A/N So here is the final chapter! Apologies-as ever-for taking so long to update.

Thank you so much again to everyone who has reviewed/favourited or added Interrogation to their alerts. I have been amazed and delighted by the response that it has had!

Another huge thank you must also go to genesgeni* on Luigi's for checking the whole story through for me! :)

"So 'ow long's it been now?" asked Ray. He was sitting at his desk, with his feet up.

"About two days longer than when you last asked, Ray!" Shaz responded, glancing at the calendar on her desk. "Just over a month since she came back to work."

"And she 'asn't said above two words to any of us in all that time. Why did she bloody bother to come back at all?" Ray grumbled.

"Dunno, mate," answered Chris.

"I can understand 'er not being too 'appy with the Guv -'im 'aving shot 'er and all! But what 'ave the rest of us done?"

Shaz considered the events of the last couple of months. After Alex had discharged herself from hospital, the Super wouldn't let her return to work for at least another month. Shaz had popped in to see Alex every day to make sure she had some company. DI Drake, though, had barely even acknowledged Shaz was there. The WPC hoped that it would get better when Alex returned to work, just after Christmas. It hadn't. Now, at the beginning of February, it didn't look like things were going to improve any time soon.

"Never thought I'd say this," Ray observed. "But I liked it better when Drake first arrived and she and the Guv were rowing all the bloody time! Even that was better than this."

"Yeah, that's true, "agreed Chris. "You could be sure that Ma'am would be shouting at the Guv at least once a week, if not once a day!"

xxx

Later that afternoon, the current situation was still preying on Shaz's mind. She suspected that whatever it was that had gone so wrong had happened while DI Drake was in hospital. She had been fine when Shaz visited on the day that DCI Hunt had been due to put in an appearance. When Shaz saw Alex the following day, though, the DI had been quiet and reserved. Three days later, Alex discharged herself from hospital.

Shaz could only guess what had happened between DCI Hunt and DI Drake when he visited her in hospital. It obviously hadn't gone well. She knew that the Guv was terminally incapable of talking about his feelings and wondered what he'd said that had upset their DI. Perhaps he just hadn't said enough. Assuming, of course, that he had said anything at all.

Shaz opened her desk drawer and gazed at the small rectangular object which lay on top of a pile of papers. Should she do it? She had been thinking about it for quite some time, but Chris had always cautioned her against acting on impulse. He believed that it would only make matters worse. Shaz, though, had other ideas and wasn't sure that the situation could get any worse than this. If she was going to put her plan into action, she would have to do it now, though. Taking the object out of her drawer, she placed it on DI Drake's desk.

xxx

The occupants of the Quattro were completely silent as the car sped back towards Fenchurch East. Gene had never thought that he would be concerned about his DI's silence. He used to crave peace and quiet. This, though, was about as unnatural as a page 3 girl's assets. He found himself almost longing for the days when Bolly would spend most of the time arguing with him. Even that would be better than this...whatever this was. He had the uncomfortable feeling that he was responsible for Alex's current silence, but he had absolutely no idea what to do about it. Even if he knew what to say, he had probably left it much too late. His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

Gene had all but broken Alex's door down on the day she discharged herself from hospital. She'd made it more than clear that she didn't want to see him, though. She just sat on her sofa, staring straight ahead; not meeting his eyes and waiting for him to leave. Gene didn't know how to react to this. He just couldn't say what was uppermost in his mind; that he cared about her, that everyone was concerned about her. So he'd left, without saying anything at all.

Alex was lost in her own thoughts. She couldn't help going over the last couple of months in her mind. She'd discharged herself from hospital in November because she wanted to get as far away from Fenchurch East and all it represented as was humanly possible. The surgeon had insisted though, that she should have someone visit her at least once a day. It only occurred to Alex, as she was signing the discharge papers that she had nowhere to go, apart from the flat above Luigi's. She couldn't inflict her presence upon Evan and her younger self. That would just be too weird! She'd liked Jackie Queen enormously, but Alex didn't feel she knew her well enough to land on her doorstop up in Manchester and, besides, Jackie had baby Jeannie to keep her occupied. The only other people Alex knew in this world were the very individuals she was trying to escape from. So she had gone back to her flat and had as little to do with anyone-even Luigi- as she could. Perhaps she had made a mistake before Operation Rose. Maybe she couldn't get home because she had become too involved in the lives of the people around her. She had let them-especially Gene-affect her too much. She had become distracted and lost what should have been her focus: Molly and 2008. However, in spite of her renewed determination to get home, she still hadn't seen her daughter or received any messages from 2008 since her release from hospital. Alex had no idea if she was even still alive in the other world. What if seeing Molly when she had apparently been in a coma in both 1982 and 2008, had been a way for her to say goodbye?

