CH2
"So you can either come to work, but stay at a desk in Linguistics, or go rest at home." Joan said as I stood in front of her desk on Monday. "Preferably, I would like you here so that I can keep an eye on you, but it's ultimately up to you."
"What would I be doing in Linguistics?"
"Translating anything that needs translation. Particularly the Russian files, because we don't have as many people who speak Russian here. But you would stay here and not be sent on any field operations. And if I find that you go out, you will be suspended from even entering the building immediately."
I bit my lip. She knew me well.
"Can I think about it for the rest of the day?"
"Give me your answer before you leave." She said, dismissing me. I left and went straight into Auggie's office.
"Still deciding on Linguistics or home?" Auggie said, taking his headphones off and putting them around his neck.
"Yep." I leaned against his desk. "It would be hard to be in here when there's an op going on and I can't do anything."
"Now you know how I feel." Auggie gave me a small smile, but I could see the pain on his face.
"What would I even do at home? I don't have anything to do, I don't have any friends that know I'm alive, and my sister, the one person who I should really talk to, is in California."
"Well, you could always go to California."
"Auggie, I think when Joan says that I should stay home, I think she means that I should stay home."
Auggie shook his head.
"Then go to Linguistics. You'll be here and have something to do."
"Ugh, I just want to be in the field."
"Well, we can't always get what we want." Auggie put his headphones back on.
"Auggie… I didn't mean…"
"Hey, it's fine. I have work to do. Talk to you later?"
"Yeah." I frowned, but left.
The entire day, I sat at my desk, pondering my options. Every so often I would glance at Tech Ops and see Auggie deep in thought, sometimes pacing. It was obvious there was an op running today. I frowned. I should have been the one out there. At 5, I walked into Joan's office, my decision made.
"Joan?"
"Annie! Have you made your decision?" She put her pen down and looked up.
"I have. I want to be in Linguistics."
"Promise me you won't even think about trying to go out into the field?" Joan said cautiously.
"I promise."
"Then I will see you next Monday. I'm giving you the rest of the week off to start the recovery process. The Castrid case will be given to Jillian and you will not come into work." She raised an eyebrow. "Understood?"
I nodded.
"Then go home, get some rest. Oh, and stop by the medical office on your way out, they have your prescription."
I nodded again and then exited her office. When I looked into Auggie's office, he was already gone.
I sighed and made my way to the medical office. Once I grabbed my prescription, I walked outside and to my car. I drove almost absentmindedly and somehow, I ended up at the cemetery that contained my headstone from when I went dark and became Jessica Matthews. I looked at the cemetery and bit my lip. It would be a year since I "died" in just under a month. I got out of my car and slowly made my way to my own grave. I stopped in my tracks when I saw a figure sitting in front of my gravestone.
I quickly hid behind a tree, out of sight, and pulled out my phone, hitting 3 on my speed dial.
"Hello?" Auggie answered and I let out a sigh of relief.
"Auggie. I want to start by saying I'm sorry about this morning, I was being selfish." I whispered quickly.
"Annie, it's fine. I promise."
"No, it's not, but that's not what I'm calling about."
"Why are you whispering?"
"I'm currently at the cemetery where I was, you know, fake buried."
"May I ask why?" Confusion and pain laced his words.
"I don't know, Auggie. I was just driving and I ended up here."
"You went dark almost a year ago." He said quietly.
"Yeah. I know." I paused, peeking around the tree.
"So why are you whispering?"
"Because my sister is sitting in front of my gravestone and I don't know what I should do." I looked at the blonde figure whose shoulders were shaking. "I can't go up to her now and say 'Oh hi, this is a fake gravesite, I'm not actually dead.' I can't do that to her, Auggie."
"Well this is a problem."
"Yeah." I held my breath. "I don't think I should approach her. It's too… complicated. I mean what would I say? I can't exactly tell her why I did it."
"Then I don't think it's the right time for you to talk to her. Leave now and wait until you're ready."
"Auggie?" I bit my lip as I started back to my car.
"Yeah?"
"Can I come to your place? I don't want to be alone right now." I unlocked my car and sat in the driver's seat.
"Sure. I'll have a beer ready."
"I'm thinking something a little stronger. Patrón?" I took a deep breath as I started the ignition, closing my eyes for a second, hoping a bomb doesn't go off. I sighed in relief when nothing happened.
"I think I've got a bottle laying around here somewhere."
I smiled.
"I'll be there soon, I need to change into something more comfortable."
"I'll be waiting." And with that he hung up. I quickly left the cemetery, leaving my sister behind. My heart ached, knowing I couldn't go and comfort her the way I wanted to, but I knew it was a little more complex than that.
