She went upstairs and knocked on Daisy's room door.
"What Mum?" the almost teenager asked. "Don't ask me to take sides," she added before she was asked.
"I wasn't going to," Tess denied. "What did your father say when you went to find him?"
Daisy thought if that wasn't being asked to take her mother's side, then nothing was.
"He was talking to Rose's mother," Daisy replied. "Can't you just leave it Mum? Dad said he didn't choose that pub on purpose."
"You're taking his side," Tess told her.
"Mum, I told you, I'm not taking sides," Daisy reminded her. "Can't we even go out now?"
With that, Daisy closed the door before Tess could say any more. Alec knew she'd gone upstairs to try to get Daisy on her side but doubted she would.
Rose had tried to put the whole thing behind her, the last thing she needed was Tess starting on her the following morning so she hoped her boss would keep his promise to handle it. The next morning, she set off to pick Alec up as he was getting ready to leave. Tess was trying to get Daisy to hurry up.
"Daisy, you'll be late," Tess shouted to her again. "Alec, get her to hurry up."
"Why ask me?" Alec wanted to know.
"She seems to take more notice of you these days," Tess replied.
Alec shook his head and picked up his phone and keys.
"Well you should be more firm with her," he told her. "When you get to the office, stay away from Rose."
"You're defensive of her all of a sudden Alec," Tess replied sarcastically. "What's with calling her Rose all the time?"
Alec didn't reply as his mobile rang and saw it was Rose.
"Morning Sir," Rose greeted him as he got in the car.
"Yes," he just replied at first. "I can't apologise enough for Tess yesterday."
"It's okay, really," Rose insisted, seeing Tess come out of the side door.
Tess was staring as she ushered Daisy into the car.
"Mum, what are you doing?" Daisy wanted to know as Tess watched Rose driving off.
"Nothing. You should have hurried like I told you to, I'll be cutting it fine getting to work now," Tess complained as she reversed the car.
"We're no later than usual Mum," Daisy pointed out as she looked at the clock. "Did you want to get to work before dad did?"
"Don't be cheeky," Tess replied, knowing Daisy was on to her.
"You did!" the girl laughed. "Why?"
Tess refused to answer but Daisy smiled all the way to school.
"Please be on time tonight Mum," she told Tess as she got out of the car.
Rose was relieved she'd beaten Tess to work as they got out of the car.
"Hey Rose," she heard a voice calling her.
It was her friend Kate getting out of a car.
"Like my new car? I got it on Saturday. No more catching the bus. I'm just off to see if I can get a proper parking space instead of in the unreserved spaces. I'd heard you sometimes have to fight for one," Kate laughed.
Alec had gone on ahead, leaving Rose to talk to her friend. He'd wanted to say more to her, how could he make up for Tess's behaviour the day before? He'd had a feeling Tess had wanted to make more of it before he'd left home but she had better not start once in the office.
"There was already a reserved space for this car," Rose told her friend.
"Yeah, lucky you, driving your boss's fancy car," Kate laughed. "Wait until I tell the girls about the car."
"Yeah, they'll be surprised," Rose agreed, seeing Alec disappear through the door to go for the lift. "Oh, watch out for the sergeant over there. I had to be rescued when I first started coming down here," she warned her friend.
Rose went off and had to wait for the lift, knowing Alec would already be in his office. What could she say to him? Something needed to be done about the hostility she was getting from Tess and she didn't want to have to make it an official complaint and get the chief involved. If things got worse though, she would have to seriously think about it.
She'd just have to trust that her boss could handle it like he'd promised. All she wanted was to do her training and then see what happened, whether she'd stay or go back to London or even somewhere else. That all depended what her mother wanted to do. She made some drinks and went to Alec's office.
"Sit down Rose," he told her as she put the mugs on his desk. "Look, if Tess gives you any trouble at all today, come and tell me, then I can reprimand her and trust me, her being my wife won't stop me. That's the best I can do, sorry. Outside of work, all I can do is try and keep her away from you in future."
