As they walked back over the footbridge, the harbour lights reflected in the river, Rose stopped in the middle and turned to Alec, putting her arms around his neck.

"Everyone's gonna have to get used to seeing us together detective, I don't want to hide.

"Rose, I don't think the town is ready for this, they barely tolerate me already. I'm not one for starting rumours. It will just make things worse if we go public with this."

"Are you saying we still have to look like we're fighting when we're out?"

"Well maybe not fighting exactly but it won't help either of us if the word gets out we're involved with each other. Let's just agree to keep it quiet, until this is over. We can go out of town, maybe we should go out for the day tomorrow?"

"Ok but you're not sweeping me under the carpet Alec, we're in this together now, whether everyone likes it or not."

She reached up and kissed him.

"That's not helping Rose," he grinned.

"Well tough cheese, I could stand here and snog you to death."

"Well that's better than what I might die of."

Her mood soured. "Stop talking like that. We agreed you'd wait if your chances weren't that good on Monday. I'm not going to let you do anything stupid that would put you in danger so if you're thinking of chasing any suspects, forget it, let someone else do it."

Alec did a mock salute and leaned down to kiss her again. "Bossy knickers."

"Don't you forget it, grumpy arse."

He took her hand as she led the way across the rest of the narrow footbridge, then around the side of the restaurant on the riverbank and around to the path that led to the gate of their chalet. They hadn't seen Ellie Miller standing in the car park watching them.

Ellie Miller had been a little surprised to see Hardy with whom she knew for a fact was his nemesis, The Herald's top reporter, Rose Tyler, who had taken great pleasure in hanging Hardy out to dry over his last case. She knew the reporter had been the last to give up on the Sandbrook murder and the disappearance of another young woman and had given him a well deserved hard time over it. She thought she had caught a glimpse of the two of them the other day when Hardy had told her to go get lunch when she had come back early, they had been sitting together across the way from the station.

Now the two of them were standing kissing in the middle of a footbridge leading to some holiday chalets and surmised the two of them must be shacked up together or one of them was renting one of the chalets and the other was sneaking in. Not that they were doing any good at sneaking, kissing in public and she had seen Hardy holding onto the blonde when they had left like he wasn't going to let her out of his sight for a second longer than he had to.

This was going to be interesting and she was sure it was against regulations for the leading senior investigator of a murder case to be having an affair with a reporter. She dreaded to think what Hardy would tell the woman while they were having sex. Was the reporter just using him though? Maybe not, judging she had kissed him first. What did she see in him?

Rose woke up first the following morning and tried not to disturb him as he settled back on the pillow. She thought how peaceful he was and how young he could look if he got rid of his stupid scruffy beard but it did make him look sexy. She remembered the first time they had met, it seemed so long ago now, he didn't have it then and she had thought he was that actor she liked until he had told her in no uncertain terms who he was and for her to get the hell away from the family.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed putting her pink silky robe on when she felt his hand on her back.

"Where are you sneaking off to Tyler?"

Rose smiled without turning around. "Just going to make you some tea, I hope you got decaff teabags, you need to keep from getting stressed out if you're going ahead with that surgery tomorrow."

Alec sat up and reached his arms around her, kissing her neck.

"Come back here and stop me getting stressed then." He pulled her backwards.

Rose turned around onto her knees and he unfastened the tie on her robe, running his fingers over the gap her vest was making around her middle. She climbed back onto him as he pulled the covers back.

Half an hour later, after they had fooled around again, Rose was making tea and said they should go shopping but Alec said to wait since they were going to be out the next day. They got dressed and went to the café across the harbour then Rose drove them up the coast to a small seaside town across the border in Devon and they took a ride on an old tramway, Alec sitting rather uncomfortably in the small seats so after a walk around the village the tram went to, having lunch at a nearby pub they sat upstairs going back so he could sprawl out.

Once they had returned to the car Rose said they should have brought some things with them, they were halfway to Exeter.

"Well, what do we need? Just a change of clothes, we can get them here if you don't want to drive back. I suppose it makes sense since we're so close. We'll look around for a hotel, we can go in the superstore and get what we need."

They had conveniently parked near a large supermarket so since the car parking was almost up, Rose drove round and they went inside, Alec going off to the menswear department and getting a plain blue t-shirt, socks and some boxer shorts and Rose getting what she needed and some toiletries for the two of them and Alec picked out an overnight bag. They went into the store café for a late afternoon drink just before the store closed and looked up local hotels, finding one just on the seafront that had car parking space.

