A/N: I'm back! :) Thanks for all the lovely reviews, alerts, and favorites while I was gone… I seriously didn't expect so much activity! :) I'm glad you all love this so much. :)

I have at least one other chapter ready to post for this (almost two), but I will probably wait a few days to post them. Maybe that means there will be less of a gap if I get stumped again. :) Let me know what you think, pretty please! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs.

Chapter 6

Annie screamed as someone lifted her off the park bench and tightly secured her in his arms. She was about to yell for the police, or that he put her down, or at least that he explain right now what he was doing, when a familiar voice, filled with that honey-warm laughter soothed over her. "Annie, shhh. It's just me."

Her heart leapt in her throat. "Auggie?"

He dipped down to plant a kiss on her temple. "Yeah, baby, it's me."

Auggie.

She should have known. She could smell a hint of his cologne, and she would know that wool coat anywhere. It's not that it was distinctive, but it was Auggie's, and that alone made it unforgettable.

She squirmed a little in his arms, trying to figure out where he was taking her, but he held her securely in place. She groaned. "Auggie! Where are you taking me?"

He laughed. "Close your eyes. It's a surprise."

She sighed, but did as she was told. Resting her head against his arm, she asked, "Sooo, can I have a hint at least?"

He laughed again. "No. Just be quiet. We're almost there."

She made face at him, but she secretly reveled in the sound of his laughter and the way his arms tightened around her protectively. She was so lucky.

A few moments later, Auggie deposited her safely on the ground, steadying her before he cupped her face in his hands and whispered, "Okay. You can open."

Her eyes fluttered open to discover Auggie less than a foot away. His big chocolate eyes were locked with hers, and he caressed her cheek softly. "Hey."

A slow smile lifted the corners of her lips. "Hey."

He leaned forward a few inches and captured her lips against his. As he deepened the kiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, as she leaned up on tiptoe. They'd both been on separate missions to opposite ends of the world, and she didn't know it was possible to miss him this much. When he pulled away, he touched his forehead to hers, his eyes twinkling as he studied her. "Miss me?"

She didn't even know how to tell him how much. A five-week mission in Siberia was torture without Auggie with her the whole way. She settled for nodding furiously before she leaned in, kissing him again. When she pulled away, she breathed out, "I love you."

"I know." An all-knowing, wise look filled his eyes. "I know."

"No, I really, really love you, Auggie. Like—I can't even figure out how to say how much." Tears filled her eyes, and she didn't even know why. She reached up, caressing his cheek, much like he'd been doing for her. "I don't think—I don't—Auggie, I don't think I could live without you."

His eyes twinkled back at her, and he leaned in to kiss her once more. "Me, too, babe."

He reached for her hand, guiding her to the blanket and picnic laid out for them both. The view was spectacular, and it touched her that this had been his first thought after he'd returned from Argentina. He sat down on the blanket, pulling her down next to him. As they ate their lunch, Auggie held her tight in his arms, as if he truly couldn't bear to let her go.

Halfway through the meal, she turned around in his arms, flashing him a goofy, lovestruck grin, and she said, "I love you, Auggie. A lot."

He leaned in and kissed her sweetly. "I love you, too."

The sound of someone rustling through the stuff in their closet pulled her from her dream, and she rubbed her eyes. She relaxed when she saw it was Auggie. It would take some getting used to, living with another person. She closed her eyes again, resting, while he dressed, reliving the dream a little. Auggie was everything she'd ever wanted in a man—kind, intelligent, witty, strong, and so much more.

Then it hit her again —this Auggie wasn't the Auggie in her dreams. This Auggie couldn't see, and he definitely didn't know how she felt about him. This Auggie wasn't the Auggie who couldn't live without her.

Annie watched, tears filling her eyes, as she watched Auggie tuck his sage green dress shirt into his black dress pants and reach for his matching tie. How was it possible that he could be right here, but he didn't have a clue? She buried her face in her pillow, hoping Auggie wouldn't notice her tears.

Annie suppressed a grin when Auggie reached for her hand. They'd decided to try out one of the breakfast cafés in town, rather than cook their own breakfast, this morning. Auggie seemed more excited than the past two days, but she was more excited, too. The mission was officially beginning! There was just something about a new mission. It was fire and fuel.

