How could a day start so nice and end up so terrible by lunchtime? Well, on the Grid, that was all in a day's work. Disasters struck at all hours and usually at an inopportune time and without warning.

Beth had been in the elevator up to the Penthouse to meet Westhouse, her eyes peeled for the assassin hired by the Nigerians. And everyone but Beth and Jacob Chapman had been slaughtered. Well, one man, Vine, was in a coma, but he wasn't expected to last the day.

Ruth ran herself ragged trying to cobble things together for Lucas and Beth as they went to the hotel room to figure out what had happened and who the assassin was. But of course, a Nigerian out to poison Westhouse came to retrieve the false pills they'd planted and poor Beth and Lucas had gotten maced as they pursued.

Lucas came back to the Grid for Ruth to fill him in on everything. And despite the insanity of the day, Ruth found herself with a little spring in her step. This was what she did best, she knew. Oh she liked to have time to plan and work out exactly what was needed, to do things carefully and with every contingency figured out. But this, the running about and going between a dozen different things to make a plan and execute it as quick as possible, this was what she loved about this job. Being part of the team and everyone working to do what needed to be done. She was actually in a rather good mood about it all.

Or maybe that was just because she had started her morning with Harry's tongue between her legs.

The afternoon slowed somewhat, which was for the best. Lucas and Harry went out to visit Westhouse himself, even though Towers had warned Harry to tread lightly. Harry Pearce was not one to kowtow to the ultra-wealthy. Have a politician tell him to give leeway to a oil tycoon certainly didn't sit well with him. Ruth didn't blame him one bit.

While Harry was out with Lucas, Beth was busy taking care of Chapman, the surviving witness to the elevator shooting. Ruth had arranged for a safehouse him, and Beth dealt with him from there.

Ruth and Tariq were left on the Grid with Dimitri and the junior team. Sometimes that was best, she found. In moments like this when there wasn't anything pressing, she liked the quiet of it. And, of course, it was easier to get work done when Harry didn't distract her. Not that he really did, not much anyway. They obviously could work quite well together. But when he was around, they both would periodically look up and find the other staring. They couldn't help it. God, it was embarrassing how long it had taken Ruth to figure out that she was in love with him and wanted to be with him.

Harry and Lucas returned, and Harry shut himself in his office. Ruth watched him, curious.

"He's looking into Westhouse. We're going back tomorrow to take a closer look," Lucas said, walking by Ruth's desk.

"Right."

"You keep on your track. Dimitri and Tariq are on this with me," he told her.

She nodded. "And Beth?"

"Chapman's got nothing, so far. I sent her home to rest. She's had a day of it. She'll go back to talk to him tomorrow."

Ruth nodded, letting Lucas go talk to Dimitri about what they'd be doing at Westhouse's mansion tomorrow. Ruth turned back to her computer screen, but her mind wandered. She did not relish going home, knowing Beth would be there. Not that she really did mind having a flatmate. It was actually sort of nice to know she wouldn't be going home to a cold and lonely flat all by herself. But Ruth was also a lonely sort of person. She liked being on her own. And, of course, having a flatmate made it more difficult to spend time with Harry. At least until they sorted everything out. They were in this weird limbo right now. It was almost enough to make her want to throw caution to the wind and put her engagement ring on right now and sod it all if anyone noticed. She wouldn't, though. For one thing, Malcolm really should be the first person they told. And for another, revealing her relationship with Harry to everyone in a fit of pique would only mortify her and lead to all sorts of awful regrets. And she didn't want to regret anything with Harry. Not now that they'd finally managed to get this far.

She sighed and got back to work. There was a lot to do, still.

At six, Ruth finally called it a day. She could come back to all this with fresh eyes tomorrow. She wasn't going to get any further now. She glanced up to the window to Harry's office, finding him sitting right where he was, poring over files. As much as she wanted to check on him, she herself had made the rule that they stick to work things while at work. She'd not break it now.

Ruth's mind was still fixated on the Robert Westhouse problem as she sat on the Underground on her way home. There was something she was missing. She knew there must be. The answer would come to her eventually, surely. Maybe she could have some dinner and sit in front of the television with a glass of wine. Or maybe read a book. She'd see what Beth was up to.

But strangely, Beth wasn't home when Ruth walked into the flat. She wasn't bothered by that. The quiet was quite welcome if a bit surprising, what with Lucas having told Beth to get some rest. Though perhaps she'd gone out for food or something. It was none of Ruth's concern.

She heated some leftovers and opened a bottle of wine. In the end, she didn't bother putting the telly on. Her thoughts were too loud and she didn't really want to be distracted at the moment.

Once she finished eating, Ruth had a thought. She picked up her phone and dialed the Grid. Part of her hoped it didn't get picked up. But of course he was still there.

"Yes?" Harry answered.

"Sorry, it's me. I know it's late," she apologized. She almost told him to go home and remind him to take care of himself.

But Harry spoke before she could say anything else. "Listen, given what you said, re…what I said, I don't think we should be sharing late night tête-à-têtes. Let's just stick to work."

He was obviously referencing her rule. Even though she was at home and they were on the phone. He was still on the Grid and therefore her rule was that they don't discuss anything personal. He must have been bothered by something and feeling peevish or he wouldn't be giving her such a pedantic response. Ruth rolled her eyes. "This is work," she explained.

Harry gave an awkward pause. "Good."

Ruth launched into her thoughts. "Um, something's bothering me about the gunmen." The sound of the key in the door distracted her. "Hold on, Beth's just coming back," she told Harry. She and Beth gave a wave and said hi to each other. Ruth turned her attention back to her phone call. "Sorry. They couldn't escape down the fire exit because Lucas was up it and, plus we had that hotel cordoned off in minutes. Harry, they can't have left that building."

"So what did they do?" he pressed.

She almost smiled. She loved when he pushed her like this. She presented a problem, an idea, a thought, and he pressed her on it, forcing her to make connections and find solutions. "I think they had a room booked."

"We checked all the rooms. Everyone with African connections was taken by the police for questioning," he reminded her.

Ruth had to admit he had a point there. But something was still missing, and she had to find it. "Well, I have a guestlist on my computer. I'll go through it in the morning," she conceded.

"Anything else?"

"No."

"Right then." And he hung up without another word.

Ruth just drank her wine. She was doubly worried now. First about the gunmen and now secondly about Harry. There was something on his mind. Something he was keeping from her. And she needed to know what it was.

And bugger it all, she was really regretting making that rule about only sticking to work at work. God only knew how she'd manage to talk to Harry properly when they were in the midst of all this mess.