First of all - thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites. Love 'em. :o)

So sorry for taking so long to publish this chapter. I've struggled with this chapter, this is the third version and I'm still not 100% satisfied with it. Real life have been crazy for the past couple of weeks - have you ever tried moving on a weeks notice? It's a somewhat crazy thing to do and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Now I'm finally somewhat settled into my boyfriend's apartment and I finally had some time to sit down and go over the chapter one last time and clean it up today.

Disclaimer: As always; don't own Annie or Auggie or the other characters I've borrowed from Covert Affairs, just my alternate universe.

-Chapter 5-

The Friday before Thanksgiving Annie was trying to focus on the Russian pages in front of her, but her brain felt like it was overloaded and she realized studying was fruitless at the time being. She was slightly overwhelmed with the amount of material she had to get trough to prepare for finals. Fortunately it was still over a week 'till her first exam and since she was staying in Illinois for Thanksgiving she had plenty of time to prepare. Danielle had been less than pleased when Annie called her and told her she wasn't coming to DC for Thanksgiving, but Annie had firmly stood her ground and told her sister she'd see her at Christmas. Thankfully Danielle had realized that she'd lost the battle and hadn't given Annie too much a hard time. When they ended the call Annie was relieved that Danielle hadn't guilt tripped her as much as she'd expected her to. Just as she was about to head out to get something to eat her iPhone started buzzing in her pocket. It was Auggie.

"Hey Aug, what's up?"

"Hey. How do you feel about horses? Show jumping to be more specific."

"Huh?" Annie was confused by the unexpected question and her puzzlement was evident in her voice. "What are you talking about Auggie?"

"Kinda' threw ya' there, did I?" Augge chuckled.

"Umm…yeah. Haven't thought of you as a horse buff."

"My 17-year old niece is a good rider and she's competing this weekend. I haven't been to see her compete in a while and my brother called me last night and asked if I wanted to come this weekend. I'm not all that interested in the riding, but this is a pretty big event and it'll mean a lot to Audrey that I'm there. Since my brother and his wife usually disappear to help her I'm stuck alone on the stands, and I have to say it's not much fun for a blind guy to sit alone at riding competition. Figured both of us could use a break from our books too. I know my brain is about to go on strike."

"Sounds like fun. My sister is the horse buff of the family. Haven't been on a horse since high school though. If I'm not intruding on a family outing I'd love to come."

"You're not. Can you be at my place tomorrow morning at 9? Dave, my brother, said he'd pick us up."

"I can do that. See you tomorrow Auggie."

"Looking forward to it," Auggie said and hung up the phone.

The following morning Auggie was standing on the sidewalk, half leaning on his cane, when a hand on his arm startled him.

"Hi Auggie," Annie greeted him. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, hey Annie, didn't catch you coming there. I was too caught up in my thoughts. How's your studying going?"

"I'm making some progress, but I'm glad I'm taking today off from it. Appears there's a limit for how much information my brain can process in a short amount of time. I also need to clean up my notes, they're a mess."

"This is the first time since I lost my sight I'm dealing with a full semester's worth of finals at once and I have to admit I'm kind of overwhelmed right now. I used to be pretty visual and now I have to approach things in a completely different way."

"Really?" Annie sounded surprised. "I never would've guessed that. You've adapted well."

"Well, didn't have much of a choice I'm afraid," Auggie said with a shrug. Further conversation was cut off when a silver SUV pulled up to the curb. It was Dave and Nicole. Auggie quickly introduced Annie to them and they buckled into the back seat.

A few hours later the prize giving ceremony for Audrey's class was over and Annie and Auggie were waiting outside the ring with Dave and Nicole for her to come out. She'd won her class and had to do a double lap of honor before she could join her family.

"So, did you have fun?" Auggie asked Annie.

"Absolutely. It's been years since I've been to a horse show. It'd forgotten how much I enjoy them and Audrey winning added to the fun."

Auggie was relieved to hear that Annie seemed to have enjoyed herself; he'd been slightly concerned that she was just humoring him when she agreed to come but the sincerity of her voice proved differently.

"Glad to hear it. Thanks for coming with us, it was great having company on the stands." Annie's running commentary of what was going on in the ring had made it very enjoyable for Auggie.

"Uncle Auggie!" a familiar voice came from his right.

"Audrey! Great job today. You and Thunder seem to be unbeatable."

"Don't know about unbeatable, but he is the best horse I've ever had and we work really well together. Who's the pretty blonde?"

