Harry stood near the door, coat on, car keys in hand, half a step away from leaving. He didn't need to see this—didn't want to—but Leo had called him in, and now he was rooted to the spot, watching the screen on the wall.

The newsroom banner scrolled across the bottom, but the cameras remained fixed on the press conference. Wednesbury stood behind the table, flanked by senior officers, with Auillon positioned just behind him. The French detective looked composed, but there was something in his eyes—something unreadable.

Wednesbury's voice rang clear. "This was a complex and difficult case, but thanks to the tireless efforts of this department, we ensured that justice was served."

Harry's fingers tightened around his keys.

"We followed every lead, worked around the clock, and…" Wednesbury continued. "This result speaks for itself."

Ellie, perched on the edge of Leo's desk, scoffed. "You'd think he cracked the case single-handedly."

Leo exhaled through his nose, not disagreeing.

The banner along the bottom of the screen continued to scroll, a relentless stream of updates. Most of it was white noise, irrelevant details—but then one sentence cut through the rest.

Dr Alexander remains in a critical condition in hospital.

Nine words. That was all. Nine words that rendered everything else meaningless.

Harry barely heard Wednesbury's speech anymore. His mind was already slipping, spiralling, dragged under by the weight of it all.

There should have been relief. The headmaster's crimes had been exposed, justice had been served. The boys at the school were no longer under his manipulative control. Tom was no longer in danger.

Closure.

But there was none.

All he could feel was the weight of it—not just the past few days but the past eighteen months pressing down on him, folding in on themselves, a relentless sequence of choices and consequences. The things he had done, the things he had failed to do. If he had made different choices, taken different steps, could they have avoided this? Could he have stopped it?

He needed someone to tell him he was being stupid. That the chaotic, relentless path to this moment was just bad luck. That he couldn't have known. That none of this was on him.

But the one person whose opinion he would have trusted—really trusted—wasn't here to tell him.

The conference droned on, Wednesbury still speaking, still basking in the victory.

Harry's grip tightened around his keys and shifted his feet.

Leo, aware of Harry's discomfort turned to him in that moment. "Well done, Harry. She will be proud of you, you know."

"I need to get back to her." Harry stated, oblivious to Leo's praise. He turned to leave.

Leo sensed this and stepped forward to block Harry's path. Harry scoffed, "I don't need this Leo."

"No, I think you do, Harry, I think you do need to hear this. I think you need to know that what ever way you have twisted this, you weren't ever to blame."

"I left her and he got to her and then I couldn't bring myself to be by her side when she needed me." Harry shook his head. "I could have stopped this."

Leo's voice was steady, deliberate. "You could never hold her back, you know. She's the one who puts herself into the centre of these scrapes most of the time. It's who she is. What we love her for." A flicker of dry amusement crossed his face. "You'd never take that out of her."

Harry glanced up and the two shared a wiry smile, yes, that was Nikki.

"I'll come with you, Harry, we can tell her together."

They both arrived at Nikki's room shortly after, and Jake Timbrell, still haggard from a long night, greeted them at the foot of her bed. He opened the red folder and began to turn the pages, a glimmer of hope returning to his eyes as he read through the latest updates.

"I think I've got good news," Jake said, his voice steady but filled with a quiet optimism. "It's looking like she's finally getting there. Latest observations are all improved. We can look at reversing some of the sedatives and extubate. It's been a long road, and there's still a lot to go, but she's turned a corner. After all I've heard about her, I'm looking forward to finally meeting Dr. Alexander."

Relief. It wasn't much, but it was something. Jake turned to leave shortly after, his eyes tired but bright with the news. Leo nodded and decided to leave as well, sensing the moment was right for Harry to be alone with Nikki.

"I'll let you have a moment with her," Leo said, his voice quiet. "I'll go give Janet the update."

Harry didn't respond, his focus still on Nikki. Leo watched him for a beat before turning to leave.

Turned his attention back to Nikki and wrapped his hand gently around hers. The room was quiet except for the soft beeping of machines and the distant sound of nurses moving about the ward. The words seemed to come easy now, the news of her recovery seemed to spur him on as if he was more certain she could hear him.

"Hey Niks, me again. I'm guessing you heard that, and I'm also guessing you've probably had enough of me dribbling on for hours." He paused and chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood. "I think I might actually be running out of things to say that you might be interested in. Unlike Leo, I'm probably not about to start reading you back issues of The Lancet. I seem to remember you wrote Leo a list of things that he did to annoy you and read it to him in great detail but if I started one it probably would take me all day to read it and the nurses told me that I have to actually go home at some point or they are going to make me pay rent."

He took a deep breath, his voice dropping as he turned more serious.

