Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! They're very reassuring and encouraging, so keep them coming. This chapter turned out a lot longer than I originally intended it to be, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. What can I say? Harry and Ruth are a lot more chatty than I expect them to be!

Chapter 2

Harry didn't show up for work the next morning. Instead, some grey suit on secondment from 6 arrived on the Grid around 9, announcing that Harry had been suspended with immediate effect and that he would be his temporary replacement.

There was a short morning briefing where Ruth did most of the talking, and then they were all back to their desks to get a move on the piles of paperwork which only seemed to increase as the days went by.

Their temporary section head, his name was John Booker, disappeared into Harry's office after the briefing and hardly showed his face again for most of the day. Every now and then he would pop into the main part of the Grid, asked how everything was going, and disappear again. He was obviously someone who had spent the best part of his career locked away in some dingy office at Vauxhall Cross, because he seemed clueless about most of the vital aspects of working for the security services. Nobody in section D seemed to mind though. At least they could all continue to do their job properly, without anyone interfering and getting in the way.

It was a quiet day with no excitement whatsoever, so Ruth decided to make the most of this exceptional situation and take a proper lunch break. She exited the Grid and went up to the roof, taking her mobile phone with her.

She rested against the railing, looking out across the beautiful London skyline and pressed speed dial.

It only rang twice before Harry answered. "Missing me already Ruth?"

His soft, deep voice was enough to make her head spin and go weak at the knees, but she decided she couldn't let herself get distracted by this.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd been suspended with immediate effect?" She asked him. "I had to hear this from some prat from 6 along with the rest of the team!"

"I'm sorry Ruth. I wasn't told until this morning either. I called you at home but you had already left, so I figured you'd be at work and would have found out about my suspension by then. But I should have tried harder to reach you, I'm sorry sweetheart."

Ruth let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. She really couldn't stay angry with him for long. "It's ok Harry, I'm not mad" she said. "It's just that it all happened to sudden, and it took me by surprise."

"I can imagine," he said. "And I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you myself. And how is my most definitely temporary replacement?"

Ruth filled him in about Booker's blandness and serious lack of knowledge, and the terrible boredom they were all suffering because of the stacks of paperwork they had to work through.

Harry couldn't help but smile as he listened to Ruth going on about how bored she was, because there was nothing exciting happening and she had nothing substantial to analyse. He could easily listen to her voice for hours. Hell, she could read the phonebook to him and he'd still listen.

"Are we still on for tonight Harry?"she asked, nervous all of a sudden.

"Yes of course. Why wouldn't we be?"

"Uh..well I don't know" she stammered. "With the suspension and everything, things might have changed."

"Don't worry Ruth, I wouldn't miss it for the world." He said. "Besides, I'm very curious about the restaurant you've picked."

Although he couldn't actually see her, he knew she was smiling.

"Good, I'm glad." She said. "And we're going to one of my favourite restaurants, so you'd better like it" she teased.

Harry chuckled. "I'm sure I'll love it. And now back to work, or else your new section head will tell you off for taking an extended lunch break."

Ruth snorted at his comment. "I highly doubt it, he's been hiding in your office for most of the day, so he probably hasn't noticed I'm gone. But you're right, I should get back to work."

"Hmm I hope he hasn't found my drinks cabinet yet, or there'll be hell to pay," Harry half-joked.

"I'll personally see to it that he doesn't " Ruth reassured him.

"I'll pick you up at 8 then" he said. "I love you."

"I love you too Harry. See you tonight."

Ruth hung up, put the phone into her jacket pocket and returned to the Grid.

The doorbell rang at almost exactly 8 o'clock. For once in her life Ruth wasn't running late, so when she went to open the front door she was all set and ready to go. And what a sight awaited her on the other side of the door. She leaned against the doorframe and took her time taking in the sight before her. Harry was wearing a dark suit, no tie, and the bright blue shirt that she loved so much. Harry, in turn, was doing the exact same thing. Ruth was wearing a black dress and black boots. The dark blue denim jacket she'd thrown on over it gave her look a more casual appearance. Around her neck hung, as usual, her trademark silver necklace. She literally took his breath away.

Finally they snapped out of it, both turning slightly red at the realisation that they'd both been doing the same thing.

"You look beautiful Ruth," Harry finally managed to say.

"So do you," she replied. "I like the shirt."

"Oh, this old thing?" he teased her, which earned him a playful slap on his arm.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked her.

Ruth nodded. "Yes, all set."

She quickly grabbed her bag and keys, closed the door behind her and locked it. Harry couldn't help but notice how she slipped a piece of paper between the door as she closed it.

He moved to escort her to his car, which was parked a few yards away, but she stopped him and shook her head. "We're not taking the car Harry. We'll be walking to the restaurant. It's only 5 minutes from here, don't worry" she quickly added.

Harry smiled. Trust Ruth to do things just slightly different he thought. That's exactly what he loved about her.

"Alright then Ms. Evershed, lead the way," he said, still smiling.

She hooked her arm through his and started on their short walk. Ruth was glad they were able to do this. It was now mid-September, and the past couple of days had been grey, chilly with lots of rain. But today had been a sunny day, with mild temperatures and most importantly dry. She was glad of that. It would have been such a shame to be forced to take the car because of bad weather. She was already enjoying her evening immensely, and they weren't even at the restaurant yet.

