Alec was still pacing Mickey's living room as Mickey glanced at the piece of paper.

"I remember something now, this man asked our names, I thought he was just wanting us to be witnesses."

"Did you sign anything?" Rose asked him, dying for a drink but not of Mickey's coffee.

"I might have done, how was I to know otherwise? Be fair Rose, it was a bit unusual."

"Well, you had better contact him, now," Alec told him, Rose trying to get him to sit down.

"Yeah, 'course," Mickey stuttered as he looked for his phone. "Anyone want a drink?"

They both shook their heads, Alec remembering Mickey's coffee-making skills from his time in the Tardis.

"Quit stalling Mickey and just sort it out. Now we'll have to wait around until Monday to go back to the registry office," Rose told him.

"Then I will have to call the chief and tell her we have been delayed in getting back. Well?" Alec asked Mickey as he held the phone to his ear.

"There's no answer, maybe he's only in his office on Sundays?" Mickey replied.

"Don't be daft Mickey, he's a wedding officiator on Sundays but he probably has another job," Alec told him.

"Well there's no answer wherever he is on a Saturday. I'll have to try tomorrow. What time were we in the village Rose?"

"How do I remember?" Rose snapped back.

"Try and remember love, it will give us an idea as to when the man might be in his office, if he goes there to prepare for the ceremony. Mickey, do you remember getting a certificate of any kind?" Alec asked him.

Mickey shook his head as he put his phone in his pocket.

"Oh, hang on, it was after lunch, we'd just come out of the pub, I think it was called The Smuggler's Arms or something, it might have been around two."

"Then try the number tomorrow after one, if not, try the pub and see if he's there," Alec suggested. "Rose, I'll call Pete and explain."

"No, I'll do it, it's my fault for being so stupid," Rose offered.

"Then maybe you should explain it in person? That includes you Mickey," Alec pointed to him.

"I've got a date this afternoon," Mickey objected.

"Well tough Mickey or do ya want me to tell Martha you're married?" Rose huffed.

"How did you know it was with Martha?" Mickey wondered.

"Mum mentioned you were trying to get her to talk to you again, I don't think she'd be too happy to learn we got married, even by accident."

"She's not the only one," Alec added. "I know neither of you knew about it but still, this is serious Mickey. Are you sure you were never handed a piece of paper?"

"Not that I remember, maybe the couples were supposed to hang around to get them when he'd got all their names. There was only the pub nearby, maybe he did it from there?"

"Well get the number of the pub and ask if he's there Mickey," Rose suggested.

"You heard her Mickey, if you didn't get the certificate, he may remember you," Alec offered.

"Maybe it's not legal then?" Mickey hoped.

"It still is, if he entered into the records," Alec replied, seeing Rose was far from happy about this.

Mickey was on his phone trying to find the pub and was answered by a gruff man with a Cornish accent who obviously had no telephone manners.

"Smugglers Arms, what you want?"

"Ah, hello, is there a Silas Howard there please?"

The man just shouted "Si, it's for you, don't you answer your blasted portable phone?"

There was a noise in the background and Mickey hoped he'd got the right person.

"This is Silas Howard, who's this?"

"Oh, hi, my name's Mickey Smith and my friend and I attended one of your Sunday weddings last year."

"So? Are you wanting to get married? If you do, just be on the village green tomorrow afternoon but that's the last one until next April. I don't normally get anyone asking about them."

"No, you got it wrong, we came to one last year and accidentally got married by mistake."

Alec thought that was rather obvious it had been a mistake.

The man laughed loudly that Rose could hear.

"You did? Hey everyone, a bloke here says he got married by accident last year."

Mickey could hear all the 'didn't we all' comments in the background.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" the man asked.

"Well, I want it annulled or whatever, we just found out. We never got a certificate."

"Oh, I remember you, you'd disappeared with that rather lovely looking blonde who was standing with you in the wedding area. Thought she was a bit too good for you."

"Hey, thanks mate," Mickey huffed. "So what do we do about it?"

"Well you'll both have to come back here and see me after the ceremony tomorrow afternoon."

"Will we get divorced then?" Mickey dared to ask.

