Just an idea that wouldn't leave me alone :)

Each chapter will be the next letter of the alphabet, and the last word will end in the letter in the chapter title... if that makes sense :)

Hopefully this will work, but let me know it it doesn't :D

xXx

A is for…

"We are going to be late. Again!"

"No we're not."

"Yes. We are. We have seven, no, six minutes to get through London's morning traffic, and you Nikki Alexander, are still putting on your make up!"

"Harry," Nikki laughed as she finally left the bedroom, her hair tied up in a messy bun, and her coat hanging loosely over her arm. "Since when have you ever worried about being late to work?"

"Oh I don't know," Harry muttered as Nikki made her way over to where he was leaning against the front door. "Maybe since Leo said that I was a bad influence on you. He just wouldn't believe that it was you that made us late every morning."

"That's because it isn't me," Nikki said, raising her eyebrows. "I seem to remember that it is you Dr Cunningham, that has to be literally dragged out of bed every morning. The snooze button isn't there just to remind you how long ago you should have been up."

"It's only an extra seven minutes," Harry smirked.

"Not once you've pressed it five times it's not," Nikki laughed, punching him playfully in the arm.

Harry caught her outstretched fist before she had the chance to lower it again and pulled her in towards him until her head was against his chest, and their bodies were flush.

"Well, can you blame me?" he whispered in her ear. "I'd much rather be snuggled up under the blankets with you than at work."

Harry grinned at the content sigh he heard escape from Nikki, and leant his chin on the top of her head.

"Anyway," he continued. "I was ready on time this morning. It is you that is going to," Harry glanced at his watch without letting go of Nikki. "Scratch that. It is you that has made us late today."

Nikki giggled, pulling away from Harry and casually walking towards the kitchen to unplug her mobile from the charger. Harry somehow felt incomplete once she'd moved away, as if they were two parts of a puzzle that fitted together perfectly.

A puzzle that had taken them years to work out the solution.

"You were only on time today because you skipped breakfast," Nikki pointed out, turning to face him from the corner of the kitchen. "I can tell by the severe lack of toast crumbs that you usually leave for me to clean up."

"Well noticed Sherlock. But in the time it's taken for you to get ready this morning, I could have eaten the whole loaf of bread. Now come on, before we become ridiculously late. If I have to look at Leo's smug grin again after I told him yesterday that we would definitely be on time…"

"You really do get unsociable without breakfast," Nikki grinned, as if she hadn't heard him speak. "Let's stop at the café on the way there. I'll treat you to a full English breakfast, then maybe you won't be so grumpy."

"I am not grumpy. I just don't like giving Leo the satisfaction of being right," Harry sighed. "I would love to stop off at the café Niks, but as I've been pointing out for the last ten minutes. We. Are. Late. And I am the one who will be blamed for it. Why do you put that stuff on anyway, you're beautiful without it."

"Charmer," Nikki giggled, walking back to Harry and reaching up on her tip toes to place a small kiss to his lips before stepping back and scrunching up her nose as if she was thinking about something.

"What?" Harry asked as a small smile spread across her lips, instantly reflected on Harry's own features.

"Did I mention that Leo has given us both the morning off?" she asked innocently, yet not managing to hide the grin that was now growing. "After we worked all those unsociable hours on the Bell case."

Harry raised his eyes, leaning back against the door and crossing his arms.

"No. You didn't," he sighed, grinning at the playful look on Nikki's face. "If you had told me, then I would still be in bed!"

Nikki giggled again, before slipping her arms through her coat and grabbing her bag from the front door.

"That must be the reason I didn't tell you," she smiled, picking up the car keys in own hand, and taking Harry's hand in her other. "Now let's go get breakfast."

Nikki sat in the warm café opposite Harry, at the little two seater table in the corner, watching him as he carefully cut the sausages that were on his plate.

"What?" he asked her eventually, looking up from his breakfast as he realised she was watching him.

