Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to Lilypad1 because she gave me the idea for the chapter and I would like to thank her for the lovely get well soon e-mail she sent me which cheered me up no end
Harry stumbled into room with a huge cardboard box in his arms, his was staggering under its weight and his face had turned a shade of red with the strain
"Blimey Nikki!" he exclaimed "What do you have in here?" he wheezed
"Hmm?" she said turning around and smiling as she saw the perspiration on his face as he tried to catch his breath "Oh just my shoes" she said casually
"Your…" Harry spluttered "…Your shoes?"
Nikki nodded before breaking into a smile "Oh Harry!" she giggled "I'm only joking, my medical textbooks are that box"
"Good" he said wiping his brow
"My shoes are in that box over there" she said pointing to an even bigger cardboard box that was sitting in the corner
She smiled to herself as she turned back around, hearing Harry's exclamation of shock as he eyed up the amount of stuff she had, even Nikki had to admit she never realised how much junk she had. Leo had given them the day off so Nikki could move into Harry's place and the two of them had been shifting boxes around for most of the morning.
"Nikki your house was tiny, how did you fit all this stuff in there?" Harry said throwing his arms wide open and gesturing to the piles of boxes spread about them
Nikki shrugged "It's a girl thing…"
"…A girl thing?" Harry said raising his eyebrows as he walked over to Nikki and slipped his arms around her waist
"Yes" Nikki said leaning her head backwards and looking up at him "Now if you're really lucky you might just stumble across the box that has my underwear in"
Harry gave Nikki a flirty look and released his arms before diving through the boxes trying to sort through them
"Ah men" Nikki sighed to herself as she picked up the box she had been sorting through into the bedroom leaving 'Good things come to those who wait' Nikki smiled to herself as she unpacked the box containing her underwear
"I'm all moved in" Nikki said as she flopped down on the sofa next to Harry who wrapped his arms around her.
He gazed around the room and noticed that it had indeed become a lot more cluttered; his CD collection seemed to have expanded massively, he now had a DVD collection and the room seemed to smell of some flower Harry could not put a name to. There was no denying the Nikki had made her mark on the place and was officially moved in
"You defiantly are" Harry said exhausted at all the moving they had done
"And we are now economically friendly" Nikki said a grin "Because of course that was the main reason for me moving in with you"
Harry nodded his head "Of course" he said pulling her closer to him "And everything else is just a perk" and Nikki squealed as he tickled her
"Harry?" Nikki said once she was calmed down enough to compose herself "Why did we not do this sooner?"
"Sooner?" he said craning his neck down to look at her "I only asked you last week"
"No!" Nikki said hitting him playfully "I mean, why didn't we do this…me and you… together sooner?"
Harry paused for thought before saying "I don't know, I guess because of work politics and ex-girlfriends turning up we never got past the 'friendship faze'"
"Harry? Nikki asked again
"What?"
"I'm glad you got me drunk" and Harry snorted with laughter "No I mean it" Nikki said sitting up "Otherwise me and you never would have happened"
"This is true" Harry said contemplating what Nikki was saying "Well we owe it all to the inventor of alcohol"
"We shouldn't tell the grandkids that though…" Nikki said lying back down and resting her head on Harry's chest
"…Grandkids?" Harry questioned "And where might these appear from?"
"Aren't you a bit old to be asking those questions?" Nikki sniggered and Harry rolled his eyes "Well…" Nikki began "When two people love each other very much, a stork comes flying down and…"
"Nikki?" Harry called "Nikki?"
"What?" she moaned and Harry leant over her and placed his lips on hers and the two of them fell into a passionate embrace only breaking apart for the need of air
"Now she shuts up2 Harry grinned
"I need to test the bed…" Nikki said grining as she eyed Harry up and down
"I thought you already did that?" Harry said teasing her
"Yes but we have to be sure of these things. We are scientists Doctor Cunningham and we pride ourselves on the reliability of our data"
"And your point is?" Harry said looking slightly confused
"How do you get your data more reliable?" Nikki prompted
"You do repeats?" Harry said frowning "Oh!" he said as the penny finally dropped "You do repeats! Well Doctor Alexander, in the name of science I do insist that you test the bed again and I would like to offer my assistance"
"Oh I think you can be of some service" Nikki grinned as the two of them rushed into the bedroom
Nikki flopped down onto the bed with a content sigh "Wow…" she breathed
"Nikki?" Harry said propping himself up on one elbow to look at her
"Hmm?" Nikki said as she pulled the duvet around her to keep warm
"Do you really think about stuff like grandchildren?"
