Gob-Smacked

Leo pondered what to do. Harry had always, really, been like a son to him. Nikki, too, the last few years, had been almost like a daughter – though she could never have taken the place of his real daughter, she did at least help to fill the aching void that Cassie's death had left. And Harry and Nikki were so close, the three of them were like a little family. True, he had Janet, now, but she was simply like another part of the family. Would saying anything to Harry and Nikki rip their little family apart – or bring them closer together? The tensions were beginning to be unbearable.

He remembered with a grimace the state Nikki had been in when she discovered Harry had gone back, and she thought he'd be blown to smithereens by the bomb. Granted, he'd been almost beside himself as well, having discovered that, having saved Nikki (he hadn't known until much later that in reality she hadn't been in as much danger as he'd at first thought), he was potentially on the brink of losing Harry as well. He'd pulled Nikki into a bear-hug and let her sob on his shoulder about losing Harry, her best friend, wondering what on earth she'd do without him… and her relief when he was okay.

The problem was, he thought grimly, that although everybody else could see the obvious attraction between them, their closeness, their love for each other, Harry and Nikki themselves just didn't see it. Or perhaps they did see it, and were trying to avoid the issue – either in front of the rest of the world, or to themselves, or possibly both. Sitting them down and pointing it out to them in words of one syllable was always an option, but a potentially dangerous one – knowing Harry, at least, he'd probably deny it anyway, make some joke about it and laugh it off. Nikki would be cool and amused on the surface to try to hide her confusion and embarrassment at being caught out. No; if he was going to do it, he had to do it far, far more subtly than that. Bring them to an understanding of the situation without playing the heavy father role. Much as they loved him – and he knew they did, in their way – they were hardly going to thank him for actually acting like a father to a couple of teenage delinquents. Sometimes, he wondered if the teenage delinquents wouldn't have been easier to handle.

He gazed out of the window, mug of coffee cradled in one hand. He watched Nikki, just coming back from her lunch break with a bag of shopping – he'd asked her to get a few bits and pieces for Harry's birthday. Cake, candles, nibbles… they'd come up with a list, and he'd promised to go halves with her. She'd grinned, and told him he might regret it later if he didn't give her a budget. He chuckled – such a typical Nikki remark. He'd played it safe, anyway, and given her a budget.

She poked an inquiring head around his door a few minutes later. "Safe," he told her, motioning her to come in, and helping her to stash the bag where Harry wouldn't be able to find it. "He hasn't come back from lunch yet. I asked him to get me a particular sandwich from the coffee shop, and I know that they're both very busy at this time of day, and have run out of those sandwiches, because I checked on my way in this morning, and they have their deliveries in the afternoon."

"You're evil," laughed Nikki. "Next time you ask me to get you a sandwich, I'm going to wonder what you're up to, you realise."

He pulled a face. "I'll have to think of something else, then, won't I?" His mobile bleeped, and he grinned. "Leo speaking. Oh, Harry…oh, don't they? That's a shame. No, don't worry… oh, chicken salad would be fine. Thanks, Harry."

Nikki shook her head in amusement. "Evil," she repeated, before heading towards her own desk. "Evil evil evil."

You don't know the half of it, he thought, wondering exactly how he could get through to them. He took another swig of coffee.

Nikki hesitated at the door. "Leo? Is everything okay?"

"Just thinking about Cassie," he half-lied, feeling guilty when a look of sympathy clouded Nikki's face. "Oh, nothing like that," he added hastily. "Do you think she'd mind? If I were to have children with Janet?"

Nikki thought about it, and he felt touched that she'd give so much time to such an idiotic question. "Well, why would she?" she asked slowly. "I mean… would she have minded if she'd had brothers and sisters? Other than the usual trouble you might expect when an only child suddenly becomes the oldest, I mean. Would it make that much of a difference?"

"I meant… it's not being… I don't know," he sighed.

