Home Run - Chapter 8

[Tea Lady]

Thanks again for reading and reviewing and to JHyde for the Beta and drinking advice.

Here it is, garden gate, chapter 8.


Chapter 8

The meeting at the safe house was going about as well as Ros had expected, which was, quite frankly, appallingly. As far as Ros was concerned. Predictably, George had not taken the news at all well and had leapt to his feet yelling and cursing at Harry. Caught in the middle of the mêlée was poor Ruth, who was struggling to calm a frantic George. Before the heated exchange comes to blows, Ruth grabs George by the arms and dragged him out of the lounge with Ros‘ help. Noticeably, Harry does not try to mollify George but just inertly stands his ground, an indifferent expression fixed on his face.

After a few minutes, a shocked looking Ruth ventures back into the lounge. Shaking slightly, she clasps her hands tightly to her sides, trying but failing to suppress the movement. No one knows what to say so Ros intuitively makes her excuses and leaves. She mouths to Harry that she will wait for him in the car and he nods his head, in both acknowledgment and appreciation.

Ten minutes have passed and Ros taps the steering wheel impatiently, wondering what on earth Harry is doing. She is sorely tempted to phone his mobile. As if reading her mind, Ros hears the front door of the house slam shut and she looks over to see Harry emerge.

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The car is just a few minutes from Thames House when Ros finds the fortitude to take Harry to task over what happened in the safe house. Ros is not normally anxious about talking to Harry and she has to admit that sometimes she loves a good fight with him. But when personal matters are involved, Harry can go one of two ways. Close down completely, or explode like a volcano. Neither are appealing prospects right now.

“Harry, what was all that about Libby and Cyprus?”

“Uh…what?”

“Come on, Harry. I’m not stupid. You know Ruth could go back to Cyprus…today! There is probably less of a risk to her there than here in London. Also Libby McCall has been traced. He’s probably already been picked up by a CIA team in Chile. So…”

“So?” Harry interrupted.

“So, you are trying to keep Ruth here, aren’t you?”

Turning his head away from Ros, Harry stares out of the car window. Clearly he does not want to meet her gaze but he can still feel Ros looking at him intently. He knows she will not give up though and tries to explain. “Ros…”

“Harry it’s OK. I get it…really. Just - just don’t do this alone. You can’t. You need help and as far as I see it, I owe you. Well, the both of you. Let me help? We‘ve done this before. Remember?”

There is silence and Harry shuffles awkwardly in his seat. This is clearly difficult for him and he is looking just a little embarrassed. Harry is letting personal feelings get in the way of doing his job. Again. Just like with Adam.

“Ros…I want her to stay. Stay in London. I don’t know how this will work out and if Ruth finds out that I haven’t exactly been completely truthful, she will be on the first flight back. I just can’t let that happen. I just can’t let her disappear again. Do you understand me?”

“Yes. I do.”

Harry sighs and moves a hand to stroke his forehead like he is trying to soothe a painful headache. “Ruth has agreed to meet me tomorrow. We will have a chance to talk then, properly. And then - then we will see. And Ros…”

“Yes Harry.”

“Thank you.” Harry does not hide the absolute sincerity in the final words to his Section Chief and friend, as they pull into Thames House.

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He buys himself a bottle of Yorkshire beer and her a small dry white wine. It is nearly lunchtime and the pub on the South Bank is starting to fill with weary office workers, desperate for an hour of normality and gossip away from the banality of work and the prying eyes and ears of the boss.

Harry manages to find a small table towards the rear of the pub. Not too public but not too intimate either. The pub is approximately a mile and a half from Thames House so there can be no unwanted interruptions from colleagues. Then, as he is half-expecting her not to show (she is already fifteen minutes late), Ruth appears through the wooden doors of the pub. As she approaches the table, a nervous Harry quickly moves his shaky hands under the wooden table to rest on his legs and hopes Ruth has not noticed.

“Hi,” is all Ruth says as she takes the seat opposite him, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she has arrived late.

“Thank you for coming Ruth, I…er…got you a white wine. I hope that is ok.”

Nodding her head, Ruth takes a mouthful of the wine. The refreshing coldness of the drink, mixed with the alcohol, quickly has an affect and she starts to feel more at ease with her surroundings and her company.

“You said we needed to talk, Ruth. This is why I asked you here today.”

“I know what I said Harry but that was before - before Adelphi.”

