Annie and Auggie go to Illinois for the holiday and this time Annie's the one who's surprised. Read on to find out how.

Thanks for the alerts and the comments. I write the stories for my own amusement, but it's so much fun to share. Now, this is where I need to remind you that this is for pure fun and I have no association with the crew at Covert Affairs.

Chapter 5 – Leaving for Illinois

The Monday before Thanksgiving Annie and Auggie stayed in their respective homes to pack and get organized for the trip to Illinois. Annie called Auggie several times to double check what activities Amanda Anderson would have in mind for them so she would know what kind of clothes to pack. Finally, Auggie told her, "If you don't think you have what you need when we get there, we'll go shopping. Please stop worrying. Mom has always commented on what great taste you have in the way you dress."

"Easy for you to say. You have a whole closet full of clothes there to choose from, plus you understand the nuances of your family. I'm still trying to get a handle on it," Annie almost complained.

Early Tuesday morning, Annie loaded her suitcase and carry-on tote bag into the hatch of her car and drove off to Auggie's, where she tapped on the door and let herself in. "Auggie," she yelled, "are you about ready?"

"Almost," he answered from the bedroom. "Just a couple of things I need to put in my shaving kit and zip up the suitcase."

"Anything you want me to check?" Annie asked as she looked around the apartment to see if something might be out of place.

"Make sure the coffeemaker and toaster are unplugged … other than that, I think we're cool."

"You didn't make coffee this morning?"

"Nope. Thought I could bribe you to drive through a Starbucks on the way to the airport."

Auggie slung the messenger bag with the computer and "necessary" electronics across his body and raised the handle on his suitcase. He collected his cane and keys and they left the apartment. Annie walked ahead with Auggie following the sound of her footsteps. As they stepped onto the sidewalk Annie slowed down and said, "The car's about two o'clock. There aren't any tree or sign hazards in the way."

Auggie just nodded and kept walking without taking her arm, so Annie walked ahead and opened the hatch. Auggie followed the sound of the hatch opening, located the curb with his cane and carefully stepped down and lowered the pull handle of the suitcase. He located the back bumper of the car with his cane. He stopped and felt into the hatch to locate Annie's bags before lifting his into the empty space. He removed the messenger bag and laid it on top of the suitcase.

Annie watched with a bemused expression. She didn't dare offer to help, she'd learned.

"That's everything," Auggie announced. Stepping back and reaching up he said, "We can close the hatch."

Annie stepped back and said, "Ready to close 'er up." Auggie slammed the hatch shut and trailed the back of his hand alongside the passenger side of the car to the front door. After a quick stop at the coffee drive-thru, they were on their way to Reagan National.

At Auggie's suggestion, Annie parked in the more expensive but much closer parking area. "It's more convenient than us dragging our bags onto the busses," Auggie explained, "and it's my treat."

Annie wanted to argue with him, but she realized it would be much easier for him; and sometimes she forgot that he could afford more than the occasional splurge. Once through security, they had about 45 minutes until boarding began. Annie had picked up a morning newspaper on the way to the gate and she was getting comfortable to start reading … more whispering … the headlines to Auggie when her tummy rumbled and growled.

Auggie laughed. "Didn't you eat dinner last night."

"I did, but I guess I didn't eat very much. I was worried about packing the right things," Annie admitted.

Auggie pulled out his money clip and extracted two ten dollar bills. "Here," he said, "I'm kinda hungry, too. Why don't you go find us some more coffee and a scone to share. We're in first class today, so we should be served breakfast on the plane."

Annie took the money and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Sounds good. I'll be right back." She walked back a couple of gates to a Starbucks where she found a cinnamon scone to go with their coffee. Returning to their gate, Annie broke into a smile when she saw Auggie waiting for her, listening to his tunes with his arm draped over her floral fabric carry-on. His eyes were closed and he looked like all the other weary travelers who'd gotten up earlier than usual to make their flights.

