By 6 PM the doctor had come and redone Harry's dressing, checked all her vitals and ordered more rest and even less movement. He was quite firm: Harry needed to lie down and not sit down or move about too much because the wounds were not healing as quickly as he'd like. Dempsey was worried and accepted to wait an extra 24 hours before dragging her back to the hospital. Dinner was a subdued affair as Ada, after all the excitement and the fresh air, was about to fall asleep on her plate. Dempsey still felt emotional and thoughtful after his little heart-to-heart conversation with Harry and wanted nothing more than to have some time just her and him away from the dining hall and Freddie, as nice as he was.
As soon as dinner was over, Harry decided to take a very sleepy Ada to bed.
"Come on, sweetheart, you can barely keep your eyes open. Let's take you to bed. Ada, don't fall asleep yet. Come on…"
"I'll carry her to bed for you. Come on, sweetheart, off we go". The little girl put her arms around James's neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He held onto the little girl like she was a China doll and whispered into her ear. Harry looked lovingly at both of them. James would be a great dad one day, she thought to herself. Ada was growing attached to them both she could see it but she also knew that she had strong feelings regarding the little girl and was looking forward to the quality time she'll spend with her. She was both fragile due to her trauma and feisty, ready to take on the world. She reminded her an awful lot of herself.
Dempsey lowered the little girl in her bed leaving Harry to get her ready for bed. Spying through the open door of the bedroom, he saw a very soft spoken and motherly Makepeace, one facet of Makepeace's personality that he had never seen to this day. It warmed his heart to see Harry happy again after seeing her close to death and bleeding in his arms. His stomach was flipping at the intensity of the emotions it created.
Both partners were tired after a long day and went exhausted into bed. They held onto each other, Dempsey ever so careful not to hurt his partner, knowing that her wounds had not healed yet. He knew full well that it would take a couple of months for Harry's body to fully recover. So, despite wanting nothing more than reacquainting himself with her body, he refrained from undressing her and kissing the whole length of her body. Surely he'd get an MBE for his restraint!
"Harry, you know I'm in this for the long term, right? I'll wait for your body to heal. We have months and years ahead of us."
"I was hoping that was the case, yes. I am just gutted because I had been looking forward so much to us being together again that I feel rather frustrated right now to be honest with you. But I know you're right"
"Say that again, partner? I haven't recorded it", grinned Dempsey.
"Shut up, Dempsey!" playfully smacking his chest
"Ouch, that's abuse!"
"Shhh, you know you love it"
"No, I just love you", kissing her tenderly
"You love me?", parroted Harry gobsmacked
« I'm head over heels in love with you I'm afraid » said Dempsey feeling a bit insecure now that it was in the open.
« I knew you liked me and found me attractive but…. »
« Oh, don't you worry, I find you very attractive but I could never have just sex with you, let alone a one night stand. I want so much more from our relationship. You're my partner, my best friend, the sex is mind blowing and quite frankly no one will ever stand a chance against you. I'm yours, all yours, Harry. »
« Dempsey….. I thought my feelings were one sided. I wasn't sure whether you were as keen as I was. Come here, partner" they kissed and held onto each other, trying really hard not to push the boundaries for the sake of Harry's recovery.
In the middle of the night James woke up with a start. Ada was screaming from her bedroom and he rushed there with his gun thinking she was attacked. He looked around her room but saw nothing unusual. However, Ada seemed to be having a really bad nightmare screaming, crying and kicking her blankets. He called her name and had to literally shake her awake as she was almost in a trance, unable to reconnect with the real world. Even awake she kept on shaking, she was hyperventilating and crying uncontrollably. Dempsey took her in his arms and sat down next to her, trying to soothe her.
"Ada, shhhh, it's gonna be ok. I'm here. You're safe with us. Do you want to talk about it?"
"They…they…..the men….. I want my mummy », she said bursting into tears
« I know darling. I'm so, so sorry. I promise nothing will happen to you. Harry and I will look after you. »
« Please, don't leave me. Pleaaaase », begged the little girl, hanging on to him for dear life.
Dempsey's heart was breaking in two, trying very hard to swallow his own emotions and blink his tears away.
« Try to fall back asleep. I'll stay here with you until you're asleep, ok? » promised Dempsey
When Harry woke up in the morning her bed was empty and she wondered where Dempsey had gone until she noticed his gun was missing too. The cop in her took over and she retrieved her own gun and went straight through the open door to Ada's bedroom. She stopped in her tracks and gasped at the sight in front of her, a smile forming on her face. Ada was fast asleep in Dempsey's arms who was softly snoring in a very uncomfortable position.
« Hey, Dempsey, DEMPSEY! » called Harry, trying not to laugh at his face as he woke up with a start, looking a bit lost.
« Oh god, I fell asleep here, didn't I? », said Dempsey, stating the obvious « Oh my god, my neck… » rubbing the stiffness away.
« What on Earth are you doing here? You know my bed is much, much more comfortable. Come on, put her back to bed and come back to bed with me. »
« Oh Harry, best offer ever! » answered Dempsey, grinning mischievously.
She pulled him back along to her bedroom and once settled again under her blankets, she looked up to him and asked
« So why were you in her bedroom? Did something happen? » asked Harry
« She had a really bad nightmare screaming and kicking. She was crying uncontrollably. It took me forever to calm her down and she begged me to not leave her. She looked absolutely terrified, Harry. You need to tell me more about her, babe. What happened to her? You should have seen her. She was shaking, pale as a ghost. Something is very wrong here. She asked for her mummy. She needs a stable environment, a family to look after her, she'll probably even need psychological support because what she's been through ain't normal. »
"I know, James, I don't have the full picture myself. I suspect some stuff has happened while her mum was sick or just after. She doesn't like talking about her step dad much. She closes like a book the minute I try to mention him. He could be her last remaining family and social services would need to get in touch with him. But…I don't know…..I have a bad feeling about him. No proof of anything, just a weird feeling really."
"You have a hunch, Harry. I've contaminated you", he laughed "but I trust your instinct. And I tell you what if that guy has hurt her in any shape or form, he'll have me to deal with. I will personally make sure that he can't touch her or any children for the rest of his life. I think we need to make in-depth enquiries into any prospective adoptive families considering the danger she's been in. I want to make sure she's in good hands."
"You're a good man James. I knew I could trust you to look after Ada if I wasn't able to. I'm glad I asked you."
"Yeah well make sure you're not going anywhere, sweetheart because I'm way out of my depth here and I completely rely on you to tell me what to do."
"She likes you and trusts you, that's all you need to know. She might well become your number one fan…Well after me that is"
"Glad to hear I'm still in your good books, Sergeant", kissing her softly
"Yeah, make sure it stays this way. Keep this up and you might be on the right path" giving in to his tender kisses.
"I'll get Chas to look into the step-dad and see what we can find about Ada so we have a better idea of what we deal with here, OK princess? In the meantime, let's try to catch up on some sleep." as he spooned her body and wrapped his arms around her waist, safe in the knowledge that she was back in his arms, where she belonged.