"Evan, you really didn't need to….you only cook pancakes when I'm ill!" Alex had got up on the sunny morning after she was discharged from hospital in time to wish her little girl a good day at school, and kiss her godfather goodbye before he left for work at his big office. She was wearing a black dressing gown tied tightly round her waist, and her silk pyjamas underneath. Gene didn't know what it was, but he'd never found a woman in pyjamas sexy before. Bloody hell.

Evan had been to pick Alex up from hospital the previous afternoon, Molly and Gene had stayed at the house, making things as homey and as normal (by Molly's standards obviously) as possible. Gene didn't think a drive alone together was a good idea. The car would probably end up over the cliff…

For the past couple of days, Gene had been on his best behaviour. Evan had shown Gene to the spare room, shown him how to use all the appliances (in a very strongly hinted method of telling Gene that under no circumstance would he cook for the man he detested. Hey, it worked for Gene- there was no risk of food poisoning…) and kept out of his way at all times. Molly on the other hand had spent her evenings (Inbetween homework and chatting to her friends on something weird called MSN) playing cards and Monopoly with Gene. He hadn't had much of a choice once he'd let it slip that he used to play board games with his Nana.

***

"Have you got kids, Gene?" He could remember her asking on one of their nights. Gene had taught himself to automatically respond with "no" over the years. So when it slipped out, he was still playing the game, and charging Molly for standing on his Leicester Square property, to which she willingly paid over the fine. But she was surprised at how he didn't even look at her when he answered. When he looked up, she had raised her eyebrows questioningly. Damn, why was she so much like her mother?

"I…never got round to it. Not that I don't want any, just didn't 'appen."

Molly looked at him again, in the way she could always tilt her head to the side and look into his eyes.

"Ever been married?"

"Once. Why?"

Molly snorted. "Just wondering."

Gene laughed. "Kids like you don't "just wonder"."

"Kids like me?"

"The bright ones."

"Ha."

She thought for a moment, arranging the houses on her Mayfair property- a trap for Gene to fall into. One of the many she'd been setting up recently.

"So what happened?"

"So you weren't just wondering?"

Molly smiled, but said nothing.

Gene sighed. "Didn't work out. She wasn't that great in the end."

"You married her." It wasn't said accusingly, just simply. With a frown on her face. "My Mum and Dad were married once."

"She said."

Gene rolled the dice, but waited for Molly to continue.

"Dad didn't like being a Dad. I haven't seen him since I was five. He sends Mum money, more money than he needs to as well, and he sends me a cheque every now and again. He even gets me Christmas cards. I though he might have come back when Mum was…ill…though."

Gene was stuck for what to say. In all honesty, this Pete sounded like a bastard- walking out on his wife and young baby, but however mature Molly was, he couldn't very well say that to her.

"Do you wish you did see 'im?" Gene asked, moving his car playing piece around the board.

Molly gave Gene an odd look. "No, he's a tosser."

Well that was unexpected. Molly just laughed at the look of shock on his face. "And that'll be two hundred pounds please."

"Huh?"

Molly pointed at the board. "You stood on Fenchurch street station. One of my three."

Hah. He wished…

"You know my Mum fancies you, right?" Molly told Gene as he handed over a fistful of paper notes.

This idea was more shocking than Molly swearing. Gene had thought from the first time Alex walked into Luigi's that no matter how gorgeous she looked, he'd never shag her…well, he'd been wrong about that hadn't he? Was it so impossible, so implausible, that Alex may actually have feelings for him? Frankly, yes. From Gene's perspective anyway.

"What the bloody 'ell gives you that idea?"

"I can tell."

"I thought your Mum was the shrink?"

Molly laughed. "She fancies you, Gene; it's not the end of the world."

"You're wrong."

"I'm thirteen, I'm always right."

The nice kid had just turned into a typical bloody teenager.

***

"Evan?" Alex was sitting in the front seat of Evan's Mercedes as he drove her back home after being discharged. Evan was smiling more than he had done since Gene had come to stay- though to be fair, Gene had been on his best behaviour.

