This story was muscled onto my keyboard courtesy of a persistent bunny. I often wonder what our boy was like before he had to adapt himself as a blind man. Every now and then, we got a glimpse of the tough agent. I wanted to explore that. Warning, you might not love me or the bunny by the end of this one. But stick with it?

One more thing. I am starting this as a T. It might go higher...so watch for that. I will try to give you warning. OK?

DISCLAIMER: Evil bunnies, yes, and no more.

CHAMELEON – Chapter 1

Men in uniform were the backdrop of her life. She had been raised around them and ceased to notice them the way a normal civilian would. In Washington, DC, they were a common enough sight. In Langley, at CIA headquarters, they came in and out. She didn't pay them any attention. That day, she should have.

But she was not the same bright eyed agent who began there over a year ago. She had survived missions as a rookie that would have sent seasoned agents packing. She watched the man she thought was the love of her life turn out to be a rogue agent. She discovered she had been recruited and used as bait to lure him out. She held him as he died in her arms.

It was rough, but she came through that time stronger and oddly, a better agent. Without Auggie, she knew she wouldn't have made it. He had held her hand and her hair after she tried to drink away the pain. He then held a mirror up to her and made her see the better person and agent she would be.

For the last 6, no almost 7 months, she had been marking time. Since that awful day when she walked into the Tech Op center with a coffee and a funny story about the barista. She had been met by an oppressive silence and an empty chair. No one would make eye contact. A terror shot through her and she dropped the coffee. The smell of coffee had made her a little nauseous ever since.

Finally, Joan came in and led Annie back into her office. "He's alive", was all she would say. "When I can say more, I will. I know this is hard. No, I don't know when he will be back. There is nothing about this I can discuss with you. As an agent you understand you simply must accept this."

"I don't understand? Is he on an op? When did he get cleared? Joan, is he hurt? I need to know."

Annie's voice rose with each question.

"Stop it now Annie! He will, no. I cannot say anything more. I understand the relationship you have is very strong. Don't you think I see it? You had him in the field, getting arrested and apologizing for you the second day you were here. No one and I mean no one here, before or since he was blinded was that close to him. After the Tasha mess, he closed down. After he lost his sight, it was even worse. Sure, he was charming and funny, but that's all you got. You two were oddly connected right away. I know that. Believe me, this is all I can say."

"He's ok?"

"Don't ask me."

"Damnit! Is he at least alive?"

Joan hesitated and nodded. Then she opened the door. Her last words were a warning to Annie as she left.

"Do not go looking. Do not dig. Leave this alone."

Right after that, Annie became remarkably busy. She was handling Intel transfers all over the world. Stu handled her support. He was a nice guy, and did his job well. But he wasn't Auggie.

Neither was Jai Wilcox, although, he did try. She questioned him and was finally satisfied that he didn't really know anything. At least Jai understood her. He had been with her in Sri Lanka. He knew how much Auggie had done for her after. He had even apologized for being assigned to handle her.

They got closer in the months since Auggie disappeared. It wasn't the relationship Jai wanted, but he was smart enough to bide his time. He thought Ben Mercer was an idiot for walking away from Annie twice for the CIA. He had no idea what the hell happened to Auggie, but figured it was big. After the mess with his father and Liza Hearn finally broke, he was happy just to have a friend at the agency. The same people who kissed his ass before now shunned him for the same relationship. Annie treated him the same. They spent time together.

Every two weeks, Annie would ask Joan for news. She didn't say what news. Joan knew what she wanted to know. Every two weeks, Joan would just shake her head. She tried to keep Annie busy. She watched her spend time with Jai. She worried about the younger woman to her husband.

The time dragged on. Annie was still bright and sharp and one of the best upcoming agents Joan had. But a spark that had dimmed a little with Mercer's death was almost gone after all this time. Losing Auggie had almost broken her, although only those who knew her well saw that.

So, another uniform walking into Joan's office didn't register on the slightly jet lagged Annie. She didn't even look up when the blinds on the windows were drawn. This was a world where secrecy was to be expected. Even Jai hurrying into Joan's office didn't raise any alarms. It wasn't until she heard the normally controlled man's voice shout through the walls, that she really looked up.

Her phone pinged. Joan's voice came over the speaker asking Annie to step into her office immediately. Joan's voice had an edge. This was big.

She knocked and stepped in, quietly, closing the door behind her. Jai was in the face of the man in the uniform, furious. She had never seen him lose his cool that way.

There was something oddly familiar about him, but they all seemed a little familiar to a girl raised at Army bases around the world. Then he turned his head and gave her a half smile and that voice haunting her dreams said "Annie?"

She let out a gasp and almost forgot to inhale. Auggie. Auggie! Alive, well, in uniform and looking at her. Wait, looking at her?

"Auggie?"

If she hadn't still been against the door, holding the knob, she might have fallen. As it was her head began to buzz. She shook it to clear it.

"Auggie?" It was all she could manage to say.

"You are literally a sight for sore eyes, Annie Walker."

