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Lost and Concerned

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"Nikki where are you?" Harry muttered to himself under his breath, as her phone went straight to voicemail again. He didn't bother to leave a message, he'd already left about three and wasn't sure that any more messages were going to make a difference.

"Any luck?" Leo asked as he walked up behind Harry. He shouldn't have needed to ask really, Harry's body language already gave his answer, though the shake of a head he received in response confirmed it. Leo sighed before speaking again. "Her car's still outside, where could she have gone? Surely she wouldn't have walked home from here, it would take her hours." Harry glanced down at his watch.

"It's been a couple of hours, Leo. Why hasn't she called?" Harry's voice held such desperation that it worried Leo. He could never just worry about one of those two if they were in trouble, it always affected the other so much he had to worry about them both.

Suddenly Harry's attitude changed, he regained some momentum and Leo followed him out of his office and across to Nikki's desk where Harry picked up Nikki's bag and turned it upside down, spilling the contents across the surface of her desk.

"Harry-" Leo started, thinking that maybe he was overreacting a little now. Leo stopped as soon as Harry turned around with Nikki's apartment keys in his hand. Leo sighed again. She obviously hadn't gone home. "Maybe she just went for a walk, needed to clear her head. She was clearly shaken up about something, maybe she just needed some time to herself to think."

"Leo, it's getting dark, she should have come back by now." Leo nodded in acceptance. "Something's wrong Leo." Harry seemed to have calmed again, but Leo could tell it was just on the surface, that underneath he was raging and ready to scream. "We have to find her."

"I know, Harry. I know." Leo sighed. Where were they supposed to start?

"You said there was a man in here just before Nikki ran off? Who was he?" Harry's voice still contained some urgency, as if he could somehow figure out what had happened and bring Nikki back. Leo didn't know how that was possible when they really had no way of knowing where she had gone, but would indulge Harry if it kept him focused. And if there was any chance of it helping Leo was willing to try.

"He's the brother of Stuart Thompson, Nikki's latest case. He came in to identify the body, but I don't think they got that far. Nikki started acting strange, he left almost immediately, and then she seemed to panic when I asked her about it." Leo stopped thinking back to the strange scene in his head. "I guess she must have known him." He added, his mind still thinking back through the memory.

"She couldn't be with him, could she? She left just after him, maybe he was still outside? Maybe he took her-" Harry's voice took on a new level of panic.

"Wait a minute, Harry. We don't even know how she knows him, why would he have taken her?" Leo was really trying not to let Harry's emotions infiltrate his own, trying to remain the one who could see sense.

"How did she look when she saw him, Leo? Did she just look surprised or did she look scared?"

"I don't know, Harry, I barely saw them together." Even Leo noticed the frustration coming through his tone now, and stopped himself knowing it would not help any of them. "If she was scared, she wouldn't have gone anywhere with him, wouldn't have let him take her away from here." He took a deep breath; this was getting to him as well. "I'm sure she just went for a walk, maybe she lost track of time."

Harry didn't seem particularly convinced by Leo's assertions. In all honesty, Leo wasn't swayed himself. A feeling of unease was spreading through him and he fought to keep it from Harry. Both of them panicking right now was not likely to help Nikki if she was in trouble.

It was what made them such a great team. Whatever the circumstances, whatever the situation, one of them was always calm and in control even if one or both of the others was a complete mess. Leo had realised it a couple of years ago, one of them was always there to keep the other two grounded when need be. He was honoured to be part of such a special relationship.

He just hoped that nothing would happen to fracture the tender existence they lived in.

The two men stood in silence next to Nikki's desk for quite some time. They both knew they should move, should do something but weren't sure where to start. There was work waiting to be done as well as the whole Nikki situation, but neither could manage to focus.

They retreated to Leo's office after a while, Harry settling down on the sofa as Leo sat uncomfortably behind his desk, flicking through files and bits of paperwork that needed to be seen to but not feeling any inspiration to do anything about them.

The silence was eventually broken harshly by the sound of Harry's mobile. Harry had the phone out of his pocket, barely taking the time to glance at the caller before picking it up. He only needed a second to recognise Nikki's name on the screen.

"Nikki?" Harry couldn't keep the sound of desperation out of his voice, he'd been waiting for her to call for what felt like days.

"Is this Dr Harry Cunningham?" Harry's breath caught in his throat at that. He was longing to hear her voice, to know she was okay, and now he was talking to a complete stranger. The woman on the other end of the phone sounded pleasant enough, but it wasn't Nikki.

"Yes, who is this?" He managed to find his voice again, looking across to where Leo was perched on the edge of his chair, listening in with a look of concern painted across his features.

"I'm a nurse at the University College Hospital."

"Is Nikki okay?" He didn't hesitate that time, despite the feeling of dread that slammed into him at the nurse's words.

"Yes she'll be fine. She was barely responsive when she was found so the paramedics brought her in, but she'll be fine once she's warmed up and got some rest."

"Right, I'm on my way over." Harry hung up at that, already standing, not wanting to waste any time. "Leo, I've got to go. The nurse said Nikki's okay, but she's in hospital."

"I'll come with you." Leo's phone took that moment to start ringing. "Shit." He muttered under his breath before picking it up. Harry stood and waited, as difficult as it was not to rush out of there in his eagerness to see Nikki, to know that she really was okay. Leo sighed when he put the phone down. "I've got to go to a crime scene." It was easy to tell he wasn't happy about it, that he'd rather go with Harry to the hospital.

"I'll call you later, let you know what's going on." Leo nodded reluctantly at Harry's reassurance, frustrated that work had to come first when he really wanted to be there for his friend.

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A/N... Sorry about the delay updating...had this sat on my computer but just didn't get around to putting it up (oops) Thanks to those of you that have reviewed/added me to alerts so far...much appreciated!