An awkward silence falls over them as Harry watches Ruth play with the stem of her wine glass. She looks absolutely shattered. There are dark lines under her usually sparkling eyes and her hair is lying limp; lifeless. Harry doubts she managed to sleep at all last night.

Afraid the conversation is starting to go nowhere fast, he ploughs on. “Ruth, I came to tell you, well ask you, whether you wanted your life back…I mean your old life back?”

It takes a moment or two to sink in, but eventually Ruth takes her eyes off her glass and gives Harry her full attention.

“What? You mean…do I want to be Ruth Evershed again?” She asks, frowning; a little confused by the question.

“Yes, Ruth.”

“But how? How is that possible and - and why now, after all this time, Harry?”

“Why now, well because you are here and well I think this nation owes you, don‘t you? Mace is dead and buried. As for Cotterdam, well lets just say the Home Secretary owes me more than a favour or two. I’ll persuade him to open the enquiry again, exonerate you, mislay some files, and bury it all on a bad news day. There are so many banks collapsing at the moment, Ruth, no one will even notice it has been done or even care.”

Stunned, Ruth does not know what to say. She has hoped this might be possible one day, of course she has. But now faced with the reality of it becoming so, she does not know how she is supposed to react, on top of everything else she has gone through over the last forty eight hours.

“Ruth, I have to ask, does George know that your legend in Cyprus was false?”

“Yes. He does now, of course, but I don’t think he realises the implications. He will work it out soon enough though, no doubt.”

“Implications?” Harry asks.

Taking another large mouthful of wine Ruth continues, “The house, Harry, I don’t own it. Ruth Perkins does. Whoever she is now. She is also the one employed at the hospital and the one…the one married to George. Not me. Not Ruth Evershed, Harry.”

“Oh,” is all Harry can muster in response. He tries to make it sound as sincere as possible but he already thought this to be the case, that as Ruth’s identity in Cyprus was fictitious, so would be her marriage to George. In Law, the marriage would not stand. Ruth Evershed owned nothing and belonged to no one.

Sighing deeply, giving her a moment to take in everything Harry has said, Ruth knows she does want her life back. She wants to be herself again, her real self. In fact it is all she has ever wanted. It is an easy decision and she does not hesitate a moment longer, “Yes, Harry. I want that. I want to be Ruth Evershed again. I - I need to be Ruth Evershed again. Can you try and arrange that for me?”

“Yes, yes, of course. I am seeing the Home Secretary this afternoon. Ruth, what - what are you going to tell George?”

She half smiles, half grimaces. “Well, I do not have to tell him anything. He is on a flight back to Cyprus.”

Harry is gripping his knees so tight, he fears he will cut off his circulation. “But Ruth…”

“He’s gone. I couldn’t stop him, Harry. He has left Nico with me, just in case it’s still not safe back in Polis. He needs to try and sort out the insurance for the house, find us somewhere temporary to live, and then arrange the funeral. At least Adelphi’s children are safe. They were with a relative.”

“That – that’s good Ruth…” Harry is interrupted by the ringing of his mobile phone. Answering quickly, he utters a few words, then snaps the phone shut again.

“Ruth, sorry. I have to go but I will phone you later about what we discussed today.”

Glad of the excuse proffered to end this awkward reunion, Ruth drinks down the remainder of her wine and notices that Harry’s beer is untouched. As they get up from the table to leave, neither knows the appropriate way to say goodbye. Slowly making their way to the doors, Ruth suddenly turns back to face Harry. He is caught totally by surprise and has to stop abruptly, to prevent him from colliding with her.

“Your arm, Harry?” Ruth points towards Harry’s arm.

“Er…what?”

“Your arm, is it all right? The stitches?”

“My arm…oh, yes Ruth, it’s – it’s fine. Thank you.”

She gives him a small smile, then mouths the word “bye” and walks out of the pub.

He is left standing there, alone.

XXXXXXXX

It is not until 8pm that Harry finally leaves the Home Office and returns to the Grid. The first thing he does is to reverently pour himself a large whiskey which he has been dreaming of for the last three hours. Then, before he has a chance to open any of the twenty files that have appeared from nowhere on his desk, there’s a gentle tap on his open door.

Harry looks up and gestures to Ros to join him in a drink. He pours her a generous measure.

“So?” asks Ros, as she sits down.

“So…the Home Secretary has agreed to help Ruth. He’s going to get someone he trusts in his office to call tomorrow to sort out the finer details but it’s done. Ruth Evershed is home.”

Ros nods her head, “Is she going to stay home, Harry?”

