"This bastard beat me up!" Murphy spluttered, as the officer walked towards him

"I can't leave you for five minutes, can I, Gene?" She said, smiling at him. Gene grinned back, beaming like a Cheshire cat.

"No, Bolly." He said "We're unbreakable" Alex ran towards him, flinging her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly, as he placed his arms protectively around her body.

"Umm...HELLO?" Murphy shouted, drawing the attention back towards himself. Alex let go of Gene, and turned to face him, who had now managed to stand up properly.

"What happened THIS time?" Alex sighed, raising her eyebrows

"He tried to kill me!" Murphy exclaimed

"Why?" She asked, looking at them both in turn

"He was saying stuff about you, Bols" Gene mumbled quietly, looking down at the floor. Alex smiled. He obviously really did care for her.

"Nice to meet you" Alex said simply, holding out her hand to Murphy, "I'm Alex Drake. And you can piss off"


"So, Bolly" Gene said, flopping into his chair and pouring himself a drink as Alex locked the door and shut the blinds, before perching on the edge of his desk, "you gonna tell me what's going on?"

"I wish I knew, Gene" She sighed "I wish I knew"

"Well..." He began, downing his drink "start from the beginning"


'It was weird. Stepping into the pub. It felt like I was being pulled inside. I left the safety of your world, and plummeted into a thick mist, it felt so strange, like being underwater, but having the ability to breathe. Muffled sounds became recognisable as the mist began to clear, the pub slowly taking shape. I felt as though I had been dropped inside the entrance, and my head was spinning so fast I had to grab hold of the door handle. It took me a while to collect my thought, to process what was happening. I mean, I was dead. It's a very odd concept to grasp. Pushing open the doors, I was met by a fog of smoke, and that was probably the first time I realised that being dead might have its advantages, passive smoking and all that. Shaz, Chris and Ray had taken up a large table in the very corner, next to a young couple. Because I felt so sick, it took me a while to realise who they were. Shaz waved at me, and I made my way towards them, slowly. They all shuffled their chairs around so I get in, and was only after doing a really good impression of a fish with a blank look on my face when I realised what was happening. The dizziness had worn off, and everyone around our table was sat looking at me in confusion.

"You're...you're" I stammered "You're Sam Tyler. And you're Annie Cartwright"

"How did you..." Sam began "Wait...are you Alex?"

"Yes" I nodded "I studied your psychological case back before you committed suicide. I am so sorry"

"What for?" He asked

"I thought you were hallucinating, suffering from depression...I never thought for one moment that it would be...real" I admitted

"It's fine" He smiled "I don't think I'd have believed it either. What happened? After I jumped?"

"You were practically killed when you hit the ground. You said one final word before you died"

"What was it?" He asked

"Annie" I smiled sympathetically, as Sam looked uneasily around the room, but found some comfort in the fact the Annie was grinning at him

"If you don't mind me asking" I said "How did you all...you know..."

"Well, you know already, Alex" Sam explained, but turned around to face the others "Got hit by a car. Woke up in 1973. Managed to get back to 2006, but realised I wasn't where I wanted to be. Jumped off the building, and came back here. Permanently"

"I committed suicide" Ray said gloomily "Didn't think my dad would be proud. Accidently killed someone, but it got covered up. Ended up here. Best thing I ever did"

"I got shot on duty" Chris told everyone "Was only listening to orders. Got myself killed"

"I was stabbed" Shaz sniffed "Trying to stop someone breaking into a car. I was so scared"

"Annie?" I asked

"I was poisoned" She recalled, gently holding her throat "Got too close when I was working undercover, got found out. They drugged me to make sure I didn't go back to the police, but they gave me too much. I OD'd"

Sam rested his hand supportively on her shoulder, and she patted it with gratitude

"What about you, Ma'am?" Shaz asked

"Well, I went to sort out this man who had taken someone hostage on the way to taking m daughter to school, and he managed to get away" I sighed "Next thing I know, he's taken me hostage and is forcing me down into the docks, and shoots me in the head. One of the last things I said to Molly was me promising I'd be at her birthday party. I never did keep that promise"

"I'm sorry" Annie said

"No, No" I shook my head "It's fine. I couldn't stay with Gene, either. I guess I just wasn't meant to fit in"

It was then that I looked past Sam and Anne, who were sat directly opposite me, and noticed a door behind them.

