Chapter 13 #3
“I love you too,” Maggie replied. “Go. Be with her. And Evie?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re doing beautifully. She knows she’s not alone. That’s everything.”
After they hung up, Maggie sat on the couch for a long time, staring at nothing.
She thought about Sarah’s final days. About how Maggie had tried so hard to fix everything, to manage every moment, to control outcomes that were always beyond her reach.
She thought about what Sarah had actually needed—not management, but presence. Not control, but witness.
And she thought about Evie, standing in that hospital room alone, doing the hard work of honoring Daisy’s choices while her own heart broke.
That evening, when Evie came home, Maggie had the apartment ready—soft lighting, comfort food she knew Evie wouldn’t eat but appreciated anyway, space to fall apart if needed.
Evie walked through the door and immediately crumpled.
Maggie caught her, holding her while she sobbed into her shoulder, murmuring nothing and everything—I’ve got you, you’re okay, let it out, I’m here.
“I told Kara about hospice,” Evie said eventually, voice muffled against Maggie’s neck. “She agreed. Signed the papers. We moved Daisy to a comfort room.”
“That was the right call,” Maggie said.
“I know. But it feels like giving up.”
“It’s not giving up,” Maggie said firmly, pulling back to look at her. “It’s honoring what Daisy wants. It’s choosing quality of life over quantity. It’s brave, Evie.”
“You would’ve handled it better.”
“No,” Maggie said. “I would’ve handled it differently. More detached. More clinical. You handled it with compassion. That’s harder. And more valuable.”
Evie’s eyes watered again. “I don’t know how you did this with Sarah. How you survived it.”
Maggie’s throat tightened. “I didn’t. Not well, anyway. I managed her dying instead of being with her while she died. I was so focused on trying to keep her alive that I forgot to just... love her. Be present with her.”
“But you were there.”
“Physically, yes. But not emotionally. Not really.” Maggie’s voice dropped. “Don’t make my mistake. Be with Daisy. Really with her. Let yourself grieve while she’s still here instead of waiting until after.”
Evie nodded against her shoulder. “Will you help me?”
“However I can. Even if it’s just holding you when you come home. Even if I can’t be there physically.”
They moved to the couch, Evie curled into Maggie’s side, both of them quiet for a long time.
“Thank you,” Evie finally said. “For not trying to fix this. For just... being here.”
Maggie pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m learning. You’re a good teacher.”
“Liar,” Evie said, but there was affection in her voice.
That night, Maggie held Evie while she cried herself to sleep, and didn’t try to stop the tears or offer empty platitudes. She just stayed.
Present.
Witness.
Finally learning what love actually looked like when you stopped trying to manage it.
Day twenty-seven brought the notification Maggie had been dreading.
Administrative Leave Ends: November 17th Return to Work Orientation: November 16th, 8:00 AM Required Documentation: Ethics Training Completion Certificate, Monthly Supervision Schedule with Dr. Chen.
Maggie stared at the email for ten minutes before she could bring herself to respond.
Confirmed. I’ll be there. -ML
She set her phone down and realized her hands were shaking.
Three days. Three days before she had to walk back into Oakridge, back into the life she’d built so carefully, back into the scrutiny and whispers and weight of everyone’s expectations.
Three days before she and Evie would have to navigate seeing each other at work without touching, without standing too close, without letting anyone see how much they meant to each other.
Six months of that.
The thought made her nauseous.
Her phone buzzed.
Evie: Saw the email. How are you feeling?
Maggie: Honestly? Awful.
Evie: Want company tonight?
Maggie: Always.
When Evie arrived that evening, she brought Thai food and wine and a fierce determination in her eyes that Maggie recognized immediately.
“We need to talk,” Evie said, setting the bags on the counter.
“That sounds ominous.”
“It’s not. It’s practical.” Evie pulled out plates, moving around Maggie’s kitchen with the ease of someone who’d done this dozens of times. “You go back in three days. We need to set expectations. Boundaries. Rules for how this works.”
Maggie leaned against the counter, watching her. “You’ve been thinking about this.”
“Of course I have. So have you, if the panic spiral I can see in your eyes is any indication.”
“I’m not panicking.”
Evie raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, I’m panicking a little,” Maggie admitted.
They sat on the couch with their food, facing each other the way they’d done that first night after everything fell apart—when Evie had laid out her conditions and Maggie had agreed to try.
“Ground rules,” Evie said. “First: At work, we’re professional. Not cold, not strangers, but appropriate. We can say hi in the hallway. We can be in the same meeting. But no lingering. No private conversations unless they’re about a patient and someone else is present.”
Maggie nodded. “Agreed.”
“Second: We don’t hide the fact that we know each other. People already know we were involved. Pretending we’re complete strangers will just make it weirder.”
“What do we say if someone asks?”
“We say we’re working through the ethics requirements and maintaining appropriate boundaries,” Evie said. “Which is true. We don’t volunteer anything else.”
“Okay.”
“Third: We check in every night. Even if it’s just a text. Even if we’ve had a hard day and don’t want to talk. We stay connected.”
“I can do that,” Maggie said.
“And fourth—” Evie set down her plate, her expression serious now. “If it gets too hard, if the distance becomes too much, if either of us starts to feel like we’re losing each other—we say something. We don’t just suffer in silence hoping it’ll get better.”
Maggie reached for her hand. “Deal.”
“I’m serious, Maggie. Six months is a long time. People are going to talk. It’s going to be hard watching you at the hospital and not being able to touch you. Not being able to stand next to you during rounds or grab coffee after a tough case.”
