Well, how do you think you'd react if your boss invited him or her self to your family holiday dinner? So far, it looks like things are going along ok, and Joan has had a chance to talk to her spy team. Let's rejoin them to see what happens as the party progresses.

Thanks so much for reading and sharing my version of Annie and Auggie with me. This is where I need to remind you that this is for fun, and I have no association with the people at the real (or reel) Covert Affairs.

Chapter 10 – O Tannenbaum

Auggie, Annie and Joan rejoined the party in the family room. Amanda's daughters-in-law were especially curious about Amanda's glamorous friend. Just when the questions from Sarah were about to get too personal, Amanda stepped into the doorway to announce that dinner was ready. At the last minute, she'd decided to put out place cards to be sure that Joan would be seated to her husband's right.

Although Annie appreciated the beautiful atmosphere Amanda Anderson created for her dinner parties, she no longer was in awe; but as she and Auggie walked into the dining room, Annie described the table setting and the fall arrangement on the buffet. Joan commented, "What a beautiful room."

Thanksgiving dinner began with getting the family settled. Everyone joined hands for Fred's table blessing and prayer of Thanksgiving followed by a toast and the beautifully prepared meal. Amanda had arranged the seating so that Auggie was between Joan and Annie, hoping that passing the dishes would be less uncomfortable for him. Then, she worried that Joan would seem a little too comfortable around Auggie, causing more questions from the rest of the family.

After the turkey was carved and served, the bowls of traditional Thanksgiving dishes were passed around the table. When the first dish made its way to Joan, she took a spoonful of sweet potatoes, turned to Auggie and asked quietly, but loud enough so some of the family could hear, "Auggie, what do I do now?"

Auggie turned toward her, smiled, held out his hands and said, "Just tell me what you have, I'll take it and pass it to Annie, who'll help me if I need it."

The mealtime conversation was lively and pleasant, the way a family holiday dinner should be. Joan leaned over to Auggie to whisper, "This is just a little more Norman Rockwell than I expected your family to be."

Auggie laughed. "Just wait. It gets worse after dinner."

When the dinner plates were cleared and dessert served, Mandy piped up and asked, "Do we get to trim the tree now, Grandma?"

Auggie turned to Joan to say, "What did I tell you?" It was Joan's turn to chuckle.

Then Freddy asked, "Uncle Auggie? Are you going to play Christmas music for us again this this year?"

"Sure, if you want me to. Do you have a favorite Christmas song?" Auggie asked playfully.

"Yeah. Do you still know 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer'?"

Auggie laughed heartily. "You remember how we both got in trouble last year over that song. I don't think I'll be doing that again," Auggie said remembering how he and Freddy both were dressed down by his mother last year because of their taste in Christmas music.

While the family gathered in the living room to begin setting up and decorating the tree, Sandy and Elizabeth cleared the dishes from the dining room and stored the left overs. Fred and his four older sons went downstairs to bring up the tree and boxes of decorations. Auggie walked across the foyer to the doorway of the large living room. When his fingers lightly caught the decorative woodwork that surrounded the opening, he stopped to listen. Sensing Annie's presence behind him, he whispered, "Annie?"

"What?" she asked.

"Too many people in there. I can't tell where they all are, and I don't want to walk into someone on my way to the piano," Auggie explained in a whisper. "I left my cane in the family room." Annie and Joan glanced at each other with knowing looks. There was the chink in his armor. He was uncomfortable in his own home when it was full of people, even if they were family.

"Do you want to mingle a little," Annie whispered, "or go straight to the piano?"

"Piano. I've run out of small talk with the sisters-in-law," he chuckled softly. Annie reached for his hand, squeezed it and then on her tip toes gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Auggie moved his hand to her elbow and they walked around the guests to the piano. He sat at the bench and ran his fingers silently across the keyboard.

Freddy and Mandy ran to their uncle when they noticed him at the piano. Mandy climbed up on the bench, leaned against him and asked him to play Silent Night. "Remember, Mandy, we wait to play that until the tree is decorated and the angel is on top."

