DISCLAIMER: I own nothing about Rookie Blue or the characters from the show.

This is different than my normal approach to writing a fic. Normally you see nothing until it's completed. In that way, I avoid most inconsistencies and run a tight ship. But then there's this, which needs a longer introduction.

"What I'm saying is if you do end up posting some interesting (in my mind they were more one-shot stuff) stories based on other characters in this universe(in my mind it would end up being in a Tales from Out With The Old anthology story) you should post the timeline as the first chapter in the anthology story."

That's what judedeath said and it's a great idea.

There was a problem with a timeline. It gave away some of these stories.

This was originally a one shot but it became vignettes of other moments or people's lives that aren't Gail or Holly. The entire fic takes place in the same universe as "Out With The Old" and each chapter is a complete, non-sequential story. It may change your view on some things that happened in OWtO, it may explain things and other things may become way, way more confusing.

While this is a drama, it ranges from angst to fluff. I'll give you a timeframe reference in each chapter. Some are long, some are shorter, and they aren't all from Gail and Holly's perspective.

And this, by the way, is why the fic is really different. You see. It's not done. Each chapter stands alone, and I've written quite a few, but it's not done. Do you have an idea? Have you always wanted to see a specific scene?

These are not 'what ifs' but all actually what happened in and around "Out With The Old" ... Think of it like clips from the director's cut. There's no use in asking "what if Gail was pregnant!" Any character is open for a chapter, even Swarek.

There is a timeline, by the way, up on my blog (check my profile page).

Chapter 01: How To Propose

Type: Drama / Romance

Rating: T

There's always more than two sides to a story. Steve Peck, the older brother, sees the world differently than his sister. More importantly, he sees his sister differently because he saw the way that world shaped her.

This story takes place between chapters 68 and 70 of "Out With The Old."

Steve was just over eight years older than Gail.

He knew he was the planed baby, carefully scheduled for a time when their parents were ready, when they would have no adverse impact on careers. Gail was the accident. They'd told him his mother was pregnant long after he'd figured it out for himself, but he had a memory of a prior pregnancy, one he deduced must have been a miscarriage shortly after another funeral, and at seven knew enough to keep that thought to himself.

He should have been even older than Gail. He should have been almost nine and not just eight and change. But Gail waited for no plans and obeyed no schedules, not from day one. Steve found out he had a sister when Uncle Al picked him up from school, telling him that his mother was in the hospital. Immediately, Steve thought something had happened at work. No one ever actually explained what had happened, only that baby girl Peck had been a cesarean birth and she was in the NICU. With Uncle Al, Steve looked up what all that meant and just asked when he'd get to meet his sister.

When he first saw Gail it was a month later, she was still in an incubator but they were pretty sure she'd live. That had been the first worry, that Gail wasn't going to survive. As soon as Steve met the tiny, angry, little Peck, he had laughed. He could have told them then and there that they were all wrong. Gail would live.

He saw her, he saw her scowl and heard the little wail. At the nurse's suggestion, stuck his washed and disinfected finger in the incubator, felt her grab it and heard her howl, and he laughed again and again. He loved her in that moment, not knowing what love really was, but he loved her. He knew from then on that he would always love this fierce little person. She was perfect.

And he'd lied to Holly years ago. He lied when he told her why he'd stepped away from little Gail, why he'd not been the brother she needed when their parents had been distant. Oh, how he'd lied to her. He still wasn't sure how committed Holly was to Gail at time, which was a great excuse to lie, but the truth ... The truth hurt.

He was the average one. That's what grandpa Harold said. Steve wasn't worth having his name, he wasn't clever, he wasn't sharp. Steve was dull and bland and talked too much about nothing. So Steve learned to watch and hoard secrets, to use them as currency with his parents. He kept the secret of his awesome baby sister, who came home from kindergarten one day and happily told him she could read French. Steve, at twelve, could barely read French and thought she was pulling his leg. Five year olds don't read, and they sure as hell don't read French.

