A/N: This is my first time writing for Covert Affairs. I am open to constructive crit, but please be respectful when giving it! I apologize ahead of time if any of the characters are OOC.

Annie jogged the short distance to the corner. Her back flush with the wall, her arms strapped to her sides. Worst mission ever! That was the single thought that refused to leave her brain, as she peeked around the corner. She knew that she desperately needed to find solace in some sort of shelter. Mika Jorgensen and his buffoon guards were closing in on her. She could hear their military boots smacking against the floor. So much for the element of surprise. Not that they needed it, they were heavily armed and about twice as big as Annie's all to short stature.

Noting that the coast was clear, Annie jogged as quickly as she could in her heels, before halting to a stop. The warehouse floors were wet from the steam that seemed to continually rise up out of nowhere. She slid slightly, before smiling. The spot between the two closest machines was small and cramped, but if she maneuvered correctly, she knew she could fit her body in the small spot.

According to her last communication with Auggie, Jay and his team were in route. She just needed to survive until then. Sighing slightly, Annie dropped to her knees and bit back a curse. Losing a layer of skin off her knees was the worst of her worries. Crawling on her hands and knees, Annie sucked in a deep breath to ensure that she fit into the small cramped space. Once she was through the skinniest portion of the space, she let the air out of her lungs and fought the urge to start coughing. Once she was back as far as she could get, she sat with her back against one of the machines and drew her knees to her chest. She took deep calming breaths to keep herself from hyperventilating. Once she felt secure in her ability to control her voice, Annie engaged her ear piece and waited calmly as it connected to her only lifeline.

"Annie, how's it going?" She could hear the hint of desperation, and knew that Auggie knew just how bad her current situation was.

"Well, I'm hidden as good as I can. How far out is Jay, Auggie?" She tried to keep the desperation out of her voice. She was a spy dammit, they weren't supposed to show fear. Yet here she was huddled on the floor trying to hide from her target.

"Three minutes, Annie. Hang in there."

Annie's eyes widen when the sliver of a pistol was pointed in her direction. Perhaps not the best cover that she could have taken. Placing her hands in front of her as well as she could, Annie could feel a tear slip down her cheek. All she could think about was Auggie, and how much this was going to hurt him. Annie knew that he would blame himself. That he'd say he could have done so much more for her, when she knew that wasn't true. He had seen that her cover had been blown even before she had. He had told her to keep out of sight and wait for the extraction team. Auggie Anderson was the only person that she fully trusted with her life.

"Auggie—three minutes isn't fast enough. I'm sorry."

She heard his intake of breath. She heard a distant crack of a muzzle and knew it wasn't from the desperate bearded man in front of her. The second muzzle crack however flashed red in front of her. Pain soared through her torso, her vision growing fuzzy and faded. Her last thought before darkness claimed her was that she hoped that Auggie didn't have trouble moving on from this.

Auggie sat, his arms resting on his knees. His head in his hands, hiding the tears that were cascading down his cheeks. He could hear the distinct sound of heels clicking against the polished hospital floor. Auggie didn't need the sense of sight to know who was practically jogging toward him. Annie's sister was coming toward him, and she was going to have questions. Obviously he couldn't tell her much, stupid classfications. However, it did help that she knew that Annie was a spy. That would make telling her that her sister had been shot so much easier. If only the doctor had come to update him within the past two hours.

"Auggie?" He could practically hear her eyebrow quirk.

Sighing softly, he raised his head from his hands and glanced in the direction that her voice had come from. "Danielle?" He didn't need to ask, he knew who it was.

"What-" A sob broke through her mouth, as he felt her sit down next to him. It was times like this that he truly hated being blind. He reached out an arm, and prayed that he was close to her shoulders. As his arm slipped around her shoulders, he drew her against his.

Auggie sat like that, for what felt like hours, before her sobs reduced to mere sputterings. Finally, she drew away from him. He sighed, moment of truth time.

"What happened?" Her voice cracked slightly, as he turned to face her. It did him absolutely no good, but he knew that it would be more comforting for her if he was at least looking in her general direction.

"She-" He coughed lightly trying to cover up his own voice cracking. "She was on a mission—I can't go into details-" He paused. God this was harder than he thought it would be. Knowing that she was staring at him, waiting for him to tell her what had happened to her sister. How he should have been able to help her, and was unable to keep her from ending up in a hospital. "Her cover got blown. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's generally very dangerous. I told her to lay low, that she would be extracted from the situation—somehow she was found and from what I've been told-" He paused. He couldn't go on, not without crying. He couldn't speak the words. Auggie Anderson was unable to say that his best friend had been shot. His head hung as a tear slipped from his eye. How pathetic was he?

