Two in one night - that's what an early day at work will get you. This is a bit longer than the past couple of chapters - and I'm a bit nervous as I've shifted the story now to where I had always planned on it going. I think...a few things might start to make more sense now and I'm curious to see what people think. Please let me know whether you like it or not.

The prompt for this started out as 'Silk Blouse' from HR always lives on but it spiraled out of control really fast from there and now I'm not too sure what the prompt was. So I'm thinking that this one is more promptless and I'll save Silk Blouse for later.

Covertly Harry stood to the side of the window in his office, watching as Ruth typed at her computer. He felt like he was locked in a cage; kept away from all those he cared about; for some unspoken crime. Except he knew what his crime was. It'd been two months since he'd tried to ask her on a date and ruined that chance all in the swoop of one day. And from what he'd managed to find out, it'd been two months since she had met Peter. Even the thought of the name caused a shudder to ripple through his body. Okay, so perhaps it was wrong that he was digging into the how, when, where, and why Ruth had met this other man; how he meant enough that she'd turn in a permission to socialize form; but he was her boss, he was allowed to be concerned for the welfare of his department. The man could be an International Terrorist set on turning a member of section D for information - or worse yet, he could be American. That thought just made him sick. American.

But he was doing this for national security and not because he was jealous. After all, from what he'd found out, the man had approached Ruth in an Internet Cafe and struck up a conversation. On the night he'd tried to ask her out. If he hadn't been a weak excuse for a man and not taken Juliet back to his house, he could be the one taking her to dinner and museums. But no, he had to think with his dick and not with his brain or his heart. Stupid, stupid man. This Peter fellow was dating his Ruth, kissing his Ruth, peeling the silk blouse off his Ruth and all because he wanted five minutes of instant gratification. Bloody typical. Oh who was he kidding, he was a jealous fool. A jealous fool who was forced to hide in the shadows of his office watching her through a window just for a glimpse of her bright smile.

She was wearing a silk blouse today in a burgundy. It was new; he'd never seen her wear it before; and in the two years she'd worked for Section D, he had come to know almost every piece of clothing she had. At least those that were visible and meant for work. He'd not been blessed to see what hid underneath her trousers, skirts, and blouses. But he knew this burgundy blouse was not one of them. He would definitely remember it with the way it caught the natural high lights in her hair, the way it brought out her complexion, the way it hugged her curves without looking trashy. No, this blouse was new. Which meant it was for Peter. Damned man.

"Reduced to leering like a lovesick teenager. What has happened to you Harry?"

Harry turned at the voice in his doorway and grimaced; wondering what he had done to encourage a visit from her.

"What do you want Juliet?"

She moved into the office and started to close the door.

"No, leave the door open." Harry said as he turned to the blinds he had just been lurking behind. Pulling them to the top, he met Ruth's eye as she watched the office and he offered a small smile. She offered one back before looking back at the computer screen in front of him. Hope soared through his chest and it gave him a newfound strength to deal with whatever Juliet wanted now. Turning back to the room, he saw her standing by his desk, a gleam in her eyes. Steeling himself for what was to come, he crossed the room and sat at his desk, crossing his legs before gesturing to the chair across from the desk. One he had conveniently moved a few inches further away. He was done making stupid mistakes.

Ruth watched as Juliet stepped onto the Grid. The woman was a damned pimple - always popping up at the most inopportune moments. What would it take to get rid of her? The traditional methods obviously weren't working and Ruth wondered briefly if they could just pop her. Be done with the nightmare. Taking a sip of water, she knew the exact moment Harry saw the walking zit. She heard his voice clearly across the grid as he demanded that the door be left open. That was a change of pace as were the blinds being pulled to the top of their holders. She met his eye and saw his smile; small though it was; and she granted him one back. Apparently the man was trying.

Looking at her computer clock, she gasped at the time. 5.24 - she was supposed to meet Peter for dinner at 7 at a restaurant clear across town; something new, hip, and upcoming. He'd been dying for weeks to go and she'd finally relented even if it was somewhere if given the choice, she wouldn't dine at. But if she didn't leave now, she'd be seriously late and there'd be another fight. Shutting down the PC, she slid the files she'd been working with into her desk and locked the drawer. Grabbing her purse and coat, she said goodnight to everyone and hurried off the grid; casting one final glance towards Harry's office as she reached the pods. For a moment her eyes met his and she paused watching as something flickered briefly across his face before it disappeared. Gracing him with another small smile, she lifted her hand and waved goodbye in acknowledgement before slipping out through the pods.

Peter was not a happy man when she arrived. She'd been late getting to the restaurant due to an accident on one of the main streets and he'd been forced to sit at their table waiting for twenty minutes for her to arrive. As the maître pulled the chair out for her to sit, Ruth saw the angry eyes meeting hers from across the table. Thanking the man as he pushed the chair in, she offered a smile to her date.

