Your life can change in an instant. The decisions you make. The ones you don't. The ones you wish you had or hadn't. They all lead you down their respective paths. Sometimes you have to deal with them whether you want to or not, because regrets don't make a difference.

But some decisions give you a second chance. Chances that may only last half a second. One instant that gives you the opportunity to swing back around, right yourself on the path you were walking down before.

Not all decisions give you this chance, but some do.

This one does.

And I'm taking it.

Before I even mean to, I'm stumbling through my apartment toward the door. I miscount my steps and slam into the table, but the pain barely registers. I just uttered the four worst possible words to the woman I love and I'll be damned if I don't do what I can to take them back.

Right now I don't care if we don't make it a month or four down the road.

I don't care that we'd be the minority of CIA agents who make it out together.

I don't care if she's uncertain.

I'm going half out of my mind already and she isn't even to the elevator yet.

Oh god, please don't be to the elevator yet.

Where is my damn door?

"Annie!" I hope my muffled voice reaches her through the metal door as I fumble to find the handle. My shaking fingers finally grasp the object to my possible salvation and I push the door just wide enough for me to squeeze through. "Annie!"

Her shaking sobs suddenly quiet in to stilted breaths and my own catches. She's still here.

"Annie," I call out, my arms reaching. I'm suddenly wishing for more than just darkness so I could run to her myself. But it doesn't matter as her full weight barrels into me and Annie curls her shaking body around mine. I wrap my arms around her and press my face into her neck. "I don't care that there's not a normal," I murmur, the words tumbling out. "We've never had normal between us and we thrive off of pushing each other and fighting challenges together. Our normal is that there's an us at all. That's all I need. Just you. No end in sight. We'll figure it out together." I pause and press a kiss to her temple. "Just don't go."

"Helen said we can't have both and I don't know what to do," Annie whispers after a moment. "Who's going to bring Henry down if not for me? And if we're not together then he can't use you against me." Annie's voice breaks and I reach up to cup her face with my hands. "But I can't walk out of your apartment without breaking down, so that kind of tells me this is the worst idea ever. I can't lose you, Auggie."

"The only way we lose each other is if we're apart. I know…I know we have a lot to talk about and think through and there's so much to worry over and that's all without Henry Wilcox in the picture. I know that. But Annie, there's right now and there's you and me. And that's all I'm asking for. The only thing that changed in the last 48 hours is Helen coming back into our lives and messing with our heads."

"But you said she might be right about this one."

"And I also said she's wrong about a lot of things. Look, the statistics say we might not make it. But if there's anything I know about you, Annie Walker, it's that you specialize in blowing statistics out of the water." I smile at the chuckle that gets out of her. "So screw what she says. I believe in you and I believe in us. And I also happen to know that over half the office is rooting for us."

"Who told you that?"

"Barber."

"Barber? When did you talk to Barber?"

"We were working on the flash drive earlier. Listen, that doesn't matter right now. We have friends who want us to make it, who think we can. I finally have you, Annie. I'm not ready to let you go."

And this is the hardest part about being blind. I'd give anything to see her face right now, read her eyes, her expressions. Even the ones she doesn't know she's showing. But I can't. All I can do is wait.

And in moments like these, seconds seem like hours.

Finally Annie's voice comes, slow and quiet. I can tell she's fighting for control. "I turned Henry down, Auggie. You know him. He'll be out for blood. The best way to get to me is through you. And I can't, I can't let him do anything to you."

I pull her face up to mine and she fits our lips together. "That's what you're worried about? We're spies. And the perfect team. We'll out-spy him or bring him down before he can try."

"Nothing we've done so far has worked."

"Then we aren't trying hard enough."

"Auggie—" She begins to protest.

So I try something else. "If I became Henry's primary target and tried to break up with you for fear of your safety, what would you say?"

"Auggie—"

"What would you say?"

But she doesn't answer. Instead I feel the warm wetness of her lips as she leans in for a kiss. Her hands circle behind my neck and I finally respond in kind as I draw her closer to me. I whisper her name against her lips and feel her mouth tilt into a smile.

"I believe in us, too."

That's all the answer I need.

Sometimes your life changes in an instant. The trick is knowing when you need to change it back.

I know, I know I've been gone forever and this isn't even the right story to be updating. But I couldn't sleep after watching this ep and had to do something to soothe my aching mind. Also, just so you know if you read my other fics - never invite writer's block over for dinner. He never ever leaves. I'm slowly but steadily working on the ending to Torrent. It's depressing that I got so far and then accidentally took a nearly three year long break. It's an open document on my computer, but that doesn't help you any. Anyhow, as soon as I finish that, I'll post it and then I've got some others in the works : ) Thanks for all your continued support! xx