Afterward.

In the end, the SI-10 office party did take place before Christmas: two days before, to be precise. All in all, it was a rather subdued affair. They'd caught the Suitor but in the aftermath, plenty of evidence was discovered – mementoes, photos, and maps – to suggest that his four official victims might only be the tip of the iceberg. With a man his age, his activities of the past twenty years could only be guessed at. It was a sobering thought, and Spikings knew there would be bad news and heartbreak for more families come the New Year.

It turned out that the police profile had fit Albert Jenkins pretty closely after all. The toys and child's car seat were simply a ruse to put his victims at ease. He had lived alone above the toyshop for many years and really seemed to have been a classic loner; they were still searching to find any friends or family members at all: there was the possibility of an aunt in Australia. He had a long list of acquaintances, but when interviewed, they invariably said they never really knew him other than on a superficial level.

One good thing was that Jack was alright. He had needed 14 stitches in his side, but the wound hadn't been deep enough to puncture any vital organs. He was in shock, not least with regard to the true identity of his boss, but otherwise unharmed.

As the team celebrated in the pub close to SI-10 headquarters, Spikings gave Harry a toast. "Good work," he said, "Now bugger off for a couple of days, Sergeant. You've earned a break. And take the Yank with you."

It wasn't too late when Dempsey and Harry left the party, not really tipsy but in better spirits than either of them had been for a long time. Tomorrow, they would travel to Winfield Hall and spend Christmas with her father. She had made it very clear to Dempsey how much she wanted him to be there.

They took at cab to her street, and then he insisted on escorting her to her house. She leaned into him as they walked through the softly falling snow.

"You know, there's something I need to say to you," she began. The street was quiet enough to feel private.

"What's that?" he was full of the warm buzz of alcohol and her presence.

"I owe you an apology. I know I've been hard to be around these past few weeks,"

"Naah, you've been okay," he lied. "Anyway, I give as good as I get. Let's forget it. Peace on earth, remember?" he squeezed her arm.

"I don't want to forget it,' She stopped and faced him.

"I did some thinking when I was lying in hospital. I haven't been fair to you. You were right. The Delaney job…. it affected me badly, and I didn't want to acknowledge it, not to you, or to myself."

"I've been seriously questioning whether I'm really fit to work in SI-10."

"Harry, you're a great police officer. You know that."

"I didn't, though," she gave a short laugh, tinged with sadness. "I've felt so… impotent."

"Do you still feel that way?"

"That's the funny thing," she said. "Catching Jenkins. Shooting him… it's terrible that I had to take a life, but it seems to have brought me some peace. I don't think I'm afraid anymore."

"Hey listen, don't be worrying about shootin' that scum. Hell, I wish I could've done it too – several times over…"

She nodded. "I know. It shouldn't have made me feel good, but it did."

"It's natural, babe,"

He put an arm around her, moved to continue walking, but she held him back.

"There's something else," she took a deep breath. "I haven't been honest with myself about my feelings for you. About what happened that night… with us."

He dropped his arm, looked into her face. "Yeah?"

She looked up at him. "I do have feelings for you, James. Strong feelings. I don't know… it's just hard to acknowledge them. The job. The team. I told myself..."

"I know what you told yourself," he said quietly.

"But I realised something the other day,"

"What?"

"Blocking everything out isn't fair to either of us. It's not an ideal situation, but what is? I don't want to lose you, that's all I know."

"You really mean that?"

"I do."

He struggled to keep the giant-sized grin from splitting his face in two.

"Harry," he cupped her face gently in his hands, careful to avoid the bruises that still coloured her temple, "that's the best Christmas present I've ever had. Are you saying you want to give us a go?"

"I'm saying I need to take it slowly, but that yes, I want to give 'us' a go."

They kissed for a long while. Then they walked hand in hand to her house.

It was late when he left. They embraced on the doorstep.

"Night, angel. See you in the morning. This is gonna be a good Christmas."

She smiled, kissed him one last time. "Yes," she said, "I think it is."

Harry closed the door behind her and went up to bed. That night she slept deeply, her dreams sweet and peaceful.

The End.