Epilogue

"You've missed a bit."

As Gene turned to Alex with a suitably annoyed glare she couldn't hold back her giggles.

"There's enough of this paint left to tip a pot over that pretty bonce of yours, you know," he warned her.

"I'm sorry, Gene, sorry, sorry," Alex backed away as he came towards her, paintbrush held high, "It's just, I've been sitting on that comment for the last few weeks."

"You'll be sitting on something else in a minute," Gene mumbled.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Alex asked cheekily which made Gene turn around quickly. That was the closest to a sexual comment that Alex had made and was most definitely progress. He tried to flip his paint brush in the air and catch it again but succeeded only in sending it bounding behind the bed. With an embarrassed mumble he scooted down to pick it up and got back to work.

"Bollocks," he mumbled.

Alex tried not to smile.

"You've missed another bit," she told him and found herself with a purple line painted across her nose. "You cheeky bastard!"

"At least it's not puce," he said as he turned back to the walls.

"Still missed a bit."

"One more false accusation and I'll go back to kipping on Batman's couch," Gene threatened, "I get free cake over there an' all."

"Yeah, I can see them all around your middle," Alex teased.

"What's put you in such a bloody awkward, over-excited mood?" Gene demanded, looking at her with a mix of confusion and amusement. She smiled and put down her roller.

"Oh, I don't know," she began walking closer with a smile, "Last session… you back home… brand new month about to begin. New start."

"New start for me to park me arse on Batman's sofa," Gene threatened as Alex wiped a dollop of paint on his cheek.

"You can't, he's got Simon on there now," Alex smirked.

"Shoebury will shift his arse if I tell him to."

"He's just come out of hospital!"

"I seem to remember you going back to work five minutes after you woke from a coma," Gene pointed out.

"Only because you slapped me awake and dragged me to the Quattro!"

"A minor detail."

Alex smiled wistfully as she picked up a rag and began to clean up her nose and Gene's cheek.

"Did you ever think back then that fifteen years on we'd be standing here, painting our bedroom together?" she wondered out loud.

"No, I thought I'd have servants to do it for me by now," Gene told her, "why haven't I won the sodding lottery yet?"

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Well if I'd known I was going to end up going back in time I'd have memorised the numbers when the damned thing first started," she told him.

Gene stepped back and admired the walls.

"So, Bolly," he bean, "in yer expert opinion how many bits have I actually missed?"

"None," Alex smiled, "job complete."

They say down together on the dustsheet-covered bed and stared at the newly painted walls. The colour was warm and inviting, the new tone different and exciting.

It really felt like a new beginning for them both, as well as for the station. The majority of building work had completed by now and while there was still a lot of painting and decorating to be done things were returning to normal. Simon's health had been coming on in leaps and bounds, and his triumphant release from hospital had seen him welcomed to Robin's by six cakes which he was fairly sure he was never going to eat his way through. Robin was glad of the company, especially as Simon was someone he was so close to. He had someone to really talk to, rather than just someone to sit on the couch, eating his cakes, insulting him, farting and snoring.

The Kim situation was still one that caused them a great deal of anxiety. Since the last message that she'd left on Gene's answerphone no one had heard from her or seen her and although both Robin and Alex had made repeated attempts to contact her she managed to evade them every time. The more obvious it became that Kim had been completely swallowed up by the dark side, the more Alex realised how much Kim meant to her. Every time she thought about the sacrifice that Kim had made she felt physically ill. Kim wasn't the first person to take drastic action to get to Gene's world but she was the only one who had done it for a selfless reason and now she'd been lost to the West forever.

She tried to push those thoughts from her mind as she leaned against Gene's shoulder. This was a night to focus on the good, the positives – progress. The last four months had been a long and difficult rollercoaster and one that it seemed at times they could never recover from. But now she felt stronger than she had in a very long time and she wasn't the only one.

Gene was standing strong and tall once again with Fenchurch East securely under his rule, Jake had learned to open up and let people into his life, Marci had realised how precious every moment was and had found a new determination to live life to the full and Shaz had finally found a reason to move on from the grief that had never truly left her.

There was only one person who was still struggling. Robin. Alex's heart sank again as she thought about him, so lost and devastated without Kim. Her hurtful words when last he saw her had left his heart scarred and he couldn't put it behind him. He'd thought it was bad enough being apart from her when they were in different worlds. Now they were in the same one their separation was all the more obvious.

"Bolly."

"Hmm?" Alex lifted her head to look at Gene, pulled from her thoughts by his voice.

"I think we need a bottle of yer namesake to celebrate the astoundingly brilliant repainting of the walls that the Gene Genie has been responsible for today," Gene told her.

Alex stared at Gene, the face that she'd looked upon every day for the last sixteen… seventeen years and couldn't imagine how she'd survived without him there for the weeks they'd spent apart. It felt like a very surreal nightmare now. It didn't seem real any more.

She reached forward and slipped her paint-covered hand around his, the warmth of the connection giving her the sense of safety and security that she'd lost that night back in May. There was a feeling running through her body, a buzz, a tingling that settled around her lower quarters and made her pulse rise with anticipation. It had been a long time since she'd felt that urge, a really long time. Her face felt hot as she slowly flicked her tongue around her lips and drew in a deep breath for courage.

"Actually," she said with quiet determination, "I can think of a better way to celebrate."

He looked her in the eye. The glint that stared back couldn't have been more unexpected. There had been a time that Gene didn't think he would ever see it again.

Lying her down amongst the dust sheets, Gene did all that he could to help push the bad memories far from Alex's mind and show her that she was safe with him, that she would always be safe with him, and that nothing – not even Keats at his most darkly powerful – could come between them.

Individually, together… a strong team had overcome its toughest challenge yet. They were truly unbeatable. Even the Devil couldn't break them apart. Fenchurch East had won the battle.

Now it was time to win the war.

The End

~xXx~

A/N: So this was the 13th main fic in this series – How utterly weird is that? There were many times that I didn't think I was going to get this one finished lately things have been tough, I've been extremely depressed and my health had been really crappy. But with a burst of inspiration in the last week, here it is, and despite struggling to get the inspiration to write I actually really like how this turned out – a story getting more positive as it goes along is not normal for me! :D

I totally appreciate all of your support through the slog of this fic, thank you for reading and so much gratitude for those who took the time to review; Jessie and Charlotte especially, you've both kept me excited about writing and I love chatting to you both! Thank you for helping to keep me going lately. With special thanks to MrsJackHarkness, Purple Kerrycat, Sillivan, 80s Babe, Kellie, sash queen of the jungle and everyone who I've spoken to by PM and on Tumblr for your reviews and encouragement, as well as PEOPLE WHO WON'T BE READING IT UNTIL THIS WEEK BUT WHO HAVE BEEN SENDING ME BLOODY EVAN AND BEARDS AND GEOFF AND HORRIBLE STUFF TO GIVE ME NIGHTMARES!

The next fic begins tomorrow and is going to be a short one, set on the day of the death of Princess Diana. I know many of you reading are too young to remember but it's a day forever engrained into my memory. Don't be offended by Gene's array of tasteless jokes… Also, would anyone be interested if I did a Christmas fic? I'm not sure whether to or not this year.

Finally, as we approach Christmas, here is your friendly reminder that Gene will be shoving an apple up the turkey's arse 15 days from now :P