Gene led Alex around to the back door of number 29 and opened it without knocking. Mabel Stubbs was sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper. She jumped to her feet as they walked in and flicked the kettle on before coming to stand directly in front of Gene.

Alex stifled a smirk as she watched the tiny old woman bossing the Guv around.

'Let me look at you,' she said, pushing her glasses up her nose and placing her hands on Gene's shoulders, pushing them back before stepping away and looking up at him appraisingly. 'You've lost weight,' she observed. 'You're not eating properly, Eugene. Your hair needs cutting. And that tie...' she raised her hands to tighten the knot but Gene brushed her off.

'Give over and make us a brew, Mabel.'

The woman tutted good-naturedly and bustled over to the kettle. 'Have a seat and make yerself at 'ome, lovey,' she said to Alex. 'I know 'e won't need tellin'.'

True to her words, Gene had located the biscuit tin and was rooting through it. He looked up, half a garibaldi in his mouth, blue eyes set in an expression of innocence Alex had never seen before.

Mabel Stubbs turned and caught sight of Gene with his hand in the biscuit tin. 'Offer one to yer lady friend, Eugene.' She turned to Alex. 'You'll 'ave to introduce yourself, love. Your boss 'asn't got the manners of an alley cat.'

Alex smiled and shook Mabel's hand before taking a seat at the table. 'Alex Drake.'

'She's m'DI,' Gene said, his voice muffled by the garibaldi.

Mabel shot him a look, but forbore to comment, instead turning and placing the teapot on the table and taking a seat. 'Sit down, Eugene. Great big lummox.' She smiled brightly at Alex as she poured her a cup. 'I always said all that boy needed to do was walk into a room and it was full.'

Alex returned her smile as Gene sat down. 'I take it you've known Gene a long time, Mrs Stubbs?'

'Knew 'is mam,' the woman said. 'And call me Mabel,' she added, slapping Gene's wrist as he tried to add a third sugar to his tea.

He pouted. 'Tell me about your neighbours, Mabel. I know you'll 'ave the inside scoop.'

'You callin' me a gossip?'

'I'm sayin' you're always the first one to know what's 'appenin' on your street. You've got more snouts than the entire GMP put together.'

'Just my luck. I want tea with Liza's eldest and I get DCI Hunt instead,' Mabel said, winking at Alex. 'Well you know about the 'usband?'

Gene nodded, but Alex was confused. 'What about the husband?' she asked.

'Drinker,' Gene supplied.

Mabel nodded. 'Right good fer nothin', 'e is. Always 'as been. The son, though…' shaking her head, she extracted a cigarette from the box on the table and put it to her lips.

'Mikey?' Gene asked, leaning forwards and lighting her cigarette for her.

'Mikey,' she confirmed. ''e was a promisin' lad. Time was 'is mam thought 'e'd go into the police.'

'How old is he?' Alex asked.

'Nineteen?' Gene hazarded.

'Twenty-two,' Mabel corrected. 'Went off the rails about four years ago. Fell in wi' the wrong crowd.'

'In what way?'

Mabel looked at Gene thoughtfully for a moment as she exhaled a stream of blue smoke. Alex tried to lean out of the way surreptitiously, but saw the twitch of Gene's lips as he caught her.

'Drugs,' the old woman said. 'Among other things. But drugs were the root of it.'

Alex watched Gene's face become carefully blank. 'Usually are,' he said.

Mabel nodded and stubbed out her cigarette. 'You're thinkin' of your Stuart. But this was worse. The most your brother ever did when 'e were a kid was nick a couple of bob from your mam's housekeepin'.'

'More'n just a couple of bob toward the end,' Gene said darkly.

'Oh aye,' she said. 'Although it always reappeared mysteriously.' She gave Gene a piercing look. 'Any road, Kitty chucked 'im out a few months ago. Haven't seen 'im since but 'e were 'ere the night Sandra was taken.'

'What time?' Gene asked.

''bout ten.'

'Did you see him leave?' Alex asked.

'Aye,' Mabel said. 'Half an hour after 'e went in. He was alone.'

'But you can only see the front of the house from here…' Alex said.

'Could've sneaked 'er out the back door,' Gene agreed. His radio squawked. ''scuse me,' he said, rising from the table and exiting the kitchen, snagging a garibaldi on the way out.

'Sorry about him,' Alex said, following the direction of Mabel's gaze.

The old woman smiled. 'Opened them special,' she confided. 'I know 'e likes 'em.'

'You know him well, don't you?' Alex asked, watching as Mabel poured another cup of tea for them both.

'Knew the whole family. Lived next door to 'em when 'e were a kid. Skinny little thing 'e was, too. Blond hair, blue eyes, right little cherub 'e looked, for all that 'e was a holy terror. Shot right up when 'e were thirteen. Liza swore 'e grew two foot over night.'

Alex smiled, glancing out of the kitchen window at the pacing blond haired, blue-eyed holy terror himself. She turned back to see Mabel smirking at her. 'What?'

