Another really early post! Only this isn't Kaleidoscope Hearts… And I'm only uploading this early because this chapter's been finished for a month.

I know I'm screwing with Annie's nature as a character a lot here, but it is AU which means I can sort of change whatever the hell I want and run with it… and I'm seriously running with it.

But with the last two set-up chapters done, I can start fleshing out some things… oh, not everything, because there are still some people I need to introduce before we can get down to the nitty-gritty… like why Annie's so reluctant to do field work. ;)

$4$

'Cuz you left me, police tape, chalk line
Tequila shots in the dark scene of the crime
Suburban livin' with the feelin' that I'm givin' up
Everything for you

- "Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't)" by All Time Low

"So that's what Scwimmer told you? Those guys were seriously CIA?"

Annie shrugged helplessly. After the hellish day out on the field, she figured she deserved some way of winding down, so she called up one of her few female friends from the Bureau, Caitlyn McGuire, and they decided to spend the night at one of the local bars, Allen's. Annie ordered a pitcher of beer while Caitlyn busied herself drinking some fruity mixed drink. "I don't know," she admitted, not for the first time that night. "Schwimmer and Rossabi just said those guys worked for the Director of the Department of Clandestine Services. But the DCS is part of the CIA—well, the dark ops part that no one knows about—and I doubt he'd hire two guys off the street to sneak on to a federal crime scene."

Caitlyn's pretty pale eyes widened dramatically. "Wow," she breathed. "You gotta admit, that's so cool. You met CIA agents."

Annie shrugged again. She wasn't as impressed by the glamour of the CIA, to tell the truth. She didn't spend much time doing field work, but it didn't matter. In her first year working for the Bureau, she had earned more than enough experience to learn firsthand that all those smoke and mirrors came with a hefty price tag.

But Caitlyn hadn't picked up that jaded outlook on life yet. She probably never would—Caitlyn was a data analyst, and the quirky techie spent her time as far away from the field as humanly possible. That's how Annie would've preferred her job, but unfortunately being the mediator between the press and the FBI meant she was required to leave her little desk on occasion.

So, to a sweet girl like Caitlyn, hearing that her best friend ran into CIA agents while 'investigating' a murder—not that Annie had anything to do with the actual investigation part—had to sound pretty cool.

Must be nice to still think like that.

"You know what I heard from the other tech guys?" Caitlyn asked, lowering her voice and surreptitiously looking over both shoulders. "They told me that this is a spook bar. You know, like those CIA guys? Oh my God, you could run into them again!"

This was the first she had heard of it. Annie's stomach plummeted to her Louboutin heels at the thought. Immediately, she did a quick, frantic scan of the crowd—but no. Of course not. He wouldn't be here, in this crowded bar in D.C. He was probably in Africa or Bosnia or somewhere like that, making some other woman's life miserable.

Hiding her nerves as much as possible, Annie plastered on a smile. "Well, at least then we already know they're all liars."

Caitlyn snickered into her drink. "Oh, I like you," she said pleasantly. "You're funny."

Annie grinned back. "I like you, too, Cait."

"Caitlyn!"

Both women looked up to see Caitlyn's boyfriend of two months, Stu Heatherton, wading through the hectic, post-work hour crowd and towards their table. Annie smiled. Stu was a really nice guy—some kind of accountant, computer geek person for the Smithsonian—and clearly adored Caitlyn. They met at Allen's, when she had accidentally spilled her Cosmo on him (which somehow ended in a conversation about Mac vs. PC and something called Lynx or Linux—yeah, Annie didn't get it).

"Hey, Annie," he said, always cheerful and friendly. She smiled back and took a sip of her beer.

And then promptly started choking on it.

"Annie, are you okay?" Caitlyn asked, alarmed. She put her hand on her friend's arm as Annie hastily drank some more beer and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Annie nodded back shakily, not trusting herself to speak as she kept her eyes locked stonily on the guy standing right behind Stu.

Apparently satisfied that her friend was not, in fact, dying, Caitlyn turned back to Stu with gooey, love-filled eyes. Until she spotted that fucking guy behind Stu. "Oh, Auggie! It's so great to see you again!"

Annie narrowed her eyes sharply. Auggie? What the hell kind of name was Auggie? Was that even his real name? No, probably not. No one would name their kid Auggie. He probably didn't even remember his real name. Too busy being a CIA agent. Was he really blind? Most importantly, how the hell did he know Stu?

"I would say the same, but, you know," his grin was infectious and well-meaning as he gestured to his eyes with his hand—the same hand holding the very same collapsible white cane as earlier this morning. "It'd be a lie."

When Caitlyn glanced back at her she tried to compose her features like she hadn't just been glowering at the blind guy. "I almost forgot! I'm so sorry, Annie," she apologized, putting her hand over Annie's and giving a quick squeeze. "This is Stu's boss, Auggie Anderson. He's the head of the Smithsonian's accounting department."

Somehow, just barely, she refrained from saying what wanted so desperately to burst from her lips—something that sounded a lot like "The hell he is"—and grinned widely. "That's so great," she gushed, "I'm Annie Walker. It's nice to meet you."

Auggie stuck out his hand to shake, and she had no other choice but to reciprocate. She pointedly ignored his warm, slightly calloused skin and his firm grip—he was a CIA man, after all.

And, apparently, so was Caitlyn's boyfriend.

$4$

Oh, and for anyone observant enough to notice, I totally ripped off Stu's last name from Beth – Geek Chick. So credit goes to her. IMDB has no last name for him, and I didn't feel like making up a last name that I'm going to forget in two days, anyway.

I'm also amusing myself making little references to quotes I like from past episodes into this AU fic. Yes, I'm such a dork but it makes me giggle. :D