Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding Ashes to Ashes; I'm just a fan of the TV show and the characters. I have reedited this fic since it was first published, but the story is unchanged. It was originally written during the hiatus between series 2 and 3, hence the AU version of events. Thank you for reading and reviewing. – Mrs P.
Til Death Do Us Part
Chapter 1
There were only a couple of days until Chris and Shaz's wedding, and the gang were gathered in their usual spot at Luigi's. Almost three months had passed since Gene had accidentally shot Alex, and although her physical wound had healed well, the psychological trauma still lingered. The damage done by her false return home, coupled with the breakdown of trust in her relationship with Gene had been harder to repair, and things between them were still fragile. There had been some brief moments of warmth between them during the Christmas and New Year festivities. She had even kissed him as 1982 ended and 1983 began, it was only a quick and chaste peck, but it was enough to give Gene hope that all was not lost between them. The whole team had been through the mill, with Chris's betrayal and the fallout from Operation Rose. But they were trying to move on, and the wedding seemed a good opportunity for everyone to come together in celebration and leave the past behind, if only for a day. Ray was being his usual obstinate self though, particularly where the subject of wedlock was concerned.
"You won't catch me walking down the aisle. Love 'em and leave 'em, that's me," he said.
"That's only because no woman's daft enough to have you." Shaz said with exasperation.
She was growing weary with Ray's constant attempts to rain on her parade.
He threw her a look of annoyance and took a swig from his pint leaving Chris, who had been gazing at his fiancé lovingly, to pipe up.
"I can't wait to get wed; I think marriage is a wonderful thing." he said smiling and gazing into Shaz's eyes.
"Poof," Ray muttered dismissively.
"Sorry Chris, but you're talking to two divorcees and a confirmed bachelor here," Alex said apologetically.
"I didn't know you'd been married, Ma'am," Shaz said with surprise.
"Hmm, well, I'm not sure now is the right time to go into my failed attempt at matrimony."
She frowned at the memories of her marriage to Peter Drake, but it had attracted Gene's interest and he shifted his attention to her. He fixed Alex with his penetrating gaze, while all the time trying to glean something from her demeanour. She had never really talked about her ex-husband and he was curious.
"It can't have been all bad though?" Shaz asked hopefully, wanting some reassurance that not all marriages were doomed.
Alex looked uncomfortable and was unsure about continuing, especially as she had noticed that Gene's curiosity had been piqued, but she took a breath and replied.
"No, it wasn't all bad, in fact we had some really wonderful times in the early days, but he let me down in the worst possible way," she said with sadness.
"What, another woman?" Gene chipped in and then immediately regretted his interjection.
Alex looked slightly hurt as she met his gaze, but she answered him.
"No, not another woman, other women, I mean why stop at one, right? It seems he couldn't resist any bit of cheap goods that threw themselves at him. Still, some men are like that, aren't they?" She said pointedly.
Gene shifted uncomfortably in his seat feeling stung by the barely veiled reference to his dalliance with Jenette, and he felt a stab of guilt even though he hadn't technically betrayed Alex, after all they weren't together. He still felt bad over it though, and even more so because he knew it was Alex he had wanted all the time. Jenette had only ever been a case of any port in a storm, and the knowledge of that, in light of the circumstances of his accidentally shooting Alex, disgusted him.
The atmosphere suddenly seemed a little strained, and Shaz cut in to quickly change the subject.
"I hope you're going to behave yourself tomorrow night," she warned Chris.
"My cousin Terry will be keeping an eye on you, just in case," she hated to think what would happen on his stag do.
"He'll be lucky if he can remember his own name when we've finished with him." Ray said smugly.
"Don't worry baby, I'll be on my best behaviour, I won't let you down," Chris said reassuringly, as his best friend rolled his eyes.
"It's not you I'm worried about," Shaz said as she shot Ray a warning glance.
The evening wore on and Alex ended up being sat alone with Shaz, as their male companions were otherwise occupied. Her young friend noticed that she seemed to be a little distracted.
"I Hope I didn't upset you earlier, Ma'am, asking about your marriage I mean?" Shaz inquired; concerned that she was responsible for her reflective state.
"No, no, it's fine. I'm alright really, it's just, well, when you've been let down so badly by someone you trusted, someone you loved, it hurts." Alex replied with sadness.
"Are we still talking about your ex-husband here?" She asked tentatively as she had long wondered how deep her DI's feelings for the Guv ran.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
Alex tried to be evasive although she knew full well who Shaz was referring to, and her eyes unconsciously wandered over to Gene, who was chatting to Ray at the bar. She felt herself blushing as she realised her friend had noticed her sly glance in the Guv's direction.
"What about you? No second thoughts?" Alex asked.
She was desperately trying to turn the spotlight off of herself and back onto the impending wedding.
