The Bonus Chapter

Her eyes opened.

There was music. She recognised the song. She hadn't heard it in many years though. The music seemed to swim around her, almost as though it hung in the air like dust. Her vision was hazy and her surroundings were unfamiliar, so much so that for several moments she couldn't make any sense of them at all. In fact, she couldn't make much sense of anything.

What exactly happened?

Then she remembered it; the bullet heading towards her. The bullet fired from a gun held by the man she never thought that she would see again after that one wild night in Manchester.

~X~

She'd heard the sound of the impact and the screech of the brakes right from the hotel room. She'd been about to step into the shower but had just gone to fetch her shoes from the room so that she wasn't walking around the bathroom with bare feet picking up verrucas and whatnot. The commotion outside brought her to the window and as soon as she saw a crowd gathering around a body, she knew. From everything the stranger had been telling her, she knew.

She quickly threw her clothes back on and tore down the staircase, not able to waste the time she'd have to wait for the lift to arrive. Her heart was thumping away, pounding like a drum. She could almost hear it ringing in her ears. She flew out of the hotel lobby and into the street beyond but the crowd were suddenly dispersing and looking confused.

"Where is he?" she'd cried, half her clothing hanging from her body and pulled on incorrectly, "where's the man who was lying here?"

"Gone," a rather confused and heavy trucker told her.

Alex scratched angrily at her head as though she had the worst infestation of lice the world had ever seen. Her head wasn't even itchy but she couldn't understand what was going on and it gave her fingers a distraction of epic proportions.

"What do you mean he's gone?" she cried, "he was lying in the middle of the road, he was in no fit state to get up and –"

"He didn't get up," the trucker told her, shoving his hand down the back of his jeans to scratch at his arse-cleavage, "he just – vanished."

"What?" her voice became more distressed with every moment that passed and her eyes moved from the trucker to the road where a large pool of red liquid was beginning to dry. Still there was no sign of the man who'd bled it out. "Where did he go? Which direction?"

"You're not listening," the trucker told her, "vanished. Gone. Thin air."

Alex stared, a little open mouthed,. She heard the sirens of an ambulance screaming and heard the mutters of the gathered crowd, wondering what to tell them. The words 'vanished', 'disappeared' and 'into thin air' were heard again and again until finally she could deny them no longer.

As her eyes focused on the road one last time she swallowed hard. It was true. He really had vanished. Gene was gone.

That was the instant she knew for absolute certain that everything he'd told her was true.

~X~

For a year she'd longed to see him again. She spent nights lying awake in bed, thinking about their one night of strange closeness and scorching passion. She spent lonely days going over and over their conversations in her mind. She tried to piece together the truth, both from her memories of him and from Sam Tyler's notes. She wished feverishly that one day Gene would turn up on her doorstep or barge into her office once again. She wanted to know that he was alright; she wanted to see him one more time. They'd shared a very intense night and she hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye. There was no closure. No conclusion. She hated the fact that the loose end was left hanging forever.

Not quite forever, as it turned out.

~X~

She'd never heard of Arthur Layton.

When she received the call and attended the scene outside the Tate Modern she had no idea what she was dealing with. Events unfolded, each bringing more horror and fear to her heart. By the time she waved goodbye to Molly and Evan with a kiss she felt as though she had just lived the worst day of her life and the day had barely started yet.

"Relax, Alex. Just drive."

Her day grew worse.

~X~

Her heart almost stopped dead in her chest the moment Gene stepped out of the shadows.

There was already a bullet in her torso and that hadn't quite done the job but seeing him again had almost managed to finish her off. Despite the agony in her body and the fear racing through her veins there was a wave of absolute ecstasy at the sight of him standing there before her, like a beacon in the darkness that was closing in. She had longed to see his face again, but this time there was something different about him, He seemed to be standing in a haze; it was almost as though he had a glow about him, like some kind of angel.

"It's you," she'd whispered. The pain filled her vision with black spots but they didn't mask his rugged features. She still remembered every inch of his faced. She'd seen it every time she closed her eyes for the last year of her life.

"It's me." Hearing his voice again filled her with a mix of excitement, exhilaration and relief. She had spent so much time worrying about him, unsure if she would ever see him again. But also she felt… warmth. Comfort. She felt safe.

"You never came back."

"No."

She understood why.

"You couldn't, could you?"

She watched as he shook his head.

"I couldn't," he said quietly.

As she questioned him, so much fell into place. Despite the pain that was slowly taking her over and rendering her unable to stay awake much longer she finally made the connections. He already knew her. That much was becoming clear to see.

