Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites the previous chapter received. I'm sorry I haven't responded to any of them, I just haven't had the time; real life took a major left turn last week and derailed the plans for the previous weekend. My boyfriend ended up in the hospital with acute appendicitis and had to have surgery to remove his appendix. Our weekend trip was cancelled and I've spent most of the past week playing nurse. Thankfully he's well on his way to recovery now and I've finally had some time to sit down and write a new chapter.

PS! I thought it was pretty awesome that a fellow Norwegian won Chris Gorham's profile pic contest on Twitter last week. Fun that he chose a winner among his international fans. :o)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Annie, Auggie or Covert Affairs.

-Chapter 3-

The next few weeks flew by for Annie and Auggie; they both were swamped with assignments and although they weren't group or pair assignments they could often be found in one of the group rooms in the library, working together. Auggie had quickly realized that his analytic, systematic approach to things and Annie's more creative approach to things meant that they complimented each other well. He appreciated Annie's help when the study materials weren't available in Braille or electronically. She would either read them to him or type them and send them to him via email. To begin with he'd been slightly embarrassed and had felt like he was a hassle when he asked her to help him, but she insisted that she was more than happy to help. Two months into the semester Auggie realized that Annie had become a master of picking up when he needed a little assistance and providing it without making a big deal about it.

It was Friday afternoon and as he made his way out of the library building a familiar voice called out his name. Auggie stopped, pulled his cane upright and placed both of his hands atop the grip. It was his buddy Stu; he was a year younger than Auggie and had moved on to graduate school a year earlier; he was now on his second year of a Masters degree in electrical engineering.

"Hey Auggie! Wait up man."

"Stu! How's it hangin'? Long time no see, so to speak."

"I'm good. I've been pretty busy with schoolwork lately and I've been back home for three birthdays, a baptism and a wedding since school started, so I haven't been around much on the weekends."

Auggie nodded with understanding; Stu's family lived in California, so whenever he went home he tried to take Friday or Monday off school, so he could have at least one full day at home.

"But you're here this weekend?" Auggie queried. It was Friday afternoon, so he had a strong hunch Stu would be staying in Northbrook. Since Annie was going to DC for the weekend, to celebrate her sister's birthday he wouldn't be hanging out with her and figured he'd take the opportunity to catch up with Stu.

"I am. What about you? Going home to your folks?"

"There's a family barbeque tomorrow afternoon, it's my brother's birthday, but I don't have any plans tonight. Wanna go down to the tavern?"

"Sure. It would be nice to finally catch up with you."

"Meet you outside the front door at 7:30?" Auggie asked. "I'd be at a slight disadvantage if I have to find you inside."

"Oh, right. Yeah, that sounds good to me." Stu sounded a bit flustered, but Auggie decided to ignore it and just act normally.

"Awesome. See ya' later Stu."

"So, how are things going in Illinois?" Danielle asked as Annie settled down by the kitchen island with a mug of coffee. She was happy to be back in her sister's familiar kitchen and arriving back in DC had made her realize her how much she missed Danielle.

"Pretty good," Annie said sincerely. "I like it there."

"No regrets about choosing to transfer to North Shore?"

Annie sighed and had a sip of her coffee before she spoke. She decided to be honest with Danielle.

"Well, I miss you, Michael and the girls and my friends here, but school-wise I don't regret it. I like that it's a smaller college; we're fewer people at most lectures, so it's easier to get in touch with my professors."

"That's great. Have you made any friends yet?"

"A few. To my surprise my closest friend up there is a guy; sort of weird since I swore that I'm done with guys for a while."

"Really?" Danielle looked and sounded surprised. "Well, what's he like?"

"He's a couple of years older than me, and a computer science major. He's sort of a dork, but definitely not your stereotypical computer geek."

"Oh?"

"He's doesn't constantly talk about computer stuff, he's got a great sense of humor and he loves Mingus. He doesn't look like a computer geek either; he's about 6 feet tall, very fit, dark brown hair and eyes."

"Tall, dark and handsome?" Danielle teased. "I bet he doesn't mind being seen around campus with a pretty blonde."

"He has no idea what I look like."

"Huh?" Danielle instantly sounded puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"He's blind."

"He's blind?" Danielle asked with surprise lacing her voice.

