Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs, just the OCs mentioned.

Prompt #35: Antacid - She upped his heart attack quota by a good dozen every month since arriving at Langely.

Words: 936

Clara Piper had seen many strange things since starting at the CIA, but nothing trumped seeing Auggie Anderson tearing through his drawers with the frenzy of a madman. She knocked lightly on his glass walls and asked, "Lose something, boss?"

His head popped up and zeroed on the sound. "Clara, you got any antacids in your desk?"

Tums? Why would he - Oh. "Annie give you another bad scare?"

"Just tell me if you have any."

"Sure, boss man. I think I've got some left." Clara went to retrieve the medicine from her own desk. She returned to see that Auggie had collapsed in his chair and was scrubbing his face with his hands. A smile worked its way across her face as she stepped inside the office. "Got them."

The bottle was passed, and Auggie dumped the three remaining tablets into his hand. "Only three?"

"You're not the only one who's had a rough couple months with their agent," Clara remarked, leaning her hip against his desk. "What did Annie do?"

"Just nearly got herself blown up. Again."

"So, same old?"

"Same old." He gave a wry smile as he popped the Tums into his mouth. "Is Hill giving you much trouble?" he asked around a mouthful of chalk.

"Dexter Hill is an ass," she corrected him. "I think I'm three months away from developing a very lovely ulcer to match the twitch in my eye."

"That's nothing. Wait til you hit the year mark. I swear Annie aged me five years."

"I don't know if we'll survive that long, Boss. Dexter flies by the seat of his pants and constantly thinks protocol is something that you consult after the mission's over. He gives me a heart attack every time he goes out into the field."

"Better get used to that," Auggie warned her. "It only gets worse from here on out."

"But that's not all," she added. "He's a shameless bastard and treats me like his personal secretary, asks me to move mountains and alter gravity at a moment's notice, not to mention he's a complete and utter bastard."

"Hill's a maverick, but he gets his missions done with minimal negative fallout," Auggie said fairly. "He's one of the best rookie operatives we've got."

Clara rolled her eyes despite knowing it did absolutely nothing for her case. "And lemme guess - he's my agent because I'm one of your best newbies?"

"There is that."

"There was something else?"

Her boss shrugged. "Do you know how Annie and I first met?"

"Joan had you show her around her first day." It was a legend among the DPD personnel. They clicked in the first ten minutes, and less than two days later they were talking their way out of a county morgue. From there, they were thick as thieves and almost as reckless.

"I knew putting you two together was risky, but Joan said she thought - "

"Wait, Joan stuck me with him?"

"Duh. You really didn't think I had that kind of pull, did you?" Clara awkwardly swallowed as Auggie chuckled. "The point is, you two didn't try to put up false faces. He didn't immediately try to charm his way into your pants, and you didn't put up that sugar-princess act you do to lull people into a false sense of security. You both seemed to size each other up as a hard act to fool."

"Is there a point here?"

"How did your first day go with Hill?"

"You mean that absolute shitstorm involving the FBI, a runaway taxi, and not one, not two, but three Chechen assassins running loose in downtown D.C. after a valuable asset?"

"You left out the successful completion of the mission."

"And let's not forget the paperwork in triplicate I had to fill out for damage control." Clara groaned and rubbed her temple, the memory making her migraine return.

"But it got done. And you both displayed remarkable teamwork for a freshly matched pair of agent and handler."

She rolled her eyes again. "But that was almost six months ago, Boss. And he - he never wants to - "

"Wants to what?"

"Hang out. Like you and Annie do. He's always taking off by himself."

Auggie crossed his arms and shrugged. "He's a loner, you know that. You gotta let him open up on his own terms. And if you care to recall, Annie and I haven't always been bosom companions."

She knew about the rough couple months that had followed Annie's reassignment to Lena Smith's division. "But you worked through it. How?"

"After many failed attempts to try and talk out what had happened to us. Not to mention a lot of Tums."

"Fabulous. Something to look forward to."

Auggie snickered. "Sounds like you really miss him."

"A month-long training seminar surrounded by Farm-fresh graduates? Yeah right." But there was a note of fondness in her voice. "I'm more worried about the possible paternity suits."

"Of course you are." His unseeing brown eyes lit up. "Want some ice-breaker advice?"

"Please."

"After he gets back, offer Hill a beer. We men are remarkably easy to ply when we're offered free booze and the company of a pretty woman."

"Oh, is that all it takes?"

"Heed my words, young grasshopper, and you too shall cultivate a good friendship with your agent."

"Right," the young woman scoffed, crossing her arms with a surly growl. "More like an ulcer and acid reflux."

"Why don't you head home?"

"Okay. Night boss." She turned to leave and spotted Annie Walker entering the darkened DPD. "Hey Annie," she said with a wave as the two women approached each other.

"Thanks. Night, Clara," Annie said absently, almost going right through the tech as she made her way towards Auggie's office. As if he heard her footsteps (which would not be a stretch of his abilities) Auggie stood up and spread his arms wide to envelop the blonde agent in a crushing embrace. His lips moved, and as Clara was a master lip-reader, she could make out exactly what he said.

What're you trying to do, give me a heart attack?

A small smile worked its way across Clara's mouth as she quietly left the office, leaving the pair to themselves. Pulling out her phone, she sent a quick text to Hill.

When u get back, wanna grab a drink at Allen's together?

His reply came back in under a minute.

If ur buying.

Clara rolled her eyes but smiled. Auggie was right. Nothing would change unless she took that first step.

Ur on.

This just morphed into something kind of interestingly OC-centric with traces of A2. Oops.

Review please!