Covert Affairs 1. Chapter 1

When I walked into Langley for the first time, I really didn't know what to expect. I mean I had been training for this for a long time, but who knew what truly went on within these hallways and locked rooms and whatever the hell goes on in the upper floors. I didn't even know what my assignment was yet. My mantra had always been "expect the unexpected" so I assumed I wasn't going in for a basic translating job. I hoped so at least. And when my "neighborhood cruise director", handler, and soon to be best friend had helped explain to me what my assignment was, in some ways, I wasn't surprised.

A simple task that seemed like it belonged to anyone. Not just someone who spoke Russian. And even though all the signs were there showing that it wasn't the man I was looking for, I still followed him like the rookie I was. And all hell broke loose that time.

Let's just say I'm a little more experienced now.

"Hey Auggie, question." I said, walking into Auggie's office.

"Shoot." He said, turning his chair towards me.

"Do we know anything about a guy named Ahmed Tabireeq? His name kept popping up on the Castrid case."

"I can look him up. Although I'm confused as to why you just didn't do that at your desk." He smiled and I just grinned, leaning on his desk. He turned back to his computer and started to type a mile a minute.

"My computer is being used. You know how many people are in the DPD now, we're sharing computers. _Sharing._ I think it's an invasion of privacy."

"So there's things on that computer that you wouldn't want anyone else to see?" The corners of Auggie's eyes crinkled as he teased me and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm just saying that there is highly classified stuff on there and if someone below that clearance was to hack into my log in and not use theirs-"

"I got a hit on Tabireeq. He's a known weapons trafficker in the Middle East. Says here that he hasn't been found to be doing anything since 1993." Auggie slid hid fingers across the live braille feedback as he read what was on the screen.

"Then why did he show up in a file based in Brazil? And now of all times?"

"Maybe he's expanded his boarders and decided to restart his business. Where did he show up in the file?"

"Just in some basic emails to Castrid. But now that I know this, it's probably all coded messages." I knew I needed to tell Joan. I put my hand on Auggie's shoulder. "Thanks. You're the best." I patted his shoulder and left, walking straight to Joan's office. I stopped at the open door.

"Joan?"

Joan looked up and waved me in.

"Annie. Come on in. What's up?"

"So, I was looking through copies of emails sent to Castrid and a name kept popping up so I had Auggie look him up. It's Ahmed Tabireeq, a known middle eastern weapons trafficker."

"I've heard his name before, but not for a long time. Why would a middle eastern weapons trafficker be communicating with a Brazilian diplomat?" Joan wondered aloud.

"That's what I was thinking. I mean we opened this case because of a minor connection to the bombing in Rio, but what if instead of a South American weapons supplier, he's getting it from somewhere a little more eastern?"

Joan raised an eyebrow. "Tabireeq has not been in business for over 10 years. Why would he start up again now?"

"Old friend? Money?" I shrugged.

"Good find. Look more into it and report it directly to me." Joan said as she got back to her paperwork.

I turned and walked back into the main area only to find that my desk was still in use. I huffed and checked my watch. It was 12:20. I could probably go for an early lunch break then at least. I again walked back into Auggie's office.

"Ugh. I just had this breakthrough and now my desk is still in use. What am I supposed to do?"

"Kick em out." Auggie smiled and looked towards me. "I know you can be pretty vicious when you get mad."

"I don't want to scare the girl too bad. She just started less than a month ago."

"All the more reason." He straightened up, smiled, and turned back to his computer.

"Auggie Anderson. Secretly a jerk." I shook my head. "I'm going for an early lunch hoping that by the time I get back, she's gone. Want a coffee?"

Auggie put his headphones around his neck and swiveled his chair towards me.

"Actually, I just finished writing a long and hardass part of a project, so I could go for an early lunch as well. And if she's still there by the time we get back, I can probably get her to leave." Auggie put on his 'flirting' face as he took off his headphones and placed them beside his keyboard.

"God Auggie she looks like she's 20!" I watched as he grabbed his laser cane and walked up to me. I touched the back of my hand to his and he put his hand on my elbow, exactly the same place that it had been for the past 4 years.

"Even better!" His smile grew and I punched his shoulder.

"Pervert." I muttered. He only laughed. We walked down to the cafeteria and I looked around. "I don't even know what I want."

"Well, I know I want a delicious sandwich from that amazing sandwich shop all the way in the corner." Auggie said and I shook my head.

"Yeah I figured as much. I'll get a sandwich too."

As we sat at a table eating our sandwiches, my mind was racing about my new-found connection in the case.

"Walker, stop thinking for a couple minutes. Relax, there isn't any evidence that anything is happening soon with Castrid." Auggie said after taking a sip of his water.

I sighed and picked at a piece of fallen lettuce on my plate.

"I just want to nail this. It's my first case as lead operative in the DPD."

"And you'll do fine. You've already done stuff way bigger than this." Auggie put his sandwich down.

"Yeah I know. Like with Henry Wilcox and Belenko." I sighed, noticing Auggie frown. Both of those weren't good times for either of us. "But this is the first relatively normal case I've had since then and I don't want to let Joan down."

"I promise, you won't."

I put a hand on Auggie's.

"Thanks, I guess I should relax a bit. I've been so high strung ever since I rejoined the Agency."

"Then I think a good beer or three at the Tavern will do you good. How about tonight?" He smiled at me.

"I'm guessing you want a ride?" I smiled at him while grabbing my sandwich and taking a bite.

"No, I was going to drive. But since you are so kindly offering to drive me, I could definitely save some gas money." Auggie said sarcastically. I laughed and put my sandwich down. In all honesty, my appetite hadn't been there since I got back from Buenos Aires. It was tough to see my friends in so much pain from a man who just wanted vengeance for his brother's death. And with the vision of that constantly racing through my mind, I didn't have the stomach to eat as much as I did.

I sighed and leaned against my hand, and bit the inside of my mouth.

"You need to eat." Auggie said, obviously hearing that I hadn't really touched my sandwich.

"I'm not hungry."

"You haven't been hungry recently. Is something wrong? Are you ok?" Auggie paused and leaned in towards me, lowering his voice. "Is it the heart condition medicine? I read that it suppresses appetite sometimes."

"You read about my medicine?" I was shocked..

"I was concerned. Annie, I still think you should do the surgery." He said seriously. I frowned.

"I'll think about it."

"What's there to think about? You do the surgery, take some time off to get your mental and physical health back, and then within the next two months, you'll be back here, just like the old Annie, jumping into everything." He said it, explaining it so simply..

"Auggie, this is a big decision. What if something happens during the surgery and I can't come back as an operative?"

"Annie, I think of all people to talk to, I would know what you're thinking about. At least you get a choice."

I frowned, forgetting that he didn't have the choice to come back after his accident.

"Have you talked to McQuaid about it?"

"We haven't talked in almost a week. Things are kinda awkward right now." I looked down at the table.

"What? Why?"

"He asked me to marry him and I said I'd think about it. But I don't think I want to marry him. I haven't given him my answer yet." I said slowly, frowning.

"Are you not happy with McQuaid?" Auggie asked quietly.

"I don't know. Can we not talk about this? Have you heard from Natasha?"

Auggie sighed. He and Natasha broke things off after Buenos Aires. She wanted to travel the world unrestrained and he wanted to settle with a family. The same argument that broke them off the first time.

"Some. Last I heard she was backpacking in France." He leaned back in his chair and finished his water. His plate was empty and I looked at mine which was a pathetic little bite into a turkey sandwich. I didn't say anything, just looked around the cafeteria. People were starting to come in for their lunch break and it was slowly getting more crowded.

"Want to head back?" I asked, looking back at Auggie.

"Not until you eat more." He crossed his arms. I sighed and nibbled some more of my sandwich. After a little, I had finished a little more than half of it.

"Ok I ate more than half and if I eat any more then I'm going to throw up." I pushed away my plate as the image of Natasha and Auggie limping, battered and bloody, out of the dusty building flashed through my mind.

"Fine, good enough. But please, do try and eat more, Annie. We're all worried about you." Auggie stood up and grabbed his plate. I stood up and grabbed my plate as well as bumping my free hand to Auggie's so he could place his hand on my elbow. We walked to the trashcan and threw away our things before making our way back to the DPD. Before I could open the door, Auggie pulled me aside.

"Annie, please tell me why you're not eating. Is it the medicine?"

"No, it's not. It's just… I hated seeing you and Natasha come out of that building like that. I mean I was relieved you were alive, I don't know what I would've done without you, but seeing you bloody and bruised... I just don't want to lose you again like that." I wrapped my arms around his toned torso and buried my face in his shoulder. I felt his arms go around my body and his cheek rest against my head.

"I'll be here for a long time, don't you worry Annie. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault except Belenko. Now come on, let's see if that girl is still there." He put his hand back on my elbow as he released from the hug. I smiled and opened the doors to the DPD. Thankfully, my desk was open.

"She's not there. Alright, I got to get this Tabireeq thing solidified. Thanks for listening, Auggie." I patted his shoulder when I got to my desk.

"Anytime, Walker." He smiled, turned and made his way back up to his office. I sat and watched him until he slid his door shut. I turned to my computer and sighed, logging on. Time to dig up some dirt.

"I haven't been here in so long." I sighed as I looked around the tavern. Auggie took a sip of his beer.

"Yeah, it's been, what, a year? I'm honored to sit down with the infamous Annie Walker in such a place like this." Auggie joked. I laughed.

"I'm not that infamous." I looked down.

"Please. Everyone in the agency has heard of your name and I've heard some people I have never even met before talk about you." Auggie leaned in.

"Wow. And you know everybody." I leaned in towards him. He laughed and I leaned back, taking a sip of my beer.

He raised his glass.

"For reuniting in the place we kindled our friendship."

I smiled and clinked his glass, taking a sip afterwards.

"That seems like so long ago." I took a deep breath and looked around.

"That's 'cause it was so long ago. Hey, isn't your birthday coming up?" I looked back at him and he was taking another sip of his beer, but looking very suspicious.

"It may or may not be in 3 days. What? Gonna send me to Paris again?"

He laughed, remembering my first year there where I was sent for a mission in Paris during my birthday.

"Not this year, Walker."

I just smiled at him and took another sip of my beer.

After I had dropped Auggie off at his apartment and got back to mine, I collapsed on the bed, taking a deep breath. I didn't know what I was going to do. The coded emails that Tabireeq and Castrid were sending back and forth were hard to crack, so I didn't have a solid lead yet. And not to mention how awkward things were between Ryan and I. I didn't know what I wanted. I mean, I guess I knew that after Buenos Aires I wanted to return to the agency, but I was starting to question what really influenced that decision.

Was it because I didn't want to work in the Private sector anymore?

Was it because I didn't like the change in pace between working for McQuaid and working for Langley?

Was it because I just wasn't in love with McQuaid like I was before?

There was a knock on my door and I lifted my head to look at it. My senses automatically sharpened and I slowly stood up as the knock repeated.

"Annie? It's Ryan. Are you here? We should talk." I heard Ryan's voice muffled by the sound of the door. I let out the breath I was holding and unlocked and opened the door. There Ryan stood. I didn't know what to say to him so I stood aside and let him in.

"It's been a week." Ryan turned to me as I shut my door. "Have you had time to think?"

I didn't say anything, but I nodded. It was like he knew in that moment what my decision was. He looked down and just smiled.

"I see. Well, I hope we can remain business partners. Or friends. Perhaps a beer once in a while." He walked towards me and I just looked at him.

"I really liked you Annie, but I understand. You've been through a lot and you need to go back to what is familiar. If you ever need someone to talk to or if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me."

He stood in front of me and I hugged him, kissing his cheek, silently thanking him for understanding.

"Good bye Annie Walker. I hope we meet again." He smiled one last time before exiting through my apartment door. I looked at the door for a bit before letting out a breath and walking back to my bed.

Now all I had to think about was that damn Castrid case.

I walked into Langley and it took me less than 10 seconds to have a voice behind me say, "Back to the Jo Malone, huh."

I smiled, rolled my eyes and paused to let a smirking Auggie catch up. I let him grab my elbow before starting to walk again.

"I found a bottle I had bought a couple months ago and couldn't help myself. It's always been my favorite."

"Yeah, I know."

I yawned before opening the doors to the DPD.

