You've got this chapter earlier than I had originally planned for 3 reasons:

* I've had time to finish it.

* I've had a bad week and have been watching S3 so needed to do something to cheer me up

* My signed photo of Philip Glenister arrived in the post today so this is a celebration!

Oh, and I don't own the TV show Fame any more than I own Ashes to Ashes.

Chapter 9 – Manchester

With Alex's help the team solved the case and by mid afternoon on Friday, Alex and Molly were on a train up to Manchester. When they arrived the weather was less than welcoming. It was bitterly cold; a harsh, biting wind blew through Piccadilly Station and dark clouds covered the sky. Luckily Gene had met them from the train so they didn't have to brave the elements while waiting for a taxi.

"Is it always like this up here?" groaned Molly, rubbing her arms to try and warm up a little. Alex had told her to bring a bigger coat but, like a typical teenager, she hadn't listened.

"Unfortunately yes," remarked Gene as they got in the car. The weather was about the only thing he didn't miss about Manchester. "Though I ain't surprised yer cold wearing that thin little thing; yer'll catch yer death." Alex gave Molly a pointed look, but she just rolled her eyes in response.

They drove straight to the hospital at Lucy's request. She had informed Gene that she needed to see Molly at the earliest opportunity; that it was extremely important. So Gene had promised that they would visit as soon as they arrived. The journey to the hospital was uneventful; Alex filling Gene in on the case while Molly stared out of the window. She was nervous about seeing Lucy; not really knowing what to expect. She'd been a right cow towards her when they'd first met; looking down her nose at her, but they'd built up a cordial relationship and Molly really liked her. She didn't know if Lucy's attack would fracture the delicate friendship they had begun to form. Molly didn't know at the time why she had behaved so horribly to Lucy, but in hindsight she knew that it was because she'd enjoyed having Gene as her father figure and then suddenly she had to share him. It was weird because Lucy, who was really the one who should have been feeling that way, had been as nice as pie with her; even when Molly had been bitchy.

When they arrived at Lucy's room, her Mum and her husband were just leaving.

"Hello," greeted Alex politely. She had vowed to be as civil as possible to try and make things easier for everybody. Neither of them acknowledged her; Denise dragging her new husband off down the corridor. Alex thought he looked decidedly hen-pecked and mused that was probably one of the reasons that her and Gene's marriage had failed; Alex couldn't imagine Gene putting up with being hen-pecked.

"How rude!" gasped Molly, indignant at Denise's behaviour; she'd been brought up to be polite and courteous to everyone, no matter what she thought of them.

"Ignorant pair of-"

"Gene!" hissed Alex, not wanting him to cause a scene. She turned to Molly, "You ready?" she asked, aware of her feelings of trepidation.

"I guess," she said, drawing up some confidence, before following Gene into the room.

Lucy was sat up in bed looking much brighter than the last time Alex had seen her. Her cuts and bruises were beginning to heal and some colour had returned to her cheeks. The only outward sign that there was still something troubling her were the dark shadows under her eyes; she was obviously still not sleeping well.

"Molly!" she smiled and patted the side of her bed beckoning the younger girl over. Alex moved to follow her but Gene grabbed her hand and shook his head lightly; he too had sensed Molly's nervousness and felt that this should be something she should try and work through herself. Alex smiled at him; he did sometimes have moments of brilliant sensitivity.

Molly approached Lucy's bed and sat down,

"Hi. I got you these," Molly told her, placing the magazines she'd bought earlier down on the table.

"Thanks, that's great. They'll go some way towards alleviating the boredom." Molly chuckled. "I'm serious. I just want out of 'ere now."

"I'm sure they'll let you go as soon as they think it's okay." Molly told her.

"Yeh but they don't even 'ave a telly in 'ere. Can you believe it? Thank God yer 'ere! Please tell me yer watched Fame this week? I NEED to know what happened!"

"Yeh I did." Molly was surprised by how 'normal' Lucy seemed and this calmed her fears somewhat. "You'll never believe it…Danny's been doing drugs!"

"No way!" gasped Lucy. "Why?"

Molly filled Lucy in on what she'd missed and as the two of them talked and laughed together, Alex and Gene left them alone and went to get drinks and find Lucy's doctor.

"You know something' Molls?" Lucy said after a while, "this is the first time since what happened that I've felt like a normal teenager. Just hangin' out 'as been cool. Yer've not tried to get me to talk about it and yer've not treated me any differently. It's been good." Molly just shrugged,

"Why would I treat you any differently? You're still the same person as you were y'know…before…"

"I dunno, but some people, like me Mam, 'ave been looking at me like I've grown an second 'ead and then yer've got me Dad who's walkin' on egg shells around me and yer Mam who always wants me to talk about 'ow I'm feelin'. I mean, I know they're doin' what they think is best an' I do appreciate it, but sometimes I just wanna forget yer know?"

