I've been trying to write this for days, but couldn't get it how I wanted it, and ended up having to end it before it got too long :P

And then managed to do something to my wrist at kick boxing so only been able to write a little bit each day before it hurts again... ooops. Not good when I have to start my Summer placement tomorrow (eeeek!)

Anyway, thank you to everyone reading, and to Lizziginne, EmmaJ1996, Thyqua, dinabar, pinkswallowsun, Emilybubblestoby and Starr123, you are brilliant, you really are :D

xXx

Chapter 38 – Be Nice

Stepping out her front door, tightening her scarf in preparation for the cold winter wind, Nikki pulled out her mobile and speed dialled Harry's number. He answered it almost immediately.

"You are so impatient, I'm on my way!"

"I was just making sure you hadn't forgotten. I hate not having my car. I hope you're on your hands free by the way."

"Of course I am," Harry laughed. "I can remember the last time I didn't. I don't think I could handle another lecture from you."

"That's because you can't multi-task at the best of times Harry, so when you're supposed to be concentrating on the road-" Nikki trailed off.

"Yeah yeah, you can shut up now. I'm nearly there anyway, just around the corner. Make sure you're ready this time. It's a nightmare trying to stop outside your apartment at rush hour."

Nikki laughed, pulling open the door and stepping out into the bitter cold wind.

"I'm outside right now waiting for you. See you soon."

Hanging up, Nikki dropped her mobile into her bag and wrapped her arms tight across her body to try and keep warm. The day was miserable, yet again, the sky heavy with rainclouds, and the cold wind battling against the tall trees. The traffic moved steadily past her apartment block, every car with its wipers on to clear their windscreen. All that was, but one.

At this time in the morning, the streets were nearly clear of parked cars on both sides, everyone having left on their journey to work. But this morning, there was a sporty silver-grey car on the opposite side directly across from Nikki's apartment, with it's wipers off, and completely stationary. Usually, this wouldn't have affected Nikki, as she would have walked right past the car and to the car park without giving it a second thought. But today, standing under the shelter waiting for Harry, she had the sudden uneasy feeling that she was being watched.

"Nikki!"

Nikki blinked, narrowing her eyes to try and make out the figure in the car across the road. He was male, that much was obvious from the size of him, with his thick set shoulders that seemed to fill most of the front of the car. But apart from that, she couldn't make anything else out…

"Nikki, hurry up! I didn't ask you to wait just so you could stand around and admire the scenery. Get in the car," Harry's voice seemed to shake Nikki out her trance as she turned and smiled at him, before running through the rain and opening the passenger door.

"What were you staring at?" he asked with a laugh as Nikki put her seatbelt on.

"I don't know really," Nikki answered. "That car across the road. It just seemed strange. Like- oh I'm being stupid. Thanks for picking me up by the way."

"No problem," Harry grinned. "I've- well, I've kind of invited Julia in this morning to go over a couple of things. If that's all right?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Nikki smiled, a strange feeling flittering in her stomach. "I'll be nice, promise. I've told you, I like Julia. It's you that seems to think I have a problem with her."

"Not at all."

"Good."

They settled into a comfortable silence until they reached the police station, where Harry pulled over outside the car park and glanced in Nikki's direction.

"Now Nikki, I'm trusting you to walk the few hundred yards to the car park without punching any officers, ok?" Harry teased. "Do you think you can manage that?"

"Shut up Harry," Nikki laughed. "I don't really make a habit out of it you know?"

"Yeah yeah, if you say so. I'll see you at the Lyell. Any longer than ten minutes and I'm coming to look for you," Harry said as Nikki rolled her eyes. "See you soon."

Nikki stepped out the car, pulling her scarf tighter and making her way through the rain towards the car park. Her car was just where she left it, and searching through her bag for her keys, her attention was caught by a car that had just pulled into a space a few meters away.

