HI THERE! I just realised I haven't really explained very much about this fic…it's the first fanfic I've put online, and OMG you people have been so nice! You have no idea how happy it makes me when I get an e-mail saying someone has subscribed, and when I get reviews my reaction is somewhat similar to how I reacted when I drank two bottles of lucozade alert in a row and then had a cup of really strong coffee (actually, I think there's a warning on the back of those lucozade thingies saying that one should not drink more than one little bottle in a day, because there's SOOO MUUCHHH CAFFEINEE) But yeah you guys make me very happy

I've totally gone off topic here. The fic is set sometime in season two. There may be a little Galex. I haven't quite decided. There's a little tiny bit in this chapter, anyway…but only a little. Enjoy and keep makin' me happy like ya do

"Bolls."

"I'm sorry."

"Shh."

"Sorry."

"Shut up!"

"Sorry…"

"Stop sayin' that! And pull yourself together. You've seen dead kids before, Bolly." Gene said, in a tone he might use to scold a child. It didn't suit him. He didn't bother trying to conceal his blatant discomfort at the tears that were streaming down his D.I.'s face.

He had radioed Chris and Ray and set them following up the call from the zoo, and forensics to take the body back to C.I.D., so now he and Alex sat alone in the car. Gene was itching to fire up the Quattro and get investigating, not that he had two cases to solve (not to mention the fact he was itching to get out and hunt down the scum that had caused the dent on the bonnet of his precious car), but he had enough experience with birds (maybe not birds quite like Alex, but birds all the same) to realise that she needed a moment, and possibly an arm around her bony little shoulders, before she recovered from whatever she needed to recover from.

She'd been seemingly fine when the body had fallen (if a little shocked). She'd swung those long, slender legs in their insanely tight jeans out of the Quattro, strode over to the lifeless form of the child (heels clicking, arse swaying) with a business-like expression. But then she'd crouched down to get a better look at the child, and her dark hair, always so pristinely curled, had covered her face. When she brushed it back behind her ears, her face was twisted with pain and there were streaks running down her carefully applied make-up. She'd been a right sight when forensics had arrived; sobbing hysterically in the back of the Quattro, Gene sitting awkwardly beside her.

Gene sighed. "C'mon, Bolls. Don't reduce me to puttin' my arm around your shoulders. We've already got bodies fallin' from the sky. And the Quattro's bloody dented."

"She was so young, Gene." Alex closed her eyes. Gene ran a weary hand down his face.

"C'mere." He grudgingly wrapped his arm around her. A little hesitantly, she leaned against him, tears still dripping down her face. She placed a cautious hand on his chest, and he put his other arm around her as she turned her head and cried quietly into his shirt. He held her until she fell silent. He removed on arm, but allowed the other to remain resting lightly on her shoulders.

"Done?" he asked gruffly.

She sat up straight, make-up slightly smudged, hair slightly ruffled, but otherwise relatively normal looking. She nodded.

"Yep."

"Good. We've got two murders to investigate. Not to mention huntin' down the bastard that dropped a body on my car." He got out of the Quattro and inspected the dent in the shiny red bonnet, before climbing in the front. "C'mon Boles. Get in the front. I'm a police officer, not a bloody taxi driver." She smiled reluctantly and got in the front.

"You're wrong; we've got three murders to investigate." She corrected him as he began to drive like a madman. "The monkey."

"Sure you won't go all hormonal on me over the terrible fate the poor little ape suffered?"

"Monkeys aren't apes; they have tails."

"Gorillas have tails. They're bloody apes, aren't they?"

"Gorillas don't have tails.

"Shit."

D.I. Drake found herself smiling once again. She was grateful to Gene for not questioning her about her ridiculous reaction to the dead child. She was grateful to him for knowing that she'd needed his comfort. She was grateful that just by being himself, he could cheer her up.

"Guv?"

"Bolls?"

"Thanks."

"No problem, Bolly. Can't have my D.I. getting' 'er fancy knickers in a twist over children falling from the sky."

Alex snorted. "I suppose not."

"So, Bolls-" he swerved around a corner, narrowly missing a cat, "-still hungover?"

"Not particularly."

"Good. Me neither."

Due to Gene's ever so slightly manic driving, they arrived at the zoo in a matter of minutes. Ray's car was parked outside.

Gene marched into the foyer, Alex clicking behind him in her heels. Gene flashed his I.D. and badge.

"Hello." he said to the miserable-looking, spotty boy behind the counter. "We're 'ere about a dead monkey."

The boy, who looked about sixteen or seventeen, sniffed. "Police are already 'ere. An' it's not just the monkey, mister-"

"I know. How bloody uninformed do you think we are?" Gene snapped.

"We're the rest of their team." Alex explained, gently. "Would you mind taking us to the crime scene? We're here regarding the death of Sally Vincent." The boy looked at her warily, but nodded and slid out from behind the counter. They followed him through the eerily quiet zoo.

"Bit quiet for a zoo." Commented Gene.

"The animals all got moved to a livestock storage place, 'bout 3 miles from 'ere. 'Cause of the murder, y'know." The boy muttered.

"Isn't that hazardous to their health?" Alex asked. "It can't be anything like their natural habitat." Gene raised an eyebrow at her.

"Bless their poor souls." He muttered, mockingly. "Out of their natural habitat while there's a killer on the loose."

"Dunno." Said the boy shortly, leading them into a cavernous room entitled 'The Monkey House', where they were greeted by Ray and Chris. Chris stood awkwardly by the body of a lifeless, brunette girl with blood-stained clothes, whilst Ray had his arm around a slender, wailing bleach-blonde girl. He nodded with faux sympathy as she wept hysterically.

"…m-my best friend! I-I just c-came in an' she were lyin; 'ere!"

"Hello, Guv. Boss –ma'am, I mean. Ma'am." Chris greeted them.

"Get yer hands off me sister, copper!" Alex and Gene's spotty guide wrenched the blonde away from Ray and dragged her away before he that time to respond.

Ray stared after them. "Cheeky little shit!"

Alex sighed. "Have you called for someone to bring this body back to C.I.D.?"

Chris nodded.

"Oy, Boles. I pull rank on you, or had you forgotten?" Gene glared at Alex. "Ray, fill me in. Bolls, Chris, go and talk to them."

Alex nodded submissively and sauntered off.