"Don't fuss Mum, I'll be fine," Rose was insisting. "Alec will be here later, you get off home."
"Well if ya insist? I don't like leaving ya."
"Go see how Tony is and tell him I'll be home soon, yeah? I'll bring Alec to meet everyone next weekend."
"Aren't things going a bit fast?" her mother wondered.
Rose didn't want to think about it. She supposed a scare like she and Alec had only a short time ago did that to a person? Her mother left and Rose decided to call her stepfather again. Pete was trying to calm Tony down when he'd been told his mother was on her way home but not with Rose.
"But Dad, why isn't Rose coming back yet?" Tony was asking him.
"She has to stay in hospital a few more days, then she wants to recover down there," Pete tried to explain, trying not to mention she wanted to recover with a police detective in a seaside town no-one had heard of until a boy had been killed last year.
He also didn't want to mention the fact the boy's sister thought she had narrowly escaped a brush with death. So had the detective in question but he must have actually been expecting it, unlike Rose.
After Ellie had left him, Alec went to wake himself up by splashing cold water on his face and making himself a drink and some toast. He thought he would wait a while before ordering a taxi to take him over to the hospital and used the time to look up car rentals though they were a bit out of his price-range at present since he wasn't yet back on full pay.
How was he going to keep his promise of collecting Rose on Monday plus going to see her over the weekend? He found another website that offered a long weekend rate until Monday before 6pm and called them, thankful his licence was still in order. Just after two, he got a call to say a car was waiting for him over in the pub car park so he made his way over to take temporary possession of it and was told to leave it in the car park before six on Monday and where to leave the key. He thought at least he didn't have to drive to the hire place but what about the rest of the week?
If he got his job back, maybe he could twist the chief's arm into letting him borrow a car, especially if he were to brag that Rose Tyler was staying with him. Miller could back him up that he knew the Vitex heiress. He drove to the hospital and parked up then went to see where Rose was.
"Visiting is only until three," a nurse told him as she told him which room Rose was in.
"Miss Tyler is in a private room," Alec pointed out. "Besides, I'm a police officer and I could use my authority to stay."
"Sorry, it's the hospital rules but anyone could say that," she replied.
Alec wondered where the nurse had been hiding since last July, since he'd been in the news several times. He begrudgingly went into his jacket pocket and brought out his ID he'd never got around to handing back.
"If anyone asks, I threw my weight around and you had no choice but to let me stay. I will leave earlier if Miss Tyler insists."
Thinking he'd won that round, he went to find Rose's room and hoped her mother wasn't still there. He peeked through the glass to see her with a tablet PC on her lap and some earphones in. He tapped on the door and Rose looked up, taking her earphones out.
"Alec. Hi. I didn't expect you until later," Rose greeted him.
"Am I interrupting you?" he asked, wishing he'd called to get her more than the chocolates in his pocket.
He took them out and put them on the bedside table. It made a change him being on the other side, so to speak, that of him visiting someone else.
"Well sit down then," Rose smiled, handing him the tablet and earphones for him to put on the table.
Not knowing what to say after his display when he'd woken up and thought the same as Rose, he decided to let her start.
"Rose, I meant it, tell me where you came from. Did you get permission?"
"Yeah, I can tell ya so much Alec. I suppose I really started something?"
"Yes, you did and saying you don't belong here didn't help so tell me how you got here."
After being interrupted by a nurse making sure visitors had left and Alec getting his ID out again and saying he would leave when Rose told him to and not before, making her smile, she was telling him how a gap had opened between the universes by the Cybermen and she'd got caught up in it all and finishing with Pete rescuing her and her mother.
"So your mother resembled Pete Tyler's first wife?" Alec asked her. "How was that explained?"
"I told ya Alec, it was easy for my mum to take her place but I was the one who couldn't be explained. He and Jake had to come up with a story. I had no choice but to accept I was stuck here and left my friend behind."
"Was he more than a friend maybe?" Alec wanted to know.
"Yes and no. I think we both wanted it but never had the chance. It doesn't change how I still feel about him but I've had to move on. Everyone has someone they lost or a first boyfriend or girlfriend they got over. I have to believe he's still there and he thinks about me. He was someone really special."
"He must have been if you can't forget him Rose. Do you think maybe we can spend some time together when you visit Broadchurch?"
