Author's note: My first silent witness one-shot! (Not connected in any way to my 'Stray' story) I wrote this ages and ages ago but I never seemed to get round to posting it, I hope you enjoy!
The slow steady beeping was getting louder now, Nikki blearily opened her eyes, her whole body felt heavy and it took her a couple of attempts to fully open her lids and keep them open. The smell of disinfectant was strong and was making her eyes water; she couldn't work out where she was at first, her little flat smelt of perfume not of cleaning products and she was sure that her bedroom was red and not this startling bright white.
"Nikki?" she heard a voice come from somewhere but she couldn't quite place it
The room was swimming before her, things where shifting in and out of focus
"Nikki can you hear me?" the voice came again and this time Leo came into sight
"Leo?" Nikki croaked, her voice was hoarse and her throat ached when she spoke "What?" She questioned not being able to understand what Leo was doing in her bedroom
"It's ok Nikki, you're in hospital" he soothed gently as she started to come around a bit more
"Hospital, so I'm not at home?" she said and Leo smiled gently at her
"No, you're at the Royal London hospital"
"Oh ok…" Nikki said too tired to argue with Leo
"We'll leave you to get some sleep now" Leo said sounding further and further away
"I wont sleep long" Nikki said as her breathing relaxed and she fell into a deep sleep
There was that annoying beeping sound again, Nikki opened her eyes and let out a small groan
"Doctor Alexander?" a voice came, this time it was one she didn't recognise "Welcome back"
"Where are?" Nikki began but the voice cut her off
"Your friends have gone home for the night, they needed the rest" the voice came and this time she saw a doctor in a white coat bending over her checking her reflexes
"I'm Doctor Williams, I'll be looking after you" he smiled gently "Now I need you to get some rest, you've been through an awful lot and you need to let your body recover"
"I have a medical degree you know" Nikki muttered annoyed at the doctor's patronising tone
"I know you do" the Doctor said as moved out of her line of sight
Nikki winced as she tried to sit up but her body ached too much and eventually she gave up and slipped back into a deep sleep
Nikki was really starting to get fed up of that beeping sound; she opened her eyes and saw Leo watching her intently with a concerned look on his face
"Hi" he said as he saw her wake up
"Am I still in hospital?" Nikki asked
Leo nodded "And you will be for a little while yet"
"Why am I in hospital Leo?" Nikki asked frowning slightly
"Don't you remember?" Nikki shook her head and winced
"Well that might have something to do with it" Leo said noting the pain in her head "You were coming back from a crime scene and you were run off the road. The police think that it was one of the suspects trying to stop you for delivering the evidence"
"I don't remember" Nikki said
"Well you hit your head quite hard, don't worry there's no permanent damage. You've got a heavy concussion and some internal injuries but the doctor's patched you up fine, all you have to do is recover now, you've got everyone around you to look after you so all you need to do is worry about yourself"
Nikki heard Leo leave the room and she let out a small sigh, Leo had told her that everyone was looking after her but she still felt a small ache in her heart. Doctor's, Nurses and Police bustled in and out of her room but as she saw each face and saved it to her memory, it still didn't fill the ache in her heart. She might have all these people to take care of her but she wasn't feeling any better
This time it wasn't the incessant beeping that woke her up, it was the feel of someone gently stroking her hair. She opened her eyes and felt her heart lift when she saw the face of who was sitting with her
"I knew you'd come" she smiled "I was waiting to see your face and hoping that every time I woke up, you'd be there"
"I know" came the voice "I should have come to see you sooner"
"It doesn't matter" Nikki smiled "You're here now and you're the only person I want to see"
"I'll stay for as long as you want"
"Stay with me forever" Nikki mumbled
"Get some sleep beautiful and I'll be here when you wake up. I promise Nikki, I will never leave your side again
"I love you" she said as she closed her eyes
"You're dosed up to your eyeballs on pain medication, you don't know what you're saying" the voice chuckled
"No I really do love you" Nikki said as she slipped into a sleep once more
"And I love you too" the voice said it left the room
Nikki smiled to herself in her sleep, the ache in her heart had been filled and she felt the strength begin to ret unto her, all she needed was to see that face again, it was the only face she had ever needed when she was lost and it was here with her finally
"I thought I'd find you here" Leo smiled as he saw a figure step out of Nikki's hospital room "How is she?"
"Better" came the reply "I should have come to see her sooner"
Leo shook his head "You're here now"
"That's what she said; I just couldn't bear to see her just lying there so lifeless"
"We've got her back" Leo said firmly "And she's recovering and she'll heal even faster now that you're here"
"I hope so"
"You're the only face she wants to see. She's seen so many people over the last couple of days but none of them have been you" Leo said with a smile
"I'm not going to leave her again"
"I know you wont" Leo smiled "Take care of her Harry, she's far too precious for us to loose"
"I will Harry said with a smile as he returned to Nikki's room to sit with her as she began to come round from the latest dose of medication.
He wanted to make sure he was the first face she saw when she woke up, in fact he wanted to be the first face she saw when she woke up for their rest of their lives. But he knew not to rush things and right now he was perfectly content in being the one face Nikki needed to see, the one face in the world that could solve any of her problems, the one face in the world that belonged to the only one that Nikki had ever loved, the one face that could make her recover faster than any medication. She had him, she always had and she always would.