Disclaimer: Do not own, never will. Those lovely people at Kudos have that right.
A Night Of Truth's
Ruth was alone on the grid all her colleagues had gone home for the evening; she had decided to stay even though she had had numerous offers to go out. The quiet of the grid relaxed her; she could concentrate on her work without the various distractions that occurred within the course of the day. She knew that she should really go home, but the thought of going home to a cold empty house was not appealing.
She shivered; the grid had turned decidedly chilly now that it was empty, Ruth pulled her jacket round her and made her way to the canteen to make herself a hot cup of tea. She fumbled round the cupboard for a new box of tea bags and leant against the counter top whilst she waited for the kettle to boil. Once boiled, she placed the milk back in the fridge and cradling her hot cup she made her way back to her desk.
The next hour passed quickly as she typed up her daily reports, she glanced at her watch 10.30pm. Should she go home now, her cat would be waiting for her, wanting to be fed. She decided on another hour, she knew she was only delaying the inevitable but she couldn't yet face the journey home or the thought of her house, which as always was cold and lonely.
She resumed her typing, and as if to ease the silence she recited her files out loud to herself. When she finished that particular file she placed it back on the trolley to be taken down to records in the morning. She picked up her mug and took a sip of tea it had turned cold; Ruth made her way back to the canteen and tipped the cold brown liquid down the sink. She boiled the kettle again, as she had decided to make herself another warm drink before she went home. She remembered that in the cupboard where she had found the teabags there was an open packet of digestive biscuits, she grabbed them and her newly made drink and made her way back turning off all the lights as she went.
As she passed Harry's office, a noise from inside made her stop in her tracks. The light was turned on and suddenly the office door slid open and there in the door way stood Harry.
"Ruth, I should have guessed you would still be here." quipped Harry
Ruth was in no mood for Harry's quips, especially now her solitude had been broken, despite the fact that hour's earlier she had refused to go home because the solitude would have been too much to bear.
"Why have you come back, I thought you went home when everyone else did" queried Ruth
"I did, but I couldn't sleep. I have files to catch up on so thought I would come back" he replied
"The kettle has just boiled, do you want a coffee?" she asked
"That would be nice, Ruth and when you come back, you can tell me why you're still here"
She came back from making Harry's coffee and placed it on his desk.
"Thanks" said Harry "So why are you still here, Ruth?"
'I couldn't bear going home to an empty house tonight"
Harry smiled. He knew how she felt. He had the same exact feelings every night, he dreaded leaving the familiarity and comfort of the grid to go home to a cold uninviting house. He looked at the woman stood before him; she was a brilliant, beautiful person, why was she going home to be alone. She should be loved, part of a relationship, enjoying life not working to all hours here at the grid.
He gazed at her wistfully; he wished that he could be the one who was in that loving relationship with her, the one that would give her the reason to go home. But he had never been brave enough to tell her how he felt. But now with Ruth's close proximity he wondered if he should speak openly about his feelings, tell her what he has kept from her for months now.
Ruth waited for a response to her answer; it was unlike Harry not to have some pearls of wisdom. He always had an answer to everything and anything. So to see her leader seemingly at a loss for words was perplexing her. She studied him closely; he had always been an enigma to her, a complex character, and at times it seemed he was void of all emotion. But Ruth had eventually seen past the façade and come to understand her boss better than she realised.
Harry took a deep breath, he held Ruth's gaze and spoke
"I come back most nights once you have all gone home"
"But why, Harry, I thought I was the only one who had no life outside of work!" Ruth grimaced, why did she speak without thinking.
Harry smiled only Ruth would be so direct. He watched her berating herself for speaking the first thing that came into her head. Harry gave a quiet chuckle, Ruth looked up at him expectantly awaiting his response with a glimmer of hope in her beautiful blue eyes. She deserved an answer and a truthful one at that. Harry steeled himself; for he was not sure what her response would be once she heard what he was about to say.
"Most nights, I cant sleep, I try and watch TV, find something to occupy me, but it doesn't stop me feeling lonely, I always thought I never needed to have people around, have always been happy with my own company. But recently I have had the need to be around people, be around you Ruth."
Ruth took a sharp intake of breath, had she heard him correctly. Did he really admit that he needed to spend time with her, Ruth, the lowly Intel Analyst who spent too much time at work, had no life outside of it, who spoke too much, especially in his presence, had no friends apart from her work colleagues and a cat, whom she adored.
A smile flickered across Ruth's face, many times she had imagined this scenario but never believed it would ever happen. And now that it had words evaded her, he was standing there watching her waiting for some indication of how she felt and all she could say was
"Oh…."
Harry was puzzled, "Ruth"
She looked up at Harry. Her smile grew wider. He was standing there in front of her nervously shifting from one foot to the other, so unlike Harry. He that was always so confident, who made life and death decisions every day without a flicker of emotion, could seem so small and ill at ease. Her heart leapt at the sight, he seemed so vulnerable and only she could put him at ease. All she had to do was find the right words.