A/N: And so comes the continuation. Thank you guys for actually following the story although I really didn't expect to continue it. But still, *shrugs*. And most of all, thank you to those who reviewed!
Disclaimer: I would love to but I don't own anything of the show.
Just a two-hour drive, Alec recalled his daughter saying.
Just.
Lucky for him, the traffic was easy and he arrived in time to pick up his daughter at her school after dropping by the Sandbrook Police HQ to get the keys to his old home, to collect his daughter's overnight bag. The air was tense in front of the HQ where he agreed to meet Tess for the exchange, as his former colleagues passed by him with a disgust look, a surprised one or a confused one. He didn't know which ones he preferred best.
"Why didn't you just bring her bag along and put it in your car?"
"I'm sorry, Alec! I forgot, okay? I was in a hurry. Why didn't you just take her there so that she can get it herself?"
"I would, but your daughter's a little hard-headed."
"Like you are."
At the school, he leaned against his car at the front gate, with his hands in his leather jacket pocket. It was a nice feeling to be able to pick up his daughter home from school again, it was as if he could make it up for all those times he couldn't and didn't. As much as some of the students who walked out were shocked to see his face around again, some were polite, "Good day, Mr. Hardy."
He simply nodded in response. At least these students recognized him – after leaving for goodness knows how long.
When he saw the familiar face amongst the crowd, Alec stood up straight in anticipation and he felt a little shock in his heart as the pacemaker tried to calm down his accelerating heartbeat. Daisy walked right straight up to him, raised her head up to look at her tall dad before greeting him, "Almost couldn't recognise you. The last time I saw you, I thought you didn't have a house."
"Well, if you're going to go on like that I might just leave you here and you can walk home alone."
"Don't have to be alone. I have friends." Daisy gave him a sly smile before she opened up her arms and wrapped it around her dad, "Nice to see you again."
"You too, darlin," Alec returned her embrace, placing a kiss into her hair, "you too."
It was a little awkward, the first half hour of their drive - the pathetic "How's school? Yeah, it's alright." conversation and him trying to convince her that 'shit' is a cuss word. Of course, it wasn't as effective when he eventually called her out for acting like she was a 'smart-arse' when she countered him.
But when Daisy put on her music out loud and started to sing along to it softly, Alec tried to hide a smile. When she gradually started to get louder and was finally singing at the top of her lungs, he could not help but to laugh out loud at her attempts to reach the high notes.
However, the next hour was pretty silent as Daisy slept through it, out of breath from the singing and exhausted from her day's engagement in school. Alec glanced at her familiar figure he had almost forgotten sitting in the passenger seat beside him and started recalling the times when she was younger.
Daisy had always loved road trips but the problem with her was that she could get motion sickness easily that she would sleep through her journeys. He smiled reminiscing the times when they would wind the windows down upon her request so that the wind could blow into her face, helping her get rid of the sickness.
And he drove on into Gracestone, with his daughter quietly by his side. The last time he saw her like that, to him Daisy was still his baby girl. But now, he realised how much she'd grown, all those times apart made him realise that she's turning into a young woman soon and he wasn't prepared for that just yet.
Till then, he's going to savour every moment and make up for all the time they'd lost.
Upon reaching the gates to his new home, Alec was greeted with a piece of paper taped to the metal bars, "BARBECUE IN MY BACKYARD FOR DINNER TONIGHT SEE YA AT 7"
With a handwriting size like that, he wondered how many of his neighbours managed to read it through the windows of their houses and join them later.
Having parked the car in his lot, Alec nudged his daughter awake, "Come on, Daise. We're here."
"Here, where?" Alec had forgotten how his daughter had picked up a slight Scottish accent from him and how much it's prominent when she wakes up from her slumber.
"My place," He headed out and to the back of the car to get his daughter's overnight and school bag, "Get up, sunshine."
"Yeah, yeah, alright." Daisy leaned her head back into the headrest, losing to the slumber again. Alec shook his head at his daughter, bringing the bags inside and up to her room, when he heard her yell from below, "This is your house?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"Bit too big, innit? To live alone in?"
Alec shrugged. He looked at the time on his phone and then yelled for her, "Get cleaned up, will ya? Your things are up here. I'm going to go to the supermarket. D'you want to follow me or stay at home?"
"Is this my room?" Daisy appeared in the doorway.
"Didn't see you there."
"I'll wash up. You get whatever you need to. I'll settle down and probably finish as much homework as I can first. Or maybe a nap. "
"There's a study at the back if you need to use it."
"Well, aren't you prepared to get me back?" Daisy smirked.
Alec rolled his eyes.
She was practically sprawled over her bed when he got back, still in her school uniform. He has half an hour more before the dinner and instead of waking her up straight away, he went to clean himself up, got a shower and laid out his t-shirts on his bed, trying to pick out which one to wear. Alec Hardy never was indecisive about clothes – usually he'd just pick out anything and put it on but he had no idea why he was being so then.
