When It All Comes Crashing Down

Summary: All that matters in the end, is who holds you together when it all falls apart

Author Note: My first jump into Covert Affairs fanfiction, but like a lot of people I find myself drawn to the Auggie/Annie dynamic. This is a little idea that's been running in my head and I wanted to see where it went. So here's the first chapter just to see how I do. Also, not making any money off of this and don't own any of the characters.

It has always been Auggie. He was the voice in her ear when the shots were fired, when the bomb exploded, when the supposed easy mission went haywire. He was the one keeping her calm, keeping it together. His voice through the ear piece was comfort and kindness and a promise that he would get her home.

He kept her together when the world was trying to take her apart. When Joan made her feel like an idiot and want to quit, when her sister forced another of her awful prospective husbands on her each Thursday night, and when Ben Mercer walked back into her life, even though Auggie didn't know it, he was her sanity in the entire think.

So when Auggie came knocking on the door of the guest house at 2 am in the pouring rain, waking Annie from some much needed sleep, of course she jumped out of bed and ran to the door.

"Auggie! What are you doing?" She asked/yelled while pulling him inside. "You're soaked and its freezing outside. Stay there."

Annie went down the hall to grab a to a towel, not waiting for a response for the shivering tech operative standing her living room. Gathering a couple towels and a blanket out of the hall close, she headed back to his side, handing him one towel while she used the other to mop up the pool of water gathering at Auggie's feet. That's when she realized, Auggie hadn't said one word to her, he was just staring with this look on his face of complete sadness and horror all in one.

"Aug... Auggie... what's wrong?" She stood up, taking the towel out of his hand and using it to dry his hair.

"I screwed up Annie, really, I screwed up."

He said it with such a vacant tone, she was scared. This wasn't her Auggie, her rock and her best friend. Neither of them said anything as she finished drying him off and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. Leading him over to the couch, they both sat down. Annie put an arm around her friend's shoulders in a comforting manner, like he had so many times before this. They sat like that for a few minutes before Auggie broke the silence.

"You were right Annie. I was playing with fire, I got burnt. I don't know what to do."

"How about telling me what's going on? I'm a little confused here Aug."

"Liza."

Liza Hearn. The person out to ruin the agency. The reporter who had a leak somewhere in Langley feeding her sensitive information. The woman Auggie was sleeping with in order to find the leak and report it to Joan. All without Joan or Arthur Campbell's knowledge. Suddenly, it all made sense.

"Joan and Arthur found out," Annie said as the realization hit her.

"Not Arthur, not yet anyway, but it's only a matter of time. Annie I messed up. I thought I could do this on my own, prove I'm still useful as more then a desk jockey. I never thought... never planned on..." Auggie couldn't finished his sentence. He just sat there, mouth opening and closing but no words coming out as he struggled to comprehend how it had all come crashing down around him. The end of his career, his life as he had come to know it. The friends he had made would turn on him, co workers wouldn't speak to him, and of course the betrayal in Joan's voice. That had probably hurt the most.

Auggie was completely not paying attention, just focusing on everything that had happened in the last day. So he was a little surprised when he felt pressure on his shoulder, pulling him down on the couch to lay down. His head hit something soft, a pillow most likely, and the faint scent of grapefruit hit him. Annie.

When Joan had finished with him, Auggie had stood in his apartment for almost a half hour, in same spot when Joan had yelled, screamed, and berated him for this stupid move. She had stormed out, stating plainly that she couldn't protect him from this one. After she had left, there was only one place Auggie could think to go.

So here he was, laying on Annie's couch, with his head on a pillow on her lap. Annie ran her fingers through his hair at a slow steady pace. The act was comforting, similar to a mother comforting a child. And just like a mother, Annie muttered comforting words to him.

"Shhh Aug, its ok. It'll be ok, we'll think of something. Just rest for a bit."

Annie watched as Auggie fought to keep his eyes open. He was exhausted both mentally and physically, she could tell, hell she's been there plenty of times herself. At this point, Auggie almost seemed to be in some sort of shock or denial, she wasn't sure which, probably both.

A million thoughts ran through her mind. How did Joan find out? How much trouble was Auggie in? Did they think he was the traitor? Would he lose his job? What would she do without him?

Annie was pulled out of her thoughts by a warm hand on her own. She looked down and met Auggie's forever blank eyes that still managed to stare right through her.

"Annie, I am so sorry. You were right. I should have ended it when you told me to."

"Auggie... what happened?"