"Hey, you ready for more coffee and a snack?" Annie asked as she sat down beside him. They enjoyed their shared snack while Annie whispered her observations about their fellow passengers. Auggie would hear a voice or a snatch of a conversation and give Annie his description of the person. Annie laughed at how close some of his descriptions were. "Sometimes you are just scary," Annie whispered.

Auggie chuckled, "Just good spy craft … being able to get a bead on your surroundings and the people in it, whether you can see or not."

The ticket agent called for First Class passengers to board, and Auggie handed Annie her carry-on bag and they started to the jetway. After taking a few steps, Auggie sensed the crowd. He squeezed Annie's arm and stopped. Annie stopped while Auggie took a few seconds to pull his folded cane out of his messenger bag and unfold it. After he'd tapped the cane to lock it, Annie asked quietly, "Ready?"

Auggie nodded and with a sweep of his cane smiled and said, "This will keep the other passengers from jostling us too much."

Auggie was right, the other passengers slowed down and gave Auggie a little extra space to maneuver as he showed his boarding pass and negotiated the jet way. Entering the plane, Annie greeted the attendant and waited for Auggie to catch up to her. "We're in seats 4 A and B. Do you want inside or the aisle?"

Laughing at the question, Auggie said, "You take the window seat. I think you'll get more use out of the window."

Annie punched him in the arm. "I'm going to put my bag under the seat. Where are you going to stash the messenger bag?"

"Under the seat."

As Annie slipped into her seat she put Auggie's hand on the armrest of his seat, and he followed her in. "You know, travelling alone is not nearly as much fun as traveling you," he whispered seductively as he settled in.

As the flight approached the airport, Annie asked who in the family was meeting them. "No one," Auggie answered. "I rented a car for us. I thought it would be nice to have our own car for errands or to just get away by ourselves if we want to."

"What am I going to be driving around Chicago this weekend?" Annie asked.

"Hmmm … I reserved a Cadillac Escalade with four-wheel drive … just in case we have a surprise white Thanksgiving," Auggie said.

"Auggie! That will cost a fortune," Annie fussed. "Besides, I didn't pay any attention how we got to your home when we came back for the wedding in August."

"Let me worry about the cost. And, the car I reserved has a GPS in it, so you can put in the address and follow the directions. Although, I could get us home without the GPS," Auggie explained. "I made sure we had the GPS in case we need to go somewhere I'm not familiar with … or don't remember … you know how Mom comes up with errands for us."

Annie laughed and shook her head. "There you go … thinking of everything."

Auggie smiled smugly and quietly said, "Yep."

Making their way down the concourse to baggage claim, Auggie took the belt and suspenders approach to negotiating the crowd by using his cane and keeping a firm grasp on Annie's right elbow. Annie found their baggage carousel and staked out a place to wait for their bags to come out. Auggie dropped his grasp on Annie's arm, and she wrapped her arms around his while they waited.

Anne scanned the baggage area and found the car rental shuttle sign. "It looks like we're going to have to take a shuttle over to car rental," she reported with a little worry in her voice.

"We'll manage fine," Auggie said. "It'll be worth it when we have our own car for the week."

With their bags loaded in the back of the Escalade, Annie started to get acquainted with the luxury rental car and the GPS. After a few minutes of sitting quietly and letting Annie get her bearings in the unfamiliar car, Auggie spoke up, "OK, can you give me a quick tour of the dash, so I can turn on the radio?"

Annie laughed. "Sure." She took his left hand, put it on the top of the dash and slowly slid it down to the radio area and its controls, explaining each knob and push button. Auggie closed his eyes and scrunched up his face in concentration to memorize the controls. Annie continued the tactile tour of the SUV's bells and whistles. When she finished, she threw her arms around Auggie and with a big kiss thanked him for surprising her with the car rental.

As they pulled out of the parking lot, the GPS voice guided Annie into traffic. Auggie called Amanda to report they had arrived with their bags and were on their way to the house. Amanda told him not to stop for lunch, because she had soup and salad waiting for them if they were hungry. "I'll tell Annie. She just mentioned she wanted to find a place to get a bite to eat."

