Title: Christmas Wrapping
Fandom: Ashes to Ashes
Characters/Pairings: Gene/Alex
Rating: PG
Warnings: None

Summary: It's Christmas at Fenchurch East. A song fic. Kind of. OneShot.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ashes to Ashes. If I did, we'd have had a different ending! The franchise and its characters belong to Kudos and BBC and I am not making any money from writing this.I also don't own the song "Christmas Wrapping" but I don't know who does, so can't credit. Sorry.

A/N: So here's my contribution to the deluge of Christmas fanfics that have been appearing over the last couple of days. I wasn't going to do one, but I was inspired by GenesGirl 13 and Fenella Church and then my muse came up for me, so this was born. Written in less than 24 hours, so I hope it's okay. Thanks to GenesGirl13 for beta reading!

Christmas Wrapping

Alex put the finishing touches to her makeup, before picking up her black clutch bag and heading down stairs. It was Christmas Eve and CID were having a get together in Luigi's in lieu of the party that had been cancelled the previous week due to flood damage at the venue. Alex hadn't been bothered about attending either but Gene had insisted. Her presence hadn't been the only thing he'd been adamant about. He'd also given her clear instructions on what to wear: something skimpy, so she'd chosen a short strapless red number that only just reached the top of her thighs. When she'd seen it in the window of the local boutique she'd known that Gene would approve. She couldn't pinpoint exactly when she'd started making her wardrobe choices based on Gene's opinion but she'd noticed it happening more frequently. Since failing to prevent her parents' deaths she had started to come to terms with the fact that she may not ever make it home. It was still hard and she missed Molly desperately, but she had stopped fighting and as a result she and Gene had grown closer. Alex didn't think it would be much longer before they crossed that line from friends to something more. Maybe that was why she'd bought the dress; perhaps she was hoping to entice him. Whatever the reason, she wasn't disappointed with his reaction as she entered the restaurant. He was stood at the bar, facing the door; waiting for her with a bottle of red wine and two glasses in front of him. When he saw her his eyes went wide and he drew his gaze slowly all over her body, taking in every inch of her. When he finally reached her face she gave him a small smile before giving him a twirl,

"Will I do?" she asked coyly.

"Do? Flamin' 'ell Bolls. Yer'll give all the blokes in 'ere an 'eart attack wearin' that!" Alex pretended to look worried,

"Maybe I should go and change then," she teased and turned to leave. Her comment provoked the response she'd been hoping for. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist pulling her close to his chest. They were so close she could feel his breath on her face before he leant down and growled into her ear,

"Yer not going anywhere!" His actions sent a noticeable shiver down her spine and Gene smirked. "Cold Bolly? Can't say I'm surprised, considerin' the amount o' clothes yer ain't wearin!" He turned to the bar and began to pour some wine. "Come on; let's get a drink inside yer. That'll warm yer up," he said handing the glass to her.

A few hours and several bottles of wine later and the party was winding down. There was only Gene, Alex, Ray Chris and Shaz left, plus a few of the lads from B-relief and they were all quite merry. Alex could hear the strains of "Christmas Wrapping"

"Now the calendar's just one page, and, of course, I am excited.
Tonight's the night, but I've set my mind not to do too much about it.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! But I think I'll miss this one this year."

Before Alex realised what was happening she felt tears prickling the corners of her eyes; this had always been Molly's favourite song, ever since she was a little. A vague memory overcame her and she recalled driving in the car with her daughter in the passenger seat, with this song blaring out of the speakers, the two of them belting out the lyrics without a care in the world. She shook off the memory and came back to the present to find Gene staring at her curiously.

"Everythin' alright Bolls?" Alex nodded and tried to hold back her tears, but as she blinked a solitary tear rolled down her cheek. "Alex?" pressed Gene, reaching out to wipe her face dry. Alex closed her eyes and allowed herself to be soothed by the feel of his hand and leaned into his touch. When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into his deep pools of bluey/grey. They were both leaning into each other; it felt as if there was an invisible force drawing them closer together, like they were opposite poles of a magnet. They were close enough that Alex could feel Gene's breath on her lips, but then,

"Merry Christmas Guv. Have a good one!" called one of the officers from B-relief as he was leaving. Gene and Alex sprang apart and embarrassed, looked anywhere but at each other. As Gene went to bid goodnight to their colleague, Alex slipped unnoticed out of her seat and made to leave. She was nearing the door when Gene finally spotted her.

"Oi Bolly! Where d'yer think yer goin? Get that gorgeous arse o' yers over 'ere!" Alex rolled her eyes at his comment but complied, joining him at the bar.

"Ah Signore Hunt, Signorina Drake! So good to see you both enjoying yourselves. E sotto il vischio anche. You give the lady a kiss, no?"

"What the 'ell are yer witterin' on about Luigi?" He pointed above his head,

"Vischio" Gene and Alex looked up above their heads, as did the rest of the team, whose ears had pricked up upon mention of Gene kissing Alex.

"It's a weed," commented Gene. But the white berries hadn't gone unnoticed by Shaz,

"It's mistletoe!" she commented.

"Wahey!" hollered Ray, "Get in there Guv!"

"Am I missin' something'?" snapped Gene, who was feeling a little out of the conversation taking place around him.

