Harry hurried downstairs upon hearing the sad little barks from poor Edith. "I know, sweetheart," he cooed, trying to calm her as he approached. "Stay still, please. Let's get you freed."

Ruth came inside at that very moment, put down a large parcel, and dusted the snow off herself. "What's going on?" she asked, seeing Harry crouched down by the Christmas tree.

"Edith's caught up again," he told her.

She came running right over, tossing her coat on the sofa. "Here, Harry, go get the food for me. I'll handle this."

Harry moved aside and watched Ruth deftly hold the puppy still with one hand and unravel the lights and garland and tinsel with the other. He smiled to see his Ruth pick up their dog and snuggle with her.

"Yes, I know. I know you like to play with all the decorations I worked so hard to put up. I want to make the house a Christmas winter wonderland, but you're just too nosy for your own good, aren't you? Yes, you little darling, yes you are." Ruth laughed as puppy kisses assaulted her face.

"I'm so glad you like her," Harry commented.

"Of course I like her! I love her, Harry. That's why I got her. She was a present for you, but we all live here. I wouldn't have gotten you a dog I didn't want."

"I know, but you tend to be less affectionate with her," he pointed out.

"I prefer to bestow my affection on you," she replied with a wink. "And you're lucky I don't get too jealous of this younger woman I brought home for you."

Harry laughed and went to gather the food and take it to the kitchen. Ruth put Edith down and went back to her intricately decorated Christmas tree to repair the damage from their pets. Noodles tended to be more illicit in his destruction of Ruth's hard work. She had conceded a few days earlier to Harry that perhaps she had gone a bit overboard with the decoration this year, particularly with a cat and a dog underfoot, but now that they had a second annual Christmas luncheon with their friends and family, she wanted to go all out. And she had done just that. There was mistletoe in almost every doorway—which Harry took very good advantage of—and tinsel and candles and garland and lights everywhere. Harry had lovingly told her it looked like Santa's workshop had exploded in their living room. Ruth took that as a job well done.

Ruth went to the kitchen to help Harry. She'd ordered a huge amount of food from their local market so she wouldn't be stuck in the kitchen the whole time this year. She wanted to be out and enjoying all the company; she'd cooked her goose and once was enough. And they'd have more people this year, and she knew their simple kitchen could not accommodate preparing for everyone.

After he'd unboxed everything and placed it all in the serving dishes Ruth had laid out, Harry wiped his hands and took a moment to sidle up to Ruth, still arranging things. He wrapped his arms around her middle and pressed his face to her neck.

"Hello, my love," she said with a smile, tilting her head to touch his affectionately. She was happy to let him hold her just like that.

"Just wanted a bit of quiet with you before the hoards arrive," Harry said in between soft kisses to her skin.

"Such nice hoards though," she noted.

He chuckled against her neck. And before he could say another word, the doorbell rang and the dog started barking. "Oh damn, she's going to be doing that all day," he grumbled.

Ruth just laughed. "Go answer the door, Harry. I'll be there in a minute."

Over the next hour, all their guests arrived and the now-traditional game of Monopoly began. There were too many of them to play individually, so they were on teams. Wes Carter insisted Uncle Harry play with him. Ruth and Catherine teamed up. Malcolm matched with Tim from next door, and his partner, Geoff, paired with Fabian. The competition was fierce, particularly as the booze flowed freely.

"Harry, pour me another, would you?" Ruth asked a bit too loudly. "I'm drinking for two."

"Oh are you?" he laughed, taking her glass and refilling it with more wine.

"Yes. Catherine can't drink since she's going to have a baby in about twenty minutes, so I'll have her share," Ruth explained.

Catherine herself sat beside Ruth on the sofa with her hands on her enormous belly. "I'm not due for another three weeks, but it could be twenty minutes if you keep making me laugh!" The two women erupted into hysterics again, particularly when the baby began to kick and Ruth got to feel it and launched into a discussion of the Ancient Greek birthing rituals.

The doorbell rang again, and since Harry was already up pouring wine for Ruth and everyone else, he went to answer it, shouting at Edith to quit barking as he made his way there. He was full of joy and laughter when he opened the door, when his face immediately fell.

Graham stood there, snow falling on his curly blond hair, staring at his father. "I was invited," he said flatly.

"I know," Harry replied gruffly.

"You got a dog," Graham noticed, looking down to see the puppy struggling to get at their guest but blocked by the bulk of Harry's legs.

