Disclaimer: Spooks is owned by Kudos and the BBC.

Sasha didn't speak much on the journey back to Erin's house. He had been surprised to see her waiting for him outside the hospital, but glad he didn't have to get a taxi to a hotel, which had been his previous plan. Staying with another spy made him feel safer and more secure than he had felt in nearly 3 weeks.

Especially seeing as this spy was so pretty...

He looked away from her, out of the window, trying to dispel such thoughts from his head. There was no point.

'We're here.'

Sasha blinked and looked up at the house in front of them. It wasn't what he expected. He had imagined that she would live in an expensive flat in the middle of the city; this looked like the sort of house a teacher or accountant would live in.

He opened the door of the car and climbed out awkwardly, holding onto the roof to ease the pressure on his bad leg. He followed Erin to the house, his crutches making a crunching sound on the gravel. The door was unlocked, he noted. Was there someone else in the house? Erin didn't seem surprised, so he relaxed slightly.

Inside it looked warm and comforting, more like a family home than the house of a spy. Erin led him into the kitchen.

'Could you wait here for a minute?' she said apologetically. Sasha sat at the table and looked round the room as she disappeared upstairs.

He noticed several drawings that were stuck to the fridge with magnets. Did Erin have children? The thought hadn't even occurred to him until that moment. He glanced around the room. There was a colourful bowl by the sink and a sticker chart on the back of the door. It reminded him of his own house, when he was a child.

He suddenly noticed the sound of voices from above. Someone was coming down the stairs. He gripped one of the crutches and stood up, putting the table between himself and whoever was coming. He noted the position of the chairs, the distance to the window – anything that could help him in a fight. Not for the first time, he wished he had his side-arm.

He immediately relaxed when he saw the woman. Erin's mother, he guessed. He sank back into his chair and rested the crutch against the table. Her reaction was the complete opposite. As soon as she noticed him she squealed and jumped back towards the door. Clearly Erin hadn't warned her that he was in the kitchen. However, when he didn't move for a few seconds, she relaxed.

'Erm... hi,' she said, sounding embarrassed, 'You must be Erin's colleague.'

'Hello,' he replied uncertainly, 'Yes, I'm her colleague.' He didn't elaborate, unsure of how much she knew. Was she aware that her daughter was a spy?

She noticed his confusion and explained, 'Don't worry; I know what her job involves.' She paused nervously, then walked further into the room and held out her hand, 'Laura Watts.'

Sasha shook her hand, 'Ivan Petrov.' The lie came easily, as always.

She smiled sadly. 'I know that's not your real name. But it doesn't matter. I just want you to promise me something. That you'll keep Erin safe tonight. She's never done this before – never let her work life interfere with her home life.' She sighed. 'This must be important to her. You must be important. So keep her safe.'

Sasha nodded, feeling strangely humbled. Erin's mother truly cared for her. It occurred to him that his mother had never felt like that towards him, despite her best efforts. She had been prepared to watch her former lover shoot her own son in the head. It made him feel empty inside.

A small girl ran into the room. She looked curiously at Sasha.

'Who are you?'

'Now, Rosie, don't be rude,' Laura admonished, 'This is Ivan, and he works with your Mummy.'

'What happened to your leg?'

Sasha didn't quite know how to answer. 'Er...I hurt it.'

The girl rolled her eyes as if that was obvious. 'But how did you hurt it? I hurt my leg last week – I fell over when I was playing and grazed my knee on the gravel. Is that what happened to you?'

'Yeah, something like that.'

She frowned, clearly finding him boring, and turned back to her grandmother. 'Are we going to Daddy's house now? When we rang him earlier he said we can go to the park. I like the swings in that park! Can we go on the swings?'

She carried on chattering all the way to the front door. Sasha watched Erin say goodbye to them, heard the door shut behind them. She seemed subdued as she returned to the kitchen. He was sure he could see tears clinging to her lashes.

'Sorry about all that,' she said, turning away from him and rearranging the dishes by the sink. They were already stacked neatly, so she stopped after a few seconds. Sasha could see her shoulders shaking slightly. He stood up slowly and approached her. Uncertainly, he put a hand on her shoulder. He half expected her to pull away, but instead she turned towards him, tears pooling in her eyes. Somehow he found his arms around her, felt hers wrap around him as well.

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She felt so guilty to be crying in front of Sasha. He had lost his whole family, and she was crying because she wasn't going to see hers for a day. He must think she was taking the piss or something.

But he didn't seem angry. He didn't even seem annoyed. His expression was unreadable as he held her. He felt warm and comforting. She wrapped her arms tighter round him, resting her head against his chest. His heartbeat was steady, but quicker than she expected. She looked up at his face. His expression didn't change as he looked down at her.

She was suddenly very aware of their close proximity. His arms had moved from her shoulders to her back, pulling her even closer. Their bodies were touching. She knew what was coming next but made no effort to stop it. His face was so close to hers. His eyes were such a deep blue.

She didn't move as his lips touched hers, frozen as if she was in a dream. His eyelids fluttered shut and his arms tightened around her. She let herself sink into his embrace, closing her eyes and returning the kiss.