"Did you not sleep well last night? Or did you just not have the time this morning to make coffee?" He took a sip of his, smirking, and I eyed his cup enviously.

"Both."

We walked into his office and I yawned again.

"Jeez Walker, how much sleep did you get last night?" He said as he put his white cane in his drawer to replace it with the laser one.

"Obviously, not enough. Ryan came by after I got home and I just had a lot on my mind after that."

I leaned against his desk as he sat down.

"What did you tell him?"

"Well, technically I didn't say anything. So technically, he broke up with me?" I reasoned.

"So you gave him the cold shoulder?"

"I did not. I mean, we'll still be professional business associates when we work together and I don't think we ended on a bad note."

"You didn't say a single word to him?" Auggie asked incredulously.

"Why? Is that too harsh?"

Auggie just shook his head.

"Annie, Auggie, a word in my office." Joan said from the door.

"Uh, yeah, sure." I fumbled out, standing up. I touched hands with Auggie as he placed his hand on my elbow and we followed Joan to her office.

"Sit down, please." Joan said as we entered. We both sat down and Joan sat behind her desk. She took a couple seconds to gather her words before speaking carefully. "I'm worried about you two. You've both been through a lot recently and I don't want to push you both back into work so quickly."

"Joan, it's been a month. Were fine." Auggie said.

"Auggie, I know that, it's just… We don't usually have people come back so quickly after anything remotely even close to what you two just went through. I just want to make sure that you are ok. Mentally and physically." Joan eyed me and I knew she was thinking about my heart. "Don't hesitate to ask if you need some time off. Or if you think that you can't handle something. I'm your friend more than I am your boss. Always remember that."

"We're fine." Auggie insisted. Joan took a deep breath.

"Fine. You can go." We both started to stand. "Except you Annie. I need a word with you, alone."

Auggie and I paused. I put my hand on his shoulder as he left.

"Let's get right to it." Joan said after Auggie left. "What are you doing about your heart? Annie, I think you should seriously think about a more permanent fix. There's a low risk, high reward for many procedures. They can cure your condition, and you will only be away from the field for about a month."

"But what if something goes wrong? Then what would I do? I wouldn't be able to be a field operative anymore. And I just got leading field op. Joan, I want to keep my job."

"And I think that you will have a better chance at keeping it if you do the surgery."

I leaned back in the chair as I considered my options.

"How about this: We go see a cardiologist, one that the CIA trusts, and have him tell us our options." Joan said, looking at me cautiously. I nodded after a couple of seconds.

"I can do that."

"Ok, then we will go on Friday." Joan said, writing something down.

"That's tomorrow." I said, flustered.

"The sooner the better."

"What about the Castrid case?"

"We can let others look into it during the appointment." She looked at me. "You look tired, Annie. Didn't get much sleep last night?"

"No." I said truthfully. "I broke things off with McQuaid and I couldn't stop thinking about the case. It's like, ever since I went dark a year ago, I need to focus all my energy into one big thing. It's hard to do something so small like this case, because my mind thinks that it's a big one."

"Maybe a month off wouldn't be the worst thing for you, Annie." Joan said softly. "You know Auggie. He's the type that could have the swine flu and still want to come into work saying he's fine."

I chuckled. Sounded like Auggie.

"But you aren't like that. You need a little bit more time to recover. And not just from Buenos Aires. From Henry Wilcox too. You haven't been the same since then and everyone has noticed. Take your time, Annie. The Agency isn't going anywhere anytime soon."

I took a deep breath. I knew she was right.

"Tomorrow, I will pick you up at your apartment at 10, we will go to the appointment and then you will _not _come into work. Is that clear?" Joan said sternly.

"Yes."

"You may go."

I got up and left Joan's office. I walked slowly back to my desk, thinking.

Joan was right. I was pushing myself way too hard. I never fully recovered from the whole Henry thing, let alone Buenos Aires. I glanced at the folder containing the Castrid case on my desk and tapped my fingers on it.

"That is the sound of a thinking woman." I looked over at Auggie who held out a cup of coffee.

"You're a godsend." I took it and took a sip. I felt the caffeine kick in almost immediately.

"What are you thinking about?" He leaned against my desk.

"Joan is practically forcing me to take time off. And I'm going to see a doctor about my heart tomorrow and she isn't letting me come to work."

Auggie opened his mouth, but shut it and sighed.

"As much as I hate to tell you this, I think she might be right. You haven't been the same."

"Auggie-"

"Listen, Annie. I don't forget what happened after Henry Wilcox. It was like you were a different person. You were skittish and your emotions were all over the place. I don't want that to happen again."

I sighed, knowing both him and Joan were right.

"How about tomorrow night you can come to my place and we can order a pizza and complain about the woes of our jobs." Auggie gave me a warm smile.

"Sure. Just text me when I can come over." I took a deep breath. "Maybe you guys are right. We'll see what the doctor says tomorrow." I put my hand on his arm and he gave me one last smile before walking back to his office.

I walked into my apartment and sighed. I decided to hit the heavy bag and changed into workout clothes to let out my frustrations. I put on the gloves and walked to the bag. The first punch was unsatisfactory, only causing the bag to move a couple centimeters. I then went at it until the bag was swinging significantly back and forth. I put my hand on the bag, stopping it as I breathed heavily. I took off the gloves and put them on my dresser before grabbing a towel and walking to my bathroom to shower. It was a short night. I almost immediately went to sleep.

The next day, I woke up at 9. It actually felt pretty good to sleep in that much. I woke up feeling relaxed and ready. At 10, a knock on my door announced that Joan had arrived. I opened the door and there the blonde stood.

"Ready?"

"Yeah, let me grab my shoes." I motioned her to come in before I went to my closet to grab a pair of sneakers.

"Are those exercise leggings? You will be running." Joan called.

"Yeah. I know the deal."

I put my shoes on and joined back with Joan.

"Ok, let's go." She led the way out and I locked my door after I made sure I had everything. We got in her car and she drove to the doctor's office, which was in Walter Reed. She led the way in and immediately to the 3rd floor. We walked a little down the hallway before we walked into an office of a Dr. Samuel Jones.

"He's an operative who only comes to Langley for special cases, as he likes working here. He's the best around." Joan said before entering. A man who seemed to be in his late 40s sat behind a desk, but looked up as we entered.

"Joan!" He stood and immediately wrapped Joan up in a hug.

"Sam! It's been too long."

"Or not long enough, with the lack of proper medical cases that's come through." He joked. Joan turned to me.

"This is Annie Walker, lead operative of the DPD."

I wouldn't lie, hearing Joan say that was pretty satisfying. I shook his hand and smiled.

"So I hear something about a heart? Kinda rare in the agency, don't you think?" He joked, motioning them to follow him to connected room. I smiled and Joan just shook her head. "Speaking of hearts, how's Auggie holding up? He's got the biggest heart I've ever seen, physically and metaphorically."

"He's fine. Just went through a rough patch recently, but he's holding up in true Auggie nature." Joan smiled.

"Good. Tell him to call me so that we could grab a beer soon. It's been way too long."

"Will do."

We then started the appointment. It was almost identical to what I did with Eyal, except that I could tell him almost everything I've been doing.

"Ok, so from what I see, you do in fact have Myocarditis. However, it's actually almost gone. I don't think you need surgery, just maybe a month of rest and some antibiotics and it'll go away."

I looked up at him in shock.

"Really? That's it?"

"It came up after you went to Hong Kong, correct?"

"Yes."

"That place it teeming with bacteria. I believe that your case was because of said bacteria. I will prescribe you with strong acting antibiotics and it should kick the bacteria out within a couple of weeks. However, you need to relax and not go jumping into anything."

"Oh."

"Well that's better news than what we expected." Joan said, smiling at me. "Thank you so much, Sam. I'll let Auggie know that you want to get together."

We all stood up and shook hands and left.

"Now you don't need the surgery and it will be painless. Glad I made you come?" Joan looked at me almost smugly. I rolled my eyes, but nodded.

"Yeah, I guess the doctor that Eyal got me couldn't have identified the cause like Sam could."

"Exactly. Now I'm taking you home and you will not come to work. Rest, Annie." Joan said as we got to her car. I nodded.

"Fine."

It was almost 6 when I got the text from Auggie that I could go over. I drove quickly and after a few quick knocks on his door, he opened it and let me in.

"Pizza is on the way, beer is in the fridge, and my ears are open for you to complain to." Auggie said as he let me in. I laughed and followed him to his counter.

"Actually, I'm pretty happy. Well sort of."

"Do explain." He said as he opened his fridge and grabbed two beers.

"I don't need surgery." I said as he gave me a beer.

"Well that's good news already. Let's sit on the couch." He led the way as we went and sat on the couch. "And?"

"It's caused by the bacteria from Hong Kong most likely. So I have a month off and antibiotics and it should heal." I shrugged, opening my beer and taking a sip.

"Annie! That's awesome news! I mean, besides having to take a month off, of course. What are you going to do for a month?" He took a sip of his own beer and I sighed.

"Haven't thought about it."

"You might be able to convince Joan to get a temporary desk job in linguistics." Auggie suggested.

"Do you really think that I would stay at a desk for a month without trying to get into the field? You know me better than that." I chuckled.

"Hey, it was just a suggestion. Not a requirement." Auggie laughed. We stayed quiet for a bit as I looked around the familiar apartment. "What are you thinking?"

"It's been awhile since I've been here. I missed it." I scooted closer to Auggie and laid my head on his shoulder. "I'm glad we're back to where we were." He put and arm around me and rubbed my shoulder.

"Me too."

We stayed in that position for the next couple minutes and drank our beers. It was my first full moment of serenity since forever it seemed like. Until there was a knock on the door.

"It's probably the pizza." Auggie said as he got up and walked to the door. He was right, it was the pizza. I watched as he took out his wallet, paid the driver, and grabbed the pizza. Shutting the door, he turned around and walked to the kitchen counter. I quickly stood up and walked there to grab a slice.

"Nothing beats a nice, warm slice of pizza with a beer." I said, smiling as Auggie handed me a plate.

"Agreed."

We both grabbed a slice and headed back to the couch. I looked at Auggie and smiled to myself. It was nice to finally hang out with Auggie again.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Auggie said after we sat eating in silence for a few seconds.

"I'm just really glad that we're hanging out again. It's been way too long."

Auggie just smiled and continued eating. Once I was done, I set my plate on the coffee table and brought my knees up to my chest.

"Want to watch a movie?" Auggie suggested.

"Do you have any good ones?"

"There's a bin under the TV that should have a couple."

I got up and went to the TV, pulling out the bin. There was much more than he let on. It was more like 50 movies.

"A couple? Really Auggie? This is like, a lot more than a couple!" I said, sifting through them, looking for one that spoke to me.

Auggie just laughed as he took our plates to the sink.

"Guess I haven't counted in a while."

I picked up 3 movies.

"_Lord of the Rings: Return of the King_, _The Breakfast Club, _or _Titanic_?" I asked, looking at all of them.

"I'm in the mood for some action, how about you?" He said as he came back. I smiled.

"I hoped you were going to say that." I put _Lord of the Rings _in the DVD player and put the other two movies away. I hopped onto the couch and curled myself into the corner by the armrest. Auggie pressed play on the remote.

He sat a little bit away, but it was enough that I frowned, hoping he would shift near me. Instead, I stayed in my corner of the couch, watching as the opening scenes started to unfold.

"Annie? Are you cold? I can feel you shivering from here."

I looked over at Auggie and bit my lip.

"Maybe a little."

"Come here." He opened his arms and I scooted closer to him, embracing his bodyheat as I snuggled into his side. He wrapped an arm around me and I smiled. "Now that I have successfully gotten you here, I want you to give me play by play. I haven't seen this movie in a long time." He whispered to me.

"Good thing it's one of my favorites." I whispered back. He gave me one of his famous Auggie smiles and I turned back to the screen. "The creepy guy Gollem is squeezing a worm. I don't know about you, but I hate Gollem. My sister and I used to skip through straight to the battle scenes."

"Sounds like you." He whispered back to me.

"And now he's fishing. Still creeping me out."

I gave Auggie the best details I could without interrupting the dialogue. By the time we finished the movie, it was almost midnight. I was much more curled into Auggie's side than I was earlier. As the credits rolled on the screen, I felt Auggie's thumb rub in circles on my arm.

"Did I pass your play by play test?" I asked, looking up at him.

