A/N: I'm so sorry this has taken me so long, thanks to everyone who has stayed with me and reviewed. I really appreciate it.

Rose Marion Tyler was only a teenager when she discovered how big the universe the really was, and since then she had done things that some people could only dream of. She had saved the world, rescued aliens refugees, retrieved extra-terrestrial artefacts and got engaged to the man of her dreams. But the lifestyle she had chosen (not one that was forced on her, she could have walked away any time if she wanted to), meant that her life was always in danger. She knew that everything could change in the blink of an eye, that one day it could all be gone, the people she loved and her view of the world. She was only a teenager, just like the hysterical girl currently running towards her and the officers of Broadchurch.

The girl turned her head back to see if her "monster" was chasing her but instead nearly collided into Hardy. She was out of breath, her shaky limbs only just carrying her slim frame. Her hands latched onto Alec, holding on to him for dear life, like she was checking he was real. Ellie had to help extract the teenager's nails from Alec's arms, as she mumbled incoherent words. DI Grumpy rubbed his arms, losing whatever manly pride he had as his colleague/ saviour guided the girl to sit of the edge of the pavement.

Ellie began to ask her questions and the girl could barely respond, her brain still needed time to process what had just happened. Rose watched carefully, knowing too well what her mind must be going through. She knew in that moment, those eyes would haunt her forever.

Eventually Ellie found out the girl's name was Becky and she worked in the pub down the street, the one Rose knew all too well. She went out the back alley to empty the bins when she had heard a loud noise, went to check and got the shock of her life. The commotion coming from the incident had drawn out some of the neighbours from the down the street. They kept their distance, some because they didn't want to be seen by the police, others because they were muttering about Alec and Ellie still working on the force and others because they thought Becky was crazy. Alec studied the victim, but his sceptical look did nothing to ease her.

Rose looked back to the house, waiting for Jack to appear. He must have heard the noise by now, but his handsome head of hair hadn't appeared just yet. Whatever phone call he received must have been important.

Alec knelt by Becky, giving her a quick glance over. She was a pretty thing, about eighteen years old, most likely starting her first job. To everyone it seemed like shock, but Rose recognised the signs; sometimes people couldn't understand what was right in front of them. Their bodies went into meltdown as their brains tried to conjure some logical conclusion. Monsters were something of a science fiction or horror movies, not real life. Especially in Broadchurch, it was a nice little community, but then Danny was killed and now more dead bodies were showing up every day.

None of the neighbours dared approach, Alec Hardy was on the case and his glare kept people back. The situation needed to be contained, but he couldn't leave Ellie on her own. Someone needed to check inside the pub and around the premises.

"It was a monster, it was green…" Becky mumbled. Somewhere in the back of her head, it was telling her how stupid it all sounded, but she carried on, like she just needed to say it out loud. "It looked right at me. It roared like an animal."

"I doubt it was a monster." Ellie reasoned, hoping for the first time that Alec would voice his opinion on the matter.

Frozen, Rose was still waiting for Jack to rear his rational head and give her some orders. So far they had accomplished nothing, and just discovered random facts that didn't seem to have any connection. Part of her wished she had never taken on the case, but running was never an option, not for long anyway. Her hands slipped down to her side, as she thought that if this had happened only just over a year ago, John would be there holding it, helping her through it all. Now it just seemed like universe was howling at her, telling her that she was missing something right in front of her. But what?

Alec glanced up and caught Rose muddled in her own internal conflict. She wasn't listening to the girl, actually she was hardly paying any attention to anything in front of her. A scared teenager has come out of nowhere screaming "monster" and she has barely batted an eyelid. What? Had she heard all this before?

Rose snapped back to reality and shook her head. Her gaze focused on Alec as he frowned at her. They exchanged a bewildered looks before she backed into the house. Once inside, Rose grabbed her gun and torch from a bag. She slipped the weapon down the back of her jeans and the light into her pocket while the voice of Captain Jack echoed from his bedroom to the hallway. Her hand rested on the stair rail as she took the first step, but with a mind of its own, her foot retreated back to the ground.

Why didn't this thing attack the girl? Why leave her? She risked exposure, not that anyone would believe her except… them. The alien is trying to draw out Torchwood. They knew the team would be forced to act since Becky had just announced to the street that there were little green men in the town. Rose and Jack had to clean up the situation and quick.

