Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Maggie had invited OA to dinner after a complicated case involving soldiers going rogue. It was a bad one for OA who had all these souvenirs of when he was deployed. All of his brothers being killed off, one after the other. Turning his head and only seeing the corpse without a head on. He would certainly have nightmares that night.

It was hard for her to see him like that and she wanted to be there for him in any way he needed. So they had dinner and they put on some tele reality shows that neither of them really watched to fill the void. It wasn’t weird for them not to talk and just be close to each other but she felt they needed the sound to surround them. After they ate, they were pretty exhausted and she hugged him tight, never letting go, almost lying completely down on the couch.

They didn’t need to speak, the silence wasn’t awkward and it calmed them. Just being together, relaxed and free.

They must have dozed off because when Maggie opened her eyes again, it was 2:30am. She tried to be as careful as possible so as not to wake him, but even if he was retired, he still had the same reflexes, a soldier was always on edge and he opened his eyes. Especially after a case like that.

He was getting up, as if to go home and he almost was at the front door when she called after him. He was insane if he thought she would let him go like that.

It has been weeks now that she had finally managed to accept the fact that she loved him completely but she didn’t have the courage to tell him yet and today wasn’t really a good choice either. But she would be there for him and that included him staying at her house to be safe.

She was sure he would have nightmares and he knew that too… always making sure not to intrude and be sweet and kind with everyone. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome (as if he would ever do that to her).

So when he went back on his steps when she called and when he was reachable, she took his hands and led him to the bedroom.

He made a physical stop at the door as if he was a vampire that she hadn’t allowed in there and she smiled before pulling on his hand.

“Come on OA, I promise I won’t bite.”

He still looked uncertain. “Are you sure?”

She smirked at his expression, knowing full well what he meant but wanted to have some fun. “That I won’t bite?” She raised one of her eyebrows as she was used to.

That had the effect she wanted as he barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “No, seriously though, are you sure I can stay here? I don’t want to impose.”

“OA. You’ll never impose on me. Besides, I proposed so that means it’s not bothering me.” She looked at her bed then back at him. “We both know you’ll likely have nightmares tonight and I want to be there for you.” Feeling self-conscious, she bit the inside of her cheek, staring at the ground. “If that’s okay with you of course?”

“Of course.” OA wanted to lighten up the mood, grinning from his lips up to his eyes, and followed with : “And I know it will be hard, but no funny business, Miss.”

She cackled before going to her side of the bed, making him go on the other side of it.

—

OA thought he would have had more nightmares than what really happened. He only woke up twice and every time he did, Maggie was right there with him, whispering in his ear, making him shiver. She thought it was due to the nightmares and pulled him closer to her body to warm him. But he was warm alright. And glad she was spooning him and not the other way around.

He had always known he was attracted to his partner. Since the day they met, he found her very pretty. Plus, she was passionate about her work and she always had a smile on her face around her coworkers while she was going through a lot. But she was grieving and it was too early. Above all else, he wanted her to be happy and enjoy life so he settled for being her friend. Always there for her. And with the years, their bond grew even more and he fell all the way in love with her.

But he didn’t think she would ever go for him, even though he was aware of what his family and her sister thought of that.

Last month, they both were at his mom’s house with every member of the family and Erin was there too. His mom really adopted everyone she met and Erin being Maggie’s sister and freshly back in New York, she had invited her too.

They enjoyed the night up until Erin merged with Amira and they tried not so discreetly to make innuendos about them. Maybe to test the water but he felt Maggie tense beside him and felt she was uncomfortable right away.

Even if he tried with all his might, Amira wasn’t having it, making everything worse. Only his mother could put a stop to it but even she made a dubious comment about how they looked perfect together. Soumaya, one of his two other sisters, looked apologetically at them before saving them with a big change in the conversation, rolling her eyes while doing so. He thanked her with his eyes and made her talk even more about her work and her next mission to Nigeria with Doctor Without Border.

When OA drove Maggie back to her place, he was thankful she was making fun of the situation rather than being offended or repulsed by it. And since then, they had some jokes about it, sometimes being all flirty just for fun. But he wished she wasn’t joking when she did that because he would have loved to kiss the smile out of her face every damn time (and even more than that).

He was remembering all of that while being in her bed… not a great idea OA. He was half asleep and wasn’t thinking clearly anyway. Almost thinking he was dreaming, feeling her pressed up against him, her breast squished on his back, her breath on his neck and one of her arms around him.

Their bubble was slowly bursting by a voice becoming clearer the more she approached the room.

—

“Mags, I’m home! I know I didn’t tell you I was coming by and I’m sorry but Mom called and they are coming here soon. We need to have a plan.”

(Shit, Erin.)

Maggie was emerging from a very good dream when she heard her sister's voice in her flat.

And then. “What is that all about?” A groggy voice came from beside her. A very, very sexy groggy masculine voice that she knew by heart. OA. So it wasn’t a dream? He moved to be on his back and she cuddled up to him.

Groggy herself, saying: “I have no idea.” She adjusted her body to be more comfortable, placing her head on his chest and one leg over his midsection.

Feeling his crotch, she swore and opened her eyes, now very awake. “Fuck, this is real, isn’t it? It’s not a dream?”

OA was smiling, having felt his partner jump in panic. “Yes, this is real.”

“I don’t believe it.” At the same time she said that, she pinched him (just to be sure).

“Ouch.”

At his curse, she straightened up, looking around her as if she didn’t know the place. “IT IS REAL!” She faced OA to punch him this time. “You have to go now.”

He was still half asleep and being brutalized by Maggie wasn’t on his to-do list but he had to live through it. “What?”

“Don’t you understand? Erin is there and will see you.” At his raised eyebrows she continued. “She probably will tell everyone that we’re together!”

“And?” He wasn’t following, his blood not at the right place for now.

She smirked before adding: “Including your mother.”

—

“Fuck.” Now OA understood. Every member of his family knew he loved her and his mom was surprisingly the most invested in it. She would never live that down if she heard, from Erin of all people, that he had been sleeping (yes, just that) with Maggie.

He stumbled on his way up, falling hard on the floor. It gained him some chuckles from Maggie before she asked, whispering, if he was okay while talking louder for her sister not to come in, she was fine.

OA had to wait for another hour before Erin finally decided to go back to her dorm for him to be able to come out of his hiding spot.

—

Maggie was biting her lips, apologizing for the way she treated him when they woke up. But he thought it was funny and didn’t want to accept any apology.

When she thought back to their earlier conversation, she remarked that when she had told him Erin could tell everyone they were together, he didn’t budge and wasn’t fazed by it.

That gave her the courage she had lacked until then to walk towards him in a decided manner and grab him by the lapel of his shirt to lower him down to have access to his lips and kiss him passionately. Pouring all the love she couldn’t express into words.

—

OA was shocked and stuck. He tensed up, still not being sure it was real before feeling Maggie’s tongue begging for entrance and it didn’t take long for him to grant her access. But she had sensed his immobility and tried to pull back just as he opened his mouth to kiss her back with all he had.

When they were out of breath they pulled back a little, staying close, forehead to forehead. OA chuckled which made her self-conscious. And he explained. “I knew you couldn’t resist my body. You didn’t keep your promise!”

She grinned. “I promised not to bite you, and I didn’t.” And, with a mischievous smile, she added: "Yet.” Which made them laugh a big belly laugh while still hugging each other.

OA began to press himself closer to her, his hands on her hips to keep her there. He caressed her face with his nose, kissing his way to her ear, first her lips then the corner of her mouth, before kissing her cheek and licking her pulse point, making her moan. He was going to kiss her again when she spoke. “You were the one promising no funny business though. So I guess you are the one that lost.”

He groaned, then smirked which she could feel on her skin before adding: “I feel like I’m still winning though.”

She laughed and agreed. After that, she led him to the bed where, this time, they did everything but sleep.

After they were both sweating and satiated they cuddled in the bed, OA gently stroking her hair while she played with the hair of his torso. She looked up, putting her hand on his beard. “I guess our families will be happy now?!”

“There's no way I’ll tell them now though.” He chucked but when he felt Maggie tensed he saw she had misinterpreted his words so he clarified. “Let them wait and find out for themselves. It’s our turn to play with them now, don’t you think?”

He had pinned her under him with her hands above her head and she was getting turned on again, and she was feeling his arousal too. So she quickly agreed with him and moved so he would go on with it, raising her head to claim his lips.

—

Maggie had never been more than happy to have invited her partner the day before. And wouldn’t have thought about the outcomes of it but was ecstatic it finally happened. They were now together and happier than ever.

Chapter Text

OA was forever grateful for his life. He had a family that he loved and that loved him back. Friends that would die for him if needed (quite literally) and vice versa.

And now, he could add to that the girlfriend that he had always wanted but thought he would never have. His partner at the Bureau. Maggie. She was everything.

Nowadays, he was feeling lighter, it was easier to live his life knowing his feeling was not one sided. And on the rare occasions when he was alone at night, he had something (someone) to wake up for and that he would see at work.

This part was hard as they hadn’t told anyone about their newly relationship and even though he didn’t think he behaved differently than before he couldn’t stop rethinking everything.

Was he weird doing this or that? Was he allowed to look at her like that? Was he looking at her differently since he had seen her naked? He couldn’t really know but of course something had changed so maybe his looks did too…?

At work, Maggie wasn’t as close to him as before, clearing her throat and glaring at him when he did something that she judged sketchy for their cover. She avoided him a lot too.

It was hard and he thought about asking Isobel to swap partners a little more, but couldn’t find it in him to go through with it. He loved her and wanted to be the one protecting her. They did work with other partners from time to time but they were at their best together.
It went like this for days, weeks, even months.

Up until OA got shot when he was with Tiff. It was a simple interview of a potential suspect that had gone wrong quite fast. As soon as they arrived, the guy had engaged fire and he wasn’t quick enough to dodge. Being tall, he had a bigger surface to hide and it didn’t work this time though Tiff did kill the suspect in return.

Maggie arrived at the hospital in a fury mode, almost hitting Tiff to pass through. Scola helped his partner to contain and calm Maggie before she could go and see him. By the look she gave them (and more so to Tiff), he knew they would be dead if look could kill.

They had been very afraid of her at the time but they understood. It was OA. And everyone knew OA and Maggie’s bond was exceptional and unbreakable. Nobody could explain it and they all secretly wanted them two together.

When she was finally cleared to see him, they all went with her to be with their teammate. They needed to see him to calm their mind as everyone was pretty shook by what happened.

OA was laying there, in his hospital room, only wearing a gown. And pretty drugged too.
Scola and Tiff exchanged a glance at his look, only having eyes for his partner.

But what stunned them the most was not OA’s reaction. It was Maggie’s.

She rushed to the bed, touching him everywhere as if to make sure every part of his body was still attached to him. Then she faced him better and glued her forehead to his, closing her eyes and being calmer just because of his closeness.

It was something to behold. They were all wearing big smiles, relieved OA’s injury would heal completely and for him to come back to work in no time.

And then, out of nowhere, just as Jubal and Isobel had arrived and the door was still ajar behind them, Maggie dropped everything she had in mind. “OA, you scared the shit out of me. You can’t do that. Like. Ever. You’re not allowed. Even less now that we finally are together. Three months is not enough and I want everything with you. Forever. I don’t care about anything else. I can’t go through that again. You have to stay alive. And think of your mother. And your sisters. They would be a mess without you too.”

Maggie was so focused on her words and her partner that she didn’t notice everyone gawking at them and what she was saying. Nor did she see the big eyes, almost out of their cavity, OA was wearing.

She went on a little longer, saying she didn’t want to be separated ever again and that she loved him.

At that a big silence was heard. It was thick. She turned around and gaped. She cleared her throat awkwardly, fidgeting with her hands but not moving from her position, sitting on OA’s bed and pressed against him.

Isobel chuckled before saying: “It’s about damn time you two.” Which made all the others laugh hard and Maggie shocked.

Maggie didn’t know what to do nor what to say. Neither did OA so he went for a joke instead: “And I’m the one being on drugs. I am happy I didn’t spill the tea.”

“Well, that’s still because of you that I did.”

Their banter had not changed at all, or maybe it did but for the better. Isobel was happy for her agents and told them right away they didn’t have to worry about anything at work, they would still be partners.

That was all they had wanted. Now they would be able to be totally free and wouldn’t have to hide anything.

Chapter Text

OA was home alone, still in remission from his gunshot wound. He was doing some exercises while trying to think about a song. The perfect one for his relationship with Maggie. But he couldn’t find one.

They had gently argued about it last night because he wasn’t okay with what she had chosen. And frankly she wasn’t even okay with her own choice. They agreed the discussion wasn’t over, far from it.

—

He was bored at home, while Maggie was risking her life solving cases with their team and he wanted to be back to work the sooner he could to back her up. Even if he knew she could handle herself.

When she came home early that night, she had made fun of him when she had seen him working out, listening to romantic songs to find their own. He had almost forgotten that they were going out and that was the reason Maggie was home sooner that he expected. He grumbled a little at her mockeries but joined her in the shower all the same.

—

She wouldn’t have said no to a stay at home diner tonight as she was pretty tired. And, for the time being, evenings were the only time she could see her boyfriend. In the morning, well, she wasn’t a morning person contrary to OA, and she had to rush out the door to work.

But when she came back from the Bureau, she could relax and enjoy the night with him, talking about her day and making sure OA recovered well to come back to her (the faster, the better).

Nevertheless, tonight, they had an invitation to go to an official event. It was mandatory so they didn’t really have a choice. It was a big ceremony to attribute medals to agents. Not really their thing but they would at least be seated with their partner, Scola and Tiff, their bosses, Isobel and Jubal, and even some of the JOC agents like Ian and Kelly (Elise was the only lucky one not obligated to come because she had to go take care of her daughter).

Once they were out of the shower, she stayed in front of her wardrobe, not knowing what to wear. She was so focused on finding her outfit that she nearly jumped when she heard OA at her left. “What are you doing?”

She looked at him a little annoyed. “What do you think I’m doing? I am searching for the perfect clothes for tonight.” She was not a dress lover and always felt uncomfortable in these kinds of events where everyone was showing off. It was simply not her.

Before her sight went back to all of her possibilities in front of her, she saw her boyfriend’s smirk stretched from ear to ear. That was followed by his beautiful teasing voice: “You could always go like that.” He was looking at her from head to toe, licking his lips in the process. Likely undressing her in his brain, which wouldn’t be too hard as she was only wearing a towel that had slipped a little.

Maggie eyerolled so hard he feared for her eyesight. “Come on OA. Be serious or we’ll be late.”

“Nothing wrong with that.” His eyebrows were high on his forehead, while he was slowly approaching her, putting his hands on her waist and bending down for a kiss when he could reach.

She gave him the kiss he asked for, placing her hand around his neck. Nothing holding the towel anymore, it fell to the floor making her moan at the contact of OA’s skin and making him groan in return.

—

After some extemporaneous love making, and still taking time to find the right outfit, they were obviously late to the ceremony. But as OA said, ‘it was a “fashionably late” entrance’ so everything was fine, which didn’t stop her from seeing the knowing looks of their colleagues, knowing full well that nobody bought their excuses.

They sat at their table with everyone and chatted for a bit before assisting at the ceremony, clapping when they needed to.

And even though Maggie would have preferred to stay home, it was a relatively quiet and fun evening. They were still ‘at work’ so they had to behave accordingly but the ceremony and the meal were great. Not too long and emotional for the ceremony and tasty and quite plentiful for the meal.

Later in the night, a dance floor was beginning to form and people were starting to dance in sync with the music playing. At first, Ian and Kelly made fun of it but were pretty quick to change their mind when beautiful women came up to ask them to dance.

Even Jubal stood up to share a dance with Isobel, which made the four agents still at the table grin and raise their eyebrows, giving themselves knowing looks as to where this was headed.

Scola made a joke about their bosses. “Let’s just hope it won’t take them as long as you to become a thing!” While saying that, he nudged OA’s arm while giving a big smile as only he could do in Maggie’s direction. Everyone laughed and went back to watch their surroundings, enjoying the moment.

—

Before it was too late, OA stood up and held out his hand for Maggie to take it. At first, she looked at him weirdly, as if he was crazy, but she finally seemed to have changed her mind, grinning at him when he outstretched his other hand for her to take both. She grasped his hands and he pulled a little to help her stand up before leading her to the dancefloor.

Not wanting everyone to see her unease, she waited for them to be out of earshot to grab OA’s arm, making him stop and turn around to face her. “Maggie? What is it?”

“I- I’m sorry, but I- It’s- I’m anxious. I can’t dance.” She was looking back and forth from the dancefloor to him. “And I don’t want to humiliate myself, nor you, in front of all of our coworkers, OA.”

“Oh, Maggie.” He put his hands reassuringly around her shoulders. “Come on, can you tell me when in our partnership I failed you? When wasn't I there for you? Did I ever let you down?”

She was absorbed by his beautiful dark eyes, hooked only on her, which submerged her with lots of emotions she wasn’t ready to feel. “Never.” She whispered it again: “You never let me down.”

“That’s right. Never.” He marked a long pause, probably thinking about the Sarin gas, but even if he still felt guilty about it, he knew it wasn’t his fault and he had been there with her, all the way. “So I won’t begin now.” Another pause to make sure she heard everything he said, he still didn’t want her to do something she didn’t feel safe to do. “But if you don’t feel comfortable dancing with me here, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

Feeling less stressed about the situation, she agreed to go and dance with her partner. Now that everyone knew about their relationship, they had no reason to hide.

Right when they managed to be on the dancefloor, they gently swayed, pressed against each other. About a minute after, OA chuckled which alerted Maggie. “Why are you giggling?”

Shaking his head, he stared into her eyes. “I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“You.” She made her trademark look, with one eyebrow raised and was now very serious, demanding an answer. So he explained. “I was just imagining you. Scared about dancing in front of a room full of FBI agents when you would literally run into danger while on a case.”

He laughed some more whereas she puffed and nudged him a little.

The music suddenly changed and it was one about love. That suited them perfectly and they mischievously looked at each other.

They had already heard this song earlier. First, when they had their first breakfast together as a couple, then in the car while on patrol before OA’s injury, and then now. Knowing that if they continued to hear it without wanting to, it would be fate and that would settle their ‘argument’ about it.

Fun fact: they heard the song again on their way back to Maggie’s.

Chapter Text

Maggie wasn’t believing it. It had been six months since they became a thing with OA and they were still in the honeymoon phase. Everything was great, their coworkers knew about it and that made everything less complicated. Isobel even had let them stay partners on the field which they were grateful for.

The other day, she had met one of her neighbors with whom she was acquainted and he had asked her if she could come and take care of his cat while he was on vacation with his girlfriend. She had agreed and it was now one of the best parts of her day to go and play with the little furry girl.

—

She arrived at work, wearing a big smile on her face. Tiff joked about Maggie having had a great night, smirking. “So, it seems you had a good night?”

But it wasn’t even that, letting a chuckle out, Maggie fixed her teammate. “Get your head out of the gutter. It wasn’t like that.” After a pause she added: “OA wasn’t even with me last night.”

Making a shocked face, her hands on each side of her mouth, Tiff teased Maggie. “Oh, you’re already cheating on him, naughty girl.”

Scola arrived just then, a grin forming at the antics of his female partners. “What’s happening here? Should I be concerned or warn OA about something?”

“I heard my name? Talking about me behind my back guys?” OA had just entered the room, walking directly toward his girlfriend to give her a chaste kiss as they haven’t seen each other yet. That being done, he turned around to face the other two agents, half resting against Maggie’s desk, waiting to be updated about their discussion. “So what is it about?”

Maggie snorted and explained. “You know my neighbor, Ryan?”

At that name, Tiff said lightheartedly: “That doesn’t seem promising.”

Scola, disagreeing with his partner, sat at his desk, engrossed in the exchange of the other duo of their team. “Now, that sounds very entertaining.”

Even in their thoughts, they hadn’t missed the nod OA gave to Maggie, acknowledging what she had said and wanting for her to carry on.

“So, he asked me to feed his cat while he is out and I accepted.” Everyone smiled at Maggie’s cheery face. “Spoon is the best. I didn’t know I loved cats that much and I kinda miss the company when I’m home alone.” The FBI agent was lost in thoughts, surely thinking about Spoon, the little cat.

At that, OA directly had a plan forming in his mind. They weren’t together for that long, but he knew he had been in love with her for years (maybe even from the beginning) and they had been best friends for years too. He knew her well and, yet, had never heard of her so fascinated by pets. Of course she loved them but not like he was witnessing now.

He felt confident about their relationship, they were going strong and steady. And will, he hoped, move in together soon. He felt poised in his idea and would propose it to Maggie soon.

—

OA had this idea trotting in his head for a week, and this weekend, Ryan had come back home so Maggie didn't need to feed Spoon anymore and she missed it. So he was reassured that she should be on board with his proposal.

Since he first had this plan, OA had searched for all the things he needed and read advice online to know what to absolutely have and what to avoid in this situation.

And while he was preparing all that, he needed space from Maggie so it would still be a surprise for her, so he had asked her if he could come to her flat this Saturday for lunch but not before that. She obviously agreed, thoughtful about why he couldn't come earlier than that.

When he arrived, he instantly felt sad for his girlfriend who had a pout on her face, sighing while going to sit on the couch and looking in front of her, at nothing in particular.

During the afternoon, they were on the couch, taking time to be together and just do nothing when he couldn't take it anymore. The Sun had begun to set and the dark was near, so he told her he was inviting her out and they needed to go now. When they arrived at his car, he told her he was the one driving so he could go where he wanted before going back home.

—

Maggie told OA she missed taking care of Spoon and just after, he asked if she was okay to go out and she nicely accepted his invitation, so she let him drive so he could surprise her with their destination.

When they stopped at an unfamiliar building that she couldn’t read the logo of with the darkness around, she turned to her boyfriend questioningly. “Where are we?”

“It’s a surprise.” He put his finger to his mouth as a shush sign, while going out of the car. He went to her side to open her door, and held out his hand for her. Although she was not really sure what was going on, she trusted OA with her life and accepted his outstretched hand to help her out of the truck.

Maggie could feel the stress coming out of her partner and didn’t know why he was reacting like that. His palm was sweaty under her own, and she clutched it more forcefully to remind him she was here.

Finally, she could see the entrance of the building, it was a shelter. She looked at OA curiously. “What are we doing here, OA?”

“We’re here to adopt a cat, if you want to, of course.” He was feeling less sure the more she didn’t move nor talk. But he saw her eyes filling up with tears and knew he had made a great decision by coming here.

Maggie grabbed him not so gently, hugging him tightly and then releasing him only for her to clutch the nape of his neck, pushing him forward to attain his lips for a demanding kiss. “Thank you, Omar.” He shivered at his name, she rarely called him that apart from in bed or when she was angry with him.

“Come on, let’s go.” He pulled her with him and they entered the shelter. Lots of pets were there. It was a shame that people abandoned their pets, why buy or adopt one only for giving it up afterwards. People shouldn’t be able to have them so easily because every pet deserved a good life and a loving home.

He marveled at Maggie admiring every pet she crossed paths with. They knew they couldn’t adopt every animal here but there were so many… It was hard to choose.

Until Maggie stopped at this cage.

This cat wasn’t a kitty, but a rather old lady cat, about six or seven years old (so not that old for a cat but not a kitten). She wouldn’t be the first choice of anyone coming in here and Maggie wanted to have a pet to give them a better life and she wanted to save this one.

At seeing (or smelling because they didn’t know if she still had a great eyesight) Maggie, the cat stood up quite quickly for his form and began to purr without stopping.

One look between the two lovers and they knew it was it. This cat was coming home with them.

—

Arriving at her apartment, Maggie began to panic and turned towards her partner. “OA! I have nothing to take care of her!”

He chuckled lightly, taking them inside so they could free the cat to her new home. “Mags.”

She punched him gently as he was making fun of her. “OA, you don’t understand, I have nothing!”

“Maggie. Calm down. I have everything you need in the car.” He nodded in the direction of the box where Artemis was. “Free your new pet while I go fetch everything.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.” He grinned and walked out of the front door.

—

After having installed everything, they watched as Artemis walked around the place, sniffing all things she crossed paths with and being careful not to disturb anything. Although she had purred like crazy and wanted Maggie’s affection at the shelter, she was now on a little adventure to be accustomed to this apartment and it was perfectly fine with them.

Maggie cuddled up to OA, encircling his waist. “Thank you Omar. I would have never done that without you.”

He pressed her closer to him. “You’re welcome. Plus she kinda is my cat too.”

“True.” Maggie stood on her tiptoe to kiss him lovingly.

—

Later that night, Artemis was less shy about the place, having understood it was her new house. And when they were watching TV on the couch, she went straight for Maggie’s lap, purring like crazy as well as begging for attention and petting.

Maggie was over the moon and OA was also really joyful about their little addition to the family.

Chapter Text

This case hadn’t been a good one. OA didn’t like being questioned about his work, even less so when it was because he was an Arabic person. These kinds of cases always put his faith in the front seat as if being a Muslim always equaled being a terrorist.

He had lived his whole life like he didn’t belong, mostly after 9/11. But he was an American. An Arab-American to be precise, and he was proud of it. He loved his country and did everything to protect it. He hated being reduced to his faith. He was an awesome agent.

But today, with this particular case, even his skills as an agent were doubted by himself. How was it possible that the job that had given him the opportunity of his life to work with the FBI, with Maggie, was a fraud.

And during all this time, a terrorist was running free, because everyone thought he was dead. For he was the one assigned to kill him but didn’t do the job himself, he felt guilty. His teammates at the time had been the one confirming the presence of their target, therefore initiating the launch of a missile. And as he had witnessed the explosion while thinking their suspect was inside, he had thought it was a good hit and had never doubted his death.

—

That night, he needed to see her, he couldn’t stay alone. He entered the flat without knocking first, he had the keys after all. Artemis came running, mewing to advertise to her owner that someone was there.

“Artemis, come here little girl.” Maggie walked in the room then saw why her cat had taken off running when she looked at her boyfriend. And just by one look, she could see something was off. She reached for him, looking him up and down, trying to find the issue but failed. “OA? What happened?”

“Nothing. It’s just that- that case was awful.”

“Yeah… But you did it. And now, the case is closed and a terrorist is dead.” She stroked his cheeks, making him look at her. “You saved a lot of lives today. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks.” He sighed, defeated.

“Why are you saying it like that? It’s true. I am proud of you, you can’t even imagine.” She directed him to the kitchen where she kept her take out menus. Maggie felt it was that kind of night where neither one of them could cook, preferring to concentrate on healing their mind.

“Maggie… You can’t understand.”

“Then just talk to me. I am here for you. Always.” She had grabbed his arm and clutched it almost painfully to make this idea sink into him.

“Yeah, sorry. It’s just- It’s hard sometimes, being an Arab and a Muslim in this world.”

“Oh, babe. Come here.” She hugged him and pressed a kiss to his neck where she could reach, feeling him relaxing at her touch and groaning at the contact of her lips on his skin.

—

It has been three months since Maggie had adopted her cat, Artemis, thanks to OA. And since then, her pet was totally okay with her surroundings, and loved her owner and her partner, always purring.

That night, while they were eating in the living room, on the coffee table, Artemis came to OA and demanded to be on his lap which he let her do quite easily with a stern look from Maggie as she was trying to put some boundaries and rules that the cat seemed to ignore anyway.

Artemis purred stronger than ever. Maggie was smiling big when she watched OA being more like himself the more her pet was doing that. “OA, Artemis is healing you with her purr.”

“Yeah, she is a sweet girl.” He then looked at the cat and petted her even more than he already did. “Yes you are.”

“I am grateful for her. She made you smile after this big and bad day for you.” Looking at her cat, she added, patting her: “Yes, you’re a good girl.”

—

Later, while they were watching TV after having played with Artemis for an hour, they saw her passing, her favorite toy (a colorful mouse) in her mouth. They watched her movements with attention, trying to decipher what she was going to do.

They had to laugh loudly when they saw she was just putting the toy away, placing it at its place, besides her bed. OA couldn’t help but joke about the fact that Artemis was as much of a control freak as Maggie, wanting everything at its right place.

Maggie looked at him tenderly. “At least you had a better evening than your day because of her.”

“Yeah, and because of you too.” He grabbed her hands and placed a kiss on one of them before drawing her body to his, making them lay down on the couch. “It's always better with you Mags.”

“Ditto.” He barely heard her as it was muffled in his shirt. But she was right, because of her, and because of this cat (their cat), his day had gone from bad to wonderful. He was still haunted by his past, but Maggie was right, he had rectified what happened years later and now the terrorist was dead for real. He was the one who had taken the shot and he felt relieved it was all over.

Chapter Text

OA knew Maggie was nervous. He had arranged a weekend trip on the coastline to celebrate their one year anniversary. And that meant they would go to the beach and maybe into the ocean.

Even after all these years, she still disliked the water and hated swimming. But she had accepted because he loved it and she loved him.

But the more they approached their hotel, the more uncomfortable she felt. She even had let him drive all the way up there. He briefly turned his head in her direction, placing a comforting hand on her thigh. “Come on Mags. It’ll be alright.”

“That’s what you say.” She was pouting, looking at him with a dark stare. “You’re not the one being scared of the water and being forced to go.”

“Hey, you said you were okay with it?!” He saw a place to park ahead of them and put the car in park to turn his whole attention to his girlfriend. One of his eyebrows raised, his special trademark when waiting for an honest answer.

She was biting her lips, looking out the window. “I am okay with it.” She then stared at him, smiling. “OA. I love you.”

He clutched her thigh harder at that. “I love you too.” He then leveled his hand to take her face in both hands, making it impossible for her to look anywhere else but him. “But I don’t want you to be uncomfortable just to please me. The only thing I want to celebrate this weekend properly is you.”

“I know. I just want to do something I am not used to doing every day. We won’t have that many occasions anyway and I know you love to swim and go to the beach. So why not?”

“Okay but if you don’t like the idea we still have time to turn around though.”

“No way. We’re going and that’s final. Drive now.” She was gesticulating her hands to show him the road. And he got back on the road.

“Okay. Will you come swimming with me?” He said that with a little boy’s voice. It was sweet and also sad because that showed some insecurity and Maggie didn’t want that.

She left a tiny pause before answering. “We’ll see.” But she made sure he saw her smirk which was an affirmation in her language.

—

Their room was splendid. OA had asked for a grand gesture as the bed was covered by a heart of roses. They also had a jacuzzi in their big bathroom that overlooked the beach. Everything was stunning and Maggie was in awe.

She turned around, hugging OA and thanking him for this. Her words were muffled by his shirt but he understood and held her even closer.

OA then went to their luggage to unpack while Maggie took a shower. He had opened the windows to hear the waves and feel the breeze and already felt relaxed. And was even more when he saw his girlfriend exit the bathroom only in a towel.

He ogled her up and down, a big sexy smirk on his face, mirroring hers. She approached slowly, languorously, and when she was close enough, he grabbed her towel and pressed her against him, kissing her passionately.

One thing led to another and they were soon naked on the bed, doing extra activities.

—

Later, they went on a walk near the water. Maggie even put her feet in it to OA’s surprise. They joked about Maggie’s repulsion to water, OA still trying to convince her to come swimming with him and try surfing but she was afraid of that.

In the end, he settled for making her dance while they had water up to their knees (and more when a big wave hit), which she accepted, laughing louder than he ever heard her.

He held her up in his arms and made her turn and turn and turn. They were just a couple acting like kids and enjoying the moment.

Just before the Sun set, they went back inside to have a delicious meal and had a perfect night.

—

Maggie was still asleep when he woke up, so OA decided to go swim a little for them to do other things later. Like that, he would do something he loved without pressuring his girlfriend to do it just to please him.

Little did he know that Maggie wasn’t asleep when he left. She took care of everything for the day, planning all the places to see and even made a reservation to the best restaurant in town.

He got back to find her waiting for him, a big grin on her face. They kissed and he went to shower, being joined by Maggie while he didn’t expect it. “Hi you.”

“Hi yourself. Was your swim good?”

“Very.” They were just standing under the shower head, taking the time to just talk. He decided to joke instead of discussing something she dreaded. “For someone being afraid of water, you came here pretty fast.”

She giggled. “I’m full of surprises, it seems.” She made her characteristic smile, with her chin up, getting on her tiptoe to beg for a kiss which he gave with pleasure. When they stopped to take some needed air, Maggie continued with: “And it’s because you’re here that I came. I want to be with you, always.”

“You’re cute and I love you.”

“Love you too.”

—

They had an exquisite breakfast before having a big day, visiting everything on Maggie’s map. OA made fun of her, calling her ‘his little control freak’ which earned him a punch to the chest but he deserved it.

Later in the day, she proposed to go swim in the hotel's pool and he agreed. It would be a gift to their bruised muscles after all these activities, walking around.

“There, I’m swimming. Happy?”

“Mags… You can touch the ground. You’re hardly swimming, I can see your legs not moving.”

“Okay. I swear I’m gonna do it, but with you beside me, please?”

He looked at her tenderly. “Of course. Always.”

OA was proud of Maggie for doing this. It was clear she was not enjoying herself at all but she did it anyway. When she had an idea, she would follow it all the way through, never stopping until the end.

He put an end to her misery by hugging her and thanking her for all she was doing before guiding her out of the pool.

They hiked near the ocean again and Maggie asked him to go back to the hotel as she was beat and he approved her decision being exhausted himself.

But to his surprise (she was right earlier when she said she was still full of surprises even for him. After 6 years of partnership and one year of dating he didn’t think she could still astone him but she could), she had another request when they were in their bedroom.

—

She told him to keep his swimsuit and join her in the bathroom in a couple of minutes. So he waited patiently, checking his phone and updating his family with pictures of their stay. When she called him, he stood to join her and gawked at what she had done.

The bathroom was transformed with all of the roses’ petals from the day before around the jacuzzi and some lighted candles. A soft music was playing from her phone and here she was, naked from the chest up, waiting for him.

They cuddled in the bathtub for a while before Maggie straddled him with other ideas in mind.

She kissed him and in between kisses, tried to maintain some conversation. “Did you have a great day, mister?”

“Magical.” He caressed her cheek putting a bang of her hair back in its place, behind her ear. And straightened to give her a proper kiss. “I was with you at all time and we’ve done a lot of things. How couldn’t I be good with that?”

She was giddy, moving to get a better position but it was doing things to him and she could obviously see it by her mischievous smirk. The joy in her face was beautiful. “And I swam!”

“You did.” Feeling silly, he added: “But in a pool though.”

She swatted him playfully. “Hey! One step at a time.”

He couldn’t stop his chuckle. “Yes, you’re right. Next time will be in the ocean. Like a big girl.”
She fidgeted, making him more aroused by the second and seeing her darkened eyes, she was feeling the same.

Let’s just say that after that, they had better things to do than talk.

Chapter Text

Maggie and OA were stuck in traffic when they came back from their weekend getaway and they had gotten home late so they went to bed, tired of their trip, and slept through the night.

So, the next morning when they woke up, OA had to rush to his apartment to shower and take new clothes. And Maggie stumbled out of bed, still groggy, eyes half opened.

They fortunately got to work in time, both in different cars as they weren’t at the same place. And the villains were calm so they mostly stayed indoors, working on updating their reports and finalizing their paperwork (until the next one).

—

While Maggie was quietly typing away on her computer, Tiff came behind her and asked in a suggestive way: “So, Maggie, do you have something to tell me?”

Not understanding, Maggie turned around to stare at her friend. “What are you talking about?”

Seeing her coworker and friend lost, Tiff made a sign with her hands, pointing at her back. “The name at the back of your shirt?” She waited for Maggie to understand but she didn’t seem to. “Did you marry OA without inviting us? Because if you did, it’s rude guys!” She laughed to show she was just joking but she did it even louder when she saw Maggie’s shocked face.

Scola came in just in time to hear the end of his partner’s sentence, and couldn’t stay silent. “You are married?” He accentuated each syllable to make a point.

“No. I don’t understand why Tiff said that.”

Tiff chuckled, taking pity on her friend and told her she had OA’s name on her back.

“Oh.” Maggie turned her head as if she would be able to see her back doing so. And then, she remembered this morning, being in a hurry, not really awake and grabbing the first thing she could grasp to put it on.

It seemed as if she had put on one of OA’s shirts. And apparently, one with his name on it too. She felt warmer all of sudden and looked at her teammates, explaining what had happened this morning for her not knowing what she was wearing.

They all laughed and that was it.

—

A murder case came by late in the afternoon and they had to go on scene. At this time of day, in New York, it was cold so she grabbed her FBI coat when she left the room, and hurried up to her car.

OA and she interrogated the victim’s family, trying to gather intel. Maggie wore the coat so as not to freeze to death. And got a side look of her partner in the meantime.

OA smiled, and when they were going back to their car, couldn’t stop teasing his girlfriend. “So, I heard you were wearing my shirt to work today?”

She chuckled, showing him her hands so he could toss her the keys. “And? What will you do about it?”

“Nothing, it’s very cute. And I see that you didn’t stop there.”

“Uh?”

“My coat?” He said pointing at the one she was wearing.

It was in fact longer and larger than hers, but with her sweater and all, it was quite comfy. She realized now that it was his. “It appears it is yours, yes.”

He grinned and got in the car as she opened her door simultaneously. And when they were away from prying ears, only the two of them, in the warmth of the truck, he turned to face her. “I can’t stop looking at you in my clothes, Mags. You’re so tiny and cute.”

“Stop.” She flipped him off and started the engine.

—

The occurrence of Maggie being seen in OA’s clothes was more frequent after that. And every agent she met teased her about it. But she didn’t care. She loved feeling warm and smelling his scent surrounding her. It kept her sane on several occasions when she wasn’t partnered up with him or when OA had been hurt one time too.

—

OA was at Maggie’s again, the place was bigger and Artemis, her (their) cat, was here too. He often had to go back to his flat to bring things over here. But looking around her bedroom, and her living room, even the bathroom, lots of his things were already here. He found some clothes he had searched for quite some time at his home, only for it to be perfectly folded in Maggie’s drawer.

He had to admit that she was wearing it better than he ever could and he loved seeing her in his clothes. She entered the room just when he was thinking about it so he told her.

To which she responded with: “I know I shouldn’t wear your clothes at work, it’s totally unprofessional. But now that I did it, it’s an addiction. I can’t stop. I love having your scent around me at all times, it sets my mind at rest.”

He walked the small distance left between them and took her head in his hands, kissing her hair lovingly. “I’m not asking you to stop.” He kissed her on the lips this time before taking a step back and jokingly added: “But it should be illegal as it’s a turn on. You’re not playing fair here Mags.”

She leveled one eyebrow, a smirk already forming on her lips. “What? Do you want to wear my clothes too? Because I would pay to see that!”

OA attacked her, tickling her and they stumbled, laughing, falling on the bed, Maggie on top of him. When they finally caught their breath, he made her look at him by placing a gentle hand on her chin and pushed a little on it. “We may need to think of a better living arrangement so I could still have something to wear, you know.”

“How so?” Maggie was curious about his proposition and was all ears.

He went a little shy before taking a big breath and explaining. “Because my closet is getting emptier each time I go there and if all of my things are ending up in your drawers, I won’t have anything to wear soon.”

She chuckled while placing one of her hands on his face whereas the other one went under his shirt, making him shiver below her. “And I’m not complaining about that.”

“But you will when other women and everyone around me will be able to see me naked.” He grinned, turning them over to tower over her, already lowering his head to kiss her on her pulse point.

She groaned, either for the kiss or the thing he said, he didn’t know, maybe a little bit of both. Then she claimed his lips and his body and who was he to tell her no.

He was happy he had initiated the next discussion he wanted to have with her, and judging by her reaction, she wasn’t against it. He was eager to take the next step.

Chapter Text

Scola was grateful for his coworkers that later became friends. Maggie and OA had been there to help him, first with Kristen but also with himself and his behavior, telling him to open up more to have a better partnership, that it couldn’t do any harm.

He had listened and now, with everything they had said, he had been a better partner for Tiffany. They were very good friends and very on the same page thinking Maggie and OA should be together. As the rest of the JOC thought too.

That was why he wanted to reciprocate and show them they were meant to be. So with the help of his other coworkers, they made several attempts to make them see they loved each other. As only the two of them couldn’t seem to understand the feelings of the other.

But until now, nothing had worked.

—

They had made quite the effort though.

When they were out, they always made sure they had to sit close to each other, but they were used to it as they were partners.

Scola had tried to make them tipsier than they would usually be, but Tiff made him stop. They didn’t want them to sleep together only for them to say it was a one time-thing and forget all about it. Or worse, be awkward and not talk to each other because of it.

He also tried to make them jealous. When, at the bar while he was waiting for their drinks, a girl went and asked about OA, he told her to go for it. And later, when she did, turned to Maggie to make her watch what she was missing. He really hoped she would do something as he saw her bite her lips hard when seeing the interaction, but she didn’t, preferring to look the other way and talk about something he didn’t remember.

When he tried the other way around, it was more complicated as Maggie was more close off and hadn’t dated that much. But OA’s reaction was even more obvious than Maggie’s. He didn’t like it. At all. He could try all he wanted to pass that for a big guy wanting to protect his partner and best friend, but Scola saw right through it.

The team also tried other stratagems, like putting mistletoe everywhere at Christmas time, only for all of the agents having to kiss each other, except for the two they had wanted.

They tried the Secret Santa thing too. Cheating for them to pick each other’s name. But they were also used to doing it already.

Scola and Tiff had another idea though. They had waited for the right date to come and put their plan into place. They had planned ahead and couldn’t wait to see the outcome. The team was invested and betting on it too.

—

Maggie had finally begun to admit that she liked her partner more than she should. With all the time they were together, she thought it was bound to happen but OA was her best friend already and she wouldn’t do anything to put that in jeopardy.

But recently, she observed her teammates trying to push them together more than usual. Or was it because she knew what they were doing now? Because she was seeing OA in another light?

Anyway, he would never see her like that. The way he had responded to the girl Scola had made her watch was an answer enough of that. She had to bite her lips so as not to cry angrily at seeing OA smile and laugh with the woman.

When she had seen the mistletoe running around the Bureau, she was even more sure that their coworkers were up to something. They never were that into Christmas before. Maggie even saw some people looking at her discreetly.

So she made sure to acknowledge every place the mistletoe was stored, praying not to forget any area and praying even harder that, if she somehow forgot about one, she would be lucky enough not to go through with it. She didn’t need to kiss anyone, even less OA for it not to be as she wanted it.

Later, as they picked their secret Santa (another thing they never did before that made her more sure about them being up to something), she wasn’t very surprised to see she had picked OA’s name. She could bet he had picked hers too. But she didn’t need that to buy him a gift, they always did that already.

—

OA was aware of his feelings for Maggie. He had been aware of them for quite some time.

