I'm Elizabeth Adams — and you are?"

In the eight months following Elizabeth's rather abrupt departure from his life, Henry had imagined a whole host of scenarios where he would get to see her again. But never in his wildest imagination could he have anticipated the situation he found himself in right now.

As the words left Elizabeth's mouth, every part of Henry froze. His body on pause while his thoughts desperately scrambled to catch up. His heart was hammering wildly in his chest and the knot in his stomach was growing tighter by the second. Nothing could possibly have prepared him for the onslaught of emotions threatening to consume him as he looked at her with a new perspective.

Her baggy cargo pants were tucked into her boots and cinched at the waist with a belt that looked as if it could fit around her twice over. The white capped sleeved t-shirt hung loosely on her shoulders and the long ponytail seemed to go on forever. She appeared far slimmer than he recalled yet her arms had more definition and her hair wasn't the radiant blonde he remembered, it seemed darker somehow. He could see it was Elizabeth. His brain was telling him it was her, yet his heart — His heart was stuck in a gyre of confusion.

Elizabeth's steely eyes were fixed on a spot behind him, her refusal to make eye contact obvious. Her expression was void of all emotion as she tilted her head slightly, awaiting a response. It was clear in just three words that she had no intention of revealing she knew who he was. So all he could do was play along, for now anyway.

"I'm Henry McCord" His hand jutted out in front of him. "It's good to meet you Elizabeth. I wish I could say that your reputation precedes you but I'm afraid I appear to know very little about you at all." He wanted her to shake his hand so badly, to feel her touch, however brief it may be.

The bright sapphire in her eyes flashed for a second in response to his words "Well that appears to be something we have in common Mr McCord."

"It's Dr McCord."

"Excuse me?"

"It's Dr McCord —Not Mr." He quickly regretted being so flippant when she glared at him, a look that made him recoil slightly.

Her eyes moved to where his hand was still bridging the space between them. She hesitated for a split second and then turned away from him "I'll show you where to dump your stuff and then we'll see if we can't get you on the next ride out of here."

She took a few paces forward and then glanced over at sprout who was still beside her. "You can go now private — I've got it from here."

"Of course ma'am."

The young marine quickly scuttled away, leaving them alone for the first time since she'd slipped out of Henry's arms and left him behind in Virginia. Elizabeth set a quick pace, making sure she kept at least two strides ahead of Henry at all times. She was far too exhausted to deal with this right now.

The silence that hung between them as they walked was eerily unnatural. Like a hovering cloud of nothingness that threatened to choke them both. Elizabeth could feel the weight of the unasked questions pressing down on her and it was almost too much to bear. But this was not the time or the place for that particular discussion. She had to focus. She had to do her job. And she had to get Henry the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

"You can bunk down in here until I can get this sorted out in the morning. It's nothing special but you won't be here long." She moved aside and turned to leave.

"Elizabeth —"

"If you're hungry I can get something sent down."

"Elizabeth — Please." Henry wanted to be angry with her, but he just couldn't find it in himself.

Elizabeth could barely stay still. She had so much nervous energy coursing through her that it felt as if she may combust at any second. "Oh, and check your boots before you put them on — You never know what might crawl in there when you're not looking." She was starting to ramble and was scared that if she opened her mouth again, anything could slip out.

"Please look at me?" Henry's voice was still so calm and enticing, drawing her in. "We need to talk. Don't you think you owe me that much?"

She managed to lift her gaze just enough to meet his and it filled her with an overwhelming sense of guilt. She had lied to him, made him fall in love with a fantasy and then left. What could she possibly say to him that would make it better "I can't Henry. Not now — I — I have to go."

She practically ran, needing to get away. To put some space between them. The professional, emotionless facade was slipping fast and she couldn't afford to lose it now. There were too many misogynistic fools waiting in the wings for her to fail. She certainly wasn't prepared to give them the satisfaction of watching her fall apart over a guy. Wouldn't that just bolster their preconceived idea of a 'typically emotional woman'.

Elizabeth was extremely grateful that nobody stopped her on the way to the shower block. Everything inside her was threatening to break the surface. Just a couple of minutes — A couple of deep breaths and she'd be ok.

She stripped off her clothes as quickly as her trembling hands would allow, stepping under the water that was lukewarm at best, but she didn't care. The weight of everything suddenly pushed on her shoulders, forcing her downwards. She tried to defy the gravity as long as possible but it was just too strong. Her body folded in on itself as her tears broke and all she could do was wrap her arms around herself, scared that if she didn't hold on tight, she would completely disintegrate. This had been building for a while and seeing Henry — well that was the last straw.

