Hi, lovely readers!

Welcome to the third story in my "Jennaverse" and it's going to be a long one! :) If you want to get to know my OC Jenna first, I recommend you to read my story "Salvation" and for that extra bit of hurt/comfort the following oneshot "Still Waters Run Deep".

This story is mostly taking place roughly three years after the events of "Salvation", except for this first chapter which would be set only a few months later.

Thank you in advance for reading and remember to leave a review if you like it! :)

Happy reading...


Chapter 1:

Alec looked up into the warm summer sun when the seagull flew over his head. Its nasty cry was almost drowned out by the noise all around him. What he would give for those screaming birds to be the only sound right now. He vowed that he would never complain about them ever again.

Alec was slouching in a lawn chair behind his house where an open field of lush green grass stretched out as far as the nearby cliffs. There was a bit of music and over it the insufferable noise of chattering people. Laughing, clinging glasses, cheering. A few children were running around, chased by playful adults.

And in the midst of it was he. The picture of misery.

The occasion of this excruciating festivity was his daughter.

Daisy was leaving for the university in Exeter to study something to do with medicine. She didn't know yet what her focus would be but that didn't stop her from going.

She wanted to host a farewell party for herself and her friends but knew that Alec wouldn't be up for this kind of stuff, so, cunning as she was, she brought Ellie and Jenna, his girlfriend of six months, into her scheme. Together they silenced Alec's protests and invited half the town into his backyard.

Apart from people he knew only on sight but not by their name and a few of Daisy's friends, there was of course Ellie and her two boys, making an awful lot of noise. The whole Latimer family, including Mark. After all, Chloe and Daisy were best friends and after one year of staying at home, helping her mother to take care of wee Lizzie, Chloe was leaving for the same university. Creepy Nigel Carter was there, because he apparently was the Latimers given plus-one. Maggie Radcliffe and her girlfriend Jocelyn Knight joined in, since Maggie was Jenna's boss and also a good friend. And because it was obviously a big step in Daisy's life, Alec also couldn't get out of inviting Tess.

This unsurprisingly proved to be a little awkward because another reason for this party was to celebrate the fact that Jenna was moving in with Alec.

Obviously, he would've preferred to keep this particular change in his life under wraps, but he made the mistake of mentioning it to Ellie. Her boundless enthusiasm carried the news around and soon his cherished but private relationship with new-in-town but practically already a local, Jenna, was another hot talking point of today's celebrations.

One really couldn't blame him for being in a bad mood.

"Enjoying yourself?" grinned Jenna, crouching down next to his chair.

He scoffed. "What do you think?"

She was laughing and it had the instant effect of making his heart beat faster. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of letting her know that her mere presence could lighten his mood, though, so Alec continued to scowl. Jenna knew him well enough; she wouldn't be mad.

"Come on," she said. "This is for Daisy. You always make exceptions when it comes to Daisy."

"I would've!" countered Alec. "If it had been only you, me and her. We could have celebrated just fine. No need to invite all these strangers."

"They're not strangers, they're our friends and Daisy's friends."

"They're not my friends." sulked Alec.

Jenna lifted one of her eyebrows with a smirk. "Really? You wouldn't even consider Ellie your friend? If I tell her that she'd be heartbroken."

Alec made an unintelligible noise in the back of his throat, relenting, as he watched his partner and friend blush and laugh at something SOCO Brian had said. His eyes narrowed. "Why on earth did that guy even come? He can't stand me."

Jenna grinned and leaned closer. "But someone told me he once fancied Ellie. He's single again so who knows what will happen. She deserves to have someone new again, don't you think?"

Another inexpressive grunt. "Since when do you know so much about the people in this town?"

"Since I made the effort to reach out and connect with them, silly." she teased, balancing her elbows on the armrest and leaning so close that some strands of her loose hair were sticking to his stubbly cheek. "You should try now and then. They're really not as bad as you think."

She moved even closer, intending to give him a quick kiss, but Alec squirmed away. Upon her questioning look, he nodded at his ex-wife, who stood a little lost at the edge of the garden and was just breaking eye-contact with him when Jenna turned towards her, too. "It's weird… in front of her." he mumbled.

The ex-partners had exchanged the necessary pleasantries and Tess had chatted with Daisy for a long while, but now their daughter was caught up in laughter with her friends and Tess stood by herself. An outsider in this town's community.

"Are you embarrassed by me?" Jenna asked, nudging his side in jest.

"No, it's just…" he fell into uncomfortable silence. "I should probably go and talk to her. She knows nobody else here." Alec muttered, not thrilled at all.

