Title: The Road Not Taken
Author:etqd
Summary: They met in 1993, not 2003… AU…
Spoilers: Eventually 5.05 at least if not the whole of series 5…
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of Spooks. No copyright infringement is intended. Don't sue
A/N: So yeah… the idea of this is basically all in the title and summary. Each part'll be set during an episode so eventually there will be spoilers for 5.05 but right now we're in 2.02… so we're at the Tom/Zoe/Danny/Sam stage… basically the setup of this part is – 1 scene AU Flashback, 1 scene AU 'scene from show' and 1 scene completely new… lets see how long I can actually stick to that plan shall we?

Anyway… on with the fic, hope you enjoy…

The Road Not Taken

Prologue

2003.

Thames House.

London.

The door opened and the first thing Tom saw was the purple.

Lots and lots of purple.

Different shades, but still an overriding image of purple.

It was a cliché to say that the person behind the books and the purple, and indeed the purple books, was the person he least expected to see entering the briefing room. But that didn't make it any less true.

He'd barely opened his mouth to say her name when Harry interrupted him.

"This is Ruth Evershed, joining us from GCHQ. She's going to be handling intelligence analysis in this department. Sorely needed." Tom stared at his boss in confusion, not believing his relaxed attitude to the newcomer.

He looked quickly between the two of them, knowing he was impersonating a fish but unable to stop himself.

Ruth had obviously noticed his shock. "It's good to see you again Tom…" Although Harry was the epitome of calm, Ruth's nervousness was clear to see, right down to her almost stuttering. "You didn't know I was coming?"

Tom shook his head as turned back to look enquiringly at Harry. "Well…"

"Introductions later." Harry interrupted them. "Ruth, I need you up to speed on this."

"Am I late?" She asked, taking her seat and smiling surreptitiously at the rest of the rooms occupants. "Malcolm." She nodded at him in greeting.

"It's good to see you Ruth." Malcolm nodded in return before looking at Tom and raising his eyebrow slightly.

"We are briefing Ruth and reviewing the situation." Harry told them.

Tom took a moment to look at Zoë and Danny, who'd both clearly picked up on the tension in the room, before beginning his briefing, trying to clear his mind of the questions that were running through it.

Personal lives were secondary when you had Islamic extremists in a Birmingham mosque.

---

1993.

Thames House.

London.

Harry rolled his eyes at the suit before him, barely listening to her.

"I know it's not your first choice as an assignment but…" She gestured to the file before them. The very thick file of a 23 year old student. "Have you read the file? The woman's IQ is in the 160s at the very least and her knowledge of Middle Eastern history and politics would be a must for any government department."

Harry shook his head. No matter how much they played up the significance it was still a glorified babysitting assignment. "Just because 6 are making a play doesn't mean we have to join in the fun."

The suit continued unabated. "The profile says she's a perfect sleeper… she'll rise to the top of whatever field she goes into… all we have to do is wait."

"I have more important work than sleeper recruitment."

The suit, realising she wasn't getting anywhere tried a different tactic. "It's Oxford. You could visit Catherine and Graham."

"I doubt Liz would even let me see them."

Harry let the silence stay between them and the suit leaned back in hers. Harry rightly guessed what was coming next.

"This isn't an optional assignment. It's a must… and are you honestly telling me you don't want to get one over on 6?"

Harry smiled slightly… he hadn't predicted the last tactic. "The idea does have a certain appeal." He agreed. The only thing better than beating 6 was to stop a national emergency and there didn't appear to be anything brewing on that front in the immediate future.

"Then go to Oxford, and snatch her out from Mr Mace's grasp. Lets show him that 5 has just as much appeal as the James Bonds of the intelligence world."

Harry nodded. "Do I at least get a smaller file?"

The DG smiled back at him, reaching into hers desk draw for a videocassette. "Oh you'll get more than that. Here's a tape of her most recent University Challenge episode. Miss Evershed is brilliant. I'd read up on your Homer, you'll need something to get her attention."

---

As soon as they were out of the briefing room the question was asked. He wasn't surprised that it was Danny. He was even less surprised that Zoë was right beside him to back him up. To be nosy.

"What was that about in there?"

Tom looked at Malcolm, who simply shook his head at the unasked question. He obviously hadn't known before the briefing either.

Tom looked back at his colleagues. "What do you mean?"

"Did you work together before? Because I don't think I've ever seen you look that shocked." Zoë asked, vaguely curious but not as much as he'd expected. That would change soon enough.

"I have never worked with Ruth Evershed." Tom answered honestly before walking away from them.

"Oh come on…" Annoyance was clear in Danny's tone. He hated being kept out of the loop. "Malcolm?"

He heard Malcolm's footsteps close behind, along with his just as honest but more reasonable reply.

"The last time we met her surname was Pearce."

---