Rose never meets 'The Doctor' and Alec Hardy needs a friend when he arrives in town and someone in his corner when a murder investigation takes it's toll on him. This story is from Rose and Alec's point of view and very little about the actual events.
There was a buzz in the office, Ellie Miller was not going to be pleased when she got back from her leave, Rose knew that. She was sort of friends with her, she sometimes went to babysit if Ellie and her husband were invited out on special occasions. Someone new had just been taken to the Superintendent's office and the rumour was, they were the replacement for the DI who had recently retired. She knew DS Miller was up for a promotion before she'd gone away but if the rumours were right, there was going to be trouble.
Rose kept an eye on the door, wondering who it was, they hadn't actually come into the main office. Was it male or female? Either way, if it was a woman, the claws would be out and if was a man, the equal rights card would be played. Bets were already being taken on it. Rose sat at her desk by the window, a pile of papers waiting to be approved to be filed when the door opened and the Chief came in followed by a tall man with a beard.
"This is Detective Inspector Alec Hardy, he's our newest senior officer, you all answer to him now. I'm sure you'll all make him welcome. Before he starts, I want no grudges that DS Miller should have got the job, I know you all think highly of her but DI Hardy has had a lot of experience and I believe he's the right person for the job." With that said, she left everyone looking at the Inspector.
He went straight into his office and sat down. Rose always got the job of welcoming new staff so everyone was staring at her by this time. She got up and walked over and tapped on the door then waited. All she got was a wave for her to enter. This was going to be a tough nut to crack.
"Good morning, Sir, I'm Rose, can I get you anything? A drink perhaps?" she asked as she closed the door behind her.
He looked at her, clearly not expecting any kind of welcome from the looks he'd just got in the office outside. "Tea would be nice, milk, no sugar. I don't expect any special treatment but just this once, since you've clearly been delegated to test the waters, so to speak. I don't bite, well not when I've had my morning cup of tea. What exactly is your job when you're not being the tea lady?"
Rose smiled, a Scot with a dry sense of humour, just what she needed – not. "Right, tea it is and I'm the filing clerk around here. You want files getting out or putting away, I'm the person you need. When I'm not doing that, I'm the welcome wagon, I sort of got stuck with the job. So I'll get your tea then shall I?"
DI Hardy just nodded and went back to looking at his computer screen.
Rose thought nothing else about it after she had taken him his tea and went back to work. She hardly saw him over the next few days, he went out a few times, when he came back in, he made his own drinks until he came back late on the Friday afternoon when there was only herself and the cleaner and he was making a drink when Rose was going to make hers and being an open area, there wasn't much room to avoid each other as she stood at the side of him. He took another cup, put a teabag in it and poured hot water and milk into it and passed it to her.
She asked how he was getting on. "Thanks. Are you settling down Sir? I could make your drinks for you, if you wanted. I used to do it all the time for the DI you replaced, it's really no bother."
"I don't want any special treatment and I don't want the rest of the office thinking you're fraternising with the enemy. I know I'm not exactly welcome here. You're the only one that's talked to me about anything other than they actually need to and certainly the only one who's made me a drink. Now we're even. I didn't want it to look like I was taking advantage of your good nature. It's Rose isn't it?"
Pleased he'd actually remembered her name instead of clicking his fingers and saying 'hey you, the filing clerk,' she said yes.
"So, Rose, tell me why exactly am I getting the cold shoulder from the rest of the office. Is it something to do with DS Miller? I was told she was in line for a promotion and she's back next Thursday, what can I expect? More of the silent treatment?"
"I wasn't giving you the silent treatment, Sir, I just assumed you wanted to be left alone. The other DI never wanted to be disturbed when he was in his office except for three or four cups of coffee a day. We all nicknamed him Kojak because when he went out he wore the same kind of hat and was always calling out for DS Miller like Kojak would call for his Sergeant." She smiled at him. "Not that we think you're anything like Kojak, Sir," she added hastily.
He cracked a smile and turned around to face her. "So what do they call me then? I assume it's not with any fondness they've given me a nickname?"
Rose blushed slightly, not wanting to reveal what some of them had taken to calling him when he was either out or had his office door closed.
"I don't think I should really say Sir but if it's any consolation, I don't agree with them and I've stuck up for you a few times and some of them are giving me funny looks now. Not that I got on really well with any of them, I'm not in their inner circle or anything. I'm from out of town too. Have you found a place to live yet or are you staying at a hotel? Only there are a few empty flats where I live, I could give you the number if you like?"
"Thanks but I'm not sure if I'm staying yet. This is just a temporary transfer but I can't get another one for at least three months so getting somewhere to live permanently is not something I've thought about. Anyway, what are you still doing here after hours on a Friday night? Not going out? No boyfriend?"
Ah! Now he was fishing, Rose was thinking. Keep him dangling and let him wait for the fish to take the bait.
"I have some extra filing to do and I prefer to do it when everyone has left. They leave their files on their desks for me in their top trays. I told you, some of them regard me in the same way as a newcomer. I guess we both belong to the outsiders club."
