Harry had called into the grid and been filled in with everything that was going on. Nothing desperate and he had warned them not to call unless absolutely necessary. He wanted to be with Ruth even if it was going to be awkward and uncomfortable. Which, lets face it, was probably the only possibility. He was driving them to her house and her eyes had gone dead and lifeless in the silence. He could tell she was thinking over everything that had happened to her and it was taking her to a very bad place.

He pulled up outside her house and turned the engine off. He looked at her and she was staring at her hands. "Let me take you inside," Harry said. She nodded but didn't look at him. She opened her car door and walked up to her front door, Harry standing very close to her, but not touching her. Ruth walked into her kitchen and picked up an apple. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had anything to eat. Harry stood watching her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Of course I'm not bloody alright!" she shouted. "How on earth could I possibly be alright?" She took a deep breath while Harry stayed silent. "I'm sorry, I know its not your fault." She sighed and walked in front of him and leant into his chest, his arms carefully wrapping around her "I'm just so angry," she whispered as her tears started to stain his shirt. Her entire body was shaking with the tears she had finally let loose. He could tell that she had been trying to hold herself together at the hospital and now she didn't have to anymore, it was all falling apart for her.

"I couldn't fight him off," she mumbled through her tears. "I couldn't move. All I could do was watch while I knew what was going to happen and I couldn't stop it. Oh God!" She fell into a fresh wave of tears as Harry kept supporting her weight. She had leant into him completely now and he swallowed trying to fight off those horribly vivid images that her words had brought to mind. Time passed in the silence and her tears eventually subsided.

"What can I do for you?" Harry asked, needing to do something. "Do you want to eat? Something to drink? Bath?"

"A bath would be wonderful," she said nodding gratefully. Harry forced a smile and started to lean in to kiss her when he thought better of it. She saw what flickered through his mind but she didn't say anything as he left to start running her bath. He turned the taps on and then had a quick ferret around the bathroom, collecting all the razors he could find. He didn't think she would try anything stupid but it was just in case. He'd be in hell if she did slit her wrists because he hadn't done something so simple as take the razors out of her reach. Then he wondered if he was just thinking of the worst case scenarios. Ruth was too sensible to try and slit her wrists. Wasn't she? Sighing, Harry picked up the razors and turned the taps off, leaving to get Ruth who was eating in the kitchen.

"I'll be right here if you need me," Harry said quietly. Ruth nodded and went upstairs, silently thanking God that Harry was in her life like this. He was making a hellish situation much better simply by being there. She quickly got into the bath and started scrubbing every inch of her skin until it glowed pink. She even scrubbed the bruises she had on her stomach and ribs ignoring the fact that it hurt like hell, needing to feel clean. When she had finished she turned the hot water tap on to heat herself up again and dipped her head under the water level to wash the filth of this horrible day out of her hair.

Eventually she got to her feet and let the water drain off of her, patting her skin dry on a towel. She approached the mirror which was steamed up and looked at her reflection in its blurriest form. She looked down at the sink and swiped her hand across the condensation. It took a lot of time for her to get the courage to look up at her reflection. When she did she looked down after two seconds. Then she tried it again and managed five. She took a deep shaky breath and had another go, her hands pulling her wet hair out of her face. She stayed there until there was a light knock on the bathroom door.

"Are you okay?" Harry's voice said through the door.

"Mm," Ruth replied, knowing he was worried about her. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Take your time," Harry replied. Ruth took another deep breath and wrapped herself in her dressing gown which was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. She tied it tightly and for the first time since she was kidnapped she felt a little better. She opened the bathroom door and saw Harry looking at her with an anxious look on his face.

"I feel better for that," she told him.

"Good." He sighed and then started speaking quickly. "I want to stay here with you but if you don't want me here or if you want to be alone, I completely understand."

"No, no. I want you here," she said quietly with such sincerity that he was convinced this was what she needed. Gingerly, because of her ribs she sat down on bed and closed her eyes for a second.

"Do you need anything?" Harry asked.

"Can I have your shirt?" she asked looking down at her hands. "I… I want to sleep in it if that's okay."

"Yeah," Harry said, surprised by her request. He quickly unbuttoned it and passed it to her. She turned her back to him, not wanting her body to be displayed to him yet. As she slipped it on and made sure all the buttons were done up, covering her body, she crawled into bed. She took a deep breath, inhaling Harry's scent which was permeating her skin from his shirt. She felt… safe and it was a long time since she had had that feeling.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to get into bed next to me?" Ruth asked with such an appearance of normality that Harry was taken aback for a moment. Slowly, so he wouldn't scare her, he sat down on top of the duvet and looked at her carefully. Eventually she ended up being wrapped in his arms as she fell asleep, with the duvet providing a barrier between their bodies. A barrier which Ruth needed. She wanted to be held by him, truly she did but skin contact was just too much for her right now. Even though she was bone tired it took a long time for her to let go of her fear and tension for long enough to fall asleep.

I had trouble deciding where to finish this chapter with the result that the next one is quite short. Sorry it took me a while longer to post. Work getting in the way of my fiction writing! Please review. xxx