Some days later Harry met her father for afternoon tea at the Ritz and saw he was looking rather sheepish. 'I'm sorry old girl, I just wanted to help that poor, young woman. I thought about it afterwards and wondered what had become of her because her associates wouldn't be very pleased with her would they?' Freddie looked very troubled about that.

Harry sighed heavily. 'It would have been better if you'd stayed en-piste Freddie, fortunately Bradshaw followed Penelope and stopped her getting a savage beating. And then Sergeant Hargreaves and Watson were just about to pack up their surveillance when Fiorelli's back up team turned up at the hotel to steal the paintings whilst you were enjoying a nightcap in the bar.'

'Sounds like a French farce,' Freddie commented with a twinkle in his eye. 'The worst thing is, I didn't notice the paintings had hopped it when I got back to the room. I think that when they've been with you for all those years they become part of the wallpaper so to speak.'

Lord Winfield's daughter looked at her father knowingly, 'Freddie, how long were you in the bar?' Her bright blue eyes so like her mother's interrogated him.

'Well a couple of chums were staying at the Lanesborough and we got talking and one thing led to another….

'Yes, well while you were enjoying yourself with your chums, Hargreaves and Watson followed the paintings, Dempsey got a warrant and the location was searched and the loot from the so-called Ritz Robberies was found. And the young lady, Penelope is now back in the bosom of her family and is going to be a key witness for the prosecution.'

'So, you got your man,' Freddie beamed at her, 'splendid. I'm glad that young lady found her way. I hope they're not going to plaster her name all over the newspapers; she deserves a second chance.' The older man's blue eyes were tranquil as they looked at his daughter, 'I think everyone does, don't you Harry.'

A deep sigh followed that mild advice from her father. Harry's vulnerable glance was rewarded by her father taking her hands in his. 'Darling, I want you to be happy. And I have seen you come to life over recent years and that's down to that insufferable Yank,' his eyes twinkled again. 'James came to see me and explained what happened and I can see why you were upset.'

'You can,' she looked surprised and then exasperated. 'Dempsey can't. He thinks I'm being over sensitive and doesn't understand why I think the way I do. He sees sex as an appetite, it's like a hamburger for him. I feel like I'm just a hamburger with a special sauce.' She laughed at the ridiculous metaphor as did her father.

'Well maybe he sees what he has with you as something that's different from the run of the mill hamburger. Men do see things differently on that front, darling. We're not a very nice lot really.'

The cake stand appeared with lots of delicious mouth-watering confections and Freddie chose a selection of things he knew Harry liked.

'Now my darling I absolutely insist, you're looking very peaky and it won't do you any harm to eat one or two of these,' his warm gaze bathed her in affection and he smiled when she gave in.

As Harry was tucking into a delicious confection with pink and white icing Freddie looked over and smiled, 'I'll leave you to the rest and perhaps James can help you finish them off.

Harry's head reared up as if it had been attached to a string. 'Freddie,' she warned him but it was too late he was off and James was sitting down looking very smart in a linen jacket, shirt and tie and chino's. Harry's Pop had briefed him on the dress code.

'Am I to understand my father invited you here?' Harry said frostily her manner dripping with icy disdain. She didn't realise she had pink icing on the tip of her nose which spoilt the effect somewhat.

'The ice don't work when you've got frosting on your face,' Dempsey batted back at her with a mock smile as he took one of the most calorific confections.

Harry retrieved her handbag mirror and saw how ridiculous she looked with pink icing on her nose and picked up her napkin and removed it. 'I think it very low behaviour to try and get to me through Freddie.'

'Well he all but screwed the case so he owed me,' Dempsey responded without shame, 'just calling in the markers, honey.'

'I can see your instinct for choosing the most calorific food hasn't deserted you.' She observed waspishly, she felt very unsettled and that wasn't like her in fact Dempsey was one of the few people that could continually spin her off balance although she tried very hard not to let him.

'I'm saving you from them,' James responded in an even tone not wanting to escalate the tension. 'I'd like to be friends again Harry, even if you can't see your way to being my girl. I miss you,' he turned and ordered coffee from the hovering waiter.

'We'll see,' she answered unwilling to commit herself as she was very hurt about his trans-Atlantic dalliance and even if he saw sex as just sex, she didn't. Harry saw sex as the ultimate intimacy with someone you…. She called a halt to that train of thought.

'Marriage is still on the cards if you want that,' he growled as he helped himself to another cake. 'I meant it when I said that even if it was kind of heat of the moment.'

'And if we got married and you went on another operation are you saying you would still put sex on the table,' after she'd said that Harry regretted it as Dempsey couldn't control the grin. 'Don't bother answering that,' she added disdainfully.