It was silver-grey, sporty, and even close up Nikki could tell it was the same car that had been parked across the road from her apartment. Feeling the breath catch in her chest, Nikki leant against her car as the other car's door opened, and the large figure stepped out.

DCI Maddox slammed the door shut and made his way towards the station, walking right past Nikki and shooting her a glare as he did so. Nikki wanted to move, wanted to stop him in his tracks and question him, and yet she didn't trust herself. She couldn't help the feeling of insecurity as Maddox walked past, and she found herself glancing across the car park, looking to see if Harry was still there. But he wasn't.

Finally pulling herself together, Nikki opened her car and stepped in, trying to steady her shaking hands before she started the ignition and made her way to work.

"Ah ha," Harry smiled as Nikki made her way trough the front door. "Good, I don't need to send out the search party."

"Very funny," Nikki answered, clearly not amused.

"What's up?"

"Nothing."

Harry sighed, shaking his head. When was she going to learn that he always, always knew when there was something bothering her, whether she admitted it or not? He would get it out of her later, he decided. Right now, he had to do some work, or Leo would be on his case again.

"Julia will be here in a few minutes. She managed to finish early at work, and has nothing else scheduled until later on," Harry stated, trying to gage Nikki's reaction as she threw her damp coat over the back of her chair.

"Great," she answered shortly, without looking up.

Harry rolled his eyes to himself, turning his attention back to his computer screen and trying to ignore Nikki who was obviously not herself. She had seemed fine when he had picked her up, if a little distracted. But it didn't seem anything to worry about. The more he thought about it though, he had been worrying about Nikki a lot recently. In the last year even. Before Hungary there was the case with the young girl. The one that had pushed Nikki to the edge, and left her clinging on. And it felt as if he had never quite been able to pull her away from the edge since. He just hoped that he could keep hold of her and stop her from falling completely, without her knowing how tightly he was really clinging on.

Nikki was a brilliant pathologist. The best he had ever known in fact, even though he would keep that fact from Leo. But it was her passion, and determination that left her spending hours, days even, enveloped in a case. He had entered the office on so many occasions to find Nikki asleep at her desk, or his, after spending the night there, a perfectly reconstructed face ready for identification.

The buzz at the door made both Harry and Nikki look up, and Harry pushed himself away from his desk.

"Be nice," Harry teased as he passed Nikki.

"I will," Nikki managed to smile. "I know how much you like her."

"Yeah, well, I've liked you longer," Harry grinned, placing a small kiss on the top of Nikki's head and pausing momentarily to look her in the eyes. "And I like you more. But keep that bit to yourself."

Harry heard Nikki giggle as he opened the door, greeted by a smiling Julia who wrapped her arms around his neck and kissing his lips before he had the chance to think otherwise.

Nikki sat at her desk, trying not to look in Harry's direction. She was happy for him. She had been telling herself for weeks now, she really was happy for him. But that didn't mean that she could stop it hurting, every time she saw Julia kiss him. Every time Julia reached over and moved his hair, or held his hand, or moved closer to his body. And the worst thing was, she didn't know why it hurt at all. They were just friends, best friends yes, but that was it. She knew that Harry had kissed her head, he often did. Yet it wasn't the same as the way he kissed Julia, and it never would be.

For the last ten minutes Nikki had been trying to stay part of the conversation and not drift off into her own thoughts, but to be completely honest, she had no idea what Harry and Julia were talking about.

"Nikki, what do you think?"

"Hmm?" Nikki barely registered that Harry had spoken, but could see him watching her for an answer.

"I knew you weren't listening. You're in a world of your own today," Harry chuckled.

"Sorry," Nikki mumbled, smiling in return. "Miles away. What were you saying?"

"Drinks," Julia said animatedly. "We should all go out some time. You know, me and Harry, Leo and Janet, you and- well, you can bring whoever you want with you."

"Yeah," Nikki rolled her eyes, looking away from Julia again and back to her computer screen, spotting the awkward look in Harry's eyes.

