Retelling of 'Alec Hardy goes to Gracepoint' with Emmett Carver in the lead role.
Rose Tyler, Torchwood agent, has been on one mission too many and has just escaped serious injury so she is sent to recuperate in a sleepy seaside town called Gracepoint that is about to make headline news for all the wrong reasons – a murder and a new detective in town.
Set in the alternate universe. Has a twist in the tale.
Scroll down to read each chapter
Chapter 1
Does not contain any spoilers for the TV series. Carver is not all he seems to be!
This is set in the alternate universe and obviously after the events of 'Doomsday' for all of you who are wondering! If she was still in her own world, she wouldn't be the 'Vitex' Heiress would she now?
Beginnings and introductions
Beginnings and introductions
Rose was sat quietly with her friend Jake in the airport lounge, waiting for her flight to be announced. The two Torchwood members were not even supposed to have been there, they shouldn't have escaped so easily when everything had gone wrong. The entire team had been in the lab when the device they were using to jump dimensions backfired in an horrific way causing injury to those the nearest and others to be flung across the floor leaving them shaken and bruised and the device in pieces. There was only one near fatality but thankfully no-one was killed outright although the person in question was still critical and others had been discharged from the medical bay after 48hrs. Rose knew she should have been one of those but for some reason she had been spared, coming away with just a few cuts and bruises that were already healing but a lingering muscle pain in her ribs that wasn't going to go away so easily.
She was on strong pain-killers that sometimes knocked her out if she took the full dosage so she had to just take 1 tablet at a time during the day and especially if she was flying. She had pulled the muscle as she was flung across the floor but she considered she had got away lightly.
She felt responsible, the device was only still in use because of her being so stubborn and not giving up her hope of getting back to her real universe but it was all over now, everyone knew there was no way Pete Tyler would ever allow anyone to build a replacement not even for Rose's sake. That had been a week ago and Rose had insisted she helped clean everything up and make sure those injured were back on their feet again and she hadn't liked being ordered to take leave with the rest of the team but Pete had insisted because Rose's mother had threatened him if he didn't make her take a rest.
So to make sure she didn't come back in a hurry, Pete had arranged for her to travel all the way to California to spend a month in a small town away from it all and Jake had been charged with making sure she went. Rose couldn't understand why she was being sent so far away, a week in Spain would have done but Pete had argued she could get back too easily and since she had to take two planes and a bus to her destination, it would put paid to her cutting her holiday short as it would be too much trouble. What Pete hadn't told her was that he was getting someone to keep an eye on her, an old acquaintance who worked in Gracepoint and who was sworn to secrecy not to tell Rose anything and to let Pete know if Rose was unsettled or about to leave. He knew very well what Rose would do if she thought she was being watched.
Jake hugged her goodbye as she went through to the departure gate, he had flashed his Torchwood ID to get him into the departure lounge to make sure she didn't change her mind and skip getting on the plane, otherwise he would have had to deal with one very angry Jackie Tyler and as brave as he was, he never messed with her under any circumstances.
During the long flight Rose slept most of the time, she hated the take-off but was okay once the plane had settled to its cruising height and after what seemed hours more than it actually was, the plane was descending into the Los Angeles airport where she would take a short flight to another more local airport nearer her destination and from there a short bus ride. It had all been carefully arranged by Jake, someone was to meet her and she had an hour to kill before getting on the second plane, spending the time in the VIP lounge on her phone, sending messages to her mother and getting the local weather report and where she was staying.
She picked up a magazine and glanced through it, noticing out of the corner of her eye that a tall darkly dressed man with a scruffy beard had just entered the lounge, not that she was all that interested of course but the other people in the lounge were mainly couples and older people. The man sat down opposite her, he was obviously a businessman judging by the way he dressed, dark grey suit, white shirt and blue tie and a black overcoat thrown over his arm, boy did he look boring she was thinking. Almost as bad as the Doctor wearing his brown pin-stripe suit all the time. He glanced over at Rose but she pretended not to notice.
Her flight was called and most people went forward, including the man dressed all in grey and he stepped to one side to let Rose go through first. Once on board the smaller aircraft, Rose had booked an inside seat with a bit of extra legroom on the main flight but there were no such luxuries on board this one so she found her seat and put her shoulder bag on the other seat to open the overhead compartment when she noticed the man she had seen in the lounge waiting for her to move. Thinking he was wanting to pass she stepped in front of the seat but he indicated he wanted to sit there. "Great," she thought and he held the compartment open and let her put her bag in and put his own and sat down next to her. The strain though was a bit much, she would have to risk taking another painkiller soon.
Rose was thinking he looked a bit cramped since he was quite tall but he just put his feet onto the footrest and pulled a face at the lack of room. She risked a smile at him and he sort of managed one back then closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Headache?" Rose asked, trying to start a conversation with him as they were sitting next to each other for the next hour.
He just shook his head, he regretted not putting his glasses on earlier and he should have taken something for it. Still in a little over an hour he would be at his destination and be able to sleep it off, providing the bus he was taking when he got off the plane was waiting for him. He was in no mood for missing it. How many people actually went to a town called Gracepoint?
Rose tried to close her eyes as well, she'd had a long flight and wished she had never let herself get talked into it. These days she preferred to travel by Zeppelin but they were too slow and some airports couldn't handle them. She had to ask for a bottle of water and indicated to the hostess she needed to take her medication and was thankful the man next to her had his eyes closed. The hostess had seen her prescription and nodded it was okay. It was announced they were landing and Rose couldn't wait to get off and stretch her legs properly. The man next to her politely handed her shoulder bag to her and nodded and she followed him towards the exit. She thought it best if she followed him to the baggage claim so she wouldn't get lost as he was following other people and she waited for her cases to arrive. Seeing it was a small airport she figured she wouldn't have to wait long, providing of course her luggage had been transferred and wasn't still back in LA.
Surprisingly she didn't have long to wait and got a trolley and loaded her baggage onto it, then seeing the man she had been sat next to struggling with two cases and no more trolleys around, she asked if he wanted to share.
"Are you going to the bus terminus?" she asked, pointing to his cases.
He nodded. "Yeah, I'm catching a bus, where else would I be going?" he replied.
Rose was thinking he was a smart-arse. She was too tired to give as much back as she got which she would have done under normal circumstances and said something along the lines he could have a car or taxi waiting. It was about a thirty minute journey by road to Gracepoint, the town Pete had chosen for her though why exactly he had she didn't know. She just knew everyone had conspired against her to get as far away as possible after what had happened. Torchwood had put everyone involved in the accident on paid leave and sent them for recuperation, all expenses paid but she doubted most of them got any more than a week in Brighton which would have just suited her.
The man put his larger suitcase on the trolley then his other on top and offered to push it which Rose didn't refuse since the pain was already coming back, one tablet didn't quite work, it just took the edge off it and they went out of the airport building to find the bus terminus. According to what she had been told, there should have been at least thirty minutes to wait, allowing for any delays retrieving luggage so finding a coffee machine, she asked the man if he wanted coffee but realised she had no small change.
He fumbled in his pocket and brought out some coins but just said, "Yuck, can't drink coffee, I'll have tea, plain" and passed an assortment of coins. Rose had little knowledge of U.S currency and studied the machine to see the cost.
The man could see she was having trouble so wheeling the trolley nearer, he motioned her aside.
"Don't you know to use a machine Miss?" he asked as she handed the coins back.
Rose was not in the mood. "Not American ones, I'm English."
As he was putting the first of the coins in and selecting a drink he muttered something under his breath about Brits.
Of course there was a choice of coffee, half of which Rose didn't understand exactly what they were with 'double shots and espresso' so she pointed to the one marked 'Latte`' and thought she would be safe. The man's mission accomplished, they sat down on a bench and Rose looked up at the departure board. Suddenly there was a update flashed on the screen the bus to Gracepoint was delayed by up to two hours.
They both looked at each other, there was no way Rose was going to wait two hours for a bus that was only a thirty minute ride, especially with the pain coming back with almost every movement. She took a chance when she saw the man's face as he read the announcement.
"Are you by any chance going to Gracepoint? Only if the bus is delayed, we could share a taxi."
"Good idea Miss, I'm not waiting two hours for the bus to turn up. You wait here with the luggage and I'll go find the taxi rank then I'll come back. My name's Carver by the way, Emmett Carver.
"Rose Tyler" was the reply as they shook hands.
Pete would cringe if he knew Rose was about to share a taxi with a stranger, well not exactly a stranger since they had sat on a plane for an hour and he had wheeled her luggage out of the airport building. Emmett disappeared into the building again and came back a few minutes later.
"There are a few taxis out the other side of the building, if we go now we should get one before the next plane arrives."
He began wheeling the trolley back through the airport and they emerged at the other side and went towards the first taxi. Rose hadn't brought a lot of cash with her on the journey, just for emergencies but this classed as one she supposed.
"Don't you think we should have let someone know we aren't going to be on the bus?" Rose asked.
"They'll figure it out," was all the reply she got as the taxi driver got out and opened the trunk of the car, seeing three large and one small case plus hand luggage.
Rose struggled into the cab holding her shoulder bag containing her laptop and other valuables while Emmett was giving their destination to the driver. It was the driver's lucky day, a trip out to Gracepoint and back. Emmett asked Rose where she was staying and no surprise, they were at the same hotel. Rose thought this was a conspiracy and Pete had arranged all this so someone would keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't leave early but little did Rose know that Emmett Carver was not the one she had to be worried about because the person who was meant to keep an eye on her was the hotel owner and would be watching Rose very carefully.
Both sat in the back of the cab, both tired and it was getting late. Rose was hungry, she'd had a meal on the flight to Los Angeles but nothing since and she hoped she'd be able to get a meal when she got to the hotel. They came into the town and the driver located the hotel easily enough and Rose was really hoping the cab fare wasn't too much or she would have to go locate an ATM.
Getting their luggage out of the trunk, Emmett insisted he pay the cab fare and they would settle the bill inside to save time messing around splitting the fare so Rose was too tired and hungry to disagree. They walked inside to the front desk to be greeted by a blonde haired woman who looked up from her computer screen.
Hi, Welcome to the Crestview Inn, I'm Gemma."
Rose was really surprised to find another Englishwoman there, especially running the hotel.
"You must be Miss Tyler and you," Gemma turned to Emmett. "You must be Mr Carver," she added, looking him up and down several times.
Rose was trying not to laugh, Gemma was definitely giving him the once-over and the man was already squirming.
ooooooooo{silversurfer60}ooooooooo
Emmett Carver was not happy, being torn away from his albeit temporary home to be sent a few hundred miles away to some backwater town on the northern tip of California, by the sea of all places, why would he want to be by the sea when he hated it? Still, it wasn't like he'd had any choice in the matter, he had to get a transfer and Gracepoint PD was the only place that would take him well the chief wouldn't have volunteered if he'd known the real reason, the excuse was he needed to get away in a hurry and he had, it was better he got away as soon as he could, just not to somewhere by the sea.
He had waited for the plane, electing to pay extra and wait in the VIP lounge since he hated waiting around with screaming kids and had tried to book a flight with extra leg room but was told it was a smaller aircraft with limited seating and wished he'd booked a Zeppelin instead. He had it all arranged or so he thought until he had got to the airport sooner than he had needed but he has spied a young blonde woman who was sitting reading a magazine and who had actually smiled at him, something that had brightened his day and hoped might be on the same flight.
He had been pleasantly surprised to find she wasn't only on the same flight but when he had boarded the plane, she was trying to put a bag in the overhead compartment with some difficulty so he had offered to help her plus the fact he was sitting next to her so helping speeded up the process of him getting settled before the other passengers boarded, one of the advantages of upgrading to VIP status.
He had not managed to strike up a conversation with the woman, she looked tired and at one stage looked like she was in pain but she had taken what he thought looked like a painkiller and she had closed her eyes for a while. He had helped her off the plane since he knew now why she had been struggling and had offered to help her. Then of course, the bus hadn't shown up so rather than wait, he'd gone to find a cab and found out the woman was going to the same town as he was and had suggested they shared rather than wait and as fortune had it, she was staying in the same hotel. Maybe this town wasn't going to be so bad after all.
Rose and Emmett both signed the guest register and Rose asked if the hotel was still serving dinner. Gemma said they could still get something in the restaurant but they would have to pay as the guest dining room was closed. Rose saw this as an opportunity to pay back Emmett for the cab fare so asking if they could leave their luggage in reception, Rose suggested they went to eat. They found a table in the corner by the window and Rose studied the menu after pouring a glass of water and fumbling in her purse for her medication. Emmett was getting a little concerned as this was the second time he had seen her take them and only about two hours had passed. He pretended not to notice and took a menu, electing to get out his rimless glasses since he already had a headache and if those were painkillers she was taking he would gladly take one himself but he had to be careful what he took.
He didn't know that Rose was only taking one at a time or she would be out cold in twenty minutes, they had been prescribed to help her sleep so the injury would heal itself. If she didn't sleep then they sent her dizzy. She had to take one though, moving her luggage had not helped and thought the man sat opposite her would think she took them for the sake of it. Giving their order, Rose thought it would be a good time to settle the cab fare with Emmett. They had hardly said a word on the journey with them both being tired.
"So Emmett, thanks for paying the cab. I don't have a lot of cash on me, I was expecting to get the bus so if I buy you dinner, would that pay my half of the cab fare?"
She had looked at the prices and thought it rather expensive even for her standards but was glad she usually had her meals included. Not that she had to be bothered about paying for things but old habits died hard. Emmett had seen the prices and figured it was more than adequate, she had not heard how much the drive had charged him as the cab company obviously charged extra for luggage.
"That's fine, thanks. Let me ask you something Rose, are you okay?" he asked.
"Oh I'm fine, don't worry about me, got injured a week ago, accident where I work."
Well it was sort of true.
She hoped he would just let it drop. He was going to - for now. They ordered their meals, Emmett electing not to go for the most expensive, he didn't want to take advantage of her offer to pay but to be fair, if he had been on his own and stuck waiting for the bus he would still have got a taxi but it had been far more pleasant sharing it with someone, especially an attractive woman. He had to stop all thoughts of that, what would someone like her want with him? He admitted to himself he had let his appearance slip recently, he had no-one to impress after all so forgoing his usual morning shave had seemed about right and he was now rather fond of his stubble, just occasionally trimming it when he felt like it.
Rose paid the bill using her bank card and thought she would leave most of her unpacking until morning and just hang up her dresses and make do with a handful of other items. Emmett offered to help her carry her cases upstairs and after taking his, he then returned to help her since there was only one flight of stairs but on arrival found Rose's room had a couple of more steps to get to it but he helped her non the less.
"Right, there you are, I'll say goodnight then, can you manage your cases inside?" Emmett asked as she put her key in the door.
"I'll manage, thanks Emmett. Goodnight."
Emmett was just about to turn when she caught his arm.
"Can we have breakfast together in the morning? Only you'll be the only one I know here."
Rose was asking him, Emmett Carver to have breakfast with her. Who was he to turn down an offer like that?
"Okay, we can share a table if you want. Goodnight Rose."
She didn't let go of his arm. Instead, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. Then she opened her door and wheeled her cases inside, leaving Emmett standing on the other side.
Maybe he was in with a chance after all. He went to his room, a very ordinary room which was not very modern but comfortable enough for him. He didn't know how long he was staying in town anyway and it was reasonably priced and only a few blocks from the Police department. He hadn't even asked who she was, he only knew her name. Was she on vacation, going to work or a writer or something?
Then an awful feeling came over him what if she was the press and had been assigned to follow him? Well if she was, she was getting nothing out of him, no matter how attractive she was, he'd had enough of the press. He wouldn't mind getting involved with her as long as she didn't expect a story. He unpacked and hung his shirts and suits in the wardrobe, put two pairs of black jeans into the drawer along with his two white t-shirts and a few different coloured ones and his underwear.
Then he took the creased photo of his daughter out of his wallet and put it into one of the drawers, he didn't want Rose to see it, they had only just met and she might get the wrong idea. Who was he kidding? Why should she get any ideas at all? "Put that idea out of your head, Carver." He didn't feel like going straight to sleep despite his headache so he thought he'd go get a nice cold glass of lager in the bar first.
That was to prove his first mistake of many to come. Gemma was serving in the bar, it was after ten, there were only a few people sat at various tables mulling over their drinks, two men sat in a corner riling each other.
He walked up to the bar and ordered his drink.
"I thought you would be tired after your journey, Mr Carver. On your own then?" Gemma asked as he ordered his drink.
Emmett looked around to see if there was anyone behind him or if Rose had followed him down but she had looked tired and definitely in pain.
"Well at the moment, yes," he managed to reply sarcastically.
He was not in the mood to be propositioned by the hotel owner, if she was offering to keep him company.
He took a gamble and hoped Rose would help him out in the morning.
"Miss Tyler was tired, she's gone to bed," hoping that would be enough of a hint.
"Oh, I didn't realise you two were together, you booked separately," Gemma replied, trying not to look disappointed as when he had arrived she thought he was kind of cute and she was inbetween boyfriends, he would fill the gap nicely for now.
"Yes, we did, we met on the plane coming here and we got talking, you know how it is on planes and when we found out we were both coming here, we shared a taxi from the airport and she agreed to spend some time with me while she's here. It was her English accent that took me."
