Work Text:
“Girl, we really need to do something about Holtzmann and Erin,” Patty spoke to Abby over their research in the corner of the second-story lab as Abby read over a tome on New York in the 1970’s and Patty kept a steady eye on Erin who was berating a cackling Holtz over another fire she’d started (most likely on purpose to get a reaction from the former Professor).
“Huh? Whataya mean?” Abby glanced over at Patty and then Holtzmann who was now putting out the fire and messed around, spraying Erin with a little bit of the foam from the fire extinguisher. The redhead squealed and then scowled at the mad scientist, brushing the white foam from her neck and shirt, Holtzmann just continued chuckling and put the extinguisher away.
“Whataya mean what do I mean? Girl, Holtz has it bad! And Erin is clueless, those two need to seriously resolve their UST!” Patty smacked her book close.
“US-what? What’re you talking about? Patty, Holtzmann is nothing more than a giant flirt, she flirts with everyone - even you! And I’m 98% positive Erin is straight!” Abby shook her head, returning to her text.
Patty released a heavy sigh, looking back over at the two very smart, but incredibly daft scientists.
Holtzmann was now attempting to show Erin how her latest toy: a proton-slingshot, worked by having Erin hold the weapon and Holtzmann maneuvering from behind, pressed up against Erin’s back, taking control of Erin’s hands to show her how to work the weapon, her chin resting on Erin’s shoulder with a cheeky grin.
Patty rolled her eyes at how incredibly blind these three had to be in order to not see what she was seeing. Yes, Holtzmann was a huge flirt, yes, Erin was uptight and most likely preferred the company of men, but with Holtzmann all of her rules seemed to fly completely out of the window and she was sure that if those two could just sit down and have a meal together then –
Pump the brakes. A proverbial light switch flicked on above Patty’s head as the idea of a lifetime hit her like a ton of bricks.
She remembered what Erin once told her about the scientific method and how it worked and began setting up her plan:
STEP 1: ASK A QUESTION
“Hey Holtzy baby, how ya doin?” Patty asked casually, approaching the scientist in her lab one morning, nearly a week later. She finally decided exactly how to formulate her ideas and put them into action.
Holtzmann glanced up from behind her yellow goggles that reminded Patty of a frog, Holtzmann smiled, revealing her dimples.
“Patty-cakes! Doin’ good, just making a few modifications to this proton shotgun so the kickback won’t throw out Erin’s shoulder on the next bust!” Holtzmann grinned, holding up her soldering iron in one fist, and the shotgun in the other.
Patty nodded with a smile, remembering how Erin came back from a bust last week with a severely bruised and slightly-dislocated shoulder from having used the untested proton shotgun. Holtzmann had ran out and bought her several bags of frozen peas and a large bottle of Tylenol and hovered over her for several hours until Erin had finally convinced Holtz that she was fine and to just fix the problem to make it up to her.
“Speaking of Erin, I was thinking… maybe the two of you should go out sometime… like maybe this Friday?” Patty asked as Holtzmann finished soldering a piece of metal to a circuit board within the weapon.
“Huh?” Holtzmann looked up, finishing her piece. “Sure, yeah… did she say where we were gonna go? Or did you and Abby decide?” Patty shook her head, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
“No, Holtzy, I meant you should ask Erin out!” Patty sighed. Holtzmann lifted the goggles from her eyes and fixed Patty with a hard stare.
“Out?” Holtzmann repeated the question and Patty bit her lip in frustration. She had to remain calm…
“Yes. Out, like to the movies or to dinner, or something!” Patty sighed.
“Sounds to me like some sort of date..” Holtz’ eyebrow raised.
“Exactly! Yes! You get it!” Patty raised her arms in praise.
“Get what?” Patty’s head fell to the workbench with a thud and a groan.
“Oh my God, girl, please tell me you’re joking right now. I know that you’re smarter than this… it’s not rocket science!” Patty whined.
“No, no, rocket science I get – but you, my darling, sweet chocolate muffin, I do not understand…” Holtzmann shook her head, pulling her goggles back on with a smile and returned to soldering.
“First of all, don’t ever call me that again and second-” Patty realized that Holtzmann was already in her own world, bopping her head along to a beat only she could hear as her hands worked and her hips shook. “Y’know what, nevermind.”
