Hello! You can tell I'm on a review catch-up, lol!

I have just found this fic and Watching Over and read both first in light of your authors note on the latter and now feel really stuck - if I ignore your comment about section 3, is that rude? If I comment on it, is that rude?

Ok, so I shall bite the bullet and do it big time rambling stylee!

I do know what you mean about section three but I think you should give yourself credit where credit is due; those types of conversations are damn hard to write and just because it didn't go exactly as you planned in your head, doesn't mean it isn't something they might do or say and certainly doesn't mean you failed.

In my previous review (for your new fic) I mentioned how one person in a relationship sometimes needs to be brave. That bravery comes in all forms, and sometimes it surges up, catching a person unaware - "bursting" as you put it. That's what you're doing here. Whether it's softly-softly or with great gusto, as long as there is feeling and love behind the words (and there is), it will still be true-HR. In some cases, it's even possible for them to rush in too quickly and for actions to come before words...but as long is it's clear those words are needed eventually, then anything can work so long as it's heartfelt :)

I can totally understand the need behind section 3's conversation (and have to let you know that, in about a zillion chapters from now, a very similar "seven years..." line exists in OFL). The only thing I could suggest to help pace the conversation would be, in a slightly longer fic, to have them carry on being swept away, perhaps to the point where they're arriving home together, and then to realise they need to take stock of things, to quieten/retreat a little, and open up. Then the worry could come.

That said (or rather rambled) I enjoyed this fic, and in fact the reason I rambled is to let you know that just because sometimes things don't always go as we want (as writers), it doesn't mean that people won't still appreciate the effort and the story. Just like TheCAO says, I wouldn't write this much rambling stuff about writing I didn't care about - you're a good writer, keep it up.

xx

Absolutely loved it :)

Wow! I want this in 9.1 as well! You wrote it really well. I loved it.

I just love your writing! I'm torn between wanting something like this to happen, or to see 9.1 start with the action (and relationships) having fast forwarded. Frankly, having read your fic, I'm coming down firmly in favour of the former!

You never, EVER, fail to impress HRFan. I do love a good H/R fic, but one that has meaning and actually feels - when I read it - that the author has thought about it properly, and written it honestly. Excellent stuff. :)

Now this is what I hope happened after 8.8 - Yay!

You have a wonderful knack of expanding on what we have seen played out on tv and giving us what we want. Pure HR joy.

Sounds like the perfect opening for season 9. Well done.

Well done, written in a manner befitting what we have come to expect off HRFan. The first 2 parts were excellent; you conveyed the physical and emotional exhaustion perfectly, the weariness and Harry's shortness towards Ruth. Emotion is really your 'thing'.

Having set the scene with such conviction, I did feel that perhaps that this context fell by the wayside when they did come together in the third part. Maybe this was intentional; in that once together everything else blurred into the periphery, but I felt since you had done such a convincing job of conveying the strain that they all had been under over the last couple of few days, the pace at which their relationship suddenly developed and the manner in which they both launch into full profession's of their love and desire for each other was a little out of place. Whilst it was appropriate that they admitted their love for each other, perhaps some of the other 'serious relationship stuff' could be left unsaid until they'd had a chance to take it all in (and have a night's sleep); I would imagine that if I were in their shoes, given the culmination of all the events as well as the sudden development in their relationship I would be so overwhelmed that I doubt my thoughts would be lucid enough to discuss the 'mechanics' of our new status.

I hope you don't take this the wrong way;it's easy for me to sit here and comment on your work, which I really do think is fantastic, I know I couldn't write half as well as you and many others do on here. Like I said at the start, the whole fic is written to a high standard which I cannot fault and I wouldn't want you to think of this review as a criticism - this fic is your creation and your interpretation of the envisaged scene, and in that respect I suppose that all I am doing is presenting an alternative possibility arising from the same scenario.

Gosh, I've gone on longer than I ever intended, and for that I will apologise. However I think you must interpret my excessive and incoherent ramblings as a testament to the quality of your writing; you have an ability to really engage the reader, so here's me showing my appreciation (albeit in a rather random way).

Really looking forward to your next offerings - and I promise my review will be MUCH shorter!

So so beautiful. Thank you! This really is how 9.1 should start. If anyone remotely connected to the writing/producing of Spooks is reading this: take notes!

Oh I love this! I really would like to see something like this on screen. Beautifully written. :D