Getting to Know You

This is just a brief piece set after episode 106, where Grace and Josh share their first kiss in the lab.

My heart still belongs to these two even after three years without them and with no more new episodes to look forward to I am planning to get a few ideas out of my head and onto paper in the next few months. I am currently about 1/3 of the way through a sequel to Wanted and about 5000 words into another fic involving a very different beginning for Grace/Josh however it doesn't seem to be going anywhere so may not even actually get finished.

As always feedback is appreciated; I am a very out of practice fic author and I'm not going to get any better without people telling me what they like and don't like.

Oh and for those of you in Australia; Claire's film 'The Square' is showing on Channel 9 this evening. It's not my favourite thing she's ever done but it's still definitely worth a watch if you're in.
Anyway that's enough rambling from me. Enjoy.

"I'll drive you home"
"I'm fine"
"No you're not Josh. You inhaled that much smoke you vomited….I'll drive you home" Grace argued.
"It's twenty minutes out of ya way!"
Grace responded with a shrug. "Just get your stuff and get in the car Josh."
"It's on my way Josh, I don't mind dropping you home" Stella offered. "I can pick you up in the morning if you like?"
Josh looked at Grace. "See problem solved" he reasoned grabbing his sports bag out of his locker waiting until Stella left the change room. "I'll text ya later. Let you know I got in ok." He moved towards the door, stopping and turning back staring at her for not the first time that day.
"What?" she laughed nervously. "Go on. Stell's waiting for you. I'll see you tomorrow. Take it easy tonight."
He laughed. "Night Gracie."
"Night Josh."

Driving home on her own was dangerous for Grace Barry. Stuck in the horrendous Melbourne peak hour traffic she could not avoid her brain slipping into neutral and thinking about the day's events. The morning had been so normal. She'd had breakfast and went for a run, had her usual long shower and had picked up a coffee on her way into base. The day had started off slowly, doing a routine patrol around the city keeping an eye out for any disturbances.
They'd all been bored, Grace especially. Sometimes it was hard to be the only female riding with two men, conversation could be very hard to sustain, especially when riding with Josh when he was in one of his moods. Luckily having four older brothers meant Grace could keep up with the usual blokey discussions, her love of the Saints allowing her to talk footy with the best of them. Besides riding with the boys was better than the alternative; Grace and Stella were both still at each other's throats with no sign of respite any time soon. This morning though was strangely quiet in TR2, and Grace knew she had to do something to take her mind off the inappropriate thoughts she was having about the sergeant in the front seat.
Grace smiled to herself when she thought about the conversation she'd tried to have with the boys. Trying to get the boys to play the stupid game she used to play with her friends in high school was never going to work but the psychologist in her couldn't resist trying, if only to relieve her own boredom as she watched them squirm.
Josh's typically masculine response "It's stupid, they're all guys" was deliciously appealing. Grace knew that the man in the passenger's seat had no intentions of playing but couldn't help himself, unable to ignore the blonde in the backseat no matter how much he didn't want to play her dumb game or even dignify her babble with a response. She also knew that he was just as amused as she was watching Michael argue the rules of the game, as though he would have played it if Grace had offered him alternative options.

Much to the relief of all in the car, they were interrupted by Kerry over the radio, providing them with the details for a call out to a break-in at Biovide laboratories. The break in itself had started out routinely, if not monotonous as they cleared the lab of any intruders room by room. The sheer size of the building meant that it was very easy to become isolated from others working alongside you. This wasn't a bad thing, Grace had known she needed to put distance between herself and Josh in order to avoid a situation where she may well break her vows to her husband and at first the vast size of the building had been a good excuse.
For weeks Grace had been fighting her ever growing attraction to Sgt Joshua and had been avoiding being alone with him, not knowing how she would go resisting him if he did make a move; and today had ended up being the day where she had found out just how weak she was when it came to resisting him. The size of the building and the relative isolation had backfired on her when she ran into him and realised that the two were all alone for the first time in weeks.
The moment their lips met Grace felt an electricity that she'd never felt before. Her first instinct had been that it was a rush because she knew what she was doing was so wrong in so many ways, but the more she thought about it, the more she realised that kissing Conor had never been as satisfying as what her brief kiss with Josh had been; and she knew she wanted more.
Pulling into her driveway Grace shook her head, trying to shake the feelings out before walking in to the house she shared with her husband. A husband who she cared for very much; But a husband who she was starting to have doubts about whether or not their lives were still going in the same direction as they were when they met in high school.

After an hour of procrastinating with washing and ironing at her empty house, Grace still hadn't been able to shake the thoughts from her head and finally gave in to what her subconscious had been telling her to do all along, and quickly locked up the house, grabbed her keys and took off to pick up some takeaway.

