Gene held Alex tightly in his arms as she cried into his shirt on the sofa. He had no idea what had happened. No idea at all. He had just arrived home from meeting the snout, something that had been very successful, and found that he had misplaced his keys. Knocking on the door, he expected a moody Alex that he had just awoken from bed, a smug welcome as a grin danced on her face as she had stayed up waiting for him, or an annoyed snappy tone to greet him as he'd been forgetful. Gene did not expect to see Alex as a quivering wreck, holding a knife, with strangled sobs escaping her lips and tears streaming down her face.
Alex's breathing began to go back to normal as Gene kissed the top of her head, rocking her gently as he soothed her pain. Bolly was strong. She didn't get like this over nothing. Something was obviously very, very wrong.
"You okay now, sweetheart?" Gene murmured into her hair. Alex nodded lightly, sniffing as she took a gulping breath. Gene swallowed. "Yer goin' ter tell me what happened then, Alex? I can sort it, love. Just tell me. What happened? Who's hurt yer?"
Alex snuggled into Gene's protective embrace. "Someone's watching the house," she said in a tiny voice as Gene stiffened, "a few minutes before you arrived home…I g-got a ph-phone call. It was nothing at first, so I just put the phone down. Then all the l-lights went off. I was r-really sc-sc-scared. I told them to g-go away…but then…"
Gene held her tighter. "Go on, Alex. It's all right."
"He…he kept calling me a slag. Saying personal…personal things that no-one could know," Alex shuddered, her eyes wide in fear, "then…then he said he knew I w-was alone. Because he c-couldn't see your c-c-car. He…threatened me. S-said he was going to c-come in…because the d-doors weren't locked…and he could see me and he l-liked what he saw and…and…"
"Oh God," Gene said quietly, "come 'ere. Never should 'ave left you on yer own, not at night, not wi' all sorts o' pervs about. Come 'ere, Bolly. Shh, shh. It's all right."
Gene turned Alex's face to look at him then, smoothing down her hair and wiping her tears with his thumbs.
"I'm goin' ter kill 'im," Gene rumbled dangerously, his voice laced with fury, "no-one threatens you. No-one scares you. I'll find 'im, Bolls. Is…is that why yer had a knife? You thought I was 'im, coming ter get yer?"
Alex nodded fearfully, fresh tears leaking. "I was so relieved," she breathed, hastily rubbing at her eyes, "I've never b-been so sc-scared."
"I'll get CID on a trace," Gene growled, "we'll track this bastard's number. We'll get 'im. You can make a statement, love, explaining what sorts o' sick things he said ter yer."
Gene looked thoughtful for a moment. "Alex, what else did he say? Yer said he mentioned…personal things. What does 'e know?"
Alex's body froze. Her arms felt like lead and her heart felt like it was being stretched. Her stomach felt sick and her head felt dizzy. No. She couldn't tell him. Not like this.
"I…he just said I was a slag…"
"What did he know that no-one else could know?" Gene prompted, rubbing her arm. Alex's eyes were sparkling with fear. Then, Gene's eyes clouded over. Alex could sense he was getting the wrong idea.
"No," he said quietly, and almost dangerously. Alex gulped.
"What?" she whispered. Gene's eyes were shining with anger.
"Have you been sleeping with this man?" he snarled. Alex gasped.
"What?" she demanded.
Gene whipped his arm away from her. "That would explain it. How he got the number. How he knows about my car. How he would know personal things about you, things that you can't even tell me. Why he'd call you a slag! Because yer slept with him whilst you're in a bloody relationship with me!"
"No!" Alex cried, grabbing at Gene's shirt in fright. "No Gene, no! Please, please d-don't think like that! Please! I haven't…I never…I don't even know who it is!"
"Then what does he know?" Gene roared. "What's so personal that no-one could bloody know? Not even yer partner could know? Was he good, Alex? WAS HE A BETTER SHAG THAN ME?"
Alex whimpered in fear, backing off as she curled up on the other end of the sofa as Gene shot to his feet, looming over her, scaring her.
"Well, Alex?" Gene thundered, oblivious to her shaking form. "Did he know the places to touch you, how you liked it, to make you come like –"
"I'M PREGNANT, YOU BASTARD!"
