Harry leant against Dempsey shoulder resting with her head on his chest and with his arm around her shoulders fighting to keep her eyes open and not to fall asleep. In front of them the TV showed one of Dempsey's favourite movies "On The Waterfront". They had watched this movie all so many times before together in the past, that they both could almost dreamed the dialogue of it.

When Harry yawned loudly, Dempsey freed his arm from around her and stood up to switch the TV off.

"You don't have to do that" Harry protested, but not without much conviction.

"Yes. It's bedtime for you"

"But it's only 9 o'clock!" she protested for a second time.

"Can be, but I heard from the nurses that mostly you went to bed around this time lately so, come on let's go" he reached out his hand to her to help her upright.

"You talked to them? Behind my back?"

"Harry, please don't start another argument about such stupid thing as bedtime!" he pleaded.

It had been almost 2 hours ago now since Dempsey had returned from downstairs with the big brown bag with Chinese food. The atmosphere had been cold as ice when he had spread the food out on two plates and putting them on the small table in front of the sofa saying nothing while doing that.

"Do you want some wine?" he had asked her finally.

"No. Water would be fine with me" Harry had answered, knowing that she had no permission to drink wine for awhile.

A short time later he returned with two glasses of water from the kitchen.

"You can drink wine, if you want. You don't have to do what I do"

"Never mind" he answered taking a seat at the other side of the table.

He even didn't wanted to sit next to me anymore, Harry thought sadly, did I hurt him so deeply that even that is too much to ask for him?

She had felt even more miserable and hardly could swallow a thing. It was if she felt a lump in her throat. A lump that grow bigger and bigger during the next half hour.

She pricked around with her fork on the plate, trying to eat at least something but failed. After 10 more minutes she gave up and pushed the plate away from her.

Dempsey, noticing what she was doing, looked at her plate and frowned his eyebrows.

"You hardly eat a thing. Don't you like it? I thought you look forward to it! I think it's delicious!"

"You can eat everything if you want. Don't disturb me!"

"What's the matter with you?" he glanced at her with a suspicious look on his face.

"What's the matter with me? I really looked forward to this weekend. You and me. Finally some time to spend together without others around us. But till now it looks more a nightmare to me. We have one argument after another. I can do this anymore Dempsey. I can't!"

"Oh you think I like it this way? Every time that things don't go as you expected, it seems to be my fault" he started to get angry again. That outburst earlier had been just a beginning. She should have known that.

"Well let me tell you something lady. The last 9 weeks I didn't do anything else then running between you in the hospital and later the rehabilitation centre and my job at SI10. I got special permission of Spikings: when you needed me, to be there for you. But sometimes I was so totally exhausted that I felt asleep during a surveillance. There have been times that I even regretted it that I came back. But I did it for you. To give us, hopefully, one last chance. If I had had another job, I would have lost it weeks ago. Everybody cares a lot about you and we all realise that these weeks haven't been easy for you. But you can also push it too hard Harry. And that's what you're doing at the moment. I told you already that going home again wouldn't be so easy as you expected, but you are making it even harder for yourself and also for me. I'm trying to do everything you want or need, but obvious that's not enough for you. Fine. See or you can stay with someone else next week. Because I can't do it this anymore either Harry!"

After these words he throw his paper napkin on the table and walked away. She heard the door of the bedroom smashing against the wall first before it slammed.

Harry just set there on the sofa, totally taken by surprise. She fumbled her paper napkin in her hand to a ball not knowing that she was doing it. She had never heard him saying so much after another. One line of his speech had hit her in particular 'There have been times that I even regretted it that I came back' Did he really mean that? Or had he only said that out of despair and frustration? Taking in a deep breath she walked over to the bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Dempsey? May I come in? We have to talk this out"

"There will plenty of time tomorrow!" she heard him saying.

"No. Now. Tonight" and not waiting for another thing to say from him, she pushed the bedroom door open and walked inside.

Dempsey was lying on the bed in a position she know so well from him. On his right side with his arm under the pillow.

"If you came for an apologise, it's too late for that"

"I understand that" Harry set down on the bed next to Dempsey. She wanted to touch his shoulder and reached her hand out at him but at the same time she heard him saying: "I won't do that if I were you!" if he had eyes in the back of his head and knew where she was up to.

Harry chose her words very carefully. Being afraid otherwise that she said the wrong things again and to hurt Dempsey even more.

"I only came in here to let you know that I never regretted it that you came back. And I hope you didn't meant it when you said you did. It has been the happiest day of my life seeing you again in the hospital. I know, I didn't acted that way first, but I was shocked. Never expected you there. I have no idea how I would have overcome these last 9 weeks without your support and being there when I needed you the most. I really like to spend the next weekend with you. If you still like having me around of course" Harry added with a small voice.

No answer. Totally silence.

What had you expect then your idiot? That he would jump enthusiastically from the bed screaming: "Okay Harry, everything is fine again Harry?"

"I know, I probably don't deserve it anymore but I hope, there's still an us for you to consider?"

Still no answer.

"Dempsey will you please say something to me?"

"Why? What do you want me to say?" she saw him rolling over to his left side and looking at her.

"Doesn't matter. Something"

"Do you like to hear something about those terrible, lonely 2 years which are lying behind me? Years in which I missed you so much that I could hardly stand it anymore? Is that what you want to hear?"

"You missed me?" Harry asked astound.

"Yes. I did everything to be with you again after I flew back to New York. I even did deskwork most of the time, and you know how I hate that, only to stay out of the line of fire so I wouldn't shoot everybody and jeopardise my chances for a permanent job here in London. 3 months long I behaved myself. And after O'Grady had signed my official papers I only wanted one thing: going back London, to the SI10, back to you. But all I got was nothing. No phone call from you, only totally silence. Have you any idea what that did to me? The only reason I could come up with, was that you had moved on with your life and that there wasn't a place in it for me anymore. Till your father made that phone call"

Harry was pondering the words Dempsey had just said to her. At the same time she thought back on the conversation she had had with Angela when she laid in the hospital.

"Did you every tried to contact me on Winfield Hall that first week after you flew back to New York?" she asked hoping that he had done that.

"I don't know anymore. Maybe I did, maybe I didn't"

"Think. Did you, or didn't you?"

"Harry. It has been 2 years ago!"

"It's important!" she yelled at him.

"Ho. Slow down. What does it matter or I tried to contact you there or not....? Harry?"

"Because.....If you did, and I told you in the hospital already that I spend my first week that you were away there, then my father never told me that you had tried to contact me"

"Harry? This is ridiculous. What you are saying now is that your father didn't want me to phone you anymore and just "forgot" to mention my call to you? Come on. You don't believe that yourself. Why should he do that?"

Because my father thought back then that he had had a good reason for that Dempsey. A very good reason.

"It would explain a lot to me" was the only thing she answered when Dempsey started to ask even more questions.

"Then we go to Winfield Hall next week" Dempsey decided: "I like to have some answers as well"

"So you still like having me around?"

"Of course I like to have you being around. I never met such a stubborn woman as you in my life but I wouldn't like it otherwise! Come on let's see or our TV had something enjoyable to watch" he put his arm around Harry's waist and guided her to the sofa in the living room.