Ruth arrived at work the next day, stood in front of her desk and sighed. The very neat and orderly workspace she'd left yesterday had been piled with forms and papers and looked a mess.

"Sorry Ruth," Malcolm said as he passed her desk. "I tried to stop the juniors dumping it on you. Do you want a hand sorting it out?"

"No," she said, smiling at him. "It's not your problem and I'm sure you have things to do."

"Sadly true," he said, switching his computer on. Ruth had barely sat down when Harry came onto the grid. He looked at her desk with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't leave it like this," she said.

"No, I know," he said, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips. "Don't let them offload all their paperwork to you."

"Mm," Ruth said unconvinced. She sat down and began to sort out the papers. It would be a long day.

Ruth settled in to work very well. The people were friendly, the work challenging but doable and she felt like she was really making a difference. When the first serious terror alert came through and she'd had to stay all night the adrenaline had coursed through her. Kate hadn't minded staying overnight with Lucy when Ruth claimed a failed delivery and missing paperwork. Thankfully Kate had no interest in professional careers, or office work so she didn't ask awkward questions. Ruth had felt emotionally drained when the operation was over, now knowing what it felt like to be at the heart of MI5.

She had been there or about a month when Harry called her into his office one night before she was going home. "Yes Harry?"

"I wondered I you'd like to go out for a drink with me tonight?" he asked, blunt and to the point.

"Oh," Ruth said, surprised by the question. Yes, she thought before the rational part of her brain kicked in. She would like to spend some time with Harry away from work. Very much so. He had something that she felt very attracted to. But it was dangerous. Apart from anything else, he was her boss. "I would like to," she said. "But I can't tonight," she said. "I'm sorry I just can't."

"Just a quick drink," he pressed, leaning against the desk and smiling at her.

"I can't," she repeated. He stood, waiting for her to explain. "Do you read the personnel files?" she asked.

"Er… no," he said, thrown by the change of subject. "I read peoples past jobs, past experience and qualifications. But anything that's in the personal section I ignore. It's none of my business to know everyone's pasts, despite the fact I'm their boss. Why?"

She sighed, but then decided to be honest with him. After all it would be easy for him to check if he got curious. "I can't have a drink with you because I need to get home. I like to spend as much time as I can with my daughter."

"You have a daughter," he said in surprise. His eyes flicked downwards to her hand, where a wedding ring might rest.

"I'm not married," she said anticipating the question.

"How old is she?"

"She's six," Ruth said. She could see Harry doing the Maths in his head. "I had her when I was... young," she added.

"I wasn't going to ask," he said honestly. "I'll let you go home. What's her name?"

"Lucy," Ruth said, smiling at the thought of her beautiful daughter. "I would like to take you up on it another time," she said eagerly. "If the offer stays open that is?"

"It's open," he said with a smile. "Go home." She was at the door when Harry asked a question. "Why do you never mention her? You've been here a month and kept her a secret. Why?"

"I didn't like the way I was treated at GCHQ when they found out I was a mother," she said. "They seemed to think I was less competent because I wanted to go home at a decent hour and put my daughter to bed and read her a story. I felt… it would be easier if I didn't advertise it. I'm good at my job, Lucy doesn't change that."

"Of course not," he agreed. "You're more than competent."

"Thank you Harry," she said, her voice warm as she looked into his eyes. God, she really could get lost in those eyes.

"See you on Monday," Harry said, bringing her out of her reverie. She left his office, her face flushed as Harry watched her leave. Unless he was very much mistaken, she was attracted to him. That was an extremely pleasant thought, because over the past few weeks he realised how attractive she was. In a very understated way. More often than he'd admit, even to himself he found his eyes resting on her. Her blue eyes shining with intelligence, the light shining off of her dark hair. Harry had spent the past week or so trying to ignore the increasing attraction, knowing that asking her out was a bad idea. She was a member of junior staff, and she was twelve years younger than himself. In spite of the attraction, it could get complicated quickly. And now he found out she had a daughter. Yes, complicated would sum it up.

Harry checked the grid and saw that he was alone. Feeling slightly guilty, he went through the filing cabinet in his office, looking for Ruth's personnel file. He shouldn't be doing it, but after all, he was only rereading information he'd already read in the interview stage, before she got the job. He'd never look at the personal history side because it was none of his business. He didn't like having his staffs most personal details at his fingertips. A dangerous thing, being able to see everyone's dirty little secrets. He'd only looked through the private section of someone's file once, and that was when the agent had been kidnapped for nearly a week. It had been necessary.

Harry opened Ruth's file and scanned her education. There were no gaps in it at all. She'd gone straight from school to university, then to GCHQ before she arrived at MI5. The fact that she'd managed to have a baby with no disruption in her education showed how focused and single minded she could be. Or bloody determined. The only clue was the fact she'd been accepted to Oxford University, but instead she'd chosen to attend Exeter, probably so she could stay at home with a newborn. But he was speculating. He might be inventing it on the spot for all he knew. He closed the file with a snap and put it back, locking the filing cabinet. He liked Ruth, very much. Well, this evening had certainly given him a lot to think about.

Ruth filled up the bath and sunk into the hot water with a sigh. Lucy was asleep and these couple of hours alone were precious to her. She loved her daughter more than her own life but every now and then it was nice to be alone. As the hot water lapped around her she felt her muscles relaxing. It had been a long week. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift. Minutes passed and eventually her mind settled on one thing. Harry. He'd asked her out for a drink, which meant he was attracted to her. He wanted to spend time with her away from the grid. The thought warmed her inside. She wasn't the type of woman to attract men like Harry. Experienced men with a physicality that was almost shocking. He had a presence which made him the centre of the grid. It had little to do with the fact he was section head, more to do with him as a man. His character and personality. She wanted to know more about him so badly it surprised her.

But there was likely nothing to be done about it, she thought. Harry Pearce was a serial womaniser whose reputation preceded him. Whatever else, Ruth did not want to be added to that unflattering list.

Thank you for the reviews so far, and I hope you like this chapter. :) More on Tuesday hopefully.