Maggie couldn't deny that she was a little nervous. Never in their five years of partnership had she felt that way about going to see OA… but tonight was a first.

She had just left the bar after having a drink with Gwen, and she wanted to check on OA. He claimed he was fine after taking that round to his vest, but Maggie still worried, especially after the whole bomb scare. They hadn't been able to talk since getting back to 26 Fed, both being called to complete separate tasks and by the time Maggie finished hers, OA had already left. That, however, wasn't the only reason she was going to see him now, and it wasn't the reason she was nervous either.

Truthfully, she sort of felt as if OA blamed her for what happened earlier. Though the thought tore her to pieces, he wasn't out of line… because really she blamed herself too. She should have known to rely on OA when he said they needed to move. Instead, she trusted Gwen to back them up, even though it had been years since she had worked with the woman.

Maybe if she'd listened to OA, they would have been able to catch their suspect right then and there. They could have avoided the bullet that could've easily tore through her partner's chest, and in turn, the bomb that carried the same potential.

The sight of OA stumbling to the ground from the shot was imprinted on her mind, and just like the other times, she knew she wouldn't be able to shake it very easily. Then the knowledge that he was alone with that bomb, that she had left him alone with that bomb, had really tipped her over the edge. She had been genuinely scared earlier, both times, and right now she desperately needed the reassurance that he was okay… and she needed to apologize.

Whether or not he wanted to see her was up for debate, but this couldn't wait. She had taken a taxi to the bar earlier, not trusting herself to drive as shaken as she was, so now she was in another one pulling up to OA's doorstep.

Though it was well past nightfall, lights still shone in his residence.

Maggie paid the driver, then carefully moved out of the cab and up the few steps. She was sore, her own brush with death still lingering as bruises on her body… but that thought was easily pushed aside when it came to thoughts of OA.

That was the thing… even when she had been defenseless on the ground in that parking garage, a gun pointed at her head while she desperately, though to no avail, tried crawling away from her attacker, the fear she experienced right then was nothing compared to the fear over her partner.

If taking that bullet herself today would have ensured OA's safety forever, then in her mind it would have been worth it. No, she didn't want to die but to her, his safety was more important.

OA must've heard the cab door shut, because suddenly the door to his apartment was open and he was standing in front of her. For a moment, neither of them spoke, neither of them moved. Maggie was silently assessing him for pain, and he was most likely assessing the reason she was on his doorstep this late… though she was sure he already knew.

She couldn't tell if he was mad or not, but there was definitely some tension that wasn't usually present between them. He didn't greet her with his customary warm smile and "Hey, Mags" while she didn't move forward to hug him. He did, however, step aside and wordlessly gesture for her to come in. She guessed that was a good sign… or at least a start.

She couldn't deny that her nerves were still slightly in overdrive. That was evidenced by her sweaty palms and the way she couldn't quite stop fidgeting.

OA's expression remained neutral, and he wasn't in obviously excruciating pain. Actually, aside from a few stiff movements, if Maggie hadn't been there today, she wouldn't have known anything was physically wrong.

OA led her over to the sofa, sitting himself on one end and leaving the other open for her, obviously knowing that there was a need for a little physical distance and a conversation to be had at some point. Maggie almost laughed at that as she gingerly took a seat. In the beginning of their partnership, both had been masters at avoiding necessary conversations. One would desperately try to get the other to open up to them while the other put up walls for as long as it took to avoid the issue.

That slowly changed, and if Maggie had to give a timeline, she would say that the real turning point was when OA showed up at her doorstep one night and broke down about his time in the Army. That was after a particularly rough case for him, and that night changed their partnership and trust forever.

Maggie would always be grateful for that change, but tonight, she knew it was up to her to start the conversation. First though, she needed to know how he was really feeling. "Um, how are you? I mean with your chest and shoulder? I know that was a hard impact." She kept her eyes on his chest, not knowing if she had the courage to meet his eyes… too afraid of what she might see within them.

"I'm okay, Maggie. I've had a lot worse." Much like his earlier expression, his tone didn't give anything away.

