AN: Welcome to day 4 of the advent calendar of 2013. The women over at the 3 Words, 8 Letters HR group on FB asked for a continuation of 'A Misunderstanding' and so I thought I would write it. Not a hard feat as this story actually seems to be flowing pretty easily right now. We're starting with earlier that day for this chapter and tomorrow; as long as Mr. Migraine goes away; there'll be another chapter in this story.

Earlier that day

"Have you finished your breakfast?"

The voice is soft and a little unsure; something Ruth does not normally associate with her boss and lover; and so she looks up rather quickly from her bowl of warm cereal. Harry is standing in the door to the hall, old jeans and a loose white button shirt; top three buttons undone; hang loosely from his frame. His feet are bare and his hair; though dry; is curling from his earlier shower. It's taken some getting used to; differentiating boss Harry from personal Harry; but for the most part, she's enjoying the more laid back man.

Except those moments like now, when he's standing in his kitchen dressed like personal Harry with the look she associates with devastating news boss Harry.

That throws her inner sensibilities off.

Setting her spoon on the table, Ruth stands and crosses to him, all thoughts of breakfast gone. Stopping in front of him, she's even more worried when he takes her hand and silently leads her up the stairs. Instead of going to his bedroom, he leads her to his study. She's only been in here a handful of times; mostly to shred a document or grab his notebook on the off chance there'd been something from work to complete. But never for an extended period of time.

So as he leads her to the sofa he has along the wall and sits her down, a feeling of unsettlement begins to develop in her stomach. It grows when instead of sitting next to her; he crosses to his desk chair and sits in it; folding his hands on top of the wood, moving them to his lap and then the arms before sighing and standing. Moving to the side of his desk he leans against the side, once more fidgeting nervously and making her feeling of unease greater.

"Oh God, just say it. Who's died?"

"What?" he asks. Startled, he moves to sit next to her. Turning, he lightly grasps her hands in his. "No one has died, why would you think that?"

"You're doing that thing you do. At work. When you've just gotten bad news and you need to share it but you're not entirely sure how to go about it."

"I've got a look?" he asks, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"To those that know you well you do." Smiling back, Ruth turns her hands over so she can grip his.

"Hmm. Good to know." Looking down at their joined hands, his smile falters a little and she can see the nerves return. "But no, this isn't about work. It's about us; personal us."

"Just…" she stops a moment to swallow nervously as that feeling returns to her stomach. Breathing deeply, her dread deep as she can guess where this is going and she blinks back tears. "Just say it. I won't be upset. We couldn't expect it to last forever, could we?"

"Wha…," he's thrown for a minute until something registers in his mind, "no, we can't." With a deep sigh, he lets go of her hands and stands. "I mean, it's been fun. Great even. I've thoroughly enjoyed all the time we've spent together. Going to dinner, seeing a play, exploring a museum, even making love. But this thing. Dating. It's just not working." Pacing to his safe, he quickly enters the code to open it. Back to her, he says, "Not anymore, at least."

Reaching in, he pulls out a large, square black box. Walking back to her, he opens the box one handed. "So I think our only solution is to get married." Sitting, he rests the box on his knees and pulls out an elegant white-gold engagement ring and picks up her hand. Sliding it on her left ring finger, he smiles at her speechless shock. "I'm just glad you've made this easy for me. The old knees aren't what they used to be and getting down on one is a bit difficult."

Lifting her hand to his mouth, he places a kiss against the back, grinning widely as she finally regains her thought process.

Looking between her hand and his face, it finally clicks. "What just happened? I thought you were breaking up with me!" Smacking his chest with her free hand, she glares at him. "And why the hell would you think proposing in your home office was the thing to do?"

"That's what you get for thinking you're smarter than me." Laughing, Harry wraps his hand around the back of her head and pulls her closer. "Now shut up and let me kiss my fiancé."

Turning her face, she avoids his lips. Instead, his kiss lands in her hair. Pouting, he gently rubs the back of her neck, hoping she'll turn back towards him. When that doesn't work, he moves his head until he's looking in her eyes.

"You don't want to marry me? Is that it? Because I can sweetened the deal." Kissing the tip of her nose, he releases her before reaching into the box, and pulling out a case. Snapping it open, he turns it towards her.

Inside is a heart pendant; white gold and diamonds; resting on a thin, white gold chain. With it, a diamond tennis bracelet that matches the cut of her ring and the pendant; and a pair of drop diamond earrings that also match.

Gasping, Ruth looks from them to him. Shaking her head, she shuts the lid. "I don't need diamonds to know I love you."

"I didn't think you did." Leaning forward, he kisses her briefly. "But since you love me, does that mean you'll marry me?"

"It's rushed, don't you think?" Looking at the ring again, she has to admit it's beautiful and definitely her. "We've only been dating since August."

"And it doesn't make what we feel any less." Finger under her chin, he lifts her eyes to his. "With our job we both know time is limited. It could be over tomorrow. I don't want to waste another moment apart. Look at what happened in August; we almost lost each other with Cotterdamn. I don't want to risk it again."

"How does getting married change any of that?"

"I can protect you better; easier. We'd live in the same house to start with."

"Something we can do without getting married." She interrupts though she's not sure why as she's actually thrilled at the prospect of marrying him.

"As my wife you're entitled to the same security protection detail that I am. Now I know," he continues quickly, not giving her a chance to interrupt, "you don't want that, but it does mean you have a driver on the off chance that we don't go in together. Or leave together. I worry about you Ruth."

"I worry about you too." Reaching out, she takes his hands in hers. "And I want to marry you. I just can't handle being gossiped about. It makes me very uncomfortable. Marrying you means everyone knows; everyone says I'm sleeping with you to get ahead."

"Those who matter knows the truth." he says softly.

"I just..." she stops, and seeing the sparkle leaves her eyes, squeezes his hands. "Yes, of course I'll marry you."

AN: Well, please leave a review and let me know if I'm on the right track/your thoughts. Because while these stories are my gift to you, reviews are your gift to me. =0)