Note: Well, the lack of Broadchurch fanfiction on the internet is rather depressing, so why not be one of the first ones to post one?

It's a quick one-shot, and hopefully I can write more Broadchurch stuff! Maybe if I get round to it after my exams, I'll continue from this story... *starts thinking*

I'm writing all these legal garb because I wish I owned Broadchurch. That's right! I don't own Broadchurch... I don't own Ellie Miller *sigh* or Alec Hardy *super duper sigh*. All rights belong to ITV.

Recovery

"You're wearing a suit..." Ellie said in disbelief and a hint of disappointment, indicating Alec's usual suit and dishevelled tie attire as she shrugged off her bubble coat and took a seat in front of the former detective.

"Why, is there something wrong?" He boggled, head perking up from a copy of the Broadchurch Echo he seemed to be engrossed in, clearly still not getting at what Ellie was trying to get at.

"No, I just didn't think our little meeting would be that formal," she lied, unbuckling wee Fred from her push chair and taking off his puffy red jacket.

"hmm.. long time no see, Miller," he murmured before closing his newspaper and placing it to the side of his table.

"..." He still calls her Miller? "You phoned me. The cafe's probably the most decent place you ever told me to meet you in."

"Yeah, I thought why not have a little reunion," he awkwardly replied. "It's what former workmates do, right?" Ellie slowly nodded. Frankly, she felt a sense of relief to get out of the hotel room to meet someone who still respects her after the day Danny's killer was found. Not that Alec was the best person to talk to...

"So how have things been?" he asked, pushing forward a cup of pre ordered warm coffee towards Ellie. She looked at it suspiciously. "It's de-cafe. A quarter full of milk with one and a half packets of sugar - just how you used to make yours back at the station," he added. She relaxed and willingly took the cup.

"Nothing much actually. Super Intendant Jenkinson is encouraging me to come back to the force to help pay for my hotel expenses, but I seriously don't want to go back there. Not after the kind of stuff I could possibly go through..."

"You could have taken my position," Alec quipped, then his smirk quickly faded as Ellie glared at him.

"This is probably the most reckless thing to do, but I'm gonna visit my daughter," he declared, taking another sip of coffee as Ellie tried to listen to him whilst balancing her baby son on her lap who was already starting to wriggle free of his mother's grasp.

"Yeah, go for it!" she mused, but Alec frowned.

"You don't wanna come with me?"

Ellie stared at him for a moment, totally not expecting that. "Well, I thought we were eventually going to have to live our separate lives." Alec shifted uncomfortably on his chair.

"I thought since the Latimer case, we might stick together..." he confessed, slightly blushing. That was new. Ellie bit her lip and tried to occupy herself with her son to try ease the awkwardness.

"It's a nice offer, but I don't think you want someone like me to meddle around in your family life," she joked, giving a weary smile.

"I'd call you family," Hardy replied almost instantly.

"Alec, you're beginning to creep me out. Where's that flint-hearted, emotionally retarded outsider I used to have to cope with for fifty nine days?"

The former detective winced a little at that and sighed. "Guess all those years working in the Police force changed me..." He took a sip of coffee and grimaced at how strong it tasted. "Bloody strong coffee..." he muttered. Ellie raised her brow and chuckled.

"No, you've still got that complaining idiot in you," she teased. It took a moment for Alec to realise what she meant before he rolled his eyes.

"Where's your boy, Tommy?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Brian took him out to the skate park. He's a bit restless being cooped up inside the hotel room."

"Brian? SOCO Brian?" Alec boggled.

"No Brian McFadden," Ellie exclaimed. "Yes, SOCO Brian. Why, you got a problem with that?"

"No, no..." he trailed off, finding this rather amusing. "I see he took things fine with you."

"Yeah, he along with you, Olly and my sister were the only ones to understand me after the case was closed."

"... that's good," he murmured. "Is Tommy... Is he coping well with all the... stuff?"

