This story was born out of frustration I guess, at the lack of emotion in Series 3 Episode 1 where Gene apologizes to Alex for accidentally shooting her. I've always felt that there should have been alot more to that scene than there actually was, so I guess this is my my way of getting it out of my system before it sends me crazy lol.

I would like to thank all of the wonderful 'Ashes to Ashes', 'Island at War' and 'Dallas' writers who have shared so many beautiful piece's of writing on here- without your stories and inspiration, I never would have had the guts or desire to get the words below out of my head. Thanks again.

Hope I've been true to the characters, and hope you all get something from it. Thanks for reading. :)

Disclaimer: Ashes to Ashes and it's characters belong to Kudos, Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah. I'm only borrowing them for the craic. :)

Atonement

"Get up, come here." Gently he took her by the hand and brought Alex to her feet. Gene noticed the weakness of her grasp, she was so fragile and pale, having only been torn from her coma and into 1983 by him literally minutes ago. The dozy mare... christ she'd almost faded into a whippet, those bastards hadn't been looking after her right.

The kick in the gut came then, from his conscience as it did on a daily basis since that day. Who the hell was he to brand those doctors and nurses bastards, when he had pissed off and left Bolly bleeding her guts out as she was loaded into the Ambulance?

It was eating away at him, of course it was an accident for fuck sake. So he'd laid low for a few days in a safe house near the docks, just close enough to keep tabs on the Station and the Hospital, but when he'd gotten wind of what those useless plonkers of Carling and Skelton had told the enquiry, Gene knew he'd had it. D&C were looking for his balls on a slab. He'd no choice, he had to run... hadn't he? Fuck(!) there was the kick again, that left the sick cowardly feeling in his guts.

As Gene brought her up to her full height, Alex still felt dizzy and unsure of herself- after all she'd been stuck in a hospital bed for the last three months and she winced slightly at the dull ache from her abdomen, from where he had...

She was snapped back to his presence because his hand was so warm and strong and completely covered her own. Gene. After months of only being able to watch him from a distance in her tortured dreams- only ever as a spectator- never close enough to touch him, suddenly here he was right in front of her, Gene Hunt- tall, broad shouldered and strong and real. He was the reality she had yearned for all those months, lusted for... cried for at night in the desolation of that supposed 2008 reality.

Water trickled and dripped from the ceiling of the dank lock up in which Gene had stow-en his prized possession three months ago before he'd buggered off to the Isle of Wight. All else was silence expect for the trickling water echoing around them.

A few pathetic slivers of daylight managed to filter through the make shift windows atop the lock up's door, but one caught in Gene's hair and suddenly he was crowned with golden, mussed locks that had gingerly fallen across his frown worn forehead.

He looked tired, as if he'd aged something shocking since she'd last seen him. The lines on his face ran deeper now, the bags under his eyes slightly more prominent, those eyes of his ever so slightly blood shot. Noticeable stubble traveled from his sideburns to his chin and down his neck. He looked... worry worn. Burdened even.

He couldn't have meant it, just couldn't have. It had to be an accident. Gene was her constant, and she'd believed in him, believed that he cared for her, that he'd always be there to protect her or he'd die trying.

Alex swallowed hard and Gene met her gaze, his hand still gently hold hers, supporting her frail frame.

Bolly. Christ she was so fragile, but still so flaming gorgeous. He had to put things right, do right by her. But he wasn't sure how, when it came to personal stuff, Gene was rubbish with words especially when it came to being honest with Alex, but he owed it to her. She could have told him to piss off back at the hospital, slapped him or squealed for security to come and drag him away or have done all of those things, but she didn't.

The air ran thick between them, so many words unsaid, so many urges to touch and reassure the other.

His gaze was so intense that under any other circumstances Alex would have had to retreat but she wasn't backing down, for she felt so... raw and she wanted to make damn sure Gene knew it. His thumb stroked the back of her hand, and she watched him as those long blonde eyelashes of his followed his eyes downward and Alex knew in that instant what he was looking for, and she couldn't help the surge of air that rushed into her chest and stuck there- he was going to look at it.

