Aftermath; Chapter 10 – Intention

A/N: Well here we are, 10 chapters, 12,300 words and (at the time of typing) 53 reviews later. I'm amazed at the amount of support I have received for my writing so far. So Chapter 10, let's begin shall we? Ruth is back:

(Thanks goes to Batteredpen, r4ven3, NavyLady, rosetintedblindspot, Sparky75, Antonia Caenis and a guest for reviewing the last chapter.)

Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel 0756hrs

"Harry?" Ruth croaked groggily from her hospital bed.

"It's alright, I'm here Ruth."

"What happened?" She croaked again.

Harry recounted what had happened to Ruth, she didn't recall the events between being stabbed and regaining consciousness the night before. He also told her of his conversation with Towers. By this point, Ruth had become more coherent and was gradually engaging in conversation.

"So Harry, what has become of us? You told me, no, agreed with me, just before all this, that we'd quit, we'd put MI5 behind us and go to Sussex."

"It was idealistic and optimistic Ruth, surely you can see that. The world has changed dramatically, but we were almost blind to it. We've opened our eyes and now our expertise is needed now more than ever, you at the Home Office and me in the service. We can still have a life together though, we'd just be working as well."

"I guess, however hard it is for me to admit it, that I suppose it is possible for that to work," she said with a small smile. "Out of interest who are you planning to replace me with on the Grid?"

"Ah, you've reminded me."

"Well?"

"Zoe Reynolds is returning in about ten days' time."

"You are kidding! Is that 'returning' as in coming back to MI5?"

"Nothing is set in stone just yet. I'm going to get Dimitri to bring them back over at the weekend. I've told Zoe to treat it as a holiday. I'm going to finalise things with her today. "

"Them?"

"Zoe's got a daughter. She, as Zoe proudly told me last night, is 'nearly seven'. Apparently she ended up divorcing Will North – the journalist she was seeing a few years ago. "

"Are you forgetting that technically she's serving a ten year sentence at Holloway Prison?"

"Ruth, just as we can make people disappear, we can make them reappear once again. You've done it before, remember."

"Well I was meant to be dead. But then if you can resurrect somebody, I'm sure you can spring them from prison." Ruth said with a smile.

"The Grid is understaffed as it is, and has been for some time. If I can convince Zoe to stay, I'll still need at least two more officers."

"Did you have anyone else in mind?"

"I'm going to ask Malcolm for a small favour. But I'll have to source the other through the HR department."

"Well it sounds like you've got it sorted. But is there anything I can do to help?"

Harry stood up from the chair he was sat in and put on his leather gloves. "Ruth, rest. That's what you can do to help me." He smiled. "Oh and I have a feeling Towers will be in touch soon. I promised to update him on your condition. I'm sure that once he hears you are talking, he'll either visit or call himself." Harry grimaced.

"Harry, I think I can manage one concerned politician!" She said with a small giggle.

"Well, I must be off." Harry grasped her hand for a moment and then left the room.

The Grid, Thames House 0830hrs

Harry came through the pods to find the Grid nearly devoid of senior staff. Only Calum and Dimitri were at their desks. They had noticed that their usually punctual Section Chief was nowhere to be seen. They had also noticed Harry's private conversation the night before. Thinking that Harry may have something to do with Erin's absence. Dimitri accosted Harry before he even reached his office.

"Harry, where is Erin?"

"Not right here and now Dimitri." He replied. "Meet me in my office in a few minutes, bring Calum, he has a right to know what I will tell you as much as you do."

Harry strode through into his office, hung up his coat. Put his gloves in the left pocket and sat down at his desk. Two daily intelligence reports lay on his desk. One covered intelligence from abroad and the other covered intelligence gathered within the UK. Harry glanced at the top sheet summaries of each. There was nothing pressing that required his immediate attention.

Dimitri and Calum entered his office. "Yes, come in. It is customary to knock…" Harry remarked without looking up from a third memo he was reading. "Close the door."

"Harry, where is Erin, she's always here before any of us." Dimitri said.

"Which is precisely why Erin is currently at home. I rang her this morning from my home before going into the hospital and told her to come in a bit later than normal. This leads me nicely to our topic of discussion. The Home Secretary has agreed that I be reinstated permanently. He has also noted how this department is overworked and understaffed. He has asked me to reorganise Section D."

