That afternoon, after finding and interviewing the taxi driver, Alec was watching the clock. He had a plan, he just wasn't sure if he was going to have time to follow through with it. He knew Ellie would be going home by dinner time to see the boys, and he needed to take care of something before she did. As soon as they finished the interview and stepped out of the room, he called out to her as she walked away. "Miller, I've just got to go take care of something. See you later."

"What?!" He ignored her, so she muttered in disgust and turned back towards the station.

Hardy quickly got into his car. Every time he was able to do that, he was thankful that he had gotten the pacemaker. Being able to drive again was one of its many perks; that and actually being alive to be able to drive. He put the car in gear and headed towards Miller's house.

When he arrived, he knocked on the door and his hands automatically went to his hips while he waited. When the door opened it was who he had hoped for. "Mr. Barnett— "

Before he could continue, Ellie's father interrupted him. "Ellie isn't home, she's supposed to be at work, with you. Why are you here? You're the one that keeps her there all hours."

"Well, Mr. Barnett, that's actually part of what I'm here to discuss. Could I come in or do I have to talk to you from out here?" Hardy tried not to sound impatient, as difficult as it was for him. He had to make sure this worked.

The older man eyed him suspiciously but stepped aside, holding the door open for him. Hardy stepped in and made his way into the kitchen, towards the table, on his own.

David Barnett followed him, not going as far as the table, still looking suspicious. "Well, what is it? The children will be home soon."

Alec could tell that Ellie's father was not going to make this easy. He stood straight, hands on his hips, and prepared himself for a speech that hopefully would convince the man who stood before him. "Mr. Barnett, before you came to stay with your daughter we frequently met here, at her home, to discuss the cases we were working on. We always did so after Tom and Fred were in bed for the night so as not to involve them or have them overhear, and no case files or materials ever stayed out where the children would see them during the day. This allowed Miller—Ellie—to be home with her boys on a more regular basis. It allowed us to potentially solve crimes faster as she and I work together well as a team but need time to go over the case without other distractions." Hardy paused a moment, letting what he had said sink in. "However the first time I was here after you came to stay, you made it very clear you were not happy with that arrangement. Out of respect for your feelings, we put a stop to those meetings. I'd like you to reconsider your opinion, as I believe it could be in everyone's best interest. I'd like to offer to bring over take-away pizza tonight for the family, and afterwards discuss the case with Ellie. I'll need to let her know—" He glanced at his watch and continued, "—Within the hour, I would guess, so that she doesn't make other plans for dinner. If you decide before then that you really can't bear the thought of she and I discussing work in this house," as Alec went on, he pulled a business card out of his wallet and handed it to the other man. "Call me at this number." He paused another moment as the older man looked at the card he had been handed. "I would remind you, sir, that this is Ellie's house, in the end the decision should rest with her. I'm asking for your approval only out of respect." With that, Alec walked out of the kitchen, past Ellie's father, and continued out of the house.

When he got back out to his car he checked his phone and saw a message from Ellie. They were to meet at the taxi driver's home to interview his wife. Later they got back to the station and Alec was going over paperwork when he thought to look at the time. An hour had passed and no word from Ellie's father. That was his cue. Ellie came in to show him the test results that had come back from Trish's hair samples. Before he could change the subject, DC Hartford walked in on them.

After reviewing the suspect board in the main bullpen, Hardy saw his last chance to talk to Miller before she would leave for the day. "Miller?" She turned to look at him and he motioned towards his office with a tilt of his head. She followed him back in and he sat, sorting through papers and putting the necessary ones into the case file.

"If that's it for the night, I'm going to head home to have dinner with the boys. Dad called while I was waiting for the test results." Alec's head popped up from the papers he had been flipping through. He hoped it hadn't been too obvious a reaction. She seemed to not notice as she continued without hesitating. "He's going out for dinner with some of his friends."

"Oh, well—I was just going to offer to bring over take-away, maybe pizza?" He finished filing away the papers into the file. "We could go over today's interviews, the test results-after the boys go to bed, of course?"

Her left eyebrow perked up. "You willing to face the wrath of Dad if he comes home to that?"

"Yeah, I think so." A small smile quirked at the corner of his lips, which made Miller's eyebrow raise even further.

"Alright then, see you at seven?"

He nodded, moving his attention to his computer screen. "Seven."

It was all the acknowledgment she was going to get. But after she left she didn't see the smile that crept the rest of the way across his face.

An hour later, Alec Hardy got out of his car, balancing three pizza boxes in one hand, the other gripping the case file and his keys. He used his foot to nudge the car door closed.

As he stepped up to the door, it opened, and Ellie was standing on the other side. "Come on in!" she said in her normal chipper voice, a smile across her face. Alec assumed she was probably feeling more relaxed with her father not in the house to dampen her mood. She saw the pizza boxes and her eyebrow popped up again, "Three pizzas? Is an army coming I don't know about?"

"Last I recall, your eldest son eats as much as an army. So, there's one for him as he prefers. And one with just cheese for wee Fred. And the one with everything on it just as you like." He explained as he brought the pizzas into the kitchen and sat them on the counter.

"You remembered all that? It's been at least six months since we last had pizza here?" Ellie was somewhere between amazed and shocked.

