This story has been developing in my head for a while and with 'Roommates' almost finished I decided to start this one. It's set about six years after the end of 'Roommates'. Auggie and Annie have been married for about 5 years and their first child, a daughter, has arrived. It will be both about the progress in Auggie's career and lots of Annie/Auggie too. Hope you enjoy! :)

PS! Last chapters of 'Roommates' will be up soon. I've kind of hit a road block in the 2nd to last chapter that I'm struggling a bit with at the moment, but hopefully I'll be able to finish it this weekend.

AN #2: Jan. 24th 2012:
I've cleaned up this chapter a bit, fixed a few mistakes that were brought to my attention and some continuity errors.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Covert Affairs, Auggie or Annie.

-Chapter 1: Offers-

In the close to 10 years Auggie had been Head of Technical Operations at the Domestic Protection Division of the CIA he'd been mostly happy with his job. He actually thought he was pretty damn lucky to be able to continue working for the CIA after loosing his sight in the line of duty in Iraq. Sure, he still missed doing fieldwork, but he come to terms with the fact that field officers with working eyes were a better choice for most assignments. He'd learnt to be happy with being the voice in the ear of the field officers when they were out saving the world, at least most of the time. Cracking codes, writing programs and deciphering encryptions was something he'd enjoyed since his teens and he liked that part of his job too. After he'd passed on the promotion to head the OCA years ago he hadn't seen any sort of progress to his career. It wasn't something that bothered him, he liked his job and he was comfortable with and trusted his team. Especially Stu, his right hand man; they'd worked together since Auggie took over the Tech Ops department after losing his sigh in Iraq. At that point Stu was fresh out of MIT and 'The Farm' and was pretty green. They'd immediately connected and with time Stu had become one of the very few people that instinctively provided Auggie with the little assistance he needed without being intrusive. Auggie appreciated that; it made his life easier.

Over the last couple of days his mind had been racing. He hadn't really thought about changing jobs, and all of a sudden he had two great offers to consider. Joan had suggested that he put in an application for the position as Director for Science & Technology (DST); she'd pretty much said that the job was his if he wanted it. What held him back the most was the fact that the position was overt. He still had serious doubts about giving up his covert status, even though he'd realized and accepted that he'd never be fully authorized as a field officer again years ago. The closest he'd get to fieldwork was tagging along with one of the Tech Ops guys to Data Tech or sitting in a surveillance van. To add to his confusion he'd received a great offer for a civilian job. Great pay and what seemed like a challenging and rewarding job. He had to spend the weekend doing some serious thinking. He also needed to talk to Annie. He wasn't sure what she'd think about it all. If he decided to go overt it would blow her cover too, she wouldn't be able to go back into the field if she wanted to. She'd been on analyst duties since she got pregnant little over three years ago and didn't seem like she missed fieldwork all that much. It actually seemed like she was content with her desk job and more predictable hours.

"What's on your mind Aug?" Annie asked over dinner later that evening. It was Friday night and their two-year-old daughter, Hailey, was spending the weekend at Danielle and Michael's place. Annie decided to grab the opportunity to talk to Auggie. She could sense something was off and that Auggie was unusually quiet, he had been for the last couple of days and she knew something was on his mind.

"Nothing," he answered, digging his fork into his pasta. He wasn't sure he was ready to discuss it with Annie yet; he hadn't even worked through it in his own mind.

"Honey, I know you inside and out. There's something bothering you. Now, fess up." Annie wasn't giving up that easy. Auggie sighed, knowing that his wife wasn't about to back down until he told her what was bothering him.

"Joan suggested that I apply for the position as Director for Science and Techonolgy and on top of that I've been offered a civilian job. I have to make my decision by noon Monday and I have no idea what to do. Honestly I'm not even sure if I want to leave my job in Tech Ops."

Annie was shocked; Auggie was considering leaving the agency?

"What? You're leaving the CIA?"

"That was not what I said. I simply told you that I've been offered a job. I've been in the same position for about 10 years now, and although I'm mostly content with my job, part of me is tempted with the prospect of new challenges."

"But Auggie, both those positions means giving up your covert status. I thought you still wanted back in the field?"

"Annie, I've realized the closest I'll get to field work is attending Data Tech with Stu and Eric or sitting in a surveillance van. I'm blind and I'll never be a fully authorized field officer again, it's the way it is and I came to terms with that years ago." He paused for a second, trying to gather his thoughts before continuing. "It's not that I don't like my job, it's just that I've been in that position for quite some time now and part of me is ready for a change."