Harry nodded. "Birthday present from Ruth." He opened the door for his son to come inside. "Hang up your coat. I want to talk to you. Give me a moment," he instructed. He let Edith greet Graham and hurried back to the living room.

The game was still in full swing. Ruth was still having a marvelous time. "Who was at the door?" she asked.

Harry answered her only indirectly. "Ruth, I've got to take care of some things. I'll be in the study for a while. Wes, you think you can hold up our team on your own?" He flashed a falsely confident smile to the boy.

Wes nodded. "I won't let you down, Uncle Harry."

Something in Harry's chest fluttered strangely. "You never could," he said softly.

Ruth was lost in conversation with Geoff and Tim and Fabian, all four of them arguing about French politics. But Catherine was watching her father curiously, mildly worried about what was going on.

Malcolm was the one to respond to Harry. "I'll keep an eye on everything," he assured his old friend.

Harry just nodded and went back to the foyer to see to Graham. He found him crouched down petting the dog and looking at her tag. Graham looked up to see his father approach. "Edith?"

"Ruth named her. But I used to have a dog called Scarlett, so I suppose it fits," he explained. "Let's you and I go upstairs. We're going to have this out. No need to ruin Christmas for the others."

Graham stood and followed Harry up to the study. "I didn't come here to ruin Christmas for anyone," he said petulantly.

"The intention doesn't always denote the outcome," Harry replied wisely.

The two didn't speak again until Harry showed Graham to the chair in front of the desk and closed the door behind them both. He took his own seat and put the laptop to the side. He'd been slowly working on a book about West Yorkshire.

He looked at his son's face. A desk and two decades of animosity separated them. That made them closer than they'd been since the boy was born, as far as Harry was concerned. "I didn't know you'd accepted Ruth's invitation," Harry began. He knew he needed to keep calm and refrain from increasing the tension between them and resist rising to the bait that Graham would surely proffer. Likely easier said than done.

"I wasn't sure I would come. I didn't think I wanted to. And I didn't have anything I could say to her in an email. Not after you threw me out of here last time."

Harry exhaled slowly. Not rising to the bait. "What made you decide to come anyway? We aren't exactly around the corner."

Graham made such intense eye contact with such stony silence that Harry was painfully reminded of the boy's mother. Harry didn't think of Jane often at all and being confronted with his ex-wife in such a manner was rather jarring. But thankfully Graham spoke and redirected Harry's attention. "You and I seeing each other last time didn't go like I wanted. I guess I should have expected it. But I wanted to actually talk to you and not just yell at you. And god, the things I said to Ruth. She really is too nice, inviting me like she did after all that."

"Don't confuse her kindness with weakness. Too many people have made that mistake. Me included."

"Oh?"

"I don't know how much she's told you about how she and I ended up together, but the Service really did a number on her. On me, too, but I saw her first and last days there. And I've seen how she's changed since we left. And I assure you that she can survive anything and come out the other side full of more compassion than you'd ever believe. I think perhaps she's right about us being alike. We've had our share of horrible circumstances, and we both just ended up bitter about it all."

Graham gave a small smile. "I guess so."

Harry shifted in his chair and sat forward. Time to get down to the important parts. "I owe you an explanation. About quite a lot of things, I'm sure, but I'll start with this one. About five years ago now, I stopped sending bail money for you."

The light in Graham's eyes turned cold. He nodded stiffly, waiting quietly to hear the truth he had been tormented by for these last years.

"I had been kidnapped. I was sold to an Iranian madman who tied me up in a warehouse and demanded to know the location of uranium I had smuggled out of Baghdad a few years earlier. And when I wouldn't tell him, he somehow found Ruth and dragged her in. I hadn't seen her in over two years."

"She faked her death to keep you out of prison," Graham recalled.

Harry nodded. "Yes. I thought I'd never see her again. And to have her brought in front of me and made a part of the horrors I was facing…"

"What did they do to her?"

"I don't think it's my place to give details. Our captor knew that Ruth was the only one I'd told. And through threats to her and others, she told them the location. Or what she thought was the location. But eventually my team at Five found us and we were rescued and the uranium was safe. Ruth was shattered beyond belief for reasons I don't think we should get into. And having her back in England and back on the job after all that was between us was rather stressful. By the time we'd gotten a bit settled, I realized I hadn't heard any news from you in quite a while. And at the time, I was rather certain that your mother and sister might have avoided telling me if something had happened to you. I did a search and saw you were a patient at that facility."