Auggie guided them both into the line that was waiting to order, and Annie slipped into the character of Anaïs Anderson. Anaïs was shier, more demure. Sweet, less independent. Annie stood, tucked at Auggie's side, listening quietly as he made up stories about former students and teased her gently about her French family.

There was something about Anaïs and Auggie together… Auggie was more protective, more tender, towards Anaïs, and Annie couldn't help but see how much Anaïs brought out the good in Auggie. Even more than Annie usually did.

When they reached the front of the line, the young barista—her nametag read Sadie—asked what she could get for the pair, and Auggie rattled off how he wanted his coffee and turned to Annie expectantly. "Just a hot cocoa for me, please," she said in her slight French accent that she'd perfected over the past two days, smiling shyly as she hid closer into Auggie's arms. How was it so easy to love him, so easy to be Anaïs? It was almost as if she was meant to play the role.

Annie glanced up at Sadie before she totaled the order. "Oh, and can we have a chocolate-chip muffin and an apple-cinnamon scone, please?"

"Sure," Sadie said, already preparing their drinks. "You two aren't from around here, are you?"

Auggie seemed to pull Annie closer to him at Sadie's words. "Why do you ask?"

Sadie shrugged. "Oh, I just know most of the regulars by now, that's all. I would have remembered that French accent."

Annie blushed prettily, but she smiled into Auggie's shoulder as he caressed her arm gently. It was almost as if they had been in love since the sixth grade, just like their file said. How did he do that? "We just moved to town," Auggie supplied. "We are the new teachers at Mercy Christian Academy."

"Oh?" Sadie asked, handing Annie her hot cocoa.

Auggie flashed her his charmer grin. "Well, Annie's the new teacher—I'm just the new librarian."

Sadie shrugged and placed Auggie's drink in his hand. "Seems to me that a librarian should be worth just as much as any teacher would. Schools would be lost without the librarians. I'm sure you're doing a great work."

Auggie blushed a little at that, and Annie grinned up at him proudly before accepting the paper bag containing their scone and muffin. She waited as Auggie paid, and, on their way out of the café, Sadie called out after them, "Y'all come back now, ya hear?"

Auggie held up a hand in farewell, and Annie held the door open for him. As they settled into their car, Annie handed Auggie his scone, and she took a sip from her hot cocoa. She hummed with satisfaction and turned to look at Auggie. He was grinning from ear-to-ear and he was nearly glowing.

"What are you so excited about?"

She didn't need an answer, though. There could only be one thing that had Auggie so excited. He was undercover again. He'd been awake and ready at nearly six o'clock—even before Annie'd woken for the day—and he'd been practically bouncing off the walls ever since. She knew he was ready—Auggie would be the best librarian Mercy Christian Academy would ever see—but did he have to act like he was so ready to storm into a situation with arms dealers and ugly weapons and death and deception? Yes, Auggie was in the field, but that didn't mean he was invincible.

That one sentence was all it had taken, and he was off, rambling about everything he was excited about and all that he could do. She couldn't help thinking about all the dreams she'd been having lately, though—dreams about an Auggie who loved the thrill of being a spy but cared more about her than being a great, late James Bond. She hoped Auggie knew that lesson, too.

"Just… please don't get yourself killed before we can even start the mission, Aug, okay?"

She wondered how much of her heart he could hear in her words. He reached over and squeezed her knee reassuringly. "I'll do my best, Annie," he said.

It didn't bring much comfort. Auggie was as reckless, impulsive, and driven by his heart as she was.

Annie offered the world a smile as she dropped Auggie off at the library a little over an hour later. Since a few people were watching, she squeezed his hand affectionately and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. She had to choke her words of good-bye out. "Bye, Auggie. I love you."

Confusion flashed across his face, and then he nodded in understanding. "Love you, too, baby," he whispered, and her heart thudded in her chest. Up until now, they'd mainly been able to act like they always had—just friends—but this was near torture.

She kissed his cheek again and dropped his hand silently, making her way to her classroom. She heard him calling after her, as if he was trying to figure out why she had gone so silent, why she had left so suddenly, but she ignored him. With the size of the lump in her throat, she didn't see any other choice.

As she stepped though the door to her room, she noticed a pretty girl with dark hair eying her curiously.

"Hello," Annie said to her, watching her as she made her way to her desk.

"Hi." The girl glanced back down at her homework spread out before her.

