Adrift P1
Note: I have no hope that this will actually happen next week, but if I wrote next week's episode this would be in it…
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Auggie stood when he heard the door open. He had reassured Annie that they were a team no matter what, but he had a feeling that teamwork was not going to be within the halls of Langley after the meeting.
"Annie?" he asked, his voice cracked.
"I need to leave," she said, her own voice watery.
He just sighed.
"Now," was all she got out.
"OK, let's go."
She was going to argue with him, he was going to be in trouble when Joan got her hands on him. Annie had not revealed Auggie's part in the cover-up, but she could tell Calder and Joan had every idea how she managed to get those hospital records changed. She didn't want to risk getting him in more trouble by pulling him out of work at 2:00 in the afternoon, but she needed him.
"Thanks," she said quietly and brushed her hand against his, giving him her arm.
"Ms. Walker," a security officer appeared out of nowhere with a box.
Annie didn't have much in her desk having really just come back, the few items rattled around in the box hollowly. She reached for it, awkward with Auggie at her elbow and tucked it under her free arm. Auggie could feel her tremble.
"Can you drive?" he whispered.
"Yeah," she nodded and swallowed her tears.
Once in the car she had no idea where to go. Calder said she could have a week to get out of the apartment she was in, but a sweep team would be there today as a full investigation was underway thanks to Hayley Price.
"Where are we?" Auggie asked as she slowed to a stop and threw the car in park.
"A hotel," she said quietly.
"You don't have to stay in a hotel," he frowned.
"Your girlfriend has a sweep team at my place.'
"She's not my girlfriend. Come on, let's go to my place."
"Your other girlfriend is there, pretty sure Tash wants nothing to do with me," Annie said harsher than intended, she actually really liked Tash.
"Tash is gone," Auggie said, not nearly as sad as Annie thought he would be.
Truthfully Annie wasn't surprised, Tash never stayed in one place long.
"I'm sorry about that," she said, trying for sincere but falling short.
Auggie just laughed.
"Wow," Annie gripped the steering wheel as the valet finally appeared, "how did we end up like this?"
Auggie didn't have a chance to answer as his door was suddenly flung open and he could tell the hotel attendant was surprised to find a blind man in the passenger seat.
"Let's have lunch first and decide on a plan after we eat," Auggie reasoned.
"OK," Annie nodded.
Once seated in the hotel wine bar, Annie realized she was starving. She had picked a red wine served by the glass but at the last minute told the waiter to bring the bottle. She ordered salad and soup and a fish entrée that had fennel, she loved fennel. Auggie tried to keep up.
"I haven't had a real meal in a week," she admitted self-consciously.
"McQuaid didn't treat you Azerbaijan's finest?" Auggie raised an eyebrow and she laughed.
"No, it was funny how little appetite we had after evading a drone strike," she blew out a shaky breath, too much in too few days.
"I was so worried Annie. I knew the protocol was for you to call if something was wrong, but I just sensed something was wrong," he shook his head.
"I'm sorry about Mueller," Annie reached out and covered Auggie's hand with her own.
He just nodded, it had been a rough year for Auggie's former colleagues.
"If it matters, your name meant something to him, when I mentioned you he almost cracked. I think we could have turned him, or gotten something from him," she was whispering quickly.
"They'll be something on the hardware," Auggie noticed her hand still on his.
He wanted to tell her about Roger's intel as well, but she needed to decompress first and technically she was unemployed at the moment. Luckily the wine arrived before he had to fill a silence.
"This is good, you want some of this?" she offered him some fish and shuttled it on to his plate, stealing a beet from his side dish.
"I miss you Annie," he said it lightly, with a laugh, but she froze at the words.
"I want chocolate. You want chocolate?" she changed the subject quickly thinking ahead to dessert as she finished her entrée.
"Have I ever refused chocolate?" he grinned.
"Right. Let's have dessert," Annie nodded partially because she wanted dessert and partially because she was completely unsure what her next move was going to be after lunch.
"I don't usually have a 4 course lunch on a Wednesday, but this random hotel restaurant you dragged me too was quite good," Auggie smiled.
"Usually you eat a Power Bar at your desk and lunch should be the big meal of the day. Americans have made that dinner to go with our ridiculous work schedule, but now that I don't have a job I am going to start eating more European," she declared draining her 3rd glass of wine and pouring the end of the bottle herself before the waiter could cross the room to do it.
"So now what Walker?" his hand found her knee under the table and while that move in the past might have meant one thing at the moment it was simply meant to ground her.
"We should talk, I know we should Auggie and believe me I actually want to, but I am so tired," she sighed.
He knew she was tired in a variety of ways, but after everything in Azerbaijan he believed she was truly exhausted.
"OK, hang tight, I'll be right back," he stood and made his way back out to the lobby.
In a matter of minutes he had secured a room and had their lunch bill transferred over to the room charges, he tipped their waiter and returned to Annie' side.
"Let's go," he said.
"I don't think I can drive Auggie," she slurred slightly.
"It's OK, you wanted to stay here, we're going to stay here," he handed over the key pack.
Without another word Annie led them to the elevator bank, hit the up button and then the number 10. She navigated them down the twisted corridors to room 1020 and slipped the plastic card in the slot. The door lit green and she turned the handle. It was a typical city hotel room, small but neat with little but a giant bed in the middle of the room. She left Auggie at the main door and gave him the lay out, watched him walk the perimeter, map it in his head.
She slipped off her suit coat and her heels, placed them in the closet and then stretched out on the bed, rolled to her side. Without a single word Auggie repeated her actions, shoes and coat in the closet, vest as well. He emptied his pockets and found the bed, crawled across the great expanse of it to reach her.
Auggie slid one hand over her hip, flat against her stomach and pulled her body back against his chest, melded her to him, tangled their legs, he buried his nose in her hair and whispered against her ear.
"Sleep, Annie."
TBC…