"No I don't think so, take the weekend off. What time did you say for tomorrow evening?"
"You can come around for seven thirty if you like."
"Fine. Do you need me to bring anything? Wine perhaps?"
"Yeah, great. Red will be okay. I won't make Chinese since we had that the other night. How about Italian?"
"Italian is good. Goodnight then Tyler."
Rose had to smile. She was inviting him for a home-made dinner and he still calls her Tyler.
She went to do the shopping the next morning and bumped into Ellie again.
"Rose, I thought you would want to talk to my Tom, no-one came back to us about it."
"There's a lot to go through Ellie, no-one had passed it to us yet but I'll mention it to DI Hardy on Monday morning."
"Did you take my advice and offer to make him a Chinese meal?"
Rose thought it was best that no-one knew they had been out on Thursday night and technically she was not telling lies, she hadn't yet made him a meal.
"I don't think it's a good idea Ellie, not with us working together."
Ellie got the hint and left Rose to do her shopping. Rose spent the rest of the afternoon looking through various recipes online with the ingredients she had bought and came across a fairly simple one and set to work on it. Her mother had called again, saying Mickey was complaining she had put him off again. She tried to reason with her but she said she should give Mickey another chance. Rose said maybe after the investigation was over.
She went to get changed and chose a red dress with thin straps and low heeled shoes and waited for her guest. The meal was almost ready and her doorbell went just before seven thirty. She let Hardy in and noticed he was wearing his suit but without a tie. He had his hands full carrying a bottle of red wine under his arm, a box of chocolates and in his other hand were a bunch of assorted yellow and white flowers.
"Hi, are those all for me? Thanks."
She took the flowers and chocolates, putting them on the table by the door.
"I'm a little out of practice, I wasn't sure to bring flowers or chocolates so I thought I would play it safe. You knew about the wine."
Rose smiled and carried the flowers to the kitchen. She came back out with a bottle opener and a lighter for the candles.
"Can you open the wine bottle and light the candles please?"
"Sure, it's not dark yet though."
"I know but I was going to close the blinds, you can see over from the seafront," she replied as she made a point of pulling them over. "Besides, it adds to the ambience."
Hardy just nodded, probably wondering what he had let himself in for.
Rose brought the meals in, she had decided on spaghetti and home-made meatballs and just hoped he like it. Hardy poured the wine and tasted his meal.
"Quite good," he remarked. "So I guess for the purposes of this evening, I could stretch to calling you Rose, if you insist on first names."
He actually offered Rose a smile.
She smiled back. What could they possibly find to talk about? Hardy made her mind up for her. She had wanted to know why he got the job offered to her so he told her and when he'd finished, she actually felt sorry for him.
"Sorry Alec, I didn't know. I had no idea but you were cleared, weren't you?"
"Yes but I had to lay low somewhere after I was cleared, two other officers were involved, including my ex so you can see I was eager to leave even though we had already divorced. The DS she was cheating on me with was getting rather nasty when it all came out and they both got reprimanded for it."
"I can see why they were upset then, letting you take the blame and them thinking they had got away with it. They shouldn't have let you take the fall for it."
"It was that or my daughter would have been devastated. She lived with her mother even after our divorce but I don't know how it's affected her, she won't talk to me."
Hardy went quiet, sipping from his glass of wine.
Rose decided it was time to change the subject.
"Can I get you something else? I've got this really nice Italian desert and maybe some tea or coffee?"
"Sounds okay but tea, I only drink a certain brand of coffee."
"So are you Starbucks or Costa?" Rose laughed.
"The second one."
"Me two, I have to go down to Weymouth if I get a craving for some. I keep meaning to get one of those coffee makers and get their blend of coffee but it would go to waste now no-one hardly visits. My mum only comes down occasionally and well, you know about my ex."
Rose could have sworn she heard him say that he would come round if she got a coffee machine but as she was going through to the kitchen, she could have misheard him.