Except Gail did. Steve remembered thinking it was the coolest thing ever as they read the comic book together. And he remembered the look on his parents faces. His father hadn't believed him, but his mother had this grim expression. She knew. Steve knew she knew. She warned him not to tell his father again, to let it be, and he didn't.

But weeks later he found his parents in the kitchen, staring at each other in stony silence, and Gail was hiding in the closet in his room. He sat with her, calling her his Garbage Pail until she climbed into his lap, her struggling not to cry and him telling her not to worry. He worried. That was his job, the old brother, to worry and protect her. She didn't understand why their father was mad at her and why their mother said nothing. But the only way to protect her here from the Pecks who would pick her apart for a useless skill without seeing the amazing child under it, was to pretend he didn't see it either. Give them no more weapons.

Which meant years later he lied to her girlfriend. He lied about what he remembered to protect his baby sister. Gail had survived her heart being stomped on by people over and over. First their grandfather and father, then their Peck grandmother who'd never had a nice thing to say about anyone, but especially not Gail who was obviously being picky because no one could be allergic to tomatoes. And yet it was the time he'd come to her defense before their grandfather that made him understand why he couldn't trust them, and why he had to be cautious of everyone.

Steve knew why he distanced himself from his sister. But that story was his and not Gail's and not Holly's. He might, one day, find himself telling Traci, but it seemed to be something Gail didn't remember. Or maybe she did and believed his story that the bruise on his face was from school and not their grandfather. Steve remembered it as the last time he'd been alone with Harold and, until the Perik re-trial, the last time he'd seen his mother angry.

That secret he kept. That secret would die with him. Elaine would never tell, he knew that, but she knew he knew she wouldn't tell and he knew how angry she was... And that she loved Gail. The way her eyes burned into him when he said he'd break his grandfather's hand if he tried that again. The way they both conspired to keep Gail the hell away from the other Pecks for years. But he couldn't protect her from the more casual abuse at the voice of their parents.

Somehow he'd figured out that his mother pushed her away as a last gasp, a hope that Gail would put her hooks somewhere and stand up. Because no one, no Peck, would hold her up and support her. Which meant he couldn't do it either. He couldn't catch her when she fell because they would know and judge and find insidious ways to make them pay. His cheek burned every time he thought about it. He wore the appellation of a Pale Fail. He took the hits for his sister.

Neither of them relied on anyone but themselves. They expected people to turn on them, especially Gail. Her family had, Nick had, Chris had. God, Nick. That wedding had been doomed from the moment Nick announced they were getting married and Gail looked floored. Steve had snuck into Gail's room that night, sitting with her on the bed in her plain, boring room, and told her she didn't have to do it. But they knew it was too late. The wheels were in motion.

It was a relief when Nick had vanished before the ceremony. A dick move, but a relief. After the Worst Peck Dinner Ever, Steve took Gail out on the town, gambling and drinking and going to a strip show. He almost hired a hooker but that felt like bad taste and he settled for finding someone to give her a lap dance, explaining her fiancé left her at the alter. He filed the flush on Gail's face away for later, in the folder in his mind where he kept all his information of his sister (that folder was why he was unsurprised years later when he met Holly).

At four in the morning, still drunk, they'd watched the Bellagio water show and Gail informed him she was never going to have a wedding and was never doing this again, ever, with anyone. She was never going to trust someone like that again, they only treated you like every other Peck. Then she'd slept 14 hours on the couch in his hotel room, snoring loudly.

He had forgotten she snored until Gail showed up late one night in the summer after Perik with sunken eyes, telling him she didn't want to talk. Welcoming her in, he watched as she toppled onto his couch, asleep in seconds. He'd just gotten home from his undercover op, just learned what his baby sister had been through the month before, and survived one family dinner the day before. That dinner, Gail had said little, answering questions only and excusing herself early saying she was tired. Slipping upstairs after dinner, Steve had found her door locked and spoke through it, telling her he was there if she wanted to talk.

