"You look amazing Rose. I didn't know what to get you for your birthday so I got you this."
He went to the top drawer and brought out a present wrapped in silver paper with a pink bow and handed it to her.
She sat on the edge of the bed, Alec sat beside her. She looked beautiful to him as he kissed her neck and then her shoulder. Rose unwrapped the gift carefully revealing a box which she opened and inside was a silver and glass photo frame with the photo Alec had taken when they went to Edinburgh for the day the week before of them by a fountain with the castle in the background. Rose looked at it and Alec had written 'To Rose with all my love, Alec' at the bottom.
She put it down beside her and turned to him and took his tie off and unfastened his shirt buttons, running her fingers across his chest.
"It's perfect Alec, thank you. We can put it in our new place when we find somewhere. I have a present for you as well since I missed your birthday."
"You didn't have to, you didn't know me then. Besides, I have everything right here that I could ever want. You gave me my life back Rose and seeing you, dressed just like that makes me very happy."
Rose kissed him and got up, going over to the bottom dresser drawer and taken out a wrapped present and handed it to him. It was a wristwatch, engraved with his name on the back 'To Alec from Rose'.
He put it on, taking off his other one, then put his arms around her and whispered, "Can I unwrap my other present now?" as he put his arms around her and kissed her neck.
"Well that was the intention when I went out and bought these this morning," came the reply.
The next morning, Rose packed some more of her things, bringing her two cases back with her to fill up. She was going to get anything else when they had found a place to live, they had extended their stay at the B&B. After saying goodbye again, Pete took them to the station and they were on their way back to Glasgow.
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Over the next few weeks, Alec's divorce was going through, they went to see two apartments, one overlooking the river which Alec wasn't keen on but Rose seemed to like it but they settled on a two bedroom house, just to rent for the time being with a view to buying it eventually. Jake was setting up Torchwood, Rose was spending time between moving into their new home and helping Jake. They were lucky that the owner of the house was leaving the country and leaving all fittings and furnishings so they had nothing to buy, Rose loved it but just wanted to change a few things. Alec put his house up for sale and had got a day's visit with his daughter, taking her out every Saturday and really wanted her to meet Rose but they decided to keep it quiet until everything was settled.
Two month's later, Alec's divorce came through and they went out to celebrate, the house was sold and they were going to keep the money until they decided if they wanted to buy the house they were renting or somewhere different and Alec said he would give some money to Daisy when she reached 21. Slowly, Alec had introduced Daisy to Rose, first as a friend and someone he was working with, which was true as they talked often with Alec being the Police liaison with Torchwood but in general, they didn't see each other during the day.
Alec was feeling happier and they decided to go away for a week to Spain in September and when they came back Rose discovered she was pregnant four weeks later. Alec was over the moon as now Daisy had accepted Rose as her dad's girlfriend. They carried on renting while looking for a bigger place so Daisy could come and visit at the weekend and Rose cut down her hours at Torchwood, doing some work from home.
They went down to London for Christmas, Alec getting some extra time off and since they were driving, they would able to take some more of Rose's belongings back with them. Jackie had given birth to a boy, Anthony, Tony for short and Rose was making a fuss of him since she was now 3 months but even though Alec was now divorced, they had decided not to say anything to Jackie about it and they hadn't talked about getting married. That was what Rose thought. Alec had a big surprise for her on Christmas Eve.
Jackie and Pete had got one of the staff to babysit Tony and they all went out to a top London restaurant. Alec had already spoken to Pete even though he wasn't her real father but he wanted to do it properly and as they finished their meal, Pete had ordered some champagne and looked across the table at Alec who took his prompt and got up. Rose and Jackie stared at him as he took Rose's hand and stepping around the back of her chair, put his hand in the top pocket of his jacket and brought out a ring box.
Rose just gasped as he opened the box and took her ring finger. "Rose, will you marry me?" he simply asked.
Rose was lost for words. She hadn't been expecting anything, he had only just got his divorce, she didn't know he was ready to get married again. Everyone was looking at Alec who by now had gone down on one knee to put the ring on her finger and the whole restaurant was watching them, including the waiters who had stopped what they were doing. He stood up again, motioning for Rose to stand as well, waiting for her answer.
"You mean everything to me Rose, please say you will."
Rose looked at him, his brown eyes almost had a tear in them. She loved him so much, how could she say no?
"Yes Alec, I will marry you, you're everything to me too."