"It was like I could actually see it." Auggie smiled.

"I should probably get going. It's almost midnight." I started to pull away, when Auggie practically pushed me back down.

"No, stay. I wanted you to stay till midnight."

"What? Why?"

"Well, wait until then. You'll see." He gave me a suspicious smile.

"Well you have 20 minutes."

"Perfect." He took a deep breath and continued his thumb rubbing on my arm. I just looked up at him. I had forgotten how mesmerizing he was up close.

"Staring at me, Walker?" He smirked. I glared at him.

"You're oddly mesmerizing, you know?"

"You've told me before."

"I forgot about that." I said as the memories from my first few weeks in the Agency came rushing back to me. Much simpler times.

"I haven't." Auggie's voice lowered.

"Back when there was no bombs in off-book sites, no extensive missions, Jai was there." I scrunched my eyebrows. I felt Auggie take a deep breath.

"This job gets more complicated the longer you stay in. You get pulled more and more into the circle of trust and at this point, I think you and I are in the middle of that circle. It's hard not to be when Joan, Arthur, and Calder all come to us specifically when they need a very important task done."

"I think I've learned that. It's not easy and it doesn't get easier."

We stayed quiet for a bit.

"Have you tried contacting Danielle?"

"She thinks I'm dead, Auggie. What am I supposed to do? Show up at her doorstep and say, 'Hi, I'm not dead. I miss you.'? It's not that easy."

"I never said it was going to be easy. I just asked if you had tried."

"It's like I'm reading her in all over again, except 10 times over." I leaned my head against his chest and sighed. After a minute of silence, Auggie checked his watch and smiled.

"It is officially 12:01 and I want to be the first to say, Happy Birthday, Annie."

My eyes widened. I had forgotten it was going to be my birthday.

"Oh. Thanks."

"I hear surprise in your voice. Either you are surprised I remembered or you forgot about it."

"I forgot."

"Well, happy birthday."

"You already said it."

"But now you're ready for it." He smiled at me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."


	2. Chapter 2

CH2

"So you can either come to work, but stay at a desk in Linguistics, or go rest at home." Joan said as I stood in front of her desk on Monday. "Preferably, I would like you here so that I can keep an eye on you, but it's ultimately up to you."

"What would I be doing in Linguistics?"

"Translating anything that needs translation. Particularly the Russian files, because we don't have as many people who speak Russian here. But you would stay here and not be sent on any field operations. And if I find that you go out, you will be suspended from even entering the building immediately."

I bit my lip. She knew me well.

"Can I think about it for the rest of the day?"

"Give me your answer before you leave." She said, dismissing me. I left and went straight into Auggie's office.

"Still deciding on Linguistics or home?" Auggie said, taking his headphones off and putting them around his neck.

"Yep." I leaned against his desk. "It would be hard to be in here when there's an op going on and I can't do anything."

"Now you know how I feel." Auggie gave me a small smile, but I could see the pain on his face.

"What would I even do at home? I don't have anything to do, I don't have any friends that know I'm alive, and my sister, the one person who I should really talk to, is in California."

"Well, you could always go to California."

"Auggie, I think when Joan says that I should stay home, I think she means that I should _stay _home."

Auggie shook his head.

"Then go to Linguistics. You'll be here and have something to do."

"Ugh, I just want to be in the field."

"Well, we can't always get what we want." Auggie put his headphones back on.

"Auggie… I didn't mean…"

"Hey, it's fine. I have work to do. Talk to you later?"

"Yeah." I frowned, but left.

The entire day, I sat at my desk, pondering my options. Every so often I would glance at Tech Ops and see Auggie deep in thought, sometimes pacing. It was obvious there was an op running today. I frowned. I should have been the one out there. At 5, I walked into Joan's office, my decision made.

"Joan?"

"Annie! Have you made your decision?" She put her pen down and looked up.

"I have. I want to be in Linguistics."

"Promise me you won't even think about trying to go out into the field?" Joan said cautiously.

"I promise."

"Then I will see you next Monday. I'm giving you the rest of the week off to start the recovery process. The Castrid case will be given to Jillian and you will not come into work." She raised an eyebrow. "Understood?"

I nodded.

"Then go home, get some rest. Oh, and stop by the medical office on your way out, they have your prescription."

I nodded again and then exited her office. When I looked into Auggie's office, he was already gone.

I sighed and made my way to the medical office. Once I grabbed my prescription, I walked outside and to my car. I drove almost absentmindedly and somehow, I ended up at the cemetery that contained my headstone from when I went dark and became Jessica Matthews. I looked at the cemetery and bit my lip. It would be a year since I "died" in just under a month. I got out of my car and slowly made my way to my own grave. I stopped in my tracks when I saw a figure sitting in front of my gravestone.

I quickly hid behind a tree, out of sight, and pulled out my phone, hitting 3 on my speed dial.

"Hello?" Auggie answered and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Auggie. I want to start by saying I'm sorry about this morning, I was being selfish." I whispered quickly.

"Annie, it's fine. I promise."

"No, it's not, but that's not what I'm calling about."

"Why are you whispering?"

"I'm currently at the cemetery where I was, you know, fake buried."

"May I ask why?" Confusion and pain laced his words.

"I don't know, Auggie. I was just driving and I ended up here."

"You went dark almost a year ago." He said quietly.

"Yeah. I know." I paused, peeking around the tree.

"So why are you whispering?"

"Because my sister is sitting in front of my gravestone and I don't know what I should do." I looked at the blonde figure whose shoulders were shaking. "I can't go up to her now and say 'Oh hi, this is a fake gravesite, I'm not actually dead.' I can't do that to her, Auggie."

"Well this is a problem."

"Yeah." I held my breath. "I don't think I should approach her. It's too… complicated. I mean what would I _say_? I can't exactly tell her why I did it."

"Then I don't think it's the right time for you to talk to her. Leave now and wait until you're ready."

"Auggie?" I bit my lip as I started back to my car.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come to your place? I don't want to be alone right now." I unlocked my car and sat in the driver's seat.

"Sure. I'll have a beer ready."

"I'm thinking something a little stronger. Patrón?" I took a deep breath as I started the ignition, closing my eyes for a second, hoping a bomb doesn't go off. I sighed in relief when nothing happened.

"I think I've got a bottle laying around here somewhere."

I smiled.

"I'll be there soon, I need to change into something more comfortable."

"I'll be waiting." And with that he hung up. I quickly left the cemetery, leaving my sister behind. My heart ached, knowing I couldn't go and comfort her the way I wanted to, but I knew it was a little more complex than that.

After going to my apartment and putting on leggings and an old shirt, I drove quickly to Auggie's place. The door opened as soon as my first knock was placed.

"Waiting for me, Auggie?" I smiled at him as he let me in. He just smiled and shook his head.

"Why do you think your sister is here in DC?" He led me to the kitchen where a bottle of Patrón was sitting on the counter.

"As you said, it's been almost a year and my birthday was on Saturday. She probably couldn't get down there until today." I said, watching him as he poured two shots of the alcohol. He handed me one and we both downed them quickly.

"She's still grieving." He said as he put his shot glass in the sink. I poured myself another shot.

"And I can't do anything about it." I said sadly before I downed my second shot. I refilled my glass quickly. The alcohol was helping with the ache that stayed in my heart.

"Woah, slow down with the Patrón. You'll have a nasty hangover tomorrow."

"Well, Joan's making me stay away from work for the rest of the week, so I don't really care." I downed my third shot. He grabbed the bottle before I could refill it. "Auggie!"

"I don't want you doing stupid things while drunk."

I sighed and put my glass in the sink.

"Fine."

"Come on, let's go to the couch."

He led us to the couch where I flopped onto what I had decided to call "Annie's Corner".

"Joan's giving Jillian the Castrid case." I said, sighing, as Auggie sat next to me.

"Jillian is more than capable of handling this. If it were someone else, like Connor, or that new girl that keeps stealing your desk-"

"Marissa." I gave a small smile.

"Yeah, or Marissa? That would be a stressful situation. They can barely get a brush pass right, let alone work on a case involving a Brazilian Diplomat."

"I guess so."

"I'm just going to take a guess and say you chose Linguistics?"

"You know me well."

"I'm not going to help you get into the field, Annie. I'm going to make sure you heal." Auggie said seriously.

"I expect nothing less. I'm actually going to try and stay on the sidelines this time." I sighed.

"How long until you're cleared?"

"Probably about 4 weeks. So, basically a month."

"Think you can survive that long?"

"I'm hoping."

Auggie laughed.

"Somehow, I have my doubts."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I pouted.

"Are you pouting? I can hear you pouting. You're pouting." Auggie laughed even more and I punched his shoulder lightly.

"Auggie!" I whined. He reached over to me and pulled me closer to him. My face heated up. I couldn't tell whether it was because the alcohol was kicking in a lot more than I expected, or because I was starting to realize how much I missed having Auggie involved in my life more than just a coworker. Hell, I would say we were still a little more than 'just friends'.

"Annie!" He whined back. I curled into his side and closed my eyes, yawning. I was exhausted. "Are you tired?"

"Mhmm." I nodded my head.

"Then you can sleep here. You shouldn't drive home anytime soon anyways." Auggie ran his fingers through my hair.

"Mhmm." I nodded, drifting off to sleep.

"Come on, let's get you into my bed, you can sleep there." Auggie picked me up and I snuggled into his chest as he carried me up to his bed. He gently laid me down and I snuggled into the covers. I was almost asleep but I felt Auggie's hand softly brush my cheek and kiss the top of my head before muttering something I couldn't make out.

"Auggie." I said, sleepily. I opened my droopy eyes, seeing him about to go back downstairs with a spare blanket and pillow. "Stay with me?"

He paused, but turned back around and put the pillow and blanket away. My eyes drooped shut again as he got into the bed. I felt arms enclose me and a smile fell upon my face as I finally fell asleep.

When I woke up, Auggie was gone. I checked the time, well past 10:30, and knew that he had probably left for work a while ago. I opened a text that Auggie had sent me hours ago and confirmed my suspicions.

_I had to leave for work. Help yourself to breakfast. Just lock the door on your way out._

I smiled and decided to stay in his bed for a bit longer. I mean, I could. I didn't have to go to work and I had no other commitments. The sheets smelled like him. It was like I felt surrounded by safety. Auggie had always been my safety. I relied on him a lot more than I realized and I think last night proved that.

I don't know how long I stayed in his bed, but I wasn't ready to go home. Soon enough the grumbling in my stomach told me I should eat something. I regretfully got out of bed and walked into the kitchen. I opened the fridge and pulled out some eggs. I wasn't the best cook, but I could make scrambled eggs.

As I sat at Auggie's counter, eating scrambled eggs, I couldn't help but think back to when Auggie and I were together. I bit my lip as a smile crept onto my face. They were the happier times of my hectic life.

But I knew that was the past. Auggie was over me, he said so when I had gotten back from my small hiatus after Henry Wilcox. But then again, I had told him that it was better if we went back to handler and operative, yet I've already thrown that out of the window. So maybe, just maybe, something might happen.

Was I wishing for something to happen?

Was I hoping that once I healed, we would all go back to something similar to before Henry and Teo, before Chicago and Belenko, before all of that?

The time that Auggie and I shared a bed, woke up smiling, happier than I had ever been in my life?

Danielle was always better at reading my own emotions than I was. She would tell me what to do and it would always work out.

But I couldn't do that at the moment and I realized how much I truly missed her. Even through the ups and the downs she was always my rock in my unpredictable life. And now she was unavailable to me. I should have approached her yesterday.

No. No, that would have been a terrible idea.

I shook my head and washed my plate clean before putting it back to where I got it. I knew how much Auggie liked things in order.

I checked the time, it was nearly 3. I guess I stayed in Auggie's bed way longer than I expected. I sighed, and decided it was probably a good idea to go back to my own apartment. I made sure I had all my things before leaving Auggie's apartment and locking the door behind me.

Once I got home, I went straight for the shower, feeling kind of gross after not doing anything today.

It was more relaxing than I thought, sitting on the couch, reading a book with a glass of red wine on the coffee table in front of me. It had been before I joined the Agency since I had been able to do this. By the time I was getting ready to think about what I want for dinner, I got a text from Auggie.

_I have extra pizza that I can't eat all by myself. _

I shook my head, but my smile was one that wouldn't come off.

