With apologies to Joss Whedon. It appears I am weak in the face of peer pressure. Or possibly idle suggestion.
I own nothing...
--
Alex woke early, determined to make right the mess she'd caused. She'd hated disappointing Gene, even if she couldn't admit it to him yesterday. Taking risks was only a good thing if they worked out. She'd been so sure she was right she bit off more than she could chew thinking he would come around. There was still time to make this right.
She had decided first thing in the morning to look at every place Wrenfield had painted over the last few months. There might be a good place to hide the boy. She'd have to move fast, though, Gene couldn't be far behind her in his thinking. She was at the painter's dispatch office by seven am and he'd been only too happy to provide her a list of everywhere Peter had worked. He promised to call the station if he showed up at the office. Alex thanked him and left.
Scanning the list she knew she'd have to make her choices count. There was only one of her. There were two locations by one of the canals. She could start there, they weren't too far apart and she might get lucky. It was a big might.
--
Gene waited at home for Alex to call as long as he could. When she didn't he dragged himself to work worried and angry. He didn't have time for either.
"Where's DI Drake?" Ray asked as the team gathered to go over today's strategy.
"DI Drake has been suspended pending inquiry into her actions yesterday. We'll have to go without her." Surprised noises moved through the room, but silenced under Gene's glare. "That's enough. Wrenfield was an odd job painter. Ray, I want you to look into every job he's had in the past 12 months, look for locations that he might be able to stash the boy in that wouldn't be noticed. Empty flats, warehouses, anywhere. Anything that might be near any of those places."
"Right, Guv." He got to work, calling the painter's office.
"I want cars at his flat, at the painters' office, the local pubs. He could be anywhere. Keep your eyes open and call for backup if you see anything." Gene sighed heavily as everyone set to work.
"Guv!" Ray caught him in the doorway of his office. "I've got the list from the painter, but you're not goin' to believe this. Said Drake was there at 7am asking for the same information."
Gene stared hard at Ray. "Bloody stupid woman. Of course I believe it." He turned, grabbing the keys to the Quattro off his desk and the list from Ray's hands.. "Get an unmarked car Ray, want you out there on the road looking for the boy. If you see either Wrenfield or Drake raise me on the radio. I'll be looking for both of them too."
--
Driving around looking for a pair of needles in a London sized haystack gave Gene plenty of time to think. Unfortunately he didn't really want it. He needed to be focused on the case, but he couldn't stop worrying about Alex. If she'd shown up a the painter's this morning, then chances were good she was alright. But where the hell had she been last night?
Stop thinking about her. What she did yesterday had nothing to do with you. It was all about her crazy psychobabble and how she always thought she knew best. She wasn't trying to put one over on you. She wouldn't do that.
Would she?
--
An hour later Gene was still lost in unpleasant thoughts when his radio crackled its intrusion.
"Guv! Guv! Do you read me?"
"Go ahead Ray."
"They've found the boy, David. He's alright. A bit hungry."
About bloody time something went right. "Good Ray, I'm comin' in." He spun the car around with a loud squeal and sped back to the station.
--
Alex had got lucky. She found Wrenfield at the second location, holed up in an empty warehouse off one of the canals. After cursing 1982 and it's criminal lack of mobile phones she found a secure location where she could watch two of the exits. She hoped there weren't any more. She sat for a while, wishing for a public telephone, but she was in an essentially abandoned location. There were a few rail yards nearby, but there didn't look like there were any people in them. And she didn't want to risk losing her target again. She considered going in and arresting him, but then he might not lead her to the boy. And how would she take him in? She didn't have handcuffs either. This is why you should always do things in pairs, she thought to herself, risking a glance at the very ominous looking rain clouds gathering overhead. Maybe if she waited until he fell asleep she could call for backup before he woke. How would she know he was asleep?
Shit. You have no bloody idea what to do now, do you. You're really out of your depth. Gene was right. Should have let the real police officers handle this. What the hell was she doing chasing a suspect? She should be profiling criminals, not holed up alone outside warehouses waiting for them to turn themselves in. Why hadn't she nicked a bloody radio?
--
Once the boy and his parents had been reunited at the hospital, Gene returned to the station. They still had to find Wrenfield. And Alex.
"Job's half over, gentlemen. Now we need to bring in Wrenfield. Cover every location on the list DS Carling has. Get moving." He stopped Ray as he was heading out the door. "Ray..."