He suspected it quite early in their partnership, but at the time, she wasn’t available and didn’t need that so he offered her a friendship if she wanted to (because she wasn’t that much into that either at first). That led them to be the best of friends that they were today and he cherished their relationship.

But what made him very aware of his feelings and admitting it to himself for real was when she had been on the other side of that window, trapped with the Sarin gas. And he was just there, powerless and watching her life slowly leaving her body. He would have done anything to be in her place and for her to be safe instead.

He had been even closer to her after that, being present every day at the hospital and helping her with PT after. He wouldn’t be one day without seeing her, even for a minute. It was worth it.

And since then, he was falling in love with her more and more every day.

But she wouldn’t go for him. He had been friend zoned a long time ago. And she didn’t seem interested in dating anyone anyway.

—

Tiff couldn’t stop smiling at their idea. Scola was behaving like a little child, all giddy and eager to see the result. He hoped their plan would work and Tiff wanted it to work too. They were impatiently waiting now, and still had some time before it would be time to go.

For some months now, they had installed a thing between the four of them, going to dinner together at least once a month or after big cases to celebrate and also live and talk about anything but work. They were friends and it was really good to see each other outside of their job and be updated on all the other’s family members.

Everyone enjoyed it a lot, but Scola and Tiff had mainly planned all of this to intervene and try another time to play Cupidon.

Because they had made plans to go to dinner, just the four of them for months, it would make the other duo less inclined to doubt their friends. Mostly Maggie who had been very tense and suspicious about everyone at work since Christmas, frowning and observing all the people around her.

Tiff suspected she had seen their attempts to put them together and may be less into doing something if OA was involved too. So doing something usual where only Scola, OA, Maggie, and her were participating would not raise any red flag to her, nor to OA.

And this week, it was the week they had been waiting for, for so long.

—

Tonight was one of the nights OA loved and looked forward to. Dining with his friends and colleagues was something they should have done a long time ago. But as the saying said: ‘better late than never’, and he was enjoying these nights.

This evening would be even more awesome as it was at a restaurant OA had wanted to check out for weeks but they had a long waiting list and as he couldn’t really plan his schedule, he never took the time to make an appointment. More so, he didn’t want to go there alone and didn’t know how to ask Maggie since it would really look like a date.

For their diner, he had proposed to Maggie to come and pick her up so she could drink if she wanted to. As he didn’t drink, it wouldn’t deprive him of anything. And she accepted so he got there early so they could be on time at the restaurant.

—

Maggie was still suspicious about their colleagues but this diner was a habit they had and she couldn’t wait to be there. They always had a great time either just the four of them or sometimes with Nina when she could join too.

When OA asked her if she wanted to be picked up, she was sad to say she had to think about it. As her feelings for him were more present the more days passed, and with the team trying to push them together, all of that made her think twice about her decisions regarding her partner. She was self-conscious and was feeling bad to behave differently with him now, while he didn’t deserve that.

As usual, OA arrived on time, and they were talking about where they were going in the car. She was smiling at seeing her best friend so eager to be there. He had talked about wanting to go to this particular restaurant for some time but she never understood why he didn’t go.

After parking the car, they waited for Scola and Tiff for ten minutes before receiving a text from the former telling them to go in as they would be a tad late.

Not wanting to lose their table, she went in with OA.

—

OA got to the door to open it for Maggie and had a weird feeling. He would have liked for it to be a real date with her, but that wasn’t it, he had to shake his head to come back to reality.

Once inside, they waited for their turn to be seated, Maggie looking at her phone to check on their friends’ whereabouts. Just as it was their turn, OA went to the front desk while Maggie answered her phone, it was Tiff calling her.

—

“Tiff? Where are you?” She turned around to see OA walking forward and looking confused as he talked to the woman.

“About that…” Just hearing these words, Maggie knew something was wrong.

She sighed. “Tiff, what did you do?”

It was Scola who answered her, which made her more uneasy. “We did something you should have done a long time ago! Enjoy your night and you can thank us later. Thanks, bye.” He dared to hang up on her.

She didn’t have time to do anything apart from gawking at her phone, when OA came back to her, seeming nervous too. She looked at him, still stunned by what had just happened. “He just hung up on me.”

“Who?”

“Scola!” Seeing he didn’t understand why it was Scola that had called when she was just with Tiff, she added: “He was with Tiff. And he told me to, mimicking a quotation with her hands, ‘enjoy the night’ and hung up.”

—

OA couldn’t help the grin that came out. Scola was crazy but very funny and a loyal friend. He kind of wanted to hug him to let him be alone with Maggie now, but also wanted to slap him for it too.

“So, that is what I came here to tell you.” Pointing a little behind him at the reception, he looked back and forth. “The woman at the reception told me our reservation had been changed from four people to only two. They never intended to come, Mags.”

As she didn’t say anything, he kept staring at Maggie, and had to let her choose. “So, we can leave if you want?”

“No, that’s okay.” She looked thoughtful, but finally met his gaze.

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.” She walked toward the reception desk for them to be placed and turned back to him. “Plus, you really wanted to come here so now that we’re here, why would we leave? Our partners are crazy and will miss a great meal and our great company. Too bad for them.” He laughed with her while walking to their table.

—

Tiff had gone to pick Scola up after work so they could go park near the restaurant to be able to see their colleagues coming.

Nina had made fun of them for doing that, but agreed it was a much needed service they were giving to OA and Maggie.

Scola couldn’t stay in place, moving and jittering, she lightly punched him for him to stop. When the subjects of their lookout arrived. They looked at OA and Maggie, both of them looking around.

Scola sent his text for them to go in or else they would never have done that and their appointment would have been lost. It would have been a shame.

Tiff, as for her, decided to call Maggie to explain. She was beginning to feel bad about that… Maybe they did something wrong and forcing them to go through it would only take them backward. But her partner took the phone from her hand and handled the discussion before hanging up, not feeling sorry for a second.

She glared at him but was glad he did that. And now, they looked back at the restaurant to see what the duo would choose.

Once it was clear, they would go through with the dinner, Tiff drove Scola back to his house before going home herself.

—

Maggie had made fun of this dinner that their friends were missing but it was more to calm her nerves. She had shared countless meals with OA before, nonetheless, this one felt different.

They were at a restaurant, a fancy one at that, while they often were at one of their places. They were surrounded by couples everywhere and the music was very soothing and romantic. With her feelings for him, and the subject of these feelings just in front of her, in this environment, well, it was very complicated to forget about them. Even more so when OA was this happy.

—

OA was delighted Maggie wanted to stay. He had dreamed about that, though it was a real date in his mind, he was still glad to be able to eat here with her. Too bad their teammates couldn’t join, they were really missing something.

But even though they were here, seated in front of each other, he saw Maggie wasn’t comfortable. He cleared his throat, wanting to ask her about it, but knew well enough she wouldn’t say anything if she didn’t want to. So he waited for it to be on her own terms and talked about his mom and sisters that he would be able to see this weekend for a family reunion.

—

About ten minutes in, Maggie couldn’t stay like this anymore, she had to confess why she was awkward. At least like that, she would be able to move on from this, or she hoped she would anyway.

“OA, I have to tell you something.”

He looked at her, still smiling. “I’m all ears, Mags.” He straightened up and leaned towards her.

His smile made her more nervous if it was possible. “Okay, I’m just gonna go for it or I will never do it.” She looked up, being sure to fix her sight on his. “Firstly, I am sorry for my behavior lately, you didn’t deserve it.”

“That’s okay. I don’t know what you’re sorry for, you have the right to keep things hidden from me.”

“But that’s the thing, I can’t hide it anymore.” She stopped and grinned, looking at her hands before glancing back at him. “And I don’t want to hide it either. I have feelings for you, OA.”

—

OA had to take a step back, leaning on the back of his chair, dumbfounded. Was he really hearing this right?

Maggie cleared her throat and mumbled something he didn’t understand but it seemed like a ‘good job Maggie’. He came back to reality when he saw her pushing back her chair to leave. He had to stop her. “Hey, where are you going?”

“I’m feeling like an idiot here, so I’ll just go. I apologize for that.” She couldn’t look at him now and he didn’t like that.

“Hey, stay. Maggie. You didn’t let me say anything so please just sit back down.” When she got a glance at him, he smiled at her reassuringly so she did what he had asked.

“I like you too.” Seeing she didn’t want to assume, he continued. “As in… I have feelings for you too. And I didn’t think they would ever be reciprocated.” He took her hands in his, massaging them.

—

They were both looking at their tangled hands. Both in awe and stunned their feelings were reciprocated. Maggie stared back at him, smiling from ear to ear. “I didn’t think you felt that way either!”

They laughed about their idiocy and ordered their meal. It was a perfect night. Even more so now that they were both in the know of each other’s feelings.

When they were waiting for their dessert, Maggie suddenly laughed and OA was looking at her questioningly. “Before he hung up, Scola told me they were doing this for ‘us’ and that we could ‘thank them later’. I didn’t know what he meant but now I understand.”

OA smirked. “Oh, you didn’t say that earlier. But that doesn’t surprise me, Scola is crazy like that.”

“And he was totally right.” Maggie was still shocked. But a good kind of shock.

“That too.” He chuckled.

Their dessert came in and they had to laugh even more at the cake they were offered. It was a heart shaped one.

Only then, OA looked around, seeing mostly couples around and everyone had the same heart shaped cake. He looked at his phone, and laughed even louder than before, showing the date to Maggie.

They had been so focused on their job and were awaiting the dinner date with Tiff and Scola so bad that they hadn’t really looked at the date.

—

When the dinner was over, OA had some difficulty staying still. Knowing that they had confessed their feelings, he wanted to kiss Maggie so bad. But he didn’t know how to process.

They got the check that he paid even if she tried to do it too. Like always, and that put him at ease. The fact that she took his hands and kissed his cheek to thank him reassured him too but also turned him on.

Once in the car, Maggie looked at him and before he could turn the engine on, grabbed the lapel of his shirt to get him closer and kissed him. It took some seconds for him to return it but he instantly deepened it, demanding access to her mouth, to her tongue.

He put his hands on both of her cheeks, keeping her close (as if she wanted to move). They made out like teenagers for a long time before stopping and chuckling at what they had done.

Maggie looked suggestively at him, and with her trademark eyebrow raised, she told him playfully: “Your place or mine?”

He couldn’t believe his life right now and didn’t really care where they were going as long as they were staying together. “Your choice, I don’t care.” He dared to glance at her to read her mind by looking at her face and he was enjoying the view. She was glowing.

“Mine then.”

He didn’t know why he felt a little unsure all of sudden. But Maggie was quick to add: “Like that, you’ll have some clothes to change into while I wouldn’t have any for tomorrow if we went to yours.”

He suggestively looked at her, undressing her in the meantime, before turning the engine on and driving to her flat.

—

When they were at her place, he closed the door behind him and Maggie surged upward to kiss him again. She was unbuttoning his shirt in the meantime and he felt more comfortable to do the same here, reaching for the bottom of hers to untuck it from her pants.

They walked painfully slowly towards her bedroom, undressing and kissing each other while doing so and it was the best thing they had both felt for a long time. They were living a dream and neither one of them really believed it.

As they took a break to breath some needed air, panting heavily, Maggie searched for her phone that had been abandoned on her nightstand and got closer to him, telling him they would take a selfie together so she could send it to Tiff and Scola in their group chat.

After taking the picture and sending the text, she turned it off and concentrated her attention back on what she really wanted. OA. Here, in her bed. She was still in awe of it and was beginning to realize it was real when he reached for her and kissed her again.

—

Early in the morning, Tiff was awakened by Stuart calling her. It was very, very early as his son, Douglas, was a baby and didn’t sleep through the night yet.

“Scola?” Her voice was still asleep and she was groggy, not opening her eyes and waiting for her partner to talk.

She didn’t have to wait for long. “WE DID IT!” He was so excited for this hour, that made her chuckle.

At that, she knew immediately what he was talking about and she was afraid of that. Scola was a bad influence on her. She sat up in one go, asking him how he knew. And went to the group chat as soon as he told her to.

There was a simple text from Maggie. It was a picture of Maggie and OA, grinning happily at the camera and very close to each other (cheek to cheek close). The photo came with a simple message : ‘We had a great Valentine’s Day, thank you guys.’

Tiff smiled and shrieked a little at the news, thanking her partner for the call and hanging up, going back to sleep afterwards.

She then thought of where the duo were, and it was clear it wasn’t in the street nor in the restaurant. With a dreamy smile on her face, she just sent back an ‘Awesome! Maggie, I want all the details tomorrow at work!’

Which got a response from Scola immediately. ‘Yuck, gross, NOT everything. But yes, we want to know how it happened though.’

‘And THAT is not gross Stuart?’

‘Argh, not like that Tiff!’ Then followed by: ‘Enjoy the rest of the night then’ with a smirking emoji and some hearts.

Chapter Text

OA was reminiscing about the time Maggie properly asked him to move in with her. He didn’t think she would ask. He had made some insinuations to let her know he would like to be with her every hour of every day without being brave enough to tell her he wanted to live with her, always.

Six months ago, she had taken the habit to steal his clothes, and she never stopped since. He had joked about the fact that it might have been better and easier for him to live with her (and her cat, Artemis) as he wouldn’t have to go back and forth to reprovisioned his stocks but he didn’t want to pressure her and didn’t talk about it again.

But two months after that, she had asked him if he was serious about his offer and if he wanted to move in with her permanently. He accepted right away but for it to be done, they needed some time. He had a four months’ notice with his flat so they had the time to move things slowly, little at a time.

That way, when the time came, OA only had the big items to remove from his apartment, some he didn’t know what to do with as Maggie already had a dishwasher or a king size bed. His mom had offered him her garage for him to stock his things until he knew what to do with them (either selling or donating them, or like the bed or his sport gears, waiting to have a bigger place one day).

—

Today was the day and OA couldn’t be happier about it. He would leave his lonely one-bedroom apartment to live with the love of his life. And their cat.

Of course, since Maggie asked him to move in, he hadn’t waited to stay there every day. But he still had his apartment and it didn’t feel real that he was living with her as he still had to go back and forth to move his things.

But earlier today, he had given back his old flat and was now in front of Maggie’s (his, no, their) place. He was overwhelmed by feelings at finally living the life he had always dreamed of. OA was a family guy and he was realizing that what he had wished for just a couple of years ago was really happening. He loved Maggie. And Maggie loved him back.

—

That night, they planned to invite all their friends and family to a house-warming party the next weekend and made lists of things to buy and took bets to see which one of them would go the fastest to get the apartment clean and ready to welcome hosts.

Maggie obviously won the bet, because she was a ‘control freak’ and because it was easier for her to just clean the house as OA didn’t know yet where everything was stored.

—

The week passed quickly and they had everything prepared for their house-warming party. Everyone had a great time, congratulating them and just being joyful that they were happy and in love together.

Maggie and OA were on cloud nine.

—

Unfortunately, the week that followed was taking a toll on them. They had a case involving a murderer using a toxin gas, which triggered them with their memory of the Sarin gas.

They were grateful to be together and OA hugged Maggie tighter at night, wanting to keep himself in the present and not the past. But it was hard and he still had nightmares. Maggie had some of her own too and it wasn’t easy.

It got even harder when her longtime friend, Jessica, suddenly died, leaving her daughter, Ella, behind. Maggie had accepted to take care of the little girl while her friend was going under surgery, but had now the responsibility to have custody of the six-year-old forever.

—

Maggie had always wanted kids, so of course she had accepted Jessica’s offer to babysit. It was a pleasure and the little girl was a gem. But now, her friend was dead and Ella, an orphan. She couldn’t abandon her either, she didn’t want to anyway.

But she was afraid of the situation. She had asked OA to move in months ago but it had taken time and they were only now benefiting from it. Would he change his mind now that the situation had evolved?

She couldn’t ask OA to stay and take care of a child when she had been the only one in charge of that decision. She didn’t know what to feel and was very confused.

—

OA was sad for his girlfriend. She just lost a good friend, and now, they had a kid. It felt surreal. He didn’t know what to do so he decided to just support Maggie and wait for her to talk to him.

After a week, before going to bed, she turned to him, whispering. “OA, I’m sorry for how everything turned out. I know you didn’t sign up for this so if you wanted to change your mind, I would totally get it.”

He took her in his arms, hugging her while she let her tears fall, kissing her hair, and whispering back. “Maggie. (kiss) I. (kiss) Love. (kiss) You. And nothing will change that.” He stepped away so he could fix his sight in hers. “You’d be crazy to think I’ll let you go now that I’ve got you.” He chuckled which made her do it too and he was glad he had put some joy in her mind before going to bed.

When they were laying down under the cover, she was on her side, facing away from him, when she talked again, turning to face him. “I don’t know what to do.”

OA turned on his side too and stroked her face. “It’s okay. You’ll figure it out. And I’ll be here every step of the way.”

—

A month later, once it was clear that Ella had no one else than them, and that they were now accustomed to having her in their life, they took the decision to do the legal paperwork and be sure nobody could claim her anymore.

Maggie was still very stressed about the situation. She was finally going to be a mother, and she had embarked OA with her into parenthood. She heard him come into the room and looked back.

“Stop worrying so much, Mags.” OA had entered the room, after having put Ella to bed with a story of fairies and elves. “Everything will be okay. And tomorrow, Ella will be our daughter.”

“I still can’t believe it.” She pressed her body against him, she needed his strength and warmth to be comforted. “I am so happy you’re beside me for all of it, but I can’t stop feeling guilty too.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault Jessica died.” He made her look at him before continuing. “When you agree to do something, I’m at your six, backing you up, it’s part of who I am now. And when you took this little girl, you didn’t know it would be for life, but that’s what happened. That’s okay.”

Maggie kissed him, her hands at the back of his neck, stroking it and sending shivers all over his body. “I don’t deserve you, you know that, right?”

“Of course you do. It’s the other way around, really.”

She looked out the window. “I hate what I’m gonna say but…” She stared at him, serious. “… We need to move again.”

He was scared for a second and when he understood why she had said that, he giggled. “I moved a month ago and we already need to pack again? Who cares? As long as we are together. The three of us, well four with Artemis, it’ll be okay.”

—

Every agent helped them with Ella and supported their decision. It was not that easy to go from living alone, then with the love of your life only to have a child thrown in the mix. Some adjustments had to be done so they could offer a somewhat normal life to the little girl that had already lost everything once.

They found a new place to live quite easily thanks to Isobel and even though everyone joked and complained about having to help them move, AGAIN, in so little time, they were all happy to do it.

OA’s mother was particularly happy to have her garage back as the new place was bigger to accommodate their new family member and they could take back all of OA’s things he had kept.

—

After moving out of her place, Maggie felt a pang of sadness to leave the apartment. It had been her refuge for a long time and also where lots of good things happened. She had kissed OA for the first time here, they had made love for the first time there too. This was also where they had adopted Artemis and taken care of Ella and become a family. She had so many memories she would cherish forever.

But it was time to go. This house wasn’t big enough for them now and it had outstayed its welcome. And she wasn’t regretting leaving the place.

When she told OA she was bummed to leave the place but more than happy to do it. He comforted her and made her laugh. “We’ll just have to do it all over again at the new place.” He added his trademark smirk on his face before adding: “We’re totally christening every room of the place.”

She looked affronted and turned on at the same time. “OA! We have a daughter now.”

“And she has a nanny and lots of aunts and uncles happy to take her when we want to.” He raised one of his eyebrows and she couldn’t help but ask him for a kiss.

—

They had Ella for two months now, and everything was coming into place. She has officially been their daughter for over a month, and the little girl was reassured it was over. She no longer had nightmares where they gave her up to the foster system. And she loved Artemis who loved her back, following her everywhere, it was cute and they could finally stop their bet as to whom Artemis loved the best, it was clearly neither of them anymore.

Their new house was big, so they could have an office slash gym room plus four bedrooms. OA sometimes joked about needing to fill them in. But Maggie was beginning to really think about it. Now that she was a mother, she couldn’t stop wanting more. Why not add another family member soon?

Chapter Text

Dana knew it could be a tough choice, but since she had watched them together she couldn’t think of another two better agents to be partnered up with. She knew Maggie wouldn’t like it at first, but OA would become her partner soon.

—

There was no way in hell she would work with that guy. He was insufferable and she didn’t like him. She went to Dana’s office to remedy the situation. To no avail.

Maggie didn’t understand her boss’ decision. She was a profiler and still decided to let Maggie be partnered up with this ‘OA’ guy, the one she had met several weeks before, a cocky know-it-all.

Flashback, a couple of weeks ago:

Maggie had a bad day, she was still struggling with grief and had some anger issues because of it. But she thought it was better for her job. And she needed her work not to think about her private life. She was a mess.

Now, they wanted her to have a blue agent as a partner, so she could teach them the ropes. She wasn’t against the idea but didn’t think she was in a good place to do it right now. Decidedly, she always was astonished about the SAC’s decisions these days. She still tried her luck to postpone the inevitable, speaking with Dana Mosier about it, but like she thought she would, her boss’ ruling didn’t budge.

She was fuming. Nothing was going according to plan around here. She would have a partner soon, a rookie at that, then her current suspect didn’t want to talk despite all her efforts, and last but not least, she encountered a tall man at the coffee shop this morning and he had heavily flirted with her which made her spilled her drink on herself in her haste to get out.

She was surprised. She was not used to that as she made sure to have a cold face to avoid these kinds of things. And now she had to rush and change her top before finally going back to her desk.

The worst part was that she had crossed paths with that man later that day, in the building, meaning he must be an agent or someone accredited to the place. Not a good day at all.

—

Omar Adom Zidan, or OA as everyone called him now that Hobbs had given him this nickname when they had to present themselves, was stressed. It was his first day as a real and official FBI agent in New York, he would have two weeks of final training and desk work before being assigned to another agent who would become his partner.

Today, he would have to talk in front of a lot of people, most of them older than him, about counter terrorism. He would talk about one particular mission and how to improve further investigations.

That morning, he went to his favorite coffee shop near his place to take a much needed drink. He had seen a woman in front of him and as he was stressed, decided to change where his head was out and flirted a little. But she had startled and rushed out of the door, spilling her drink on herself in the process. He wanted to go and help or apologize, but he couldn’t for the love of him find his ability to move nor speak. He saw her across the window, wearing a dark look on her face (and damn, she was beautiful) before she disappeared.

—

Maggie was participating in a meeting with lots of other agents, including new recruits, to talk about counter terrorism. And one of the newcomers, the one that had tried his luck with her and flirted with her earlier that day at that (and kept doing it when he saw her here, so unprofessional) had talked in front of everyone.

She got the fact that he had experienced some things for him to retell it, and before being with the FBI he was with the Army. So, sure, he had things to tell, and she didn’t like that it was even very accurate and they needed his skills. But she didn’t like him.

He was a know-it-all and so cocky, he wasn’t taking no for an answer. Not in a douchey way but he just kept trying his luck even though she wasn’t interested. As if he had made a bet with someone, that was the only explanation as to why he was flirting with her so clearly. Everybody knew her sob story and wouldn’t try to do anything.

And his smirk. His smirk was getting to her nerves. She wanted to smack it out of his face.

—

OA couldn’t believe his luck that the woman from that morning was there. At the meeting he would talk to. Suddenly, while he still didn’t know anything about her apart from the fact that she had to be an agent to be here, he felt very anxious.

She seemed like she knew her shit and how could he teach anything to her? Or to the other older agents?

As always, he tried to keep his mind busy with something else, and had wanted to go and talk to her about that morning. He also saw his chance to fix things between them. To apologize for his behavior and for having ruined her shirt (even if it wasn’t really his fault). But when he was in front of her, his mouth wasn’t listening to his brain, and he flirted with her.

Back to the present:

Dana had reflected a lot on who to assign to whom. But Maggie and OA were, in her opinion, one of the best fits she had done in her whole career until now. Maggie might be angry at the moment but she trusted her instinct, and OA was the person she had waited for, for a long time. He would tame her. Plus he was so kind and full of life and joy that she couldn’t stop thinking that it would spread to her too. At least she hoped so.

She knew Maggie didn’t know how to get out of this rabbit hole she had dug for herself and she intended to help her. Her husband had died and she lost everything with it, she who was so full of life before was now following the motion without any emotion and she would remedy that with time, she was sure of it.

—

OA was screwed. He was feeling bad. The woman he had flirted with, the one that wasn’t too happy to see him, was an FBI agent. And worse of all, she was the agent he had been partnered up with.

In a way, he was glad he would be able to redeem himself and be able to have an explanation with her, so it wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened.

When he had read her file though, he wasn’t too happy about his behavior. He read it quite a lot since knowing he would be her partner. And here he was, not even her partner yet and already having messed things up.

—

Maggie didn’t like the fact she had been forced to take a new partner when she felt she wasn’t ready. But she wanted to do her job right so she did just that. She couldn’t do the job she loved without a partner anyway.

The fact that it was OA who had been assigned to her was a little bit harder to understand. She had made it clear several times to Dana that she didn’t like him but she still made a point to tell her he would be what she needed and they would do great work together.

She had to confess that since he was working with her, he had stopped his inappropriate flirting with her and she was glad.

But he still had that smirky face, as if he knew better than her and that was maddening.

—

OA had made a promise to himself. He would make Maggie laugh, or at least smile.

He wasn’t usually very into flirting… he didn’t even know why and what compelled him to do it with her that day months ago. But he was feeling bad about it, knowing the situation, Maggie couldn’t care less about him.

She had just lost her husband a year ago and was grieving.

He tried every day to make her laugh and joked about silly things but she wasn’t there yet. He was sure he would have her with time though.

—

When the bombs exploded all around the city, Maggie was feeling helpless. Then, they arrived on scene at the last explosion site just before the second one went off. But they didn’t have time.

And she saved this woman, who cried and told her she would have preferred to die. The worst part was that she understood her. Not for the same reasons but she understood nonetheless.

That was the first time she felt OA wasn’t a bad guy after all. She just didn’t want to like him and let her brain tell her he was not likable.

He tried to protect her and defend what she did to the mother, but when she looked at him, only one look, and he knew to back off.

After, when they went to their car, she turned to him. “You don’t have to protect me, OA. I can take care of myself.”

He smiled (that fucking smile, he was never angry, who was this guy?) “Yeah, I know. But whatever you say, I’m your partner and I’ll have your back.”

She wanted to be mean to him, even if she knew he didn’t deserve it. But she restrained herself, for now. She gave him a once over and turned to open her door. “Yeah, I’ll have your back too.”

She clenched her teeth at seeing his grin once again.

—

OA didn’t know why Maggie couldn’t warm up to him. He had tried to apologize and just talk with her. But she didn’t want to. He had tried to be the best partner ever, though he wanted to be just that without trying to impress her anyway.

Each morning, he ordered their coffee, and gave it to her with a smirk. He tried to have some small talk but she wasn’t into it, going straight into work. He didn’t want to spook her and went with what she allowed.

But he knew he would have her at one point. He was pretty sure she had almost smiled the other day.

—

“Morning, Mags.” Maggie was surprised by her partner talking to her this early. And of course he had his (beautiful) smirk and had this fucking nickname for her that made her feel things. It had been months and she was still refusing to indulge him.

She rolled her eyes and turned her head to get a glimpse at him. “Good morning, OA. Why are you here this early today?”

“To see your beautiful face, of course.” She rolled her eyes again and he got serious. “No, I got a call about a possible undercover job and I had to be there early for that. But I didn’t forget your drink, see!”

The simple fact that he would be undercover for the foreseeable future was getting at her. She should be glad as she wanted to be rid of him but a part of her would miss him.

—

OA was going undercover and he didn’t know for how long. Maybe it would let the time for Maggie to be more friendly with him? Or they would go back to the way they were at first, butting heads for trivial things.

This undercover case was hard. He was part of a gang that orchestrated heists and a bomb was involved this time. The worst of it was that he had discovered that it was former Army veterans who were responsible.

All the bad memories came back to life, even after having been dismissed from his cover as they didn’t need it anymore.

—

Maggie, albeit without wanting to really acknowledge it, admitted that she had missed OA. He was the funny part of her and she missed trying not to smile at his antics. And she missed their arguments.

When she saw him again, it was after his undercover job and it seemed as if the joy had been sucked out of him. She took it upon herself to make him smile again.

“OA, are you okay?” Even if she was struggling to let people in, it was too late for that now as her partner had made a place for himself in her heart. She wanted him to be okay.

“Yes.” He didn’t seem to want to talk about it, and why would he with her anyway? So she wanted to show to him that she was there for him and that their partnership was not one-sided. “I’m sure you’re better now that you are seeing my beautiful face.”

“Oh, look what is going on here. Maggie, the one trying to cheer me up? Are you sure you are okay?”

And just like that his smirk was back.

—

They still butted heads but now it was more banter than arguments and she didn’t ask Dana to change partners again. The latter was glad of it and could see the life coming back into Maggie’s body and life. She knew she had made a good choice.

—

Until that night. The night that changed everything. They had an argument because of him being more than reckless. And it was the first time she showed him she cared.

His ‘Why do you care what happens to me, anyway?’ made her sad. All this time, she had fucked everything up, tried to keep him at bay but it was not possible.

She had surged up to put her lips on his, kissing him passionately. And one thing led to another and they spent the night together.

Flashback to that day (and night):

A kidnapping was turning into a potential school shooting. Just because teenagers wanted to be famous at all costs and because one of them was jealous to have been rejected by a girl. They fortunately recovered the kidnapped victim before it was too late but they still needed to find the second assailant.

Maggie was rushing to the suspect’s house, hoping to arrest him before he could do any damage. She was very anxious about the situation.

Unfortunately, they were too late and the teenager was on route to the basketball game.

—

OA was jittering, the poor young man was just lost. His mom had died of cancer the year before, he was grieving and feeling rejected by everyone. He didn’t deserve to die even if Dana told them to do what should be done if needed.

He spotted him right when they pulled up to the building. But the suspect was already entering it. They had to rush there before it could go wrong. He wanted to save the kids. All of them including the potential shooter.

—

Maggie tried to negotiate. “You need to put your weapon down, or we’re gonna shoot you.”

The perp was stressed, lost and had only one thing in mind. “No. This is my day, I get to decide.”

“Yes, it’s your day. Look around, everyone is watching you. You’re already famous. Now, drop the weapon so you can walk away.”

—

OA saw the teen not responding to Maggie's requests. He had a quick moment to adapt and adjust. And when the young man turned around for a second to look at his surroundings, OA took his chance to run toward him.

He really wanted everyone to go home tonight. He didn’t think he would take a bullet for that though.

—

Maggie didn’t realize what OA was doing until it was too late. She couldn’t stop to yell his name, but it was futile.

When she heard the gunshot, it took her breath away. OA was down and she didn’t know his condition. She had to apprehend the suspect first but did so without air. She swore she was going to kill him herself if he wasn’t dead and if he was, she would resuscitate him just to kill him again (she didn’t want him to be dead).

She was cursing at the security guard for being so slow. She wanted to go close to OA and assess the damages. “Get him out of here right away.” She said when the guard took her place, she didn’t want to see this teen again. Then, she ran towards her partner.

OA couldn’t breathe. She took his vest off at light speed. “Hold on OA. Hold on.” She was shaking, realizing now that it was the first time she was so intimate with him. She stroked his chest, more than necessary but she needed it. “It didn’t go through. You’re going to be okay. You’re okay.” She kept repeating it, maybe more for her sake than his.

“Yeah, yeah.” He had a hard time breathing. “It’ll still gonna leave a mark.” She nodded in response, wanting to slap him at the same time and thinking it would maybe make him learn his lesson not to do that again.

Now that she knew he would be alright, her stern look replaced her worried one.

—

“You’re gonna be fine. Luckily, no ribs were broken.” The doctor was telling him while they were walking in the aisles.

“Thank you.” He told her before she went to another patient on her list.

He kept walking and heard Maggie behind him, he could just imagine her scolding even without seeing her. “What you did was stupid. You know that, right?”

“Yeah.” He turned around to face her.

“And an innocent bystander could have been killed.” Okay, she was furious.

“I know.” He told her the truth. He knew that, but he had done it anyway.

“NO. OA. You could have been killed.” She walked toward him, punching very light at his chest with her finger.

“I know. I just acted on instinct.” His eyes were getting teary, with her scolding him, he was grasping the possibilities of him being dead and it was frightening.

“Instinct? Your instinct was reckless.” She paused, looking elsewhere before going back to him, and he could see her eyes getting wet. “And it scared me.” Here it was. “Don’t do that again.”

He wanted to joke about her reaction and comfort her so she could think of something else, but it wasn’t the time and he was interrupted by the father of the kid who thanked him for not killing his son.

—

Maggie wanted to cry. She was barely restraining her tears. Her, who wanted to keep her distance from him. And here she was.

Seeing the dad thank OA didn’t make her want him to risk his life again. But she understood and would probably have done the same. That didn’t mean she was okay with it though.

He turned in her direction right after and they had a silent discussion that meant exactly that.

—

Later that night, OA still needed some answers from his partner. Why did Maggie suddenly give a shit about him? (not that he didn’t like it, on the contrary).

He knew it was late, but she couldn’t sleep as he had barely got there after rushing to come. He rang her doorbell and she buzzed him up.

When she opened her door, she had a pointed look, and watery eyes. As she wouldn’t talk and he was the one that had come here, he asked: “Why do you care what happens to me, anyway?”

She shook her head before biting her lips and mumbling something like ‘fuck it’ before grabbing him by the lapel of his coat and kissing him.

One thing led to another and he thought they would talk the next day. For now, they had other things to do.

Back to the present:

OA was awake, laying down beside Maggie, who was sleeping. He took time to look around him as it was Maggie’s bedroom. He didn’t know what would happen next.

His partner had kept him at bay since day one, and now he was sharing a bed with her and he hoped she wouldn’t want to take it back.

“OA?” She barely opened her eyes, reaching with her arm beside her to make sure he was there. As he had begun to stand up, he held his hand to grab hers and she clutched it, pulling him back to the bed.

“Good morning, Mags.” He was stroking her hand and was now reaching for her cheek.

“So it wasn’t a dream then?”

He chuckled. “So you did dream about me.”

“Yeah. I heard you tell me quite some times that you were a catch I shouldn’t pass.” It was her turn to laugh and she finally opened her eyes, getting in a more sitting position.

He couldn’t help himself and kissed her languorously.

—

They were back down on the bed, him above her and Maggie pushed lightly on him to explain herself before being lost in him once again.

“I have to admit something to you.”

“I’m all ears.” He was listening but touching and kissing her at the same time, she focused really hard not to lose her train of thoughts.

“I never really hated you. You’re a good guy.” She smiled and let escaped a moan when he sucked her pulse point.

He was beginning to pant and she wasn’t better for wear. “Thanks. Since the first time I saw you I think you hypnotized me and I thought I had ruined all my chances with you before even knowing you because of my behavior.”

She cupped his face and put her forehead against his, breathing him in. “And I’m sorry for that.” She lightly kissed him and pushed back on him to keep going. She hadn’t finished her explanation. “With the loss of Jason, I kept myself out. I didn’t want to live through that again and so I closed myself off. I thought I would not be able to feel pain for anyone again.”

His hands were skimming under her breast and it was harder to keep rational thoughts. She focused on his voice. “But it didn’t work.”

She moaned again before answering. “No, it didn’t work. You pierced through all my shields and I realized that even if I tried to keep you out, you were already in.”

—

OA couldn’t help but make a naughty joke about what Maggie had just said, whispering in her ear. “I’m not inside of you right now.”

She smirked at him, grinding against him. “And whose fault is that?”

They laughed but then were too preoccupied by each other's bodies to talk.

Chapter Text

Today at work, everyone was talking about soulmates and what their mark was. Maggie never cared for that and she didn’t understand why they were talking about that all of sudden.

After some digging, she learnt it was because of a case, so at least it was related to a work thing, but she didn’t stay long so no one could ask about hers.

—

Her mark was not something she cherished. Why couldn’t she choose by herself which person was hers? She didn’t want to acknowledge her mark. It was a tattoo that didn’t mean anything to her, just a stupid drawing on her skin.

When she had met her high school sweetheart, Jason, that was the only time she wished her mark would mean something and that he was the one. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case which made it clear for her that it was just a scam.

His dove wasn’t matching her soul mark. They weren’t soulmates and she was devastated.

Jason was a man that cared about soulmates. He had really loved the idea that it would be a love nobody could understand and that it was fate. That didn’t stop him from loving her and marrying her though. He wouldn’t stop his life just for a slight chance of a ‘maybe meeting his’.

They had a beautiful life and moved to New York two years prior. And then, out of nowhere, she was alone again. A car accident had taken her husband’s life and she had nothing left except her work.

—

Maggie was grieving Jason’s death, not wanting to be close to anyone else to prevent herself from feeling this pain ever again. But, she didn’t know why, it was difficult to keep her partner away.

She had been partnered with OA for only a couple of months and he was all she wanted him to be as a partner. He was learning very fast and was very competent in his job. And a very kind and respectful agent. He was not rushing her nor pressing her to be more open about herself, although he had gently notified her during a case that he knew about her husband and what happened to him and that he was there if and when she wanted. He was very patient with her. Maybe because he was a rookie and didn’t want to impose (apart from his height). Anyway, she liked him more and more.

After a particularly bad case involving the Army, she understood that OA had lived through some pretty shitty things in there. She felt bad she hadn’t known before because of her lack of interest in his life. She hadn’t read his file but Dana confirmed to her that everything he had said in that interrogating room was true indeed.

She had offered him a shoulder to cry on or just talk to whenever he wanted or needed it. And that same night, when she came back from her boxing class, she found him sitting at the end of her stairs.

—

OA had liked Maggie from day one. He didn’t know why but she had a little something he couldn’t catch that made him want to be there for her and know everything about her. Unfortunately, he learned quite quickly that it wouldn’t be an easy task.

He knew about her and the fact that she had lost her husband. What he didn’t know was if Jason had been her soulmate or not but he couldn’t ask that. The only thing that would be ‘good’ for her was if he hadn’t been, at least that way, he wished she would meet hers and be happy again.

With time and efforts (at not doing too much for her and letting her put the pace), his partner let him be a part of her life, and they became friends. He was still the one divulging more about himself than her but it was progressing and OA knew she trusted him.

—

One night, when the four teammates went to celebrate their arrest at the nearest bar, they talked about this or that when Tiff reached for her glass and her mark appeared when her sleeve went up in the process.

Scola, always the curious one, was the first to ask about it. “What is it?”

Tiffany didn’t see her mark was visible so she didn’t understand at first. She turned to her partner, an eyebrow raised. Then she saw him nod in the direction of her arm and caught up with his inquiry. “Oh, yeah.” She rolled up her sleeve even more to show it entirely. “It’s just a feather.”

“Not just a feather Tiff! It’s beautiful.” Scola reassured his friend. Turning to OA and Maggie he asked: “What are yours, guys?”

OA, feeling Maggie being uncomfortable, preferred to skip that part and went to ask about his instead. So Scola showed them his little bunny chewing on some grass. And he continued with: “If you don’t want to talk about your soul mark, can we talk about what you think about soulmates? I don’t think we had this discussion before and I love that subject.”

Maggie immediately scoffed, which intrigued everyone but mostly OA, he was very interested by her point of view. “Yeah, I don’t like them.”

OA felt confident to talk about it now, with other people engaged in their discussion. “Why is that?” Marking a pause, slapping himself mentally he added: “Did Jason was…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence as Maggie already answered. “… No, he wasn’t my soulmate. And that’s my point. Why would we be with someone just because of a drawing on our skin exactly? I want to be in control of my life, not just let fate dictate what I can do or who I should be with.”

“I feel you on that point, but…” Scola looked into her eyes. “… Everyone that experienced it is saying it is magical. I never heard of anything like that nor did I hear a bad thing about two soulmates.”

“Yeah… I kinda hope I’ll meet mine someday because I would like to live this type of love.” Tiff added before taking a sip of her drink.

OA was awfully quiet. He thought about Maggie, not wanting to have anything to do with her soulmate and not wanting to find them out. It was sad and he wanted her to change her mind. He found his voice again to agree with Tiff. “Yeah, I think soulmates are cool.”

Maggie wasn’t comfortable talking about her mark as she didn’t want anyone to know about it but she quite enjoyed hearing about the others and was happy when she had a loving couple in front of her. She just didn’t need to ask them if they were soulmates or not, they were in love and that was it.

But knowing OA was loving the idea made her heart still. She hoped he would find his soulmate soon. And, at the same time, something in her wasn’t liking that idea (at all).

—

Months later, OA had the scare of his life. Maggie had been injured, shot in the chest and he hadn’t been able to protect her on time. Fortunately, she hadn’t been hurt as the bullet didn’t go through her vest.

But, when he checked on her, her shirt had rolled up, and there, just on her left side, at level with her breast, was her mark. The mark. The one that was also his. He almost touched it before going still. Only her voice, after she had called him several times, made him come back from his mind.

That night, he had gone to his mom to have some comfort. His youngest sister, Amira, was there too and when he shared the story, she told him he had to tell her anyway. But he refused.

He already knew Maggie’s position on the subject, and didn’t think he could handle being rejected by his soulmate, the one that should always support him and be there for him. The one that he now knew was the woman he had already begun to fall in love with before even knowing she was his soulmate.

—

Both OA and Maggie were in the car, during a routine surveillance. And to pass the time, he dared to talk about soulmates again. He had to be sure she wouldn’t change her mind. “So, I know you don’t like the subject but I feel like I need to have this conversation at least once before dropping the subject completely.” He looked at her. “If that’s okay with you, of course.”

She smiled. “Well I know you. And I know you won’t stop until you have your answers.” She raised one eyebrow, like only she knew how to do, and went back serious. “Yeah, go ahead.”

“You already told us you didn’t want to search for your soulmate before. But what would you do if you knew? What if they found you?”

Maggie snorted, looking out the window before staring back at him. “I really hope they won’t.” She must have seen his look because she clarified. “I don’t want to know them. Ever.”

“Okay.” He hoped it didn’t show, but he was empty inside. Dull. Sad. He glanced back at her, a half-smile on his face. “I can respect that.” And he will respect that, but it killed him internally. What had he done for him to end up with the only soulmate on Earth that didn’t want to have one?

“Really?”

Didn’t she trust him? He made sure she didn’t misinterpret. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. You seemed to like the idea of soulmates and me not wanting anything to do with that must be hard for you, no?”

Her words hurt him, yes. But he couldn’t really tell her why. She had made it clear she would never want him back. “You not wanting it doesn’t mean I can’t love the idea of it.” He checked the building before turning back to her. “And, frankly when we first met, I really thought it would be good for you to find yours. But you never waver and don’t want to and I can see why to.”

“Oh, really? So, mister, can you tell me why I don’t want it then?” She was laughing at him while still waiting to have his response.

He cleared his throat, embarrassed. “Maybe.” He stopped, looking at her and judging her reaction. “Maybe you don’t want to have one because you’re afraid it would make your relationship with your late husband dull, or as if it couldn’t compete.”

