AN - Happy Friday! As always I do not own Covert Affairs or any of the characters I'm playing with in this story. We are still pretty entrenched in canon for this chapter, but after this one we start diverging. I hope you all enjoy this!

Dreaming Through Regret

Chapter 5 - Tangled Up With You All Night

Eyal was thrilled to be back in the field. His first assignment came in a few days after he returned to Tel Aviv from Stockholm. He started off with a couple pretty easy ops, a brush pass and a surveillance op. He was now on a longer duration op to turn an asset in London. He'd been in London for almost two weeks at this point, watching the person Mossad wanted to turn. Eyal was planning to make contact with the woman that evening at the bar she typically frequented after she left work.

Annie had been ecstatic to hear that he was back in the field, knowing how important it was to him. Not being in contact with her over the last couple of weeks while on this mission had been harder than he'd expected. Eyal had gotten used to hearing from her quite constantly when they weren't on their own missions. Annie's penchant for ops going sideways seemed to be on a back burner for her last couple of missions, and the last he'd heard she was working through some intel on the Ukraine to find any sources or possible assets regarding the unrest in the country.

The bar was close enough to Westminster and Big Ben for Eyal to hear the chiming of a quarter past 5. His possible asset should be entering the bar shortly for her typical end of day glass of Cabernet. Eyal set himself up on a stool at the bar only a few seats down from where this woman usually sat and not ten minutes later she had sat herself in her typical seat. Eyal, engaging his typical charm, sent over her first glass of wine. The woman lifted the glass in thanks and waved Eyal over.

Thirty minutes later Eyal walked out of the bar after getting the woman to agree to passing along intel on her boss. He headed back to his London apartment and called into King Saul with a status update. After reporting in his Mossad handler passed along some chatter coming out of the US. A CIA operative had been killed on American soil. His handler cautioned him to take care on his way back to Israel as they were unsure of whether the Operative was a planned target or a target of opportunity. Eyal asked a couple more questions but the handler only had conjecture to pass along, stating that it sounded like the CIA was waiting to talk to the other agent who had been on site.

Eyal hung up with his handler and called Rivka directly, wanting to see if she had any further intelligence regarding the incident. Rivka was unable to provide any more information except that the other agent was a woman and she had been taken to the ER but quickly released. Eyal had become more and more worried while talking to both his handler and Rivka and as soon as he hung up with Rivka he pulled out his encrypted phone and dialed Annie. Frustrated that it went right to her voicemail, Eyal hung up and then texted her asking for her to call him back. Not knowing how Annie was, if she was the agent who had been on site, was driving him crazy. Luck was on his side today, the direct flight from London into Dulles was delayed about three hours due to mechanical issues. He booked himself onto the flight and packed his things quickly and caught the Heathrow Express to the Airport.

Annie could not get the ringing in her ears to stop. The ER doctor had told her that it was completely normal and would eventually wear off, but to take OTC pain meds if she developed a headache from it. The headache she'd developed came from the hours of polygraph she had to endure after she made it back to Langley that afternoon. She'd arrived at 2pm and after talking briefly with Joan, who had met her at the entrance to check in on her, she had been taken down to polygraph. She knew it was standard procedure, but she couldn't help feeling like the questions were written to implicate her in Jai's death. It was nearly 7pm by the time she got back to her car and saw the missed call and text from Eyal. She tried calling him back but it didn't even ring before sending her to voicemail. She texted Eyal back and then sat in her car trying to decide where to go.

She eliminated going home to Danielle's guest house, too many questions would be asked that she just didn't have the patience to deal with. That left her with her own safehouse or Eyal's. All three keys clinked together on her key ring, but one caught her eye. It was the key to Eyal's apartment. She had not been there yet, despite having received the key with the same delivery that held her encrypted phone, as she did not want to possibly be tracked there. But tonight she needed the familiarity that the apartment would likely bring her, the feeling of being with Eyal. Today had been absolutely hellish, and she just wanted to be safe.

