Author's Note: thank you again to everyone who has read and reviewed this story, your feedback has been a source of great encouragement throughout the whole writing process. Thank you again.

Chapter Fifteen: There's Something About Lucas (Epilogue)

It all came back to Ruth as she stepped through the pods and on to the Grid. The atmosphere, the smell, the feel of the place. She paused for a minute, just taking it all in. The constant buzz of activity; faces both familiar and new. A twinge of sadness for those she would never see again: Zafar Younis and Adam Carter chief among them. Amongst the buzz of the Grid, her arrival had gone unnoticed, affording her the time to just observe and readjust. Until Ros caught her eye and raised a smile before tapping Jo Portman on the shoulder. Jo looked up from her computer screen, a bright toothy smile of recognition lighting up her face.

"Ruth!"

Ruth abandoned all pretence at a discreet entrance and rushed to meet Jo halfway and straight into a hug in the middle of the Grid.

"It's so amazing to see you again," Jo – to Ruth's surprise- was sobbing.

"It's amazing to be back!" she laughed, allowing herself to feel the happiness she was entitled to.

When she pulled back, they had been joined by Malcolm, beaming from ear to ear. "Oh, Ruth," he said. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Hello, Malcolm," she replied, grinning like a village idiot.

To her surprise, even Lucas North was back on the Grid. But, going by his dress, he was only there for same reason she was: to say hello. He waved at her from the water cooler, where he and Ros chatted casually among themselves. Unless she was much mistaken, the two of them were getting on more than alright. God knows, he deserved a little happiness after everything he must have been through in Russia. She didn't know him well, but she waved while Jo let all the latest gossip spill in a torrent of ceaseless chatter.

Harry watched the reunion from the door of his office, pleased as punch. This was his team. Jo proceeded to march Ruth over to Ben Kaplan, making introductions to the new faces who'd joined since she was last in town. He always had Malcolm, through thick and thin. Now, he had Ros, Jo, and Ben – the rising stars. Lucas, still newly returned from Russia, was a gift. Ruth, however, was the gem inside. Together, they were quite literally his dream team. Only a nagging sorrow at the loss of Adam Carter marred an otherwise perfect occasion.

However, after twenty minutes of Ruth circulating he noted she was being led towards the kitchen, presumably for tea. He stepped out quickly to intercept them on their route.

"I think this calls for a proper drink," he stated, quickly steering Ruth away.

Jo flashed him a knowing grin and stepped away. "I think I'll leave you two to it."

Thankful for her intuitiveness, Harry brought Ruth back into the office with the intention for a decent whiskey while they talked.

"Glad to be back?" he asked, once they were inside.

Ruth's smile said it all, but she gave a vigorous nod.

"It's wonderful, Harry," she replied. "Just brilliant."

He poured them both a whiskey before sitting back down again.

"That woman who took your job," he said, still unable to bring himself to say her name. "Screwed up your system. You'll have to go back and reorganise everything, I'm afraid."

Ruth turned serious as she accepted her drink.

"I don't understand, Harry," she said. "Everyone knew Connie James – or at least, they knew of her. It's like Angela Wells all over again."

Harry grimaced at the memory of Angela Wells, and everything that followed her shit attack on the Grid. But at least Wells had gone crazy over something tangible, even if it was a conspiracy theory. Connie, on the other hand, had lost the plot over some nebulous sense that someone, somewhere, was being screwed over by the West.

"Whatever it was, she'll spend the rest of her life in prison," Harry replied. "Ben is good. Lucas is even better. You remember Ros and Jo well enough. Ros didn't say anything, did she, about what happened?"

"No, but she hardly needs to now. Neither of us do."

Harry shrugged and took another sip of his whiskey.

"Jo's had a rotten year, so I'm glad you're back for her sake as well," he explained. "Not just Adam's death. But she was caught up in the Red Backs business; held hostage and well, you can guess."

Ruth's expression slowly fell. "Are you telling me they raped her?"

Harry gave a curt nod. "And guess who, beside Adam, helped her through it?"

"Oh, not Connie," she guessed.

"So Jo is grieving, traumatised and deeply betrayed, all at once," said Harry. "She was always so fond of you, so will you keep an eye out?"

"Harry, you don't even need to ask, you know I will," she replied, remembering now what the bad days on the Grid looked like. "How is Lucas settling in? Eight years is a long time to be locked up with the enemy."

Before answering, Harry replenished their glasses and drew a deep breath. The day after they arrived back from Cyprus, he and Ros had dealt with Kachimov in the name of Adam Carter. He would no longer be a problem for Section D at all, not even Lucas North. As he organised his thoughts about Lucas, he looked out of the window to where the man himself was saying his goodbyes to the team before heading for home. Ruth, wondering why Harry was hesitated, turned to see what he was looking at.

Lucas was heading their way. Harry smiled as the Senior Case Officer didn't bother to knock before entering.

"Hi, Ruth!" he chimed in before turning to Harry. "I'm off home, Harry. The Doctors said I can come back to work properly on Monday."

Whether they said that or not, Harry didn't really mind. "Thank you, Lucas. Take it easy and enjoy your weekend."

"Cheers, Harry. Bye, Ruth."

With that, he left the office and closed the door behind him. Harry watched him until he was off the Grid completely, before picking up the conversation where they left off.

"I cannot define it," he said. "But there's something about Lucas. Something he's holding back... Like I said, I cannot put my finger on it."

Ruth looked puzzled for a moment, like she was trying to add to his speculations. However, when she spoke, she merely debunked his suspicions.

"He's just come back from eight years of torture and isolation," she pointed out. "He's bound to be a different person, now."

"I understand that," he insisted. "But even so, there's something still not quite right."

"Maybe you're just concerned because he didn't get the full de-brief?" she asked. "If you're still worried; speak to him or Ros. She seems to know him well."

Harry raised a pained smile. "Ros once told Zaf that you're my rose tinted blind spot," he said. "Well, Lucas is fast becoming Ros's new rose tinted blind spot. No. We just to watch over him. I don't mean full surveillance, I just mean that we should watch out for him."

Ruth nodded in agreement, still uncertain about the issue. However, she brought it to a close by getting up and putting her new coat back on. "Come on," she said, holding her hand out to him. "Enough of this. Let's get something to eat."

Harry smiled, remembered that it was supposed to a happy occasion. "Yes," he agreed, at length. "Let's go."

The End.

Thank you, once again, to everyone who has read and reviewed this story – your comments were massively appreciated. Although still in the early stages, there's a few clues in this epilogue pointing toward what my next effort will be dealing with. So, until then, thank you again and love to you all.