Ray nodded. "If I see her I'll call you, Guv. She's probably just to bloody embarrassed to come back in."
"Maybe."
Gene got behind the wheel of the Quattro, a two way radio sitting in the passenger seat. "Come on Alex, where the hell are you."
He drove for what seemed like forever, but it might have been an hour. He was hungry, wanted a drink, needed to see her. Hoped they'd catch that bastard Wrenfield and put this whole bloody mess to bed.
"Guv!" the radio crackled.
"I'm here!"
"-ot 'em. -unnin' along the Limehouse --."
"What Ray? You cut out!"
"Limehouse Cut! Got Wrenfield and Drake's chasing 'im. Can barely see -- bloody rain."
Gene didn't answer, he'd already spun the car around to head for the canal.
--
When the rain had started Alex hoped she'd have an opportunity to call for backup. But as she got up from her cover she noticed Wrenfield leave the building and head down towards the canal.
"Oh, bugger." She set after him on foot, cursing the rain, her boots and the slippery slope he was leading her down. "Where the hell could he be going?"
It was dark and the rain made it hard to keep him in her sights, so she had to stay close. She couldn't lose him again. She didn't think he'd see her with the dark and bad weather. Alex couldn't tell how far they'd gone, but she suddenly noticed police cars pulling up along the top of the canal. Not sure she could make it up the bank, she tried anyway and lost her footing, sliding down into the water, certain that the officers above couldn't hear her shouting through the rain. She hadn't noticed Gene chasing behind her, or following her down to the canal.
--
Alex was shocked to feel a strong hand grip her arm as she came up out of the water. She let him drag her out of the canal, but once out she shook him off, trudging up the bank to a tiny boat shed that had seen better days.
"Drake!" he shouted after her."What the bloody hell are you doing!"
"Trying to get out of the pissing rain!"
He followed her in. The shed was long abandoned and held only a work table and a few dusty crates stacked up in the center of the space. It wasn't much but it kept most of the rain off them. Alex sat on the crates, covered in mud and canal water. Her hair was plastered to her face, her jeans torn up one leg and her blouse hung open. She'd lost a boot. He hadn't lost any clothing, but several buttons had come off his shirt and but was soaked through to his skin.
"Where's your bloody car!" She shouted at him.
"My bloody car is a quarter mile away from 'ere because I had to chase you into the soddin' canal!"
Gene stared at her and she stared back, her face a mixture of defiance and outright terror. He didn't know whether to grab her, hug her, tell her how fucking happy he was that she wasn't hurt, or whether to beat her senseless. The urge to do both was frighteningly strong.
"What did you think you were doing, Alex?" He was shouting to be heard over the rain pounding on the roof but the tone in his voice was more desperate than angry. He wondered if she noticed.
"I was trying to catch a bloody kidnapper!" She shouted back at him. All he heard in her voice was anger. "I was trying to save the bloody boy!"
"Without any backup? Are you out of your mind? Did you really think you could have taken him in without help? Christ Alex! You never even called! You've been gone for twenty-four hours!"
"I didn't want to lose him again" She choked the words out. "And now look what you've done! You came in guns blazing and he's gone again!"
"No. Ray was right on him. He'll be in custody before we get back to the station. No bloody thanks to you!"
"And what about the boy?"
"We found the boy Alex. This morning. If you'd just gone home like I said this whole case would already be over. But no, you're so bloody thick-headed you can't just do as you're bloody told!" Gene paced back and forth in the tiny space, water dripping on him through holes in the roof. "And where the hell did you go last night? Why weren't you home?"
"I stayed in a hotel!"
"What? A hotel? What the hell for?"
"You suspended me!"
"You went to a hotel? I get stick from you for havin' a few drinks!" He couldn't believe it. She ran away. "You ran away? How could you? After all...after everything? I have done everything you have asked me, Alex. Made every change. I come home to you every bloody night, and I never want anything else. Never. And this is what you do?"
"You suspended me, Gene. I was angry." She backed off, but just a touch.
"Fine! Be angry! But you messed up Alex. Badly. You don't get to go off breaking rules and putting lives in danger just because you think you can fuck me into overlooking it. It doesn't work that way. On the job I call the shots. I make the rules! I can separate that from us. I thought you could too."
"What the hell does that mean? 'Fuck you into overlooking it'." She was defiant again, standing up, challenging him.
"You're so bloody arrogant Alex you think you can do anything. And you think you can get away with it because you fuck me every night. But you can't."
