Steven saw the concern on Rose's face as an emergency team were waiting for them to arrive at the small local hospital. He went first to lift the trolley down as Rose held the breathing mask over Alec's face, he'd closed his eyes but Rose had just un-hooked him from the monitor and he was just about holding his own.

Steven informed the head of the team what they thought Alec's problem was and handing the empty strip to one of the nurses.

"I think he's got heart arrhythmia, his name's Alec Hardy, if he's had problems, you should already have a medical record for him."

"We'll check up once we stabilise him," one of the doctors informed him and Rose, who had let someone take her end of the trolley and was walking alongside.

"Was anyone with him?" the nurse asked Rose as they went through the emergency room door.

"No, he must have just collapsed when he realised he'd run out of his pills. He cracked his head on the sink, I've done what I can with it, it's stopped bleeding now," Rose replied.

The nurse smiled as Rose hung back while they put Alec on the table.

"Yeah, you did a good job there Rose, finding that empty blister pack helped a lot, we can get him back on the medication while we wait for his records to come through. You're on late tonight."

"Tell me about it," Rose tried to smile back. "I sort of know him, we've met a few times. No-one will say anything about who he is I trust?"

"Of course not, just as much as you won't say anything," the nurse, Judy, replied as the doctor was examining Alec while someone got the liquid form of Alec's medication in a drip and stuck the needle into Alec's arm once they fixed the flexible tube in place to administer it.

"You probably saved him by stopping the blood from his wound," the doctor told Rose, seeing she still had some blood on her hands.

She blushed and went to the sink in the corner and carefully washed it off.

"Come on Rose, leave them to do their jobs, we've done ours," Steven came up to her to tell her, the empty trolley at the side of him.

"He'll be okay, won't he?" Rose asked as she dried her hands on a paper towel.

"We've got him stabilised, once I get his records, we'll see what's been happening with him, then decide but he probably needs a pacemaker. He may already have an appointment for it, if he has, we'll have to try to bring it forward, maybe tonight if he gets any worse," the doctor told her as he went about listening to Alec's irregular heartbeat.

"You say you know him?" the doctor continued to ask Rose. "If he has any family, they should be informed."

"He had a wallet in his jacket pocket, there may be some details in there," Rose offered.

"We may not need them yet, where's his records?" the doctor asked another nurse who was at the computer terminal.

"Just coming through now Doctor Baines, I'm just printing them off."

"Time to go," Steven reminded Rose, who was watching as an orderly had taken Alec's shirt off, that Rose knew she shouldn't really be watching, making Steven smile.

He took her arm and tried to lead her out, pulling the trolley behind him.

"He's got no-one Steven," Rose told him sadly.

"Rose, we don't normally spend that much time in there," he reminded her as she went to the drinks machine.

"I know but what if something happens to him and they can't bring him round?" Rose replied, searching for some change in her pocket.

Steven went in his and brought out some coins and put them in, knowing she drank latte or hot chocolate and they didn't have the first and handing it to her. Rose grinned at him and took a drink after blowing on it.

"If we've got no other calls, let's go back to the ambulance station, then I'm getting a taxi back here to stay with him," she declared.

They only had about half an hour by this time so Steven felt sorry for her.

"I expect if we get any more calls, the next shift will cover them? You know if Becca hadn't told whoever called it in that he'd only cracked his head, we wouldn't have been sent?" he asked as they got outside. "Come on, I'll radio in that we got held up at the hospital then we'll do a check when we get back and you can come back. Want a ride?"

"Thanks Steven. I can't just leave him, even if he wakes up, he'll be better if someone's with him other than a nurse trying to boss him around," she smiled as she finished her drink.

"You mean you, a paramedic?" Steven laughed as he picked up the radio.

He told the dispatcher they were on their way back when they'd finished at the hospital, explaining their last call had been more complicated than thought and dreaded making the report when asked what had been the delay as he normally wrote on the call sheet what action had been taken, which he was doing while Rose was finishing her drink.

"The things I do for you," he joked, putting the clipboard on the dashboard and putting his seatbelt on. "Why are you letting Hardy get to you?"

