It was well into the night by the time Harry and Nikki were nearly near the village, whose name neither of them could pronounce and Nikki had fallen asleep a few hours beforehand. Harry smiled slightly as he glanced over at the woman next to him in the car and his smile turned wistful as he thought about how they would have to act as husband and wife in the next few days. He knew it wouldn't be hard for him to act, he only wished it was real. His eyes caught the rings on Nikki's finger and his chest tightened as he remembered that he hadn't put them there, it was Leo, and that they were only pretending. He realised that he was now driving down a cobbled road and stopped outside the building which they had been told to do, not surprisingly it was a pub. Rolling his eyes, Harry reached over and gently shook Nikki.

"Nikki darling wake up" he whispered, cringing as the word 'darling' just slipped out without him realising. Nikki groaned and reached over to sleepily bat him away her eyes still closed "We're here"

"Go away" Nikki mumbled "Five more minutes"

"No more minutes" Harry laughed as he undid his seatbelt. The pub door suddenly flew open and bathed the street outside in a yellow glow, illuminating the car causing Nikki to moan loudly. She opened her eyes and blinked sleepily and smiled at Harry before turning to the lone male figure that had walked out of the pub. Harry and Nikki glanced at each other nervously before climbing out of the car.

"Drs Cunningham and Alexander?" the elderly man asked in a strong Scottish accent and Harry nodded and replied.

"Yes, I'm Dr Cunningham and this" he gently wrapped his arm around Nikki's waist as he lied through his teeth "Is my wife"

"Also a doctor" they heard the man mumble and shake his head. Harry felt Nikki tense when he said this and gently rubbed her side causing Nikki to turn her head and give him a smile which he returned. "Please come in"

Harry reached down and took Nikki's hand in his and lead them into the pub, Nikki let Harry do the talking seeing as they would probably listen to him more. They followed the elderly man through a long corridor and he held the door open for Harry who in turn held it open for Nikki, their hands still entwined, neither one of them wanting to let go. They entered the main bar area and caught sight of the elderly man seating himself at a round table in the middle of the room, three other younger, although older than Harry and Nikki, males sat around the table each with a drink in front of them. The bar man was standing behind the bar cleaning glasses, Harry and Nikki suspected that none of the glasses actually needed cleaning but didn't say anything.

"This is Dr Cunningham and his wife.." the older man introduced Harry and Nikki, he paused "Dr Alexander" he then motioned for both younger people to sit down on the spare chairs and they did so, refusing the offer of drinks.

"I am Adair Ainsley" the elderly man introduced himself and pointed to the man on his left. He had short brown hair, the same colour as Harry's and bright blue eyes "This is my son Alec" he pointed to the next man, he had light brown hair and brown eyes "Alistair Boyd" and lastly the last man who was sitting nearer Nikki, he had green eyes and ginger hair, Nikki found him quite attractive "Beathan Cameron"

The men greeted Harry and Nikki, mostly focussing on Harry. Nikki gripped his hand under the table in anger and it was only then that they both realised that their hands were still entwined, they quickly moved their hands away and refused to look at each other.

"Alistair's young son found the bodies in the field at the back of their farm" Alec informed Harry and Nikki, well he informed Harry, he flatly refused to look at Nikki or even admit she was there, this irked Harry somewhat "It would be easier to look tomorrow, it is to dark at the moment"

"That's fine" Harry nodded "Thank you"

"Alec will escort you to the house where you are staying" Adair told Harry as all four men stood up and Harry and Nikki followed suit, Harry autopmatically reached out for Nikki's hand and she looked down at them in confusion but gripped Harry's anyway.

"House?" Harry asked as Nikki frowned "I thought we were in a hotel"

Adair chuckled lightly and gave them both a smile.

"You have the entire house to yourself, you are a married couple after all and I find that having sex is hard in a hotel is it not?" Adair enquired with no embarrassment as Harry and Nikki both flushed slightly and avoided looking at each other "We will meet here tomorrow at seven in the morning, good night to you all"

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"So how long have you two been married?" Alec asked, his accent as broad as his father's.

"Five years" Harry answered, he and Nikki had agreed on their story on the long trip up there "We were...courting" he had to use the right word there "For two years before that"

Nikki gave Harry a smile which he didn't see and had to turn away to hide the disappointment when she realised that none of it was true. They had only been acting for a few minutes and already she wanted to believe it.

"Any children?" Alec asked breaking Nikki out of her thoughts

"Not yet no" Harry shook his head and glanced at Nikki who nodded encouragingly at him then he continued "We thought we would have a few years on our own first but we have started to try, haven't we darling?"

"Of course" Nikki grinned "I can't wait to get pregnant, although I hope we have a boy"

Harry's heart jumped when he heard this and wished everything they were saying was true, however he knew Nikki didn't feel the same way about him.

"Here we are then" Alec stopped in front of a medium sized cottage at the end of the main road. It was two stories high and looked very open and inviting. Alec held up the keys and Harry took them from him with a smile "The fridge is already stocked and you'll find everything you need in the house already"

"Thank you" Harry nodded and looked down at Nikki who was staring at the cottage with a small smile on her face "I will escort my wife in then go and get the car"

"As you wish" Alec nodded and turned away slightly "I will see you tomorrow at seven" he then walked off leaving Harry and Nikki standing in the dark street.

"Friendly character" Nikki mumbled to Harry causing him to laugh loudly as he unlocked the door and held it open for Nikki "Do you want help with the cases?"

"No I'll be fine" Harry replied and waved his hand in the general direction of the house "Go and explore"

"Yes sir" Nikki mumbled sarcastically and Harry threw her a withering look before he turned and walked out of the door. When she was certain he had gone, Nikki turned and quickly walked up the stairs in search of the bedroom, she opened the door at the furthest end of the landing from the stairs and a loud groan escaped her as she spotted the double bed in the middle of the room and the door that was open on the other side of the room showed an en suite bathroom. Shutting the door she then checked on the other rooms, one was a study, one was an extra bathroom and one was a large storage cupboard with extra towels and bed linen. Nikki decided that fate hated her and made her way slowly down the stairs to look around. She didn't know if she would survive the entire time they were there in the same bed as Harry.

So what else could Harry do to take advantage of his 'male dominance' while he still has the chance? Things he wouldn't be able to do in London......I need ideas please! XD

xxx