Chapter Text
Minerva Conway hadn’t lived in Broadchurch her whole life. She’d moved here a little more than a decade ago after having left her mother’s house. In all ways that counted this was her home. Now, with everything that’s happened she hates to say she scarcely recognizes it. The death of Danny Latimer has turned this once loving town into a horror movie with villains lurking in the shadows.
Coming home to the news was heartbreaking. Danny was always a good kid, running around near her backyard trying to get her dog Arty to play with him. She used to take him and Tom out fishing whenever she was on leave. She always got on so well with the Latimer’s, having babysat Chloe when she was a teen.
She’d gone over to pay her respects, bringing over some pastries from the local bakery in town. Liz, Beth’s mom, had wanted her to stay for a cuppa, but Minvera could feel when she wasn’t wanted. After one last hug to Beth, she set off.
Being home has never felt so awful. To make matters worse she couldn’t even go home, not until the mold problem was fixed. Until then she was put up at the Trader Hotel. It was dark and the walk wasn’t exactly calming. She felt the need to look over her shoulder at every turn.
Finally the Hotel came into sight. Walking towards her room, she noticed another room door open. Now there is nothing Minerva hates more horror movies and right about now she feels like she's in one.
Going against her better instincts, she unsheathed her knife and made her way inside.
“Hello?” She asked quietly.
Nothing. It was silent. Eerily silent. A shiver ran down Minerva’s spine as she saw the bathroom door ajar, a set of feet sticking out.
Hesitantly, she inched her way towards the open door. Inside lay a middle aged man unconscious with blood pooling around his head.
Suddenly her body was moving without thinking. After calling an ambulance she knelt down and placed the man's head in her lap. She felt around and found the wound and tried her best to place pressure.
He looked up at her through hooded eyes.
“Please stay awake. Help is coming.”
His eyes began to close again causing Minnie to gently shake him.
“No no no. Please. Please stay with me.”
His hand weakly covered hers. A warm sense of comfort rolled through her.
The ambulance didn’t take long. The whole process was a blur, one minute the paramedics were taking him off her then next she was being shoved into the ambulance. About halfway to the hospital the man began to stir. His hand came up to pull down his oxygen mask.
“Hey, no, don’t do that,” Minerva chides as she tries to put his mask back on. He sluggishly tries to swipe at her.
“They…they can’t know.”
Minerva shushes him as she puts his mask back on. “Just rest. We’re almost there.”
Slowly he falls back unconscious. Minerva rubs her hands together anxiously. She looked through his wallet trying to look for someone to call with no avail. Once they get to the hospital they roll him inside, she tries to follow but they won’t let her.
“Your relation to the patient?”
Minerva looks as they roll him away, she needs to know he’ll make it. “Um…I’m his wife.”
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When Alec came to the first thing he noticed was his throbbing head. The second was the brown haired woman holding his hand. Her head rested on the small part of the bed that his body wasn’t currently occupying. Her hands were gripping his even in sleep.
Gently he pulled his hand away. Suddenly she sat upright, her light hazel eyes looking at him in shock.
“You’re up! How are you feeling?”
“What am I doing here? Who are you?” He rubbed the back of his head only to wince. She cringed at the action and seemed to want to pull his hands away from his head.
“I’m Minerva, Conway. You took a nasty spill in your bathroom. But not to worry, the staff said with some rest and you’ll be good as new.”
He eyed her warily, “What were you doing in my bathroom?”
Her eyes widened as a light blush washed over her face. “I…I was walking to my hotel room when I saw yours open. Just checking that you were ok Mr. Alec Hardy.”
He recoiled at the use of his first name.
“How you know my name?”
She wiggled his wallet in the air for a second before placing it next to him. “Was looking for someone to call. Found nothing. Told them I was your wife.”
His eyes widened, “You did what?”
She shrugged, “They wouldn’t tell me anything if I said I was a friend. Just wanted to make sure you ended up ok. You gave me a fright.”
It was then that he noticed the obvious blood that riddled her clothes.
His blood.
“You can’t tell anyone about this. If you do, they'll take me off the case and I can’t get off this case. I need to finish this case. Please.”
Her eyes go void for a second before the light creeps back in, her face shining with realization.
“You’re the detective that’s trying to find Danny’s killer.”
He nods his eyes searching for some semblance of understanding in her. She looks torn. Her eyes going back and forth between him and the wires attached to his chest.
“You need to get proper medical attention, what if someone doesn’t find you next time?”
He waves her off as he begins to get off the bed. “That doesn’t matter right now.”
“Look I want you to find Danny’s killer, Of course I do. But you have to promise me you’ll take care of yourself. I couldn’t live with myself if I knew I could stop you and didn’t. Please don’t put your death on my conscience.”
“Alright. Alright. I promise.”