a/n: After my oneshot Losing Auggie, I was challenged yet again by my authoress friend to write more angsty oneshots. This is the result of that challenge. Different than the previous one for sure, but I think it's an improvement actually. Probably because there's more fluff while the other one was just plain tragic! I hope you all agree with me and like it too. Please enjoy this oneshot and please please review. Thanks so very much, you are all so awesome! Hugs and kisses to you all!

Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own Covert Affairs. Nope. Sorry.

The Art of Running Away

He held his breath, and knocked on the door. A few moments passed before the door was opened to reveal Danielle dressed in flannel pajamas, a cup of steaming tea in her hand. She was standing there looking worn-down and all together exhausted.

'Isn't she long gone by now?'

"I know she's back," his voice betrayed him and cracked.

"Go home, Auggie," Danielle walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Auggie silently followed her, closing the door tightly behind him and following her footfalls into the living room. He remained standing.

"I can't. I know she's here. Why did she leave?"

"Don't make answer that," Danielle raked her fingers through her long hair. It had to be three in the morning at least.

"I know she left. I know she got on a plane and just left. But she's back again, isn't she?"

Danielle merely sighed.

"She knew she couldn't leave until she finished with that thing with the Smithsonian. You work there too so you must have known how stressful it was for her. She was gone all the time, you know that. And I saw how hard it was on her. She wouldn't tell me anything of course, but I knew how hard it must have been. She just needed a vacation. She needed to get away and relax for a while," She looked up at him and realized his eyes were welling up with unshed tears.

"So she leaves for… for months? Doesn't call, doesn't write? And then suddenly comes back and doesn't tell me?"

"How could you tell she was back?"

She wouldn't answer him. Besides, she didn't know why her sister left in the first place and then never called him when she came back.

"I could feel her. I can always feel her. I can see her everywhere, Danielle. I know it's crazy, me being blind after all, but I can just see her. When I'm with her, I can see again," he paused, collecting himself with a long sigh, "Where is she? Here? At a hotel?"

"She told me not to tell you," Danielle looked back down, hiding her face from her friend. At this moment she felt like a traitor. While strange, her sister's behavior was not her right to question. Nor was it Auggie's.

"Please," Auggie felt a tear slide down his cheek, "I can't stand it. I looked everywhere. Everywhere she said she was going to be. California, Paris, Guadalajara, Rome, Tokyo. I called old friends and asked around. I couldn't find her. Please, what did I do to make her hate me?"

Danielle's face shot back up.

"Don't you ever say that," she hissed, "You're the only reason she couldn't stay away. The vacation of hers was supposed to be a relaxing diversion. She can't stop thinking of you. She always calls and wishes she never left and cries. She can't stand to be away from you."

Auggie shook his head. This wasn't happening.

"Then why did she?"

This time she didn't even answer. She didn't know. Because she wanted to see the world? Because Auggie was taking forever to muster up some courage and she didn't have that long to wait for him? She had dreams to take care of. He was part of them, of course, but he didn't even know.

"Please," Auggie begged again. Daniele found herself crying. Her tears wouldn't stop no matter how hard she tried.

There was a moment where the only sound heard was Danielle's sobs before she caught her breath and whispered, "She's upstairs in the extra bedroom."

Again, she felt a traitor.

Auggie straightened up with new strength and hugged her.

"Thank you, Dani," he whispered. She nodded into his shoulder.

"She needs you, Auggie," she whispered into his ear, "Don't let her push you away."

Auggie forgot to breathe for a moment as he climbed the stairs. This was all he could do. He could walk up to that room and confess every word he had ever wanted to say. She could take it or leave it. She had already left once. She could always just run again. She wasn't chasing dreams, she was running.

Auggie extended a hand and felt the cool wood underneath his fingertips. The door to the extra bedroom was closed, he realized. He didn't know whether to knock, (after all, she would be asleep at three in the morning) or go in. He wiped his teary eyes and took a shaky breath. Without another thought, he opened the door and crossed the room to where she was laying in bed. She had her back to him, eye fixated on the black window, but she was awake.

"How did you know I was home?" she whispered.

"How did you know I was coming?" he responded. She rolled over and pushed back the mounds of blankets covering her. Auggie hesitated a moment, and the sat on the edge of her bed; He picked her up and pulled her across his lap.

"You shouldn't have left like that, Annie. You shouldn't have left me."

She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his chest. He held her close for the first time in months. It felt like years. Millennia.

"You shouldn't have made me wait, Auggie."

He held her tighter until he was afraid she might break. She laughed through more tears.

"I'm supposed to be in Beijing. I canceled the rest of my vacation. My travel agent freaked. I lost so much money."

She was strong willed as always.

"I thought my mind was playing tricks on me again," Auggie confessed, "I missed you so much."

"Auggie, I-"

"Annie, you waited this whole time for me," Auggie cut her off, "I love you, I should have never made you wait. I should have been out of my mouth the second I met you."

Exhaustion was coming back. He had been up for 36 hours straight and she wasn't far behind; Her plane had landed only 3 hours ago, a direct red eye flight from Beijing and straight to her sister's doorstep. She wore one of his old t-shirts the entire flight back and slept in it for possibly the fifth night in a row.

Auggie felt like he could finally sleep with her safe in his arms.

"I love you, too."

She held onto him like death and he almost laughed at how trivial this all seemed after all this time.

"One…one more question?"

She nodded against his chest.

"You'll travel the world, but you won't travel it with me?"

Annie looked up at him.

"I traveled the world for you, Auggie. Then I could tell you everything I saw along the way."

"I don't need to see the Eiffel Tower or the New York Skyline or the Coliseum through your eyes. Don't you understand, Annie," Auggie smiled and kissed her forehead, "When I'm with you, it feels like I can see again. And that's all that matters to me."

The two drifted into the first peaceful sleep they each had in months and downstairs the front door opened. Michael stepped in, closing the door softly behind him. He took one look at his wife before smiling and pulling her into a hug.

"She's back again, isn't she?"

a/n: So it's clearly a little different than my other fluffy oneshots, but I quite like this ansty genre. I hope you all enjoyed this oneshot too. Please stop by and leave a quick review telling me what you thought about it. Thanks so very much!