Chapter 24: Coming Home

A/N: Love those reviews! Keep them coming!

Home. She was home. It felt so strange to be walking into this house after... after everything. Her body still ached slightly but her voice had returned to normal. She had been prescribed medication for the pain as well as something to help her sleep. She'd been having nightmares since waking up in the hospital three days ago, causing her to lose quite a lot of sleep.

Auggie had refused to leave her bedside, even for a few hours of sleep for himself. Joan had graciously brought him fresh clothes and other toiletries. Every time she had awoken screaming, he had been there. He had cupped her face, held her forehead against his own and soothingly spoke to her until she calmed down. She had cried in his arms over and over again.

Time and again, her body had shied away from his touch and he never pressed the issue. She had, however. She forced herself to reach out to him, to feel him. His care, his worry, his love. She knew if she was ever going to recover from this that Auggie had to be a part of that. Auggie was the only reason she was even remotely sane right now.

"Are you hungry? I can order something..." he asked as he came in behind her and closed the door.

"No..."

"Annie, you've barely been eating. You've got two little ones to feed, remember?" He tried to remind her of the good things, like their babies, on a regular basis. The doctor had told him this might help her recover more quickly.

She looked down at her belly. No one but she would notice, but there was the slightest of baby bumps there now. Her hand traveled up and touched the bump. "Alright. Just get whatever and I'll eat it. I promise."

Auggie made quick work of ordering from her favorite Thai place before she changed her mind. While he ordered, she came to the couch and sat down. She knew he was trying and she applauded his effort. He was taking care of her the best way he knew how, which was a good thing because right now she couldn't take care of herself.

The past few days had been a haze of nightmares, Dr. Austin, Auggie, Joan, and a counselor that Annie knew was for special cases like hers. Rape cases. The counselor hadn't stayed long, only enough to give Annie her name, Dr. Russell, and told her that she could contact her anytime day or night. She was here to help, she'd said. Apparently, this doctor had been raped herself which was why she had become a rape counselor.

It's not that Annie didn't want the help, she knew she probably needed it, especially for the sake of the babies, she just wasn't ready to truly face what had happened. The memories were still so fresh in her mind that every time one of them surfaced out of nowhere she felt herself begin to break down. She felt like if she talked about it that she would literally fall to pieces.

Auggie came and sat next to her, making sure to leave just an inch or two from her body to keep her from flinching. Every time she flinched when he touched her it broke his heart a little more. She had incited contact with him but he could sense her difficulty in doing so. He didn't want to press her before she was ready. He felt her body clench up slightly, however, even though he hadn't touched her. His fists clenched involuntarily in his lap. Belenko was going to die for this.

Slowly, Annie reached out and grasped one of his hands that was clenching over and over. "Auggie... I'm sorry..."

Auggie turned to her with a look of utter shock on his face. "Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

Tears slid down her face. "For... for not listening to you and Joan... for getting myself captured... for not trying to fight them off... for... for you not being able to touch me without my body betraying me. For everything."

Auggie reached up with both of his hands and grasped her face. Surprisingly, she did not shy away. Progress, perhaps? "You have nothing to apologize for. If you had tried to fight them god knows what could have happened to you, or the babies. You did the right thing. And since when do you ever listen to me or Joan? You wouldn't be you if you did. And as for touching you... Annie, I will be here when you're ready for me. As much as I would like to pull you into my arms right now and try to make this better, I know that's not the right thing to do. So, I'll wait until it is. I'm never leaving you, Walker. Never."

"Oh, Auggie. I love you, so much." She touched his shoulder with her hand. Just then, a knock came at the door. "Food's here..." Her hand came away from his shoulder.

Auggie nodded and went to answer the door. He paid for the food and brought it back to her. They ate in silence, he didn't want to discourage her from eating with conversation. She really hadn't been eating well.

After they had finished and cleaned up, Annie said, "I'm going to take a bath. I haven't cleaned up properly since..."

Auggie just nodded. After he heard the water turn on, he headed to the bedroom and grabbed his pillow and a blanket from the bed. He undressed down to his boxers and sat on the rocker next to the bed. Placing the pillow behind his head and the blanket over his legs, he closed his eyes and listened for her to come to bed.

Annie climbed out of the tub, her body completely lobster red from the heat of the water and the thorough scrubbing she had inflicted on her body. A few places on her body had been scrubbed so raw that a few droplets of blood had came to the surface. Her eyes were red from the tears she had shed while she had scrubbed with fury. Dirty, she was so dirty.

Wrapping a towel around her body and a wrap around her hair, she exited into the bedroom. She found Auggie sitting in the rocking chair with his pillow and a blanket, presumably prepared to sleep there. This she could not allow. She couldn't let Belenko win like this. He was succeeding in driving them apart. She needed him, whether her body wanted her to need him or not.

Silently, she put on a loose t'shirt and sweatpants as pajamas. She came around the bed to where he was sitting and stood in front of him, unsure if he was already sleeping. When he turned his head towards her and opened his eyes, she got her answer.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I... I thought you might need the space..."

She reached out one hand and pulled him from the rocker. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him tightly against her body. She literally started shaking like a leaf against him. "I don't need space, Auggie. I need you."

He placed his face against the top of her head and spoke softly, "Alright... if you're sure I should..."

"I'm not sure about anything anymore, Auggie. Except us. I'll be always be sure of us. Come to bed with me."

Annie climbed into bed and waited for him to join her. She sighed with relief when he did. She pulled his arms around her and held his hands. Closing her eyes and concentrating on her breathing, she slowly drifted off to sleep. For the first time in over three days, she slept, peacefully, with Auggie wrapped around her body.