61

Maggie stood up, wandering over to the window, gazing out as she tried to make sense of the maelstrom of emotions that were washing through her. Doyle's were strong, Doyle's faced things head on. Doyle's dealt with things. And she was a Doyle, she knew that. The thing was, it was almost as if she had only been a Doyle for a short while, and she was still growing into it. Her past life, the one so kindly made up for her – and what a wonderfully kind thing that had been…not – they'd developed a quiet personality, developed someone who, for a while after she got out of the hospital, had stepped back and let the world wash over her. For a long while, Maggie had allowed the world to pass her by, wary of taking on too strong a stance, of standing up for herself.

She smirked as she reminisced. That hadn't lasted long, that quiet, reticence. All too soon her natural instinct to get in there and make a difference had returned. As her pregnancy had progressed, Maggie had found herself becoming stronger, had found herself protecting her children, and then her own actions and reactions more and more. Maggie Doyle was back, disguised as Mel Draper to everyone, including Maggie herself.

And that had been ok for a while. On the whole, it had suited her, the life they'd developed. On the whole. They'd been happy, Meg, Tom and Joe. They'd had good neighbours, she'd been happy in her work, and she thought she'd been happy at home. She'd even dated a few times, but it just hadn't worked. Something had been wrong, something off kilter with every man she'd tried to show an interest in. She'd never really been sure what exactly it was, but she'd never felt ready to let a man into her life.

And then, then Tom and Zoe had arrived on her doorstep and turned her world upside down. Tom, Zoe, Nick, and PJ. PJ. Maggie turned away from the window to see him watching her with a soft smile on his face. She stared at him, seeing the love he felt for her, the acceptance, the gentle adoration. Seeing his readiness to accept whatever she chose to do. He would follow her to the ends of the world and beyond if she asked him to. He would leave behind his beloved Mt Thomas and follow her back to her 'fictional' world, back to the life that had been created for her, and he would try to fit in. He would immerse himself in her life.

Except he shouldn't have to .

And neither should she, Maggie shook her head.

Despite what had happened, despite her emotional reaction at the railway and her subsequent hospital stay, Mt Thomas still felt like home. She felt safe, content – felt happy here. The memories had returned, and it felt familiar. She knew Mt Thomas, knew how it worked, knew the mentality, the small town fascination and frustrations – she KNEW this place.

And despite it all, despite the knowledge that she would be the center of attention for a good long while, despite the fact that she and PJ and the boys would be the talk of the town, despite everything, she wanted this. Wanted Mt Thomas. Wanted this life.

PJ's blue eyes lit up with happiness as Maggie began to smile. He met her halfway as she moved towards him, wrapping her in his arms as he spun her around, before lowering his head and capturing her lips in a fierce, emotionally charged kiss.

"Mags?" PJ whispered as they broke apart, praying that he'd read her right, that she'd come to a decision and that they would be staying.

Maggie smiled up at him, sighing happily at the grin that wove its way across his face.

"I'm home."