A very different HR look, set post S9 but ignoring all S10 plot. Angsty and I hope realistic. Not my usual type of writing so I would really appreciate feedback / reviews. Thank you in advance.

Ruth woke up alone in her king size bed and sighed sadly. This was not how she had planned her life to go at all. Rubbing her eyes blearily she felt the cold hard metal of her wedding ring feeling more like a shackle than ever before. She had (perhaps naively) assumed that once she had married Harry then everything would be alright. Life had not turned out that way. She woke up alone more often than not, now without even a note to explain where Harry had gone to. She knew it would be an early meeting in Whitehall or some such nonsense but she felt the least she deserved was a note of some kind explaining his absence. Letting her know that he hadn't been kidnapped by Russians or Chinese or whichever country wanted him this week.

Getting up, she ran an agitated hand through her hair wondering how things had deteriorated to this state. Barely six months had gone by since their wedding and now she and Harry didn't talk unless they were on the grid or it was work related. The romance had gone and the explosive passion they had shared when they first became an item had burnt out, leaving nothing but quiet days after it. She knew why this had happened, or at least part of the reason. They had rushed into marriage far too quickly and this was the result. A couple of people growing more distant by the day who couldn't even talk about anything normal any more. Finishing getting dressed she realised how trapped she felt in this silence. In an abstract way she knew Harry loved her, but he wasn't showing her or telling her any more. She no longer craved to be with him but was rather trying to find a way to escape these awful silences with him. And the silences weren't layered with passion, desire, longing or want as they once had been not so long ago. Now they were just uncomfortable. She did not want to live like this any longer. She wanted out. Sighing yet again, she zipped her boots up and left the house for the grid. Might as well be doing something productive, she thought to herself.

Harry glanced at his watch while listening to Towers complain about something monstrously unimportant. It was nearing eleven and he really should be heading back to Thames House. He wanted to see Ruth, even though things were strained between them at the moment. He hadn't seen her since yesterday. She'd come home late claiming work (she hadn't been) and he'd left early. Neither of them talked about everything that bothered them. They never had, and she had become slightly distant with him, and that had made him reluctant to be more forthcoming. He hadn't impulsively touched her or kissed her because he hadn't known what her reaction would be. He had talked about normal things like work, trying to get back into their routine. Which had had the unintentional result of making her even more remote from him until every time she looked at him he felt like he was disappointing her. He wanted to fix this problem with Ruth badly, but he was slightly unsure as to how to go about it. He had never been any good at this side of relationships. Seduction? Yes. Getting a woman into bed? Absolutely. But making a relationship work and last? That was the tough one. Harry shook himself when he realised Towers was waiting for a reply. Harry was saved by his phone buzzing with a text message. Reading it and feigning seriousness he made his excuses to the Home Secretary.

"Problems with the Mrs eh?" Towers said good naturedly. Harry glared at him making the smile fade from the politicians face as the spook quickly left the building. The text had been nothing important, an alert from Vodaphone, nothing more but it had given him his excuse. He wanted to see Ruth. He needed to talk to her to sort out this mess. He didn't want to give up either on her or their marriage. It was the one relationship he had had in his life that he was determined would not fail.

Harry emerged onto a less than usually busy grid. "Erin? Everything okay?"

"Yes, just dealing with our American counterparts," she called back. "Everything okay with the HS?"

"Usually politics," Harry replied. His eyes settled on Ruth's empty desk and he felt his heart sink. If she wasn't working than clearly something was wrong, and he knew it was the same problem that dwelled on his mind. "Do you know where Ruth is?"

"On the roof I think," Erin said with a suggestive smile. "I'll make sure you aren't disturbed," she added. Harry thought about arguing the point about the passionate lovers embrace she was clearly under the impression would be happening but then decided against it. After all, alone time with Ruth was exactly what he wanted in the first place.

"Thanks Erin," Harry said. "I'll be down soon." The brunette nodded and Harry braced himself before going up the stairs to the roof, not sure how welcome his presence would be.

Thoughts?