"Yeh I think so; just think of me as your 'forgetting friend'!" quipped Molly, much to Lucy's amusement. They were still laughing about it when Gene and Alex returned a few minutes later.

"Yer can hear the two o' yer cacklin' from h'alf way down the corridor," observed Gene as he entered. "If I were a patient tryin' ter get some kip, I'd be tempted to strangle meself with me own drip!" This visual did nothing to temper the girls' laughter and they descended once more into fits of giggles.


They left the hospital about an hour later, much to Matron's delight. Two giggling teenagers were more than she could handle! Alex had suggested that she and Molly find a hotel for the weekend, but Gene's mother had insisted that they must both stay with her. Molly was thrilled by this; she was eager to meet Kathy, having heard so much about her from Alex.

After dinner Molly offered to help Alex clear away the dishes. She was keen to impress Kathy; she didn't want to embarrass or show up her Mum. As was their routine, Alex washed and Molly dried. They talked as they worked and Alex commented on how well she had done with Lucy that afternoon.

"I thought it was going to be harder than it was," Molly admitted, slightly ashamed that she'd let preconceptions affect her judgement. "I expected her to look or sound different, but she didn't. Once I got there and realised she was still Lucy it was easy."

"She's a very strong girl," commented Alex.

"She is, but even strong people sometimes need a break. Maybe you should lay off the counselling a little bit yeh?"

"What? Did Lucy say something?"

"Not exactly," fibbed Molly, not wanting to hurt her Mum's feelings, "but I just get the feeling that she'd like part of your visits to be a bit more informal; just to be with Alex Drake: human being rather than Alex Drake: psychologist. I think she just wants things to start getting back to normal. Says she's sick of people treating her as if she's fragile or damaged." Alex considered Molly's words; when had her little girl got gotten so wise? She gave a small nod,

"Okay. I'll try and ease up a little. Thanks Molls."


Later as they lay together in bed Alex conveyed her conversation with Molly to Gene,

"Yer want ter stop counsellin' 'er?" Gene had asked, stunned.

"Not completely, I'm just saying that I'm think it might be a good idea for me to ease up a little."

"But she needs ter talk about it and not bottle it up. Yer said so yerself," he reminded propping himself up on his shoulder,

"Yes I did, but there's no point pushing the issue. If Lucy wants to try and get back to normal, then we've got to let her try. I'm not suggesting we just leave her to flounder; just that we give her a bit of breathing space. I'll still be around if she wants to talk; and I'll use my psychologist's instincts to track her progress and if I'm concerned, I promise I will address those concerns. Okay?" Gene nodded reluctantly.

"Am I supposed ter just go back ter 'ow it were before? Forget it ever 'appened?"

"No Gene of course not. We just have to follow Lucy's lead for a bit that's all. Trust me."

"I do trust yer, yer know I do." Alex smiled and reached up to kiss him,

"Good. When have I ever been wrong about something like this?"

"Well there was that time yer were negotiatin' wi' that bloke wavin' a gun about in that soft toy factory!" Alex looked down and blushed profusely at the memory,

"You're never going to let me forget that are you?"

"Err let me see…no!" chuckled Gene.

"It wasn't my fault!" protested Alex. "How was I supposed to know that his wife had left him because he had a sexual attraction to stuffed animals? It's not exactly an everyday occurrence!"

"Yer just lucky that the only thing that got 'urt were a couple of teddy bears. If it wasn't fer Shaz pushin' Ray outta the way 'e'd 'ave copped it. The look on 'is face when 'e realised 'e'd been saved by a plonk! Yer've got ter admit, in hindsight it is pretty funny." Alex tried to maintain her air of disdain with the conversation but failed and was soon giggling along with Gene. He pulled her to him and snuggled them down into the covers. "Sleep time. I fear tomorrow is goin' ter be a long day; I 'ope Molly realises that the sights of Manchester aren't up ter much," Gene commented, referring to the badgering he'd gotten from Molly earlier about taking her sightseeing.

"Hmm?" questioned Alex sleepily; the warmth of Gene and the safe feeling of being wrapped in his arms had caused her to begin to drift off. Rolling his eyes, Gene kissed her lightly on the forehead and whispered,

"Never mind, Bolls. Never mind."