'You. Smilin' at 'im,' Mabel said.

Alex blushed, ducking her head to cover it.

'Bloody lucky e did have that growth spurt, mind. What with 'is dad bein' the way he was. Didn't help 'is brother though. Poor lad just wasn't strong enough. Not like Eugene. Proper idealist 'e was. Still is, deep down. But 'e couldn't help Stuie.'

Alex looked back down at her tea. 'He tried.'

Mabel nodded and patted Alex's hand. 'Of course he did, love. Waifs and strays, that was our Eugene. Even when Stuie was nicking out of their mam's purse Eugene stood up fer 'im. After Stuie died it were very easy fer 'im to go to the bad. That Sam Tyler made it harder fer 'im. I imagine you make it nigh on impossible.'

Alex opened her mouth to speak, surprised at the turn the conversation had taken, but Mabel continued.

'You must be quite a woman, Alex. Eugene's very taken with you. Oh don't look at me like that,' she said good-naturedly. 'I'm not blind.'

'No, but you 'ave got selective memory,' Gene said from the doorway, making Alex jump. 'You know I hate being called Eugene. We better make a move, Bolly.'

Mabel stood up and smiled at him. 'Not sure I approve of that motor of yours.'

'You love it,' he said, giving her a peck on the cheek. 'Take you for a spin in it before we go back if you like.'

'So yer not goin' to just up and disappear again?'

'I won't let him,' Alex said, smiling.

Mabel returned the smile. 'I daresay you won't.'

'If you two 'ave quite finished!'' Gene snapped.

'Sorry, Guv,' Alex said, barely containing her smirk.

Once they were back in the Merc and speeding towards the station, Alex glanced at Gene. 'Are we going to the hotel?'

He shook his head. 'Simon's brought someone in. Old acquaintance of Carson's. I'm goin' to have a little chat with him before retiring fer the evenin'.' He glanced at her. 'That ok?'

'Of course! Do you want me to sit in?'

'I'll run the interview with Simon for now. You 'ave a look through the case file from my last run in. See if you can spot anythin'.' He eyed her before continuing. 'You and Mrs Stubbs seemed pretty cosy.'

'She's a nice woman,' Alex said, noting his use of Mrs Stubbs.

'She's a holy bloody terror,' Gene grunted.

'Funny,' Alex said, smiling to herself. 'She said the exact same thing about you.'

\/\/

They pushed through the double doors to CID in unison, Alex drawing interested glances from the squad now assembled there.

Once their eyes had passed over her a few of them got to their feet, having spotted Gene.

'Guv!' one of them said, stepping forwards.

Gene shook the proffered hand. 'Freddie.' He nodded to the group that was rapidly forming around him.

DCI West exited his office clapping his hands. 'All right you 'orrible lot, 'aven't you got work to do? Give DCI Hunt some air.'

The crowd dispersed slightly, leaving Gene standing with Alex and Simon Tremaine.

DCI West walked over and sat on the desk closest to Gene. 'So what did you get from the Larkin's neighbour?'

'The son was there the night Sandra disappeared,' Gene said.

'The brother?' West asked.

Alex nodded. 'Michael Larkin. Twenty-two year old with a drug problem.'

'Get one of your lads to look up known associates,' Gene said. 'Sounds like 'e might 'ave a bit of a record. Bolls 'as got Sandra's diary, so she'll be workin' up a bit of a profile later on.' Alex blinked in surprise but Gene turned to

'Who've you brought in, Simon?' Gene asked.

'Harry Carr,' Simon said.

'Harry the Hand,' Gene said. 'Right, lets get down to Interview. Get it over with. I need a bloody drink.'

'Interview?' Alex asked, raising her eyebrows. 'Sam said you didn't have an interview room. That you used Lost Property or the canteen.'

'Maybe when 'e first got 'ere.' Gene said. 'Like to think we moved with the times a little bit, Bolly.'

'Actually, Gene,' West said, stepping forwards. 'Both interview rooms are full, so it will be Lost Property.'

Gene rolled his eyes. 'Fanbloodytastic. Simon, you're in wi' me. Gaz, can you show DI Drake 'ere to the records room? I want her to go over my old Carson file.'

He turned and stalked out of CID, Tremaine hot on his heels.

'You'd think he'd never bloody left,' DCI West said, smirking. He lit a cigarette. 'So you knew DI Tyler?'

Alex felt the attention of the room suddenly focus on her. 'I did. A bit,' she said. West exhaled and watched her closely through the smoke, making Alex wonder how much the man had learned directly from Gene. 'Sam was part of a study I ran on police officers who had suffered severe psychological trauma.'

'So you're a psychologist?' West asked.

'Guilty,' Alex said, smiling brightly.

'Psychologist and a DI. Impressive,' West said, sounding like he meant it.

'Shall we have a look at these files then?'

\/\/

'Blimey, Bolly. Thought you'd have gone to the pub by now.'

