Author's note: Hi, all! Short chapter; term papers are beginning to accumulate. We are close to the end, one more chapter after this, so please keep reading. After the intensity of chapter thirteen, though, I figured the story was entitled to a little fluff. Enjoy, and thanks for all the reviews!

Disclaimer: The show and the characters are not mine (drat!).

Fortunately, the ride on the bus boat was uneventful. Auggie and Annie stumbled onto the boat barely conscious, but Auggie gave the correct fare, and since the hammocks strung across the boat acted like bus seats, Auggie and Annie could sleep. The bus was crowded, and so Auggie and Annie had to share a hammock, but Annie didn't mind; she was still fairly ill from her poisoning and was glad she had someone watching her back.

They both slept through the night, and early in the morning reached Rio Branco. Wearily, they departed, and headed for the main part of the city. After Annie asked a few directional questions in perfect Portuguese, they were on their way to the airport. Once in the general vicinity, though, Auggie suggested they rent a hotel room.

"Let's stay here another night," Auggie determined. "You don't have a passport anyway, and so you'll have to call Jai for an extraction team. It'll take a lot of explaining, so you need to take some time to come up with a decent story on how you escaped."

Annie was concentrating too hard on walking and looking normal to answer just then, but once they were situated in a room near the airport, Annie asked, "So, why not just tell the truth?"

Auggie laughed and sat down on one of the twin beds in the room. "The truth? If Joan knew I came to rescue you, she'd fire me in a heartbeat. I've gone rogue too many times in my past to be trusted." Auggie paused, feeling that another explanation other than self-preservation was due. "And besides," he stated after a moment, "if I get fired, who will look after you? You have a curse on you or something; every time something should go simple or easy, the entire thing just comes falling down. But you amaze me; you're like a cat! You always get out of everything relatively unscathed. Even now, after a few months of recuperation, you'll be just as good as new! And Annie, I care about you too much to leave you to some other handler who won't know what to do when things go wrong. You see, I happen to..." Here, Auggie faltered and stopped speaking.

He could feel Annie's stare from halfway across the room. Silence began to ring loud in his ears. Finally, Auggie tried to break the silence with a shrug. "It's not fair that you're staring at me," he said after a moment. "I can't reciprocate." It was silent again, silent for so long that Auggie began to wonder if Annie had gone to sleep. Then, he heard her sigh.

"Auggie," she asked, "you happen to what?"

"What?" asked Auggie, confused.

"You said you happen to... what?"

Auggie sighed. Better tell her now and be honest, better be over and done with it. Though it practically killed him to say it, and though she would probably never think about him the same way again, Auggie took a deep breath and finished his earlier sentence. "I happen to love you."

Annie was silent again, and Auggie felt as if he had just made a huge mistake. But suddenly, Annie began to speak again, and Auggie felt as though he were hanging on to her every word.

"When I was lying in that room dying," Annie began. "I had the world's craziest dreams. I dreamed that I was calling out to everyone I knew and had feelings for. To my sister, I told her that I loved her and wished her goodbye. To Jai, I called for help. To Ben, I begged him and begged him to come back and rescue me, like a real hero would. And finally, I began to dream about you. Auggie, your dreams were different. You were actually there with me, so it seemed. Of course, by then I was hallucinating, but I felt as though you were with me, giving me strength. I pleaded with you too to help me, and you did. Auggie, out of all the people I could choose to have feelings for, you were the only one who felt like that back. Did Jai come to save me? Did Ben come? No. No, only you came, August Anderson."

Auggie winced inwardly when Annie stated that Ben did not come. Ben came, but he came too late. Auggie struggled with telling Annie this, but suddenly, things became rather clear; if Ben didn't come in time, that was his problem. Had not Marco said that Ben had been delayed three times? All is fair in love and war, and as far as Auggie was concerned, this was both!

Annie paused for a while longer, while Auggie resolved his guilt in not telling her about Ben. Finally, hoping to move the conversation forward, Auggie stated, "I knew you were in trouble. Deep in my gut, I felt it. I didn't want you to be hurt, so... I took matters into my own hands. I know I'm a fool for doing that, and that I didn't follow protocol, but what was I supposed to do?"

Annie gave a light laugh. "If you had done everything you were supposed to do, I'd be dead by now and you'd be wrestling with the guilt of my death for the rest of your life! Auggie, what I'm trying to say is out of all the men who like me, only one was really there for me when I needed him. In fact, you have always been there for me when I need you; you are my hero, if you think about it! Auggie, I have been so lost and confused about love lately; I'm always attracted to the shallow guy or the guy who will use me then dump me. It's about time I became attracted to the nice guy."

Even though Auggie couldn't see, his eyes still opened wide in surprise. "You mean, you don't think it's strange that I love you?"

Annie was suddenly right beside him, and Auggie reached out for her, holding her frail body very gently. The two sat there for a time, just holding one another, and then Annie laid her head down on Auggie's shoulder. "I don't think it's strange at all," she replied simply.