Missing Scene: Clifftop Cottage

So this one is an extra told from Hardy's POV. I absolutely couldn't resist the idea of him going up there and being all protective of Ellie and her sons, so I didn't, and here it is! :)

Recap: This is set toward the end of Chapter 18, when Alec leaves Ellie to go find out where Joe is and to warn him against staying in town.

The night around him is cold, but Alec doesn't notice. He's burning inside, burning with disgust that Joe Miller destroyed this town, destroyed the Latimer family, destroyed Ellie, and is now walking free. As a detective, he hates the idea of a killer loose and a broken family without justice. As a person—one who cares very deeply for Ellie—he hates that there is the possibility of future pain coming her way.

He reaches the hut, and all is silent but the sound of the surf on the rocks below. Alec takes a deep breath and then makes his way toward the structure. There are no lights on, but he doesn't think his hunch is wrong. He doesn't have the key to the hut but he's pretty sure he doesn't need one. And when the knob turns easily in his hand, he knows for sure that he's right.

Joe is here.

He flips on the light and there Joe is, sitting on the couch with his hands over his mouth. He's rocking back and forth slightly. His eyes are unseeing, he doesn't even seem to have noticed that someone has arrived and flipped on the lights. Alec's lips curl at the sight of him, but he spreads his weight out evenly and keeps his eyes open. He has an idea that Joe is unstable and therefore unpredictable, and he's not taking any chances.

Slowly, as though he's waking from a dream, Joe blinks and turns his head in Alec's direction.

"DI Hardy."

"Not a DI anymore," Alec replies. "What are you doing up here, Joe?"

"She doesn't live in our house anymore. She took our boys away." Joe waves a hand in the vague direction of the town. "I thought I'd try to talk to her, explain…"

"You don't have anything to say to her." Alec's hackles have risen, he feels very alert. His heart, aided by the pacemaker, isn't threatening to betray him anymore. "Or to Tom. Or even wee Fred."

Joe's eyes flash, he looks almost animal all of a sudden, and Alec reminds himself: unstable and unpredictable.

"How long have you been sleeping with her? When did it start?"

Alec shakes his head. "No."

"What do you mean, no? You've been having an affair with my wife, and I want to know when it started!"

"She's your ex-wife, Joe." Alec knows he's baiting the man, but he can't help it. There's a part of him wants a fight, wants the satisfaction of laying hands on this pathetic excuse of man.

"I still love her."

Alec's heart, already beating more quickly than usual, is now pounding in his chest. If Joe looks like an animal, Alec feels like one: wild and driven by instinct. If Joe says those words again, he doesn't think he'll be able to stop himself from punching him.

"Where is she? Where are my sons?"

"Safe." Alec watches as Joe gets to his feet. He is glaring at the other man, warning him silently to keep his distance. "Safer than you are. Nige Carter has got half the town looking for you. They're serious, Joe. They want you to be punished. They all know you did it. You need to leave Broadchurch now, tonight."

"You'd like that." Joe isn't heeding his warning. He is moving closer to Alec. Well hell, let him come. Maybe it's just his Scots blood, but he finds himself welcoming the fight.

"Everyone would like that," he snaps. "They won't stop until they've found you. They'll beat you, maybe to death, and the police aren't going to rush out here to save you, Joe. They're loyal to Ellie, you see."

Joe is close now, within reach. It's the opportunity Alec has been waiting for.

He explodes into motion, striking like a snake. He grasps Joe's collar in both hands, swings him around, and slams him into the wall. There's a satisfying thump as Joe's head strikes the wall hard and his eyes are momentarily dazed. Alec shakes him, wanting Joe to focus on his face. He wants to be very clear about this next part.

"If you go near them, Joe…if you go anywhere near the boys, if you go anywhere near Ellie, it will be me you'll deal with. And you don't want to go up against me. You've never met a bastard like me before. I won't bloody stop until you're no longer a threat to them, and I don't care what it takes."

His Scottish brogue is thick, rough as unpaved road. He slams Joe against the wall again and then releases him. They're no longer alone: the posse Nige rounded up is here, Alec can make out the sounds of them coming up the path. They're not quiet; some of them are probably drunk, more of them are probably armed.

He steps outside. Joe followed, still dazed.

Mark is with Nige at the front of a large group of men that Alec recognizes from town. His eyes run over the familiar faces, all of them twisted with hate. As much as he himself is disgusted by Joe, he knows he can't stand by and watch this mob tear the man apart. But Mark doesn't appear to be whipped up into the same sort of bloodlust that Nige and several of the other men.

Mark takes in Alec, but he doesn't question his presence. He turns his eyes to Joe.

"I should kill you where you stand. Here, where you murdered my son." His eyes are swollen with tears but he sounds more exhausted than enraged.

"You listen to me, Joe Miller. Listen well. You get outta Broadchurch and you go far. Go straight to the devil, for all I care. But if I ever see you back here again, ever, I will kill you. They'll haul me into prison smiling for it, too."

There's a pause. Joe's eyes are wide, terrified, as he looks from man to man. He turns, stumbling, and disappears down the path which winds down the far side of the cliff. Nige starts forward, but Alec shakes his head at him.

"I'll follow him, make sure he leaves town." He looks to Mark. He's never much liked the man, but he respects what Mark has done tonight. "Can you get this lot to go home?"

Mark holds his gaze for a long moment and then nods. He turns and says something quietly to Nige, and then he motions for the men with them to turn and head back toward town. Alec watches them for a second and then turns and heads in the direction Joe went. He can see the man making his way down the trail not too far ahead, and he sets out after him.

Alec's only comfort is that Joe is a coward. He follows Joe to his old house, waits outside while he gathers clothes and perhaps a few valuables as well, and then he comes out and heads for the one road out of Broadchurch.

Alec follows him all the way out of town. He doesn't know where Joe is headed and he doesn't much care, so long as it isn't back to the flat where Ellie and the boys are. When the time comes, when they have more evidence, he is confident that he'll be able to find Joe again.

He watches as the other man walks briskly away from Broadchurch, perhaps heading for a bigger road to hitch a ride with someone. When he is out of sight, Alec pulls out his cell phone and sends Ellie a text message. Then he heads home, trudging back into town for a quick nap and a shower. Tomorrow he and Ellie can discuss what comes next. He isn't used to having to plan for a future…but he finds himself looking forward to it.