"You bastard! You think you know everything!" She hissed at him. But she knew she'd been wrong. She had been stupid. Admitting it to him was another thing.
"I know bloody more than you do!And you know what else occurred to me? That's all you want from me, a good screw or three every night." He took a step closer. "Christ Alex, do you bloody care about me at all or is it just my cock you love?"
Alex stared at him. Did he really believe this? He meant everything to her. How could he still doubt it? She attacked him. "I never hear you complaining, Gene. You seem to like the twenty-four hour access. Getting your end away whenever, and wherever you bloody want it."
"I have changed things for you, Alex. I am a different man every day, for you. Because of you. You're still the same stuck up, arrogant bitch you were when we met. All you ever wanted was sex from me, and it's still true. The only thing you've changed for me are your knickers."
Alex's right hand came up, aiming for his cheek but he caught it firmly in his left, twisting it around her back. "Not again, Alex" he hissed.
She could feel his breath on her face, his cheek almost touching hers. His wet hair clung to his face and she could feel her heartbeat increase as the heat from his body electrified her. She was weak for him always, how could he not know that? She stumbled under the thought of him, falling back against the crates, their fall stopped by a post connecting the roof to the wooden floor. Looking up she saw the anger in his eyes turn to lust and she kissed him, biting his lip so hard she drew blood they both tasted.
They kissed roughly, through their anger and fear, until Gene released her arm, tearing open the rest of her blouse as she ripped open his shirt, bodies pressing together. She felt him hard against her, driving her wild as hands moved over them both, Alex pushing off her wet jeans, Gene tearing at his own trousers until her hands moved to help, one inside squeezing him as the other quickly worked the zip.
Gene spread her legs and Alex came in a flood, crying out as he entered. She tried to ignore the smug look on his face as he thrust deeper inside. "Bloody knew it...all you ever want" he thrust hard, steady and she whimpered beneath him. "Arrogant, unnngh, stuck up, unnngh, bloody love you, unnnngh, can't help it."
"Gene, you bastard, you never see it." She threw her head back as the crates beneath her rocked with them, smashing steadily into the post neither realized was holding up the roof.
"Oh! God!" Alex came again and Gene rocked from the sensation, driving deeper, harder, he wanted to come now. "Oh, Alex, god" his breath was ragged as he continued "Oh god, I love you Alex."
Suddenly Alex screamed "Gene! Wait! No!"
"Bloody selfish...not done yet" he grunted.
"No! Gene! The roof!"
"Roof" he grunted "What?" He looked up in time to see the post they'd been crashing onto break in two, rotted planks of ceiling crumbling to the floor around them, on top of them. Gene grabbed Alex round the waist, rolling out of the way of the biggest chunk of roof, unsure whether he should land on her to protect her from falling debris or use himself as a cushion to break her fall. He opted for the former and felt a chunk of roof crash on his leg for his effort.
It was over in an instant, the disappearing roof exposing them to the torrential rain still filling the night. "Alex! Alex! Are you alright? Anything broken?"
"Don't know. I think I'm alright. Can you get up?" She wriggled a little underneath him.
"I think so." He rolled off her with a shout. "Oh fuck!"
"What? What is it?'
"My leg. Wait." He moved it as she sat up, bending over his lower body.
"Looks like a piece of wood hit you on your calf."
"Yes. Thanks. I had worked that out." Now that they weren't in imminent danger of dying he was just frustrated. "I don't think its broken, though. Have an ugly bruise there later." Rain poured over them, dripped off his chin, off her nose.
Alex stood, offering Gene her hand and pulling him under a still standing piece of roof for cover. They both did their best to cover up with what was left of their clothing.
"Can you walk, Gene?" He nodded. "We need to get out of here. Which way is your car?"
He took her hand, and they climbed up the bank together in the pouring rain.
--
Neither of them spoke until they reached their flat where Gene went directly to the telephone.
"Put Carling on. Ray, you got 'im?...Good...Yeah, she's here. We're fine...Just got caught in the rain. I'll be right over." He hung up the phone.
"You're going to the station?" She asked quietly. "Don't you want to get cleaned up first?" He was soaked, dirty, his shirt barely stayed on. Jacket ripped and hanging from his shoulders.
He shook his head. "When I get back. You go ahead though. I won't be long." He attempted a smile, but it didn't get further than his mouth. His eyes were dark. He kissed her on the forehead and left.
