AN: Alright so I had planned this to be a one shot but obviously I had to continue at the request of so many and so you're all responsible for the way this story has turned in a rather unexpected direction. Hope you enjoy ... and that you'll leave a review. I'm blown away by the 16 I received for the first chapter; maybe an equal number for this offering? =0)

Three Days Later

"Why do you always go and complicate things?"

Arms wrapped loosely around her slumbering form, Harry didn't wait for an answer.

He wouldn't get one. Not right now at least.

Ruth had passed out after their last round of love making, curling herself against his side, her head buried under his arm.

"Six months ago we would have been easy. Now..." He paused a moment, wondering what now really was.

Now was two woman that he wanted to be with; one he loved, one he cared a great deal for.

One gave herself freely to him and without hesitance; the other fainthearted and fearful of others.

Both wanted him and he wanted both.

Therein lie the problem.

Or was it?

They didn't know each other, these two women of his.

Victoria lived in West London, worked all over the globe as a Corporate Lawyer for an International Conglomerate. What free time she had was spent attending the theatre and Opera or shopping the High Street with a friend.

Ruth lived in the North of London. She spent most of her working hours locked away in the relative safety of Thames House. When she wasn't working or at home with her cats, she was at Choir practice which also happened to be in North London; or at the cooking classes she'd suddenly decided to take. Again North London.

They'd never run into each other. Never have to spend time with him in a location where the other might be.

Except maybe his house.

And that was easy enough to manage. Ruth was still hesitant about others knowing about the change in their relationship. It'd be a simple matter of convincing her it'd be easier for him to slip over to hers rather than the other way around. Victoria - well, they tended to wind up at his only part of the time. More likely they found themselves at hers too because of his unpredictable work schedule.

Even their time spent together could be managed. Already Victoria was used to only seeing him two or three times a week and maybe a weekend here and there. And that was alright with her. Plus she was out of town for weeks at a time. Ruth had choir two nights a week and every other Saturday plus a cooking class one evening. Two evenings plus part of a weekend with Ruth as well as work and maybe even a lunch or two; three evenings with Victoria during a good week and one weekend a month - possibly two.

The scheduling even worked.

This would work.

He could continue seeing Victoria and explore where this relationship with Ruth was going. If things went well with Ruth and she stopped running, well, he could end things with Victoria later. But if Ruth couldn't handle the pressure and all that came with loving him, he wouldn't have lost another good woman.

It was settled.

He'd see both for awhile; at least until things played one way or another with Ruth.

One Month Later

Glass of wine in his hand, Harry leaned against the counter and watched as Victoria cracked the last egg into the well of flour currently resting on the cutting board. Eyes following her hands as she started to knead the dough, he smiled as she continued to tell him about her latest trip.

"So we're all sitting in the conference room and Anthony; that little shit I told you about who keeps trying to get into my trousers; looks at the man representing Benin's Assembly for Cotton exportation and says 'Je veux te baiser?' thinking he was asking for the loo when he was telling the minister he wanted to fuck him. Or something along those lines at least."

Chuckling, Harry took a sip of his wine before setting the glass down and moving forward to stand behind her. Placing his hands on either side of the counter, he leaned closer, his lips brushing along the back of her neck before coming to rest against her ear. "And why would he think that?"

"Mmm. I may have told him that was how to say it when he asked earlier." Standing on her tip toes, Victoria pushed all her weight into the dough before dropping back to let her body rest against his. "I can't help it if he doesn't know French and I mis-understood him when he asked at our breakfast strategy meeting."

Pressing himself into her back, he grinned as his hand slipped under the front of her shirt to rest against her stomach. "And it had nothing to do with what happened in Prague last week?"

"No, not at all." Keeping her back to him, she smiled down at the ball of dough, a warmth filling her at how well Harry knew her.

Spinning her round, he slid his hand up along her back, letting it stop and fiddle with the clasp of her bra a moment. "Somehow I don't believe you're telling the truth."

Grinning, Victoria slid a hand along his chest, fingers sliding between the buttons as she slowly worked them free. "Oh but I am. I would never intentionally do anything to cause embarrassment to a fellow colleague."

"I don't believe you." he said, voice going lower as he leaned towards her. Mouthing hovering above hers, he flicked his fingers together, undoing the clasp. "I might have to interrogate you."

Pulling his shirt free, she smoothed her hands along the plane of his chest, careful not to pull on any of the fine, blonde hairs. As she reached his shoulders, she let her arms continue in the air, feeling him divest of her shirt and bra. Dropping her arms, she wrapped them around his neck and leaned against him, her breasts rubbing against the skin of his chest. "Really? That might be interesting seeing as I'm trained in various methods of cross examination and deflection."