"Yes, darling?" He smiled his eyes still on the road.

"What do you remember about 1982?"

The car stopped suddenly and Alex fell forward. Luckily this time she was wearing her seatbelt. Evan cleared his throat, trying to act as if nothing had happened.

"W-what part of 1982?"

"August. Late August."

Evan's expression changed. "How many files did you read? Back when you joined the force, that is."

For some reason, something in Evan's hardened tone made her feel guilty. But something made her feel angry. She'd known there'd been secrets ever since she found out about her parents- but she didn't know there'd been this many secrets.

"I'd rather you told me. We have too many secrets, Evan."

He sighed. "I know. But I did it for you."

"And I got shot. So let's go for honesty here, right?"

Truth be told, Alex had hated playing the guilt card. She knew fine well that Evan hated himself for not telling her- he hated himself for being the reason Arthur Layton had tracked her down and shot her. But most of all, he hated himself for being in such a vulnerable position, that Gene Hunt was able to walk into his life after so many years and still have some power over him.

"I just want to hear it from you."

"The arrest?"

"I'm presuming that's why you can't stand Gene."

"It's that obvious?"

"You're not very subtle with it, Evan."

He sighed, and looked at Alex with a pained expression.

"You want it all?"

Alex gulped. "Yep. No more secrets."

As they pulled over to the side of the road down an empty street, Alex could see Evan was clinging to the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. She shuddered at the thought of his nails digging into the leather steering wheel- that car was his third goddaughter.

"Where do you want me to start?" Evan asked, biting his lip.

"The party. The party would be good."

"Oh, you know about the party?"

Alex nodded and smiled encouragingly.

"Well, the party was the first time I'd done anything remotely social since your M-…well, you know. It had been about five months. You hadn't told me until about five minutes before I left that you were feeling poorly, but the sitter assured me you'd be fine. I felt awful about it, but Roger wouldn't let me give my excuses. And for once, it was nice to talk to someone other than a six year old."

He looked apologetically at Alex- making her smile. How odd that a man could be so concerned of someone's feelings about something that happened so long ago. She supposed that was why she loved him.

"Then Alf- Alfred Harris- died. He was murdered. And I was one of the people who argued with him at the party. He th-threatened you. He threatened both of us, but it was the fact he threatened you that got me so wound up."

He took a deep breath.

"And then, I found myself involved in a murder investigation. Gene Hunt was at the helm and- well you'll never believe this, darling, but there was a D.I. A female D.I. She was…called Alex Drake. I mean it's such a coincidence…"

Alex zoned out for a minute. The news had hit her like a brick wall. She'd existed. She'd existed in 1982 which meant everything that had happened had been as she thought…

"…she was nice, looked a lot like you as I remember. Well, her eyes, and her lips. Hair was different- but mind you, it was the eighties. Anyway. They didn't have much on me. Alex knew it wasn't me- I don't know how, but when she told me she believed me…I believed her. Even when Hunt and his bloody lapdogs- Carling and Skelton- beat me to a pulp…she tried to stop them. I don't know; maybe because she was a woman, maybe female police officers don't enjoy the violence as much. She couldn't do much though- they just kept hurting and hitting and hurting and hitting."

Evan was suddenly shaking, his expression further pained by the traumatic memory. He fiddled with his shirt, and pulled it up, showing a scar in the middle of his stomach, just below his belly button.

"That was when Carling threw me into a table. It was only a scratch, but the memory- and the scar- stayed with me for life."

Alex shuddered. She hadn't remembered anything about Ray throwing Evan into a table…maybe that was after she and Gene had left the room. Maybe she didn't want to know. But how many other detainees that were being violently interrogated had she overlooked?

"What then?" Alex asked quietly, as Evan pulled his shirt back down, and tucked it into his trousers.

"Someone let me go. They had new information. It was this…this bloke, Robert Shipman."

The name sent shivers down her spine- she didn't know whether to hate him for everything he was putting Gene through now, or to thank him for letting her get home. It was a messed up situation.

