Disclaimer: Spooks characters belong to Kudos and the BBC - I've just borrowed them. The title of this fic is a play on the name of a well-known film, which isn't mine either...

A/N: This is set before 2.2.

Thanks to Em, who did the beta some time ago...

Chapter 1

Damn, Ruth cursed to herself; she was going to be late. It wasn't often a senior MI5 officer agreed to do lecture at GCHQ and she didn't want to miss it, especially as she had plans where 5 was concerned. As she hurried along the corridor, head down as always, she didn't see the well-dressed, broad, fair complexioned man until she almost ran into him. It was only when she realised there was a pair of highly-polished black shoes right in front of her that she stopped abruptly.

"Oh God, um, er… sorry. I-I'm in a bit of a hurry, sorry…" her voice tailed off as she looked into a pair of hazel eyes that glinted with amusement. She felt the heat rising in her face at the intensity of the stranger's gaze and dropped her eyes, spotting the visitors pass clipped to his jacket.

"Um, shouldn't you have an escort? I don't mean to be rude but visitors are supposed to be escorted at all times." The whole speech was directed at the pass.

"My escort got called away to the phone, said he'd be back but that was," the mystery man checked his watch, revealing a pair of silver cufflinks, "fifteen minutes ago."

"Right," Ruth thought for a moment. "Who was your escort?"

"Brian Davis."

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Brian – he'd forget his head if it wasn't screwed on. OK, where are you heading and why are you here?" Her slightly impertinent tone caused the visitor to briefly raise an eyebrow.

"Conference Room D, the MI5 lecture…" she cut him off before he could say any more.

"Oh really? That's where I'm going; it's this way." She pointed along the corridor.

As they walked towards the conference room, she spoke the whole time, not giving her companion a chance to respond. "I've been looking forward to this for ages. Apparently the chap who's doing the lecture is quite high-ranking and a former field officer. He's supposed to have done all sorts and has quite an interesting past from what I've heard. I hope he doesn't turn out to be one of these dry-as-dust types who won't tell us any of the juicy bits."

They'd reached a set of double doors and the stranger held one open for Ruth, who blushed slightly and stammered a 'thank you'.

"Ah Harry, there you are. We thought we'd lost you and that would never do!" A thickset man wearing a garish tie, which clashed violently with his shirt, greeted the visitor with a warm handshake. "Oh good, Miss Evershed rescued you. I'm sorry about Brian, he's a bit…"

"…of an idiot," Ruth muttered under her breath, causing the newly identified 'Harry' to stifle a laugh.

"Don't worry about it James, Miss Evershed has been looking after me."

"Good. So Miss Evershed, have you been formally introduced?" James turned to look at his colleague.

"Er, no." Ruth was beginning to feel as if she'd missed something quite important.

"Right, well this is Harry Pearce; he's from 5 and is our speaker today. Harry, Ruth Evershed, one of our most talented analysts."

Ruth prayed for a large hole to appear in the floor and swallow her - it didn't. As God was not on her side today she smiled feebly at Harry and shook his hand. She was pleasantly surprised by his warm, firm grip; she detested men with weak, clammy handshakes. Realising she had probably held on to him far longer than was appropriate, she suddenly pulled her hand away. Ruth's actions were met with an amused smile and a flicker of interest, which intensified the already hot gaze directed at her.

----

Settled into a seat in the front row, Ruth managed to forget most of her earlier embarrassment once Harry started his lecture. He was an eloquent and witty orator, who used only limited notes to assist him whilst he spoke. The fact that he had a warm and sensuous voice that brought her out in goose-bumps was an added bonus in Ruth's opinion; she would have happily listened to him read out the stationery catalogue.

Harry talked about his career in the Security Services and how he'd progressed to his current position as head of Section D. He recounted some of the operations he had been involved with but pointed out he couldn't give them 'all the juicy details'. Ruth, sure the remark was aimed at her, dropped her gaze to the notepad resting on her knees. All she had written was his name and underneath it she had drawn a big heart, which she hastily scribbled over when she realised what it was. Stop being ridiculous, she scolded herself, you're a grown woman. She tried to ignore the voice in her head telling her he was gorgeous and he wasn't wearing a wedding ring; the same voice that was saying there had definitely been something in the way he had looked at her earlier.

At the end of the lecture Harry received an enthusiastic round of applause. Ruth was gratified to get a warm smile from him when she caught his eye. Summoning up her courage, she started to walk over to him but her intentions were thwarted when her boss began to introduce him to some of her colleagues. Feeling ridiculously disappointed, she retuned to her office.

----

After spending an hour or so trying to complete various tasks, with little success, she decided to go home. As she headed towards the lifts, Ruth was surprised to hear James calling after her. She was even more surprised when she turned and saw Harry standing beside him.

"Ah, good, you haven't gone yet. I don't suppose you could do me a favour and keep Harry entertained for an hour?"

"Of course," Ruth felt her heart rate increase rapidly as she considered a number of ways she could entertain Harry.