"Hmm. We'll see if you're as good as you think you are." Dropping his head, Harry caught her lips with his, hands sliding under the waist of her track pants and knickers. Quickly pushing them to the floor, he lifted her free of them and set her on the counter.

"The dough." she mumbled as his lips traveled down her jaw. "It's dinner."

"Bugger the dough. I have something else in mind and it's not pasta." Mouth moving lower, he took one of her nipples in his mouth and sucked on it hard, causing her to moan and drop her hands to the counter to support herself.

He continued to lick and suck on her breasts as her hands moved from the counter to his buckle. Undoing his belt and trousers, she pushed them away from his hips, working them down his legs with her feet when she could no longer reach with her arms. Sliding to the edge of the counter, she opened her legs wide and leaned down, her tongue running along the length of his ear as she mumbled "Je veux te baiser."

Biting down on her nipple, Harry pulled his head back and listened as she moaned against him. "Je veux vas te faire encule s'il vous plait."

Letting go of her breast, he lifted his head and grinned at her, his hands sliding up to grip her legs tightly. "Really? You want me to fuck you?"

"Oui."

Pulling her to him, Harry thrust into her, stilling a moment as he waited for her to adjust to his length. Feeling her legs wrap tightly around him, he started rocking slowly into her. Picking his speed up, he watched as she leaned her head back, bracing herself more on her hands against the counter.

Breasts thrust forward, they bounced with each thrust. Leaning his head down, Harry wrapped his lips around a nipple again, sucking and biting as their groins rubbed together. Feeling her inner walls clench around him in climax, Harry bit down as he thrust harder into her, his own orgasm overcome him.

Holding still a moment, he felt her hands move to run through his hair as his lips gently pressed soothing kisses against the skin where his teeth had bruised.

The Next Night

Sliding into the last row, Harry looked around the crowded church, his eyes drawn to the front as he tried to spot Ruth.

It was her first concert since they'd officially gotten together and he'd almost missed it due to an overzealous Director General going on and on about his newest granddaughter. Having slipped free some thirty minutes before, his driver had broken a few speed laws to ensure Harry had arrived in time to see her perform.

Spotting her on a lower riser, he sat in a chair and undid his coat, sighing at finally getting to relax his aching muscles. In theory, his plan to see both woman was good but in hindsight, he should have realized that he wasn't as young as he used to be and the daily sex was beginning to wear on him. It didn't help matters that he had alternating nights with each woman, so there was no chance for just a cuddle and some sleep.

But he wouldn't complain.

As the music began, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, letting the song overtake him. It was only some time later as the audience broke into a round of applause that he realized he'd fallen asleep.

Eyes snapping open, he blinked a few times, adjusting himself to the light as others began to move.

Slowly getting to his feet, he gathered his coat and moved to the front of the room. Spotting Ruth talking with two other woman, he smiled at her apparent joy at having performed the music. Taking his time in crossing to her, he paused by her side as the conversation ended and then leaned down to kiss her softly.

"You were wonderful."

Arm sliding around his neck, she held him close as she laughed quietly. "Yes, because you could hear me over the rest of the choir."

"I always hear you above everyone else." Fighting back a yawn, he tightened his arm around her and held her close.

Fingers brushing through the back of his hair, she smiled at him. "And why are you so tired? You had the night to yourself last night, plenty of time for sleep."

Freezing for a moment, he watched her but saw the humor in her eyes and realized she didn't know about Victoria; that she was just joking. Lips brushing against hers, he forced a smile onto his face before answering.

"That might be true but Scarlett spent the night howling at the neighbors damned cat. I barely got any sleep."

"Poor baby." she whispered as she leaned into him. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Love me?" he answered softly.

"I do." she said, grinning as she brushed her lips against his one final time before stepping back. Reaching for his hand, she gripped it in his and tugged him towards the door. "Come on sleepy head. Let's go find something for dinner before heading to yours for a cuddle and some sleep."

Eyes lighting as she read his earlier thoughts, he followed her through the crowd.

One Month Later

"I'm going to miss you." Ruth whispered, her head resting against the dressing gown covering Harry's chest as they laid together on the couch.

"It's only four days." he said softly, his fingers tangling in her hair as he held her close. "I'll be back before you know it."

"I know." she said with a sigh, her hand sliding to rest against the beat of his heart. "But it's the first time since we've gotten together that you've had to go away."

"Hmm. That's true. And I'll miss you every moment of the time."

Lifting her head, she met his gaze and smiled weakly. "Really?"

"Of course." he said, frowning at her look. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Never mind." she said softly as she rested her head against his chest again.

"No. Something's the matter." Pulling gently on her hair, he lifted her eyes to his. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Just me being silly." Leaning forward, she brushed her mouth against his.

"Ruth." he said, warning filling his voice.

