"I need you to know that I'm sorry."

"I know," Georgie muttered as she and Rover walked side by side along the street, the sky blanketed in darkness, the first words either of them had uttered since fleeing the hospital, "This isn't your fault."

"I should've told you, and I shouldn't have gone through with leaving you on our wedding day," River told her, "I suppose I just presumed that you'd have chosen to keep your career instead of me."

"Well then you clearly don't know me as well as you think you do," Georgie remarked, startling River slightly, "Unless this is your way of telling me that you would've chosen the service over me."

"You know that's not true, Georgie," River huffed in despair, fearing that his revelation of the truth could lead him to lose her all over again.

"Do I know that, River?" Georgie stopped, turning to face him as they stood on an empty street somewhere in Central London, "Because today we've spent hours trailing across London for the sake of what remains of our fucking careers when there's a little girl tucked up in bed, unaware that her mother got shot."

"A little girl who I knew nothing about until today," River reminded her, regretting his choice almost immediately.

"Oh, okay, you're playing that one," Georgie laughed humourlessly in disbelief.

"Maybe I am, Georgie, maybe I just need you to give me a chance," River sighed in defeat, "Now that you know why I did it."

"I don't know why you did it, River," Georgie sighed, "That's the point."

"Because I couldn't be the person who took all this away from you," River answered honestly, he didn't have much more to offer her than that and keeping her safe, he knew that, and he needed Georgie to understand that too.

"I think I might've preferred it if you had been," Georgie whispered in what she considered a moment of weakness but River thought of it as a flicker of the vulnerability she had once been comfortable sharing with him.

She thought of the young woman who'd discovered that she was pregnant, expecting to marry the love of her life on the same day. She remembered the pain she felt having to endure morning sickness and later an agonising labour. She would've much preferred him to trade in her career to have continued living that life with him.

"We could leave tonight, Georgie," River suggested, in what was undoubtedly out of character for the man who considered himself loyal to his career and by default, his colleagues, "We could go back to yours, get Nellie and be out of the country within three hours."

Georgie didn't hate the idea, and that was what made it dangerous. Choosing to abandon their colleagues for a life on the run the second the Park found a chance to pin the kidnap gone wrong on Slough House. There was only one type of person who runs from a situation like that, a guilty person.

"Nellie is far safer there with Alex than she is with us," Georgie told him, "Right now she's a little girl fast asleep, unaware that the Dogs are probably keeping eyes on the flat, if we go back there, she probably won't ever know what it means to be a normal kid."

"So we go to Blake's grave?" River replied.

"That's exactly what we do."

Somehow, Georgie and River had managed to make it to Blake's grave on foot, running at speed despite Georgie's gunshot wound; she knew that the stitches were probably coming loose with every second she spent running alongside River. But as they ran through the gates, they laid eyes on Lamb and the rest of the slow horses.

River came to a stop first, resting his against his knees as he caught his breath before turning his attention to Roddy, "You're a fucking dickhead, Roddy."

"I would've gone with bellend, but the sentiment remains the same," Georgie exhaled as she stood beside River.

River glanced at Georgie with a frown before glancing at the rest of their colleagues, "I remember where I saw Alan Black...He was meeting with Taverner."

"Alright, go back, what were they doing?" Lamb asked.

"Talking at her gym cafe," River answered, "It came back to me when we went to see Sid, because Georgie said she'd taken the piss out of me for following Taverner, they were meeting secretly."

"But it's your word against hers," Catherine reminded him.

"Yes, but I was following her for surveillance training," River replied as the rest of the group stared at him cluelessly, "So I took a photograph."

"Well, do you have it?" Roddy asked impatiently.

"No, not yet," River answered, glancing at Georgie, "But I think I know where there might be a copy."

"A copy?" Min quipped, "This is hopeless."

"Well, it would certainly seem that way," Lamb huffed, looking around at his team, "Look, I don't normally do these kind of speeches, but this feels like a big moment, and if it all turns to shit, I might not see any of you again...you're fucking useless, the lot of you, working with you has been the lowest point in a disappointing career...Right, Cartwright, Knightly, you're with me."

"But wait, what do we do?" Min called out as the two agents trailed behind Lamb.

"Well, try not to get caught for as long as you can, my money's on about thirty minutes" Lamb answered.

"Well, we can try and save Hassan," Louisa suggested.