"You knew where I was?"

"Of course. I have never gone more than two months without knowing exactly where you were, Graham," Harry said softly.

"Why didn't you…" He trailed off, his voice cracking with emotion.

"I was never anything of a father to you. My presence in your life was never regular and thanks to my neglect, I know my presence became unwelcome. Keeping you out of jail was perhaps not what you needed, since you just ended up back in trouble every time, but I didn't know what else to do. It was quite literally the least I could do, but at the time, it was all I could do for you. And once you got your act together and had a good thing going with getting clean and the job, I just didn't want to interfere. You've never really needed me, and I didn't deserve your attention."

"You're my dad. Of course I needed you," Graham interrupted. His eyes were filled with tears that he tried to blink away. "You were my hero when I was little. I was desperate for you to want me, and I didn't think you ever did."

"I am more sorry than I can ever tell you. No child should ever feel unwanted. And I know my words mean nothing now, but I wish more than anything I could have been the father I wanted to be for you."

"You and me both."

The two men fell silent. Perhaps there was more to say, more to uncover and share and work through. But neither was ready to make any more such efforts now. They'd done all the needed to for now.

"Do you think I could talk to Ruth? I do need to apologize to her before I can really join in any festivities. Assuming I'm allowed to stay."

"Of course you're allowed to stay," Harry replied. "I'll bring Ruth up. If she can."

"I don't want to interrupt."

"No she'll love to see you. But when I last saw her, she was half-pissed."

Graham started to laugh. "Oh this I gotta see!"

Harry went back downstairs, hearing the talking and laughing of his friends and family getting louder as he got to them.

"Uncle Harry, we won!" Wes announced triumphantly.

"Two years in a row Harry's won now," Malcolm lamented.

"Oh cheer up, Malcolm. We did send Geoff to jail. That was a laugh," Tim said, patting his game partner on the back.

Harry grinned. "Wesley Carter, we seem to be an unstoppable force. Well done, lad." He made his way to where Ruth was sprawled on the sofa between Catherine and Geoff. "Darling, can I borrow you for a moment?"

"You needn't borrow me, Harry. You can have me anytime you like. I'm all yours!" she told him with a dreamy sort of smile.

Geoff wisely took Ruth by the elbow and helped her stand. Catherine protected her belly from being bumped by Ruth's stumbling as she made her way to Harry. "Can you get up to the study on your own?"

"I should think so," she replied, a look of determination crossing her flushed face.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at her a little bit. He had never seen her in this state of inebriation before and, like most things about Ruth, the drunkenness was shockingly endearing. He kissed her cheek and sent her upstairs. "Right, I'll get the food on. Fabian, can I ask for a hand in the kitchen, please?"

The Frenchman gave his pregnant partner a look before following Harry out of the room. Catherine just shrugged at him and turned back to answering Wes's questions about what it felt like to have a baby inside her.

"Everything alright, Harry?" Fabian asked.

Harry replied with question of his own. "Tell me, have you met Catherine's brother?" Fabian nodded. "Yes, but we haven't seen him too much. He doesn't travel, and we haven't spent much time in London over the years. But we've seen him more since we've been back. And he was at Jane's last Christmas."

"You know then, the difficulties that Graham and I have had?"

"Just that you don't see or speak to each other. Catherine's careful not to mention you when he's around."

Harry hummed knowingly. Very wise woman, his daughter. "Well, Ruth's been in contact with Graham since my surgery back in January. And he's upstairs now."

"He is!?"

"Yes. I think we've…patched things," Harry explained delicately. "Enough that we can all have a nice Christmas lunch. But he needs to have some words with Ruth first. And speaking of lunch, grab that platter, would you?"

As the two men put out the food for everyone to serve themselves, Ruth had made her way up to the study. It took her a moment to remember that the door opened inward and not out, but she got the hang of it eventually.

"Hello, Ruth."

She looked up and saw Graham standing uncomfortably in the middle of the study, something she was wholly unprepared for. "You're here! For Christmas!" she said in surprise.

"Yes. Thank you for the invitation. But I owe you an apology, Ruth."

Her brow furrowed at him. There was far too much wine clouding her mind for her to really focus on controlling herself. So she didn't. "Yes, you do! You called me a desperate frump! And you were really mean to Harry!"

