AN: I wasn't completely happy with what I posted yesterday, so you get something better tonight! Oddly, of all the things I did this past weekend, I got this piece of inspiration from watching S3 DVDs last night.
Auggie and Annie were exhausted. They arrived at Quantico on a cargo flight and were picked up by an Agency driver in a black Tahoe. There was no way they could sleep on the flight, they were still wearing the sweat and mud coated clothes they had been stuck in for the past week, and Auggie was fighting the beginnings of a migraine.
He was quickly falling asleep in the quiet, climate controlled SUV when Annie sighed. "So much for a relaxing bath."
Auggie wasn't surprised, but he wasn't happy. "Are they taking us to the office?"
"No, worse."
He turned toward her. They were sitting apart, trying to look like two spies returning from a shady mission, rather than two lovers that had just violated every bit of protocol and narrowly escaped being captured in the rain forest. "We aren't heading toward the city at all?"
"Nope. I guess we get a little bit more vacation time." She explained.
Auggie sighed and leaned back. "Great." He drew out the word. "At least at Bluebonnet they'll give us juice."
"Have you been there before?" Annie asked.
"It's been a while." Auggie responded. "But I remember they were pushy about that juice. I wasn't a big fan of the shower pressure, either."
They traveled in silence for the next hour, and Auggie actually got a little bit of sleep. When they arrived, Annie came around and met him by the door. He lost his cane almost a week earlier, when they were first captured.
The same man that had handled Annie's brief interrogation after Russia walked toward them.
"Welcome Agent Walker and Captain Anderson. I know you have had a long journey. We have two rooms set up for you, with some fresh clothes. Cheryl here will lead you to them so that you can freshen up, and then I would like to talk with you a little bit."
"I'd prefer to stay with Annie." Auggie stated.
"I'm sure you would, Captain, but that would be improper. I understand that your cane was lost on this last mission, but there is a new one waiting in your room. Cheryl will make sure you find it."
Their "rooms" were less than premium accommodations. They each had a small room with a twin bed and small bathroom. After showing Annie to her room and asking her to meet at the barn in thirty minutes, Cheryl walked Auggie several doors down to his. She handed him the folded cane that was waiting on the bed.
"Your bag and some towels are also on the bed. I'll come back in twenty minutes to help you back to the barn."
"I can find my way." Auggie replied.
The young woman stared at Auggie a moment, then shrugged. "Suit yourself." She replied. "I'm happy to help."
Auggie ignored her and started searching the bag to know the contents. Feeling dismissed, Cheryl walked out. Auggie relaxed a little when he heard the door close. He ran his fingers over his clothes and found the Braille tag proving that they had definitely gone to his apartment. The thought of the CIA going through his things was irritating, but not completely unexpected.
He quickly showered, shaved off the week-old beard, and put on some clothes before heading toward Annie's room. He tapped at the door. "Walker, you still here?"
He quickly heard the knob turn and the door open. "Yeah, come on in."
"Wouldn't want to be improper." Auggie responded.
"We are about to be grilled on why we had to be extracted from a guerrilla compound in Nicaragua while we were supposed to be on a beach in Costa Rica. I'd prefer they focus on our improprieties stateside."
Auggie shrugged. "Everything came out okay. I'm sure they are just making us take time to decompress."
"I'd decompress better if we could share a bed tonight."
"Have you noticed how small these beds are?" Auggie asked.
"I don't care."
"Are you ready to head back to the barn?" Auggie asked.
"Almost. We have a few minutes."
"They gave me less time than you. But they didn't give me anything to tell the time, so..."
"At least they found you a cane."
"Rummage through my apartment and you'll always find a spare. Did they get your clothes at my place, too?"
"Yep. I guess they were feeling lazy." She said as she pulled her still-wet hair into a ponytail. "Okay, I'm ready to go."
Auggie stood up and Annie brushed his arm. They walked to the barn, where the picnic table was set up with the same red checkered table cloth and bottle of juice as the last time Annie was there. The same interrogator was giving them a judgmental glare as they approached the table.
"I see you found your way back just fine." He commented.
Neither Annie or Auggie responded.
"You two had a rough trip. Do either of you need medical attention?"
"I could use a cup of coffee and some Tylenol." Auggie responded. His headache wasn't worse, but it wasn't getting better.