"What's through there?" I asked

"Dunno, Boss" Chris shrugged "Nelson said you needed an invite to go in there, and it was very rarely that it happened" '


"So how did you end up here?" Gene asked, as Alex grew silent

"I'm getting to it!" She protested


I don't know how long I was there for. I only knew that it felt like weeks. There wasn't much beyond the pub, as soon as the last orders bell would ring, I'd feel sleepy, and my eyes would eventually slide closed. When opened them again, it was a new day. I was wearing new clothes, there were new people there, and I felt more awake. It was weird, the pub never got any bigger, but there still seemed to be enough room, no matter how many people were inside. Ray, Chris, Sam, Shaz and Annie were quite happily sat there. Sometimes we spoke about our old lives, and sometimes we reminisced stuff in CID. Most of them were about mine and Sam's arguments with you, Gene, and they kept making little suggestions about the two of us. The longer we stayed there, the less we talked, and it took me longer to remember, even the littlest of things. It was like we were gradually forgetting our old lives, and that's what scared me. Memories are what keep us sane. The bad and the good times are all a part of who we are, but without them, we are just empty shells. There is nothing to distinguish us, nothing to talk about, and nothing to look back on. I felt my whole life had been wasted, and each day I had to force myself to remember the two people I could never forget. You and Molly. But, even that became a struggle.

It was perhaps about three weeks since I had first arrived there, and when I woke up that morning I could scarcely remember your name. I was so frustrated. No one else seemed to care that they were forgetting themselves, and that's what angered me most, I think. It was whilst I was preaching to our table about holding onto our memories, that Nelson pulled me aside

"Alex" He said, seriously, "You need to forget. You'd be much happier here"

"I CAN'T forget!" I shouted "I don't want to! Without Molly or Gene, I'm nothing, but without even the faintest of recollection of them? I feel cheated! This is NOT heaven! I was told heaven was a place of tranquillity, where we could see all the ones we loved, but I see no such thing!"

"I think you had better come with me, Alex" Nelson said, pulling me towards the door. The occupants of our table looked at me worriedly, but I have to admit, either way, something good would have to come out of the visit.

He led me into a dark room, where only a desk and a chair stood. He motioned for me to sit down, but then quickly left. I sat down obediently, and waited for some sort of revelation, but non came. Instead, a booming voice came out of the darkness, making me jump.

"Alex Drake!" It echoed "I have reason to believe you are not happy here"

"No sir, I'm not" I said politely "I do not appreciate my memories being taken away from me, without my consent or any warning. Also, if this IS heaven, why is it still surrounded by secrecy and regulation? I always thought it would be amazing, surrounded by family and frinds. All I see is a bunch of friends in a pub in front of a forbidden door, which I've seemingly been brought into, again without consent"

"What do you propose I do about this?" The voice asked me

"Well," I began "For starters, I liked living. Your heaven doesn't feel like I'm living at all, it feels like I'm being told what to do, and it feels awful. I want to remember. I want to remember my old life, my daughter, my family, my job, Gene...why is that so wrong? I want to see my daughter. I want to see Gene. My mother always said she'd watch over me, and I always believed that she had, that she'd guided me subconsciously through life, but she hadn't at all. She wasn't allowed. Whilst on h subject of my mother...where I my parents? They aren't here."

"I see you have a lot of demands and questions, Alex" The voice laughed "I'll make you a deal. You can have any three things you like, no questions asked. After that, you accept the ways of the pub. Some people prefer to forget, your friends for example, would rather not remember that they are dead, and that's how this establishment is run. The majority prefers to forget, and that's how we run it."

"Three things?" I repeated

"Yes. Any three things" He reassured

"Ok. Number one. I want one final conversation with Molly" `