'Transparency,' said Adam as though he expected the team to know what he was going to say in advance of the evening out with Harry and Ruth. Only to be confronted by a wall of blank faces making him wonder if not only would he have been better served to have kept what he has been building up to telling them for another day, or perhaps it was a given when you were the Section Head to get your timing wrong?

Except in this case what he wants to say has a bearing on how he hopes the evening will go and is why he says, 'I know that you're itching to get away but before you do I want to explain why I have spent the last few days away from the grid trying to convince myself that I won't regret my decision to step into Harry's shoes and why I want tonight's celebration to worthy of the years of devoted service he has given to this country. More than that I appreciate what you did as a team when he and I were looking for Ruth as does Harry. And if that makes me sound like a politician then so be it but my decision after a lot of soul searching is yes. Having said that there will be times when to be the father that Wes needs, I will require the same support which Harry offered me when Fiona died in the same way that last week I asked him and Ruth if Wes could stay with them whilst I was away when let's face it they had more than enough to do. Because not only was there no hesitation, but when I came back it was obvious that Wes had had the time of his life, which means I have no intension of letting what will be a few miles of water or the protocol which dictates that we cut ties with someone who leaves the service, stop me from taking Wes to stay with them at some time next year, or because I'd never hear the last of it if I were to refuse his plea to come with me tonight.'

To which Ros who of all people he had expected would have at best rolled her eyes and at worst made a comment to suggest that he had gone soft said, 'we'll all support you Adam whatever decisions you make.'

.

Sharing a taxi with Ros, wasn't or ever would be Malcolm's idea of a pleasant way to start an evening out, but given what she'd said to Adam would he thought make a refusal seem churlish so was the reason they were arriving in what was plenty of time ahead the others, to be greeted at the door with the good news that the room that they had originally wanted to book had become available due to a last-minute cancellation and at no extra cost. Better still and was the reason that they had chosen it in the first place was that it overlooked a nearby park which at that time of night was closed, giving the impression that they had wanted to create in as much as it would feel as though they were shut away from the rest of the world and as close as Malcolm who had done the leg work, to somewhere he thought that Harry and Ruth would feel at home.

Not far behind them in that they will arrive ten minutes or so later, Zaf and Jo had, based on what Adam had said had come to the conclusion that the reason Malcolm hadn't responded to his very open and honest declaration was because at some time in the future he too would be making a trip over or under the same strip of water and why not given that he and Harry had not only worked together but formed a bond that was almost impossible to imagine lasting given the pressure that the job demanded. That and knowing that he of all people was going to miss having Harry around and by extension Ruth. Not forgetting what Adam had said or remembering that dreadful day when Fiona had been killed and the impact it must have had on Wes. Mace and his plan to set Harry up and an outcome which could have been so different not only put everything into perspective but made them realise why Adam had been adamant that this evening be one of celebration.

Whilst Adam who with Wes dressed in what Fiona had insisted they buy him for the one and only formal occasion they had attended as a family, was reliving the moment when he had told Wes that they were going to live in Ruth's house. How he had cushioned the blow of Harry and Ruth leaving by telling him that he would be able to send them messages and in turn he was sure that Ruth would send him pictures of the places they were visiting and that he himself would buy him a map of France so he could track their progress, during what Wes deemed was an adventure and that when they did find the house they wanted to live in and yes it would be forever, a word which had become important to Wes since his mum had died, that he would take him to see them.

In the same way that the couple in question had already decided that transparency or being honest with the exception of telling whoever they were talking to either jointly or individually that they were engaged to be married, something which wouldn't be obvious because Ruth wasn't wearing a ring, hadn't prevented Harry during what had been the last of his packing from producing a gold pendant which was the only tangible thing he had left of his mothers and asking Ruth if she would like to wear it? Which as Ruth had responded by saying it was beautiful, Harry deemed the ultimate happy ending to what had been a week that he would remember for the rest of his life and Ruth that the approaching evening out, felt as though they were finally closing the door on a time when they had got to know each other, to be replaced by a multitude of yet to be enjoyed moments. A heady combination which meant by the time they climbed into the taxi they were ready to face anything.

.

Anything which after what had felt like a bombardment of genuine affection when they had walked into the room, Harry having insisted that he hold her hand not only because he wanted to but to see who if anyone was going to say something they would later regret, saw him side lined by Ros whose idea of small talk was to engage him in a conversation about the power outage and what a nightmare it had been, making him realise that other than work, Ros's life was small to the point of not existent and if she didn't do something to change it she'd end up as he had been, until Ruth had bounced into his life.

In contrast to Zaf and Jo who he could see out of the corner of his eye were in conversation with Ruth and by the smiles on their faces suggested that whatever they were talking about it was a lot more interesting than the impact of the power outage. Only to be saved from any further contemplation or whether he ought to break what had been a promise and tell Ros that not only had they been to the theatre but without the power going off in all probability he would still be trying to pluck up the courage to ask Ruth to marry him, when Ruth with Wes in tow tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he would take Wes to the toilet because Adam was otherwise occupied ordering a round of drinks?

When with one eye on Harry's disappearing back, 'I envy you,' was the last thing that Ruth expected Ros to say. Had she known in advance she would have probably responded I doubt that. Only for Ros to follow it up by saying, 'Harry adores you, the rest of them love you and me well I'm just someone they tolerate.' The first half of which was without doubt true but had Ruth wondering why tonight of all nights Ros had not only chosen to indulge in some soul searching, but how long it would take Wes to have a pee.

Not though wanting to drag up the past or appear insensitive, 'I was dreading this evening but now that I'm here I feel fine,' she told the woman who had done more than her fair share not only to ensure that she and Harry never got to see each other again but had compensated, forced or otherwise, by going to see the Home Secretary and explain away what might have been difficult in as much as she was supposed to be dead, why she and Harry were living together in a tiny house in France. Which for some reason saw her throwing caution and her preconceived ideas as to how she felt about Ros by saying, 'from what I hear, the only reason that you flunked the interview and by the way Harry was thrilled to hear that you told Dolby what he could do with the job, was that you wanted to keep Adam safe so, unless the two months in Harry's company has seen me losing my analytical powers, in this case I think you're mistaken Ros.'

'Thank you and I'm sorry,' were not only the two words that Ruth had never expected to pass Ros's lips but were timed perfectly because it was at that moment that Harry arrived back with Wes.

Although any further conversation was mercifully prevented by the request from their waiter for the evening who having introduced himself as Simon asked that 'they take their places at the table.'