Driving up Lake Shore Drive, Annie began to recognize some landmarks and relaxed. They pulled into the driveway a little after one in the afternoon, and Amanda was running down the front walk before Annie had the ignition turned off. She warned Auggie his mom was getting up a head of steam and to brace himself. He laughed, opened the door and got out of the vehicle.

Amanda yelled, "Auggie!" and hugged him tightly for a long time. Auggie couldn't resist picking her up just a little as he returned the hug and kissed the top of her head. Annie walked around to the passenger side smiling at the scene. Her mother had told her once to carefully observe how a man treated his mother and she could get a good idea about how he would treat her.

Amanda stepped out of the hug with Auggie and threw her arms around Annie. "I am so happy you two are here." She stepped back and looked at Annie. Patting Annie's cheek, Amanda said, "You get more beautiful every time I see you."

Annie blushed and stammered, "Thank you."

"Let's take your things into the house, and then we can have a bite of lunch," Amanda said.

Once the bags were piled in the foyer, Auggie carried his bag up to his bedroom. On his second trip to carry up Annie's bag, she and Amanda followed him up the stairs and to the bedroom. Amanda stayed several steps behind them. Auggie took several steps into the bedroom and sat down Annie's bag. Annie flipped on the light as she walked into the room, stopped and gasped.

"Annie? Is something wrong?" Auggie asked in a worried tone.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just that your mother has put a king-size bed in the room with a lovely new comforter."

"Mom, what did you do?"

Amanda stepped in between the couple and put her hands on their backs. "I want you to be comfortable when you visit, so I bought a king-size bed. When you're not here, we use this room occasionally for other guests, and I just thought it made sense to make the change," Amanda explained.

"Thanks, Mom," Auggie whispered.

"Thank you," Annie said, "But it wasn't necessary. The other bed was very comfortable."

"Comfortable, yes, but not a king. This one is a comfortable king … I hope," Amanda said patting them each on the shoulder. "Now … freshen up and I'll have some soup and sandwiches ready for you by the time you come downstairs."

After lunch, Auggie and Annie unpacked and wandered back downstairs. Amanda was sitting at the breakfast table finishing her shopping list for Thanksgiving. She looked up as Annie and Auggie walked through to the family room. "Does anyone want to help me finish the grocery shopping?"

Annie smiled and said, "Sure."

Auggie made a face, shook his head and said, "Please don't make me go to a grocery store two days before Thanksgiving. You two go, and I'll be glad to carry everything in for you."

"We're going to take you up on that offer," Amanda said. "Will you be ok while we're gone?"

"Mom, I grew up in this house. You haven't done any major furniture rearranging have you?" Auggie asked with a little exasperation in his voice.

Slamming down her pen Amanda answered, "Nope. Water bottles are in the second shelf of the fridge door and the beer is in the fridge under your dad's bar in the family room," Amanda said.

Auggie grimaced and said, "Thanks, I'll be fine. Just tell me where the remote is before you leave."

Annie and Amanda climbed into Amanda's SUV about 20 minutes later. As she started the car, she commented she hoped she hadn't insulted Auggie by accidentally implying he wouldn't be all right in his own home alone for an hour or two. "I just didn't mean it that way," Amanda said shaking her head. "We almost over reacted back there, didn't we?"

"I bet he realizes that," Annie reassured Amanda. "Maybe he needs a little quiet time. We've been so busy lately."

A few minutes after Annie and Amanda left the house, Auggie pulled a beer out of the small fridge under his dad's bar and sipped on it as he paced up and down the foyer hall until he began to calm down. He found himself in the living room, checking out the location of the furniture. When he approached the far end of the room, he extended his right hand until it made contact with the baby grand piano. Auggie followed the contour of the instrument around to the keyboard and the bench.

