My first fic - this chapter seems to go on for a while without getting to the point, but hopefully it'll get round to the story in Chapter 2.
Enjoy..
Chapter 1.
The door slammed. Alex took a deep breath, and stormed into the kitchen; yet another argument between her and Gene. She flicked the kettle on, sat down at the table and ran her hands through her hair. The day had only just begun, and already, Gene and Alex were at each others throats. For the past few months, her and Gene had been getting along well, and she was finally beginning to trust him. He was the only person she had in this world, and as she didn't know how long she would remain here, now was not the time to lose him. A loud bang brought Alex away from her thoughts and back into reality; no doubt Gene was taking his anger out on another unsuspecting filing cabinet or cupboard. Hesitantly, she got up and approached the office, unwilling to enter. Turnng round, she noticed shocked expressions on both Chris and Ray's faces – they knew something.
"What was all that about?"
"The Guv got a bit of news, something he wasn't too happy about," Ray said.
"Well do you know what it was?"
Chris and Ray exchanged glances, but they both knew that they couldn't escape the prying eyes of DI Drake. Chris spoke up first; "It's about the new DS. He's met them before, that's all."
"Yeah, back in Manchester. Just an old face that he didn't expect to see again."
Alex gave an exasperated sigh – did they think she was stupid?! Giving them an angry stare she went straight into Gene's office to see what really was bothering him.
"What do you want?" Gene mumbled as Alex closed the door behind her.
"What's happened? I am a trained psychologist you know.." Before Alex could say anymore Gene cut her off.
"Nothing to do with you Bolls, so I suggest you go back and make yourself useful somewhere else." Alex wasn't about to leave in a hurry – however much she may not admit it she didn't like seeing Gene in moods like this.
"Well what did Viv have to say to you?" With that, Gene lifted his head from his tumbler of Scotch and within his eyes Alex could see that there was something he wasn't telling her. "Was he telling you about the new Detective Sergeant?"
He gave a reproachful look before opening his mouth. "Yes he was, actually." He said no more, knowing that before long Alex would find out what she wanted for herself. Recognising that Gene was not willing to tell her any more, she stormed out of his office to go and talk to Viv. Gene never lifted his head once.
--
Viv was nowhere to be seen, so vowing to talk to him later or tomorrow, Alex grabbed her jacket and walked straight out of the station to take an early lunch-break at Luigi's. Luigi greeted Alex with a warm smile. "Signorina Drake, what brings you here so early?"
"Just..just get me a drink Luigi. I just need to get away from the station for a while, and away from them idiots that they call senior officers." However, after the warm welcome from Luigi Alex couldn't help but muster a smile, and a small giggle at her life here in the 1980s. "Cheers," she said to Luigi, her mood brightening away from the stuffy atmosphere of CID. "You know, Luigi, I'm glad to have you here – it's nice to have a friend in this world, someone that doesn't cause complications. I've had it up to here with them at CID; but I should imagine it won't be long until I get home.. will it?"
"I don't know Signorina, only you can answer that."
"But can I?.. Maybe I'm the only person that can't answer that.."
Recognising that familiar, dazed expression he turned away to see to another customer.
--
Meanwhile, CID was unusually quiet. After the news that morning, Chris and Ray knew better than to interrupt the Guv, and Shaz had soon picked up on the fact that Gene wasn't best pleased. He hadn't moved from his office, drinking glass after glass of Scotch and smoking one cigarette after another. Occassionally he would start to doodle, before scrunching each piece of paper into a tight ball and throwing it carelessly against the wall. Other members of CID couldn't help but notice the tense atmosphere in the room, and so busied themselves with small, mundane tasks – mainly paperwork that hadn't been completed in months. Gene watched everything from his seat, but didn't entirely focus on what was going on – he was lost in his own thoughts, dredging up memories that hadn't stirred for over 2 or 3 years now..
--
"It's for you, DI Drake."
"Thanks Luigi," Alex replied, taking the phone from Luigi. She paused before answering, knowing all too well what she would receive from the other end.
"Drake, what the bloody hell are you doing?"
"I'm on my lunch break. Is there a problem?"
"Don't you have work to be doing?"
"No, not really. I'm obviously not that important around here, seeing as no-one felt that I had a right to know about our new colleague."
"Yeah, well, about that.." Even down the phone line, Alex could sense how Gene's demeanour had changed. She listened intently, hoping that he had something more to tell her. "Erm, are you gonna come back to the station then?"
"I suppose I should. I'll be over soon." With a sigh she handed the phone back to Luigi, knowing that there was something Gene was holding back; something that Gene didn't want to tell her.
--
Gene looked up as Alex walked into the room, taking in every inch of her body. As his eyes moved upwards, he followed the long length of her legs up to her hips, where he traced the beautifully sculpted contours of her shape – her perfectly shaped breasts, to her slender neck and the pure beauty of her features: Her lips, which he studied each time he spoke to her; her almond eyes which could distract him within a second; her curls which he ached to run his hands through.. Gene broke his train of thought just before Alex opened the door.
"Oh what a nice surprise. Nice to see you today DI Drake – hope you've had a nice long break, whilst we've been working." He gave a sarcastic smile, at which Alex rolled her eyes. "Anybody could see that nothing whatsoever has happened around here," waving her arm at the rest of CID to prove her point further. Knowing she was right, Gene ignored her and carried on. "So what do you want?"
"Well it was you that wanted me back at the station, I thought you might have something for me to do."
"Hmm. Not really. I'm sure you can find a way to make yourself useful though."
"Gene.." Alex hesitated, unsure as to whether to bring up the events of this morning again – he seemed to have mellowed slightly but she still could tell that something was troubling him. She continued regardless. "The new Sergeant.. you've met them before..?"
"Like I said, I'm sure you can find something to do." Hurt by the fact that he didn't want to tell her, Alex turned out of the office without a backward glance before Gene could see the effect he had had on her.
--
"See you tomorrow Ma'am."
"Yeah, see y…Viv! You don't happen to know anything about the new Detective Sergeant do you?"
"Erm, not really Ma'am. Her name's Eve Green, getting transferred here from a local division but apart from that I can't really tell you anything I'm afraid. Sorry."
"No, no, that's fine Viv. That's good.. thank you. See you tomorrow." She gave him a gracious smile and headed to the flat, all the while trying to fit it all together.
