A/N — So, this is actually the first chapter I wrote which was meant to be just a one shot but morphed into this whole story. I just wrote everything else around it! Thanks for your continued support of the story and your reviews — You all rock! Xx

Elizabeth stood silently and appraised her surroundings. It felt to her as if no time had passed at all since the very first day she'd arrived at UVA, all alone as she'd gotten used to being, dragging her meagre boxes of belongings across the quad to her dorm. She recalled looking around at her peers and wondering where she could possibly fit in — But she had done just that and thrived.

The buildings were as breathtaking as she remembered them to be and it still felt like home to her. A tiny pocket of the world she could identify with and actually felt she belonged. A place where her parents had found each other and fallen in love — And now she was back there to try and salvage her own relationship that she'd so stupidly thrown away.

From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a single auburn leaf as it floated down on an imperceptible spiral of breeze, twisting and turning through the air as it let itself drift towards the ground. It trembled slightly when the icy autumn zephyr threatened to carry it away, but when the wind stilled it continued its journey south and landed softly atop the concrete, waiting patiently for another gust to carry in onwards.

Elizabeth smiled to herself as she watched it with interest. She felt exactly like that leaf. Ambling her way through life, never knowing where she would end up or why. She was at the mercy of a greater power and she could only hope that it would look favourably upon her now.

The last rays of the late afternoon sun were throwing splintered shards of rusted light across the floor and Elizabeth pulled her coat tighter around her body to stave off the chill. She wasn't quite sure if it was the nerves that made her shiver or the fall breeze but she definitely felt extremely exposed.

Sitting herself down on the closet bench, her mind drifted back to the last time she'd been on campus. All decked out in her cap and gown, wishing her parents could have been there to watch her graduate.

Would they have been proud of everything she'd achieved? Would they have approved of her decision to join the CIA? And if not — What would their wishes have been for her? There were so many unanswered questions and so much sadness surrounding them. So much of her life had been spent trying to figure things out alone and as she tried desperately to feel her parents presence around her, she would have given anything to be wrapped in their embrace right now.

As the late afternoon began to morph into early evening and the sky took on a more sinister hue, a single teardrop escaped from Elizabeth's cerulean eyes. It was unwelcome, a sign of weakness that she wasn't willing to entertain. But unable to stop it, one tear was quickly joined by its counterparts. The wet streaks felt cold against her skin and as she wiped them away with the sleeves of her jacket, she realised just how much she needed to release some of the emotion that had been building inside of her for quite some time.

She was shaken from her thoughts by a booming voice to the side of her.

"Well if it isn't one of my favourite ever students — Elizabeth Adams! How is it possible that you look exactly the same?"

Elizabeth turned and quickly got to her feet, plastering on a smile

"Professor Quintin! How lovely to see you — It's been a while."

"It has indeed! What brings you back here?" He nudged her arm, much to Elizabeth's annoyance and lowered his voice "Secret CIA business is it? We all know where you ended up, Miss Adams."

She forced out a fake laugh "Indeed! It's not really my jurisdiction to be honest, but the extra curricular activities in the library would be worth a look, don't you think professor?"

Professor Quintin stuttered at the implication and shifted uneasily "Ever the joker I see. Well it was lovely to see you again Elizabeth. You take care now."

"Actually professor — Could you possibly point me in the right direction to find Dr McCords office?"

"Oh you're here to see Henry? Lovely chap — Very quiet though! It's always the quiet ones you have to watch, isn't it."

"I wouldn't know — So where might I find him?"

Professor Quintin waved in the general direction of the building to the right of where they were standing. "If you hurry you may just catch him."

Elizabeth smiled "Thank you professor — Give my regards to Mrs Belcher."

As he hurried away mumbling something under his breath Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh as she thought back to her and Henry's conversation about UVA and all the goings on. The conversation that had ended up with them both naked and had led her back to Charlottesville.

Elizabeth meandered through the hallways and with each step closer to Henry's office, her stomach churned that bit more. He had held a steadfast place at the forefront of her mind every second of every day since he left her in Baghdad and the regret that had consumed her was almost too much to bear.

She had realised very soon after he'd stepped onto the plane to return home that everything she had been so scared of was actually everything she wanted. But she was stuck between her career and her personal life and her career had taken precedence — Until now!

As she rounded the corner and her eyes settled on the name tag adorning the door, her heart almost stopped.

'Dr Henry McCord'

Even his name gave her goosebumps and the sudden realisation that he may not be overly pleased to see her hit with force. She had been so intent on getting to him and letting him know exactly how she felt, she hadn't given any thought to the fact that it may not be reciprocated. She had broken his heart twice after all.

The bustling noise from the students milling about behind her as they made their way out of the building at the end of another day did nothing to quell her nerves. She was frozen to the spot wanting to bolt but knowing she had to do this. Running away just wasn't an option and whatever his reaction was to her presence — She had things that must be said.