He sighed heavily. It had been so long since he'd played a piano. The house was empty. He tapped at the keys on the high end of the register and cautiously took another short step to locate the bench with his leg. He pulled out the bench and sat down. He polished off the bottle of beer and sat it on the floor. He tapped absent mindedly on a couple of keys, stopped and started to get up. But he couldn't. The pull of the music was too great.

Auggie took a deep breath, located middle C, positioned his hands on the keyboard and played a couple of scales and warm-up exercises he remembered. He surprised himself. Auggie Anderson, the soldier, the jock was also a talented musician … something that he'd managed to keep hidden from most people. He had been surprised that Annie had never asked who played the piano. But, then a lot of large homes had a grand piano as accent furniture.

He checked his watch and figured he had time to get a cold beer, find a coaster and spend a few minutes improvising some of his now beloved jazz before his mom and Annie returned from the store. As he played, he was surprised at how well tuned the piano was. He pounded out the beat of one loud improvisation; and when the tension began to leave his body, he relaxed he began playing a softer, more melodic version of a jazz tune. Auggie lost himself in creativity and music. He lost track of time and did not hear the garage door open and close or the door from the garage into the house open.

Annie and Amanda each had picked up a couple of bags of groceries to carry in. Annie opened the door, and stopped when she heard the music. "Auggie sure has the stereo cranked up," Annie remarked to Amanda.

Amanda listened for a moment. She smiled and shook her head before whispering, "That's not the stereo. That's Auggie at the piano. Sounds like he's taking out his frustration on the keyboard."

Annie shot a quizzical look at Amanda. "He plays the piano, too?" she whispered. "Is there anything he's not good at?"

"Whatever he decides to do, he does well," Amanda whispered. They quietly sat the groceries on the breakfast table and walked across the foyer to the living room entry. They stood in the doorway listening and watching Auggie play. After a few minutes, he stopped to take a sip of beer, and Annie said softly, "Anderson … you've been holding out on me. When were you going to tell me you played the piano?"

Auggie smiled and huffed. "The subject has never come up, has it?" Trying to change the subject, he stood up and said, "I bet I have a car load of groceries to carry in."

"Yep, we filled up the hatch with goodies, for sure," Annie said as Auggie walked toward her. "Were you ever going to let me in on your musical secret?"

"You never asked about the piano. I didn't want to brag," he said teasingly.

"Mmmm, this could be construed as lying by omission," Annie shot back.

"We're in the CIA. We're taught to lie … or deceive." As soon as that statement was out of his mouth, Auggie mentally kicked himself.

Annie stopped walking and whirled around to face Auggie. "What else have you been deceptive about?"

"Annie," he said while taking a deep breath, "I have been as open with you as I can be with anyone. You know that, I hope. Talking about 12 years of piano lessons plus college piano courses was not on my radar to discuss. There's no need to be angry."

"I'm not angry, Auggie. I'm surprised and maybe a little hurt that you never said anything about being such a prodigy on the piano," Annie said. "I guess I'm a little jealous. I always wanted to learn to play the piano, but we moved so much that finding a teacher never worked out," Annie explained while taking Auggie's hand. "Now, we'd better finish unloading the groceries."

Auggie put his arm around Annie as they walked down the hall to the garage entrance. Once in the garage, Auggie told Annie to hand him the heavier bags. She handed him a couple of bags to carry in his left hand and picked up four lighter ones for herself. "Annie?" Auggie asked holding out his empty right hand, "I have another hand to carry groceries."

Annie stopped. "Oh. OK. I thought you'd need your right hand to …"

"… help guide me back to the kitchen?" Auggie finished the sentence with a question.

"Yes. Judging from your wanting more bags, I thought wrong."

Auggie chuckled. "I keep reminding you. I grew up in this house; and I can move freely. Hand over the sacks."

Annie passed off the sacks she was carrying in her right hand to Auggie and reached into the car to grab two more bags. Auggie walked ahead of her cautiously and stepped up through the door into the laundry room with ease and sauntered into the kitchen. He did, however, stop at the doorway to the kitchen to ask his mother where she wanted the groceries.

