Still Monday, April 11th

He found her lying on her side in the hospital gurney; her back towards the door. A white cotton blanket draped over the drab blue hospital gown she was now sporting. From his spot at the door he could just make out the IV drip the hospital staff had run when they'd walked through the doors; fear of dehydration being their sole reason for doing so. In all the confusion following the bombing and Danny's death, they'd both missed the laceration along her hair line; bleeding quietly into her chestnut hair.

But the hospital staff hadn't missed it. In all the chaos that was the A&E department, a nurse had spotted the trail of blood and whisked her away to a cubical of her own, leaving Harry just standing there. It hadn't taken long for him to be seen and given the all clear; his only souvenir of sorts a few bruised ribs and a contusion high on his left cheek from when he'd hit the stone flooring.

What had taken longer was being allowed back to see Ruth. To him; her fiancé and father of her growing embryos; he was her next of kin. But the brute of a nurse at the front desk had disagreed. Her chart said differently. His threats had fallen on deaf ears as had his pleas and attempts at bribery. He'd just about reached the point of pulling out his cell phone and calling Malcolm to hack into the hospital systems to find out which room she'd been taken too when a kind doctor took pity on him and directed him to the correct room.

Which was how he found himself starring at her back.

Stepping into the room, he quietly closed the door and made his way to where she lay. Stopping behind her, he hesitated a moment; his hand suspended above her hair.

He was scared to touch her. He didn't know why but he was.

Truly alone for the first since the bombing, Ruth let her mind run through everything that had happened. She lived in a world where; though uncommon enough to cause fear and shock; bombings took place and people died. She'd gotten used to the idea. Even without the experiences she'd gained in the year and a half she'd been with Section D.

But it wasn't something that one expected to find themselves experiencing first hand; nor living through.

Being that close to death put things into prospective. People were always saying things like that when they'd come within a hairs length of dying but she'd never put much stock into it. People were different. They reacted differently to life. And yet; as she laid there on the bed waiting; she realized how true it was.

To many her life was easy. She came from a middle class family with a mother and father present during her early years. She'd attended a small nursery and though a quiet, shy girl; she had friends. Not as many as the popular girls but there were friends. She had a warm home and a full stomach every day of her life; shelves full of books and toys. In the winter she had a thick coat and water proof boots; in the summer there was air conditioning and family trips to the sea side. Even after her father's death she'd wanted for nothing except love and attention from her mother.

And to not feel so lost.

Or alone.

But all that wasn't enough to give her the self confidence and feeling of worth that others had. Given the right situation - she could muster it up from within. It was there; it just needed nurturing. And many mistook her hesitancy for fear.

Or weakness.

A total lack of confidence.

She didn't fear life or all that it was; she just didn't know how to embrace it. All the hopes and dreams she had for herself were within reach.

Even before Harry.

But she was lacking the knowledge of how to take hold of that life. The heroines in the books never taught her how to grasp those things in life she wanted. They never provided the steps needed to go on a successful date or make a lasting friendship when the world thought you bonkers.

Brilliant.

But bonkers.

The books didn't show you how to take the words and thoughts in your head and express them in ways that others would understand. Or how to keep the friendships one made when you didn't quite fit into societies standards.

It was that misunderstanding that made her more nervous than anything.

The thought that people would look at her like she was even more eccentric than they already thought.

And decide that while being acquaintances was fine; anything more wasn't worth it.

Being brilliant was difficult in a world that wanted ordinary. So very difficult.

And yet somehow she had stumbled upon it.

Once she'd hit thirty she'd given up all thoughts on having what so many deemed a normal life. Men didn't find it worth their time to date a woman who found solace in the worlds that fiction created. Nor did they particularly like her hesitancy towards intimacy. Again; not borne from fear; but rather the ideals she'd garnered from the books she read and the time spent with her grandmother. The idea that she was worth more than the casual fling so many wanted to start relationships with.

With that loss of finding her so called "perfect" man, she'd also given up the idea of being a mother. It wasn't that she was against single parents; in a way she thought them stronger than those with a partner because they lacked that support. But she couldn't see herself as one of them. Strong enough she could do; she'd taken care of herself in a way after her father's death. It had been the thought that there was no one person in her life she could picture as the father of any children she'd have and using some random guy didn't settle well with her.

