I am so so so sorry about the huge update time! I had very very bad writers block, and this only came to me whilst I was in France! I might do one more concluding chapter after this one, but anyway... yeah. Please enjoy and R&R, if you're still reading!

"NO!" Gene's cry was pure anguish, ripped from his very soul. "Save 'er! You've got to, do somethin'!" he begged, and the doctors snapped into action, trying to escort him from the room but he dug in his heels until they allowed him to stay. Everything slowed down. One doctor beat a steady rhythm on Alex's chest, regular, jerky movements, and after a few moments, another tried to defibrillate her back into the world. Her body writhed like some vile, life-sized puppet, jerking up and down on the cold, clinical bed, but the monitor still registered nothing.

"Please, Alex... c'mon..." Gene whispered, and if in answer to his prayer, there she was, opening her eyes, and the beeping was back, a constant, regular pulse. She was alive, and all Gene cared about was taking her in his arms and kissing her and never letting her go. He went to her side slowly, hesitantly, and saw she was smiling up at him dreamily, as though she was not quite properly awake and was still rising from the clutches of sleep.

"Gene." She murmured, raising her hand and placing it on his cheek. "My Gene." She sounded dopey, Gene thought briefly, and he took her hand reassuringly.

"S'alright love. I'm 'ere. Yer gonna be alright. Gave me quite a scare." His voice turned gruff with emotion at the end of the sentence, and he smiled down at her, willing himself not to cry.

"But... Molly... was with my Molly..." Alex continued, and Gene's face clouded briefly. Late one night, she had explained to him once more about her daughter, and he understood her heartache.

"I know, Bolls. I know. But she'll be OK. Jen needs us now, yeah? And little one..." He was struck by a sudden thought. The baby was alright, wasn't it? He turned his head to one of the nurses, who nodded and smiled at him, and he leant down to kiss Alex's head, relieved. "Yer my little fighter. Both of yer."

Alex nodded weakly and swallowed painfully before suddenly realising... "Gene... where is Jen? Is she OK? Is she..." Her voice broke before she could finish the sentence with that terrible word, and Gene realised he had no idea what condition his daughter was in.

"I... urm, I dunno. I was worried about you, Alex. She's 'ere, somewhere. She'll be okay, don't you worry. We'll go find 'er together, yeah?" He reassured, and Alex nodded again before her head flopped back onto the pillow, exhausted. "Alex?" Gene asked, and she murmured an acknowledgement.

"Love yer, Bolls."


Jenna lay in a darkened room, semi-conscious. She knew she was supposed to be asleep, but she didn't feel able to sleep until she knew her mother was alright. The last thing she remembered clearly was the gun... hot pain in her side... and after that, all was dreamlike. She'd heard her mother say she was pregnant, remembered her father's angry words and then being in his arms. A constant rocking... the car, perhaps, and then cold evening air and an uncomfortable hospital trolley. She wanted her dad. She hated being away from him, and knew he would only leave her for one reason. Her mother must be in some kind of danger, she concluded, and now she was worrying. Her stomach throbbed, and she needed to talk to someone, find out what was happening.

The light snapped on, and she screwed up her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

"Jen?" The gruff Mancunian accent was achingly familiar and she opened her eyes instantly.

"Dad..." She whispered, and her heart leapt as she beheld not only him, but her mother too, smiling wearily from a wheelchair. "You're OK... you're both OK..."

And then all three of them were crying, happy to be alive, relieved to simply be with each other.

A/N: Please also check out my new songfic, "Little Did I Know." :D 3