After unpacking, Rose wanted to go for a walk on the beach and for the first time, they held hands for more than a few minutes. Rose wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel but Alec said they would come back later when everything was lit up. They walked back on the promenade, through the gardens and got back just in time for dinner.
Alec was glad he was still wearing a suit but it was all a bit posh for him. Rose had changed into a pale blue dress, figure hugging he had thought when seeing her getting changed and she said she wasn't dressed for going back on any rides so she insisted on going back up to get changed again, hoping they weren't too late. They finally reached the wheel and Rose led him into one of the gondolas as the wheel began its assent just as it was getting dusk and lights were coming on. They were on their own and not caring if anyone was watching from anywhere, they kissed as their compartment just reached the top.
Rose giggled and held his arm tightly and held his hand as they descended. Then they walked back through the gardens again, Alec taking his jacket off for her as she was only wearing a pink top. He held it in place over her shoulders and once they reached the hotel, she gave him his jacket back. They went into the bar for a drink, it was only nine thirty.
"That was great Alec. Do you want to go out on a boat tomorrow?"
That was something he was going to have to explain to her. "Well about that Rose, I can't go on boats."
Thinking he got seasick, she dropped the subject which Alec was thankful for so he quickly changed the subject before she started asking questions.
"We could drive a bit further, if you want. To Paignton or somewhere."
"Yeah, that would be nice." She touched his leg with her foot under the table. "Do you want to go up to our room Alec?"
She was tormenting him, of course he wanted to go to their room, he was waiting for her to finish her second white wine spritzer. He had opted for non-alcoholic, he'd had half a glass of wine with his meal although the food was a bit rich for him. He wondered why Rose had chosen a fancy hotel like this but he supposed she had got used to this lifestyle. He had no idea where she actually came from and she had no intention of telling him, well only the official version or that would be another man she lost.
They took the lift to the third floor and Rose was still giggling that they had kissed at the top of the wheel. They got inside and Rose put her arms around him.
"That was fun Alec, can we go on it again tomorrow night?"
"If that's what you want, we'll go on it again." It was the least he could do since he couldn't go on a boat with her. He would be more than just seasick if he was to venture out on one. He couldn't get over what had happened all that time ago. It took him all his time to pass his swimming certificate when he joined the Police but it had been a requirement.
Before he had realised, Rose was standing in front of him in her sexy underwear, waiting for him to get undressed. He stood before her in his briefs, leaving nothing to her imagination and she licked her lips at him and walked up to him, standing on her tip-toes to reach him. He lifted her up and they made their way to the rather large king-sized bed with the rich red bedspread.
Rose was almost afraid to get into the bed with its crisp white cotton sheets that she would never dream of buying and thought it must take a ton of starch to get them like that. Alec wasn't interested in the sheets, just who was lying on them as he got onto his knees and began kissing the top of her breasts.
"Rose, I swear you wear a size too small bra just to get me going," he smiled.
He reached around the back and unfastened the clasp, watching her breasts come loose and leaning down to take one then the other into his mouth.
Rose was reaching for the front of his briefs, tormenting him by touching the material. She let out a giggle.
"You can talk, you were wearing boxers the first night now all of a sudden you're wearing tight fitting briefs."
Alec smiled. He felt young again and so wanted to show her how he felt about her. She was his lifeline, a reason to go on now.
"They're not tight, they're just snug."
Rose laughed, pulling him down on her. "My turn tonight, you keep them on. You know if you move in with me, we can take it in turns, until you're well again. Mind you, next week won't be a problem it will be that time of the month again, back end of next week."
He looked up from pulling her panties down her hips. "I'm disappointed but I have been married Rose, it's not news to me. I know you women go off things when it happens."
Rose stopped him from what he was doing. What had his ex told him? "Alec, wait on a minute. I do not go off 'things' when I'm like that. I might get a bit moody but I would never take it out on you in bed. Where did you get that idea from?" She had a pretty good idea but needed to hear it from him.
"I thought you were all the same. My ex wouldn't let me anywhere near her. Mind you, it got to the stage she wouldn't let me near her full stop. She was seeing someone else. She left me to deal with a twelve year old girl who was going through a phase. Don't get me wrong Rose, I love my daughter but she caused me a lot of heartache. Then suddenly, my ex announced she was leaving and took Daisy with her, leaving me with an empty house. That was eighteen months ago. We got divorced, she stayed with her new boyfriend and expected me to sell the house and give her half. I'm going to get a new solicitor because there is no way she is getting a penny."
Rose smiled. "Good for you Alec. I can ask my dad to recommend someone for you if you like? Anyway, I don't need to know any more. The past is another country." The Doctor had told her that.
Alec finished the task of taking off her underwear and was lying on her until Rose curbed his enthusiasm. "Don't you go getting any ideas, I'm not driving you to the hospital."
