A/n So I'm not to sure if you fellas are enjoying this little fic of mine, but I'm going to keep it going for a while because I am really excited to get to the place that it's going. Thanks to Jazzola for her wonderful reviews and I hope that you bear with me on this one! It's starting to get there now in this chapter so please enjoy and if you have a moment, please let me know your thoughts!

MBRB'xoxo

Waking up the next morning - well, afternoon - with the steady breathing of Gene Hunt beside her was a feeling that Alex thought she could quite easily get used to. They had dragged a couple of bags into his surprisingly respectable house and dropped them in the hallway before traipsing upstairs and leaving the rest of her belongings outside in the car. They were both suitably exhausted and a quick glance at his bedside clock told her it was nearly 5am. Alex had half-heartedly attempted to find a pair of her pajamas but had quickly given in and pulled an old rugby shirt out of Genes wardrobe, thrown it on and padded into the bathroom in search of a toothbrush. At the sight of her with her eyes heavy, hair pulled back into a lazy pony tail and face free of make-up, Gene paused and looked at her thoughtfully.

'The sight of you in my shirt like that would really give be the 'orn if I weren't so bloody tired, Bolls' he told her. If he was honest, he wasn't completely uneffected as it was, but he knew there was a time and a place and 5am with a woman who looked like she could barely stand up was not that time. Besides. She was living with him - bloody hell what had he let himself in for? - so he didn't doubt the time would come soon. Alex meagerly smiled in response and took the fresh toothbrush that he had taken from the cabinet and was now holding out to her.

'Thanks'. He wasn't sure if she was thanking him for his semi-compliment or the toothbrush, but he decided that he didn't really care.

And so there they were at half 4 the next afternoon having slept away the morning. Gene had awoken to the sight of Alex who had evidently moved in the night so her legs were still on her side of the bed, but her top half was angled more towards Gene, her head half rested on his pillow and her face close to his. He watched her for a while and took in this side of Alex that he'd very rarely seen; hair sleep mussed, her fringe unclipped and hanging loosely in her eyes in a way that she never really allowed when she was awake, eyes free of any colour to accentuate them, ears void of any of those ridiculous earrings she wore. Yet she still looked like the woman he had grown to care so much for. Under his gaze, Alex shuffled in her sleep, bringing her hand up to rest next to her cheek millimeters from Gene's face, and shifting her head so she was snuggled further into the pillows. The soft murble of words that she fell from her lips quietly and then faded away into a little grumble and frown as she moved put a small smile on his face and caused him to roll his eyes - he should have known she'd bloody well be a sleep talked. The woman never shut up in the day, what was there stopping her from talking through the night? Gene allowed her to sleep for what seemed like an eternity more but was, in reality, little more than 15 minutes before he gently shoved her over, rolling her away from him. Alex stirred and groaned as she felt his hands on her side and her body being rolled away from where it had been comfortable. Through half open eyes, she turned towards where Gene now lay looking as innocent as Gene Hunt possibly can, and frowned with another sleepy grumble.

"Piss off, Gene" she told him bluntly, not amused at being woken up.

"Sorry, Bolly. Didn't see you there" he told her lightly and easily dodged a sleepy slap aimed at his shoulder.

X-x-x-x-x-x

A mere four hours later and Alex was finishing up putting the rest of her clothes away in Gene's wardrobe. He had presented her with ' lavish breakfast in bed, your royal poshness' - by which he had meant a cup of tea albeit perfectly made, had given her the guided tour of château la Hunt - 'Kitchen ... Living room... Stairs... Oh you can work out a bloody house, Bols. Put that brain of yours to good use and work out the room with the bog in is infact the bathroom' - and was now sat on his sofa as Alex finished up unpacking. Hanging the last couple of blouses and blazers in the wardrobe, Alex let out a small sigh and stood in the middle of Gene's - their - bedroom at the small marks that she had left on it; the shoes lined up by the wall. The makeup bag and hair products placed near the mirror that hung opposite his bed. The smell of perfume hanging in the air that she had sprayed lightly as she had unpacked it. It didn't quite feel like home yet, but it was getting there. Going downstairs, Alex found Gene exactly as she had expected to - feet up on the sofa and watching TV.

'Fancy a drink, Guv?' she asked, stood in front of him. Gene glanced up from the telly briefly and nodded his head sharply, pout in place.