Rose shrugged her shoulders as she put her own seatbelt on.

"I'll tell you why, Miss Tyler, though you already know," he replied as they set off.

Just under an hour later, Rose was getting dropped off outside the hospital again in Steven's car.

"See you on Thursday, got the start time?" he asked. Rose nodded. "I hope he's going to be okay but you two have a few issues to sort out, like why you get to each other."

"Yeah, I know. I'd best go though if they didn't know me I doubt I'd be let back in," she replied.

"You would if you told them you were his girlfriend," Steven grinned. "Go on, get in there."

Rose never even turned to see Steven driving off just after midnight as she walked back in the hospital and past the reception when the woman behind the glass just waved to her and never asked anything like where was she going at this time of night, on her own.

She went towards the room they'd left Alec in, the doors closed so she guessed he was still inside then five minutes later, Rose sat opposite, the nurse she'd spoken to earlier came out.

"Oh, what are you doing back here Rose?"

"I came to see how Alec Hardy was," Rose replied, feeling tired.

"Well he's stable, we're moving him to a side ward, that's what I'm off to sort out. They didn't fit the pacemaker, Doctor Baines consulted with the heart specialist and since an appointment's been made for the fitting, they decided to leave it but Alec's put it back by a few weeks, just recently."

Rose knew if she wasn't what she was, she would never have been told that much but who was she likely to tell? There was only Ellie but he wouldn't thank her if she did tell on him and he'd be out anyway. She doubted that despite her friend having been in the police for some time, she could have handled her first murder investigation on her own.

She carried on waiting until the nurse went back in, who smiled at her and probably wondering why she'd finished her shift and gone back to ask about a stranger. Five minutes later, Alec was being wheeled out on a bed so she followed the nurse and the porter she'd just seen go inside. Alec was taken to a small ward with just two spaces and he was hooked up to a machine that the orderly who had followed them had wheeled over.

"Won't be long Rose," the nurse smiled at her as she stood and watched.

Just a few hours ago, she'd been doing the same when they'd got him into the ambulance, not knowing then if he was going to make it to the hospital or not. She'd not had the time to think about it, she'd decided on the spot as they were leaving earlier she was coming back. How could she not?

They may have had a few gruff meetings but something kept them doing so and since Steven had recently brought the fact up of Joe Miller having a temper, was in two minds to mention it to Alec and see what he made of it, especially since only she and Steven knew how Ellie's husband had blown up over that incident in the supermarket car park that time.

Everyone began to leave apart from a nurse who sat herself in the corner at a small desk, never questioning Rose was staying but Rose didn't recognise the woman since she wasn't normally in the hospital taking patients in at that time of night.

"Can I get you anything?" the nurse asked, realising Rose had her uniform trousers still on even though her shirt was covered by her jacket.

Rose never bothered about changing at work, she always went ready to save time as a lot of the others did except if she was going somewhere but she'd only done it in the last few years since Joe Miller had left.

"Some tea, thanks, if it's no bother," Rose smiled as the nurse approached her.

"You're in the ambulance service?" she asked Rose.

"Paramedic. We brought him in earlier, there was no-one to inform so I finished work and came back. Did they say how long he'd be out?" Rose asked her.

"No, just he's been sedated to give him chance to recover and let the medication do the job. I heard he escaped having a pacemaker fitted. He must be doing okay or they would have done it on the spot."

"Yeah, they said. We sort of know each other, I figured having a familiar face would help when he woke up," Rose grinned as the nurse was about to go off.

Who was she kidding? Steven had joked with her on the way back but Alec would probably be furious about them bringing him to hospital, let alone her going back to stay with him. She wondered why he'd put back his appointment though, maybe it wasn't by that much and he may want to give himself time to find Danny's killer.

The nurse came back with a plastic cup filled with tea and went back to the desk. Rose sipped at the tea, feeling hungry after she'd eaten much earlier then they'd almost had to cut their break short for the call before the one they'd got that Alec was presumably unconscious after hitting his head.