Alec smiled. She was very good at making light of his inability to 'perform' and most men would have taken it the wrong way. She was exactly what he needed and she had come into his life at the exact right time. Rose turned them around so she was on top, rubbing herself against his growing erection, until he thought he couldn't stand much more as he called her name.
"Rose, let me take these off, I promise I won't try to do anything I know I can't. Please? I just want to feel what it's like."
Rose nodded, moving to one side and with his free hand, he pulled them down, Rose not giving him a chance to wriggle out of them before she was pressing herself to him as they tumbled over again so he could free himself. Rolling onto their sides, they were both gasping at each other's touch and Rose fell asleep on him. Alec was smiling to himself and decided he was going to take her up on her offer of moving in before she changed her mind.
After breakfast the next morning, Rose making certain Alec took his medication, they got into Rose's car and drove down to Paignton, walking on the pier, then Rose wanted to go on a steam train and since Alec couldn't go on river boat, they walked around for a while. Alec wanted to buy something special for her so they went off on their own for half an hour, Rose buying him a new wallet since his other one seemed a bit well worn and Alec bought Rose a rose pendant, saying he thought it was a bit cheesy but Rose loved it as he fastened it around her neck in the outdoor caf they met in. After getting the train back to Paignton, they drove back to Torquay.
After another night of exploring what each of them liked the other to do, Alec told her the following morning that he would call and collect the rest of his things on the way back and book out of the hotel.
"So is that offer to move in with you still open?" he asked as they were packing the next morning.
"Yep, think I was able to put up with you for the weekend. Can I ask you something though? What is it with you and not going on the water? You barely walked near the sea when we went out. Did something happen to you?"
"Rose, it happened a long time ago, I hardly remember it. I just know the water scares the hell out of me. I had to take swimming lessons again when I joined the Police. I didn't enjoy it. I had to have someone in the pool with me." He remembered it only too well, he just didn't want her to know.
"Then let me help you Alec, it would be a shame if we can't go in the water together. I'll hold your hand."
He knew he would be safe with her, if they just walked at the edge of the sea. "Ok then but going in a swimming pool or on a boat is entirely different, I'll have to work up to that."
"Ok, I'll help you. We'll start when we get back to Broadchurch, we'll go for a walk on the beach and take our shoes off and walk in the water."
Alec panicked. That had been the place where it had happened. "Well maybe that's not such a good idea, people will see us together. We'll go somewhere else." He knew he had to get over this, if he was going to have a relationship with Rose, he couldn't keep hiding her from other people or hiding things from her.
Rose had already sensed there was more to it. "It's ok Alec, I understand but as soon as this is over, people had better get used to seeing us around town together."
Little did they know people would see them the following morning, all over The Bristol Post, closely followed by other newspapers. After checking out of The Traders Hotel, Rose found him some room for his clothes and then they had to discuss if they were going to stay there longer than the initial rental period Rose had taken the apartment for.
"It all depends how long it's going to take me to get my furniture down here and sell my house."
"Don't worry about that. We can rent somewhere for now. It also depends on how much longer you're going to be working on this case. The sooner you solve it, the sooner we can go to London and get you well again. I should hear back from my dad soon about it. Let's stay here a bit longer then, until it's over and we come back from London. When I talk to him, I'll get him to give me the name of a good solicitor and we'll get your problem solved. In the meantime, staying here is the best option. We need somewhere furnished."
"Well I'm doing my best about the case Rose. I'm just waiting to get more evidence. I can't talk about it, you know that. If I could, I would gladly take any help from you."
Alec could only agree to stay where they were, it had been nice stepping out of the apartment and walking into the station the last few mornings. He just hoped he wouldn't get questioned about it or he would have to confess he had a girlfriend. It would surprise a few people to say the least. He didn't have to tell them who she was though. That wasn't going to be his choice to make.
Olly Stevens had gone back to Bristol on Friday afternoon, debating whether he had a story or not. From what he had heard from his Aunt Ellie, she didn't get on very well with the detective so he wouldn't incur her wrath if he printed something about it. He had been 'scooped' by Rose Tyler regarding the Hardy story so what better way to make a bit of a name for himself than to write about both of them. Plus he was upset about Karen White, even though he had never met her.
His headline 'DI Alec Hardy is this why Rose Tyler defended him against Karen White from The Daily Herald?' was going to be above the photo he had taken in the hotel car park, of Hardy with a well-placed hand on Miss Tyler's posterior. He was going to write a piece about how she had been quick to defend him and now everyone knew the reason why. What he didn't know was it was going to shorten his career even more, once Jackie Tyler saw it.
Rose woke up on Monday morning, hair all over the place that Alec nearly swallowed some when he woke up, something he was going to have to get used to since Rose now liked going to sleep on him. She thought her alarm was going off at seven thirty but it was her phone. It was Pete. She answered him, trying to focus on the phonecall and not Alec getting up out of bed, blinking twice to concentrate.
