Full Circle P8
Author's Notes: Whatever you do don't try to figure out the time zones in this chapter, it will only give you a head ache. I promise. Consider it dramatic license.
"What the hell happened?" Calder stormed into the hospital waiting room with Barber in tow.
"I don't know," Joan shook her head.
"Auggie was going to Paris today, to see Annie," Barber mentioned.
"He was certainly off the duty roster. Do you think this is an Annie thing, was he there to help her?" Calder puzzled.
"You are more read-in on Annie's mission than I am, but it has been all on book," Joan shrugged.
"This is Annie, she could be running 6 unsanctioned Ops on the side," Calder groaned.
"I don't think so," Joan disagreed.
"Why was he going to see her then, so suddenly?" Calder asked.
"I think just to see her," Barber interjected, "you know, socially," he finished lamely.
"A last minute trans-Atlantic booty call?" Calder smirked.
Joan just rolled her eyes and walked back to the nurses' station looking for more information. So far all they knew was gunshot wound to the chest and he was in surgery. Joan was Auggie's emergency contact since Annie 'died'.
"Why was he at the Capitol Grande?" Barber asked out loud.
"I don't know, but I do know we need someone in charge of the DPD, because if this was a sanctioned mission I do not know about it," Calder growled as he paced the small space worried about Auggie.
Joan returned with no new news.
"Should someone call Annie? She is expecting him in Paris," Barber mentioned.
"Yeah," Joan sighed and picked up her phone and headed for an exit.
***555***
Annie graduated from herbal tea to wine in her effort to calm her excitement. A glass of wine in the middle of the afternoon seemed extravagant, but 'when in France' she thought. She certainly didn't want to be drunk when she saw Auggie, but a glass of wine and the book she had brought with her would help her kill the time while his plane made its way to her.
Her phone chimed and for a second she worried it was her asset in Budapest, although she had told him she would be unavailable for a couple days and he seemed fine with her absence. When the screen revealed Joan on the other end she assumed the woman was calling to congratulate her on completing her mandated therapy.
"Hey Joan," she answered with a smile.
"Annie, glad I got you directly."
"What's wrong?" Annie's instinct took over, but nowhere in the swirl of problems she anticipated did Auggie enter the picture, he was on a plane right now, how could he be in trouble.
"I am sorry to call, Annie, I am sorry. There was…." Joan was having a very hard time getting the words out.
"Joan, what's wrong?" Annie repeated.
"Auggie is in the hospital, there was an incident."
"Auggie is on a plane," Annie clarified.
"No Annie, he didn't make it to the plane, he was shot this morning," Joan explained.
"I don't understand," Annie felt her heart rate increase and her mouth go dry.
"We don't have all the facts. Auggie was in the lobby of the Capitol Grande, do you have any idea why? Was he there for you?"
"No. I texted him when I got on my flight, he replied that he would see me tonight. He was packing, we were going to have a drink at eight….well it was going to be more like eleven by the time he got here" Annie trailed off lamely.
"He is in surgery, I don't really have much more information than that, but we wanted you to know right away."
"Can I come home?" Annie's voice was watery and small.
"Of course, go to De Gaulle, I'll get you a flight," Joan promised.
Annie hung up and flagged her waitress, finding a cab as quickly as she could.
***555***
Nick had called Auggie so many times he was starting to worry. He didn't know him that well, but Auggie seemed intensely reliable. Maybe this vacation was more important than a mission, but as he boarded his transport home from Sweden Nick had no intel and no access to Auggie.
***555***
Joan, Calder and Barber were standing around Auggie's bed staring at the unconscious figure in front of them. Barber had figured out that Auggie must have been filling in for Nick on an intel pass that was low risk at best, but clearly that intel was faulty.
Without Nick to fill in more details though they just stood there worried and waiting, waiting for Nick, waiting for Annie and waiting for the doctor to give them more information. What they knew so far was the bullet didn't do much damage, but the surgery was grueling and the anesthesia was still keeping Auggie under.
Nick was the first to arrive, he explained what had happened and took in the stares of the three people in front of him. He had never even met Joan or Calder, both of whom significantly outranked him, by a lot. It was obvious that all of them cared a lot about Auggie too.
"I never would have sent Auggie if I thought for a second there would be any violence," Nick assured.
