They drive north from the inner city, leaving the blinding lights behind.

Gail leans back, resting her head on the worn leather and breathing in and out, in and out. It's probably disgusting- who knows what sort of shenanigans these seats have suffered through- but she can't bring herself to care. Not when Holly is bouncing around in her seat like an excited puppy, the seatbelt across her chest the only thing stopping the top of her head from hitting the cab's roof.

"Jesus- what, did you get an extra shot of espresso with your coffee or something? Sit still!" She says, elbowing Holly in the arm.

Holly completely ignores her, which is something Gail is quickly becoming accustomed to; but even she can feel the excitement coming in waves off the other woman's body, the delight of the unknown barely contained on her face. Gail can't help but smile at the other woman's wide-eyed expression. It's so childlike, so eager, a side of the forensic pathologist that she never knew existed.

But she wants to see more of it.

"You're not even going to give me a hint at where we're going? Not a crumb? One clue?" Holly fidgets again before sitting on her hands. Gail shakes her head.

"Nothing. Chill out, we're almost there. Isn't patience supposed to be a virtue of a good Christian woman?" She drawls out the last few words, grinning.

"Actually, no. Patience as a virtue pre-dates even the seven deadly sins in Christian literature. It goes back to an epic poem called Psychomania written in about the fifth century. "

Gail stares incredulously, and Holly just shrugs.

"I went to a lot of office hours for my Medieval Studies class in college. Hottest professor I ever had."

"Perv." Gail snickers.

"You should have been there. Legs for miles." Holly retorts, honest-to-goodness winking before she begins to rock back and forth on her hands. Gail pulls an offended face.

"Okay, okay, that is way too much information. You're such a weirdo, Stewart."

"Thank you much. Now, do I get to know where we're going?" Holly huffs, peering outside her window, undoubtedly searching for landmarks. Gail tucks her hands behind her head, smugly.

"Nope."

When the buildings begin to get more familiar the closer they get to their destination, Gail makes Holly cover her eyes. Holly, of course, peeks within seconds of Gail's command for her not to, and then she has to put one hand over Holly's face to stop her from peeking.

"I hope you know how unnecessary this is." Holly says, muffled, pushing her glasses to the top of her head to stop them from getting crushed.

"Shush."

They drive on.

When the car finally comes to a stop, Gail looks outside and exhales with relief when she sees that the place is still lit up and open, and a familiar figure is outlined in the window. She pays the cab driver with some difficulty, given that she only has one hand available, and carefully maneuvers the two of them out of the car and onto the sidewalk.

A sudden bout of nervousness nearly makes her stop in her tracks, but when Holly grips onto her arm for support she realizes that she's probably not in the best position to make sudden stops. Not when she has another human being practically blind beside her.

"Sorry- just walk in a straight line, you'll be fine."

"Okay, this is seriously creepy, Gail. Are you going to stab me and leave me here to die or something? Because dinner wasn't that bad, and then you'll have to kill that cab driver too and that's really too much effort-"

Gail barely stops herself from rolling her eyes.

"Do you ever stop talking? Just trust me on this."

It wasn't a question, but Holly breathes out a long white puff and says, "Okay."

Gail reminds herself again that this is a good idea, and braces herself for the backlash.

She removes her hand.

They're no longer in the city. Hell, they're not even in the suburbs, or in the sprawl that usually accompanied the view from 15 Division's many rounds of the city. Holly blinks for a moment, re-adjusts the glasses on her face, and gapes at the fields, the fences, the stables-

"You brought me to a…police ranch?"

There's no clear emotion in her voice and Gail panics for a moment, rubbing her hands nervously across the fabric of her now-mussed dress. It isn't that weird or creepy of a spot, seriously. There's streetlamps and everything.

"Um, yeah? 15 Division has to do equine training every once in a while, and I had to give lessons to Dov and Chris so they even had a chance of passing the test, the idiots. I know we just had dinner but I thought you might like it-"

"Gail."

Her name has never sounded like that, falling from Holly's lips.