Alex went to the kitchen first, pouring a large glass of whiskey and drinking half before taking a breath. She took the rest with her into the bathroom and sat on the edge of the toilet, drinking it as she filled the bath.
She left her clothes in a pile on the floor as she got in. They'd have to be thrown away. She imagined she might be able to have her jacket cleaned...did he really think those things about her? Bursting into tears, she buried her face in her hands. He was right about her careless arrogance, though, she didn't even think when she let Peter Wrenfield out. She just did it, assuming she could deal with anything. It was reckless, even for her.
And Gene. As her boss he'd trusted her, he'd proven it over and over, and she destroyed that. Could he ever trust her again? It would be hard. And the things he said to her, did he really believe them? She didn't realize how much she had hurt him, doing what she did.
Alex was sitting on the sofa in her pyjamas when Gene returned. As promised he hadn't been gone long.
"Everything OK?"
He looked into her, as if the answer held much deeper meaning, but in the end he only shrugged. "Yeah." Reaching down, he pulled her from the sofa, hands cupping her face, kissing her softly. "We've got unfinished business love" he growled, pulling her towards the bedroom.
"You don't want to get cleaned up?"
"Later." He stripped her quickly, pushing her gently to the bed on her hands and knees. She heard him fumble around, heard his zip slide down, felt his hard cock against her backside. She gasped when one well lubricated finger slid into her arsehole. Thrusting a few times, he withdrew and took her slowly onto him, pushing in to the hilt with a loud groan.
Usually when he'd take her up the arse it was quick, frantic, he'd come after a few thrusts swearing and panting. Twenty minutes later, as he continued to slide slowly in and out, she was thankful he'd used a lubricant. Risking a glance over her shoulder she saw him still wearing the dirty suit from earlier. His eyes were closed, his head back, mouth working silently as he moaned, grunting now with each thrust. "Alex" he whispered "please Alex, please." He could have been begging for everything or nothing, but she never knew as he finally exploded, groaning, moaning her name.
After guiding her gently to the bed, Gene kicked off his trousers and left the room. Lying in bed, Alex could hear the water running into the bath.
When Gene crawled into bed almost an hour later Alex was waiting for him in the dark.
"Gene?" she tried to pull him into her arms. He let her but he was tense, his breathing tight. "Should we talk?"
"Tomorrow" he mumbled, moving slightly, burying his face in her neck, his favorite place to fall asleep.
"Gene?"
"What, Alex?"
"I am sorry." She felt him hold his breath. "I had no right, any of it. You were right." He exhaled and she felt him relax a bit, holding her tighter. "I love you Gene." Her voice was small, scared.
"Yeah, OK. We can talk about it tomorrow, OK?" She nodded into her pillow, but Gene felt the hot tears fall off her cheeks, landing on his arms.
--
"Alex wake up" Gene shook her lightly. "Have to go in. The Super wants to see you. Ten o'clock"
"What for?" She could guess.
"Think he wants to discuss your suspension."
"Great." She shifted, sitting up to look at him. "Every bloody inch of me is sore. Including my arsehole."
He chuckled, actually smiling for the first time. "Sorry 'bout that."
"I doubt it." He grinned a bit wider as she covered his hand with hers. He'd dressed already and he looked clean and rested. He smelled good. She wanted him to stay and talk to her, but she couldn't ask. "Gene, I - "
"Later. Come see me after your meeting."
Kissing her gently, he left.
--
Gene was waiting in the corridor outside the Super's office when Alex came out.
"Well?" He asked.
"I can go back to work tomorrow, but I am officially on probation for 45 days. He will meet with you after that time to see how I'm doing."
"Sounds about right." He sniffed. "Come on, I'll walk you 'ome."
Gene was silent until they got into their flat.
"So Alex, I'm taking a bit of time off."
Her brow furrowed, but she didn't say anything.
"I've got a lot of time, so I'll be gone for a week."
"Gone! For a week? When did you decide to do this?"
"Just this morning. I'll be leaving this afternoon."
"This afternoon? It's Wednesday? Where are you going on a Wednesday?"
"Don' know yet. Just planning on driving out of London until I find somewhere to stop."
She didn't want to ask the next question. "I take it I'm not invited."
He shook his head. "I don't know yet. But I'll call you when I stop. Promise."
Alex could feel her heart breaking, and she took his hand to stop it. "I'm sorry Gene."
"I know. Just need to think a bit. OK?"
"I don't want you to leave."
Gene took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "I know you don't. I will call you tonight. I promise."