Title: "Aftershock"

Fandom: Ashes to Ashes

Genre: Drama/Angst

Pairing: Gene/Alex foreshadowing

Spoilers: Set during and immediately after the events of Series 2, Episode 8.

Rating: T for some language.

Feedback: Please.

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Ashes to Ashes – not even the DVDs. Still waiting for those to be marketed with Region 1 encoding. (sigh!) Rights belong to Kudos, BBC, etc.

Summary: As Alex recovers from her injury, Gene must deal with suspicions about his involvement and the question of whether or not his team – including Alex -- will still be with him.

Author's note: This is my first A2A fanfic. I've not written any fanfiction in a long time, but Ashes to Ashes has inspired me. I know where this story is going, but I'm not entirely sure how long it will take me to get there. I only hope that it's enjoyed. Thanks!

When Alex was a little girl, she would sometimes dream of flying. She loved those dreams. In them, she would just kick off from the ground and float through the air, as if she was swimming. The wind flowed around her, lifting her up and down, and all she had to do was moved her arms to change direction. She could swoop down close to the ground or rise above the treetops. Or simply drift along, watching the clouds.

That wonderful feeling enveloped Alex now. She knew she'd been shot. She'd felt the impact of the bullet, and the icy feeling of shock overpowered her body. Alex heard Gene's voice. Just one word: Bolly. Then she was on the ground, without really understanding how she'd ended up there.

As she lay there, that comforting sensation of weightlessness came over her. Alex felt herself floating, even though she knew that she must still be on the ground. She looked up into Gene's eyes. He seemed upset. Worried. He must be worried about her. That was just silly. Alex knew she was all right. Never better. Yes, Gene had shot her, but he hadn't meant to. Still, he did appear very concerned about her.

She should show him that everything was fine. She'd just get up and then he would stop looking so fretful and scared.

Ray and Chris and Shaz were there. They looked worried, too. Shaz and Chris were talking to her. Alex could hear their voices. They said something about staying with them. That was silly, too. Where would she be going? Of course she was staying with them.

She really needed to stand up and show them she was all right. Especially Gene. He cared about her, no matter what he'd said the night before. He cared. And Alex cared about him, too. She would never have made it without him. And now he was so upset. She could see it in his eyes. She should get up.

But it was so lovely just to float along. Maybe she'd just lie there a bit longer. And maybe she'd just close her eyes for a moment. Just to rest them. Just for a moment…

**********

Shaz's wedding dress was ruined. Blood and dirt covered the skirt, smears of makeup were on the front. Gene looked at the stains and knew that he was the reason for them. Chris and Shaz had fallen to their knees upon seeing Alex lying on the ground, bleeding from the gunshot wound. Chris had stripped off his jacket, applying pressure to staunch the flow of blood. Shaz put her red beret under Alex's head. Ray had immediately radioed for an ambulance.

Gene just stood there. He couldn't think. He couldn't move. Alex was looking at him, her face reflecting the pain and shock from the bullet that he had fired.

"Ma'am!" Shaz's voice cut through the noise of Gene's own heart pounding in his ears. "Alex! Stay with us! An ambulance is on the way. Just stay with us."

Chris followed her lead, but his tone was softer. "Stay with us, Alex," he echoed, without the strength that Shaz had. "Help is coming."

"What happened, Guv?" asked Ray. "Did this bastard over here shoot her?" He nodded toward the man on the ground. Gene still didn't know who he was. "And you shot him?"

Gene tried to form an answer, but the words wouldn't come. Ray seemed to take the silence as a "yes."

The DS paced back and forth. "C'mon, c'mon," he muttered. "What's taking that fucking ambulance so long?"

Alex showed no reaction to them. Her eyes continued to hold Gene's. "Bolly," he whispered, unable to speak louder, willing her to hear him. Then her eyes closed, and he was sure that she was gone. Ray and Chris froze. Shaz put her head down to listen, then felt for a pulse.

"She's still breathing," the young woman said. "Her pulse is, I don't know, erratic. She just passed out." Shaz looked up at her DCI and Gene felt his gaze drawn to her. He expected to see anger and recrimination in her eyes. Instead he saw – compassion. Pity. Concern. And questions.

A siren finally sounded close by, jolting Gene out of his daze. "Jenette," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "Where the fucking hell is Jenette?" He ran in the direction that the Irish woman had escaped, knowing that she was long gone but needing to move.

"Jenette?" Ray followed his DCI. "What's she got to do with this?"

"Everything!" Gene snapped. He holstered his gun. "She was holding a gun on—" He couldn't bring himself to say 'Alex' and especially not 'Bolly.' Both were too personal. He took a deep breath and let it out. He had to turn off his emotions. He had to be DCI Hunt. "She was holding a gun on Drake. She was an accomplice to Operation Rose, right in there with them."