She wanted to ask how he was after the bomb scare, but she knew him well enough to know she wouldn't get far with that… not until the air was cleared between them. Maybe then she could get a real answer. "Yeah, but… this shouldn't have happened. OA, I am so sorry. I'm sorry I let it get to the point of-" She cut herself off, not being able to repeat the words she had spoken to Gwen earlier, the ones stating how close her partner came to losing everything… how close she came to losing everything.

Maggie forced herself to speak again despite how tight her throat was feeling. "I should've listened to you. You were right when you said we needed to move. If I had, you wouldn't have taken that bullet, and you wouldn't have been stuck up on that roof with the bomb. You could've been…" She paused again. "…and it would've been my fault."

"Maggie…" OA started like he was going to reassure her, but then he took a different turn. "Why didn't you trust me?"

Maggie did meet his eyes this time. They were filled with turmoil while she was sure hers reflected the surprise she felt at his words. "What? What do you mean I didn't trust you?"

He sighed and she caught him wincing at the action. "You didn't trust my call. You went with Gwen's instead, even though I'm your partner and we were the ones in the line of fire. I saw an opening to follow our suspect and you didn't trust it." This time she heard the slight catch in his voice and she wasn't sure if it was due to pain, anger or both.

"OA, I-" Looking back on today's events, she could see exactly why he thought that way… but it wasn't the case. She had never not trusted him. "OA, I never meant to make you feel like I didn't trust you. I did, I always do. I just thought that Gwen was going to be there. I expected her to be there to cut him off. Yes, I should have listened to you, and I'm so sorry I didn't. I know you blame me for getting shot, and you're right. It was my fault, and then I left you alone with that bomb and-"

"Maggie." OA firmly stopped her rambling. "What are you talking about? I don't blame you for me getting shot. That could've happened just as easily if we would've followed the suspect… and the bomb? I told you to go. The guy was running, and someone needed to go after him."

"Yeah, but Scola and Tiff were on it. I- I just left you up there." Her voice broke and tears stung her eyes. "I could've lost you." She was whispering now, barely choking the words out between the sobs that had started, but by the way OA was suddenly moving closer and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he definitely heard her.

"Maggie, I'm right here. You didn't lose me." His own voice was thick with emotion. "I didn't want you up there, Maggie. Time was running out, and I wanted you as far away from that bomb as you could get. I needed you to be safe." In OA's eyes, Maggie had been in danger lately way too often for his liking, and he wasn't about to let her stay up there on that rooftop. They had been down that path too many times before, times when he couldn't necessarily prevent her from being with him. "I'm sorry I made you think I blamed you, but I will never be sorry for trying to protect you."

Maggie was still trying to stop the tears that were flowing freely down her cheeks and the sight broke OA's heart. This wasn't what he meant to happen. He had been a little aggravated at the day's turn of events, especially when he thought Maggie didn't trust his call or judgement, so his stubbornness had prevented him from being welcoming towards his partner when she first showed up, but the sight of her crying shattered that invisible barrier between them.

He felt her shaking against him and, ignoring his own physical pain, pulled her even tighter to him. It had been a rough few weeks for Maggie. Hell, it had been a rough year for her, and OA was pretty sure she needed to release a good bit of pent up emotion. Even after five years, he still wasn't used to seeing her cry like this and it just further confirmed his suspicions that this case had been a sort of emotional breaking point for her. She had remained strong following her close call with last week's biological weapon threat, even after the demons she undoubtably had to face with it, but OA couldn't be sure she hadn't been struggling internally without saying a word about it.

The thought of that nearly did him in. He couldn't stand seeing her in pain. "Just let it out, Mags." He rested his head against the top of hers, hoping that his presence would comfort her like she always did for him. "I've got you."

OA wasn't sure how long they sat there before Maggie's sobs finally subsided and she wiped her face of the evidence. She pulled away from him a bit and when she finally spoke, her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. "I'm sorry."

"Maggie, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"Yes, I do. You should be resting, healing from today. You shouldn't have to be bothered by me making a mess out of myself." She stood up but OA could've swore he saw her grimace. "Do you need anything before I go?"

"Maggie, please don't leave. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Have you eaten or taken any Tylenol?"

"Don't worry about me. Like I said, I've had much worse… but are you in pain?"

She avoided his gaze and OA knew that as a tell-tale sign. "It's nothing, I'm fine."

