"Sarge, are we waiting for the detectives to arrive?" the other uniformed officer asked.
"That was what Hardy said," Bob replied, putting his hat on. "Well, we didn't pass any cars or anyone on foot, whoever it was is still in there," he nodded towards the hut.
"He could have gone down the path," the officer suggested.
"We'd have heard it on the radio," Bob insisted. "The other car would have got there faster. Whoever's in there can't get far. Looks like someone followed us."
The car Ellie was in had made its way down the narrow lane but in the dark, she didn't spot the family car, which Joe had left on the corner by the entrance to a caravan park. He had hoped if someone saw it, they'd think it belonged to a guest there.
Ellie got out of the car and went over to talk to Bob.
"Anything happening?" she wanted to know.
"Nothing Ma'am," Bob told her. "Do you want to go look around?"
"We'll wait for Hardy," Ellie replied. "There was no car around the back of the hut?"
"No Ma'am, whoever it is either got dropped off or parked their car up the lane," Bob told her.
Alec was also being driven down, having called for a car. He'd been down that narrow lane before and didn't intend to drive down on his own at night, it was bad enough in the daytime. He'd seen all the caravans and wondered how they'd got there.
When he arrived at the hut, Ellie went over to him.
"No-one's come out yet," she told him.
"Good, we have him trapped then," Alec replied. "You take the front, we'll take the back," he nodded towards the other two officers.
Splitting up, Alec went with the officer who was with him, taking a torch from the back of the car. With a bit of luck, this could be over soon, then he could concentrate just on Rose. It had come as a huge surprise to be told he was going to be a dad again. How would Daisy take the news? She still got excited every time someone mentioned Rose and she was able to say she'd been at the wedding.
Would her enthusiasm fade once she was told she was going to have a baby sister? He was just trying to peer through the kitchen window when he heard a noise and assumed the intruder had been spooked. He saw a figure disappear and indicated for the officer with him to go one way while he himself went the other to the front of the hut.
He just reached the corner when he heard Ellie shouting. Joe had panicked at seeing Alec's face at the window, he'd been hiding behind the counter, hoping to make his escape when the police had gone around the front. Would Ellie be out front, if she'd called Olly to look after Fred?
There was only one thing for it, he had to fling the door open, surprise whoever was at the front, probably Hardy himself and make a run for it. Would there be anyone at the foot of the cliff though? If there was, he could disappear into the boatyard.
Ellie was just approaching the front door, trying to peer through it but the moon was reflecting in the glass. All of sudden, she felt the door handle moving and jumped back, making Bob move back as well then she let out a yell as the door flung open and she shouted after the quickly disappearing figure.
"Come back, this is the police. You can't go anywhere, we have the place surrounded," she shouted, just as Alec came around the corner.
"Well go after him Miller," Alec shouted as he prepared to chase the man as well but Ellie was now in his way.
The other two officers were down by the cars and saw the figure running for the path that led to the beach below.
"Hey look, someone's trying to get away," the one who had been with Ellie called to the other.
The other officer got on the car radio to tell those below the suspect was heading their way as Ellie, Bob and Alec followed the figure in black.
How did the man hope to get away, Alec wondered as he overtook Ellie and got to the path just as the other two officers joined them. He was determined that if it was who he thought it was trying to get away, Joe Miller was not going to escape capture.
"Sir, I warned the officers at the bottom of the cliff that someone was on their way down," Alec was told.
"Good, now get after that person," Alec shouted behind him as he was passed another torch by the officer who had been with him.
He intended having his driver climb back up the cliff and drive the car around to the beach, the man was younger than he was. If they caught the suspect, he wasn't letting the man out of his sight until he was in custody.
Joe was starting to panic as he'd taken the pocket torch out of his jacket pocket and was making his way down the path. How many were after him, he dreaded to think and he bet they'd have someone at the bottom as well. He was sure it had been Ellie who he'd surprised at the door, she would surely now think it was him. He neared the end of the path, seeing two police cars at the other entrance to the boatyard so he ran for the gate and pushed it open.
