A/N: The final installment.

"I love you."

She squeezed his hand as hard as she could before frantically wiping away a few silent tears that had begun to fall. She smiled brightly before looking at him through her teary eyes and leaning into him, making sure he was comfortable with their new position.

"And I love you," she whispered into his chest, nuzzling as far into him as she could without smothering herself completely.

He chuckled loudly and circled his arms tightly around her body.

"I meant what I said though Ruth," he eventually muttered, scared that if he dared voice his concerns again it would bring an end to the wonderful turn of events.

She sighed loudly and circled her arms around his waist so they were clamped tightly together.

"You're not nobody Harry," she whispered, tenderly stroking his back with her hand. "You're somebody, somebody who everybody looks up to and respects, somebody who longs to keep this country safe from harm whatever it takes. More importantly..." she starts, before tilting her head slightly gesturing him to look at her face. He does. "You're somebody to me, and if you allow us to work through this together then you will be my somebody, and that is all that matters."

Harry smiled weakly at her before drawing a shaky breath. He knew that she would understand his insecurities more than anybody, and by the way she was speaking to him he knew that it was true. He wanted to believe her words, to understand finally that it is him that she wants to be with, of all the people in the world, she has chosen to him. He wanted to, but somehow he just couldn't. Despite the letter, despite her words, her actions, her determination to see this through, the changes they had both encountered during their separation still hung in the air and Harry wasn't sure if he would be able to move past that, as much as he wanted to let go and love her completely.

"But George..." He trailed off brokenly. He didn't know why he found it so difficult to bring him up in conversation. He was the man who had won Ruth's heart, the man who had given her the life she deserved after she had to give everything up. It was the life he could never have given Ruth, and the thought that George might one day be used against him in the heat of an argument was a scary thought.

"George was somebody who was there at the right time; a companion when I needed comforting, a shoulder to cry on whilst I was mourning," Ruth explained as she rested her head against his chest once more and found the steady rhythm of his heart beat. "He's not you Harry and I know you said that scares you, but you forget that we had something way before George, before Cyprus, before this." She nodded her head in gesture of what she was trying to tell him. "If anything it was him that was worried. He'd known I'd lost someone and he wasn't sure whether he'd have been able to live up to what I left behind."

"And did he?"

The way in which Harry uttered those words shocked the both of them. Ruth couldn't remember a time when he had sounded so vulnerable or looked so afraid. He couldn't remember a time when he felt so needy or self conscious. He felt weak at that moment, something he never usually felt when he sat within the confines of his office walls. Power never went to his head when Ruth was with him.

"No," she whispered simply. "He would never have been able to live up to you. I didn't need to fall in love with you, I just did, and he can never take that away from me."

She hid her face in his chest, the familiar flush of embarrassment flooding her cheeks. She felt like a school girl talking to her first crush, and although not quite in the same age range, she was sure that Harry was the first person she had ever felt strongly for, the first person she felt she could ever do anything with.

"Just because I was with George doesn't mean I've come to expect anything from you," she eventually continued as Harry showed no sign of speaking or loosening his grip on her body. "You do believe me don't you?"

She felt rather than saw Harry nod and waited patiently, busking in their new found state of bliss.

"Ruth," Harry mumbled into her hair as he leant his head down towards hers.

"Hmm?"

"I don't want to stop you doing things that you might have wanted to do with your life."

She leant out of his embrace and adjusted herself so their bodies were close, but no longer touching.

"Like what?"

"Like getting married, having a family, buying a proper house, living a proper life. I don't want you to stay here in MI5 with me if it means you no longer get to live the life you had in Cyprus."

So that's why he's been so quiet.

"I'm not going to lie and say I haven't thought about doing those things, I'm still young enough after all." She watched his face drop and his body tense as he tried to absorb the information. "But we've had too many things get in our way Harry; too many people try and tear this apart. I've sacrificed myself once for you, and I'm willing to sacrifice normality if it means I can finally be with you."

"I can't ask you to do that Ruth," Harry muttered as he frantically tried to control his emotions and keep his straight face intact.

"You're not asking me too, I'm telling you." She leant forward slightly and brushed an errant tear from his cheek before stroking the side of his face tenderly.

He closed his eyes briefly as he basked in the contact. He was finally allowing himself to believe that despite his fears they could work something out once and for all, and as her words began to wrap themselves around him like a blanket he began to think ahead and as he thought about what Ruth had said to him he suddenly found himself coming to a quick conclusion.

"You know, if you're really serious about all of this..." he started slowly, making sure he had her full attention before continuing. "... If you truly serious, then you know you can still do all of those things that you want to do."

"Harry..." Ruth started. She didn't like the sound of where this was going.

"No Ruth listen," he interrupted her quickly, looking at her intently until she got the message to keep quiet. "You sacrificed your life for me, there's no way I'm going to let you do that again. I'm getting close to retirement Ruth; I will sacrifice a few years here if it makes you happy. You deserve stability Ruth, and it was my fault you had to leave in the first place."

Her breath hitched as she dared herself to interpret what he was saying to her. She watched as he leant forward and grabbed her hands with his own, rubbing his thumb tenderly up and down her palm.

"What I'm saying Ruth, is that I am happy to leave my job so you can do everything you want to. If you want to be with me, I'll be a very happy man. If you want a proper home, I'll move away with you. If you want a proper job, I'll support you. If you want stability, I'll marry you. If you want a family, I can't promise much, but I'll try my hardest to give it to you."

Now it was his turn to wipe the tears from her cheeks. He smiled as she laughed slightly and circled his arms around her once more, drawing her into a tight hug.

"It's your turn to be happy," he mumbled into her hair. "God only knows how on Earth you managed to find your back to me."

She chuckled and drew her face level with his.

"It was always meant to be," she chuckled. "I am happy Harry. I am very happy."

His smile mirrored hers, and as he finally leant forward to end years of torment and frustration he knew that his life was about to change for the better.

End

A/N: Again, I am really sad to see this one go. It's been a tough chapter to write, I hope that I've done it some justice. For those who are new to the story - this is the 2nd installment - the prequel "just another day" is available on my profile.

One final review for old times sake?