Amanda told them both to put everything on the breakfast table for unpacking, and Annie said she thought they could finish unloading the car in only two more trips. "Did you two leave any food at the store for anyone else to buy? You know, grocery shopping is not competitive."

Actually it took three trips back to the car, and they not only filled the breakfast table with sacks but part of the island. With everything unloaded, Annie started unpacking the purchases and folding the bags. Auggie took a couple of steps back from the table and looking just a tad lost in the bustle asked, "What can I do to help without getting in the way?"

Amanda turned to survey the kitchen and smiled at the chaos she'd created. "You're in charge of everything on the table. Take everything out of the bags, and Annie and I'll get the cold and frozen items stashed first."

"You mean I'm not going to be sent to the family room to keep me out of the way?" Auggie teased.

"Nope, buddy. You're going to be eating out of my refrigerator for a long weekend, so you have to work for your supper," Amanda shot back.

By the time the groceries were put away, it was time for Amanda to start dinner. Fred had promised her he would try to be home by six this evening. Annie had made a pot of coffee a little earlier, and now she and Auggie were relaxing at the breakfast table sipping the brew. Amanda poured herself a cup and joined them.

"Anyone else joining us for dinner tonight?" Auggie asked.

"No … it will be just the four of us tonight,"

"Thanks, Mom. That's the way I like it the first night at home," Auggie said with a devilish smile.

"Auggie, that's terrible," Annie said with a slap to his arm.

"No it's not. We've had a long day and it's going to be great to have a quiet dinner to visit with Mom and Dad. There will be more than enough of the full family the rest of the holiday," he said between sips of coffee.

"OK kids … enough of this relaxing."

Both Annie and Auggie sat up straight in their chairs as Amanda started handing out dinner chores. She handed Annie a box of brownie mix with instructions to get started on dessert. She pulled out a giant mixing bowl and piled it full of salad vegetables that needed cleaning and chopping. "Auggie, you're on salad duty tonight," she said as she sat the bowl beside the small sink in the island. "You know where the cutting boards and knife block are. Choose your own weapons."

Auggie smiled as he walked toward where he heard the bowl meet the marble counter of the island. Annie and Amanda glanced at each other and smiled. It had taken Amanda Anderson the full four years since Auggie lost his sight to realize he didn't need or want to be waited on. He preferred being part of the action, even if the action was as simple as making salad for a family dinner.

Amanda put a dry rub on the four filets, so they would be seasoned for Fred to grill when he came home. She'd pop the twice baked potatoes into the oven after Annie's brownies were baked and cooling. Annie mixed the brownies and poured them into the baking pan while Auggie rinsed the vegetables and laid them out on paper towels to dry. He pulled open the drawer where he remembered his mother storing bowls and tried to find an appropriate bowl for the prepared vegetables.

Amanda turned when she heard rattling in the island cabinet. "Looking for something in particular?" she asked. Auggie explained what he was hunting. Amanda resisted reaching over to help him, and said, "The largest bowl in the stack to your right will work fine."

Auggie pulled out the bowl and went to work peeling and slicing cucumbers, cleaning and grating carrots, coring and chopping a red pepper and tearing a half a head of lettuce. When the brownies were in the oven and the timer set, Annie poured herself another cup of coffee and made herself comfortable on the bar stool across from where Auggie was working. "You want another cup of coffee?" She asked him.

"Maybe later," he answered popping a cherry tomato into his mouth. "Hey, Mom, do you want me to halve the tomatoes and toss them in the salad or keep them whole for garnish?"

"Let's just keep them back and sprinkle a few on each salad," Amanda said. She turned around to watch Auggie toss the salad. "That looks good, Auggie … Annie, will you get the plastic wrap out of the pantry, so we can cover it and stash it in the fridge til it's time to eat?"

Annie retrieved the wrap and pulled off a sheet to cover the salad while Auggie bagged the remaining vegetables and cleaned the counter. Annie put the salad in the fridge and Auggie handed her the bags of vegetables to stash in the vegetable bin. Their fingers touched during the process and they each smiled. "You ready for that coffee now, Piano Man?"

