You know I had planned on this being two chapters with a cliffhanger and a gunshot in between, but I think I have made you wait long enough. And besides I can't wait for you to read the rest anyway and let me know what you think. So read, cry, laugh, enjoy and then review. And as always I own nothing accept the idea behind this story.
Chapter 5- Into the Night
"Auggie, I still think you should take someone with you, do you really expect to make it the 5 miles to the house by yourself?"
"Joan, I don't need any help. Whoever you would send would just get in my way or alert Annie to our presence to soon. I walk around in the dark everyday I think I can make it down five miles of gravel driveway by myself. I have programmed the coordinates and route into my laser cane, even without the actual laser on it will still guide me which way to go. I will keep in communication the whole time and if I need help you'll know it."
"I still don't like this, Auggie."
"Joan don't worry I've got this."
"Fine, I want you both back here Monday morning, and just so you know Auggie this doesn't get her out of deserting her post. She will be reprimanded for her actions."
"Annie's a big girl she can handle it, and besides I seem to remember reading about another agent who deserted her post for personal reasons about ten years back and she made it all the way to head of the DPD."
Not another word was heard as Auggie sat in the back of the SUV nervous and exhausted. He had lost count of how many hours he had been in the air and how many time zones he had been through. He had tried to sleep but with everything running through his head he had the worst insomnia of his life. He kept replaying what had happened in the garage over and over in his head trying to figure out how he had gotten it so wrong.
He had originally thought that he would treat this like all men do, bring her flowers and beg for her forgiveness. He reached up and touched the back of his head; it was still a little sore from where Sophia had smacked him and politely informed him that his plan was idiotic. She then quoted to him, "And you shall know the truth, and the true shall make you free." He realized then that she was right, that he was not any man and Annie certainly was not just any woman. She was, the woman, the only woman he had every truly loved and he had to do everything in his power to get her back.
He knew what he had to do, he had to go and make her see the truth. He knew that the truth was the only thing that would work. How was the question, he hadn't worked that out yet, but he was used to doing things on the fly and he knew he could do this, but with so much at stake he was nervous for the first time in a very long time.
The drive dropped the divider and cleared his throat, "Mr. Anderson, we are approaching the location how would you like to proceed?"
"Precede as planned, drop me at the drive and then return to Colorado Springs."
"As you say Mr. Anderson, but are you sure you wouldn't like me to drive you to the house?"
An authoritative voice came over the sound system of the car, "Mr. Brooks, drop Mr. Anderson at his destination and return immediately and see me at the office."
"Yes Director Campbell"
"Auggie good luck with our lost sheep, she's the best one we've got, bring her back."
"Will do Arthur" he said as he got out of the back of the SUV and headed out into the dark cold night to find his lost love.
Annie went into the pantry to retrieve her third bottle of Gewürztraminer, stumbling a little on her way back to the counter to uncork it. But like an old master uncorked the bottle within seconds and made her way back to the front porch. It was peaceful out there nothing, but the moon, the crickets, and the running river to keep her company. No one to tell her what to do and especially nothing that reminded her of her heartbreak. She sat on the swing, took a giant swig straight from the bottle and began to hum with the crickets talking back and forth in rhyme.
"Damn," she said a little too loudly as saw something move in the distance. It was definitely a person walking down the driveway toward the house. She got up grabbed her gun and jumped for the rafters of the porch. It was too dark to see anything but a shape coming closer in the distance. As the shape moved across the front yard of the cabin she noted that it was definitely male, tall, slender athletic build, and slowing his pace as he came to the stairs, almost tripping up them in the dark. From her vantage point she could not see his face but she wasn't going to take any chances she was going to incapacitate and ask questions later. As he reached the top of the stairs she swung down knocking him back to the ground. She jumped down to pin the intruder to the ground but he skillfully deflected her throwing her over him with his legs as she dropped down to pin him. She flipped back over and drew her gun and was about to fire when the assailant spoke.
"ANNIE STOP"
She stumbled backwards over a rock as she backed away from that voice, the voice that had caused all her pain. As she fell backwards the whole world spinning around her she whispered his name, "Auggie", but the only thing she heard in response as the blackness overtook her was a single gunshot being fired.
Auggie listened as Annie whispered his name, fully expecting a bullet at any second, when the gun went off he winced in anticipation but nothing hit him. Then he heard a soft thud as what he could only assume was Annie falling to the ground.
"Annie?"
"Annie!" he crawled over to where she was the whole time Joan yelling in his ear piece asking what the hell was going on. He found her hand and followed it up to her face. Checking for a pulse he found one strong and steady.
"We're alive Joan, she caught me off guard as I came up to the house, she must have seen me coming up the drive."
"I heard a gunshot, are you wounded?"
"No, well just my pride and a few bruises," Running his hands over the rest of her he found no further injuries and the gun was pointed away from her in her other hand, "and Annie has passed out in shock I think, the gun went off when she fell, but neither one of us are hit. I am going to carry her into the house and reassess."
He bent over to pick her up and cradled her in his arms. He found his way back to the stairs and up to the front door. As he searched from the doorknob she moaned incoherently and reached her arms up around his neck.
"Annie?"
No further sounds came from the girl in his arms. Opening the door he mumbled to himself, "You know Annie this is not the way I wanted to carry you over the threshold for the first time." After stepping into the room he closed the door behind him. What to do now? He had no idea how this room was set up, remembering the laser cane in his pocket he slowly turned and pinned Annie between him and the door so her could reach into his pocket with his hand and retrieve the device. Just as he was turning it on though Annie woke with a start, she pushed against the wall with her feet and sent them careening to the floor. She got up quickly and turned for the door, but before she could go anywhere she heard it again. "Annie." Soft and gentle, like a feather floating on the wind. She stopped in her tracks and flipped on the light turning around, there lying flat on the floor was the only person she had wanted to see, but also the last person she wanted to see right now.
