Epilogue

It had only been a week or so since leaving hospital but Simon was back on his feet and getting on with life almost as though nothing had ever happened. At first Robin had feared that the recent events would set Simon back after his experiences in 1985 had only just started to fade, but the opposite had happened. No longer haunted by a bespectacled madman with a Speak & Spell, Simon was able to get on with his life, and he appreciated it so much more than he ever had before.

Robin sat at the kitchen table, a peaceful smile resting across his face, watching Simon as he busied himself in the kitchen cooking a surprisingly appetising fry-up for breakfast. As his wounds began to heal so he became more and more outgoing within himself. He had ceased to 'exist' and instead had started living again.

"You know, you've really changed," he said wistfully, "in a good way, I mean. You've taken back your life." he paused. "I'm proud of you, Si."

Simon gave him a quick smile before turning the bacon over in the pan.

"Life's too short," he said, "he might have been insane but one thing I learned from Keats was to appreciate every moment because you never know when you're going to find yourself in the eighties with three broken toes."

Robin smiled again. He watched his boyfriend burning himself on hot toast and swearing profusely, then chewed on his lip.

"I think I understand a little more now" he said quietly as Simon glanced over, "what you went through. I know I wasn't there in the… the eighties with you but helping you find out the truth about Alex and Keats…" he sighed a little, "I feel like I've been a part of it now. Until then it was like you suddenly had this big thing in your life that I wasn't a part of. I didn't know how to help you or reach you. I felt… well, 'left out' isn't the right term, but…"

Simon nodded.

"I think I understand," he said quietly. He turned down the oven hobs that were frying a variety of artery-clogging goodies and sat down beside him. "Believe me, Rob, the whole…. Eighties…. thing, it's really not something to envy or feel like you'd missed out in any way. If I could change one thing in my life, I'd make it so that I never went down to the server room that day, never gone back in time and never gone through all of this. But it did take over my life for a while and I should have been more open with you."

"You were scared," Robin shrugged, "I understand why you didn't want to let me in."

"I still should have tried," Simon cursed himself for not being open with Robin about his experience from the very start. He reached over and held Robin's hand, then looked at him seriously. "I can listen to my music again now without getting flashbacks. I can fall asleep at night without hearing Alex crying out for help. I can pass by electronics shops without feeling terrified that all the computers are going to turn into Speak and Spells. That's thanks to you. You and your support and patience."

Robin gave a warm and genuine smile as Simon leaned forward and kissed him, then got to his feet and went about his business in the kitchen. He knew that there would always be a piece of Simon's life that he'd missed out on sharing but he had a little more insight now. He hoped that Simon's instincts about Alex were right and that she would one day wake up so he could meet her for himself and shake her by the hand to thank her for looking after Simon in an unforgiving decade, but until then he hoped that the eighties could stay right where they belonged - in the past.

Simon, glancing behind him at Robin, smiled to himself as he thought exactly the same thing. He would never forget what he'd been through but he was moving on now. He would always have the wounds to remind him of his time caught up in a grudge match that spanned two dimensions and twenty five years, but that bullet hole stood for the end; the closing of a chapter.

Turning the page brought a lifetime of possibilities and Simon, for one, was in no hurry to discover what they were. He was content to watch the world go by, and with Robin by his side he knew no one could touch him. Back where he belonged, he was happy.

And he hoped Alex was happy too.

Alex woke with a start, her heart racing and her brow covered with beads of sweat. She sat bold upright and panted, trying desperately to get her breath back and gather her thoughts. In the darkness a shard of light from the streetlamp outside hit the Pride & Prejudice poster framed and mounted on her wall. On the floor sat a couple of newspapers paying tribute to a recently deceased comedian while beside them a TV guide spoke of a new Saturday night line up starting that weekend.

She rubbed her forehead and tried to shake the dream that had woken her so suddenly, but it was hard to get it out of her mind.

Beside her a big lump of body shuffled and knocked her almost fully out of bed as it rolled over and sat up.

"Eh? Bols, are you having bad dreams about Malcolm's suit again?" Gene's gruff voice came from the darkness.

Alex glanced around at him, trying to quieten her pulsing heart and brushed her long, highlighted hair from her face.

"No, Gene," she whispered, "just a… a bit of a nightmare about someone we haven't seen in a long time. That's all."

Gene hauled himself upright and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"'Cos if you are," he continued, ignoring her answer, "I can have him back in uniform before you can say 'purple velvet'."

Alex gagged.

"Well, no, Gene, I was not having a bad dream about Malcolm's suit, but I very likely will now, thank you."

Gene secretly still believed Malcolm's suit may have been involved but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"So, what was it then?" he asked, "come on, if you don't tell me I can't work out which bad joke to make to take yer mind off it, can I?"

Alex took a deep breath, She was feeling a little calmer now.

"I'm sorry," she began, "I didn't mean to wake you up, it's just…." she paused and sighed. "I had a dream about DCI Keats, and…" she hesitated. It sounded so stupid. "And Simon."

"Simon?" Gene repeated, "he's the one who owned the shoe shop?"

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Don't be cruel to him, Gene, you remember him."

"I remember his O-phone and his broken toes," shuddered Gene, "No wonder you woke up with such a start. Not the kind of person you want to be dreaming about. End up dreaming about getting squashed by a giant pair of sandals."

"No, actually" Alex shook her head slowly, "actually it was a very moving dream. It felt so real. It6 felt like… Simon was saving me. From Keats. I don't know how…"

"Clobbered him with a pair of Hush Puppies?"

Alex decided to ignore that remark.

"…but he did. I don't know why, Gene, I can't help feeling…" she paused, "that it was true, somehow."

"Bolly, it's been ten years," Gene shook his head, "What are you dreaming about them now for?"

Alex hesitated.

"That's what worries me," she said quietly.

"Come back to bed," Gene told her.

"I'm already in bed."

"Then lay back down and let me get that Shoe-shop-boy out yer head."

As Gene's arms dragged her down and she surrendered to a passionate attempt at helping her over her nightmare she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. On the small TV in the corner a Teletext news page was showing, with the headline "DCI PREVENTS HOSPITAL MURDER" in blocky graphics. She blinked and did a double take, but as she looked for a second time the TV was off and the headline gone.

Alex didn't know what had happened but she couldn't help feeling that something strange had occurred. Still, there would be plenty of time to think about it tomorrow. For now it was night time, and the night meant only one thing as far as Gene was concerned.

"One word of warning though, Guv," Alex began sternly, "mention Malcolm's suit again around bedtime and you will be sleeping on your own, in the Merc."

As she allowed Gene to soothe any lingering worries she thought she caught a whisper on the air.

"Whatever time, whatever life, whatever year, we're supposed to be friends. I've no doubt about that."

Alex closed her eyes for a moment as the whisper ended. It was Simon, she was sure of it. She could hear him very clearly - and she knew then that if the day ever came for her to open her eyes, she had friends waiting on the other side.

The End

I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has read, followed and especially reviewed this fic. Thank you for your patience when I took time off of writing during health issues and my son's newborn days and thank you for following it to the end. Hopefully Simon will stop haunting me now - I swear I've had nightmares about him getting cross with me for not finishing this story!

There is going to be a third and final fic in this sequence that started with Out of the Window and continued in Absolute Beginners, back with Alex and Gene, which I hope to begin writing soon. -x-