She knew if Becca asked her about it, she had to stick with the story, he'd be really mad if she told the local hotel owner, who had a reputation of kissing and telling. She knew the Australian used to have a boyfriend who ran the hotel with her but he'd disappeared a good while back though while they'd been passing the hotel a week or two back, she'd seen Becca talking to Mark Latimer and they'd looked a bit friendly.

She had some room to talk though, her meetings with Alec could be taken one of two ways, especially outside the newsagents and she was surprised he hadn't grabbed hold of her and kissed her to shut her up. She'd no idea what time she dozed off after fighting to stay awake but she woke with something moving under her head and realised she'd put it on his legs at some point.

"Where am I?" a Scottish voice asked her as she sat up slowly. "You. What are you doing here? I vaguely remember seeing you when I was laying down with a breathing mask over my face."

"Yeah, I was rather busy trying to keep ya alive while we got you to hospital. No need to thank us," she replied as he was taking the breathing tube out of his nose and the nurse who had replaced the other one while Rose was asleep was now standing over him.

"Put that back in Alec, you're going nowhere just yet," the nurse grinned at him, then Rose. "Morning Rose, Sally said you'd been here all night, that has to be a first."

"What?" Alec butted in as the nurse tried to put the breathing tube back in and he waved it away. "Why would you stay all night? You brought me here, why didn't you leave?"

"I'm going to tell the doctor who's on duty you're awake. You two obviously know each other," the nurse laughed as she knew she'd never get him to put the tube back in.

Alec was looking at his arm where she'd just taken the drip out while he'd been wondering why the irritating paramedic had obviously come back after her shift had finished.

"Well?" he asked Rose, who was sat next to him and still feeling tired and dying for her favourite brand of coffee, which she was wasn't likely to get here.

"You had no-one with you. How do ya think I would have felt if I'd not come back and you died?" she replied.

"Don't be so dramatic, I just passed out," he admitted, wondering who had undressed him and hoped it hadn't been Rose in the ambulance but he bet she'd stayed to watch some male nurse or orderly do it.

"How can you be so casual about it?" Rose asked him as he finally lay back on the pillow in case the gown had big gaps in the back but he was relieved he was still wearing his boxer briefs.

Maybe if she'd stayed to watch him being undressed, she'd not got the show she'd wanted?

"What time is it and where are my things?" he asked.

"In the bedside cabinet I think the nurse put them there when they brought you from the emergency room. Your jacket's over the back of the chair and your shirt and trousers are on the chair but your shirt's got blood on it. You cracked your head when you collapsed, you made a mess on me too, trying to stop it."

"Sorry," he admitted quietly. "Rose, I need to get out of here, I need to go to work."

"Don't be daft, I know what's wrong with you," Rose replied in a huff.

"They should not have told you," he replied back.

"You forget who I am, I can't tell anyone anyway. I found the empty blister pack and showed it to Steven. He called ahead and they had your medication ready and they gave you it while your records were being retrieved. You put off having a pacemaker fitted, why?" she asked him, not believing how stupid that was in his condition.

"Why do you want to know? It was too soon, I have to find out who killed Danny. If I go for the surgery, I may not come out. Happy?" he asked, wanting to get out and for her to stop questioning him. "Weren't you being interviewed at nine?" he added.

"I'm gonna call Ellie and put it off until later. It's just gone seven, if they let you out you have time to get a clean shirt but you'll be lucky if they do."

"Then I will just sign myself out, let them try to stop me. Rose, trust me, I'll be fine, I just left my medication in my office, I was waiting for my GP to send me more, that's all."

"Yeah? Guess I'll have to believe ya then? Let the doctor see ya first, then I'll wait for ya and call a cab. I'm off home to get a few hours sleep after I call Ellie. As for you, I don't know how you're gonna get away with your ear all glued up," she smiled, Alec wishing she'd stop doing that.

"It's that bad?" he tried to joke. "I expect I'll get a worse grilling from Becca Fisher for messing up her bathroom floor?"

Rose let out a laugh. "Yeah, I expect so and you almost messed up my shirt sleeves, I had your blood all over my hands when I brought you in here. Alec, you have to get something done, Becca may not get to you in time again."

Alec wished she'd not said that and was about to reply when another doctor came in, followed by the nurse.

