Set sometime early in series six. In response to my conviction that spooks is going to have a very unhappy HR ending. That and watching a lot of brilliant fan videos on you tube which I would highly recommend.
Ruth picked up the phone slowly. Anxiously. And she hadn't even dialled the number yet. But she knew she would. She had been picking up and putting the phone down all week without ever pushing a single button. But this time she was determined. The phone to her ear she took in a deep breath and slowly hit the number, so familiar to her it was almost burned into her brain. Her index finger hovered over the final three. Closing her eyes she pushed the button and waited for the call to connect. It rang once and her fingers were clasped so hard to the phone that she was losing feeling in them but she couldn't let go. It rang again. He wasn't going to answer. He wasn't at the grid. He was busy. He might even be at home. Three rings.
"Yes?" It was him and her breath escaped her in a sigh. She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling light headed. She hadn't actually expected him to answer. To pick up the phone. To be at Thames House. She could hear him breathing down the phone line in the quiet silence and the fact that he hadn't hung up yet told her that he knew who was calling her. With her eyes still closed she imagined how he would look. Sitting behind his desk, maybe tie undone, definitely a glass of whisky next to him, staring into nothingness, concentrating on the call. She wanted to be in London. She wanted to be near him. Just to see him across the grid. She needed to see him. Calling him was probably a bad idea, she guessed. She moved her hand to the button that would disconnect the call but didn't press it for another few seconds. She waited to hear him breathe in one last time and then put the phone down, the tears silently falling down her face. It took a long time for her to pull herself together and leave the phone box.
In London Harry could feel the sadness and the longing and the missed opportunities cloud him. But through all that he felt one surge of hope. She was alive. She was alive, and that was what mattered.