Disclaimer I do not own Spooks.
Skeletons.
Catherine closed her eyes and sat on the sofa in her father's living room. Charlie and Nick had been sleeping for hours, for which she was grateful. She had no idea how she was going to tell Nick that Ruth was in hospital. She knew how worried her father had been so she had no idea how the teenager would react. She sighed as she realised she still hadn't told her father about Graham. It had been a night of nasty surprises and she had no idea how her dad and step mum would react to more bad news.
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"Anything?" Ros asked as she crossed the Grid to where Tariq was still staring at the computer screen.
"No."
"How many times have you watched this?" Malcolm rubbed a tired hand over his face as Tariq shrugged.
"I dunno." Tariq kept his eyes on the screen. "Couple of hundred. Maybe a thousand times."
"And nothing?" Ros leant against Lucas' desk.
"Elena Gavrik is there. Just like Ruth said. She seems really pally with that scumbag but thats all I can see." He turned to Ros. "I'll keep looking."
"No." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Go home with Beth and Dimitri. Get some sleep."
"I'm like a shark. I never sleep."
"Tariq." Ros raised an eyebrow as Lucas and Calum walked back on to the Grid.
"Elena Gavrik is here with her husband. Apparently he has been doing business with someone over here." Calum watched as Lucas marched towards the kitchenette. Ros nodded as Calum spoke.
"Who?"
"Head of a multi-million conglomerate, Sir Toby Henriks." Calum watched as Tariq swore under his breath.
"Explains how she got an invite. Doesn't explain how he was there." Ros pushed herself away from the desk. Tariq nodded as Malcolm returned his attention back to his own work. None of the men noticed Ros walk away in search of her husband.
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Ruth hugged her knees to her chest as she thought about the test results. She had been so scared that something would be wrong. She knew that neither her or Zaf had told Harry the whole truth about what had happened in that bedroom.
"Ruth?"
"Mike, what are you doing here?" She smiled slightly as she saw the current medical officer for Thames House take a seat next to her.
"The Reg says you can go home tomorrow. The nurse is arranging transfer to a ward. I just wanted a chat with you first." He smiled. "And since when can't I check up on my favourite spooks?"
"I had my test results."
"I know. How do you feel about them?" He spoke quietly.
"Relieved. I thought I'd have more damage than what I had." Ruth smiled slightly. "The blood tests were more or less normal. So were the scans." She smiled weakly.
"One blood test wasn't." Mike held her gaze as Ruth fell silent. "Does Harry know?"
"He was here, he knows I'm not. That I was late for another reason."
Mike nodded slightly. He knew all about Ruth's medical history. He picked up the folder at the end of the bed and began reading.
"You're not anaemic. No evidence of raised electrolytes. BM slightly low. Didn't you have anything to eat?"
"Not since lunch." Ruth sighed.
"The doctor took a hormone level because you weren't able to provide a urine sample for pregnancy testing when you were admitted." He paused. "It was low. Ruth, you told the nurse that you were late. That there was a chance you were pregnant."
"Wishful thinking."
"The Beta HCG is low. I'm sorry Ruth. I'm so sorry."
"What does that mean? That I'm not pregnant but it was something else?"
"Have you lost weight? Been under stress?" Mike watched as she raised an eyebrow. He nodded before standing up. "Ruth, you are 41 years old. It's time to start taking care of yourself. I've told Harry but you are just as bad. I know what life is like on the Grid."
"Mike, I am here because I was attacked. Not because I was not taking care of myself." She snapped as Harry appeared in the doorway.
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Lucas leant against the sink as he waited for the kettle to boil. He was furious that his friends had been hurt but curious as to why the woman he had met in Russia had been in the ballroom. He tugged at his bow tie as he felt the familiar feeling of a panic attack hit.
"Hey." Ros rested a hand on his back.
"I'm fine."
"I know." She rubbed his back slightly as she spoke.
"Elena Gavrik being in the UK means her husband is here. If he is here." Lucas opened his eyes and turned to Ros.
"I know." She held his gaze as she spoke. "Lucas, Boscard is dead. The man in the cells is still our only real lead. We've got another 36 hours before he is either charged or released. We have to get Elena here."
"She isn't going to tell us anything about Gavrik, Boscard or why any of this is happening." He watched as Ros' face hardened. He knew the Ice Queen was back. It was a fact that Ros was more than a match for Elena, but he didn't want to expose her to the woman that was the source of many of his nightmares.
"Oh I think she has some questions to answer." Ros smiled as Calum burst in. "What."
"Can you translate Russian or do we have to wait for Ruth?" He asked as Lucas and Ros exchanged glances.
"Calum." Ros stepped towards the new boy. "I think that we can manage without Ruth on this translation considering I was brought up just outside Moscow." She walked out of the kitchen as Lucas shook his head. Calum still wasn't quite getting on anyone's good side. He almost felt sorry for the guy.
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"Harry, I want to go home. I'm fine now."
