Alec Hardy goes to Gracepoint

Chapter 9

Alec keeps to the sidelines

Rose's relationship with Alec wasn't going to get in the way of her doing the job she had been asked to do. It had certainly been unexpected, the most she thought she might have to do was be a go-between if someone's pet or child had gone missing but a murder investigation? Still, her parents would be proud of her for even attempting such a feat and it would be a useful experience and a bigger task than she had previously anticipated when she had come here. She hadn't found any time at all to do her real work, that of determining if was worthwhile setting Torchwood up here. The location was ideal, a small town out of the way, very little happening, well up until today and it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

She was meant to be going to lunch with Alec but that would be impossible now and Miller hadn't told her what time she should leave or how she was getting back although she suspected the two detectives would be back out to visit, she just hoped Alec wouldn't tag along, the family were in a bad enough state as it was without coping with identical twin detectives who weren't actually related in any way, she herself was having a hard enough time getting her head around it. Miller was going to find it hard to tell the difference between them, they even dressed almost the same, Alec must have got changed before he had walked into the Police Station, he'd had jeans and a blue chequered shirt on earlier, open at the collar, just how she liked it, it saved unbuttoning it later and showed off his hairy chest that she loved to run her fingers across and roam down to kiss his navel... "Mmm, enough of that Rose Tyler," she told herself as she snapped back to reality and looked at the teenage girl sat opposite her who was offering her coffee.

Rose accepted a cup, asking for milk or cream and jokingly said they would have to get used to her weird English ways. She tried to make conversation with the girl who seemed reluctant to speak, glancing across at her mother all the time like asking her if she should talk to Rose or not. Rose tried to put them at ease and said anything they talked about was confidential, ordinary family talk did not get back to the Police detectives who were in charge of the case and only relevant subjects, anything they could remember would be acted upon.

Two hours later, Rose was hungry after having an early breakfast with Alec and asked if there was a store nearby where she could get something to eat from. The family took pity on her since she had been dumped there at short notice and was asked to join them for lunch, Rose said just this once, she would be prepared the next day. After that, they opened up a little, curious as to why someone from the UK was working with the local Police but she was saved from having to answer that by the arrival of Detective Miller and who she hoped wasn't Alec. The only way she was going to be able to tell them apart now was their accents and Rose much preferred Alec's gorgeous Scottish one.

Rose was told she could leave at five and a patrol car would collect her but said she would rather be picked up by Alec and Miller agreed as long as he didn't get out of the car when he collected her. Their conversation about how she had ended up working there was soon forgotten, instead, she told them about her home in London and how much she was liking it in Gracepoint and of course, without mentioning what Alec actually did, about her Scottish boyfriend who was compiling a book of photos of the town's coastal area. She really hoped she would only have to spend another day or two there, the tension was mounting and she was clearly not wanted there despite their best efforts to convince her otherwise.

She had sent a text to Alec with the address and instructions from Miller not to get out of the car and was watching out of the window at two minutes to five, hoping he hadn't got lost. She saw him pull up outside and said goodbye to the family, not actually feeling she had achieved anything other than just being there, she had been in plenty of similar situations back in her own world where she had accompanied her mother to visit friends and relatives who had lost someone but it had never been a young boy or girl. Nothing she could hope to say would be enough and all she could do was show her support for this family in the only way she knew how, to listen.