"Hello Rose, what are you doing here?" she was asked, Alec thinking the same and wondered if the entire hospital knew her, though they probably did. "Now then Alec, how are you feeling? We got you stabilised and I've got some more of your medication ready but you need that pacemaker fitting sooner than you put your appointment back to. I should report this to your superior officer but I expect she already knows what's wrong with you?"

Alec thought he'd just go along with it, they could think what they wanted. The doctor continued.

"I'd like to keep you in for a while longer though to make sure?"

"I'll vouch for him," Rose spoke up, stifling a yawn and wondering what she was doing.

Alec seemed just as surprised as she was.

"Yes, she can vouch for me, just let me get dressed, I have a killer to catch."

The doctor looked at Alec's charts. "Very well, since she's qualified to keep an eye on you but any more signs you should come straight back. You were very lucky she kept you stable while they got you here."

"So I've been told," Alec replied as the nurse began to free him of tubes and wires.

"Rose, I'm holding you responsible for him. Get him back if he shows any signs he's getting worse," she was told.

Rose wondered if the doctor thought she was his girlfriend though she pitied anyone who got that job. Was she setting herself up for it though?

She waited while he got dressed as the nurse left them to it.

"I'll call Ellie when I've called a cab," Rose told him. "I'll drop you at the hotel to make sure you get there."

"Don't you trust me?" he called back as he fastened his shirt and still wondered if Rose had unbuttoned it in the ambulance or she'd been watching in the emergency room. "You go home first, it makes no difference, it won't take me long to get changed."

"Okay then, just don't do anything stupid. I'll go get your medication and discharge papers. Did ya say your GP was sending you more?"

"He was sending a prescription, it will probably arrive this morning though I'll have to go out of town for it," he admitted. "You can't tell anyone what happened," he reminded her.

"I said I wouldn't Alec," Rose replied as he came from behind the curtain when she came back.

The nurse had reminded her she was responsible for him as well.

"So how well do you know him then?" the nurse smiled as she took the medication.

"We've only met a few times, at incidents funnily enough," she'd admitted.

"Doesn't seem like that to me," the nurse had grinned.

Alec followed her to the main entrance and Rose got her mobile out to call a cab.

"Hi, it's Rose, can I have a cab outside the hospital emergency room?"

Alec wondered how they'd know who it was but he bet not just the hospital staff knew her, when she didn't give where she was going.

"I hope it's not Lucas, I'm not in the mood for him this morning," Rose told him when she'd hung up.

"One of the regular drivers?" Alec asked as they waited, him hoping Miller wasn't related to whoever this Lucas was, it was bad enough she was related to the town's junior over-keen reporter.

"Yeah, it'll just be my luck he's on the early shift, I don't know how many times I've told his controller but he gets away with it," Rose replied.

"What is so annoying about him?" Alec wondered as a red car turned in from the road and came towards them.

"Seriously? He's a creep who's asked half the women in the town out at some point and he has a wife and a step-son. You need to know more?" she replied as the cab stopped and she went to get into the back, leaving Alec to open the front passenger door.

"Hello darlin' going home?" the man asked, Alec figuring this must be Lucas since she obviously didn't want to sit beside the driver.

"Yeah, drop me first then he's going to the Trader's, aren't ya Alec?" she asked him, suddenly leaning over and kissing his cheek and almost making him have another attack. She whispered in Alec's ear, "Just go along with it," making it look like she was taking her time and Alec was just glad it wasn't the ear he'd injured last night.

They got to Rose's apartment block five minutes later.

"He's paying," Rose grinned at the driver. "See ya later Alec, I'll be down to see ya."

Alec hoped that she was just putting on an act for the driver and also hoped she remembered to call his equally annoying DS to say she'd be in later but before he could protest, she leaned over and caught the side of his mouth and without realising she was winding the taxi driver up, he turned towards her.

When she got out, the cab driver set off, eyeing his remaining passenger and Alec was wondering what the hell had just happened.

"So, Rose is your girlfriend?" Lucas asked a still stunned Alec.

Alec didn't know whether to reply it was wishful thinking on her part or not, was she just trying to give a message to the cab driver? If she was, did she have to use him to do so?