Another short ER one-shot!

This one is set post 5x12

I just wrote this for myself to be honest, as closure over what happened to Maggie and her leaving. I generally feel like she was unfairly treated when she complained about Dr. Romano's behaviour.

Hope you all like it- feed back is always welcome.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

To Burn, To Fall

The noise of her footsteps hitting the floor seemed to coordinate with the sound of her heart beat in her head; a strange symphony. The start of the night shift had caused an eerie silence to settle over the hallways but she realised even had the hallways been filled with people it wouldn't have mattered. A cocktail of different emotions settle in her blood stream and her attempts to countermand the self destructive feelings and urges didn't seem to be working. She stepped out into the cold finding a quiet spot hidden in the shadows before fishing out her cigarettes and lighter. The first dragged started the job of calming her down, schooling her mind into ignoring the cold.

"Tut tut, Margaret you must know all of the risks caused by smoking- lung cancer, mouth cancer not to mention cardiovascular diseases like coronary thrombosis...cerebral thrombosis." A bitter voice filled the air that surrounded her. Her heart almost stopped in her chest as Romano's dark eyes let their piercing gaze settle on her. There was almost something sickeningly gleeful about the way he spoke of illnesses she could contract due to her bad habit.

"Piss off." Maggie retorted with defiance taking another drag from her cigarette- she had promised herself that she wouldn't him get to her but had soon realised that everything had gotten out of control. Things had gotten far more complicated than she had expected. As her eyes surveyed the man in front of her she wondered how Corday could have just stepped aside letting her taking the fall for a problem only she had the guts to bring up. Maggie began to wonder what it was Romano had on the British addition to the ER.

"Now that's no way to talk to a superior is it... you wouldn't want me filing a complaint now would you?" He gave her a smirk that sent a shiver through her spine. Even though her name had remained unspoken everyone seemed aware of the fact it had been her that had lodged a complaint against Robert Romano.

Growing up everything her father had taught her about standing up for herself had been a defence mechanism from men like Romano. Standing there in front of him Maggie wondered why she felt so pathetic under his scrutiny. Perhaps it was the fact that it was over. Filing a complaint had done her no favours- it had only illustrated the weakness of her position.

"They might not do anything this time... but one day they're going to catch you out." Maggie spat at him calling on all of the confidence and spite she had.

"But you're not going to be around for that are you?" Romano tucked his hands into his pockets, his expression that of slimy satisfaction.

She hated admitting it but he was right. From now on the fact she had tried to file a suit against him for his behaviour would affect everything she did. Her male colleagues would wonder what about them? They would slowly start distancing themselves from her for fear of being put in the same position as Romano. She'd seen it happen before. She'd seen it happen to people she cared about.

"You know you should have just said yes- we could have avoided this little debacle." He took a step closer to her. Maggie's heart rate increased as she realised that she was cornered, there was nowhere for her to go as her back hit the cold wall behind her. She was shivering but she couldn't tell if it was from the anger or weather the cold had finally gotten under her skin.

"Never" She replied after taking a deep breath hoping she sounded sure of herself but inside her heart fluttered in her chest unevenly. She felt fragile. She felt something she had felt in a long time.

"Come on... a girl like you, I'm sure it wouldn't have been that hard." He was leering at her as if she were an object as opposed to a person. But then again she realised that a man like him would never see woman as his equals. "How many of your grades did you earn on your back dear?"

"Screw you." She hissed her words as biting as the cold.

"I'd love you too..." Romano snickered knowing full well that he'd pushed her far enough- that she would snap. Everyone had witnessed her temper often enough at work. And somehow this pervert knew how to push all of her buttons. But perhaps that was what he enjoyed so much. She could see the wheels in his mind turning as he messed with her emotions- the sadistic glaze over his eyes as he noted her anger, frustration and vulnerability.

Maggie's free hand curled into a fist and with one swift motion was making its path through the icy winter air towards Romano's face. She wanted nothing more than to be able to wipe that smug look off his face. But he caught her wrist in his hand gripping tightly enough that he knew he would leave a bruise. He knew he'd leave her with marked skin that would remind her of this very moment- for the next week at least.

"Give up..." He suggested heartlessly knowing that he had played with her career in a way that perhaps it would never recover- not here at least. He let go of her wrist letting it fall limply to her side and walked away leaving she standing alone in the dark, in the cold. She laughed inwardly at the irony as she realised that was the exact position that life had left her in, her eyes glancing down at her sore wrist- the red marks of his grip branding her as another causality of the an unfair, patriarchal system.

She finished her cigarette stubbing it out and tossing the butt aside realising that she had a decision to make. Her mind wandered to the world out there with all of its culture, experience and knowledge to offer and it was in that moment she realised that it was time. She was going to walk away.

Accept this as a battle that she'd never win and cut her losses before it was too late.

Maggie took a deep breath letting the sound of traffic, people and the weather fill her ears. She realised that one question still lingering in her mind- was it all worth it?

The End