Her whole body trembled as she sobbed silently. Desperately choking down any sound that threatened to escape. Her head buried against her knees as the water poured around her. Wave upon wave of emotion crashing over her, a strong tide desperately grabbing at her trying to pull her under. It was building in her chest and she had to sink her teeth into her knuckle to stop the pitiful whimper escaping.

And then, as quickly as she had fallen apart, Elizabeth cleansed her body, washed her hair and pulled herself together, drying herself off and slipping back into her clothes. Her armour. Her hardened veneer.

She caught her reflection briefly in the mirror and nodded "Come on Adams — Excellence is not an act, but a habit." She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath, and with a quick glance upwards, she smiled "I hear you dad — I hear you."

The rising sun cast a rosy glow across the desert sky. It was crisp and clear, the air not as oppressive as it had been and it brought with it a sense of calm.

Henry tentatively approached Elizabeth who was already hard at work, moving constantly between the board and the paperwork scattered across her desk. Her glasses were perched on top of her head and her hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall of liquid gold. The fatigues were still present, but she was holding herself completely differently to how she had the night before. She exuded confidence and he was in awe as he watched her.

Elizabeth turned her head and caught his eyes for the briefest of moments. And there it was. That deep cerulean that he had drowned in so often. She averted her gaze quickly, but he'd seen enough to know that she was still there. The woman who blushed when he paid her a compliment. Who wriggled and laughed when she was tickled. Who mumbled in her sleep about donuts and who held so much love inside her but was scared to let it out. Yeah — His Elizabeth was still there.

"Dr McCord — Nice of you to join us." She was still refusing to look at him and continued scribbling notes as she spoke. "It seems I have little say in you being here so we'll just have to make it work — Just don't get in my way."

Henry couldn't fathom why she was so angry with him. She had been the one who walked away. He was all in and he'd told her that so what was she blaming him for? However — They were now stuck in a situation where they had no choice but to spend time together and communicate. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and whether she liked it or not — He was going to get her to talk to him one way or another. She couldn't avoid it forever.

He stood by her side and looked over her shoulder. "I take it you had no luck getting me on the next plane out of here then?"

"Director Dalton believes your input will be invaluable." She moved away and pinned something to the board "I don't agree, but I'm outranked on this one."

"It seems I have a lot to prove then."

"I don't care either way. Your presence here is irrelevant to me, I just want this bastard caught before there's any more blood shed."

"At least we can agree on that." Henry dropped the thick bundle of bound paper he'd been holding onto her desk with a loud thud "I've read your report."

She turned and looked at it and then turned back to her task with a shrug of her shoulders. "And —?"

"Aaaand — you have some very forward thinking ideas. You have clearly done your research and I just want to help you put into practice what you're working so hard to achieve."

"I'm sorry Dr McCord — But kissing my ass doesn't have any effect on me. I fail to see how a college lecturer can offer any real insight but it's not my call. I'm impressed by results so I'll reserve judgement until I actually see some."

Elizabeth knew how harsh she sounded, but with all eyes on her, she had to maintain a professional demeanour. She pushed people almost as hard as she pushed herself to get results and she couldn't be any different with Henry. She already felt as though everyone could see right through her. Could read her mind and know exactly what had gone on between them. She just hoped to god that wasn't actually the case.

Henry's mind momentarily wandered. If only he could tell her how he knew exactly where to kiss her to have an effect on her. But then chastised himself. Thoughts like that really weren't helpful. If this is how she wanted to play it, he could play too.

"Excuse me? I haven't travelled over six thousand miles to top up my tan and drink shitty coffee Miss Adams. I am more than qualified for this job and quite frankly, your dismissive attitude is insulting. So why don't you fill me in and then I can start doing my job."

Elizabeth clenched her jaw and stared right at him "Fine! Let's see what you've got then — Dr McCord."

The day passed quickly. Henry watched Elizabeth as she worked. The way she commanded the room was something to behold. She was clearly good at her job but it was more than that. There was a strategic intelligence about her that he'd never seen before, although he had no idea she was CIA so why would he have. She thought outside the box. Didn't appear to even recognise obstacles and it was abundantly clear that she didn't suffer fools gladly.

"This is where he is. I'm certain of it." Elizabeth stuck a zoomed in map onto the board "This is where Amari is."

Rodriguez shook his head "It wouldn't make sense for him to be there."

"Exactly." Elizabeth was animated in the way she articulated her thoughts. Her hands always moving and gesturing "I told you — We've been looking in the wrong places. This is where he is and you need to go in and get the fucker out."

