Thanks for all your kind reviews. I can only see there being one more chapter to this.

oOo

13 days after the bombing, and 2 days after the kidnapping. Harry's house: 10.12am

Christ on a bike, Ruth thinks, why does he do that to me?

Harry was up and dressed – black jeans with a grey v-neck jumper, the former of which displayed the shape of his lower body, while the latter clung to his upper body, and allowed her a free and open visual access to his neck and some of his chest. Shameless man!

Harry had had two restless nights. On the night she was taken hostage, she'd been woken by him calling out her name over and over. By the time she'd registered where she was and what was happening, he was half awake and crying, still calling for her. She sat up and pulled him to her, whispering reassurances. Once he was fully awake and aware of her presence beside him, he fell back against his pillow, putting his arms around her.

"I dreamed that you'd gone," he said close to her ear. "I looked everywhere for you – in every abandoned building in London – and I couldn't find you."

They went back to sleep, wrapped in one another's arms.

The next night, his nightmare was more vivid and his reaction more violent. Ruth was woken suddenly when she'd felt his body jerk beside her. "Ruth!" he'd cried out. "Where are you?" And then he'd begun crying quietly. Ruth held him to her until his sobbing quietened. "Don't leave me," he pleaded into her shoulder.

"I have no plans to leave you. Ever."

This is how it came about that at 3.30am on her second night sharing Harry's bed, she told him about her kidnapping and capture. From beginning to end she left nothing out, how she'd felt, what had been her fears, what the men had said and done, all of it. By the end of her tale, she felt lighter and freer, while Harry had tears rolling down his cheeks. Ruth thought it strange that she had been the one kidnapped, but Harry seemed to be suffering the trauma of her being taken.

Now that it was daytime, Ruth had suggested they get out of the house. Supermarket shopping was to be their first outing since they'd been driven home after Ruth's abduction. Ruth applied makeup in an attempt to cover the bruising which had appeared on her cheek and above her eye.

"I don't want people thinking we're in a violent relationship, Harry," she replied when he'd asked her why she was taking so long in the bathroom, which was when he stood in the doorway watching her. She looked up and, seeing him in the mirror dressed like that, almost poked her own eye out with her mascara wand.

The weather had turned autumnal, and rain threatened, but deciding that a walk to the shops would do them both good, they each wore coats over their clothing. Like many other middle-aged couples, they walked in companionable silence, Harry on the side closest to the road, for her protection. Suddenly, a car pulled up beside them, a car door slammed, and Ruth froze. Harry, sensing her reaction, turned to her, standing between she and the road.

"It's just a car, Ruth. It's a young mum and her kids. She's probably dropping them off at child care." He put his arms around her for reassurance, and he held her until she again relaxed.

"It's silly, I know," Ruth said into his shoulder. "I couldn't help it."

"Everything alright?" the young mum said as she walked up to them, her two small children in tow.

"Thank you, yes," Harry replied.

A few minutes later, Ruth was ready to continue. This time, Harry took her hand in his as they walked.

Ruth was on a road to discovery where Harry was concerned. Food shopping with a man had not been her favourite pastime in any of her previous relationships. Her experiences of shopping with a man had involved obstruction, boredom, and a lot of complaining – chiefly about the price of everything she chose to buy. Harry, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy shopping, and he was generous. Fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, bread, milk, and bottles of wine soon filled their trolley.

"That's too much for us to carry home," Ruth observed.

"They'll deliver," he replied, winking at her.

Their walk home was uneventful. Several cars cruised past them, and Ruth, although watching carefully, seemed reassured that no-one was about to jump out and grab her. She was enjoying being out of the house, and this gave her an idea.

"Harry," she began, "let's go out this afternoon."

"Where to? A movie?"

I'd like to get out of London for a few hours. Why don't we head north?"

"To Suffolk?" he suggested.

"Oh God, that reminds me, I haven't checked my messages and voicemail. Perhaps Suffolk's a bit far. I'd just like to see some green grass as far as the eye can see."

They'd barely stepped inside the front door when the house phone rang. While Harry went to answer the phone, Ruth searched for her new phone, and found it on the small table beside the sofa.

"Guess what?" said Harry, as he stepped into the kitchen, where Ruth was standing, her mobile in her hand, a broad smile on her face. "You first, Ruth."

"No. I can wait," she replied, "you first."

"Towers is coming around tonight to see us both. 8.30."

"Both of us?" she said. "Why both of us?"

Harry looked a little uncomfortable. "This morning, while you were still asleep, I faxed through my resignation to Towers."

"Harry …... wasn't that a bit …..."