Rose sought her injury from earlier, her fingers tracing where the slashes were under her jacket. Sore, but manageable. The painkiller that Jack had given before they left for Helen's house numbed the pain but not her senses. If this alien wanted the girl, she would have been dead. They were leaving breadcrumbs for Torchwood to follow and Rose was the one to always find the pieces. She could practically feel his warm skin against hers as his words of wisdom floated back to her memory.

If you remember one thing, it's that the little decisions bring us to the places that we were always meant to be.

What if she was meant to be here? What if it was always leading to this? Was it a coincidence that she bumped into Helen outside the pub? Was it a coincidence that she overheard the information about the dead sheep? Her last few months at Torchwood had prepared her for this moment. Jack was would tell her to stay and maybe he was right. But if there was a chance to end this thing, how could she not take it?

Rose turned around and headed outside. Ellie was still talking to Becky while Alec was talking to one of the neighbours. Alec caught a glimpse of Rose running in the direction of this supposed creature and he narrowed his eyes. Has she hit her head? he wondered, This Jekyll and Hyde behaviour is starting to get old.

"It looked like… death," Becky stammered as Ellie stroked her back to help control her breathing.

"I doubt it." Alec replied, watching the daring blonde escape into the night. "Miller, we can't wait forever, I'm going to take a look."

"Sir, you can't..." Ellie protested.

But it was too late. He was already chasing after one Miss Rose Tyler.

The sounds from outside were like white noise to Captain Harkness. Everything stood still, and he swallowed hard. It had all finally come together, the ship, the children and Clare's pregnancy.

A war was coming.

The human race had no idea.

Rose was right all along, they were alone.

He ended the phone call with a thank you and whispers of love to Ianto, then ran downstairs to find his partner in crime. But instead he was greeted with the view of the Ellie comforting a crying girl. There was no Rose. Or DI Grumpy.

"Ellie, what happened?" he demanded, storming over to her. "Where's Rose?"

"No idea, Alec went to investigate and left me here."

"Investigate what?"

"He went to find the monster." the Becky sobbed, clutching her knees.

"Monster?" Jack asked.

"His eyes were hollow and black," she continued "It was real, so real. How can such a thing be real?"

Ellie turned to face him properly, her arm around the Becky. "I think she's in shock, the ambulance is on its way."

"Which way did they go?"

The sun had fallen and the darkness came over the skies. The orange hue had faded and the black heavens loomed over Rose's head. The loud, horrific sounds of someone else's poor attempts at singing echoed as Rose entered the dreary pub. The noises must have covered the screams coming from Becky as the elderly landlord hadn't even realised she had left. With a flash of her ID, the landlord gave her the keys to the cellar. His judgement on karaoke was bad, but the judgement on his safety measures was even worse. The lock to the cellar was simple bike lock that didn't fit properly and the security light out back had been broken for three months.

Despite all that, the cellar was clean and organised, as far as Rose could tell, the light was very dim in the room and needed changing. Opposite the door was old wooden stairs that led to the alley outside, the doors opened from where Becky had gone outside to sort out the bins. Once the door was shut behind her, Rose pulled out her gun and torch, hunting for signs of green smoke. The metal of the gun was cold against her even colder skin. I should have brought a better coat with me, she scolded herself. The torch helped her vision to see things clearly but then she had the unnerving notion that the alien could see in the dark.

She trudged to the middle of the room, but the only threat was a stray ginger cat perched on top of couple of crates. She sighed, almost relieved. Rose lowered her weapon and stepped towards the feline.

"Aren't you a lovely boy?" she whispered, scratching the top of his head.

"Never took you for a cat person."

Rose whipped around, both hands on the gun pointing it directly at Alec's head.

"Whoa, hey, hey." he said, raising his hands in protest, the light blinding him. "It's okay, it's okay. It's only me."

She lowered her aim as Alec's glare flickered over his features as he saw what was in her hands. "You shouldn't sneak up on people." she said, regaining her composure.

"I'll try to remember that." he grumbled. "Why do you have a gun?"

"Protection." she muttered, returning her hand to stoke the cat.

"You got a license for that?"

"Special access." she replied, holding the gun up to his eye level to get a good look, with emphasis on the "special" just to annoy him. She held his gaze for a few seconds before returning her attention to the friendlier life form in the room.

