This story pretty much wrote itself. Once Joan opened the wine, it started to click. On a good note, at least Annie tossed Ben to the side. All we have to worry about is Dr. Weiss, and Dani figuring out that Annie doesnt exactly work for the Smithsonian.

Joan watched as Annie took a cautious sip of her wine. It was obvious what was on the poor girls mind. Ben Mercer. From the minute Joan had seen him in the plane till the moment it had landed in Mexico, Joan had worried about how Annie would handle working with him again. To her credit, Annie had been totally focused on the mission, and not on Mercer.

"Annie?" Joan asked, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

Annie's head shot up to look her boss in the eye. "Yes ma'am.?"

Joan shook her head. "Right now, we are just two women on a plane, talking, and sharing a glass of wine. Please don't start ma'aming me until we land."

Annie flushed slightly. "Alright then, Joan, what do you want to talk about?" Not that she didn't already know.

"How are you after seeing Ben again?"

Annie nodded slightly. She had expected a question like that. "I'm fine Joan. Honestly. I'm perfectly fine with him wanting to spend a weekend together and then leaving again."

Joan raised an eyebrow slightly. Just like her friend Harvey always told her. Push till it hurts, that when you know your on the right path. "I cant believe he would even think about doing something like that, especially after everything he put you through to begin with." She leaned forward and refilled Annie's glass. Annie didn't refuse.

"I know. I mean, yeah we had fun together and all, but to leave with no explanation, come back and then leave me in Guam, again with no explanation, and then show up again, expecting me to take him back. "Sure Annie, its going to be all rainbows and kittens between us. Or at least until the CIA needs me again. Then I'm leaving you for an undetermined amount of time.' Seriously, who is he kidding?" She shot Joan a furtive glance. "No offense."

Her boss shrugged it off. "Go for it." She stood and grabbed another bottle of wine. "What about other men? Surely your not limiting yourself after the whole Ben fiasco."

Annie kicked her shoes off and tucked her legs underneath her. "Well there is this Doctor who seems really interested in me. Of course, its not like I can exactly tell him what I actually do for a living."

Joan nodded, after filling Annie's glass again. "Well yeah, thats always a dealbreaker. What about guys at the DPD? Their not clandestine, like Ben, so no running off wit no explanation. What about Conrad?"

Annie laughed out loud. "He's like a china vase. Pretty on the outside, but nothing on the in."

"Alright." Joan said with a gesture of her wineglass."What about Jai?"

This suggestion had Annie snorting. "Please. Jai is just like Ben. He would be with me for an undisclosed amount of time, but the first chance he got to go back up to the seventh floor, he would be oot the door like a shot."

Joan took a thoughtful sip of her wine. Between the two of them, the had gone through a bottle and a half. Just enough to loosen Annie's tongue but not enough to make her lose control. "Well, there's always Auggie."

Annie practically dropped her glass. "What?"

"Hear me out, He's DPD, protective of you to a fault, he knows you better than your own family, the same family who absolutely adores him. Its a win-win for you both."

They finished up the second bottle while Annie thought it over. As much as she had tried to fight it, she had developed feelings for the blind Techno-God. "Well, I guess we could give it a shot. What have I got to lose?"

Joan grinned at that reply. "Why don't you give him a call?" She handed Annie her encrypted cell phone." Come on. I dare you."

Annie shook her head. "You just don't believe that I'll do it."

"Your right. Come on Annie, prove me wrong."

Annie had had just enough wine to think that it was a good idea. "Alright." She took the phone and dialed his number.

Auggie answered his phone before the first "Joan Campbell" had ended. "Joan? Is everything alright?"

Annie giggled at the worried tone of his voice. "Easy Soldier Boy. Its only me. I have a question."

Auggie froze at the tone of Annie's voice. She wasn't slurring but he could have sworn that she was..."Annie, are you drunk?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. Just a little buzzed. Thank you very much. Joan is too."

Joan smiled slyly at that. She might have drank the same amount, but she had a much higher tolerance. "Just ask him!" She hissed.

"Oh yeah. Auggie, would you consider ever going on a date with me?"

Auggie froze and thought the question over very carefully. He had wanted to ask her out ever since he had first met her, but he had always been put off by the fact that she always treated him like a close friend. Now with her asking, it was the perfect chance. "Of course Annie. I would be honored to take you out on a date."

Now it was Annie's turn to freeze. She had never considered the fact that Auggie might take her up on it. "Uh, OK. I guess we can finalize this when we see each other later."

"Uh, alright then."

Annie hung up, giving Joan a smirk of her own. "Told you Id do it."

Joan smirked back. "Yes you did. So what are you going to wear?"

Annie's face drained of color and she sobered up right fast. "I really didn't think about that."

Joan laughed. "Your just lucky that I have a few outfits stashed away on the plane."

By the time the plane had landed, Annie was wearing a dark blue sheath dress and matching shoes. But more importantly, the two women had developed a mutual understanding of each other, that bordered on a friendship.

Yeah, lets ignore that last scene between Annie and the Doctor, and the first one for that matter. As far as I'm concerned, they never happened. Now I have to hurry, its coming on again in 15 minutes.