#maggara

When Maggie arrives at the hospital, it takes a bit of lying before she can even make it to the floor where the ICU is located, but once she reaches the main waiting area, she realizes that she doesn’t have any personal information to give that will get her through the locked doors.

She sits down in one of the empty chairs toward the back, picking at her jeans as she tries to think of some way to see her soulmate. After what seems like hours, she’s hit with an idea and pulls her pen out of her pocket. I can’t get in to see you. I know someone wrote that message for you and if they can see this...got any ideas?

Another hour goes by before she gets a response that makes her heart jump. Tell me what you’re wearing and what you look like, I can come and get you.

Maggie doesn’t hesitate to scribble down as detailed of a description as she can before waiting. She’s buzzing with anxiety as she waits, her eyes glued to the the double doors. After a few moments a man in blue scrubs emerges, his eyes flickering across the chairs until they settle on Maggie’s tense figure.

He smiles a bit as he walks out, talking to the receptionist for a moment before he comes to grab her. “Let’s go,” He says, holding a hand out to her.

She nods, awkwardly taking his hand. “Alright,” she murmurs, allowing him to lead her through the locked doors. The ward smells of astringent, the acrid scent making Maggie’s nose crinkle.

She’s lead down a few hallways before they stop, the man glancing at her for a moment before he pushes the door open. “She’s still recovering from her surgery, we don’t expect her to wake up for a few hours. I can only give you a few moments, I’m kind of risking my ass right now as it is so...”

Maggie nods, looking between the man, Aaron, she finds after a quick look at his nametag. “Thank you,” she says softly before walking into the room.

It’s quiet save for the constant beeping from the heart monitor and in the bed is her soulmate. She’s beautiful, even with the bruising on her jaw and the gauze wrapped around her head. Tears stream down Maggie’s face as she moves slowly toward the girl, afraid she might break her more.

“Oh honey...” She breathes as she finally stands over her, taking in the girl she was in love with. “Tara...” she murmurs, her fingers brushing against the medical tag on her wrist.

“I’m so sorry we didn’t meet before this,” Maggie sniffles, gently taking Tara’s hand. “But I promise, I’ll be here for you....always,” she says firmly, jumping a bit when Tara squeezes her hand.

Maggie’s eyes flicker up to Tara’s face, finding the girl still sleeping. “Just rest, I’ll be back,” she whispers, leaning down to brush the softest of kisses to Tara’s warm cheek.

She looks around the room for a moment for something to write on before settling for a paper towel from the bathroom. She scribbles down her name and her phone number and a plea for Tara’s family to call her when she wakes up.  She tucks the note into Tara’s hand before heading out, sparing her soulmate one more sad look before closing the door.

“You okay, kid?” Aaron asks, offering her a small pack of tissues from his pocket.

She takes one, blowing her nose gently before nodding. “Yeah, I just wish out first meeting was different, you know?” she says softly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m Maggie by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,” Aaron smiles softly before nodding down the hall. “Here, I’ll take you to the nurses lounge so you can collect yourself, okay?”

She just nods and lets him lead the way, her heart clenching in her chest as she walks away from her soulmate. “Not that I’m complaining, but why did you help me?” she finds herself asking as they walk into a room with a few couches, a tv and a small kitchenette.

“I just know what it’s like to not know what’s happening to your soulmate,” Aaron replies, leaning against the wall. “No one should have to go through what you’re going through. It happens more than we’d like to acknowledge, but I wish it didn’t.”

Maggie nods, biting her lip as she wraps her arms around herself. “I didn’t even know her name until now. We both agreed that we’d exchange numbers and stuff when we met up, which was supposed to happen soon and now...”

“Hey, she’s going to be okay, the doctors caught the brain bleed in time and they’re confident that there shouldn’t be any lasting effects, okay?” Aaron says softly, moving to put his hands on Maggie’s shoulders.

“I...I didn’t know there was a brain bleed,” Magge breathes out, her entire body shaking like a leaf. “I just...I know her... I know almost everything her and yet...it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t...”

“Maggie, honey, breathe,” Aaron murmurs, pulling the girl into a hug. He may not know her well, but he knew how she felt. “My husband...my soulmate, got shot during a bank robbery. I was out of town helping my parents out when it happened and because this state didn’t recognize domestic partnerships...I wasn’t called, but I knew something had happened...his doodles kept flickering out...”

He pauses and Maggie can’t help but hug him tighter. “I found out what had happened thanks to a mutual friend of ours and I made it in time to say goodbye...and for a long time I was lost but then it sort of hit me. Eric wouldn’t want me to throw my life away just because he was gone,” He lets out a sad sort of chuckle before pulling away a bit, shoving his sleeves up. “So I went through his sketchbook and made myself reminders that even though he’s gone, he’ll always be with me.”

Maggie’s eyes trail over the tattoos, his left arm is a sleeve made up mostly of nature sketches with words strewn between them like “this is your fault, because I love you.” and “I’m always right.” One the right arm, she can see the bottom of what appears to be a pair of intertwined hands and on his wrist in a neat script says. “You know I love you.” and there’s something about it that makes Maggie smile a little.