"Really?" he growled. He glowered as Rose continued to scratch behind the car's ear making it purr with delight. Bloody woman, Alec thought. If she keeps ignoring me… Minx.

"Look, I know you have a problem with me, but don't take it out on Ellie." he told her, marching to the crates.

"I won't. I'll just take it out on you." Rose looked up at him and fixed him with a smirk.

"Oh, that's mature."

"Just following your lead." Rose countered.

Alec crossed his arms and sniffed the air. "Seen anything?" he asked, his tone serious.

"Nothing out the ordinary. Do you believe her?" Alec arched an eyebrow at her, so she carried on. "Becky – the girl – she said she saw a monster."

"Oh, I believe in monsters." he replied. "But the ones I know don't have don't have green skin. There are enough of them of this rock."

She nodded. "Aren't there just."

Rose's hand suddenly felt empty as the cat brushed against her one last time, leapt off the crates and disappeared up the stairs and out of sight, it's tail in the air.

"Looks like your companion left you." Alec muttered.

"I don't need one," Rose retorted. "Do you?"

A loud hiss alerted them the cat was in danger, without a word, Rose followed the noise to the back alley with Alec hot on her heels. The torch led the way, they rounded a corner and to their disgust found the cat's mangled body on the floor. A large bite mark was visible on the neck, the head only just attached.

Moving the light around, Rose frantically searched for the green smoke, but nothing turned up. It was still there, lurking in the darkness. It's dark green skin gave the alien an advantage being able to blend in, but Rose knew what to look for. If only she could get rid of the man standing next to her. Alec bent down and regarded the body.

"What kind of sicko does this?" Alec pondered out loud. He took out his phone and began to dial.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked.

"Calling backup." he replied.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," A low voice boomed. "Things could get messy."

Rose and Alec looked up the sky to see a dark figure materialising in front of them. The creature stood on top of the pub's roof, his hood covering his face, but the cat's blood had stained his pearly white teeth.

Never in all his life had Alec seen something so revolting. He swallowed his fears and stepped closer to get a better look at the murder suspect. He had always believed in the law, but there wasn't a protocol for this. "My name is DI Hardy, I would like to talk to you about a murder inquiry."

The creature laughed, sending a shiver up Rose's spine. She pointed her gun at his head, but her hands were shaking so much she had to use both otherwise she would never achieve a clear shot.

"Do you intend to shoot me, little girl?" he asked her.

"If I have to." Rose said, keeping her eyes on him. He could teleport at any second, and they were vulnerable even if they ran. What would be the point? If Alec was to call the police or Jack, it wouldn't help. They were stranded with no chance of escape.

Alec stood in front of Rose, so the suspect would focus solely on him. He might be fighting with Rose at the moment, but the image of her being hurt is not one he would like to entertain. Rose lowered her arm slightly, but her eyes were fixed on her target.

"Where is the Captain?" Faricus asked, crouching down.

"Not here." Alec said, confused.

Faricus glared at the tiny human blocking his view of the girl. How dare he speak when not spoken to. Shouldn't humans know who to behave in front of their betters.

"I wasn't talking to you, meat sack." he bellowed.

Feeling brave, Rose placed her hand over Alec's, gently squeezing his, letting him know it was okay but he refused to budge. So instead Rose stepped forward, lowering her gun to her side.

"I'm on my own." she confirmed. "My boss isn't here."

Alec's eyes widened. She did know more than she was letting on. He prayed that she wasn't involved with the killers. Every possible scenario ran through his head like a train with no breaks. There was no end to how thoughts washed over him. Who was Rose Tyler? Was she an innocent girl who was trying to help him or was she a twisted sick individual playing games?

Faricus took a moment before replying, "Good."

He disappeared in a puff of smoke, making Alec jump. Rose lifted her gun and spun on the spot, the torch-light searching for the creature.

"Where did it go?" Rose asked, desperately.

Alec was thankful that he had his pacemaker otherwise his heart would never be able to keep up the ever-changing situation since he met Rose. He turned his back to Rose as he studied the dark, but found nothing.

Faricus' voice broke the eerie silence as he leaned in close to the Torchwood agent and whispered. "It will amuse me to watch your friend find your corpse."

