Chapter Two

Alex felt stupid and frustrated as she sat on the edge of the hospital bed. She shouldn't have been there. She wasn't the one who'd been at the end of a car or a bullet. The paramedics had swept her up in the aftermath, concerned about her state as she shook and shivered. Taking her to hospital with shock, they'd checked her blood pressure so many times that her arm felt numb and the whole thing left her feeling like a fool. Eventually a doctor came round with a clipboard. Alex would have quite liked the clipboard. It would have given her something to start making lists on.

"Alex," the doctor looked at her notes then up at her, "Alex Drake?" he asked.

"Yes," Alex said quietly.

"The good news is your blood pressure has returned to normal and you should be able to leave soon," he told her, "I'd like one of the midwives to come up and check you with the Doppler to make sure your baby is alright and then you're free to leave. If you start feeling unwell, cold or shaky at any point, please do the sensible thing and come back in."

Alex nodded slowly. If it wasn't for the baby she'd have boycotted the idea of being checked over completely but she wasn't her own top priority and wanted to make sure the little one hadn't been affected by the shock.

"I need to know what's happening with my friends," she said.

"That's Kimberley Stringer and –" the doctor ran out of useful notes.

"Robin Thomas."

The doctor nodded.

"Someone will want to speak to you about them before you leave," he said.

That sounded alarming.

"They will?" asked.

"We need to contact family," The doctor explained, "next of kin for both of them. We have checked their personal affects but we can't find any details."

Alex felt somewhat sad as she thought about their situations. Between the death of Robin's mother at the hands of his father and Kim's estrangement from her family she didn't see the doctor getting any such details.

"They don't have any," she said quietly.

"Neither of them?"

Alex thought about Kim's admission, the ring she'd bought earlier, and gave a sad sigh.

"They're… sort of each other's," she said quietly.

"This is difficult," the doctor remarked.

Oh dear. Well that didn't sound good.

"In what way difficult?" Alex asked incredulously.

The doctor took in a deep breath which he let out slowly, composing his thoughts.

"We really do need to contact family," he said.

"That's not answering my question," Alex told him.

The doctor didn't want to lump any extra pressure onto a patient, especially not a pregnant one whose blood pressure had been all over the place. But if Kim and Robin had no family or next of kin then the person who seemed to know them best would have to do for now.

"Alright.," he began, "Ms Stringer is under heavy sedation at the moment. We need to prevent her from moving too much until we have been able to assess any possible damage to her spine. She has been lucid briefly and was clearly in a great deal of pain. It was safer to sedate her to prevent her from causing herself any damage."

Alex's eyes closed for a moment as her heart went out to her. She couldn't stand the thought of her being in so much pain, and if she was having periods of lucidity before the sedation then it seemed that the car at least wasn't supposed to be Alex's route home. The one thought that she'd tried to keep as a positive until that point was the idea that if Robin was back in the other world then at least Kim was with him, but it seemed even they weren't together.

"When will you know if there's any permanent damage?" she asked quietly.

"We'll be taking her for a series of scans and x-rays shortly," the doctor told her, "do you know Kim very well?"

Alex nodded.

"Yes, why?"

"I know it's a personal question, but is there any possibility that she may be pregnant?" the doctor asked.

"Why?"

"We'd need to know before we carry out any x-rays," the doctor explained, "if she is then it could harm the foetus."

Alex felt herself hesitating.

"Not as far as I know," she said, "but I do know she's been trying." She paused, some kind of female intuition coming into play, "please don't think I'm paranoid, but something's worrying me about what you said… can you make sure before you send her for the x-rays?" she paused, "not that I'm telling you how to do your job…"

"If there's any chance we'll take precautions," the doctor assured her. He cursed himself for wanting to make a joke along the lines of 'which is more than the patient did…' He must have wanted to say that a hundred times or more. Trying to be professional, he cleared his throat. "There is a shield we can use to protect the area from radiation and we'll make sure we get her tested ASAP."

"Thank you," Alex nodded. She paused for a moment, "and what about Robin?"

The doctor's expression became altogether more grim.

"Mister Thomas has lost a lot of blood," he began, "and he is continuing to do so. His heart stopped for some time but he was resuscitated at the scene. We need to stabilise his SATS before we are able to operate unless the speed of the blood loss increases. We won't know the severity of his internal injuries until we start operating to remove the bullet."

"Shit" Alex closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Even if the bullet had been the path meant for her, the thought if it chilled her to the bone.

"We'll update you when we have some news," the doctor promised. He gave her a sympathetic smile which didn't really go very far towards compensating for two close friends who were lying in hospital with various serious injuries. "I'll find that midwife to check the baby over and then you'll be free to get dressed and leave."

