A/N: Sorry about the wait on this one. Extra long chapter to make up for it.
Chapter 11
Annie pulled into the small car park across the road from the church and let out a sigh. There had been road works on the main route from the hotel to the church so they had been delayed and the funeral cars were just arriving as Alex and Annie crossed the road. They hurried along and tried to sneak into the church unnoticed; both realising that, being friends of Gene's, they probably wouldn't be welcomed with open arms by Dawn's family and they didn't want to cause a scene. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. Jamie was stood by the funeral car, struggling with Gene's mum as she tried to wipe his face. Alex could hear Gene telling her to leave him be but she was paying no attention. Upon seeing Alex and Annie, Jamie fought harder and managed to wriggle free running down the road to them.
"Alex!" he shouted as he approached. Conscious of her audience, Alex bent down and picked Jamie up, giving him a hug. He snaked his arms around her and buried his face in the crook of her neck, sobbing quietly. Quickly forgetting she was being watched, she began to stroke Jamie's back soothingly. "Don't want ter do this, 'Lex," he cried.
"I know sweetie. But you have too."
"Why?" he asked tearfully. Alex was stumped. How did you explain something like this to a five year old?
"Because you need to say goodbye."
"That's what everyone keeps sayin' but if I 'ave ter say goodbye then I know I'll cry an' I'm not allowed," he explained. Alex was confused
"Who said you aren't allowed to cry?" she asked softly as Gene approached them.
"Granny. She said only babies cry and I'm a big boy so I should know better." Alex and Gene shared a look; both filled with anger at his mother's interference.
"Come on kid," Gene said wearily, holding his arms out for him. Jamie shook his head.
"No!" he yelled. "Don't want to," and clung even tighter to Alex. Gene sighed; he could feel his mother's eyes on them and knew this was only cementing her idea that Gene couldn't cope with him.
"It's okay to cry Jay," Alex whispered, "even for big boys like you."
"Really?" Jamie looked from Alex to his Dad. Alex gave Gene a pointed look over Jamie's head and he nodded his agreement with Alex.
"I'm sure even Daddy has cried at some point." Gene sent a mock glare in her direction and she decided to tease, "especially when City loose to United!"
"Oi!" growled Gene, "that only ever 'appened once; and that were the cup final" Jamie giggled at their banter and Gene sent a grateful smile in Alex's direction.
"I tell you what," began Alex, "you go with Daddy and sit nicely in church…" Jamie looked at her sceptically, "…you don't have to say goodbye if you don't want too...and when we get home, we'll think of a way for you to say goodbye yourself; where you don't have to worry about crying in front of your Gran."
"Can there be balloons? Mummy always liked balloons."
"Course there can kid," agreed Gene. "Now come on," he said taking Jamie from Alex, "let's let Alex go get a seat in church."
"Are you not coming with us?" She shook her head lightly,
"I can't sweetie; I'm not family. But I'll be in there, and I'll see you after. Remember…it's okay to cry if you need to." She gave Jamie a quick peck on the forehead and squeezed Gene's hand supportively.
"I'll see you later," she told him, before lowering her voice to a whisper, "you're doing fine."
The service had been tough for everyone; the funeral of a mother ripped away from her young son so suddenly. Jamie sat next to his father and held his hand tightly, while Alex and Annie sat a few rows behind. Periodically throughout the service, Jamie would turn round to check that Alex was still there. Whenever he did so, Alex, ignoring the looks she was getting from Gene's mother, would give him a reassuring smile and he would turn back to face the front. After the service family and close friends had been invited to the cemetery. Alex was reluctant to go; not wanting to upset anybody further.
"Bollocks," Gene had told her in a hushed whisper. "Yer comin'. Jay needs yer there.
"He'll be fine Gene; he's got you."
"An' what about me?" he'd asked. Alex looked at him in confusion. "I need yer there too."
"Gene…"
"Look, will yer jus' ferget about everyone else. Anyone 'oo's got a problem wi' yer bein' there can take it up wi me!"
That had settled it and she stood and watched as Jamie, still clutching tightly to his father's hand, slowly picked some dirt out of the box and threw it into the grave. He may only have been young, but he realised that there was some kind of finality in that gesture and slowly the tears began to fall. Alex's heart ached as she recalled standing in a similar position saying goodbye to her own parents and she wondered if Molly was facing a similar ordeal in 2008. She hoped that if she was, she was being supported by Evan, Marjorie and Brian, and that Pete would finally step up to the plate. Shaking her head, she pushed all thoughts of Molly and home to the back of her mind for the moment; Jamie, and Gene, needed her full attention today. She could wallow in the past (or future) another time. She looked up and found that the service had been concluded and that people were slowly moving away from the graveside. Jamie and Gene, however, remained. Alex joined them for a moment at the graveside, holding tightly to Gene's hand, before leaving them alone to say their final goodbyes.
Alex approached the kitchen door and checked to see if the coast was clear. She was trying to avoid Gene's mum and Sheila. She hadn't really wanted to come to the wake but Jamie had been so upset and Gene had looked lost so she didn't feel she could refuse. She deposited their empty cups in the sink and turned on the tap to wash them and the few other dishes that had accumulated. As she was here she may as well try and make herself useful.