"Wonderful! I have an urgent meeting to attend. I suggest you go to The Crossed Keys and I'll see you in there." Addressing Harry, he added, "right, I'll leave you in Ruth's capable hands."

Ten minutes later Harry and Ruth were safely ensconced in the pub. It was busy but they managed to find themselves a corner table. After a stilted start, conversation began to flow more easily between them. Initially, they stuck to topics such as literature and films and Ruth was secretly happy to find they had common interests. Much to her annoyance, their discussion was interrupted by her mobile ringing. Her irritation was soon dissipated though, when it turned out to be James, who couldn't join them after all. Seeing that Harry wasn't disappointed by the news either, she eagerly agreed to his suggestion that they order themselves something to eat.

She enjoyed the rest of the evening and had even felt brave enough to mention she was interested in working at 5. She was buoyed by Harry's encouragement and assured him she would seriously consider applying for a secondment.

"You should, I'm… we're always on the look out for talented people, although I don't expect James will appreciate us poaching one of his best analysts."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll get over it." Ruth didn't particularly care one way or the other. Her ambition to work at Thames House was beginning to look far more achievable.

The ringing of Harry's mobile prevented him from saying any more. He smiled at her apologetically, "sorry, it's probably my driver wondering where I've got to." He answered the phone and had a short conversation with the caller. "I really do have to go Ruth. I've got an early meeting so I need to get back to London tonight." He straightened the collar of his coat as he spoke to her. "Can I at least give you a lift home?"

"Well… no, it's OK. I don't want to put you to any trouble. I can get the bus." Ruth was struggling to get her thoughts together as Harry helped her put her coat on; his close proximity combined with the alcohol she had consumed making her feel light-headed.

"It's no trouble, I can assure you." His hands rested lightly on her shoulders as he spoke and his mouth was close to her ear. She took a deep breath, worried her knees were about to give way.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

He really was incredibly charming she thought, as he opened the car door for her and ensured she was settled in comfortably. It made a pleasant change to meet someone so chivalrous; it was an old fashioned quality that rather appealed to Ruth and she wondered what it would be like to be subjected to such gallantry on a regular basis.

"Mike, how well do you know Cheltenham?" Harry's question, directed to his driver, interrupted her fantasy.

"Reasonably well sir."

There was a short silence as Harry looked at her expectantly. "I might be a spook Ruth, but I can't mind read. You need to tell us your address."

"Ah, yes of course." She explained to the driver where she lived and gave him general directions, promising more detailed instructions once they were closer to her house.

They chatted about Cheltenham on the way to Ruth's and compared it to London. She revealed that she visited the capital whenever she could, a fact Harry seemed to note with some interest. As they got closer to her house, the conversation stopped as Ruth gave the driver more directions. They pulled up outside and Harry was out of the vehicle before it had come to a complete stop. He helped her out of the car and insisted on walking her to the front door.

Ruth had a panicky few seconds as she rooted in her handbag looking for her keys. She retrieved them only to promptly drop them on the front step. As Harry handed them back to her, his fingers brushed against her palm and she shivered slightly at the tingling sensation his touch created. She finally got the door open and turned to look at him.

"Thanks for the lift and er, this evening."

He gave her a warm smile. "You're welcome, on both counts. Remember what I said; if you're still interested in a secondment to MI5, you know where I am." At her slightly confused look he continued, "Thames House; it's a big building on the corner of Millbank and Horseferry Road. You can't miss it."

Ruth gave a small laugh whilst mentally berating herself for her awkward behaviour. "Yes of course." A short pause. "Thank you. Goodbye Harry." She shook his hand and he held on slightly longer than necessary.

---

By the following morning, Ruth had made a decision. She retrieved the secondment request form from her desk drawer and read through it. She had completed it several weeks ago but had yet to summon the courage to speak to James about it. She signed and dated it; read it once more and then headed towards her boss's office.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Some months later, Ruth was sitting nervously in Debra Langham's office only half-listening to what she was being told. Any minute now she would find out which section she had been posted to; there had been only scant detail in the letter she had received confirming her secondment.

"OK Ruth, now we've covered the formalities I can finally tell you where you're going to be working…" there was pause, which seemed to Ruth to last hours, whilst Debra shuffled through various bits of paper on her desk, "ah yes, here it is, Section D."

Ruth resisted the urge to get up and run round the room screaming for joy. "Right, Section D; that's counter terrorism isn't it?"

"Yes, Harry Pearce's team. Very bright bunch; dedicated too. I'm sure you'll fit right in."

"Thank you."

---

Ruth felt supremely nervous as she followed Debra through the pods and walked onto the Grid. Harry was not in his office and one of the admin staff volunteered the information that he was in the meeting room.

"Well, I shall leave you here then Ruth, I'm sure…" Debra waved a hand vaguely at the young brunette who'd stopped to help them, "will be able to help you settle in."

A few minutes later, struggling with a pile of folders and files, Ruth headed for the meeting room. She took a deep breath and then, trying not to drop everything, she opened the door and walked in.

Please review and I'll post the second chapter :)