Escape Clause II– one year later

Notes: So, I know I promised to never do this, but here it is, my Annie Auggie domestic bliss future fic. Eeek! I set up a universe in my fic Escape Clause where Annie and Auggie run off to avoid Annie's arrest for Seth's murder. This represents a world where Helen doesn't exist, Henry is in jail (with Calder which I regret now) and Annie never became Jessica Matthews and it ended with Annie and Auggie getting married. I highly recommend reading it before diving into this.

"I can rebook the flight," Auggie offered calmly.

"I will be there," Annie assured," but I might not be able to stop home first."

"I already packed for you, your toothbrush and bikini are in the suitcase."

"I would laugh if I didn't think you were entirely serious. At least toss a sundress or two in the bag too," she sighed.

"Maybe. Hey the intel you sent was a goldmine, Joan is thrilled by the way."

"Well that's good, if we are leaving for 2 weeks it is best to be on good terms with the boss. Happy anniversary by the way," she smiled into the phone.

"Same to you and I intend to show you just how much I missed you during your jaunt to Lisbon once you fly back here and we fly nearly 8,000 miles to our vacation destination."

"We'll be lucky if we can stay awake long enough to make the bed, let alone use it," Annie laughed.

"We'll have 10 blissfully uninterrupted days when we back out the travel time and I intend to spend as much of that time naked as is humanly possible…."

"Gross…." Barber noted as he walked in at just the wrong moment.

"Busted," Auggie grinned.

"Tell Barber I said hi, they are calling my flight."

"Have a safe trip and seriously don't worry about packing, I got it covered, just relax at the airport, have a glass of wine, I'll meet you there. I love you."

"Love you too," Annie said as she hung up.

"You guys aren't normally so mushy," Barber grimaced.

"It is our anniversary," Auggie shrugged as if that explained everything.

"Wow, that year flew."

"I know, seems like just yesterday we were presumed dead," Auggie chuckled.

***555***

Annie saw her husband approaching, he had texted when he got out of the cab and again as he cleared security, so while she was not surprised to see him she was enjoying a moment of uninterrupted gazing. An airport attendant was guiding him, the young man chatting away comfortably as if he guided blind people all the time.

Auggie looked good, he clearly got out of work early enough to change into more comfortable flying clothes, a soft gray long sleeve shirt over well worn jeans. He looked relaxed and happy and yummy.

"He's cute," the waitress noted as she followed Annie's gaze.

"That is my husband," Annie said with no jealousy in her voice, no territorial bite, just joy.

"Lucky girl," the waitress smiled nicely.

"I'm just going to get him, I'll have another glass of Prosecco and a Heineken for him please," Annie jumped up as the pair approached the open entrance to the airport bar.

"Auggie!" she called with a raised hand for the guide's benefit.

"Success," he grinned as he switched his lead to his wife and thanked the young man who got him across the busy terminal.

"I ordered you a beer," she reported as she maneuvered between the tight tables in the crowded bar.

"Thanks," he squeezed her arm and took the chair she offered him.

"You look good," she sipped the end of her first glass of wine.

"You sound tired," he mentioned.

"A little, I might not be up for 20 Questions on the flight."

"Knowing you you will be out cold before we taxi to the run way," he accepted his beer and took a long sip.

"In my line of work, sleeping on planes is a must."

"Well we have 3 planes and a boat between here and our vacation, so you can sleep all you want."

"I can't believe we are going back."

Annie and Auggie had kept the house in Niue, renting it from time to time and paying a small amount for a local to keep it up in between rentals.

"It does seem like a lifetime ago," Auggie nodded.

Annie reached across the small table and wrapped her hand around her husband's.

"I have never forgotten what you gave up for me, what you risked for me Auggie, I never will."

"I would do it again in a heartbeat," he promised turning his hand in hers and lacing their fingers together.

