Back in Town

Chapter 7: Post-Trauma Day Three

-*-*-

*5:00pm*

Day three, Alec had gone into the station for a few hours and made phone calls. Ellie had, as promised, brought along some assignments for him to work on. His first duty was to call Liv's publisher and explain what had happened. There had been a heated discussion between he and the woman on the phone regarding if a press release should be sent out to the media. It had already been a hard-enough job keeping Liv's name out of local press, at least what was left of the local press. Maggie no longer ran the 'local' paper but had promised to help keep the specific details out of print and offline as long as possible, only referring to the 'victim.'

The afternoon had gone by in usual fashion. Ellie stopped in after lunch to update him. There wasn't a whole lot of new information to report. Her team was following up on leads related to the cook's friends that might be fellow criminals.

Ellie was doing good work with the investigation, and Hardy was pleased to have her as an equal partner in the department now.

-*-*-

*Flashback: Month Three of Alec and Liv*

"Okay, Hardy, why have you insisted on us all coming to the pub tonight? It's not like you to encourage group social gatherings." Ellie's eyebrows furrowed as she looked over at her partner. She, Beth and Mark Latimer, and her father all sat at the table.

"All in good time, Miller. You're always telling me to be more patient, shouldn't you live by your own rules?" Hardy glared at his partner, then turned and smiled as Liv came down from the stage, having finished her first set of the night.

She slid into a seat next to him and smiled back before looking around. "So, has he let the cat out of the bag why he's gathered us here?"

"You mean you don't know either?" Ellie gaped as she looked between Alec and Liv. She had almost thought it was perhaps an engagement announcement on the way, but the glare she was getting from her partner now confirmed her error.

At that moment, Alec noticed someone come in from behind them and stood. "Ah, here we are now." Ellie turned as he waved over the person who had come in, just in time to see CS Elaine Jenkinson coming towards them.

Ellie's look of confusion only grew worse, but she stood in deference to her superior. "Ma'am?"

"Oh, sit down, both of you. I wouldn't have agreed to this if I thought it was going to be so formal." CS Jenkinson took the remaining open seat at the table, and everyone but Hardy glanced at each other in confusion.

"What exactly have you agreed to, ma'am?" Ellie questioned.

"To making this announcement here, after hours," Elaine explained. "It was DI Hardy's idea. I was quite surprised, myself." She paused and watched Ellie glare at Alec for a moment before continuing. "Ellie, DI Hardy has strongly recommended, and I agree, that you receive the long overdue promotion to Detective Inspector. Wessex Police Department is growing, and two DI's on the field can only be a benefit."

-*-*-

*Present Day*

6:30pm

Now, as evening settled in, Alec sat back, reading 'Midnight Call,' Liv's book. Music played quietly in the background from an iPod that Daisy had given him. His daughter had read an article that said that playing music was good for comatose patients, as it maintained their brain activity. He wasn't sure if there was truth in it, but it couldn't hurt, and the songs reminded him of Liv, as Daisy had picked out many of the songs Liv had covered while singing at the McEwen's Pub.