Lifting her hand, she made a tight fist and with another deep breath, she rapped her knuckle on the door.

"Just a second." His voice drifted through the door and she couldn't help but smile. She had missed him so much and just his dulcet tones set her heart alight.

Her body was trembling and she was struggling to keep her nerves in check. She wasn't sure she'd be able to take the rejection if he turned her away.

Elizabeth looked down at her scruffy old chucks and tapped the toes together in a vain attempt to quell the nausea starting to build. It was strangely soothing and she allowed herself to zone out for a moment. That was until she startled when the door suddenly opened.

As she looked up, her eyes met Henry's and she got lost in the warmth. The tiny amber flecks flickered against the chocolate brown and she couldn't look away. She was entranced by the kindness still held there.

Henry stood staring at her, mouth agape in disbelief. When he had left her standing alone in the darkened gym, he had convinced himself that he would never see her again so to say he was rather shocked was a major understatement.

"Elizabeth —" Her name rushed out of his mouth as a mere whisper and nothing else followed.

"Hi Henry, how are you?" Elizabeth suddenly felt incredibly self conscious and began wrapping stands of her hair around her fingers.

"I'm good - Maybe a little confused right now. Why are you here?" His eyes were still kind but his body language conveyed a different emotion altogether.

"I needed to see you." Elizabeth was shifting from one foot to the other "Can we talk?

Henry was stuck in a fog of hesitancy "Uhhhhh I guess — I'm not sure what we have left to say though." He hadn't moved and was blocking the doorway to his office, leaving Elizabeth standing in the hallway feeling foolish.

"Please Henry. It's really important." For a tall girl, Elizabeth suddenly felt extremely small and insignificant. Henry was towering over her and his presence was intimidating.

"Just give me one second." Henry shut the door and left her standing there rather confused.

As the minutes ticked by, Elizabeth started to lose her nerve and was just about to leave when the door opened and a woman stepped out. She glared at Elizabeth, turned and kissed Henry in a way that made Elizabeth extremely uncomfortable and left.

Henry looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him "Sorry for keeping you waiting. Do you want to come in?"

He stepped to the side and Elizabeth moved into the room. It wasn't the largest of spaces but every inch of it screamed Henry. If ever a place could perfectly emulate a person, this office was it. There were books lining the walls in ornate bookcases, his jacket hung on the back of his chair, his glasses were laying on a stack of papers and everything was as neat as she would have expected it to be.

"Take a seat." Henry's voice brought her back to the task at hand.

"Yeah okay — Thank you." She pressed herself into the wooden chair and pulled her oversized coat more tightly around her frame, shielding herself from the inevitable dismissal that was surely coming.

Henry couldn't take his eyes off of her. He couldn't quite put his finger on exactly what was different — But she just wasn't the same Elizabeth he had left in Baghdad.

The silence that filled the room was almost suffocating. For two people who had been so intimate to suddenly feel like complete strangers was a sad state to find themselves in. The longer neither of them spoke, the more uncomfortable they both felt until Elizabeth couldn't stand it any longer.

"So, I guess you've moved on! She looks nice."

Henry's jaw clenched. "What did you expect? Was I supposed to just wait around for you forever?"

"It hasn't been that long Henry." She didn't say it with much conviction.

"What - This time or the last? You want me to just wait until you decide to show up and mess with my head again?"

Elizabeth glanced down at the floor and gently shook her head "Of course not Henry. I really hope you're happy. You deserve to be happy. What's her name?"

"Stacey. We dated a while ago, before I met you and she wanted to give things another try. We're taking it slowly and it's only been a month, but things are good,"

"Yeah - Looked like it." Elizabeth chastised herself for that little snipe

Henry chose to ignore it and diverted the subject "So how long are you back in the States for? Are you just visiting? How have you been?"

Elizabeth frowned "That's a lot of questions."

Henry huffed out a nervous laugh "Sorry! I wasn't expecting you to be sitting in my office right now. Let's try the one question — How long are you here for?"

Elizabeth shrugged "I really don't know, maybe indefinitely! I've taken a leave of absence because I have some stuff I need to sort out."

Concern crossed Henry's features "Is everything alright Elizabeth? You were so adamant that you were staying in Iraq — What happened?"

"I'm carrying a lot of stuff around from Baghdad that I need to work through and in all honesty Henry, watching you get on that plane kinda fucked me up a little bit." Her voice cracked, but she pulled it back just enough to avoid the tears.

"But you turned me down flat Elizabeth — You didn't want me." Henry sat in his chair and watched her. She was visibly shifting with nervous energy and he'd never seen her quite like that before. "I asked you to marry me, to build a life with me and you said no."

She covered her eyes with her hands "Urghhhhh god I know. It sounds so awful when you put it like that."