***555***

It took very little for Annie and Auggie to acclimate to island life again. Annie noticed a lack of tightness in his shoulders as she nibbled her way along them in bed. Auggie noticed less of a set to her jaw when he reached to pull her into a kiss. Annie reconnected with the ocean and Auggie his hammock.

"Is that Hank?" Annie asked with a giggle as she wrung the water out of her hair and observed the lizard on her husband's bare chest.

"He's been waiting for me," Auggie smiled and reached a hand out for her.

Annie joined him in the hammock, depositing Hank safely on to the ground.

"Good swim?" he asked as he kissed at drops of water on her neck.

"Mmmmhmmm," she arched her neck giving him better access.

"You taste good," he murmured as he moved to capture her lips.

"Oh wait!" she pulled back suddenly and sat up chuckling at the dazed look on her husband's face.

"Huh?" he said eloquently not used to her stopping his intended activity.

"Sorry! I kept meaning to tell you and then I was jet lagged and then I was blissfully preoccupied with your body and before we end up back in that state I meant to tell you. I stopped taking my pills."

She shifted so her legs were on the ground, which proved to be a good move when he sat up suddenly rocking the hammock.

"Are you sure?" he asked with something approaching awe on his face.

"Am I sure? Yes, I am sure I stopped taking my pills, the pack ran out right before I went to Lisbon, I didn't open the next one," she answered what she knew was not his actual question.

"Annie?" he nearly growled at her.

"I'm sure Auggie, I love you and love being married to you. I want to have a baby," she smiled softly at him kissed him gently.

"OK," he said and a thousand emotions passed over his face.

"This is part of the reason I didn't want to tell you," she shook her hair and water droplets skittered across his warm flesh.

He just looked towards her.

"You are already over thinking."

"We've had a lot of sex the past few days, you could already be pregnant," he reached out and found her bare stomach between the pieces of her bikini.

"Unlikely, but not impossible I guess," she shrugged.

"You went swimming in the ocean."

"Yes, I am pretty sure pregnant women can swim in the ocean. Have you had a stroke or something?" she ran a hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead.

"They'll be two of you to worry about," he said his voice small and his eyes wide.

"We talked about this, my work will change, we'll talk to Joan when we are back home. She certainly understands," Annie said alluding to their boss' 18 month old son.

"We talked about work, but you could have been eaten by a shark," he pointed vaguely towards where the ocean sounded like it was.

"And that would have sucked, but I am not going to wrap myself in bubble wrap for nine months, so you need to snap out of this," she said with a giggle.

He just nodded and worried at his bottom lip with his teeth.

Annie leaned back down, coaxed that lip from between his teeth with her own lips and deepened the kiss.

"Now before I brought this up, you were about to ravish me," she pulled her legs back up into the hammock and stretched out on top of Auggie with a purr.

It worked for a few minutes, her lips kept his occupied, his hands roamed freely over her body, she could feel him shift to get better leverage as she moved against him.

"Wait!" he stopped them this time.

"Huh?" her equally delirious response to having her bliss interrupted.

"We should go inside," he suggested and moved to get out of the hammock.

"Why? No one is around, I checked when I walked up from the beach," she assured and untied her bikini top to verify her comfort level with sex in the back yard.

"Do you really want to conceive our child in a hammock?" he asked with a frown.

"We could have conceived our child on the kitchen counter yesterday," she smiled and ran her hand along the column of his neck.

The memory of the frantic way she wanted him last night after dinner momentarily distracted Auggie, but despite the flood of desire the memory brought he still tried to get out of the hammock.

"Maybe being conceived in a hammock will make our baby super chill," Annie held firm to her position on top of her husband, trapping him in the hammock.

"This is still going to be our baby," Auggie countered.

"Then he or she will need all the extra laid backness that conception in a hammock can offer," she laughed and the sound of her laughter, the sound of Annie erased all of the anxiety in Auggie's body.

He reached up to her then, pulled her back to him.

"I love you," he said.

Annie smiled, wherever and whenever they conceive this baby it is certain to be conceived in love and that alone is a pretty good start for a kid.

TBC…