'No, I wouldn't,' he got back to the substance of the issue. 'Course I wouldn't. I don't want to live in perma-frost for the rest of my natural. I think you've made it crystal clear how you feel about that.'

Harry picked up another cake one of the less gooey ones. 'Well I may consider trying the friendship thing,' she could see he hated that idea. 'Let's start there.'

'Fine,' he thanked the waiter for the coffee and picked up another calorific number as much for something to do as he hated emotional conversations and he didn't need the sugar hit, 'you miss me,' he asked her looking a bit awkward.

Harry sipped her tea to give herself a moment before deciding on her answer. The awkwardness always disarmed her; if he'd been all confidence and charm she'd have shut him down in a heartbeat. 'A bit,' she answered simply.

She saw the beginning of a smile and answered with one of her own, their eyes meeting and their gaze holding for an inappropriate amount of time.

'Good,' was all he said as the waiter poured Harry more tea.

-oOo-

Back in the office it was business as usual. Harry looked up as Fry came sheepishly into her office empty handed, no floppy disk, no report, nothing. 'Chief Inspector Dempsey's budget review,' she reminded him in a determined tone.

The young officer mused that being between a rock and a hard place must be very comfortable compared to being the go between for the Queen of the Ice Kingdom and the boisterous, belligerent, export from Brooklyn, U.S. of A. 'The Chief Inspector's budget review has been delayed due to extenuating circumstances…

'Oh yes, has Vanessa broken both wrists and is no longer able to type, I'll send down Muriel to assist,' Harry responded with feigned patience.

'Not exactly, Dempsey has a heavy workload and…

'And if he doesn't get his revised budget requirement to me this afternoon he won't have any funding to support said heavy workload. Dismissed Fry, I don't want any further excuses next time you appear you will have those figures.'

Fry went to the canteen to get a coffee and sat down looking extremely dejected. He really did try his best; he really did but at times he felt he had the crappiest job in crappy land.

Inspector Jarvis sat down and folded his arms and regarded the younger man sympathetically. He decided to intervene as the lad looked beleaguered. 'Fry, the secret is to make them talk to each other.' He gave a few kind words of advice and left the D.C. to think about his future actions.

Dempsey came out of his office looking for Watson and Hargreaves when he was halted by Fry, 'phone,' he handed it to the Chief Inspector, 'budget,' he offered helpfully.

The Yank's jaw set as he got Makepeace direct. 'Hi Harry, how's it going?' Dempsey's mouth became a grim line as he was told exactly how Makepeace was doing and exactly how he'd be doing if he didn't give her his bloody budget. Since he was on probation with her he nodded his head in time with the ear bending from the more junior officer and then said in a disarming tone, 'I hear you Harry, you couldn't see your way to coming down here and giving me a hand… He held the phone away from his ear as his ex-partner gave him a blistering earful and then politely said, unfortunately she couldn't.

'Nice language the D.I.'s picked up from upstairs,' he looked round for Joyce and his gaze pinned her. 'Hargreaves in my office and you Fry,' they both duly followed having a feeling that they were in for a late night. 'Job for you both; as you guys are the only ones in the department that can add two and two you get to do my budget. 'This is what I'm thinking…

Hargreaves printed out the budget at three in the morning and by that time she didn't care whether they were putting in an order for five thousand care bears or fifty automatic weapons. 'I think we may be a bit low on pool cars but then we don't lose as many as we did when the Chief Inspector was on field work.'

'I heard that,' Dempsey came in with a boxed pizza and took the report off Hargreaves. 'Have some,' he indicated the pizza box, 'you're entitled.'

'I'm entitled to more than a pizza,' Joyce responded sarcastically. 'Spikings has been down here, Makepeace has gone home, so the softly, softly approach disappeared at midnight. I'd forgotten how acerbic the Superintendent can be and I'd avoid him if I were you.'

'I always avoid him,' Dempsey's gaze ran over the budget and he nodded. 'Nice work,' he made a couple of alterations and handed it back ignoring the ire in the Sergeant's gaze and then grinned as she gave it to Fry to make the amendments.

Fry did the necessary adjustments and then gave an exclamation of horror. 'I've deleted it, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!'

Dempsey and Hargreaves surged forward as one, horrified that they might have to repeat the work and then Spikings burst through the door. 'Where is that bloody budget.'

'Just printing it off sir,' Fry responded pleasantly and smiled at his furious colleagues, after all every dog has its day, 'for a moment I thought we'd had a glitch with the word processor but it's fine.'

His innocent air didn't fool either Hargreaves or Dempsey but they let it go, it had been a long night and Fry being the junior officer had had to do a lot of the heavy lifting. In fact, they both reluctantly had to admit as far as a 'gotcha' went it was a good one.