Chapter 10

Thanks to those who are with me in this story.

What happened last:

"Thank you, Auggie, for this awesome first date!" She turned and closed the door hastily, giving him no chance to respond. He stood there a matter of seconds frozen. He regained his control and walked to the car feeling his lips, remembering the feeling of Annie's smooth lips.

He got home and nearly fell asleep in his bathroom in the process of getting ready for bed.

This was the first night, since he knew what he lost because of the bomb, with only pleasant happy dreams.

Auggie woke up at nine in the morning fully rested and with a grin on his face. He'd had a good night - no nightmares, just flashes of his time with a certain coworker. He got into the shower, let the water rain down, and just enjoyed the droplets cascading over him. He sat there for nearly a half hour before he even bothered to use the soap. The water was running cold but he took his time to clean himself.

After getting dressed in some jeans that fit him well, he sat down at the kitchen counter and thought about the groceries he'd need for the following days and for the meal with Annie. He was going to cook some self-made noodles with some salmon and a nice citron sauce. By the time he was ready with his shopping list, he had finished his coffee too. Putting the mug in the sink and walking by his wallet, phone and car keys he picked them up as he passed them, then left his cane behind and proceeded to the door. For short trips like this one he didn't take the cane. He was beginning to become confident enough to know that his balance was good, and besides, in the store he had the cart to grab onto.

Nearly one-and-a-half hours later, he got home without an incident and had the groceries stored away. He was stuck in the noodle dough when he heard a knock on his apartment door. Looking at the clock Auggie realized that it could only be Annie and so he called out "Come on in. It's open."

The door opened and Annie walked into the apartment. "Hey Auggie, how…?" she began to greet him but then she saw what Auggie was up to and couldn't help but laugh.

"What's wrong Annie? Do I look like an alien?"

"No, but I didn't expect to see Paul Bocuse in the kitchen. It smells really nice in here, by the way," Annie said as she put her purse down and slipped out of her shoes.

"Thanks, Annie. I'm preparing some salmon au citron noodles. Self-made noodles which explains why I'm stuck in dough now. Make yourself at home and feel free to get a drink." He motioned to her and then to the refrigerator.

Annie walked to the refrigerator, opened it, and took a coke bottle out of it. This wasn't the first time she'd been here, so she knew a little bit about the whereabouts of the typical stuff.

"Do you want something to drink too?" she asked, her own glass already in her hand.

"Oh, yes. Thanks Annie." Auggie turned slightly towards her, smiling.

She grabbed a second glass and poured some coke into both. After putting the bottle back, she grabbed both glasses and walked up behind Auggie. Annie put the glasses on the counter and stepped nearer to Auggie. She wrapped her arms around him and lay her head between his shoulder blades. "I've missed you Auggie," she said, squeezing him a little more before taking a step back, not realizing what she had done.

"Wait-" Auggie called out, but it was too late, Auggie had lost his balance because he didn't think Annie would take a step back, and he took Annie with him down.

The sight could have been funny: dough everywhere, flour on top of them, and so on… but looking into Auggie's mortified expression, made it not a funny sight. About 2 seconds later, Auggie was off of Annie and on his stomach trying to push himself up. Annie took some flour and smeared it at him and just said "Sorry". She smiled at him but looking sheepish at the same time.

When he didn't react positively, she nearly tackled him, grabbing his face, trying to cheer him up. "Sorry Auggie I didn't think about it." "Please don't make a big deal out of it; ok? Come on. I'll clean my mess up and you go back to being the three star chef ok?" Annie stood up and held her hand out to him, offering to give him assistance if he wanted it. To her surprise, he took her hand and hauled himself up.

"Nothing to forgive Annie. It happens, ok?" He got right back to work on the meal because he was getting hungry.

"I'll clean the kitchen," Auggie added, stopping her from struggling to figure out where to start "when the fish is in the oven."

"Ok, Auggie. Can I help you with something?" Annie asked, clearly relieved that there was no drama after the incident.

"You can prepare the desert, if you want. I just need you to cut the mango and the pineapple." Auggie motioned to the fruit bowl. "The knives are in the drawer over there," he said, pointing to his right.

Annie grabbed the fruits, then making her way to the drawer she placed a kiss on Auggie's cheek. Both worked quietly for a while until Auggie heard something fall down to the floor. Auggie turned and saw that Annie had her hand pressed against her chest. And he saw blood spreading out under her hand. Annie couldn't speak because it hurt a lot.

"Come on, Annie." Auggie put his arm around her shoulders and walked her over to his bathroom. He sat Annie down on his shower chair and turned to his medicine cabinet. By now her tears where spilling freely. He took the first aid kit and got down as best as he could. Having no time to be self-conscious.

"Just breathe, Annie, and give me your hand." Auggie took hold of her arm and examined the damage. It was a long cut but not deep. He took the antiseptic ointment out and worked his magic on her. "Look, Annie. I'm cleaning the cut, and now I will make sure you don't need stitches." He looked harder and found that no stitches were necessary. "You don't need them. I'll just clean everything and then I'll wrap you up." He smiled at her and put his left hand onto her cheek, comforting her.

"I'm sorry, Auggie. I'm not always a baby like this." Annie said in a small voice.

"No problem, Annie. It happens to everyone."

Nearly ten minutes after she'd cut herself, she was sporting a bandage on her hand, clearly wrapped by someone who had done this a million times. Auggie had maneuvered her to his couch and was working again in the kitchen. Cleaning up everything as he now had only to boil the water and prepare the frozen citron sauce. Which he had left from the last time.

"Are you still fine over there, Princess Annie?" Auggie asked just his back was seen because he was swiping the floor off everything.

"I'm fine Auggie, thank you for taking care of me." "You're welcome."

He finished cleaning up, then walked over to her. He sat down and almost immediately Annie began to snuggle up at him. He wrapped his arm around her as if it was second nature. They stayed quiet for a long time, just relishing the moment.

The oven dinged when everything was ready. Auggie got up and took everything out. Annie walked into the kitchen area and took the bowls and silverware out. After both of them had everything on their plates, they dug in.

After they were finished eating, they returned to the sofa. Auggie, remote for his sound system in hand, asked "what do you want to hear?"

"Anything is fine with me," Annie answered, smiling up at him. Auggie turned the iPod mode on and pushed the button for shuffle play. They enjoyed the company of the other, sneaking in some soft kisses. When Auggie felt Annie shivering, he pulled the blanket from the stool behind the sofa and wrapped it around both of them. He put his prosthetic feet on the table and with the more comfortable position for both, they drifted off into sleep in each other's arms.

Thanks for reading. Please review.

Hope this will turn your weekend a little nicer…

Bye Grace