Leo could tell that Nikki was in a bad mood just by the way that she stormed into the lab, half an hour before her shift was due to start. He watched as she threw her bag onto her desk, her desk he noted, not Harry's, and tugged her jacket off, throwing that onto her chair as well. She then made her way over to his office, slamming the door open and striding on in.

"Good morning Dr Alexander" Leo greeted her as the door flung back and shut with a loud bang "I would like it if you kept my office intact".

He gave her a small smile, which to his surprise wasn't returned. Nikki just sat herself on his sofa and buried her head in her hands, letting out a small groan as she then ran one hand through her lose hair.

"What's wrong?"

"Men" she replied simply "You just..ahh..you're a stupid species with stupid feelings and stupid ideas" she replied with a glare. Leo could tell it was PMS, he had been living with Janet and had known Nikki long enough to know when both women were hormonal.

"I take it this is something to do with this new man" Leo said carefully, knowing how volatile women could be when they were near or on their periods.

"Yes" Nikki snapped "I talked to him this morning about going on the pill and he just told me not to"

Leo raised an eyebrow and turned in his chair to look at her, wondering why she was talking to him about it.

"Um..any reason that he doesn't want you to go on the pill?" he asked hesitantly and Nikki scoffed.

"I get ill from taking the pill, any sort" she explained, not seeming at all embarrassed that she was discussing this subject with Leo. "and he said that I shouldn't go on it if I get ill. So I then asked him if it would be better if I got pregnant and he asked if that was such a bad thing"

Leo was shocked when he heard this, wondering who this man was to say that getting Nikki pregnant would be a good idea. They'd only been dating for a week at least from what he had seen, and they probably hadn't even known each other that long.

"What did you say?"

"I said it would be a bad thing and then stormed out of the room" Nikki responded, leaning back against the sofa and letting out a breath "when I say 'said' I actually mean yelled" she added quietly and Leo had to stifle his chuckle "so then Harry took what I said to mean that I don't want children with..."

"Harry?" Leo interrupted loudly and Nikki sat up and swore loudly "You and Harry?"

"Yes" Nikki replied, nodding slightly and hoping that Harry wouldn't blow a gasket when she told him that she had accidentally outed them. One argument was enough for her. "I'm sorry for lying to you Leo"

"It's okay" Leo told her, smiling slightly as he realised all of his worries about them getting hurt were superficial. However the argument that his two friends had had was a pretty big one, talking about children didn't normally come this early. Leo then had to think about it, since when were Harry and Nikki a normal couple?. "I understand"

"Thank you" Nikki responded quietly "But I don't understand why Harry would risk me getting pregnant. We're not ready for that Leo"

"I think Harry was more interested in you not getting ill, than the long term affects if you don't go on the pill" Leo supplied for her and Nikki nodded slightly "I don't think he fully understands the consequences if you don't"

"But I'm so confused Leo" Nikki whispered, running one hand over her face to stop herself crying "I never wanted children when I was younger, all my friends were saying how they wanted children and they cooed over children and babies in the street, but I didn't. I just wasn't like that, it was like I wasn't mother material. But recently I..." she stopped and glanced at Leo who nodded at her to continue "I see a mother holding a baby in the street and I want that to be me. I walk past baby shops and I want to be one of the people in there buying clothes and getting ready for when the baby is born. But I'm terrified because I've never felt that before and I'm not prepared to get pregnant right now and then have something go wrong with me and Harry because we rushed into things"

'Rushed into things?' Leo thought incredulously 'It took you six bloody years to see what's right in front of you'

"I think you and Harry need to sit down and have a proper talk about it" Leo informed Nikki seriously "No shouting, no screaming at each other, a calm chat talking about what you both want"

"His mother mentioned us having children" Nikki then told Leo, who raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You've been introduced to his mother?"

"Yes" Nikki nodded "I'm the only woman that he's introduced to her apparently, so that automatically makes me his future wife and mother of his children" she added bitterly. "It seemed nice at the time. My partner's mother telling us that we should have children, it was like her giving us permission, you know" Leo nodded and let Nikki continue "But now it just seems like we're being pushed into something that we're not ready for. Children aren't something that you talk about this early in a relationship"

"This early in a relationship?" Leo repeated loudly, laughing as he shook his head "Nikki, you and Harry have been in a relationship for nearly six years now, you just didn't know it. It was so blindingly obvious how you felt about each other, yet you two couldn't see it"

"I don't want to get hurt any more Leo" Nikki whispered, her voice breaking as tears slipped down her face. Leo instantly got up and walked over to her, sitting down on the sofa and gathering the young woman into his arms, soothing her as she cried into his shoulder.

"It'll be alright Nikki" Leo told her, rubbing her arm gently as he talked "You'll sort it out between you, you always do"

------

Nikki immersed herself in a case for the rest of the day. A young man walking home from a club the night before had been hit by a car that had mounted the curb, he had died on the way to the hospital. Nikki felt sorry for the man, he was in his early twenties, not even out of university yet and his life had been taken from him. Nikki had to watch as his parents identified the body, the mother breaking down as soon as she saw the shattered form of her little boy in front of her, the father staring blankly at his son as he held his sobbing wife against him, their world collapsing. Nikki had then been informed that he had a wife and a young daughter, six months old who would never know her daddy. Nikki had then become even more determined to catch the person who had torn an entire family apart.

Hmm..not sure about this chapter. I wanted to show how Nikki wants children, but she's not prepared to have them this early in hers and Harry's relationship. Not sure if that came out properly or not.

xxx