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We're spoiling you a bit this week - two updates within a few days. My muse was on a roll this week and this chapter came together easily. Again; big thanks to my friend EmeraldEyedPhoenix for your input, insight and ideas. Without you this story wouldn't be here!
DISCLAIMER: We don't own Annie, Auggie or any other element we've borrowed from Covert Affairs. Just our storyline and the universe we've created.
-Chapter 7-
Annie glanced over at Auggie; he was obviously tense. His jaw was clenched and he had a death grip on the steering wheel of their rented car. The journey from DC to Chicago had gone as smoothly as it could be expected the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Annie was apprehensive about what the weekend would bring too; after everything Auggie had told her about his upbringing she wondered what his family was really like. Now she was only minutes away from getting her answer.
Auggie pulled off the main road and soon he was driving through what appeared to be an affluent neighborhood; in Annie's opinion all of the houses looked like they were straight out of Architectural Digest. Auggie pulled into the drive of a large red brick home; it was a two-story house with dormers in the attic and Annie was slightly awestruck. What really caught her eye was the ramp up to the front door. Auggie hadn't mentioned that anyone in his family was disabled.
"What's with the ramp?" Annie signed as Auggie turned off the ignition.
"Oh, it's for my twin brother, Allistair, I guess. Figures, they're okay with him being unable to walk, but not with me being unable to hear and speak. I guess I would've been better off if I lost my hearing in combat."
"You've got a twin brother? In a wheelchair?" Annie asked with an incredulous look on her face.
"Al is about 15 minutes older than me. Did ROTC in college and joined the Army as soon as he graduated, I wanted to join too, but being able to hear is a requirement so…" Auggie shrugged. "Anyway, he's career military. He got injured during his second tour in Afghanistan, I'm not sure exactly what happened, it's classified, but he broke his back. He's paraplegic, has been in a wheelchair for about five years now. He's still in the Army; his current rank is Captain. He works at the Pentagon. I'm not really sure what he does though."
"Classified?" Annie asked.
"Yeah. Whenever I ask him about work he's really vague."
"He lives in DC?"
"No, but close. He's got a condo in Falls Church. He's the only one of my brothers I keep in touch with on a regular basis. He was kind of my childhood ally. And he's the only one of my brothers that bothered to learn how to sign. When we both went to college in DC we became pretty close friends, despite going to different schools. He's the one that persuaded me to come here this weekend."
"Really?"
Auggie nodded affirmatively. Before they managed further conversation the front door opened, and Auggie's parents stepped out.
"I guess we'd better get this show on the road," he signed to Annie. She gave his hand a quick squeeze and they stepped out of the car.
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"I see you've brushed up on your signing skills," Auggie mentioned to his mother after introductions were made and they moved inside the house. She'd learned the basics when he was a kid, but she'd never been really good at it. Now she seemed to be better than he could remember, she managed to keep the conversation flowing fairly easily.
"I'm taking a class and Chris is learning too." Jean Anderson seemed pretty happy with herself.
"Dad's learning?" Auggie was stunned and touched that his parents finally seemed to accept his disability.
"Yes. Since it's possible that Ash's child is born deaf we figured we'd better be prepared."
Auggie felt like he'd just been punched in the gut; his parents weren't learning for him, but for a grandchild that might be born deaf.
"I'm such a fucking idiot." Auggie signed before he shook his head in disgust and walked out, slamming the door hard behind him.
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Annie stood there in shock for a few minutes, not sure what to do. Then Christopher Anderson spoke.
"What the hell got into him? He still has a stick up his ass I see. Damn, I wish the kid would just get over himself."
"Excuse me?" Annie said sharply.
"August has always been difficult. I wish he'd just speak. I spent lots of money on a speech therapist for him, and he just threw it away. If he'd just get over himself we'd be able to communicate normally without this damn sign language thing."
"You know, Auggie told me about how you treated him as a child and I've been thinking he might have been exaggerating. You've just proved to me that everything he has told me is true."
"You have some nerve, talking to me like that." Chris snarled.
"Right now I don't give a damn. I love your son. He's an intelligent, capable person that hasn't let his disability hold him back or define him. He has done incredibly well for himself without speaking. I wish you would open your eyes and see the amazing person he is and be proud of him." Both of Auggie's parents looked slightly stunned but they didn't say anything, so Annie carried on. "Auggie was reluctant about coming here this weekend, but he was willing to give you a second chance. Now you've screwed that up."
Annie turned and walked out to search for Auggie.
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She didn't have to search for long; he was sitting behind the wheel of their rented car. Annie slipped into the passenger seat and wrapped her arms around him. He looked at her; his cheeks were wet and his eyes red rimmed, it was obvious that he'd been crying. Annie had never seen Auggie that upset and wasn't sure what to do. After sitting in silence for a few minutes Auggie turned to Annie.
"Coming here was a mistake. Al convinced me to give them a chance and they just proved to me they haven't changed one bit."
"I'm so sorry, Auggie."