"This is so much better than the batting cages." Holly breathes out, her eyes alight with surprise. Gail feels the flush of pride creep up her face, but hides it quickly with a grin and an exaggerated bow.

"Well, of course it is. I'm so much better at planning dates than you are, clearly. Gail one, Holly zero."

"But I thought you didn't like sports?"

"Horse-riding isn't a sport, Holly. It's an art."

Gail swings the door open for the two of them. A short, stocky man at the front desk looks up in surprise, breaking out into a wide smile when he sees her walking up.

"Ah, Gail Peck. Come back for another shot?"

"Nice to see you too, Jon. Are you guys still open? I know it's late."

"It is, but most of us are still here. One of our horses caught a fever that isn't going down, so we're monitoring her all of tonight. Plus, I owe our favorite Superintendent a favor from way back. You can collect in her absence." He grins, reaching under the counter for two sets of tack.

Gail looks quickly behind her at Holly, then turns back to him before dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Hey, I don't know how much Holly has ridden before, can you give me an easy rider? Just for her."

"No worries, all our horses are easy riders. And they need exercise, too, since none of you lot come back after falling on your asses. Half you police officers wouldn't be able to tell a horse's face from your own backside if we gave you any that were really hard to handle."

"Ouch." Gail is smiling when the thought occurs to her. "Please don't tell my mother about this."

It would sound pathetic to a lot of people, but to anyone who knows Elaine Peck, it's a bit of a necessity. Jon is one of those people, and nods sagely as he exits his station.

"My lips are sealed."

They wait out back, beside the stables, until Joe comes up with two horses and Holly, to Gail's surprise, walks immediately to one of the horses and begins to tack up, murmuring in the horse's ear to his obvious delight.

"Wait, you know how to ride?" Holly nods, her hands expertly lacing and tightening the buckles. "Darn it, Holly, I'm supposed to be the one impressing you."

Holly only smiles.

They've led the horses out of the stable and back towards the pasture before Gail before she realizes what Holly is wearing. Or rather, what they're both wearing. Shit.

"Wait-" Holly ignores her- again. "Holly, you are wearing the shortest dress known to man!"

"Excellent observation skills, Officer Peck!" Holly laughs, stepping onto the stirrup with one high-heeled boot and swinging onto the horse so naturally that Gail's jaw falls open for a moment.

"Come back here- I don't know how to ride side-saddle, Pollyanna!" She calls back, keeping one hand in the horse's mane as she struggles to pull her dress down to acceptable length and still give herself some mobility. Jesus, this was not turning out as expected.

"Well, figure it out!"

Gail wrestles with the sequined fabric for another second before giving up.

"Screw it." She mutters. Her mother liked this dress anyway.

She calls at Holly to wait and runs back inside, slapping a hand down on the counter.

"I need a pair of scissors. Or a Swiss army knife. Anything that will cut cloth."

If he's confused he doesn't show it. Bless him. Taking the small utility knife, Gail reaches down and cuts two slits in the dress, running almost to her hip. The cold immediately seeps through the leggings underneath, but Gail ignores it, pushing down the material and running back outside.

She breathes a sigh of relief when she gets on the horse with no problems or loss of dignity. At least, not too much. Holly rides back around, and for once, is indeed shocked speechless. Her eyebrows go up in appreciation, and thank God it's dark out because Gail swears she might be blushing.

"What's this, Peck?"

"Seize the moment, right?" she grins, a little shocked herself. "I guess you bring it out in me."

Holly laughs and makes one easy loop around the pasture, going almost out of Gail's sight in the dim light. Unfortunately, Gail's horse has apparently not learned since 15 Division's attempts to guide it, and doesn't behave nearly as obediently. When she taps it twice on the nose, the horse gives her a baleful look and wanders back in the opposite direction that Holly is headed. As Gail struggles to regain control she hears Holly's laughter behind her.

"For Pete's sake-"

"Having trouble there?"

"This animal is ten times my size!" Gail retorts. "You're not supposed to be better than me at this, dammit. And, I hope you know, our asses are going to kill us tomorrow."