"Oh, that's right," she said. "I just like the song. It's my favorite."

Auggie played a few soft chords and began his mini concert with "A Christmas Song." T.R.'s wife, Holly, wandered over to the piano and began to sing. Her daughter, Leigh Ann, ran to her mother with her arms up, and Holly reached over to pick her up without missing a note. The others joined in as the other men assembled the tree and the wives began taking the ornaments out of the tissue paper. Annie and Joan were standing on the back side of the piano and Annie remarked, "Who knew that August Anderson Super Soldier grew up in an NBC Christmas Special?"

When the tree decorating was almost complete, Amanda brought out a decorative box and announced it was time to hang the favorite ornaments. As she pulled out the ornaments separately, she called out one of her son's or grandchildren's names and they would dutifully take the ornament and hang it in a prominent place on the tree. When she called out Auggie's name, she held up an elaborate rocking horse ornament. "Mom, please go ahead and hang it yourself," Auggie called across the room.

"You are not getting out of it this year, August Anderson. Get over here," she said with authority. Auggie sighed and threw up his hands, knowing he was defeated. He got up and with his hands ever-so-slightly extended in front of him walked toward the sound of his mother's voice. Amanda touched her son's right hand and placed the rocking horse in it. Auggie examined the ornament and smiled because he remembered how much he'd loved it when he was a child.

"Come on," Amanda said. Auggie took her arm and followed her to the tree, where Amanda showed him a branch to hang it. He turned and walked back to the piano to the sound of the family's delighted applause.

"Well, the tree is almost finished," Fred said. "I need some help putting the angel on top," he continued looking down at Mandy who was jumping up and down with excitement. He handed Mandy the porcelain and fabric angel reminding her to make sure she was facing toward the room when she slipped her on the tree top. He then picked up the six-year-old around her waist and lifted her to where she could reach the top of tree and slip the angel over the top. When she'd accomplished her task, the family applauded again.

Mandy's father wove the cord through the tree and plugged her in. Fred stepped back from the tree, admiring the family's handiwork. "Are we ready to turn off the room lights and get a good look at her?" he asked. Amanda flipped off the light switch and everyone in the room exclaimed the obligatory "Oohh."

Auggie played "Silent Night" and everyone joined in the carol. Even Joan and Annie sang, and Annie was surprised at what a lovely voice Joan had.

When Amanda turned the room lights on, Joan looked at her watch and remarked to Annie that she'd better call a cab to go back to the airport. Auggie said, "I hate to speak for Annie, but I bet she'd be happy to drive you. I can suggest some killer shortcuts, and we'd be a heck of a lot cheaper than a cab."

Annie joined in saying, "Of course, I'd love to take you to the airport, especially if Auggie's riding shotgun."

Joan retrieved her coat from the closet while Auggie and Annie went upstairs to get their coats. Once inside the bedroom, Annie giggled, "What a stroke of genius for us to get some really private time with Joan."

"Why thank you, Officer Walker," Auggie said with a lopsided smile. Annie stepped in front of Auggie and put both of her hands on his chest. He gently caressed her back as she laid her head on his chest.

"You know I tease you," she said softly, "but don't ever forget that as much as I love you, I respect your genius for doing what we do."

Auggie took a deep breath and hugged her tightly. "I think I knew that, but thank you for reminding me."

Annie picked up her handbag and pulled the long strap across her body. As they walked down the hall to the staircase, she dug in the bag for the rental's keys. Joan was waiting at the bottom of the staircase with her coat on and carrying the tote bag she had brought in earlier. Annie smiled at Joan and asked, "Ready?"

Auggie opened the door for Joan and Annie. There was a last minute flurry of goodbyes before they stepped onto the porch. Auggie chose not to open his cane and to take Annie's arm for the walk to their car. When they reached the passenger side, Annie placed Auggie's hand on the door handle to the front seat, but instead of opening it and getting in, he opened the back door for Joan and offered her a steadying hand as she climbed into the SUV wearing her stiletto pumps. Annie started the car and began backing out of the driveway.