"It's nothing. Just...you've barely made love to me this past month; or when you've had, it felt almost like a duty, that you'd resigned yourself to it." Voice trailing, she lowered her eyes to his chest. "And with you going away so suddenly...I'm just being silly. That's all. Thinking you're getting bored with me already."

"Hey." Fingers sliding to gently grip her chin, Harry lifted her eyes to his again. "I love you. And I'm not getting bored with you. I promise. I've just been a bit tired with everything going on and getting the Grid ready for this weekend so I can go and see Catherine."

"I told you it was silly."

"Not silly. Truthful." Lips brushing against hers, he smiled. "And I'm glad you told me instead of burying it away. We need to be honest with one another if this relationship is going to work."

Sighing happily, Ruth pressed her mouth against his. Hand sliding between the material of his robe, she slowly began caressing the skin of his chest.

Tongue sliding into her mouth, Harry wrapped his arms around her tightly, turning her on her side. As they kissed slowly, he worked the knot holding her dressing gown closed open. Parting the material, his slid his hands up and down her body, slowly savoring the feel of her skin against his.

"Part your legs." he mumbled against her mouth.

"What?" dazed, she opened her eyes and met his.

"Open your legs for me."

Still confused, she did what he said only to gasp as he slid himself between them, his erection sliding into her slowly. Sighing at the feeling of him filling her, Ruth wrapped her upper leg around his thigh, squeezing against him as he slowly thrust into her.

Hand sliding to her waist, Harry continued to kiss her lovingly as they rocked together; barely moving; building themselves up to climax. Feeling the warmth of his semen spilling deep inside her, Ruth sighed again, curling herself into his chest as he held her close.

Muscles loose, Harry held her to him, his penis still nestled inside of her as his eyes drifted closed. As he drifted towards sleep, he felt her lips press gently against his heart and smiled.

"When I get home, let's talk about moving some of my things in, so I don't have to go home each evening." he mumbled.

Eyes opening, Ruth looked at him in quiet shock. "Do you mean it?" she asked quietly.

"Hmm. Yes."

Grinning, she leaned forward to kiss his chin gently before curling her face into his neck.

The Next Day

Glasses on to shade his eyes from the sun, Harry walked slowly through The Botanical Conservatory in Brest, France; his hand lightly gripping Victoria's. It was the second day of their four day weekend away and already he could feel the stress of the past months slipping away.

It'd been years since he'd gone away for any reason other than work and he'd nearly forgotten the simple pleasure of waking slowly in the morning to the sun rather than his alarm.

Or in the case of this morning, the feeling of Victoria's mouth wrapped firmly around the head of his penis.

That had been something he'd not soon forget.

The feeling of moist heat running along his length had pulled him from sleep. As his eyes had blinked open, he'd looked around the room a moment in confusion before lifting the duvet, meeting brown eyes as she slowly ran her tongue along his length.

Reaching the head, she'd lifted her head, wrapping her mouth around him firmly and pushing herself down until he pushed against the back of her throat. Sucking, she'd pulled her head up, creating a vacuum along his length. As his tip reached her teeth, she nipped softly and slid her tongue along the head of his penis before repeating her movements.

Hands moving to her hair, Harry held her in place, gently thrusting against her as he became more aroused. Head falling back into the pillow, he groaned as her hand gently cupped his scrotum, squeezing in time with each bob of her head. Fingers gripping her hair tightly, he thrust one last time into her mouth before coming. Breathing deep, he'd loosened his grip and pulled her up to him, kissing her slowly and deeply.

As they passed through a green house, Harry smiled and squeezed her hand a moment. Before this trip, he'd been thinking of slowly distancing himself from Victoria, of setting a break-up in motion. His talk with Ruth the night before they left had made him realize how difficult it was getting to continue the schedule of two women. And as Ruth still wasn't showing any signs of running, he wanted to make that work.

But here. Now. In France with Victoria, he wondered how he could do that. The time he spent with her made him feel in a way he couldn't with Ruth; free. Even now, after over two months together, they were still hiding their relationship from those on the Grid.

A weekend like this; away together; could never happen. Or a walk through the Tate back in London.

They'd rarely left their homes aside from some quiet dinners out or to nip by the shop because of her fear.

He wanted this in his life. The freedom to enjoy spending time with a woman. To not fear that she'd run if someone they knew saw them.

Which just meant things had to continue as is.

Meanwhile back on the Grid

The ringing of the phone brought Ruth out of the mundane reading of the current threat report. Hand snatching out, she lifted the receiver to her ear, a smile on her face as she hoped it was Harry calling.

"Ruth Evershed." she said, spinning in her chair away from the others.

"Ruth? I'm sorry to bother you. You don't know me but I'm Catherine Townsend, Harry Pearce's daughter?"

"Ooof course." she stumbled out, smile leaving her face as fear settled in her stomach. What had happened to Harry that Catherine was calling her? Oh God. Please don't let him be in hospital. Breathing deeply, she continued. "What's wrong?"