Booking in under just Alec's name, they told the owner they had to leave before breakfast but she said breakfast was from seven thirty and even though he couldn't really have much, he insisted Rose got hers and he would just have some toast. Sitting in the bar that evening, he had plenty to say to Rose.

"I've taken care of everything, there's nothing you need to do. If I don't make it, if I go ahead tomorrow Tess will be informed but you don't have to speak to her. Don't let her bully you into staying away when they bury me, you've more right to be there than she has and please Rose, don't start a fight with her." He smiled at the thought of Rose and Tess going head to head, they were both feisty.

"I know what I would like to do to her, treating you like she did."

"Come on Rose, you were just as bad. I used to fight with you more than I did with her, anyone would have thought it was us that were married. She suspected you know."

"What? About you having an affair with me?" Rose spluttered.

"Yes, she hinted a few times and I told her you were the last person I would think of to have an affair with."

"Well thanks, that makes me feel a whole lot better about it."

"I had to put on a good show Rose, throw her off the idea or she would have brought you into the divorce, I didn't want that but the real reason was, I didn't want Daisy to find out. It's too late now she knows but bringing you into the equation, I don't know what it would have done. I was trying to protect you both."

"So all that time, you had feelings for me and never said anything?"

Alec didn't answer.

"That's what made you ill, that and nearly drowning. You were hiding your true feelings for me, balancing your home life that was in ruins and trying to solve a murder and a disappearance. I'm so sorry Alec, I had no idea. I mean I saw you arguing with Tess but I thought that had to do with work. If I'd only known, I wouldn't have been so hard on you."

"I needed you to be, you kept me going. With Tess, it was bitterness at finding out she was cheating but you, you were my ally, you were out to make me solve that case. Anyway, it's done with now and if I go ahead tomorrow and I don't pull through, you know. I've always loved you Rose, since the day we met."

Rose took his hand. "I know, why do you think I was being such a pain?"

They finished their drinks and went to their room, Rose went to look out of the window.

"If we stay in Broadchurch after you solve Danny's murder, I want a house on the cliff, overlooking the sea."

"You know I hate the water."

"Yeah but we're renting a chalet on the river, you could step out of the door and into it but you didn't seem to mind."

"You didn't give me much of a choice if I remember correctly, you booked it in my name and practically said you were my wife. Is that a bit of wishful thinking on your part Tyler?"

"Well I do get tired of you calling me Tyler all the time but I hardly thought you'd be wanting to get tied down so soon after your divorce. It would give Tess the wrong idea or maybe the idea you were actually having an affair with me back then. We did squabble like an old married couple."

He put his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck.

"I was only trying to throw her off the scent. It worked."

"We could have kept it a secret you know."

"I'm hopeless at secrets."

He let go and pulled the curtains over and picked her up, placing her on the bed. He took his shirt off and went to pull her t-shirt up then unfastened her trousers.

"Better set your alarm for six thirty Alec, we have to be ready to go after breakfast. If I set my alarm, I don't want you throwing my phone into the sea."

Alec smiled as he finished undressing her then she helped him down to his boxer shorts.

"Rose, if this is going to be our last night, I want you properly, then I can go in peace."

"Shut up Alec, this is not going to be our last night so don't you even think it. We'll have lots of time, just because you were too stubborn to admit how you felt before. I never said anything because of Tess. This should be a reason for you to get through it."

He looked at her and turned out the light. "You can go on top but we don't fool around tonight Tyler. I want you."

He rolled onto his back, bringing Rose with him. "Ok detective, if you want to choose how you go, don't say I didn't warn you."

Amazingly, he survived the night, mainly because Rose was gentle with him and did all the work but he felt happier when he finally fell asleep. He drifted off, imagining getting through the surgery and going to bed every night with Rose then waking up with her because he did love her. If she wanted a home overlooking the sea, he could live with that because he wanted to spend his remaining time with her if he didn't go for the surgery and put it off.

After a quick breakfast, Rose opting just to have cereal and toast since that was all Alec was having, they set off to cover the remaining distance to the hospital in Exeter, only taking them half an hour but getting caught up near the hospital but Rose spotted a car park and they could walk the distance faster than wait in a traffic jam. Fortunately, Alec had the details of where he was to report to and they had time to spare. He was told to wait and then summoned into a room, Rose waiting outside but when the consultant came in, he said he wanted his girlfriend to be present.

He was given the options and was being expected to go ahead since he had constantly put it off and had moved to another area, the consultant rather put out he was still debating whether to go ahead or not since he had literally jumped the queue to be accommodated there. They were given a few minutes to discuss it.

