Just a little idea that I dreamed up while lying in bed with the flu. As ever, thanks for the support from the PSoS, and all reviews welcome!

The Green-Eyed Monster

Chapter 1

As Alex pushed through the double doors into CID it was the high-pitched laugh she heard first. And then the unmistakeable voice, which always reminded her of fingernails down a blackboard. Jackie bloody Queen.

There they were in his office, him with his feet on the desk blowing a smoke-ring up towards the ceiling and her perched next to him, her hip flush against his ankle. Alex watched him smirk and then openly chuckle at something Jackie said, waving her ciggie around to emphasise a point, and felt an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach. When was the last time she'd made him laugh? She didn't like the feeling, and put it down to the fact she'd had no dinner yet.

As she approached her heels clicked across the floor, and Gene glanced over while Jackie swivelled round, putting her hand on his leg for support. It seemed such an intimate gesture that it caught Alex off-guard and she took a sharp intake of breath. Gene took a swig of his whiskey, and then waved the glass towards the other woman.

"Lady Bols. You remember Jackie, don't you?"

Alex forced a smile onto her face.

"Of course. How are you?"

She noticed the Glaswegian still had a possessive hand on the Guv's leg.

"Fine, actually. And about eight pounds of baby-weight lighter."

She grinned, patting an enviably flat stomach.

"Oh, of course. Boy or a girl?"

Jackie finally removed her hand, stubbed out her ciggie and picked up her glass.

"Little boy, Rory. Blond hair, blue eyes, looks just like his daddy …"

She winked at Alex and glanced round at Gene, who looked from one to the other.

"Now don' start all that again. You told me it was nothing to do wi me."

Jackie gave one of her annoying laughs and Alex winced. Then she patted Gene's leg again.

"Don't worry, big man, his real father's looking after him for a few days. You're in the clear."

Gene looked mightily relieved, but Alex wondered for a second if Jackie was telling the truth. She shook herself mentally.

"Well, I've been sent to find out why the Guv's not in Luigi's. Care to join us?"

This was bending the truth sightly. It had been her decision to come and find out why he was working late, it felt odd sitting at 'their' table without him.

"Sounds like a good idea, me stomach thinks me throat's been cut. Jackie?"

She patted his leg again, and Alex rolled her eyes. This was really getting annoying now.

"Lead on, I could eat a horse …"

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Luigi's was lively that night, and everybody seemed to be having a good time except Alex. She pushed her pasta idly round her plate, having lost her appetite at some point during the evening. Gene and Jackie had both cleared their plates, Lord knows how the woman seemed to be able to eat and yet never stop talking. Alex had made some vain attempts to join the conversation, but Jackie seemed intent on whispering to Gene, a hand intimately brushing his arm or his leg, and she couldn't hear what they were talking about much of the time. He seemed to be enjoying the attention, she'd heard him chuckle more than once.

Eventually she'd had enough, carrying her glass of wine to the bar where Luigi tried to distract her unsuccessfully. She couldn't help casting surreptitious glances towards Gene, but he showed no sign of even noticing she'd moved and after a while she gave up, downing her drink and making for the exit without a backwards glance.

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Jackie Queen, with all the finely honed instincts of a journalist, allowed herself a secret smile. She'd been completely right about these two, they were mad about each other but neither wanted to make the first move, too afraid of rejection. She'd observed Alex getting progressively more jealous as the evening went on and she'd taken care to touch Gene as much as possible to really up the ante. And he glanced in Alex's direction regularly, even though he appeared outwardly to be hanging on Jackie's every word. He knew the minute Alex vacated the table, and his eyes followed her as she left the restaurant, revealing a flash of longing for a split second before the usual pout was firmly back in place.

Jackie gave it a few more minutes and then made her excuses and went off to grab a taxi, phase one of her plan successfully completed. She allowed herself the odd twinge of envy, she'd always carried a bit of a torch for Gene herself: he was, after all, a very attractive man, Alpha male with a capital A, and those bedroom eyes were well-nigh irresistible. If he hadn't been too drunk the last time he was up in Manchester she might well have been tempted to take advantage of him. There was an undeniable sensuality about him, she guessed he'd be red hot between the sheets, and the thought sent a shiver down her spine. On the other hand, one night would never have been enough and it was clear his heart belonged to Alex. You owe me big style, Drake, she thought …