After Claire agreed to let someone contact her, being disappointed she'd not got what she'd gone there for, Alec called Jake back.
"I will have to leave it to you," Alec had to admit. "I have the trial to face now."
"Yeah, just text me her number," Jake agreed. "Do ya think now that Joe Miller's gonna get away with it?"
"I hope not Jake," Alec replied, not too sure any more about it. "I had best warn Rose."
"Rather you than me," Jake had to laugh.
Alec thought Rose would be back with Katy, who would want her nap any time soon. Rose didn't know how to take the news that their old case was coming back to haunt them.
"I'm not sure how I feel Alec," she told him as she stood over the sleeping baby. "I thought that was over with. Did ya expect her to contact ya?"
"I had no idea she was even here Rose," he denied. "Upon hindsight, if she saw me on TV, she would have thought I could help her if she thought Ashworth was now looking for her. Your friend Jake assured me he could deal with her if need be."
"Yeah, he probably can, if it's certain she was the one to take the pendant? I mean it stands to reason her husband will want the pendant, maybe she's gonna blackmail him with it?" Rose wondered.
Alec thought she was probably right. Claire had got back home and was thinking of calling the local paper about Rose Tyler but then thought she'd try her luck with the London newspaper instead.
"Sorry, she no longer works here," Claire was told upon asking for the reporter she'd known of who had covered Sandbrook. "I can get someone else to take your story, if you have one?"
"No, it doesn't matter," Claire changed her mind.
She looked up the local paper instead and got Olly Stevens as the phone was answered.
Olly was in the middle of downsizing the newspaper office as Maggie had moved to smaller premises and he was the only reporter left.
"Sorry, whoever you are," Olly was telling her. "We already know about her. My editor's banned all reporting about it, she doesn't want to cross Mr Tyler."
Claire sat with her phone in her hand, wondering what to do next. Would Alec Hardy pass her details on to Tess or to Torchwood? She didn't want it to be either of them but she supposed Tess was the lesser of the two evils. She was sure this Torchwood had something to do with Lee admitting he'd killed the girl in the first place.
Before anyone knew it, they got a date for Joe Miller's trial and Alec wanted Rose to stay well away from it but that wasn't going to be easy. Alec couldn't believe it was the same prosecution and defence teams who had been involved in Lee Ashworth's trial. Of course, Joe Miller had stood up again and pleaded not guilty and Alec suspected the junior barrister had something to do with the decision as it was a bit of a coincidence.
Ellie had arrived at the courtroom and Alec was trying to encourage her further to go visit Rose, since they had become friends before she had left.
"No, I can't face Rose, not now," she had told him after she had tried to go after Beth, who hadn't wanted anything to do with her.
"You know what Rose is like," Alec tried to encourage her. "She will make sure I asked you."
"Well Joe should have owned up and spared Beth and Mark," Ellie told him as they tried to avoid the waiting reporters.
Alec didn't want to say he already knew what the defence was like. He was sure neither team would have been expecting to see it was him who had brought the case to court. A few days later though, he had no idea that the last time Ellie had visited himself and Rose, Ellie had been spotted on the CCTV camera in the hotel car park. He also had no idea the defence had been desperate to prove Joe's innocence.
"PC Miller," the defence gathered her black robe and addressed Ellie. "When did you and DI Hardy begin your affair?"
"What?" both Ellie and Alec asked at the same time, causing an uproar around the courtroom.
"Answer the question," Ellie was being told as she tried to judge Alec's reaction. "May I remind the witness you are under oath?" Sharon Bishop spoke to Ellie again.
"What affair? There is and never was any affair, he's married," Ellie finally replied.
"Well he wasn't married at the start of the investigation was he?" Ellie was asked.
"No, his now wife joined him a few days after Danny died. What's that got to do with anything?" Ellie wanted to know.
"PC Miller, you are not to ask any questions," the judge reminded her.
"Even so, I put to you, PC Miller that you began an affair early on to plot against your husband and to eventually frame him for Danny's murder," the defence carried on.
There was more noise around the room and both Mark and Beth were shifting in their seats, looking at each other.
"See, I wasn't the only one," Mark was hissing to Beth.
"Your honour," Ellie addressed the judge. "Does the defence know who DI Hardy's married to?"
"I'm sure they do but I will remind the defence. Miss Bishop, are you aware who DI Hardy is married to?" the judge asked.
"Yes, your honour, I'm well aware but at the time, DI Hardy was alone when he arrived in town. I have CCTV retrieval to prove PC Miller and DI Hardy were more than work colleagues. PC Miller, where were you on the night your husband was arrested?" Ms Bishop wanted to know, looking pleased with herself.
