Chapter 1

"So where are they then?" Alex asked as she placed a tray of lattes on Gene's desk.

"In me kecks," Gene said, crossing his feet up on the desk.

"I mean the newbies," Alex told him, pushing his feet of the desk and dropping a couple of bags of cookies in their place, "I thought I might get to say hello before you send them off to casualty with filing cabinet wounds."

Gene sighed and swiped up one of the bags.

"No idea, Bols," he sighed, "no paperwork, no new faces, no dents in me filing cabinet. Last to hear anything around here these days." He brushed it off but Alex could tell it bothered him more than he was admitting.

"I'm sure Fletcher will bring them along soon," Alex told him, "and those -" she swiped the cookies from his hand, "aren't for you."

Gene stared at the empty space in the air before him where a bag of temptation had sat moments earlier and did a double take.

"You putting me on a diet?" he blinked in disbelief, "only I'm on a promise, if you remember, and I need to keep me strength up. Holding you against the wall for five minutes burns up a day's worth of calories, Missus."

"No, I just -" Alex began as the door flew open and Kim breezed through "-ahh, right on cue."

"I thought I heard food," Kim said matter-of-factly.

"Heaven forbid a crumb evades your ten-foot squared gob," Gene scowled, "can't you knock?"

"Not when the door's already open," Kim told him.

"That door was not open."

Kim smiled smugly.

"It was when I got within three feet of it," she told him and Gene's scowl deepened.

"Remember whose name is on that door, Metal Mickey," he said and watched in horror as Alex handed Kim a bag of cookies, "Oi! It's not Tuesday! You don't need that energy!"

"I'm eating for two," Kim told him smugly, smiling at Alex as she opened the bag and whipped out a cookie, "thanks, ma'am."

Gene rolled his eyes and crossed his arms angrily.

"Christ almighty, Stringer, I'm not listening to your stomach moaning twice as loud for the next nine months," he cried, watching Kim's expression darken as she glowered in his direction.

"No," Alex came to her rescue, "you're not. That's what the cookies are here to prevent."

"Two bags?" Kim noticed the second sitting on the desk. She reached for it greedily but Alex slapped her hand away.

"That's not for you," she said and Gene's eyes lit up.

"Looks like I'll be eating for two an' all," he said smugly but to his horror Alex snatched up the bag.

"Nor for you," she said, "three, two, one..."

The door flew open a second time and Robin stumbled through.

"Are there cookies in here?!" he cried, somewhat out of breath from running down the corridor.

"Bolly!" Gene thumped his fist on the desk, "why are you feeding the five thousand and ignoring your poor, starving better half? I'm wasting away here!"

"I'm sure the nice lady on the canteen will be able to whip you up a plate of something green," Alex smiled, somewhat enjoying the amused looks on Robin and Kim's faces as they both tucked into the cookies. She leaned closer to Gene and appeased him with a whisper. "I have five cookies secreted about my person. It's your job to find them later."

Gene froze as his face flushed. He cleared his throat and hastily covered up his groin with a file.

"I'll be right on that investigation, DCI Drake," he spluttered a little.

Kim and Robin each reached for a latte and Kim asked,

"Am I getting any new recruits, Guv?"

"You tell me, Stringer," Gene huffed.

"It's all a bit cloak and dagger, apparently," Alex told her.

"I've got no one new," Robin piped up, "who's expecting newbies?"

"I am," A voice from the doorway made everyone jump. They turned to see a face that had been conspicuous by its absence for the last four weeks.

"Simon!" Kim exclaimed with a smile crossing her face. There was a pang of awkwardness in the back of her mind but that was pushed out the way by how much she'd missed her dear friend, and Robin's broad grin expressed the same response.

It seemed like a lifetime ago that Alex had taken them to one side and explained gently that Simon was on an extended period of leave after a traumatic day chasing a combination of Redlake, Layton and Keats. The news that Simon had taken Keats home had not gone down well. Alex had tried, almost literally, to play devil's advocate and despite her own reservations and fears she explained to them both exactly what Simon had told her; that Keats had beaten the devil and that all that was left were the shards of a broken man who had no recall of the horror he'd caused.

Neither Kim nor Robin had known how to react to the news. Keats had caused both of them nightmares and trauma beyond compare but whilst he and Simon were out of sight it was easier to push the thought to the back of their minds than to face it. They both felt as guilty for not contacting Simon as he had felt about not contacting them but it had been better for all concerned for things to remain that way. Robin and Kim were not ready to accept the situation, full stop. The more time passed, the more used they became to not confronting it and it became easier to pretend it wasn't a thing that was happening. For his part, the more time that passed the harder it was for Simon to think about calling them and talking to them about the situation.

But now Simon was back. Standing in the doorway, it felt like being reunited all over again and Keats was forgotten in an instant. Kim and Robin both moved swiftly towards him as he did to them, meeting in the middle of the room; arms flying in broad, firm hugs.

