Chapter 13: I Saw Her Standing There

He seemed to be floating down a corridor, unsure of where he was or what was going on. It was dark around him, but he could make out the dark grey walls of the corridor, and could clearly see the light at the end. Something told him that he needed to stay away from that light, but it looked so welcoming.

He stopped, and looked the other way. There was a light on that end as well, but it was much dimmer, and had none of the elegance of the light on the other end.

Mind made up, he continued toward the brighter light, stopping when he saw the silhouette of a man. He frowned as the silhouette came closer and closer toward him. Finally, the man stopped in front of him.

"Let's go into a side room, shall we?"

"Why can't we just go back to where you came from?" he asked.

"Because," the man said, his face still hidden in darkness, "if you go through that light, there is no coming back. Come with me."

The man led him back down the corridor a few feet until they reached a door. The man unlocked the door and held it open for him. He went into the room and the man turned on the light. It wasn't as bright as the one that he had been walking towards, but brighter than the one he had walked away from.

"Sit down."

He turned and gasped. "Sam bloody Tyler," he said.

Sam smiled. "And how are you, Guv?"

"Am I dead?"

Sam shook his head. "If you had reached that light, you would have been. Right now you're in the In-Between. Still living, but hovering between life and death. Do you remember what happened?"

Gene shook his head. "No."

"A bomb went off under your desk. You were caught in the explosion."

"If I was caught in the explosion, then how am I not dead?"

"You're very lucky. You didn't get off easily though." Sam waved his hand and the wall seemed to disappear, replaced by Gene's bed in hospital. Gene stared at the man in the bed, unable to believe it was him. "You can walk over there. No one can see you."

Gene walked over to himself, staring at the tubes coming out of him in disbelief. "There's one coming out of my mouth," he said quietly.

"You were having trouble breathing. They're helping you breathe at the moment. Weaning you off it as we speak."

"So why am I here?"

"This is where you make your decision, Guv. Do you go back to your life when they wean you off the machine, or do you go with me?"

He frowned, thinking. "I don't really have anything on Earth, do I?"

"I don't know, Guv. I'd ask her," Sam said, nodding back toward the bed. Gene looked and felt his stomach jump as he saw Alex walking uncertainly towards the bed. She looked better than he'd seen her for a long time, seeming well rested and better fed.

"Hi, Guv," she said. Gene marvelled at those two words. She was finally speaking to him. It only took nearly being blown up to make it happen.

"I just wanted to tell you that you've got to get better. You've made it through the past few nights, which they say is very good for your prognosis. I can't doubt that, because otherwise you'd be dead and your prognosis from that would be pretty poor." She gave a small laugh at her joke.

"Mark told me that he showed you my studio. When I painted those walls, I meant every brush stroke. I'm sorry you had to see that, but I think my paintings will be happier from here on out. I've finally gotten through most of the things holding me back from my recovery. I mean, I can talk now, that was a biggie. And then, a few nights ago, I had a long talk with Mark. I knew you wouldn't be happy that I left, but I think it was best for both of us."

There was a rustle to the side of her and she turned as Mark walked into the room. His arm was in a splint and he looked very bruised. She smiled and stood as he walked in.

"How is he?" Mark asked.

"His vitals have been stable and his oxygen sat is good. They're weaning him off the ventilator."

"Good. You okay?"

"Yeah," Alex replied. "It's not as terrifying seeing him today as it was yesterday or the day before. I can actually talk to him now."

"That's partly because you're getting used to it, and partly because you know that he can actually fight and make it."

"Did I look this bad? When I came in after you rescued me?"

Mark shook his head. "You were bruised, but the only thing you could see was an IV. You didn't have all the tubes. But you were much better off than he was. You were bloody hard to wake up though. Took me a good ten minutes. You were snoring too loud."

Alex grinned, and Gene stared in shock. She never smiled around him. She would occasionally, but then it seemed strained, not like the smile she gave now.

"I don't snore," she replied. "You however..."

"You were sleeping too well last night to hear anything. I however, couldn't get to sleep. And neither could half the neighbours."

"Shut it," she replied, staring at him, an odd expression on her face.

Mark smiled and shook his head. "I'm going to tell everyone. The doctors, the nurses, all the patients...Come to think of it, most of the nurses probably know. They took care of you, didn't they?"

"You better watch your fractured ribs. They might just get broken," she said playfully.

"Ooh, Alex. That would hurt. Seriously. Don't do that. It would hurt like hell."

Alex just laughed. "Well, I need a way to shut you up."

Mark grinned suggestively. "I can think of a way or two."

"Oh?" Alex asked, pretending not to know.

He nodded. "Like this."

Gene felt rage building up as Mark placed a chaste kiss on Alex's lips and she responded, pulling him back for a deeper kiss.

"Turn this bloody thing off!" he yelled at Sam. Sam waved his arm and the scene went away, replaced by a wall.

"Why show me that?"

"You have to make your decision."

"She's bloody made hers," Gene muttered underneath his breath.

Sam gave a small smile. "You have to decide, Gene. Do you go back and try to win her back, or do you die and let her stay with Mark?"

