This is a short update, but short is better than none! Thanks for the reviews and encouragement. And it will have a happy ending at some point.


Opening the door to the roof, Harry braced himself against the frigid air. It really was bitter out here, another testament to how much Ruth wanted time alone. He saw her leaning over the railings deep in thought and approached her slowly. Soon she heard his footsteps. He saw a line of tension in her shoulders as she realised she was not alone and his heart dropped. But he kept walking until he stood next to her. "Hi," he said to break the silence.

"Hello," she replied, her tone almost as cold as the weather. "I wanted some fresh air. I'll catch up with work," she added.

"I don't care about work," he interrupted quickly. It was perfectly true, and he knew her well enough to know that if by some miracle, she was behind she would catch up. He fell silent and so did she, the only thing interrupting the quiet was the biting wind and the traffic below them. She seemed locked in her own bubble, walls around her that he couldn't break down.

"You went to see the Home Secretary this morning?" Ruth questioned, and he felt the coldness in her voice.

"Yes. I didn't want to wake you," he said in explanation. "You came in late and I couldn't explain."

"You couldn't leave a note?" she asked. He had no reply to that. It hadn't even occurred to him, so worried was he about the state of his marriage with Ruth there wasn't space for a lot else in his mind.

"I'm sorry," he said. The only thing he could think to say. "I didn't think."

"Do you know how it feels to find out where your husband is from Erin?" she asked. "Rather than you?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated sincerely.

Ruth nodded but stayed silent. He looked at her hands and realised that she wasn't wearing any gloves. Her hands must be freezing. He wanted to reach across and take her hand but he wasn't sure how welcome his touch would be. It had been ten days since he had last touched her and even that was only a simple brush of hands when she passed over a file. They shared the same bed, but each stuck to their own side firmly. It had been long weeks since the last time he'd made love to her, he thought with sadness. And even then she hadn't seemed to enjoy it as much as she used to.

"I can't take this anymore Harry," she said, turning and facing him for the first time since he'd appeared on the roof. "This is not the type of relationship I want."

"I know," he agreed fervently. "I don't like this any more than you do. I want to fix it. Truly I do Ruth."

She smiled very tightly at him, her blue eyes swimming with emotions he couldn't name. "Harry, this isn't working. We both know that. And I think we both know this isn't what we wanted from our relationship. I'm not saying this to hurt you, honestly. I think…" She tailed off and took a deep breath, looking at her hands before speaking again. "I want a divorce. I… I'm sorry." She turned from the city and retreated back to the grid, leaving Harry feeling like his heart had stopped and his world had completely fallen away.


By the end of the working day Ruth had found herself hidden in the bathroom on the grid, trying to dry her eyes and stop the tears from coming. She had been thinking about asking Harry for a divorce for a while but she wasn't sure she'd ever had the courage. And now the words were out of her mouth she couldn't take them back. But she knew in her heart that she didn't want to leave Harry. She loved him too much. She just wanted things to be better and the words had come out of her mouth before she had weighed their consequences. Now she had no idea what to say to him. He had left the grid early and she knew that she'd have to face him sooner or later. Drying her eyes she tried to make herself more presentable before leaving and driving home. A conversation with Harry was most definitely called for.