Annie sat in Dr. Stuart Heatherton's waiting room, too nervous to drink the coffee offered, and too worried for Auggie to spend the time reading a magazine or newspaper. So she sat, fingers twisting in her lap as she watched the door that Auggie had disappeared through half an hour ago.

She'd asked him if he wanted her to go in with him, but he just smiled and made a joke about being a big boy. She wished she had his sense of humor. After a handful of appointments with his regular optometrist and this new doctor, Dr. Heatherton, Auggie had decided to go for it and shut his shop down for a week. Annie, too, cleared her schedule so she'd be there for him.

Though they both were reassured about the number of successful surgeries done around the world, and a good number of those by Dr. Heatherton himself, Annie took it upon herself to do some research herself on "Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis."

After spending what he considered an unhealthy amount of time online doing research, Auggie made her close down her browser and stop worrying. She could turn away from the internet, but Annie refused to stop caring about him. The thought of the surgery not working, and Auggie eventually going completely blind didn't worry her. She loved the man he was, not his sight. But the amount of pain and discomfort he was subjecting himself to at this moment made her want to go through it herself.

"Excuse me, Miss Walker?"

"Yes," Annie said, standing up quickly to greet the assistant who came through the door.

"You're with Mr. Anderson, correct?"

"Yes."

"The surgery is over, if you'd like to follow me, I can take you back to him."

Annie walked with shaky legs after the woman through the door and down a carpeted hallway. She wasn't sure what to expect, and steeled herself to find Auggie unconscious with bandages swathed around his head.

Auggie tried to breathe normally, even though the familiar panic was rising in his chest – panic from his recurring nightmare of losing his sight. He repeated in his head what the doctor had said, that within 24 hours, he should be able to remove the eyepatch and be able to see. That, and digging his nails into his palms to get his mind off of his stinging eyeball calmed him a bit.

Then he heard the door open, and his head turned instinctively to the sound. He smiled at himself for expecting to be able to see who'd come in. After a couple of seconds, though, he didn't hear any sound or the person speak, and his smile faded. "Hello?"

Then he heard it, the unmistakable sound of Annie's voice. She breathed his name, "Auggie?"

He reached a hand out to her. "Hey, beautiful."

The smile, and then the extended hand, broke the resolve Annie had been holding onto for the past hour, and she crossed the space between them, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her head in his neck. He was still half-lying in the reclining chair, and her hug nearly knocked them both onto the ground, but Auggie caught her slight weight with his arms and held her to him.

"I was so worried," Annie whispered into his skin.

Auggie chuckled, his hands smoothing over her back. "After all the research you did? I'm surprised you weren't in the room with Dr. Heatherton, giving him pointers."

Annie pulled back slightly and looked more fully on his face, running her fingers over his skin. "Don't joke, Auggie. Not now."

"I'll be fine," he reassured her, then leaning forward, unerringly caught her mouth with his. Pulling back, he said, "The doctor will be back in a few minutes to give us instructions, okay?"

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Kiss me? When you can't –"

"Guess I don't need my sight for the important things," he said, his hands sliding up her back to rest on her shoulders. "When we get back home, we should test out how well we can do other things."

"Well, I usually advise my patients to rest for 24 hours," Dr. Heatherton said, coming into the room to find his patient in the embrace of a beautiful blonde.

Annie automatically sprang to her feet, thoroughly embarrassed. She tried to extricate herself from Auggie's embrace, but he caught her hand and held onto it as Dr. Heatherton began to speak.

"I take it you're going to be with Mr. Anderson during his recovery time?"

"Yes," Annie said, nodding. "I'm his – well –"

"Annie's my fiancee," Auggie said. "She'll be taking care of me."

"You're a lucky man," Dr. Heatherton noted, then took a seat and detailed to Annie and Auggie what he did during the surgery. "Now, I understand your apprehension, Mr. Anderson, so I would recommend leaving the patch on for a full 24 hours before removing it and attempting to use your sight. I have no reason to believe the procedure didn't work, and you should have no abnormal side effects."

"Understood," Auggie said.

"Then I'll see you in a week. Don't hesitate to call the office if you experience any severe pain or discomfort, or just have any questions, okay?"

"Thank you, Dr. Heatherton," Annie said, extending her hand out.

When he left, Auggie said, "Well, I'm ready to go home and get pampered by own personal nurse."

"Should I ask the staff to borrow a pair of scrubs?" Annie asked.

Auggie slid his hand up to grip her elbow as they left the office. "I was hoping you had one of those sexy outfits with white thigh-highs and a stethoscope."

"Auggie!"

"What? I've gotta rely on my imagination now, at least for a day or two," he said, leaning down to brush his lips against her cheek.

Annie refused to bait him any further, at least when they were still in the office surrounded by nurses and other patients. Only when they were both seatbelted into her car, and she was ready to drive home did she reply to his proposition.

"I'd buy one of those outfits, but I thought you said you weren't into roleplaying."

"Now you're talking," Auggie said, leaning back in his car seat.

"But only if you promise to buy a black silk shirt and head scarf and –"

"Now you're pushing it."

A/N Personally, I wear glasses and would love to do lasik, but I share Annie's apprehension, especially after reading all the information and probably misinformation available online. But Auggie should have no problem, especially with "Dr. Stu" at the helm. Mmm, Dr. Stu. Anyone else having any fantasies regarding Gabe Grey in scrubs? mmmmmmm.

Please review.