Ruth had chosen a little Italian bistro. Harry observed the place with a mixture of humour and fascination. It looked like it had been newly decorated 30 years ago, and had stayed like that ever since, without any alterations. The wallpaper had faded, and so had the pictures that hung on the walls. None of the furniture matched, and neither did the glasses, plates and cutlery, as he would later discover. Even the waiter looked as if he had last updated his wardrobe in the late 80s.

But the atmosphere felt relaxed and friendly, not at all like the posh, uptight restaurants he usually dined at. He immediately understood why Ruth loved this place so much. It was unique and quirky, just like her.

They were seated at a small table in the corner of the restaurant. The waiter handed them the menus and poured them both some wine into two very different looking glasses.

Ruth smiled nervously. "Do you like it here Harry? I know it's quite different from the kind of restaurants you're used to, and if you don't like it I completely understand. We could of course go to a different kind of place next time..". She was nervous, and she had started rambling, like she always did when she was nervous about something.

Harry quickly stopped her. "Stop worrying Ruth, I like it here. It's very, well… you."

He gave her a reassuring smile.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok, I'll stop worrying. Promise."

The waiter soon came over to take their orders. Ruth ordered a mixed plate of starters that they could share, and a vegetarian lasagne for her main course. Harry decided to go for veal scaloppini.

They slipped easily into conversation as they waited for their meals. Compared to their one other dinner date years ago, this one was definitely winning out thus far. They were completely at ease around each other, talking about anything and everything. There wasn't even the slightest hint of awkward tension.

Ruth opted for a drastic shift in the conversation soon after the starters arrived. "I found a suitable psychologist a couple of days ago. And I've already made an appointment for next week." She said.

Harry looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected anything like this to come up tonight.

"She's been properly vetted, don't worry Harry. Signed the official secrets act and everything."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you Ruth," he said. "And I'm glad that you've found someone so soon. I know I offered to help you, but with everything that's happened recently it completely slipped my mind. I'm sorry."

She reached out across the table and took hold of his hand. "You've nothing to apologise for Harry. When you spend your days saving the country and trying to fend off annoying politicians at the same time, I can't expect you to help me with every tiny thing as well." She smiled at him.

"But this is not just some tiny thing," he said. "This is important."

She brought the hand she'd been holding up to her face and planted a kiss on it. "I'm feeling so much better already, and that's all because of you. There are just a few things that I need to work through now, and I think it's wise to have a professional help me through those things. But you need to realise that without you I wouldn't be where I am right now. Without you I would still have been in that dark, depressing place where there were no feelings. And you pulled me out of it, albeit in an…unconventional way. But it certainly did the trick."

"Really Ruth, you're giving me much more credit than I'm due. This is mainly down to your own strength. You're one of the strongest people I know, and I mean that. And you could have pulled away from me again, but you didn't. And I'll be eternally grateful for that."

In all their openheartedness they had completely forgot about their surroundings, until the waiter arrived with their main courses.

They slipped back into more light hearted conversation as they ate, both still marvelling about their open and honest conversation just before. Neither of them were very emotionally forthright, as Harry had pointed out only weeks before, so this had been a real eye-opener for both of them.

"Just out of curiosity Harry, how is it possible that we're sitting here without being followed and observed?" Ruth asked. " I remember all the trouble we went through last time you were suspended, and that was only to pass you a data stick. So how did you manage to avoid all the hassle this time?"

Harry took a deep breath. He had known this question would come sooner rather than later. Ruth was so extraordinary perceptive, so in a way he was surprised that she hadn't asked him about it sooner.

"I er…I lied." He admitted. "I said that we were engaged to be married. The DG's on my side in this inquiry. He helped me to get all the necessary paperwork done, make it look as if we'd gone through all the necessary proceedings weeks before the whole Albany ordeal. That's why we're being left alone. I hope you're not mad."

"No Harry, I'm not mad. Surprised maybe, but not mad."

Ruth smiled. Oddly enough she quite liked the idea of being engaged to Harry, even though she had turned down his proposal just months earlier. Right now she was no longer sure why she had even done that.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He was so glad to have come clean about his white lie. A part of him had expected Ruth to be angry with him, and he was so relieved to find out that she wasn't.

The rest of the night passed far too quickly for their liking. They had coffee and shared a tiramisu for dessert. The evening had been great and the food delicious. Harry decided he definitely wanted to come back here again.

Harry, always the gentleman, paid the bill and they exited the restaurant. Ruth quietly slipped her hand into his and rested her head against his arm. And like this they walked back to her house in companiable silence.

"Would you like to come in for a coffee, or a nightcap?" Ruth asked as they were standing at her front door again.

"I'd love to Ruth, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to say no anyway."

Ruth looked disappointed and slightly confused.

"We were going to take things slow, remember?" he explained. "So this time I'm making sure you get home safely, and kiss you goodnight at the front door. And next time, I might just take you up on that offer to come in."

He cupped her face with both hands and kissed her lovingly on the lips. She quickly responded to the kiss, snaking her arms around his waist, running her hands up and down his back.

Their foreheads rested against each other after they ended the kiss, and for a moment they remained standing like that.

"Are you sure you're not coming in?" Ruth asked again, just to be sure.

"I'm sure. Goodnight Ruth." He kissed her one last time, gave her one of his dazzling smiles, then turned around and started walking back to his car.

Ruth unlocked her front door, picked up the piece of paper that immediately fell to the ground, stepped through the door and closed it behind her. This night had outlived all her expectations. She couldn't stop smiling.

Harry got into his car and watched her open the door and go inside. When he had made sure she was safely inside the house he started the engine and drove off, the biggest smile possible plastered onto his face.

TBC

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