"You don't know about mistletoe Guv?" asked Chris unbelievingly. Gene was getting even more annoyed now; Chris knew something he didn't?

"Will someone please explain ter me what's goin' on!" he barked.

"When two people meet under mistletoe they have to kiss. It's tradition," explained Shaz.

"What a bloody stupid idea! What if two blokes met under this ruddy weed. Bet it was a woman's idea," he ranted trying to suppress the heat he could feel rising in his cheeks at the thought of kissing his DI: the Gene Genie does not blush!

"According to Norse legends," began Alex, "tradition arose from a mistake involving the Goddess Frigga. Her son, Balder told her that he had dreamt that he was to be killed. To save him, she ordered every animal and plant not to harm him. She specified that Balder could not be hurt by anything that grew on the earth or under the earth, the mistletoe was exempt. An enemy of Balder realised this and had him killed by a spear of mistletoe. Frigga resurrected her son and then made the mistletoe a sacred plant that brings love to the world by insisting that any couple standing under the mistletoe must kiss each other. From this legend the tradition has spre-" Alex was cut off mid-flow by the feel of Gene's lips on hers, to the amazement of the rest of the team who began wolf-whistling at them. This kiss lasted mere seconds but to Alex it felt like time had stopped. When Gene pulled away she smirked at him,

"Thought you said it was a stupid tradition?" she teased.

"It is, but it were the only way to shut you up." She threw him a mock glare before announcing,

"Right then; I'm off. Merry Christmas everyone."

"Merry Christmas Ma'am!" the team chorused. She turned back to Gene,

"Merry Christmas Gene." Gene gave her a little nod,

"Yeh an' you Bolls."

Alex had changed into her pyjamas as soon as she had gotten in and curled up on the couch with a large glass of white wine. She could still here the words of "Christmas Wrapping" going round in her head:

"Forget it, it's cold, it's getting late, trudge on home to celebrate.
In a quiet way, unwind. Doing Christmas right this time."

But it wasn't right was it; she was alone and no one should be alone at this time of year. Her thoughts turned to Molly and the Christmases they had shared together. She wondered how much time had passed for Molly while she had been here. She hoped her daughter hadn't had to experience a festive season without her. She knew how hard it was to celebrate Christmas without your parents. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and, sighing, she got up to answer it. She flung the door open and found Gene standing on the other side, bottle of whiskey in his hand.

"Yer always open the door without checkin' who it is? Could be anyone; especially wi' you; yer attract nutters."

"Did you come up here just to annoy me or did you have a specific reason?" Alex asked.

"Can I come in?" Alex moved aside to let him enter. He made his way into the living room after a quick detour to the kitchen for a whiskey glass. Alex joined him after relocking her door; as annoying as Gene's comment had been, she couldn't ignore the fact that there was an element of truth in it. Surprisingly Gene hadn't made himself comfortable on the couch. Instead he was pacing up and down in front of the fire place. If Alex didn't know any better, she'd say he was nervous.

"Gene?"

"Um...about before. Downstairs. I um..." Alex's face fell; he was here to make sure she hadn't read too much into their kiss.

"It's okay, Gene. I understand. It was just a Christmas kiss, it didn't mean anything. Don't worry I'm not going to turn into some possessive stalker."

"What?" Gene shook his head, "That weren't what I was goin' ter say."

"Oh?"

"But if that's 'ow yer feel, then fine; stuff it," he huffed preparing to leave

"No, Gene. Wait!" Alex called. "I didn't mean that. I was...I thought you'd come up here to let me down gently and I was trying to save face. What were you going to say?"

"I was wonderin' if we could maybe do it again...without the audience?" he suggested. Alex tilted her head and looked at him,

"Are you just saying this because you're drunk?"

"I'm not drunk Bolls," he assured. "Are you?"

"No. I was a little tipsy earlier, but I think your kiss sobered me up," she admitted blushing.

"Really," he smirked, advancing on her. She backed away teasingly until she bumped into the wall behind her. When he reached her he placed both hands on her waist. "Yer looked bloody gorgeous tonight, Bolls. 'Ad an 'ard time keepin' me 'ands ter meself."

"I-" her next words were smothered as his dipped his head and brushed his lips against hers. They were soft like velvet and so warm. His kissed her again, and the warmth changed into a searing heat that warmed her entire body. Wrapping her arms around Gene's neck, she returned his kiss with eager lips parting for him-allowing him to devour her. She was still trembling when the kiss ended. Gene pulled away and pulled a slim rectangular box, obviously from a jewellers, out of his inside jacket pocket and handed it to her,

"Um...I know we said we weren't goin' ter exchange gifts but, uh... I got yer... a little something. Sorry. Didn't 'ave time ter wrap it."

"That's okay," Alex said as she took the box from him. She rummaged around under her tree and retrieved a neatly wrapped box about the size of video cassette. "Well, I got you a little something, too" Embarrassed she held out the package. Gene chuckled as he took the box from her, shaking it causing Alex to grin happily. Then like kids they ran over to the couch and opened their gifts, both knowing they would not be spending Christmas alone this year.

"Then suddenly we laughed and laughed caught on to what was happening,
That Christmas magic's brought this tale to a very happy ending!"

A/N: I'm going to leave it to you to decide what their gifts to each other were.