Just Like Old Times by Hana-to-Mame
Chapter 2 - The Root of the Problem (Posted July 29th 2010)
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DI Alex Drake has been a part of Gene's team for a few months now, and he was beginning to feel like he was going as bonkers as she was. Ever since he met her, all she's done is talk about getting back somewhere, just like someone else he once knew. And, at this very moment, she was being particularly annoying with one of her you-have-to-go-about-this-the-right-way speeches.
She was just about to finish when something snapped in Gene's head, and he couldn't take it anymore. He stood and walked out of the room, all eyes following, and a slightly offended DI not pausing to oggle with the rest of them.
When Alex did (finally) finish her speech, she went searching for Gene. She couldn't find him anywhere in the building, so she went outside and found him leaning on his car.
"What was all that about?" she asked a little angrily.
"What?" he asked, practically spitting at her.
"That big show you put on right in the middle of my pep-talk!" she said.
"Oh that?" he huffed, "I needed some air, Bolly, don't fret."
"You, Guv? You needed to step out for air? That doesn't sound like you."
"Doesn't matter, does it?" he roared at her.
"No, fine, guess not." she backed away. "But we're all waiting on your orders, so I think you'd better get back in there."
Gene just looked at her and stared for a minute. She really was just like... She yelled at him, didn't listen to a word he said, always thought her ways were better than his, and was a damn good detective. The only difference was, well, it was pretty obvious what the difference was, he'd noticed it the first time he ever saw her... in that tiny dress. And with that thought he mentally slapped himself and walked past her, back into the office.
The rest of the day was spent tracking a murderer and ended having finally caught him by cornering him between three buildings.
"Well done, team." Alex said to all the other people in the office. She looked to the side and saw Gene already sitting behind his desk, looking down at something he was holding beneath it.
Curiosity got the better of her and she opened the door to see what he was doing. "Guv?" she asked quietly but still managed to startle him a bit.
"What is it, Bolls?" he put whatever he'd been holding back into a drawer, slammed it shut, and leaned back in his chair with his feet on his desk.
"What were you looking at?"
"A photo, miss nosy."
Alex sat on the edge of Gene's desk and looked at him, crossing her arms. God, but she was just like... Then she sighed. "What's her name?"
"Whose?" Gene asked, confused.
"The girl in the picture."
"The girl in the... oh you mean..." he started to laugh. "Yep, most definitely a girl. The girliest girl I ever met." Gene continued to laugh, but his eyes seemed far away.
"So, what was her name?"
"Name's not important." Gene said.
"Why were you looking at a photo of her that you keep locked in your desk?" Alex asked.
"Why does it matter?" he leaned in and asked the question angrily.
"Because something is bugging you lately. You're off your game, Guv. And, by the way you were looking at that picture, I'm guessing it has something to do with her." Alex stared him down. "Is it your ex wife?"
"Not even close." Gene said, sitting back again.
"A girlfriend, then?"
Gene cocked his head to the side and let her question stew in his brain for a while. "Sort of."
"More like a serious lover? Someone you were ready to settle down with." Alex kept prodding.
"We were already settled down... in a way." Gene said, not sure why he was revealing such personal information to her.
"It was a secret romance."
"Uh huh."
"For how long?"
"About six years." Gene said, biting his fingernail.
"That long?" Alex asked, astounded. "What happened? Are you still together?"
"Nope. She... died a while ago."
"Oh, I had no idea, I'm so sorry..."
"You know what? Why am I even telling you this? Go get some work done." he shooed her out of his office and she stood, quite offended, outside his door with all eyes locked on her. She coughed and walked back to her desk as everyone else went back to their own business. "Chris?" she whisper-yelled to the boy across the room.
"Yeah boss.. ma'am?" he sputtered.
She wiggled her finger to ask him to come over to his desk. Groaning, he stood and went over to her.
"Chris, do you ever catch Gene looking at an old photograph in his office?"
"Yeah, he pulls it out of his desk once in a while and just stares at it. One time he threw it in his waste bin, but then just a few seconds later fished it out again and had it re-framed 'cause he'd broke the glass." Chris answered.
"Do you know who's in it?"
"No, no one's ever seen it. We all assume its his ex wife, he was really upset when she left him."
"Was he?" Alex asked, having assumed just the opposite.
"Oh, yeah. He was real outta shape. He stayed at his office every night until he got a new flat."
"He lived on his own?"
"Well, no, see, he and DI Tyler had become good friends by then, and Sam had been helping him cope, so they became roommates because the Guv wanted to thank him for all his help and all."
"DI Sam Tyler?" Alex asked, her curiosity at an all-time high.
"Yeah, they shared a flat for a few years, but then Tyler moved out and got married..."
"To Annie." Alex added.
"Yeah, Annie Cartwright. But they weren't married very long, and when they broke up Sam moved back into his flat with the Guv."
"Thanks, Chris, that's all I wanted to know."
"No problem." he nervously went back and sat at his desk.
Gene had lived with Sam? And Sam had married Annie, but they broke up. Alex stormed back into Gene's office.
"Why didn't you tell me Sam and Annie got a divorce shortly after they were married?"
"Excuse me?" Gene asked, having been woken from a little nap.
"When I first came here, you all told me that Sam had married Annie and they lived as a happy couple until their mysterious deaths." Alex stamped her feet.
"No, we said they got married and then they disappeared together. Doesn't mean they were together the whole time." Gene said.
"So, why did they split up?" Alex asked.
"Why are you asking me?" Gene stood and pounded his fists on his desk.
"Because I think you had something to do with it. You had an affair with Annie."
"That's ridiculous." Gene huffed and sat back in his chair.
"I will figure out what's keeping your head preoccupied, Gene. You need to focus on your team." Alex stormed out of her office.
"No you will not." he whispered just before the door slammed shut.