Fiona held Ruth's hand as Ruth lay in a bed in a private room waiting to give birth to hers and Harry's child. Fiona hated seeing Ruth like this, especially since Ruth couldn't take the drug that numbed the pain since she was allergic to it. Ruth had a good two to fours hours before she would be ready and Fiona knew she had to keep Ruth's mind off of things.
"Do you have any names in mind?" she asked. Ruth turned and looked at Fiona. Ruth's eyes were red from crying. She shouldn't be in labour right now, it was too early and Harry was missing. This was definitely at the top of her worst days ever list and it shouldn't be. However, she wasn't going to ignore Fiona.
"We've settled on a name if it is a boy, but not a girl yet. If it is a boy we decided on Brody Daniel Pearce."
Fiona smiled knowing they named their baby after Danny.
"That is adorable. Have you thought of any names if it is a girl?"
Ruth gave a small smile and began to relax a bit. Fiona gave a small cheer inside for that.
"We have narrowed it down to three names, but only first names. Middle is undecided. We like Sadie, Lucy, or Rose. Personally, Sadie is my favourite."
Fiona smiled.
"I like the names Sadie and Lucy. If Wes ended up being a girl I wanted to name him Lucy, but Adam wasn't a fan."
Ruth smiled but it quickly faded when the baby gave a sharp kick and Ruth bit her tongue and squeezed Fiona's hand so tight she could have broken it.
"I swear this baby will be a soccer player or a very flexible gymnast if it can kick me in two places." Ruth gasped. Fiona gave a small, but curious smile. She looked at Ruth's bump. Ruth was only eight months pregnant, but she looked awfully big. The thought was pushed from her mind when Ruth spoke again. "Have you heard anything about Harry?"
Fiona got that look on her face, which told Ruth they still hadn't found him yet.
"They'll find him Ruth. It'll be alright."
"This is not how I pictured this day in my mind when I first found out I was pregnant, but then again I pictured it being a normal pregnancy. Can't exactly have that when working for MI-5."
Fiona laughed at Ruth's comment. Ruth gave a small smile to her laugh.
"Tell me about it, when I was six months pregnant with Wes I had to go undercover and Adam flipped out. I'm surprised six didn't throw him to the curb. He drove everybody crazy."
Ruth smiled and yet again it faded quickly as another contraction hit. It was going to be a long time.
One Hour later….
Harry saw the flame going flying in the air and Adam charge to it. This couldn't be how things ended. All he could think about was Ruth and their child. He couldn't leave them. There was so much he wants to say and do. He watched the flame slowly descend to the floor when the fire alarm went off and the sprinklers followed. Harry smiled as he saw the flame go out and the lighter hit the floor. Zaf then raced into the room from a side hallway. He had a pair of pliers and he cut the lock off of the cage door. He swung the door open and grabbed Harry. Harry's eyes widened at this act.
"We don't have much time." Zaf said and pulled Harry out. Zaf turned to Adam.
"I'll take care of this mess!" Adam yelled. Zaf nodded and nudged Harry along.
"Ruth went into labour." He said to Harry as they went outside. Harry froze and stared at Zaf.
"I… she is early! Wait… did I already miss… shit!" Harry said and raced to Zaf's car.
"No, you haven't missed it. Fiona is with her. I've got a change of clothing in the back seat that you might want to change into so you don't smell."
Harry nodded and got into the back seat and found the clothing. Zaf stood in front of the door to give him privacy and then once Harry was changed he got out and hopped into the passenger seat while Zaf drove.
"So, how did you and Harry… you know? I mean we all found out at the hospital you're in a relationship, but how did it start?" Fiona asked. Ruth blushed a little. She didn't really want to talk about it, but she knew Fiona was trying to keep her mind on happier thoughts.
"Before you, Zaf, Adam, and Jo were with five Harry ran a lockdown drill. We thought it was pretty routine until we all believed it was real and there was a virus loose. Harry pretended to us all that he was ill…"
Three years ago…
She walked into the office. She saw him on the couch talking to himself. She froze and her heart nearly stopped. She knew the symptoms and she saw all of them in him. She slowly walked over to him.
"Harry…" she whispered. He didn't even look up at her. A tear went down her face. She stumbled backwards and called out for Tom. He came running and they re-entered the office. When Tom saw what was in front of him, he immediately dismissed her. She couldn't take her eyes off of Harry. She finally nodded and left. She leaned against the door as tears fell from her eyes. She tried to pull it together, but she couldn't. She heard Tom coming towards the door. She wiped her tears away and hurried to her desk. Tom came out and she saw him lock the door. She swore her heart stopped now. He turned and walked over to her. Tom pulled her aside.
"You cannot tell anybody about Harry, Ruth." Tom said to her. Ruth wasn't sure if she heard that properly. Her red and wet eyes flashed him a look.
