Ashes to Ashes-Dating

BY CAITLIN BROOK

Sitting on her preferable bed, being the striped sofa that Gene occasionally slept on when he was too drunk to drive anywhere, in the sitting room she filled out the form chewing the pen throughout doing so. It was a Sunday morning and the others were either busy with personal lives or down in the pub getting pissed or both. When she'd finished writing she stepped out of the sitting room and into the kitchen where she turned out the lights put on her white leather jacket and stepped out of the front door of the flat turning the key in the lock afterwards. She walked out of her flat and walked into the street and round the corner towards the building she was in only this morning. She walked in greeting the woman at the desk.

'Miss Drake, how nice to see you. How may we be of assistance?'

'I came to hand this in'

She handed her the form and walked away with a goodbye. She went straight back to the flat and plunged herself into the sofa again with a cup of freshly made hot coffee.

He walked into the building and threw the form onto the desk before walking out again. He'd always hated getting people's opinion, especially women. He stormed back to his car and drove straight home.

THE NEXT DAY

'Ma'am post for you'

'Thanks Chris'

Heading to her desk she skimmed the two letters.

'Christopher post!'

'Yes Guv, here you go'

'Do you have to be so rude?'

'Yes Bolly!'

She rolled her eyes and opened the letter not looking down at it but at Gene as he walked into his office. She took a sip of her drink and looked down at the letter gobsmacked spitting out the coffee as though it had scolded her mouth.

'What is it ma'am?'

'Nothing Chris, don't worry'

She looked both amazed, worried and in hysterics although she was still trying to decipher which emotion to show. The hysterics took over and she burst out laughing almost collapsing to the floor to roll around to take it out of her. She was almost crying due to the amount of laughing she was doing. She couldn't breathe either and fell to the floor with a flushed red face all hysteria wiped from her face and all upset taking over.

'Ma'am'

She started to hyperventilate.

'Ray, she can't breath properly'

'Serves her right for laughing so much'

'Ray, she's not joking about it'

'Ray look!'

Chris was pointing to Alex and he turned to face her seeing her breathing improperly. Everyone started to gather around and Gene burst through the door.

'Why aren't you useless lot getting on with your work?'

Chris came over to him and explained what had happened.

'Bols' he said coming through the crowd of officers after sending them back to their desks. She was getting dizzy and was still hyperventilating. He knelt beside her and grabbed her arm. Her eyes were blinking out and her breath was slowing way too fast to be normal. Eventually the breathing stopped and she drooped to the floor. He felt for a pulse.

'Shit!'

'What is it Guv?'

'Get an ambulance!'

'Yes Guv'

'C'mon Bols'

He did compressions on her but there was no outcome of it so he stood and covered his eyes with his hand. He looked down at her. She lay there limp. He looked to her desk.

'What I don't get is what made it happen'

'Same 'ere Chris'

Gene picked up the opened letter.

'She really thought that this is that funny. And how the…oh bollocks!'

'What is it Guv?'

'Nothing you need to know'

He took the letter back to his office after the ambulance drivers had taken Alex to the hospital and Shaz with her. He opened his post and found Alex's form in there.

'Maybe we were meant to be…'

There was a knock at the door and Super Mac entered.

'Sir'

'Gene, where's your DI?'

'Currently on route to the hospital after hyperventilating and almost dying on us'

'God! What happened?'

'A letter she got sent her into hysterics and that caused her to hyperventilate, she recovered too quickly and passed out. I got no pulse, did compressions and got nothing hopefully they'll get her awake again'

'May I see this letter?'

'I'd prefer not'

'Gene…'

Gene passed it over.

'A dating agency…you…I can see why she went into hysterics I might end up joining her myself. I'll keep this between us. It's obviously no-one's fault'