Hello there readers! Welcome to my second A2A fic, I'm finally getting used to Gene/Alex, after all my fangirly protective episodes. So, I'm guessing you want to know all about this fic, eh? Well, I thought the ending to ep 1.6 of A2A didn't exactly cut it for me, so my mind made up a different one. Apologies. Hope it's alright. Please review, I love comments, good and bad. Thanks!

'Come on Alex, you'll be OK,' Gene muttered to the limp form of the woman he had draped over his arms as he kicked in a door, allowing him to pass through to the restaurant area of Alla Casa, Chas Cale's steakhouse.

Gene arrived just in time, shattering his way in, a desperate attempt to reach Alex before it was too late.

Laying her gently down on a nearby couch and kneeling beside it, Gene tore one or two buttons off her turquoise satin top and prepared to resuscitate her.

Clamping his leather-gloved hands together, he muttered to himself, 'I've bloody dreamt about doing this.'

As he pressed firmly yet gently on her chest, his mind was racing, contemplating all possible outcomes of the situation. He willed her to suddenly catch her breath and wake, to find him inches from her face, and pull him in to an embrace.

'Don't you dare,' he snarled, hoping that she wouldn't hear the anger in his voice, only the sentiments that lay in the undertones. He didn't want her to leave, she couldn't, not now.

After no sign of Alex regaining consciousness, Gene leant closer to her chest in order to hear a heartbeat, a signal, a lifeline.

Realising that the only option left was to prepare mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Gene rolled his eyes, leant forward and cupped her chin with his leather-clad hand. As he neared closer to her lips, he backed away to save face. He wouldn't want his DI to wake up and find him taking advantage of her unconscious state.

He thumped against her chest with clasped hands again, still taking care not to hurt her, but pushing enough to restart her system.

No luck.

A switch flicked in Gene's mind. This wasn't going to work. He felt something sting violently behind his eyes, causing him to blink hard, contemplating that there may be no hope for her.

'Not now, Bolly, you can't leave me now,' he muttered, using his pet-name for her as a way of blocking out his underlying feelings for her.

He kept his gaze firmly set on her closed eyes, the blue eyeshadow-tinted lids concealing them, while he fumbled by her side to find her hand, and entwined her fingers tightly with his, the black leather disabling the freezing cold that emitted from her. Raising their entwined hands to his lips and kissing her delicate, bare hand, Gene's eyes began to sting again.

'You can't, you're not going to, not now, stay with me,' Gene whispered as softly as his gruff voice could, but was drowned out by the echoing sirens of an ambulance flanked by two police cars.

Reluctant to let go of her stony hands, Gene slid both hands underneath her to lift her up once again, draping her carefully over his arms, as he carried her through the shattered window to a stretcher which was being erected just behind the ambulance outside.

Laying her lifeless body down, he grasped her hand once again as the ambulance driver pushed the stretcher into the rear of the ambulance, with Gene walking by the side and clambering inside the vehicle, all the while keeping hold of her hand gently.

Gene settled down on the small bench beside the stretcher in the ambulance as the driver slammed both doors shut, leaving Alex and Gene alone.

'All the things I've wanted to say, Alex, you can't go now,' he muttered as he kissed her hand again, then leant towards her head. Brushing away her frozen perm curls with the other hand, Gene gently pressed his lips to her forehead, closing his eyes and picturing her waking up. Any moment now.

'You see, these, these men, they can help you more than I ever could,' Gene said as he tightened his grip on her fragile hand in reassurance.

'I hope you don't think bad of me for saying this, but I need you, Alex, we all need you, and this station would be nothing without your la-de-da bollocks,' Gene tried to express his feelings by avoiding the three words he wanted to say the most.

Sorry, I love cliffhangers. Anyway, second chapter's up now, so please read on, and don't forget to review, feedback from readers is love!