And if he already knew her –

That meant that she must have been -

Over there.

"Who am I there?" she'd whispered. She wasn't afraid to know the answer.

"You're DCI Alex Drake," his voice shook as he finally told her, "head of emerging narcotics, affiliated with CID at Fenchurch East - and the soon to be Missus Hunt."

"You're here for me," she'd whispered, "aren't you?"

She already knew it.

If she was honest, the truth had dawned a year before. She recalled that one night together. She remembered the way they'd clicked. It was as though he knew her already.

And maybe, on some level, she knew him.

She was ready.

"I'll see you on the other side," he promised as he sent her to the place she would call her home.

Bang.

~X~

Her vision began to clear and she slowly sat up. The music was still playing in the distance. Vienna. Ultravox. She vaguely recalled some annoying incident where some damn novelty record kept it from the top spot. She needed not to think about that. It still made her angry, even now.

As she got to her feet she felt the fur coat around her shoulders tickling her at the neck and her legs felt cold as she started to realise that her skirt was as short as Evan's list of previously owned razors. She couldn't dwell on that; the rest of her surroundings were far more intriguing. She could feel the gentle rocking of the boat beneath her feet as she came to realise she was on the river still but this was not the crusty old barge where she'd spent her last few moments.

She began to weave through the crowd; a scene of utter debauchery. There was champagne flowing, rich food to one side and rich toffs all around her. As Ultravox began to reach a crescendo she stumbled blearily along, crashing into one person after another as she desperately tried to work out where she was and what was happening. What the hell were all those bizarre haircuts for? The insane fashions? Was she in a fancy dress party? Hadn't she just been shot a minute ago?

Oh god, shouldn't she get to hospital? Why didn't her head hurt? Why was she still walking? What –

"Listen to my Walkman!" some twat tried to force the ancient technology onto her but she pushed it away crossly. She needed to find an exit. An exit, then an ambulance.

#...This means nothing to me,…

This means nothing to me,…

Oh Vienna…#

The music was so loud her ears were ringing as she stumbled from the boat into a walkway; similar to the one Arthur Layton had forced her along just a few moments before but this one was freshly painted and in excellent condition. A couple of coppers in what seemed to be very dated uniforms rushed towards her. One of them had to help her, surely?

"Help me! I've been shot!" she cried again and again but they merely pushed her to one side as raced to the boat.

As she staggered out of the walkway and onto solid ground her eyes fell upon a wall smothered with posters. God, she recognised the face. Adam Ant; easily recognisable, an icon of a generation, but certainly not the generation that Alex had just left behind. Her knees began to weaken. For the first time, as she focused on the memory of her final few moments, she recalled the man who'd pulled the trigger, the look on his face, the promise he'd made.

"I'll see you on the other side."

"It was true," she breathed, one hand resting at her plunging neckline while she walked on shaking, trembling, nylon-clad legs along the path, "it was all true."

This wasn't the grim northern seventies world that Sam Tyler had found himself a part of; this was a bright, colourful, decadent era that stood in contrast to her stony pallor and dull life back home.

She walked in a trance. It couldn't be… It just couldn't be. Despite everything, she had never expected….

Even when he came to take her, she'd never really thought…

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them and looked down to her feet she saw her reflection staring back from a puddle. She slowly ran her hands over her attire. She had never seen herself looking that way before; stepping out of the smart, sensible persona she presented to the world day after day, stepping into a look that exuded life and passion from every inch of her body.

It was so real… It all felt so real.

Perhaps, she realised, that was because it was real.

"Come here! It was you! You little slut!"

Alex gasped as angry hands grabbed her and she found the Walkman-loving twat gripping her. She tried her hardest to fight her way free of him but he quickly gripped her again despite her violent struggling.

"Come here, you stupid tart!" he screamed at her, "You called the police! We've been busted! You called them in, you evil bitch! You did, didn't you?"

"What? What?" She couldn't understand what he was talking about at first, then she recalled the cops on the boat and began to make a little more sense of it.

Markham's fury was only increasing.

"You're gonna regret this, sweet cheeks," he hissed.

What the hell was this? She gasped and trembled in fear. How could he have done this to her; taken her to this place where she was about to die before she'd even had a chance. She knew it was going to happen. She tried hard to fight against him but the man whose Walkman had been such an important part of his life was so much stronger. There was no point calling for help, there was no one around. There was no hope either. She'd trusted Gene. She'd let him take her life and this was it? Game over?

