I will let the original plot keep coming up in my story until a certain point. Because several aspects of the show are just too good to not use it. But it will get more of my own story as it progresses :)

As promised, Beth called her early the next morning. Both Tom and she had fallen asleep on the couch, a bowl of crisps that had stand between them had been long shattered on the floor with the remaining crisps in it.

Ellie swore under her breath when she heard the phone ringing. At first, she didn't recognize where exactly she was, but the moment she saw Tom shifting comfortably in her embrace, a small smile crept upon her face. Still so young yet already so grownup.

Another ring from the phone woke her from her almost pleasant thoughts. Soon, she cursed again when she stood barefooted in the leftovers of the crisps and bumped her other foot against the bowl. She slowly tried to reach her phone which was laying on the cupboard not so far from here, all the while leaving a trail of crisps in her steps.

She didn't need to look at the caller's ID to know who it was.

"Beth, I..."

A resolute voice interrupted her. "Before you start to speak, are you still with us?"

Although a small part of her had the feeling something was not right, Ellie didn't dare speak up at the woman who had just lost it all. Because of me.

"All the way."

"Good. Can you meet us at the beach house?"

Ellie stammered. "You mean…"

"Yes, I mean the beach house."

Both of them swallowed a large lump that was forming in their throats.

"When?"

"Now?"

Since Fred was still not there and probably wouldn't be until she would call her sister she was ready to take him back home again, there was only one person still left to take into account. She turned around and looked at the sleeping form of Tom, who hadn't even stirred when she had gently pushed him off of her to pick up the phone. He can't know about this. Not now, not ever. He needs to be able to live a somewhat normal life. And suddenly it dawned on her. And that's only possible when Joe Miller is out of their lives forever. No matter the costs.

"I'll leave right away." She didn't even hear the sigh of relief on the other side of the line. She hung up, didn't change her clothes. She only scribbled down a small note for Tom for him to read to wake up, saying she would be home soon. Without looking back, she walked towards the door, put on her familiar orange jacket and soundlessly opened and shut the front door again, to finally reach her car and drive away.

Mark was much too easy on Joe, considering the circumstances.
"You are coming with us." Joe awkwardly stepped into the house, the house, that would be haunted forever. He suddenly stood eye to eye with the three people that hated him the most in the world.
"Sit down." Beth didn't intend to show only the slightest of compassion towards the murderer of her only son.

"No." Joe tried, but failed miserably. This is going to be the end of me.

"Sit down." Reluctantly, Joe did as Beth asked of him.

"Do you know how many knives there are in here?" Beth didn't wait for an answer. "Fourteen. I counted them while I was waiting. Thought about which one was best to use on you."

Trying to defend himself for what was worth, Joe opened his mouth.

"No no, don't open your mouth. You don't get to speak." Knowing better than to interfere, Joe obeyed.

"You could've kept one bit of your humanity. You could've faced up to what you've done. Taken your punishment. Been a decent human being." Beth started laughing ironically. "What am I saying. You're not that, you can't ever have been. When you die, no one will mourn for you. We could kill you in here, dump your body on the beach. No one would care. No one would notice." Now, Joe knew it for sure. They're going to kill me.

But instead, Beth continued. "But we are more than you. We…I will not be broken by this. We all get to live. But you, you have no life left. Not here."

In one last feeble attempt, Joe did open his mouth.

"I was found innocent."

And this was it. This was the last straw Ellie needed to completely break down. Although she more or less promised Beth she would just be there to strengthen their story, she couldn't fight the urge to kill him right here and then. But Tom… but Fred. Just as Beth had said, unlike Joe they still had some humanity left. Even though she had made so many mistakes in her life. She would not be broken by this. She would not see Tom and Fred broken by this.

"Shut up, just shut up you piece of shit." Joe looked shocked, not expecting the fierceness of his wife to speak up to him like that. I loved her so much.

"I'm sorry." Although tears were welling up in his eyes, still they were too late. And somehow, he knew that.

"You're not sorry. If you were sorry, you would have pleaded guilty." To try to compose just a little but, Ellie took one deep breath before putting the nail on her husband's coffin.

"You heard what she said, you're leaving and you're never coming back. And you will never see either of your children again." The shock on his face almost resembled sweet revenge, Ellie thought.

"You can't do that."

"O, I can do that. If you try to see them, if you follow them, if you go to their schools, if you contact them in any way, I will kill you. And unlike you, I will face the consequences. You are dead to us, do you understand?"

And that was it. That was the last time she would see her husband. Or soon to be ex-husband. Father to her children. Love of her life for all she knew.

"Now you're coming with us." Mark unceremoniously let Joe out of the beach house, out of their lives forever. Or at least, that was what she thought. Still, she couldn't help the thought they have been too mild to him, letting him go so easily.