Slowly Gene dropped to his knees in front of Alex, his hand letting go of hers and both his hands came to rest at the hem of her long t-shirt. Ever so gingerly he rolled the fabric up her hips and over her stomach until he saw it. The small pinkish scar that would forever mark where his bullet had hit her. The reality of what he'd done to his Bolly hit Gene and this time the thud in his guts was overwhelming and suddenly he was thrown back to that moment when Alex's face had turned white with shock, those green/brown sometimes grey eyes of hers wide in painful desperation as she crumpled onto the shitty tarmac.

With that same bear thumb that had stroked Alex's hand a moment ago, Gene placed it above the scar on her belly, and let it hover unsure that she'd allow him to touch her there. But the guilt and disgust that Gene felt at himself for running off, and his sheer respect for how tough a bird Alex Drake was- he had to take the chance and touch her or he'd never be able to show her, show her how he felt.

She could feel his warm breath, Gene was so close to her bear stomach but Alex dared not to let the air out of her lungs. But then she felt his warm thumb touch her on the scar and all the air she'd forced to stay in her chest came crashing out of her in a sigh that hit Gene like a slap right across the face. Alex could only close her eyes and try to keep her breathing steady as Gene's touch sent her emotions all over the place. Christ sake how could Gene Hunt be so gentle?

"I'm sorry Alex," Gene managed to blurt out as his voice caught in his throat when his thumb recognized the ridges and roughness of what could only be scar tissue. But still he managed to gently follow the circular edge of the scar on her stomach, needing to touch her. After all those years of having her by his side, years of wanting to touch her, how bloody ironic that the first time he could touch her like this- he was trying to apologize for accidently shooting her.

Gene cleared his throat again, this time he would not sound so feeble, "I'm sorry Alex, I didn't mean it. It was an accident, Jenette, she shot at me and I lost my aim... I.."

Alex put her palm over Gene's thumb and splayed her fingers so she could touch the rest of his hand that had been rested on her hip bone. Gene froze in his tracks as she held his hand there. Her eyes still closed all she could manage was a whisper, "I know. I forgive you."

A pang of raw emotion hit the back of Alex's throat as she heard a deep masculine sigh fall from Gene, and she had to fight herself. She'd done all of her crying, no more tears- they had to carry on, there was so much more she had to do in this world... with this man.

Gene could only look at the floor as he tried to process what had just happened, the words she had just said. She said that she had forgiven him but why did he still feel like such a bastard? He'd feared that things might have been forever ruined between them, for he'd never gotten over the shitty things they'd said to each other a few hours before the King Douglas Lane job.

Slowly it started to register that her gaze was on him then and Gene snapped from his thoughts when Alex Drake's delicate hand started to stroke his own. He couldn't stay stuck in the past and he had a feeling that Alex wanted to just move on from that shitty day just as much as he did. After all they had to work together, he needed and wanted her on his team providing D&C buggered off soon as Alex got back and set the record straight.

It was time for him to get off his knees and Alex let him roll her t-shirt back down again. Gene met her gaze and managed to hold it for a few seconds, taking in her delicate face, before having to look away and breaking the spell.

"You do know the moment I walk through those doors, they're gonna come for me?"

"Yeah," was her simple reply as Alex maintained her gaze on Gene, beckoning him to look at her again. She forgave him, she knew he was sorry and believed that it had been an accident for she could see it in his eyes and had felt it in the way that he had touched her. It took alot of bollocks for a man as proud as Gene to apologize like that. He turned back to her again, with that familiar pout that she had missed. She would fight his corner because she believed in him.

"You ready Bols?"

"As I'll ever be Guv," Alex couldn't help the gentle smile that tugged at one corner of her mouth, for she knew what was coming. As if both were intune with each others thoughts, Gene and Alex turned their heads to the red cover that started to slide over the sleek red form of the Quattro.

Familiar London streets disappeared, as tyres screeched and fought to maintain grip as the car roared around bends. Alex wondered at how something she usually dreaded had now become something so welcomed- her Guv and the Quattro and her, flying wrecklessly around London. When the car finally met a straight course of road, Alex managed to steal a few glances at Gene and she knew that she was back where she belonged. And whatever lay ahead for her and Gene they would face it together, because they were a team, unbreakable.