Disclaimer: As usual I can claim no ownership whatsoever to the fantastic Ashes to Ashes, I merely hope to entertain... oh and fill the long week before series 3 starts!!!

Okay this story follows on from the end of series 2 so plenty of spoilers, particularly for 2:8.

I promised myself I would get this done before the new (and last, sob) series started, which I did so, go me! I needed something to keep me going since the cliff-hanger they left us with, and am very glad the wait is nearly over! By the way if anyone's interested, all the chapter titles come from 80s songs. I may have used a bit of creative license but, eh, its fanfiction, so you're allowed!

Anyway, hope you enjoy, and I would love to hear what you think! Xxx

Tainted Love

Can't get used to losing you

It had been two months since Operation Rose and the shooting. Alex had stayed in her fake 2008 for only a couple of minutes, before waking up again in another hospital bed, this time in 1982. The visions of Gene calling her name had successfully roused her from the coma.

She had fled her hospital room, surrounded by images of her DCI on screens and machines, all shouting out to her. Alex struggled down the corridor looking for Molly, but her daughter was no-where to be found. Neither was her surgeon or doctor. Pushing her way through a set of double doors, Alex hurried past more nurses and porters; no-one was paying any attention to her.

Calling out to her daughter, many of the people began to notice her. They spoke in slow and distorted voices.

"She seems to be slipping away..."

"Dr Gerard said this could happen..."

"Her poor kid though..."

"It's amazing she even made it to the hospital, let alone through such risky surgery..."

"Anyway, let's hope she's gone to a better place..."

Stumbling through yet another door she found herself in a room with a single bed. As soon as Alex had stepped into the space, the light went out.

Whispering Gene's name, she managed to find the bed in the darkness and collapsed onto it, tears streaming down her cheeks. Alex could hear his voice echoing inside her head.

Suddenly the room was bright again; blindingly bright. Blinking, she opened her eyes and looked around. 1982. She was back in 1982.

As the impact of the situation hit her, Alex began to cry, being too weak to hold back the tears. She managed to raise her arm to wipe a tear away, but the pain in her side was so unexpected that it dragged a groan from her lips.

The sound alerted the sleeping figure at her bedside. Turning her head slowly, Alex realised it was the man she most wanted to see right now.

"Gene." She breathed, her throat sore and dry.

"Bols. You're awake." He had sat up at her movements, his head and arms previously having been rested on the edge of her bed, inches away from her motionless hand. Gene looked pale, Alex thought as she studied his face. The dark circles around his eyes suggested he had slept very little, and the creases between his eyebrows showed his worry. But he managed a smile as she blinked, taking him in.

"Gene..." Alex repeated, tears glistening in her hazel eyes. "Are you okay?" Gene almost laughed at that one.

"Me, love? Course. How are you feelin' Bolly?" She looked visibly relieved.

"I'm okay, hurts a bit but..." She trailed off. Gene swallowed nervously, shifting in the plastic hospital chair, resting his forearms on the bedside. He picked at a thread in her blanket as he spoke.

"I am so sorry Bols. Yer no I would never... I mean I know wha' I said, but, I didn't... I couldn't... Oh God, I'm so sorry Bolly." Gene reluctantly met her eyes.

"It's okay, I know you wouldn't. It was an accident, that's all." Her voice was quiet.

It was Gene's turn to sigh in relief.

"I'm jus'... I'm so glad yer back Bols. Thought for a minute there we'd lost you." They lapsed into silence, Gene fiddling with the loose thread to avoid meeting Alex's eyes again. He couldn't bear the hurt he saw there.

"How long's it been?" She asked quietly after a moment. Gene raised his head.

"A week."

Alex was trying to process this information when a nurse came in.

"Oh good love, you're awake; Dr Stevens will be pleased." The woman spoke to Gene. "We're going to run some checks DCI Hunt, just to make sure everything's okay. Should take about an hour, then she needs to rest."

Gene glanced at Alex as the nurse ushered him out of the room and went to summon the doctor.

Finding herself alone, Alex returned to thinking about Molly and the 2008 she had imagined. She thought she understood everything now; the absence of her daughter, as well as the voices, told her that her last chance to get home had vanished. Obviously making it to the hospital hadn't been enough. The surgery had not been enough to save her.

Molly's face flashed before her again and Alex failed to stop a fresh bout of tears from spilling down her cheeks. She couldn't bear the thought of her daughter left alone, abandoned by her mother, the only parent she had. She sobbed and gasped in a breath; the bullet wound in her left side stabbed painfully beneath the secure bandages. Evan, Alex told herself, Evan will take care of her.

Just then the nurse reappeared, followed by the doctor.

"It's alright love, I know it feels confusing and overwhelming now but it'll be fine. You're back where you belong now, that's the main thing..."

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After spending the next five days in hospital, Alex had been released. She was under strict instructions to take it easy, and wasn't allowed back at work for several weeks.