"Yeah, I'd like that Alec. I didn't mean anything, it's just he meant a lot to me and I've never really had a boyfriend since I've been here so I might be a bit out of practice," she smiled.
"Well I am just the same since my divorce Rose, it's not as easy as everyone thinks unless you are really lucky. Spend some time with me and if you want to go back home next weekend on your own, I will understand. I hired a car for the weekend, I'm not sure if I can borrow one if I get my job back."
"Don't worry, I'll get someone to drive mine down during the week, my two friends will be dying to visit anyway. They can bring it down. Mickey is the one who came with us but the only one who never wanted to go back. Do I tell him and my mum what I thought?"
"Have you told your mother what you thought when you woke up?" Alec asked her.
"No. She'd go crazy, trust me. Mickey might understand though or should I keep it to myself?"
"It bothers you Rose, wouldn't talking to him make things seem better? There is someone in Broadchurch who may be able to help you, the local vicar. Did I mention him?"
Rose couldn't remember any names.
"My stepfather said I should talk to someone in the church but not reveal too much. He said if I did, they may think the worse."
"Yes, I can understand that. It could raise a few questions. Be careful if you decide to take my advice and seek help with the church. I can introduce you to the local vicar when you get to Broadchurch but take your stepfather's advice and miss a few things out eh?"
Rose had to smile. "Yeah, maybe I should? Even Pete can't protect me from the church. So, do ya think I'm crazy?"
"I think no such thing," Alec tried to assure her. "You just woke up in the wrong place and assumed the worse and so did I. I should have realised before you did. Rose, I never expected to come around, I let myself get really bad until I had no choice. A few days before my surgery, I collapsed on the decking outside my home and DS Miller never even knew even when she was inside going over that old case."
"Geez Alec, no wonder ya thought I was right. You had more reason to than I did. Didn't you go see the vicar to tell him you were scared?"
"We never exactly saw eye to eye during the investigation into Danny Latimer's death," he had to admit. "I would be willing to take you to see him though, you need more help than I did. Rose, I was ready to accept my fate, I'd taken Danny's killer to court and I knew DS Miller wouldn't let the others from that old case get away."
"You chose to fight it though Alec," Rose reminded him as he sat facing her.
Alec took her hand. "I wasn't going to. Then something made me give in and go, the same time as you got taken into the emergency room."
"Yeah, I think that was me having a lucky escape and then you realising we were in the recovery and not sat awaiting our fates. I probably wouldn't have spoken to anyone else but I recognised your voice."
"Really? Rose, this is solving nothing, tell me how you feel now you know we weren't doing anything other than recovering."
Rose thought that may take some doing. When a nurse frowned at Alec still being there and Rose persuading him to go eat and come back later, he had to reluctantly go find the caf and tried to call his daughter.
"Dad, is something wrong?" Daisy asked him.
"No, should there be? I was just checking in on you, can't I do that?"
"Well yeah, I'll have to get used to it, won't I?" Daisy teased him. "So are you at home?"
"No, I'm at the hospital visiting someone. Did your mother tell you who was in the recovery room with me?"
"Geez Dad, I don't know. Rose Tyler maybe?" Daisy replied jokingly.
"Has your mother been telling you?" he asked, thinking Tess would have found it amusing to tell tales on him to a teenager who followed the every move of the Vitex heiress.
"What? Are you telling me it s true? I thought mum was either winding me up or joking that she had been teasing you about it."
"Yes, it's true. The regular recovery room was full and they placed us in another room. She was scared when she woke up. Daisy, she passed out in a hotel dining room at some meeting she was attending. When she came round, she was well out of it. I just reassured her, that's all. I promised to visit her when I got out but I was in court yesterday then winding up that old case of mine."
"Yeah, mum told me. I'm sorry that mum didn't find Lisa alive, after all that time everyone was hoping she'd be found safe. You got them Dad, that's the main thing and I know you never gave up. Mum explained you almost died bringing them in. So, you really met Rose? What's she like?"
"She's still recovering and I thought I would invite her to stay in Broadchurch for a few days instead of travelling back home," Alec admitted.
"Did she accept? Where's she staying?"
"There are a few hotel on the harbour," Alec told her, even though Rose had indicated she wanted to stay with him.