Jai looked from the smirking Anderson to the sudden pallor of Annie's skin and moved quickly. He took her arm to sit her down before she fell down. She shook off his arm with a quick smile and stood in front of Auggie.

"You can see me? What the hell?"

Her wits were coming back to her. Her training kicked in. She began to notice a thousand details at once. He seemed taller and was for sure broader. The military cut was miles away from the barely arranged geek mop she knew. His tanned face was harder too, somehow. The eyes that narrowed on her had tiny lines in the corner. Only the smile seemed really like him. It was Auggie, but it wasn't.

Arthur's quiet entrance broke the silence. Annie and Auggie registered his presence but did not acknowledge it. They were absorbed in each other. Even with all the obvious changes, their private bubble had survived.

"Auggie?"

Her voice said it all to him. For a man who lived in the dark for two years, he craved new sights and drank them in. The face and form that went with the scent and voice that haunted him was mesmerizing. He saw now the glare that she used to announce to him. He couldn't help it, he smiled at the memory. It was one of many that had sustained him over the last few months.

Arthur attempted to break the stalemate.

"Anderson! Good to see you. You look well."

Auggie closed his eyes briefly. The false note in Arthur's voice grated on him. But he knew what was expected.

"Sir, good to see you."

"Is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on? Or are Auggie's sudden vision, uniform and re-appearance going to remain the elephant in the room?"

"Walker, there is a lot you don't understand"

"Thanks for understating the obvious Arthur! Were you really blind? I know the CIA likes deep cover, but really?"

Jai's angry voice surprised them all.

"She has been asking you about him constantly for the last 7 months. She has never given up on him. I think she can handle this Intel, and frankly, deserves to know whatever it is"

Well, at least Jai didn't know either. He hadn't been lying to her. That was some kind of comfort in this mess. She smiled at him again, thanking him silently. Auggie watched the silent exchange between them with narrowed eyes. There was a new closeness there. It twisted something inside him, something he had no right to, but still held within.

Auggie looked at Arthur, silently asking him the question. Arthur hesitated and then caught Joan's face out of the corner of his eye. She nodded with her eyes, and then he relented. He knew she had a soft spot for Annie. He also knew she saw them in the tight relationship between Anderson and Walker.

"Go ahead Anderson"

Auggie began to speak, his words directed at Annie. The rest of them didn't matter. It would all change after this. But Jai confirmed what Joan told him. She hadn't given up on him at all. He couldn't speak to how her appearance had changed, but there was a slightly tired edge to her voice. It was new.

"That last Friday, after we went for a drink, I was tired and went home early. You remember?"

Remember? Every moment of that last night had been replayed and burned into her brain. She searched it over and over for a clue as to what happened. She only nodded.

"There was someone waiting for me. I was to go out on a mission that night. I know, it shocked me too. They wanted my ears right on sight. I needed to hear what was being said without any electronic distortion. All went well, we thought. As I was getting back into the car, my world blew up again."

He stopped Annie's forward momentum with his hand. He knew her enough to know she would want to check on him and to fuss over him. He couldn't stand that now.

"I am clearly fine, Annie. Thankfully, the trigger went off too early. Wrecked the hell out of a SUV, but none of us were seriously hurt. But the thing is when I came to in the hospital, my eyes were bandaged. I remember thinking what the hell else could be wrong with them? But they were talking. Apparently, the explosion hit in a one in million way. There was surgery that could work. It was experimental. The kicker was that it had been developed by the military and would only be used on active military."

Annie swung an accusing eye at Arthur. Clearly, she knew what was coming. She asked silently how they could have let it happen

Auggie smiled to himself. He wondered how many of Annie's expressions he had missed. He could watch her face all day, waiting for each one to flit across that lovely face.

"So, I thought, how much how worse could this get? You can't get more blind. I told them to reactivate my ass ASAP. They did, the surgery worked and I found myself back in uniform. It took a month before I could be sent back to active duty."

"Because you haven't done enough? Where did they send you? Why couldn't you contact me?"

His head tilted and he just looked at her. In that moment, he was the old Auggie, telling her so much without a word. But this time, he looked right at her, instead of in her general direction. It was unnerving and would take some getting used to, she knew.

"OK, answer what you can. How long do they have you for? Are you back? Now what?"

Trust Annie to get right to the crux of it. This was the part of the conversation he was going to hate.

"I'm there for another 2 and half years, with an option for more. But in a rare moment of sharing, the military and the CIA are co-owners of my bright eyes for now."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that the good news is that I am back. The better news is that I am back in the field. No more hiding in my bat cave waiting for it to come to me. I go get it and make it happen now. The old Auggie is gone. Long live the new, improved Auggie."

As he spoke, he straightened. The sweet earnest look was wiped from his face and replaced with a hardened look. His jaw tightened, his head came back and his eyes, so long sightless windows to his soul, shuttered.

Annie blinked and snapped her head back as if she had been hit. The long wait for Auggie was over. But he was not the Auggie she knew and had finally admitted she loved. She was missing him still, she thought.

OK, I know, a little farfetched, but go with me here? Let me know what we think?