Sorry this chapter's shorter, but there really wasn't too much to do with it (at least that I could see). I wasn't really inspired too much, but I really wanted to put something up and knew that if I didn't do it now I'd likely not do it for a while, or at all. This is just Joan and Arthur, but I couldn't resist doing something with that little bit where Arthur walks past Auggie while he's in the darkened room. We'll go to Annie's POV next chapter.

I'm a little disappointed with all the spoilers going around. I have nothing against people writing about them, as long as they're posted in the story description on the main page so that if you don't want to know what's going to happen you can try your hardest to stay away (which really is much harder when there's still so few stories). Granted, some of these ones that don't say spoilers are included can only be identified as having spoilers if you've already heard that such a scenario IS a spoiler. But still-sometimes I choose to read something that says SPOILERS in the description (and usually kick myself later for having read it, but I have only myself to blame) and then other times I'm just happily reading a cute story when all of a sudden I'm being told of something that (heartbreakingly) may be happening a few episodes from now. It's one thing when I'm reading stories about a show that originally airs in the UK (like Merlin or Doctor Who), but when this is an American show (so to speak)...

Sorry. I know this isn't the case for all stories, but it seems lately that I've been reading a lot of spoiler bits in stories, and not all of them warn me. I'll gladly take any offended messages, if it gets me reviews. Yes, I'm jonesing that much for reviews, unashamedly.

So here is part two, just a little filler with the repercussions of the stupid polygraph.


Joan Campbell glanced at the clock in the lower right-hand corner of her computer screen and sighed. The digits read 8:30 PM and she knew that Arthur wasn't going to be able to get away for dinner. She wrote a few more lines on the report she was typing up about the day's events. Every available DPD agent had been sent for a polygraph test and each one passed.

She'd known that none of her agents were responsible for the leak, but Arthur was relentless in his pursuit of finding the guilty person and had chosen one of the worst moments to run the tests. One of her best agents was stuck in a foreign country and her husband decided he wanted to pull her people off the case and see if any of them were the leak—definitely not the right time.

There was a knock at the door and she looked up to find Arthur leaning against the doorframe.

"Hungry?"

She couldn't help the slight smile that crossed her lips. "Yes." She saved her report and shut down her computer. Arthur crossed the room and took her bag from her. She opened her mouth to dispute him but he held up a finger and shook his head. She closed her mouth and let her teeth grind together a bit before following him out the door.

Neither spoke until they were in Arthur's car and driving through town.

"Where are we going?"

Arthur didn't answer her for a minute, and when he did he only said, "dinner." Joan frowned slightly but sat back and watched the streets of the capitol fly by her.

They pulled up to a small restaurant they'd visited once or twice over the years, a classy place that didn't require a super fancy get-up or a payment plan. Arthur ordered one of the best wines the place had and they talked about things other than work while they waited for their food to come.

Halfway through his steak (he ordered it with a smile and actually winked at Joan), Arthur took a sip of his wine and, setting the glass down, looked at Joan with a contemplative expression. Joan let go of her fork and took a drink of water before questioning her husband's glance.

"What was Anderson's problem today?"

Joan frowned. "What?"

"August Anderson, your tech guy. What was his problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I came to your office to read you in on the Zurich exchange, I saw him in the tech room, just squeezing a gripmaster. He looked—well, he looked pissed. Do you have any idea why?"

Joan rotated her water glass on the table and tapped her heel against the floor in a quick staccato as she thought through everything that had happened that day and why Auggie was so off-balance. She took another quick sip of water and twisted in her seat to face Arthur a little better.

"I think you know why."

Arthur sat back slightly, totally un-expectant of the answer she gave. He frowned a bit and sputtered. "I know why? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Arthur! Think about it—what did you put my agents through today?"

"A company-directed polygraph. You knew I was going to have you do it."

"Why were we called into work so unexpectedly? What happened that was big enough to get both of our phones ringing?"

"The bomb and the subsequent botched exchange. What are you getting at, Joan?"

"What is my tech op's job during such a situation?"

"To get our operative home and if possible complete the mission."

"Yes. So what could have happened to make my tech op so upset?" She didn't give him a chance to answer this time. "Auggie had just lost contact with Annie when your little sidekick Bill pulled him away from his station to sit through your fricking polygraph test. You changed her liaison in the middle of a mission, Arthur. That's not acceptable for any agent, let alone one who's still pretty brand-new to the game. She was out there, trusting him to bring her home, and your need to find this leak could have cost her her life. Walker's a bleeding heart, Arthur. Auggie knows she's not likely to take his absence lightly. That is his problem."

Joan sat back and took a long drag of her wine. Arthur rested his elbow on the table, leaned his chin on his hand and pressed his finger against his lips. When he spoke his words were soft, almost repentant, practically pleading with her to understand his motivations.

"Someone with whom I am trusting information is breaking that trust and selling it to the press. It could cost the agency important successes, credibility—it could cost us some lives. I need to find that leak and plug it, soon. Walker's on her way home and she's completing the mission. She's a great agent, Joan. She handled this well from what I hear and I think she can handle a lot more."

"She did handle it well, Arthur, but at what cost? Even in a place like this you need to trust someone. And you won't stay alive for long if you don't trust the voice in your ear to lead you home. Annie is a great agent, but how long will we be able to keep her if she decides she can't trust anyone? You say your trust has been broken—I think today you may have broken hers."

Arthur fished for an answer. "I think she's stronger than that."

"I think she is too. Let's just hope that her friendship with Auggie is enough to make her understand why she was left alone."


By the way, if any of the dialogue in any of my stories ever seems off or out of character, I have a standard by which certain "acceptable" words are never spoken or written by me. Even "pissed" is a new one to come out (I usually save it for when I'm thoroughly p.o.'d). Just thought I'd throw that out there.