About week or two after Dempsey has returned from the Coltrane trial

The phone entered Dempsey's consciousness, it had been ringing for some 15 seconds, he reached out towards the sound and picked up the receiver "Yo" He could hear a voice talking but something felt wrong, he couldn't work out what at first. The voice continued; that was it - the phone was on the wrong side of the bed! This was not his bed! He turned his head and saw the blond hair of his stirring partner "Shit" this was Harry's bed, his eyes were open just enough to catch sight of the clock; it was 5.30am and it was Chas on the other end of the phone.

At the other end of the line Chas had launched into his 'sorry to wake you, emergency on rhetoric' and now, as he spoke on, Dempsey's 'Yo' was breaking through to his conscious mind. Chas had reached the bit about IRA and a bomb threat on the underground when he interrupted himself "Is that you Dempsey?" he asked

"Yeh, you were saying?"

"I thought I dialled Harry's number"

"No, this is definitely me" Dempsey had about a 1 second advantage over Chas

"Funny I could have sworn I dialled Harry" Chas felt confused

"Well you know how it is, you know both our numbers so well you must have gone on automatic pilot and dialled me" Dempsey was blagging all he could "You said IRA, does that mean you need us in?"

"Straight away – The governor wants to foil this one"

"OK you ring Harry and fill her in and I'll pick her up on my way" Dempsey hung up before Chas could come back again.

Harry was sitting up now holding the quilt just below her chin and looking bewildered. "What?"

"Just answer the phone!" Dempsey didn't have time to explain, the ringing tone cut across the confusion

"Hello" Harry took the call and listened to Chas as she watched Dempsey starting to dress. "I'll be there… but why is Dempsey picking me up – that's the wrong direction?"

Dempsey ran across the room and cut the phone off.

"What the hell are you playing at?"

"Just trying to keep us a low profile sweetheart"

"Why did you answer the phone in the first place? You didn't think"

"I was asleep" he thought it a stupid question and his response showed his annoyance

"So was I" she thought it a stupid answer, her irritation barely masked

"No I mean I was asleep when I answered it so I couldn't think" he glared at her

"That's what Spikings says about you – you never think" she turned the covers to the side and swung her legs out onto the floor. Dempsey was distracted by the view and his gaze followed her across the room and watched her pull her silk robe on and tie it around her waist.

"I do think – but just when I'm awake." He turned away, nice view but he was annoyed "I thought to pick you up" he countered speaking with his back to her.

"Illogical, I should be picking you up; I drive past your flat" She stood and watched him put on his trousers.

"So I thought wrong, I still thought." He sat on a chair and pulled on his socks then looked around the bedroom

"Where's that check shirt?"

"What?" Harry was jerked into a reality, she had rather enjoyed watching Dempsey get out of her bed and dress; it proved the fact that they had slept together the previous night ~ something she still found herself disbelieving as possible.

"I'm thinking – I wouldn't wear a formal shirt to go to work, so where's that shirt I left here sometime?"

"At the cleaners" although Harry smiled sweetly Dempsey knew it was laced with irony

"Why?" he asked though he suspected he might regret it

"I'm not doing your laundry for you"

"Well?" he was pleasantly surprised, that was more positive than he expected

"Well what?"

"Are you getting dressed? We need to drive past mine to get a clean shirt on the way to the office" His eyes had rested on the little cleavage he could see and he tried to come to terms with how work necessitated overriding pleasure in this new set up.

"Proving my point about your wrong thought" Some things never changed he noted, she always had to be bloody right!

Dempsey was still defensive as they walked into the office.

"If I hadn't picked up the phone Chas would never have gotten hold of me 'cos I wasn't at home to answer the phone."

"For all you know he had already rang you 6 times and not got a reply" Makepeace was hissing

"So how would I have known to come to work?"

"You wouldn't – you could have stayed in bed" she paused a moment "Think!"