Four years had passed by, very slowly in Pete's world as they affectionately called it for not only poor Rose but everyone else involved. It had been decided Rose would let Tony think she was his real sister, they saw no need to confuse the poor boy, now four in July of 2013 and they had just celebrated his birthday on the 6th. He'd invited everyone from his nursery school class and was looking forward to starting proper school part-time after the summer holidays.
As for the Doctor, back in their old world, time had passed by somewhat more slowly and he had no idea where his twin had gone after landing ironically in Aberdeen but as he'd looked at the date, the Tardis had gone back in time so now, the duplicate Doctor's identity could have well and truly changed. He had made his mind up that perhaps opening the watch wasn't such a good idea after all, if his twin had established a new life for himself.
It was another one of those occasions where he was left with all the guilt again and it was just something he had to live with. After the glimmer of hope that he wasn't the last of the Timelords with The Master and then his unexpected twin, he was still alone.
Rose had tried her best to cope with being left behind again. There was no Mickey to try to cheer her up so Jake had tried to fill his place in Rose's life by being her best friend but Pete had charged him with protecting her and anything she couldn't tell Pete or her mother, she went to Jake.
Rose had been put in charge of repatriating lost aliens who had not been able to integrate into earth's society so easily and whose transport was still usable but it wasn't enough for her. Pete had thought it the ideal role for her, not being able to get home herself any more but it had seemed to make her worse so after almost a year, Pete gave in and let her choose her own job and she'd more or less invented one for herself chasing any signs a gap had appeared in case the Doctor or his twin had been able to get through.
Now, Pete and Jake were getting worried about her because the year before, a possible Doctor look-alike had been in the news over a case of two missing cousins in a town called Sandbrook but they'd managed between them to keep Rose from seeing anything about the detective in charge but something none of them could have predicted was about to happen.
A few days after Tony's birthday, Jake was in Rose's office.
"So are you going on holiday with your parents then?" Jake asked her, still avoiding Mickey's chair even after all this time.
"Think I'll give it a miss Jake, I mean I love Tony but it's mainly for him, he has such a good time going on all the rides and the water slides with friends he makes and he's such a good swimmer for his age," Rose told him.
"So you're gonna just spend your time looking for gaps in the rift then?" Jake grinned. "Some holiday that is Rose."
"Never mind, I might still go with them but it's a few weeks away yet, who knows what might happen?"
Rose had no idea how true that was going to be as DI Alec Hardy had finally got someone to take him on when staying in the town where he'd just divorced his cheating wife, his daughter wasn't talking to him and the victim's father was constantly smearing him in the media for letting his young daughter's killer walk free from court was no longer an option.
As Alec prepared to leave town, he was making arrangements to get the main suspect's wife settled in a small row of cottages a few miles outside the town he was moving to.
"Will you come and see me Alec?" Claire Ripley asked him as her taxi was waiting to take her to the railway station.
"You know I can't get away yet, my transfer is still up in the air," he told her. "The chief there might change her mind and still give that DS the promotion. You have my number, I can get someone to you in ten minutes if you think Lee might be back but I can assure you, he's left the country and I have someone who will alert me if he comes back."
"If you're sure then? I promise I'll be no trouble Alec, I'll find a job, even if I can't set up on my own again now I've lost everything," Claire promised him, the taxi driver looking at the meter. "I have to go or I'll miss the train."
"You know where to get off?" he asked as she got in the back passenger door of the taxi.
"Yes Alec, don't worry about me, I've got used to being on my own." She leaned forward to the taxi driver. "The railway station, thanks. Bye Alec, thanks for helping me."
He watched her being driven off, knowing he couldn't get further involved with her. He'd had to hide the fact from his boss he'd gone to great lengths to get Claire to testify against her husband and it had still backfired on him. Now, all he could do was go start a new life himself in what he had discovered was a small coastal town where very little happened but he had to question the fact they actually needed a DI if it was that quiet.
Two weeks later, he was going to take that back when after he was called to a farm break-in, he was taken down to the harbour beach and was standing over the body of a young boy after having an argument with his new DS, the one who had been passed over for promotion and she was out to make him suffer for it.