"I'm so sorry I was late, there was an accident blocking Central London and traffic was a nightmare."

"Maybe if you left work at a decent hour you wouldn't have to worry about these things."

"My being late had nothing to do with work and everything to do with the traffic."

"Right and the last four dates you've had to cancel had nothing to do with work either."

"Peter, you know I work for the government. I can't just walk out whenever I please. If I'm asked to stay, then I have to stay. I'm sorry I've had to cancel lately but things have been busy and I couldn't get away. Surely you can understand that."

Before he had a chance to respond, the waiter made his way to the table and asked if they were ready to order. Blushing as she hadn't had a chance to even glance at the menu, Ruth quickly looked over the offerings. Finally settling on a salad with salmon, she waited Peter ordered and the waiter stepped away. Reaching across the table, she slid her fingers over his, gripping them in hers.

"I really am sorry I was late. I purposely left work early tonight because I knew how important this was to you and I wanted to get here before you. The idiotic drivers of London had other ideas though."

"I'm done talking about this." he said, moving his hand from hers and reaching for his glass of wine. "There's something else that I want to talk to you about."

A bit hurt at his obvious rejection, Ruth pulled her hand back to her side of the table and picked up her napkin. Watching his eyes, she twisted the cloth in her fingers. "What's that?"

"Your hesitation towards sex. We've been seeing each other for two months now and frankly, I'm tired of waiting."

"Peter," she paused, the napkin twisting tighter around her fingers. "When we started dating, I..I told you about my feelings towards...that. It's not something I can rush into and I'm just not ready."

"Stop being such a child Ruth. It's just sex. You need to grow up and get over whatever idealism you have about it and how it has to be something special between two people."

She blushed as she looked down at the table, unable to meet his eyes as his voice got slightly louder and angrier. "And stop calling it that. It's sex Ruth. You're a grown woman - use the damn word."

"Peter please, you're embarrassing me." she said quietly, lifting her eyes to meet his.

"Peter please, you're embarrassing me." he mimicked. Standing, he threw his napkin on the table. "I'm going to the rest room. I'll return when I feel like it."

As he angrily made his way across the crowded dining room, Ruth looked at her hands and fought back tears. The people sitting closest to the table were looking at her and she wished the floor would swallow her up. Feeling the blush burning her skin from her chest to the roots of her hair, she hastily wiped the tears that had made their way to her eyes. Had she looked up and to the left, she would have seen the man sitting four tables watching her.

Slowly reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone. Dialing a familiar number, he waited until the call connected. Never taking his eyes off of Ruth, he spoke softly.

"It's time to move the plan up and bring in Zeus." Pausing a moment as the person on the other end spoke, he shook his head, forgetting that the other person couldn't see. "No, Erebos is starting to worry me. Athena may be at risk. Send Zeus the files."

Hanging up the phone, he looked at his dining companion. "I hope we're doing the right thing."

Though Peter had returned from the rest room calmer, the rest of the evening had been strained. Ruth tried to enjoy the enjoy the salmon; she really did; but after the scene before dinner, it had settled like lead in her stomach. As Peter signed the check, Ruth stood and collected her bag from the table.

"I'm going to go." she said quietly, watching as he put his credit card away.

"Fine. I'll call you this weekend."

She waited a moment to see if he would get up but he just glanced at her briefly before picking up his wine glass and finishing it. Her heard down, she made her way towards the coat check. As she waited for the girl to find her coat, she dug through her bag looking for her car keys. Finding them as her coat arrived, she quickly slid it on and made her way to the parking lot on the side of the building. Tonight had been an awful night and she couldn't wait to get home, curl up on the couch with Fidget and watch some mindless television. As she made her way down the row towards her car, she clicked the unlock button. Opening the door, she started to get in when something caught her eye. Sliding out from behind the door and shutting it, she made her way to the front tire and looked down. It was slashed. Turning quickly to the back tire, she found it slashed as well. Same as the tires on the other side of the car. Fighting back a sob, she leaned back against the closed door and rummaged through her purse trying to find her cell phone.

"Ruth?" she heard and jumped as Peter stopped next to her, his annoyance with her still evident in his voice. "What's wrong?"

"I've a flat." she said quietly, not wanting to make a huge scene. "I'm just going to call a taxi to come and get me."

"I'll take you home."

Looking up at him, she flinched at the look in his eye. "No, really, it's alright. I know it's out of your way. I'll call a taxi."

"I'm taking you home."

"Really Peter it's fine." she said again. Quickly locating the number for a Spook taxi in her phone, she pressed dial and lifted the phone to her ear. As the person on the other end picked up, she found the phone ripped from her hand and thrown to the ground. It shattered into four pieces. Pulling back, she shrunk against the car as Peter reached out and gripped her wrist tightly in his.

