A Change of Ways
Disclaimer – I do not own Ashes to Ashes or Life on Mars, the series and their characters were creations of Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharaoh from their company Monastic Productions for Kudos and the BBC, I am using them for my own entertainment!
This fanfic is nothing to do with any of my previous fics, it's an idea that jumped into my head one day and wouldn't go away, I apologise if something like this has been done before.
I do hope you enjoy this idea
It is another alternative ending to the series that we all here loved!
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Chapter 1 – The Wooden Door
Their first kiss was everything she had hoped for, soft but electrifyingly passionate, but their first kiss was also to be their last, they both knew what was happening. The passion extinguisher called fate was beginning to pull them apart, she knew know why she was here, and the time had come.
"I can't go in there Gene," she sobbed.
He gently brushed the tears from her cheeks and whispered,
"Yes you can they've got a saloon bar!"
"No Gene you don't understand," she whispered back, hazel eyes meeting blue.
"What don't I understand?" Gene whispered back again, his voice trembling at the thought of loosing this woman who stood in front of him.
"Its you Gene," she whispered, "It's your time,"
"No Alex, this is my kingdom, you're the one who needs to go," he agued back half heartedly, both sets of eyes brimming with silent tears.
"Gene…" she whispered, "That's why I'm here, I'm here to help you, to help you to go where you should be."
"No, why don't you ever listen Alex, I ain't going in there!"
"Gene, every officer you've helped over the decades is waiting on you in there; it's your time to join them,"
"What?" Gene was speechless, "I can't go," he stuttered, "What about you?"
"Ill be fine Gene, I'm a tough bird, you've said so yourself!" Alex smiled a sad smile as she watched the man she had grown to love; Gene Hunt walk towards the door of the railway arms, she watched as he opened the door, watched as he disappeared behind the glass of the heavy wooden door until it clunked close behind him with a dull thud.
It was then and only then did Alex allow her legs to crumble from beneath her, and as her knees hit the cold hard ground she let the tears fall from her face as the realisation of her current situation hit her.
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The heavy oak door clunked closed behind him as he turned his head to notice all eyes were on him now.
"Welcome manbro!" Nelsons voice could be heard above the murmur that buzzed round the pub of people whispering,
"It's him!"
He looked around the pub, looking for the one person he knew wasn't there, and the only person he wanted to see. Alex.
"Guv!" the familiar voice of Sam Tyler could be heard over the sound of "Life on Mars?" he looked over to see Ray and Chris chatting to Sam, whilst Shaz was talking to Annie like they had known each other for years.
"Didn't think id see you so soon Guv!" Sam said to Gene whilst shaking his hand.
"Bloody ell it's been nearly five years!" Gene huffed,
"Sorry Guv, time kinda stops in 'ere," Sam replied,
"Bloody 'ell Nelson, hurry up!" Gene bellowed above the buzz.
"What ye havin man?" Nelson appeared in front of Gene, "Ye still got the same taste?"
"Course me taste hasn't changed," Gene growled,
"That's not what ye said in Luigi's Guv!" Ray smirked, "Drinkin' cheap house wine if I remember, to impress Drake was it?"
"When I want you to reminisce Raymondo ill ask for it! Comprende?"
"Yes Guv!" Ray turned away sheepishly, lighting a cigarette.
"A pint and a whiskey chaser Nelson," Gene eventually answered Nelsons question.
"On the house man!" Nelson gave Gene his drinks and continued serving others at the other end of the bar.
Lifting the whiskey to his lips, his thoughts returned to the woman he had left in the darkness just moments before.
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The next morning Alex entered CID to find that Gene's office door now read "DCI Alex Drake"
"Hmm, weird," she thought sitting down in the chair that only yesterday belonged to Gene Hunt.
A black jacket still hung on the peg, Alex found herself getting up from the desk and picking it up, gently fingering the material, she found herself thinking,
"I wonder who it belongs to?"
She found herself bringing the jacket to her nose and inhaling deeply, the smell of aftershave, whiskey and tobacco. She didn't know why, but the smell relaxed her and reminded her of someone.
"But who?" she stared out the window, desperately trying to recall how she knew the smell.
"Ma'am?" a voice called into the office, startling her from her thought, causing her to drop the jacket which she was holding on her lap.
"What?" she snapped turning around.
