Notes: Sorry for the bit of a delay there. My muse suddenly had a million ideas for my other story and demanded that I write them down. We are getting into the actual season two of Broadchurch now, so if you haven't watched it yet, you might want to do that. I will be going solely from Alec and Rose's points of view, so you'll miss out on a lot of what happens with the other characters if you go just from my stuff.
Chapter 9 – The Nightmare Begins
Alec woke up gasping and coughing as he tried to clear his lungs of the water his mind told him he was drowning in. He began to cry as he tried to calm down after the nightmare, only to hear Rose whimpering beside him. She suddenly started thrashing and crying, so he grabbed her shoulders before she could throw herself onto the floor and tried to wake her.
"Rose! Rose! Come on, love, wake up," he called to her.
"Send them back! Get them off this planet!" Rose shouted before her eyes popped open and looked at the face hovering over hers in shock. "I..." she choked out.
"It's Alec, Rose. You were having a nightmare," he told her soothingly, knowing that in her disoriented state and the likely topic of her dream, she might not be totally aware of who he was.
"Alec. Thank you," she said shakily and wrapped her trembling arms around him. "I'm sorry if I woke you," she added.
"Nah. Just woke up from a nightmare myself. We're quite the pair," he scoffed.
"Did you... want to talk about it?" Rose suggested, knowing that it might help him. He didn't open up easily, but seemed to be willing to do so with her.
Alec hesitated. He didn't really want to talk about it, but it wouldn't hurt for Rose to know the details of Sandbrook that still haunted him. And if he told her, maybe she would explain a bit of her own. He wasn't sure exactly what she could have meant by talking about people leaving the planet.
"I suppose," he said with a sigh. "Um, I think I told you that I was the one who found Pippa? She was... she was in the river. Her body had been there for three days. It was deeper than I thought and I got pulled under. In my nightmares, I'm drowning and I can see their faces. I can feel the weight of her body as I tried to pull her from the water."
Rose hugged him tightly. Imagining how horrifying it would be to face that kind of thing. She didn't say anything, didn't want to interrupt, but stroked his hair soothingly.
"She was the same age as my daughter at the time. I just... didn't want to let their families down," he told her as he began to cry again. He had stopped himself earlier in the face of rescuing her from her nightmare, but it was all still fresh in his mind.
She rocked back and forth slightly as she tried to soothe him. Alec clung to her tightly. Rose was helping to heal him, but he knew that the pain had to come out first. When he had finally managed to relax, Rose suggested making some tea and they both got out of bed. When they were seated together on the sofa, he decided it was time to broach the subject of her nightmares.
"You were shouting in your sleep earlier," he told her softly.
"Was I?" she responded, clearly not volunteering to share anything.
"Look, Rose, I know that a lot of your work was classified with Torchwood. But I don't care about that. I care about you and I think you need to talk about it," he insisted and squeezed her close to his side.
"It's complicated, Alec. So complicated," she sighed frustratedly and closed her eyes. Clearly contemplating how much she could tell him. "What did I say in my sleep?" she asked.
"You said that you wanted someone off the planet," he replied plainly.
"Shit!" she exclaimed and squeezed her eyes shut. "Ok. This'll sound mad, I know, but the main reason that Torchwood stuff is all classified is because they deal with aliens. Both friendly and unfriendly contact with aliens," she admitted.
"Like, little green men from Mars?" he questioned, struggling with the ridiculous idea, but knowing that she had no reason to lie about this. It was obvious that she didn't even want to tell him about it.
"Yeah. Most of them aren't green, though, and come from a lot farther away than Mars."
"So, the people your husband was negotiating with were aliens, then?" he deduced.
"They were," she replied with a nod. "Their whole planet had been at war and they wanted to come here as refugees. They looked mostly human, so they could have managed in that respect, but our translation software didn't recognize their language. John understood it though. I can't explain right now how he knew a bunch of alien languages. Maybe later. The fact is, he was the only one that could communicate with them. When one of them shot him, I wanted them sent back to their war. I couldn't stand the idea of any of them staying here," she explained and started to sob. "Why should they get to stay when he was gone?"
Alec held her tightly and rubbed her back as she cried. "Alright, love. Alright. It's ok, now. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known how the talks were going and you wouldn't be able to read the body language of another species. It wasn't your fault," he assured her as he continued to stroke her hair and back soothingly.
"I like it when you call me that," she hiccupped.
Alec smiled as he admitted, "I like that I can. You are so brave and strong. Thank you for telling me, love."