"What are you doing her Auggie?" she said with hurt in her voice.
"I came for you" Looking in his ear she saw the earwig wrapped around it and became furious.
"Tell Joan to leave me alone, I'm done, and Auggie you need to leave I can't do this right now" She walked over to the door and held it open for him to leave.
Auggie realized how this must have looked; she thought he was there only because Joan had sent him. He stood up and walked toward as he said, "Bye, Joan" and took the earpiece out and smashed it under his foot. As soon as he was close enough to smell her he reached for her but she caught his arm and spun him around into the wall beside the door. Pinned face forward with his hand twisted up behind his head he could barely breathe.
"Auggie leave, I can't handle anyone here right now, especially you." He could tell she was holding back tears as she was talking to him.
"Annie, I came for you." Was all he could get out with the little amount of oxygen she was allowing him.
"I don't care why Joan sent you here or what she needs me to do, I am done. Besides aren't you supposed to be in Africa right now? What did she bring you back because she thought I would go back because it was you?" She pushed harder against his back and he winced in pain. A rush of regret ran through her and she let him go. She began crying and sank down to the floor, "Well she was wrong, tell her she was wrong, just go away Auggie and tell her she was wrong."
Auggie knelt down beside Annie and reached the top of her head, ran his hand down the side of her face and found her chin. Lifting up on it so that she faced toward him he heard her plead with him, "Auggie please don't."
Reaching up with is other hand he cupped he face, "Annie you don't understand, Joan didn't send me here, she helped me here, I came for you, me, myself, and I alone." she saw tears were streaming down his face as well. "I was an idiot and I went to Africa, but as soon as I got there I realized Africa was not where I wanted to be. Where I wanted to be was halfway across the world in a cabin in Colorado throwing away everything she had, because I am the biggest idiot in the world for not seeing what was right in front of my face the whole time. I love you Annie Walker and I am going to spend every day for the rest of my life proving that to you if you will let me."
Annie didn't know what to do, was this a dream? Did she have a concussion and this was just a hallucination? That's when she realized she didn't care what it was and she jumped on him, knocking them both back onto the floor, kissing him with every ounce of feeling that she had been kept bottled up since she had met him.
Auggie rolled them over to where he had her pinned beneath him for the first time that night, he propped himself up on his elbows and placed his forehead against hers, "You know I almost died when I thought I lost you out there tonight, I heard that gunshot and when it didn't hit me I thought," Tears fell down from his eyes and hit Annie's face to mix with her own, " I don't ever want to lose you again, I love you more than life itself and I have never even seen you."
He felt Annie's hand pushing him up, she still had not said anything, and he was hoping that his heart and everyone else had been right and she felt the same way. He sat up on the floor and leaned back against the wall as he felt her get up and move closer to him. She startled him a little when she sat down in his lap facing him. She grabbed both his hand within hers and leaned in kissing him lightly on the mouth and whispered, "I love you too Auggie Anderson, now I think it's about time that you get a good look at me. I want you to know everything about me, every curve, every dimple, every bend, and every juncture of me." She placed his hands on her temples and silent tears began to fall from his eyes again, but this time it was accompanied by the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face.
He ran his fingers up into her hair, it was soft but she had it pulled up and away from her face, he reached around and found the clip holding her hair back and removed it. Her hair fell down and he began to run his fingers through and over it. "Hmm, wavy and soft, no one ever told me that," he moved his fingers back to her temples and splayed his fingers across her forehead. He ran his fingers all over her face, first tracing her eyebrows softly then the curve of her cheek bones and down the bridge of her nose. Stopping at her lips he leaned in and kissed her softly, causing her to draw in a strangled breath. Pulling back he continued his explorations, he ran his fingers down over her chin,, then outlining her jaw, stopping his fingers at the back of her jaw he brought his thumbs back to her lips and traced the smile that had formed there all the way back to her eyes which closed at his touch, "Annie your more beautiful than anyone ever described you, but I need to know,' he hesitated as he drew his thumbs across her lashes, "What color are they?"
"Amber" she whispered against his lips as her fingers went into his hair, they pulled each other into a passionate kiss rolling back onto the floor. Auggie winced in pain again and laughed. Annie pulled back a little and said, "Are you OK?" Auggie grabbed her and pulled her back into him, "I can stand a little pain, but I can't stand not having you next to me right now."
"Why are you in pain?"
"Well let's see, I have fallen down in a gravel drive several times tonight, been full body kicked off a porch, and slammed into a few walls and the floor."
Chuckling softly Annie said, "I'm sorry."
"Annie," he said he ran his hand to cup the back of her head and tilt her face toward his, "don't ever be sorry, I'm not, every single one of these bumps and bruises brought me you. I wouldn't change one thing about it no matter how painful it was."
She smiled and let out the breath she had been holding.
"You know this time I really can hear you smile," He leaned in to kiss her again and felt her smiling beneath his lips. "What?"
"You know this is going to change everything."
"I sincerely hope so."
The End
A/N: I really hope you enjoyed my little tale as much as I enjoyed writing it for you. Thank you to everyone who favorited me and/or this story, and if you took the extra step and actually reviewed then bless you a hundred times over, because trust me it made my day every time I read one.
Moongrl088, call2wrshp, andiesimmo, NCIS She-Demon, 1FAN, Riy, Millemini, and Adalia, Thank you all so much for the love, encouragement, and reviews. You were all wonderful.