"Of course, I remembered. I'm a detective, I'm supposed to pick up on the details, right?" He was inwardly pleased to have impressed Ellie but attempted to brush off his attention to detail when it came to the Millers as just a part of his training.

Ellie nodded her head suspiciously, "Even details like pizza toppings?"

"Even that." He nodded, then remembered something. "Oh, and this—" He reached into the pocket of his overcoat and pulled out a small sealed container of blue cheese and garlic sauce.

She gasped and grinned wide. "Oooh, garlic! I bloody love you!" she cheered.

He cleared his throat and hoped that the blush rising in his cheeks was hidden by his beard. At just that moment, before Ellie could even question what she had just said, they heard footsteps bounding down the stairs and around the corner as fast as lightning. Alec turned and planted his feet in preparation.

"Awec!" Fred came running at full speed towards the man and lunged at his leg, squeezing it with full strength.

"Ah, wee Fred!" He grabbed the boy up under his armpits and hoisted him into his arms. "How are you doing, wee lad? Are you taking good care of your mum?"

"Yes sir!" Fred grinned and giggled as Alec came at his side with wiggling fingers.

At that moment, they heard another set of feet bouncing down the stairs and Tom came around the corner. Alec nodded at the teenage boy whom he knew would be in less than high spirits based on what his mother had told him about what had happened at school and the punishment he was enduring. "Hello, Tom."

"Hello." Tom nodded then went to the counter and begun lifting box lids. He stopped when he got to the one meant for him and grinned. "Brilliant!" The boy took the box and went to sit at the dining table with it in front of him.

Ellie saw Alec grinning and shook her head. "Alright Fred, to your seat, I'll bring you a plate of pizza. Alec brought you cheese, your favorite."

"Yay! Awec!" Fred cheered as he ran to climb up into his seat.

Alec went over to help with the pizza and drinks and Ellie leaned towards him. "If I didn't know better, Sir, I'd say discussing the case was just a ruse."

"Oh?" Alec kept his face straight as he poured the two of them wine and juice for the boys.

"I think you missed the boys." Ellie grinned again, and side glanced to see if she got a reaction out of him.

Alec however, in his infinite skill at avoiding the acknowledgement of his feelings, took a sip of wine from his glass to hide any facial expression that might have appeared at her words. She continued to watch him however—eventually he'd have to move the glass away from his mouth. Sure enough, when he did there remained a smile.

"I knew it!" She grinned as she whispered to him in glee. He rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath as they both captured up their plates and drinks and carried them to the table.

An hour, and two and a half pizzas later, the boys had gone upstairs to get washed up. Fred always looked like he had smeared a jar of tomato sauce all over himself after eating pizza, and Tom was on strict brother-duty during his school punishment. If Ellie was going to be fraught with concern over her eldest son, the least she could get out of it was a bit of relief over caring for her youngest.

Alec had insisted on helping Tom clean up the dishes from dinner while Ellie saw to Fred's bedtime routine. They washed in silence for a few moments before Tom spoke up. "It was nice having you back over for dinner."

"Tom, I've told you before, you can call me Alec. Fred already does. Though if you tell your mother I said I was okay with that, school punishment will seem light in comparison…," he faded off, letting his silence do the rest of his talking, although his smirk showed there wasn't much weight to his threat.

Tom grinned. "I think it's useless to pretend you don't like Fred calling you Alec. It's pretty obvious my little brother has you wrapped around his finger."

Alec feigned shock. "Oh is it now?" He paused to think about it. "Your brother is a rather persuasive wee human being."

Tom chuckled. "I think manipulative is the proper word, sir—I mean, Alec."

Aleck smirked in agreement, then decided they were comfortable enough to continue the discussion he had hoped to have with Tom. "Tom, you know your mother has told me all about your school punishment, about what happened, what you were caught with."

Tom's hands stilled over the plate he was drying, and his head dropped. "Yes, sir."

"I'm going to be straight with you, Tom. Because I think you can handle it. Your mother loves you very much. She's scared about how you're handling what happened to your dad. She's scared about what it could mean you're becoming. I know it seems natural and normal, but there is a fine line, and you've crossed it. What I want you to think about is the lack of respect you are showing to those girls, those women, when you watch those videos." He paused a moment. "Now, as horrifying as this will seem, I want you to think about if it had been your mum on one of those videos."

Tom scoffed loudly. "Oh, that's disgusting!"

Alec handed him the last plate and turned towards him. "Tom, those women are someone's daughter, they're possibly someone's mother. The next time you are tempted to watch one of those videos, imagine if they were someone's mother, your mother. Imagine if they were someone's daughter—" Alec then raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "Imagine if it were my daughter. Would you watch that video?"

Tom's eyes grew wide and he shook his head vigorously. "No sir, no I wouldn't."

Alec reached out and rested a hand on Tom's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Then put a stop to this nonsense, okay?"

"Ye—yes, yes sir." Tom's head stayed bowed until Alec reached up and ruffled his hair.

"Alright then." Alec said gruffly as he reached out and squeezed the boy's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. After a moment, Tom smiled back and then ran upstairs to get himself ready for bed.