"Harry, what do you mean? What has it got to do with Erin not being here?" Calum asked.

"I don't want Erin in particular to be overworked and have no time at home – it's important she spends time with her family as well as at work. This is why she's coming in later today and why I am planning to have someone else undertake her duties as a senior case officer. To solve some of our staffing shortages I'm going to try to bring back two old friends who used to work here. Their expertise is needed now more than ever. I'm also going to be putting a request to HR to find another officer."

"Who are the old officers? Would we know them?" Dimitri asked.

"I doubt it, both served a bit before your time."

"So who are they?" Calum repeated.

"I'm planning on asking Malcom Wynn-Jones to take on Tariq's old desk. Incidentally, Tariq was Malcolm's successor." Harry replied. "You'll like him," he added, "it should be easy to convince him to come out retirement."

"Who's the other officer?" asked Dimitri.

"Do either of you remember 'Officer X'?"

The two younger officers shook their heads.

"As I said, a bit before your time." Harry remarked. "Also proves I was right saying that the public have forgotten about her," he thought. "Well let me enlighten you." So Harry told his two young colleagues about the events surrounding the 'Officer X' trial, her unfair sentence and of her 'banishment' to Chile while a stand in did the time.

"Harry, what's this got to do with the Grid?" said Calum.

"It has everything to do with the Grid. 'Officer X' was a trusted colleague here. She didn't deserve the sentence given to her at the Old Bailey."

"And the point of this is?" enquired a very bored looking Dimitri who was wondering why Harry was reminiscing about a disgraced officer.

"The point is Dimitri that you are bringing her and her young daughter back to this country at the weekend. In the meantime I will talk to the Home Secretary about early release for the stand in at Holloway Prison."

"Erin will blow her top if she hears about it." Dimitri said, still wary of the decommissioning of Beth Bailey in disgrace which had ended in a shouting match across the Grid.

"Dimitri, if you haven't noticed, conveniently Erin isn't here. And when she comes in, you will kindly not mention this conversation." Harry responded curtly.

"You still haven't told us who 'Officer X' is," said Calum, "what's her name?"

"For now Calum let's just call her 'Gina'. Now that's all I have to tell you now." Harry dismissed them. But before Dimitri left he told him to wait. "I plan to call 'Gina' later today, I want you in on that call. I'll get you when I need you."

"How was Ruth when you saw her?" the younger man asked, concerned for his older colleague.

"She is fine, stable, starting to make conversation. The doctors say she'll be in hospital for at least 3 or 4 weeks. Thank you for asking." Harry smiled slightly at his junior colleague's thoughtfulness. "Now go, and not a word to Erin when she gets back on the Grid."

"Understood Harry."

Dimitri smiled slightly as he crossed the Grid, the old Harry Pearce was now sat back in his office. The officer who sat behind that desk when he first joined Section D. Cool, calm and collected as well as slightly sarcastic.

A while later the pods opened and Erin crossed the Grid looking more radiant than Dimitri had seen her for a long time. She seemed more relaxed than normal. Obviously Harry's conversation with her the night before seemed to have generated results already.

"Dimitri, Calum, what have I missed so far?" Erin called as she briskly walked over.

"Ah, well-, "Calum began, but Dimitri shot him a cold look. The meaning was obvious "Shut up! Don't you dare say another word." Calum abruptly fell silent, but Erin didn't notice.

"Nothing much Erin, just some of the paperwork from last night," Dimitri began, "we've got most of it done. You just need to draft the final report for Harry to sign off on."

"OK, let's finish this thing," she said brightly and sat down at her desk.

In his office, Harry stood and looked across at his team beginning the day's work. He thought of the two other people he hoped would join their number in the near future. He had a call to make, to a very, very old friend.

A/N: So I intend for Malcolm to return in the next chapter. It's been a bit of a longer chapter than normal. I hope you have enjoyed reading it. I'm not sure whether I'm rushing things a bit (feel free to comment on the pace of this story when you review). Chapter 11 will come as soon as I can type it! As always please review and follow.