"That'd be a sure way to get him killed," Lamb told her, "Go lock yourselves in a toilet somewhere."

"Where are we going?" River asked as he and Georgie followed behind Lamb.

"To go and get that photo, you dickhead," Lamb muttered, turning to Georgie, "Was he always this thick?"

"He had his moments," Georgie smiled, nudging River with her elbow.

"And that back there, that was you goading them into action, was it?" River asked Lamb as he caught up with him.

"Fuck no," Lamb scoffed, "I meant every word."

"Right, just checking," River nodded, turning left out of the gate as Lamb and Georgie turned right towards the service-issued Range Rover that Lamb had managed to acquire from an unexpecting Duffy.

"Cartwright," Georgie called out, catching his attention.

"Right, yeah," River nodded as he jogged to catch up with them.

"See any lights?" Lamb asked as they approached Slough House in the aforementioned Range Rover, River sat in the back while Georgie sat in the front passenger seat.

"Second floor, maybe," River answered, peering out of the window.

"Did you leave them on?" Lamb asked.

"I don't remember," River sighed.

"Well, think," Lamb replied in frustration.

"I don't know," River huffed, "You were there too, why didn't you check?"

"Because I've earnt the right not to," Lamb quipped.

"We didn't turn the lights off," Georgie sighed, staring out the window as she picked at her nail beds, unable to shake the thought of Nellie and Alex wondering where she might be.

"See, at least one of you pays attention," Lamb remarked as he parked up along the curb outside.

They made their way through the gate that led into Slough House's back entrance, gazing up at the set of stairs that led to the office which, to the untrained eye, appeared abandoned.

"Well, it looks clear," Lamb sighed, "Doesn't mean to say the place isn't swarming with Dogs."

"Or a clean up team for the body or a trap?" River muttered.

"I don't think Taverner cares enough about Moody to do that," Georgie yawned as River kept his eyes on her.

"Well, you better go in and find out," Lamb turned to River with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, I'm going in alone, am I?" River scoffed with a humourless smile.

"Every man for me, Cartwright," Lamb muttered, "Don't worry, me and Knightly will be here, guarding the breach and all, won't we, Knightly?"

The two men turned to see Georgie halfway up the staircase that led up to Slough House, having grown tired of the constant bickering that festered between Lamb and River. She knew what they needed and where she might find it, and she wasn't in the business of waiting around for life to happen to her.

"Georgie?" She turned to see River following her up the stairs as Lamb kept to his word and lingered by the gate, "You can't go in there alone."

"You're not telling me what to do now, are you?" Georgie raised her eyebrows at him as he stood on the step below hers, their eyes level as Lamb watched on, amused by the power Georgie had over River in such situations.

"I know you better than that, I'm simply suggesting that we don't know what's on the other side of that door so we should probably go in there together," River suggested as his hand hovered beside hers on the bannister.

"We do know what's on the other side of that door, Cartwright," Georgie reminded him, her face just inches from his, both of them remembered the last time they were in such close proximity, "A dead body and the makings of Lamb's fake bomb."

"Fair point," River nodded as Georgie turned on her heel, making her way up the stairs and into Slough House.

The pair moved through Slough House silently, hoping the element of surprise would work in their favour in the event that there were in fact people awaiting their arrival. River kept himself in front of Georgie, using his body to shield her, just as he did on every mission they were assigned to when they were new recruits. They stepped over Moody's lifeless body, continuing upstairs towards the offices.

They reached Lamb's office and River flicked on his desk lamp, opening the drawer and retrieving a phone that had been taped to the underside of the desk. Georgie grabbed an empty cardboard box before yanking a few cables from the back of Lamb's computer, tossing them into the box which River added Lamb's small desk clock to, not that either of them were sure a man like Lamb would be so concerned about timekeeping.

"While we're here," River held out the phone to Georgie as she readied herself to leave the room

"Hmm?"

"Call Alex and make sure him and Nellie are alright," River told her softly, "I told you I'd find a way for you to call your brother, didn't think it would involve a burner phone taped to Lamb's desk but I-"

Georgie cut him off as she wrapped her arms around River in a hug as relief flooded her body, the pair stumbling back a few paces. The thought of making contact with her brother had been on her mind since she'd woken up in the hospital. She knew the Dogs would be watching the flat, so she couldn't go back, but she needed to know that he was okay, that Nellie was okay.

