"Hiya honey, hard day at the office" Dempsey anticipated trouble but did nothing to mitigate it as he bit into the apple.

As so often happened Makepeace was flooded with incredulity "You made a lot of assumptions coming here"

"Why? 'You expecting someone?" Dempsey never seemed to attempt to make life easier, never did he let an ounce of apology creep into his words but he had hoped for a little more sympathy "Are we talking about the warrant?" he ventured

"The warrant, the fact that you're a fugitive and I'm a police officer. We're talking about duty, my duty to arrest you"

Boy she could keep a stony face when she wanted thought Dempsey, well he was ready to argue this one out: "What about loyalty, you ever heard about loyalty - like between partners" he challenged

"In sickness and health"

"Damn right"

"Til death sentence do us part"

"I do"

"Damn it Dempsey this is serious"

"What's serious my neck or your pension?"

"Give me one half decent reason why I shouldn't arrest you"

"Try innocent" Dempsey leaned forward in earnest and back as he waited, life is a bitch he thought "come on Harry you're all I got" well it would be if his partner didn't believe him

Harry cursed herself, she knew exactly what she was going to say and do and felt strangely powerless to do otherwise "Ok you can stay one night" there she'd capitulated as she had known she would; mustering every scrap of will power from within she continued "then you're on your own"

Dempsey sat back his relief palpable, Harry didn't move. Despite all his unorthodox and questionable practices she really didn't think Dempsey was guilty and obviously neither did Spikings.

They both sat in a long moment of silence as the tension dissipated, Dempsey deliberately nudged his foot against Harry; she ignored him. His socked toes ran from her knee downward and shifting her position Harry stretched her legs forward and just out of his reach, the pouffe acting as the chaste divider.

Dempsey retreated with a sulk; Harry noted it and a glimmer of a grin started to grow. Her surreptitious glance in his direction was mistimed though and her gaze was trapped by Dempsey's eyes. The battle of 'stare' was only broken as both gave in to the giggle that rose from within.

"Wine?" Dempsey offered jumping up

Harry followed him into the kitchen; she watched Dempsey take a glass from the cupboard and the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from her fridge; he proffered the full glass as if he were the home owner and a tingle ran down her spine.

Makepeace exhaled slowly "I'm hungry" she reflected as she sipped one of her favourite French white wines

"You wanna phone for a take out?" Dempsey asked brightly

"Did you leave your brain in Spikings office as well as your gun?"

Dempsey looked flummoxed

"Your best friend Lacy will have one of his lackeys watching and questioning delivery boys"

Dempsey screwed his mouth up as he considered the point, it was good and thus he kept silent

Harry rolled her eyes and sighed, she volunteered to cook and as she opened her fridge added "if you've not eaten everything"

"I lit the fire, chilled the wine" Dempsey protested

"Well now you're here pass me some rice" Harry indicated to the cupboard on the far left as she started to chop some onion

Dempsey opened the door and read the labels "' you want rice or rice or rice?" he asked "Hell I never knew there were so many sorts of rice"

"So what do you buy?" Harry asked as she moved in front of him to take down the box of Arborio Rice

"Me?" Dempsey deliberately reached up to the shelf as well so that Harry became trapped by his larger body mass; he shuffled the packets, reading the labels as he purposefully prolonged the time he was reaching over her "Nah you don't seem to have my one" he surmised as he tidied the packets back

"Dempsey you're pushing your luck!" Harry warned

Dempsey stood back, releasing Makepeace; he hoiked himself onto the work surface next to her and prepared to watch. She deftly chopped some garlic and started to fry the base.

Makepeace was very aware of Dempsey's presence "you don't have to watch me" she protested "you can watch the TV"

"Ain't nothing on"

"How do you know?"

"It's Britain – you don't have enough channels to have anything on"

"We have quality TV with the BBC"

"You have Eastenders"

"You exported Dallas!"

"Just goes to prove my point – there ain't anything on TV" Dempsey smiled in satisfaction "anyway I'm watching you" Harry tipped the rice into the frying pan "whoa I don't fry my rice raw – does that work?" Dempsey leaned over with interest "Uncle Ben just boils his in the bag"

Makepeace rolled her eyes "Pass me the wine". She tipped half the remaining wine from the bottle onto the rice and quickly searched for her stock; Dempsey watched in appreciation, a little for her culinary skills, mainly for her looks and her body all of which he was taking his pleasure from.

"Tell you what – you can do the mushrooms" Harry suggested in desperation to redirect his gaze; noting the distinct lack of response she placed a selection of mushrooms in front of Dempsey "wash, rip and cook in a little butter" she instructed

Dempsey stood with his pot on the ring next to the rice; he bumped his hips against Harry's "Well here we are til death do us part partner" He started to stir the risotto and the resultant smacked hand drew a smile. Harry suggested he could go but Dempsey insisted that if she was in charge of the rice the mushrooms were his responsibility

"Dempsey I may be forced to shoot you" Harry protested as she fetched some soaked Porcini mushrooms to add

"There are some pretty weird mushrooms here Sergeant – how do you know they're not poisonous?"

"They come from Waitrose" was her condescending reply

"Well if they are and you fall into an enchanted sleep I'll wake you with a kiss" Dempsey wrapped his arm across Harry's shoulder

"What the!" Makepeace looked with disbelief wondering where that sideball had come from "If they're poisonous Dempsey firstly you will die too and secondly I don't want a kiss just an ambulance!" she announced as she slipped out of his embrace "For goodness sake you set the table and open another bottle and I'll finish the cooking"

"Yes maam"

Harry woke to see a note on her pillow; she tipped it left then right as she struggled to work out his indecipherable scribble of mixed case, it read:

"THaNks FoR THe cookiNG LEssoN; I NEEd some cash – 300 sHouLD do, I'LL sEE You aT THE RoYaL ALBERT AT 11