It's very quiet out there, are you alright? Thanks as ever to those loyal reviewers you are the best!

Thirty-Seven

Nikki was more than relieved when she was called out to a scene that afternoon, she popped back to the office to make a start on the paperwork, figuring the longer she spent away from Harry the better. In the evening they had just watched a DVD, but one that Harry had actually stood up and chosen, not just a scrolling through the channels to find something to obliterate his consciousness.

Nikki felt slightly cheated, when Sunday dawned and the phone stayed quiet. A Saturday night without a fatal stabbing, how could she think that was a bad thing? Harry had calmed down slightly, but his posture had maintained its familiar ease of curves and bends and a softness she hadn't seen for a long while. She couldn't help looking at him every now and again, to remind herself that he really did seem to have turned a corner. She hoped it was due to his imminent return to work, and not her. He was so drunk, he couldn't possibly have remembered. Could he?

She felt herself begin to relax again in his presence. Maybe it was just the shock, or the hangover that had so badly affected her yesterday. She could do this. She could be Harry's friend again. She could look him in the eye when he was making his silly innuendoes and retaliate as she had always done, and not just melt under his gaze. She had to stay strong.

With no fatalities to investigate she had not excuse not to join Harry for lunch at his mother's. What would Anne say? She wouldn't fail to notice. Harry drove and they had talked genially about what task his mother would have prepared for him today. He wasn't staying over. Tomorrow he could go back to work.

"Nikki," Harry began. "I've been thinking, when I come back to work..." he had been thinking about how to put this for most of the car journey. He didn't want to offend her in any way but something had to be said.

"Nikki, you know how much I've needed you these last few weeks."

"Shit, No!" He cursed himself; that definitely didn't sound right now.

"Seriously Nikki, those first few days, I don't think I could have breathed without you holding my hand, but I really think, I'm doing better and I will probably regret this but I think we should spend …."

He couldn't bring himself to finish. Why did it sound so much as if he was breaking up with her? He couldn't expect her to spend every waking and sleeping moment with him, but at the same time, he couldn't ask her to leave when he wasn't sure he wanted her to go. 'Why was he finding this so awkward?' he wondered. They were just friends, best friends.

"Nikki," he sighed again.

She put him out of his misery.

"Harry, I promised that I would bring you home from Hungary. I was expecting just to repatriate your body. But I was spared that horror. This last month, I have kept that promise and I am really pleased that you are feeling better. But there will be times when you get lost, there will be times when the darkness takes you again and you must promise me that when you feel it coming you will let me know. Just text me, or look me in the eye and say my name and I'll come back. Does that sound ok?" she asked gently.

Harry tore his eyes from the road to look across at her. She didn't meet his gaze, but he knew she understood how grateful he was.

"And Friday nights are a given?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course," she replied.

"Nikki." He whispered, contentedly.

Harry's mother greeted him warmly but without a great show of emotion. She gave him a quick hug and then held him at arm's length and exclaimed.

"Thank you for coming back!" and gave him another quick hug.

"Well, it's summer, I'm sure that grass will need cutting again," he said, but he had the feeling that no one was really listening to him.

By contrast she threw her arms around Nikki.

"Thank you," she whispered,

"Nikki, I missed you last week, but I can tell you've been busy at work you know righting some wrongs and setting people back on the right path!" she said.

"What!" Harry harrumphed. "I get welcome back, and she gets a gold medal for services to pathology!"

"I got the mower out for you already!" retorted Anne.

Harry stomped through the house cursing under his breath, he would never understand women.