"Ya have to get used to it," Jackie was telling him as Alec waited.
"I know Gran but what if he reminds me too much of my other dad?" Jamie wanted to know, his finger hovering over the green answer button.
"Just get on with it before he hangs up," Jackie then suggested.
Alec was thinking the same as he waited nervously for the call to be answered.
"What if I remind him too much of who he knew as his dad?" he was asking Rose.
"You'll be fine. I bet mum's trying to get him to answer," she smiled.
Jackie gave Jamie another nudge so he pressed the button.
"Dad?" Jamie asked nervously as Alec didn't get his camera quite in the right place.
Alec realised and moved his phone around after Rose whispered he had to make sure he could see his own face in the bottom corner.
"Jamie, can you see me now?" Alec was equally still nervous. "I hope I am not making you late for school?"
"No, I've got time. Did you think mum would let me be late?" Jamie tried to joke. "Well gran wouldn't anyway."
"Oi, don't blame me," Alec heard Jackie objecting.
"Well, fine then. Maybe we won't be as nervous when I get there later on?" Alec tried to make light of it. "Well anyway, we both have to try not to be, have we not?"
"Yeah, I know. So when can I start telling everyone? I mean do I leave it to mum?" Jamie wanted to know.
"Best do that eh?" Alec had to agree. "There is still a lot to talk about, including how to make things known. The main thing is we all have to be certain how we are going to do things amongst us first because it also involves Daisy. I don't know yet how she took things, I gave her some time to think about it."
They talked for a few more minutes, then Jamie said he should be leaving. Alec ended the call and turned to Rose.
"I will be back early tonight, I will miss my lunch break then I can leave early. I will pack a few things when I get back," he suggested.
Rose agreed and they kissed goodbye. She then called her mother to see how Jamie had taken things.
"He seemed fine to me," Jackie told Rose. "See how they get on when they meet properly."
Tess had noticed that Daisy was really quiet before she left for school.
"You never said much last night," Tess was telling the teenager.
"I was trying to take in what dad told me," Daisy told her. "It's not every day I find out I have a half brother. He said you knew?"
"Only a short time ago," Tess admitted. "He said he only just found out, though I don't believe him, he must have known."
"Mum, wouldn't he have done anything, if he'd known?" Daisy wanted to know.
"Why would he? He chose to leave her for me," Tess replied. "Well, what are you going to do about it?" she then asked.
"I don't know Mum, he told me to think about it," Daisy told her. "I think he wants me to meet them."
Tess thought of course he did, he was going to turn Daisy against her for what had happened all those years ago. Well she wasn't giving up without a fight, unlike Rose had done. She'd never given much thought into why Rose hadn't faced her to get Alec back.
Alec tried his best to avoid Tess all day, checking up on how his housing situation or transfer was going and he managed to get through most of the day but missing meeting Rose at lunchtime. Tess had met up with Dave in the station's canteen and he'd asked why she looked slightly off.
"Well if he's away for the weekend, why don't you leave Daisy with your mother and we can go out?" Dave suggested, hoping he'd get invited back afterwards, since Alec didn't live with her anyway.
"Okay, I'll arrange it for tomorrow night then?" Tess replied without thinking it over first. "If he's gone back to her for good?"
"Geez Tess, what do you expect?" Dave asked her. "Why did he leave her anyway?"
"I'm not talking about it," Tess insisted.
"Oh, you kept them apart?" Dave laughed. "Wasn't that going a bit far Tess?" he wondered.
"He could have gone back, if he'd wanted to," Tess then huffed.
"Did you give him the choice?" Dave wanted to know. When he got no reply he assumed not. "What did you have on him then?"
"What makes you think I had anything on him?" Tess tried to play the innocent. "Wasn't it enough he'd been down just before he decided to stay with me and got her pregnant?"
"So, he was playing both sides?" Dave grinned. "I never thought he had it in him."
"Whose side are you on?" Tess asked him.
Dave held his hands up.
"I'm on no-one's side Tess. You wanted some sympathy, I listened to you," Dave reminded her.