"You can't get away," Alec stopped to shout from the bottom of the path. "Miller, you're with me, the rest of you spread out."
"Sir, I caught a glimpse of whoever it was," Ellie admitted as they shone their torches around between the boats.
"Did you recognise him?" Alec wanted to know, hoping she would admit it was her husband. "Miller, you said you had to get a babysitter, had Joe gone out?"
"Yeah, he was going for a drink with Nigel," Ellie replied, stopping to look down a gap between the boats. "Sir, what are you suggesting?"
"Miller, what do you think?" Alec told her.
"Don't be daft Sir, what would he be doing up here?" Ellie couldn't believe what her boss was suggesting. "Are you serious?"
"It seems suspicious to me," Alec admitted, shining the torches everywhere as he heard Bob shouting out to whoever was hiding.
"Come on out, nice and quietly," Bob was saying as he saw a shadow.
Joe had frozen in the place he had chosen to hide in and had turned the torch off to avoid detection. Now it seemed he'd been found but he didn't move.
"We've got the boatyard covered," Bob carried on. "There's no way out."
Joe glanced around, seeing the wire fencing close by and wondered if he could get to it without being seen. It had to be worth a try, he couldn't let Ellie find him here, that was certain. He had known that morning when Tom had been questioned that Hardy suspected something. Had Ellie been told and she wasn't saying?
He heard nothing more so he moved from his hiding place and ran for the fence but Alec thought he'd heard a noise and turned to Ellie.
"Miller, you go that way," he pointed to a boat on the left. "I'll go the other and meet at the fence, if you see anything, shout but don't approach whoever it is, understand?"
"I know Sir," Ellie insisted. "He just caught me by surprise up there."
Alec thought he just bet she was caught by surprise, if he was right about it being her husband.
Alec started off in the other direction as Joe reached the fence. So looking behind him, he started climbing just as Alec reached the corner.
"Stop right there," Alec shouted at the figure in black.
The rest of the officers heard the noise and headed towards the fence as Joe wasn't going to take any notice and slipped over the other side, landing heavily but since it was sand, was able to get up and run up the beach.
"Get after him," Alec turned to the others as he saw the figure get up and run off.
Then he turned to his driver.
"Get back up there and bring the car around."
"Sir, it'll take some time," the officer insisted.
"Well who's got a car down here?" Alec looked around.
"We have Sir," another officer replied.
"Well don't stand there, let's get after him," Alec turned towards him. "Come on Miller."
Ellie thought why did he have to include her but turned and followed. Joe had stopped to get his breath back when he saw a signpost ahead in the moonlight. The path would take him back up the cliff and from there back along to the hut and to the car and hopefully, the officers that had been up there had chased him down onto the beach.
If everything worked out, he could drive back home before Ellie was any wiser that it had been him she'd been after.
Once in the car, Alec was sat in the front and could just make out a figure ahead, who had stopped. Joe saw the headlights and turned to the path.
"What's that signpost?" Alec asked the driver.
"It's for the path leading back up to the clifftop," Ellie replied.
Alec had no intentions of climbing back up there.
"You two go after him," he told the two uniformed officers. "Miller, you can drive us back down the beach and find a way back to the hut. If you catch him, hold him until we get to you. Miller, get on the radio and tell the others at the boatyard to head back up to the hut."
The two uniformed officers got out of the car and Ellie went to get into the driver's seat.
"Sir, whoever it was had to know there was a path back up the cliff," Ellie pointed out.
Alec ignored the remark, it was quite obvious her husband knew his way around. It would take a bit of time to get back to the hut, since there was only the main road then the narrow lane but before they got there, Joe was in the car and making his way carefully to the main road.
Ellie got a call on the radio to say when the two officers had got to the hut, there was no sign of anyone and believed whoever it was had a car stashed close by and had escaped.