Joan broke the easy silence by suggesting, "Annie, drive a few blocks and park for a few minutes. We need to double check something."

"Did you forget something?" Annie asked while looking into the rear view mirror.

"No … just being cautious."

Annie realized what her boss was saying. When she stopped the car a few blocks away from the house, Joan pulled a small wand-like device from her bag. Auggie turned in his seat and held his hand out over the back of his seat, and Joan placed the device in his hand. "This should take only a few minutes," Auggie said as he slipped out of the SUV.

He switched on the device and swept the SUV with it, listening carefully for any indication that someone had slipped into the driveway and planted a listening or tracking bug on the vehicle. Annie turned in her seat to face Joan, "I could have done that."

"Yes, and so could I, but Auggie doesn't have that many opportunities anymore to be the officer he wants to be. Let him take care of us the way he's been trained," Joan whispered.

Annie realized how deeply Joan not only cared for Auggie but respected him as an officer and a man. Auggie climbed back in the SUV reporting that the car appeared to be clean, but to be sure he passed it over the top of the dash and under it.

As Annie pulled out of the neighborhood on to the main thoroughfare, Auggie asked Joan about the background for their trip down to St. Louis. "OK, Boss, what's the real story here," Auggie asked.

Joan pulled two files out of her Coach tote bag, one considerably thicker than the other. The thick file was the Braille one for Auggie. The thinner file that Auggie placed in the space between his seat and the console was Annie's that contained the same information as well as photos of the people they would be tracking. As Joan began to explain the situation, Auggie started reading his file.

Joan reviewed the case for her ace duo. CIA officer Craig Johnson had been working for a St. Louis based technology development think tank as part of his NOC. The Agency had contracted with the think tank to develop light weight night vision glasses with undetectable audio and video equipment embedded into the frames. Johnson had shared some concerns with the Agency about how day-to-day operations of the project were proceeding. Both Johnson and his handlers and bosses were afraid of his cover being blown if he questioned too much.

The Agency sent in a second officer with a technical research background, Chang Lee. He had applied for a job posted on the internet for a research scientist. Since he really was an honors graduate with a Master's degree from Johns Hopkins, he got the job on his own merit. When he went in, his job was to work on the project and nose around to see if something was off.

"Why are Auggie and I being sent to St. Louis? It seems like you've got it covered," Annie observed.

"Covered, yes. But as we know, not everything is what it seems to be. We have reasons to believe that Lee is slipping bits of information about the project to the Chinese. He's the one we want you to plant the listening and tracking devices on. We don't want to involve a member of the existing team in the surveillance," Joan explained.

Auggie fiddled with his folded cane and gently slapped it into his left hand while he was listening to Joan and thinking about the assignment. "So, Joan, what do we do with the intelligence we gather?" he asked.

"We'll be wired into you, so unless we have a technical problem, we will figure that out as we go along. The important thing right now is to pin point who is leaking information on our project. This is important and will be an immense help to the military," Joan said. "We cannot afford to have any more information compromised."

"Understood," Annie said. "We'll find out what's going on."

"Is there any particular place you want us to stay?" Auggie asked.

"No. You'll want to find someplace close to our suspect with good reception," Joan said with a smile knowing Auggie was trying to figure out how to justify staying at the Ritz Carlton.

Annie pulled up to the curb at the airport and stopped. While Joan gathered her belongings, Auggie got out of the vehicle and opened the back door for Joan and offered his hand to help her step out. She grasped his hand to steady herself as she stepped down. Auggie smiled at her, and Joan whispered a "Thank you," as she smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Have a safe flight, Joan," Auggie said.

Annie yelled out the open car door, "Bye, Joan. We'll stay in touch." Joan waved to Annie as she started walking toward the terminal entrance.

Auggie climbed back into the Escalade and buckled his seat belt. "Well, for all the Anderson holiday traditions, we sort of had a non-traditional Thanksgiving this year, didn't we?"

