A/N: A one shot that popped into my head yesterday. Oh, when writing this I assumed Annie & Auggie have already expressed their feelings for each other and have acted upon them previous to him going off to Switzerland. Hope you guys enjoy it. As always reviews are welcome and appreciated!

In regards to my first multi-chapter, I was sick this whole past week and now I have writer's block. This idea just came to me and so I decided to write it first. Don't worry, Presence of the Past will be continued.

Disclaimer: Annie & Auggie are not mine

His palms were sweaty, leaving marks on the steering wheel and his heart was beating fiercely against the walls of his chest, reverberating in his ears. It was like Travis Barker gone wild. Deep breaths man, Deep breaths. He kept telling himself. It wasn't that he was nervous driving back in the states, it's like riding a bike, you never forget. But every inch closer to the stately ivy covered Georgetown house he got, the more effort it took to keep an even breath.

It was somewhat late in the evening but there was no time like the present he had told himself. A light was still on in the Brooks' kitchen and a woman with wavy strawberry blonde hair was watching Conan while she flitted around putting a random assortment of things away. That must be Danielle. He thought. If she was any indication of what kind of genes ran in the family, then Annie was probably just as beautiful, if not more so.

He was only offered a glimpse of the guesthouse from the main street, but as he pushed open the gate (praying that it wouldn't make a racket and scare anyone), the small cottage like house came into full view; it seemed quite cozy. A soft glow emanated through the curtains. Good, she was still awake.

Annie hummed along to the sounds of Mingus as she tidied up around her room. Today had been long, but not as long as most of her days so she had decided to clean. Her little guesthouse was looking too slovenly for her taste anyway. As she made her way over to the kitchenette, she realized there were still a few sips of wine left in her glass from earlier in the evening. She was just about to finish it off when the current song finished, and during the slight pause between the last song and the next, she heard a noise – was it a crunching? – outside.

Not sure if her ears were just playing tricks on her, she temporarily forgot about the wine and went to pause her iPod instead. There it was again, except it wasn't so much a crunching as it was slow, almost calculated footsteps. What the hell? She really didn't need any more chaos in her day. All she wanted was to finish cleaning, finish her wine and curl up in bed with a good book; not fend off some burglar. Tiptoeing quickly over to her nightstand, she slid open the top drawer, lifting out her .22 caliber.

Whoever it was, was now almost at her door. What kind of thief was this? Her lights were on, she was clearly home and yet he (or she, she supposed crooks could be women too), was going for the door? Ballsy. Well she was going to be two steps ahead of him. She went for it and swung open the front door, whipping her hand quickly back to the gun, pointing it straight at…Auggie?

"Whoa!" He held his hands up in surrender. Well, that wasn't exactly the greeting he had expected. Her eyes were wide with shock, gun still pointed at him. She resembled a deer in headlights, a gun carrying deer in headlights. A really gorgeous deer in headlights…

"Auggie, what…what are you doing sneaking around my house like that! I could've shot you!" She yelled, finally free from her initial state of astonishment. Come to think of it, what was he doing here period? She wondered. He wasn't due back for another couple days.

As she clicked the safety on and turned to put in back into her nightstand drawer, Auggie took a moment to examine her living space. It seemed very Annie. Cultured, unique, soft but not too feminine; and there was also a faint hint of grapefruit in the air. He smiled at that familiar smell. When he heard her coming back towards him, Auggie pulled his focus away from her décor and on to the frazzled blonde, locking eyes.

Annie stared at him incredulously, clearly registering something out of the ordinary.

"You didn't answer my question Aug. And you're not supposed to be back for another couple days." She stated, with that curious look still present.

With their gazes still fixated on one other, he responded. "Surprise? Though I didn't exactly envision being welcomed with a gun pointed at my chest."

Oh my god, he saw the gun! Realization hit her like sucker punch to the stomach. Through all the commotion and adrenalin she completely forgot that he had known there was a gun raised at him. And right now, as she was thinking to herself, his eyes, still deep and chocolaty, were different. They were not trying to focus correctly, they actually were?

"Cat got your tongue Walker?"

