Haley James struggled to keep her breathing even. It felt like her heart might explode from her chest but she closed her eyes, willing her tiny body to do anything but stop. She couldn't stop. It was only 22 minutes. 22 minutes was a lifetime to run 2.2 miles. Some people could walk that. But it was the fitness standard for female agents who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a standard the beautiful rookie had struggled with ever since she had joined the acclaimed national organization.

"Nice legs, James", one of her male fellow agents jogged beside her.

Haley focused forward, ignoring him and his friend.

"Hell yeah", the other added. "You know, I bet they'd be even better wrapped around me."

The two men laughed as they sped up their pace leaving Haley behind and all alone. She was a the rookie of the Phoenix, Arizona department and six months before, right after graduation such comments would have had her in tears. In fact, many identical incidents had but she had or at least was learning to grow a thicker skin. Growing up in a small town outside of Portland, Oregon, thick skin was the last thing Haley James had been known for.

She was the sensitive youngest child of six. Soft spoken and intelligent, she had grown up a shy and sweet girl, unusually quiet until you got to know her. Her real passion was for learning and books. Often dubbed a "geek" by her brothers, sisters and classmates, Haley had withdrawn further into a world ruled by education. There was little time for friends, boyfriends and a social life. All that came secondary and eventually the long nights spent with her nose buried in a text book would pay off.

All Haley had ever wanted to do was help people. Social work was her calling but eventually she would change her major to Criminal Justice. Finishing four years of college in just three, she minored in Accounting and Finance and went on to work as an Intelligence analyst for the Maryland State Bureau of Investigation. It was a good job and one she was good at but something was lacking. Professionally, life had been uneventful and boring and ironically, it was her father who had encouraged a career change. "This is my daughter, Haley bub and she works for the FBI", Jimmy James would proudly and drunkenly announce to anyone who would listen at holiday parties. After looking into matters, the shy, somewhat clumsy girl who had never held a gun before in her life, reluctantly submitted an application.

Haley was good at what she did. She was polite, professional and a hard worker. She cared about the job and made sure it was always done the right way. But Haley James belonged behind a desk, sitting pretty and typing. She had submitted the FBI application as sort of a joke, thinking the government would never select her but her determination took on a more serious note as humiliated, she had listened to her parents and brothers and sisters laugh until tears rolled down their faces. She loved her family but they weren't exactly what you would call close. They loved her but bottom line, they didn't believe in her and that hurt. So putting on a brave face, she had decided to believe in herself for a change.

The reply had been swift and shocking and before Haley knew it, she was being subjected to countless and exhaustive process. She aced the oral, written and medical examinations, along with the psychological assessment. With much prayer, her zany family managed not to ruin the extensive background check. The only thing left was the physical examination and for Haley, it would prove to be the toughest obstacle yet.

She was thin and to look at her body, one would surmise she was in perfect condition. But there was more to Haley than meets the eye. She chose soda pop over water, bringing her daily total intake of Dr. Pepper to approximately nine cans. She preferred cheeseburgers and pizza over salad and health foods and the only time she'd ever heard the word "gym", she just assumed someone was referring to her dad. The physical requirements were tough but reasonable and through a lot of hard work and struggle, Haley had managed to meet them, although just barely.

She was a valuable marketing tool with an impressive resume and background. She spoke five languages fluently and with a background in criminal law enforcement, accounting and finance and intelligence, she was a prime candidate on paper. But the powers that be and trainers had scoffed when she had shown up to the academy's training facility at the Quantico U.S. Marine Corp Base. She was a little on the skinny side, quite nervous and fidgety and a little too nice for her own good. There were bets placed on how long she would survive but sheer effort alone cataloged her to the top of her class. 17 weeks later with a starting salary of well over 80 thousand per year, she had been reassigned to Phoenix.

Given a cubby hole and a stack of cold cases, Haley had gone immediately to work in the units that dealt with white collar crimes. It was the FBI but far from the excitement and prestige she had dreamt about. For Haley, the dream was slowly evolving into a nightmare as she felt like a fish out of water. Renting an apartment downtown, she had saved her woes for Tobey, the adorable mutt she had adopted from the local pound and her neighbor, Marvin McFadden, affectionately known as Mouth. They had been her companions, saviors and solace in an increasingly lonely world.

But deep inside, Haley was still a dreamer at heart. "I'm looking for that case, the perfect case that's gonna put me on the map and gain me some respect", she would say over and over to Mouth as they spent their evenings on the couch eating chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream while watching Grey's Anatomy. "You're gonna get it one day, Halo", Mouth would sigh with a smile. For Haley, "one day" couldn't come soon enough.

Out of breath and sweaty, slowed down the pace and walked to her neat little cubby hole in the corner. Sitting down, Haley typed in her password, reaching for a Dr. Pepper.

"You know, those things are no good for you."

She jumped straight in the air causing the dark liquid to spew everywhere, including her boss' neatly pressed white shirt.

"Mr. Bailey…oh gosh, I am so sorry."

Short and bald with a pot belly and red face that seemed to grow even redder every time Haley was in his sight, Roger Bailey, Supervisory Special Agent, scoffed as he stepped backwards.

