The car journey was silent as Alec drove Daisy to school. Daisy only stared out the window, watching the town pass by. There was no stopping Alec from taking her to school. It only meant that Daisy wouldn't be able to meet Jay before heading off to school.

Ever since she met him, she had been meeting him before she went to school unless he had to work early. She remembered the day she first met him and how he made her smile. He gave her the sweetest compliment about her eyes and her cute smile.

Daisy hadn't had a boyfriend before, back home when she was living with both her mum and dad, all the boys found her dad terrifying and didn't want to go near her. They were even afraid to talk to her, afraid that her dad would come after them if they said the wrong thing to her. Daisy wasn't the sort of girl to run to her dad if someone had said something horrible or was being rude. She was pretty good at ignoring immature boys.

However when the photo of her was spread around the school, she felt violated and all the boys were hounding her. After a few weeks of it she had to tell her dad… he probably would have found out anyway.

The first time she met Jay was in town. She was with her friends and they were buying some snacks from the small corner shop when she had dropped her purse and didn't know about it. She only realised she had lost it when Jay had actually found it and gave it back to her. He told her to be more careful and she agreed.

"I hope this doesn't sound weird but you have beautiful eyes, like really beautiful"

The compliment had made her blush and luckily her friends were near by to hear it. Daisy was captivated by his eyes as well, the sun shining off them and the golden brown haze made her not want to look away.

"Not to mention your smile as well"

She had let out a soft giggle, trying to not look too embarrassed and hide her blushing cheeks.

"I'm Jay, nice to meet you"

"Daisy"

They had exchanged numbers and were talking every day since they met. Obviously Daisy hadn't told her dad. She felt guilty, keeping it a secret and keeping him in the dark but she couldn't tell him… at least not right now.

She was waiting for the right time to tell him or at least ease him into the idea that she had a boyfriend. Alec wasn't stupid though, his little girl was growing up and not becoming so little anymore. After the photo incident, he was sure that Daisy may be talking to boys but he didn't ask. He wasn't good at that sort of thing. He hoped that Daisy would tell him if she did have a boyfriend.

Alec would't be mad… he just wanted to make sure she was with the right person.

Daisy and Jay would meet in the mornings before school in their secret spot, hiding away from the town to spend what little time they could together. Even her friends didn't know about him. Daisy was surprised that they hadn't caught on with her not being able to go out all the time but she blamed it on her dad not letting her.

The other times Daisy and Jay met where when her dad was working late or she was able to get off school early and he wasn't at work. If they couldn't meet in person then they would talk over the phone. Time had flied by since they met and the two of them became an item after a month of speaking. It was hard, not being able to go out for a date or be seen in public but at the moment it was the only option.

As Alec drove the car, Daisy's mind wondered to the party on Saturday. She was going to have to tell her dad her story that she was staying at a friends house for a sleepover. She hoped that he hadn't caught wind of the party. The town was only small so gossip travelled around quickly and the police always knew about shady doings.

Maybe now was a good chance to bring it up seeing as she let him drive her to school.

"So I was going to stay over at Lily's this weekend on Saturday, it's going to be me and the girls" Daisy said softly, Alec's head turning briefly to her.

"Okay, I don't see a problem with that, what time you going over?" He asked.

"Probably around five, her parents are away" Alex turned sharply to look at Daisy, eyes narrowed slightly.

"Oh, where have they gone?".

"They took Lily's brother to look at universities" she said simply.

"So it's going to be your four girls alone in the house with no parents" Daisy sighed softly, keeping it quiet under her breath.

"Dad we'll be fine, it's just one night, I promise we'll be good besides aren't you working".

"Aye, but doesn't mean I'm not happy about it" he pulled up into the school carpark and pulled the handbrake on. It was silent between the two before Alec broke the silence.

"Ok you can go but I want you to be careful and don't leave the house after midnight or answer the door to strangers" he insist and Daisy smiled, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"I was going to go whether you said yes or not" she smirked and Alec looked at her wide eyed.

