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At some point during the past ten months, Alec Hardy realized that being the involved parent of a teenage girl required lots of trips to department stores to accessorize various outfits.
Ellie would have taken this one had Fred not decided to become rather spectacularly sick all over his booster seat and part of the kitchen floor. He'd wanted Mum after that and so Alec had chauffeured Daisy.
Alec didn't mind, really. He'd lost so much time with Daisy. He loved to listen to her go on and on about the dress Tess had found for the formal (bloody hell, a formal dance? With a boy?).....He just hoped he was not expected to have an opinion on the accessories since had not a clue as to what she required. He had a vague notion that it was supposed to go with blue.
He glanced at Daisy in through the little shop window. She was inspecting some earrings in a display.
Directly next to the shop where Daisy was wandering a was a jewelry shop that sold things much more expensive and much less likely to turn skin green than the baubles Daisy was perusing. His eyes swept over the displays- ingrained detective instinct to take everything in, who knows, could be a crime afoot- And then they settled in a display of diamond solitaire rings setting up front and center. And his mind drifted from potential crime scenarios to Ellie's face, reacting to him presenting her with one of those. Her reaction he surmised, would be either one of joy or abject horror.
Not horror over him, just the thought of marriage in general.
It had been a good time, really. Daisy was around more. His pacemaker had improved his quality of life in ways he hadn't expected. He had gone from existing from day to day to actually having faith that the next day would come, he'd be there to experience it, and he was surrounded by people he wanted to share that with.
At first Daisy and he had spent the summer in the little blue cottage on the harbor but it was just too small, even for two. Ellie had wanted to get the hell away from anywhere Joe could be. She found a rental about fifteen miles outside of Broadchurch and it was just too expensive for her to swing on her income. Alec was actually back at Broadchurch, trying to talk her into coming back, but she wasn't interested. She was, however, interested in spending time with Alec.
They had been out a couple of times by then, nothing earth shattering. Dinner and a movie. Followed surprisingly quickly by a bit of a snog here and there. They were already best friends, and then became lovers. He suggested jokingly that since he needed a place that was bigger and she needed a place why not share.
She seriously took him up on it.
And he was fine with that.
A few weeks into their new living arrangent, the big attic room Alec had turned into a flat had turned into Tom's preteen man cave, and Tom's old room became Daisy's. And Ellie's became theirs. (Fred usually started out in his room but wandered out of his big boy bed at night, prompting the "always put the pajamas back on" rule). And he was, and she was, content for the first time in a very very long time. Daisy got along well with Ellie, Tom had accepted Alec with an ease that had surprised both of them, and Fred was just so happy to be there. All three of the kids were thriving in a stable household, and things were good and calm.
Ironically, ( given the day's events, ) their first declaration of love had occurred after Fred had become sick, that time in the night, and she had exclaimed "I bloody love you!" as he changed the sheets while she rocked her feverish son. He grinned and returned her sentiment and after that a day didn't go by when one didn't say it to the other.
The thought of marriage had been coalescing in the back of his mind for a while now. He was surprised at his own willingness to make that leap again after the hell his life had become with Tess. Daisy was definitely the best of that. He didn't think the kids would object, but you never knew. Fred hadn't seen Joe in months and called Alec Dad now. When Alec had allowed himself to dream he also imagined adopting the boys. That was not a given, any more that Ellie's yes to marriage, even if Joe had relinquished parental rights in the divorce settlement. But still, Alec occasionally let himself imagine it.
This was going through his head as he tried to casually peruse the rings, and not catch the attention of the very friendly salesclerk behind the cases. He certainly did not want the hard sell. Hands in pockets he eyed the glittering rings with the wary eye of one who possibly expected some sort of attack by one or more of them. He realized that he was probably doing a poor job of deflecting the sales clerk's attention.
"Just lookin," he mumbled. The clerk looked his way, surprised. Oh. Hadn't attracted attention- till now- after all. The clerk smiled. Alec broke eye contact. Ellie had often said that casual was apparently not in his repertoire. He could have just walked back to the bench outside the bookstore.
Instead he sighed and came a bit closer to the case.
What would Ellie even like? No frills, that's for sure. He loved that about her. Straight forward.
"So do you have an idea of what you're looking for?" The clerk - Anthony, his name tag read, had come over to the area.
"Umm...no...just looking." he said. Again.
"Well, here's a brochure listing the considerations one should have when making a diamond purchase. The four C's..color, cut, clarity, and carat." Anthony pushed the brochure across the glass case.
"Well, thanks, but...." A gasp from behind.
"Dad! Oh, my God!"
Bloody hell.
"Daisy! I-"
"Oh my God! When are you gonna do it? What are you gonna get her? Where are you gonna- has to be somewhere romantic. Paris..."
When had he lost control of the situation? "Daisy, don't- Paris?" He suddenly knew that if she was expecting Paris her future fiancé had his work cut out for him.
"Paris, no..Daisy, don't breathe a word of this."
"Obviously, Dad. That's your job. I'm not proposing for you."
"I'm not proposing!"
"Why are you lookin' at rings? You must be thinking of it. I know you two act like you're married anyway - and have for a while now."
"And yes...we do. So why make it formal?"
"Why not?" Daisy crossed her arms and silently dared him to dissent.