"We may as well not bother going up there," Alec decided, thinking he'd left Rose too long already.
She had travelled all that way to see him and he'd had to leave her in the caravan.
"Shall I drop you at the station?" Ellie wanted to know, since she didn't know exactly where his caravan was.
"You may as well," Alec reluctantly agreed, in case Rose was looking out of the window for him to return.
Then he thought it was giving Joe Miller more time to get home so his wife didn't suspect anything. They arrived at the back of the police station so he got out before Ellie turned into the yard.
"We almost had the killer tonight Miller," Alec told her as he was getting out.
"You're so sure it was him?" Ellie disagreed.
"Who else could it have been?" he replied, wanting to know if she suspected anything.
He crossed the road and cut through at the side on the mini market to where he was staying. He tapped lightly on the door of the caravan, prompting Rose to turn off the TV and get up.
"Rose, it's me," Alec called to her when she pulled the curtain back before opening the door.
She let him in and greeted him with a hug.
"Well, did ya catch anyone?" Rose wanted to know.
"No but I'm even more sure it's who I think it is. He's spooked Rose, he will trip himself up."
"Well I hope so, I'd love to interrogate him when ya do catch him," she smiled, going to put water in the kettle.
"I may need you there anyway," Alec admitted, going to put his arms around her waist from behind. "If it's DS Miller's husband, she will be in denial."
"I'll call my stepfather in the morning and talk to him about it," Rose replied, turning around. "Let's have a hot drink then go to bed?"
"So, you took over my wardrobe?" Alec smiled, going for a kiss.
"Watcha think?" Rose laughed.
"Does that mean we are sharing?" he then asked hopefully.
"Well I didn't come here to sleep in the spare room," Rose teased him.
"Are you feeling okay? What I mean is do you feel sick or anything?" Alec was concerned.
"I'm fine Alec, a lot of it was just nerves, having to get up the courage to come and tell ya," Rose admitted.
"You need not have worried so much about it love," Alec told her as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"I didn't know what ya'd think Alec." Rose admitted. "I should've known though, I mean after that night we spent together, we couldn't go back to being apart and afraid to admit anything."
"No, we could not," Alec agreed. "You go sit down, I will make the drinks," he offered.
"That night was something though," Rose teased him again. "I just wanted to wait until ya solved this case Alec, I didn't want to get in the way."
"You would not have been in the way Rose," Alec assured her.
He made the drinks then set them on the coffee table and sat beside her.
"Come here Rose," he held his arms out to her. "Did you really not know why I answered your call when you wanted my help?"
"I knew ya'd come," Rose replied as he put his arms around her. "I think I knew Jamie had gone for good."
"He did not deserve you," Alec then whispered to her.
When Ellie got home, Joe had been back around ten minutes and Olly had gone home but not before Olly had said how his aunt had called him over because she'd had to go off somewhere.
"She did what?" Joe pretended he didn't know Ellie had gone out.
"She told me to get here in a hurry," Olly had told him. "She said it was an emergency. She just said you'd gone out."
"It's always an emergency," Joe complained, trying to avoid any questions as to where he'd been.
So Olly had gone off and Joe tried to compose himself for when Ellie returned. Ellie got dropped off, seeing the family car was now parked in front of the house.
"Now he's back," Ellie told herself as she went to the front door.
Joe had put the TV on and was pretending to watch the news.
"How long have you been back?" Ellie wanted to know.
"A while. Where did you get to?" Joe replied.
"I got a call that someone was up at the hut where Danny was killed," she told him.
"Why did you have to go?" Joe asked, turning the sound down on the TV.
"It's my job," Ellie told him. "I had no choice but to ask Olly to come over."
"Hardy asks too much of you Ell," Joe reminded her. "Did you catch anyone then?"
He had discarded the black hoodie he'd been wearing while he'd been out and hoped Ellie wouldn't notice it on the banister.
"You know I can't talk about it," Ellie replied as she took her coat off.