_5 minutes._

I quickly got up and grabbed my keys, almost skipping to my car. It took exactly 5 minutes to get to his place. I hope there wasn't any speed cameras.

A minute later, I was knocking on his door. He slid it open.

"5 minutes and 24 seconds. I hope you didn't speed too much, Walker."

I walked in smiling.

"You know me so well."

He just laughed and shut his front door.

"Eager to see me?" He said as he turned towards me.

"Bored out of my mind." I grinned at him as he smiled.

"Well this pizza isn't going to eat itself." He led the way into the kitchen area and opened the fridge. He pulled out the box with half a pizza left and put it on the countertop. "Microwave or oven?"

"I'm impatient. Let's do microwave." I leaned against the counter. He pulled out two plates and put a slice on each plate.

"So, what did the great Annie Walker do today?" He said as he put a plate in the microwave and set it for a minute.

"This might actually shock you, but nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"How long did you lay in my bed?" He gave me a knowing look and I scoffed.

"A while."

"How long is a while?"

"You _know _your bed is more comfy than mine! And that includes my new one in my apartment now!"

The microwave beeped and Auggie carefully took out the plate, knowing it was going to be hot.

"Well, maybe you should invest in a better bed." He pushed the plate towards me.

"Or I could just steal yours." I smirked, grabbing the plate and watching as he put his in the microwave.

"If you steal my bed, I will never talk to you again." Auggie said, turning around. I took a bite of the pizza. It burned the top of my mouth.

"Oh god. Aughuhgu." I fanned my mouth.

"Annie?"

"Ith hot. I neeth wather." I got up quickly and opened the fridge, where thankfully his stash of plastic water bottles was still in the bottom drawer. I pulled one out and chugged half of it.

"Did you burn your mouth?" Auggie looked at me, amused.

"Maybe." I took another sip. I grabbed another one as Auggie pulled out his plate from the microwave. I put it against the back of his hand.

"Careful, it's hot."

"Trust me, after hearing your strange noises, I think I won't make that mistake." But he grabbed the water bottle anyways. I let my pizza cool for a little bit more, not wanting to make the same mistake again. "So what did you do after you decided to get out of my bed at… What time exactly?"

I bit my lip and put on a sheepish grin.

"I got out of your bed around noon-ish, I think."

"You think?"

"I left at 3. So it was probably more like 2-ish."

"Geeze, Annie. Tired, much?"

"I've been stressed." I mumbled.

"And it's my job to de-stress you. Joan's orders." Auggie looked at me and gave me a small smile.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" I said, turning my full body towards him.

"I have some things in mind." Auggie mumbled. "And none of them involve anything that will stress your heart too much." He said pointedly as he put his plate in the sink. I followed suit.

Didn't he realize that just being here, talking to him, eating with him, cuddling on the couch with him all hurt her heart in that nonphysical kind of way.

"Like what? Chess?"

"That's tomorrow's activity, Walker."

"Auggie! Seriously?" I complained as we both sat on the couch.

"No. But it was fun to hear you all riled up." He gave me the Auggie-est smirk ever.

"Then what are we doing?"

"Well tomorrow you and I are going to see some of the sights." He said pulling his laptop out of his bag.

"Um..." I said hesitantly, not really understanding what he was saying.

"When was the last time you went on a museum tour around DC?" He gave me a smile and put his headphones on.

"Well, it has been a while." I said, watching him smirk and start to type.

"And I can't think of anything better than going to only the best museum here."

"I swear if you say the Smithsonian, I will hit you." I warned. He laughed.

"God no, that place is so boring. I'm talking about the Spy Museum."

I rolled my eyes.

"Are you serious?"

"Oh yes. Completely." He turned his head slightly towards me and was completely serious. "We have to see if you're up to spy standards set by the museum. It's how we check our operatives."

I paused for a second, watching his face.

"I can't tell if you're serious or not."

He slowly put on a smile that told me he was kidding.

"Auggie! You suck!"

"We are actually going to the Spy Museum though. It'll be fun. And not to mention how funny it will be to see the differences from the museum and real life, right?"

"I guess." A smile slowly grew on my face. "What time will we leave tomorrow, then?"

"I figured we should get there right as it opens at...10. So we should leave here at 9? Get some breakfast and head on over?"

"Sounds good to me." I pulled my legs up on the couch and crossed them. Auggie took off his headphones and put his laptop on the coffee table.

It was quiet as we both sat deep in our own thoughts.

"The last time I went to the spy museum was with my sister." I said quietly.

"Come here." Auggie opened his arms for me to get closer to him. I scooted over and he wrapped me in a hug. His long and strong arms put me at ease. "One day, you and your sister will be together and talking again like nothing ever happened. You just have to be patient. That day will come eventually. It might be a while, but that's ok. You need to get healthy first."

"Yeah, I know."

"We'll get there." He kissed the top of my head and I closed my eyes, a smile coming on my face. I stayed in his embrace for a good 5 minutes before he let go and got up. I watched as he walked over to his record machine and put on the familiar tones of Charles Mingus. He came back and I went back to the same position we were in earlier. He started to rub patterns on my arm and it was like all the stress in my body just went away. I closed my eyes, completely relaxed.

"Relaxed?" He asked me. I hummed in response. "Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"No, let's just sit here for a bit longer." I said, opening my eyes, looking at him. He smiled.

"Perfectly fine with me."

And so we sat there with the soft hums of jazz playing in the background. Auggie's fingers tracing patterns on my shoulder as I slowly closed my eyes.

"Annie?"

I slowly opened my eyes. The sun was completely down. I had fallen asleep.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Auggie. You could have woken me up." I quickly took myself off of him.

"No, I was going to ask if you just wanted to sleep here again tonight? We can stop by your apartment in the morning. It's closer to the mall anyways." Auggie said, shaking his head.

"Oh. Yeah, I'd like that."

"I hoped you would say that. Come on, let's go to bed. I think your old toothbrush is still here." He stood up and led the way to his bedroom. "As well as some old clothes."

"I'm comfortable enough as I am right now."

"If you say so."

As it turned out my toothbrush was in fact still in his bathroom cabinet. It was like, no matter how many girls he was with after I left, he always had a piece of me here. Maybe he kept it because he never truly got over me.

Maybe I still have a chance with him.

As I was laying there with one of Auggie's strong arms holding me tight, I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, Auggie?"

"Yeah?"

"I... I just wanted to tell you how much I missed this after I went dark. There wasn't a moment that I wasn't thinking about you."

"I missed this too, Annie." He said softly.

I flipped over so I was looking at him. I lightly I lightly caressed his face and without thinking about anything else, I kissed him. To my pleasure he kissed back and before we could really get into it, he pulled away.

"I'm glad you finally caught on." He said.

"Caught on to what?"

"Annie, I want to wake up to you in my arms every day. I keep you here late so that I can. I never got over you, Annie, no matter what I said."

I kissed him again.

"Glad I read the signs right." I whispered against his lips, smiling.

"Glad I put the signs out there right." He whispered back, smiling as well. "Now let's get this time right. Let's take this slow. Although, I would love it if you just want to move in with me right now."

"Auggie…" I pulled away, frowning slightly.

"I know, I know. That's not slow. I'm just saying that whenever you are ready, you can come live with me. Take your time, Annie. It's been a rough year. I don't want to push you too hard."

I put my head in the crook of his neck.

"Let's just enjoy now and not worry about the future for once." I said, closing my eyes. I felt him kiss the top of my head.

"I completely agree. Now sleep tight. Tomorrow is going to be fun."

I nodded and smiled, falling asleep pretty quickly in the comfort of Auggie's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

CH3

"I can't believe that we are actually going here."

"I thought it would be pleasantly ironic."

I snorted. Definitely ironic. We walked through the front doors of the Spy Museum, heading over to the ticket booth. After we got our tickets, we were ushered into an elevator looking room that was covered in names and pictures.

"What are these?" I said quietly as I read the closest one. A voice soon came on around us.

"_Choose a cover."_

"I guess they're covers. Pick me a good one." Auggie smirked from next to me.

"You can have...Fred Martin. A doctor from South Dakota." I said finding one that suited him. He laughed.

"I've always wanted to be a doctor. Now you pick one."

"I'll be Sally Reese. A journalist from Baltimore."

"That's not fair, you've been a journalist before." He pouted..

"Come on, doctor. We have some people to spy on." I smiled and tugged him along. We went through the museum and thank goodness it wasn't all that crowded.

Once we left the building, I looked up at Auggie.

"That was fun."

He wrapped his arm around me as we continued to walk at a leisurely pace.

"Isn't it fun to see the differences between old spies and new spies?"

"I think it would have been more fun as a classic spy."

Auggie just shook his head.

"You wouldn't have any of my fun toys though!"

"Cheer up buttercup, we aren't in the 60s." I grinned at him. He laughed. "How about some lunch?"

"I could go for a good Potbelly sandwich right about now."

"Sounds good. There's one a block away."

We took our time walking to Potbelly, eating, and walking back to my car. It was weird not rushing around everywhere or worrying about work. It was kinda nice actually. I was just Annie Walker today. And Auggie was just Auggie. Although, he probably did have work running through the back of his mind. That man can never fully escape his job, no matter how hard he tries. We were almost at my car when Auggie got a call. He answered it hesitantly.

"Hello?...Danielle?"

My eyes shot to him. His were wide and his mouth was slightly agape.

"Yeah, I still live here...Um, are you sure?...I guess I can...Yeah, I know the place...Ok...Bye…"

He hung up and we stood there for a couple seconds. He was still in shock.

"Auggie?"

"Your sister wants to have dinner while she's visiting town. She wants to just talk. Annie…"

He wrapped his arms around me. I didn't know what to say.

"I should come with you." I looked up at him.

"No. Annie that's a bad idea. She's still grieving." He pulled away slightly.

"She will be even more mad if I go to her later! It's best if I go now. Plus I don't want you to lie to her."

"Annie…"

"Auggie. I'm serious. She needs to hear it from me and I don't want you to lie to her because I'm a coward."

"You are not a coward. You are doing the right thing. Not telling her may kill you inside, but-"

"She's going to have to find out eventually!" I stepped away from him. "Auggie, I think I need to do it now."

"Annie…" He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You're not going to stop now, are you?"

"I think you know me well enough to know that answer."

He sighed again.

"Then I'll help you. How about I call her back and ask if I can get a ride. Then when she comes up, you can answer the door or something."

I wrapped my arms around his torso.

"Thank you, Auggie."

He kissed the top of my head. We started to walk back to my car in silence. Once we got to the car, he took out his phone and redialed the number that Danielle had called from earlier.

"Hey, it's Auggie… I was just wondering if I could get a ride? My car is in the shop." He joked lightly. I shook my head. Leave it to Auggie to joke in a situation like this. "Can I text you to this number?... Great, I'll text you my address. Thank you, Danielle." He hung up and I touched his shoulder in appreciation. He reached up and wrapped his hand around mine, before pulling it to his lips and kissing it softly.

"Thank you, Auggie. It means a lot to me."

"I know, and that's why I'm doing it."

We got in my car and I drove to his place. It had always been convenient that I could just park in his parking space, since he obviously didn't need it. Once we entered his apartment, I sat heavily on the couch, sighing. He put his things down and joined me soon after. I curled into his side and he rubbed patterns into my arm.

"It might get a little loud later." I said, looking up at him. He gave me a small grin, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

"I would be surprised if it wasn't, to be honest."

"She's going to hate me, but I need to do this now before I lose confidence."

"She's coming here at 5." He said, after a moment. I checked my phone. It was about 3 o'clock.

"So I have 2 hours to brace myself." I took a deep breath. He paused his hand on my arm.

"She forgave you before, she will do it again. She'll just be glad to have her sister back."

"I hope so." I sighed. He continued the patterns on my arm. "If not, we still have some tequila, right?"

He chuckled.

"Yes. If you haven't already drank it all."

"You took it from me, remember?" I punched his chest lightly. He grinned.

"I did, didn't I?"

I rolled my eyes. He just kissed the top of my head. I turned my head up and kissed him on the lips. He immediately kissed me back and I found myself moving to his lap to kiss him better. It felt so good to be able to finally kiss him again.

"I missed you so much Auggie." I said pulling away for a second, my forehead resting on his. His hands were on my face and his lips finally found their way back to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and now fully straddled his waist.

