AN: Chapter 3! For anyone who has read my other story, this one is going to be a much slower burn on the relationship front than Dreaming Through Regret. I promise it will come, but there are more issues to resolve and work through in this story than the other. This chapter attempts to show an anxiety/panic attack as I experience them, but I know that they manifest in so many different ways. I hope this attempt rings true and real. As always, I do not own Covert Affairs or any of the characters. Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome!

Dusk til Dawn

Chapter 3 - On your sins, just me and you

Snippets of memories jumbled around her head with no logic or connection from one to the next. Teo in Columbia, Auggie sweeping her concerns to the side, Arthur waiting at the hospital, Jai in the moments before his car exploded, Eyal after he locked her on the balcony, Joan angry with her about Ansari, Teo lethargic in the car as she drove as fast as she dared to Germany, Lefortovo prison, Simon shot in front of her moments before bullets entered her own body, Eyal on the roof of the hotel bleeding from from a gunshot in his shoulder, and Calder Michels aiming his gun at her in Frankfurt. All on repeat, flooding her senses, sending her heart rate higher and higher once more, overwhelming her with what she saw as all her mistakes, all her sins.

And then they all stopped.

There was a sudden calmness that descended over Annie, shocking in its suddenness but, nevertheless, a welcome reprieve from the whirlwind her mind had become. It took her a moment before she realized what was happening, before she was able to recognize where she was again. They hadn't done this before, at least not like this, not without something forcing it. Their first kiss was when Annie was trying to keep him from going after the Cardinal and their second was to hide their faces while escaping Moscow. This was better, exponentially better, than either of their prior kisses. It felt like coming home.

His lips were warm on hers, a gentle weight, creating a bridge to a reality she'd forgotten was there while she drowned in her memories. There was no force behind them, no pressure for her to respond, only connection. She gently placed her hand on his cheek and began to return his kiss, slowly and carefully. Annie wanted to remember this kiss until the end of time.

Eyal had done the only thing he could think of at that moment, he grasped her face in his hands and tenderly captured her lips with his. His hope was to break the loop her mind was caught in, he had no intention of pushing for more from her. The feel of her hand on his face and of her lips moving against his was complete bliss. Feeling her respond to him in a way he had only allowed himself to dream of during the darkest of nights was everything he'd hoped for and more.

He reveled in their kiss for a few moments before he pulled away to look into her eyes.

"Hey…. You back with me?" he queried quietly.

"Yeah, I'm here." Annie whispered back.

"I'm glad."

"Me too."

He pulled her back into his arms, her face resting just above his heart, as his hand rubbed up and down her arm. "Sleep, Neshama." he coaxed, waiting for her eyes to close again and her breathing to even out before he allowed himself to fall back asleep as well.

Rustling sheets were the first thing Annie heard the following morning. Rays of sun warmed her back where the blinds allowed it to shine through. Her eyes fluttered open to look around the room though she did not move from her spot on the bed. Eyal's toned back captured her attention as he strode from the bedroom while taking his shirt off. Rather than follow him, she settled back into the pocket of heat he'd left behind and allowed her mind to replay the prior night.

She had had no doubts about Eyal since Amsterdam, she knew that they would see each other through this mission and onto that boat of his. She was haunted by the decisions she'd made regarding Henry Wilcox and frustrated by her body's inability to bounce back as quickly as she wanted it to after Frankfurt, but Eyal calmed her, focused her, and gave her a reason beyond her life as an agent.

Despite her desire to remain exactly where she was, she pushed herself up and out of the bed, bare feet hitting the ground with a low thud. Knowing she would not be leaving the apartment that day she forewent pulling on her jeans and just padded slowly out to the small dining room. Two laptops were open on the table and the sound of coffee brewing came from the kitchen. After prompting from the screen of her laptop she logged in and started opening programs that she had only ever seen Auggie use. Robust search engines, connections to cctv systems, incredibly detailed maps, and communication programs all began booting up.

A firm arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her flush against a toned chest as a kiss was dropped on the back of her neck.

"Boker Tov, Neshama." Eyal murmured into her neck as he handed her the cup of coffee from his free hand.

