A/N: I cannot thank everyone enough for the amazing response to my previous chapter! My inbox was flooded with reviews and I am so grateful :D here's the next chapter for you all and I hope you like it :D love Roxannaaaax
The journey to Ray's house was the most awkward encounter either one of them had ever experienced. Alex was in shock. Complete shock. Ray kept shooting furtive glances at her as he drove and was always greeted with the same sight of Alex staring at her knees, unblinking. Occasionally, he'd hear the odd sniffle as tears rolled down her cheeks and her shoulders shook, but Ray just tried to concentrate on the road. He wasn't very good with crying women, especially if the woman was your colleague and your boss' girlfriend. And the reason she was crying was to do with your boss.
Ray pulled outside his house, a small terrace house not too far from the station. He got out and walked round to Alex's side of the car. She hadn't moved.
"Alex?" Ray said tentatively. "We're here, love. Come on. You'll catch yer death if yer stay out 'ere looking like that."
Alex swallowed, still unable to get the images of Gene and Diana out of her head. Her heart ached with pain just thinking about it and tears threatened to fall.
With a kind hand from Ray, Alex got out of the car and was guided into the house. It was small and messy, as if Ray didn't have the time of day for it. Washing up from three days ago lay in the sink and takeaway boxes were lying around every corner. But Alex didn't care. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Nothing was important.
"It's late, love," Ray said awkwardly, unsure of how to be with her, "you take the bed. I'll kip on the sofa."
"No, Ray," Alex protested weakly, "I can't…"
"You need yer rest," Ray said forcefully. Alex didn't have the strength to argue. Instead, she nodded, exhausted.
"Thanks Ray," she said quietly, "you've…you've been a real friend lately."
Ray shuffled uncomfortably, looking down. "S'all right. No problem, Drake. Yer going ter need it now that the Guv's gone and done –"
Ray knew instantly that he had said the wrong thing as Alex broke down into fresh sobs, collapsing in his arms once more as he guided her to the sofa. Ray cursed himself as he comforted Alex, a mixture of uncertainty of how to react and fury towards the Guv flowing through his veins. Alex wept, her cries showing no signs of calming down. Ray tried to soothe her, rubbing her back supportively.
"Alex, you'll get through this," Ray told her determinedly as her body racked with sobs, "yer strong, Drake, and yer got ter remember that. The Guv…he's a great man, but he can be an utter dickhead as well. Yer don't need that, Drake. You were headstrong before you got involved with the Guv, and you can still be strong after."
Alex's sobs were subsiding as she took great gulping breaths, clinging to Ray's arms and his wise words.
"Yer don't need the Guv to be strong, Alex," Ray continued, "you're better than that. Better than him. If this is how he wants ter treat yer…leaving yer to get attacked whilst he shags his ex-missus…then he don't deserve yer. Don't let him win, Drake. Don't let Diana win. You carry on bein' amazing without those twats in yer life. You've got a little'un on the way, haven't yer?"
Alex nodded, a sob escaping her lips as she tried to muffle it.
"It's going ter seem hard at first, but you don't need the Guv. You can do it, Drake. Alex. You've got all us lot. We'll help yer. Shaz, me, Viv and even bloody Chris. Your baby is going ter be the luckiest baby in the world because it's going to have the strongest, most incredible mum."
Alex sat up and stared at Ray, looking deep into his eyes. Really looking at him. She had never, ever heard Ray talk like that before, especially to her. He used to despise her. Swallowing, Alex's face softened and the start of a little smile twitched onto her pretty face.
"Thank you," she said quietly, smiling slightly, "thank you, Ray. Thank you for letting me stay. And for being there for me. And thank you so much for what you just said. You don't know how much that means to me."
Ray smiled weakly. "S'all right. Yer going ter feel like shit for a while, but it'll pass. Just remember what's important. You. Your baby."
"My baby," Alex nodded, "it's…it's just…my daughter had to grow up without a dad b-being there. I…I don't w-want this baby t-to not have a d-dad either!"