"It's totally worth it. And I should probably tell you, I just got an image of you as one of the Mounties. Wide brimmed hat, red uniform, the whole nine yards, scouring the border for whiskey smugglers and passport thieves. Hot."

Holly takes both hands off the reins and makes finger guns at her.

Gail makes a face.

"No one would look hot in those. If you're so interested in the Mounties, Holly, can I suggest you give me a hand here and- Gosh darn- help me with this?"

Holly brings her horse around, riding alongside Gail's stationary position. Her hand apparently has magical calming powers, because as soon as she touches the animal, he shakes himself gently and follows her like a puppy wherever she does, completely ignoring a fuming Gail on his back. Cocky, Holly reaches back to pat Gail's knee.

"There, there. Some people just need some practice before they're quite ready."

"I dislike you immensely right now."

"I'm flattered."

They're moving so slowly that Gail hardly feels it, the horses both seemingly content to amble together at a snail's pace around the farthest confines of the pasture. Holly's body is dappled in patterns of moonlight and the shadows of the trees surrounding them, and Gail almost stops breathing as she watches Holly move fluidly with the graceful motions of the animal underneath her.

She swears the air is clearer out here, away from the city and its penchant for car exhaust and public garbage collection. The stars, unfazed by light pollution, spread out smoothly on the inky black sky.

"Where'd you learn to ride so well?" Gail asks, softly, when it occurs to her that Holly hasn't said anything in a while. "You've obviously done this before."

Holly pulls off her helmet and pushes a hand through her hair, looking out at some point on the horizon.

"My dad grew up on a ranch in New Brunswick. He came to Toronto to find work after that business folded and stayed ever since. He used to tell all these stories- mostly complaints about living on a ranch, shoveling horse crap at the crack of dawn and all that, but I could tell he missed it. Badly. I never knew this place was out here, maybe one day I can get him back out here-" She trails off.

It's too cold for crickets, so the only noise is the soft pant of the horses and the wind, whistling through Gail's ears. Her horse, thank God, chooses that moment to move closer to Holly's, close enough that she can touch her shoulder.

"I can get Jon to give your dad a free tour. Maybe find some work here, they always need more people to help out who actually know about horses."

Holly's head whips around so fast the horse beneath her snorts.

"Really, you'd do that?"

Startled by Holly's sudden attention, Gail stumbles and reaches down to grip the saddle underneath her.

"Hey, being a Peck's not all bad. It wouldn't be a big deal, really."

One day she'll say what she means, which is of course, for you, but for right now Holly seems content with her answer.

"Thank you."

In the bright moonlight, Holly's eyes bloom with happiness. Gail feels that same spark of pride erupt in her when she realizes that she made it happen. All too soon, they hear the slow, rising whistle coming from the barn, and both their horses prick their ears up and turn back in the direction of home. Jon is waiting for them, yawning, and helps them untack before leading the horses back under cover. They say their goodnights and walk out together, Gail with two slits up her dress and Holly with bits of hay in her hair.

As they wait on the curb for yet another cab, Holly reaches out and opens her arms expectantly. Gail, hands in coat pockets, cocks her head to the side.

"What?"

"That was awesome."

"Okay? I don't know why you think that requires a hug."

"Gail, just shut up and hug me."

Gail does, and tries not to think about how good it feels.

They end up at Gail's apartment.

She's dropped nearly a hundred dollars on cab fare this one night. Her dress is practically ruined and her entire body is starting to feel the soreness. But the only thing she can really think of is that she doesn't want this evening to end, ever. It's the oddest dinner date that Gail's ever been on, and she's not sure she'll even believe it actually happened if Holly leaves now.

They stand awkwardly at the door of Gail's apartment before Gail rattles the keys in her hand.

"So do you want to come in? Warm up before you have to drive all the way home."

"Sure."

Holly lives fifteen minutes away, so Gail knows that she doesn't want it to end either.

They remember upon entry that Gail still has Breaking Bad recorded from her TV, and a box of Chris's cheap wine in the refrigerator, and end up sprawled on the living room couch, laughing at the most inopportune moments and almost spilling wine on the couch cushions.