Rose picked up her drink and was just about to go back to her desk when he followed her. The cleaner had just left so they were on their own. Rose sat down and he pulled a chair from the opposite desk and sat down, putting his cup on her desk.
"So, Rose, are you going to be coming into my office to collect files? Only I wasn't aware that I was supposed to leave them out for you. Do you prefer to wait until I've left as well? I told you I don't bite." He looked across the desk and smiled at her.
"You're the boss, Sir, whatever you want and I don't care much what other people think, it's a job, I'm not here for the social aspect. To answer your question, no, there's no boyfriend and Friday night, I normally just work a bit later and grab something to eat on the way home and watch my favourite TV programme at nine. Have you made any friends yet, Sir?"
"You don't have to call me Sir all the time, I have got a name. Not that I like my name much, it's Alec but you can call me that, if you want, when there's no-one around," he winked at her.
Rose wasn't too sure about him, she'd heard everyone saying he was a grump and a misery guts but here he was, drinking tea with her at her desk and telling her to call him Alec. This was surely going to get complicated on Monday morning when everyone came back to work if she started going into his office several times a day, making him drinks and collecting case files. Still, he was being nice to her and that was all that mattered, stuff what everyone else thought, he was chatting her up.
"OK, Alec it is, if you're sure you're not going to fire me for getting too familiar with you, I am just one of the office staff," she laughed, picking up her drink. "I'll try to remember to go back to calling you Sir on Monday morning."
"How late are you going to be working?" he asked. "I still have some work to catch up on. We could go for a drink afterwards, if you don't mind missing your TV programme. That's if you want to be seen with me?" he added.
"I should be finished by seven if I get back to work and stop sitting here drinking tea with you, Sir," she laughed as she finished her drink.
He took the hint and finished his and put his cup down and took hers then gathered them together in one hand and got up. "Then don't let me stop you, what's your surname?"
"It's Tyler, you should really know that, you being a detective," she laughed.
"Well, I would have, normally but everyone here seems to have something against me and I thought I'd play it safe."
He got up and went back to the kitchen area, then popped his head around the corner. "Rose, why don't we go get a bite to eat before we go to get that drink? That's if you have no other plans. Do you know of somewhere? Preferably not where everyone else from here goes, not that I don't want to be seen with you."
Rose said she knew somewhere, down by the harbour, just across from their current location. She finished her filing in record time, hoping she hadn't put any files in the wrong places in trying to impress her new boss. When she'd finished, he was still in his office so she tapped on the door and waited. He switched his computer off and took his jacket from the stand and gestured her out of the door. They walked across the harbour to the pub, ordered something to eat and they went to a quiet corner as Alec continued to chat her up.
By ten, they were laughing and Rose noticed he wasn't drinking much and he said he couldn't, there was a reason for it that he couldn't tell her. He excused himself and when he came back said, "Rose, what else do you do to relax?" She looked at him as he continued. "Would you like to relax a little with me, perhaps? Maybe come back to my hotel room with me?"
Rose thought about it for a grand total of ten seconds before saying it wasn't a good idea. "Alec, I enjoyed tonight, I really did but you're my superior officer, I'm a filing clerk and it's bad enough in the office as it is, not that I care about what they think of me but it could get awkward for you." She looked at him as he had a look of disappointment on his face.
"Then I don't care either Rose, you're the only one who's even bothered with me since I've been here. Come back with me. You don't have to stay all night. Let's just relax a little more together, we don't have to tell anyone."
It didn't take long for her to relent when she looked into his brown eyes. "OK, just for a little while then."
They left the pub and walked back to his hotel, taking the side entrance and walked up to his room. Once the door was closed, he took his jacket and tie off then unfastened some buttons on his shirt. He went over to Rose and moved in to kiss her, putting one arm around her back and the other to start unbuttoning her blouse. She responded by putting her hand on his chest and unbuttoning the rest of his shirt as he leaned in to kiss her. They were soon on the bed, he finished with her blouse and unzipped the back of her skirt, pulling it down over her legs then reached to unfasten her bra kissing the exposed skin.
It didn't take long for Rose to unfasten his trousers and pull them down, leaving his shorts halfway down as he pulled her underwear down over her hips. They began kissing as he knelt between her legs, pulling her underwear halfway down her legs.
Then he stopped suddenly and Rose asked what was wrong.
"Nothing, am I moving too fast for you Rose, maybe we should just do more of this, it being our first time, if that's ok? I didn't mean to take it this far, it's just you're so gorgeous and I really want you Rose but we should get to know each other first before we have proper sex."
"Yeah, you're probably right and this is nice, maybe a bit more of what we're doing now is in order but you can go a bit further if you want I'm more than enjoying this."
Alec got the hint, moving both his hands as she whimpered for him to do more, quivering at his touch as she felt his fingers. She put her hands down the back of his shorts, pulling them down as he moved at her touch, forcing him to land fully on her as they both gasped when he moved his hands quickly out of the way and they both gasped again as their bodies touched.