While they'd been talking, Alec had joined the queue to pay for a drink and a sandwich to take back to his office. He saw them talking but chose to just ignore them, let Tess stew for a while over the news he had a son he'd never known about or did Tess suspect he did know? He didn't really care now, he should have made some time to chase up the divorce but when he got back on Monday, he was going to put it right.
How could he forgive Tess for what she had done? Just let her dare block the divorce, he would get her in the court and tell the judge what she had done, how she had taken him in and made him believe he wanted her over Rose. Rose was willing to forgive him but only because she had married James, to give Jamie a father and she now felt guilty over it.
He was going to tell her not to feel guilty, she had done what was necessary. She could have gone out on her own and struggled like Jackie had done but she had chosen wisely, she had chosen Donna's cousin, who had been more than willing to take her on with a baby that hadn't been his.
"Look at him sneaking away," Tess noticed Alec. "I'm surprised he's not gone to meet her."
"Tess, forget about it," Dave suggested, not wanting her to talk about her estranged husband all lunchtime. "Why do you let him get to you?"
"Easy for you to say," Tess replied, thinking how many times he'd already said it to her. "If he's going off with her all weekend, think what he'll be like when he gets back?"
"Well, it just gives us more time," Dave grinned.
She thought he was thinking of himself again, they'd never really spent any real time together, Daisy was always in the way but with Alec going off, it was the perfect time. She would have to make sure she had a valid reason for letting Daisy stay out though. Maybe she should leave that to Daisy though, make it look like it was a treat?
Alec had noticed Tess and Dave whispering to each other but had chosen not to say anything so he called Rose when he got back to his office. She had decided to go out for a while rather than watch TV all day, especially with the limited channels.
"Watcha," Rose greeted him when she saw it was Alec. "Want to join me after all?"
"If only," he replied. "It would be much better than seeing Tess with Dave Harris in the canteen, looking like a pair of teenagers drooling over each other."
Rose started to laugh.
"Sorry. Hey, don't knock it, we used to like that every Saturday, remember?" Rose tried to be serious.
"I know," he admitted. "Being seen out together, there was just something about it. So, you went out?"
"I'd crawl up the wall if I'd stayed in. Mum's the one for watching the daytime shows and the soaps, remember? I know ya had to move out in a rush Alec but a hotel's okay when on holiday. Ya know I would rather come back with ya next week?" she made sure he remembered.
"I know you do but you have things to sort out and explain to Jamie," Alec replied. "He may not want to leave all his friends?"
"I had no-one to leave, except you when I got dragged away from school," Rose recalled. "Well I did when I was going to Scotland but not going back. Yeah, Jamie's very popular, his friends seem okay. He's kept most of them though some went off. Are ya gonna get back early?"
"Yes, I just went to get something to eat, while I work," Alec told her. "I don't think I could have watched those two for much longer."
"Aw, poor Alec," Rose sympathised.
"Well when I get back, I will chase up alternate accommodation or a transfer, whichever is the fastest," he promised. "If I can get a place short-term by the end of next week, I will take it."
"Alec, it'll be fine," Rose assured him. "Where will ya be able to get transferred to? Do ya think they'll be anything in Broadchurch?"
"You never know love," Alec replied. "I expect it depends how fast we get someone for killing Pippa?"
"I wish I could help ya," Rose told him when he went quiet.
"I know love. Well I had best get back to work then," he tried to be cheerful, knowing that was the difference between Rose and Tess.
He was just about to leave around four when the chief stopped by his office.
"You're leaving early Alec. Any reason?" he asked Alec.
"I told you I was going away this weekend," Alec was sure he'd made it clear. "I did not hide the fact."
"I never said you did but you'll have to go through everything on Monday, if anything's reported. I was going to get extra officers doing house to house on the estate to see if they missed anything. I was on my way to get Tess to organise it," the chief told him.
"I'm sure she will just love that," Alec replied sarcastically. "She will have some excuse to not do it."
"She can try. We all have to make sacrifices. She had best not make any more complaints about you, I've had enough," the chief.
"Then get me out of here," Alec dared to suggest. "She will have no reason to complain then."
