OK, this little chapter is going to involve a lot of Annie and Jai time because 1. She doesn't really want to be near Auggie right now 2. He's busy with his own duties at the Peace Corps and with Parker and 3. Annie and Jai need to go over some things concerning the mission ahead.

Annie POV

The desert air whipped mercilessly at my bare skin, making me grind my teeth as we approached the tent. The air was so dry that it made it almost completely impossible to breath; yet when I had taken a look around, everyone had seemed very comfortable and accustomed to the air.

"Why the hell are you limping?"

I walked into the tent and turned ever so slightly to answer the pissed off Indian.

"I sprained my ankle."

"Then why the hell are you even here? You're a liability, Annie. Joan shouldn't have brought you on this."

I sighed, sitting down in one of the chairs set up, glaring at him with my arms crossed over my chest.

"I'm fine, Jai. I requested it and Joan obviously trusts that I can do my job," I barked out.

"Oh, so she knows that you sprained your ankle and possibly tore your shoulder?"

I cursed his observation skills.

He sighed and when I didn't immediately answer, he threw down his bag and took out the first aid kit, clicking it open, he took out the gauze and medical tape.

"Roll up your pants, I don't want you aggravating it even more," he commanded, in alpha male mode.

I was about to protest but the look he gave me made me keep my mouth shut and do as he said.

He bent down at my feet, assessing the injured area, his fingers surprisingly light and gentle as they probed the slightly swollen and bruised part of my ankle. After a few minutes, he took my foot in the palm of his hand and bent it so that it was completely straight.

"Don't move," he instructed as he began to slowly roll the gauze around from my foot up to my ankle, binding it tight and sealing it off with medical tape.

"Annie, Annie, what am I going to do with you?" He mumbled under his breath as he got back to his feet.

"How does that feel?"

I tried to turn it a little and winced, "Stiff."

He smiled, "Good."

I answered him with a glare and took out the file from my bag, the CIA insignia immediately smiling up at me.

He pulled over a chair and sat in front of me, picking up his own discarded file.

Summary: Two agents (Walker, Wilcox) will be sent to Eritrea in search of intel on a missing asset. They will be going in as translators to help with the translations that will be needed in the Peace Corps. Once this intel is gained, Wilcox is to call in using the satellite phone provided and a hangar will be dispatched in around thirty minutes. Then, follow your intel to your asset (Hamit Abdul). Expected periodical check ins are three times a day.

Time: You will have about three months to complete the mission; preferred time for completion would be a month and a half.

Distress Signal: Call three times and each time hang up on the second ring.

"Well this doesn't look too bad," Jai mumbled, interrupting me from my thoughts.

I scoffed, "Yeah, well get on to the third page, half of it is black out."

He nodded, "It's need to know, and apparently we don't."

I began to skim through the third page, trying to fill in the blanks when his voice interrupted my thoughts once again.

"Annie, you have to let Auggie know that you're here soon. He'll find out anyways."

I nodded, swallowing against the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat.

"I will, but right now he doesn't have to know. He isn't exactly going to be helpful towards any of this, right?"

He hesitated before answering, closing up the folder and setting it aside, he looked he looked me in the eye.

"Annie, as much as I hate to say this, what you and Auggie have is special. You don't make many friends like him in our line of work, hell, in any line of work and it's best for you and for him if you hold on to it. Now if you don't want it, and you choose to throw it away, well that's your choice. But you should know that you're throwing away something that only comes once in a life time."

He gave me one last meaningful look before getting up and looking towards the entrance.

"I'm going to introduce myself to everyone as the translator, you try and keep your weight off of that for as long as possible," he paused, "and think about what I said."

He walked out of the tent, closing the flap behind him and leaving me to go through what he said again.

Get the hell off your ass and go talk to him, Walker!

If only it were that easy. Suddenly, I felt the full force of exhaustion from the last four months hit me like a tidal wave, and all I wanted to do was sleep.

"When was the last time you slept?"

I tried to answer Joan's question in my head as I crawled into one of the bunk beds, but still drew a blank.