Gail did not. She refused to talk about it. She never talked to him about that night, locking her feelings away. He'd watched the vibrant little girl transform into a sullen, bitchy, and cold woman. After Perik, he watched her lock herself away. What was left of Gail would allow no one in, no one to touch her heart, and then when Nick wormed in and shattered what was left...

His poor sister.

Of course he'd lied to Holly about how Gail's intellect had terrified their parents. He'd already seen Gail's heart torn asunder when she, stupidly, destroyed her first chance with Holly. And that was after he'd seen Nick destroy her, twice, Chris, and all the other idiot men Gail had dated. They'd all wanted her to be someone other than who she was, someone kinder. But Holly just somehow managed to make Gail be better without making her change. Holly never asked her to change, except perhaps to trust her.

When they'd finally learned to do that, to trust and rely on each other, Steve panicked that Holly would be scared off if he told her about the other sides of Gail. The last thing he could do to Gail was make Holly fear the blonde spitfire. His sister was so hopelessly in love with Holly, so lost for the first time, Steve would have killed himself before he fractured that.

Because finally, finally Gail found someone who saw her. Finally his sister had someone who got her, who wanted her and who loved her. Who fought for her, even when she was stupid and immature. Holly loved her. And if Gail wanted to show her everything she was, even that annoying brilliance of memorization or the trained accuracy with a pistol both of them had, well, that was for her to tell Holly, not for him.

He never asked if Holly got the story about why their parents were idiots. He trusted Gail to know herself now. They would not repeat their mistakes. They would go forward, at long last, and heal and become whole. If Gail had forgotten, that was okay too. She deserved a chance to reinvent herself more than anyone.

So did their mother, come to think on it. Elaine was doing a surprisingly wonderful job of it, even if Traci was still pissed off. The glimpses of the mother he vaguely remembered filtered back when she stopped infantilizing herself and Gail and started acting straight. Suddenly she was back and bold and, weirdly, shy. And she wanted his help to talk to Gail again. To apologize.

It was probably that old memory of his mother and the other Gail that spurred him to help. He did, kind of, remember there had been a Gail Santana. She was a frequent face in photos where Elaine smiled broadly, happily, and honestly. The photos where she held the ginger baby Steve, looking at him with adoration, made him wonder what life might have been life if she'd lived. Uncle Al had doted on baby Gail more than Steve remembered being fussed over. The photos backed that up, showing Uncle Al and toddler Gail at outdoor concerts or parades.

That was a big secret. Gail used to love parades. She loved big, happy, events. She'd been a happy kid. It stopped around the time their uncle died. When they stood at the Last Call for Gary Peck, Bill's older brother, Grandpa Harold had chastised Gail for not standing straight enough. He railed into her, angry and lashing out at the young target. Steve had stood nearby while Gail took the berating in absolute silence, her lips set in a line, her face angry.

She got really good at shutting down after that, Gail did. She would clam up, tighten her face, and not engage. Sure, she picked fights, but only fights she could win. She'd berate people, to stop them from getting closer, and she was cold. Not to mention the new panic attacks about public speaking. Not to mention the panic attacks about Perik. The nightmares and the damage that Steve wasn't supposed to know about at all, but he knew the look in his sister's eyes.

The eyes had bothered him so that year after Perik. Even when Gail was with Nick again, they'd been missing the fun and vibrancy from before. No... No... That had been missing for a year before, masked with tequila and girls nights and tenuous friendships that were, at the time, surface level only. Broken hearts and bad choices. When he asked her why on earth she'd started dating Nick a second time, Gail admitted she'd been drunk and only meant for it to be a one night thing. But Nick was easy and the sex made her feel something.

He should have realized how horrible that was, he should have heard the meaning behind her words, that she was with him to at least feel something. But Steve had been stepping away from his sister for so long he'd forgotten what she was like and what it meant. How empty had she been? And he missed that. What an asshole, what a terrible brother he was.

When Nick broke her heart a second time, there was nothing Steve could do to help. He tried, but Gail was walled away. Gail leaned on Traci for half a year, making her first true friend in her adult life. And then Nick came back and was in love with someone else, and that was a new betrayal. And then Gail cheated on Nick. Loyal, steadfast, Gail cheated. That shattered Gail's trust in herself, burned her to the ground, and Steve worried he'd never see that smiling sister properly again.

