Chapter Two

OA huffed and crossed his arms, shutting up. He sat down in the corner of the room seemingly to be left alone.

Jubal walked to Isobel and pulled her into a hug and sighed when Isobel sobbed into his shoulder. "This is not your fault, Isobel," Jubal told her, rubbing her back, and listening to her heartbreaking sobs.

Isobel was still sobbing into Jubal's shoulder when the door opened, and a doctor walked in. Isobel lifted her head off of Jubal's shoulder and wiped the tears off her cheeks.

"Maggie Bell's family?" Doctor Mitchell asked, coming in.

"That's us," Isobel told him, regaining her composure.

"Any relatives?" Mitchell asked.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Isobel shocked them all, "I'm her wife." Isobel told the doctor. "I'm also her boss so I would appreciate you telling me what's going on with Maggie."

While everyone was shocked at Isobel's answer, the doctor just continued to give them an update. "Well, Miss Bell was suffering from the effects of sarin gas, but she was also suffering from a collapsed lung due to it. We're trying everything we can to help her fight off the effects of the gas, but we won't know the entirety of the damage until after she may wake up."

"May? What do you mean by "may"?" OA asked, standing up.

"Look, I know this isn't what any of you want to her but it's the harsh reality right now." Doctor Mitchell told them, not holding back.

Isobel whimpered, holding back her tears, not wanting to seem any weaker than she already was. "What are her chances of waking up?"

Doctor Mitchell looks down. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't what you want to hear but it's the reality."

Isobel feels faint so she falls down into a chair, head falling into her hands, trying not to faint from the harsh reality of what was happening.

"Can we see her?" Jubal asked, resting a hand on Isobel's shoulders.

Mitchell nods," He looks at Isobel, "Right now I think Maggie's wife should go and see her."

Isobel's head shoots up and she nods, not wanting to wait another minute to see her so she nods and stands up. Mitchell leads her to Maggie's room and tells her to take all the time she wants.

Isobel stands at the door for a moment before she inhales and exhales opens the door and walks into the room. When she sees Maggie in the bed, looking small she gasps. Her badass, smart, stubborn, gorgeous agent, and friend was so vulnerable, and it was her fault. Isobel sniffled walked closer to the bed and grabbed Maggie's hand.

"Hey, Maggie." Isobel sniffed, feeling stupid talking to her when Maggie wasn't awake to listen, but she continued, "It's Isobel," Isobel ran her finger back and forth across the top of Maggie's hand, "I don't know if you can hear me, but, uh...I need you to come back. I need you to come back to work. I can't have you checking out on me." Isobel sniffles, "I'm not gonna allow it. Do you understand me?" Isobel sniffled, "Do you understand me? I'm here and I'm gonna be here for you, okay?" Isobel held back a sob, "Because I need you. I need you, Mags. I can't do this without you." Isobel felt a few tears roll down her cheeks but ignored them, "I don't want to do this without you." Isobel waited for Maggie to nod her head, for her to squeeze her hand back or even open her eyes but none of those things happened and she began to sob, reality hitting her that Maggie may not make it out of this.

FBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBIFBI

Isobel still couldn't believe it. She wished like hell that this wasn't her reality, but she walked into her office a week later, head bowed, ashamed of the way the events had played out. When she looked up, she saw her boss and sighed but before she could open her mouth, he was already berating her.

"Two of your agents were exposed to sarin gas. Agent Bell has died." Isobel swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to hold back any comment that may get her in trouble. "You want to explain to me how the hell we got here?"

"There was an accident at the lab, and the doors sealed automatically," Isobel told him, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Right. What were your agents even doing at the lab without backup in the first place?" he asked, voice raising, catching the attention of members in the JOC.

"We had evidence that the suspect had been tipped off, we had to confirm that he was still on-premises." Isobel tried to defend.

"Without SWAT? Without HAZMAT?" He continued to ask Isobel, not realizing that his voice was carrying through the JOC and that he had everyone's attention. "Knowing there could be chemical weapons inside?"