"She'll still always be your daughter, Leo," she said gently. "No matter how many other children you have, Cassie will always be your daughter, and you'll always remember her as your firstborn. Having other children doesn't change that. You're not… dishonouring her memory by having other children, any more than you're dishonouring Teresa's memory by being with Janet. Don't you think they'd want you to move on, and have a proper life, rather than living in the past?"

"I suppose so," he sighed. He smiled. "You're very wise, sometimes, you know, Nikki."

She shrugged. "Just observant."

He pondered a moment. "So what would you do about a couple of friends who are obviously besotted with each other, but seem completely oblivious to the fact?"

She pulled a face. "God, Leo, I don't know! I'm not the best person to ask about love lives, really…"

"Hmm… oh well. It was worth a try."

She gave him a puzzled look, and went back to work.

Harry jogged in a few minutes later. "Sorry, Leo. The queue in there was horrendous, and when I got there, they didn't have what you wanted."

Leo waved away the apology. "Doesn't matter, you're back now. Have you eaten?"

"Yes, why?"

"Shame. I was going to ask you to do a PM on a body that came in while you were out at lunch, but you don't want to be doing that when you've got a full stomach."

"Bad?"

Leo went slightly green just thinking about it, and he'd seen enough corpses that, frankly, that didn't happen often. "Bad," he agreed.

"I'll do it," offered Nikki. "What are we talking about – missing limbs, burns, ruptured body cavity, decomp?"

Leo blinked. "Try all of the above, with a few others into the bargain. When I said the body came in… well, it came in various bags. We think they're the same body, but we don't know."

Nikki pushed her chair back. "Guess there's only one way to find out," she said brightly, exiting the room.

"You know," said Harry slowly, "I've never understood how she can do that."

"Do what?"

"Make a post mortem of a decomposing, dismembered body sound like doing a jigsaw puzzle, only more fun."

Leo smothered a laugh. "I think it's good that she enjoys her job so much," he said smoothly.

"I think it's weird that she likes dismembered bodies," he grouched.

"There's a nice thing to say about your best friend," teased Leo. "Especially when she's not here to defend herself."

Harry smirked. "You think I'm stupid enough to say things like that in front of her? I'm hurt."

Leo simply rolled his eyes. "I can think of many things I could describe you as, Harry, but stupid has never been one of them. Stubborn, hot-headed… but not stupid."

"I'll take that as a compliment," grinned Harry.

Leo feigned a hesitation. "Harry… you're probably closer to Nikki than I am. Is everything okay? She seemed a bit… oh, I don't know… not herself, the last couple of days."

Harry frowned. "Well, she's been a bit quieter than normal ever since… you know…"

"I know. It… shook her up, you know. She'd never let you see it, of course, but she was beside herself with worry about you."

Harry's expression softened. "Just as well I didn't know what she'd managed to get herself into, otherwise you'd have had two of us to contend with."

"You think it's just that, though? The aftermath of that?" he persisted.

"Well, she hasn't said anything else, but I'll see if I can get her to talk. We were planning on having a quiet evening in this evening."

Leo jumped at the gift of a comment. "Oh, are you two… you know… together?"

"Oh… no, not like that," replied Harry hastily. "Just as friends. We often end up chilling out together on a Friday night."

"Oh," said Leo, letting his disappointment show. "Sorry."

"Not that I'd mind," admitted Harry softly. "If we were, I mean."

Leo looked at him intently, somehow unsurprised that Harry had been the easier nut to crack. "I think most men would say the same," he said carefully. "She's a lovely girl, after all."

Harry scowled. "Not after her yourself, Leo?"

He chuckled. "Jealous, Harry? No. Nikki's as much of a daughter to me as you're a son. And anyway, I'm very happy with Janet, thank you." He noticed with affection that Harry relaxed a little. "If you like her so much, why don't you ask her out?"

Harry sighed. "Well, we have to work together, and she's my best friend. Just think what a rejection would do to that."

Leo drained the last of his coffee. "You're assuming it'll be a rejection, then?" he asked conversationally.

"Well, I…"

Leo grinned at him. "You never know your luck. Maybe that's Nikki's problem – she's eating her heart out over you, thinking that the devilishly handsome, charming Dr. Cunningham doesn't even notice her as anything more than a friend!"