"I called my sister to watch the boys," Ellie recalled, trying not to look at Alec. "Then I went to see Beth Latimer."
"Then what did you do? You were seen later on in the car park of the hotel you were then staying in, with DI Hardy. You looked like more than just two work colleagues," the defence gloated.
"I went to see DI Hardy," Ellie then remembered. "His now wife was there though."
"I'm talking about back at your hotel, PC Miller," Ellie was reminded.
"I might have kissed him on the cheek," Ellie tried to remember. "That's not a crime," she added.
"You kissed his cheek," Ms Bishop mocked. "That's what you wanted it to look like, isn't it? You wanted to make it look innocent."
"Your honour, I must object," the prosecution suddenly stood up. "Where is this leading? We all know who DI Hardy is now married to."
"Indeed Miss Knight," the judge had to agree. "Very well. Ms Bishop, you are to stop this line of questioning unless you have solid proof other than some CCTV of PC Miller kissing DI Hardy's cheek, which could have been a simple gesture he had walked her back from where he and his now wife were staying at the time."
Alec wanted to stop holding his breath but wondered if there was more to come. The defence moved on by saying there were no further questions but the damage had already been done. He expected the defence had planned it that way, she was gloating that she'd won in Sandbrook and she wanted to win this time as well.
If she thought she was going to walk all over him, she had another thing coming if Rose got to hear about it. The court was adjourned for lunch and of course, Ellie had to seek him out.
"Why did she even do that?" Ellie wanted to know as she joined him at a table as he tried to send a text to Rose.
"Miller, forget about it," he tried to tell her. "Just try to salvage what you can, Rose knows I walked you back that night. It means now I have to admit certain things and Rose wasn't ready to admit about Katy."
"I already know that," Ellie huffed at him. "Is she now though? I know she's trying to keep it quiet."
"Yes and rightly so, at least until this trial is over," Alec agreed. "Miller, if it comes out now, the focus will be taken away from this trial," he reminded her. "Rose won't want that to happen."
It was now too later and Beth was approaching them.
"See what you've done now Ellie?" Beth asked her as Mark caught up to her.
"Leave it Beth, it won't do us any good," he tried to tell her.
"Mark's right," Alec also tried to tell her.
"Oh you have room to talk," Beth pointed her finger at Alec, who held his hands up in defence. "You just had to bring Rose Tyler here to take the focus off my Danny," Beth added.
"Excuse me," Alec interrupted her as Mark tried to get her away. "Rose never sought any media attention. It was exactly the opposite."
"He's right Beth," Mark tried to tell her as he led her away. "There's not been much in the papers about her."
"Well there will be now, thanks to someone," Beth replied as she was sat down at another table.
Just then, they were interrupted by the prosecution barrister.
"Really, you should have warned me," she told Ellie and Alec.
"There was nothing to tell," Alec defended them both. "Beth is just upset," he nodded in her direction.
"I didn't mean that," Ms Knight told him. "I actually meant two other things. Firstly, the defence may also remember you from Sandbrook, DI Hardy. Secondly, the fact that PC Miller visited you the night her husband was arrested."
"My now wife was there," Alec reminded her.
"Yeah, she was," Ellie backed him. "I had to make sense of what happened."
"That's as maybe? DI Hardy though, well I recall your now wife was also present at the Sandbrook trial. You'd best hope the defence doesn't drag that up." Ms Knight told Alec.
That was what Alec was also hoping. He got Rose's number and called her to warn her. Rose saw the funny side of it though.
"Rose, it's not funny," Alec tried to tell her.
"Want me to get my dad to appoint a solicitor for ya?" Rose then offered.
"Maybe, just in case it's brought up again. Rose, it's the same defence as Sandbrook, remember?" he wanted to make sure.
"Yeah, she was a bit fierce," Rose tried to recall. "Then I stayed behind in London."
"I know," Alec admitted.
"Yeah, sorry. Maybe no-one will take notice?" Rose wondered. "I mean there's no evidence, is there. You'd only been investigating a few days when I arrived in Broadchurch."
"There's supposed to be CCTV of me with your friend, outside the hotel," he told her.
"I'll call Jake and get him to access it," Rose suggested. "He can make it disappear."
"No, don't have him doing that Rose," Alec told her. "She may be just bluffing and we know it was innocent."
"Yeah, I know that Alec," Rose agreed. "Is Ellie gonna come over?"
"I don't know love," Alec replied.
Ellie shook her head when Alec got off the phone.
"How can I face Rose now?" Ellie wanted to know. "I thought Joe would just admit it and I could move on."
"I know, we all thought that," Alec agreed.
As they were going back into the courtroom, Rose was calling Jake.