So she'd thrown herself into her work. Which if truth be told; while exciting at times; wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She enjoyed the challenge it presented; at times; but if she was honest with herself, being behind the desk with the data wasn't all it was cracked up to be. That was a surprise to her. She respected the logical and illogical aspects that made the facts interesting but it got old after a time.

With work she managed to find a mask of normalcy. She woke up in the morning, fed herself and the cats, and puttered around before she had to make her way through the crowds. On the bus she'd sit beside some stranger; too engrossed in their own life to spare a thought for the woman sitting next to them, her nose buried in a book. At work she'd socialize; listen to the happenings of their life, tossing in a tidbit here and there; and yet somehow she'd still be alone.

That crazy woman with the cat.

And shelves full of books.

The woman everyone thought was bonkers.

Unless they took the time to get to know her. Which for many wasn't worth the effort when so many other people were easy.

And then; quite literally; she'd stumbled upon Harry.

And as they said, the rest was history. A torrid, twisted mess of history.

Even after finding out he felt the same way for her she'd found it difficult to break the patterns of her past. It was so much easier to keep someone at a distance than to let them in; to see if they could withstand her brilliance and the bonkersness that ensued.

It was easier to live in the land of fiction. Of places where one truly didn't have to be known as themselves. Where characters came to life and stories continued past the pages they rested on.

It was so much easier than living with the real people.

Challenged woman that she was, she almost missed her moment.

Almost missed that one chance at life that had jumped out at her.

Of course, the price of all this realization had been high. Almost too steep a price to pay.

She'd almost died.

Harry had almost died.

Danny had died.

As had countless others.

And as she laid there, she wasn't sure about the twins. As early in the pregnancy as it was, there was a good chance of losing them. Even though she knew as yet she hadn't. Or perhaps it was just her fervently hoping she hadn't.

"Please God, let them be okay." she whispered, her hands sliding down to cover her unchanged stomach.

Hands gently rubbing soothing circles around her navel, she thought about all that had happened; not only through the course of the night; but throughout all her years of life. She couldn't continuously live in her safe world; not if she wanted to have Harry continue being in her life. It wasn't fair to either of them for her to do so. She had to trust him enough to be herself with him. And for him to continue being there.

He'd shown that tonight. In those seconds that Danny had pushed her away from the flying debris Harry hadn't even paused. He'd reacted. Wrapped himself around her and pushed her to the ground. Put himself in harm's way to keep her safe. And even when she'd been in shock at the pointless death of her friend and colleague, he'd stood by her and offered her support. All the while watching out for her.

It was time to trust him; to let herself love and be loved fully.

It was also at that time that she sensed she wasn't alone any more. Turning onto her back, she met the hazel eyes of the man she'd just been thinking about.

He was still whole.

He was still breathing.

Though in the muted light of her room she could see the beginning marks of a bruise forming on his cheek.

Moving her arms, she rested her elbows against the flimsy mattress and pushed herself into a sitting position. The lack of backing on the gurney didn't make for the most comfortable of resting places but she shifted until she was comfortable while leaving enough space for him to sit.

"Hi." she said softly, her eyes settling on his again.

Hand lowering to cover hers, Harry offered a small smile. "Hi yourself. How are you feeling?"

"Like I've just almost been blown up. How are you?"

"About the same." Still standing by the bed, he looked her over; a bit fearful that in the aftermath of everything there was some other injury they'd missed.

Turning her hand over, she linked their fingers and pulled him closer; wanting him to sit with her. As he tentatively lowered himself onto the mattress, she looked him over. "Were you seen by a Doctor?"

Bending his leg at the knee so he could turn to face her, Harry nodded. "I did. Nothing more than a few bruised ribs and a bruised cheek. How about you? Were you checked over yet?"

"They cleaned the cut on my head and butterflied it for now. They're waiting for a plastic surgeon to come and put some stitches in it; what with it being my face and all. I tried to tell them it didn't matter; that a small scar was the least of my worries; but they were insistent about the surgeon."

Lifting her hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss below the IV needle taped down. "What about...aside from that? Are you alright?"

"I don't know yet." she said softly, her eyes looking at their linked hands. "I'm still waiting for them to come in and do an ultrasound."

