Chapter 7

CIA

Annie entered Autopsy for the first time once they had reached the NCIS base again. She looked around and saw Gibbs standing by an autopsy table with another man nearby. The other man wore a suit with a bow tie, and glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. He greeted her with a cheery, "Oh, hello! May I help you?"

As Annie answered, she recognized his accent to be British. "Oh, I'm just trying to familiarize myself with NCIS. I'm Annie Walker, CIA."

"Ah, yes. Jethro has told me about you," the man replied, indicating Gibbs. "I am Doctor Mallard." He shook Annie's hand. "But you may call me Ducky. The young man sitting over there," Annie turned to see a younger man sitting at a desk, "is Jimmy Palmer, my assistant. Mr. Palmer, this is Annie, one of the CIA operatives we are working with." Palmer looked up and smiled. "Er, where is the other one?" Ducky asked.

"Oh, he's upstairs," Annie told him.

"What are they doing upstairs?" Gibbs asked, stepping forward.

"Agent McGee put out a BOLO on our suspect's car, Agent DiNozzo is looking up any friends and family, and Agent David is trying to trace cell phone and credit card use," Annie answered.

"Then go back up and help them," Gibbs instructed.

"I'm sure they're working fine on their -"

"Go."

Annie shoved down her rancor and turned on her heel, walking out the sliding doors.

NCIS

Behind Gibbs, Ducky chuckled.

"What?" Gibbs asked, sounding a little more irritated than he felt as he turned back.

"Your affections towards her," Ducky replied.

"What do you mean, Duck?" Gibbs questioned quietly.

"Well, you don't treat her the same way as you do every outside investigator you've come across," Ducky told him.

"No, I guess not," Gibbs said, looking back at the door through which Annie had left.

"Oh! Mr. Palmer," Ducky said suddenly, looking beyond and to the side of Gibbs. "I do believe Abigail wanted to see you in her lab."

"Really? Well, I'll just finish -"

"Urgently, Mr. Palmer."

"Yes, Doctor." Jimmy rose and nearly ran out the door. As the doors slid shut, Ducky allowed himself a small chuckle.

"Ah, the poor lad does mean well." He smiled. "Now, about Ms. Walker…I know you notice something in her, because I do, too. She reminds you of someone, doesn't she, Jethro?" Gibbs didn't say anything and just looked at Ducky steadily. "I understand it. She's a woman in the field, working hard to gain respect and a position of power…she is a lot like Jenny."

Gibbs paused. "Yeah. She reminds me of Jen…a lot." Ducky nodded understandingly.

"I suspected as much," he said. He turned and began putting things away around the room, calling out," You know, Jethro, there come times when we all must -"

"Aw, don't give me your letting go speech," Gibbs interrupted irritably. "I know how to let go. There's just…a difference between letting go and forgetting, Duck."

"I know that as well as you, Jethro," Ducky commented, walking back towards Gibbs. "Just make sure that you are on the right side of that line in between."

-Abby's lab-

"So, we're done with Ziva's part of Operation MET?" Abby asked Tim, excited.

"Yup," he replied. "Time for Tony's part." A knock on the door drew both their attentions.

"Abby? Doctor Mallard said you wanted to see me." It was Jimmy. Abby sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Palmer, when are you going to figure out that Ducky only says that when he needs to talk to Gibbs in private?" Abby asked exasperatedly.

"Really?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes!" Abby exclaimed. "Now go…wait in the elevator or something." Jimmy nodded meekly and left to go stand in the elevator. Tim looked at Abby in admiration and affection at how she could scare Jimmy away just like that.

"Look, Abby, we've been helping everyone else out," Tim began slowly. "It's just – I was thinking – why don't we help ourselves?" Abby's eyebrows pushed together in her confusion.

"What do you mean, McGee?" she asked, sounding vaguely suspicious.

"I think you know, Abby," Tim answered quietly. He stepped closer, and took Abby's hand in both of his. "Look, Abby, I think we both know. I'm crazy about you. I always have been." Abby felt her stomach crumbling away. She knew this was going to happen sometime, but did it have to happen now? She didn't know what to say.

"McGee, I -"

"Abby, please go out with me," Tim murmured. Abby froze, still unsure. She didn't want to say no, but she was too anxious to say yes. Something about Tim just…made her hesitate like nothing else could.

"McGee, I have to run these bullets," Abby told him, turning back to her keyboard. Tim found this to be a denial, and he nodded, backing away towards the door.

"I see," he said. "Well, I'll talk to you later. Don't forget about Operation MET." He left, thinking, 'Even if I'm not happy, someone should be.' Tim entered the now empty elevator, feeling rejected and heartbroken.

At her keyboard, Abby stopped typing and looked at the ground. She didn't want Tim to think that she was completely rejecting him…she just needed more time. There was, also, always Rule #12…

Abby's eyes almost filled with tears as she regretted her choice.

CIA

At the hotel where they were staying, Annie stretched out on her bed.

"I can't believe it's only been one day," she called to Auggie, who was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth.

"I know," he said, the toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. Annie heard him spit into the sink, then she heard the water running. Figuring it was safe, she began to unbutton her blouse to change into her pajamas. In the middle of this, Auggie walked out of the bathroom.