"Yeah, he lost his sight in a car accident a few years ago. That's why he's a bit behind on his studies: took him a while to learn Braille and the other stuff he needed to master before he could return to school. We were partners for our first Creative Writing assignment and since then we've just spent a lot of time together. We study together a few times a week."

"Hmmm… I hope you don't have to spend a lot of time helping him. You should focus on your own studies you know."

"It's not like that Dani! Auggie can mostly manage on his own. I read stuff to him sometimes and he usually lets me lead when we walk together. That's about it. It's nicer for both of us when I lead him because he doesn't have to focus as much and we can actually have a conversation. We actually work very well together and for your information I've been getting good grades on all of my assignments so far. I can't believe you're this narrow minded Dani!"

"I'm not narrow minded, I just don't want you to waste your senior year on some charity case."

"Auggie's not a charity case. He's my friend; a good friend, and most of the time I don't even think about the fact that he's blind. Can we please talk about something else? Like how the girls are doing?"

At the mention of her daughters Danielle jumped into a monologue about dance recitals, soccer practices and all the other stuff Chloe and Katia loved to do.

"Who's the blonde girl I've seen you around campus with?" Stu asked Auggie. They were at a table at Allen's Tavern, sharing a pitcher of beer and a plate of nachos.

"I'm gonna assume you're talking about Annie, although I've got no idea what color her hair is. She's a transfer student from Georgetown. We're in the same Creative Writing class."

"She's really hot Aug, are you aware of that?"

Auggie grasped his beer mug and had a sip of beer.

"I have a feeling that might be the case. We've been out together a few times and I've noticed that she seems to be getting her fair share of male attention." Auggie paused for a second and had a long sip of his beer before she spoke again. "She's beautiful on the inside too. I really like her."

"Plan on making a move anytime soon?"

"No. She just got out of a rough relationship and I'm not really ready for a relationship either. We're just friends."

"I see. Anyway, apart from befriending the hot new girl, what have you been up to lately?"

"Not much besides trying to get into the swing of things really. I have to admit I've been struggling to keep up in all of my classes. Some of the professors forget that I need stuff in Braille or electronically, so I have to remind them and then I might get the stuff a day or three later than the rest of the class. It's a bit frustrating. Annie's been a big help though; when we study together she'll read things to me or type it and email it if I need it."

"That's really nice of her," Stu said sincerely.

"Yeah. At first I felt a bit bad and I wondered if she did it out of pity or something, but I've realized it's just Annie being Annie. It's the kind of person she is." Auggie had another sip of beer and Stu pressed a shot of Patron into his hand. He held it out in Stu's direction and he felt Stu clink his glass to his.

"Cheers Auggie. I'm glad to have you back."

"Thanks man. I'm happy to be back."

Stu patted Auggie's shoulder and gestured to the waitress that they needed another round of shots and a pitcher of beer.

Saturday morning his cellphone warbling on the nightstand woke Auggie. His head was pounding and he was feeling a bit nauseous; it was definitely a hangover. Not the worst he'd ever had, but bad enough that he'd probably end up spending a few more hours in bed. He decided to ignore the phone and try to go back to sleep. Whoever it was could wait. Unfortunately the ringing resumed almost as fast as it had finished. With a sigh he groped around on his nightstand until he located the phone and answered it.

"Yeah," he said groggily.

"Hey Aug! Are you ready to go?" It was his oldest brother David.

"Huh?"

"Sheesh, have you forgotten what day it is?"

"Obviously…feel free to remind me," he said as he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand.

"It's Eric's birthday. Big barbecue at Mom and Dad's."

Suddenly Auggie remembered; it was his brother Eric's 30th birthday and his parents were throwing a big barbecue.

"Shit! What time is it? I went to the Tavern with my buddy Stu last night. We had more than a few shots of Patron judging from the pounding in my head."

"It's 10:30 am. We agreed that we'd swing by and pick you up at 11."

Auggie felt like staying in bed for the foreseeable future, but he realized that wasn't an option.

"You'll be here in about half an hour?"

"That was the plan, yes. We're ready to leave the house now."

"Okay Dave. I'll try to be ready. I'll jump in the shower and throw some stuff together. If I'm not waiting on the sidewalk when you pull up call me, okay?"

"Sounds good. See you in about half an hour."

"Yep. Drive safe," Auggie said and ended the call. With a sigh he headed into the bathroom. Part of him was looking forward to spending some time with his family; he hadn't been at home much since school started, but in his current state a house filled with people didn't sound very tempting.