"We don't know the area ma'am. It's way too risky." Rodriguez was more than happy to stand his ground with her.

"What's risky is allowing him to get away. Stop presenting problems and find me a damn solution." She rubbed her temples and sighed "Tell me how you can get this done Corporal."

"We scope it out first ma'am. A fact finding mission of sorts. If we go in without intel we risk sending him underground. If you really believe this is where he is, then we need to do this properly."

"Okay — Yes." She nodded her agreement "Get it in motion."

Elizabeth rolled her neck and it clicked under the strain "I need coffee."

"I can get you some ma'am." Spout was by her side in an instant.

"It's okay, I need to get some air." She had noticed during her time in Baghdad that the kid seemed a little out of his depth but was so keen to excel. He was almost trying too hard which was actually having a detrimental effect "Walk with me Private Lawrence — I've got some advice I'd like to share."

As they walked, Elizabeth discovered that sprout's name was Noah and he had an older sister and a younger brother. He was from Boston and came from a long line of military men. It was almost pre determined that he would follow in their footsteps. Something Elizabeth could relate to. He was 23 and was planning to propose to his high school sweetheart the first opportunity he got.

Elizabeth liked him. He reminded her a bit of her brother with his strawberry blonde hair and determination to succeed. He didn't have Will's cockiness though, and unlike her brother, sprout was actually happy to talk to her.

"The key to succeeding here Noah, is to use your fear to propel you forwards rather than allowing it to hold you back. Don't try and follow someone else's path— You have to walk your own." She poured a coffee and handed it to him, nodding for him to drink it "And you need to understand that your parents pride isn't solely based on your achievements in this uniform."

She poured herself a cup and offered the young marine a smile "It may seem like it sometimes Noah — But they love you for who you are. Never lose sight of that — Ok."

"I won't. Thank you ma'am."

Elizabeth slapped him on the back "And don't forget me when you're sending out those invitations. I love a good wedding."

As the desert sun dipped below the horizon and set on another day, Henry was well up to speed and was sat eating what barely passed as food as he flicked through Elizabeth's report again, making notes and circling things he wanted to raise with her. Rodriguez sat down opposite and gestured towards the paperwork.

"She got you doing homework already?" He chuckled before shovelling a forkful of, what looked like mashed potatoes, into his mouth. "Don't take it personally. She's like it with everyone."

His laugh irked Henry no end. There was something about him that he found arrogant and he certainly didn't like how close to Elizabeth he'd been standing all day, raking his eyes over her like she was on display just for him. It gave Henry a general feeling of unease and jealousy was beginning to rear its ugly head.

"I just like to be prepared. She works hard — Huh?" He didn't really want to make conversation with this guy, but was curious about Elizabeth.

"Yeah I guess. She has some decent ideas — And her ass in fatigues man — Mmmm mmmm. It's a shame she's such an uptight bitch." Another forkful found its way into his mouth "She needs to find a physical release for all that tension — If you know what I mean."

Unfortunately, Henry knew exactly what he meant and he'd heard enough.

"Corporal Rodriguez is it?" He waited for the nod in response and continued.

"She is your superior. Do you think it's acceptable or appropriate to discuss her in such a manner?"

"Are you for real?" The smirk on his face only riled Henry further.

"And let me ask you — If she was a man would you still suggest that she needs a certain 'release' for her stress?"

"Chill out dude — I was just saying."

"You're in the military. There is a level of respect and conduct that is expected and you are falling way short of that right now Corporal. You should be ashamed of yourself." Henry could feel his annoyance increase as Rodriguez laughed again.

"What would you know about the military — Doctor McCord?"

"Because I'm Captain McCord — USMC Retired and you are way out of line."

The marine's face fell "Ahhh fuck — I had no idea — I never would have said — I didn't mean anything by it."

"It shouldn't matter, Corporal. Respect should be an automatic behaviour. It is disrespectful to talk about anyone like that, especially your station chief." Henry pushed his chair back and glared at Rodriguez "Show her the respect she deserves. And Corporal — there's such a thing as personal space. Stay out of hers — And mine."

Henry gathered his notes and removed himself from the situation before he said something he wouldn't be able to take back, although he'd already said more than enough. Hearing someone speak about Elizabeth that way was more than he could stomach and had it been anywhere else, he wouldn't have stifled his comments. It had taken him all of 30 seconds after setting eyes on her again to realise that he was still desperately in love with her, but it had taken her the same amount of time to make it clear that she did not feel the same. He was no longer part of her world, not in the way he wanted and the sooner he reconciled that within himself, the better it would be for everyone.