a/n: Thanks so freaking much to my amazing perfect beta, cotedepablo911. She's fantastic and I owe her so so much! On a totally unrelated note, during the season 2 finale, when Auggie waited for Annie at the hospital and fell asleep on that bench in the waiting room..that was one of the single most adorable things I have ever seen on that show! I literally 'aww'-ed out loud! I melted into a puddle. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this oneshot! Please leave a review on your way out!

Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs. If I did, Auggie and Annie would be in the midst of a passionate and fluffy love affair and Christopher Gorham would be topless in every single freaking episode, not just Communication Breakdown.


I Know

"I'm cold."

"I know."

"…I'm still cold."

"You're always cold."

"Don't be mean, Anderson."

She heaves a sigh when he doesn't reply and rolls over, eyeing him. He's in profile, arms locked behind his head and sightless eyes fixed on the sky above. She could never understand how he can spend so much time out here. Or how he can get so lost in the world of nature because it always leaves her feeling more insubstantial and alone than anything else? It doesn't matter now though because she's here, with him, even if he is lost to his deeper thoughts.

In the starlight (no moon tonight to cast a friendly light), he looks calm and relaxed and she hopes it's because she's here. And that she's making him feel less insubstantial like he's making her feel. The bandage above his right eyebrow doesn't even look that bad in this light, she muses. It's a remnant from this afternoon when the new intern accidently left a swivel chair in his path and she knows it could have ended up so much more badly than just a cut (he still refers to it as a scratch though it needed eleven stitches). The poor intern was scared to death when Auggie had gotten back. He thought the mistake meant the end of his internship and life. Luckily, Annie was there to handle the situation and reassure the intern that he wouldn't die or lose his job.

"Are you even listening to me?"

As he turned to face her, Annie's breath caught in her throat. His sightless brown eyes are practically dancing at her, dark and expressive in the half light. He reaches up a hand and accurately presses it to the side of her face, fingers tangling in her blonde hair and she offers a slight smile. She can't help but puzzle over the warmth of his hands even though she's the one with the jacket. She thought of the dreams of her and Auggie together. The two of them alone in another world. Anywhere else where they could just be together without having to be nervous about missions or ops. This felt like one of her dreams.

"I always listen to you, Auggie."

And it's at times like this, when he looks so earnest and that smile is quirked in just a way that she knows it's for her and not their friends, or a mild annoyance, or a funny joke, or even the stupid nature around them that her heart melts. It's when he smiles like that she remembers why she agreed to finally go out with him, despite what it might do to their coworkers or bosses or jobs or their own friendship. Because, she realizes again and again, that she loves that smile and she wants to see it more often.

"Good," He grins at her, "And I always listen to you too."

"Oh, really, Auggie?" she teases lightly, "What about last month, when I told you to go left and you just had to go right and ram your shin into my coffee table? Or when I told you not to eat the ice cream last week after you were just getting over your cold? You were stuffed up for three more days. Or just today when I told you that it would be cold out but you still forgot your jacket? You'll end up with a cold again, wait and see."

He sends her his trademark smirk at the last topic and she knows she lost a battle she didn't know she was fighting.

"But, baby," his smirk is teasing and flirty and wicked, "I'm not the one that's cold."

Annie felt herself go weak on the inside, but she bounced back quickly, "Auggie, it's astounding how you're so insufferable sometimes."

She glares half heartedly and shoves him away. He laughs and falls onto his back, arms returning to their previous position and sightless eyes once again trained to the sky. But he's still chuckling away and that makes her smile despite herself. She rolls over and curls up against his side and lets out a contented sigh. It isn't plausible for him to be so warm, unless he's running another fever.

"So, care to explain why you dragged me out onto the roof of your apartment building? We could be inside drinking hot chocolate and listening to Mingus, you know?"

"Tempting, Walker. But not yet. We're waiting."

His arms break their formation when one drifts down to wrap around her shoulders. She smiles into his chest and snuggles closer. Her head tilts so that she can stare up at the sky above and the dark profile of the silent man who crept in and stole her heart.

"Waiting for what?"

She can tell he's amused, that he's holding back chuckles, because his body is twitching and, after many, many months, she knows she signs of when he's keeping secrets from her, "Ten thirty-eight," he replies casually.