'Go on then'. Alex rolled her eyes.

'No, Gene. In a pub. No time like the present to go looking for a new local'. Her thumbs were hooked in her jeans pockets and she stood with her elbows stuck out and a small smile on her lips.

'Sounds like a deal, Bolly' he replied, flicking off the TV and standing up.

x-x-x-x

Hand in hand, the couple ambled through the streets of London. Gene had said that there was a place he had visited a couple of times when Luigi's had been too much for him and so she followed where he was leading her, gladly by his side. It wasn't until they reached the pub that Gene had deemed suitable for a local boozer that they could go to each evening to relax in that aprehension began to creep steadily into Alex's stomach. The building from the outside didn't have the calm atmosphere and charm that Luigi's and the Railway Arms had had, nor did it have the welcoming aura about it that she would usually look for. The faded red lettering above the door labeled the place as 'The Vault' and it looked that at one point, it had been a proud place in which friends could meet. But now it was in a state of decline and the chipped paint on the walls was less than inviting. Gene didn't seem to notice her slight discomfort as they approached the door of The Vault and instead pulled her along as he walked through the faded red door.

Her nose was instantly filled with a mix of stale smoke, fresh smoke and liquor, confirming her suspicions that this was a less than perfect place to spend ones evenings. Her vision was slightly clouded due to the thick fog that was filling the room and the dim lighting didn't seem to help much. Instantly, a wave of cheers came from the bar where a group of rough and rugged looking men stood, looking towards where Gene and Alex stood.

'Hello, fellas. Get the drinks in' he called across in his gruff voice which was met by another wave of cheers. It seemed that although he claimed to have not come here that often, he had a number of friends who were welcoming him back with open arms. Gene tugged Alex level with his side and gave her a questioning glance as he realised that she had dropped behind him a little. Alex shook her head in response signaling that it didn't matter, but he felt her hand tightening on his ever so slightly as they approached the dark coloured bar. The men who lined it were all of very similar discription - broad shouldered, rugged faces and booming voices. They certainly held the attention of all the women in the place - women who, if Alex was honest, didn't really seem like potential friends to her. Short skirts, low tops, heavy blusher and bright red lips. It was all very 80's trash and the threatening glances they shot her way as they eyes up Gene didn't go unnoticed to her, nor did the eyes of the men raking over her body appreciatively making her wish she had worn a slightly less clinging dress. A man at the bar who stood closest to Gene and Alex stood up from his slouching position, shrugging off the woman who was draped over his shoulder, gum being chewed loudly in his ear and beamed over at Alex.

'Nice bit of skirt you got there, Gene. Going to classier corners these days?' he grinned lecherously at Alex as he spoke, his eyes never leaving her body as a ripple of laughter and approval shot through the men who surrounded him. Alex glanced across at Gene who was pointedly looking anywhere but at her face, and was disgusted to see a small smile playing on his lips.

'Where ya been, Gene? Not seen ya for a while' another asked. Gene nodded in agreement and his eyes glittered at being back with the men who he considered friends.

'Then you won't mind getting them in, will you, Pete' he told him. The man who still had his eyes firmly on Alex clicked his fingers to the equally rugged looking barman who began to fill a tumbler of whiskey for Gene.

'And what does the lady want?' Pete asked Gene, not Alex herself. Gene glanced down at Alex as she looked up at him, her lips open to reply to the question that wasn't quite directed at her, but Gene cut her off with a confident 'red wine'. As he pulled her over to the bar, Alex felt her heart sink slightly. She didn't want to be here and she was sure that she was oozing discomfort from her every pore. He hand still clung to Gene's in an attempt to keep something by her that would give her the comfort she was desperately hoping that he would give her. But instead, Gene reached out for his whiskey and downed it, slamming it on the bar with a hiss. And as he began to fall into a conversation, Gene raised the hand that was being held tightly by Alex, letting his grip loosen on it and clearly indicating that she was to let go. Alex got the hint and drop her hand from his as he awkwardly ran his hand through his blonde hair, trying his hardest to ignore the painful expression on her face as he turned back to the crude conversation that was now flowing, leaving her to lean against the bar and stare longingly down into her red wine, trying to ignore the stabbing feel of rejection in her heart.