"I hope you've not invited her to stay at what mum calls a shack?" she teased him.
"Will everyone please leave my house alone?" Alec replied indignantly.
Would Rose do the same though when she saw it? He didn't think so, her official biography that her stepfather had put out when he'd adopted her stated she came from a humble background and grew up on a council estate and from what he'd seen of her so far, she had no airs and graces about her.
He heard Daisy laughing.
"Besides, she will probably book into the hotel just by me. I don't expect her to spend all her time with me. I'm going to see about getting my job back Daisy. Would you maybe think about coming down for a visit if I do?"
"I don't know Dad? So will you call in and see me next weekend? Did you mean Rose when you said you may have someone with you?"
"Yes, I promised to see she got back to London safely, since she insisted on stopping off here. You don't have to meet her, she'll be recovered by then and amuse herself by shopping. She'll have a week or so to catch up on."
"I never said I'd object to meeting her Dad," Daisy laughed.
"I thought not. Just don't bring a crowd of your friends with you, understood? Where do you want to meet?"
Having agreed a meeting place, he saw he still had some time to spare and looked up the hotels close to where he lived. The one closest to him seemed the most obvious and it had rooms that looked out onto the harbour. Well that was if Rose would agree but staying at his place could raise a few problems one being his bedroom door didn't close. He could offer the room to Rose he supposed and squeeze into the spare one.
Then he had an idea that may solve his problem. The caravan park would be opening and they would sure to have a nice three bedroom model with two double bedrooms. Maybe he should get busy and see if their office was open tomorrow?
He went back to see Rose and asked what she would prefer squeezing in his cottage, a hotel room or a caravan. Rose considered the options.
"Can I see your chalet first?" she asked him as he sat down.
"Well yes, if you want? I'm not sure about staying there though, not now. I was planning on going back to Sandbrook for a while but now you want to visit, I'll put it off. I want to get my job back but delay my start for a few weeks. Rose, once I take you home though, what then?"
"What do ya mean Alec? You think I'm going back to work or on holiday?"
"You mentioned you could go anywhere you wanted Rose," he reminded her.
"Yeah and I choose to go back to Broadchurch, unless ya don't want me to?" she replied, seeing he had some doubts.
"Rose, I would not mind if you came back but my chalet is not suitable. I got it to punish myself for failing to find that young girl's killer but now I have them locked up? I should really get somewhere else so if you insist on not being on your own, a caravan would be more suitable for a week. Then I can take it from there. I still get my housing partly paid for, a caravan would be cheaper, the price of the chalet will probably go up anyway, I wasn't intending staying there much longer."
"Don't make me decide for you," Rose insisted. "I really don't mind anything apart from being stuck on my own in a hotel for a week. If there's anything extra to pay for your chalet or a caravan, just say so."
"What about when you do leave Rose?" he asked her, thinking it would be a shame and she'd not even gone there yet.
"Trying to get rid of me already?" she teased him.
"No such thing. I was being practical. Won't you have to return to work?"
"Eventually but I can work from anywhere, I don't have to be tied to an office."
"Do you have any more meetings to attend though?" he wondered.
"Not as such, I was just doing it as a favour. I wish I'd never gone now."
"You would have not ended up in the same hospital as I did," Alec smiled. "Who would have convinced you that you were not waiting for your name to be called?"
"I may have been taken to a warmer room with someone in attendance," Rose smiled back at him.
"Then we would not have met and you would still have doubts about being here. Rose, whatever it is you're holding back, you can tell me."
"I can't Alec, I wish I could but it's complicated and doesn't just involve me. I have my mum to think about."
"So you, your mother and this Mickey all came here together?" he wanted to know.
"Pete said I could tell ya some of it Alec, I'll need to ask if I can tell ya the rest."
"Then call him Rose, I want to know what's troubling you. You arrived when the last of the Cybermen left?"
"Yeah. The Torchwood on my world thought they were harnessing some new power source idiots. They were pulling the Cybermen through as ghosts. If it hadn't been for them, the Cybermen would have either gone somewhere else or got trapped between worlds."
"What's between the worlds Rose?"
"How would I know?" she tried to bluff.
"Something tells me you know and it scares you. So they landed on your world and tried to take over?"
Rose knew he'd never rest until he got to the truth. She picked up her phone and called Pete.
