Chapter 12

They arrived back home late that same evening; Jamie falling asleep somewhere around Milton Keynes. Alex unbuckled Jamie from his car and carried him slowly inside while Gene got their bags. She settled him in bed before joining Gene in the living room.

"E wake up?" he asked as she flopped down next to him on the sofa.

"No, he was well out of it; the stress of the day catching up with him."

"'E did well terday," Gene observed.

"He did. And so did you."

"Couldn't 'ave done it wi'out you though Bolls. Thanks."

"It was nothing," she told him truthfully.

"Thanks for puttin' me Mam in 'er place an' all." Alex's head whipped round at his words. He'd been outside hadn't he? How did he know?

"Y-you..I mean...how?" she asked.

"I'd popped in ter get Jamie a drink and 'eard yer voices." Alex blushed crimson and looked down at her lap. "Oi!" he scolded, lifting her chin with his hand. "Think it were way overdue if I'm 'onest wi' yer. 'Bout time someone told 'er a few 'ome truths!"

"For all the good it did; she still had the final word."

"Which, I 'ope yer know, were a load o' old bollocks?" Gene's voice was tinged with nervousness, he was genuinely worried that Alex would believe what his Mum had said; that he'd never be able to love her. He didn't want her to think that. He was pretty sure he was already falling in love with her but he wasn't at the stage where he was ready to tell her, he didn't know if he ever would be. He'd just have to hope that she would know.

"Of course I do," she assured him, her heart leaping at the possibility that Gene could love her. "My...altercation...with your Mother, was that why you were so insistent on travelling home tonight?" Gene gave a small nod,

"Aye. Well, I thought it'd be fer the best." Alex blushed again, embarrassed at causing problems for Gene. But he wasn't going to let her wallow. "C'mere," he whispered, lifting his arm. She scooted closer and nestled into him. He gently placed his arm around her; holding her to him. They sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the feel of their bodies against each others. "S'nice," commented Gene, dropping a kiss onto her forehead.

"Yeh it is," Alex agreed, stifling a yawn.

"We'd better get yer ter bed Bolls; yer've got work in the mornin'."

"Oh, don't remind me," she groaned. Gene stood to his feet, turning to her and holding out his hand.

"Come on Bolls. Up yer get." Alex took his hand and he yanked her to her feet. He led her upstairs and stopped uncertainly on the landing, dropping her hand.

"What's the matter?" Alex asked.

"Just wonderin' where yer plannin' on sleepin' tonight," he admitted shyly. He wanted her in his bed so he could hold on to her, but the shift in their relationship was very new and he didn't want to risk damaging it.

"Are you kicking me out of your bed? Do I snore or something?"

"No. I mean...yer more than welcome to join me, I just wanted ter make sure it's what you wanted."

"That's sweet," she told him, placing a kiss on his cheek, "but there's nowhere I would rather be than in your bed." Then it was her turn to lead him; grabbing his hand and pulling him into his room.

Alex slammed the file down on her desk in frustration. It'd been a week since this killer had first struck and they were no nearer to finding him. The team had done well in her and Gene's absence; carefully investigating every lead and going over everything with a fine toothed comb. She knew where the problem lay; it was with her. She couldn't work effectively without Gene. She needed him to be a stubborn git and make her fight to get him to see her point of view. That was how she did her best work; her drive to prove that she was right caused her to take those deductive leaps and make the connections necessary to solve cases. She hoped Gene would be back soon.

She'd woken that morning to an empty bed; Gene and Jamie had been up and about with the birds. Gene had explained that after she'd mentioned about getting things back into a normal routine as quickly as possible, he'd decided to get on with finding a school and a childminder for Jamie. After a quick breakfast they left her to it. Without either of them there to distract her she'd made good time getting ready and despite not having to be in until lunchtime, was in work before ten o'clock. Not that she'd actually managed to do anything productive in the hour and a half she'd been here. Sighing, she pushed her chair away from her desk and headed for the kitchen to make herself a drink. As the kettle re-boiled her mind once again returned to Gene, wondering how his morning had gone and whether or not there was a headteacher or childminder in the whole of Fenchurch who wasn't battle scarred from his visit. Maybe she should have gone with him, she mused. Oh well, too late now. Resolving to ring him after lunch she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and poured the water into her mug. She didn't hear the main doors to CID open but she was conscious of the silence that fell over the department. She was on her way to see what was going on when she heard Ray's shocked voice,

"Guv?"

"Where's Drake?" Gene asked, ignoring Ray's question. Her cup of tea forgotten, she walked back towards the main office. As she approached, she could see why everyone had gone quiet; Gene was stood in the middle of the office, Jamie in his arms. She quickly scanned the room and almost everyone had their mouths open in shock. Deciding this was as good a time as any to make her presence known, she entered,

"You'll all start catching flies pretty soon if you don't close your mouths," she commented, giving Gene a small smile. At the sound of Alex's voice, Jamie began wriggling in Gene's arms.

"Daaaaad!" he whined when he father wouldn't let go. "Put me down!" Alex heard the whispers travel throughout the department at this child referring to the Guv as his father. Ever conscious of all the eyes on him, Gene placed Jamie on the floor. He, of course, ran straight to Alex.

"Hi Alex!" he greeted enthusiastically as she picked him up and sat him on her desk. "Guess what?"

