Rose had driven off to her new house up on the cliff, having to drive round to get to it since she didn't yet have a key to the barrier that led from the esplanade, something she would have to look into, it would be quicker. She was just going to beat the van there and left room for the van to pull in. She had got essential supplies yesterday but would have to go do some proper shopping tomorrow or she would be living on takeaways or from caf s. She walked out onto the patio, pleased with her choice of house that overlooked the sea and her bedroom looked out onto it, it was something she always wanted. She heard a loud knock on the door, knowing it would be the van with her belongings and hoped Pete hadn't sent a massive removal van for her few personal possessions.
She went to the frosted glass fronted door and got a shock when she opened it Jake and Mickey were standing there with big grins on their faces.
"Surprise!" they both said together and Jake gathered her into a big hug and on letting her go, it was Mickey's turn.
"What are you two doing here? Did Pete send you down to check on me or have you brought my things down?" she laughed, hugging the two of them together. "Well come in, don't just stand there."
"Best go get your things first Rosie," Jake said, elbowing Mickey who still had a grin on his face.
Mickey had remained her friend when she had arrived on this world, despite knowing he would never be anything more again but at least he had her back now and Jake had become her friend and protector and someone she could confide in even more so than her mother because he was never judgemental and over-bearing and he knew how much she missed the Doctor but he never brought the subject up, unlike other people and she was grateful for that small mercy.
They soon had all of Rose's things inside, boxes stacked in the hallway and her hi-fi system and TV were set up in the lounge, Jake connecting everything up and installing the digital set-top box and the aerial then connecting her internet while Rose made coffee and some bacon sandwiches for them both as they had been on the road for a few hours. Mickey was wandering around the house, putting boxes where Rose instructed for her to unpack later.
"Are you two staying tonight? I've got a spare room and one of you could sleep on the sofa. It's a long way to drive for just a few hours. I'm surprised my mother didn't want to come with you, Tony's been nagging to come down. How did you get roped into coming down here?"
"We volunteered and your mother was still in bed when we left. Pete said he was going to have your things sent down so we saved him the trouble of calling in the removal firm, thought we'd surprise you," said Jake, playfully nudging her elbow as he flopped on the sofa beside her.
Mickey came back in and said everything was where it was supposed to be and sat in the chair opposite. He never sat next to Rose anymore, ever since she came back, he'd made a wise choice staying behind when Rose had gone back to her own universe because he knew he never stood a chance against the Doctor since he'd changed but now, he had offered to be her friend and she had accepted it.
"So, show us the rest of the house then," Jake said, getting up. "Hey Mickey, Rose said we can stay tonight, bags I get the spare room!" he joked. With that, he dragged poor Rose up and said, "Come on then, show me around."
She smiled and got up, whacking Mickey's leg to move it out of the way to which he just scowled. She knew he was going to miss her again but she had to get on with her life, her new career.
After taking Jake on a grand tour and showing him the view from her bedroom, him being envious, they went back downstairs and wandered onto the patio.
"Nice view from here Rosie, you picked a good spot to live, you were lucky getting this. Tony will love it here when he comes down but you might have to share your bedroom with him." He looked at his friend and knew there was something wrong with her. "Come on, out with it, what's wrong and don't give me the short version. Are you regretting coming down here?"
"No, of course not, it's not that. Did my mum mention that I met a man the other day on my way here that looked like the Doctor?" Jake shook his head. "Well I met him again, here in Broadchurch last night and I didn't tell him who I was and that I was moving here and got a job here. I made him think I was leaving because I thought he was just here on business. He's Scottish and when I first met him, I could of sworn it was the Doctor until I got a closer look at him and well, last night, he invited me to his room and I went and we spent the night together and now he thinks I've left and gone back to London and he's probably on his way back to Scotland or wherever today or tomorrow and now I wish I hadn't mislead him. He was nice and I enjoyed being with him and now I've lost him too."
Jake listened, he knew she had been in love with the Doctor and her love hadn't been returned and of what happened on that day at Bad Wolf Bay and now, she was just as upset as she had been on that day. He put his arms around her and hugged her as Rose leaned into him and cried.
"What am I going to do Jake? I'm never going to see Alec again. I shouldn't have made him think I was leaving but I only intended spending one night with him but he looked so sad when we said goodbye this morning."
Rose buried her head into Jake's shoulder. He was the only person who wouldn't tell her to pull herself together.
"Rose, do you know his surname? I could try and find him for you if you want to see him again?" Jake offered.
Rose just clung onto him, she couldn't do this with Mickey, it didn't feel right when she had been his onetime girlfriend but Jake was always there for her now. She looked at her friend.
"He said his name was Alec Hardy. I don't know why he told me when I wouldn't tell him my name."
"Rose, maybe he told you so you could find him again. Don't you see?" Jake laughed, letting her go slightly. "Maybe it started out as a one night stand for both of you but if you changed your mind, maybe he changed his too. Maybe he's not left yet, he might still be at the hotel, we could go check."
"Then what Jake? Spend another night together then he goes back home? To his wife or his girlfriend, back to Scotland? Then what will I do, just be disappointed when I turn up at the hotel and he tells me he doesn't want to see me again or have one more night and go through this again?" Rose was crying again.
Mickey could hear their conversation through the open patio doors but didn't interfere, he knew he couldn't help. Jake was always the one she went to when she was troubled or upset, Jake was her confidant because she knew she could trust him, that he wouldn't take advantage of her state of mind.
