Harry parked the stolen car and went to find the black Peugeot. He'd seen it park, but he wanted to get closer. He also put his gun in an easier to access place, just in case.

It took only a minute to find the car and the men who were inside it. But Ruth was not there. Harry knew that because he saw one man shouting on the phone and the other pounding his fists on the car in frustration. And Harry smiled. "Good girl," he muttered to himself. She must have escaped.

He avoided being seen and edged his way into the woods. Ruth must have gone in there. She was hopefully running for safety. He just hoped he'd catch up to her somehow. Easier said than done in the midst of the dark tree cover.

Or so he thought. He was jogging lightly, hoping to cover ground quickly, when a hiss of his name stopped him in his tracks. He turned and was immediately inundated with a fierce hug.

"Oh god, Harry!" she cried into his shoulder.

"Ruth, Ruth, shh, it's alright, I'm here," he soothed, holding her tightly.

Harry could not really believe it. It was something out of a dream to have Ruth, his Ruth, in his arms. He'd only held her like this twice. Once, after their dinner date when he'd walked her to the front door of her house and she had let him hold her and gently kiss her goodnight. Then on the docks when she'd left. The last time he'd seen her. Until now.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened, Ruth?" he asked. She lifted her head to look at him, tears shining in her eyes. He put his hands on her cheeks and wiping the dampness away. Some of her makeup came off as well, revealing dark bruising across her face. "Oh Ruth," he breathed sadly.

"It's okay, Harry. That's why I left. I didn't think they'd follow me. But I kicked Marius when he opened the door for me and I just ran. Thank god you were following. I knew you would. I assume Malcolm found me on the flight manifest?"

He nodded. "Ruth Pearce?"

She blushed slightly and smiled. "I hoped that would catch someone's notice."

"It did. But why did you need us to find you? How did you get involved with Nistor?" he asked.

"I was working as a bank teller. It was a mildly interesting job. Others I'd had bored me to tears. I was only in Romania for about five months. I didn't plan on staying too long, but I thought something odd was going on with this man who flirted with me and always came to the bank on Tuesdays with two or three men in tow. And he…"

"Yes?" Harry asked sharply.

"Well, I knew something was going on, so I let him take me out so I could see what was happening, and then once I figured out he was laundering money and went to the authorities, he somehow found out and had his men take me to his office where he yelled a bit and hit me. As soon as they took me back to my flat with a warning, I packed a bag and got new papers the next day and took the first flight to Paris. And, well, here we are."

Harry stroked her hair affectionately, absolutely marveling at the ability to finally do so. "Nistor is involved with the mob, Ruth. He probably had informants in the government who tipped him off about you when you were tipping them off about him."

She furrowed her brow. "I can't tell you what a nightmare it's been not having access to intelligence files," she grumbled.

"I'm sure," he sympathized. She was brilliant, his Ruth. The cleverest there ever was, in his view. Lack of information had always frustrated her. She also could not seem to leave well enough alone. That's how she'd ended up on the Grid. That's how she'd ended up involved with Cotterdam. That's how she'd ended up back in his arms again after two long years apart.

Ruth gazed up at him. One of her arms left his waist and moved between them, stroking his face gently. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Nor I, Ruth," Harry replied.

She smiled. "No one's called me Ruth in such a long time." Ruth rested her head on his shoulder again, letting him hug her closer. "Nothing has felt safe or right or real since I had to leave London. Leave you," she murmured.

"I didn't want you to go," he told her softly.

Ruth lifted her head once more. "I know. But I…"

Whatever Ruth had been about to say was cut off by the sound of gunshots.