Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I said I'd have this up on Sunday, but real life got in the way and the last few days have been crazy. I haven't had the time to write at all. I finally managed to finish this up tonight.
Thanks again for all of the reviews and alerts. I REALLY appreciate every single one of them. :o)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs, Annie or Auggie.
-7: New job for Annie-
"Aaaaggeee," Annie squealed as she stormed into his office one Wednesday afternoon about a month after they started dating with a joyous grin on her face. Auggie turned in her direction and within seconds Annie was sitting on his lap, kissing him passionately. Stu clearing his throat made them jump apart a couple of seconds later. Annie had completely forgotten about his presence in her state of euphoria.
"What's going on Annie?" Auggie asked, as he finally found his voice again.
"I got a job! A permanent, full time job that actually pays pretty well."
"That's great news! I'm going to miss our lunch dates tough. What's the job?"
"It's pretty much the same as I'm doing now, but it'll be great to have just one employer to deal with and a predictable income. Oh, and you don't have to worry about our lunch dates, I'll still be working mostly from home, I'll just have to go into the office for meetings with my boss from time to time."
"Well, this calls for a celebration. Let's go out tonight. My treat."
"Thanks. Drop by my place when you're done, ok? I'll let you two get back to work." Annie got up from Auggie's lap and kissed him one last time, before heading towards the door.
"I'll probably be done around 4, maybe 4:30, ok?"
"Sound good. See you later."
"Congrats Annie!" Stu said as she put her hand on the doorknob.
"Thanks Stu. See you around."
"You know the best part of my new job?" Annie asked Auggie as they waited for their starters to arrive. They were back at the Italian restaurant where they'd had their first dinner together three months earlier.
"The pay?" Auggie guessed after swallowing the piece of breadstick he was chewing.
"Nope. I get 4 weeks off each year, with pay, to travel and keep my language skills sharp."
"That's great. I'll miss you though."
"Come with me," Annie suggested.
"Ummm… I don't know…" Auggie hesitated.
"Why not? You don't have a passport? If you come I might even be tempted to go to Paris again. I need to practice my French."
"I have a passport, it s just that I've never been much of a globetrotter. I went on a senior trip to Cancun when I graduated high school and I've been on a couple of Caribbean cruises with my family, but that was years ago. I've never been to Europe, never got around to it," he said. "It's not that I haven't wanted to, but it's kind of a challenge to travel when you're blind. For the last few years I've focused more on getting back on my feet and getting my company up and running. Travel hasn't exactly been on top of my list of priorities."
"Well, let's change that. I'd love to show you Paris," Annie insisted.
" You are making a good argument," Auggie said with a smile. "Although 'showing' me stuff a bit difficult."
"There's plenty of stuff you can still enjoy, like the ambience of the city and the amazing French cuisine."
"I know Annie and I'd love for you to show me Paris. I think it would make Stu happy to see me take some time off and do something besides visiting my family in Illinois."
"It's a deal then. I'll check with my boss when I can go. I kind of hope we can do our Christmas shopping in Paris."
Further discussion was interrupted by the arrival of their food and conversation moved on to other subjects.
"How do you feel about having dinner at my sister's house on Sunday?" Annie asked as they walked back home after dinner. Annie had looped her arm with Auggie's and he was using his cane to navigate.
"Sure, I'd like to meet your sister and her family."
"Great. Dani's been nagging me about introducing you to her, I guess it's about time."
"What time? I'll book a car service vehicle to take us to her house, she lives in Georgetown, right?"
"Yeah, I'll text you her address."
"Great. She's married, right?"
"Yes. Her husband, Michael, works in the pharmaceuticals industry. They have two little girls, Chloe and Katia. I hope you can cope with curious kids."
"I've got four older brothers, they all have kids. In general kids are easier to deal with than adults in some ways. It'll be fine." Auggie smiled in her direction, and then he was quiet for a couple of minutes before he spoke again. "Um, Annie? Do you want to stay the night at my place tonight? Just spend the night? I'm not expecting you to sleep with me."
"Like a kiddie sleepover?" Annie teased. "Sure Auggie, as long as you promise to make me breakfast I'll be happy to."
"It's a deal, I make a killer omelet," Auggie said with a grin plastered across his face.
Fifteen minutes later Annie put together some basic toiletries, sleepwear and clothes for the next day into a tote bag and headed upstairs. She was actually a bit excited about spending the night in Auggie's arms and happy that he didn't push her, that he seemed to respect her need to take it step by step gave her the feeling that his feelings for her was as serious as the feelings she was developing for him. At least she hoped that was the case. She let herself in to Auggie's place; using the spare key he'd given her a couple of weeks earlier. He'd obviously heard the door opening; he came sauntering down the hall, wearing a pair of black sleep pants and a worn grey t-shirt.
"Hey, ready for bed already?" Annie asked in a teasing tone as Auggie approached her with his right hand slightly extended in front of him. She touched his hand to let him know where she was standing and he leaned down and kissed her before he spoke.
"Not necessarily, just getting comfortable. We can watch a movie or just hang out and chat for a while if you want to."
"Just chatting sounds nice, I'm not really in the mood for a movie and I honestly don't think I'll be able to stay awake through one either. It's getting late."
A few minutes later they were sitting on Auggie's couch, Annie had changed into her sleep pants and a camisole top and cuddled up next to Auggie, he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, secretly enjoying the feeling of her soft skin against his.
"What did you mean when you said that kids are easier to deal with than adults?"
"They rarely get awkward when they realize I'm blind. Adults on the other hand tend to lose the ability to form coherent sentences when they see a white cane," Auggie said with a sigh.
"I never thought about it that way," Annie said thoughtfully.
"I guess it's insecurity or something. I wish people would realize I'm just blind; I'm not deaf or stupid. I'm just a regular person; the only difference is that I can't see. That's one of the things that intrigued me about you. You just got a bit taken aback when I held up my cane. You never got awkward and you've treated me like an equal since we met. I don't get that very often. I guess it's why I've kind of lived in my own little bubble for the past few years. It's just easier to stick with people I know, instead of risking awkwardness with strangers."
"I was a bit surprised when you held up your cane. I could've sworn you were looking straight at me. You're very good at making eye contact, I don't think about the fact that you can't see most of the time."
"I've been told that before, that I'm good at making eye contact. It's not that unusual with people that lose their sight as adults, it's some kind of reflex or something. I don't remember the full explanation, but one of my instructors in rehab told me about it."
"Oh, I didn't know that. I guess I'm glad I cursed so loudly about my computer that day and that you were sitting right behind me. Otherwise we might never have met."
"Kind of like fate, huh?" Auggie chuckled, pulling Annie closer to him. In general he didn't really believe in fate, it seemed so cheesy, but meeting Annie had him reconsidering his thoughts about it.
I hope you're still onboard :o)
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