Note: I do not own these characters, they belong to CA Writers. I so wish I knew what they had in mind for S6. . . thank you for reading and hanging in there with me. Please let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Chapter 10
Hawaii, two years ago
As soon as Annie landed in Honolulu with Ben she saw a cardiologist. It helped that Ben managed to hack into the doctor's scheduling programs to add her as a patient. Next, she was referred to a cardiothoracic surgeon. Annie completed a number of labs and tests. In between appointments she lounged on the beautiful beaches of Waikiki while Ben took care of his diligence for his next mission. While hiking Diamond Head with Ben at sunset she felt another episode coming on. It just further signified that she couldn't go on without surgery.
Although Annie enjoyed the therapy of the ocean, Ryan was fresh on her mind. She wondered if he was still looking for her after nearly two weeks. When she went against Auggie's advice and made plans with Calder to fake her death, he was upset, but he understood her reasons and managed to move on remarkably well. Annie hoped that Ryan would do the same. Except she knew he was in the dark regarding why she left and that missing information made a big difference. . . maybe she should have told him about her condition worsening. Annie pushed him out of her head. She had to move forward.
On their third morning in Hawaii, Annie and Ben were back at the Queen's Hospital. The cardiothoracic surgeon opened his office door and sat down across from Annie and Ben. Annie wished it were Ryan sitting next to her, her thoughts circled back to him again, but suddenly she was back to the present. "Well, Mr. and Mrs. Steele, I'm afraid it's as we suspected."
Ben took her hand and squeezed it.
"The effects of the valve damage can no longer be optimally managed with medication alone, I'm sure you know that deep down and that's why you're here," said Dr. Takahashi. "From your records it appears at a minimum you're using your injectors once a week, that's not sustainable and the more your heart needs to work, the more irreparable damage it will sustain over time."
"What do you suggest as the next step doctor?" asked Ben.
"I would start with valve repair and medications to support your heart's normal functioning. We'll see how you do. If that is not managing your symptoms and giving you a good quality of life, we'll move to valve replacement."
Annie nodded.
"What about going straight to valve replacement?" asked Ben.
"Some docs like to bring out the big guns first, but I'd rather scale up. If we start with a valve replacement and that doesn't work, there's really no other option left but a transplant. But you will be on medications for the rest of your life with either operation and you'll need to change your lifestyle," said Dr. Takahashi with seriousness.
"What does that mean?" asked Annie.
"That means a heart healthy diet, regular but gentle exercise once you've recovered, eight hours of sleep minimum, and reduce the stress and anxiety in your life. The most common post surgical issues arise from not taking care of yourself and not being compliant with medications, I'll tell you I see it all the time, but you look like you have the support you need and drive to get healthy, so you're already ahead of the curve," said the doctor looking to Ben.
"I'll make sure she follows the doctor's orders."
"Well, this is a big decision so I like to tell all my patients to get second opinion."
"That won't be necessary, I'd like to get on your surgery schedule as soon as possible," said Annie.
"Out of curiosity, did you have a bad cold or infection prior to the onset of symptoms?"
Annie thought about it. While she was in Germany tracking down evidence against Henry Wilcox, she did spend a couple traveling with aches and pains and a fever she self-medicated with Tylenol and Advil, but she soldiered on.
"Yes, I remember falling ill," replied Annie.
"Hmm. . . because of your past heart surgery, you should have gone on antibiotics as soon as you developed signs of infection. You will need to do that moving forward. Any sign of a cold, fever, chills and you'll need to take antibiotics to prevent the virus from attacking your heart."
"You mean this condition could have been avoided had I taken antibiotics when I had that cold?"
"I'm not saying that to make you feel bad, the past cannot be changed, but I'm saying that to drive home a point about taking care of yourself. Didn't your previous surgeon explain all this to you?"
Annie shook her head because she never went back and had her follow-ups after she was discharged against medical advice. She was so focused on her grief over Simon and her need for retribution against Lena. She couldn't blame Langley for this, she put her desire to hurt Lena above her own health.
Ben piped up when he saw Annie's face. It was a familiar look. She was looking despondent and beating herself up. "Don't worry doc, I'll make sure she takes care of herself and takes her meds."
"My nurse will schedule you, I think I have an opening later this week, if you go and get the pre-surgery labs done, you'll be all set. Prepare for 3-5 days in the hospital post surgery."
"Thank you doctor," said Annie before standing up.
Ben was due to leave on his mission in a week. Joan agreed to give him some more time to help Annie get settled in.
After filling out the pre-admission paperwork. The "couple" walked silently to the parking lot. "This is good, this is what you need," said Ben as he opened the car door for her. "I know," replied Annie as she got into the car.
Ben was in the driver's seat.
"I know what you're thinking and you need to stop, look ahead, not back. I'm going to call around and find someone to help you out after I leave," said Ben.
Annie didn't respond. He put his hand on her chin, "Chin up Walker, you're going to be fine if you follow the doctor's orders!"
She smiled at him weakly.
/
Back to the present day North Shore of Oahu
Annie's life since her surgery was pretty normal as far as life for former spies goes. She did call on Joan for her help to procure a job. She wanted to make a difference with her God given skills so she was on contract as a translator for the Pacific Command and she made a name for herself so she would get occasional work in addition to her course load as an adjunct at a local university. Still she had plenty of time to take walks and swim in the ocean. Her days of running hard and gun fights were over, but she learned to enjoy the pace of her new life.