Gemma tried not to get offended, she was English if he was noticing. She might just be getting a bit jealous of Miss Tyler, whether she saw him first of not, she was in for some competition and the claws were definitely coming out over Emmett Carver, he had been the only good looking male to stay for months, single or otherwise. If she played her cards right, she might just get her hands on him if Miss Tyler was a bit slow on the uptake.
"So, is it okay to call you by your first name, Emmett? Only if you're staying here a while, it sounds very formal saying Mr Carver all the time, doesn't it?"
"You can call me Detective if you like," Emmett smirked, he would prefer she didn't call him anything at all, she was definitely trying to steer him into having a fling with her.
He was not interested, well not in Gemma anyway. He decided to put paid to that and hope Rose wouldn't be too angry with him.
"Actually, I'll be starting work on Monday and until then, I was planning taking a look around the town and the local area with Miss Tyler, we were discussing it over dinner. We're both new here, we may as well look around together. We got on quite well actually."
He was hoping that would put her off. He didn't know just how determined Ms Fisher was going to be despite his plan to somehow rope Rose into posing as his love interest, that was if she would even go along with him and providing she would talk to him the rest of her stay but she had asked him to have breakfast with her which had been a good sign.
"Oh, well, if you change your mind and you want some company, you know where to find me," huffed Gemma, somewhat put out by being brushed off so easily without even a 'maybe' or 'I'll think about it' but she wasn't going to give in that easily.
Miss Tyler was not going to get him without a fight. He took his drink to a nearby table and hoped she would drop the subject. Just how was he going to get someone he had met a few hours earlier on a plane to pretend she was with him? That was going to take some thinking about or was it?
She was certainly attractive, there was no doubt about it and he doubted he was going to get Miss Tyler off his mind until he asked her about it, which wasn't going to be tonight, she would surely be asleep by now. He would knock on her door in the morning and ask her, offer to take her out to dinner if she agreed. It wouldn't do any harm to have a pretty female hanging on his arm when he was out and about and would maybe impress his new work colleagues if he had a girlfriend, albeit a fake one but he also wouldn't mind if it was for real, not just for show. He was getting way too ahead of himself, she might just slap him and tell him to get lost, she wouldn't be the first nor the last.
He finished his drink, he was the last one to leave as Gemma looked at the clock then at him, wishing he wasn't leaving without her, without him asking what time she finished in the bar but no, he just said "Goodnight" and was off up the stairs, probably to go pay a visit to Rose Tyler. Well he wasn't going to get out of it that easily.
Emmett arrived at his room, it was almost eleven, should he go wake her up? No, let her sleep, she looked like she needed it, he didn't know how long she had been travelling. She could have been travelling from the UK or just from LA, she could have been staying there. He would call on her before breakfast in the morning, yes that was the best thing to do, she might be annoyed if he woke her up, he didn't want her to get annoyed if he wanted her help.
Two hours later he was still trying to get Rose Tyler out of his head and was having no success. In the room just down the hall, someone else was having difficulties in getting to sleep, having to abandon half of her unpacking and waiting until two hours were up so she could take two tablets this time and get some sleep but try as she may, after even twenty minutes she was having no luck and although the pain was easing off, they weren't having the effect of sending her to sleep. Maybe it helped if she could get a certain man she had just met off her mind instead of thinking about him. Just why exactly was she thinking about him?
He hadn't said how long he was staying, he could only be there for a few days on business, she wasn't looking for a one or two night stand, she wasn't looking for anything in her state, not until she was fully healed and that might take some time and Emmett Carver might not be a patient man. Since Gemma downstairs had been looking him over, he might take up with her for a few nights and she was in no position to object.
Pity, he was kind of cute and would surely be snapped up by someone if he was available and she couldn't do anything about it. Finally she drifted off but was woken again by a soft tapping on the door. She grabbed her phone to see what the time was, just after seven. Who knocked on a hotel door at seven in the morning? The hotel owner Gemma or a certain man she had shared a cab with yesterday? She reached for her dressing gown and went to the door and asked who it was.
ooooooooo{silversurfer60}ooooooooo
Emmett was awake at six forty five, a habit of getting up early to get ready for work and he knew it would be hopeless to try to get back to sleep, he'd had a few hours and put it down to his headache, which had thankfully subsided on its own plus thinking about the occupant of the room at the end of the hall. He got out of bed, went to freshen up then pulled on a clean pair of shorts, a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt, putting his socks on and his trainers, then debated if he should go knock on Rose's door. He told himself to just get on with it and stop messing around so he picked up his keys and his phone and walked the short distance and tapped softly on the door. A few minutes later he heard a soft voice behind the door asking who it was. Seriously? Who did she think it was at this time in the morning?
"It's Emmett, can I come in?"
He didn't want to talk to her through a closed door or have to raise his voice, not when he had to ask a favour from her.
He heard the key click in the door and she opened it just a tiny crack but enough to see she was wearing very little under her pink dressing gown. Rose rubbed her eyes, it had taken her a while to drift off to sleep that she got rudely awakened by a knock on the door at seven in the morning when she was on holiday and her side was beginning to ache.
"Mmm, Emmett, I don't mean to be rude but have you seen the time?" she queried.
Emmett just put his finger to his lips and said, "Shush, don't want to wake the entire hotel. Are you going to let me in?"
He began pushing the door open wider, Rose's foot was firmly behind it.
"Please Rose, I need to ask you something."
He sounded like it was urgent as he looked behind him to make sure no-one had come out to see what the noise was about.
Rose moved her foot and he made his way in. He saw the open cases and half the contents still in them and figured she must have been too tired to finish unpacking. Rose went to her purse and retrieved her medication and poured a glass of water.
"Please Emmett, can't it wait? I didn't get much sleep last night and I had been travelling a long time, I didn't start my journey in LA, it started in London."
She swallowed the tablet and put the glass down. Emmett sat her down on the nearest chair.
"Really Rose, you shouldn't take those on an empty stomach. What are they anyway, just painkillers?"
Rose went the colour of her name. She didn't know if they even had the same brands here.
"Yes, they're just painkillers and if I don't take one I won't make it down to breakfast. So why are you knocking on my door so early?"
He decided to delay asking her the favour and do something useful.
"You need help unpacking, I can finish it for you," he said, looking into the smaller suitcase and seeing her underwear and sleepwear and put his hand in the case.
Rose wasn't going to let a strange man handle her lingerie so she got up just as he picked up a pile of knickers and some bras.
"Erm, that's not necessary Emmett, really, I can manage."
He totally ignored her and opened one of the drawers and deposited the items into it and crossed to get the rest.
"Oh come on Rose, it's not like I've not seen underwear before, I was married."
He hadn't intended to reveal that just yet but it just came out.
He carried on until the case was empty, just how much lingerie did a woman need? He then took some of the contents of the other case out and hung various t-shirts and put some jeans and trousers into a drawer and Rose was glad she had already taken her more personal items out and put them away. Goodness knows what he would have made of them. Rose just sat there, not knowing how to stop the man, was he related to the Doctor somehow who didn't know how to take no for an answer? His mission accomplished, he closed the two cases and put them on top of the wardrobe and Rose was wondering how she was going to get them down if he left the hotel before she did. She smiled as he took the chair opposite her.
"Thanks," she smiled. "So did you just come here to wake me up to do my unpacking or was there another reason you woke me up?"
Now he had stalled and run out of things to put away, he had no reason to delay any longer.
"Rose, I need a really big favour."
She knew it, there was always an ulterior motive for a man doing something for her.
"Okay, since you put my things away, which I'm grateful for, you may as well ask me."
She wasn't quite prepared for what he was about to ask.
"Rose, will you pretend to be my new girlfriend?"
Rose had definitely not been expecting that. He was certainly taking advantage of their meeting in such a short time but she had thought when she had met him at the airport he had looked cute. She thought she could at least hear him out.
"So why exactly do you want me to pose as your girlfriend?"
Then she remembered the way Gemma had been eyeing him when they had arrived.
"Well I went down for a drink last night and she sort of suggested we got together while I was here but I told her I had made plans with you to look around the town but I don't think she's going to give up, the way she was looking at me last night. So I was thinking if she saw us together she might get the idea I'm not interested. It only has to be in the hotel, having meals together and going out together, I'm not asking you to stay with me all the time, you must have plans. Are you on vacation or here to work?"
This was his chance to find out if she was a reporter or not before this went any further.
Rose was quite amused. She has seen him squirming when they were standing at reception last night. Serves him right for being so hot, you can't go around looking the way he did without women noticing him, even with the scruffy beard. It could be rather fun, she could easily pretend to be his girlfriend, it would keep all the locals away from her, give her chance to sit in the bar without being pestered for a date or men buying her drinks and trying to give her their phone number.
It would also protect her, a single young female alone in a strange town, what was Pete thinking about when he sent her here? No, he wouldn't send anyone here to keep an eye on her, would he? Was Emmett Pete's spy? She was going to have to play this carefully. Maybe he wasn't a spy as such but maybe he knew Pete and had been asked on keep an eye on her, she had thought that at the airport and had dismissed the idea. Well if that was the case, she didn't mind being looked after by someone like him and better her than that Gemma downstairs. So she agreed on one condition.
"OK Emmett, you seem to have got yourself into a mess so I'll play along when we're in the hotel but don't you think with this being a small town that word will get back to her if we're not seen together around town? You explore the town with me and I'll let you off when we come back except for having dinner and breakfast with me and the odd drink in the bar. Oh, and you take me out somewhere really nice tonight. Deal?"
Emmett thought that she was being more than fair and readily agreed. His mission was accomplished and he'd had a glance at her underwear despite her not actually been in it, he said he'd see her downstairs for breakfast.
"Thanks Rose, I know it's a lot to ask, seeing we've only just met so I'll call for you in an hour for breakfast, may as well be seen going down together. I'll leave you to get dressed then."
He looked down at her dressing gown that had suddenly come open even more just as she noticed and tightened the belt. She saw him looking.
"Don't be so shy Emmett, I'm supposed to be your girlfriend after all," she teased. He wished if only.
Just under an hour later when Rose had got changed and showered after her long journey yesterday, she was still feeling a bit tired after being woken up early but she could take it easy today. She still thought though that Pete had somehow arranged all this, her bumping into Emmett at the airport and him being in the same hotel, it wasn't just a coincidence. Emmett knocked on her door and they went downstairs to receive a frosty look from Gemma behind the desk as he took Rose's hand and led her into the dining room.
Gemma was in shock and didn't realise Miss Tyler would be so quick to take up with the latest eligible male guest and she was going to have her work cut out for her if she wanted to make her own claim on him. A pity really, she didn't want to have to fight over him because she had given her word to Peter Tyler that she would keep an eye on his stepdaughter. She owed him big time for helping her all that time ago when the Cybermen had invaded and he had set her up with a new home and a job. Still, all's fair in love and war and this was war, she needn't get Peter Tyler involved, this was between her and Rose Tyler and they'd see who won. If Emmett Carver had a thing for English women, he was going to be spoilt for choice, she was going to see to that. Of course, she could be sneaky and tell Mr Tyler his stepdaughter wasn't doing very well and have him tell her to go back home but Carver might not take to that too kindly and follow her. No, she would have to think of another way to win him.
Over breakfast, Emmett said they could go out for the afternoon if she felt like it, he had to attend to some business at eleven then he would meet her for lunch. He wasn't quite ready to tell her why he was in town.
"So Rose, we'll meet for lunch then? Give me your phone number and we'll find somewhere to go and I'm going to pick up a car so we can drive out of town if you like?"
"I'm not sure about my phone, you may need to use a code with it, I'll have to check. It should have switched to a local network. Give me your number and I'll call you and you can call me back."
She passed her phone to him and he put his number in and she tried it. Pity she no longer had her 'superphone' the Doctor has souped up for her all that time ago. Rose meant to asked Emmett how long he was staying in town, if it was just for a few days, she might go the whole hog and really be his girlfriend but if he was staying, she would have to think about it. If he was picking up a car though, he might be in town a bit longer or it wouldn't be worth hiring one. Maybe he might be there until after the weekend.
Rose went back to her room, she was planning having a walk around the town and looking in some of the shops until lunchtime. They got upstairs and she kissed his cheek just for show and said she would see him later. She got her laptop out and logged onto the hotel wi-fi but needed a password so she had to ring Gemma. The woman still sounded a bit off but Rose put it down to the fact that Emmett had just been sat at breakfast with her and had held her hand into the dining room but she gave her the password. She could see why Emmett wasn't interested in the hotel owner. This might be rather fun, fighting over a man, she had never had to do that before, well except for the Doctor when he had more or less gone off with a French Noblewoman but that didn't really count, he had come back and the woman in question was 100's of years in the past.
She secured a video conference with her stepfather and asked how her mother and brother were.
"Tony misses you already but asked if you would bring him back an American police car for his collection," laughed Pete. "Seriously, how are you doing? Was the flight really long? Is the hotel ok, I didn't think you would want anything too posh, I know you're still not used to your new lifestyle."
"I'm fine, I was a bit tired when I got here but I managed. I met someone on the second plane and we talked a bit when we got off, we were both coming to Gracepoint. We shared a taxi when the bus didn't turn up."
"Male or female? You know your mother will ask so you may as well admit it to me and I'll tell her gently," he laughed, remembering all the tales Rose had related to him about her mother slapping any and all men who dared to cross her door seeking to go out with Rose, including the Doctor, once.
Rose had to smile. "Well, actually he was male but we just shared a taxi, honestly and we had dinner together when we arrived late then I saw him at breakfast, it's no big deal, he's probably only here for a few days anyway." Seriously, when was her mother going to stop all this? It wasn't like she was still nineteen.
"Well ok, I'll keep it quiet for now but if it turns into anything, you can tell her yourself, don't say I didn't try to make it easier for you."
Rose decided that now was not the time to ask if he had sent Emmett to keep an eye on her. She ended the call, sending her love to everyone and decided to go explore the shops, maybe pick up a new dress for tonight if Emmett was going to take her out and since he had seen most of her underwear when he had put it away for her, maybe some new of that too. She was pulled up by Gemma on her way out though.
"So did you connect to the internet Miss Tyler?" she asked, trying to start a conversation pleasantly and finding out just how far she was prepared to go.
"Yes thanks. I'm off to look around the shops and I'm meeting Mr Carver for lunch. Oh and we won't be in for dinner tonight thanks, thought I would give you some warning."
"Oh, you've only just arrived. I thought maybe you would be spending a few days resting after your journey instead of going out on the town with someone you just met. Maybe you'd like to talk later when you get back from your shopping trip, you can give me all the latest gossip from the UK."
"Well, I won't be back until later then only to get changed. He's hiring a car and we're going to explore the area."
"More like you want to know if I'm really going out with him or not," she thought.
With that Rose said goodbye to the woman and went in search of something nice to wear to impress him, it seemed she might have a rival after all and she needed to be at least able to show him she was willing to play the part until he left. She didn't think she had anything to worry about though otherwise he wouldn't have asked her to rescue him.
ooooooooo{silversurfer60}ooooooooo
Emmett had set off for his meeting at his new precinct, to meet the chief who had stuck his neck out to give him a break after his disastrous failure on his last case. He didn't want to dwell on it. Stepping into the precinct, a smaller one than he was used to, he was shown into the chief's office. He had to sit through the usual welcome speech and was told his co-workers probably wouldn't take too kindly to him being there and that the other detective who he would be working with was still on vacation. He would have preferred to work on his own though but since he didn't know the area, it made sense. He asked about getting his own vehicle but was told there wasn't one available so he said he was going to rent one but he wasn't using if for official business and that his partner would have to drive him around when she got back and someone else would have to do it until then.
He was shown his office, not what he was used to but at least he got his own space, then he was introduced to the rest of the department. To say his reception was quiet was an understatement as people looked up for a few seconds then went back to what they were doing. He could see this was going to be hard work, he was supposed to be in charge with only the chief above him. He got outside and dialled Rose's number. He hoped she would keep him sane when he started work on Monday though he was asking rather a lot of her considering he'd only known her a day.
Rose answered, sounding more cheerful than she had at seven this morning, it had been rather unfair to wake her at that time really.
"Hi Emmett, I've found this great place to have lunch but I'm trying dresses on at the moment but if you meet me outside the hotel in twenty minutes I'll show you where it is."
"What was she trying dresses on for, I'd seen plenty in her wardrobe, she must have more money than sense," he thought.
To Rose he just said, "OK, twenty minutes and try not to buy the entire store. What are you buying a new dress for, you've just got here?" he added, thinking this maybe had not been his best idea of getting her to pose as his girlfriend, it was almost like being married again. Then he remembered he had said he would take her out tonight for putting on the act for Gemma.
Rose seemed a bit indignant, who was he, telling her not to buy the whole store? Did he know who she was? Pete had definitely sent him to spy on her. Right, he was going to get more than he bargained for, give him something to report back. Pete had known exactly who she had been talking about earlier and he'd probably got Jake to make his arrangements too for him to get on the same plane and stay at the same hotel.
This had Pete and Jake written all over it. She had talked Pete out of sending Jake with her so he was getting his own back, choosing a hot guy to strike up a friendship with her, her mother was forever pestering her to start dating again, Pete had to know Emmett and thought they would be a good match. Well, he was putting on a good performance, getting her to pose as his girlfriend, even though the bit about Gemma may have been true especially the look on her face earlier.
He said goodbye and made his way back towards the hotel, stopping to call into a store to buy her some chocolates as an extra thank you. What was he doing? She was only pretending to be his girlfriend but maybe, just maybe he might persuade her otherwise but she wasn't well, every time he had looked at her earlier she seemed in pain. He would have to find out what was causing it. He hoped the chocolates would cheer her up.