When the credits roll across the screen, Holly yawns widely, throwing her legs off their perch in Gail's lap. Gail pushes herself upright with the same difficulty.

"Ok, you're officially not going to be able to drive home now. I hope you have cab fare and some fucking strong aspirin because you are not getting on the road in your condition."

"Psh. It takes more than half a box of wine to get me drunk. Watch!"

She stand up and proceeds to strut in a straight line across Gail's apartment, puts one finger on her nose and then the other, rubs her stomach and pats her head at the same time. She looks absolutely ridiculous, and Gail tosses Holly's coat at her before she can laugh.

"Well, at least let me walk you out, nerd."

It's nearly midnight, and the beginnings of tiredness are really seeping into Gail's body now, as they walk back again into the chill night. She doesn't have an early shift tomorrow but it doesn't matter- an extra hour or so with Holly has done nothing to stop her wishing this night wasn't over. It may be even worse, now, because now she has the memory of Holly lying peacefully on her sofa, content, and it's an image that refuses to leave Gail's mind.

Even if Holly is still beside her.

Maybe it's the wine talking, but as Holly says goodbye and turns to leave, Gail doesn't think before she lets her instinct take control of her mouth and body.

She swings back and stops Holly just before the woman steps onto the sidewalk, guiding her back up underneath the awning.

"Holly," she starts, and suddenly she notices that the woman before her is stunning, like drop-dead beautiful, half-disheveled and exhausted and a little flushed with wine. Her hair shines brilliantly and so do her eyes, dark and deep, and every fiber of Gail's survival sense is still.

This is brand new information. How had she not noticed this before?

Then Gail knows she's most definitely wasted off her ass because she's straight, and Holly's fun and clever and beautiful but not in that way, even if her shirt does cling to her in all the right places and her lips do look incredibly kissable in this moment.

Holly is looking at her, still waiting for Gail to say something.

Gail closes her mouth.

Holly smiles, a little sadly, and tugs her into a brief hug. Gail's body responds immediately at the contact, despite herself, and she winds her arms around Holly's shoulders and squeezes like the woman might disappear into thin air. This is becoming a problem. Two hugs and she's so drawn to Holly's warmth, her quiet breathing against Gail's ear sending shivers down to her very soul.

"It's been a fun night, Gail. Sleep well, yeah?"

Too soon, Holly releases her and turns slowly back to her car.

Gail grasps at straws, watches them slip through her fingers, one by one, with every motion Holly makes to leave her, then reaches forward and grabs the last straw by the end. Holly's sleeve catches in her fingers. The woman looks back, startled.

"What is it, are you okay?"

There's a pain in Gail's chest that she's just now noticing, and increasing in severity with each second. It steals the breath from her lungs and the words from her mouth, tightening in a vice grip around her heart.

"If I wasn't-"

"What?"

"God, nevermind-"

"No, tell me." Holly steps even closer, until they are almost nose to nose. The frames of her glasses And then, almost unknown-

"If you weren't what, Gail?"

"If I wasn't straight, Holly, I would- I could just-" She trails off. Oh God, what the hell was she saying?

Holly's eyes snap. There's nothing left of what she's come to expect from the woman, just a hollow, hungry sort of look, sharpening into anger around the edges.

"Tell me what you would do."

"Holly-"

"Gail."

Gail closes her eyes, overcome by the way Holly's fingers ghost along her cheek.

"Please."

She opens her eyes and it's like a microscope blowing up every image of Holly's passive face. God, what a fucking terrible mess she's made of things. And Holly's still waiting for her answer. She's not sure where the words come from, but once they begin to spill out she can't stop them.

"I'd ask you to come back inside. I'd offer to make coffee but I wouldn't actually want coffee and neither would you, and I'd sit down and you-you'd sit down and I'd wouldn't care about Chris or Nick or any of them because you're here-"

"Gail-"

"and then I'd try to make you see how much-"

"Gail."

"how much I want-"

"Stop!"

"You asked-"

"I know I asked, okay? But I need you to stop."

