A/N: Thank you to all readers and thanks especially for the reviews. Thanks also to those who patiently supported me through my recent HDD crisis. You know who you are.

The working week began with a hostage situation in the corridor of one of the city's largest hospitals, involving two hospital pharmacists and five members of a group calling themselves Cnidus, after the first known Greek medical school. Ruth had had her work cut out for her in trying to unravel the chain of command in the group – many of whom had worked in hospitals all around the world - and the deeper she searched, the more connections she unravelled. She had not been alone with Harry since he'd driven her home on Sunday afternoon, and so by Thursday, when things began to again relax on the Grid, they were in need of some time alone together.

It was a little before 7 pm when Ruth lifted her head from her monitor to see Harry watching her from his desk in his office. She smiled at him, and with a flick of his head, he indicated that she should join him. By the time she reached the door, and opened it without knocking, he'd closed the blinds.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked, indicating the closed blinds.

"I think we need just a few minutes to ourselves ….. wouldn't you agree?"

Ruth slid the door closed, and walked up to Harry, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her forehead. Tentatively, she reached out her hand to grasp his, and he turned his hand to link his fingers with hers. They smiled into the eyes of the other, not sure where to take the moment. They had not yet discussed how they would behave together at work, but it had been understood that while on the Grid, it would be business as usual. They had not bargained on moments such as this, late in the day, alone in Harry's office, the blinds closed, with no-one to serve as a witness to their actions. Would it be alright if they stole a quick kiss? No-one was watching. For just these few moments, they had privacy.

Harry moved first, and for that Ruth was grateful. Looking into his eyes had become almost painful, as if she'd been staring too long at the sun. He leaned his head towards her, his eyes on her mouth, and so Ruth stepped closer, slipping her hands under his jacket, wrapping her arms around him, allowing him to pull her close. When she again looked up into his eyes, he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was long and passionate, and by the time they came up for air, the memory of Saturday night (and again Sunday morning) resonated through their bodies. Ruth could detect the signs of arousal in her own body, as well as Harry's growing hardness against her stomach.

"You feel so good," she said, reaching up to kiss him again.

"Come home with me tonight."

Ruth nodded, and was about to kiss Harry again, when the door to his office suddenly slid back, and Tariq began speaking, his eyes on a printout in his hand.

"Harry, I found out how they were rerouting their phone calls and messages. It was -"

"Tariq …... can it wait?"

Harry and Ruth quickly sprang apart, although Ruth left one of her hands resting on his bum, but out of Tariq's view.

Tariq seemed to then notice Ruth's presence in the room, and he looked at her, and was about to speak to her, when Ruth interrupted. "Tariq," she said calmly, "I think we need to talk."

With only a quick glance at Harry, Ruth broke contact with him, and led a bewildered Tariq back across the Grid to his desk. Neither spoke, and neither looked back at Harry. Watching them leave his office, Harry was reminded of the time soon after Ruth had returned from Cyprus, when it was Tariq who had interrupted he and Ruth when they'd been about to go for a drink together. There's something quite screwed up with the lad's timing chip, Harry thought. Perhaps he needs sending back to the factory for recalibrating.

When she reached Tariq's desk, Ruth indicted he should sit, while she drew up a chair for herself from the empty desk beside his.

"Tariq," she began.

"I should have knocked, right? Because you and Harry were snogging."

"Well, not just because of what Harry and I may or may not have been doing."

"Harry will only ever be snogging you, Ruth – not anyone else, so that's okay then. I don't have to feel embarrassed. Now ... were he snogging someone other than you, I'd feel obliged to tell you, and that could be -"

"The point is, Tariq, you should always knock on Harry's office door before entering his office. It's part of office etiquette."

"You don't."

"I …... er … don't because -"

"Because Harry always wants to see you, on account of you being his girlfriend. I know all about it."

"You do?"

"Everyone does. But we all think it's a good thing that Harry has a girlfriend, because it makes him happier, and so he's easier to work with."

Rather than panic about this news, Ruth decided to milk it.

"Tariq …... for how long have I been Harry's girlfriend?"

"Oh, years. I was told you'd been his girlfriend even before you had to leave the country."

"That long?"

"Do you mean you haven't been his girlfriend for that long?"

"Maybe not that long, Tariq, but I've been his girlfriend for quite a while." As she saw it, this information was not entirely false, and it helped to normalise their snogging in Harry's office.

"So in future, if the blinds are closed -"

"You should knock, or better still, wait until the blinds are open... mainly because sometimes Harry has a stress headache, and sometimes he has to sleep in his office."

"You know the best thing for a stress headache, don't you? It's -"

"That's all for now, Tariq. I'll hear about your information about the calls the members of Cnidus rerouted tomorrow. Harry and I have to leave now. He needs to catch up on sleep."

Ruth stood, and put a hand on Tariq's shoulder. His frown of confusion brought his eyebrows closer together, and it was then, in the half-light of the Grid in the evening, that Ruth noticed what a good-looking lad Tariq was. She, on the other hand, preferred men who were more on the mature side.

