a/n: I promised an update, didn't I? So here it is! Also, this is the longest oneshot in this collection..topping off at over 2,000 words! Now, since I am neither man nor father, I hope everything worked out...Auggie is a tough character sometimes. So criptic and mysterious. And hot, but that's not really the point haha ;) Well, please please make sure to review. In all seriousness, reviews make writers want to write more. Simple, huh? Reviews equal updates. Ta da! Anyways, please review and please enjoy this chapter. Thanks, everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs. Take that! Now you can't sue me! Ha!

I Loved Her First

He stands there, sipping the drink that had been thrust into his hand absently, not really noticing what it tasted like. It was truly a wonderful evening, the summer wind provided the perfect outdoor air conditioning and he was told that the sinking sun added the vibrant backdrop to the laughing, dancing couples. But yet he couldn't help but feel melancholy, the faint tinge of sadness clinging to him despite his efforts to shake it off. He sighed; his drink felt about half-empty now and he reached over and set it on the tray of a nearby waiter. He then turned around, waving his cane and making his way across the lawn to the large stone staircase.

Leaning against the railing, he could hear every sound coming from the garden below. He heard her voice near the center of the crowd. He could practically hear the smile on her words and he knows she must be lost in her own world, as if confined to a bubble. Someone told him earlier that her straight, blonde hair was swept up into some kind of style that he'll never remember the name of, gems glittering in the pale strands. So many people had mentioned her beauty tonight.

"I thought I'd find you up here, Auggie."

"I let her go."

"You did what was best."

"I know," he murmurs, "But I let her go."

Green eyes and blonde-brown hair. She had always told him that was her dream guy and he had been foolish enough to think she would change her mind; that he himself would be good enough for her, would be all she would need. He had been wrong but he accepted that, in time, because really, there was nothing else he could do.

"She'll always love you, you know."

A promise and he knew it was true just as he knew it was true that he would always love her. Life goes on, time moves on, changes things, but not this. This would remain forever, just like the stars at night and the constant rush of the ocean waves that roared dully, just behind the tinkle of the fountains in the garden.

"I'll always love her."

"She knows. And he knows too. He'll take good care of her, just as you did."

"I know."

A pause. Auggie fumbled with the cane in his sweaty hands.

"He makes her happy."

"I know," he sighs.

He turns towards the woman standing next to him, and she smiles radiantly, trying to comfort him the best way she knew how too. Her blonde hair was curled slightly and pulled back, away from her face, and her eyes shone happily, if tiredly, and he manages to smile in her direction. He reaches out and grasps her hand, squeezing it slightly.

"Will you miss her, Annie?"

She looks shocked at first, and then nods, letting her eyes return to the couple happily dancing in the garden, "Yes, I will. But that's okay because she's happy and we knew that this day would come," She sends him a smug look, even though he clearly can't see it, "I prepared for it."

"I thought I had too," he murmurs quietly, "I hoped and prayed that she would find someone to make her happy, to care for her, to love her just as much as I love you. I just never expected the pain that comes along with it, of letting her go finally, after all these years, all those memories…"

Annie laughs quietly, resting her head on his shoulder and he wraps his arm around her waist in response, automatic through years of practice. She reaches up, patting his hand lightly as it rests on the marble balustrade, wedding band gleaming in the lights that have suddenly been lit around the premises, keeping the night darkness away from the party.

"Mom! Dad! What are you two doing up here?" A slight frown appears between her two eyebrows, something she inherited from her father, or copied from years of watching, "Aren't you two enjoying the reception?"

"Of course we are, Catie," Annie replies, stepping away from her husband to embrace their daughter. Annie's arms wrap around Catie and she smiles widely, "You are so beautiful," she murmurs tightly.

"Dad?" Catie asks, tilting her head to the side, "Are you alright?"

"I'm great, Kiddo," he smiles to reassure her, going over to press a kiss to her forehead and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She smiles widely, bright blue eyes glittering from the light and he can't help but shake his head at her. His hand lightly brushes against her cheek and he feels her smile beneath his sensitive fingertips.

"What?"

"Nothing, I'm just thinking about you when you were little."

He can picture it perfectly, the lazy summer days when, for once, there wasn't a case or paperwork, and both Annie and himself would have some saved up vacation time. They would spend hours in their large backyard, just to spending time with the family, their cell phones turned off, the beeper too, and he wouldn't check his emails for a week or two. Catie would spend all day in the small plastic pool, laughing and splashing, the sunlight bringing out the freckles she was so proud of as a child. The baby would fall asleep in his arms as he listened to the sound of Catie splashing in the water and he felt the sun kiss his face. Annie would sit beside him in silence and read a book but, for Auggie, just having her near him was enough to make his day brighter.

