Thanks to Deweynumbers, MontyPythonFan and sash queen of the jungle for their reviews. You get some Galex in this chapter but I don't know if I'd call it soppy.

Just over forty-five minutes after leaving the place, Gene was back in CID. Alex wasn't. Nor was she in the evidence room, the records room, or the canteen. He was just about to check the ladies locker room when he saw that Viv was at his desk.

"Oi Skip, missing woman…brown hair, five ten, bit of a looker, likes wine, psychiatry and pissing me off. You seen her?" It didn't take crossword master long to figure out who this missing woman was.

"Last time I saw DI Drake she was leaving the locker room, heading for the gym."

"The gym?!It's Friday!"

"Well she was definitely wearing…gym clothes."

"How the hell does she know where it is? I bloody don't. Never been in my life."

"No, Guv." Viv couldn't quite keep his amusement from showing in his voice and face.

"You watch it or I'll find some drunks to redecorate the cells an' leave you ankle deep in carrot chunks with no help an' no mop."

"Sorry Guv."

After going to every part of the station he never normally had a need to visit, Gene eventually found what he was looking for. The 'gym' was what looked to be a former storeroom and was equipped with an exercise bike, treadmill, free weights and some god awful multi-purpose torture device…and a skipping rope. The only decoration was the clock on the wall and the tape player on the floor, currently belting out electro-pop. On reflection Gene decided that perhaps the lack of mirrored tiles was a blessing, with no shiny surfaces and plenty of noise to cover his approach, his DI had no idea she was being watched.

Viv had been more discrete than Gene had thought, instead of saying Bolly was in 'gym clothes' his sergeant should have said she was in 'bugger all'.

Alex was wearing sky blue football shorts, they'd be too short on a bloke but with legs like hers they were still barely more than hot pants. Any bloke that was daft enough to go into the station's gym on a Friday night would have been treated to as much of an eyeful as they had at Viv's birthday party. For a while Gene didn't notice anything else, as he took full advantage of being able to stare uninterruptedly at her bum and those long legs. Of course he did spot that she was skipping, it made everything…what was the word…jiggle.

Some minutes later, after realising he was in danger of losing enough blood from his brain to his crotch to make a significant difference in the fit of his trousers, Gene tore his eyes away from Alex's pert and nearly exposed arse and moved his gaze higher, to the flimsy white t-shirt that clung to her like a second skin and showed a thin slice of the pale flesh of her back, just above her shorts. The neck was so wide it had slipped down one shoulder, exposing the wide purple strap of her sports bra. When he didn't feel the danger lessening Gene realised it was about time he said something.

"Have we died and ended up in the eighth circle of hell or do you just want to look like a heroin addict?" With a resigned sigh Alex dropped the skipping rope and wiped her forehead with the sweatband on her wrist before turning around. She hadn't wanted anybody to find out that she was using the gym, that she wasn't fit for work, so of course it had to be her boss that found her. It had to be Gene that discovered exactly how much weaker she was than normal, how much more pain his mistake had cost her.

"What do you want Guv?" It was a simple enough question but the answer was complicated and nothing Gene wanted to discuss, so he ignored it and asked his own.

"Why are you here when there's a perfectly good – well, borderline adequate - boozer across the road?"

"Because I wanted to exercise, need to actually." Just to emphasise his point, Gene made a show of looking her up and down. The t-shirt was knotted just above her belly-button showing a triangle of flat stomach above her shorts. It didn't quite cling as closely to the front of her body as it had to her back, which was a damn shame, but he could see more of the sports bra, even a hint of cleavage, more than a hint really. In fact, aside from Edgehampton vault, Viv's party, and the prozzie outfit, she'd never looked better. The only criticism he had was that her stretchy white headband looked bloody ridiculous.

Alex cleared her throat. Maybe he'd been looking too long.

"You're not fat Bolly." She rolled her eyes at the notion of vanity being her primary motivating factor.

"I know Guv." Even though some glossy magazines in 2008 would have her think otherwise, would make suggestions to impressionable people that lead to anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, body dysmorphic disorder. From the way Gene had just used the flimsiest of excuses to have a proper gawp at her, Alex thought she could guess his opinion on the size zero issue with a fair degree of accuracy. He liked boobs too much…now that she came to think of it he wasn't averse to a peachy arse either.

"Why waste your drinking time in this torture chamber? Mine too come to that."

"I was lying on my back doing nothing for three months." She expected, well more liked hoped, Gene wouldn't need any further explanation. Things were awkward enough between them without her rubbing his nose in the fact that she was still far from recovered.

"I'm quite aware of that Alex. Are you going to keep stating the obvious or answer the bloody question?" Resisting the temptation to get angry, Alex tried to think how she'd explain it to Chris.

"The vast majority of my muscles went unused for all that time. They've atrophied…weakened." She looked away, at the wall, at the floor. "I'm not as strong as I need to be." Gene recognised that admission had cost her something, a measure of pride or independence maybe. He took her telling him as a sign of trust and promised himself never to use it against her.

"Who are you trying to kid Bolly? Tough as old boots you are, always have been, always will be."

"Firstly, toughness and strength aren't the same thing. Secondly, you're wrong. If I was stronger I wouldn't need…" Alex paused before she said something one or both of them would regret, like 'a constant'. They still weren't comfortable enough around each other for talk like that, they hadn't regained their previous level of trust. "I wouldn't need to get pissed five nights a week just to cope with everything."

"Thought we'd already covered this. You an' me…we're unbreakable." They had been at one point, or Gene thought they had been. It was obvious they weren't now, they were being too careful of what they said, but with a bit of effort they could be.

Alex gave him a small smile, acknowledging both the lie and the intent behind it.