A/N: I'm so sorry that I haven't responded to anyone's reviews. It's been a very crazy week and the next couple of days are going to be even more intense. I'll try to catch up with everyone. In the meantime, THANK YOU so so so so so much for all your encouraging words. I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

Also, May the Fourth be with you. ;D

Chapter 6.

The drive back to Broadchurch takes hours, and gives Alec plenty of time to wonder if he's making the right decisions. It's a risky move to put all of his eggs in one basket, to have Claire and Daisy in Broadchurch.

Accommodations are another problem. He'd prefer to keep Claire away from the kids, but he doesn't want her to be alone either. He has two other options: to put her up at the Traders or to keep her at his flat and sleep on the sofa. Since he'd rather not involve Becca, he hesitates to use the Traders. But the idea of Claire in his bed, or of being alone with her for long stretches of time, is not appealing.

Then again, it would provide him an opportunity to see how she behaves, if she starts to feel the pressure of being so completely under his thumb. And he'll put up with just about anything if it means putting this case to rest.

He hopes Ellie will understand that.

He doesn't call her on his way down; he's worried he'll reveal too much of himself and of their relationship to Claire. And the less Claire knows, the better. She has a nasty habit of trying to confuse things.

Still, he feels a very real sense of relief when they're finally on the road into town. He pulls over on the High Street near a café and texts Ellie to see if she'll meet him there. Then he and Claire get out of the car, and he buys three cups of tea.

"Expecting someone?" Claire asks.

"Yeah, a friend. DI Bryant. She can help me arrange some protection for you."

Claire is watching him very closely, and he is careful to keep his expression neutral. Finally, she nods and looks away again.

"Thank you, Alec," she says, her voice soft and sincere. He wonders if she means it or if this is just another game she's playing with him. It doesn't really matter, in the end.

Ellie arrives in the shop a few moments later. Alec lifts a hand to her, beckoning her over.

"Bryant!" he calls, and her eyes narrow a bit at his use of her maiden name, but thankfully by the time Claire turns to look, she's composed her expression again.

"Claire, this is DI Ellie Bryant. Bryant, meet Claire."

The two women shake hands, and when Claire looks down at her tea, Ellie gives him a nod. She understands that he doesn't want Claire to know how close they are, and he finds himself grateful again that they don't always need words to communicate.

"You've had a long drive." Ellie smiles at the other woman, making friendly small talk. Alec leans back in his chair and lets her take over. He wants to go to Ellie's and check on Daisy, but that will have to wait until he's got Claire sorted out.

He loses track of the conversation, but eventually Claire gets up to use the restroom and Ellie turns to him, glaring.

"What have you brought her down here for?" she hisses.

"What else was I going to do with her?"

"Why didn't you leave her where she was? Do you want Ashworth to come down here? Because you're not giving him much of a choice—"

Suddenly she realizes that this is exactly what Alec wants. "You're luring him down here on purpose."

He nods at her, watching her closely.

"But why? What would you want him down here for?"

"I want to see what Claire does. Whatever it is that's between them, it's destructive. He'll put far more pressure on her than I ever could, just by being in the vicinity." He drums his fingers against the tabletop. "Him being close might just cause her to make a mistake, and we need them to make mistakes."

She shakes her head. "This is a lot to juggle, Alec. Especially with Daisy here too."

"Do you have a better plan?" he asks her with a raised eyebrow. She glares at him.

"Don't be a wanker. You know I'm right about this. We'll have to be careful."

She settles back in her chair as Claire returns, and he bites down his urge to ask her about Daisy and to see if Jenkinson has hired her on as a DI. Having Claire around is already proving to be exceedingly annoying, but he hopes the situation will be very temporary.

"Where will you be staying?" Ellie asks Claire, pulling Alec out of his thoughts.

"Ah…" He hates to clue Ellie into his plan this way, but there's no avoiding it now. "At my flat, for now."

If looks could kill, the one Ellie shoots him now would do the trick. He manages not to wince. Claire is looking at him in surprise too, and he scrambles to explain.

"You can sleep in the bedroom. I'll take the sofa. We can arrange something else later." He's loathe to involve other townspeople in this, but perhaps someone like Becca Fisher or Paul Coates could help him arrange something.

Claire seems satisfied, but Ellie's eyes are like sharp little daggers and he finds himself avoiding her gaze. He'll catch hell for this later.

Ellie promises to see if she can send a uniformed officer over to Alec's flat later, and afterwards the three of them part ways. He tries not to let his eyes linger on Ellie when she heads the opposite direction down the High Street, but he's not sure he manages very well. He lets out a breath and then climbs back into the car to drive Claire over to his little flat.

It's near dark when Bob arrives, parking his police car right outside Alec's flat. It is a relief to know that he can go have a private word with Ellie at last. He turns to Claire after giving Bob a wave from the window.

"You stay here, alright? That man out there, his name is Bob. If you need me, you can call and I'll be here within ten minutes. If that's not fast enough, Bob will be here with you until I can get back. Alright? Don't leave the flat, not tonight. Tomorrow morning I'll take you around town, we'll do some shopping for you."

Claire doesn't look happy about this. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to take a look around town, make sure no one's seen anyone out of the ordinary." It's not a complete lie: he has every intention of doing this very soon, but he needs to see his daughter and speak with Ellie.

"What am I supposed to do here?" she demands, arms crossed over her chest.

"Relax. Settle in. I won't be gone long, I promise."