"No, I can't wait to be Mrs Skelton. I know Chris isn't perfect but he's perfect for me, and I love him so much," Shaz said with conviction.
"He's a lucky man," Alex said returning her warm smile.
Chris came walking back over towards them from his visit to the gents, and he and Shaz prepared to leave. They said they had a few last minute preparations to be getting on with, although Alex suspected they just wanted to be alone for a while before the madness of the wedding took over. They began to say their goodbyes, and Shaz moved over to her friend so that she could tell her one last thing.
"Chris made a terrible mistake and it broke my heart, but I knew deep down that I had to forgive him, or my heart would stay broken forever," she looked over at Gene as she spoke and hoped Alex knew the point she was trying to make.
DI Drake managed a weak smile as she hugged Shaz, and wished her and Chris goodnight. She was ready to call it a night too, and as Ray made his exit, she felt uneasy about being alone with Gene. There had been so much left unsaid between them, although they had tentatively reconciled after she had awoken from her 1982 coma. It was mostly because Alex was hurting too badly to face any more showdowns, and Gene had wanted things to get back to normal as quickly as possible. He had never been one for confronting issues that might expose his deeper emotions, and he had been only too happy to paper over the cracks. However, neither of them could keep ignoring the fact that things between them had changed, and although they both kept avoiding it, they knew at some point it would all come crashing down on them if they didn't clear the air properly.
Alex shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Gene downed the last of his pint, she knew they should talk but she wasn't in the mood. She was about to get up to leave when he broke the silence between them.
"D'ya want another?" He asked as he drained his own glass and noticed hers was empty too.
"No, actually I was about to go, it's getting late," she said nervously as she moved out of her seat.
Gene didn't speak for a moment, and instead he just gave her one of his intense looks. The ones that turned her brain to mush if she dared to meet his gaze for too long.
"Right, night then"
Alex tried unsuccessfully not to let on how flustered she was, and she made to head for the stairs to her flat. She hurried on without looking back when suddenly, a gruff voice behind her made her start.
"Hang on, Bols. D'ya mind if I come up with you? I'd like a word, in private," he said in a serious tone.
Alex was thrown by Gene's request, and the discomfort she felt at being in his presence increased significantly as she pondered being alone with him in her flat, especially as she had just regarded it as a sanctuary from him. She mumbled an affirmative response and scurried on up the stairs, unwilling to face his scrutinising glare until they were stood outside her flat. After fumbling nervously with the lock she opened the door, and Gene followed her in, closing it behind him.
"Can I get you anything?"
She began clunking about in the kitchen to keep busy and disguise her skittishness.
"Go on then, I'll have what you're having," he replied as he moved to sit down on the settee.
Alex took out the single malt she had stored in the back of the cupboard and poured out two generous measures, not that she wanted either herself, or Gene, to get drunk, but she felt some Dutch courage was needed. Her mind was reeling as she tried to figure out what he wanted to talk about, and he certainly didn't seem in any hurry to spit it out, whatever it was. She walked slowly into the living room where Gene was seemingly deep in thought, and sat hunched forward on the edge of the settee. Alex reached out to hand him the tumbler of scotch which he accepted without a word, as she tentatively sat down as far apart from him as was possible. After a moments silence, which seemed to drag on into eternity, Gene finally spoke.
"I, err, didn't mean to upset you earlier, about your ex," he said falteringly, never one for apologising about anything.
Alex sighed as she considered how affected she still was by the abandonment of herself, and her daughter, by Peter Drake.
"It's funny really, for all my understanding of psychology, I just can't seem to let go of all the hurt and bitterness that my ex-husband left behind when he walked out," she answered more honestly than she had intended too, as she gulped down a large swig of scotch to try and dull the painful memories.
Gene risked a glance at her, and it pained him to see her sat looking so sad and vulnerable. Although he could see that she had purposefully removed herself as far from him as was possible, he longed to close the gulf between them and take her in his arms. He was uncomfortable about pursuing the subject of her ex-husband though, when there was obviously so much raw emotion attached to it. He decided that curious as he was, unless she continued voluntarily, he wouldn't press her any further on the matter. The silence between them stretched out until Gene broke it.
"Sounds like it's gonna to be quite a do, Chris and Shaz's wedding, I mean. I can't remember the last wedding I went to," he said attempting to change the subject and fill the awkward silence with small talk.
He wasn't sure why he'd said that he couldn't remember the last wedding he'd attended, when it was seared on his memory. He had been best man for Sam when he married Annie, and it had been a proud day for all of them.
Alex was growing tired, and was impatient to know Gene's real reason for following her up to the flat.
"So, what did you want to have a word about?" She asked pointedly as she risked meeting Gene's gaze.
"Oh, right, I just, err... it doesn't matter, I should get going," he fumbled.
