I don't own Ashes to Ashes
Many apologies for the wait – writers block has seriously been weighing me down, but I do hope its worth the wait, although if you're expecting smut, you'll be disappointed, since it shall be plot this time :-)
Hope you like it!
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The weekend passed in something of a haze as they worked amongst the hustle and bustle of moving to make their new home more presentable; hours were spent selecting new furniture and arranging what they already had so that they were both satisfied, and although Alex thought at times that she caught Gene looking at her almost longingly, in amongst it all, there was barely enough time to think, let alone breach the topic of children with him...
In some ways, she knew she should be grateful for the distraction; was she ready, at this stage, to even consider having children with Gene? In her mind, children and marriage went hand-in-hand, and though she wore Gene's ring with pride and not so much as an ounce of regret, it was not an engagement ring, and the idea of marrying him was, at this point, a barely visible image in the fairly distant future.
Children, however? She couldn't deny that, occasionally, in the murky depths of her most private daydreams, she had thought about it. More than once, the wonderment had crossed her mind; would they be blonde, like Gene? Would they have his blue eyes or would they take after her and adopt the hazel colour of her own? Would they be as strong and silent as their father was, or as stubborn and feisty as she herself?
But it scared her, deep down. Would accepting Gene so intimately, fathering his children as she had with Peter, mean that she was replacing Molly? Could she really bring herself to do that, when, despite having made her decision to stay, she was still tied so strongly to her little girl in 2008? It nagged at her mind as he held her in their new bed, it teased at her thoughts as he made love to her on the sofa, and as she walked into CID on Monday morning and left her outside Harrison's office, pressing a soft goodbye kiss to her lips, it burrowed into her consciousness and swore to claw at her consciousness for the rest of the day.
She would sit filing reports, ordering statements and scribbling case notes, but when she ran out of things to do and inwardly refused to ask the Superintendent for more work, her mind drifted to the fantasy scene of Gene, playing in their new garden with a slightly older Fitz, and two young children running after him, their faces full of adoration and happiness, his full of laughter and joy... but as much as it made her heart ache with love, and as much as she longed for it to be reality, there still remained something wrong with that image, something wrong with the knowledge that there was no Molly reprimanding her younger siblings or dutifully spoiling them with sweets and biscuits, lining their pockets with Mars bars and-
"Drake, you appear to be dawdling." The cool drawl of Superintendent Harrison splintered the mental picture into millions of shards of shattered glass, snapping Alex from her reverie and causing her to jump in her seat. He was leant in front of her, blazer discarded and sleeves rolled up to his elbows, tie loose and hair scruffy, and he was smirking like a man who had just been granted unlimited solo access to a strip club. "I assume you've filed the notes on the Autumn Road theft in chronological order?"
"Yes, Sir," Alex said stiffly, handing said file over with a self-satisfied smirk. Harrison flicked through it, pursing his lips in annoyance for a few moments, and then tossing the file aside, reaching for the next one with a hard-set jaw. Each file, when found to be meticulously ordered, was thrown to the desk again, with the resounding slap of the file getting increasingly louder as his frustration mounted.
"Fine..." He said finally, grinding his teeth. "My desk needs cleaning- hop to it, Drake."
The look of profound disgust on Alex's face did not need re-iterating, so with a terse nod she shoved her chair back, storming into Harrison's office and gritting her jaw tight at the sight of his desk, which looked as though it had been hit by a bomb especially for her; paper was strewn on the floor, pen caps littered the desk, spare ties were tossed over a stack of files which were spilling everywhere, and a newspaper poked out of the lower drawer of the desk as though it had been shoved away in a hurry.
"Slob!" Alex hissed to herself, angrily gathering up the pen lids and capping the loose pens before throwing them into the desk tidy. She piled up the loose stacks of paper, ordered files on the desk and picked up the loose ties to toss them all over the arm of the chair. She was quick and efficient, refusing to be reduced to working like a cleaner for any longer than she had to be, and was back at her desk within half an hour, looking persistently smug when Superintendent Harrison re-entered the room and glanced questioningly in her direction. After spending fifteen minutes apparently scrutinising his office – Alex was certain she saw him lifting up the bin and looking under the desk as if she might have thrown something there for her own amusement- he returned, gruffly dismissing her for lunch.