Seriously, what was going on here? Her head was swimming. "You…saw the gun." She said in a hybrid statement-question tone. It was miracle she was able to say anything.

A funny mix between guilt and acknowledgement played across his face and he just half-smiled and nodded.

"Do you wanna let me in?"

"Um…yeah." Was all she could say. She stepped aside and he waltzed right through, taking a seat on the small couch by the window. She followed suit. It was so strange to see him move without a cane, his laser, a guiding arm or hands outstretched. They sat in awkward silence until she managed to gain some of her bearings back. "So…you didn't go to Switzerland to help set up tech for our guys there I take it."

"No, it's a long story…"

"No really? So, you can see?" Annie said in disbelief. The way their eyes kept meeting was strangely unnerving. Like he was privy to every emotion and thought coursing through her mind.

"Yeah."

The man was perceptive when blind, but this? This was a whole other level. Suddenly, she felt very exposed, like she was sitting naked before him, except she was fully clothed. She pulled the two sides of her unzipped hoodie tighter around her torso and fussed with her hair. He just had to show up late at night, while she was in sweats, no make-up and hair all disheveled from cleaning? Her nervousness soon turned into hurt and frustration and she kind of preferred feeling the latter over the former.

"I can't believe you lied to me! And now you just show up at my house in the middle of the night telling me you can see? What the frick Auggie!" She punched his arm, a habit she had when angry. It was a little harder than she had really meant it to be.

"Owe! Wow, you're really mad. I don't blame you though, but listen Annie, I had to lie. To everyone, except my family, they were the only people allowed to know." Auggie said apologetically.

"Only your family knew? I'm sure Joan knew."

"Joan knew because she was the one who told me about the clinical trial in Switzerland."

"I'm sorry; none of this is making sense to me." She huffed.

He placed his hand on her shoulder and the touch sent a tingling sensation through her body. "The Geneva Foundation is an organization that's dedicated to advancing medicine with respects to injuries obtained during combat. They found a way to restore sight in animals and had set up a human trial. I was one of the several people offered a spot in the trial. But it was highly confidential."

"That sounds dangerous, being the first human guinea pigs…" Annie responded with concern.

"Yeah…it was pretty risky." Auggie thought it better to leave out the part where one of those risks was death. He didn't want unnecessary additional bruises. The chance of death was miniscule anyway. He started to play with a wayward strand of her hair. "I thought long and hard about it though. It wasn't a split decision. I loved my job in tech ops but, you know me, I want to be back out there in the field. This was my chance to get that back, to get myself back…"

"You were perfectly fine to me, and I'm sure in time Joan would've let you do some work in the field…"

Auggie sighed; he wasn't going to argue that. He knew she thought he was wonderful as Auggie, blind tech ops man and it really made him happy to know that, but a part of him was taken away that day in Tikrit. No one knows how that feels until it happens to them, but he wasn't going to bring that up, not now.

"I missed you. You did get my e-mails though."

"Yeah, your fake e-mails." Annie spat, still trying to stay upset.

"Hey, the e-mails were real…some of the information in them may or may not have been slightly fabricated."

Annie laughed and Auggie was glad she wasn't going to stay mad at him forever. Well he didn't believe she could, but the girl could hold a grudge.

"I missed you too you know." She said quietly.

"I know."

The two of them finally found their way into each other's arms. The heartfelt embrace lasted slightly longer than usual, drinking in each other's presence. Pulling away slightly, Auggie gazed into her eyes and gently caressed her hair.

"You're so beautiful. Even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined."

Annie felt her face flush. She was sure this time Auggie could see her skin turn that tell-tale pink hue.

"You're even cuter when you blush." He said, rubbing her rosy cheeks with his thumb.

She swatted at him but he caught her arms and drew her in for a kiss. She pulled away right after. Auggie tilted his head, sporting a confused disappointment on his face. She wondered if that adorable head tilt was picked up after being blinded or if he always did that. "You know, this is kind of freaking me out. You being able to see and all…" She said.

He chuckled and leaned in again, "I'm sure you'll get used to it. So, may we continue?" It was more of a rhetorical question as he went for her lips again, not waiting for an answer. She gave in and they were lost in their own world for the rest of the night.