“So what do you think, Blue?” Maggie inquired as she sprinkled a couple of flakes into the bowl for him.

Blue’s only response was a flick of his tail as he gulped his flakes. She took that as a sign he liked her plan. It was an acceptable plan; she only hoped Aiden would see it that way too.

Over the past four days, she’d come to realize how lonely her life was and how much she missed having him in it. Like a plant without the sun, she felt like she was shriveling inside without him, and if she kept scratching at her arms, she’d have no skin left.

Her arms looked like she’d brawled with a briar patch and lost, badly. She’d started wrapping her skin in white bandages to curb her itching, but it didn’t help during those rare times she slept. The bandages had originally only encompassed her forearms, but they’d spread up to her biceps yesterday. If this kept up, she’d have to mummify herself.

The last time she’d slept for more than an hour at a time was in Aiden’s arms. She’d almost called him a few dozen times a day, but each time she picked up the phone, she put it down before she dialed. She had to use this time away from him to sort through things.

She couldn’t up and quit her job. She refused to leave them shorthanded, it could risk someone’s life, and her coworkers had become a family to her, especially Roger. Besides, if for some reason things didn’t work out with Aiden, she couldn’t burn her bridges. She would need her career to fall back on, and if she couldn’t get her old position back, she would at least get good references for her next job.

She also wouldn’t leave Roger that way; she didn’t plan to leave him at all as he’d always be a part of her life, no matter what. But she wasn’t about to leave him high and dry with an unprepared partner.

A two-week notice would give her more time to get to know Aiden better while she was still human too. Perhaps, in that time, they’d discover they were better apart than together. With the way she’d felt these past four days, she doubted that would happen, but she wasn’t willing to take the chance it would.

She’d considered continuing to work as a paramedic after turning, but decided it would be better to take some time away. She couldn’t stand the idea of accidentally hurting someone if their blood proved too strong a temptation for her.

Besides, it would probably be best if she and Aiden spent some time together, adjusting to their new lives after she became a vampire. She wouldn’t let him support her, she’d figure out some way to contribute to their relationship, but she was sure there would be plenty for her to learn about controlling herself and vampirism.

So, when she met Aiden today, she’d tell him she would give her notice at work. He’d have to be willing to give her those two weeks, if he wasn’t, then it was a good sign their relationship wouldn’t work, and she’d walk away. He might even have to give her longer than two weeks. They’d hired one new person, but they were still one staff member down after Walt and Glenn’s deaths.

She resisted scratching her skin at the possibility Aiden wouldn’t give her those two weeks. She wouldn’t ask him to keep his distance during that time. No, she hoped he’d come stay with her. She would love to crawl into his arms and inhale his scent again. Just imagining it made the constriction in her chest ease and her skin stopped itching. Yes, he would understand. He had to.

Maggie glanced at the clock. It was only twelve, but she couldn’t stay in this apartment anymore. It shouldn’t take her more than half an hour to get to the hotel. She’d wait there for Aiden, and hopefully, he would come early too. Thankfully, it was her day off as she meant to spend most of it in bed with him.

Smiling at the pleasant notion, Maggie turned away from Blue. She picked her coat up from her bed as her phone rang. When she’d returned to work, she’d discovered that while her wallet and keys had survived the attack, her phone hadn’t. She still had the phone she’d purchased from the convenience store. She’d planned to keep it anyway, in case Aiden called her, but now she used it for everyone else as she hadn’t had time to replace her old one. It was on her ever-growing list of things to do over the next two weeks as she prepared for her new life.

She lifted the phone from her nightstand. When she saw the caller was her boss Pablo, she almost ignored it. She couldn’t be called into work today of all days, but her conscience tugged at her. How many had covered for her while she’d been with Aiden?

Maggie answered the phone. “Hello.”

“Maggie, it’s Pablo.”

She almost replied with… Yes, I know, caller ID is this nifty new invention… but something about his tone stopped her. A ball of dread formed in her stomach. “What is it?”

“It’s…” He exhaled loudly. “It’s Roger.”

The break in his voice had her sinking onto her bed. “What happened?”

“It looks like he had a stroke. They’ve rushed him to Mass General. I’m heading over now.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

Maggie didn’t wait to hear his reply. She leapt off her bed, slipped her phone into her pocket, and slid on her coat. She didn’t remember leaving her apartment, but she suddenly found herself taking the steps two at a time toward the first floor. Her feet barely hit the ground as she raced down the last flight and out the doors.

Plunging onto the sidewalk, she ran toward the closest T station. She fumbled to remove the phone from her pocket as she dodged the people on the sidewalk. She succeeded in pulling her phone free to call Aiden as she hit the steps to the T station and plunged down.

She was about to hit send when a woman, rushing up the stairs, bashed her purse into Maggie’s ribs. Maggie stumbled to the side, her ankle twisted on the stairs and gave out. The phone toppled from her fingers; the cool metal railing slid against her palm when she grabbed it to keep from plummeting down the concrete stairs to the bottom.

“Are you okay?” a man inquired as he gripped her elbow to help steady her.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Thank you,” Maggie said as she tested her ankle. It was sore but unbroken. “I… I dropped my phone.”

“Here,” the man bent and scooped it up. “It wasn’t as lucky as you.”

