A/N: Hello, whoever is reading this! I'm new here, so if you don't mind, please tell me what you think of this through the reviews. That's pretty much all I have to say for now. This is going to be an ongoing story, so here's chapter 1. I decided not to give the chapters titles because I felt like either it would spoil the enjoyment of the chapter itself, or I would run out of inspiration for titles halfway and then not be able to keep it consistent. So...there it is, Chapter 1. Enjoy (:

Alec stared up at the steep slope towering up before him. The mere sight of it nearly sent his heart into overdrive, but he steeled himself. "I can do this. I'm not an invalid," he thought stubbornly to himself and started the tough climb upwards. Several times he had to stop and rest, gasping for breath, but he made it in the end.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, squinting out into the horizon and letting his thoughts wander. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of the refreshing, salty sea breeze. This was where everything had started, with Danny's case, and he thought back a little on how life had been ever since that day.

Obviously not good. No, no, very far from good. In fact, if anyone else had been in his place, they would have nearly committed suicide, driven insane by the amount of horseshit life had been throwing at him.

But Alec Hardy was a stubborn man, and he gritted his teeth and fought through nonetheless, although admittedly his methods of persevering hadn't exactly been the brightest. Like escaping from the hospital before the doctors could get the pacemaker fine-tuned, for instance. His cardiologist nearly had a heart attack herself when she discovered what he'd done. Or the whole thing about the Sandbrook case and his shit plan. He winced at the onslaught of a major cringe attack when he thought about it. As he let the darkest moments tumble through his thoughts, he sat himself down on the grass and took another deep breath, trying to force the thoughts to the back of his mind.

Then there was Ellie Miller.

She had been more than a little chafed at the fact that he'd "stolen" her job, and he didn't blame her. The only thing he was mad at was that she didn't really take it professionally at first and they didn't really manage to get along well, what with the rough start. But they had grown a small degree closer along the way, with those occasional confessions when they felt like they could trust each other. It wasn't like they had anyone else anyway. Worst cop in Britain, and the detective who let a child murderer walk free. Who would want to talk to them after that happened? But then who would believe the truth anyway?

It didn't matter. Although he did not show it outwardly (he wasn't the soppy type), he was well and truly thankful that she had crossed his path. They had been a pillar of support to each other, even though it was in a rather strange way, because they didn't actually openly admit it to each other but complied to requests for favours in the grumpiest way possible. But they both knew. They both knew that after such a shitty life, they were all they had in this world.

He closed his eyes and sighed, admitting to himself that Ellie really had brightened up his life quite a bit, just like that stupid orange coat she wore that nearly fried his eyeballs out every time he saw it.

And today, not only was he going to admit it to himself. He was going to tell her.

After a long debate with himself the previous night, he had come to the conclusion that it was only right that he let her know how much she was appreciated. Friends don't just love each other and not say it, he decided. They let each other know. And he was going to do it first. Because I can't let her go on thinking I'm a grumpy git any longer, he thought. I might be a knob on the outside but contrary to popular belief, I do still have a soft spot, and I'm going to prove her wrong.

"Alec!" He nearly jumped out of his skin and turned around, eyes wide. He could feel his heart rate rising. Shit.

Luckily, he wasn't startled enough to trigger an episode. "What the heck?! You could have literally scared me to death!" he bellowed, and then stopped. It was Ellie.

She crossed her arms. "I could say the same about you! How'd you get up here?"

"I flew."

"Oh sure you did. Stop being such a sarcastic wanker. You know you're not supposed to climb up here, what with your heart being a jerk and all. When are you ever going to be responsible for your own health?!" she scolded with all the ferocity of a frustrated mother.

"And you? What are you doing here?" he interrogated in turn.

"I came up for a stroll. Work's driving me insane."

"Oh." There wasn't much he could say after that, so he just shoved his hands back into his pockets and turned his back on her.

"Oi. You're just going to ignore me like that?" she called after him. "Let's get you back to your hotel. Come on. You should be resting, especially since you just had the pacemaker adjusted."

"'S fine, I don't want to interrupt your stroll," he mumbled, a little guiltily now.

She stomped over to him and tugged on his right arm. "Let's go. Stop being stubborn, you of all people should be taking care of your health."

He stalled for a second, then followed her, trying to pull his arm free but giving up in the end. A mother's grip is usually very difficult to escape from.

In the car, there was nothing but silence. Alec stared out the window, his thoughts racing through his mind like the scenery past the window, only much faster. Finally, he turned to face Ellie. "'M sorry for just now," he apologized, grumpily but heavily loaded with sincerity. She said nothing. The words hung in the air awkwardly. "Fine," he groused. "If you're going to make me more awkward than I already am, be that way." He turned to stare out the window again.

When more silence reigned, he started to worry a little. Perhaps he really had caused more worry to her than intended. "Millahr?" he probed, his nervousness bringing out his Scottish accent more than usual. "I'm really sorry, I really didn't mean to worry you." No answer, just more quiet, concentrated driving. He started to panic slightly. "Look, don't ignore me, I'm sorry, I promise I will try to look after my health more in future, okay? Just…don't-" He stopped short when he detected the slightest hint of a glint in her eye and just the tiniest curl, ever so slight, at the corner of her mouth.

He groaned. "Grow up, will ya?" he pleaded as Ellie burst out laughing, struggling to concentrate on driving at the same time.

She didn't need to look at him to know that he was rolling his eyes at her. Again.