Hardy follows Daisy out into the street and watches her go, feeling totally numb and unable to breathe correctly… For once, it doesn't bother him. Panicking, he calls Ellie.

Daisy follows the winding road back toward the center of town, thinking she'll find a taxi there.

Soon enough, she's out of sight of the house and she can breathe a little easier.

It takes her some 20 minutes to reach the very center of town. She's just passing a hotel when the tears streaming down her cheeks obscure her vision enough that she doesn't see the man exiting a building in front of her, and she runs straight into him.

"-woah! Oh my god, sorry- I'm sorry, there-" Luckily Olly's not got his usual stack of papers to run right now, but he did exit a little too quickly. He always exits too fast, always onto the next place. "Hi! Sorry. Oh, um..." Looks at her a little funny. "Are you all right...?" Clearly she's not, but... Politeness, Olly. "You seem to be, er- crying. Are you lost?"

She looks a bit young. Not from here. The tiniest bit familiar... He's good with faces. Almost as good with names.

Daisy waits til he's done, swiping intermittently at her cheeks and feeling very unimpressed with this introduction and this whole stupid town. "I'm not lost," she snaps. She should probably dial back the attitude a little. After all, it was probably her fault that they collided. She's still so angry, though, and she's ready to fight.

"No, I'm not alright, either, clearly." Too late. The attitude is in full force. Her tone is scathing.

"Oh- okay. Sorry. Right, of course not." Olly's torn between slight amusement at how badly this is going for him and quelling his own questions so he can try to help her.

"You want to know what's wrong? I've got a shit father, a lying, cheating arsewipe of a man. Tall, skinny, grumpy, ugly beard, penchant for lying, you've probably met him, answers to the name of Alec fucking Hardy." She feels the sudden urge to drag her father's name through the mud. Let someone else know what he's done, because she can't keep it to herself.

She's got his full attention at this news on Hardy. At first he doesn't believe what he's hearing, but he's always listening. His eyes grow very round.

"Wait, wait- you're talking about DI Alec Hardy? The one - the DI? Oh my god." He quickly swallows his eagerness. "-I'm so sorry. Really? Um... You're his daughter. You're his daughter-?! Can I ask, if you don't mind, what's your name?"

Daisy rolls her eyes... As if she has time for this. "How many Alec Hardys are walking around this damn town? Yes, I mean the DI."

"-right. Of course."

"God, you're thick. If he's my father and I'm female- yes and yes- then obviously I'm his daughter. Daisy. My name is Daisy Hardy." What a shit last name to be saddled with.

"Daisy. Of course. Sorry, Daisy..." Thinking more deeply about what she said, exactly, he frowns a little. "Did- what happened?" He's all ears, of course, his eyes wide and his hand itching for a pencil.

"What do you think happened? Weren't you listening? He cheated on my Mum and he's only just now admitting to it. I'm done with him."

"...I thought he was divorced," Olly says carefully.

"He is. This was three years ago, keep up. He's divorced because of this shit." If nothing else, the questioning is making her angrier.

"Oh, shit..." He murmurs to himself, staring at her. "Daisy..."

"What?"

"...you don't know?"

"Know what?" She wants to add a derisive snort of his name at the end of that, but she doesn't actually know his name.

Olly's a little pale, waffling on what the right thing to do here is. He doesn't usually mind toeing the line- okay, sometimes stepping over boundaries completely- but… This seems like a big story, and big stories are what he lives for. "Oh my god, Daisy, you don't know..." He blinks at her.

"Who're you, again?" she demands.

"Oh- um, I'm Oliver. Olly Stevens..." Chewing on his cheek for a second, he weighs his options. "Come on. You have to know, come with me." Decision made, he nods towards the direction he was originally heading in. Gently touching her shoulder, he starts off urgently. "Your dad's gonna kill me for this. So's everyone. Everyone is."

Daisy groans. She should just walk away. Instead, she scurries behind him. "Alright, Olly, why don't you say whatever it is you want to say or tell me where I can find a taxi?" She likes the "your dad" comment, though. If it'll anger her father, she's ready to try it. She wants to hurt him like she's been hurt.

"Because you're not going to believe me. I can tell." Olly's shaking his head as he walks.

"Believe you about what? Stevens, tell me what you're on about or piss off."