"You look great," Kim told him, "is that a tan?"

"Sort of," Simon blushed a little.

"You got an ear pierced," Robin said in surprise, pinging it slightly.

"Ouch!" Simon grabbed it, first cursing then laughing as Robin looked guilty and felt stupid.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think..." he apologised.

"Only had it done last week," Simon blushed.

"So do I get to call that your stupid ear thing, or.." Robin teased, recalling Simon's reaction to his eyebrow piecing and Simon laughed.

"Shut up," he shook his head and hugged his friends a little more closely, "God, I missed you two."

"You're only saying that because we've got cookies," said Kim.

"Yeah, too many of them by the looks of it," Simon pulled back a little and studied Kim's bump, "is there anything you two want to tell me?" He waited as Kim and Robin exchanged a broad smile, then he jumped in the air a couple of inches, "Oh my god, yes! I knew it!"

"No you didn't," Kim grinned.

"I did," Simon protested, hugging them again, "oh my god, congratulations, both of you!"

"Ahem," Gene cleared his throat as loudly as he could, "are we chopped liver?"

Simon calmed his hugging a little and looked over their heads at Gene.

"No, but they've got cookies," he said amid playful pushes from his friends.

"So's Bolly but you're not getting access to those," Gene said gruffly and Alex blushed, adjusting her cookie-filled bra a little.

"Simon," she said with a smile, "welcome back." She nodded to him as he gave her a nervous smile, "you're looking well."

Simon's whole demeanour was different, and anyone could see it. As well as his image change he had a new air of confidence and a glow none of them had seen before. Even Robin had never seen Simon exuding such a strong aura of happiness.

"I'm feeling it," Simon told Alex. It was true, he was. For the last 4 weeks he'd been doing a lot of normal things, and that did him more good than anything. No late nights out boozing, no relying on Pizza Hut for sustenance, no running himself ragged and surviving on caffeine and tranquillizers. There had been lazy days in bed, walks to the shops, even a week away in Spain. Trips to the library, nights in front of the TV and lots of good, healthy sex. It was the first time Simon had enjoyed a 'normal' life since the day he arrived in the nineteen nineties and he was thriving on it.

"So where are they then?"

Gene's question threw simon a little.

"Where's what?" he asked and sighed, "not cookies, Gene? Not Lattes? I've only been back five minutes, I'm not doing the bloody latte run already."

"Newbies," Gene raised his eyebrow, "you said you had the newbies," he glanced around, "where are they? Line 'em up. Let's see your technique," he twitched his head toward the filing cabinet. "Go on then, bring in the greenies."

Simon's face changed completely in that one moment. The glow faded to grey and his gaze became troubled. His confidence faded away and his shoulders sank right down.

"Gene," he began. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Well?" Gene demanded.

Simon 's lips pursed for a moment.

"Fletcher says Marci comes under my remit now," he mumbled, "she's doing public relations too but -"

"We're all aware of Nicey Spice and her brand-spanking-new camera film budget," Gene growled, "who else?"

There was a flicker of fear in Simon's eyes which Alex picked up on immediately.

"Simon, what's wrong?" she asked. A shudder passed through her for no apparent reason and she folded her arms nervously.

"Nothing," Simon cleared his throat and tried to regain some height, "nothing's wrong. No, nothing."

"Then stop behaving like Bammo with a stash of water balloons in his pants and kindly tell us what that sweat is doing on yer brow," Gene demanded.

Simon closed his eyes and felt his lungs expand as he breathed in very slowly. This was it. There was no going back now.

"Gene," he whispered.

Gene swallowed.

"You said that already," he said dryly.

Simon nodded, trembling a little.

"It wasn't my doing, Gene."

"Simon?" Kim and Robin stepped back and looked at him anxiously, "exactly what is going on?" Kim demanded.

Simon cleared his throat again.

"Fletcher called. He said..." he flinched, "he got the paperwork. It's all official. It comes from higher up."

Gene leaned forward.

"What does?" he growled.

Simon swallowed.

"My new DI," he stepped back and pulled the door open. Four curious and anxious faces leaned forward and peered through. At first they couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Then a moment later a scared, bespectacled face peered around the frame of the door and a smart, suited body followed. The man stood in the doorway with a look of absolute fear on his face, but that was nothing compared to the terror that four individual hearts felt in the same instant.

"Hello," the man whispered, "M-my name is James."

Gene didn't even remember getting to his feet. He didn't remember stepping out from behind his desk. He didn't remember saying the words that left his mouth.

"We all know very well who you are."

But he did remember every ounce of strength in his body lining up behind the fist that he aimed in Simon's direction, striking him under the chin and forcing his whole body back against the filing cabinet with a satisfying 'oof' noise.

"Gene, no!" Alex cried, grabbing at him before he could throw another punch at Simon or launch one at James.

"That pile of shit raped my wife," Gene cried in a tone none of them had ever heard him use before, "he raped your best friend! He chained yer fucking ex up and battered him to shreds! And you have the bleedin' gall to bring that bespectacled Beelzebub into my office?"