"What?" Alec flinched, wondering where the voice was coming from, "Are you trying to impress someone? Just pick one out, dad."
"Don't be a smart-arse, Daise." Alec turned away instantly trying to hide the scar on his chest from his daughter, "get washed up. We're going to have dinner soon."
"Whatever," His daughter headed for her room, "but really dad, those are just plain shirts of different colours. Get a grip. Go for the grey one. You look nice in grey."
There was a battle of looks in between the father and daughter when he knocked on the house next door, with a bottle of white wine in his hand.
"How long have you been here, dad?"
"Four days."
"Four days and a date," Daisy gave a sly smile, "nice."
"It's not a date, Daise."
His daughter rolled her eyes.
It's going to be a tough night.
But it wasn't. Tom brought them in and led them to the backyard, where Fred was trying hard to blow bubbles.
It was spacious, the backyard. Hardy had not ventured in his own yet and upon seeing Ellie's, he had a few ideas of his own. Ellie had a tiny goal post located at the end of the grass and a round wooden table and a set of chairs to go wit it. Next to it was Ellie at the barbecue pit, turning over skews of goodness know what.
Ridiculous, he thought, to have barbecue for dinner. He walked on over to her with his daughter by his side, holding out the bottle of wine.
"Jesus, Hardy! There are bloody kids about and you brought us bloody wine?" Her curls were pretty neatly pinned up, he noticed.
"Shut up and take it, will ya? I didn't know what else to get."
"You're Daisy, I assume." Ellie reached out her hand, putting down the pair of tongs she was using on the nearest plate, "I'm Ellie."
"Ellie...?" Daisy returned the handshake.
"What? You have a knack for last names too? Just like your dad, aren't you?" Ellie replied, amused. Alec rolled his eyes, the bottle of wine still in his hands. Ellie answered the girl's question still, "Knight, Ellie Knight. But don't you dare be like your father and address me by my last name. Ellie'll do good, alright?"
"Ellie," Daisy repeated the name and smiled before pointing to the pit, "Can I do that for a bit?"
"Yeah, alright. Go ahead. I'll get Tom to help you, yeah?" Ellie stepped aside for the girl to take over, "I'll get the drinks. Do you drink wine? Could she drink, Hardy? Or would you prefer juice?"
"She does drink. Do you want this or juice, darlin?" Alec directed the question to his daughter.
"Juice please, thanks."
"Come on now, Hardy. Help me get the drinks."
And he quietly followed behind, gripping tightly the bottle of wine with an exasperated groan. Alec turned to make sure that his daughter would do fine on her own but Daisy already got that covered when he saw her engaging in a conversation with Tom who had Fred settled on his hip.
In the kitchen, Alec watched as Ellie reached for glasses and placed them on a tray before taking the bottle of wine away and place it into the chiller. He was a tad disappointed at it but he didn't press on the issue and instead, asked a different question, "Anything I could do?"
"Yeah, does she prefer orange or apple juice?" Ellie popped her head out from the refrigerator.
"Apple juice," He replied without hesitation and walked across the kitchen to where she held out two cartons of the drink out to him.
"We don't need ice with it, do we?"
"I bought the wine for a reason, you know."
"Yeah, not tonight. I know your heart is better now but doesn't mean that I'll have you drunk in front of my children."
"It's just wine."
"Better heart but still not less of a wanker."
"Whatever," He admitted defeat and carried the juices over to the tray and proceeded to carry it outside. But before he could go any further beyond the door, he felt a hand on his arm tugging him back.
"Hardy," Her voice was as gentle as ever. Alec couldn't remember how much he missed her concerned tone as much as he missed the days she annoyed him but it's comforting in a way for him because it's how he knows that she's still putting up with him, "try not to worry too much about her, alright?"
He nodded.
And he didn't even have to worry. His daughter was fine at making friends. Unlike him, she was better at making acquaintanceship with Ellie. Half an hour in, Daisy was already laughing at stories Ellie told about working with him in Broadchurch while he sat in between them rolling his eyes and shoving the barbecued food into his mouth.
Even Fred got into her new ring of social circle when Daisy managed to sit the boy down quietly beside her when he wanted some of the food. Although Tom doesn't seem to be as engaged, he participated when Daisy brought up a story of how she would use her dad to convince her mother to let her stay up late just so that she could watch football matches.
It was revealed that he would doze off after ten minutes into it and end up sleeping on the sofa for the night.
That night, he stood alone in the balcony, leaning on his side and an elbow perched on the railing after having changed and getting ready for bed. It had been a really exhausting day for him - a two-hour drive, bantering with his ex-wife, fetching his daughter from school and then driving back before going for a barbecue - he could barely breathe. But all and all, he never felt so content in a long while and the memories of that day caused his lips to curl up into a smile.
"Are you thinking of your new girlfriend?"
