Disclaimer: Anything you recognise belongs to the BBC/Kudos. Anything else, including mistakes are mine!

Big thanks to warbs1981 for beta duties.

(Prompt – Brown)

The Makeover

Date: Sunday 7th February 1982

"As much as I would love to spend the rest of the day debating this with you, Bolly, I actually have real police work to do and I'm sure that you do as well!" Gene gave Alex a pointed look and made a shooing gesture with his hands in the vain hope that she would stop perching on the edge of his desk, which was very distracting at the best of times, and go back to her own.

Alex huffed out a breath and narrowed her eyes. "So what you're actually saying is 'Sorry Bols, I don't have time to listen to your revolutionary idea about new police practices which could help move this station forward and out of the dark ages, because I haven't read today's copy of The Sun yet?"

Raising his eyebrows, Gene looked thoughtful for a minute before nodding. "Got it in one, Bolly, see, you're learning!" Folding his hands on the desk, he looked at her expectantly. "Close the door on your way out, ta."

She stalked out of the office, slamming the door behind her. "Bloody impossible man!" She muttered under her breath. "This whole station could collapse around his ears before he would ever admit that I could help him." She threw herself into her chair, tapping her nails on the top of the desk thoughtfully.

"Well you know what, if my presence is so annoying and my opinions are so useless, then I'll remove myself from the manly alter of CID and spend the rest of the day somewhere more fitting to my lowly female status!" She was muttering to herself but glaring around the room, hardly noticing that everyone else had their heads down, not wanting to catch her eye. She saw Shaz put down two cups of coffee in front of Ray and Chris, who didn't even seem to notice and that just made her fume even more.

"Shaz, go and get changed, we're hitting the streets and want you in plain clothes for this!" Alex said suddenly, grabbing her jacket off of the back of her chair. "Ma'am?" Shaz replied, not wanting to get involved with whatever argument was brewing between her and the Guv. "Just go and get changed, Shaz, I'll explain on the way!"

She grabbed a radio and shoved it in her pocket, just in case. "Ray, if his highness asks where we are...Well, just tell him we're going somewhere we'll be welcomed and not treated like skivvies!" and with one last look back at Gene's office, where the man in question was hidden behind the newspaper, she stormed out, letting the doors swing back behind her.

"Ma'am, its good of you to bring me out with you, and don't think I'm not grateful, but where exactly are we going and shouldn't we have told someone? I mean, you know how angry the Guv gets when you run off without telling him!" Shaz took one look at Alex's determined expression and decided just to keep quiet, even when they stopped in front of a shop. Shaz looked up and then Alex in surprise. "This is us hitting the streets?"

Alex turned to Shaz with a smile. "Yes, Shaz, this is exactly what we need while the men are sitting on their arses waiting for us to do all the work! Come on, my treat!" Shaz grinned and followed Alex into the beauty parlour. "Brill!"

Alex smiled to herself as Shaz collapsed down onto her sofa, arms laden down with bags. "Well, I think that our day was a success wouldn't you, Shaz?" She asked as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses.

"I would say so, ma'am...Alex. I just hope we're not going to get into too much trouble, although it was worth it!" Shaz giggled and took the glass of wine from Alex. "What do you think the Guv will say tomorrow?"

Alex's brows rose. "Tomorrow? I don't think this can wait until tomorrow, Shaz!" She looked at her watch. "I think we give it half an hour and then go downstairs. Then we can see if they even noticed that we were gone, let alone anything else!" She clinked her glass against Shaz's before rifling through the bags for something suitable to wear.

Gene sat in his usual corner, and took a sip of his wine. He was on his third glass and yet his anger hadn't abated. It wasn't bad enough that Alex had run off again in the middle of the day, but now she had Shaz doing it too. He lit a cigar and waited for her to show her face, knowing that she would, she wouldn't be able to help herself. She'd clearly been trying to make a point; unfortunately, he had no idea what it was.

Hearing wolf whistles, he looked up, wondering what poor woman had wandered into Luigi's unawares. The frown he'd been wearing as he brooded stayed the same, in fact to anyone watching, he seemed completely disinterested, but internally he cursed as Alex walked over to his table and sat down, crossing her long legs and giving him a look that clearly said, 'well?'

"I think you'll find, DI Drake, that skiving off work is frowned upon in the Met, in fact it's cause for a disciplinary." The thought came unbidden that if she wore the same tight pencil skirt, silky blouse and stiletto heels combo she had on now, he would be quite happy for her to discipline him. She'd changed her hair style too and as much as he'd liked the wild curls, this new style framed her face, the soft fringe drawing attention to those big eyes...

"Well maybe next time I try and offer something constructive to do while the station is quiet, you'll actually listen to me," she replied, trying hard to hide her smile, as she saw the way he was staring at her.

"So this is a punishment then, is it, all this?" He waved his hand in her direction, ignoring Luigi, who put a glass of wine in front of Alex and placed two menus in front of them. "Your way of sticking two fingers up at me, is to and get your hair done and buy a new outfit?"

She smirked and sipped her wine, picking up the menu and glancing at it, even though she knew it from memory by now. "Correct," she replied. "Did it work? Do you feel punished?"

He shook his head but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Oh yes, Bolly, I feel suitably punished. Of course, you do realise that if you're going to go off and tart yourself up every time I don't listen to one of your crackpot ideas, I may never listen to a word you say again!"

Alex opened her mouth to answer and then shut it sharply. "Shit," she said quietly, wondering what she had been thinking of. "Never mind," she said with a sigh. "It was worth it."

He lifted his gaze to meet hers. "Yes it was, Bols, it was definitely worth it."