Harry and Leo jumped up instantly and Leo was halfway to the door when it burst open and doctors and nurses rushed in. The two pathologists were gently but firmly directed into the hall outside by another doctor and loud voices emitted from the room and more whirring machines were heard. Leo turned to say something to Harry and saw how scarily pale the younger man had gone, he reached out and placed his hand on Harry's arm and gave him a comforting smile.
"Leo" Harry muttered and shook his head, sounding to Leo like a little boy who needed some comfort, he squeezed Harry's arm gently resisting the parental urge to pull Harry into his arms.
"They are looking after her" Leo forced himself to say as he, tried not to show how choked up he was, he had to be strong for Harry as well who looked like he was losing all will to do anything "She's not going to die"
They were now conscious of a steady beeping emitting from the room and the door opened, the doctors and nurses filled out and Dr John walked over to them and saw that Harry was shaking.
"Is she alright?" Harry asked and peered into the room, he saw most of the machines with the steady beeping had been switched off and a sudden wave of panic came over him as he feared the worst.
"Nikki is fine" the doctor was saying when Harry turned his focus back to the two men "Her heart stopped for a while but we have managed to get that back, it sometimes happens with cases like these so there's no need to panic"
"Are you sure?" Leo asked and Dr John nodded
"Her breathing also improved suddenly, so much so that we've taken her off the ventilator however it could take a turn for the worst so we've left all the equipment in there"
Leo nodded and let the doctor continue as Harry walked past them both and into Nikki's room where he sat down again.
"Patients always seem to improve faster if there are familiar noises or people around them. And whatever you are saying is certainly doing the trick"
Leo laughed and glanced behind the doctor, over to where Harry was sitting, holding Nikki's hand and smiled.
"I expect even greater improvement if Harry stays then"
"Are they married?" Dr John asked quietly and Leo scoffed and shook his head
"You would think so wouldn't you? But no they're not…they have a very complicated relationship"
Dr John smiled and shook his head
"When I was in med school there was a girl I liked, everyone told me that she liked me back but I didn't believe them because I thought how could that amazing, beautiful, intelligent girl like someone like me"
"What happened?" Leo enquired and Dr John smirked
"I married her" he told Leo who laughed and shook his head "and anyway it's amazing how situations like these bring people together. Life it too short to be running around each other"
Leo ran his hand through his hair and sighed
"Let's hope that happens here because I don't think I could handle working with them for much longer with all of the tension flying around"
The doctor laughed and Leo reached out and shook his hand.
"Thank you for all that you are doing"
"It's my job but you're welcome" he smiled then walked off down the corridor. Leo poked his head through the door and into the room and caught Harry's attention.
"I'm going for coffee" he said "Do you want anything?"
"Coffee please" Harry replied and went to stand up
"No" Leo said forcibly and help up his hand "You stay here with Nikki"
With that he walked out of the doorway into the once again deserted corridor, a small smile on his face.
Half an hour after Leo had left them, Harry started to feel tired and looking at the clock, he realized it was nearly two thirty in the morning. He leaned down and rested his head on the bed next to Nikki's hand which was still clasped in his own, took one last look at her to make sure she was alright, then closed his eyes, hoping to have a quick nap. Fifteen minutes later when Leo walked into the room, after giving Harry some time alone with Nikki, he couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of him as he spotted Harry fast asleep still gripping Nikki's hand. He placed the coffee cup on the bedside table and gathered a spare blanket from the only other bed in the room and draped it over the sleeping man. He then leant over and kissed Nikki on the cheek and then left the room again.
-------
When Leo walked back in six hours later before he was due at the lab and after a short sleep at his house, nothing had changed much. Harry was still resting on the bed and Nikki was still unconsious, the blanket now lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. Leo quietly walked over and picked it up, folded it and placed it back on the bed. Harry groaned slightly and Leo turned to him and smiled as the younger man rubbed his neck and winced.
"What time is it?" Harry whispered, not bothering to look at the clock, his neck was stiff from sleeping at an awkward angle.
"Almost a quarter to eight" Leo replied and dropped the disposable coffee cup from the night before into the bin.
"Did you stay here last night?" Harry enquired, not noticing that Leo had changed his clothes and the older man shook his head.
