Author's Note: Okay friends, here's the next chapter for this story. ENJOY!

Chapter Twenty One

"Followed"

Auggie turned into Annie's driveway and got out of the car without a word to Annie. Moments later, he was putting something in the trunk and opening the back door for Silke to jump into the car. After buckling Silke into the car, he went back to the house for something else.

"Auggie, what's going on?" Annie asked several minutes later as she sat growing more and more anxious. She knew Auggie wasn't in the driver's seat yet, but he was putting something into the trunk, so she thought he would hear her.

"Sweetie, I forgot the picnic basket and Silke just looked so lonely when I went back for it, I couldn't leave her behind. She will enjoy the trip. I also grabbed us an overnight bag, just in case we decide to stay out longer than we think we will right now," Auggie told Annie cryptically once he was back in the driver's seat.

"Okay Darling. Sounds like a plan," Annie said trying to play along with whatever Auggie was talking about.

Auggie reached over and took her hand, bringing it to his lips, he kissed it gently.

"It's been a long miserable couple weeks for you. You deserve a little break from everything," he said sending chills up her spine for reasons she didn't quite understand yet.

"Just sit back and relax, we've got a nice drive ahead of us. I'll let you know when we get there," Auggie told her mysteriously.

Annie did as she was told and remained quiet for a while. She wasn't completely sure what was going on. Sitting there she tried not to let herself me anxious or to show just how panicked this was all making her. The only thing she knew for sure was they would not be going back to her home tonight. She wasn't sure why, but she knew Silke coming with them was the signal that they needed to get out of there because she was in danger.

Silke sat in the back seat whining slightly. Annie knew this was not normal for her. Something big must be going on for her to be acting this way. She was trained to be quiet as often as possible. Annie hoped that Auggie remembered to get her food and other necessary items.

About an hour later, Annie had fallen asleep. Auggie looked in his rearview mirror to notice that they were not being followed anymore. He wasn't sure when he lost whoever was pursing them, but he was glad to have lost them. He had been driving around almost in circles purposely taking a much longer route to their destination than was needed.

Auggie didn't want wake Annie up when they arrived, but after unloading the car he felt it was necessary.

"Annie dear, we're here," he said putting his hand gently on her arm, hoping not to startle her awake. To his horror, she did wake up quite startled. As she had done many times before, she woke up, opening her eyes and immediately panicking turning her head, seeking out light that would never come.

"Annie, its Auggie. You're okay. You're safe," He said in a soothing voice.

"We had to leave your house. We were being followed when we headed to the park. I had to drive around for a while to lose the car following us. My guess is they had to stop for gas and hoped to find us again. We're at a safe house that I set up while you were in the hospital, there's a ramp for your wheelchair and I've already set up an area for Silke. I know it's not ideal, but I didn't have a choice. Joan and I had a plan for this, I've had a bag packed for you and Silke since you came home from the hospital. We can buy anything else you need," Auggie told her as she took a few breathes to calm herself.

Annie calmed herself down slowly and allowed Auggie to help her into her wheelchair. She was getting a bit more strength back as the days passed. It had only been a couple weeks since the kidnapping and following hospital stay, but she was glad it was all in the past. She couldn't wait to simply be able to stand and walk on her own again. She hoped that she would not have to have any physical therapy after her bones were healed, but she knew from experience that sometimes it was impossible to know for sure until after the injuries had healed.

Once they were in this new place, Annie listened carefully to Auggie's movements to try to figure out some details about the place.

She knew from his footsteps, that the flooring at least in part of the house was hardwood. She knew there was a wall between the living room where she was and the kitchen were Auggie had went to get her a bottle of water. Silke's water dish seemed to be at the far end of the kitchen.

"Is the yard fenced so Silke can go outside and do her business without any fear of her wandering off?" Annie asked as she listened to Auggie move about the house. She sat, still in her wheelchair, in the living room.

"Yes. The yard is fenced, there's a back deck that leads into a spacious yard. It's a nice home. It is well stocked with food and other supplies. We won't have to leave here for at least two weeks. I know this isn't ideal. No one knows where we are, but they know we are safe. Danielle knows that this might happen. I left her the prearranged signal that we had to go into hiding. I told her and Joan I wouldn't let you be in danger," Auggie told her affectionately.

"Auggie, I appreciate the steps you've taken to ensure my safety, but you have to know I can't possibly be comfortable here. I have no idea where anything is here. You have to understand that you've just put me in a black hole; I don't feel very safe here. But I'm trusting you if you say I am," She told him honestly.

"I know this isn't ideal. The set up here is a lot like your own place. There are three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and one half bath, a fully functional kitchen, and dining room. Unlike your place, there is a garage where the car will remain. If we need to go anywhere, we will switch cars. My car, being an antique, is a little more conspicuous than we should be using right now. Joan will come by later today to update us on who they think may have been following us. I sent her a text earlier giving her a description of the car and all other details I knew," Auggie told her.

"This is for real isn't it?" Annie asked sounding a bit worried.

"Yes, Annie, unfortunately this really is happening. I wouldn't have brought you here if it wasn't. This was a last resort. I had suspected someone was watching your house a couple days ago, but I thought I might be just being paranoid until I saw the car following us today. We will have everything we need while we are here. I've done this type of hiding out all around the world. The CIA knows how to protect an asset," Auggie tried to console her. He noticed she was starting to become very fidgety in her chair and wondered how he could best ease her into this situation. He understood that it was far from ideal to remove her from her home and the world she knew best, but he had to do everything he could to keep her safe.

