Disclaimer: I own nothing, especially not Broadchurch or any recognizable characters.
Joe Miller was a patient man. Patient enough to wait in that damned tree until he saw the officer out front pull away. Another would be there any time he was sure, but it was the window of opportunity he needed. It had been obvious that Ellie had changed things when he watched her make sure the door was locked, but he was certain there were things that she hadn't changed. Like the way she kept the bedroom window open until it was damn near Christmas.
Shimmying down onto the roof he carefully climbed around to the back side of the house where he would be blocked from view. Crawling along the roof he came to the bedroom window and grinned when he found it open, only part way and it was only just barely enough for him to climb through, but climb through he did. Taking in the new colour on the walls, and the messed up bedding. He growled, the thoughts going through his mind were far from the facts...but his defense had said they were having an affair. That Hardy bloke had been a little too close to his Ell for Joe's liking. Storming the few steps to the bed he ripped the bedding off with another growl and shoved the sheets into the bin. Throwing open the closet where he'd always stored the linens he found a clean set of sheets and proceeded to make the bed. That was better.
So many memories in this room, so many good times. He would have to right things. Their pictures were gone off the bedside tables. He began opening drawers and rifling through her belongings. His were gone, that'd need to be fixed up too, but first the photos. Ah! There they were, bottom of the dresser shoved under a stack of jumpers. Grunting he stood and placed them on the bedside tables, in their proper places. He knew he didn't have too long. This would have to do for now. Pulling a folded envelope from his pocket he pulled a packet of papers out and tore them into quarters before tossing them onto the bed. Slipping out of the room he left a letter on top of Tom's bed. He would win them back if it was the last thing he did. Climbing back out the window he carefully climbed down until he was able to simply drop down to the ground. He heard car doors opening and did the only thing he could, he ran.
Alec had taken Ellie out of town to get the shopping done. He could tell she was still tired and being around so many people had seemed to drain her more. It was worrying, she'd always loved people in the time he'd known her. He let her unlock the door and deactivate the alarm system before following with bags in either hand.
"Why don't you go have a sit down? I'll put this away and make you a cuppa?" He tried, the look on her face told him that was the opposite of what was going to happen.
"Though it appears you've gone through my things already, I am quite capable of putting my own groceries away."
He tried to protest, but she gave him a bit of a shove and he put his hands up walking outside to speak with the new officer on duty, by the time he made his way back inside the groceries were put away and Ellie was leaning heavily on the counter.
"Why? Why did you come in here and clean up my mess?" She had finally taken a decent look around, her shame and embarrassment hung heavily around her shoulders like a weight.
He shrugged, "I was awake and it was somethin' to do. Hoped it'd help a bit...seemed to make Tom feel a lil more at ease. If it was wrong...I appologize…"
She shook her head and straightened up, "I'm shit at this. Bein' a mum...bein' alone. I don't know how..." She groaned and ran her hands over her face turning away from him again to poke around in the fridge simply for something to do.
"You are not. So stop that right now. We're goin' to get this all straightened out, and it'll be fine."
"And then what? You'll leave and go back to your life and we'll just get with our life?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose he let his hip rest against the counter "I plan on stayin' as long as you need me to...or want me to. I'm sure I can get my little blue house back. Or a room at The Traders once Joe is caught. Til then the couch won't kill me… "
She felt the rage boiling up again and instead of lashing out she simply closed her eyes and let her forehead rest against the now shut refrigerator door. "I hate you."
"Aye so ye've said. C'mon then. We've got that movie you couldn't live without might as well watch it before it's late enough for dinner yea?"
"I should be out lookin' for Joe. Not here watching the telly…"
"No you shouldn't be out there, we don't know what he'll do and we don't need you locked up for murdering him."
"I don't need a bloody babysitter!"
"Oh shut up and go sit down woman! You're drivin' me mad."
His hand on her shoulder made her jump and flinch away but she grabbed the chocolate biscuits and marched off into the living room all the same.
The movie had ended and they mindlessly flipped through channels on the telly to kill the time. She'd spent a few minutes talking with Tom and Fred, then passed the phone off to Alec who spoke with Tom for a few minutes as well. It was all so...weird and yet… not at the same time. It felt right, which only served to push that anger up once again. Realistically she knew she had nothing to be angry about. Not with Alec. She'd not asked him to stay, she hadn't reached out to him either so she was just as much to blame when it came to the silence between them for so long.
She'd shuffled into the kitchen, not all that hungry but knowing she should eat and poked around until she had stuff out for spaghetti. It was easy and quick at least. They ate in near silence and she found that she didn't really mind for a change. It wasn't until he was clearing the dishes away that she found the courage to really speak again, "How's Daisy then?"
Alec glanced over his shoulder with one of his rare smiles, "Good as can be I spose. Don't get to see her all that much, busy as she is with school and friends. But she's taught me to use that video chat thing so that's nice."
She found a faint smile pulling at her face, she half expected it to hurt it had been so long since she'd done it. "I'm glad you're talking again."
"Aye me too." He finished the dishes and stretched. "Right then. I'm knackered, I know it's early still but I dinnae get much sleep last night. Do ye mind if I just use your shower and make up the couch?"
She shrugged slightly, she didn't want him to be here when the nightmares started. They always started unless she took those damned pills, and she wasn't about to take them again tonight. "Nah it's fine."
Studying her he took the chair he'd sat in and pulled it out so that he was sitting next to her, firm but gentle fingers took hold of her jaw and brought her face up so he could look her straight on. "What is it?"
She tried to flinch away but there was something there, something in his eyes that made her keep still. "I don't sleep much, I'll try to keep from waking you though."
"When was the last time you actually slept? And don't dare say last night because you weren't sleeping you were unconscious."
Her cheeks flushed and she gazed at his throat rather than his face, "The night in Sandbrook...when they lost my booking."
He only took a few moments to think back to that night. "Do you...I mean would it help... " Dropping his hand he sighed, he couldn't think of a way to word his question that wouldn't sound...bad. "Would it help if I stayed in your room tonight? I can sleep in the chair again...or on the floor."
"Just.. you can sleep on top of the covers, and I can sleep under. I don't want to be alone." She refrained from adding the, "I'm scared" but she couldn't keep it off her face, and she knew he could read her better than anyone else ever had.
"Set the alarm then. We're turnin' in early… and I don't know the code."
"It'syourbirthday" she mumbled
"What's that? You say it was my birthday? Why on Earth would it be my birthday? And how do you even know it?" He was shocked for sure, but there was a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"Not like I had much else i could use yea? Not my birthday, or Toms, or Freds… can't bloody well use my anniversary." She shrugged taking a chance to meet his gaze again, "And em...I may have. Well when I went to see you in Hospital that first time...when you tried to die on me yea? I may have uhm. Ilookedinyourchart." The last bit rushed out of her mouth all at once and she gave him that nervous grin of hers.
"Of course you bloody well did." Rolling his eyes he stood and put his chair back where it belonged before checking the locks on the doors and collecting his bag while he waited for her to set the alarm. No sooner had he shut the bathroom door and stripped his shirt off did he hear her scream from the bedroom.
