The first month at UVA had been a bit of a baptism of fire for Elizabeth. There had been quite a few teething problems and she had really started to wonder whether she had made the right decision. The worry had caused a few sleepless nights and the confidence she'd mustered on her first day had dwindled a little. The workload was far more than she'd been expecting and she knew it would only get worse. She was swamped and when she wasn't taking lectures or trying to appease worried students, she was marking papers or sorting lesson plans... And on top of all that she was still trying to get her doctorate. She had been given the position at UVA due to her teaching and research experience and the clear understanding that her doctorate would be gained within a certain time frame. That had all sounded so easy before she started but now, it was all getting too much.

Fridays had become her favourite day as she only had lectures until 11am and then had the whole afternoon to break the back of the work that piled up during the week. It also meant she could get to the decent food before the plagues of locusts descended.

She had made it to the end of her first month as a professor and not only was she finally starting to see the light at the end of the rather dark tunnel, it was 11.15am on a Friday and she was going to celebrate with a large coffee and the biggest piece of cake she could find. She sat herself down at a quiet table and opened up her book... She had neglected her reading so the relative emptiness and quiet of the canteen was very welcome. She was just about to take a rather large mouthful of cake when she was rudely interrupted.

"Can I join you Elizabeth?" Henry sat himself down before she had a chance to answer and smiled at her.

"I'm busy! And I would really prefer it if we kept things a little more formal so Miss Adams will suffice." She dropped her cake laden fork back onto the plate, sighed and looked down at her book.

Henry had been immediately intrigued by the new professor having literally bumped into her twice within the space of a few hours on her very first day. He had been wanting to sit and talk with her but the opportunity had never presented itself and he hadn't actually seen her around Campus all that much.

When he failed to take the hint, her gaze shifted back to his face "Can I help you with something?"

"So - Miss Adams, You're not married then?" He was still smiling at her and it was starting to irritate her to no end.

"What a Strange question! And the answer is really none of your business so if you don't mind."

Henry could see his presence was frustrating her but she looked so cute and he was enjoying sharing the same space as her, even for just a short while. He also noticed the lack of any kind of ring so was hoping that the answer to his previous question would be no.

"I was hoping you maybe wouldn't dislike me so much once you got to know me. But I haven't really seen you since your first day - How's it going?"

She slammed her book shut and glared at him in a vain attempt to make him leave, but when he didn't, she relented "I don't dislike you because I don't know you, and that's something I am more than happy to continue. As for work, it's all going very well thank you. Now, my coffee is getting cold and I would really like to eat my cake so could you please leave me alone now?"

As her eyes bore into him, he noticed the striking colour for the first time. He felt himself getting lost in them and couldn't look away "You have the most incredible eyes Elizabeth - Truly stunning"

She wasn't expecting him to say that and shifted uneasily in her seat but found herself blushing. She had no idea what had provoked such a reaction but it was very unusual for her. "Thank you." Her tone had softened a little and she was now feeling bad for having been so harsh with him. "I'm sorry if I appear rude, I just like to keep to myself."

"In that case I shall leave you alone. I'm sorry to have disturbed you." He flashed her another smile and walked away - Only to return 5 minutes later with a steaming hot coffee.

"You said yours was getting cold, so I thought you could use a fresh one to go with your cake. Have a good afternoon Miss Adams."

There were very few situations that left Elizabeth speechless, but Henry McCord had just managed it. He was irritating, somewhat obnoxious and far too persistent which put her on edge. But he was also rather charming in an annoying kinda way and for the first time, she had noticed how handsome he was. She sat quietly for a few minutes, contemplating the whole scenario. And then shook her head and opened her book "Nope - That is not going to happen."

The following Wednesday, Elizabeth was having a particularly shitty day. Her first two lectures had not gone to plan and she was starting to get the impression her students saw her as a soft touch which infuriated her. She missed the respect she commanded when she was running an op, it was a rush she hadn't managed to replace and she was feeling closer and closer to saying enough and handing in her resignation. The only thing stopping her was her inability to fail. She had left the CIA on her own terms, through her own choice. But she had never walked away from something because it got too hard and she wasn't prepared to start now.

She grabbed herself a quick coffee and then headed to her office to endure her office hours. Week after week it was the same students asking for extensions with the same old bullshit excuses and she was fast reaching the end of her tether. Having kept her cool with the first two students who had no legitimate reason to be there, hearing a knock on her door five minutes before the end of her scheduled time, she was tempted to stay silent and pretend not to be there. But that would make her unprofessional, and that was another thing she couldn't abide by. She let out a long breath and stilled herself to deal with yet more crap.

"Come in." She was looking at her computer screen, feeling completely uninterested in whoever it was.

"Is this a bad time?" She looked up and saw a young man standing in her doorway.

"Uhhh, no - Not at all - Come in." She waved him in and gestured for him to sit down in the seat opposite her "How can I help you? It's Blake isn't it?"

"Yes - I'm surprised you know my name." Blake was very quietly spoken and always impeccably dressed. It was probably one of the reasons he stuck in Elizabeths memory.

"My CIA training comes in very useful sometimes. Are you struggling with something Blake?"

The young man nodded but didn't offer any further information.

"Okay - Well I have a lecture in.." She glanced at her watch "Ten minutes, but I can make time to see you afterwards if you'd like?"

