Something's Brewing

Chapter 4: After Dinner Conversation

Alec had finished up with the cleaning and was settled into the living room on the sofa when Ellie came back downstairs. He sat with his legs crossed with the ankle of one leg resting on the knee of the other, the case file sitting in his lap, his eyeglasses on as he read over the latest reports from SOCO. Two glasses of wine were sitting on the coffee table. She smiled warmly towards him and he caught the expression when he looked up over his glasses towards her as she came round to sit down, going so far as to return the smile.

"You're in a rather good mood, Sir. And is there any reason my eldest son gave me a particularly long hug when I went in to kiss him goodnight?"

Alec set the report back on top of the stack of papers in his lap and decided to address her comments in order, "Well, admittedly, you were right, I enjoy spending time with you and your kids. Perhaps I am in a good mood. Why are you still calling me 'sir'? We talked about that. And Tom and I had a little talk. I hope you don't think it was out of order for me to do so."

Ellie grinned. Two could play at this game. "I only mentioned you enjoying the company of my children, not me. I call you sir because technically you are my boss. And if you talked to my son about what I think you did, I can be nothing but thankful for it."

If an outsider had been watching, it would have been like a tennis match, watching the two of them bounce retorts back at each other. But the outsider might also see that hidden within the humor and the snark were honest admission that they hid within their words. It was Alec's turn, "If it were just your children here, I might come to visit, but the presence of their mother, who also happens to be my partner cements the deal. And my title may hold higher rank, but you know that for quite some time I have considered you my partner not my subordinate. And yes, that's what I talked to your son about."

Ellie nodded, connecting the three separate conversations they were having at once. They couldn't do anything like normal people, like hold one conversation at a time, then move on to the next. She tried to read his expression, which was a mystery to do, even after the four years they had known each other. "You enjoy my company?"

Of course, Alec thought, that's what she decided to hone in on. The most awkward part of his admissions. But he was feeling relaxed, and he might as well keep trudging ahead. They'd been through enough hell together, they could make it through a little more awkwardness, if that's what came of this. "Ellie, do you think I would come over for dinner before we discuss work if I didn't enjoy your company and that of your children?"

"And now you're calling me by my first name. You insisted on using surnames. And now you say I'm your partner." It all spilled out of her rather fast, out of nervousness. He was beating about the bush, but she needed a little more convincing about what he was getting at before she could even being to let herself assume what it was.

He held her gaze. "Yes, Ellie — you keep asking me why I came back to Broadchurch. You were right to wonder, my name was cleared, I could have gone anywhere, I suppose. But Broadchurch had something nowhere else did."

"What's that?" she asked. Nope, not going to assume anything with him.

He sighed. He supposed he deserved this for all the hell he had given her when they first met. "You, Ellie. Broadchurch has you. You're the best partner I'd find anywhere. You're the only person I consider a friend. And—" He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut, and sighing. He had turned towards her as they spoke and realized now that their hands were resting very close to each other on the back of the couch. He chanced it, perhaps an action instead of words would get his point across, he took her hand in his. His look turned to one of pleading. "What more do you want me to say?"

Oh. There it was. She hadn't been dreaming. Her mind hadn't been wandering off in inappropriate directions without cause, perhaps. "Partners or not, you are my boss," she stated, unsure of where this could go.

"When we're on duty." He nodded in confirmation.

"We're as good as — we're discussing a case, right?" She glanced down at the file still in his lap.

He looked down, and closed his eyes a moment. "Not the same. But—" He closed the file and tossed it and his glasses onto the coffee table, then turned back towards her and grabbed her hand again before she could change her mind about its location. "—if it makes you feel better, there."

"But now what? You're here to discuss the case."

He groaned a moment, almost a growl, of frustration. Alright, she needed something clear, then she was going to get it. Please don't let this be a stupid decision. "Shut up, Miller." He leaned forward, capturing the side of her face in his other hand and pulling her towards him, pulled her into a kiss. Pacemaker or no, his heart was about to stop, that is until he felt her hand at the nape of his neck and her beginning to return the kiss. His tension eased and he pushed only a bit further before breaking off the kiss, but not moving far from her. "Does that make things a bit clearer for you?"

She grinned. "A bit, yes."

"Good." He sat back, moving back into the spot he had originally held on the sofa, and grabbed his glasses and the case file from off the coffee table. "Now that that is sorted for the moment, we actually should go over case notes. If your father came in and I was snogging you as opposed to looking at paperwork, I'd lose all the ground I gained with him this afternoon."

Her eyebrow raised quizzically. "This afternoon?"

He had opened the case file and was flipping through the papers, finding the one he wanted, he pulled it out and handed it to Miller as he looked up at her over the top of his glasses. "I may have had a conversation with him this afternoon regarding my coming over to discuss case work."

She grinned. "I was wondering if you were ever going to admit to that. Dad already told me."

He looked up, genuine shock on his face. "He what?!"

"When he called to let me know he was going out for dinner. He said you had made a rather determined argument regarding us discussing casework here. And that as long as the boys were in bed, he saw no reason it couldn't happen. But, he decided it might be better for him to make it his night out with his friends."

"I was going to tell you later," Alec defended himself.

"It's okay. I'm glad you talked some sense into him. And I'd say you've made enough admissions for one night, so it's fine. I'd hate for all that honesty to overwork your pacemaker." Ellie grinned.

Alec shook his head, and looked back down at the paperwork; a sly smirk clear on his face from where Ellie sat. "It's not the honesty that might have overworked my pacemaker."

"Oh?" She grinned. "If a kiss does that to your ticker, how on Earth would you ever—"

Alec held up his hand, covering her mouth gently. "Ah, stop right there. I'm not having this conversation with you." He paused a moment. "Not yet, anyway."