A/N: Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews on the first chapter. Apologies to anyone who struggled to get at it. I don't know what happened, on minute it was there (and being read and reviewed) and the next it was gone! It was still showing on my account and in my previews so I can't figure it out; it's a mystery. Anyway, in the end I just decided to repost. and it seemed to rectify the problem.

Chapter 2

Arriving at his destination, he heads straight for the lift and pushes the button for the third floor. He has made this journey often enough over the past three weeks that his body knows automatically where to go; it doesn't need any help from him, which is probably just as well given his current state or he'd never get there. His gait is heavy and burdened and his mind is distracted; worried about what he is about to face.

As he reluctantly approaches his final destination, a man steps out of the room he is heading for and greets him. "Sir Harry."

"Doctor Percival. I got a call from the nurses' station."

"Yes. There's been a change in Miss Evershed's condition." Harry's heart sinks; this is it, the moment he's been dreading for the past two weeks since their showdown with Sasha on that hillside. The air ambulance had managed to revive Ruth on their arrival at the scene, but she had failed to awaken since. He'd known that the longer she remained in a coma, the less likely she was to ever wake, and the nurses had recently begun to tell him to prepare for the worst. And here it is. The doctor notices the change in Harry's expression and places a hand on his shoulder. "Not that sort of change," he assures.

Harry lifts his eyes. "Then what?"

"Her Glasgow Coma rating has gone from a 4 to a 6."

"What does that mean?"

"Technically she's gone from a deep state of coma to a moderate one. In layman's terms, it means she's improving."

Harry's heart soared. "So she'll wake up?"

"We still can't be sure of that, but there's certainly a much better chance now. We can't give you any time frame either, I'm afraid' you just have to be patient. We'll run another GCS test in a few hours to see if there's been any further improvement. For now, I'll leave you alone."

Harry enters the room and takes his regular seat in the chair next to Ruth's bed. She looks so peaceful, like she's merely sleeping, but he knows she isn't. He takes her right hand in his and strokes his thumb across the back of it. "Ruth, darling. It's me, Harry. The doctors tell me you're getting better. I'm ashamed to say that I'd…I'd almost given up hope; I thought I'd lost you and I couldn't bear it. I just need you to keep fighting sweetheart. Fight. For me. For us. For the life we could have together. I've had a glimpse of it today and it could be so…perfect. So please Ruth, find your way back to us."

Harry doesn't leave Ruth's side for the rest of the evening; he reads to her, articles from the paper, but only uplifting ones and the cricket news, passages from Home's 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey', Shakespeare's sonnets and excerpts from 'Persuasion' and 'Rebecca'. Anything he can get his hands on really. He is there when the doctors return to redo the test and is distressed that there is no further improvement.

"Please Ruth," he whispers a few hours later, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Please come back to me." His tears drip unnoticed onto her face, as the anguish he feels is finally released. He pulls away from her and is about to lift his hand to wipe away the tears when he feels it. He looks down at their enjoined hands; she is gripping his. "Ruth? Sweetheart? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me." He waits, remaining deathly still and it's an age before Ruth does anything and even when she does it's only a light pressure around his fingers, but it's there. He drags his eyes away from her hand to her face in time to see her eyes flutter and a small moan escape her. "Hold on Ruth. Keep fighting. I'll be right back," he tells her as he reluctantly lets go of her hand and rushes into the corridor to call for a doctor.

It's four hours before she awakes properly, and another two before the doctors and nurses stop filing in and out of the room and finally leave them alone. She is still very weak, but she manages a small smile and a 'Hi' for him.

"You should rest," he tells her and she shakes her head.

"Been asleep for weeks," she reminds him, struggling to get her words out.

"Not quite the same thing, darling."

She smiles at the endearment. "Talk to me," she rasps.

"I've been doing that non-stop for three weeks. Surprised you're not sick of the sound of my voice."

Another smile and almost imperceptible shake of the head. "Please?"

So he does, he tells her many things, about how he thought he had lost her, about the worldly events she has missed and about his suspicions about Erin and Dimitri's blossoming relationship. She brightens at this and with a raised eyebrow, accuses him of being a gossip. Harry chuckles for the first time in what seems like a lifetime. At some point during their mostly one-sided conversation, she reaches for his hand and entwines her fingers with his. He looks up at her, a question in his eyes. She merely smiles and indicates that he should carry on with his story.

He doesn't tell her about the house. He wants it to be a surprise, if she still wants them to be together, that is. He knows he shouldn't doubt it, but near death experiences can change people. He's seen it happen too many times in their line of work.

Gradually, Ruth's eyes begin to slip closed and she drifts off into a peaceful slumber. Once Harry's sure she's definitely asleep, he disentangles their hands, slips out into the corridor and pulls out his phone. It's early, but he doesn't care. He needs to do this now. "It's Harry Pearce, I need to speak to the Home Secretary."

A/N: Did you really think I could do that to them; rip them apart when they'd only just got their acts together? Well, surprisingly I was going to, it was originally intended to be a tragic one-shot, but I couldn't bring myself to leave it be...I need happy endings in my life, you see. Hope you're not disappointed.

One more chapter to go.