"You're going to leave him in there to die?" she said in a whisper, but angry tone. Tom nodded.
"I have no choice Ruth."
Ruth felt anger boiling in her.
"You bastard," she hissed. From a distance, Malcolm was watching Tom and Ruth talking. Something didn't seem right and Ruth looked like she was going to explode. "Harry shouldn't die alone! After every…" she began when Tom quieted her. Ruth struggled but relaxed as Tom held her. Tears flowed from Ruth's eyes.
Fiona's eyes went wide as Ruth told the story of her and Harry.
"And you thought about what if he died…" Fiona said slowly. Ruth nodded and her eyes watered a little bit.
"I knew I had a bit of… crush I guess I should say, on him but I never thought he would return them. After all, there is an age difference and I work for him. Anyways…"
"You scared me to death Harry," she finally said and looked at him. "To walk into your office and see you just sitting there talking to yourself! You wouldn't respond to me you just sat there staring into air! And then you come out of your office with that smirk…. That was the worst part."
Harry looked at her, but couldn't find the right words.
"I hated doing that to you Ruth, you the most. But it had to be done… I wished it was Tom at the door, and I hated that it was you. I kind of knew though since you didn't knock." He said with a little joke at the end.
Ruth smiled slightly, but it didn't stay on her face. He needed to get her mind away from being angry at him. His next words he knew were a risk, but if she felt the same way then things would get better.
"Would you like to have dinner one night?"
Ruth's head quickly turned and met his gaze. She wasn't sure if she heard that properly either.
"I'm sorry… what…?" she said in a little bit of shock. Harry didn't back down.
"Dinner," he said. "That is if you'd like to of course…."
Ruth gave a small smile.
"That.. that is quite a conversation shift if I may say. And a risk if I may add."
Harry nodded, "I know. But I'd say it is a much happier topic than the present one."
Ruth nodded in agreement.
"Yes, yes I'd say it is."
Harry smiled, but he didn't know if that was a yes or not.
"I know a nice place that I think you'd rather enjoy. I could pick you up around seven say tomorrow?" he said hoping she would say yes.
She looked at him and smiled.
"I don't tolerate my dates being late."
Harry smiled. He took that as a yes. He moved towards her ear.
"In that case, I'll come five minutes early."
Fiona smiled.
"That was his way of asking you out?"
Ruth laughed.
"Yes, but it was sweet and like I said a bit of a risk on his part. That's Harry for you though. He took me on a walk after and it was so nice. He didn't feel like my boss. He was just Harry. However, it was me who wanted to keep everything quiet. I didn't want… I didn't want people to think I was just sleeping up the ladder."
"I'm sure nobody close would think that of you." Fiona said with a slight frown. Ruth bit her lip.
"I know, but it just… I wanted to keep work separate."
"How are you going to explain this to Tom? Or Zoe? The first thing Malcolm will want to do is contact MI6 for the other codes! Then all of our jobs are on the line!" Ruth yelled. Harry sat at his desk and nodded as Ruth paced in front of his desk.
"I understand…"
"Okay no are you sure you understand? Rule number one is you never ever bring work home!" she said and sat down on the couch. Harry ran a hand up his face.
"It was three in the morning and it was easiest to just bring it home and lock it up in my safe."
Ruth didn't say anything.
Harry just looked at her.
"You have to tell them Harry and hope that they will help you out of this mess." She said. Harry nodded.
"I just wanted to inform you first." He said and stood. She looked at him strangely.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you want to inform me first?"
Harry looked at her.
"It's easier telling one person before the others."
"But you could have told Tom or Danny or Zoe? Why did you choose me? It's not because of…"
"No no no, Ruth no," Harry said and moved towards her. He took it as a good sign when she didn't move. "You're easier to talk to, you… you help keep me calm in situations like this." He said and the last part he said in a whisper. Ruth nodded.
"Me blowing up at you keeps you calm?" she asked. Harry looked at her. He shrugged. "I don't know if I should be angry or feel special at this point."
Harry chuckled. Ruth gave a small smile.
"I'd hope you feel both to be honest."
Fiona laughed at Ruth as she explained how she blew up at Harry. Ruth eventually relaxed a little as she told Fiona the stories of her and Harry. It felt nice telling someone about them and she knew Fiona would keep it to herself.
"Malcolm said he knew about you guys, is that true?" Fiona asked. Ruth nodded.
He had been shot. Not just shot, but shot by the Section Chief. The tears were flowing right out of her eyes without control. Malcolm looked over at her and frowned. He came over.
"Ruth…." He said calmly and hugged her as she stood up. "Shh….shhh." he whispered as he held her. She pulled away. She didn't want to give anything away.
"I'm sorry… I'm just a bit in shock." She said. Malcolm gave a soft smile.