"Well, let's go see shall we? Let's go get some lunch then I'll go back to the hotel with you, wait downstairs and you see if he's still there. He might still be, if he has a long way to travel. Maybe he's hoping you will go back." Jake smiled, putting his arms tighter around her.
"I can't do long distance relationships Jake, even if he's not left yet. Do I just get one more night with him?"
Tears were still streaming down her face.
"Rosie, if he feels the same, you'll work it out, honestly, the least you can do is try. If you go to the hotel and he's not checked out, wait for him to come back if he's out, talk to him, find out if he felt just as bad when you left as you do now. You can do that much can't you? If he's already left, I should be able to trace him."
"Then what? If he's back in Scotland, if he's gone back to a wife or girlfriend? No Jake, forget that. If he's at the hotel then yes, I'll talk to him but if he says he has someone waiting for him back home then I'll walk away and put it down to experience and just remember him for having one night with him."
"Well, let's get started then, you'll not find out by standing here moping about. Besides, I'm still hungry and you have nothing in your fridge so where's a good place to eat that's within walking distance?"
Rose stood back, trying to smile at him.
"There's a place by the harbour I've been in a few times. It's not far, a five minute walk."
They went back inside, they had not seen a figure sat on the seawall watching them as they had been talking and holding onto each other. Rose locked the patio door and Mickey got up, not saying anything after he got a stern look from Jake not to but Mickey knew Rose was going to go find this Alec and knowing her, she would succeed.
Rose got her purse and they waited for Mickey coming out of the bathroom, Rose swore he'd gone on purpose so she wouldn't be able to find Alec and didn't know why he was still so jealous after all this time. She hadn't been jealous if Mickey had spoken to a woman, not for a very long time. She had known his reason for staying behind the first time they had been here but he was carrying it a bit far after all this time. She even believed he was jealous of her close friendship to Jake and in that department, Mickey had absolutely nothing to worry about.
Just because she chose Jake to confide in didn't mean she thought any less of Mickey, she was just more comfortable talking to Jake about men she had fancied and never followed up on but this time, she was following up on a man and she didn't know why she had got so upset about it. Alec was just a man she met at a service station and not expected to ever see again, certainly not in the same town and same hotel she was staying at.
How long had Alec been there? He could have been on his way here when she had seen him on Monday or he could have had business elsewhere on the south coast and Broadchurch was his last stop or he could be going somewhere else before he went home. Maybe she hadn't been the first woman he had spent the night with on his business trip and maybe she wouldn't be the last either if he had another town to visit, despite what he had said to her but why had he looked so sad when she left if he did it all the time, if he picked women up at every hotel he stayed at? She hadn't told him who she was on purpose or given him any indication she was leaving, he had just assumed she was leaving, all she had told him was that she was moving out of the hotel but he'd said nothing.
They had both been playing a game, she concluded. A game of not caring about the consequences of a one night stand by not making it complicated but it was complicated, she had made a big mistake and she had misjudged the fact she might actually care about him. What had seemed like a good idea of having one night with Alec was turning into something else, regret and guilt, not just the guilt of intending it to be just one night but regret she had misled him and the fact now, he could be on his way home to someone or on his way to the next hotel to pick up another woman for the night. Maybe that's what he did, maybe that was how he lived.
She had to put that out of her mind and try to find him if he hadn't already left. Jake had been right, why would Alec have given her his name if he didn't want to be found? Did he give his name to every woman he met? She snapped out of her thoughts when Mickey decided to put in an appearance and they all walked down the slope and onto the esplanade. Jake saw the barrier across the road and pointed to it, noting the 'private road' sign on it.
"Would have been easier to come this was Rosie, you got a key for that?" he asked.
Rose shook her head, Jake just shrugged his shoulders and put his arm in hers reassuringly. Mickey walked at the other side as they passed the ice cream stall at the end leading to the harbour and they made their way around on the roadside to the other side. They could see the caf but had to walk all the way around, passing some food stalls but Rose really wanted a proper sit down meal as Mickey was looking across at them. Jake saw some boats out on the river they had to cross over, saying they should take one out later but all Rose wanted to do after lunch was go try to find Alec and seeing her reaction, Jake said they could leave it until tomorrow.
They walked across the harbour car park towards the caf door, Mickey going first, holding the door and Rose behind Jake and there sat at a table as she walked in was Alec.
She called his name in surprise as he looked up and saw her standing there. Jake and Mickey just looked at each other and quickly went to sit at a table by the window as Alec stood up, forgetting about his meal. Rose didn't know whether to sit down or not. She had wanted to find him but this was totally unexpected and Alec motioned her over to sit at his table. As she sat, he just said, "Rose."
She saw his meal was going cold. "You should get that Alec, you probably missed breakfast this morning."
It was a lucky guess.
Jake came over and asked if she wanted anything so she just ordered some tea, she had suddenly lost her appetite as her heart was in her mouth. Alec had lost his appetite too as he picked at his food and Rose's tea arrived. Jake and Mickey kept their distance, tucking into their meals as they arrived and Jake supposed they were no longer invited to stay the night.
Rose and Alec looked at each other across the table, Rose was facing Jake who was making faces at her to tell her to get a move on before Alec changed his mind and left.
Alec put his fork down and took a sip of his drink. Rose nervously poured out some tea and looked at him.
"So, you didn't leave town then?" he asked, kicking himself for asking such a stupid question. "You were just moving from the hotel?"
Rose had a guilty look on her face. "I'm sorry Alec, I never said I was leaving town but I didn't say I was just moving either. I thought you were leaving, I guess were both wrong, weren't we?"