Huge thanks to Little Miss Isabelle who beta'd this story! You have no idea how much your help means to me! Also, yes I am in America, so HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYBODY! BTW, I do not own Covert Affairs, sadly.

An obnoxious sunbeam settling across her face woke Annie Walker on a Monday morning in January, and unless they had entered daylight savings without her knowingit, the sun shouldn't be shining.

Not yet, at least.

It had snowed the previous day and evening, and they sky had looked cloudy and dark with the promise of more snow when she finally gone to bed. Apparently, ithad all been just for show.

Burying her face in her pillow to block out the sickeningly cheerful sun, she felt around blindly for her alarm clock.

She finally found it and pulled it into the warm nest of blankets that she had built for herself. It wasn't until she looked at it that she realized that she hadn't set it the night before. Her sleep muddled brain tried to wrap itself around that thought. Then it finally dawned on her like a straight shot of caffeine to the brain.

A few half screamed curses later, she was able to struggleout of her bed. She winced as the sudden movement put stress on her hip, which had been badly bruised when a supposedly simple mission had gone bad. She looked at it and winced at the sight. It had been three days, and the black and blue marks were slowly starting to fade. Sighing, she stumbled around til she was able to find some half-decent clothes.

The entire time she mentally berated herself. How had she gone to sleep without setting her alarm? That was usually the last thing she did before turning off her bedside lamp.

Needing some good luck when it came to explaining herself to Joan, Annie tugged on her favorite shoes. Shesmiled as she realized that it wasn't just her favorite pair of shoes, but Auggie's as well. How many times had he said that he could identify her just from the sounds of her heels? Or her 'kittens' as he called them. She shrugged off the sudden feeling of warmth at the thought of her best friend, and rushed through the rest of her morning routine.

Annie ducked inside the main house with a flurry of snowflakes and flying curls. It looked like Danielle was caught up in a "momsoon" as she called it, rushing the girls through breakfast in an attempt to get them to school on time. "Sorry! Can't have breakfast today! I'm late!" Annie called out, in hopes of taking some of the pressure off her sister.

"Don't worry, I made you a real quick breakfast. I didn't have enough time time cook you a real big one."Dani ducked out of the way as Anniesnagged the bagel and coffee she had set out for her. "Annie, this is the first time you have ever been late while working for the Smithsonian. What exactly can they do besides fire you?"

Annie shuddered at the though of an angry Joan Campbell. "Trust me, there's plenty they can do. Even though its my first time being late!" Giving Danielle a quick kiss on the cheek, Annie was outside in a flash. A quick glance at her watch told her that she would make it to work with only minutes to spare. Feeling somewhat comfortable with this time-line, she took a quick bite of her bagel before starting down the stairs.

Suddenly, she slipped. In an effort to catch herself, Annie dropped her breakfast and grabbed for the iron handrail, saving herself but not her shoes.

Her heel caught on the step and she heard an ominous snap. It was a sound that sent a shock through her body. Looking down, Annie was horrified to find that one of her heels had completely broken off. Her heart sank as she looked at the remains of her beautiful, almost $600.00, black Louboutin's. She was feeling tears prick the back of her eyes when she heard Auggie's voice in her head. "Adapt, overcome, and move on." She blinked her tears away and stormed back into the house.

"Dani! There was an incident and I have to borrow a pair of your shoes!"

Annie didn't wait for a reply, just rushed into her sisters bedroom. Looking around quickly, she soon spotted a pair of black heels poking out from underneath the bed. She snatched them up, jammed her feet into them, and was out the door. This had used up her precious few minutes and she was now in full flight mode. She had to get to work.