Rose chose her dress and some new underwear, paid for them and made her way back to the hotel. Emmett was waiting outside for her, beside a shiny new SUV he had just picked and looking at his watch. "Well, she was five minutes late, so what?" he thought as he caught sight of her, yes, it was just like being married again.
"Hi, Emmett, sorry I'm a bit late, I had two dresses that I couldn't make my mind up over. Do you mind if I just pop up to my room to hang it up before we go to lunch?" she asked, as she kissed his cheek. She didn't seem to have noticed he was standing by a car.
He was getting to like that a lot more than he should do. "Go ahead, I'll wait here for you, can you manage on your own?" he asked, sounding concerned. He didn't want to go back into the hotel in case Gemma was prowling about.
Seriously, was he implying she couldn't hang a dress in a wardrobe or did he just want to look through her underwear drawer again? She would have to keep him away from that before he got any ideas.
"Why don't you wait inside or are you scared of Gemma?" she teased. She saw the look on his face.
He felt like saying he put dangerous criminals away for a living so why would he be scared of Gemma? Then he thought better of it and decided putting away criminals was way easier than facing Gemma. Instead he just smiled, got out his sunglasses and put them on.
"I'll wait here thanks." Then he remembered the chocolates under his arm. "Oh, and these are for you, to say thank you."
Rose could only look at him and say "Thanks."
If Rose thought he had looked hot earlier, he was positively red hot the way he put his sunglasses on. This could get way out of hand now and she really hoped he would take this seriously and he was not putting on an act for Gemma or doing as he had been asked by Pete, if he was a spy. He looked seriously sexy in the shades he had just put on and she was going to have a hard time keeping her hands off of him even if he was supposed to be keeping an eye on her. How dare he look so gorgeous wearing sunglasses and a suit and tie? His hair was a sort of gingery brown, almost auburn when the sun caught it. The Doctor would have been so jealous of hair like that and it was a similar style to the last time she had seen him. Saying she wouldn't be long, she disappeared inside to find Gemma staring at her.
Gemma had seen the two of them outside, seen her kiss Emmett on the cheek and taken the chocolates from him and was disappointed when he'd not come in with her as he had looked hot when he put the sunglasses on. Why should all the rich girls have all the hot guys? Life just wasn't fair. She wondered if Emmett realised who she was? Maybe she should inform him, then he would think he didn't really stand a chance with her and she would have a chance with him. He had booked a room indefinitely after all so he would be around for a while. Miss Tyler was only here for a month. Fine, let her have her fun with him she could wait. It wouldn't stop her trying in the meantime though.
Rose hurriedly put her dress in the wardrobe and put her new underwear away and took another painkiller. Really, she shouldn't be feeling so bad after nearly two weeks. She had been resting as much as she could, she couldn't lay in bed all day, it was something she couldn't do, it had been bad enough when she had caught the 'flu a few years back, her mother had practically had to tie her to the bed when she had started to come round. She was going to have to be more careful taking her medication around Emmett though, he might want to know exactly what she had done and it would take some explaining. Getting flung across a room after a machine had blown up was not an everyday occurrence.
She went back down to join Emmett and noticed he was sitting in a shiny new SUV, looking at all the gadgets on the dashboard, trying to decide what did what.
Cars were getting too complicated for his liking, he preferred them the old way when you actually needed less to make a car function correctly, all this electronic stuff was way over his head. He had forgone the customary going over at the rental place, he had picked up the car before going to the precinct and was sure he wouldn't even use half of the things the car was equipped with but it was all they had at short notice. Still, he could claim half of the cost back when he started work officially, they were paying half his hotel bill, that had been part of the agreement when he had gone there.
Rose was not used to sitting in the other side of the car as a passenger and it felt strange that the wheel was not in front of her. She got in even though the place she had chosen for lunch was only a few blocks away. She gave him directions and they set off, pulling up outside the diner a few minutes later. After lunch, over which they had chatted in general, still not giving each other any clues as to what they actually did, they set off up the coast and came to a quiet spot near the sea and they got out. Emmett asked if she was okay to walk on the beach and they made their way down the path.
He decided he was going to have a good talk with her, away from everything and find out a few things such as if she was a reporter and what had caused her the pain she was suffering. Even now he could see it was almost an effort for her walking. She may not be his proper girlfriend yet but he was concerned about her.
He sat her down on a large rock and sat beside her, looking out to sea. He took her hand and turned towards her.
"Are you going to tell me how you injured yourself Rose?"
She didn't want to tell him what really happened, the first mention of 'Torchwood and Vitex' would send him running.
"I told you, it was an accident at work. Why does it bother you?"
She'd had enough with her mother fussing over her and now someone else was, someone very hot and looking indecently sexy in his sunglasses, his jacket and his tie left behind in the car and his shirtsleeves rolled up, the top two buttons of his light grey shirt unfastened. How did he have the nerve to present himself like that when she could do very little about it? It was just her luck.
"Because it does, it bothers me when I see you in pain and taking medication every two hours. What exactly did you do?"
"I pulled a rib muscle satisfied?" she snapped back.
She hadn't meant to but she wanted him to drop the subject. Her injury was not something she wanted to discuss with a major over-sexy bloke like him. Why was he so interested in what was wrong with her? She wasn't there to get the sympathy vote.
If he was going to take offence at her harsh words he would but it wasn't going to deter him. He could ask people questions all day, it was what he did to get to the truth and Rose Tyler was a person of interest and he wasn't about to let her put him off.
"Which side Rose?" was all he said.
He could see she didn't want to share that information and she was bottling it all up.
"My right side. I did something stupid and pulled it. I'm supposed to rest but my stepfather sent me here to recuperate because I wanted to go back to work. He figured if it took two planes and a bus to get here I wouldn't get back so easily."
She was regretting snapping at him now as he smiled at her.
"Anyway, what's with the interrogation?"
He smiled some more. He would have got his ID badge out if he hadn't left it in his jacket pocket, he was off duty until Monday.
"It's what I do Rose, I spend all day interrogating people and I've not even got started yet. Who are you Rose, to get injured at work? Do you do something dangerous for a living?"
Rose supposed you could say that, what they did was more often than not dangerous in one way or another.
"It's embarrassing, I did something really stupid. Can we leave it now?"
Emmett was determined to get to the bottom of it so he thought he would lighten the mood. He was good at putting people off and getting them to talk by making them feel at ease.
"What, like having sex or something?"
Not a good idea, was he implying something? Rose let go of his hand and got up.
"I think it's time you took me back Emmett, don't you? You don't have to take me out tonight if you don't want to."
She started walking back towards the car.
Emmett was up a second after her, taking hold of her arm. Why was he always opening his big mouth before engaging his brain?
"I didn't mean anything Rose, I was just trying to cheer you up."
Rose wriggled free and continued walking, with difficulty over the rocky beach. He soon caught up with her.
"Rose, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I still want to take you out tonight. I just want to help you," he pleaded with her.
Rose stopped. "What were you trying to say? I said I was injured at work, are you implying my line of work is ?" she stopped and began laughing.
"You thought I had sex for money?"
She was laughing and it hurt.
"No, I didn't mean anything of the sort," he denied, looking a bit puzzled as to why one minute she was walking away and the next she was laughing. "Come and sit back down and tell me what you do actually do for a living then?" he smiled, taking her hand and leading her back to where they had just been sitting before he had put his size ten shoe in his size six mouth.
He sat her back down and put his arm around her.
"I really am sorry Rose, it's just difficult to understand why you don't want to talk about it. I was interrogating you, sort of, it's what I do."
"You interrogate people all day? Do you always upset people or is it just pick on Rose day?"
He pulled her closer and she leaned her head on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead.
"Am I forgiven then? Are you still my pretend girlfriend? Only if you are, can we make up later?"
Rose turned to him and smiled. He thought how her whole face lit up when she smiled. She was beautiful and way out of his league.
"I'm sorry, I over-reacted. We'll see about the making up later bit. You're a bit out of practice with women. You said you'd been married, must have been a while ago. It definitely shows, you should brush up on your skills."
"Are you offering to help me practice?" he asked hopefully.
Rose lifted her head and regarded him, still in his sunglasses. She reached over, took them off him and put them on. They were too big for her so he pushed them back on her nose. As he did so he took a really big chance, one that might either get him a slap on the face and risk upsetting her again or one that just might change the game for both of them. He leaned in to kiss her. He took her by surprise but she kissed him back, with fervour and deepened the kiss. He took the glasses off her, put them in his shirt pocket with one hand and the other under her chin so she wouldn't move, then he moved closer and kissed her again. Rose put her arms around his slim waist, trying not to let the pain bother her, it was worth it to kiss him.
Emmett pulled away. "Seriously Rose, I meant what I said, I just want to help you. I don't just interrogate people all day, I help them too. I'm a police detective. You can tell me. I am concerned about the way you seem to take painkillers every two hours, prescribed or not. Tell me what happened."
Rose put her head back on him, this time just above his chest. He kissed her forehead again and put his arms around her. Her side was really hurting now and she had neglected to bring any water with her but was almost afraid to take anything now so she had no choice but to explain. She had taken one before she went out but that was hours ago, she daren't take one while at lunch, she didn't want him to see she took them so often but he was a police officer, she had to cut down on them or explain. So she did.
She told him how she had to space them out every two hours or they knocked her out and she only took one at a time or the pain got bad, like now. She also told him half the truth, there had been an explosion where she worked and she had got flung across the floor, she just didn't tell him where it was she worked. He asked him to show where it hurt and what she had done about it, apart from seeing a doctor.
"I went to the hospital, they can't put a bandage on it because it makes it worse. I just have to take it easy and not overdo it. Emmett, I don't take the tablets for the fun of it, I take them to ease the pain off so I can get on with things. I can't lay on a bed all day, that's not me."
He listened to her, he believed her and said if she needed to take them then he wouldn't question her.
"Come on then, let's go get you some water if you need to take them. I'm going to keep a very close eye on you Miss Tyler, it's my duty as a Police Officer. Oh and about making up later, I'll take you somewhere really nice and no alcohol if you're on medication and don't forget, you're going to help me practice my talking to women skills, which I hope includes lots more kissing."
He leaned down and lifted her head towards him and kissed her again. He helped her up and led her back to the car. They drove back towards the town and he stopped at a store and bought her a bottle of water for which she was grateful and tried not to make it look to obvious as she took the pain relief.
"We need to talk Rose, when we get back to the hotel. I hadn't planned on kissing you back on the beach, I took a risk."
"Paid off though didn't it? It was nice, that first kiss. First kisses are always the best."
"Yes they are, then they get even better."
He parked the car and escorted Rose into the hotel, his arm around her and hers around him and if looks could kill then Gemma was committing a double homicide as the two of then walked up the stairs.
They stopped at Rose's door.
"I'll go get changed and get ready for tonight, if that's okay," she said, needing some time to think about this.
The kiss had been more than just nice, unexpected and not unwelcome but now she had to think about if she wanted this, to be his real girlfriend for however long he was here. Was he just visiting or was he going to be working here? She had to know.
They kissed again and he let her go. "You need time to think about this, I understand. I did kind of just spring it on you. I'll call for you at seven then? If you're ready earlier, call for me."
He gave her one more kiss just as he heard someone coming up the stairs. It was Gemma and she had caught sight of them. "Good," he thought, "This might finally convince her."
Rose hadn't seen though, she still had her eyes closed, savouring the kiss. Emmett just held onto Rose until Gemma had gone past. Gemma tried to ignore them but she had seen enough. She may not like it but Miss Tyler had won this round. Still, she would be gone in a month and then she would try her luck with Carver again. She went on her way not bothering to acknowledge either of them. Emmett thought she had followed he and Rose on purpose, to see if they really were together and now he was glad that what had started out as a pretence had turned into reality because he really did like Rose Tyler.
Rose went into her room feeling kind of flushed. She had not expected Emmett to just kiss her like that but she had to admit she had liked it but being his pretend girlfriend and his real one were two entirely different things. Did she want to get involved with him? There was something about him now she had looked at him, something familiar but she had shaken it off as she had observed him in his sunglasses earlier. He had looked very sexy in them, she had decided since he had revealed exactly who he was she was going to call him her sexy detective but he didn't seem to recognize her, he really didn't know who she was and she suspected that was why Pete had sent her all the way out here so no-one knew who she was. Perhaps Emmett was not Pete's spy after all, he wouldn't get caught out by kissing her, he would keep as much distance as possible and kept her as his pretend girlfriend.
She had to contact Pete and tell him this was turning into something else before her mother got to know and she had to tell Emmett who she was but not what she did, not yet but Pete needed to be alerted she may tell her secrets. It was four in the afternoon, she could call him now but it was only a few hours since she last spoke to him, he would think there was something wrong if she called again. She didn't know if Emmett planned on spending the day with her tomorrow or if he was going to work, he hadn't said. Maybe he had been on leave and was just going back or maybe he was just transferred here. There was still a feeling though that he seemed familiar or maybe she didn't want to admit he looked like someone she had lost.
ooooooooo{silversurfer60}ooooooooo
Emmett entered his room. He hadn't meant to kiss her like that but he wanted to help her if he could, to find out what had caused her injury and he now believed there was something more to it, she was hiding something. He should look her up and find out who she was, the cop side of him getting more than curious but he should really give her time to talk, he had just dragged her into this whole thing only a few hours ago after all. He should give her some time to think things over, he had been asking a lot this morning by getting her to pose as his girlfriend because he was afraid of getting involved with the hotel owner and he had rather liked Rose when he saw her at the airport. Maybe he was overestimating Gemma's attempt to corner him. Maybe he had made too much of it and was using it as an excuse to get to know Rose and Gemma had been merely welcoming him to the hotel or not.
His paranoia had given him the courage to kiss Rose and it had been more than pleasant and hoped she wouldn't change her mind because women like her didn't come along every day especially when they kissed you back. He just hoped he wouldn't do something stupid and scare her off. He accessed the internet on his phone and looked up restaurants and found one just outside town where he could take Rose out for dinner, then he went out down the street to a florists shop he had noticed and bought her a bunch of assorted flowers wrapped in pink cellophane with a pink bow and made his way back to the hotel, getting a funny look from Gemma so he had more or less been right about her and she was now jealous. He just hoped the jealousy wouldn't reach a point where she would ask him or Rose to leave.
Just after six thirty, a knock came on his door. He had just got out of the shower and only had his shorts on and was drying his hair and he was praying it was Rose, not that she would be impressed seeing him this way. He called for whoever it was to wait a moment and pulled on his shirt. It was Rose. He let her in, not bothering to fasten the buttons on his shirt as she looked at him, scrambling to gather his trousers and head for the bathroom without her seeing too much, not that he didn't mind but maybe it was too soon. It was too late as Rose had already enjoyed the view.
"Don't mind me," she called after him as he disappeared through the bathroom door. Then under her breath she said, "Just getting my own back for this morning."
He came out five minutes later, going to the drawer and pulling out a pair of socks then sitting on the chair. Rose had to smile, her sexy detective was human after all.
He sat on the chair regarding her. He barely had time to notice what she was wearing when she walked into his room before he had run off to get dressed, obviously the new dress she had bought earlier. He got up and handed her the flowers he had got for her and she smiled.
"Do I have time to go put these in water before we go out Emmett?" she asked.
"If you wait, I'll come with you then we can go out to dinner."
Once Rose had put the flowers in a vase and they had kissed several times, he took her to a place just outside town, making sure she didn't have anything to drink. They talked and Emmett told her what had brought him to Gracepoint and his failed marriage and he was due to start on Monday and he was going to be here until he could apply for another transfer which he didn't know how long was going to be considering he'd had trouble getting one in the first place.
In turn, Rose told him what she could about herself. She was there for a month at her mother's and stepfather's insistence, that she worked for him (which was true, just not at Vitex) and she asked Emmett if he knew who she was since her name was pretty much everywhere these days, not for Torchwood thank goodness but for her supporting her mother's charities and nights out on the town and the fact she was pretty rich now, something that had taken some getting used to.
"Are you trying to tell me you don't know who I am Emmett?" laughed Rose when he said he had never heard her name before they had met yesterday. "Does 'Vitex' mean anything to you?"
Emmett shook his head and said "Nope."
She didn't know whether to be relieved or take offence but this was a small American town although Emmett had said he didn't come from there but Vitex sold worldwide and was the number one selling health drink on the planet but he genuinely didn't appear to know who she was. She had to enlighten him. Trying not to bore him to death, she told him all about herself from her humble upbringing to her mother meeting and marrying Peter Tyler and her younger brother, she just left out the bit of not being from this universe.
Emmett listened and said he was now going to call her a spoiled rich girl and she was going to get her own back on him later, refusing to tell him in public what she was going to call him. Rose was feeling much better both in herself and the pain she had been suffering, perhaps all she needed was someone to care about her who wasn't her mother.
He drove them back and walked Rose to her room.
"Are you going to invite me in for more kissing Rose?" he asked, as he leaned forward.
Rose opened her door and he followed her inside, closing the door and kissing her again. He took his jacket and tie off and Rose took the opportunity to kick off her shoes and throw her jacket over the back of the chair then seizing the chance to start unbuttoning Emmett's shirt buttons while he was kissing her neck. Her mission complete, she grabbed his arms and unfastened the cuffs then pulled the shirt over his shoulders as he leaned down to kiss her, deeper than before as she responded to him. His tongue found hers and he gently reached around the back of her dress and began to pull down the zip, pulling her dress down over her shoulders then letting it fall to the ground. They continued kissing as Emmett led her over to the bed. Rose broke free and went to the table to retrieve the water and her painkillers, she was taking no chances.
