Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, locations, storylines, or anything else from the show Broadchurch. If I did, I would not be sitting around writing fanfiction, and I certainly wouldn't have such a strong desire to meet David Tennant, because I already would have.

Summary: A collection of one-shots about Alec and Ellie simply being there for each other. Chapter 4: "I'm Always Here, Ellie" is an AU (or extra scene?) from the end of the last episode of season 3 when Alec joins a crying Ellie on the steps of the police station after learning who raped Trish Winterman. Instead of sitting in silence, Alec tries to comfort his friend. Rated T for mild language and mentions of murder/rape and suicide throughout the collection.

A/N: This one is my favorite chapter out of the four, the one I spent the most time on. I actually wrote this one first, but decided that, if I was going to make a collection of one-shots, they should probably be in order of how they happened in the show. Regardless, I really like this story. Please leave a review if you like it!

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I'm Always Here, Ellie

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It just wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Leo Humphries had been grooming Michael Lucas to be a rapist. It wasn't fair that Trish Winterman was forced through the trauma of being raped because Humphries forced Lucas to follow in his footsteps. It wasn't fair that Leo Humphries thought that rape was fine because all of the women he'd raped had had sex before. It wasn't fair that Ellie had to go through a case like this only a few years after her husband was acquitted of the murder of Danny Latimer.

Speaking of how unfair everything was, it wasn't fair that Joe had killed Danny. It wasn't fair that the Latimers' had to grieve for their eleven-year-old son because Joe had "fallen in love with him." It wasn't fair that Ellie and Tom and Fred had to go through the trauma of their loved on, their family, being accused of murdering a child, and then being found innocent.

It wasn't fair that Alec Hardy simply disappeared after Sandbrook and Joe's trial. It wasn't fair that he didn't return any of Ellie's calls or texts, then just randomly showed up back in Broadchurch two years later as if nothing had happened. It just wasn't fair.

DS Ellie Miller sat on the steps of Broadchurch police station and cried. She and DI Alec Hardy had just gotten a confession out of Michael Lucas and Leo Humphries, and she knew she needed to get out of there. She barely made it to the steps before she started crying, though she refused to let herself cry too hard, lest the other officers or the people of Broadchurch see her like this.

Ellie heard footsteps come up behind her, and she hastily wiped the tears from her face as DI Alec Hardy sat down beside her.

"Are you alright?" Hardy whispered.

Not trusting herself to speak, Ellis simply shook her head.

"Come on." Hardy stood and grabbed Ellie by the elbow, gently lifting her from her position on the steps and leading her away from the station. He walked her to the car park and helped her into the passenger seat of her car. He then made his way around the car and climbed into the driver's seat, starting the engine and pulling away toward his own house. Daisy was still at school, and Hardy wanted to make sure Ellie had some space to let out any emotions she needed to.

It didn't take long for them to reach Hardy's little house, and he quickly put the car in park and made his way around it to get the door for Ellie. He didn't lead her by her elbow this time, he just let her make her own way to the door of his little house.

He popped in front of her when they got to the door to unlock it, letting her walk in first.

"I'm going to make tea." Hardy stated, walking into his little kitchen while Ellie made her way to the living room. Once he had put the kettle on, he walked into the living room so see Ellie standing in the middle of the room, unseeingly staring at the wall. Hardy walked over to stand in front of her.

"I figured this would be a better place to… well, I don't know. But it's more private here for you to do whatever you need to do. I didn't want you holding back whatever you needed to let out because you were in public, that's why I brought you here. I can leave you alone or I can stay, it's up to you."

Ellie looked up at Hardy for the first time since he sat next to her on the police station steps, tears already welling back up in her eyes.

"It's okay, Miller." Hardy patted Ellie's upper arm. Just then, the kettle whistled, so Hardy retreated back to his kitchen to pour them both a mug full. When he came back out into the living room with two mugs full of steaming tea, Ellie was sitting on the couch crying.

Hardy quickly set the mugs on the coffee table and sat next to Ellie. "Do you want me to leave you alone?" he asked quietly.

As an answer, Ellie leaned into Hardy's chest and started crying harder. He wasn't very good at these things, both of them knew that, but Ellie felt like he was the only person she trusted who could possibly understand what was going on in her head.

Hardy quietly wrapped his arms around Ellie, resting his cheek against her temple. "Oh, Ellie, I am so sorry about everything you've had to go through."

Ellie noticed that Hardy had called her "Ellie," not "Miller," and that made her cry even harder. Hardy moved one of his hands to hold her head against his chest.

Hardy held onto Ellie tightly as she cried, hoping that he could hold her together as she fell apart. She was shaking so badly that he felt like she was going to break, but still he held on. He didn't know if he could take much more without crying himself when she started to calm down. She pulled away from him, and Hardy immediately started to wish that he was still holding onto her, still giving her the comfort that he was sure she still needed.