"We could take this to the bed." He said quickly before kissing me again. I pulled away. He looked disappointed.

"Auggie, we can't just go, have sex, and then have my sister, _who still thinks I'm dead,_ show up only an hour later to the shock of the century." I frowned. He trailed his fingers up and down my back underneath my shirt.

"Why not?" He smiled slightly as I shivered from his light touch. It was intoxicating.

"Auggie… Slow, remember?"

He paused and pouted.

"Damn, Annie. We're really going through with that? You were never one to take things slow. Not to mention the fact that we have a history." He said as I got off his lap.

"Well, maybe I've changed a bit." I muttered, curling into his side like I was earlier.

"And maybe you have. That's ok. We all change at some point." He pulled me closer into his side. "I'm willing to go slow with you, as much as I hate to."

"Thank you."

After a long 2 hours, the stress finally got to me as my sister was supposed to arrive any second. I started to pace.

"She's going to kill me." I said after 30 seconds. "She's going to strangle my neck and actually kill me for real."

"Well, you won't need to be buried again." He joked. I glared at him.

"This isn't funny."

He sighed. "Annie, calm down. You are overreacting. She won't kill you. Yell at you? Most likely. Walk out? Probably. But kill you? She's going to learn that you're alive. I don't think killing you is the best idea."

"Right." I muttered. "I'm going to destress myself in the bathroom."

I walked to the bathroom and shut the door. As I splashed water on my face, I heard the dreaded knock on the door. I turned the faucet off, but stayed in the bathroom. I heard Auggie open his door.

"Auggie, it's so good to see you." I heard my sister's voice. It was almost like a symphony to hear it again, even if it was so sad.

"You too, so to speak." He said carefully. I could tell he was worried about what was about to happen.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Well, actually…"

I took that as my cue. I opened the door and slowly walked out. She was facing away from me.

"Actually...what?" She didn't hear me.

"Hi Danielle." I said softly. Guiltily. She whipped around. Her eyes went wide.

"Annie? But...You're supposed to be dead." She was angry. She turned back to Auggie. "Is this some cruel joke? To find a girl that looks exactly like my sister and prank me? Cause it's not funny."

"Danielle, it's really me. Your sister. Annie Walker?"

"You! You are supposed to be six feet underground! That's where everyone thinks you are! My daughters think that Aunt Annie died from a car accident of all things and here you are standing in your boyfriend's...ex-boyfriend's...whatever you two are now… in his apartment saying that you're alive and you expect me to believe you? The nerve!"

"Danielle! At least let me try to explain!" I tried to walk closer to her, but she held up a hand. She was fuming.

"What is there to explain? You're still working for the CIA aren't you? Did they put you up to this? Because that's one crappy employer."

"No! Danielle, this is all on me. I had to do it because there was a major threat to American security and it was the only way I could stop it."

"By lying to your family?" Tears started streaming down her face.

"I didn't want to. It was the only way. Danielle…"

"Save it!" She stormed out of the apartment.

Auggie and I stayed quiet for a bit.

"Well, there wasn't as much yelling as I thought." I said bitterly. He came around the kitchen island and quickly enveloped me into a hug. The tears that I had been holding back finally came out.

"Let it out." He said softly as my tears soaked up his tee-shirt.

"I'm getting your shirt wet." I said between sobs, pulling away slightly. He put my head back into his chest and rubbed my back.

"It's fine. I can get a clean one soon. Come on, let's go to the couch." He ushered me to the couch where he sat down and let me curl up in his lap. His chin was on my head and and his hands rubbed my back until I stopped crying. "Feeling better?"

I nodded, knowing he could feel it without me saying something.

"You still want that tequila?" He asked, pausing his motions on my back.

"No. I'm wiped. I just want to sleep." I said quietly.

"Come on, you can sleep in my bed again tonight." He got up and held out a hand for me to grab. I grabbed it and he helped pull me up. I fell into his side for support as we walked to his bed. When we were both finally curled under the covers, I faced him and snuggled into his now bare chest..

"Auggie?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for being here with me."

He kissed the top of my head and nuzzled his face in my hair.

"I'll always be here for you."

I felt a "but" to that sentence.

"Except tomorrow because you have to go to work." I frowned. He sighed.

"I'll be home before you know it."

"What will I do all day?" I groaned, letting my head rest against his chest. I felt his deep chuckle as he rubbed my back.

"Well, you can sleep in, enjoy a good book, watch a good movie, practice your languages."

"Sounds like a boring day. On days like that, I would go for a nice hike or long run."

"And I am prohibiting you from doing that."

"I figured." I muttered, yawning.

"Hey, get some sleep. You need it."

I hummed in response as my breathing slowed and I slowly fell asleep. It was almost deja vu when I woke up and Auggie was gone. His side was cold and when I checked the time, it was almost noon. I got up in shock. I had never in my life slept until noon. I had always been an early riser.

I checked my phone and saw that I had 2 messages from Auggie.

_"Hope you got a good night's sleep. I'm cooking dinner for you tonight. Don't argue with me because I want to do something good for you. See you soon enough."_

_"Oh and by the way, your sister texted me and told me that she wants you to call her. I transmitted her number onto your phone. Good luck."_

I bit my lip after the second message and checked my contacts. There were only a few and sure enough, there was one labeled as Danielle. I hovered my thumb over the call button before deciding it was now or never. I pressed call and held the phone up to my ear. It rung a couple times before she answered.

"Hello?"

"Danielle. It's Annie."

"Oh. Took you long enough."

"I was asleep, sorry."

"I've had enough apologies already. I just want you to answer me one thing."

"Anything."

"Why did you do it? And don't give me a bullshit answer about duty to country. Why did you really do it?"

"To protect the people I love."

"Bullshit."

"Danielle, I'm serious. Auggie was a direct target and in order to protect him, I had to make it seem like I died to the world."

"How much danger we're you put it, Annie?"

"Danielle, can you just come to Auggie's apartment so we can talk about this?"

"Do you're still there?"

"We...We're dating again."

"Again? I guess I missed a year of your life." She sighed. "Fine. I'll be there in 10 minutes. Be prepared with an explanation."

And with that she hung up. I put my phone down on the bedside table and flopped face first into a pillow. After a minute, I got up, knowing that I should change out of just wearing one of Auggie's shirts. I put on my jeans from the day before, but kept his shirt on. It wasn't obnoxiously large. He was a pretty thin guy. I was making myself coffee when there was a knock on the door. I slid it open and let Danielle in without saying anything.

"Go." She said. I bit my lip and gestured to the living room area. I grabbed my coffee as she sat on the couch and I sat in one of the chairs across from her.

"As I said, Auggie was the one who was in the most danger. He was completely against the idea of me faking my death."

"So, he _knew _that you weren't dead?"

"He wasn't pleased with the idea, but yes. I couldn't talk to him or make any contact with him at all. With anyone, really, for a very long time."

She looked at me carefully.

"It was so hard to stop talking to the people that I loved. But I wanted to protect him. And I did it to protect you. This...threat didn't really like me very much either. And I couldn't risk something happening to you. Or the girls, or Michael. There wasn't a second that I wasn't thinking about everyone that I was doing it for."

"Annie…" Danielle had tears streaming down her face. It wasn't long before we were both hugging and sobbing at the same time. "I'm just so glad you're alive. Annie I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Dani."

Once we pulled apart and wiped our tears, I headed to the kitchen and opened the freezer. I smiled when I saw a carton of ice cream and a note attached to it.

_"Save some for me too. -A"_

I set the tub of Moose Tracks on the counter and grabbed two spoons. I tucked the note in my back pocket and handed Danielle a spoon. We took no time to open the lid and dig in.

"So, you said that you were dating Auggie _again_? What happened?"

"Well, things got a little complicated and I broke it off a couple months ago. I dated someone else for a bit and it got pretty serious. He asked me to marry him. But I broke it off. Last week, actually."

"Why?" She asked, taking a big scoop and biting it. I shrugged.

"I didn't love him like I loved someone else."

"Auggie?"

I felt my face blush as a smile grew on my face and I nodded.

"Well I'm glad that you're happy again." She gave me a small smile.

"Yeah me too."

We were quiet for a bit as we ate our ice cream.

"Hey, Annie?"

"Hmm?"

"I forgive you."

I looked up at her, tears reforming in my eyes as she looked at me in complete trust. I set my spoon down and wrapped my arms around her.

"You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that."

We let go and Danielle checked the time.

"My flight leaves at 7, so do you want to go walk around for a bit? It's been a while since I've just walked around DC."

"Sure." I closed the tub of ice cream and put it back in the freezer.

"Oh, and Annie."

"Hm?" I turned back to her.

"Happy belated Birthday." She smiled at me. A more fuller smile. A more Danielle smile.

"Thank you." I smiled back and went to grab my shoes. I laced up my sneakers and grabbed a jacket and my phone before rejoining Danielle in the kitchen. "Alright, where are we going?"

"I was thinking about just walking around the Mall. We haven't done that since you first moved to DC."

"Sure. Let's go." I opened the door and let her out, making sure to lock the door on my way out.

"So do you live with him?"

"Not yet."

"When do you plan on fully moving in with him?" She gave me the look that I knew meant that she knew it was coming soon.

"Eventually." I said, turning away, smiling. We decided to walk down to the Mall, since I wasn't that far away from it. "How's California?"

"Michael got a promotion not to long ago. The girls are doing well in school and my catering business has gotten off the ground." She said happily.

"Danielle! That's awesome!"

"Thanks." She stayed quiet for a bit. "What am I supposed to tell the girls?"

"You can tell them that I'm alive. That I was in the car crash, but there was another person and they were mistaken for me. I was in a coma for a couple months before going to a rehab facility in New York to recuperate my strength." I said, giving her the cover story that I had discussed with Joan and Calder when I decided to return to the CIA.

"It's like you already have everything figured out." She shook her head.

"I kind of have to. It's a part of the job." I sighed.

"You sound like you don't like it anymore."

"I don't trust the agency as much as I used to." I said honestly. "The whole past year has been stressful on me. There were a lot of questions unanswered and a lot of questions to people that I had originally seen as authority." I said vaguely. I knew I couldn't delve into details, as much as I knew she wanted them.

"And if I ask questions, you won't be able to answer them." She said, frowning at me.

"I'm sorry Danielle. It kills me to keep secrets from you, it really does."

"No, I get it. It comes with the job, yadda, yadda. Come on, let's get some coffee." She turned into a coffee shop. It didn't take long for us to be seated at a table by the window with our coffees in our hands. As nice as it was to have Danielle sitting across from me, I really didn't know what to say.

"Have you talked to mom or dad recently?" I asked. She frowned and shook her head.

"Dad came down for the funeral. Mom is… well, she's not doing any better."

"Maybe it's best that I don't tell them about me being alive."

"Dad would kill you and put you right back in the ground. He may be old, but you know dad. Once an Army man, always an Army man."

"He would have liked Auggie." I sighed.

"He did like Auggie. They met at your funeral." Danielle's voice was strained.

"Oh, yeah."

"When they weren't talking about you, they were talking Army. Dad was impressed he was Special Forces. And Auggie was impressed Dad was a Colonel. I can't count how many times that Auggie called dad 'sir'. It was pretty comedic actually. I think by the end of it, Auggie just wanted to salute dad, really." Dani took a sip of her coffee.

"I know he misses it." I said, talking about Auggie. "He may never say it, but I know him and I know he misses it. It's just who he is. He was born to be in the military. And to have it taken, just like that."

"Oh my god. You love him more than I love Michael." Danielle leaned in. My cheeks went rosey.

"Wh-what?"

"It's so obvious when you talk about him. You adore him. Oh my god and he is so goddam in love with you. Just move in with him already."

"Dani! We're trying to take it slow!"

"When have you ever done anything slow? You know what? I'm going to help you move in today."

"Today!?"

"Yeah, why not? It's bound to happen within the next week or so, so I'll help you get started. Come on, let's walk back to Auggie's place and get my rental car. It's got a lot of room." She led the way back while I was still in shock. I mean, I wanted to live with Auggie. I guess a little push towards it now would be more beneficial than later. Once we got back and hopped in Danielle's rental van, I directed her to my apartment. Luckily I didn't have much to pack or unpack because I didn't have much when I came back. It didn't take long until all of my boxes full of stuff was in Auggie's place, mostly in piles in the bedroom and living room.