"Gene, stop!" Alex cried as Simonn ducked away from a second blow.

"Gene, no, he's changed!" Simon cried but the sight of Kim and Robin's faces hit him harder than Gene's fist ever could. He felt a terrible sense of shame in the pit of his stomach as Kim turned as white as the bedsheets he and James had been rolling around in the night before.

"Simon," her voice was hollow and lifeless, "why? Simon... how could you do this?"

"Kim," Simon shook his head, glancing at a terrified James, "he's... he's human... Kim, you've seen it too, you've seen him be human... that's him now, he's James he's... he's human..."

"No," Robin's head jerked from side to side as he stepped backwards, edging closer to the doorway, "N-no, you can't... can't be doing this...?" his line of sight flitted to James as he spoke. Even though the look behind those eyes was so different to the evil gaze they'd all been caught up in at some point the face that framed them was the same one which belonged to the man who'd slashed his chest to shreds, who had chained him up and taunted him, who had looked right inside his mind and stolen truths from deep inside of it. The most violent bought of nausea he'd ever felt washed up inside of him as he relived every last moment of fear and terror he'd suffered at the hands of Keats. All those whispered words of bile; all those threats, all the pain... Recalling the violence, the terror, the torture – it swept up inside him and drove his feet to pound against the ground and out of Gene's office, past James who stepped back with tears in his eyes.

"What... what did he do?" James whispered, shaking his head, "...what... did I do?"

"Robin!" Simon cried as he heard violent sobbing from outside the office. The sound broke his heart and smashed his conscience to pieces as he stumbled towards the doorway, still reeling from Gene's punch.

"You're no son of mine!" Gene's angry voice barked after him as he heard Alex crying,

"I can't believe you would do this, Simon."

"You've lost the plot," Kim's distraught voice whispered as she shook her head.

"Robin? What's -" Jake jumped up from his desk at the sight of Robin fleeing in distress and peered around to see what was going on, "What's happened to Ro-" he began as he trotted towards the door of Gene's office. As he stepped closer to James he stared at him, shuffling sideways so as not to let him escape from his vision as he realised exactly who he was staring at and anger boiled up inside of him. Memories of the explosions the previous year and their horrible fallout came back to him. He recalled in that instant so much suffering; losing a dear friend, watching his friends falling apart and all the times that Robin had explained to him how Keats's influence had near-destroyed them all over the last few years. Staring into those eyes, the ones hiding behind little squares of glass, drew a fury inside if Jake like never before. "What -"

Simon tried to push past him, in hot pursuit of Robin.

"Rob -"

Jake glared at Simon.

"Is he with you?" he demanded, "did you bring him?"

"What? Me?" Simon wasn't sure what to say, "Yes... no... it wasn't my idea -"

Jake saw red. The sound of Robin's sobs could still be heard even though he was quite a distance away by now and Jake wasn't going to leave it at that.

"You bastard," he hissed, and despite his usual hatred for violence he made a fist and managed to punch Simon in the cheekbone which, in all honesty, hurt him more than it hurt Simon but he needed to express his hatred somehow.

"Good man," Gene's words hurt Simon more than the punch. So much guilt swelled up inside of Simon, he didn't know what to do first or what to do for the best.

"It wasn't me, it really wasn't," he whispered as he saw James run away, terrified of what was going to happen to him, "James, wait!"

"I knew it!" James paused for a moment and turned round, "I knew this was going to happen!" a look of sheer panic crossed his face, "what did I do to them, Simon? What have I done to these people?" He stumbled backwards, not planning to wait around for an answer, then turned and raced down a corridor.

"That's it, run away," Gene spat, "don't let the world fuck you in yer arse on the way out. Course, you'd probably like that."

Simon shot gene a withering look and shook his head.

"Oh just leave it for fuck's sake," he scowled, then turned and ran down the corridor, stalling at the end. He didn't know where either James or Robin had gone, nor which to go after first, let alone how to fix the crack he'd caused across the world not five minutes ago. What he did know was that he had to do something because the man he'd driven down the road to work with that morning was not the same one that had caused pain and grief to those around him. In fact, the one behind those atrocities wasn't a man at all. He needed to do more than tell them this. He needed to show them, and to show James that he could leave the monster behind metaphorically as much as physically. He closed his eyes and took a very deep breath. Where to begin? It all felt so hard, so heavy, impossible even. He felt like he was choking on thin air.

He could hear something. He held his breath to have a clearer listen. It sounded like retching; horrible, pained retching and the most intense sobbing he'd heard in his life. His heart ached and shattered all over again.

"Rob," he whispered.

That's where he needed to start. Robin would be the first. And then, one by one, he would set his friends straight. Because James as as much a part of Fenchurch East now as any one of them. And Simon wasn't going to let any one of them down, not his old friends nor his new love. That was a promise he made as much to himself as to anyone else.