After going to my apartment and putting on leggings and an old shirt, I drove quickly to Auggie's place. The door opened as soon as my first knock was placed.
"Waiting for me, Auggie?" I smiled at him as he let me in. He just smiled and shook his head.
"Why do you think your sister is here in DC?" He led me to the kitchen where a bottle of Patrón was sitting on the counter.
"As you said, it's been almost a year and my birthday was on Saturday. She probably couldn't get down there until today." I said, watching him as he poured two shots of the alcohol. He handed me one and we both downed them quickly.
"She's still grieving." He said as he put his shot glass in the sink. I poured myself another shot.
"And I can't do anything about it." I said sadly before I downed my second shot. I refilled my glass quickly. The alcohol was helping with the ache that stayed in my heart.
"Woah, slow down with the Patrón. You'll have a nasty hangover tomorrow."
"Well, Joan's making me stay away from work for the rest of the week, so I don't really care." I downed my third shot. He grabbed the bottle before I could refill it. "Auggie!"
"I don't want you doing stupid things while drunk."
I sighed and put my glass in the sink.
"Fine."
"Come on, let's go to the couch."
He led us to the couch where I flopped onto what I had decided to call "Annie's Corner".
"Joan's giving Jillian the Castrid case." I said, sighing, as Auggie sat next to me.
"Jillian is more than capable of handling this. If it were someone else, like Connor, or that new girl that keeps stealing your desk-"
"Marissa." I gave a small smile.
"Yeah, or Marissa? That would be a stressful situation. They can barely get a brush pass right, let alone work on a case involving a Brazilian Diplomat."
"I guess so."
"I'm just going to take a guess and say you chose Linguistics?"
"You know me well."
"I'm not going to help you get into the field, Annie. I'm going to make sure you heal." Auggie said seriously.
"I expect nothing less. I'm actually going to try and stay on the sidelines this time." I sighed.
"How long until you're cleared?"
"Probably about 4 weeks. So, basically a month."
"Think you can survive that long?"
"I'm hoping."
Auggie laughed.
"Somehow, I have my doubts."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I pouted.
"Are you pouting? I can hear you pouting. You're pouting." Auggie laughed even more and I punched his shoulder lightly.
"Auggie!" I whined. He reached over to me and pulled me closer to him. My face heated up. I couldn't tell whether it was because the alcohol was kicking in a lot more than I expected, or because I was starting to realize how much I missed having Auggie involved in my life more than just a coworker. Hell, I would say we were still a little more than 'just friends'.
"Annie!" He whined back. I curled into his side and closed my eyes, yawning. I was exhausted. "Are you tired?"
"Mhmm." I nodded my head.
"Then you can sleep here. You shouldn't drive home anytime soon anyways." Auggie ran his fingers through my hair.
"Mhmm." I nodded, drifting off to sleep.
"Come on, let's get you into my bed, you can sleep there." Auggie picked me up and I snuggled into his chest as he carried me up to his bed. He gently laid me down and I snuggled into the covers. I was almost asleep but I felt Auggie's hand softly brush my cheek and kiss the top of my head before muttering something I couldn't make out.
"Auggie." I said, sleepily. I opened my droopy eyes, seeing him about to go back downstairs with a spare blanket and pillow. "Stay with me?"
He paused, but turned back around and put the pillow and blanket away. My eyes drooped shut again as he got into the bed. I felt arms enclose me and a smile fell upon my face as I finally fell asleep.
When I woke up, Auggie was gone. I checked the time, well past 10:30, and knew that he had probably left for work a while ago. I opened a text that Auggie had sent me hours ago and confirmed my suspicions.
I had to leave for work. Help yourself to breakfast. Just lock the door on your way out.
I smiled and decided to stay in his bed for a bit longer. I mean, I could. I didn't have to go to work and I had no other commitments. The sheets smelled like him. It was like I felt surrounded by safety. Auggie had always been my safety. I relied on him a lot more than I realized and I think last night proved that.
I don't know how long I stayed in his bed, but I wasn't ready to go home. Soon enough the grumbling in my stomach told me I should eat something. I regretfully got out of bed and walked into the kitchen. I opened the fridge and pulled out some eggs. I wasn't the best cook, but I could make scrambled eggs.
As I sat at Auggie's counter, eating scrambled eggs, I couldn't help but think back to when Auggie and I were together. I bit my lip as a smile crept onto my face. They were the happier times of my hectic life.
But I knew that was the past. Auggie was over me, he said so when I had gotten back from my small hiatus after Henry Wilcox. But then again, I had told him that it was better if we went back to handler and operative, yet I've already thrown that out of the window. So maybe, just maybe, something might happen.