"Auggie!" Annie shrieked. "I'm changing!" Auggie stayed where he was, a smile crossing his face.

"See, if you hadn't told me, it would be so much less awkward," he told her, trying not to let her know how hot his face was getting. "You forget I can't see you."

"I don't care!" Annie shouted, her own cheeks turning pink. "Just turn around!" Auggie complied with her request, turning back to face the bathroom.

"So who do you think done it?" he asked over his shoulder. Annie shrugged as she buttoned up her silk pajama top.

"Probably, like, Russian spies," Annie told him. "Isn't it usually them?"

"True," Auggie said, in thought. Annie stepped into and pulled up her pajama pants.

"It's safe," she said. Auggie turned back around as Annie climbed under the covers of her bed. She clicked off her light as Auggie found his way to his bed, leaving the room in darkness.

"Not staying up reading or anything?" Auggie asked, bemused.

"Nope," Annie replied, settling down. "I'm exhausted." She shut her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep. Auggie listened to the sound of her breathing for a minute, then he lay down as well, but had less success with sleep than she.

A few minutes later, he sat up. In the bed beside his, Annie was muttering in her sleep.

"No…no…what…run…go…help…" she was saying. Auggie's eyebrows pushed together, and he swung his legs off his bed and began making his way toward Annie's bed, guided by the sound of her frantic mumbling. When he finally found it, he knelt down and crossed his arms on her mattress.

"Annie," he whispered.

"Auggie!" she screamed, sitting bolt upright. Auggie put out a hand to try to find her leg. When he did, he laid his hand on it gently.

"I'm here, Annie," he murmured. "What's wrong?" She sighed, back in the real world again.

"Just a bad dream," Annie replied quietly. "I'm fine. You can go back to sleep now. Sorry to wake you." Auggie nodded and rose, feeling for Annie's hand. He followed it up her shoulder, ignoring the goosebumps it caused on her arm. He felt her chin, then laid a hand on her cheek.

"You didn't wake me," he breathed, then leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep." As soon as his hand left her cheek, Annie felt tears spring forth. Not wanting to bother Auggie again, she lay down and began to cry silently into her pillow.

Auggie smelled salt for the second time that day as he sat back down on his bed. He figured Annie wanted to keep her tears from him, seeing as she was almost completely silent. Auggie lay down on his bed again and closed his eyes, wanting sleep.

Annie sniffled.

Auggie sat up in his bed. "Annie, come here."

"W-What?"

"You heard me. Come here. Sit across from me." He heard the quiet creaking of her mattress as she got up and crossed the small aisle in between their beds. She climbed onto his bed and sat cross-legged, facing him.

"Now," Auggie said, satisfied, "what's wrong?"

"I told you, Auggie," Annie said, wiping her eyes. "It was just a bad -"

"No," Auggie interrupted. "It wasn't just the dream. Bad dreams cause restlessness and irritation. They don't cause…this. Nightmares cause this. What was your dream, Annie?"

"It was about…you," Annie told him, her cheeks turning red in the darkness. Despite the gravity of the situation, Auggie cracked a smile.

"What was I doing?" he asked, sounding amused.

"Dying," Annie whispered, and Auggie's grin vanished. "Look, Auggie, what happened today really freaked me out. I thought you were gone, and I know I wouldn't be able to adapt. You're my best friend, closer than my sister, and maybe more." Annie paused to take a breath, and she realized she was crying again. "See this, Auggie?" she asked, wiping away a tear. Auggie bit back the usual smart-aleck response of, "No," because he could smell the tears. "I've cried more times today then I have all year," she told him. "And you know why?"

"Why?" Auggie asked quietly.

"Because of you," Annie responded softly. "And your unnecessary need to get into trouble." Auggie held back comments about her need to get into trouble, as he thought about what she just said. Finally, he decided on a many-year old solution.

He held up the corner of his layers of sheet and told her again, "Come here." Her eyebrows pushed together incredulously.

"Are you asking me to sleep with you?"

"To fall asleep with me, yes," Auggie said. "Look, when I was little and I had a bad dream, I always found that crawling into my parents' bed and falling asleep with them always helped. Just the fact that there was another person there is comforting…so…come on." He patted the bed. Annie blushed furiously, even though he was right.

"Move over," she mumbled, crawling beside him and slipping under the covers. He obliged, then felt her heat.

"No need to blush, Annie, we're just colleagues," he said with a smirk.

"Good night, Auggie," Annie told him loudly. She lay down, then felt him do the same beside her, so their backs were facing each other. Annie thought for a second, then sat up and looked at Auggie's still form, unsure if he was asleep. She bent down and gently kissed his cheek.

"Thanks," she whispered, then lay back down. Auggie smiled through the blush forming on his cheeks. When he heard the even sound of her sleep breathing, he turned over and put his arm over her lightly. As soon as he did this, she turned over into his embrace and nuzzled her face into his chest. Although he was unsure if she did this consciously or unconsciously, he liked it, and he fell asleep like that.

Annie Walker didn't have any more bad dreams that night.