"Okay," her eyebrows knit together in confusion, a slight scowl on her pouting lips, "Um…why?"

"You'll see. It's almost time, so relax. Unless you're worried about freezing to death, in which case you may want to worry."

"Oh, shut-up," she growls. His hand travels lower, finding her ribs and letting out an assault, attacking them brutally and quickly. She shrieks, curling up and instinctively moving away. Unfortunately, that means pinning herself between the warm body and the villainous hand, "Auggie, stop! Stop! I relent! I'll do anything! I'd raise a white flag but I don't have one!" she cries, still giggling hysterically.

"Miss Walker. If only the bad guys knew you were ticklish, think of how much easier it would be to defeat you? You'd either have your own star on the wall, or be lying dead in my office."

She resists punching him (since he's probably delusional from the hypothetical fever) and she's really too comfortable now to move much.

The alarm of his watch goes off with an annoying beeping but it sounds sick and feeble to her ears and she looks at him questioningly.

He knows the look she must be giving him and he gives a small shrug, "One of my brothers accidentally dropped it in the pool when I went for that visit a few weeks ago," he explains, "We had to fish it out with a paper clip, ruler, string, and an old physics text book."

She doesn't even try to imagine how that's done.

"And you're wearing it why?"

"I like it. And it still works. Kind of. Anyways, show time."

He pulls flashlight out from somewhere and she decides she has to question him later about it.

"Follow the beam."

"Wait," Annie scowled again, "Last time I checked, you were Ray Charles."

Auggie chucked, "Last time I checked, yeah. Why?"

"A blind guy is pointing out stars to me. Insert ironic joke here."

"I timed it so they are exactly above us. With a little guessing, I can point some things out. I'm not completely useless, I'll have you know," Auggie turned his head so he could send a cocky smirk in her direction, "I have many uses, Walker. Now, if you don't mind, how about you trust me and just go with it?"

"I trust you enough at work. Now you want me to trust you with a flashlight? I'm not insane, Auggie. Flashlights are quite dangerous, after all. First flashlights, then you'll want to drive and have a gun and fly a plane."

"Oh yes, Annie, flashlights are the gateway drug."

"Oh har," She rolls her eyes but trains her eyes on the flashlight as it moves.

"Okay, I think I got it. See that constellation?"

At her nod, he continues.

"That's Ursa Minor, or rather, the Little Dipper…"

"I know what Ursa Minor is."

"Okay, okay. And that's," he moves the light slightly, "That should be Orion's belt over there. See?"

"A little more over, Auggie."

"Oh, okay. Thanks. Anyway, and directly below that…are you looking?"

"I'm looking."

"That's your star."

"What?"

She sits up, staring at him and he smiles. That quirk of a smile he must know she absolutely loves. And, all at once, she's shocked and surprised and brilliantly happy all rolled up into one nearly exploding package.

"My what?" she repeats in a slightly calmer tone.

"Your star," he repeats as if it's the most sensible thing in the world. Her star. She's still gaping openly, "It's not a very imaginative name, and my brothers suggested more…interesting…names but I liked it I guess. La jolie Annie. I'm sure I messed it up since I've never been good at French conjugation, but there you have it," He offers a lopsided smile as he sits up and turns towards her, "Happy anniversary?"

"August Anderson!" she exclaims. He looks startled as she practically tackles him to the ground, "I can't believe you…you! Ugh, how?"

He gives her that same cocky smirk and she just shakes her head, kissing him soundly and then looking back at the sky, "Show it to me again?"

"Of course, my lady," he replies gallantly. He shifts closer and she welcomes the warmth once more as he lifts the flashlight, "See those stars that make up Orion's belt?" She nods, "And right below the farthest? It should be right about here. That's your star. Right there. Its name is Annie."

"Thank you."

"You wanna know something else about your star? Something that's completely unique and special about it?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"It was made by an angel. That's why I picked it. Because I think it's the one that twinkles brightest…Just like you. I can't see it, of course, but I just know it must shine the brightest, just like you, Annie Angel."

Annie blushed and snuggled in closer to his shoulder.

They're silent for a moment and she shivers.

"I'm still cold."

"I know."

"And my gift looks completely cheap now."

"Probably."

She glares.

"I love you."

"I know."

He squeezes her hand, keeping the beam fixed on the star.

"I love you too."

"I know."