Gene wasn't exactly sure why he had asked to talk to her, other than in that moment as she had prepared to leave him downstairs, he had felt that he didn't want to let her go. He still wanted to be close to her, even though he knew he should leave, but he couldn't make himself get up from his position on the settee.
"Well, goodnight then," she said.
Alex was confused, but somewhat relieved, that he didn't appear to have anything else to say, but as he remained rooted to his seat, she gave him a questioning look.
"Err, Bolly, I think we should, well clear the air, I suppose. I mean what with the wedding and everything, maybe we could wipe the slate clean, make a fresh start?" Gene spoke falteringly his eyes fixed on his feet as if he dared not meet her gaze.
She let out a sigh as she considered what Shaz had said earlier, it wasn't as if she couldn't understand why Gene had reacted the way he had to her confession about being from the future. She had always known that the shooting was an accident, but his loss of trust in her had hurt. The silence stretched out making Gene even more uncomfortable as he finally turned to face her.
"Bols?" He questioned his face full of confusion and concern.
Alex turned to meet his gaze, only to find that she was captivated by the intensity of his piercing blue eyes, as they blazed in the light from the table lamp. It was in that moment, as she practically swooned at him, that Gene felt he could contain himself no longer. All the months of longing, and that awful moment when he thought he'd killed her, flashed before him, as he was overtaken by an unexpected boldness. He moved to close the gap between them, wondering briefly if she would turn away in repulsion. Her eyes widened with shock as she took in the look of undisguised lust on his face, but she felt rooted to the spot as he took her in his arms, his lips crashing down upon hers as he gently worked his tongue into her mouth, hungrily exploring its depths. At first, she pushed weakly against his chest, but as she found his kisses to be not entirely unwelcome she couldn't stop herself from responding, wrapping her arms around him to pull him closer. Then suddenly a moment of clarity hit Alex, she hadn't been prepared for this turn of events and she felt obliged to try and fight against it, especially in light of how fragile their relationship had been lately. Gene continued, apparently oblivious as he moved to take her in his arms and carry her to the bedroom. She found she couldn't continue with her half-hearted protests as he lowered her down onto the bed, and she melted to his touch. He began ripping at her clothes as he kissed and sucked desperately at her exposed flesh, Alex felt her body responding against her better judgement, until her building arousal quietened the concerns in her mind. Gene struggled to release himself from his trousers, he had ripped off most of her clothes and his own, and as he kicked away his trousers to free his throbbing erection he reached to tear her knickers off. She looked into his eyes and he paused for a moment, giving her a questioning look, her mind whirred with confusion. She wanted him so much but she hadn't expected it to happen like this. Alex knew that she couldn't turn him away now though, not when they needed each other so badly. He found the answer he was looking for in her eyes and he plunged himself deep inside her, she cried out with ecstasy as he moved purposefully within her. She surrendered herself completely to the pleasurable sensations as his body slammed against hers, grunting and panting hard with the effort, his lips bruising her flesh as he sucked enthusiastically at her nipples and bit at her shoulders and neck. He reached down to stimulate her as she thrashed and moaned against him and she quickly felt her orgasm building. She finally screamed as her release pulsed through her and Gene thrust harder and deeper until he came, growling and biting at her shoulder. She felt him explode inside her, filling her with his liquid heat.
It was as if the spell was broken for Gene at that moment, as he fell back against the bed and he quickly recovered himself, leaping up to recover his clothes. He couldn't think what had possessed him, and he certainly hadn't gone after her earlier with the intention of doing what he'd just done. Although Alex hadn't turned him away, he felt uneasy at what his need for her had driven him to. He had been so filled with the desire to get as close to her as was humanly possible, he wondered if he could have stopped if that's what she had wanted. It scared him more than he could ever admit to anyone, least of all her, just how intense his feelings for her had become.
"What are you doing?" Alex questioned as she was confused and hurt at his apparent haste to get away.
"I, erm, I've got an early start in the morning," he said as he quickly pulled on his clothes.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Alex said as she jumped naked out of bed, and took position in the doorway to block his escape.
"Out of the way, Bolly," he said as he tried to exit, all the while avoiding meeting her gaze.
"Wham, bam, thank you Mam, eh? Why doesn't that surprise me?" Alex said bitterly as she refused to let Gene pass.
"It's late. I…I got carried away, I'm sorry, OKAY," Gene said sharply.
Upon hearing him expressing his regret at what had just happened between them, Alex suddenly felt the full vulnerability of her naked state, but she was determined not to betray her insecurity as she folded her arms and adopted a defiant pose.
"If you leave now, then tonight will be all we'll ever have, I won't be inviting you upstairs again, understand?" Alex asked with a cool calmness that masked her inner turmoil.
Gene merely gave a nod, and with eyes cast downwards he moved past her, she slid downwards against the bedroom doorframe after hearing the door close behind him.