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Rose squeezed him tightly as he repeated the endearment. The Doctor had never settled on one that he used with her all the time. Most of the time, he just experimented with various alien endearments and babbled explanations of their meanings and origins and why each of them were never quite the perfect expression of how much he loved her. Alec's sweet little addition was another thing that was comfortingly human. She had loved her part-alien husband, but having these differences allowed her to place each of them in their own space in her heart. Both special and both loved.
"I love you, Alec," she whispered to him.
"And I you, Rose," he answered and kissed her neck softly. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about Torchwood. Did you really work with aliens?"
Rose chuckled at that. She had married one, but she didn't think he would be quite ready to hear that part yet. "Yup. Even though the Cybermen were completely a human creation from that idiot, Lumic, there are quite a few alien visitors around. Torchwood's job is to interact with them, sometimes stop them from hurting anyone, and often to help them find a safe place to stay until they can leave or integrate into our society without people noticing," she explained.
"So, there might be aliens living next door or something and we'd never know?" Alec asked incredulously.
"Well, Torchwood tries to keep tabs on them, so they don't cause trouble or they protect them if someone gets too curious. But a lot of aliens look surprisingly like us or can hide the differences easily enough to blend in pretty seamlessly," she acknowledged.
"When you said that you were behaving recklessly after he died, were you hunting down hostiles on your own or something?" he speculated.
"A couple of times, yeah. Felt like I had to fill the spaces for both of us. No one else had as much experience with them as we did, so..." she trailed off, worried that if she said too much, he might start asking questions about the nature of that experience.
"I'm glad they stopped you, then. Taking on angry or dangerous people when you are not entirely stable yourself, is rather dangerous," he told her honestly.
"Yeah. I know. They pulled you off the force because of your heart, yeah?" she asked.
"Yeah. It started even before Sandbrook, but the stress of the case and the divorce just made it worse. I had hoped that by moving here and taking an easy DI job, I could relax a bit while I continued to work on Sandbrook on my own. I set up Claire nearby to keep an eye on her. I've got someone watching Ashworth for me, so I know where he is. But a week after I started here, Danny was found on the beach and it's just gotten worse," he explained.
"Is there anything the doctors can do for you?" she wondered and laced their fingers together.
"They want to put in a pace maker, but they aren't sure I'll survive the surgery," he admitted to her quietly.
"Oh my god, Alec. It's that bad?" Rose gasped as she squeezed his hand tightly.
"Aye. I'll probably have to risk it eventually. I'm not going to get any better without it," Alec said and kissed the back of her hand lovingly.
"I think you should book the surgery. Those things can take a while to set up, love," Rose told him supportively.
"I will. I've no plans to leave you behind any time soon, love. You've had enough of that for one lifetime," he answered and stroked her hair off her face. "We should try to get some more sleep. Back to work in the morning."
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It was another month before Alec received a letter from the hospital. He was sitting on the steps outside as he opened it and Rose joined him, looking over his shoulder.
"What's this?" she asked curiously, leaning her head on his shoulder.
Alec turned to kiss the top of her head. "I've got a date for the surgery, a few weeks from now," he replied.
"I'll make sure and book some time off. You'll need someone to take care of you after that and I've got some vacation days saved up," she told him. "I'd best get dressed for the hearing today, yeah?"
He nodded and went back inside as well. He took his pills and retrieved his tie and jacket. That was when his phone started buzzing on the table. Alec saw the call display reading Olly Stevens and begrudgingly answered it, "What?"
Olly was asking if he was ready for their interview with him. He had forgotten that he agreed to that, but found Olly and Maggie outside his door, waiting for him.
"Rose, I forgot about this newspaper thing. Did you want to meet me there?" he called back into the house.
"No, I'm ready now, I can come with you," she answered brightly as she grabbed her bag and joined them.
The reporters from the Broadchurch Echo took them down to the beach for the interview and Olly started the voice recorder on his phone before asking his questions, "DI Hardy, you must be anticipating the relief today's court date'll bring."
"It's the plea and case management hearing," he corrected.
"But you're pleased you've got the right man in the dock?" Olly pressed.
"What sort of question is that? Pleased? Is that how you train him?" he asked Maggie, affronted that they would try to paint him as vengeful towards the man that had confessed and was arrested. His phone started buzzing in his pocket and he checked to see who it was. The call display said it was Claire.
"Take it if you want," Maggie told him.
He dismissed the call, but it started again almost immediately. Dismissing it again, he turned to whisper in Rose's ear, "Claire's panicking about something. The timing couldn't get much worse." She nodded and he returned his attention to the reporters.
"Right, today's hearing is the result of a thorough investigation by a team of dedicated officers who worked day and night under difficult circumstances," Alec told them formally.