He waited a moment before continuing. “Maybe. You are scared to go through love again too. You loved someone and he died. But guess what? You can’t compare relationships. Soulmate or not, every relationship is different and it wouldn’t be fair to anyone if you compared different people you dated. It’s not a competition.”

Seeing Maggie nod pensively, he had to tell her this too: “You know, you have to let go of all that guilt. As hard as it is to accept, life is for the living. It’s time for you to live it.”

—

Maggie was feeling all sorts of things. In a way, listening to OA was healing. After explaining why she may be reticent to the soulmates’ things, he had concluded, to lighten the mood, that it also might have a lot of things to do with the fact she was a control freak and they had laughed.

He was right, she wasn’t thinking clearly and it was crazy to think a person could be compared to another. Jason will always be in her heart and nobody would take his place.

She wasn’t ready for another relationship anyway. And she still believed a soulmate wasn’t what she needed. She didn’t care about that.

But at the end of that day, when she took a shower, she looked and touched her mark as if she idolized it. Staring at every perfect line of the wolf howling on her skin. His fur, his paws, his nose, his tail. Everything was perfect and she felt a warmth she never felt before at admiring it.

—

OA had known for months that Maggie was his soulmate, and it was hard for him. Then, Mona had come into his life and had asked him out. He decided to live, like he had advised Maggie to do a while ago, and accepted the invite.

Even though he had told Maggie she shouldn’t compare people because it didn’t work like that, that was totally what he was doing.

But, in a way, it wasn’t the same thing. Because he knew he was in love with Maggie, and he knew she was his soulmate. So, of course nobody could compete with that, not because of the soulmate thing either but just because the only person that counted was the one you loved, and it was Maggie for him.

—

One day, Maggie was enjoying being with her best friend and she thought they told each other everything. And one day, she learned he was seeing someone just because he had a phone call she had heard, and the words exchanged couldn’t hide his relationship with the person on the other hand of the call.

She didn’t know what to think of that. She felt like a part of her was missing all of sudden. Maggie loved her relationship with OA and it felt as if it was changing overnight. In reality, she recognized it wasn’t the case. Her relationship with OA didn’t change. Only now, she knew about his girlfriend and a part of her was jealous of her.

—

OA couldn’t stay with Mona any longer. She wasn’t happy with his career, pushing him to change. And because of her, he didn’t have enough time to see Maggie as much as he would like. She wasn’t Maggie, plain and simple.

—

Maggie was feeling bad about her reaction. She was glad OA wasn’t with Mona anymore, what did that say about her? She preferred not to dwell on it and was happy to have him back all to herself.

Their night out or at each other’s place came back more frequently and she was enjoying that. She missed him when he wasn’t here.

—

Amira had called Maggie to be interviewed for an article of hers and the FBI agent had nicely accepted. They had a great afternoon at a café and when they were done, they kept talking.

OA’s sister wanted to help her brother. He may be a pain in the ass sometimes but it was always for the greater good. And he was kind and she loved him very much and wanted him to be happy.

She wanted to test the water with Maggie and see if she felt something for Omar, but in truth, she already knew it was the case. She had seen her looking at her brother and even if she didn’t know it yet, she was in love with him.

Amira found it even better that Maggie didn’t care about soulmate, because she loved Omar anyway and she was wearing the same mark as him without knowing it. It was perfect.

She decided not to act yet as she was certain Maggie would soon realize what she was missing. Besides, she was very surprised when the agent was the one to ask about soulmates and their mark.

Being a fan of it herself, she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to talk about it. “What do you want to know about soul marks?”

—

Maggie was having a good time with Amira, learning more about her partner while doing so. Since he had broken up with Mona, she felt a closeness that wasn’t there before. Or maybe, that was just since then that she acknowledged it. She couldn’t hide it anymore, she had feelings for him.

She saw Amira’s face change when she was the one initiating a discussion about soulmates and she knew she had made a mistake. OA must have told her she didn’t want anything to have to do with that.

She stuttered a little, but she was a good actor and said: “I just wanted to know what was yours?”

Amira smiled, knowing full well she was lying before responding. “I have a butterfly on my right scapula and the annoying part is that I can’t really look at it. That sucks.” OA’s sister played with Maggie, trying to know more. “And yours?”

Maggie didn’t know what to do. She had been played, and she was the only one responsible. But she couldn’t tell his sister what it was, there was no way. “Well, I don’t really like to talk about mine, you know. But I can tell you where it is though. It’s on my left side.”

After that, the FBI agent said her goodbyes and off they went.

—

When she was with Amira, Maggie felt like the younger woman was the one directing the interview. She was the FBI agent but she didn’t win against Amira.

Their talk made her really acknowledge the fact that she not only appreciated OA but just loved him. After all these years at his side, their closeness, their bond. She was in love with him but didn’t know what to do with that information yet.

It came back to her one night at the bar. They had gone to celebrate with Tiff and Scola and the two others had to go pretty early compared to what they were used to, leaving them both alone.

She took her chance to be brave and to speak about soulmates. Or, at least, she tried. An ad for a dating app was playing on the TV in front of them. It was to help you find your other half and they had a great record to show. Taking the opportunity she was given, she asked, nodding towards the ad: “Did you apply to that?”

Confused, OA raised his gaze to see what she was talking about and turned back to her, smiling gleefully. “No. I don’t need to anymore.”

“Oh.” She didn’t know what to say. “So? Does that mean that you met your soulmate already?” Maggie was praying she was mistaken but by the look on his face she was scared.

“Yes, I met her a while back.” He was fidgeting on his chair, evading her eyes, he was hiding something from her. Nevertheless, she didn’t know if she wanted to know yet that her chances were doomed. She wasn’t ready to face his soulmate. She wasn’t the one and she had to accept that.

That really proved to her that soulmates were a fraud. How come the second guy she loved wasn’t hers either. But this time, he wasn’t interested in her. So maybe, she was the defecting one.

—

Time passed without anything changing between them. OA trying to be okay with what he had and Maggie doing the same. Both thinking the other one didn’t want them.

It took him to be injured for it to switch.

The idiot that he was, OA offered himself up as a hostage to free her. Of course, the perp had coined him, making both of them stay as he had a better chance to negotiate with two instead of only one agent. Let’s just say Maggie wasn’t too happy about his choice.

She was livid and angrier when the suspect let a shot be fired when he saw he was done for, and then seeing OA on the ground broke her heart.

Maggie had never in her life ran this fast. Checking for his pulse, that was light but still there. She prayed to all gods to be merciful and save her partner.

She never left his side, having to be pulled out by the paramedics so they could do their job at one point. And then, when she thought she was already on a shred, she stopped breathing when they cut his shirt off to assess the damages.

There, on his heart no less, was lying the big and beautiful howling wolf adorning her left side. She couldn’t stop herself from swearing. “You asshole.” And when he flatlined she added. “You can’t do this to me! You have to live, come on. I can’t do that another time.”

—

It took him an entire day to finally wake up, dozy as fuck. He found it hard to open his eyes but he felt some warmth on his hand and wanted to know what it was.

When he managed to open them, he saw a hand, Maggie’s hand holding his and he smiled.

“OA? Hey, how are you doing?” Having felt some movements, Maggie looked up to see her partner awake.

“Like a guy being shot at.” He smirked, nodding at his wound.

“Not funny!” She waited for a moment and carried on with what she wanted to say. Now that the joy of knowing he was alive and well was wearing off, it left place to her anger. She really wanted to slap him. “Don’t you dare do that to me. Ever. Again. Do you understand?”

“I promise.” They both knew it was a lie. But it calmed her down.

She didn’t know what overtook her, but she sealed the deal with a kiss. “Good.”

—

OA was stunned. The woman he loved. His soulmate. Maggie was kissing him. It was just a peck and didn’t last long, but he still felt her lips against his and that made him question his situation. “Am I still dreaming?”

“What are you talking about?” Maggie straightened up to get a better look at him, a hand on his uninjured chest.

“I think I’m dreaming.” He was still in awe and couldn’t believe it. The only solution was that his injury was worse than he thought and he was hallucinating.

If it was the case, he didn’t want to wake up.

“Ouch!” Just when he smiled like a dumbstruck in love, he felt the pinch she gave him and turned his head towards her. “Fuck, why did you do that?”

Maggie giggled. It was a good look on her. “You said you were dreaming and I wanted you to know that you are not.”

“So you pinched me?” He was bewildered, his groggy eyes not believing it.

She caressed his hair lovingly, keeping her head close to his. “Yeah, that’s what we usually do in this situation.”

“You could have kissed me more instead, though.” Now, he was pouting and before he knew it, her lips were back on his. Only this time, he could participate happily.

—

Maggie couldn’t believe it. They kissed. Multiple times. They were even surprised by the nurse entering to take his vitals. She didn’t think she could redden this much but she felt her cheeks getting hotter by the second. And she didn’t care one bit.

When she was allowed back in, she went straight for his bed, sitting on the edge of it. She gently took his hands in hers, stroking them while looking at the movements before pointing her gaze on him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The drugs might influence his state but he didn’t understand. “What?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were my soulmate or that I was yours?”

He looked away, sheepish. “Remember when you told me you never wanted to know about your soulmate? That’s why.”

“Shit. I’m really a little bitch sometimes… I’m sorry about that.”

He barked out a laugh at her expression and at the curse. But he would like to understand what made her change her mind. “Not that I don’t appreciate the outcome, but what happened for you to realize you wanted your soulmate?” After a tiny pause, he said again: “What made you realize you wanted me?”

“You.”

“How so?”

“Like that brilliant Egyptian philosopher once said, ‘As hard it is to accept, life is for the living.’” That made him grin from ear to ear. But she wasn’t done. She wanted him to know. “I just want to make it clear to you that I am very grateful that you are my soulmate. But even if it wouldn’t have been the case, I would still love you.”

“I love you too.” He was stunned she had said those three little words that soon, but elated to hear them. He grabbed her more tightly and brought her closer to him so he could kiss her again.

—

After they finally confessed their feelings to each other, everything moved pretty fast. They have known each other for years and it felt right. Everyone was happy.

And if you asked Maggie about it, she would secretly tell you that, yes, having a soulmate for a lover was so much more and better than anything else. She didn’t know what she was missing until then.

Chapter Text

OA had moved in with Maggie four months ago, and they were delighted to have Ella with them. The new house was bigger and even if he had joked about it before, he was really considering adding someone to their family.

He just needed Maggie to be on board too. He didn’t think she was opposed to it but they didn’t have that talk yet. And he didn’t know how to ask either. He didn’t want to pressure her or anything. It was her body that would go through all of it after all.

—

Maggie was so happy in her life, she couldn’t believe her luck. She had lost so much time with the loss of Jason and grieving him for way too long. She was just scared to move on and to risk living it all over again. She had been too absorbed by her work trying to be busy and not think about it.

And with her choice of work, she didn’t have time to dwell on her lifeless life. She was just following the flow. And because of that, she was bound to meet someone there too, and it wasn’t the safest place to be. So she didn’t think about it, avoiding the subject and not wanting to have feelings for anyone.

But, of course, she had been a perfect cliché, falling in love with her partner. And she wouldn’t change anything.

Now, with OA by her side and having custody of Ella, she really realized what she had missed all along. A family. A sense of partnership and companionship she lacked. She had missed this. It was perfect.

Ella was a sweet little girl, who had acclimated quite quickly to the change in her situation. Of course, she was grieving and missing her mom but was at ease with Maggie and OA taking care of her. Plus, Artemis was a cool pet who followed her everywhere and she never had one before.

The little girl made her think about kids, she had always wanted them and now that she was with OA, she could see a future (near) where they would be raising another kid. They had Ella and it was good but she craved for more. She wanted to try and have a biological child while she still could.

And like that, Ella could have a sibling and they wouldn’t have too much of an age difference. The little girl being six years old, it was already a big gap (so seven if they started now and got lucky rapidly).

—

At the Bureau, OA stumbled upon his colleagues making a bet but quickly stopping everything they were doing when they saw him. He found it suspicious and quirked an eyebrow questioningly. “What is happening here?”

“Nothing.” Scola was quick to stand up as he had sat on Tiff’s desk, and got back to his chair, avoiding his eyes. He was looking like a little boy being caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

OA looked at Tiff then, hopeful to have an answer from her, but she was typing away on her computer, as if she really was busy with filling a report. He shook his head and turned back to Stuart. “Scola, what were you doing?”

Maggie arrived just then, having driven Ella to school this morning, and by the expression OA had she immediately stared at their teammates. “Don’t tell me you did it again? Guys?”

Scola and Tiffany both spoke at the same time. The former saying with a resigned face: “Guilty.”

While the latter wore a stone face, not letting anything out. “I plead the fifth.” At hearing her partner confess so easily, she turned her head towards him and nodded her head, asking him silently why he did that to which he responded by shrugging.

OA was still confused as to what they were all talking about and fixed his sight on his girlfriend to have an explanation.

—

Maggie took pity on her boyfriend not knowing about it, so after a last dark look to the other two, she focused on OA. “So, you remember when our families wanted us together and were always saying things?” She marked a pause to turn again, pointed at each of their friends. “Well, it happens that they also were betting on us here.”

“What?” He looked at the other duo in astonishment which made her laugh.

“Yep. They were betting on when we would get together.”

“No, we were also betting on if you did it already or not.” Scola added with a pointed finger which earned him a punch from Tiffany. And everyone laughed.

Maggie got serious again, concentrating on Stuart who would be the best target for confessing to their actions. “So? What was it this time?”

Scola was nodding ‘no’ with his head. “You can’t know about it or you will rig it!”

“Yeah, and I intend to win this one.” Tiff added.

—

At the end of the day, OA was still flabbergasted that his teammates could bet on something like his private life. Maggie made fun of him again because she knew about it all along.

They were in bed after having checked on their little girl, Ella, sound asleep in her room with Artemis at her feet. OA was whispering even though he didn’t have to. “Mags, why didn’t you tell me they were betting on us?”

She chuckled again and turned in his arms to be face to face. “I couldn’t.” She looked up, seeing he wasn’t understanding why she didn’t tell him anything, so she explained, placing a tendering hand on his face and stroking it. “At first it would have been silly to talk about it. Then we already had our families on our backs and it was very stressful as it was. I couldn’t support another thing being about ‘us’ while we weren’t even together.”

She pouted and he smiled lazily, stroking her cheek in turn and going for a kiss. “I understand now.” He kissed her again before joking, mumbling in her neck. “It was hard not to have me, right? I’m a catch.”

She moaned at the sensation of his lips on her pulse point and clutched his neck more fiercely. “Mostly your body.” They laughed and she took advantage of that to kiss his lips and pushed him on his back to straddle him.

In between kisses and when Maggie reached for his shirt to take it off, he chuckled. “I see.”

“Are you complaining about it?” She was panting heavily and her eyes were dark with want but her tone was kind of menacing. He loved her.

“Not one bit.” He turned them around so she was the one under him and began to take her clothes off too.

—

The next day, when they were eating breakfast, Maggie looked at OA and told him they should do bets too. To be even.

It wasn’t rare for them to make some in between them, but they never had bet on anyone else. He accepted but didn’t know what to bet on.

Maggie, the resourceful one, had already thought about it and they had to find what the other duo of their partnership was betting on to win. They had made assumptions of course and were sure it was about their private life but they weren’t sure of anything yet.

OA was wondering. “I don’t think there is much to bet on. There are only two possibilities now.”

“Which ones?” Maggie was happy OA was into their shenanigans but she didn’t see why there could only be two possibilities and wanted to know his thoughts. She took a bite of her pancake and then a sip of her coffee before he talked.

“Well. Either it’s about a possible wedding or a kid.” He barely looked at her, worried about what they were talking about.

She smiled reassuringly even though he couldn’t see it and made him look at her, taking his hand in hers. “Hey. You know I love you right? So don’t be afraid to talk about these subjects. I mean, I hope we’ll live them in the future. And soon.”

He squeezed her hand, his smile stretching even further. “I love you too. And I know these are topics I wanted to discuss with you too but I never knew how to so I was waiting for the right opportunity.”

Just then, the doorbell rang. He looked defeated but let her go open the door while he made sure Ella was ready.

—

They had to stop their discussion when Ella’s nanny came in to drive her to school but Maggie didn’t forget about it and saw that OA was very insecure and she didn’t know why. She had to make him realize that she wanted him and a future with him.

When they were in the car, she let him drive. “OA, about earlier, listen to me very carefully. I love you and want you. I only see a future with you in it. We are living together and raising a kid together. And I hope to add more of them too. For the wedding, it’s as you wish, I don’t care either way. I just want to be with you. Always.”

—

OA didn’t know what to say but tears were filling up his eyes and his sight was all blurry. He reached for her thigh and squeezed it lovingly. “Thank you for that, Mags.”

After a pause, he continued. “I want all of that with you too. And I thought about the bet. As we already have a kid, I’m pretty sure they bet on the wedding.”

“Okay. So if they are betting on us having kids I win and if it’s about the wedding, you win.”

“Deal.”

—

Maggie was happy with their bet, but a thought came into mind. “Okay but what are we betting on? What does the winner get OA?”

He parked the car in their spot before turning the engine off. Then he waited another minute before smiling, unsure of himself. “As we talked about it and we’re both in.” He stopped to make sure she was still following and she nodded at him for him to carry on. “I’d say the winner, which will be me obviously, gets to choose the movie for a month.”

“No way you will win. I think a month is too long, let’s say a week.”

“So, you’re afraid I’ll win.”

She wasn’t happy about it but she wouldn’t lie to him. “A little bit.” They laughed and went to work to begin their investigation on their teammates.

—

It took them a month to finally be able to find out the truth. Maggie was interrogating Tiffany while OA was on Scola, but she knew Scola would be the one to let it spill so she took time to find the answer with him too.

OA was the one finally making Stuart cave. And OA had lost their bet. Maggie had won. Their friends and partners at the Bureau had indeed made a bet about them having kids and not about a future wedding.

—

That night, when they got back home, while Ella was playing in her room with the cat and he was on the couch with Maggie, it finally settled in his mind that when they had made the bet, they never talked about what they would do if Maggie won.

“Mags, now that you won the bet, what is it that you want?”

She moved to face him better and bit her lips. “I have an idea.”

“I’m listening. You won, Mags. Whatever you want, remember?” He smiled, then a smirk formed in its place. “Is it something naughty?”

“OA! Come on.”

“What? Ella is not in the room, you can tell me.”

“No, it’s not naughty.” She smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Or I guess it will be to do it though.”

He chuckled and nudged her playfully. “Come on, Maggie.”

She placed her face closer to him, kissing him then going near his ear to whisper. “I want a baby, Omar.”

He tightened his grip on her hips. “Mags?” He was stunned. “Is this real?”

“OA, of course it’s real.” She stood up and she took him with her towards the bedroom. She made a quick stop to put Ella to bed and was back at his side. He hadn’t moved and she had to laugh at him, happy to have been able to make him speechless.

When they were ready to go to bed and installed. She made another move, whispering languorously, her lips touching his as she spoke. “Are you gonna put a baby in me now?”

He immediately reacted by kissing her and was above her in a second.

Chapter Text

Maggie and OA had been together for two years. They have been in this beautiful house since they had Ella, six months ago. And two months ago they had taken the decision to try for a baby.

Maggie had been surprised but as soon as they decided to do it, she had been pregnant the week that followed their decision. It happened really fast and she was both delighted and scared.

As she was only shy of two months pregnant, only OA knew about it. But he was already going crazy as to every danger they could be exposed to.

—

OA was delighted. He already had everything he had ever wanted and more. Being with Maggie, taking care of Ella with her in their new house. And Artemis too. It was perfect.

But now, they would add another person to the family, it was becoming real and it was frightening. There were so many dangers in this world. In their world with their job. He was freaking out a little.

—

They were waiting to do the first echography and OA couldn’t stay still. Maggie placed her hand on his thigh to center him and it worked. He took her hand in return and kissed it.

When she was called, OA was the first to stand and if he could have run to the exam room, he would have.

“Calm down, OA.” Maggie was smiling at him, shaking her head.

“I can’t, sorry, I’m too excited.” He was smiling sheepishly at her and looked so much like a little boy having eaten too much candies that she had to laugh.

—

The doctor explained to them how it would go and soon after that, Maggie was on the table, with the cold liquid spreading on her stomach, OA clutching her hand almost painfully.

Before beginning the test, the OB/Gyn looked at them, asking: “So are the parents ready to see their little baby?”

They answered ‘yes’ in the same voice. And the probe went on her belly. Only the doctor could comprehend what was appearing on the screen for now. Even him seemed to do a double take which made OA worry.

“Doctor, is everything alright?”

He looked at them again after checking his screen another time and then turned the sound on. They heard a cacophony and looked back at the doctor. “Congratulations, you’re having twins.”

Maggie stared at OA in shock. They were just there, watching each other and listening to the heart of their kids. Plural. Surreal.

“Here is your first picture of them.” Maggie took it absently, not leaving OA’s sight. They finally had the photo they wanted to be able to announce it to Ella later.

—

When they were in the car, Maggie left OA behind the wheel. But he didn’t turn the engine on and she turned towards him, intrigued. “OA? Everything alright?”

He was baffled by the news and couldn’t stop smiling. “I can’t believe it, Mags.”

She smiled back at him, caressing his cheek and joking. “You had to put two in there, seriously?”

“You are as much responsible as I am for that.” He smirked and turned the engine on, driving them home.

“True. And I wouldn’t change anything.”

Just before arriving, she expressed what she had in mind. “Omar, now that we have a picture of the baby- babies.” She gasped and was in awe of this news before continuing. “I think we should tell Ella. What do you think?”

“Yes, it would be great. Do you want to do it tonight?”

“No, let’s keep it for ourselves at least for a couple of days. I want to announce it to her the right way.”

“You’re right.” He parked the car and went out of it first to open her door.

—

This afternoon, they would announce the news to their little girl. Ella was almost 7 and Maggie was three months pregnant. With twins. OA still didn’t believe it. Their life would change for the better again.

Ella was sitting on their couch and they both were in front of her, each one of them in an armchair. “Am I in trouble?”

“Oh, no, sweetie. Not at all.” Maggie instantly felt bad for the way they had handled it. She looked at her boyfriend and he understood he had to be the one to talk.

“Ella, sweetheart, we have something to tell you. It’s big and happy news.” He turned around and took the present to give it to her.

The little girl was suspicious and uncomfortable but Maggie made a gesture for her to open it. “Go on, open it.”

She didn’t understand at first and they gave her time to do it on her own. In the bag, there was a t-shirt saying ‘big sister’, a turtle plush toy (her favorite animal at the moment) and a copy of the picture they had. Ella touched it carefully, in awe, like they had been. She smiled and asked: “You’re going to have a baby?”

Maggie couldn’t hold on her tears any longer and got up to be with Ella. It was the hormones’ fault. And OA got closer to the little girl too. They hugged her and explained that yes they would have a new addition to the family soon but they took the time to tell her that they were twins, so two babies and not only one would come.

Ella accepted the hugs and kisses and smiled but she asked to go to her room to put the picture on her nightstand and they let her be.

—

Two days later, OA thought something was wrong with Ella but he needed to confirm it with Maggie first. He waited to be in their bedroom, in their bed to talk about it before going to sleep.

He loved these moments. Being with Maggie, when they didn’t have to think about work and when Artemis and Ella were sound asleep in the little girl’s room. Then, he was alone with the love of his life and their babies. He took time to speak to them each night, even though Maggie was making fun of him, telling him they couldn’t hear anything yet.

He didn’t care. He caressed and kissed her belly, which made her laugh as she was ticklish. After, he kissed his way back up to her mouth but when she turned around and straddled him, he had to stop there. “Wait.”

“What?”

“Just, I wanted to talk about Ella. She doesn’t seem like herself since we told her.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” She had gotten back to her side of the bed, an arm still around his chest. She fixed the ceiling, trying to find what made their little girl upset and sad.

OA knew his girlfriend by heart and turned toward her to make her think of something else or she would never sleep. Better, he made her stop thinking by kissing her. “Stop thinking so hard and go to sleep, Mags.”

“We need to talk to her. I can’t stop worrying about her OA.” She was stroking his beard while talking, in a soothing manner.

He stroked her cheek too and bumped her nose gently with his. “I know, but she’s asleep right now, and there is school tomorrow. So let’s just take her to her favorite restaurant tomorrow and we’ll talk to her after, at home.” He whispered very close to her skin, making her shiver.

“Okay.” She turned to kiss him properly and, happy with their decision, went to sleep easily.

—

The next day, after school and after the restaurant, Ella went directly to her room. But this time, OA and Maggie followed her.

“Sweetie, we wanted to talk to you about something.” Maggie had her calm and soothing voice.

Ella was on her bed, looking at the ground. “Are you gonna abandon me?”

“What are you talking about?” OA exclaimed, stunned by her statement. Seeing he had scared her, he said in a much lower tone and sat next to her: “Why would we do that?”

The little girl stared at them, back and forth, before explaining. “Now that you will have your real babies, you don’t need me anymore, right?”

“Oh, Ella. Of course we need you.” Maggie had a desolate expression on her face, looking at OA with blurry eyes. She hugged Ella close to her chest, kissing her hair.

OA added that, yes, they needed her. He smirked inconspicuously at Ella. “Who will teach the twins how to behave? They will need someone to help them and protect them. They are so lucky to have you as a big sister, you can’t even imagine, Ella.”

“Really?”

Both Maggie and OA spoke in unison. “Yes, really!” The three of them hugged to the point Ella had to make them move away as she joked she couldn’t breathe. And they all laughed, relieved everything had been sorted out.

Maggie then made her focus on her and told her. “You may not be our biological child, but we chose you. And you chose us. It’s an unbreakable bound and nobody can take you away from us, you understand?”

Ella nodded and Maggie kissed her again. “You will be the best big sister ever, sweetie.”

“I will be the best, yes.” She moved to lay in her bed, and Maggie tucked her in, kissing her forehead to say goodnight. OA doing the same just after. And before they left the room, Ella stopped them again. “I can’t wait for them to arrive. I am very excited and happy to stay with you. Good night.”

OA smiled. “Good night. Sweet dreams.”

—

When they were back in their room, Maggie couldn’t stop the tears from falling, she was crying in OA’s arms while he just rocked her, mumbling that everything would be okay.

“She thought we would abandon her, OA, it’s not okay.”

“Ella is a brave little girl and now that we talked about it, I think she knows we won’t abandon her. It’s okay, Mags.” He kissed her forehead gently, hugging her tight. “Besides, we will show her that we love her no matter what, she will feel so loved.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But I don’t like to see her like that.”

“Me neither.”

—

Ella was herself again and that went on for weeks before one Saturday morning, when she came into the kitchen to eat breakfast. She looked at her pancakes, unsure and not daring to look them into their eyes.

Maggie was six months pregnant and they had told their little girl the day before that the twins were a boy and a girl. So she looked at her boyfriend and they exchanged a silent discussion with their eyes.

—

OA approached the little girl over the counter and put his elbow on it and leaned his head on his hands. “Hey, what’s up?”

Maggie added: “You know you can talk to us, right?” She took the little girl’s hand. “Is someone bothering you at school? Is it something else? What is it about?”

“Mags.” She looked at him, sheepish. He focused back on their daughter. “Ella, you know you can tell us everything, and we see that something is bothering you.”

—

“Well…” Ella looked at them each in turn before glancing at her plate. “I wondered about the babies.”

“What about them?” Maggie was beginning to panic. She didn’t want Ella to be so stressed out because of the babies.

“I just wanted to know if- I- Because the babies will call you mom and dad. I- I wanted to know if I could call you that too?”

“Oh sweetie.” She was crying again. Maggie didn’t know what she was feeling exactly. Happiness for this but also sad that Ella even had to ask. “Of course you can.”

“You call us whatever you want, baby girl.” OA added with blurry eyes too.

—

That night, OA hugged Maggie tighter, whispering in her ear. “We are so lucky to have Ella in our life.”

“Yes. I’m so happy the twins will have her as a big sister.” She turned in the bed to face him.

OA smiled and kissed his girlfriend before saying again: “We are lucky to have her and I am so happy to have you” He placed a hand on her bump. “And them soon.”

She put one of her hands on his, stroking it. “I am afraid not to do the right thing, I hope we’ll raise them well.”

“Mags, we are already raising kids. Ella is great and okay, that means we are doing things right. Of course we’ll make some mistakes. But we want the best for our kids so we’ll do our best.”

“And she wants to call us mom and dad.” She said in awe.

He didn’t believe it either, he was so emotional over it, he couldn’t imagine how it felt for Maggie as she was pregnant and full of hormones. They cried of happiness together.

They were together, in love, and raising kids now.

Chapter Text

The team of FBI agents was enjoying a night out at the bar. It had been some time since they did that and the end of their bigger case to date deserved a celebration. They had put down an entire terrorist organization and killed its leader who also happened to be Hobbs’ killer.

They also went there to pay tribute to him. And they all needed to clear their mind.

—

Maggie had been eyeing the woman since they had come in. She seemed very interested in her partner and OA was just oblivious for the moment. She hoped it would stay that way and got closer to him in the meantime.

He looked at her quizzically but smiled and raised his glass.

—

OA was having a good night. He didn’t know what was happening with Maggie but she seemed down and was sitting closer to him than usual. He couldn’t be mad about that though as he always wanted to be with her.

He just wished she could see him as more than a partner.

In the meantime, he wanted to buy another round of drinks for everyone so he got up to order at the bar.

He had some difficulties as the bartender didn’t seem to have seen him. Or more precisely just didn’t care about him (there was no way he didn’t see him with his height), preferring serving the girls around.

One of them approached him and chuckled. “You look like you need some help to order.” She was walking towards him, pointing at the bartender that just didn’t care about him.

He smiled at her gently, it seemed she had already drunk a little bit with the way she wobbled over him. She stumbled on the barstool near him and he caught her before she fell. “Yeah, it seems that way. Are you okay though?”

She was pressed against him but looked up. “I mean, I fell onto you, beautiful handsome man, so why wouldn’t I be fine?”

He laughed, putting some distance between them. “Right.”

“Are you not aware that you’re a catch?” She had a shocked face, her eyes bubbling causing him to smirk in return.

“Well, not enough for the bartender to come take my order though.”

She gave him a big grin and nudged his shoulder with hers playfully. “Let me help you then.” After that, she hailed the bartender, pushing forward on the counter and he appeared in less than thirty seconds. She turned around to look at him, raising an eyebrow. “So? What’s the order?”

—

Maggie had not lost one second of their exchange. OA was having a fun time with this unknown woman and she was angry. She knew she didn’t have the right to as OA was free to do whatever he wanted but it was painful to watch.

She hadn’t finished her third drink yet and swallowed it in one go.

“Something’s bothering you?” She jumped in surprise. So focused on her partner, she didn’t hear Tiff coming closer to her.

“No, nothing, why?”

Tiffany looked at her knowingly and she didn’t like that look. “You’re sure? Not even the person attached to OA’s hips since he got up to order some drinks and who had already set eyes on him as soon as he opened the door?”

She snorted, avoiding her stare. “Nope.” She wasn’t proud of her high pitched voice when she said that.

“Okay then. I’ll be right over here if you change your mind and want to talk about it.”

—

OA was still talking with the woman, Naomie as she told him she was called, waiting for his order.

“So, do I have my chances with you now that I saved you from an awful long wait to finally be able to drink?”

He chuckled, looking down at his hands on the counter. He didn’t know what to say. This girl was very pretty and seemed really nice and all. But she wasn’t Maggie.

He may have waited too long before answering because she added: “Shit. Ok, I’m sorry but I had to try. You’re married, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not.” He was still smiling.

“So. You’re not married but have a girlfriend? She is very lucky and I hope she knows it.”

His smile was getting bigger the more she talked. “Nope. No girlfriend either.” He turned towards her and his look must have said it all.

“Oh. I hope the woman you have your eyes into will open hers.”

“Yeah, I don’t think she’ll ever see me that way though.” He seemed defeated and turned toward her with a sad smile on his face when he felt her reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“Come on. I don’t even know you that well and I can see you’re a catch. I bet she feels the same. You should totally tell her.”

“No way.”

—

Naomie had seen this guy enter the bar and thought he was beautiful and so tall he was attracting her like a magnet. But during the night, she could see him being close with the woman beside him and the way the former looked at him, something was going on with them.

That didn’t stop her to check for herself when he came by to order drinks though. She could always take her chances. At first, he was all smiles and smirked at her so she hoped it could be something. But then she had been upfront in what she wanted, asked him out and his face had changed.

When he had told her he had no one but someone in mind, he inconspicuously looked at the woman she had seen close to him earlier.

She discreetly got a glimpse at his table too, where the woman was still watching them. Good, if she couldn’t have him, she could at least try to make him have the one he wanted. Because she was sure it was her.

Soon after, he had his drinks on a plate but needed an extra pair of hands so she happily helped. She would make them confess to each other tonight.

—

Maggie couldn’t believe it. The woman came back to their table with him. She couldn’t avoid it anymore and had to make some small talk with her. She was even angrier about it when she watched Tiff and Scola smirking at her in the back. She just rolled her eyes at them and turned around.

Then she drank.

—

At one point in the night, Naomie had told OA to come and dance and he didn’t know why but he did.

Or maybe the fact that she had whispered in his ear to just go with the flow and trust her so he could have his woman later made him do it. He didn’t know her much and she had seen right through him in no time. He was hopeless in love with Maggie and everyone but her could see it.

So he danced. With Naomie.

But it didn’t last long.

—

Maggie had joined Scola at the bar, watching the other dance around the room. Well, Maggie only had eyes on a certain someone. A tall and handsome Egyptian guy.

“What are you doing still standing here Maggie?”

“What?” She had been too focused on OA and his new woman to hear what Scola had said. He was kind enough to repeat himself with a smile. Motioning to her partner dancing.

“Aren’t you gonna do something?”

She almost said no, but when she watched back at them, she saw the women getting even closer to OA, if it was possible. And she had had enough. Maybe it was the alcohol in her, but she couldn’t stand to stay here. She mumbled to herself “Fuck it.” And vaguely heard Stuart laughing behind her.

With a determined step, she walked towards the duo. When she approached, she saw the smirk on the woman's face, not really understanding why but she didn’t care.

She had had enough, and tonight she would do something about her crush on OA.

She was still very polite although quite a bit cold when she asked the girl: “Can I borrow him for a minute?” While saying that, she also had placed a hand on his arm and clutched at him as if she was ready to pull him out of here even without her consent.

The woman had the nerve to smirk at her, still. “Yeah, go ahead.”

She didn’t wait before pulling OA towards her and pressed her body against his, dancing with him.

—

OA didn’t really think Naomie’s strategy would work. But here he was, with Maggie in his arms, dancing.

She was flushed against him. He could feel her wonderful body against his and it was getting harder to concentrate and to tell his body to behave.

At his surprise, she placed her hands around his neck and stood on tiptoes to come closer to him. She looked back and forth between his eyes and lips and bit her lips. His hands on her hips held her stronger. “Maggie?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing?”

If she kept her act up he would be embarrassed very soon. Unaffected by his turmoil she made him bend a little to be face to face. “I’m claiming you as mine. Do you have something against that?”

He cleared his throat. Okay, so Naomie’s plan worked after all. Maggie was coming at him while their coworker was all around the place. He could feel her nails scratching his neck. “Hmm. Nope. Nothing against that at all.”

“Great.” She had said those words so close to him he could feel her lips on his and then he really felt them as she pushed her mouth on his, kissing him passionately, tongue begging for entrance.

For an instant, nothing around him existed but her. Then he heard the catcalls and whistling of everyone and groaned. Maggie, suddenly shy, hid in the crook of his neck but never detached herself from him.

He took that as a great sign and asked: “Do you want to get out of here?”

She only nodded before grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the exit. Stopping at their abandoned table to grab their coat and just waved goodbye to their coworkers.

—

Once outside, Maggie breathed some fresh air and with the wind, it made her shiver. She had OA’s hand in hers and smiled at him. “Come on, my place is closer.”

When they arrived, it was OA’s turn to be shy so she reassured him by kissing him again and again until he wasn’t nervous anymore and they stumbled into bed.

—

After discovering each other's bodies again and again, OA was on his back, one arm around Maggie, stroking her hair. He was remembering the evening and wanted to be sure about what made her finally do something.

“So… You’ve done all of this… because you were jealous of this woman?”

She avoided his eyes, biting her lips and placing her chin on his chest to look at him better. “I’m sorry, yeah. I should have handled it better though. But I had enough of her looking at you as if you were a piece of meat she wanted on her plate.” She wasn’t exactly proud of her behavior but that got her where she was now so she couldn’t really apologize for it.

OA laughed so hard she was shaking too as she was half on his chest. She smiled too because she had to admit this situation was crazy and she nodded her head back to see his face when she heard his voice. “I’m kind of happy that you acted like that tonight. And to be honest, if I could, I’d like to thank this woman.”

“Prick.”

—

“Yes, but yours, right?” He was anxious and Maggie couldn’t let him feel that way. She was happy and had the man of her dreams in her bed, under her sheets.

She let her left hand trail down his torso, then stomach and finally grabbed his member which hardened instantly. “Mine.” His groan and the way his head fell back against his pillow with his eyes closed made her clench on nothing.

She positioned herself for him to be at her entrance and impaled herself on his cock. They both moaned at the feeling of being one and after that only love making noises were heard.

Chapter Text

Omar Adom Zidan was more used to being called OA. He was very young to be in this position but he had lots of experience and was well known and recognized by his peers. And because of that, he had been assigned to the protection of Maggie Bell, the daughter of a rich senator.

The senator had been threatened more than usual recently and it was taken very seriously. The fact that he was young was playing in his favor here, to be more invisible when he would be with the young woman on campus.

—

Maggie didn’t want anyone to babysit her. It wasn’t the first time her dad would be threatened to death, and it wouldn’t be the last time either. She was fed up by all these precautions while it was always for nothing.

She wanted to feel free and as if she was just a nobody, it would be better if she were.

—

OA had been assigned to Maggie as soon as possible and without an ending date. He hoped it wouldn’t be for long because he didn’t need to follow a brat every hour of every day for who knew how long.

Last night, he had read her file while eating with his mom and sisters who he would have to leave to go and be in the room next to the girl he was guarding.

—

David, Maggie’s dad, was a senator now. But he had been a detective for thirty years before that and recently, one of his old cases came back to the surface.

He had arrested a serial killer who loved bombs. And that culprit had helped terrorists all over the world so he was glad to have put a stop to it. But, a week ago, he was sent a death threat with a USB file. It was a video of a bomb that went off, with a text underneath: ‘The next one will be yours.’ And just like that, he knew who was the person behind it and took it very seriously.

David wanted to protect his kids, but mostly Maggie who was at a college near where he lived, in New York City. Plus she was a rebel and always refused any help so it would be harder for her to accept. Matthew and Erin were safer but he still engaged security guards for them too.

When his people told him they had the perfect fit to guard Maggie, he was dumbfounded to see this young man, OA. He was even younger than his daughter. But everyone assured him he was the one he needed and he went with it.

OA seemed like a good guy, and after reading his file, David knew he would do anything to protect his daughter. That was all he wanted. For Maggie to be safe.

—

Maggie was studying to become a journalist. But this year, she wouldn’t be alone. She had a shadow following her around and that annoyed her. “Are you really going to follow me everywhere?” She turned around to look at her follower.

“That is what my job consists of, yes, Miss Bell.” He said gruff, he didn’t seem to be very happy about it and she rolled her eyes.

“Even in class?”

“Yes.” He was so strict. If she didn’t know any better with his young age, she would swear he had gone to the military. But thinking of it, if he was beside her today, it must be what made that happen.

“You’re not even interested in what I’m studying and you’re younger than me.” She shook her head before adding: “I don’t see why you’re the one protecting me.” She wasn’t understanding why a young man was beside her when he could probably do so many other interesting things.

—

OA couldn’t deny that Maggie’s comment had stung. Even someone that didn’t really know him didn’t think he was enough. He was never enough. Too young to be an Army ranger, not experienced enough to guard the daughter of the senator… He hadn’t missed the hesitant look of the senator when he saw it was a young man who would have to protect his daughter.

In a way though, the father knew OA was the person to do the job the best. OA was young and could just be a friend to Maggie. Nobody knew he was her bodyguard. And OA knew he would do his job right. He wanted to prove to everyone how wrong they were about him.

—

After that first day, Maggie was totally ready to go to bed. She had tried to avoid Omar a little bit but he was good at his job. She didn’t have anything against him, but she felt trapped. And when she went to her dorm only to see him open the door next to hers, she sighed, defeated. “No way. They are making you stay in the room adjacent to mine?”

He didn’t see why she wasn’t happy about it nor why she found it weird, just answering in his monotonous voice. “Of course. What were you thinking? How can I protect you if I’m not there?”

She rolled her eyes and opened her door. “Whatever.” She slammed it and went to bed.

—

A couple of weeks went by and Maggie thought it was stupid to behave as if her bodyguard would go away any time soon. It was also very weird for him to walk just a couple of meters behind her.

She turned around and waited for him. He was dumbfounded and looked at her with an interrogative look. “What are you doing? Did you need something?”

She rolled her eyes. “I just think it’s strange for you to follow me around like a lost puppy.” His eyebrows raised at that and she chuckled before adding: “Or a stalker.”

“Until now, I don’t think people saw me, you know.”

“Of course they did! Didn’t you see yourself?” He looked surprised so she explained. “In case you didn’t notice, you’re very tall and seem kind of out of place so I bet everyone looked at you at some point.” She was almost whispering with a hand in front of her mouth as if she was sharing a secret and that made him laugh.

“How out of place exactly?” He seemed anxious about that and Maggie smiled.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” She paused to think about how to explain better. “It’s just that you’re not giving a student vibe you know? Maybe we should hang out more like friends instead of you being here unwillingly. If there is a class that you would take, I may even consider taking it so you can enjoy yourself more.”

“Maggie, I don’t know what to say? Thanks, I guess.”

“It’s a start, yes.” She had a knowing smile and he grinned in return.

—

OA may have misjudged Maggie. She wasn’t the one making him leave his family nor follow her around. His job made him do this and he could agree with her that it would seem less strange if he walked just beside her instead of behind.

He would have to adjust how he was protecting her like that because his point of view wasn’t the same. But if they were in danger, he would be closer to her to protect her too.

With a smile on his face, he happily chatted about class, because he loved what she was studying but he had a suggestion for more. “Okay, so if I could choose a class, I would go with self-defense.”

The way she punched him in the shoulder and the way her smile stretched while being affronted made him chuckle. “I am totally capable of handling myself.”

“If you say so.” He avoided her eyes, looking straight ahead. He only looked back when he opened the door for her at their next class.

