Try To Fuse The Break
Five hours to the Colombian border is a quick trip in comparison to some of the ones Ryan's taken before, and far more luxurious behind the wheel of the BMW he's driving. Long gone are his days as a Navy Seal, driving armored utility vehicles in places where roads didn't even exist and luxury was a myth. For whatever reason though, this drive seems to last forever.
He keeps his eyes on the road ahead of him, trusting Jim and Fitz to run point from the back, but every so often he allows his attention to drift to the woman in the passenger seat beside him. An hour in and Annie's struggling to stay awake. He doesn't miss the way every inch of her body screams exhaustion, but she fights it, staring out the window in stubborn refusal to succumb to sleep. He would be lying if he didn't admit her tenacity and her spirit are two of the things that impressed him from the beginning. Even so, Ryan is finding it difficult to compartmentalize his growing concern for her, especially given what he knows now.
And maybe that's why the time seems to pass so painfully slow. As memories flood his mind, his thoughts drift to places he'd rather they not go.
Annie isn't his to worry about.
He thinks about how they found her at the dock. He thinks about the panic, how helpless he'd felt when they made it to the safe house and she wouldn't wake up. He thinks about how he'd tried not to hover over the doctor. He thinks about watching her lie in that bed and how lifeless she'd looked.
The familiarity, the distant grief, isn't something he wants to remember.
They're three hours into the drive with two left to go before they reach the border crossing that will take them into Colombia. Ryan alternates between humming along to the radio and attempting to steal glances at her when he thinks she's not looking.
Annie catches him almost every time.
"What?" She finally prompts, her exasperation impossible to hide. In the back seat even Fitz, who's known for his silent vigils and borderline mute tendencies, is doing his very best not to crack a grin. Before Ryan can answer her, Jim leans forward on the console between them.
"Y'see, it's not everyday we get to go gallivanting across the world with beautiful women." Jim explains, giving the appearance of seriousness, but emphasizing his words with theatrical hand gestures. "What I mean to say is, I think the boss man here might be just a little bit enamored by you."
"Shut up, Jim." Ryan elbows him jokingly. "Don't think I won't reassign you when we get stateside."
"Yeah, yeah, sure you will." Jim moves back into his seat, unfazed by the empty threat.
"I not sure enamored is the right word." Annie comments wryly. "I make things more… exciting."
"I'm not sure exciting is the right word." Fitz deadpans.
With the aid of the rearview mirror, Annie feigns insult by shooting Fitz a steely glare that could kill.
"He finally speaks!" Jim announces dramatically, shoving Fitz from his side of the car.
Like overgrown children the two men fall into a half-hearted skirmish of shoulder punches and name calling. Annie turns in her seat to watch them, clearly amused, interceding with her own jabs at random, accompanied by the occasional sound of her laughter.
Ryan watches her.
The smile edging it's way onto her face is actual, artless, and when she does laugh it's genuine. He wishes, fleetingly, that he could hear it more often and under different circumstances. He can't help but notice the way her hair falls out of the bun, pooling around her shoulders in messy, golden curls as she leans against the window. Her hazel eyes are bright, full of the same fire he saw on the very first day he met her. He can breathe easier watching a little bit of her light, her vibrancy, return and replace the weariness that seemed to weigh her down.
"I think I like this one, boss." Jim decides jovially, hooking his thumb in Annie's direction and snapping Ryan out of his trance.
Annie's wearing a triumphant grin, her arms crossed and eyes raised as if daring him to say otherwise. This time when Ryan steals one last glance in her direction, he's not afraid to hold her gaze for a second longer than he would have before. Much to his surprise, Annie doesn't look away.
"Funny." Ryan muses. "I think I like her too."
The truth is that he is enamored.
Annie Walker fascinates him.
They reach the Guarero border crossing not long after sunrise. The checkpoint is crowded and noisy, which isn't surprising. Vendors line the rows of cars trying to sell their goods, while tourists and locals hang out of the transit busses, all of them baking in the early morning humidity while they wait for the border patrol guards to do their sweeps.
Ryan's confident that there's just enough commotion and chaos to be the distraction that works in their favor.
He's pleased with the situation.
Annie's not.
He sincerely hopes this won't become a regular arrangement.
"Me and the boys have had some good times in Colombia, you ever been Walker?" Ryan tries to entice her with small talk. He almost misses the brief flash of sadness that clouds her expression at the mention of the country. However, it's annihilated by her unimpressed, irritated expression, which gives him the illusion that his efforts are wasted.
"We should've picked a smaller border crossing," she replies flatly. "There are too many unknown variables here."
"The busier the better. I haven't seen them look in one trunk since we've got here, they just want to clear the traffic."
"This car costs four times more than any other one here, they're going to look in the trunk just to see if there's anything they can steal."
Much to his chagrin, she's right.
AN: There are so many opportunities for "deleted" scene moments from the 503 episode. I look forward to taking advantage of that. Also knowing what we know now about Ryan up to the most recent episode, 510, I think it's fun to sort of play on those emotions here. We have insight into his character we didn't have before. Also, shout out to my Mythiefoftime, because I promised a scene with Annie and "the boys". I think she fits right in, to be honest. I hope y'all enjoy it, thanks for the love! Let me know what you think, and what else you might want to see. xoxo