AN: Okay, so this chapter gets a little bit mushy, but in a friendship/almost sibling type way. We haven't seen either of them get seriously injured, but both have shown a decent amount of concern for the other over the duration of various episodes. After what Maggie went through, I imagine their interactions could be something like this (though I may be pushing it some).
Also, there will be only one more chapter- an epilogue. Enjoy!
OA-
I know I haven't been partners with Maggie for very long, but she's already one of my closest friends. I know I can trust her with anything and I respect her a great deal. With that, it's not a surprise that the last 36 hours have been hell. To make it worse, the state she was in when I found her left me with many questions.
What exactly happened down in that basement? Did I get there in time? Whatever happened, it was obviously traumatic, and still her first thought was the kids. How strong can one person be? That selflessness is part of what makes her such a dependable partner. I hope she know that no matter what happened, I will always think that.
All the questions swirl in my mind, but I don't dare wake her to ask. Instead I wait. She looks almost peaceful. It's nice to see after what she's been through.
Seconds pass, turning into hours. I'm glad she's getting rest. When I first found her it looked like She hadn't slept in days. But I am slowly becoming restless. Reports for the case and associated paperwork can only keep my focus for so long. Finally, she shifts in the bed, a telltale sign she's returning to consciousness. I make sure to maintain some distance, but not too much.
She lets out a long sigh as her eyes open. "OA," she says with a smile. "How's Ria? Javí? Are they okay?"
I laugh lightly at her immediate concern. With a small shake of my head I tell her they are fine. She explain how they are being released to social services soon.
She frowns. "Social services?"
"Before you start to worry too much I spoke to their caseworker already. She knows how invested we are in these two children and promises to find them a really great home. And they'll stay together," I explain.
"Really?" she asks, her smile growing again.
I nod, grinning. "I figured that's what you'd do so I beat you to it. I have to look good somehow."
"Thank you," she says quietly.
Maggie tried to sit up a little, but let's out a quiet grown at the movement.
"Be careful. You're a little worse for wear. You have a concussion and a hairline fracture on the back of your skull. I bet you also have a killer headache, huh?"
She nods, gingerly touching the back of her head. I see a quick grimace, but she tries to hide it.
"It's been a couple hours since they've given you anything for the pain. Shall I?" I ask gesturing at the door.
She shakes her head. "Not yet. I have a couple questions."
"I'm sure you do. To be honest, I do as well. Also, at some point I need to get your statement. Unless you want someone else to do it...?" I'm not sure what she will prefer but she doesn't hesitate for a second.
"I trust you," she says. It's my turn to nod.
"Before anything else, you need to know that we didn't get Juan. Not yet. It people are out looking, and it's only a matter of time."
She closes her eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. Then she looks at me and says, "okay," with a steady voice and no sign of fear. "I was going to ask out about that," she adds.
"How's did you find me?"
I tell her everything, start to finish. "Can I ask you something now?"
She nods again. "I know what you're going to ask. But OA, nothing that happened is on you. You have to know that." She pauses trying to read me, but I do my best to not give anything away.
"One of the girls warned me about what was in store for me," she starts. "She told me they would stay until I broke, that they would rape me over and over until I gave in. When they came into my room, there was nothing I could do. I tried, I fought with everything I had, but Juan had a knife. When he pulled it out, I knew it was over." She stops for a minute and I can tell she is back in that basement reliving what happened.
I reach out and touch the back of her hand which is resting on top of the blankets on her lap. "Mags, did they..." but I can't finish the question. Not her. I go back to the conversation we had months ago.
"Is it really one in five?"
"What?" she asks, being pulled from her train of thought.
"I have three sisters and a mother. You said one in five women are..." I couldn't finish the question then either.
"Yes. One in five."
Is she the one in five? I don't want to know the answer but have to know at the same time. She looks at me for a moment as if not sure what to say or maybe just unsure of how to say it. I brace for the worst and pray for the best.
"It was really close," she says finally. "Way too close. But, no. You got there just in time." She smiles briefly at me.