"And how will you personally feel seeing Joe Miller again?" Maggie asked pointedly, clearly realizing that their interviewee wasn't responding well to Olly's methods.
"No. Don't do that. It's not about me," Alec snapped at her.
"He's the husband of your old Detective Sergeant. You must want the same as us, Joe Miller sentenced for what he did. As soon as that happens, we can all move on," Maggie suggested.
"You know I can't comment in advance of today," he replied.
"Are you missing being on active duty as a detective?" Olly interjected, seeing that comments regarding the case wouldn't be forthcoming and deciding to go for personal gossip.
"You can probably stop taking the arsehole pills, Oliver," Alec responded curtly.
"Well, I thought you might leave now that you don't have any reason to be here. Except, of course, Ms. Tyler's being placed here for the time being," Olly told him rudely.
"Don't bring Rose into this," he growled.
"If this is about us going over your head in making statements after New Year's, Olly, then I will gladly direct you to make closer contact with my father's PR department," Rose said as she placed herself between the two men and crossed her arms. They were both significantly taller than her, but she learned to glare from the best of them and the reporter backed off quickly.
"Alright, picture," Maggie announced brightly. "If you'd just stand there."
Rose stepped aside, since this was clearly about Alec and not her.
"Here? Really?" he questioned.
"Yeah. That cliff fall's recent. They're getting more frequent," Maggie informed them, making conversation to draw attention away from the terse words between them.
"Things fall apart," Alec grumbled, clearly thinking of himself. Rose gave him a half smile to show her understanding.
Maggie took a few pictures and tried to convince them to allow a few with Rose as well, but they declined.
Before leaving, Alec decided to ask Olly about his family, "How's Tom getting on?"
"Me and mum are trying to get him through it, bu the still doesn't want to be with Ellie," he answered honestly.
"Have you seen her?" Alec asked.
Olly shook his head to say that he hadn't and questioned, "You?"
Alec shook his head as well and led Rose back up off of the beach towards her car. Once they were both settled, Rose asked him, "What do you think Claire wants?"
"She's texting me now. I dunno, but we don't have time to deal with her until after the hearing. You didn't have to come today, love," he told her, changing the subject.
"I wanted to come. For you and for Beth. She's one of my friends too, you know," Rose replied with a smile.
"I know. And I'm very glad that you have made some friends here. It's good for you," he said and took her hand.
They arrived at the courthouse at the same time as the Latimers and had to watch as the press nearly attacked them on their way into the building. A few of them moved from the family and took pictures of her and Alec on their way in as well, but they managed to avoid it for the most part.
When they got through the security station at the entrance, they saw Beth, Mark, and Chloe talking with the lawyer assigned to the prosecution. Alec and Rose approached them, but didn't say anything until he left to go to the courtroom.
"Beth," Rose said as she moved to hug her friend as tightly as she could around her very pregnant belly. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, Rose. Thank you for coming," Beth replied.
"You didn't have to be here today," Alec informed them.
"Oh, we did," Mark said assuredly.
"I need to hear him say it," Beth responded.
There was an announcement over the PA system, calling the parties involved to proceed into the courtroom. Alec held back and checked his watch as he looked around the lobby.
"Are you looking for Ellie, love?" Rose asked him.
"Thought she'd be here for this. She needs as much closure on it as Beth does," he answered.
They gave up waiting for her and made their way to the courtroom, sitting at the back together. It was only a moment later when a flustered looking Ellie Miller entered as well and Alec called her over to sit on the other side of him from Rose.
"How's Devon?" he asked her quietly.
"Awful," she grumbled miserably.
Alec nearly jumped out of his seat at the sight of a dark haired woman that entered the courtroom next. "Claire," he whispered to Rose before getting up and pulling the woman out of the room.
"What's that all about?" Ellie whispered to Rose, clearly recognizing her from the papers as being Alec's girlfriend.
"We'll explain later, yeah? Nice to meet you, by the way. Wish it were under better circumstances," Rose answered with a friendly smile and offer of her hand.
"Likewise," she replied with a forced smile. "Who was that?" Ellie asked Alec when he returned to the seat between the two ladies.
He shook his head as the hearing started. Ellie was clearly on the verge of tears at seeing her husband again. She was barely holding herself together. Beth glared at Joe Miller angrily and Chloe began to cry quietly next to her mother.
Joseph Miller was dressed in a dark suit and tie, standing far too confidently in the dock.
"How do you plead? Guilty or not guilty?" the question was asked of the accused.
"Not guilty," he answered loudly.
Ellie gasped, "No!"