And then Holly.

Thank god.

Someone saw her broken and damaged and angry self and liked her anyway. He knew who Dr. Stewart was and that she was a lesbian (that juicy bit of gossip spread like herpes through the station - the hottest doctor in the lab was gay). But his first glimpse of Gail and Holly was of the duo sneaking into the coat closet with a bottle of champagne. After Holly left, looking a little blissed and a lot scared, as if she'd done something stupid and brave and risky, Steve asked Traci to check on Gail, still in the closet.

If he hadn't been so busy flirting with Traci and saving the wedding from a runaway bride, maybe he would have spotted earlier how his sister was smiling that massive, toothy, smile all through the ceremony. He saw it later on candid photos from the wedding and was surprised. When he did finally catch it on her face, weeks later when she was on the phone with Holly, he'd been floored. So he had asked her what was up with the smile and she'd looked embarrassed and snapped that he should just drive them to the damn dinner. But he saw the name on her phone later at dinner: Lunchbox.

He wasn't a detective for nothing.

The moment he was 'introduced' to Holly at the hospital, he knew for sure what had happened. His baby sister was in love. There was a quietness to her introduction, to her face, when she said this was Holly. And when she'd left with Holly, only to return the following day with short hair and a curiously introspective expression. He did ask, of course, if there was something she wanted to tell him, and she'd snarled.

Gail had bite. She'd always had bite. There was an angry bite as she got older, lashing out to protect herself just as he lashed out when things went very wrong. But this was a different bite. This protection was because she had something new and different and she didn't want to share. He couldn't blame her. He'd not told her, or anyone, about Traci because of the same feelings. Not that it stopped Gail from deducing things.

She wasn't a detective for nothing either.

His baby sister was a detective now. She was in love. She was happy and as healthy as someone who was as damaged as they were could hope to be. And now, shattering everything he'd ever thought he new about her, she'd snuck in a marriage.

That blew his mind. Steve saw the ring on Holly's hand when he ran into her at the grocery store. Where Gail lied like a boss, Holly was awkward and nerdy and a little embarrassed about deception. A scientist, she liked truth and facts. It was endearing. She didn't try to hide her hand, but she didn't say anything about it. He'd asked her about how they were doing, since Gail's interview of Perik had made the rounds. After waiting a few days, he'd planned to just check in with them at home, but the store worked better,

The doctor had nodded, quickly, promising Steve that Gail really was okay. She assured him that Gail had had not been shutting herself away or freaking out. It was stressful, but they were okay right now, especially since they'd caught the copycat. As she talked to him, Holly pushed her long hair away from her face and he saw it. A simple, plain, band of gold, caught the light. And he realized that weird flush to her skin didn't match the pain or strain of Gail having had to talk with Perik. And suddenly Steve knew. Oh holy crap, he knew.

He didn't warn his mother. There was no fun in that, he felt, and he was sure that was why Gail had kept quiet. But after talking to Elaine about the upcoming trial, how she wanted to be there, and how she wanted to talk to Gail, he said he'd talk to his sister. And that wasn't going to be fun at all, even though mother was repentant and apologetic and admitted she was wrong. She was sorry. She dropped the whole childlike attitude, the infantilized way of acting, the wide-eyed faux-innocence.

So he dropped in on Gail with some Indian food as a peace offering. They sat on the rooftop deck off her offices, eating in silence, until he said that Elaine wanted to see her. She'd stared at him a while before asking why he was errand boy, and actually listening to him as he explained his conversation with their mother. She didn't answer him them, telling Steve she needed to think about it. Two days later she showed up on his floor at the end of the day and said it was alright if she came, but he'd better sit with her. That was agreed and they nodded at each other. Then he asked one word. When.

