She spots him as soon as she walks in, sitting with who she guesses is Tommy, his "oldest friend from New York", a fact he had reminded her of numerous times when he was checking that she planned to join them this evening. She's actually been really looking forward to it, he obviously loves Tommy and he's made it clear he wants her to meet him too. Her only other glimpse into his New York self are the times she's picked up the phone on his desk to find his mother on the other end. She knows now what times the calls tend to come and she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy their chats before she hands the phone over. During the most recent call his mother thanked her "for making my Jimmy so happy" and she wondered what Dempsey might have shared about the moves they've been taking lately towards something new.
Things started to change from the moment he told her Spikings had called him in and told him he was free to return to New York. He had been silent just long enough for the weight of dread to begin to settle in her chest, before he'd followed it with "I told him I want to stay in London, told him I'm happy with what I have here, that it feels like...home. " She recalls trying so hard to play it cool when they went for a drink that evening but failing completely due to the smile that refused to leave her face every time she looked at him.
In the weeks since, something has shifted between them, and it feels good, it feels real. They eat out together, they eat in together, they stroll in the park on Sundays, he holds her hand, and she falls asleep against his shoulder when they're watching TV. She's tentatively allowing herself to relax, to feel happy, to forget her shitty ex-husband, and to let something other than work occupy her thoughts after hours. It's all been made easier too by the fact that, good God, her partner can kiss like no one she's ever known...
He spots her and smiles as she walks towards them, standing as she reaches their table, his hand moving to her shoulder as he leans down and kisses her. She's not quite sure when she started getting butterflies in her stomach at the sight of him after they've been apart for no more than a few hours, but there it is, just another side effect of her feelings for him.
"Hi, princess." He grins and turns to where his friend is sitting. "Tommy, this is Harry. Harry, meet Tommy."
"Hey." Tommy's smile is warm and friendly as he shakes her hand. "It's so good to meet the famous Harry at last."
"Famous?" She smiles back at him. "In very limited circles, I suspect."
"Well, I've never known this guy talk about anyone as much as he talks about you." Tommy pauses, gesturing towards her partner with a grin. "Sorta feels like you're famous."
"I'll grab some drinks." Dempsey runs his hand down her arm and she smiles at him as she sits down.
"I have to say, it feels like we've already met." She takes her jacket off and drapes it over the back of her chair. "Yours is the only name I've heard for the last two weeks."
"Yours is the only one I've heard for the last two years." Tommy smirks and reaches for the beer in front of him.
"I'm going to choose to believe it has been nothing but praise and ask for no further details." She smiles at him, knowing that her partner's mentions of her in the beginning were probably far from positive, knowing too that what they thought of each other then no longer matters. "I gather this is just a flying visit for you?"
"Yeah, I've been in Germany for work. I head out home early tomorrow." He pauses to drain the last of his drink. "Managed to convince them to fly me back with a stopover here, in this pretty swanky hotel too, so I could see my buddy before I leave."
"Well, he's definitely been looking forward to seeing you." She says, glancing over to where Dempsey is waiting at the bar.
"You guys really should come on over to New York, you'd have a blast." He grins at her. "He has to take you to meet his mom too, or I'm never going to hear the end of it from her. Every time I'm over there, I swear to God, 'Tommy, take some food with you, and next time you talk to that boy of mine you remind him I'm long overdue a visit from him and that gorgeous girl who's keeping him in London'. She misses him, you know."
"He misses her too, he misses all of you." She wonders, not for the first time, if he might have been on the first flight back after the Coltrane situation was resolved if the two of them hadn't started their tentative moves towards something bigger. She set the wheels in motion, told him she cared about him, and that was it, the floodgates were open and there was no going back. "If I'm honest, I was as surprised as I'm sure you were when he said he wanted to stay."
Tommy laughs and she raises an eyebrow in question.
"Oh hell no, I wasn't surprised at all. I mean, he loves New York, the guy is Brooklyn through and through, but…" It's his turn now to shift his gaze briefly to where Dempsey is paying the barman for their drinks. "I heard it in his voice when he called to tell me the heat was finally off of him. Something was different, he was different, he didn't mention coming home at all. Eventually he told me he expected to be in and out of London in a year and he couldn't believe he'd sent that to shit by going and falling in love with a Brit."
She has no time to respond, isn't even sure what she would have said, because Dempsey comes back to the table with their drinks and sits down next to her. Picking up the glass in front of her she takes one huge gulp, earning her a curious look from her partner.
"Bad day?" he asks, a faint grin playing on his lips.
"It was fine, just busy. It's my partner, you see…" She rests her chin on her hand and leans towards him. "He seems to have skipped out early today to spend the afternoon in the pub, leaving me with all of the paperwork."
"Aw, Sergeant, I'm sure he'll make it up to you." His grin broadens and she bites her lip as the look in his eyes threatens to send a telling blush to her cheeks.
"Mm…" She breaks his gaze and reaches for her drink. "I'll make sure he does."
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Tommy reaches for his inside pocket and hands an envelope to her, tipping his head towards her partner. "From his mom, she said I was to hand this to you in person, and I know she's going to ask me if I did."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure she knows I got it." She and his mother had a long conversation when he was away from his desk one afternoon which somehow ended with a promise to send some recipes, so she guesses that's what's in the envelope. "Thank you."
