Comments | freshoffthefarm: [Long Term & Undercover] ... post wedding

freshoffthefarm

[Long Term & Undercover] ... post wedding

Feb 20, 2011 10:30

They had been married all of three weeks. Three weeks, two of which were spent on their honeymoon, another holiday spent over the 4th of July and then the orders had come down: a long term, undercover assignment spent in Eastern Europe. The details had been clear enough that she knew that contact would be, at best, minimum and at worst nil ( Read more... )

with: clay, !future, what: roleplay

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fakes_death February 21 2011, 01:55:06 UTC

Three weeks of marital bliss was all he got. Sometimes he hated the company, and as it stood he pulled strings to get them the last two days together, not that he would ever tell Annie that.

Then there were the intervening five and a half months between then and now. Clay had her intelligence reports delivered to his desk as soon as they got in and finally got to use his cryptographic certificate for something worthwhile, simple analysis to make sure Annie was still writing them. It was the only thing that gave him any measure of comfort.

King sized beds were incredibly lonely when the person who should be sharing it with you wasn't there. Despite it all he made plans for Christmas at Manderly, even inviting everyone just as he did the year before. If Annie wasn't home in time, he wasn't sure what he would do except make the best of it. Thankfully, she made it home with five days to spare.

Clay sat in the observation room for Annie's eight hour debrief, just watching. Her hair was brown. For some reason he was fixated on that. It, in his mind, didn't suit her at all. But he supposed it was a necessity. He also noticed something wasn't right, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was.

When she shook the hand of her contact, he stood from his seat and went into the hall.

freshoffthefarm February 21 2011, 02:08:11 UTC

She hadn't gotten any sleep on the plane, she'd stayed awake for eight hours during the briefing and all she'd had to eat was a stale sandwich. The lights had finally given her a headache and as she stepped into the hall, she was still saying her goodbyes when she turned and saw him.

Her stomach turned over and her heart started pounding in ways that were probably extremely unhealthy. Five months was a long time. Too long. Way too long for her, she'd decided long before it'd ever been five months.

It dawned on her that he probably looked the same to everyone around him, but to her? He looked just a little older. She took several steps in his direction and paused before wrapping her arms around his neck.

Well aware that she hadn't showered in thirty-six hours and probably still smelled like an Eastern European factory, she hoped he didn't mind that she was going to cling for a minute. The fact that they had an audience of the ten or so people that had been monitoring and conducting the debrief didn't bother her in the slightest.

fakes_death February 21 2011, 02:16:36 UTC

He'd describe the smell more as eau de Eastern European farm hand.

But it didn't stop him from hugging her as tightly as possible, before leaning in and kissing his wife. Annie was his wife and he didn't care who saw them.

When he spoke it was only loud enough for Annie to hear, "I missed you."

freshoffthefarm February 21 2011, 02:24:30 UTC

What he got in response was a rapid nod of her head and a near collapse as she felt all of the muscles in her body give in to those three words.

Even as her hold on him tightened, she knew that if she didn't try and let go of him soon, she wasn't going to let go of him until someone pried her off of him bodily. Voice hoarse with the effort to keep from crying, she said, "Take me home."

She really didn't want anyone else seeing her -- not now, not until she'd had time to recover.

fakes_death February 21 2011, 02:26:58 UTC

"Okay," He took his keys out of his pocket and handed them to her, "You can go out in the car if you'd like. I need to get my things from my office."

freshoffthefarm February 21 2011, 02:31:03 UTC

Taking the keys, she held them in her hands and nodded again, feeling more sturdy on her own two feet again.

Alone in the elevator, she felt minor claustrophobia for the first time in her life, which she tried to dismiss as simply getting used to her surroundings once more and as she stepped out into the lobby, she had to take a deep breath to summon the courage to walk across the floor to the doors.

Though she knew it was just nerves and that it would take time to adjust, she silently berated herself for being silly. Unlocking Webb's car, she stood there and stared at it absently, waiting for him to join her.

fakes_death February 21 2011, 02:42:43 UTC

Webb went up to his office and locked up what he was working on before gathering his things and heading out to the parking lot. When he saw Annie standing outside of his car, he almost didn't know what to do.

"Annie?"

freshoffthefarm February 21 2011, 02:46:45 UTC

"Hmm?"

As she snapped out of her daydream, she turned and saw him standing there, so she held out his keys. She didn't understand the look on his face; he'd told her to go to the car, hadn't he?

fakes_death February 21 2011, 02:49:17 UTC

"You could get in the car." He hoped that didn't sound nearly as snide as it did to his own ears. To soften the blow, he opened the door for her.

"Come on, let's go home."

freshoffthefarm February 21 2011, 02:51:48 UTC

It did sound as snide to her as it likely did to him, so she slid into the passenger seat without a word. After he'd shut the door behind her, she reached to put on her seat belt and folded her hands in her lap.

Once he'd joined her, she said quietly, "Sorry. Just tired. I totally spaced out."

fakes_death February 21 2011, 02:56:51 UTC

"It's Okay. I'm just happy you're home."

And she was home. They were together and they could pick up where they left off.

Webb couldn't shake the nagging feeling that this mission effected her more than she let on.

freshoffthefarm February 21 2011, 03:00:41 UTC

The smile she gave him was tired, but it was all Annie. "I'm happy to be home, Clay. You have no idea what it feels like to be back."

Her voice cracked on the last word and she turned to look out the window, the familiar sights responsible for making her feel a little choked up. That was her story, anyway, and she was sticking to it.

fakes_death February 21 2011, 03:10:44 UTC

He did and he didn't. Clay had his share of deep cover ops, and knew exactly what they could do to a person. This wasn't about him though, it was about Annie.

Instead of speaking he just reached over and rested his hand on top of hers until he had to shift gears, then put it back.

freshoffthefarm February 21 2011, 03:15:54 UTC

While his hand was on hers, she ran her thumb over his knuckles and as soon as it was gone, she linked her fingers together again. Her head never turned from looking out the window.

Once they pulled into the circular driveway in Great Falls, her breath caught and she reached for the door handle before he'd even put the car in park.

fakes_death February 21 2011, 03:24:41 UTC

Webb parked the Aston Martin right in front of the stairs that led up to the house, then got out and got his things out of the trunk.

"Welcome home."

freshoffthefarm February 21 2011, 03:32:18 UTC

Annie didn't answer him right away, but she did remember to shut the door after she'd gotten out. At the door, she waited for him to unlock it and then she stepped into the darkness, automatically reaching for the light switch.

The house was still breathtaking and, for the first time since setting foot on American soil, she felt relief.

"Thank you." Her tone and smile showed just how grateful she really was. "I think I need a shower."

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