Alex wasted no time – she was out of the office barely more than a second later and without warning she was jerked into strong, black clad arms that tugged her firmly into a blue fabric that smelt strongly of cigarettes, alcohol and aftershave; her stomach flipped, just as Gene's lips found her forehead, his strong intake of air loud in her ears as he inhaled her smell, one hand slipping to her lower back as he sighed into her hair.
"You still smell like Bolly," he muttered, his voice edged with protectiveness, but overwhelmingly relieved. Alex creased her eyebrows into a frown as she looked up at him, confused.
"Why would I smell of anything but Bolly?"
Gene chuckled without humour. "'cause you're a woman an' he's a bloke, and you look fucking delectable in that bloody dress." He pressed his mouth firmly to hers, briefly asserting his possession of her, before grabbing her hand and leading her sharply away. "Been out 'ere for a good 'alf hour waiting for you," he muttered. "Couldn't come in, so 'ad to bloody stand about like a spare part while everyone else came and went..." Gene sighed, leading her down the stairs of CID and out into the street, towards the Quattro, hand still firmly holding onto hers.
Alex said nothing, waiting as he pulled her firmly along behind him, until he stopped at the car, turning sharply and cupping her face. "Sophia Merlot – you remember her?" Gene's voice was quiet, hard, and tinged with anger, but the name rang no bells whatsoever.
"Who?" She asked, bewildered.
Gene rolled his eyes. "The girl from the pub- shagging Jeremy McKellen? That Jessie bird Granger found out about – her real names Sophia Merlot, remember?"
Eyes flashing with recognition, Alex nodded. "Yes, yes, of course... what about her?"
"Her brother – Ciaran – got caught up in a drugs bust last year, but got off 'cause there wasn't enough proof to pin 'im down.... Shaz checked 'im out – innocent as pie other than that, but guess where 'e goes to school?"
Alex stared, not daring to hope, "he didn't..?"
Gene nodded. "Rosa McKellen's," he said softly. "In 'er class, too..." He hesitated, and then muttered, "Alex, I know yer ain't meant to be doing any field work, but it won't feel right if you ain't on the case with all that psycho-bollucks..."
Alex laughed, stroking his cheek lightly. "You're thinking far too much about the rules you know- anybody would think you were a law-abiding citizen..." Grinning, she pressed a kiss lightly to his stubbled cheek, whispering a small, breathy, "yes", as she did so.
Gene smirked, tugging her closer and tilting her face up so their eyes locked. "Good..." his eyes flickered upwards for a second, his jaw tightening, before his hand was in her hair, his mouth an inch from hers. "Kiss me, Alex, and make it count- if the Super thinks I'm taking you anywhere other than fer a shag we'll both be on our arses before you can say 'bollucks'."
Alex smirked, tugging hard on his tie so that his chest was tighter against her. "Oh, I'm sure I can convince him." Her mouth was on his a moment later, devouring and fierce, full of passion and lust that couldn't be fabricated. Gene groaned, forgetting himself as his hands found the cheeks of her arse, grinding his hips into hers before twisting them around, her back flush against the Quattro as one hand slid beneath her dress, stroking her arse, whilst the other reached up without thought to cup her breast through the fabric of her clothes. It was only when she moaned, her leg wrapping around his, that he dragged his mouth away, gasping and flushed.
"Jesus, Alex, are you trying to convince me an' all? I don't want to talk to the scruff bugger with a dick like a flagpole!" He spoke into her cheek, and when he was done began fiercely kissing her neck, sucking and biting, leaving a red mark as his hand found the door handle, yanking the passenger side open and pushing Alex through it, before gathering his coat around himself surreptitiously to hide the large erection visible in his trousers. If the Super wasn't convinced by that, he couldn't think of a reason why; Gene himself was half-tempted to postpone interviewing the little git just so he could fuck his woman senseless.