"Not exactly, even though you never collected the certificate, it was legally binding. You'll have to wait until after the wedding ceremony then stand in front of me and say you want the marriage to be dissolved."

"Is that all?" Mickey hoped, thinking it was simple enough.

"Well you have to state in front of everyone why you want it annulled."

"Seriously?" Mickey asked, looking at Rose.

"Yes, why do you want it annulled? Has the marriage been consummated?"

Mickey let out a loud "No, we haven't," hoping Rose hadn't heard.

Alec had a good idea what the answer had been about.

"Well in that case, it's easy enough, you have to 'un-marry' your partner in front of witnesses then sign the form."

"Is it instant?" Mickey asked him.

"What's the hurry, after over a year?"

"It's awkward, she didn't know we were married."

"Oh and she wants to marry someone else? I can see that's awkward but it's assumed that when you stand on the village green, you want to get married."

"No-one told us that and we weren't at the front," Mickey argued. "So if we sign this form, we get divorced. Does she have to wait?"

"No, it's instant, there's a 'get-out clause' but I will have to check it's valid, couples are meant to come back within a certain time, it goes back a long way."

"You don't sound so sure? Are you the local historian or something?"

"I was born here but I went off to university and studied all the local customs, it goes back hundreds of years when pirates would try to steal the local women and would fall out a week later, well the men would. Be on the village green at two tomorrow and if your partner wants to marry someone else, tell her not to stand too near because if she's still married, it won't be legal."

"Got it," Mickey replied, looking at the other two.

"So, we set off for Cornwall then?" Rose asked. "My mum's gonna be upset we can't try the cakes."

"We have to set off Rose, it's a long way," Alec advised her. "We can stop off home then travel the rest of the way in the early hours of tomorrow morning. Mickey, do you get something to say you're divorced?"

"Oh, I forgot to ask but I suppose so. I'll meet you there tomorrow at two."

"Come down with us," Rose offered.

Alec didn't look too happy about that. "Rose, we have time to call and see your mother about the cake. We should tell Pete about this."

"Don't worry, I'll be there, how was I to know that by standing on that village green we'd got married?" Mickey asked.

"Well everyone else was stood back Mickey, that should have been a clue," Alec told him, still in his own voice.

Once at the mansion, they went straight to find Pete and explained the situation. Pete found it amusing.

"Best not tell Jackie," he advised them. "Rose, go pick out your cake love and you'd better come up with a reason to leave early."

"Well Pete, we have to go all the way to Cornwall then come back up here on Monday to get the marriage license," Alec told him.

"Can't you finish doing it in Broadchurch?" Pete wondered. "Why did you go get it here anyway, everything's on computer."

"We had to give the final word on the cake anyway," Rose answered. "Come on Alec, don't say anything to my mum about this."

"No way Rose, you know I'm not that brave."

The cake chosen, they made their excuses to leave.

"I thought you were staying?" Jackie asked them.

"Something came up Mum, we have to get back. We'll see you on Thursday anyway."

They set off back home, planning on getting a few hours sleep then setting off early to the village down on the tip of the Cornish coast. Mickey had set off and booked in at a local inn for the night and met them the next morning.

"It will all be over in a few hours Rose," Alec assured her as they met at breakfast just after nine when Mickey had sent a text to say where he was staying.

"Yeah, I hope so. We'd better get something on paper to say it's done with Mickey, mum's ordered the cake. Alec, maybe we should stop by and see Daisy tomorrow on the way back from London?"

"She won't be expecting us Rose, we were meant to have been getting the license yesterday. You'll see her on Friday when she arrives and you're trying your dresses on."

"Yeah, aw, you should have seen little Fred on Friday when I met Ellie, he looked really cute."

"Well Tony didn't seem too happy about wearing a suit, we go get them on Friday afternoon when he gets out of school," Mickey told them.

After a walk on the beach, they met up with Mickey again just after one. He had spoken to the officiator again and been told that the man would announce after the ceremony if there are any couples present who want to dissolve theirs.

"So did he check up to see if we were eligible?" Rose asked.

Mickey wanted to say no but it wouldn't make any difference, Rose would still go off with Alec and live with him whether they were married or not.

