Felicity Sharma drove herself to Bristol, and following Harry's directions to the hotel, arrived just on lunchtime. Ruth watched through the window in their room as Felicity parked her grey, five-year-old Peugeot 407 across from the front door of the hotel.

"Batwoman's here," Ruth said, turning to Harry, who was lying on their bed reading a book, his back propped against two pillows. "God, Harry, she looks like a character out of a nineteenth century novel. She should have ridden in side-saddle on her trusty steed called Mountjoy."

"Ruth, I think you've perhaps read one novel too many."

"She looks wonderful!" Ruth added, watching Felicity stride from her car to the hotel entrance. "I can see why you're attracted to her."

"I said I liked her, Ruth. That's not the same thing."

"Oh, Harry, I don't mind. I can't imagine any man alive not being attracted to her, but …... I know it's me you love."

He sat up and gazed across at her. Her blue eyes were glowing with feeling, making her seem even more alive than she was. "Yes, it is you I love," he replied, and before he could say more, the phone by the bed rang. "Yes?" he answered. "No, we'll come down and meet her in the guest lounge." He hung up the phone. "Time to meet Batwoman," he said as he stood, and then held his hand out to Ruth, and she grasped it, linking her fingers through his.

.

Harry and Ruth entered the guest lounge hand-in-hand just as Felicity was removing her cape – a deep russet-red woollen number. Underneath the cape she wore a long black skirt and a black polo-neck jumper with long black boots. Ruth immediately thought of the words from the Alfred Noyes poem, "The Highwayman", which she'd learned in primary school. All Felicity needed was some pistol butts and a rapier, and a horse, of course. Having draped her cape over a chair, Felicity turned to greet them, her face in a broad smile.

"Harry! Ruth!" she said, holding her hands out to them. "What a joy it is to see you both."

From the lips of many others, her words would have sounded contrived and insincere, but Ruth knew immediately that this woman meant every word she spoke.

Harry gave Felicity a brief hug, and then Ruth had both her hands grasped by the new analyst. Ruth was surprised to note that Felicity was only marginally taller than she, and yet she gave the impression of being taller than Harry. "You're our miracle woman," Felicity said. "I am so thrilled to meet you. Of course, you were something of a legend at GCHQ. Your name is still uttered in hushed tones."

"I'm sure that's not true. I was something of the enfant terrible to some of those at GCHQ. I had a habit of embarrassing those who believed they knew it all. It was such a joy to work at Section D. No such delicate egos."

"I'm loving it at Section D, of course. I hope you're not looking to come back."

Ruth looked at Harry, who answered for both of them. "I think you'll find neither of us are looking to return to the service. We planned to leave together when Ruth died, so that plan has just been put on hold until now. I only kept working at MI5 because I needed to keep occupied, and I kept telling myself that I was making a difference. How is Erin managing as section chief?"

"She'll be a lot better when she learns to trust my judgement," Felicity replied. "I think that maybe I scare her. Older woman, a tad flamboyant -"

"Only a tad?" Harry commented with a smile.

"And then there's Malcolm," Felicity continued. "He and I get on like the proverbial house on fire, and even if I do say it myself, together we are a formidable force to be reckoned with. I'm afraid Calum, Dimitri and Erin think we know nothing at all, and yet Malcolm and I know that with you being here with Ruth, Harry, it is he and I are running Section D on our own at present. It's the survival of the fittest, and Malcolm and I will not be beaten!"

"And what about Alec?" asked Ruth.

"Oh, you know Alec," Felicity replied. "He just does his own thing."

The waitress entered the lounge to tell them their lunch was ready, so the three of them followed her to the dining room.

.

After lunch they took a walk through the hotel grounds. It was a cool and overcast day, and the air was still. Harry and Ruth walked close together, their fingers linked loosely, while Felicity walked beside them.

"You know, Harry, I've been doing a lot of thinking since I first discovered that Ruth was alive," Felicity began. "I tried to imagine what it would be like were my Anthony, by some miracle of science or even magic, to return to me alive and well. Now, I know you're both over the moon to be back together, but as much as I love Anthony still, and miss him every day, I think that I've become a different person as a result of his death. I'm now so darned independent that there really isn't any space in my life for a man, and especially a man like Anthony. I don't like that about myself, but it seems to be true."

