But I Know What You Do
"Was this another one of your impulse buys?"
"It wasn't an impulse buy. I keep them in the vault for when I need them."
"When you need them?"
"Yes."
"So now need means gift giving? I thought you sent girls flowers - not guns."
"Shut up, Fitz."
"Hurry it up then, Romeo. Caitlin's going to be pissed if you miss your flight."
Ryan finishes sealing the McQuaid Security envelope, casting a vicious death glare in Fitz's direction from his desk. His friend has commandeered his office couch, as well as the bottle of bourbon.
"You're going to be pissed if I reassign you to guard glaciers in Antarctica." He grabs a sharpie out of a drawer, and writes something across the envelope's front before picking it up. They both know it's an empty threat, but giving one another hell is a naturally reoccurring thing in their friendship. After 15 years of it, Ryan imagines that will never change.
His expression morphs from aggravated to earnest as he crosses the room and hands it to Fitz.
Fitz puts the bourbon down and takes the package. He inspects Ryan's handwriting on the front.
A.W.
"I can count on you to do this for me, right?"
"You've always been able to count on me. That's not stopping now."
The flight to Edinburgh is long, quiet and empty. He finds himself missing his previous company. In the low light of the cabin he examines the articles he printed out before leaving the office. Medical journals detailing the complications of myocarditis.
With every page of diagnoses, findings from exploratory treatments and possible surgeries, his own chest tightens and aches.
He's treading dangerous waters.
Try as he might to stay the course, it's becoming impossible not to drift away from the safety of the shore.
There's a part of him that knows better, because he's been down this path once before. The memories cut deeper than any wound or scar they might have left behind. He's witnessed first hand what it's like to watch someone who's spent their entire life fighting finally fracture and break. He knows what it's like to watch them suffer, because you suffer with them.
But even after all the suffering, the heartache, he'd do it again.
He'll be damned if he lets Annie fight alone.
That is why he wants to help her. That is why he sends her the gun.
He has tried, and failed, to ignore his growing feelings for her. She is unwavering, a relentless and addictive force from which he can't turn away. It is a constant effort to remind himself that she is not his, that his concerns and his worries are without claim. And yet the irrepressible need to protect her overwhelms him - not because she needs protecting, not because she is fragile, but because she is so strong, and he fears that she would let herself shatter before anyone could save her.
Ryan refuses to let that happen.
He will fight for her.
If only she would let him.
The meeting with Quorate Technology is a success. The Scott's are just as impressed with Ryan McQuaid's love of whiskey as they are with his company's steadily growing resume, and he wins the security bid from them handily over two other European PMC competitors. There's backslapping and booming laughter and cheers abound from his newly acquired friends - another several million dollars earned, all in a days hard work.
Ryan is the master of putting on a good face, but pleasantries aside, he's relieved to lock himself in his hotel room at the end of the day for the remainder of his stay. He's not sure how much longer he can run on little to no sleep; surely he's earned a fitful night's rest for his efforts.
It seems fate would have other plans.
A phone call from Arthur Campbell cuts his trip (and any ideas of slumber) short. An invitation to the INP Awards dinner back in D.C. the following evening is the topic of conversation. The rumor that the senate is seeking to outsource their domestic operations with the CIA is intriguing, and Ryan agrees that the lucrative connections that McQuaid Security stands to make while attending the event are too good to pass up.
He assures Arthur that he'll be there before hanging up the phone, and then dials his pilot to tell him they'll be heading home.
Gathering up his things to head to the lobby of the hotel to hail a cab, Ryan glances at his watch.
It's early afternoon in DC. He wonders what Annie is doing, how she is doing, and if Fitz managed to deliver her package.
He decides when he gets back he'll ask her to dinner one more time.
AN: So sorry for the longggg wait for such a short piece! I started a new job this week and my hours for writing are now severely limited with that on top of school, but don't worry, I promise I'm not going anywhere. I hope this can tide you over until the next chapter. Thanks for all the awesome reviews you guys, you make me smile! xoxo