Alex jumped and looked up to see Gene standing just behind her. She'd taken the Carson file back to CID and had taken a seat at Sam Tyler's old desk to read through it. Ignoring the occasional flutter of recognition whenever she saw something in handwriting she recognised. Usually Gene's or Ray's, but occasionally something in Chris's very careful hand would appear and make her smile. Looking up, she realised that CID had slowly emptied around her, until she was sitting all alone.

'Just going through this file, Guv.'

'Hmm,' he grunted. 'Not waitin' fer me, then?'

She smiled. 'Of course not.'

His lips twitched slightly in amusement. 'Simon's showing Carson's mate to the cells.'

'I thought he was just here for questioning?'

'Assault on a police officer. Worth a night in the cells and makes sure he can't contact Carson and let 'im know we're on to him,' Gene said, looking up as DCI West exited his office, pulling his coat on. 'Part timer.'

West smirked. 'Pint?'

Gene nodded. ''s your round, if I remember rightly.'

'Course it is.' He turned to Alex. 'Buy you a drink, Alex?'

She stood stretching out her back and pulling her coat from the back of the chair. 'Sounds ideal,' she said, not missing the tension in Gene's jaw at West's continued overtures to her.

\/\/

They pulled up outside a very familiar pub and Alex glanced at Gene as they got out of the car. 'Here?'

'What's wrong with it?' Simon asked, closing his door.

'Nothin',' Gene said. 'Get 'em in, Simon.'

Simon nodded and headed into the Railway Arms.

'Gene – ' Alex began.

'Don't get yer knickers in a twist, Bolly,' Gene said, walking around the car and lighting a cigarette. 'Sometimes a boozer's just a boozer. Come on,' he said, holding the door open for her. 'Reckon Gaz'll be just trippin' over 'imself to get you a glass of whatever house rubbish Nelson's servin' these days.'

\/\/

'So tell me, Alex,' Gaz said, his voice slurring slightly as he leaned across the table and tapped Alex's hand. 'You ever think of transferrin' out of London?'

She turned from watching Gene explain the finer points of the perfect darts throw to Simon Tremaine and a couple of the other officers. 'Well I'm from London,' she said, aware that she was slightly drunk after having had her drinks bought all night by the men of CID, much to Gene's annoyance. 'Plus,' she said, turning back to watch Gene throw. 'There's lots of things I like about Fenchurch East in particular.'

'Yeah, but we could use someone of your skills up 'ere,' Gaz said.

Alex turned back to him, smirking as she realised he'd drunkenly left his fingers resting against the back of her hand. 'I'm sure there's lots of people you could –'

'Right, Bolly, drink up. We should head over to the hotel and get a good night's sleep.'

Alex looked up to see Gene standing just behind her, silver-blue gaze zeroing in on West's fingers on her hand. She stood and pulled her coat on. 'Right you are, Guv.' She moved away from the table, stumbling slightly and grabbing Gene's sleeve to keep herself upright.

'Bloody 'ell, woman,' Gene said gruffly. 'How many did you let 'er have, Gaz?'

West grinned up at him. 'Not enough yet, Gene. You can't be off already?'

'Long day tomorrow, Gaz. Tremaine's stoppin' 'ere fer a bit though. Get one of your lads to make sure 'e gets to the hotel later.'

Alex followed him unsteadily out to the Merc and climbed inside, pulling down the visor to examine her reflection in the mirror as Gene started the car and roared away from the pub.

'Nice to see Nelson,' she said tiredly, glancing over at Gene.

'Hmm,' he grunted.

'Looked a bit shocked when we walked in. But I thought he recovered well.'

'Hmm,' he said again, keeping his eyes on the road.

'Are you all right?'

'Gaz's got quite the bloody eye for you,' he said, having the good grace not to look at her.

She gave a rather unladylike snort of amusement. 'I knew that was bothering you! What do you want to do? Stamp 'property of Gene Hunt' across my forehead?'

'Don't tempt me,' he said, pulling into a small car park outside a hotel.

As he moved to open his door and get out, she reached out and rested a hand on his arm. 'Gene – '

'Don't worry, Bolls. Man o' my looks and charisma's got nothin' to worry about on that score.' The corners of his mouth twitched upwards slightly. 'But just so as I don't start thinkin' I do, you can reassure me of your affections once we get checked in.'

She smirked at him. I knew there was a reason you wanted to leave the pub so early.'

'Too bloody right. Now mush woman.'

They were partway through the checking in process when Gene's radio squawked. He pulled it out of his pocket, moving away from the desk and leaving Alex to complete the check in.

When he returned Alex looked up at him. 'Everything all right?'

He pouted, shaking his head slightly. 'Uniform've found the body of a girl in the canal. Matches Sandra's description. I'm gonna pick up her parents and head back over to the station.'

'I'll come with you,' she said, looking around for a member of staff to take their bags up to their room.

'No you stay 'ere, love. Get some supper and go to bed. I'll be back later.' He kissed her forehead and turned and walked out, leaving Alex standing in the hotel reception.