"Right," he grunted, carefully shifting to make his position in the driving seat more comfortable. "Now you've given me a bloody great stiffy in me trousers, you better say something completely horrific so I don't go into this school looking like a pervert with a happy-stick!"
"A 'happy-stick'?" Alex snorted, covering her mouth as she laughed at him. Gene glowered across at her, eyes narrowed as he turned the key in the ignition and started the engine, easily slipping the car out of its parking space.
"Something un-sexy, Alex- nothing to do with my ruddy great boner!" His tone was tight and clipped, and Alex, her mind still full of thoughts of children and Molly and Gene and family, said the first thing that came to her head.
"I'm pregnant."
The slam of his foot on the brakes and the squeal of the wheels on the road as the car skidded to a halt, were both drowned out as he turned his face to hers, wild exhilaration mixed with utter fear and incomprehension.
"You're bloody what?" He asked, apparently uncaring that he had stopped the car in the centre of the street and the Cortina behind them was honking wildly, the elderly man shaking his fist at them from the front seat.
Alex stared back at him, mouth moving, but no sound coming out, as she tried to make sense of his reaction; by all accounts he looked as genuinely delighted as any father-to-be she'd ever met... more so, perhaps, than Peter had been, and... She shook her head, backpedalling and swallowing hard before speaking again. "No, I'm not... Start the car, Gene."
He was still staring at her, though now the wild excitement had been replaced by a mellow disappointment that twisted at Alex's stomach.
"You're not pregnant?" His tone reeked of regret, and Alex gulped, unsure what to do with herself, briefly contemplating placing a consoling hand on his arm, before deciding otherwise, instead choosing to keep her hands together, wringing her fingers in her lap as she shook her head and answered him.
"No, Gene, I'm not pregnant."
"But you-"
"Gene, it was just the first thought that came to my head – don't you remember telling me there's nothing less sexy than a fertile woman?" Gene looked at her blankly, and she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Look, it doesn't matter- I'm not pregnant. Please could you start the car?" Her eyes were apologetic and pleading both at once, and Gene set the car in gear again, drawing away slowly and ignoring the constant peeping of the Cortina behind them. There was a few minutes silence, before he spoke again, his voice dry and nervous.
"Y'know, Bols, I wouldn't have a problem if you-"
"Gene, really, now's not the time for us to talk about children, and besides, if-"
"No, Alex," he said glancing across at her with nervous eyes. "I'd like it... someday." There was a moment of indecision, a flash of fear in the depths of his blue eyes, but a moment later he was looking back at the road, stock still and silent.
Awkwardly, Alex toyed with the necklace at her throat, absently tracing it with her fingers before murmuring, "do you still need a hand with the-?"
"Nah, it's fine, I'll just... I dunno... maybe I'll just think of Maggie Thatcher doing a lap dance in a leopard print thong or something..."
Alex bit her lip, looking across at him surreptitiously, seeing the shudder that went through him which said the mental image was having the right effect, but also noting the slight grit of his jaw, feeling a sharp stab of pain in her stomach at the knowledge that he looked genuinely upset. "Gene, it was just a joke, I wasn't-"
"D'you want kids?" He asked suddenly, shifting the gear and briefly flitting his eyes across to look at her. "I mean, again... after Molly..." He slammed his foot on the accelerator in annoyance, and immediately shook his head, as though clearing it of confusion. "I mean, obviously after Molly, 'cause you already had her, but I mean, d'you want-?"
"Stop," Alex murmured, looking out of the window with tears in her eyes. "Please, Gene... now really, really isn't the time for us to-"
"So no, then?" he managed, flexing his fingers against the wheel until Alex could hear them crack. She grimaced, and then looked down at her feet.
"I honestly haven't thought about it..." she said, though she knew he heard the lie as clearly as if it were a megaphone peeping in his ears.
"Bols, if you don't want kids, I can-"
"I don't know, Gene, OK? I haven't decided. Now please, how far is this school?" Her voice was panicked and high, and Gene ground his teeth.
"Five minutes." He said eventually, and then fell silent.
