[MEME] -- #5, the AU from Hell

[freshoffthefarm]

[From here, as requested by fakes]
--

It was an op in Vegas, which was so weird since most of her domestic ops stayed in the DC Metro area, and Annie had done her job well. The extra babysitting had been extra annoying (when wasn't it?), but he'd come along to visit an old friend... or so he'd said.

She hadn't seen hide or hair of him during her mission, but when she went to have a drink in the bar at their hotel late the night before they were supposed to leave, she found him sitting in a dark corner. When didn't he sit in dark corners, really, but she rolled her eyes and put a smile on her face to join him.

Their breakup and subsequent dealings had been difficult, and after that State Dinner, she'd gone out of her way to keep her distance from him as much as possible. That didn't mean they couldn't enjoy a drink or two (or seven) while in Vegas.

Unfortunately--

When Annie woke to the pounding in her head, she almost couldn't open her eyes. When she finally managed, she ignored the immense nausea she felt and peered at the walls in the hotel room she was in. She hadn't been given this nice of a room, not on the Agency's dime, no. This was something else. Turning, she caught sight of a man's head and her eyes widened, causing the pounding to pick up and she clenched her eyes shut again with a groan.

Clapping both hands, right over left, on her head, she felt something heavy and lifted them again almost immediately. Seeing the wedding ring set on her left hand, she gasped.

"Oh, my God."

Comments

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Clay didn't mind being the babysitter, and neither did his friend in Casino Security. That's why Annie hadn't seen him, and yet he'd been able to keep tabs on her all over the city. Surveillance cameras and a crack security staff that could make sure all the street and traffic cameras followed a certain blonde woman without missing a second.

He once joked about retiring to Vegas and after seeing his friend's facilities, it might actually be a reality.

When her op was over, Clay decided to go play some high stakes poker and won is first three hands. He decided to quit while he was ahead and go wait for Annie in the bar near the table games. He didn't expect to have that many drinks.

The next few hours were a blur, and the next thing he clearly remembered was Annie's "Oh My God," he sat up in bed.

"If you're headache's anything like mine, I doubt God had anything to do with it,"

[freshoffthefarm]

"Very funny." Annie wasn't a morning person on a good day. She needed coffee, lots of coffee, and more 'lack of hangover' time to be able to function.

The fact that she now had a wedding ring on meant that she had to go looking for a wedding certificate, and she wasn't even sure she could process moving without being sick to her stomach. "Get up. I think we have a problem. A big problem."

Like two carats worth of a problem.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

"Annie," he said with a groan as he sat up in bed too quickly, "what are you talking about?"

As best he could figure, the worst thing that happened was they had sex. Clay hadn't seen her hand or paid attention to his own, assuming it was just his Harvard ring.

[freshoffthefarm]

He may not have been her favorite person in the world, but she wasn't the kind of person to panic over having sex with an ex. Well, unless that ex was Fifty Dollar Ben, but-- No.

She threw back the covers, then pulled them back quickly when she realized that they had, in fact, likely had sex. Lots of sex, probably. The only thing missing were handcuffs to confirm it. She was so naked and her skin was flushing as she shook her head and sat up, her back to him.

There was no bathrobe on the floor, just a long line of clothing - hers and his - from the door to the bed. "This room is huge. Do you stay in places like this a lot when you travel?"

Complaining made her feel like she had a handle on the situation, right up until she found their marriage certificate on the table near the door, just as she finished pulling his shirt over her head. Holding it up as she turned, she added, "Big problem."

[freshoffthefarm]

Annie wasn't concerned about the money, either. She was concerned about Porter Webb being extremely upset about her darling son running off to Vegas and getting married in a drunken stupor to some floozy he'd dated for a year some time ago.

She didn't want to be a floozy.

"I'm not really concerned about that. I'm worried about what your mom is going to say about the rest of it. The marriage part. I think we can file the paperwork in Virginia, too. It'll just take longer."

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

"My mother didn't speak to me for a month when I ended things. She thought I was being an idiot."

Hopefully that would lay Annie's fears to rest. Porter wanted Annie to be a part of their family from almost the very beginning. Clay just knew that she wouldn't like that she wasn't there when it happened.

He wasn't planning on mentioning the paperwork that was not filed in his bag.

[freshoffthefarm]

"What?"

She had learned more about their failed relationship in the last twenty minutes than she had in the last nine months and she wasn't sure she was going to be able to process it for a while. At least not in its entirety.

It was a good thing they had six hours. And their flight was being called. Annie gave him a wry smile. "It was nice of you to swing an upgrade for your wife."

