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(Prompt - Water)

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Date: Tuesday 10th November 1981

"What's wrong, Guv, can't you swim?" Alex called up with a smirk as Gene stood on the bank looking down at the forensics team who were working on the abandoned car now it had been pulled out of the river.

"Yes, DI Drake, I can swim, but you're more crackpot than I thought if you think I'm coming down there to wade through the mud and the shit that this river spews up on a daily basis when there's a perfectly competent team already working on it!" Gene shook his head and lit a cigar as he watched Alex pull on a pair of Wellington boots and get closer to the car, pointing things out and talking to the forensics team. "Bolly! Let those poor blokes do their jobs and stop bothering them with your incessant prattling! All we need to know is if the guns are still in the boot!"

Alex turned, hands on her hips and glared up at him. "I am not prattling, Gene, I'm doing some actual police work, remember that? Police work? It's the work someone does when they're a police officer and not scared to get their precious boots a little bit dirty!"

"Oi! You leave my boots out of this, Drake!" He shouted, wondering how the hell she managed to still look sexy while wearing wellies along with her leather jacket. He frowned at his thoughts and wished he could just let it go. He was attracted to her and despite having a feeling that she felt the same way, neither of them was willing to make a move and so all the frustration between them came out in arguments, which were becoming more and more frequent as the weeks went on.

He swore under his breath and walked over to a nearby burger stall to get a cup of tea, getting one for her too despite muttering to himself that she didn't deserve one. He turned and headed back to the river, when he saw a figure standing off in the distance. He squinted and walked back to the low wall, putting the teas down and lifting his hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

It was a woman, a girl rather, teenager by the look of it and he crushed the cigar out under his heel before heading off in her direction. He watched with growing realisation as she climbed up onto the wall, looking down into the river. The water was deep there with no bank like the one they'd pulled the car up on to. If she was going to do what he thought then she'd... He glanced back at the team and as he did he heard a splash.

"Shit!" He ran the rest of the way to where the girl had been, leaning over the wall, searching frantically for her. When he saw no sign, he swore again, shrugging of his coat and suit jacket before climbing up onto the wall and diving in after her.

Alex heard the first splash and looked around with a frown. When she saw nothing she glanced up to the wall, rolling her eyes when she saw that Gene was gone. Turning back to the team who were trying to pry the boot open, she opened her mouth to speak but then she heard it again, another splash and saw the ripples further down the river. "Oh God," she whispered, realising that someone had fallen into the river.

She turned to the divers who had helped bring the car up, shouting at them and pointing in the direction she'd seen the ripples, but at that moment she saw...Gene? His head popped up through the murky brown water for a moment and then it was gone again.

"Gene...Gene!" She began to run along the bank, hardly breathing as her eyes darted about, trying to catch another glimpse of him as the divers rushed back into the water. For long agonizing seconds there was nothing and then she caught a glimpse of him again and realised that he had someone with him and was pulling them back to the shore. She grabbed her radio and called for an ambulance, waiting helplessly for the divers to reach him.

Gene just caught sight of Alex as he came up for air and focused on getting to her, to the riverbank with the weight of the young girl in his arms. He was so relieved when the divers got to him that he didn't even swear as they tried to help him back to land, just shrugged them off and slowly made his own way back.

Alex rushed toward him as he made his way out of the river, a relieved smile on her lips when she saw that he was okay. He made his way over to her and she felt her stomach do a little flip at the sight of him, despite the seriousness of the situation. She suddenly remembered seeing Pride and Prejudice on TV a few years before and found herself almost giggling at the sight of a soaking wet Gene Hunt striding toward her, his shirt sticking to him like a second skin, his hair pushed back and plastered to his head, and his trousers; encasing those long, strong legs and leaving very little to the imagination. "Eat your heart out, Mr Darcy," she muttered to herself as she reached him, looking him up and down.

"When you've quite finished, DI Drake!" Gene snapped, but it was a halfhearted attempt as her obvious ogling was warming his body from the inside out. The paramedics rushed down to the river bank, one of them helping the young woman up to the street, the other heading over to Gene until he held his hand up and shook his head.

"Oh, sorry," she replied feeling a blush creeping over her cheeks as she realised that he'd seen her blatant staring. "It's just that...Well, you, soaking wet, it's quite a sight, that's all. Sorry, Guv." She turned away from him, more to save face than anything else.

"Yes, well, if you hadn't been so busy poking your nose in down there then you might have seen her first and been able to talk her down with your psychiatry so I didn't have to dive into possibly the foulest river in England!" He patted his pockets and groaned. "And because of that I've probably lost my jacket and my coat!" He stormed past her and up onto the street, letting out a relieved sigh when he found his things exactly where he'd dumped them.

She followed him, intent on arguing back but found herself just watching as he drew his hip flask out of his coat pocket, taking a long drink before finding his cigars and lighting one, leaning on the wall as he blew out the smoke. He'd saved the young woman's life without a second thought and for all his moaning she knew that he would do it again in a heartbeat. "It never even occurred to you to call out for help, did it?" She mused, wondering how he could be such a mix of contradictions, arrogant, proud and selfish one minute, caring, kind and sympathetic the next.

He shook his head, little droplets of water flying from his hair as did. "No," he replied matter of factly, pushing away from the wall. "Right, I think that's enough excitement for one day, don't you, Bolly?" He headed back to the car without looking back and she watched him go for a minute.

"The days are always exciting with you, Gene," she said quietly, a smile on her face as she followed him.