On With the Snow (Chapter 5)

[Nia M]

The above image is once again made by the brilliant TygerBright!

"Ah."

Ruth's single word echoed the resignation of the others as they stepped out of the door to Thames House, and saw the fresh white blanket covering the ground. The snow wasn't exactly thick, and shouldn't really pose a problem and keep them all from going home, but the sheer volume of near-stationary traffic in the roads definitely would hinder them.

Squinting in the direction of her usual bus-stop, Ruth could just about make out a refuse lorry in the far distance, its lights flashing in the white gloom, and leaving in its wake a long trail of cars that reached to her and beyond, as far as she could see in the opposite direction. Somehow, it didn't look like her bus would be running.

"I'll give you a lift," offered Adam, jumping at the chance to intercept Harry who was just about to suggest that he would drive her, even though he lived in the complete opposite direction to her. Another missed opportunity.

Despite an initial hesitance to accept the offer, Ruth was won round when Adam insisted that as he was going to pick up his son from his boarding school and bring him home for the weekend, he would practically drive past the end of her road, so he might as well drop her home. Even so, she felt somewhat guilty; she had glimpsed Harry out of the corner of her eye watching her as she peered at the cause of the traffic jam, and she could have sworn he had been about to say something to her on the matter when Adam had interjected.

Nevertheless, the five of them traversed in silence the sizeable length of pavement between the Thames House entrance and the car-park – the door closet to the car-park having been carelessly blocked by mounds of snow 'helpfully' cleared from the parking-spaces. The car-park itself was underground, but since it would not do to have a relatively unguarded external door leading directly into the MI5 building, the facility was located a 'short but safe distance from Thames House'.

However, for one particular Spook, said distance was far from 'safe'. Unaccustomed to the combination of heeled boots and ice, Ruth soon realised that she might get into a little trouble on the slippery concrete. And it didn't help that her lower left leg was already unsteady, owing to how she had been sitting awkwardly in the meeting room for so long, her feet tucked underneath her as she curled up smaller in her chair to conserve heat. It hadn't posed a problem on the short way down from the Grid but now, having to better control her steps to avoid slipping on the icy pavement, it was making her feel rather tentative and wary.

Even so she strode unwaveringly behind Adam, not wanting to have him waiting for her. She was all too aware of Harry's closeness to her as he walked just behind her, and she stood up straighter as she walked, determined that she would not make a fool out of herself in front of him. She would be cool and collected. She would carry herself with the utmost poise and would ooze grace.

She would catch her heel on a patch of ice and skid, wouldn't she?
Underneath, she knew it was inevitable; she had been expecting it. What she was not expecting, was a pair of strong hands darting out and catching her before she hit the ground. She opened her eyes from being squeezed shut in preparation for the fall, and stared into a pair of bright eyes, flecked with concern.

"I've got you," Harry murmured in assurance. "I won't let you go." He helped her up to a standing position. "Are you alright?"

She nodded numbly, still a little stunned. He frowned slightly in concern. "Are you sure?" he asked, leaning just that little bit closer. "You do look a bit pale..." Well, she had lost her colour until he had decrease the gap between them. Now she felt like she was turning into a bright red cherry. "There, that's better."

She smiled ruefully at him. "It's just the shock," she insisted. "And the cold."

And the fact that his hand was still on her upper arm. Even through the thick padding of her warm coat, she could feel the slight pressure from his hand, and, if she wasn't mistaken (and she prayed that she wasn't) his thumb was lightly caressing her arm! Whether or not it was intentional, the soft motion was starting to send her heart rate into overdrive, and if she wasn't careful-

She suddenly felt her hand being yanked sharply and she stumbled forwards, just as a massive snowball was catapulted towards where her head had been not one second ago. A quick look at Harry's apologetic face told her it was he who had pulled her out of the flight-path.
"I'm fine," she insisted, before he could ask the question. He nodded slowly, disbelievingly.

"You missed," Harry called at Zaf, though he kept his eyes on Ruth. "Both of us, in fact."

"Well you moved!" protested Zaf loudly and indignantly.

"Isn't that the point of a snowball fight?" asked Harry, tearing his eyes from Ruth and looking accusingly at the other three. "You're supposed to avoid being hit."

"Is this a snowball fight then?" Adam shouted, half-jokingly.
"No, Adam," came the firm reply.

And that would have been the end of it, were it not for a certain Intelligence Analyst.

"Come on Harry," pleaded Ruth, her eyes shining with the enthusiasm she usually reserved for when a Homeric quote needed deciphering. "Let's give them a run for their money."

Harry was torn between accepting the challenge, and gleaning some more time with Ruth, or refusing, and thus keeping secret the fact that he was so eager to do so. He hadn't expected her to show the same level of enthusiasm for a sport, except perhaps netball, which he gathered she had been pretty good at while at university.

Ruth could see him wavering. "Juliet's always on at you about departmental bonding," she offered, "so you might as well take the opportunity. Plus, you can put your cricket skills to the test and show them how it's done."

Harry was taken aback. "How did you know I played cricket?" Ruth flushed a deeper shade of crimson and looked down guiltily, and it suddenly clicked. "Have you read my file?" he asked, not unkindly.
She nodded in assertance. "For operational reasons!" she insisted, although it wasn't at all.

He wasn't at all convinced, but he let it slide. In relief, she pressed him for an answer. "So, snowball fight?"

"Go on then," he conceded. He glanced over to where Adam, Zaf and Jo were standing with their backs to them, seemingly oblivious to his decision. Harry scraped some snow of the roof of a nearby car and handed some to Ruth, rolling his portion into a compact ball, as she mirrored his actions. "Ready?" he asked, when they had finished. She nodded once, and drew her arm back, poised to throw.

"GO!"

[TygerBright]

fight!!fight!!fight!!!fight!!!fi..nally.
..and we all know who'll win that one...surely not a young whippersnapper whose aim is totally off

second favest chapter so far.. and the long-awaited action... love cunning Ruth.. bet her aim is much better too...

Vielen Dank.. and more, please, soon

[Silktie]

Aww, this is sweet. It's nice to see poor Harry and Ruth having some fun. Hopefully Harry does get to take Ruth home after all...

[Nia M]

Am not giving any clues as to the outcome of the fight
You'll have to wait and see!
Thankyou both for your comments!

TB - which is your favourite then?

[TygerBright]

..used to be 3, for the paper-grabbing scene, and the bracelet, but now is 4. That Ros/Zaf/pen bit is just too good.
Actually, it always used to be the current one and then you go and top it in the next.. maybe 5 is my new fave then
I dare you to go and write 6

[Nia M]

This is kind of a filler chapter to lead up to the snow-ball fight.

Oh, I had so much fun imagining Ros' evil glares in the pen bit
I still prefer my first chapter though

And no, I have a French exchange staying at the mo; no Chapter 6 until she's gone and I've caught up with h/w.

[lwhite53]

Great chapter. I wouldn't want to go up against R and H in a snowball fight -- she's way to devious! Loved the image of "ooze grace."

[Tea Lady]

Good chapter. Who knows, with the snow we have had in England, maybe we will get a snowball fight in series 9 !

[Nia M]

Thanks for the comments guys!

I do hope we get some snow for S9
(Or just some snow tomorrow, so I don't have to go to school )

[newagent]

Has the snow melted in London?