"She knows me." Jenna mentioned flatly. "She hates me, but that's okay. The feeling is mutual."

"She doesn't hate you." Alec tried to sooth but Jenna only raised her brows, daring him to convince her otherwise. "It's just hard for her lately. She and Dave broke up."

Jenna reached out, interlacing her fingers with his. "It's admirable that you still care, even after she hurt you so much. I don't think I could bring myself to do that."

"Sure you could." Alec told her. "You love all people."

"I love you." she replied and even though it wasn't the first time she'd said it, Alec was still caught off guard. He looked at her and couldn't help but smile. Forgotten was the uneasiness of knowing that Tess was watching and he allowed her to kiss him after all.

Jenna grinned, pleased with herself. "That'll show her."

Alec rolled his eyes, catching up with her little ruse. "Jenna, you know there's nothing you have to prove to her."

"I know. This was just in case she hasn't heard yet that I'll be moving in."

"Yah. Don't make me regret it."

She stood up, grinning slyly and letting her fingers run playfully through his hair. "Just you wait until everyone's gone. You won't regret a thing."

She turned away with a wink and mingled with the neighbours again. Alec watched her go and felt his stomach clench uncomfortably. Couldn't she just stay by his side until this whole ordeal was over? At least Jenna knew what to say when people came up to talk to him. Unless it was Tess, of course, then his kind-hearted Jenna could spin way out of character.

Alec didn't like that his ex could make her this uncomfortable, but he would have to endure Tess' presence for a while longer. The scowl settled back into place as he caught her eye once more and Tess started to walk over to him.

"So, you and little Blondie are getting serious then, huh?" Tess said without preamble. She didn't sit with Alec, but rather positioned herself so that he'd have to squint up against the sun to look at her.

Alec refused to change his position just because of her. "Would you stop calling her that. I thought we could all be civil for Daisy's sake."

"I am fine with you two." Tess claimed maybe a little too readily. "But she obviously doesn't like me."

"Can you blame her? The way you're looking at her makes her feel like a suspect in interrogation. Just leave her alone."

Tess lifted her arms in mock surrender. "Alright." she stressed. "You know, you could at least pretend to care a little more about your daughter's party, by the way. You've been sitting in that bloody lawn chair for the past hour."

This did not go down well with Alec. He got reminded of former times when Tess would berate him for not spending enough time at home with his family. He knew he made mistakes then, but he had changed and he won't allow her to lecture him anymore.

Abruptly, he got up, towering over her without sparing her a glance. "Never tell me again that I don't care, Tess. You're the one who lied to her and now look who ended up alone in the end."

He left her standing there. It had been a cruel thing to say, but today of all days he was simply not in the mood for her mind games. So he ended them. With a dark frown upon his face Alec stomped towards the buffet to look for a salad that Jenna had made specially for him. She knew that he didn't like the ones with yoghurt dressings.

Suddenly, Ellie Miller purposely bumped her arm against his elbow, almost making him drop his paper plate. He glared at her but she was immune to his icy look and continued to grin ridiculously wide. "Hey," she said. "Where's Daisy?"

Alec had to admit that he had no idea. He was much too busy looking gruff. "Haven't seen her in a while. Probably with Chloe."

"I just thought it would be time to hand over her present, right?"

He glared at her jolly face. "I know. I haven't forgotten about it if that's what you think. Stop being so bloody overenthusiastic."

Her smile diminished slightly. "Well, someone has to be if you insist on being grumpy. What's wrong with you? Aren't you happy for your daughter?"

"'Course I am." he snapped.

"Really? You should tell that to your face."

Alec grunted. His appetite was lost somehow and he put down the plate. But Ellie wasn't finished jabbering.

"You know since Daisy will mostly be out of town now, it's probably a good time to ask you this..." She stepped a bit closer and whispered with a mischievous grin on her lips. "I wondered if you ever noticed that Tom had a bit of a crush on Daisy?"

Abruptly, Alec turned towards Ellie. His eyes were daggers. "What?!" he growled. Quickly, he let his gaze wander over the field, searching for the little brat.

"Oi, it's alright. No need for that murderous look." Ellie intervened, placing herself in front of him and waving her arms about to make him focus on her. "She's going to university now; she'll have other interests. Tom's a bit young for Daisy anyway."

Alec fixed his gaze sharply on her again. "What do you mean by other interests?"

Ellie looked at him funnily. "Well, I assume college boys and all those parties, of course. Y'know, distractions… but Daisy's a good girl, you don't have to worry about her."