"Morning, Eyal." Annie returned, a small smile playing on her lips as she brought the cup of coffee to her lips.

After she took her first few sips she placed the mug down on the table next to her computer. She then turned and planted a soft kiss on Eyal's lips.

"I love you. Thank you for last night."

"Always, never forget that."

Their focus shifted from Annie's recovery to tracking Sana Wilcox. Annie allowed Eyal's need to care for her and see her well again to override her desire to run point on the mission. Tech work was not her forte, but she agreed that, of the two of them, she was the one better equipped to handle it. Eyal struggled to make himself dress and leave her, she painted a stunning picture sitting there in just her t-shirt, bare legs pulled up under her, as she tapped away at her computer between sips of coffee. He managed to do so and was ready to depart less than thirty minutes later.

"Sana Wilcox should be at Couronne Investments today. I'm still trying to get access to her email and calendar, but I already have the feed from the nearest camera with line of sight to the building pulled up. I haven't seen her enter yet, but it's still early and I've only had the feed live for the last ten minutes."

"What's the best location for me to observe from?"

"There is a small café half a block to the west of the main entrance to the building that Couronne Investments has office space in. Unless she uses the entrance from the underground parking, you should see her."

"Any idea if that is likely?"

"That she would drive? Pretty unlikely, she lives in the city and would most likely use public transportation instead of driving herself. Plus the

weather is quite nice for this time of year."

"Alright, Neshama, keep me updated on what you find, if only to save me from my boredom." Eyal quipped as he dropped a kiss on her lips before heading for the door.

Three empty coffee mugs surrounded Annie's laptop as she continued to establish access to Sana Wilcox's email and calendar. One firewall and three security protocols dealt with meant she was finally on the Couronne Investments network. Annie paused there, her stomach making itself known and her hair calling for at least a brush if not a shower, driving her to step away from the computer.

She walked into the kitchen and quickly realized that there was not much there to tame her growling stomach. The coffee Eyal had brewed that morning was the extent of the contents of the kitchen. A sigh slipped through her lips before she grabbed her burner phone and tapped out a message to Eyal.

'Made it into the Couronne Investments network. Hope to get access to Sana's email and calendar in the next couple of hours. Grabbing a shower. Pick up food on your way back tonight?'

The screen on his phone lit up for the second time that day, the first being when Annie saw Sana Wilcox enter the building on the camera feed. Eyal placed the newspaper he had been reading on the table and picked up the phone. A grin formed on his face at the words, mostly out of pride and the knowledge that Annie had been able to do something that would have taken him 5 times as long to do, but also slightly because of the picture of her in the shower that invaded his mind.

There was no need to respond to her text, so he placed the phone back on the table and reached for the newspaper again. Prepared for another several hours of boredom, Eyal was surprised to see Sana Wilcox step out of the building with several other people. Rather than settle back with his paper, he folded it and tucked it under his arm and stood to follow the group. He pulled out his phone and let Annie know Sana was on the move and that he was following. Their destination was a small, posh restaurant that, luckily for Eyal, also boasted a long bar. Eyal took a seat at the far end of the bar as Sana and her companions were seated at a table not far from him.

Most of the conversation focused on a deal that the team was working on, Eyal noted the name of the real estate company they were discussing, but the rest of the chatter was just that, chatter. As the group stood to leave after paying one of the women with Sana started in on a new topic.

"Have you gotten a dress for the reception, Sana?"

"No, it's soon though and David is receiving an award recognizing his many years with the company. I should set aside some time in the next couple days to find one."

"I can get you an appointment with my stylist if you'd like?"

"That would be amazing, Lauren. I appreciate it."

"Of course! I'll send you the details after I speak with her."

Eyal let the women make their way back to the office building without tailing them, knowing that Annie would be watching the live camera feed. This reception would be a great place to make contact with Sana if they could determine when and where it was. Since the apartment was less than five minutes from the Couronne offices Eyal headed there to update Annie on what he had discovered.