After dessert, Rose was rather at a loss as to how to entertain her boss and put some music on, a CD of sentimental and love songs, most of her other music was rather up-beat and she didn't think the detective would be impressed by it. As they sat with Rose on the sofa and Hardy on the chair drinking tea, Rose asked him if he wanted to dance.
To her surprise he put his cup down and got up and Rose thought he was going to take the huff and leave but he held his hand out to help her from the sofa. As they danced to various female artists, Hardy kept his distance, holding her at arms length at first until Rose suggested some more wine and when they got up to dance to a second CD he moved closer. By his third glass of wine, the music had got slower and she could feel him breathing on her neck and wasn't sure whether to tell him to back off or not until he realised and backed off by himself. Rose let him at first but edged her way nearer, it had been a long time since she had danced with a man, not counting Mickey, who liked to show off on the dance floor.
It was after ten when Hardy announced he should go after the third CD.
"I really should leave now, thanks for dinner, you're a fairly good cook Rose Tyler," he said, reaching for his jacket he had taken off before the first CD had finished.
Rose had been able to tell he wore a t-shirt under his white shirt and was rather disappointed but shook it off, she should not be having such thoughts about her grumpy boss but she had seen a new side to him. He'd managed not to call her Tyler all evening. Rose walked him to the door.
"So, thanks for the chocolates and the flowers, no-one ever buys me flowers. If you're not busy tomorrow, I was thinking of going down to Weymouth, we could go get coffee."
Hardy thought about it. Apparently it had been some time since he had tasted his favourite coffee.
"Well, okay then you can twist my arm."
"Great, I can pick you up outside your hotel say 11am?"
"Fine. I'll be waiting a little further down, don't want to give people the wrong idea."
"So you don't want to be seen with me then?"
Hardy shook his head. "It's not that and you know it. Look at Thursday night, people know who we are. It's one thing to be seen during working hours or even at lunchtime or early evening but off duty? It's a small town Rose, people gossip. Goodnight then, I'll see you at eleven, meet me outside the market hall."
Rose opened the door. "Goodnight Alec."
Hardy reached for her hand and kissed the back of it again and Rose raised herself up and kissed his cheek. She had just closed the door, thinking that maybe they were getting a bit too familiar with each other when the doorbell rang again. She looked through the spyhole in the door to see Hardy standing there and she opened the door.
"Did you forget something?" she asked, looking at him.
Hardy didn't say anything before he moved closer, pushed her up against the door-frame and kissed her.
"Yes," he said as he pulled away.
Then he turned away and headed for the stairs, leaving a rather stunned Rose in the doorway. She didn't know what to make of it. Was it just the three glasses of wine he'd had? He'd certainly loosened up since his second glass. She tried to forget about it as she locked the door and went to bed.
The next morning, she set off to go pick up Hardy from in front of the market hall. She found him looking at a poster on the wall and waited for him to turn around. On the way down they didn't talk much, Rose thought she'd had enough of the silence and wondered if he regretted or even remembered he had actually kissed her last night.
"So, what was that all about last night? You coming back and kissing me then walking away."
He sat there silently, not knowing what to say.
"Does it need talking about? If I remember correctly, you did kiss me back."
"So I did. It was hardly expected, you caught me by surprise. Did you think I was going to slap you or something?"
"It did cross my mind. We've done nothing but argue since I arrived. To tell you the truth, it wouldn't have surprised me if you had slapped me and told me to get lost."
Rose dropped the subject. She was barely out of a relationship with Mickey, let alone courting danger with her new boss. Was it crossing the line of not getting involved with a work colleague? It could still be salvaged if they made nothing of it. She would wait for him to make the next move, if he ever did and if not, it had been nice to say the least. Hardy did not seem the type to give something up once he started.
Rose parked near the centre of the town, resisting the urge to put the police sign on the dashboard, thinking Hardy would not approve until she went to get a ticket from the machine and he pointed to the sign. Rose just smiled and stuck the ticket to the windscreen thinking he could have pointed that out before she went to the machine that he thought it was justified to use it.
