Joan groaned as she opened her eyes in the harsh, artificial light, her head protesting at the tiny movement. "Joan?" she turned her head towards the voice to spot Arthur leaning towards her, worry written on his face.
"Hey." She swallowed thickly, attempting a smile that she didn't think she managed. He smiled back gently at her, tenderly brushing a lock of hair from her face.
"How are you feeling?" he asked. She grimaced.
"Terrible. How is Annie?" she asked, shifting herself into a more comfortable position and closing her eyes.
"She's fine, Joan, thanks to you. Auggie is with her. He and Danielle have been back and forth between your rooms all night." Arthur trailed his fingers through her hair.
"All night? How long have I been out?!" Joan jolted upwards from where she'd begin to drift off again, wincing as it sent a spear of pain through her head.
"About fifteen hours." Arthur pressed her gently back into the bed without a word, sitting next to her and linking their hands.
"Where's Mackenzie?" Joan demanded, suddenly realising the young baby wasn't in the room when he should have been with Arthur.
"Joan, honey, relax." Arthur soothed her. "Danielle offered to take him when she left- she'll bring him back in a couple of hours."
Joan studies him carefully but saw nothing but honesty in his eyes. "You're both ok?" she checked tiredly.
"We're both fine, I promise. Sleep Joan. I'll be here when you wake up again." He brushed his lips over her head as she let her eyes flutter shut, once again succumbing to the darkness.
A week later, he'd kept his promise and when Joan had next opened her eyes he'd been stuck resolutely to the chair beside her bed, Mackenzie cradled in his arms. A day later, she'd been released from hospital and another two days after that Annie had gone home with Auggie as well.
"So how's Annie?" Meagan asked from the other end of the phone as Joan lay curled up on the sofa.
"She's... Adjusting." Joan said slowly.
"Which means what, exactly?" Meagan asked
"Which means that she is... Overwhelmed. She just got poisoned because of me, Meg, and she's still struggling to come to terms with the fact that I'm her sister. It's... Going to take time." Joan hoped her tone didn't betray her true feelings on the matter, didn't betray that her heart was breaking just a little bit every time Annie acted stiffly around her.
"Oh Joanie." Meagan sighed. "Hey, I know something that'll cheer you up! My assignment ends at the end of the month- you up for a visitor?"
"Absolutely! That's so great Meg-I can't wait to see you!" Joan beamed. Meagan laughed.
"Good. I'll see you in a few weeks!" Meagan signed off, and Joan placed the phone back in the cradled and bounced to the kitchen, wanting to tell Arthur they were having a visitor. She slowed though, when she heard Annie's voice. She hadn't heard her and- by the sounds of it, Auggie too- arrive.
"I don't know, Auggie." She heard Annie sigh. She frowned, staying just out of sight and listening.
"Joan's your sister though, Annie." Auggie said.
"I know that- why do you think I'm in this mess?!" Annie groaned. "She's my long-lost sister, but she'd also my boss's boss, formally my boss. I have no idea how I'm supposed to act around her Auggie. And I just know everyone at Langley is talking- some blonde whispered to her friend that the only reason I got as far as I did was because of my relationship with Joan. I'm beginning to see what Jai was talking about when he said that having an inside connection to the agency wasn't always a good thing." Annie sounded lost, and Joan's heart broke for her. She heard clothes rustling from inside the room as she pressed herself against the wall, leaning her head back and guessed that Auggie had pulled Annie into his lap.
"You'll figure it out, Annie. You said it yourself- this is going to be an adjustment." Auggie soothed.
"I know. I just wish there was a rule book for this." Joan had to strain to hear Annie murmur. Auggie chuckled.
"I thought we'd established a long time ago that there's no rule book in the CIA." He joked. Annie let out a quiet laugh, and Joan shook herself off and chose this moment to enter.
"Hey." She greeted. "I didn't hear you come in." she smirked as she saw that she'd been right- Annie was sat in Auggie's lap. She squirmed as she saw Joan come in, but Auggie's arms simply tightened around her.
"Hi Joan." they chorused.
"Arthur let us in, then Mackenzie needed changing so..." Auggie waved a hand pointedly.
"Enough said." Joan grinned, sliding out a chair to sit in.
"How are you feeling Annie?" asked Joan, turning her attention to her.
"Better, thank you." Annie gave a small smile, and Joan resisted the urge to sigh. They all looked up as Arthur came in, bouncing Mackenzie with a smile.