Isobel swallowed again, trying to not show any weakness. "We were moving quickly."

"Yeah, too quickly," he fired back. "You cost Agent Bell her life! You just about cost Agent Zidan his too. That would have been two agents dead on your watch." Isobel's strong exterior melted, and her head dropped.

"I made the best decision I had with the information I was given." Isobel weakly said back.

"Yeah, the problem is, these big, impulsive decisions are quickly becoming your MO!"

Isobel snapped her head up, "Excuse me?"

"You're getting a reputation for being a bit of a cowboy, Isobel." He told her and she sighed.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm getting calls from the deputy director asking me if he should be concerned." Isobel looked down again and her lip quivered. She couldn't take all of this. "Look. My advice? Take it easy for a while. Okay, you played the game. You beat out the boys, made it to the top of the pecking order. You don't need to try to prove yourself anymore."

Isobel looked up, "Understood, Sir." Isobel watched him walk out the door, eyes turning to the JOC and seeing everyone look at her. Her eyes landed on Jubal's, and she felt her eyes well up with tears again. Being taken back to that day, that horrible, awful, godforsaken day.

"I don't want to do this without you." Isobel waited for Maggie to nod her head, for her to squeeze her hand back or even open her eyes but none of those things happened and she began to sob, reality hitting her that Maggie may not make it out of this.

Isobel was holding onto Maggie's hand for what felt like hours when OA and the rest of the team came in to see how Maggie was doing and when they heard from the doctor that Maggie was getting worse.

The room was quiet, no one knowing what to say. No one knew what to say because everyone knew how serious this was. It was coming close to midnight when the door swung open and Erin came into the room, eyes falling on her sister.

"Can I have a moment alone with my sister please?" Erin asked the group, eyes not leaving the bed that Maggie was in. Erin listened to everyone leave the room but noted that Isobel didn't. "Isobel"

"I'm sorry, Erin." Isobel looked at Maggie's sister and sighed. "I didn't mean for this to happen." Isobel tried to weakly defend herself.

Erin didn't say anything, she just moved closer to the bed and grabbed Maggie's other hand. "How long have you loved her?" Erin asked, not holding back, a "no bullshit" attitude.

"Nearly as long as I've been lead in the JOC," Isobel admitted, letting go of Maggie's hand and standing up. "I'm so sorry, Erin. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I don't know why the hell I told them to go in. I don't know why the fuck this happened, I mean, those men wanted to have payback on the US but still. I should've had them wait. Have them wear protective gear before going in."

"But you didn't," Erin stated, looking up and turning to face Isobel for the first time. "I have another question."

"Ask away," Isobel told her, rubbing her face. She felt exhausted and could barely stand but she wasn't planning on leaving the room until a doctor dragged her out or Maggie kicked her out herself.

"Why haven't you told her?" Erin asked her, looking her in the eyes.

"For as long as I've known her, she's been hooked on Jason, and understandably so. He was her husband. He was her world."

"That's not an answer."

"I guess I never told her because I assumed she was as straight as an arrow," Isobel told Erin, moving back over to the bed, and grasping Maggie's hand again. "I love her, and I just haven't figured out a way to tell her." Isobel sighed and let a couple of tears fall.

"If you would've talked to her, you would've known that she had feelings for you too." Isobel snapped her head up and looked at Erin.

"I really hope you're not messing with me."

"I'm not, Isobel. I promise. She practically gushes about you." Erin smiled, looking at her sister and pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "She's been scared to tell you. She knows you're her boss and she also knows that you two dating in the workplace can be complicated." Erin stands up and walks over to Isobel. "She needs to know that you feel the same, Isobel. If she wakes up, if she doesn't. She needs to hear it. Please, Isobel, tell her." Erin begged, putting a hand on Isobel's shoulder.

