Broadchurch: Across the Pond

Chapter 24

TW:language

Ellie heard the front door open and met a very tired Alec in the entryway. "How'd it go with Daisy?"

"Good, "he answered. "She's--"

"Uncle Alec!" Fred had heard the door, too. He pelted in from the living room and threw his arms around Alec's waist. "We saved you some supper!

Ale knew in that moment that he had a problem. He shot Ellie a What doI do? look. She shrugged, leaving him to improvise. He ruffled Fred's hair. "Um, hi, buddy. Why don't you, uh, go finish watching your show?"

"Okay!" Fred chirped, and dashed off.

"You didn't have to save me anything," Alec told Ellie awkwardly.

Ellie waved away his concern. "It's a cheese toasty, not a four-course meal."

"Well, thanks." Alec sighed. "Look, can we talk? Alone?"

"Yeah," Ellie said. "Meet me in the kitchen in an hour."

They met up once both the boys are in bed. Alec was in flannel pyjama pants and a sweatshirt, Ellie in her dowdy grandma pyjamas, and neither one cared. They were way beyond formality now, at least outside work. Ellie plugged in the electric kettle and popped Alec's dinner in the microwave. He insisted that he was capable of doing it himself, and of course she ignored him. And of course, he ate the sandwich when she set it in front of him, more to keep Ellie happy than out of hunger.

"I have to leave," he said once he was finished.

Ellie dropped the teabags into the cups: regular for her, decaffeinated for Alec. "I figured you were going to say that. Soon as Fred hugged you, I reckoned you'd bail."

"I'm not bailing," Alec insisted, although they both knew it was a lie. "I'm...very grateful for everything you've done."

"But?"

"I can't stay. Tom and Fred like me, God knows why."

"Nothing wrong with that," Ellie said. But she was grasping at straws, and they both knew it.

"I'm not their father, Miller." Alec's voice was soft, the tone that he usually reserved for Daisy. "They've latched on to me, but I don't belong here. I have to go back home."

"Are you well enough? Don't give me that look," she added at his glare. "That 'I'm a big tough man who doesn't need anyone' look. You drive me nuts, and I want to kill you half the time, but I worry about you."

"I'm fine."

"Tell you what." Ellie splashed skim milk into one of the cups of tea she was making, went to the table, and set the milky one in front of Alec. She sat down with her own cup. "Stay tomorrow night. I'm making a Sunday roast. Have one more good meal with us. Then you can go back to your miserable bachelor pad."

"It's not miserable. But I'll stay for dinner, if that's what you want." Alec smiled, a real smile. "Daisy said today that friends are a family that you choose. I guess you and I kind of chose each other.
"That's us, a fucked-up friend-family."

"That's us," Alec agreed, and they clinked cups. "Speaking of family, Daisy's coming down for Christmas. Said she wants a break from her mum. They've been fighting again."

"Are you going to keep the girl cooped up with her old dad for Christmas, or are you finally going to come here?"

His sheepish expression was answer enough. "I'll buy the turkey," he offered feebly. "And please don't worry about presents. I'm going to put up a tree at my place, and make breakfast on Christmas morning."

"Sounds good." Ellie figured she had another few months to convince him to bring Daisy over first thing in the morning so the five of them could open presents together. They could all use a good Christmas do. "It was nice, wasn't it? Past couple days?"

"Aside from almost dying? Meh. Not bad. But," Alec added sternly, "this doesn't mean you can call me 'Alec' at work. And I won't be nice to you, either. Can't ruin my reputation."

"Oh, God, no," Ellie said quickly. "If you're ever nice to me at work, I'll douse you in Holy Water because you've clearly been possessed."

"I'll do the same to you if you ever say no to a Scotch egg."

"Well, there we are then."

Two members of a friend-family, they clinked cups.