Alex lasted three minutes before she spoke again, in which time she had come dangerously close to drawing blood from the lip she now toyed with between her teeth. "Is this why you wanted three bedrooms?"
"Alex, I thought you didn't want to-"
"I just didn't realize you were thinking that far ahead!" Her voice rose slightly, and Gene swerved round the next corner a little more sharply than was strictly necessary.
"I didn't think it'd be a problem, Alex – I wasn't planning on bending you over the car an' shootin' off inside of yer 'til the buggers hit home! I just figured we may as well 'ave spare rooms in case it came to it!" His knuckles cracked as he squeezed on the steering wheel, shortly before slamming down the brakes outside the looming building of St Michaels Secondary. It was grey, dark and old, and a shiver shot down Alex's spine at the sight of it, adding to the chill that had been present since Gene had finished speaking. He gave no sign of movement, his jaw tight as his gloved hands rested awkwardly on the steering wheel before him.
"Look," he said eventually, almost reasonably. "I ain't gunna apologise- I don't see a problem and I definitely 'aven't got a reason to regret it; If we 'ave a kid, we've got a room, an' if we don't you can put a bunch o' throw pillows on the bed an' forget I ever mentioned it." He seemed to hesitate, as though debating whether or not to say something else, but then a moment later, he was out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him and striding quickly towards the entrance of the school.
Alex watched him briefly, jaw slack as his broad figure disappeared into the building before following, running to catch up and following his lead in keeping silent as they headed to the receptionists desk.
"DCI Hunt an' DI Drake," Gene growled, flashing his badge at the astounded receptionist before nodding vaguely at Alex. "Need to talk to one o' your students- ain't been at his 'ouse for months, so we're 'ere instead."
The grey-haired, drawn looking woman looked taken aback, and opened her mouth repeatedly to no avail before Alex took pity on her and intervened. "We've got a few questions to ask Ciaran Merlot- could you tell us where to find him?"
She continued to stare, but eventually the lady nodded, fumbling through a large in-tray that seemed to overflow with loose papers. It was several minutes before she drew one piece out decisively, pointing to the paper briefly before nodding. "Down the corridor, to the left, up the stairs and then into the first room on your left..." there was a brief moments hesitation before she added. "An' between you and me, Miss, he's a nasty piece of work – nice enough, when 'e needs to be. But he's been a snappy little bugger for months an' months. 'e's been suspended twice!"
"Thank you," Alex said sincerely. "Would you mind taking him out of the lesson for us? It's most likely not worth the disruption of breaking up the class – just routine questions... Could we wait here?"
"'course Miss – there's a spare classroom down the corridor if you'd like to use that? Or I could set up some chairs out-"
"The classroom would be lovely," Alex said decisively. Gene remained silent, and as they were led down the corridor, he maintained a stubbornly large distance between them, and when they were left alone in the dimly lit classroom, he headed over to the opposite side without saying a word.
"Gene-"
"Not now, Bolly," he growled, lighting up a cigarette and taking far more interest in the dull wall display of English history than he ever would have done in normal circumstances.
Alex felt the angry pit boiling away in her stomach, but she remained where she was, fingers clenched on her forearms as she stubbornly looked the other way, the tension settling around them like a fog. She could hear Gene pacing, hear him blowing smoke out of his mouth as he exhaled the latest drag on his cigarette, but still she refused to look round, despite the consuming need to confront him. A few moments later, when she thought she might truly combust with rage at his apparent detachment and was considering turning around and shouting him down, the door opened, and Ciaran Merlot entered alone, with an air of coolness that practically rolled off him in waves.
----
Her first thought, amazingly, was not that he was a potential link to a murder investigation, but that he was, in every way imaginable, the complete opposite of Benji Bragden.