Isobel nods and turns to Maggie. "Maggie Bell, you took my world by storm. The way you're able to connect with victims, the way you're able to calmly sort through the evidence of a crime and come out standing, finding all the details and facts that nail criminals is amazing but more than that. You are so much more than that, Mags. You're amazing and strong and you're caring and compassionate and I love you for it. I love your smile. I love your laugh and I can't get enough of being around you." Isobel gently ran a hand through Maggie's hair, "I love you, Maggie Bell." Isobel told her and felt Maggie's hand twitch in hers. "Oh, my god." Isobel looked up shocked at Erin and when she saw her shocked expression, she knew Erin saw her hand move too.

"Mags, please wake up. You have so many people around you that need you and can't bear to go on without you," Erin told her but there was no other movement that came from her sister. "Damnit!" Erin shouted, this whole thing frustrating her, she just needed her sister to open her eyes.

"I lied," Isobel said, out of the blue after a few moments of silence. "Maggie does know how I feel," Isobel told Erin.

"Why would you lie?"

"Because I wasn't sure how you would feel about it and Jason is a constant thought in my head. She was so in love with him and I just, I don't even know. I told her how I felt and when she said she needed time I thought she was going to turn around and laugh in my face."

"But I'm betting she turned around and told you how she felt."

"Oh, she did more than that. She turned around and kissed me." Isobel told her and smiled.

"Isobel," Erin got cut off by the machine's beeping.

Both women turned their heads to look at Maggie and saw her eyes open.

"Oh, my god, Mags." Isobel gasped. "I'm so happy you're awake."

All Maggie could do was smile before she started having a coughing fit. "Maggie, Maggie breathe," Isobel told her, rubbing an arm, trying to get her to calm down.

"Izzy," Maggie choked out. "Always remember I love you," Maggie told her, quickly kissing her and confusing Isobel since she seemed fine a moment before the coughing started again and Maggie went limp in her arms.

"MAGGIE! Maggie!" Isobel shook Maggie, looked up at her monitor and saw that she was flatlining. "No!" Isobel screamed and broke down into heartbreaking sobs, Erin breaking down as well as doctors filled the room, crash card in tow.

The nurses guided them out of the room, and they were stuck watching through the small window the hospital door had. Isobel covered her mouth with a hand and walked away from the door, backing into the wall across from the room while Erin was frozen where she was, not wanting to lose her sister.

The two women were sitting on the floor across from the door an hour after the nurses rushed in the room and Doctor Mitchell walked out, a grim look on his face. Both women shot up, looking at him, waiting for him to tell him what was going on.

"I'm sorry, we did everything we could. The nerve damage and damage to her lung was too severe. There was nothing we could do." The doctor's words sounded fuzzy in Isobel's ears, and she felt faint, she felt like she was going to throw up.

"So that's it?" Isobel heard Erin whisper, not wanting to believe that this was happening.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Bell. I wish there was more I could do."

Erin scoffs, "Yeah, I'm sure you do." Erin looks from the doctor and frowns when she doesn't see Isobel right away but instead sees an empty chair, Isobel slumped onto the floor, a faraway look in her eyes and Erin forgets about the doctor and turns her attention to the girl her sister love and spent her dying words on. "Isobel, you need to look at me. You need to snap out of this." Erin tried but failed to get Isobel's focus back on her and not in her head where she imagined nothing good was happening. "Izzy," Erin called and that's what got Isobel out of her trance.

Isobel looked at Erin, a hopeful look on her face before she realized that it wasn't Maggie who called out to her, but that it was her sister instead.

Isobel felt her heart drop. The woman she loved was gone. The only woman who had ever loved her back, ever loved her for her, not for her position in the FBI or anything else, was gone. She was gone and she felt a piece of her heart crack.

Isobel shook herself out of the memory and felt that her cheeks were wet and quickly wiped away the tears that fell, turned away from the open window to her desk and ran out of her office and the JOC and to the bathroom.

Isobel rushed into a stall and emptied the contents of her stomach. She's gone. And I killed her. I'm responsible.

:(