing what she said. "If you ignore the dead part."

Gail sighed, drawing Holly's attention to her. "I'm starting to think I wasn't supposed to die at all."

Holly considered it for a moment. "I'm starting to think all laws of physics don't apply so what do I know? A god mistakingly killing you seems as plausible as anything."

"That's not what I said, but okay."

"Bruh, we're so sorry for the inconvenience."

Gail narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her, dressed in simple jeans and a white shirt. "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

The man shook his head, his long, tangled hair flopping with the movement. "No, there was a mix up at administration and the wrong Gail Peck died. You are definitely not eighty-seven years old, nor struck by lightning."

Gail couldn't wipe the look of sheer disbelief from her face. "Administration," she repeated. "In the afterlife."

"Yeah, like, we're totally sorry, man."

She stared him down a little longer before throwing her hands up in defeat. "What the fuck, why not. Just fix it."

"Of course, yeah." He glanced down at Holly, who was sleeping, blissfully unaware of what was going on in her bedroom. Gail doubted Holly could hear them now that this entity had discovered her. "She met you after you died, though."

She followed his gaze, then settled an icy glare on him once she realized what he meant. "Now look here. I spent a year living a nightmare and she's been the only good thing to come of this, so you owe it to me to make her remember."

He rubbed the back of his neck, hesitating. "Eh, sure." He dropped his hand and straightened up. "I'm gonna send you back to the moment you died. Any questions?"

Gail was about to make him hurry up, but a very relevant question popped into her head. "Why was she the only one to see me?"

He smiled wide, proud. "Cosmic failsafe, dude."

"I... am not even going to ask what that means," Gail muttered, feeling that it might give her a headache and confuse her even more than she already was.

"She prayed to us, and we heard. Now I'm here to set you straight," he added, like it was some sort of pet project of his.

A tender smile came unbidden as she looked at Holly. She quickly realized the man was still there, however, and wiped the smile off her face. "Whatever. Get on with it."

"Alright then."

Gail blinked, and the next time she opened her eyes, she was standing in a familiar hallway of Division 15. Dov stopped when she was no longer walking alongside him and looked back at her questioningly. "Something wrong?"

Holy shit, he could see her.

Holy shit, she was alive again.

Holy shit, that guy in Holly's bedroom wasn't a random homeless man.

She smiled wide, practically launching herself at him to give him a hug.

For a moment, Dov thought he was getting attacked. "Uh, Gail?" he said hesitantly, raising a hand to pat her on the back, but even finding that a little too weird. "What's happening?"

Gail found herself again and backed away, glancing down at her watch. "I gotta go. Cover for me, yeah?" she asked even as she walked backwards.

"What?" Dov looked intensely confused. "Oh, um, get well," he ended up saying in response, then frowned at himself for assuming Gail must be sick if she showed any kind of affection like that.

Gail wasn't listening anymore, mind set on finding out if Holly indeed remembered her.

Gail stood in front of Holly's apartment door, giddily waiting for the woman to open the door. Holly should be home around this time at night, but the longer Gail waited, the more it became clear that she wasn't. She was even starting to feel a little silly about not changing out of her uniform—the very thing she started to hate over the past year, not being able to change out of it.

"Can I help you, officer?"

Gail looked to her side, and found the woman she was looking for, carrying a bag of groceries. It was a little strange for Holly to call her that in such a formal tone, which, well, fuck. That wasn't the look of someone who recognized her as a friend.

Gail's mood plummeted, yet somehow, she found the energy to make up a lie. "Um, no, yeah, there was a noise complaint?"

"Well, I literally just came home, so..." Holly shot her an apologetic look.

Gail nodded, stepping away from the door to let her pass. "Got it."

With a heavy heart and a raging dislike for the God entity that sent her back, Gail dragged herself away. She was going to complain a fuckton in a certain prayer tonight.

The door behind her hadn't even closed yet when she heard a familiar voice call out, "Wait."

Gail turned around, uncertainty in her eyes.

Holly stood in the hallway, groceries dumped, her impassive look slowly turning into a grin. "You're alive!"

"Oh, thank Jesus," Gail muttered, relief flooding over her as she jogged over. Initially, she'd gone in for a celebratory hug, but soon found herself in a celebratory make out session instead.

Not that she was complaining.

Holly's smile interrupted the impromptu kissing in the hallway. "Was there really a noise complaint?"

"No, but there's gonna be. Come on, let's celebrate," Gail quipped, dragging Holly inside her apartment, unable to wipe the smile from her face.

This was all just an excuse to write random puns, really. AND THIS FANDOM NEEDS MORE HUMOR, GOD. Thanks to Livinginbedlam for baiting me, and my beta for pointing out awkward mistakes.

Let's just hope I uploaded the right file, whoops.

Peace out,
Plush