"What's your name?" Annie ventured. She was already completely aware who the girl was, but she needed to get Aurelie to trust her.

"Aurelie Perrot," she said with a small smile. "You're our new French teacher?"

Annie nodded, dropping her books onto the table. "Mrs. Anderson."

It still felt weird to say that. It did freakish things to her heart, at the thought of being married to Auggie, not to mention how it made her feel like she was fifty years old.

Aurelie smiled at her brightly. "Mrs. Marais said that you were born in France?"

Annie nodded, remembering her cover. Born in France, lived in Paris for the first eleven years of her life. "Mmm-hmm," she hummed.

Aurelie's eyes brightened at the thought of it. "What's it like? In France, I mean?"

"Well…" How did she explain it? Every place she'd ever been to—they all had their own personalities, and she wasn't sure she could do it justice.

"Please?" Aurelie whispered. "I was born there, but after my mom died, I haven't been back. I wasn't even a year old when we left. I just want to know what it's like."

Annie smiled, sitting down at her desk. "Okay. I don't remember too much, because I left when I was eleven…"

Annie smiled as she slipped into the teacher's lounge, spotting Auggie. He was sitting at one of the tables, eating the BLT she'd packed for him that morning. Despite the fact that he was sitting alone, he looked so cheerful, happy, and confident. She reached into the refrigerator, grabbing her packed lunch, and kissed his cheek quickly before taking the seat next to him. "Hey, sweetheart," she said with a soft smile.

He grinned in the direction of her voice. "Hey, babe."

Her heart ached at the easy way the words flew from his lips, as if he actually meant the endearment. Bumping his shoulder gently, keeping the air light, she asked, "Soooo, Mr. Anderson. How's being the librarian of Mercy Christian Academy?"

He grinned cheekily as he swallowed the last bite of his sandwich. "Positively scintillating."

"You're so smart," she teased. "I knew there was a reason I married you."

He mock-gasped. "You mean, you didn't marry me for my guns?" he asked, flexing his biceps.

Annie laughed as she leaned against him. "Maybe a little bit of that, too."

Just at that moment, Vivian and another teacher entered the room. Annie stilled as Vivian watched them with a smile. "You two are so adorable together," she commented. "Aren't they, Tess?"

The woman standing beside Vivian smiled and nodded. "You look so happy together. You're the new librarian and French teacher?"

Annie nodded, offering her hand. "Anaïs Anderson. You can call me Annie. This is my husband, Auggie."

Auggie offered his hand, and Tess shook it hesitantly. As the two women took the seats across from Annie and Auggie, Vivian commented, "I just can't believe you two have been married for three years! I just hope that when Jai and I are together as long as you are, that we can still be as hopelessly in love."

Annie smiled. Slipping into Auggie's arms, she said adoringly, "Well, when the guy is as great as Auggie, it's not hard."

Vivian and Tess looked at each other, grinned, and, in unison, they cooed, "Awww…"

Annie rolled her eyes. "Thanks a lot, Viv."

She smiled in return. "No problem, mon amie."

Annie smiled bravely in return. It wasn't hard to pretend to be affectionate to Auggie. That was the easy part. The hard part was returning to the reality of the apartment, knowing that none of it was real.

Jai grinned slowly as he leaned against the doorjamb to Vivian's classroom, waiting for her to look up and notice him. She sat there, at her desk, grading what looked to be history tests, her lips crooked into a puzzled scowl. He loved it when she made that face.

He cleared his throat lightly, and grinned when she looked up at him. "Hey, baby," he said.

She grinned back at him radiantly. "Jai." He crossed the room and sat against her desk, facing her. Propping his left hand on her desk, he cupped her face with his free hand and kissed her hello.

Smiling a little, she looked up at him. He could tell the kiss had made her thoughts all fuzzy, and it made him smile, knowing he still had that power over her. For some people, their love and passion died as time went by, but for him and Vivian? It just grew every day.

"What was that for?" she whispered.

He laughed in response, caressing her cheek lightly as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Just because."

She smiled softly. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "No reason. Just wanted to say hi, to check up on my fiancé. Is that okay?"

Vivian knew he was being overprotective, worrying about her because of the note she'd received last week, but she was glad he was here. Jai was incredibly adorable when he got protective of her and the girls.

