The next three days passed in a blur of activity in a routine that Alex found herself growing almost used to, having gone through it in 2008. The doctor had run a multitude of tests, explained to her over again what they had had to do to her and how that would affect her now, and finally about her medication. She was dosed up to the eyeballs on drugs whose names she could not pronounce, and would have to take funny little pills whose colour reminded her of sweets regularly for the next few weeks.
Then there'd been the steady stream of officers, who had all started by wishing her good health before immediately pressing her on the details of that fateful day. Within hours, the case against Gene had been dropped, and they told her they'd update her on any further developments. Their presence had somewhat annoyed her, so she was glad when she'd finally seen a familiar face.
As soon as they'd been allowed to they'd come to her; Ray, Chris, Shaz, even Viv, but conspicuous by his absence was Gene. Maybe she should feel guilty about their little spat, but at the moment she was too confused to worry about him she told herself as she folded her belongings away into her bag. Her discharge papers had just been signed, and after once again thanking the staff she was trying not to spend a minute longer than necessary in the hospital.
She couldn't wait to be back in the quiet of her flat, the place that she had found to be her haven over the past few years. Finished packing, she knew what she had to do; she had to drag her feet one step at a time out of here. Step out of the hospital, out of the taxi, into Luigi's, past all her friends smiling and cheering, through the embrace of a very tearful Luigi and finally up the stairs, where she found herself once again outside that door. Alex breathed a sigh of relief, and fumbled for her keys, desperately awaiting the cool, dark and a glass of wine on the other side. Little did she know, she was not going to get that.
Gene was angry with himself, but that had been his constant mode of being since the shooting so he was used to it. What he was not used to was acting upon that anger; finding a solution; solving the problem. Before, it had been a case of waiting for her to wake up, which was up to the doctors. Now he had to sort their broken relationship, and he had no clue where to start. The risky idea itself had come to him whilst half way through a pint at Luigi's. It was so easy to put it into action; he'd known where the spare key was for years, and as soon as Luigi had his attention on a customer, he was up there like a flash and unlocking the door to her flat.
All that action, all the thoughts; that had been the easy part. Now he had to sit and wait for her to turn up, and that was the problem. His doubts and fears about the success of his plan quickly surfaced, and he realised he needed to decide what he would say to her first. But what could he say? Where to start?
Well, first he should apologise for being a dick the other day. He hadn't meant to be so cold, he just wanted the old banter back. Then he would apologise for shooting her, and hopefully she would be so stunned by his two apologies in such quick succession that she would be calmer than before. Hopefully being the operative word. Then.. well, he wasn't sure. All the questions that had been bugging him for the past month resurfaced. How had she been involved with Operation Rose? Who was the man he had shot in the square? Why had she been there when he'd told her not to be (he already partly knew the answer to this; because she was bloody stubborn)? And what had all that crap about the future been about?
He tormented himself for around two hours before he heard the tell-tale signs that his wait was over; footsteps on the other side…
A bit of a filler chapter leading up to 'the stand off'. Tell me what you think or not...
Disclaimer; I own none of the Ashes To Ashes characters...