“Anytime, Boobear!” Holtzmann called out after Patty who left with a shake of her head. This was going to be a little tougher than she thought, but she refused to be discouraged.
STEP 2: CONDUCT RESEARCH
“Erin! How goes it?” Patty approached her colleague with a smile, much more hopeful.
“It… goes?” Erin looked on wary as she turned from a problem she’d written on the giant whiteboard in her workspace.
“Hey, so listen, Holtzy and I were just talking about you-” Patty paused for effect and wasn’t disappointed when Erin’s eyebrows raised and a fine pink blush began to spread up the physicists’ neck.
“Oh? Uhm – wh-what about? Me? Hm?” Erin cleared her throat, trying to pretend that the name of the quirky engineer didn’t affect her like it had been as of recently. They’d been working together as a team for just a little under seven months and in that time Erin couldn’t deny that the blonde didn’t have an effect on her.
“Oh, well I brought up the Rink at Rockefeller Center, I was reading this article about a major catastrophe that happened there in the late 1800’s and that it may be a good idea to go do some extra research out there – y’know? Maybe say… Friday night? 8PM?” Patty grinned, waiting for Erin to take the bait.
“The Ice Rink? Really? What sort of tragedy occurred-”
“Oh, a massive tragedy, an entire group of kids who drowned in the ice after falling through during a warm winter day – lots of potential…” Patty hoped Erin wouldn’t read between the lines of the lie.
“Holtzy said she even fixed your shotgun so you can take it with you guys, but you probably don’t need it, just – y’know, dress warm… maybe not like a Ghostbuster! Don’t want a mass panic, right?” Patty ribbed her with a grin after repeating the words they’d been told by the Mayor and his assistant months prior to the Rowan Incident.
Erin nodded.
“Yeah.. right, okay - well I’ll make sure to be there – have you told Abby?” Erin asked, capping her marker.
“NO!” Patty yelled. Erin jumped back. “I mean – naw, girl, not yet, but I’ll let her know, we’ll all meet up there, just… don’t be late, okay?” Erin nodded.
“Yeah, okay.. sure,” Patty turned with a giant grin, mentally high-fiving herself. Now she just had to make sure Holtz got to the rink and then hopefully the two scientists would work out the rest from there.
STEP 4: TEST WITH AN EXPERIMENT
Patty didn’t need step 3 which was to construct a Hypothesis… If these two nerds weren’t able to figure out what she had done by time they noticed they would be the only two of the team showing up to the ice rink tonight, then she was going to have to resort to her next plan, and even if that didn’t work, she had plenty of backups.
She planted herself inconspicuously in the stands just outside the Rockefeller rink at 7:45p sharp on Friday evening. The rink was only slightly busy at this time of the season, so she hopefully wouldn’t have any problems spotting Holtzy or Erin and they hopefully wouldn’t spot her. She made sure to dress a little less amazing than she usually was and wore a hoodie to keep her face from standing out in the crowd. She kept watch with a hot coffee with a splash of bourbon (because she was gonna need it to keep her cool if either of those two tried to duck and run).
At 7:50p, she spotted Holtzmann at the opposite side of the rink and Patty couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her friend’s idea of “dressing for the occasion” by showing up in old Army fatigue pants, her usual combat boots, a striped sweatshirt and a loose paisley necktie. Her hair was up in its usual coiffed style, yellow-tinted glasses perched on the edge of her nose as she took in the fun that families were having out on the rink and looked almost solemn at being there for “work.”
Patty knew that Holtzmann could ice skate, they’d talked about making a day out of hanging out at the rink one day when before the rink would shut down because of the weather and was grateful that she could pick up from Abby that despite being from one of the colder states in the Midwest, Erin had never skated a day in her life, she was a complete klutz on blades and so Patty figured that she’d have at least a little laugh at her expense if these two managed to finally get a clue.
She didn’t have to wait long as she spotted Erin at the edge of the rink, a little closer than she felt comfortable with so she huddled into her New York Mets hoodie and kept an eye on the redhead as she passed by, oblivious to Patty, but searching the rink for the others.
She saw the redhead spot Holtzmann before Holtzmann could notice and smiled at how the physicist seemed to glow like a lovesick fool when her eyes spotted the blonde curls. This better work, Patty took a sip of her coffee, sending up a silent prayer to the Gods to be on her side as Holtzmann finally noticed Erin and beamed, waving like an excited child.