She promptly let go of River, typing her brother's phone number in and pressing the green call button, holding it to her ear as it rang.

"Hello?" Alex answered cautiously.

"Al?" Georgie's voice wavered, "Alex, it's me, it's Georgie."

"Georgie?" Alex sighed in relief, "Are you alright? These men from the Park came to the flat, they said you'd been hit in action, that you'd absconded from the hospital and they needed to take you in to help with their enquiries."

"And what did you tell them?" Georgie asked as she bit at her thumbnail.

"That I hadn't seen you since you went to the shop for milk," Alex answered.

"Good," Georgie exhaled, "And they're still outside the flat, I presume?"

"Yeah, they've been sitting in a Range Rover most of the night," Alex told her.

"And Nellie, is she okay?" Georgie asked, "Did she hear what the Dogs were asking?"

"She's perfectly fine, Georgie," Alex assured her, "She's fast asleep and I've been checking on her every hour."

"Good, that's good," Georgie sighed, glancing at River whose smile mirrored her own, "Thank you, Al."

"You never have to thank me," He assured her.

"If I'm not there in the morning, tell Nells I love her and give her a big cuddle from me," Georgie told him.

"I will, Georgie," Alex told her, "Stay safe, alright?"

"Always."

Georgie hung up the phone, slipping it into River's pocket as he picked up the cardboard box, leading her out of Lamb's office as he asked, "Is Nellie okay?"

"Yeah, she's fast asleep," Georgie sighed as they made their way down the stairs towards Jed's dead body, "She's like you when she sleeps."

"Snores?"

"No, it's like all her worries that she tells me about from school just disappear, and she's just completely peaceful," Georgie told him as they reached Jed, "You were like that when you slept."

"I'm not sure whether I'm meant to be endeared or not by you admitting that you used to watch me sleep," River smirked as Georgie crouched beside Jed.

"That's up to you," Georgie sighed as she proceeded to remove the gloves from each of Jed's hands, "Sorry, Jed, Lamb's idea."

"You're just gonna-" River raised his eyebrows as he watched Georgie pull Jed's sweatshirt off of his body.

"Time is of the essence, Cartwright," Georgie reminded him, "You best get your kit off."

"Here?" River frowned.

"It's just me, you and Jed," She remarked, "Not to state the obvious but he's dead and I...well it's nothing I haven't seen before, is it?"

"Fine," River sighed as he slipped off his jacket before pulling his shirt off over his head before Georgie handed him Jed's black sweatshirt, her eyes lingering on his muscular torso that had once been less firmer when he'd been at the peak of physical fitness, she supposed there was less need for that in Slough House, "I forgot you like to watch, Knightly."

Georgie gulped, standing up as her body flushed warm, her cheeks reddening under River's gaze, "I'll be downstairs," She muttered, leaving River to finish dressing himself in the company of Jed's lifeless body.

It had been Lamb's idea to create a distraction that would allow Georgie and River to sneak into the Park undetected in order to retrieve the photos of Taverner and Black, but when he then relayed his plan to the two agents, it had been River who'd attempted to diffuse the idea of pursuing Webb being a two agent job. Georgie was adamant that she was up to it, and well, River had never been one to say no to her.

"I'm still not sure this is the best idea, both of us going in there like this," River whispered as they stood flush against the wall around the corner from the door that led up to the Park's main building, keeping eyes on the Range Rover that Lamb had driven in as they'd been curled up in the boot together.

"Not sure we've got a choice, River," Georgie sighed, her hands wrapped around the gun that Lamb had handed her before he closed the boot on them both.

"I never thought I'd see this day again," River muttered with a slight fond smile.

"Hmm?"

"You and me in the field together again," He answered.

"Don't go getting all sentimental on me now, Cartwright," Georgie rolled her eyes with a smile.

"I just mean, I never thought it'd happen again after-" The sound of the door to the car park cut him off as Georgie held her finger to her lips, watching as the small remote control robot that she'd seen used in multiple suspected bomb situations, which meant that Lamb's plan was well and truly in motion.

She watched the car boot open slowly to reveal the fake bomb that Lamb had pierced together using the loose cables and wires that Georgie and River had acquired from Slough House. Those remote control devices were fitted with cameras, which meant it was a matter of moments until the Dogs came flying through the door.

