Beth was exhausted. It had been a long few weeks. They hadn't had a big operation on the Grid that required all hands or emergency round-the-clock focus in a while. It finally gave Beth time to properly settle in as an MI-5 officer. She learned a lot from Lucas, who was her commanding officer, and from Dimitri, who was as new as she to Security Services but had a long career with the military and was therefore more used to government work than she. Beth learned how the job worked when they weren't racing against the clock to thwart a terrorist attack and instead had the time to actually cultivate assets for future use.
That's what had taken up the vast majority of her time recently. When she wasn't on the Grid for eight hours or more each day, she was out meeting with Kai. No one had ever gotten a Chinese officer on side, and Beth felt so sure she'd be able to succeed with Kai. It didn't hurt that he was a nice enough man, too. She didn't mind spending this time with him, getting to know him, having him call her Claire and think she was with a human rights organization.
But that was all work stuff. Work stuff that she could let fade into the back of her mind now that she was going home. It was strange to think about the flat she shared with Ruth as 'home' but somehow it had become home in these short months. Beth Bailey wasn't one to get too attached to places or things or people, really, but it really was nice to have a home and someone to share it with.
Ruth Evershed was an odd sort of flatmate. She was organized and neurotic in some ways and yet she was disheveled and cluttered and chaotic in others. She liked quiet and being left alone but she was also so easy to talk to and always happily agreed to a glass of wine and a laugh. Beth liked her very much. It was nice to have someone to come home to, in a weird way. And it was even nicer that they worked together. Not having any escape from the Grid was annoying sometimes, but being able to actually talk about her work to someone who understood was much better than having a flatmate she had to lie to all the time.
Usually when Beth got home late like this, Ruth was either waiting with a bottle of wine and eager to hear about how Beth had gotten on with Kai or whatever else, or Beth returned to an empty flat because Ruth was with Harry. Beth was hoping for the former tonight. Not that she really wanted or needed to talk about anything. She wasn't that sort of girl, always desperate to vent or tell everything to a mate. Beth just didn't really fancy being alone tonight. And she and Ruth could talk about any number of other things. Ruth loved movies and music and books, and she loved talking about them. A lot of Ruth's tastes were a bit intellectual and stodgy for Beth, but Ruth kept an open mind and they traded movie recommendations. Ruth liked movies from the 1940s, and Beth had been skeptical, but she had to admit that Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn did have a lot of charm. Even if they were in black and white. Maybe they could watch a movie together tonight. Was it Beth's turn to pick? Maybe she'd finally get Ruth to watch Spice World.
Well, all of this was under the assumption that Ruth was home at all. She might be with Harry tonight. Beth assured Ruth a long time ago that she didn't need to tell her if she would or wouldn't be at the flat for the night. Beth didn't mind now that she knew where Ruth was if she wasn't at home. God, it was so weird to contemplate sometimes. Ruth and Harry. Beth honestly could not see the appeal. Harry was smart and powerful and a good leader and a good boss and sort of funny sometimes, but he also had a really annoying temper and he had a darkness about him that Beth respected but wouldn't that be something of a downer in a relationship? Not to mention the fact that Harry Pearce was old—pushing sixty, even—and his years sitting behind a desk had obviously caught up with him. Short and overweight and thinning hair. Nothing wrong with any of that in a boss, but in a husband? Ruth could do a lot better if she wanted to. Ruth wasn't forty yet, and she was nice-looking. Beth knew, however, that Ruth didn't want to do better than Harry. She wanted Harry. And she'd got him.
After Ruth told Beth about the engagement and the fight she and Harry had that led Ruth to coming home unexpectedly and telling Beth the whole story, Beth had tried to pay closer attention to Harry and especially to the two of them interacting on the Grid. And honestly, she couldn't tell that there was much of anything between them. Other than when Ruth had taken Harry's hand and informed them that the two of them were engaged to be married, Beth hadn't seen any evidence of anything personal between them. It was almost a little strange, actually. Shouldn't they at least show a little affection on occasion? Well, maybe they did but Beth just hadn't seen it. The only thing that had changed since that public announcement was that Ruth wore her engagement ring on her finger every day now. And it really was a beautiful ring. Harry had certainly done well there.
Beth put the key in the lock, putting Harry out of her mind. It was time to put the Grid and all its inhabitants out of her mind. All she wanted now was wine and maybe some popcorn and Spice World. There were a few lights on when Beth entered the flat, and she could hear the telly in the other room. Beth smiled. Ruth was home.
Only Beth was greeted by something she hadn't expected. She walked into the living room to see Ruth on the sofa watching Foyle's War. Not too out of the ordinary. What was out of the ordinary was the fact that Harry bloody Pearce was also sitting on the sofa, and he had his shoes off and his legs crossed and resting on the coffee table. His arms were around Ruth as she sat with her legs curled under her, cuddled against Harry.
For a moment, Beth just stood there, staring. Harry Pearce. In her flat. On her sofa. With his stocking feet on the spot where she usually put her tea. Harry Pearce.
She wasn't allowed to stare for long because Harry turned his head away from the screen within two seconds of Beth walking in. His instincts were unlike anyone else, and he must have sensed her presence and felt someone watching him. "Ah," he said calmly, removing his arm from where it was wrapped around his fiancée.
Ruth sat up and turned. "Beth! I didn't know you'd be home tonight, you said you were meeting with Kai."
"I was. And now I'm home," Beth answered, not sure what else she was supposed to say.
Harry put his feet back on the ground and bent over to get his shoes. "I'll be off, then," he said.
Ruth opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it, glancing over at Beth.
"You don't have to go. It's Ruth's flat and you're Ruth's fiancé. I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll stay out of your way," Beth insisted.
"No, it's your flat, too," Ruth countered. "I don't want you to feel like you've got to hide away."
"I think Beth would be more comfortable if her boss wasn't in her flat," Harry pointed out. He had finished putting on her shoes.
"This is ridiculous," Beth said with a huff. "I've known about you two for a while. I see you both every day. It's fine. Please don't mind me. We can all three of us coexist in the flat for the evening."
Ruth was obviously torn by this turn of events. She looked to Harry expectantly.
"I wasn't really planning on having a shag on the sofa anyway, so what does it matter if Beth's here?" Harry quipped.
That was a mental image Beth really wasn't interested in maintaining. But thankfully Ruth laughed and swatted Harry's arm.
"Fine. Stop saying things like that though. You'll upset Beth." Ruth turned back to her flatmate. "We've got a bit more pinot noir left, do you want some? Or we could open something else."
"I'll have a glass of this, if you don't mind. And as long as we don't talk about work, I don't care what happens." Beth went to the kitchen to get herself a wine glass and congratulated herself on appearing very normal and easy-going when her insides were screeching at her to get the hell out of there. But really, what else could she do? At least there was wine. That would help.