"Agent James!"

"I am so sorry. My bad. I mean, really. I'm such a klutz sometime, I swear. I could totally take this home for you and wash it or have it dry cleaned…"

"That won't be necessary", he growled.

"Please. I insist", she said, beginning to unbutton his shirt.

Rounding the corner with a cup of coffee in his hand, Rodney Alston, a soft spoken but quick witted senior agent stopped dead in his tracks. A physical mix between Eddie Murphy and Taye Diggs, a smile came to his face as he saw his enraged, red faced boss and the pretty but sometimes air headed special agent he had been assigned to directly supervise. Haley hadn't really fit in since joining the department but Agent Alston couldn't help but have a soft spot in his heart for her. She was determined to succeed, devoted to the job and smart as a whip. One day, she'd make a fine agent, he had faith in her potential and ability.

"Maybe I should come back later", he raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Put a sock in it, Alston", Bailey reprimanded through pursed, angry lips.

Haley smiled and shrugged sheepishly at her two supervisors.

"Sorry. Total accident but um, now that both of you are here, I, I was wondering if we could talk."

Bailey folded his arms.

"What now, Agent James?"

As usual, Agent Bailey was utterly frustrated with his newest subordinate but she couldn't help but smile, even though it was blatantly inappropriate. Agent James. Special Agent Haley James. It just had a nice ring to it.

"Agent James", Alston sternly brought her back to reality. "You were saying…"

"Huh? Oh. Yes, sir. I mean, sirs. Anyway…I just wanted to talk to you both. I, uh, first of all, I am so happy to be here. This is a dream come true…"

Bailey rolled his eyes.

"It's the FBI, not a fairytale, James."

Red faced, Haley nervously cleared her throat.

"I understand that. I, I know I haven't been on the force that long, just a few months and yeah, I'm still learning and everything but I just wanted you both to know how excited I am and that I am very eager to take on more active roles. I know I have a lot to prove and I am eager to do so."

The two bosses stared curiously at the petite, soft spoken beauty who certainly didn't resemble the average FBI agent.

"Is that all, Agent James?"

She bit her lip and summoned her courage. No, that wasn't all. She had something to say and she knew it was time to quit being so passive and just stand up and say it.

"Uh, no…Agent Bailey, Agent Alston, what I'm trying to say is…I, I guess I'm just asking for a chance. I'm not stupid. I know you have to crawl before you walk. I know you have to pay dues but I'm a good agent. How is anyone else supposed to know that if all I do is futile research on cold cases nobody gives a darn about anymore and I fetch coffee and donuts all day. I don't mean to be rude or anything but I feel like I'm not up to my ears in debt with college loans, just to be someone's secretary."

So there it was. She had let it all out, feelings of frustration she had been harboring for a very long time. Based on the raised eyebrows of the two ranking senior officials she reported to, Haley swallowed hard, fearing she had overstepped her bounds. Being rude was the last thing she was trying to do, she was anxious for a challenge and eager to show her more assertive side.

"Agent James, I am a 27 year veteran investigator. I have been a supervisor for 19 of those years" an irate Bailey began. "I think I know how to run my section…"

"Of course you do, sir but…"

He ignored her.

"When the right job comes up, you will be assigned and I can promise you that. Until then, sit tight. As far as 'secretarial duties', I assure you that no one is 'picking' on you. We all had to crawl before we could walk."

"But Agent Bailey…"

"That'll be all for you, Agent James. Now I had come over here to get status on the Zimmerman files."

Suddenly Haley felt very small.

"Um, no change, sir. The additional notes were included in my last report."

"Well, I didn't see that report!"

"It's on your desk, Boss" Alston interrupted.

"But…"

"It's on your desk and I initialed it."

Bailey's face grew red as he grunted and returned to his own spacious office.

"Thank you", Haley whispered when she was sure he was gone. "Thank you very much for saving my behind, maybe now he'll get off it."

"I doubt it", Alston shrugged.

"He hates me that bad, huh?"

"He hates everybody. Get used to it."

"I know but I practiced that conversation like a thousand times in my head and each time, trust me, it went a whole heck of a lot better than what just happened in here. I made a complete fool of myself and I managed to piss off the Flight Chief. Nothing is going right and I'm trying here, I swear, I'm really trying. I just want to do my job. This is the FBI. I trained for this."

"I know…"

"I trained hard. In fact, I went through the exact same training as all the other rookies in here, who so happen to be male and they're already on kidnapping cases, some are working with the Joint Terrorism Task Force. The right assignment? What is the right assignment? When is it coming?"

"James…"

"I'm sorry. I guess I should just be grateful for the opportunity, huh? The crawling phase just lasted a little bit longer than I expected. Anyway, no time to feel sorry for myself. I need to go shower and uh, the break room is out of glazed donuts."

With that, she had disappeared before her immediate supervisor could get in a word edgewise. But he could only smile to himself. She was quite the little firecracker. He hoped Bailey's gruffness had not intimidated her too much. But she would be alright. There really was such thing as the "right assignment". Her time would come and he hoped in a big way. Haley James just had to learn to be patient.