Where Benji had been brown haired, Ciaran had hair of such brilliant blonde that it was hard to believe it was one hundred percent natural. His skin was youthful, flawless and milky coloured, lacking the horrible acne of Benji's own, and practically luminous in the dim light that filtered through the window. His uniform, which lacked any effort at smartness, with the tie dangling loosely and the shirt flapping free, was that of a typical teenage rebel, and the trainers that should not have been permitted were new, trendy and the sort of thing a boy like Benji would have cut off his own arm to get hold of. The rolled up sleeves did nothing to hide the muscle of his arms, and his shoulders were broad and strong looking. Cool blue eyes met her own, and a few moments later he had casually slumped into the nearest chair, making it look effortlessly fashionable. Short-cropped hair flopped into his eyes and he blew it lightly away whilst draping an arm over the table in front of him.
"Miss Bradshaw said you wanted to see me?" The cool tone, the natural politeness and the seemingly unworried nature of his voice caused Alex to blink in surprise, and it took her a moment to recollect herself, by which time Gene had already strode over, flashing his police badge as he might brandish a weapon, before pulling up a chair himself, slamming it down and sitting down in it heavily without a word. After several moments of glowering, he spoke, voice low, but surprisingly calm.
"You were in Rosa McKellen's class, right?" He asked, lifting the cigarette to his lips as casually as though he were sitting in Luigi's after hours. Ciaran nodded, reaching into his own pocket and drawing out a packet of cigarettes. Taking one in his fingertips, he slid the case away once more and then looked expectantly at Gene.
"Yeah, I was... You got a light?"
Gene said nothing, extracting his lighter and flicking it on, allowing Ciaran to light up before he said anything else. "You ever talk to her?"
Ciaran shrugged. "Now and then... She didn't like people much, y'know? Especially once she got all them lumpy things on 'er face...she thought everyone who spoke to her was just gunna laugh, so people didn't talk to her..." he looked thoughtful, then murmured thoughtfully, "I leant her a pencil once... never got it back though." He brought the cigarette to his lips, taking a smooth drag that was practised and at ease as he looked at Gene with disinterest.
"Y'know she's dead?" Gene said, his tone light and chatty, though Alex was sure, as she drew up a chair beside him, that he was unusually tense, his legs taut and set at rigid angles. Her hand unthinkingly slid down to brush over his knee and calf under pretence of sorting out her footwear, and she felt him relax slightly, even as Ciaran replied with nonchalance.
"Well it's not really a secret is it? I mean, people don't show up dead around here without people knowing about it, and once people heard about it there were only so many people it'd be." He continued to smoke, lifting one foot to cross it over his other leg, tapping his fingers lightly on the sole of his shoe.
"Your sister," Gene said, sitting back slightly. "Sophia, right?"
"She ain't called that no more Sir, with respect, and well you know it I should imagine." He blew smoke out, glancing briefly at Alex, handsome face looking boyishly flirtatious as he raised one eyebrow, before looking back to Gene.
"Jessie, then," Gene said, stubbing out his own cigarette on the wooden table. "She was seeing Jeremy McKellen, right?"
Ciaran rolled his eyes. "How should I know? She changes her blokes from one day to the next, so yeah, she probably shagged him. Don't you need to arrest me to start asking me all these questions?"
"I don't need to do anything, sonny, so don't even-"
Alex squeezed Gene's leg tight for a brief moment as she interrupted, drawing her hands out onto the table and speaking gently. "We're just looking to ask you a few questions. Ultimately, we can't arrest you, and you have every right to leave this room, but in the interests of our investigation, and for your own safety if our findings were to somehow indicate you later on, would you please just go along with us for a while?"
Ciaran lolled back in his chair, eyeing Alex with a gaze that was far too experienced and knowledgeable to come from a seventeen year old boy. He took another drag, eyes not leaving Alex, before shrugging, unfazed. "Whatever. You seem clever enough to know there's no point in accusing me though; my sister shags a lot of people, and if one of them was McKellen's old man, that really isn't my problem. I don't meet them, I don't talk to them, and I sure as hell don't ask how their dead daughter is."
"That's perfectly reasonable," Alex said softly, pressing her heeled boot sharply into Gene's toes when he went to speak. He glared at her, but fell silent, crossing his arms and sitting back in his chair as she went on. "I'm just going to ask you a few questions, and all I want is for you to answer honestly."
