salute [h.s]

highly decorated senior agent at the SIS

"At least there's food," Harry murmured to her as they walked through the room. Piper's attention was focused entirely on all the stares and the whispers they were getting; Harry's was on his stomach. Piper and Harry separated for a moment, Piper to put her gift on the table at the back that was already stacked high, and Harry to grab a plate and fill it up with hors d'oeuvres and little snacks. They met back in the middle, sitting together on the edge of someone's desk and surveying the room.

"I don't think I know anyone here," Harry pointed out as his eyes scanned the faces in the room. Considering that Harry spent a majority of his time overseas, and that the only reason he had started venturing down to T branch was to see her, that didn't surprise her.

"If it makes you feel better," Piper said as she reached over to take a mini quiche from the plate they were sharing, "I've worked here for the better part of a year and I don't know half the people here. We're not a branch that communicates with each other very often."

Harry scoffed a laugh. "That's an understatement. I think I've witnessed two conversations when I've gone down to see you and they were both arguments about Lord of the Rings."

"It's solitary work."

"It must get lonely," Harry pointed out as he glanced over at her. She looked up at him and just sort of stared because in this light (the awful fluorescents), with his hair swept off to one side, curling at the ends around his collar, he looked astoundingly handsome.

"That's what I've got you for," she pointed out with a little smile that Harry mirrored.

"Damn right," he muttered as the room was called to attention, Q standing up to do a little speech. It was all holiday cheer and togetherness and this and that. Piper only half listened, mostly distracted by the way Harry's face looked when he was concentrating. His jaw was so defined that sometimes she just stared at it and wondered how he was blessed with such good bone structure. When those green eyes of his flashed in her direction, she flushed at being caught staring. Harry just nudged her and nodded toward the front, silently chastising her for not paying attention.

"We've got two volunteers as our Christmas elves, Tabitha and Kristen," Q was saying, waving toward the two ladies standing by the gift table. Tabitha, Q's PA, was amazingly beautiful and also a really cool lady. Kristen, the supply manager for Q branch, hated Piper's guts for no reason whatsoever. "They're going to be bringing around your gifts to keep things anonymous. I know it's going to be a madhouse in here once everyone is opening presents so I just wanted to say Happy Holidays to everyone and I hope you spend it well."

Everyone clapped politely as Q stepped back over to where S was sitting, sort of keeping to herself. Harry's eyes had followed Q and he perked up a bit when he saw the two department heads sitting together. "Oh, it's Jennifer."

"What?" Piper asked.

"Jennifer," Harry repeated, nodding toward S. "We went through basic together about five years ago. Did a lot of the training exercises together because I was the only one willing to partner up with someone who wasn't training for field work and who was older than the rest of us. It came back to bite everyone because she was amazingly good at hand-packing bombs and we won the wilderness challenge because of her."

"You were friends?" Piper clarified.

"Still are, I think," Harry said with a furrow of his brow, his consideration face. "I haven't seen her in a while because I've been away and she's been working. I didn't even know she got promoted to S. I should really go say hello."

"Go on," Piper agreed, nodding in the senior agent's direction. "Go catch up."

"Aren't you coming?" he asked as he stood from the desk, turning toward her a bit. She shook her head, giving Harry the best smile she could muster.