I let the dark, sweet, waters of unconsciousness pull me under and succumbed, letting the water fill me up until I was in a deep sleep.

Jai POV

I ducked underneath the entrance of the largest tent, pleased to find that everyone seemed to be in there having lunch.

"Hi, I don't believe we've officially met."

I turned to see a girl with bright brown eyes, her hand wrapped around Auggie's bicep.

So, I thought, this is why you left Langley.

"Jai Wilcox, I was assigned to be one of your translators," I stuck my hand out and she shook it delicately.

"Hi, I'm Parker. Auggie didn't tell me that you guys knew each other," she said, turning towards him.

"Oh yeah, I know him, we go way back," Auggie laughed, an easy grin on his face.

I nodded, "We butted heads a few months ago when Auggie and I both worked together."

"Oh, who was that girl with you just now?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Auggie's eyes light up with surprise and he tilted his head a little more, trying to listen to what was undoubtedly going through my mind.

"Oh, she's a rookie, I'm showing her the ropes, you know. Testing out her language skills to see if she's qualified," I smiled, "Now, how do things work around here?"

"Well, since you're a translator you and your friend can start working on the letters we've gotten from the local villagers asking for help and medical supplies. Since there's so many people that need help, our translators can't seem to finish reading them all so you guys will be doing us a major favor," Parker smiled at me again.

I nodded, "It's my pleasure, and do you guys have a schedule that I should be aware of?"

She shrugged, "Not really, just go into the tent with the red cross flag on it and your work should be waiting for you, thanks again!"
I nodded, and quickly rushed off, but before I could get out of the tent, I felt a strong hand grasp my wrist, pulling me back.

I didn't have to turn around to know that it was Auggie. Did the guy use sonar?

"Parker, give me a minute. I wanna catch up with him, alright?"

She nodded and quickly went off to talk with the people sitting at the table.

"Who did you bring with you, Jai?"

I shrugged, putting on my cool demeanor, "You're not read in, Auggie."

"The hell I'm not. Is it Annie?"

His voice sounded almost frantic when he said her name, he sounded as if he were pleading and begging me.

"It's need to know."

I yanked myself away from him and walked out of the tent, my brow furrowed. This was going to get messy even quicker than I had expected.

Annie POV

I felt someone's hand on my shoulder, insistently calling my name and putting the slightest pressure on me.

"Annie, come on, get up,"

I cracked my eyes open and met brown ones and a mouth curved into a smirk.

"You almost slept through the whole day, it's almost sun down. Aren't you at all interested in what I found out?"

I nodded, propping myself up on my elbows and wincing at the dryness in my throat and the soreness in all my limbs.

"Well, Abdul was one of the translators here apparently and when their camp moved a few weeks ago, he got lost in the shuffle which is pretty weird considering that they had a documented file on him and didn't send out a search team."

I shook my head, "What do you mean 'had?'"

"I'm trying to figure that part out. I could really use some help, you know," he prompted.

I nodded again and swung my feet over the edge of the bed and into the boots, lacing them up.

"Water?"

He handed me a bottle and I swallowed about half of it in one gulp.

I got to my feet and quickly walked out of the tent, shivering slightly in the quickly approaching night air. I stopped for a second to watch the sunk sink underneath the horizon, watching as it painted to sand red-orange.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Parker said, coming up behind me.

I nodded, "Yeah, it really is. It's so peaceful too; I just wish everything here would be like this sunset."

She nodded back, "I wish it would too. I don't believe I caught your name before."

I smiled, "I'm Annie, one of the new translators, I came with Jai."

"Oh yeah! I didn't see much of you today; you're the rookie, right?"

I laughed; of course Jai would make himself seem so much more important than everyone else.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Which tent am I suppose to be working in?"

She gestured towards the tent with the red cross flag, "That one, you'll be helping Jai with the medical supplies that will be needed by the villagers."

"Alright, it was nice meeting you!" I called over my shoulder as I turned away and walked into the tent.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I saw someone coming up behind me.

I turned instinctively and almost ran into one of the other translators; or so I thought.

"Oh, sorry," I breathed, about to step out of his way when he caught my wrist.

"Annie?"