Annie POV
I gasped, making myself stumble slightly. The pain was excruciating, cutting into my core and slicing me to bits.
"Annie!"
His voice called through the haze and made me look up, I was so close, two feet away. I sprinted towards them, letting out a cry of both rage and complete agony as I grabbed the outstretched hand and pulled myself up, the once simple task now making me tremble and twitch in pain.
I landed on the cold helicopter floor, my heart pounding so hard that I could hear the echo of it in my ears.
"Stay with me, Walker, don't you dare fall asleep on me," Jai growled in my ear.
I nodded, struggling to breath. Suddenly, everything was slowing down, I tasted blood in the back of my throat and turned my face to cough it up, the red flecks dotting the otherwise almost pristine floor.
"God Annie, why did you have to," I turned again, that was Auggie, even now, when the world was growing fuzzy and fading in and out, he was still vibrant.
He felt around and took my hand in his, climbing over the medical kits Jai had set up and coming to rest beside me.
"Auggie," I whispered, my voice raspy.
"You can't do this, Annie, don't do this to me," he begged, and for once, he sounded genuinely scared, not only for my life . . . I looked into his eyes . . . but for his as well.
And then I knew. Just like that. If I died, then he wouldn't be alive much longer. I had to hold on for both of us.
I felt hands on me and looked down to see Jai stripping me of my shirt and putting pressure on my wounds. Pain clouded my features again and I saw red, there was a good chunk missing from my stomach.
I whimpered and tried not to choke.
Everything was dimming now, voices flashed through, but otherwise, all was silent.
"Annie! What the hell is happened?"
Joan? Was that Joan?
"No, Walker, come on stay with me! Damn it, can't you fly any fucking faster?"
Jai. God, everyone thought he was such an ass hole, and he could be, but right now, with me, he seemed like a big brother.
"Annie, don't do this to me, come on, fight it, Annie!"
Auggie. I wish I had more time to tell you what I had been thinking four months ago. Four long months ago . . . I should've said something . . . I should've stopped you from leaving . . . I should've . . .
Auggie POV
I pushed Jai's hands aside and began to administer CPR, my hands pounding her chest, my breathing ragged and wild.
"No, no, Annie," I whispered over and over again, I felt as if a piece of me was being ripped away, as her breathing got shallower and shallower.
Annie, don't you dare leave me, there's so much I need to tell you! You can't leave.
"Annie!" I cried out, in agony.
What am I going to tell Joan when we get back? What am I going to do every freaking Friday night?
I kept pumping her, my hand sliding up her neck to brush along her lips. I pressed my lips against hers, blowing in a lung full of air, desperate.
Who's going to walk me to my office, surrounding me in that sweet grapefruit bliss? Who's going to give me my caffeine fix every day? Who's going to tell me the office gossip? Who's going to make my heart flutter and make me feel the way you do?
1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . I counted in my head and my hands crashed down on her chest and my lips blew in another lungful of air.
"Auggie," Jai said quietly, but I ignored him, feeling wetness on my cheeks. I hadn't realized that I was crying.
"Pull through, Annie, I know you're strong enough," I growled, giving her another breath of air.
"Auggie," Jai said, a little bit louder now.
His words had no effect on me.
Who's coming to Allen's with me? Who's going to be the one I trust? Who's going to be my best friend?
I heard the blades slow and felt us descending.
I checked for a pulse, and found none.
"Damn it Annie, I need you!" I cried, furious at myself for not being able to keep her safe and furious that I couldn't see her.
"Don't leave me, Annie. Stay with me! Damn it, I need you!"
I felt hands pulling me away and medical personnel shouting all around me. I lay on my back, tears streaming down my cheeks in miniature rivers as I cried. My hands shot out frantically in search of her, but all I found was the cold metal of the helicopter.
"Auggie, let's go," Jai's voice again, his hand pulling me.
I didn't say a word; I couldn't. I let him lead me out of the helicopter and by the sound of the whooshing doors; I guessed that we were in a hospital.
"Annie," I whispered her name over and over again, like a mantra under my breath.
I collapsed on the bed that Jai lead me to, my mind playing over what I imagined she looked like. Long blond hair, bright, shimmering brown eyes, and a smile sweeter and brighter than the sun.
I suddenly began to shake violently, the cold of the night cutting into me as I was being pushed away, probably to some stupid examining room.
