Happy Easter to all of you who celebrate! :)

Just one more chapter of Alec and Jenna getting to know each other then we start with the darker stuff... ;)

Thanks for reading everyone!

Chapter 4:

He was late.

Shit, shit, shit! So bloody late!

Alec didn't know how this could happen. Miller had sent him home early enough to get ready. Daisy had helped him to pick out his finest clothes – he had insisted on his everyday-suit-and-tie, but she told him he looked too formal – and she had been so annoyingly excited that he was eager to get out of the house.

But as he was sitting in the car he had to pause, gathering his nerves.

Daisy had set him up with women before; she had helped him with that stupid dating profile that he didn't want. But never was he so nervous about actually meeting someone. Nor did he care what he was wearing or if someone found out about it. He had a routine: They ate, she talked, he listened – mostly – and then he paid and he never heard from her again.

There was one woman he did meet twice. Zoe. She was really nice but in the end Alec's cases were always more important than her and she'd lost interest very quickly.

He wasn't too upset about it. That's just how it was. He had to admit, he was a bit of a workaholic, passionate about all his cases. Miller probably wouldn't believe him, but the most crucial point to him was first and foremost that there were people he could help, people he could save from harm with his job. It wasn't just a puzzle. People were relying on him. He wanted to make this horrible, unfair, fucked-up world a better place. For his daughter and for all the innocent lives out there. Maybe even for Jenna, too.

Alec quickly started up the car as he remembered where he was supposed to be right now. He lost a few minutes, but he could still make it on time. They were meeting at the restaurant. Alec had given Jenna directions, but she steadfastly refused to be picked up.

I'm independent, she had said. I don't need a man to chaperone me; I can take care of my own.

What Alec gathered from this statement was that she needed to have the option of leaving whenever she wanted to. Jenna was suspicious despite her willingness to meet him. A realist. Smart woman, thought Alec and smiled to himself. Maybe I do like her a bit.

There was something, however, that Alec unfortunately didn't factor into his driving schedule: The construction site on the single track road between Broadchurch and his destination. There was a temporary traffic light installed that made the ten minute drive to a thirty minute nightmare. Especially because there was some idiot who underestimated the length of the construction site and run the red light.

From afar Alec saw the two drivers, who were now forced to stop across from each other, gesturing wildly and cursing each other. Even one of the construction workers felt the need to join the heated conversation, not bothered by the fact that this useless fight stopped the whole traffic.

Swearing under his breath, Alec got out of his car, marched to the front and roared at the bloody wankers to clear the road. They didn't look like they wanted to listen to him – a random, angry Scot way out of his turf – but they got a bit more nervous once Alec showed them his badge and threatened them with the removal of their licences and a night spend locked up in a cell.

When the issue was finally resolved Alec continued his drive, now definitely late, and at last hurried into the restaurant where he saw Jenna already waiting. At least she hadn't left yet.

"I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't mean to be late." he said as he came to the table and she looked up with a smile.

"Oh, don't worry. I only just got here myself. There was a construction site."

"Yes. There was. Sorry, I should've thought about that."

She looked at him funnily. "Seriously, it's okay. I get that you're with the police, but you can't be the only person responsible for everything that's going on in this whole town."

"Apparently, I am." snarled Alec. "Stupid people can't even move in traffic without starting a fist fight." The heat of his anger still bubbled right beneath his skin and he had to gather himself for a few seconds before he realized that Jenna hadn't said another word and looked at him warily.

Just perfect.

"Ah… sorry." Alec sighed, laughing humourlessly at himself and casting his eyes downwards in embarrassment. "I've been told I tend to be… rude and unnecessarily harsh to people. I thought I could at least make a good first impression, but, ah… I can go if you want me to." he ended sheepishly.

"What? Of course not, don't be ridiculous." Jenna said quickly. "I didn't spend twenty minutes at a traffic light just for this."

He looked up and saw her teasing grin. Alec smiled back, relaxing a bit. "If you're sure?"

"I am." she said. "And I appreciate the honesty. It's refreshing."

"Likewise." said Alec.

"Although I must say, I didn't know that being a detective in a small coast town like this could be so demanding."

Alec scoffed. "You have no idea."

They studied the menu and by the time they were ready to order Alec was finally able to ease into his chair. The rocky start had kept him on edge and he was ready to give up and flee before he could mess up anything else. He was still convinced that he would eventually do or say the wrong thing and cause her to leave in anger, but there was no need for insults before dinner, right?

"So, ah… why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself, Alec?"

He involuntarily tightened the grip around his glass of water, took a deliberately slow sip and then put it back upon the table. "Ah… ah, w-what do you want to know?"

Jenna breathed in, considered his question for a moment and then shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know." she smiled. "Just tell me anything. I'm sure it'll be interesting."

"Ah…" Panic crept into Alec's mind. Oh, well. No dinner then. He would just give up now. He couldn't do social interactions. Not finding any words to describe himself in a way he was comfortable with, but also not finding the courage to tell her that he would very much like to slink back under the rock he came from, he just foolishly tripped over fragmented syllables.

