AN: I do not own Covert Affairs or any of the characters. I have always found the chemistry between these two characters to be the most electric on the show and was beyond disappointed when they had Eyal return to his ex-wife. This is my first attempt at writing this pairing and close to my first attempt at writing period. I would love feedback and constructive reviews. I do have an outline for next 8 chapters, and expect this to continue for at least 15-20 chapters. I plan on posting once a week, likely on Friday evenings. Hope you enjoy!
Dreaming Through Regret
Chapter 2 - Red Lips and Rosy Cheeks
Eyal and Annie made their way up to the new room Eyal had just booked, Annie's arm looped through his uninjured one. Eyal had only paused for a moment before nodding his head to Annie's statement outside the door to the hotel. He had only allowed Annie to step away briefly to send the now unneeded taxi on its way. The pair silently walked towards the elevator, communicating only through glances and hand brushes as they ascended to the 9th floor. Eyal took Annie's hand as they exited the elevator and led her to their room.
Annie exhaled slowly as the door closed behind her. It was loud in the quiet room and drew Eyal's attention to her. He closed the short distance between them in 3 strides and reached out his hand to caress her face.
"Neshama," Eyal began, then he paused, taking a breath, "Why are you here?" he asked, echoing his question from hours earlier. Eyal thought he had a good idea as to why she was there, but wanted to hear it from her lips.
"I realized something tonight, in the moment before I found you on the roof. Something that I thought would never be true for me again." Annie replied, her voice almost a whisper. Her hand came up to cover his on her cheek.
"Tell me, Neshama, what was this realization of yours?"
"You…" Annie started, then closed her eyes and continued, "you are important to me, in a way that no one else ever has been before." She opened her eyes and caught his eyes with hers. "I don't want to lose you, I can't lose you. I care about you Eyal."
Eyal breathed a sigh of relief, leaned in and rested his forehead on hers. "You are important to me as well, Neshama. Annie Walker, you have filled a place in my life that has been empty for so long that I'd almost forgotten it was there." As he finished his declaration he caught Annie's lips with his in a gentle kiss that he broke off before either of them truly wanted it to end.
Annie reached up to wrap her arms around him, ready to pull him back into another kiss, when her hand ran over the sling his injured arm was resting in. She jerked back, angry at herself for forgetting in the intensity of the moment, that Eyal was still injured, that he had been shot just hours before. "Oh Eyal, let's get this taken care of. I seem to recall someone saying they wanted to get out of this… how did you put it, oh yes, this mess of a shirt." Annie said with a slight smile that warred against the sadness and worry reflected in her eyes.
Eyal reluctantly pulled away, then replied in a familiar teasing way, "Well, Neshama, if you wanted me to get undressed you might have just asked." Annie only chuckled in response and led him through to the bathroom. She sat him down on the edge of the tub and then steadily helped him take off the sling supporting his arm and then the ruined dress shirt he wore underneath. Taking extra care while stripping the shirt off over the gunshot wound, she finally rid Eyal of the garment.
The doctors had done an excellent job stitching Eyal up, but in Eyal's eagerness to be away from the poking and prodding he had not allowed them to do much in the way of cleaning the blood covered skin around it. Annie reached out for a cloth and turned on the hot water letting it soak through the cloth. Eyal allowed Annie to clean away the dried blood that extended down his torso without a word, he just watched the emotions that flew across her face. As she worked her way closer to the actual wound he could sense that, despite her steady hands, she was becoming more and more distressed. The cloth brushed the edge of the wound and Eyal flinched back at the fiery pain that shot through his shoulder. Annie's breath hitched as Eyal flinched, drawing his attention to her.
"I'm sorry, " Annie whispered, "this is my fault. I thought I was saving you and all I did was get you hurt."
"Stop, Neshama. There is no blame to be had here. I came here knowing that I was potentially headed toward a situation that would not end well. I chose to track down the Cardinal, I chose to go off book. If anything, you reminded me that there was something important to me that I needed to come back to."
"I never should have left you in that room."
"Enough, we cannot change the past. We can only learn from it and move forward."
Annie stood to rinse out the cloth in the sink, taking a few moments to gather herself. After wringing out the cloth she looked over at Eyal, catching his gaze, and she nodded in agreement to his statement. "So, how do we move forward?"
Eyal stood after replacing his sling, and replied in a low voice "Together. We move forward together, Neshama."
Annie blushed and looked away then quickly back, "Okay, starting now, we focus on moving forward." Then she leaned up and captured his lips in another kiss. Eyal wrapped his uninjured arm around Annie's waist and pulled her closer. Annie's hands cupped his face as their kiss gradually moved from tender to passionate.
Eventually they both pulled away to breathe and Eyal thought Annie had never looked more appealing. There was a rosy blush on her cheeks and her lips were bruised red from their kiss. Once more his forehead rested on hers, and his eyes drifted shut, just breathing Annie in. She smelled faintly of grapefruit as always, but for the first time that smell made him feel like he was coming home.
Annie realized in that moment that she would never be able to walk away from this man. He made her feel safe and wanted in a way that no one, not even Ben Mercer, had. She realized she would break every rule and protocol the CIA had if it meant keeping him in her life. She was blown away by that thought, she had somehow convinced herself that the CIA defined her and that she would give up anything to remain an operative, but now she knew better. The CIA would never allow her to carry on a romantic relationship with an operative from another agency, and she knew, without a doubt, that if they made her choose she would choose Eyal.
After a few moments standing forehead to forehead, they both remembered that they were in the bathroom. Eyal took Annie's hand in hers and led her back out to the bedroom. He stepped away from her to find his bag which the hotel was kind enough to move from his prior accommodation. He pulled out a new shirt, a simple white t-shirt, and a pair of lounge pants to change into. He also pulled out a shirt for Annie to change into as well.
Eyal pulled the sling off and gingerly slid the new shirt up his injured arm and then over his head before replacing the sling. He then turned to Annie and handed her the other shirt, "You can't sleep in that dress, as beautiful as you look in it. Here, this should be more comfortable."
"Thank you." Annie replied with a quick kiss and then she headed into the bathroom to change.
After hearing the door shut Eyal finished changing as quickly as he was able to with only one hand. He had just pulled the lounge pants over his hips before Annie emerged from the bathroom in his shirt carrying her black dress and coat over one arm and her Louboutins in the other hand. Her hair was down now, draped over one shoulder, and she was barefoot. She draped her dress and coat over a chair in the corner and placed her shoes next to it.
Without a word, Eyal reached his good hand out to her and, once she took it, led them to the bed. He climbed in with his injured arm facing away from Annie, and then drew her into the bed with him. She curled into his side, head resting on his shoulder and, after turning out the lights, they both drifted asleep, safe in each other's arms.