"Rose, you promised to help me brush up on my skills with women, you hadn't forgotten had you?" he asked as she walked back to him in her white see-through underwear which he had a hard time keeping his eyes off.
"Thought you'd seen all my underwear earlier, didn't you?" she teased. Rose smiled at him. "I was going to tell you what name I came up with for you first," she teased as she pulled him down then turned him onto his back and began to unzip his trousers as he reached around her back and unfastened her bra.
"Are you sure you're okay Rose? I don't want you to hurt yourself," he asked as she unfastened his belt and pulled the zipper all the way down.
Rose put his trousers on the back of the chair, while Emmett pulled back the covers and scrambled into her bed and Rose climbed back over him and snuggled up beside him.
"That okay, my sexy detective?" she asked, leaning over to kiss him.
Emmett laughed. "Oh so that's my name is it, Miss rich girl?" he said, not wanting to waste any more time getting her on top of him. He knew it wouldn't be fair if he lay on her in her current state of health, he was much heavier than she was and he may hurt her even more.
Rose was determined the pain was not going to get in the way of her enjoyment and sensing what he wanted, she worked her way on top of him, flinching as they touched. They continued kissing, Emmett's hands on her back, working their way down, Rose's arms around his neck.
Emmett broke their embrace, making sure she was okay.
"Let's just take this easy Rose, I don't want to hurt you. Let's just take this slowly and see how you are. Tell me if you start getting any pain."
Rose managed an "Okay" as she began to move on him and his arms reached her hips, making her press herself into him as she reached up to kiss him. She could feel him under her, savouring every touch as he whispered her name and she was daring to position herself just in the right place.
"Emmett, please, go some of the way. I want to feel you."
"Rose, are you sure? I don't want to hurt you." Rose assured him she would tell him if he did.
They moved together as one, kissing, Emmett kissing her neck as she held on to him.
It was the most wonderful time Rose had had in her life, being with Emmett was more satisfying than anything she had ever felt before. He was very gentle with her, trying not to make her move too much, doing all the moving for her as they lay together, Rose's legs either side of his. Rose was kissing his neck and his shoulder as he buried his head in her neck, moving himself further as the sensation washed over them both, making them want more.
Emmett edged himself further little by little, Rose was moaning his name, telling him she was okay. Her side was hurting like hell but there was no way she was going to stop now until he went a little bit further, when she cried out in pain and it hurt more when he pulled back and he was repeating "Sorry" over and over as he lay her to one side until the pain passed, holding her gently. The pain subsided and she was able to move again.
"Emmett, I'm so sorry, I was trying not to let it bother me but it got too much."
She began sobbing into his shoulder.
"Rose, don't be sorry, it was my fault, I went too far, I didn't mean to, it was just so enjoyable. It's been a long time since a woman actually wanted me. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's passing. Can I just lie on you again?"
He moved her over onto him gently and Rose got settled again.
"It was more than enjoyable Emmett, I've never felt like that before. This stupid pain isn't going to get the better of me. I'm going to check my medical insurance and go visit the local hospital and get a second opinion and I'm going to call my stepfather and tell him if the insurance doesn't cover the bill he's going to have to help me out."
Rose had a fairly hefty bank balance but since it had mostly been Torchwoods' responsibility she had been injured in the first place she didn't think she should have to pay for any more treatment. The painkillers were just not cutting it, there had to be more to it and a more effective way of dealing with the problem. She wanted to be with Emmett and that clearly was not going to happen while she was like this and he would soon get put off if she yelled out in pain every time they tried to make love. She had been without a man for a long time and she needed this, with him. She had loved the Doctor but it was not a physical love, not for lack of trying on her part but it had never happened.
"I'll go with you tomorrow Rose, I don't start work until Monday. We'll drive out to the main hospital, I doubt the local one will be able to help you. Maybe though you could go see a local doctor first, to get a referral letter, it may not count as an emergency although the way you just cried out you would have easily qualified. You can't go on like that Rose, it has to be more than what you said it was." He stroked her cheek then kissed it. "We'll get you some help Rose, I promise. I want to be with you."
Rose got fairly comfortable on him and they fell asleep. The next morning after breakfast, not wanting to alert Gemma as to Rose's injury, they sought out the local medical centre and Rose presented her travel medical insurance and was told to go back at twelve and a doctor would see her. The nurse asked if she was in pain and Rose had to lay it on a bit because it came and went and just her luck it had subsided but it could come back without notice and without her actually doing anything although last night's episode had been self inflicted. They went back to the hotel and Rose called Pete, not wanting to alarm him but she didn't want to go back home. She explained that her meeting with Emmett had developed into something and that he was a police detective.
"Right, that makes it okay then, in your mother's eyes," Pete laughed. "Just how did you get involved with him so quickly if you only just met? You know your mother will want to know his life story."
Rose had persuaded Emmett to let her speak to Pete alone.
"I don't know, it all happened so fast. I think we really just fancied each other at the airport while we were waiting for the flight and then it just progressed from there. Anyway, this pain in my side is not getting any better and it's well getting in the way of me enjoying my time away. So I'm going to see a local doctor to find out if they can do anything more and send me to the hospital. Can I send the bill to Torchwood if my medical insurance doesn't cover it? It's a pre-existing condition so it might not be covered."
"Of course you can, you need to get it sorted Rose, I know I sent you there for rest but if there is anything they can do for you over there then it's worth a try. You should go ahead. So what's his name then, this police detective?"
"His name's Emmett Carver and I've told him about myself, just the basics and he's never heard of me or Vitex which I was quite surprised at really. No wonder you sent me all the way out here," she laughed. "I did wonder when I first met him if you had sent him to spy on me though."
"What? Me, send a spy to keep an eye on you? I'm not that brave Rose," he laughed back. "Anyway, I trust you and I know you can look after yourself and now you've made friends with a police detective I don't have to worry about you, do I? You're not going to tell him the rest are you? About Torchwood? Because if you are, I'll have to do a background check on him and I'll have to speak to him. You can tell him, ask him if he's heard of it but I'll have to tell him the rest of it but I don't advise telling him where you come from, not unless you want to take things further with him, your past life is under wraps to all but a few and if you want to include Emmett in it, then he'll have to prove to me he's worthy and I'll need to talk to him face to face, not over the internet, understood Rose?"
Rose said, "Yeah, got that, loud and clear. He wouldn't believe it anyway, it's best you tell him. Give my love to Tony and mum."
She ended the call and went to find Emmett. They sat and talked for a while about their pasts, she admitted about going out with Mickey when she was younger but they had parted as friends and they saw each other all the time but he was no longer her boyfriend. Emmett told her about his past, something he had not done for a long time, no-one had been interested.
Emmett went back with her to the appointment, insisting of going into the doctor's office with her after flaunting his ID badge at the nurse and Rose was examined and referred to the hospital for x-ray's and told she could go any time but may have to wait. Emmett insisted they went straight there even though the hospital was about an hour's drive away. Once they arrived, Emmett used his authority to park his hire car, Rose was amused at all the trouble he was going to. They had only just met but it seemed right, it was just like how it had been when she first met the Doctor, she had just trusted him and gone on to have an adventurous life with him and now she was doing the same with Emmett, only this time he didn't have a time machine that resembled a police box from the outside, Emmett was an actual police officer and there was no point denying though now that the two men looked identical and maybe she was attracted to him because of it but Emmett could return her love.
Rose went in for her x-ray, explaining exactly where the pain was and went back out to wait with Emmett for the results. Nothing unusual showed up and she was referred to a specialist after saying she would be staying in the U.S for another three weeks and when saying she could pay for private treatment was given an appointment the following Tuesday. Emmett said he wouldn't be able to go with her but she said it was okay, she would manage and would get a taxi and since the appointment was three thirty in the afternoon, Emmett said he would come and collect her if she waited for him.
They got back to the hotel, Rose preferring to go to her room, for some reason she didn't seem to like Emmett's room but he wasn't bothered by it. He showed her the picture of his daughter, Rose said she was very pretty and was sad to hear he never heard from her. Rose kissed him and said maybe one day he would. Emmett said his luck was changing, he had met Rose and had never thought it possible he would get together with her so anything was possible now. They lay on the bed, just holding each other and Emmett began to open up a bit more about his past. Rose so wanted to tell him she was not from this world but was mindful of what Pete had said to her. She didn't know why but she was starting to fall in love with Emmett Carver despite him looking like the Doctor. She didn't care when he said he was older than she was, she felt like saying she was once in love with a 900 year old Timelord but settled for saying Mickey had been older than her when she used to go out with him.
Rose had gone over how before her mother had met Pete, how she had lost her job after the shop she worked in got set on fire and about all that had happened since. She just couldn't tell him it was in another universe. Then she asked him if they had been invaded by Cybermen where he had been and it brought back memories. Emmett was convinced Rose had not been all that old at the time of the invasion so she had to go with the story Jake had invented for her. It didn't seem to matter to Emmett as he tried to tell her he believed her involvement and said he was relieved she had got through it or he would never have met her.
After that day, they spent the weekend together, exploring further up the coast and inland. Rose couldn't believe just how beautiful it was. They decided to stay overnight at a country style inn in a small town, just booking one room and getting a funny look from the woman who ran it until Emmett got his Police ID card out and then she was muttering something about moral decline. They talked more and more about each other lives' until Sunday afternoon on the way back to Gracepoint Rose made up her mind she wanted to tell Emmett about Torchwood and more importantly, where she came from. So when they got back, getting another filthy look from Gemma, whom Emmett had called to say they wouldn't be back on Saturday night, Rose said she had something she wanted to tell him.
"Emmett, you said you believed me about my involvement with the Cybermen back in London all those years ago, didn't you?" Rose asked as Emmett took hold of her before leaning down for a kiss.
"I have to believe you Rose, I remember them, they were everywhere and if someone hadn't have stopped them it would have been a lot worse. They had all vanished before they did any more damage and I'm sorry you got caught up in it all and for all those people who died before it all ended. It was fortunate they were stopped before they took over the world but where did they come from Rose? Did John Lumic invent them? That's what everyone was told at the time and then a few years later, all the storage depots reported they had all disappeared. Do you know where they went?"
Rose nodded. This was the moment she had to trust her instincts and share her secrets with Emmett and hope it wouldn't scare him away for good.
"Yes Emmett, I know where they went but I can't tell you just yet, you need to hear something else first. Have you heard of Torchwood?"
She could tell by the look on his face he knew the name and he asked her to tell him more.
"I can't Emmett, you would never believe me in a million years but you'll believe Peter Tyler, he's a well respected businessman and he's the director of Torchwood. I need to call him and he can explain it all to you and if you believe him and you can accept what he tells you then if you want to, we can take our new relationship further and if not, I'll find another hotel and you don't need to see me again."
"Rose, please don't say that, of course I still want to see you, why wouldn't I? Unless of course you tell me you were more involved than you let on and you helped them escape?"
"No, I didn't, I wasn't even around when that happened."
"What do you mean, it was only a few years after they invaded that they disappeared. Why weren't you here?"
"Because I went away after the invasion and I only came back after they had disappeared and I know where they went because I was there. Don't worry, they're gone now, hopefully forever. You have to let Pete tell you the rest because it sounds so far fetched you'd probably have me locked up despite who I am."
Emmett smiled at her. "I wouldn't think you were crazy Rose, not unless you told me they went to another universe or something," he smiled. Then he stopped and the look on his face changed. "Tell me they didn't go to a parallel world Rose, you said you were wherever they went to which means you're from there."
"This man was clever or what?" Rose thought to herself.
She hadn't even had to tell him. She knew by the look on his face she didn't need to answer him as he put his hands to his forehead.
"Emmett, you have to understand, I couldn't say anything, it's classified, even to the police and only a few people actually know about me. That's why I wanted you to hear it from Pete rather than from me. Will you let him tell you the rest?"
"I'll listen Rose, I want to believe you and hearing it from someone else would be the best way but I would rather hear it from you first then you can call him and he can tell me the same. It's what I do Rose, I can't help it, I can't change. It won't be because I don't believe you will tell me the truth. So why don't you tell me?"
So Rose related her story, from the beginning with her first visit here then going back and how she ended up back here, she just substituted a few things, she couldn't tell him about the Doctor, not yet. Emmett sat and listened and when she had given him the shortened version, he held out his arms and she fell into then.
"I believe you Rose, you went through a lot but there's one thing I don't understand. You went back to your own world and there it was only a few months but when you came back here, three years had passed by. Does time move differently where you come from?"
"Yes but when I got here I started living by the time here and everything was invented for me and my age was altered and while I've been here I've adjusted to it. I am as old as I told you, there was just a three year gap but it didn't really affect me."
Rose made the call to Pete and introduced him to Emmett. While they were talking, Rose went down for coffee and Emmett listened to what Pete had to say, Rose taking her time because she couldn't bear it if Emmett walked away. He was the first man she had met since the Doctor who she had felt at home with, that she could be more than friends with and get close to. The few nights they had spent together had been special and despite her pain, he had been more than gentle and understanding, mainly because he knew she was trying to get some help with it.
Her fears were put to rest when Emmett and Pete had finished talking. Emmett just turned to Rose and smiled and said he did believe her and Pete agreed if they worked things out, Emmett should go back to England with Rose and he would be told the rest. Emmett agreed and they said goodbye to Pete.
He put his arms around her and kissed her. "I didn't mean to doubt you Rose, I just needed to hear it from someone else and whatever the rest of it is, I'll come with you to find out what it is. So, you're really from another world? Is it identical to this one?"
Rose nodded. "There are a few differences but who knows now? I've been gone for so long that everything could have changed, this is my home now. I tried to get back, that was what caused the accident when I got injured and the machine we were using was destroyed. Now there's no way back, not ever. The only thing you need to know now is how I got here in the first place and that, my sexy detective is going to have to wait. I think you've heard enough for one day and now I want your reaction to it all and not in words. I want you to show me how you feel about it."
Rose put her laptop away and crossed back to the bed, pushing Emmett backwards and hovering over him. He fully intended to show her exactly how he still felt about her as he unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down over her hips. Until now, he hadn't shown her any intimacy with his hands touching her, she had always been lying on him but now he was going to take advantage of her leaning down over him as he just said one thing, "Please Rose, let me touch you."
"Emmett, I want you now, please. I don't care about the pain, I want you properly."
Emmett wasted no time in easing Rose onto her back. "I want you too Rose, if you're sure?"
"Yes Emmett, I'm sure, I want you now."
Rose was biting back the pain as she pulled him towards her, right where she wanted him, gently at first but he could no longer control his desire as he moved her where he wanted her, calling her name and asking if she was okay. She wasn't, the pain was increasing but there was no way she was going to stop right in the middle of the best experience of her entire life. Emmett was the first real man she had been with, there was no way pain was going to stop her enjoyment as wave after wave crashed over her, giving her sensations she had never felt before that she thought she was going to explode several times over and she thought he must surely think there was something wrong with her as she moved so rapidly. She calmed herself and let nature take over and began to relax as each sensation bettered the last one.
He finally moved away one last time, Rose was waiting for him to move again but he didn't. She wasn't disappointed, just wanted more although her pain was telling her otherwise. Emmett recovered slightly and immediately made sure Rose was alright.
"Rose, I'm sorry, are you okay? I didn't mean it to get out of control but I couldn't help it, it was amazing, you were amazing. Rose, say something please, was it okay?"
Rose had been worried it was her who wasn't okay, it must have been longer than she remembered but there again, time was different here after all.
"I'm okay Emmett, it just hurt for a while but it's easing off. Was I okay? I should have told you it's been a long time for me and even then, it was nothing like just now. I never felt like that before. I was worried you wouldn't like it."
"Oh no Rose, of course you were okay, why would you think otherwise? It's been a long time for me too, far too long. You do know now I'll expect that every time don't you, Miss rich girl?
Rose giggled. "Of course, my sexy detective, I wouldn't expect anything less. So this means you believe everything I told you then? It makes no difference to you?"
"Just so long as you don't say you're from another planet or something. You're not are you?"
"No, I'm not but there are more things you need to know but they'll wait for now. My turn now, I want to lay on you."
Rose settled on him, his arms around her holding her tightly but not enough to hurt her until they fell asleep. Emmett had to go start work the following morning but they had breakfast together after he went to get changed, Rose saying he looked really smart and almost causing him to have to get changed again. He had a fairly routine day, his partner was not back until the following day but he had a driver to show him around. He met up with Rose for lunch which was the highlight of his boring day and he told her he was going to die of boredom here if nothing ever happened. They had dinner and retired to Rose's room again, Emmett saying he may as well give his up since he was never there.
"Why don't you then?" Rose asked him when they had made love twice, Rose just grinning and bearing the pain as she was going back for more tests at the hospital the next day.
"Are you asking me to move in with you Rose Tyler?" he laughed.
"Mmm, sounds like it to me. No point in you paying for a room, mine's paid for, at least for the next three weeks or so anyway. After that, well, I'll have to think about it. Are you going to come back to London with me Emmett? You can hear what Pete has to say and if you decide you can take it, we'll talk things over. I can come back here with you, if you want me to."
