Tile: Autumnal Equinox

Fandom: Broadchurch

Characters: Alec Hardy, Ellie Miller

Rating: T (some bad language)

Set In time: 23 September 2014

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I own nobody. And I don't earn any money.

Autumnal Equinox

It was impossible not to note the hideous orange parka and, at first, Alec Hardy was annoyed. That evening he was walking on the beach, wearing his old dark coat as only armour against the wind, his mind occupied by Daisy. His daughter had been true to her words. Actually she had been wonderful. The agreed two weeks had become five full weeks and, even after her holidays, she had been visiting him during the week-ends. Now, with school back in full-mode, he knew she was going to be more elusive, but the summer had been great and he would never forget the time they had spent together. Her daily texts were always a treasure even if she was constantly mocking him about his tech ignorance. What? You don't have WhatsApp? Where do you live, dad? I think it's time for you to leave behind the stone age, she had commented with disgust a couple of days earlier. He didn't mind, though, having his daughter back was worth everything.

But then, all this thinking had been interrupted by the terrible orange of Miller's coat. How she didin't get a headache every time she wore it, it was a mystery to him. It was far worse than a signal flag! He meant ignoring her, changing path, going back home to decipher the countless emoji Daisy used as dialogues, but his body had a mind of his own. A few seconds later he was standing next to her.

"Are you signalling the coast to the ships?"

"The same knob as always, even after spending some quality time with your daughter."

They were silent for a few minutes, but it was okay, it was the silence of two people used to communicate a lot in that way.

Alec took a good look at her, noticing immediately her hair was much longer. They hadn't met very often during the summer. She had left for having a long - and well-earnt, according to him - holiday with her children and Lucy and he had to handle his exuberant teen daughter. They had only met a couple of times but they hadn't stopped once to drink a cuppa together. Needless to say, Hardy hadn't miss the slightlest that form of socializing.

"It's been told that you're coming back in the Broadchurch nick... everything's okay with... you know...", Ellie pointed vaguely to Alec's chest.

"Mh-mh", was his only reply. He wished badly that others would stop treating him like a pathetic, desperate case. Even Reverend Coates had confided that, sometimes, he prayed for his health.

"Happy?"

"It's a job."

Silence again. Hardy looked at her again, puzzled. There was something weird about her. She seemed... different. Sad, maybe. Nostalgic. Not the gloomy person she had been during the trial, but neither the smiling one she had been during summer.

He breathed deeply, then he started with the questions, "What's the matter? It can't be the job again! Jenkinson told me that..."

She interrupted him, "No! It's true, I turned it down. I'm still not ready to work again in Broadchurch... and I don't know when I'll be... it's... it's not work-related. I don't want anymore to kill you because you stole my job. Again. I know you'd do a good job... it's only... today's Tom's birthday."

Alec opened his mouth a couple of times, but no sounds came from it. Maybe he was the one asking non-stop questions,but Miller and her stream of consciousness were leaving him dazzled. Almost like her orange parka. He cut out some of her words (compliment included, aven if he store it away in his mind) and then focused on the heart of the problem: Tom's birthday. Sure, it wasn't a problem per se. Parents are usually happy when they celebrate their child's birthday, but probably it was what - or who - was around it: Joe Miller. Or better, his absence.

As if she read his mind, or sure it was impossible having a normal conversation with Alec Hardy, Ellie explained all. As if she was a witness during a trial.

"Last year we were still shocked, the trial had just ended and...", she stumbled for the briefest moment, "by the way, we didn't celebrate. Only a 'Happy Birthday' and an odd drawing from Fred. It was enough. This year though... things were - are - better, my job in Devon is always shit, but my coworkers are friendly and funny enough, Fred loves kindergarden, Tom is back to his old self. It still hurts, like a decaying tooth, but it isn't my only thought. Then, today in the mail..."

"What have you done with Joe? You never told."

"How do you know that... never mind... are you asking me as Hardy, the asshole I don't know why I'm telling all this, or as DI hardy with his irksome attitude?"

"Does it make any difference?", he hoped he didn't because he wasn't ready to face another big, terrible case in Broadchurch.

"Of course it doesn't. I simply love making you uneasy", she found herself smiling.

"So?"

"So we put him on a train to Sheffield. That's all. And I was feeling fine, almost convincing myself he was in jail, far away, and that he couldn't reach us. Months passed by, and I wasn't the Broadchurch killer's wife anymore, the kids were okay, really. But today... today in the mail there was a card for Tom from him."

"Did he see it?"

"Yeah... he read it, he looked at it and read it again. Then, he closed it and gave it to me. I don't want it, I don't care, was all he said. He was sad, as if nothing had sense anymore."

Ellie sighed, kicking angrily the sand. She took the card from the right pocket and Hardy could see the picture of a big birthday cake surrounded by colourful balloons. A color explosion that clashed deeply with the grey of the day.

"I haven't read it, you know...", Ellie went on, answerig the man's mute curiosity. "I'd like to, but I don't want to violate Tom's privacy. I worked so hard to have him back in my life, to have him smile again, to feel him mine again..."

Alec didn't say anything, but he understood her. He did.

"I don't want this thing in my home. It's poisoned, tainted. I'm going to destroy it and throw it in the water... okay, in a bin, but I don't want it", she had an exhausted voice. As if she had spent hours repeating the same words to herself.

"No."

Hardy's firm tone made her jump. She almost forgot he could said something. And obviously, he used his most sticked out words.

"Pardon?", she wriggled her eyeborws.

He reached out with his hand, "Give it to me. Throwing it away is wrong. I know you don't believe me, but Tom may need this card one day. It's his, I'll keep it for you... for him."

Ellie couldn't help but obey him. He handed the card and looked at him putting it in a pocket. He was glancing at her, happy to keep his hands busy. He was fighting against the strong need to toch her to confort her. But he knew it would appear out of place and odd. As his usual.

"Today's autumn equinox", he said, changing subject.

Miller closed her parka to keep warm.

"When Daisy was a child, before she turned ten, we used to choose a Sunday and go to chestnuts hunt. Truthfully, Tess and I spent the day looking for chesnuts while Daisy collected the red leaves fallen from the trees. We've always loved autumn days."

Ellie, without noticing, moved next to him, touched to be the witness of his intimate story. Proud, almost, that he was telling her something so close to his heart. She got very attentive, so she wouldn't lose any words coming from him.

"Obviously, the chase became a competition. The one finding more chestnuts would be the winner. But it was funny. Tess was funny and I...", he closed his eyes, gulping down the lump in his throat.

"By the way... I don't think I have ever won. Tess found chestnuts everywhere - everywhere, even where I had already checked. I only had the urchins and they stinged me everytime. After being home, Daisy took care of my bruised fingers by putting childish Band-Aids on them."

Ellie burst out laughing. She tried to stop, even by thinking at Joe's offensive gesture, but she failed. She was laughing so hard she was almost crying.

"Good, now you're laughing at me", Hardy commented with an annoyed tone.

Even if, hidden in a secret place he almost didn't know to have, it was good listening to her laughing. Even if she was laughing at him. Because after all she went through, including that last hit, she had the right to laugh. It was only fair. The most beautiful thing, though, was that Hardy had tons of little stupid things like those to tell her. And this made him smile.

AN: Thanks to everyone reading and following it. I hope it's not too bad.