Just as Auggie finished packing a change of clothes, his toiletries and sleepwear into a backpack when his cellphone rang again. This time he answered it quickly; as he'd assumed it was Dave.

"Hello."

"Hey, are you ready? We just pulled up in front of your building. I'm parked at your two o'clock when you exit the front door."

"I'm ready. I'll be right down." Auggie ended the call and shoved his phone into his jeans pocket before he shrugged into his leather jacket, slung the backpack over his shoulder and grabbed his cane and keys. Five minutes later he was sitting in the back seat of Dave's car.

"Are you okay Aug?" Dave's wife Nicole asked as he buckled in. "You don't look too well."

"It's just a hangover. I downed a couple of Tylenol a while ago, so I'll be okay."

"Out partying last night? Hook up with any hot girls?" Nicole teased.

"I ran into my buddy Stu just as I was about to leave campus yesterday and we ended up at the Tavern. Stu started buying rounds of Patron and I guess I had a few to many."

"Not the greatest way to warm up for an Anderson barbeque slash birthday bash bro," Dave chimed in from the drivers seat.

"No shit Sherlock," Auggie sighed as he leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. "We had a great time and I just didn't think. Where's Audrey by the way?"

"Weekend training camp. Her and Thunderstorm have been doing great this year; we're hoping their success from the outdoor season continues when they move the competitions indoors," Dave answered with pride lacing his voice. His only daughter was 17 years old and a talented rider. She had recently gotten a new horse and together they'd been collecting ribbons and trophies all summer; Auggie's mother had told him about it on more than one occasion.

"Mom mentioned that. I'm sorry I haven't come to see her compete lately. I'll try to make it to one of her competitions soon."

"Her next competition is in a couple of weeks. If you don't have other plans you can tag along with us," Nicole offered.

"I'd like that," Auggie said with a genuine smile. His head was still pounding but he was looking forward to spending some time with his family.

Sunday morning Danielle drove Annie to Reagan National Airport.

"Will I see you for Thanksgiving?" Danielle asked as she pulled into one of the parking spaces in the drop off area.

"I don't know. It's only a few weeks away and finals are coming up."

"Annie, you can't sit alone in Illinois on Thanksgiving," Danielle pushed.

"I won't be alone Dani, I'm sure there are some other students that aren't going home."

"It's not the same as being with your family and Thanksgiving is a family holiday."

"I'll be here for Christmas Dani. that's all I'm going to promise. I'll see how things develop with schoolwork over the coming few weeks and I'll let you know."

"Okay okay, I'll back off, but please consider coming. We miss you."

"I miss you too. Well, I better get going," Annie said as she stepped out of the car. After grabbing her carry on out of the back seat of the car she hugged her sister tight. They said their goodbyes and Annie headed inside to check in.

Back in Illinois Auggie was woken by the scent of his mother's cinnamon rolls wafting through the house. With a smile on his face he got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Despite his hangover he'd thoroughly enjoyed the time he'd spent with his family the previous day. It had been a while since all of his brothers, their wives or girlfriends and kids had been gathered, as well as a few other family members. One of the things Auggie had enjoyed the most was being able to share what he'd been up to since he'd returned to school. It felt good to have done something besides sitting in his room, studying online, playing on his computer or listening to music or audiobooks. After a quick shower, shave and brushing his teeth Auggie headed downstairs; most of his brothers had left the previous evening and only Auggie and Eric were left.

Auggie was glad Eric was still there; they were the youngest of the Anderson boys and had been pretty close growing up. For the first few months after his accident Auggie had been angry and uncooperative and had done his best to push his family and friends away. He'd just wanted to be left alone, so he could wallow in self-pity. Eric was the one that had managed to get through to him and had made him realize that life in the dark was better than the alternative and he'd been there for him through his recovery and rehab. Auggie was pretty sure that he was the one that had pushed his parents to make him go back to school; his mother was way to protective of her children to be behind kicking her blind son of the house on her own initiative. He hadn't been able to spend much time with Eric since he went back to school, so he looked forward to spending some time with him.

I hope to be back on my planned Sunday or Monday schedule soon, but I don't think I'll make it with the next chapter. I've got too much on my plate this weekend and won't have much time to write. Maybe I'll get there by chapter 5, I'll do my best.

The mouse loves reviews, red wine and chocolate. I'll do my best to feed her the last two if you guys provide the first one. ;o)