freshoffthefarm | [FUTURE] ... an assignment

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[FUTURE] ... an assignment

After a gorgeous weekend spent getting married to the love of her life, followed by two weeks along the coast of Greece, Annie returned to work in the same mood that she'd spent those few weeks: utterly blissful.

She'd opted not to carpool because she'd wanted to get a jump-start on looking over the work that had piled up. After she'd sauntered through the front doors of the CIA as if she didn't have a care in the world, she'd given the coffee lady a hundred percent tip when the woman said that marriage agreed with her and had even made small talk with the guys guarding the entrance as she'd scanned her ID.

Even the first couple of hours looking through files on her desk looking for actionable material didn't bring down her mood in the slightest. When Joan came by and told her that the DCS had come by and called a meeting in fifteen minutes, Annie smiled up at her and nodded. Joan's expression gave her pause, but she wasn't all that worried.

"Should give me a chance to get another cup of coffee and-" She stopped when Joan shook her head.

"You can't be late for this one, Annie. Bring Jai."

Annie nodded as Joan turned on her heel and walked away. Swiveling in her chair, she caught Jai's eye and nodded her head. He nodded once and, ten minutes later, joined her at her desk so they could head to the other side of the building together.

It wasn't until they entered the large office and saw the other occupants -- Arthur, Joan, another director that Annie didn't recognize, and Webb, that Annie's step faltered. Without Jai at her back, she might have stopped completely.

"Have a seat, Annie," Joan said, and Annie did just that; across from Webb and the other man, to Joan and Arthur's right, with Jai at her side. The silence stretched.

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For his part, Webb was just as happy. Greece was absolutely beautiful as was Annie's new bathing suit. It was two weeks he would never forget.

Since Annie decided not to carpool, Webb got out of the house earlier than normal. He spent his first half hour reviewing the intelligence brief Arthur left for him. Everything was going just fine, except for the last bullet point that mentioned Annie's name.

Arthur, out of courtesy, told Webb about an hour before the meeting. It was a compartmentalized operation, and as such, required his presence. Webb planned on sitting at the table and remaining as impassive as possible. He had to. Anything else would be unprofessional and he couldn't let anyone in the room think being married to Annie prevented him from doing his job.

When Annie sat across from him he just nodded slightly. Deputy Director Turner was going to do all the talking, at least for now.

As the op was outlined by the man she'd never met, Annie listened, her attention focused solely on him. Everything he said was something she'd heard before... until he mentioned the time frame.

"Four months?" Annie turned a look on Joan, who opened her mouth to speak, and was cut off by Director Turner.

"Four. It's short, compared to other long-term engagements we're running at the time, and we'll have someone watching, though they won't be in contact." Then he turned to Jai and outlined his duties, though 'watching' hadn't been from an up-close perspective. Jai would get Annie's reports in London and decide if any action was required.

Staring at the table they were all seated around, she was at a loss for words. Obviously, Deputy Director Turner wasn't asking; he was telling.

Webb's demeanor didn't change through the whole meeting. He sat, in his seat, and didn't move a muscle. Not a twitch, a frown, nothing. If Annie looked at him nothing about the way he sat would give away how he felt, however if Annie looked at his eyes, there would be no question about how he felt.

The idea that he was going to be alone in their big bed, in their big room, in their big house, all alone was killing him.

It took another ten seconds before she looked up at Deputy Director Turner, a composed look on her face.

"Four months. Piece of cake." She deliberately avoided looking at Webb, well aware that he hadn't so much as breathed differently during the entire meeting. Twenty minutes and his composure hadn't changed at all, but her blood pressure was through the roof. She could feel it.

Looking at Jai, she added, "You'd better have my back," and Joan and Jai both cracked smiles.

"Every time," Jai told her, a hand going to her knee.

When Deputy Director Turner stood, Annie and Jai did as well, each shaking his hand. "Specifics will be worked over the next five days to give us all time to put a few last things in order."

Annie nodded and then, still without looking at Webb, exited the office with Jai. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed as she looked at him.

"My treat," he told her, aware that it was past coffee break time and she needed fresh air right then. Taking her arm, he led the way.

Joan followed Turner out of the room and made sure the door to the conference room was shut, leaving Arthur and Clay alone.

"Breathe Webb."
He did.

Out of everyone in the room, Arthur knew exactly how Webb felt. Joan was sent on more than a few missions after their wedding, granted they weren't this close to the wedding but they still happened.

"She's a good agent. She'll be fine." Arthur was trying to be reassuring, but to Webb, everything sounded hollow.

"It's eleven thirty," Clay said as he stood up, "It has to be 5PM somewhere, right?"

Knowing her as well as he did allowed Jai to order Annie's coffee for her while she headed straight for the courtyard.

Sitting on the far bench, she stared at the summer flowers and trees and listened to the conversations around her and, for a brief moment, cursed her knowledge of languages. When Jai handed her her cup, she flashed him a smile. "Thanks."

"You'll be fine," he said by way of answer as he sat next to her and she nodded as she sipped.

"I'm not really worried about the danger," she said, feeling selfish. "I actually have confidence in my ability to blend in and make myself disappear. But doing it for four months?" She looked up at him. "That's just not fair."

He smiled at her, too, then rested his head against hers. "No, it's not. That's what you get for being smart and beautiful."

She nudged him and went back to her coffee, sighing. "I think I just need to be alone for a few minutes. Tell Joan I'll be up in a second, okay?"

Jai nodded and squeezed her shoulder as he stood, then walked away.

Webb decided to go look for Annie before continuing his work day. First stop was the Agency Starbucks. No Annie. He did buy himself a cup of coffee, then headed toward stop number two, the courtyard.

Annie was there, sitting alone staring at her coffee. Clay went outside and sat next to her, deciding drinking in silence together was preferable to drinking in silence alone.

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