Magbel Oneshots

Stress Relief (Rated M)

"Isobel, is everything okay?" Maggie asked, walking into Isobel's office

"Yeah. Just have a lot going on right now." Isobel answered. Maggie could tell Isobel was really tense. She started to pack up Isobel's things since it was an hour past the time they were supposed to leave. "What are you doing?" Isobel asked Maggie as she noticed Maggie packing up her stuff.

"You need a break. Plus, it's an hour after everyone else has gone home. We should go home." Maggie said.

"Maggie, I have a lot I need to get done. I can't just leave it." Isobel snapped.

"Babe, you've been working your ass off all day. I don't know what all you need to get done, but I do know you're not a machine. You can return to it tomorrow." Maggie said with a soft smile. She continued packing up Isobel's things.

"Maggie Renée Castille, stop packing up my things right now. I am not going home until I have all of my work done." Isobel said sternly.

"Fine. If you want to work yourself to death, go right ahead." Maggie snapped and angrily walked out. Ever since getting married six months ago, Isobel has been working more and more hours. She was stressed to the max plus some, but that didn't stop her from clocking in more hours than anyone. Maggie felt like it was herself that was causing Isobel to work more hours. Anytime she brought up the topic, Isobel changed the subject. She also felt like Isobel was avoiding her. The most intimate they've been since getting married is a kiss here and there.

Since Isobel wasn't going to be home anytime soon, Maggie decided to go to a bar. She drank away the pain she was feeling, but it still didn't help as much as she would like it to. "I didn't order this." Maggie said as the bartender sat a drink in front of her.

"Compliments from the gentleman over there." he said, pointing to a guy in a plaid shirt. Maggie looked at the guy and smiled to thank him. As she was drinking it, the guy walked over to her.

"I'm not interested. I'm very much into women, and I'm married." Maggie said as he sat down.

"I'm not interested either. Don't get me wrong, you're a beautiful woman. But I'm very gay. I just noticed you looked sad and wanted to offer an ear to listen or even a shoulder to cry on." he said.

"What makes you think I need to talk to someone?" Maggie asked.

"Honey, you're at a bar drinking away the pain. If you had someone to talk to, chances are, you wouldn't be here," he said. Maggie was going to say something, but she realized he was right. "Look, I understand we don't know each other. I also understand if you don't want to talk to me. But I do think you should talk to someone." he said.

"It's not that I don't want to talk to you. I just don't feel comfortable sharing my life story in a bar where there's lots of people." Maggie said.

"Okay. Well we can go to somewhere where there aren't a lot of people. Central Park should have low traffic at this time." he suggested. Maggie agreed, so that's where they went. She learned his name was Carter on their way there. When they arrived, they found a bench to sit at, and Maggie began talking and sharing how she feels. He suggested that someone possibly talked to Isobel at work that's causing her to be distant. It made sense to Maggie, so she thought she would bring up the idea when she got home. When they were done talking, Maggie thanked Carter for allowing her to share her feelings. They ended up exchanging numbers before they went their separate ways. When Maggie returned home, Isobel was there. She walked through the front door, and Isobel was sitting on the couch.

"Where've you been?" Isobel asked.

"Instead of being home by myself, I went to the bar and went to the park with a friend to talk." Maggie answered.