Note: This chapter has been heavily edited after receiving some constructive feedback about how to approach the situation. With thanks to Should Be Elsewhere for the advice - I actually think this chapter is a lot better than what I had previously written :) Hope you enjoy!
Harry watched Fiona in fascination as she managed to get Wes to sit on the end of the bed next to him so effortlessly.
"Where's dad?" Wes asked, alternating glances between the two adults sitting either side of him.
Noting how uncomfortable Harry must be feeling about the whole situation, Fiona took a deep breath and focused her attention on the little boy next to her.
"He's at work sweetie," she smiled ruffling his hair as he smiled at her. Harry's smile, she mused as she was once again snapped back into the real reason she was here.
"Wes..." Fiona started, unsure about how this conversation was going to play out. How do you explain something like this to a six year old?
"How would you like to spend more time with Uncle Harry?"
She watched with mild amusement as he nodded his head enthusiastically.
"Good, because he would really like to spend some more with you." She removed herself from the bed and made to leave, leaning in to Harry as she walked past him.
"I'll leave you with him for a while; it might make it easier for you. I'll put the kettle on if you want."
He smiled and nodded appreciatively at Fiona before she quietly left and closed the bedroom door behind her.
She spotted Adam instantly the moment she stepped through the pods. He was leaning heavily against his desk, clearly drained by the previous twenty four hours.
His head snapped up as he felt a soft hand gently rest on his arm.
"Ruth," he gasped, genuinely surprised she would want anything to do with him in light of what had happened.
"How are you feeling?" She whispered softly, desperate for their conversation not to be overheard by other members of the team.
All he could do was nod slowly before pulling her into a fierce embrace.
"Nodding won't answer my question," she laughed, returning the embrace nonetheless.
"I know," he muttered as he pulled away. He shrugged and she could see the hurt and guilt that was swimming in his eyes.
"I am truly sorry for yesterday Ruth..."
"It's forgotten about Adam, really. I just want to make sure that you are ok."
He smiled briefly before remembering what he was apologising for.
"How's Harry?" He asked suddenly, a look of worry replacing his previous smile.
"He's ok; I managed to persuade him to get the doctor out last night to deal with the gash on his head. He didn't sleep too well but he's ok nonetheless, he should be back here by the afternoon so you can talk to him then."
The look of worry faded slightly as he nodded slowly. Gesturing towards her desk, she slowly began to move away from him, before turning back briefly to address him.
"He's a good man Adam, he will understand."
"So does this mean I have to call you dad now?"
The question threw Harry by surprise and all he could do was chuckle at the bemused expression Wes was sporting.
"Oh bum," Fiona mumbled, as she pushed the bedroom door open with her foot so she could enter with the tea.
"Mummy," Wes smiled slightly as Fiona down next to him after she handed Harry his tea.
"What's happened to dad? I want to see daddy!"
Fiona sighed as she realised this wasn't going to go as smoothly as she had originally planned.
"Umm," she looked at Harry, desperate to find some form of comfort in his eyes as she scrambled to think of a suitable answer. "Daddy's fine sweetheart, he just had to rush into work early that's all – how about we talk about this later when daddy's here yeah?"
Fiona smiled briefly as Wes nodded slowly and asked if he could do downstairs and play his DS. Nodding her consent, he smiled cheerily and made his way out of the room, leaving two very frustrated parents all alone.
Ruth's head jolted up as she heard the familiar whirring sound of the pods opening. Catching her eye, Harry smiled at her as he stepped onto the grid, nodding his head towards Adam and gesturing towards his office.
Adam got the hint and rose from his desk, smiling briefly at Ruth before making his way towards the older man. Closing the door softly behind him, Adam stood as close to it as he could, staring intently at his shoes.
"You can come in Adam, I won't bite."
Nodding his head, he did as he was told and made his way to the sofa opposite the desk.
"Harry I am really sorry for last night, I didn't mean for it to happen and I..."
"It's fine, I had a massive fight with my ex wife's husband at my son's birthday party once so I understand." Clasping his hands together he pressed on. "I wasn't calling you in here to discuss last night."
Adam looked up, and for the first time met the older man's gaze.
"Wes didn't take it too well; or rather he didn't understand the implications of what he was being told."