"Really!" He exclaimed and she giggled.

"Have a good day at work… love you" Daisy sprinted out the car but not before catching 'love you' from her dad.

Alec watched as her daughter sprinted off to the school grounds, his eyes not leaving until he saw her vanish inside.

…

"Good morning" Ellie said cheerfully and was greeted by Alec's normal grumpy response.

"Oh for god sake what's got you in a mood, we're nearly finished rounding everything up" Ellie groaned as Alec slumped in his office chair.

"Just can't be arsed with this Miller, just want this to be done and dusted you know" he moaned.

"Look we are almost there, in a few weeks Michael goes on trial, he'll plead guilty, go to jail end of story".

"I know, I know, just bloody hope it's not another Joe Miller case" he said and Ellie's smile faded.

"It won't be because if he stands up in that court and says 'Not Guilty' I'll bloody kill him there and then" Ellie said seriously.

"Anyway, want a tea?" Her tune changed quickly and Alec nodded. Ellie turned to walk out his office but stopped dead in her tracts as an office stood in the doorway holding a box.

"I've got the transcripts all written here Sir" the office held the box up. The office was tall with dark hair and dressed in his black police uniform.

"Aw thanks Higgins" Ellie took the box from him and gave a sweet smile.

"Just stick it over there" Alec pointed over in the distance, not bothering to look over at Higgins. Ellie rolled her eyes at Alec's moody reply, making Higgins smile.

"Has all the evidence been collected" Alec said, shoving his glasses on his nose.

"Yes Sir, me and Brady are just finishing that up" Higgins nodded politely.

"Good" Alec replied, staring at his computer. Ellie gave Higgins a soft smile, thanking him for his work.

"Thank you, are you on shift today?" She asked.

"Yes, once I've finished here I'm patrolling town up till eight, is there anything else you want help with before I head off" he asked.

"No that will be fine thank you, we're nearly done now so shouldn't need to much help but thanks for everything, we've needed all the support we can get" Ellie said.

"Always happy to help" Higgins smiled and turned on his way.

Ellie turned and glared at Alec, hand on her hip with a scowl on her face.

"What?" Alec asked as if he had no idea what she was glaring at him for.

"You know you can be more polite round here, no wonder they call you shit face" she mumbled the last part.

"You said they stopped calling me that" his voice was rising and Ellie shrugged.

"I never said anything of the sort, come on what's bothering you?" She asked and he groaned.

"Nothing" he mumbled.

"Oh don't give me that, come on something is bothering you, this isn't your normal grumpy mood and it can't just be the case" she could tell when something was bothering him. After working with him for three different cases, she knew the ins and outs of DI Alec Hardy.

Alec sighed and pulled his glasses off his face, throwing them on the desk.

"Just Daisy" he said.

"What now, has something happened" Ellie said with concern. She knew how protective Alec was of Daisy. Her and Daisy got on well and she was always there for her if she ever needed a woman to talk to seeing as her mum was a while away.

"Nothing's happened… she's staying at a friends this weekend and it's just going to be them… just a little worried that's all" he shrugged, trying to not make a big deal of it.

"Look Daisy is old enough to look after herself, I'm sure if something happened she would tell you, she knows how important she is to you" Ellie did agree that Alec could be somewhat overbearing at times but as a mother she would feel the same if it was the other way round.

"I know Miller, I think once this case is over with I'll be able to sleep at night, just eats me up inside knowing he was in the same hallway as her, had that photo of her on his phone. If I wasn't a DI I would have kicked the living shit out of him".

"Me too, that Leo really made me angry during that interview, the nerve of him to say that woman should be used and abused" she gritted.

"Aye Miller, the sooner these two go down the better" Alec jabbed his finger on the desk.

"Right, tea then".

Hey so I hope you like it, please leave a review and let me know what you think