She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his lightly. "Fine with me," she said with a happy smile, and she relaxed back into her chair. "Wanna help me grade Civil War pretests?"

He made a funny face, and Vivian laughed. "No thanks," he said, pulling up an extra chair next to hers. "I'll just keep you company until I have to go back to work."

Auggie was typing at his laptop in his office in the library. He was still trying to figure out that kiss that Annie had given him the night before. It had been soft and sweetly emotional, as if she really was Anaïs Anderson, and Auggie was really the husband that she loved more than anything. Truth be told, he wasn't sure why he had started to sing to Annie, but it just seemed like something Auggie the Librarian would do. He wasn't expecting the kiss, and he had no clue how he felt about it. Two teenagers, sitting at a table not far away, hissed back and forth, breaking his train of thought.

A girls' voice. She sounded almost frantic. "Zander!"

A slow, patronizing boys' voice followed, thick with his Greek accent. "Ari. Listen. You know we have no say in this."

A groan. "Zander! Haven't you stopped to think how wrong this is? That these messages we pass along could be destroying lives?"

Though he hadn't met them before, he knew that the two voices had to belong to Aurelie Perrot and Alexander Christakos.

She was still talking. "I know my dad, Zander! He doesn't have a kind bone in his body. And you know your uncle, don't you? Why would you want to help them?" Her voice dropped a few decibels. "I like Miss Long!" she whispered, her voice edging with defeat. "And now we're passing her notes, threatening her life? And her fiancé, and her two daughters? How is that right, Zander? They're orphans, Zander, orphans! We are helping two evil men kill innocent, helpless little girls!"

A chair clattered to the floor. Had Alexander stood up quickly? The boy's voice was now determined, his anger coolly reigned in, as he said, "Aurelie. Listen to me. Even if I wanted to stop, how would we? Do you know how powerful my uncle is?"

A low silence filled the air. Auggie heard a quiet sniff. "Alexander!" she hissed. "Alexander!" Was the Alexander walking away?

Her voice dropped in defeat. "We could at least try," she whispered defeatedly.

The talking had stopped, and Auggie figured Alexander had left. Grabbing his cane and the box of tissues sitting on the filing cabinet, he shuffled his way to where he hoped Aurelie still was. "Excuse me?" he asked gently. He offered the box of tissues. "Are you okay?"

She accepted a tissue. Blowing her nose, she glanced at him, taking in his cane and the way his eyes didn't quite focus on her. "You're the new librarian?"

He nodded. "Yep. Mr. Anderson."

She tried to smile, but she wasn't sure why. He obviously couldn't see her. "Aurelie Perrot." She paused, studying him. "You're blind?"

He shrugged. "Yep." He slid into the seat across from her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She rubbed her eyes, drying her tears. "Alexander's a jerk." She sniffed again. "Then again, I knew that all along."

"Boyfriend?" Auggie asked curiously.

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "No way. Just an… acquaintance. Kinda like a family friend, I guess you could say." She clammed up, wondering if he had heard the whole conversation. Would he get them in trouble? Despite how much she desperately wanted the deception and deals to stop, the fact that she had been found out would make its way back to Baptiste Perrot. She didn't even want to know what her father would do if she blew his next "work opportunity."

Auggie sat, waiting for her to explain further, not having quite noticed her silent nervousness. When she realized he was waiting for her to continue, she shook her head. "Sorry, Mr. Anderson. I shouldn't have dumped all that on you. My problem, not yours."

He offered her a bright grin. "No problem."

She studied him curiously, intrigued by the happy blind librarian, when she knew she should probably leave. "Is Mrs. Anderson your wife?"

He smiled, thinking of Annie. Even though they were undercover and only best friends, it was easy to pretend to be madly in love with her. He remembered back to two days ago, as Annie had twirled in the middle of the apartment, full of happiness. He could still imagine her smile, the way her dress flowed around her, how truly beautiful she must be. He suddenly felt a desire to be with her, to see how her day was going. "Yeah," he said softly. "She is."

Aurelie smiled, standing to her feet. Smiling at the new librarian, she said, "Well, she's very pretty. And nice." A moment later, she added, as if on second thought, "She's my new French teacher, by the way."

He smiled, understanding. "Thank you. I'll tell her."

Aurelie nodded. "See you around, Mr. Anderson."

