Sorry for taking so long to update. Real-life and work has been very demanding lately.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Auggie, Annie or Covert Affairs


-Chapter 7-

Auggie had been out of the rehab center for little over a week and he was happy to be back in his apartment. The transition had gone better than he'd dared to hope for. He would never admit it, but he had been really nervous when he checked out of the safe bubble of rehab. He'd felt a bit lost for the first couple of days, but his fears had been unfounded. His living skills instructor and a social worker from the rehab center had helped him organize a cleaner to go over his apartment twice a month and a laundry service that picked up and delivered for his shirts, dress slacks, suits and linens. He had a washer and dryer in his apartment and he was okay with washing towels, t-shirts, jeans and other things that didn't require ironing himself. He'd been a bit apprehensive about the grocery deliveries, but the first delivery had gone well and the staff at the small supermarket a couple of blocks away had proven to be very helpful when he'd realized there were a few things he'd forgotten to add to his order.

The hardest part had been the awkward encounters with neighbors and acquaintances that didn't know what had happened to him in Iraq and they were of course full of questions. Auggie hated going over the story again and again. Public transportation was another annoyance. Since his drivers license was no longer valid Auggie now depended on public transportation or cabs to get around. He'd mapped out the route from his apartment to his office with an Orientation and Mobility specialist and at the time it had seemed straightforward enough. The problem was that the speaker system that was supposed to announce all the stops seemed to be out of function on about half the buses operating the route and not all of the drivers were helpful and willing to let him know where to get off. After ending up stranded at the wrong stop a couple of times Auggie declared that he was done with taking the bus and hired a car service to take him to work. He'd rely and that or cabs for when he needed to go somewhere that wasn't within walking distance.

Christmas was little over a week away and right after New Year he was going back to work. He was looking forward to getting back to doing something useful with his life again and he was very happy that his boss was supportive. Auggie had been at his office a few times over the last weeks. A couple of times with instructors from the rehab center, to get his office set up and to familiarize him with the layout of the offices again. The orientation session had gone smoother than he'd expected, even though it had been almost a year since he'd been there he had a pretty good memory of the layout. He'd been greeted warmly by his co-workers and subordinates, and a couple of awkward moments aside, things had gone better than he'd dared to hope for.

Before going back to work he had to tackle a solo journey to Glencoe. Nate had offered to come to DC and assist him, but Auggie's stubborn streak had set in full force and he wanted to prove to both himself and his family that he was still capable of travelling alone. He was well aware that several members of his family had reservations about his ability to take care of himself and live independently and he didn't want to add fuel to that fire. The nagging from his mother had subsided somewhat after Nate's visit, but she still expressed that she'd be more comfortable with him living in the Chicago area. His iPhone ringing pulled him back to reality. It was the tune he'd assigned to Stu.

"Hey Stu, what's up?"

"I was hoping you had time to help me with my end-of-term project. I'm sort of stuck and I need a second opinion. Maybe you pick up on something I've missed."

"Sure, I don't have anything planned this afternoon. Just put it on a thumb drive and bring it over here. Do you have my address?"

"Oh, that's right. Annie mentioned you were back at your place. I don't have your address."

Auggie gave Stu his address and they agreed that they'd go out for dinner and a few beers after they finished their work on Stu's project.

"I can't believe the solution was that simple," Stu said with half a laugh. It had only taken Auggie half an hour to figure out why Stu had been stuck and he'd written a few lines of code and given him a few pointers on the best ways to work from there.

"This has been my livelihood for a few years, remember? Also, it's easy to miss the obvious when you've been working on something for a while. At work I often have someone on my team look at stuff I'm working on, to get a second opinion. It can be very useful."

"Well, thanks for helping me out. I was almost certain I'd have to start over again when I hit that road block."

"No problem. I've mostly been twiddling my thumbs for the last few days. Having something productive to do is always good."

"When do you go back to work?"

"January 4th. Gotta get through Christmas with my family first. Hopefully my mother doesn't tie me up in my old room and insist I stay in Glencoe." Auggie said the last part with a bit of a chuckle. They sat in silence, sipping their coffee.


With a relieved sigh Auggie settled into his seat. The first part of his solo journey to visit his family had gone better than he'd dared to hope for. The Travellers Assistance staff had been great, as had the gate agent and flight attendant that had assisted him when he boarded his flight. He hoped that that Travellers Assistance staff at O'Hare was as great as the ones at Reagan. Nate had volunteered to pick him up and take him to their parents' house.

Close to three hours later Auggie was waiting for the rest of the passengers to disembark from the plane. He'd retrieved his cane from the seat pocket in front of him and had it firmly clutched in his hand. When it sounded like most of them were off he pulled his messenger bag from under the seat in front of him and got to his feet and as he stepped into the isle he pulled the strap of his bag over his head and slowly made his way down the isle. When he reached the front of the plane he felt a hand on his right forearm.

"Do you need any assistance Mr. Anderson?"

"There's supposed to be someone from Travellers Assistance waiting for me at the end of the jetway, I'll be fine. Thanks for asking," he said with a smile as he unfurled his cane.

"No problem. We're here to assist our passengers."

Auggie smiled and nodded as he carefully stepped off the plane and onto the jetway. He was nervous and excited at the same time. He hoped the time he was about to spend with his family would prove to them that he was still the same person and, more importantly, that he was capable of taking care of himself. A wave of determination washed over him as he squared his shoulders and set his cane in motion.


Please let me know what I think in a review :o)