No Place Like Home - Chapter 3
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Gene was prowling around outside the hospital ward waiting for the Doctor to discharge Alex into his care he took a quick sip from one of his hipflasks as he heard her approaching.
"Really I don't want a wheelchair I can walk" Alex was protesting.
"I'm afraid it's hospital policy Alexandra" the Doctor insisted as a nurse pushed a wheelchair in and Alex reluctantly seated herself in it.
"Right then are we ready for the off?" Gene took his place and began to push Alex towards the exit.
"Steady on Gene this isn't the Quattro you know!" Alex said clinging on for dear life as Gene took a sharp corner on their way out.
"Sorry Bolly just want to get you outta here" Gene had parked the Quattro almost next to the exit.
"Gene you shouldn't have parked there the ambulances won't be able to get through" Alex said not entirely surprised that Gene had abused his parking privileges again.
"Well I didn't fancy pushing you miles in this bloody thing, anyway we're here now." Gene seemed slightly on edge as he carefully helped Alex into the passenger seat of the Quattro. He even fastened her seatbelt making sure not to catch her injured side.
They passed the short journey back to her flat mostly in silence with just a few quick interludes mostly from Alex asking about work and how the rest of the team were getting on. Gene had put in for a couple of days holiday so that he could look after Alex properly during her first few days back at the flat. After getting Alex safely up the stairs and then bringing up her overnight bag and the bag he had packed with things he would need during his time there, Gene busied himself in the kitchen making them both a cuppa.
"D'ya want anything to eat Bols?" Gene inquired as he began randomly opening drawers and cupboards looking at Alex's woeful food supplies.
"Not really hungry yet, I had breakfast at the hospital" Alex replied from her comfortable position on the settee.
"Good job. There's not enough to feed a mouse in here. Looks like we'll have to send out for some shopping" Gene said as he walked in the room with their tea.
"You shop and we drop" Alex said half smiling.
"What?" Gene asked looking puzzled to Alex's muttered response of "Nothing"
"I'll pop downstairs see if Luigi can spare anything, maybe get one of his staff to nip down the shops" and with that he was through the door and off before Alex could protest.
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Later that afternoon Alex was taking a nap on her bed as Gene was keeping himself busy unpacking the shopping that Luigi's waitress had got for him. The sight of a row of tapes in one of the drawers stopped him in his tracks. They were the same make as the one that had been left in his office. Looking them over Gene could see each tape had a date written on it and the dates began a few days after Alex had arrived at his station, and in his life.
Alex was stirring in her sleep and muttering, Gene could just about make out the name Molly then she became more agitated, he slammed the drawer shut making the tapes rattle as he went over to the bedroom unsure about whether or not to go and rouse Alex from her troubled sleep.
"No, no, please no" Alex was thrashing about "GENE" she yelled desperately as he leapt to her side scooping her up into his arms.
"S'alright Bol's just a bad dream that's all" he said, gently stroking her hair.
"What, what happened" Alex said opening her eyes confused still half lost in the dream about Martin Summers she'd just had; he'd been taunting her, telling her that Gene was the one keeping her trapped in this World and that he would never let her go. Suddenly Alex was aware that she was being held by Gene and that, although he was being tender and comforting she felt suffocated, the dream had unsettled her and left her with an air of unease. Shrugging herself gently from Gene's arms so as not to make him think she didn't want him to hold her, Alex slowly made her way off towards the bathroom.
"I'll be right back…call of nature" she quickly said to calm Gene's worries as he looked quite concerned by her efforts to remove herself from his company.
In the bathroom Alex quickly bolted the door and moved to look at her reflection in the mirror as she shakily turned on the cold water tap and splashed some water on her face, the feeling of dread slowly fading. It was a dream nothing more she told herself, giving herself a mental shake. Martin Summers had done enough damage and she refused to let him poison her mind anymore…but didn't Gene say "You're not going anywhere until I say so, and I DON'T say so" Alex shook herself again, it was just a turn of phrase, that's all. She was just being silly by giving it any greater significance.
Walking back into the living room, Alex could hear Gene clattering about in the kitchen.
