Wade in the Water

Harry Cunningham didn't like Richard Hargreaves.

He told himself that it was because Nikki's latest conquest was, to all intents and purposes, a royal pain-in-the-arse; arrogant, big-headed ... hugely charismatic and good-looking. He didn't like to dwell too much on why he hated him just that little bit more than Leo did, why he'd fantasised many times at swinging a punch at the accountant's jaw, why he could think of a very good place for the idiot to shove his superiority.

Sighing, Harry drained his mug of coffee – for, although it was Sunday, he was still on call – and sank onto his sofa, channel-flicking for a while. That was when his phone buzzed. Strangely, he had an inkling as to what the text would say before he'd opened it. He was right.

He left me.

That was all she'd put. He stood and gathered his car keys. He'd known that it wouldn't last. Men like Richard were only after one thing, and women like Nikki deserved a lot better. From the moment she'd told him that she thought she was falling in love with Richard-the-charming-and-utterly-amazing-accountant, Harry had been waiting for it all to fall apart. Not so that he could say 'I told you so', but so that he was ready to be there for her when no one else was.

He wasn't driving for long; knew exactly where she'd be. It was a little place she'd brought him to post-Hungary. A small wooden bridge crossing a large stream in the park near her apartment block. It was quiet, secluded, often deserted. A place to think.

Rain had started to fall when Harry arrived. More drizzle, really, but it prickled at his face as he walked through the park towards the small copse of trees that hid the bridge.

She was leaning against the wooden railing when he approached, gazing at the pebbles in the stream. Her immaculate hair had been flattened by the rain and her brown jacket was so damp it had darkened a shade.

"I thought I might find you here," he said softly, standing beside her and gently brushing her elbow with his fingers.

Her eyes were glazed with tears when she turned to look at him. "I wasn't expecting you to turn up."

He knew that wasn't true; they were both aware that he would show up. But he shrugged anyway and said, "I wanted to make sure you were okay. So, Dick's gone, has he?"

"I asked you not to call him that," she muttered, but a smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she turned her attention back to the lapping water.

"He was an idiot, Nikki. He doesn't realise what he's missing out on."

"He said I asked for too much, too soon," she confided in him.

"And did you?" he challenged.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. He was a player, that's all. He wasn't remotely ready for any kind of commitment."

Harry watched her for a moment, trying to gage her emotions. Normally he can read her like a book, but right now she was more guarded than usual. The barriers that usually aren't an obstacle for him, were, for once, blocking his path.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really," she replied, but he'd known that.

He placed his hand over hers on the railing. She looked at it for a moment, before turning her own hand over and lacing her fingers with his.

"You deserve better than him, Nikki," he told her. "You deserve someone who loves you for who you are, someone who can give you what you want."

"And where is this elusive 'someone', Harry? Answer me that." She looked him in the eye, challenging him, her gaze firmly holding his.

Harry swallowed hard. "I don't know."

A tear slid down her cheek. She turned her head to look in front of her again. "No, I thought not."

Part of him desperately wanted to scream that the someone she was looking for was standing right beside her, but he couldn't summon up the courage to say it. Fear of rejection, of ruining their incredible friendship, stopped him from saying how he truly felt.

"There never will be 'someone', and do you want to know why?"

He wasn't sure that he did, but he nodded anyway.

"Because no one can ever fall in love with me. They don't understand the job, the long hours ... the nightmares. They don't get that sometimes on a Friday night all I want to do is sit in my pyjamas and watch a soppy film with a tub of ice cream. I come with baggage ... My past wasn't the easiest childhood to have. I have issues, and they're part of who I am, but all anyone ever sees is that I'm just a little bit screwed up because of my dead mother and waste-of-space father." She took a deep breath before continuing. "All I want is someone who's going to be there for me no matter what. But I don't see that happening any time soon, do you?"

Sighing, he placed a finger on her chin and gently turned her head so that she was looking at him. He needed to tell her. He had to make her see just how amazing she was, and if that meant laying his heart on the line and risking everything, so be it. He opened his mouth to speak, but they were interrupted by the shrill ringing of his phone.