"Too soon, do you think? I can't continue at Section D in my current capacity. It's not fair on you."

"What about what I think about this, Harry? I'd feel responsible for you giving up the job you do so well …... for me."

He stood away from the doorway and slowly approached her. "But, Ruth, I'd do anything for you. I'd walk across hot coals for you, I'd ….."

"Harry, I haven't asked you to walk across hot coals, or to throw away your job. I don't want you to turn your life upside down – for me."

"My life was already upside down when I met you. You've helped me begin to turn it the right way up. Do you remember back before you left after Cotterdam? Ros barged into my office and told me my personal life was a joke. She was right. The job I do is inconsistent with having any kind of personal life." Harry stood in front of her, just out of arm's reach. "What was your news?"

"I just checked my messages. My offer on the house in Suffolk has been accepted."

Ruth smiled up at him, and he wrapped his arms around her. "See?" he said into her hair. "Things are working out as they should."

Ruth had never imagined Harry to be a man of spiritual bent. He'd always seemed so ….. action-oriented. What he wanted, he took. Perhaps Harry away from work was a different man altogether. She liked him any way at all, but philosophical Harry was nice.

Somewhere in Essex: 2.57pm.

They'd stopped at a small village pub for lunch, taking their time over eating. Words dripped from their lips like melting snow – a sentence here, a sentence there, an affirmative to a question asked. They drank one another in with their eyes, each still astonished that this miracle between them had come about.

"We'll have to make do with Essex," Harry said. "There won't be time to go further today."

"Let's find a spot to park," Ruth suggested. "Somewhere …... private."

"Ruth, what do you have in mind?"

"Find a spot – before the rain starts," she said, indicating the dark cloud cover, "and then you'll see."

They drove for another fifteen minutes, looking for a lane, a grove of trees, and privacy. They found it at a lookout at the end of a narrow lane. The lookout was elevated to give a view of the coastline. Harry guided the Range Rover until its nose was close to a wooden fence. Directly to their right, level with the fence was a sign showing a map of the coastline, with pointing arrows identifying the villages and towns on the green blanket laid out below them. There were no other cars, it being a week day, and the weather threatening.

No sooner had Harry turned off the motor than the rain began. It teemed down in sheets, so that the windscreen was almost opaque.

"We need to climb on to the back seat," Ruth suggested, showing the way. While she searched for the blanket which Harry kept behind the back seat, he clambered between the two front seats and sat next to Ruth. Once they'd settled, she covered them both with the blanket.

"This is nice," he commented, snuggling down beside her.

They spent a few minutes watching the rain, and listening to it drumming on the roof. Harry had an idea what was on Ruth's mind, but he'd let her make the first move. He was staring out the window on his side when he felt her hand turn his face towards her.

"Kiss me, Harry," she said. It was more of an order than a request, so he obeyed.

Her mouth opened beneath his, her moans of pleasure resonating through his own mouth, and down his throat. He soon felt himself sinking into her, tongues, lips, sighs, all merging in this one very long kiss. He was hers, now, tomorrow and forever.

He was perfectly happy to just kiss and no more, this being the nearest they had been to intimacy in four days. Without breaking their kiss, Ruth grasped his hand and pulled it down to the hem of her skirt. He understood her intention, and from under her skirt he ran his hand up her leg, her thigh, and then he slowly travelled up her inner thigh until he reached …... her inner folds, warm, moist and ready. He almost stopped breathing.

"You're wearing no knickers," he gasped, pulling back from the kiss and looking at her.

"Don't stop, Harry," she said, her eyes bright.

Holding her eyes with his own, he began to caress her most intimate place, his fingers working dexterously around her opening, then in and out of her, all the while his thumb vibrated across her clitoris. Ruth began to squirm, then her panting became a full blown orgasm. Harry leaned towards her and put his lips on her neck just behind her ear.

"Now it's your turn," she whispered, turning her body under the blanket until she was almost above him. With his help she opened and pulled down his jeans and undershorts to his knees.

"We're not teenagers any more, Ruth," he observed, as she straddled him, pushing her palms up under his jumper until she'd caressed his chest with her fingertips. His response was a groan of pleasure.

She held his penis and with careful manoeuvering, moistened the tip with her juices, then she pulled away, then back again. He grasped her hips and pulled her on to him, and then began moving, back and forth, up and down. This was an act of sensation only, since they were both still clothed, and neither could see their bodies joined. Harry wasn't sure if the rain was suddenly heavier on the roof, or if their panting and crying out had become loud. They called out each others names, still rocking together, their expressions of ecstasy filling the confined space. Ruth collapsed against him, and they fell into a post-loving sleep.

