Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Pairing: Peckstein. Others mentioned.

Summary: Future fic. Oliver observes and sees all. And Peckstein? Yeah, he totally saw that coming. A story about Gail and Dov through Oliver's eyes.

Author's note: I hate how they ended the season. I mean yay! for Andy/Sam but boo for Dov/Gail. Seriously? Gail and Luke? I'm going to gag. Anyways, here's my make-believe story that will hopefully come true. Wishes right? Reviews are greatly appreciated! Also, large chunks of italics mean memories. Just so it doesn't get confusing!

the future and all its glories

one-shot

Some call love a curse, some call love a thief

But she's my home

And she's as much apart for this broken heart, but see

Broken bones always seem to mend

I'll taste the devil's tears

Drink from his soul, but I'll never give up you

I'll taste the devil's tears

Drink from his soul, but I'll never give up you

Angus and Julia Stone- The Devil's Tears

Oliver won't lie; he hates hospitals. He sincerely hates them. In fact, he's pretty sure that he tried to convince Zoe to give birth at home instead of at the hospital. And then she showed him via DVD what a home birth would really look like (he's never understood why anyone would tape a birth, just thinking about it makes him queasy)…needless to say he was all for the hospital after watching it.

But despite the fact that hospitals do have their share of joys…he still really fucking hates them. Even now. Especially now. Because damnit, the kid was happy doing his desk job. It didn't matter how much teasing ensued because of it, because Epstein would smile that shit-eating smile and tell them that he didn't care and that his wife (his wife) loves him so screw all of you.

Oliver remembers the wedding as if were yesterday.

It's a small wedding, with only a handful of people. They don't get married in a church (like her parents wanted). They don't get married in a synagogue (like his parents preferred). No, instead they get married at the courthouse (neutral territory). She's wearing a simple white dress and he's wearing a simple black suit.

His family is there, of course. His parents, his cousins, Anna (who stands beside Gail as the maid of honor), Aaron, Simon and his wife Beth are the only ones able to come on such short notice. It's not as if they'd been dating for a short time…they'd been dating for three years, but it still came as a surprise when Epstein pulled him aside and told him to bring his wife and kids and meet him at the courthouse tomorrow at two o'clock sharp.

Her parents and brother are there, sitting on the front bench. Her mother grumbled about how she could do better but grudgingly accepted the tall gangly officer into their family. (She still scares the shit out of both of them and Oliver can't help but make fun of them because of it).

Oliver isn't the only one from 15 who came. Andy and Sam are there and so are Traci and Jerry ("we can only be here for an hour and then we've got to get back") but Diaz isn't. It's not like Diaz is still bitter about the relationship, he's long since gotten over it (they all hope) but he's not comfortable enough to attend the wedding. (Which, whatever, ok, he's kind of being a douche because his best friend is getting married).

The ceremony is short and simple. She throws the bouquet and it lands in Andy's hands. Sammy turns bright red and Andy stutters looking completely unsure of what to do with the flowers.

When they first started dating, officers in 15 (and even outside of 15) started placing bets on how long they would last. Some gave them a week, others gave them a couple of weeks, Andy (forever the optimist) gave them at least a few months. It was Oliver though, who happened to glance back at the couple standing next to their desks. They were standing side-by-side, shoulder-by-shoulder but Oliver could see their clasped hands, he could see the relief and pure happiness in Peck's eyes and the love that lit up Epstein's face. So, Oliver upped the stakes, placed a hundred on it, stating that they were in it for the long haul. (Oliver, totally freaking won that bet and it was the only time Zoe ever approved of gambling).

"Have you heard anything yet?" Diaz asks him, he's out of breath and Oliver knows that he forwent the elevators that take for fucking ever and opted for the stairs.

Oliver shakes his head. "No. I haven't heard anything." He looks around Diaz and frowns. "Where's Gail?"

"Andy and Traci have gone to get her." He bites his lip and looks around the hospital, eyes wide and worried. "He's going to be okay, though. Right? I mean, he's going to be okay."

"Yeah, of course. He's Epstein." Except, he's Epstein who was shot in the chest by a bullet that was manufactured to go through Kevlar, so…Oliver doesn't really know.