He pauses at the office door, thinking that she genuinely is her father's daughter. "You wouldn't still be following me if you didn't think I had something good." He raises his eyebrows, a little grim.

"Okay, but what is it?"

Instead of answering, he disappears inside.

She's not going to deny that she's intrigued, but she's also annoyed. Highly.

Maggie's busy inside, stuffing a stack of paper into a shoulder bag. "Just closin' up, Olly; go on, get your things before I lock you- Olly? Olly! Who's-?" She watches him go right by, more or less ignoring her. "Sorry, we're closed...?"

Daisy blinks at the woman and shrugs. "Don't look at me. 'M followin' Olly. Appparently, he has something to show me."

Olly shakes his head. "Maggie..." He pulls up to a computer and starts logging in. Daisy rolls her eyes and goes to stand behind the computer, too, so she can watch what he's doing.

"What-? You can't just waltz in here-"

Olly interrupts her. "Maggie," he murmurs slightly distracted, "this is Daisy, DI Alec Hardy's daughter." The computer, of course, is taking forever to load.

"Why is that so bloody important?" Daisy demands, frustrated.

"What?" Maggie speaks over Daisy. "Oh, Olly, you can't."

"If you're gonna try to show me that he's a wanker, don't bother. I already know." Daisy feels as if she's more or less talking to herself at this point because it seems like no one is listening.

They both look at her, wearing similar expressions- calculating, maybe a little wary. She does not like being looked at like a zoo animal.

"Well, that's not news," Maggie finally mutters.

Daisy lets a slight grin slide to her face. "Okay, then, what is?"

Maggie freezes, torn over whether or not to stop Olly- it doesn't matter, because Olly has already decided for himself. "We interviewed your father," he says slowly.

Daisy's half smile slides away. "Why? About the cases he's screwed up?"

"...not exactly," Maggie says quietly, moving to watch behind Olly and biting her knuckles.

Olly shakes his head. "Well- we got him to agree to come in. Tell us his side of the story." He looks up at her, his gaze just a little pointed.

"What story?" Why is he being so vague? Daisy's so irritated. "Will somebody tell me what's going on!?"

"Pretend I'm not here right now," Maggie mutters.

"I'm about to not be here right now," Daisy mutters, too.

Olly turns to Maggie. "I should do it, then?" Both of the adults turn to look at Daisy, much to her annoyance.

"Daisy... What we're about to show you..." Olly starts hesitantly. "Technically, we can't. What we're doing goes directly against what we promised."

Maggie frowns. "...and we've been doing a bloody good job keeping our promises, now, haven't we, Olly?" She feels like a bloody traitor, but in a way, she's glad about it. The kid deserves to know the truth.

"Show it to me or don't, but if you don't do it /now/, I'm leaving," Daisy snaps. "I've got a taxi to catch. I never want to see my stupid father or this stupid town again."

Olly takes a deep breath. "Okay..." Before he can second-guess himself again, he hits play on the DI Hardy interview.

Daisy freezes as she watches her father show up on the screen, and she feels like she's in a trance as he starts to talk. As it rolls on, her face goes from a frown to a mask of disbelief. She shakes her head. "No. He didn't... He wouldn't... He- he-"

Both reporters end up watching Daisy herself instead of the film, gauging her reaction.

She's struggling. Somehow, the confession on the video seems incredibly genuine. She's not sure if it's the pained look on her father's face- the same he wore when she yelled at him- or the fact that he would have nothing to gain from telling this story if it wasn't true since they apparently never did anything with it, but she sort of believes him. She swallows, feeling trapped and shaky again, and decides that she needs to talk to him now. The truth needs to come out.

There's a beat of silence after the clip stops… Olly and Maggie are waiting for Daisy to say something, do something.

She starts backing away, her eyes flitting between the other two.

Maggie sighs; she can't see this as being very easy. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"Thanks for showing me," Daisy murmurs, attitude gone. "I've got to go talk to- I've got to go." She bumps into a desk and startles, causing Olly to jump at the noise.

Maggie nods, shooting Olly a look.

Daisy shakes her head and looks at them one last time before turning around and almost jogging out the door. It's time to go back to Dad's house now; she doesn't even want to think about Mum's.