"He's going to be alright Ruth. It was a shot to the arm, not the heart."
Ruth listened to him and tried to hold back tears, but she couldn't help but let a few slip. Malcolm rubbed her back to calm her down.
"I'm sorry… gosh this is embarrassing," she said and sat down again. "I'm just not fully used to this."
Malcolm nodded. She couldn't think clearly. She wanted to go see him, but also knows he would want her here finding Tom.
Ruth's head was spinning in circles. She didn't know what to do. She didn't see her hands were shaking. Malcolm noticed and grabbed one of them.
"He'll be alright." He said. Ruth turned and saw softness in his eyes. She nodded and Malcolm hurried back to work.
…..
"Malcolm, what can I do for you?" he asked and watched Malcolm shut the door.
"I just came to be sure you were okay. Coming from an old friend." He said with a smile and sat down across from Harry. Harry nodded.
"Thank you Malcolm. I will be alright."
Malcolm nodded and took a breath. Harry frowned.
"I think you need to convey that message to other people on the Grid." He said with a straight face. Harry knew he must be talking about Ruth. Harry nodded.
"And who may that be?" he asked trying to hide everything. Malcolm frowned.
"You and I both know who Harry. Poor girl was shaking. I see the way you both look at each other and rest assured your secret will never leave my lips."
"It's nice that Malcolm was looking out for you." Fiona said. Ruth smiled.
"At first I was uneasy about him knowing, but it was comforting after a while. Knowing someone else knew about us and if he were ever… Malcolm would be there. I'm not saying I'd break out in uncontrollable tears, but having someone there to say it would be alright was comforting."
"It must have been a rough road with Olive Mace in the way a lot."
Ruth nodded.
"I found it a bit sweet the way Harry always protected me, but at some points it drove me crazy because I can take care of myself. There was one man named David who started working on the Grid…"
"At least let me buy you coffee." He offered. Ruth shook her head in the negative.
"No David. Now please, I have work to do."
David was about to protest when Harry called for Ruth. He had been watching the whole thing. Ruth quickly stood up and raced to Harry's office with a file. He shut the door.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked. Ruth nodded.
"Bloody man doesn't take no for an answer." She groaned and handed him the files to point to him where to sign.
"I could have him transferred to Africa." Harry said half joking.
"Could you please?" Ruth said in a serious tone. Harry looked at her.
"I will deal with him." He growled. Ruth smiled a little inside. She found it attractive at how protective he was, but she can take care of herself.
Fiona laughed, "That must have made him crazy! What ever happened to David?" Ruth smiled and said,
"All Harry said was that "He went away". I've never gotten a straight answer."
Fiona smiled.
"Was having kids part of the plan in your relationship?"
Ruth didn't answer, mostly because she didn't know what to say. She always thought having a child would be nice, but she knowing Harry already had two children made her believe he wouldn't want anymore.
"Not at the time. I mean, I'm telling you this in full confidence you wouldn't repeat it, I always thought we would marry first then think about a child. Turns out it is vice versa," Ruth said. Fiona nodded. Ruth blushed as she continued, "But we weren't exactly… careful so… maybe subconsciously it was part of the plan. I'm just glad he was happy when he found out."
Fiona remembered that day. Harry literally jumped out of his seat to the doctor and then ran down the hall to Ruth's room.
"Harry... I tried to tell you..." she said softly as her eyes began to water. Harry used his free hand and brushed away her tears.
"Shhhh, it's okay. Everything will be alright. The doctor said there was no harm done to the baby." he said with love in his voice. He moved closer to her as he possibly could. She saw this and moved over as much as she could without being in pain. Harry got the message and got on the bed next to her and held her gently against him. Her head found his shoulder and he kissed her forehead softly.
"I'm scared Harry." she whispered. Harry looked at her.
"There's nothing to be scared of. Everything will be alright."
"I didn't know how you would react... or if you'd be happy... or if you'd even want this child..."
He silenced her after she said the last part by kissing her lips softly.
"Look at me," he whispered. Her eyes met his and he brushed away more tears. "I love you, and the fact you're carrying our child makes me love you and the baby even more."
She gave a soft smile as he leant and kissed her again. His hand was still on her cheek as he kissed her deeply. The other found her right hand and he intertwined them together. She moved their hands so they rested on her abdomen.
Fiona smiled and was going to speak when the doors opened. She smiled. Harry was standing there out of breath as if he ran down the hall and Zaf stood behind him. Ruth turned and let go of Fiona's hand. She gave a soft smile at Harry and Fiona moved. She and Zaf made a quick and quiet exit while Harry took Ruth's hand and kissed it lightly. She smiled and his kissed her lips softly.
"I love you." He whispered. Ruth returned the kiss and when she pulled away she took his hand and placed it on her stomach. Now this day went from horrible to amazing.