"Which hotel was it?" Jake asked when he'd stopped laughing. "Is that all they have?"
"Yeah but Alec said it wasn't funny," Rose told him. "Can ya see what it was and send it to me?"
"Yeah, sure Rose. Are ya gettin' Alec a solicitor?" Jake wanted to know.
"I'm gonna call Pete now, to get one down for tomorrow morning. That woman's messed with the wrong people," Rose replied.
She got the CCTV sent to her and studied it. It showed Alec talking to Ellie, then Ellie had kissed his cheek. She recalled Ellie had been her best friend prior to them finding out it was Joe who had killed Danny, Rose saw nothing that could be classed as them being too familiar and to jump to conclusions like the garbage the defence had come out with.
She called Pete, who was sympathetic.
"Jake just told me," Pete revealed. "I agree it's just the defence playing games. I'll make sure the judge gets a copy, you can bet the defence will have omitted to send her a copy."
"Thanks Dad. I know I have nothing to worry about with Alec but what are the jury thinking of him now?" Rose wanted to know.
"Well tell him I'll have someone waiting for him at the court in the morning, who will ask to speak to the judge. Let's see if we can sort this out," Pete assured her.
Ellie had been called back to the witness stand by the prosecution, who only had a few questions for her. After that it was Beth's turn. After they were let out for the day, Alec went straight home and Rose told him what Pete had said.
"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this," Alec told Rose.
"It's not your fault Alec," she tried to assure him. "Maybe ya should have thought what the defence would get up to, after Sandbrook though?"
"Rose, that was sheer incompetence by Tess," Alec reminded her. "They didn't need to use dirty tricks to get Ashworth off."
"Yeah, I suppose that's true?" Rose wondered. "Anyway, someone will be there to meet ya in the morning."
"Then I will watch out for someone although they probably already know who I am," Alec replied.
"Yeah, a brilliant detective and a terrific dad," Rose had to smile.
"If only that were true love although I seem to have got something right at being a dad," Alec also had to smile.
The next morning, Alec set off and was prepared to meet the solicitor Pete had sent to represent him. Alec was right, the man did recognise him and they went to sit down.
"What we have here is a clear case of slander Mr Hardy," the solicitor told him. "I take it the accusations are completely unfounded?"
"Yes, of course they are," Alec told him, wishing Rose was with him. "The barrister probably remembers me from Sandbrook and is on some kind of vendetta."
"Maybe so?" Mr Mayhew agreed. "I will go approach the judge and see if we can get this resolved. It may not be before the proceeding recommence though but I will try."
Alec had to let the man go try then as he waited, Ellie arrived.
"You did what?" Ellie asked when he said he'd got a solicitor.
"Rose got one for me, he's gone to see the judge," Alec told her. "She won't let the press get hold it," he added.
"Well I suppose it covers me as well?" Ellie wondered.
Everyone was now going up to the courtroom and Alec was about to join them as Ellie also made a move. Then he saw his solicitor coming down the steps and met him halfway.
"I managed a quick meeting with the judge and she agrees the accusations are unfounded and Ms Bishop won't be allowed to continue that line of questioning," Alec was told. "If anything else happens, I will be out here," he pointed to the refreshment stand.
Alec wondered how much Pete was being charged by the hour for the other man's services but that wasn't his problem. Rose's stepfather would do anything to keep Rose out of the newspapers these days and not many people even knew she was married and had a one year old daughter.
Fortunately, the defence had backed away from the accusations but Alec knew she could try and bring it up if she wanted to. A former co-worker of Joe's appeared for the prosecution about Joe having a temper then the defence called a witness who was going to let them down – badly.
Alec could see they were trying to pin the blame on someone else but the witness was pulled apart by the prosecution and the judge ended it by telling the woman she could leave. By Alec's reckoning, that fiasco had cost the defence their client's freedom.
That wasn't to be though as he was called again to the witness stand. The prosecution had already pulled him and Ellie up about Ellie attacking Joe in the interview room and they'd been warned that Joe's confession may be disallowed.
"When was a doctor called for Mr Miller?" the defence asked him. Alec just stared at her. "I repeat, DI Hardy, when did Mr Miller receive treatment for injuries sustained whilst at Broadchurch police station?"
He could hear everyone talking amongst themselves, especially Beth and Mark. Alec tried to explain that as soon as he realised, Ellie was removed from the interview room.
"Your honour, I move that the confession Mr Miller gave be dismissed," Ms Bishop addressed the judge.
"Your honour," the prosecution stood up quickly. "I insist this is investigated before dismissal. I will speak to the other officers concerned, then see if any breach occurred."
The judge decided to allow her to do so and the court was dismissed. Alec waited for Ellie while he was talking to his newly appointed solicitor. The solicitor handed Alec his card and was told to call if his services were required.