When they awoke, the rain had stopped, and there were shards of sunshine trying to break through.

"Thank you for that," Ruth said, kissing his mouth.

"No," he replied, "thank you. If we're going to get home in time for the grocery delivery, we'd better get going now."

Ruth laughed quietly. "The grocery delivery. How domestic," she commented.

Harry's house: 7.05pm

Harry showered and changed while Ruth cooked dinner. They ate the chicken stir fry in almost silence. They were each aware of the `elephant in the room', and there seemed little point in discussing it further. Harry had been adamant about retiring just as Ruth had been adamant that he shouldn't.

By the time the Home Secretary arrived, they'd tidied the kitchen and were sitting down to a pot of coffee. Towers came bearing an enormous bouquet of flowers, which he handed to Ruth.

"Thank you, Home Secretary," Ruth beamed. "They're lovely."

Harry brought a tray with a fresh pot of coffee and cups into the living room, and served each of them in turn.

"You two seem very settled here," Towers commented. Neither Harry nor Ruth replied, so he continued. "Of course, I'm interested in whether you've thought about my offer, Ruth, but I'm just as interested in your resignation, Harry. I'll not accept it for now."

Harry looked up at him, his face registering the beginnings of belligerence.

"Oh, now don't be like that, Harry. I'll put your resignation down to the shock and upset of Ruth's kidnapping."

"There's more to it than that, Home Secretary. Even if Ruth works for you, she's still an easy target for anyone who wishes to – shall we say – change my mind. I can't allow that. It's not fair on her. It's not fair on both of us. Besides, I'll probably retire in two years as it is."

"So work out your two years, Harry."

"That's two years in which Ruth could be in danger. There's the Olympics next year. Who knows what threats we'll be facing?"

Towers sipped his coffee and very carefully placed his cup and saucer on the coffee table before he continued speaking.

"I have a proposal, one which hopefully will appeal to you both. I understand your concerns, Harry. They are my concerns, also. Don't make any decisions at all until you return from your leave. I believe the recommendation was two weeks leave after the initial week away from work. My suggestion is this. Should you decide to work for me, Ruth, I will make a car available to you to pick you up and return you home each day."

Ruth opened her mouth to object, but Harry silenced her with a hand placed on her knee.

"If you genuinely wish to resign, Harry," Towers continued, "I won't stop you, but I sense your desire to resign is all about keeping Ruth safe. While that is a valid reason, I don't wish Section D to be without you, especially with next year's Olympics being in London. I'm attempting to create solutions which satisfy you both."

"That's good to hear," Harry replied. "We'll give it some thought," he added, looking across at Ruth, who nodded her assent.

From there, the conversation slipped into generalities, chiefly the Olympics, and some of the hair-brained ideas being put forward by the older members of the JIC.

"They're talking about putting rocket launchers on the tops of strategic buildings," Towers mused. "I thought I was one of the more conservative voices, but that, as they say, takes the cake. We're in dire need of your practical approach, Harry."

Ruth saw Towers to the door, while Harry took the coffee things back to the kitchen. He felt her watching him before he heard her.

"What do you think about that?" Ruth said.

"Towers' offer to provide you with a car and driver?"

"Not that, although it was momentous in its own way. I sat across from Towers for almost an hour, wearing no knickers. I wonder what he would have done had he known?"

Harry looked at her, and seeing her expression – one of flirtatious come hither – he covered the distance between them in a few quick steps. He grasped her shoulders and kissed her hard, walking her back until she was caught between his body and the wall. He could feel her body submit to him, a soft giving in. As his hands lifted her skirt to reveal her nakedness, he lifted his mouth from hers and put it close to her ear, close enough to move his tongue around her outer ear.

"Do you think he would have done this?" he asked, pushing his still-clothed body into her, eliciting a moan from her throat. "Or this?" he added, running a hand up her inner thigh until his fingers almost reached her wetness. "No, I think this is what he had in mind." In one swift move, Harry undid his pants and pushed them down, then he lifted Ruth's legs so that they rested around his waist. With both hands, Ruth grasped his penis and guided it into her, so that he was then free to thrust deeply. He held himself there, without moving, until Ruth spoke.

"He might have thought about it," she said breathlessly, "but he'd not be a patch on you."

Harry laughed deep in his throat before he began to thrust again and again, deeper and deeper, almost as though he had a need to exorcise all thoughts of Towers from her. They both came quickly. This was a fast fuck, rather than an episode of love-making. When they were finished they rested themselves against each other.

"Bed now?" she suggested.

"To sleep," he said.

"Definitely for sleep," she replied.