Work was hell. Everything was hell.

It seemed like everything was in shambles and no matter how hard Xena tried, she couldn't put it back together.

The Police had not been able to find or identify the person that had run off after the bodyguard shot at them, hence; they were never able to conduct an interview with said person. Whether or not they had seen something that could help the case, Xena didn't know, and from the looks of things, she was most likely not going to find out.

Xena had been working hard on the case before her. She had to admit, this was the most difficult case she had ever come across. It seemed totally unbeatable. Even Agent Fox was having difficulty making progress.

In summary, they were all being bested by Richard Mascetti and his gang of Assassins.

Xena let out a sigh. She had to admit, she could see why the man was as powerful as he was. He made sure to surround himself with a strong frontier, it was extremely difficult for anyone to break through.

For the rest of the week, Xena had been working overtime. Her days consisted of early mornings and late nights, and when she did finally get home, she could hardly even sleep.

Either she was up thinking about the case, wondering what it was that she was missing, or she was thinking about Venus, the woman she had seen at the Bar. Both of these things brought frustration to Xena. She was frustrated by the fact that she couldn't make any progress on the case before her; she was also frustrated by the woman that had disappeared on her in the Bar. More so, she was frustrated at herself for how constantly she thought about said woman who was nobody to her, barely even an acquaintance.

By the time the weekend came around, it was a breath of fresh air.

Xena knew she needed to be out of the field for a few days to rest her mind. Maybe she'd be able to come back and face things with a clearer head, maybe things would make more sense to then. Yet, a part of Xena still doubted it.

"Agent Vale."

Xena turned around coming face to face with Agent Fox. He was dressed in his usual grey suit and had his top shirt buttons open.

"Agent Fox." Xena said, turning her full body to face the Head Agent.

Ever since she had arrived in New York City, her and Agent Fox had not had a one-on-one talk. The case before them had taken up all of their time and it was in Agent Fox's nature to always put business first, so he had not bothered to reach out to Xena during this time period.

She now wondered what it was he was going to say to her.

"How's the case coming along?" Agent Fox asked.

Xena had a feeling that he knew the answer to that already.

"It's coming," was the best answer Xena could give, she could almost swear she saw a hint of a smile on Agent Fox's face from her reply.

"Agent Vale." Agent Fox now said, his voice had taken that serious tone that Xena was used to. "Don't overwork yourself this weekend. I need you to rest, don't even think about the case."

Xena raised her eyebrow slightly.

"I need you in optimum condition on Monday. We all need to be at our best in order to crack this case."

Xena nodded her head. He was right. Xena herself knew that there was no way she could give the case her all when she barely got any sleep at night.

Agent Fox was about to walk away but he hesitated, turning to face Xena once again.

"How's working with Agent Daniels going?"

Oh? Xena had really not expected this, seeing as he never ever brought up Agent Daniels to her.

"Good." Xena replied, and to be fair, it was as good as it would get. Of course they weren't going to turn to buddies but they would both keep things Professional, keeping their personal feelings aside for the sake of the case.

Agent Fox hesitated once again, he seemed like he was going to say something. Instead, he nodded his head before turning and walking away.

Xena stared after him for a while, before turning around and getting into her car.

The drive home wasn't different from the drive the past few days. Despite what Agent Fox had told her, Xena still found herself thinking about the case. Unlike most people, Xena didn't have a normal job. She did not sit at a desk for her job, she couldn't easily pack up when she was done for the day and not have to think about work till the following morning. Her job involved the lives of others, people were put at stake if Xena couldn't perform her job properly, this anxiety often left her pondering and worrying about everything.

Xena immediately began changing into sports clothes the moment she arrived at her apartment. She had made the decision that somehow or another, she was going to try not to think too much about work this weekend. Rather than sit at home and worry, Xena decided that she would go for a jog, it was something that would take her mind off things.

The New York City evening breeze was chilly against Xena's bare skin, but she didn't mind. She preferred it this way, and she knew that she would eventually warm up the longer she kept running.

Xena had always preferred evening runs to morning runs. Fewer people were out exercising at this time, so she usually had more space to herself.

Xena had her earphones plugged in, listening to music as she ran. It usually helped her in feeling less alone, at the same time, it drowned out the noises all around her. In a sense, she felt like she was in her own headspace. It was refreshing.

She had been running for close to an hour when she decided to take a break. Being a Secret Agent, Xena had lots of stamina and could go on running for hours on end if she needed to, but she decided she had ran enough for the day. The sky was getting dark and Xena now walked along the streets as she made her way back to her apartment building.

As usual, Xena was taking in the scenery as she walked. It was a Friday night so of course it was pretty busy in The City, but not as busy as she knew it could usually get. No doubt, the events of the week had put a damper on everyone's mood.

Xena glanced across the street and her heart instantly came to a pause at who she saw. It was none other than Venus.

She blinked a number of times and squinted her eyes but she knew she wasn't mistaken. She could recognize that brown skin and long locs anywhere.

Without thinking twice, Xena crossed the street. This action was made on a whim but Xena couldn't picture herself turning back, it was as if there was a magnetic force pulling her towards the woman.

The smaller woman still remained oblivious to Xena fast-approaching, instead, she was more concentrated on balancing the paper bag full of what appeared to be groceries in her arms.

Xena cleared her throat loudly when she came to a stop behind her.

Venus spun around, her eyes widening significantly once she caught sight of Xena. Once again, Xena found herself relishing in the woman's soft features.

"What are you doing here?" Venus asked.

Xena cocked her head to the side. "I'm not allowed to be out on the streets of New York City? Is that something else you feel strongly about?"

Venus only rolled her eyes and began walking away.

Xena stared after her for a moment. She blinked a couple times, feeling as if she had just come out of a daze. After all, what had possessed her to walk right up to a woman that was practically a stranger in the middle of the street.

Xena watched Venus walking away up ahead, she was dressed in loose-fitting pants and an oversized tee-shirt, Xena had initially found herself thinking of how adorable she looked, but then she noticed a slight limp in the woman's walk and her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Hey," Xena called out after her.

Just as she expected, the woman pretended like she had not heard her and continued limping away.

"Venus!" Xena called out once again, enjoying the way the woman's name rolled off her tongue, it was almost as if it belonged there.

Venus sighed, coming to a stop.

Xena took this opportunity to catch up with her.

"What do you want?" Venus asked her bluntly.

Everything about this woman was blunt, straight to the point. Standing in front of her, Xena took note of how small she really was, she could easily be mistaken for a teenager. However, there was something in her face that showed maturity. Xena realized it was her eyes.

"Let me help you with those." Xena said, ignoring her question as she took the overflowing bag of groceries from her hand.