The roof terrace had always been somewhere that Ruth had found peace and invariably Harry. But today it was Jo who had sought her out. Having noticed how unaccountably distracted she was, almost as though she was trying to put pieces of a puzzles together, but without the ability to distinguish one colour from another. Jo who had appreciated right from the off, Ruth's quiet and soothing manner and her no nonsense attitude. That they were the only two women in what was a male dominated work place, also meant that Jo saw Ruth as a friend and a person she could confide in.
Until this morning, when without a credible explanation and not wanting to take her concerns to Adam, who had enough on his plate, or to Malcolm who had warned them about investing in rumours, she'd convinced herself that the reason Ruth was looking so pale was that she must be coming down with something. In which case, why hadn't any of her colleagues noticed? Or if they had, why hadn't they done something about it? Because if Ruth went off sick for any length of time and with Harry already suspended, the already strange atmosphere on the grid, would reach the point where nobody wanted to come into work.
An atmosphere which Zaf had told her was entirely of Juliet's making. Describing her as a wolf in sheep's clothing, prowling about and ready to pounce on the first person who made a mistake. Which in this case would be Ruth, who until today had never put in anything less than a full shift and was why after a lot of searching, she'd found her.
'I'm fine, it's just that I haven't been sleeping very well.' Ruth responded to Jo, asking 'if she was alright?' The closest thing to the truth that she could conjure up, having heard the door behind her open and then close. Causing her to imagine, if only for a moment, that Harry was going to materialise beside her and tell her that it was all over. That Juliet had gone so she should come back inside and that everything was going to get back to normal. Now not wanting to lie to Jo, but not yet ready to tell her the truth. Her colleague who looked genuinely concerned and had somehow contrived to bring her a cup of tea without anyone noticing she'd gone missing. At a time when leaving the grid to go home and to Harry, was realistically, even if Juliet didn't stop her from doing so, still several hours from now.
A thought which as she gratefully accepted the tea that was being offered, caused her to take a long hard look at her young colleague. To wonder if she was still holding herself responsible for Fiona's death? Because Jo who had turned around from where she'd been gazing out over the view that was as familiar to her as her own face, was now leaning against the railings in the same way that Harry did when he was worrying about what he perceived to be a mistake he'd made, or her. An action which had always thrown her off balance. The sheer power of his presence which had been trimmed down to its finest detail for both of them the previous night. Naked and with nothing to hide from one another. Now threatening to overwhelm her again, especially as Jo had reached out and put her hand on her arm in a gesture of support.
Only to be stopped from asking Jo if anyone had been talking out of turn, when the door opened and Malcolm told them, 'Pollard's car's been seen heading in the direction of the house where Khurvin's staying and Adam wants everyone in the meeting room.'
Now being implied, but with a look that said I'm sorry if I've disturbed anything.
.
Seats aren't allocated in the meeting room, this isn't pre-school, Adam had told Jo on her first day. Not strictly true because Adam almost always sat on one side of Harry and Ruth on the other. Today though the man who made the grid tick was conspicuous by his absence. As was the familiar sound of the clock on the wall, which for no apparent reason appeared to have stopped at the exact time that Juliet had dismissed him. Something which Colin was going to great pains to point out and for once Juliet couldn't disprove. Juliet who had taken up residence at the opposite end of the table and was inwardly refusing to feel redundant, despite knowing that she was about as welcome as a fox in a hen house and that operational decisions were the job of the Section Chief.
Which meant that when Adam announced, 'he wanted Zaf to drive back to where Khurvin was,' Zaf who had messed with the mechanism of the clock, with the sole purpose of highlighting Harry's enforced absence, which of course Colin had been party too, and that, 'Colin should maintain surveillance in case anything changed, at which point, he and Jo would drive out to join him,' left her with no option but offer to stay with him. Or to agree, when Adam insisted that 'Malcolm and Ruth who had been on the grid for ten hours without a break, should go home.' With the proviso of course, 'that should it be necessary, they'd both abandon whatever they were doing and return to the grid.'
Statements which saw the meeting room empty in seconds and left Juliet feeling even more surplus to requirements.
.
While his colleagues had been bemoaning his absence, Harry who having done a good job of convincing Mrs. Harris that Agnes wouldn't come back, had delivered Scarlet and all the paraphernalia required to farm his dog out until the following morning, combined with the explanation that he was going to stay overnight with a friend. Not something that had been accepted without a glimmer of a look which inferred she suspected that the friend in question, wasn't his pal Andy. Something that when he was reinstated so could invite Ruth to his house without worrying about who might see them, would no doubt make Mrs. Harris very happy he'd decided. In the same way that he'd been imagining the two of them taking Scarlet for long walks on their days off.