"This is it Alec, you're here now. It sounds like your chances are good, you heard what she said. If you get worse or have an attack, it lessens those chances and I don't want to watch you get worse. Last night, with you, it was amazing and I want to be with you. Please Alec, do this for me if not for yourself and think of Daisy. What is it with you and women who have flowers in their names?"

Alec smiled and took her hand. "You're the best thing that happened to me Rose, you know that and I regret what happened. I could put this off, solve the case and come back but I might be worse, I might not have as good a chance. Ok, let's get it over with and if I die, I'll come back and haunt you."

"Never expected any less detective."

"Good because when this case is over, I'm not calling you Tyler any more since you like to pretend you're my wife, see how you like being stuck actually being it."

"Is that a proposal detective? A strange place to be asking me."

"Then shut up and say yes then the surgeon can get on with it. Geez Rose, you're hard work sometimes."

"Do I get an engagement ring or are you going to keep hiding me?"

"Let's get this over with first, you may not have to worry about that but if you say yes, then I'll go happy."

"I thought you wanted to go in bed last night?"

"I did but you were too easy on me."

"Right, that does it, next time I won't be."

They were interrupted by the consultant coming back in who thought they'd had enough time to discuss things.

"Ok, I'll go ahead but I'm not staying in any longer than I have to. How long does it take?"

The consultant looked at the two of them who were holding hands.

"Not long, it's not an difficult procedure but there are some risks but since health wise, you've nothing else wrong with you, maybe an hour for the surgery if nothing goes wrong and an hour or two to recover but we'd like you to stay in for a few days to monitor you."

She could see that wasn't going to be one of his chosen options.

"What about if there's someone to look after him? Can he be discharged the same day?" Rose asked.

"I'd advise against it but if you are willing to be responsible for him, he'll have to discharge himself and if anything happens, you'll have to get him to the nearest hospital."

"I'll risk it, I don't fancy your chances of keeping him here."

The consultant smiled. "I didn't think so, since he's put it off for so long. You're going to have your hands full with him."

"I know, it comes with the job." She squeezed his hand.

They were shown to the ward and the nurse pulled the curtain around the bed and spoke to Rose.

"You can wait with him while we come to take him to the theatre. After surgery, we'll take him to recovery, you can bring his things with you, I'll get you something to put them in."

The nurse left and Alec handed his wallet, his phones and his watch to Rose. He called out from behind the curtain since he didn't think it appropriate for Rose to be seen getting him undressed.

"If Miller calls don't answer her, she'll ask a lot of questions. Just be here when I wake up, that's all I ask and if I don't then I love you Rose Tyler."

He got into the bed, Rose smiling at the gown he was wearing since it wasn't one with a big gap at the back.

"Your mind is in the gutter Tyler and for your information, I still have my shorts on."

Rose giggled. "Then you don't mind if I check do you?" She pretended to pull the covers back and he tapped her hand as the nurse came back in.

"Don't mind my fiancée, she was just annoyed I wouldn't let her help me get into bed."

The nurse just smiled. Rose expected she saw worse than that and he had just told her they were engaged. She just hoped she knew what she was doing and that he would come out of this. They took him down for surgery, Rose following and he had a few minutes to wait so Rose leaned over him and kissed him.

"You'd better come out of there detective or if you think Tess would be annoyed with you, I'm twice as bad."

"Don't I know it Tyler. I love you Rose."

She kissed him again. "I love you too Alec and I'm sorry, for everything I put you through."

"I know, so am I and we should have got together a long time ago but I'll make it up to you."

"You'd better."

Alec was wheeled through the door and she just hoped she would see him again. When she did, she would find out if he had actually meant what he'd said about marrying her or if it was just to make them both feel better. Was she ready for marriage? Was she ready to admit they were together to her mother? The thought of Jackie Tyler being Alec Hardy's mother-in-law was terrifying but also amusing and Rose sat down outside the double doors and waited, smiling at the thought. She had just got engaged.

Just over an hour later, Rose had been to the coffee machine and was just closing her eyes when his work phone rang, the display reading 'Miller' so Rose was just going to ignore it but when it rang again, she thought she had best answer it.

"Alec Hardy's phone."

"What? Who's that? Is that Rose Tyler?"

"Yeah, Alec's busy right now, can I take a message?"

"Tell him to get his arse back to the station, the chief wants him for going AWOL or he'd better have a damn good excuse for not being here."

Rose had to improvise. "He has. I gave him some leads and we're going after them."

"What? Come off it, Hardy following your leads, of all people? Well they'd better be good and why didn't he call me?"