"Harry, can I see you in my office please?" Leo's voice sounded from behind Nikki. "I just need to clarify a few things on your last report."

"Seeing as you asked so nice," Harry smirked, smiling at both Nikki and Julia, before giving Leo a mock salute and following him into his office, Leo closing the door behind him.

Nikki looked up and smiled weakly at Julia, not exactly feeling comfortable at being left alone with her. Harry had told her about Julia, but from what he had mentioned, there was nothing in common between them. Apart from the fact that they both had 'feelings' for Harry…

"He was probably distracted by the thought of the pub to write it up properly," Nikki joked, knowing that Harry would have written his report thoroughly, and Leo often checked some details from both their cases, just to ensure that he was fully informed on the case. It made it easier for Leo, if the case went to court.

Julia grinned, fidgeting slightly in her chair.

"It's so good to finally meet you properly," she smiled, yet Nikki could tell it was far from genuine. "Harry has told me so much about you."

"Really?" Nikki asked.

"Of course. He's always talking about you, and I kept telling him, 'Harry, I need to meet Nikki', and he kept saying that you had too many drunken stories about him," Julia was moving her hands around as she spoke, and Nikki just sat and listened to her talk, not wanting to interrupt her. If Julia was talking, that meant that she didn't need to. Which meant that there was less chance of her saying something she'd regret later. She had told Harry she'd be nice after all.

Julia eventually fell silent, looking at Nikki expectantly.

"So, does Harry talk a lot about work?" Nikki questioned. She really hadn't a clue how to keep the conversation going, and found herself glancing at Leo's door, hoping to see Harry walking back out. But he didn't.

"Not really. But some nights we don't really talk at all, if you get what I mean?" Julia giggled, and Nikki forced a weak smile. "I think he wants a break from work when he gets home. He doesn't usually mention work, just you and Leo. Mainly you."

Nikki was sure she could hear a hint of resentment in Julia's voice, despite the smile on her lips.

"We've known each other years," Nikki smiled, genuinely this time. "He's probably just complaining about how annoying I've been all day."

"Of course not. I mean, I know you two can have your- disagreements- but he usually just talks about old cases. Like he's reminiscing or something. So I suppose it's not really about work, and more like a story of your pub crawls," Julia giggled again.

"Yeah, there's been a few of those," Nikki agreed, an unusual sensation in the pit of her stomach at the thought of Julia knowing about their nights out. They had had so many of them, just the three of them, and it was like an unwritten rule that no matter who they were going out with at the time, the invitation did not extend any further than the three pathologists. It was their way of relaxing after a long, hard day at work, and it was only the three of them that truly understood what they had had to put up with.

Apart from Janet, of course. She was different. Leo and Janet had been together for a few years now, much longer than Harry or Nikki had ever been with anyone, so when Leo invited Janet on one of their nights out, they didn't think twice about it. She was part of their little make-shift 'family' after all, and usually had a fair idea of the case in question.

"I know how much you've all been working on my sister's case," Julia said quietly, looking Nikki in the eyes properly for the first time. "All I want to do is bury her and put her to rest, but I know you have to do more tests. Have to make sure that you get all the evidence you need."

"Yeah," Nikki nodded. "Harry's been working all hours on the case. We'll find out who did it, don't worry. It's just taking a little longer than we hoped. We've recently got a lead with another case, and we think it might help with your sister's."

"You mean the playing card case. The one where all the young women have gone missing?"

"Yeah," Nikki nodded. "How do you know about that one?"

"It's in the papers," Julia answered, narrowing her eyes. "It has been for weeks. After all the disappearances, and then the bodies that were found."

"But there was never anything mentioned about playing cards," Nikki said quietly. "Never. We made sure that the media didn't know about it."

"Harry must have mentioned it then," Julia tilted her head to the side. "Like I said, he does talk about work a little, but we usually find a different topic to discuss."