"Oh my god, Annie, I have to go! It's almost 5:30!" Danielle ran to me and wrapped me in the tightest hug I had ever had. "I love you so much, Annie."

"Danielle...Call me once you land and give my love to the girls." I said as we let go. She smiled at me, tears in her eyes and hugged me one last time before leaving.

Once she was gone, I stood and looked around at the boxes littering Auggie's apartment. He was going to kill me.

The door opened again and I turned to see Auggie enter the threshold.

"So I ran into Danielle on her way out." He said as he put his cane, phone, and messenger bag on the cardanza. I left that space empty for him. I walked over to him and planted my lips onto his. "I can get used to that." He said before pushing me in the direction of the couch.

"Auggie. I need to tell you something." I said, between kisses.

"What?"

"Come here." I pulled away and to the couch where I put his hand on the stack of boxes. His forehead scrunched in concern as he explored them but then realization hit and he turned his head towards me.

"You're moving in?"

"Danielle convinced me." I said sheepishly. "When have I ever done anything slow?"

He grabbed my waist and pulled me tightly into a hug.

"Welcome home, Walker."


	4. Chapter 4

CH 4

"Auggie, can you put this box on the bed?" I said, patting a box that was on the floor. Auggie carefully walked up. He reach down and picked it up with a grunt.

"Damn, Annie. What is in this?"

"My shoes." I said happily as I picked up my own box and followed him.

"Well that explains it." He said as he put it on the bed with a huff. I laughed and put my box next to his. I opened the box that he just set down and started to take out pair after pair of shoes. Auggie had walked back downstairs to grab another box. After that box was empty, I put it with all of the other empty boxes in the corner and picked up a pair of my LouBoutins, walking to the closet. We had pushed all of his clothes to one side and thankfully they all fit. Luckily, since I had much fewer clothing and shoes (unfortunately) then I had before, I could fit all of them in my side of the closet. There were about 15 pairs of heels that could fit on the shoe rack and that wasn't including my sneakers, flats, and more casual wedges that lined the floor underneath my clothes.

"I think I'm a shoe addict." I said as I walked back to the bedroom where Auggie was laying, leaning on one of his arms.

"You are just realizing that now?" He laughed. I jumped on the bed and curled myself in front of him. He draped an arm across my body and it sent shivers down my spine. I closed my eyes and smiled, embracing the feeling of his hands dancing on my arm.

"I think I've unpacked all the boxes." I said. He hummed in response, his fingers still working their magic on my skin. "You still have to go to work tomorrow, don't you?"

He sighed. "Yeah. But I'm getting a long weekend, so we can do something on Friday. We can survive one more day."

"And then I get to go to Linguistics on Monday."

"At least we can then go to lunch together." He said, burying his face in my hair and pulling me closer. "And then come back and have dinner."

"And by dinner, you mean takeout?" I couldn't help the smile that came onto my face as I felt his laugh vibrate in his chest.

"I'm sure between the two of us, we can make something edible."

"Whatever you say." I said, flipping sides so that I was facing him. I kissed him square on the lips and he moved his hands from my waist to cupping my face. I took control and made my way on top, so that I was straddling him.

"I love when you do that." He said between kisses.

"Do what?"

"Take control. But remember how I am protective of what's mine." He said as he flipped us and he was now on top. I smirked and putting both hands on his face, I reattached our lips.

To say it was a good night would be an understatement.

I woke up to the sound of Auggie's phone ringing. It was calling out 'Joan Cambell'. I watched as he grabbed his phone and with a tired voice answered it.

"Hello?...Now?...It might take longer, I need to call the service. What if Annie just drives me?...I already turned in the paperwork, Joan...Yeah, be there in 20 minutes." He hung up and sighed, rubbing his face.

"Work emergency?" I said, checking the time. It was 3am.

"Yeah and I'm gonna need you to drive me there."

"That's fine." I squeezed his shoulder as he got up and walked to the closet. I put on a pair of leggings before grabbing my own phone and walking to the kitchen. I grabbed my keys and waited until Auggie was coming back downstairs, buttoning his shirt. He grabbed his messenger bag, cane, and stuffed his phone in his pocket before turning towards me. I stood up and walked over to him.

"Ready?"

"No, but let's go." He frowned and grabbed my elbow. I guessed he wasn't fully awake yet. I locked the door behind us and we went to my car. It was a quiet drive to Langley.

"Is this about the Castrid case?" I asked tentatively. He looked towards me and sighed.

"Annie, you know I can't tell you that right now."

"It was worth a shot. Although it doesn't make sense since I'm read-in on the file." I said, checking my mirrors quickly.

"That's something you'll have to take up with Joan." He said, leaning his head back. We got to Langley, I flashed my ID, and they let me through the gate. Right before Auggie was about to get out of the car, his phone rang again.

"Hello?..Yeah she's with me...Are you sure?...Alright, whatever you say." He closed his door and told me to park.

"I'm going in?" I asked as we got out and started to make our way to the building.

"She wants you to help with something. Might be translations. Most of Linguistics is at home and you _are_ conveniently with me." He said.

"Portuguese?"

"I don't know yet. But probably." We walked down the mostly-empty hallways to the DPD. I opened the door and Joan exited her office as we were walking towards it.

"Auggie, Annie. Thanks for coming so early."

"It's a part of the job." Auggie sighed and walked into his office, sitting in his chair. "So what's going on?"

"Jillian has made contact with Castrid, and is going to a diplomatic fundraiser event tonight. It's rumored that Ahmed Tabireeq is going to be there, along with some others. So we need to keep our eyes and ears open for any suspicious behavior."

"When is the ball?" I asked.

"It starts in 12 hours." Joan said.

"And what do you want to do for 12 hours?" Auggie couldn't mask his confusion as to why they were there 12 hours early..

"Look up the party guests. I want a detailed report on every single person that is going to be there and who could be a potential threat by lunch." Joan said before leaving.

"How many people are going to this thing, then?" I asked as Auggie booted up his computer.

"If she asked us for this by lunch and it's almost 4am, I'm going to guess that it's a lot." He sighed.

"Do you want a coffee?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Please."

I squeezed his shoulder before exiting and going to get some coffee. I got two, one for me, one for him. I walked back and put it on his desk.

"10 o'clock." I said quietly, before taking a sip of my own. He quickly found it and turned to me.

"There is over 300 people going to this thing." He sighed. "Want to split it? Divide and conquer?"

"Yeah. I'll take the first half, you can take the second half." I said, nodding.

"I'll send you the list."

"Alright, sounds good." I squeezed his shoulder one last time before exiting and heading to my desk. I booted it up and by the time I logged in, I had an email from Auggie with the list. It was close to 200 people. I sighed and got to work.

I was about 25 people in when Joan walked up to my desk.

"Annie, I just want you to realize that the only reason why you are doing this is because you were with Auggie at the time and you are read-in on the file. Under no other circumstances will this happen again. Understood?"

"Yes." I nodded. Joan's hard gaze softened.

"I heard you reconnected with your sister?"

"Yeah, she wasn't very receptive at first, but she came over on Tuesday and we settled things. She said she forgives me."

"Well that's good. I know it's hard to lie to someone you are close to. Now, finish up the reports. I want them on my desk in 6 hours." She said, walking away. I sighed and jumped right back into the reports.

At 8:30, I was more than halfway done and I was starving. I looked up at Auggie, who looked miserable. As I walked closer, there was about 4 opened packets of powdered energy drinks scattered on his desk. I opened his door and his hands paused on the keyboard. He put his headphones down.

"Hey." I said quietly.

"Hey." He rubbed his face.

"Want to get some breakfast? We need a break."

"I still have a big chunk left."

"Me too. It will be 15 minutes, max." I said, walking up to his desk and picking up the wrappers.

"I would've gotten those."

"And you will just add to the pile if you don't get food. You get energy from food too, you know." I said as I threw all of the wrappers away.

"Fine. 15 minutes." He sighed and stood up.

"No cane?" I asked as he grabbed my elbow.

"I trust that you will not run me into a pole. I'm also really tired and the nerves in my fingers are frighteningly slow right now." He said tiredly as we walked towards the doors.

"Food will do you good, then." I said as we walked to the cafeteria. I walked us up to the sandwich shop and ordered 2 breakfast sandwiches. We sat down and I handed him his.

"Here. Eat."

"I could tell you the same thing." He said as he grabbed it and took a bite. I took a small bite of mine.

"I've been doing better."

"Because I've been forcing you to eat." He sighed.

"What, so it's ok that you can take care of me, but as soon as I want to take care of you…" I started angrily.

"Annie…"

"Auggie, this relationship should be mutual. I don't want to take care of you just because you're blind, I want to take care of you because I care about you." I put my hand on top of his. "And right now, I care about the fact that you haven't eaten any real food since last night. I'll eat if you eat." I squeezed his hand once and then took it away, leaning back to see what he would do.

"Damn, you really are a good spy." He said as he picked up his sandwich and took another bite. I smiled and picked up my own sandwich, taking another bite, bigger than the last. "I hope you'll actually finish this sandwich."

"I will." I mumbled after finishing more than half of it within seconds. My appetite had much improved since I started to date Auggie again. Although it was hard sometimes to see some of the scars that Belenko had given him, I tried my best to push those images out of my head. Auggie finished his first and he was silently waiting on me to finish mine.

"I finished it." I said once I swallowed my final bite.

"Alright, we have to get back. We have less than 4 hours to finish up those reports." He said picking up his plate and standing up. I stood up and put my arm in his open hand. He lightly grasped my elbow and after throwing away our trash, we walked back to the DPD. We split ways and I walked back to my desk immediately getting back from where I paused.

Thankfully I finished the reports with time to spare, only finding about 2 people that may be a threat. I walked to Auggie's office and opened the door.

"Hey, Walker."

"I finished my reports."

"Well this is my last person and they just so happen to be the person running the gala and I think they are as clean as it gets, so I…." He trailed off as he finished typing his last couple of sentences. "Am done as well. Did you print out the suspicious characters to give to Joan?" He asked.

"Yeah, they're in my hand now. I was going to ask if you thought that's what we should do."

He stood up and walked over to the printer that was working in the back corner of his office. He took out all the pages after the printer stopped printing and brought it over to me.

"There should be 4 people that are printed." He handed it to me and I glanced through.

"Yep, 4 people here. That means 6 suspicious people out of over 300. Does that seem right?"

"It'll have to. But I think it does. Let's get it to Joan."

I offered my elbow and he took it as we left his office and walked to Joan's. I knocked on the door jamb and she looked up.

"Annie, Auggie, come in." She said, putting her pen down. We walked in. "Did you finish the reports?"

"Yes. There were 6 people that we deemed to be suspicious." I said, handing her all 6 reports on the people.

"Alright." She glanced through.

"The one that I would most look at is a man by the name of Shakir Refk. He is an associate of Castrid, as well as the cousin to Tabireeq. He has been seen with both of them all within the last couple of months and was in country when the bomb went off." Auggie said, letting go of my elbow and standing beside me.

"Do you think we can turn him?" Joan asked. I looked at Auggie. He looked skeptical.

"Probably not with Jillian. She may be a good operative, but she can't turn high valued assets like Annie can."

I blushed and tried to keep the smile off of my face as I looked back at Joan.

"That may be true, but I am _not _sending Annie anywhere, anytime soon. So we will not approach him. Anyone that we might be able to turn?"

"I had a woman by the name of Mariana Costa. She works in Brazilian customs and was working merely hours before the bomb went off. Not to mention the fact that every time that Tabireeq entered the country, she seemed to be working. It could either be a major coincidence or she might be involved. Either way, she might be able to give us information if we can get to her and she is involved." I spoke up. Joan nodded.

"Someone who isn't directly involved might help us more in the long run. Thank you, you two. I'll review the rest of these and we will make sure that Barber gets this information to Jillian. You both can go and get some rest, but I need you back at 3. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Great. Auggie, I'll call if anything major pops up, but for now, take a nap, it's going to be a long night."

"Thanks, Joan."

I bumped my hand to Auggie's as we were leaving and he grabbed my elbow. As soon as we left Joan's office, Auggie smirked.

"Well, well, well Ms. Walker. What shall we do with all this time we have?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Do we really have time for a nap? How about lunch?"