"Who am I going to tell?" Joe grinned.
The next morning, Alec woke up to Rose snuggling up to him, her arm across his waist,
"Rose, I have to get up love," Alec tried to move her arm.
"Mmm, what?" Rose stirred as she tried to open her eyes. "Oh, yeah, sorry."
"No need to apologise love," Alec smiled as she moved slightly. "It was very nice waking up with you."
Rose managed a grin as she pulled some hair from her mouth.
"I will go make some tea," he suggested, kissing her cheek. "You seem to have slept well."
"Yeah, you were very comfy and I had a furry pillow," she teased him, running her finger over his chest.
"I am glad I made a good pillow," he told her as he pulled the duvet back. "You stay there while I put the heating on love, it gets chilly in the mornings, even though it's summer. I shall make some enquiries about renting a house later on, we need a proper place to live now."
He moved the duvet back over her and went to get a clean t-shirt from the drawer. Rose was observing from over the top of the cover.
"Aren't ya changing ya shorts?" she teased him.
"Now Rose, have some patience eh?" he teased her back. "Tea and toast first."
At the Miller house, Joe was seeing to their youngest son. He had thought it over in bed when Ellie had just turned over because she said she was tired. How long could he keep this up? She was definitely onto him, she had to be but he couldn't just ask her. He'd tried before by joking about her suspecting everyone and they'd laughed it off but if he did ask her again, he may not get the same reaction from her.
"Do you think you'll find out who you were after last night then?" he dared ask her.
"Only if they hand themselves in," Ellie replied, trying to find the car keys.
"Why don't you get a car to pick you up?" Joe complained.
"Do you need it today?" Ellie stopped and looked at him.
"Well I may do," Joe huffed. "What do you think Fred?" he turned to the young boy in his chair.
Ellie shook her head and spotted the keys on the table. What was he asking for the car for when he'd never bothered before, she wondered, ruffling Fred's hair.
When she got to the station, she went to Alec's office, noticing something different about him.
"Sir, you seem in a good mood today," she grinned at him.
"Sit down Miller," Alec suggested if she was going to ask questions. "My girlfriend did join me yesterday but keep that to yourself. Not a word to your nephew, understand?"
"Why would I say anything to him?" Ellie wanted to know. "She's not famous is she? Oh, I was right," she grinned at his change in expression. "Why have you been denying it? I'm glad you have someone – Sir."
"I was not sure where things were going Miller," Alec had to admit. "She arrived early because she had something to tell me."
"That she's going to be staying with you?" Ellie guessed. Alec raised his eyebrows. "Oh, something else? She's not pregnant is she?" Ellie half joked.
"Yes and before you ask, her husband had already left her and she had asked me to help find him," he had to further admit. "He is not coming back, they are getting divorced so I asked her to come and stay with me. She only told me last night she is pregnant."
"Wow, you'd better hope Olly doesn't get hold of it," Ellie replied. "Well, I suppose congratulations are in order Sir?"
"We can discuss that later Miller. That was the killer up at the hut last night, what do you bet it will have spooked him we were so close to catching him that he will soon give himself up?" Alec asked her.
"You seem sure of that Sir," Ellie replied.
"Oh I am Miller, I am. All we need now is for the phone to be switched on. Go find out if that call last night was from it."
"I thought the call came from someone else up there?" Ellie asked him.
"Who else would have been up there Miller?" Alec wanted to know, leaning back in his chair.
Ellie went off to check and Alec called the personnel office.
"This is DI Hardy. The caravan I am renting is no longer suitable, can you find me a two bedroom rental house or cottage, preferably around the harbour?" he asked the woman who answered, who thought it was just her luck she had to deal with him again.
Before too long, Ellie was back to interviewing Nigel Carter again as Alec ordered that anyone who had no alibi for last night was brought in and she had asked him if he was with Joe, who'd not had chance to establish who he'd been with as a cover.
"I wasn't with anyone," Nigel was trying to tell her. "I want my solicitor."