"You know I want you to stay Rose, you've brightened up this dull town. I would have left right away if you hadn't been here. You do know my past reputation though, don't you? No-one else would take me on except the chief here. If things don't work out here I don't know where I'll go next."
"Then stay in London, with me. If you're having problems, no-one will know you there, my dad can get Jake to set you up with a clean slate. One button and your past will be forgotten. Think about it, there's no rush. Pete can get you set up in another police department in England or even have the slate wiped clean here, it's up to you. I'm not just a spoiled little rich girl you know."
"I'll have to think about moving to the UK, there's still my daughter to think about. Anyway, don't you forget, I'm meeting you at the hospital tomorrow so wait for me, I'll call when I'm on my way and hopefully, you'll have some good news, then we can celebrate. I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow though, my new partner comes back to work and I took her job, she was offered it before she went away and the chief took me on instead."
"Can't see that going down too well then, you're going to need consoling when we get back, I'm sure I can help you with that," Rose replied as she leaned in for another kiss.
Emmett set off for work the next morning, if he had known what was going to happen, he would never have wished to having something happen to relieve his boredom. His and Rose's world's were about to be turned upside down and their new relationship tested to the limits all at once and the town was going to be in turmoil. He was out investigating a break-in out on top of a cliff top just after he arrived at the precinct when a call came in. One simple call that was going to test him to his limits and test his new girlfriend's tolerance for his behaviour as he got so wound up he would be questioning his motives. The call was to usher him down to the beach where a young boy had been found face down on the sands.
The scene had already been taped off and officers keeping onlookers at bay as he showed his badge to get access. Medics were already at the scene and Emmett was being told what they thought had happened and that the boy needed to be identified. Just as he was asking questions, he heard shouting as a woman ducked under the tape and headed towards the scene. He tried to head her off but it turned out to be his new partner Ellie Miller. That established, she realised who the boy was just as they heard another scuffle as another woman tried to dodge past the officer.
Things went from bad to worse for Emmett as it emerged who the woman was while they were trying to get her away. The other detective got an officer to take the woman home. Things were getting so out of hand, it was after four in the afternoon before Emmett realised he should be picking up Rose from the hospital and he had not had the chance to call her or even send a message. He knew she would be waiting but he didn't know how long her appointment would take. Would she be out of it now? Would she just trust he was going to come and collect her? Most importantly, the news had not yet broken so she wouldn't even know what was going on but he had to make a statement to the press soon, when he had been to see the family, which would be shortly. He didn't want Rose to see him on TV telling the local and surrounding area of the incident. He closed his office door and got out his phone and sent Rose a message. It simply said, "Please call me"
Twenty minutes later, Ellie Miller was in his office, going through the events and what they knew so far and preparing to go see the family. Miller wanted to take the lead because she knew them but he was having non of it. They were about to leave when his phone rang it was Rose.
He told Miller he had to take this and she left, not wanting to tell her it was his girlfriend, he had told no-one of his relationship with Rose, she was the one he would be going back to every night when he finished work and he didn't want to share her. That was if she was as understanding about him as he had been of her when she had come out with the whole being from another universe story, one he was hardly able to grasp, it was far fetched to say the least. It was only because he had read up on Peter Tyler and knew the man wouldn't make up a thing like that that he had finally believed and realised he still cared for Rose and that he now put it upon himself to look after her, she was truly unique in more ways than one.
"Rose, I'm really sorry darling but I can't come and pick you up. Something's happened. I can't tell you about it yet but it's something big and it's something tragic. I'll be giving a statement on TV in around an hour. Can you make your own way back? I don't know when I'll be finished Rose, I really don't. Just watch TV when you get back to the hotel but please Rose, promise me you won't watch it alone, watch it in the bar and wait for me there, I don't want you being on your own and don't listen to any rumours you may be told. Just trust me Rose, please."
Rose could hardly say a word, what was he so upset for, she wondered.
"Emmett, can't you tell me? What's happened? Are you okay?"
She was worried now as well.
"Nothing's wrong with me Rose, I just need you to get back here and wait for me and I'll try and call you later. If I'm not there, have dinner without me and don't go to your room until I get back, stay down in the bar until I get there or until I call you. Promise me Rose."
Emmett was worried too, there was a killer out there, he was the lead investigator and Rose was his girlfriend and a potential target. He couldn't risk her being alone although he had every confidence she could take care of herself, he was not prepared to risk it, not until he knew what he was up against.
He ended the call after she promised she would call a cab and get back to the hotel. He told her that if anyone but he or a woman called Ellie Miller rang, she was not to talk to anyone which mystified Rose even more as she tried to get him to tell her what was wrong. She said she would wait up for him but said if the bar was closing she would have to go to bed. He said fine as long as she didn't answer her door to anyone but him and he would call her first. That was the moment Emmett realised he loved her and he was not going to let anything happen to her.
Of course he was concerned for the family of the boy but he had a different concern for Rose. She could be the next target if he got too close to the killer but anyone in the town could be responsible or even someone from out of town. He was going to tell her as soon as he got back even if it meant waking her he was going to tell her he loved her but would that put her in more danger? Maybe she should send for her friend, Jake, maybe he should call Peter Tyler himself and tell him but if he did, Rose would be on the next flight home, maybe before he could get back to tell her. He just had to trust she would be okay.
Rose was worried as she got the number of a local cab company prepared to take her back to Gracepoint and began the long journey back. She couldn't help but wonder what had been so wrong that Emmett couldn't tell her. It must be something to do with his work and this Ellie Miller must be his partner but why would she call? She had some good news to tell him though, there was a treatment she could try that had been previously missed but it would mean another trip to the hospital because the local one was no more than a medical centre but it would be worth it.
The only problem was she was only there for another three weeks and the treatment would take longer so she would have to extend her stay which would probably please Emmett no end but that would delay telling him more about her past and she had promised Pete she would bring him back with her. Well, it was just going to have to wait, she needed to get better first because she wanted even more of Emmett Carver.
Just over an hour later, Rose arrived back at the hotel and went into the bar and ordered a latte. She had no idea how long she would have to wait for Emmett and was eagerly watching the large screen TV above the bar, hoping that whatever it was would be broadcast on the channel the TV was tuned to. There were a few people in the bar but no-one bothered her. Then Gemma came into the bar and came to sit opposite Rose.
"It's not like you to sit in here, is there something wrong?" Gemma asked.
"I'm just waiting for Emmett, he said he was going to be making an announcement on TV so I'm going to watch it down here. Has something happened in the town? I've been out for the afternoon."
"Well I heard something happened at the beach this morning but that's all, I haven't been out today. What channel is it going to be on, the local one?"
"He never said."
Gemma called the barman and asked him to tune to a local station where the news was being broadcast. Five minutes later, Emmett's face appeared on the screen. He was sat with an older man, probably the chief and Rose was horrified with what he said as he read out a statement a murder on Gracepoint beach. Everyone in the bar stopped and stared, they had all seen Emmett in the hotel with Rose and they all turned to her, including Gemma. The statement over, it returned to the other local news.
Gemma was the first to speak and once over the initial shock went back to her desk muttering something about her bookings. Rose thought it may be safe to at least text Emmett so she quickly composed a message telling him how sorry she was and for him to call her when he could and that she would be waiting for him no matter what time it was. She got a message back saying he would call when he could.
He never did, it was after ten when Rose went to her room, sending him another message to say she was going to her room and for him to come to it when he got back. He replied saying he would and not to open the door for anyone but him which worried Rose even more since he was being all mysterious. She had just got into bed, it was almost eleven when a knock came on the door and she called out, making sure it was Emmett.
"It's me Rose, let me in," he said as quietly as he could.
Rose quickly let him, flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him. He looked tired and his tie was askew and his top button undone. Without a word, Rose undid his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, running her fingers across his chest, kissing her way across while he just held her. Taking it that he didn't want to talk, Rose led him over to the bed, taking his jacket off and laying it on the back of the chair then starting to undress him until he was just in his shorts. She wasn't sure if he wanted anything else or not, it was his decision, she was willing if he was. He just got into bed and Rose got in beside him, ready to turn out the bedside lamp but he stopped her.
"I need to tell you something Rose, before it's too late."
Rose kissed his cheek and snuggled up to him without lying on him but putting her hand gently on the waistband of his shorts playfully, telling him she wanted him then reaching down. He took her hand and stopped her.
"Rose, I know it's only been a week, well not even that but the last few days, we've got closer, haven't we?"
Rose just nodded and said yes.
"Something happened today Rose, something terrible, something unthinkable, did you watch the news?"
"Yes, Emmett, I did, it was horrible, that poor boy and his family, what they must be going through but why when I talked to you did you say those things? Why did you tell me not to be on my own?"
"I didn't want to upset you. I'm the lead investigator and so I'm the killer's number one enemy, I didn't want to put you in danger if it gets out that we're involved. No-one outside the hotel knows about us Rose, I want to keep it that way so please, don't come near the precinct until I know what I'm up against. I'll have to tell Miller about you, that's all because she has a family to protect and she is just as much a target as I am for anyone who doesn't want to get caught. Until we know more Rose, please, stay in public places and don't go too far. I know you can probably look after yourself but I don't want you taking any risks, okay?"
He held her tightly, edging himself nearer as she slid onto him. He lifted her nightdress, then he whispered, "I want you Rose, I love you."
Tears were forming in Rose's eyes as she realised what he had just said.
"I love you too Emmett, I want you."
Rose pulled his shorts down and he wriggled out of them, holding onto her as they came together, whispering her name.
"Please Rose, I need you."
And with that, he moved her onto her back, making her want him as he gently began as she dug her fingers into his back, telling him not to stop, to go further as she tried to ignore the pain of her aching side and concentrate on what he was doing to her, it was like nothing she had felt before as he carried on when he would normally stop.
Rose wanted to scream out but muffling the sound as she buried her face in his neck, riding out each wave as it hit her, Emmett doing the same until one more burst of energy he had been bottling up over the last few nights was suddenly set free as Rose almost shrieked out but remembering she was in a hotel room, somehow managing to stifle it as the final wave crashed over them both. Emmett was trying his best not to collapse on her and somehow managing to move away in time, landing on her other side away from the pain.
Rose didn't know whether to laugh or cry, the pain was subsiding slightly, at one point she could hardly move and swore she had done even more damage but it had been worth it, Emmett looked concerned at her, watching her face and couldn't decide if she was in pain or she had enjoyed it as much as he had and decided it was probably both. He leaned over onto his side and smiled at her.
"Are you okay? Does it still hurt?"
Rose managed a weak "Yes" but the pain was subsiding.
She slid over on top of him, and whispered, "That was amazing Emmett and it was worth the pain. I was told at the hospital that they can help me, I have to go back next week for some treatment, over the next four weeks which means I'll have to stay."
Emmett smiled at her, she wasn't going to be leaving - yet.
"They can do something? That's great and it means you can stay another week but now I've got this investigation, I won't be able to go back to England with you yet, will you wait here, with me until this is over?"
"Emmett, did you really need to ask?" she laughed as she moved closer to kiss him.
"If you have to go back to the hospital next week, I still may not be able to come with you, will you be okay?"
"I'll be fine. I'm going to call Pete in the morning and tell him what happened and that I'm staying here with you until this is over and then you're going to come back with me. You will won't you?"
"I told you I would but can't you tell me some of it Rose?"
"You have enough on your mind for now, my sexy detective," she teased.
"Well, I'll have one thing less if you tell me. Will your stepfather get annoyed if you tell me? What's so bad about it? Are you sure you're not an alien or something?" he laughed, kissing her neck and working his way down.
Rose went quiet. "No Emmett, I'm definitely not an alien."
She was dying to say no, she wasn't but she knew someone who was. Maybe this was the time to tell him but best not tonight, he was tired.
"Emmett, if you promise not to be so late back tomorrow, then I'll tell you the rest of it. Things have changed between us now, I know that. Now get some sleep, please Emmett."
He kissed her forehead and settled back so Rose could lay on him.
"Okay Rose but no matter what time it is, you're going to tell me. Deal?"
"Deal. I was thinking though, since I'm going to be here another four weeks at least and you just had this murder investigation thrown at you, maybe instead of you moving out of your hotel room, why don't I see if I can find us a place to rent for a month or so? I don't really have to go back home in a hurry, I can stay as long as I want. What do you think? Maybe rent an apartment or a house for a month, maybe two and that way, we can be on our own without Gemma glaring at us every time we leave the hotel. I can start tomorrow, look some rental places up, if you like?"
"That sounds great Rose, you mean get a holiday home? Should be fairly easy, no-one will want to come here now I suppose, it won't be good for business."
"I know, Gemma was already complaining about bookings," Rose mused, trying not to laugh.
A murder and all Gemma was bothered about was her bookings. Still, she had a living to make and Rose's room was paid for another three weeks or so, if she moved out, Pete might get annoyed so she was going to have to pay for a rental place out of her own money.
Emmett said he had to leave early in the morning, before breakfast and Rose said she would get up at the same time and they would go to an early morning diner down the street before he went to work. The next morning, Emmett woke her up, Rose commenting he had a nice rear as he got out of bed then insisting he turned around. Emmett smiled and did as she asked.
Rose giggled when she saw him, a big grin on his face as she said, "Definitely a ten Emmett," and got out of bed as he turned back around and came up behind him, wrapping her arms around him and kissing the back of his neck.
"I love you, my sexy detective."
Emmett turn around and pressed nearer to her.
"I love you too Rose, now let me get dressed or I won't get any breakfast and it's going to be a long day. It won't be too bad though because I have you to come back to. I'll go get a clean shirt and then I'll leave you my key and you can move all my things into here until you find us a place, that's if you don't find anything today. If you do, then just move everything to the rental place and give me the address but be careful Rose, please."
"I will Emmett, I promise. I'll start looking for holiday rentals that are vacant then I might get something by the end of the day, that's if you don't mind me paying? I'll make the booking in your name as well, if you want. You might as well take advantage of my generosity. I'll pay for the rental, you buy the groceries and take me out, deal?"
"Deal, now I really must go Rose, are you coming for breakfast?"
After he managed to get away, he went back to his room and Rose was waiting for him. They walked down the street to the diner, telling the night receptionist they wouldn't be there for breakfast and only Rose may possibly be in for dinner. Over breakfast Rose said that if it was okay with him and he trusted her, if she liked somewhere she may just take it on the spot if they could move right in. Emmett agreed, saying anywhere was better than the hotel and gave her his room key and Rose said she would at least pack his things and take them into her room as they would find somewhere soon to rent.
Rose walked with him to the precinct and he told her to be careful and kissed her goodbye, trying not to get spotted by any other officers by standing behind a patrol car, unsuccessfully as he was spotted by his partner as she was going in and he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it and he would have to tell her Rose was his girlfriend.
Rose went back to the hotel, it was still too early to call Pete or her mother, who she would have to face sooner or later and confess she was moving in with Emmett and hoped Pete had smoothed the way for her so her mother wouldn't go ballistic down the phone at her. So she looked up holiday rentals in and around the town and found a few and looked at the properties and found three she really liked, one at the top of a cliff overlooking the sea but a bit remote, an apartment in a block and one house just outside the town. There were quite a lot of pictures of the properties but with them being holiday lets, she wouldn't be able to view them, only go by what was on the screen and the option to call the property owners. She could really have done with Emmett's opinion but regarding what he had said about staying near people, the remote one was out.
Making her choice, she went for the house just outside town and phoned the owner and got a good deal when she said she wanted it for two months and would pay right then after being told it would be vacant from Saturday. That meant three more nights in the hotel. She wondered whether to ring about the apartment but assumed it would be the same and a house was better, two bedrooms and a nice garden back and front and a fully equipped kitchen so she went with it and arranged to pick up the keys on Saturday morning and hopefully Emmett would be able to go with her to move their things. It was the best she could do at short notice.
Rose then had to face the music telling Jackie Tyler that she was moving into a holiday home for two months with a man not just any man but a detective and Doctor look-alike. How was she going to tell her mother let alone Emmett? Bring up the subject with him after they had sex? Just casually tell him he looked like an alien she used to know and was in love with? She didn't know how he would take it but she had to tell her mother first that she was in love with Emmett and was staying with him.
Later in the afternoon, Rose got up her courage to call Pete first and told him she was staying and was going to rent a house with Emmett and about the murder. Even though her phone was protected from eavesdropping devices, it wasn't as secure as a conference call so she still had to be careful what she said.
"Are you sure it's safe there Rose, if there's a killer in the town? You may be involved with a police detective but he can't be with you 24 hrs a day. Maybe I should send Jake over, he can be there in a day or so. So what's this about you two getting a house together? It's a bit soon isn't it? You can tell your mother about that, I'm not as brave as I make out to be," Pete laughed. "I liked Emmett when I spoke to him the other day, took me all my time not to call him 'Doctor' though. That's not the reason you like him is it?"
"No, he's different and I know he isn't the Doctor and he needs me. He's got this murder investigation to get through and I intend to stay here until he's solved it. Plus the hospital said they can give me some treatment and that's going to take a few weeks, I put it on your medical insurance, hope that's okay?"
"If it makes you better Rose then I'm all for it. Now I suggest you call your mother and tell her about Emmett but best not tell her who he looks like or she'll be coming over there to sort him out, police detective or not, he'll get the customary famous Jackie Tyler slap on the face, Mickey told me all about it."
Rose laughed, remembering the time her mother had slapped the first Doctor and he wasn't even her boyfriend.
