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DISCLAIMER: I don't own Annie, Auggie or anything Covert Affairs.


-Chapter 3-

"If you're spending the weekend here again we need to go grocery shopping," Auggie said as they were about to finish work a Friday afternoon. Annie had been spending the weekends with him on a regular basis for the past month and they'd grown steadily closer. Over the month and a half since Annie had arrived on his doorstep Auggie had realized just how much he'd actually missed having a social life and he felt a tinge of regret for letting it slip away from him after his accident. It hadn't really been a conscious decision at the time; he'd just had so much to deal with, learning to live with his disability and adjusting to his new life, that his social life had fallen to the bottom of his list of priorities.

"If you don't mind I was hoping to stay, I actually have a suitcase in the car, just in case."

"Oh really, you enjoy my company that much?" Auggie said with a smirk.

"Absolutely! You're very good company and my sister's in-laws are visiting this weekend. I have a feeling that you enjoy my company too."

"You know I do Annie and you're always welcome to stay here. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't save you from an awkward weekend with your sister's in-laws."

"A terrible one," Annie replied with a cheeky grin. Then she got serious again. "Thanks for letting me stay. You're kind of like a Saint Bernard you know?"

"It's the slobbering, right?" he replied with a wink.

"That, and you're cute and dependable, and you bring me booze when I'm feeling down."

"That's what friends are for. You'd do the same thing for me."


"I could get used to this," Auggie said with a grin as they were headed for the grocery store a few blocks from his house. Annie was pushing him, holding on to his shoulders and he was holding her bag in his lap. She was secretly enjoying the feeling of his strong shoulders through his brown leather jacket. They both needed some fresh air after being coped up in Auggie's office all day.

"Don't get used to it. It's only because you told me you hurt your shoulder. I don't want you to hurt yourself even more."

"Harsh! It's not that big of a deal Annie. I just pulled a muscle because my hand slipped when I was getting out of the shower this morning. I'll be fine in a day or two. It's not the first time this happens." Auggie felt slightly embarrassed about his little accident in the bathroom that morning. His hand has slipped just as he was transferring from the seat in the shower to his wheelchair and it was just pure luck that he hadn't ended up on the floor. He didn't want to make a big deal about the incident.

Annie simply squeezed his shoulders and they crossed the parking lot. As they entered the store she let go and headed for the carts.

"Well, you can push yourself now. I'll take the cart," she said, heading for the carts.

"We don't need a cart, a basket will do," Auggie said as he grabbed one and placed it on his lap and handed Annie her bag. "Here's your bag. Now, let's go over the shopping list."

Annie grabbed the bag from him and pulled the list from it, before slinging it over her shoulder.

"Tomatoes, onions, ground beef…." Annie started rattling off the list they'd put together before they'd left the house. Auggie set off for the vegetable section.

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"Hey this is awesome," Annie said as they moved through the isles a while later.

"What?" Auggie didn't understand what Annie was talking about.

"I have a self propelling shopping cart that keeps me companied," she said as she placed a bag of chips in the basket on Auggie's lap and hip checked him. "Grocery shopping can't get better than this."

"Funny," Auggie said with a laugh. Then he got serious. "I like shopping with you too. I don't have to ask random people to get me the stuff from the top shelves I can't reach myself."

"It's a win-win situation then," she replied as she reached down to give Auggie's shoulder a squeeze. "Well, I think we've got everything. Let's go check out and get back to the house. I'm starving."

"Not so fast. Let's swing by the beer shelf and get a six-pack. I forgot to check, but I think there's just one in the fridge right now. That's not much if we're both going to enjoy a few."

"Ah, good thinking, running out of beer on a Friday evening would be bad."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Auggie replied with a self-satisfied smirk as he turned around and headed to the beer shelf.


"I'll have to check with Auggie and get back to you, okay…yeah….Talk to you soon. Bye."

"You'll have to check with Auggie about what?" Auggie asked as he entered his living room Saturday morning. Annie was on the couch, clutching her iPhone in her hand. She hadn't heard him coming.

"Oh, good morning Auggie. A few of my friends are meeting at a club tonight and they wondered if we want to join them."

"I don't know Annie. I'm not a big fan of clubbing and places like that are rarely wheelchair friendly. I also hate being stuck at the table watching everyone's stuff while they're dancing," Auggie responded with a shrug.

"It's a quiet jazz club in Georgetown and it's accessible. I've been there several times and you shouldn't have any problems getting around there at all. Come on Aug. I know you like jazz; I've seen your CD collection. And I promise I won't leave you sitting alone at the table."

Auggie was quiet for a moment. Annie was right; he did like jazz. Before his accident he'd been a frequent guest as some of DC's jazz clubs and it was something he'd missed. He figured that if Annie's friends were at least a bit like her it couldn't be too bad and decided to give it a chance.

"I'll go if you're 100% sure the place is wheelchair accessible."

"I'm sure Auggie. One of the regulars is this a guy in a big, bulky electric wheelchair. He gets around just fine, I don't see any reason you shouldn't."

"Okay, I surrender. I'll drive."

