Prologue

If the eyes were the window to the soul then why was no one bothering to peer into Alex's and realise how scared she was?

At first it had just been confusion; not knowing where she was, scarcely remembering what had happened. The shock of being unable to more or speak had shaken her too. But then, as the doctors spoke, less and less started to make sense.

"… we will need to run a number of tests and to check you over during the rest of the day, but right now your daughter is here. Would you like to see her?"

Alex hadn't understood the question. She'd thought that she had misheard and waited for a while in the hope that the doctor would correct his mistake or repeat his words and reveal that he'd said something else entirely. But once again he asked her if she wanted to see her daughter.

Alex tried to express that there was a mistake somewhere along the lines. She hoped that the look in her eyes was enough to show that the doctor must be confusing her with someone else but he carried on looking at her, waiting for her to respond. Since she only had a choice of offering one blink for yes or two for no, the answer had to be no.

She had no children. The doctor was mixing her up with someone else. Children weren't something that she and Gene had ever truly discussed, although right then she couldn't even really remember why. The closest she'd come was having a pregnancy scare when she thought she was suffering from morning sickness that turned out to be caused by Gene insisting the two-week old lasagne was still edible the night before.

But the more the doctor insisted her daughter was there, the more scared she became. Where was Gene? Why wasn't he there? Wouldn't he have been waiting by her side? She looked around, desperately hoping to see him standing nearby but there was no sign of him - at least not within her narrow field of vision.

By the time the doctors had finished prodding and poking her they finally left her alone with her confusion as the sun was rising.

"I'll put the television on for you, dear," a kindly nurse told her, "Give you a little stimulation." She aimed the remote at the screen to switch the set on, then put it back down and left the room.

The television set itself struck Alex as strange. It looked flat, two-dimensional. Perhaps her eyes hadn't adjusted yet, she thought.

As the picture became clear she tried to focus on what she was watching. Pictures of fireworks exploding in the sky, drunken revellers and people dancing filled the screen.

"…And finally," a newsreader concluded, "thousands of people last night celebrated the new year in style with fireworks and lavish celebrations down by the River Thames. Despite the merriment police reported no problems during the celebrations and two thousand and eleven has gotten off to a peaceful start."

The words that Alex heard flowing from the screen to her ears made her heart jolt so severely that she thought some one might come rushing in to check the cardiac activity on the monitors. She felt sick suddenly. It was like Gene's two week old lasagne all over again. For a few moments she thought that it had to be a TV drama, a look at the future, but soon enough the news bulletin ended and an ident for a channel that didn't exist came on before announcing a television programme that she'd never heard of.

She felt more tears come into her eyes. The confusion was giving way to fear and isolation. Where was Gene? Where the hell was he?

All she could do was close her eyes. Close her eyes and hope that - when she opened them - this strange place would be a distant memory and she would be back home with Gene by her side.

~xXx~

As she opened her eyes she could hear his voice again; the voice of that man she didn't know. The one who'd made her promises about the future, a future that she couldn't understand or make head nor tail of. The room swam a little but after blinking a few times she could focus on his face.

Who the hell are you and why are you here?

She wanted to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing. You don't just wander into a hospital and start making a move on the first comatose patient you see! She desperately wanted to regain her ability to speak. She wanted to scream for a doctor, tell them to get the stranger out of her room and to bring her daughter to her side.

Where was Molly? Was she OK? She remembered Evan taking her home. Had no one called him and informed him of her condition?

"You back with me again, Bolly?"

The voice was clear and definite. An accent she couldn't quite place yet but definitely not local. What the hell was he calling her? Did he mean Molly?

She tried to tell him she wasn't Molly, to ask where Molly was, but she couldn't move her lips. The only thing that happened was a slight gurgle emerging from her vocal chords. That much was enough to get her unknown visitor excited and send him rushing to fetch a doctor.

She closed her eyes in anguish. All she wanted was her daughter, her precious little girl. Why was no one bringing her in? Why was no one telling her if Molly was coming to see her or not? A tear slipped from her eye and rolled down her cheek onto the soft, white pillow in the dimly lit room. Despite a stranger who professed his love for her and spoke to her with affection she had never felt so scared and so very much alone.

~xXx~

My name is DI Alex Drake. - + - My name is DCI Alex Drake.

I've just been shot - + - I've just been shot

And that bullet has taken me back - + - And that bullet has taken me forward

To 1995 - + - To 2011

Is it real - + - Is it real

Or in my mind? - + - Or in my mind?

All I know is I need to fight - + - All I know is I need to fight

To get home - + - To get home

To get back to Molly - + - To get back to Gene

And the life that I've lost - + - And the life that I've lost

Because I'm lost, scared - + - Because I'm lost, scared

and all on my own. - + - and all on my own.

Who can I trust? - + - Who can I trust?

I only hope I can - + - I only hope I can

make the right decision - + - make the right decision

And find my way back to 2011 - + - And find my way back to 1995

Before my time runs out - + - Before my time runs out

And I lose Molly - + - And I lose Gene

Forever - + - Forever