19 Works by itsmebethy
Listing Works
-
Tags
Summary
Juliette Davies has been at Slough House for fourteen months.
Long enough to stop expecting anyone to tell her why she was sent there.
Then a routine translation job turns up something that shouldn’t be there: an old phrase, buried in intelligence transcripts dating back to the final years of the Cold War.
Following it means old Russian assets, missing records, and a secret someone has spent decades making sure stayed hidden.
It also means spending rather more time than is sensible with River Cartwright.
Not that there’s anything complicated about that.
This fic is complete. I’m planning to update twice weekly until it’s all posted.
-
Tags
Summary
A small extra moment — because I couldn’t quite let them go (and because someone asked very nicely).
Kit and Stephen’s wedding. River, Izzy, and Joey, somewhere in the middle of it.
Series
- Part 2 of Where We Land
-
Tags
Summary
River Cartwright has spent most of his life standing slightly to one side — of friendships, of families, of the things he might want if he let himself want them.
But somewhere between walks in the park, Sunday lunches, and a woman who understands grief a little too well, River finds himself learning what it means to belong.
A canon-adjacent slow burn about grief, trust, and choosing love after loss.
Low on espionage. High on feelings.
Complete story — chapters will be posted in batches.
**Story Is Completed**
Series
- Part 1 of Where We Land
-
Tags
Summary
The final chapter of Between the Lines.
Pregnancy pillows, pastry missions, and the quiet certainty of a love that has grown up.
“Come here. You fit just fine.”
Series
- Part 13 of Between The Lines
-
Tags
Summary
River builds a garden to help him cope. Annie builds a life around him. Somewhere in the middle, they realise they’re already home.
“You will always outrank the veg patch.”
Series
- Part 12 of Between The Lines
-
It’s Not Mine Anymore by itsmebethy
Fandoms: Life on Mars (UK), Life on Mars & Related Fandoms
09 Feb 2026
Tags
Summary
A comment in the station pushes Sam too far.
Annie reminds him — quietly — where the line is.Set mid–Season 2. A small moment, but an important one.
-
Tags
Summary
Sometimes loving River means seeing the parts he’d rather hide.
Annie sees them. River has to decide what to do with that.
‘Even as he said it, he felt the words hit — like something sharp leaving his mouth and cutting him on the way out.
He’d said something cruel and small and stupid because he couldn’t say the thing that mattered: I’m scared.’
Series
- Part 11 of Between The Lines
-
Tags
Summary
Five days apart.
One thing neither of them can keep quiet any longer.‘If she focused on the traffic she didn’t have to think about the man in the passenger seat.’
Series
- Part 10 of Between The Lines
-
Tags
Summary
River discovers fine dining, wine pairings, and the limits of his coordination.
“River, you just said ‘oaky little number’ out loud.”
“I did?”
Series
- Part 9 of Between The Lines
-
Tags
Summary
River offers a lift home — and realises too late it wasn’t the right thing.
“She needed him beside her, not in front of her.”
Series
- Part 8 of Between The Lines
-
Tags
Summary
River agrees to a sound bath. There are gongs involved.
“River wasn’t entirely sure what a sound bath was, but he was fairly certain it didn’t involve plumbing.”
Series
- Part 7 of Between The Lines
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 1,047
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Kudos:
- 5
- Hits:
- 146
-
Tags
Summary
When River watches Annie do something she’s very good at — and does not cope with it at all.
“You know that destroys me, right?”
Series
- Part 6 of Between The Lines
-
Tags
Summary
River turns up on a Thursday night without words attached.
“You weren’t invited,” she said, smiling. “You turned up.”
Series
- Part 5 of Between The Lines
-
Tags
Summary
River fixes a light switch. Annie lets him. It’s more intimate than it sounds.
“You live alone,” he said.
“Yes.”
“And you’ve been accepting mild electrocution as a lifestyle choice.”
Series
- Part 4 of Between The Lines
-
Tags
Summary
A quiet Wednesday, folded laundry, and the moment River realises he’s stopped counting backwards.
“He missed her. Not in a sharp way.”
Between The Lines explores the in-between moments — domestic chaos, accidental tenderness, and the life River and Annie build together after Hidden in Plain Sight.
Each one-shot stands alone: quiet, messy, warm, and just a bit MI5.Series
- Part 3 of Between The Lines
-
Tags
Summary
Sam Tyler chooses the world he woke up in.
A post-Life on Mars Sam/Annie fic about choosing to stay, and seeing the future just around the corner — if you squint.
-
Tags
Summary
Featuring: festive chaos, mild intoxication, MI5 vs GCHQ nonsense, and a snog in a cupboard.
“So this is what you meant by ‘let’s get the coats,’” she murmured.
“Annie. You followed me in here.”
Between The Lines — the in-between moments: domestic chaos, accidental tenderness, and the lives River and Annie build together after Hidden in Plain Sight.
Each one-shot stands alone — messy, warm, and just a bit MI5. 💛Series
- Part 2 of Between The Lines
-
Between The Lines: The Christmas Party by itsmebethy
Fandoms: Slow Horses (TV), Slough House - Mick Herron
01 Dec 2025
Tags
Summary
River gets into Christmas…
“All I want for Christmas is you,” she teased, batting her lashes.
He was powerless. When she kissed him, light and tipsy, he thought she knew it.Between The Lines: The in-between moments: domestic chaos, accidental tenderness, and the lives River and Annie fall into after Hidden in Plain Sight.
Each one-shot stands alone — messy, warm, and just a bit MI5. 💛Series
- Part 1 of Between The Lines
-
Hidden In Plain Sight by itsmebethy
Fandoms: Slow Horses (TV), Slough House - Mick Herron
24 Nov 2025
Tags
Summary
Stuck at Slough House and quietly coming apart, River Cartwright never expected a routine errand to cryptology to change anything. Then he meets Annie Stuart — sharp, brilliant, and impossible to ignore. But her talents haven’t gone unnoticed, and some secrets are more dangerous than they look.
Every code has its flaw. Every spy does too.
This story is set immediately after Slow Horses Season 4.
**Completed**