Ray sighed. "Well that's for you and the Guv to sort out. But if he's goin' ter do this, drunk or not, the Guv really doesn't deserve you. Diana's a bitch. Even…even if she gets him back, you've still got something to remind you of the good times with the Guv."
"Oh don't," Alex whimpered, "don't say that. Please. That's all she w-wants! She f-followed us down t-to London and moved in o-opposite simply to have a g-go at getting Gene b-back! And she knows…she knows I'm pregnant…she's done this t-to make my life h-hell!"
Ray stroked her back as Alex shook slightly. Swallowing uncomfortably, Ray took her hand and squeezed it.
"Screw her," he spat, earning a small chuckle out of Alex, "screw the Guv. Think about you. And the baby. Let him come back ter you and you can make all the decisions. Decide what you want, because you're more important."
Alex nodded tearfully, clutching Ray's hand.
"So…how far along is Baby Guv or Mini Posh-Knickers?" Ray smirked, laughing as he got a giggle out of Alex. She wiped her eyes and nudged him with her elbow.
"Oh God, not far at all," Alex sniffed, calming down, "only about two or three weeks. Going to be an Easter baby by the looks of things, making its appearance around April. I only became suspicious about a week ago and found out positively a couple of days ago. So I don't really want anyone to know yet."
"Does the Guv know?" Ray asked. Alex nodded.
"Yes. I told him the other day. I…I thought he'd be angry but…he was okay about it. He was looking forward to becoming a dad…"
"Well you make the decisions now. It's up to you how yer play it now that he's buggered it up."
Alex smiled. "Since when did you become my great protector?"
Ray smiled back. "Since the Guv started acting like a dickhead. You need someone ter keep you off the loony path, Drake."
Alex spluttered. "Bastard."
"Fruitcake. Now c'mon, off ter bed with yer. We both need ter show our faces in the office tomorrow since Laghari's been arrested. You goin' ter be up to it?"
Alex swallowed, her heart hammering. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "You try and stop me. And if I run into Gene Hunt, all the better for me and all the worse for him."
Ray smiled at her. "That's the ticket."
-xx-
Bright. It was too bright. Way too bright. And since when was it okay for birds to start cheeping away at eight o'clock in the fucking morning? Didn't they have any bloody respect?
Gene groaned as he turned over in bed, his head feeling like a bowling ball. Someone was also doing a tap dance solo in there. His eyes felt groggy. Shit, he must have really drunk a lot last night. Normally his hangovers weren't this bad.
Seeking the warmth of Bolly, he spooned into her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She snuggled into him, moaning softly. Bolly was not going to be impressed with him when she woke up. Not at all. Leaning in to kiss her, Gene opened his eyes stiffly and then wished to the high heavens that he hadn't.
It felt like someone had tied a knot forcefully in his stomach. He felt sick and as if he was going to pass out, and that was not from the fact that he had drunk an excessive amount of alcohol last night. No, that was due to the fact that blonde hair was splayed out on the pillow next to him and the woman sleeping in his bed was not his Bolly. It was Diana.
"FUCK!" Gene yelled, sitting up abruptly and not caring that his head weighed enough to flop back down on the pillows again. Diana stirred at the noise, sitting up and frowning as she yawned.
"FUCK!" Gene seethed, shooting out of bed and staring at Diana in shock and disgust. "FUCKING HELL!"
"Good morning to you too, Gene darling," Diana said sickeningly, giving him a wink that was certainly not returned.
"You better have an explanation for this," Gene rumbled, "what the shitting hell are you doin' in my bastard bed?"
Diana raised an eyebrow. "Gene poppet, don't act all innocent. You know what happened last night."
Gene racked his brain. Blurred memories were buzzing around randomly. He couldn't remember a full, consecutive set of events. Panicking, Gene suddenly realised that Alex wasn't with him. Where was she? What happened? Was she okay?
It was as if a light bulb had been switched on in Gene's head. He saw his Bolly storm into the room. Her horrified face. Her heartbroken expression. Her tears as she ran out of the room. And then it all went black as he fell off the bed.