While they were waiting, Alec had gone down to the beach to meet Rose, to tell her he was onto finding somewhere to live.
"Still need my help Alec?" Rose asked him as she leaned on his shoulder.
"Soon love, I'm sure of it. I asked DS Miller to join us when she had chance. You two should meet," he replied.
Ellie had read his mysterious message and was now walking along the beach, seeing two people up ahead.
"Miller, this is Rose Tyler, my girlfriend," Alec introduced Rose.
"Hi, glad to meet ya," Rose held her hand out to Ellie. "Ya do have a first name?" she smiled, looking at Alec.
"I don't do first names at work," Alec insisted.
"Hi, it's Ellie," Ellie replied, ignoring Alec. "Nice to meet you Rose. He told me you were expecting, congratulations. He's finally stopped pretending he's not got a girlfriend," she grinned.
"Oh, well, there's a reason for that," Rose replied. "I wasn't sure how things were going, well until my soon to be ex husband sent me divorce papers out of the blue. It took me a while to come to terms with it."
They were interrupted by Ellie's phone ringing. Before she had left, she had told Frank in the office to call her if the missing phone was switched on. She handed her phone to Alec when told it had been.
"This is Hardy, send the co-ordinates to my phone," Alec told Frank. "Miller, get back to your interview."
Rose looked at him, not sure why he hadn't used her first name. Ellie took her phone back, saying goodbye to Rose then Alec called her back.
"Good work on this Miller," he told her.
Ellie shaded her eyes as she looked at him, then she continued.
"Her husband has the missing phone and he turned it on," Alec admitted to Rose. "You go back to the caravan, I will call you later. Did you talk to your stepfather?"
"Yeah and I have his authority to act as a Torchwood agent again. I was so out of it when I was with Jamie, he wanted to focus on other things."
"No need to explain love," Alec told her. "I will walk back with you, I just have a call to make."
He ordered a car to meet him in front of the police station and arrived at the Miller house, not really needing to know where the signal from the missing phone was leading him. Joe was just standing in the shed, knowing that turning the phone on would lead Hardy right to him. As Alec made his way through the house, seeing Tom watching TV, he went to the back door, leaving an officer outside.
"I'm sick of hiding," Joe admitted as Alec came face to face with him.
"Joe Miller, I am arresting you on the suspicion that you killed Danny Latimer, read him his rights," he turned to the officer who had followed him.
"Dad, what's going on?" Tom wanted to know as Joe was led outside in handcuffs.
"Tom, sit down," Alec suggested. "Someone will be here shortly to take you and your brother to meet your mother and look after you for now. Is there anything you want to take with you?"
Tom shook his head, looking confused but Alec didn't want to say anything, that was up to the boy's mother. Alec then called Rose to meet him at the police station, calling the desk sergeant to say she should be given a visitor's pass.
"What's she doing here?" Joe wanted to know when Rose was shown into the interview room.
"Miss Tyler is here in an official capacity as an agent of an organisation working with the police," Alec told him.
Joe finally gave in and confessed, prompting Alec to have him detained while he went to see Ellie, Rose going with him. Ellie refused at first to believe what she was being told but broke down, Rose comforting her.
"Is this why you introduced me to your girlfriend?" Ellie asked Alec as Rose helped her up when Ellie crouched on the floor while being sick.
"I'm so sorry Ellie," Rose told her. "Alec asked for me to be here, he said you might need my help. I can go with you to see your two boys."
"You would?" Ellie tried to dry her tears.
"Take her to my office Rose," Alec suggested. "I will make some arrangements. The boys will join you at the motel just by the roundabout, you can go collect their things."
When Alec joined Ellie and Rose in his office, Rose was telling Ellie how she had met Alec.
"It was just pure luck that his daughter became my head bridesmaid," Rose was saying. "The only thing was, Jamie, my ex, hated the fact Alec looked like him and could never get over it."