Was I wishing for something to happen?
Was I hoping that once I healed, we would all go back to something similar to before Henry and Teo, before Chicago and Belenko, before all of that?
The time that Auggie and I shared a bed, woke up smiling, happier than I had ever been in my life?
Danielle was always better at reading my own emotions than I was. She would tell me what to do and it would always work out.
But I couldn't do that at the moment and I realized how much I truly missed her. Even through the ups and the downs she was always my rock in my unpredictable life. And now she was unavailable to me. I should have approached her yesterday.
No. No, that would have been a terrible idea.
I shook my head and washed my plate clean before putting it back to where I got it. I knew how much Auggie liked things in order.
I checked the time, it was nearly 3. I guess I stayed in Auggie's bed way longer than I expected. I sighed, and decided it was probably a good idea to go back to my own apartment. I made sure I had all my things before leaving Auggie's apartment and locking the door behind me.
Once I got home, I went straight for the shower, feeling kind of gross after not doing anything today.
It was more relaxing than I thought, sitting on the couch, reading a book with a glass of red wine on the coffee table in front of me. It had been before I joined the Agency since I had been able to do this. By the time I was getting ready to think about what I want for dinner, I got a text from Auggie.
I have extra pizza that I can't eat all by myself.
I shook my head, but my smile was one that wouldn't come off.
5 minutes.
I quickly got up and grabbed my keys, almost skipping to my car. It took exactly 5 minutes to get to his place. I hope there wasn't any speed cameras.
A minute later, I was knocking on his door. He slid it open.
"5 minutes and 24 seconds. I hope you didn't speed too much, Walker."
I walked in smiling.
"You know me so well."
He just laughed and shut his front door.
"Eager to see me?" He said as he turned towards me.
"Bored out of my mind." I grinned at him as he smiled.
"Well this pizza isn't going to eat itself." He led the way into the kitchen area and opened the fridge. He pulled out the box with half a pizza left and put it on the countertop. "Microwave or oven?"
"I'm impatient. Let's do microwave." I leaned against the counter. He pulled out two plates and put a slice on each plate.
"So, what did the great Annie Walker do today?" He said as he put a plate in the microwave and set it for a minute.
"This might actually shock you, but nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
"How long did you lay in my bed?" He gave me a knowing look and I scoffed.
"A while."
"How long is a while?"
"You know your bed is more comfy than mine! And that includes my new one in my apartment now!"
The microwave beeped and Auggie carefully took out the plate, knowing it was going to be hot.
"Well, maybe you should invest in a better bed." He pushed the plate towards me.
"Or I could just steal yours." I smirked, grabbing the plate and watching as he put his in the microwave.
"If you steal my bed, I will never talk to you again." Auggie said, turning around. I took a bite of the pizza. It burned the top of my mouth.
"Oh god. Aughuhgu." I fanned my mouth.
"Annie?"
"Ith hot. I neeth wather." I got up quickly and opened the fridge, where thankfully his stash of plastic water bottles was still in the bottom drawer. I pulled one out and chugged half of it.
"Did you burn your mouth?" Auggie looked at me, amused.
"Maybe." I took another sip. I grabbed another one as Auggie pulled out his plate from the microwave. I put it against the back of his hand.
"Careful, it's hot."
"Trust me, after hearing your strange noises, I think I won't make that mistake." But he grabbed the water bottle anyways. I let my pizza cool for a little bit more, not wanting to make the same mistake again. "So what did you do after you decided to get out of my bed at… What time exactly?"
I bit my lip and put on a sheepish grin.
"I got out of your bed around noon-ish, I think."
"You think?"
"I left at 3. So it was probably more like 2-ish."
"Geeze, Annie. Tired, much?"
"I've been stressed." I mumbled.
"And it's my job to de-stress you. Joan's orders." Auggie looked at me and gave me a small smile.
"And how do you plan on doing that?" I said, turning my full body towards him.
"I have some things in mind." Auggie mumbled. "And none of them involve anything that will stress your heart too much." He said pointedly as he put his plate in the sink. I followed suit.
Didn't he realize that just being here, talking to him, eating with him, cuddling on the couch with him all hurt her heart in that nonphysical kind of way.
"Like what? Chess?"
"That's tomorrow's activity, Walker."
"Auggie! Seriously?" I complained as we both sat on the couch.
"No. But it was fun to hear you all riled up." He gave me the Auggie-est smirk ever.
"Then what are we doing?"
"Well tomorrow you and I are going to see some of the sights." He said pulling his laptop out of his bag.