Then at night, after her mother had bundled her up and made her change into pajamas after a long bath, she would pester him into coming into her room to read her a fairytale. Anything with a princess was always her favorite. She would lie in bed, fighting off the tiredness and giggling quietly to herself while she snuggled down in her blankets with her stuffed animals, asking for yet another story while Annie rocked the baby to sleep in the room next door.

"Dad!" she exclaimed now, glaring at him, "No embarrassing stories about my childhood. Not at my wedding, do you understand?" she demands as her new husband eventually finds them, catching the end of the conversation and laughing quietly as he wraps his arms around her.

"I find the stories about your childhood hilarious though, Catie," he teases.

She spins in his arms, eyeing him sharply as Annie and Auggie both smirk to themselves, knowing her moods, her temper, better than anyone else ever could, "That's precisely why they are not to be told."

The boy is smart and knows better so he backs down easily, "Well, it's time for a group picture. My parents are already waiting near the fountain with my older brothers. And I think your sister is trying to flag down the photographer."

"Alright," she sighs. She turns to her parents, smiling at them hopefully, knowing how much her mother hates her picture being taken, "Come on you two, enough hiding, you have to mingle. And smile. This is a good day, a happy day," Her eyes turn to her father and her smile is addicting, "Please Daddy, be happy? For me?"

"Of course, I'm happy," he promises.

Eight hours of labor and an emergency C-section later, Catie had been born healthy and beautiful. Seven pounds exactly and twenty-one inches long. He can still remember every detail, every sound, despite the years that have passed. He had been worried over her, scared out of his mind and waiting blindly until that first cry filled the room, only then was he able to breathe out a sigh of relief. Only then had he been able to pay attention to what the doctor was saying, was able find the scissors in his darkness and cut the cord and let her go to be bundled up and cleaned.

Catie had been a serious baby, thoughtful and clever like her father, preferring to fiddle with things, to try and figure out how they worked. She hadn't been into playing, more into destroying. Not like her little sister, Ally, the creative and artistic and energetic one in the family who smiled early on at two-and-a-half months and was always quite the handful. No, Catie had waited half a year before letting her parents see, smiling one day while her father was holding her, showing her the glass ornament on the Christmas tree they had bought in honor of her first Christmas. Annie was lucky enough to catch it on film.

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Catie, and I am happy. Don't worry."

"But I do worry. It's my job, after all."

He shakes his head, linking arms with his wife and blindly following them down the stairs and through the dancers and the party-goers to the center of the garden where the bronze fountain spurts water in a dizzying array of rainbow droplets from the mouths of mermaids and fish. Auggie is happy, is proud, to know that all the hard work they had done in order to ensure she had a happy childhood finally paid off, to see her smiling and happy. Even if it is in the arms of another man.

"Alright everyone, smile!" the photographer calls once they've arranged themselves somewhat presentably. He snaps the pictures, five in total, just in case, and then allows them to join the party once again.

Auggie is heading back to the veranda, back to listening in solitude, when he feels a hand on his shoulder and turns around, breathing in the husky scent that he has quickly, over time learned to identify with his new son-in-law. His blonde-brown hair was disheveled from many fingers running through it numerous times, green eyes happy yet nervous.

"Mr. Anderson…err, Auggie…um, sir…I just…I just wanted you to know that I'll take care of her…you don't need to worry."

"I know, James," Auggie smiled softly, resting his own hand on the boy's broad shoulder, "I loved her first. From the moment I heard her, I knew I would love her for the rest of my life. It's the same with Ally too. Children do that to their fathers. I hope that you get to experience that someday, James. Because then you'll know that it doesn't matter who loves her first, it just doesn't work that way. Please take care of her."

"I will. Forever. Don't worry, sir."

The bonding moment faded when Catie walked—more like skipped—over to the two men, grasping her new husband by the arm and practically dragging the happy man away, chattering non-stop in his ear while he smiled and nodded and kissed the top of her forehead quickly.

Annie approached Auggie, smiling and wrapping her arms around her husband from behind, resting her head on his shoulder, "You did what was best."

"I know."

"You let her go."

"Yeah."

He turns, smiling down at her as she giggles, teasing him with a grin, "Now, was that so hard?"

"No. She's happy and he'll take care of her."

"Exactly. Now, just think, we get to go through this again when Ari finally gets the balls to propose to Ally."

He laughs quietly, pulling her close, "I still can't believe she's dating Jai's kid," he grumbles.

"It's funny how it all worked out, isn't it?" She sighs, gazing at their oldest daughter once more, "You love her. She will always know that."

"Yeah. I loved her first, but it doesn't matter."

"You're going to do this to me again at Ally's wedding, aren't you?"

"Of course. After all, I loved her first too."

a/n: I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review! Thanks so much, everyone!