Where Waves crash and Journeys end (Doctor Who/Broadchurch)

9

Since three hours, Ellie waited for her boss to show up. She was already at the Forensics, but he wasn't. She had tried to call him a couple of times, he hadn't answered it. She had even woken up at 6 this morning altough the DS preferred to sleep long. But if you had kids to worry about, there wasn't much more time to relax left. 

Yesterday evening, Ellie had finally told Tom about his friends' unexpected death. He was one year older than Danny had been and both had always enjoyed spending time together. They had done all the things other kids would do at their age growing up in Broadchurch - laughing, going to the beach, watching the sunset, eating ice cream. He had cried a lot, even when she and Joe had gone to bed long after. She knew how hard losing a friend was, her best friend Amy had died during a hiking trip. Her corpse had never been found. 

That was the actual truth about Ellie Miller, the young breakable woman. It was following her wherever she went, had never stopped. Sadness made her a puppet, knowing that she grew weaker and weaker. Building a wall around her didn't help making it any better. She had to life with this until she would be six feet under herself. 

Honestly, she couldn't tell Joe a bit of this. Altough she was sure he would keep it, Ellie couldn't. She was too scared. Maybe she needed some help from Paul or some kind of therapist, someone she could trust. Someone who could understand her. 

According to the current situation, she just felt like a mess. 

As Alec left the hospital, his head was spinning. There were so many questions unspoken for him, running in circles through his mind. While he was walking away from the entrance and up the hills full of green grass, his long dark coat flapping in the warm afternoon breeze, he started wondering about the mysterious girl. 

Who was she? What did she want? How could she even find him or know about his condition? Why he had to tell her about his recurring dreams? Did she even exist? Did she drug him, making him believe she was real? Why she had given this watch to him?

And most important...why him?

Because you're special. 

There it was again - this little, deep voice. Echoing through his mind, pulling him further. Singing. Torturing. 

Whatever you would call it. 

Alec felt the familiar pain struck his body within seconds. His bloody heart was still beating, a distant beat of four. Four beats. 

Four knocks. 

Death is coming. You hear it? Listen carefully. Listen...

LISTEN!

God, where were his fucking pills when he needed them the most?

Alec gasped for air, slowly sinking to the ground. His vision getting blurry, he reached out to the watch. Maybe it could help him. Maybe it could heal his broken heart. 

Maybe...just maybe...he had to try. 

His fingers started to shake as he stroked the filigrane golden metal, his voice was getting weak. 

"Help me.", he whispered in fear, hoping that someone was out there. His damaged heart was already passing out, tears filled his eyes. He didn't want to die. For Gods Sake, he didn't want. He didn't want to experience this over and over again, like a neverending circle. 

He just wanted to live. He had a job to do. 

Was that too much to ask?

"Help me...please help me!", Alec repeated, knowing that it was useless. A jerk went through his body as his heart finally gave up, leaving him drenched in the green grass and the breeze coming from the sea. 

While the golden strings starts to emerge from his hands, finding their way into reality, a man stands and watches. He stands on the highest clifftop, only surrounded by the breeze and the pungent smell of salt in the air. It's the dark figure from the beach, the same beach in Alecs dreams. This man wears a long coat, just as similiar as Alec and a pinstripped suit, dark brown hair grows on his head. Next to him is the girl from the hospital, holding his hand. She's worried. You can see it by the nervous bite on her smooth lips, fiddling with her blonde hair. 

"You can't leave him like this!", she says, wanting him to help the other. She knows what this is between this two same, but yet different men. She knows how hard this must be. And she knows a lot. You can see a lot travelling. Especially with him. Just with him. He always helps. 

So why not now?

"Something is holding you back!", she continues, looking him in the brown eyes. 

"See, I never refuse. Come on, do something. Please!"

He stays silent. These eyes have seen so many beautiful and horrible things. These eyes are never cruel. Or cowardly. These eyes bring hope. These eyes are just as old as the universe, have seen whole galaxies burnt away, whole planets crash. 

These eyes would never ever refuse. 

Finally, he says something. It is just a whisper, but loud enough to be heard. 

"It's not the time yet!"

The girl frowns, these words making her freeze. Her mouth runs dry, her lip start to shake. She's struggling with the answer, but finally something is coming. 

"So when it's time then?"

The man smiles, walking away. Before he vanishes into the red evening sun behind the hills, he turns back to her. Giving her his reply, echoing through her mind. 

I already have.