—

When OA had told her she should enlist in a self-defense class, she thought he was joking. But he wasn’t. And she could agree that it was always good to practice. She just didn’t really want to go to a class with lots of people.

So at the end of the day, after eating, she went to knock on his door which he opened so fast she thought he was just waiting there. “Maggie?”

“Omar, were you going somewhere?” She didn’t know why she was feeling sad about it. She was even very close with him (yet).

He seemed contrite. “Yes, one of my sisters is nearby so I told her to stop by.”

“Oh okay. I’ll let you go then.” She got out of his way and almost at her door when he called her back.

“But you came here for something so what were you coming for?”

“I- I just wanted to know if you would be okay to train me? I don’t like being around too many people for a self-defense class but it could be great to have some sort of class if you could be my teacher.”

—

OA smirked. “So I am younger than you but you admit that I can be of use.”

She smirked back, an eyebrow raised. And he heard how it sounded (Shit). “I didn’t say it like that. Come on.”

“That’s okay. I can say it once: yes I need you to teach me self-defense.” Then quickly adding: “If you want to.”

“Yes, I will teach you.”

“Great.” She went back to her room, thanking him before he left.

—

Maggie was almost there. Because OA was tall, she had to put lots of strength to take him down. He was well trained too. But the fact that she was smaller than him could be advantageous to her too, she had to put her weight down and it was harder for him to move her.

“Oomph” The sound of victory for her. OA was under her and she had managed to win against her opponent.

“I won.” She had a big smile on her sweaty face. They were both panting heavily. And now she took everything around her into account. She was straddling OA and their faces were very close to each other.

It has been months since she had him beside her and they had become quite good friends. If she was totally honest with herself, she felt more than friendship toward him, but she couldn’t ask him out. She had tried and thought about it a lot though.

His voice brought her back to reality. “Yeah, I think you did.” He had placed his hands around her, blocking her from moving.

And suddenly, in one move he had turned them around and was above her. He smirked. “And now I won.”

She had let herself get distracted by him and she had lost, she was a little bit angry with herself. But mostly very happy with their situation.

He must have sensed their predicament as he cleared his throat and helped her to stand.

—

David had received some reports and it wasn’t good. The suspect was nearby and they needed to be more careful than ever. More so that he had a big party he needed to attend the next weekend.

—

Maggie wasn’t really happy about it but her dad told her to stay indoors the more she could. And even if she had heard him loud and clear, she just wanted to live normally. Nothing was out of the ordinary, she didn’t attend big parties, she just went to class and trained with OA and she didn’t want to stop any of that.

The only big thing coming up (that she had forgotten about and was reminded of this morning) was the auction some students had made and it was a fun thing to watch so she wouldn’t miss it.

—

OA was nervous about this party but couldn’t stop her from going. So he prepared the best he could. But too much was at stake. His job for sure if something happened. But most importantly, Maggie’s safety.

He had looked at it from everywhere but there was no way he could assure her security just by himself. Let’s just say he was doing it for her but he would try to dissuade her and also call her dad to be assigned more bodyguards. Just in case.

He loved their training session in self-defense and he was joyful she had learned a lot. She almost had him and he just said he won because she was on top of him, not really because he had turned them around. The truth was that she had won.

—

Maggie had managed to get OA to agree to go to the auction party even if he had tried very hard for them not to. She grabbed his hand and when he looked at them in shock, she clarified. “I thought it would be better not to lose each other.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “As long as I can grab my gun, it’s not a problem.” She gasped at the knowledge he was armed. Of course he had to be. He was her bodyguard, but until now she just never thought about it. And it made her feel things. It was hot.

—

Everything was going as accorded to plan. The bomb was in place and he was in the back, watching, to be able to push the button on time. David would lose his child and it would be his doing and he will watch and film everything.

—

OA was on edge, there were too many people and not enough bodyguards assigned to his team. They had done a background check on the participant but they couldn’t check every person who wanted to watch.

He looked around, trying to find a weird behavior. And after scanning the area several times and seeing nothing he felt reassured.

Some contestants were auctioned for good causes, and when there was a pause, he turned his body to be closer to Maggie.

He checked the area again. But this time, at the end of the row, there was a man. An white sketchy man, tall, wearing sunglasses and a hat while it wasn’t very cold nor sunny. Strange. He was watching the scene way too much while glancing in his general direction. Where Maggie, the potential victim, was too.

OA decided it was time to go home, he didn’t want to stick around any longer. As Maggie had grabbed his hand earlier, he just had to gripped her strongly and push a little in his direction.

As she wasn’t expecting it, she was flushed against him and in another circumstance he would have loved it. “We have to go.”

“But it was just getting started.” Her pout was so cute he had to smile but he couldn’t stay here.

“I’m sorry Mags, we have to go.” He was sad for her but he couldn’t risk it. “And it’s not just getting started. You are hammered and need to drink some water and take some Tylenol too.”

“You’re just grumpy!”

He had managed to move a little but not that much. And he understood his fears were real when he saw the guy go for his pocket and reach for a phone. A burner phone.

There was no time anymore. He grabbed Maggie tightly and wanted to hold her like a fire fighter before running away. Except he didn’t have time and he felt the shock of the explosion burning his back.

They had been projected a few meters away, but he gladly had taken all the hits and burns. Maggie was under him, scratches and bruises but seemed alright.

—

Maggie had drunk a lot. She was in the process of getting her mind around the fact that she loved OA, her bodyguard and wanted to tell him. Which wasn’t an easy task. Would he accept the invitation to go out? What would happen to him? She didn’t want him to get fired, but she also wanted him to have a better job.

She felt his hands around her body suddenly pressing harder and she didn’t understand. Not having any equilibrium anymore due to the alcohol, she was pressed against OA’s body. She only had time to huff in surprise before being projected in the air by a deflagration.

When she opened her eyes again, OA was barely conscious though. It was as if the alcohol in her body went away. She was sober and alert to save him now. She knew it must be the adrenaline pumping in her veins, but she needed it right now.

She was hearing gunshots in the rear and knew panic would come soon. She needed OA.

“OA? Do you hear me?” He nodded. So she continued her inspection. “Did you hurt something? Are you bleeding?” But this time he couldn’t open his eyes again. She tried to move him but he was heavy. “OA, you need to stay with me. No. No. No.”

—

OA head gunshots. He saw several bodyguards shooting at the man he previously saw. The man was dead. But some of his colleagues seemed in bad shape too.

That was the only thing he had the time to observe before his sight went briefly back on Maggie who was talking to him. He didn’t hear and only managed to say he was sorry before collapsing against her.

—

It was chaos in there. Maggie had to wait at least for ten minutes before another bodyguard came to check on her. And by the face he made when seeing OA, she concluded it was bad. She didn’t want him to hurt. She needed him. Not to protect her but just to be her friend. And more if he wanted to.

—

David had been alerted as soon as his team knew about it. Maggie was in danger. A bomb had just gone off. They had killed the culprit though not before taking some damage themselves. One agent was down, three others were in very bad shape. One of them was OA.

He was instantly worried sick for his daughter. If OA was one of the injured bodyguards, it meant Maggie was close as OA was the one assigned to her. And she didn’t answer her phone.

He grabbed his coat and ran to the exit, making his chauffeur drive across town to the hospital.

There, he was finally comforted at knowing Maggie was alright but they were keeping her for a possible concussion. But she was already up and about, asking for her personal bodyguard.

He then told them to put them in the same room if they could as he knew that Omar would be as much a pain in the ass as his daughter if he wasn’t with her. He wasn’t blind. Even just hearing OA talk about his job when protecting Maggie was enough to know something was happening between the two.

—

Maggie was happy to see her dad had asked for OA to be in the same room as hers. Her dad had briefed her quickly on the fact that the suspect had been killed and they were no longer in danger (not this one anyway).

She was relieved the danger was gone but she was sad too as it meant OA would go away.

—

OA woke up with a big headache. He had a lot of trouble opening his eyes, but something warm was on his hand and he needed to check what it was.

After some efforts, his eyes finally complied. And Maggie was there, holding his hand. “Hey.”

She looked up so fast he feared for her neck. “Hey, you’re awake.”

“Are you okay?”

She raised an eyebrow, serious again. “I should be the one asking you that, you saved my life OA.”

“That is my job, Maggie.” He wanted to say so much more. Like it was his job, sure, but he also did it because he couldn’t live without her. They had gone almost a year together, sparing, talking, arguing. And he wanted more. At least as a friend, but even more if she let him.

—

That comment about his work was a little painful. Maggie had to swallow hard before talking. She looked at their intertwined hands, stroking his. “So, my dad told me the suspect was dead. There isn’t any big threat against him or his family anymore.”

“Yes, I know. That’s good, right. You’ll be free again.” He was smirking at her but she could see his hurt underneath.

So she took her chances. She had to be brave and face him. “Not free of you I hope.”

He seemed surprised and his sight was locked on her face, trying to decipher any move she made. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, it happens that in the year we had together I grew quite fond of you.” Her smirk was in full view now. She hadn’t let go of his hands but had stood up to be able to bend over him. Her face was quite close to OA’s.

—

OA couldn’t believe what he was seeing right now. Maggie’s face was coming really near to his and he almost couldn’t look her in the eyes anymore. Then, she stopped moving, her smirk still on her mouth.

He smirked too. He knew what she was about to do, he couldn’t wait to feel her lips on his but had to make fun of her a little. “And, what's it gonna be then?”

She kissed him before he had finished his sentence and it was everything he wanted. Maybe not on a hospital bed in these circumstances but it didn’t matter. He had the girl of his dreams.

When they needed air, Maggie took a step back and chuckled. “Was it what you expected?”

“Nope. But I hoped for it with all my might though.” He grinned even with the pain on his back. It would heal and he had someone to help him with it.

—

The year after that, Maggie decided to apply to Quantico to be an FBI agent. He followed a year later. And if they became partners after that despite being a couple, nobody would tell. They were better together than apart and were an exception in the agency.

Chapter Text

It was their third year anniversary. They had come a long way since then. First, they adopted a cat, Artemis, then moved in together. After that, they took care of and officially adopted Ella. And they had their beautiful twins, Nova and Adam, they were five months old now and Ella seven.

—

Maggie woke up earlier than usual. OA wasn’t at her side and she missed his warmth beside her. At first, she thought he was with the twins, as he often did to try and let her sleep more.

But the kids were sleeping peacefully while noises were coming from the kitchen and she went to investigate. She found him there, installing god knew what. “OA? What are you doing?”

“Mags?” He was surprised to find her up. Feeling self-conscious, he looked at her, scratching his beard. “Did I wake you?”

She had to smile at that. He was always careful. “No, don’t worry. But I missed you in the bed though.”

“Sorry. I had a nightmare and I needed to make sure the place was safe.”

“Safe?”

“Yes, I baby proofed everything in here. I think.” He was looking around at his hard work and grinned. “Now I need to do that in every room.”

She laughed, he was so cute. “OA, it’s five in the morning.” She raised an eyebrow high.

“And?”

“And the twins are five months old.” She approached him and encircled him playfully, kissing his chest where she could reach. “Come back to bed before they need to be fed again.”

“Okay.”

—

OA hadn’t lied. He was baby proofing everything. But he also was hiding something. Something he had had for a long time but wasn’t ready to share. Well, no. He didn’t feel it was the right time and didn’t want to rush things.

Before they even knew Maggie was pregnant, when they were preparing to move in together, he went to his mom’s. She had given him the ring of his late grandmother as safe keeping.

He always knew Maggie was the one, but with her past with Jason and the fact that they weren’t living together yet, he wanted to wait.

Then, she had asked him if he wanted to move in with her and he felt as if she was finally moving on. He thought he would wait just some months before proposing. But they had a kid under their roof and he wanted to focus on that. They went through so many changes in such a short time, he didn’t want to rush anything else, especially this.

Now, he felt as if everything was going well. They were stable. Ella wasn’t having nightmares anymore, she took her role as the big sister very seriously. And the twins were beginning to sleep through the night and were so full of life, their smiles were everything.

With their third year anniversary, he was thinking that it could be the right time to ask. It would be one of the most beautiful gifts she would give him if she said yes.

—

Since the birth of the twins, Maggie thought more about their family. She had the need to feel more included in the family. She was the only one not bearing the same family name as the rest of them.

When they had adopted Ella, Maggie had made sure the little girl had both Bell and Zidan as last names. And the twins obviously had that last name too.

But she didn’t want to ask OA. She felt as if they had rushed everything up until now and that it was all her fault. She wouldn’t change a thing and she knew OA didn’t want to either, he had said multiple times that it was okay that everything happened in so little time.

Nevertheless, she knew he had lied this morning. He was doing something else than babyproofing (even if he did that too) and later, she had searched and found the ring. Why didn’t he propose to her?

—

OA wanted Ella to be involved in this. So after school he went to drive her home but they made a little detour so he could talk to her. He told her about his plan to propose to Maggie and Ella was jumping everywhere, very happy with the news.

She immediately asked what the twins would do and if Artemis could be involved too and who was he to deny her anything? Ella was a daddy girl and he was smitten.

—

Since asking Ella to help him, OA had to postpone the proposal a little so he could do everything he wanted for the big night. He had made some fun acquisitions and hoped Maggie would like it. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction.

For him to finalize everything, he had made Maggie go run some errands so he could be alone with the kids and prepare their third year anniversary gift.

Ella was putting rose petals everywhere and put a heart collar on Artemis, with a note on it. The twins were on their playmat in the living room and OA had just finished setting the table and looked at where their dinner was. He had ordered a meal done by a chef so he wouldn’t be too busy in the kitchen and it should be delivered soon.

When Maggie arrived, he just had to press play on the music that they agreed was ‘their song’ and she looked at the situation in the room, dumbfounded.

—

Maggie opened the door and was stunned to see Ella running towards her, all smiley with Artemis in tow.

“Hey, mom!” Maggie was still in awe at hearing her little girl call her that. Her smile got wider and she hugged Ella and patted Artemis that demanded to be petted too.

“Hey sweetie.” She kissed her forehead before walking toward the living room where the twins and OA were.

And she had to take a double take at seeing what welcomed her. There were rose petals everywhere, their song was playing on the back and OA came to her to make her sit on the couch.

From there, she was facing the twins and Ella and OA that went near the babies. She looked at them with her trademark eyebrow raised and a smirk.

When OA knelt down, she understood what was going on and began to feel warm and her heart was beating faster than usual. She wanted to move but was entranced by the scene in front of her.

“Maggie Elisabeth Bell. I wanted to ask you something for some time now but I wanted to do it properly. And how could it be more perfect than with our little family here?”

“It’s perfect.” She had to swallow back a sob and nodded for them to carry on.

So they did and she saw what OA had meant when he said he wanted to involve their kids.

Here, in front of her, was a beautiful picture of perfection if she had to give a definition.

Every person in her family had a t-shirt with a word on it. Nova had ‘will’, her twin brother, Adam, had ‘you’. Then Ella had ‘marry’ that she was pointing at very happily. And last but not least, OA had ‘me’.

They were all smiling, even the twins that could feel the joy around the room and wanted to participate too.

OA said the phrase out loud with the ring in full view, which was the signal for Ella to catch Artemis and give her to Maggie. The latter was surprised about that part but took her cat happily. She saw the note around the animal’s neck and took it.

She laughed so hard she almost fell from the couch. She had tears falling down her cheeks and after looking back at OA that had an expectant look on his face, she ran toward him, making him fall backward and kissed him, saying ‘yes’.

Ella cheered around them and the twins yelled too. It was a perfect moment (even if Artemis ran away because of all this noise).

—

Later that night, OA and Maggie had celebrated with a less PG-13 rated celebration. And once they were done, he had wanted to know exactly what the note Ella had written was saying because he hadn’t looked at it.

Maggie laughed again, remembering the note and explained. “You really didn’t know what Ella had written?”

“No, I have no idea what she did.” He chuckled.

She turned in his arms, kissing him again before telling him. “The note said: check the right box: yes or YES?” Which made them laugh again.

Then they kissed and she had to come clean too. “I have to admit that I found the ring a week ago.” She bit her lips, looking sorry for it.

“You little…” He didn’t even finish his sentence before kissing her, but she knew what he meant. “You knew I was gonna propose then.”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t actually.” She wasn’t looking at him anymore, her sight fixed on his beard, stroking his chest.

“Of course I wanted to. I just didn’t want to rush anything.”

“I know that now.” She paused, bit her lips again before smiling at him. “But I’m glad you waited. Doing it with all our kids was magical. It was the best third anniversary gift ever.” Maggie straddled him again and no words were exchanged after that.

Chapter Text

Tiffany and Scola were upset about their friends and partners, Maggie and OA. They needed to open their eyes. They had talked to them separately to make them aware of the other attraction. However, neither one of them wanted to believe the other reciprocating their feelings.

They were okay being friends, best friends, but wouldn’t risk being more. What morons they were. Tiff and Stuart had had enough. They had a plan.

—

Halloween was coming up and Maggie loved that Holiday. She had begun to decorate quite early and had cobwebs everywhere. Some pumpkins and skeletons and spooky things also were covering her apartment. She needed to calm down as it wasn’t Halloween yet but she couldn’t help it, she loved it.

She was only missing some candies (there was never enough of them).

Tiff had told her about a big party with a haunted house and everything and she couldn’t wait to go. She even had explained everything to OA, telling him she was excited to partner up with him in the mission they had to do while in the house.

—

OA was anxious. He loved Maggie, he was aware of his attraction to his best friend. But he was also very aware of her not feeling the same. She had dated this asshole of Nestor for God sake, and he couldn’t be farther from him in personality.

Anyway, she had invited him to be her partner at the haunted house event. He had accepted right away, they were partners at work and were used to being together. And he didn’t think she had asked for another reason even if he had hoped at some point.

Nevertheless, he had decided to do something. This time, he would try to make her see his feelings for her (maybe she would change her mind and like him back). Halloween was right around the corner and Maggie loved that Holiday. He couldn’t think of a better moment to do it.

—

Tiffany, Scola, Nina, Ian, Kelly and Elise were there, with OA and Maggie. They were all in for a good party in a haunted house. It was like an escape game sort of thing. All paired up, they went in.

Tiff was with Ian while Kelly was with Elise and Scola and Nina were obviously together, same thing for the duo they wanted to become a couple.

They went into the house within ten minutes apart. Maggie and OA being the first of them to go in so they would be alone for a long time, waiting for the others.

—

Everything was going fine. They passed the first room without difficulty. Anyway, Maggie took advantage of the situation to be very close to OA, grabbing his arm and never letting go.

When the skeleton moved she wasn’t expecting it and yelled so loudly she feared to become deaf. She didn’t think she ever heard OA cackle this much before though.

However, as they were entering the next room, she knew it would be hard. There was a big spider and lots of tiny ones too. Everywhere.

—

OA was very happy with their situation. He didn’t miss the knowing looks their teammates had, but he was with Maggie and nothing else mattered. At first, the haunted house was okay, even more so when his partner yelped and grabbed his arm. He never wanted her to leave his side again.

He was smiling at the fact that what he wanted was happening. He wanted to protect Maggie and she seemed to feel as if he could. Things got more complicated when he saw the giant spider in the corner.

Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe. He was suffocating. And here went his false sense of control and being the one to protect Maggie.

—

Maggie turned in his arms and locked eyes with him. But OA had a blank expression. She placed her hands around his face for him to focus on her. “OA, hey look at me.”

Her voice made his look at her at least, but he still had shallow breaths and his eyes kept darting to the spiders. When she looked around to assess the damage, they were everywhere. She cursed. “Shit. OA you’re okay. Come on, we need to move.”

“I can’t move.”

“Of course you can. Come on.” She pulled him forward but he put up resistance and she was no match for it. She had to make him think of something else.

In the meantime, he was still going through a panic attack and he was crouching down. “OA, breathe for me will you.”

He simply nodded. She continued to speak so he could concentrate on something else. “Close your eyes and breathe like me.” She was beginning to panic too and it wasn’t helping. “In. And out. You’re fine, keep going, inhale. Then, exhale.”

While it helped a little it wasn’t enough. She still had in mind the day he was shot and couldn’t breathe properly because of the impact of the bullet on his vest. He was exactly like that, but worse as he was scared now.

They were both on the ground and she kept talking, telling him not to open his eyes. She suddenly remembered what could work to calm someone from a panic attack. She considered it but as she didn’t have any other option left and OA wasn’t doing any better, she thought she didn’t have a choice.

She smiled at him despite the fact he couldn’t see it and then brought her mouth to his.

—

OA had closed his eyes, the advice Maggie gave was always useful. But he still wasn’t feeling well. Despite her direction, he was having a hard time getting air in his body and he was warm and sweated a lot.

But everything stopped when he felt warm lips against his own. Opening his eyes in shock, he saw Maggie, who had closed her eyes.

She must have felt he was getting better as she tried to step back but he chased her lips and felt her grin while doing so.

—

Maggie smiled at feeling OA’s lips chase hers when she pulled out. He pulled her back in and asked her mouth for access with his tongue. She gave in but it wasn’t for long as it was more teeth than kissing at that point.

“Do you think you can get up to exit the room?” She raised one of her eyebrows.

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.” He smirked with a pointed look, meaning he wasn’t just wanting to get out of the room but also out of the house and back to one of their flats.

Maggie pulled him with her at fast speed for him not to have another panic attack with all the spiders.

Once outside, she looked back at him a little worried. “Do you want to go to my place?”

They needed to talk about it. But as always, so in sync with her, he told her they could talk later. He nodded to her question while adding: “Yeah, it’s closer. But we need to text the other so they won’t be concerned about us not being there.”

“Doing it right now.” She had her phone in hand already and was typing a quick text explaining shortly about OA being sick and that she needed to drive him back home, as everybody knew about his aversion to arachnids.

—

When they entered the apartment, OA hadn’t been in there for a long time as they were going to his place these days. Therefore, he hadn’t seen all the decorations Maggie had done. And when he looked around, he was suddenly both very impressed and uncomfortable at seeing all these cobwebs with potentially lots of spiders and he had a urge to close his eyes.

He felt Maggie’s hand on his arm and opened his eyes again. She gently reassured him. “Don’t worry. I didn’t put any spider up. Even fake, I know you don’t like them.” She had a beautiful smirk on her face and despite the fact she was making fun of him, he kissed her passionately.

He loved this woman to no end. And even there, at her house, she had thought of him and his fear of spiders. “I love you Mags.”

—

Maggie froze at hearing those words. Not because she was freaking out (maybe a litte) about it but more because she was stunned for him to tell her that this soon.

He tensed, mimicking her and had begun to apologize when she stopped him with a kiss. “I love you too.” He claimed her mouth again, and she pushed a little on his chest. “We need to talk though.”

—

OA stopped chasing her lips and complied with her demand. “So, we talk. You kissed me and I kissed you back. Then, I told you I love you and you said it back. And now we’re here, at your place.” He was talking very near her skin and could feel the goosebumps it erupted in her.

“Quite the story here.” She had her smirk back in place and wandering hands on his neck, then chest, trailing down his stomach making every muscle contract at her contact.

He stopped her before he couldn’t see straight. “But the truth.”

She pouted at being stopped, bit her lips and nodded. “Yep.” After that she grabbed him around his neck to pull him toward her. “Enough talking for now then.” And she kissed him.

—

Maggie walked backward to her bedroom, OA following as their lips were still attached. She was enjoying the feeling of his muscle tensing and shifting at her contact. She was at the hem of his shirt to take it off which he understood and took care of quickly, demanding she did the same with hers.

Now topless, she felt his hands roaming around her body, as if they had a mind of their own and didn’t know where to go. The softness of his lips contrasting with the scratchy feeling of his beard turned her on.

She wanted OA so bad she was sure she was already ready to take him while they didn’t do much apart from kissing. She had never been so wet in her life in so little time.

Once at the bed, he stood up to get naked while she undressed on the bed. He almost tripped over himself to get to her when he saw her naked with her legs wide open to accommodate him.

—

OA gently placed himself above her, kissing her from her toe to her thighs, staying there and smelling her wetness. He felt her hands reaching for his hair. “Come up here.”

He wouldn’t deny her and resumed his kissing up to her lips. Her moans made him even harder than he was. And when he felt her tiny hand on his member, he growled. “Fuck, Mags. What are you doing to me?”

She tugged a little on his cock and he mumbled a curse. “Trying to fuck you, obviously.”

“Fuck.”

“Yes, that’s the idea.” He felt her smile against his neck and moaned.

When he had her under him, naked, and was about to make love to her, he couldn’t think straight and nothing but ‘fuck’ were coming out of his mouth.

She wiggled and grinded on him, making their crotches touch even more and he couldn’t take it anymore. He reached past her hand with his own and guided himself at her entrance.

As he was about to enter her, he remembered about safety and stopped which made her whine. “Condom?”

“I’m on birth control and clean so if it’s okay with you, you can keep going.” She was whispering in his ear, panting and licking him at the same time. He growled again and slid into her in one go.

“Fuck.” He needed to control himself or it would be done before he knew it.

—

Maggie gasped at being stretched open by OA’s cock. He was completely sheathed inside her and she felt good. And full. Full of him. She was loving it.

Once all the way in, he had stopped moving, panting in her neck, scratching her with his beard. Now that she had time to adjust to his size, she wriggled a little to make him move. He opened his eyes and when she nodded, he did just that.

He moved in and out at a low pace then increased it and she clenched around him in no time. “I’m almost there, Omar.”

She felt him flutter in her and swear against her ear and she moaned at the feeling. She gasped into his neck and after a couple of thrusts, she came as all her body shook with the aftershock.

“Fuck, that was hot, Mags.”

She couldn’t talk anymore, she was just a ragdoll glowing in the afterglow, telling him to chase his orgasm.

—

OA didn’t know he would have a kink one day, but hearing Maggie call him Omar in bed was a big turn on. He felt his cock quiver and getting even harder and bigger at that and increased his pace.

Once she came, he just needed a few more strokes to join her, feeling her up with his cum. It surprised the both of them that it made her come a second time, clenching him and trapping him inside as she milked him too.

—

Maggie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “So that happened.” She was still out of breath.

“That happened.” He had pulled out of her, making them stickier and gross but he didn’t care and pulled her to him and hugged her side.

“Just so we’re clear, to be on the same page here, we’re together right?” She had turned to face him and was flushed against his body, her sensitive nipples pressed against his chest.

He kissed her and made her straddle him. “How could you think otherwise? Of course we’re together. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. But I thought you didn’t like me back and was afraid to ask you out.”

“Shit. That was why I didn’t ask you out either. I didn’t want to lose you.” She felt him grow hard again and she was also very turned on. She couldn’t have enough of him.

Her hand made her way to his member again, guiding him where she wanted and nothing but moans, groans and just sounds of skin against skin were heard after.

—

Tiffany, Scola and the others were a little bit ashamed of themselves. They had totally forgotten about OA’s fear of spiders and the fact that it could make him sick to the point they had to leave.

They had failed and had all agreed to apologize to him to the costume party they were having the next day.

—

OA was with Maggie, they were driving to the costume party where they would join their teammates and it was like coming back to reality. “Are you sure about this, Mags?”

“Yes, of course. I don’t want to hide. I don’t think I would be able to anyway.” He smiled back at her and felt as if a weight had fallen from his shoulder. Like a burden he didn’t even was aware of.

“Okay then. They had been trying to make me confess my feelings for ages anyway, so I think it’ll go alright.”

“Don’t worry, Omar. They had been trying to make me say how I feel too.” She was driving but placed a hand on his thigh and squeezed it.

—

Scola was the one who opened the door and he gaped at them and their attires. “Would you look at that?” He had a knowing smirk plastered on his face and wiggled his eyebrows provocatively.

Having heard him, everyone in the room observed the newly arrived. Maggie and OA right behind her, a hand around her waist.

Maggie had her look from the interrogation room, daring anyone to ask questions. Kelly and Ian swallowed hard and scurried away while Elise smirked back and asked: “So what are you costumes guys?”

It was OA who answered. “Cleopatra and her husband of course.”

Everyone erupted in cheers while Maggie had rotated in his arms, on her tiptoe to kiss him languorously.

—

Nobody but OA had heard what Maggie had mumbled just for him. “Husband, uh?”

He had growled a little, not wanting to scare her off but totally seeing them there in the future.

Later in the night, he whispered in her ear, taking advantage of it to kiss her neck too. “If you let me someday.”

Chapter Text

Maggie and OA were together since they had met on an operation in New York for a bomb threat years ago. He was on a mission on US soil and she was an FBI agent assigned to the case.

It was love at first sight for him.

Not that it wasn’t for her, but she had lost her husband not so long ago and couldn’t see herself in another relationship. She wasn’t into that despite noticing OA was a good looking man and a nice one too. Plus he was in the Army and would be gone soon, she wasn’t ready for a long distance relationship where her boyfriend could be easily killed on a mission.

She was under his spell even if she didn’t want to admit it to herself. During the operation, they were on a mission and she wasn’t into facing her feelings for him just yet. But at the end, when he was nearly killed by a terrorist, she ran through the doors of the hospital and threatened everyone in her way.

They kissed then and never looked back.

—

OA had been in love with Maggie as soon as he met her. He knew she had a lot of baggage with her late husband being gone. At first he flirted with her but she put him back in his place, telling her she didn’t want a relationship.

That made him love her even more. But he respected her wishes. He didn’t let her go though, preferring to have her in his life in any capacity she would let him. That’s how they became best friends.

And when he was all banged up in a hospital bed, he saw her run to him as if her life depended on it. He smiled at her to soothe her. He was fine and she shouldn’t worry about it. He felt bad putting her in this situation. “I’m fine, Mags.”

“Like hell you are. You almost got killed, you idiot.” He couldn’t stop his smirk while she lightly punched him, apologizing instantly afterward.

“I’m fine now. Don’t worry.” He opened his arms so she could take the hint and hug him, which she did.

As she lifted her head up, their faces were closer than ever and when he went to comfort her again, saying he was fine, their lips brushed and she went for it.

The sweet sensation of her delicate lips on him got him on fire. He was warm all over, his skin and body demanding more contact with her. He opened his mouth to her demanding tongue and it was exquisite.

She moaned into his mouth, making him feel all the vibrations and making him growl.

They were rudely interrupted by a nurse who wasn’t too happy to see Maggie all over her patient. He didn’t care though and grinned at Maggie’s blushing face.

—

Nowadays, it was harder for Maggie. At first, when it was only the two of them, she could accept their life with the long distance while he was on missions abroad. But it took a toll on her. She was always terrified to receive that call. The one where they would tell her it was over.

She avoided ordering things so she wouldn’t freak out at the doorbell ringing. It was very stressful. She was sad about it because she chose this life.

Maggie fell in love with a Ranger guy. If she could have chosen her life, she would have preferred to love someone who would be home with her and not risking his life on the other side of the planet. She already lived through grief and had been a widow, she certainly didn’t want to live that again.

Plus, they had a little girl now and Iris needed her dad. She was in the kitchen, thinking about the fact that OA didn’t call her today, and again, it put her in her fearful territory, touching her stomach by reflex.

—

OA had thought a lot about it. He had loved his life as an Army ranger but he was getting older and this job was taking him away from his family longer than he would have hoped.

And he knew Maggie was always scared for him and sad not to see him every day. They had a daughter now and he wasn’t liking the fact that he missed mostly every new step she took. He almost missed her birth, and it wasn’t the kind of dad he wanted to be.

He hadn’t wanted to talk about it with his wife because it was a tough subject, but he had asked for a transfer and the FBI was very interested in his skills. He was just waiting for the final results and then he would be able to tell his wife he was never living home again.

He was back to the present with an officer entering his quarters. “Ranger Zidan? The colonel wants to see you in his office.”

Okay, this was it. It must be the answer he was waiting for. “Thanks, I’ll be right there.”

He knocked on his colonel’s door and entered when he told him to. “Zidan, I wanted to talk to you in person.” He motioned for him to sit in front of him and he felt sweat beginning to form.

His ranking officer talked again with a big smile on his face, so big it reached his eyes and stretched from ear to ear. “Zidan, I received a call from a Dana Moiser from New York and we arranged for you to work there after the end of your deployment.”

“Wow, that’s awesome. Is this for real? Like as soon as I get home, I will never have to leave again?”

“Yes, that is what it means, Zidan.” His boss stood up and walked toward him, patting him on the back. “I am so happy for you son, you did good.”

Along the way, his colonel had become a father figure to him and it was reciprocal for his boss that took a liking to him. He was glad to see their bond was still there after all these years. And it was all because of him that he had been able to ask to part with the Army to go in the field as an FBI agent.

—

Maggie hadn’t heard of her husband for two days now and the panic was settling in her bones.

That night, after she had put Iris to bed and cried in the privacy of her bedroom, feeling lonely and missing him like crazy, he had sent her a text saying he was fine (his famous words). And just like that, it put a grin on her face. She would have loved to see him but understood he couldn’t do it if he didn’t, at least she had news about him.

—

OA didn’t like not telling anything to Maggie, but it was almost her birthday and with some help from his colonel, he had managed to come home earlier than what was previously scheduled. He wanted to surprise her, and their little four years old.

While he was waiting for his last plane to finally be home, he went in search of a place where she couldn’t see nor guess where he was and called her. He needed to hear her voice and see her face.

She picked up at the first ring and he was rewarded by a beautiful sleeping face, Maggie’s hair was all over the place, and he could hear Iris whining in the background, mostly awakened by the ringtone of her phone. He winced at that because a grumpy Iris was not a good sight to see and hard to calm down.

“Hey you.”

“Hey OA. I’ve missed you.” Her groggy voice, raspy with sleep, was sexy and he couldn’t wait to silence her with his mouth.

“I miss you too, Mags.” He paused and looked around for his flight info. “It’s not long before I come back home.”

“Five more sleeps.” He heard his daughter whispering and grinned.

“Yes, baby girl, five more sleeps. Daddy loves you.”

Maggie had turned the phone around so he could watch Iris being half awake, half asleep, cuddling with her mother. “You will miss mommy’s birthday.”

“We’ll just have to celebrate again then.” At that, Iris perked up and sat, still cuddled with Maggie and cheered. This little girl loved to party, it was insane.

With how much Maggie and him were shy and calm, their Iris was wild and crazy. He always joked about her taking after her mother. Afterall, Maggie told him she was kind of a rebel before he met her.

He heard the telltale of the big airport’s speaker being about to tell some flights’ info so he hastily hung up, not before telling his girls that he loved them and he would see them soon (sooner than they thought).

—

Maggie heard the knock on the door and everything went black. She was in the kitchen, preparing dinner when she heard it, gripping the counter so strongly, her knuckles were white.

The knocks were heard again. She took a big inhale of air and opened her eyes. It couldn’t be that. She had talked to him less than five hours ago. He couldn’t be dead. She refused to think of it.

Again, this knock, making her aware of the fact it was real and someone was at her door. She needed to go and open it.

“Mommyyyyy, can I open the door?”

Her four years old made her run to the front door, to be there before her. “Iris, stop, wait for me.” Iris was already turning the handle and she got there just in time.

Just in time to see her husband bending down to take their daughter in his arms and turn with her in the air. “Daddyyyyyyy.”

While she had a smile on her face, she was still on the verge of losing it. A minute ago, she thought he was dead. That some officer was there to tell her the bad news. That she would never see him again.

And here he was, on their front porch, Iris in his arms. She didn’t think she could do that another time. She really needed to find a way to talk about it because she would die from fear if he had to go back on a mission.

They had done the long distance thing for so long, she was ready for it to be done and have him all to herself (and their daughter).

—

OA was surprised to have Iris open the door as she knew very well that it was forbidden for her to do so alone. But he heard Maggie not far away and the moment his daughter understood it was really him, there wasn’t a better moment to live. Her little face changed and it was pure gold.

He kissed her hair and hugged her tight. After a minute, he walked through the threshold and found Maggie still shocked and not moving a few meters away. “Mags?”

She was crying silently, big crocodile’s tears on her cheeks. “Oh, Mags, come here.” He kissed her forehead and pushed her toward them. They were having a family hug in their living room and that was what he had missed for so long. And will never miss again.

He couldn’t wait to tell his wife he was never leaving again.

—

That night, Maggie waited for OA to put Iris to bed and come back down. She was in the kitchen, still trying to process the reality of the last events.

Her husband was home. Earlier than scheduled to surprise her. It worked. Even if it wasn’t as he could have hoped for at first. She cried almost all afternoon, with OA and Iris on each side of her on the couch, hugging her and comforting her.

She heard him walk down the stairs, then he walked into the room, and finally, felt his arms around her waist, his head in the crook of her neck, kissing her pulse point. “I missed doing that when I was away.”

She turned around and got on her tiptoe to claim his lips. “I missed it too.”

At the moment she wanted to talk to him about his job, he cut her off before she opened her mouth. “I have something to tell you.”

She was afraid of what he could say. Would he go back on another mission? Maybe longer than this last one? Is that why he came back early?

—

After putting his daughter down for the night, he went back downstairs to see Maggie. He had missed her so bad it hurt.

As he said he wanted to talk, he felt her tensed in his arms. He pulled her toward the counter and lifted her there so she could face him. He put each of his hands around her face, stroking her cheeks. “Babe, I’m home for good.”

She didn’t look at him, favorizing the ground and everything around him. He feared for her health when she almost had a whiplash to observe him. “Are you for real?”

“Maggie, it’s over, I won’t go back there. My colonel made it possible for me to retire early from the Army.” He whispered, never ceasing to stroke her cheeks, drying her tears.

“Oh my gosh.” She surged forward and kissed him passionately while wrapping her legs around his waist and blocking him from moving (as if he wanted to be anywhere else). “It’s true, you’ll stay here with us?”

In between kisses, he answered by the affirmative. “Yes, I’m gonna work as a field agent at the New York office.”

She pushed him away, her eyes almost out of their sockets, eyebrows raised high. “Are you telling me we are going to work together?”

He immediately thought about the fact he might have talked to her about that part sooner. What if she didn’t want to work with him? He scratched his neck awkwardly. “Hmm. Yes. Yes, Dana hired me and she already knows our situation and she told me it wasn’t an issue.”

—

Maggie was smiling and crying at the same time. She would work with OA every day. He would never go back to war.

And even if it was still a risky job he took, it was the same one as hers. And they would be together, she would have his back and he would have hers.
She felt OA’s hands roaming her body and felt him tense and groan when he noticed she hadn’t put any underwear on.

While he was putting Iris to bed, she had quickly changed to one of his favorite shirts and nothing else. It had been a long time without him and she didn’t want to waste any time undressing when it would be time to do it.

Her breath caught as he was nipping at her skin. “Mags, you’re so sexy with only my shirt on.”

She nuzzled into his neck, marking him. “I missed you.” She managed to take his belt off before he stopped her. “You know what would be sexier?”

“No?”

She raised an eyebrow and said seductively: “Me without your shirt on.”

He moaned but didn’t make a move to take it off yet. “Let me take care of you, Mags.”

She whined. “But I need you, Omar.” When she felt one finger entering her, she melted against him.

—

OA made Maggie come on his fingers and that made him rut into nothing as the discomfort was beginning to be too much for him into his pants. She managed to undo his zipper and set his member free just before he went down on her.

Now that she came twice, he came back up to kiss her filthily, his hands stopping at her breast and massaging it.

But while there, he considered his next words. “Huh, Mags?”

“Mmm?”

“Don’t you want to tell me something?” He could tell with a hundred percent that he knew her body by heart. And not being there for two months wouldn’t change that.

She wasn’t very happy about being interrupted in their moment and he laughed at her dark eyes.

—

Maggie stopped her ministrations to look him in the eyes. “I swear I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out, but then I thought it would be better to do it in person.”

“I’m not judging your choice Mags.” He kissed her, going back down and interrupting his descent on her belly, where he could notice a little bump. He stayed there for a while until she couldn’t hold on any longer.

“OA.” She was practically begging him but she didn’t care. “Need you now.”

“Your wish is my command, babe.” He was standing up, pumping himself before she took over. A low moan rumbled in his chest at the feeling of his dick in Maggie’s fold.

—

Seven months later, OA could be there for the birth of their second child, another little girl named Mia and he swore to be there for every step, every day. Nothing would take him away from his family ever again.

The long distance was mandatory for them at the beginning but their life had changed and he was glad it was over. He was working with his wife to protect New York instead of on the other side of the planet, fighting for something that would never end and where he never saw the outcomes.

Chapter Text

Maggie was hurt. Badly. She was in the hospital and OA didn’t know when he would be able to see her again. Or even if he would as she was in pretty bad shape when he was ordered to stand down and wait.

He was there, leaning on the wall, crouching as his legs were giving out. He was reminiscing about the events and had goosebumps just thinking about it. He wanted to scold himself for not saving Maggie sooner.

As he was falling, he vaguely heard someone crying for help and all went black.

—

Jubal was the first one in his room. OA had been knocked out with all the stress he had been going through and the neurotoxin in his system. He was tethered to a hospital bed, looking sadly at his hands.

Not wanting to startle him, he gently approached him, whispering. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

OA looked up. “Hey. I’m okay.” He was lying and they both knew it. His voice was so miserable, Jubal felt bad.

“What did the doctor say?” He leveled an eyebrow when his agent finally looked at him, daring him to say he was fine again.

“The exposure was minimal. They just need to run a few more tests.”

“Okay. Great.” Jubal could breathe a sigh of relief at that. At least OA would be fine (physically anyway).

“How is Maggie?” Now, OA didn’t stop staring at him. He didn’t know how to say it without alarming him more. He needed to rest. But he wasn’t blind, the ASAC had seen the looks his agents gave to each other. They had a bond like no other and he would be more surprised if they weren’t in love with each other. And he also knew that OA needed to know the truth.

Which was not really much at this point unfortunately. “Uh, you know, her exposure was more… significant. So her damage will be but we don’t know what that means yet.”

“I wanna see her.” OA was looking like a lost puppy.

He saw this coming and didn’t know how to deny him. He tried anyway. “Yeah, well, you need to rest.”

“Jubal, I have to see her. Now.” The look he gave him nearly broke him.

With a tender hand on his forearm, he nodded. “Room 481.”

—

OA was in front of her room after having changed into clean clothes. Seeing her like this was heartbreaking and reminded him he had failed her.

The images in his mind disturbing him, he shook his head and made his way in between his colleagues and bosses to enter the room. After a big intake of breath, he opened the door.

Some time ago, he had finally admitted to himself he was in love with his partner. But he knew he could never tell her anything. It could jeopardize their job and also, he was pretty sure he was the only one feeling that way and he would never risk losing her over some dumb feelings.

But here and now, while he didn’t know if she could hear him, he felt as if he couldn’t stay silent for much longer. The doctors said they were hopeful but what the hell was that supposed to mean? Would she be able to come back to work? Would she have chronic pains? Would she be alright as in fully recovered? He had so many questions.

