The first thing that ran through her mind when Skye woke up that morning was how desperately she craved coffee. She had been up too late for her own good the previous night, struggling to fall asleep as her mind kept racing with thoughts that would have been best left at work where they belonged. The bits and pieces of their latest case at work had just come together, but there was something about it that had kept her captivated until the night slowly faded to dawn. 

As the sound of her alarm rang through the air, she turned around in her bed, opened her eyes, and found herself looking around the small room that was her studio apartment. A small kitchenette in one corner, chipped paint on thin walls, and a tiny bathroom that barely closed when there was anyone inside was all that made up her home, and yet, she quite liked the quaint and rugged feeling of it. What she did not like, however, was the thought that crept into her mind and reminded her that she hadn't gone grocery shopping in ages, and that there was most presumably no coffee to be found inside her apartment at all. 

Sighing heavily, Skye made her way out of the comfort of her bed, stumbled across the wooden floor and quickly got dressed. With the knowledge that she would feel better once she got her much needed dose of caffeine, Skye quickly tied up her hair, hurried out of the apartment to the nearest coffee shop and ordered her usual cup with just a splash of milk. After the first sip, she felt the strange soothing sensation of the drink waking her to life—ready for yet another day, Skye decided to take the opportunity to soak in the early morning sun by walking to work. One upside of her apartment was its convenient location downtown that definitely made up for its shabby appearance.

After the walk and with the caffeine in her system, Skye arrived with a reignited, bright mood at the ASA office building and cheerfully greeted the old man positioned behind the desk as she signed in with her ID.

"The weather's quite nice today, isn't it?", a voice suddenly asked behind her just as she was about to head up to the office. Upon turning around, she met the gaze of a slightly older woman whose tired eyes revealed that she might have needed the cup of coffee more urgently than Skye herself did.

"Good morning, Emily", Skye said with a smile as she threw the now empty cup into a trash can next to the staircase.

"Except for the weather, I'm not sure if the morning is exactly [i]good[/i]", Emily replied half-jokingly. Before she could go on into the tiresome details as to why her morning had not been good, Skye intervened by chuckling politely.

"After you", she said instead, and together they walked up the stairs to their office space like any other day. The two women kept exchanging friendly words and phrases, occasionally pausing to greet other colleagues passing by when Emily suddenly stopped.

"Who's that?", Emily mouthed to Skye as she bobbed her head at the man who had just erupted from the men's locker room.

With a quick glance, Skye shrugged her shoulders. Somewhere deep inside her mind, she did recall that the replacement for that stupid fool of a man that had just left the team would come during the week—they were in desperate need of a new one and the man did look like he might fit the role. "New guy, maybe?"

Upon realising that the unfamiliar man might have heard their hushed conversation, Skye smiled slightly and bowed her head at him in acknowledgment of his presence. If he indeed was the new man, his nerves surely would not be calmed by seeing his colleagues already whispering around him.