The door opened again, Duffy and several dogs stormed straight towards the car, allowing River and Georgie to slip into the building undetected. They ran straight up the stairs, light on their feet, heading straight for Spider's office, knowing that he'd be working late, given the hostage crisis that MI5 had on their hands.

"We don't have long," Georgie reminded him as they continued up the staircase, the balaclava he wore meant that she could see nothing more than his eyes, while she wore a baseball cap that kept her face concealed from the building's security cameras.

Somehow the pair had managed to make it through the building undetected, reaching Spider's office without interruptions. There was no sign of him upon their arrival which required them to wait, and they would wait as long as time permitted to find those photos.

As they stood against the wall beside the door, it opened and in walked an unknowing Spider. River cocked his gun, pointing it at the side of Spider's head, shoving him to the ground as Georgie kicked the door shut.

River hushed him as he kept the gun pointed at the startled blonde, removing his own balaclava as Georgie stood beside him, "Now, tell me where the file is, please."

"What file?" Spider's voice wavered, "What are you even saying?"

"Stop pissing around, you know exactly what I mean," River's voice was firm as Spider stared cluelessly at the pair.

"Whatever it is you think I have, I don't," Spider replied, prompting River to push the gun's barrel against the side of his head, "Can you just put that thing down, then we can-"

River cut him off before he could continue pleading with the pair, grabbing at his collar and hauling him across his office towards the filing cabinets, the gun pressed against the back of Spider's head.

"Which one's the photograph in?" Georgie asked, her arms folded across her chest.

"What photograph?" Spider huffed as River and Georgie shared a mutual frown of frustration.

"Taverner wanted me out because she knew I took a photograph of her and Alan Black," River told him.

"I don't know what you're talking about but she had plenty of reasons to want rid of you, mate," Spider muttered, far too confidently for a man with a gun pressed to the back of his head.

"Oh, you mean Stansted?" River replied.

"Exactly, that's why you're out," Spider answered before River slammed him against the filing cabinets. 

Georgie was slowly losing her patience, she knew how the Park worked, she was entirely aware that there would be Dogs swarming the building and inspecting the CCTV footage in search of them, they didn't have long, she grabbed the gun from River's hand, pressing her free arm against Spider's chest as River watched on in bemusement.

"I might've been shot in the arm tonight, but we all know I'm I better shot than the both of you, so you best start talking, Blondie or I'm using your balls for target practice," Georgie hissed, "We know what she did, she got you to fuck over River at Stansted because then she'd have an excuse to get rid of him."

Spider turned to River, "It was your fiasco," He muttered.

"Now, Taverner being Taverner, she'll have probably asked you to destroy that photograph, but you being the slimy little prick you've always been, I'd put money on you keeping a copy for insurance," Georgie kept her eyes on River, her arm keeping him pressed against the filing cabinets with little room to move, "So tell us where they are, and I won't shoot you."

"You've lost me, Knightly," Spider sighed, "Right little double act again, aren't you?" He glanced at River with a slack grin, "How long did it take you to bed her this time?"

Before River could conjure up a response, Georgie kneed Spider right in his crotch, his face scrunching in pain as he winced in pain, "That's a warning, so I suggest you tell me where it is."

Spider glanced over at the door, leading River to knock him unconscious onto the floor before guiding Georgie out of sight of passers by. Once they were clear, both Georgie and River made their way back to the filing cabinet.

"Start with Black," Georgie suggested, gesturing to the drawer as she opened another drawer, flicking through various irrelevant files.

"Nothing," River tossed the file onto the floor, moving onto another drawer, hopelessly rummaging through another set of files.

"All teams, all teams, evacuate work stations, please start approaching a secure area with passes and ID, this is a 1470," The automated voice played over the speaker system.

"We don't have long, River," Georgie reminded him, knowing that a 1470 meant the Dogs definitely knew they were in the building.

"It has to be here," River sighed. 

"Stansted?" Georgie suggested, "Maybe he put it under Stansted?"

"Stansted, Stansted, Stansted," River muttered, trailing his eyes across the various labels that categorised what was in the drawer, until he found the drawer he was looking for, pulling it open and retrieving the file, "Stansted."

"Fuck," Georgie exhaled as River showed her the empty file, abandoning it on the floor.