"Morning Rose, I trust I didn't wake you?" He didn't wait for her to reply. "You might want to look at this morning's papers. Really Sweetheart, you should be more careful where you kiss your new boyfriend."
"Dad, I don't know what you're talking about."
She was disrupted by Alec's phone ringing. He went into the living room to answer his, fastening his trousers with one hand while trying to answer it. It was Miller, telling him the same and how she was going to string her nephew up by the short and curlies when she got hold of him.
Rose had come out of the bedroom, after putting her dressing gown on and they looked at each other. Rose mouthed "I'm going to kill that Olly Stevens' and Alec pretending he didn't hear her make that threat.
Rose had been getting another lecture from Pete about kissing her boyfriend in public.
"Dad, we weren't in public. We were in the hotel car park and he must have been spying on us. Do you really think we would have kissed if we had known there was someone watching? We've been trying to keep it quiet, that's why we went over to Torquay for the weekend, so no-one would know who we were. Alec can't afford to be seen with me, not now. Can you do anything about this?"
"Well I can get them to retract the story, say the photo came from an unreliable and questionable source. I can claim it's not you but your mother is convinced it is. If I were this Olly Stevens, I'd be more concerned about Jackie than me. You know how protective she is of you. Leave it to my legal department, it will all blow over by lunchtime. Anything you care to tell me about this Alec Hardy?"
"He moved in with me."
"Well at least you admit it."
"Yeah, well I'm taking care of him, making sure he takes his medication."
Alec was now listening as she mentioned him taking his pills, he went to get some water to take them, since they were now both wide awake.
"I need to talk to you about something else. Have you heard from Doctor Harper yet?"
"No. I'm still waiting. Rose, I think we need to meet Alec in person. Can you both come over this weekend? I've already warned your mother who he looks like, she won't say anything."
"We'll try. We were going to stay here, until Alec solves the case and he gets treatment. Can you extend the rental on this place?"
"I don't know Rose, I'll ring them and try. It might be already booked. It not, try and find somewhere else and let me know."
"Alec has a house to sell up in Scotland, he's having problems though. Can you get your legal team to talk to him about it?"
"Sure, just send me his mobile number and I'll get someone on it. Is he thinking of buying a house down there?"
"Yeah, once all this lot is over. He's going to have all his stuff sent down though to be ready. I need one more favour."
"Go on, what now?"
Rose knew he was amused. "If he can't sell his house yet, can you lend him the money to buy something? He'll pay you when he completes the sale."
"I don't see why not. I'll get the legal team onto it, see how much he's asking for it. Meanwhile, if you find somewhere to rent, you'd better take it for a few months or you'll be moving again."
Rose laughed. "There's always the caravan park, we could rent a caravan for a few months. Then we don't have to worry about moving again. I'll call in if you can't get an extension on this place."
"Fine. Tony was wanting to come down and visit, why don't we come down this weekend instead of you coming up here? We can book a caravan, Tony will love it. There's one right near where you are isn't there?"
"Yeah and there's one a bit further down the coast, they have a proper fun centre for kids."
"I'll look into it. Don't worry about the press Rose, just grin and bear it for a few hours, it will blow over."
"Great but Alec will have a more difficult time than I will. I'm used to it. I know why Olly Stevens did it. I think he fancies Karen White and got upset about my article, like I was trying to defend Alec but I didn't take a photo of her snogging someone in a car park."
Pete laughed. "Well when your mother meets Alec, you had better warn him about her temper. I'll have to tell her to go easy on him in view of his condition."
"He won't want any special treatment but he might arrest her if she tries."
Pete was still laughing. "Maybe, we'll see you at the weekend Princess. If I hear from Doctor Harper, I'll give him Alec's number and they can talk."
"Thanks Dad, give my love to Mum and Tony."
"I will and you look after that new man of yours. Though not necessarily in car parks."
Rose laughed but deep down she was fuming with the other reporter. She had not stooped that low to bring up anything personal about Karen White but maybe she would retaliate against him. She thought better of it and decided to leave it to Pete. She retrieved Alec's number and put it in a text to Pete.
Alec was finishing getting washed and dressed. Rose went to make breakfast. As Alec came into the kitchen, he put his arms around her and felt under her dressing gown, giving her breasts a squeeze and kissing her neck.
"Quite a mess we've got ourselves into, Miss Tyler. Now everyone will know I have a girlfriend without me even telling them."
"It's all being taken care of Alec. Dad will have someone call you about selling your house and he'll give your number to Doctor Harper, he'll contact you directly. My family are going to come down this weekend to meet you."
He kissed her cheek from behind. "Great, I'm looking forward to it."
"Oh, you don't know what you're letting yourself in for Alec Hardy just wait until my mum meets you."
Alec then indeed wondered what he was letting himself in for. Apparently he was family now.
