Thank you for reading and reviewing my story so far! Here is the next chapter but please bear in mind that I wrote this entire story before I saw the 'Ashes to Ashes' series finale!

It was late. Everyone had gone, leaving Alex still sitting at her desk pouring over the information gathered from the eye witnesses. She felt her eyes closing, but forced them open. The words on the page in front of her seemed to merge into one mass of black and white blur. She sighed and looked up to get her eyes to adjust. She saw it again. His sinister eyes staring at her, never blinking, never moving. The pale face showed no emotion and the white costume did nothing to suggest purity and peace. The clown stood in the doorway to the office and didn't move.

Alex's breathing quickened.

"What do you want?!" she screamed.

The clown opened its mouth.

"Time's running out Alex."

"What? What do you mean? What's happening to me? WHERE AM I?!"

"Not long now…" The clown took a step backwards.

Alex screwed up her eyes. "This is not real. This is not real. This is not making any sense." She whispered under her breath. Her eyes snapped open and she was alone once again. No clown…nobody.

She looked back down at the papers again and shook her head. Alex stood up somewhat unsteadily, grabbed her jacket from where it was draped over Chris' desk and walked out of the office, flicking off the light switch as she passed it.

When Alex walked into the bar, she saw Gene sitting in his usual place on the far side against the wall. She frowned and approached him.

"I thought you were with Chris and Ray?"

Gene looked up from his glass.

"The match ended so Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum went home." He replied gruffly.

Alex gave a small smile and nodded before moving round to settle herself next to him.

"Where've you been then?" he asked her.

Alex looked at her DCI and sighed. "At the office…Maybe you were right about abandoning the case. We have no new evidence, nothing to progress forwards with. Maybe we should just leave it."

Gene reached across to the adjacent table for another glass. He then poured some amber liquid into it and passed it to Alex. She nodded gratefully, took a sip and then rested her head on her hand gloomily.

"Now, I wouldn't exactly call myself an expert in analysing female behaviour, but I am getting' the impression that something is bothering you." Gene said.

Alex let out a long, tired breath.

"I'm lost." She told him quietly. "I'm so confused. I don't know what I'm doing here and I don't know what my purpose is any more."

Gene frowned.

"Nothing make's any sense." Alex continued. "I mean, with Sam…he kept getting clues that he was in a coma. He had some idea of what was happening to him so he could learn to fight it. But, I'm getting nothing. No clues whatsoever. Everything's gone blank."

Gene didn't say anything. Alex gave a shaky laugh.

"This is ridiculous! I'm meant to be a psychologist but I can't even understand my own mind." Alex felt her eyes well up and blinked furiously in an attempt to get rid of the tears.

Gene swallowed and extended his arm hesitantly. She fell into his oddly comforting embrace, leaning her head against his chest and listening to the gentle thump of his heartbeat; a lot calmer than when she had heard it earlier that morning. Gene tightened his arm around her.

"I feel like I'm losing, Gene." Alex whispered. "Am I losing?"

It took Gene a second or two to answer.

"No."

When Luigi emerged from inside the kitchen, he spotted DI Drake and DCI Hunt together. They were leant against the far side. Gene had his arm wrapped around her protectively and she seemed to be asleep against him. Gene was awake and looked to be staring into space, with his glass in his free hand. The barman was reluctant to disturb them, but he had to close up now. He walked up to their table.

"Excuse me, signore Hunt?" He said quietly. "I am tired and I close up now."

Gene blinked back into focus and looked at Luigi, before glancing down and seeing Alex, who had apparently woken up.

"Yeah, we were just leaving Luigi."

Alex smiled at the barman before sitting upright.

"Gracias and goodnight to you both."

Gene and Alex both stood up.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Bolly?" Gene said to her.

"Yeah…goodnight." Alex turned to walk away but looked back at him. "Thank you."

Gene nodded and Alex proceeded to walk up the stairs to her flat. It was late and she was tired. She hadn't meant to fall asleep downstairs. She took out her key and inserted it into the lock. The door swung open and Alex gasped in shock. She didn't even hesitate. She turned on her heel and ran back downstairs, through the empty bar and out into the street, the cold night air hitting her rather suddenly. She desperately looked to either side of her and spotted the silhouette of a man walking alone, his long overcoat flapping around his knees. Alex ran after him.

"GENE!" she yelled frantically. "GENE!"

The silhouette stopped walking and turned to face her.

"Bolly? What the 'ell? I thought you'd gone?" Gene asked her, confused as Alex reached him.

She was out of breath and panting a little.

"My flat…" she breathed.

"What? You're gonna have to be a little more specific love. My telepathy is not quite up-to-scratch yet."

"Someone's been in my flat."

Gene bit his lip and gently took her arm.

"Come on."

He led Alex back through Luigi's bar and up to her flat. The door was still ajar from when she had run out. Gene pushed it open fully.

"Blimey!" he exclaimed. "It looks like a bleedin' hurricane's been through 'ere!"

The DCI stepped into his DI's flat and looked around. It was completely ruined. Tables were overturned, the mirror was ed and the curtains had been pulled from the rail. Chair legs had been pulled off and her sheets ripped from the bed. Alex's home-made calendar covered in red crosses was strewn all over the floor, along with most of her clothing.

Gene turned to face her. She looked terrible. Her face was full of and she was shaking slightly. He puffed out his cheeks then sucked in a deep breath.

"You can't stay here, Drake." He announced, and walked back out into the corridor. "LUIGI!" he yelled, regardless of whether there were other people asleep in the building. A door opened and the barman emerged, clad in his maroon dressing gown.

"DI Drake's flat has been broken into and wrecked. We need to get hold of Chris and Raymundo, as well as finding Bolly another flat for tonight."

Luigi looked a little shaken, but nodded and scuttled off back downstairs to find a telephone.

"Yes signore."

Alex looked at Gene.

"What d'you think?"

His eyes narrowed. "I think this ain't a coincidence."

"What so…the same person who attacked this morning has broken into the flat?"

"Yeah. We need to get forensics in here and then nail the crook that did this."