We learn a little more about Malcolm's situation, that Kate Lethbridge-Stewart has carefully constructed for him. Clara is really the only addition, the rest of his past is Malcolm's own.

We also learn some crucial facts about Beth.

Staying with Malcolm for the time being, to get a little more of his feelings and his relationship with Clara, which is a very strong one.

Scene 10

Staff kitchen. She didn't often go there, preferring to bring her own stuff, but she had a banging headache and needed water to swallow a couple of paracetamol. A knot of women were busy making tea, dunking the teabags in the mugs and idly chatting.

"Malcolm? I think he's rather tasty."

"He's too old for you."

"Not to mention he's the big boss man!"

Her ears pricked up.

"He swears a lot. Upstairs they're all shit scared of him. 'Specially when he goes on one of his rampages. He told Tom to fuck off the other day. The back office girls hate him."

"I heard he was gay."

"Don't be daft, he was married, he's got a daughter."

"Was married?"

"Yeah, messy divorce apparently. Bit of a bitch by all accounts."

"Really?...I didn't know that."

"God! Laura, everyone knows about it, he was devastated, I heard. That's why he's always here. No one to go home to. Bit of a saddo now, I think, hasn't dated since, as far as I know. Been over two years. Still wears his ring too, poor sod."

"Still quite a sexy guy though, all that pent up aggression, bet he'd be good in bed, I definitely would!"

Beth scurried back to her office. Well, there was a turn up for the books and no mistake! Little did they know he'd invited her out for lunch!

Odd that he still wore his ring, was it because he still wanted to be married? Or still thought of himself as such? Or to make people think he wasn't available? Or was it just for effect?

It certainly answered some of her silent questions, but it raised a whole lot more.

Scene 11

Stupid. He'd gone all this time alone. He didn't need anyone. Dating! Jesus, he hadn't dated since before he got married, it was bloody years. His daughter was 28, for fucks sake. What a joke!

He and Clara were spending their usual Wednesday evening together. Sometimes they went to a restaurant or the cinema, or out for chips...or coffee, or chips and coffee, but mostly they stayed in, had a takeaway, watched a DVD, talked. Malcolm looked forward to Wednesday's more than he could say. It was the one day of the week he left the office on time.

Tonight the topic of conversation was his love life...or lack of it.

"Dad, it's time. You need to get passed this. You need to find someone nice. You don't deserve to be on your own for the rest of your life. You're still young enough to enjoy yourself."

"No one worth their salt is gonna look twice at me, Darl, I'm a sad old fucker, with no life except at work, and even there, I don't fit in really, anyway. They're all a bunch of wankers, tumbling over each other, trampling each other into the mud, to go up in the world."

"But, Dad, you've got where you are without doing all that, you're better than all of them and you know it. I'm proud of you."

"You're the one good thing about my whole crap existence, Clara, if you weren't there I..."

"Dad, don't! Surely there's someone you know, that you could ask for a drink or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I had lunch with a very nice lady only the other day!"

"Well, there you are then! Who is she, what's she like?"

"She's my age-ish...but she's married, well, she wears a wedding ring, an eternity ring and an engagement ring, so I guess that's very married."

"That's no good, Dad, you need someone single, I told you, try one of the reputable dating sites."

"No fucking way. I'm not sticking myself on something like that. Can't do that in my line of work anyway, everyone has to be vetted. Besides, I'm not that desperate."

"Please, Dad, just try, I worry about you."

"Well, there's no need, Clara, I'm a big lad, I can look after myself."

Scene 12

Loneliness is a funny thing. Sometimes he would jog along quite happily, and another day, he could barely drag himself out of bed.

Being used to having someone around, even if you spent a great deal of time apart, it's just the knowing...knowing there's someone there, someone who's thinking about you, or who cares. A person who would pick up the phone if you remembered to call, or share little moments with you, a touch of a hand, a word, a kiss, someone who would be already in bed when you got home, but you could slide between the sheets and snuggle up to.

Malcolm slung his pen across the desk, and rubbed his eyes. Fuck it. Fuck it all.

He looked down at his hand, twisted the ring there. Part of him wanted to take it off right then, throw it in his desk drawer. But he couldn't. He wore it to remind himself. What a failure he was. How much being married had meant to him, although he didn't know it until it was too late.

He had loved her, his wife, he just wasn't very good at it.

Pulling open his laptop, he started idly scrolling through emails. One from Sam, his PA.

'Malc,

Know you don't usually do these, but this lady works here, and she's a friend. So thought you might oblige.

Sam.'

Therewas a link to a 'Just Giving' page.

He idly clicked, then sat up straight, suddenly interested. A photo of two young people, probably the same age as his own daughter, running a half marathon in aid of Cancer Research, in memory of their Dad. The first donation was from their mum, saying how proud of them she was, and the name...Elizabeth Ferguson.

He closed the computer down and sat back in his chair. Thoughtful.

This information changed a lot of things. It answered some of his many questions. Most of which he'd been too afraid to ask or felt it would be too invasive to tackle her about.

Unsurprising she hadn't mentioned it, not a great conversation opener...'hi, I'm Beth and my husband's dead!'...

Odd that he'd never heard anyone in the office mention her husband though, or that he'd died. Sam had never said anything, and the two were friends, apparently. But then, why should she? Why would she even think Malcolm Tucker would be remotely interested in this woman?

Should he now ask her out properly? He'd really only been testing the waters up to now. Seeing how she reacted. He liked her, certainly, but what to do. This was new territory for him, he hadn't come close to asking anyone for a date since his divorce, hadn't even met anyone he'd want to ask. But Beth was different somehow. He smiled to himself as he remembered her crooning along to her iPod, dancing about...then the singing. That had been a revelation. She seemed fun, alive. Not dead from the neck down like he was. There were plenty of women in the building who would be only too happy to jump into bed with him, just for the kudos of saying they had, but he wasn't interested in any of them.

He would talk to Clara.

Malcolm didn't really have friends he could confide in. But he had Clara, and she was better than any friend.