When Alec turned around, Ellie had already left.
"So how did it go then?" Rose wondered as he was back early.
"It could go either way," he admitted. "I tried to talk to Ellie but she was gone."
"I don't know why she doesn't visit," Rose admitted.
"This trial has done more harm than when Danny was killed," Alec told her.
"Yeah, it's sad that Joe just couldn't accept what he'd done," Rose replied. "Did ya get that accusation sorted?"
Finally, it was the day the jury was to decide Joe Miller's fate. They had been dealt a blow after the judge threw out Joe's confession and the prosecution did what she could to salvage it. Things weren't very good between Rose and Alec as he left for what was hopefully the last time.
"Did ya ever see that footage of you and Ellie that night?" she asked him, since Jake had found it and forwarded it to her.
"No, I don't think you showed me it," Alec replied as he tried to eat his cereal and feed Katy at the same time, which wasn't easy.
"Was it just my imagination it didn't look like she hit your cheek?" Rose asked him.
"What? Rose, it was just on the cheek, do you even have to ask?" he replied. "What brought all this on eh?"
"When I arrived here, to tell ya about Katy. You went out that night," she reminded him.
"Yes, I was invited out by both of them, it was her husband's idea," Alec told her. "I came to you for help afterwards. What are you saying?"
"It was just the way you said it, when I asked ya to come and see me that night," Rose admitted. "It was like that was more important than seeing me."
"What's brought all this on?" he wanted to know as Rose took over feeding Katy. "Rose, we'd not seen each other for quite a while and you never told me why you were here."
Rose looked away while she cleaned Katy up.
"Rose, please?" Alec asked her as he got up. "I had only just met her. Her husband was the one who invited me."
"Sorry," she then told him. "I guess it's gettin' to everyone?"
"Yes love but it should be over today," he tried to assure her.
"I hope so? What's it doing to the others?" Rose wondered.
Alec leaned down to kiss her and then kissed Katy's cheek, the youngster rubbing it.
"Don't you like daddy's beard?" Rose then laughed.
"Well she had best get used to it," Alec smiled. "No matter what happens today, the town won't let him back."
"I just hope Ellie comes back though, it's not her fault," Rose replied.
"I know love, I will try to talk to her," he promised. "She is still your friend then?"
When the jury were sent out by the judge, everyone was waiting around and Ellie decided to sit on her own, her sister and nephew talking outside. Alec got up and went to sit with her.
"Rose still wants to be friends with you," he told Ellie.
"How can I be friends with her if Joe gets let off?" Ellie asked him.
"That won't make any difference to her," he tried to assure Ellie.
"What did she say about the accusation?" Ellie wanted to know.
"You know Rose, she was a bit upset at first but she saw there was nothing to it," he replied.
"Yeah, sorry, it was my fault really," Ellie had to admit.
"No real harm done," Alec replied. "Let's see what happens then?"
"He's going to get off, I know he is," Ellie told him.
"We don't know that yet," Alec replied.
"I know but I went and spoiled it that time," Ellie insisted.
Everyone was called back in but they were to be disappointed as the jury were undecided and the judge insisted the majority of them should agree. They waited around for a while longer then were called back yet again.
Beth Latimer burst out of the courtroom, closely followed by Ellie as the jury foreperson said they had found Joe not guilty. Alec left the two women, who seemed to have made up after months of Beth blaming Ellie for what her husband had done and he drove home.
"Well, that's it then?" Rose wondered.
"I expect the people of the town will seek their own justice?" Alec suspected.
"Probably? Joe won't have anywhere to go, will he?" Rose replied.
"Well it's over from our point of view. She may remain in the town though?" Alec thought.
"Yeah, I hope so?" Rose agreed.
"Now this is all over, how about thinking of a new addition to our family?" Alec dared ask as he picked up Katy from playing with her toys.
"Yeah, we can try?" Rose replied. "So is Sandbrook over with?"
"As far as I am concerned, yes, it's over. Claire never contacted me again but I told her it was either Tess or Torchwood," he admitted.
"Good, it was all Tess's fault anyway," Rose agreed. "I told ya Claire would have been watching that day."
"Yes love, you did and maybe you were right eh? Well the day we know everything, we may as well give up," Alec told her.
Rose just stared at him. Was he The Doctor's twin after all? Maybe it was best no-one knew, it could start all kinds of rumours and those who didn't like the thought of aliens inhabiting the same planet may start an uproar. She knew neither Jake or Mickey would ever admit to anyone else that Alec may be who they thought he'd been and as for Alec waking up when the watch was opened, well maybe it had just been time for him to wake up.
The End!