"How else am I meant to phrase it? You just didn't want any of it — You didn't want me."

Elizabeth looked him square in the eyes "That's what's so messed up Henry. I did want it — All of it."

"Twice Elizabeth! You broke my heart twice and now you're telling me you actually wanted me all along. Why are you playing stupid games? Are you getting some kind of sadistic kick from hurting me?"

Elizabeth recoiled at his words "I'm not trying to play games and no, I'm not getting any kind of gratification from this. I realised as soon as you left that the fear I had of us being something was nothing compared to the fear of us not being anything at all. I love you Henry, I always have — I just wouldn't let myself see it."

Henry sat in stunned silence. Those three words were all he ever wanted to hear from her — And yet, now that she'd said them, he had no idea how to feel about it. "Why are you telling me this now?"

She caught his gaze and held it "Because I need to know, do you still love me?"

"Elizabeth —"

"Henry — Do you still love me?" She suddenly looked so fragile and everything Henry had been trying to push down came flooding back.

"You don't have the right to ask me that. I've moved on with my life."

"I can see that. I just need to know."

"Why? What does it matter now?"

"It just does Henry. I need to know because there's something I have to tell you."

"Then tell me."

"This was a mistake. I never should have come here."

"How did you even know I was back here working?"

"I'm CIA Henry." She raised a brow at him and didn't need to say any more.

Henry was getting frustrated with Elizabeth's vagueness. She had turned up after crushing him - Twice - and wouldn't tell him why. "Just tell me why you're here Elizabeth."

Elizabeth fished around in her bag and got to her feet. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She tried a few more times but was starting to resemble a fish gasping for air. He could see in her eyes she was desperately trying to communicate but was faltering and that in itself sent panic through him - because she never faltered.

"Elizabeth? —What is it? Talk to me."

She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, almost trying to force it out through gritted teeth "Damn it this is so hard —" She let out a shaky breath and placed a small square of paper on the desk, pushing it across so it was directly in front of Henry.

"So — It appears that during our last — ummmm — intimate encounter —" She was chewing on her lip and scuffing her feet against the wooden floor, her voice trembling as she spoke "You and I — ummmm —We kinda made a little something." She screwed up her face and gestured to the paper on the desk.

Henry's forehead wrinkled in confusion and he looked down at the picture sitting directly in front of him "What is it?"

"It's a picture from the ultrasound I had two days ago —" Elizabeth watched the colour drain from his face. She was rather grateful he was sitting down as she was pretty sure catching him would have proved problematic. "Henry, are you okay?"

Henry picked up the small black and white picture and held it close to his face, just staring at it. Completely unable to comprehend what was happening. "Is this— I mean — Are you? — Elizabeth?" He looked at her, his eyes blown wide, desperately seeking any form of clarification.

Elizabeth nodded "That's our baby Henry."

Henry quickly got to his feet "Are you sure? You don't look—-"

"Pregnant?" Elizabeth unfastened her stupidly large puffy coat and let it drop onto the chair. She lifted her sweater just enough to show Henry the small bump starting to protrude over the top of her jeans "Yeah — I'm pretty sure."

"Holy shit —" Henry practically jumped backwards, almost falling over his own chair "Wow, look at you - You really are —" He looked her in the eyes "Is it—?

"I beg of you Henry — Don't you dare ask me if it's yours because I promise you I will lose my shit."

"I'm sorry! I should have known better than to even think that."

Elizabeth shrugged, "It's fine."

"How far along—?"

"I'm 17 weeks and —" She counted on her fingers "Three days — Apparently all is healthy according to the doctor."

Henry picked up the tiny picture again and glanced between it and Elizabeth repeatedly. He had known something was different as soon as he laid eyes on her but he wasn't expecting it to be that.

When stunted silence wrapped around the room again, Elizabeth felt the impending rejection like ice through her veins.

"Look Henry — I'm not here because I want anything from you." The seriousness of her tone made him take notice.

"I'm going to do this on my own. But, you're an amazing guy and you deserved to know. I would really like this baby to know its father. I know you've moved on and you're with someone else and I get it, I really do. I don't want to disrupt your life and cause you any more hurt. I just thought you'd want to know - That's it." Elizabeth had managed to hold her tears in until that moment but they finally fell "Fucking hormones."

She shrugged her coat back on and picked up her bag "Thank you for hearing me out, I know I'm the very last person you'd want to see. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

Henry gripped the picture in his hand "Elizabeth, this is a lot to take in —"

"I know it is! I'm staying at The Glenbrook Hotel tonight as I didn't want to drive back in the dark. If you want to talk I'm in room 208 and if not — I get it. But just so we're very clear Henry — I'm having this baby whether you're involved or not."

She manoeuvred passed him and walked away as quickly as her legs would carry her. She had done what she came to do and the rest was now up to Henry.