"I'm not worried about her." Alec snarled. "She won't do any of that bloody nonsense because she'll be busy studying and if any of those wretched boys come near her they'll have to deal with me first!"

After he spoke it was suddenly unexpectedly quiet. Breathing through and looking past the mist of red he just saw, he noticed that the music has been turned down and Daisy was standing in the middle of the garden, ready to make some kind of speech.

Or she would have been, hadn't she just heard every thoughtless, overprotective word he said.

She stared at him in shock, cheeks red and angry tears in her eyes. The guests around her looked a little embarrassed between father and daughter. With the exception of Tess, who, of course, displayed her typical arrogant smile.

In the next second Daisy clenched her jaw and fled into the house.

Alec's shoulders sank in defeat. Running his hand through his hair, he turned away. "Shit." he muttered. From the corner of his eye he saw Jenna moving towards him, looking concerned and Tess sidling away towards his back door, without a doubt to secure her role as the good parent. He stepped forward, lifting a quick hand. "No." he simply told both of them and went after Daisy.

He found her in her room. Or rather what used to be her room. Most of her things were already packed away for the start of uni on Monday. Her bed was still there, her wardrobe and a desk, but no more posters on the walls and no more girly clothes or magazines spread on the floor.

Nothing that suggested that Daisy ever lived here.

The empty look of it made Alec's heart ache.

He saw her through a crack in the doorway, sitting on her bed against the wall with her knees pulled up. It was the fetal position that he also always fell back to when he was feeling lonely or insecure. Carefully, he knocked and she looked up, glaring at him.

"Can I come in?"

"No. Go away."

He swallowed. "Look, Daise, I'm… I'm really sorry."

"You embarrassed me in front of everyone!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Couldn't you make an effort to act like a normal human being just for today? For me?" Her eyes started to water and Alec could no longer keep his distance.

He stepped into her room, despite her turning away from him, and carefully sat at the edge of the bed. He knew better than to try and touch her, surely sparing himself the pain of getting rejected. "You're right. My behaviour today was… not all that great."

Daisy scoffed. "You were sulking like a child."

He sank his head, ashamed that he got called out on it. And by his daughter no less. "I'm sorry, darling. I am an idiot for ruining your day. I didn't notice the music was down. Didn't mean for everybody to hear."

"Still, you said what you said." she muttered. "You don't want me to have any kind of fun at all, do you? I'm not aspiring to be a grump like you, you know? I just wanna be normal."

"No, of course, and I know you'll be great. Whatever you do you'll be so much better than me. In everything. In life." Alec declared.

"Then why can't you just be happy for me?"

"I am happy." Now he touched her knee after all, making her look at him. "I'm so happy and so proud of you, darling. Believe me. I just…" He paused, gazing into his lap in thoughts and then looking around in the bare room. Finally he was able to address the real reason for his sour mood today. "You leaving… it makes everything so empty, doesn't it? I… I just got you back, darling. I have missed so much of your life and now you're all grown up."

She gnawed at the inside of her lip, her eyes softening but her voice still sharp. "It's not my fault that you weren't there."

"No, it isn't. You're right, it isn't." Alec admitted. "I'm just… I'm gonna miss you, darling. So very much." He murmured quietly. "And I had hoped to have you to myself on this last day before you're gone, but that was selfish of me… and stupid. Sorry."

Daisy eased up, sighing a little exasperated. She was so mature for her age. No, he had to correct himself. She simply wasn't a little girl anymore. Gone were the days when she curled up in bed next to him in the middle of the night, afraid of the monsters. Gone were the joyful, little hugs when he returned from work or picked her up from school. When her head was only reaching his stomach and her hands were just half the size of his.

Alec was forced to leave her when she was still his baby girl and returned to see that she had transformed into a young woman in such a short amount of time. He had missed the transition. That made it so hard to accept it.

"I'm not gone, Dad." Daisy said now. "I'm just a few miles away. Exeter is an hour from Broadchurch."

"Ay. I guess I could visit." he mumbled with a hopeful smile. "Would that be okay?"

"If you're going to make me look like a freak, then no, I don't think so." Daisy decided quickly, but upon his shocked look she eased into a smile. "But I guess I could come by now and then. To make sure Jenna feeds you well."

He relaxed, smiling back timidly. Yes, he deserved that little jibe. It reminded Alec of the present that was still waiting for Daisy and, taking the opportunity to make at least that moment solely theirs, he involuntary reached into his pocket to clench something in his fist. "If you do come and visit me... I think... this will make it a bit easier." He pulled the small object out, took Daisy's hand and placed it there.

