Thank you all for your reviews! So… how did Gene react?
"He's there," said Chris as he, Ray and Gene entered the tunnel where they would be meeting the snout.
Ray squinted into the shadows. "If you say so mate."
"You two should stay here for a bit, let me make first contact," said Chris then he remembered himself and turned to face Gene in a blind panic. "Not that I'm telling you what to do Guv or nothin' just-"
"Relax, Skelton, just do your job," Gene said, giving Chris a push forward so he wouldn't see the expression that was fighting its way across Gene's face.
XXX
"So you're- you're…"
"Yes."
XXX
Chris walked forward and smiled as he approached the snout. DCI Hunt- the other one, Mrs. DCI Hunt- had told him to do that, it would help the snout to relax. It didn't seem to work though. The snout looked, if anything, more terrified than before, staring at Gene with wide, fearful eyes. Chris didn't blame him, the Guv was pretty scary.
XXX
"When did you find out?"
"This morning. I was going to tell you today, but there just wasn't an opportunity."
XXX
"Want one?" said Chris, holding out a box of fags.
"Ta," said the snout, placing a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it with his own lighter. He lit Chris' too.
"You didn't call back," said Chris trying not to sound like a clingy girlfriend.
XXX
"Gene?"
XXX
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I figured since we arranged to meet here, we should."
"What did you tell 'em?"
"Daughter's birthday. Sad thing is, it is an' all. I can't stay long."
"That's OK. Wait though, I need to call my colleagues over." Chris signalled to Gene and Ray.
XXX
"Gene?"
XXX
Gene and Ray walked over. The snout squeaked with fright and Gene glared back. "What is it?" he barked in such a way that if Alex had been there, she would have rolled her eyes and muttered something unintelligible to anyone but Gene.
XXX
"Gene, say something."
"I dunno what to say, Bolly."
"You're calling me Bolly, that's a good sign."
Gene looked at her, suddenly angry.
XXX
"What's the hit? When's the hit?"
The snout chewed his lip for a moment before replying. "A week from now. The hit is the Oliver Wilson Maternity Unit."
"How are they doing it?" Ray asked, "Is it a bomb or contaminated needles or what?"
"I don't know," said the snout quickly, too quickly for Ray's liking. He looked to Gene for the orders to knee the guy in the balls, but Gene seemed satisfied. Or distracted.
XXX
"What do you mean, 'that's a good sign'?"
Alex didn't reply. There was a lump at the top of her throat and she wasn't sure she could.
"My wife is having our baby. That's a better sign than any sign in the universe."
Alex felt the lump dissolve and her heart swell.
"I thought you were angry."
Gene looked ashamed.
"I wasn't, you daft mare. I was just surprised, that's all."
Alex laughed as she got up from behind her desk to envelope Gene in a hug.
"As if I could ever be angry at you," he said, the sarcastic effect ruined by the warm affection in his voice.
XXX
Gene gave the snout a fiver and turned to leave.
"That would've been ten if you'd told us how!" snapped Ray, looking to Gene for approval but Gene was already walking off, his back straight, chin up and hands in his pockets. Ray was sure that Gene would've been whistling had it not been such a poofy thing to do.
XXX
Alex lifted her face up to Gene's and he kissed her for was probably the thousandth time since he had returned, then span around to deal with Chris' snout. Just before the double doors to CID slammed shut, Alex heard his voice echo back towards her:
"I love you, by the way, Bolls."
XXX
"Long time no see!" Ray exclaimed, jumping up and giving Alex his seat at the bar.
"For goodness' sake Ray, you saw me earlier today at work," said Alex, eyeing the recently vacated seat with suspicion, before taking it. Ray shoved Chris off his chair (which happened to be next to a very voluptuous blonde) and took that instead. Ah, that was the reason his chivalry.
"Doesn't count," said Ray as Chris inched hopefully round to the stool between Alex and Shaz but was beaten to it by Gene, "We haven't seen you in here for yonks. Luigi's forgotten what you look like."
"I was here on Monday!"
"So?"
"It's only Friday!"
