Rose Tyler moves to Broadchurch

Chapter 9

After they finally got to sleep, with Alec getting a little bit further with Rose, who seemed to be about to finally be worn down and give in, Alec was woken by his mobile ringing and just managed to squirm out from under Rose. He went into the bathroom so as not to disturb her to find it was the Duty Sergeant who had tried to get hold of DS Miller or one of the other DS's but couldn't. It seemed there was some trouble at a housing estate just outside town with several reported break-ins in the last hour and units were already out there but a senior officer was required. He told the Sergeant to get on of the DS's, it was their job, not his and there would be trouble when he got to work in the morning. He hold the Sergeant to call a DC if he couldn't get anyone else or to get a car out to wake one of the DS's and hung up. He was now regretting staying in the town where there were three DS's and two DC's who were capable of doing the job and he swore blind someone had put the desk Sergeant up to it by calling him.

He wasn't a DI for nothing, he'd done more than his fair share of callouts during his time in the police. Someone was going to suffer in the morning and it wasn't going to be him. Then they wondered why he was such a grump. He stood in the bathroom in just his shorts, looking in the mirror. Just what exactly did Rose actually see in him, he wondered. He was quite slim, in fairly good shape as he like to run a bit now and even been to the gym a few times, the one out of town but hadn't been on Sunday morning because he had stayed to comfort Rose but as he looked at his scruffy beard, he wondered when he'd got past caring how he actually looked but Rose seemed to like his beard or she hadn't said that she didn't. Maybe he could trim it a bit more, not let it get so thick and maybe get a haircut a bit more often. He liked to go out of town for as that well though, he didn't want the locals gaping at him. Maybe he and Rose would go shopping for more things for the new house and he could go to the barbers there, he thought.

He waited a few more minutes then put his phone on silent and went back to bed. Just how was he going to get back under Rose again without disturbing her? He just managed to squeeze in beside her as she moved slightly at his presence and without thinking, put his arm around her. That's how comfortable they had both got with each other over the last few days. She looked so peaceful now, like a great weight had been lifted from her and it had. This must have been the first time for her in over two years she had been able to let go of what was haunting her. He thought about when he had said he'd look into John's death and decided he'd start in the morning and get all the details and re-open the case although he'd better not tell the Superintendent it was a personal matter or she might stop him. He'd told her he was moving but not in with someone and not with the wife of the man he was re-opening the case about.

Still, Rose was in Broadchurch under her maiden name so that would cover it for a while and if it came out and he'd succeeded, it wouldn't matter. He would have proved a wrongful death by dangerous driving and failure to stop at an accident so if he found the driver he didn't have a leg to stand on, he was guilty without a doubt. It was the very least he could do for both Rose and John's mother who must also still be grieving. He could give closure to both of them. He was going to suggest to Rose to go down and visit her and was going to offer to go with her. He drifted back to sleep just as she moved again and was almost all the way over him again like he'd never even got up.

Thursday morning, Alec woke to his alarm and checked his phone to see if someone had rung back from the station, they hadn't so he was going to give them all a lecture on procedure as to who attended an incident first and who was the last one to be call. He qualified for being called next to last, only the Chief was called last if absolutely necessary. Great, that would make him even more popular than he already was, he still swore someone had put the Sergeant up to it. He looked at Rose as she was still sleeping and managed to get his other arm from under her where she had moved during the night. He loved waking up with her and wondered why he'd ever been on his own for so long now. Even when he'd still been with his ex wife, things had started to go sour long before they split up which is probably why she had cheated on him. He knew now that he was no longer alone as he looked at her, tucking a strand of her fair hair away from her forehead and leaning forward to kiss it. She stirred slightly, moving her arm over him and he moved his free arm across it. He was going to tell her how much he felt about her, had started the night before last but since then, his feelings were getting more intense, like he needed to be with her all the time. Being at work all day and coming back to an empty hotel room had been arduous but now, coming back to Rose had made it worthwhile. Only last Friday, the day before he had met her, he'd been thinking of taking a break and looking to see if any other police force would take him. Now he had someone to stay for, someone who cared about him and it had been a long time in coming.