"Won't she?" the chief wondered. "It may make her even worse."
"I won't be responsible if it does. That will be her problem, not mine. Now if you will excuse me, I need to set off and have a rest before I drive up to London," Alec replied.
"So, you're serious about your old girlfriend then?" the chief asked.
"Yes. I should never have let Tess win. Now it is time to put things right and I will be chasing up a divorce when I get back because I intend putting everything right, including marrying Rose as I should have done, instead of Tess."
The chief thought that Tess and Alec had always seemed an odd union and he was beginning to find out why. Alec was now seemingly fighting back.
"Well try and keep it quiet, I don't want the whole station talking about it, it's bad enough with the rumours about Tess and Dave going around," Alec was warned.
"That's their doing, not mine," Alec replied, getting his jacket on.
"I'll work on the transfer, it that's what it takes to get some peace around here," the chief told him. "Leave it with me but if it becomes urgent, you may have to take what there is."
"Fine, I can take a temporary posting, it may take Rose some time to arrange things anyway. I would even take somewhere in London, for now," Alec agreed.
He was sure that would please Rose for now but he knew she would have her heart set on Broadchurch, it held a special meaning for them both. He got back to the hotel and finished getting what he needed for the weekend, then he wondered if he should have taken a present for Jamie.
"Alec, he just wants to meet ya," Rose tried to assure him when he asked over their evening meal.
They had just laid on the bed for a while so Alec could have a rest.
"I just felt like I should? Maybe we can go out at some point and he could choose something? Maybe before we go see John?" Alec wondered.
"Yeah, Jamie can show ya how to get to the shopping area before we set off. Did ya set a time for our visit?" Rose asked.
"I will send a message, we could make it for around one?" Alec suggested.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see him again. I really wish I'd known he was so close by, especially after I lost James," Rose told him. "Would it have been fair on you though?"
"Rose, it would not have mattered. If you had told him not to let on you had contacted him, he would have kept his promise," Alec assured her. "He knew how I felt though so he may have mentioned something to my dad or my uncle. They were concerned when I said I was getting married to Tess."
"Was it really bad?" Rose asked, reaching for his hand. "Alec, I'm really sorry how things turned out for ya, when I was happy with James."
"Rose, as long as you were happy, that was all that mattered," he tried to assure her. "It was my own fault Rose, I let you down."
"Alec, forget about it, it happened and there's no changing it. When I found out more about James, it surprised me but made no difference. He wasn't just a department manager, he had loads of qualifications but he gave it all up to work in the same store as I did, even when he knew I was engaged to you."
"I know he really must have loved you Rose," Alec admitted. "You can talk about him, if you want?"
"It's fine Alec, really. We should be talking about you meeting Jamie," Rose replied. "I bet he's excited about having a cousin not far away."
"That's just it Rose, if he has to move," Alec reminded her.
"Well, we'll manage, nothing's planned yet," Rose told him as she got up. "I have to decide about the house, I don't want it going to just anyone. I'll have to see how Donna feels."
"She would be foolish to turn it down, if it was her cousin's," Alec agreed.
They went back to their room to get everything and loaded it into Alec's car. He was right about the traffic being lighter and they made good time, even with making a stop on the way. Jackie was watching TV and Jamie was in his room, wondering what time they would arrive. He went down just after nine thirty to see if Rose had rung.
"They were about halfway," Jackie told him as he sat down. "Wait down here for them."
"I'm too nervous," Jamie joked.
"You don't have to be, I've known him a long time, well I did know him a long time," Jackie told him. "If things had been different?"
"What about if they had gone differently?" Jamie then wanted to know.
"Jamie, your mum loved who you knew as your dad, just as much as your real one," Jackie reminded him. "So stop thinking the worst will ya? Your real dad loves ya, that's why he wants to see ya."
"I know Gran, sorry," Jamie replied as he yawned. "I think I'll wait in my room, ask mum to wake me."
"She might not want to so try and stay awake," Jackie warned him.
Jamie went off and Jackie put the late news on, wondering why Rose had never mentioned the case Alec had been working on but all they mentioned was police were still looking for the person or persons responsible.
