Auggie and Annie had barely begun a long overdue conversation when Holder boarded the plane.

"All good here?" he asked

"Yup" Annie and Auggie replied in unison.

But things were far from good. Auggie was tearing himself up for ever sleeping with Helen. How dare he betray Annie. He wanted nothing more in the world than to take that night back, but even then somehow he felt that things would still be tense with the woman he loved so dearly.

The plane shot down the runway and lifted off into the starry night. Holder, who hadn't slept in three days, was already passed out. Annie wished she could fall asleep, but no such luck came. She couldn't stand being mere feet from the man she loved so dearly, yet feeling like they were miles away. She didn't care that he slept with Helen, she was felt horrible for ever having left him behind. She wished she could go back in time, before Henry, before the Puma, before any of it. All that mattered was Auggie. She didn't need fancy shoes, or shiny guns, or a job with an agency for the elite. She just wanted to be in his strong arms again, he always made everything okay.

A warm hand reached out and touched hers. It was as if Auggie had read her mind. She looked up at him as he mouthed to her

"I love you". A lump rose to her throat

She squeezed Auggie's hand four times "I love you too".

She continued to hold his hand as she was suddenly able to drift off to sleep. For the first time in months she felt safe. Not because she was on a plane, or because a CIA officer with a loaded weapon was sitting next to her, but because the one person she trusted in this world was looking out for her.

Auggie was exhausted but wouldn't dare sleep. He held Annie's hand and listened to her breathe. Her hand relaxed slightly in his grip as her gentle breaths evened out. Nothing in his mind had ever sounded quite so beautiful.