Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kudos and the BBC. The title doesn't belong to me either.

Happy Valentine's!

It had been nice at first; the lingering glances across the grid, the way he would find excuses to stop by her desk for a chat or bring her a fresh cup of coffee. Ros and Jo regularly attracted admirers and being on the receiving end of such attention herself had given Ruth a refreshing boost of confidence. She had overheard Jo calling his behaviour "romantic", and up until that point, she probably would have agreed. Then he had started asking her out.

There was just one problem; he wasn't Harry.

Daniel Parrish was in his early thirties, tall, and due to his tousled wavy brown hair and long sideburns, looked as though he had walked straight out of a Jane Austen novel. Seconded from GCHQ; he had joined Section D three weeks ago and had immediately taken an interest in Ruth.

The first time he had attempted to get her to see him outside work; Daniel had casually asked everyone if they wanted to go to the George for a few drinks after their shift ended. Thanks to a persistent group of hackers; Ruth hadn't slept since 5am two days earlier and had politely turned down his offer, wanting nothing more than to go home, collapse onto her bed and stay there for the next week. Daniel had briefly looked disappointed, but at the time, Ruth had thought nothing more of it.

Four days later, during another casual passing of her desk; he had asked Ruth if she'd like to go to dinner that night. She was in the process of creating an excuse, when Daniel informed her that he had already booked the table. Ruth was struck with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu and a suspicious feeling that Daniel had been talking to Jo. She informed Daniel that she already had plans and spent the next hour wondering how one man could make the offer of a pre-booked meal seem romantic, while the other just came across as smug.

Two days later, a wrapped box of chocolates from the shop across the road arrived on her desk. A smile spread across Ruth's face; until she found the attached note and realised that the chocolates were not from Harry. Scribbled in almost unintelligible writing were the words: How about lunch then? Ruth gave the chocolates to Malcolm, who had used them to test a new tracking device he had been working on, and told Daniel that she definitely did not want to go to lunch or dinner with him.

Her hopes that that would be the end of it were demolished the following morning when she stepped onto the Grid and was greeted by an enormous bouquet of flowers on her desk. Closer inspection revealed a card, which simply read: Breakfast?

Both had been unceremoniously dumped in the bin.

---

It had been five days since the flowers, and Ruth was finally allowing herself to believe that Daniel had taken the hint. The admiring glances were still being aimed in her direction, but she was happy to put up with them if it meant an end to the unwanted gifts and date invitations. Jo having realised that her attempt at matchmaking had been ill-advised, had even apologised for helping Daniel.

Ruth was in such a good mood, that when Zaf asked everyone if they had any plans for tomorrow, she completely missed the relevance, and was pleasantly surprised at how many of her co-workers replied that they were going on a date.

It wasn't until she was signing and dating a report 20 minutes later that Ruth realised the significance of Zaf's question. Today was the 13th of February, which made tomorrow the 14th; Valentines Day. A horrible feeling settled in her stomach. Surely Daniel wouldn't try asking her on a date again, would he? Judging by his behaviour during the past two weeks, she wouldn't put it past him. And it would explain the inane grin he had been sporting all day. He'd probably been planning it all week.

Suddenly feeling the need to get some fresh air; Ruth stood, grabbed her coat and made her way towards the pods. She was half way across the Grid when she spotted Daniel; or rather, his unruly mop of hair coming around the corner, smiling as he caught sight of her. A quick scan of the immediate area proved futile for hiding places, and it was with a frustrated sigh that Ruth sank back into her chair, admitting defeat. There really was no way of avoiding him now and she supposed it was better to get this over with sooner rather than later. That way she might actually be able to enjoy Valentines Day.

"Hi." Daniel grinned as he arrived at her desk.

Ruth forced a smile. It was funny how; just over two weeks ago, she would have described his smile as attractive.

"I was hoping to catch you." He continued, his grin becoming wider as he bounced on the balls of his feet. "I've been wanting to ask you something."

The usually busy grid suddenly fell silent as curious co-workers realised what was going on and tried to listen in as surreptitiously as possible. Ruth couldn't help but think that they would all benefit from an extensive How To Eavesdrop Without Being So Bloody Obvious course and made a mental note to mention it to Harry later.

She focussed her attention back on Daniel. "Yes?"

"Ok, picture this." He spread his hands, palms outwards as if imagining a landscape. "Tomorrow night. What do you think of you, me and front row seats at an Elton John concert, followed by a night of ho-"

"Alright, stop!" Ruth interrupted, holding up her hands in protest.

Daniel paused, grin dropping from his face. "You don't like Elton John? Because I can change the tickets."

"It's not that." She groaned.

"What then?"

"You, you…" Ruth grasped around quickly for a remotely plausible reason. "You're not my type."

Daniel was silent for a moment as he considered her answer.

"I'm not you're type?" He finally asked, incredulously. Evidently he was having trouble believing that any woman would be able to resist him.

"No. You're not." Her tone was clipped, though Daniel didn't seem to notice.

"What is you're type then?" He responded, clearly thinking that he could talk her round. He raised a finger, comically as another idea dawned on him. "No, wait. I'll go one better; describe your perfect man."

A smile tugged at the corners of Ruth's lips as an exact image of her perfect man came to the front of her mind. "A 54 year old, blonde haired, brown eyed Section head with a smile that makes me go weak at the knees and a laugh that sends shivers down my spine." Her slight smile turned into a full on grin. "Not to mention what his hands do to me."

She was interrupted from her appraisal by the sound of Jo and Malcolm simultaneously choking on their respective coffees. Rolling her eyes and half wondering what Zaf had done to cause that reaction this time; she turned her gaze back to Daniel, ready to convey to him that her idea of a perfect man was none of his business. However, the words died on her lips as she took in his expression – a mix of shock and bewilderment.

Confused, Ruth looked towards Jo and Malcolm, hoping for some insight into Daniel's reaction; only to find that they, along with the majority of their co-workers, were staring wide-eyed back at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she vaguely registered an open mouthed Adam handing a ten pound note to an equally gaping Zaf.

And then the realisation hit. Her evaluation of Harry hadn't been nearly as silent as she had intended.

Panic gripped her as she started to imagine how Harry might react when he found out. And he would find out; if he hadn't heard already. The gossip was inevitable. Slowly, she glanced in the direction of his office, almost afraid of what she might see. A part of her hoped he might be in a meeting in Whitehall, though she knew that was wishful thinking as she'd been memorising his schedule for years.

Her eyes found him standing just outside the forgery suite; his demeanour leaving her in no doubt that he'd heard every word. His half smile, intended to reassure her, had the opposite effect; instead bringing a tide of emotions to the surface. A small sob escaped Ruth's throat and she fled through the pods, desperate to escape the barrage of questions that were certain to follow.

Thanks for reading. More soon :)