Still not over Harry's departure so here is my own version, with a little meddling from Leo!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, anything that seems familiar belongs to the BBC.

It was late one Friday night in March when someone banged on Leo's door. It confused him as he couldn't think of anyone who'd bother him at that time of night. Intrigued, he rose from his chair and made his way to the door. Before opening it, he checkedtwo was there through the peep hole and was surprised to find a rather drunk looking Harry.

"Leo, open the damn door, it's bloody freezing out here!" hemanaged to slur.

Opening the door and gesturing for him to enter, Leo greeted himcautiously, "I thought you had plans with Nikki tonigh?"

"So did I but she blew me off for one of her detectives," he whined sounding particularly bitter.

Leo could see what had happened earlier in the evening, Nikki had gone on a date which had made Harry jealous. As a result, instead of telling her how he really felt, Harryhad decided that the appropriate cause of action was to start drinking until he couldn't remember anything. Obviously the last part hadn't happened according to plan as there he was on Leo's doorstep knowing the reason behind why he was there.

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel Harry. Save all this pratting around between you."

"That's the whole point why I wanted to see her tonight. I needed to tell her that I've taken a job in New York and I start next week, I fly out tomorrow. I've saved up my leave and have enough to serve out my notice. I had to tell her that this is a fresh start for both of us, so I can leave here without her hating me."

Leo was taken aback, Harry had accepted a job in America and hadn't even had the decency to let either himself of Nikki know.

"She'll hate you either way I'm afraid. You know I never had you down as selfish, stupid yes. You're not going to tell her now are you?"

"No," Harry replied, "and please don't you either. I'd rather she hated me and was able to carry on with her life rather than hate herself, knowing that she might have been able to stop me from going. I love her too much for that."

"Ok, I won't say anything to her the next time I see her. I just wish that you were brave enough to tell her what you just told me."

"So do I, but I've messed her around the last time we even attempted to try anything, I couldn't handle it if she said no this time!" Harry sobbed and Leo noted that he had sobered up a lot since he had arrived.

"So you're just going to run?"

"Yea I guess so. I'll see you around." That was the last thing Leo heard from Harry before he was out of the door. It took Leo a while to work out how Harry had arrived at his house and he hoped to God that he wasn't stupid enough to have driven. The last thing he needed was a dead colleague on his hands!

Despite what Leo had told Harry, there was something he just had to do and so he made his way to the phone. It rang three times before she answered.

"Hi Leo, how can I help you?" Came her reply.

"Did your date go well?" He asked, surprising himself at how up front he was being.

"How did you ... Oh wait, Harry told you. Was he whining about how I blew him off at the last minute?" She was seething, how dare he run and complain to Leo, the same thing had happened to her thousands of times yet she had just smiled and pretended that everything was ok! "Well, as you asked, I won't be seeing him again. He was too self centered for my liking, he didn't stop taking about himself all night."

"Ah well, another one bites the dust. Anyway the reason I phoned was to tell you that Harry came to see me earlier and told me some things I wish I'd never heard. He asked me not to tell you and I said I wouldn't the next time I saw you. I guess telling you over the phone is ok though as I can't see you."

"What is it Leo, you're scaring me." Nikki's voice was frantic with worry.

"He's leaving for New York in the morning, he's been offered a job over there."

"What and he wasn't going to tell me?" Nikki was fuming, how could her best friend move 3,000 miles away and say nothing. "Did he say why?"

"Yes he did but you should ask him. I don't feel comfortable repeating it." Leo's plan was falling into place, he knew Nikki's next move would be to go and have it out with Harry. "And Nikki?"

"Hmm..."

"Don't be afraid to tell him the truth. It won't do you any harm." With that Leo hung up the phone and hoped that he'd done enough so that the last eight years hadn't been in vein.

Nikki was extremely confused, what had Leo meant by don't be afraid to tell him the truth? Surely, he wasn't saying what she thought he was. Could he be? She decided that the conversation she was to have with Harry couldn't take place over the phone. She had to be able to see his facial reactions.

On the drive over, Leo's words ran through her mind. Would he really leave her without saying goodbye? She refused to believe that he would.

As she pulled up outside Harry's flat all the rage she had felt earlier disappeared and it was replaced with fear. Fear that she would bear all to the man she loved and he would leave her anyway. Better to have tried and lost than not to have tried at all. Nikki knew that she would always wonder "what if" if she didn't face up to what was happening.

She rang the doorbell, determined to be as calm as possible. To Nikki it felt like ages before he opened the door but in reality it was only a couple of minutes. He didn't look surprised to see her, which confused her even further.

"I knew Leo would tell you, it was one of the main reasons why I told him."

"What if he hadn't, would you have really left without saying goodbye?" Harry looked puzzled and it was clear to Nikki that he hadn't thought of that outcome. "I don't understand why you feel as though you have to leave?"

"What's keeping me here?" he asked harshly. Nikki understood what Leo had meant, this was how she would convince him to stay.

"I am Harry, stay for me. Stay because you love me like I love you." There she said it, whatever happened next she had no control over but she knew she had nothing to regret. It took Harry a few moments to process what she had just said but it wasn't long before a huge grin was plastered over his face.

"Really?" he asked

"Really," she replied and that was all he needed to hear before he captured her lips with his own. From that moment on he made a vow to himself that he would never leave her, or even think about it ever again.

I hope you enjoyed this so please review and let me know. Sorry I haven't updated Surprises in the Lab recently but I can't think of any decent proposal ideas so if you have any ideas on that then please let me know.

call-me-rose