You Belong With Me

Disclaimer: Spooks and all recognizable characters belong to Kudos and the BBC, though it would have been better had they played nicer with their toys.

A/N: I probably shouldn't admit to this, but this story was inspired by Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me." (Don't worry, I didn't send Harry and Ruth back to high school.) I heard this song for about the millionth time and suddenly thought about Ruth watching Harry with another woman. Since my muse had abandoned me a few weeks ago (probably to visit r4ven3 on the other side of the globe) I had to take advantage of her return and not argue with her about what she wanted me to write. I hope you'll forgive me.

This should be four chapters. Sorry this first part is so short.


21 October, 2004.

Ruth knew she shouldn't be doing this. It was an ethically gray area, but considering she worked for MI-5, she'd been involved in activities much more questionable than this. The easy way would have been to ask Danny or Zoe, even Sam about the person in question, but she quickly vetoed that idea. They would think her a silly girl with a crush on her boss. No, she was an analyst; she needed to analyze the situation and to do so she needed the facts. All of them. Since she'd ruled out asking anyone else on the Grid, she'd have to get the facts herself. It was a good thing then that part of her job involved getting into systems and finding information she wasn't supposed to see. Like whether her boss had a current S24 form on file.

Ruth had been working late and the Grid was deserted, which wasn't unusual. Sometimes Harry was here as well but after leaving late this afternoon he'd stopped back to briefly check on a few things and was dressed in black tie. Danny was finishing his reports on the day's surveillance activities when Harry stopped to ask him a question. Ruth overheard enough of the conversation to know that Harry was attending an event with a woman named Abigail. She was surprised at the envy she felt and tried to tell herself it was because he had a social life and she didn't. Ruth distracted herself with a cup of tea while Harry finished his discussion with Danny and left for the evening. Danny finished his reports shortly thereafter, leaving Ruth alone with a few junior members slated for the night shift.

Letting curiosity get the better of her, Ruth slowly picked her way through the system until she was able to pull up the personnel file on Harry. She'd skimmed through it once before, shortly after starting but she'd not looked at anything else. This time she was looking to see whether there was a current S24 on file, a 'Permission to Socialize' form that would tell her whether this Abigail was a casual date or someone more permanent in Harry's life.

And there it was, submitted by Harry Pearce for Abigail Lowe. Age 42, she was divorced with no children and currently worked as a VP of Accounts for a large public relations firm based in London. There was a photo attached and Ruth wasn't surprised to see that Abigail was a beautiful woman. She checked the date on the form and realized it had been submitted earlier this year. Ruth exited the system, making sure to cover her tracks before going back to her desk. Knowing she wouldn't get anything else done tonight while she pondered this new information, she logged off her computer and headed home.


Harry sipped at his whisky while he watched Abigail make her way through the room. He was her plus one this evening so he'd been at her side for the cocktail hour and dinner, chatting with associates and business contacts. Now that dinner had finished, he was rewarding himself with whisky while he watched her socialize. It had been a messy week for him dealing with Fred Roberts and having to decommission Tom. He should be at work, dealing with the fallout, but Abigail had convinced him that a night away from the office would be a good thing. She looked beautiful tonight in a dark purple cocktail dress with her light brown hair in a simple knot at the back of her neck.

Though their schedules were erratic, they had managed to maintain a relationship over the past six months. Harry has no delusions that he and Abigail are madly in love or would someday marry and live happily ever after. He was convinced that that sort of life was no longer in the cards for him, especially after the disaster that was his first marriage. However, Abigail is attractive, intelligent, and an independent woman. She's aware that he works for the security services and accepts that that he cannot discuss his work with her and that he could be called in to work at a moment's notice. Right now, their relationship consisted mostly of companionship, attendance at respective work-related events such as this and sex. It filled a physical need for him, if nothing else.