Blake sat silently for a few more minutes and then rose slowly "I'm really sorry to have bothered you Professor Adams." He left her office, closing the door behind him and leaving her rather baffled but she pushed it to the back of her mind as she rushed off to her next lecture.

The following day, she noticed Blake was still acting a little strangely, so asked him to hang back after class. "Are you ready to talk to me Blake?" She didn't need specialist training to see he was struggling. But also knew she couldn't push him if he wasn't ready. "How about we go and grab a coffee. It's been a rather testing day so far and I know I could certainly use one. And if you have anything you feel like sharing with me, you can, okay?"

Blake offered her a wry smile "That would be good. Thank you."

Elizabeth thought it best to avoid the canteen as it would be highly unlikely that Blake would feel like opening up in such a loud environment, so instead headed outside and bought him a coffee from the cart. "Let's take a walk - The fresh air will do us both some good."

They strolled in silence for some time until Blake finally felt able to speak "I don't fit in

here." He kept his gaze fixed firmly on the path in front of him.

"What makes you say that?"

"Everything's so hard."

"Are you struggling with the workload? Or are you having other issues? Personal ones maybe?" Elizabeth was starting to feel a little out of her depth. She was used to interrogating terrorists, not trying to coax information from struggling students. And she wasn't exactly the most outgoing of people herself.

"It's everything - I am unsure of the path I should take and I just can't think straight."

"That's perfectly normal Blake. You don't have to know everything right now. I know I sure as hell didn't when I was here. You will figure it out. I'm glad you felt you could come to me."

"I respect you." Blake looked at her for the first time and she gave him a warm smile.

"Thank you Blake."

He threw his empty coffee cup in the nearby bin "I have a lecture. Thank you for your time."

"My door is always open Blake. Come and see me any time."

She watched the young man walk away and felt for the first time since she started there, that she had actually done something worthwhile. Maybe sticking this job out was the right thing to do after all.

By the end of the day, she was more than ready to go home. She still had a stack of marking to get through and she hadn't done any shopping so would have to stop on the way home to grab something for dinner. She was starting to rely a little too heavily on take-out and didn't have the time to exercise so felt rather unhealthy. But tonight, she just wanted something easy and quick.

She pulled into a diner halfway between UVA and her apartment and once inside, was debating whether to get something to go or just sit and eat there which would probably be quicker in the long run. She decided on the latter and was shown to a table. The place was fairly empty with suited her, she'd had enough of loud voices for one day. The waitress poured her coffee and took her order and left her to read her book. She could usually immerse herself in the pages of a good story, but for some reason, she just couldn't focus. Her thoughts were still with Blake and she needed to get him to open up a little more. Maybe regular chats would help him feel more settled, or at least know there was someone who would listen. She knew first hand how lonely it could be when you struggle to fit in.

She was so deep in her thoughts, she jumped slightly when she felt a touch to her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry - I didn't mean to startle you. I wasn't going to disturb you, but just wanted to say hi."

Henry McCord! What was it with this guy? He seemed perfectly normal yet could easily pass for a stalker. He always seemed to be where she was and it was starting to freak her out a little.

"I'm starting to think you're following me. Please tell me that's not the case?"

He let out a little huffed laugh "No, It's not the case. I had a meeting that ran over and I haven't had a chance to get any groceries so I needed some dinner."

"Okay, well don't let me keep you." She knew that sounded rather snippy, but he just seemed to bring out the worst in her.

"Are you eating alone?" He could clearly see she was

"No - The invisible man is sitting right there."

"Ahhh - H.G Wells - Great book. Enjoy your date, just make sure he doesn't disappear before he pays the bill."

She couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his appalling joke "That was terrible."

"Yet it made you laugh! My work here is done - Goodnight Miss Adams." He walked away from her table and was rather taken aback when she called out to him.

"You can sit with me if you'd like to. It's not like I'll be here very long anyway, and I owe you a cup of coffee."

"The coffee here is free."

"Well, that's even better then."

Henry sat down and awkward silence ensued.

"Not married then - No?" Henry knew he was taking a risk, but she disliked him anyway so things couldn't really get much worse.

She shook her head at his tenacity "No, I'm not married."

"I'm not either."

"I didn't ask - Neither do I care."

"I have to say Miss Adams, you really are such a warm individual." HIs words were sarcastic, yet he delivered them with a smile which made her chuckle.

"For the 30 minutes we're sat here, for god sake call me Elizabeth. The way you say Miss Adams is starting to annoy me."

"Is there anything I do that doesn't annoy you?"

"Not that i've come across yet.. No."

Henry ordered his food and they both ate their meals in relative silence. Elizabeth could feel his eyes on her but refused to meet his gaze. She was both unnerved by him and flustered and she didn't know which one was winning.

"You're so beautiful Elizabeth."

She looked up at him and for the first time, the look she gave him unsettled him. It was colder than he'd seen before, yet her eyes held a vulnerability of sorts. She quickly got up and threw some notes on the table, brushing past him in an attempt to get out of there quickly. She stopped suddenly and looked at him "Please don't speak to me again."

"Elizabeth, wait - What did I say?"

"Just leave me alone - I'm not interested."

She left him sat there utterly bemused... Yet he was now more intrigued than ever. Something was going on with her and he had to know more.