I'm enjoying the sights of the travelling, and I don't want to rush them into missing anything. So we're just gonna browse the scene, take our time, and enjoy the ride. I am already working on the next installment.

Of course, I don't own this awesome, unmatched, exciting show with its awesome, unmatched, exciting characters. That would be the USA Network. I will say no more about them.

Chapter Eleven

"Okay," Annie said, scanning the scene in front of them. "I'm a little overwhelmed."

Auggie grinned, the smile crinkling his eyes. "Welcome to my world."

"How in the hell did you navigate this place?" Annie asked, leading them down the narrow street, people pushing past them, the shouts and calls from sellers ringing through the air.

"I usually found a friend."

"Uh hunhhhh," Annie said.

"No, I mean, a friend," said Auggie, seriously. His name's Kasim. He's... he's a great guy. I want you to meet him."

"Another friend who owes you a favour."

"Nope," Auggie said. "Just a friend." He felt himself smiling at the thought of Kasim, the big, soft-hearted Turk who had embraced Auggie wholeheartedly into his world of music almost seven years ago. That was a time when Auggie, frustrated and bitter and at a loss for his unit, needed to make connections to Billy, his buddy, and what had happened. He'd picked the jazz festivals half a world away to get away from his own world, and he had come home stronger, with a sense of hope and belief in himself. Kasim Demir had been a big part of that. Kasim, with whom he'd commiserated over bira and then raki. Kasim who took him from listening to jazz, the jazz Billy had tried to make him like, to really hearing it. Kasim took him from seeing to hearing and he'd never even realised it, nor had Auggie thanked him for it. In a way, he owed Kasim the favour. He hadn't seen him in three years. He'd wanted to go back, but things had... happened.

"Is this friend a-"

"Guy, Annie."

"Oh."

Auggie pulled Annie to a stop. She guided him two steps to the side, and he put the cane in the crux of his arm as he took out his phone.

There were three rings, and then Auggie heard his friend's familiar voice.

"Hey,Kasim! It's Auggie! Yeah, I know, I'm here now!"

Kasim sounded happy. He asked to meet them later for drinks and lahmacun, which Auggie told Annie was like a pizza. Auggie felt genuine happiness coming from his old friend's voice on the line. He couldn't wait for him to meet Annie.

"Why don't you come by my house, Auggie? I want you to meet my wife."

"You're married?" Auggie asked.

Kasim laughed. "Yes, Auggie. I got married. I have children."

"Really?" Auggie smiled. "This is news! Why do I not know this?"

"Ah, well, I have been busy, Auggie. And you?"

Auggie took a deep breath. "Busy. But I have time now. And I have someone I want you to meet, too."

Kasim recited his address for Auggie and Auggie filed it into his memory. After he hung up, he put his phone in his bag and took Annie's arm again.

Soon they were crossing a square and Auggie could hear the openness of it, flanked as it was by the buildings around it. The voices and shouts within bounced around within the space. Auggie again pulled Annie to a stop, turning his head, listening.

"You don't even need me to tell you, do you?" Annie whispered.

Auggie smiled, closing his eyes. "No, I can't picture this one pretty clearly."

They started up again. "Are you going in?" Annie asked. "To the Mosque, I mean."

"We'll catch the next one," Auggie said. When he was alone, it seemed right to go in, to listen to the size of the building and the sounds and reverence of the men within. But with Annie here, he wouldn't feel the same, going in without her, knowing she was just waiting outside.

"So, this friend of yours?"

"Kasim."

"How'd you meet him?"

"He's the sound engineer. And a damn good one. And a damn good man, too," he added quietly. "I was... kind of lost." He didn't say that it wasn't just physically lost. "He stepped in. Invited me to come along while he was setting up. I asked him to tell me everything he knew about the artists who would be playing, and... he kinda went jazz on me, went off on a smooth tangent about how the music takes part of your soul with it. We kind of bonded over it."

"When did you meet him?" Annie asked, more suspiciously.

"Uhh, six and a half years ago?" Auggie said. It didn't seem that long. Of course, he hadn't been there in a few years. Time passes.

He could practically hear Annie calculating in her head. He gave her a second.

"Wasn't that... right after your accident?"

"Yup."

"You are a true storyteller, there, Augs," Annie said, as they continued to stroll along through the people moving in and out and around them towards the docks.

Auggie sighed. Annie slowed and placed his hand on the railing along the edge of the dock. He listened to the water lapping against the boats moored there.

He turned toward her, keeping his hand on the rail. "Yeah. I met him after Tikrit. I was kind of in a bad place, as you may well imagine. I felt very disconnected to everything. Everyone at home stood on one side of me, not knowing what to do. I finished my rehab training and I couldn't take the sadness and pity and anger so I bailed and I came here. It was the one thing that I could connect with Billy. I needed to have some connection with him, I wasn't ready to deal with it and let him go. He talked about coming to this festival after the mission was done, and I thought that if I came here, it would be a tribute to him." He tried to give her a smile. "I was kind of in Kasim's way. He moved me around several times and then he just took some kind of ownership over me." He sighed. "Which I needed, I guess. I needed someone, at the time. Kasim showed me all over, he told me about the history and the music here."