"All clear!" he announced. Joan kissed Mackenzie's head and then Arthur, before gesturing to Annie. Confusion flashed across her face, but she obediently wiggled from Auggie's lap.
"I'll bring her back in a minute Auggie." Joan promised, grasping Annie's wrist and tugging her upstairs into her and Arthur's bedroom.
"Joan…?" Annie questioned uncertainly, hovering near the doorway where Joan had dropped her arm. Joan opened her jewellery book, glancing up and gesturing Annie in.
"Sit." She instructed, gently lifting the item she was searching for up. Annie had perched uncomfortably on the edge of the bed, watching Joan trepidation.
"Don't look so worried Annie." Joan sighed, settling next to her. Honestly, she thought exasperatedly, it hadn't been this bad two weeks ago. But then, she reminded herself, Annie hadn't had time to process everything two weeks ago. Annie ducked her head slightly, brushing a loose curl out of her face.
"Sorry." She mumbled. Joan smiled softly.
"Don't apologise, Annie." She reprimanded her gently, no malice in her tone. "Anyway, I dragged you up here because I thought you might like to see this." Carefully, she handed her the locket she held.
Annie looked bemused, but ran her fingers briefly over it before pressing the clasp and opening it. She gasped slightly, leaning closer to the photo inside.
"Is this…?" she asked, looking back up at Joan. She nodded.
"Mmhm. You were about… four months old, I think." She confirmed. Annie looked back down at the photo. A girl she guessed was Joan sat on a bench, a baby Annie cradled in her lap as she grinned happily at the photo. Beside her, a smiling blonde woman sat with her arm around another young girl who was perched on the back the bench, her feet on the seat, beaming toothily. And finally, a sun tanned man stood behind them with a toddler on his hip, his feet set slightly apart and his free arm resting on the shoulders of his wife.
Annie touched the photo gently, wishing she could remember. "We look happy..." She murmured.
"We were." Joan agreed quietly. "We argued as much as the next family, but we were happy."
"Who took this?" Annie questioned.
"Our neighbour, if I remember correctly. Mrs Samuels. She used to make Rosie and I lemonade in the summer and hot chocolate in the winter. It was the best- I've never tasted any as good since." Joan smiled as she remembered. Annie let her mouth turn upwards slightly, still gazing at the picture wistfully.
"Annie... I can only imagine how hard all this is for you." Joan started softly, hoping that what she was about to say wouldn't have opposite effect. Annie raised her gaze to her face, teeth worrying the inside of her lip. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me, or Arthur for that matter. I know it's... Complicated, and I know this is confusing for you, but I don't want that."
Joan fiddled with the hem of her cardigan but never took her eyes from Annie's face. The younger woman hesitated before speaking. "I just... Don't know how to distinguish between by boss Joan and my sister Joan." She admitted tentatively. Joan was careful to keep her face impassive, and Annie relaxed slightly when she saw that she hadn't made Joan mad. "Sometimes you're so different and sometimes it's... Harder to see the difference. Which means I never know how to act." Annie gained confidence as she spoke, but still watched Joan nervously for her reaction.
"Annie..." Joan attempted, but then sighed and rubbed here forehead before deciding to simply speak what she was feeling. "Annie, I spent so long putting my job first. Don't get me wrong, I loved it and still do, but I put it before Rosie, before my friends, my marriage. Arthur and I very nearly broke up- if we hadn't both been so damn stubborn I think we might have. But I refuse to do that anymore. I am always your sister before your boss, Annie. No exceptions."
"And what happens the next time I do something stupid at work? Or the next time I disobey orders?" Annie asked quietly.
"Then I'd shout at you even if I wasn't your boss. And so will Calder." Joan smiled gently; saw it reflected tentatively in Annie's face.
"I don't want to go back to being just your boss, Annie. I'd like to try to forge some kind of relationship outside of work... If you'll let me." Joan told her earnestly, heart fluttering in her throat.
Annie smiled widely, placing her hand over Joan's. "I'd like that too." They grinned at each other, before Annie turned her attention back the locket. "Tell me about them?" She asked hopefully. Joan grinned, obliging readily. They talked long into the afternoon and then the evening, dusk falling before they emerged from the bedroom and trailing downstairs to find Auggie and Arthur.
"What are you doing?" Joan and Annie asked in tandem when they caught sight of their boys. They glanced at each other in surprise when they heard the other, while Arthur and Auggie both turned to stare.
"That was creepy." Auggie commented. Arthur nodded his agreement.
"The points stands- what are you doing?" Joan questioned.