"Thank you," Alex said quietly. She found her head drooping as the doctor left. Her heart was breaking in so many ways. She should have been home… should have been home…

"DI Drake?"

Alex wasn't expecting to hear anyone call her name. She looked up and saw a familiar face at the door. It took her a few moments though to realise who it was.

"Miss Ford," She said in surprise.

"Hayley, please," Hayley said quietly with a weak smile as she stepped forward. He looked at Alex a little nervously. "Is it alright if I speak to you?"

Alex adjusted her hospital smock to make sure she was decent.

"Y-yes, of course," she said quickly, "what are you doing here? Were you hurt in the robbery?"

"Just suffered shock," Hayley said with a little embarrassment, "they insisted on bringing me in. I'd rather have avoided the whole thing."

"That makes two of us," Alex said with a nervous smile.

Hayley sat down in a hard plastic chair, looking a little sheepish.

"The man in the shop," she said, "the one who got shot. I didn't realise he was another police officer."

"You would have met him tomorrow," Alex said quietly, "he was only really there to get his watch fixed. It just," she swallowed as she remembered the implications, "it just stopped. Coincidentally."

"Sadly we couldn't fix it," Hayley said apologetically, still fretting about that, "At least he found a ring he liked."

Alex frowned.

"What ring?"

"Bought one just before the bloody raid," Hayley started to feel angry. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "That's what I'm here about, actually." She looked at Alex nervously, "I… please don't think I'm crazy…"

Alex gave a distant smile.

"Unlikely," she said, thinking of some of the things that she had experienced herself.

"It's just… I can't get this out my mind," Hayley said quietly. She looked at Alex seriously. "I didn't even realise what the date was. It usually gets to me a little but the last few weeks had been extra busy and I didn't realise it was the eighth."

Alex stared at her.

"What's significant about the eighth?" she asked.

"Fifteen years ago today there was another robbery," Hayley explained, "same shop. My mother was working that day. She was shot when she tried to activate the direct alarm to the police. She pulled through but her nerves were never the same and she took early retirement."

Alex hesitated. She remembered reading about Hayley's predecessor stopping work. So that was why.

"I'm so sorry," he said, "this must brring back some terrible memories."

"That's not it," Hayley said. Her face looked pale and haunted. "I know how this is going to sound."

Alex hesitated.

"How… what is going to sound?"

Hayley let out her breath.

"I didn't knit up the name at the time but the coincidence…" she shook her head. "During the raid in ninety seven there were some detectives from another station outside. It was just luck they were there but they stopped the robbers when they fled the shop. I am absolutely certain one of them was called," she flinched, knowing how stupid it sounded, "Gene Hunt." She looked back at Alex whose expression was copletely frozen, "that… that is the same name, isn't it? The relative? The one you wanted me to help get identified?"

Alex wasn't sure she had understood. She thought about asking to have her ears syringed while she happened to be at the hospital. She blinked a few times and tried to pull herself out of her daze.

"y-yes," she said quickly, "are you sure? You didn't recognise the name earlier –"

"I wasn't thinking about the robbery earlier," Hayley pointed out, "after I realised today's date while I was waiting for them to stop taking my damn blood pressure so many times it came to me." She shook her head slowly, "I know it sounds bizarre –"

"I've heard worse," Alex said nervously. She paused, "but… but how can you be sure about the name? It was a long time ago…"

"Silly really," Hayley sighed, "I just remembered a stupid headline on a local paper. You see, the detectives weren't local. They were from London. My mother didn't get to thank them for their part in stopping the robbers. The local paper ran a headline, something like 'The Hunt for Gene', trying to track him down to express our gratitude."

Alex found herself shaking again. She hoped she could calm herself down before the midwife arrived with the Doppler, otherwise that stupid blood pressure machine would be going off every two minutes again.

"That's quite a coincidence," she whispered.

Hayley looked a little sheepish.

"I don't know if it's some sort of sign or what. But…" she sighed, "I'd still like to help you. With the identification of the unknown PC. I'm still going to go and speak to someone about trying to prove who he was. I'm going to try to do it tomorrow."

Despite everything there was a flutter in Alex's chest and a tiny smile spread across her lips. She closed her eyes momentarily and whispered,

"That would be wonderful," she took a deep breath. "Thank you, Hayley. Thank you so much."

Hayley smiled back, but her expression soon dropped.

"The young man who was shot," she began, "is there any news on him?"

Ales found her own smile fading.

"No," she whispered, "not yet. It's not looking good."

"I'm so sorry," Hayley said quietly, "I'll pray for him."

