Disclaimer: Spooks is owned by Kudos and the BBC.

Bit of a filler chapter, I'm afraid. I promise the next chapter will be more interesting :)

To zxemilxz : The name Sasha originally came from the name Aleksandr, but it can also be used as a name by itself. I think it's a bit like some English names, for example Ellie could be a nickname for someone whose full name is Eleanor, but it could also just be their full name. I'm not sure if that explanation makes sense, but oh well.

Erin was surprised at how easily she adapted to life back at the Grid. Ruth was gone, but everyone just had to learn to continue. Colleagues had died before and Section D had survived. Everyone would recover eventually. Apart from Harry, of course.

To someone who didn't know him, he looked perfectly fine, if a little tired. But Erin could tell just how much Ruth's death had affected her boss. Almost every night he would sit in his office, looking out over London and drinking an alarming amount. She wasn't sure he even went home some nights. He dedicated himself to each new terrorist threat as if his life personally depended on it. Perhaps it did. It was as if his work had become his life.

Erin always felt guilty when she saw Harry in this state. It was Sasha's fault that Ruth had died, and she still didn't know why she had been so kind to him. She tried to convince herself that she had only stayed with him so she could tell him his false name and story when he woke, but she knew that wasn't the real reason. It had been 3 weeks since that day, and she hadn't been back to the hospital since. Several times she'd considered going back to check up on him, but she knew she had no excuse to. She didn't want to give Harry any more reminders about the Gavrik family. Idly, she wondered how he had explained her disappearance to the nurses. A breakup, probably. She sighed, pretending she didn't care.

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Sasha was monumentally bored. It had taken 20 days for his leg to recover enough to just about walk without crutches. He had an infuriatingly slow limp though, and preferred to use the crutches just to save time. This annoyed the nurses considerably, and they spent most of their time trying to take the crutches away from him so his injured muscle would get stronger.

But they didn't understand. The hospital was so vulnerable. Anyone could get to him. It was in the nature of his FSB training to always have an escape route. For this reason, it made him feel very uncomfortable that he couldn't run. At least with the crutches nearby he had some chance of getting out of an attack alive.

And the threat of attack was very real. Not many people knew the full story of what happened the day his mother and Ruth Evershed had died. But lots had guessed. He had killed a British intelligence officer. There were many people who he imagined would be very happy to see him dead.

Harry was the first name he thought of. And for good reason. The man had put a gun to his head even before he'd killed Ruth. Who knew what he'd do now...

Erin's colleagues - they were probably fairly angry too. The taller one had already shot him once before.

And then there were people like the Americans. Since it had been explained to them that Elena Gavrik, rather than Harry, had been the enemy, the anger they felt about Coaver's death had been directed at anyone they thought might have been on her side. And that definitely included her son.

Sasha sighed. For some reason, the only person he had felt safe around ever since this whole thing had started was Erin.

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The deal with the Russians had been significantly hindered by the loss of the Gavrik family. However, Ilya's replacement – a young politician called Artur Filipov who was far too naive and enthusiastic for Harry's liking – seemed to have got the deal back on track for success. Section D had spent much of the past couple of weeks keeping the politicians from both sides safe as the talks progressed once more.

'Ah. We may have a problem...' Calum sounded worried as he turned his screen for the others to see. It was filled with reports from news stations around the world. Reports about the British deal with the Russians. 'I thought these were supposed to be secret talks...'

Harry glanced across the screen and swore. 'It's the Americans. They've been following these talks right from the beginning. They've realised we're close to a deal so they've panicked and gone public with the story.'

'Will this affect the talks?' Dimitri asked, 'Could we get the deal signed before anybody can do anything about it?'

Harry nodded. 'We're close. I think we could get it all signed by about midday tomorrow. Until then, we need to be on the highest alert. Any Russian fanatic in the country, any American who might present a threat – I want them all under surveillance. ' He sighed, his head in his hands. 'And that includes Sasha Gavrik. He's due to be discharged from hospital this afternoon. I need one of you to keep an eye on him, just for 24 hours.' He disappeared back into his office, looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Knowing Harry, it probably was...

'I'll do it.' Erin didn't realise she'd spoken until after the words had left her mouth.

Dimitri frowned. 'Are you sure?'

She nodded. 'My Mum can take Rosie to her Dad's house for the night. She'd like that. I have a spare room. Sasha will be fine.'

'It's not him we're worried about' Calum muttered darkly. Erin heard him and sighed, exasperated.

'You're being ridiculous. He can barely even walk. He'll probably just sleep for most of the day.'

The men were clearly about to protest again, but thankfully her phone rang, allowing her to leave the conversation.

'Hi, Mum. Is everything alright?'

'Everything is fine, love. But I just saw the news. Negotiations with the Russians. Are you involved? Are you going to be late home from work again tonight?'

Erin sighed. She always felt guilty when her work life disrupted her home life. 'Listen, Mum. I need you to take Rosie to Jack's house – just for tonight, I promise. He has several spare rooms; you can stay there as well.'

'Why? What's happening at our house? Why are you staying there on your own?'

'Don't worry, Mum, I won't be on my own.'

Her mother's voice took on a stern tone, 'Are you bringing a man home? Is that why you want us out of the way?'

'No! Well, yes, but it's to do with work. He needs somewhere to stay for the night.'

'What's wrong with a hotel?'

'No, we need to keep an eye on him.'

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Then her mother's voice returned, sounding strained. 'I decided a long time ago that I shouldn't interfere with your work. But I just need to know one thing -will you be safe?'

'Yes, Mum. I promise I'll be safe.'

A sigh. 'I'll tell Rosie to pack a bag.'

'Thanks, Mum. I'll be back later to say goodbye to her.'

I'd love some reviews, if you have time... if it helps, today is my birthday :)