Another chapter for you all because I love you all very much. Thank you for your glorious reviews, you make me very very happy.

Enjoy

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Two days after Nikki had disappeared and they still had no leads. Harry and Leo had been unable to get much information out of the police, they were merely friends of a victim, the police unable to give them information even if they wanted to. This had enraged Harry even more, until Leo had calmed him down and made him see straight. They both still had work to do and Harry had all but buried himself in the new case he had, despite it being a simple death by natural causes in a nursing home, it had allowed him to bury himself away for hours on end and think of nothing but his case. It was strangely calming, and only when he paused and looked up for Nikki to ask her something did he remember everything that was going on. Leo meanwhile was trying his hardest to be strong for Harry, trying not to think about what may be happening to the woman he thought of as a daughter, if he broke then Harry wouldn't have the support that he needed right now. Janet was a big help as well, he could open up to her where he couldn't open up to Harry.

"Why haven't they found her yet?"

"Harry…." Leo started and shook his head when he heard the younger man's voice, Harry having walked into his office with a mug in his hand, obviously on a break "It's been two days. They'll find her"

"But in what state Leo?" Harry shouted and slammed the mug down onto the ledge that ran along the large window leading out onto Leo's balcony, coffee spilling over the top "Who knows what that bastard has done to her already. I keep imagining.." he trailed off and closed his eyes, turning away from Leo a desperate sob that he had been unable to stop, fell from his throat and he took a deep breath. "I always thought I would be there for her, I promised myself and I promised Nikki that I would always be there for her. Whenever she's been hurt in the past I've been there and I've..." he trailed off and Leo walked over to him, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze "What will I do without her?" he whispered and Leo felt his heart break at the lost tone in which Harry spoke.

"You won't have to find out because it won't happen"

"How can you say that?" Harry shouted, waving his hand at the view of London from the large windows "Where is she Leo? Where?"

Leo gave Harry a small shake of his head, not knowing what to say to comfort the younger man who just turned and walked from his office without another word.

Nikki jumped and looked up from where she was curled up at the top of the bed, her legs pulled up to her chest and Paradise Lost resting on them. She swallowed heavily when she saw the man stroll into the room, closing and locking the door with one of the many keys he kept on his key chain, placing it in his inside jacket pocket and hanging the jacket out of her reach on a hook.

"Hello Princess" the man said cheerfully as he turned to smile at her, receiving a blank look back from her before she looked back down at the book again "No 'hello'?" the man asked as he sat himself on the edge of the bed, Nikki automatically moving her legs closer to her as she glanced up at him again, meeting his eyes this time. "How are you feeling?"

"You bastard" Nikki hissed and the man chuckled, reaching over and taking a strand of Nikki's blonde hair in his hand, running it through his fingers causing her to shudder slightly in disgust and turn away from him. Her face ached from the bruise spread across the right side of it, over her nose and over her cheek, her lip split and a cut on her left cheek where he had lashed out at her while holding his keys. He had apologised afterwards, cleaning her up and bringing her some extra food with her dinner. He then let go of her hair and leant forward covering her lips with his own as he pushed her down onto the bed, throwing the book to the floor. Nikki struggled but he was too strong for her, pushing her down onto her back and running his hand up her thigh, breaking the kiss and looking down at her.

"You are by far the most feisty woman I have had"

"You bastard" Nikki repeated, she hurt all over but she refused to not fight him. She could block him out during his abuse, but sometimes she was brought back to reality by the pain, she refused to break down though. She was strong and she was going to fight him for as long as she could. "Do you know who I work with?"

"Hmm" he nodded as he kissed his way down her neck and she closed her eyes, pushing back her tears as she tried to imagine someone else doing that to her, refusing to picture Harry as she had done the first time, she didn't want his image tarnished by the man who had her now. "The police, they haven't caught me yet"

"You think they won't?"

"I think I'm too cleaver for their tiny little minds" he whispered into his ear and Nikki fought the urge to smile. He had an ego, she knew that would be his downfall.

"Harry you need to rest" Leo told his friend as he walked in to the locker room, Harry sitting on the bench in the middle of the lockers, staring at the floor with a blank look on his face "When was the last time you slept?"

Harry shrugged and continued to stare at the floor, Leo sighing and walking over to him, sitting himself down next to the younger man who glanced up at him.

"I don't…." Harry started and shook his head "Yesterday?" he shrugged as he answered Leo's question "I can't sleep Leo. I keep imagining..." he swallowed heavily and looked away from Leo as the older man nodded "It's like…my life has stopped because Nikki isn't in it, even though it happens at the end of every day, I see her at work and outside of work, then we go home but I know I'll see her the next day or call her or something but now…." he trailed off and looked up at Leo, his eyes slightly glassy with tears "I shouldn't be allowed to relax properly, not while she's still not here with me..us"

"Nikki wouldn't want you doing this Harry" Leo placed his hand on Harry's shoulder "She wouldn't want you making yourself ill, and anyway, if you exhaust yourself or make yourself ill who is going to tell Nikki where you are when we find her?" he gave Harry a small smile and a nod "I certainly won't because she'll be angry that you allowed yourself to get like this, and you know as well as I that an angry Nikki is a force to be reckoned with.

This got him the chuckle that he had been looking for and Harry nodded once.

"Okay"

"Go home and sleep properly Harry, and I mean properly"

Harry nodded once again and gave Leo a small smile, standing up and running one hand over his face.

"Thank you Leo"

Leo just shook his head and watched as Harry walked from the locker room without another glance back, the older pathologist sighing and reaching into his pocket for his mobile, texting Janet and telling her that Harry had finally promised to get some proper rest.

Harry lay in bed trying to fight the urge to close his eyes, images of Nikki in the clutches of the person who had her kept popping up every time he closed his eyes and he dug his finger nails into his arm to stop himself from drifting off. He stared at the wall next to his bed, trying to think of what would happen when they found Nikki, how he would help her get better, look after her and finally admit his feelings towards her. He hoped with everything that he had that he wasn't too late.

His eyes slid shut and he didn't fight it anymore, relaxing as the images of Nikki smiling at him came to the forefront of his mind.