"Nothing," she smiled. "We're not at work yet though. You can eat that without dissecting it."

He smirked before rolling his eyes and turning his attention back to the food.

Nikki couldn't help the warm feelings that seemed to radiate through her as she watched Harry. She had watched Harry for years as he performed the simple day to day tasks of life, and yet now everything was that little bit different. Now she could lean over the table and give him a kiss without it being completely unexpected. She could playfully twist her feet between his under the table without receiving a strange look. And she could watch woman practically throw themselves at Harry as he turned his back on them, slipping his arm round her waist instead and pulling her in close.

How so much had changed on that rainy day…

It had been a day just like any other.

As much as Nikki hated that phrase, it really had been. There was nothing out of the ordinary, no suspicious deaths, and no court cases or hearings to attend.

All in all, it had been a rather slow and tedious day, not helped by the fact that Harry felt it necessary to annoy her at every possible opportunity due to his lack of reports to write. Or his lack of motivation to actually write the many reports that were probably waiting for him.

Nikki had taken the opportunity to catch up on her emails it was that quiet, and although the uncharacteristically quiet offices seemed rather soothing, it hadn't lasted long.

"Nikki."

"What?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter."

Nikki sighed, turning her attention back to her computer screen and opening an email from the coroner's office that she had missed from last week.

"Nikki?"

"What Harry?"

Nikki spun round in her chair to face Harry, who had his feet on the table and was leaning back on his chair. He didn't say anything, just grinned at her animatedly.

"What do you want Harry?"

"A hot shower," he answered, and Nikki frowned.

"Good for you."

"What about you?" he asked casually.

"What about me?" she responded, unable to mask her confusion.

"What do you want?" he asked as if it had been a stupid question.

"I want to get through the emails that have slowly built up over the last two weeks," she replied.

"I want a Ferrari. A yellow one with black stripes up the bonnet," Harry smirked.

"I want a cup of coffee," Nikki smiled in return.

"Make it yourself," Harry grinned. "I want to run through London naked in the rain."

Nikki couldn't help but laugh hysterically at the thought as she spun her chair round properly to face Harry.

"I want you to run through London naked in the rain," Nikki giggled. "And I want to be the one to bail you out of jail after you get caught."

"I want to stay up all night watching crappy films and eating too much chocolate like when I was a kid," Harry smiled.

"I want to turn up at your door with a bag of popcorn and watch them with you, like I never did as a child," Nikki said, watching as Harry raised his eyes.

"You never stayed up all night with a group of friends and made yourself sick?" he asked, laughing slightly.

"Nope, never," Nikki shook her head.

"Well then, I want to make you feel sick after eating a stupid amount of sugar," Harry said, crossing his feet over on the desk.

"I want to be at your place instead of mine when I need to run to the bathroom to throw up then," Nikki laughed.

"I want to take you to a theme park and listen to you scream like a girl on the roller coasters."

"I want to go into the house of mirrors and watch your head grow even bigger than it already is."

"I want to sit on the beach and eat ice cream all day."

"I want to take you to South Africa for a holiday, and not have to worry about being arrested. Unless you decide to run around naked there too."

Harry laughed.

"I want to play Pictionary with you so you can laugh at my appalling art skills."

"I want to watch the clouds drift past the window and find shapes in them with you."

"I want to go skiing and watch you fall over."

"I want to bake a cake with you and not burn the house down."

"I want you."

They froze, the silence intensifying, the only noise the hum of the computer.

"I want you Nikki," Harry repeated, kicking his feet from the table and leaning his head in his hands.

Nikki stared at him, no idea how to respond.

"I want to introduce you to my mum as my girlfriend," Harry continued, raising his head to look Nikki in the eyes. "I want to cuddle up with you every night and watch rubbish on TV. I want to go to sleep with you in my arms, and wake up with you still there. I want to kiss you in public and hold your hand as we walk through town. I want to sign things 'from Harry and Nikki' and I want to make two cups of coffee every morning when I wake up, not just one. I want to laugh at every detective that flirts with you, knowing that you are mine. I want to watch you get drunk after a hard day at work and know that I can be the one to carry you home, and stay the night. I want to grow old with you, and I want Leo to stop looking at me with that smug, knowing look. I want you and me to be us."

