For Florencia to celebrate the end of her exams and tigpop for making me laugh so much. Thanks too if you added a review and for the reassurance I wasn't having a total breakdown (you are allowed to disagree...all comments are welcome)

"So the gifts are the choices of what we can do tonight," she clarified.

"Sort of," Harry answered.

"So I could choose to watch a mystery DVD with you, or play cards or …" she tailed off.

"I'm not telling you what's in those last two; you will have to pick one." Harry said sternly.

"Big is always better, right?" she said, trying to catch his eye; trying to work out which one he wanted her to open.

"I don't know Nikki, come on make a decision," he stood up and collected the wine glasses and took them over towards the sofa. "Hurry up and choose one and bring it over here."

Nikki picked up the wrapped book and sat down next to Harry, she was still scrutinizing his face to see if she had made the right decision.

"Nikki, this is about what you want not what I want," he insisted.

"But it's so hard when I don't know what all the options are she said, "for all I know there's an ipod in that last box, filled with a compilation of 'classics' from your youth for me to endure. I keep telling you; musically the Eighties were not great!"

"So it's this one," Harry tapped the book. "Open it up then,"

Nikki unwrapped the parcel and found the canvas covered book. There was no title, so she opened the first page; there was a photo of her peeking out from under a too long fringe, and Harry behind, his hair shorter than short and wearing a parka.

"Harry," she exclaimed and then, "don't you look young!"

"Thanks!" he laughed, "it was eight years ago, at least I've still got my hair!"

She ruffled it for him, "yes, you've been lucky."

"I'm still not sure that's a compliment," Harry muttered.

She quickly turned to the next page, realising as she did so that Harry had filled all the pages with photos from her time at the Lyell. There were some out of focus ones from a variety of Christmas parties, but the smiles could still be seen. Some from the lab, when she had found her camera in her bag on a slow afternoon and they had taken turns pulling silly faces and taking pictures. There were pictures from Africa, both the trips and some from their days out and conferences they'd attended.

"That hat really was ridiculous," Nikki commented as she looked at the pictures from Africa.

"Why thank you very much," Harry said sincerely.

"Look," she exclaimed. "I remember that day…" and she was off retelling the stories that they both knew, but were happy to remember and rediscover.

Harry began to relax for the first time all evening, he was having fun listening to her chatter on about the pictures, and for the first time he really believed that he had done the right thing by not taking her out. Sat together on his sofa they were far more at ease; she was his friend, not just some girl he was trying hard to impress.

"Look at that one!" she gasped pointing and giggling again.

"Why are there a photos of me standing next to my fridge and you next to yours?" Nikki asked.

"Oh, I've had those on my phone for ages," Harry replied. "Do you remember that time when you got knocked out and couldn't remember which way your fridge opened? When I took you home from the hospital I took the photo, so if it ever happened again, you wouldn't have to worry and I'd be able to tell you."

"And the picture of you next to your fridge?" she asked.

"Oh I can never remember which way my fridge opens, I thought I'd better take one just to be on the safe side," he replied.

"Harry, that is ridiculous," she laughed and turned over to the next page. Harry tried to refill her glass but discovered the wine bottle was empty.

"Would you like some coffee?" he asked "I've got decaff."

"Thanks Harry, that would be great," she answered.

She was still poring over the book when Harry returned.

"What did you find now?" he asked.

But her face as she raised it to meet his, was not smiling as it had been when he left, she looked positively sad.

"Nikki, What is it? What's the matter? Don't you like it?" he asked suddenly concerned that he had done the wrong thing after all.

"All these times," she explained. "These were the happy times, but do you know why they were happy? Look there," she pointed. "The three of us together looking at elephants but we were only happy because we had solved and survived another tragedy and were going home. And here she stabbed her hand at another picture of the two of them together; do you know why we were together that day? Because I had been stood up and dumped by my loser boyfriend of the day and you had taken me out to cheer me up. Harry, my life is just one big tragedy, and here it is documented in pictures," she cried.

"And what if it is?" Harry asked. "Doesn't it make the happier times sweeter?"

"That's just crap, Harry," she retorted.

"Not entirely," he replied.

Nikki turned to the final page; it was a picture of her and Harry and Leo, and Leo's MBE. They were all smiling, but the scar across Harry's eyebrow was still really noticeable.

"Some of my life's been pretty rubbish too," he admitted quietly pointing at the picture. "But it has always been better for having you in it," he said seriously.

"I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to sound ungrateful, the book is beautiful but seeing the last eight years laid out like that, it seems like I've wasted so much time and I still don't seem to have got anywhere." She placed the open book down on the table and turned to face him as she finished her little speech.

"I know you've had disappointments Nikki, but we said we'd celebrate tonight, the old had gone the new has come and all that, please don't be sad, I didn't mean to make you cry, I should have thought more…"

"Shh," she whispered placing her finger against his lips. "It's beautiful Harry, it must have taken you ages, thank you," she said and leant forward and placed a kiss on the lips she had just touched with her finger.

"You have always been there for me," she said, tapping the book for emphasis "and I couldn't have managed without you, you've saved my life more times than I can remember now," she looked deeply into his eyes and found herself suddenly mesmerised by them and drawn back towards his lips.

The second kiss was much more than a thank you kiss, but Harry broke away. He had noticed the change in her, seen her demeanour suddenly move from friendly to intimate and he couldn't help but be worried.

"Nikki," he murmured his eyes drawn to her mouth and the lips he had just tasted. "I can't be your fall back guy, just being the one who was always there for you isn't good enough for me. I need you to feel for me too, and to know that this isn't just because I was the only one available."

She pulled away, she really hadn't expected to be kissing Harry, this evening and his words had caught at her heart. Harry was important to her, but truthfully he was that the person she relied on to be there when she didn't have any better options. Poor Harry, she could understand why he was being cautious. She really was trouble. He'd had more than his fair share of manipulative women in the past, Rebecca was that her name? And there were others who had just used him and moved on when they had got what they wanted and left him broken hearted.

But then things had changed so much between them in the last year she wasn't entirely sure anymore what she thought, there had been something in that second kiss, something that had never been there before when they had kissed. Something that hadn't been there when she'd kissed anyone else before either.

"Harry, you're the best," she said.

"The best at what?" he said carefully.

But she didn't answer and Harry knew that his status as best friend still remained.

"Come on," he said jumping to his feet and pulling her up. We are supposed to be celebrating and there are three more gifts to unwrap on the table. He whirled her round and stopped her in front of the table, and retreated to the sofa to see which gift she would choose next.