They had both been trained well in the art of compartmentalization. Once they were settled in the Corvette, Henry's visit was the furthest thing from their minds. Annie started the engine, and Auggie ran his hands over the interior of the car. As she pulled out of the driveway, he appeared to be lost in thought.

Annie cranked up the heat, as it was a little bit too cold to be riding with the top down, but to drive this car with the top up would be a shame. Auggie's hands wandered until his left hand landed on Annie's thigh. "There is one horrible design flaw in this car that I didn't consider."

"What's that?" Annie asked.

"Bucket seats."

Annie laughed and accelerated to pass a line of vehicles. "Probably best that the driver not be too distracted, when they have so much power in their control."

Auggie pulled his hand back and went back to exploring the glove box. "You know, I've never been in the passenger seat."

"Ever?"

"Nope. You are the first person I've ever let drive it."

Annie stole a glance at him, his eyes straight ahead and hair blowing in the wind. "It's a trust that I don't take lightly."

"It's better in your hands than mine." Auggie replied.

"Where are we going?" Annie asked.

"I really don't know." Auggie replied. "Let me figure something out."

He pulled out his phone and called a number. "Hey Lisa. I need you to help me out with something. Yeah, so I have somebody headed west out of the DC Metro, and I'm looking for the first location that is well hidden - preferably in the mountains - where we can arrange a private room with a large tub." Auggie was silent a moment. "No, I don't need the Company to make a reservation. Just identify somewhere with vacancy and send the information to this number. That sounds perfect. Thank you."

Annie glanced at Auggie when he hung up. "Using Agency resources for personal matters?"

"She knew that call was personal as soon as it came on her unencrypted line. She's texting me information on some cabins at a vineyard just north of here."

...

They ended up in a private cabin on the side of a mountain. It was small, but perfect.

"Did Lisa do ok?" Auggie asked as Annie took in the view.

"Oh Auggie, this is amazing."

He walked over to her. "Tell me about it."

Annie opened a sliding glass door and led him out onto a deck. They took a few steps to the right and she put his hand onto a large solid object. "We have a hot tub." She described. "And there's about a hundred feet of dense woods around us, but since there are no leaves on the trees, I can see the vineyards on the other side. There are acres and acres of perfect lines of grape plants, and beyond those there are mountains."

He held tight to her, looking into the distance. "Well, let's enjoy the view."

Annie led him into the cabin. "I don't know what Lisa told them, but there is some food and wine here." He heard her opening a drawer and felt something metal press against his hand. "I'll go hunt us some towels if you pour the wine?"

"That works for me."

Annie came back with towels. "Okay, ready to get in the hot tub?"

"Yep."

Annie reached for a glass of wine, led him out to the tub, and removed the cover. The water was nice and hot. They pulled off their clothes and quickly got in.

They sat close, their skin touching. Annie leaned over to kiss Auggie's bare shoulder. Auggie felt for a place to sit his wine, and turned to kiss her properly. She returned the embrace. Rather to leading to anything more, they relaxed in each other's arms in the warm water.

Later, Annie sat with Auggie in front of a fire. He ran his fingers up and down her arm, occasionally running his fingers through her hair. "This is perfect, Auggie."

"Mmmm." He replied and kissed the top of her head. "I think so, as well. We should do this after all of your missions."

Annie laughed. "I wish." Then she had a thought. "Auggie?"

"Yes?"

"You blew off your brother again. I don't want you to get in trouble with your mom."

"Nah. I caught up with Pete while you were gone. We went for an early morning run on Thursday."

"He really keeps tabs on you that closely?"

"Nope." Auggie said with a definitive tone. "He travels a lot for work, and was actually in town the past couple of weeks. He'll be gone for the next little while. Works at the State Department."

"That's handy." Annie replied.

"More than you know." Auggie replied with a tease in his voice. "Pete's the only relative of mine that's read-in on where I work."

"The one that got the X-box?"

Auggie laughed. "Yeah. He's not so easy to bribe now."

They sat in silence for a moment, the only communication being the slight movements of their skin against each other. Auggie's hand on Annie's arm, Annie's toes wiggling against Auggie's leg, and the subtle movement of Auggie's chest with each breath. Annie closed her eyes to imagine the moment from Auggie's perspective. It was peaceful.

...

Sunday morning, Annie found Auggie sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee.

"Enjoying the view?" Annie asked.

Auggie grinned. "There's a lot to take in out here."

"Tell me about it?" Annie asked as she walked over and pulled a chair next to him. She reached for his empty hand.

"Is there fog burning off?"

"Yeah."

"There were just some squirrels chasing each other in the tree over there." Auggie pointed to his left. "It was intense. Lots of scurrying."

"Scurrying, huh?" Subconsciously Auggie was rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Being out in the mountains like this is considered to be more quiet than the city, but there are so many noises. From the cricket in the cabin last night, to the birds calling in the trees this morning, the rustling of the leaves, and all the critters scurrying. I would say there are more than twice as many sounds here than in my apartment in DC." He lifted Annie's hand to his mouth for a kiss. "Yet it is so much more peaceful."

"Not to mention that we've gone almost 24 hours without our cell phones ringing." Annie added.

"Oh, I took the batteries out last night." Auggie explained.

"But what if..."

"Shhhh." Auggie interrupted. "If she really needed to, Joan could find us."

Annie considered this for a moment.

"Being off the grid shouldn't be that discomforting anymore, dear." Auggie suggested.

Annie laughed. "I was trying not to make it a habit."

"Wouldn't have guessed that, with the deal you made yesterday." Auggie stated with a somber tone.

Annie sighed and squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry you're so deeply involved in this."

"I sort of jumped in, remember?"

"More like I jumped in, you threw a line, and I used it to pull you down, as well."

"Extravagant metaphors aside, there are a lot of rogue missions on your plate. It would be a miracle to pull off one without Joan knowing, much less seven."

"You've helped me accomplish miracles, before."

Auggie sighed. "And I will, again."

"Thank you." Annie replied.

Auggie kept Annie's hand in his as he stood up, pulling her out of her chair. "I'll plug you back in, if you drive us to breakfast?"

"Sounds like a deal to me." Annie replied.

...

When they arrived back in DC, Annie drove straight to Auggie's apartment.

"Stay with me tonight." Auggie stated.

"Okay," Annie replied.

Once in his place, Auggie wrapped his arms around Annie, his fingers in her hair. "Are you one hundred percent certain you want to do this for Henry?"

"We don't have the luxury of waiting until we are 100% certain of anything." Annie replied.

Auggie placed his forehead against hers. "Then I promise to be with you, every step of the way."

The End.

A/N: Sorry to end it here, but I never wanted to write a story about many little missions, just about their relationship. It didn't turn out as rocky as I planned, either. Thank you for being along for the ride!

Now that it is complete, please leave a review to let me know what you think. I may have some follow-up one-shots, but I'm focused a little more on another story. As always, I look forward to everybody else's stories, as well. If you aren't reviewing, I hope you are writing.