A/N: I used to be able to update stories quicker than this so I apologise to everyone who has been reading it. But hopefully this chapter makes up for it.

Rose hated Jack.

He knew the bastard, she thought. He bloody well knew!

She shut the window a couple of hours ago, praying it would keep out the noise, but had no luck. The universe really does hate me. Rose stared at the alarm clock, watching the minutes painstaking tick by.

She covered her ears with the pillow, willing the sounds of bad karaoke to go away. It became clear why Jack had suddenly let her have this room; he knew that would get sleep, whereas she would be tossing and turning all night. Her mind screamed at her, wanting nothing more than to drift to the land of nod.

Finally she gave up, heaved herself from the quilt, wanting to shout at whoever it was murdering Livin' on a Prayer. The pub opposite the rental cottage had been playing her favourite songs all night, but at this moment at time, she wished she was deaf.

Rose tip toed down the hallway, wondering if her partner in crime was asleep. She hoped that he was in deep slumber. Ideas formed, devious plans so she could wake the evil git, able to achieve her revenge for the bedroom-last-minute switch (Not that she held a grudge at all).

Reaching his door, she pressed her ear against the wood and heard Jack talking on the phone.

"Yeah, I miss you too, sweetheart." he said, softly.

Ianto.

He was talking to Ianto. She stepped back, feeling awkward for her intrusion. Her anger melted away and she retreated to her room, where the sound of classic rock songs were being attacked by someone else's poor attempt.

Never going to get to sleep at this rate.

Rose changed out of pyjamas and into her clothes from earlier. She grabbed her bag the living room, careful to knock anything over and alert Jack. Scribbling on a note pad, she left him a message so he wouldn't worry.

Hey, Jack.

Couldn't sleep (thanks for that!)

Gone for searching for a chip shop.

Back soon. XX

"Thanks for letting me rant all night long." Ellie said, opening the front door to Alec to let him out.

"Don't worry about it." he said, stepping out into the porch. "See you tomorrow, Miller."

He strolled out of the porch and headed down the road, feeling relieved. It wasn't that he hated Ellie's company, on the contrary, he admired the woman, but he had been used to being on his own for so long, that it was still strange to him. Ellie was the only friend in town he could count on, and vice versa, but his trust issues still plagued him.

Since he decided to stay in Broadchurch permanently, Alec had brought a small house near the station, which was a twenty minute drive in the car. But he had walked, knowing that he and Ellie would finish the bottle of wine.

Eyes on the ground, Alec was nearing the high street, he rounded the corner when…

"Ow." a woman groaned, chips falling from her tray.

"Watch where you're going!" Alec grumbled.

He glanced up, and saw the mysterious Rose Tyler in front of him, rubbing her arm after their collision. He opened his mouth to speak, but found his throat dry.

"Sorry." he said, his voice hoarse.

"No, I'm sorry." she mumbled. "Been one of those nights."

Alec stared at the chips that had fallen to the floor, but luckily enough the tray was still half full. "Where did you find chips this late?"

"There's a kebab shop around the corner, keeping open for everyone coming out the pubs, I imagine." she said.

There was awkward pause. Unsure of how to proceed next, Alec bit the bullet remembering his words to Jack a few hours before. I will, next time I see her.

Alec swallowed thickly. "Sorry."

"You already said that."

"Yeah, I meant for…." he put his hands in his pockets, avoiding her gaze.

She raised an eyebrow, watching the struggling copper.

"I mean… what I said to you… about how you got your job." he stammered.

Stunned, Rose picked up another chip and ate it thoughtfully, considering his apology. Better late than never, I suppose.

"It was inappropriate and I am really sorry." he said, looking her properly, his own eyes filled with honesty and regret for his actions.

Okay, Rose, so he isn't that bad. Just a bit grouchy . Rose sighed and lifted up the tray to him. "Chip?" she asked, brightly.

Alec happily took one and smiled back at her. "Which way you going?" he asked, popping the chip in his mouth.

"Erm." She looked around, realising she hadn't thought that far ahead. "Not sure. Couldn't sleep, so I thought walking around would tire me out. Might go down the high street."

"Right. Well I have to walk that way to get to my house." he mumbled.

"Okay. Walk together?" she suggested.

He swallowed again, both relived and worried that she had proposed such a thing. He told himself if was to find out more about Torchwood and what they do, and had absolutely nothing to do with the pretty girl who baffled him. "Right. Okay."

They strolled down the street in silence. Rose decided it should be her to break tension, after it seemed that Alec was the type of person who found it was hard admitting when he was wrong. "If you're good, I might even let you have another chip." she told him.

"Thanks," He tugged his ear, nervously. "You know Ellie had told me that my communication skills need a bit of work." he admitted, trying to break the ice a bit further.

"Just a tad." she agreed, her tone light-hearted. "You know, people aren't that bad."

"I don't know. They aren't that good either." he countered.

"Sounds like you had a couple of bad experiences." Rose said, thinking of what the press had said about him. The words "Worst Cop In Britain" had loomed over his head for a while.

"Yeah, you could say that." he said, recalling his memories of his wife's affair and the ordeal he had to go through.

"People can surprise you." she said, holding the tray for him.

Alec took another chip, trying not to gape at the curious blonde. "Yeah, they can." His voice was quieter than he expected.