"I understand that honey," Annie said, placing her hand on Auggie's forearm, squeezing it reassuringly. "It just surprised me that you're even considering a job outside the CIA. I kind of thought you were a lifer."

"So did I when I was recruited and as long as I worked in the field I was sure that I didn't wanna be anywhere else or do anything else. Didn't exactly plan on this," he said, waving one hand in front of his eyes with. "It kind of changed my plans a bit you know."

"Aug, I know that. I also know that you are amazing in so many ways and the way you've rebuilt your life is something very few people could do. Everyone at the DPD says you're the best handler there is, your tech knowledge combined with your experience from the field and as a Special Forces soldier is unique, and if you choose to leave I know you'll be greatly missed. Now, I'm not saying you should stay because people will miss you, you need to do what's right for you, not what's right for me or anyone at work. DST is a great position, but what exactly is the civilian job?"

"I'd be heading the product development department at Optelec, you know the company that makes Braille displays and lot's of other adaptive tech for visually impaired people. As you know I've been testing new tech for them for a while now and they really want to hire me full time. They've offered me a great salary and the job does seem very challenging, although it's very different from what I'm doing now."

"Sounds like a great opportunity, but isn't being DST at the Agency more up your alley? That job seems to be a perfect job for you."

"I know. The thing is, both jobs are amazing opportunities. I'm leaning towards the job at the agency, but at the same time the job at Optelec is tempting. I'd be doing something I love, combined with helping people with my disability."

They continued discussing the pros and cons of both jobs for a while before they decided to leave the subject for the night and decided to watch a movie. They weren't making any decisions that night anyway and needed to clear their minds.

Over breakfast the next morning Auggie addressed the subject again.

"One good thing with the Optelec job is that I won't have to read my family and our friends in about being CIA. It'll just look like I changed jobs, from one civilian job to another. People do that all the time and it won't raise any questions. The job at the agency on the other hand will reveal the truth about where I've been working for the past 15 years, and it will most likely blow your cover. If I take that job you'll not be able to go back into the field again. I don't mind loosing my covert status, as I said before I'm never going to be a fully authorized field officer anyway, but I'm not sure how my family will react to the fact that I've pretty much been lying to them since college."

"I see that point Augs, but seriously; you shouldn't let that stop you from applying to the position as DST if that's the one you really want. Some of them might get hurt, but mostly I think they'll be really proud of you. You know they will. As for me, I'm happy where I am. I don't really miss fieldwork all that much, and my chances of going back into the field are slim anyway, being a parent and all. We both know how the agency feels about putting mothers in the field."

"I guess," Auggie shrugged. He wasn't convinced. He decided to call Matt, his older brother for advice later. He needed some 'man to man' advice on this one and Matt was the only one in his family that knew that Auggie was with the CIA.

#############################

A couple of hours later Auggie called Matt. He picked up the phone on the third ring.

"Hey Aug, how are you?" Matt said happily. It had been a while since they talked; both had busy schedules, juggling work and parenting.

"All's good here Matt. How are Susannah and the kids?"

"Good. Although I do regret having two kids sometimes," he chuckled.

"Matt, I need some advice from you. Do you have time?"

"Shoot! I'm at he office right now, alone."

"I've gotten two job offers the past week, and I'm having a hard time deciding." Auggie quickly explained both offers. Matt simply listened and only a random "mhm" or "aha" confirmed that he was still on the line. When Auggie finished he spoke.

"That's a though one Aug, really. I guess both jobs has pros and cons, but I'm guessing the civilian one is more of a hands on job than the one at the Agency?"

"Probably, that's actually something I haven't thought about, but I think you have a point. Being the Director of a department at the agency is more of a administrative and public relations position."

"I think you should put some thought into that; would you like more of a hands on job or do you want a more administrative position? I think that should be the first thing to consider. Don't worry about all the other stuff. Whatever you decide I'll support you and I'm sure the rest of the family will as well."

"Thanks Matt. I appreciate it."

"Another thing Aug, how 'bout the position you have now; are you happy there? Are you sure you want to leave? Or is this just something you're considering because you got the offers?" Matt's last question surprised Auggie, it had crossed his mind, but coming from his brother made it more 'real'. He wasn't sure about it at all. Did he really want to leave his job in Tech Ops? He liked his job, he had great co-workers and being in a field officers ear when a mission went awry and managing to get the officer back safely was a great feeling. The adrenaline rush he got when things went wrong and everyone had to work frantically to get the officers back safe was the closest he got to the rush of actually being in the field himself. He would miss that.

So, what do you think? What should Auggie do? Should he stay where he is? Take the promotion or move on to a civilian job?