Even saying it sounded weird.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

"We didn't speak for a month. She thought I managed to screw up the best thing in my life. She was right as usual."

Things for Webb were different than Annie during those nine months, but no less painful really.

He smiled at her mention of the upgrade, "One of the advantages to being Mrs. Webb, no more economy class."

[freshoffthefarm]

"I am Mrs. Webb, and I have to say? It makes me feel pretty good to be able to say that," she confessed with a soft smile.

She squeezed his hand, then dropped her left hand over it. Then she smiled even larger. "The name isn't the only thing that's going to draw a lot of looks, you know. Wearing forty thousand dollars worth of diamonds on my hand is going to be kind of conspicuous."

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

"Well, you don't have to wear the engagement ring all the time, if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

He could see how carrying the price of a midsize vehicle on your finger would make anyone uncomfortable.

[freshoffthefarm]

"It's really gorgeous," she breathed, looking down at her hand again. "If I wear it, then people are going to say... lots of things and I'm sure that you'd hear about it from the men at the Agency."

She's not sure that she'd feel uncomfortable, exactly. Just a little unsure.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

"I really am glad you like it."

Then suddenly he thought that whatever anyone said at the Agency was going to make feel Annie feel bad about their marriage. "Whatever anyone says to me doesn't matter. I love you."

[freshoffthefarm]

The next morning, Annie opened her safe to get her reports and eyed her rings. She supposed that Joan may want proof, so Annie picked them up and took those and the marriage certificate and tucked them into her purse.

At the Agency, she knocked on Joan's door to give her the briefing and then hesitated. When Joan asked her if there was anything else, Annie pulled out the marriage certificate and set it on her desk.

Joan gave it a look and then raised her gaze to Annie. "What's this?"

"A marriage certificate," Annie said promptly, holding out her hands with the wedding rings Webb had bought her. "It goes with these. Webb and I... got married in Vegas."

"I see that," Joan said as she picked up the certificate to examine it more closely. "Was this something you'd been planning on doing for a while, or--?"

Annie felt a little sick to her stomach, but she shook her head. "No. Not even-- No. We started talking late the night before we left and decided that we needed to give our relationship another shot."

"Another shot? Annie." Joan stood and set the certificate down. "This isn't just another shot. This is a marriage. To one of your superiors."

Shaking her head, Annie said, "He's not, though. Arthur's my direct superior. And yours."

It wasn't even remotely subtle about how Joan was the one who had married into her chain of command and Joan eyed her carefully. "Fine. Since I'm guessing neither of you are going to want an annulment, file the paperwork with the Agency."

Annie nodded and turned on her heel.

"Oh, and Annie? Congratulations." Joan gave her a smile that was actually sincere, which caused Annie to smile back.

"Thank you." Breathing a deep sigh of relief, she eyed the rings in her hand and then went down to her desk.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Clay's first stop that morning was personnel to pick up the requisite forms for one employee marrying another, then headed up to his office ready to start his day. Everything was going as expected until his desk phone rang.

He looked at the name on the caller ID, and took a deep breath. Joan Campbell. This was it.

"Good morning, Joan," he tried to be as cheerful as possible.
"Good morning, Clayton." She knew, it was in her voice and Joan didn't let him get a word in edgewise, "Annie came to see me this morning."
"Did she?" Clay decided to play stupid.
"You finally did it, didn't you? You poached my agent." Clay could hear the slightest tinge of humor in her voice.
"That's a way to put it, yes." He smiled despite himself.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."

Short sweet and to the point. Much different than what he expected. They'd have to have at least a small reception for those that had been a party to their whole relationship. It was the right thing to do.

At 11, Clay made his way down to the Starbucks in the food court, and waited for Annie.

[freshoffthefarm]

Annie approached at 11:03, having finished up a few extra things and saw Clay immediately. For nine months, the two of them hadn't appeared in the cafeteria at the same time and now they were not only doing just that but being friendly at the same time.

People were already looking, namely their barista.

"Hi," she said as she came up in front of him.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

"Hi," he said getting in line with Annie, "Joan took that surprisingly well."

He figured he'd get that out of the way early.

[freshoffthefarm]

Annie didn't give anything away on the drive to Danielle's except the fact that her hands were tight in her lap. That alone was enough of a giveaway, really, and she regretted downing that much wine in such a short period of time as it had made her a little dizzy.

The dizziness had worn off by the time Webb pulled the Aston Martin into Danielle's driveway and Annie couldn't help the short laugh she gave. "She's going to be surprised to see-- Yup. She's already looking out the window."

Pushing open the door to the car, Annie lifted a hand and gave a wave and, sure enough, the front door was open before she got there.

