RUN.
Chapter IV - Remembrance.
A/N: Lyrics are (C) to KT Tunstall.
Locked inside your head
Do you realize the things you said
Never made sense?
Do you remember that night
When I had to play your angel
Saving your soul?
Even though you were holding on tight
A part of you was taken by the demons below
And all the damage you do
Is so honest and true
I don't want to feel sorry for you..
The next week had been a blur: Doctors, Nurses, medication, tests. Alex just seemed to flow with everything, didn't protest, didn't argue or fight. She was exhausted, she was home. Or so she believed. Her eyes were constantly on the TV, waiting for a reappearance of Gene. But it never came.
On the other hand, she was constantly dreaming of him; sometimes it was always the same thing, in the cold, long corridor. Sometimes they'd be fighting; he'd be dragging her down his end of the corridor, while she would be fighting back to her end. She'd be screaming at him, sometimes she'd beg, plead with him to let her go. They were constantly at war with one another. Alex determined to stay in 2008 and Gene determined for her to come back to him in 1982. And they'd always end up in each other's arms, tears streaming down her face. And he'd kiss her tears away; hold her close until she succumbed to repose. She would whisper to him, ask him in the smallest of voices for him to let her go. But he wouldn't; he couldn't bear to lose her.
Alex would wake up after every single dream, and would still feel his kisses still on her lips. She was so fond of Gene, but she couldn't work out her dreams. She was no Freud, but she guessed at inner conflict. Even still, she still remained so drawn to him..
Soon enough, the Doctors agreed that Alex could now be released – her progress had gone on remarkably well, they were impressed. Alex just wanted everything to be normal again, get back to her job; back to being a mother – as if nothing had ever happened. She wanted to forget about her year spent in the 1980's, like it had never happened. But she simply could not forget about Gene Hunt.
Evan had come to pick her up and take her home; he looked so tired compared to his 1981 self. Salt and pepper hair at his temples and lines now marked his face. He gave her a weary smile and pulled her into a hug.
"Good to have you back, Alex," he told her.
"God, it feels like years..." she told him, with a relieved smile "It really has,"
"Mum, look what we got you," Molly appeared beside him with a bunch of flowers.
Alex looked down and her smile faltered. The flowers she was holding were any ordinary flowers. They were roses. Red roses. She hesitated for a moment before slowly taking the bunch from her daughter's reaching hands. She touched one gently, feeling the petals ghost over her fingertips. It all came flooding back, what she had tried to block out. Summers and Operation Rose. He'd left her countless roses for her wherever she went...
After a long silence, she gave her daughter a small smile. "They're lovely, Molls..."
"Come on, Scrap" said Evan, motioning Molly towards his car. "Let's get your Mum home, yeah?"
He decided to walk to the Tyler's house, it wasn't a long walk – but he just didn't want to rush there. Even after two years, he found it difficult to talk about Sam, let alone go to his home. He'd never forgive himself for what happened to Sam, never.
He walked along the road, looking for the house. They all looked the same, tidy and well maintained gardens, family car in the drive. It gave Gene the heebie-jeebies. It felt like an age since he'd last been here, and it hadn't really changed much. He found his paces getting slower and slower, trying not to think about that day.
He felt so bad for Annie, widowed and left alone to raise a kid all by herself.
Gene soon found himself at the right house and he stopped for a moment, looking at the brick work of the garden path. He sighed and shook his head; better get this over and done with. Sniffing, he slowly made his way up the path. He knocked on the door gingerly and waited with a nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Annie didn't have to do this. But she was prepared to help him out. He didn't deserve any help at all...
Not after Sam, or Alex.
The door opened and standing at it was a sweet-faced girl around the age of five or six. The little girl looked very small for her age and seemed very shy and withdrawn. She had long, mousy hair that fell just over her shoulders and looked up at him with soft, dark, twinkling eyes. Sam's eyes.
"Lucy?" Annie's voiced call from inside; she soon appeared at the door behind her.
She'd barely changed since he'd last seen her almost two years ago
"Alright, 'Guv?" she said with a warm smile.
"I'm not yer 'Guv anymore, Tyler. Yer should know tha'," Gene wryly replied, but still offered her a weak smile anyway.
Lucy turned and looked up at her mother, her eyes widened a fraction. "Mam, oo's that?" she asked in a loud whisper.
Gene raised an eyebrow, his usual sullen pout settled across his features. Lucy tugged at her lower lip with her teeth and silently toyed at the hem of her grey, pleated school skirt. Her mother shook her head and laughed lightly.
"Now don't tell me you don' remember Uncle Gene," she said to her daughter softly.
"Uncle Gene?" Lucy turned round again to look at Gene suspiciously.
Gene looked away; he couldn't look at her eyes. Not those eyes. They reminded him too much of Sam, and they brought all the sadness back again. He shuffled his feet awkwardly, he needed another cigarette.
"Yeah, love..." he said finally in a nonchalant tone, "I suppose yer were too young to remember me,"
Lucy said nothing and looked down; she quickly turned and disappeared back into the house.
"Don't mind her," Annie said with a sigh before motioning him in, "She's always quiet in the mornings; she'll perk up after school. Come in, Gene,"
"Thanks, Annie..." she said with an appreciative look, stepping in through the front door.