He walked toward the bed, trying to hold back his tears. “Hey Maggie.” He hesitated for a second but he needed the reassurance that this was real. That she was still alive, here in front of him. So he took her hand, drawing circles with his thumb on her skin.

“It’s OA. I don’t know if you can hear me but, uh, the doctors said you just need to get some rest.” It wasn’t technically true but she didn’t need to know that. She needed to think it would be okay to recover faster. To believe in it.

“And then you can come back to work. Because I need you to come back to work.” His sobs were hard to keep in check, his voice was wombling. “Cause you’re not checking out on me.” He took a breath. “I’m not gonna allow it. Do you understand me? I’m here and I’m gonna be here for you, okay? Because I need you.”

After another pause he continued. “I need you. I can’t do this without you. I don’t want to do this without you.”

Right there, he was sure she had nodded at his monologue. She had heard him loud and clear. A chuckle made his way in between his sobs. He would be there for her, every step of the way and hoped everything would be alright.

—

Maggie had a hard time breathing. She felt as if her vocal chords were on fire. Everything burned and every one of her muscles were convulsing without her wanting to.

The doctor had just explained to her that she was very lucky to be alive but for the moment, she wasn’t feeling it. The pain was too much to handle even after more than a week of non-stop drugs and treatments to ease the ache.

Soon, she was back asleep with all the drugs they put in her system.

—

OA was still on medical leave, he had been released from the hospital the day after being admitted but he had been there, with Maggie, every day.

More than a week later, he still was there, watching her sleep for the most part of the day. She couldn’t speak too much as it was hurting her and she wasn’t able to move without wincing in pain. He was feeling so guilty about all of that. She was living a nightmare and he couldn’t do anything about it.

If only he had been faster, if only that fucking door had not been stuck. Each time he closed his eyes, he could see her, pleading for him to do something, anything. Her face so frightened, begging for her life, while he was on the other side of that glass crushed him.

—

Maggie was upset. She was aching everywhere, her physio therapist pushed her too hard today but she didn’t say anything. She wanted to heal faster. What frustrated her the most was that she couldn’t go out of the hospital yet.

The exposure she had been subjected to was too dangerous for them to let her go. And being in a hospital bed, in a sterile and white room with all the beeping around wasn’t helping her. She wanted to go home.

OA had been kind enough to go by her place and pack a bag full of ‘normal’ clothes instead of her having to stay in this hospital gown. But she couldn’t put them on her own, even if she tried every morning, crying angrily at her failure.

The nurses were kind and helped her without saying anything about it. Always making her comfortable and saying positive things about the day. They loved to talk about OA a lot too which made her blush and happy he wasn’t there to listen to it. He would have been mortified (and her too).

Her partner had yet to miss a day without seeing her. Like clockwork, he appeared at the door as soon as the visitor hours were open and had a lot of difficulties leaving when the time was up.

She had to say that his presence helped her more than she could have thought. It had been years since they had been partnered up and with time, they got closer and closer. He was her best friend and she dared to say she was his.

However the last couple of months before the accident, she saw him in a new light. She didn’t know what made her realize it, but one day he was just OA, her best friend. And the day after that he was OA, her best friend she was in love with.

But she couldn’t risk it.

First of all, she didn’t think he felt the same way. He wasn’t shy about his former girlfriends and was a guy who told you what he thought. If he had felt something, he would have told her by now, she was pretty sure of it.

Secondly, she was older than him, why would he be interested in her?

And last but not least, they were work partners and she couldn’t jeopardize that. She wanted to be the one to have his back, nobody could do it better than her, she wouldn’t have it. And she wanted him to watch her six too.

Having him here, every day, made her feelings hard to stay in check. Her heart swelled at his sight, at his smiles. And now the nurses were making fun of her and telling her to go for it.

—

OA was the one to call Maggie’s family. He had asked Isobel if he could be the one doing it and she had accepted. It had been challenging but they had organized a visit all together. It had been two weeks now that Maggie was hospitalized and this weekend, he couldn’t be happier to see her face when she would see her family.

They had wanted to come earlier, but with Maggie’s brother's work, the plane tickets to buy and all the organization to have someone take care of the farm while they were away, they couldn’t have been there immediately.

He had made it clear to them that it may have been for the best as for the first week, Maggie couldn’t do anything but sleep anyway. He promised them he was looking out for her and told her they were thinking of her and that they would be here soon.

For her sister, it had been a lot easier as she was living in New York. But he still waited a couple of days before telling her to come visit her sister. He dealt with her lightly as she was just out of rehab and he didn’t want her to get hooked again.

—

Maggie was making some progress. Finally. But what a progress, to be able to put a shirt on by herself. Raising her arms got her a little lightheaded but she could do it.

She couldn’t wait for her partner to arrive to let him in on that. He would be happy for her, she was sure.

But that day, when she heard the door opening, it was not her best friend’s face she saw. Her mother was there, choking on sobs, followed by her dad and then her brother and sister. Her whole family was here, with a timid OA behind all of them, scratching his neck.

She silently mouthed a ‘thank you’ before he exited the room to let her have some privacy with her family. Although she was thankful for it, she missed him that afternoon.

—

Several weeks had passed and Maggie had been released from the hospital, but had to go there every day. Now that her family was in town, her parents could take care of her and drive her at her PT sessions.

OA had been there anyway. He had to be there for her. He wouldn’t fail her again and he had promised her he would be there every step of the way. He needed to see for himself that she was making some progress too, it was the selfish part of him. He was cleared for duty and wouldn’t have so much time on his hands soon, he dreaded it.

After her PT appointment, Maggie was very tired and as her parents were there, they couldn’t spend that much time together, but at least he saw her. Sometimes, her mother would invite him back to Maggie's place and they would grab dinner.

That day, that was the case. He sensed that her dad, Matthew, wanted to talk to him but Maggie always kept them away. That made him even more curious.

He wasn’t proud of it but when Matthew went in the kitchen to clean up the table, he followed to help while Maggie was giving him a dark look of betrayal.

“Hey, Matthew, uh, I wanted to ask…”

He was cut off by Maggie’s father. “… Omar, I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done. For being here when we couldn’t and for having her back on the field. I’m glad you are her partner.”

They both smiled before Matthew carried on with: “And I couldn’t have dreamed of a better boyfriend for my girl.” He choked on nothing, turning his head in her direction to see if anybody had heard, but of course not, they were alone in the kitchen. He wanted to correct him but before he had a chance, he continued. “You are putting a smile on her face and I can definitely guess when she’s thinking about you. It’s forcing her to go on and I’m sure she is doing her best thanks to your motivation.”

He was uncomfortable with her family thinking he was her boyfriend. His belly was doing somersaults at the ideas, he would love that. He opened his mouth to correct him once again, but Matthew got called back in the living room by a very distressed Maggie and he could only thank him for what he said.

—

Matthew had wanted to talk to Omar for a while. The way his daughter talked about him, and her face lighting up each time made him curious. And as they would have to go back home soon, he wanted to be sure this partner of hers would be there for her.

When he met him in person, he could see he had nothing to worry about but Maggie didn’t want them to ask Omar to help her. She tried time and time again to make them drop it.

But he had to ask him to keep them updated when they would go back. To tell them if they needed to come back earlier than what they had scheduled and most importantly to make videos of Maggie’s improvements.

So he asked him when he was saying goodbye and Omar had answered hurriedly. “Of course. I intended to do just that even before you asked.” Matthew had felt a weight lift off from his shoulders and returned seat beside his daughter.

—

Maggie was tired, she was on her couch and couldn’t move. She heard the front door open and saw OA coming after work. “I have Mexican food for you Mags.”

She sighed. She loved him and it was harder every day. She couldn’t even walk properly yet, even after a month of PT. OA deserved better than her. He was in her line of sight and she grinned tiredly at him. “Thank you.”

—

OA saw right away that something was wrong with Maggie. Not even her favorite food could do anything about it. She seemed down and he had to know why to lift her spirit back up. “What’s wrong, Mags?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.” She greeted her teeth, hiding her pain but he could see right through her.

He raised his eyebrows, cocking his head on the side. “No, you’re not.” She was still silent. “Come on, tell me, I’m here to help.”

“I’m just tired and I am trying to figure out how I’m gonna go to bed while my legs aren’t functioning.”

“That’s why I’m here for.” He smiled reassuringly at her, standing up and making a move to hold her while waiting for her nod of acceptance. “Do you want to go now?”

As she nodded, he lifted her in his arms like she weighed nothing and went into the bedroom. He carefully put her down on her bed. And stayed there, close to her. He could smell her shampoo on her and just her scent.

He moved back a little to face her, but his nose brushed hers. He thought she would be uncomfortable but she didn’t move. They were breathing each other in, he was about to close the distance between them when her phone rang.

Surprised by the interruption, he stood up quickly and cleared his throat. Maggie had turned her head in the direction of her phone but couldn’t reach it. He gave her a look to tell her he would give it to her and went to fetch the object of their interruption.

—

Maggie had been so sure OA was going to kiss her, she had closed her eyes, waiting for the contact of their lips, breath hitching. Then her phone broke the spell and it was over before it even started.

She was a little (very) disappointed. OA took grand measures not to touch her skin when he passed her her phone, making her feel dejected. Her phone was still ringing, it was her sister.

OA paddled away from her, out of the door and made a sign to say he was leaving while she took the call. The soft sound of the front door closing made her sob which her sister noted right away. She made an excuse about her legs giving her trouble and being in pain and hang up.

—

OA couldn’t make his mind forget about their almost kiss. The look of Maggie when the phone rang. What would have happened? Would she have let him kiss her? Would she have kissed him back?

Shaking his head, he had to think about something else, anything really. He had a hard case at the Bureau today and Isobel had released him before the other agents, telling him she would take care of the paperwork. She knew it was important for him to go see his sick partner.

So he was on his way to the PT to drive Maggie back home afterward. This time, he would even be present for the appointment, just a little late for the beginning but he would mostly be there for the rest of it. And he couldn’t wait to arrive and see Maggie. To see her progress, to encourage her.

He felt as if he was missing her more than ever. He felt as if he didn’t have enough time with her. He didn’t want to neglect her.

He practically ran into the building and was rewarded by the PT grinning at him, saying something he couldn’t hear to his partner. He nodded in their direction and walked toward them.

—

Maggie was upset. Her right leg wasn’t cooperative and she couldn’t stand properly because of it. Even though Steven, her PT, was encouraging her, she was frustrated, sweat was beginning to form and she felt the drop of it on her forehead.

To make it even worse, it was at this time that OA came into the room, Steven grinning and whispering to her that her man was there. ‘Her man’. She snorted. OA was not her man.

Not even bothered by her grossness, he kissed her head and went to ask Steven how she was doing. As if she wasn’t even here, she could hear the men talking about her. “I’m right here, you know.” She was grumpy and couldn’t stop herself.

They even dared to laugh at her remark. Steven patting OA on the back. “She’s all yours for now, I’m gonna see my other patients while she does this exercise.”

“Okay, thanks.” He turned around to assess her properly. “Hey Mags.”

“Hey.” She made a move to stand in between the bars but it was harder than she thought. She almost fell over but OA was there to avoid it. Her body, limp, pressed against his was making her head spin.

He gently put her back in her wheelchair and waited for her to feel better. After a bit, she was still angry at herself, at him for seeing her like this. And she was a little harsh when she talked again.

“You don’t have to come by every day, you know?” She couldn’t look at him.

He seemed affronted. “Of course I have to.”

She managed to stare into his eyes, wanting him to give her a reasonable reason as to why. “Not that I don’t like your company. But why?”

—

“Because.” There was so much he wanted to say and so much he couldn’t. Because he loved her. Because she was his everything. Because it was all his fault and because he promised her he would be there for her.

Her perfect eyebrow raised and she had this little smirk on her face. She stared at him, dead serious. “Just because? You’re really gonna give me that and think I won’t press for more?”

He sighed, knowing full well she would never drop it. “Maggie. You’re my partner, and I will not let you down. Ever. I promised you I would be here, and so I am.”

“But aren’t you bored of seeing me fail every day? I’m not making any progress these days. You won’t miss much by not being here.”

“I’m never bored when I’m with you, Mags.” He whispered as if he was talking to a wild animal, not wanting to scare her.

—

After four months, Maggie was feeling better. She was eager to come back to work, but knew it was not for tomorrow.

Despite her several outbursts, being mean to him, trying to scare him away, OA was still there. Her only constant. He never tried to kiss her again and she hardly remembered it, thinking she may have dreamed all of it.

Then, he would look at her and smile, so tenderly, a smile only she was the recipient of. He helped her, told her all the gossip at work and talked to her about the cases, the easy ones like the hardest too. And she would be remembering that famous night where their relationship could have changed. Would it change now?

They were in her living room, watching some dumb show on tv. She had to admit she was staring at her partner more than the screen.

Sensing her gaze on him, he turned his head. “What is it? Are you tired? Do you want me to go?”

“No. Nothing like that.” She pushed him back on the couch as he had made a move to stand up and she shyly smiled. “I was just thinking about the fact that I am very lucky to have you in my life.”

“What are you talking about?” He was confused and he was so beautiful, she wanted to kiss the pout out of his mouth.

Serious again, she explained. “I know I don’t say it enough, but I’m glad you’re here, helping me, encouraging me. I couldn’t do this without you.”

—

OA was dumbfounded. How could she say that when he was the reason she was in this state in the first place. “Maggie. I’m so sorry for what happened.”

It was her turn to be gobsmacked. “Stop. OA, stop. You’re not responsible for what happened.”

“Yes, I am.” He was looking down, not daring to stare into her eyes. “You saved me that day and I wasn’t even able to pay it back and return the favor.” He thought back to her jumping on him to save him from that IED and had to close his eyes.

Her voice was barely recognizable, a murmur. “What are you talking about?”

His voice was no better, sobs making his words hardly audible. “You saved me. And I failed you.”

She was more fierce this time, grabbing his thigh. “No. If you need someone to be responsible then it’s on me. I’m the hardheaded one that went in there even though Isobel and you told me to wait.”

He was shaking his head and she put a stop to it by placing her hands on each side of it to make him look at her.

“I don’t deserve you, Maggie.”

“It’s the other way around, Omar.” He chuckled at her using his entire name and hugged her tightly against him, feeling lighter with her there.

—

Months had passed and Maggie was ready to come back to work. She had been cleared for duty work and field work. She had passed every test. But that didn’t make her not scared to return though.

She went to a psychiatrist outside of work to get away from the official focus of her readiness and he prescribed her some pills for the anxiety if she needed to. Of course OA had to find them in her bag and had questioned her.

For the rest of the case, he hovered more than what she was used to with him and the more it went the more she got upset.

Even if she could admit he was right at first. She had indeed frozen when they went into the apartment of the suspect. Her memories playing tricks on her. And thinking about it, he was right after too, when she would have forgotten her firearm if he hadn’t told her.

—

OA was looking out for Maggie but she didn’t take it well, telling him to back off. But how could he? When she froze up at the flat? When she almost forgot her weapon?

And later got shot. She had flatlined and he had to do mouth to mouth to revive her. It wasn’t how he would have imagined touching her lips for the first time (yes, he had plenty of theories as to how, and this one was never part of it). He almost lost her. Again. And it was all his fault.

He should have confronted her and stopped her from going solo on this. But she had to do it to prove herself and he was always listening to her even when she didn’t think so. He wanted to slap himself.

Now he was back at the hospital, waiting for news on his partner. Seven months after the Sarin gas. He was not ready for this.

—

Maggie was a little groggy, opening her eyes and hearing the beeping. She knew she was back in the hospital but why? She thought she was done with the Sarin gas’ effects.

Groaning, she turned to the right and saw OA, sitting beside her bed, looking at her worryingly. “You’re here.”

“Of course I’m here Mags.”

She sighed, looking out the window. “I’m sorry.”

—

OA didn’t understand why she was apologizing. She had been hurt and even if he wasn’t okay with that, it wasn’t her fault. “For what?”

She sniggered. “Being a stubborn bitch that doesn’t listen to you when you only have my back and want me to be safe.”

“Uh.” He didn’t know what to say to that. He was kind of impressed that she even admitted her fault. He laughed.

—

Maggie was smiling at him but needed to have the last word. “Why are you laughing? I’m still mad at you.”

“Mad for what exactly? Taking care of you?” He paused, reached for her hand but retracted his before he touched her skin. “You almost died. I saw you flatline in front of my eyes. I thought for a minute that you were dead Maggie.” His tone was desolated.

“And I’m sorry for that. But you being all over and trying to stop me from doing my job wasn’t helping either.” She sighed again. “It was my first day back to work and you questioned my every damn move. It made me feel more insecure.”

He was angry now and she winced at his tone. “So you had to prove yourself more too? By getting shot and almost dying? In front of me, again! I can’t watch you die another time Mags.” He was pacing around the room, not being able to stop.

She needed to calm him down but as she was the one upsetting him, she didn’t know how. “And why is that?”

He yelled. “Because I love you. Maggie. I’m in love with you and I can’t watch you die. I can’t. I won’t. So if you have a death wish or something just tell me now so I can switch partners.” He was calmer by the time he finished his sentence and came back beside her.

She gasped at his revelation. He had just confessed to her that he loved her. It was real. A tiny smile reached her lips and stretched to her eyes.

When she could touch his forearm, she grabbed him and pulled him closer. Her hand went down to tangle with his own, clutching his fingers. He didn’t know what to do, he seemed awkward and she wanted to put him out of his misery.

“Come here.” She had managed for him to be at eye-level with her and she pushed herself up to lean her forehead against his. After a minute of them standing there, she nuzzled his nose, closing the distance between their lips. Just before they touched, she said: “I’m gonna kiss you know, if it’s okay with you.”

And they were kissing.

—

OA was having a hard time believing what was happening. One second they were kind of arguing, and he was yelling at her that he loved her. And the next second they were kissing.

Even if it was a dream, he wouldn’t miss an opportunity like that. So he moaned into her mouth, his tongue begging for access that she granted instantly. He pushed her back against her pillow in his haste and she groaned.

He remembered then that it was very real and that she was very wounded. He therefore stopped and pulled back a little. Giving her another light peck before stepping back and sitting into the chair. She grunted as he was retreating, not happy with it, which made him snicker.

She gripped the lapel of his shirt and made him come back near her face. She went to claim his mouth again and he couldn’t deny her, even if he tried not to put his weight on her and keep things light. “I’m in love with you too, for the record.”

At her confession, he kissed her again, a little dirtier than he anticipated. Then he went to kiss her under her ear, making her whimper. He joked to make her giggle. “Just so you know, it’s way better to kiss you when you’re alive, well and responsive.”

—

“I bet.” She was stroking his cheeks, tears in her eyes. She had put him through so much and he was still there, with her. Always. “I’m sorry you had to witness me almost die for the second time in seven months.”

“It’s okay now. You’re here, and we’re together. But promise me not to do it again.”

She knew it wasn’t something she could promise, he knew it too. But it was for their sake and they would try to stay out of trouble. So she told him. “I promise, I’ll do my best.”

Chapter Text

Maggie was having a fun night out with Tiffany, Elise, Amira and Erin (OA’s two other sisters weren’t available). They had wanted to celebrate her engagement with OA, her now fiancé. Of course they had drunk and even if she tried to control how much she had, she was tipsy very fast. But OA had told her to enjoy the night and that’s what she was doing.

And obviously, her friends, also inebriated, had some very personal questions. Elise was the one that dared to go to very intimate matters. Erin was the sober one (Amira too), as she didn’t want to drink and wanted to be their driver.

At first, Maggie feared it could be too much for her and her past addiction but her sister made it clear to her that she could manage alright and that she wanted to be there for her.

With her fiancé’s (she loved to think of him like that, and soon to be husband) help, she realized that Erin was a big girl and that she should let her do her thing, show her that she trusted her. And she was happy to have her by her side for this too.

—

Elise was enjoying herself and was very joyful about Maggie and OA taking the next step. “So tell us Maggie, I bet OA is good in bed isn’t he?” She had a glimmer in her eyes, smirking at her friend.

Everyone laughed except Amira and Erin mimicking gag reflexes. “Please do not talk about your sex life in our presence. Amira and I are already traumatized enough with all your PDA.”

Despite her sister’s comment, Maggie answered back. “I’m not sorry about that. You need to find your OA, girls!” After a pause, she wore a beautiful and cute pout on her face. “I miss him.”

It was late, they were all very drunk, so Elise put her out of her misery. “Maybe you can go back to him now. It is pretty late.”

—

As Elise (and all the girls) told her to go home, she wouldn’t complain about it. She had been horny all night just thinking of OA and now she was going home to him.

Maggie really tried not to be loud but she heard the clatter of the keys and the door slamming behind her and chuckled at herself. She went to their room and smiled at OA who was peacefully sleeping.

Since she had left the bar, she was hornier the closer she got home, and seeing the man of her dreams in front of her was not helping her situation.

She must have been standing here way too long for him to slightly open his eyes and motion her to come in. “Mags, come here. It’s time to sleep.” (Did she say already that she loved his guttural voice heavy with sleep? )

Before going to bed, she undressed until she was totally naked. She reached for OA and stroked his cheek for him to open his eyes again. When he did, she didn’t wait to kiss him, straddling him in the meantime.

She loved how he moaned, feeling her skin and nothing else when he grabbed her. “Mags?” He wasn’t complaining, but him talking was in the way of what she wanted done.

“I want you.” She could hear the lust in her voice and could feel he wasn’t immune to it either.

“You’re drunk, babe.”

She stopped kissing him, leaning her forehead on his collarbone, breathing him in while swearing he would be the death of her which she must have said out loud as he laughed. A whiny voice came back but firmer this time. “I want you.” And one of her hands was wandering down, almost where she wanted, before he stopped her.

—

OA had told Maggie to go and unwind with their friends and sisters to have a girls night and celebrate the engagement. He had to persuade her that he would be fine staying home with the kids but she eventually accepted.

His night had been quite eventful with him cooking with Ella and making a mess of it. And the little girl helped him feed the twins after. She was delighted to have them as brother and sister and they often had to tell her it wasn’t her role to look after them even if it was very appreciated. But she wanted to and they didn’t want her to be deprived of anything.

He put the twins in their crib and went back to the living room to watch a movie with Ella before she, too, went to bed.

After that, he had to clean the kitchen and tidy up the place before going to sleep too. But since he was with Maggie (they were together for a little over three years), it was pretty hard for him to sleep without her so he stayed in bed, reading a little until he couldn’t wait anymore and closed his eyes. He had to go and feed the twins at one point and was just returning to his bed when he heard the keys in the lock.

He chuckled at hearing her curse with all the noise she made and decided to close his eyes to see her reaction. He was pretty tired after all and sleep was beginning to claim him now that he knew Maggie was home.

When she got to their bedroom, he focused on her movement and she wasn’t making any so after a couple of minutes he opened his eyes to see her admiring him. He knew this look.

She was not ashamed to ask for what she desired and it was one thing he loved about her. So when she straddled him and kissed who was he to deny her. Let’s say he was not tired anymore, especially feeling her naked body on him.

But she was drunk and even if they were together and that she was clearly the one that had initiated it, he wanted to have her consent before going any further. She wasn’t having it and had almost grabbed his member before he stopped her descent. “Mags.”

She understood right away what he was asking because he felt her breathing heavily against his collarbone before looking up at him. “I already told you twice…”

He couldn’t help but joke about that and cut her: “… Third time's the charm then.”

She said it again with a smirk and a twinkle in her eyes. “I want YOU.” And he surged up to claim her mouth and wondered how he survived without her all these years.

—

“Too many clothes.” Maggie was whining and needed him naked and in her asap.

OA made them turn around so he was above her and began to kiss his way down on her but she didn’t have time for that. As the twins could wake up at any moment, she wanted efficiency.

“I just put them to bed half an hour ago, they are okay and shouldn’t wake up soon. Now let me eat you out and have my fun with you.”

She was always in awe of how in tune with her he was. Even if she might have said her thoughts out loud this time. She was already drunk when she arrived but now she was drunk of him to add to that and she was preoccupied by her needs. So she pushed lightly on his head for him to keep going, which he did.

Chapter Text

OA was furious. Maggie had taken unnecessary risks and her life had been in grave danger. He knew it was their job, but today was something else.

He couldn’t do nor say anything on scene and it was making him restless. But he couldn’t wait to be home and have a talk with her.

—

Maggie knew OA had been worried about her. To be honest, she had been too. Being taken as a hostage to try and free a pregnant woman but fail and add to the stress of the situation was not ideal. At least she could try and control it from the inside.

But things escalated pretty fast and the culprit was losing it. For his defense, his little girl had been abducted and just thinking about it made her cringe. She thought about Ella and the twins, if anything happened to them, she would be ready to do anything.

The car ride home was mostly silent, she enjoyed it while it lasted. They arrived and kissed the kids. Then, they were alone in the kitchen, preparing dinner while the seven-month-old twins were on their playmat in the living room (they could see and hear them as they had an open kitchen) and Ella went to her room to play.

She winced internally, bracing for the impact. She was right, OA had waited until then, but he couldn’t stay silent a moment longer.

—

OA paced around the room, looking at his kids and checking Ella was not here before looking pointedly at Maggie. “Are you crazy? You threw yourself in there.” After a pause, he continued. “You offered your life in exchange for another one but it didn’t even work.” He was angry as hell.

“OA.”

“No. You don’t get to do that. I couldn’t say anything on the field because of all of the agents around. But I can now. What you did was stupid and reckless. Did you even think about the kids? About me?”

—

“Omar.” At his name he recoiled and looked at her. At least he was listening now. Maggie slowly walked toward him, taking his hands in hers when she was in reach. “Of course I care. I love you and I love our kids. But the situation was perilous and the woman was pregnant with a health condition.”

She pulled him toward the couch, made him sit and straddled him. He automatically grabbed her waist to stabilize her but he avoided her eyes. “I’m still angry at you.”

They could hear the twins babbling in the background, watching their parents. Maggie smiled at them and focused back on him.

“I know.” She stroked his cheek with one hand while the other was getting below his shirt, trying to get closer to him, skin against skin. She approached her mouth to his, and when she was about to kiss him, she spoke, making their lips touch with each word. “But you would have done the same thing. You know it was the right call even if you don’t like it.”

—

OA grumbled but didn’t deny it, preferring to claim her mouth, clutching at her hips and turning them around.

He heard a door in the background and thought Ella must be coming in their direction to ask what was for dinner. So he reluctantly pulled away and straightened his clothes. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. You’re right, I would have done the same thing. But it’s still hard to watch you put yourself in danger like that.”

“I know. I’m sorry too.” They stood up and each held a kid in their arms while Ella appeared as he had expected to.

—

Maggie was finishing reading a story to Ella whilst OA was putting the twins to bed in their bedroom. And when she put the book away, she heard her little girl’s voice in her back.

“Mom, why did dad get so upset earlier?” She had thought they were discreet but apparently not. Ella was very observant and she couldn’t lie to her.

“Oh, sweetie, he was more scared than angry, you know.” She walked back toward her bed, sitting on the side to caress Ella’s hair. “Today was a busy day and I had to protect someone by putting myself in danger. And your dad didn’t like that.”

“I don’t like it either.” She grinned.

“Yeah, me neither Ella.” She kissed her forehead before standing up and headed for the door. She turned around there. “Sometimes, we can’t escape the danger, but I promise I will always do my best to come home to you guys.”

“Thank you mom. Good night.”

“Good night, sweetie.” She closed the door and wiped her cheeks where tears had fallen on their own accord.

She was facing the risks she had taken that day. Ella had already lost her biological mother, she had lost so much already, she couldn’t lose her new family. And she thought about the twins, they were so young.

She was waiting for OA on their bed, quietly crying, thinking about all she could have lost and what they could have lost if she had been killed.

—

OA was going out of Nova and Adam’s room, tugging his shirt off to be ready for bed. When he came closer to their room, he heard sniffling and he found Maggie sobbing in their bed. He hurried his steps to check on her. “Hey Mags, what’s up?”

“I’m sorry.” He hugged her side tightly and kissed her hair.

He mumbled sweet nothing in her ear. Reassuring her. “That’s okay. You’re fine. We’re fine.” He knew she must be reminiscing about their day and was just now really understanding what could have happened. It was usual for agents to feel bad afterwards, he had experienced it too.

He made her lie down and spooned her, pressing her back against his chest, an arm around her waist.

—

Maggie felt anchored to the moment, OA’s warm body against hers.

After a while, she could move and turned on his hold to face him. Now that the adrenaline and the aftershocks of the events had passed, she wanted to feel alive.

And what could be better than her beautiful fiancé to make her feel that. She pressed her body even closer to him than it was, feeling more than hearing his intake of breath at feeling her breast pushed against him.

His hands wandered quickly on the hem of her shirt to take it off and they were soon naked from the chest up. He kissed her languorously, mapping her body with his roaming hands, not knowing where to stop. He needed it as much as she did, wanted to be sure they were okay and alive.

—

OA took no time to roll over and press Maggie into the mattress. He captured her lips and felt her legs wrapped around his waist instantly. They kissed longingly for a while until Maggie whined into his mouth, pushing him subtly to be on top.

Once he let her, she pushed him into the pillows, kissing him and slowly going down on him. Her lips warmed him everywhere she went. He gasped and knocked his head back when she licked a path from his sternum to his navel, and then lower.

He had grabbed her hair in the process, tightening his hold. When she tucked at his jogging pants that he used as a PJ to lower it, he groaned in anticipation.

She moaned too when she realized he hadn’t put a boxer under his pants and took no time to take him in her mouth while stroking what she couldn’t take in with her left hand.

—

Before Maggie could finish what she had started, OA pulled her away from him and up to claim her lips with his own with a growl. His hands tucking at her pants to get it out of the way. She was straddling him and felt his heavy hands on her body which turned her on.

He slapped her hand away and took himself in hand to guide his member at her entrance. She sank on him little by little up until he was buried to the hilt. They moaned in unison at the feeling and she waited for a couple of minutes before moving.

She crushed her lips against his, her hands in his hair and came surprisingly fast when he rocked up into her. The angle was perfect, hitting her G-spot at his stroke and she couldn’t take it anymore, clenching on him, trapping him there.

—

OA turned them over to catch his own release and they were soon both panting in their sheets, his body above hers as she had prevented him from moving. He chuckled and couldn’t help but joke. “I guess we should argue more often?”

She sniggered into his neck, biting him playfully. “At least the making up part is something to look forward to.” He chuckled and she raised her head to look at him, thoughtful. “But I don’t like it when we’re fighting.”

“Me neither.” He crushed his lips against hers a final time before turning her over to spoon her. And they fell asleep peacefully.

Chapter Text

Maggie hadn’t much time to organize it, but she took some time with OA when they could, after the kids were asleep and if they weren’t too tired, to plan their wedding.

The number of tasks was huge and that made her fuzzy. OA joked about her being a control freak but he wasn’t wrong. She needed to be in control, and she was lost with all that was left to do.

If it were only her, she wouldn’t have cared about a big wedding, just OA (and their kids) would have sufficed. But maybe she was like that because she already had a wedding before? No it wasn’t that. On the contrary, she wanted everything to be perfect because it was OA. Anyway, she couldn’t wait to be his wife, it was just the process and the arrangements to make that happen that was upsetting her. It was stressful and she couldn’t wait for it to be over.

But she loved OA, and she was willing to go through all these nightmares for him, and for their ceremony. After all, he had dreamed about his wedding with her (who would have thought? ). She was even going through learning choreography for their first dance (and she hated dancing, more so with an impractical dress).

—

OA was smiling at his fiancée, concentrating on her work at the dining table. There was paper everywhere, and she was making piles of envelopes and stamps. Prepping for writing the addresses and later post the wedding invitations to their guests.

He wished they had more time in a day to do more. A wedding was demanding a lot of organization and it wasn’t only the list of guests, but how to place them at the table, and there were the flowers, the decorations, finding the venue and caterer. They needed their wedding bands and their clothes, a suit for him and a dress for her… So many things.

He was afraid of forgetting something. He wanted everything to be perfect as it was something he had dreamed of and never thought he would have. Maggie was the one and he was awaiting the ceremony with eagerness.

—

Maggie raised her head to observe OA. He was whispering to himself, trying to find the perfect table arrangement so nobody would kill anyone and for the wedding party to go as smoothly as possible.

She didn’t think it would be that hard to place people as their families and friends weren’t drama queens nor had any beef with anyone. But it was still a fucking mess to find how to seat people around tables.

While she was writing the addresses and putting the invites in their envelope, she tried to help OA. “Are you having trouble with the placement?”

“Yes. It’s a pain in my ass. And it won’t even be a final plan as long as we don’t have the RSVP letters.”

“Yeah, but for our proximate family, and our colleagues, we can assume they will be here and we can place them without much trouble, right?”

He simply grunted in response, so she stood up to look at his handy work. And noticed a flaw in his plan. “Didn’t we say we would try to have the members of our family mixed up.”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because you didn’t do that. And maybe we could do like everyone else and have a ‘single’ table so maybe people could meet and date?”

He groaned when he saw she was right and tried to exchange the names so their family was mingled. “So, I know Erin is single but what about your brother? Are we considering putting our siblings at the single table?” He was holding Amira’s name while saying that.

“Yes, we definitely will put them there if needed. Yes, Erin is single and Drew is not. He had his sweet girlfriend, Anna.” She smiled and asked about his siblings. “And you? I know Soumaya is married but what about Zahra?” She omitted his younger sister’s name on purpose.

As he was about to place Amira’s name on the ‘single’ table, she had to stop him, placing a gentle hand on his forearm. She bit her lips and went for it. “Are you really sure about Amira being single?”

“Yes, I am sure she is single. As is Zahra. And yes Soumaya is married to Edward.” He raised his eyebrows, looking at her expectantly.

—

“Why are you asking me that?” OA glanced at her, surprised and just with his simple stare, he could tell Maggie was hiding something from him. Pointing at her, he accused her. “You know something.”

She shrugged, not wanting to deal with OA and his siblings drama. “I think you should talk to her, that’s all.”

He searched his phone, and was already on it. “That’s it. I’m calling her right now.”

“Like hell you will. It’s past midnight and we still have to finish that.” She showed the table where the invitations were. It was a mess. And they weren’t even at half of it.

Despite Maggie telling him not to call, he managed to send a text before she intervened. And his phone was buzzing in his hands. It was Amira, answering his text about her boyfriend who she confirmed existed. “She is not single. Who is this guy?!”

He was fixated on his screen but could hear the reprimand in Maggie’s voice when she spoke. “OA, come back here and help me, please. I told you not to call her now.”

“And I didn’t. I texted her, big difference. And she told me she wanted me to meet Leo.” He pronounced his name very slowly and louder than the rest of it, analyzing Maggie’s behavior and trying to see if she also knew his name.

—

Maggie sighed heavily before glaring at him. “Great. Now you know, go back to your assigned task and write the addresses.” She was not talking about Amira’s boyfriend now. But she had to admit OA’s face was priceless. He had just discovered that his little baby sister was seeing someone and was shocked.

As he had barely moved, she got up to push him in his assigned seat so he could help her. She patted him on the back. “He’s a great guy. You’ll see.”

She shouldn’t have said that as he looked at her with interest. She sighed and admitted defeat for tonight. The wedding planning would have to wait.

“Okay. I think we need to sleep. We’ll do that another time.” She pulled on his arm and he took the hint.

—

OA turned and fidgeted in the bed, not knowing what position would be best. He was thinking about his sister and the fact that she had a boyfriend and didn’t tell him. Worst, she had confided in Maggie and his fiancée had lied to him.

Probably fed up by his agitation, Maggie sighed and faced him. “Okay, tell me what’s going on so we can sleep while we can.”

“I’m sorry, Mags. It’s just that Amira never talked to me about this Leo guy and I talk to her almost every day.”

“Omar, it’s not against you.” She was stroking his chest affectionately. “She probably wanted to be sure about him before mentioning him. And you’re her big brother, father figure, she could be anxious about your reaction.”

He grumbled. “I don’t see why.”

She raised her eyebrows, smirking at him. “Really?”

She had a point. “Okay, okay. But how come you know about it? And why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know. I suspected it when she called me for some advice though.” She looked at him tenderly before continuing. “And it wasn’t my news to tell.”

“I hate it when you’re all logical on me like that.” He rolled over to trap her between their mattress and his body and kissed her properly.

In between kisses, she responded. “No you don’t. You love it.”

“True.” They laughed.

—

The next day, Maggie was regretting going to bed without tidying up the living room. The table was invisible below all the wedding things and the twins and Ella were in the room, causing a mess.

Adam and Nova were eleven months old and were crawling everywhere, beginning to stand and take their first step. She recovered some envelopes from their chubby hands and tried her best to put everything out of their reach.

Ella had put music on and was dancing around, taking her siblings’ hand to make them dance too. OA arrived behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck lovingly. “Look at them, playing around together.”

“Yeah, I love our family.” She looked at their kids and back at OA. “As they are in the mood of dancing, that makes me think we have to rehearse the steps for our first dance. What do you say?”

—

OA swirled her around for good effect and they danced with their kids.

Until he stepped on her foot. “Hey, watch your step, OA.”

He chuckled and hid in her hair, kissing it at the same time. “Sorry. I guess we need to rehearse indeed.”

They carried on their dancing, not really focused on their choreography but just to have a good time as a family. Together.

In the afternoon, he took over where Maggie had left off for their invitations and the only thing to do now was to mail them. They still had a lot to do but they were getting closer.

Maggie had made plans and they just had to follow them and everything would be alright. They would be married in the end and that was all that mattered.

Chapter Text

Since OA had known about Amira’s boyfriend, he had been restless. He was feeling guilty that she hadn’t been safe enough to talk about Leo with him. Even more so when he had learned they were dating for a year and a half. He was hurt too.

But now that he knew, and that his sister couldn’t wait for them to meet, he was a little reticent. He might be afraid to witness Amira not being a child anymore and not needing him like she did before.

Maggie told him to suck it up and accept the meeting as he would see him at their wedding anyway. And she wasn’t wrong. So he accepted the next date Amira proposed after checking it was alright with them and he would meet this Leo on a double date.

At least he wouldn’t face this alone. And his mother was happy to take care of the kids in the meantime.

Despite it all, he couldn’t silence his agent's side and he needed to do some research on the guy.

—

Maggie approached OA discreetly. He was typing on his keyboard and she wanted to know what he was doing. They arrived at the Bureau just ten minutes ago and while she had to go to the loo, he went to his desk.

She knew they didn’t have any late report to submit and all their paperwork had been done. She had a suspicion about what he was doing but she needed confirmation.

As she thought, he was doing some illegal research about someone. “Omar Adom Zidan!” He was startled at the use of his full name and turned around in his chair, sheepish.

“I can explain?” He said that as if he was asking a question and she raised her eyebrows.

“Please tell me you didn’t do what I think you’ve done?”

He shrugged. “It depends?”

She gasped. “OA!” She was outraged. Now she crossed her arms on her chest, scolding. “Tell me you didn’t look Amira’s boyfriend up?”

He didn’t look at her and rolled around to face his desk and away from her. “I can tell you that if you want, but it’s not the truth.” He was unbelievable.

“You will meet him tonight, don’t you think you could have asked him instead of going all in as an FBI agent on him?”

“I plan on asking him anyway.” He was grumbling, not liking to be scolded by his fiancée.

“Leo seems like a nice guy. I can assure you that I will hit you if you don’t behave.”

“Kinky.” He grinned at her and tickled her side, making her shake her head and retreat to her own desk beside his.

—

OA was waiting for his mom, entertaining his eleven-month-old twins while Ella played on her console and Maggie was finishing dressing in their bathroom. Tonight, he would see Leo, Amira’s boyfriend (he was still wrapping his head on that). The one she had been dating for more than a year and wanted here, at his wedding.

He was anxious about it but reassured after his research this morning. At least Leo wasn’t a delinquent as far as he saw, even though Maggie stopped him quite early in his investigation.

—

Maggie looked apprehensively at OA. She had let him drive so he could focus on something else than their meeting tonight but now that they were parked he didn’t move. “OA.”

Still, he didn’t bulge. “Omar, come on, we’re going to be late.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry.” He opened his door and met her at her side of the car. He was jittering and she took his hand and clutched it to center him.

As they were a little early, she thought she would have time to cheer him up before his sister arrived but Amira and Leo were already seated at their table. Feeling OA tensed beside her, she pulled him with the hand she still held and went to say hello to the duo. “Hi guys, it’s so nice to see you and finally properly meet you Leo.”

“Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you too. Amira told me a lot of things about you. I’m very happy to see you in person.”

“Sure. She didn’t say anything about you to us though…” She glared darkly at him and punched him which earned her a wince but at least he corrected his behavior. “… It’s nice to get to know you before our wedding, Leo.”

When they were situated, she whispered just for him to hear: “It’s more like it. Be nice.”

—

The waitress came to take their order and OA was glad for the interruption. He felt hot in here even though he knew Leo should be the guy sweating more than him at the presentation.

But the young man seemed unbothered, always cheerful. “So, Omar, how did you meet Maggie?” And just with this sentence, he was uncomfortable. Not because of their story but because it was frowned upon to date your partner in the Bureau and even if he wouldn’t change a thing, he didn’t want Leo to see Maggie in a bad light.

As he had a hard time talking, Maggie spoke. “Well, OA and I are partners at work and it evolved into something more with time.”

“Awesome. Amira told me you were working for the FBI? Tell me how it works, is it as cool and fun as I think it is?”

At that, OA saw red. He remembered Maggie being shot at, Maggie on the ground, knocked out by a bullet, Maggie on the other side of that glass door, trapped with one of the most deadly gasses on the planet while he couldn’t do anything. No, this job was not cool and funny. “Watch what you’re talking about. This is not a game.”

“OA.” He heard Maggie’s frown in her stern voice. She had a reassuring hand on his thigh though so she must not be that angry.

He got a look at her, shook his head, sighed and carried on on his answer to Leo. “This job is not a game. This is life and death out there. Do you think drug dealers and terrorists want to shake hands with us? No. They want to kill us, period. And we are here to stop them. So, to answer your question, no, it is not cool and fun.”

Amira looked angrily at him but didn’t talk and Leo was still calm. “Yes, sorry man, I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

At the clutch of Maggie’s finger on his thigh, he felt compelled to add nicely: “None taken.”

—

Maggie was sad for OA. She knew he was more affected than he wanted to admit by the fact that his sister didn’t tell him she was seeing someone. And he was hurt, more so when he learned it had been going on for a year and a half. She understood why but he needed to get past it for them to be okay.

Because despite him being hurt, he loved his sister and she didn’t want them to stay mad at each other.

She decided to direct the conversation on Leo instead of them. “And Leo, what do you do for a living?”

He smiled, excited. “I’m a photographer.”

Maggie was curious about it and continued to ask questions. “Great, so is it for the art itself that you’re doing it? Or do you do it as a journalist? Do you want to go abroad or just in the US?”