"You and Ellie seem to work together well."

"Yeah, it wasn't always like that. I annoyed her at the beginning." he said, giving a near silent laugh.

"Partnerships take time. You need to learn each other habits, and they are not always good."

"You mean Jack's flirting?"

"Yeah, that for example." Rose smiled at him again, but this time her tongue between her teeth, causing Alec to smile back, even though he never ever smiled this much. How much of that wine did I have? he thought..

"I think Ellie likes it." he told her.

"Everybody likes Jack's flirting." she giggled, passing the tray back to him.

"Even you?" Alec mentally kicked himself as he slowed down, waiting for her to storm off again. What the hell did I say that for?

Rose glanced at the copper, then beamed at him. "He doesn't flirt with me, besides I'm best friends with his boyfriend."

Alec choked on chip the just placed in his mouth. "You okay?" she asked, patting him on the back.

"Boyfriend?" he managed to say, his cheeks red.

"Yeah, boyfriend." Rose stated. "I love Jack to bits but he's a friend. That's all."

"So you and him?" Alec prompted, timidly.

"No, never. Besides he's not my type."

"Ah." Alec said, wondering what her type really was. "I thought because you and him are attached at the hip-"

"Does not mean that I would sleep with my boss." Rose said. "Besides he's my work husband."

Alec stopped in his tracks, completely confused as if she was speaking another language. "You lost me."

"He's my work husband, I'm his work wife. We work together, we cover each other's backs but there is nothing romantic about it. Like you and Ellie, I guess."

"I don't think so." Alec muttered, as they carried on walking. "Though Jack is very protective of you."

"He's always been like that." said Rose, waving her hand causally.

"He gave me a warning not to piss of the 'Bad Wolf'."

Rose sighed, this time it was her turn to slow down, "It's a nickname that Jack and… erm John came up with, for when I get angry." she said, her voice filled with sadness.

"John? Is he on your team as well?" Alec asked, noting her change in behaviour.

"No, he's gone." She bit her lip. "He.. erm… died a year ago. He was my fiancé."

"I'm sorry." said Alec, quietly.

Tears welled in her eyes, Alec's swore that if the pacemaker hadn't been in his chest, his own heart would have stopped. He just wanted to give her a hug, but he told himself to stay professional. Rose wiped her eyes and blew out her cheeks.

"Sorry," she said, her voice cracking. "You don't want to hear my sob story."

You'd be surprised, is what he wanted to say, but his rational mind kicked in and he said "It's okay. Shouldn't have pushed the subject."

"What about you? Married?" Rose asked, her eyes focused on what chips were left.

Alec shook his head, his eyes darkened. Rose groaned, misinterpreting his response. Well done, Tyler.

"Sore subject." she muttered. "See now I've stuck my foot in it. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. it happened a long time ago. But, yeah, I'm divorced. Wife was having an affair."

"Oh."

"That's my sob story." he said, half smiling.

Rose giggled. "Right pair together, aren't we?"

"That we are."

"The emotional baggage of a badly written soap opera, as my mother calls it." Rose said.

"Sums it up quite nicely."

They turned a corner into the high street. It was empty, nothing but the sound of two people getting to know each other. Rose dropped the empty tray in the bin, admiring the star filled sky that made Broadchurch seem a bit brighter in that moment.

"So, DI Hardy, did you always want to be a detective?" asked Rose.

"Yeah, since I was a wee lad, I suppose." he explained. "I like puzzles. Solving a case involves putting the pieces together, working out motives. Couldn't see myself doing anything else. What about you?"

"Honesty?" She glanced up at him, feeling the trust slowly building the bridges between them. "I never thought in a million years I could do a job like this. I thought shops were my limit." Rose admitted, shyly.

"You seem confident enough." Alec told her. "You had the balls to tell me off."

"That was different." Rose said, but deciding to take a chance, she closed her eyes, and hastily added. "Have you ever woken in the morning and thought 'how the hell did I wind up here?'"

"On more than one occasion."

"Good." She sounded relieved. "Not alone in that, then."

"You're not alone on that." he said, sincerely.

They exchanged a small smile. Both of them had been through hell and back to get to where they where. They had lost loves, gained friends, dealt with their own demons, but now the recovery period was drawing to a close, and yet the world still seemed a bit unkind.

"Right." she said, a lump forming in her throat. Oh, no, she thought.

They came to a halt when they reached the police station, the building that didn't seem so unnerving anymore to Rose. There were a couple of lights still inside, someone was still burning the midnight oil.

"Right, I need to go that way." Alec said, pointing towards the docks.

"Okay, well I'm in the opposite direction." she said.

"Maybe, the police and Torchwood can work together?" suggested Alec. "Four heads is better than two, so I've been told."

Not if you're from Cardiff, it's not, she thought. Rose nodded. "Yeah, I'll run it by Jack."

"Well, night, Miss Tyler,"

"Rose,"

"Excuse me?"

"Call me Rose." she said, giving her signature smile again.

"Okay." he muttered, feeling his cheeks turn red again. "Night, Rose."

"Night." she breathed.

They walked in opposite directions, both shocked by the turn of events. As soon as she was out of sight, Rose blew out a long breath. She shuddered. My name should not sound so good in that voice.

Alec slowed down his pace, looking over his shoulder, she was gone. Okay, that didn't go as bad as I expected.