Rose headed straight for the famous coffee shop that sported the red logo and went to sit in the outdoor area.
"Have you tried the vanilla flavoured coffee Alec?" she asked as he stood there.
"No, is that what you want?"
"Yeah and ask for it in a takeaway carton, I don't like the cups. My mum thinks they're like soup bowls."
Hardy stood for a moment, shook his head and went inside, returning a few minutes later with two medium size red cartons with lids. Taking a sip of his, he agreed the new flavour was ok.
Rose dragged him around the various shops she wanted to go in, he refused point blank to go into the discount store and they went back to the car to put her shopping away with the intent of walking along the seafront. Halfway along they stopped to get some lunch and then walked to the end and sat down.
Rose looked over towards the other end of the promenade and pointed out the ferry terminal.
"I don't like boats," Hardy remarked.
"I'd noticed that since you wouldn't get out to examine Mark Latimer's," Rose laughed.
Suddenly, Hardy took hold of her hand.
"There is a reason, maybe I'll tell you sometime. Do you want to go anywhere else?"
"Nope, all finished unless you want another coffee."
Hardy said he did so they walked back, Hardy grabbing her hand and got two vanilla coffees to go and walked back to the car. Hardy insisted on driving but Rose only let him once he reassured her he was covered for insurance.
"I'm tired of being driven around all day. How do you use this satnav?" he asked as he turned it on then pushed the drivers seat back and tugged at the steering wheel.
Rose was going to have to sort it out in the morning and put the seat back. Him and his long legs. She reached over and pressed the 'Home' button and the screen changed. She'd had enough of the silence on the way down so turning on the radio, she started singing along with Hardy glancing at her in the mirror.
They pulled up outside Rose's apartment and she went to retrieve the carrier bags from the boot of the car and as she pulled it closed, Mickey was standing there. She hadn't noticed his car parked across the road and he'd got out as Hardy was standing behind the car waiting to pass the car keys back to her. She was just about to hand one of the bags to him in exchange for the keys when she heard a "Hello Rose, where have you been?" and Mickey standing with his arms crossed.
Just at that second, Hardy chose to come out with, "Shall I take these up for you?" before he realised anyone was standing there.
He looked at Rose and then at the man standing by the passenger door.
"Mickey, what are you doing here?" she gasped, handing the bag to Hardy and taking her keys.
"I could ask him the same thing Rose, who's he then?"
"This is my boss, Alec Hardy. Alec, this is Mickey Smith, my ex."
Hardy did not look impressed with Mickey, in scruffy jeans and a purple t-shirt and asked if Mickey wanted something.
"What I want is to talk to Rose alone."
"Just say what you have to say and go Mickey, I did tell you not to come down."
"Yeah, I can see why now. I thought you were going to give me another chance?"
"I said I would think about it but what am I supposed to do when I'm in the middle of an investigation? I can't think about both. Just go home Mickey, I've made my mind up. I told you to wait until it was over but no, you had to drive all the way down here. Well you wasted your time, you didn't give me time to think about it."
"Yeah, well while I was giving you time to think about it, what were you doing?"
"Just go Mickey, I've got nothing more to say to you."
Rose remote locked the car and tried to step round Mickey, who was now blocking the way. Hardy stared at him, handed the bag he had taken from Rose back to her and approached him.
"Are you going to move?"
Mickey stood, still crossing his arms.
Hardy got his phone out.
"You have 10 seconds, then I have a squad car here in less than a minute."
Mickey stood to one side and Hardy gestured for Rose to pass.
"Bother her again and I'll follow up on my promise," Hardy snarled.
Rose was beginning to think Hardy would be getting tired of sticking up for her all the time. She was supposed to be able to take care of herself and she would have done if she had been on her own. She didn't want to give him the wrong impression that she had grown up on a rough and ready London council estate.