"There is one more thing, Emmett knows nearly everything about me, I want to tell him more, not about the Doctor, well not too much but I want to tell him things. I know you said to wait until I could bring him over to see you but that's not going to be for a while now and I don't want to wait, I trust him, please, let me tell him. I can call you again to confirm everything I tell him."
"I'm not sure it's a good idea Rose, you might scare him off for good. You don't want to lose him, do you? What if he can't accept the rest of it? You travelling around everywhere and not just with anyone. You have to be very sure you want him to know and be prepared to have him reject it all. You just committed to him moving into a holiday home with you for two months, what if you scare him away?"
"I don't think it will put him off, he's heard most of it, there are just a few details to fill in and I'll break it to him gently, tell him bit by bit and I want to tell him things from my past, you know, the things I don't normally talk about to anyone. I want him to see I'm not any different just because I, you know, wasn't born in London."
She had to be careful over the phone not to say where she did actually come from after Pete and Jake had gone to painstaking lengths to cover her and her mother's arrival on this world.
"Well, I'll leave it up to you and if things don't work out, don't say I didn't try to warn you. Now you'd better talk to your mother, she's just seeing Tony off to school so wait an hour but I'll back you, whatever you decide and there's no need to rush back, you can't return to work until you're fit."
Rose said goodbye and promised to call her mother and sent a text message to Emmett saying she hoped he'd remembered she had his room key and that she had packed all his things and brought them to her room, just managing to cram everything into her wardrobe. She couldn't put it off any longer she had to get it over with and call her mother.
"Rose, why haven't you called me before? I know you've been calling Pete, he told me that you'd met someone so who is he then? Not another alien I hope, I've had more than enough of those."
"No, he's a police detective, I met him on the way here. His name's Emmett and we've been together for a week. I love him mum, he's made me forget about my old life and wanting to get back, he's helping me move on and I've just rented us a holiday home to share because I'm staying. He's just started a murder investigation so it's going to be a while and he's going to need someone with him, just like the Doctor used to do, I can't leave him now and being in the hotel is too cramped so I rented us a holiday home just outside town."
"Well I hope he's going to look after you, with you being injured. Pete said you were going to get some more treatment."
"Yeah, went to a hospital here and they might be able to help, it's going to take a few weeks treatment so that was why I was going to stay and then this murder happened and Emmett's leading the investigation. He was going to come back to England with me to meet with Dad and you but we're going to have to put it off now for the time being and we thought we would have more privacy in a rented house rather than the hotel."
"Well just as long as you know what you're doing, getting involved with a Policeman. Still I suppose at least I'll know where you are and he has a respectable career and you won't be gallivanting all over the place. Tony misses you and wants to know when you're coming back and don't forget that police car for him or you won't hear the end of it. I hope you aren't going to be sharing the same room with him, you just met him."
"No I won't forget the police car for Tony and the house has two bedrooms. You'll like Emmett Mum but I'm going to have to get him to change his wardrobe, he's all suits and plain t-shirts just like a certain other person I used to know. I'm going to have to take him shopping once we move into that rented house. I just hope this murder investigation doesn't get him down too much, he was tired when he got back last night, he went straight to his room and fell asleep."
She couldn't tell her mother they were already sharing her room or she would have reached down the phone and slapped him. She may have told her mother she was going to share a house with him but not the same room.
ooooooooo{silversurfer60}ooooooooo
Emmett was not having as good a day and hoped Rose was going to have some luck finding them a place to rent and he trusted her to pick something. It had been a long time since a woman wanted to make a home for him, too long and then there was the question of keeping it. This place with Rose was only temporary and he could live with that because when this murder investigation was over he was going back to London with her and face his past, a secret he was keeping until Rose came clean with her past in the other universe and once she told him that, he was going to tell her about his. He had told her he loved her but he wanted to tell her so much more, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her now he had one. It could all have been so easily over with if he hadn't made the most important decision of his life last year and got out while he still could afterwards.
It had all be so easy with the right help here and there because somehow they had been as keen to get rid of him as he had been to leave and then he had met a certain very important person. He regretted so much he'd had to lie to Rose, pretending he didn't know about her stepfather but he genuinely didn't know anything about her, she had been kept under wraps very carefully. Now he was glad it had all worked out, that he was still alive and well and in love with Rose Tyler, she was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he wasn't going to let her down and hoped she could accept who he was just as he had accepted her.
He hadn't gone unnoticed kissing Rose goodbye that morning, Miller had told him he should know better than to kiss a woman in public and he told her to mind her own business, he was saying goodbye to his girlfriend and if she didn't like it then it was tough, nothing was going to stop him and he had tried to shield her away from the public, it was Miller's fault for walking past when she did. Miller was a bit put out but amused to find that Carver was human and had a girlfriend.
At least he had someone to go back to, someone who understood the pressures of a job like his, someone who he believed wouldn't question him when he came back late and tired or sometimes didn't want to have sex if he was exhausted and who wouldn't make a fuss about it. Someone who loved him back unlike his disastrous failed marriage that he had only held together for his daughter's sake and now he was not only parted from her she wasn't even returning his calls. Not that he should really blame her, him being so far away, she probably never had the phone credit to call back but she could have waited for him calling again, he always tried twice to give her the chance to change her mind and pick up. He couldn't imagine that if her mother had told her the truth why she wouldn't want to talk to him, even if he couldn't be with her as much as he wanted to be. He couldn't have coped with himself let alone a teenage daughter but now he could, if he hadn't had run away and hidden himself so well. He had got over that and was preparing to face his past again with Rose by his side - if she could forgive him for lying to her and not telling her who he really was.
ooooooooo{silversurfer60}ooooooooo
He was late back again, not as late as the night before and she told him she had found somewhere and she had emptied his room and all his things were in her wardrobe, joking she was going to take him shopping for more 'light' clothes instead of his stuffy suits, he was as bad as the Doctor when it came to his wardrobe. He said she would have to drag him there so she said she was going to or she would go and buy them for him, he said no way and agreed to go after they had settled in their rented home.
They climbed into bed after Rose helped Emmett out of his clothes rather eagerly, kissing in-between items coming off and he wasn't quite as tired as the previous night and they fooled around for a while when Rose refused to take off his shorts for him and they started laughing with Emmett pushing her onto the bed saying she wouldn't be able to have sex until she did take them off for him and calling her a spoiled rich girl again to which she retaliated and pulled his shorts halfway down and teasing him. They finally called it a draw when it became apparent that neither of them could wait much longer and Emmett pulled them off the rest of the way and tossed them onto the floor.
"Rose, do you want to be on top, was it too much with me lying on you last night?" he asked as she snuggled at his side.
"No, I'll be fine, I want a repeat of last night, it was amazing and in case you're worried about protection, I get a shot every three months and I had it just before I came here, I get it for other medical reasons, I wasn't lying when I said it had been a while. I didn't come here looking for someone to fall in love with Emmett, it just happened. I fancied you at the airport you know, I wished now we had talked on the plane instead of when we were waiting for the bus. Oh, and what was that you muttered at the drinks machine at the bus depot when you gave me those coins and I didn't know what drinks to get? Sounded something to me like Brits?"
"Rose, I didn't mean anything, it was just so amusing, watching you trying to figure out the machine and the different coins, I knew already you were English and probably didn't know what the coins were, then there were so many drinks to choose from and I figured you wouldn't know what half of them were. So come on, truce?"
Rose giggled as he ran his hand on her leg and let him continue.
"Emmett, you wanted to know about some of my past, do you want to hear it now or after?"
"After, I can't wait for you much longer and if what you have to tell me is too much, there might not be an after."
With that, Emmett gave Rose another taste of the night before, Rose remaining calm and trying to ignore the pain as he tried to be gentle with her and not put his weight on the side that hurt. Rose was encouraging him to keep going no matter what and he didn't try to hold back, there was no way either of them could now as they moved as one.
Emmett gently eased himself off Rose, watching for her reaction as she smiled, knowing he had satisfied her and smiled to himself. She was making him feel wanted for the first time in a very long time and he loved it. He loved being with her, she made him feel loved and made him feel younger and despite their age difference, he even acted younger when he was around her and he was letting his guard down, letting down the barrier he had put up to shield himself from the past and he was on the verge of bringing that barrier down. He had put it up after what had happened almost a year ago. His failed case and his subsequent health problem and it had taken every ounce of strength to get himself sorted, starting with his health and the rest that followed.
He made sure she was okay then turned to her.
"So are you going to tell me the rest Rose? If you do, I have something I want to share with you as well that you may or may not take too well. I have secrets too."
"Oh, you do, do you? Bet mine are better than yours," she teased, rolling onto him.
Rose got comfy, leaning onto her good side and began to tell him. Not all of it, just enough like how she had really got here the first time, not using a device and how the man she had come with had changed her life in many ways. Emmett listened, never interrupting her until she had virtually told him everything including the truth of how she was stranded here and had to say goodbye to the Doctor. She still didn't mention he was not from Earth, that would come later, she could bring that bit up later, start telling him things about her world like the songs she used to love that were never composed here or films and TV programmes she had seen that were never made, people she knew and famous people although Pete frowned upon her talking about people who were never actually born on this world or took different paths, like her favourite actor for one who she had teased the Doctor he had looked like that got him all defensive. Come to think of it, Emmett did look a little bit like him too although when she had been in her old world back in 2006 she had never seen the actor with a beard.
It was very late, they knew they should have left this but Emmett needed to know and had insisted. Emmett looked at her, thought how beautiful she was and what she had been through and she had survived including how in this world she had never been born. She had been right. Her secrets were far more intense than his were, maybe he should wait to tell her but she would be waiting for him to tell her no matter what time it was. He wanted nothing to get in their way, he was going to tell her he shouldn't be here at all, shouldn't have survived but all that seemed pale now in comparison with what she had personally gone through. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Rose so he was going to have to tell her that he wasn't who she thought he was.
"Rose, is that it? Have you told me everything? Because I need to know everything. This Doctor, he meant a lot to you didn't he?" He could tell by her reaction that he was right. "Did you love him Rose?"
She had to admit it. "Yes, I did but I never told him, not until it was too late but I never got to hear him say if he felt the same. I can't go back Emmett, not ever. The only way I might have possibly got back got blown up and Pete won't sanction another version of it, not even for me."
"If you did get the chance, just if, would you go back?"
"I would have, I would have gone back without a thought but not now Emmett, not now I've got you. You were just what I needed when I thought I'd never be happy again. When the device blew up, it was my last and only chance gone and I knew that was it, there was no going back and I resigned myself to staying here and never being happy again but you, Emmett Carver, came into my life. The Doctor once told me that I had changed his life for the better, now you've changed mine, being here now is nothing like I thought it was going to be. I love you Emmett."
She reached over and kissed him.
"That's all I needed to hear from you Rose, that's all that matters so you can leave your past behind and I want to leave mine behind too, I don't want us to have any more secrets, I love you. Let me ask you something Rose, have you ever noticed anything odd about me?"
"What do you mean?" she giggled, thinking he was the most perfect man she had met since coming to this world.
"Oh, lots of things such as reminding you of someone you used to know, the way I talk and the beard which I'm thinking about getting rid of by the way, I don't need it now Rose. I had no-one to care about me, I had no-one who was bothered about my appearance but now I do that's if you still want to be with me after I've told you that is."
Rose was giving him a funny look, stroking his beard.
"I love you with that beard, it's that sexy scruffy look that attracted me to you in the first place, that and those ever-so sexy sunglasses you wore on the beach that day when you first took a chance and kissed me. You are the sexiest man on this world or any other world and I mean that, I'm not just saying it. You helped me to stop pining after the man I lost, the one I left behind that day and I will tell you more about him but only if you want. If you don't then I'll never mention him again, I promise."
He looked at her, the man who she had been calling Emmett and the man he had been pretending to be for the last year and was about to reveal his secrets to her he was not Emmett Carver.
A/N I got the idea of Emmett/Alec switching accents from an interview with David Tennant about his switching voices for Gracepoint plus a little bit from 'Tooth and Nail'
"I'm not who you think I am Rose. I am a police detective, that part is true. Haven't you ever wondered about my accent, don't you think it's sort of funny?"
"Well I don't know that many Americans except for Jack that used to travel with the Doctor and me so no, what's wrong with your accent and why do you think you look like someone I used to know? You have some explaining to do."
"I came here to hide Rose. To hide away from my past and myself, I re-created myself after things went wrong for me and I came here, with some help. I knew one day my attention in drama classes would come in useful and I was always good at mimicking people."
He was smiling at a puzzled Rose who had got up at some point and put on a t-shirt and some knickers and her dressing gown without him taking much notice. He had just watched her, thinking she was going to tell him to get out of her room as she sat back down on the edge of the bed. It was 1am and she was tired, too tired for playing games with him.
"Then tell me who you are."
"My real name is Alec Hardy, I'm a detective inspector from Scotland and I'm not an American, I just lived here for the last year or so. Things got bad for me, I ran away."
He had suddenly dropped the American accent and Rose realised he had done the same as the Doctor had done when Queen Victoria had noticed the change in his accent. She could have sworn if she didn't know better, the Doctor was laid there in bed looking at her.
"I didn't mean for this to carry on so long Rose, I really didn't but with so much going on, I had to tell you and yesterday when that murder occurred and things went crazy I couldn't tell you. You have every right to be mad at me Rose, I'll leave if you want. I didn't mean to imply as much but I think I know the reason why you were attracted to me, you didn't have to say anything, I can tell by the look on your face. You think I look like the man you loved and lost The Doctor, don't I?"
Rose didn't know what to say. She was guilty as charged and didn't know how he was going to react now. He leaned over and picked up his shorts he had tossed on the floor earlier and scrambled under the covers to put them on and began getting out of the other side of the bed.
"I'll go now Rose, where did you put my room key?"
Rose was speechless and pointed to the dresser. He hadn't noticed the key lying there when he'd come in because Rose had been all over him. Now he had stuffed it up again, putting his big foot in his mouth again. Rose was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time and he thought he was going to have a future with her and be able to go back to Great Britain with her and personally thank Pete Tyler for all he had done, including inadvertently sending his stepdaughter to the same town he just happened to have ended up in, what a coincidence that had been, Pete Tyler didn't even know where he was being sent and neither had he until a few days before he had got on that plane and seen the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life take an interest in him and shared a taxi with him.
Rose snapped out of it as he picked up his shirt from the chair and picked his trousers up.
"Emmett, oh I mean Alec, sorry. Where are you going? It's after one in the morning, I moved everything out of your room, it's empty. I would have handed your key in but you needed to do that."
"I'll get my things in the morning, I'm sorry Rose, I shouldn't have carried on deceiving you like that, I should have told you when you first arrived."
Rose got up off the bed and put her hand on his arm as he was about to put his trousers on.
"Alec, I'm just as bad as you are, I didn't tell you who I was either, not right away, we're both to blame and to put the record straight, no I didn't fancy you because you look like him. I fancied you with your scruffy sexy beard and those sexy sunglasses of yours and because the way you acted when you thought Gemma was giving you the eye the night we arrived when I saw you squirming and your cheek for getting me to pretend to be your girlfriend because you thought Gemma wanted you to have a fling with her and the way you stand there, looking well, hot. Honestly, have you got any idea what you do to women going around like you do?"
She walked up to him and took the trousers out of his hand and tossed them back over the back of the chair.
"I love you, you great big muffin."
With that, she unfastened her dressing gown and put her arms around him and reached up to kiss him, tugging at his shorts.
Alec smiled at her and returned the kiss then picked her up, careful not to hurt her and put her back on the bed.
"Does that mean I don't have to leave? Everything I told you was true Rose, just not about my name and who I really am. I'll tell you everything tomorrow night, I promise. We should get some sleep now."
"Oh no you don't, you're not getting away with it so easily, Alec Hardy or Emmett Carver or whatever your name is because I've been making love with Emmett Carver over the last few nights and I'm going to do it one last time."
She let him pull his shorts down and he tossed them back on the floor then he took her t-shirt off and then her knickers and she lay on him. They only got a few hours sleep but neither of them minded so much, the truth was finally out and neither of them had anything more to hide. There were just a few minor details to fill in.
Alec tried not to wake Rose, he was going to let her sleep in but she woke anyway.
"Where are you creeping off to muffin?" she asked, yawning after seeing it was 7.30am.
"Oh, so I'm a muffin now am I? Bit of a let-down from being your sexy detective but I suppose I deserve it really. I'll tell you everything tonight when I get back, I still have a murder to solve and I'm the best person for the job. When it's over, I'll quietly disappear and go back to London with you. You might want to ask your stepfather a few questions while your at it, he was the one that helped me hide away over here."
"What? Pete helped you? Why didn't you say?"
"I just have Rose. Now go back to sleep and I'll explain everything later."
He crossed over to bed, still with his clean shirt unbuttoned, a foolish thing to do in front of Rose, who was just recovering from the shock of finding out he was someone else though she had some room to talk, she had been hiding things from him so she figured they were even. He leaned down to kiss her and got pulled down for his troubles.
"Rose, you're going to make me late and I'll not get any breakfast, so come on, let me go."
She moved her arms away, sulking.
"You do know you sound even sexier with your Scottish accent, don't you?" she teased, letting him go reluctantly. "Promise you'll tell me the rest later, won't you? Do you want me to come and have breakfast with you again? I'll just throw on some jeans and a t-shirt, I'll only be five minutes," she offered as he moved away, holding her arm out for him to pull her up.
