Disclaimer: ABC own the characters; no profit is being made.

(following "I'm Just Wilde About Harry")

*

"These make lovely gifts. Shopping for a wedding, are we?"

The clerk winked and rang up another pale green towel on the register. Diane looked up at her dubiously as she dug around in her purse for her credit cards.

"I know it's not a silver service or anything like that, but a new couple really needs things like these. How many times are they going to get out the fancy stuff anyways? But a nice set of towels, there's something they are
going to use every, single day."

"Right." Diane smiled weakly, trying to be polite.

"You could save ten percent if you opened an account with us."

"No, just the towels, please. And I'll need the biggest plastic bag you've got. It's really coming down outside."

Diane quickly paid for her purchase, and hefted the heavy bag out to her car. One more stop and she could head home with all her new treasures.  She pulled back out into traffic and wiped a lock of dripping hair back out of her eyes.

The driving November rain didn't dampen her mood as she drove along. She was making a fresh start, and this was a ritual she had followed before.

*

"Come on, come on..."  She jiggled the key back and forth, trying not to drop her carefully balanced load. As the lock clicked open, Diane nearly fell inside the door. She bumped clumsily into the side board behind the couch and chided herself, "Mental note, move the dang table."

It was dark outside and just past dinner time, but instead of eating, she set to work putting everything it its place.  After about an hour, she stepped back and surveyed her new apartment. The walls had beautiful walnut
wainscoting which rose up to meet antique ivory wallpaper. There was no fireplace, but the large window seat which looked out on two chestnut trees across the street more than made up for it.  And to her absolute delight, the new items she bought perfectly matched the tiled bathroom and giant clawfoot tub.

This was an unfamiliar neighbourhood to Diane, but the small apartment had an old, elegant interior that she found irresistible. She could no longer afford the place that she and Bobby had lived in with their combined incomes. It just wasn't home anymore anyway.

Finding a new home was a depressing task at first. By the time she got off work in the early evenings it was already dark and she didn't feel much like driving all over the city to inspect apartments. Yet, fate had intervened. Once a new and dear friend found this spot for Diane, her whole world brightened considerably.

Having neglected the grocery shopping, she put together a small dinner made up of crackers, cheese, a sliced apple and a cup of cocoa on a tray which she carried to the window seat. She set the tray down carefully, and sat cross legged on the long, upholstered cushion.

As she relaxed into the evening she let out a sigh and whispered as she looked out the window, "Thanks, Katherine. You were right."

*

Diane woke late on Sunday morning and rushed to get out the door. The hospital was a 20 minute drive from her new place and she hurried to grab breakfast at a drive- thru along the way.

Almost a month had passed since Harry had nearly died in the emergency room. His recovery had been aided along by a steady stream of visitors.

Mostly female, Diane noted.

But last week, while trying to help Diane move her furniture in the rain, Harry overdid it and spiked a high fever later that night at his apartment.  Apparently, his immune system wasn't quite up to the challenge. He ended up
right back in the emergency room with pneumonia.

As she entered the hallway next to the second floor nurses' station, Diane could hear a woman's voice coming from Harry's room. She had become accustomed to Harry's sisters popping in and out, and waited outside thinking one of them was back to tease and cheer her little brother.

"I don't know what to think. You said you would support me, Harry!"

"Calm down and lower your voice. We've gone over this."

"Well, things have changed and I need more money."

"I seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage here. Refresh my memory. How many times have you come to me needing more. Three? Five?  I've lost track."

This was definitely NOT one of Harry's sisters, Diane thought. She looked around to see if anyone was watching and inched closer to the half open door.

"Come on, Harry. You know you're the only one I can go to," the female voice whined.

"Excuse me if I don't feel quite up to omnipotence today, Grace. You know you shouldn't be here. What if she sees you? Do you know what kind of position that would put me in?"

Harry broke off in a coughing spasm.

"Listen, I know you're not feelin' too good, but you'll be out of here in no time. Just tuck in a couple of extra hundreds next month, okay? Please, Harry?"

"Grace..."

"It's your duty. And I know you always live up to your responsibilities, dont' cha, Detective?"

"Why in the hell did I ever agree..."

"Hey, I'm doin' my part. Give me some credit! This isn't exactly a picnic for me either."

"All right, all right." He coughed again. "I apologize. My illness is no excuse for bad manners. You deserve more than that. But after the adoption, this will end. Are we still clear on that?"

"As crystal. I won't ever darken your door."

"Now, now. Things will just go back to the way they were before, that's all."

"I love ya, Hare."

"You'd better go. If she sees you..."

"Yeah, big drama, I know."

Diane quickly stepped back into the doorway of the next room down and tried to make herself invisible. She couldn't help stealing a look around the corner as a very pretty, very pregnant young woman left Harry's room and headed for the elevator.