"I've booked us a room at the Marriott in Northbrook for the night and I'll try to get us tickets to go back home tomorrow."
Annie realized there was no way Auggie was going back inside so she nodded and squeezed his hand. He turned the key in the ignition and just as they pulled out of the driveway, a car pulled in. Annie guessed it was one of Auggie's brothers.
A couple of hours later Annie was sitting on the edge of the bed in their hotel room. Auggie had gone out for a walk, he'd said he needed some fresh air to clear his head and that he wanted to be alone. Annie respected his privacy. She was surprised when there was a knock on the hotel room door, but she figured Auggie might have left his key behind. When she opened the door her jaw dropped; a man that was a spitting image of Auggie, just with a beefier build and a military haircut, was sitting in a wheelchair outside the door. She quickly realized it was Allistair. Despite being in a wheelchair the soldier in him was evident.
"Ummm…hi…you must be Allistair. I'm Annie, Auggie's girlfriend." she said with a smile and extended her right hand.
"Nice to finally meet you Annie, Auggie has told me about you. Please call me Al. Now, where's my pigheaded brother? I understand things didn't go well at our parent's house this afternoon."
"He said he needed to clear his head and went for a walk. He should be back soon though, I actually thought it was Auggie knocking, that he'd forgotten his key or something. Want to come in?"
"Thanks." Allistair said. He popped a quick wheelie to get over the threshold and entered the room. "Since I'm guilty of persuading him to come home for Thanksgiving, I feel like I should talk to him. What exactly happened if you don't mind my asking? I've only got mom and dad's version and I'm sure Auggie's is slightly different."
Annie sighed. "Well, first he got upset when he saw the ramp by the front door, said something about your parents accepting your disability, but not his. That maybe they'd be more accepting if he'd lost his hearing in combat."
"Auggie really wanted to do ROTC and join the Army with me, but because he's deaf he couldn't."
"He told me that earlier today, that he wanted to join, but couldn't. Anyway, when he realized your mother's signing skills were better and she told him that your father is learning to sign too, he seemed very happy. I think he felt that your parents finally accepted him and his disability. Then your mother revealed that they're taking the classes because Ash's kid might be born deaf and Auggie walked out."
"Dad said you were 'spunky' and told him and mom off."
"I gave them a piece of my mind, yes. Your dad said that Auggie needed to get over himself and start speaking, and he griped about spending lots of money on speech therapy for him as a kid. I'm probably out in the cold forever, but I don't really care. I love Auggie and I won't let anyone treat him like that."
"Actually, I think you made them re-think a few things."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've never agreed with how mom and dad treated Auggie and how they handled his disability growing up. When I was injured Auggie was with me at Walter Reed, he was my emergency contact and I refused to let anyone contact our parents. I was afraid they'd treat me like they treated Auggie."
"So how did they react when they finally found out?"
"Dad was all about pushing me to try out experimental treatments, stem cells and stuff like that. My spinal cord was completely severed, so it's highly unlikely that any kind of treatment will get me any sort of movement or sensation back. I don't want to spend my life on a wild goose chase that won't lead to anything but disappointments. I know it upset him and mom, but at the time they found out I was about to finish my rehab and I was ready to get on with my life. I already had a new assignment waiting for me."
"You're still in the Army, right?"
"Yep, I work at the Pentagon. Sorry, but I can't tell you much more than that." Allistair leaned back in his chair and raked a hand through his short hair.
"Auggie already told me what you do is classified, so it's fine." Annie smiled. She liked Allistair, he seemed like a good guy and she was glad Auggie had him on his side.
"I know dad wants me to pursue experimental treatments and do what I can to get out of this thing," Allistair gestured to his wheelchair. "But about a year after I got injured I sat him down and explained to him what a complete injury means. I gave him an ultimatum; stop bringing up experimental treatments and stuff like that and accept me as I am or I stop coming home. That seems to have shut him up."
Auggie entering the room interrupted further conversation, he looked calmer than when he left the, but tensed up again when he saw Allistair.
"Hi Auggie," Allistair signed. "Rumor has it things didn't go to well with mom and dad."
"No shit," Auggie signed as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "We're going back to DC tomorrow, if I can get us tickets. This was a fucking mistake."
"I'm sorry things turned out like they did, but please don't leave. Ethan and Lucas and their families are really excited that you're here, Ash and Evey too."
"Mom and dad proved to me that nothing has changed since the last time I was here."
"Annie set mom and dad straight you know," Allistair said. "She made them think."
"Yeah right…" Auggie rolled his eyes and shook his head in disgust. Then he turned to Annie. "I'm sorry I ruined your Thanksgiving by dragging you here."
"You didn't ruin anything." Annie assured him.
"I should get back to the house, but please think about it Auggie. Mom and dad seemed to be pretty contrite when I arrived."
"Okay, I'll think about it. Right now I'm starving and I have a feeling Annie is too." He looked at Annie with a questioning expression.
"I'm hungry," she confirmed.
