Chapter 15

The flight wasn't direct.

It hadn't bothered him before. He'd only registered it as they boarded the plane. Stop-over in New York in… he checked his watch.

Five hours.

Harry had only told him to confiscate her passport when she got back to London. She could take a later flight, break the journey, stay in New York, recuperate with an old friend? For all his annoyance and persistent phone calls, he clearly was a good friend to her. And right now Nikki needed friends. He looked down the row to Jack. He was staring straight ahead, his teeth gnawing the inside of his cheek…

Jack was in no position to look after anyone but himself and Thomas wasn't holding high hopes for his chances of success.

Maybe New York would do her good?

Nikki turned in her sleep, sitting bolt upright and then relaxing back down into the seat. This time resting her head on Thomas' shoulder.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused," Nikki mumbled.

"You're forgiven," said Thomas, placing an almost imperceptible kiss on the top of her head. "Go back to sleep." Thomas suggested.

"I'm not sleeping," Nikki said quietly.

Thomas' heart sank. Both of them. He'd have to get in some locums. The department was going to be a disaster.

"Nikki?" Thomas asked.

"Hmm," Nikki responded.

"Just one question?"

"Yes?"

"You said Harry found you."

"That's not actually a question…" Nikki retorted.

Thomas sighed and felt another wave of admiration for Leo Dalton wash through him.

"When did I say that?" Nikki asked.

"When Jack first brought you into the hospital. You were barely conscious. But you said, 'Harry always finds me.'"

Nikki was silent, he could feel her struggling to make sense of her memories.

"Harry couldn't have found you…" Thomas continued.

"He did." Nikki disagreed. But the memories were hazy. She remembered him picking her up from a basement floor. The smell of his jacket around her. But that wasn't here. That was a long time ago. She willed her brain to remember something solid.

"¡Te ayudaré, te ayudaré, me llamo Harry!" Nikki exclaimed.

"What?"

"I will help you." Her spirit soared with the satisfaction of a real memory. Her Spanish was mostly non-existent, but she could get by with the basics. "The man who found me was called Harry. 'Me llamo Harry.'" There was a pause. "Oh, you thought I meant Harry, Harry…"

"I did wonder… It's not exactly a Spanish name… Are you sure? Maybe he just said. 'You have to hurry,' it sounds similar." He could sense Nikki's confusion then. There was so much she didn't remember, it was like trying to look through frosted glass. She remembered the sunshine, the water. The feeling of the wind in her hair. She tried to picture the face of the man who had put her in the truck. She hadn't been frightened. He'd given her a drink of water. He was short, too short to be Harry. And yet? Harry's was the only face she could see looking down at her. She gave up. It made her brain hurt.

"You're probably right. I must have imagined it."

But Thomas couldn't deny it. Harry had brought her back in the hospital. No one else had been able to reach her there.

"It's alright Thomas. Mostly I know when dead people are talking to me, or people who aren't really there."

"That's comforting to know, Nikki. Would you let me know if that changes?"

Thomas didn't hear an answer, but felt a shrug against him. Jack must have heard her answer though, and he clearly didn't like it. Even with Nikki in the seat between them he could sense Jack's response. He fidgeted his legs into a slightly different wedged position and gripped onto the handles of the seat. Jack was never comfortable when Nikki strayed from the path of the tangible, scientific world. The pair of them made a great team but understanding the trauma of what her imagination had done to her whilst trapped in that box was far beyond what either of the men would comprehend.

"Oh and Nikki?"

"Yes. I thought there was only one question. You're almost as annoying as Harry."

"Yes, and I love you too." Thomas retorted and felt himself blush. He thought back to what Harry had said. 'You don't need words to say I love you.' Did she realise how important she had become to him? Did his being in Mexico say that clearly enough? He thought it was safer to change the subject.

"Nikki, who's Amira?"


Come on, I know you all want to guess. Go on hit the little button. Harry hugs as always to anyone who guesses.

And hopefully the Spanish says something like "I will help you, I will help you. My name is Harry."