"Ya mean if ya don't choose the same pub next Sunday?" Rose smiled as she took a drink.
"I am glad you have taken it so well," he had to admit.
"What else can I do?" Rose replied. "I had to explain it all to my mum and trust me, that wasn't easy."
"I am sorry Tess showed you up in front of her and that other woman," Alec told her.
"I tried to avoid her, really I did," Rose apologised.
"Don't go taking the blame, Tess was determined to make something of it," Alec admitted.
"She said that we'd arranged it all on Friday night, 'cos you walked past her and ignored her," Rose explained.
"Ah, that maybe explains it then?" he wondered, since he'd not been taking much notice when he confronted Tess the day before. "She mentioned something about it. I only got her side," he managed a smile.
He suddenly changed his expression when he saw Tess arrive at her desk. It was strange, he knew how long it took to get Daisy to school, so Tess had either been taking her time talking to other parents or to Dave Harris.
"I'd best get to work," Rose realised as she saw him looking into the outer office. "I'll try to stay away from her."
"Yes, that would be wise," he told her as she got up.
"She might think we're in here plotting something else," Rose laughed.
Alec thought she wasn't far wrong, knowing what Tess was like recently. Rose had decided she wasn't going to tell her friends what had happened the day before, in case she was overheard, especially by Tess. She didn't want it going around the station, since her friends knew more people than she did.
Now, she bet anything that seeing Tess with that other detective, she was trying to cover something up by putting the blame on her husband and using herself as a scapegoat. Yes, putting the blame elsewhere seemed like something the woman would try.
"Hey Rose," Trish called her over. "Trouble?" she nodded to Alec's office.
"No, no trouble," Rose assured her friend. "Just talking. He doesn't say much on the way in really," she used the excuse.
Well that was mostly true, Rose thought as she went to her desk. He usually waited until they were nearly at work before he said much. She had a feeling that was going to change though. Surely he wasn't going to take all that rubbish from Tess and if he wanted to do something about it, she would be glad to help him.
Alec was trying to catch up with what had gone on over the weekend, knowing Tess would find some excuse to ask why Rose was in his office but he wasn't going to take the bait. He had to think of a way to get back at her and he thought Rose would now be willing to help him.
Tess had just managed to catch Dave before he'd disappeared.
"What do you expect Tess?" he'd laughed when she told him what Alec had done the day before. "I've seen that blonde he's working with, she's not bad."
"Dave, I saw him arranging it on Friday night before I left," Tess was annoyed with him.
"Let him Tess, the more you go on at him, the more he'll do it," Dave had told her.
"Thanks for your sympathy," Tess huffed. "I can't just ignore it."
"That's exactly what you should do Tess. By the way, I can't meet you for the next few nights, my wife got suspicious again, I tried to tell her I was just out with some mates but she'll be clock watching. She made me take her out for lunch yesterday," he laughed.
"Well I never saw you at that pub you live near," Tess replied.
"She wanted to go somewhere else. Why, is that where you went?" Dave asked her. "You weren't looking for me?"
"Why would I do that? I told you, Alec arranged it with his little blonde DC, to meet her there. Bet he didn't know her mother was going to be with her," Tess almost laughed.
Dave had let out a laugh as someone passed them, Tess hitting his arm.
"So, what did you do about it?" Dave had asked, putting his hand on the wall and leaning over her.
"I confronted her, in the ladies room," Tess tried to be serious. "What else was I supposed to do? She denied it of course, well she would. Then Alec had a go at me."
"You're priceless Tess, you really are," Dave laughed.
With that, he'd walked off, still laughing as he'd pictured the two women having a cat fight in the ladies room. His money was on the blonde. So Tess had been annoyed at him for giving her the brush-off for the rest of the week.
Tess was in even worse a mood as she went off to her office. That meant she either had to collect Daisy on time or really get her friends to go for a drink after work. She didn't even know if they went out after work, she would have to casually mention it at lunchtime and if they weren't going out, it meant she'd have to be on time for Daisy.