Relief floods through me. I know it doesn't lessen what she went through, but I'm am so thankful that it didn't get that far. There's a story to tell; I see it in her eyes. I get out what I need and I ask her to start at the beginning. She does.
XXXXX
She stops her story only once when the door to her room opens and a caseworker walks in with the two kids.
"Maggie!" Ria calls as she runs to the bed.
Maggie reaches for her and helps her up so Ria is sitting beside her.
"Are you okay?" Maggie asks as she smooths her hair and brushes a thumb across her cheek.
Ria nods apparently not too shaken up about what happened.
The caseworker speaks from the side where she is watching. "I was just telling Ria about the family she and Javíer will be staying with."
Suddenly Maggie is all business. "They're good? Loving?" It almost seems as if Maggie is holding her breath.
The caseworker smiles and nods. "Very. I've taken kids there before. The best of the best."
Maggie stares her down for a minute before turning back to Ria. "You're going to be a good girl, right? Take care of baby Javí and help out, do what you're told?"
Ria nods, but looks sad. "I wanna stay."
Maggie sighs. "I know. But you are going to be okay. I promise." Then she looks to the caseworker again. "Don't make me break that promise."
The caseworker chuckles a little not thrown off by Maggie at all. "There're good people," she stresses.
"Can you come?" Ria asks again as she hugs Maggie. Maggie just wraps her arms around Ria tight, her eyes filling, but not overflowing, with tears.
"You better get going," Maggie says finally. "It's getting dark. Almost bed time."
Ria buries her head into Maggie's shoulder one more time and then slides off the bed. Then she walks over to me and I crouch down to her level. She wraps her arms around me, saying nothing. Ria then walks over to the caseworker and grabs her hand. They walk to to the door and are about to step into the hallway when Ria turns around. She just smiles and offers a small wave. Then they're gone.
I look at Maggie. She's still fighting the tears as the young girl's departure.
"She'll be okay," she says more to herself than to me.
"Mmhmm," I agree.
XXXXX
Maggie-
It feels good to be home. A little weird, but really, really good. OA, of course, made a big stink about making sure I got settled in, which we both know was a cover for him wanting to make sure nothing went wrong. Juan is still on the loose after all.
I finally convinced him to leave after reminding him that it would be crazy for Juan to still be in the area.
Every cop and agent for hundreds of miles is looking for him. Staying is a death wish.
Even so, I keep my gun on me. That was part of the deal if he left. So was my threat of killing him if he didn't leave me alone. I was kidding of course. Well, mostly.
The first thing I do is shower. I feel absolutely disgusting. I still don't feel clean when I get out, but I know that's just my mind. I'm exhausted, but not ready to sleep so I settle for a movie. By the end I can hardly keep my eyes open so I shuffle into bed. I fall asleep quickly.
I'm not sure how long inseleep exactly, but I wake from my terrible nightmare. I'm in the basement again, but the outcome is much different. No one comes. There is no rescue.
I'm sweating and my throat is so dry it hurts. I turn on the light next to my bed and relax slightly in the light. Then I make my way to the kitchen to get some water, turning on more lights as I go.
I am about to grab a glass from the cupboard when there is a loud knock on my door. Instantly I grab for my gun on the counter and switch off the safety. My mind is racing. Maybe is here, maybe he came for me after all. Why did I send OA away?
I slowly walk to the door to peer out the peephole as there is a second knock. I sigh in relief when I see it's just OA.
"Dammit, I was ready to shoot you. You scared the crap out of me. What are you doing here?" I say exasperated.
"I wanted to make sure you were fine. It was me or someone else," he explains with a shrug. "I saw all your lights turn on and I thought maybe something was wrong."
"OA, really, it's fine," I say trying to persuade him. "Though I should have known you wouldn't really leave."
"Fine. Right," he says slowly,
Drawing out the 'i', "because you weren't about to shoot me or some other unfortunate soul."
"I'll give you unfortunate," I mutter in fake annoyance. Really I'm thankful to have such a careful and protective friend and partner.
"Here I am, trying to do something kind and all you do is throw shade," he jokes.
