The song is of course Can't Fight This Feeling by Reo Speedwagon, I suspect it's been used before somewhere but it could have been written for D & M.

Makepeace's eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, the patches of light from slatted windows illuminated the floating dust motes and old cobwebs. Shadows were playing tricks amongst the tombstones, the only sound, her breath and the hammering of her heart. They were pretty sure Crazy Joe had climbed up to the ledge above them. Dempsey had signalled to her and then set off towards him a silent figure amongst the statues, closing in on his quarry.

She looked up to the sound of footsteps, Crazy Joe was smirking, his gun pointing at Dempsey. Her shout of warning was drowned out by a gunshot in the split second before she fired; there was a cry of pain and a falling figure. Makepeace turned, expecting to see her partner beside her but he wasn't there. He was nowhere to be seen and she was suddenly aware of the silence, the awful ominous silence.

'Dempsey!' she called. 'Lieutenant!'

There was a barely perceptible sound, a shuffle, a low moan. Harry held her gun against her shoulder in case it was Crazy Joe, making one final attempt.

She found him lying at the foot of one of the statues, his head at an awkward angle. She gasped as she saw the dark stain spread across the right side of his chest. 'Dempsey' she knelt down beside him, 'James!'

His eyelids fluttered and he gave another moan, trying to speak but managing only a dry, empty whisper. She laid her hand against his cheek as he half opened his eyes, 'Harry' he gasped 'Harry…'

'Stay with me Dempsey, stay with me.' She could hear the panic in her own voice as she took off her jacket and bundled it gently under his head.

There were cars approaching, a screech of tyres, banging of doors. Harry ran outside to see Spikings and Chas in one vehicle and three of the others in the car behind.

'Ambulance!' she shouted. 'We need an ambulance. Now! There's an officer down!' To her horror she felt tears come to her eyes.

She ran back inside to Dempsey, he was unmoving now. She took his wrist in her fingers and felt a faint pulse. 'Don't leave me, don't you dare die.' She was crying openly now, her tears dripping onto his blood-soaked sweatshirt.

And then there were hands, firm on her shoulders. 'Ambulance is on its way Harry.'

Chas took over, he tore Dempsey's clothes open, pulled off his own jumper and padded it into the wound, pressing hard.

The next ten minutes were a frenzy of noises, flashing lights, orders shouted in tense voices. Dempsey groaned in pain as he was moved onto a stretcher and wrapped in a blanket. Harry felt numb, everything was focussed on the man being carried into the back of the ambulance, it was as if her whole life lay balanced there and none of it was any longer in her control.

She saw another stretcher carried into a second ambulance, this time the face was covered. It could have been him. A wave of nausea rose up in her and she gripped onto the staircase beside her as her legs buckled.

She felt an arm steady around her, Dempsey. Just for a second she'd thought….

'He's in the best possible hands, come on, I'll drive you home.' Spikings' familiar voice, kinder than she'd ever heard.

'No, no! I have to go with him.'

His arm still supported her, holding her up. 'I'll drive you to the hospital then.'

He led her to his car and nodded to Chas who climbed into the back seat.

Harry laid her head against the car window and closed her eyes. Her mind was full of James Dempsey, the man who had burst into her life three years ago, at first a loud, sexist, irritating thorn in her side. A work partner who had become a friend, a confidant and a source of comfort. A man who made her laugh, who told her how good she was and looked at her with undisguised pride. A man that she loved. She was sure of that now. She loved him as more than a friend, wanted more from him than friendship and now he was going to die without ever knowing. She was unable to contain the sob that rose to her throat and she gulped down her tears as Spikings glanced across at her and squeezed her hand.

'He'll make it, he's so damn stubborn, he'll do it just so he can keep annoying me.'

Harry smiled despite herself and wiped her eyes with the side of her hand.

She closed her eyes again. She was almost sure Dempsey felt something for her too but then something would happen to make her doubt it. She remembered a Saturday evening only a week ago

An evening like so many others, eating in Harry's kitchen, washing up together; he always washed while she dried. Foam bloomed up around his forearms as he pulled out the dishes and stacked them on the rack.

'Dempsey, I'm sure my washing up liquid use has doubled since you started coming round.'

'Yeah?' He grinned. They had the same conversation every time.

'I'll get rid of some of it if you like.' He lifted a pile of foam onto his hand and raised his eyebrow as he blew it at her laughing out loud as the bubbles formed a halo on her hair.

'Oh that's how you want to play it, is it Lieutenant?' Her voice was serious but there was mischief in her eyes. She scooped a handful of suds and wiped them across his chin. 'Oh, look, it must be Christmas already.' she laughed.

The play fight had progressed from bubbles to flicking the tea towel. Later they sat together on the sofa finishing off the wine, her head on his shoulder, his arm draped around her. They only half watched the film while chatting about everything and nothing. Harry stretched out her legs which pressed her closer to him, and she saw him looking at her with a contented smile. Friends, she told herself. This is what friends do isn't it?

At last Harry got up to make some tea and Dempsey switched off the film and went over to put some music on. He rifled through her cassettes and found a mixtape Angela had made. 'Move Closer' was the title written in blue biro on the spine.

Dempsey frowned as he studied the track list. He put the cassette into the stereo rewound and frowned again, Harry brought in two mugs of tea as he fiddled around with the buttons then stood up smiling as a song came to an end.

'You want to dance, Makepeace?' his voice softened 'Harry..?' he held out his hand and she stepped towards him.

They stood swaying together, her arms around his neck, his hands on her back, the words of the song filling the air.

I can't fight this feeling any longer

And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow

What started out as friendship has grown stronger

I only wish I had the strength to let it show

Harry knew with absolute certainty that this is where she wanted to be, safe in his embrace. She realised that she could stay here for the rest of her life and it wouldn't be too long. With his arms around her, the scent of him in every breath, her face against his chest, she felt invincible; it felt like home.

He'd chosen the song deliberately, he was telling her something. She felt his arms on her back stroke upwards oh so slightly, his grip tightening.

My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you

I've been running 'round in circles in my mind

And then it was over, the final chords faded. She felt Dempsey hesitate, then he leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose, loosening his hold on her. 'I gotta go home now sweetheart' he sighed, running his hands through his hair, suddenly awkward.

Did he want her to object? She had no idea what was going on, she had been so sure he was going to kiss her, she was expecting it. 'It's not 1950' she told herself, 'just kiss him!'

But the moment was gone, Dempsey was tying his shoelaces and retrieving his jacket.

Now he was being rushed to hospital, his pulse faint, his life in the balance and she had never told him how much he means to her.

'Stay with me James' Harry whispered in her head as Spikings drove through the afternoon traffic as fast as he could get away with. She sent up a silent plea to whoever might be listening. 'Please let him live.'