"You're a different personality to me, Felicity," Harry replied. "When Ruth had to leave the UK – it was over 5 years ago now – I filled my life, but there was always a Ruth-shaped space inside me, waiting for her to come back and fill it. When she's not been in my life, for whatever reason, that space is always there."

"Now, you see, Harry, that makes you a romantic," Felicity said, stopping to sniff the blossoms on a small shrub, "whereas, I'm the practical kind. I think that Ruth and I have that in common. It's the analyst in us both. We each have the ability to thrive during the tough times."

They found an arbour at the end of the garden, inside which were two benches facing one another. Felicity sat on one, and Harry and Ruth sat together, facing Felicity. They sat for a few minutes in silence, drinking in the heady scents of the magnolia blossoms which surrounded them. Harry had slipped an arm across the bench behind Ruth, but didn't touch her, aware that he needed to sometimes simply leave her be. He didn't own her, after all.

"What now, Felicity?" Harry asked. "Are you still following up the Genesis project?"

"In my own time only," she replied. "It fascinates me, and given I was the one who uncovered it in the first place, I feel a mild ownership of it."

"One thing intrigues me about the documents you uncovered," said Harry. "Given these people went to all the trouble to steal several different unapproved and undocumented encryption systems, why would they then include the correct names of their patients? Why go to such lengths, then be so lazy when it came to covering their own names as well as the names of their patients? It makes little sense."

"I've asked myself that many times, Harry," Felicity answered.

"Arrogance," Ruth said. She had been quiet for much of the afternoon, happy to allow Harry and Felicity to catch up. They seemed to get on well, and to have had a good working relationship, and so for the most part she had just listened. She was secure in her relationship with Harry. He had never given her any valid reason for jealousy. She had been jealous of Elena Gavrick's hold over Harry, but had, just prior to her `death', recognised this hold to be fake and contrived, and based in lies. "People who think that it's fine to mess with life and death are arrogant beyond belief," she added. "They never for a moment considered they'll be caught. You know, not long after I was up and about and thinking it was about time I got a job, two of the other patients suddenly died. I only found out because I'm quiet, and I overhead two staff members talking about it. Their bodies were incinerated in the hospital incinerator – they were disposed of like amputated limbs. After all, the families of these people already believed them to be dead. That's arrogance. They had a God complex."

"I think you're right, Ruth," said Felicity.

"Have all the people who were …... responsible for the clinics …... have these people been caught? Arrested? It's a civil issue as much as a security services issue," added Ruth.

"All except two of the doctors from Oxford, and they were out of the country at the time the clinics were raided. But they were just paid staff, and not the minds behind it. Last I heard, Hugh O'Donnell is talking like a magpie, while Paul Middlemass claims total ignorance. It's my guess he's the mastermind. He's a sleazy piece of work, always was. He needed to have someone still inside the security services, and that someone was O'Donnell. It's just that O'Donnell is not quite spy material."

"Felicity," Ruth continued, "have you heard how any of the other patients have been welcomed back by their families? I feel like I'm the lucky one here. I only have Harry, and he seems to be quite pleased I'm back." She looked up at Harry, and he squeezed her shoulder with his hand, smiling down at her.

"You are definitely one of the luckier ones, Ruth, "replied Felicity. "There are two patients from the Oxford facility who found they were not terribly welcome when they returned to their own lives. I don't know if I should tell you this, but it's become quite common knowledge. A woman called Giselle – she died around a month prior to you, Ruth – she went home to find her husband had sold their home, and moved to Italy with his PA. Not a nice homecoming at all. The other was a young man called Jamie, who'd worked at six. His fiancée is now engaged to his older brother. It was quite a shock for him. Everyone else, yourself included, has been welcomed by loved ones, although there is some readjusting needs doing."

"Yes," said Ruth, "I'm sure there will be. Harry and I are currently experiencing a kind of honeymoon phase. It's rather nice to get up each day having no real responsibilities."

"And it's rather nice," added Harry, "having Ruth all to myself. Previously, there was always someone around, and finding time alone was almost impossible."

"Hopefully you can make up for that now," said Felicity.

