So over the weekend, this broke 200 reviews. I haven't had such a great response since Don't Call It a Comeback (yes. No glaring. I am working on it. Once I'm finished with One of the Boys). I'm so appreciative of everyone's feedback. It's been really great to see what you guys have to say.

And hopefully Artemis and I won't have the exact same idea for this one…

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Handsel: (n.) first encounter with or use of something taken as a token of what will follow.

Dinah pushed curly white-blonde hair out of her eyes. "Kid, if you don't knock that off soon I'm going to hit you with something," she drawled, not looking up from her laptop screen for a second."

Behind her, Annie tensed. How did she know? "I'm not doing anything," she protested weakly, slumping against the cheap plywood headboard. Their motel room was tiny and old, but at least it was clean. That was basically all two CIA field agents could ask for in the outskirts of the Lithuanian border.

"Bullshit," Dinah replied, all business. She was attempting to patch a connection with Langley—for someone outside any of the tech departments, she was really good with computers—but so far, there hadn't been any luck finding cell towers to carry out such a connection. "You're fidgeting."

Annie sighed heavily but stopped playing with her finger. "It's not like I was being loud," she answered, a note of petulance lacing her voice. She hated when they just had to hang out during a mission until they could get further information. She didn't do well with sitting still. "I wasn't tapping my foot or anything."

"No, instead you were rubbing the spot where your ring is supposed to be," Dinah replied evenly, tapping away on the computer and smirking to herself. "No, you weren't doing anything loud, but it's still annoying and obvious."

Annie's dark eyes turned to saucers as she stared at the back Dinah's head incomprehensibly. "Wha—I don't—I don't know what you mean."

She chuckled darkly, shaking her head. "Sorry, kid, but you're not getting that one past me," she replied dryly. "Fourth finger on your left hand? A green agent two minutes off the Farm could figure that one out, and I've got ten-plus years under my belt and a husband that works on the fifth floor. You're not getting anything past me."

Annie blushed hotly, sitting up straight in her little twin bed. Dinah finally stopped working long enough to swivel around and fixed her with her blue-eyed gaze. "So how long?"

Giving up the crappy ruse, Annie sighed and stared down at her hand dejectedly. "It happened a week ago. I thought I still wasn't used to it but then we were sent on this mission and I can't wear it and suddenly my hand seems so weird and empty without it."

Dinah clucked her tongue, smirking thoughtfully to herself. "Yeah, something similar happened to me once," she admitted, tilting her head and thinking of things past. "And we had gotten into a fight right before I left, too. I was so pissed at him at the time. 'Course, Queen's always been a blockhead."

Annie smiled and shook her head. "We did not get into an argument, luckily," she said softly, sighing. "Though it would be a far cry from our first one. We're both what you would call, uh, blockheads."

Dinah chuckled and leaned against the chair, resting her black-leather clad arm against the edge. "Yeah, I can be a bit of a blockhead, too," she admitted. "So do you have a date set yet?"

Annie let out a sputtering sound. "F-for our wedding?" she asked. "Considering we've only been engaged for a week and two and a half of those days I've been in a different country? No, we do not have a date set."

Dinah smiled. "You know, May is a lovely time of year."

Annie couldn't hide her grin. She'd have to mention that to Auggie when they got back.

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For anyone curious and geeky enough, yes, I based her character on that Dinah (and, by extension, that Queen). Because making nerdy references is more amusing to me than creating a new character. :D