"You're not very good at small-talk, are you?"

He nervously lifted his eyes to her, finding that she was still smiling kindly at him. It was really very odd. Normally the realization of his awkwardness was accompanied with a look of snide amusement. Pity even. But her smile seemed compassionate, as if she could feel his inner struggle. It was not pity; she was simply stating a fact that they were both aware of. Honesty… maybe he could work with that.

"I'm not. Obviously." he mumbled quietly. "Not good at this whole… date thing, either. Most people just get on my nerves. Not you... apparently." he quickly added.

Jenna laughed. "So, I'm the exception?"

"Ah... yes, it seems." Alec confessed. He felt a warm heat rising into his face, but tried to mask it with what he hoped was a charming smile followed by quickly grabbing his cool glass of water again.

"Well, that's good then, right?" said Jenna, blushing, too. "But don't you need at least some basic people skills for your job?"

He noticed what she was doing. She was giving him a hint, showing him without directly telling him what he could talk about. Alec eagerly jumped at the chance. "Well, yes, but my… my colleague has that covered."

"The one who grinned at you at the police station, who you called the most annoying?" Jenna asked to clarify and Alec nodded curtly. "I see, so she's the people person and you're the work-driven grump, huh? The experienced one who only cares about the puzzle? The thrill of the chase?"

"No!" snapped Alec quite fiercely. Her smile had indicated that she was only teasing him, but his harsh answer made her frown carefully now. In a calmer voice, he added, "Ah, I mean… yes, I'm probably the more... experienced and if I have a case I do finish it. It's…" he scrambled for words, shocked by his own willingness to open up.

Alec never let anyone look beneath the front he put up; the work-driven grump as Jenna put it. It was a measure of self-protection and no one really cared to look much closer anyway. They were quickly put off by his nastiness.

But Alec didn't want Jenna to see just what everyone else saw. He wanted her to know that he can be different. If he tried, he could be more than just the grump. Daisy knew. Miller might have started to realize that, too.

"It's… I don't do it for the thrill." Alec finally continued, looking at her with determination to make her understand. "There is no thrill. There are people... getting hurt, if I'm not doing my job. Not always, but if that's the case then it's the worst part of the job. I see all the bloody monsters, the disturbed individuals. I see what they can do to innocent, good people. And most times I don't think I can even do enough to stop them. I'm pushing a bloody boulder of shit uphill. There are too many deranged pricks. But I do my best… I try to make at least a few people... feel safe."

Jenna looked at him intently. She hadn't said anything for a whole while, just listening to him talk. Her frown hadn't disappeared, either, and Alec thought that this was it. The wrong thing to say. He shared too much of the darkness within him. Of the struggle.

Jenna blinked. Her eyes seemed watery. Alec frowned, but she didn't give him the chance to ask her about it. "Wow, I... I didn't expect... that. But you're right, of course. It's much more complicated. You've got a terribly hard job, but I can see how passionate you are about it." She blinked the wetness in her eyes away and paused a moment to breathe. "I'm glad that there are coppers like you on the force who clearly see what really matters." she smiled mildly at him. "The people."

Alec felt lost. The way she'd said that… there was something about it. As if she already met the monsters out there. What was he supposed to do now? Was Jenna in need of comfort? Was he able to give comfort? Certainly not. Should he even press the matter? They ended up staring silently into each other's eyes and getting startled by the arrival of the food.

Abruptly, the spell was broken. Jenna thanked the waiter and appreciatively smelled the food. Alec started picking at his salad and the clanging of cutlery soon became the only sound at the table. They sneaked glances at each other, acting as if they didn't notice that the other was looking, too. It was Jenna, eventually, who held his gaze with an embarrassed little smile.

"I'm sorry." she said. "The mood has turned glum very quickly now, hasn't it?"

"Well, that's not your fault." said Alec. "There isn't much to me except work if I'm being honest. And a lot of it is… dark."

"Must be hard." she wondered, taking a bite of her food, not really expecting an answer. Alec wouldn't have known how to answer. "But there is Daisy… right?"

A small smile automatically bloomed on Alec's stoic face. "Yes… there's Daisy." He looked at a random spot on the table, lost in thoughts for a moment, imagining his daughter at home in front of the telly, waiting for him to return so she could bombard him with questions.

"She saved me." Alec said suddenly. "Everything I do… I do for her. I came back here for her. To keep her save. I don't know…" Alec paused and breathed through, overwhelmed by the feeling of love for his daughter. "I don't know what I would do without her."

Jenna smiled brightly. Again, it felt like she was reaching inside of him, sensing his emotions and reflecting them back at him. "You came back here?" she then asked innocently.

Alec froze. Intuitive, smart and bloody attentive. Blimey, I have to watch myself, he thought.

"Ah, yah… I… I came here after…" Did he really want to disclose this much? Jenna watched him patiently. It was a talent she had, obviously. She could make people share things with her that they never intended on sharing with anyone and Alec wasn't sure if he should like that. Well, he already came this far, he could bloody well throw caution to the wind now altogether.