Mickey wasn't about to give up easily.
"I'll be back Rose, when you haven't got your so-called boss with you. I know what your game is Hardy. I suppose you've both been out 'working' then?"
Hardy was trying to keep his cool but was fast losing it. Trying to ignore the infuriating annoying man and not to start a street brawl just yards away from the vehicle entrance to the Police Station, Hardy followed Rose into the entryway to the apartments. Trust Mickey not to just let it rest and go home.
"You'll come crawling back Rose and don't think it will be so easy next time."
Rose lost her temper. "Excuse me, you're the one that does the crawling. How many times have I told you to get lost when you wanted to watch football and I wanted to go out? Just go Mickey, I won't be crawling back so don't hold your breath."
She opened the door to the foyer and Hardy let it close behind him.
"I'll be up in a moment Rose, I just want a word with your friend out there."
"Don't Alec, it's just what he wants. He likes picking fights and he'll get you to lose your temper then put a complaint in against you and I don't want you getting into trouble."
He changed his mind and heeded her words, thinking things were bad enough as it was. Rose let them into her apartment and went into the kitchen. Hardy followed her.
"I'll just wait a while, make sure he's gone so I don't run into him. I may not be so polite the next time."
He sat down on one of the chairs.
"Just be your usual gruff self then, that should fix him," Rose laughed.
"Oh, so you think I'm gruff then? Is that why you invite me to dinner then drive all that way to get coffee? I don't know why you bother with me, you're forever insinuating I'm rude and infuriating."
Rose let out a giggle. "Yeah, I don't know why I bother with you either, you're like a grizzly bear sometimes."
Hardy got up and walked up behind her as she switched the kettle on. Suddenly, he grabbed hold of her waist and she could feel his breath on her neck again.
"So it was you who told everyone to call me DI Grumpy then?" he asked, tightening his hold then spinning her around to face him.
"You got me! Well you are grumpy. You, DI Hardy, need to lighten up a bit."
She put her arms around his neck.
She looked at him and wondered what he looked like without that scruffy beard and more importantly, without his shirt and t-shirt. She wasn't going to have to wait long for the second bit.
"Oh, I do, do I Tyler?" he laughed, putting his arms back around her waist and pulling her closer until she was almost leaning on him.
Rose looked up at him. "Is there some unwritten rule that says you have to keep snapping at everyone?"
He backed off slightly but Rose followed him, wanting an answer.
"Let me tell you something Rose. I trusted my team and they let me down, well two of them did. They betrayed me, my wife cheated on me, she was part of that team and I can't allow it to happen again. We have a murder to solve and maybe, just maybe when it's all over with, I might back off and lighten up as you put it but I can't afford to let my personal feelings get the better of me again and treat my team with kid gloves. I don't work like that any more."
He let go of her and stood at arms length.
"I'm sorry Rose, I should go now. If Mickey is still outside, I'll try not to get into a fight with him, for your sake. I can look after myself."
"Alec, do you have to go just yet?" she asked, touching his arm and realising she had liked being close to him.
"It's best I go, like I said, it's not good to get too close to the people you work with. I had a nice day out today, thanks for taking me."
He turned but Rose got in front of him.
"What are you frightened of? Is there another rule saying senior officers can't be friends?"
"That's just it Rose, I don't want to be just friends with you so I have to back off before it's too late. I crossed the line the other night, I'm sorry."
Rose looked at him and moved towards him and put her arms around his waist under his jacket. He wasn't wearing a t-shirt this time, she could tell.
"I'm not sorry, I enjoyed it although it was just one kiss and it could have lasted much longer if you'd tried."
Hardy looked down at her, they were a fraction of an inch apart as Rose got even closer but he just kissed the top of her head.
"Oh Rose, I'm sure I could have made it last much longer, I wasn't thinking straight with the wine and the music, the dancing and the candlelight, what exactly were you trying to tell me?"