"I really don't know how to thank you, Felicity," Ruth began, "for your work on this, for your persistence and your dedication. Harry told me how hard you worked to decode the documents. We both – Harry and I – owe you an enormous debt of gratitude."

"I got my encryption back. That was part of my motivation, but once I began to uncover the scheme, I couldn't let it go. I'm just relieved that it has a happy ending."

"And that those responsible have been caught," Ruth added.

"Most of them," Felicity replied. "I'm sure Genesis 1197 will reappear some day. It will have a different name, but people like Middlemass are glory seekers, and they can't help themselves. It's such a shame that he and those like him have no concept of the damage they do to the lives of others. On a different note," Felicity continued, "I can see no reason why you two can't leave this little sanctuary you have here. The only people who are likely to silence Ruth and the others are all in custody, although I still have some work still to do on uncovering the identities of those who funded this project."

"Who has the official say-so whether we stay or go back to London?" asked Ruth.

"The Home Secretary, I imagine," said Felicity. "You should be hearing from him within the next 24 hours or so."

.

Felicity left in time to be back in London for dinner. Harry and Ruth stood in the driveway of the hotel and waved to her as she left.

"What do you think of her now?" asked Harry.

"She's amazing," replied Ruth. "A breath of fresh air. I can't believe how normal she seems. She hasn't been damaged by working for the service. Not like the rest of us."

"I think that she hides it," Harry said, "or else she genuinely lets it wash over her. She's certainly rather brash, and brave also. I admire that."

.

Just as Felicity had predicted, the Home Secretary rang just before dinner that evening.

"Thank you, Home Secretary," Harry said, finishing the call.

"And?" Ruth asked, taking her eyes from the TV, which she'd muted while Harry was on the phone.

"We're free to leave here as soon as we wish. The Home Office will pay for seven nights here should we want them. That's four more than we've already had. We'll be here tonight, because I'd promised Geoff that I'd have a drink with him after dinner. It's Corinne's Bridge night, so we're having a guy's night. I thought you might like to -"

"I'd love an evening alone, Harry. I can read, and go to bed early if I want."

"Good, I was worried you might feel left out."

"Harry, you forget that, like you, I'm quite the loner. I'm very skilled at entertaining myself."

"However are we going to manage a relationship in the long term, then?" he asked, more as a quip than a genuine question.

"We'll figure it out, Harry. We usually do."

"Do you want to stay here for another couple of days?"

"Let's not plan too far ahead," Ruth said. "Let's see how we feel each morning when we wake up."

"Good idea," Harry replied.

.

When Harry opened the door to their hotel room after having drinks with Geoff, the only illumination in the room came from the small lamp on the table under the window. Ruth's body formed a lump under the duvet, and by her breathing, he assumed she was asleep. Rather than disturb her, he decided to sleep in the single bed in the adjoining room.

.

It was still dark, and he was in a deep sleep when he felt the duvet being pulled back from his shoulders. His survival instincts kicked in, and he sat up quickly, his body on full alert.

"Move over, Harry," Ruth said, tumbling into the bed beside him.

"But I decided to sleep here to give you some peace," he complained.

"Maybe I don't want peace." She pushed herself close to him, then looked at him, her eyes wide. "Harry, you're naked," she said.

"My sleeping clothes are under my pillow in the big bed." To his ears it sounded like a lame excuse. He had been quite used to sleeping naked, and only wore a t-shirt and track pants to bed out of politeness towards Ruth.

"You hadn't been expecting me then?" she asked.

"Had I been expecting you, I would have made sure I was wearing something." Harry is not normally embarrassed about his body, but under Ruth's scrutiny he feels more than naked. He's concerned about what she'll think about his scars, and signs of age his body displays.

Ruth snuggled against him, and her hands began to wander over his chest and shoulders. As much as Harry was enjoying this, there was also something not quite right about it.

He pulled her hands away, and turned to face her. "Ruth," he said carefully, "please go back to the other bed. I've been drinking, and I don't want to breathe over you with boozy breath. Please. My self-control may not be what it should be."

Ruth turned away from him and got out of bed. Before he could say anything else, she had left the room. He rolled on to his back and groaned. He had the feeling he had handled the situation quite badly.