Set sometime during s8, after Ruth's return on Quid Pro Quo.

As usual - I don't own anything or anyone, just having some fun with them until Kudos will need them back for the real series 8.

Thanks Em for the beta.

Elinor was sitting on her living room sofa, staring at some invisible point in the dark, trying to clear her thoughts. When the phone finally rang, she sighed and reluctantly pushed the answer button.

"Sir," she said, preparing herself for the worst.

"You'd better have a damn good explanation for this," a male voice boomed at her from the other side.

"We're still trying to…" she tried to explain.

"Well, try harder! This shouldn't have happened!"

"Yes sir, I know," she answered, quietly, closing her tired eyes.

"We worked too hard to get to this point, make sure this doesn't happen with the others."

"The others, sir?" That wasn't what she expected to hear. "Are you sure you want to carry on after what happened?"

"Of course we're going to carry on." He sounded very sure of himself. "We can't let one slipup ruin the entire operation."

"Right," she sighed.

"I'll be expecting a full report on my desk by tomorrow evening, good night."

He then hung up, leaving her to her thoughts and another sleepless night.

----------

"…the identity of the shooter is still unknown. The man managed to injure two passers-by on Westminster Bridge before shooting himself. Luckily, there were only a few people on the bridge, due to the late hour…"

"Right," Harry said, as he turned off the car radio, "I have a feeling we'll have enough of that tomorrow."

"Right," Ruth smiled at him from the passenger seat.

Harry sighed, quietly, when he pulled over outside her house, not really wanting the evening to end. This had been their third "official" date since she came back into his life, and he was still afraid that he was going to wake up only to find out this was all just a dream.

"So," he smiled, as he turned to face her, taking her hands in his, "I hope you had a good time tonight."

"I did," she whispered, as she leaned over and gently kissed him.

His smile broadened once they parted, and he quietly said, "Thank you"

"What for?" she laughed.

"For letting me spend time with you, for this," he pointed at his lips to indicate the kiss, "for just being you."

She smiled as she kissed him once again. "Good night Harry," she whispered, quietly, in his ear, "See you tomorrow."

He couldn't help the sheepish smile on his face as she stepped out of the car and walked towards her front door. As she reached it, she turned around and smiled when she saw he was still watching her. She mouthed a silent good night and stepped into her house, closing the door behind her.

Harry couldn't believe how happy he felt; he couldn't wish for anything better right now, and he didn't care how long it took until she invited him into her house. He'll wait until the end of the world for her, he thought, as he started the car and drove to his own home, already counting down the minutes until he would see her again tomorrow.

-----------

Ruth sighed as she closed the door behind her. She closed her eyes for a minute before turning on the hall lights, savoring the taste of his lips for just a little longer.

A loud meow woke her from her daydreams.

"Hey Fidget, ready for your late snack I presume?" She smiled at the fact that even 3 years in exile hadn't been enough to banish her habit of talking to her cat out loud.

As she stepped into the kitchen, something moved to her right, just on the edge of her peripheral vision. She quickly turned to see what it was when she felt a pinch on her left arm.

"What the…!?" she managed to say, before everything turned black.

---------

She was dreaming, she was pretty sure of that.

She was in a forest, alone, a soft purring sound from above her made her notice Fidget was sitting on a tree branch, staring at her.

"Just like the Cheshire cat," she mused. "Maybe I should ask you which way I need to go."

Just as if he understood her, Fidget jumped off the tree, walked a few steps away from her, and then stopped and looked at her.

"You want me to follow you?"

He gave a meow and, if she didn't know better, she could have sworn he nodded.

Ruth shrugged and decided she had nothing to lose; this was a dream, after all. She followed the cat for a few minutes, deep into the forest, until she could hear someone singing in the distance.

"And thems the breaks,

For we designer fakes,

We need to concentrate on more than meets the eye.

Thems the breaks,

For we designer fakes,

But it's you I take, cause you're the truth, not I,"

Ruth followed Fidget into a clearing, where the singing voice seemed to come from. When she entered the clearing, she stopped dead in her tracks – the woman who was singing there was…her.

The 'other Ruth' smiled at her. "Hi," she said.

"Ummm, hi…" Ruth hesitated, "Ruth?"

"No, I'm Suzan, you're Ruth." The woman never stopped smiling, which Ruth found a bit creepy.

"What…?"

"I'll explain everything soon enough," Suzan said, impatiently, "First, there's a phone call you need to make."

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"Harry."

Harry smiled when he heard Ruth's voice on the other side of the line.

"Good morning, how are you?" he asked, cheerily.

"Well, I'm fine, I mean, I'm not fine, but I will be, I'm sure, soon."

"What's wrong?" The smile vanished from his face, replaced with a look of concern.

"Nothing, Harry, really," she laughed, nervously. "I think I shouldn't have ordered those oysters last night, my stomach is disagreeing with me a bit, that's all."

"Oh," Harry let out a sigh of relief, "take the day off, then. Rest."

"I will, thank you,." She sounded relieved.

"Do you want me to come over later and check up on you?" he asked, gently.

"No!" she said, a bit too abruptly. "I'm fine really, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye."

Harry gave the phone a puzzled look before he shrugged, and continued with his daily routine. He supposed he would have to wait patiently until tomorrow to see her.

----------

"Good girl," Suzan said.

"Now what?" Ruth gave her an annoyed look. She didn't care much for the other woman's condescending tone.

"You wake up."

"Sorry?"

"Remember, you're the truth, not I," was all Suzan said in reply, and then Ruth woke up.

To be continued (your reviews might help it happen sooner rather then later :))

The title and the quote is taken from a song called "Twenty Years" by Placebo