"Thanks," I sigh trying, and failing, to suppress a smile.
I turn to grab a glass for water, but I feel the shift in mood, and I turn back to look at him.
"Seriously though, are you okay?" he asks.
He's so sincere I want to just tell him everything. How my nightmares invade every moment of sleep making it impossible to rest. How every time I close my eyes I wonder if I'm back in that basement. How I still smell peppermint and cigarettes. How I'll probably sleep with a light on for next unforeseeable future.
But I don't. I can't, not really. So instead, I settle for the half-truth.
"I'm okay. Just a nightmare. I'll be fine."
I turn back around and grab two glasses from the cupboard. "Want some water?"
He nods. "Sure."
I grab the pitcher from the fridge and fill both glasses, wiping up the bit that runs down the side.
"If you're planning on sitting in your car all night, why don't you stay. I'm not going to be able to sleep after that so I planned on watching a movie. Before you crashed the party, anyway," I say as I hand him a glass. He looks at me skeptically.
"Okay," he finally says as we head back into the living room.
We pick a movie that's already playing on TV. Neither of us have seen it before nor remember hearing about it. It's not all that great, and, though I'm not sure how soon it happens, I eventually fall asleep.
XXXXX
It must be hours before another violent nightmare forces me from my slumber. The first thing I see when I finally pull myself out is OA looking at me with concern, but calm radiates from him. As I fly into a sitting position, the second thing I see is light blue on the horizon casting pinks and oranges that dance across the sky.
I'm not sure how long we sit like that, him in his same position, me sitting facing the window. As my breathing returns to an acceptable rate, I find my voice.
"I, uh, I'm-"
"Don't," he says, cutting me off. "Don't apologize for that."
"Okay," I whisper as I meet his gaze.
"I didn't realize they were so bad. No wonder you got up last night..." his voice fades as he becomes lost in his thoughts. "You know, you don't need to hide that from me. You're so afraid of looking weak. But nothing that happens, nothing you say, will make me think you are. And to be honest, I'd be worried if you weren't struggling at least a little."
I don't know what to say. He's completely right. I'm terrified of not being strong enough. Maybe it's from the academy, or my hour of training, or maybe it's because I'm a woman and am automatically seen as weaker than my male counterparts. Maybe it's something else all together, but he's right. I don't know what to say, so I just sit there trying to figure it out.he must know I'm still not satisfied.
"I trust you just as much today as I ever have, maybe even more. You don't need to hide from me." Suddenly his demeanor changes again. "I mean, don't make me say it." Now he's joking again, and I raise my eyebrows as if I dare him to voice what he was thinking .
"Ugh, fine. Your like my best friend. Basically, you're stuck with me. I'm talking end of time stuck with me. Hate to break it to ya."
The level of fake annoyance of what he said and the sheer fact he said it at all makes me start to chuckle. It feels so good. Suddenly, I can't keep it together; I'm laughing to the point I'm almost in tears. Now it's OA's turn to gawk.
"What?" He asks trying to understand.
"It wasn't all that long ago you were hoping for a time machine and a do-over," I'm still laughing, though not as loud, but now OA understands my joke. He joins in and we laugh for another minute or so. As the laughter fades, I start to yawn. I try to hide it, but I'm caught red-handed.
"Lay back down here," he demands. "Can't have you tired."
I'm a bit hesitant about trying to sleep again, and he senses it. "I'll just have to find another way to make you laugh after the next one. I think I'll start a side business as a comedian." He looks off as if daydreaming about it.
"You're not that funny" I scoff as I lay back down on the pillow he leaned against his lap. He's so nonchalant about the extremely likely possibility I'll have another nightmare it almost takes away the fear. Almost. And for now, as I sit here with my dearest, most dependable friend, almost is enough.
AN: I hope you enjoyed! A special thanks to jotchLIFE, Mari, Cheyennes, Kensi jj, Doranwen and guest for sending me your thoughts. You made my day so much better and look how fast I wrote this next chapter. Though, be warned. I didn't specially edit it.
Stay tuned for the epilogue!