"It's my dad. I can't reach him. The last time I visited, he said if I needed him and he didn't answer his office or home phone, to call you; that you'd know how to get in touch. I've been trying to reach him all morning but he's not answering, which means he's probably in a meeting. I wouldn't be calling if it wasn't an emergency but...it's Graham. He's been in an accident and is in hospital. We're here with him. In London. My mum and I. But it doesn't look good and the doctors said I should try and get anyone else who'd want to be here to see him."

Hand gripping the phone tightly, Ruth sat in silence as the words the other woman were saying, her stomach dropping at the realization that Harry had lied to her.

He wasn't off visiting his daughter in France.

By the sounds of it, she was here in London and had no idea where he was.

He'd lied to her.

So where was he? And with who?

"Ruth, are you there?"

"Of course." she said, her voice shaking as she focused once again on the conversation at hand. Phone cradled on her shoulder, she picked up a pen. "Give me your number and I'll ring him on his mobile, have him call you."

"Oh, thank you." Catherine said, relief filling her voice as she rattled off a number.

"Right, 073. Got it. I'll get in touch with him as soon as we hang up and hopefully he'll call you soon."

"Thank you Ruth. You're as wonderful as he says."

"Mmm. It's no problem." Pausing a moment, she gripped the phone in her hand and spoke before the other woman could hang up. "And Catherine, could you give me a call, let me know how Graham is?"

"Of course."

As the phone clicked, Ruth slowly lowered it back to the cradle. Staring at it, she fought back the tears building in her eyes. Losing it on the Grid wouldn't get anything done. And Harry's children needed him. Picking up the phone, she dialed the number for his mobile. Waiting in silence as it rang, she wondered what she'd say to him when he answered.

But it didn't matter as his voice mail clicked on. Listening to his voice across the lines, she quietly hung up before it got to the message part.

Two hours later, Ruth picked up the phone for the fourth time. Harry still hadn't answered and Catherine had said that while Graham was improving slightly, the doctors still recommended loved ones coming to see him.

Dialing the familiar number, Ruth listened as it rang, not really expecting it to be answered. As she prepared to lower it, a giggle followed by a breathy voice came across the line.

"Harry Pearce's phone." A moment of silence as Ruth sat there in shock. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Eyes closing, Ruth lowered the phone to the desk. Breathing deeply, she felt her heart break as the full realization that Harry was with another woman set in.

She sat there for a few minutes, eyes closed, as the sounds of the Grid went on around her. Then, opening her eyes, she picked up her phone and dialed Catherine. Explaining that she hadn't been able to reach the woman's father, she gave her his mobile number and hung up.

"Dad finally. I've been trying to reach you for the past ten hours."

"Catherine? What's wrong?" Sitting on the edge of the bed in his boxers, Harry smiled at Victoria as she slowly moved from under the sheets and into the bathroom. Turning his attention back to his daughter, he listened to her a moment before adding. "And how'd you get this number?"

"Ruth gave it to me. She tried calling you earlier for me but didn't have any luck. After about two hours, she gave up and called me back with the number."

Stomach dropping, Harry gripped the phone tighter in his hand. Ruth knew he'd lied about being with his daughter. Oh God.

His mind was pulled away from that as Catherine told him the news about his son. Relief soon filled him as she told him the worst was over; and that while still in danger; he should recover. They talked a few minutes more before Catherine bid him goodnight. Hanging up the phone, Harry let it drop to his knee a moment before picking it up and dialing.

God.

Ruth.

What was he going to say to her?

What was she thinking?

As the phone rang, he knew it was highly unlikely she'd answer. Not now.

Shit. he thought to himself as he waited for the voicemail to pick up.

"Harry."

The monotone voice that filtered over the line shocked him, causing him to momentarily drop the phone. Scrambling for it, he picked it up and held it to his ear again.

"Ruth, don't hang up."

"Why would I do that?"

Again with the monotone voice.

"Please. Let me explain. I need to ex..."

Ruth interrupted him, her voice weak. "Just answer me one question. How long have you been seeing her?"

"Ruth please..."

"Just answer the question Harry."

Voice low, he answered. "Eight months."

"I see. I thi..."

Before she could continue, a voice called out from the bathroom.

"Harry - the bath's ready."

Turning in shock, he looked at the woman standing naked in the door to the bathroom as he registered the click of Ruth hanging up over the line.

AN: Alright, so I'm not really sure where this should go from here and I've decided to let you, the reader decide. There's a few options A) Harry stays with Victoria as Ruth won't listen to his explanation, B) Harry breaks up with Victoria but Ruth won't listen to his explanation, C) Harry breaks up with Victoria and eventually Ruth comes around, D) something else entirely that you can supply.

Let me know which you think!

Jenn xx