It was already almost 7.45am and he'd wanted to make an early start but having breakfast with Rose in the diner down the street again was tempting and he liked showing her off now despite his earlier reservation about being seen with her.
"Okay, but hurry, or I'll be late. I may be in charge of this case but it doesn't look good if I get there after everyone else does and no more fooling around Rose, I mean it so take that smile off your face and stop looking like you're going to jump on me."
Rose stood smiling for a second, since when did she ever do as she was told? How many times had she got told off by the Doctor for wandering off and most times getting captured or into trouble? Maybe today was a good start, she didn't want to make him late because the sooner he solved this case then the sooner they could go back to London but she wanted this next two months with him in the house they had just rented, it would be a test to see just how well they actually got along living together out of the hotel. She sneaked one last kiss and started getting dressed.
"Rose, I'll go and take my key down and wait downstairs for you okay?"
Rose replied with a quick "Yeah" before realising she desperately needed the bathroom.
Just as he was opening the door, making sure he had picked up the right key, Rose called out, "Don't forget to go back to your American accent will you?"
Alec laughed. This wasn't going to be easy, he had spent a year being 'American' and never having to bother switching accents but he could do it, just talk with his own around Rose unless she actually preferred his American one. Most of all she still loved him despite his revelation and he could live with her calling him a muffin, he was, for hiding away for a year. He walked downstairs and was surprised to see Gemma was behind reception, looking like she had just come on duty and he realised he was not going to get to work early today. Remembering to put his assumed voice on he walked across, holding out his key.
"I'm giving my room up, I'm moving out of the hotel on Saturday and until then I'm sharing with Miss Tyler and she's moving out too, on Saturday. I'll leave you a forwarding address, we're renting a house just outside town."
He put the key on the desk and waited for her reaction.
He should be thanking her he supposed, she was the one that made a move on him and prompted him to use Rose as an excuse. Now they had been there just over a week and he was moving in with Rose. Gemma was taken aback to say the least. She had been hoping once Miss Tyler left town, she would have Emmett Carver all to herself but he was moving out with Rose Tyler. This was something she could now use against her by telling her stepfather about her moving in with Carver. He would surely make Rose go back now, she wouldn't dare tell Peter Tyler she was moving in with Carver and he would be back asking for a room and she would be able to console him with Miss Tyler gone.
Alec Hardy, AKA Emmett Carver was waiting for Rose, who had taken five minutes longer than she had said but then he expected no less, the first day after they had arrived he had taken her to lunch and she had kept him waiting, it was something he was going to have to get used to and he liked it. At one point he couldn't wait to get out of his last marriage but now, here he was on the verge of moving in with Rose and waiting for her. Spending two months in a rented house with her would give him a taste of what to expect but her being rich and famous, how would he handle it once they got back to London? She was not very well known over here but once they got back, would the press and other people think he was after her for her money?
He knew he wasn't, he hadn't known who she was until he realised she was Peter Tyler's stepdaughter. She could have been any Rose Tyler, it was a common name and he didn't know that Peter Tyler had a stepdaughter called Rose. He had heard the man had remarried but nothing about his personal life, it was kept under wraps but now, he was going to get the chance to thank the man in person for what he had done.
Rose was smiling as she came downstairs and he walked towards her, kissing her cheek and taking her hand. He could imagine the look on Gemma's face as they walked out and down the street and he didn't care, two more days and they would be in a place of their own, just the two of them. After breakfast, he made Rose promise she would go back and get some sleep, he said he would manage, he was driven around all day so he told her not to worry. They had kissed goodbye again outside the precinct and Rose went back to the hotel. After getting a few more hours sleep, she decided to call Pete and find out what was going on. They both had some explaining to do.
"I'm sorry, I should have told you but he made me promise, the other day when you went to get coffee and we were talking. He wanted to tell you himself and then things went crazy and he had that murder dropped on him. I helped him last year. We had met once before and I told him if he needed anything to contact me. He did but he'll have to tell you about it. Whatever he tells you Rose, it's all true."
"But what about all that with you telling me not to tell him everything when you already knew him?"
"Sorry Rose I had to make it seem genuine. I honestly never thought I would see or hear from again and then when you told me you had met him, well I needed to be sure he was the same person who I had helped. I had Jake help him to change his identity and set him up but that's all I can tell you, you'll have to ask him the rest. I never told him about you or Tony, it didn't seem necessary at the time. You said you thought I'd sent him to spy on you, well I didn't but there is someone there keeping an eye on you and I think you rather upset her, well you and Emmett or Alec, whatever you're calling him now."
"I knew it, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist it and why you sent me here, you already had someone here and I did think it was Alec at first but who is it? Don't tell me, it's Gemma, the hotel owner isn't it?"
Rose wasn't surprised. She should have known why Pete would send her somewhere out of the way and somewhere somebody could keep an eye on her.
"You guessed huh?" Pete laughed, looking at Rose over their conference call. "You've definitely pissed her off because she was on the phone to me earlier asking if I knew you were moving into a rented house with a strange man. Is there someone else I need to know about?"
Rose was smiling too, that cow Gemma had ratted on her and she had been spying on her and she was glad the woman had made a move on who she know knew was Alec because he might not have had the courage to ask her out otherwise.
"Well, I suppose I should thank her for getting me and Alec together, she keeps trying to make a move on him. That's partly why we're moving out, it makes him uncomfortable. Even though we walk in and out of the hotel hand in hand she scowls at us and I caught her this morning as I was going downstairs, she was still eyeing him up. She probably thought with me out of the way she would have a chance. I think we might try and move a bit earlier, we need to get out of here. We still have three nights here and it's going to be a long three nights. Alec doesn't see as much of her now with him getting back late but he was late out this morning and she was there. We were up late last night talking."
"Mmm, I don't need to know that bit, just watch out for your mother but now he has told you who is, you still want to move in with him?"
"Yeah, I love his accent now but he did ask me something and he guessed he looked like the Doctor, he said he could tell but he accepts I didn't go for him because of that, there are lots of other reasons and I told him what they were. We don't have any more secrets, well maybe, he's still not told me everything and you haven't told me why you helped him either."
"I'm not going to, you need to hear it from him, you both have to trust each other now Rose. He's a good man, I know that and I trust him. I'm sorry I had to keep it from you but if it's any consolation, I'm happy that if you had to find someone out there to fall in love with, I'm glad it was him. He deserves you Rose, give him a chance, I can tell you he went through a lot before he went out there."
"I will, I love him no matter if he's Emmett or Alec and I just hope I can help him get through this, I suppose if he's a big city cop from Scotland he's had plenty of experience in murder cases but it won't make it any easier on him, will it?"
"I don't suppose it will, he'll need all the help he can get. That's what you do Rose, you help people."
Rose ended the call and decided to leave Gemma to stew for a while but she was going to tell Alec because she had thought he was Pete's spy and she owed him an apology but she was going to have a talk with the hotel owner later and tell her that her little game was over - that of spying on her and trying to steal her man and then trying to get rid of her so she could have him. Well she was in for a long wait, one that was never going to happen and Rose was going to tell her in no uncertain terms to back off while they were still in the hotel. Come Saturday they would be gone.
Alec was tired, they hadn't had much sleep last night, they were too busy talking and telling each other about their past. He didn't know whose was the best well kept, his or Rose's and concluded they were both just as equally bad. Rose had gone through a lot, especially when she was younger. He figured she had only been about nineteen when she had first come to this world and still the same age when she came back despite three years passing in this world and only mere months in hers. That was something he had to get his head around and even Rose had confessed she hadn't still worked it all out and had just gone along with her stepfather's plan.
He knew they still had a lot to tell each other and he still had to face Rose's mother the formidable Jackie Tyler whom by what he had heard was fairer than her predecessor but very defensive of her daughter and was prone to telling Rose's friends, male or not what she thought of them. He just hoped he would pass her scrutiny and be deemed good enough for Rose. Still, a few more days at the hotel and they would have a temporary place of their own but he was tired of having a 'temporary' home and was now sure he could have a permanent one with Rose. They just had to decide where they wanted to go - to stay here, go back to London or make a fresh start for both of them. They would decide together, he would give Rose a say in it.
The day dragged on, he was having to keep up the pretence of being Emmett Carver which wasn't too difficult, he hadn't really changed his personality, just his name and accent but the people who he worked with were just as irritating including his new partner who was just too close to the case for his liking but he had to rely on her local knowledge. This case was just too similar to the one he was trying to forget and hoped the killer in the last case he was on hadn't followed him. He was going to have to rely on Rose to see him through this, she was worth getting through the day to go back to.
Nothing new was happening, no more leads so he decided to finish early and leave the rest of the team to it, that was what they were there for after all, the joys of being in charge. He told Miller he was leaving for the day and to inform him if any new evidence came to light and made his way back to the hotel and get the address from Rose where they were going to be staying and ride out and see the place. He sent her a text for her to meet him outside the hotel and they would set right off.
Rose got his message and made her way downstairs to find Gemma alone behind the desk.
"Oh, did Mr Carver tell you we were moving out on Saturday? You can send my hotel bill to my stepfather, he made the booking. You know how to contact him anyway."
Rose knew that the hotel could just charge Pete's credit card but she was making a point.
"I don't know what you mean Miss Tyler. Mr Carver informed me earlier he was moving out but I needed confirmation from you that you were moving out."
"Oh, so you can't believe that we're moving out at the same time or that we're moving to the same place? You may as well give up Gemma, he's not coming back here once I leave town, he's going back to the UK with me so we would appreciate it if you didn't stare at us all the time while we're in the hotel, it makes him feel uncomfortable. Just accept it, he's not interested in you. I know you tried to stir things with my stepfather and your little plan didn't work, he already knew about me and Emmett. Believe it or not Gemma, I didn't come here looking for someone to fall in love with, it just happened and one day, you'll find someone, someone so special you'll wonder why you never met them before and everyone you've ever gone out with or fancied in the past will pale by comparison and you'll realise what it's like to have someone try to steal them away from right under your nose. It's not only uncomfortable, it's a low thing to do, just because you think someone has beaten you to it. I wasn't looking to fall in love with Emmett, he chose me, not the other way around."
Gemma looked at Rose, perhaps she was right and all was not fair in love and war after all. Trying to get someone's attention was one thing but Rose was right, trying to steal someone away was not a good thing to do and she would probably feel the same. Just then, the object of their discussion walked in, having arrived outside the hotel and found Rose was not there and concerned she may start a cat fight with Gemma. Not that he didn't think Rose could handle herself, he just didn't want to miss it.
"Ready to go Rose?" he asked, hooking his arm in hers and kissing her cheek.
"Yeah, I'm good." Turning back to Gemma she added, "I hope we're clear on that now Gemma and there are no more misunderstandings."
Gemma merely nodded. With that, Rose and Alec walked out of the hotel and got into the car and Rose gave him the address. She tried ringing the owner on the way to see if it was okay to look around since they were renting the place for two months. The owner had good news for them, the property was empty, the previous occupants had left early and they could move in the next day and he would meet Rose the following morning with the key. Rose thanked him and agreed a time and came off the phone, Alec trying to avoid her flinging her arms around him as he drove. A few minutes later they pulled up outside a lovely single storey white painted house with a dormer window, a small garden to the front with a porch complete with a swing seat and lanterns at each side of the door and Rose immediately fell in love with it and was out of the car as soon as they pulled up, wishing it hadn't been as late as it was and they could have stayed there.
They found a way around the back of the house and looked around and Alec said it was better than he thought it would be. He asked if Rose could manage to do the packing herself or if he should take some time off.
"No, I'll manage, I'll just take my time and then wait for you to finish and we can take the cases all in one go. Do you like it then?"
"It's great, I really like it and I hope it wasn't too expensive because buying the groceries and taking you out doesn't seem too bad a deal. I can afford to pay for it Rose, if you let me."
"No, I insist, you stick to your end of the bargain. I can't wait to move in now. We can start packing when we get back."
Rose was more than pleased they would be able to move out of the hotel and began packing after they got back to the hotel and had dinner, Alec helping her and just leaving enough clothes out for the following morning. They spent their last night in Rose's hotel room, Rose was relieved at not having to spend more time there. It was all happening so fast, her meeting Alec, who was then Emmett, moving into a house with him but it felt right, it was the first time in a very long time she actually felt happy and looking forward to something. She did overdo it with the packing though and felt it later, having to settle for lying on him but they didn't mind, they were both happy and relieved they were moving out and after making love, they fell asleep, Alec not revealing any more of what had happened to him and Rose not asking. They trusted each other now and it didn't matter.
They both woke up early again the following morning, Alec trying to get from under Rose and waking her up. Everything was ready, she was just waiting for him to come back rather than try to move everything on her own, he had told her not to even try. They had breakfast again, saying the next morning they would have breakfast in their new house and Alec kissed her goodbye again and said they would talk after they had moved in. Rose had agreed and was getting anxious to get moved. Rose got a taxi out to the house to meet the owner and got the keys, thanking him for letting them move in early and then after having a good look around she decided to kill some time by wandering around the stores and bought a new dress and some new underwear and was thinking it was a good thing she had extra baggage allowance when her plane ticket had been bought, she was going to need it especially if she was taking Alec shopping.
The day seemed to drag for Alec, he was sat at his desk going over things, trying to get the thought out of his head that this killer had somehow followed him from Scotland. How could they have done? He had changed his identity and had no idea he was going to end up in this town so if he hadn't even known then how would the killer but he had been in the town almost a week before the murder occurred but he dismissed it as absurd. He had Rose to think about, she was his responsibility now and the next call to Pete Tyler, he was going to tell him.
Eager to be off, he made the excuse to his partner he was moving out of the hotel and put his jacket on and left. He walked the few blocks back to the hotel and noticed Gemma was completely ignoring him as he headed for the stairs. He wondered exactly what Rose had said to her the previous evening and had to smile although he was sorry he had missed most of it. Rose greeted him with a long lingering kiss and pushed him down on the bed, not letting go of him.
He tried to struggle, well not much.
"Rose, if you want to get moved into that house tonight you need to let me go. We can make up for it later."
She reluctantly let go. "Spoilsport," she teased as she got up. "You'd better make it up to me later you know, I won't let you off."
"I will. Now is that everything? You wheel the cases out while I take the rest downstairs and if you can manage the smaller ones I'll take the big cases okay?"
Rose nodded. She had told Gemma earlier they were moving out early and she hadn't seemed bothered. The car was loaded and Rose handed back her key. Gemma managed a 'sorry to see you go' speech but Rose didn't reckon she meant it. They were on their way to their new house earlier than expected which was a great relief. It didn't take them long to get there calling for a few groceries, Alec handling the larger cases again and they decided to just unpack what they needed and go get something to eat. They were looking forward to spending their first night on their own and they more than made up for it when he carried her up to the bedroom and laid her on the bed. Rose was about to ruin the moment and immediately got up and he wondered what he had done.
He needn't have worried, she just went to a carrier bag she had taken in with her and pulled out some new underwear and ran into the bathroom giggling. Alec took this as a sign to start getting undressed and waited for her to come back into the bedroom and when she did, it took his breath away. Rose walked towards him and he couldn't help but stare, holding his arms out for her to fall into him then wrapping them around her.
He whispered, "I love you Rose," into her ear and picked her up and lay her on the bed. "Stay there this time," he smiled.
He leaned down and began to kiss the exposed part of her, across her stomach then above and her neck. She reached her arms up and pulled his face down kissing him hungrily while Alec was letting his hands wander. He broke the kiss, hovering over her and pulling her underwear down over her hips, not that they were covering much to start with, then pulling them off and starting to unfasten her bra. Rose tugged at his shorts, yanking them down and pulled him down on her. They scrambled into bed still kissing and he lay Rose on her back asking if she was okay. She assured him she was and he lay gently on her.
Rose didn't want him to stop despite the pain, he was more than worth it as they came together and they had no need to worry about anyone being in the next room as Rose continued moaning she wanted more until one final time when he let go. Rose didn't know what had hit her as the sensation crashed over her and she was shaking involuntarily as he came away slowly, pleased with himself. He thought he would never be able to have proper sex with any woman again and here he was, with Rose and by the look of her, she was more than satisfied.
"Mmm, I want to lay on you now," she whispered softly, trying to get him to move slightly for more room.
She finally got him to move over and began kissing his chest and giggling as he said, "How romantic Rose, laughing at me at me like that," he laughed back.
"I'm sorry, it's just they look so pink under the hair on your chest, I couldn't help it, sorry Alec," she replied as she kissed one then the other.
Rose settled down on him and was just falling asleep when he asked when she wanted to know the rest about him.
"Haven't you noticed something when you've been close to me when you've either been dressing or undressing me?" he asked.
"No, not really, I was probably too busy with other things," she answered sleepily.
Alec took her hand and placed her finger on his heart and she noticed a slight ridge like something rough on his skin. She looked at him.
"What are you trying to tell me Alec? Is there something wrong with your heart?"
"No, not now, there was, I had a bad heart and I had an operation for a pacemaker fitting but I'm fine now, really, otherwise I wouldn't be with you like I have been Rose, you would have finished me off after the first time," he joked.
This is where we came in
"You should have said something Alec, I could have gone easy on you if I'd known. There was you going easy on me and you were the one that should have been taking it easy."