Gene froze. It was as if the world had stopped moving. Gene stood there, his mouth turned to sawdust, clenching and releasing his fists. His heart hammered as Alex took huge shuddering breaths, whimpers escaping her lips.
Gene's eyes softened ever so slightly. "What did you say?"
Alex got to her feet, furious, and shoved Gene backwards with all her might. He stumbled, completely taken by surprise.
"I'm pregnant, you vicious bastard!" Alex screamed, throwing her arms around wildly. "I'm pregnant with your bloody baby, a baby whom you won't care for and you'll just leave me with! Because you don't want it! No matter h-how h-hard I've tried t-to tell you, y-you just brush it off, or tell me there'll be hell to pay if I'm pregnant!"
Gene looked on at her in shock. His mouth opened slightly in comprehension.
"I've known for d-days now b-but I've been too scared to tell you!" Alex continued in rage, tears pouring down her cheeks. "There is no other man, Gene! I've only ever really wanted y-you ever since I came here! Even w-with Oliver I was thinking o-of you! And now…this perverted sicko on the phone to me knows! HE KNOWS, GENE! I've never told anyone…and he knows…" Alex collapsed on the sofa, everything becoming too much as the tears flowed freely.
"He knows," she cried, "he knows I'm p-pregnant…he taunted me…but how he found out I'll n-never know! I n-never told anyone, not e-even you because I was scared! Scared you'd walk out…or hit me! You hit me before, Gene, so WHY NOT HAVE ANOTHER BLOODY GO NOW?"
"ENOUGH!" Gene boomed. "Don't you dare…don't you dare act like I don't care…or bring that up…that's goin' ter haunt me until I fucking die, Alex!"
Alex couldn't hear him. Her body was shaking with huge sobs as she curled up on the sofa.
"Oh Bolly," Gene said sadly, tentatively sitting down on the sofa, "Bolly please…I'm so…I'm so sorry…come 'ere…"
He wasn't sure how long he sat there with Alex in his arms, her tears soaking his shirt. He stroked her back, his mind bubbling. Pregnant. Alex was pregnant. With his baby. And he'd just accused her of sleeping with another man…after a night of horror, of being stalked, of being threatened…
Gene didn't know what to think. His mind was buzzing with all the new information and it didn't quite know what to do with it all.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, kissing her head softly, "I'm sorry…"
Alex squeezed his hand, not trusting herself to make a coherent sentence. Gene squeezed back. Swallowing, he ran his hand slowly over her stomach, a sense of pride running through his blood. Alex stiffened, afraid of his reaction.
"So…we're going to have a baby?"
Alex looked into his eyes, sitting up slightly. "I'm having a baby, yes," she said worriedly, "it's your baby…but whether you're involved or not I guess is your choice…just don't bother if you're going to put me through hell about it."
Gene took her face in his hands, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "Bolls, I would never put you through hell. Especially about somethin' we had done together. Created together. Bloody hell…a baby."
"But…but you said you hated babies," Alex said in a small voice. Gene sighed.
"Ter be honest with yer, Bolls, I think I just hated the memories," he explained, "Kieran and Tiffany were awful babies. Cried non-stop…then whenever I tried to do anything, Diana would moan that I was doin' it wrong. I wasn't allowed ter hold 'em until they were a few weeks old 'cos Diana thought I was too rough. I dressed Tiffany, but apparently it was the wrong outfit. I'd give Kieran his bottle, but apparently I weren't angling it right. It was shit."
"Oh Gene," Alex said quietly, "I…I didn't know."
Gene smiled slightly. "Never told yer. Didn't seem…important. But now…now I'm having another baby. Bloody hell. It's a shock, Bolls, but…I think this could be great. I really do. Another chance. And this time, it's with you. The woman I love more than anything in the world. I won't screw this up, Bolls, I promise. I want to try. I want ter be there. Every scan, every doctor's appointment, every step o' the way. And when the little-un's born…I'm not goin' ter do a runner on you, Bollykecks. You or the kid. I love you. I want to be with yer. And our kid. Our family."
"Oh Gene!" Alex burst out, flinging her arms around his neck in complete relief and happiness. "Gene, oh Gene, you don't know how much that means to me. Thank you…thank you…"
"Hey, nothing ter thank me for, sweetheart," Gene grinned, "my responsibility. I want to do this, for you and our baby. We'll make it work, Alex. It won't always be easy, but we've got each other. I'm not a bastard like yer ex-husband, no matter how much I act like it. I won't leave yer."
