At some point, Arthur left to attend another meeting. Joan was called in to sit on the last leg of the test. Annie and Auggie sat alone in Arthur's office, waiting. It was nearly unbearable. Auggie couldn't stand the thought of losing his niece, but something inside him wondered if he'd been too trusting. If Lucy was a master manipulator. If he'd been taken for a ride this entire time.

Annie walked around the room for a few aimless moments, trying to shake out the tenseness that bound them both. She walked toward him, snapped an elastic off her wrist and swept her curtain of hair up into a ponytail, releasing a breeze of sweet shampoo scent.

After a moment, she stepped resolutely toward him and took his hand. He remained firmly seated, his hand limp in hers. She tugged on it gently.

"Stand up."

His tone reflected his mood. Flat and lifeless. "Why?"

She tugged again, not gently. "Come on."

"If you're thinking of being sneaky, there are more security cameras in this room than anywhere else in the world. I can't get into any more trouble if I just don't move."

She grabbed his other hand, so she held both in hers, and took a knee directly in front of him. "You are moping. Get up." As she stood, she pulled with full force, springing him out of his chair. He overshot it by one step, crashing into her. His hand found the small of her back and braced her before she could be propelled out the window.

"Sorry," he managed.

"I don't know my own strength," she forgave. "At least you're up. Not festering in that chair."

He thought suddenly of Barcelona. Maybe it was the hand on her back, maybe it was the smell of her shampoo, maybe it was the accidentally making full physical contact at a high speed, but he couldn't keep the grin from spreading.

"What?" she asked with a self-conscious laugh.

"I was just... thinking of Barcelona," he managed. If she was self-conscious then he was a train wreck.