Hello, everyone!
Thanks to all those who've read my stories, I'm glad you seem to like them. So, here's the deal: I wrote a story called "Upgrades to Friendship" which included Annie finally admitting her love for Auggie and a budding friendship between her and Jai. In that same story, Jai got sick and Annie took care of him. There was mention of a time where she also took care of Auggie when he had the flu, so I wrote "Where He Stays" to show that. In a review, someone said they thought it'd be interesting if Annie got sick and both boys wanted to take care of her. You don't have to read either story to understand this.
Thanks to BabyD-MontanaGirl for the review this idea came from.
Enjoy!
Stumbles, Sorry's, and Sneezes
Annie was happy.
That was one word that could describe the way she felt. Things had been looking up for her. Since she'd finally come clean and admitted to Auggie that she was in love with him, everything had clicked into place.
It had taken a long time for them to work out their problems before they were comfortable with a relationship. At first, it was a mess. They were both dealing with their own forms of heartbreak and they had to take time to work through it so they could be together.
It wasn't easy. They both knew that.
However, after enough self-inquisition, they reached a point where they could accept another into their hearts. They each made a verbal promise to each other that, if either were uncomfortable, they would backtrack a bit. Annie wanted it to work and Auggie couldn't agree more.
Once they finally got everything in order, it was perfect. They were both happy and content with the way things were going. Life was finally looking up.
Annie's relationship with Jai was also working well. She was comfortable with the idea of being friends with the "Prince" of the CIA. After all, he was the reason she was with Auggie in the first place. If it hadn't been for his words, pointing out what she would not acknowledge herself, she wouldn't have had the courage to take that plunge.
It took a little work explaining that to Auggie. Neither men liked each other, but that wasn't the full truth. The reason they didn't like each other was because of their similarities.
They both had their share of difficulty. Of heartbreak. They saw themselves in the other and it scared them.
It took one interesting weekend for them to finally except each other.
"Achew!"
A loud sneeze punctured the silence that coursed through the workplace. Annie Walker was a CIA Operative, an excellent worker, and a reliable member of the DPD. Among those amazing traits, she was also sick.
She'd woken up that morning with a pounding headache and a plugged up nose. She could have called in sick, but she decided against it, hoping that her discomfort would lessen as the day wore on.
She couldn't have been more wrong.
Her headache increased to the point where she was almost sure, despite her intelligence, that there was an army of little men hammering away inside her head. Her throat felt as though it were on fire, and her nose was more plugged than the pores of a sponge in a bucket of paint.
To top it off, she had sneezed at least ten times in five minutes. Her wastebasket was filled to the brim with tissues and she had three boxes of them piled on her desk… just in case.
As she pored over a file that Joan gave her, she hoped the time would pass and she could go home. It was midday and she was miserable.
"You look like you could use a hot bath and a long sleep."
His voice startled her. She was so caught up in the file that she didn't notice her friend, Jai Wilcox, standing before her. Annie looked up at him, not liking the tense look that he always carried.
"So do you," she replied.
"Ah, you got me."
Having a conversation with Jai had become an easy thing to do. After their pain was revealed to the other, all stops had been pulled. Annie invited Jai over for dinner a few times a week, at least those she wasn't spending with Auggie. She'd told Auggie, in the beginning, that she wouldn't spend her time with just him and he'd easily respected that, though he didn't like Jai.
Perched atop the corner of her desk, he reached out and laid his cool hand on her forehead. She saw the look of concern flash across his face and knew that he must have felt her fever. Annie knew she had one.
"You know, you could always ask Joan if you can go home."
"I know, but I just want to finish the day. There isn't that much time left, then I can go home and sleep like the dead."
He laughed at her comment.
"Well, let me know when you leave, I can drive you home. Don't worry about your car."
"I'd love that, Jai, but I wanted to give Auggie a ride so he doesn't have to get a taxi."
"I'll drop him off."
She wasn't sure Auggie would like that idea.
"I'll have to ask him if that'd be okay, I'm not sure what he'll want."
Jai nodded in understanding. They talked for a few more minutes before he left her to finish her work. After another hour of sneezing and reading the file, she got up and headed toward the tech department.
When she walked in, Auggie sat up right away.
"Annie. I was wondering when you'd show up."
She laughed only a little, as laughing too much would further irritate her sore throat. Grabbing a chair, she rolled it over and sat down next to him. He turned toward her in his seat.
"Auggie, I can't take you home today. I'm sick and Jai wants to give me a ride. He did offer to take you with and drop you off, if you'd like."
Waiting for his response, she worried. She knew that Auggie disliked Jai very much, but he had been making an effort to be kind to him for Annie.