She finally put the key in the ignition and started her VW. She slowly pulled out of her spot and left the CIA parking lot and headed towards Eyal's apartment. As she approached the neighborhood where the apartment was located, she had the presence of mind to park a few blocks away, just in case there were eyes on her. She stopped briefly at a little café and picked up something to eat and a bottle of wine. Then Annie took the most circuitous route she could to get to the apartment from the café. The relief she felt after she had entered and relocked the apartment door was palpable. She dropped her bag and keys on the kitchen counter and then kicked off her shoes, for once not caring where the expensive Louboutins landed.

Without truly tasting the food she was eating, Annie ate her dinner and then poured herself a hefty glass of wine. Unable to sit still she started looking around the rest of the apartment. It was a spacious one bedroom with a balcony that looked right out over the Potomac River. The bookshelves in the living room were filled with an eclectic mix of literature and movies. The furniture was in shades of white and tan and there was a tv mounted on the wall above a fireplace. The bedroom was warm and inviting with a sunset painting hanging above a bed draped in dark brown blankets. But it was the bathroom with its claw foot tub that called to her. She put the wine glass down on the sink counter and started filling the tub with hot water. She walked out to the bedroom and then opened several drawers in the dresser there, finally coming across a drawer full of soft tees. She grabbed one of them and headed back into the bathroom.

After spending a relaxing half hour in the tub and finishing off her glass of wine, she stood up and dried herself off before pulling on Eyal's shirt. It smelled like he did, and it comforted her more than she imagined it would. She took the wine glass and put it in the kitchen sink while towel drying her hair. She then turned out all the lights and double checked the door before turning in for the night.

Eyal's flight from Heathrow took off almost exactly three hours later than it should have and had him touching down in DC at 1130 that evening. Clearing customs and flagging down a taxi took an additional hour. He was unlocking his apartment door at about 1am, tired and ready to get some sleep before tracking down Annie. Despite being exhausted, he noticed some slight alterations to the apartment since he'd last been in it. His keys fell into the bowl he always put them in, but jingled against another set of keys. He hadn't turned on any lights yet, but the ambient light from outside showed a bag on the counter and a pair of shoes on the living room floor. His senses hadn't alerted him to any danger so he was surprised to see proof that someone had been, or more likely was still, in his apartment.

Knowing that only a select few people knew about this place, he could count them on one hand, he realized that his search for Annie was over before he had even started it. He took off his coat and draped it over the back of the couch before heading into the bedroom. There he could see the form of Annie under sheets that told him just how haphazard her sleep had been. He toed off his shoes and stripped out of his pants and shirt, before crawling into bed and pulling her tightly to his chest, relieved that she was okay.

Annie woke with a slight start as she felt arms wrap around her, she almost panicked before she recognized Eyal's scent.

"Eyal…" Annie said sleepily, "what… how… why are you here?"

"I was worried about you Annie. I heard some chatter from King Saul Blvd about a CIA operative being killed and another CIA agent being on site when it happened. I tried calling and wasn't able to get through to you."

"I'm so glad you're here, Eyal. It keeps playing over and over in my mind, in my dreams. I can't figure it out."

"It was you, you were the other agent there. What happened?"

"It was Jai, Eyal. Jai is dead, someone blew up his car. I might have been in that car too, but I went back for Danielle's umbrella."

Eyal gripped her tighter than he had before, now knowing how close he had come to losing her. He brushed a kiss to the top of her head before responding.

"I am eternally thankful that you were NOT in that car, Neshama. Where were you and Jai? I assume the explosion was not at Langley?"

"No, I met Jai at a diner, Vesta, he wanted to talk about something. He said it was about Langley so we couldn't talk at Langley. He was going to take me somewhere to show me his theory and then his car blew up."

"So no idea what he wanted to share with you?"

"None at all. This was the first time he'd tried to talk to me about it. The explosion knocked me over and the next thing I really remember was being in the Emergency Room. The time between the explosion and the Emergency Room is a blur. The agency must have showed up at some point because my car wound up back at Langley after I drove it to the diner. My ears are still ringing from the explosion."

"That's normal Annie, it'll go away in a few days. I assume you were debriefed at Langley?"