Harry stopped, and for what felt like forever they stared into each others eyes, both completely lost for words.

Eventually, Harry suddenly stood up, running his hands through his hair and grabbing his coat from the back of his chair.

"I'm sorry," he stuttered, making his way to the door. "I don't know why I said that. Please Nikki, just forget about it, ok? I was being stupid. I don't know why you would want to hear-"

"Harry," Nikki interrupted, just as he put his hand against the glass door to leave the office.

Standing up, Nikki slowly walked towards him.

"Did you mean it? Everything you just said?"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah. Everything. Well, apart from the Ferrari. I'd rather have an Aston Martin," Harry sighed, leaning his head against the door.

Nikki laughed nervously.

"So you do want to run naked through the rain," she giggled. "And hold my hand. And make me coffee."

"To be fair, I already do the last two already," Harry said.

"True," Nikki nodded. "Do you know what I want Harry?"

Harry stood up straighter at her words.

"Look, I'm really sorry. I was just bored, and it got out of hand, and I don't want this to ruin our friendship. Please, just-"

"I want you to shut up Harry," Nikki said quietly, placing her finger to his lips. "And then I want you to kiss me."

That was seven months, three weeks and four days ago.

Not that Nikki was counting.

That miserable rainy day that had changed everything, with just one question. One simple, innocent question that had somehow managed to unlock every barrier that they had put up over the years to keep their feelings in.

And things had only seemed to have gotten better from one day to the next. They had slowly but surely settled into a new way of life, sharing things with each other that they never had before. At first it had worried Nikki. How quickly she had settled into being seen as a 'couple.' How she was able to kiss him whenever she wanted and know that there would be no awkwardness. And how truly happy she was with her life. Actually, the more she thought about it, she had been terrified that it was too good to be true. The first month at least she was convinced that he was going to come to his senses and leave her, telling her that he preferred it when they were just friends.

Then, five weeks after the kiss in the office, on one of the nights that Nikki had picked up a take-away and arrived at Harry's door, he had changed everything again. She could remember it now, as if it had only happened yesterday, and found herself smiling in the middle of the café as Harry continued to eat his breakfast.

…

Harry stood so close to her that their arms brushed together as he took her hand in his. Instantly Nikki could feel the smooth, cold metal between their palms and looked up to meet Harry's eyes, who smiled at her widely.

Letting go she held out her hand, a single key with a small pink ribbon lying on her skin.

"What-" Nikki began but Harry put a finger to her lips and she instantly fell quiet.

"Just for once in your life Nikki, be quiet, ok?" he chuckled and Nikki but her lip.

"And in answer to your stupid question, it's a key. I know you've already got one, but this one is official," he stopped, as if lost for words and yet Nikki remained quiet. She could feel her heart racing and silently prayed that she wasn't smiling too much.

"This is what I want. What I've wanted for so long now that I thought it would never happen. Just you and me. And now, I just want to make it even better, I just hope it's what you want too," Harry said quickly.

"Nikki Alexander," Harry continued in a rather formal manner. "Will you move in with me?"

Nikki stared at the key in her still outstretched palm. This was it. No going back. It was another stupidly simple question that could alter her life forever. Grinning widely, she threw her arms around Harry's neck, standing on her toes to reach his lips before whispering in his ear.

"I thought you'd never ask."

…

And that's how it had happened. That's how she had managed to find herself in the small café opposite Harry, who was putting down his fork before taking her hand in his.

It was just one question. That's all it had taken.

"What do you want?" she whispered quietly, more to herself than to Harry.

Nikki grinned as Harry leant over the table and placed a small kiss on her lips.

And there was their answer.