The two met in the middle around the further edge of the rink where Patty could see them strike up a conversation but could not hear a word, Erin looking a little lost and Holtzmann bouncing on the balls of her feet. They both seemed to take a stroll around the rink, obviously still trying to figure out where Abby and Patty could be.
Patty set part 2 into action by pulling out her phone and shooting Holtzmann and Erin a joint text:
Patty: Abby ain’t feelin’ too hot so I’m gonna stay here and keep an eye on her, bad Chinese food I think. Y’all can do your own thing. We’ll try catching up on the rink another time. Have fun!
She erased the last line about having fun, thinking that was a little overboard and sent it out, watching as it finished sending, she glanced up at the two other Ghostbusters and waited as Erin pulled out her own phone and checked the message.
Holtz, who was notorious for forgetting her own phone, just responded to Erin with a shake of her head and a smile, hands shoved into the back pockets of her pants as she said something to Erin. Erin seemed to disagree at first and Patty hoped that Erin wouldn’t try to come back to Headquarters to check on Abby.
C’mon, you two… Go skate! Patty waited on baited breath as Erin seemed to contemplate something before eventually nodding and Holtzmann reached out and grabbed her hand with excitement, practically dragging Erin around the rink to where the skate-rental station was setup and Patty whooped loudly in her seat, scaring a few passerby’s.
“That’s what I’m talkin about!!” Patty grinned and settled in to see her plan come into fruition.
STEP 5: PROCEDURE WORKING?
“I haven’t seen Patty or Abby yet, maybe we should walk around?” Erin asked Holtzmann after meeting her on the edge of the rink. Holtzmann who’d taken in Erin’s casual wear of blue jeans and a maroon cardigan and matching scarf, blinked.
“Huh? Right! Yeah, I haven’t seen them either, lezgo!” Holtzmann grinned at her own quip, Erin furrowing a brow but shaking her head with a fond smile nonetheless as she and Holtz circled the rink once, twice and then a ding sounded from Erin’s pocket.
TO: E. Gilbert & J. Holtz. 5 Feb 2017
Patty T.: 8:09PM Abby ain’t feelin’ too hot so I’m gonna stay here and keep an eye on her, bad Chinese food I think. Y’all can do your own thing. We’ll try catching up on the rink another time.
“Huh, Abby’s not feeling well,” Erin stated quizzically. She didn’t remember having Chinese today, but then again Abby was famous for holding on to her precious wontons for weeks and then trying to reheat them as a snack, obviously not at all healthy.
“Ah, I left my phone in the car, I’m such a ding-a-ling… so they’re not coming then?” Holtz felt bad about Abby, sure, but there was something about being at Rockefeller Center and noticing all the families out and about on the rink had her excited before she’d even parked the ECTO-1.
She loved winter in New York City and she had fond memories of skipping classes sometimes just to come out to Rockefeller Ice rink to skate around. There was a freeing sensation about flying around on ice on nothing more than a pair of blades. Laws of physics be damned, she wanted to skate!
“No, I guess we could head back?” Erin asked Holtz who balked at the elder woman in shock.
“What? And miss out on the opportunity to play on the ice? Absolutely not! Come on, Er! Let’s go get some skates! Abby’ll be fine I’m sure Patty-cakes is taking care of her!” Holtzmann beamed, bouncing on the balls of her feet, excitement coursing through her veins.
Erin frowned as she glanced at the ice, she’d never been one for skating, even in Michigan growing up around rinks, she’d never been graceful and therefore avoided anything that had to do with ice and sharp blades.
“I don’t know, Holtz-” Erin folded her arms with insecurity, not really wanting to make a fool of herself in front of the other woman.
“Oh, it’ll be so fun! Wait, you do know how to skate, right?” Holtz asked as an afterthought, smile fading just a tad. Erin shook her head, not meeting the engineers’ eyes.
“Well, it’s like my Dad used to say, there’s no time like the present!” Holtzmann smiled and grabbed at Erin’s hand, making the woman drop her protective stance. “We’ll go slow, I promise, c’mon, enlighten me? Just this once?”