Of all the reactions he'd expected (denial, bluster, laughter, avoidance, sarcasm, etc), abashed shyness was not one. Gail looked down at her hands and told him it had been five weeks. The embarrassed smile that rippled across her face made her look young and a little goofy. Giddy. It was an expression of happiness found in an unexpected place. Just seeing that moment on Gail's face warmed him unexpectedly. It was as if he'd never noticed he'd been cold before, but now he sat by a fire and it all felt better. That was the look of a five year old who read French and who had memorized the names of every police chief in Toronto by seven. Self-satisfaction.

He saw the look again when he visited her in the hospital. The one day she agreed to spend there after breaking her ribs and knocking herself silly by blowing up her car. But he didn't see the look on Gail. He saw the look in Holly, the relief washing over her when they watched Gail complain to the nurses that she really didn't need to be there, since she was married to a doctor, thank you. It reminded him of the Gail in the incubator. That fierce tenacity to life, the fight. And with that fond look of happiness, that same goofy smile, Holly touched her hand and said her name. Just like that, Gail stopped and shyly blushed at Holly, softening herself without loosing an ounce of self.

They ignored him, or forgot about him, for the moment, sharing a private look in the midst of a noisy, public, room where nurses came and went. For Gail and Holly, there was just them for a moment, absolutely relieved that Gail was alive and would survive. The look of love was almost embarrassing to watch, as if he was privy to their greatest secrets ever, seeing things he shouldn't. That was something he'd never seen with their parents. He had no idea where Gail learned it, but something inside him, something raw and pained, was healing just to see his baby sister smile with love, awe, and a little shy wonderment that this was her world. As if, maybe, on some level she was still surprised to have Holly.

That look carried him home, to the home he shared with Traci and Leo, and he watched his girlfriend goofing around with her son. Was this what Gail felt like, looking at someone who liked her for the strange human she was? That a feeling of calmness and safety and peace was welcome and warm in her heart too? That Gail had found that moment and place first astounded him. He was older but she was always bolder. She never gave in, even though she'd allow the small losses.

Gail had tried more, lost more, and in the end she gained more. Her innocence, what was left of it by the time she joined the force, was gone before she ever met Holly. Maybe that was the trick. Maybe it was because she had nothing left and nothing to lose that she was open to the world again. Of all the things you could say about Gail, she was incredibly loyal. So loyal, she didn't want to tell anyone she'd been the one who cheated on Nick. When Steve worked that out, however, he'd been shocked that Nick had used that to leave her. That was Nick's reason, the man who'd left her twice without a word wouldn't give her a second chance.

Steve wanted to hurt Nick. But his sister did not. She just moved on and away and out and showed up at a wedding with a new friend who was smart and funny and she liked her, and Steve could fuck off. A friend who became someone Gail leaned on when she was scared after Oliver was rescued and Sam was shot. A friend who became the lover who brought his sister back to him. A friend Steve now called his sister as well.

He wanted to tell Gail how awesome she was, but she'd never take it from him. He had to leave that up to someone like Holly, the one she'd let in behind her walls. After all, he really only felt like compliments were sincere from Traci, who had an upbeat attitude about most things, drive and passion, and told you what she felt. There were no secrets from Traci. There should never be secrets. She was someone who deserved his truths and his honesty.

When Traci caught him watching her, smiling, she laughed and asked what he was thinking. The smile warmed him the same way Gail's shy one had. He saw himself reflected in his sister one way. It was logical, after all. They'd grown up mostly together. Not as close as they could have been but closer than many people thought they were. But to see himself reflected in Traci's eyes and smile, to see someone who saw him and loved him, that warmth was eternal and everlasting.

The words came out before he could process them or even think about them. They spilled from a place in his heart that the Pecks had beaten and locked away years ago. And yet they came, tiptoeing— no they flowed from that hidden cave, deep within his soul, where they'd lain in wait for a century, for this one moment. This one, perfect, absolute second in the universe.

"Marry me."

This was something that I wrote early on, when I knew how Gail and Holly would marry and thought how Steve would take it and feel. And then I re-watched the show (thank you, ION) and saw how he acted about Bibby and Traci and thought that I should show how a Peck proposes.