Gene felt as if his world was crashing down. No. No way. Alex couldn't have walked in on him with Diana. It would have been too horrible. Their relationship…their baby…Gene would have lost everything. After this, he would have certainly lost the woman he loved dearly.
"You bitch," he snarled at Diana, grabbing his clothes, "get out of my house now! You just couldn't leave us alone, could yer? If I lose Alex over this…you don't even want ter know what I'll do…"
Diana huffed, grabbing her clothes moodily. "Don't blame me, darling!" she spat. "You were the one that couldn't keep it in yer pants! You were the one that left Alex at that club dressed like a complete whore. So it's not my fault, baby. Just remember where I am if yer come ter your senses and want round two!"
"BITCH!" Gene roared as Diana slammed the bedroom door, seeing herself out. Gene put his head in his hands, sitting down on his bed and breathing deeply. Shit. How on Earth was he going to fix things with Alex? He loved her. He bloody loved that fruitcake woman. And now everything was ruined.
A lone tear slid down Gene's cheek and he did nothing to stop it. Alex's heartbroken face kept swimming in his mind. Scrabbling for the phone, Gene dialled her flat's number desperately. If she wasn't here, she had to be there. Where else could she be? Was she even okay? He'd left her to walk the streets in her prostitute outfit that could easily pass as sexy underwear. All sorts of nutters stalked the alleyways of London in the dark of the night. Anything could have happened to her. She had to be in her flat. She had to be okay.
The phone dialled for what seemed an age, and then went to voicemail. Gene's heart sank as the tone beeped.
"Alex…it's me," Gene croaked gruffly, "please…please call me back when yer get this, sweetheart. I need ter know yer safe. Please Alex. I'm sorry. I know yer must hate me, but I need to talk to you. Please. I love you."
Putting the phone down, Gene's heart felt like it was being ripped in a million different directions. Staring determinedly at the wall, he unashamedly put his head in his hands and let the tears flow.
Wiping his eyes after about ten minutes, Gene began to try and at least make himself presentable for work. He had no idea what had happened with the case last night. Did they catch Laghari? Had he been arrested? Gene felt like an utterly crap DCI, leaving his team undercover as he went off pissed with his ex-wife. Leaving Alex undercover. Alex. The woman he loved.
Gene knew that driving the Quattro to the station probably wasn't a clever idea but he didn't care. It had just gone nine o'clock and Gene's last hope of believing Alex was okay was resting on her being in CID. If she wasn't there…she was either ignoring him at the flat or something had happened to her. Gene couldn't even bear to think about the latter.
Striding into CID and ignoring his thumping headache, Gene pushed open the double doors. The officers looked up at him, their faces confused.
Gene scowled at them all and then his heart stopped as he saw Alex's empty desk. He felt sick.
"Shaz, where's Lady Bolls?" Gene ordered, trying not to sound worried. Shaz frowned.
"Well…ain't she normally with you, Guv?" she said in confusion.
"Well she's obviously not, is she?" Gene snapped. "So where the bloody hell has she got to?"
"Not come in yet," Shaz sighed, "neither has Ray."
Gene clenched his fists in panic. Gulping, he turned round at the sound of Chris' voice.
"Where were you last night, Guv?" he asked nervously. Gene looked furious.
"Never you fucking mind," he spat, "did you dickheads catch Laghari?"
Chris looked disheartened. "Yeah. Yeah we did, actually. He's in the cells. Tried ter sell me, Terry and Poirot the drugs so we arrested him. Then we went home. Ma'am was waiting for you."
Gene felt awful. No. This couldn't be happening.
"We 'ave found something though," Chris said brightly, "Laghari's brother has been over here for some time, and he was the dealer that provided the drugs for Oliver Sarouche, Rick Gordon and that lot. Yer know, the rohypnol drugs that were used on those women and the boss."
Gene swallowed. He remembered that case all too well. Another time where he had failed Alex.
"So Asif Laghari is bein' traced," Chris continued, "Terry and Poirot 'ave just gone ter where he could be."
