A/N Firstly, I apologise for the long delay again. Work got a bit hectic!

Secondly, a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I really do appreciate it!

Thirdly, a massive thank you to genesgeni* from Luigi's for reading it and getting it back to me so fast.

Fourthly, Merry Christmas!:)

I do not own Ashes to Ashes-I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while!

"….Detective Inspector Alexandra Drake is the only female DI in the Metropolitan Police. In the early afternoon of last Friday, that's the 12th November, in the grounds of St Dunstan's Church on King Douglas Lane, south east London, DI Drake was shot, and seriously injured. She is currently in a coma in St Thomas' Hospital. It is not known when-or even if-she will regain consciousness. " Shaw Taylor intoned as the reconstruction played out.,

Everyone was gathered around the television in the CID office, watching Police 5. Ray noted that they were using the same actors as they had in the Gil Hollis case, but this time no-one in the office found it remotely amusing and, apart from the television, the room was completely silent. Persuading the Police 5 production team to broadcast the reconstruction so quickly had taken some work and Chris and Ray hadn't made it to the hospital for their usual visits. Ray was fairly certain that, had she been awake, Drake would have understood. He was less confident that DCI Collins would appreciate all their work. They had left several important items of lost property unsorted! Collins had not been seen all day, though. No-one knew where he was. Ray wondered if Collins was watching this.

"There is some confusion surrounding the circumstances of DI Drake's shooting". Shaw Taylor's voice-over continued. "A senior police officer has been arrested and questioned in connection with the incident. However, it is possible that another person was also at the scene and it was a tragic accident, rather than attempted murder. Were you in the King Douglas Lane area last Friday? Did you see a blonde woman running away from St Dunstan's Church? She may have been wearing a black leather jacket. If you can help the police with their enquiries, please contact Fenchurch East CID at the police station on Christopher Street. You can call in or telephone on 01 732 1981. Keep 'em peeled!"

xxx

Alex Drake was utterly disorientated. Her surroundings seemed to change every time she opened her eyes.

Blink….Molly's face looking down at her.

Blink …..Those hideous hospital curtains that could only mean that she was in the 1980s.

Blink……Molly's face again.

Blink…….Those bloody curtains!

Blink……..Oh God, no! Not the curtains! Where was Molly?

Alex blinked rapidly several more times and managed to negotiate bringing her left hand up to her face to rub her eyes, but still those awful curtains remained stubbornly in place. Molly was gone.

"So you're back with us again, are you?" The cheerful nurse bustled around Alex's bed, checking her pulse and temperature. "We thought you'd woken up last night."

"What day is it?" Alex croaked

"Tuesday 16th November. Doctor Crawford will be pleased you're awake again… "

"What year is it?"

"1982, dear."

Alex had known what the nurse's answer would be. She really had. It didn't make it any less painful, though. She'd been with Molly, her darling daughter, in 2008! Hadn't she? What if that wasn't real?

"No!"

"Are you alright, dear?" The nurse looked concerned. "Should I fetch Doctor Crawford?"

"Sorry?" Alex hadn't realised she'd exclaimed out loud. "Oh. No, I'm okay. Don't worry."

The nurse didn't look convinced, but left Alex alone with her thoughts.

Alex tried to remember what had happened before she ended up in hospital. This had all started with Operation Rose. King Douglas Lane….Martin Summers…St Dunstan's Church…Gene….That blonde woman-Jenette?- holding a gun to her head….Gene shooting….The white light…Waking up in hospital in 2008…Molly…Gene…

Being with Molly in 2008 had felt so real until Gene had appeared on the screens. He'd said Alex was in a coma in 1982. If that was true, then Alex couldn't possibly be with Molly. Her mind was playing cruel tricks on her. She really did not want to accept that. Suddenly Gene was everywhere. He was so angry! Alex had to get away. It didn't matter what she did, or where she went; Gene was there, on every screen, monitor, even in her mirror. All Alex could hear was him yelling at her. Then Alex found herself back in the twenty-first century hospital bed, with no clear idea of how she'd got there. Molly was looking down on her. Then Molly had disappeared and Alex was back here in 1982.

A tear escaped from under her eyelids. Even if that 2008 had not been real, it had truly felt as if she'd held Molly, hugged her. Here in 1982, Alex hadn't even seen Molly properly for months. She was desperate to see her daughter again. She had no idea how she was going to get back to Molly though. In the meantime she had no choice but to remain in Gene's world.

Gene. Alex's constant in this world. Or so she'd thought. In spite of all her psychological training, Alex couldn't sum up her relationship with DCI Hunt any more succinctly than Gene had himself: 'I thought we had a connection'. That was exactly how it had felt to Alex too; especially since she'd discovered that Gene had looked after her younger self on the day her parents died. It hadn't taken Alex long to admit, if only to herself, that she was physically attracted to her DCI. The fact that she was in love with him had come as a much bigger shock! Not that it mattered now. Operation Rose had probably severed that link forever. Gene obviously hated her; he believed she was corrupt and a liar. Alex had known that telling Gene that she was from the future would make her sound utterly insane, but she'd hoped that their connection would mean that he'd at least try to understand. Suspending her, and then shooting her, wasn't exactly the reaction that Alex had hoped for! She realised she was more upset that Gene hadn't trusted her than that he'd shot her. The more she'd gone over, in her mind, what had happened at St Dunstan's, the more convinced she'd become that the shooting was an accident. Alex tried to sum up her current situation. She was stuck here, separated from her daughter, with a man that she cared about, who did not even trust her. That was just great! Alex didn't try to stop the tears which were now running freely down her cheeks.

xxx

"Raymondo!"

"Alright, Guv?" asked Ray.

"What do you think?!" Gene's voice was thick with irritation.

"Sorry, Guv. " Ray apologised. "I 'aven't got long. Collins doesn't know I'm 'ere, but there's stuff you 'ave to know."

Gene's interest was piqued and he let Ray recount the events of the last few days. The DCI swore under his breath at the mention of Jenette and grimaced at the thought of the Police 5 reconstruction. It was only when Ray began to talk about the bank statements and Collins' connection to Supermac that Gene spoke:

"The slimy bastard!" he burst out. "So that's where I knew 'is name from. No wonder I'm still in 'ere!" Gene knew exactly what he was going to do with those statements if…when…he got out of this cell

"That's what we thought." agreed Ray.

"Did you 'appen to see anything else, while you were looking for the statements?" Gene asked.

"The Artemis file, you mean?" clarified Ray. "I saw it, yeah."

"And?"

"I didn't look in it. Collins could 'ave come back at any moment. We 'ad to be quick."

Gene was relieved about that, at least. The fewer people that knew what was in that particular file the better.

Ray glanced at his watch. He really should go.

"Raymondo?" Ray turned back to face his DCI as Gene spoke again "I'm only going to say this once, so make the most of it." Gene paused, as if what he had to say next was very difficult for him to articulate. "Thank you."

Ray was stunned. He'd been working with Gene for eighteen years and this was the first time he could remember the Guv thanking him for anything! Just as Ray was about to leave the cell, Viv appeared in the doorway.

"Alright, Skip. DS Carling's just leaving." Gene wasn't looking forward to being alone with his thoughts again.

"No, it's not that." Viv sounded slightly out of breath. "Thought you'd want to know…The hospital has just telephoned…"

The Manc Lion did not do nervous, so why was Gene's heart beating a little bit faster than normal while he waited for Viv to continue?

"DI Drake has woken up!"

Please let me know what you think!

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