Bugger, who the hell is that thought Harry, most people would still be asleep at this hour on New Year's Day or doing exactly what he was doing and enjoying a nice relaxing breakfast. If it involved work then his phone would have rung, terrorists tended not to knock.

'Sorry' he said to Ruth as he walked past her, planting a kiss in her hair. 'I'll just get rid of whoever this is and be back in a moment.'

Deciding that she needed a second cup of tea, Ruth was on her feet with her back to the door, when it opened. Turning round, she did a double take, her mouth falling open as she came face to face with Harry and Catherine his daughter. She remembered her clearly from the on screen photos that she had seen during the November Committee Op, but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that were they ever to meet, that it would be here in Harry's kitchen, her wearing little else than his dressing gown.

Harry appeared to have lost the power of speech, his eyes as large as saucers and a look of panic on his face.

Thinking that this was probably the oddest situation that she had found herself in and that if someone didn't say something soon, they could possibly be standing here until lunchtime, she clutched the dressing gown tighter round her waist and said 'Hi, I'm Ruth.'

'Hi Ruth' said Catherine and then turning back to her father, suggested that he might at least offer her a cup of coffee.

Having seemingly regained the use of his legs, although apparently still unable to speak, Harry walked across to where Ruth was standing in search of another cup.

Now what was going to happen thought Ruth, Harry obviously hadn't been expecting Catherine to call. Had she done so half an hour later, they would have very likely been back in bed and he probably, well hopefully actually, wouldn't have stopped what they were doing and opened his door.

The usually spikey Catherine had decided that to wait a couple of days before calling her dad was beyond her. She was an impatient soul and curiosity had got the better of her. She was enjoying his obvious discomfort and was struggling to keep a straight face.

Ruth looked so different from the way she had the previous evening, dressed in nothing but her Dad's dressing gown. God, thought Catherine, as her mind ran riot imagining them writhing about upstairs or even worse here in the kitchen. Apart from the fact that her Dad appeared to be nervous, she couldn't help but notice that his anxious gaze was directed entirely towards Ruth.

Any preconceived ideas she may have had of giving him a grilling were slipping away. She had walked in into what appeared to be a calm domestic scene, something she had never experience when her dad had been at home. Ruth seemed sweet and, well very young, which was peaking her curiosity even further, but she was beginning to feel uncomfortable and needed to get away, whatever else could wait until another day.

'It's lovely to see you Catherine,' Harry finally managed, 'Ruth is a friend from work.'

Both Ruth and Catherine looked at him, huge question marks adorning their faces at his use of the word friend. The great Harry Pearce was feeling seriously out of out his depth, something that rarely happened and certainly not in his own house. Ruth on the other hand appeared to coping manfully and as yet hadn't bolted for the stairs.

'Well, I'll have to love you and leave you, James and I are having lunch with Mum today and I need to go home to change. Maybe I can pop round to see you both, later in the week and we can have a proper catch up?' said Catherine. 'Bye Ruth.'

'See you later in the week then,' said Harry as he walked Catherine towards his front door, realising that yet again, that he wasn't the one calling the shots.

'Absolutely,' said Catherine, kissing him on the cheek, 'Ruth seems lovely by the way, cheerio Dad.'

Closing the door behind him Harry pottered back in the direction of the kitchen, his mind spinning as he tried to work out what the hell had happened in the last twenty minutes. Catherine hadn't yelled at him and Ruth, who was usually so nervous when it came to relationships, had seemingly coped and made a positive impact on his daughter. Maybe telling her that Catherine had seen them the previous evening, wouldn't be as difficult as he thought.