"We'll get that for you Captain Anderson. Walker, would you like some juice?"
"Coffee for me, too." She replied.
He started to pour two glasses of juice. Auggie rolled his eyes when a cold glass pushed against his hand.
"You two are going to be here a few days. It is both for a debrief and because the Agency would like you to take a vacation, and your definition of a vacation is not what they have in mind."
"My definition of a vacation includes a bigger bed." Auggie quipped.
"Is that why you were sleeping on the ground in the middle of the rainforest most of last week Captain Anderson?"
"That wasn't where I made the reservation." He responded.
"Yes, your reservation was at the Blue Lagoon resort in Costa Rica. You weren't even in the same country."
"I got lost on the way back from brunch. There may have been rum involved." Auggie responded.
Auggie could hear the interrogator take a deep breath of exasperation. "Agent Anderson, I'm going to need to talk to Agent Walker alone for a moment. I'm sure both of you are very tired from everything that has happened. Why don't you go lay down for a little while. I'll send Cheryl when I'm ready to talk to you."
Auggie swallowed and pushed back from the table. As he stood he faced the man. "I was serious about the coffee."
"Here is Cheryl with it now." A warm mug was pushed against Auggie's hand. He smiled as he gripped the mug. Placing his cane in the same hand he held out his other palm.
"Any other goodies for me Cheryl?"
Two pills landed in his hand and Auggie popped them in his mouth. "Thank you." He said before expanding his cane and walking out of the barn.
"Now, Agent Walker. Let's discuss your most recent romantic development."
"Our relationship has been completely above book." Annie responded.
"What the two of you have done in your spare time has not." He responded.
"What do you need to know so we can get out of here?" Annie answered bluntly.
"Why don't you just tell me about your romantic vacation, from the beginning."
"The beginning? Well, I had my first day at the CIA in the summer of 2010. I'm sure Auggie's role that day is in my file."
"The beginning of the vacation, not the relationship, please." Annie suppressed a grin at the irritation showing on the interrogator's face.
"We flew to Costa Rica last Sunday to spend a week at a resort. The next thing we knew, we were abducted and taken to Nicaragua."
"Are you trying to tell me it was a random abduction?"
"Look. You and I both know nothing about this was random. But the thing is, there are very few people at the CIA that I trust these days. I would be happy to tell every detail of our little adventure to Joan or Arthur Campbell, but since I don't know you any more than I know the barista at Starbucks, I'm not feeling completely open today."
The interrogator sat back and looked at the agent before him. He was silent a moment. "You have plenty of reason not to trust the Agency, Walker. Why do you continue to work in such a dangerous job if you can't trust those that are around you?"
"I trust those that matter." She responded.
"Which mostly just includes your boyfriend."
"He has never failed me." Annie replied with a steely glare. "He is the only person at the Agency I can say that about."
"So you feel the Agency has failed you in the past?"
Annie looked disgusted and sat back. "I was shot in the chest by a woman that was in charge of a whole Division!"
"I still hate that we didn't get a proper debrief after your last encounter with her. I think we would have avoided this whole situation if I had been given the proper time."
"This whole situation?" Annie asked. "The one where I'm dating another Agent, or the one where I'm gathering valuable intel on my vacation time?"
"The one where you are constantly running and not getting anywhere."
Annie narrowed her eyes and leaned toward her interrogator. "Is this a debrief, or counseling?"
"Both." He answered coolly.
"Then how about this, give us the night off. Even better, let us have that night in our own home. Then bring us back when we can focus on more than our complete exhaustion and aching muscles. If we have to go through this pseudo-therapy bullshit, let's start in the morning."
He sat back and gave a small nod. "Okay, Agent Walker. I'll let the two of you rest up this evening. If you are hungry, come back in an hour for some dinner. We'll resume our discussions in the morning."
Annie couldn't get up and get out of the barn fast enough. She walked past her room and stopped a few doors down. "Auggie! I don't know which room is yours."
A moment later one of the doors opened and her groggy-faced boyfriend emerged. "Do we have to go shovel horseshit now?"
Annie pushed into his room. "Not until morning. We have the night off." She pulled him toward the small bed that he had obviously just vacated.
Wordlessly, Auggie laid on his side and Annie curled up in front of him. They were asleep within minutes.