xxx

It was beer o'clock. The members of CID trouped out of the large office leaving Alex and Gene at their respective desks. Since Alex had returned to work, neither of them had joined the rest of the team at Luigi's. Alex began to gather her things together. She glanced over at Gene who was apparently deeply engrossed in examining his single malt. Alex sighed and pulled on her leather jacket. It was then that she noticed an object on her desk, which certainly hadn't been there earlier. It was a cassette tape. Why would anyone leave something like that for her ? Picking it up, she noticed that her name was written on the index card inside the box. Curiosity got the better of her and she slipped it into her jacket pocket before heading to her flat.

xxx

Half an hour later and Alex had poured a glass of wine, before retrieving the cassette. She put it into her tape recorder, pressed play, and settled on the sofa.

"Interview with attempted murder suspect, DCI Gene Hunt. Present DCI Collins and DS Willis".

So that's what it was. She couldn't deny that she was curious about what had happened in that particular interview; but who had left it for her and why did they want her to hear it?

"I'm not in the 'abit of murdering my DIs. It was an accident!" Gene's voice on the tape cut across her thoughts. Alex had to acknowledge the truth of that. She'd said as much in her statement.

Alex continued to listen as Gene talked about Jenette and Collins denied she even existed. Alex almost found herself feeling sorry for Gene as Collins continued to interrogate him; just repeating the same thing over and over again. Almost, but not quite. The longer that she listened to the tape, the more difficult it was for Alex to remember why she was still upset with Gene, though. He didn't trust you. He doesn't care about you, she repeated over and over in her head as the tape played on.

"We're a team. I just didn't believe 'er when I should 'ave." So Gene hadn't completely lost faith in her? That was what Alex had wanted to hear all those months ago when Gene had visited her in the hospital. Why hadn't he said anything then? She realised that Gene's words had affected her when her hand shook slightly as she refilled her wine glass. She listened to him becoming angrier and angrier.

"Why not? Why wouldn't you try to kill her?" Collins shouted.

"Because I bloody love 'er!" Gene yelled.

Alex was so shocked that she didn't notice that she'd dropped her glass. The red wine stain spread out across the rug.

xxx

Gene sat alone in his office, a cigarette in one hand and a tumbler of single malt in the other. He didn't know how much longer the current situation between him and Alex could go on for. They had just about managed to convince Keats that they could work together, but it had been a close run thing. Gene had no idea why Alex didn't put in for a transfer if she hated working here, with him, that much.

Gene's train of thought was interrupted by the door being thrown open. He glanced up and then looked back down at his desk again.

"Do come in, Drake!' He didn't call her Bolly at all any more. It seemed too personal given their current relationship, or lack thereof.

Alex didn't immediately speak. Her silence made Gene look up at her again. He noticed that she looked different somehow. She had some colour in her cheeks and she seemed slightly out of breath. Gene cursed himself for noticing such things and for being relieved that she looked better than she had for months.

"Yes?" Gene almost barked as Alex's silence continued.

Alex found her voice. "Is it true? Did you mean it?"

"Is what true? I'm not bloody telepathic, woman!"

"What you said…" Alex held up the tape.

It took Gene a second to register what Alex was holding out to him. Was that what he thought it was? The one thing that he'd most fervently hoped would never, ever see the light of day again? And Alex had listened to it? Christ on a bike! If he ever discovered who had given it to her…He stood up and took the tape from her.

"Where the 'ell did you get that?"

"It was on my desk." Alex leant forward, with both hands on Gene's desk. As she repeated her question, her face was mere millimetres from Gene's. "Did you mean what you said?"

Gene found himself stalling. "What did I say?" Maybe she hadn't listened to the whole recording.

"That you…love me. Did you mean it? Do you still…"

Bugger! Alex had heard everything. Gene wondered how he was supposed to answer that. He could-and probably should-say that he hadn't been serious. That he was just trying to get off the attempted murder charge. There were so many reasons why he should deny everything. Featherstone's veiled threat about splitting up the team was the main one. Even without that, though, Alex would probably just laugh at him if he told her the truth. She'd barely even spoken to him for months! Where was a well-timed interruption from Shaz, when he needed one? At that moment, Gene didn't feel like a lion-Manc or otherwise.

"Yes." Gene's quiet, almost whispered, confession sounded like a shout in his head. He had no idea what had just happened. Where had that come from? Hadn't he been about to deny that he loved her? Shit! Gene suddenly found the whisky shot-glass on his desk absolutely fascinating as he braced himself for the inevitable slap, punch, or hysterical laughter. When nothing happened, he looked up at Alex again. She was actually smiling.

"Well, that's good," she said. "Because I bloody love you too!"

The End

Please let me know what you think.