Ruth had been so tired due to the demands at work she hadn't done any of her washing recently. This meant that she was down to the bare essentials. She rummaged through her wardrobe trying to find something to wear to work. Something. Anything. All her skirts were dirty but she had managed to find some suitable black trousers that would do the job. The only thing she could find to wear with her trousers was a white short sleeved blouse which wasn't her favourite item of clothing by a long shot. It was too thin, it cut her wrong and she felt it was unflattering but she was out of options.

Sighing, she buttoned it up and put her coat on. She was late for Thames House anyway so she didn't even bother with breakfast before she locked her door.

"So what disaster is it now?" Ruth asked as she emerged from the pods.

"Nothing," Beth said flicking through a stack of files. "We're just recovering from yesterday. The Prime Minister did not appreciate being kidnapped by an angry Russian splinter group."

"Yeah well, I didn't appreciate not being able to leave the grid until eleven last night either," Ruth said unbuttoning her coat and draping it over the back of her chair as her computer booted itself up. Beth noticed her slightly unusual attire but wisely didn't say anything. After the kidnap of the most important politician in the country, section D were drowning in paperwork so they were busy. However Ruth only made it to midmorning until she burst into Harry's office with some files that he needed to sign.

Harry was left temporarily speechless by Ruth's sudden appearance. He had never seen her in anything that wasn't a skirt before and her black trousers were hugging her legs in a way he had only previously dreamed of, never seen. In those brief few seconds before either of them spoke he admired the way her white shirt clung to all her curves. He studied her pale and smooth arms that were exposed by the short sleeves and wondered how he could never have seen her perfect skin before. His attention turned to the V shaped neckline which hinted so subtly at her breasts underneath. Breasts his fingers ached to touch.

"I need you to sign these," Ruth said bringing him out of his daydream and putting the files on his desk.

"Okay," Harry said letting his eyes roam over her for a few more precious seconds before picking up his pen. Ruth had noticed the way Harry's eyes were lingering over her and she felt absurdly pleased by his reaction. She had changed her mind. She no longer hated this blouse, not when it made Harry look at her like that.

"There you go," Harry said, handing the files back to her. She managed to let her fingers brush his briefly as the files switched hands. Ruth walked away from him and left his office. Harry suddenly had a new found appreciation for her trousers as they hugged her curves even better from behind. He got up from his desk and watched as she walked back to her desk. Part of him felt grateful she had never worn trousers before. Because if she had, he would never have been able to concentrate at work.

The day was slow. Apart from catching up on paperwork there was absolutely nothing to do and Dimitri was climbing the walls with boredom. Even Harry who had been in his office (and staring at Ruth constantly on the CCTV) had noticed. He came over and spoke to Dimitri.

"Go home," Harry said firmly. "You're making us all crazy so go home until we have a gun running incident, a bomb attack or a boat that needs to be captained."

"Fine," Dimitri said, not needing much more persuasion. He quickly left the grid and Ruth sighed in relief. He had been annoying her for the last hour. Ruth knew Harry was watching her so she repaid the favour when he walked back to his office. She smirked briefly and went to the ladies to make some adjustments.

Ruth wondered if she was pushing her luck but for once she didn't care. She undid the top button on her shirt and viewed herself critically in the mirror. Then she undid the next one. No, that was too much, she thought and adjusted it so just the one was undone. She rummaged in her bag and got her mascara out. She hardly wore any makeup usually and this morning she hadn't had time to put any on. But she always carried the bare essentials in her bag, just in case. After that she put her almost clear lip gloss on. It had hardly any colour in it which was why she liked it.

When she was finished she had a final look in the mirror and began to reconsider her button. Maybe she really was pushing it. Don't be a coward, she said to herself. You know the way he looks at you, especially today so don't be a coward. After her little pep talk to herself she took a deep breath and left the bathroom to go back to the grid, wondering what she was getting herself into.

This is a bit of randomness that I wrote yesterday while in bed ill so I'm not entirely sure it makes sense. Hope to post more in the next couple of days. Reviews are wonderful. xxx