Auggie stood to his feet. "Bye, Aurelie."

He waited until he heard her retreating footsteps, and then he picked up the tissue box and felt his way back to his office, considering the new bit of information.

Annie knocked on the door to Vivian and Jai's apartment later that afternoon. She heard laughter and growling inside, and she wondered what was going on. As Vivian opened the door, she was laughing. Tugging Annie into the room, she said, "Annie, you have got to see Auggie. Hannah adores him!"

Annie's eyes fell to Auggie, kneeling on all fours, as Hannah clung to his neck. He was leaning from side to side, growling playfully, as the little girl squealed with delight. "Yay!" she squealed, hugging his neck tighter. "Giddyup, horsey!" Annie wondered if Vivian had bothered to inform either Hannah or Auggie that horses don't growl, but the sight of Auggie so obviously attached to Hannah made her heart nearly stop.

"Hey, Aug," she said, grinning at him.

He slowly lowered Hannah to the ground, making sure she was safe as she rolled off his back. She sat in his lap with a proud smile up at Annie and Vivian, and Auggie wanted to groan.

His matcho, he-man, I-hate-little-kids persona had been completely destroyed. He wasn't sure he minded. He actually liked kids a lot more than he let on. But still… He had a feeling that, whenever this was over, Annie would be begging for him to help baby sit Chloe and Katia more often than he'd like.

"Hi, Annie," Auggie said.

Hannah spun around, without warning, and launched herself into Auggie's arms, hugging him childishly, and Vivian smiled at the pair. "Hannah's been following him around since we got home. He kept Hannah from waking up Annabelle. I don't know how he managed to do that."

Annie watched as Auggie began to play with Hannah again. "He's pretty spectacular, huh?"

Viv smiled. "Are you sure the two of you are just friends in real life?"

Annie nodded, hoping Vivian couldn't see through her façade. "Yep. Just friends." She glanced at Vivian. "Thanks for letting him stay here while I got everything figured out at the school." Annie was fairly certain that Auggie would have been restless, waiting hours for her while she sorted out her classroom and found additional teaching supplies she would need, while Auggie had nothing to do.

"No problem," Vivian said. "It was nice having him here. He's as good with Hannah as Jai is."

Annie turned to Auggie. "You ready? I finally finished everything at the school."

He stood to his feet, carrying Hannah with him. As he handed Hannah over to Vivian, he said, "Yeah, but I think I left my cane on the table…"

He started shuffling in the direction of the kitchen, but Vivian touched his arm, stopping him. "Stay," she said gently. "I'll get it."

After a few moments, she returned, handing him his cane. "Thanks for watching Hannah for me."

Auggie smiled brightly. "My pleasure. She's adorable."

Annie brushed her palm against his, and he trailed his hand up her arm. "Ready to go?" she asked, and he nodded.

The drive back to their building was short, and as they ascended the stairway to apartment, Annie smiled and reached for his hand. "Ready for supper?"

"Sure… but is it ready?"

She rolled her eyes as she pulled him to his feet. "No. But I figured that we could go over what we learned today." She slipped her arm through his, hugging him close, as she added proudly, "I talked to Aurelie Perrot today."

He grinned over at her. "I know. She told me to tell you that you're pretty and nice."

Annie looked over at him, blushing a little. "You talked to her, too?" she said, trying to ignore the compliment.

"Yeah. Apparently Alexander and Aurelie got into a tiff in the library."

As she deposited him at one of the barstools at the island, she pulled out the peanut butter, grape jelly, and bread. She quickly made the sandwiches, and Auggie sniffed the air curiously. "Do I smell… peanut butter and jelly?"

She grinned. "You didn't think you'd be getting a gourmet meal every night, did you?"

"No… but I didn't exactly expect PB&J, either."

She laughed. "I'm not exactly the perfect housewife, Aug. Tomorrow we can try something a little more classy, but today feels like a peanut-butter-and-jelly and pajamas night."

"Teaching took it out of you, huh?"

She rolled her eyes, shoving his shoulder gently. "Oh, puh-lease. You don't have to be exhausted for a PB&J and PJ night."

He grinned across the table at her, enjoying her philosophies. He remembered back to the end of his conversation with Aurelie earlier that afternoon. He was right—it was easy to pretend to be madly in love with Annie Walker.

A/N: Review, please!