She's reluctant, but she agrees. He grabs his coat and heads for the door. Before he strikes out across town, he stops by Bob's car and has a word with him to make sure she stays in the flat. After getting the other's solemn promise of constant vigilance, Alec heads toward Ellie's, his long legs eating up the pavement.

It's strange to see the house lit, after so many months of it being unoccupied. As he heads up the path to the door, he wonders how Ellie and Tom are handling being back. He hopes that having Daisy there is a bit of a distraction. He'll have to make good on his word to get Joe's things out of the house soon, he doesn't want to make this situation harder for Ellie than it has to be.

He knocks on the door and it's thrown open a moment later. Ellie stands there, hands on her hips as she looks up at him with thunder in her eyes, all beautiful fury. He should be used to it by now, but he's not.

Before he can say a word, she grabs the lapels of his coat and drags his mouth down to hers. Her kiss is demanding and possessive, and it isn't long before one of her hands moves into his hair while the other keeps a tight hold on his coat. His own arms slip around her instinctively, although he is stunned by this open and somewhat fierce display of affection.

She releases him one endless moment later, leaving him gaping at her with huge eyes. Her own are narrowed but there's a look of satisfaction on her face as she drinks in his reaction. They are both breathing hard.

"Just a reminder," she tells him as he struggles to contain his surprise.

There are three other people in the house, so he doesn't press her against the wall of her entryway and give her a reminder of her own, although he has to curl his fingernails into his palm to dispel the mental image of it.

"I'll figure out another place for Claire to sleep," he tells her, his voice rough to his own ears.

"You'd better." She stands aside to let him into the house, and he follows her into the sitting room where the rest of the family is. Daisy is on the couch, reading a book to Fred while Tom watches a football match on the telly.

"Dad!" Daisy's smile for him is wide and warm, and he smiles back at her.

"Hello, darling. Settled in alright?" he asks, walking over to drop a kiss to the top of her head.

"Oh yeah, Ellie's awesome. We're going to start painting tomorrow." She beams up at him. "I'm glad you're here."

He's glad to see her smiling, glad that she feels safe here with Ellie and her sons. The sight of her with Fred spreads warmth through his chest. She looks as though she feels at home here. The idea that they could all have a future together is nearly more than he can comprehend: for so long there was nothing to look forward to. For so long he'd been dying alone. Now he is building something again, and it's even more precious because he hadn't anticipated it.

He will not let Ashworth destroy it.

Ellie comes up behind him, stopping close enough to let their arms brush. She reaches down to touch Fred's curls, and the baby smiles up at his mother groggily.

"He's nearly done for the day," she says.

"I'll help you put him down." Alec reaches down and scoops the toddler off of Daisy's lap, then nods to Ellie to take the lead. She shows him upstairs to Fred's room and he carries the baby to the crib.

"How is it here?" Alec asks her softly. She tucks a blanket around Fred's shoulders, cooing to him. Then her eyes meet Alec's.

"It's hard. But you're right. We'll reclaim it. It can be ours again."

He knows she means that the house can truly belong to her and the boys again, but his heart launches into a gallop when she says the word 'ours.' He rubs his hand over his chest. This is just the sort of sentimental reaction that usually got him in trouble with Daisy.

"Did you get the DI job?" he asks. Her answering smile is bright and proud, despite a lingering pain in her eyes.

"Start on Monday. If we'd been face to face, I think Elaine would have hugged me. She's very keen to get me back."

He nods. She's a damn good copper, Jenkinson is lucky to have her back.

"Claire all settled at your flat?" she asks.

He lets out a little sigh. "I've promised to take her shopping tomorrow."

She nods back at him, and both of them stare at each other for a moment. There is iron in her, she's the toughest woman he's ever met, and he admires that about her very much. But in this moment she is soft, uncertain of what to say to him after his admission, hopeful but cautious. She is beautiful.

The silence stretches as she hesitates, and then she crosses the room and presses herself into his chest. His arms come around her, he curls over the top of her head to fold her completely into his embrace.

"Whatever your plan is, Alec…just remember. You're not alone. We'll do it together this time." Her voice is muffled against his clothing. He doesn't answer her, he simply lets those words sink into him. They're more comforting than he expected.

"You're sure he'll come?"

"He will. Very soon."

"We'll have to be ready for him. And very careful."

Alec nods in agreement. She pulls back to look up at him and he knows she's right: it's more important than ever to be careful. He's got a lot to lose now, perhaps more than he's ever had before.

The thought of it should scare him, make him cautious. Instead, it only adds fuel to the fire in his chest, the one that's been burning ever since he first saw the pictures of Lisa and Pippa.

"We will be," he says. He only hopes it's a promise he'll be able to keep.

Alec spends a little while with Daisy and Tom. Then, satisfied that everyone is safe and happy, he reluctantly gets up to head back to his flat. He doesn't want to leave Claire for too long, lest she get bored and try to give Bob the slip.

He kisses Daisy's cheek and gives Tom a hug before heading to the door. Ellie follows him, trailing in his wake. He stops just outside the door and turns back to her.

"Thank you for this."

She waves him off. "No need."

His lips curl up at the corners: she still isn't used to him being nice to her. Just as he opens his mouth to wish her goodnight, her hand flashes out and her fingers slip between his.

"Alec, I—" She can't quite meet his gaze. He knows what she wants to say, but her nerves get the better of her. He soothes her gently, making a soft shushing noise as he pulls her closer to him.

"Goodnight, love. I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

She nods against his chest. "Goodnight, Alec."

He presses his lips to her forehead, then kisses her properly. Then, with great reluctance, he lets her go and heads back toward his flat.

The walk back is very cold.