"You'll have to ask him that DS Miller."

"I would, if he answered his own bloody phone instead of taking the coward's way out and giving it to you. I saw you two the other night, snogging on that bridge. What are you up to?"

"Nothing, it's no-one's business."

"I could arrest you both for causing a public scene."

"There was no-one there, well maybe except for you, apparently. I have to go now, I'll give him your message."

She put the phone away as the door opened and the same nurse came out.

"You can follow me to the recovery room, sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"It's Rose. He's ok then?"

"He's going to be fine, no problems, he'll just be out for a while."

Rose was shown to his cubicle and saw all the machines around him and a breathing tube. The nurse saw the look on her face.

"He's not hooked up to them all, it's just a precaution. He'll wake up on his own, just let us know but we'll give him an hour then we can wake him."

"It's ok, I'll wake him, he's a bit of a grump. He'll probably threaten to throw you out."

The nurse smiled and left them thinking the woman would probably have her own methods of waking him and wasn't going to look.

Rose was sitting facing him when he opened his eyes.

"Can't get rid of you can I?" he asked, taking her hand.

"Nope, your sort of stuck with me detective."

"You're really going to have to stop calling me that Tyler."

"Ok grumpy arse, whatever you say."

"Bossy knickers, come here and give me a kiss."

After persuading him to rest for a few hours, Rose got his medication and instructions he was to rest, knowing there was little chance of that ever happening. On the way back to Broadchurch, she had given him his phone and told him he'd better call his DS, having to admit she had answered the phone to her.

"I did tell you not to Rose, now I'll have some explaining to do."

"Good, get used to it, you're not sweeping me under the carpet."

"I wasn't going to, I was just going to wait until this was all over and it wouldn't matter. Do you really want to stay in Broadchurch? What about your hard ass approach to Police detectives who can't solve a murder case?"

"It won't apply, will it? We're gonna work this one together and then we're going back over the Sandbrook one because you're going to prove how wrong I was about you, that you're not a failure."

"That will hurt you know, I won't be kind to you, I'll make you eat your words Tyler."

"I know you will and maybe I'll deserve it for misjudging you. You shouldn't have let me walk all over you."

"I almost didn't but I thought you were right, I failed miserably. I deserved to be hung out to dry."

"Well it's time to redeem yourself, so prove me wrong."

"Don't worry, I will, just be prepared to lose your position as Miss hard ass."

Rose smiled. Alec faced up to his boss when they got home, calling her and said he had been following some leads and just about got away with it apart from a warning not to go giving any information to a certain reporter that was in town and who he'd already been seen out in public with. He knew where that had come from.

After trying to take it easy over the next few days and 'following more leads' that got him out of walking across to the station too early, the next weekend, Alec decided they were going down to Weymouth for the weekend. A lot had happened during the week, an innocent man had taken his own life after the men of the town threatened him over a false allegation, which Rose assured Alec she had nothing to do with it, it was the local reporter who had started it, Donna deciding it was another local matter when Rose had mentioned it to her.

Rose was the first to print that the town ought to be ashamed of themselves for hounding the man as it had nothing to do with the boy's death. Rose had also defended Alec against the local vicar who had confronted him as he had left the station the night before the man died and Rose had paid him a visit to tell him what she thought about it.

On the Saturday afternoon, they had split up for an hour to do some shopping on their own, Alec using the time to buy Rose a silver necklace. Rose went to buy a new dress, some new sexy underwear and a new nightdress to wear that evening as she knew he was up to something. Meeting at the coffee shop for a break before going to choose an engagement ring and calling her mother to give her the news, Alec was trying to peek into the small carrier bag she had put on the chair and was getting his hand slapped.

"Come on Rose, show me what you bought."

"No way am I getting those things out in public. Do you want to have to arrest me?"

Alec grinned at the thought of Rose wearing handcuffs, especially if he cuffed her to the bed. He had definitely got worse over the last few days now the thoughts he was having about her were becoming reality. They still had been taking it easy but were gradually working up to it and he knew tonight was going to be that night. So they were going to choose a ring and he was taking her to a top restaurant he had heard about, then they were going to a club on the sea front, well if they even got that far.

So taking her to another jewellery shop, they looked in the window until Rose found one or two she liked to try on and going inside picked the second one she tried, Alec insisting she had it put in a box and he would put it on her later. So they went back to get changed, Rose put on her new dress and he got out the silver necklace with two hearts intertwined and put it on her, fastening it from behind.

Rose looked in the mirror as he put it on her.

"This has more than one meaning you know Rose."

"Really? You mean besides the two of us?"

