the end
by
elfin
He’s been here before. Just
twice.
Here on this street, staring at that pub; seeing the white light,
hearing the music, staring at Nelson’s smiling face and winking.
The first time he didn’t quite believe it even though he’d known the
truth.
He’d said goodbye to Alex, Shaz, Chris and Ray. But ten years
earlier he’d said goodbye to Sam.
See, he forgot for a time; for a long, long time. He lived this
life like it was all real. He became Gene Hunt – the Guv – the
man he’d always dreamt of being. For a time.
Then along came Sam Tyler. Mad, crazy, beautiful Sam. Who
turned his life upside down and inside out. Who made him
remember. Sam fought him tooth and nail to get home, and when he
finally got there he gave it all up to come back. No one had ever
done that before. So he’d told Sam everything, and Sam had stayed
as long as he could until one day he’d said he had to leave and so
reluctantly Gene had brought him here.
They’d stood on the very spot Gene’s standing on now, tears in their
eyes. Sam had said, ‘I love you’, and Gene had gathered him up,
held on tight and said, ‘you too’. He didn’t try to stop him from
leaving; they’d had seven years, any fantasies he might have had about
it being forever were just that. Sam had kissed him much
like Alex did all those years later, only with the passion of many
shared nights, not just one aborted one, and Gene had watched him wave
goodbye, and vanish into the light.
He doesn’t know what year it is now. But it’s been getting more
and more difficult to keep up the pretence and he thinks maybe, just
maybe, he’s ready to let go.
Nelson’s at the door. He can hear the music – David Bowie, Life
On Mars – the song Sam always used to listen to. It was playing
when Sam left, and when the others left too. The light looks
brighter somehow, and there’s a warmth spilling out from the open door
that hasn’t been there before. He takes a step forward, two
steps, and Nelson smiles.
“Sam’s waiting for you,” he says, “they all are. Waiting for the
Guv.”
It feels right now and he walks towards the barman, reaches out and
shakes his hand. He can smell cigarette smoke and whisky, and he
knows it’s over. But it feels like it’s just beginning.
FIN
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