New York, July 1925

You could do this, you could do this. You muttered under your breath, treating the words as if they were your mantra, calming your racing pulse, curbing your building nerves and get yourself through that door into the eye of your own personal storm. You stood outside of his office, hand poised to knock inches away from the glass of the door but you found it damn near impossible to take the final step and actually make contact with the door.

It had taken longer to find something, anything that you could deem suitable to wear for this moment. By the time you had, the morning sun had risen and was shining high in the sky. You had need to rush through your daily routine, scaling down your breakfast to a single and mostly burnt piece of toast. You had needed to eat something before you made your mad dash across the city. Your morning had all but been nothing short of a complete disaster.

It was sheer luck that you hadn't snap the heel of your shoe off when it had gotten stuck albeit briefly in a storm drain. It took force to pry it free when it had, well it slipped off your foot and had gone flying. It took several minutes to find the damn thing but you had thankfully. You couldn't dream of hobbling into Percival Graves's office with only one shoe upon your feet, looking like you had been dragged through a hedge backwards. It would be highly embarrassing to face him for the second time in this lifetime like that.

You had somehow managed to still be early, the silence echoed loudly. Your heels had clicked against the marble floor as you made your way into the first ladies bathroom you'd come across. The vast emptiness of the building during spoke volumes to you, reminding you of the long years that you had spent with your beloved. How you had longed to stand by his side, in his embrace once more but you had to be patient as you were never quite certain of how this worked.

You never understood the when and how of each new life he gained. His memories were sketchy at best or there would be nothing remembered at all. Those were your two extremes, there was no grey area in between yet he always returned. The time lapses between his death and rebirth was unpredictable, it could be months but at the same it could be decades before he was returned to the waking world as a living, breath being.

You were always grateful for more time, for these second, third, fourth chances. They were not do-overs but new chances to be with your dear beloved who you had ultimately been chasing through the years. A sad small smile graced your lips, as you took one final look in the mirror, taking in your appearance that you had salvaged. You turned on your heel and begun your journey upwards.

All the time wondering, how was he happy? He was loved? If this was a life where he had found his happy ending then you would take a step back, be there in his life but not as his lover. Yes, it hurt you deeply to watch from him a distance live his life out with another by his side but seeing him happy was enough for you. There would be another chance in another life. His happiness was always your happiness.

You would work under him regardless of the outcome. You knowingly would begin to fall in love with him all over again. Finding new quirks adorable, falling into his deep, soulful eyes once more until your heart skipped a beat when your eyes found his from across the room. You shook your head pushing the overly emotional back, locking into a iron clad box for another day. This was not the time for such things.

You took a deep breath, collecting your thoughts as you lightly knocked upon the office door. A deep, familiar voice called from within beckoning you inside. With one hand upon the door knob, you turned it, pushing it inwards before taking a few tentative steps inside.

Percival's eagle eyed gaze took in the figure standing before him. She was not what he had been expecting then again he himself wasn't sure he was too expect when his new secretary entered his office for the first time.

He was almost certain for a brief moment that he had seen her before but for the life of him, Percival couldn't place exactly where he had encounter this particular woman before. He pushed it aside, it did not matter in the slightest.

Her head bowed but there was a small smile playing upon her lips. "Good morning Mr Graves" She greeted formally, her words polite gleaming with respect for him and the position he held. However before he could enquire about her name or even greet her, she beat him to the punch getting in her words first.

"Would you like to fetch you a cup of coffee Sir? I noticed a fresh pot brewing as the past through the Major Investigations main office" This was interesting, most curious. Her words were kind and full of good intentions. Nothing about her was sending off red flags or internal alarms within his mind.

"Yes I would Miss…."He answered, trailing off at the end. He didn't know what to call as he was more than certain Tina had informed him more than once but the information hadn't sunked in. There were more important matters to consider than one person's name.

"L/N, it's Miss L/N Sir, I go get that coffee" She was bold but still remained a respectful distance. He was going to have to keep an eye on this one. Percival shook his head, watching her quickly leave the room. She was definitely determined, this was a good start. Maybe this one would work out in the long run but he would have to put her through the ringer first. Percival took his seat at the mahogany desk, it was time to get to started on his most recent report for Madam President. His day had only just begun as the clock on the wall hit eight o'clock.