"You don't have to do that," came a voice Alex didn't recognise. She turned her head to see Sheila walking towards her.
"It's not a problem," Alex replied, continuing with her task. Much to her surprise Sheila picked up a tea towel and began to dry.
"I've been trying to catch you," she continued, "I wanted to say thank you for coming. Jamie has obviously taken a shine to you."
"He's a wonderful little boy. He's a credit to Dawn." Alex didn't really feel comfortable talking about Gene's ex wife but you only had to look at Jamie to know she'd been a good mother.
"He is. She doted on him. As does Gene by the look of it." Alex followed Sheila's gaze to see Gene and Jamie kicking a football around the back garden. "Then again, I suppose he always did."
"So why were you so against Jamie living with him?" The words were out of Alex's mouth before she could stop them and the harshness of them was ringing in her ears. She immediately tried to back track. "Err…I'm sorry. I didn't…I mean…" her voice trailed off as she realised there was nothing she could say to fix it. Sheila fixed her with a stare,
"You really care about Gene don't you?" she asked causing Alex to blush, "Don't worry. It's good that he's found someone. I don't blame him for what happened; they both made mistakes. You're right of course, I was wary of him taking Jamie. He hasn't cared for a child full time in his life and I didn't know if he'd be able to cope."
"He's doing fine," insisted Alex, her voice sounding defensive once again.
"I can see that now," conceded Sheila. "I'm sure your presence has helped a lot." Alex didn't know why but she suddenly felt the urge to explain her relationship with Gene.
"Gene and I…we're well..."
"Dating?" Alex's blush gave her away. Sheila raised an eyebrow.
"It's all very new," Alex admitted. "We're taking it slow…for Jamie's sake. I'm not going to try and replace his Mum," she assured.
"I would hope not. Anyway, I should get back into the other room. Make sure everyone has enough food." Before Alex could reply, the tea-towel was on the drainer and Sheila had gone. She'd obviously gotten whatever reassurance she'd needed from Alex and didn't feel the need to spend any additional time in her presence. Placing the final dish on the side, she looked out of the window once more to Jamie and Gene. Gene was now holding Jamie in the air; spinning him round. Jamie was loving it, his arms were outstretched, he was pretending to be an aeroplane. If only CID could see him now. She briefly wondered how the investigation was going, but pushed the thought out of her mind, now was not the time.
"Don't get used to playing Mummy will yer," Elizabeth's voice broke into Alex's thoughts. She turned around to see her standing in the doorway.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Well what I mean is, Gene's not a one woman type o' bloke, if yer get me drift. Won't be long before 'e gets bored. 'E's ter much like his father ter sustain a meanin'ful relationship."
"I don't think you're giving Gene enough credit."
"Oh I think I am. Yer just an easy lay fer 'im and as soon as the next bit o' skirt comes round, 'e'll be gone."
"My God!" Alex stared angrily at the grey haired woman in front of her. She couldn't believe the things she had seen and heard since they arrived and she'd had enough. "What kind of a mother are you? What kind of a mother says these things about her son? I have sat back and held my tongue while you've put down and berated Gene, but not anymore!"
"I'll thank you to stay out of our business, DI Drake. You have no idea how this family works."
"I may not know how this family works, Mrs. Hunt, but I'm getting more and more enlightened by the second. Do you know what your son has had to endure over this past week? The worry? The feelings of helplessness? He done brilliantly, and is determined to be a good father to Jay. As his mother you should be proud of what he has achieved and how well he is coping with this massive change, and you should be offering your support not making veiled and sniping comments whenever you get the chance."
"How dare you speak to me like that? What right do you have-"
"How dare you treat your son in such a degrading manner? And to answer your question, I have every right to pass comment if your actions affect Gene's well-being. For the past year I have worked alongside your son, and yes I'll admit he isn't perfect, but he's a good man,a decent copper and a brilliant Father, and you should be proud of him!" Liz scoffed,
"Yer know, I almost feel sorry for you; yer sound like yer love him and 'e's never goin' ter feel that way about you. 'E ain't got it in 'im." She walked over to the sink, slammed her cup down in front of Alex and walked out, effectively ending the conversation. Alex leant back against the countertop and sighed. That had got out of hand; she hadn't meant to raise her voice or lose it like she had, but she just couldn't listen to any more of Liz's sarcastic comments or put-downs. She stood for a while, going over the confrontation in her head, wondering if she'd gone too far at any point and thinking how to tell Gene. She was so engrossed in her thoughts, she didn't hear Gene enter.
"Earth to Madame Fruitcake! Hello. Anyone in there?"
"Huh? What?" Her head snapped up and her eyes found Gene's.
"Everythin' okay? Yer were miles away then."
"Sorry. Just daydreaming. Where's Jay?"
"Sayin' goobye ter me Mam and Sheila." Alex was confused, they hadn't been here that long, and they were leaving already?
"Are we going?"
"Yeh...I've...err...I've changed me mind; thought it'd be better to go back to London tonight rather than leave it ter tomorrow. Jay needs the routine. That okay?"
"Yes. Of course. I'll just use the bathroom and then we'll be on our way."
