Hi everybody. I'm terribly sorry that it took me so long for another update. Real life sometimes requires all attention. But here's a new chapter! I hope you'll like it.

I really appreciate the many nice comments! They encourage me to continue writing.

A special thanks to NightOwl22 for the helpful feedback again! You're an angel! ;-)

Chapter 6 : Ill weeds grow apace

Dempsey stirred and woke up slowly, disturbed by the beeping sound at his right side. It got on his nerves immediately, as well as an irritating thing in his nose. He tried to open his eyes but his eyelids were too heavy and he still felt so very tired. All he really wanted to do was get some more sleep. He was lying on his back and wanted to turn to his side. A hellish pain shot through his left shoulder the moment he tried to turn. Automatically he reached with his hand to his aching shoulder, but something prevented his right arm to move.

What is this? Why can't I move? And what's wrong with my shoulder?

He tried to remember what had happened, but couldn't think due to a terrible headache. Oh boy, it was a long time since he'd had such a big hangover! Normally, he knew his limits and just got a little tipsy instead of ending up completely wasted. Unless he had a good reason… He must've drunk way too much, this time. He couldn't even remember why he had been drinking in the first place!

And where the hell was he? It sure didn't feel like he was lyin' in his own bed. Was he kidnapped and tied to a bed, or somethin'? No,… there was also that smell, the unmistakeable smell of antiseptic. He'd been in a hospital a few times before, so he knew it very well.

Oh, damn it, not again!

His mother would go crazy if she had to hear he was in a hospital again. Hopefully O'Grady hadn't told her yet, as he could do without the sobbing and the lectures she'd surely give him. He could already imagine hearing her anxious and reprimanding voice. 'Oh Jim, why do you always have to be so reckless? One day you'll get yourself killed! Why can't you just get a less dangerous job?'

He guessed it was something any caring mother would do. And he couldn't blame her, could he? After all, he'd already worried her sick before. A sense of guilt slowly crept over him. Hadn't he promised her last time that he would be more careful in the future? And it wasn't even such a long time ago.

He opened his eyes with great effort. Sunbeams found their way through the semi-opened curtains and filled the room with sharp, bright light. Normally, he loved being woken up by the sunlight, and it always helped him to start the day in a good mood. Only now, he couldn't bear the light due to a splitting headache and overwhelming nausea. He blinked a couple of times, and tried to focus through narrowed eyes. Indeed, he was lying in a hospital bed. He was attached to all kinds of wires and tubes. They annoyed him immensely so he began to remove them. The beeping sounds were disrupted, and the noise became even louder now!

For Christ's sake, can someone turn off that damn noise?

Suddenly he heard a woman's voice shouting. "No, don't remove those, just stay calm!" as two hands on his arms pushed him back down to the bed, and restrained him from removing any other medical equipment. He was confused by this voice. It wasn't his mother's, nor his sister's… But somehow it sounded familiar. Suddenly he recognized it.

"Harry…?" His voice sounded hoarse. "Where am I?"

Then he realised he was in a hospital in England, not in New York! At least his mother wouldn't know about it, he comforted himself. At the moment, he wasn't strong enough to free his arms from Harry's grip. He never even realised how strong she was for such a slender lady. With a defeated sigh, he gave up his struggle.

Next thing he knew, there was a lot of movement in the room. Nurses came rushing in to see what had happened as the loud noise of the heart monitor had alerted them. They hurried to put everything back in place so the beeping sounds returned to normal. Awestruck, he followed the whole commotion. What was all the fuss about?

As soon as everything was quiet again, one of the nurses turned to him. She explained with soft voice that he'd recently had surgery and that his condition wasn't stable yet. He probably also had a concussion, caused by a heavy bump on his head. He really had to stay in bed, connected to all the wires and tubes, for as long as the doctor thought it was necessary. The kind nurse offered him some water, which he accepted gratefully as his mouth was bone-dry. He winced in pain, however, when she helped him sit up straight to take a sip of water. At the moment he didn't know which pain was worse: his injured shoulder or his pounding headache. When he informed nurse Annie –he'd read her name on the tag that was attached to the breast pocket of her uniform- that he was in a lot of pain, she had checked his file and instantly injected some pain relievers into the IV. Before she left the room, she instructed him to get some sleep, stating that "it was the best medicine for a quick recovery."

Harry stood aside watching the busy nurses do their job, and got closer to Dempsey's bed once they left the room. He saw her shake her head, and was surprised as to how she was able to look both angry and worried at the same time. He wondered if he was about to get a scolding or, hopefully, something a bit more gentle. He didn't have to wait long for an answer…

"I can't believe this! Only a few days ago you nearly died, and the moment you open your eyes, all hell breaks loose again! You're unbelievable, you know that!"

