A brief and I do mean brief, foray into the misunderstandings which haunted Harry and Ruth's relationship in canon, to provide a backstory as how I think they might have coped during their years apart.

Whatever they might have expected Harry to say or what he hoped would be their reaction when he told them that 'unless Lucas actually made a move against him, he was prepared to give him every chance to prove himself to be the man he thought him to be, which meant that he needed them to proceed with an open mind,' sceptical when it came to Lucas and accepting when it came to his decision, were the answers he wanted. For the simple reason than it spoke of loyalty which was paramount on his list of requirements from his team, which for one so new and so young spoke of a bright future whoever was sitting in the driving seat.

'Lucas is by no means the first and certainly won't be the last,' he continued, before going on to explain what had happened to Tom as a result of being set up by a couple whose anger had been understandable, but the way that they had chosen to ruin his life had been nothing short of criminal. 'That his team had been divided in their opinion as to whether Tom was guilty of murder or not, him included had complicated things, but it had been his decision that he and two of his colleagues should drive to the Norfolk coast where he had been calling from, in the hope that he'd come back to the grid where at least he'd have a chance to prove his innocence.'

'And did he?' asked Dimitri who had already accepted the unenviable task of accompanying him to meetings away from the grid.

'No, he shot me and then faked his own death,' not only had the effect he was hoping for, but produced an expletive from Beth which suggested that she was in no doubt that he was expecting history to repeat itself, but this time with Ruth as the target.

As did he, although he had no intension of voicing it, instead playing what he saw as his trump card, designed to prove to them that nobody was safe from recrimination by saying, 'it gave the then chairman of the JIC the excuse to disband the section as we know it today. That he failed was the only positive to be gained, because it cost Ruth and I the best part three years and a lot of heartbreak along the way. Which is the reason that I intend to take a step back and let Alec head up this operation.'

.

'You heard the man,' Alec told them, but not until Harry, with Ruth hot on his heels, had disappeared in the direction of his office. Only then sharing his own thoughts on top of what Harry had told them, including a total ban on talking about Harry and Ruth as a couple, even amongst themselves.

'Coffee anyone, I'll make it,' suggested Beth, who needed a break in order to digest what Harry had said, as did thy all.

Only for Alec to say within moments of her return, 'in addition to what Harry told you, you need to know that Lucas paid a visit to Caroline Myers, Ros's mother and by doing so, not only did he commit the cardinal sin of intimidating a civilian, but one who was so recently bereaved. Scared and not wanting to be on her own, she called Harry who did what I hope any one of you would have done in the same circumstances. He drove up to Cambridgeshire and brought her back to London for her own safety.'

'Jesus.' said Beth for the second time in as many minutes.

Whilst Alec was hammering home the possible repercussions of Lucas's behaviour, the couple in question who were also taking a break after what for Ruth in particular, had been a morning when despite her agreeing that they should extend the knowledge that they were living together to include Dimitri and Tariq, had felt overwhelming. Until Harry, who could melt the icing on a cake when he smiled, had done just that, and in doing so had reduced what had felt like a mountain into a molehill.

Which now that they were in the sanctuary of his office where rather than waste time and knowing even without her saying anything that Ruth was not only relieved but much happier, he continued in the same vein by saying, 'I still intend us leaving here by five at the latest and as there's nothing to be gained by us hiding ourselves away anymore, I want to take you out to dinner this evening.'

.

'How did it go?' referring to the day and not the announcement Malcolm asked Harry, when just as Caroline had the previous morning, Ruth said 'she was going upstairs to change.'

Change which in her case was to have a hot shower and wash her hair after their day on the grid, which had finally seen her catching up with what she was paid to do, which had been to assess threat levels from all sources and prioritise them. Which mercifully and unlike most days, had been far less than usual and nothing which were beyond the capability of either Beth or Dimitri to follow up.

More than anything though she needed to get her emotional balance back on track and find some energy which during the drive home had deserted her. Which in any other circumstances would have seen her running a hot bath, but with a house full of people and only an hour to get ready and Harry needing a shower as well, she made do with just that.

Energy which allowed her to turn her attention to the evening and because Harry had ordered a taxi for seven, suggested that they weren't going very far, but you never knew with Harry she thought, remembering the unexpected extra night at the hotel near Ely and how they'd made a promise to each other that on their days off, rather than sit around the house, or houses as it had been then, that they'd visit pastures new.

New which after the last few days, she hoped might include a trip to see Malcolm in his new surroundings and have the luxury of breathing in some sea air. That and of course the co incidence that he was living in Sussex, which had re-established in her mind the thought that Harry would one day ask her to marry him again. A thought which stayed with her and only increased when he was helping her off with her coat and insisted that 'neither of them was to mention work.'

Agreeing that it was a good idea, the fact that the restaurant was tucked away in a side street, without pretension and along with a menu to match, did however make her wonder why Harry had chosen to bring her here?

Only for her to get an answer and without her usually ability to read his mind when they were still eating the main course, having nodded in response to his offer to pour her another glass of wine, the last thing she expected him to say was 'this was my go-to eatery on the nights when I couldn't face going back to an empty house.'

Had Harry known that with those few words Ruth would be transported back to Cyprus and the guilt which she had forced herself to live with because she deserved it. Or more specifically on the nights when she had been lying in bed next to George and wondering what Harry was doing in order ignore George's attention, which at times she had only been able to bear by pretending he was Harry, he would have chosen a different way to word it. Especially as his reason for telling her were so far removed from what Ruth was thinking and had in no way been said to upset her, but because his judgement based on Lucas's behaviour towards him had taken a huge knock. Something which only Ruth could repair by listening to what he had planned to tell her when they walked back to his house which was only a stone's throw away.

Mercifully, an adverb which rarely applied to these two, came in the form of the owner, who contrary to what Harry had told Ruth, knew him to be a regular customer. One who on one very bleak night, when Harry had drunk far more than was good for him, had told him that he had lost the love of his life. Which by the way these two had been looking at each other, at least until the last few moments, suggested he had found her again. That or the man who he knew as James had moved on, which given that he was holding the woman's hand and she was responding by nodding to whatever he was saying, seemed unlikely. Either way they were going to have a coffee and liqueur on the house he decided.

.

'It's bricks and mortar Ruth nothing more and it makes perfect sense that I sell mine,' Harry told her, changing the subject from his lonely nights alone and her reaction, to what he saw as a forward move and at the same time reminding her that they had already discussed selling either his or her house in order to buy a property away from London. 'Besides, if we stay here tonight rather than ring for a taxi to go back to yours, not only will we have the house to ourselves, but in the morning because Alec is in effectively running the grid, we can scour every inch of the coastline until we find somewhere that feels like home. Now you go on up while I make us both a warm drink.'

What Harry didn't know was that Ruth had already had a look at properties on line, dozens of them when he had first suggested that they buy somewhere permanent, although not for a moment had she expected it to be so soon.

Now sitting on Harry's bed, was this what Ros had envisaged? Harry and her, a warm drink before they went to sleep and a house that was theirs, all in the space of a few weeks? She liked to think that it was.