Alec's brain shorted out a bit and that's when he realized he really had no reason why not and why didn't he just go ahead and...."Well, yes, there really isn't a reason why not..." Ignoring the look of triumph on Daisy's face he pushed on, "except that both of us have to be on board for there to be an actual marriage and I don't know if she'd even say yes."
"Oh, Dad, you know she would. You both need to get over your collective cold feet and just do this."
"No, I don't know that so there is no 'just doing this'!"
The teenage eye roll directed his way did not deflect his argument.
Alec went on, "She was burned in the worst possible way. And your mum and I.." Best not get into that.
"I know, Dad. I know her story. I also know that she's happy with you. You make her happy. She makes you happier than I've ever seen you. I know part of that is that you're feeling better but you smile now and you laugh and it's all down to her. And I think you're spending a lot of time trying to talk yourself out of it so you won't be disappointed if she says no. Well, you'll never know if you don't ask."
"Should I be paying you for the psychoanalysis?" Alec said with a smirk. His perceptive, wonderful daughter gave him a glare.
"Yes, but you couldn't afford me." She smirked back.
He sighed. "Not a word to Ellie. I mean it."
Daisy crossed her heart.
"What do you think she'd like?"he asked, looking at the rings.
"Ooh, I like that one." Daisy pointed to a sapphire and diamond concoction. It looked like the one Kate Middleton was currently wearing.
"Do you want to go to college?!" Again, he sympathized with her future fiancé.
"There's always financial aid..."
"That ring is so not Ellie. She's no frills. She doesn't wear a lot of jewlery to begin with." He looked again and saw a simple white gold band with a square cut diamond. It wasn't huge. "How about that?"
Anthony looked like he was about to make a sale.
"Or something like it, definitely not buying today," Alec warned gruffly. Undeterred, Anthony slid a business card across the glass with the brochure.
"I like it. Looks more like Ellie, you're right," Daisy said.
"And it has matching wedding bands," Anthony interjected.
"There's that," Daisy smiled.
"Not buying today," Alec returned. He put an arm around his daughter's shoulders and steered her away from enthusiastic Anthony and back toward the store she had exited. "Find what you needed, Darling? It did not escape Daisy's attention that Alec pocketed the business card.
"Whoa, way to change the subject. Yes, got earrings and a necklace. No ring. You need to get the ring."
He had to smile at her deft return to the subject. "You're enthusiastic about this. And persistent."
" I love Ellie, Dad. I used to wonder if you ever did get married- not that I expected it, but if...would I end up with a stepmonster?" Alec snorted. "No, really. She listens. She doesn't try to take over Mum's job. Mum even likes her. Don't tell Mum I said, though."
"I won't," he smiled. "I'm glad you like her. I know she loves you. She's never had a daughter so she enjoys being with you a lot."
"I like how good she is for you, too. I wasn't sure if it you dating her was a good idea at first. "
"I didn't either. We had a particularly rough start, you could say. Things worked out. Are working out, rather. It's still a lot of work."
"Yeah, you can be a right git sometimes still..." She started laughing then- she just couldn't say that with a straight face.
"One less child in the will now, Darlin'," he returned in kind and for a moment they chuckled together as they walked toward the food court. It felt so good to banter with her. It had been too long and he had missed so much time he could never get back. He swore he'd never take it for granted - with her or Elllie and the boys.
Daisy's chuckles tapered off. As they reached a Thai takeaway on the outer wall of the food court she stopped and said quietly, "Seriously, though, Dad. You need to go for it. I really think God put you two in the right place. Even if you didn't know it at the beginning- here's where you're supposed to be, together. I don't know.... I guess that's silly, maybe, but....." Her voice trailed off and she shrugged.
Alec's eyes widened at that, his mother's words coming from his daughter's mouth. Finding it suddenly hard to swallow around the lump in his throat, he tried to remember if he'd ever told Daisy his mother's last words to him. He didn't think he had. He didn't believe in signs, not really. But that was enough. "Maybe so, Darling," was all he could manage, and by then Daisy's attention was on the menu.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text from Ellie.
"Think the barfing is finally over. Find anything good?"
He smiled and texted back, "Daisy did. Glad Fred's better." The phone buzzed again.
"See anything you fancied?"
Daisy was reading over his shoulder now and giggling.
"Miss Nosyparker! Do you mind?"
"What?" Then a raised eyebrow.
"What are you going to tell her?"
"How about 'pickin' out an engagement ring, call the wedding chapel!' I'm not sayin' a word and neither are you. If-"
"When."
"If I do this it'll be on my own schedule. I will let you know when or if it happens. Understood?"
"Understood, sir. Is that how you talk to your coppers?"
"I'm worse." He turned his attention to the menu.
"I'll play the violin at the wedding." Nice idea, except now she was planning the wedding.
"I'll keep that in mind," Alec responded. He quickly typed out "1 or 2 things. getting lunch. Love ya. Back in a few."
They both turned their attention to the menu. The phone buzzed.
"Something 4 me?"
He shot back, "if you're good."
Daisy stepped up to place her order, Alec hadn't decided yet. Another text alert sounded. "Wanker" the phone screen read. He grinned.
It was a couple of more weeks before Alec made the purchase, but thinking back on it, he decided that Ellie's text probably sealed the deal.