"Right Harry, you're ready to go" Dr Halford said later that afternoon as he checked on Harry one last time. The disgruntled male pathologist was sitting on the edge of his bed, his crutches laying on the bed next to him, Nikki trying her hardest not to giggle. Harry saw this and threw her a dirty look.
"Have you talked to your father yet?" Harry enquired, and Nikki saw the challenge in his eyes. Knowing that he would have to return to the hospital a few times before his cast was taken off, they would have to keep up the act. She smirked and nodded, up for the challenge.
"Daddy says that it's okay, as long as you don't take me to bed. You can sleep in the spare room" she replied, flicking her loose hair over her shoulder and giving Harry one of her smiles, which made his heart jump in his chest.
"Her father is a bit conservative" Harry told Dr Halford, who just nodded and smiled at the pair "When Nicola first introduced us, he made me promise not to take her to bed until our wedding night"
Nikki tried not to laugh loudly behind Dr Halford's back as Harry spoke.
"But she's worth it, I'm willing to wait" Harry added, looking Nikki straight in the eye as he said this. Nikki thought she saw something other than amusement in his eyes, but he looked away quickly and grabbed his crutches as Dr Halford spoke. However Nikki didn't hear what the older man was saying. She was too busy wondering how she was going to survive at least six or so weeks living and working with Harry.
"Nicola sweetheart"
Her heart jumped and her stomach flipped when she heard Harry say those words, she then looked up and saw him standing, propped up by the crutches.
"Shall we go?"
"Of course darling" she smiled shakily as Dr Halford held the door open for them. Harry hobbled out of the room, and Nikki let out a loud giggle, making Harry glare at her. "Come on hobble, let's get you home"
-------
"Nikki"
Nikki looked around from where she was dishing up dinner and smiled at Harry who was sitting at the kitchen table.
"Thank you for letting me stay with you"
Nikki knew it had taken Harry an awful lot of pride to say that, even if it was just her he was saying it to.
"You're welcome" she replied, placing a plate of mashed potato, sausage and peas in front of her best friend. "Anyway, I couldn't let you go home could I?" Nikki enquired as she scooped some potato and peas onto her fork "You would have fallen and broken the other leg"
Harry just gave her a withering look and dug into his food, leaving Nikki to giggle to herself.
------
"That was gorgeous" Harry said as he placed his knife and fork down on his empty plate, reaching over and picking up his glass of orange juice. Nikki had refused to give him wine, on count of his painkillers. "I didn't know you could cook"
Nikki just rolled her eyes, not taking Harry's comment to heart as he grinned at her over the top of his glass.
"I have talents that you don't know of" she told him, putting the last piece of sausage in her mouth and sitting back on her chair as Harry raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sure all of those unsuitable men appreciate these talents"
Nikki just glared at him and stood up, pushing her chair back violently as she did so. She grabbed both empty plates and placed them by the sink, not looking at Harry once as she did so.
"Nikki, I'm sorry" she heard Harry say, and she had to blink away tears, hoping that he didn't see. She hated talking about the men that she had taken home, it made her feel dirty and used. However, she tried to make a joke out of it around Harry and Leo. "I didn't mean..."
"It's fine" Nikki told him, turning and giving him a smile as she ran the water in the sink "I'm just tired that's all"
"Let me wash up, you can have a nice relaxing bath and then go to bed" Harry suggested seriously, wondering why his comment had made Nikki act like that. He frequently made jokes about her men, it hadn't affected her before, she was always so light-hearted about it.
"and have you fall over and break your other leg?" Nikki chuckled, shaking her head and giving Harry a genuine smile "You go to bed"
"No, let me do it" Harry shook his head, standing up and hobbling over to Nikki, with the help of his crutches. "It's my fault that you were up early, and on your day off as well"
He reached over and lay one hand gently on Nikki's arm, trying to ignore the jolt in his stomach when their skin connected, completely missing the small breath that Nikki took in as they touched. Nikki turned away slightly, hoping that Harry didn't see the slight blush that formed on her cheeks, their close proximity wasn't helping matters either.
"It's fine" she told Harry, pushing him slightly and laughing at him "Go on hobble, go and watch television or something if you're not going to bed"
"Am I going to have to put up with this for the next six weeks?" Harry asked as he finally gave up and hobbled towards the kitchen doorway and into the living room.
"What do you think?" Nikki smirked at him, flicking bubbles in his direction. Harry chuckled and shook his head, making his way towards the sofa as he did so.
Nikki took a deep breath, leaning over the sink and shaking her head. No man had ever affected her in this way before, never had she felt her stomach do flips every time a man had walked into the room, and she prided herself for never blushing around a man, whether he was attractive or not. But Harry was different, her body just reacted to him. Nikki felt herself flushing again as she thought of what her subconscious had made her dream as well, heat pooling in her stomach as she remembered some of them. She shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts as she continued to wash up.
Harry wasn't really watching the television, he was staring at it, thinking about the woman in the kitchen. The beautiful woman in the kitchen. He licked his lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss her properly, not just a small peck like in the hospital. He wondered how a woman could affect him as much as Nikki did. All she had to do was walk into the room with one of those grins on her faces and his body instantly reacted to her. Just like it was doing now, just thinking about her. Harry let out a small groan and leant his head back on the sofa, knowing that it was more than just a small crush that he had on his best friend. That was what scared him the most, knowing that it was more than he was used to, more than just being attracted to her. There was something about Nikki that made him want to be a gentleman and woo her, something that he had never felt before in his life.
"Harry are you okay? You look tired"
He jumped slightly and turned his head to see Nikki leaning in the doorway of the living room, arms crossed over her chest, her loose hair falling down over her shoulders, a small smile on her face and her deep brown eyes lit up with amusement. Harry hoped that his reaction didn't show too much as he shifted slightly.
"I think I'll go to bed" he nodded, standing up shakily and gripping on to his crutches. "I'll see you in the morning"
"Yeah. Goodnight" Nikki replied, walking over to him and pressing her lips quickly to his cheek, before picking up the remote. Missing the small smile that Harry had on his face as he hobbled out of the room.
"Night" he murmured as he closed the door behind him.
So how long should I drag out the tension between Harry and Nikki? I don't want it getting boring for you :D.
xxx