Luigi insisted on delivering food to her door personally, always popping up to check on her whenever he had a free moment. Chris and Shaz had also been wonderful, going to the shops for anything Luigi couldn't supply and joining her for meals occasionally. Even Ray had been round a couple of times, bringing a bottle of wine and the details of his latest conquest. They had shared a glass or two in front of the telly; the silence was a little awkward, but Alex was just glad of the company. Whatever updates she could extract about the cases the team were working on succeeded in making her not feel too out of the loop.

From these various visits, Alex had managed to find out what had happened in the aftermath of Operation Rose. It seemed, despite them not arriving until after the shot had been fired, Ray, Chris and Shaz had assured the new superintendant that Gene had not meant to hit her. The fierce loyalty of the department plus Jeanette's bullet at the scene had fortunately been enough to put the Guv in the clear, eventually.

Ray had reluctantly told her how Gene had barely left her bedside since he had been cleared. When the nurses had kicked him out and sent him home for a shower, a sleep or a change of clothes, someone else from the team had sat with her.

Remembering something Sam Tyler had once said, Gene had demanded that whoever was with Alex talked to her, or had the radio on, desperately hoping that would help her to wake up. Shaz had kept her up to date with the wedding preparations, although she and Chris had agreed to postpone until after Alex got better. Chris himself confided in her his worries for the big day and married life in general, although Alex was unable to offer any good advice as she usually did. Viv had told her about life at the station and the newest arrivals in the cells. Ray, not being a poof like the rest of them, and feeling strange talking to his boss when she was essentially asleep, settled with reading Alex the sports section of the paper.

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Two months after waking up, Alex was finally allowed to return to work. She had nearly driven herself mad being stuck at home all day with nothing to do. The visits from her colleagues had been nice, but they had not been enough to take her mind off the one person who had not come to check on her.

She had scarcely seen her boss since her first day back at home. After picking her up from the hospital and driving her to the flat, Gene had quickly departed, mumbling something about calling if she needed anything. Not that she had called him. He didn't seem to want to be with her for any length of time and Alex didn't yet have sufficient strength to question him about it.

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Shaking thoughts of the past few weeks out of her mind, Alex focused again on the television. She pushed her worries about Gene away and concentrated on the news. Two months was eventually up and Alex was due back at work tomorrow. Trying not to dwell on her relationship with Gene (which she was pretty sure was officially over before it had even started) Alex sipped at her glass of Luigi's house red.

Her fears that working with him would be beyond awkward were interrupted by the phone. Getting up and switching off the television, Alex answered it.

"Drake." The voice on the other end was that of their new Detective Superintendant Brian Watson. Alex had spoken to him a couple of times since she had been released, and he had even called round to meet her. He was mid-fifties with thick gray hair and a moustache. His red cheeks and friendly smile put Alex instantly in mind of a Father Christmas figure, except without the beard. Superintendant Watson seemed nice enough and, as far as she could tell, a far cry from the likes of SuperMac.

"How are you feeling DI Drake?" Brian questioned.

"Fine thank you Sir; ready to get back to work."

"Excellent, I'm glad to hear that Alex. No doubt your team will be pleased to have you back."

"Yes Sir."

"On the subject of the department Alex, I wanted to give you a heads up. We have made the decision to add another detective inspector to CID."

Alex hadn't been expecting this.

"Now I know what you're thinking Alex," Brian went on. "But this is nothing to do with the Operation, or the shooting. We just felt it would be beneficial to everyone to, well, share the workload. The department's been under a lot of pressure and we thought this would be the best solution."

"Of course Sir." Alex answered after a moment. "Another pair of hands will be good for the team."

"DI James Magson is transferring down from Oxford. I think you'll find him a pleasure to work with, and I hope this new arrangement will also help to reduce the pressure on yourself and DCI Hunt." Brian informed her. Alex forced a pleased tone as she responded.

"I look forward to meeting DI Magson, Sir. When is he expected?"

"He's starting tomorrow actually. I know it's not giving you much time to get back into the swing of things but Magson's due late morning. I'd very much appreciate it if you could show him how the Met's finest work, Alex. New city, new colleagues; it's going to be a lot for him to take in so the more help you can give him the better."

"It would be my pleasure, Sir." She replied, trying to sound enthusiastic about the idea.

"Excellent; I knew I could count on you Alex. Anyway, I'll leave you in peace, and it'll be good to have you back tomorrow."

"Thank you Sir." Sighing tiredly as the Superintendant hung up, Alex downed the last of her wine and headed straight for bed.

As she climbed under the red sheets and lay down, images of dull, irritating, middle-aged, unattractive coppers flashed before her eyes. Alex had gone from looking forward to returning to work, although with a slight concern over the proximity she would have to maintain with Gene, to totally dreading the next day, in the space of one phone call.

"Please let him be nice," Alex thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep. "Someone to take my mind off Gene Hunt..."