"Sometimes I do" she frowned "What about you?"
"Yeah…" Harry nodded slowly "I think about children too"
"Do you?" Nikki said and Harry nodded again
"I never thought I was the family type but as soon as I met you I could picture myself with children. Playing in the garden with them, reading them bedtime stories, collecting them from school and hearing about their day, all stuff like that"
"Yeah I can imagine you with little ASBO and asparagus…." Nikki said
"…ASBO and asparagus?" Harry said looking shocked and Nikki broke into a peal of laughter
"Oh Harry you are so easy to wind up" she said wiping the tears of laughter off her face "But seriously" she said turning to face him "Do you really imagine stuff like that?"
"Only when I'm with you" he nodded
"I can too; I always wanted a big family. I hated being an only child, it was so…." Nikki paused looking for the right word
"…Lonely" Harry finished for her and she nodded "It was the same for me, I always wanted a big family so the rooms would be filled with noise and laughter not the heavy silence I was used to as a child" and Nikki made a noise of agreement
"I want to be with you forever?" Nikki breathed as Harry ran a hand through her hair
"I'd hope you'd say that" Harry said smiling at her "Because there's something I want to ask you"
"Go on" Nikki encouraged feeling warmth of his body as he moved closer to her
"I know we've been barely going out that long ands we've only just moved in together but…" Harry shook his head and fell silent
"Harry…" Nikki prompted
"Nikki I love you more than I have ever loved anyone, including Leo" he added which made Nikki collapse into a fit of laughter "Seriously Nikki, I cant think of anyone I would rather spend the rest of my life with, when I'm with you everything makes perfect sense and I know we're rushing things but it just seems to make sense. We've known each other for countless years and I've always felt something for you and it's got to a point where I have to act on it or I don't know what will happen"
"I feel the same way" Nikki said as she wrapped herself around him, savouring the way their two bodies seemed to fit around each other perfectly
"Marry me…" Harry said as he breathed in Nikki's scent
"Harry?" Nikki breathed
"I mean it Nikki, we don't have to rush it and you don't even have to give me an answer straight away. But I know that you're the one person I want to spend the rest of my life with…"
Nikki leaned up and kissed him tenderly on the lips "Go on then" she grinned and he could see the tears sparkling in her eyes
"So will you…."
"….Marry you?" she asked and he nodded "Yeah go on then it might be a laugh" she giggled and Harry wrapped his arms around her and the two of them embraced
Harry cleared his throat suddenly "And of course it makes economical sense" he said trying not to laugh
"Oh yeah" Nikki agreed trying to keep a serious look on her face "And by getting married we will be keeping the wedding shops in business"
"Exactly" Harry agreed "We're helping other out of the goodness of our hearts"
"I love you" she sighed as she gazed into his dark eyes which seemed to be brimming with emotion as he gazed at her lovingly "Now are you going to make me a cup of tea or do I have to kick you out of bed?"
Harry chuckled as he slid out of bed "Milk, two sugars?" he asked already knowing the answer
"Yes and you need to get in the practise of this if we're going to spend the rest of our lives together"
"Anything else I should know?" he called
"I like really hot showers so don't think you're ever having anything but a cold shower from now on and takeaways are defiantly off the menu as the smell makes me feel sick"
"Ok" he called back as he clattered around in the kitchen
"There's one more thing you need to be aware of" she called to him
"What's that?"
"I love you Harry Cunningham" she bellowed at the top of her voice making the room echo.
She giggled as she heard Harry echo her response, she lay back down on the bed and contemplated the events of today and how lucky she was to have finally found her soul mate even if he did have no taste in music and left his dirty socks everywhere.
