A/N Thanks for the lovely reviews again. Thought I'd better not keep you waiting for the final chapter!

Chapter 5

Alex could hear Gene's shouts behind her as she ran, but she hoped the shock would delay his pursuit just long enough. She flung the bag into the car and jumped into the driver's seat. She forced the key into the ignition with trembling fingers, then pulled the door shut as she slammed her foot on the accelerator and the car squealed away. She guessed the nearest dock was about a mile away – she'd got plenty of time, she thought grimly, glancing at the bomb beside her. Drive into the Thames. Explode. Go out in a blaze of glory. Save hundreds of lives. Go home.

She suddenly became aware of the roar of another engine. A motorbike had shot out of a side alley and was keeping pace with the Quattro, alongside and slightly ahead. She couldn't see the rider's face, but the long coat streaming behind him left her in no doubt of his identity. "Oh, no Gene Hunt, you're not stopping me" she said as she pushed her right foot totally to the floor.

The motorbike also accelerated. They turned on to the long straight approach to the dock, and the bike took the corner more neatly and cut in front of her. She headed for the dock in the wake of the bike, the distance between them slowly increasing. Then in a squeal of brakes Gene stopped - directly ahead of her and at the dock edge. His intention was clear - to get to the water she would have to go through him.

"No problem." she thought. "He's not real. I can't kill him. He can't die."

She could see his face now, calmly staring at her as she accelerated towards him.

"I can't kill him. I can't kill him. Shit!!" She slammed on the brakes and swung the steering wheel hard to the right. The Quattro skidded to a halt inches from Gene.

He was already off the bike as she stopped, and he wrenched the passenger door open and pulled the bag out. Running to the edge of the dock he hurled the bag towards the water with all his strength, and it soared high into the air. Alex jumped out of the car and followed him as he turned away and ran. They both flung themselves to the ground as an enormous detonation sounded behind them. Water showered down like a summer storm.

Alex stayed on the ground for a few moments, aware of a distant cheering. Uniform had evidently arrived in time to see the fun. She was shaking from a mixture of rage and adrenaline. She had been going home, she knew it. She pushed herself to her feet, and strode angrily over to Gene, who was standing a few yards away.

"You stupid bastard, what did you think you were doing?" she screamed at him.

"Saving your life and my car, though not necessarily in that order" he snarled back.

"I wasn't going to die, I was going to live, I was going to go home, I was going to see my daughter…" Her voice broke and her head dropped as a wave of despair washed over her.

"No, Alex, you were going to die." Gene said gently.

She looked up in surprise at the use of her name and the tone of his voice. He looked at her steadily, the look in his eyes conveying a mixture of sympathy and pain. A sudden realisation dawned on her.

"Gene, you know something, don't you? About me? Why I'm here? What do you know?"

He put his hands in his pockets, and looked down briefly, then looked back up with a tight grin on his face. "Me? I just know I'm ready for a drink, and I know you never refuse one. Now, Bolly, are you going to give me my car keys back or do I have to fight you for them?"

Later…

Shaz had commandeered the stereo at Luigi's, and she and Chris were singing along loudly to "It's My Party". Ray, meanwhile, appeared to be demonstrating the explosion to a couple of DCs with the aid of an ashtray and a pint of lager.

Alex watched them from the bar with an affectionate smile on her face. OK, so she was still stuck in the 1981 of her head, and she still had no idea what was really happening, but it wasn't all bad.

Gene unceremoniously plonked two glasses and a carafe of wine on the bar. He filled their glasses, then perched himself on the stool next to her. She looked at him thoughtfully as she sipped her wine. He'd been there when she needed him. Again.

"Where did you get that bike from, anyway?" she asked.

"Some daft twat left it outside the wine bar with the keys in it. Bloody good job too, as it happened, as this deranged tart had nicked my car." He glared at her briefly, before continuing, "I rather like it. Think I might keep it. Fancy riding pillion some time? I can just see you in biking leathers."

"I'm sure you can, DCI Hunt, but I think you'll find that you have to give it back."

"Pity. Anyway, DI Drake, can I expect you to sexually assault me again?"

She smiled sweetly at him "I had to get your keys somehow and it seemed like the best way to distract you. I'm certainly not planning on repeating the experience."

"Bollocks! You've been looking for an excuse to get your hand down my trousers ever since we met and now you've tried it once you won't be able to help yourself. No woman can resist the Gene-genie."

"You're hardly the man of my dreams" she said, archly.

"Na, well, I bet I'm the man in some of them. The more exciting ones anyway."

He looked into her eyes intently, and to her horror she found herself blushing, as an image of Gene in a black shirt flashed through her mind.

"Ha. I bloody knew it. Well, I'll drink to that, Bolly. Cheers!"

Glasses clink. Fade out to the strains of "Happy Birthday" by Altered Images (number 2 in the charts that week, and one of my favourite songs!).