He looked at her in disbelief. "I nearly died…?" 'Jeez, broads surely like to overreact'

All anger disappeared from her face and was replaced by a concerned look. Her voice sounded softer. "You can't remember what's happened?"

He frowned and closed his eyes for a moment, trying hard to think. The problem was that he was knackered and his head felt as if it was about to explode. He opened his eyes again and blinked a few times in an attempt to focus on her.

"No… What happened?" he asked barely audible, feeling his strength slipping away fast.

"All we know is that you've been involved in a car accident a couple of days ago and there were traces of a gun fight. You got badly injured but somehow you managed to escape, and you were found by your informant Dan. As you were in a pretty bad shape, Dan came to me for help and I took you straight to hospital." Harry explained to him in a nutshell.

She saw he had a hard time staying focussed. His eyes fell shut repeatedly, despite how much he tried to keep them open. Harry wondered if he'd actually heard what she just told him. She came closer to him and pulled the blanket a little higher.

"It's alright, you're safe here. The doctor and nurses are taking good care of you, and Spikings has arranged your protection. All you need to do right now is get better." She felt his forehead if his temperature hadn't gone up again. "Get some sleep. I will stay right here with you."

Reassured by Harry's presence, Dempsey closed his eyes and almost instantly fell into a deep sleep. Harry sat in the armchair near the window, reading a magazine that she'd found in the room. It didn't interest her in the least, but it kept her occupied and it prevented her from falling asleep. After only a few minutes of flicking through the magazine, she looked up and started studying her partner. He was peacefully asleep and she noticed that his facial expression seemed softer than usual. Strange, how she never seemed to have noticed this before, after closely working with him for almost two years. But then again, most of the time she figured his though façade was part of the macho attitude package.

While she sat there staring at him, she saw him become very restless. He frowned and his breathing quickened, while he shook his head and moaned weakly. Was he just dreaming, or was he suffering pain again? She stood up and approached him.

"Dempsey? Are you alright?" she asked concerned. When he didn't answer and didn't even open his eyes, she realised he was having a nightmare. She checked his forehead, but his temperature seemed normal. At least he wasn't delirious.

"Sshht, take it easy, now. Everything is alright," she tried to sooth him by gently caressing his face. Without thinking, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead in an attempt to comfort him.

Shocked, she withdrew when she realised what she had done. He stirred and mumbled something incomprehensible.

Dear God, was he awake? Did he know what she'd just done?

She let out a silent curse for letting herself get carried away like that. Why had she done that, anyway? The fatigue and the emotions of these recent days were clearly getting to her!

She stared at him from beside his bed, feeling slightly uneasy. He murmured something again but she couldn't make out a word he was saying. He shook his head again, crying out softly "No, no…!" Was he dreaming about the assault? It must have been a traumatic experience, seeing he almost died. Maybe he started to remember things and, once awake, he would be able to tell them more about the attack and his assailants.

She slowly relaxed again as she realised he was still asleep, and felt relieved that he hadn't seemed to notice her impulsive deed. He might have come to the wrong conclusion. While for Harry, it had only been a comforting gesture. Nothing more.

The following hours, she sat in the armchair at a safe distance, fully in control of her actions. She picked up the magazine and started reading again. She glanced at him from time to time. After his disturbing dream, he'd fallen back into a peaceful sleep for the rest of the afternoon. He seemed relaxed again and his breathing had returned to normal. She realised she desperately needed some sleep too, or she'd lose her mind completely. She hardly remembered when she'd last seen her bed. But it didn't feel right to let him lay there, all alone. His life might still be in danger and he was unable to defend himself at the moment. On the other hand, there were always two detectives guarding his door. Surely she could step out for a couple of hours?

She was still considering what to do when, all of a sudden, she heard hushed voices in the corridor. Her heart started beating faster. She quickly took her gun out of her handbag and aimed it at the door. When she heard three soft knocks on the door, a pre-agreed signal of SI10-detectives, she relaxed slightly. Strictly out of precaution, however, she still kept her gun up. Only when she saw Chief Superintendent Spikings make his appearance into the room, she lowered her weapon again.

"Good evening, Sergeant," Spikings greeted her. "How is our patient doing? Hasn't he been awake yet?" he asked quietly, gesturing towards Dempsey.

"Yes sir, he's been awake for a short time, a few hours ago" she replied, glancing worriedly at her partner. "I've tried to ask him about the assault, but he couldn't remember anything. I'm afraid he's heavily sedated and he's still far too weak to focus," Makepeace informed him. "Have you found out more about his assailants?"

