Harry finally relaxed for a moment when everything was put in place to neutralize the assassin. Tariq had the tech in order. Dimitri and Ruth would support from the Grid. Beth would attend the meeting with Westhouse to sus out who the assassin actually was. And Lucas was already at the hotel to observe and provide backup onsite.
All of this was taken care of while Harry went four rounds with the Home Secretary about how important Westhouse was and how they had to eliminate the threat to him without drawing suspicion from anyone, including Westhouse himself.
When he finally got off the phone, he rubbed his neck—already getting sore from tension—and decided to get up to stretch his legs. He left his office and made his way to where Beth was sitting beside Ruth's station. Ruth was putting together Beth's legend so they'd be ready to go in an hour or so when it was time to go to the meeting. Harry went to check on Tariq first, who was too busy to be bothered but assured Harry he had everything well in hand. And after that, he circled back to Beth and Ruth.
Coming from that direction, both women had their backs to him and did not see him approach. Which allowed him to eavesdrop.
"You didn't come back to the flat last night," Beth said quietly.
Harry could see Ruth visibly tense up. "Sorry. I had a choir rehearsal and decided to stay over with a friend."
"I didn't peg you as the sort to go out drinking on a school night," Beth teased.
"No, it wasn't like that. But it won't happen again, I'm sorry. I'm not used to having a flatmate," Ruth apologized.
But Beth just chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I don't plan on telling you everywhere I'm going and what I'm doing. I don't expect you to do it for me. But if you weren't too drunk to find your way home, does that mean your friend is a…special friend?"
"Something like that," Ruth muttered.
"Well anytime you want to spend time with your special friend, go right ahead. I'm happy to hold down the fort, as it were," Beth told her.
Harry chose that moment to interject. "Ruth," he said sharply. Beth and Ruth both whirled around to see him. "A word?" he requested.
Ruth turned back to her computer and pressed two buttons. "Beth, get that off the printer and take it to Tariq. He's got to give you the earpiece and microphone."
And with that, Ruth got up and walked right to Harry's office. Harry walked half a step behind her. When they reached the office, he closed the door behind him.
She immediately turned, wringing her hands anxiously. "I know you overheard what I told Beth, and I already told you that I wanted to keep things discreet, and Harry, you cannot expect me to tell Beth of all people. She's a nice enough girl, and I think she's a good officer but we don't know her, and frankly, based on what I've seen from living with her for almost a week, I don't quite trust her yet. Maybe I will, maybe she'll prove herself trustworthy, and maybe, like you said, she and I could become friends. But it's just too soon for me to spill my love life to her. Particularly when it's you. I mean, good lord, Harry, do you really want Beth Bailey to know what we get up to in our private life?"
Harry waited for her to finish her rapid-fire ranting. "Care to take a breath?" he said dryly.
Ruth glowered at him.
"Well, if you're finished defending yourself against arguments you don't know that I'm going to make, might I say something?"
"Go on then," she challenged.
She was spoiling for a fight, and Harry had absolutely no interest in fighting with her. Only a few hours ago, they had been tangled up together in his bed having, in her words, mind-blowing sex before six in the morning. What he wouldn't give to go back to their affectionate touches and passionate kisses and happy laughter.
But of course, they had to return to the real world. And their real world was here on the Grid. Ruth had already convinced him of that. Their work on the Grid was as much a part of them as anything else. More than anything else, actually. The only way they'd leave would be together. Ruth had only just gotten back, and Harry knew now that he'd not retire unless she wanted to go with him. They belonged together. He knew that now. Here on the Grid and at home as much as they could manage it. And one day in the not too distant future, they would be getting married in front of a god neither of them believed in and under the law they risked their lives to uphold.
Harry spoke before his thoughts ran away with him too much. "You didn't have a choir rehearsal last night."
"No, obviously, I was with you. But I had to tell Beth something," she pointed out.