"I'll stay with you tonight."
"No, Auggie. I'm sick, I don't want you-"
He cut her off, "I don't think so, Annie. Don't even try that with me. Remember when I had the flu? I tried to push you away for that same reason. Did you listen? Nope. So, guess what? I won't either."
She couldn't help but to smile. Even before they began dating, he would have said that. She truly loved the way their friendship remained the same. Her relationship with Auggie was much the same as it was before, only more open. Everything was more intense.
She also knew that she couldn't argue with him. He agreed to let Jai give him a ride. When the work day was finally over, she went to Jai with Auggie in tow. He made her wear his jacket while Jai led them to his car. He also sat with her in the back as she fell asleep with her head on his shoulder.
She woke up to a small argument.
"I'm staying with her tonight, Jai. She took care of me when I got the flu and I'm going to return the favor."
"That's nice Auggie, but I will take care of her. She took care of me a few weeks ago, so I owe her."
"Just go home, Jai. I can take care of her myself."
She'd had enough of their fighting.
"Both of you, shut up!"
That silenced them completely. They both had shocked looks on their faces, making her smile inside.
"I know you both want to take care of me. If I had a choice, I'd tell you two to just go home. But, I know neither of you would let me do that." They nodded as she continued, "So, you can both just stay with me. There's enough room in there for both of you."
They stopped nodding and looked at each other. Well, Jai looked at Auggie.
It was going to be a long night.
First, they both held her arm on the way into the guest house. They then fought over who would get her a blanket. After that, they argued until she decided that she could get her own tea.
While they continued their petty arguing, she came up with an evil plan.
"Hey guys? Can you go in my room and get my cough drops and tissues?"
She knew that both of them would go. Once they stepped in, she quickly shut and locked the door behind them. She'd asked Danielle to replace the door because it only locked from the outside.
"Annie! Open the door!"
Auggie's voice overpowered Jai's, "Annie! Please, don't lock me in here with him! Unlock the door!"
"Nope! You are both being ridiculous! There's no way I'll be comfortable until you stop being so childish!"
She laid down on her couch and snuggled into the blankets. It would be a long night, indeed.
Meanwhile, in Annie's bedroom, Auggie and Jai were trying to figure out a way to get Annie to unlock the door.
"Damn!"
Auggie ran into the corner of Annie's dresser.
"I give up. She's locked us in here and she won't let us out until we talk."
Jai nodded, "She's clever."
Silence fell between them like a blanket. Neither knew where to begin.
"Okay, here's the deal, Jai. I don't like you. You don't like me, but we both like Annie. I can tell you care about her. So, we have to find a way to settle our differences so we don't upset Annie."
"I agree. I don't like hurting her feelings by us constantly being at each other's throats. We shouldn't being pulling her in two separate directions like that."
"Touché."
They decided that it would be better for all of them if the two got along. The first step in solving the problem was to admit their reasons for disliking each other. They were surprised when they discovered that their reasoning was almost exactly the same. When they realized how alike they were, they knew it would be best to agree with one another.
They were both men of honor. They were both men of dignity and pride. They were both men who'd gone through hell and back for someone, only to have their hearts crushed. Once they acknowledged those facts, they felt better.
Peace settled between the pair of men. They wouldn't be best buddies or anything, but they both knew that they could accept the other's presence. Maybe they could be friends someday in the future.
They shook hands.
Annie was woken from her nap by pounding. At first, she thought it was her headache making it's presence known. When she heard it again, though, she realized that it must have been Auggie and Jai.
"Annie, let us out now. We've had a pretty long discussion and we need to talk to you."
Auggie's voice was calm, as it always was. He didn't sound angry or impatient, though she knew he would never sound that way toward her. She let them out and went back to her couch.
Jai sat down on the table in front of her while Auggie sat next to her on the couch.
"We've been idiots, Annie."
Jai's words took her by surprise. She certainly didn't expect that, despite the truth of it.
"I agree with Jai. We've been more than idiots and I'm so sorry that we didn't see that. We may not like each other much, but we understand why and we realize that we were hurting you."
Auggie hung his head. She didn't want him to be sad, but she knew that his words were sincere. They had been upsetting her, but they certainly made up for it.
She accepted their apology with open arms. A few sneezes and laughs later and she was in her bed under the covers, Auggie was asleep on the couch, and Jai was stretched out in the armchair across from the coffee table.
She fell asleep with a smile on her face at the thoughts of her two favorite boys. Everything was wonderful and she hoped that it would stay that way forever.
Thank you for reading!
~FITS~