Maggie and Olly stare at each other for a few seconds after the girl's abrupt departure. "...was it the right thing?" Olly asks softly.

Maggie nods firmly. "Yes. Yes, it was. That girl deserves the truth. And I think our DI does, this time, too… Even if he is an ass."

It takes Daisy far less time to get to Dad's cottage than it did to get to town because she spends most of the journey at a jog. She's got so much emotion to run off. She slows to a walk as soon as the house comes into sight, however, looking for her father.

He's out by the water, having just gotten off the phone with Ellie. She wanted to come over, but he snapped at her until she backed off. He's feeling a little dead inside, still finding himself unable to be bothered about the numbness, totally defeated.

Daisy sees him before he sees her. "Tell me the truth," she says in a very tired voice, not bothering to announce herself.

He leaps to his feet, slightly wheezy. "Daisy!"

"No more lies, Dad. I already know what happened, but I need you to tell me yourself. Don't bother trying to avoid it. I already know."

He steadies self by leaning on the table.

"What happened between you and Mum? And that case?"

"Dais'..." he murmurs, helpless. "...I can't. I promised your mother… We don't want you knowing this."

"Tell me." She's getting angrier again. "I already know! Or did you miss that?"

"Please- trust us..."

She shakes her head. "Right now, I can't trust either of you."

He tries to say something, changes his mind, closes his mouth, guilty. "...I know." So very guilty.

"This is your one chance, Dad. I'm done being lied to and 'protected.'"

"I know, and I'm so sorry, Daisy..." he tries, watching her with wide eyes and a racing heart.

"Tell me now in your own words or I will leave this place and never come back. Won't go home, either. Neither of you will ever see me again." Of course, she has no idea of where she'll go, but she'll do it somehow. She'll find a place, she's determined.

He gives her a little bit of a look- that's absurd, love- but he gets her point anyway and shakily draws up a chair, unsure of how to begin. "Erm…"

She glares and waits. She's been waiting for this for entirely too long already.

Looking away, he rubs a hand over his distantly horrified face. "Oh, Daisy..." She's too young to be hurt like this. "We- we lost the evidence… The final piece. You know."

"We?"

"Er..."

"Do not lie to me," she repeats.

He swallows thickly and closes his eyes for a moment, because his voice is shaky, too. "Y-your... mother. She lost it."

"And how did that happen?" Her tone is unsurprised but she needs to hear this straight from him.

He gives her a look that's part questioning, part surprised. Someone has to have told her, but he's not sure who or why.

"Dad?" He's been quiet for too long.

"...someone broke into her car." He says dryly, collecting himself.

"And where was her car?" Is she going to have to pry every bit of this from him?

"She..." He takes a deep breath, letting his eyes fall shut. "She stopped at a hotel, Daisy."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because she was having an affair." He finally looks at her again.

Daisy nods.

Hardy looks aside again. "and she thought..." Why does his voice keep cracking?

"And did you know about this?"

He shakes his head, remembering the double blow of finding out about the affair and having to deal with the lost evidence. "...no." He's more composed now, staring at her, but he's very stiff. He never thought he'd be having this conversation with her.

That's one question that the video didn't answer, so Daisy's glad he told her. "So why did you tell everyone that you lost the evidence?"

There's a pause in which he closes his eyes, quickly has to cover face, hunches his shoulders a little, and lets his hands drop back down. "Because… because I love you, Daisy. And your mother. And I… I wanted to save our family. I thought-" his voice is halting, cracked. "Daisy, I thought we could stay together. All of us."

That's the first thing that breaks through Daisy's mask of shock and frustration. "Why didn't we? What happened?" Her voice breaks halfway the second sentence.

Hardy hesitates… "Your mother," he says finally, "didn't want to."

"Why?"

"We decided it was best. Well, she did... because she could, Daisy."

She can't reconcile this with her loving Mum. "And- and why did she just let you take the fall?"

"Because she knew that I would do anything for her. And for you. And I couldn't bear you to know wh-" This is so hard to get out, all of it.

Daisy's heart stops for the slightest moment. All this time! All this time she's resented him, hated him, even. And now- "Dad..." She wants to hug him, she wants to shake him and scream, she wants to cry. It's impossible to reconcile all of those urges.

Hardy rests his head in one hand and forces himself just to look at her, afraid that he's very quickly falling apart.

