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It was 19:46. The sky was a shade of pinkish orange, and the sun was setting. Paul Coates stood at the opening of the church and watched, as a woman with short, brown hair stood by a grave. There were tears rolling down her cheeks and though her eyes were no longer as dull as they once were, Paul knew she'd never regain the same sparkle she used to have. She glanced towards the church and caught Paul's eye. He nodded, and she gave him a half-smile, almost as if she wanted to reassure him that there was a bit of happiness amongst her tears......Ellie Miller woke up to her alarm ringing. Just as she did yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. The monotony of her life weighed her down, and the days only seemed to be getting longer."MILLER!! YOU'RE OUT OF COFFEE!"Ellie groaned. She'd forgotten Alec had fallen asleep on her sofa again that night. Daisy was away on a school trip and he did NOT like being alone, no matter how many times he pretended to be okay. She knew the Sandbrook case still haunted him, despite the fact that it had finally been solved."I THOUGHT YOU DIDN'T DRINK COFFEE?" she yelled, whilst running down the stairs, tying her dressing gown round her waist."I don't. I was making one for you."Ellie smiled at him. Alec didn't smile back. Alec didn't smile......"Everything's so boring now Miller. No exciting case in months!" Alec was complaining, whilst spinning in his chair."And what would your definition of exciting be then, Sir?" Ellie replied casually, not paying any attention to him: she was used to his rants by now."Murder, Miller, MURDER!!" he said in his thick Scottish accent.Ellie sighed. Alec always seemed to forget how much pain the death of Danny Latimer brought on for everyone in the town, including himself. She, personally, was perfectly fine with the "boring" cases they'd had recently. The petty thefts were a lot less mentally draining than the murder of her son's best friend.Not to mention finding out who the killer was.Joe. Her Joe.But she didn't want to waste anymore time worrying about him. He wasn't the man she once thought he was, and she would have to live with the guilt for the rest of her life. Not a day went by when she didn't hate herself for not foreseeing what happened, but she had to be strong. For Fred, who deserved a life not tainted by his father's deeds, and for Tom. Tom, who had not only lost his best friend, but the man he once called Dad......The coffee shop door swung open and Ellie looked up to see Beth Latimer walk in. She waved, and Beth sat down in the seat opposite her. She couldn't help but think that Beth really did look good no matter what was going on in her life, and she hated herself for feeling slightly jealous. Beth was going through a divorce, and there was obviously all the awful stuff leading up to that, and she still somehow managed to look like she was on the front cover of a magazine (technically she was, if the Broadchurch Echo counted)."How are you holding up? The kids okay?" Ellie asked her, hoping she hadn't been staring for too long."They're fine. Chloe's amazing, as per usual. She's made everything so much easier, and Mark's been good too. We're just getting round the legal side of things right now, but emotionally, I've pretty much come to terms with everything.""I'm glad to hear it. Can I get you anything?" Ellie gestured towards the menu.Beth shook her head."Sooo, any updates on your love life Ellie? Anyone taken your fancy?"Ellie laughed."No, I reckon this is it for me now. I've got the kids and they're all I really need at the moment. I'm pretty sure I've met everyone here anyway, and I doubt any of them would look twice at me, and the feeling is pretty much mutual.""Never say never, Ellie. And don't put yourself down like that, you are a catch! What about DI Hardy? There's something handsome about him wouldn't you say?"Ellie scoffed. DI Hardy was very much just a friend, and he was barely that. True, the two were a lot closer than they had been when they'd first met, but there was no way she would ever find him attractive......."Here Chloe, get us all an ice cream, won't you?" Beth handed some money to Chloe, and she walked over to the ice cream van parked near the beach.Ellie looked up from her book and smiled as she watched Fred and Tom splashing each other in the sea, close enough that she could hear their laughter. They suddenly became fixated on something to their right, and she quickly realised that they were snickering at Paul Coates and Becca Fisher walking hand in hand."Stop staring boys!" she yelled at them, but she rolled her eyes fondly. Her and Beth looked at each other and exchanged a grin. Paul and Becca certainly made an odd couple, but then again, both their marriages had ended in divorce, so who were they to talk?Beth sighed and rested her head on Ellie's shoulder and Ellie put her arm round her. Beth looked up at her and just for a moment, Ellie could've sworn there was something there. Something more than 'best friends for years' that they'd never discussed before. Ellie tucked Beth's hair around her ear and smiled. They'd known each other so long that it wasn't awkward, just different. Chloe came back with the ice creams soon after and they sat on the beach for another hour or so, before heading home......Ellie was woken by the doorbell ringing at 7am. She groaned and wiped her eyes, before getting out of bed, and walking downstairs. She assumed it would be Alec, and that he'd had another nightmare, but she was pleasantly surprised to see Beth Latimer at the door."Hey, you okay?""Yeah, sorry. The kids are with Mark right now, and I don't know, the house just feels too empty to be in. I hope I didn't wake you." Beth looked exhausted, as though she hadn't slept the whole night. Ellie was once again in awe of how good she looked despite this."Don't worry about it. Who needs sleep anyway?" Ellie grinned, trying to hide how tired she was.Beth came in and they sat on the sofa, flicking aimlessly through channels, but after finding nothing to watch, they just chatted. Time went by quickly, and Beth eventually needed to head off to collect Chloe and Lizzie. Ellie walked her to the door."You can come round whenever you need to, you know that don't you?""Thank you Ellie. And it goes without saying, of course you're welcome anytime too."They stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, saying nothing, so Ellie leant in and kissed her on the cheek."Sorry. I hope that wasn't weird." Ellie looked down, already regretting it."No, don't worry," Beth smiled..Ellie couldn't stop the massive grin on her face from appearing, as she she watched Beth get in her car and drive away. Maybe things were beginning to look up, despite everything.