"Thought I'd rustle us up some dinner Bolly, that O.K?" Gene shouted.
Alex was taken aback. Gene was here to take care of her but she hadn't expected him to be cooking, she didn't even know he could. She walked towards the kitchen and tentatively peered inside. Gene was still in his work suit as he had called in at the station before coming to the hospital, but he had dispensed with his jacket and tie and rolled up his shirt sleeves.
"Trying to finish me off properly this time are you?, I mean shooting me didn't work so thought you give poisoning a go!" Alex said with more than a hint of mischief.
"Bloody cheek!" Gene replied trying hard not to smile "You alright now Bolly? You were shaking like a shitting dog back there!"
"Fine thanks! Honestly Gene you have such a coarse turn of phrase at times" Alex said half disgusted but also secretly slightly amused.
Gene offered no apology he just continued in his task of preparing dinner "Steak and chips O.K? He inquired.
"Lovely" Alex agreed "Didn't know you knew your way around a kitchen" she said gently teasing him.
"What me? Delia Smith's got nothing on the Gene Genie!" Gene said grinning.
Alex chuckled and went to make herself comfortable on the settee feeling a twinge in her side as she laughed.
"You alright?" Gene asked concerned at hearing her wince with pain.
"Yes it only hurts when I laugh" Alex said smiling.
Soon they were seated at the table enthusiastically devouring their steak and chips. Alex couldn't help taking in the sight of Gene tucking into his food. He certainly had a healthy appetite and she liked that about him.
"Everything alright Bolly?" Gene asked gesturing towards the food as he noted Alex was staring at him instead of eating.
"Delicious thank you, I could get used to this" Alex said smiling.
"Nah I don't think so...Luigi needs the custom for one thing" Gene said feeling suddenly uncomfortable at the tableau of domestic bliss that had popped into his mind at her words.
They slipped into silence for the rest of the meal; Alex thinking how awkward the rest of Gene's stay in the flat might be and Gene thinking about those tapes and the mention of Molly, whom he presumed was Alex's daughter; he thought about what he'd said when he accused her of being cold and how she had slapped his face…deservedly so he thought on reflection.
As they settled on the settee after dinner Gene toyed with the idea of asking Alex about Molly, the T.V was on and they were sat close but slightly apart.
"Alex you mentioned a name earlier, I mean when you had that bad dream…you said Molly…is she your daughter?" Gene asked tentatively.
Alex had been trying to distract her self from dwelling on Gene's closeness by getting into the plot of Crossroads, it wasn't working, but she hadn't been expecting him to ask about Molly.
"Yes" Was all Alex could manage in reply
Unsure if he should continue but curious nonetheless Gene fumbled on
"Yer can talk to me…if you want, I mean I'd like to know about Molly"
Alex didn't know where to start it wasn't that she didn't want to talk to Gene about Molly but she didn't know how she could possibly explain how things were without taking the conversation to places that Gene had made it clear he didn't want to go. Feeling flustered and as if she was being backed into a corner Alex lashed out in anger.
"You know you accused me of not caring about my daughter, said I never talked about her, but what about you? You never talk about your family, your past; you never refer to your ex-wife and then there's Sam Tyler he was your DI for seven years for God sake! Yet you never even mention his name"
Gene was unprepared for her attack and felt his temper rising "Now hang on a bloody minute, what's my past got to do with anything? The ex Mrs Hunt is exactly that… as for Sam Tyler he's dead and gone all the talking in the World won't change that, will it?"
Alex felt bad for her impulsive outburst and after Gene had been taking care of her so well.
"Gene I'm sorry…" was all she managed though as they were interrupted by a knock at the door.
It was Shaz who looked apologetic as she proffered a bundle of letters she had been holding.
"I'm so sorry Ma'am. I picked up your post when I came to get you a change of clothes last night and then I thought I would put it together with your post from the station but I forgot all about it until I was getting ready to go home"
"It's fine Shaz, really"Alex said taking the bundle of letters from her.
Shaz didn't stay long and soon made her excuses wanting to get back to Chris to sort out last minute arrangements for the wedding.