Claws dug into her shoulder as Faricus lifted and sent Rose the flying back into the wall, her ribs cracking against the brick work. The familiar pain seared through her body and she had to bite her lip from screaming.

Faricus cackled, but almost forgot about the officer. Alec tackled him to the ground, and cracked his fist against his bloody jaw. Rose's sight was blurry but she felt a familiar warmth as Alec's hand grabbed her and led her away from danger.

Faricus pulled himself to his feet and watched his dinner escape, but there was in no hurry. More blood pumping through the meat always seemed to give it a better taste. He took one last look around the alley and then the familiar cloud of smoke covered his body.

Hurried footsteps rushed along the path and headed back to the cellar. The stairs creaked under their weight and Alec shut the doors behind them. They waited for a moment in silence, their heavy breathing being the only thing filling the air.

Alec rounded onto Rose, her hand over her shoulder. "What the fuck was that?"

"Your killer." she said, simply. There was no point in lying anymore. "Well, one of them." she corrected.

His eyes studied her face. She had to be lying.

"That can't be— that wasn't-." he stammered. He was now having the same reaction as Becky.

"Wasn't what?"

"A normal person couldn't move like that, it's impossible." he declared.

"Exactly."

He thinned his lips, his brown eyes becoming darker by the second. "A human shouldn't be able to do that."

"Exactly." she repeated, waiting for him to catch up. She knew he was a good detective, he had all the pieces in front of him, but he had to put the puzzle together.

"You're not making any sense, Rose." he said, vulnerability shining through his voice.

"I know." Rose avoided his gaze, before adding. "We need to move again or it will find us."

Before Alec could ask how, they heard a quiet scratching noise coming from outside. Farcius has tracked them to the cellar and was now dragging his claws along the wood.

The daring blonde's breath hitched.

"I can smell you." he teased.

Rose slid her hand under her jacket and felt a warm liquid coming from her stitches. Shit, he can smell the blood. Any moment he could teleport inside, but he wouldn't. If he had wanted to kill them, he would have done. Why are they playing this game? The door began to shake and Alec backed away from the stairs, instinctively stood in front of Rose again.

"Get out." he whispered, his back to her.

"What?" she whispered back.

"You can run back to the police and bring back help. I'll slow it down."

"By doing what? Ranting at it to death?"

"Rose, just go." His voice was getting angry. Why did she never listen?

"I'm not leaving you." she hissed.

Farcius' claws grazed the door three more times, before his hunger took him over. He closed his eyes and within a second, he was inside the cellar. The smell of blood overwhelmed his senses. His nose led him behind the kegs where he discovered a leather jacket soaked with blood. He glanced around to see a couple of blood stained handprints, one of them the door handle leading back to the pub.

Even shrouded in near darkness and with the dim light above, Rose could see her enemy as she and Alec were crouched behind the crates. For once she was thankful for the deafening noise above.

BANG!

BANG!

Two bullets flew through the air, one hitting the alien's knee and the other hitting his abdomen. He shrieked in pain, spinning around to see Rose aiming the gun at his head.

He growled at her, holding his stomach. Black blood oozed from the injury, soaking his robes.

"I won't hesitate again." The Bad Wolf said.

Defeated, Farcius backed away from her and with a roar disappeared into a green puff of smoke.

Rose sighed, hardly believing her plan worked. At least she hadn't sustained the wounds for nothing. Clever thinking on my part, she thought. Alec trusted her enough to let her go ahead with her plan but what she couldn't see was the look of pain and disgust on his face when he saw her blood soaked t – shirt.

"Where did it go?" he asked, his warm eyes on her.

"Probably back to its base to regroup." Rose told him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, tilting his head to get a better angle of her shoulder. Rose gave him a small smile. "I'm okay, really. Looks worse than it is." She laughed nervously, but his gaze didn't waver from hers, but instead he slowly walked towards her until they were face to face. She felt his breath against her skin making them realise how close they were to each other.

Rose swallowed, feeling her face flush. "Thanks for letting me take charge, I thought the blood might distract him for a moment."

"What just happened?" he demanded.

"The ground just shrank." she muttered to herself, echoing her thoughts her the previous night. "Do you need really want to know?"

"Yeah, I do." he told her, his voice soft. "But not right this second."

A look of confusion rippled over Rose's face until Alec pressed his lips to hers.