She was known as Detective Sergeant Tali David, right-hand woman and second wife of Detective Inspector Alec Hardy in her second life, a life she had not expected to live.
She met Alec Hardy a few days after her new family moved into the house across the street from his. He insulted her Israeli accent (her Mum was Israeli and her Dad British) with his thick Scottish one and she broke his nose (something she'd do several more times) with a snarl that his accent was no better.
She became his best friend and partner in crime, one that'd stay with him to the end.
She held him back while he screamed as his mother jumped off the same cliff that Danny Latimer would be found under years later, unshed tears in her eyes.
She encouraged Alec to chase after Tess Henchard despite knowing the woman would break his heart years down the road. She never forgave Tess for that.
She was his best man (woman) at his and Tess's wedding and became Daisy's Godmother when Daisy was born. She also met Dave Thompson at the wedding and against her better judgement, she started to date him.
When they found Pippa's body, she had to drag the idiot Scot out of the river after he rescued Pippa's body and smacked him upside the head for it.
She was the one who walked in on Dave and Tess shagging when she came home to her and Dave's shared apartment earlier than expected, only to turn around and go to Alec. And was the one to find the pendant and took it right to the station, meaning that the case didn't fall apart and they got Lee to confess about what really happened the night.
The fury in Alec's eyes when he learned Ricky Gillespie was involved was a fury she'd ever forget.
The Daniel Latimer Case was a painful case, especially since she'd grown fond of the Miller's and Alec's health was in a fast decline that worried her.
After Alec was discharged from getting a pacemaker installed for his heart arrhythmia, he snogged her in front of Daisy (she turned bright red).
They got married in a courthouse two years later with Miller as their witness (they were in the middle of a case).
Now, at age 53, Tali David lay in Alec's arms as she bled out from a gunshot wound to her chest courtesy of a serial killer with the nickname the Police Killer as Alec pleaded with her to hold on. To hold on just long enough for the ambulance to get there, but she knew she wouldn't make it. She'd lost too much blood.
But, she fight it because God damn it, she wanted her goodbye.
Cupping Alec's beard covered cheek with a bloodied hand, she gave him a soft, yet sad smile as Alec's large hand came up to cover her bloodied one. "Alec, make sure ya catch the bastard. Don't let him get away with killin' Tess and those other officers."
Brown eyes burned with rage and determination as Alec grasped her hand tightly. "He's nae gonna git away wi' it, Tali. A'll catch 'im even if it kills me an' when A do, A'm gonna make 'im wish he'd ne'er ha' been born." She smirked at the fire in her husband's eye, knowing that he'd catch the damn bastard.
"You better be late in meeting me, Hardy or I'll break your nose." Alec chuckled despite the tears welling up in his eyes and removed her hand from his cheek, placing kiss on her knuckles despite her hand being covered in blood.
"A make no promises 'bout 'at, David."
"Knob." She whispered affectionately as her vision started to go black and she forced her heart to keep beating. Death wasn't gonna have her until she had her goodbye."I love you, and don't you dare forget that." Alec nodded, placing another kiss on her bloodied knuckles.
"A won't." He swore, his grip on her hand tightening. "An', ken 'at A ha' always loved ye." She felt her lips stretched into a smile.
"Quite right too." She whispered as she closed her eyes and she felt her heart stop.
~o0o~
"I'm surprised you fought the inevitable when last time, you didn't." Tali's eyes snapped open to find herself lying on a very familiar beach. She jolted off the Dorset beach, eyes wide in confusion. Why was she here? "You're a Detective aren't you? Figure it out." Tali whirled around, her hand snapping to where her gun sat on her hip only to realize it wasn't there as her eyes landed on the black hooded figure that stood close enough to the water that the water brushed up against the edges of the black cloak the figure wore.
Her eyes locked onto the large scythe in the figure's hands, which appeared to be nothing but bone. "If that scythe of yours is anything to go by, I'd say you're Death himself. Then that begs the question, what is Death doing at a place that looks much like Dorset beach?" Death made a sound that reminded Tali of a chuckle and he walked towards her, stopping when he was only a few feet from her.
"This is was what mortals call limbo. The way that it looks is based on what each mortal finds familiar and would be content staying if they wish to stay." Tali cast a glance at the cliffs and the sea, understanding what Death meant. "But, you don't have that option."
Her eyes snapped to the hood wearing God. "What do you mean I don't have that option? I woke up here, didn't I?"
"You committed suicide as Jessica Fisher." Tali didn't flinch at the bluntness of Death, but her eyes (the same electric blue eyes that she had as Jessica) flashed dangerously. "Committing suicide leaves cracks in a person's soul. While most mortals have the choice to be reincarnated, to stay in limbo, or to move on into the afterlife but those who have committed suicide don't have that choice. They are reincarnated however many times it takes for their soul to be healed before they have that choice."
Tali's eyes narrowed slightly. "I see. But, that doesn't understand why I remember my life as Jessica. From what I've heard of reincarnation, when one is reincarnated they have no memories of their previous life, so explain why I do. Because, while having my memories about what happened in the Sandbrook and Daniel Latimer Cases was helpful, the memories of my childhood were less so."