He inched his head down, like he was looking for the exact angle he wanted as his lips got closer.
Rose took the bait. "Well I was aiming to at least dance with you a bit longer and it was rather a nice wine, I thought you might have stayed a bit longer. I mean, you going back to an empty hotel room and me staying here on my own. You don't really have to go now, do you Alec?"
If she moved just one fraction nearer, she would fall into those dark brown eyes of his as she stared into them as he looked into her hazel eyes. Then he decided he had found the angle he wanted as she found herself pressing into his lips, her arms slipping further around his waist as he held onto hers and before she knew it, he had picked her up and was carrying her into the living room and had put her on the sofa. Rose just had time to tell him to pull the blinds over.
His shirt was soon lost as was her t-shirt as he lay just to the side of her, then he was fumbling with her bra fastener as she fumbled with the zip of his trousers but he stopped her. Rose pulled a face but carried on kissing him as he took her bra off and tossed it over the arm of the sofa and leaned down to start kissing her exposed skin. Rose moaned as he did, she'd had no intimate contact for a good while and was enjoying the sensation of him touching her. He was gentle and his beard felt soft on her skin as he kissed one then the other while she had one arm around his back and the other around his neck.
It seemed like ages as they lay there, they had changed places, Alec managing not to fall off the sofa as Rose shuffled her way on top. He had pulled the zip down on her trousers and now had his hand down the back, Rose thinking he had an unfair advantage as he gradually pulled them down at the back but he kept his hand on top of her black cotton underwear, never attempting to go any further. As if by mutual agreement, Rose just lay with her head on his chest as he stroked her back and they began kissing again as she nudged herself up a bit.
Eventually, Rose moved onto her side as he lay there, her trousers were still over her hips, revealing her underwear but she still hadn't managed to coax him out of his trousers, he was probably still trying to stop himself crossing the line before he got too far over it and she wasn't sure herself if they should stop. She reached to the back of the sofa and retrieved her t-shirt and passed Alec his shirt. It was now early evening and she was getting hungry again and he volunteered to go up to the takeaway, borrowing her car.
Just after ten, they had been watching a film on TV, Alec said he really should go so Rose had to reluctantly let him, standing in the doorway, they kissed goodnight.
"So, back to reality tomorrow?" Rose asked, giving him one last kiss.
Alec let go. "I'm afraid so, let's just keep on acting professionally at work and once this is over, we'll take another look at it. As far as I know, there's no rule against as DS and a DI getting together, like I said, my ex was a DS but she was in a different team until that last investigation I was on. I just don't want a repeat."
"I can understand that Alec but I'm not her. There's no reason why we can't have lunch together occasionally and you could come over a few times, if you want."
"I'd like that Rose but we have to be careful, I can't afford to get hauled up in front of the chief and her asking if there's something going on between us. I need you on this case and we'll be split up if it comes out we're getting involved with each other."
"Maybe it will be best if we just be straight with her, let her decide. I'll volunteer to be moved to another team."
"No, you don't have to do that. We'll just keep it quiet for now and hope she doesn't find out and if she suspects something, I'll take the blame for it and ask for you to be replaced, if that's what you want."
Rose nodded her agreement and sneaked another kiss.
"Goodnight Alec, or should I say DI Grumpy?"
Alec kissed her back. "Goodnight Tyler."
The next morning, she went into Hardy's office. She wanted to tell him about what Ellie had said about no-one interviewing her son Tom.
"So no-one has followed up on the fact that Tom Miller was Danny's best friend? Get in touch with his mother and ask her to bring him in, we need to talk to him, he may know where the skateboard and the missing phone are. What's wrong with the people around here? The boy may have vital information."
She needn't have worried about having to call Ellie as she got a phone call saying she was downstairs.
"Jack Marshall came to Beth's house yesterday and gave them this. It was Danny's phone."