Rose could see Beth nearly fall apart, looking around the room desperately for someone to tell her that it wasn't possible. She wished then, that she was sitting closer to her friend to offer her support. Rose took Alec's hand then as he shifted uncomfortably and bit his lip.
"Er... Your Honour... Sorry. Can I just ask for the indictment to be put again?" the defence lawyer asked awkwardly.
Mark stood up then and began shouting angrily, "Be a man, Joe! You know what happened!"
He was ordered to sit down and it became painfully clear that Joe had not even informed his counsel of his intention to plead his innocence. He confirmed his plea and the hearing was ended, calling for a full trial to take place in two weeks time.
Rose tried to comfort Beth as much as she could. After a lot of hugs and crying, their family went home for the evening. Rose asked Alec where Ellie had gone.
"Saw her go into the ladies' a while back. She hasn't come out," he replied.
"I'll keep an eye out at the door if you want to go in and talk to her," Rose told him. She would have offered to go in, but she didn't really know Ellie. She was Alec's friend and it would be best if he spoke with her.
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Alec knocked on the stall door.
"It's occupied!" Ellie shouted.
"I know. Come out, Miller," Alec told her calmly.
"Go away! It's the ladies! You can't come in!" Ellie shouted again.
"Rose is watching the door. Come on, you've been ages," he called back to her.
Ellie stumbled out of the bathroom stall, wiping tears from her cheeks with her fingers. She looked in the mirror over the sink to make sure she hadn't smeared makeup all over her face. Alec struggled for what to say that might help. He'd had plenty of practice helping Rose when she'd been upset lately, but everything that he could think of to say to Ellie seemed pathetic.
"Don't let it get to you," he finally told her with the expected, emotional response.
"Oh, thanks for that. Brilliant advice," she replied and thought for a moment about the whole situation. "You caught Joe. He had Danny's phone, you brought him in, you interviewed him. He didn't resist. He is guilty."
"And the case against him is strong. The CPS never had any doubt about prosecuting," Alec agreed.
"Doesn't he know what it's gonna do to Beth and Mark? To all of us? Oh god, who's gonna tell Tom? He's at school. If his friends find out before him..." she rambled as all of her worries started to pour out in her emotional state.
"I spoke to your sister," he told her reassuringly. "She and Olly are going to take him out at lunchtime."
"I could go with them. I could see him," she said hopefully.
"You know he doesn't want that," he told her regretfully with a shake of his head. If Tom didn't want to live with his mother, then he was clearly to upset to be around her and with Miller in the state she was, an argument was the last thing she needed.
"I'm his mother!" she argued. "He's only gonna blame me more. How am I ever gonna get him back if there's a trial?" Ellie sniffled as the tears returned. She took a deep breath and grumbled, "How is this my life now?"
"I'm sorry," he whispered. He thought about the best ways he had to help Rose deal with her pain lately and stood up from where he was leaning against the counter. "Do you want a hug?" he offered.
"What? No!" Ellie cried in shock.
"No," he accepted.
"What's the matter with you?" she questioned.
"I want to help," he insisted.
"Hug it out? Is that what you do now? Got yourself all hooked up and everything," she responded fiercely.
"What? Don't be like that, Miller. Don't bring that into it, I'm trying to help you. You're my friend," he responded, refusing to allow her to belittle his relationship even if she was upset.
"Whatever," she grumbled as she picked up her purse and started for the door.
"Try not to be alone today," he called after her.
"I am alone, sir," she replied angrily.
"You don't have to call me sir anymore," he told her.
"I know," she shouted over her shoulder as she bumped into Rose who was standing at the door to direct people away. "Christ's sake! Get out of my way!"
Alec walked out of the washroom and pulled Rose to sit with him on a bench nearby. "Well, that went well," he grumbled sarcastically.
"She'll be alright... eventually. Give her some time to calm down. She knows that you're here for her when she's ready," Rose suggested. Alec nodded and she asked, "What did Claire say?"
"She's been getting anonymous phone calls and she thinks it's Lee," he told her, happy for the change in topics for the moment.
"I thought you said you had someone watching him?" she asked.
"I do. He hasn't said anything about Lee coming back here. I sent her back home and said I'd stop over there after," he told her.
"Well, let's go then. She must be pretty upset about it, if she came all the way here to find you," Rose responded and stood up to go back to her car.
"I don't want you dragged into this, Rose," he argued, hoping to take a taxi instead of bringing Rose to the house where Claire was staying.
"Too bad. I'm already involved and she knows who I am, unless you aren't allowing her television or newspapers," she countered logically.
"Alright, let's go," he acquiesced and took her hand as they walked to her car.