"Didn't you think I deserved to know?" She's much quieter again.

He drags that hand down his face to look up at her again. "Daisy… Of course you did- of course you do. But-"

"You've just let me think for years that you- that you did what Mum did!" Daisy interrupts. "You just let me resent you for it!"

"I- I didn't want to ruin your- image of y- of your mother."

She discovers quite suddenly than she's got a massive headache pounding in her temples. "But ruining yours was okay?"

He shakes his head, silent. It's not a denial, exactly, just a gesture of defeat.

"Why... Dad, why was it so important for me to have a mother but not a father?"

"If it meant you saw her as I wished things could still be, I... I dunno…" he says softly. "I wanted to stay..." He shakes his head again. He'd tried so hard to keep their family together, and in the end, he'd only made things worse.

She shakes her head, feels a wave of tears start to fall. They're the first since she started following Olly. "I can't believe you'd lie to me about something so important." But she can, really. His decisions were misguided, absolutely, but as much as she's tried not to see it for the last few years, he's always seemed to do his best by her and her mum.

A really pained smile, a bitter one, finds its way onto his face. "I can't, either. I- hated it. I hate lying to you, more than an'thin', Daisy."

She swallows and nods. "I need- I need some space. I need to think. I'm going to go for a walk."

He nods, clearing his throat. "Yeah… I'll be here."

Daisy stares at him for one last moment, torn, before fleeing much like at Olly's office. She can't even answer him right now.

She's only walked a street or two over when she slows to a stop, pulling out her mobile and fiddling with it. She stares at her Mum's contact photo and rings her only to immediately hang up half a dozen times. She badly needs to talk to her mother, but she's absolutely dreading the conversation. She's not sure she's ever felt so betrayed before by anyone.

While she's distracted, a sort-of familiar blonde comes out of the house that Daisy's standing outside of. She's wearing scrubs this time, unmistakably a nurse, and she's wearing an expression of concern.

"…Daisy?"

Daisy looks away, all of her old ire with the woman gone, and doesn't answer.

"I'm sorry, love, but are you alright?"

Daisy's eyes snap back to the woman's— Laurel's?— face in disbelief. Despite the way the fight with Dad started earlier, Daisy does know she's wronged Laurel, yet here she is being nothing but kind.

"…no," Daisy answers honestly after a moment of thought. "I will be, though."

Laurel nods uncertainly. "I hope everything goes right for you," she says softly, giving the girl a small, tentative smile.

"Thanks," Daisy replied, just as softly. "Erm, Ms.— Laurel, isn't it?"

Laurel nods in encouragement.

"I— I really need to apologize for the way I acted last night. I was— I was rude and unfair and I jumped to conclusions and I really shouldn't have. And you didn't deserve it."

Laurel's face instantly clears of worry, and her smile is wider this time. "Oh, don't worry about it at all. I understand. It must have looked strange, and it had to have been a shock. I probably would have reacted the same way… It's lovely of you to say you're sorry, though. I appreciate it. Honestly, you didn't say or do anything unforgivable."

Daisy thinks from this little speech that Laurel would /not/ have reacted as with as much volatility as Daisy herself did, but it's nice to hear all the same. She doesn't quite know how to respond to Laurel's kindness, though, and she swallows, her head tilting uncertainly. "Er, thanks for that," she replies, an odd note of shyness in her voice.

Laurel nods. "Hope you're having a great visit with your dad, despite the awkward start."

Daisy's not, but she doesn't need to burden Laurel with that information. Instead, she pastes on a slightly brittle smile. "I am, thank you. I should— I should get going, though."

"Of course!" Laurel says. "It was nice to meet you under better circumstances."

"Likewise," Daisy replies, still slightly flummoxed, and gives Laurel a tiny wave before starting to walk again.

It's more than an hour and a half later that she wonders back to the cottage. She feels the slightest bit more at peace, though it'll take a long time for her to truly come to terms with what has happened. She lets herself into the house, not seeing Dad outside, and finds him in the kitchen. "Was it worth it, or do you regret it?" she asks quietly by way of greeting.

Startled, he jumps a little- she's so quiet!- and then goes back to making tea, glad he's got something to be doing with his hands. He keeps quiet for a little while, trying to decide how to answer. "Don't know that I had much of a choice. I couldn't accept it...still don't want to."