Rose took her upstairs to Hardy's office after she had the phone sent off for examination. It was the first time Ellie had really met him and she felt sorry for her friend. They arranged for Tom to be brought in and Ellie left but as time went on, they heard there had been a disturbance outside the sea scouts hut and Jack Marshall was being hounded. Hardy and Rose went to see him but they could only advise him to keep his head down and keep a low profile but before the end of the week, he had taken his own life.
Rose couldn't believe it and as she let Alec in on the Friday night, she was fairly upset, not having let on earlier. They spent the weekend together, going out of town on the Saturday night down to the next village for dinner and on Sunday, they went to the beach further down the coast and walked hand in hand, taking their shoes off and walking in the water then calling at the beach caf for lunch, both laughing when Rose ordered her meal and Alec saw the size of the fish she had ordered. Rose was sad though, they had a funeral to attend the next day.
Rose and Hardy made some progress, they had decided they weren't crossing the line, they needed comfort in a complex case but Alec never stayed overnight when he came over a few times although he had decided since his trousers were getting creased to take them off and they had laid on the sofa in the evenings and that Sunday evening when they got back from the beach, something finally gave between them.
It had just started out with kissing on the sofa but it was getting obvious they both wanted more as he slid his hand down her cotton underwear and pulled them down over her hips as she did the same with his shorts.
"Rose, I know I said this wasn't a good idea but I was wrong. I want you."
They looked at each other then gathering their clothes, they moved into the bedroom and Alec pushed her onto the bed, both eager to shed each other of their remaining clothes. They scrambled into bed, Alec diving down and kissing her where Rose pulled him down on her.
"Mmm, that's nice Alec but I really want you somewhere else right now," she said, moving him down where she wanted him.
He smiled and licked his lips.
"Really, are you in a hurry?" he teased, now kneeling and kissing her tummy then her hips. "Maybe I just want to take my time with you," he stated.
She knew he was tormenting her. "Fine, but can you please do that later, I want you, now." Then quietly she added, "Please Alec, we've tormented each other enough, don't you think?"
Alec gave in as he let her move him where she wanted him the most as he kissed her and then began until she was calling his name, telling him she wanted more.
He glanced up, a vicious grin on his face.
"Oh, you'll have more Tyler, believe me," he laughed as Rose felt him, wanting to scream his name but hardly a sound leaving her lips. Alec was grinning although she couldn't see his face as he buried his face in her neck as they both tumbled over the edge, Alec collapsing on top of her and Rose still reeling from the aftermath.
He rolled onto his back, trying to catch his breath, it seemed Rose wasn't the only one who hadn't had sex for a good while. It was a few minutes before either of them could speak. Rose turned him around to lay on him, resting her head on his chest and smiling.
"Okay?" he asked, kissing her forehead and putting his arms around her.
Rose managed a nod, still unable to speak. When she managed to talk again, all she could say was, "That was amazing Alec. I take it that it's been a long time for you as well."
Alec laughed. "Was it that obvious? Do you attribute that fact to my being snappy and grumpy to everyone?"
Rose laughed as well. "Well it would account for it, maybe you'll ease up a bit now."
"Oh, I don't know, I do have a reputation to keep up Tyler."
Rose looked up at him. "Are we starting the surname game again Hardy?"
"Best get into practice for tomorrow or we'll both be standing in front of the chief and she'll fire the both of us."
"I'll go see her and ask to be transferred, there's no need for you to go. I'll try telling her I can't work with you anymore, everyone knows we fight."
"If that's what you want darlin', then you do what you think is best. I don't want to hide now anyway. If she lets us carry on working together, I'll assure her nothing will change. We can still work together. Now you promised me I could take my time now I gave you want you wanted."
He laughed and flipped her over and began kissing her again and working his way down, Rose giggling with delight as his soft beard tickled her tummy and soon she was calling his name.
Monday morning, Alec left early to go get changed, the first night he had stayed over. They had woken and kissed and then fooled around before he got dressed, Rose getting a good look at him when he was putting his shorts on. Alec had laughed, throwing her cotton underwear at her she had left on the floor the night before.