It showed that Leo was very passionate about his job, answering all of her questions, trying to include OA and Amira in the discussion too while they were both in a glaring contest.

The waitress came by and asked if they wanted more drinks which OA accepted while she gave him an annoying look. Amira got up to go to the washroom and Leo excused himself too, leaving OA alone with her.

“OA, please be more happy about this dinner. It’s your sister here. And she is pleased to have this meal with us and her boyfriend.”

“A boyfriend that she hid for me for more than a year, Maggie.”

“I know you’re hurt about that and I can’t do anything about it but the great part is that she finally told you. So you need to move on from that.”

He ducked his head and sighed, she knew she had him there and when he raised his head and looked at her, she was sure of it. “You’re right. I’m gonna be a perfect date for our double date from now on.”

“Good. That’s more like it.” She kissed his cheek lovingly and retreated when she saw Amira and Leo coming back. She whispered just for him: “I love you.”

—

Amira had overheard the last part of Maggie and OA conversation and she searched for Leo’s hand to hold it. When she didn’t talk about him to her family and especially brother, it wasn’t because she was afraid of his reaction nor because she didn’t trust him. On the contrary.

At first, it was just so… new. Then she wanted to be sure about him before he could meet her family. Then, time passed in a blur and she was pressed by the wedding invitation of her brother’s wedding to make the presentations.

They talked all the way through the desert and it was a very agreeable moment. Maggie must have said something more than what she had heard because Omar was more chilled and didn’t try to interrogate Leo as an agent but more convivial as a brother would be.

She tried to pay for dinner but Leo and Maggie had protested, Maggie winning in the end. While Leo had gone to the washroom and Maggie was paying for their meal, the two siblings went outside to wait for them.

She took the opportunity to apologize to her brother. “Omar, thank you for tonight. And I’m really sorry for not telling you sooner. It was not intentional and I wanted you to know you’re the best big brother I could ever have.”

—

As much as OA would have wanted for Leo to be gone and not with his sister, he could say after this dinner that he was a great guy and Amira seemed really in love with him and it was reciprocated. His sister wasn’t his to protect anymore and maybe their relationship would be evolving for the better.

He had added new members to the family and it wouldn’t be fair for his sisters not to be able to do that too.

He was a little taken aback by his sister’s apologies. At least she recognized something was not done right and he was grateful for that. He thanked her and hugged her and that was how their partner found them.

Chapter Text

OA opened his eyes and closed them instantly. He didn’t want to wake up. He rolled on his side and hugged the perfect body beside him, hiding his head in her neck and kissing the skin in front of his lips.

Right on her pulse point, Maggie moaned, as he had expected, and turned around to face him. “OA, I was sleeping.” She was stroking the base of his neck making him shiver.

“No you weren’t.” He continued to kiss her until he reached her lips, and hovered there, not moving. Frustrated, she grabbed his face and crashed her lips against his.

—

After a good morning fooling around with OA, Maggie had to go back to her apartment to grab some new clothes before heading into work with a big smile on her face.

As soon as she arrived, Isobel asked to talk to her and OA in her office and, after a look at each other, they went with her.

A new case had arrived and she wanted them on scene ASAP while Scola and Tiff would stay put at the office and join them later.

—

OA was fidgeting a lot, something was bothering him about this case but he didn’t know what. It was a taxi driver that had been found dead, shot in the head.

As if it wasn’t enough, the poor guy had been tortured before being shot, one broken finger at a time. What could explain that? What was he hiding? The fact that the guy was Arabic always put him on edge with all the assumptions being made about that.

The taxi’s victim, Amir Bashar, had been turned apart, and nothing was found that could help them in their investigation. They needed to go talk to the wife.

—

Scola had done some research on the victim and with the help of Elise, found a cryptic thing written in his notebook app. He told Elise to enter the numbers as a license plate to see what would come out, but nothing seemed relevant to the case. He then tried it as a phone number, with all of N.Y.C. code but to no chance either.

—

Tiffany had been looking at it from another angle, working with Kelly and trying to find where the victim went with the GPS tracker of the taxi. Unfortunately, it had been disabled just before his shift… Something was definitely shady there.

Kelly found that even if the GPS was disabled, the driver had installed and paid for another GPS device. Why?

Why turn one off and keep the second running? It made no sense.

—

While the team had gathered at their desks, Maggie suddenly had an idea when Scola showed a weird course the taxi had taken. By seeing the location of it and how it was written, it suddenly clicked.

“Guys, I think I know what the numbers are.” She vaguely looked at them before typing on her computer.

OA asked, intrigued: “And what are they?”

“What if it was an address? Look at how the address is written for this course. Scola, could you tell me what is there?”

“On it boss.” Stuart had even made a salute while doing what she asked. But it embarrassed her, she didn’t want them to treat her differently. She wasn’t even their boss.

With a gentle smile, she wanted to tell them just that. “Don’t call me that, I’m not your boss.”

And Tiff chuckled, reassuring her. “Maggie, you are our boss. You’re the special Agent in charge.”

“Yeah, you outrank us.” OA told with a wink in her direction.

She swatted him, sighing. “Oh, no. Not you too.”

They all laughed at her when Stuart became serious again. “It’s a storage unit.” The silence that followed was tense.

With one look at each other, they knew they were on a good track. OA, always thinking like her, added: “And the numbers that didn’t appear for the address plus the letter should be the unit Amir had rented out.”

Already standing and putting her coat on, Maggie looked at her partner. “Time to go check it out then.” And they were out the door while Tiff and Scola went to inform the JOC and Isobel.

—

In the car, OA needed to fill the silence. “Did you think that this case would turn out this mysterious?”

Maggie took a quick look at him then at the road again. “No. not in the slightest. But I really look forward to it being done. It’s already exhausting.” He smiled, knowing that even if it was true that it was tiring, she loved a good case where you needed to search for clues.

“True. We have way more questions than answers.” Looking at the window while the rain dropped, he added: “I just hope the mysteries will be resolved with what we’ll find in that storage unit.”

—

Maggie and OA didn’t have trouble finding the storage unit. While OA opened the door, Maggie had her gun out, pointed at the room.

She would have preferred for the unit to be stored with things that could help them. Instead of that, there was a single box at the end of it. She approached carefully, OA behind her.

She had a mild panic, thinking she would find yet another body. But what she found was way worse than that.

In that box were lots of guns, and explosive charges. When she reached and touched it, a beeper went off. At first, she searched for a switch and a timer for a potential bomb that she had activated without meaning to.

But it was her radioactive device setting off.

OA looked at her and, after holding her hand, ran in the other direction whereas she called Isobel for help.

—

OA knew his instincts were right this morning when they got the case. Now, he was waiting for the emergency service to arrive, being scared of what they had been exposed to. Maggie shouldn’t have been there, he couldn’t see her die.

“Mags, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, don't worry.”

“How high was the radiation detector?” He raised his eyebrows, looking at her expectantly. He needed to know what they were up against.

The fact that his girlfriend and partner bit her lips, avoiding his eyes, before responding was bad. “It maxed out.” He couldn’t breathe.

—

After hours of waiting, Jubal came to fetch them from their confinement, explaining they were good and no harm was done. OA couldn’t help but ask again if they were sure, and if they were okay, then why Maggie’s radioactive detector had maxed out?

But everything was okay for them. It was just a minor exposure and they would be fine. Another crate must have been there before they arrived though, and this was what caused the detector to max out.

It turned out that the ‘simple’ case they had gotten of a battered and bruised taxi driver was becoming a big threat to the city of New York and a chase against the clock had begun. They were chasing a terrorist organization and had a bomb on the loose. A nuclear one at that.

They would be briefed and would work with special Agent Montgomery from Homeland security who had taken the lead once the nuclear bomb was confirmed.

—

Agent Montgomery was in the JOC room, to brief everyone. His agency had an informant that told them a radioactive bomb was being prepared and set to explode in New York City. Their investigation had led them to the case the FBI was on when they heard Maggie’s call about the radioactive exposition she and OA had been exposed to. And here they were.

After joining forces, they discovered that Amir had installed cameras in his taxi. At first they thought it was someone else that did that but no, the guy that installed them confirmed it was him. Unfortunately, the drives had been stolen and they couldn’t see anything.

OA and Maggie were the last to enter with Jubal who nodded in his direction and Agent Montgomery took that as his sign to begin. “Hi everyone. I’m Agent Montgomery from Homeland Security.”

After a brief pause, he continued. “So, here is what we know for now. Amir Bashar, your victim, built a dirty bomb designed to explode and disperse highly radioactive cobalt-60… And that bomb is missing… We’re gonna interview facility employees, check surveillance video, you know the drill.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You heard him people. Let’s get to work and find that bomb before it goes boom.” Jubal added, gesticulating as usual.

Everyone went to do their job and had their own task after that. The JOC was boiling.

—

Maggie had been called to join the Homeland agent to interrogate Amir’s wife. While she had liked the proposition as she wanted to be a part of the case and not just wait around, Agent Montgomery had gone too far, menacing the woman holding her crying baby to take her away and give her up to social services.

She couldn’t place a word in there and if looks could kill he would have dropped dead in a second.

The wife seemed to have told the truth the first time she talked to her, and it still seemed that way now. She was terrified and only had her daughter left. But she had to begrudgingly agree with Montgomery. She could still be lying and they had to treat her like that even if she felt as if she was a total innocent bystander.

—

Later, Kelly came running for them to come to the JOC, they saw Amir’s cousin, Jamal, his associate in the taxi company, taking the bomb away. He became their prime suspect and everyone was on deck to find him.

But even with all of this, everything pointing at Amir and Jamal, made OA tick. The fact that everyone was always so keen to say people were terrorists just because they were Arabic made him uneasy.

Since the beginning of this case, something felt wrong. He instantly thought about the assumptions that could be made about the taxi driver, just because of his origins. But why would they do that?

When he and Maggie interrogated Amir’s wife and cousin, they seemed heartbroken about their loss and Jamal wasn’t acting weird at all. He told them he also owned a moving company. And now, we could see him on CCTV, moving the bomb around. But while everyone was already sure of his guiltiness, he couldn’t stop feeling something was off.

Thinking about it. Why wasn’t he more stressed about moving a dirty bomb around? He didn’t even have any kind of protection on while moving it either.

Plus, Amir was a scientist with insight in nuclear power. Thus, he was clever, so it made no sense that they could find evidence on him so easily. A guy like that would have covered his tracks better.

When Maggie came to tell him they needed to go talk to the wife again about her husband’s cousin, he couldn’t not tell her his theories.

Maggie being one of the best agents here, their commanding officer when on the field and also his girlfriend, she took the time to hear him out.

—

And now that OA had put it in her head, Maggie, too, saw how it looked. It was a damn perfect plan.

Tiffany had earlier traced back the huge amount of money Amir had received on his bank account and it came from Afghanistan. The same money that his wife didn’t know about before they told her about it… He was the perfect target and it seemed as if all their clues were planted there. Too easy to find for some.

Scola dug more around the money and he found out that the bank, while being in Afghanistan, was one usually used by military personnel. So, how could a terrorist be linked to that? It seemed more and more as if someone wanted to make Amir and Jamal appear as people they weren’t.

Another thing bugged her. Why would Amir place cameras on his taxi if he was the culprit? Why disable the car’s GPS but pay for another one on his phone?

Maybe it was for another person not to know what he was doing and the only suspects would be another driver of his car, right? So his cousin could still be the guilty one. But as OA said to her, why would he be this calm around a bomb this dangerous? Without any protection? As her radiation detector indicated, it was very deadly not to be protected near it…

And as OA again said, he owned a moving company. What if he was hired to move the crate, never knowing what was inside? And with all the radiation in it, he may be dead soon because of it.

The perfect suspect. Soon to be dead. It was a perfect plan that nobody would look too closely at. There would be nobody left to answer questions.

She wanted to talk about it with Montgomery, because now that she and OA had talked to someone that could corroborate their theory, it was more real than ever. But he shut her down real quick and when he learned that she had investigated with OA on their own and went to speak with a foreign agent, he put them off the case.

Isobel tried to fight for them but to no avail.

If this Montgomery guy thought he would stop her and her partner from investigating and doing what was right, he was dead wrong. Once they were sure it was another driver that was the culprit, the only one having stopped at the same place where Amir had, they went to the area the GPS indicated.

On site, Maggie regretted immediately not telling anyone about their whereabouts. They found the dirty bomb but were shot at almost as soon as they arrived. The only way for them to take cover was to go in the freezer.

And now, they were stuck in it, the bad guys having locked the door behind them.

—

OA knew they didn’t have any other choice than to plunge in this freezer. But now that they were stuck in it, with Jamal’s dead body, he cursed himself. He should have called Scola or Tiff or both of them. They were FBI agents for fuck’s sake and they made a rookie mistake by going in head first without any backup.

The worst of it was that nobody knew where they were and wouldn’t even search for them as they should be at home, having been relieved from the case. Nobody would worry and by the time they would, they’d be dead.

—

Maggie tried to open the door, in vain. She almost killed them by shooting at the door, she was desperate. She didn’t want to end like this. More so, she didn’t want OA to die. Not like this. Not now that they had figured it out.

They were together and they were happy. They had plans. They couldn’t die.

After being in there for hours, neither of their phones working, she resigned herself. The cold was beginning to be too much. She couldn’t feel her body, except for the fact that it burned. She got closer to OA, the two of them huddled in a corner on the ground trying to get warmer.

With the force she had left, she raised her head to look into his eyes. “OA.” He only mumbled an ‘okay’ and she continued. “I’m sorry.”

She felt him move and understood he was looking back at her. “For what?”

“It’s my fault if we’re here. We’re gonna die and it’ll be all my fault.”

He pushed her back a little to stare at her better. “Hey, it’s not true. I could have called someone too. It’s not on you.”

She almost whined when she answered him while he grabbed her tighter and got her as close as he could from his body. “It is on me. As you all liked to remind me today, I am your boss.”

Maggie heard and felt his chuckle. “Ah, so it only took us to be about to die for you to finally acknowledge it.”

She groaned but didn’t reply. Staying awake was getting harder but she needed to tell OA she loved him. They couldn’t go like that, without him knowing (she knew he was aware of her feelings but she never said the famous three words). “OA?”

—

OA couldn’t open his lips so he only mumbled. “Mmm.”

He was frightened, petrified. He didn’t think it was possible to be that cold. They really were in the worst situation ever. He didn’t want to die, obviously, but he mostly didn’t want Maggie to die.

He focused on her next words. “I want you to know. That. I.” And, after that, Maggie beside him had stopped talking mid phrase and closed her eyes. She didn’t react to his pleas to wake up.

“Mags?” OA shook her but she didn’t budge. “Maggie?” His fear was coming to life and it was not helping him.

Nothing he did woke Maggie and after a while, he couldn’t carry on with the task, succumbing to the cold too and closing his eyes just after whispering he loved her.

—

She knew this case would be her last with OA, but she didn’t think it would go down this way. It wasn’t supposed to go down like that.

—

This morning when he woke up, he didn’t want to because he knew it was the last time Maggie and him would work together as partner. Nothing would be like before after today. But he didn’t think it would be their last day to live at all.

—————

A week later:

She felt his hands around her, encircling her from behind, kissing her head. “I love you.”

Maggie turned around to pull him down and kiss him, speaking near his lips, inking the words into his skin. “I love you too.”

“Are you ready for your first day as the SAC?” At his words, she smiled. At first she didn’t think she could do it, she wasn’t ready. But OA told her otherwise. Isobel had been promoted at the post Rina had held a long time ago and she had wanted Maggie to replace her. The whole team agreed.

With a raised eyebrow and a smirk, she returned his question. “And you at the ASAC?” As Jubal needed some more time to spend with his family, he took another job, working under Isobel’s command still. And OA had been the one that was named to be his replacement.

Same as Maggie, he had needed time to process the news. He loved being a field agent and not doing it anymore would be an adjustment. But he couldn’t do the job without being partnered with Maggie, and they had taken the decision to have a family life more than just their job.

They took a safer path while still doing what they loved and they worked together, just not as they did in the past.

That fateful day, they had almost died, and Tiffany and Scola had saved them at the last minute. More minutes in there would have killed them. And though they already had taken their decision to leave the field, it was clear they had made the right choice with that at their last experience out of the Bureau.

Chapter Text

Today, Maggie wanted to cook and surprise her fiancé.

It had been almost four years since they had gotten together (three years and ten months but who was counting?), and in this time, everything had been going faster than she had anticipated.

While they were just supposed to move in together, they suddenly had to take care of Ella. They had to move again as her apartment wouldn’t do anymore and they later adopted the little girl. Then, she got pregnant and gave birth to the twins. And OA proposed.

And during all this time, OA was the one to cook most of the time.

Before, when it was just her, it arrived more than once that she didn’t eat at all. Else, she ordered take-out. When she was eating with OA, before dating, that was usually what they did too.

Ella was 8 now and the twins 15 months old. And today was OA’s birthday. She wanted today to be special and for him not to do anything for once.

—

She woke up early to prepare the day better while the kids were still sleeping. But Ella came in as she laid the last item on the counter for breakfast and the twins soon followed. How OA could still be sleeping was a mystery to her but she would take it.

—

Ella was excited because it was her dad’s birthday. She thought she was the only one awake but she heard her mom in the kitchen and tiptoed over there.

The woman turned around and saw her right away. “Good morning sunshine, did you sleep well?” Maggie welcomed her with a smile that Ella returned before sitting in front of her mom.

“Great.” She paused, looking at the mess in the kitchen, and looked back at Maggie. “What is all of that?”

“I will cook lunch today and I wanted to start early before the twins woke up.”

When they heard them gurgling in the baby-phone just then, they grinned at each other, the little girl joking and pointing at the machine: “Too late for that now.”

—

Maggie went to grab the kids and put them with Ella and her in the kitchen. She looked around and shrugged to herself. “Okay then. I guess you'll help me cook for daddy now.”

Ella was excited about it and the twins only applauded like they loved to do these days.

—

OA woke up alone and when he touched Maggie’s side of the bed it was cold. He was a little bit disappointed but when he looked at the clock, he understood that with how much he overslept, it was evident that the kids had woken her up.

He sat in the bed, trying to hear them, but he couldn’t. It’s only when he opened the bedroom’s door that he heard the music coming from the kitchen. Knowing Maggie, he smiled to himself, shaking his head, thinking of her trying to cook something.

And when he arrived at his destination, he could see he was right. Only now, Maggie wasn’t the only one making a mess in there, their three kids helped. Even if it would be an horror to clean after, he grinned from ear to ear, simply observing them while they didn’t know he was here.

—

It must have been a couple of hours after, when the kitchen was looking like a war zone, the twin making a big mess adding to all of it already existing that Maggie finally looked up from what she was doing with the kids.

And here was OA, chuckling to himself. She was surprised not to have heard him walking toward them but with all the noise and the music Ella had wanted to put on, she shouldn’t have been. She went towards him and saluted him. “Hi, you. Happy birthday Omar.” Then she kissed him and Ella came rushing to hug him, wishing him a happy birthday too.

“Thank you, Ella.” He paused deliberately and Maggie pinched him, making him thank her too, claiming her lips another time before the little girl scrunched up her nose, disgusted. That made them laugh and they followed after her to be with the twins.

—

OA had offered to help Maggie and the kids to cook and while he knew she would have preferred to do it all alone before he could do anything, he also knew that Maggie loved and appreciated these moments when they were all together.

She accepted and admitted he might have saved the meal after all. And everyone was happy.

—

Together, everything was better.

Chapter Text

Maggie hadn’t opened her eyes yet but she was already smiling. OA must have sensed she was waking up and the hand that was around her held her tighter and pressed her against his body. She grabbed his forearm for him to release some pressure so she could turn around and did so as soon as he let her.

She opened her eyes then, seeing he had only one of his half opened, and reached to kiss him and be closer than they were, if it was possible. She whispered against his lips: “Good morning, handsome.”

—

OA chuckled at her nickname for him and bit her lower lips in retaliation which earned him a groan. “Good morning to you too.” He paused for a second before saying with a smirk: “Gorgeous.” Maggie chuckled as he pushed her on her back and went with her, paying attention not to crush her and holding himself with one of his elbows. His other arm taking his hand lower, and lower until it reached its objective.

—

Feeling OA’s hand getting near her center, teasing her, Maggie decided to do the same and grabbed his still clothed member, already ready to go, pumping him slowly and tightening her hold when she heard him moan in her ear.

“What are you doing to me, woman?” His husky voice turned her on and, feeling his breath against her skin, even more.

She decided to accelerate the process and free him from his clothes as that couldn’t be comfortable. Even focused on her task, she could still tease him. “Nothing you wouldn’t like I hear.”

Maggie took her time, kissing every inch of his face and neck, her hands now in his hair, she wished he had more to really clutch them harder.

He let out another moan before he could answer. “And you would be right.”

The way he talked to her and kissed her in the neck at the same time gave her goosebumps. Just with the effect of his voice she thrusted up and collided with his member, perfectly aligned with her center, that made them both groan.

“Maggie” He was breathless, and she knew he wouldn’t last long so she didn’t dare do any more teasing before the good thing started. She helped him to discard their clothes and in under thirty seconds, they were both bare and eager to start.

—

After a good morning like that, OA was still in their bed, Maggie beside him, panting from all the exercise. He turned his head to look at her, a smile on his lips. “I’ve missed doing this.”

She rolled her eyes, responding: “What are you talking about? We do it all the time.”

It was his turn to roll his eyes, reaching for Maggie’s hair that was on her face and placing it behind her ear. “I meant being able to wake up like this.” He gently kissed her and chuckled before adding: “And not being afraid of staying naked while the kids could come in at any time.”

She grinned and with one eyebrow raised, she said: “It’s a good thing we don’t have the kids today then.”

He only nodded when, at the same time, she had straddled him and it was clear they wouldn’t leave this bed anytime soon. And he was far from complaining about it.

—

Maggie was in front of the bathroom’s mirror, looking at herself. Today, she will be married to the love of her life and father to her kids. Sometimes, she couldn’t believe it.

OA arrived behind her and hugged her, kissing her neck and looking into the mirror. “I can’t believe we’ll be married tonight. I will finally be able to call you Mrs. Zidan.”

She pivoted to face him, kissing his chest. “I can’t wait.” She breathed him in before pushing him out of the room. “And now, go away so I can get ready or else you’ll be all alone at the altar.”

“Ah. Ah.” He joked, pulled back and raised his hands, smiling, then he turned back. “I’ll leave you to it then. You know where to find me if you need anything.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, it’ll be alright.”

—

When OA walked through the front door of his mom’s house, he was thrown back against it by three kids full of energy and Fatima running behind them to make sure they wouldn’t hurt themselves.

He was surrounded by his children, each one of the twins in his arms and Ella glued to his side. “Hi little ones. Hi mama.”

“Omar, what are you doing here son?”

“Mom, it’s okay, I had time before my appointment. Besides, Maggie threw me out so I had nowhere to go. Don’t worry, Scola will pick me up here.”

“Okay, come on in then, we have lots to do.”

“Mom! It’s my wedding and you want me to work?” He joked, following her.

—

Maggie was surrounded by her sister and sisters-in-law, Amira, Soumaya, Erin and Zahra who came to help her get ready with her hair and make-up plus to zip up her dress. The closer she got to the wedding, the more anxious she got. She knew it was silly, she loved OA and he loved her. They were already doing everything together, they lived together, they even had adopted a daughter and had twins. But today, she would officially be a part of his family. Maggie Zidan.

Just thinking about it made her grin and hyperventilate at the same time.

“Hey, are you alright?” Amira had a careful hand on her shoulder, feeling the stress she was on.

When she looked up, she saw every woman come in her direction, worried and confused. With a hand on her heart, Maggie replied: “Yeah, no, it’s okay.” Looking at them in turn, she was feeling grateful to have them here, with her.

Soumaya carefully approached her and hugged her, whispering in her ear reassuring words. Maggie smiled and cried at the same time with all the emotion and everyone did a group hug.

In between hiccups, she was able to tell them: “I know it’s silly, but I’m anxious.” Which earned her another hug and Soumaya told her it was normal. She was the only one of OA’s sisters to be married and she was relieved as soon as she explained she had lived the exact same thing when she married her now husband, Edward.

—

Erin didn’t like seeing her big sister like that. She didn’t like to see her cry. Even in joy. So she just had to make her laugh and think of something else. What was better than the man she was in love with, himself.

“So, Mags, tell us. OA’s mom agreed to keep the kids yesterday but technically, OA shouldn’t have slept there either, did you do naughty things?”

“Erin!” Her sly smile made Maggie laugh and the other three women were all gagging and laughing at the same time. Mission accomplished.

“What, I was just saying that, maybe, you wouldn’t be so stressed out if you had… you know…”

Her sister slapped her and after a silence, she replied. “It’s none of your concern, but it just happens that you are wrong as I am stressed out anyway.” Maggie stumped her foot and turned away towards the bathroom while Erin giggled and everyone around did too.

—

After getting his tuxedo with Scola, OA was ready. He was fidgeting so much that his teammate scolded him for it, but Nina was quick to slap her boyfriend for getting upset at him.

Before he knew it, it was almost time and he was waiting for his bride at the altar. He watched their family in front of him, his kids in the front row.

The music began and Maggie appeared at the end of the aisle, on her dad’s arm. As soon as she walked into the room, she was the only thing he could see. Her, in this beautiful white dress, and her hair styled as if she was a princess. He seemed to him as if she walked in slow motion and he had time to take her in. She was glowing.

Finally, she was there, in front of him, at the altar. He couldn’t be more proud and happy than right now.

—

Once Maggie was at the back of the room, seeing everyone there to see them get married, and most importantly her groom smiling at her from the altar, Maggie forgot all her nerves. It was only because her dad was attached to her that she understood that she had to move. She couldn’t hear anything nor see anyone but OA.

He was taking all the spotlight with this tuxedo and his height. His face was so joyful. He was glowing.

When she was near enough, she couldn’t wait to touch him so she took his hands which he clutched hard so he must have felt the same way.

—

The ceremony passed in a blur of happiness. The twins, helped by Ella, had delivered the rings and from there it was just moments full of joy and laughter and congratulations.

Now was the time of their first dance and even though they had practiced for weeks, OA was anxious.

A simple look at Maggie and it was all gone. The fact that she made fun of him helped too. She smirked at him, saying: "Don't step on my foot this time." He chuckled, held her hand and kissed her hair before going on the dance floor with her.

One look at you
My whole life falls in line
I prayed for you
Before I called you mine

There, their song, “I get to love you” from Ruelle, began and so did their dance.

Oh, I can't believe it's true sometimes
Oh, I can't believe it's true

OA was focused on Maggie, his wife, and the lyrics of the song. That was mirroring his feelings as he couldn’t believe it was true sometimes. He couldn’t detach his eyes from hers.

I get to love you
It's the best thing that I'll ever do
I get to love you
It's a promise I'm making to you

—

Maggie was totally in the moment, hearing the lyrics displaying what she was thinking. Their wedding was a promise and she was damn sure she was going to keep it. She loved this man and couldn’t wait for what was up next.

Whatever may come, your heart I will choose
Forever I'm yours, forever I do
I get to love you, I get to love you

She kissed him in the middle of their dance, disturbing him in his movements but he didn’t step on her toes and was keen to kiss her back while the guests were cheering in the background. She sang the lyrics in whispers just for him. “I love you, Omar.”

The way you love
It changes who I am
I am undone
And I thank God once again

—

OA couldn’t be happier than now. With his wife pressed against him, saying that she loved him and dancing surrounded by their friends and family. He was grateful for the universe to have made him cross paths with her.

Oh, I can't believe it's true sometimes
Oh, I can't believe it's true

He was oblivious to the world, in his own bubble they had created.

Forever I'm yours, forever I do

—

Maggie barely noticed where they were. Only OA counted. She was surrounded by love.

Once the song was over, some of the guests joined the dance-floor and they could sway less carefully, just enjoying the moment without any moves programmed. She held the lapel of his jacket so he could bend a little so she could claim his lips.

The night had been awesome and full of memories. Now they were back home, alone. OA whispered in her ear, pressing her body against his, his hands on the small of her back. "It's the first day of our life together."

Maggie giggled and shut him up with a kiss then turned around and took her shoes off. She pivoted again, less tall than before, and at his dumbfounded look, had to explain: "OA, we've been together for 4 years already." She was stroking his neck and beard and it was very distracting. "Not to add that we have three kids. Our life began way before today."

“You’re right.” He mumbled against her lips, reaching for the zipper of her dress.

—

OA held Maggie in his arms to cross the threshold of their bedroom and put her gently on the bed while she was making it difficult for him. From their hall to their room, Maggie had lost almost all of her clothes when he had still nearly everything on apart from his shoes and jacket.

She took her sweet time to undress him and drove him crazy. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he told her, groaning. “Maggie Zidan, you’ll be the death of me.”

She stopped altogether and moaned while rocking against him. When she finally could speak, it was to tell him she loved the way it sounded. And she added: “And you, Omar Zidan will be mine.”

He had begun to make his way down her body when he responded: “And I wouldn’t change a thing.”

She barely could speak at this point but Maggie loved to have the last word. “Neither am I.” And he let her, he had better things to do now.

Chapter Text

OA hadn’t slept this well since he was a child. He had always been a light sleeper, but it got worse when he became the only man in the house. With his dad gone, he wanted to be able to protect his sisters and mother, and that often went with him not sleeping a lot so he could watch over them.

Then he got into the Army and… well… nobody could say they slept well there. He had nightmares, remembering the atrocities he witnessed, his friends dying haunting him. All the wounds and killing he had done and had lived through.

Working for the FBI didn’t let him sleep much either and he couldn’t say he was free of all the bad things he had seen and continued to see with this job. At least now, he also had good things to balance it all. He was living close by to his mother and siblings and he had a perfect team at work who he also considered his friends and family.

The better part of this was his partner, Maggie. He could deny it all he wanted but he had been in love with her since the first time they met. But she wasn’t available, grieving her late husband and totally closed off and cold. That didn’t deter him and he decided to be there for her, like a good partner needed to be.

With time, she opened up to him more and more and soon they were inseparable even out of work. His wish to be more than partners at work never got away, but at this time, he knew he was in the friendzone and he preferred it this way. At least he had Maggie in his life.

But it had been hard to see her date Nestor, this guy was a piece of shit and didn’t deserve her. But when he saw how annoyed she was with him, he stopped trying to tell her that and just never talked about anything coming near to a relationship with her.

Weeks went by and when he finally tried to move on and chatted with a brunette at the bar, Maggie came running.

It was yesterday night.

OA wasn’t all in at first, not that he didn’t want to but Maggie was inebriated and he didn’t want to take advantage of her. She was very persuasive though and he couldn’t deny her any longer. He wanted her for far too long to be a perfect gentleman.

—

Maggie opened her eyes, blinded by the light. The curtains were opened and the sunlight was in full blast. She wanted to turn around and escape the disturbance to go back to sleep when she noticed a warm and strong arm around her chest.

She tensed. Not remembering where she was or who it could be.

Then she remembered. She almost let a chuckle out for not having recognized the place earlier. It was definitely not her apartment. She could tell just by the smell, it was his smell. And she was surrounded by it, it was on her pillow, in the sheets, everywhere.

But now she was beginning to panic. She was naked. So was he. Where were her clothes? Should she leave and run? Act as if nothing happened and as if her world hadn’t been turned upside down for the better? Had they talked about it yesterday?

Her mind was a little fuzzy and she just really needed to calm down.

—

Now though, OA was afraid of her reaction. They were naked, in his bed and nothing could serve as an excuse as to why they were staying there. He was on the lookout for her every move and felt the moment she woke up and realized the situation.

The silence was killing him, so he decided to make sure she knew he was awake too. “Mags. You’re thinking too much and too loudly. I can hear you from here.”

She tensed even more at hearing him, but after a moment she released the tension in her body and he felt her relax. It relieved him a little, maybe there was hope she wouldn’t be too stressed out by the situation and give him a chance.

—

Maggie tensed when she heard OA but thinking about it, she wasn’t afraid of the situation. She was the one that initiated all of it and he had been a happy participant. She thought she would have been more put out by the aftershock, but was happily surprised to be this calm.

And his sleepy voice was more sexy than she had ever dreamed of. She was done for. She didn’t think she could go back and act as if nothing had changed.

Now that he was awake, there was no need for her to go. He seemed fine with their situation and even reinforced his hold on her, pressing her against him, and his morning wood, making them both moan.

She tapped his forearm signaling him to release some tension so she could turn around and without speaking, he understood what she meant.

She was stroking his cheek, then throat, she followed a pace down to his navel and abs and lower. Feeling all of his muscles contract at the contact of her skin, and hearing him groan in her ear.

He suddenly turned them around and pressed her into the mattress. “Please, tell me it’s not a one-time thing.” His breath was labored, and the tone of his voice supplicant. She needed to take him out of his misery.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, getting him closer, moaning at the feeling of his skin against hers. In between kisses, she was able to reply to his question. “Well… with what is about to happen now, I’d say it isn’t a one-time thing.”

He groaned and bit her neck playfully. “Smartass.”

—

After their second time, OA was more reassured that Maggie would stay as she was in no hurry and seemed pretty okay with the outcome. Still, he needed to make sure they were on the same page. He wasn’t confident and didn’t want to push her but he couldn’t let his heart be shattered.

He gently stroked her right forearm, going up until he reached her chin and cheek and ear, seeing goosebumps on her skin. She was looking at him apprehensively, biting her lips and that made him want her. She raised an eyebrow at feeling him harden again. While he knew it was a normal reaction, he would have liked to control his body better than that.

He laid on his back, taking his pillow to hide under it. “Mags…”

He heard her move and felt the way she straddled him in all the right places. He took a big intake of breath to calm down. “Omar. We need to talk and I would prefer to see your face while doing it.” Her voice was soothing, a caress to his ear.

OA let her take the pillow away and held her waist to keep her balanced while he sat up. “Okay. Let’s do it now.”

She chuckled, looking him up and down, stating they were both naked just with her look, but nodded. One hand on his chest making it hard for him to focus, but he managed. “Okay, I’ll start. I’ve known for some time now that I felt something toward you…”

He tightened his hold on her waist at that, smiling and encouraging her to continue with his eyes. She rolled her eyes but did just that: “… But I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to lose what we had.” After a tiny pause she added: “What we have. And I think I wasn’t ready. That’s why I tried it with Nestor, I knew I had nothing to lose with him.”

He let his head fall back against the wall, closing his eyes. “Arf. Can we not talk about your ex while we’re naked in my bed.”

Hearing her laugh made him open his eyes again, smirking at her when she thrusted into him, getting him harder than he was. “Yes, sorry. I have to say that you were right though, this guy wasn’t for me and deep down I knew it too. Because… You are the one for me. And when that woman talked to you as if you were a piece of meat, I got furious. I had drunk a little and it gave me the courage I lacked before to come to you.”

“So… just so we’re clear.” He brought her closer to his torso, their lips barely apart. “You’re telling me that you want me. And that it wasn’t just to get off some steam?”

—

Maggie loved this playful part of him, and the one that he made her have too. She couldn’t help it, she claimed his lips begging for entrance with her tongue and biting him so it would be easier.

The way he held her, she was sure to have marks afterwards but she loved him. This simple thought made her stop what she was doing, slowing down a little. She kissed the base of his neck before staring at him, taking his face in both hands. “Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.”

She quickly put her mouth on his and moved her pelvis at the same time. She couldn’t wait any longer, she needed to have him again. And by the way he pushed her back to be on top, she wasn’t the only one.

Chapter Text

When Maggie was five and OA three, they didn’t remember it but they already knew each other. Their parents were friends and had lots of diners together with their kids.

Later, when Maggie was eight and OA six, they were always together. After school they had their secret place at the back of the yard.

And their bond kept growing with time. They were best friends through it all. She was there for him after 9/11, when nobody wanted to be his friend because of his origins, treating him like a terrorist. He was there for her when girls at school were mean to her for being a tomboy. She was there when his father died when he was twelve. And he was there for her when her sister, Erin, had a car accident in high school.

—

OA couldn’t imagine his life without Maggie. Everybody always talked about them like they were a pair and inseparable. If you wanted to find one of them, you just had to find the other.

She was his best friend and he loved her. When they were kids, it was easier to process their feelings, they liked each other and even promised to marry each other when they were ‘old’. And the more they grew the more OA knew he was feeling something more for her.

He knew he was in love with her but was afraid to tell her. Some close calls made him think she may feel the same, like when they had a sleepover and almost kissed at the end of the night but were interrupted by Erin and Amira coming down the stairs. Or when she was pressed against him when she fell on him during a soccer game in his yard, her breathing hard and her gaze fixed on his lips.

But if she felt something, why wouldn’t she say anything? She was the rebellious one, the one never afraid.

One day, while his three sisters were telling him it was not possible for Maggie not to feel anything, he took the brave decision to finally tell her. He would ask her to prom and if she didn’t like the idea of them as a couple, he could still say they would go as friends. He was playing it safe.

They had a coffee date every Tuesday and he was enjoying it while he could as it was the last year they would be able to do that. It was Maggie’s last year of high school and he didn’t know if she would stay close by for her University but he didn’t think so, she deserved more.

This Tuesday, he was particularly nervous. He was there thirty minutes early to try to calm his nerves. And it seemed as if she had the same idea as she entered the café ten minutes after him. She was gorgeous, like always. Her hair was let down, she was wearing jeans with a beautiful blue tank top.

“Hey Mags.”

“Hi, OA.” She was all smiley, not that she usually wasn’t but it was brighter.

They sat and talked for a while and at the same time, said: “I have to tell you something.” They chuckled and he told her to go ahead.

“Okay. Hmm. I have a date.”

“Oh.” Of all the things she could have said, OA never would have thought it would be those words. His heart broke in millions of pieces. Thinking positively, he was glad he wasn’t the one that had begun the discussion or it would have been awkward. “Great for you.”

“That’s it?” She had her trademark face, with one of her eyebrows raised high on her forehead, not impressed.

“No, sorry, it’s just weird to hear. We’ve been best friends for years and I didn’t know you liked someone.” He looked into her eyes, praying for her not to see his heartbreak. “But, yeah, it’s awesome. What’s his name?”

At that, she was uncomfortable. “Uh, it’s- it’s Jason.”

“Jason? The Jason? The one that made fun of you last year?” He was fuming inside. How could she choose that guy over anyone else (over him).

“Yeah, but he changed.” She took the time to stare at him and wait for him to be calmer before adding: “And it would mean a lot to me if you were friends.”

“Yeah, whatever.” He couldn’t look at her and preferred to focus on the passers-by in the street.

“But, hey, didn’t you want to tell me something too? Do you have a girl you’re lusting after?”

He didn’t have anything to lose now. “Yeah.”

“Awesome, tell me everything about her!”

“There is nothing to tell. She will never want me.” He sighed, feeling sadder than he thought he could ever be. He felt a pang in his stomach knotting everything inside.

“Oh come on, OA. You’re a catch. She would be a fool to let you go.” Maggie placed her hand reassuringly on his and clutched it a little. He swallowed louder than usual, thinking she could never know.

—

Maggie had always liked OA. With them growing up, she sometimes thought about them, together, as more than friends. But he was younger than her, it was her last year in the city and she didn’t know if it was a good choice to risk it all. She would much prefer to keep him in her life forever than trying something and losing him in the process if it didn’t work out.

And she still had doubts. Sometimes, she thought she saw something in his eyes making her sure about his feelings and the second after that, it wasn’t there anymore and she thought she was just crazy.

Plus, as nothing ever happened after their almost kiss, she made up her mind about him. He wasn’t interested. And Jason came in, asking her out.

At first, she didn’t know what to say, they weren’t close and he was the quarterback of the team while she was a nobody at school. But he was cute and interested in her so she accepted.

She wanted OA to be friends with Jason, as it would be easier for them to see each other, but it was hard to schedule something with the both of them, at the same time. The worst part being that Tuesdays were Jason’s big days with the team and as his girlfriend she had to be there, and it’s been a while since she had gone to a coffee date with OA. She was missing it.

This Tuesday though, she had decided to be with her best friend and arrived, as per usual, a little early. OA, on the other hand, was late. She was concerned but saw him walking in just ten minutes after her. “OA? Hi.”

“Hey, Mags.” He sat in front of her, shy all of sudden. He was watching his moves and she didn’t know why.

After some time, he relaxed and they had fun like they used to. But everything changed once again when she gushed about her boyfriend. “So, I wanted to invite you to the next party after the game.”

OA’s face closed off. “But I wasn’t invited.”

“You are now!” She was excited and needed her best friend to come.

“No thanks.” He shook his head.

“But, come one. We’ll have fun. Jason will be there too so you can create a bromance or something.” Maggie half-joked about it but he knew it was all she wanted. And he was a sucker for her.

“Yeah, okay, you win. I’ll come.”

“Yeahhhhhhh.” She stood up to hug him and that put a genuine smile on his face.

—

OA was not a fan of big parties where everyone was drunk. With his faith, he didn’t drink and didn’t think it was fun to be ill and vomit just because you had too much alcohol. He wasn’t shy either, and he knew he was a tall and attractive man but he wasn’t interested in anyone (the only one he wanted was taken and not interested). So being here, at a party, while Maggie wasn’t even with him, was angering him.

He could have had a good night with his sisters and mother. But, no, he had to say yes to Maggie… Like Nadia told him, he couldn’t let her run his life. He had to grow up.

Jason came up to him, and he winced anticipating their meeting.

“Hey, OA, I didn’t think you’d come.”

“Yet, here I am.” His voice was cold, stating a fact.

Jason looked him up and down. “Yeah. Maggie is in the kitchen, preparing drinks, you should go there.”

Seeing his escape, he fled in the direction Jason had told him with the hope to see his friend.

When he went there, she was laughing at something another girl had said. She was so happy it hurt him a little, but he was glad she had some new friends. Who cared if she didn’t have that much time for him anymore?

She ditched her new friends for him when she saw he was there and it was the most beautiful sight he had of the night.

—

Maggie was sad OA didn’t seem to like Jason. Everything she did for them to be closer wasn’t working. She had introduced her boyfriend to their coffee date, as he made a jealous face not to be a part of it. So she invited him.

But it didn’t last long as OA didn’t seem to have time for her either. Every time she asked him if they could see each other, he replied he was busy. And she missed him.

One evening, she talked about it with her little sister and she made a comment that annoyed her. “Duh, if I had to support you and your boyfriend every time, I’m sure I would have ditched you a long time ago too.”

Time went by so fast it was almost the end of the school year. And she hadn’t seen OA for months except for the rare time they crossed paths at school.

—

The more time she was with Jason, the worst it was for him. She was blossoming with another man and forgetting him the more time passed. She kept cancelling their plan, so much that he didn’t care to plan another.

OA was frustrated, angry, sad, all at the same time. It was hurting him not to see her, but it was also painful to watch her be happy with someone he wished he could have been. The rare time he managed to see her, Jason was always there.