"Good," Gene muttered. Hearing about this from Chris made the Manc Lion feel, if possible, even worse. He was the DCI of Fenchurch. He should have been there doing the arrests and making these connections, not hearing about it through a DC the next morning whilst he was nursing a hangover.
"One more thing," Shaz piped up, "nothing to do with Laghari though, sir. It's about that number that stalked Ma'am a few days back."
Gene snapped round to face Shaz, his attention fully on the young WPC. "Well?"
"DCI Waltham tried the best 'e could, but he couldn't trace the number," Shaz revealed in disappointment, "apparently the caller had blocked their number from being traced. He got his whole team on and it and everything apparently. But nothing."
Gene nodded grouchily. "Fine," he muttered. He sighed, his teeth beginning to chatter as the fear of what could have happened to Alex bubbled over. "Shaz, ring DI Drake's old flat at Luigi's. Keep ringing until she answers."
Shaz looked shocked. "Her old flat? But Guv, what's happened? Why's she there?"
"JUST DO IT!" Gene shouted as Shaz jumped.
"Guv!" Chris interjected.
"Not now, Christopher!" Gene barked, striding towards his office.
"No, it's just Shaz don't need ter do that! Ma'am is just walking up the corridor. I can see 'er coming. With…with…with Ray."
The CID officers froze, all the men gawping at Gene and the approaching figures of their two DIs and back. They all looked at each other in confusion and Shaz looked completely aghast.
Ray and Alex opened the double doors and were greeted with the shocked silence. This didn't look good. No-one apart from Gene, Alex and Ray knew that Gene had cheated on Alex and she had walked out. All they saw was Gene panicking because he had no idea where his lover was, and then her walking in with Ray Carling.
Alex's heart felt like it was breaking as soon as she saw Gene. All she wanted to do was collapse in his arms and have him tell her that it was all going to be okay and that Diana meant nothing. But he'd hurt her. He'd really, really hurt her. Dressed simply in leggings, light shoes and an oversized jumper, Alex looked extremely vulnerable. Gene didn't fail to notice how red her eyes were.
Or the purple bruise on her cheek.
Gene felt disgusted in himself. Something had happened to Alex last night, and he wasn't there. Alex whimpered, trying to remain in control.
Sensing Alex was close to breaking, Ray grabbed her hand and squeezed it supportively.
This was a gesture that did not go unnoticed by the team. Or by the Guv.
"You bastard," he growled dangerously, a rumbling edge of a threatening tone slithering through his lips, "you treacherous, back-stabbing, deceiving fucking bastard."
"Now you listen 'ere Guv," Ray snarled, pushing Alex behind him protectively.
"SHE'S UPSET!" Gene roared furiously, kicking Shaz's desk in rage as the WPC darted away from it. "SHE'S VULNERABLE, AND YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE! YOU SHAGGED HER! YOU SHAGGED MY BIRD!"
"I'm not the one shagging around, Gene!" Ray sneered back at him as the other officers looked on in horror at the scene unfolding before their very eyes. "Do you know what happened last night? Do yer? Do yer? Do you know what happened to Alex when you pissed off to fuck your ex-wife?"
Shaz cried out in shock, her hands over her mouth. The other male officers in the room gasped. Tears escaped Alex's eyes.
"A bloke got 'er," Ray seethed, "he was all set ter rape her. And you weren't there. You weren't there to save her. To comfort her. To protect her. You weren't even there ter take her home."
"But you were," Gene rumbled scarily, "you took full advantage of that fact! BASTARD!"
It was like watching two raging wild animals attack each other. Fists were flying as Gene lunged at Ray, the two of them laying into each other like a fight to the death. Gene flung Ray over Alex's desk, showering CID with its contents as Alex screamed for them to stop and Chris, Bammo and the other officers tried desperately to break it up. Shaz ran round to Alex and flung her arms around her, backing off from the men.
It took Viv and some uniformed officers to join in to eventually manage to stop the fight. Three men each were restraining Gene and Ray, their faces caked in blood and cuts. They stared at each other with fury in their eyes, breathing heavily. It was like brother on brother. Their friendship had cracked.