Death cocked his hooded head, as if he was contemplating answering her. "I can see why you were a Detective. Having your memories of your previous life is both a gift and punishment. A gift because when you were reborn into the world you called Broadchurch, you were able to use your memories of what happened in that world to keep certain things from happening, such as keeping Jack Marshall from committing suicide like he did originally. It's a punishment because you remember every life you live until your soul is healed from the cracks you created when committing suicide." Death watched as Tali's eyes flashed with anger, before she sighed.
"My punishment is that I remember everything. Every childhood, every kiss, every crush, every lover, every marriage, every job, and every death. Everything I ever did in the lives that follow the life I committed suicide in, I remember. And, depending on the number of lives it takes for my soul to heal, I slowly go insane from all the different memories runnin' around inside my head." Tali's eyes darkened as she finished working out the punishment of keeping her memories of her previous life.
An amused chuckle came from Death. "You are much smarter than I gave you credit for Jessica Fisher."
She shook her head. "I'm not Jessica anymore. I haven't been for almost fifty-four years and I don't intend to ever be her ever again."
"Your body will carry the name of who you are in that life, but your soul will always be Jessica Fisher."
A sigh of annoyance escaped Tali and she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Of fucking bloody course." She groaned and opened her eyes to look at Death. "Can I ask a favor of you?"
Death Cocked his head, obviously intrigued about her question. "And what is this favor you request of me, Jessica Fisher?" A ghost of a smile appeared on Tali's face at Death's question.
"I don't know whether or not he'll do as I requested, but when Alec appears in limbo, can you pass on a message from me?" Death stared at her from deep within his black hood in silence for several moments before answering.
"What is the message?" Tali shoved her hand into her trouser pocket and pulled out an old envelope with Alec's name written in the center, holding it out to Death. Slowly, Death reached out to grab the envelope with long and nimble fingers that were void of all muscle, tissue, and flesh. "I will see what I can do, but I make no promises. Now, it's time for you to say goodbye to your life as Tali David."
Tali raised a brow, interested. "Mind telling me what world I'm going into? I rather hate surprises." She knew that if Death had skin, he'd be smirking as he shook his head and placed a hand on her back.
"No, I'll rather enjoy seeing the look of shock on your face when you realize where you are." Suddenly she went flying into the air with a scream and landed in the cold ocean seconds later with a loud splash, only to be pulled under by the current and everything went black.
~o0o~
If one asked James Marius Prentice what he missed about working for U.N.I.T, the eighty-nine-year-old ex-soldier would tell you he missed working with one of the only men he's ever respected, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart. When he left the British Army with only the clothes on his back and a gun in his pocket, it was Alistair who got him back onto his feet. Helped him get a job at U.N.I.T where he learned about threats and a world that he never knew existed, where he protected not only his country but the world time and time again, and where he met the woman that became his wife (God he missed her), his Lily-girl. They tried for several years to conceive a child, but they never conceived one (Lily was infertile they later learned) so they adopted the baby that became his little princess and she was a beautiful woman with golden blonde locks and blue-green eyes. He and his Lily-girl decided against telling their daughter about U.N.I.T, the existence of aliens, and an entire whole other world, not wanting her to get mixed up in all the things they had if she knew. His daughter Jackie then went on to marry Pete Alan Tyler, the son of a former comrade he knew in the British Army.
Now, he sat in a brilliant white hospital waiting room ready to greet what he hoped to be first of many grandchildren. He paused in his soft musings to look up where the door opened and out stepped his son-in-law, Pete, with a brilliant twinkle in his chocolate brown eyes while his brilliant and thinning crimson colored-haired glistened brightly with sweat. "Well?" he mumbled out dryly with an eyebrow arched.
"You've got two granddaughters to spoil like princesses!" He laughed out and motioned for the elder to follow him into the delivery room. Ignoring the protest of his bones he got up out of his plastic chair and calming followed his son down the hallway until he reached the room that held the newest member of his family. Hobbling inside the room with the help of his walking stick he witnessed his only daughter lying in bed with two pink bundles crandle in her arms. "Jacks, dad's here." Pete mumbled as he have his wife a peck on her forehead then gave a wide look of utter adoration to the bundles.
"Dad, come and meet your granddaughters." James walked over and allowed her to gently placed the warm fragile bundle in his arms. His stormy gray eyes glanced down and he was startled with the full head of red curly hair and bright baby blue eyes that were staring intently into his. As he stared down into those baby blue eyes, he got a feeling deep within his gut that this grandchild of his would see that world he'd once been apart of and for the first time in years, a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach.
This is a story that's been floating around for a while and after lots of consideration, I've decided to give it a try. I'm not sure how this will turn out, but I'm gonna give it my best go and I hope you'll let me know what you think of my story.
P.S. To those who already have read the prologue and noticed I updated it, my editor noticed a few mistake that I had fixed on the google docs I write on but not on the published version and told me about it, so I went in a fixed it.