"Damn!" he exclaimed, just a little too loudly, as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He turned his back to Nikki as Leo told him the details of a case on the other end of the line. When he hung up the phone and turned back around, the spell had been broken. Nikki was once again staring into the stream.

"That was Leo," he explained. "I'm on call, I have to go."

She just nodded.

He hesitated. "Will you be all right?"

"I'm fine. You can go, Harry."

He tried to give her what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he squeezed her hand one final time, before turning and trudging back to his car, cursing the interruption. They'd been so close. That pivotal moment that they'd been putting off for years had been at the tips of his fingers, yet had slipped from his grasp once again. Grumbling to himself, Harry slammed his car door shut behind him and pulled away from the edge of the road.

. . .
. .

Darkness had fallen by the time he'd left the lab and the rain was hammering down. It was late. He'd been working on a hit-and-run victim all afternoon and was exhausted. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep. Yet, somehow, he found himself standing in the pouring rain on the pavement outside Nikki's apartment block.

Earlier, by the bridge, what he was going to tell her had seemed so simple. Now it seemed like the most impossible handful of words that he was ever going to have to say. He had no idea how she was going to react, whether she'd want to speak to him again or not. But he knew that he had to try. He couldn't keep prolonging the inevitable. He thought he was happy, but it was really only making both of them miserable.

One of Nikki's neighbours appeared, making to leave the building, and he knew that this was his chance. Running up the steps, he slipped through the open door before it closed. Right, now he was inside, there was no going back. Slowly, he trudged up the steps towards Nikki's flat. He still had no idea what he was going to say, but hoped that when he saw her, inspiration would strike.

Finally, he found himself standing outside her front door. He knocked harshly before running a hand through his short hair, trying to shake off all the water that he could. A moment later and Nikki's head appeared through the crack in the door.

"Harry?" she exclaimed, surprised, stepping back to open the door wider. "Why are you so wet?"

"It's raining," he told her, rather pointlessly, as he walked past her and into the lounge.

She was in her skinny jeans with a loose, long-sleeved top. Her, now dry, hair was up in a loose bun and her toes wriggled in thick, fluffy socks. It struck him just how beautiful she was in that moment. Then he noticed her enquiring gaze. He remembered what she'd said to him on the bridge, and suddenly everything was simple again.

"I understand the job," he told her, ignoring her puzzled look. "I work the same hours as you, I get the same nightmares. There have been many Friday nights where I've sat with you watching a corny film."

A look of dawning comprehension began to spread across her face. She was looking nervous now. Stepping towards her, he took his hands in hers and continued.

"You're not the only one who has issues, believe me. What you went through, and what you retain from that, makes you an even better person than you are already. You never fail to amaze me, Nikki. I have seen you at your lowest, and at your most dazzling best. Being there for you, no matter what, has become an integral part of my life, because I can't imagine not going out for drinks with you, or not holding you when you cry or not being by your side as you laugh. A laugh which, by the way, lights up a room."

By now, Nikki was half-smiling, half-sobbing, her grip on his hands vice-like.

"I love you, Nikki Alexander. You just have to let me."

She wiped away the tears from her cheeks with a shaky laugh. "Only you, Harry, can make me laugh and cry at the same time."

"What can I say? I'm a multi-talented kinda guy."

"Who loves me?" she questioned quietly.

"Who loves you," he confirmed.

With a smile, Nikki grabbed the front of his jacket with her fists so that her knuckles were pressed against his chest, stood on tiptoes, and pressed her lips to his quickly.

He, too, was grinning broadly when she pulled away. "I wanted to tell you earlier," he said, brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face. "But, y'know, dead guy got in the way."

"You're here now," she muttered. "That's all that matters."

Smiling, Harry placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, crushing his lips against hers once more.

Maybe he started out hating Richard Hargreaves, but, really, he ought to thank him. For, if he hadn't been such a smug bastard, then Harry probably wouldn't be here now. And this was the only place he wanted to be.

I'm not really sure about the ending of this one-shot, but ho hum pig's bum. It's an idea that's been playing on my mind for a while and I wanted to get it down.

I hope you liked it! Reviews are much appreciated! :)

Charlotte
xxx