Alec jumped and his smile disappeared instantly, "She's not my girlfriend, Daise."
"Oh, right." Daisy walked into the balcony and bent over, perching her elbows on the railing, "She's your former colleague. Who just happen to live beside you."
"Don't be a smart-arse. It was purely incidental."
"Right."
If it's one thing Alec Hardy could do best, it's sensing the awkwardness of a situation, having been in so many, and he knows at that moment that his daughter had questions for him but he didn't dare make a move. So, he waited till she finally asked, "Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"
"She's just a former co-,"
"I'm not talking about Ellie, dad." Her tone vexed and her arms crossed.
Okay. He took in a deep breath and stood up straight. Wrong question.
"I was just protecting your mum. You didn't have to know."
"You didn't have to have your heart broken."
"It's fine now, innit?"
"Stop deflecting," Daisy stepped up, "You know what I'm talking about."
He sighed.
"You almost died," Alec's eyes widened, "I was talking to Ellie when we did the dishes. She slipped when I asked her how it was working with you."
"You didn't need to know."
"She threatened she'll kill me if I told you that she slipped about it."
"We'll have to get you under a protection program soon."
"In her arms, dad," Her voice turned shaky, "you don't have your partner suddenly dying in your arms when they seem fine. I didn't need to know? At least she deserved to know! You didn't tell me but you could have at least told her!"
"That'll just put me out of job."
"You want to pull that on me. Really? You could have died and I'll never know the truth!"
"You didn't need to know!"
Getting angry was the last thing he want to be, really, especially around his daughter. And also because he didn't like how his pacemaker would give him that tingly shock in his chest and how his head started to spin when his heartbeat rates increased rapidly. Almost losing his balance, he clutched on tight to the railing, Daisy instinctively putting a hand on his arm to steady him, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that to you."
"I'll be fine." He recovered easily, "I just haven't felt that in a very long time."
Daisy led him back to his room, locking the balcony door behind her. Alec sat beside his daughter at the edge of his bed, "How did you come to know of me and your mum?"
Daisy shifted herself and leaned against the headboard instead, her legs stretched out to her dad and Alec knew instantly what she wanted out of it. Alec moved a little nearer to her and put her leg up on his laps and started massaging it - it always helped her relax before she goes to sleep, "When we were in Broadchurch, I just wanted to know where you lived. So, I asked around together with Diana. Remember Diana my best friend?"
He nodded, still paying close attention as she continued, "I met a woman, can't exactly remember her name, and she said you left a long time ago."
"Where'd you meet her?"
"Was by the beach. It's a nice beach. She was walking with a guy. Good looking, that guy. I remembered him as the photographer at our match. Worked for the papers."
"Stevens? Olly?"
"Yeah, that's right." Daisy switched her leg, "And we sat down on the bench. Got ice cream because there was one nearby. He continued to talk about how he was impressed by you. That you could continue on after losing everything in Sandbrook."
"Olly? Impressed by me? More like oppressed by me, I'd say."
"Still," Daisy rolled her eyes, he rolled his back, "I asked what you lost in Sandbrook. He wouldn't say at first, kept saying that I'll probably know because your name is pretty much in every person's mind in Sandbrook. But he was obviously hiding something."
"Bloody Olly."
"Language, dad." Alec released of her leg and sat beside her, leaning against the headboard as well, "Wasn't his fault. Pushed him like crazy. Asked me how I knew you. Said I was an old neighbour. Made me promise not to tell anyone. You've got to give him credit, dad. He was really keeping it for no one but only to himself."
Alec sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I think you can get a job with the papers."
"But why didn't you get the pacemaker done sooner?" When Alec was about to answer, she interjected, "Truth."
He took a deep breath in and sighed, getting up and walked to the door, indicating that she should be going, "I didn't think I needed it."
She crossed her arms and stayed put.
"Bedtime, go on."
"Not till you tell me why you didn't put it in earlier," Daisy cocked her head, "That's the thing with you! You keep everything to yourself even if you know you can never make it on your own!"
"Daisy," Alec shifted his balance, "I'm not going to argue with you."
What was he expecting? For her to stand up and go? He had forgotten how she got her stubbornness from him as Alec observed her sat up straight, folding her legs in.
He submitted and went back to the side of the bed beside her, "I just didn't want to, alright?"
"That's it?"
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I lost you, your mum, my dignity and my job. People turned their backs on me, Daise and I don't have anyone to turn to."
He felt her hand take his in, "I realised that I was never going to get anything back but I held the case close to me. But I told myself if anything were to happen to me, that's just it. I never felt the need to continue on living. Didn't want to at that time."
As he was about to continue, he felt a squeeze and she interjected, "Why did you decided to put it on after Joe Miller was being convicted? I know you wanted to solve Sandbrook, but really, there wasn't a need for you to stay."
He turned to look at her, his face stoic but he didn't quite really agree with her.
He didn't answer.
But in that instant, Alec knows she didn't need one.