Hours passed without any word from anyone from the hospital. Maybe things were worse than he thought. He checked with the receptionist frequently to make sure they knew he was there and who he was there to see. He always got basically the same reply "There is no news yet. A doctor will come out when they have something to report."

He called Joan to let her know there was no news to report yet. Concern laced his boss' voice as she told him to keep her updated and to call her anytime. She informed him of what the police found when they found Annie and Simon as well as what Lena had told them about Annie's operation with Simon. Neither he nor Annie currently worked under Joan, but she was his mentor and more importantly friend that he had known since joining the agency. She had vouched for him after his accident and made she he had a job to come back to when he was able. Now Joan couldn't believe that Annie could be a traitor and Auggie of course agreed with her whole heartily.

Auggie debated on calling Annie's sister Danielle, but quite frankly didn't know what to tell her. Right now, he only knew that she was there at the hospital and had been for hours. He did not know the extent of her injuries, how much longer surgery would be, or well, even if she was still alive. He had no news to report to her other than there had been an incident. He would also have to wait for Joan to okay someone non-CIA related to know anything about what had happened to Annie. It would be his responsibility to help Annie come up with a cover story. But first, he needed to know the real story. He couldn't believe his best friend was a traitor or that she was trying to run away.

Waiting anxiously, pacing in the waiting room, he was grateful that he was alone. There had been a couple in the room earlier waiting for a family member to come out of surgery. When they first arrived, he wanted to continue his pacing, but knew it was unwise. While it was clear by the white cane still unfurled in his hand that he was blind, he did not know that they would stay out of his way while he paced. He knew that they had watched him intently. He could feel their stares and he hated the pity that their stares brought to him. Sitting down with his cane folded between his leg and the chair, he sat for at least an hour and a half with his hands rested on the chair arms and head back against the wall. He closed his eyes and assumed they thought he was asleep. But of course, that was not possible for Auggie. He could not sleep while his best friend, he assumed, fought for her life.

After the couple left, he began his pacing around the room again. He hoped they would come tell him something soon. Checking his watch, it was 3pm. He had missed breakfast and lunch and his body was growing weak with hunger and thirst. But there was no way he was leaving. He knew Annie would do the same for him. Despite their recent new job placements and therefore inability to see each other as often as they once did, Annie was still one of the most important people in his life. Perhaps the most important. That thought started to make Auggie think that perhaps there could be more to their relationship than just friendship. But before he would think too deeply on the subject someone entered the room.

"Anyone here for Anne Walker?" said an unnamed, faceless female.

"I am." Auggie stated simply as he pulled his messenger bag above his head and shook the thoughts from his head.

"Come with me sir, the doctor needs to see you now"

Auggie made his way to where the person just spoke from. She surprised him by grabbing his arm and trying to pull him forward with her. He stood steadfast against her pulling him. He could feel the annoyance permeating from her as she turned to him.

"Sir, do you want to see the doctor and find out about your friend?"

"Of course I do, but would you not pull me around like that. I am perfectly capable of walking by myself, and if I need you to guide me since I don't know where I am going, I will either accept an offered elbow or ask you to offer an elbow to help me. Pulling me sets me off balance and results in an inability to walk normally. Simply don't run me in to anything, let me fall, or forget to tell me where stairs or doorways are."

"Oh, okay." She said sheepishly. "Well, please, allow me to guide you to where you need to be."

Awkwardly, Auggie found the person, who he assumed was a volunteer, and took her arm just above her elbow, keeping his cane held diagonally in front of his body. There was no way he trusted her without it. She walked very slowly at first, but picked up to an almost normal pace when she realized that he was right with her and was not completely fragile.

After many turns through the corridors of the hospital, Auggie's mind was trying to concentrate hard on the steps he was taking, turns he was making, and sounds he was hearing as they made their way to where, he hoped Annie was. When they finally stopped, the women who was guiding him knocked on a door. Hearing the person inside tell them to enter, he placed his hand on the door and found the knob as the women he was with did the same. Understanding that she was no longer needed, she excused herself.

Auggie opened the door to the room and stood there for a moment making sure that his cane was held predominantly in his hand.

"May I help you?" the doctor's voice asked.

"Yes sir, I am Annie Walker's emergency contact. I was told there was news on her condition. I have been waiting for hours."