"Everything okay?" Harry asked, as she re-entered his office, and again slid the door closed behind her.

"Everyone thinks I've been your girlfriend for years."

Harry grinned widely, and again put his hands around her waist, and drew her closer. "In my mind you have been." He reached down and kissed her quickly before he drew away from her. "At this rate, we'll never get home, and I'd like to talk to you tonight, as well as …..."

"As well as?"

"You know what I mean."

She did.

They'd just stepped through the front door when Harry suggested they shower together, to wash the grime of the Grid from their bodies. Ruth happened to be able to read the look on Harry's face as he suggested it, the look which clearly said: I want you.

And he did want her ….. badly.

They'd barely stepped under the shower stream, when Harry knelt in front of her, and brought her to climax with his mouth, his tongue, and his fingers. She'd had to take her hands from the back of Harry's head, as she stepped back against the tiles, her hands and her back against the wall while she came down. Some minutes later, she noticed Harry standing under the water watching her, his partial erection noticeable without clothes to hide it. He was a very well built man – wide and powerful shoulders, strong arms and thighs, and a thick chest. She was relieved they had taken the steps they had on the weekend. She had found it exhausting to be always having to maintain emotional distance from him, keeping her feelings from him, putting up walls, keeping a straight face, breaking eye contact. She much preferred this …... their openness with one another, the tenderness, the love, and of course, the sex.

He'd noticed her watching him, her eyes glancing over all of him, appreciating what she saw. He knew he was far from perfect. He knew he was showing signs of aging, and that he was carrying a little too much weight, but he was also determined to be as agile and as able as he could be, to be there for her, and to protect her. She'd given them a chance, and he was determined to make the most of it …... to not mess it up before they'd even begun.

He stepped over to her and slid his arms around her. He would have been happy to simply hold her, but on this night he wanted more, and she knew it. She could see clearly that he needed more. He leaned down and began kissing her slowly and gently. They made love standing up against the tiled wall, his hands supporting her buttocks while she wrapped her legs around him. His back strained and his knees were under immense pressure, but he could feel neither, so totally was he immersed in loving her, and in that loving space, there was no pain, no hurting, no limitation.

Afterwards, after he'd turned off the shower, and they'd dried one another with thick towels, they crawled into Harry's bed – both naked – and slept until their hunger for food again woke them.

"Would you stay the night with me?" he asked over dinner.

Ruth smiled across the table at him.

"What? What is it?" he asked, still afraid she may turn him down, or laugh at him, or even scoff at his suggestion.

"In the rather large bag I've been carrying to work this week, I have a change of clothes …... for when you ask me that very question."

There was a modesty about Ruth's answer which Harry loved about her. She was essentially saying that she'd been prepared all week for when they could again be together in his house, to share a meal, to make love, to spend the night together, to be a couple. She hadn't advertised the fact; she'd acted low key, and with poise and grace. He admired that. She was nothing like the brazen and confident women he'd once lusted after ... women like Juliet Shaw, and, of course, Jane. Ruth was shy and unsure – of herself, mainly – and he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life. If that involved marriage then that would be wonderful, and if not, then he would happily live with that.

"You'll stay?" he repeated.

"I'd love to, Harry."

"Good. That's good. I've been thinking …... when I wasn't thinking about Cnidus, I've been thinking about us, about you. I was wondering how you'd feel about keeping some of your things here ... at my place …... for nights like this. Fidget could come back here to live, too. Scarlet could do with the company."

Ruth smiled, mainly at his hesitation. For someone usually so confident, Harry was anything but confident about her, about them. It was small wonder that they'd taken all these years to reach this place together. He was unsure, she was unsure, and neither acted on their feelings for fear of being rejected, and humiliated. Openness was refreshing, liberating. Ruth gave a small laugh.

"I've been thinking the same thing. Beth and I are hardly compatible as flatmates. I like her, and she's a lot of fun, but while I'm merely untidy, she's chaotic, and she keeps strange hours …... and I'm sure Fidget would love to come back here. I think Beth freaks him out."

"Did Beth wonder where you were on Saturday night?"

"No. I don't think she noticed I wasn't there."

"So …... if you spend two or three – or more – nights a week here with me, then she won't be unduly put out." He wanted her in his house every night, but to achieve that would take time, and he was a patient man.

"No... she won't. I'm happy to spend more time here, Harry …... with you."

They watched one another as they finished dinner, and sipped their wine. They had grown closer during the past few days, and there was much they had to look forward to. Neither knew where this new relationship would lead, but they each had their dreams. Talking about their shared dreams would have to wait for another time.

Suddenly, Harry remembered that Jane had asked him to let her know how things went with Ruth. He felt he owed her an update, but that could wait until he got to work tomorrow, and perhaps he'd send her a text message, rather than calling her directly. He hadn't known how wise Jane could be. He'd only ever seen the bitter and angry side of her, just as she'd only ever seen the callous and selfish side of him. Most of all, he needed to thank her for the advice about keeping his pants on until Ruth took them off. Who knew that this would be the best advice of all?

Fin