"I think the point Raymondo is trying to make," said Gene, propping his chin up on the hand furthest from Alex and turning slightly to face her, "is that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, you were AWOL."
"I wouldn't quite call it AWOL, would you Gene?" said Alex, a glint in her eye that said, you know damn well why I haven't been at Luigi's and I'm only here to stop you- and the others- from pestering me!
"Whose round is it?" said Gene quickly and just at that moment, Chris had finished heaving a stool from the other side of Luigi's to a small gap between Shaz and Gene, placed himself upon it and looked up smiling triumphantly… and caught Gene's eye.
"Mine's a pint, please Chris," Gene smirked.
"Same for me, cheers Chris," Ray grinned, relieved that Gene hadn't caught his eye.
"White wine, Chris," said Shaz, before taking pity on the look of horror on his face. She lent in and whispered, "Don't worry baby, I'll help you out."
Chris looked a little happier and glanced at Alex. "What about you, Ma'am?"
Gene's smirk grew wider. Alex chewed her lip and sighed, "Just an orange juice, thanks."
There was a deathly silence.
"With vodka?" said Chris, completely bemused. Gene let out a short guffaw.
"No, just- just the juice," said Alex, smiling as though it was no big deal, "just don't fancy drinking that's all."
A metaphorical lightbulb exploded into a luminance above Shaz's head. She gave a squeal of delight and launched herself off her chair and threw her arms around Alex.
"Oh my God! You're- wait," she removed her arms and stared at Alex with wide eyes. "You are, aren't you? Or did I just jump to the wrong conclusion?"
"What conclusion?" said Chris.
"No, you got it right. And thanks," Alex added as Shaz hugged her and gave her congratulations to both her and Gene. Ray bellowed for champagne and asked for it to be put on his tab before grinning at Gene and Alex.
"Congratulations, Ma'am. And well done, Guv. Good to see you've got it in you," he said.
Chris' eyebrows shot up as Shaz whispered what had happened in his ear. Shaz laughed at the expression on his face.
"I supposed we should have known," she said, "It explains why the Ma'am was skipping Luigi's and why the Guv has stopped smoking."
"What?" exclaimed Chris, his brow furrowed in confusion, "Is the Guv pregnant too?"
XXX
It seemed inevitable, Alex thought bitterly as she slammed the Quattro door shut and stalked her way up to her flat, that only a few days after they broke the news to everyone in Luigi's and the party had broken up so happily that it would all go to shit.
Gene followed her upstairs and opened the door, his emotions a mess. He watched as Alex stalked her way into the bedroom and through there, the bathroom, wrench open the medicine cabinet and fling a bottle of pills inside.
"Don't put 'em there," he said before he could stop himself. Alex span around.
"Why?" she asked.
"Just- just put them somewhere else," he replied. Somewhere I can't find them. He left the bedroom before he could see if Alex obeyed him or not.
A few seconds later Alex followed him into the living room. "I should keep them with me," she said, turning the bottle round in her hand, "I'm supposed to take them five times a day after all. How can I if they're locked up in here?"
Gene watched the bottle spin without blinking, until it became a blur of brown glass and white. He still knew what the label said.
CARDOXYMIDE
Not only did their baby have a congenital heart defect that would kill it in the unlikely event the pregnancy made it to full term, but the drug Alex would have to take in order to prevent such a calamity was the same one the League had nearly killed her and Gene over.
Alex watched Gene's sad eyes grip the bottle in her hand. She knew what he was thinking; she knew how scared he was.
"They don't discriminate, Gene," she said, putting the bottle down and Gene's eyes snapped up to meet hers, "The League will happily go for anyone, whether they have anything to do with the drug or not. I'm not in any more danger now than I was before."
"Excuse me if I'm not completely reassured," said Gene softly, "They know about you. You're the DCI of Fenchurch East where the drug was developed. They sent you letters. They kidnapped me. What if they come for you?"
"Shh," Alex whispered, putting a finger to his lips. "Stop panicking. There is such a thing called patient confidentiality. How could they possibly know anything about our baby?"
Gene kissed her gently and wrapped his arms around her, saying nothing.