"I'm sorry sir, I did not know you were blind. I could have came to the waiting room to prevent you from having to come all the way here, but it might be for the best."

"Sir? Why would that be best?"

"Annie is currently in ICU and will be for a while, my office is much closer to ICU than the surgery waiting room is. Now, you are August Anderson, I presume?"

"Yes sir, but my friends call me Auggie, you may do the same"

"Auggie, there is a chair about three paces to your left, you will want to sit down as I tell you everything that Annie has experienced today." Auggie followed the doctor's instruction and quickly found a chair. He did not want to sit, but he had a feeling the news he was about to receive was not good and he might need the chair's support.

"First of all, what do you know of the events that took place to get Annie here today?"

"I only know that she called me about 5 o'clock this morning, stated she needed an ambulance, I think she said something about being shot. I wonder now why she didn't call 9-1-1 herself." The last part had meant to have been more to himself until he realized he had verbalized it.

"Mr. Anderson, Annie was shot, twice. Once in the chest and once in the lower back. We had the tricky job of stopping the bleeding, trying to remove the bullets from her body, especially around her heart and fixing the wounds so that she does not continue to loose blood. We have repaired what we can for now, but we know we will have to do at least one more surgery on her back to remove the bullet fragments from around her spine. We will have to wait until we see how well her heart heals before we can do any more surgery. We won't know until she wakes up, but she could be paralyzed. Right now she is in a medically induced coma. We have a breathing tube in. We will keep her in the coma for at least a day so that her heart can have time to rest. We are also doing a blood transfusion as well. The next 72 hours are critical. If her heart can't get the rest it needs and start healing, then she may not survive."

"Can I see her?" is all that Auggie could manage to say at the moment.

"If by see, you mean touch her body to explore the extent of her injuries, I'd rather you didn't. I can have a nurse show you around the room, what everything is, and how it connects to Ms. Walker in a few hours if that will help you."

"I understand, I will not do my usual exploring. Can I sit next to her and hold her hand then?"

"Yes, of course. I will take you there myself."

"Thank you doctor."

Auggie stood up and got his cane ready to follow the doctor to Annie's room. The doctor rubbed his right hand over Auggie's left hand to left him know he was willing to be his sighted guide and Auggie grasped arm just above the elbow and followed him through the corridors of the hospital. He once again found himself struggling to keep up with the number of paces he was taking or when they turned. His mind was not concentrating on anything except Annie. He knew he would need assistance getting anywhere while he stayed here.

Once to Annie's room, he was lead to a chair near her bed. Before he left, the doctor placed Auggie's hand on Annie's and Auggie settled into the chair, sliding it as close to the bed as he could. He knew that he would be spending the next few days in this chair. For now, he did the only thing he could do-he held onto Annie's hand. He listened as the machine next to him breathed for Annie. He listened as the heart monitor indicated a heart beat. It was not strong, but it was steady. For now, all he could do was hold her hand and listen to the machines keeping her with him. For now that would have to be enough.

All Auggie had was Annie's hand to focus on. He dared not move too much as he knew she was in a fragile state. He knew that she would wake up. She had to. He couldn't lose his best friend. He couldn't lose Annie. She was his reason for waking up in the morning, for going to work, for staying up all hours of the night to keep her safe, she was everything to him. But why had it taken such a tragedy for him to realize it? Would he get the chance to tell her how he feels? Would she accept him back? Or would it ruin their friendship? Either way, he had to tell her how he felt. And he would, as soon as she woke up.

The next two days Annie remained unchanged. The doctor's had taken her off the medicine that kept her in a coma after a day and a half, but they didn't except her to wake up for 12-18 hours. Auggie only left her side to use the restroom and to talk to Joan in the hallway as she brought him news, food, or clothes to change into. She wanted to insist that he go home to shower and rest in his own bed, but she knew he wouldn't. Annie's life was on the line and her career was in jeopardy if she survived.

The third day, Auggie woke to the startling sound of the heart monitor flat lining. As quick as he could, he ran to the door and called for a nurse. As multiple nurses and doctors entered, he stepped to the side out of the way, knowing that her life was in their hands. All he could do was wait to see if they could save her.

Author's Note: Chapter 2 complete. Perhaps too long? What do you think?