"Where is he?" Annie ran into the ER waiting room where Joan stood, arms crossed across her chest.

"Annie," Joan said calmly.

"No, don't Annie me," she was…angry? No, terrified. "How did this happen?"

"We still aren't sure…" Arthur said from one of the plastic seats behind her.

"Aren't sure!" Annie yelled. Forget that this man was her boss's boss (and boss's husband), she was livid. "Cause I know. I know that you all were focused 100% on that Liza what's-her-face and thought Auggie was the leak. I know that while HALF the DPD was questioning him, security went lack and a trained freaking assassin came in and opened fire. I know that while everyone went into action, you're people left Auggie in that interrogation room, vulnerable, and then what happened?"

"He got shot," Joan said sadly, her head dropping to stare at the floor.

"Exactly. So I'm asking again. Where is Auggie?" she took a deep breath, feeling like she hadn't had one in a while. It was quiet as Joan and Arthur exchanged glances.

"He just got out of surgery, we're waiting for him to wake up," Joan said. "Third door on the left." Annie walked past them, her heels clicking as she headed toward the bedside of her best friend.

Auggie just laid there. The only thing keeping him from looking asleep were the monitors and tubes and wires that were sticking out of his arms and the thick white bandage that crossed his chest. Annie felt her throat close up and she sat in a chair beside the bed and took his hand in hers.

"Oh Auggie," she whispered, afraid to say more. She squeezed his hand tight and then she didn't move for hours, eventually falling asleep at his bedside.


Annie was awakened to the smell of caffeine.

"Hello?" A male voice startled her awake. She looked up from her chair to see a man with deep chocolate eyes and equally colored curly hair standing over her. "Here, you looked like you could use it."

"Thanks um..." Annie said, her voice cautious as she took the cup of coffee.

"Adam," the man said. "Adam Anderson, I'm Auggie's brother, number four," He said with a gentle smile that reminded Annie of Auggie's smile.

"Thank you Adam," Annie said again, bringing the coffee to her lips. "I'm Annie." Her other hand was still gripped tight around Auggie's. She looked at him with sadness in her eyes.

"He hasn't changed," Adam said, sitting in another chair. "The doctor was in here like a half hour ago. We're all just waiting."

"Is the rest of your family here?"

"No, I was closest. I live in New York. Most of the Anderson's live in Illinois still," Adam explained. "When mom got a call saying Auggie was shot, I was the designated person to go help." He sighed and sipped his drink. "How does a lawyer end up getting shot though, really? I figured it was a pretty safe job..." He placed the drink on the bedside table with a sigh.

"When I was little, all I wanted was a little brother so that I could pick on him like my brothers picked on me," Adam said. "It's days like this though where I wish I had shown him a little more mercy." Annie watched Adam ruffle Auggie's hair slightly before standing up. "I want to check with his doctor again…are you going to stay here?" Annie nodded quietly and then Adam left. Annie turned back to Auggie lying there, motionless.

"And here you were trying to tell me that you had mean older brothers," Annie laughed quietly, shaking her head.

"He's only like that when I'm in a hospital bed," a voice croaked and Annie looked up to see Auggie stirring slightly.

"Auggie," Annie couldn't possibly mask how happy she was to see him move, let alone speak. "Oh thank god you're alright…" she squeezed his hand.

"Well if by alright you mean I feel like I got hit by a bus then, yea," Auggie smirked, "I'm alright." Annie shook her head again and placed her other hand on his chest besides the bandaging. "How long have you been here?"

Annie looked at her watch and her eyebrows shot up. "About 7 hours now," she said. It really hadn't felt that long, but she was asleep for most of it.

"Geez Annie, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were worried about me." Again, Auggie smirked.

"Well I was," Annie said. She almost lost her best friend. Her one confidant. The person she'd always know was on her team.

She almost lost her Auggie.

Just the thought of losing him chocked her up again. She tried to swallow it away, but it was no use. She began to cry again and Auggie heard her. "Annie, don't cry. I'm here I'm alright…" He slowly reached for her hand that lay on his chest and kissed her palm gently. "I'm right here," he brought her hand to his face. "I'm not going anywhere." Annie's crying faded into sniffles and Auggie felt her stand up, her hands still on his face and grasping his own hand. She leant down and kissed his cheek, the corner of her mouth meeting with the corner of his.

"Don't you dare scare me like that again August Anderson," Annie said, a mixture of seriousness and good nature in her voice. She leaned down so that her forehead was pressed against his, both of their eyes closed.

"I won't, I promise," Auggie said, gripping her hand tight in his.

Outside his hospital room, Adam was on the phone, peeking into the room where Auggie and Annie were. "No Ma," he said ever so quietly. He knew his brother could hear him if he was too loud. "Ma, he doesn't need to come home." He smiled at the little scene in the hospital room."I think he's going to be well taken care of."


It's almost sad how much chemistry these two have and we're only what? 5 episodes in? WOWZA

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