Ciaran eyes her carefully, gaze trailing openly to the v of her dress which demonstrated a modest and yet still quite intriguing cleavage. Gene stiffened visibly at her side, but Alex gave no sign that she had noticed, watching Ciaran with a question in her eyes. Eventually, he brought his gaze back up to her face and nodded, stubbing out his cigarette and flicking it carelessly across the room and onto the floor.
"Did Rosa ever mention to you that she was upset, that she was lonely at all?"
The teenagers eyes rolled, and he shook his head. "Like I said, she didn't talk much. If she did she was smarmy and bitchy and snappy; she hated all of us, and by the time we got to fifth year we all hated her too."
"So you've never spoken to her?"
"Except to lend her a pencil," Ciaran said, smirking. "She nearly fell off her chair, though I'm not surprised; don't think she ever got so much as a whiff of man off of her own bloke – toss her a smile and she'd probably 'ave dropped her knickers if she could move quick enough, it wasn't like-"
It happened so fast that Alex barely saw it; one moment, Gene was next to her, rigid as a board but firmly in his seat just the same. The next, he was around the table, grabbing at the loose tie around Ciaran's neck and tightening it until he was gasping for air, his face right in front of Ciaran's.
"You better choke on them words of yours pretty damn fast sonny, or I'm gunna make sure you choke on your tongue instead! If DI Drake asks you a question, you answer it! And you keep yer petty, pervy little thoughts to yerself, you understand?" Alex couldn't help but roll her eyes as Gene's spittle flecked across the teenagers face, but Ciaran could be seen gritting his jaw, face reddening with lack of oxygen, before Gene finally, with a fierce shove, released him, stepping away and leaning angrily against the wall, arms crossed and eyes fixated on Ciaran as he rubbed his neck in apparent pain, but remained silent.
"Are you alright?" Alex asked calmly, sparing Gene only a brief glance, though it was long enough to see the angry glare he sent her way.
Ciaran nodded, cracking his knuckles against the table. "I'm fine," he muttered, sending a dark look in Gene's direction. "Can I go now?"
"I'm afraid we've got a few more questions to ask, but-"
"Look, I didn't know Rosa, I don't know her Dad, and I really couldn't care less if my sisters shagging him or not, so please can I just-"
"Are you religious at all, Ciaran?" Alex asked calmly, hands together on the top of the desk.
"Am I-? What's religion got to do with anything?"
Alex shrugged, "it's just a general question to help me put together a reasonable assessment of your character... are you?"
Ciaran looked uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I'm not- well, I don't like, y'know... I don't agree with things... Don't do churches or anything like that..." He looked embarrassed, and Alex nodded in understanding.
"Christian?"
"No."
"Protestant?"
"No... I ain't.... I dunno... I'm not a bible-basher or anything, I just think maybe some of the stuff they said ain't too far off the mark, y'know? Like, the whole Ten Commandments crap- even if it ain't true it's a fair rule to live by right?" Ciaran's voice was timid, less confident than before, but he seemed honest enough. Alex nodded again.
"Thou shalt not kill – that sort of thing?"
Ciaran gave a sharp nod. "Yeah... that kind of stuff... I mean, it ain't all right, but it's not wrong either..."
Alex smiled reassuringly as the boy trailed off, then, in a slightly more tentative voice, she asked, "did you know Rosa was religious?"
He shrugged, "Guess so... she wore a crucifix and stuff, but everyone knew she was shagging Bragden, so she wasn't a Nun or anything."
"You know her boyfriend, then?" She asked, intrigued.
Ciaran nodded. "Yeah... I mean, only a bit. He was a couple of years older, and we used to play footy with his year at break, 'cept he was always bent over some book or other in the corner and staring at McKellen- was before all the lumps and stuff were showin' on her face, and she wasn't exactly bad looking, y'know? She didn't even pay him attention 'til they started showing and he didn't stop staring..." he shrugged. "Anyway, we never really got on, though to be honest, nobody really liked him, either." He reached into his pocket and drew out his cigarettes again, glancing hopefully at Gene, who did nothing, and then at Alex, who could only shake her head apologetically. With a sigh, he held the unlit cigarette in his fingers, tapping it agitatedly on the wood.
