A/N: This is a totally AU story, which opens early in Series 10 – a little over 3 and a half years after R & H were married, and 15 months after their son Daniel was born.

In this story, Tariq will not die. He is necessary to the plot.

As for the Russians... what Russians?

London - Harry's & Ruth's bedroom – early morning – Wednesday 14th September:

"Listen to that," Ruth said, her hand cupping her ear.

"What?"

"That's the sound of the world still turning, my love."

Harry turned towards her, lifting one finger to caress her cheek. "I know you, Ruth. You wouldn't have stated the bleeding obvious without there being a very good reason."

"You've been retired now for fifteen months, and the earth still spins on its axis and revolves around the sun, life goes on, the economy has not collapsed – not completely, anyway – the government is cranking along, and the good guys are still winning."

"Only just."

Ruth turned towards him, and traced her finger across the line of his mouth. "Such beautiful lips you have."

He grasped her hand and pulled it from his mouth and held it against his bare chest. "Don't change the subject, Ruth. What was the point of your early morning observations …... as if I didn't already know."

"Section D still functions well, even if Julian Sevigny is not a stroppy, moody, insufferably arrogant, and sexy section head like that last guy we had."

"I'll show you who's stroppy and moody." Harry rolled her on to her back, lifted himself above her, and then attacked her mouth with a deep kiss, his tongue searching for her own. Ruth responded to him, and wound her arms around his neck, one hand reaching down his back between his shoulder blades, while the fingers of her other hand played with the ends of his hair, longer now than it had been when he was working. His hand moved down her side, until it reached her bare thigh. He slid his palm around until his fingers found her inner thigh. Ruth smiled as she kissed him. She knew where this was going, and she was glad. It was the very best way to begin the day, and she had a long day ahead of her.

Suddenly, just as Harry's hand had reached her warm centre, and he'd dipped a finger inside her, and Ruth had emitted a moan of pleasure, they felt, rather than heard, someone entering the room. Harry stopped moving, one finger still inside her, as rapid footsteps drew closer to their bed.

"Mumma. Dadda. Up," said their son, dressed in a pale blue sleepsuit with several poppers undone, his curly blond hair unruly, his hazel eyes bright and enquiring, one hand clutching the teddy bear Catherine had given him when he was born.

Harry removed his hand from where it was about to deliver pleasure to his son's mother, dropped his forehead on to the pillow beside her head, while Ruth turned her head to smile at Daniel. "Good morning, little man," she said. "And why, pray tell, are you up at this hour? Mummy and Daddy were just about to play a game."

"Up," he said, patting his free hand on the mattress, and bouncing on his toes.

Harry rolled back on to his side of the bed, grasping the duvet close to him to cover his arousal. He turned his head to smile at Daniel, and then leaned across and grasped him with both hands, kissing his cheek soundly before planting him on to the bed between he and Ruth. "High jinx to be postponed until further notice. Mummy's and Daddy's orgasms will have to wait."

"Harry!"

"What?"

"I don't want the fourth word he learns to be `orgasm'."

"Fifth word, Ruth. You're forgetting `No', which happens to be his favourite word of all. I'd just like to know how he managed to climb out of his cot."

"Maybe he'll be a mountain climber when he grows up," replied Ruth, turning to her son and kissing him, blowing raspberries against his soft and warm neck. Daniel giggled and wriggled, and kicked his legs against Harry's stomach. Harry watched his little family with a smile. There is only one person in the world for whom he would forego early morning sex with his wife.

By the time Ruth reached the kitchen, dressed ready for work, Harry had fed Daniel his cereal, and had cooked eggs and made toast. A pot of tea sat in the middle of the table. Daniel, perched in his high chair, chewed on a rusk covered in marmite, one foot hypnotically kicking the underside of the table.

"What's on the agenda for you two today?" she asked Harry.

"While you were in the shower Catherine rang, and she's planning to drop by after lunch, although I think she's visiting Daniel rather than me. And after we've cleaned up after breakfast I'll bath him, and then I thought we might go to the park."

"Again? You went yesterday."

"I know we did, but while we were there, he made friends with a little girl called Ruby, and I made friends with Ruby's grandmother, who assumed I was Daniel's grandfather. If I wasn't mistaken, Ruth, I think she may have been hitting on me."

"In your dreams, Pearce. Besides, did you by any chance show her your wedding ring?"

"I did, and I also told her that I was Daniel's father, and that my wife was a deeply dangerous and jealous woman. She seemed undeterred. She commented on how much Daniel looks like me."