"Cooking dinner." Arthur said cheerfully. Joan exchanged another glance with Annie.
"So why does the kitchen look like something exploded?" Annie asked, stifling a laugh.
"Aah… work in progress?" Arthur tried sheepishly. Both Joan and Annie took one look at each other and burst into giggles.
"What?" Auggie scowled playfully, dropping the vegetable he was hesitantly chopping and using the sound of Annie's laughter to make his way to her and capture her in his arms, digging his fingers into her sides and making her squeal. Joan rolled her eyes slightly, but crossed to kiss Arthur.
"Thank you honey, but next time? Just get a takeaway." She told him amusedly. He sighed.
"I'm so unappreciated." But he leaned in and kissed her back. Joan took over the cooking while Arthur, Annie and Auggie began to clean up, until a wail through the baby monitor alerted them to the fact that Mackenzie was awake.
"Whoops." Joan was half way through chopping an onion while Arthur was up to his elbows in soapy water. "Annie, could you…?"
Annie looked faintly surprised, but covered it quickly. "Sure." She wiped her hands and trailed upstairs into the nursery. She grinned when she saw it was decorated with various cartoon characters, all of them seemingly dancing around the room on the walls. She quickly crossed to the crib and scooped up a howling Mackenzie.
"Hey handsome- what's wrong with you?" she murmured, rocking him slightly. He quietened, gazing up at her with wide brown eyes and reaching up to catch a lock of her hair. "Ouch- Nuh uh, little guy. Let's not pull that- it hurts." She untangled herself and carried him to the changing table, years of experience with Katia and Chloe quickly coming back to her. She propped him on her shoulder and went back downstairs, rubbing his back absently.
"He ok?" Joan asked, abandoning her sauce to come to them as they entered.
"Yep- just missing mummy." Annie easily passed the baby to her and took over stirring the sauce, getting a slight déjà vu.
Within an hour, they were all sat down at the table eating, when Annie got a phone call. "Excuse me." She stood and went to the living room. "Annie Walker." Joan heard her answer chirpily. "Hey Calder!"
Joan turned back to her food, taking in another mouthful before she heard Annie cry out. "What?! How?!" Joan pushed her chair back on hearing the panic and grief in Annie's voice. She quickly passed Mackenzie to Arthur and went to her sister, worry running though her. Annie had collapsed onto the sofa, tears running down her pale cheeks.
"Annie?" Joan sat next to her, instinctively slipping an arm around her shoulders. Annie stifled a sob.
"I'll..." She attempted, before the phone slipped from her hand as she began to cry. Joan gripped her tightly with one arm while picking up the phone with the other.
"Calder? It's Joan." She said.
"Oh, hi. What happened to Annie?" Calder asked.
"She can't talk- I'll get her to call you back?" Joan checked. At the man's confirmation she hung up and chucked the phone on the table before wrapping her free arm around Annie too.
"Shush now. It's ok." She murmured, stroking her arm up and down her back.
"She tried to burn me." Annie whispered through her tears. Joan frowned slightly.
"Who?"
"My mother. She tried to post on Facebook that I work for the CIA. How could she... She's... I..." Annie broke off into another round of sobs, trembling uncontrollably as Joan tried her best to comfort her.
"It'll be ok, Annie." She held her tighter, looking up as a movement in the doorway caught her eye. Auggie was standing there, and he wasted no time in sitting next to Annie and slipping his hands through hers. Eventually, Annie had cried herself to sleep, curled between Auggie and Joan with tear tracks running down her face.
Carefully, Joan extracted herself from Annie and lay her down so Auggie could stand too. "Can you carry her to the spare room?" Joan asked softly. He nodded, carefully sliding his hands under her and picking her up bridal style, allowing Joan to lead him upstairs so he could lay Annie on the bed, kissing her forehead before they both left the room and shut the door quietly behind them.
"What was all that about?" Arthur stood at the bottom of the stairs, Mackenzie sound asleep in his arms.
"Her mother." Joan told him grimly what she'd gleamed between Annie's sobs as they sat on the sofas.
"I didn't know the CIA had protection against social networking in place." Arthur said, surprised.
"They don't." Auggie interjected quietly. "I set it up for everyone in the DPD because I knew we were more likely to run into people we know than any other department. It's a program that automatically processes any mention of an operative, and if it's suspicious it blocks the post and sends it to be verified by a real person."
"That was all that stood between Annie and the total end of her career? Nice..." Arthur mumbled. Joan frowned at him.