"How about some pasta at home?"

_Home. _

It wasn't my safehouse or the apartment that I had claimed when I came back from China.

It was her and Auggie's apartment. That was home.

The thought made me smile.

"Annie? You on Earth?"

"What? Yeah. Sorry, just thinking. Pasta would be lovely." I shook my head out of my thoughts as we entered Auggie's office. I leaned against his desk as he shut everything down, swapped his canes, grabbed his jacket, and messenger bag.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked as he shrugged his jacket on.

"You said home. And it hit me that my home is with you now." I grinned. His face lit up with a smile.

"Let's go make pasta in _our _home, Ms. Walker." He said as he put his messenger bag around his body and walked towards me. I smiled, letting him grab my elbow.

"You bet, Mr. Anderson."

As soon as we got to _our _apartment, I wrapped my arms around him from behind as he set his stuff down on the credenza. He immediately turned around and had his hands lightly on my face. I closed the gap and it was magical. It was passionate and it was caring and it was love.

I loved August Anderson.

Scratch that.

I _love _August Anderson.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

It was almost 3 am by the time Auggie and I got back to our apartment. I collapsed immediately into the bed.

"Ironic how 24 hours ago, we were being called in and now we're being sent home and told to not come back for the rest of the weekend." I mumbled when Auggie joined me in the bed. He only chuckled tiredly and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer.

"Now let's sleep in and not worry about being late for anything." He said, nuzzling his face into my hair. I closed my eyes and hummed in response, smiling as I fell asleep.

I woke up completely rested. I was still wrapped in Auggie's arms and I felt his fingers slowly move around my arm in random patterns.

"Morning, Walker." He said with the sexiest morning voice I had ever heard.

"Mornin'. Been up long?" I asked, looking at him.

"Not too long. I didn't want to get up yet, though."

"I plan on staying in this bed all day." I said matter-of-factly, turning so that I was laying on my stomach and resting my head on his arm.

"Do you? And what about food? And coffee?"

I sighed jokingly.

"I guess I would get up if there was coffee involved."

"Then I'll go make some. How about a shower?" Auggie said, sitting up.

"Are you saying I smell bad?" I scrunched my nose.

"I miss the strawberry smell in your hair." He smirked as he pulled the covers off of his bed and got out.

"I thought you said you liked my perfume?" I said, remaining in the bed, but flipping back onto my back to watch him move about the apartment with fluidity.

"Perfume and shampoo scents are completely different. Plus I know for a fact that you haven't showered since yesterday when we came for a lunch that didn't really end with lunch, did it?" He gave me a grin as he walked down to the kitchen. I smiled at the thought. It was a very entertaining lunch break, but he was right. I hadn't showered since then and was it really a shower worth counting? I mean it was a great time for Auggie and I to reconnect. In a very… I smiled at the thought..._close_ way. I hopped out of bed and waltzed into the bathroom, humming as I turned on the shower.

"You're free to join me at any time!" I called out cheerfully.

"We need to actually clean ourselves this time!" He called back. I laughed and hopped in the warm shower. I washed quickly. I wanted to get to Auggie and coffee as soon as possible. I was in the kitchen sitting on the couch with a hot cup of fresh coffee 20 minutes after I stepped in the shower. Auggie was in the shower himself. I turned on the tv for some background noise as I picked up my book. I had only read a couple pages when Auggie sat next to me.

"What are you watching?"

"Oh, I don't really know. I just had it as background noise. I'm reading."

He got back up and walked to the tv, turning it off. Then he walked over to his record player.

"If it's background noise you want, then lets get some Mingus flowing through the background."

The soft jazz played and I closed my eyes, enjoying the music's calming qualities.

"The tribute festival may have been spectacular, but nothing beats the original." I said as he sat back down next to me.

"The moment you said that on your first day, I knew I would like you way more than as a friend." Auggie wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled his face in my still-damp hair. "Mmm strawberries." I rolled my eyes.

We sat, sipping our coffees for a couple minutes, enjoying the jazz.

"We should eat something." I said.

"I can whip us up some eggs."

"I'm really in the mood for a bagel." I turned towards him.

"There's a bakery just down the block that serves fresh bagels."

"Done." I closed my book, and stood up. Auggie frowned at our loss of contact and stood up. I set my book down and grabbed his hands. "Come, on Soldier Boy."

"Can't it wait a bit?" He said as he trailed his hands up to my face. His thumb brushed along my bottom lip before he crashed his lips to mine.

"Nice try. Come on, I'm hungry." I said after a few seconds. I put my shoes and jacket on and waited for Auggie to do the same.

He grabbed his cane and I opened the door. He walked to me and when I bumped my hand to his, he took no time grabbing my elbow.

"They have amazing cinnamon raisin bagels." Auggie said as we started walking down the street at a leisurely pace.

"Better than the break room's bagels?" I joked. He scoffed.

"Oh course not!" He said sarcastically. Then he sighed wistfully. "We need a toaster in there."

"I thought we did?"

"Barber tried to stuff a sandwich into it in order to make a panini and it broke." He shook his head and I laughed.

"Of course he did."

Once we got to the bagel place, we both ordered cinnamon raisin bagels with cream cheese as well as some coffee before sitting down to eat.

"Auggie? Can I ask you something?" I said, setting my bagel down after a few seconds.

"Anything."

"If you still loved me when you were with Natasha, why did you leave me for two weeks?" I asked hesitantly. He took a deep breath.

"You had McQuaid, who could properly take care of you, more than I can. I thought that If I went with Tash, I could finally let you go. But everything that Tash and I did, I could only think about how much easier it would've been with you. You understand me more than she does, more than anyone does. And your voicemail saying that you were going back to the Agency made me realize that what I wanted, wasn't to just simply go away from the Agency, it was to be with you, whether that meant with or without the Agency."

"I love you." I leaned closer to him. He held out his hand on the table and I put mine in it immediately. He brought it up to his lips.

"I love you too."

"Don't leave me again. I don't want to lose you." I whispered, never taking my gaze away from him.

"You won't. I promise."

Once we were done eating, we took our time walking back to our apartment.

"Can we just go to the park for a little and sit outside? It's so nice out." I turned to Auggie who smiled.

"The sun feels nice on my skin. I'm fine with being outside a bit longer."

It didn't take long for us to get to the park. I led us to an open grassy area and sat down on the grass. Auggie folded up his cane and then joined me in the grass. I sighed in relaxation.

"Was that a relaxed sigh? Or a not so relaxed sigh?" Auggie asked.

"It was a relaxed sigh. It's so nice out. It's the perfect temperature, there isn't a lot of people around, and a handsome man is sitting next to me." I bumped my shoulder to his and he laughed. I leaned into him and laid my head on his shoulder. His kissed the top of my head.

"I could sit here forever with you." I sighed in content. He hummed in agreement.

"What else do you want to do today?" He asked.

"Is it bad that I just want to stay home and just relax?" I looked up at him.

"Not at all. It might be better for you anyways."

"Ugh. I wish I could go hike or go for a run or work out." I groaned.

"But you're being good and not doing those things so you can heal quickly, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just worried about how out of shape I'll be when I come back."

"I can whip you into shape in no time. If there is one thing that I learned from Special Forces, it's how to stay in great shape." Auggie grinned. I put a hand on his rock-hard stomach.

"I know." I grinned right back at him. He laughed. "Want to go home?" I asked.

"Sure. We can lay around on the couch all day." Auggie stood up first.

"Sounds good to me." I grabbed Auggie's outstretched hand and from there he grabbed my elbow as we slowly walked back to our apartment. It was still weird to me to call it _our _apartment and not _Auggie_'s apartment.

Once we got there, we both immediately collapsed on the couch. I was sitting with my back against his chest. He had his arm around my shoulders and was gently rubbing random patterns on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and almost fell asleep when Auggie shifted a bit and stirred me back into full consciousness. I groaned sleepily.

"Oh, sorry, were you asleep?" Auggie asked as I sat up.

"Almost."

"Can I grab my laptop then? I need some entertainment if you're going to sleep on me." Auggie grinned. I rolled my eyes.

"How about a movie instead? I promise to try not to fall asleep."

"Sounds good. I'll get the popcorn if you get the movie?"

"Deal."

We both got up, Auggie headed to the kitchen while I headed to his movie collection.

"Any movies that you have a preference for?" I asked, glancing through them.

"Anything as long as it's not a chick flick."

"You have chick flicks in here?" I asked, amused, picking up Jurassic Park but putting it back down. I wasn't in the mood for it.

"I shouldn't. Unless someone snuck it in there without telling me." He said as I heard the beeps on the microwave signaling that he was setting the timer.

"Now that would just be cruel." I grinned as I picked up a movie I had never heard of. After glancing at the back, I stood up. "What's _The Treasure of the Sierra_?"

"A classic! Haven't seen that one in a long time." Auggie said, turning towards the living room and leaning against the counter.

"Well, I haven't even heard of it." I said, looking at the cover again.

"It's a good one, but if you don't feel like watching an old movie, then you can pick a new one, I don't mind." The microwave beeped and he turned to carefully take the bag out.

I put the movie back and picked up _The Dark Knight._ Now _that _was a classic. I stood up and after setting it on top of the tv, walked over to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Auggie was pouring the popcorn carefully in a bowl.

"How about _The Dark Knight_?" I said, putting my chin on his shoulder from behind.

"Good with me."

I leaned over him and snatched a piece of popcorn from the bowl before going to the fridge.

"Want a bottle of water?" I asked as I opened the water drawer.

"Sure."

I grabbed two bottles and shut the drawer, letting the fridge door shut on its own. I followed him to the couch and watched as he brushed his arm on the coffee table to make sure it was clear, then put the bowl on the empty space. I brushed one of the bottles against the back of his hand and he grabbed it, muttering a thanks. I walked over to the tv and after a couple seconds, I had it up and running. I hopped onto the couch and landed on Auggie. He grunted but wrapped his arms around me. I tried to grab the popcorn but he held me back.

"Auggie." I whined. "I want the popcorn!"

He smirked, but after a couple seconds of me squirming, he let me go enough that I could grab the popcorn and put it on the part of his lap that I wasn't sitting on. It was a comfortable spot for both of us. He then knew where the bowl was and it was within finger's reach for me. He grabbed a single piece and popped it into his mouth as the music to the movie started up. I however, grabbed a handful and ate a couple pieces at a time.

At some point in the movie, we ran out of popcorn. Auggie was actually the first one to notice.

"Is all the popcorn gone?" He whispered in my ear. I looked into the bowl. There was one piece left.

"One piece left." I snatched it and made a satisfying crunch, letting him know that I had eaten it.

"And now it's all gone." He grinned. "I feel like I had less than half of it."

"Well you eat piece by piece and I eat a couple pieces by a couple pieces." I said sheepishly. He laughed.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a mess did you make on yourself?"

I looked down and saw all of the popcorn crumbs on my shirt. I quickly brushed them off.

"Probably about a 7." I grinned as he laughed again. "I'll clean it up later." I took the bowl from his lap and put it back on the coffee table.

He hummed in response and pulled me closer to him. I snuggled into his side and closed my eyes, letting the noise of the movie and the scent of Auggie lull me into a sense of peace.

"Are you going to sleep on me? I need to know what happens to Batman." Auggie said quietly.

"Spoiler alert: he lives." I mumbled, never opening my eyes.

"Annie!" He whined as I just grinned.

"I'm going to take a wild bet that you've already seen this movie so it really doesn't matter if I spoil anything for you." I opened my eyes to his grin.

"Now why would you say that?" He asked sarcastically.

"You've been quoting. Normal people don't quote the movies as they watch them for the first time." I poked his chest.

"I couldn't help it. It's a good movie." He murmured as he nuzzled into my hair. I grinned and turned my face toward his. It took .3 seconds to have my lips on his. I smiled while he was kissing me. It was a perfect moment.

We didn't pay any attention to the rest of the movie.

I woke up the next day curled into Auggie's side in our bed. I blinked in confusion. How had I gotten to the bed? Last I remember was falling asleep on the couch. I dared not move, knowing that any movement now would wake up Auggie. Luckily, I could tilt my head just slightly and get a good look at him as he slept. I smiled at his calmness. He was so uptight sometimes that it was always a good thing to see him relaxed. I watched as a smile slowly made its way to his face.

"I can feel you staring, Walker."