Holtzmann’s smile practically blinded Erin, there was no way that anyone should be allowed to be so beautiful, Erin thought to herself as she watched several flakes catch in the poof of blonde curls that fell around Holtz’ head, eyes shining bright behind yellow lenses. Erin felt her heart stutter and she took in a shaky breath before nodding in consent and Holtzmann let out a whoop before interlocking their fingers and pulling Erin (gently) behind her toward the skate rental station. Both women completely unaware of the same whoop being let out only a few meters away by their friend.
STEP 6: ANALYZE DATA & DRAW CONCLUSIONS
Erin was still lacing up her skates as Holtzmann took off for a few warm-up laps around the ice rink, laughing wholeheartedly as she raised her arms above her head and pulled off a pirouette and did one lap almost completely backwards. Erin could only gawk at how graceful the usually clumsy engineer was on the ice.
It was hard to believe that a woman who was well-known for starting fires without even touching her experiments could be so pristine.
“C’mon, Er-Bear! You’re missing out on all this fun!” Holtzmann laughed as she circled back around and stopped in front of the wall closest to Erin. Erin’s eyes widened as she realized she’d been staring for a good two minutes when she could have already been finished.
“I-I still don’t think this is a good idea, Holtz,” Erin finished lacing and tying up her final skate, feeling her hands begin to shake.
“Nonsense!” Holtzmann stepped off of the ice, still just as graceful as she approached Erin, helping the redhead to stand. Erin felt like Bambi after he’d been born, taking those first few steps were the worst and she wasn’t even on the ice yet! That slippery, cold and very dangerous ice.
Holtzmann’s hands were warm though and the way she smiled made Erin almost forget that she was about to do something incredibly dangerous and probably even stupid.
“We’ll go slow, just remember two things: number one, if you fall, immediately pull your fingers into a fist, that way if someone is too close you don’t have to worry about them slicing off your fingers-” Holtz grinned but Erin whimpered at the idea of losing a finger.
“And number two?” Erin asked as she finally stepped onto the ice, feeling her knees buckle, she fell forward into Holtz who had a steady grip and slid just a bit backwards, but was in control of them. Holtz chuckled and Erin blushed, already beginning to regret this as Holtz helped prop her back up on her feet.
“Number two: just have fun, this is just like riding a bike, once you get it, you’ll never want to stop!” Holtz smiled and loosened her grip on Erin’s forearms and Erin felt herself turn even brighter as she whimpered again and clutched at Holtz’ hands, practically white-knuckling them.
“And here we go… one foot after the other, that’s right!” Holtz encouraged Erin, keeping them both closer to the wall so Erin wouldn’t get run over by the more skilled skaters that skirted around the center of the rink.
“You’re doing an amazing job, Gilbert, you’re gonna be able to skate circles around me by time we’re done here, I promise!” Holtz chuckled and Erin felt just a little bit of pride swell inside of her chest at the way Holtz complimented her.
She had her doubts still, not really feeling at all confident as they still hadn’t even made one full lap around the rink, but she could definitely say that her legs were beginning to get use to the motion of holding her up, her ankles however, weren’t exactly familiar with holding her up on such thin blades yet.
“You think you’re ready to go a little bit faster?” Holtz asked and Erin shook her head violently. A bark of laughter from Holtz and a tightened grip around Holtz’ hands and Erin felt one of her knees buckle and she went down but Holtz managed to stop her from hitting the ice too hard.
“Whoa, easy there, slugger!” Holtz smiled, pulling Erin back up like she weighed nothing.
“I-I really don’t think I can do this, Holtz, maybe I should just go…” Holtz shook her head.
“Not a chance, you’ve gotta have a little more faith, Gilbert! You save New York on a daily basis from the paranormal, you’re a total badass, you’ve got this!” Holtzmann reached forward and grasped at Erin’s hips. Erin felt her cheeks brighten and hoped Holtz would just think it was the cold air.
“C’mon now, stand still, I’m gonna swing around you and we’ll try another way, okay?” Holtz waited until Erin nodded before she placed one of Erin’s hands on the wall and then, as promised, she swung around and took Erin’s hips once more, standing behind her and a little to the left of Erin.
“Okay, now, I’m going to be pushing us forward and I just want you to start slow and take gradual steps, more like glides, I’m going to hold onto your waist and I’ll be here if you fall, okay? Trust me?” Holtz asked.
Erin swallowed thickly, but nodded.
“I do,” she breathed, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. Whether it was from the adrenaline or the fact that Holtz was close enough for her to smell that spicy scent that she usually associated with the engineer, she wouldn’t allow her brain to contemplate as she focused on Holtz pushing them forward. Erin let go of the wall and let her legs naturally glide.