"I'm fine Rose, really, it was nearly a year ago, that's just where they inserted the pacemaker, it's working fine. I had a heart problem that I neglected and it got so bad they didn't think I would survive an operation. Then I met Pete Tyler and we got talking. He told me about what happened on the night the Cybermen invaded, how he had lost his wife and how two strangers appeared and helped him and how he thought he would never be able to repay them for what they had tried to do and ultimately repaying them by helping them and finding a woman who could have been his first wife's twin but he told me nothing else, just that he felt the debt he owed had been paid and he had a new family now, something he thought he would never have."
Rose knew there was something more to Pete's reasons for taking her and her mother in when they had arrived here and now she thought she knew, he had been trying to repay her for trying to save the first Jackie Tyler.
Alec continued. "After that meeting with him, he told me if there was anything he could ever do for me to contact him. I went away for the first time realising that I could change my life around if I really wanted to. My wife had left me taking our daughter away and a case I was on collapsed around me and I decided to risk the operation and when I recovered, I contacted Pete and told him I wanted to disappear. He made all the arrangements, new name, new passport and a job in the LAPD but after almost a year, I hated it and things weren't going so well so I put in for a transfer. No-one wanted a big city cop and I couldn't face going back home but the chief here needed a new detective and took me on. That was where you came in at the airport. It had been easy to leave the police in Glasgow, they invalided me out of the force when they found out I was ill. My name was cleared but there was still a lot of hostility there."
"So if you have a new identity, what happened to your old one and why tell me? You could have carried on being Emmett Carver, I wouldn't have known any different but honestly, you could have chosen a better first name."
Alec laughed. "Blame his assistant, I think his name was Jake."
Rose had talked a lot about him. "I should have guessed, he has a wicked sense of humour sometimes."
"I still have my old ID, just in case I ever needed it, I'll show you if you want? I left if with Pete, I didn't want to risk losing it while I was here."
"I believe you, I've no reason not to. I asked him about it and when I asked why he hadn't told me when I told him about you, he said it was up to you. So, is there any more you want to tell me?"
"I think that's about it, I was only waiting for you to finish telling me everything and I thought you would want me to leave when you found out, I was scared of losing you."
Rose wanted to go to sleep. "Yeah? As if I'd do that you muffin."
Alec smiled and turned out the bedside lamp, there was no more to be said. The next morning, they made a simple breakfast of eggs and toast and tea and Rose kissed him goodbye before he left.
"What do you have planned today?" he asked, not wanting to let her go. "Whatever it is Rose, be careful, there's still a killer out there and I'm still a target for their revenge. When I get back, there's something I want to talk to you about because I'm worried about something, I'm worried about you. Maybe you should let your dad send someone over, just so I know you're okay."
"I'll be fine, maybe the killer has already left town Alec, you don't know and maybe they're their just scared of getting caught."
"Maybe but it doesn't stop me worrying about you. If you go out make sure you stay where there are plenty of people and we'll talk about it tonight. If there's anything wrong at all, just call me and I'll have someone here in five minutes, ok?"
Rose assured him it was fine and she would go get some more groceries and make a nice dinner for him so they kissed goodbye again and Alec went off. Rose had plenty to do, all their laundry from the past few days included since they had just collected the last of their clean clothes from the laundry service the hotel used on Tuesday so she was glad there was a washing machine and dryer in the kitchen and thought to herself just how she had got into this, doing laundry and ironing Alec's shirts and thought how much she liked it, having someone to take care of after all this time, someone she loved and who loved her back.
ooooooooo{silversurfer60}ooooooooo
Over the next few weeks, nothing new came up on the case and Alec was getting nowhere. His superiors pulled resources because nothing was happening and Alec was getting even more annoyed. He tried his best not to take it out on Rose but she was always there for him when he went home and he loved every minute of it. He had talked to her about his theory and Rose said there was no way anyone could have found out who he was and had followed him. She convinced him she was right and he relaxed a little bit. Then just as they had been together for six weeks, Alec suggested they went off for the weekend and they drove down the coast to a small town and Alec had booked them a room for two nights. What Rose didn't know was that he had planned a surprise for her and was going to ask her a very important question.
Over the last few weeks, Rose had revealed to him about some of her adventures and how she had met the Doctor in the basement of a store and her painful goodbye on the beach here in this world. She had Jake send her some music from her home laptop that was never released in this world, all her favourite songs she had on her phone when she had left it with Mickey the first time she was here and then had put back on her new phone the Doctor had bought for her, all the sad songs about waiting and never letting go that she had played over and over again after that tearful goodbye at Bad Wolf Bay. There was one happy tune though, the one she and the first Doctor had danced around the Tardis to and it always made her smile. Her favourite one was 'Moon River' and couldn't believe that even though the composer had had lots of records released in this world, that song had never quite made it, only being featured in a film and had never become popular and a few other songs. She had played some of them for Alec and they had danced sometimes after they had been out. There was one though that she could never bring herself to play for him because it was the only one that made her realise she still missed the Doctor even though she was now fully with Alec plus there were two that included the word 'Doctor' in them that made them special.
Alec wasn't jealous of her past life because she was here now, with him and he said it was all that mattered to him. He had decided to call Pete himself and had asked if he would send over his original documents and Pete had sent them via courier to Alec's office and promised not to tell Rose although he had his suspicions why Alec wanted them but wasn't about to break his promise by telling Rose. Pete knew Alec loved his stepdaughter and gave his blessing to their relationship, telling Alec he was the only man that had made her happy all the time she had been here and that if he had something in mind he was all in favour of it. That was all Alec needed to hear. He got everything planned, left work early and picked up Rose who was all packed and just after they arrived in the early evening on the Friday, he took Rose out for dinner after telling her to put her best dress on.
They arrived at a small restaurant that had candles on the table and he ordered some wine since Rose was virtually off the painkillers after her treatment and was using a new drug free patch directly over where it hurt the most and it was working well which had pleased them both no end and had made all the difference to their love life. Alec had just ordered some dessert, Rose's favourite and they were waiting for it to arrive but Rose didn't know he had delayed it on purpose, previously telling the head waiter he had something planned for his girlfriend. The place was quiet, only a few people dining and some quiet music playing in the background. They were sitting at a corner table by the window and were fairly distant from other diners.
Alec had just poured another glass of wine, they had walked the short distance from the hotel and were getting a taxi back and he suddenly took her hand.
"Rose," he said in his own accent, there was no need to hide here. "We've been together for six weeks now and you know how much I love you and living in that house for a month, well, I think you feel the same as I do, don't you?"
Rose smiled back at him squeezing his hand back.
"You know I do Alec, it's been the best time since I've been here, you're the best thing that has happened to me, you know I love you. You made me forget everything."
Alec went into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box as Rose retracted the hand he was holding to cover her face, mainly to stop herself from screaming out loud as he opened the box to reveal a diamond solitaire ring. He quickly took her left hand back and got the ring out and placed it on the tip of her finger. He could see two of the waiters and a waitress watching him, all waiting to see her reaction, they were obviously used to men bringing their girlfriends here to propose to them, it was one of the few restaurants in the town that had candlelit tables.
He suddenly got up, keeping hold of her hand then getting down on one knee pushed the ring onto her finger and said, "Rose Tyler, will you marry me?" and kissed the back of her hand.
Rose was taken aback to say the least. She had spent six weeks with him and she loved him. She wasn't about to make the same mistake and let him go like she had let the Doctor. She still loved him and always would but she loved Alec more than anything in this world.
"Yes Alec, I will, I love you."
A tear formed in her eye and he noticed and caught it with his finger, then he leaned forward, still on his knee and kissed her to a loud round of applause from the staff and the patrons of the restaurant.
"Rose," he said as he let go and got up. "You've made me the happiest man in the world." He leaned down again and whispered so only she would hear, "Well, on this world anyway."
Rose knew then that she would have loved Alec on any world, he was so much like the man she left behind on her other world, the man she had loved and never told him but Alec, then Emmett had told her within days that he loved her, he wasn't afraid to tell her. Alec only had one life, to spend with her and she wanted to spend hers in this world with him.
The waiter brought their dessert and a complimentary glass of champagne each and congratulated them and then called a taxi for them for the short ride back to their hotel. Once in their room Rose asked Alec why he chosen that night and not waited until the following night.
"I didn't want to wait. I asked your stepfather if it was okay to take our relationship to the next level and he was fine with it, he knew what I had in mind. I didn't want to wait any longer Rose. The only question is now how long is it going to take me to solve this case and get you back to London so we can get married?"
"Oh, I don't think it will take you much longer, you're brilliant and I can wait, now I've got this ring." She admired the ring on her finger and Alec took hold of her hand. "We'll have to call my mum so that I can show her the ring, tomorrow maybe?"
She put her arms around him and they kissed.
"You don't think she'll be able to reach out and slap me do you?" Alec laughed, remembering what he had been warned.
Rose laughed. "No, you muffin but if I were you I would watch out for her when we get back."
Alec went behind her and began to unfasten the zip on her dress and pull it down, unfastening her bra while he was there and pulled the dress off her shoulder, letting both her dress and bra fall onto the floor. Rose unfastened Alec's shirt then pulled him into a kiss. Before she was able to unfasten the cuffs and pull it off he stopped her.
"Rose, I want to show you something," he said quietly, pulling an envelope from his jacket pocket and taking out the contents - his British passport and his police ID Card and opened the passport.
"Just so you really know. I had Pete send them over for me because I don't know how long it will be before we get back and if you want, we can get married here, we can go to the court tomorrow and get a licence or go find a judge but I don't want to wait, I want to marry you as Alec Hardy. I'll book my plane ticket back in my own name once we get to LA, have a stopover for a few days then we'll go back and face your mother, what do you say? We can even go back by zeppelin if you want? "
"You're not wasting any time are you? You mean get married tomorrow? I've got nothing to wear Alec, why don't we wait until we get back?"
"Because I don't want us to wait and I don't want a big wedding Sweetheart, do you? People running around everywhere and organising things that go wrong, we don't need that, do we? Just you and me Rose, that's all we need, isn't it? Let's go find a judge tomorrow, then you go find a dress to wear and tonight, you sleep in the bed and I'll sleep in the chair and we'll make up for it tomorrow night. That is after we spend just a little time together," he said as he put his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.
Just before midnight, Alec did as he promised and got out of bed after they had just kissed and went over to the chair. Rose smiled and held her arm out to grab his.
"Don't be a muffin, come back here, I've never been one for tradition. We have the same one where I come from but lots of people ignore it, it doesn't mean anything. It dates back 100's of years but I suppose it served its purpose at that time."
Alec willingly let Rose pull him back into the bed and Rose curled up on him and they fell asleep, Alec's arms wrapped around her. The next morning, Rose went in search of a dress to wear while Alec waited in a nearby coffee shop after locating the local judge and making the arrangements. The judge's assistant was only too pleased to help and they were to go back at midday. Rose not only picked out a dress to wear, she picked up yet some more underwear and a present for Alec that she saw in an antique shop that caught her eye, an old fob watch with a symmetrical pattern that reminded her of the writing on the screen from the Tardis. She had opened it and found the same pattern inside and was very pleased when the shop owner said she had been the first person who had been interested in it and he thought it was perfect she was buying it for her fianc . It had cost a small fortune but it had been worth it. Well Alec had called her a spoiled rich girl so she was only helping him make his point.
Alec had bought a pendant with two hearts as his gift to her and they had agreed to go get their wedding rings together. Then they would just have time for Rose to get changed and head for the judge's office for midday. Rose went to get changed after meeting Alec and they made their way to see the judge, both having to produce their passports and pay the judge's fee and they just had a simple ceremony with just one witness. Alec had called Pete to tell him the good news and although Pete said he wished they would have waited, he gave them his blessing and said Rose would have to agree to have a big party when they got back. Alec had readily agreed to face having a big party and Rose's mother.
When they got back to the hotel, Rose being carried into their room, Alec brought out the present he had got her and fastened it for her then Rose got out her present to him. He was astounded she had bought him such a thing and said he would take great care of it and they opened it together and Alec wound it up and set it to the correct local time. They drove back to Gracepoint the following afternoon and Rose asked him if he was going to reveal who he was to the police chief.
"I can't Rose, I'll just have to play this out. When I took the job I had no idea I was going to meet you and get married six weeks later so I'll have to see this through until the end then I'll have to hand over the investigation to Detective Miller and let her take it from there. I owe it to the boy's family to see this out now. I'll change all my travel arrangements though, if you don't want to stop over in LA."
"I'd love a few days in LA, it can be our honeymoon. We'll have to decide where we're going to live when we get back. We can stay in London or move somewhere smaller. I'd still love to stay by the sea though, I guess it will always be a special place for me, somewhere I'll never forget."
"It's okay Rose, I understand. Maybe one day you'll get over it and until you do, we'll live by the sea if that's what you really want."
Their wedding night had been amazing but once back in their rented house, it was even better. Alec carried Rose upstairs when they arrived back in the early evening after stopping to celebrate and laid her on the bed, looking down at her, undressing her slowly and kissing her all over as she unfastened his shirt buttons and his trousers. Rose was feeling playful, she was happy and knew he was too. She could live anywhere with him but he loved her enough to realise she needed to be by the sea. He would help her get over that one day. As Rose lay under him, everything exploded for her, he gave her sensations she had never felt before she had met him and now she was feeling better, she was enjoying them even more as he could now show her how much he loved her. Rose never thought it would be possible to ever fall in love again let alone be married six weeks later. She was going to have some explaining to do to her mother.
As Alec came away from her, she held onto him, turning with him as he moved onto his back and began moving around on him, not wanting it to end and calling his name. They were both still high from their climax as they laughed together, Alec was making her quiver all over with excitement as she giggled her way through them all while he was watching the look on her face. It was just after Rose finally settled down but still hadn't quite recovered, he told her about all the things he wanted to do to her now they were married and Rose telling him to stop talking about them and start doing them.
Their love grew and in the next few weeks, Alec was closing in on the killer, gathering more evidence and having a little help from his now father-in-law at getting the evidence analysed and it wasn't long afterwards that a big break came for the detectives. The killer made a huge mistake and they caught up with the person responsible. There was just one week remaining of their rental agreement on the house and Alec wanted to make plans to go back to London with his wife. Rose had been considering trying to extend their stay and had been about to call the owner but it all worked out. It was like Alec had just got everything solved in time.
Alec still wasn't about to reveal who he really was to the Gracepoint Police Department, he simply said he had been called away and that Detective Miller was to handle the rest of it. He had some help from Pete, making it official and he and Rose made their travel arrangements with a few days stopover at a top hotel in Beverley Hills courtesy of Pete as part of their wedding present and as a surprise Alec had booked them on a slow zeppelin back to London with their own stateroom. It had been almost three months since they had met and fallen in love and by the time they landed in London with Jake picking them up from the zeppelin port and taking them back to the Tyler mansion, Jackie had arranged a massive party with a large outdoor marquee and Jake had got permission from Pete to play some of Rose's favourite songs from her own world.
As they led the first dance to a song never before heard in Rose's new universe, the one Rose had never played for Alec, they danced or rather kissed their way around the dance floor to a mixture of crying from Jackie, cat-calling from Jake and a few others directed at Alec and applause from the rest of the selected guests, only breaking apart when it finally ended and then their joint favourite 'Moon River' after which they tried to sneak away but were caught by Jackie and marched back in until Pete intervened and distracted her, winking at Alec to get out while they still could. Alec took his wife up to their bedroom and showered her with kisses before they fell into bed, not holding anything back now Alec was showing her what he wanted to do to her. They used to have very little intimate contact at first, just touching each other but since they had got married, Alec loved to watch her fall apart at his touch.
Although they had now been married a few weeks, it felt proper now and Alec wanted to make it special. They had decided to stay in London for a few weeks while Pete sorted out Alec's reinstatement with the police commissioner and reassignment and finally being told that there was a job for Alec, with a promotion to Detective Chief Inspector in a small town on the south coast between Lyme Regis and Weymouth, a town called Broadchurch. Alec had been more than surprised, revealing to Rose that he had once spent a holiday there when he had been a boy. They began looking for a house, taking a holiday cottage just off the harbour for a few months while they found somewhere permanent and Rose found the perfect place, just around from the harbour on a cliff and Pete bought it for them as a late wedding present.
They decided to put off having a family at first, Alec was still trying to contact his daughter without success and was still leaving messages for her. He had his own team within the Broadchurch Police Department, no-one brought up his past outside the family, he was now protected by Torchwood and his past had been re-invented just like Rose and Jackie's pasts. On his arrival, he didn't get on very well with his DI at first and Rose thought it was amusing since she had the same name as the detective he had been assigned over in Gracepoint and the two women could have been related but she and Rose became good friends, Rose was always fussing over DI Miller's youngest son which made her all broody until she talked Alec into letting her come off her injections and they started trying for a family.
Everything was going well, Rose's family had come down for a visit just before Tony went back to school in September and they went to London for Christmas and on Christmas eve, they had gone to bed after midnight and Rose told Alec she may be pregnant but to keep it quiet until she could confirm it but he was so excited he couldn't help himself the next morning and blurted it out to Jackie. When they got back to Broadchurch, Rose confirmed she was six weeks and Alec was over the moon. Then in the June, Rose was just over six months pregnant, Alec was doting over her every minute he was at home, arranging leave for when the baby was due when the worst thing that could have possible happen happened.
Alec was called out early one morning the body of a young boy had been found on the beach. Alec couldn't believe it, just 15 months after the last one in Gracepoint, his wife was 6 months pregnant, they had been married over a year and now his past was coming back to haunt him.
This is where we came in!
The End
