Chapter 3

His phone goes off for a second time and this time he hears it. He stabs at the buttons to get it to shut up, this is not the time, not when Ruth is- and then stops. Blinks. Reads the text that crops up with blurred vision. He shakes her gently, as if afraid she will break in his arms. She swallows down some shaky breaths and pulls away from him, a little embarrassed in spite of everything, her back rigid as she sits bolt upright and tries to compose herself. It isn't fair that Dimitri should have to-

He thrusts the phone at her face so she can read for herself, not trusting his own voice. She flinches away, but he is persistent, and she has no choice but to focus on the small screen.

Harry's alive.

There's a "Tell her" somewhere in there among that text of two words. With the last of her breath she lets out a weak "Oh", somewhere in the middle of shock and relief. Gently, Dimitri presses the phone into her hands. She grips it tightly in her shaking fingers, cupping it to her as though it is the most precious thing she has ever held. When the light on the screen goes blank, she immediately presses the button to re-illuminate it, as if she dare not let the words fade for fear that they are only true while she can see them, and that if they're not there, he'll be gone too.

She leans back, head against the wall, and looks up at the ceiling, finding herself giving thanks to someone she had long thought she was past believing in.

"You'll break that if you keep holding it so tight," Dimitri says, nudging her ever so gently with his elbow. Ruth immediately lets go, and the phone falls to the floor. "Or, alternatively," he continues, "break it anyway." Puffy eyes meet puffy eyes, and their relief escapes them in a short laugh. He leans across her to pick the phone up, and when he pulls back he feels the light weight of her hand on his arm.

"You won't tell, will you?" she asks him quietly, biting her lip. It astounds him that even after what has happened, she is still fearful of what others might say about her, that they might think her any less than the incredible woman that she is, just because she has been human in her grief and has cried for the one she-

He looks at the pleading expression on her face, and then at the sign on the door. With a mischievous twitch at the corner of his mouth he leans a little closer to her. "I won't tell if you don't," he mutters, his eyes flicking briefly back at the sign, and he winks at her with a smile.

She squeezes his arm again gently in gratitude and accepts the tissues he hands her once he's helped her up, dabbing shamefacedly at the tear-tracks down her cheeks and the moisture at the corners of her eyes.

"I'll leave you be," Dimitri says, and turns to leave. She stops him.

"I'm fine," she says, and this time when she says it she's not hit with the wall of guilt that she was before. He raises his eyebrow a little as if to say "Are you sure?", but she's tossing the tissues into the bin and out of the door before she notices the silent question.

She might not be 'fine' in the way he understands, but she's a far cry better than she was. She's been through the heart of the storm and emerged the other side, looking worse for wear – of that she has no doubt – but nevertheless having survived.

Survived.

Harry's alive.

You stand through the pain

You won't drown

And one day what's lost can be found

You stand in the rain

Okay, so it's ended up as a three-parter then. This is the final chapter, as to take it further would, I feel, no longer fit with the song lyrics, and also I think it's a good place to leave it. Hopefully you liked it, and please leave me a short review to let me know if you felt it worked (or equally if you didn't). Thanks for reading!