Page 99 of Rookie Days

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They ended up with Quinn and Lia that evening, as planned, but for a different reason. Now instead of staying safe together, this was more of a friendly celebration.

“Would you like a drink, Ellie?” Lia inquired as she handed her wife a beer.

The usually bright-eyed detective was still pale enough to be described as transparent. She sat on the couch, wrapped up in a warm blanket, and with Janet’s arms safely around her. Quinn answered before she could.

“Painkillers and alcohol don’t mix very well, uh?”

“She’s allowed one beer after today,” Janet declared.

“Totally, yes!” Lia weighed in. “Here you go, Ellie.”

“Thanks all for speaking on my behalf as if I was not even here.” Ellie took the beer with a tired but amused smile. “Thank you, Lia. Cheers, everyone.”

“Cheers to Hayes spending his first night behind bars in an orange jumpsuit tonight,” Quinn approved.

“To Bryn and Mary-Ann,” Janet added. “And to Dr Elliott. What a fighter.”

They all raised their drinks.

“And to Ellie and Janet,” Lia seconded.

She recognized the look that passed between the two and smiled when Quinn flashed her a knowing wink as well. Lia had thought herself in love once before her. Only later did she come to understand that the experience was a weak version of the real thing. Like a dress rehearsal, more like. Love, the real kind, settled deep and true with Quinn before either of them had a chance to understand what was happening. It was meant to be, blissfully inescapable. Now it seemed as if the restless surgeon and the emotionally guarded police officer had gone through the same kind of miraculous process.

“They are gorgeous together, aren’t they?” Lia murmured when Quinn joined her in the kitchen to get plates for the pizza they’d ordered.

“Yep,” Quinn said with an approving chuckle. “Goofy in love, the pair of them. Hey, Lia...”

“Yes, darling?”

She met her eyes as Quinn pulled her into a hug.

“I love you just like that too, you know?”

“Yes... And me too. I love that you are tough as nails on the outside, and all gooey on the inside.”

“Don’t tell anyone this dirty secret, will you?”

“No.” Lia kissed her. “I’ll keep this one just for me.”

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Ellie lay in her girlfriend’s arms, in her commander’s guest bed-room, with a dazed smile on her lips. She’d only been able to drink half a beer, and eat a single slice of pizza, but she had enjoyed every second of the evening. Part of it was due to the fact that they had come so close to total disaster that afternoon. The rest probably had to do with the superior painkillers in her system, courtesy of Janet. And also, for sure, the overall effect of being surrounded by women that she admired and trusted.

“How do you feel, babe?”

“Mmm.” Ellie considered. “Older, I think.”

“Oh yeah?” Janet prompted softly. “How come?”

“I feel like a million years from the fledgling detective who went on that raid a while back… More grounded. Wiser, I guess. Like a different person, but in a good way.”

“Your rookie days are behind you.”

“Yeah... About time. No more baby-cop.”

The feel of Janet gently stroking the back of her neck was out of this world. Ellie scooted up so that they were eye to eye. She brushed a lazy kiss over her mouth, tasted her lover’s smile.

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