"Just wine," he confirmed, holding up the bottle when Miller came to the door, clad in an apron. It was an interesting look.
She grinned and threw her arms around him.
Hardy stood there stunned. He wasn't sure what to do with his hands. It was customary to hug someone back, but it was a bit hard to do that when holding a wine bottle. So he just left his arms sort of hovering above her back. "Erm..."
"Sorry," she said, releasing him and looking sheepish. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually missed you. You and your permanent beard and your hate the world attitude. It's kind of refreshing."
Alec opened his mouth to speak, but she continued.
"Come on in then," she said, reaching for the wine.
It was a pleasant dinner. She wasn't a bad cook. Tom regaled them with tales of a book he'd been reading about bugs and decomposition of dead bodies. Ellie had made face, but Alec was genuinely interested. Fred mostly made a mess of his food and attempted to grab Alec's beard at one point, but his hands weren't dextrous enough to get a good grip. He did manage to smear carrots all over it though.
Ellie grinned at him. "Bathroom's at the top of the stairs."
He scowled at her, but winked at Fred as he headed up to wash his face. The upstairs was small as well, two modest bedrooms, a bathroom, and a bedroom that looked more like a closet. One of the larger bedrooms had a playpen in it.
"Here you go," Ellie told Fred, heaving him into it, arranging some toys around him. He grabbed for one and began gnawing on it. Tom sat next to the playpen, flipping through a book.
"Do you want me to... help clean up or something?" he asked awkwardly.
She almost seemed surprised.
"Sure. You can dry dishes."
He followed her down the stairs and back into the kitchen, when a familiar sensation gripped him. He sunk into a kitchen chair, Ellie turning to see what was wrong.
"Hardy?" she asked. "Are you alright?"
Of course, she knew the answer to that. She could see that, his face pale and sweaty, a heartbeat jumping in his neck that wasn't a normal steady rhythm.
He tried to blink away the blurriness that was invading his vision, with little success.
He heard the baby start crying upstairs.
"Mum?" Tom called, hovering halfway down the stairs.
"Tom? Look after Fred will you?" she looked at him with a pleading expression.
"What's happening?"
"Please."
Alec saw the look of fear on Tom's face that was quickly replaced by one of determination. He gave a quick nod and went off to comfort his brother.
"Sir, what do I do? Do I need to call an ambulance?"
He shook his head fiercely. No. No more ambulances. No more unscheduled hospital visits.
"Pills," he gasped, vision darkening around the edges.
"Where?" she asked, sounding desperate.
Yes, where are they indeed... "Jacket," he guessed, hoping he was right, because if he wasn't, he had no clue where they were.
He should have sat down somewhere more comfortable than the kitchen table.
Ellie riffled through his jacket pockets, triumphantly unearthing the foil pack of pills he carried.
He held up two fingers and motioned for water, shoving them in his mouth and attempting to choke them down without, but only succeeding when she threw a glass at him.
He closed his eyes and focused on breathing. He could feel Ellie watching him anxiously. "Sir? Are you alright? Do you need anything else?"
"Need t'lie down," he mumbled, motioning in the direction of the sofa.
She heaved him up unexpectedly, nearly causing him to black out from the sudden change in position. Blimey, she was strong for someone so small.
She dumped him on the couch and stood over him with her arms crossed, Alec watching through one eye opened a slit.
"Can I go attend to my son without you dying on me?" she asked, and Hardy noted that Fred was still wailing in the background.
He nodded, hoping it was true, and he heard her footsteps go up the stairs and the crying stop.