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"You clean up nicely," Annie said as Auggie came out of his bedroom. He'd been wearing a typical Saturday outfit of worn jeans and a worn t-shirt all day and he'd changed into a pair of dark jeans, a light gray shirt and a fitted charcoal V-neck sweater and he had a black leather jacket in his lap. He'd also shaved and his unruly hair seemed more tame than usual.

"So do you Ms. Walker," Auggie replied. Annie always dressed well, but her burgundy, knee length dress and stilettos blew him away. It sure was a step up from her work and casual clothes. "You look amazing tonight."

"Thanks Auggie. I like dressing up," she said with a smile as she pulled on a trench coat.

"Well, shall we get going then?" Auggie grabbed his car keys from a small table in the hall and made sure he had his wallet and phone before he turned and headed for the garage door. Annie had seen Auggie's black BMW 525 in the driveway before, but she was surprised to see a second car in the garage. A grey dustcover was covering it.

"Hey, what's under the cover?" she asked as Auggie locked the door behind them and moved towards his car.

"My '67 Corvette. Bought it a couple of years before my accident, managed to put a few miles on it. It's a collector's car with a manual transmission, adapting it so I can drive it is out of the question. I'm thinking of selling it," he said with a shrug as he opened the driver's door, positioned himself and transferred to the drivers seat. "Would you mind giving me a hand? I usually put the chair in the passenger seat, but since you're riding me I'll put it in the back so you can sit up front with me."

"Sure, just tell me what you need me to do."

Five minutes later Annie had placed Auggie's disassembled wheelchair in the back seat and she had buckled into the front passenger seat. Auggie started the car and backed out of the garage. He was feeling nervous and excited at the same time.

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Auggie felt more nervous than he'd anticipated as he followed Annie through the jazz club. Thankfully it wasn't too crowded and Annie was right; the place seemed to be wheelchair friendly.

"Hey guys, I'd like you to meet Auggie," Annie said as they reached a table in the back of the club. "Auggie, this is Alan, Cathy, Jack and Andrew."

"Nice to meet you all," Auggie said with a smile as he settled in at the end of the table and shrugged out of his jacket. "Thanks for letting me tag along."

"No problem, a guy under 30 that's into jazz is a rarity. We're always looking for new members in our strange little club," Jack said as he shook Auggie's hand firmly. Half an hour later the conversation was flowing lightly and Auggie was enjoying himself more than he'd anticipated.


"Thanks for persuading me to come last night, I had a really good time," Auggie told Annie over breakfast Sunday morning.

"No problem. I knew you'd have a good time. You really need to relax and let your guard down a bit."

"What are you getting at?" Auggie took a sip of his coffee with a puzzled look on his face.

"I think you worry too much about how people see you. I know there are people out there that treat you differently because you're in a wheelchair and I completely understand that it's frustrating to you. But Auggie, you're a smart, funny, good-looking guy. Focus on getting people to see that, like you did last night."

"Who made you my therapist?" he asked, a bit sarcastically. It was evident that he wasn't comfortable with the direction the conversation was taking.

"Funny! I'm not trying to be your therapist, I'm just telling you what I've observed since I met you. I don't understand why you're such a hermit. You're a great guy Auggie, a really great guy."

"I'm not a hermit!" Auggie shot back defensively, although a small voice in the back of his head told him that she did have a point.

"You're not? You work from home and you don't seem to have much of a social life."

"Uh…" Auggie stuttered out. Then he stopped and leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs, hanging his head. "I've had a lot to deal with for the past few years you know," he mumbled without lifting his head. Annie had managed to hit a nerve and he felt oddly emotional.

Annie moved to sit on the chair next to him and grabbed his hand.

"I know Auggie, and I'm sure it's been hard for you, but do you seriously plan on spending the rest of your life alone in this big house?"

"It's not like I never leave the house. I go down to the café for lunch several times a week and I go into the Murphy offices for meetings from time to time."

"Do you talk to people there? The only reason you worked up the courage to talk to me was that the free seat by my table was the only seat in the place that was accessible to you."

Auggie hung took a deep breath. He hated to admit it, but Annie had a point. He raised his hands in defeat.

"I guess you have a point," he admitted reluctantly. "I've been a bit of a hermit since my accident."

"What happened? Didn't you have friends before?"

"I had plenty of college and high school friends, but after graduating we all got scattered around the country. I had only lived in DC a few months when my accident happened; I'd made a few acquaintances, but no real friends. Then I was injured and spent about six months in a hospital and rehab. When I was done with rehab this place was waiting for me and I ended up working from here. I guess that's the short version of it," Auggie said with a shrug.

"What about your family?" Annie asked. "You never see them?"

"Ever since my accident the relationship has been strained. I send them presents for birthdays and Christmas. I haven't seen any of them since I told my parents and two of my brothers to fuck off and leave me alone while I was in rehab."

"Why, what happened?"

"It's kind of a long story and I really don't feel like going into it right now. Sorry."

Annie squeezed his hand. "It's okay, you don't have to apologize. Just know that I'm here should you ever feel like talking about it, okay?"

Auggie finally looked up with grateful look on his face. "Thanks Annie," he said with a small smile as leaned forward and pulled Annie in for a hug. "I appreciate it."


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