"Daniel's strong resemblance to you is hardly a state secret, Harry, and as chat-up lines goes, it is highly unimaginative of her to have mentioned it. Perhaps the next thing you should tell this …. this 60-year-old strumpet …... is that if your wife ever meets her, she'll karate kick her to the ground, and then choke the life out of her with her bare hands!"

Harry put his hands over Daniel's ears. "Ruth …... please... not in front of our child. Besides, I think Bella is probably closer to 50 than 60."

"Whatever …... you'd better not be planning to exchange phone numbers."

"I'm not looking for a date, Ruth. I do value our marriage vows. And I also value my balls. Truth is, I love to see you jealous. It turns me on."

"Daniel," Ruth said, addressing their son directly, "promise me you'll keep an eye on Daddy today, and when I come home, you'll tell me everything he did. In detail. Better still, take notes."

Daniel blew a marmite raspberry in Ruth's direction, his eyes crinkling in a cheeky smile which showed off all of his eight teeth.

Harry carried Daniel to the door to see Ruth off.

"Remember, Daniel. Everything Daddy says, and everything he does …... report back to Mummy."

Harry chuckled, but Daniel, as he did every morning, leaned across to Ruth for a hug and a kiss, and then began to whimper. "Mumma," he said, between his sobs.

"The minute the door closes, he's fine," Harry assured her, leaning across to kiss her. He opened his mouth and touched her lips with his tongue, but Ruth pulled out of the kiss.

"Harry! That's not a goodbye kiss."

"No, it wasn't. It was a come-home-soon-so-I-can-make-love-to-you-until-we're-both-exhausted kiss."

"How long has it been?"

"Three days and …... er ….. eight hours. That's three days too long, Ruth."

"I'll see what I can do," she said, blowing them both a kiss as she walked down the steps.

The Grid – Wednesday 14th Sept – 7.50 am:

"I'm sure that I'm right, Ruth," Tariq said earnestly. "I wanted to check with you before I said anything about it to Julian."

"I think you're right, too. Tariq, do you very much mind if I bring in a friend of mine to have a look at your findings? He's someone whom I know would be interested in working in tandem with you, but we have to keep it quiet. I've already contacted him, and he's prepared to see us today, if that suits you."

"Sure. I need all the help I can get. No-one seems to be taking me seriously."

"I believe you, Tariq."

"Yes, but you've been following Kassar for a few years, so you know what he's capable of. The guy's a genius, but he has a peculiar way of expressing his genius. If Harry were still section head, I know he'd listen to me."

"Harry has his hands full these days. He's becoming an expert at preparing bland, mushy food, and chasing a toddler around the house."

"You know," said Tariq, his face serious, "I can see you with a little kid, Ruth, but …... but my mind just goes blank whenever I try to imagine Harry looking after your son."

"You should see him. He's found his true calling. He's a natural, and Daniel worships him, which is the way it should be."

And she winked at him before they went to the meeting room.

The Grid – Wednesday 14th Sept – 8.17 am:

Harry's replacement as section head, Julian Sevigny, was mid 40's, tall and long-legged, and with the beginnings of a middle-aged paunch. Were it not for the streaks of grey through his short dark hair, he could have passed for a man in his late 30's. Julian's degrees in law and politics meant that he's more of a political animal than Harry ever was or aspired to be. His brief stint as a field intelligence officer came at the end of his impressive athletics career. He had been in Los Angeles for the 1984 Olympics, preparing to represent Britain in the high jump, when he'd had to withdraw from competition due to a stress fracture in his foot. In 1988, when the Olympics were in Seoul, he'd had to make himself unavailable, due to his wife being in the late stages of a difficult pregnancy. As a mature adult, his real interest, his skill, was in keeping sweet with the Home Office, and other branches of government. Thus, he was competitive, but diplomatic.

"The Home Secretary wishes Section D to have a presence in the Julian Assange case," Sevigny began. "For mine, I see it as a waste of our limited resources. All wind and no substance. Assange is under house arrest, but he's a media whore – pardon my language, Erin, Ruth -"

Ruth nodded at him and smiled to herself. Harry had never once said `pardon my language' in all the years she'd worked with him in Section D, and he'd had far more cause to have done so than Julian ever would. There had been times when Harry's outbursts had turned the air blue.

"The only threat," Sevigny continued, "is from his followers, who are trying to paint him as a victim, and so may go to some lengths to create difficulty for the British and US governments. The Americans want his head on a stick. He's a source of major embarrassment for them."

"I'm planning to send a couple of junior field officers to keep an eye on things," Erin replied. "Brandon and Grant should enjoy this one."