"Wait!" I called out to no one in particular, and to my surprise, the movement stopped.
"Where's Annie?"
"Sir, Ms. Walker was just brought into surgery. We need to take you to -
"No, take me to her, please."
"We can't, no one is allowed into surgery except for the doctors and the nurses. Please sit back sit, we have to get you examined."
"Will you tell me her condition later?" I asked, my voice sounded hollow.
The only answer I got was the sound and motion of being pushed into a hospital room.
Jai POV
I stared blankly down at the neatly tiled floor, studying the various shades of grey speckled within the almost flawless marble white. I counted the grey streaks, once, twice, again. I had to keep my mind off of what happened; how else would I be able to answer Joan's conference call?
Unfortunately, my vision danced with shades of red every now and then, and the harsh sound of helicopter blades and engine roaring to life made me forget that I was in the safety of a hospital. The screams, the blood . . . her blood . . . covering my hands.
I looked down at my hands and wasn't surprised to find that the blood was still caked on them, peeling in spots but otherwise staying firmly attached to my skin.
Suddenly, the phone that was on the seat next to me rang, I pegged it with a hard look, and then decided to answer it; had to face the music sometime.
"Hello."
My voice was flat, and it took almost all of my will power not to let on how much I was cracking.
"You were the senior operative on this. You were responsible for bringing yourself, Annie, and everyone else back to DC and Langley without a hiccup. That's all I asked you to do, Jai Wilcox, that's all Arthur asked you to do. So what the hell happened?"
Joan's voice was cool, but her words cut me down to the core; I felt my jaw clench in regret. She was right, for once in her damned career she was fucking right. That was all I had to do and I couldn't do it, the odds weren't in our favor sure, but then again when were they ever?
I opened my mouth to make a snarky comment, but closed it again, rethinking my statement.
"You're right."
Was all I could come up with, because the cold hard truth was that Joan is right and there was no way for me to squeeze myself out of it, nor did I want to. I wanted to feel the pain, the regret, the remorse, the guilt, because all of that combined wouldn't make up for how much pain Annie went through and was still going through.
"Damn right I am."
She didn't hesitate to respond and I heard her pass the phone off to someone, probably Arthur and took a deep breath, Joan was bad, but Arthur would relentlessly bash me in every way that was deemed politically correct; I had threatened to go for his wife's job, after all. I deserved it.
"Jai I'm going to ask you the same question Joan asked you. What the hell happened?"
I rubbed my hand across my face, scrubbing it of exhaustion.
"We were fine, we had gotten all of the members of the Peace Corp onto the helicopter and Annie had volunteered to cover the rear while I got everyone organized. It seemed simple enough, but . . . God damn it she was so close!" My voice broke, the fury pouring out of me, "She was so damn close to me that I saw as that god damn piece of metal entered her body, I saw the look on her face, shock, pain, and above all, doubt; she doubted she would ever make it . . .
My voice trailed off and I felt a few hot tears spill down my cheeks, creating clear tracks on my otherwise grimy face.
"She doubted that she would break our promise, that we would finish this together. She promised," my voice sounded strange, foreign even to my ears. It didn't sound like a cocky, arrogant bastard, nor did it sound like the "Prince of Langley" as I was so affectionately known, it sounded like the voice of a little boy that just god his hopes dashed and stomped on.
There was a pause, and I recollected myself, wiping the tears away.
"Jai," Joan again, "I'm sorry."
Three little words, but coming from her, it meant that maybe, just maybe, we could possibly get along.
"My fault, you're right that was all I had to do and I couldn't do it. There was a sniper in the distance, and he fired, I'm pretty sure one of the pilots caught him in the chest, so he paid his dues."
"Has there been any word on her condition?"
"No, they just brought Auggie in a while ago, I think he's coming back Joan."
Light pause, "That's good to hear. Jai," I heard her sigh, "despite the minimal damage, I don't doubt that you tried to do your best work and gave it your all and for that I thank you. Annie's a tough operative, she'll pull through."
"Thank you, Joan."
"Call me when you get to the airport, flight's in a few days from now I've scheduled a car to pick you both up, all you have to do is say when," Arthur's voice, hard, still cold.
I nodded, "Thank you."
The line went dead.
I was left alone to think . . . sometimes the most dangerous place for a man is his mind . . .