Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I'd like to make a couple of things clear a sec - first that I'm incredibly dense and it only occurred to me as I wrote this chapter that I'd used the name Tom. No relevance to Tom Ward I promise! ;-)

And second, after this chapter the story will be M rated due to the obvious route this story is taking,so check back there in a couple days if you want to continue reading :-)

The world was a blur.

Nikki didn't remember Harry leaving, taking his suitcase and getting a cab to Leo's. She remembered him telling her where he was going, but nothing mattered after he'd made his intentions clear. She knew that she'd sat still for some time, she knew that before he left he'd kissed her forehead and she'd felt the wetness of his tears press against her face. She could hear Lucy crying, but knew there was nothing she could give her.

Harry was wrong on so many levels. He didn't understand because he'd never been in a relationship longer than a few months, he didn't get how hard it could be. There was nothing wrong with their relationship, nothing. Tom just had a few issues, but they could work on them, together.

Nikki's heart sped as she remembered Harry's confession of love. A part of her still loved him too, her heart still desired him, it had for so many years it was something that wouldn't go away overnight. To a degree, she'd always love him. If she never saw him after this day she'd love him. That was something that came with Lucy, the fact that he'd given her their daughter. But it was wrong, she loved Tom, and he was a brilliant father to Lucy, whether biological or not.

And it wasn't as if Harry had been much of a father, she thought bitterly. He'd been too busy with some girl's legs wrapped around him when she was being born. It wasn't like she'd had a quick labour. Nikki sighed, that wasn't fair. She knew Harry would have loved to be a proper father, given half a chance. She recalled the months that she spent struggling on her own, savouring each short phone call across the pond, and praying he'd come to his senses, think 'fuck this job' and come back to her.

She cringed as she remembered how awkward she had felt when Lucy had called out to Tom. She knew she should have done a better job at squashing that before Harry's arrival, but Tom had been unwilling, and it had been hard to argue back when he'd claimed that she'd never have a father if he couldn't do the job. If only she'd been straight with him.

Harry was close to exploding, she knew, close to blowing her secret and coming out with the truth, but with Tom this volatile, she didn't know what could happen. She feared secretly for Harry's safety more than her own and Lucy's above that. But Tom would never hurt her child.

She could see why Harry thought the way he did, but he'd got it wrong.

Or had he? It had been some time since she'd socialised outside of work and Tom, this she'd always put down to Lucy. She didn't exactly go out, and she didn't speak to anyone but Harry and Leo, and that was only an exception because she had insisted they were only friends. Another guilty lie she had told there. Nikki pushed the thoughts from her mind and blinked, her eyes stinging. She didn't know if she had moved at all since Harry had said those words to her, but she knew that her tears had.

Take her daughter away? Never. Nikki would fight to the death for Lucy, he knew that. She also knew that Harry didn't want to take her away, which gave her an advantage. She knew though that his motives weren't exactly selfish, he'd just got it wrong. If he wasn't so bloody right for her (she could admit this now that she was happily with someone else, now that a second Mr Right had made an appearance), then neither of them would be in this mess.

Nikki sighed. She didn't want to fight Harry, her best friend, but she couldn't leave the man she loved. She did love Tom, didn't she?

Her mind raced back to the night she had conceived her daughter, and she remembered the joy she had felt at Harry's touch, as well as the sadness for his leaving. Where had all her passion gone? Nikki ran her hands through her hair and went to pick up her child, comforting her in silence. Lucy soon fell quiet in the hands of her mother. This wouldn't become a rarity.

Nikki sat on the sofa, cradling her daughter. She considered calling Harry, asking him to talk this through, but as she was making her decision there was a knock on the door, and she opened it to be greeted by her partner. Tom looked at her with a guilt ridden expression.

"I'm sorry" He said quietly. "I didn't mean to. It's just that guy, something about him gets me up the wrong way. You know he loves you, don't you?"

Nikki sighed and looked at the floor, stepping back to allow Tom inside. He kissed her on the lips and smiled at her.

"I'll never hurt you again, Nikki" He breathed. "I've taken a few days off work, so we can be together, just the three of us, family."