Alex clung to him, hardly daring to believe it. It all seemed so perfect, but then the memory of what happened earlier this evening returned as her bubble of happiness was popped.
"Now, we need a good night's sleep before we get ter work on hunting this bastard pervy scum down," Gene announced, his eyes darkening at the thought of that man, "I'm goin' ter get him. Whoever the shit is, I'm not letting him get away with this. And how the hell does he know about our baby?"
Alex's heart swelled. Our baby. Then she swallowed, shivering as she recalled the event.
"I don't know," Alex said softly, "I haven't told anyone. I took the pregnancy test here, so no-one would have seen. I just don't know."
Gene sighed. "We'll find 'im, Bolls. We'll sort it. We'll figure it out. Come on, off ter bed with yer. It's been a long day and you've been through a lot as usual, sweetheart. Time for sleep. Come on. Love you."
Alex took his hand as the two of them walked up the stairs. Snuggling into his arms, Alex kissed him on the cheek. "Love you too."
-xx-
"But Guv, that'll take ages!"
"Do you care about the safety of your female colleague? Because if you don't, then yer know where the door is, Carling!"
"Okay, okay, Guv!" Ray said hastily. "Of course I don't want anything ter happen ter Drake. But tracing all the numbers that 'ave called your 'ouse in the last twenty-four hours is goin' ter take forever. Plus we've got the drug dealer case!"
"You get on wi' tracing those numbers," Gene growled, "Bolly's safety comes first."
Ray sighed, annoyed. Stalking towards the doors to leave the CID office, he left Gene and Chris to inform the others of what happened with the snout last night. But just as Ray was about to push open the double doors, DCI Waltham of Fenchurch West stormed through them.
"I don't mind taking that for you, Ray," he smiled sickeningly, "you need to be here, informing your team of last night's findings."
Alex frowned from her seat behind her desk and Gene strode over to Waltham angrily.
"What the bloody hell are you doin' here?" he barked. "Haven't you got yer own station ter be a DCI for?"
Waltham smirked. "Myself and DI Sammons are just collecting case evidence from the Evidence Room. We haven't got a lot on our patch at the moment; mainly paperwork. As one DCI to another, I thought I could help out with tracing the numbers on your phone as you've got a major crime to solve."
"Oh piss off," Gene spat, "you just want ter see if I'm phoning any porn lines or not."
Waltham raised his eyebrows. "And are you?" he asked cockily as the other CID lads tried to muffle splutters of laughter.
"No I bloody am not!" Gene seethed. "And I'll tell yer this, Waltham – when I've got DI Drake in my bed, a porn line is completely unnecessary!"
Alex flushed with embarrassment as Ray jeered and the others wolf-whistled. "Gene!" Alex snapped at him, slightly mortified. Gene flashed her a look of apology.
"Now get lost," he glared. Waltham smirked.
"Gene, you're not the only one with a gorgeous bird in your bed," he sneered, "and believe me, I'd rather have my new woman any day." Waltham flicked a look at Alex then, running his eyes up and down her body. This made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Guv…" Ray began, "DCI Waltham tracing the phone calls would save a lot o' time. We could progress with the drug dealer case."
Gene pouted, his eyes set firmly on Waltham. "Fine," he muttered, yanking the files needed for the trace out of Ray's hands and shoving them into Waltham's, "knock yerself out, in both senses o' the words. And get the hell out of my station."
Waltham smirked. "Gladly," he snarled, winking at Alex on his way out.
Suppressing a shiver, Alex walked around her desk and perched on the end, looking towards the whiteboard as the other officers gathered around her, waiting to hear what had gone on last night with the snout.
"Right, now that DCI Dickhead's out of our hair, we can finally move forward with this case," Gene announced, "last night, midnight – Raymondo, Wonder Chris and my very good self met Nasty Nick. Notorious, raping bastard that's done 'is time. Normally I wouldn't associate wi' scum like that, but he knows the ins and outs of drug dealing and the dealers and is a highly reliable snout."
Chris then pinned up a picture on the whiteboard. The face of an Pakistani man stared back at them. He must have been in his late twenties or so.