"So," Oliver says walking up to the senior officers, "have we all heard it?"

Noelle groans and shakes her head, "I was hoping it'd be a nightmare."

"It's not." Jerry supplies with a grimace. "It's actually true."

"I heard Diaz took a few days off."

"A week." Sam says, his mouth full, "he was talking to Andy last night."

"Well, can you blame him?"

Oliver folds his hands over his chest and looks at the new couple. "So, Peckstein are actually Peckstein. This could be interesting."

It was actually. Interesting that is. Oliver saw first hand how loyal Peck actually was. He saw her softening (just a little bit) and he saw how Epstein sent a suspect to the hospital with a broken jaw because he called Peck "a cold-hearted bitch."

They didn't make sense to a lot of people. Even the people they brought in from the streets couldn't seem to understand how Peck and Epstein became Peckstein.

But Oliver always managed to see them at their most vulnerable. He saw them hold hands, he saw them fight for each other, cry for each other and he saw the way he cradled her gently as she broke down and cried after a practically hard case, when a ten-year old kid died in her arms.

They didn't make sense to a lot of people, but they damn sure made sense to Oliver.

Gail Peck can be scary when she wants to be. A pregnant Gail Epstein (her mother nearly had a fit when Gail took his last name) is terrifying. She's in between Traci and Andy, her eyes pooling with tears but never falling. They've each got a hand on her arms as she waddles her way over to them.

For an eight-month pregnant woman, even Oliver has to admit that she looks great. Except, for the fact that her husband has been shot. Right.

"Gail," Oliver starts as she comes near him.

"He's supposed to be on desk duty!" She hisses at him.

Oh yeah, she's pissed. At this time, Noelle, Jerry, Sam and even Frank have shown up.

"It was all hands on deck." Frank informs her, "We needed him."

"I don't care if you needed him, I need him!" She's starting to become hysterical and Noelle moves from her spot on the chair, nods at Andy and takes her place, rubbing a hand over Gail's back. "Andy and Traci told me that bullet goes through Kevlar. My husband was shot in the fucking chest!"

"Gail," Traci says worriedly, her eyes darting towards the small blonde woman and the rest of the group, "you need to calm down, this isn't good for the baby."

"What isn't good for our baby is be fatherless!" She busts into tears on the spot, her sobs loud and her small body crumbling into a chair. She swats away the hands that try to help her.

"Gail," Diaz reaches out to touch her shoulder and she twists violently away from him.

"No." Her voice is hoarse but clear, "so help me God, if he doesn't make it through this, I will never forgive you. Any of you."

Oliver figures that's okay. Because God forbid, if Epstein doesn't make it through this, Oliver wasn't planning on forgiving himself either. Ever.

"It's like old times." Oliver grins at the man next to him.

"Except this time, we're not stopping for a burrito."

Oliver makes a face at him. "Zoe's cut down my limit. She says I can't have more than one a week."

Epstein laughs and shakes his head. "Gail is going to kill me when she finds out I'm in the field."

"Yeah, buddy, I mean, desk duty? Even Zoe's never asked me to do that."

Epstein shrugs and smiles as they reach the warehouse. "She didn't ask me. I told her I would."

Oliver lets out a low whistle and nods at Sammy as they get into their positions. "That's commitment."

"No." Epstein corrects softly. "That's love."

It's fuzzy from there, they enter the warehouse, they catch them by surprise, they make their arrests. Everything goes down easy. Almost too easy. Oliver is putting handcuffs on the last man, a man who is twice his size; he elbows Oliver in the jaw. Oliver stumbles and lets go from the blinding pain in his jaw. He realizes his mistake but by then it's too late. He hears a gunshot and for one split second, Oliver thinks its him.

"DOV!" He hears McNally shriek.

When Oliver opens his eyes, he sees Diaz tackle the man onto the floor and cuff him. It's like slow motion, he thinks, as he sees Epstein stumble, clutch at his chest as red blood seeps through his fingers and falls to the floor. Oliver drops next to him and applies pressure to the wound. His head is pounding and he's not sure he can see straight but fuck, Epstein just got shot. By bullets that are meant to kill cops. "Epstein! Epstein! Dov! Stay with me, okay? Stay with me."