With that, he pushed the ring all the way onto her finger then leaned down to kiss her as everyone clapped and cheered, leaving the two of them blushing when they finished kissing.
Christmas Day, they had Jake and his friend over and Mickey accepted their invitation, congratulating Alec and Rose on their engagement and on the baby and they drove back to Glasgow the day after Boxing Day so they could see Daisy and she spent New Years Day with them. She was excited about having a baby brother or sister after they explained it to her.
They had a simple wedding the following April on Alec's birthday with the Tyler's travelling to Glasgow because Rose was getting sick all the time at this stage. They had a private wedding at a top hotel and they had to finally confess to Jackie that Alec had been married before. Surprisingly, she didn't go crazy as Alec thought she would have done mainly because of her daughter's current condition but she more than made up for it by taking charge of the wedding and keeping Alec and Rose apart the night before and the few hours the morning of the wedding. They couldn't go far for their honeymoon, they just went to the edge of Loch Ness for a week with Alec promising they would take a proper one once the baby arrived but Rose said she was content.
It was during their night apart before the wedding that Pete had a good talk with Alec, revealing things to him about Rose's past that she wouldn't talk about and about what really happened the night the Cybermen had invaded the Tyler mansion. Alec was amazed at the things Rose had done in an effort to save Pete's first wife and Pete explained that he probably owed his life to Rose for saving him that night and that he thought he could never repay her. Alec promised he wouldn't tell Rose but said she had saved his life too, in many ways. Pete also told him about her tearful goodbye at Bad Wolf Bay and told him the Norwegian name for it - D rlig Ulv-Stranden and how to get to it if ever Alec thought he would want to take Rose there. He also told him about The Doctor and his time machine though if Alec had heard it from anyone else he would have had them locked up.
It was during that talk that Alec realised why Rose had been reluctant when they had first met at promising him forever because if she had promised that to this Doctor and had been literally torn away from him he could see why. He also promised Pete he would take great care of her and the baby and he told Pete he had finally made sense of all the things that had been troubling him and that he had always thought since meeting Rose that they were meant to be together and if The Doctor had been watching over them, he was seeing that Rose was finally happy.
Rose gave birth to a girl in June, just before her own birthday and just a year after they had met and they called her Flora after Alec had decided he had a thing for girls names that were also flowers, Rose said she could have told him that all along. Alec was present for the birth, holding her hand and calming her down. They were in the process of buying a house which they thought would be quicker since they had the money and they didn't have a house to sell but it was still taking a while. Pete had insisted on putting some money towards it so they could get a nice house but they were managing in their rented one. The owners were a bit upset they weren't buying it at first but when Alec had explained Rose was pregnant and his daughter would be staying weekends, they were okay.
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On Flora's 2nd birthday, the Tyler's travelled up to Glasgow so they could all celebrate and Daisy wouldn't be left out. They were trying to persuade her to live with them when she was old enough but she was still undecided as she loved both her parents but had promised once she turned 16 she would spend more time with them.
Alec had put in for a promotion but was still waiting to hear about it and it was then that fate dealt them a cruel blow. It was just after his youngest daughter's birthday, Rose had found out she was five weeks pregnant, blaming it on Alec for getting her to have too much to drink the night of her birthday and she had forgotten to take her pill and Alec saying she was just as much to blame as he was until they both laughed.
Alec was called in early one morning, his promotion was still being considered and Rose had said to get Pete to get them moving but Alec wanted to do it on his own merits. Two young girls had gone missing.
Rose was horrified when she found out. Alec had not been able to call her and she never rang him at work unless it was an emergency and she saw him on the evening news. Alec was spending more time at the Police Station, Flora was always in bed when he got home and all he wanted to do was go to bed with Rose trying to comfort him. The first night he came home he was devastated and told Rose not to let Flora out of her sight for a second and if they went out she was to take her in the pushchair even if she wanted to walk and only to go where there were plenty of people and always get a taxi.
What made it worse was he couldn't seek too much comfort in his wife with her being pregnant but he understood and Rose felt really bad for him and tried her best. Then after a few months, they had a break in the case, some evidence was found and they thought they had solved it but the evidence was lost. Alec was devastated again, the evidence had been lost by his ex-wife.
She got reprimanded for losing it and Alec, who had been in charge of the operation got his promotion turned down because she was his responsibility but he didn't lose his rank but it would hold him back. It was almost Christmas, they were going down to London taking Daisy and Flora with them as Daisy's mother was now losing interest in the girl and she was spending more time with her dad and stepmother and step-sister and she would be fifteen next year and could make her own mind up.