Daisy sighs. "That's not really an answer."

Hardy grunts, because, well… She's not wrong. He just doesn't know what to say.

"Dad..." She's so, so tired.

"Hm?" He stops what he's doing to look at her, and she supposes she's gotten all of the answer she's going to. "...what exactly are you referring to?" he asks after a slight pause.

"Taking the blame for everything," she answers. "In the papers, to me..."

"Well… I regret having to lie to you, yes. The rest I could do again, though. Don' matter to me what the rest of the world thinks."

Her lip trembles. She's long since stopped crying, but he's really doing her in today.

He's already turning back to the tea, awkward, but when he catches her look, he stops again.

As soon as the first tear falls, she's darting forward, pressing against him in a tight hug and sobbing, narrowly avoiding being scalded by hot tea.

Hardy quickly sets the mug down and hugs her as tightly as he possibly can without fear of crushing her at all. He's crying, too, he discovers, and the realization makes him hold on more tightly. Just holding her again- especially with her sincerest of hugs- is breaking his heart in the best way he can imagine. He thinks of nothing else.

He hadn't been sure he'd ever find her love again and he cannot get enough of it; he bows his head a little because the longing to connect with her and just be around her has been so great for so long. No one will ever matter to him as much as his precious girl.

His joy is a little tempered because he's also weighed by guilt, however. It's a weird mix.

Daisy, on her ened, is so very heartbroken. The lies sting, of course they do, and she has no idea what to do about her mother, but there's so much lost time here. She doesn't bother to avoid wetting his shirt with her tears. Instead, she cries until she's numb and weak and sagging against him. She's 15, nearly a woman, but tonight... She feels like a child, so small and so very fragile.

Once she's cried herself out, she gives up on trying to support herself. She's still standing, barely, but her knees are weak; she knows that for the first time in a long while, Dad's got her and she's not going to fall. "Sorry for everything I said," she mumbles into his shirt. "Didn't know."

He chokes out a kind of sob-laugh in reply. "Just as I'd hoped. There's nothing to be sorry about, love. It's alright… Everything's alright." He's more than happy to support her weight, though he's none too strong in the knees, either.

There are lots of things to be sorry for, but for once, Daisy's ready to just let it go. "I have something to admit..." she starts hesitantly.

"Hm...?" He's got to clear his throat.

"I, um, I did what you wanted me to do."

Hardy quirks an eyebrow, waiting for elaboration.

"I 'took responsibility,'" she quotes dutifully.

A weak laugh escapes him at that. "This isn't yours to bear, darling… Your mum and I... We made some mistakes, but we did one thing right... You know what I mean."

She has the tiniest smile on her face because she knows exactly what he's talking about. "I shouldn't have yelled at you and I am sorry for that, but that's not what I'm talking about. While I was out walking, I mean, I ran into Laurel. And I told her I was sorry, like you wanted me to."

He looks down at her, his eyes widening a little in surprise. "You did..?"

She nods. "Mhm. She was very nice about it."

He's got a weak smile on his face that seems to be growing a bit. "Oh. She is a bit too nice." He makes a face, laughing a little.

Daisy laughs because, well, she is his child. "She said it was fine, that she understood, that she hoped we were having a good weekend despite the awkward start. I didn't tell her that we weren't."

Chuckling, he rests chin on top of her head and sighs, very low and quiet and long. His eyes fall shut. "I am so proud of you." It's mostly whispered.

Daisy's instinct here is to make a flippant comment, but for once, she doesn't. "Thank you," she says, almost as softly, and changes the subject after a small pause. "Mm, Dad?"

He places a hand very gently on the back of her head and a quick kiss on top. "Mm?"

"I don't... I don't know how to talk to Mum about all of this." Her voice is small, and for the second time, she feels younger than usual.

"Yeah… We'll need to discuss this, I don't..." He shakes his head. "I never planned for… I mean." There's ice in the pit of his stomach.

"No, please don't interfere. I need to talk to her. But- she's just not the person I thought she was."

"I'm sorry," he says hoarsely, feeling inadequate. There's nothing he can say to help ease her suffering and that kills him a little. "...that, I can agree on."