"They've not been in to do one yet? You've been here over an hour." The relative calm he'd been feeling since entering the room with her slipped away. Lowering her hand to the mattress, he made to stand. "I'll go see what's keeping them."

"Harry wait." she said, reaching out to snag his hand. "They'll be here when they can. They've more urgent cases that need seeing too before me. I've not had any pains or cramping so they're thinking an ultrasound is more reassurance than anything else."

With a sigh, he settled back onto the bed; his eyes watching her fingers trace against the skin of his hand. "You're right; I know; I just worry about you."

"And I love you for it. But stay with me. They'll be here when they can."

Nodding, he shifted closer; carefully moving around her IV until he was next to her. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her into a hug; her head fitting into the crevice of his neck. "Are you alright with what happened to Danny?"

"Honestly? No. But I also don't want to talk about it; not yet. There's only so much I can process; and right now I'm more worried about the twins than anything. Everything else will be there tomorrow. And the day after."

The door opened, keeping him from answering.

Both looked up and watched as a Doctor wheeled a machine into the room; stopping on the right side of the bed. Smiling at the couple before her, she looked down at her chart before speaking.

"Ms. Evershed? I'm Doctor Corday. I apologize for the wait but if you're ready, I'd like to do the ultrasound now; just to check that everything's alright?"

Nodding, Ruth felt Harry let go of her hand and stand; moving out of the way for the doctor. Shifting on the bed, she laid back; her fingers gripping the blanket as she looked at the doctor. "I had one this afternoon; checking that everything was alright during a doctor's appointment; is it safe for you to be doing another one so soon?"

"Yes." the doctor answered, picking up the tube of gel. "There's been numerous studies done that show having multiple ultrasounds during pregnancy are safe; even during the first 18 weeks. Now, this is going to be cold."

Feeling the gel hit the skin of her stomach, Ruth reached for Harry. Gripping his hand, she watched as the doctor turned the machine on and moved the machine closer. As she adjusted the dials, the doctor looked at Ruth briefly. "Was your doctor able to detect a heartbeat this afternoon?"

"Yes; on both babies."

"You're having twins?" the doctor asked, looking at the chart in surprise.

"Yes. I told the nurse when I was first brought back."

"She didn't document it but I'll make a note and follow up. Now just relax and we'll see what's going on."

Feeling Harry move closer, she lifted her eyes and met his briefly before they both turned towards the screen. For the second time that day, Ruth watched as the image of her baby filled the monitor. Looking up at Harry, she saw his attention focused on the screen; a cross between wonder and amazement on his face.

"Okay. We have one baby here with what looks like a strong heartbeat, and" shifting the responder to the left, the doctor adjusted the screen before continuing, "another one with the same strong heartbeat." Printing a picture, the doctor turned off the machine and looked at the expectant parents. "Everything looks to be alright but you're going to need to take it easy for a few days; drink plenty of water and make sure you're getting enough rest. You should also avoid all strenuous activities and limit the amount of walking you do; just as a precaution. I'm not seeing a reason that you'd need to stay for observation; just follow up with your regular doctor in a week. Unless you experience any kind of spotting, cramping or pain of any kind; then you'll need to come back straight away."

Standing, the doctor handed Ruth a tissue to clean the gel away.

"Do either of you have any questions?"

"No." Harry answered, glancing at Ruth and seeing her shake her head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Just take it easy. Dr. Sloan should be with you in a few minutes to put those stitches in. He's just finishing up with another patient now."

At that, the Doctor left the room with a good-bye and good luck.

Sitting up again, Ruth shifted enough so Harry could sit down with her, his arm sliding around her waist to pull her close. Turning her to him, he pressed his lips against hers softly; his hand settling against her stomach. Pulling away slightly, he kept his arms wrapped around her as she settled to rest her head against his chest. Free hand finding its way to her hair, he brushed it softly; finally able to relax a bit with the news that both Ruth and the babies were going to be alright.

AN: Thank you all for the reviews on the last chapter - as thanks, I finished this one a bit quicker; and stayed up a bit later; than I planned. But the reviews made me happy on an otherwise sad day. Still more for April coming though it should be a bit lighter than it's been; Ruth has a birthday coming up after all; even with the death of Danny. If you've a moment, please leave a review and let me know what you think ... and ideas on what Harry should get Ruth for her birthday.