Spikings shook his head. "No, nothing yet. There are no rumours on the streets about any Americans or local criminals wanting to kill Dempsey. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack! In the meantime, we're keeping his place under surveillance and two officers are constantly guarding his door here at the hospital." Then he addressed her with a stern look. "As for you, Sergeant, you'd better go home and get some rest. And no arguments, this time! As you can see, he's very well protected. So there is no reason why you should be staying here all night too!"

Hesitantly, Harry agreed and gathered her things to go home. Before she followed Spikings into the corridor, she cast one last glance at Dempsey, wondering whether she should stay with him. Chas, who was on duty for the night, noticed her hesitation. He took her by the arm and gently guided her out of the room, reassuring her that he'd keep a close eye on her partner and that he would call her immediately if anything happened.

It wasn't until Harry was lying in her bed that she realised how tired she really was. It didn't take long before she fell into a deep sleep, to wake up rather late the next morning. After she got dressed and had breakfast, she hurried straight back to hospital. She'd never forgive herself if something happened to him while she was away. Although both Spikings and Chas had promised that they would call her if something were to happen, she felt more at ease when she was actually with him and could see him.

The following days, Dempsey slept a lot and slowly regained some of his strength. In the meantime, they had moved him to another room and detached him from most of the wires and tubes. Harry stayed with him almost the whole time, except for the times when Spikings or Chas sent her home to get some rest.

One morning, after one of her breaks, Harry went back to visit her partner. She only made it as far as the corridor, when she heard loud voices coming from his room. Alarmed, she hurried to the door, where she noticed the amused faces of Dave and Tony, who were on duty on that time. They had just taken over shifts from Chas and Watson.

"What's going on, in there?" she asked clearly worried.

"Well, you know what he's like… He's feeling a little better, so he thinks he can start chasing the nurses already!" Dave laughed.

Tony rolled his eyes and explained to Harry. "This morning, he got out of his bed a couple of times and he fell down. The doctor was pretty angry and gave orders to tie him to the bed. And… euhm, let's just say he's not very happy about it, as you can hear."

"Oh, great!" she said, stepping angrily to the door.

In the room she saw two young nurses at the door, wondering what to do next. They'd done what the doctor had instructed them, without expecting such an explosion from the usually very charming American. They seemed quite shocked and grateful that Chas and Watson had helped them to restrain him. Both detectives stood by his bed, trying to calm him down.

"Lieutenant, what do you think you're doing?" Harry asked with loud voice.

Surprised, he looked at her. He hadn't hear her come in. "Ah Makepeace, can you believe what they've done to me, here?" he asked indignantly.

"Yes, and I've also heard what you've been up to!" she responded furiously. "And I hope the belt is strong enough to keep you in that bed for a very long time!"

The two nurses gave her a weak smile, and quickly left the room. They had done their job and felt relieved having the detectives handling the situation from now on.

He looked at her in disbelief, still trying to remove the belt "Listen Harry, just help me remove this damn…"

But she interrupted him before he could continue "No, you just listen to me, Dempsey! Only a few days ago you were almost killed. The people around you did everything they could to help you recover, and protect you from those killers. A little gratitude would be more appropriate, instead of yelling at people who're only doing their job and trying to help you!" she rattled on loudly, pronouncing every word in her typical high class English.

"Makepeace, just…" he snarled.

But she didn't let him say and rambled on "Quite frankly, I think you'd be better off if we just protected you from yourself, you bloody idiot!"

She looked angrily at him, determination in her eyes. He stared at her, and didn't say a word, totally overwhelmed by her unexpected reply. Chas and Watson still stood by his bed and looked at each other, wondering if they'd have to counter another outburst. But everything stayed quiet while Dempsey and Makepeace held each other's gaze. Neither would budge.

Finally Dempsey let out a long sigh and broke the silence, asking her innocently as if nothing had happened. "Hiya Harry, where've you been?"

She had prepared herself for another scolding and intended to keep staring at him sternly for quite some time, but his unexpected response threw her off balance. Immediately things cooled down between them, and with softer voice she replied "I just went home to get some sleep, but apparently I can't leave you alone for one minute!"

"I see your beauty-sleep has worked miracles, Sergeant. As for me, I'm feeling much better and I'm fed up with this place." He sighed, and continued with pleading eyes. "You know how much I hate hospitals. Just the smell of it makes me sick."

"Don't start with that! You were in very bad shape when I found you. Actually, it's a small miracle that you survived. You may feel better now, but you still have a long way to go and you'll have to do exactly what the doctor is telling you. Is that understood?"

"Jeez Harry, you sound like my mother!"

"Well maybe that's because you're behaving like a big baby!"

Watson and Chas saw that Harry had the situation under control, and decided to leave. They'd been on duty all night and longed for their bed. Now Harry was there, they were convinced that Dempsey would be in good hands. Both detectives left the room, smiling. They could imagine what would happen next. They'd witnessed their bickering too often, and knew for sure that no one would be able to compete with those two!