"I don't think I can look her in the eye and not- not get upset. All this time, I thought you did all of these things that she actually did, but Dad... This is so much worse. Because she did those things and drove you away." Her small voice gets smaller. "I hated you for leaving. And that's not fair at all."

It takes some effort to swallow past the lump in his throat. "I wish I had the answers to these things," he says softly, "because you're right, it's not fair... But we'll just have to do our very best, as we must. Neither of us are- we're not alone, Daisy." He squeezes her a little. "I- I don't pretend to understand all that went through your mother's head, or why, but- these things happened. She made some choices..."

Daisy sniffles and nods. He's mostly speaking in platitudes and it shouldn't really comfort her, but it does. "Do you still love her? Mum, I mean?" she asks in a whisper. She's not sure which answer she's hoping for, which one is easier.

The first time he tries to answer, nothing happens. The second time he manages a scratchy little "yes."

She knows as soon as he answers that it would have been easier if he'd said no. "Why?" she asks, her voice trembling.

He sighs a little, just tired; he's pondered the same question so many times before. "Because… because she's amazing. But something happened and I still don't know what. She didn't want it any more. I love her because she's your mother and because she was my love for all those years before any of this happened."

Daisy nods, renewed fears coming to her eyes. "But I- I needed both of you. Why-" she swallows. It's a childish question, one that can't even be answered by anyone except Mum herself, but... "Why did she want to take that away from me?"

"I don't know, darling. I really, really don't know."

She tightens her hold, needs the support, physical and emotional.

He holds her close, biting back the tiniest bit of anger- not at Daisy, but at Tess.

"It would've been easier if you didn't love her anymore," she murmurs after a soft, sobby breath. "Then I could stop wishing that in spite of everything, we could still be together, all three of us."

He makes a kind of gravelly, choked sound that he doesn't quite recognize. "You told me not to lie. I try not to wish that, either..."

Daisy nods, closing her eyes. "I'm glad you told me the truth. I just wish it wasn't the truth."

"Mm," he agrees.

She's got a sudden fear, though, and she pulls back to look at him with wide eyes.

He meets her eye, concerned at the expression on her face.

"We're gonna- it's not going to be like it was before, right? You 'n me, at least, we'll be okay now, won't we? Three years isn't too much to-" she chokes, swallows, tries again. "I ignored you for three years. Are you going to- are you still going to call now? I want you to now that I understand, I swear. I'll stop letting you go to the answer phone. Just don't stop calling, please."

Looks down at her with a definite- but very sad- smile. His little laugh is more of a sob. "No, no, oh, sweetheart. I never planned to stop calling, never in a million years... That's not going to change now. You'll get annoyed with me again quickly- quickly enough, I promise."

The only real answer Daisy can give is a renewed sob and a fresh hug. Oh, she can't believe she's spent so much time hating him. All of this crying is exhausting her and this hug only lasts for a second before she pulls away again. "Okay," she says softly. "I'm so glad." She wants to apologize again for rejecting all of his calls, but she knows what he'll say about it. "I think I'm about ready to go to bed, but tomorrow, I'd like it if we could spend some time getting to know each other again?" It comes out as a question, shy, somehow, but definitely hopeful.

He's absolutely full of sad smiles and gentle touches and he loves her so, so much, so much that it hurts. "Oh, yes. I would love that, Daisy." He nods once, softly, feeling like they're treading new territory. Good territory.

Daisy nods back, giving him a trembly but genuine smile. She squeezes him a final time before pulling away, intending to head for the loo but wobbling a bit. She's exhausted. Crying is more tiring than anything else and she's done a lot of it today.

He watches her go before fixing up the kitchen and sipping at his tea. It's cold now, but he could use it at the moment anyway- at least it's for a better reason now. He intends to head straight to bed, too, sure that he's going to have a decent night's sleep for once.

Daisy goes through her nightly beauty routine, and when she's done, she heads to her bedroom and shuts the door behind her. She pushes it back open on a second thought, though, and pokes her head through the gap. "Good night, Dad. I love you."

He peeks out of the kitchen to look at her. "Good night, darling. I love you, too," he says softly.

She smiles at him and closes the door back on her way to bed.

He washes his mug and ambles toward his own bed, wearing one of those smiles again, the kind only she can coax out. This is the start of something new.