Ruth wakes before the alarm goes off, as she usually does, and rubs the sleep out of her eyes. She doesn't move because she wants Harry to sleep as long as possible. She knows that they're both light sleepers because of their career. She lays awake in the dark room savouring the feeling of the weight of Harry's arm around her. She wishes she'd fall asleep facing him so she could watch him now. She decides to take a chance of waking him and she slowly and carefully rolls over to face Harry. He looks peaceful and he's still asleep. Even in his sleep he manages to look poised and in control, though she does notice he's pouting in his sleep. She loves the way his face looks when he pouts. He puckers his lips in his sleep and Ruth has to bite her lip to prevent herself from giggling out loud. She'd love to know what he's dreaming about. He looks so sweet and then suddenly he snores loudly. Ruth smiles behind her hand at Harry's actions.

Harry instantly wakes up when the alarm clock goes off. When his eyes snap open the first thing he sees is Ruth's beautiful eyes. "How long have you been watching me? You should have been getting a good night's sleep."

"I've only been awake long enough to see you pout and make a kissy face and to hear you snore quite loudly. You're cute when you're asleep." Ruth says with a cheeky smile on her face. "What were you dreaming about?"

"You probably. That's all I ever seem to dream about. Even when you're around me you seem to be in my thoughts constantly. Ruth you are the soul of me. Every decision I make I think about what you would do. You are my conscience. I rely on you when I'm awake and my mind relies on you when I'm asleep." Harry admits his vulnerability to Ruth which is rare.

Ruth kisses Harry gently. She doesn't want a repeat of last night since they have to be at work soon, but she also just wants to kiss him and never move. She slowly climbs out of bed and walks over to the mirror. "Just look at the mark you left on my neck! How am I supposed to cover that?! I don't have one shirt that will cover this!" Ruth turns to face Harry who's watching her intently.

"Um, make-up?" Harry suggests lamely. He doesn't know anything about how women cover love bites. He made a suggestion that seemed to make sense.

"Ha, ha, you're terribly funny. Make-up won't stay on for the whole work day. I don't want everyone to know everything all at once." Ruth explains gently. It's clear Harry has forgotten how women need to get ready.

"Well, just a suggestion. What do I know about trying to cover up love bites? I never bothered to cover the ones I got. I wore them proudly." Harry teases. It's been a long time since he's been concerned about these sorts of things with a woman he's with. He certainly doesn't know anything about make-up.

"Well, I don't want our colleagues to know more than they already do. They were all over me for information when we had only been on a date! I can just imagine what would happen if I walked onto the grid with a love mark on me. They'd probably be taking dental impressions to prove it was you." Ruth teases Harry.

"Well, there is a pool going on to see when we're going to get together which can't surprise you. I think Malcolm had this month in the pool." Harry slowly climbs out of bed and locates his boxers somewhere on the floor of the bedroom. He pulls them on as he watches Ruth. He turns the water on in the bathroom and quickly washes his face. He runs a towel roughly over his face. His face is all stubbly and the front of his hair is wet.

"The pool doesn't surprise me at all. Do you know how much the pot is up to?" Ruth asks as she walks into the bedroom from the bathroom. She pulls her dressing gown out of the closet and wraps it around herself.

"The last time I checked and got a straight answer out of Malcolm and Adam the pot was up to £350. It surprised me to think that it had gotten that high. Clearly people kept losing their bets on us." Harry thinks back on the last time he asked about the pool.

"So, Malcolm just won £350? That's really impressive." Ruth has to chuckle at the ridiculousness of the situation at work.

"Well, Malcolm won the first bet, but they've got multiple bets on us. How long after we get together will we have sex? How long after we get together are we going to move in together? How long after we get together are we going to get married? How long is it going to take for us to have our first argument? How long is it going to take before I make you cry? There's even a bet on whether my children will like you or not." Harry leans against the doorframe as he speaks.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say these people have too much time on their hands." Ruth shakes her head as she and Harry head down to the kitchen.

"I know. It's clear that no one we work with has a social life." Harry watches Ruth flit around the kitchen.