He felt Danielle place a comforting hand on his arm. He was supposed to be comforting her, and here he was seeking comfort from her instead. His head jerked up, and once again found himself wishing for the gift of eyesight.

"The extraction team saw that a gun was being pointed toward her—they fired first, but the gun went off anyway—I'm sorry. That's all I know. I've been waiting for the doctor, but he hasn't been out yet."

He shook his head. Auggie could only be thankful that the mission had been in Maryland. If she had been in out of the country when this happened-

"Family of Annie Walker?"

Danielle stood, her hand clasped around Auggie's forearm, dragging him to his feet beside her. Auggie held a careful hold onto Danielle's arm, as his white walking cane was left behind. Perched against the seat to his left.

"And you are?" The doctor probed carefully.

Auggie could feel Danielle's muscles constricting, and knew that his line of questioning had upset her.

"I'm her sister. This is her best friend."

His head nodded, as he spoke."I'm Doctor Michaelson. Miss Walker sustained a great deal of damage to the left side of her ribcage. The bullet broke three ribs, and caused her lung to collaspe. Luckily, before it could do futher damage, the bullet lodged into a fourth rib. I was able to cleanly remove the bullet without causing anymore damage. I was also able to insert a chest tube to reinflate the lung. She should recover fully."

Auggie could feel as Danielle nodded her head, her body shaking slightly. He knew that she wouldn't be able to think of important questions to ask, so he stepped forward lightly, his arms crossed across his chest.

"How long will she need to stay here?" It was the most obvious question, and if he knew Annie she'd want out as soon as humanly possible.

"I'd like it if she would stay for at least three days, however she can leave after two days."

Auggie shook his head, well if need be he could lie to her. Tell her she has to stay for three days.

"Rehab?" No need to draw the question out with extra words.

"She will need light rehablitation. Mostly excersices she can do at home. Some she'll actually have to go into a rehab facilety to complete."

Auggie's head continued to nod. "Can we see her?" Auggie felt as Danielle tried to not laugh at the word he chose for his question.

"Yes you may. Please keep it brief as Miss Walker needs her sleep."

Auggie held out his hand in the doctor's general direction. "Thank you, sir." A smile crossed his lips.

Auggie made sure his grip on Danielle's arm was tight as the doctor led them toward Annie's room. He could feel his insides starting to flip flop. Why was it exactly that he always got so excited when he got to see Annie? She was his best friend, but it was more than that.

Auggie sat in just outside of Annie's room. He insisted that Danielle take time with Annie by herself. He was kind of hoping that she'd be asleep again when it was his turn. Auggie just felt it would be easier that way.

He shook his head as his heart swelled at the thought of talking to Annie at all. Auggie was pulled from his thoughts before they could go very deep at the sound of the door beside him creeping open. Using his white walking cane, that he had went to retrieve earlier, he stood up.

"She's asleep again, but your welcome to stay as long as you like. I'll just sit out here." Auggie could practically here Danielle smile at him, and so he offered her something that he was pretty sure resemebled a smile.

She patted his shoulder as he passed her. He walked forward, before stopping to close the door behind him. Then he slowly inched forward, before finding the chair that was perched in front of Annie's bed. Easing himself down, Auggie leaned forward. His hand seeking out the comfort of Annie's. Even though the doctor had said she was fine, and Danielle seemed content that she was indeed fine, Auggie couldn't physically see her. So he needed to to feel her. He needed to know that she was indeed okay.

Auggie let his head fall forward, as a few tears slipped down his cheek. How could he have let this happen?

"Annie, I know your asleep. I don't know if you can hear me, and perhaps that will make this easier-" He sighed as he ran his free hand against his face. "I am so sorry about this. I know that I should have—that I could have done something, anything else to help you! If I had done my job correctly—maybe you wouldn't be here. You scared the hell out of me, Walker! I thought that I was going to lose you and I couldn't handle that. You're my best friend, Annie, and I love you so much-" Auggie's mouth stopped moving as he realized what he just said. Given the context in how he said it, it could easily be taken as a love for another friend. Yet at the same time, Auggie knew that wasn't how he meant it. He was in love with Annie Walker.

Shock overwhelmed him, and suddenly he couldn't stand being in such a small space. Grabbing his cane firmly in his hand, Auggie stood up and left. As the door squeaked close, Annie's eyes opened, as a tear rolled down her cheek.