"Ouch. That hurt … but I can pour my own coffee, thank you," he said as he turned to take a mug out of the cabinet.

Amanda had gone upstairs to her office to make some phone calls while the brownies finished baking, leaving Annie and Auggie alone. Annie used their being alone to ask Auggie why he'd never mentioned his skill at the piano to her. "Auggie, I'm not really angry. I'm surprised and a little hurt you never told me."

Auggie fidgeted with the coffee mug running his finger around its rim before raising his head and trying to look toward Annie to answer. "I didn't think it was that important. It's not like I was sneaking out three nights a week to play at a piano bar in Georgetown. Besides," he said with one of his self-deprecating grins, "a blind guy who plays the piano seems so cliché."

Amanda had come back downstairs and was walking down the hall when she heard their discussion. She stopped and stood quietly … not to eavesdrop so much as to not interrupt so Auggie would answer Annie's question.

It was Annie's turn to study the coffee that remained in her mug before sighing, "August Anderson … there is nothing cliché about you or anything you do. But I'll keep your secret."

Auggie's hand trailed along the edge of the island until he was standing next to Annie. He found her shoulders and put his hands on them so they were facing each other. "I wasn't keeping it a secret … really. You were going to find out Thursday evening anyway when we drag out the Christmas tree after dinner and start decorating. I'm the official musical accompaniment for Christmas decorating. I've done it for years and can't get out of it." He kissed her forehead and said, "Unless it's a matter of national security and above your clearance, I promise not to keep secrets from you."

Annie took a slap at his chest and shook her head. She was about to tell him he was a mess when the oven timer alerted them that the brownies were ready. She pulled out the brownie pan and set it on a trivet on the island. "I'm going to make a quick trip upstairs to freshen up," she told Auggie as Amanda sauntered back into the kitchen.

When Amanda heard Annie's footsteps in the upstairs hall, she turned to her son. "Auggie, I am curious why you never mentioned to Annie about the piano. What else have you not told her?"

"Well, as difficult as it was to talk about, I did tell her the whole story about what happened to me in Iraq, but I haven't shared a whole lot about rehab ... just some bits and pieces. And, I've never told her all the details about the trust fund. I've only alluded to the fact that I have some money other than my government job. Why?"

Amanda put her diminutive hand on her son's shoulder gently and said, "I don't want either one of you overreacting and getting upset over something like we went through last spring when Annie found your dress uniform."

"Mom, you know it's not my nature to talk a lot about myself. Plus, I've been trained to keep things close and not share much," Auggie said softly.

"Well, I'm sure Annie understands these things intellectually, but it may be a different picture emotionally," Amanda said as she patted Auggie's shoulder. "She's smart and talented, but she is a woman in love."

Auggie nodded his agreement.

"And that kind of brings me to my next question," Amanda said lightly. "Are you two trying to set some kind of record for the length of a pre-engagement relationship?"

Auggie shook his head. "Mom, before Annie and I met, someone hurt her very badly. Then, when she first joined the Agency, she had a couple of dinner dates with Jai Wilcox; and Joan told her to be cautious about becoming involved with CIA men because we're all duplicitous. You know that Tash was the reason I went to Iraq. You put two people with our backgrounds together, and you have a really long pre-engagement relationship. Even though we spend most of our time together, we agree we need to take our relationship slow. We're committed to each other, but if I'm afraid I'll spook her if I throw an engagement ring into the mix."

Amanda was thoughtful before she spoke. "I understand, Auggie. It's just that I want both you and Annie to be settled and happy."

"I think it will happen when it's supposed to," Auggie whispered. "I hope I'm astute enough to recognize when it's time."

Isn't it refreshing to know that Auggie and Amanda can get really frustrated with each other? They are a pretty normal family, after all. Thank you, everyone for reading. I'm kind of amazed at how many hits my stories receive. Later.