"Are you still in that choir? I know we've only been in our current arrangement for a week, but you've not mentioned it." Even as the words came out of his mouth, 'current arrangement' sat oddly with Harry. They were engaged. They were seeing each other. They were sleeping together. They were in love. Though 'current arrangement' did technically cover all of that. He just wished there were a nicer term that he could use to describe such a nice thing in his life.
Ruth shook her head. "I quit just after Ros died. We were supposed to sing at a funeral, and I realized I've gone to so many funerals for people I've lost, I don't want to go sing at a funeral for a stranger. Even if I love the music and singing with everyone, I can't just refuse to sing at a funeral and I don't want to have to explain to a bunch of people who won't understand."
Harry understood. Of course he did. And it went back to what Ruth had said, that they had forfeited the kind of life that allowed them to be part of a choir and have friends 'round for tea and chat with the neighbors. It would be a lie if they tried to live like that. Here, on the Grid, they could live it all out in the open. Except for the fact that Harry very much wanted to kiss his fiancée and see the engagement ring on her finger. They couldn't have that on the Grid. They both knew better.
And that was also why Ruth couldn't tell Beth that her 'special friend' was in fact Harry Pearce.
"I'm not upset that you lied to Beth. I don't want you to tell her if you don't want to. You don't have to tell anyone if you don't want to," Harry told her.
A gentle look of affection fell over Ruth's features. "But you want to tell people."
"We already talked about telling Malcolm on Saturday. That's a fine start. Beyond that, I frankly don't care what we do. I don't want to make a fuss, but I also don't want to slink about in the shadows with you. I've lived my whole adult life that way. But I've finally got a reason to stand proudly in the light. And I don't want to hide it. Not to say that we shout it from the rooftops; we'll be cautious as we are with everything," he added for good measure.
Ruth took a half step forward and reached out to take his hand. "Harry, I know you're not ashamed of me. And no one else will ever think that you're trying to hide me away like some dark secret. You've got plenty of dark secrets, and I'm certainly not one of them. We'll make a proper go of it, I promise. I just need…"
"Time," Harry supplied, understanding.
Strange, actually, how far they'd come. Back all those years ago when they'd gone on their one single dinner date, Harry had been blindsided when Ruth broke things off afterward. She'd been spooked like a deer, put off by gossip and perceived judgement. And really what she'd needed was time to get used to it and decide what to do. Ruth was an analyst by trade and personality. She needed information and she needed time. He'd tried to rush her before. He recognized that now. But the intervening years had taught them both a lot. It had taught Ruth to be cautious, yes, but unafraid. She was brave and took what she wanted with both hands, knowing that she might miss her chance if she didn't. And Harry had in turn learned patience. He had waited for her to come back to England. He had waited for her to come back to the Grid. He had waited for her to come back to him. And she had. And she'd agreed to marry him. He no longer feared that she would change her mind. Rather, Harry knew he just had to wait until she was ready to move things forward. She just needed a little time to wrap her head around it all.
Harry gave her hand a little squeeze and then let go. "We have an operation to manage. Go check on Beth," he instructed.
"One more thing, before we get back to things," she said.
"Yes?"
"I think we need to be more careful. Stick to work things whenever anyone else is around. Not forever, of course, but just until our engagement is common knowledge and everyone's used to it. I don't want people to think that any conversation we have is going to be about our relationship. So unless we're well and truly alone, we stick to work."
"Fine," he agreed. He rather prudently declined to point out to her that she was the one who had launched into this discussion of their relationship in the middle of preparing for a major operation. "Back to work."
Ruth nodded. And after a second's hesitation, she leaned forward and gave him a small kiss. She pulled back and slid the door open behind him, slipping past him and back out to the Grid. Harry couldn't help but smile over the irony of Ruth telling him to stick to work and then kissing him in his office. He certainly wouldn't complain.
But Harry had to shake himself. There was an operation in the works. They all needed to focus on the task at hand.