First of two to complete this story
Harry hadn't stopped touching James as they sat and talked. He had brought fresh hot coffee upstairs after making a phone call and replacing the handset on the phone. In fairness neither could he stop caressing her, he just couldn't believe that they were a couple, so many times they had been near to it and then drawn back but the every time he touched her or felt her touch he knew that it was no longer a dream but a reality.
In the middle of a sentence Harry suddenly stopped and clasped her hand over her mouth "O my god"
"What?"
"It's Friday"
"All day long"
"I should be at work by now, what's the time" she looked towards her clock and noted it's absence. She jumped out of Dempsey's arms and found it on the floor, as she picked it up and read the time "It's gone 11!"
She was gobsmacked, James was laughing "Stop laughing it's not funny, Spikings will be furious"
"What's the matter Makepeace, haven't you ever played hookey before?"
"No" she looked at him abashed "never"
Wrapping the sheet around her she dialled Spikings number.
"I'm sorry sir, I've been ill; it must have been something I ate last night"
"Ill? What sort of ill?" Spikings demaned
"Oh sickness and migraine maybe, I think all my extra hours have taken a toll" Harry felt proud to get the overtime in
"Sergeant" Spikings could convey so much in just one word and Harry now had a genuine sickening feeling "Don't you ever lie to me again"
"Sir?"
"I'm not stupid; I've had the surveillance report"
Harry fell into silence, waiting for Spikings to continue but he remained silent as well, she was forced to speak
"Sir?"
"Get you butt in here and write up that surveillance you and Dave did before it becomes invalid and out of date Sergeant. And for your information I am expecting Dempsey to come in and give me a debrief." Spikings hung up
Harry looked at the phone, returned the receiver "Shower, dress, work" she commented
"Mad Gordon's mad?" Dempsey asked
"He's expecting you too"
The door bell went, Dempsey picked the towel off the floor to make himself decent "You shower and dress, I'll sort the door" he offered
When Harry came downstairs it was to find pink champagne on ice, scrambled egg and smoked salmon on melba toast. Dempsey had dressed whilst Harry was in the shower and now was on the phone "Chas great to hear you again, yeh I'm back in England, flew in last night, my sleep pattern's all over the place. Are all the guys in today?"
"All bar Harry, apparently she's been sick but she'll be in later"
"Tell you what, I'll call by Harry's and give her a lift in" Dempsey grinned that had fallen neatly in his lap. "Tell Spikings to expect us about 2.00pm"
It sounded very reasonable to Chas who failed to understand Spikings annoyance "Bloody Dempsey is already playing underhand again and he's not even reached the office yet, I'm not so sure life wouldn't have been better if had stayed in New York"
"He get's results" Chas stood up for Dempsey and not for the first time (or last he suspected) got a hammering for it. "Results without method or procedure are not good policing" Spikings was livid, he knew Dempsey had just bought Makepeace two more hours and it was out of his control to change it because Dempsey had involved the whole office. 'If he thinks he's going to keep up that sort of undermining and work over here for ever he's got another thing coming' Spikings told himself.
Harry stood in the doorway wearing jeans and a soft pink jumper, she smiled at the conversation Dempsey was having on the phone and at the champagne breakfast.
As he put the phone down, smirking at the thought of Spikings rage Dempsey grinned. "Breakfast courtesy one of your favourites ~ Claridges"
He guided her towards the sofa, I thought we could curl up together, enjoy breakfast and finish our updates before Spikings takes control of our lives again."
"How?"
"One simple phone call; now before the eggs get cold ~ a toast" he passed a champagne flute to her and took the other "to the most amazing astounding remarkable woman and the yank…"
Harry made to open her mouth to fill in what she wanted to say about James but he touched it shut with his finger. He continued in a softer tone "To Dempsey and Makepeace becoming Harry and James" his voice dropped to a whisper and his face approached hers "to us" and he kissed her as gently and lightly as he could.
She kissed him back and he sat on the sofa next to her, passed her some food and pulled her against him as they sat together enjoying their own company and closeness.