A/N: I know, I know. Ashley is an idiot. Ashley knows she is an idiot. Feel free to cyber-slap Ashley now. :/

But seriously, I have been so excited to write this story, too, since before I even started Dreamer! And I had plans of starting it about right now, even if I hadn't been done with Dreamer, which I obviously am not. I'll still be working on both at the same time, but I had to get this started, if I wanted it to fit into the time frame I'd planned to set it in. :)

So, without further ado…

Disclaimer: I owneth not Covert Affairs, and I shall never owneth it.

Chapter 1

Annie pulled her wool coat closer around her as the icy air bit into her cheeks and numbed her ears and nose. She silently cursed the sundress and sandals she was still wearing. She had just returned from a brush pass in Brazil, and she still hadn't been able to change into clothes befitting February weather in the D.C. area.

As she pulled open the doors to the entrance of Langley, a gust of warm air surrounded her, and she breathed deeply.

Back at Langley.

It was always a good feeling, after a mission, to return home safely, especially when Auggie was waiting for her at the other end, just to make sure she made it safely, and that she'd endure debriefing.

She hummed to herself quietly as she made her way through security and up to the DPD. She knew Auggie would be waiting for her, protective and worried as ever, and Joan had insisted on a full debriefing before she signed out for the weekend. It was five-thirty, and she was hungry, but she didn't have much of a choice.

She stopped short at the sight of a large red box proudly resting atop her desk, and she changed directions. When she reached her desk, she lifted the single lily—how had they known she vastly preferred lilies to roses?—to her nose and breathed in its sweet fragrance.

She frowned curiously at the sight of the small white envelope resting on top of the box. Slitting the seal, she lifted the single sheet of elegant, almost lacy, stationary and unfolded the note curiously.

"Annie,

You are perfectly breathtaking.

Please don't hate me for seeing what the whole world should have never missed."

A slow, happy smile crossed her features, and she sniffed the lily demurely again. Slipping the note into her pocket, she reached for the lid of the box, removing it curiously. She discovered a pure-white, plush, beautiful teddy bear. The card attached said, "So you can always have a hug whenever you feel alone."

She smiled, hugging the bear. It seemed a childish thing to do, hugging a plush teddy bear in the middle of the DPD of the CIA, but she was touched by the sentiment of her secret admirer.

Beneath the bear, she discovered a small box, and she lifted the lid. She gasped quietly at the sight of a silver bracelet. It was beautiful. And it must have been at least a hundred dollars, if not more. As she lifted the bracelet, she discovered the note. "So the whole world can see a little more of the beauty I always knew was there."

Smiling to herself, she smelled the lily again and made her way to Auggie's office.

As she stepped through his doors, he seemed to be waiting for her. Snacking on a bag of popcorn, leaning back in his chair, he grinned up at her. "Hi, Annie."

She smiled quietly at him, slipping into the chair he had taken to leaving by his desk for her. "Hi."

He stilled, eyebrows furrowed, as he tried to figure out her mood. "You're quiet."

She was still positively glowing from her gifts—she had never been terribly mushy or romantic, but the gifts and notes had changed something inside of her. She handed him the teddy bear. "What should I name him?" she asked with a lingering smile.

He studied the bear with his hands. "Where'd you get this?"

She shrugged. "There was this box waiting on my desk for me when I got here a few minutes ago. I think I have a secret admirer." She dug the note out of her pocket. "'Annie, you are perfectly breathtaking. Please don't hate me for seeing what the whole world should have never missed.'" She lifted the lily to her nose again. "And he left me a lily, Aug. Not even a rose. He must be the perfect guy."

Auggie smiled to himself. He'd heard Annie complain about a few dates in the past who showered her with roses—red ones, no less. Though Annie loved getting flowers, he knew that she thought roses were overrated. "Must be," he agreed.

She glanced down at the bracelet in her hand. Intricate silver flowers, with little aquamarine jewels separating each flower, formed the bracelet, with a clasp at one end. Setting her lily on Auggie's desk for a moment, she held out her wrist and the bracelet. "Here. Can you help? I couldn't get the clasp to close when I tried earlier."

He accepted the bracelet from her, and, after fumbling with the bracelet for a few seconds, he secured the clasp. Smiling up at her, he asked, "How does it look?"

She grinned brightly back at him. "It's perfect." She sighed softly. "I wonder how he knew all this about me… about how I love lilies, and how roses are overrated, and how I was born in March…"

Auggie rolled his eyes. "Well, we are in the CIA."

Annie's eyes widened. "You think he works here?"

"You think he doesn't?"

Annie shrugged. "I dunno… I kinda thought I'd just play it out. Enjoy it. I like the mystery of it all."

"You don't want to know who he is?"

"I dunno," she said, still half in the lala land where princes still ride in shining armor and rescue their maidens. "I kinda do. Maybe if he keeps giving me gifts and making me feel like this."

He chuckled. Checking the time against his watch, he asked, "Aren't you going to be late for your debriefing?"

She jolted as her eyes widened. "Oh, yeah. I completely forgot!"

She shoved the bear back into his arms. "Can you keep him for me? Until I'm done? If you're still here by the time I'm done, I can pick him up, even take you home, if you want. But I didn't figure Joan would particularly be excited about having to debrief the bear, too."

Auggie smiled. "Sure. I'll see you later, Annie."

She grinned back at him, sniffing her lily again. "Okay. Bye." With that, she glided back to her desk to try and find something to put her lily in.

lalala

A/N: Sooooo… what do you think? :) I think this one will be really short (well, for me, anyway, haha), just about five chapters. :)