A/N: This is set in 2010, two years after Alex emerged from her coma, post s2. She discovered that her 980s team had also been in the same position as her. During these two years, they all worked together from their separate stations on a case that spanned regions and decades. After finally solving it, the Commissioner decided that they worked extremely well together and posted them all at a new station.

The song really reminded me of Galex, so after an hour of writing and playing the song to death, this fic was created. This is my first A2A story, so please be gentle. Thanks so much to my beta, Jazzola. Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ashes to Ashes, sadly. If I did, there would've been a lot more Galex, believe me! ;]

Who'd Have Known?

It's 5 o' clock in the morning
The conversation got boring

Alex's house was being fumigated, much to her annoyance, so Gene, having a spare room, let her stay round his. Molly had gone to stay with Evan. But Alex had opted to take Gene up on his offer, giving Evan the excuse of "It's closer to work".

They'd stayed up on the first night, a Friday, talking about anything and everything that they'd never had the opportunity to talk about before. But eventually, as the sun started to peep through the curtains, they were running out of things to say, and were getting too tired to carry on.

You said you were going to bed soon
So I snuck off to your bedroom

Gene announced that they should get some sleep, heading for his bedroom, and Alex nipped up to the bathroom. However, the alcohol she had consumed made her feel braver, so she decided to stealthily slink into Gene's room and slip into his bed.

And I thought I'd just wait there
Until I heard you come up the stairs.

She panicked slightly and composed her excuse for if he questioned her.
'I'm sorry, I thought this was the spare. It must be the alcohol and the tiredness...'

And I pretended I was sleeping
And I was hoping you would creep in with me.

Alex closed her eyes and levelled her breathing out. To her surprise, she heard Gene strip down to his vest and boxers. He then quietly slipped in beside her and merely chuckled in such a manner that she instantly knew he could see through her ruse.
"Couldn't resist a bi' o' the Gene Genie, eh, Bols?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively as Alex's eyes opened. She hit his chest lightly, muttering back with a smile, "You're incorrigible."

You put your arm around my shoulder
And it was good the room got colder
And we moved closer together

The temperature suddenly dropped.
"Yeah, does that around this time," Gene muttered to her apologetically as he noticed her shiver. He eased his arm around her shoulder gently and drew her closer. Alex obligingly snuggled closer up to him, putting a hand on his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. She breathed in the comforting scent that was so quintessentially Gene: cigarette smoke, whiskey, hints of old spice and something only describable as Gene's 'man stink'. He wrapped his arms securely around her waist and let his head rest above hers. He paused for a moment, then gently tangled his feet with hers.
"Jesus, Bolly!" he exclaimed quietly, "yer feet are freezin'!" She smiled sheepishly at him.

And started talking about the weather
You said tomorrow would be fun
And we could watch A Place in the Sun

"Looks like it'll be miserable tomorrow," Gene said conversationally, the conversation about tomorrow's activities that they'd had coming to mind.. Alex gave a non-committal grunt, tiredness creeping in and starting to take hold.
"Still," Gene carried on, "we can 'ave a lot o' fun 'ere. Board games, telly, DVDs, Blu-Rays. A Place in the Sun?" he added hopefully.
"Are you addicted to that programme?" Alex asked, smirking.
"Well, I'll be goin' on a show like tha' when I retire, so why not start lookin' a' it now?" Gene asked defensively. Alex swallowed a laugh at the indignant look on his face.

I didn't know where this was going
When you kissed me

"Still, wouldn't be goin' on me own," Gene told her.
"Oh yeah?" she said. He nodded and moved back slightly to look her directly in the eye.
"Yeah. I'd take you 'n' Molls. If yeh wan'ed ter come, tha' is," Gene said sincerely. Alex's eyes widened in shock. She was so caught up in the admission from Gene that it took her about half a minute to realise that she was being kissed and half a minute longer to respond to it as her eyes fluttered closed. It wasn't at all how she'd imagined (and she'd done so. Frequently)- it was soft and gentle as his slightly chapped lips moved against her own smooth ones. His tongue ran almost nervously along her bottom lip and she opened her mouth slowly. He tasted how she thought he would, but a hundred times stronger than her wildest imaginings- tobacco and whiskey, with a hint of mint from the toothpaste he'd recently used. Alex moaned as his tongue wrapped around hers tentatively. That's when they knew it was serious.

Are you mine?
Are you mine?
'Cause I stay here all the time
Watching telly, drinking wine

In the weeks following, Gene and Alex became almost inseparable, even after her house was habitable again. Alex felt truly happy just spending her evenings with Gene and Molly, quite comfortable curled up next to him with Molly cuddling up to her, a glass of wine in one hand, watching whatever they'd opted to watch that day. Neither had verbally addressed the change in their relationship, but it was something that didn't need saying. They still fought like cat and dog in the office, but after hours, it was almost like a little family unit.

Who'd have known?
Who'd have known?
When you flash up on my phone
I no longer feel alone.

When Alex and Gene were forced to part because of their separate jobs in the investigation or simply because of things they needed to do, Alex felt a deep sense of longing, akin to a dog pining for its master or mistress to return. In these instances, with Gene, the feminist inside her was firmly locked away. But when her mobile rang with Gene's ringtone, Jean Genie, and his Caller ID, Alex couldn't stop the goofy smile from growing on her face. Hearing his voice always brightened up a boring day.

