19. Chapter 19

Alex completely panics and drags Winn by the collar into one of the labs, barking at the poor lab techie to get out, and he scurries to do just that, as Winn runs down the mental list of things he could have done this time, but instead of assaulting him or threatening him Alex just starts pacing and wringing her hands as she tells him far more details than he ever needed about her morning routine (”And it was just a regular morning, you know, we showered together and I washed her hair, and she made me an omelette but just grabbed a piece of toast for herself, put it in her mouth, took it out to kiss me goodbye, and told me she loved me, and I said I love you too, and I mean come on, what happened?”). (”What… happened is that you idiots have been in love since basically day one and it’s about time you all told each other, is what happened. Ow!“)

Maggie says nothing, not to anyone, not all damn day, unless it’s about the case. Her work partner glances nervously at the ME on the case a lot, but they’re smarter than to say anything to her. (They do however, keep a running tally of how many times she brings her left hand underneath her lip before lunch time. Her partner swears it’s twelve and the ME counts 14.) And of course today would be the day her phone dies and they’re in the field so she can’t charge it. So she grabs her partner’s when they break for lunch and punches in Alex’s number, because her nerves, her fears, her hopes, will destroy her if she doesn’t hear that woman’s voice, and soon.

“Danvers,” Alex answers, and her heart flies.

“It’s me. And I just… I wanted to say it again, Alex. I love you.”

“And I wanted to say it again, Maggie. I love you, too.”