"I said I'm taking you home."

"Let me go."

He didn't answer, instead he turned and started walking towards his car, his grip on Ruth's wrist tightening.

"Peter let me go. You're hurting me."

"Shut up."

"Hey Mate, the lady said let her go so let her go."

Ruth turned quickly at the voice and gasped in surprise. "Adam" she breathed "And Fiona." Watching as the two made their way towards them, she didn't stop to think about why they were in the parking lot or how they'd gotten there. She just felt immense relief at the sight of two people she trusted. Trying to pull her arm away from Peter, she cried out as he twisted it and pain shot up to her elbow. Before she could be dragged another step, Adam moved the last ten feet and stopped in front of the other man.

Putting his hand on his chest, he looked him in the eye. "Maybe you didn't hear me. Let her go now."

Ruth found herself free of the tight grip and cradled her arm tightly against her chest. Meeting Adam's eyes, she saw the pure anger swirling in their depths. "Ruth, please go over with Fiona. Now."

Not hesitating, she quickly made her way over to where the other Spook stood and turned back to watch the two men.

"This is none of your business mate." Peter said, taking a step towards Adam.

"Oh I think you'll find it is my business. One, I don't take lightly to men abusing woman and two, well, I care about Ruth. She's family. I really don't take to someone hurting her. I suggest," he said, his voice dropping an octave, "that you get in your car and drive away. I don't think Ruth will be seeing you anymore."

"No one tells me who I can and can't see." turning towards Ruth, Peter watched her angrily. "Let's go Ruth. I'm taking you home."

"I'm not going anywhere with you Peter." as scared as she was, Ruth was proud of herself for not letting her voice shake. "And Adam's right, I don't want to see you again."

"Oh I think you'll be changing your mind Ruth."

With that, he pushed past Adam towards his car. Sliding into the driver's seat, he left the parking lot without a glance behind.

Adam slowly made his way over to where his wife and Ruth stood. Putting his hand on her shoulder, he gently pulled her into his arms and hugged her to him. Letting her go, he watched as the emotions of the night played across her face. Seeing the tears in her eyes, he quickly wiped them away.

"What happened?" he asked softly, his eyes meeting Fiona's who stood behind Ruth, a hand protectively lying on her shoulder where his had been a few minutes before. "And don't say nothing."

Ruth laughed slightly at how well he knew her. "We had a fight over dinner ... well actually two fights. He was angry that I was late and he was angry that..." she paused for a moment, the blush returning to her face "that we've not had sex yet. I told him I wasn't ready to take that step yet and he just went off. After we ate, I just left. He said he'd call me this weekend. When I got to my car - all the tires were slashed. You saw the rest."

"Ruth" Fiona said gently, her arm sliding around the shorter woman's shoulders. "Does he know where you live?"

Ruth nodded, fear gripping her. He'd picked her up a few times in the past two months for their dates. "Yes."

"Well, you're not staying there." Adam said, slowly walking towards their car. "Fiona and I will take you there to get some things that you'll need and the cats. You're coming to stay with us. We've a guest room you can use."

"I can't impose like that. I'll just find a hotel to stay at."

"No you won't. You're staying with us. It's not up for debate. We'd feel better knowing your safe and besides, Wes would love having his Aunt Ruth around."

At the mention of Wes, Ruth smiled. The little boy was such a sweetheart. "If you're sure it's not too much trouble." she said quietly, sliding into their back seat.

Adam looked in the rearview mirror as he started the car. "You're never too much trouble Ruth. I promise you that."

It was late as Harry finished reading the last file. His back ached, his head ached, and all he wanted at this point was to go home, have a glass or two of whiskey and crawl into his bed. Turning towards his computer to shut it down, he saw a message blinking on his desktop. Debating whether to leave it till morning or check it now, his sense of duty won out. Opening the icon, he saw a brief message.

"Mr. Pearce - a mutual friend of ours may need your help. You will find some files attached; may we suggest you read them sooner rather than later. - D"

Frowning, he opened the attached files and began to browse through them. Pictures filled the one; pictures of Ruth alone, with Peter, with members of the team, with himself. In the next one, he found a detailed report on this Peter Morgan; one much more through then the one vetting had put together. And finally, he found a folder filled with what looked like someone's journal or something. Skimming through them, he soon realized they weren't a journal but rather a bunch of seemingly different pieces written about a range of topics. As his eyes moved over one, he paused and re-read it. The color drained from his face as he realized Ruth had written them. Turning back to the first page, he read over the cover sheet. In Your Head - A Collection of Short Pieces by Jamie Pearson. Leaning back in his chair, he turned to the first one - the tiredness he was feeling earlier gone.