Nikki opened her mouth, yet was lost for words. Harry knew how important it was to keep evidence confidential. It only took one person to overhear, the media would find out, and sooner or later the evidence is plastered all over the local newspaper.

Just as Nikki managed to find her voice, the door to Leo's office opened and Harry reappeared.

"I hope you two are behaving," Harry smirked, his eyes lingering on Nikki before he walked towards Julia and addressing her personally. "I thought we could go get some breakfast before you need to go back to work, what do you say?"

"Sure," Julia beamed, standing up and linking her arm with Harry's. "If it's ok with Leo?"

"It is," Harry nodded.

"Yeah, because you told me that you'd start half an hour early tomorrow," Leo said, leaning against the doorframe to his office. "I am going to hold you to that you know?"

"I know, I know," Harry smiled. "I won't have anyone to pick up tomorrow, so I'll be here on time."

Harry shot Nikki a knowing look, a small glint in his eye and a grin on his lips that always caught Nikki's attention.

"An hour Harry," Leo shouted as Harry and Julia made their way from the office, before turning to face Nikki. "How do I know that he'll be late?"

"Because it's Harry," Nikki smiled, looking up at Leo.

"You alright?" Leo asked, narrowing his eyes. Sometimes, Leo was so like Harry it was unbelievable. Only Harry and Leo were able to completely read how she was feeling, no matter how hard she tried to hide everything.

"I don't know," Nikki shook her head. "My head is all over the place lately, and I don't know what to think any more. Harry is a brilliant pathologist, I know he is. And he told me, he had the evidence, that Julia isn't involved, but then how did she know?"

"Nikki, you've lost me," Leo laughed, sitting down at Harry's desk opposite her. "What are you talking about?"

"I think- I think Harry has told Julia about the case. About the playing cards," Nikki sighed, leaning her head in her hands. She felt the guilt leaning on her shoulders, as if she was betraying Harry by talking about him to Leo. "Julia mentioned the playing cards, and I know for a fact that there is no information about them in the news. Shaw made sure of it. And she said that Harry did talk about work, which we all do. But this is an ongoing investigation, and it was supposed to be confidential. Can you imagine what would happen if the information got to the press?"

"I'll talk to him," Leo said, leaning back in the chair. "You know what Harry's like. He's probably said something without even realising it. Or after having a little too much to drink."

"He's going to think I've gone behind his back," Nikki added, not lifting her head.

"I won't mention that you said anything. I'll say that I overheard Julia mention something, ok?" Leo said reassuringly, leaning over the table to touch Nikki's arm. "Nikki, you did the right thing telling me. This case, well, both of these cases, they're a mess. The last thing we need is the media finding out about the only solid bit of evidence we have. Now come on, you have at least two hours before Harry saunters back into the office. I suggest you make the most of the peace and quiet to get some work done."

Nikki lifted her head and gave Leo a warm smile.

"Thanks Leo," she managed to whisper as Leo stood and made his way back to the office.

He was right, of course. Harry had probably blurted out something after a few glasses of wine and had completely forgotten he had ever mentioned it. He was professional, and he knew the importance of keeping the evidence private, from everyone. No matter how close you became to someone, there were just some things that had to stay at work.

She just hoped that Harry would see it from her point of view. Because she knew that he wouldn't believe Leo when he told him that she wasn't involved. He would know, he always did.

Breathing in deeply, Nikki stood up and grabbed the file that sat on top of her tray. She had to do something before Harry got back, and yet there was still so little evidence to go on, other than the DNA found on the newest victim, and the results back from the pollen that she had found on the victim's clothing.

Pulling out every book from the shelf that she could find on plants, as well as her laptop, Nikki made her way to the conference room, knowing that it was empty and she could therefore spend as much time as possible going through the books until she found the information she needed.

She might not have a lot of information to go on, but Nikki promised herself that by the end of the day, she would have something new to tell Shaw.

She promised herself that she would find some evidence to catch the twisted killer before he could murder Jessica Farrow or any other innocent woman.