Harry was sat at one end of the sofa, Dempsey on the opposite end. The sofa had been delivered a few days previously, and was slightly smaller than the old one, causing them to be separated only by one space. Dempsey had cleaned his plate, and gone back into the kitchen for seconds, but Harry struggled to get through. Her mind was swimming with thoughts of today, and Dempsey's attitude towards her since they had returned home. He was flirtatious. She knew that; and she usually hit back with some quick fire remark, but for some reason, she didn't know want to do that anymore. She loved Dempsey's attention, his gentleness, his warm eyes, and his breath caressing her neck when he slipped his arms around her. As she thought about it, her heart hurt at the fact that their relationship would never progress. Dempsey loved women, and she knew he saw her as a cop, and nothing more. As Dempsey returned from the kitchen with a fresh bottle of wine, he sat down and noticed Harry struggling to finish the meal. Her eyes focused on the plate, turning the food over and over with her fork.

"Harry?" Harry made no reply, obviously in a world of her own. Dempsey repeated himself, a little louder.

"Mm?" Harry looked up, a tad surprised.

"You okay?"

"Yes. Why shouldn't I be?"

"I dunno. Maybe cause you've been playing with your food for the last 20 minutes!"

Harry smiled weakly. "Sorry. I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought I was."

Dempsey smiled softly back at her as he watched her put the plate down on the small table in front of them. She sat back into the corner of the sofa, putting her legs underneath her, her elbow on the arm of the sofa, resting her head on her hand.

"What were you thinking about?"

"When?"

"Just then. You were miles away."

"Oh nothing much. Just about everything that's happened over the last few weeks. I'm so glad it's all over."

"You mean Coltrane?" Dempsey couldn't hide the hatred in his voice as he said the name, and Harry looked up at him.

"Yes."

Dempsey looked at Harry and saw the worry and tiredness in her eyes.

"I think this case has got to you just as much as it's got to me."

"Maybe." Harry paused, wondering whether she should continue, but she knew she wanted Dempsey to know how she was feeling.

"I was so worried about you, Dempsey."

"I was worried about myself! I don't know how I got through it." He did really. He got through only for Harry.

"I'd lie awake at night, wondering where you were. If you were safe."

"So you meant what you said earlier?"

"What did I say earlier?"

"That you cared about me."

Harry paused. Of course she cared. She really cared.

"Dont forget, I also said that I would shoot you."

"You haven't answered the question."

Dempsey moved his arm to lie across the top of the sofa, moving closer to Harry as he did so.

"I told you! I needed to say something to stop you from killing Coltrane in cold blood!"

"I would have done it, Harry. If it wasn't for you, I would have pulled the trigger."

"I know! That's what frightens me!"

"I don't want you to be afraid of me, Harry. Ever."

"No, not frightened of you. Frightened that if you'd have pulled the trigger.." Harry paused, and swallowed hard. "..I'd never have seen you again. Coltrane would have won. Yes, he'd be dead. But you'd be behind bars."

Dempsey moved so that he was next to Harry, his arm still outstretched so that his hand was touching Harry's hair, which he began to stroke softly.

"Harry. When I thought he'd killed you, I didn't know what to do. I felt this....emptiness inside of me. Somethin' I've never felt before. I couldn't bear the thought of losin' another partner because of Coltrane." He saw Harry's eyes flicker. Her hope vanished at the word "partner." But Dempsey continued. "But because it was you, Harry. You mean a lot to me. You know that, right?"

Harry smiled. "I know."

"And you care about me, right?"

A laugh escaped her as she saw Dempsey smirk at her slightly. "Right."

"But you still wanna shoot me?!"

"Only sometimes. When you're being extra irritating."

"Which is only 23 hours of the day, wouldn't you say?!"

"When I first met you, yes. But you're not that bad anymore."

Dempsey raised his eyebrows. "Aren't I? What's changed?"

"Well, some things you've stopped doing – like shooting everything in sight on a regular basis!"

Dempsey laughed. "Yeah, well, maybe you've tamed me, Harry!"

"I've tried."

They both paused, searching each other's eyes as they smiled. They were both smiling at one another, comfortable in each other's space. But a niggling thought kept appearing in the forefront of Harry's mind. She'd mentioned it earlier, but Spiking's had interrupted.

"Saying that, when you return to America, all my good influence will be forgotten and you'll go back to your old bad American habits."

"And who says I'm going back to America?"

"Well, like I said before! Now Coltrane's gone-" Dempsey interrupted.

"And like I said before, I'm goin' nowhere!"

"Why?"

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were tryna get rid of me!"

"No! I just wanted to know your reasons for staying!"

"I've got no problems here Harry. I've made a home for myself here.... And then there's us."

"Us?" Harry's heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah. Come on, we're the best team goin'! We solve cases quicker than they come up. We know each other's moves inside out! We're partners!" Dempsey paused and spoke quietly. "And we have fun, don't we?"

"Do we?"

"Well, I thought we did."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I've never met anyone like you, Harry. You ain't afraid of puttin' me in my place and tellin' me when I'm wrong! I suppose what I'm tryin' to say is that, if I went back to America, I wouldn't be happy there."

"And why is that?" Harry held her breath.

Dempsey leaned in towards Harry. "Cause you wouldn't be there with me."

Harry looked into Dempsey's eyes, and heard the genuineness in his voice. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest with affection for him.

"Are you trying to say that you would miss me, James Dempsey?"

"Yeah. I am."

Harry smiled. Dempsey felt awkward.

"I think this is part where you at least give me a hug and tell me that you'd miss me too."

Dempsey knew he was pushing his luck, and so was very surprised when Harry laughed and leaned over to him, putting her arms around his neck, her chin resting on his shoulder. He wasted no time in putting his arms securely around her waist, his head nuzzling into her neck.

"I'd miss you too, Lieutenant." Harry whispered softly. She pronounced it the English way, which brought a smile to Dempsey's face.

"I'm goin' nowhere, Sergeant."

"You promise?" Harry wanted to hear him promise her. She needed closure on the subject.

"I promise, Princess."

Harry smiled, and couldn't help a tear fall down her cheek. She knew then that she loved him. She realised how much she would lose if she lost him. In turn, Dempsey treasured this rare intimate moment with Makepeace. He'd never wanted someone so much in his entire life.

Harry leaned back, her lips dangerously close to Dempsey's. He saw her eyes shining, and he softly stroked her cheek.

"Hey! How about we open this second bottle and watch a movie?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "Okay. And whilst it's you, I'll let you choose the film."

Dempsey smiled and pulled away from her. He moved from the sofa and crouched in the corner of the room, and began rooting through Harry's old films. Harry watched him as she dried her eyes, a smile once again playing upon her lips.