Spoilers for Bloodlines but otherwise no major spoilers.

Please R&R

I don't own silent witness... if I did Harry and Nikki would spend eternity in bed

Bzzzzzz, bzzz, bzzzzzz

Harry's mobile vibrated on his bedside table. His naked arm flew out from under his duvet and fumble to reach the phone.

"Harry Cunningham" Harry answered his mobile groggily.

"Harry, it's Nikki. We've got a major RTC in central London, two buses, minimum 5 decease." Nikki spoke loudly above the roar of traffic and sirens.

"But it's my day off..." Harry moaned but Nikki interrupted.

"Yes, I know that but Leo was in one of the buses! He's not hurt badly but obviously he is compromised as a pathologist and he's in shock."

Harry gasped, worried about his older colleague and how it would affect him. Just months previously he had been involved in a case and emotionally compromised and Harry realised how much it could affect the work they did.

"Okay, I'm on my way."

The car journey to the scene was agony for Harry, his brain kept on replaying the scenes he had witnesses in Budapest. Both Anna and his baby's murder followed by Janos' death and his own scrape with death and finally his reunion with Nikki. It was still hard to cope but Nikki was helping him through. Without her he would fall apart. And suddenly it all clicked and a giant smile crept across his face.

When Harry finally arrived at the scene Nikki was relieved, Leo had been almost inconsolable and she had been desperate for Harry to help her with the scene.

"Nikki!" Harry yelled over the noise of the scene, noting how oxford circus was not the most convenient location for such a major RTC. "How many we got?"

"7 right now, looking to be 8 very soon." Nikki replied in almost a clinical manner, "But you need to Leo first, he's pretty shaken up and you need to call Janet for him, I haven't been able to yet."

"Right on it." Harry smiled at Nikki.

His mind was elsewhere as he wandered over to where Leo was sitting wrapped in a silver blanket, shaking violently. Harry sat down next to him and put his arm around the man that had been a father figure to him and Nikki for so long, the man that had comforted him in Budapest.

"It'll be alright, Leo" Harry whispered quietly, "You couldn't have known, you couldn't have done more than you did, I hear one police officer say that you saved at least one persons life."

Leo smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. Harry grabbed his iPhone, quickly found Janet's number and dialled.

"Janet? It's Harry" Harry spoke calmly as soon as she the phone was picked up.

"Harry? What's wrong? Has Leo been hurt? Oh God!" Janet's voice was panic stricken and almost seemed laced with tears, this was her worst nightmare.

"There has been an accident at oxford circus, you may have seen it on the news, Leo was on one of the buses involved in the accident..." Janet sobbed uncontrollably, whispering "no" to herself down the phone, obviously fearing the worst of her lover.

"Janet, listen to me!" Harry spoke louder to be heard over the sobbing, "He's okay, he is pretty shaken up but there is no permanent damage, I just thought I would let you know what was going on. Do you want to speak to him?"

Harry passed the phone to Leo and could hear Janet's soft whispers to Leo whilst tears ran down his face. It upset Harry to see his friend so distraught over a crime scene. Leo was normally the calmed and collected one out of the trio, he had soothed Nikki when she had believed Harry to be dead, and he had calmed Harry every time Nikki got herself in trouble and he was never, ever affected by his work.

Harry found himself crouching next to Nikki examining a badly burnt body with a missing lower left leg. Nikki was confused as the wound appeared to have occurred in very recently, within 4 hours she estimated, but the missing leg was nowhere to be found at the scene.

"Do you think this is odd, Harry? This woman," she gestured to the body, "this injury was definitely sustained earlier today yet I cannot for the life of me find the leg!"

"Nikki, I think this was deliberate. I'm not sure who they were targeting or what they wanted to achieve but its chaos, whoever it was has drawn central London to a standstill." Harry spoke solemnly to his friend.

Just then a man in his mid thirties ran over to the police cordon yelling out "Katie" frantically. A policeman grabbed him and tried to calm the obviously distressed man, but then he saw then women Harry and Nikki were examining and let out a piercing scream of agony. Harry realised what it must have felt like for the man. He understood because whilst lying, facing almost certain death in Budapest his mind had taken him to a place where he and Nikki would forever be apart and his agony in that moment similar to that being felt by the man who was seeing his wife or girlfriend dead in front of him.

Five hours and three post mortems later, Harry and Nikki were finally leaving the Lyell Centre.

"Do you want to come to mine for a drink? I know it's been a hard day for you." Harry asked Nikki like he normally would after any stressful day but this time he had ulterior motives.

"Sure, just no getting me drunk!" Nikki laughed half heartedly, knowing that it was highly likely she would have a hangover tomorrow.

Twenty minutes later the pair sat on Harry's sofa watching an old horror movie, one of those which Harry thought looked so fake he was convinced they were meant to be comedies. Nikki's head rested upon Harry's shoulder and her arm was wrapped around his chest. A bottle of expensive pinot gringo sat on the coffee table open with two large glasses poured. A silent tear trickled slowly down Nikki's cheek. Harry saw the light glinting off the tears falling uncontrolably down her face and turned to look down at his best friend.

"Nikki? Why are you crying, sweetie?" Harry asked softly, brushing the tears away gently with his thumb.

"I was thinking of that man today, you know Katie Malier's husband? And how devastated he was. I'm never going to have anyone who will care that much when I die." Nikki sobbed in to Harry's shirt.

"What about me?" Harry replied, upset that Nikki thought he wouldn't care. He took hold of her face between his large hands so that hecould look in to her chocolate eyes and smiled comfortingly at her..

"You'll find some nice girl, settle down. You'll forget about me!" Nikki's sobs continued.

"I could never forget about you, Nikki!" Harry replied exasperated. His mind found it hard to comprehend what she was saying. And the fact she wasn't listening to him! Before he could think of anything to say he crashed his lips to hers and kissed her passionately. Nikki responded with enthusiasm. Harry was kissing her! She hadwaited for this moment for 6 years! She never felt more ecstatic and complete than in that moment. Harry tried to pull away but Nikki had other ideas, twisting her fingers in to his hair and pulling his mouth back to hers.

"I think I've met the girl I'll settle down with" Harry whispered when they finally broke apart.

"I love you Nicola Alexander" Harry murmured, unsure of Nikki's reaction.

Nikki gasped, and replied, "Well I love you, too, Harry Cunningham! Now take me to bed!"

My first silent witness fanfiction! I'm rather proud of this!

Please review, it would make my day!

Lizzi