"Annie?" The confusion in her sister's voice was apparent as she looked over Annie's shoulder to Webb. "What's going on? I thought--"

"It's okay, let's just go inside." Annie turned Danielle around and gave a small shove.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Clay drive in silence doing his best not to feel sick. He wasn't exactly sure how Danielle was going to take this considering the break up nine months prior. He was also reasonably sure that Danielle knowing his position in the Agency wasn't going to go over well either.

As they approached the front door, he hoped Danielle was the only one home. He didn't want to read in the whole family. That would go over even less well. Deep breath. He'd faced terrorists that were scarier than Danielle and her family and didn't bat an eye. This should be nothing. This should be fine. Deep breath.

When Annie basically shoved Danielle into the house, Webb followed them inside wordlessly. He planned on doing most of the talking with his mother this was Annie's show, at first at least.

[freshoffthefarm]

"You did what?" Danielle's screech was loud enough to rattle the windows and Annie winced, putting out her hands in surrender, but Danielle wasn't done. "You got married. In Vegas. To him?"

Annie rolled her eyes to the first and then scoffed when Danielle mentioned Webb. "Hey! You know how I--" She swallowed and gave Clay a glance over her shoulder before looking back at her sister. "You know I still love him. It just kind of happened. And I'm not sorry about it, so you should be happy for me."

"Happy that my only sister got married to the guy who broke her heart? He's twenty years older than you, Annie. How happy can that make you?"

"Danielle!" Annie stopped her there. "Enough. I want you to be happy for me. I mean it. This is what I wanted nine months ago and this is--"

"Are you pregnant?"

Annie's mouth dropped open. "No!"

Danielle had the grace to look ashamed and then the corners of her mouth quirked up. "Because that would be kind of cool."

"Getting married because I'm pregnant?" Annie was bewildered and a little horrified that Clay was witnessing all of it.

"No! I mean, well... no. But you being pregnant."

"We... we have a long way to go before any of that," Annie said, looking at Clay again. "But we are married, we're going to stay married and... we're going to be happy about it."

[freshoffthefarm]

Having been given her assignment, Annie had left work and gone back to the guest house to pack what she could before she had to leave for the airport. Hopefully, it wasn't going to be that long of an op and she knew she was forgetting--

"Dammit." Reaching for her phone, she dialed Clay's office number. It had been months since she'd gone up to personally say goodbye that she hadn't thought to do it when she left the Agency for the day and she didn't think anyone would have given him the heads up for her.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Clay answered his desk phone very casually when he realized what number was calling him, Annie's cell phone. "Hey. Everything okay?"

He hadn't been told she had an assignment, or that she left to go to the airport.

[freshoffthefarm]

"Yeah, everything's fine," she said, trying to sound as casual as he did. "I'm gonna miss dinner tonight, though. I'm kinda packing...?"

She left it as a question so that he'd know what she was doing and she wasn't leaving too many clues on an unsecured line. In order to leave an even bigger clue, she added, "I'm at the guest house."

[freshoffthefarm]

After it was all said and done, as she sat there on the back of the ambulance while the medics patched up her head, Annie tried to block out all the noise -- before she realized that it was just the ringing in her ears.

The headache was going to be there for a while and though she tried to fight off a trip to the hospital, the medic she was fighting with wasn't listening to her. She had a feeling that someone had put a call in to Clay and she was waiting for him to arrive. Maybe then she could just go home.

"I'm fine," she said for the ninth time, swatting at the man's hand as he dabbed at her still bleeding forehead tenderly. She wasn't, but she wasn't going to have that debate anymore. "Stop."

As much as she'd love to get up and walk away, she just wasn't steady enough yet.

[fakes-death.livejournal.com]

Clay heard almost as soon as the ambulance arrived on the scene, and he made a beeline for the diner in his Aston Martin. He was standing just beyond the police tape arguing with some law enforcement agent or other. Eventually, the attending CIA agent in charge realized who he was and let him through. He spotted Annie in seconds trying her best to keep the EMT away from her and had a quick flashback to the USS Seahawk.

"Annie, you need to let the medical professionals help."

[freshoffthefarm]

The second she heard his voice, she pushed away once more and turned toward him. "Clay."

Immediately, and to her horror, she felt the tears well up in her eyes. She still couldn't stand all on her own, but she tried to step down a little as she reached for him and the medic helped steady her. Annie didn't push him away, but she wrapped her arms around Clay as soon as he was close enough.

Covered in glass, still a little bloody around the head and hands, clothing ripped, Annie hugged him as tightly as she could. In a whisper, she said, "He's gone. Jai's gone."