“Try and let your arms swing a little, like when you walk, it’s a natural balance factor and it’ll help you feel less like you’re gonna fall out on your side,” Holtzmann encouraged, not letting her grip on Erin lighten at all.
If she were being honest with herself, she was enjoying this outing a little bit too much and she really did want Erin to figure this out, that way the redhead could let loose and have a little fun, she loved seeing the physicist happy.
Slowly, but surely Erin finally began getting a little bit more comfortable, at least to the point where she could come out a little further from the wall and so Holtz came back around her and took her hands, skating backwards and helping pull Erin around the rink.
“You’ve got it!” Holtzmann smiled after a few laps.
“I’ve got it! I’m skating!” Erin cheered, laughing. Her cheeks were a beautiful rosy color and snowflakes settled in her hair, glowing in the lights surrounding the rink, Holtzmann was mesmerized.
Beautiful.
“Did you say something?” Erin looked up at Holtzmann who blinked, eyes widening when she realized she had spoken aloud.
“Me? No, nothing! Hey, you think you’re ready to do a lap on your own?” Holtzmann grinned. Erin frowned, she hated feeling like she was holding Holtzmann back from having fun, she really did enjoy having the scientist near though.
“I think I am,” she fibbed. She managed to scoot a little closer to the wall and Holtzmann skated around beside her.
“Okay, go as fast as you’re comfortable with okay? I’ll be here-”
“No, Holtzmann, it’s fine, go on and skate a few laps, I can tell you really love this,” Erin smiled, sincere. Holtz eyed her for a minute.
“You really want me to-?” Erin nodded.
“Go, I’ll keep going at my own pace, which let’s face it, you’re faster, you’ll catch back up to me quicker than I could to you,” Erin joked and Holtz smiled, she squeezed Erin’s hand.
“Okay, I’ll be right back around, but I want you to keep skating okay?” Erin nodded and smiled as Holtzmann began skating backwards at first, away from Erin with a smile, eyes still trained on the redhead.
Erin laughed.
“Go!”
Holtzmann turned and took off at a speed that Erin was certain she’d never accomplish even if she spent the rest of her life on skates and watched as the blonde lapped other skaters, once, twice, even a third time, cackling in glee into the night air. Hands held up above her head, eyes shut as she really let loose an energy that Erin found to be the most marvelous sight.
Without realizing it, Erin had actually managed to skate away from the wall, distracted by the blonde and before she could realize what hit her, another much younger and skilled skater slammed into Erin’s side, sending the physicist careening into the center of the rink with a loud shriek.
Erin hit the ice hard and felt the wind get knocked from her lungs as she remembered to curl up into herself, or maybe just her fingers? She wasn’t certain, all she knew was that she hurt everywhere and that she was freezing.
“Erin!” Holtzmann skidded to a stop and slid to Erin’s crumpled form on her knees, horror etched on her face. “Shit, Erin! Hey, hey, hey, look at me,” Holtzmann pulled Erin close. Erin, embarrassed, could feel herself beginning to panic as she noticed several other skaters stop around them to check on her.
“Is she okay?”
“Should we get the medic?”
“Damn that was a hard hit, is she bleeding?”
“Whoa, what happened to her?”
Voices. So many of them closing in. Holtzmann could sense Erin stiffen and her chest begin to heave with uneven breaths, the oncoming signs of a panic attack.
“It’s fine, we just need to get her off of the ice, she’ll be okay,” Holtz motioned for everyone to give them some space as one of the medics skated over and helped lift Erin onto a stretcher and they skated her off of the ice, she clung to Holtzmann’s hand the entire way.
Once off the ice, Holtz helped Erin sit up on a padded bench, she stripped off her soft leather jacket and put it over Erin’s shoulders, rubbing them to bring her some warmth. The medic, a middle-aged man with kind brown eyes began asking Holtz some questions that Erin could barely understand. She didn’t think she had a concussion, her head didn’t hit the ice, but it still felt like she was underwater and that everything around her was surreal.
“Erin? C’mon, sweetheart, look at me, please?” Holtzmann’s voice slowly, but surely came back into focus as Holtz pulled Erin into her side and ran fingers through her hair, possibly to check for any bumps or cuts.