"Well, you mended my broken heart – sort of, you pushed me to have the surgery so now it belongs to you, so you have two hearts."

Rose turned around and kissed him. "I know I pushed you into it, I don't think I could have stood by and watched you get worse when all it took was a routine operation. You would have hated me looking after you when you couldn't do anything. Now you can get down to catching Danny's killer and go back and finish the other case. I've been thinking about that, I have a few ideas."

"Well I'll be interested in hearing them but not tonight. Tonight is very important because I'm going to ask you properly, not in some consultant's office because I was scared that day Rose, I was scared I wasn't getting out of that place and I just wanted to hear you say you'd marry me. Tonight, you have a chance to back out. Do you think it's to soon?"

"No but I thought you would, you're barely out of your other one. You'll have to tell Daisy, she'll tell her mother and then she'll know she was right."

"I don't care any more Rose, I didn't care then and I still don't care what she thinks but I'll need her help if we're going to get Sandbrook re-opened."

"Well I'm not backing out but let's have a fairly long engagement, there's no rush now, is there? Tonight Alec Hardy, you had better take advantage of me because I'll be out of commission for a few days."

He was well used to that. Tess had begun to have loads of 'out of commission days', permanently.

They got a taxi to the restaurant just outside the town and got seated in a quiet corner by the window and ordered their meals, Alec now being able to eat better and ordered some champagne. Then he took her hand when the table was clear and they were waiting for their dessert, getting the ring box out of his jacket pocket.

"Last chance to back out Rose. When I asked you on Monday, I thought maybe you were trying to make me feel better. So Rose Tyler, will you really marry me?"

"Yes Alec, I'll marry you. All that time we could have been together and we were miles apart, being miserable. I love you Alec Hardy."

He put the ring on her finger just as the waiter arrived, who saw what was happening and drew everyone's attention and they all started clapping. They got a taxi back to the seafront and stopped outside a club but there were loads of people drinking outside and it looked really noisy so they walked a bit further down and found a nice quiet lounge and went in.

"So, are we going to stay in the chalet for a few more weeks while we find somewhere else?" Alec asked. He was keen to get away from virtually living in the river. "Only if we stay there much longer, I might just come home late one night and take a wrong turn."

Rose smiled. "Well don't come home late without me. Are you planning on having a lot of late nights then?"

"Only until we catch Danny's killer. I've had a few ideas the last few days, I'm just waiting for some results coming back from some evidence. We have a funeral to go to next week, the killer's bound to be there, I just have to spot him. You can help me, see who looks out of place."

"Whatever you want, I want this to be over with. I looked in your wallet while you were unconscious the other day, you still have a photo of Pippa."

"I should be mad at you but I'm not. Yes, I have. You expected there to be one of Daisy, didn't you?" Rose nodded. "I won't rest till I get the person responsible and we find Lisa. You know that don't you?"

Rose leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I know that Alec and now we both have the same goal, not that we didn't before, we were just doing it alone. Now we're doing it together, it makes all the difference."

"I think I'm going to miss fighting with you." He took a drink of the wine he had bought and poured more into Rose's glass.

She smiled at him. " Don't you go getting ideas you can get me drunk tonight Alec Hardy, it won't work. Who says we won't do any more fighting?"

Alec smiled back. "You did say for me to take advantage of you tonight did you not?"

"Well I never said I had to be drunk in order for you to do so, did I?"

"So you'd be a wiling participant then?"

"Take me back to the hotel and you'll find out."

She took another drink and Alec put the top back on the bottle of wine to take back to the hotel. He was just glad he was no longer taking the medication, he'd had a few glasses plus the champagne earlier but it wasn't every night Rose Tyler had said she would marry him, well not properly. All he had to do was survive meeting her mother and tell his daughter. That was the easy part because he was going to need Rose in the coming weeks, finding out the killer of Danny Latimer was someone he knew and coming to terms with it and he may not have even been there to solve the case if it hadn't been for her.

Now they had to face up to going back to Sandbrook, Rose finally being properly introduced to Daisy, who wasn't impressed at first but Rose soon won her over when she found out her father had been ill and Rose had helped him, in fact she got on better with him now he wasn't a grumpy misery any more but Rose still liked to call him grumpy arse most mornings after he went outside and almost tossed her phone into the river.

Rose had said he could by her a new one or go in and get it so he had relented, promising her if she 'accidentally' set her alarm again and left it on his side of the bed just to annoy him he would actually do it but Rose threatened to take a picture of him standing outside in his boxers and t-shirt and send it to Miller. They called a truce.

The End!