"I came here after divorcing my wife…" he continued. "Needed to calm down, get away from everything. Didn't work that well, but the town did something to me. I can't explain it." Alec paused for contemplation. "I returned back to my ex and Daisy for a while, hoping to fix our family, but… that didn't go well, either. In the end, Daisy wanted to come along. She's been living with me for about a year now."

"That's nice." Jenna nodded, fortunately not asking further about Tess. "That your daughter chose to live with you."

"Yah. Didn't give her much of a choice really." Alec smiled, remembering how he tore up her train ticket when she wanted to go back to her mother. "But I think she's staying voluntarily now. I'm glad to have her."

"Clearly." smiled Jenna.

There was a beat of silence for a moment while they both took a sip of their drinks, looking at each other over the rim of their glasses. "So, ah… you know a lot about me now." Alec noticed.

She chuckled. "That's true. And you still don't know anything about me." Alec shrugged in agreement and Jenna leaned a bit closer over the table. "What do you want to know?"

Various questions immediately sat on the tip of Alec's tongue. It was in his nature to draw out as much information as possible from the person sitting across from him. His instincts were already telling him which would be the right questions to ask to trigger a reaction. But this wasn't an interrogation. He couldn't just blatantly ask why she seemed to know exactly what he meant when he talked about bad people, for example. That would be inappropriate, right? So… the long way around.

"What made you want to move to Broadchurch? Got any extended family in the area?"

A tiny frown on her forehead and she moved back in her chair. "Ah, n-no. I moved here on my own."

"Oh… I'm just asking, because… well, no one really wants to move here willingly." Alec explained.

Jenna seemed much more interested in her food than him, all of a sudden. She stabbed carefully into some vegetables on her plate, reluctantly looking up with a smile that wasn't quite like all her previous smiles. "I came here for the same reasons as you, I think. Just wanted to escape the… the troubles of the big city."

Alec didn't know what to do. The policeman in him insisted on digging deeper. Was there even a non-policeman side to him? "Troubles?" he asked, attempting to sound casual. He had a feeling that she knew what he was up to.

"Yah." she said. "I just hope I can make this town my home eventually. It did seem to work for you, right?"

A distraction. Well, if she insisted he could take the hint. There would be more chances to ask her about this. Wait what? More chances? Whenever did I make that decision?

"Ah, well..." Alec said flustered, distracted by his own thoughts "It took a couple of years for me to not hate living here anymore. Now it's just about bearable." She chuckled lightly. "Somehow I feel like I belong here." he added then. "It's the right place to be for me and Daisy."

Jenna sighed wistfully. "That's nice."

"Do you have a job here?" Alec questioned truly interested. "What do you do?"

"Oh, I'm working at this book shop on the main street, but what I actually want to do is be a writer or a journalist of some kind." Jenna said with a passionate glow in her eyes.

Alec nodded, just barely able to hold back a groan. "Ah, nice."

Jenna lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

He mumbled a bit, feeling caught, but then he just opted for the truth. "Don't like journalists."

After a brief pause Jenna burst out laughing. Alec furrowed his brows in irritation, not sure if he was laughed at or not. "Why… why on earth don't you like journalists?" Jenna asked, calming down from her giggle fit. "We're the bearers of truth and information."

Alec scoffed. "If that only were true. There are also those bloody sensation-seekers who would literally trample over dead bodies to get a good cover story."

"Oh!" Jenna rolled her eyes. "I know. These vampires give us a bad reputation. But I'm not one of them, I promise. I just want to write about people and their everyday lives… they're fascinating." she sighed again, staring off into the distance with a twinkle in her eyes, trying to find the words to explain. "I always had a knack for getting people to tell me their best stories. I'm a good listener and I can usually always empathize with them."

Yah, I noticed, thought Alec.

"It's just a great way to get to know people. It would certainly help me to find my place in this town."

"Hm, I understand." murmured Alec. "I can see that you'd be good at that." She grinned thankfully at him, cheeks tinged slightly pink. It made his mouth speak faster than he could think. "You know, if you want to… I, ah… I could set you up with Maggie Radcliffe. She's a well-known, town-based… internet-blogger... or something like that. Maybe she'd have a job for you."

"No, Alec, I couldn't possibly ask that of you." Jenna protested weakly.

"Why not?"

"You've done so much for me already," Embarrassed, she looked down, stroking some strands of blonde hair behind her ear. "I couldn't possibly make you talk to one of those journalists you so detest."

He saw her grin despite her bowed-down head and it made him smile, too. "It's alright, I think I can bear. Radcliffe's fairly decent at least. That way I'd maybe have one journalist on my side for a change."

Jenna inhaled in mock surprise. "What do you mean? That I would bend the truth for you to make you look good? I don't think so, DI Hardy. I'm a respectable journalist." She winked at him and it made them both laugh.

It truly was a strange, unusual night for Alec. It felt like there was something… inexplicable… already trying to connect him to her.

It made Alec wish that she would stay and find her salvation here in Broadchurch.

Just like he had.

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