Eric, as it turned out, had been in the area. It was typical. It made him sick, that a guy with such an amazing daughter had such an abhorrent pattern of behavior. But today wasn't about Auggie's opinions. It was about Lucy.
He walked into Allen's like he was walking into a boxing ring. He and Eric were always on the opposite sides of things, parentheses in the birth order. Eric said black, Auggie said white. That was how it had always been.
Today, however, Eric met him at the door and walked him to a table.
"Been a long time," Eric said, clearing his throat. He smelled like Head and Shoulders and cologne designed for a much younger man. He bounced his knee, vibrating the table ever so slightly.
"You want a beer?"
Eric was gravely serious. "I want to know what happened with Lucy."
* *
Lucy and Annie somehow arrived back at Langley after the recently-revived Yang. They stood on the other side of the two-way panel as Joan conducted an interrogation.
"How's it feel to be on this side of the glass?" Annie asked.
Lucy smirked. "Better. Thanks, Barbie."
"Do you have anything you want to say to him?"
Lucy sighed. "I better not. I have a lot of mixed feelings about him. A lot of stuff I need to work out on my own."
"Don't put off talking to someone about it," Annie said firmly. "Even if it's just Auggie."
Her phone rang. It was Auggie. "Speak of the devil." She indicated that she'd be right back, and went out into the hallway. "Hey, where are you?"
"Look up."
He was at the other end of the lobby, followed closely by a man a few inches taller and remarkably similar. They met in the middle and hung up their phones.
"Annie Walker, this is my brother Eric Anderson."
Eric's hair was salt and pepper, Annie guessed he couldn't have been more than a decade older than Auggie. They had the same deep brown eyes, the same cowlick, the same dimples. Annie shook his hand. "So nice to meet you."
"Where's Lucy?"
Annie fumbled slightly in the face of his abruptness. "I- I'll go get her for you."
"Thank you, Annie," Auggie said pointedly.
"Thank you, Annie," Eric repeated.
Annie poked her head into the back room.
"Your dad's here."
"He's here?" Lucy's face blanched.
"If you want, I can go with you."
She shook her head. "No, I think he and I need to talk. Thanks for everything today."
Lucy exited, leaving Annie alone behind the two-way glass. She leaned up against the back wall and sank to the floor. She took a deep breath for the first time in almost 24 hours. Her eyes were nearly closed when the door opened.
"Annie?"
* *
"Down here, Aug."
Auggie felt along the wall and slid down beside her. "Oh man. Sitting. This is nice."
"How'd it go with your brother?"
"He and Lucy are on their way to his hotel," Auggie sighed. "I told him how I feel. About his parenting, about Lucy. About everything."
"And what'd he say?"
"Well, he didn't punch me in the face," he laughed mirthlessly. "I think he and his daughter have a lot to talk about."
"You think it'll stick?"
Auggie sighed, rubbing his eyes. "God, I really hope so."
"She needs you, Aug. And I'm sorry to say it but you need her, too."
"Couldn't have done it without you, Walker. I mean that."
Annie scooted closer and rested her head on his shoulder. She was the warmest body he knew. He leaned into her, too, letting long-deserved rest wash over him. Lucy was back in his life, his best friend was literally millimeters away. For the first time in forever, in the weird cold of the interrogation room, he felt safe. Complete. Peaceful.
"Dammit, Walker, are you falling asleep on me?"
"No," Annie lied.
"Yeah, I bet."
They sat there for a long time, listening to Joan conduct her interrogation of a man who was going to hell in a handbasket either way, before Annie spoke.
"Auggie?"
"What is it, Annie?"
"I think Lucy should join the agency."
"Yup. Moment's ruined."
