A/N: This is my first attempt at writing my own fanfiction, so I hope it's not too bad.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
4.17 pm.
He walks through the front door, shivering with the cold which floods into the hallway upon his entrance and draws Ruth out from the lounge.
Shutting the door behind him, he hangs his winter coat on the rail before turning to her.
She raises an eyebrow at his empty hands. "I thought you were supposed to bringing something back?" she begins, watching his face carefully.
He shudders. "It was awful," he answers. "The most horrific afternoon."
She can't help but allow a small laugh to escape unchecked before reaching for his hand and leading him into the kitchen.
"Sweet tea, that's what you need," she says decisively, as he slumps into one of the chairs by the kitchen table. "Then you need to tell me what happened."
1.12 pm. 3 hours and 5 minutes earlier.
When Harry picked up his mobile in his usual gruff manner, the person he least expected to be at the other end of it was Jane.
"... Harry," she began awkwardly. "It's Catherine..."
As soon as he determined the situation, he made his way into the kitchen to face Ruth. She'd have to know sooner or later he reasoned to himself. She told him that his family needed him right now, no matter whether they were estranged or not. He and Catherine had been steadily working on their relationship together, and that meant that he had at least been privy to this information.
He left the house that afternoon, resolved as to his course of action, and yet, nothing could have prepared him for the days events.
3.35 pm. 2 hours and 23 minutes later.
He'd been in positions of danger more often than he liked to admit. He tried to calculate whether he'd survived twenty-six, or twenty-seven attempts on his life.
Nothing he'd faced so far however, could have prepared him for what he was now experiencing. The feeling of terror was almost incomparable and he could feel the hairs stand to attention on the back of his neck. He shivered. Surely there was another way of doing this. But no, he'd talked it through with Ruth, and they'd agreed that this was the most appropriate course of action. Of course, he was normally the one to put himself in harm's way, and certainly, when it came to Ruth, he was the first person to make sure she was never in any danger. But in this matter, Harry couldn't help but wish that she was here as well.
4.30 pm. 55 minutes later.
Once Harry has related the afternoon's events, and Ruth is suitably satisfied with the details of his mission, she turns away from the sink and catches his eye.
"You do realise you're going to have to go back don't you?" she tells him. "You've got just over an hour and then you need to go and see how Catherine's doing."
He shudders again. "Don't make me go back there," he pleads desperately. "I don't think I can face it again.
She gives a brief chuckle and rolls her eyes at him. "Oh come on Harry," she chides. "You've faced worse than that before."
He nods and then grins cheekily. "Will you come with me?"
Ruth laughs. "Okay fine," she agrees. "At least it'll be quicker that way, and I'm dying to see the look on your face... I can only imagine."
"You know Ruth," he growls good naturedly. "Catherine better appreciate the lengths I've gone to. Fabian as well."
She laughs again. "I'm sure they will," she agrees. "After all, the Early Learning Centre is widely regarded as the scariest place known to mortals."
He chuckles and follows her out of the door, wondering not for the first time that afternoon why a bunch of flowers wouldn't be enough for his daughter and her new-born son.