"You are nice to look at." I shrugged. He blinked open his eyes and then wrapped his right arm over top of me. I snuggled into his chest and felt his lips press against my hair.

"Sorry I can't reciprocate." He mumbled into my hair.

"You make up for it."

"Do I?" He asked huskily. I kissed his shoulder.

"Oh absolutely."

"Want to just stay in today?" Auggie asked, rubbing my shoulder soothingly.

"Sounds good to me. I can finish my book." I smiled into his chest. "By the way, how did we get to the bed? I thought we fell asleep on the couch."

"I carried you." Auggie shrugged.

"Auggie! You could've woken me up!" I lifted my head to look at him.

"I tried to. You obviously were exhausted. You didn't even twitch. If I hadn't felt your pulse, I would've thought you were dead." He joked as ran his fingers through my hair. I rolled my eyes.

"Funny."

"So how about we lay around again today, because we can?"

"I would like to do something at some point. Eventually, you're going to have to go to work and I'm going to be alone during the day for a couple of days."

"Then what do you suppose we do?"

I bit my lip.

"Can we go somewhere? Like the beach or something?"

"You want to go to the beach?" Auggie asked, amused.

"Well, I don't know. I just want to go somewhere." I shrugged.

"Beach it is! We can leave in an hour and drive to Virginia Beach for the day."

"Can we go somewhere closer? Maybe less packed too?" I frowned. It was almost a 4 hour drive to Virginia Beach.

"Hey, you were the one who wanted to go to the beach. We can go wherever you please." He kissed the top of my head.

"How about Chesapeake Beach? It's only an hour away and there is never anyone there." I kissed him on the lips and he smiled out of it.

"Whatever you want." He said, leaving our foreheads touching.

"Chesapeake Beach it is!" I lightly slapped his chest before kissing him one more time then getting up to get ready.

A relaxing day at the beach was definitely needed by both of us.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch6

I looked into the mirror and took a deep breath. It was the first day that I was going to be desk-ridden for a month only working on translations.

"Annie, we have to leave soon or we'll be late." I heard Auggie say from the other room.

I walked out and grabbed my shoes off of the bed. Auggie was pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Can you pour me one too, please?" I asked as I leaned against the counter to put my shoes on.

"Already did. It's on the counter behind me." Auggie said as he put the lid on his cup. I looked around him and saw my travel mug sitting on the counter. I walked around him and grabbed it, kissing his cheek after I had done so.

"You're the best. Alright I'm ready. I hope."

"You'll be fine." He grabbed my shoulders and held me there for a second. He gave me a warm smile before turning, grabbing his things and then we were out the door and on our way into Langley.

I led the way through the halls with Auggie on my elbow.

"You know, on the bright side, you have your own office and it's right next to mine." Auggie said. I looked at him and he had a smile on his face.

"I do?"

"Yeah, but it locks from the outside so Joan can lock you up in case she thinks you will try to escape." He smirked. I shook my head.

"I doubt it."

Once we got to my new office, there was in fact a lock only on the outside.

"She actually did it." I groaned.

"Told you." Auggie laughed. We walked into his office and I leaned against his doorframe as he switched his civilian cane with his laser one.

"Annie, Auggie, my office." Joan's voice rang through the bullpen.

"Well time to face the firing squad." Auggie said cheerfully. I rolled my eyes and we walked to Joan's office.

"Shut the door behind you." Joan said as I knocked on the door frame. I shut the door and led Auggie to the couch after Joan gestured to have a seat there. She sat in the chair in front of us and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to make this perfectly clear again: I'm not limiting your role in the Agency. I'm only pushing your energy and talents towards other tasks in order for you to have a full recovery at the most convenient pace for you and your heart. You are a valuable asset to this department and I don't want to risk anything to limit that. We already almost lost you once, I don't want to lose you again."

"I understand." I said quietly.

"And Auggie."

He lifted his head towards her.

"I trust that you will help to keep her sane?"

He chuckled.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Annie, I'm not going to lie and say that going from the field to a desk job is easy. It's going to be hard, but it's necessary. We will keep you busy enough that you will never have to leave Langley in an attempt to go into the field, but I will give you enough time to recover. Now, there are plenty to do in your office already, so you can start any time."

"Thanks, Joan. Really." I said earnestly as I stood up.

"Just get to 100 percent." She hugged me and when she let go, she patted Auggie's shoulder as we walked out.

"So I'm just here to keep you sane." Auggie smirked. I rolled my eyes and linked my arm with his.

"You have always kept me sane, Auggie."

"Now I'm telling you that when you start to feel exasperated, I want you to walk the 10 feet from your fancy new office of Linguistics to my old boring tech ops cavern to regain your sanity." We stopped outside my office door. "I trust you. Joan trusts you."

"She put a lock on the outside of my door to keep me in." I stated.

"She trusts you." He repeated and put his hands on my arms.. "And she knows that you will listen to the doctors. Now go do what you're passionate about. Play with languages. Solve some mysteries. Translate some terrorist emails. Be an essential asset to this division."

"You always know what to say." I kissed his cheek and patted his shoulder. My way of telling him that I was walking into my office. I watched as he smiled and turned towards his office before letting his laser cane lead him to his own office.

I walked to my desk and looked at the already fairly large stack of folders and paperwork that needed to get done. I sat down with a huff and pulled the top stack of papers to get finished before lunch.

By the time 11 rolled around, I was getting my Portuguese mixed with my Spanish and I had Russian adjectives swimming around in my brain. I pushed a finished sheet to the finished pile and threw my head back. This was the most translations I had done in a while and going from language to language was harder than I thought.

"I don't hear any paper turning, so either I'm talking to myself or someone isn't doing anything and could go for lunch?" I looked up and saw Auggie.

"Yes actually, lunch sounds amazing." I pushed away from my desk and walked up to him. "I was about to walk to your office to regain my sanity." I said as I let him take my elbow.

"How's the translations going?"

"I realize now that maybe instead of trying to attack it all at once, I should break it down language by language because having Spanish then Portuguese then Spanish again is confusing sometimes."

He laughed.

"Let's regain that sanity with a good lunch."

After lunch I got back to work, this time separating each folder by which language it was being translated from. It was much easier than earlier. I was so engrossed in my work that when Auggie knocked on my door jamb at almost 6 o'clock, I jumped.

"You do realize it's 6 right?"

"Oh!"

He chuckled and walked in a couple steps.

"Are you good to go?"

"Yeah I can finish these up tomorrow, I guess. I have nothing else to do." I chuckled dryly.

"Come on, I know a really good way that I can regain your sanity. It involves alcohol and a bed."

"Coming!" I quickly stored everything and grabbed my keys before practically dragging Auggie to my car.

As soon as we got to the apartment, I went to our fridge and grabbed a beer each for us.

"Starting now, Walker?" Auggie smiled as he went to the counter. I chuckled and after opening both, he came closer. "And one for me? Is this a party?" He joked.

"You were the one to say that we were going to regain my sanity with alcohol and a bed." I tapped the beer against his hand and he laughed as he took it.

"I said that, didn't I?" He took a sip with a smirk before putting it down and pulling my waist closer to him. I put mine down and smiled in the kiss that he planted firmly onto my lips.


	7. Ch 7

Ch7  
"Annie! There's been some chatter on the Latin Desk and I need you to translate these emails." Joan said as I walked in with Auggie on morning. I grabbed the file and she walked away without another word.  
"Maybe something interesting will be in them?" Auggie asked with a hopeful grin. I looked at him incredulously.  
"Oh yes, because the plans to smuggle cocaine across the Ecuadorian border to Colombia is definitely interesting."  
"Drug cartels are becoming more and more vicious." Auggie shrugged as we got to his office. He moved to his desk. I leaned against the edge and sighed.  
"Well, I'll let you know how much cocaine is getting smuggled out of Bolivia."  
"I thought you said Ecuador?" Auggie smirked as he sat down. I laughed and shook my head.  
"Lunch?" I asked hopefully.  
"If nothing goes Tango Uniform in this op with Frenck in Brazil."  
"Well I hope none of these translations interfere with that. I'll talk to you later." I kissed his cheek quickly and walked out to my office. After I sat down, I immediately dug into the stack of papers and got started with the translations.  
After 2 hours I had to pause for a second. Something was adding up and it wasn't looking good. I grabbed the related papers and walked over to tech ops.  
"Hey Auggie, what exactly is Frenck doing in Brazil? Does it have to do with the Embassy?"  
Auggie turned his head slightly to acknowledge me.  
"He's trying to gain intel in the Turkish Embassy. Is that the Embassy you were talking about?" He paused and turned his head more towards me.  
"I think I have intel on an attack on the US Embassy in Brazil, but I need to tie the connections together. I think it may be related to your op."  
"But Frenck is working on the Turkish Embassy, not the US one."  
"I have 5 different emails from 5 different people to one email address disguised as 5 separate addresses. Each email specifies a different component of the attack. Day, time, place, weaponry, and who is going to carry out the attack."  
"That seems pretty tied together already."  
"Yeah, but there was also the mention of an Artimis who is handling the Turkish Embassy. Auggie, you need to pull Frenck."  
"Annie, how solid is this intel. It seems like you got it pretty easily."  
"Actually, half of these translations were from last week."  
"Annie, let's take this to Joan, first." Auggie started to stand.  
"But the date is set to today! In less than 12 hours! Auggie!"  
Auggie found my shoulders.  
"Annie, I believe you. But we can't just go rushing into this. This is serious. It isn't just about pulling an operative, it's about stopping a terrorist attack on the US Embassy. We need to take this to Joan."  
I took a deep breath to calm myself. He was right, of course.  
"Ok."  
"Ok?"  
"Yeah, let's get this to Joan right away."  
He smiled and grabbed my elbow as we quickly walked up to Joan's office. I knocked on the doorjamb and she gestured us in.  
"Annie, Auggie, what is it?"  
I handed her the papers.  
"When doing the translations you gave me today, I had a hunch that something was off. Some of the emails reminded me of ones I did last week so I pulled those out and when I compared them, they were similar."  
She glanced through them.  
"That's the address of the US Embassy in Brazil." She said as she looked at one of the papers.  
"And another one gives a date, another with a time, another with the type of explosives, Joan there's a terrorist attack being planned for today." I stated as she looked through the rest.  
"Ok, I will get Calder up to speed. Auggie, read Frenck in and if necessary, pull him. Annie, see if there is any other connected translations in anything within the last week."  
I nodded and we started to leave.  
"And Annie."  
I turned.  
"Good work." She said as she picked up her receiver. I smiled and led Auggie out of the room. He immediately went to his desk and got Frenck on the phone while I walked back to my office and grabbed the finished stack to go through it again.  
Halfway through and I was frustrated. I shouldn't be stuck here. I wanted to help. I belonged in the field helping Frenck and the others catch this guy. In fact, I should have been Frenck on his op. He was a good operative, but I was the lead. I should  
have been on such a high-priority mission. I should be in Brazil.  
But I'm not. I can't. I shouldn't. I need to recover. Get the virus out of my body and then I will be back to where I was. I have to be patient.  
I took a deep breath and powered through.  
I have more talents than just being a field operative. I love languages. That's why I was recruited in the first place. Minus the whole Ben diboccal. I am good at what I do. That's why I am still here and not tossed on the corner of a street, scorned  
and not allowed to ever come back. I am helping.  
I had to repeat this over and over to keep myself from flying down to Brazil on my own to go and take care of it myself. I couldn't do that.  
Even after I was done scrutinizing the old translations, I sat in my desk with my head in my hands refusing to move. I could hear something happening in Tech ops and the urge to leave and help would overwhelm me if I saw what was going on. So I stayed  
and sat at my desk for what was probably hours.  
"Annie? You still here?"  
I looked up at Auggie's voice.  
"Yeah, I'm still here."  
"Bad guys busted, terrorist attack prevented. Miss Anne Walker, I believe you might be getting a medal." He leaned against the doorframe.  
I rolled my eyes and snorted as I stood up. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, just needing the comfort that he brought me.  
"Ready to go?" He asked quietly. I nodded against his chest. "You did well today, Annie. If you had been in Brazil instead of here, hundreds could have been dead."  
I took a deep breath.  
"I know. I just needed a moment. Let's go home."  
He kissed my forehead and I smiled.


End file.

Covert Affairs, Drama, Romance