"There's something I wanted to say to you, though, something I don't know if I could tell you if you were awake. I can really be a coward." Harry looked down at their joined hands, his thumb brushing over her skin as if to ground himself. "I always wondered… when we finally admitted our feelings, if we'd be disappointed. If I'd be a disappointment to you. It's strange, you build up these expectations, these hopes, and every time we took a step closer, something would happen, and we'd have to take two steps back." His voice cracked slightly. "I've been standing on the sidelines for so long, waiting for the right moment. But I missed them. I missed those moments because I couldn't summon the courage to just be with you. And now…" He exhaled, frustration mixing with the lingering sadness. "Now, when I finally have the chance to tell you everything, you're not here to hear it."

He paused again, his grip tightening just slightly on her hand. "A baby, Niks. I know it wasn't in my plan, but… did you really think I'd run away from it? Did you think I'd fall apart?" He gave a weak laugh. "I might not have been ready, but as long as I had you I would survive anything, I have survived…."

For a moment, the words hung in the air, and then Harry sighed deeply, letting the silence settle between them.

Much later, Leo returned to check in on Harry. He stood quietly at the door, watching Harry, who had his head resting on the side of Nikki's bed, eyes closed, a soft but weary expression on his face. Leo hesitated for a moment, before silently retreating, leaving Harry to have this moment with Nikki. The tension in the air was palpable—Harry's need to hold on, to say everything he'd kept inside for so long, and Nikki's unspoken presence.

Nikki's eyes fluttered open, the brightness of the fluorescent lights harsh against her tired mind. She blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog. For a moment, everything felt wrong, distant. But then, her eyes landed on him.

Harry.

He was slumped in the chair beside her, his head resting beside her had and his face soft with sleep. His hand was still curled around hers, like he hadn't let go since he first took it.

A small breath escaped her lips. The last few days, the pain, the fear—it all came rushing back in fragments, like pieces of a shattered mirror. Her throat felt dry, and her body heavy. She blinked again, trying to process where she was and why everything felt so surreal.

It didn't take long before she noticed the time—it was late. Too late. And Harry... Harry was still here.

As if sensing the change in her, Harry stirred slightly, blinking awake. His tired eyes slowly found hers. The exhaustion in them softened as he realized she was awake.

"Niks?" His voice cracked slightly, rough from sleep, as if he didn't fully believe she was there. His body shifted, sitting up straighter, still holding her hand. "You're awake..."

Nikki didn't say anything at first, just focused on him. It felt like too much had happened, too much she hadn't processed. All she could think about was that he was here, that he hadn't left.

But as the words formed on her lips, they didn't come out the way she expected. Instead, her hand tightened around his.

"Harry... what are you doing here?"

It was only then that Harry seemed to realize how much time had passed. His eyes shifted as he looked at her, his face tightening slightly with something like guilt.

"I'm sorry, I'll go. I'll get Leo" His voice was quieter now, as if he was uncertain of what to say, what to do. Seeing her awake like this reminded him of the night before everything changed. The attack. The chaos, she had pushed him away. He felt a lump rise in his throat, emotions he couldn't quite hold back. But when he saw the anxiety on Nikki's face, the memories flooded back, and he twisted around in the chair to hide the tears that suddenly welled up in his eyes. He pretended to search for his coat, doing anything to avoid letting her see how close he was to breaking down.

But Nikki was quick, her voice steady despite the exhaustion in her own body.

"No," she said firmly, though her voice was softer than usual. "It's 3 o'clock in the morning. Why aren't you in bed?"

Harry paused, his back still turned to her, trying to keep his emotions in check. He wiped his eyes discreetly before he turned to face her again. His voice was low, but there was a sense of relief in it.

"I thought you were sleeping," he replied quietly, his gaze dropping to her hand, still clasped in his.

The simple statement hung in the air between them, and for a long moment, Nikki said nothing, just staring at him, trying to understand the depth of everything. And then, as if it was just the two of them in the world, she spoke again, quieter this time.

"Harry..." Her voice trailed off, but there was no need to say more. She had known—somehow, despite everything—that he wasn't going anywhere. Not truly.

Harry took a long breath, his shoulders slumping slightly as he gave in to the weight of everything. He moved closer, his thumb gently brushing across her hand as he spoke again.

"I didn't think I'd get the chance to say this, but I'm just so glad you're awake." His voice cracked a little. "I thought I lost you. I—"

But Nikki, who had been watching him carefully, interrupted him with a soft squeeze of his hand.

"You didn't lose me, Harry. I'm still here. And so are you"

For a moment, Harry said nothing, just taking in the reality of her words, of her presence. And then, finally, he leaned forward, his forehead pressing gently to the edge of the bed, near her hand.

He took a shaky breath, and in a voice barely above a whisper, he said, "I'm not going anywhere, Niks. I promise you that." A small smile creeped over her face and Harry felt her fingers stroking his hair, a gesture they had shared so many times before.

After that, the room quieted down again. Nikki wasn't sure how much time had passed before her body finally gave way to the weight of sleep once more. But when she woke up again, Harry's head was resting softly on the bed, beside her hand. He was still there. He hadn't gone anywhere.