Arriving at the village green early, the three of them stood firmly on the other side of the path and waited for the couples who were getting married to gather on the actual green.

"I can see how you got caught up in this Rose," Alec observed, holding her hand.

"Yeah, it was really nice, shame we can't get married here."

"I would have thought once was enough?" Alec smiled.

Rose nudged him playfully. As the ceremony got under way, she wondered how she and Mickey had been counted as amongst those getting married but since they had been right at the back, no-one would have noticed they weren't saying anything or holding hands. At the final words, the officiator spoke again.

"Anyone who wishes to dissolve a marriage conducted here, please step forward."

Rose let go of Alec's hand and grabbed Mickey's arm, pulling him forward. Alec had to smile, she was taking no chances. As the officiator asked them the questions, they both answered they wanted the marriage, such as it had been, to be over.

Early the next morning, they had to make their way back up to London to finish getting their license but Rose had one request before they went back.

"Rose, the estate is different now, you said so," Alec objected.

"I just wanna see it one more time Alec, please?"

They saw the exact spot the Tardis had landed in the playground of the other world and where she and Mickey had tried to open the heart of the Tardis.

"Want to go see your mother?" Alec asked her as they got back in the car.

"She thinks we got the license on Saturday, we don't want her thinking something went wrong."

Wednesday afternoon, Alec was instructing Ellie before he left as she was taking over for the next two weeks or so.

"Go on, get out of here and take your girlfriend out tonight," Ellie urged him.

"We are going out tomorrow night, Pete is treating us all at a top London restaurant. We will see you on Saturday."

"Yeah, we're setting off first thing, it takes longer to get across London. Is she getting nervous?"

"Not that I noticed, except when we went to get the license. I think it finally hit home we are getting married after all this time."

"Well, if she gave up on ever seeing you again, it's hardly surprising," Ellie told him.

He decided to take Ellie's advice and told Rose to get changed and they would go out, Rose agreeing readily.

"I guess we won't have to keep up any pretences now, everyone knows we're engaged," Rose smiled. "There's just one thing though."

"Oh, and what is that?" he asked as he watched her struggle with her dress and she finally turned around.

"You'll have to stop switching between accents when we have kids, you'll confuse them."

"Well, which do you prefer?" he asked her.

"Honestly?" she asked as she turned to put her arms around him. "I'd love you to be the Doctor again Alec but you've been here over four years, you took to being Alec Hardy and you're a great detective. I think I want you to stay as him, there's still a danger someone knows about when you were here the last time."

"Maybe, if Yvonne was getting information from outside Torchwood but from who?"

"It could be anyone Alec, maybe we're not meant to know?"

"Maybe we should just forget about it, there is no need to run any more. In a few days time, you will be Mrs Hardy, how does it make you feel?"

"A bit nervous, you've supposed to have done it before."

The night before the wedding, Pete had invited Jake and Mickey, who had persuaded Martha to join him and Tess and Daisy had arrived, her and Rose having tried on their dresses.

"How do I look Rose?" the nervous teenager asked as she stared in Rose's mirror at herself.

"You look perfect honey, you're more nervous than I am."

"When mum first told me she and Alec were pretending to have got married, I thought she was mad but he's the only dad I've really known."

"I'm not tryin' to take him away from you Daisy, you know you're welcome to come and visit whenever you want."

"Yeah but when you have kids of your own?"

"You think that will stop us from seeing you? Yeah, we plan on having kids but we'd never shut you out. You know about Alec, where he comes from?"

"Yeah, we had a discussion, I know some of it. You knew him then, didn't you? That's why you went into hiding."

"Did he tell you?"

"I guessed some of it. You look beautiful Rose, no wonder Alec loves you."

Daisy went off to get changed for dinner and Rose stood looking at herself. Not that long ago, she had no idea the Doctor was in the same universe and they could have been together but Pete had done the right thing in view of what had happened. She got herself out of the dress since Daisy had unfastened it at the back and got changed for the dinner party.

Alec was pacing the reception area waiting for her. He'd been banned from what had become their bedroom as soon as Rose had dragged Daisy when she'd arrived. Tess caught him watching the stairs.

"Worried she'll back out?" Tess asked him.

He turned around as she spoke.

