She was running hard, and had been for the last half mile, her breath catching in her chest, desperately trying to ignore the growing stitch in her side. Sprinting was not her thing. Mother Fucker! She was gaining on him now. She was going to kill that stupid punk when she caught him! They always had to run, of course they did. Maybe if Dov hadn’t spooked him… And where the hell was Dov anyway?

The kid she was chasing swerved and ducked into an indoor flea market, slamming the door in her face. Damn it! She wasn’t going to let him get away!

”Lady! Move!” She yelled, and swerved just a little bit too late. She tripped and tumbled, in her effort to avoid injuring the small child strapped into the baby stroller blocking her path. She bit her lip and tasted blood as she rolled, slid, and crashed into a large display of sunglasses. Crap! The woman who had cluelessly pushed her yuppie baby stroller directly into Gail’s way was still on her cellphone. She was now looking at Gail lying on the floor like Gail was the crazy one. The arson suspect was long gone. Lovely. Lucky for her, Gail was still too winded to speak. Gail groaned as she sat up gasping for breath like a landed fish, and clutching her side as the stitch intensified. Moments later, she was still sitting on the ground, trying not to think about throwing up, when Oliver jogged through the door and offered her a hand.

”Hey Peck, it’s ok! We got ’em!” He announced cheerfully.

”We did?” She managed to wheeze.

”Yup!” he pointed to the side door, ”Ran out that door and right into Epstein and Collins!”

”Perfect.” She grumbled, as she allowed Oliver to help her to her feet.

”Aww, come on Peck! You know what this means, right?” He smiled and bounced on his toes.

”What?” She asked, trying to decide if she was amused or annoyed. Amusement won. She loved Oliver, and was glad he was back.

”We’re going to have to celebrate, you know.” He grinned ”Busting an arson setting punk, and my first bust since I’ve been back too!” He bounced some more clearly reminding her of a child who had been promised candy, ”This time, this time we celebrate with some good old fashioned drinking, with our lovely ladies, of course.” He winked at her.

What the hell was Gail up to? And just who did she think she was fooling? How could she do this to him? How! Nick wondered as he watched Gail chewing on the cap of her pen across the room. Her eyebrows were creased in concentration as she filled out the last report of today’s log. She was no Lesbian! This he knew, just as certainly as he knew his own name. This, he decided was, at least in part, just another tactic in their decade long war. Payback for Andy? Maybe.

He had met her in the summer of his nineteenth year. She had been a waitress at the diner with a bad reputation for being as wild as she was beautiful. In-fact it was rumored that the only thing keeping her out of jail was her parents’ prestigious positions with in the Toronto Police force. He was smitten and could not be deterred, even after she had dumped an entire pitcher of ice water into his lap just for asking her out. Soon they had become inseparable, drinking, and fighting, and fucking their way through the next three years. There had been good times, like the time he had taken her ice fishing out on the lake, and she had driven his snowmobile out onto the ice as fast as it would go, laughing with glee. It had been so cold, she had broken into her family’s summer lake house, where they spent the night lying naked in front of the grand stone fireplace drinking cheap strawberry wine and simply enjoying each other’s company and letting their wet clothes dry.

Sure, she was angry with him now, but that was nothing new either. Gail was always angry, or so it seemed. They had some of the best sex when she was angry. During the course of their relationship, they had smashed furniture, broken mirrors, and wrecked hotel rooms. Once, she had even shot out the brand new tires on his truck with her father’s spare pistol in a fit of rage, as he had left her once again for another woman in hopes of finding some peace; only to be drawn back into her orbit, like a comet to the sun. On those nights, she would impale herself on him like a storm, tearing at his flesh in a furry of tears, and nails, and teeth. His body still bore the proof of their passion in the thin white lines running down his back that bloody scratch marks left behind. And he would burry himself in her, battering her body like a hurricane until release came screaming from his chest in a single wordless howl. And yes, she had cheated on him, but it was not like he had been the perfect example of fidelity over the years. Besides that had been with a guy. And THAT he knew how to deal with.

The looks on their faces were priceless she had to admit. Worth all of the embarrassment the story of the other night, which Holly just recounted, was causing her.

“He WHAT?” Traci said, sitting up a little bit straighter, hands still clasped around her coffee.

“Yup, just barged right in.” Holly said with a smirk and a shake of her head. I tried to warn him, but…”

“And Collins wasn’t right there with him?” Steve interrupted, eyes narrowing dangerously.

Gail was beginning to like this turn of events.

“Uh, no. He came up a few minutes later.” Holly replied “And you should have seen the look on his face.” She smirked

“I’ll bet.” Traci grinned

“Really.” Steve mused, eyebrows raised, ferial grin spreading on his face.

“Really, it’s ok Steve, I can handle this.” Gail said, pretending to be concerned.

“I know you can little sister,” Steve smirked “But what fun would that be?”

“Steve!” Traci kicked him sideways under the table.

“What?” He replied with wide-eyed mock innocents.

Holly laughed. “Are they always like this?”

“Welcome to the Peck and Peck show.” Traci sighed and smiled into her coffee.