“I wish I knew the answer to that.” Harry takes a large mouthful of whiskey and continues, “He has also authorised an immediate compensation payment from the special contingencies fund.”

“How much for?”

“£250,000.”

Ros whistles in surprise.

“Yes, it’s amazing how The Home Office can find money when it wants to keep something under wraps.”

“So your plan is to give them the money? Give it to Ruth and George?”

“Yes, of course. Why? It’s standard when this sort of thing occurs, not that it occurs very often, thank goodness.”

“Harry, they will take the money and run. Or rather George will run dragging Ruth with him back to Cyprus, quicker than you can say Zorba The Greek.”

“Well that is a chance I will have to take, Ros. What, you think I should hold on to the money?”

“Harry, think about it. I’m not saying keep the money, just wait awhile. It will give Ruth time to decide what she really wants from all this. It’s all happening so fast, George will be scared of losing her Harry, so he will want her back in Cyprus as soon as possible.”

“Ros, if she finds out…if Ruth finds out I’ve…”

Ros interrupts, “She won’t because you will not know anything about it.”

“What? I...”

“Deniability, Harry. I’ve decided myself to hold the money on account out of some blind loyalty to you. Call it what you want.”

Harry can not help but raise his voice slightly, “She will not believe it, Ros. She will not believe for one second that I was not involved in this.”

“Well, the way I see it, you do not have much of a choice if you want to keep Ruth here. I will deal with all the paperwork for the payment. You will have complete deniability. Ruth and I…well we are not exactly the best of friends.” Ros takes a mouthful of her whiskey and settles back in the chair.

Harry sighs, what more can he say as he knows Ros is right. With the money in their pockets, George and Ruth will leave the UK, perhaps forever. The plan is fraught with risk but Harry accepts he has no choice but to go along with it. There is no plan B. If it backfires though, Harry knows without a shadow of doubt, he will lose Ruth Evershed again, but this time, it will be forever.

TBC

[JHyde]

Now drinking advice is not something I have ever been told I have given!

Like I said, I like the twist about Ruth actually being married.

[Beatriz]

Nice chapter! So Ruth is married to George, but not Ruth Evershed

Love that Ros is helping Harry, athough it's a bit tricky... I fear Ruth will know

[Silktie]

Oh no, I have a bad feeling about this. I'm not sure Harry should've listened to Ros on the money thing. Has he forgotten Ruth's ability to find out EVERYTHING? This will not end well.

Great chapter, you're keeping the suspense up well.

[A Cousin]

Love the first line!

You have a very nice handle on the Harry/Ros relationship and how she is willing to go out on a limb for him even though there is no love lost between she and Ruth. It is good to have that additional layer in this fic.

More, more, more...!!

[Tea Lady]

(04-08-2010 07:58 PM)A Cousin Wrote:  More, more, more...!!

Thanks for the reviews guys. I am on chapter 12 at the moment although I am contemplating a little bit of a rewrite as I feel some of it could be a little predictable. The problem with H/R fic is finding a new angle to come in at, IMO. Anyway, I have some fluff coming up soon though...but between which characters?.....Hmmmm.....

[lwhite53]

Hmmm . . . trying to put one over on Ruth -- I'm with Silktie -- Ruth will figure it out, one way or another. Love Ros taking on the "bad cop" role and giving Harry some deniability (though not sure it will work). This is really coming along nicely, TL.

[Nia M]

Really enjoyed this chapter, particularly the interaction between Ruth and Harry (obviously ) and also between Harry and Ros; Ros trying to make amends, oh so subtly, for technically being the one responsible for Ruth’s exile. Like she said ‘I never apologise’, but I think she certainly would want to lose the guilt she’s had.

And nice idea (clearly not for George, though...) that while Ruth is married to him, it’s not the real Ruth.

Caught in the middle of the mêlée was poor Ruth, who was struggling to calm a frantic George. Before the heated exchange comes to blows, Ruth grabs George by the arms and dragged him out of the lounge with Ros‘ help. Noticeably, Harry does not try to mollify George but just inertly stands his ground, an indifferent expression fixed on his face.
Might just be me, but this seems like a bit of a tense confusion – was that intentional?

The refreshing coldness of the drink, mixed with the alcohol, quickly has an affect and she starts to feel more at ease with her surroundings and her company.
This should be effect (verb), not affect (noun) here.

However, loving the sound of more fluff to come, and am very much looking forward to the next chapter!

[Aria]

Sorry to review so late, but good chapter. Love the awkward conversation in the pub and Ros's desire to help.