"No, she won't back out. Everyone thinks I was married before but this is just as daunting to me as it is to Rose. We always thought before that we would never settle down and now, well we are. The thought used to terrify me Tess and you have no idea how pretending to be married to you helped me get over that."

"You helped me get over Daisy's father, that was him who left us up in Scotland."

"I thought it was but I did not want to say anything. Does Daisy know?"

"She does now, since you decided she needed to know about you. Never mind about me, you have a lot of catching up to do."

After dinner, they all split up, the men going to another room and the women staying in the smaller sitting room. Martha had been invited to stay.

"I hope you didn't think I was on Yvonne's side?" Martha asked Rose as they helped themselves to drinks.

"I know you tried to stay out of it, don't worry about it. How's your job at UNIT?"

"It's great, very challenging. Don't get me wrong, I mean I liked it at Torchwood but it was a mistake, I know that now."

"Well I'm not going back, I've been keeping myself busy."

"I should think so, with a wedding to plan," Martha smiled.

Tess was heading towards her.

"Hey Tess, I hope you didn't think I was hi-jacking Daisy earlier, I just wanted to make sure her dress fitted."

"I know that Rose, she's been so excited these last few weeks. So, are you ready for this?"

After Rose got to her room, there was a knock on the door. She had just got into her nightdress and thinking it was Alec, she opened the door slightly and grabbed an arm and found Mickey standing in the doorway. Rose ran to grab her dressing gown.

"Sorry, I thought it was Alec sneaking around."

"No, just me," Mickey apologized, leaving the door open. "I came to say sorry, for that mix-up."

"It's sorted, don't worry about it. Now, if you don't mind, I'm expecting Alec."

"Not sticking to tradition then?"

"Yes, if you must know. We arranged he'd come and say goodnight."

Alec had gone back to his room to satisfy Jackie and was approaching Rose's room door when he saw it was open. He'd just stopped off to pick up the gift he'd got for her that he wanted her to wear at the wedding, a chain with two silver hearts. He caught a glimpse of who looked like Mickey.

"Rose, what is he doing here?" Alec asked as Mickey heard his voice.

"I was just leaving. I came to say sorry for that mix-up."

"Well now you have, I would like some time with my future wife."

Martha was just coming out of the room she'd been given to find the bathroom and saw Mickey coming out of Rose's room.

"Mickey? What are you doing?"

"Nothing I was just talking to Rose," he defended himself as Alec tried to get in the room.

It was too late as Jackie heard what was going on and despite Pete telling her to leave it, had to go see for herself.

"What's going on? You'll wake Tony. Mickey, what are you doing out here?"

"He was coming out of Rose's room," Martha spoke up.

"That's typical of you Mickey, Rose is finally getting married and you have to try and stop her," Jackie complained.

"Mum, stop it, Mickey just came to apologise for something," Rose tried to tell her as Alec rubbed her shoulders. "If anything had been happening, Alec wouldn't be here now, would he?"

"Well what is Alec doing here? He's not supposed to see you until the wedding breakfast," Jackie huffed as Pete tried to lead her away.

"You're having a wedding breakfast?" Martha asked, forgetting what she'd just seen.

"I think everyone should just go to their rooms," Pete hinted.

"Yeah, what world do you come from?" Jackie huffed.

"I've never heard that before," Martha huffed back. "Oh, Yvonne was right, wasn't she?" Martha asked, covering her mouth.

"Of course not Martha, don't be so daft," Mickey told her.

"You're all from another world?"

Tess had come out to see what was going on. She saw Alec with his arm around Rose, who was leaning on his shoulder, Mickey standing in Rose's room doorway and Pete trying to hold an angry Jackie back.

"What's happened?" Tess had to ask.

"Nothing Tess, just a misunderstanding," Alec finally spoke up. "Pete's right, everyone should go get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow, nothing has changed."

"Well that includes you, don't think I don't know you were tryin' to sneak into Rose's room," Jackie told him. "What happened, caught Mickey in there?"

"No Mum, Mickey never came in my room, he moved to let Alec in," Rose tried to explain.

"Well what was Mickey apologizing over? What's he gone and done now?" Jackie asked.