"Oh, Audrey this is my friend Annie. We study together. Annie, meet my niece Audrey."

Annie flashed a bright smile at the pretty young woman that looked like a younger female version of her uncle and extended her hand in her direction.

"Nice to meet you Audrey. You were great today."

"Thanks Annie. Nice to meet you too. You ride?"

"Years ago. My sister's the real horse buff of our family; she was the one that collected ribbons when we were kids. I just enjoyed being around the horses and treasured it every time I got the opportunity to ride."

"Really? Well, if you're interested I can arrange for horses and we can all go for a ride one day. It's been a while since Auggie and I have been on a ride together."

"Sounds great," Annie said sincerely, the she turned to Auggie. She didn't really think of Auggie as a guy that was into horses. "You ride too Augs?"

"I can manage. Mom grew up on a horse farm and whenever we were there as kids we'd spend most of our time in the stables. My uncle owns it now, he and his son runs it."

"He's one of the top breeders in the US," Audrey chimed in. "And Auggie can more than manage. He's a good rider, but from what I've heard he was more into computers as a kid, my dad was the rider of the family and Auggie was the family nerd."

"I was kind of a nerd," Auggie said self-consciously. "And I got really into wrestling and running in middle school and through high school, so riding was just something I did when we went to see Uncle Charlie."

"You have certain dork-like qualities, but I find it kind of endearing," Annie said with a laugh. "But to be serious I'd love to join you for a ride one day. It's been years since I was on a horse, so I'm kind of rusty."

"It's like riding a bike," Audrey said with a smile. "Although I can't guarantee you'll be able to walk normally the next day. I'd better go take care of my horse and get him ready to load him on the truck. I'll see you at Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving Uncle Auggie. Nice to meet you Annie."

They said their goodbyes and she followed Dave and Nicole to the car with Auggie on her arm.

It was dinnertime when Dave dropped them off outside Auggie's building. They bid him and Nicole goodbye and as he heard the car drive away he turned to face Annie.

"Wanna come to my place? I don't know about you, but I'm starving. We could call for some food and hang out."

"I get the feeling you like my company," Annie said in a tone Auggie wasn't sure was teasing or flirtatious. He wished she was flirting.

"I do. So what do you say?"

"Sure. I'm starving."

They made their way up to Auggie's apartment and after calling for Thai food they settled down on his couch.

"So, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Auggie asked. Annie had been going back and forth between going to see her family and staying in DC for weeks.

"I'm staying here. I need the time to study and plane tickets are so expensive around the holidays. I guess I'll hang out in my room and watch the Macy's parade on TV and fix myself something to eat."

"Or you can come with my to Glencoe," Auggie blurted out. He didn't really think before he spoke.

"Oh, I don't want to impose on your family Auggie."

"You won't be imposing. Mom and Dad have always had an open house. They've encouraged us to boys to bring our girlfriends home for the holidays if they're not able to go home to see their own families."

"Girlfriends? Are you trying to tell me something Auggie?"

Auggie felt his face go red as he realized what he'd just said.

"Um…well…I've been thinking about asking you to go on a date with me, but I don't want to ruin our friendship. If you don't feel the same way please just forget that I said something."

"Auggie! I'd love to go on a date with you. You just haven't given me any indication that your feelings for me go beyond being my friend."

"Ditto," he replied. "Well, at least not verbally. If you've been giving me visual cues they're kind of lost on me."

"I might have. I'm glad we're having this talk," Anne said with a smile as she grasped Auggie's hand and squeezed it. He squeezed her hand back before he let go of it and got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. He returned with two wine glasses and a bottle of chilled white wine.

"Since neither of us really have time to go on a date before Thanksgiving I guess tonight will be our first date."

"Is that so?" Annie asked in a tone that left no doubt that she was flirting.

"Well, it's either tonight or Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. I think I prefer tonight."

Auggie uncorked the wine and poured two glasses, and then he held one out to Annie. He felt her taking it from her hand.

"Thanks Auggie. Good thinking."

It was close to midnight when Annie kissed Auggie goodnight and headed home. She was still a bit in shock about how the evening had turned out, but she was also very happy. She'd liked Auggie from day one; they'd had an almost instant connection and she really appreciated his friendship. They'd agreed to take things slow and wowed to stay friends even if being in a relationship didn't work. Her mind was working on overdrive when she let herself into her dorm room and she jumped when she flicked on the light and saw a familiar figure sitting on her bed. Ben.

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Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Happy Easter :o)