He had felt ill walking to the spot where the young boy had been left, flashes of finding Pippa in the river and his own daughter, now fifteen, who still hadn't forgiven him ran through his mind and the fact he'd not taken his pills with being called out so early from his hotel room up in the town.
After his annoying new DS had driven them back to the station and he'd chewed her out for her nosy nephew, the town's junior reporter releasing the boy's name, he risked taking his heart pills and would have to pass them off as painkillers, which in effect they were just not for a headache, which he also had.
That morning, Rose was getting ready for work when she heard the traffic report that there was a delay on the A35 in Dorset at the turn-off for Broadchurch and smiled to herself. What had that got to do with traffic in London, she wondered. Pete said nothing on the way to work, he just glanced at her though the driver's mirror.
"Something wrong love?" he asked, flipping the windscreen wipers to clear the dust that had gathered in the dry weather.
"Should there be?" Rose asked him, playing with the car radio.
"Don't mess with it Rose," he told her as she gave up.
"Want me to sing? Honestly, do you have to have the radio on the boring financial news Dad?" she asked as he pressed a button on the steering wheel to put it back where it had been before she'd tried to get some decent music.
"I may be the head of Torchwood but there's still Vitex to think about Rose, I don't make a fortune out of being the director of a government backed secret organisation," he replied with half a smile. "Something is bothering you."
"I think I might take some time off soon, there have been no new sightings the last few weeks," Rose admitted.
"Getting bored?" Pete asked, still feeling sorry Rose wasn't settling down after all this time.
Rose shrugged her shoulders as they drove into the underground car park, Pete using the remote to open the metal grill.
"Don't forget the meeting later," he told her as they got out, Rose going to the lift.
Once in her office, she switched her laptop on and out of curiosity, looked up the traffic report for the Dorset area to see what the fuss had been about earlier. She followed a link to a local newspaper's social media account and saw the message about a boy being found on the beach a few hours ago. She thought no wonder the traffic had been held up.
After the short meeting in Pete's office with a few other department heads, she went back to her office but Jake caught up with her again as she let the others go down in the lift first.
"You were quiet in there," Jake observed.
"Well it didn't really concern me, did it Jake?" she asked, Jake noting she still had a habit of repeatedly pressing the button.
"It could at some point. Why don't you take some time off?" he suggested.
"I was thinking about it but I'd just go somewhere on my own, don't tell my mum, she'll go spare. I've not even told her I'm not going on holiday with them yet," Rose admitted to him.
"Rather you than me Rose," Jake laughed as the lift finally arrived and there were no trainer marks on the marble wall for a change where Rose had got tired of waiting.
Once back in her office, she tuned into the midday news on the 24 hrs news station, smiling to herself that she'd never admit to Pete she was interested in the news, she just chose not to let him know. Picking up her coffee, she sat back in her chair as the announcer said they were going to a live broadcast from the scene where a young boy had been found earlier that morning.
Fortunately for Rose, she had just put the mug of hot coffee on the coaster Tony had made in nursery school for her when she sat up suddenly as the lead detective appeared. Not listening to what he was saying, she looked at the name Detective Inspector Alec Hardy from Wessex Police, the caption read.
Rose's heart leapt, she felt dizzy and excited at the same time but the news bulletin was over quickly and he'd already gone. She went to the website's side menu where all the headlines had been placed by importance and waited for it to appear so she could watch the clip again and pause it. While she waited, her mother decided to call. Rose sincerely hoped her mother hadn't been watching the same news channel.
"Whatcha Mum, did you want something?" Rose asked, trying to sound normal.
"I was just confirming the holiday booking, you are coming Rose, aren't you?" her mother asked.
"Well I don't know yet Mum, I was thinking about giving it a miss," Rose replied, waiting for her mother to tell her off. She thought it was no good mentioning she might be going off on her own but now, that might be brought forward.
"Well I need to know soon Rose, it's all paid for and Tony will be upset if you don't come with us," her mother replied.
After agreeing she would give it careful thought, Rose went back to the news website and found the link she wanted to the short news bulletin, pausing it as the detective appeared.