"And then?" Alex prompted. She needed to hear the end of the story. No, more than that- she needed to know what had happened to her and Gene.

"It was odd; they had to let him go, so I heard. One of the senior partners at my law firm back then, he was Shipman's lawyer. Of course, we're not supposed to discuss cases, but we always did. Harry- Harry Ford, that is, managed to get him off due to the fact there was little evidence. Two days later, Shipman's up again, on indisputable kidnap and murder charges."

"What?!"

Evan gave her an odd look.

"I-I mean," she carefully backtracked "If Harry was such a good lawyer…how did he end up…back…"

Evan looked suspicious, but said nothing. "I'd have thought you'd have read it all in the files."

"Must have missed it." She mumbled. "Go on, tell me the rest."

Further murder charges?! Kidnap?! Well, kidnap possibly, but…but who'd died? Her? Gene? Luigi? It was almost unbearable to think that poor innocent Luigi, the butt of many jokes but the faithful and reliable Landlord may have been killed, because of Gene and Alex's mistake.

"Well, this is partly why I was so confused. I heard that Hunt…Gene…had died. Shipman kidnapped him and Alex and the landlord of whichever Bistro it was she lived above…Oh I can't even remember the name now!...He was Italian, erm…"

"Luigi." Alex muttered weakly, feeling ill. She was dreading what was coming next. Gene dead? Who else?

But Evan looked at Alex again. "Yes…yes Luigi. Well he was fine-,"

Thank God.

"-but he heard the gunshot that supposedly killed Hunt. He was semi-conscious, he just said how he remembered Alex screaming, and then not hearing Hunt again. Then he heard Alex go down. Then he was unconscious. I'm sure I was told they were dead, but obviously, Hunt can't be…"

Evan trailed off, biting his lip in confusion.

They were both dead? But Luigi was fine. At least Luigi was fine…

"Last I heard, their colleagues had to identify the bodies, and then the bodies were taken away somewhere. Shipman went down for life- didn't last it though. He died a few weeks ago; I've still got the cutting somewhere if you want to see it?"

"Er, y-yeah…"

Alex was lost in thought. Shipman had died? How many weeks ago? Could it all link back to Layton, or to Gene, or-or…?

"So that's why you hate Gene? The scar? F-for the arrest?"

"My reputation was destroyed Alex. I was nearly sacked, I couldn't see you for so long, I-,"

Evan broke off for a second, before putting his seatbelt back on and starting the car, seemingly needing a distraction from the memories he'd dragged up. "He promised me. When your parents…he wasn't going to look any further into it. He was actually the one who found you; he and Alex were there when it happened. I thought he was a good guy. He seemed to care more about you than she did. I don't know. Ask him about it."

"I will."

Evan sighed. "Do you understand now, Alex? Why this hurts me so much, why I can't stand to have him in my house?! Every time I look at him I remember everything I've tried so hard to forget!"

"What do you want me to do, Evan?" Alex asked, swapping her gaze from the road to looking at the profile of Evan's face. "I can't kick him out!"

"Look I know you hate being rude to people, but-,"

"It's more than that!" Alex burst out, frustrated at how little she could say without sounding like a nutter. "It's not that it really isn't. You can't possibly understand why I need him around-,"

"Need? Need?! Alex, are you- are you in love with that man? He must be, what, forty years older than you?!"

"Evan, I-,"

"For God's sake, Alex! What on earth can you find attractive in-,"

"I'm not in love with him!" She lied furiously. "I'll explain it all one day, but not now. Not here. Gene needs to be there when it's explained-,"

"What's this big secret, Alex? We've never had secrets-,"

"No, Evan. Think. I've never had secrets. It's not exactly a two-way thing is it?"

That shut him up. The moment she said it she wanted to take it back, but she was so angry at his dismissive attitude. So he could shag her mother but she couldn't like a man with a non-existent age-gap?! Pfft.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

"Yes you did." He didn't reply coldly, but with a resigned sigh. He was quiet for a couple of minutes before speaking again. "Can you promise me you'll tell me one day?"