"Nothing Jackie, forget it," Mickey spoke up.

"Well it must have been something. You'd better not have been tryin' to get her to change her mind Mickey Smith, you know what she was like when we came here."

"Jackie, that's enough love eh?" Pete asked her, eyeing Martha.

"You are her mother, aren't you?" Martha asked.

"It's all over now Martha, there's no need to go telling anyone," Pete told her.

"I wasn't going to but all that hiding, why not just come out and admit it?" Martha continued.

"You saw what happened, Yvonne may not be the only one trying to get to the truth, she may have had help," Pete explained.

"Is that true?" Tess asked. "You're all still in danger of being found out?"

"We could be Tess," Alec told her. "Martha, most of what we came out with is true, it has just been altered slightly."

"Are you really a detective or were you here that night?"

"No, I was not here," Alec answered truthfully.

Well it wasn't actually him that had been here, was it?

"Well, I suppose I have to believe that?" Martha asked. "Mickey, I'll stay for the wedding but you have a lot of explaining to do."

Pete managed to lead Jackie away and Mickey was about to follow Martha when Alec stopped him.

"So, what were you doing here?" he asked Mickey.

"I just wanted to say sorry for that mix-up, I never knew."

"She knows that Mickey but you should have said something before, not by going to her room."

"Well you can talk? I know it was always you she wanted, all that time ago, why do you think I stayed here? I wasn't trying to split you up."

Mickey went off to his own room and wondered why Jake hadn't joined in.

Rose went back in her room, Alec's arm still around her.

"Some kiss goodnight this turned out to be?" Rose managed to joke.

"Well, if that's the worse that can happen? Ready for tomorrow?"

After the wedding breakfast, Rose went off to get her hair done and get into her wedding dress, Jackie watching her.

"I still can't believe it's really him Rose."

"Well it is, sort of and I don't care, the Doctor sent him to be with me, I'm not throwing that away. I wouldn't have been happy with anyone else."

"We all know that sweetheart. I'd better go see to Tony, he wasn't happy about wearing that suit. I saw Alec going to his room, don't let him sneak back in before you go downstairs."

Alec was in the room he'd been given for the night after checking on Daisy.

"You look lovely Daisy," he'd told the teenager.

"Thanks, you should see Rose's dress, it's gorgeous. Are you going to shave?"

"I thought about it but Rose wants me as Alec Hardy with a beard and that's what she's going to get. It would not be fair to give her a constant reminder of what we used to have. This is a fresh start for both of us."

"So you didn't have a beard when she knew you before?"

"No, never. Well, I had best go get myself ready, maybe then Tony will keep his suit jacket on? I wonder if Ellie Miller has arrived, Rose will be upset if not."

Ellie and the boys were already downstairs, Ellie trying to get the youngest to stop wandering around since the house was buzzing with activity even though the ceremony was taking place in the marquee outside but finally, Pete was standing in Rose's bedroom.

"Well this is it love, what you've been waiting for."

"Yeah and I'm not mad because you kept us apart for all this time, if Yvonne hadn't have gone after us, someone else would but do ya think there is someone else, still out there?"

"Well if there is, hopefully Yvonne being dealt with will be a deterrent."

Alec was pacing the packed marquee, Jake trying to stop him.

"Quit pacing, anyone would think you were nervous," Jake joked to him. "Still keeping the beard?"

"Yes, Rose deserves to have who I became, not who I used to be."

"Tell you what, Rose wouldn't care right now," Jake smiled as he caught sight of Pete, Daisy and young Fred, who was being shown how to pick up the train of the wedding dress, Rose standing there with her bouquet and opting not to wear a veil.

The tiara holding her hair in place sparkled under the lights in the small reception area of the marquee and as she looked up and saw Alec, smiled and took Pete's arm. All the events of those first few weeks they had been reunited all disappeared in the few seconds she walked the short distance to the minister who was waiting in front of the nervous groom, Alec remembering how she had looked the first time she'd been all dressed up when he'd upset her.

Now he was going to make up for not only letting her go but for everything else as she joined him and took his arm.

"You look beautiful Rose."

Rose smiled back and leaned over to whisper, "If you say for a human, this is going to be a very short marriage."

The End!