"So it is kind of hard to make a baby 4,000 miles apart," Annie sighed as she slipped into a hot bath in Oslo.
"I miss you too," Auggie smiled into his headset.
"This hotel is nice, the tub is huge," she sloshed around a little to illustrate her point.
"Are you torturing me on purpose? I am still at work you know, I really shouldn't be thinking about you in the bath tub."
"There is definitely enough room in here for you…." She teased.
"Four thousand miles away, remember?"
"Yeah," she sighed.
"How did the surveillance go?"
"It was long and cold and boring," Annie reported.
"I assume you didn't actually see the mark," Auggie said gently.
"No sign of him. We knew it might take some time."
"Hey boss I brought you pizza," Barber announced as he entered Tech Ops.
"Pizza at your desk?" Annie asked.
"Yeah, we have an Op going down late tonight. So while you are lounging around in Norwegian bathtubs I am eating greasy pizza and listening to comms with Barber," Auggie lamented.
"You make it sound less than fun," Barber whined.
"My wife is in a bathtub," Auggie said as if that made perfect sense.
"That would be more fun," Barber smirked and stopped when Auggie turned on him, "for you, it would be more fun for you."
***555***
It took 10 days for Annie to get the intel she needed in Oslo and almost a whole day to get home due to weather. She made it to Langley at 4:00 pm and was intercepted by Joan who wanted a full debrief. Finally at 6:30 she made her way to her husband's office to find him pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Hey," she said softly.
"You're here," he looked up with tired eyes.
"And you are exhausted," she said concerned.
"A little," he nodded slowly.
"Can you leave?"
"Yeah, you?"
"Yes, Joan took my report. Get your stuff together, I'll call in our usual from Emilio's and we can pick it up on the way home."
Auggie switched out his laser cane, and shut down all his computer components, said good-bye to the team still working on the encryption that had kept him in the office for the past 2 nights. Joan bumped into the pair on their way out.
"I don't expect to see either of you before noon tomorrow," she said.
"They are still working on the encryption," Auggie explained.
"Noon, Anderson," Joan said less gently this time.
"Yes Ma'am," he smiled softly.
"Thanks Joan," Annie added.
The three of them entered the elevator together, Annie molding her body to Auggie's side, despite their boss' presence, Annie needed the contact.
"Good night," Joan waved as she went the opposite way in the parking lot, her prime spot much closer than wherever Annie left her car 10 days ago.
Dinner was quick and quiet, Annie offered to clean up while Auggie showered off his 2 days at the office. Auggie slid into bed, his skin warm and soft from the shower to find Annie wearing his favorite tee shirt.
"Sleep," she whispered in his ear and kissed him.
***555***
Annie woke at 4:00 am her body still on European time, used the bathroom and got back into bed. She tried to sleep, but her eyes kept popping open. She adjusted to the dark, a little light from the street helping her examine Auggie. He had curled towards her pillow when she got up, his face peaceful, his bangs flopping in his eyes, lips slightly parted. His strong arms curled around his pillow protectively, he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
She tried to restrain herself but she reached out and brushed his hair off his forehead, saw him register her touch.
"Walker," he growled a little.
"Sorry, time zones, can't sleep," she stretched out next to him.
"S'okay, we have the morning off, remember?" he mumbled a little more coherent with each word.
"I do remember that," she curled one hand around his neck and pulled him closer kissing him soundly.
"I missed you," he said in the quiet of their bedroom.
"I missed you too," she agreed as her tongue teased at his bottom lip.
Auggie rolled on to his back, draping Annie over his chest their mouths fused. His hands skimmed along the soft cotton of his shirt on her body finding the oversized tee to be the only garment she was wearing.
"Off," he said as he encourages the shirt up and over her head.
She tossed it to the floor and moaned as Auggie's hands skim the full length of her spine.
"I'm not dreaming this right?" Annie smiled.
"Nope," he shook his head, his dark hair against the silver grey pillowcase.
"I want you so bad," she rocked against him.
"You have me," he assured as he coaxed her closer.
***555***
"It's weird," Annie said quietly, Auggie spooned tight behind her.
"Just what every man wants to hear after sex," he kissed the spot behind her ear that made her toes curl.
"The waiting thing, so much of it is chance, I don't like not knowing. I was a little nauseated one day in Oslo and I was convinced I was pregnant, but it passed. I took a test, Joan wants me to be on top of it, and I'm not, but I could be. I mean we could have just made a baby, it is super weird," she explained.
"Not as weird as it will be when it kicks you in the spleen."
Annie laughed, but then reached down and rubbed her flat stomach near where she thought her spleen might be.
"Go back to sleep now," she encouraged.
"Oh sure, you got what you wanted from me and I make one witty spleen comment and I have to go back to sleep," he teased.
"You need sleep," she rubbed her thumb over the pulse point of his wrist and felt his body slacken behind her.
Her body content and relaxed she soon joined her husband in slumber.
***555***
"I bought a book," Annie announced a few weeks later as she strolled into Tech Ops with an afternoon coffee for Auggie.
"Yeah?"
"Yep, it has pictures, you might be happy you can't see them," Annie grimaced and watched Auggie shudder.
"You'll have to read me the salient parts," he said as he gratefully sipped the coffee.
"Oh there will be interactive activities for each chapter, don't worry, I got you covered."
"I expect nothing less."
"Hey Annie," Barber greeted with a folder extended towards her.
"Hi Eric."
"New assignment for you."
"Please tell me it is not 10 days in Scandinavia," she looked up hopefully having blissfully been on US soil since her trip to Oslo.
"Nope, worse, Tokyo."
"Looks like those interactive presentations are going to have to wait," Auggie grinned.
"Is that some sort of euphemism for sex?" Barber asked intrigued.
"No," Annie blushed.
"Oh," Barber shrugged sadly and left the pair alone again.
"Tokyo?" Auggie asked.
"I don't even speak Japanese," Annie was equally confused.
Auggie heard her skim through the file.
"What's the mission?" he asked.
"Babysitting," she said annoyed.
"Well that will be good practice. What do you mean and why wasn't I read in on this?"
"The file is from State."
"Your NOC isn't with State."
"I know, it is from Steve Barr, think this is payback for China or Yemen or something else I did that ruffled his outdated hairdo," Annie seethed.
"I still don't know what you need to do," Auggie said calmly.
"Some diplomat's kid needs to go back to Tokyo, take some exams or something and be escorted back. He apparently likes to party a little too much for a 14 year old."
"Wow, you really are babysitting," he tried not to laugh.
"I'll be gone a little over a week, want any Hello Kitty stuff?" she chuckled.
***555***
Four days into her mission Barber entered Tech Ops.
"Auggie, there is a woman on one of your NOC lines," he said cautiously.
Auggie's first thought was old girlfriend, but he hardly ever gave out his numbers, even the fake ones.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"She says she is your mother," Barber said incredulously.
"I do have one Barber, did you think I was hatched? Put her through," Auggie said curious as to why his mother was calling when she had never once called him at work ever in the history of his adult life.
Seconds later his line rang through.
"Mom?" Auggie answered, Barber lurking close enough to hear one end of the conversation.
"What? OK, yeah, OK. You alright? OK," Auggie fumbled with the handset more than usual hanging up the phone.
He sat there completely still, perfectly silent until Barber couldn't stand it anymore.
"What was it?" he nearly whispered.
"My dad died," Auggie said mechanically.
TBC…