Later that morning, Rose and Alec had to go out and Alec thought if he was going to enlist Rose's help, he'd best do it sooner rather than later. So before they drove back to the station he stopped her starting the car.
"Sir?" Rose wondered what was going on.
"We are not in the station," Alec reminded her. "I wanted to talk to you. Rose, if you have heard anything about Tess, anything at all such as your friends saying anything, you would tell me?"
"Yeah, I suppose so? I mean they do say things but I didn't want to get involved," Rose admitted. "Sorry."
"I can understand that," Alec replied. "You thought Tess would blame you for starting any rumours?"
"Well yeah, I didn't know what she'd do," Rose told him.
"It's fine Rose, really," Alec assured her. "Remember how I said not to stop talking when we go back into the office? Have your friends said anything about it?" he wondered.
"I told them we were just winding her up," Rose admitted. "Why?"
"So they believed you?" Alec wanted to be sure before he asked her anything else. Rose nodded. "Then can I suggest something more? You can say no."
"Well, depends what it is?" Rose was curious. "I suppose we could stretch it a bit?"
"Yes, that was the idea," Alec had to admit. "Nothing to start rumours ourselves," Alec further assured her. "You can tell your friends."
"I'd have to," Rose smiled at the thought. "They'd go along with it, they think it's amusing but Tess doesn't seem to think so."
"That's true," Alec agreed. "She was furious over yesterday, she even tried to get our daughter on her side. She failed however."
"Aw, I think your daughter's sweet," Rose told him. "She was even laughing at Tess picking an argument in the ladies. She asked if I was from London."
"Daisy came out to tell me Tess had started a fight," Alec smiled. "I was talking to your mother at the time and your mother wanted to know what it was about. She was trying to get back in the ladies room."
"Tess was stopping me from leaving," Rose admitted. "Good job my mum came in before I told Tess where to go. I'd already told her she couldn't boss me around outside work."
"I am glad to hear that," Alec agreed, thinking Rose could certainly hold her own against Tess.
"So, what did ya have in mind?" Rose then wanted to know.
"Ah," Alec had to stop and think, since Rose seemed agreeable.
"Ya mean ya'd not thought of anything?" Rose teased him.
"Well, I did not think it would be that easy actually," he admitted. "It is not something I have done before."
"I was just teasin' ya," Rose laughed. "Why don't ya just leave it to me? When I've told my friends though, we don't want them thinking it's serious."
"No," Alec agreed. "I thought it would be more difficult. I mean you going along with it."
"If ya ask me, Tess is determined to make something out of us working together," Rose told him.
"I already know that," Alec replied. "It would have happened no matter who I had to work closely with. Rose, you have to promise me you won't go too far with playing along? I don't want to have to explain it to the chief, or Daisy."
"Aw, you could let her in on it, if ya want?" Rose smiled.
"Best not for now," Alec told her. "So, what is involved? More plotting to meet outside work?" he asked cautiously, not knowing how far she intended taking things.
He supposed it was his own fault if he gave her free reign over it, it had been his idea. He'd agreed to go along with what she came up with but was that a mistake? He'd soon find out. At least she wouldn't start anything before she told her friends.
They set off back and as usual, Alec went into the garage with her.
"So that was one of your friends this morning?" Alec asked her as they got out of the car.
"Yeah, she was gonna ask about a parking space, I warned her about the sergeant," Rose smiled.
"Well I am glad I have not had to rescue you again," Alec smiled back.
Rose thought he looked so different when he smiled, which he seemed to be doing more of lately. They went up in the lift, Alec hoping she wouldn't start anything just yet. He didn't fancy being the subject of gossip himself without any warning. There again, maybe Rose would think it was amusing to do so.
Rose thought they could maybe make a bit of a start as they went back into the office.
"My mum's deciding if she wants to stay or not," she began telling Alec as he held the door for her. "I hope she does, I'd missed her already. I miss going to bingo with her and going to the pub."