"What?" Adam looked slightly taken aback by Harry's forwardness, but knew that it was going to be a topic of conversation eventually.
"Fiona once told him that daddy only gets replaced after something really bad happens to him," Harry sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. "So he thought that something had happened to you and got quite anxious about it, so Fiona said to leave it until you were there and then try again."
"How is he now? Is he ok?"
"He's ok," Harry nodded slowly. "Fiona's taken him to McDonalds for lunch, a haven for young boys I've been told."
The younger man chuckled slightly before putting his poker face back in place.
"What did he say?"
"The idea of going to McDonalds? He was thrilled; it was almost as if Christmas had come early."
"Sounds just like Wes; he has an obsession with that place."
"Look Adam, I know that the last couple of days have been stressful, and I know that we are not really going to see eye to eye about whatever happens, but we have a country to protect and terrorists to keep at bay and I really hope we can put aside our personal differences and work together professionally in the manner that we used to."
"I don't want to lose him Harry," Adam practically whispered the words, and had he not been so close he probably wouldn't have heard them at all.
"You won't, I promise you that. I've seen firsthand what lack of care can do to a child Adam, and you are a very important role model to Wes. He's lucky to have someone like you around who loves him."
Adam smiled, and allowed his mind to wander back to the events of the previous evening.
"Harry," Adam said suddenly, "I know it's none of my business, but why did you tell Ruth about Wes and why was she with you last night?"
Harry turned to face the younger man and coughed slightly. He knew that he could brush it off, claim he needed somebody to turn to, but he felt that the truth was all that could be accepted here, and lying about the nature of his relationship with Ruth could cause a lot more problems.
"She was the only person I could turn to Adam, God knows I didn't want to be the one to tell you. I take pride in being Wes' honorary uncle; he's a lovely little boy. So the thought of you finding out and me losing any form of friendship I had with you and any relationship I had with Wes was something I feared. I suppose it just spurred me on to opening up to Ruth, you know as well as I do I wouldn't be able to cope if I lost her as well."
For the first time since he had found out about Harry and Fiona, he felt a sudden pang of guilt at the realisation that he was not the only person suffering. Harry had been thrown into sudden turmoil, vulnerable and afraid of what to say and do. This rock solid figure of authority, reduced to a quivering wreck over the wellbeing of a child.
"What did she say last night?"
"Nothing much, she called the duty doctor and spent the whole night fussing over me. She was petrified, but she did her best to make sure that I was ok."
They shared a moment, a knowing smile from the both of them before Adam turned away quickly.
"She should be sainted," Adam sighed softly, "She had to deal with all of that yesterday and not once did she take sides. The first thing she did this morning was make sure I was ok and make me a cup of tea."
Harry smiled. So typically Ruth, he mused.
"I feel guilty for bringing her into this you know," Harry muttered.
"She wants to be there for all of us Harry, I'm just glad the two of you have finally managed to find a way to each other. Nobody was expecting to happen quite the way it did though to be honest."
Harry gave Adam one last sympathetic smile before Adam took the hint to leave and began to make his way towards the door. Leaning against the door frame, he turned back suddenly and was met with a bemused expression.
"Harry, I umm... I'll need to talk to Fiona at some point today, but umm... Maybe we could discuss this tonight, like you and Ruth come over or something. None of us have had a time to think things through and I think we could all do with getting our feelings out in the open. I'll run it through Fiona if she answers her phone, things are pretty tense." He added hastily before making his exit.
Harry nodded in agreement and watched as the younger man left the office and made his way towards the briefing room where his wife and stepchild were playing. Suddenly realising that Harry was alone in his office, Ruth quickly rose from her desk and padded over, pulling the door open a little too sharply, causing Harry to swivel round quickly on his chair to face her.
"Ruth,"
"Harry," She smiled, as he features warmed to her presence.
"Are you ok?"
"Me? I'm fine."
Ruth looked at him, and knew that despite his best efforts to smile genuinely at her, he wasn't fine at all and that something was bugging him.
"Have you got plans for tonight?" He asked suddenly, catching her off guard.
"Not that I know of, why?"
"Adam wants us to pop round. I have a feeling we're in for a long night."
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