*

He was standing at the window, leaning hard on one arm against the wall as he coughed. Lines draped from his other arm and connected him to an IV bag hanging from a pole near the bed. The hospital gown offered a revealing view of Harry's backside, and Diane struggled to suppress a grin as she came up along side of him.

"Good news. I'm all settled. Your Mom sure knows how to pick em'," she said as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I guess you won't be needing any more of my manly strength to help you move then," he replied in between coughs. "Movin' heavy stuff in a deluge of rain was a nice change of pace, though."

She laughed a little,"Yeah, now you can go back to the safe and easy life of the NYPD."

"Right." He drew in a big breath and continued, "My Mother thinks this is some sort of message from the Almighty Himself. He's knockin' me down to get me to take an account of the detrimental toll of this line of work."

Harry reached over a put his arm around her shoulder, as he turned for the bed, "I gotta tell you, this makes a hangover feel pretty good by comparison."

"You need a drink, Harry?"

He looked at her and then grimaced as he shook his head. "It's lost it's charm."

Diane sat down with him on the side of the bed, and plopped the little brown bag she'd been carrying onto his lap. "Surprise. I even remembered the Tabasco."

"Why they don't just put it right on the McMuffin when you order it, I'll never know," he said as he kissed her cheek and opened the bag. "It's the condiment of the gods."

"So I've heard."

As she watched him carefully season his favorite breakfast, she replayed parts of his conversation with his previous visitor in her mind. Who was this woman and why was Harry supporting her? Had he gotten her pregnant? Why was he keeping it such a secret?

The more she thought, the more her mood began to fall.  She knew she should interpret an unknown situation in favor of Harry, but the sight of that gorgeous, pregnant woman was burning into her heart.

Diane felt the pang of her own miscarriage again, and a unexpected surge swept over her like a cold wave. What was she feeling? Envy? Jealousy? She didn't know but it made her sick to her stomach.

"I gotta get down to the station," she stammered as she stood suddenly.

Harry coughed again, and looked up at her.

She avoided his eyes and came up with an excuse. "I agreed to take a shift today, to... to make up for some of the lost time I've put in.

"Lost time? Oh, sorry."

"I'll call you later. You, uh, get some rest, okay?"

"Yeah." He held up his food. "Thanks for breakfast. I'm starting to think the so-called 'food' they offer in this establishment in another of the Almighty's mysterious messages."

He kissed her hand, and watched her leave. Her tense expression answered the question he was thinking when Diane appeared just after Grace left. Then, as he took a big bite of his McMuffin, he muttered to himself, "Dammit."

*

Diane didn't call later, and she didn't call the next day either. The brief note she left at the nurses station only served as a cursory explanation. Something about a new case that was taking up her time.

Harry pulled on a black sweater and zipped his duffle bag shut.

He was being discharged to recuperate at home. No work for another week, they said,  and then only desk work for at least a month. He had instinctively scoffed at their recommendations at first, but now his common sense was trying to take over. Maybe he should take some time...

"All set, Mr. Denby?"

"Yes, I believe I am ready to find my way home," he replied hoarsely to the nurse.

"You really shouldn't drive just yet. Is someone coming for you?" she asked as she held out more papers for him to sign.

"The finest transport of the free world."

"Good. Now, here's your antibiotics, and these are for pain. You might try sleeping with your head and shoulders propped up for a couple of nights. If you should develop a fever again, you get right back here on the double, all right?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Harry thanked the other nurses as he left, and gingerly made his way to the hospital lobby. His sides still felt as if he has been hit with baseball bats for two days. Just carrying his small bag left him breathless and wincing slightly.

An attractive brunette bustled past him, laughing and carrying a large bunch of flowers toward the reception desk. Her dark curls hung down her back like chestnut ribbons.

Feeling even heavier with thoughts of Diane, he slowly lowered himself into a chair and waited for his cab to arrive.

*

"You sure this is where you want me to drop you off?"

Harry slid out of the back seat and kicked his bag onto the curb. "This is the place. How much do I owe you?"

"Fifteen, pal"

Harry tossed the cabbie a twenty and shut the door. The cold was a shock and he shivered reflexively. Then as the cab pulled away, he picked up his duffle and made his way to the front door of the 15th station house.

On the way over in the cab, Harry decided to tell Diane about Grace. He had to learn to confide in someone.

He had to learn to trust.

As he walked inside he got a mixture of greetings and glancing looks. His reputation was hovering somewhere between infamy and notoriety, and most simply didn't know what to make of a man like Harry Denby.

Friend or foe? No one was really sure.

Eyeing the long flight of stairs, he left his bag at the front desk as he began his climb to where he hoped she was.

End