Alarms went off in OA's head as he realized that something had most definitely happened to his partner. She was fine earlier, so what had changed? He stood up himself, hoping his own pain didn't show as he crossed the room to where she had been standing by the door. "Talk to me, Maggie, what's going on?" He watched as she wrapped her arms around her midsection and stared down at the floor. "I can tell you're in pain, what happened?"

He was pleading with her now, and there was no way Maggie could ignore him when he used that tone of voice. She hadn't planned on telling OA about what happened in the parking garage, didn't want to make the conversation about her, but after everything that happened today and the whole misconception about her not trusting him, it probably wasn't the best idea to lie to him. "I, uh, got into it with Rex this evening in the parking garage."

"And you got hurt." It wasn't a question and OA's eyes were filled with so much concern that it nearly made hers tear up.

"I think it's just a few bruised ribs."

"You think? You didn't get checked out?" He wasn't all that surprised by that fact. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't really get much of a chance, but it wasn't a big deal anyways." Her voice betrayed her as the feeling of the concrete beneath her body rushed into her mind. She was suddenly thrown into that moment as she saw Rex coming at her with her own gun.

"Maggie…" His voice was a lot softer and he stepped a bit closer to place his hands on her arms, though she tore her gaze from his, afraid of her reaction to his emotion. "Anytime you get hurt, it's a big deal. It is to me… and I can tell something's bothering you. What is it? What happened?"

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders a bit as she relented. "He got the jump on me." She finally admitted it out loud, hating every syllable that rolled off of her tongue. It made her feel weak, but OA never did. No matter what ever happened out in the field, OA remained nothing but compassionate towards her. He didn't judge, so she knew she was safe to open up to him. "We fought. I ended up on the ground, my gun slid away from me. Rex grabbed it and came towards me. That's when Gwen showed up and shot him."

When Maggie finally looked up again, this time she saw in OA's eyes an emotion she was all too familiar with. The same one she felt both when OA collapsed earlier and when she left him on that rooftop… pure and utter fear. The harsh reality was that they both almost lost their partner today, and Maggie wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to shake the day's events from the forefront of her mind.

For OA's part, he was still trying to process the fact that Maggie was almost killed and he had no idea about it. He hadn't been there to protect her. He could have lost her after spending the whole day making her think he was mad at her. "Maggie, I…" He wasn't sure what to say in that moment, so he just pulled her to his chest, tucking her small frame underneath his chin, grateful that she was here with him. How could he even begin to speak all the thoughts that were currently racing through his mind… all the regrets. He finally settled for, "I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

She pulled away far enough to look him in the eyes. "You were doing you're job, you couldn't have known what was happening."

"Yeah, but I shou-"

"OA, don't do that." She firmly cut him off before he could spiral into the what ifs that she had been drowning in all evening. It wasn't going to do either of them any good.

They held each other's gaze, eyes filled with silent apologies and thank you's, before he finally nodded, each of them so in tune with the other's mindset that they didn't even have to speak aloud their thoughts. He led them back over to the couch and they sat in silence for a long while. Neither paid any mind to the time, not really caring about anything other than today's outcome.

Maggie finally felt as if she owed OA an explanation, so she was the first to speak up. "Gwen is sick."

OA looked over at his best friend, not expecting the comment she just made. "What do you mean?"

"She was diagnosed with MS not long ago, and it's really hard for her to open up about it. She shouldn't be out in the field, but it's been her life for so long and she hasn't told her supervisors. She struggles with her medication and that's why she didn't back us up today. That's why I sent her to clear the perimeter while we were at the Wyatt."

OA nodded slowly, the pieces falling into place and making sense as to why today took the turn it did. "You're right, she shouldn't have been out in the field, but I can't judge her too harshly. I would like to say that if I was in her position, I would tell my SAC immediately but…" He trailed off, knowing he couldn't fully understand what Gwen was dealing with. "Knowing the fact that she saved your life today, I'm just grateful she was there."

Maggie wanted to tell them that she wished he never would have been put in the position of suffering because of Gwen's choice, even if it risked Maggie's own life, but she knew they could go around and around all night with this. Gwen made her decision not to tell anyone, which led to OA getting shot but Maggie being saved.