Epstein winces and his breathing shallows. "Godfather." He croaks out. "We want you to be Godfather."

Oliver can feel tears sting his eyes.

"Promise, you'll help Gail."

"Don't talk like that. You're going to be fine."

Epstein laughs and blood comes up. He groans. "Tell her…tell her…"

"You tell her." Oliver turns his head. He sees Andy crying, he sees Traci crying, "WHERE'S THE AMBULANCE?" Oliver roars.

"Here." Sam says from his left. "Ollie, Oliver, you gotta move. You gotta let them do their job."

Before he leaves, he grabs the man who shot Epstein out of Pete and Diaz's hands and slams him against the car. "You son-of-a-bitch. I'm going to destroy you. I'm going to make sure you rot in prison. I'm going to make sure you die in there. I'm-"

"Enough." Sam pries his fingers off the man and pushes him in the cruiser. "We're going to the hospital."

"Oh God. Oh God. Someone needs to call Gail."

"I think Diaz is going to."

"Oh God."

It feels like days but it's really only hours when a doctor finally sees them. He looks weary and tired and for once, Oliver doesn't know how to read this man in front of them.

Gail looks up, her eyes bloodshot and her breathing heavy. She tries standing up but needs help from Traci and Noelle. "How is he? How's Dov?"

The doctor looks around. "Are you all family?"

Gail nods slowly. Her eyes are wide and fearful and she has her arms wrapped around her bulging stomach, cradling it softly, protectively.

"Officer Epstein suffered extreme blood-loss. The bullet went through the Kevlar and shattered against his rib. It missed the crucial arteries and had he been standing two feet to the left, it would have pierced his heart."

Gail whimpers and Oliver wants nothing more than to punch this doctor in the face.

"That being said, he's going to be okay. He suffered broken ribs but we fixed that."

"So," Gail says, "he's going to be okay?"

"He's going to be back to his normal self in no time." He smiles lightly and gestures down the hall. "I can take you to him if you'd like. At this point, only immediate family are allowed to visit."

"Thank you." She breathes.

As soon as she's out of sight, Oliver lets out a huge sigh and sits down on a chair. He runs a hand over his weary face and closes his eyes. He can hear the rest of the group let out breaths of relief and they're talking over each other all at once.

There's a hand on his shoulder and he turns his face to see Diaz. Diaz offers him a small smile. "He's okay." The younger man tells him.

Oliver nods. Yeah. He's okay. Thank God.

"Gail isn't talking to me." He tells him one day. He's stirring his coffee while staring blanking at it.

"What did you do?" Oliver asks him.

"Nothing. I haven't done anything. She's just…not talking to me." He stares at the blonde as she walks by her desk and straight into the locker room. "I don't know what to do. I mean, we've been married a year and this is the first time she does this."

"Get annoyed with you?"

Epstein shoots him a look. "No. I mean this is the first time she ignores me."

Oliver can hear the confusion, hurt and utter anguish in the younger man's voice and it tugs at his heart (just a little bit). He pats Epstein on the shoulder. "She's a woman. They're like this sometimes."

There are about a million and one scenarios running through Oliver's mind about why Peck (Epstein.2, Gail, God, he's got to figure out what to call her now) is ignoring his previous rookie. It's why he asks Frank to partner him up with her.

She's silent in the car. She doesn't say much. She doesn't even crack a smile at his jokes. He's getting sick of her attitude, so he parks the car in an empty parking lot and looks at her. "Why have you been ignoring Epstein?"

"What?"

"Don't play stupid with me Peck." Her eyes flash at the use of her maiden name. "You've been ignoring Epstein, Dov, your husband. He's heartbroken over it and honestly, it's a little pathetic, but I want to know why you're ignoring him."

She's silent and then she takes a deep breath. "I don't mean to. I just…I don't know…how do I tell him…"

Oliver frowns. "Did you cheat on him?"