The screech of tyres caught her attention. She stared into the distance as a flash of red sped past, drawing closer and closer until it came to a screeching halt before them. What in the name of hell was happening? As though life hadn't become strange enough!

As the dust cleared the driver's door opened and out stepped a pair of boots. That was the part that she saw first. They made their presence known. Her eyes followed the sharp crease of his trouser leg all the way up to his torso, then to his face; a familiar face. One that sent the swarm of butterflies in her tummy into spasm. One that almost took her legs from beneath her as she stumbled in surprise. Her heart was thumping and a tiny gasp escaped from her lips. The twat and his Walkman could just disappear into thin air for as much as she cared.

This was a moment she was never going to forget.

The first words out of his mouth rocked her heart and sent her lips twitching into a hint of a smile.

"Today, my friend, your diary entry will read, 'Took a prozzie hostage and was shot by three armed bastards.'"

She couldn't fight the broadening grin that spread across her face. Her situation should have overridden it but now that she'd seen him she'd never felt safer.

So he wasn't exactly the same man that she'd gotten to know so fast. Not quite the same man with whom she'd talked so openly, nor the same man who'd put the fire back into her life on one wild and wicked night.

But he would be, One day he would be.

So right now he had fewer creases on his brow, a lighter in his pocket and an attitude problem. Those were things that would change with time. She knew that. She'd seen who he would become.

And this time the roles were reversed – it was her who would have to get to know a different version of someone she knew: of Gene, of that man who'd swept into her life three times, changing it a little each time he did until he finally took her to a whole new life. Back in the real world he was the one seeking help from a woman who didn't know him yet. She knew that this Gene wouldn't know her from a stranger on the street. He would have to get to know her, all over again, just as the Gene she had met had done.

But there was plenty of time for that. She had a brand new life ahead of her, with Gene, and she could not wait for it to begin.

His reputation preceded him. And she was looking forward to every last moment that she would spend getting to know him for herself.

Goodbye, 2008.

Welcome to the eighties.

Welcome to your life, DCI Alex Drake; head of emerging narcotics, affiliated with CID at Fenchurch East.

And the soon to be Missus Hunt.

~X~

A/N: And that really is the end! Honestly! I just really loved 2006/7 Alex and wanted to give her a proper send-off :)

First of all, I want to say a massive thank you to Rant. For what? Well, for just about everything. Rant, thanks for all the stuff you gave me the guts to make CANON when I was scared of writing the way I wanted to any more. Thanks for the giraffes, the goats, the wooden crocs, the coffee, the chocolate, the ice cream, the showers, the handcuffs, the dishwasher and the eyeliner… and also for the Mint :) Seriously, you = awesome.

I really want every one who has reviewed to know that I appreciate your words, your comments and your thoughts even when I can't always find the energy to let you know personally, please never think I am ungrateful. I appreciate every one. It means so much to me that others have come along for this journey. Sorry, I'm sounding like a bloody sentimental fool. It's late and I'm seriously sleep deprived.

Much love and dear thanks go to Morgana, Ocean, Ranty, Charlotte (Finally on FFnet! *cheers*), Noemi, JoinTheHunt1981, sillygenie, Fenella Church, 80s Babe, purplekerrycat, Lifeinthe80s, sillivan and also the lovely anon messages, I'm sorry I don't know your name(s) to thank you properly x x

OH! And Crocfan! Who I hope actually managed to get his/her own wooden crocodile in the end! I am seriously scared that I've had fan mail for the croc. I spend thousands of words building up the characterisation of Simon, Kim and Robin; the croc gets 'Snap, snap, snap' and he gets all the messages! :D

Sorry this A/N is getting wordy; a quick message about the future. I'll be starting the sequel (gasp, shock, horror) in the next couple of days. It's going to get dark. I will warn you now. However, I know I've said this before but I am really not going to be updating as regularly; we're moving in a couple of weeks and I may be without internet access (not to mention without enough time) for a while so updates may go on hiatus or at least be more spaced out. Plus I want to pick up writing Strange Little Girl and All Good Things… again (I have been lame with All Good Things, I just haven't been in the headspace for fluff but hopefully when we've moved and the stress is out the way I can attack that with gusto! :P)

Also, two things I can't believe – I finally write a Galex smut scene and no one says a word, and I made Alex/Kim canon and no one killed me! I need to learn from this :)

Much love and goodnight x x

ETA: ARGH - I forgot - guess who got Rickrolled for the first time ever today? Yes, that's right, ME! I. AM. PISSED. OFF! I suppose it serves me right - it was probably Gene's revenge!