"There's someone at the desk shouting about blackberries or something,"
"What the 'ell are they shouting about fruit for?"
"He says it's a telephone,"
"What?" Alex asked
"DI Alex Drake?" a voice asked from the door,
"Excuse me?" Alex was offended, "Can you not read? The door says DCI!"
"But – But you died!" the young man stuttered,
"How can I be missing presumed dead when I'm standing right here in front of you?"
"In 2008, you can't be here, you're dead!"
"2008 is twenty five years away!" Alex was becoming quickly annoyed by the ignorance of this man.
"Who are you anyway?" Alex asked,
"You know who I am DI Drake, I'm Ethan Laude."
"I'm a DCI NOT a DI!" Alex shouted, "And I've never heard of you!"
Ethan continued to look around him; a knowledgeable but bewildered look crossed his face.
"A word please!" Alex indicated for Ethan to enter her office, which he entered sheepishly.
"The bloody ignorance of some people!" Alex thought, closing the door behind her.
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I see ye still haven't changed Sam, ye still look like a smug bastard!" Gene said lighting a cigarette.
"And you still act like yer king of the jungle!" Sam replied,
"I am king of the Jungle!" Gene replied without thinking,
"No you're not Gene!" Sam argued back,
"Sam stop it!" Annie warned from a nearby table where she and Shaz were sat chatting.
"Guv you want a drink?" Chris called from the other end of the bar, where Ray was stood chatting up a pretty dark haired woman who giggled as he spoke.
"A pint Christopher!" Gene shouted back, his thoughts once again turned to Alex, and what she would be doing at this moment.
Seeing the look on Gene's face Sam asked,
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing!" Gene lied, not wanting to sound like a poof in front of his one time partner in crime.
"You're lying, there's something eating at you,"
"Leave it Sam!" Gene got up from his bar stool and stomped round the corner and sat alone on one of the many monks benches that furnished the pub.
"What did you say to him now?" Annie asked getting up from the table so Chris could sit down beside Shaz.
"There's something different about him," Sam said, "Has he been like that for a while?" he asked looking at Chris and Shaz in the hope they could provide a reasonable answer.
"He's missing ma'am," Shaz replied,
"Oh a woman," Sam smirked, "Might have guessed!"
"They spent tonnes of time together, we all thought something was going on," Shaz explained, "But they were insistent that nothing was."
"Who was she then?" Sam asked, "Must have been something impression on him,"
"Her name was Alex Drake," Ray joined the conversation, "Ohhh she was something, and those legs, phoarr!"
"Not Alexandra Caroline Drake?" Sam asked,
"How'd you know her?" Ray asked,
"God, her little girl," Sam recalled the Alex Drake he knew from 2007, the police psychologist he spoke to after he woke from his accident, the same woman he had spoke to before he had jumped off that building.
"Sshh…" Annie put a comforting arm around his shoulders.
"So she's now the DCI?" Sam asked,
"I guess so," Ray replied, "Bloody female DCI's should be banned, she'll never be as good as the Guv was!"
"She will so Ray!" Shaz decided to stand up for her friend,
"Chris control yer bird, bloody plonks!"
"Excuse me, I was promoted to DC in case you've forgot Ray!" Shaz stood up,
"Only cause it was Drakes idea," Ray replied,
"Oi mate, don't dare speak to Shaz like that!" Chris stood up to face Ray.
"What ye gonna do mate?" Ray sneered,
"Stop it!" Annie shouted, "Just stop it!"
"Enough you lot!" Gene bellowed from the corner, "This is meant to be heaven an you lot are makin' it seem like bloody 'ell! So shut it!"
Silence fell across the pub, as all eyes were once again on Gene, who looked angry but sad at the same time.
No one moved or even dared speak as Gene returned to his seat, his thoughts seemed to be stuck in a loop as it was the same thought over and over again.
"Why didn't I tell her how I feel?" then instantly reminded himself,
"Cause that would 'av made me sound like a poof, you idiot!"
He drank the remainder of the whiskey in his glass and lit another cigarette,
"Now this isn't poofy!" he thought with a smirk as a tang of sadness ripped through his heart.
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Well that's chapter one! It may seem a bit confusing on why Alex seems to suddenly forget Gene, but all will be revealed in a later chapter I promise!
Soooo what do you think? A wee bit of a risk I think not having Gene as DCI, so let me know please!
You know what to do now! xxx