freshoffthefarm | The beginning of the end...

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The beginning of the end...

As usual, the briefing happened around ten and she had her specs on the op around noon. Once everything had been planned out, she grabbed her purse and keys, then headed for the elevator. It was only fair, she supposed, that she let him know that she was going out of town. She'd been doing it for months; this wouldn't be any different.

Taking a deep breath, she paused and then pushed the 'up' button. Outside, Webb's office, she knocked on his door before peeking in.

With a smile, she said, "Hey. Busy?"

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"It's nothing that can't wait."

Clay smiled a little and quickly looked at the clock on his desk. He doubted this was to invite him to lunch.

It very well could have been a lunch invite... except it wasn't. Her expression showed as much as she stepped in and closed the door behind her, leaning up against it. Her smile was a little on the shaky side, but it was still there.

"So, I'm going out of town. Two or three days, not long. Should be routine. Or, you know, routine-ish." And since she knew he was going to ask, she just told him. "Colombia."

He couldn't hide it. The choice of location was something he truly didn't like.

"Oh."

"It'll be fine. I'll be fine. Okay? Just relax, keep the light on and I'll be back, without fail, in two days. Three. Three days." She was starting to ramble and she crossed the room to sit on the edge of his desk on his side. "Just tell Danielle I had to do something for the museum, okay?"

Clay knew his own experiences in Columbia were coming into play here. He had to separate that from what Annie was going to do. It was probably completely unrelated.

"Okay."

The terseness of his responses was beginning to set her on edge as well and what was supposed to be a quick goodbye was about to turn into a comfort session if she didn't get a grip on herself and trust that he could handle himself.

She watched him for a moment and then stood again, leaning over to press a kiss to the top of his head. Wishing he'd said more, she said, "I just wanted you to know. I have to go. I'll call you when I'm back."

Moving toward the door, she paused with her hand on the handle. "Love you."

Without waiting for a response, she pulled it open and walked out.

Edited 2011-03-13 03:41 (UTC)

Clay wasn't sure how to take that. He didn't get to say he loved her back or anything really. He didn't know what he was going to do for three days when left on that note.

For Annie, three days passed in a blur. The op went down without too much of a mess. Sure, it wasn't without it's problems, but what op wasn't? Thankfully, none of the bullets made contact and the punch she did take didn't leave any major bruising.

She got home around three in the afternoon and went straight into her debrief. Out at four, she went into medical and was cleared forty-five minutes later. At her desk, she dialed Webb's office number.

Over the course of the three days, Webb found himself missing Annie more than he usually did, so much so that it worried him. He was always self-sufficient, feeling so alone without another person was scary.

What was even worse was finding himself looking at engagement rings. They'd been together for about a year. He shouldn't be thinking about marriage yet, if at all.

Though when his office phone rang on day three he answered without looking at the number. If he'd known it was Annie, he might have just faked a meeting, "Webb."

"Hi." Her voice was soft, even tender, when she said it. "I'm home. In fact, I'm just downstairs. Debrief and medical are done and I'm ready to skip out of here as soon as you are."

She was twirling a pen between her fingers, just biding her time.

"I still have another hour or two here. Big meeting yesterday with accompanying piles of paperwork."

"Oh. Okay." She set the pen down and leaned forward. "If you want to come over tonight, we can order in and just relax." Then, in an attempt to put the uncertainty out of her voice, she smiled and added. "I missed you."

Maybe it was Columbia, maybe it was realizing yet again that she might not come home and he'd be completely lost without her, maybe it was the knowledge that he could see himself spending the rest of his life with her, but whatever it was was still terrifying. The way she said she missed him made it even more so.

"I did too." It wasn't a lie. Maybe this would all go away. Just nerves. That had to be it, nerves. "I should be done around seven."

"Okay..." It kind of trailed off as she realized that he was still a little off. Annie hesitated, then decided not to mention it since they were still both at the office. "Um, I guess I'll see you later. Love you."

At home, Annie started laundry and took a shower, then took a small nap before he got there so that she would be less likely to fall asleep on him.

Webb finished his work around seven, just like he said. Then he went back to Alexandria packed a bag, and headed over to Annie's guest house. This was entirely too unsettling.

He took a deep breath before knocking on her door to calm himself down.

Annie'd woken up about three minutes before he knocked on the door and was in the bathroom washing her face when it happened. "Just a second!"

Once she finished, she pulled her up in a ponytail as she crossed the room and opened the door. "Hey. Come on in."

"Hi," he said as he entered her guest house. He hadn't felt this uneasy since he decided to vocalize how he rates women. That was not good.

"How was Columbia?"

"Pretty good. The usual. Bullets all missed, one punch didn't." She was in good spirits just because he was there and she took his bag from him and set it on her bed.

It wasn't until she saw him as she turned around that she picked up on something being wrong. "Are you okay?"

"Just a long few days. That's all."

Again, not a lie. Why they were long was something he was keeping to himself as long as he possibly can.

"I understand."

Stepping closer, she slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled, feeling all the stress of her last few days dissipate.

She ran her hands up his back and pulled him closer. "But you're here now, so it's better."

"You are too," he said as he hugged her.

It was so easy to get wrapped up in all this again. He decided he had to be a little more careful. But there was no harm done by a hug.

She was already completely wrapped up in him again and she smiled as soon as he said it. To be honest, she wasn't that hungry, as she usually wasn't when she first came home, and she just wanted to cuddle up next to him and relax.

Pulling back, she said, "Do you want to get dinner or I can make sandwiches or...?"

"I'm fine. Late lunch today."

Despite everything, he still couldn't lie to Annie.

This time, she actually took a step back and gave him a look from head to toe, as if she were inspecting him. What she was really doing was trying to figure out what was so off about him.

"You're thinking loudly." A pause. "What's wrong?"

"Annie really, it was just a long three days. A lot is going on."

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