She jolts as if she's been shocked and whips her head to glare at him. "NO. God no. I wouldn't, not ever. I love him. Get it? That schmuck I married made me fall in love with him and made me want things that I never thought I wanted but here I am and all I can think about is opening presents on Christmas morning, not Christmas Eve. All I can think about is whether or not we're having a girl or boy, and what color hair and eyes they're going to have and Jesus, will they be anything like me?"

It takes Oliver a minute to process what she's saying. "You're pregnant?"

She sighs and stares down at her hands. She nods slowly. "I'm pregnant and I don't know how to tell Dov."

"Jesus Christ Peck. Just tell him."

She glares at him one more time. "My name is Epstein."

Oliver bites back a smile and puts the car in drive.

When they tell everyone the next morning, congratulations are going around the room. The woman coo and aw and Gail looks to Noelle for guidance, seeing as how four years past, Noelle did indeed give birth to a baby boy.

Sam spits out his coffee and looks at the expecting parents with horror. He turns his pale face to Oliver. "They're breeding? You let them breed?"

Oliver frowns. "What could I have done?"

"Maybe the kid won't be that bad." Jerry interrupts. "I mean he could be like Epstein…the male."

"God, no." Oliver blurts. "One of him is enough."

"Epstein the female?"

Sam shakes his head. "So much snark it's unbelievable."

"What about his parents?"

"The Hippies? We'd be arresting the kid at his bar mitzvah." Oliver comments.

"Her parents?" They're running out of options.

"You mean Stone Cold and Satan?" Sam snorts into his coffee.

The three males shrug. "At least we know the kid will be interesting."

Fifteen years later

It's Christmas Eve and the Black Penny is closed. Well, it's closed to the outside world, not to the people inside of it.

Oliver walks in with Zoe and his kids. The kids smile at their younger friends and walk over towards them. All the kids are sitting in the corner. They vary in age but never in their degree of closeness. Their tight-knit group of friends became family before Oliver even knew it.

Oliver sighed as he stared at his daughter. "Why did you punch him?"

She put her arms around the blonde haired, blue eyed fourteen-year-old girl. "Dad, you should have heard the shit he was saying about Charlie."

"Yeah." Dixon Best piped up as he took the Kleenex off his nose. "It was disgusting and sorry Uncle Oliver but no one messes with our family."

He stares at the group of kids, his nieces and nephews and sighs, "you do know that as parents, you're all grounded, for like ever."

It's sort of scary how they've all multiplied. Traci and Jerry had a little boy. Sam and Andy have two little girls. Chris and his girlfriend (an elementary school art teacher) Melanie also have two little girls.

He turns his head and sees Dov (it's official, he's Dov now) holding a six year old girl in his arms. Oh yes, the Epstein clan. In total, there are four of them. Two boys and two girls. The oldest, fifteen year-old Charlotte is incredibly smart (so smart that his head hurts from listening to her sometimes), thirteen year-old Adam (his sarcasm comes directly from his mother, but his ability at soccer? Yeah, no one knows where that came from), ten year old Edward (he's a certified geek but no one, outside their little family, dares call him that) and finally, six year old Olivia (she has her father's smile) and they all have their mother's hair.

There's eggnog and drinks for the adults ("Dixon! Put that bottle away!" Noelle snaps), there's the exchanging of presents ("The Karma Sutra, Dov? Really?" Chris cuffs his best friend over the head. "Be lucky, I was planning on stealing it and keeping it for ourselves." Gail comments. "MOM!" Charlie yelps, covering her ears).

Oliver is sitting at the bar, hand cradling his face as he stares at his family. His heart swells. Jesus, who would have thought that all those years ago, five little rookies would walk into 15 and change all of their lives?

(Well, Oliver doesn't want to brag but um…he did).

This is so corny. Right? It's corny. Hahaha. I love Peckstein. Seriously. I adore them. I hope you all liked this one-shot. I'm currently in a writer's block with Eyes Wide Open but hopefully I'll have a chapter up soon. Meanwhile, here's some Peckstein to hold me over.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!

Much love

Bex.

P.S. Any mistakes are mine. Seeing as how I'm no where near medicine, I'm sure there are plenty. I apologize if this offends anyone! Thanks again for reading!