Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to the creators of the FBI Tv Show. I make no profit from this story.
Key Point: This story is based heavily on their private lives, with a little FBI work in order to keep the story going.
Note: This is my first FBI and only my second story ever published online, so please be gentle. I only found the FBI tv show a few weeks ago. I binged the first 15 or so episodes, so there is a good chance that I have made a mistake or misinterpreted a character, which I apologise for.
Chapter 1: SAFE
The elevator doors close and a calm silence falls over OA and Maggie as they make their way to the SUV. Maggie had achieved her goal of finding out who had killed Jason and bringing them to justice – she expected some massive weight or burden to be lifted off her shoulders from the day's work. But in fact, at that moment, she had a mixture of confusing emotions running through her. She felt happy that she had achieved her goal; relieved that she was able to remain somewhat in control of her anger in order to bring the suspect in; and yet so empty. The emptiness was the most confusing part of all, but now wasn't the time to think about that.
As they got to the car, Maggie asked "So, where are you taking me to celebrate?"
OA raised his eyebrow in mock shock by Maggie's assumption that he was taking her out and paying. "Why am I taking you out to celebrate? This is your celebration; shouldn't you be taking me out?"
With a light jab from Maggie's elbow to OA's ribs, she teased "As if you would let me pay tonight."
OA quickly grabbed the keys from Maggie's hand and headed to the driver's side, "Well in that case, it's a surprise."
OA felt a little nervous about his sudden decision to surprise Maggie. He wanted to take her to his favourite Middle Eastern restaurant. The smells and aroma always reminded him of his parents' house, and the food always tasted like his mother's cooking. He loved this restaurant, the owners and the food, but especially the location. Before now, him and Maggie never really spoke about his life before joining the FBI, especially not his childhood or how he had grown up; and he wasn't sure if Maggie even enjoyed Middle Eastern cuisine. He was tempted to ask but decided against it. This case had been extremely personal for Maggie, and without hesitation, she had let him into her bubble and allowed him to help her. In a way, he wanted to share a small piece of his world with her too. With that decision now made, he decided to relax and enjoy the evening with her.
With a smile on their faces they proceeded to climb into the SUV and head out of the garage. The drive was filled with light conversation about the day they have had, and about random office gossip and stories.
So caught up in the conversation Maggie never even took note of where they were headed to. Before she knew it, they were pulling into a little alley way and OA's entire posture changed – his shoulders relaxed, and he seemed at ease with his surroundings. He gracefully exited the vehicle and made his way around to Maggie's side of the car. Maggie was slightly nervous – she had no idea where she was or what they were going to eat, but the atmosphere on the street was bubbly and slightly contagious. Further down the alleyway were children playing outside – some had a soccer ball and were kicking it, others were playing with a cart, and a group of young girls were playing dress up with their dolls. Elderly men were gathered around a small table watching 2 guys play a boardgame of something. As Maggie excited the SUV, the aromas in the air tickled her nose and her stomach made itself known with a loud roar of hunger.
Maggie blushed and OA chuckled at the announcement from her stomach, "You sound starved. We are eating around the corner. Come on, let's go."
Maggie took a long look down the alleyway and was amazed at the tangibility of happiness that she felt. She turned around and followed OA back up the alley and onto the main road. As they rounded the corner, she had to stop and gawk in awe at what she saw. The sun was setting, and the street was beginning to shine with soft lights from all the restaurants and stalls along the path. Each restaurant had an outdoor eating area that was garnished with throw pillows, low-lying tables, and shisha pipes. The outdoor areas were roofed with white tarp and decorated with tealights; and the colour schemes were all bright and vibrant.
It took OA a step or two to realise that Maggie was no longer walking beside him. When he turned around to check on her, he felt a small part of his walls break down. There in front of him was the most beautiful, serene woman; feeling with all her heart, unable to school or hide what she was seeing or feeling. Her mouth was hanging open. Her eyes were wide and slowly gazing over every inch of the street in front of her, trying to take in every detail and spec.
He stood back and just watched her as she took in the sights. In that moment, he knew that he wanted to share his culture and traditions with her. Show her and let her experience the traditions and culture that has been such an influential part of his life, essential making him into the man that he is today.
