"It shouldn't be like this!" Alex wanted to shout but the only sound she seemed capable of was a broken sob. Her hands were cramping with the effort of keeping pressure on the wound. The red liquid, rendered viscous by the intense cold, still seeped through her fingers.

"Stay with me… stay with me…"

Gene sat by the victim's head, cradling the young man in his arms. A stabbing, violent, terrible... A policeman who had been trying to do his job. Alex knew with terrible certainty that this was a bitter taste of what was yet to come.

"Guv?"

"I'm here, son."

"I'm sorry I thought… I thought…"

"You've done us proud… hold on… won't be long now."

Blood frothed at the man's lips. The knife had pierced a lung. Tears ran down Alex's face as, in the corner of her vision, something not quite human stepped closer.

"Don't you dare… don't you bloody dare! Bolly where's that ambulance?"

It was a question she couldn't answer. The call had only gone out minutes ago but this was happening faster than she could have possibly imagined. Alex could hear death rattling in his lungs. Within a few seconds she could no longer feel the movement of his chest under her hands.

She sat back on her heels and looked up at Gene. With infinite care he let the young man's head rest on the pavement and closed his eyes. There was nothing else they could do except wait for the ambulance. In the distance, Alex heard the wail of a siren… too late.

She let Gene deal with the paramedics. Sitting on the wet London street she pulled her white leather jacket closer around her shoulders, trying to protect herself against the bitter wind. It didn't help. The chill seemed to have settled into her bones. Christmas Eve and another good man lay dead on the streets.

"I didn't even know his name," she whispered as Gene helped her up. They walked away in silence.

A thin drizzle fell from the sky. No snow… not in this decade. Alex couldn't remember the last white Christmas. The fairytale didn't seem to happen any more.

"You're cold," Gene said.

Alex shook her head wanting nothing more than to forget the last few hours. Yes, she was cold but more than that… her whole body, her mind was numb. Even when Gene wrapped an arm around her shoulders it made no difference. She stopped walking, turning to him in desperation.

"I am not going to die," she stated. "Promise me, Gene?"

He looked down at her with pity in his eyes.

"I can't die!" she screamed. In the distance she heard a bell toll midnight.

She clutched at him, pulling him closer as she found his lips with her own. The kiss was raw, passionate… she didn't need tenderness she just needed… needed to feel something. They both did. Alex let him push her into the dark alley, helped him by pulling up her skirt and wrapping her legs around his hips. She cried out as she felt his warmth within her. Weeping tears for the dead man… for herself… for Molly.

They walked back hand in hand. No one to see them, no one to judge. The sound of voices raised in song drifted through the night. Even though it had been years since she'd last been to a service, Alex still found herself mouthing the words to the familiar hymn.

"It's Christmas Day," she said as they paused outside the church.

"Same as any other day," Gene replied. "Still scum to catch… good men dying."

"Do you want to go in?"

"After what we've just done?"

She took his point.

He walked her to her door but Alex didn't ask him in. She knew he wouldn't accept the invitation. Christmas didn't mean anything to Gene. He was one of the few who chose to work during the holiday season and she doubted that he would even bother to go home. She stood at the window of her flat staring at the police station opposite and, sure enough, the light in Gene's office went on. And Alex knew that tonight, at the very least, he was safe.

She lingered at the window for longer than she should have, looking beyond Fenchurch East… over London and beyond. Alex allowed herself a small smile. Despite the tragedy, there was hope, somewhere in the world children were being born.

New life. Was that possible here?

Alex Drake placed her hand on her stomach and wondered.