“I know,” Maggie said quietly. “It’s going to be hard for me too. Seeing you excel under Doctor Patel. Watching you handle difficult cases without me. Knowing I can’t mentor you or support you the way I want to.”
“But we can do it,” Evie said. “Right? We can make it six months?”
Maggie pulled her closer, until Evie was nestled against her side, head on her shoulder.
“We can do it,” Maggie said. “Because at the end of six months, we get to decide how we want to move forward. Together. Openly, if we want.”
“You’d want that? To be public about us?”
“Yes,” Maggie said without hesitation. “Once the restriction lifts, once we’ve proven we can maintain boundaries, I want people to know. I’m tired of hiding. I’m tired of acting like the best thing in my life is something to be ashamed of.”
Evie tilted her head up to look at her. “You mean that.”
“I do. But we need to survive the six months first.”
“Morrison’s going to be insufferable,” Evie said.
“Let him be. He’s not important.”
“What about Doctor Patel? She’s been good to me, but she’s going to notice if I’m distracted.”
“Then don’t be distracted,” Maggie said. “Focus on your work. Let that speak for itself. And trust that six months will pass faster than we think.”
Later, as they lay in bed, Evie’s fingers tracing patterns on Maggie’s stomach. It made her breath quicken as it always did.
“When you touch me, it feels like electricity,” Maggie whispered.
“I know, I feel it too,” Evie replied.
“I’m so fed up with all this doom, gloom and anxiety. I can think of so many other ways to to spend my time.”
Evie shuffled closer to her in bed, her eyes twinkling. “Oh really? Care to elaborate?”
“How about I show you?”
Evie bit her lip and nodded.
Maggie moved on top of her, spreading her legs apart with her thighs. Her head leaned down to kiss her. Softly, deeply, slowly. She felt her heart beating harder. She craved her so badly.
Without saying anything, she removed Evie’s panties and tossed them off the bed. Her mouth traced down her thighs and back up to her heated core. She could feel the wetness building up already.
“You turn me on like crazy,” Evie whispered.
“Likewise. Now, no more talking. Let me make you feel good,” Maggie ordered as she began kissing towards her clit.
Evie gasped as Maggie’s tongue made slow circular motions over her soft wet folds. She loved how wet she was. She loved everything about her. Her tongue flicked over her clit slowly as her fingertips teased her. Evie thrust her hips towards Maggie, desperate for more.
Maggie didn’t make her wait much longer.
She pushed two fingers deep inside and felt Evie’s body quiver.
She fucked her just the way Evie liked it. Just the way it made everything else disappear.
“Are you feeling better yet?” Maggie looked up and said as she fucked her slowly and deeply.
“So much better,” Evie moaned, pushing her body onto her fingers.
Maggie started fucking her harder, feeling her legs tremble.
“Bend over,” Maggie ordered.
And Evie didn’t complain. She moved onto her front, head down in the pillow with her ass in the air. Maggie caressed her skin pushing her hip into her body.
“I want you to touch yourself whilst I fuck you,” Maggie commanded.
This was where she loved to be in control the most, and Evie was at her full submission every time.
Evie moved her fingers in between her legs, feeling her swollen clit as she rubbed in circular motions. Maggie’s fingers thrust inside of her and fucked her deeply. She felt Evie tighten around her fingers.
“Are you going to cum for me, Evie?”
And before Evie could reply, she reached an orgasm which took her body out as she collapsed into the bed. Her skin prickled with enjoyment, her legs trembling, her body and mind completely belonging to Maggie.
Maggie moved on top of her, kissing her neck, her back and holding her.
“I really do love you,” Maggie whispered.
“Fuck. I love you too,” Evie whimpered as she felt the weight of Maggie on top of her, soaking in every second of pleasure.
November 16th arrived too fast.
Maggie woke at 5 AM to an empty bed—Evie had left an hour earlier for early morning rounds, pressing a kiss to Maggie’s temple and whispering, “You’ve got this.”
Now, standing in front of her closet, Maggie stared at the row of identical white coats like they were armor she’d forgotten how to wear.
Her phone buzzed.
Evie: Remember—you’re braver than you think. And I’ll be there. Not next to you, but there. This is temporary hardship.
Maggie smiled despite her nerves.
Maggie: Thank you. For everything.
Evie: Don’t get sappy on me. You’ve got an orientation at 8 and I expect you to be your usual terrifyingly competent ice queen self. I can’t believe I melted the ice queen.
Maggie: I’ll try not to disappoint. Ha, I’m not totally thawed yet…
Evie: Impossible. See you at the hospital. From a professional distance. While I’m secretly thinking very unprofessional thoughts.
Maggie: Evie…
Evie: What? I’m just being honest. You did say you wanted honesty.
Maggie: Not helpful right now.
Evie: Sorry. Go kick ass. I love you.
Maggie: I love you too.
Maggie set the phone down and pulled on her white coat—the same one she’d worn for five years at Oakridge, freshly cleaned and pressed.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
Doctor Maggie Laurel. Senior attending. Internal medicine.
Someone who’d made mistakes but was choosing to learn from them.
Someone who was terrified but showing up anyway.
Someone who was finally, slowly, learning that survival wasn’t the same as living.
She grabbed her bag, took one last look at the apartment—Evie’s coffee mug still on the counter, her jacket on the back of the chair, all the small signs that Maggie’s life was no longer just hers alone—and headed out the door.
Toward the hospital.
Toward uncertainty.
Toward six months of proving she could do this.
Toward a future she couldn’t control but was choosing anyway.
Here we go, she thought as she started the car. Ready or not.
And she drove toward Oakridge, carrying Evie’s words with her like a talisman.
You’re braver than you think.
I’ll be there.
This is real.