As Maggie turned her head, she noticed OA leaning against the wall just fondly watching her with a goofy smile upon his face.
"It is truly beautiful, OA!" Maggie explained.
"Yeah. It's a little piece of home."
"I don't think I have ever experienced anything like it."
"What you mean?" OA asked, wanting to know exactly what she is referring to.
"The sight, the atmosphere and the smells all at once, I could get lost in it." Maggie explained.
"I know," and with that, OA pulled her away from the street and onto his favourite Egyptian restaurant's outdoor seating. All the food here was authentic and made very similarly to how his mother would cook. They quickly made themselves comfortable at a corner table that still allowed them to revel in the beauty of the street.
The menu consisted of a list of Egyptian food written in the 'English' alphabet. However, there were no pictures, no ingredient lists or descriptions of what the dish consisted of. OA held the menu slightly down, watching Maggie, wondering how long it would take before she asked for help.
Still looking at her menu, Maggie says, "OA?"
"Yeah."
"I have no idea what any of this is." Maggie says on a disappointed sigh.
"Yeah, I know. I was hoping that I could order for the both of us. Get a few of my favourite dishes and we can share them. That way you get to taste a variety of different things."
"Thank you," Maggie says, dropping her menu, no longer pretending to understand what was written in front of her.
When the waiter returned, OA ordered all of he's favourite dishes. It had been a long week and he was craving some comfort food, and in any way, he knew Maggie was starving too with that impromptu announcement from her stomach. He would never admit that a small of part of him also really wanted Maggie to see how amazing Egyptian food was.
After ordering, he relaxed a bit more into his seat, feeling the tension and weight of this week starting to melt away. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while just watching the buzz of the street in front of them.
The first dishes to arrive at their table were baba ghanoush and tzatziki with hawawshi and plain baladi bread. As the waiter places the dishes on the table, OA explains what they are, "This is baba ghanoush. It is cooked eggplant that is mashed with tahini, olive oil, basil and a few other seasonings. Here, have a taste," OA breaks off a piece of plain baladi bread, scoops up some baba ghanoush and leans across to let Maggie taste.
I soft groan of appreciation escapes as the flavours and spices tease her tastebuds.
"And that one is Tzatziki, which is a drained yoghurt sauce with cucumber, garlic and mint. This sauce complements so many different Arabic dishes, but I love eating it with hawawshi. These are like pitas that are stuffed with lamb, peppers, onions, garlic, eggplant and lots of herbs and spices." Again, OA takes a hawawshi triangle dips it in tzatziki a few times and learns across to give it to Maggie.
Again, Maggie's body immediately responds with a groan of appreciation. The flavours are amazing and she feels her stomach begging her for more.
"No one makes better hawawshi than my grandmother. I have spent years trying them in different restaurants and they come close, but nothing compares to the flavor of hers." Sorrow and pain flash across OA's face and Maggie wanders why.
Without prompting OA continues, "I have tried. I've tried to make them according to her recipe dozens of times, but they just don't taste the same. When I was 14 years old, I was grounded for a month out of my summer holidays, and my grandmother tried to teach me to make them. I thought I knew better and never listened to what she was showing me. It's one of my biggest regrets … not learning more about my culture from my grandparents when I had the opportunity to … not asking them questions … not finding out more about the struggles, the experiences, the stories that they had to share with us." OA explains as he tries to avoid looking at Maggie, not wanting her to see the pain and sadness currently evident in his face and eyes, which she obviously notices immediately.
Maggie leans over slightly, putting her hand on OA's, conveying her comfort and understanding.
Trying to alleviate the heaviness of the previous conversation, but also entirely entranced by the food in front of her, Maggie asks "Please tell me more about all this food. Can you cook any of what's on the table? This bread is amazing!"
OA quickly finds himself chuckling as Maggie tries to scoop up some more baba ghanoush but it keeps sliding off her baladi and back into the bowl. OA leans over, takes the baladi from Maggie's hand, curves it upwards in his fingers and scoops up some baba ghanoush for her. Maggie quickly thanks OA, and tries the next one by herself, a smile breaking across her face as she gets the baba ghanoush and baladi into her mouth without an incident.