Dimitri nodded, and then rolled his eyes, knowing how much their junior field officers would much rather be in the firing line of some major operation, than baby-sitting this Antipodean hacker. Calum made a `phew' gesture, glad that he'd not been the one to be given the task.

Erin continued. "Also, I've put Oliver on trawling for any intel on Assange's followers and disciples, just in case they're planning something we should know about."

"Thank you, Erin. If violence, or protests break out in relation to Assange, then we'll be called in anyway. I'm just pre-empting that possibility. When and if he gets deported, he's no longer our problem, and then it will be business as usual." Sevigny turned in his chair to look directly at Tariq. "I believe you have some information, Tariq. Spit it out."

"I need permission from you to bring in some outside help with my latest venture."

"Which is? Do the rest of you know about this?"

"I do," Ruth said, while the others shook their heads.

"Go on, Tariq, tell us, but remember this - other than you, no-one in this room is a computer genius," Sevigny smiled at his attempt at humour.

"A few years ago, when Harry was still Section head, Ruth uncovered the activities of Yusuf Kassar, and since then, we've been keeping an eye on him. Most of the time he works in New York, but he makes frequent visits to Karachi, and even London and Birmingham. I have – er – contacts in the outside world who have come to similar conclusions as me -"

"You're not discussing this with them, are you, Tariq?"

"No, they're the ones telling me. They're guys who went to university with me. We get together for a drink occasionally. These guys have come up with the same information as me. Kassar has developed the capability to use the earth's satellite systems to trigger nuclear blasts simultaneously in different parts of the world."

"I had heard about this, Tariq," said Sevigny, "and if it's true, then none of us will be here to pick up the pieces."

"As far as terrorism goes, this same encryption system – to hijack a satellite – can be used by terrorists, to set off bombs simultaneously in various different locations. The way it works is that from a single computer, which can be located anywhere in the world, a signal can be sent to a satellite which then sends the signal to detonate to any other place in the world using the local mobile phone networks. It's a very sophisticated encryption."

"Is there anything can be done about this?"

"The encryption is the key. I'd like permission to consult an asset of Ruth's, because I'll need help to crack this code. I'll need to be periodically off-Grid for this, and so will Ruth."

"Ruth?" Julian looked directly at her. They had quite a satisfactory working relationship, but she missed Harry's energy and passion. Julian was always correct, always proper, sometimes too careful, aware how their actions as a group would look to the politicians. Harry had cared, perhaps too much at times, and that had been his most endearing quality as section head.

"I need to be with Tariq during the early stages of his meeting with my asset. I thought Oliver Ravenscroft could step into my shoes for the next few days."

"Do you think he's ready?" asked Julian.

"There's only one way to find out."

"This will be like being on holiday," Tariq said with a grin as they left Thames House in Tariq's car.

"A working holiday, Tariq," Ruth replied. "We'll still be working, and we have to take into account the possibility that we may be being watched."

"Point me in the right direction, Ruth.."

"Head to Muswell Hill."

Ruth looked across at Tariq after he'd finished keying in the address on his Sat Nav. "Do you mind if I give Harry a quick call?"

"Nah, you go ahead."

Ruth rang Harry, aware that Tariq would be able to hear her side of the conversation.

"Everything OK at your end?" Ruth asked, after Harry had answered his phone.

"You're checking up on me, Ruth." She could hear the smile in his voice. "Daniel, Mummy's checking up on me. Write that down in your little notebook, son."

"Harry …... I just wanted to hear your voice."

"Good. That's good. I like to hear your voice too. I miss you when you're not with me."

"I'm with Tariq, in his car," she said, hoping he'd understand that she was unable to say anything of an intensely private nature.

"So, Julian is letting you out for the day," Harry replied. "I'm pushing Daniel in his stroller, and we're on our way to the park."

"Have fun, then, and don't …..." Ruth wasn't sure how to finish the sentence.

"I won't. I promise I'll look, but I won't touch."

"Don't even think about looking, Harry." She heard his laughter at the other end.

"Mummy's jealous," she heard him say, addressing his comment to Daniel. If only his former staff members could hear him now!

"I'll leave you to it, then," she said. "I love you. Bye."

"Love you too."

Ruth hung up, and looked across at Tariq, who was busy negotiating traffic.

Eventually Tariq pulled up outside the address Ruth had given him. They got out and Ruth's knock on the door was answered by a middle-aged man with short grey hair.

"Come in," the man said, giving Ruth a quick hug. "So lovely to see you, Ruth."

"Tariq, I'd like you to meet your predecessor at Section D – Malcolm Wynn-Jones. Malcolm, this is Tariq Masood."