Jackie immediately took to Daisy, treating her like her own granddaughter and fussed after Flora who was now two and a half and everywhere, chasing after her slightly older uncle Tony and Alec had despaired trying to explain the situation to Daisy how someone so young could be an uncle and was glad he didn't have to explain it to Tony. Tony had a passion for Police cars so Alec had got him a replica of a Glasgow Police car that couldn't be bought in any store and he spent all day charging up and changing the batteries in it as it was always Alec that he went to.
The previous Christmas, Flora hadn't take a lot of notice but now she was, Alec was almost in tears at watching her and Rose knew he had almost given up at having a proper family where they all loved each other and as they went to bed on Christmas night, Rose snuggled up as close as she could get and although she fell asleep in his arms like she always did, Alec did actually cry though he would never have admitted it to her.
They had got back home after Alec taking extra time off for the New Year to find he had somehow been reconsidered for his promotion and Rose suspected Pete had something to do with it. The only problem was, they would have to move to a place in Dorset called Broadchurch.
Alec couldn't believe it and he told Rose that when he had been a boy, his parents had taken him on holiday there. Rose said it wouldn't be too bad, they would be nearer her parents but Alec was worried about losing Daisy. Rose said there was only one thing for it, talk to his ex about taking Daisy on full time and for her to live with them permanently. Daisy was almost 15, loved her baby sister to death and would do anything for her, a fact that Rose had put down to her never having any siblings when growing up and not having a real family environment so they talked about it with her and she agreed that she would go with them then go visit her mother during the long school holidays and Alec said he would take her up there and bring her back. All they had to do was get Tess to agree which surprisingly she did and Rose thought she wasn't much of a mother to her then but she had some room to talk, she had gone off with The Doctor when she was nineteen despite her mother asking her not to go.
Alec put the house up for sale, after accepting the promotion and they arranged to rent a holiday cottage in Broadchurch for three months but Daisy and Flora would have to share but before they set off, Alec had a surprise for Rose. It was his last chance to take her to Bad Wolf Bay. So he packed them all up, strapped Flora in her car seat and told them he was taking them somewhere. Daisy couldn't go with them because of school and they were going to move to Broadchurch during the next school holidays and get her a place in the local one when they got there.
Alec had the route all planned out, where to get the ferry and the route and as soon as they arrived at the ferry port Rose suspected something although there were a few places they could have been travelling to. Flora was fascinated with the large ferries and Alec bought her a toy one while they were waiting to board. Then once on board Rose tried to get him to say where they were going but he refused to give it away. She even tried to bribe him but it didn't work.
They finally drove off the ferry, there were several routes they could have taken but Rose suddenly remembered where she was although the last time, Pete had taken a different route to get there.
"Alec, I know where you're taking us, how did you even know about it?"
He tried to deny it. "Taking you where Rose? I've always wanted to come up here and it's our last chance since were moving down to the south coast soon. Aren't you going to be cold in that jacket?"
Rose looked at her jacket, it was the only one that sort of fitted now. She wasn't being as sick this time around and she didn't have long to go now and hoped she would make it to Broadchurch without stopping off at a hospital on the way.
The tell-tale signs were obvious to Rose as they got nearer their destination. The heater was on in the car for Flora who was happily playing with her toy ferry in the kiddie seat and after a while, Rose knew exactly where she was and now Alec would know the truth despite hearing it from his father-in-law. As they approached the spot Rose was choking back the tears.
"D rlig Ulv Stranden" was all she said and Alec knew as she said it perfectly, not the translation and that he had been right, it held a special place in her heart that he could never have. He could have every single part of her but one and it would always belong to The Doctor.
Alec stopped the car and got out, he intended leaving Flora in the car as it was cold and knew that Rose probably shouldn't get out either but she needed to do this. He went around the car to help Rose out and she looked at him.
"Pete told you didn't he?"
"On the night before our wedding. He told me everything he knew Rose but he never told me about the parts where you were with The Doctor, he said only you could tell me that but he knew you never would and I can accept that Rose, I accept there will always be a part of you that will belong to him. I just wanted to bring you here one last time to say I love you Rose, I loved you the day I met you and we have a wonderful life together, one I thought I could never have but you and Flora and Daisy and soon another child, it was beyond my hopes. I'm not asking you to let go, I'm not asking you to forget him because I know you never will. I wanted to bring you here so you could say goodbye to your old life and ask you not to look back on what you lost but to look forward to our future. Can you do that Rose? I want all of you, completely and if you can't, well at least I tried and nothing will change, we have a new baby coming soon, another addition to the Hardy family. Can you give me all of you Rose?"