"Unfortunately, the 'bread', baladi, is the one thing on the table that I can't make at all. It is made in large, round drums that are heated to very specific temperatures before the bread is laid on the sides and left to cook. It is a fascinating process to watch."
"That's sounds interesting, but I can't quite imagine it." Maggie remarks, as she proceeds to eat the baladi and baba ghanoush as a seasoned pro.
"I have never seen it made like that, other than in traditional marketplaces in Egypt." OA admits, wondering for the first time how they make it here.
A waiter brings out the next few dishes and OA starts explaining them to Maggie, "Over here, this is Kushari. This dish often reminds me of the British dish of bubble-and-squeak, combining all the leftovers into one dish. It is traditionally made with spaghetti and pasta rings, rice, lentils, hummus, caramelized onions and a thick, strongly spiced tomato sauce. Some people eat it with baladi, but I prefer it by itself."
Maggie quickly finds herself choking. The spices in this dish are a little strong and caught her off guard. "It's good, but a little strongly spiced."
OA pushes the kabab wa kofta plate towards Maggie instead, "Try this. I think you will enjoy the aroma and flavor of this. It is basically lamb pieces that are marinated for hours, and then cooked over a very low heat for a quite a while."
"Mmm, that sounds great. Do I just eat it like this?" Maggie enquires.
"Not quite. Take a piece of baladi in your hand like this," OA notes, placing the baladi flat on the palm of his hand, "then add some of the green veg from the side of the plate, then some meat, and add tzatziki on top. Wrap the sides of the baladi bread up like this and enjoy."
OA couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face, and the warm flutter that emerged in his stomach from the sight in front of him. Maggie had sauce running down her fingers, hands and arms, as well as her mouth but she was so enjoying her food that she didn't seem to notice.
"I am already getting full, but that was so amazing, that I have to have more," Maggie stated before making herself another one.
The rest of the eating passed in comfortable conversation about the different foods in front of them. OA explained how to make them and variations that he enjoyed. Maggie expressed her interest in trying more another time. Before they knew it, the food was finished and their table was being cleared. The two sat back in their chairs and further relaxed to the soft sounds of music mixed with the buzz of the street.
"You know a lot about how to make these foods. Does that mean that you often make them?" Maggie asked out of pure curiosity.
"Yeah, I suppose." OA replied, thinking about it. In his family, this type of meal was an every night occurrence. They never really ate out – his mother was expected to have a cooked meal on the table every night. "I prefer to cook than to eat out. It's relaxing. It gives me a way to decompress after a long day, and I suppose it's the way I change my mood from work to private life."
Maggie thought about that for moment, wondering if she had any routine in her life that helped her adjust to home life. Before she could really decide on a certain answer, OA asked her a question, "What about you? Do you cook?"
"Um … not really. I mean … I can make a few things like sandwiches and pasta, but I wouldn't have any idea where to even begin with something like this." Maggie answered, feeling a little embarrassed about the truth to her answer.
Maggie and OA relaxed for a while longer, watching the people around them and just enjoying each other's company, until OA realized that Maggie was starting to slightly shiver in the cooler Autumn evening. OA beckoned a waiter and paid for dinner, before standing and offering Maggie his light jacket.
"Here put this on and let me get you home before you shiver to death."
"I'm fine, OA. I don't need your jacket." Maggie interjected, quickly refusing his jacket.
OA pushed the jacket back at Maggie, insisting "Please, you are doing this for me more than yourself. If you get sick, I will be stuck with your paperwork and a stand-in partner while you are off."
"Pleeeeaaaassseee…" OA started to beg, looking like he was in agonizing pain.
With a lot of fake effort, Maggie put the coat on and dragged herself towards the car.
Two minutes into their drive back to Maggie's apartment, she was fast asleep in the passenger seat. OA peeked a look, nodding his head when he saw her asleep. He had been expecting, waiting for this all night – the adrenaline crash / dump after the emotionally, adrenaline-high afternoon that she had had. He wanted to be with her when this happened, because everybody experiences and deals with an adrenaline dump differently and he wanted to make sure that she was ok, which she was – safe and warmly tucked in his car, with at least a 40 minute drive to her apartment.
Thank you for reading Chapter 1. Please review to let me know what you think.