Alex thought. Could she promise that? As much as she wanted to tell him, she didn't know if it was possible. Could she really explain everything that was going on? Was there much point- surely there was no way he'd believe her. But she did want to tell him one day. If Gene left…she'd need him. And she'd need him to know everything.

"Yes." She whispered, determined she'd never break that promise.

***

Alex knew that the only reason Evan had cooked the pancakes was because he felt guilty. Guilty for treating Gene so badly when he was clearly so important to Alex, and guilty for keeping secrets. The latter was something Alex could do nothing about now- she'd said the words that had hurt him, and to be honest she'd meant them. It wasn't exactly something she could take back with sincerity…But Evan was now trying his hardest to make this easier for Alex, working on the promise that one day he'd find out her reasoning, and the new bit of hope he held, over the fact (as far as he was aware) his goddaughter wasn't screwing Gene Hunt. The table was even set for two (Molly and Evan had already eaten). Things were beginning to look a little brighter, for everyone.

"Look, Giles…I know and I'm sorry…yes I know I've taken a lot of time recently…it's been out of my control, you know that…listen, please Giles…"

Evan had been on the phone for ten minutes now, speaking to Giles Wickham, one of the partners at his law firm in the city. Alex felt guilty now- Giles was complaining about the amount of time Evan had taken out of work recently, thanks to Alex and her time in…a coma. A coma.

"Giles…I won't be able to make the seminar! It's impossible, you can't expect…now, really, there's no need…I'm sorry but…Giles…"

Alex frowned. What seminar? He hadn't mentioned anything.

"…York is a long way away you know…I can't just…I know…I'm really sorry…Giles, please, understand that I…no…no of course not…"

"Evan?" Alex asked.

"…one moment Giles…" Evan put his hand over the speaker on the phone. "Yes, darling?"

"What seminar?"

Evan sighed. "It's not important. Just some work thing in York. Tonight."

"So what's the problem?"

"Th-there's no problem. I just can't go away for the night. Not now."

Alex was puzzled. "Why on earth not?" She asked.

"Darling, you've only just got out of hospital…it wouldn't be fair of me…"

"Molly and Gene are perfectly capable of looking after me for a night!"

Gene nodded from his plate of honey drizzled pancakes, while Molly continued packing her school bag.

"Alex…come on…" Evan frowned. He didn't want to leave her at all, let alone under the protection of Gene Hunt. He couldn't ask that man a favour, no matter how hard he was trying to put his differences aside.

"No, seriously. Go to your seminar. Go on!" Alex smiled, pointing at the phone. Evan wasn't losing his job because of her.

Reluctantly, Evan put the phone back against his ear. "Giles? Yes…it looks as if…I'll be able to make the seminar. Yeah. Yes, I'll be in the office this morning for a small bit of paperwork, get the train this afternoon and meet you at the hotel for six? Ok…yes…sorry Giles…thank you…OK then…bye."

Evan put the phone down, frowning at Alex. "Guess I'd better go pack a bag then." He shuffled slowly into the hall, before making his way up the stairs to his room…

"Now, I can still pull out you know?" Evan asked, desperate for Alex to decide she needed him and not Gene.

"Don't be silly." Alex smiled. "We'll be fine. Have fun!" She pecked her godfather on the cheek. "See you tomorrow."

"See you later!" Molly gave her Mum a hug and a kiss, gave Gene a peck on the cheek, and left to be driven to school by Evan.

The house, for the first time since she'd got home, was now only occupied by her and Gene.

"S'just you an' me now, Bols." He smiled. "Time to get down to business."

A/N: Mainly a chapter to fill in the timelines, I thought people would want to know how Alex and Gene were reacting. It was also a catalytic discussion between Alex and Evan, so not a pointless chapter! Next chapter WILL have some more Galex so don't worry :D. I'm also thinking (for those who read Moving On) of doing a oneshot about the night Gene lost his son. If anyone is interested just let me know in a review and it'll be up, I'd quite like to write it anyway :D.

Please review!