Apart from one time, the last time they had been alone. And it didn’t go well. Maggie accused him of not doing any effort to befriend Jason and that her boyfriend complained about him.

OA didn’t take it well. “Excuse-me if I don’t want him to be there all the time.”

Maggie was not in a good mood either. “But he is my boyfriend. So it’s normal if he is there.”

“You can’t do anything by yourself now, then? Do you have to ask for permission to be alone?” He couldn’t help himself with that. He knew it wasn’t fair though. She was in love and he was well placed to know that when you were in love, you wanted to spend all the time you had with your partner.

“Come on. It’s not like that.”

He sighed, tired. “It seems to me that it is. You’re not the Maggie I know.”

“What do you mean? I’m still me.” She was shocked and devastated, she wanted him to explain. But nothing he could say would change the situation.

“No, you’re not.” He stared into her eyes and smiled sadly. “And that’s okay.” He made another pause before continuing. “It’s just that- I feel like I lost you. And you’re never alone. Jason is always here.”

“No, it’s not okay.” She had tears in her eyes. “I didn’t know you felt this way, you should have told me.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m happy you’re happy. I’m just sad that you won’t be here next year though.”

“No worry, we’ll schedule calls and meetings and we’ll still see each other. Friends forever, remember?”

“Yeah.” He smiled but had a hard time believing her.

—

OA was right not to trust Maggie. Summer was supposed to be them against the world but this year, Jason was there. And her boyfriend didn’t seem to like him. OA made huge efforts for this guy to be with them so he could see his best friend. But nothing worked.

Jason was a judgy asshole, always complaining about what he had planned, which was exasperating and also sad for Maggie as OA knew she was loving everything he was planning. He hated this guy, not just because he was jealous of him, but just because he was not a good man. He wasn’t good enough for his best friend anyway.

Jason was more about himself than anything else, not really caring for most things that Maggie was enjoying. And OA secretly knew that the guy hated him as much as he hated him.

Anyway, once summer was done, Maggie had a lot going on at college and Jason had stayed home, so he hoped that would be their downfall. To no avail. It was his friendship with her that was, unfortunately.

She had called at first, but then she didn’t have time anymore. And every time he crossed paths with Jason in town, he was insufferable. Always being proud of himself and talking about thing Maggie had told him that OA didn’t know about.

Until one night, when OA was running late to study, he walked home and saw Jason. With a girl. At first, he was annoyed that Maggie didn’t tell him she was in town. But it wasn’t her with Jason. And that made him mad when he saw them kiss.

When he came home, he told everything to his sisters and mother and asked what he should do. But it was a hard choice to make and he was the one losing everything either way. Zahra, his older sister, told him that he should follow his heart, but lying was never a good thing. Nadia and Amira agreed and he decided that he would tell her the next time he’d see her. Because he couldn’t do that by phone, he needed to be there for her and comfort her.

—

Maggie was having a great time and had a fun experience of college’s life, but she missed her home. She was far away from her family, her boyfriend, and OA.

She wanted to call more but it was tiring and she needed time to study. Without meaning too, she had favorized her relationship with Jason over everything else. She was in love after all.

But that weekend, she was coming home and hopefully, would see everyone. It wasn’t a Tuesday night, but she had texted OA to come to their place so they could see each other and she couldn’t wait.

—

When he had Maggie in front of him, OA didn’t know what to do. She was his best friend. He loved her. He didn’t want to try and hide this from her, so after keeping up with their own life, he told her everything.

“Are you sure it was Jason?” Maggie was stunned and he couldn’t fault her for that. “It was at night, you might have mistook him for someone else.”

“No. It was him. I’m sorry Mags.”

She stood up, angry at him. “You’re lying. Just because you don’t like him doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“I never said that. Come on, I wouldn’t lie to you Mags, not about something like this.”

She was beginning to walk away, turning around, only to tell him she didn’t want to see him again if he wasn’t supportive of her relationship with Jason. And he let her leave. He didn’t want to fight her and he didn’t want to lose her either.

Saying their meeting hadn’t gone as expected was an euphemism. He went home with a big weight on his shoulders. Fortunately, he loved his family and they loved him back just as much. He confided in Amira, the only one awake and available at the time and even cried in her arms because he couldn’t and didn’t want to lose Maggie.

—

Amira was desolated for her brother. He was so miserable without Maggie, and she didn’t seem to care. She thought that, with time, she just was accustomed to having him in her life, at her beck and call and she took that for granted. But for the last year, she had been anything but a great friend for Omar, even less of a best friend.

So she took it upon herself to go to Erin and put her up to date. They were friends since they weren’t even born and always had dreamed of their siblings to be together so they could be a real family in the future. And this Jason was compromising everything.

—

Erin was angry at her sister for not trusting OA. Why would she still want Jason over Omar was beyond her. Who was there when they needed someone? Not Jason, that’s for sure. This guy was a prick.

Amira telling her he was cheating on her sister was maddening, she was glad for her brother’s absence or he would have beat the shit out of the guy.

She planned a big thing to follow Jason and see if they could catch him in the act. That way, they would have some more proof to show to Maggie.

When they had put this together, they didn’t think it would take that long to have him in their camera roll. It took a month.

They ran to OA’s house, screaming happily and jumping up and down, in circles around Omar who looked at them dumbfounded. “What’s keeping you in such a good mood, girls?”

“Omar! We have proof.” Erin was holding her phone for him to see but he couldn’t as she moved too much.

“Proof of what?” He had a hard time keeping up with them as they were running in circles around him.

“Of Jason cheating on Maggie you silly.” Amira told him, grabbing his arm and side hugging him.

“What will you do about that now, Amira?”

Erin spoke instead of her friend. “We have to tell Maggie.” She paused and her eyes lit up with an idea. “No. You have to do it OA! You have to tell her.”

“No way.” He turned toward the wall, not facing them anymore. His hands went behind his neck, thinking about what to do. He was trapped in a big dilemma. But, remembering how she treated him earlier, he had made his decision. “I’m sorry but with the way she talked to me the last time, I don’t want to say anything to her.”

Amira clutched his arm, looking up at him with sad eyes. “But you have to.”

Knowing that the bond and relationship he had with Maggie wasn’t existing anymore was painful enough. He couldn’t have his heart broken any more than it already was. “I’m sorry bee. I can’t. I can’t do that to her. I already tried and she didn’t believe me. She doesn’t trust me anymore.” And even saying that out loud broke him.

—

Another year went by like that. OA was still in touch with Maggie but it wasn’t like before. He was still in high school and a ‘baby’ while she was doing big girl things at her university.

They didn’t see each other that much. Because, unfortunately, nothing had changed and Jason was still in the picture. Erin and Amira never had the guts to confront her, and he never did either. He preferred to suffer in silence and keep her in his life, even if it was just a tiny bit of her.

Until one night she sought his presence, inviting him to their usual (not anymore) spot, specifying she would be alone and she had great news (he didn’t think it would be for him though).

—

OA was waiting for Maggie to appear at the door. And here she was, magnificent as always.

For a moment, he didn’t think of the present nor the future. They were behaving like when they were kids again and it was so good. But it was a false sense of calm.

She cleared her throat. “I have something to tell you.”

And just like that, he was afraid again and swallowed heavily. “I’m listening.”

Maggie took a sip of her drink before placing the cup back on the table and fixing her sight on him. “I- I’m engaged!”

She was so happy, showing her hand so he could admire the new ring on her finger. He really tried to be happy and not to say anything but it was too much for him. “I- I- Yeah, great. Good for you. If it’s really what you want?”

Her gaze was getting darker. It wasn’t good. “Of course, that is what I want. I wouldn’t have said yes, if not.”

“I still think you’re too young for this. And that Jason is not the one for you.”

“Why are you such a bitch? I already told you that I couldn’t be friends with you if you didn’t approve of him.”

“Then I guess that’s it?” He took support on his knees with his hands to get up. “Take care.” Having a memory of when they were younger. Still best friends at that time, when they had promised each other to be their back up plan and marry each other if they had nobody in their life when they were thirty.

He barely managed to get out before letting his tears fall down his cheeks. Maggie didn’t even move to try and keep him with her, to reason with him. She just let him go, and it might be the most hurtful thing he ever felt.

—

Maggie was still thinking about last night. She couldn’t believe what OA had said. She was so stunned that she didn’t do anything and when she stood up too, he was already long gone.

She couldn’t stay in town any longer so she would have to fix it later. Maybe with a call.

Time passed and she forgot about it. Jason was always busy and he was saying it was to prepare for the wedding which was a good excuse but she missed him. And frankly, she missed OA, their banter and their bond. She was simply missing her best friend.

She tried to call, but he didn’t answer. She kept trying and still nothing. It wasn’t in his habits not to answer a call, even less when it was her. So she called her sister to see if she could reach him.

“Maggie?” Her sister was acting surprised that she called.

“Hey Erin.”

And now she was annoyed at her although she barely spoke. “What do you want?” Erin seemed uninterested. That wasn’t like her either. What was going on?

“Okay… Hello to you too.”

“Hello, Maggie.” She marked a pause as if she was looking or waiting for something and directed her attention back to Maggie. “Now, what do you want?”

“I wanted to know if you knew where OA was? I tried to call and he didn’t answer.”

“And you’re surprised about that?” Erin snorted loudly before hanging up.

—

It was the end of the year, and OA had yet to announce what he would do with his life next year. He feared his family’s reaction, but it was his choice and he really needed it. To get out of this town where everything reminded him of Maggie, the one that got away.

When he managed to reveal the news, every woman in the household cried.

—

Amira was deeply affected by OA’s choice. He had been her father figure since their dad had died and she didn’t want to lose him too. She got angry at him for doing this and slapped him, even though she understood why he was doing it.

“You’re abandoning me. And Zahra. And Nadia. And mom. Everyone.”

“Amira, calm down.” He tried to grab her but she escaped his touch, her sight was blurry and she ran to her room to call Erin.

She told her everything and Erin was fuming and crying too. He was doing that because of her sister, she was sure of it and felt guilty. She should have done something with the pictures they had taken last year.

Now, everything was going up in flames. Maggie and OA didn’t talk anymore. Maggie was engaged to this dipshit of Jason and OA was enlisting in the Army.

They still had time to make him change his mind, not a lot of it, but still some time left. She had to try. So Erin called Maggie back and told her to come home which she accepted as she was done with her exams.

—

It was the end of the year and she was noticing that she didn’t even know what OA would do nor where he would go to study next year. What would he even study? She had no idea and she felt bad about it. She was failing him as a friend. As a best friend, it didn’t bode well with her.

Erin had called her back telling her to come home and as she was already planning her trip back, she told her she would be there soon.

When she arrived, she was astonished to see everyone spotting bad and sad faces. She would have thought they would be happy to see her back. And she would have thought that the Zidans would be present too.

But it was only Erin, Greg and their parents. She tried to call OA some more times but he never answered. She was beginning to seriously worry.

—

OA was packing his bag. He was leaving the next morning before dawn. He only took necessary items plus one picture of his family and another one of Maggie and him when they were kids, reminiscing about the past made him grin fondly.

But he was glad he was leaving. When he wasn’t seeing something that reminded him of Maggie here, then he would see Jason, sometimes with girls, almost never the same one. And the jackass had the nerve to smirk at him.

What made him really love his decision to leave was when Jason had implied he knew OA was in love with Maggie but that she didn’t see him like that. He was a brother to her and would never be more. He couldn’t live like that anymore.

Like his older sister had once said, he had to grow up. And that was his way. Maggie was nothing less than a fond memory he would cherish all his life. But he didn’t like where they had gone when growing up and while he still missed her sometimes, it was better for him to let her go.

The last voicemail he had of her, was of her scolding him. It was because he had punched Jason in the face for what he did and for implying things about Maggie. But she didn’t know that. And he wouldn’t tell her. He had blocked her number since then and didn’t even want to see her family.

Erin fought her way through though and gave him a big bear hug. He gave her as much as he got and almost choked her which she laughed about.

—

This morning, Maggie had slept through it all. It was noon when she woke up and she decided to go see her friends at the Zidan’s house.

Amira was the one who opened the door, but her face closed off as soon as she saw it was her. Leaving with the door opened behind her for her to come in if she wanted to (okay, it was really weird).

“Hello Zidan’s house.” It was an old habit of them to refer to each other’s house by their family name.

“Hello Maggie. It’s been a long time without seeing you this time.” Fatima, the mother of the house, was always smiling and warmhearted.

She returned the hug Fatima was given her, muffling her words in her blouse. “Yeah, sorry about that.” When she stepped back, she looked around. “So where is everyone?”

“Oh, Maggie.”

“What? What happened?”

“It’s just Amira and me now.” Erin came in just in time for Fatima to add with her smile stretching from ear to ear: “And Erin too.”

Maggie didn’t understand. “But where are the others?”

Erin looked at her sister and harshly said: “They have lives.”

While Fatima reached for her hand and leaded her on the couch. “At the moment Nadia and Zahra are on vacation. They took off this morning and went to Egypt with their cousin.”

Seeing Fatima’s eyes welling up with tears, she reached across the couch to give her some support. But the mother looked at Erin and then at Amira that had come back in the room for them to explain.

Amira looked darkly at her before stating as a matter of fact that OA was gone.

—

A pang in her chest couldn’t explain it. It wasn’t enough. Someone had just shot her in the chest and reaped her heart apart. It was broken to pieces. So tiny you wouldn’t be able to put the pieces back together.

Maggie was having a panic attack, taking shorts breaths, supporting herself on the armrest.

Erin took pity on her and clarified that OA had gone overseas. He enlisted and would be gone for years to come.

And Amira couldn’t stop herself from saying “And it’s all your fault.” Before going out of the room.

—

It took Maggie a while to recover from that news. OA had enlisted, doing an extremely dangerous job. One he could get killed for. And he never talked to her about it. He never talked with her anymore.

Every try she had made to reach out had been in vain. Until one day, an unknown number had texted her to just live her life and forget about him (as if it was possible).

And it took her to lose him to understand that she couldn’t live without him.

Several months after his enlistment, when she already knew he didn’t want her in his life anymore, Erin had come clean about the picture she had taken with Amira a while back, proving to her that Jason was, indeed, cheating. And proving to her that she had been awful to OA, not even listening to him nor trusting him when he had just told her what he had seen years before.

At the time, she felt as if OA was jealous. Not of Jason but of her, because she had a boyfriend and they wouldn’t be alone anymore. It would never be the two of them against the world and he was mourning it. But was being mean in the process.

She was now a single woman – having called off the engagement when she had learned of his affairs – and all alone without the person she once thought she would never lose. She needed to leave this town too. Indiana wasn’t for her anymore.

—

After four years, Maggie was thriving as a special agent in the New York field. But even after all those years, she still deeply missed OA’s presence beside her.

So when she was told she would have a new partner in a month, she didn’t know how to react. She was a lone wolf, scared of letting someone else down. She didn’t read nor ask anything about the person they would soon assign to her and it may have been better like that.

What a surprise she had when she was face to face with Omar Adom Zidan, aka OA, aka her new partner.

This time, she had sworn to herself to never let him down ever again and she wouldn’t let him leave her side either. She had been so depressed when she had understood that she had lost him that it was still hard for her sometimes.

This time, he wouldn’t be the one that got away. She will make him stay.

And who knew, maybe one day, he would be able to forgive her and let her love him like she wanted to.

Chapter Text

One year ago today, Maggie had married the love of her life and father of her children. She woke up in his embrace, her back pressed against his front. She groaned at the sensation but knew they couldn’t do anything in the morning as they had to wake up the kids and get them to school before going to work themselves.

She still turned around and kindly kissed her husband on his neck, then going up to his cheek and ending on his lips. His hands found her waist and kept her secured there.

Sensing things would escalate fast if she didn’t put a stop to it, she reluctantly pulled away. “OA, we can’t do anything now.” She took advantage of him releasing her to get up and went to her drawer to get dressed.

“You’re such a tease.” OA grumbled, while knowing she was right which made her laugh harder.

She turned around, looking at him, still laying shirtless in their bed. “Come on, it’ll just make tonight better.” He got a glance at her and saw the glint in her eyes, matching his.

***

OA was in awe of his wife. He knew her by heart but she always kept ways to surprise him. Today was their first anniversary and even though he hoped and knew they would celebrate, they had three children to take care of.

But seeing the look Maggie was giving him while talking about the following night, he raised an eyebrow and a smirk at her.

He didn’t have to formulate his question that she already was answering him. “I called your mom and she agreed to babysit the kids tonight.” He sat up in their bed and when she approached him, he pulled her close, her chest at eye level, he kissed her there.

“I love you.” He whispered it reverently.

She placed each hand on both sides of his face, stroking his beard. “I love you too.” He almost had the urge to get her back to bed with him, but just as he was about to do it, he heard a not so quiet sound of little feet coming closer to their door.

Maggie must have heard them too as she turned around, already smiling from ear to ear. And here appeared two little kids and an older one right behind them.

“Good morning kids.”

***

Maggie loved seeing their twins waddling as fast as they could to come to them, Ella carefully behind them if they were to fall. This vision made her eyes water and love them even more. Her family was everything to her and she was sure it was the same for OA.

Their little girl was nine now, and the twins, two and a half. And since her birthday, Ella was asking for another sibling, coaxing Nova and Adam to help her into it. That made her think about it too. Years ago, she wouldn’t have thought it possible, and yet, here she was. Doing it all with OA was why it all was possible in the first place.

She vaguely heard Ella make a remark about it again, and was brought back to reality when OA told Ella to go in the kitchen and that he was coming to prepare breakfast. She looked at the girl almost running out of the room while she struggled to catch the twins before they ran away too.

Once they were secured, one in her arms and one in OA’s, she caught her husband by his arm, staring at him lovingly and stealing a kiss before following him downstairs to join their eldest.

***

OA was cleaning up the kitchen when the doorbell rang, announcing the nanny was here to get the kids to school and daycare. He opened the door just as Maggie came back with the children all ready to go.

Once they were out, they still had some time left before going to work so he didn’t wait long before capturing Maggie in a searing kiss, his hands roaming all over her body greedily. She moaned and responded wantonly but pulled away to be able to speak.

Breathing heavily, he waited for her to tell him what was on her mind while kissing her neck, creating a little mark he was sure to be scolded for later on. “Ella is very adamant on us having another baby.” He tensed a little, because it was a serious conversation that he was hoping to have but didn’t want to pressure her in any way. She paused before joking: “We created monsters.”

OA chuckled and replied kindly. “Yeah, but cute little ones.” Which made her chuckle.

“I think we should try for another kid.” From everything she could have said, it was not what he expected at all. It made his body react right away, very eager to put said baby into her.

Not knowing what to say as his blood was elsewhere, he crashed his lips into hers, his grip tightening around her waist, holding her up. She complied easily, giving him the access he wanted. He turned them around and put her on the kitchen counter.

But when he automatically reached for her shirt to unbutton it, she slapped his fingers away. “I’m sorry OA, but we really don’t have time. We need to go to work.”

He groaned unhappy about it. “I will repeat myself, but you’re a tease.” She got up from the counter, getting herself stuck between it and him. He took advantage of that, smirking at her, his hands trying to reach for her blouse again. “How will we add another member in the family if we don’t have time now?”

He pouted but she wasn’t having it. “OA, be serious.” She grinned too but pushed him backward. “Think about tonight. Now, come on, we’re gonna be late.”

***

Maggie was aware she may have teased OA a little bit too much since this morning, but it was very entertaining. It also got her all hot and bothered and she couldn’t wait for the day to end.

But of course they had a new case with some rich dude murdered by a bomb and they had to investigate. Everything went to hell after that, when they understood it wasn’t just a simple bomb but one piloted by a drone.

When they got an address to go to, Maggie and OA were face to face with someone who had been tortured. And while she was rescuing him, OA went for the bad guy who fled and he was beaten up in the process. Fortunately, she arrived on time to save him but she was scared afterward and really wanted to at least hug him but they didn’t have time for that.

***

OA was in a bad posture when Maggie arrived. But they got the guy and he recognized him as someone working for a special force. And back to 26th Fed, Isobel confirmed it, saying he was a former UK special forces.

When they went to interrogate him, he took the lead, Maggie behind him, leaning on the wall. But when things got heavy, she was the one taking the lead and he was happy to let her. The guy finally caved and told them what he had learned.

There were three bombs, and two already exploded. They had to find the final one before it did.

***

Maggie got anxious at the news of another bomb out there. It could explode at any moment and they still didn’t have a clue of why these people were targeted…

The former UK agent continued to explain. “His trip to New York was off the books, hush hush. Very few people knew he was coming.”

OA asked the obvious question. “Okay. Why was he here?”

“He had a board meeting to attend.” But this former UK special agent went beyond that and explained they were here on a board meeting for another company.

She tried to know more about why the dead people were in NY when their companies weren’t based here. “Edwin’s company is headquartered in D.C.”

“Different board, love.” She paused at that nickname but didn’t really care while he continued in a fake whisper. “A private company.”

She could feel the tension there, and felt OA getting angrier the more time passed. His tone wasn’t very nice when he asked what private company he was talking about.

As soon as they got their answer, she got out of there as fast as she could to inform the J.O.C., OA right on her tail. After that, while the agent in there worked their magic, she needed to get some air and went to the stairs that nobody used that much.

But once near it, she didn’t have time to open the door before someone was pushing her there. And as soon as the door closed behind them, she was pressed against the wall. She recognized him right away.

***

OA was enveloping her, breathing her in and kissing her hair. He then lifted her out of nowhere, earning a squeal from her as she wrapped her arms around his neck instinctively.

He wasn’t able to restrain himself anymore and crashed his lips against hers. When they broke apart for some air, he explained. “I know we said we would stay professional at work but I couldn’t wait anymore.”

***

Maggie had her eyes closed, still feeling high on their kiss. “Mmm… What made you do this? Why now?”

“Are you complaining?” He was joking and she knew it.

She couldn’t complain about being kissed by him, never. “Not at all.” Plus she had needed that too since the moment she saw him losing the battle to the other guy. What would have happened if she didn’t come right on time?

OA pressed another kiss on her beautiful lips before replying. “I have to admit that I was kind of jealous and possessive when this creep called you ‘Love’. You’re mine.”

Maggie burst out laughing at his antics. “OA. It’s a British thing. Calling ‘love’ everyone they meet.”

“I don’t care.” He pouted like a child, reminded him of Adam and that made her laugh even more. She kissed his pout away and tapped his chest to be put down.

Just then, Scola opened the door a little just to let them know they had a case to crack, not being able not to tease them. “Lovebirds, we have a case to crack, let’s get going.”

***

The case was not going as expected. Worse, the perpetrator was dead and they still had a bomb on the loose. Even weirder, as OA pointed out, the guy was dead for 3 days whereas the drone strikes were just last night and this morning.

He observed his partner thinking and then she added: “And Perry sent his threat video yesterday.”

Now, he was more confused and said out loud what everyone was thinking. “So, who’s controlling the drones if Perry’s already dead?” He looked down, retracing everything in his head. “Unless, Perry is somehow using his IA to control the drones postmortem.”

He saw the little grin Maggie was wearing when she spoke. “So you’re saying we’re trying to stop a man who died three days ago?”

But he wasn’t joking at all. What a better alibi to have than to already be dead? “His software doing that on his own would definitely prove his point.”

***

Maggie wanted to make fun of OA at first, but his reasoning was making total sense. And now she was frightened by the turn this case was taking. “How are we supposed to stop a rogue AI?”

And for that, nobody had answers.

***

OA was tasked to go and fetch Ashley, the teenage daughter of one of the board members, with Maggie. As usual, he let her drive but was feeling useless against this threat.

The drone was already on its way and Ashley was just going out of the house, they needed to move and quick. “Maggie, I see it. Come on. Let’s move.”

When he thought they were safe, Jubal announced the drone was still tracking them. How was it possible?

They needed to ditch the vehicle in less than twenty two seconds. Now he entered in a panicked but very focused mode. They needed to save the girl, and he needed Maggie to stay alive. They had too much at stake now.

In just a stare, she knew what he was thinking about and they had a silent conversation about them doing everything to protect the other and the victims. They would get through this, they needed to.

***

A child was at risk too, it was not acceptable for Maggie and as she tried to drive faster to avoid the drone, it was still behind them and closing in.

Maggie drove more rapidly to the location Elise had told them. But they didn’t have much time. She knew OA would run faster than her and she needed him to protect the teenager. Plus, being the senior agent, she wouldn’t have anyone behind her.

They ran and she was relieved to see OA and Ashley getting farther away. They just had time to go in the parking lot when she felt herself fly and be propelled in the air.

***

OA was stressed and wanted to protect Maggie. But he also knew that his job was coming before everything else. And Ashley was his priority here. Maggie could take care of herself, he knew that too.

But when Ashley was in front of him and mostly out of harm’s way, he wanted to turn around and check on his partner. Before he could do it though, everything exploded and he jumped on the teen to shield her as best as he could.

He must have passed out a little because he didn’t remember everything that happened or how long he was lying there unconscious. He coughed and cleaned himself as best as he could, checking if he could move. Then, he turned on his left to see if Ashley was okay and was relieved when she affirmed several times she was fine.

But when he thought everything was okay, he saw Maggie, on the ground, not moving. He hurried over to her and was only met with an unresponsive partner despite his plea for her to speak or move, really anything.

Checking her pulse, his heart almost stopped at not feeling a heartbeat. “There is no pulse. She’s not breathing.”

He began chest compression, praying for her to be safe. “No, no, no, no. Maggie. Please.”

He was fortunate enough that Scola and Dany came soon after the strike. Scola took care of everything while motivating him and keeping him hopeful. “Five out, buddy. Keep going.”

“Come on, Maggie. Come on.”

She came back to life a moment after that but it was the scariest time of his life.

***

Maggie was disoriented, she could only see OA’s face very close to hers. She turned her head from left to right and was still confused at what happened. She tried to sit up but was stopped by her very worried partner who kept repeating the same thing. “hey, here she is. You’re okay, you’re okay.”

“OA?” Even though she knew he was there, she needed to be sure. She didn’t know what she was asking him by just pronouncing his name. She wanted to be sure he was okay and wanted to be updated on the situation.

She felt dizzy and couldn’t move properly so she let herself concentrate on OA’s voice only. “Yeah, I got you. Breathe. Breathe, just breathe.”

Finally recovering her voice, she could ask him: “OA, what happened?”

“You’re fine, I’m with you. I’m with you.” She could hear the relief in his voice, and the tears trying to make free in his eyes. It must have been a very hard situation she was in if he was this shaken up about it. She must have been showing signs of her anxiousness because he continued to speak. “I need you to breathe. I need you to relax, okay?”

She didn’t understand why he was telling her to breathe as it was obvious she needed to do it to be alive, but she did as he said and she could only nod for him to know she had heard his words while he kept going. “I got you. I’m with you. Just breathe. Just breathe.”

Now it all came back to her, the bombs, the drones, them trying to save the girl. They were still in the parking lot, well, it was not that anymore, just a pile of wreckage.

***

OA was a mess. He had just witnessed his partner, his wife, the love of his life and mother of his children die in front of him. He will for sure have nightmares about it in the future.

He only left her side when the EMT went to check up on her but was back as soon as he was cleared to do it.

Now they were back home, alone. He briefly thanked Allah for the absence of the kids. They would have been worried at seeing their mother injured (mostly Ella) and he was glad they could avoid this.

Even though it was their first year anniversary and should have been celebrating in other ways, he had decided to surprise Maggie and invite their teammates to dinner. Let’s say that seeing her surprised face when the doorbell rang was priceless, more so when he told her he had ordered her favorite food.

He had his back turned to open to their colleagues but heard the awe in her voice nonetheless. “How? They don’t even deliver.”

Scola entered slowly. “Hey, here she is.” He was followed by Dani who greeted her too.

***

Maggie was flabbergasted by OA and his ways to astonish her. She didn’t even know she needed to have this dinner with their teammates to feel better but OA seemed to have sensed it.

They had a great evening and when Scola and Dani left, she intended to keep her promise on what would happen next. Her husband went to sit beside her on the couch, clearly exhausted. She got closer to him and straddled his lap, claiming his lips lazily.

She then began to grind on him, making him groan into her mouth, only increasing her arousal in the process. Her hands went to his shirt, then one of them wandered lower, until it attained its goal.

“Mags.” She loved the way he said her name. She never stopped stroking him and while it was clear he wanted to say something, it must have slipped his mind, and she planned to keep it that way.

She lowered herself, kissing her way to where her hand was. But just as she was almost there, he halted her. “Maggie, I saw you die today.”

She sighed, going back up and hugging him tight. “I know.” She stayed there, stroking his beard lovingly. “And you saved me.” With a mischievous smirk, she grinded on him and added. “So just let me thank you for that.”

He lightly chuckled, tightening his hold on her waist, then releasing her when she struggled to lower herself. “You don’t have to.”

Before he could say another word, she took him in her mouth, rendering him speechless.

***

After coming back from his high, OA reached for Maggie to come back up, his lips finding hers right away. In between kisses, he couldn’t stop himself from teasing her about their earlier discussion this morning. “You know we won’t make a baby like that, right?”

She giggled and teased back. “Show me how it’s done then.”

He didn’t need to be asked twice, stood up hurriedly with her in his arms and walked toward their bedroom, pausing on the way to steal some kisses here and there.

Chapter Text

James and Elisabeth were the king and queen of their county. They had three beautiful children: Gregory, the eldest, then Margaret (but she preferred to be called Maggie) and Erin. They were living peacefully but had some issues coming from the North and they needed to increase their territory or at least not lose any.

For that, they were looking at some options. One of them being marrying one of their children to another Prince or Princess.

Contrary to the custom, they didn’t want to impose anything on their kids, but the latter couldn’t know it for their own security. At least until they were old enough. Gregory (the only one who knew) had decided that being King wasn’t for him, he just wanted to enjoy life and was also helping and prepping with the possible war that could come soon. Erin was still young. So that left them with Maggie.

James knew all along that she would be the best to take back their role in the future. She would be a beautiful and perfect Queen. But she needed a King. It was the one rule they couldn’t do without.

—

Maggie had always been the wild child of the family. She always loved to escape the castle to travel around their territory, but now that it was more risky, her parents didn’t want her to.

She had stopped a little in the last few years, and she had grown up since then, so she could go back without being recognized that much. And she always took another name so nobody could make the connection.

This time, she planned to stay out of the castle for some time as her parents had told her she had to choose a king and she didn’t want to. So she had packed a bag and when the night came, she was out the door. She wouldn’t go through a forced marriage.

—

Omar Adom or OA as everyone called him had never liked the royalties. They were only thinking about themselves and killed the poor with all their wars and taxes. His dad was dead because of it. He was now the man in charge at home, helping his mother to feed his three sisters.

And it was hard but he was fortunate enough to be close to his sisters and to have great friends. Tiffany and Bellamy were his best friends.

One night, while he was at the nearest tavern with his friends, he heard some boys talking about ‘the new girl’ in town and was intrigued. Who would come here? And for what? They didn’t need trouble.

—

Maggie hadn’t really planned ahead. She simply knew she needed to flee not to be married to some prick. She was far enough, so far she never had been here before. But now, she hadn’t anywhere to go. She had to find somewhere to sleep and to eat and also a job.

She wasn’t looking where she was going and was surprised by someone yelling for her to get out of the way. And she fell and sprained her ankle by doing so.

Now, she was all alone, far away from home and was in pain and needed medication and help. And to top it all, she was sure the castle would send their army to look for her too, so she would need to hide and blend in perfectly.

—

OA didn’t like people talking about others as they were just a thing they could do anything they wanted. He got out of the tavern before getting angry and decided to walk back home.

On his way, he saw the interaction of a man yelling and a girl falling down. He got there to help and was stunned to see the ‘new girl’ whom everyone was talking about. She was hurt and couldn’t put her weight on her foot, cursing to herself.

He approached slowly so as not to scare her. “Hey, may I help you?”

“Who are you?” She spat angrily.

Okay, he didn’t think she would be so angry at him for no reason. He decided to act as if she didn’t say that. “Sorry. So, I’m Omar and I saw you fall. It looks like you need some help. May I help you now?”

She grunted and nodded for him to come closer. He gave her his arm and she took it. He thought she was even prettier up close, even angry which made him smile.

Remembering he introduced himself but she didn’t, he wanted to know. “Are you gonna tell me what’s your name?”

—

“Ma- Maddie.” Maggie had almost told him her real name before remembering she shouldn’t. She was in pain and found the first name that came to mind. At least, it wouldn’t be hard to remember as it was looking like her real one.

“Okay, Maddie, you need to be patched up so I’m gonna take you to my house.”

“Why?” She was relieved to be helped but suspicious as to why. Everybody always wanted something in return, even more so around here.

He looked at her before chuckling lightly. “Because my mom is a nurse and will be able to help you.” He stopped their walk so they could rest (mostly her) and continued to speak. “What are you doing around here anyway?”

“I want to find a job.” She sheepishly glanced at him before adding: “And a place to stay.”

—

OA was intrigued. He never felt this compelled to know someone before. Even less a person he had never met and wasn’t very nice.

They were almost at his house, his mom walking in their direction, when he asked: “You’re telling me you have nowhere to stay?”

Maddie simply nodded ‘no’, looking at the ground.

His mom, having heard that, turned to the girl too. “If you don’t have anywhere to stay, don’t you worry, you can stay with us.”

OA tensed, and wanted to complain about it but it was late already and they didn’t have a choice. But he didn’t want her to stay.

—

Maggie was glad her path had crossed with Omar’s. She didn’t know what she would have done if he hadn’t helped earlier. She felt a little bit bad for the way she talked to him though.

Now, she had been invited to his house, where he lived with his mom and three sisters and they all welcomed her happily. They were very good people. And Alma, his mom, had even tended to her wound without wanting anything in return.

They were eating dinner when Omar asked her again why she was here and why she didn’t have anywhere to stay. So she lied. She didn’t like that but she didn’t really have a choice here.

“My parents are dead and I wanted to leave.”

Omar was looking angry all of sudden. “Your family has been killed by the king too?”

She didn’t understand why her dad would kill someone when he always tried to be nice. It didn’t fit his profile to kill anyone and she was offended that somebody could think that but she couldn’t tell him that nor why.

“How so? This king doesn't kill people.”

Omar snorted. “Tell that to my dad then.” And stood up, walking away.

His mother gently put a reassuring hand on her arm, tears in her eyes. The other three girls were also very sad at the mention of their dad. Maggie simply mumbled to herself that it was impossible and made a promise to herself to dig the subject deeper when she would be able to.

—

At the castle, Elisabeth was crying every day. James and Gregory were planning an attack to defend themselves if needed as they suspected that Maggie had been kidnapped. She had been missing for two days.

James had sent everyone on the search for his beloved daughter, but until now, nothing. She had vanished. He sent his most trusted cavalier, Stuart, on the hunt for his daughter and hoped he would find her.

—

Maggie knew Omar didn’t like that she was living with them. His sisters had made fun of it, saying it was because she was occupying his room and he had to share with his sisters now. But she saw there was something else there too.

It was because she was another mouth to feed in the household and it was already hard as it was. She had talked about it with him and she wanted to help. She was still healing and couldn’t walk but as soon as she could she would prove him wrong.

—

It took some time but OA warmed up to the idea of having Maddie with them. She helped his mom a lot and loved doing it. And she was less closed off, they could talk and when everyone else was sleeping, they were staring at the sky, talking with each other. It was great.

After a month, he began to fall in love with her. He had found her very pretty that first night, but now he knew her better and liked her witty character. She was fierce, never letting anyone step on her foot, and adventurous. Spraining her ankle didn’t make her stop going on hikes and running around, helping others.

Still, a part of him was suspicious. She had been doing things behind their back lately but he didn’t really know what she was doing and that made him nervous. Was he right all along not to trust her at first?

—

Stuart had some difficulties finding Maggie. Firstly, she was used to escape the castle to go in the streets, and he highly suspected that she wouldn’t say her real name so as not to be recognized. He couldn’t blame her. He would not like to be the prize to some royalty jerk if he were her, even if her parents tried their best, some things couldn’t change. Secondly, she knew him well and would do anything to stay under the radar.

It had been almost two months now, and he had some intel that a new girl had been seen at the far east of the kingdom, so that was where he was headed. He really hoped it was her because he wanted to be back at the castle to protect it if the North came forward with their threats.

One other thing that Maggie didn’t know about. But only her taking back the kingdom could appease their world. She was his friend and he felt bad for her.

—

Maggie had learned real quick that OA hated the royalties and she felt bad to lie to him but she couldn’t tell him that she was one too. She liked him, a lot, and she wanted to resolve his dad’s case though as it was impossible for her dad to have killed him. Maybe like this, he wouldn’t hate the royal family too much.

For the last two weeks, she had followed some of the guards without them noticing and she saw weird things. They were asking people for money and she hadn’t any idea why. It was not the policy her parents had enforced.

She made a plan to write about it to her parents to make a report, but if she did that, she would have to leave. They would know where she was and would come to force her back there.

—

Tiffany and Bellamy had followed the new girl around to see what she was up to. OA was beginning to like her a little too much for them not to know anything about her.

She was following the guard and it was surprising. One night, when they were all outside to picnic, Tiffany talked to Maddie.

“I saw you the other day, following the guard.” Tiffany needed to know if she was up to no good. But her reaction wasn’t the one she’d thought.

“Yeah.” She looked around to see if someone was listening to them, and once reassured, she continued. “Something is not adding up and I need to investigate.”

“About what?”

“The guards are asking for money from you, right?” Tiff nodded and Maddie continued. “That is not normal. The king doesn’t do that. This is something else.”

Maddie was very much special. “How would you know that? The king and queen, they only care about themselves. I heard the North is coming to attack because of that.”

“What?” Maddie was in distress by hearing this news while everyone had already been dreading and awaiting it for months.

“The only way the North would calm down is if the king and queen change, so one of their kids should marry and take over. But the news is that their oldest doesn’t care about that and is in the military while their youngest is simply too young. The other one, the middle child, had been kidnapped and there is a bounty on her head to go back to the castle.

Tiffany spoke again. “Imagine if we could have the money if we found her, we would be rich.” Maggie awkwardly laughed, uncomfortable about all of this.

—

Maggie was expecting them to send someone to search for her but she didn’t know they thought she was kidnapped nor that the issues they had with the North were that bad.

She still didn’t want to marry anyone, but she was considering the well-being of her people before herself and maybe she wouldn’t have a choice after all.

—

OA took Maddie to his safe place in the woods. They had fun and she told him more about herself while he told her everything about his life and his late dad who he missed a lot.

They were sitting against a tree, Maddie pulled the grass with her fingers and hesitantly looked at him. “What if it wasn’t the king that killed your dad. Would you still hate them so much?”

He snarled. “Yes. I just don’t like this way of living. Why would you be king or queen just because of your blood?”

“But we could change that.”

He turned to face her better. “How would we do that, exactly?” He smirked at her. “Do you know something I don’t? How would we be listened to?” He tickled her and they stumbled on the grass. He realized their situation, him above her, just a second before her. They were breathing heavily, panting.

He reached for a bang of hair out of place on her face and closed the distance between them. His lips in contact with hers, he was in heaven.

—

Maggie felt bad. She had kissed OA back, because she loved him for who he was. But he didn’t know her. If only he knew… He would despise her. She wanted to cry. For once in her life she felt free.

She had friends and OA and his family. Everyone had welcomed her so happily. But it couldn’t go on like this, on lies. She knew she would be discovered at some point.

The rumors were that some soldiers close to the king were here. She was sure Stuart was one of them.

That is when Bellamy found her, crying alone in the park. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She looked at him, the one that had been so suspicious of her at first, he still was. But she needed a confidant. She had thought about it and she had written a letter to her parents about Omar’s father and the fact that the guards were extorting the peasants living here.

If Stuart was here, she had no chance to escape a second time. He was one of her longtime friends, they had practiced together, and he would find her no matter what.

“I am lost, Bellamy.” She got a glance at him and continued her eyes fixed on him. “What would you do if you needed to do something but by doing it, everyone you liked would hate you?”

—

Bellamy was not an idiot. He always was suspicious of Maddie. But this morning, when a soldier close to the king was in town, searching for the ‘new girl’ that looked exactly like her, it didn’t take him long to make the connection.

He decided to hear her version of why she had lied first and found her crying, hidden in an unpopulated area. He observed her some, before approaching and he felt her emotion right away.

He understood what she was talking about by saying that everyone would hate her. Mostly OA. And decided not to be harsh with her, instead he showed compassion. “I saw someone looking for a girl today. For a princess, no less. The portrait they showed us looked a lot like you.” He raised an eyebrow with a smile, nudging her shoulder.

As she didn’t talk and didn’t want to look at him anymore, he carried on. “I prefer Maggie to Maddie by the way. You didn’t have a lot of imagination then, right?”

She finally laughed. “I was in pain and not thinking clearly, yes.” She wiped the tears falling down her cheeks. “Everyone will hate me now.”

“Maggie, they will understand.” He consoled her, side-hugging her. “I understand. And I forgive you.”

He had talked with the Stuart guy and he had explained everything. It must be hard to live a life you didn’t really control. Marrying someone just to keep you territory and for your people not to be harmed. He never thought about it like that before.

—

Stuart had let Maggie live her life for a while before being obligated to do his duty. So it was now four months of her being on her own, living with the peasant and enjoying life.

She had some friends and the family that offered her a roof was wonderful. He loved them even if he didn’t know them. And he could clearly see something was up between the princess and the son of the family, Omar he was told.

This late morning, he had begun to officially search for her and this ‘Bellamy’ went to him and obviously recognized her instantly.

He would wait for Maggie to come to him but he will not hide anymore.

—

Maggie had asked for Bellamy not to tell anyone as she was the one that had to do it and he accepted. That night, she was dreading the meal but couldn’t wait. She had to say it.

But of course, OA came and opened the door in a fury, aggressing her with mean words while she was helping Alma and the girls to prepare the dinner.

“You lied!”

And with that she knew she wouldn’t be able to explain. She was too late. “Omar…”

He cut her off before she could say anything. “… No, you don’t get to do that. You can’t say anything without lying, I want you gone.”

Alma and his sisters were flabbergasted, looking from one to the other. “What is going on, here?” Amira, the youngest, asked.

OA spatted angrily. “This girl here is not Maddie. She is Maggie. As in Maggie the princess that everyone had been searching for months and thought she was kidnapped.”

Gasps were heard from everywhere. The two oldest daughters taking a step back from her as if they were burned. Amira was the only one not affected by it.

Maggie began to cry, she couldn’t hold her tears anymore. She tried to get close to him but he moved back every time. “Omar. Let me explain.”

“NO. I should have trusted my instincts all along. Now what? You wanted to live among us to do an experiment? I hope it was worth it.”