"Sent Auggie where?" another voice from the doorway revealed Annie.
"Annie," Joan smiled despite the situation.
"Hi Joan," Annie smiled back, both of them had been here before, sharing fear and worry over this man they both loved.
"Welcome home Walker," Calder nodded and Barber waved sheepishly.
Annie didn't even acknowledge Nick beyond her initial question, more concerned about getting over to Auggie. She made her way through the crowd in the small room and looked him over , her hands roaming over the blankets feeling his legs and feet, inventorying every inch of him.
"How is he?" she asked, her voice clinical.
"Stable, but they say he should have woken up by now. The bullet went through fairly clean, they fixed the minor arterial damage and stitched him up," Calder reported.
"Who's this?" she pointed to Nick.
"Who's she?" Nick turned to Calder annoyed.
"Nick Galster, Annie Walker. Annie Walker, Nick Galster," Calder introduced.
"You're the Annie Walker?" Nick's eyes went wide.
"And you're the kid Auggie's been working with," Annie put 2 and 2 together.
"Yeah, look, I had no idea there was any danger, I was telling them when you came in," he stammered over an apology.
"OK," Annie nodded.
"Huh?" was all Nick could come back with.
"I believe you didn't want Auggie to get hurt and I know how quickly he jumps at the chance to be back in the field. Sometimes we get hurt," Annie shrugged.
"Walker?" a groggy voice from the bed interrupted.
"Look who decided to join the party," Calder grinned as Auggie blinked and grimaced with some pain.
Annie froze, just looking at him, coming back to life right in front of her. She remembered the promise she made to herself and although she was figuring the audience to be a bunch of random French people and not her coworkers, she kept it.
"I love you," she said as she found his hand.
Barber couldn't help the tiny "Awwww," that squeaked out.
"Am I dead?" Auggie mocked.
"No," she sniffled and laughed at the same time, bringing his hand to her lips and kissing his knuckles.
"I'm gonna have another scar," he used his freehand to find the bandaged area of his chest.
"I bet the doctor did a much better job stitching you up than I did," she smiled.
"Maybe you two could just stop getting shot," Joan suggested.
"Hey Joan," Auggie realized he and Annie weren't alone.
"Calder, Barber and Nick are here too," Annie informed.
"It's a party. Did Barber bring snacks?"
"I am kind of hungry," Barber admitted.
"I'll let someone know you are awake, they probably want to examine your head or something," Calder grinned and ducked out.
"Auggie, I am so sorry," Nick tried to figure out what to say to make it up to the guy.
"It's OK Nick, these things happen," Auggie assured.
"You saved the asset's life, he reported in finally and sent the intel," Barber informed.
"That's good," Auggie smiled weakly.
"Doctor will be in soon," Calder announced.
"The things you do to get out of taking me on a date," Annie teased.
"Me, you're the one that went to Colombia the first time. And we did have a date that time, Calder here even bought the drinks."
"That's right, our first official date was supervised by the current DCS," Annie grinned at Calder.
"I bring people together, what can I say?" Calder mocked.
Auggie yawned, tried to stretch and grimaced again when the movement pulled at his wound.
"I think Auggie should rest," Annie suggested.
At the thought she might leave Auggie flung out a hand and caught her hip. She reached back and placed a warm hand over his heart, assuring him she intended to stay.
A chorus of 'get wells' and 'take cares' accompanied the parade of people out of the room. Annie closed the door and leaned back against it.
"I love you," she said again.
"I heard you the first time," he grinned. "And for the record, I knew that."
"I hadn't done a very good job of telling you though," she walked back to the bed and placed a kiss on his forehead.
"You can tell me better than that," he laughed and cupped her cheek moving her lips to his own and kissing her deeply.
"Sorry," a deep voice cut through the sweet moment as Annie startled and whirled around to see a doctor standing sheepishly by the door.
"I'm sorry," Annie blushed. "You're the most important person at the moment."
"I don't know, affection is awfully good for recovery," the doctor smiled as he approached the bed.
"Yeah?" Auggie asked hopefully.
"Well, it can't hurt," the doctor shrugged.
Annie stood on the other side of the bed as the doctor checked some machines and flipped through Auggie's chart. She laced her fingers through his and squeezed his hand tightly. His returning squeeze was not quite 100% but enough to assure her he was ok.
TBC…