It was warm and it jingled. Daisy gasped as she recognized what she was holding. "Car keys?" she breathed. "To your car?"

He snorted. "No. To your own car. It's at the car park by the police station at the moment. We can pick it up tomorrow morning."

A grin slowly spread on Daisy's face, so wide, it made her blue eyes sparkle. Now she did look like the wee girl again that used to ran into his arms to be picked up and carried around. "You're serious?" she obviously had to ask despite of the proof she was holding in her hands.

"Sure." he nodded. "Now I expect you to visit your lone, old dad, hear me? Regularly."

"Of course!" exclaimed Daisy and scrambled forward to wrap her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

Alec laughed sheepishly, holding her tight and for a little longer than she was comfortable with. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her hair. A fruity shampoo that always used to stand next to his in the shower. "I love you, darling." he murmured before he let go.

"Love you, too, Dad." said Daisy. "And, by the way, you won't be lonely. You have Jenna." she grinned. "Admit it, you two can't wait to have the house all to yourself, can you?"

He blushed a wee bit and decided to ignore her insinuation. "I'm gonna miss you."

"Yah, I think I'll miss you, too, Dad. Sometimes."

He smiled, squeezing her hand that was still clutching the keys. "Are you still mad at me?" he asked then.

"I am. A little." she answered honestly. "I can't go back out there and thank everyone for coming."

He didn't have to think long. "What if I make the speech for you?"

Daisy raised her eyebrows. "And risk that you embarrass me again?"

"Ey, I'll be good, I promise."

She still wasn't fully convinced. "You hate talking in front of strangers."

"They're not… strangers." he murmured, thinking about what Jenna had said. "They're… friends, aren't they?"

Daisy grinned. "Yah, sure."

"Right… so… you're coming?"

She nodded and stood up from the bed, jiggling the car keys triumphantly in her hand before leaving the room. Alec scratched his frowning forehead and let out a deep sigh. Now he just had to manage to not actually see his daughter behind the wheels or he'll probably have another heart attack.

As he returned out the backdoor, Daisy had already placed herself on the side next to Jenna, so everyone was now looking kind of expectantly at him.

Alec swallowed his discomfort and made his way to the middle of the garden without meeting anyone's gaze. He clenched his fists. This was just like a morning briefing at the police station. He'd done dozens of them without a problem. This was not different. Well, apart from the fact that he usually berated and yelled at people at briefings, now he had to be nice.

Reluctantly, he looked up. The guests were still staring. "Ah, so… ah, hello everyone, I'm… well, I guess you know who I am." Chuckles among the guests. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled in embarrassment. "This is obviously my punishment for being overbearing and fatherly before…" More chuckles. Daisy crossed her arms and grinned, enjoying his struggle for words.

"But it's also a chance, ay? To tell you all how proud I am of my daughter." He looked at her warm and earnestly. "She will do incredible things and be an incredible person and I can't take any credit for that. She became who she is on her own and I couldn't be prouder."

Daisy was looking rather emotional and as he cast his eyes about, Alec saw nothing but smiles reflected back at him. So his speech wasn't too bad at all, he figured. "I also need to apologize to everyone I snapped at today-"

"Only today?" someone cut in rather loudly and Alec saw Ellie punching Brian's arm. He ignored the interruption.

"Ah… people who've met me probably know that I'm not that kind of person who, ah… enjoys, ah… social gatherings of any kind… but as someone reminded me today, Daisy should always be the exception." Alec caught Jenna's gaze and for a brief moment they smiled at each other as if no one else was around. He blinked before completely losing his train of thoughts.

"Ah, I also should thank everyone for coming. Special thanks to Miller, ah… I mean… Ellie…" A round of laughter and Ellie wiping a soppy tear from her eye. "For helping to put all this together and for inviting…" he paused again, looking around overwhelmed. "So many people, who came to send off Daisy and… ah, Chloe and all those other young people to begin a new chapter in their lives."

Alec took a deep breath and finally came to the end of his speech. "Personally, I'd like to thank Jenna and also Daisy, of course, for enduring me even when I'm a bit grumpy and embarrassing." Lovingly, he gazed at the pair of blonde women, standing next to each other and blushing now that the focus was on them. He addressed them directly.

"Each of you saved me from myself and I'm grateful that you still care enough to stick around. You two…" he paused meaningfully, "Are the most important people in my life." At his confession his crowd of listeners was audibly touched, but Alec raised his voice for the final words. "And Daise, just let me tell you again… I'm gonna miss you, darling."


This is just setting the scene. Keep in mind the sweeter things begin the more room there is for angst later... ;)