"Easy, Leo, or I might start thinking you fancy me, too," laughed Harry.

Leo chuckled. "Think about it, Harry. You never know. She might be feeling the same way, and be just as worried about wrecking everything as you are, and so not want to say anything."

"Suppose," he said non-committally.

Leo shrugged, and went back to his desk; his work was done for the time being, and it had been considerably easier than he'd thought.

***

Nikki sipped her wine thoughtfully.

"You okay?" asked Harry quietly.

"Mm. Sorry, I was just thinking about Leo. Something he said to me earlier," she replied.

"Oh?"

"He was talking about Cassie. He hasn't mentioned her in a long time."

A spasm of pain crossed Harry's face, as Cassie's face flashed before him, pale, devoid of life, dead. He'd hated doing the post mortem on her and her mother, knowing who they were, but he couldn't have refused Leo that for the world. "What about her?"

"If she'd mind if he had children with Janet." She turned to face him, tucking her feet underneath her. "Do you think she would have done?"

"Why should she?"

"That's more or less what I said," she sighed. "I don't know if it was what he wanted to hear or not."

Harry thought about it for a moment. "I wonder…"

"What?"

"He said something to me about you being like a daughter to him. I just wonder if he was… well, getting your permission, almost. Like getting Cassie's permission by proxy."

"He hardly needs permission," she objected.

"Maybe he felt he did. Or maybe he just wanted corroboration of his own feelings on it."

"Maybe."

He was silent for a moment. "Nikki… is everything okay?"

She gave him an odd look. "I'm fine."

"You'd tell me if there was anything wrong… wouldn't you?"

She shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. "If it was something I thought you could help with, yes."

"So there's something wrong, and you think I can't help," he concluded.

"I didn't say that," she protested. "I just said…"

"Nikki," he persisted, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied. Changing the subject, she asked lightly, "so, any plans for your birthday? Going out Monday night?"

There was silence for a moment, as Harry recalled Leo's words earlier. "Sure," he said, taking a gulp of wine for courage, "if you'll join me for dinner."

The look on her face would have been priceless if he could have been sure that it was a good reaction. "You're… asking me out for dinner?" It came out squeaky and very un-Nikki-like.

It was Harry's turn to shift uncomfortably. "Well, yeah. I think I just did," he said awkwardly. "If you'd like to, I mean. No pressure. I…"

"I, um… I'd love to," she stuttered, flushing. "If, um… if you're sure."

He nodded. "I'm sure." He drained the last of his wine. "I guess we'd better go straight from work."

She nodded, getting up and following him to the door. "Yeah, I'll bring something to change into."

He hesitated at the front door. "Well, I'd best be off."

She gave a disappointed smile. "Okay. Well, I'll see you Monday, then."

"See you Monday." Feeling suddenly emboldened, he dropped a gentle kiss to her lips before letting himself out, not daring to look back.

If he had, he would have seen Nikki's look of flushed surprise as she touched her lips in disbelief. Only took you three years to get around to doing that again.

***

"So," said Leo, picking up a few stray cake crumbs on the end of his finger, "are you doing anything interesting this evening?"

Nikki looked slightly uncomfortable, but Harry smiled. "I'm taking Nikki out for dinner."

"You are not!" she said hotly. At his hurt look, she amended, "it's your birthday, Harry. I'm taking you out."

"No you're not," he countered. "Whoever heard of a gentleman letting a lady pay for a first date? I'm paying, and that's final."

After a few minutes more argument, Leo waded in. "Why don't you just go halves?" he said wearily. "It would be so much less hassle."

Nikki turned to look at him; she'd forgotten, in the heat of the argument, that her boss was there. "You don't mind?"

"You arguing, or going halves?" he quipped.

She rolled her eyes. "Us. Dating."

"Mind?" snorted Leo in reply, heading towards the door. "Frankly, Nikki… about bloody time!"

'Gob-smacked' was the only way Harry could think of describing her reaction to Leo the next morning.