"I know it would be best if you could explore the home yourself so you can get used to it. If you'd like I can take you room by room and describe each of them to you," Auggie suggested after a few minutes of silence.

"That's actually not a bad idea. Were you able to grab my laptop or any of my books or anything before you left?" She asked guessing he probably had not thought about entertaining her.

"No, I could only keep the essentials packed. We can't go back there until we know for certain you are safe. We can purchase some items for you if you'd like. There are some books, DVDs, CDs, and such here already. I know the books won't do you any good, unless I read them to you, but perhaps the DVDs or CDs will serve as some entertainment for you. There's a large TV, DVD player, and stereo system in the living room. I can show you how everything works later if you'd like," Auggie told her hoping to ease her worry some.

"It's okay; I'll trust you to take care of those things for now. It's not like I can get up and walk to the entertainment center without your help right now anyway. How will I get to my doctor's appointments and physical therapy sessions when I start doing those next week?" Annie asked knowing she had a full schedule of appointments that needed to be kept in the coming weeks.

"We will either work it out for you to be taken there or arrange for the doctor or therapists to make a house call," Auggie told her.

"You guys can do that? Make the doctor's come here I mean," Annie asked stunned.

"Annie, we're the CIA, we can do a lot more than that," Auggie said smirking.

"Good to know I'll be in good hands," Annie said calmer than she had felt since they left her house two hours ago. "What will we do if whoever was following us happens to find us here? Do you go to another safe house or something?" Annie asked.

"I don't know yet. There's not another safe house in the area that would meet all of our needs. Most of the others are studio apartments that are only accessible by stairs. Spies don't generally travel with companions, so we rarely need safe houses with more than one bedroom." Auggie told her. They had not thought of a backup plan if this one should fail. He knew he would need to talk to Joan about that very thing. This was a good plan, but it was not foolproof. He felt confident in his decision to move Annie from her home. He knew it was an enormous leap of faith for Annie to trust him as much as she was going to have to while they were here. He would talk to Joan about a second or even third back up plan for them when he got on the secure network the home had in it.

"The couch isn't as comfortable as the one at your house, but I think it will do. There's a pretty good stock of food here, but if we want anything specific, we need to let Joan know. She will have it delivered to us. We have surveillance watching the inside and outside of the house as well as a very high tech security system that will alert me to any movement around the property. The house is set off from the road and surrounded by trees. It's unlikely that the neighbors even know that there is a house back here," Auggie told her trying to ease her panic.

"Is there anything I can do to help right now? I can put away some things or feed Silke if you show me where things are. I hate feeling so helpless," Annie said as she heard him walk into the living room where she was still sitting.

"Everything is done. There wasn't much to do anyway. I put your clothes away in your room. I just grabbed some basics for you, we can buy more things if we need to," Auggie told her.

"Can I call Danielle to tell her I'm okay?" Annie asked, but already knew she wouldn't be allowed to.

"I wish I could let you, but Danielle knows you're with me. She knows you're safe. We have set up protocols to let her know each day that we are fine. I've also set up a secure email address for her if we need to contact her, in any emergency situation only. I know this is going to be hard for you. I'm going to do everything I can to help you feel at home here," Auggie said.

"I appreciate that. Is it possible for me to use the restroom? As much as I'm enjoying just sitting here, this morning's coffee is starting to want to evacuate, afterwards, I wouldn't mind checking out that back deck you mentioned. I could use some fresh air, especially since that's where were heading before all this started," Annie told him.

"Of course, there's a half bathroom off the living room. I will help you get there. The wheelchair probably won't fit inside the bathroom, but you should be able to get from the doorway to the toilet and sink without much trouble," Auggie told her. He had not brought up the fact that he would now be the only one that could take care of her needs. He hoped that she was a bit more independent than when she had first got home. He knew she was feeling a bit better and in much less pain than she had been before.

Once finished in the bathroom, Auggie helped her to the couch since it had started to snow again. He showed her where the couch was and let her explore its surface.

"How long will we be here?" Annie asked.

"Annie, I don't know. It could be just a few days; it could be a couple months. We have to make sure you are safe," he answered quietly.

"What about Danielle and the girls? Are they safe? These people kidnapped me because they thought I knew you. What if they assume the same thing about them? Are they being watched as well?" she asked suddenly panicked for her family's safety.

"Annie, calm down. Someone is watching them as well. If there is a moment when they don't seem like they are safe, we have a safe house set up for them as well. We didn't want to take the girls out of school unless we absolutely have to. Right now, there's only been an indication that we were being followed. We've had agents watching your house for weeks. I wouldn't put them in danger," He told her, desperately wanting to calm her down.

"You're sure their safe?" Annie asked, trying to cut off the sobs that threatened to escape.

"Yes. They are safe. Joan will get word to us if there are any problems. Right now, our job is to make sure whoever was following us, doesn't find you here. That's our only priority," Auggie told her passionately.

She knew he took his job seriously and right now, keeping her safe-was his job. She needed to trust him. Trust that he knew what he was going. Trust that he would indeed keep her safe. And trust that she was, for once, in capable hands.

Author's Note: Hehehe, still no word yet on who is following them. There's a few possibilities. But I'm not tellin' yet. :)