"You came back and you never told me," she said out loud to herself, touching the screen. "Why are you hiding from me?"
She listened to the Scottish accent, stronger than the one he'd put on when they had met Queen Victoria. His face looked thinner, his hair was flatter, like when he'd first regenerated and there was something about him she couldn't put her finger on but it was him, even with the start of a beard.
Since her phone wasn't ringing from Jake asking her stupid question like had she seen the news or Pete being concerned for her sanity, she tidied her desk, got her cardigan and shoulder bag and opened her office door.
"I'm off for lunch Liv," she told her secretary, not thinking it a good idea to say she might not be back.
"You have two appointments this afternoon Miss Tyler, should I cancel them?" Rose was asked as her secretary knew Rose never took her things with her just for lunch.
"If I'm not back in an hour, yeah, just rearrange them, thanks. If my stepfather or Jake asks, tell them you only know I went out for lunch."
"Yes Miss Tyler. Is something wrong?" Liv asked her.
"No, why should it be? I just fancy sneaking off to do some shopping," Rose tried to fool the other woman.
Hoping she wouldn't bump into Jake on her way out, she handed her badge in at reception and went outside to wait for a cab she'd used the 'App' for on the way down, a company Torchwood had an account with. She wished now she'd brought her car as the cab pulled up, it being one of the regular drivers but she didn't know what had started out as a traffic hold-up in Dorset was going to lead to anything.
"Afternoon Miss Tyler, going shopping are you?" Michael, the driver asked as she got in the back.
"No, take me home please and charge it to Torchwood will ya?" she answered, getting her phone out and going back to the news website.
"Heard the news Miss Tyler?" Michael asked her, watching through the mirror. "Terrible news about that poor boy down in Dorset, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I was just looking it up again," Rose mumbled.
"Well I hope they catch whoever done it, that detective wasn't giving much away, was he?" he asked Rose, getting no reply from her.
Rose had paused the clip and was staring at Alec Hardy, then she looked him up as the name sounded familiar when she'd got over the initial shock and found he was the detective from the two missing cousins case. She thought no wonder Pete and Jake had been careful not to let her see any photos at the time they knew who it was. They had kept the fact hidden from her, betrayed her trust in them to tell her if there was any chance him or even his twin had got through somehow.
Then she realised it was his twin, the one who had run away from her and the Doctor had sent him back to punish him for what he'd done and he'd either had his memory wiped or he was ashamed he'd run away from her and couldn't face her. As the taxi took her home, she made her mind up to go down to Broadchurch and confront him but would she be able to stay mad at him?
The taxi dropped her off and she let herself in, some of the staff surprised to see her at that time of day so she tried to sneak upstairs undetected by her mother, which was almost impossible since everyone thought Jackie had an in-built radar system. Jackie called her when Rose was halfway after one of the maids had told her Rose was back. Rose thought she should tell the maid concerned to not tell tales.
"Rose, what are you doing home?" her mother asked her. "Does your stepfather know?"
"Yeah, I told my secretary to tell him," Rose replied, hoping to get away with it.
"You expect me to believe that Madam?" Jackie wanted to know. "Anyway, what are you doing home? Tony's gone to that summer playgroup I'm off to get him soon, come with me. He's been playing football, we can catch the end of it."
"I'll see mum, I want to get changed. You go ahead if I'm not down," Rose told her, thinking this was a good time to sneak off before her mother got back.
It wouldn't be until the evening meal when they discovered she wasn't in the house and then they'd think she'd gone out. Rose went to her room and began throwing clean clothes into a small case and some extras into a red floral holdall plus shoes and a jacket, just in case the weather turned nasty, being on the coast. She was getting hungry with missing lunch so she decided to risk more questioning and went to see what she could find in the kitchen, hoping no-one would report to her mother where she was when Jackie wasn't there.
An hour later, having made sure her mother had gone out, she turned off her phone and got into her sports type car after looking up hotels in Broadchurch and finding one hotel that was only too pleased to take her booking.
"Yes, we have rooms available, how long do you want one for?" the Australian woman had asked her before she'd set off.