“I- I” Maggie didn’t think he would ever understand so she didn’t try again, she just slowly walked toward the front door and opened it. “I’m sorry. Thank you for everything you’ve done, it was clearly the most magical months of my life.”

She really had nowhere to go now, she had a last idea though.

—

OA was angry and miserable. How come the girl he loved was just a mirage. She didn’t exist. Maggie had lied to him. Was it even real?

This Stuart seemed to be close friends with her, would he be her king? He couldn’t think of another man for her. Well, he just wanted her gone now. She would go back to her life while he would go back to his.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw his mom beside him. “Omar, why didn’t you let her explain?”

“She lied. Why would I trust anything coming from her mouth now?”

“Oh, son. I think she really loves you. And you love her. Are you really gonna let her sleep alone and outside?”

“I don’t care anymore, mom.” He was too mad to feel otherwise.

—

Maggie was at Tiffany’s door, waiting for her to open it. “Maddie?”

She was taken aback by this name before remembering that Bellamy had promised not to say anything. She grinned, thankful he didn’t. “Hey Tiff. I just wanted to tell you my plan.”

“What are you talking about, it’s late, you shouldn’t be there.”

She laughed and playfully said: “Since when do I listen?” She carried on to explain. “I just wanted you to be rich.”

“I’m still lost?”

“Remember when we talked about the princess and how rich you would become by finding her? Well, I am her so you can take me back and take the money.”

—

Tiffany didn’t seem to understand, thinking she was pranking her. But then, she put two and two together. Maddie being very close to Maggie in name. The new girl in town appearing just days after the ‘kidnapping’.

But Maddie (well Maggie apparently) was her friend. She couldn’t do that to her. “But, if you escaped it was for a reason, right?”

“No need to care now, Tiff. I’m going back either way, so you should take the money.”

—

Maggie had gone back to the tavern where she knew Stuart would be, she was with Tiff and after hugging her friend tightly, she told the guard that Tiffany was the one who should have the money.

He was her friend and obeyed immediately. Just by looking at Maggie, he knew bad things had happened and she didn’t want to stay here any longer. When he nodded in the direction of his horse, she nodded back and they went on their way.

They talked a lot on the way home and she knew he was going back way slower than they could. She thanked him for that.

—

Bellamy and Tiffany had forgiven Maggie for lying to them. They understood that it wasn’t always as it seemed. And being forced into a marriage to rule something you didn’t really want to do in the first place…

Let’s just say they were glad not to be royalty.

The last few months had been hectic with almost every guard of their station being arrested and put in jail. It had been said that it was illegal to ask peasants for money and they had done that to become richer and have a stance of power.

The king and queen weren’t taking it lightly. It had been made known too that OA’s dad had been killed by one of these corrupted agents. His sentence had been death even though the king was known for not wanting violence, he couldn’t tolerate this murder either.

The two friends knew that everything happening here now was thanks to Maggie and they wanted to thank her without knowing how.

They also wanted to talk about it with their friend. But when they tried to talk to Omar about her, he closed himself off and told them he didn’t want to hear about it.

He was still in love with her though.

—

Alma didn’t know what to do with her son. Her three daughters were also affected by Maggie lying to them, but with everything going around here, they had accepted it and knew she wasn’t the villain they had thought the royalties were.

Omar, on the other hand, was still angry.

One day, a knock was heard at the door and she was surprised to open it on the queen herself. Elisabeth had come here to speak to Omar and she was kind of worried and excited at the same time.

—

Elisabeth was patiently waiting for this ‘Omar’ to come home. She had talked with her husband and everyone around. They had made the decision that Maggie would be able to choose her husband, but that this person, king to be, should be present to their next party and willing to marry her too.

She had then made a trip here, to find the one her daughter loved. James and she knew Maggie was the best kid to become queen. They also knew she needed a husband to do that and they wanted this Omar to be him, if he wanted to.

She really hoped he would join her.

—

It had been two months since she had come back. And Maggie had accepted to choose a husband among the ones present at the party they would host for that. The future of everyone was at stake and the one she had loved didn’t want her anyway. She didn’t have anything to lose.

Stuart was always with her to support her. He was one of her best friends and she vaguely considered marrying him instead. But when they had talked about it, he had told her he loved someone and she didn’t want him to be stuck with her when his love was reciprocated.

—

Omar was exhausted. He came home later than usual and a little tipsy too. He had to straighten up and open and close his eyes several times to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“Good evening Omar.”

He bowed exuberantly “Your highness.”

His mom scolded him but the queen just laughed. “I am here to ask you something.”

“Of course that’s why you’re here. Why would you come down here if not for a purpose?”

Alma slapped him on the back of his head and apologized on his behalf before excusing herself to go with her daughters who were listening through the door.

“Look, Omar, I just want you to come to the party we are hosting.”

“And why would I do that?” He felt as if he was out of air.

He watched the queen, who looked a lot like her daughter, stand and while she walked away, she turned toward him, stopping a last time. “If you love my daughter as much as I suspect she loves you, you will be there.”

—

Elisabeth went back to the castle, alone. She would have loved for this Omar, who seemed to be a nice gentleman by the way, to come with her. But now, she just hoped he would be there for the party.

She had given the date and everything he needed to Alma.

—

That night, Maggie wasn’t feeling it. Stuart tried to make her smile, to no avail.

He was almost as nervous as her. He was in the know about Elisabeth’s plan and had reached out to Bellamy and Tiffany again to know if OA would be there. But they didn’t think he’d come with the thick head of his.

—

Maggie had seen almost every prospect they had in the room. And she would be forced to choose soon. At least, not one of them was too old nor too gross. But they weren’t the ones she would have liked either.

When she saw an opportunity to leave for a bit, she took it. She was enjoying looking at the sky on this balcony where nobody would annoy her.

Just then, she heard the most beautiful voice behind her. “May I join you?” Not really believing her ears nor mind, she turned so fast she almost had a whiplash.

But she wasn’t dreaming. Here, just in front of her, before her eyes and under her palm that she had put on his chest, was OA.

She looked into his eyes, smiling. “You’re late.”

He laughed at that and apologized.

—

Maggie couldn’t be happier that OA came that night. With his okay, she had chosen him as a husband and they were now living together at the castle. Her parents were still the ones taking the shots for now, letting them be young and free for some time.

As long as everyone on the outside thought they were the real queen and king, they could behave peacefully.

—

OA had seen that it wasn’t the royalties’ fault if corrupted people had done lots of harm to the peasants. But thanks to them, they had put a stop to it and nobody else would suffer from these guards.

And for the few months he was without Maggie, he was miserable.

His sisters and mom, as well as his friends, had helped him to see he couldn’t continue like this and he was glad he had listened to them.

He was living his best life with Maggie in the castle and with her, he was ready to accomplish anything and do everything they could for everyone to have a better life.

—

And they lived happily ever after and had lots of beautiful children.

Chapter Text

She was going to the bar tonight, cursing a little as she was late. Maggie was walking there while thinking about her life.

She had been working for the FBI for years now, and with her partners and teammates at the JOC, they shared a really close bond and were all in the same group of friends. And today was Isobel’s coming back to work after a near death experience so they had to celebrate.

Just as she was thinking of them, she received a text from Scola, asking where she was and quickly replied she was almost there.

For some people, it could be too much to be with the same group all the time and not really enjoying a private life outside of their work. But it seemed to work out well for them. Maggie was very happy about it anyway.

She always had trouble making friends when she was younger as she was too much of a tomb boy for the girls but not enough of a boy for boys. And then she met Jason really young too and their life was very basic. Plus with their very demanding jobs, the only down time they had was for them to enjoy each other.

Then her husband died. And she was going through life on autopilot even more than before. She was too busy with her job to socialize outside of it as well. But it was also thanks to them that she finally grieved and arrested the woman behind his death. She could enjoy life again without feeling guilty of anything.

There, she was at the bar, opening the door and she could already hear the loud cheers from her friends while the music was in the background.

—

OA was a little antsy, knowing Maggie had to walk alone to come here tonight. But he had been stuck doing the paperwork with Scola and wasn’t able to reach out until too late as Stuart had already sent her a text via their group chat. At least, now he could breathe again.

“Chill out OA, she will be fine. She is Maggie after all.” His teammate reassured him while tapping his shoulder. OA shook his head and nodded. Of course she would be fine.

Scola was still talking to him but he didn’t hear anything after that, as he raised his gaze toward the door and Maggie came in at this exact moment. He was glad nobody was watching him or they would have called him out right then and there about his feelings for her.

He began to stand up as some of them were waving at her. And when her eyes reached his face, she beamed which warmed his heart and made his feet go toward her without him really knowing it.

“Hi, Mags.”

“Hi, OA.” She smirked at him, raising one eyebrow before adding : “You’re aware that we saw each other two hours ago, right?”

He grinned. “Yeah. And? Can’t I welcome my partner arriving at the party?”

Deep down, she understood what he was really asking. She simply nodded as an answer before quietly saying just for his ears : “I’m okay.”

Right behind her tall partner, she saw Scola smirking at her while talking to Eva and although she wanted to flip her finger at him, she didn’t forget her boss could see her and simply rolled her eyes.

—

Eva had been the new recruit of 26 Fed for only a few hours now, barely a day. But she had already figured out the unconditional bond existing between Maggie and OA. And she also recognized that even though it was a deep connection, it was too personal and not something she would ever share with Scola. That reminded her of herself with her ex, only better.

She was absorbed by watching their dynamic and didn’t hear her partner coming up behind her. She startled at his voice.

“Want to be in on the bet?”

She turned around to face him, questions written all over her face.

—

Scola had teased OA for so long now that he didn’t even remember when it started. It was an open subject with everyone from the JOC to every teammate they had that Maggie and OA had a closeness none other had.

When he had talked about it with Kristen at first, she simply joked and let him in on the big not so secret bet they had made around the office. When will they finally get together?

It had been going on for years but he was sure they would soon cave. Here, he just witnessed OA completely shutting him out as soon as he saw Maggie open that door and was even more sure of himself.

When he looked to his left, Eva was also watching them with a very intense look. He decided to go and let her in on the bet.

“What bet?” Eva was trying really hard to understand what it could be about. Even though they had only met today, he felt she would fit in perfectly with the team.

He looked in OA and Maggie direction, opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by his partner.

“Oh my god. Did you really bet on the personal lives of special agents? Nonetheless your teammates?” She had her very serious and menacing voice, just like a prosecutor.

He smiled, pleading his innocence. “Of course I didn’t do it. That was already set in stone when I arrived and you should be in on it too. Just saying.” He shrugged and for a second questioned his decision to tell her everything.

That wasn’t long before she chuckled, patting his forearm. “Don’t be scared. After today, I kind of understand what this is all about. There is definitely something going on here. I’m in.”

—

Maggie looked around, furrowing her eyebrows. “Where is Isobel?”

Jubal gently grinned at her and spoke loudly so everyone could hear. “Don’t worry, she should be here any minute now.” He glanced at his watch before continuing. “It is a surprise party for her, I don’t even know how she didn’t figure it out yet.” He shrugged. “Anyway, when I went to talk to her after everyone had left, she told me she had to go or Philip would make a dent in the floor waiting for her with all his pacing.”

Thinking about Philip, Maggie was dumbfounded. “I still can’t believe she got married without telling anyone.”

“You’re forgetting the fact that she did tell someone.”

“Don’t brag OA, it doesn’t look good on you.” At that, he smirked which made her hot all of sudden but she carried on, directing her gaze elsewhere. “Plus, she only told you after the wedding. That doesn’t count.” Everyone laughed.

—

It had been Isobel’s first day back at work today and it began with everyone applauding her with such fieriness that she almost shed tears right then and there. She fortunately did not do that in front of anyone.

Then, they had this big case involving an undercover agent Scola had met while working in Boston years earlier. The day had been a long one and while the invitation from Jubal to go celebrate was tempting, she just wanted to go home and relax.

Philip would be waiting for her anxiously until she could tell him how her day went.

However, when she parked in their driveway, she saw him smiling at her through the window and knew instantly something was up. That man couldn’t mask his mischievousness even if he tried.

That was how she ended up here, at the bar with all her coworkers who wanted to celebrate having her back at 26th Fed.

“Thank you everyone for this party I had no idea about.” She was smiling and as some of her agents looked at her dubiously, she wanted them to know it was true. “I am not saying that ironically, I was really thinking I would have a cozy night at home with my lovely husband. The latter made me come here though. And I appreciate all of you.”

Everyone cheered while she hugged Philip and that made her think of the upcoming holiday coming up, she thought of this idea she had to share. At least for the attention not to be on her return anymore. “Everyone, before we continue this evening with some of us getting more intoxicated…” Some agents brought their hands up, shaking their heads. “… I think it would be a great idea to say this now: What would you think of doing a Secret Santa among us?”

It had a positive response, making her realize they had to plan for this in the future.

—

Hearing that, John got an idea instantly. He elbowed Eva beside him and nodded in the direction of the JOC’s team, beginning to walk there, making her follow.

She whispered. “What are you thinking?”

Elise, Kelly and Ian had heard her and were facing Scola, awaiting his speech. “What would you guys think about…”

—

OA had Maggie seated at his left side and Jubal in front of him. Since Isobel’s announcement about doing a Secret Santa this year, he was grinning and was on a mission to try and have ideas for everyone. Although, having someone he was close to would be better, he wanted to be prepared.

While scanning the crowd to visualize every gift for every person, he noticed Elise, Kelly, Ian, Eva and Scola discussing together, giving looks around as if not wanting to be interrupted. That made him tic and he directly patted Maggie’s right shoulder with his left hand, which had found its way there while they were talking to Jubal earlier.

No words were needed as only one look at him made her turn around. Once she spotted the little group, she got up and made her way there, not forgetting to pull him along.

“What seems so hush hush about your discussion guys?” Maggie was always direct, not trying to sugar coat it in any way and he chuckled, masking it with a cough when she glanced darkly at him.

—

Maggie had tried every trick she knew from interrogating suspects to know what was going on with Scola and the others, to no avail. They were well trained too and she got nothing out of them which frustrated her to no end.

While it made her partner laugh, it only infuriated her even more. “Come on, OA! Don’t you want to know what they were gushing about?”

They were in the car, OA driving her back home after the party so she could focus her attention plainly on him, awaiting his answer.

“Knowing what a gossip Scola is? No, not really. I know enough of all of this stuff, and more each time I have to partner up with him, thank you very much.”

—

Scola couldn’t wait for his partners to arrive. With Ian and Kelly, they had prepared the papers and written their names on it so everyone could pick someone for Secret Santa. Now, they were just waiting for them.

They had a plan.

—

One hour later, they were lucky it was a calm morning to enjoy this moment together. They were in the break room, drinking their coffee, ready and giddy to know who they would pick.
Everyone was here and Kelly was in charge of making people draw their paper. He made sure his co-conspirators were ready too and they began with Maggie, then OA, and everyone else.

“If you draw your own name, you have to put it back into the ball, obviously.” Scola stated the obvious while taking a sip of his coffee.

Fortunately, nobody had drawn their own name. It was over pretty soon and for the better as a case came in.

It also allowed the agents not getting out in the field to erase the proof of the rigged game they just had played.

—

Maggie was relieved she had drawn OA’s name. He was her best friend and she probably knew him better than anyone else. Not that she wouldn’t have found a gift for any other agent, but, at first, she thought it would be simpler for her to get him something.

As the day went on though, she kept asking herself what kind of gift she should give him in this context. She would have gotten him something even if she hadn’t been his secret Santa, but it would have been given in privacy, likely at her house. Maybe with his family at most. And what kind of budget did they have? She didn’t remember anything about the rules set for this.

Keeping in mind to ask Isobel later, she got out of the car to go interrogate one of the victims, still at the crime scene.

—

OA couldn’t keep his smile out of his face. His lips were constantly turning up to express his joy. He had drawn Maggie’s name and he just knew what to offer her in front of their colleagues. He would of course have her “real” gift for later when they wouldn’t be in the presence of their colleagues, because they were best friends after all.

In all honesty, there were more than friendly feelings on his part. However, he had lived with it for so long that he didn’t pay it much attention. Nevertheless, while he was doing everything in his power not to think about it, his relationships were all crashing down because of it.

Gemma had been the one spelling it out for him very vehemently. To the point where he couldn’t deny it if he tried.

———

He remembered the night it all went down like yesterday (it hadn’t been that long anyway but was still mind-blowing):

When he went home late that night, he found Gemma at his steps and invited her in.

As soon as his front door was closed, she began. “Omar, we both have demanding jobs, but tonight we could have been together. Yet, you decided to stay at Maggie’s.” He remembered the way her voice gave out at the end. How the ‘again’ wasn’t spoken but largely implied.

“I already told you, Gem…” He still tried to defend himself.

She didn’t let him. “Yeah, I know, she almost died. And don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for that and am very happy she didn’t. But that’s not the first time you’re cancelling our plans. I feel like crap doing this now but I think it’s long overdue.”

“Doing what exactly?” He took her appearance in and saw she didn’t get her coat off and was clutching her purse.

“Don’t ask me that as if you didn’t know where I was going with this.” She sighed, understanding she would have to spell it out loud. “Omar. I always knew your partner had a special place in your heart. You talk about her all the time. I just didn’t think she was this special, you know?”

Eyebrows raised, he was trying to see where Gemma was going with this and still had no clue. “I really don’t, no.” His heart betrayed him and gave a summersault.

“When we first met, I didn’t think we would be anything else than a one-night-stand. But you called me back and we got out again, and again. And it was fun.”

“So? I still don’t follow?” At this point, he might just have wanted to not see the obvious.

She sighed again, as if dealing with a little child, then she calmly explained. “Your only subject of conversation is her, Omar. You don’t even know it and, yet, she comes up in the majority of our discussions.”

He understood where this was going even while saying otherwise. Once again, his girlfriend would ask him to choose between herself and something (or someone) he would never leave. “She is my partner, of course I’m gonna talk about her.”

“For fuck’s sake Omar, I got shot!” Heavily breathing, she took a much needed breath before resuming her speech, though a little quieter. “And you couldn’t stand staying at my side as much as running into your partner’s arm for a hug.”

He winced at her outburst, feeling guilty for what he had put her through, remembering the shock to see her shot, blood all over her top, almost fading away, all because of him.

She prevented him from answering, raising a hand as if to silence him. “You can’t go on like that, not acknowledging what you truly feel.” She couldn’t look at him anymore. “Not with me anyway. It’s not healthy.”

Having these words roaring onto him, his feelings about Maggie coming back to the surface as would waves crash to shore. A natural order you couldn’t fight against.

He always knew but had dug them so deep, it was just there, humming in the background. A part of him he couldn’t get rid of.

“You can continue to hide as much as you like, it won’t make anything of what I said untrue.” Gemma was beginning to turn around to leave but kept talking. “I personally think you should say something. We only have one life and with your line of work, danger is always at the corner.”

She was opening his front door. “The way you light up just thinking about her, as you’re doing right now… (he startled, straightening up as if caught his hand in the cookie jar which made her sadly smile). You should really get a chance to live it through.”

Finally, before she was out of earshot, he managed to say: “I’m sorry, Gemma. That wasn’t how I wanted it to go.” She simply nodded and was out of his apartment and his life in the process.

———

Back in the present.

He wasn’t proud of how he handled his relationship with Gemma. Because while he was doing everything in his power not to acknowledge his true feelings, it was almost impossible to tame them since Maggie had been exposed to sarin gas. To this day, it was still the worst day of his life.

This night, breaking up with Gemma, made him really open his eyes on his situation. And his heart could roam freely. He couldn’t hide his feelings anymore.

That didn’t mean he would do anything about it though. If she felt the same way, it probably would have happened already, right? He was friend zoned by now.

—

It had been a week and Maggie hadn’t come up with any idea for OA’s gift. There was still time but it annoyed her not to come up with anything. He was her best friend and she shared almost everything with him. How could she not think of a gift for him?

She looked at her phone and was glad to see Amira had answered her text. ‘Hey Maggie! Yes, we can totally meet up tomorrow night. I supposed you will be free of my brother then?’

This last sentence made her chuckle and typed back: ‘Great! See you tomorrow then. And, yes, he won’t be there or I won’t be able to ask you what I want.’

‘NOW, I’m very intrigued.’

“What are you laughing about?”

She jumped in fear at OA’s voice. “Nothing.”

Her phone rang, it was OA’s sister, and she automatically hid the screen so he couldn’t see who it was. She glanced at him and saw the furrow in his brows, trying to decipher what she was thinking and clearly seeing right through her. She rolled her eyes and decided to reply but stayed cryptic: “It was just a funny text.”

“O-kay…” He then turned toward his computer and began to focus on his work. He understood she didn’t want to talk about it and didn’t push. That was what made her appreciate him a little more each day.

Before doing the same, she took a look at her phone again where another text could be seen. ‘Traitor.’ She smiled and went back to work.

—

OA interrupted Maggie, smiling at her phone. He never saw her be this distracted at work and wanted to know what it was all about. Was she seeing someone and didn’t tell him? Just as he finally admitted the feelings he had for her. That would hurt if it was the case.

He was fortunate enough to have a big case landing on their desk two minutes after that, to keep his mind out of it. It was a big deal as a Senator was targeted and, unfortunately, her husband had been killed during the attack.

—

Maggie was in a plane with OA, following the Senator to protect her. But nothing went as planned. They found her dead in the lavatory which meant the killer was among them.

She was looking at the sketch the JOC sent them to try to recognize the perpetrator but nobody seemed to match. Then, she watched as OA turned toward her, calling her name. Something was strange in his voice.

“Maggie, Maggie. I don’t feel good.” He was stuttering, his eyes not focusing on anything. Then, he began to lose his ability to walk properly, almost falling head first. She was panicking but trying not to show it. Remaining calm to take care of him.

It was OA we were talking about. Her strong and tall partner.

She helped him to the rear of the plane, supporting almost all his weight in the process. There, when he sat on the seat with her assistance, she took a step back, realizing while looking at him that he likely just had been exposed to the same toxin that killed the Senator. “Oh my god.”

Now, the terror invading her couldn’t stop spreading everywhere in her body. Everyone poisoned by this thing had died. She couldn’t lose him. Not like that. Not ever.

She had already lost someone she loved, she couldn’t stand losing another one…

Her eyes almost got out of her skull at this thought… How hadn’t she seen that? Sure, he was her best friend. But he also was the man she shared everything with and was with all the time. Never tired of him and even missing him during the few times they weren’t together.

With what seemed like his last strength, he managed to identify the murderer. “It’s the old man in 17D.”

Her blood ran cold. She was considering her option, not wanting to leave him alone, but needing to go and do everything she could to save him too. Her brain was working at full speed. And before anyone could stop her, she managed to ask the other agent to look after him while she walked with a determined stride toward the seat behind the alleged suspect.

Not beating around the bushes, she confronted him, threatening him with her gun.

This prick still wouldn’t budge. Daring her. Telling her she wouldn’t risk all the passengers and themselves in the air.

“If something happens to my partner and he dies, I will end you.” At the moment, nobody cared more than OA in her head. She would have pressed the trigger if needed, no doubt about that. And he obviously sensed that as well, as he eventually gave her the antidote he was carrying with him.

She ran back as fast as she could, ready to inject OA with it. When she came back though, OA was passed out, almost falling from the seat. Quickly inoculating him with the antidote, she begged him to wake up, stroking his cheek and restraining her tears from flowing.

They were stuck in the air, with no doctor available and OA was in a critical condition. The only thing tethering her to reality right now was her partner in her lap, faintly breathing. She had taken the seat beside his and rearranged their position so he could lay on her. Still unresponsive, she wished the plane to go faster.

Upon landing, he was rushed to the E.R. while she had to stay behind to interrogate the suspect. She wanted him to pay for what he had done. He deserved to suffer.

—

In the JOC’s room, everybody was holding their breath. They now had the real identity of this mastermind in disguise, the hitman on the Interpol’s most wanted list.

Maggie was interrogating him right this moment and they all wanted answers more than ever. Jubal was struggling and playing with the elastic on his wrist, checking his phone regularly to see if he had any update on OA’s status.

—

En route to the hospital, Maggie was reflecting on the recent events. This ‘Oslo’ guy deserved death and only that. Maybe suffering whereas he was awaiting his last day could be added too.

She was looking out the window for the duration of a red light, trying to calm her rage. Nothing that happened after she got out of that room made sense to her. He had hurt OA. How could anyone accept the terms of this psychopath and let him live another day.

The only good thing was that Isobel had assigned Scola and Eva to escort this jerk out of here so she was free to go and see her partner. But the bastard escaped. Each time she closed her eyes, she had flashbacks of OA getting dizzy then passed out on that seat, briefly closing her eyes, she took a much needed breath.

Parking the car, she ignored the tears streaming down her cheeks. Shutting off the engine, she stayed there, not able to budge. Eyes opened, but not focused on anything. She still had this image of OA knocked out, her plea for him to wake up not doing anything. She got back control over her body and got out of the car, needing to see OA as soon as possible.

Walking toward the entrance, as if struck by an electric shock, she began to reflect on their relationship and her deep feelings for him. She tried to determine a particular moment where everything changed but wouldn’t be able to pinpoint an instant where she could have fallen in love.

It had been done gradually, with time. He was there for all her big changes in life and always supported her, no matter what.

Considering all the facts, he may have been overprotecting her along the way. She remembered her being upset at him, believing he was treating her differently because she was a woman. There had been some fights between them, and all had been resolved quite quickly. Because they talked it out.

She saw in another light now the way her teammates, and their own siblings, teased her about their relationship. She always thought they were just joking, that it was just banter. But they had all seen before her (before him too she supposed? Was he even feeling the same way or had at some point? ) what was right in front of her eyes.

—

OA was in the ICU despite trying to get out of there. His condition was stable now and his results came back rather reassuring, for it shouldn’t cause any damage in the future and he would be back on his feet very soon.

He was bored to death and had turned the TV on when he finally saw Maggie on the other side of the glass wall.

—

Seeing OA alive and conscious, smiling at her was a relief. She really needed him to be alright. Moving toward him, she swallowed the lump in her throat, begging her feelings to be in check and not say anything too weird. She couldn’t do anything about it as she was perfectly aware of him being in a relationship with someone else than her.

She smiled and showed him the bag. “I got you something to eat.” She had brought food with her, especially ice cream, their to-go-to food when either of them had a bad day and needed a pick-me-up.

While knowing he wasn’t available for a relationship, he was still her partner and she had almost lost him. Right now, she couldn’t be too far away from him so she just sat on his bed, by his side, almost touching.

“You want to tell me?”

She stopped eating and panicked a little bit at his voice. Glancing briefly in his direction, she asked: “What?” Playing dumb, she hoped it would do.

“Whatever it is you’re trying not to tell me?” OA wasn’t looking at her, continuing eating his ice cream. And even that didn’t keep him from seeing she was acting strange. She had to find something other than her new realization as an excuse.

Her mind was going to combust, her cheeks were in flames, but she finally sighed and gave him a reason for her behavior. “It’s Oslo.” She hated that guy, nonetheless, he just saved her from embarrassment.

“He got away didn’t he?”

She simply nodded while saying that he indeed did escape, smiling interiorly. Crisis averted.

—

Christmas was right around the corner and Maggie still didn’t have a gift for OA. With his injury and all the feelings attacking her, she hadn’t been to see Amira that day and postponed for later, and this was now.

She was at Amira’s room on campus, her roommate was out. OA’s sister was getting them drinks and she decided it was okay to begin the conversation now. “So, how is school?”

“Maggie, you’re deflecting. It is very noble of you to do small talk but you and I know why you are here, right?” She was smirking and giving Maggie her drink.

“Hey, it’s true that I am here for advice, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you and your well-being Amira.”

The younger woman talked in a sing-song voice. “Careful there, you almost sound like my brother.”

Maggie scoffed, earning her another smirk. Before she could say anything, Amira continued. “I know you won’t believe me, because god knows you are both so blind it is upsetting, but you could get him anything and Omar would be thrilled, Maggie. Because it would be coming from you.”

She hummed in response, asking herself if getting advice from OA’s little sister was indeed a good idea…

Lost in thoughts, she only got a part of what Amira was apparently joking about, laughing frantically. “…I’m serious, just tell him to draw you like a French girl so he could finally go back to drawing as when we were young…” The woman was still speaking but Maggie suddenly had an idea.

She stood up without warning, almost falling back on the couch with the speed. Startling Amira too who demanded where she was going as she only got there ten minutes ago.

Almost at the door, she looked at OA’s sister, who was deciphering what had prompted this reaction from her brother’s partner and couldn’t see a link between the joke about him drawing her and what Maggie’s idea could look like. Maggie then stopped the teasing that would surely exit Amira’s mouth and just said: “Thank you for the help.”

Amira’s voice rang out behind her, fading away the more she approached the exit. “You know, you could just put a ribbon around yourself and Omar will be happy.”

She flipped her off and left for good as Amira’s giggling was imprinted in her ears.

—

Checking his watch, fidgeting like a little kid waiting to be done for the day at school and bolt home, OA looked around, noticing quite relieved that he wasn’t the only one in this situation.

They were near the end of the day, and as soon as all agents had sent their report, they would exchange their gifts. He got Maggie a coffee cup with ‘best partner ever’ inscribed on it.

He knew it wasn’t much, however they had a budget and Maggie was a practical kind of girl. She always went for a refill so it would be very useful. Plus, they would be together for Christmas and he will give her something more personal then.

—

Scola had just pressed send on his report when he saw his beautiful girlfriend entering the room. A smile opened up his face as he stood to greet her. “Hey you! What are you doing here?” Giving her a quick kiss, he took some steps back to see her face.

“What a way to welcome me, Stuart… Can’t I just come by to see my boyfriend?” Nina was daring him to say otherwise.

Although it was true, he knew her too well. The grin she was giving him was proof of that. He laughed. “Come on, just admit you wanted to be there for our Secret Santa.”

“Damn right ! There was no way I wouldn’t be there to witness this beautiful moment my sneaky boyfriend made come to reality.” She looked around and added: “Speaking of the Devil, where are they?”

Himself turned, looking around. “They must be in the JOC, they had to update them on something.” He faced Nina, now realizing Doogie wasn’t here and whispered. “Where is our son?”

“Buzzkill.” She whispered back and pouted to joke. “He is with your sister.”

He was about to say something when everyone from the JOC and Isobel came into the room. It was time. Finally. Nina whispered in his ear: “Let’s the show begin.”

—

Eva was bumped. Scola, the other agents from their office and even Stuart’s girlfriend, an agent too, were all so excited about this Secret Santa. Just because they had rigged the game on her partner’s idea and made their teammates pick each other.

She naively thought it would be in fact very exciting and maybe something they could look back on in the future where Maggie and OA would finally discover their mutual feelings for the other.

Unfortunately, it was so normal it hurt. Nothing out of the ordinary. They looked happy though and it was the main thing they were going for.

—

Maggie was happy about her coffee cup. She had broken the one she loved a week ago so it was very thoughtful of OA to offer her this. And he had been very moved by her gift too. It was a rare sight to see him like that, cheeks flushed, shifty gaze, a little shy.

The words on her cup touched her too, even though she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about another word she would have liked to describe herself as. But OA had a girlfriend already and they were at work. It wouldn’t have been appropriate anyway.

After their mini party, she went home, not forgetting to wish him a merry Christmas with Gemma before leaving.

—

OA was feeling awful. Maggie had offered him a very thoughtful present while he had just given her something everyone could have. He was beating himself up for his lack of ideas…

However, what annoyed him the most was that his partner had referred to him and his ex in the same sentence. Wishing them a merry Christmas? Together? What was she talking about? If she thought he would let her be all alone for the holidays, she was very mistaken.

He couldn’t stay home with all of this in mind and needed to talk to her. He grabbed his keys and was out of the door in no time. Never minded the late hour, he knew she would be awake. Just to be safe he had wanted to write her a text, but it was too late, he was already seeing her red door. Now that she had moved from her old apartment, she was living closer to him and he was too focused on what he should tell her that he didn’t even notice he had run way faster than he was used to.

—

A knock at her front door surprised her. Maggie was just getting out of her shower, in her pajamas when she heard the sound. She automatically checked her phone to see if an explanation of who was on the other side could be there… nothing.

Thanking her habits, she grabbed her gun and tiptoed near her entrance, looking as discreetly as she could through the peephole.

When she realized she was in no danger, she breathed correctly again and widely opened the door in one swift motion, hiding her gun behind her back. “OA!” She checked their surroundings, deciphering what could have led him here before looking at him again. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey Mags. Sorry about that.” He looked at his watch. “If you want to sleep, I can come back another time.”

He was acting weird and she wanted to go to the bottom of it. “Don’t be ridiculous, you’re here already. Come on in.”

She tried to be filthy to hide and put away her weapon without him noticing but a small chuckle coming from her partner made her sigh in defeat.

“Were you expecting some thief?” He laughed at his own joke.

“Ah-ah.” She was able to put her gun aside where it belonged. Then darkly glancing at OA, she eyed the couch and motioned him to go there. “I’d much prefer to talk about what made you come here at this hour? Is everything alright? Your mom and sisters, are they okay?”

—

The fact that Maggie immediately asked about his family made something in him melt warmer than ever. “Oh, yeah. Everyone is alright.”

“Great.” She gave him a drink and sat beside him.

Not as close as he would have wanted, maybe for the best or he wouldn’t have been able to say whatever was coming out next from his mouth. “I wanted to apologize about the gift.”

She furrowed her brows, not understanding. “The mug?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry it’s not a great gift.”

“Are you kidding? I love it.” She got closer and grabbed his forearm in reassurance. “Did you really come all the way out here for that?”

“It wasn’t a thoughtful gift like yours. You came up with a beautiful and considerate gift for me and I feel bad about mine.” He looked down, zeroing on her hands still on his arm, stroking gently.

“Well, don’t be sorry. It was just what I needed.”

A silence fell on them, not weird but he felt he had to fill it. “I wanted to thank you for your notebook. It’s been a while since I’ve last drawn but I’ve been meaning to get back to it. I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” She alternated between looking at her hand caressing him and his eyes. She was even closer and bit her lips when their gazes met. That made the butterflies in his stomach fly higher. He then focused on her lips, imagining what they would feel against his and cleared his throat, avoiding her intense look.

—

“So…” Maggie felt that OA was hiding something from her. She didn’t want to push him too much but she had to know. She needed to get some info. “Do you wanna tell me what made you really come here tonight, now?”

He cleared his throat again, evading her gaze. He tried to speak, although opening and closing his mouth several times, nothing coming out.

She patiently waited, knowing he would open up soon enough. Her left hand got bolder the more time passed, getting up and down his arm, halting near his hand.

Then she heard his intake of breath before his voice came out. “About Gemma…”

This name made her feel uncomfortable, fidgeting on her seat and withdrawing her hand from touching him as if she had been burned, she waited.

With her recent awareness for her feelings towards her partner, she was dreading what would next come out of these beautiful lips.

He spoke again. “… I wanted you to know that I would never leave you alone on Christmas.”

That didn’t make sense for her and she didn’t understand why he would say that while talking about his girlfriend. He must have grasped that she didn’t follow and added: “We are not together anymore.”

—

OA attempted to hold her hand but restrained himself at the last second. With a serious tone, leaving no argument possible, he explained. “Even if Gemma had still been in my life, there is no world that exists where I would leave you alone for the holidays. You are always invited to my family’s and I’s house.”

He only had eyes for her face, not wanting to miss anything. He was reading what she was thinking just like that. She was an open book for him. Had been for a long time too.

However, at first, he thought he might be hallucinating as he could clearly see for a brief moment some relief and… joy? She masked it quite quickly but not enough for him not to acknowledge it and he grinned.

—

Maggie’s heart did somersaults, beating faster, almost getting out of her chest. She wasn’t hearing correctly with the buzz invading her senses. OA had broken up with Gemma which meant he was available.

She was in a trance and came back to reality with his simple touch. He must have been talking to her but what he said didn’t reach her ears. He had taken her left hand and was gently moving his thumb up and down.

The atmosphere seemed to change with his revelation. And questions were in her mind, trying to make sense of it. Why would he need to tell me this? Why now? Did it mean something else? Was he feeling the pull towards them too?

As he previously opened and closed his mouth without saying anything, she did the same. Not knowing where to start or if she was just crazy thinking all those things…

As a matter of fact, she didn’t need to say anything as OA slowly approached his face from hers, staring at her in sign of any discomfort. Noses almost touching, he whispered. “I’m gonna kiss you now, if you’re okay with it?”

She simply nodded, air already gone from her body and brain not connecting the dots on what to do or say. She could feel the wind of his breath on her face and went hotter inside, cheeks red as a tomato she presumed.

And just like that, his lips were on hers, appreciating this simple moment, still stroking her hand with one of his as the other had made its way on her cheek. For the first few seconds of the kiss, she felt so numb she didn’t do anything.

Then, she felt the pressure on her lips go lighter which made her jolt back to reality, getting her free hand at the back of his neck, pushing him back up against her.

This time, the kiss was more heated, she opened her mouth hoping he would take the hint. And he did. His tongue was battling with hers, it was hypnotizing. She couldn’t stop.

When she opened her eyes and stopped kissing him (only to take some air), she realized she was straddling him, his hands on each side of her waist, keeping her balanced. Her mouth didn’t stay detached from him for long. Now that she had had a taste of it, she wasn’t about to let it go.

—

OA felt the change in the room as soon as he mentioned Gemma wasn’t in the picture anymore. He decided to take a risk and show her how he felt, for he had waited long enough and didn’t want to hide his feelings any longer.

The first press of her lips against his almost made him black out. She was just too good at kissing. Or maybe that was just because of her. She was Maggie. The one he had been after all this time.

He realized it was absolutely because of who she was and not anything else as when she kissed him back, he was down for. He had thought his first moment of the kiss was awesome but she had been too shocked to do a thing.

There, when he was withdrawing from her, she wouldn’t have it and pressed him to stay, opening her mouth and clearly wanting more. His tongue was battling her for control and he loved it. She didn’t stop there as she hungrily began to unbutton his shirt and bestrode him at the same time.

She would have fallen if he hadn’t maintained her in grabbing at her waist. Her smell was addicting and he took back her lips, then went down her neck, licking and biting. Her moan made him go harder below her which then got her to groan and grind against him in return.

Both panting, he slowed down a little. Stroking her waist lovingly, he smirked at her when he was met with his art on her neck. She would have a big hickey the next day and he wasn’t sorry at all about it.

He felt her hummed more than he heard it. Maggie kept her eyes closed when she spoke. “I was not expecting that when I opened my door earlier.” He chuckled and she opened her eyes, grinning too.

This moment was perfect.

—

Maggie was delighted. She had the man she thought she would never have below her. Things got heated just minutes ago and she could still feel him hard, almost where she wanted him. She moved about an inch to be perfectly aligned, just their clothes in the way of them being one.

OA straightened up, getting their faces practically touching, breathing her in. “I didn’t expect this either. I really hoped you felt the same, but it was not premeditated for me to come here tonight.”

She pictured him being anxious and feeling guilty about his gift which she adored. She realized then that he could have given her anything and she would still have liked it because it was coming from him.

That made her laugh, remembering her discussion with his sister.

His playful voice asked her: “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just that the situation made me think about your sister and…” Maggie was absentmindedly mapping his body with her hands.

He almost choked and groaned, annoyed. “Mag-gie.” His head hidden in her chest, he paused. “Do not make me think of her when we are like this, please.”

“Alright, sorry.” Eying their position, she laughed even more, teasing him. “Are my boobs comfy enough?”

“Very.” He jokingly bit her there and went up her chest to claim her lips again. She let him for a while, enjoying the reaction she could get out of him. But after some time, she decided it would be good to take them to another place.

She stood up quite awkwardly and saw the confusion in his eyes. She didn’t speak, only gently took both of his hands and pulled a little, making him stand as well. Their height difference made it difficult for her to kiss him like she wanted to but it was probably for the best. She simply kissed his naked chest as she had managed to get him shirtless and turned around, not letting go of him.

She had her priorities straight and, right now, it was to get them up to her bedroom. When he realized what she was doing, OA slowed his pace, making her look back, and raised his eyebrows, silently checking with her. “Come on.” It was all he needed to follow.

—

OA had taken his time observing Maggie’s body from every angle he could get. She was a master piece and he couldn’t wait to see her naked under him. He let her lead the way to her bedroom and undressed her painfully slowly, venerating her.

He loved hearing her beg for him to speed up the process and he loved not obeying her, making her more needy and clingy in the process. Stopping just before she could come and getting her back there all over again.

He made her come with his tongue. Then his fingers.

At this point, he was painfully hard and ready in his pants but wanted to be there for her and show her his feelings of devotion.

When she couldn’t have it anymore, she pulled not so softly on the little hair he had (which was hurting like hell by the way) and made him trail back up and align with her. She huffed in disapproval when she gathered he was still partially dressed and made quick work of it.

He was breathing heavily, grasping the fact that she was really here, below him. Their skin was touching basically everywhere. He moved his shaft up and down her entrance, making her quiver and moan and he finally obliged her and penetrated her in one confident stroke.

There, he couldn’t move or he would embarrass himself.

—

Maggie was barely coming back from her high. She didn’t have this many orgasms in a long time. Not ever maybe…

She couldn’t help but wonder if this was just a dream and she must have said it out loud as OA grabbed her to glue her to his side, spooning her. “No, it’s not.”

In their post glow of coital, they were enjoying each other in a new light. Maggie had always felt a pull toward him and little by little, her guard went down the more he showed up for her, always protecting and defending her no matter what.

It was just a logical thing for them to get together at some point. And she was happy she had let herself enjoy this. She had found her partner, in every sense of the word.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by said partner, whispering in her ear. “By the way, I wanted to ask you earlier but got carried away with more interesting things…”

Maggie turned around in his embrace, smirking. “I bet.”

He grinned, poised a quick smack on her lips and continued. “… What was making you laugh when you thought about my sister? And which sister were you talking about?”

She raised her head to look at him and answered. “I was imagining you feeling guilty about giving me this mug.” She gave him a kiss on his heart. “And I realized that you could have just given me anything and I would have been happy. Because it was coming from you. And it made me think of my talk with Amira.”

She rolled her eyes and explained. “I had this stupid impression that she could help me with an idea for your gift but she was no help at all.”

“What did she tell you?” He chuckled. “Because you could just have put a ribbon around yourself and I would have been happy.” He nudged her with his hard-on and they both laughed.

“Argh.” She hid her head in the crook of his neck. “That’s what she told me. I guess she knows you too well.” They chuckled and he resumed his kissing while she mapped every part of his body in her mind. Tracing it with her hands.

She pushed herself up. “Frankly it was my second choice too. If I hadn’t found those notebooks for you to draw on, I would have just given up and put that ribbon around myself.”

And before he could mock her, she took him in her left hand, making him hard and ready to go again, her on top this time.