"Um..." I said hesitantly, not really understanding what he was saying.
"When was the last time you went on a museum tour around DC?" He gave me a smile and put his headphones on.
"Well, it has been a while." I said, watching him smirk and start to type.
"And I can't think of anything better than going to only the best museum here."
"I swear if you say the Smithsonian, I will hit you." I warned. He laughed.
"God no, that place is so boring. I'm talking about the Spy Museum."
I rolled my eyes.
"Are you serious?"
"Oh yes. Completely." He turned his head slightly towards me and was completely serious. "We have to see if you're up to spy standards set by the museum. It's how we check our operatives."
I paused for a second, watching his face.
"I can't tell if you're serious or not."
He slowly put on a smile that told me he was kidding.
"Auggie! You suck!"
"We are actually going to the Spy Museum though. It'll be fun. And not to mention how funny it will be to see the differences from the museum and real life, right?"
"I guess." A smile slowly grew on my face. "What time will we leave tomorrow, then?"
"I figured we should get there right as it opens at...10. So we should leave here at 9? Get some breakfast and head on over?"
"Sounds good to me." I pulled my legs up on the couch and crossed them. Auggie took off his headphones and put his laptop on the coffee table.
It was quiet as we both sat deep in our own thoughts.
"The last time I went to the spy museum was with my sister." I said quietly.
"Come here." Auggie opened his arms for me to get closer to him. I scooted over and he wrapped me in a hug. His long and strong arms put me at ease. "One day, you and your sister will be together and talking again like nothing ever happened. You just have to be patient. That day will come eventually. It might be a while, but that's ok. You need to get healthy first."
"Yeah, I know."
"We'll get there." He kissed the top of my head and I closed my eyes, a smile coming on my face. I stayed in his embrace for a good 5 minutes before he let go and got up. I watched as he walked over to his record machine and put on the familiar tones of Charles Mingus. He came back and I went back to the same position we were in earlier. He started to rub patterns on my arm and it was like all the stress in my body just went away. I closed my eyes, completely relaxed.
"Relaxed?" He asked me. I hummed in response. "Do you want to watch a movie or something?"
"No, let's just sit here for a bit longer." I said, opening my eyes, looking at him. He smiled.
"Perfectly fine with me."
And so we sat there with the soft hums of jazz playing in the background. Auggie's fingers tracing patterns on my shoulder as I slowly closed my eyes.
"Annie?"
I slowly opened my eyes. The sun was completely down. I had fallen asleep.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Auggie. You could have woken me up." I quickly took myself off of him.
"No, I was going to ask if you just wanted to sleep here again tonight? We can stop by your apartment in the morning. It's closer to the mall anyways." Auggie said, shaking his head.
"Oh. Yeah, I'd like that."
"I hoped you would say that. Come on, let's go to bed. I think your old toothbrush is still here." He stood up and led the way to his bedroom. "As well as some old clothes."
"I'm comfortable enough as I am right now."
"If you say so."
As it turned out my toothbrush was in fact still in his bathroom cabinet. It was like, no matter how many girls he was with after I left, he always had a piece of me here. Maybe he kept it because he never truly got over me.
Maybe I still have a chance with him.
As I was laying there with one of Auggie's strong arms holding me tight, I couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, Auggie?"
"Yeah?"
"I... I just wanted to tell you how much I missed this after I went dark. There wasn't a moment that I wasn't thinking about you."
"I missed this too, Annie." He said softly.
I flipped over so I was looking at him. I lightly I lightly caressed his face and without thinking about anything else, I kissed him. To my pleasure he kissed back and before we could really get into it, he pulled away.
"I'm glad you finally caught on." He said.
"Caught on to what?"
"Annie, I want to wake up to you in my arms every day. I keep you here late so that I can. I never got over you, Annie, no matter what I said."
I kissed him again.
"Glad I read the signs right." I whispered against his lips, smiling.
"Glad I put the signs out there right." He whispered back, smiling as well. "Now let's get this time right. Let's take this slow. Although, I would love it if you just want to move in with me right now."
"Auggie…" I pulled away, frowning slightly.
"I know, I know. That's not slow. I'm just saying that whenever you are ready, you can come live with me. Take your time, Annie. It's been a rough year. I don't want to push you too hard."
I put my head in the crook of his neck.
"Let's just enjoy now and not worry about the future for once." I said, closing my eyes. I felt him kiss the top of my head.
"I completely agree. Now sleep tight. Tomorrow is going to be fun."
I nodded and smiled, falling asleep pretty quickly in the comfort of Auggie's arms.
