Night Thoughts.

Fandom: Broadchurch

Pairing: Alec/Ellie

Prompt: Starting line: "It'd be easier if (they/he/she) weren't so stubborn." Ending line: "It isn't the strict salvation but it will do well enough." Goal: Fill in the in between story.


It'd be easier if Alec weren't so stubborn. Ellie was starting to need some sleep, she couldn't just keep going back and forth with Hardy, who didn't even care about chatting as she was driving and just sat there silently. Tonight, no excuses, she would have the night to herself. Obviously, he didn't agree.

As she realized just a few hours later it was easy planning the night, but it was much harder sticking to the plans. It was 9.30 p.m. when she received the call: Tom was going to witness the day after. Tom, her oldest son who didn't even wanted to live with her anymore, the one she adored more than chocolate. How could things possibly get worse? She paid her sister to have that one information she needed, she hit her husband at the police station, everyone was thinking she was in a relationship with Hardy, Claire was clearly untruthful, Alec was feeling worse day after day. As she decided to start a career in the police, she wasn't expecting this. Not in Broadchurch! So she laid in bed and waited to fall asleep.

In the exact same moment, Alec Hardy was on the beach, his arms around his legs, lost in contemplation. He wanted to solve the Sandbrook case, because he couldn't bear life knowing there wouldn't be justice for the girl he found in the pond. He wanted to go back home so bad, Daisy was only sixteen, she needed a man in her life who could truly love her, embarrass her in front of her friends, and mend her heart if it ever broke. And then there was Tess. Alec still didn't know how he felt about her. He said he was the guilty one and left, because he loved her, and he sometimes still wished he could wake up next to her, but he couldn't trust her anymore. And she didn't love him anymore.

As the waves kept rolling over and over, he found himself thinking that there was someone in his life he actually cared about. Ellie Miller. Damned Ellie Miller. His only friend. The woman who just couldn't keep her mouth shut, the one with that awful jacket that made her noticeable from a distance. He wanted her to feel safe, he always did. He was slowly realizing that he wanted to impress her. Sure he always had a particular attitude, but in the last few months he showed off. She had to see what a great detective he was. And she probably noticed just how ridiculous he was.

Alec Hardy doesn't believe in love. Not anymore. He surely believes in Ellie Miller: it isn't the strict salvation but it will do well enough.