"No problem." Tommy smiles and turns to Dempsey. "You keep hold of this one, Jimmy, your mom loves her already. She has a picture of the two of you on the shelf beside your police academy picture, and you know how that picture had solo pride of place for the longest time."
"A picture of Harry and me?" He looks confused but the penny seems to drop when he looks at her.
"What? She said she'd been asking you for a recent photo but you hadn't sent one, so I offered to." She smiles, remembering the conversation well. "She said you could have lost or gained 90lbs since you got to London and she wouldn't even know. I reassured her that neither of those things had happened and promised to send a photo to put her mind at rest. Then she said she'd rather like one with me in it too, so that's what I sent."
"And now half of Brooklyn thinks your name is 'Jimmy's beautiful English girl'." Tommy grins and reaches for his drink. "I'm serious, she has you two halfway down the aisle already."
She glances at Dempsey and feels herself blush faintly when he meets her eyes head on, clearly not unnerved by Tommy's words in the slightest. There's a warmth spreading through her, a feeling of anticipation, and what she thinks could be simple happiness. For the first time she realises she no longer thinks of marriage as something she wasn't cut out for. Instead she realises she just married the wrong man the first time around.
The rest of the evening races by, Tommy is great company, and the bond he has with Dempsey is clear. She loves hearing stories about their childhood, about the teenage scrapes they got into, yet she can't quite fight the underlying flicker of guilt that he's so far from home, from family and friends who obviously miss him, and that he's here only because of her. When Tommy reluctantly says he should head to bed given his early morning flight, she watches as they hug and sees Dempsey laugh at Tommy's "call your Ma, Jimmy, for God's sake!" Tommy hugs her goodbye too and parts with "I can see why he wants to stay...you're good for him, Harry." He takes a few steps away before turning back and smiling at them.
"Bring her to New York," he calls out. "And soon!"
"We should go to New York." She sits back down and reaches for her drink. "I think I need to sit down with your mother and have her show me all of your baby photographs."
"Yeah, we will." He leans back in his seat but his eyes don't leave hers. "My mom apparently already loves you, so we're all set. "
"Everyone loves me, Dempsey." She grins at him, the gentle mix of happiness and more than a couple of drinks bringing out her playful side. "I'm very lovable."
"Can't argue with that." He shifts slightly to face her.
"So...apparently you're staying in London because of me?" The alcohol helps bring out her direct side too, and she's fine with that. It's Friday night, he's going to be coming home with her and staying all weekend if she has her way, and she's prepared to make that very clear.
"Well…" He leans in closer. "I'm sure as hell not here for the weather."
"No." She sighs, takes another drink from the almost empty glass in front of her. "Nobody's here for the weather."
"You know as well as I do that I could've gone back after the whole Coltrane mess was over, but I…" He moves her glass out of his way and reaches for her hand, lifting it so he can slide his fingers between hers. "Come on, Harry, who the hell else would I have stayed for, Spikings?"
She laughs and closes the distance between them, suddenly feeling an overwhelming need to kiss him, to let him know she's glad he stayed, that she never wants him to leave. When she pulls back, the intensity in his eyes makes her stomach flip over and she feels a flush moving into her cheeks.
"Dempsey...why haven't we slept together yet?" She didn't plan to ask but she's frustrated, in every sense, so the words tumble out before she can stop them. She wants him, and she's sure he feels the same, yet he's been so gentlemanly she's starting to wonder if it's ever going to happen. She lowers her voice slightly, aware of where they are. "Sorry, I just…what I'm saying is that I want you to come home with me tonight, and I really want more than a kiss outside my front door. I want you to undress me really slowly, I want you to kiss me from head to toe, I want you to take me to bed and make love to me, I want to wake up beside you in the morning and then I want to do it all over again..."
"Holy shit, Harry." He slides a hand into her hair and she feels his thumb stroking softly across her cheekbone. "I want all of that, I just didn't want you to think that was the only thing I wanted."
"Well, is it?" She knows it's not, she really does, but she feels like she just laid her cards on the table and she wants the same from him.
"Dammit, woman…" His voice is almost a growl and it sends a jolt of heat through her body. "Everything I've ever known is thousands of miles away, British hot dogs are awful, it rains here pretty much all the damn time, I have a boss who thinks I'm some kind of out of control cowboy, but here I am with absolutely no plans to ever leave. Any idea why that might be?"
"It's because there's a pub on every corner, isn't it?" She feels his thumb stroke across her skin again.
"That doesn't hurt, it's true." He grins briefly but then his eyes are serious. "There's this girl too...blonde hair, blue eyes, most beautiful thing I've ever seen, gives me hell on the daily, and I just really, really can't imagine my life without her, she's-"
"Dempsey?" She cuts him off because if they don't leave soon she's going to end up climbing into his lap, not the wisest behaviour for two police officers, even if it is Friday night and they're finally off duty.
"Yeah?" His eyes are dark and she knows he wants her as much as she wants him.
"You don't have to imagine your life without her." She takes his hand and squeezes it tightly. "Now take me home."