So, I am loving this show! This story showed up courtesy of story bunnies who sat on my keyboard. I have no idea what direction those bunnies will take me, so read, review (please) and hang on for the ride!

DISCLAIMER: Still waiting for that life size Auggie doll in the mail. Till then, I own only laundry needing to be folded

A TOLLING BELL - PART 1

The sound of casket being lowered was only broken by the stifled sobs. Joan glanced at her husband. After this many years, they had full conversations with just their eyes.

"She is taking this really hard."

"We knew she would"

"It might destroy her. And then we would lose her too."

"She is stronger than you think"

A slight twist of his lips and raise of her eyebrows said they were in perfect accord. He knew she worried about her agents. It was his job to see the bigger picture. He also knew this one cut that had the DPDS and frankly the whole company bleeding. Auggie was well liked. His brains, wit and charisma transcended his disability. The man was a legend among his peers. And those peers were not the type to impress easily. Auggie would be missed.

The techies would miss him most as a group, but individually, it was Annie Walker hands down who was suffering most. A naturally beautiful woman, the grief had taken its toll on her looks. She hadn't been eating well and sleep looked like a distant memory. There had always been a spark, actually a sparkle. That was gone. The techies gathered close to her, Arthur noted. He wondered if they were trying convey comfort or derive it from being close to her.

Her arms were wrapped around her torso as if to hold the desperate sobs in. It wasn't working too well. Every now and then one would force themselves out of her mouth in a small explosion of sound. At each one, the techies would wince as a group.

But she stood alone. Jai was out of the country on an op. The techies stood near, but she was really alone. Her request to bring her sister had been denied. It would have been too awkward to explain. As it was, his family stood overwhelmed at the military honors. Only those from the company understood they went far beyond his active military service.

She was the last to leave the gravesite. She outlasted his mother and brothers. They glance curiously at her, but there were so many very distraught young women.

She finally took that red rose and raised to her lips and tossed it in. Heaving one last deep sob and breathing slowly, she refused to say out loud what was in her heart. She could only pray that he knew. Dear God her had to know now, wherever he was. Because she was too foolish and scared to say it when it could have really meant something. It was a regret she was prepared to carry forever in her heart.

She didn't know she wasn't as alone as she thought. A figure stood back behind a tree in the distance watching her as he had for the last year. He ached to go to her and comfort her. But he knew that heartbreak might actually break her.

So, he watched, silently. He would be her guardian from afar. If only he could have saved her from this one. Even knowing the man she mourned had begun to replace him in her heart, he loved enough to want that love for her. It almost broke him. In an unconscious echo of her deep sob, he took a deep breath and followed from a safe distance as she left her best friend and hear mate in that box in the ground.

Back at headquarters the next day, it was a quiet and pale Annie who showed up to the daily briefing. She received a few nods, but it was understood that long grieving wasn't a luxury they could afford. They had a job to do and a country that unknowingly counted on them. She knew it too. Still, she was surprised to be given an assignment to quickly. When Joan announced that Howard would be her handler, she winced only slightly. He didn't take offence. He knew he had big shoes to fill. Not only was Auggie the best, but he and Annie had developed a rhythm that was natural and instant. No one else even came close to them. He tried to give her a reassuring smile. It was to her credit that she attempted a smile back.

It was to be a relatively simple mission, one a rookie could have handled. Annie understood it was not an insult. She knew she was not at her best and had a new tech in her ear. A simple job to get into their routine would be best, she reasoned.

If only it had really been that simple.

Yeah, I know, annoying little cliffie! Never fear, the bunnies are busy jumping up and down on the keyboard. Please review and kick them and me into gear

I got a few comments on the spelling of Auggie's name, so I am now spellin it with gg