A/N - SPOILERS for S3x02. I am loving all the stories that this episode has spurred! This is my take on another direction it could have gone if Auggie and Annie had followed protocol (for once), and gotten on the plane home instead of finding a way to recover the mission. Let me know what you think and if you want this to continue!

Disclaimer: I don't own it, any of it. This is just for fun.


"There's a cab stand up ahead." Annie could not wait to get home from this mission, failure was not something which she planned on making a habit of, and it was not sitting well with her right now.

"I can't believe you're pulling the rip cord." Auggie began the argument, addressing the tension which had been building between them for the past half hour. She had been hoping he would just let it be.

"That was Joan's call, not mine." Annie looked at him in frustration. How could he be blaming her for the way this mission was playing out when he was the one who had dropped the package. His cutting reply came quickly.

"Because you put it in her head. We don't have the bandwidth?" She had only been being honest with Joan under pressure.

It was the first time they had fought and the anger in Auggie's eyes was tearing her to pieces. He had been attacked, and in the split second that mattered she had chosen to run back to help him instead of chasing the package. Maybe she had made the wrong decision, but she would do it again in a heartbeat. Auggie's eyes pinned her in place.

"Since day one you have been bucking Joan's authority like it is a source of pride and now all of a sudden you salute and fall in lock step." Auggie was not mincing words. Stepping in front of her and stopping her in her tracks, he fully directed his anger in Annie's direction. "It's because of me, isn't it. You think I'm some sort of burden." Wincing, Annie realized why Auggie was so mad. She had unwittingly tread on a very fragile area of his self-esteem and fierce independence. Trying to assuage him, she asserted,

"I do not think that."

"Then why did you come back up the stairs to help me." The real reason? She didn't want to think about it. Those were feelings she was barely willing to admit even to herself. So she went for the simple answer.

"Cus you were down." Running her hand through her hair in distress, her heart sunk as she realized that for a minute she had seen him as vulnerable and reacted on her feelings for him instead of her instincts as an agent. But this man who meant so much to her had needed her. What else could she have done?

"You should have gone for the package. That was our mission. To get the package home, not to help me. I don't wanna go back to the way things were. I don't want to get stuck behind my desk. I wanna move forward with my life, across the board, but I don't have a Lena in my corner. My only champion is Joan. If I disappoint her..." Auggie shook his head as Annie cut in urgently.

"You won't disappoint her, she wants us to follow orders, she wants us to come home."

"Joan wants a win. And so do I." The frustration on Auggie's face was more than evident, but Annie was not about to back down. Not since Auggie had the gall to imply that she had made the wrong decision in going back for him instead of chasing after their package. Her instincts had gotten her this far, and although her split second of indecision had allowed the package to be lost, she refused to regret going back to make sure Auggie was okay.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and seeing that the call was from Lena she took a deep breath, pleading with Auggie to understand.

"Ugh. I have to take this." Stony eyes glared back as Auggie snapped at her.

"Fine." His tone made it quite clear that she could go to hell for all he cared right now, and his attitude hurt her more deeply than she was willing to let him see. Reaching for his hand she tried to calm him, to reconnect with him through the anger and harsh words that currently filled the tense air between them. Unwilling to relent he tossed her hand off him with a look of disgust and walked away, fury emanating from every tight muscle in his body.

After a brief conversation with Lena, Annie looked around to find Auggie sitting on the edge of a fountain nearby, back ramrod straight and jaw firmly set. As an army brat she recognized the highly controlled anger of a veteran soldier. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in through her nose, Annie walked over to him.

"Auggie?" Unseeing eyes were no excuse for the way he kept his head facing firmly in the opposite direction from her voice. With a sigh she sat down next to him, trying to ignore the way he flinched away as their shoulders touched. "Look, Aug, I know how much this means to you. I'm with you if you decide to try to track down Red Rover, I just don't see how it can be done." Bitterly, Auggie's quiet reply left her cold inside.

"No point anymore." Raising her eyes to look into his frustrated ones, she could not help but notice his tightly clenched jaw, veins pulsing every time he swallowed. He wouldn't forgive her for this quickly.

"Auggie, it's only been 10 minutes since we spoke to Joan, we can still figure this out." With a mirthless scoff and a sardonic grin he replied harshly.

"Annie. You see me as a burden to be rescued the minute I trip over or drop my cane. Even if I wanted to salvage this mission, I wouldn't be able to do it with a partner who has such little faith in me. Now if you don't mind, can we skip the rest of the pointless conversation and catch our plane back. I had planned on being in Eritrea by now."

The mention of his planned proposal silenced Annie as she struggled to hide her own tears, instead reaching for his arm as she hailed a taxi to take them back to the airport. Their plane took off without any delays.

Once they were settled in their seats, Annie leaned on the window and refused to give in to the burning sensation behind her eyeballs. She needed her emotions to hibernate until she got home to a large spoon and pot of ice cream. Auggie had never been so guarded around her as he was right now, his whole body stiff and angular. She half expected his jaw to cramp up from the strength with which he was gritting his teeth. Neither of them spoke, making it a very long ride home.


Although their bodies were touching by necessity as they cleared customs and immigrations, the distance between them had never been more clearly delineated. Annie had been trained to hide and control her emotions in threatening situations, and right now Auggie was definitely a threat to her well-being. His arm was so tense as she directed him through the airport that she was surprised it did not snap off completely. Encountering Joan as they finally re-entered the United States, Annie let go of his arm and came to a complete stop.

"Joan, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Annie, I'm just glad you are both back safe, we will find another way to deal with this threat. You should get yourself home. If you don't mind, I'd like a moment alone with Auggie please." Nodding, Annie shot one last pained glance in Auggie's direction before heading for the exit.

Auggie stood silently. Turning to him and placing a calming hand on his arm, Joan began.

"Auggie, I shouldn't have sent you in, it was an unstable situation, I had faulty intel, this is my faul..."

"Don't even try to give me this speech Joan, I've heard it all before. I failed. I'm never going to be able to get back into the field. I get it. I'm a big boy, you don't need to try to placate me. I'm really tired though, and I need to catch a plane to Eritrea, so if you wouldn't mind directing me to the correct terminal for my flight, it would be much appreciated."

"Auggie. You cannot blame yourself for this. You did the best you could in a difficult situation. These things happen. You know better than anyone that there is no such thing as a 100% success rate."

"I let you down, Joan. There is no excuse for that."

"You followed orders Auggie. I know it isn't something you and Annie do often, but you need to realize that it is how most of this organization functions. I'm just relieved that you both got back in one piece."

"Yep. Okay." With a piercing glance, and realizing that Auggie was not ready to accept anything she said at this time, Joan shelved the topic for a later date. Dropping him off at his departure gate, she had only one more piece of advice for him.

"Don't leave things unresolved with Annie for too long." With a curt nod, Auggie walked through the gate.