Graham nearly burst out laughing at her drunken indignity. "I know. I was upset and I took it out on you. And you didn't deserve any of that."

Ruth just pouted, waiting for him to continue.

"You've been nothing but wonderful to me from the beginning. And I've been a complete arse. And I have no right to be. I thought I did, but you were right, I was being childish. Dad and I talked, and I got the answers I really needed. I'm glad you kept me waiting for him to tell me himself. So I'm sorry for all the hurt and bother I've caused. And I've really missed emailing with you."

"I've missed you too," she replied with a smile. "Now come here, please." Ruth opened her arms and took Graham into a big hug. "Come on downstairs for lunch. I desperately need food. And you can stay sober with Catherine and Wes."

"Catherine and Wes?" Graham asked as he put his arm around Ruth to held her down the stairs.

"Well, Catherine's pregnant and Wes is underage. And you can meet our friends." She just beamed. "I'm just so glad we can all be together for Christmas! Next year, you'll have to arrive earlier so you can play Monopoly. And perhaps bring Sharon with you. We need an even number for teams."

"I'm not dating Sharon!"

"Well you should."

"If you say so," Graham placated.

Ruth laughed, "You should listen to me, Graham. I've made a lot of mistakes by being too cautious and too afraid of getting hurt. And when I took a big risk, I ended up happier than I ever dreamed. Besides, I'm very smart."

Harry looked around the large dining table at the crowd of loved ones assembled around him. Catherine and Malcolm and Tim were all talking and laughing about something. Fabian was chatting with Ruth and Geoff. Graham was sitting beside Wes and talking to the young boy with a distinct air of kindness that Harry found to be incredibly heartwarming. He had never really believed it to be possible, that all this could come together. That he would have both of his children with him for Christmas—voluntarily—with his friends and neighbors. It was all thanks to Ruth, of course. Everything good in his life was thanks to her. She had made this all happen, and he felt more gratitude for her than he could ever express.

"Uncle Harry, can we go out and play rugby?"

He looked over to see Wes's eager face. "Who do you mean 'we'?" he asked cautiously.

"All of us!" Graham responded with his own mischievous grin.

"Oh no fair, I can't play!" Catherine whined. Harry suddenly remembered that she had been quite interested in sport when she was young. Had she played rugby? He didn't quite recall, but perhaps she had.

"You can ref for us, Cat," Graham reasoned, helping his sister stand up and join the excited fourteen-year-old by the backdoor with his rugby ball. The rest of the men eagerly joined as well. Malcolm enjoyed the strategy of sport, if not the actual act of it. Geoff, a florist by trade, had absolutely no interest in sport, but Tim was a bit of a jock.

Harry let them out into the garden with little Edith barking happily at their ankles. "You lot get started. We'll be out in a bit."

Ruth stood by the chaos of their dining table with a distinct air of displeasure. "I don't want to clean this now."

"So don't. Let me give you your Christmas present instead. I didn't get to this morning before everyone arrived," Harry told her, taking her hand and leading her over to the tree.

She gave him a curious look. "I thought I got my gift already."

"Spending the morning with my tongue between your legs is a gift for us both," he murmured in her ear, delighting in how she blushed. She was much less drunk than she had been before lunch, but she was still rather pink-faced and smiling.

"And if anyone asks what you got me for Christmas, I can't just say multiple orgasms," she reasoned.

Harry grinned and gave her a quick kiss. "Here, open this," he said, handing her a small velvet box with a green bow.

Ruth gave a small gasp seeing the size and shape of that box. "Oh…Harry…"

He gave a soft smile. "I love you very much, Ruth, and you've given me everything I could ever want in the world. You got both of my children to spend Christmas with us here in our home. I have never been happier in all my life. And I just wanted to give you something beautiful and meaningful."

She opened the box with a pounding heart. Inside were a pair of diamond earrings, more stunningly beautiful than Ruth had ever seen with her own eyes.

Harry was rather certain she had been expecting an engagement ring, but no. Christmas wasn't the time for that. He explained the gift. "I found them in an antique shop when we were in Yorkshire. Catherine helped me pick them out. We both agreed they seemed like you. They're Georgian floret clusters. Just over three and a quarter carats total, set in platinum."

Ruth traced the beautiful diamonds. "You shouldn't let me get used to fancy jewelry, I'll get spoiled," she told him, blinking back tears.

He just smiled and kissed her again. "Happy Christmas, darling."

"Thank you, my love."