Nikki found only Leo there in the pathology department at the Lyell Centre, in his office.
"What on earth are you doing here?" he asked, jumping up from his desk, when he saw her walk in to his office. "How are you?"
"I'm alright. Thank you Leo, for being there," she smiled. "But I can't let personal issues keep me from work. Besides, I have a proposition to make."
"Oh?"
"Do you remember my friend Sara Laurence from South Africa?"
"Ye-e-es" Leo said hesitantly.
"I called her today and she said I could come down and help her out for a few weeks. I need some time to think… some distance…"
"And what happens after a few weeks?" Leo asked.
"I don't know," Nikki replied honestly.
"I don't want to lose you, Nikki," Leo said quietly. "You are an excellent pathologist and a close friend, you are like family. I would hate to see you go!"
Nikki looked down at her hands, "I know, Leo, and I don't want to lose you and working with you, either… But," and here she looked up again, pleadingly, at Leo, "I need a fresh perspective. I need to… not be so confused anymore… I need to find a way to get back to being happy with things as they used to be, before… Do you understand?"
Leo took a few steps closer and pulled Nikki into a hug. "I do," he said and held her for a few moments before stepping back and looking at her again. "But please don't make any final decisions about your future career without talking to me first, alright? Please promise me that?"
Nikki smiled and nodded, "Alright," and with a squeeze of Leo's hand made her way slowly to her desk. She sat down, shifted some papers and then walked back to Leo's office.
"Have you seen Harry?" she asked hesitantly. Leo looked up at her from his seat at his desk.
"Yes, I have. He is in the cutting room."
"Thank you. Have you told him…?"
"No, I haven't told him anything. He was very non-communicative this morning, murmured something about a quarrel with you and I told him to make it right," Leo said.
"That'll be the day…" Nikki smiled wanly and turned to walk off in the direction of the cutting room. As she passed the locker room, she saw Harry there, just pulling on his shirt after his shower. She steeled herself and bravely went in.
"Good afternoon, Harry," she said as matter-of-factly as she could, ignoring the mesmerizing sight of him just getting dressed again..
He swung around to look at her. "Hello," he said, his surprise quickly being replaced by a wary look.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to dissect what… what happened yesterday," she said and they both of them looked down to the floor. Nikki went on, "I just wanted to say that… I spoke with my friend Sara Laurence in South Africa today, maybe you remember her?" Harry looked up at Nikki and nodded while she continued, "Well, she has agreed to let me come down there and help her out for a few weeks. So, I'll be going there soon."
Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "There's no need for you to leave, Nikki!"
"I'm not saying it's for good, I just need… well, a little distance, to get things into perspective," Nikki said, looking back down at the floor again.
"Does Leo know you're leaving?" Harry asked.
"Yes"
"And does he know why?"
Nikki looked back up at him. "He knows I need to rethink my work and my work relationships here," she said before turning around on her heels.
"Nikki?" she heard him say softly and she stopped with her back to him. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to push you away…" he said.
She swung back around to him and said defiantly, "But you do. Self protection, I get it, but sometimes self protection can go a little far. Yesterday you spoke of fearing you'd destroy something. Something has been destroyed here, Harry. And I'm not saying it's only your fault. It's my fault as well for breaking the unwritten rules we have had, you and I, for these past 6 years. But as you aren't ready to… to even entertain the thought of our relationship becoming something more, well, I just need to rethink things."
Harry walked towards her. "I do love you, Nikki," he said seriously. "I just can't… And I won't be pressured..."
Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm not pressuring you, Harry! I'm just chosing this for myself, to sort things out for myself, there is no ulterior motive!" she exclaimed looking up at him.
"No ulterior motive? Really? Because this does sound like an ultimatum to me!" he retorted, getting angry. "Either I consent to a deeper relationship or you leave? That is basically what is being said here, isn't it? How is that trying to make this friendship work despite what has happened between us?"
Nikki was now glaring at him incredulously. "I can't believe you'd think this!"
"Well, I am a scientist and these seem to be the facts to me," Harry continued stoicly, "we kissed last night, I have made it clear it can't go further than that and now you run off to South Africa, not giving us a chance to work this out as friends. Sounds like pressure to me."
Nikki shook her head in disbelief, "Alright, Mr. Scientist, let me tell you this. You can not make this undone! What you fear for has already happened, something has been destroyed here already and we will never go back to the way we were! You want facts? Those are the facts!" she exclaimed, her glare only growing stronger.
Harry didn't seem to react at first. He just looked at her for a few moments, expressionless, before saying, "Well, I am sorry then. I am sorry that this is where our friendship ends then. I will miss you." He pulled her into a quick hurried embrace, before releasing her and walking out of the locker room. Harry... Harry really was the most exasperating and stubborn man she knew! Nikki stayed rooted to the spot for a few minutes, trying to make sense of it all.
When she got back to the office, Harry had left for the day. That Friday evening, after talking to Leo, Nikki booked her trip to Cape Town; she would leave in the middle of the following week.