"Not the biggest problem here Arthur." She told him.
"What'll happen now? Because the CIA can't stop her from telling everyone she knows... Is there a protocol for this?" Auggie asked. Arthur nodded.
"Yeah- we had a similar situation a few years ago with an operative and an unhappy ex-fiancée. Linda Walker will be warned that she can face various criminal charges if she doesn't shut up, and she'll be not-so-politely asked to sign a confidentiality agreement." Arthur explained.
Auggie winced. "Annie won't like that."
"She won't have a choice." Joan said firmly, taking Mackenzie from Arthur and cuddling him as she thought.
"Actually… it's probably already happened." Arthur realised, checking his watch. A sudden idea began to form in Joan's mind, and she quickly stood, pressing a kiss to Mackenzie's forehead and passing him to Arthur again.
"Joan?" he questioned.
"I'll be back soon. Play nice while i'm gone boys." She pressed a hand to Auggie's shoulder and grabbed her keys from the side, quickly making her way out the door and driving to her destination.
She rapped on the door, stomach clenching slightly but pasting on her director mask. It swung open.
"Hello Linda." Joan said quietly. The older woman frowned.
"Do I know you?" she asked. Joan gave a faint, cold smile.
"I'm Joan Campbell, although you knew me as Joan McKenzie." Joan told her. Linda's face paled and anger flashed across it.
"What do you want?" she demanded. Joan raised an eyebrow.
"To talk. Can I come in?"
Linda scowled. "Hell no! You're the reason neither of my daughters are talking to me."
Joan snorted. "Nothing to do with the fact you basically said you hated one of them." A couple standing at the end of the hall raised their eyebrows, and Joan turned to Linda. "Do you really want to do this here?"
Linda sighed, and reluctantly stood back to let her into the hotel room. Joan crossed her arms.
"You wanna tell me why my baby sister just cried herself to sleep in my arms?" she asked. Linda glowered at her.
"Like you don't know." She spat. Joan regarded her calmly.
"I'll tell you what I told Danielle. Annie is one of the best operatives the CIA has- she's so good she was pulled out of training early. She loves her job, and she is damn good at it. So why would you try to destroy that?" Joan questioned her. Linda sighed.
"I shouldn't have." She admitted, sliding into a seat and massaging her temples. Joan frowned at how she looked.
"Are you ok?" she asked. Linda nodded slowly.
"Fine." But she swayed as she spoke and Joan lunged forward to steady her, helping her lean back against the sofa as she fetched a glass of water from the tiny kitchen.
"Slowly." She warned her, tipping the glass to her lips. Linda took a grateful sip. Joan watched her carefully, studying every movement and action.
"You're sick." She realised. Linda's eyes snapped to her face, and she gave a humourless laugh.
"Wonderful. I manage to hide it from everyone but my doctor and you of all people figure it out." She dropped her head into her hands while Joan watched her in shock.
"What do you have?" she asked softly.
"Cancer. In the brain." Linda answered, not raising her head. Slowly, Joan began to put the pieces together in her head. Linda saw the expression on her face, and confirmed what she was thinking. "You yourself told me what your mother had died of. Annie and Dani finding out that I'm dying of the same thing? It would destroy them."
"You were trying to protect them." Joan murmured. Linda nodded sadly.
"I failed to while they were growing up. I thought I could at least do so with this, but then Annie found those damn papers and tracked you down..."
"She didn't track me down, Linda. We already knew each other- I'm her boss." Joan explained gently. Linda looked shocked.
"You're CIA?" she questioned. Joan nodded. Linda leaned back against the sofa in surprise.
"Huh…" she mumbled, one hand rising to her temples.
"I'll leave you alone." Joan stood, but Linda caught her wrist before she could walk out.
"Please… don't tell Annie and Dani about this." She pleaded. Joan shook her head slowly.
"I won't lie to them. I've done more than enough of that already."
Linda sagged. "They'll hate me."
"Not if you tell them yourself first." Joan said quietly. Linda's eyes snapped to her face, irritation sparking.
"They won't talk to me. They won't even pick up the phone. How exactly am I supposed to tell them?" she asked bitterly. Joan regarded for a moment.
"The park down the street- be there at two o'clock tomorrow. I'll get Annie and Danielle there, but if you don't tell them then I will. Understood?" Joan raised an eyebrow and Linda nodded, a defeated expression on her face. Joan walked out, mentally scolding herself. Why the heck would she help that woman?
For Annie and Danielle, another voice told her.
Drat.