Both women looked at each other at the same time, without saying a word. Their expressions were, once again, all and the same. You were strong back there. You are strong, and you will stay strong from now on. You will.
But neither of them needed to say it out loud. And still, this didn't mean they were back together again as friends. No, that time was over and long gone, both of them knew it. But for that moment, that little while, it almost felt okay again. It almost felt right.

Although Hardy still tried to squeeze out of the hand holding his neck in a hold grip, the strength with which he tried to do that had been weakened since a gun was now pointed at the side of his face, ready to blow his brains out. And although he knew the person standing above him would be more than capable of it, he couldn't hold back his words of surprise.

"YOU?!" The word came out as a hiss since he only had so much room left to breath, and soon again he found the hand around his neck squeezing harder.

"Shut up."

Reluctantly, Hardy did as he was told.

"Now, are you going to be a big boy and be quiet and cooperate? Or you want me to squeeze the last energy out of you right here and now?"

Alec, however, didn't stop fighting and again felt the hand press harder, now completely suffocated him.

"For a detective, you know this is quite a stupid location. No cameras, no people living in the places next to you for miles because they all have actual houses to live in, instead of this. You're pretty much alone in here. But didn't we already know that?"

Somehow, Hardy got the feeling this man had been watching him for quite some time, probably overhearing his conversation with Tess as well. Pretty much alone. Pretty much completely alone. His trial of thoughts was interrupted by the fact that about the last of the air he had left was pushed out of him. He didn't even know how long the hold of the hand had been there, but it must've been already some time since he felt his brain starting to shut down.

"Are you going to be quiet and cooperate?!"

There was nothing else left for him to do. And so, he nodded the best he could. And right before he thought his answer had been go unnoticed, he could feel himself being able to get a full gulp of air again. He started coughing involuntarily, yet that had been a stupid mistake. Next thing he knew, the side of the gun found the left side of his temple with a force, slapping his head into the other side of the pillow hard.

"I said, no sound!" Although the inner grumpy detective in him wanted to reply with the fact that his attacker hadn't said such a thing at all, he restored himself and did as he was told. He focused on his breathing, trying not to make a sound, while inwardly his brain was in overdrive to find a way out of this situation.

A hand grabbed his chin, forcing to face his attacker once again.

"Good, now sit up and be quiet."

Alec did as he was told, meanwhile preventing the dizziness from overcoming him. The gun was back and was put against his forehead.

"You're coming with me."

"I'm not…" Again, the gun collided against his face, his jaw this time, and he did the best he could not to make a sound again.
"Seriously, fella. Do you have a dead wish? I don't want to hear your pathetic voice again. Stand up and start walking."

This was it. He didn't have the power to overtake him, but he would've the advantage of his full body length to maybe take his attacker by surprise. So, Hardy slowly pushed himself in a standing position and standing right in front of the man with the gun. With a slick move, his right arm flew out and got a hold of the gun. The man looked surprised, and Hardy took advantage to point the gun to a point above his head and use his right knee to collide with his attacker's knee pit. The attacker crumbled down only a little bit, yet soon Hardy's victory came to an end. With a painful chest and wound, a left arm unable to use and the dizziness the cause of two blows against his head, Hardy was no match. The attacker's left arm rose up and a fist came up towards his face and throat multiple times, until Hardy couldn't do anything else than letting go of the gun. The gun fell to the ground, and two hands grabbed his shirt and shoved him into the wooden pole next to his bed with full force, knocking Hardy out cold for at least a minute.

When he woke up again, the gun was back and he felt one of his towels in his hands, wringing wet. He looked up although he couldn't quite focus yet.

"Clean this mess up, make the bed and start walking." The gun pointed towards a place behind his head. Hardy slowly turned around and saw the stain of his own blood covering the wood right when the smell of bleach started to crinkle up his nose. He looked at the towel and one more time towards his attacker, and had no options left but to obey.

After cleaning up his own blood, he walked out the house on his socks, towards a black car that could barely be seen between the bushes. He stood still next to it, waiting for another command. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the trunk getting opened and his weekend bag and shoes thrown inside of it. Soon, the gun was pressing against the fresh wound on the back of his head, and Hardy hissed.
"Open the door and step inside." Holding back his words, he did as he was told. The moment he sat down, he felt a cloth being put against his mouth fiercely. Just as he was starting to resist, the gun was pressed against his throat.
"Don't fight it."

But he couldn't help it. In those last seconds before unconsciousness overtook him, he saw his life flashing by. What had gone wrong?

Joe. Lisa. Pippa. Lee. Claire. Tess.

Daisy.

And there it was, the last person he thought of.

Ellie Miller.