If Maggie knew one thing for certain about herself and OA, it was that no matter the circumstance, each other's lives mattered to them more than their own… and she was damn grateful that OA was the one in hers. They fell back into another bit of silence where they could probably recite nearly everything the other had going on in their head, but exhaustion and pain were quickly settling in on both of them.

Maggie knew she should go home but she really didn't want to. The thought of leaving her partner after today's events nearly stopped her heart. "OA, do you mind if I-"

"You don't even have to ask. I was hoping you would stay anyways."

She smiled, more grateful for the man sitting next to her than she could ever put into words.

"I just have one request."

"Name it."

He turned so he was better facing her on the couch. "Please let me check your ribs. I know you said you think they're just bruised… but maybe I can feel if something's broken."

She nodded, knowing he wouldn't be satisfied until he did. She scooted a bit closer and lifted her shirt up past the ribs in question without hesitation, completely trusting of and comfortable with OA. He wouldn't even have asked if he didn't think she was.

"Damn, Mags." OA winced at the blue and purple marks coloring her skin. He hated the sight of her injured and clearly hurting, but he gingerly reached a hand out to feel along the ribs that were darkest in color. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her further pain.

After pushing against her skin hard enough to determine the damage, all the while receiving a few hisses of discomfort from the brunette under his touch, he decided she was probably right. Nothing felt out of place and thankfully her breathing sounded normal from what he could tell.

After pulling her shirt back down, Maggie looked at OA expectantly. "Thank you for that, but now it's your turn."

OA chuckled at Maggie's raised eyebrows. "My ribs are fine. They didn't take a hit like yours did."

"No, but your chest and shoulder did, so let me see."

Maggie was more stubborn than OA himself, so he wasn't about to fight her on this. With that being said, he lifted his own shirt, eventually settling for taking it completely off so she could have better access.

It was her turn to wince at the bruises way too similar to her own. With the location of the bullet he took, broken bones weren't really a concern, but Maggie still lightly ran her hand along his warm skin. She knew he had to hurt like hell.

OA smiled at how intently Maggie was focusing and how gentle she was being. He rested his hand on top of hers, giving her fingers a small squeeze. He felt bad for how he handled today and knew she did too, but as he gazed into her deep eyes, he knew they were good. It took a lot to drive a wedge between them, and even then it was always temporary. The bruises would fade with time and one day all of this would be a distant memory, but he was glad they were able to clear the air tonight. He would rest easier knowing he and Maggie were on good terms.

Speaking of rest, he knew that was something they both needed, so he slipped his t-shirt back on, carefully stood up, and offered Maggie a hand to help her off of the couch as well. "C'mon, Mags. I think we would both be more comfortable in the bedroom."

To some people it may seem odd, but this wouldn't be the first time OA and Maggie had shared a bed. It wasn't often, but it was innocent and they took comfort in each other's space. They had stayed at each other's place a lot during most of Maggie's recovery months back, and having each other close by was an easier way of dealing with the nightmares that came for both of them after her hospitalization.

Tonight, though, was the first time in a while that they had done it. As they reached the bedroom, after making a quick stop in the kitchen for icepacks, OA opened a drawer and pulled out one of his t-shirts and the pair of shorts Maggie kept there. He wordlessly tossed them to her and she went to change in the en-suite bathroom.

Since he was already in comfortable clothes, he settled into bed and turned the TV to Impractical Jokers, one of his and Maggie's favorites, though he knew they would both be asleep before too long. He used to not have a TV in the bedroom, but he noticed during some of the times he was at Maggie's that the background noise helped her to fall asleep. Since she spent a good many nights here, granted he slept on the couch most of those times, he thought it was a good idea to get one.

Maggie emerged from the bathroom, turning off the light and easing herself into the other side of the bed. OA handed her one of the icepacks to place on her ribs while his went between his chest and shoulder.

Maggie appreciated the fact that he wanted her to be so comfortable here. She enjoyed spending the time with her best friend. It made her feel safe and it warmed her heart that he went to such lengths to make her feel at home.

She felt her eyes start to get heavy as she stared at the screen. "Good night, OA. I'm really glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay, too. Good night, Mags." He listened as her breathing began to even out, then closed his eyes to drift off himself. Knowing his partner was safe beside of him was enough reassurance that he would sleep better tonight than he had in a long while.