"Is that why he left you?" Ellie wanted to know, thinking Rose was trying to take her mind off the fact Joe had killed Danny.
"I think so Ellie. I mean he was fine for a while but Alec got himself in the news again, didn't he?" Rose smiled as Alec walked in.
"Talking about me?" Alec asked her. "Rose, are you going with her?"
Rose nodded and got up with Ellie, everyone in the office watching them. Alec went off to formally charge Joe Miller with Danny's death and hoped his DS would come to terms with it. He got back to the caravan, having some news for Rose.
"There is a holiday cottage, not far away that is coming available, we can go look tomorrow, if you want?" he asked Rose.
"Yeah, is it still by the harbour?" Rose was curious.
"The back garden leads to the river," Alec smiled. "I could ask for something else? It is only a few minutes walk from the harbour itself."
"No, it sounds perfect Alec," Rose got up to hug him.
"Well, we have plans to make now," he replied as he went for a kiss.
The following weekend, they drove back up to see Rose's family and Tony almost knocked Alec over when they arrived.
"Alec, will you be my big brother now?" Tony was dying to ask him after Pete had said it was okay.
"Well, I would be proud for you to be my younger brother Tony," Alec assured him as he knelt down to face the boy. "It may take a while though, for it to be possible but meanwhile, I don't think there is any harm in us saying we are, do you Rose?" he turned to her.
Both Tony and Rose went to hug him and Alec knew he had a new family now, he had all that he wanted, with a baby on the way and he had called Daisy to tell her he and Rose were together. Whilst Daisy was trying to take it all in, she had cried for a while but said she was happy for them and agreed to visit them during the next school holiday.
Pete had instructed that the divorce was rushed through using his authority that he had Rose's word that her marriage to Jamie had never been consummated and it was all to be hushed up, Rose being free a few months later.
Alec took her out to celebrate and they had walked to the end of the pier that was all lit up. He took a small box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a diamond engagement ring.
"Rose, I was waiting to give you this," he told her as the ring sparkled in the lights. "I know you are only just free but I would be very happy if you would wear it, while you come to terms with things."
Rose held her hand out and he placed the ring on her finger.
"It's lovely Alec and I'd love to wear it," she replied. "I think I was taken in by Jamie, after losing my friend suddenly and I never even considered that was what attracted me to him," she admitted.
"Forget it love, that's in the past, you have me now and the baby. You wanted a family, did you not?"
"Yeah, I did and now I've got one. I didn't mean to trick ya that night ya know?" she asked nervously.
"I know that Rose but after the way you told me about Jamie, well I had two choices, one being to just walk away and let you resolve your problems yourself or to show you how I had felt about you since we first met. I made the right choice, Rose Tyler."
With that, ignoring the fact it was getting colder, he got down on one knee.
"Rose, will you marry me, when you feel the time is right?"
With tears in her eyes as he got up after pushing the ring further on her finger, she managed to nod and say yes.
They married the first week in February at Broadchurch registry office, Daisy being their only bridesmaid and their only choice with no contest this time around. Pete gave the bride away, Jake was Alec's best man and Tony was put in charge of passing the rings to Alec and was beaming from ear to ear that he had a big brother again.
After the reception, Pete went to talk to Alec while Rose was her mother.
"Alec, I know you're not like Jamie and Jackie and I know that you're good for Rose after what happened."
"Thank you Pete and I will take good care of her," Alec assured him. "You have no need to worry that I will get jealous over anyone. I respect that Rose does not want to talk much about the friend she lost but maybe some day, she will and when she does, she will finally be able to let her past go."
"Good man," Pete told him as he patted Alec on the shoulder. "You should get off now, Rose is looking over," he grinned.
Alec smiled back at his new wife. She looked radiant, somehow the dress fitter had hidden her baby bump but he would have preferred it if on the wedding photos it had been showing, so they could look back on the day and recall how happy they were that Rose had agreed to reveal they were to have a baby daughter.
The End!