"I'm sorry, sir." She choked out, wiping at her face.

"There's no need to apologize, Miller. I understand." He muttered. He reached for his mug of tea before realizing that it had gone cold.

"No, you have enough to deal with without having to hold onto me while I cry about how unfair life is." Ellie replied.

"Miller, don't ever apologize to me for having emotions. If I didn't want to help, I wouldn't have brought you here." Hardy berated. "Life has been cruel to you. I understand your frustration and sadness. And I've been there for you when you've cried before."

Ellie sniffed and looked away from her boss, hoping he would just leave it at that and let her go home.

"I'm sorry, by the way. I'm sorry I left right after Joe's trial and everything we went through with Sandbrook. I'm sorry I didn't answer your calls and texts, I just… I needed some time to process everything. I shouldn't have left you so soon after Joe was acquitted." Hardy leaned back against the back of the couch, sighing loudly. "I know I'm a shitty person sometimes, Miller, but I do care about you. No one has ever stuck by my side the way that you have. I appreciate that."

Ellie sniffed again. She really didn't want to start crying again, and Hardy was making that extremely difficult.

"I know I'm not good at this sort of thing, but I just want you to know that I'm always here, Ellie. For whatever you need. I won't leave again, I promise. I know it's been really rough for you the past few years, I just want to help." Hardy continued. "Okay, I'm done. I'll shut up now and go make us more tea, since these have gone cold." Hardy picked up the two mugs and made his way into the kitchen, giving Ellie the space that he knew she needed.

Ellie sniffed and wiped her eyes. She had always known that Hardy was passionate and caring, despite how hard he tried to hide it, but she had still never expected to be crying in his arms. The way that their relationship had progressed since they first met was astounding. She had found him irritating and rude, and now she was coming to him for comfort. Not that he gave her much of a choice, but Ellie would admit, only to herself, of course, that she probably would have gone to him anyway. She was friends with the Latimers again, and she had her boys, but Hardy seemed to be the only friend she had that she truly trusted to see her break down like that.

As Ellie was thinking about all those things, she heard the kettle whistle, and a few minutes later Hardy came out with two new mugs of steaming tea.

"Thank you, sir." Ellie took one of the mugs from Hardy as he sat back down next to her.

"You don't need to thank me, Miller. And you don't need to call me 'sir.'" Hardy sighed.

"Well what am I supposed to call you? You hate 'Alec' and it just feels weird to call you 'Hardy.'"

"Valid point. But still, it feels weird having you call me 'sir' right after you cried in my arms." Hardy replied.

Ellie's cheeks and ears turned red and she turned away from her boss in embarrassment.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you, Miller. I'm glad I could help you. Really." Hardy scolded himself.

Ellie kept her face turned away until the redness left her face, and she still refused to look at Hardy.

"Look, Miller, I know that, if the roles were reversed, you would have done the same thing for me. You shouldn't be embarrassed for having feelings." Hardy said quietly.

"I just… I can't believe that I just cried all over your shirt." Ellie muttered.

"I have others. I'm so glad that you trust me enough to cry when I'm around, let alone in my arms. I never want you to feel like you wronged me because of this. You've been there when I've needed you, remember?"

"I know, but…"

"Enough. Drink your tea." Hardy cut Ellie off mid-argument.

The two unlikely friends sat in silence for a while, lost in thought. Finally, when both had finished their drinks, Hardy stood from the couch, grabbing both mugs and bringing them into the kitchen.

When he came back out, Ellie was standing and preparing to leave and pick up her boys from the babysitter and school.

"Miller, wait." Hardy walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes. "I need to know that you're alright."

"I'm fine, sir." She avoided his eyes.

"I'm serious, Ellie. I won't have you leave and suffer alone at your house if you're still upset." Hardy responded.

"Sir, I'm never going to stop being upset about everything. I'll recover from the Trish Winterman investigation and I'll be fine after other cases, but I'll never be able to get over the Danny Latimer investigation. I'll never forgive myself for not knowing that I was sleeping next to a child killer."

"You can't blame yourself for that. You couldn't have known." Hardy argued quietly.

"And yet I'll never forgive myself for it." Ellie paused. "I'll be okay, sir. Thank you for… everything. Seriously."

Hardy sighed and pulled Ellie forward gently until he had her wrapped in a hug. He rested his chin on her curls and held onto her for a long moment before he let go and pulled back.

"Call me if you need me. Seriously. If you need anything, I'm only a phone call away. I mean that." He patted her on the shoulder, fishing her keys out of his pocket and handing them to her. He opened the door for her and stood in the doorway as she turned around to look at him.

"I'm always here, Ellie."

"Thank you, sir." Ellie said quietly. She turned and walked off his porch toward her car, knowing that Hardy had just done more for her than he even realized. She didn't know where she would be without that man in her life.