The owner had obviously not recognised her name when she replied, "Oh, just a few nights, for now. I'll be there in a few hours, can you give me directions or a postcode?"
She joined the motorway that would take her most of the way, then eventually join the A35, where the traffic hold-up had been earlier and she hoped it would have cleared.
Would the Doctor reject her again was one of the many questions going through her mind after she had stopped off at a cash machine and drawn out the maximum amount allowed on her Torchwood debit card, the one Jake could trace if she ever lost it or now, if she ever went missing but her personal one, only Pete could order the bank to say where it was last used. She thought if need be, she could drive to another town and take more cash out, that would throw them off the scent.
She could no longer trust even Jake, her friend, how had they thought it right to withhold this from her when they knew she wanted to get back to the Doctor or even his twin? Now, it all depended on how the Doctor wanted to play this because there was no doubt in her mind it was him, the only other man who looked like him was busy making another film somewhere, she had checked while eating her lunch.
She had also checked on the so-called detective, wondering how he'd managed it all since he'd run away from her but maybe he'd regretted doing so while there had still been time to get back but why had he waited and hidden himself away?
Stopping for a coffee just off the motorway with just over 60 miles to go, she was making good time but knew she'd get held up nearer her destination. She was tempted to use her phone to see if there had been any more news about what had happened and wished she'd not buried her tablet PC in the bottom of her holdall with her laptop but she doubted there would be news until later.
Meanwhile, Pete and Jake had only just found out Rose had gone out to lunch and not come back when Jake got no answer from her mobile so he'd left a message and gone to see Pete. He showed Pete the message 'Where are you sneaking off to?' and Pete smiled.
"She's just gone shopping Jake, you know what she's like," Pete insisted. "She's as bad as Jackie at just going out and coming back with loads of designer carrier bags, I'm told it's called retail therapy."
"Did she mention she was going out on the way here though?" Jake asked, somewhat concerned she'd not told him.
"She's done it before Jake, she'll be bragging to her mother over dinner what she's bought. She might have even gone to buy clothes for the holiday," Pete suggested, hoping he was right.
Jake hesitated for a moment. "She told me she might not be going with you," he admitted.
"Well she said nothing to me about it but maybe she told her mother?" Pete wondered. "Is her phone switched on and she's just not heard it?"
"I'll go to the security office and check," Jake offered. "If it's on, I can trace roughly where she is but if it's off, she's turned it off on purpose or maybe so Jackie doesn't call her."
"More like the last reason Jake," Pete smiled, not seeming too worried just yet. "There could be a dozen reasons she doesn't want anyone to contact her and you can always track if she used her bank card."
"You want me to?" Jake asked, getting up.
"No, not yet, I'll see if she's home when I get back," Pete told him. "If not, she might have caught up with a friend and gone out. She has to have some independence Jake, we thought she would have moved out by now but she won't leave that room where she heard the Doctor calling her all those years ago."
"Yeah, I know Pete but she can be stubborn when she wants to be," Jake told him, trying to convince himself Pete was right. "I'll go see if her phone's on now, she might have even gone to see a film or something."
Down in Broadchurch, Hardy and Miller had got back to the station and Hardy had closed his office door. He was beginning to wish now that he'd stayed in Sandbrook and run Ricky Gillespie out of town instead. He was staring at the computer screen when Ellie knocked on his door.
"Sir, I've arranged the media conference up at the school for six," she told him.
"Fine. Have you got hold of any CCTV footage yet?" he asked.
"You need to give people chance to do things Sir," Ellie told him. "We had a call from the newsagent, do you want me to deal with it?"
Alec got up and went for his coat. "No, I'll go with you," he insisted.
They were just heading out of the building when the chief caught them.
"Alec, can I have a word please?" Elaine Jenkinson asked him. She looked at Ellie. "Outside?" she added.
As they walked around the harbour, stopping at one of the stalls, Rose had checked into the Trader's Hotel, being greeted by Becca Fisher.
"Hi, you must be Miss Tyler?" Becca greeted Rose. "Sorry, I didn't get your first name?"
Rose wondered where the woman had been hiding then.