Gail resists the urge to pick up her pride and run, but the door is behind her and Holly is in front of her, blocking every avenue of escape. Later she'll look back on this moment and wonder if she ever had a choice to avoid this, to not end up in this situation. The answer is probably no.

This was inevitable.

"I'm not even that drunk, am I?" Gail whispers, pressing the heel of her hand into her eyes.

"Nope." Holly laughs, humorlessly.

"And I'm straight."

"If you say so."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gail snaps.

"Nothing. That's something you need to figure out for yourself. Nothing I can do or say will change that part of you."

Gail throws up her hands in frustration.

"Then why'd you fucking ask me out tonight? And don't tell me it was coming from the goodness of your heart."

"Because we're friends, Gail."

"Friends." Gail says, incredulous. She can barely contain the disbelief in her voice. Holly raises a hand in a stiff, mocking salute, casting a shadow over her resolute face.

"Plus one forever, remember?"

"Don't mock me about this-"

"I'm not- Gail, I'm not!" Holly yells, then, driving Gail a full step back with the force of her voice. "Inviting you to dinner, going out with you tonight- none of it has been about mocking you! I liked being with you, okay? Is it too hard to understand that sometimes people just want to get to know you?"

"You actually expect me to believe that you don't want something else from me?"

"Can you look me in the eye and tell me some part of you doesn't want it too?"

Gail stays silent.

"Look, forget it." Holly sighs, a note of bitterness in her voice. "Maybe I wasn't just joking about wanting to take you out, but I thought I behaved myself tonight. If I overstepped your boundaries, I apologize-" Holly looks up to the sky and back down, picking her words with excruciating slowness.

"and I honestly did want to be your friend- I still want to. Tonight was amazing, and I can't thank you enough for sharing it with me. But I obviously misread this situation with you so I'm just going to leave while we still have some civility left."

For the third time, she tries to leave, but Gail can't let her.

"No-"

"No?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, I just-" Gail can't finish, closing her eyes, and Holly takes the opportunity to place her hands on Gail's arms, holding her with the lightest amount of pressure. Her voice softens and Gail curses Holly's ability to know exactly when she's the most vulnerable.

"Nothing will change."

"You don't know that." It escapes in a whisper.

"I do."

She's too damn confident.

"Trust me."

By the time Gail opens her eyes, Holly has moved even closer, until their breath mingles with each breath drawn in or out.

On a sudden leap of fate, stupidity, or bravery, Gail closes their distance and suddenly soft, warm lips are colliding with hers, kissing her breath away. She has to steady her hands on the small of Holly's back to keep balance, but as soon as she can she kisses Holly harder, suddenly desperate for the taste of her lips underneath the wine. Their mouths open, together, and the feeling is positively overwhelming in its tenderness. Everything is gentle, exploratory, but there's no fear anymore.

Kissing has never seemed so easy.

They pull back at the same time, and Holly presses her cheek against Gail's. Gail feels her hands sliding down her arms, nestling against her waist, holding her closer.

She stares resolutely down at her shoes, refusing to look Holly in the eyes. She's not sure whose heart is beating so loudly but she can't think with the noise of it in her ears, caught up in what has happened and what she wants to happen, tonight. She can't even keep the words straight, when Holly is this close.

Until she feels fingers underneath her chin, tilting her head up. Holly gazes at her like she's something astonishing.

"Observe." she says, a little out of breath. "You're still the same, Gail Peck."

Gail nods, as if in a daze. Before Holly can say anything more she kisses her again, more careful this time, to sear the memory of it into her mind. She's just so soft, her closeness enveloping every one of Gail's senses, and when Holly's tongue traces the contours of her lips Gail's body shivers with the promise.

When the kiss ends, Holly reaches up to look at her, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes.

"We're alright?"

Gail smiles, breathes, then backs up into the door and swings it open, grabbing hold of Holly's hand and leading her inside.

AN: Yes, the horses (and the bit of Holly's backstory) were complete artistic license. I also took a lot of inspiration from that particular episode for the last part of this. It's been a joy to write for you patient, lovely readers. Thank you for your feedback and dedication, and let's cross our fingers for Season 5!