Maggie took the shattered pieces from him. “No, it wasn’t.”

* * *

It was only twelve o’clock when Aiden arrived at the bar, but he’d been unable to stay away. He sat on one of the stools and touched the inner pocket of his coat to reassure himself the tickets were still there. Earlier, he’d recalled Maggie’s words about attending opening day with A.J., and he’d stopped on his way here to purchase tickets for them to go to the game.

Removing his coat, he draped it over the stool beside him. He ordered a Crown on the rocks as he settled in to wait. Outside, Declan, Brian, and Killean remained in the car in case Maggie didn’t arrive, or she only came to tell him goodbye.

They would be necessary to take him down if either of those things happened.

* * *

Maggie paced back and forth in the waiting room outside of the OR. Half the ambulance company was crowded into the room, and more people spilled into the hallway or had wandered to the cafeteria. Police and firefighters had also arrived to give their support. As gruff and stubborn as Roger was, he was also well-liked.

People talked in hushed whispers, or not at all. One group had arrived with coffee and donuts over an hour ago. The coffee was gone, the donuts barely touched.

Roger’s ex-wife had also come. Divorced years ago, they’d never had children together, but Roger talked highly of her, and Maggie knew they still exchanged calls and Christmas cards. The woman had remarried, and Maggie assumed her husband was the man sitting next to her, holding one hand while she chewed the nails of her other hand.

Maggie glanced at the clock on the wall and gulped. It was already two o’clock. She had to call Aiden. She turned to Officer Harding to ask if she could borrow his phone when a doctor emerged through the swinging doors.

Maggie froze as the doctor walked over to speak with Pablo and the ex-wife for a minute. Their grave expressions made Maggie’s stomach churn. Then, the doctor slipped away again. The ex-wife had paled visibly, and Pablo looked like he was losing a battle against food poisoning.

“What did he say?” Maggie asked tremulously.

“It was definitely a stroke,” Pablo said as he ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. “They’re doing the best they can, but it seems a fair amount of time passed between when he had the stroke and when I found him.”

Maggie started at his words; she hadn’t known Pablo was the one to discover Roger. Then, she recalled Roger telling her yesterday he planned to get in some bowling practice today. He and Pablo were on the same team, the 7/10 Splints.

Tears burned her eyes as she thought of poor Pablo finding his friend in such a way. They slid free when she realized Roger had most likely been lying there for a while, waiting for someone to come. She couldn’t stand to think about how scared he must have been.

Maggie covered her mouth with her hand and choked on a sob. She wiped away her tears. She refused to cry. Not here. Roger would be so mad at her for that. Unable to remain standing, she sank onto a chair.

“You must be Maggie.”

Maggie lifted her head and blinked Roger’s ex into focus. He’d told her the woman’s name, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember it right now. “Yes,” she croaked.

The woman squeezed her knee, and Maggie realized she’d sat next to her. There was an almost surreal air about the woman’s hand. Maggie knew it was touching her knee, yet she felt as if she were outside of her body, watching it.

“Roger has told me so much about you. He thinks very highly of you,” the woman said.

“I think very highly of him too. I wouldn’t be here if it weren't for him.”

“You’re like…” The woman’s voice broke, and a tear slid free. “You’re like a daughter to him.”

Maggie didn’t shy away when the woman leaned over to hug her.

And he’s like a father to me.

* * *

At three thirty, the doctor re-emerged to tell them they’d done everything they could, but they’d been unable to save Roger. Maggie wanted to curl into a ball and cry, but she bit her tongue. If she fell apart now, she’d never be able to pick herself up enough to leave the hospital.

Around the room, she heard the tears of some of the others.

* * *

At three o’clock, Brian came to sit beside him. At three thirty, Killean joined him. Amber liquid splashed in his glass as Aiden spun it between his hands. He’d been so certain Maggie would come. A small piece of him had feared she wouldn’t, but deep down, he’d believed she cared for him too.

Lifting his glass, Aiden downed the rest of its contents in one swallow. Outwardly, he remained amazingly controlled considering the madness steadily building within him. On the bar, he stared at the phone he’d set before him, but the screen remained blank. She hadn’t tried to call or text him.

He picked his phone up and dialed her number. No one answered, and he didn’t leave a message. He called again a half an hour later, again his only greeting was a computerized voice telling him to leave a message. Had she gotten rid of her phone? Was this her way of telling him to fuck off?

He understood why she’d decided a no call, no show, was the best way to say goodbye. After everything she’d seen him do while they were together, she was probably afraid he would attack her if she said goodbye in person. But, he would give anything to hear her voice one more time.

He called again, and when the computer answered, his hand clenched on the phone. It shattered with an audible crack. Electronic bits slipped from his palm and clattered onto the bar. His head bowed, and he immediately regretted the destruction of his phone, but there was nothing he could do to fix it.

“We should go,” Brian stated as he swiped the broken pieces into his hand and placed them in his pocket.

“One more hour,” Aiden grated through his teeth.

At five o’clock, Aiden set his glass down, rose, and picked up his coat. “I’m going to her place.”

“Aiden—”

“I won’t go after her, Brian,” he interjected. “I have to see.”

“See what?” Killean asked gruffly.

“I don’t know. That she’s okay. That this is her choice. See her for the final time.”