“You know, “ Steve said, trying hard to keep a straight face, and failing, “Don’t we have a huge backlog of old case files and ancient evidence boxes that need to be entered into the computer? You know, domestic disturbances, traffic violations, noise complaints, dating back into the early nineties…”

“You know,” Traci smiled, “ We could use some help with the backlog of old expense reports too. Thompson, right?”

Gail laughed. “I love you guys!”

Maybe going out with them wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

“Good!” Steve replied “Cuz you will be buying us drinks for the next month.”

“Oh really,” Holly laughed

“Yup.” Steve winked at her

Gail’s phone rang. Steve raised his eyebrows at her as she answered it with a sigh.

“Hello Mother, “ She groaned audibly and rolled her eyes. “Yes. Yes, I am at the lake house with Holly. She rolled her eyes again and sucked in a deep breath.

“No. No, you are not coming up here. We can talk when I get back.

There was a pregnant pause; all eyes were on her now.

“No mother, this is not a phase as you would like to call it.”

Holly loved the look in Gail’s blue, blue eyes, as she lay there naked in the sunshine on the large four-poster bed in the master bedroom of the Peck family lake house. She was lying on her stomach, legs crossed in the air, hands resting gently on Holly’s naked thigh, gazing with open, trusting eyes, with that look; halfway between lust and adoration.

Gail had four days off, and she had asked Holly if she would like to run away from it all for a while. Given that Holly had wracked up more time off than she ever used, and her boss was needling her to use it or lose it, the answer had been yes. Actually, the answer had always been yes.

“Are you sure you want to do this?’ Holly inquired nervously, trying to hide her building excitement.

“Fuck yeah! Are you kidding me? I have always wanted to try out one of those things, though I always thought I would be the one wearing it.” Gail replied with a grin, just short of wild.

Holly’s heart skipped a beat. She smiled and bit her lower lip in anticipation. With slightly shaking hands, she pulled the strap-on harness and double-ended vibrating dildo out of her overnight bag.

“Ok Gail, but you need to tell me if anything starts to freak you out.” She ventured

“Don’t worry, “ Gail said reaching out to touch Holly’s cheek, her eyes suddenly serious, “I know you’re not him.” The wild grin reappearing now “And besides, this is smokin’ hot!”

Holly felt a jolt of electricity go straight to her pelvis as Gail reached up and took the toy from her hand. Holding it like a pistol she began to sing into it like a microphone,

“When I hold you in my arms, oo – oh yeah! And when I feel my finger on your trigger..”

Holly giggled, “Ok, ok, cut it out!”

”Happiness is a warm gun.. oo – oh yeah!”  Gail kept singing and poked her in the stomach with the business end.

She loved seeing Gail this relaxed and happy.

”Stop!” she smiled, grabbing the toy with both hands.

“So, “ Gail said, sitting up with a smirk, “How does this thing work, and what would make it the most fun?” looking at Holly with a glint in her eye, leaning in for another kiss that lingered, and deepened, quickly becoming soft, and slow, and wet, and hot. Gail’s hands were on her now, drawing her in, pulling her closer, the toy resting on Gail’s lap between them, pushing aimlessly into her thigh as Gail scooted closer still, making a knot of electricity buzz in the bottom of her belly.

Her bedroom was pitch black when the noise woke her, something between a whimper and the cry of a wounded animal. She reached for the light switch, nothing.

Shit.

The ice storm of that evening had taken its toll, the power was out again. The awful keening repeated from the other side of the bed. She reached for the electric lantern on the floor. Clicking it on, she found Gail, fully dressed in her uniform, lying ridged on the other side of the bed, her hands clenched into white knuckled fists at her sides. Although Holly hadn’t been expecting her, they had been sharing a bed so often lately that Holly hadn’t even stirred when Gail arrived. She had given Gail a key and an open invitation, but never expected the first time she used it would be like this. This was alarming!

Gail whimpered, screamed a wordless howl, and shouted “NO!” her eyes open, and blankly staring into space.

Holly touched her arm gently and spoke in a soothing voice, “Gail, Honey, wake up, you’re safe…”

“Don’t touch me you freak!” Gail cried out, “No! No, no, no, no, no!” She chanted as she scooted backwards as fast as she could, and ended up falling off the bed.

“Oh my God! Gail! Are you ok?” Holly panicked, jumped off the bed, and rushed around the other side.

Gail was wedged in the corner between the bureau and the wall, hands gripping the air in front of her like a gun.

“Don’t come any closer or I’ll shoot!” Gail yelled, looking past Holly with a vacant stare.

Holly crouched down, placing her hands on Gail’s cheeks.

“Gail, it’s me. Wake up!” She pleaded

“I warned you!” Gail snarled “I don’t want to have to kill you. I don’t. I don’t. I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!” She was crying now.

“Come on Gail!” Holly prayed shaking her by the shoulders

“I don’t want…” Gail’s eyes focused “Oh my God! Holly!” She gasped launching herself into Holly’s arms, burying her face into Holly’s neck with a sob.

“It’s ok Baby, it’s ok.. you’re here now, you’re safe..” Holly comforted.

Gail sobbed uncontrollably as Holly pulled her onto her lap and held her tighter. She waited. Gail’s sobs turned to whimpers, her whimpers into sighs as her body began to relax into Holly’s embrace.