Ben would come and go between missions. She recently came to look forward to his spurts of time with her. They would do repairs that needed to be done at his beach cottages. Then hit up the farmer's markets, take in a movie and check out new restaurants. But Ben was Ben and he would spend many nights out drinking and picking up women when he was in town, usually tourists. She sometimes heard him coming home with them or stumble home alone from spending a night in a hotel in Waikiki. One such night she was startled awake and her instincts kicked in. She retrieved one of her guns, it felt heavy in hand as she walked down the hall to the front door. She thought her home was being broken into, it turned out it was Ben who had mistaken her cottage for the one he was staying in while he was stateside. She helped him onto her couch and took off his shoes. Before he passed out, he said, "Mrs. Steele, I wish you were Mrs. Mercer and this were real. . . I've always loved you."
That happened nearly two months ago, he left the next day not remembering what he revealed to Annie. Annie didn't bring it up when she woke him up with a mug of black coffee the next day. She didn't realize Ben felt that way about her still. He made it clear he was doing what he was doing as her friend and nothing more and she took it at face value because she spent her time thinking about Ryan and what they could have had. All along, Ben was the one who was with her, seeing her through surgery and recovery. They hugged good-bye after he cleaned up and packed. Ben said he'd be back in about three months and would try to drop her a line when he could.
/
Annie woke up before her alarm went off. She took her pulse and blood pressure before she stepped out of bed as she did each morning. She walked to the small cozy kitchen and put two eggs in a pot of water on the stove before doing a few stretches and yoga positions on her lanai. She turned off the boiling water and hopped in the shower. Her phone was still in the charger and she didn't see the slew of missed calls.
After getting dressed for work Annie ate her breakfast of hard boiled eggs and toast washed down with a green protein shake. Her watch vibrated and she went into her medicine cabinet to take her first dose of vasodilators and anti-coagulants of the day.
/
When Annie walked out to her car, she saw a Navy jeep pull up to her cottage.
It was a familiar face, she figured he had some new situation where she was needed.
"I'm on my way to teach a class Miller!" said Rebecca Steele (Annie).
"I've got a situation to fill you in on, but you won't need to be ready for another six hours or so. I tried to reach you, but you weren't answering, so I can read you in while I drive you to work."
"Oh shit, my personal phone's in the charger!" said Annie. Her mind was somewhere else last night as she checked the message board she used to communicate with Ben. She hadn't heard from him in about two weeks and was getting worried.
"I need to run inside."
"Sure."
When Annie retrieved her phone she was the missed calls from Miller and one from a number she didn't quite recognize. The voicemails were only from Miller.
Miller took her roller computer and file bag and placed it in the back seat before opening the door for her.
He began talking as he drove her to her first class of the day. As Miller filled her in, Annie wished to be in her own car. . .
"No, no, no, no," said Annie out loud.
She took her hair out of the upswept bun and removed her glasses as if it would ward off the figurative and literal headache she felt coming on.
Miller's news that Ryan McQuaid was on his way to pick her up to do a translation job was unexpected to say the least, but perhaps he had no idea he was going to see her when he showed up at Rebecca Laconte Steele's home. Annie took a deep breath as she composed herself.
"There's got to be someone else for the job," said Rebecca.
She let out a huge sigh, "I have classes to teach and you know very well I don't. . ."
"There's no one else and this guy is good, he'll keep you safe. He's in the business of safety and you will be well compensate for your expertise and time," said Miller.
"I know," muttered Annie.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, when is he arriving?"
"He just left San Francisco and is inflight now, he'll be at your place in about six hours. Look, I know it's scary to go in the field, but you've been present in the command center enough to have an idea of what it's like. After your classes I'll pick you up for the range and give you some pointers."
Annie calculated in her head her options. Would she be able to hide and disappear before Ryan showed up? She had a life in Oahu, she wasn't sure she wanted to turn her back on it. And what about Ben?
Annie was still in a bit of shock. "I'll also need to take a recent picture of you for your credentials and I'll have all your paperwork and passports ready then too," said Miller as he parked at the University where Annie taught.
Just then Annie heard her phone. It rang earlier, but she was listening to Miller and didn't register the light ring.
"Hold on, I need to take this."
Annie answered her phone and exited the car to maintain some distance from Miller.
"Annie finally! I'm glad I got a hold of you," it was Joan on the other end.
"Is this about Ryan?"
"Miller already there?"
"Um hmm," replied Annie.
"I'm sorry," said Joan.
"What's going on?"
"Remember Nathan Mueller, or shall I say Fabrizi? He's been spotted," said Joan.
Annie's thoughts turned to that period in her life. Images flashed back to her head at a rapid pace.
"Mueller? He could not have survived that droning? I was there, his place was annihilated!"
"But you, McQuaid, and his men survived, so we need to be open to the possibility that this intel is solid. You didn't have time to get an ID on the body," reminded Joan.
"How did you come across this intel?"
"McQuaid has a contact in Azerbaijian, he contacted Ryan earlier today. He trusts the contact enough, so we're sending in a team."
"That's the connection to Ryan," said Annie thinking aloud.
Annie remembered that day. . .and the man who helped them track Kravec's courier. Shit thought Annie. Why were there so many ghosts in her life? Even oceans could not separate her from her past.
"What is Mueller up to?"
"We don't know, so that's why we need to get on the ground and I tried to find another translator, but failed. I'm sorry Annie, but. . ." said Joan.
"It's not your fault Joan. I knew sooner or later something like this would happen, I was just hoping for later," sighed Annie.
"What are you going to do?"
"Are you asking if I'm going to stick around?" laughed Annie.
"I'll be here, Joan. Thanks for the call," said Annie before hanging up.
She returned to Miller who was on the phone and starring over at Annie and nodding. Unbeknownst to her, he was speaking with Ryan McQuaid.
"Take the damn photo Miller," said Annie. This was happening, She couldn't and wouldn't run from the situation. The old Annie might have, but the new Annie wanted to keep her current life.