"What?" she asked with a grin; his giddiness really was infectious.

"I've got a new school," he told her excitedly.

"Have you?" she asked, looking at Gene, surprised at how quickly he'd managed to sort that out.

"Aye, 'e 'as. St Michael's. S'only round the corner and they're pretty good by all accounts. 'E starts Monday."

"Well, that's brilliant."

"Err, Guv?" Ray asked again, unsure of the reaction he'd get. "What's goin' on?" Gene turned to Ray and Chris.

"I know you two 'aven't always been the sharpest tools in the box, but even you can't 'ave forgotten Jay, me son."

"Blimey!" exclaimed Chris, "I didn't recognise 'im. 'e's really grown."

"Well it 'as been three years yer div," commented Ray.

"You've got a son?" This time it was Shaz.

"Yes. I 'ave. Is that really so 'ard ter believe? Sergeant Rock is in full workin' order; I don't fire blanks yer know."

"Guv!" warned Alex, not wanting Jamie to be scarred by the conversation.

"Anyway, yer'd best get used ter the idea. Yer'll be seein' a lot more o' im. 'E's livin' wi' me now." Another ripple of whispers throughout CID.

"What's goin' off Guv?" asked Ray. Gene opened his mouth when Alex stood up suddenly,

"Maybe I should take Jay to get a biscuit or something," she interjected, lifting the boy down off the desk.

"What?" Gene asked, before cottoning on, "Oh right, yeh. Jay, go wi' Alex and be good." Alex took Jamie by the hand and lead him to the kitchen and Gene heard him ask if there'd be any Garibaldis.

"'As this got summat ter do wi' where yer've been this past week?" Ray asked.

"'Is Mam...Dawn...she's dead."

"No way!" exclaimed Chris.

"This isn't something I'm likely ter go round jokin' about Christopher!"

"No. Erm, sorry Guv. What happened?"

"Car accident. Drunk driver. So Jay's wi' me now. Questions?" he asked but didn't give them chance to ask any. "No? Good. Right, while Lady Bolls is entertainin' His Nibbs, why don't yer bring me up ter speed on the case?"

When they reached the kitchen, Alex sat Jamie on the counter top while she searched for some biscuits.

"If there's no Garibaldis, then pink wafers are good too," he told her, "I'm not really bothered."

"Pink wafers it is then," announced Alex triumphantly as she found a packet hiding at the back of the cupboard. "Think your Dad's eaten all the Garibaldis." Jamie smiled as Alex offered him a biscuit, before coming serious,

"Daddy's tellin' 'em about Mummy isn't 'e?" he asked quietly. Alex sighed. Jamie was a bright boy and obviously hadn't been fooled by her efforts to get him out of CID.

"Yeh, he is," she admitted. Jamie absorbed this piece of information as he chewed on his biscuit, before deciding that nothing else really needed to be said on the matter.

"Me teacher'is goin' ter be Mrs Cole," he informed Alex, "Hope she's nicer than me old teacher." Alex was fazed by the sudden change in topic but soon caught up.

"I'm sure she'll be really nice."

"We have ter wear blue jumpers, like Man City!" Alex chuckled, wondering if Gene had discounted any schools in the area because they had red uniforms.

"It sounds great," Alex told him, "really great."

"Would you like ter come and see it? Maybe yer could come on Monday?" he suggested.

"I would love to see it, but I'm not sure about Monday," she said gently, unsure if Gene would want that, and not wanting to intrude. "We'll see, yeh?" Jamie seemed placated by that answer and nodded, picking up another biscuit. "That's enough of them; you won't eat your lunch. Shall we go and see if your Dad would like one?"

"It's 'im, Ray. I know it." Gene was in the middle of CID, seemingly having had an insight on the case.

"Who?" asked Alex.

"Brought you some biscuits, Daddy," announced Jamie, holding out the plate to him. "Yer 'ave to 'ave pink wafers. Alex said yer'd eaten all the Garibaldis." There was a ripple of laughter from Ray, Chris and the others.

"Did she now?" he asked, taking a biscuit. "Cheeky mare." He turned back to Ray, "Bring 'im in."

"Who?" Alex asked more insistently this time as Jamie went round the rest of the office offering biscuits to people.

"Peter Fleming," Gene said, pointing to his photo on the white board.

"We've questioned him and ruled him out Guv. He doesn't know anything."

"I say 'e does," Gene argued.

"I'm telling you he doesn't," Alex shot back. "Any psyche assessment would show-"

"An' I'm telling yer he does," interrupted Gene. "An' unless yer've forgotten Drakey, this is still my department. Bring 'im in. Lean on 'im. Won't take much fer 'im ter crack." Jamie watched the exchange between his Dad and Alex with interest.

"For Christ's sake Gene, we've got no evidence!" Alex shouted.

"I don't need evidence!" Gene yelled back. "I know I'm right. Good ol' copper's nous. Now I'm takin' Jamie fer some lunch and then ter the park fer a kick about. Arrest 'im Drake; that's an order! Come on Jay," he said brightly, "lunch time!" Jamie obediently followed his father out of the office,

"Bye Alex."

"Bye Jay," she called after him. She turned back to the team who were all looking at her expectantly, waiting for their instructions. She let out an annoyed sigh as she said, "Ray, Chris, go get Peter Fleming in for further questioning."