Later on, they both attended Jack Marshall's funeral, sitting together and going to the Trader's Hotel afterwards, Alec telling her to report anything unusual. Before they had gone out, Rose had brought in the morning paper the headline of the national and the paper that a certain reporter who was out to make Alec's life a misery was above a picture of him reading 'Is this the worst cop in Britain?' Rose found it amusing but put on a solemn face as she showed him it and just patted him on his shoulder as he put on a black tie to set off. He took a little comfort in the fact they were no longer fighting.
Rose went to see the chief in the afternoon and asked to be put on another team and had to explain exactly why she wanted off the case, the chief not accepting she couldn't work with Hardy any more.
"Come on Rose, what's the real reason? You've been fighting since he got here, you resented him taking your job. He however, speaks very highly of you. So, out with it."
"Well Ma'am, it's just things have happened and I feel I would be better moving, DI Hardy and I have begun seeing each other outside of work."
She didn't want to give all the gory details they'd started having sex, something she knew now they wouldn't be able to tone down.
"I see. If it makes it awkward for you to work together then fine. I'll move you but if you can keep it professional and I get assurances from both of you, you can continue. Well, what's it to be? I don't want anyone else coming in Rose, you're too familiar with the case. If you can assure me you'll both keep your minds on the job then I don't see any reason to split the two of you up."
"I'll speak to him about it and if he agrees, I'll stay Ma'am."
When she told him, he agreed they made a good team and they would keep the bedroom out of it where work was concerned and he called the chief to give her is assurance.
Weeks had gone by and resources were being scaled back, much to their dismay. Then one Thursday teatime, Rose got a call from Ellie to go round to her house Tom had brought Danny's skateboard home saying a woman he met at the amusement arcade had given it to him. She took Hardy to collect the evidence and police cars surrounded the caravan where the woman in question was staying but she was out.
They eventually caught up with her, she was questioned and released but later, she was caught threatening the local newspaper editor over the discovery of her real name and the editor had reported it to Rose. She and Hardy had her taken back to the station where they were also now holding Nigel Carter, he had taken the woman's dog and they charged him with owning a dangerous weapon, a crossbow was found in his van.
A remembrance service had been held for Danny, both Rose and Alec attended, being seen together in public as a couple and sparking a few rumours but they ignored them. The messages from Danny's phone had been analysed and Rose had an idea who it was. Hardy seemed fairly certain she was right and they followed up on some leads.
The combination of the skateboard and the calls and the fact the woman from the caravan offered no real reason why she had held onto it and the phone calls were to someone the family knew very well led to the arrest of two people who both pleaded guilty to conspiracy, saying the boy's death had been an accident, which gave little comfort to the family but Hardy had kept his promise to find who was responsible.
It had taken then almost three months of investigation and throughout they had grown closer to each other. Hardy had moved out of the hotel, Rose's mother wasn't really speaking to her, siding with Mickey and they went to Danny's funeral together as a couple, no longer hiding the fact they were together and Alec gave an interview to the local paper about his failed case and how he was cleared.
After the trial was over, they both went to the Italian Rivera on holiday and Alec overcame his fear of the water to go swimming with Rose nearly every day. They never talked about getting married, they were happy enough as they were. Alec had learned his lesson on being married and Rose never pushed him.
Rose got a commendation for her work on the Latimer case and didn't bother applying to a nearby town when a vacancy came up for a DI, choosing to carry on working with her now full-time on and off duty partner so they could both work the same hours but Rose did move onto a different team and they saw each other most of the time, Rose swapping places with a male DS, she didn't trust a female one, not that she didn't trust Alec, she just didn't trust women around him.
The End!
A/N: I do not offer any names as the alternate culprits in the case or insinuate any events in the new series. The story just highlights how Rose got through the investigation and consequently how it was solved. The ending won't please everyone!