"Ha, more like polygraphed to within an inch of my life. Joan caught me at the entrance to assure me that she believed I had nothing to do with the explosion and to remember that. She said that all right before I was called away to polygraph. The questions… Eyal, it was like they thought I had something to do with killing Jai, with killing my friend!"

"Shhh, Joan believes you, I believe you, and I'm sure anyone who matters will believe you." Eyal soothed Annie as his hands ran through her hair. His thumb brushed the butterfly bandage at her hairline and he dropped a kiss there.

Annie sighed as she relaxed under Eyal's ministrations, "I couldn't go back to the guest house tonight. The explosion was on the news and Danielle would have asked way too many questions. I wanted to be as close to you as possible, so I came here, and it was almost like being with you. And now you are ACTUALLY here and I feel infinitely better for being in your arms."

"I was scared, Neshama, when I heard the chatter about a CIA agent being killed I was so worried it was you. When you didn't answer your phone I hopped on the first flight out of London to DC. I had to see for myself that you were okay."

"I won't say I'm 100% but I'm alive and I'm with you." Annie replied before catching Eyal's lips with hers.

Eyal rolled Annie under him and one of his hands held the back of her neck while the other found its way to her waist. All his fear at losing her and all the relief at her being alive were funneled into that kiss. Annie's hands cupped his jaw and held him close to her. Once breathing became necessary again, they parted and Eyal rested his forehead on Annie's.

"I'm alive Eyal, I'm alive."

"I know, Neshama, but you could have been taken from me." Eyal dropped the hand holding her neck and brought it to her cheek. "I just need to feel you alive."

"I'm here, safe with you, Eyal." Annie replied before looping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for another heated kiss.

Eyal's hands found the hem of her shirt, noticing for the first time that she was wearing one of his shirts, and drew it carefully over her head, avoiding the cut at her hairline. One hand kept him elevated so he didn't crush Annie under him and the other came up to cup her breast. His thumb found her nipple and drew lazy circles around it. Annie arched into his touch as her hands scrambled to pull his singlet off. Their lips parted to allow Eyal's top to come over his head, but once that was completed Eyal dropped his lips to Annie's neck which he gently dusted with brushing kisses. Annie's hands found purchase on Eyal's shoulders and as his kisses became more sensual her fingernails dug crescents into his back.

Unlike their last lovemaking Annie wasn't inclined to take control, she wanted to feel protected and safe, and having Eyal surround her like he was, did exactly that. Blocked from joining together by their remaining underwear, they quickly rid each other of the obstructing garments. Laying back down together on the bed, Annie wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him down on top of her. Eyal's lower body touched every inch of hers and his upper body rested on his elbows. Locking his eyes with hers, Eyal drove his hips forward and pushed into her awaiting heat. Annie's neck arched as Eyal filled her, nails dragging light scratches down his back. They laid like that, joined together, for a few breaths before Eyal slowly pulled back and drove home again. Annie moaned in satisfaction which enticed Eyal to repeat the movement. Again and again he withdrew from her and then sank himself home again. The pair found their rhythm and Eyal again cradled her head in one of hands as he kissed her. Soon he felt Annie begin to tighten around him and he began to more forcefully impale himself in her. Annie pulled away from his kisses and threw her head back as she approached ecstasy. Eyal's lips found the sensitive skin behind her ear and gently kissed there and then caught her earlobe in his teeth. Annie crested into her climax and Eyal fell into his as she clenched around him.

Eyal slowly withdrew from her and pulled Annie with him as he rolled onto his side. Holding Annie close as she regained her breath, his hands trailed slowly up and down her back. Eyal relaxed back into the pillows of his bed and Annie settled herself into his side, sliding one of her legs between his. Her head lay on his left shoulder, she could just make out the scar from his gunshot injury, and was lulled to sleep by the steady beat of Eyal's heart. It was a more restful sleep than she had experienced before Eyal arrived, which Eyal was grateful for. After watching Annie sleep for over a half hour, Eyal allowed slumber to take him as well, knowing he would wake with Annie safely in his arms.