"There's a pretty good Italian place a couple of blocks from here, if I remember correctly. Lucas took me there the last time I was home, their pasta is delicious," Al interjected. "Good seeing you Aug, and nice to meet you Annie." Auggie gave his brother a pat on the shoulder as he wheeled past him toward the door.
"Nice to meet you too, Al." Annie said with a smile as she opened the door for him.
Later in the evening they were back in their hotel room. Auggie had set up his laptop and was searching for possible flights home. There weren't many available and the few seats that were available were either in first class or ridiculously expensive. He wanted to get back to DC, but there was a limit to how much money he was willing to spend on the tickets. So far everything he'd found was well above that limit. Just as he was about to log off his computer a new email dumped into his inbox; it was from his older brother Ethan.
Hi Auggie,
I'm not sure how to put this; there really are no right words. I know I treated you like shit when we were kids. We all did and I'm sorry for that. As I've grown older I've realized just how wrong I was and if there was any way to turn back time and change that I would do it in an instant, I really would. I'm ashamed of how I acted. You're my brother and I barely know you and my kids don't know their uncle. This is something I hope we can change, if you're willing to give me a second chance.
Ethan
Auggie sighed and shut down his laptop. He wasn't sure what to do about the email from Ethan. Over the weeks since he and Annie had dinner with Ashton they'd had regular contact; they'd practiced sign language via FaceTime a few times and they'd exchanged a few emails. He seemed to have changed and they'd found out that they had a few similar interests. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to give another one of his brothers a chance as well? With a sigh he climbed into bed and Annie, who was already in bed, scooted over to him and snuggled up against his side. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently on the lips.
The morning of Thanksgiving Day, Auggie continued his search for plane tickets back to DC, but he didn't have much more success than the previous evening. It looked like they were stuck in Glencoe for at least one more day. With a frustrated sigh he shut down his laptop and turned to Annie, who was lying on the bed, reading a book on her iPad. Before he could say anything his phone vibrated in his pocket with an incoming text message. It was from his mother, who begged him to come back to the house and have breakfast with the family. He tossed the phone onto the desk next to the computer. The clatter caught Annie's attention. She put down the iPad and made eye contact with Auggie.
"What's wrong?" she signed, noticing the tense look on his face.
"Still no luck finding us tickets home and my family is pestering me about giving them a second chance. I got an email from my brother, Ethan, last night and just now I got a text from Mom. She wants us to come to the house and have breakfast with the whole family. It's an Anderson Thanksgiving tradition. I don't know what to do."
Annie moved so she was sitting across from Auggie on the foot of the bed.
"I've been thinking about something your brother told me yesterday," she signed tentatively.
"What?"
"Al told me that for the first year or so after his injury happened your dad kept pushing him to try experimental treatments; that he had to try everything to get out of the wheelchair and back on his feet. At one point he got fed up and sat down with your dad and explained to him exactly what a complete spinal cord injury means. He gave him an ultimatum of sorts; stop bringing up experimental treatments and accept him as he is or he'd stop coming home." When Auggie didn't reply, Annie carried on. "I was thinking that maybe you should try a similar approach with your family. If we go to their house to have breakfast maybe you should take the opportunity to tell them exactly how you feel? From the short conversation I had with your mom and dad yesterday I have a feeling they're completely oblivious to that."
Auggie didn't answer; he just hung his head and raked a hand through his already messy hair. After a few moments he looked at her again.
"I guess I don't have anything to lose?"
"No, I don't think you do. Let's go have breakfast with your family and if it's horrible we'll leave. Maybe you should ask Al to interpret for you? I'm getting better at it, but I still struggle a bit."
"I'll send him a text to give him a heads up, but I'm sure he won't mind."
"I have a feeling he won't mind either. He seems like a good guy."
"He is. I'm glad you like him, he's one of my best friends."
"Honestly, I can't get over just how identical you two are." Annie signed as she pulled on her coat.
"I'm the better looking one, just so you know." Auggie grinned at her.
"Oh I know." Annie signed, pulling him to her by the collar of his coat and kissing him soundly. He pulled back and looked into her eyes.
"Love you." Auggie spoke softly, his eyes searching hers.
"Love you more." She both spoke and signed. This little exchange had become their thing. He had been the one to come up with it and she loved the silly romantic side of him that he shared only with her.
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"Are you ready for this?" Auggie signed as he started the rental car.
"I'm beside you all the way. It's going to be good; we're going to have a good day." He was still for a moment, hands gripping the wheel. He looked over at Annie and her hopeful expression fortified him. Covering her hand with his, he nodded and smiled gently.
As they pulled out of the parking lot, Annie could tell he was nervous and apprehensive but he was resolved and would see it through, whatever the outcome. It was one of the many things she admired about him.
The next chapter will be pretty tense, so stay tuned! Not sure when that will be posted, I know my schedule is packed for the coming week, with very limited writing time, and EmeraldEyedPhoenix is busy too. We promise it will be well worth the wait! :o)
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