"How long did you stay?"

"Four weeks."

Annie smiled. "That's really great… that you met him. Right place, right time, right?"

"He certainly was the right person. He was the first person I met and got close to that didn't know me… before. He didn't compare me. He just took me as I was and showed me the music I needed. I came home in a much better place. And that was one of the things that pushed me back to my life. Back to the CIA. In some ways, Kasim saved my life." He shifted his posture. "So that's Kasim."

"I love him already," Annie said quietly.

Auggie grinned completely. "Okay. Right now, come on. Let's go through the market. I want to see how hot you look today."

"What?" Annie burst out laughing.

"You'll get it."

He knew she got it when they made their way down the narrow cobbled street in the market district. The venders got more aggressive and bold calling out to the pretty lady to come take a look at their wares. Auggie's smile just kept getting bigger. He knew the woman was a looker, that was obvious to him on Annie's first day, when Conrad Sheehan had fawned over her, flirting shamelessly. It became a total fact to him shortly after, because, well, everyone flirted shamelessly. The woman had never had any trouble finding men to accompany her. But every now and then, Auggie liked to hear the praise from the men around him for the woman that was beside him. The woman that was all his. In a metaphorical kind of way.

"I knew it. You're beautiful." He wanted to kiss her so much, but in this public place, it was not a good idea. So instead, he let his grip loosen and slid his fingers up her arm, and across her back. He kept it there for a few moments as they moved slowly through the people, before sliding it back to its familiar place.

"Deri eşyalar, Bayim, kanna için!" Leather goods, Sir, for your wife!

Hayir, teşekkür ederim," Auggie replied, shaking his head. "No, thank you."

"Belki bir deri bilizik?"

Auggie searched in his memory for the words. He stopped Annie. "Just a second."

"What are you doing?"

"Give me a second."

"What are you up to?"

"Don't lose me, I'm going in," He winked at her and moved toward the man, who chattered away, luring in his customer.

His hand outstretched before him, he used his cane to make his way over. "Bana bir bilezik gősterebilir miyim?" He asked, asking to see a bracelet, and the man laid a thick bracelet of soft, heavy leather into Auggie's hand. He examined it, feeling the snap closing it, the smooth edges, and the detailed toolwork. "Başka bir stil var mi?" He held it back to the man, and felt another tap against his hand. He felt this one, which was wider, though the same thickness and with the same snap to close it. It had a patterned edge, a border that ran around it. But the rest of it was plain. Or at least, it had no other tactile detail. "Fiyatı ne kadar?" He hoped the man wouldn't try to rip him off because of his blindness.

"For you, m'friend," said the man, patting Auggie on the arm, "I sell to you cheap."

Here we go, thought Auggie.

He got away with a lower price than he expected but a higher one than he preferred. As it was, he was feeling kind of proud of himself for the idea that was brewing in his head.

He walked back out from the shade of the tents, and stopped, turning his head. "Annie!" He called. He remembered hating to call out for people in public places. Sometimes you just had to be noticed, and get attention, but it still irked him that he had to sound like a rude ass to get the person he wanted.

He felt her come close. "Here, Auggie," she said, bumping her arm on his hand. "What were you doing? What did you get?"

"No, it's not ready yet," he said. "There's a whole production involved… I've heard the reviews, it sounds worth the wait."

"Agh, groan, Auggie!"

Auggie laughed. "We should get some tea."

"Sounds good to me, can we buy some to take back with us to the hotel?"

"My answer would be a yes on that. Is there anything you'd like to look at?"

"Everything."

"Okay, let's go look at everything."

"It's so busy and colourful and noisy," Annie said as they kept strolling along. "It's so different, but yet, I feel very much at home here."

"That's because you feel at home all over, Annie. It's never out of your circle of comfort. It's probably because of your moving around as a kid."

"You think that's it?"

"I do, and that will be a hundred dollars for that analysis."

Annie grinned, shaking her head, returning to describing what she saw.

"It's nice, actually describing this when you're here beside me, and not on a headpiece," Annie said, putting her hand on the one that was holding her elbow.

"It's nice, being here, having you to describe it to me," Auggie replied. "I… really do love this place. It means… well, it means a sense of hope to me. The city itself, the people, what it has been through, the pain of the history. But it's always moving ahead, a bit scarred up. There's hope after loss. I like that about it."

"I like that about you," Annie said bluntly. Staring at him.

He gave her a strangled smile. "I guess that's why I feel at home here."

"Come on, we should head back and get ready to meet your friend. Kasim, is it? I want to meet him. Tell him how much I appreciate him patching you back up and sending you back in to the game."

"I dread the things you will talk about," Auggie said. He grinned, not caring at the moment if they talked about his haircut all night. They were both important to him, each more important than they knew, and he wanted them to meet, to have some of his worlds come together without worrying about pain and miscalculated trust. Annie needed to meet Kasim. And Kasim needed to meet Annie, because Annie was going to be his wife.