By the time she had climbed the stairs of the police station her heart was in her mouth. She approached the double doors to CID with her pulse hammering in her ears. This was it. She paused, smoothed down her clothes and hair, placed her hand on the door and pushed.

Her eyes sought Gene immediately, and she was relieved to see him already rising from his chair to meet her. Her eyes flicked to the figure lurking outside Hunt's office. Keats. She decided to ignore him, even though all her instincts begged otherwise. She noted the two men exchange snarled words as Gene passed; nothing changes, she thought. They even looked more or less exactly the same as before; clothes a little more modern maybe, but essentially nothing had changed. Even the office still resembled how it had looked in 1990, although there was now a computer on every desk.

"Lady Muck, I'm pleased you've decided to grace us with your presence. Again," Gene bellowed up the office. The assorted detectives glanced up from their screens and scrutinised her. She was sure she recognised some of them from her time here before.

"That's DI Lady Muck, thank you," she corrected him.

"I've just seen your file, very impressive for a secretary," he folded his arms. "I hope you still make tea."

"Perhaps you should make me a cup," she grinned. "Remind me how."

"Cheeky bloody mare. My office, now!" Gene turned and began stomping back to his desk. "Plonk. Tea, six sugars and whatever hoity toity pants here wants." He shoulder barged Keats as he passed, for good measure.

"Just a white tea would be lovely, thank you," Sarah smiled at the beleaguered female PC.

She approached the office, aware of Keats' eyes boring into her. He hadn't moved, he hadn't uttered a word since her arrival, but now he stepped in front of her, blocking her path. She looked into his eyes, once again seeing up close the fire that burned there. She held his gaze evenly, without a trace of emotion or fear.

"Welcome back, Sarah," Keats breathed.

"Oi, pencil neck!" Gene called from his desk. "Stop bothering my female staff or I'll have you on a charge of sexual harassment."

The merest flicker of a self-satisfied smile crossed Keats' face, before he stepped aside to allow Sarah to pass. She walked straight into Gene's office and closed the door gently behind her. She exhaled heavily and leaned back against the frame, grateful that Gene had already closed the blinds. Her heart raced as though it might try to escape from her ribs.

"Sit here, drink this and don't let him get to you," Gene instructed, indicating a tumbler of whisky on the desk before him.

"Thanks, DCI Hunt", she dropped heavily into the chair opposite his. She grabbed the whisky and knocked it back, feeling it burn reassuringly in her chest.

"I prefer Guv," he refilled her glass and poured a healthy slug for himself.

"Thanks, Guv." She pressed the cool glass to her forehead.

"It's never pretty, dealing with an ex," he muttered.

"Particularly not one who almost destroyed the world."

"I dunno, you should see the ex-Mrs Hunt," Gene pouted. "She could give old four eyes a run for his money."

Sarah laughed and sipped her whisky.

"So you remember it all, then?" Gene asked quietly.

"Yes," she said. "You?"

He pulled a book out of his drawer and tossed it across the desk to her. "I started making notes, after you left. I wanted to remember…stuff…" he drifted off.

She thumbed through the book. Right at the beginning there were a few lines about her, not all exactly complimentary she noted, smiling at Gene's take on her relationship with Keats. Then there were some other notes about a DI Simpson and so on, cataloguing endless coppers who had passed through Gene's care. She saw that, throughout the book, there were references to Alex, Sam, Chris and Ray. Obviously remembrances noted as time passed. She closed the book quietly and laid it on the desk.

"I think that was a good idea," she smiled. "I, however, did my best to forget. Career, drink, blokes…you name it."

Gene sized her up. "What happened to you?"

"Shotgun to the guts," she shook her head. "Botched hostage negotiation at a bank job. Not my finest hour. Not quite as dramatic as your bullet to the skull, mind you."

Gene raised his eyebrows. "You've done your research."

Sarah looked him in the eye. "I've read all the files. You, Alex, Sam, everyone."

"Keats?"

She made a split second decision. "No," she lied, "I couldn't locate it."

Gene sat back and sipped his whisky. He'd been a copper long enough to know when someone was lying to him. He didn't like it. And he especially didn't like being kept in the dark by a member of his own team. But this was something else. The normal rules didn't apply this time. It didn't mean he had to like it, but he could let it go. For now.

"You be careful. That bastard has been hanging around this department like a bad smell for this past twenty odd years," Gene scowled. "I've seen some good coppers fall prey to that toerag."

"I will, I promise." She sat up. "So, what are we working on?"

"Arsonist. Some bugger's been going around setting fires. Three in the last month."

"You think it's all the work of the same man?"

"Man? You got a crystal ball somewhere I should know about, Mystic Meg?"

"Eighty eight percent of all serial arsonists are male, so it's a pretty good chance," Sarah argued. "But alright, do you think it's all the work of the same perpetrator?"

"All been set using firebombs. Petrol, milk bottle and a lit rag kind of thing."

"Crude, but effective. Also means the arsonist is close by when it goes up. They like to watch."

"Christ, you're worse than Bolly!"

"And the targets?"

"A school, a GP surgery and a church. A community minded firebug. We're sorting a list of people who have links with all three premises, but that's half the bleedin' town."

"I'll take a look at the files, get up to speed," Sarah rose and crossed to the door.

"You do that, Lady Muck. But you remember what I told you," Gene's face darkened. "You embarrassed Keats last time you were here. He's got a long memory and he holds a grudge."

"I'll bear it in mind, thanks Guv," Sarah opened the door and made her way to an empty desk.

"And where's my ruddy tea?" Gene hollered in her wake.