Annie laughed as she watched traffic waiting for an opening to pull out. "I suppose this is what our holidays will be like as long as we work at the agency. There aren't any real holidays, even for the bosses like Joan and Arthur."

Auggie nodded his agreement.

When they pulled into the driveway at home, only Aaron and Cynthia's car remained. Annie commented that it looked like Cynthia was staying to help clean up. Auggie said, "Well, we'd better get in there and lend a hand."

Annie cleared her throat sarcastically.

"What?" Auggie countered. "I can help."

"Yeah, by sneaking a beer out of the fridge and sneaking off for the late news in the family room with your dad," Annie reminded him with a punch to his left arm as they sauntered up the main walk to the front door. They crossed the porch and Auggie reached to the door knob to open the door. Annie placed her hand over Auggie's to stop him. She reached up and kissed him … first on the cheek and then more passionately on the lips. "Thank you for a wonderful Thanksgiving."

"Thank you for coming with me," Auggie said caressing her in a gentle, but firm hug.

Auggie reached for the doorknob again and opened the door. They both paused and took deep breaths before entering the foyer and the Glencoe compartment of their lives. Coming around the corner into the breakfast room, kitchen area, Auggie said, "Hi … is there anything we can do to help?"

Amanda turned from slipping a large meat platter on a shelf in the cabinet. "August Anderson … your timing is still impeccable. We have about five minutes worth of work left in here. Your dad and Aaron are in the family room. Why don't you and Annie go enjoy a nightcap?"

"What about the boxes we brought up with the tree decorations?" Auggie asked.

"You brothers took those down to the storage area. We're good, so go relax," Amanda commanded.

Walking into the family room, Annie whispered, "You knew that's what would happen, didn't you?"

Auggie didn't respond verbally. He merely raised his eyebrows and smiled.

The three couples sipped their nightcaps and chatted about their successful dinner and tree decorating party. Auggie asked his dad what they needed to do on Friday for the outside decorations. "Not a whole lot, other than pulling out the boxes of lights in the morning and testing to be sure they're working," Fred said. "I got smart and hired a crew to put up the lights for us."

"So you're telling us, we pretty much have a free day tomorrow," Auggie said with a smile.

"I'll need some help pulling the tubs of lights off the top storage shelves, but that should be it. Did you have special plans?" Fred asked.

"No big plans. But we'd like to take a good, long run tomorrow, if it's not too cold. The rest of the time, we were planning to hang with you and Mom. I think Annie's looking forward to helping Mom with the house decorations," Auggie explained.

Cynthia and Aaron said their "good nights" and took off, saying they were going to get some rest so they would have the energy to get their Christmas shopping finished on Friday and Saturday.

Annie gathered the glasses in the family room and rinsed them at the kitchen sink. Amanda checked the doors and started turning off lights. Auggie had started down the hall to the staircase and Fred hurried to catch up with his son. He put his arm around Auggie and said, "Thanks, Son, for making an effort to come home this weekend. I'm always glad to have you here, but your mom is unbelievably happy to have you here with your brothers."

Auggie nodded. Then Fred lowered his voice to a whisper, "And your Annie is an amazing young woman. We love having her here with you, too."

Back in their bedroom, faces washed and into comfortable sleep clothes, Annie and Auggie literally fell into bed and into each other's arms to talk about the events of the day. Annie snuggled into his arms and took a deep breath.

"What was behind that?" Auggie asked as he rubbed her back.

"I was just thinking about how I'd like to be a little mad at you for never telling me you played the piano, but I can't. Your playing the piano made the tree trimming part of the evening so much fun," she said.

Auggie pulled her in close to him. "You thought that was fun," he said before giving her a long passionate kiss. "Let's have some real fun."

Well, Joan has given Annie and Auggie their marching orders; but they do have a few more days to spend in Glencoe until they leave for St. Louis. Glencoe is probably going to have some surprises for them before they head out to do some work. Later ...