Finally, when the air had calmed, a stunned silence washed over the station. Ray shook the officers off as he stormed out of CID angrily. Gene did the same, storming into his office and slamming the door thuggishly. All of the officers stared at Alex.
She wiped her eyes, knowing that she had to talk to Gene. But after seeing how violently and brutally he had just treated Ray, her saviour, her friend, she was even more determined and sure about her decision. Alex threw open the door to Gene's office, and then slammed it behind her. She closed the blinds hastily.
Gene looked up. He knew he owed her an apology. Hell, he owed her a grovelling apology. He loved her, and had betrayed her. But now she'd betrayed him.
"I didn't sleep with Ray."
Gene stared at her. What?
"Ray was there for me because you weren't," Alex said sadly, "we didn't do anything. He was a friend. How could you, Gene?"
Gene stood up and tried to approach Alex, but she backed off. Gene's heart sank.
"Alex, I am so, so sorry," he said sincerely, "when I woke up, I felt like my world had ended. I thought I'd lost you forever because I made a stupid, stupid mistake. I was pissed, Bolls –"
"That's no excuse."
"I know, sweetheart, I know. You are my whole world and the last thing I want ter do is hurt yer. Christ…that bruise…I could 'ave stopped that. I'll never forgive meself, Bolly. Never. And as for Diana…I don't love her, Alex. I chucked her out as soon as I realised she wasn't you. God, I was so worried about yer. I couldn't believe what I'd done. I still can't. Bolls? Bolls, say something."
Tears streamed down Alex's face as she heaved with sobs. Gene tried to embrace her, but she pushed his arms away and detached herself from his body, backing up against the door.
"I'm pregnant with your baby," she wept, "and you sleep with your ex-wife. I…I can't do this, Gene."
Gene's heart stopped. His stomach felt like ice. "Can't do what, Bolly? Please…please…"
"I need a stable relationship," Alex cried, "I've been through enough shit with my ex-husband. He cheated on me too. He slept with my best friend when I was five months pregnant with Molly. I f-forgave him because I l-loved him and I n-n-needed him. But then he did it ag-g-gain, when Molly was about six months old. Then he left me. I can't do that again, I just can't! Then…I had another long-term relationship when Molly was about seven or eight. And he…he…he hit me. Pushed me down the stairs. I…put up with it until he hit Molly. Then I got rid of him, but it still crushed me. And then I came here and I thought I really liked Oliver…and he tried to rape and murder me…and now you…you…it just seems like everyone I love can never…can never love me back!"
Gene's heart physically shattered as Alex uttered those words. He looked at her poor, vulnerable, heartbroken little face and gathered her into his arms, kissing her head and burying his face in her hair. Tears trickled down from his eyes.
"I do love you, Alex," Gene whispered, "I'm sorry…I'm so, so, so fucking sorry…"
"No," Alex pulled back, "I'm tired of hearing 'sorry'. I really love you, Gene, but I can't do this. It's not good for me…or our baby. I need to focus on myself and our child. I can't have this heartbreak."
"What are you sayin', Bolls?" Gene stuttered.
Alex took a deep breath. "I'm saying that I want a clean break, Gene. I want to end this. You can see your child on our agreed days. But I can't…I can't handle being with you anymore. Please…for the sake of our child…let's just end it and…part on good terms."
Gene froze, his eyes shining with hurt. His heart was crushed. He swallowed. "If that's what you want, Alex," he whispered.
Alex nodded slowly and sadly. Tentatively, she cupped Gene's cheek and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I did really love you, you know," she smiled weakly, "but…its for the best. I'll have my stuff out of your house by this evening."
Gene felt empty as Alex left the room. Sitting down slowly on his chair, the world continued to spin around him. But Gene Hunt no longer felt part of it.
A/N2: :'( :'( poor Gene! I know its angst-y and sad at the moment, but if you trust me you'll bear with it :D it won't be sad forever, I promise! Please let me know what you think :D x