Alex gave her a weak smile as she waved a goodbye. Out of the blue a hopeless situation had suddenly taken a strange and hopeful direction. Suddenly there were turns and parallels that she had never expected and she felt a burst of hope in her heart. She didn't dare think too deeply into it yet, but the spark of a possibility was there.

Suddenly she had something to hold onto.

~xXx~

1997

"I think," Gene said out loud to the empty flat, "that I am going to have to do this the DCI Drake way."

He wished it hadn't come to this. Gene Hunt didn't do girly notepads. But Gene Hunt didn't do cryptic messages over the television either, so this was an emergency situation. After he'd managed to boot Robin out with brandy and clean clothes he'd started pacing and thinking, trying to work out exactly what he'd seen. The television thing… that was supposed to be for the lucky ones who were still alive. He'd had no need for deciphering messages before now. He'd been fairly glad of that, they always made those who received them sound like a bunch of loonies.

Now he'd had his own he had stared to worry that her would never work them out. He was worried about his memory, too. It wasn't always the best. He wasn't Memory Man of Fenchurch, that was for certain. He didn't want to forget any important details so eventually he conceded.

"Heaven help me street cred," he mumbled. There seemed to be no other choice.

Slowly he paced to the kitchen and started rummaging through drawers and cupboards. There had to be one there somewhere. Even though the flat technically was no longer Alex's, if there was a hint of her left on the premises then there would be one tucked away somewhere – and there, in the back of a drawer, he found what he was looking for.

"Bloody notebooks," he mumbled.

He made sure he locked the door and drew the blinds. He didn't want to risk anyone seeing him do the Drakey thing and actually make use of a notebook instead of his fists and a bottle of scotch. But just this once it seemed like the way forward. He needed to make sure he didn't lose any important facts and this was the one way he knew he would get them all down.

"Bols, you've reduced me to a list-making nancy boy," Gene complained as he found a pen and sat at the kitchen table. He sighed deeply as he tried to remember all the programmes he'd seen flicking by on the TV and the messages they had for him. He couldn't help thinking that Alex was so much better at this than he was. He didn't seem able to make a concise list of coherent thoughts; instead his page filled up with rambling comments and insults about the various people who had appeared on the screen.

Within half an hour his page read;

- Painting twat with stupid hair

- Insultingly proportioned painting of Bols, top half needed to be at least 2 cup sizes bigger

- Bloody Changing Rooms, need to punch Carol Smilie's face in.

- Redecorating the flat, get rid of nerd junk before Alex comes home

- Live TV, snogging. This was the best programme of the night.

- Retuning Bolly for channel 5? Where does she keep her bloody aerial?

- Videos. What has Keats got in his basement?

- Teletubbies, Dipsy rubbing me nose in it, little green bastard.

- Layton? Why was he in Teletubbies, what's be been selling them?

- Did Tinky Winky have an empire back in the day?

- Casualty, overdose – Layton again?

- 'He started it, has to finish it'. Here and there?

- This is stupid, I hate lists.

He sat back and studied his notes. They weren't quite up to Alex's standard but they weren't as bad as he was expecting. He sighed as he cast his eye over some of his written words.

"The only problem is, Bols," he mumbled, "I need you back here to help me make sense of this crap."

He supposed that he would have to rely on Simon and Robin instead. They were both nerds, he was sure they were better with lists than he was. Tomorrow he'd tell them. He'd explain everything, as hard as it would be to admit that he'd received a message. That wasn't his territory. It made him feel uncomfortable and out of his depth.

He glanced at the TV warily. Whether any more messages would come through he had no idea but he was going to be watching a bit more of the box than usual from now on.

X

# …I see you falling

how long to go before you hit the ground

You keep on screaming

Don't you see me here.. am I a ghost to you?

Now your grips too strong

You can't catch love with a net or a gun

Gotta keep faith that your path will change

Gotta keep faith that your luck will change tomorrow

tomorrow

Why are you phoning

What am I to do when you're miles away

You're always calling

From the darkest rooms... and we're both scared

Now your grips too strong

You can't catch love with a net or a gun

Gotta keep faith that your path will change

Gotta keep faith that your luck will change

Now your grips too strong

Can't catch love with a net or a gun

Gotta keep faith that your path will change

Gotta keep faith that your luck will change,

Tomorrow..

I'm just out of your range

tomorrow

all your suffering's in vain

tomorrow

lalala

Now your grips too strong

You can't catch love with a net or a gun

Gotta keep faith that your path will change

Gotta keep faith that your love will change tomorrow

I'm out of your range

tomorrow

all your suffering seems vain, change

tomorrow

some forgiveness now

tomorrow

love's no sacred cow… #

- Tomorrow by James