Rose was in tears, just like she had been all that time ago in almost the exact same spot. Over the last few years she'd had the life she wanted, the one The Doctor could never have given her or even had himself. There was still a tiny part of her she couldn't give to her husband and she so wanted to but something had been stopping her her guilt at telling The Doctor she loved him then a few weeks later meeting Alec and falling in love with him. She had promised Alec that if she ever got the chance to go back that she would never leave him. Alec was right, this was the place to finally let go and there was nowhere better and no better time to do it. She could remember The Doctor in so many ways, she could tell Alec everything they did and about their travels and where he came from because she knew now she could tell him.
"Alec, can you give me a moment alone? Just check that Flora's okay, she must wonder what the two of us are doing out here."
Alec knew why, Rose wanted to say goodbye on her own and he could live with that if he could have the part of her she was holding back.
"Take all the time you need Sweetheart, I'll just see to Flora."
It was difficult but she put her arms around him and kissed him long and deeply then whispered, "I love you Alec."
"I love you too Rose, every single part of me loves you."
He let her go and walked towards the car, Flora still playing with the toy ferry and talking to herself and Alec smiled at his youngest daughter. He never imagined he would get another chance of having another daughter let alone another arriving soon. Meeting Rose had been a miracle and now he just hoped she could finally let go of her mysterious past.
Rose was staring out at the water, imagining the Tardis was stood in front of her and The Doctor was standing in the doorway with that stupid grin of his, calling her to hurry up so they could get to their next adventure. This time she told herself she wasn't going and he went back inside and the Tardis began to fade from view. Tears were streaming down her face. He had simply gone back inside without either of them saying a word until there as suddenly an echo, very clear that Rose thought it was real.
The Doctor's voice sounded loud and clear. "I'll always love you Rose Tyler, I could never give you a life like the one you have with Alec Hardy so be happy, bring up your family and remember me and have a fantastic life."
Then the voice was gone and she realised Alec was standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders and his face at the side of hers.
"How long have you been standing there Alec?" she asked through her tears.
"Long enough Rose, long enough to hear what was said."
"You heard his voice?" Rose gasped as she thought only she had heard it.
"Yes, I heard him. Come back in the car Rose, it's freezing out here and just to prove I did hear him, you could do what he asked and be happy, with me, Flora and Daisy and the baby in our new home in Broadchurch."
He helped her back to the car and got in himself, reaching over to give Flora's tiny hand a little squeeze and said "Flora, let's get back on the ferry and go home and soon we'll have a new house by the sea and you can look at boats all day long."
Then he turned to Rose. "Rose, I'll make a deal with you. I'll get over my fear of the water and yes I know I got us here on the ferry as much as I hated it and you tell me about your life with The Doctor. Deal?"
Rose turned to her husband. It was now or never. Alec was getting over his worst fear for her.
"Deal. His time machine, it was called The Tardis and it was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside and it was in the shape of a Police telephone box."
That was her big mistake.
"What's a Police telephone box?" Alec asked.
Rose nudged him playfully. "Well it seems I have a captive audience then doesn't it? How long a journey is it back home then?"
Alec smiled. He knew he had all of her now and he would get to know her past finally. Rose didn't have to say anything to him, he just simply knew.
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Rose gave birth to a boy and named him Jack after she told Alec about her old friend that used to travel with her a few weeks after their visit to Bad Wolf Bay, having just made the journey to Broadchurch and they had to put the baby's cot in their room with Flora and Daisy sharing a room and they finally sold their house in Glasgow and they moved just outside the town near the sea so Flora could watch the boats and Rose and Daisy would take Flora and Jack to the beach every day during the summer.
Alec had become the town's new Detective Chief Inspector working with a newly promoted DI Miller who Rose became good friends with. Alec had never looked back at his decision the day he first saw Rose in that conference room to leave his first wife and now he had everything he ever wanted. Rose gave Alec every single part of her with just a special place for The Doctor and began telling Alec all about their adventures together, starting with the day she had met him when he rescued her and told her just one word run!
The end!