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"call holly" chris said. call your loved ones in case you--die. that's it, right? perks of being an officer, you go into situations like this, a madman with a gun and a one-entry-building; all you can do is call your--call your loved ones.
loved ones rankles, more than it probably should.
who are they?
once it would have included nick--(not true; gail has been closed off all her life, so--not true. fool me once, right?)
it should include her parents, her brothers, but they're lifelong coppers, white shirts notwithstanding; they know the deal. her family is here, next to her. dov, at the hospital keeping vigil over chloe; chris, next to her, his earnest face pushing gail; traci, certainly, already kitted up in a kevlar vest like the rest of them; even andy, forced to stay behind. even nick, as much as she hates him right now.
(holly.
holly, quick, clever, terrified of gail's job.
god, holly even. terrified of gail dying on the job, not realizing how terrified gail is of holly, of including her in her already small family.
chris was right, call your loved ones, call holly--
fuck, you know?)
"be safe" holly said. gail's outside of a one-entry-building and thinking she should have made the damn call.
when I get out of this I'll call her, she promises, I'll introduce her to everyone--(holly's quiet so that's how it's going to be stuck with her. she seemed so accepting, but gail's never been one to conform to anyone's standards so how the hell can she let that one stand?)
but there's no danger. they recover ollie well enough, but there's nothing, just an abandoned gun and ice in her belly.
(gail's forgotten something, something important.)
ford is at the station.
traci gets the call, actually. well, she gets a call. andy, terrified, "oliver's cruiser is here" as she's clearing the station.
there's something gail is forgetting, something really fucking important.
she counts her loved ones and finds herself wanting. dov, at the hospital; chris next to her, already on their way to the station; andy and nick at the station with a madman with a gun; holly--
jesus fuck, holly.
"be safe" she told gail earlier. gail didn't think she had to say the same to holly but here she is, telling chris to gun it as she dials, hoping against hope she's wrong.
when holly picks up, everything goes to hell.
("holly--holly, listen--"
"there's a shooter in the building--"
"no, no, holly you need to--yes, yes, stay in there and don't come out until you hear me at the door, I'm coming for you--"
gail doesn't even look at chris, "yeah, I know." she grows quiet, an aching expression on her face, "I know. I--stay safe okay? dont let anyone in"
chris doesn't say anything but he takes his hand off the steering wheel and squeezes gail's hand on her leg in comfort.
"watch the road" she snaps, but her hand twitches in his before he moves it back to the steering wheel.)
the first thing: gail could have told nick about the andy-and-sam story.
actually, no--they're the second thing. the first is--the first is holly in an interrogation room, not opening the door until she hears gail's voice.
jesus fuck, but she's never been more terrified in her life. she's gotten kidnapped, been shot at but--holly never signed up for this shit, and holly worries enough for the both of them.
her and chris got separated as gail singlemindedly tracked holly down but he shows up besides her like a body guard when she reaches the room. there's blood on his hands but gail doesn't pay attention to much beyond sam got shot and andy is…freaking out.
gail has to shove that away, focus. interrogation room 2, 3, and finally 4. she knocks and says "holly? holly it's me open up." she repeats herself on the phone for good measure, and when the door opens, she has a split second to check for any injury before holly throws herself on gail. she lets go almost immediately, but gail holds fast to holly, ignoring chris behind her, or her brother, or traci. holly's shaking in gail's arms and it just about breaks gail's heart.
holly never signed up for this and gail wants to go to ford and rub his nose into the mess he's made like a bad puppy, but from what chris tells her she's already too late, courtesy of nick.
"hey, hey you're okay, you're safe" she soothes, holding her closer as they walk out. holly shakes still, and gail leads her out into a cruiser, waving chris off. she has to--they're all going to the hospital, gail knows. she would have gone along with chris and the others if holly weren't there but she is and she--she needs calming.
holly's still freaked and gail herself is, well, she's practically vibrating out of her skin right now.
"I'm going to the hospital" gail says, and holly straightens, steels herself.
"I'm coming with you" she says firmly, even as gail is pressing her against the car and carefully slanting her mouth over holly's. it's a quiet kiss, in full view in the middle of the parking lot, and it's all gail's wanted to do since she knocked on interrogation room 4. she pulls away, resting her forehead on holly's. her glasses are a little crooked and her smile a shaky little thing. her hand comes away from gail's waist and she opens her eyes. gail takes a deep breath,
"so you would come with me?"
holly laughs in relief, and when gail starts the car, she grabs onto holly's hand and doesn't let go, not even when they reach the hospital.