"No I went home to get some things and to sleep" he replied and placed the bag beside Harry "And went to your house to get some things for you, I hope you don't mind"
"You have my keys?" Harry asked in surprise and Leo nodded and held them up for him to see, Harry didn't bother taking them away from him.
"Yes, you gave them to me when you and Nikki were on that conference last year, just so I could water your plants"
Harry remembered that day, it was the first and only time he and Nikki had shared a kiss and with a stab of remorse Harry remembered that nothing had come from it and he had hurt Nikki a lot during the case after it.
"I have Nikki's as well" Leo continued and Harry nodded absentmindedly, still lost in thought.
Both men turned swiftly to look at the bed when they heard a soft moan and movement from the woman in it. Nikki opened her deep brown eyes slightly and locked them with Harry's relived ones as he sat up straighter and gripped her hand.
"Harry?" she mumbled sleepily and the man she was asking for gave her a smile and nodded.
"I'm here" he whispered
Nikki tried to move but gasped when pain flew up her body from her stomach and she clenched her eyes shut with the pain, she took a deep breath to try and steady herself before opening her eyes again.
"Don't move sweetheart" Harry whispered and wiped a few tears that had fallen down her face away, he heard the door behind him click open, then shut again but ignored it as he focused all his attention on Nikki.
"Harry" she mumbled again and grasped his hand tightly as she looked around the room confusion marring her face.
"It's okay Nikki, you're safe" Harry smiled and brushed her hair back from her face with shaking hands "You're in hospital" he told her when she looked at the drip in her hand with a frown on her face.
"What…happened?" she asked, her voice horse, and Harry gently helped her sit up slightly, one arm around her back, and gave her some water before he answered her question suddenly conscious of how close they were. Nikki didn't seem to mind and Harry thought he felt her move closer to him slightly but shook it off.
"You were stabbed at the scene you were called to" Harry replied after a few minutes and Nikki started sobbing as she remembered what had happened and how scared she had been, Harry reached up and gently wiped the fallen tears from her face and felt his heart breaking as he saw how much pain she was in.
"Don't cry Nikki please" he whispered "I hate to see you cry"
Nikki nodded and smiled softly up at him making his stomach do a happy flip.
"I thought I'd lost you" he whispered as he pressed a kiss onto her head and took a deep breath to try and control his emotions "When I heard you had been stabbed I thought I had lost you for good Nikki. I don't know what I would do without you"
"You'd find a way" Nikki mumbled and drew in a sharp breath when her stomach pulled slightly.
"Do you want me to get a doctor?" Harry asked quickly and Nikki shook her head
"No please stay with me" she whispered and gripped Harry's hand tightly in hers "I don't want you to leave me alone"
"I won't ever leave you alone" Harry told her as he rested his cheek on the top of her head before helping her to lay down again "Go to sleep"
"Don't want to" Nikki replied sleepily and yawned causing Harry to roll his eyes as he leant down and pressed a soft kiss onto her forehead.
"Nikki a few hours ago you were fighting for your life, you need your rest"
When he didn't reply he looked down and saw that Nikki was already asleep with a small smile on her face. He then leant down and pressed an even softer kiss onto her lips before moving some hair out of her face.
A few minutes later the door opened and Leo walked in, he glanced at the sleeping Nikki then at Harry who had looked up at him when he had entered
"How is she?" he asked and closed the door "I thought I'd give you some time alone"
"She says she's fine but it's pretty obvious that she is in vast amounts of pain" Harry replied and looked at the substance that was dripping into Nikki through the drip in her hand "It's morphine so it should be kicking in sometime soon anyway"
"I've told Dr John that she woke up and he should be around soon to check on her" Leo explained and looked at his watch "I'm afraid I have to go to work now, I'll sign you off for a couple of days, compassionate leave"
"You don't have to do that Leo" Harry shook his head but was secretly pleased that Leo had done so "But thank you"
"I'll be by after work to see how Nikki is doing" Leo then told Harry who nodded, then he turned and walked out of the room once again leaving Harry alone with the sleeping Nikki.
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been off school ill and I wasn't allowed anywhere near the laptop to do any work so I couldn't upload :(
xxx