Nikki decided now was the time to turn the page and start a fresh chapter. Monday morning and here she was at work, putting on her professional and friendly face and the whole exchange with Harry of the day before forgotten. She vowed she'd be the friend again to Harry that she had always been. She'd let Harry speak of his girlfriends freely without having to bear any ill comments from her, she'd joke with him again, be professional and just move on. That shouldn't be so hard! When she got home after Sunday's heated exchange, pushing away all thought of how close she had been to him just before they parted, she'd immediately called Debbie and had taken her up on the offer to set Nikki up for a blind date. Debbie had been pestering her for a while about this hot shot lawyer who was friends with her husband. She just knew he'd be perfect for Nikki and Nikki decided now would be the right time to find out….

Nikki was already at her desk when Harry waltzed in to work. He too seemed cheerful, quite unlike his usual Monday morning self. Then again, cheerful-Monday-morning-Harry was something typical of the last few weeks and Nikki knew Harry well enough to see that this was an act for her own benefit. Never mind, she thought, forced cheerfulness will turn into real cheerfulness soon enough.

"Good morning! Coffee?" Nikki offered as he sat down at his desk opposite hers.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her as she stood up to get it.

"What's the cause of this servitude?" he asked and then after a little pause he added suspiciously, "What is it you want, exactly?"

"You, of course," she said breezily as she set down his mug with coffee on his desk, looking him straight in the eye. She quickly added a muttered "Don't we all?" while not being able to tear away her gaze from Harry's. Harry looked lost for words for once. It took her a few seconds to get back to her senses.

"Look, Harry, I hate how things have been lately between us," Nikki said, suddenly hastily breaking eye contact and returning to her desk, "Strained somehow and I can't work that way. Let's just get back to being colleagues and good friends again. You make inappropriate remarks, I try to find them amusing, you tell me about your… Kate… I tell you about my hot date for the weekend and we're all even. What do you say?"

Harry slowly smiled, "Alright. I like that."

"Good," Nikki smiled back and they both immersed themselves into their e-mails. She didn't know about Harry but she certainly could use the moment to compose herself. Her admission that she wanted him had just shot out of her mouth before she could even think. She thought she'd covered her tracks after that comment well enough. Still, her wildly beating heart needed to calm down.

10 minutes later Harry got up, grabbed her ponytail and said, "Come on, Dr. Alexander, we have 5 PM's to perform this morning!"

Nikki gave a little chuckle and got up, joining him on the walk to the locker room.

"So… hot date, eh? Who with?" Harry asked.

"His name's Daniel. Haven't met him yet but my friend Debbie set us up for dinner this Friday."

"Friday! What about Friday evening drinks with Leo and me!"

"Hey, I don't complain when you miss it and go out with Kate!"

"That was just the once."

"So, this is my once!" Nikki insisted.

"I'm sure he's work obsessed, attached to his Blackberry, and 20 years too old for you…" Harry said with a mock grim look on his face.

"I hear he's a human rights lawyer, tall, blonde, very handsome and very successful…" Nikki countered sweetly.

"Seriously, a lawyer, Nikki?" Harry asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"I'm sure his best friend is saying 'seriously, a pathologist?' to him so I'll just give him the benefit of the doubt, shall I?" Nikki smiled.

Harry just shook his head. "Oh well, maybe this one's a little less unsuitable than the paramedics and members of the police force you normally date."

Nikki grinned at Harry. "Maybe he's the one!" she said. Harry's face looked stoic, so she changed the subject, "So, what does your Kate do?"

"She's an interior decorator."

"Good, have her do something with your flat, then!" Nikki joked, just ducking away from a shoulder slap in response.

"Oh, believe me, we have been doing some… remodeling around the flat already!" he winked at her.

"I don't think I need to hear the details on that…" Nikki responded and Harry just laughed as they each headed off to get dressed into their scrubs.

Friday afternoon when they finished work, Nikki went to the locker room to change into the new dress she'd bought: black, knee length, with a floral print, fitting snugly around her, accentuating what needed accentuating just perfectly, her extra high heeled black shoes to match.

"You are looking lovely!" Leo commented as she came back to the office to collect her coat and bag and when Harry walked in at that moment he gave a whistle and added, "Be still my beating heart! Is this for your lawyer friend?"

"I look alright then?" Nikki asked, smiling at him.

Harry gave her a long smile back. "You do," he said softly. Then breaking the spell and turning to Leo said, "In fact, Leo, as the father figure here I think you should warn her of the dangers of men and what they do to women looking like that."

Leo just laughed, "Oh, she's grown up and has come this far without being pestered too much, she'll be fine. Nikki, have a lovely evening. Come on, Harry! I'll buy the first round."

"Oh, so generous!" Harry quipped, grabbing his coat and bag to join Leo. At the door he turned to look at Nikki once more and gave her an approving smile before heading after Leo saying, "As head of department I'm sure you could afford a few extra rounds easily… or give me a pay rise, either will do…" and Nikki couldn't hear the rest.

Nikki slowly gathered her things and glowed at the thought of how Harry had looked at her so approvingly just now. It was always nice getting your best friend's approval, she quickly rationalized, while buttoning up her coat and slowly heading out to her car. She would be meeting her date at the restaurant.

Daniel Pearce turned out to be every bit as wonderful as Debbie had said he would be. When Nikki arrived at the restaurant he was there already. Debbie had given Daniel a picture of Nikki to recognize her by. In front of the restaurant he spoke to her, introduced himself and led her in. He was quite tall, his hair was more light brown than fair, even featured with the hint of a beard forming giving him a bit of a rugged look. He had a deep and soothing voice and his blue eyes twinkled and made her feel at ease instantly. She soon learned that he had just turned 40, lived alone apart from sharing a stray cat with his neighbour and was indeed a human rights lawyer. Nikki found that she could talk to him easily. She spoke of her work; he spoke of his latest case trying to keep an Afghan journalist from being deported back to Afghanistan. They went out for drinks after dinner and before she knew it, it was close to midnight. He saw her to her car and they arranged to meet each other in Hampstead (where he lived) for a high tea and a stroll through the heath on Sunday. This was a man she could learn to really like.