Frustration colored Annie's words as she swore once again at the computer screen in front of her. Her latest attempt at accessing the email server at Couronne Investments had failed and she only had one more trick up her sleeve to try. If that one did not work she was out of ideas. Normally she'd have reached out to Auggie for help long before getting to this point, but that was not an option any longer. Rather than dive right back into it, Annie stood and strode out to the balcony.

She stood barefoot in her dark wash skinny jeans and one of Eyal's button down shirts soaking in the sunlight for several minutes. Her eyes were shut and her head tilted back to allow the sun to warm her face when the door softly opened and closed behind her. The noise did not alarm her, Eyal was the only person who knew about this place, so she remained where she was, standing with her arms wrapped around her torso.

Eyal halted in the doorway out to the balcony and just drank in the visual in front of him. Calm exuded from the woman standing not five steps from him, which was such a departure from the prior night. Her form screamed both strength and fragility, creating an intoxicating juxtaposition that drew him in. He could have stood watching her for hours but her eyes finally opened and she turned to face him.

"Hey…. How'd surveillance go?" Annie inquired softly.

"Good, boring for most of the morning, but I think I got something we can work with over lunch." Eyal replied.

"Oh? Tell me!" Annie responded, excited that they had gotten something so quickly.

"There is evidently a reception being put on in David Dupres' honor sometime soon." Eyal informed Annie.

"Oh, that would be a great place to make contact." Annie stated.

"My thoughts exactly. Also, one of her colleagues, Lauren was her name, offered to get her an appointment with a stylist. She was going to send Sana the appointment details via email sometime this afternoon."

Annie sighed before revealing, "Well, then let's hope this next attempt at getting access to the email server works better than my last four attempts."

"Hey, you'll get it." Eyal reassured, before pulling Annie into his arms.

"I hope so, Eyal. I'm out of ideas if it doesn't work." She declared into his chest.

"Why don't you get going on that and I'll head out to the shop for some food, alright?"

"Sure, better to know sooner rather than later if we need a contingency plan." Annie said, bolstering herself for the task.

"I'll be back soon, Neshama." Eyal declared while dropping a kiss on the crown of her head.

Annie had twisted herself back into her chair in a way that made Eyal wince. One knee bent up so she could rest her chin on it, the other curled under her with her foot hanging off the seat of the chair. The sound of typing filled the space as Annie tried one last time to hack her way into the email server. Her lower lip was pulled between her teeth where she was absentmindedly gnawing on it as she concentrated on the screen in front of her. Eyal was loath to break that concentration even though darkness had begun to fall, but just as he finally mustered the courage to do exactly that Annie straightened up as her hands flew to her mouth.

"I fucking did it!" Annie celebrated as she jumped out of her seat and bounded to Eyal, "I did it! We're in the email server, Eyal!"

"I knew you could do it!" Eyal praised, wrapping her in a tight hug.

Annie's stomach grumbled at that moment, and with a small laugh Annie inquired, "You brought food, right?"

Eyal chuckled at her before nodding and replying "Yes, Neshama. Give me twenty minutes to get something prepared for dinner."

"Okay, I'm going to see if I can find that email to Sana with the details of her stylist appointment."

"Oh? Why that one specifically?"

"I was thinking that it might be good to be there while she's shopping with the stylist. Women talk freely while they shop. She might speak about something useful. Besides, if we are going to this reception I need something to wear." Annie returned with a wink.

"Get us on the attendee list first, Neshama. Then go shopping." Eyal shot back with a smirk of his own.

"Careful with the teasing, I have to use your credit card for this one." Annie quipped back as she settled at her computer once more.

The code she tapped out would start a scan of the server for emails to Sana Wilcox from anyone with the first name Lauren. After she executed the query, she sat back into the chair and allowed her mind to wander. This mission would have been much harder, more stressful, darker if she'd gone on her own, but Eyal brought a lightness with him. He was her tangible reminder that there were people out there that valued her and that she needed to retain her sense of self for. Eyal was certainly the most prominent one, but Danielle and her nieces, as well as Joan, were all on her list. She promised herself one more time that she wouldn't let this mission overwhelm her, change her.

She just needed to keep smiling, keep believing, keep loving. And she would.