Gene was feeling uneasy after their little spat and took the opportunity to slip away for a while "If you're O.K Bol's I think I'll just nip downstairs, have a pint with Ray" he said already half way out of the door.
"Alright" Alex replied still feeling awful about the way she turned on him before and understanding that he needed a bit of space.
Alex glanced down at the post it was mostly junk mail but her eyes were drawn towards a large brown envelope. It was plain but for her name and address hand written in capitals on the front. Tearing her way into it she gasped as a flurry of dead rose petals fell out onto her lap. There was one white A4 sheet of paper inside and Alex's hands were trembling as she pulled it out and began reading the typed letter.
Dearest Alex
If you are reading this letter then it must mean that I have departed this world for good, by 'this world' I mean of course 1982 but I think my time in the other world will also have come to a close. I am not sorry and you mustn't be either because I believe that I will truly be able to rest in peace now in a way I never would never have been able to had I not been given the chance to put things right.
I am assuming that you now know what 'Operation Rose' really meant to me and why I acted as I did. I offer no apologies or excuses. I did what needed to be done and I will never be sorry for that. I think that in time you will thank me for breaking, or at least weakening the bond between yourself and Gene Hunt - he is more dangerous to you than that bullet in your head ever was because he has gotten under your skin in a way that no surgeon could ever remove. If you really want to get home you will have to cut him out yourself or risk him burrowing so deep that you will never be able to break free.
Do you know we met once before Alex? I had hoped that you would recognise me but it seems you left more of an impression on me than I did on you. It may surprise you to know that I had 'anger management' issues and just before I was pensioned off out of the force for good I was sent to see one of your colleagues in Psych Evaluation Division. I was sat in the waiting area when you walked past I was struck firstly by your beauty and your grace and then you smiled at me as you passed by. I asked the receptionist for your name and later when I left the office I arranged for a florist to send you a dozen red roses. I would have sent more but you were transferred and I didn't know where you had gone and then I fell ill, imagine my shock and delight when I found we were hospital neighbours! I had hoped our shared plight in this world might have brought us together in more ways than one but I soon saw that you only had eyes for one man, the same man who's name you say in your sleep "Gene".
I will bid you goodbye now Alex and wish you good luck on the rest of your journey, I hope you will make it back home and back to Molly but remember my warning 'THE CLOSER YOU GET TO GENE HUNT THE FURTHER AWAY MOLLY WILL BE'
You Friend
Martin Summers.
Alex screwed the letter up in disgust. Even in death Martin Summers was haunting her, trying to twist her thoughts and separate her from Gene. Well, she wouldn't let him win. Thinking it over Alex grew angrier. Martin Summers had failed. He hadn't changed anything aside from shooting his younger self. The Met were still going to cover up what had really happened with Operation Rose and Carnegie and the rest of them wouldn't get the justice that Summers had been seeking.
Alex ripped the letter up and went to dispose of it in the kitchen bin, pushing the pieces deep down out of sight. The pain in her side began to throb again and tiredness overtook her. She stumbled across to the drawer that held her pain medication and popped a couple of pills out ready to take. The pain was intensifying now and she grasped at the kitchen work surface for support. Gene, who had just quietly let himself back in, saw Alex struggling and rushed to her side to offer his assistance, filling a tumbler of water so that she could take her pills and supporting her as she swallowed them down.
"Bolly c'mon lets get you settled in bed" Gene said helping her in the direction of her bedroom.
Alex felt too tired to do anything and she flopped back onto the bed. She was already wearing her pyjamas as they were the most comfortable things she could find that didn't pinch at her injured side. Gene removed her slippers and pulled the covers over her his closeness making her feel protected and safe.
"Gene…Stay with me…" Alex said pleadingly but, sensing Gene's discomfort at the intimacy of the situation, she continued "Just until I fall asleep, please?"
Gene didn't answer but he sat down at the side of the bed and began to remove his boots and jacket then edged his whole body onto the bed and gently reached one arm around her. Alex snuggled into his chest letting herself be lulled by the sound of his strong, steady heartbeat.
"Night Bolly" he said and pressed a light kiss on the top of her head, but Alex made no reply as she had already drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep.