Gene stared at the ceiling of Luigi's, considering. He knew there was something going on with Alex, but she wouldn't tell him what. She'd started acting strangely several months ago when she had started to see some posh man that had come over one night at Luigi's. Suddenly, she wasn't sitting with the team, she was going to other restaurants. Gene had expected that. But now, at work, she had been acting differently. She wasn't as bolshy as she used to be. When she came into work, she kept her mouth shut and her head down. She was jumpy as well, starting almost any time anyone said her name. At first, Gene had thought that the relationship might have been abusive, but Alex had vehemently denied it and there were no signs of bruises anywhere. For a few days after that denial, she had worn skirts or batwing tops. But then, her wardrobe suddenly changed again. Her blouses were buttoned to the top button, and if there was a kitten bow, it was always tied. She wore her regular skinny jeans, but she never wore them with heels anymore. Her makeup became less pronounced, and often, she seemed to wear none at all. The most pronounced change was the fact that her hair was no longer done, always in a ponytail.

Gene would have had to have been a horrible detective to not notice that something was going on with Alex. But she had been avoiding him ever since he started asking questions. She closed the connection between them. If she talked to him, it was only ever about the case, her eyes trained anywhere but at his face.

And then today, she had called in for the third day in a row. Gene really wanted to go up and see what was wrong with her, but for the past two days she had not opened her door when he went up, instead yelling at him to leave. Shaz had said she sounded incredibly ill on the phone, but if she was only ill, she would have let Gene in.

Gene knew it was something to do with the posh man. She had only changed within the last few months, when he came on the scene. He was going to have to do something.

Gene looked down at his watch. It was starting to get late. He would go up and check on her, just to make sure.

He stood up from the table and went up the stairs to her flat, knocking loudly on her door. "Alex!" he called. There were a few moments of silence before he heard footsteps on the other side. The door opened, but instead of Alex standing opposite, it was the posh bloke. He had dark hair that was combed back perfectly, and his stature told of his position in society.

"Can I help you?" the man asked. Each syllable was articulated perfectly.

"I was wondering if Alex was okay," Gene said, more aware of his northern accent than ever. "She's not been in for three days and we're starting to get worried."

"She's ill," the man said, like he was bored. "She's got some sort of flu or something. She'll be in when she feels better."

"Can I see her?"

The man shook his head. "She hardly wants to see me right now, she's feeling so awful. I'm certain that anyone from work is completely off limits."

But I'm different, Gene wanted to say, but he bit his tongue. Somehow, the idea of saying that filled him with dread.

"Fine," he managed. "I hope she's feeling better tomorrow. And the team send their best wishes."

"Thank you Mr.?"

"Hunt. Gene Hunt, her DCI."

"Thank you Mr. Hunt," the man said eloquently, making Gene hate him more with each syllable. "I'll pass that along to her when she wakes up."

Gene nodded, walking toward the stairs, an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Tomorrow, if she didn't come in, he would go in and see her. Posh man be damned, he would kick in that door and find out what was going on. And Gene had a feeling that if he did find out, he wouldn't like it one bit.

The next morning found him sitting at Shaz's desk as CID walked in. If Alex was going to call in, he was going to talk to her. However, a few minutes later, she walked in quietly, acting as though she hoped no one would notice her. She certainly looked like she had been ill. There were dark rings under both of her eyes and she looked haggard, not to mention she seemed to have lost a few pounds.

"Drake," he said. He saw her close her eyes a moment. "My office," he said, ignoring the fact that every sign showed she didn't want to go in his office. She followed him in, and he closed the blinds, making her look nervous.

"How are you feeling, Bolls?" he asked seriously.

"I'm fine," she answered, too quickly.

"I met that posh bloke of yours last night," he said.

"Oh, Brian. He's wonderful, isn't he?" Her voice was suddenly an octave higher.

"Are you sure everything's alright between you two?"

"Yes! Everything's fantastic. Can I go now?"

He studied her a moment, knowing that she was avoiding answering the questions. Finally, however, he nodded his head once, and she left.

The rest of the day passed by quietly. They were only filling in paperwork for the day; no new leads came in. Gene had been watching Alex all day, noticing her getting more fidgety as the day went on. Finally, five minutes until lunch, he called her into his office again, once more closing the blinds. He didn't know why he was doing this, he just felt the need to protect Alex from the stares of CID.

She came in to his office, staring somewhere in the middle of his chest. "You needed me?" she asked.

"I was wondering if you were going to come for drinks tonight."

Alex hesitated and looked up at him for a moment before her head tilted back down. That moment however was enough for Gene to catch the fact that the dark rings under her eyes were tinged with green. Anger started to boil as he realised the tell tale signs of bruising.

"I'm not going. I don't feel well still."

Gene didn't even hear her, the rage washing over him in waves. "I was right! He's beating you, isn't he? That bastard is controlling your every move!"

Alex looked panicked before her face turned angry. "No! He's not! I've told you this before, Gene. Now stay out of it!"

With that, she walked out of his office. She tried to slam the door, but Gene caught it before it could rattle in the frame. He saw the posh bloke standing at Alex's desk, glaring at the office in the centre of CID. Alex approached him and the man kissed her aggressively before putting his arm around her waist. The whole time, he stared at Gene. He knew that the man was trying to make him realise that Alex didn't belong to him. Seeing this made Gene's blood boil all the more, but they were out of the office before he could say anything. He was too stunned to move for a moment, but then, his adrenaline kicked in.

Gene practically ran across the street to Luigi's, but they were nowhere to be seen. They had to be up in her flat. He took the steps two at a time and strode quickly down the hallway, pounding on her door.

"Alex! Alex, let me in!"

There was no reply, but Gene swore he heard a muffled sob.

"Let me in NOW, Alex or I break the door down!"

"Just...just go away!" her voice called from inside, sounding weak.

Gene had had enough. He backed up from the door, studying it a moment before rushing at it with his shoulder. The door broke open easily. He strode into the room with her sofa, taking in the surroundings. Things were smashed all around the room, and in the middle of it was Alex, who looked like she was fighting to stay conscious. But in the entrance to the room was her posh bloke, holding Alex's gun in his hands. He was pointing it toward Gene.

"Go downstairs Hunt. Go downstairs and pretend everything's alright, and I won't have to kill you."

"I can't do that," Gene replied. "See, if I leave now, you'll kill Alex, and we can't have that, can we?"

He touched the magnum that he always wore. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alex, slowly trying to stand up, her eyes barely open. What was she doing?

"Don't bother trying to shoot me, Hunt. I'll have your face blown off before you can even draw it."

Alex was slowly edging closer to the bloke. He was so concentrated on Gene that he didn't notice her at all.

"Rather my face blown off than her to be with the likes of you."

"You want her to be with you, don't you? Giving her one behind my back, are you? Stupid slut." Still the man did not look toward Alex.

"I really can't have you calling my DI a slut," Gene replied calmly, his hand wrapping around the handle of his gun.

"Too bad for you." Everything fell into slow motion. He was still trying to get his gun out, but at the same time watched as the man pulled back on the trigger. Alex fell against the posh man, making it point further down as the bullet started to fly out of the barrel. There was a loud bang, and then silence. For a moment, no one moved.

Then the pain hit. A searing pain ripped though his abdomen, winding him and doubling him over. Too stunned to do anything else, he dropped to his knees. Already, blackness was starting to eat away at the corners of his vision, but he fought against it. He studied his surroundings again. The bloke was sitting up, throwing an unconscious Alex off of him. The back of her head was bloody. She must have hit something when she fell. As the room grew ever dimmer, he spotted the edge of a countertop covered in blood.

The man stood, and placed his gun against Gene's head. "No more Gene Hunt," he whispered. Gene's vision was nearly black now, only vague shapes showing through the darkness.

"Don't worry, I'll ensure that Alex never wakes up," the man said.

Gene heard the gun click as his vision went completely black. He could still feel the gun against his head.

"Goodbye, Gene," the man said. There was a gunshot, and the world went silent.

~(*)~

Six Weeks Later

Alex stared at the bloodstain on the carpet, wondering if she would ever be able to remove it. She hadn't even tried since she had returned home from hospital. The wave of depression that had washed over her was so large she hadn't been able to do anything but lay in her bed or on the sofa, staring aimlessly out the window. The events of that night ran over and over in her head, all day, every day, ever since she had woken out of a three-day coma. No one had told her anything for days, but she knew by their silence what had happened.

Brian had murdered Gene.

Ray had come in one day, and told her what had happened that night after she had fallen into unconsciousness.

"We heard the gunshot downstairs. He was a bloody fool for shooting that thing over a restaurant full of coppers. CID went running upstairs. I was in the lead, Chris on my heels and the rest following a few steps behind. We got to your flat and the door had already been kicked open. I could see him, holding a gun to the Guv's head. I didn't even think. My gun was out and I had shot him before I blinked. He went down, and Chris yelled to call for an ambulance. He went over to check on you and I went to the Guv. He'd bled out so much already. I put pressure on it, but it was too late. He was dead on arrival. They said that the bullet clipped the artery in his stomach."