"I know." Harry reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.
"When can I get out of here?"
"Ruth, we need to talk. You can't just drop bombshells like that and not expect me to react. I thought you were, I mean." He looked away as he spoke.
"Harry, I know. I hoped so too. I hoped that maybe it wasn't stress. Maybe it was what I'd always hoped for us but it is never going to happen. We just have to accept that."
"Yes." Harry stared at her. He knew Ruth shut down when she was hurting, he knew that at some point he would be pushed away. He just hadn't realised it would be so soon.
"Elena was at the Ball for a reason." Ruth stared at him. "Did you know she was going to be there?"
"No." Harry watched as Ruth nodded.
"Is she still on the books? Is she still spying for us?"
"Ruth, do we have to talk about this now? Less than two hours ago I thought you were dead and now you're asking me about this?" Harry stared at her as her eyes darkened.
"There is nothing else to talk about. I can't have children. We knew that. The fact that it seems I've now apparently hit early menopause is insult to injury. So lets talk about the woman you did get pregnant. It seems everyone else you sleep with gets knocked up, but then there's nothing wrong with them. Why you even look at me I don't understand."
Ruth watched as his jaw clenched. She knew she had gone too far but she was hurt and scared. So much had happened since the op had started that she wasn't sure what was real anymore. All she knew was there was no need to tell Harry everything that had happened to her and Zaf when they had been abducted. She knew that would probably kill him.
"I am not talking about that now. Elena was an asset." He paused as Ruth flashed a look which told him he had just made the biggest understatement of the year. "And I was young and very stupid, the child was brought up by her and her husband. I met him twice."
"Harry." Ruth reached out her hand to touch his as he pulled it back away from her.
"No Ruth, don't say anything. You knew Jane and I regularly cheated on each other. We never should have got married. Catherine and Graham are the only good things to come out of that marriage and you know that I wasn't a monk as you put it. But don't you think what happened tonight just affects you. You disobeyed a direct order. Disobeying that order resulted in you getting injured. Now I know if you weren't there Zaf could have been killed but do you have any idea what would have happened to Nick if you had died? To the kids? To me? Jesus Ruth when will you realise you are a mother, those kids may not be babies, you may not be their biological mother but they need you." He paused as she turned her face away, her eyes filled with tears. "So do I."
"I'm."
"Save it Ruth." He stepped away from her.
"I just need to get home."
"Then I hope you find someone to sign you out. Otherwise you can stay here and actually listen to the doctors for once." Harry was out the door before Ruth could answer. The door closed with a harsh click as she began sobbing. Harry rested his head against the cool wall of the hospital corridor as he tried to catch his breath. He knew Ruth was right, Elena being back in the UK meant trouble. He just wasn't sure if it was personal or professional.
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Alec groaned as he walked back onto the Grid. He was exhausted and was sure he still had the affects of the hangover he had acquired three days earlier. He walked towards where Ros and the others were stood staring at the enhanced inmage on Malcolm's computer.
"Unfortunately I can't get any sound on this." Malcolm sighed.
"Not a problem." Lucas answered. "I can lip read."
"Go on then." Calum pushed his chair back.
Lucas stared at the screen as Ros kept an eye on him. She didn't like how he looked so pale.
"What have I missed?" Alec smiled as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
"There's the file. Play catch up." Ros nodded to the red A4 folder on Beth's desk. He rolled his eyes and made his way across to the desk.
"Oh shit." Lucas stared at the screen. "Warn Harry, make sure Zaf has a guard and get Adam and his family to a safe house."
"What is it?" Dimitri narrowed his eyes as he spoke. Beth glanced at Erin who bit her bottom lip.
"Lucas?" The brunette stepped forward. "I didn't know you spoke Russian. I thought Ros."
"I do." Ros answered. "Lucas?"
"She was working with Boscard. No, she was having an affair with him. She has paid alot of money to keep someone quiet. It's a man but she doesn't mention his name." He paused. "They're coming after us."
"What did she say?" Beth was beginning to get nervous.
"It translates as Harry Pearce is still around. You're brother should never have died. The turncoat bitch will pay for this. May she rot in Hell. It wont be long before Adam Carter feels the pain you have endured. The loss of a brother and the need for vengence are understandable.
"Bloody Hell." Calum looks around the room.
"There's more." Ros rests her hands on Lucas' shoulders. "The grenade will rip the heart out of them. They will know pain as no one else has. I am certain."
"Well?" Calum looked directly at Ros. "Any idea what that is supposed to mean?"
"Yeah." Ros nodded as Erin swore. "We do exactly as Lucas said. Then we drag Elena in here. I don't give a shit about diplomatic relations and Anglo-Russian relations. Boscard is dead. That skinny little slapper thinks she can rip the heart out of this team? I'd like to see her try.
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A/N Can Harry and Ruth make up? Is Elena really going to destroy the team? Are Adam and Zaf still in danger and what about the man in the cells? This chapter is just a filler.
