Chapter 14 - Lincoln

What happened last:

Auggie lay beneath the sheets and smiled warmly at Annie when she stepped out of the bathroom. She had his t-shirt on; it was too big for her and covered a good half of her thighs. She climbed into the bed and settled in next to him.
"Thank you Annie." He smiled, wanting to acknowledge that he was pleased that she was comfortable with touching his prosthetics. It made his life easier that she was okay with bringing them into the bedroom. Annie just smiled and motioned for him to let her snuggle up again.

After a few small kisses they drifted off to sleep, both of them were tired as hell after the emotional time together. They slept peacefully through the night; Annie wrapped in Auggie's strong arms, with a smile matching his on her face.

_###_'''''_

Auggie woke up shortly after nine from pressure on his bladder, he needed to use the bathroom. One at a time his senses came online, and his brain woke up as well. He remembered that he wasn't alone. It was Annie's arm draped across his stomach that was pressing on his bladder. As cautiously as possible he moved the arm from his stomach and laid it against her side, and then turned to sit up on the edge on the bed.
Just as he leaned down and grabbed the left liner from where he had put it down in the previous evening, he felt Annie moving behind his back.

"Good morning Auggie," she mumbled groggily, not really awake at the time.

"Morning to you too, Princess. Just turn around and relax while I'll fix us breakfast. You can sleep a little longer." Auggie said without turning around. He aligned the liner with the end of his stump and began to roll it down on his leg until he hit the end of his thigh. He checked it for any wrinkles and repeated the process on the right leg. As soon as he'd put on both of the silicone liners he felt Annie move again and just a second later she pulled him back down in one swift move. She climbed on top of him and looked into his deep brown eyes. They glowed with thankfulness that she had waited until he had covered his residual limbs. Annie put his face between her hands and started to kiss him.

"I…" she said before she kissed his forehead. "Would like…" then she placed a second kiss on Auggie's cheek. "To have…" Annie placed a third kiss on the tip of his nose. "Pancakes with honey and walnuts…" And then she finally kissed him on the lips. "Please". She looked at him with her best sad puppy face. Auggie reaction was simple - just a nod. Annie started to climb off of him, but he snagged her left arm and pulled her down again. Using his strength he flipped them over so he was on top of Annie, resting his weight on his forearms and his limbs pressed on her legs.

"Just so you know, my dear Princess, I'm happy to be your slave in the kitchen, but I don't have walnuts, so either you are going to the grocery store or you'll have to endure the Auggie special," he waited for a response with a smile on his face. "So what is it?" He turned onto his back and then he sat up. He pushed himself forward to the side of the bed and put his prosthetics on.
"Hmm…" Annie said playfully, pretending to be in deep thought. I choose the Auggie special!" She turned away from Auggie and pulled the blanket around her again.

Ten minutes later Auggie came out of the bathroom, freshly shaved and his hair was slightly damp. He walked over to his walk in closet and pulled out a pair jeans and a polo shirt. As he got dressed he noticed that Annie's breathing was deep, she was almost certainly asleep. He smiled to himself as he headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast in bed…

After both of them finished their pancakes Annie started to gather their plates and cutlery to bring it to the kitchen. Auggie protested.

"No, you cooked, so I clean," she said firmly. "What do you want to do today? Got any plans?"

"No plans. Did you have something specific in mind?"

"Not really. Maybe a stroll at the park in front of the Lincoln Monument?"

"Sounds nice. Let's make some sandwiches and we can pack some fruit and bottled water. We'll bring a blanket and have a picnic for lunch," Auggie suggested. He stood, walked over to the hallway closet and pulled out a backpack.

They made quick work of preparing sandwiches and packing the backpack and about an hour later Auggie pulled into the parking lot by the park. He parked in one of the handicapped spaces. As he stepped out of the car he realized he'd left his cane at home, so he stepped cautiously to the ground.

"Annie," he said tentatively. "I hate to ask you to, but would you please carry the backpack? I left my cane at home and I'm worried it will mess up my balance." Auggie ducked his head and appeared to be studying his sneakers; Annie noticed he was blushing slightly and clearly embarrassed.

"Of course Auggie! It's nothing to be embarrassed about." Suddenly Annie felt annoyed with Auggie's self-conscious behavior. She wondered what it would take for him to realize she didn't care about his disability and that she was happy to help him. "You know how feel about you and wish you would stop being so self-conscious around me. I don't think any less of you for asking me to do a small thing." She nearly shouted at the end and started to walk away in a fast pace.

"Please Annie wait," Auggie pleaded. "I can't walk as fast as you. That's impossible for me." He was clearly on the edge. Annie didn't stop so he walked back to his car and got in. He wrapped his arms on top of the steering wheel and leaned his forehead against his arms. He couldn't help the tears that started flooding down his cheeks; he was defeated again. Everything came down on him. Annie's unexpected anger towards him hit him hard and the sight of a person he loved, that he'd let in, walking away made his heart sink. He felt abandoned - again.

He didn't know how long he sat there in the car; contemplating what a mess his life was. He thought everything over and through, again and again. His mind was racing; thinking about everything what happened from the day he woke up in the hospital without his legs until this day, his mind was working on high gear. Exhaustion started hitting him and he didn't even catch that the passenger side door opened and someone pulled him in a hug. He sobbed like a child for everything he'd lost.

As Annie walked away she heard his last words, but she didn't know how to handle his sudden outburst of emotion. She had to clear her head. She found a bench and sat down; thinking Auggie just needed a few minutes to himself. Half an hour later he was nowhere to be seen, so Annie walked back to the parking lot. As she approached his car she saw him hunched over the steering wheel. She wondered what this man had endured and what had caused his soul to be so broken. Annie had no idea how to handle it, but she did what she knew her mother would have done; she climbed into the passenger seat and pulled him into a hug. She stroked his back soothingly and made shushing sounds, hoping to calm him down. It was the first time she'd ever witnessed something like that; a grown man so broken he was sobbing like a small child. Betrayed by the world; or maybe something else. Annie sat there and waited for him to calm down, knowing there wasn't anything she could do for him except let him get it all out. She just knew that this man was the man she loved, even with his disability and all the emotional baggage he had. Somewhere along her musings Auggie calmed down; his breathing became steady and he pulled out of her embrace. He rubbed eyes with the heels of his hands and swallowed.

"Thank you," he said shyly. "No one has done anything like that for me in a long time."

"You're welcome Auggie. I really hope that one day you trust me enough to tell me what's on your heart, soul and mind."

They enjoyed the rest of the day in comfortable silence. Both of them were lost in their own minds. Auggie drove Annie home and when he got home he went straight to bed, despite the early hour, he was tired and just wanted to forget about the day.

Thank you for reading! Thanks to my beta Millemini! Please review!