Gail hated hospitals with a passion. Yet here she was, with Nick, waiting for his IV to finish up in tense silence. No matter how angry she was, no matter what he had done, he didn’t deserve this. Nobody did.

It had been a week since the incident with Holly, and Nick was still pretty much on everybody’s shit list. Chris had offered to simply beat the crap out of him. Dov had told him off and was now freezing him out, snubbing him Gail-style at every opportunity, and not speaking to him otherwise. Andy just looked at him with eyes full of pity, and had not said a word to him other than stammering, “Save it Nick, I, I can’t right now…” after she and Dov had found him asleep in the back seat of his King Cab, with an empty tequila bottle, a wicked hangover, and little memory of what he had done. Gail was still seething, blue eyes like lasers, stripping him down to the core. Although Holly was trying to keep up her usual unflappable exterior, Gail could tell the effect Nick’s visit had had on her.

The day had begun badly. Gail had awakened alone in Holly’s bed, with a knot in her stomach and a headache beginning between her eyes. It was still dark, and she hated getting up before the sun. When it became clear that Holly was not returning, she had thrown on a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, and made her way into the dark kitchen. Gail found her sitting at her kitchen island counter. Moonlight still streamed through the windows, making Holly’s skin glow, and her eyes seem immeasurably bottomless, and dark. Holly stared off into space, wearing a strange, sad expression, hands still wrapped around a now cold mug of tea.

“Hey,” Gail said softly, coming up behind her, placing her hands gently on Holly’s hips. Holly didn’t move. Gail kissed her tenderly between her shoulders, at the base of her neck. “What are you doing?”

She slid her arms around Holly’s waist. Holly leaned into Gail’s warmth, threading their fingers together on her stomach.

“I donno” Holly murmured “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I would make myself some tea instead of tossing and turning and waking you up.”