"Motherfu-" River's voice trailed off, "Fiasco?"

"Try it," Georgie nodded as he reached for the right drawer, flicking through the files until he found one labeled 'Fiasco', which he promptly opened to see the photos of Taverner and Alan Black, "We've got to move, now."

"What the fuck are you doing?" River frowned as he looked over his shoulder to see Georgie pulling Spider's jacket off his unconscious body.

"Just swap your clothes with his and I'll see what he's got in his cupboards," Georgie told him, knowing that someone like Spider would keep a spare pressed shirt in his office in the event of a coffee spillage during the day, "We're hardly going to blend in dressed like this."

"Alright," River nodded, following Georgie's instructions as she opened one of Spider's cupboards to find a wardrobe's worth of shirts and jackets. She pulled a white shirt off of its hanger along with a forest green fitted jacket, concluding that it was the best option she had.

She glanced over her shoulder to see River changing into Spider's shirt before she pulled his hoodie off of her body, tossing it into Spider's cupboard before slipping on his shirt, rolling up the sleeves and buttoning the shirt up before pulling the jacket on with it, "Ready?"

"Almost," River nodded as he pulled Moody's balaclava onto Spider's head, before hauling him off the floor and propping him up against the desk, "That'll do."

"Let's get out of here," Georgie exhaled as River gripped the file in his hands.

They slowly opened the office door, laying eyes on the Dogs at the opposite end of the corridor but the chaos of staff members being evacuated from their work stations enabled them to slip out of the office undetected.

"You look like a right posh twat in his clothes, River," Georgie muttered as the pair walked side by side, headed for Taverner's office.

"Well you look like you forgot your football shirt for PE at school," River quipped, nodding to the dress shirt with sweatpants combination.

"Touché," Georgie smiled as they reached Taverner's office, "Let's hope this fucking works."

"Who the fuck have you just sent to the basement?" The pair heard Lamb ask as they entered Taverner's office.

"Ma'am," Georgie offered Taverner a courteous smile as River pushed the office door shut.

"Two of you?" Taverner raised her eyebrows, the idea of one Slow Horse on the loose in her building was enough of a worry, but two was worth reviewing security procedures, "I thought I'd seen the last of that when Georgie asked to move desks after your wedding fell through."

"Ma'am," River nodded before the conversation could become any more uncomfortable for him or Georgie.

"Good?" Lamb turned to his two agents.

"Yeah," River nodded as Taverner picked up the phone, "Oh, no, I wouldn't do that, Ma'am," He placed the file on the desk, "Fiasco."

"In three seconds, I could have a dozen guns pointed at your heads," Taverner remarked.

"Yeah, but you won't do that," Lamb sighed.

"Because you don't want anyone to see these," River added, opening the file to show her the photos he'd taken of her meeting with Alan Black.

"Here, there's you, and there's Alan Black," Lamb remarked proudly, "Remember setting up the thing you're accusing me of? Kidnapping Hassan Ahmed in a false flag operation so you could rescue him, look good and score some points...you did tell me all that earlier, but this is evidence, I've put your name in, if you'd just initial the changes, sign at the bottom."

"I met with an ex-agent, that means nothing." Taverner told them.

"An ex-agent who just happened to be involved in the kidnap of Hassan Ahmed," Georgie reminded her, "I hate to throw around the term 'inside man' but it's not exactly a good look."

"And you won't mind if we send this to Tearney?" River added.

"And everyone else at the Park," Lamb told him.

"And Hobden while we're at it," River suggested.

"No, Hobden's a kook, send it to all the news desks," Lamb instructed him.

"News desks," River muttered to himself, using his phone to take a quick picture of the incriminating photos.

"What do you want?" Taverner sighed hopelessly.

"I want that kid found alive," Lamb remarked.

"And you think I don't?" Taverner exclaimed in disbelief. 

"I think your attention's been split between finding him and burning me," Lamb quipped in frustration.

"There are three possible vehicles, we have lost track of all of them," Taverner told them as she slipped the photos back into the file, "We are doing everything we can."

"There's something more you could do," Lamb replied, "Cartwright got Hobden's phone, it turns out there's a certain someone he called when it all went to shit, maybe you should pay that someone a visit."

author's note: we're back!
i took a couple of weeks off writing over christmas and new years but I'm back with chapters and updates for you! enjoy <3