Gene glared at the wall where his bed had been moments earlier. "I'm not letting her stay with that wanker. I'm going back."

Sam nodded and took him out into the hall again. "Right, you know the way back. Second star to the right and straight on until morning."

"Eh?"

"It's Peter Pan. Oh, never mind. Just head towards that light. Oh, and Guv?" Sam said as Gene started walking away.

"What?"

"You won't remember this. You'll just remember heading towards a bright light."

"So I get to find out about Alex and him all over again?"

"Sorry."

"I'll show you. Even if I don't bloody remember that I'm showing you, I'll show you."

"I'll see you Guv."

"Buy me a drink and all. I'm guessing there's a pub in heaven?"

"Your pint will be waiting when it's actually your time."

"Good," Gene said, turning and walking toward the dim light. "'Cause it wouldn't be heaven without a sodding pint."

~(*)~

Alex woke slowly, trying to place what had woken her up. She kept her eyes closed, feeling Mark moving next to her. It was the third night in a row that they had slept together, but they had not had sex. Their relationship was built on kisses and cuddling. She wasn't ready yet to make love to any man, and Mark respected her enough not to push the issue. She felt Mark get out of bed.

"Whuzz goin' on?" she murmured sleepily.

"Phone," Mark replied.

Alex sighed. Phones ringing in the middle of the night were never a good sign. Usually that meant that someone was trying to blow up the country. Mark left the room and she heard him answer the phone. She tried to listen, but she started to doze when suddenly, Mark came back in the room.

"It's the hospital for you."

Alex was suddenly wide awake. Had Gene taken a turn for the worse? She jumped out of bed and ran to the phone. She picked it up, holding the receiver nervously to her ear.

"Alex Drake speaking."

"Miss Drake," the voice on the other line said. "This is Doctor Ben Turner from the hospital. I was ringing with information on Gene."

"What's going on?" she asked breathlessly.

"He woke up earlier this evening has been asking for you since."

"Why wasn't I informed of this?" Alex asked angrily.

"We were doing tests and decided to ring when we were done. We have just finished the tests. He was demanding for you through the whole thing. He's fallen back asleep now, but we were hoping you could come for when he wakes up again so he doesn't throw anything at a nurse again."

Alex gave a heavy sigh. "He's already thrown something at someone?"

"He was quite angry about the fact that he was restrained and as soon as the nurse released his wrists he threw a cup full of water and mouth swabs at her."

"I'll be over as soon as possible," Alex said, sighing as she hung up the phone.

She walked back to the room, running her hands through her hair, irritated. Mark had the light on and was sitting up in bed on top of the covers. He looked at her as she walked in.

"Well aren't you a happy bunny," he stated. Alex glared at him.

"What's going on?"

"Gene," she sighed. "He woke up and started throwing things at nurses because I wasn't there. The doctor rang to tell me that he had woken up and asked me to come down so Gene would refrain from throwing things at anyone else."

Mark was grinning. "Seriously?"

"Yes. Don't bloody smile about this! He's acting like a nine-year-old! You're not going with me. You'll just encourage him."

Mark kept the grin plastered on his face. "You know it's one in the morning? You aren't gonna get any transport. You admitted last week that you lost your licence. And I'm not letting you walk there at this time."

"Night bus," Alex replied.

"Nope," Mark said, shaking his head. "I'm taking you. I can wait outside, but I'm not letting you go alone at this time of night."

"Fine," she sighed. "Get your clothes on and let's go."

Mark stood and walked up behind her, putting his arms around her waist. He pressed a kiss to her temple.

"You look really pretty," he whispered into her ear.

"I just woke up five minutes ago," she replied flatly.

"I like the early morning look," he said.

"You're about the only person in the world."

"I like to be different. I'm a Spook, remember?"

Alex turned in his arms and he smiled at her. She pressed her lips against his. "Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?"

"For making me feel like I matter. For not treating me like a child. You can take your pick of reasons."

Mark smiled at her. "Of course you matter. Everyone matters."

"Some people don't think like that."

"Yeah, well, some people are arseholes. C'mon. Let's get dressed before Gene finds something else to throw at a nurse."

He pressed another kiss to her lips and let go of her, walking toward his wardrobe. Alex walked out of his room back into hers. She pulled out a jumper and a pair of leggings, putting them on and throwing a long jacket over the ensemble. She combed her hair and cleaned her teeth, going down the stairs to the kitchen to grab a banana to eat in case she got hungry. As she emerged from the kitchen, Mark appeared, looking freshly showered.

"Not fair," she said. "The time it takes to make me look presentable is the time it takes you to shower?"

Mark smiled and shrugged. "I'm a man, Alex. We automatically take less time at everything. Using the loo, getting ready to go out, using the phone."

"You and Gene would get along famously."

"Oh you know I'm only joking."

Alex grinned. "Doesn't alter the fact. Now, we really do need to leave."

Mark nodded. "Right. Let's go."

They got into the car and Mark started the engine, driving slowly toward the hospital. As they parked up, Alex took a deep breath. This was it. After nearly seven months, she was finally going to have a conversation with Gene.