When that might be or why he'd called Juliet Agnes, he didn't know and in the second instance didn't care, because he was currently busy chopping vegetables in Ruth's kitchen, before adding them to the already simmering beef in her crockpot. Having previously tidied up both the sitting room and her bedroom, after what had been and against all the odds, the most glorious of nights. The bedroom which had hosted their lovemaking, where both parties had played their part to the full, had when he'd returned to it, due to Ruth's hasty departure and his need to get home before Mrs. Harris reported him missing, taken on appearance of a battlefield minus the bodies.
The sight and the memories of which, had kept him smiling for what remained of the afternoon and only deepened when he received a message saying, 'I'm on my way, Malcolm's with me.'
A message that in terms of being positive, was far more encouraging than the one he'd received earlier from Adam, which had said, 'R falling asleep at her desk. Doing my best to keep J at bay.'
Which meant that 'I'm home,' from Ruth, sounded nothing less than wonderful, when he heard the front door close behind her and walked out into the hall to meet her. Where he couldn't help but notice, that Malcolm who was hanging up their coats, was looking mildly uncomfortable. As though he was expecting something to happen but wasn't quite sure what? Which was to see Ruth without any hesitation, take the few steps that were needed to walk into his arms.
That she then refused tea when he offered to make her a cup and instead walked into the sitting room where she stretched out on the sofa and closed her eyes, confirmed Adam's message. Not entirely his fault, but when they were in the middle of an op, where he'd had the luxury of catching up on sleep and she hadn't, was setting her up to be confronted by Juliet. A confrontation, which as he kissed her gently on the forehead and covered her up with a blanket, he knew he'd be powerless to stop.
Before he headed back into the kitchen where Malcolm was making himself a coffee. Such a simple action and one that he realised Malcolm would have been doing for years and without hesitation. When he'd brought Ruth home after a concert they'd enjoyed, or choir practice and was why he added 'must be more thoughtful' to the list of things to ensure their relationship didn't crash and burn at the hands of his previous lover, in the way that his marriage had.
At a time when he'd been completely selfish and was highlighted when, 'what you ever saw in that wretched woman, is beyond me?' said Malcolm who generally kept his thoughts regarding relationships to himself.
A question that he certainly wasn't going to answer and not only because if he told the truth, it would likely cause Malcolm to have a coronary. So instead, gave Malcolm a look to suggest he agreed with him.
.
It was another hour before Ruth woke up, by which time it was dark. There was also a wonderful smell emanating from the kitchen, combined with the sound of the table being laid. Her first instinct was to close her eyes again and go back to sleep, but the lure of knowing that it was Harry's voice that she could hear and that for the first time since this morning it didn't matter if she gazed at him unashamedly, saw her dragging herself to her feet. Where the mirror told her, that not only did she look like something the Fidget had dragged in, but that if she had a shower and changed into something that didn't scream of work clothes, not only would she feel better but she'd look it. Proven from the moment when the warm water cascaded onto her head and down across her tired body and with the knowledge that after dinner and of course once Malcolm had gone home, that she and Harry would be able to fall into each other's arms again for a second night of intimacy.
Guaranteed not to be interrupted, when her phone beeped at the same time as Malcolm's. With a message that until she read it, had her heart sinking. Adam saying simply, 'you won't be called back in, we're managing.'
A message that he was sending, following what had been a well thought out argument to shut Juliet up. At a time when Colin was still watching the monitor which told him that Zaf was within a mile of where Pollard's car was parked up and when Jo had been on her way to the canteen to fetch some sandwiches and fruit. Concise and to the point, he'd made it quite clear that wherever Harry had been the previous evening, it had no bearing on the current Op. That he was suspended, not under house arrest and as such, he had every right to go out. If him doing so had made her feel as though Harry was undermining her authority, then she needed to keep those feelings to herself, not take it out on their already disgruntled colleagues.
Which was him letting her off lightly. Because he'd been sorely tempted to call her an imposter, who had no idea how much time Harry spent investing in his staff's welfare and she should take a leaf out of his book. But as Malcolm had pointed out, there was much more at stake here than Harry's reputation. There was a certain analyst that they had to consider and how she'd react if Juliet sank her not inconsiderable claws into her, before Harry was reinstated. At a time and in a place where Ruth was alone and unable to defend herself.