I was going to stop this about two or three chapters back but you all seem to be still enjoying it, so here's another chapter dedicated to Lady J's aching head!
Harry sat in his office and breathed a sigh of relief that the day was nearly over.
James was sat on a chair next to Beth at her desk, they were playing eye spy in hushed tones, like it was a secret game.
Ruth came in.
"See, it wasn't too bad," she said.
"No, no, it was fine wasn't it. Well, apart from him shouting "bugger the DG", spilling dandelion and burdock down Tariq's computer, breaking Dimitri's toe and leaving your desk looking like a thermobaric bomb has hit it. I mean how much damage can one two and a half year old do."
She laughed, "It could have been worse."
Harry raised his eyebrows, "Really?"
"He could have shouted 'bugger the Home Secretary'.
Harry laughed.
James with his usual impeccable timing careered into the office and stood in front of Ruth smiling.
"You come home with us, now," he said.
Ruth glanced at Beth, wondering if she had been schooling him in what to say, but Beth was no longer there.
"Please!" pleaded James, his blonde curls were particularly hard to resist.
She looked at Harry. He shrugged, "You're always welcome, Ruth."
"Maybe. We'll see." She said to James.
"That means yes," he announced and ran back out.
Harry didn't want to push it so he said no more.
"I best get back to patching up my war torn desk then," she smiled and followed James.
Harry closed his eyes and wondered where the normality of his life had gone, where the calm of his house had gone, where the productivity of the grid had gone. Still, like Ruth said 'it wasn't too bad'. She felt closer to him now than in a long time and he hoped could be closer still. The grid had survived. The nanny would no doubt help smooth things along from tomorrow. He picked up her CV and thought she looked a little young, but she came highly recommended. And then there was James. Harry had felt out of control, clueless, it had been a long time since he'd been around children and even with his own he was rarely there. Now he was the sole provider for James and it unnerved him. They were making up their routine and their ground rules as they went along. Harry was convinced he had probably broken all the rules of good parenting already. He thought about breakfast this morning, he thought about Ruth about to say something that was still left unsaid thanks to James' generosity with his toast. "Daddy, can have James' soldier now." Ruth was right his timing was appalling. It was the first time he'd called him daddy. Harry had been caught between disappointment and elation.
James came running back in.
"What are you up to, buggerlugs?" said Harry.
James face crumbled and he began to sob.
Harry reached out for him and James clasped his hands around his neck and was pulled onto Harry's knee.
"What's wrong?"
There was no answer, just a series of chest wrenching sobs.
"Have you hurt yourself?"
Still nothing, Harry gave up and just cuddled him instead.
Ruth sat at her desk and looked from the office to Dimitri as he limped past, "I never touched him," said DImitri. She smiled and her attention inevitably drifted back to Harry. She'd watched him many times over the years, sat in his office. She'd never imagined him sitting there comforting a toddler and looking so wonderful.
An hour later she entered his office. James was now playing quietly on the sofa and Harry seemed finally to be getting on with some work.
James looked up. "You come home, too," he said persistently.
"If you could do with a hand?" she said to Harry.
"I could do with about five pairs of hands," he said and smiled, "thank you."
She turned to James, "Come on then, you, where's your coat"
"Yeaaah" said James and began to root around for the aforementioned coat in all the least likely of places.
As Ruth found it and picked it up she also came across a CV.
"This is the new nanny?" she said, sounding a little surprised and wary.
"Yes."
"Shes' a little young, Harry."
"Yes."
"And she's very pretty."
"Yes. Yes, she is, isn't she?"