Josh got up from in front of the television at the knock on his front door "Who is it?" he asked, not expecting anyone.
"It's me" the voice replied softly.
Identifying the voice Josh opened the door to find Grace on his doorstep. "Gracie?"
She looked up at him, her eyes locking onto his staring at him like he had so often done to her finding herself unable to find the words to explain what she was doing on his doorstep. Josh reached out, placing a warm hand on her cheek. "Are you ok?"
Grace took a moment before nodding. "Connors in Bendigo" she whispered, the first time she had ever felt truly shy around Josh. The two had engaged in harmless flirting since the unit's inception 12 months prior. It wasn't obvious, just the occasional look between them or brush of the hands but enough to confirm to both that there was a dormant energy between them.
Josh took a step closer to her moving his hand around into the back of her hair, meeting her half way as their lips reconnected, picking up from where they had left off earlier in the lab.
Breaking apart slowly Grace couldn't hide the desire in her eyes breathing heavily as they both caught their breath. "Can I come in?" she asked.
Josh nodded moving to the side, Grace picking up a plastic bag off the pavement and entering, brushing past him a little closer than necessary as she walked through the door.
"Have you eaten?" she checked, holding up the bag of takeaway, passing him the six-pack from her other hand.
"You brought me dinner?"
"Honey chicken, Mongolian Lamb & Satay Beef" she responded as Josh went to the kitchen to grab some plates, looking around at his apartment before taking the now opened beer from the offering hand. "You could have died today Josh" her voice shook at the realisation.
"So could have you" he shot back, giving her a look warning her against any theatrics.
She nodded in acknowledgement, not pushing the subject. "Gives me a good reason to come and check on you" she added with a small smile.
Josh grinned at the knowledge that Grace was looking for any excuse possible to spend extra-curricular time with him. He had been doing the same thing since the first day the young constable showed up at the TR base. At the time he was oblivious to her marital status but twelve months on, he was now well aware that Grace was married and was therefore off limits however it didn't stop the fact that he was incredibly attracted to her. Kissing her earlier that day had just reaffirmed every inappropriate feeling that he had for the petite blonde and he knew if she pursued anything with him he would be powerless to resist.

As they finished eating Grace took Josh's plate placing it on the coffee table in front of them, sitting back against his side. Josh smiled putting an arm around her loosely. "That's supposed to be my move" he smirked.
"Would you like me to move so you can pull me back against you?" she laughed in response.
"Nah."
"You sure you're ok? Your eyes are still really red" she checked, her voice laced with concern as she turned slightly so she could look at them again. "You should have let the ambos check you out" she scolded.
Josh moved his hand to her chin tilting her head slightly back towards him and kissing her again. "Does this answer your question?"
"Shhh" she mumbled pushing her body up with her free arm swivelling herself so that she moved into Josh's lap, wrapping both arms around his neck to draw him closer to her. "I shouldn't be here" she commented guiltily.
"So why are ya?"
"You kissed me" she accused.
Josh pulled back slightly, putting enough distance between their lips so that he could see her face. "You kissed me first Grace" he corrected.
She dipped her head slightly, "I know" she admitted.
"And then you came here."
Grace nodded. "It's different with you."
"It's dangerous?"
"No. Maybe…but no.. Josh when I'm with you all I can think about is ripping your clothes off and letting you fuck my brains out" she blurted out quickly.
Josh couldn't hold back his laugh. "Is that right?" he confirmed, amusement lacing his voice at the words flying from the normally composed blondes mouth.
"It is" she confirmed calming down a little. "Josh...It's never been like this with Conor. I've never felt what I feel when I'm around you. When you look at me, I feel desired Josh… I have since we met."
"That's 'cause you're bloody sexy Grace."
She blushed, it had been a long time since she'd been referred to as sexy.
"You're not going all shy on me are you?" he teased leaning down to kiss her again.
"No" she denied as she tried to catch her breath "Of course not."
He smiled allowing his hands to wander under the cover of her shirt, his fingers brushing over her soft pale skin pushing her shirt up with his wrists. "I want you Gracie" he made his intentions clear.
She nodded, not having the strength to say no to either the man below her or her body which was screaming with anticipation. "Then take me."

"Tell me something else I don't know about you?" Josh asked as they lay in bed an hour later, reaching out to gently tuck her hair behind her ear breaking the silence and stirring Grace from her thoughts.
"Never thought you'd be one for pillow talk"
"I'm not…but I wanna know."
"Hmmmm I dunno" she thought for a second. "How about that I was the captain of the school debating team? What?" she asked defensively as she heard Josh laugh, propping herself up on an elbow.
"Nothin'"
"Nooo. What?" she laughed reaching out to poke him gently in the bicep.
"Just can picture it, that's all?"
"What, me arguing?"
"Exactly" he replied, still laughing. "You're a natural!"
"Smartarse" she laughed leaning down to plant a kiss on his chest. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"What's something I don't know about you?"
"Nothin'. You know it all" he brushed it off, pulling her back down so she was lying back beside him.
Grace laughed, pulling his arm back around her shoulder and playing with his fingers. "No I don't. You know way more about me than I do about you."
"That's cause it's all boring."
"C'mon..one thing?" she begged.
"I like my steak well done" he replied.
She groaned. "Seriously? That's all you've got? Besides I already knew that."
"You knew that?"
"I'm stalking you!" she rolled her eyes having heard him order it many times at the pub. "C'mon…tell me something that I don't know. Something less...obvious."
"Alright...I'm scared" he admitted.
"Of what?" she asked somewhat surprised that the man beside her would admit something like that to her.
"That you're gonna freak out in the morning. That you're going to transfer and I'm never gonna see you again and that I'm gonna lose a mate." he elaborated, somewhat embarrassed at the admission, moving his hand from hers and back up to stroke her hair gently.
Grace took a few seconds to process his words before propping herself back up, leaning over him. "I'm not going anywhere" she promised, leaning down to kiss him. "I don't know how I'm going to feel in the morning Josh if you think I'm leaving TR because of you…" she added teasing him slightly.
Smiling at the relief on Josh's face she kissed him once more. "You're eyes still look sore."
Josh shook his head, easily manoeuvring them so that he was back on top of her. "Nothing wrong with my bloody eyes" he laughed straddling her hips. "Looks like I'm going to have to prove to you again just how fine I am."
Wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his body down on top of hers Grace grinned "Yeah…maybe" she mumbled arching her neck to meet his lips halfway.

Fin.