Brian had lived, adding to the insult of Gene's death. He had been charged with murder and GBH, and Ray was certain that Brian would get life, but it wasn't enough. Brian going to jail for life didn't bring Gene back.

Alex knew that it was her fault that Gene was dead. If she had been stronger, she could have rid herself of Brian long before that fateful night six weeks ago. She and Gene would be sitting downstairs right now, drinking their weight in wine.

But she had been weak. She had lied to herself because Brian showed the affection that she had craved. And now Gene was gone.

She touched the dark stain on the floor, staring at it. It was the only thing she had left of him. She hadn't even been able to attend the funeral, as she hadn't been allowed out of hospital for it.

Ray had told her there was a new DCI. He said that the man took some getting used to, but he wasn't horrible. Alex didn't care. She wasn't planning on going back to CID.

There was a knock on her door. She considered ignoring it, but she knew that the person on the other side wouldn't be fooled. The only people that came up to check on her were CID and Luigi, and they knew she hadn't even left the flat since she returned from hospital.

Sighing, Alex stood up, aware that she hadn't showered for three days and probably smelled horrible. She knew that her hair was extremely greasy, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. Slowly, she opened up the door. Shaz was standing outside. Alex attempted to smile, but she knew it probably just appeared as a tired upturn of the lips.

"Ma'am, I was coming to see how you were doing," Shaz said, trying to cover up the surprise at Alex's appearance.

Alex merely shrugged. "I guess you can see."

Her flat was littered with takeaway boxes from Luigi's and things were strewn around the flat. She hadn't done any cleaning since returning.

"Ma'am, we're worried about you," Shaz said. "You just don't seem to be coping. I mean, I know it's been hard, but..."

"It's my fault he's gone, Shaz," Alex said softly.

Shaz silenced, unsure of what to say back. "Ray said you're planning on coming back to work on Monday?"

Alex nodded. "That's what I worked out with the super. Been medically cleared and all."

"I guess I'll see you Monday, Ma'am. And if you need anything, please phone me."

She tried to smile again. "Thanks Shaz. I will." Alex softly closed the door behind Shaz's retreating figure. She studied the flat a moment. It had really gotten out of hand. She should clean it up. That way, no one else would have to.

Alex wandered around, slowly picking things up and throwing them away. She cleaned all the dishes in the sink and hung up all the clean clothes that were strewn around. Finally, when the flat was sparkling, she decided to clean herself. She stepped into the shower, but it didn't feel good, even though she was ridding herself of the grime from the past three days. She had gone so numb she couldn't feel anymore.

After about ten minutes, she stepped out of the shower, drying her hair with a towel and combing it down nicely. She went to her bedroom and put on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt and returned to the stain on the floor.

She couldn't live with the guilt anymore. If only Gene hadn't come to rescue her, she might be dead and he would be alive, doing what he did best. He deserved life much more than she ever did. Even though he was the most infuriating man she had ever met, he was also the best copper out of anyone. And because of her, the streets were less safe. The Manc Lion no longer prowled, and his prey was going free.

Alex stood, getting a glass of vodka and retrieving the sleeping tablets the hospital had given to her for her return to the flat. She hadn't touched them, planning what she was about to do since she had returned. She had given herself several weeks to try and have feeling return, to rid herself of the guilt, but the numbness lingered and the guilt only got worse with each passing day.

She opened the bottle of tablets and looked at the bottle.

Take two tablets every four to six hours as needed to induce sleep.

There were thirty pills in the bottle. Slowly, two at a time, she took the pills, finishing off the bottle just as she started to feel drowsy. She downed the vodka remaining in the glass for good measure.

Her eyes started to grow heavy and she smiled the first true smile since the early days of her relationship with Brian. She was leaving the world, just as she should have done six weeks ago. And maybe, if there was such a thing as an afterlife, just maybe Gene would forgive her for what she had done.

A/N The artery Ray describes is the abdominal aorta, which is directly connected to the heart. Hitting any major artery would cause extensive bleeding, even just clipping it is dangerous. For example: An American speed skater who was in Olympic trials fell on the blade of his skate, hitting the great saphenous vein. Blood in veins moves much slower than blood in arteries. He survived and skated in the Olympics. But if he had hit the femoral artery dead on like he had the great saphenous, he would have bled out in under seven seconds. Now that was laying it wide open, but still, even clipping it causes severe consequences. Martin Luther King was clipped on the top of the aortic arch.

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