"So Jenette shot Drake?" Ray asked.

Gene paused, then looked Ray in the eye. "No," he answered softly, so that Chris and Shaz couldn't hear.

Realization hit the DS, and Gene watched his expression go from shock to disbelief to, finally, anger. "I was aiming at Jenette," Gene continued. "Drake moved into my line of fire. It was an accident, Ray."

"Accident." Ray repeated, his tone flat, and Gene wasn't sure if the man believed him or not.

The siren grew louder and the flashing lights of the ambulance lit up the courtyard as the vehicle came to a stop Medics jumped out and headed for the two people on the ground. Gene went back over to them. He barked at the young man who hovered over the man Gene had shot. "He's dead! See to her!"

Shaz and Chris moved quickly out of the way as the medics knelt by Alex. Gene couldn't watch. He couldn't bear to see Alex become just another anonymous person the medics worked on. Alex was vibrant, strong, infuriating, mouthy, brilliant, beautiful. She was the one in his life who he had a connection with. Even now.

DCI Hunt took over again. "Shaz. Chris," he called. They came over to him. "Shaz," he said again, "you go with DI Drake to hospital. Keep us informed."

Clearly surprised, Shaz asked, "Don't you want to go, Guv?"

He didn't reply to the question. Gene merely said, "I have to get back to Fenchurch East and see about the booking of Carnegie and his thugs. And I need to report to the Chief Super about -- everything."

"Yes, Guv," Shaz said, nodding yet still managing to convey her disagreement with his decision. "I'll need some clothes," she added, once again drawing Gene's attention to the ruined wedding dress.

"I'll bring you some," Chris offered. "Soon as I can."

"You can do that after we deal with things here," Gene said. "Then you'll need to get right back to the station." His gaze drifted back to where Alex lay. An oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth and an IV was inserted into her arm. The medics were preparing to move her to a gurney. Almost against his will, he walked over to them. Alex was deathly pale, and Gene had to fight the urge to touch her. "What's – how is –" He couldn't seem to finish a sentence.

One of the medics looked up. "We'll get her to hospital," he said. "They'll try to get her stabilized. Other than that, we can't say." Gene nodded and stepped back as Alex was placed on the gurney. He was vaguely aware of someone nearby and then felt a gentle hand on his arm. Turning his head, he saw Shaz looking at him with the same sadness as earlier.

"I'll call as soon as I know something, Guv," she said softly. She then looked back at Chris before climbing into the ambulance.

Gene, Ray, and Chris watched the vehicle drive away, siren echoing off the surrounding buildings. As Gene turned, he caught sight of the blood-stained pavement they'd just left. Alex's blood. It shook him to see just how much she'd lost. The bullet must have gone through. Taking a deep breath, Gene turned back to the other men. "Right," he said, once again slipping on the mantle of DCI Hunt, counting on it to get him through the rest of the day. "We need to have the morgue pick up our unknown friend here. Ray, let's check for some ID. Chris, go get a plod to come stay with him so we can get back to the station."

Chris ran back toward King Douglas. Ray stayed on his feet, taking out a cigarette and lighting up. Gene realized that the DS had said nothing for several minutes. Getting down on one knee, Gene began the search through the stranger's clothes. There was no identification. Only the man's gun and the one he'd taken from Alex were near him, lying on the grass. Gene pocketed both. Finally he stood up to face Ray.

"A'right," he said. "Let's have it."

Ray took one last drag, threw the fag down, and stomped it out. "What happened?" he asked.

"I told you. Jenette had her at gunpoint. I aimed for Jenette, but Alex—" Gene hesitated. "Drake seemed to panic. She pushed Jenette. Jenette fired her gun. I shot back. Drake had moved into my line of fire. She was hit."

"Why was Jenette here?"

"I told you," Gene said tightly. "She was in with Carnegie and his coppers."

"But why would she go after Drake? Why would she have a gun? And—" Ray stopped short.

"What?!" Gene barked. He was sick of being in this place with the smell of gunpowder and blood still hanging in the air.

Ray looked at him. "You threatened to kill Drake. Now I know you didn't mean it. But not everyone knows you as well as me. There's gonna be questions."

There were still other questions even in Ray's eyes. Gene could see that, but he was in no mood to say any more. He was saved from any further discussion as Chris returned with one of the Fenchurch East constables. Briefly giving the PC instructions, Gene then sent Chris to meet Shaz at the hospital with clean clothes. Only then was he finally able to escape the courtyard and get back to being DCI Hunt.