Ellie nodded, sadness and anger evident in her eyes. She glanced nervously out the window as if hoping no one would notice her. She was ashamed and she didn't even bring this upon herself. To his relief, the baby started gurgling, taking Ellie's mind off it and resulting her in wiping her son's mouth with a tissue and cooing. A wave of fatigue hit Alec and he buried his head in his hands. He felt his stubble prickle him and his hands jerked back, as if it gave him an electric shock.

"I need to shave," he murmured. Ellie blinked at him and frowned.

"Wow, it's like you never noticed you had facial hair growing on your face in the first place!" she exclaimed in mock exasperation. Alec rolled his eyes and he gazed out the window. A brief silence fell between the two and only the busy noise of the cafe enveloped them. But it seemed like background noise for the two - they were in their own state of mind. It was Ellie who broke the silence.

"So tell me. You said you visited Broadchurch when you were little," she said with interest. Alec's head perked up and he sighed.

"Don't really wanna talk about it," he mumbled, staring at the rim of his coffee mug.

"Oh, okay..."

He glanced at a dishevelled newspaper by his arm and gave a wry smile. "Looks like your nephew's doing well in the press."

"Oh, Olly?" Ellie wondered, and finally realised. "Yeah, he got offered a position in The Harold but turned it down. Said he wanted to stay with Broadchurch Echo since it felt more at home."

"Sounds like something you should do," Alec said.

"What, work in the press?"

"No, Miller. Staying in Broadchurch," he said, as if pointing out the obvious. Ellie sighed.

"I told you, I can't stay here. Not with... you know what," she muttered, a lump starting to form in her throat.

The baby started gurgling again and Ellie groaned. She had no more tissues to wipe the baby with and held the little form under her little armpits, then back at Alec. He returned her look with an expression of pure wonderment before he found his lap occupied with Miller's child. He gaped at the little boy and then back at Miller who was already hurrying towards the cafe bathroom. "Miller!"

"Just look after him, I'm gonna get some tissues," she called out.

"B-but what do I do with her?" he cried out, looking at the baby wriggling on his lap. It was too late. She disappeared behind the toilet doors and he stared at the little boy in confusion. He almost seemed to judge the baby: her mop of curly brown hair was certainly the work of her mother. Then the former detective tentatively picked him up and stared at him for a moment. When was the last time he held a baby? Then a thought crossed his mind and he brought Miller's son towards his chest as he repositioned his right arm under the baby's bottom and his left hand placed on his back, trying to recall what he did when he held his daughter all those years ago. Then he bounced slightly for the baby and he began to coo making Alec grin a little.

"He likes you," Ellie suddenly said, appearing by Alec's side and wiping her son's face.

"You left me with him," Alec murmured, passing the child back to Ellie. "How could you trust me with your child?"

"Well who else could I have left her with to get some tissues?" she simply replied. Alec couldn't argue with that. Then Ellie sighed again, preparing herself to resume their conversation. "I can't even look at people when I walk down the streets to buy milk."

"SOCO Brian accepted you," he protested. "I know it will take time for everyone else to accept you. That time will come, Ellie." That was the third time he said her first name: the first when they were starting the Latimer case, the second when he declared the news and now. Ellie's eyes bore Alec's and he showed real compassion. "I'll help you recover along the way. Even if it means coping with the air, the sand, the stupid people and their bloody-smelly-bloody faces and the non-ending sky," he reassured. "This isn't penance, Miller. This is redemption." He gave the most genuine smile she ever saw him make. The rare moment was suddenly broken when Ellie's eyes glinted as she suddenly remembered something. She bent down and rummaged through her bag, Alec glancing down slightly curious and a little worried at what was to come. Whatever came out of a woman's bag was a man's worry... Then Ellie produced a white shirt with the words "worse cop in Britain" printed in black in the center of the shirt and grinned from ear to ear.

"Should we take it out for a spin?"