And so continues my work for WotD. Tonight's finally the premiere of Covert Affairs, which means I may wind up skipping a day tomorrow to write something in reaction to this week's episode. I have it set to record on my DVR, but I stubbornly refuse to read the summary Dish includes because I don't want to ruin anything for myself. XD
As a result, I don't know when we're starting off in the spectrum of things (and I don't want to know, either, until 10 PM Eastern), but consider this my opinion of Annie finally going back to work. A little rough, but it's how I'd do it.
Post-When the Levee Breaks (1.11). Vague for a reason, peeps.
$4$
Wiredrawn: (adj.) finely spun; extremely intricate; minute; drawn out long and thin like a wire.
After the first week, getting out of bed required a lot of energy. Probably because she hadn't left her bed for three days, other than the few times Danielle walked into her guest house and demanded she eat something or shower. Beyond that, she couldn't work up the desire to do anything more than roll from one side of the bed to the other.
But Annie needed to go back to work. Well, not really 'back'—before she could be cleared for any kind of work beyond paper pushing she needed to be cleared by the CIA's shrink, an event she knew was going to be enjoyable for exactly no one.
Regardless, she needed to finally pull her ass out of bed and head back to Langley. The thought may have made her empty stumbled to churn, but it was her job. She had to face everyone eventually. Putting it off further would only make this moment worse.
So she shoved off her covers, gritting her teeth as the cooler air raised goosebumps all along her exposed skin, and rolled right out of bed before her body could convince her another extra five minutes in bed would be a stupendous idea.
She hadn't looked in a mirror during this time, but that was probably for the best. She needed another shower for sure, because her hair felt all kinds of knotted and ratty from no brushing and tossing and turning on her pillow. Plus, her eyes were bloodshot to hell and there was no way her utter lack of makeup was doing her complexion good.
In short, she was sure she looked like hell. At least she matched her insides.
She shuffled over to her nightstand. Just judging the last ten minutes she knew her day was going to drag out into eternity and then some, and she wasn't going to be able to do a damned thing to stop it. Even getting across the room and into the bathroom seemed like it would take a month, at least.
Her phone—her CIA-tricked out work phone, not her home phone, no one ever bothered to call that one—was blinking, a sign of a missed text or message.
She turned on the phone, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the bright screen and the tiny font. She continued to blink in confusion until she was absolutely positive she was reading the name right. Then she dialed her answering machine.
"So today's the big day, huh?" Auggie's baritone rang through the message, and the sound wormed a smile out of her. He had to have woken up at 6 in the morning or something to leave this message.
"I know the past week has been hell for you. Everyone understands that. Even Joan—I've never heard her sound so guilty before. She feels responsible, even if she would never admit. I bet you could even wrangle a couple extra paid leave days if you pout enough. But personally, I think that's an awful idea. Mostly because one of the newbies keeps screwing up my coffee order. Yours may have been cold, but at least it was correct. That counts for half, I think. Oh, and I also miss you a lot. But really, it's mostly the coffee. But regardless of when you come back—and I'm seriously encouraging that you come in today, not biased or anything—you're gonna do great. I believe in you, babydoll."
Annie smiled into her phone, shaking her head slightly. She still felt like hell warmed over, but that Auggie had taken the time to leave her a little pep talk message before she started work helped cement her resolve, just a little bit.
Maybe she'd bring him a coffee this morning—extra hot—as thanks.