I haven't left for days now
And I'm becoming amazed how
You're quite affectionate in public
In fact your friend said it made her feel sick

On Sundays, Gene would take the girls out, to the park or to the town. To Alex's surprise, it was during these times that Gene was very affectionate (though this was usually physical, like hugs and kisses). Molly would always make a retching noise and mutter how it was 'dead embarrassing' and how 'people your age shouldn't do that in public', though she would hide a small smile. She loved seeing her mother so happy and utterly alive.

And even though it's moving forward
There's just the right amount of awkward
And today you accidently called me baby.

Well, okay. He didn't call her baby. But it was very sweet. Things were progressing fast, like the fact that Alex and Molly's stuff had now been transferred into Gene's house. Molly had claimed the spare room as her own, and she and Alex shared a shelf in the bathroom. Alex had two drawers and half of his wardrobe. And, unlike he thought he would be, he wasn't scared. In fact, if he wasn't such a miserable, hard bastard, he would say his heart soared when he saw Alex's toothbrush entwined with his in the cup he left on the bathroom sink. But he was no poofter. So he didn't. But there were still times where Alex felt, as Gene so sensitively put it, "like a virgin in a brothel".

It was late evening, and he was phoning from some swanky hotel up in Newcastle, having gone up to some conference for the week. They phone rang and Alex put her wine glass down before picking up the phone. She curled her legs back up underneath her as she spoke into the phone.
"Hey." Alex said softly, smiling.
"Hey. Yeh alright?" Gene asked tenderly.
"Much better now." Alex didn't need to elaborate. "You?"
"Same." He smiled; she could tell by the sound of his voice. "How's the station?"
"They're behaving. What about the conference?"
"About as boring as watching paint dry. Only there's a fresh coat o' paint goin' down it every two hours." Alex laughed.
"Really? That fun?" She replied sarcastically.

"Mm."

"Miss you." Ales said softly. There was a pause.
"Miss yeh too." Gene replied. Alex beamed. She lived for the rare moments where Gene would vocally express his affections. She heard Molly calling, saying she needed help with something.
"Got to go. Molly needs help with something." Alex paused hesitantly, before adding softly, "I love you." A beat passed.
"I-I love yeh too." Gene murmured back nervously. "See yeh tomorra, sweetheart."
"Yeah." Alex said elatedly. "Bye."
"Bye." Gene replied. They both placed their handsets down, instantly missing the other's voice. But Alex allowed a moment of euphoria to wash over her before Molly impatiently called again.

Let's just stay
Let's just say
I wanna lie in bed all day
We'll be laughing all the way

The alarm beeped impatiently and Alex slammed her fist down on the 'snooze' button. Alex had been very active that weekend with Gene, making up for the week apart.
"C'mon sleepyhead." Gene murmured, nudging her slightly. Alex turned to face him, her eyes bleary and hair a mess from sleeping and a wild night, courtesy of the man beside her, who wasn't looking much better.
"Can't we stay in bed?" Alex moaned like a whiny school child. Gene smirked.
"'S'much as I'd like a repeat performance, Bols, we've got ter go ter work. Migh' be a bit suspicious if neither of us turned up. Super wouldn't be too 'appy either. 'S'ides, I reckon watching Christopher prat about will keep us entertained, 'ey?" he murmured, as though coaxing a small child into something they didn't want to do. This resulted in Alex just burying her head further into her pillow.
"Mum! I need to be at school in half an hour!" Molly called. Alex groaned and Gene laughed.
"Looks like yeh've got yer orders, Lady B. Wouldn't want ter upset tha' one, I 'eard 'er last slave died o' earache from constant yellin' 'bout incompetence," Gene smirked. Alex hit him in the arm, and not lightly.
"Ow!" He pouted.
"My daughter's not spoilt." Alex huffed. Gene had to laugh at that, which resulted in a pillow being thrown at his head.
Thus, the pillow war began.
They were all late.

You told your friends,
They all know
We exist, but we're taking it slow

The night they told the team, down at the local boozer, turned out to be a good one. It had previously been decided that Gene would break the news. After losing Rock, Paper, Scissors and a coin toss, Alex still had to promise him that drinks were on her, amongst other things, before he caved.
"Righ' you lot. Listen up, 'cause I ain't repeatin' meself. Tha' means you an' all Ray. Ignore the blonde. I'm sure yeh capable o' keepin' yer eye off 'er fer 'bout a minute. An' you, Chris. Bloody 'ell, does anyone 'ave a long enough attention span 'round 'ere?" Gene groaned. He waved his hand in front of Chris' face, clicking his fingers a few times until Chris responded.
"Righ', then. Well." Gene coughed. "Me 'n' Bolly are seein' each other. Now tha's outta the way, I'll 'ave a pint, cheers, love." Alex rolled her eyes and called in a round, both of them watching their colleagues in amusement as they processed what Gene had just said.
"You two?" Chris asked, looking between the two. "Yer…shagging, like?" Again, Alex rolled her eyes.
"Amongst other things, Chris, yes."
Shaz beamed and threw her amrs around Alex.
"Congratulations, Ma'am, Guv!" she cried excitedly. Ray simply smirked, muttered, "who'd have known?", and went back to staring at the blonde, or, more accurately, her breasts. For the third time, Alex rolled her eyes and made herself comfortable, resting her head on Gene's shoulder with his arm around her waist. She was smiling.

Let's just see how we go
Let's see how we go.