Million Reasons

Chapter Sixty Seven: Family First

It was late when Maggie opened up the door to her apartment and found herself face to face with her brother Gabriel. His tall frame was bundled up in his long charcoal grey winter coat, a navy blue scarf wrapped around his neck. His hair was a redder shade of brown than hers, the auburn tints reflecting in the light from the hall way as he held up a six pack of beer in one hand and a white carrier bag of take away in the other.

"I come bearing gifts." he told her, that easy smile of his breaking across his features as Maggie stepped out of the way to let him in before closing the door behind her and putting on the chain.

"I'd say to what do I owe the pleasure but I have a feeling you received a text from Al." Maggie muttered, turning to face her brother as he set his items down in the kitchen area.

"Guilty." he said holding up his hands in mock surrender before delving into the cupboards to pull out two plates. "Although I think the real question is why didn't you call me?"

There was no malice in his voice as he spoke, it was a question, a simple one that she should be able to answer but instead she found she couldn't. She knew why she hadn't called him she just didn't know how to voice it. She watched for a moment as he stripped off his overcoat and scarf, leaving them on the back of one of her dining chairs before rolling up the sleeves of his plaid shirt.

"Because you like to wallow." he answered for her, grabbing two forks out of her cutlery drawer and setting them down on the counter.

"I do not!" Maggie protested, crossing her arms over her chest in agitation, watching as Gabriel removed two Thai cardboard food containers from the plastic carrier bag.

"You prefer to call it thinking." Gabriel pointed out as he opened up the first container, allowing an amazing heavenly scent to fill the air. "But we all know it's wallowing."

"I just like to go over things in my head..." Maggie began, finally stepping into the kitchen area and doing her part by removing the beer bottles from the cardboard container.

"...over and over and over again." Gabriel informed her, turning the carton upside down and dumping the contents onto a plate. "It's not healthy, your department shrink told you that."

He paused for a moment leaving Maggie staring at him, aghast at the words as he allowed them to sink in by busying himself with the other take out container. Before being signed off as fit for patrol after her time undercover. She had been forced to see the department psychologist so that her mental health could be assessed. It was one of the many conditions forced upon her by her old commanding officer Regan.

"In fact, wasn't a condition of you coming back to the job, that you don't let yourself get caught up in that trap again and again and again?" Gabriel reminded himself as he shook out the other container onto the spare plate.

"You've made your point." Maggie informed him, opening the fridge and placing four of the beers into the fridge.

"To be honest. I thought I had made my point the first time we had this conversation." he told her, finally twisting his body towards his sister so that she could see the pained expression on his familial features. "That time after you came back from being undercover."

Maggie opened her mouth to speak but Gabriel raised a hand to cut her off. Maggie closed her mouth obediently as he jabbed his finger at her.

"Do not even start that civilian bullshit." he told her, irritation glinting in those blue eyes of his. "It was crap when Dad tried to use it on Mom and it is crap now."

Maggie bit her lower lip, letting a long sigh out into the open air between the two of them as Gabe fixed his cool gaze upon her. Her brother knew her all too well and his words hit her like a punch in the gut. She was behaving like their father in that respect, he had buried himself away from them all when they'd got their mother's terminal diagnosis. He bottled everything up for years and it had fractured any relationship he could have had with his children.

"Your right." Maggie conceded, nodding her agreement at his words. "I should have called and told you what happened."

"Did you think I wouldn't see the bruises at some point?" Gabe questioned her, using his hand to gesture at the vibrant black and purple pattern that was beginning to appear in patches up and down her right arm.

"I really didn't get that far." Maggie admitted, delving into her utility drawer and pulling out the bottle opener to pop the caps off the beer bottles. "I thought I had at least until Sunday before I had to think about it."

"Sometimes I think you are a sociopath." Gabriel told her, his tone only half joking.

Maggie shrugged her shoulders before picking up both beer bottles and carrying them into the living room with Gabe trailing along behind her, a plate in each hand.

"So what are we watching?" he asked as Maggie set the beer bottles down upon the solid oak table. "Please tell me that is not the True Crime channel?"

Maggie snatched the remote up off the couch and flicking the channel over guiltily. Gabriel set down the plates on the coffee table before taking a seat in Maggie's stylish comfortable chair.

"Remember that unhealthy thing we were talking about?" Gabriel pointed out, picking up his plate and resting it on his lap. "That is an example of it."

"Disney channel?" Maggie prompted, picking up her own plate before settling down on the couch.

"Only if Star Wars is on." Gabe told her, pausing for a second to take a sip of his beer.

"Actually it is." Maggie informed him before setting the remote down and beginning to eat from her plate. There was silence between the two of them for a few minutes before Maggie spoke again. "Thanks for making sure I'm not alone tonight."

Gabriel broke into a wide smile, causing the edges of Maggie's mouth to twitch at the earnestness of it.

"What are big brothers for."