"Do you mind my asking why?" Alex asked eventually.
He shrugged, frowning slightly. "Just- he wasn't likeable... He was always on about writing music, how he was gunna be famous and prove everybody wrong, always bringing up his Dad 'cause he buggered off when he was five and using it in arguments like it was some sorta secret weapon... We got pissed about it; enough of our old men had run off, and none of us went on about it..." His fingers tightened on the cigarette, and it bent slightly under his touch. "Nobody liked him, alright? It wasn't just me!"
Alex smiled, "thank you. Do you know how Rosa felt about him? Are there any other people in the year that might be able to help us?"
Ciaran snorted, shaking his head. "No... Nobody spoke to her... But, I mean... she seemed alright with him, I guess... can't say I sat starin' too much when they started making out, but she didn't look unhappy... I dunno..." He paused, and then added, almost dumbly, "sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Alex said softly, "we're very thankful for your time."
He nodded, glancing from her to Gene almost nervously before muttering, "Can I go yet?"
Alex nodded, standing up and walking towards the door, holding it open in a friendly gesture as Ciaran got to his feet and walked out. "Take care," she said, smiling warmly. He nodded in reply, glancing briefly at Gene and repeating the gesture, before turning into the corridor and walking out of sight.
Alex watched him for a while, but once he had disappeared, she turned to Gene, looking positive, though the expression was wiped from her face a moment later as he swept past her, heading back towards the entrance hall without a second glance, a cigarette lit between his lips. She followed him, her stomach twisted slightly, and joined him in the front seat of the Quattro. As they drove away, she saw Ciaran Merlot, seated on a nearby wall with a cigarette in his hand, bag open and a bottle of vodka clearly visible. He saw her and raised a hand briefly, before gathering up his things and jumping down from the wall, unscrewing the lid on the vodka and walking away with the glass bottle between his lips.
---
Gene didn't talk all the way back. He turned the radio up full blast, his jaw tight and eyes firmly fixed on the road; Alex didn't bother to speak. She was used to his foul moods, and she knew better than to start a conversation when he was clearly upset about something, but somehow the lack of interaction unnerved her, and she realized that whilst she hadn't really considered the future with Gene beyond living together, he seemed to have planned things, knew what he wanted from their relationship in the long-term... Much as it warmed her to know that he was so committed, that he wanted them to be truly together, she was terrified; terrified of how she might react to a child that wasn't Molly. Would she ever be able to love them in the same way? Would she love them too much, and completely forget that Molly ever existed? What if when she woke up in the morning, she couldn't remember what her daughter looked like? What if she called Gene's child 'Molly' by mistake?
She barely noticed where they were until the door was opening to her left, and Gene was holding out a hand. She hardly managed to conceal her shock as she placed her hand tentatively in his, but a moment later she was being pulled firmly up the steps and into CID, Gene's pace quick and hurried. They reached the corridor outside of her temporary office, and a moment later she was pressed into the wall, his mouth hard on hers, hand gripping her head fiercely as his teeth nipped harshly at her lower lip. There was something distant about the familiar gesture, something rehearsed and cold about his embrace, even as he pressed his body along the length of hers and she could feel him respond...
He pulled away suddenly, not meeting her eyes as he drew back, clearing his throat and gulping slightly. "See yer later, Bols," he muttered, and before she could even respond, before she'd even managed to blink back the unwitting tears that threatened as he drew up and away from her, he was gone, his long overcoat swishing behind him as he disappeared around the corner. A moment later, as though he had been waiting for her, Harrison had opened the door, his eyes angry.
"Now you've had your lunchtime shag, Drake, how about you come in here and do something useful with your time?"
Alex could only nod, following him in obediently with only a single, disappointed glance over her shoulder at the spot where Gene had disappeared.
----
Really big thank you to Feline for this one – writers block is a cow, and her beta-ing made me feel a whole lot better for this one particularly :-)
Hope it was alright, and obviously, if writers block keeps at bay, I'll try and update again soon :D
Mage of the Heart