They had barely closed the door behind them when Harry addressed him again. "So, it's just you and me now. You've proved that you're fit enough to scold the nurses, so I guess you're able to answer some questions too," Harry said, her arms folded over her chest.

"What questions?" he frowned.

"About the assault, of course! Can you remember anything of what happened, that night?"

"Yeah, some things I can remember, others are more of a blur. And some things I can't recall at all,…like how I ended up here," he sighed.

She nodded. "Alright. Start telling me what you can remember," she instructed him.

He closed his eyes for a moment and then told her everything he knew. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen his assailants, so he wasn't able to give a description. After he confessed that he had been wandering around for some time, not knowing what to do or where to go, she cut in furiously. "And why the bloody hell didn't you come to me?"

"Cause I didn't wanna get you involved. For all I know, these guys could be dangerous hit men from New York!"

"I'm your partner, damn it! Of course you had to come to me!" Harry exclaimed. "But no, you'd rather bleed to death under that bridge than ask me for help! For Christ's sake, Dempsey, couldn't you just let aside your pride for once? You could have died out there!" she shouted at him.

"This has nothing to do with no pride, sweetheart! I just didn't want to put your life at risk too!" he retorted. "I intended to ask for help as soon as someone got to the office. I was just gonna rest for a bit, and then go straight to the office."

"You were severely injured! You never even would have made it to the office. You've been so damn lucky that Dan found you, you ought to kiss the ground he walks on, you bloody, pig-headed fool!" Harry shouted at him, as she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

She quickly turned her head, in an attempt to hide her emotions for him. Just a couple of minutes and she would be able to compose herself. She wondered if he was looking at her, but she couldn't face him and risk the tears would flow freely. She stood by his bedside table with her back to him, and began to arrange everything nicely on the small table. Just like she'd done the previous days when she was looking over him, she poured some water into his nearly empty glass. Only this time, she had other reasons than to make sure he drank enough. She froze when she suddenly felt a couple of fingers tenderly stroking her bare arm. Confused, she turned and looked straight into a pair of worried hazel eyes.

He took her hand and squeezed it gently. He replied softly, "I realise I wouldn't have survived without Dan and you, and I'm very grateful to both of you." A weak smile appeared on his face when he continued. "But you know what they say, ill weeds grow apace…"

"You have no idea what you've caused! Everyone from SI10 was searching for you. They called all the hospitals and the morgue. They even dredged the Thames near Albert Bridge! We were all so terribly worried about you!" She couldn't hide her concerns and emotions of the past days, and was fighting hard to stay strong in front of him.

"I'm sorry, alright. I never intended to worry you, or anyone else. It's just that everything happened so fast, I didn't really have much time to think things through, ya know…" He paused for a while, and gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "But I promise you that next time, you will be the first person I call," he said with a lopsided grin.

"Next time?" she scowled. "Dempsey, this isn't funny, you know! Why can't you ever be serious about anything?"

He was still holding her hand and, for some strange reason, the physical contact suddenly confused her. For a moment, she wasn't sure whether to pull back her hand. This was so silly! He was only holding her hand, for Christ's sake! And it wasn't as if they never had any physical contact before, was it? When working undercover, they often played roles as a married couple. And she'd never felt confused before when holding hands, or walking arm in arm with him or even dancing with him. So what had changed? Why was she feeling so insecure about this innocent touch? Surely, he didn't mean anything by it, just a comforting gesture between colleagues.

Her musings got interrupted by three knocks on the door. Harry quickly pulled back her hand and stared at the door, completely taken aback. At that moment, she realised that she didn't have her gun within her reach! It sat in her handbag next to the armchair, all the way across the room! Before she even had the time to run in the direction of the chair, the door had already opened. With a sigh of relief, she saw Spikings entering the room.

Harry instantly forgot about her confusion, as soon as she noticed the deep frown on the boss's forehead and the concerned look in his eyes. It gave her an anxious feeling that there was something wrong. The Chief Superintendent wouldn't just come all the way to hospital again for a social visit.

"Lieutenant. Sergeant," he greeted them. "How are things over here?" he asked, looking from the one to the other.

"Everything is alright here, Chief. Feeling much better already." Dempsey responded confidently, glancing at his partner for confirmation.

Harry chuckled, raising her eyebrows. "Oh yes, you've already proven that this morning!" she responded with a stern gaze in his direction.

Spikings turned to Dempsey. "It's a good thing that you're feeling better. But I'm afraid I have some disturbing news…"

Dempsey and Harry glanced at each other, before turning back to their boss. What news did he have? What could have happened? Whatever it was, they knew by the look on his face that they wouldn't like what they were about to hear…

(TBC)