"I know what I'd do with 'em," Jackie mumbled to herself. "I know what any parent would do to 'em."
She hoped that when Alec did catch them, he'd either let the parents deal with them or throw the key away after locking them up. She picked up a magazine then decided to get a hot drink just as Alec was pulling into the driveway, just behind Rose's small car.
"I was too nervous to drive down," Rose reminded him. "I mean if ya'd not wanted to talk to me, I'd have probably stayed overnight in a hotel to get the courage to drive home."
"I know love, I was not going to say anything," Alec told her as he opened the door. "Looks like your mother is still up?"
"Don't worry, she'll be waiting for ya," Rose teased him.
"That's what I'm worried about," Alec replied, remembering the greetings he and John used to get. "Sarah-Jane is the same when they visit."
"So, how come ya never came up to see John?" Rose wondered as she got out.
"Because coming here reminded me of visiting you, why else?" Alec admitted. "Sorry. I could never bring myself to be reminded of all the times I came here. I told you, I tried twice to contact you and since I failed?"
"Alec, I'm sorry," Rose told him as he got their things from the back.
Jackie thought she'd heard a car then some talking so she put the chain on the kitchen door and opened it carefully. Then she recognised Alec's Scottish accent and opened the door wider.
"Alec Hardy," Jackie spoke up when he came from the back of the car. "Come 'ere you."
Rose offered to take what he was holding as Jackie stepped away from the door and held her arms out to greet him.
"Have you any idea how much we missed you?" she continued to ask him. "Do ya know what Rose went through?"
"Mum, leave him," Rose warned her. "Give him a chance."
Jackie put her arms around his neck and squeezed him as Alec had already predicted.
"Jackie, it's good to see you again," Alec admitted. "Where's Jamie?"
"He went to his room, I'll go call him when I fill the kettle up again," Jackie replied, Alec remembering what she used to be like, even early in the morning when he and John had been travelling most of the night.
"I'll call him," Rose offered as Alec escaped Jackie's grip.
He took what Rose had been holding and they all went inside, Alec locking the door behind them. Jamie had heard something outside and assumed his mother was back with his real dad. This was the moment he'd been both looking forward to and dreading at the same time, despite reassurances from Rose and Jackie that Alec had already accepted him.
Rose went upstairs instead of shouting for Jamie to come downstairs and went up the extended attic's stairs, Jamie already opening the door.
"Hey, someone wants to meet you," Rose grinned at him despite the late hour. "Don't be nervous."
"You and gran keep telling me that," Jamie managed to smile as he went to join Rose.
He followed Rose back downstairs as Jackie started making tea and sandwiches, bringing back even more memories for Alec.
"Don't you think I've forgotten when you and John used to arrive at all times," Jackie laughed. "Rose warned me not to mention when she was waiting all that weekend for you to arrive and you never did, so I won't, only for her sake though. She said you'd both been punished enough for that."
"I know what it must have been like Jackie," Alec assured her. "Do you think I have ever forgotten? I've lived with it as much as she has."
"Yeah. Well enough said then," Jackie agreed, hearing Rose and Jamie in the hallway.
Rose pushed Jamie in front of her, with her hands on his shoulders.
"Well go and say hello then," she encouraged him as they turned towards the kitchen door.
Both Alec and Jamie knew this was going to be the big test. Alec didn't even know how Daisy was going to take it, that she had a half brother so this was a new beginning for all of them and since he was determined as soon as he got his divorce from Tess, he was going to get Rose to agree to marry him, like he should have done all that time ago.
Jamie had stopped in the doorway and Alec had got up from the kitchen table, holding his hand out. Jamie stepped forward on his own and took Alec's hand but then surprised everyone by going up to him and Alec instinctively pulled him into a hug, both Rose and Jackie putting their hands over their mouths.
"Dad," Jamie looked up at Alec.
Then Rose and Jackie went to join them, putting their arms around Jamie and Alec, forgetting the tea and sandwiches. Tess had tried to keep them apart all that time but she had lost out, Alec was thinking as he rested his chin on Rose's shoulder and whispered that he loved her.