Rose added that bit as they passed near to Tess, who had already looked up as they'd entered and were talking.
"I hope she decides then," Alec replied so Tess could hear him. "Then you will have someone to go out with, I mean when you're not with your friends," he added.
"Yeah, that would be good, I've not made many friends so far, except here. They really cheer me up, we always have a laugh at lunchtime," Rose told him as they neared her desk. "Want a coffee Sir?" she smiled at him, since Tess was still watching.
"Ah, yes," Alec was wondering where this was going, hoping he wasn't going to regret this when he got home.
He could only hope Rose wouldn't go too far in going along with his idea of getting back at Tess. Had he given her the wrong impression? He didn't want to take things too far or he really would have some explaining to do.
When it came to lunchtime, Rose's friends had already been wondering what was going on after seeing her and Alec returning earlier.
"Do you think they're trying to tell Tess something?" Trish suggested.
"Well either that or Hardy's gone soft," Kate laughed. "Mind you, it makes a change from him being miserable, especially when he used to come back in with Tess."
"Yeah, anything's better than that," Jo agreed as she waved Rose over. "Well come on Rose, what have you got to tell us?"
"Watcha mean?" Rose was confused as she sat down and put her tray on the table.
"When you and Hardy came back in," Trish reminded her. "You were talking and I bet Tess was dying to know."
"Just about my mum's visit, honestly," Rose tried to play it down. "He'd said there's no reason to stop talking when we get back."
"Thought you said he didn't talk much?" Kate reminded her from earlier.
"Only on the way here," Rose replied, thinking she had slipped up. "My mum's deciding if she wants to stay or not, it'll be a big step for her if she does, since I don't know how long I'll be here."
"Why, won't you be staying?" Jo wondered. "You've only just got here."
"Yeah Rose, not giving up already are you?" Kate looked concerned.
"What? No, didn't ya know? I came here to get further training to put in for the sergeant's exam," Rose explained.
All three looked at her.
"Oh. You never said," Trish spoke first. "That explains why you're partnered with Hardy then?"
"Thought it was strange with you being new that you were partnered with him," Kate told Rose. "No wonder Tess is upset then?"
"I think Tess is a bit more than upset," Trish laughed, seeing Tess come in and head for the table her friends were sat at but not until she'd stared at their table sufficiently. "She's trying to guess if we're talking about her or not."
"Let her," Jo replied, finishing her meal. "Just proves she's paranoid."
"Do you think she knows?" Trish asked Rose, who was pretending she'd not seen Tess.
"What?" Rose snapped out of it and went back to her food. "Well she might have been told but if she hasn't, that explains it."
"I suppose it does?" Kate agreed. "Maybe only Hardy and the chief know?"
"I didn't ask for it to be a secret," Rose insisted. "I'm sorry, I thought you knew?"
"Don't worry about it Rose," Trish assured her. "It was an easy mistake, wasn't it girls?"
Kate and Jo both nodded their agreement to Rose.
"Well, good for you then, you must have impressed someone?" Kate wondered.
"There weren't many opportunities where I came from," Rose told her friend.
"Can't blame you for that," Trish agreed. "At least it took Tess down a peg or two, I think she's annoyed her husband got a promotion and she didn't."
"Ya think?" Jo laughed, the rest of them joining in.
Tess looked over at them, seeing Rose laughing with them.
"The new DC seems to have settled in," one of Tess's friends remarked as she saw Tess looking at them.
"A little too well," Tess replied. "She's certainly wormed her way around Alec."
"Worried?" Tess was teased.
"Why should I be?" Tess tried to bluff.
"Then why do you complain about her all the time?" she was reminded.
"Well, she annoys me," Tess replied. "Coming in here and getting partnered with Alec right away. Any of the other DC's could have got that position."
"They wouldn't have bothered you as much?" another friend asked her.
Tess didn't answer. Would they have done or was it because Rose Tyler was young, blonde and attractive?