"Quasim Laghari has just recently moved from Pakistan," Chris revealed, "but can't get a job at the moment, we're led ter believe. According to Nasty Nick, he's been sellin' cocaine and other illegal substances to druggies around the area for large sums o' money to earn a living over 'ere. He's also claimed on the benefits system and been given a council house so he's not goin' without."
"Trouble is, the bastard's drugs are responsible for five cases of overdose in the last week or so," Ray growled, "according ter Nasty Nick, five teenagers bought his drugs and died hours later."
"And we are goin' ter catch the bastard before he sells anymore illegal drugs or becomes responsible for ending anymore young lives," Gene said determinedly.
"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Alex doubted them. "We don't have any proof, Guv. We only have this Nasty Nick's word."
Gene sighed. "Yes thank you, Mrs Know-It-All, but the little boys have actually come up with a plan of action believe it or not."
Alex grinned at him as Ray stuck up the next picture. It was of a sleazy Soho strip club.
"Quasim Laghari has been working at this strip club for three days," Ray informed them, "selling drugs ter punters, prostitutes and even the bar staff."
"And we are goin' ter go in undercover, catch him in the act, and arrest the bastard," Gene decided as a murmur of approval was heard from the other lads in CID.
"Undercover?" Alex asked. "God, its been a long time since we've done that. We'll have to plan it properly, so there's no way of him discovering that we're police officers. But we'll need wires, for back-up."
"Yeah, we're not stupid," Ray said defensively, "we've done undercover before, yer know."
"So what do you propose we do?" Alex asked. Gene pouted.
"Simple," he grunted, "Wonder Chris, Terry and Poirot will be acting as the bar staff. Raymondo and yours truly will be punters. Shaz will be a prostitute."
"Me?" Shaz beamed, thrilled at the thought of being included in an undercover operation.
"Shaz?" Alex and Chris burst out.
"Guv, please…anything could happen!" Chris said worriedly, looking at Shaz in panic. "She's only a WPC…"
"Are you saying I'm not capable?" Shaz shot at him.
"No…yeah…no…but…"
"Oh shut it, Shaz can handle this," Gene said confidently. Alex was still staring at him.
"Well what about me?" she demanded. "We're not having this again, Gene! If you're taking three DCs and letting a WPC go undercover, you can let your DI!"
"Ter be honest, Guv, Drake does make one hell of a convincing prozzie," Ray pointed out. Alex wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult.
Gene stared firmly at her. "Things are different now, Alex," he said forcefully, "yer know. I'm not risking you. Either of you."
The other CID officers frowned.
"Oh great, he's finally lost it, living with a fruitcake," Ray muttered.
But Alex understood. She smiled at Gene. "Please Gene, I know how to look after myself. I'm touched, but if you don't let me do my job because I'm your partner, then I will have to look for a transfer."
Gene's blood ran cold. He swallowed. "You sure you'll be all right?" he said in concern. He didn't want to hold her back. He didn't want to be an overprotective, controlling partner. But he was worried for her safety.
Alex nodded. "You'll be there. Back-up will be there. It's fine. And," she waggled her eyebrows, "I'll find something ravishing to wear as a prostitute."
"Please, save it for the bedroom!" Ray protested, holding up his hands. Gene glared at him.
"Right, sorry Shaz, you've just been benched. Bolly's our undercover prostitute."
Chris looked relieved but Shaz looked disappointed. "Ah, Guv!"
"They'll be plenty o' chances for you, Granger," Gene assured her, "keep on using yer head, and yer could be looking at CID by Christmas."
Shaz beamed. "Cheers, Guv!" she said happily.
Alex smiled at Gene and mouthed a thank you. Gene smirked back, clapping his hands together as he began to run over the plan of action, the back-up system and just how they were going to catch Quasim Laghari.
As Alex voiced her input, putting her ideas to the floor, Gene stared at her worriedly. She was the most precious thing in his life, her and their developing baby in her perfect stomach. And tomorrow night, he was putting her in danger again. Hopefully by then Waltham would have traced the number of the pervert that stalked Alex last night and they would have one bastard scumbag locked up, but they still had another to catch in their next challenge. Gene just hoped with all his heart that their undercover operation was going to go to plan.