A happy one shot, set after S10, but ignoring the last ten minutes of 10-6. Enjoy.

Ruth awoke slowly, feeling both warm and happy. She stretched and looked out of the window, seeing that daybreak wasn't far away. The light was beginning to brighten up the window and she could hear distant birds chirping, heralding the approaching dawn. She liked living out of London, now that they were no longer in the service, and little things like chirping birds always made her more happy than they should. She'd got out of MI5 alive, and so had Harry.

She rolled over in bed to look at him and smiled. He looked very peaceful when he slept, always on his back. The bed sheets were gathered around his waist, giving her more to look at. They were both naked as at some point during the night, Harry had turned to her, his hand touching her body very suggestively. She had more than willingly shed her pyjamas and they'd made love in the dark, not speaking at all, simply enjoying each others bodies.

The room still smelt of sex, making a smile twitch at the corner of her mouth. She rolled onto her front, resting her head on her folded arms as she looked at Harry. She loved having the time to simply look at him, without his piercing sharp eyes watching her in turn. It was rare that she awoke first, from a lifetime of working for MI5 and before that the army, Harry didn't usually sleep in. Maybe sex at three a.m. did him some good, she thought with a smile.

Ruth's eyes flicked towards the window, seeing the sunlight beginning to shine before returning her gaze to Harry. She could see him more clearly now and she let her eyes go over his chest, and then his face, before going back over his body, drinking him in. They'd been away from MI5 for more than six months now, but she never tired of looking at him. Harry didn't believe her when she told him that, which was one reason she liked doing it when he slept.

His breathing changed tenor and she knew he was awake, even though his eyes were still closed. He would most likely be aware that she was watching him, but he kept pretending sleep to allow her this pleasure. "I think we should get married," she said softly. His eyes popped open at that and he blinked at her in a way that made her laugh for a moment.

"Don't tease me," he said quietly.

"I'm not," she said honestly. "I want to marry you." He put a hand on her waist and pulled her close, ending up with both of them lying on their sides facing each other. "I have a feeling you're not going to ask me again." The memory of Ros's funeral hung in the air, and Ruth wanted to dispel that quickly.

"Why?" he said gently. "Why do you want to marry me?"

"Because I love you," she said. "Because I don't want to be without you. I want to be tied to you in a real way. Unless you don't want…"

"Of course I want that," he said, his arms tightening around her and pulling her flush against his chest. "I just thought… after my appalling track record as a husband, you wouldn't want to be married to me."

"Do you really think that?" she asked in surprised. That had never occurred to her.

"I did," he said. "I wouldn't blame you, I was a bad husband."

"Would you learn from your mistakes?" she asked.

"I already have, Ruth," he said. "I was young and stupid. I'm no longer young and hopefully have a modicum of sense. More so than when I was in my twenties anyway."

"Why did you cheat?" she asked, feeling that she might as well ask now, while they were hovering around the subject. She'd never asked before because she'd felt it wasn't any of her business and she'd always been a bit uncomfortable bringing Jane up in conversation. At the moment she felt comfortable and thought it was worth mentioning.

He looked at her sharply. "Changing your mind about marriage?"

"No," she said honestly. He looked at her and she knew he wanted clarification. "Every relationship is different, and I know, before you say anything, I know that we have a very different relationship than you and Jane did. I doubt anything you tell me would make me change my mind. I love you. And I want you in my life."

"I love you too," he said simply, sealing the statement with a long kiss.

"So why?"

"I was young and… I felt that having a quick shag with another woman was better than leaving my wife who I didn't love any longer and abandoning my children. Stupid. I thought she wouldn't find out and it didn't matter. Not really." He stroked her hair away from her face. "I wouldn't cheat on you, Ruth. Not ever."

"You can't promise ever," she said.

"I meant…" he sighed heavily. "Shall we drop this subject?"

"Lets," she agreed. She started stroking his chest gently, her head resting on his shoulder. "I'm serious about getting married, though."

"Are you?"

"Yes," she said. "Just a quick in and out of a registry office, though. Just you and me. I'm not one for church weddings. If that's okay with you?"

"I'm not a big one for churches either," he said, his voice a low amused rumble in her ear.

"Good. No fuss."

"How about we invite Malcolm?" he suggested.

"Oh, that'd be fun," she said. "He could witness it. Do we need two witnesses? We need two right?"

"Why do you want to get married if you don't want a wedding?" he asked.

"Because I want a marriage," she said pointedly. "I don't want a big over blown party, I want you."

"Lift your head a minute," he said. She did, moving off his chest so he could twist around and she watched while he moved over to his bedside table and drew out a small jewellery box, handing it to her.

"Harry…"

"Open it," he said. She smiled at him for a minute, before flicking the box open, and she gasped.

"Oh, my God," she whispered. "H… how did you know?"

"I saw you eyeing it up in the shop window."

"What, once eight years ago?!" she said in disbelief. She took the white gold ring out of the box and admired it in the light. It had a tiny butterfly sitting on the top of it, wings beautifully engraved in the metal.

"I saw the look on your face when you saw that ring. I didn't know if it… meant anything to you, but I knew you loved it."

"The pawn shop sold it eight years ago," she said. "How did you track it down?" The pawn shop had been around the corner from her old house, before Cotterdam had happened. She had taken a long detour to the tube station every day for a few months to look at that particular ring. It was an exact replica of one her grandmother had, and it'd always meant a lot to her. But she'd been paying off her mortgage at the time and she couldn't afford such an expensive ring for nothing more than sentiment. It'd broken her heart a little when she realised it had been sold.

"I never tracked it down," he said. "I bought it the day after I saw you wistfully looking at it in the window."

"Eight years ago?!"

"Yes," he said. "I knew it meant something to you, but there was never the right opportunity to give it to you. It felt too personal… for what we were then, but I wanted you to have it."

"It's beautiful," she said. She remembered when Harry had come to her house. They'd been talking about… she couldn't remember any more. Work. A GCHQ conference, or something. He'd picked her up before work to discuss it, and she'd refused to get in his car with his driver sitting outside her house. It'd been the most beautiful summers morning, and she said she wanted to walk and appreciate it before going on the tube. Her feet had taken her the least direct way out of habit, passing by the pawn shop. She hadn't even noticed where she was going until the ring came into view. But Harry clearly had paid attention. And he'd kept it for all these years, waiting for her. She wiped her eyes, the tears gathering.

"I'll get you a new one if you don't like it," he said, misreading her tears. "Any engagement ring you want."

"No, it's perfect," she said. "It's… so beautiful."

"Let me," he said. She smiled and he took the ring, sliding it on her finger. It fit snugly but not too tight. "There. Perfect."

"Did you measure it, or is that a coincidence?"

"A coincidence," he said. "When we moved in together I was fairly sure it would fit."

"We're engaged," she said softly, almost in wonder.

"Are you happy?" he asked.

"Of course I am," she said.

"Tell me," he said. "If you're ever unhappy, I want to know. I'd rather you be alone and happy, than with me and unhappy."

"I'll tell you," she promised.

"Good," he said. He kissed her gently and smiled when they broke apart. "I love you."

"Mm," she said. "Put the bacon on then."

"Sod that, I'm going to open the champagne." She laughed and closed her eyes, still touching her engagement ring and a smile on her face. Harry didn't just feel like the luckiest man in the world, he knew he was. A wonderful second chance in life. He touched her shoulder gently in passing, as he got up to find a bottle of bubbly. They deserved it.

Thanks for reading and I hope you can leave a review. :)