“Holtz?” Erin finally responded and Holtzmann paused her ministrations, looking down at Erin’s eyes that became less glazed over and glassier with unshed tears.
“Hey there, hot stuff, you good? I didn’t see you go down... can you tell me if anything feels like it’s broken or sprained?” Holtzmann’s smile didn’t reach her eyes that Erin could see were laced with fear. Erin shook her head gently.
“No, nothing, I just – it happened so fast-” Erin mumbled, feeling her vision cloud with tears, her pride hurt moreso than her physical body(but she was certain there'd be bruises tomorrow), she rested her head on Holtzmann’s warm shoulder, engulfed in the warm, spicy scent of Holtzmann’s cologne.
“I’m so sorry, Erin, I should’ve stayed by your side, I-” Erin shook her head, looking back up at Holtzmann who she could see had a tear fall from her eyes and she unhooked her glasses from one ear, letting them dangle as she sniffled.
“Hey, Holtz, it’s not your fault, I wasn’t really paying attention-” Erin blushed, remembering how she’d been distracted by Holtz skating around the rink like a pro. “I’m okay, really, not the worst that’s ever happened to me.”
Holtz snorted at that, shaking her head with a smile.
“No, but it seems that you keep getting hurt on my watch and I can’t help but feel responsible…” Erin shook her head again.
“Stop, please-” Erin sighed, looking away. “I just got distracted and I didn’t see the other skaters-”
“What on Earth could have distracted you so much? Did you see a ghost?” Holtzmann asked, eyes wide and had the situation not been so serious, Erin would have laughed her off.
In any other lifetime, the thought of someone asking her about seeing a ghost would have brought back her traumatic memories of her neighbor haunting her as a child, but Holtzmann was 100% a believer in the paranormal, just as she and the rest of the team had to be after everything they’d been through.
But we’re getting off point here…
“You,” Erin stated, locking eyes with the engineer, taking a breath and a leap of faith, hoping that she could blame hitting her head later if this didn't work... “I got distracted by you…” Holtz’ eyebrows furrowed and her head tilted slightly in that way it usually did when she was stumped by an equation that didn’t quite seem right to her or one of her toys wasn’t working quite the way she’d planned. Erin smiled, eyes crinkling at the sight.
“You skating around like a bird takes to the skies; free and undaunted… you were so beautiful and I got distracted because of that,” Holtzmann blinked, recognition dawning in her cobalt eyes.
“What’re you saying, Gilbert?” Holtzmann asked, voice low, unsure.
“I’m saying that I think you’re beautiful,” Erin smiled, reaching up and brushing a lock of straw-blonde hair behind the engineer’s ear. “You’re the most beautiful person, Jillian-” Holtzmann’s eyes widened a fraction at the use of her first name.
“I-I’m saying that I think I might be falling for you,” Erin’s stare wavered and she looked away, down to her hand falling from Holtzmann’s face to her chest where it rested just above her heart, she fiddled with the silver chain that held the woman’s Screw U necklace and she blinked tears back from her eyes smiling at yet another attribute about the quirky woman that she adored so much: her sense of humor and her unabashed, unapologetic nature. It was all just so - so -
“I think you’re beautiful, too, Gilbert,” Holtzmann’s voice broke through her thoughts and Erin’s eyes raised to meet the blonde’s. “And I’d really like to kiss you right now – if that’s something that you’d want, too?”
Erin blinked and the smile that lit up her face was absolutely the most beautiful Holtzmann had yet to see as she nodded her consent.
“Beautiful,” Holtzmann breathed, this time knowingly out loud and Erin leaned forward, grasping Holtzmann's tie and pulling her forward to meet her halfway, silencing the engineer with a scorching kiss, hand leaving her chest to wrap around and tangle in Holtz’ hair. Holtz' hand gripped her waist tighter and pulled her even closer on the bench until Erin was practically straddling the younger woman, uncaring of the PDA.
The snow continued to fall around them, but neither could be bothered by the cold as they kissed and smiled so wide that the kiss broke into one, two, even more kisses, Holtzmann peppered Erin's face with them and Erin giggled wrapping herself around the engineer, happier than she could ever remember being. Unbeknownst to either woman, Patty was recording the entire scene on her phone, crying with a brilliant smile on her face.
“Finally!” she whooped out loud, shaking her head.
-Fin-