“I’m sorry Aaron,” she whispers, looking up at the man, seeing him in a whole new light. He had helped her to try and spare her from what he had to go through. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you for what you’ve done to help me today.”

“Just love her with all your heart.” He says with a sad little smile.

Ever since Tara was little, she would wake up to doodles along her forearms, eventually morphing into messages as she got older. The first message she ever received was “You must be clumsy, we always have bruises,” and for some reason it made her smile. 

She apologized afterward and received a smiley face as a response. They started talking regularly after that. Tara finding that her soulmate was only two years older than her and had a big family. 

Tara was in high school when she had the brilliant idea to ask what their name was, but all she got in response was a black line across her arm. Guess we can’t tell each other. she scribbled back in blue pen before heading off to class. 

Tara got used to telling this person everything, even going as far as coming out to her soulmate, smiling when “Well that’s good, considering I’m a girl,” came as a response. 

In that moment, Tara realized she had never once thought to ask about gender before, though she figured it didn’t matter, she was already head over heels for this girl. 

It wasn’t until after graduation that they planned to meet up, her soulmate insisting they wait so that Tara could focus on finishing high school without the distraction of a girlfriend. 

I mean, I feel like you’re a distraction regardless. Tara wrote back, too focused on her forearm to notice the car coming toward the crosswalk a little too fast. 

She woke up in the hospital, her leg in a cast and her arm bandaged from wrist to elbow, bits of text poking out from the gauze. Her fingers were covered in tiny messages and her bicep was a mess of concern. Her tired eyes flickered to her other arm, finding that it was covered in incredibly messy messages, asking where she was. 

Her brow furrowed as she looks around the room, wondering why it was empty. Surely someone had come to visit her, right? She reaches a hand up to press the call button, waiting until a kind looking male nurse walks in. 

“Oh good, you’re awake,” He smiles, moving to check her vitals. “What can I get you sweetie?” 

Tara’s eyes flicker from the man’s name tag and then across the black and white drawings on the man’s arms, smiling slightly. “Aaron, I was wondering if I could borrow a pen...” she murmurs, gesturing to her covered arms. 

“Yeah of course,” He says, patting his pockets before producing a ballpoint pen. “Let her know you have a CT coming up and that if everything comes out alright, you can head home soon.” 

“Thanks man,” She says softly, setting the pen down before holding up a fist at him. 

Aaron raises his brows at her before chuckling softly, bumping her knuckles with his own before glancing at her chart. “How’s your pain?” 

“It’s fine,” She answers, her brain too fuzzy to really focus on anything other than scrawling across her palm. 

I’m okay Is all she writes before looking up at the nurse again. “What happened to me anyway?” 

“You were hit by a car, hon,” He says, his brow furrowing a bit and Tara could tell he was hiding something from her. 

“There’s something you’re not telling me...” She challenges, sitting up a bit, pain flashing across the side of her head. “What the fuck...” 

“What, what just happened?” Aaron asks, the monitors signaling a spike in Tara’s heart rate. 

“My head...” She groans, holding it gently in her hands, finding that it was wrapped in gauze. “What...” 

Before she can get an answer, everything goes dark again. 

________________________________________________________________

Maggie had been in class when it happened, her right arm had bruised considerably like it did anytime her soulmate managed to hurt herself, but then a clawing ache started across her forearm, unlike anything she had felt before. 

What just happened?  She scrawls across the back of her hand but she never receives a response. 

Worry starts to settle in after a few minutes of waiting and then the words on her arms seem to flicker before disappearing completely, her arms clean for the first time in years. “What the...” She breathes out, brushing her fingers against the spot on her arm where the bruise had been. 

She’d been used to the messages disappearing during the night, but this felt off. Before she could think too much of it, the words came flickering back, though they weren’t as pigmented as before.

She ends up calling her father after her lecture, panic curling in her chest as he explains how it’s possible that her soulmate’s heart had stopped. Ice seems to run through her veins as the phone drops from her hand, the words echoing in her head. 

She spends the rest of her day sitting on her bed, staring at the messages, her stomach clenching when the words flicker away twice more before the night is over.

It’s well after three in the morning and she’s still scribbling messages against her flesh, asking what’s going on, if she was okay, where she was. She falls asleep with her pen in hand that night, worry settled heavy in her chest. 

She spends three days constantly writing on her arms before she finally gets a response, a simple. I’m okay. Those two words has her calming down before they flicker and disappear. 

“NO!” She shouts, throwing the book she had been trying to read across the room. A few minutes pass before the words flicker back onto her palm but she’s already sobbing by then. 

It isn’t until a new message pops up, that she knows what she’s going to do. Alexandria General Hospital, ICU, Room 212. It’s certainly not her soulmate’s writing, but she doesn’t care, she’s going to find this girl. 

agreed. and not only that, tara and maggies relationship stems from moments like these. every moment they’ve shared has been a vital part of moving forward and moving on. 

when they met in the tunnel it was the end of one journey and the start of another, it was tara’s redemption and essentially glenn and maggies new story. when they spoke inside the church it was tara’s rebirth into something new, and it was acceptance into a new family and a new life. and in 6.01 when they spoke after tara woke up and found out about noah and nicholas, it was maggie who told her how important she was to her and it was about accepting the things you couldn’t change and standing loyal towards your family.