"Dad, will you talk to Alec? He wants to know how the Cybermen were defeated and we got here."
"What have you told him?" Pete asked her, knowing the detective would want to know everything. "Can it wait until you come up here?"
Alec was shaking his head, since Rose had the phone on the speaker.
"I don't think so. Why don't ya get Jake to come down, he can bring me my car down, Alec's renting one for now and it will save him extending it. I can tell him some of it, Jake can tell him the rest."
"You know Mickey will want to come down as well?" Pete laughed. "Okay, tell me where you'll be staying on Monday, Jake can follow Mickey, I know you hate it when Jake drives your car."
Rose finished the call, Alec sitting back on the chair.
"So, I can trust this Jake?"
"Yeah, he's head of security and he played a big part in freeing this world when the Cybermen tried to take over. Pete and a team followed them when they were escaping to stop them going back. Short version, they were cut off between worlds when they tried to take over my world."
Alec knew that was all he was going to get out of her for now.
"Well, that's a start. This is all part of what upset you so much. When we get to Broadchurch, I will take you to see the vicar, you need to put it behind you Rose."
Alec stayed a while longer after he should have done and was about to leave.
"I will see you tomorrow then? Should I go book that caravan?"
"What about your chalet?"
"I am sure they will be glad to have it back. Just leave it to me eh?"
He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"Thanks for staying with me."
"It was the least I could do," Alec replied. "Can I bring you anything tomorrow?"
"I'm good thanks. They'd better let me out of here on Monday."
"I'm sure they will. Get some rest eh?" he suggested.
The next morning, he walked around to the caravan park office and asked about hiring one.
"Well we don't official open for a few more weeks but I'm sure we can arrange something?" the manager told him when he said who he was. "Would the police be paying?"
He was shown a few models in the brochure though some, he didn't think the housing allowance he had would cover them but he settled on one that would be within the budget and he was told to call back the following day after four. That meant he'd have to take Rose back to the chalet for the time being and it would be typical she insisted on staying there.
Rose was trying to explain to the sister on the ward why Alec had been caught leaving late the night before.
"Well I don't fancy your chances of throwing him out," Rose was telling her. "He's in the police."
"Even so Miss Tyler, you need your rest," she was told.
"Well there's only tonight, he'll be collecting me in the morning. I am getting out of here tomorrow?"
"As far as I know. How's the pain anyway?"
"It's been worse. I'll just be resting when I get out of here. What time will I be able to leave?"
"After morning rounds, if the doctors are satisfied. Are you travelling back home?"
"No, I'll be staying not far from here before I go home. I'm not saying where though," Rose smiled.
Just before visiting time, not that she thought Alec would stick to the hours, she got a call from Mickey.
"Your dad wants me to bring your car tomorrow Rose, wots that all about? Are you even allowed to drive yet?"
"Chill Mickey. It's not for me to drive, didn't Pete tell ya?"
"Oh, you mean that detective? Seriously? You only let me or Jake drive your car," he reminded her.
"I'd rather you drove it, Jake messes with the seat. Get Jake to follow ya down and yes, I'm gonna let Alec drive it, he's rented one over the weekend then next weekend, he's taking me back home."
"So how's he gonna get back?" Mickey asked her.
"I may go back with him but that depends on a few things. I want Jake to tell Alec how we got here."
"What? Are you crazy? Geez Rose, you only just met the guy. What happened to make you trust him that much?"
"I'll tell ya when you both get here Mickey. Did Pete tell ya me and Alec got left in a recovery room all on our own?"
"No, how did that happen then? Did you panic when you woke up or something?"
"Or something, Alec handled it better than I did. See you both tomorrow, text me when you set off, I think I'm going to where Alec lives for now, he's trying to get a caravan."
"Why aren't you staying in a hotel?" Mickey wanted to know.
"Geez Mickey, you're more stuck up than my mother is. I don't wanna be on my own in a hotel, that's why and Alec lives by the river and he says there's not much room. Don't you dare mention who he looks like Mickey, I mean it and don't keep staring at him."
"Me? It's your mother you have to worry about," Mickey reminded her.
That was the problem though. Telling Alec of her past and why she was so worried wouldn't be easy since they had to miss out a few things such as time-travel and Timelords. What had got her so worried though and brought all this on?