Disclaimer: I don't own 'Waking the Dead' or any of its characters, the BBC has that honour – I'm just taking them out to play for a bit :)

Pairing: Boyd/Grace

Rating: T

Spoilers: Nothing specific but up to and including Series 8.

A/N: Okay, so I needed to write something a bit lighter and happier in contrast to 'Underneath Your Clothes'! Hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas! x

Grace Foley looked up from her paperwork towards the clock on her desk and sighed deeply as she noted the time. The office had long ago been deserted by the younger members of the Cold Case Squad, their faces alight with festive cheer and joviality as they headed towards their respective homes for the Christmas break. Grace had summarily shooed them away after promising to vacate the premises by five o'clock at the latest, an hour which had long since past, and now she could feel faint tendrils of worry beginning to creep into her consciousness as she surveyed the darkened office opposite hers. Where the hell is he…?

As if on cue, Peter Boyd blustered noisily through the double doors, his long coat drawn about him, irritation flowing in almost visible waves from his body and Grace suppressed another sigh, rising wearily from her chair and walking towards her office door, leaning against the frame and folding her arms as she listened to him mutter beneath his breath.

"Where've you been?" she asked momentarily as she watched him divest himself of his coat, her eyebrows raised in question. "I was about to send out a search party."

Boyd groaned loudly and rubbed a hand across his eyes. "There were at least twenty million people on Oxford Street. Why do they all have to be bloody shopping when I want to be?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "Because you're all as disorganised as each other leaving it 'til the last minute?"

"Oh, don't be so damn smug. Just because you did all of yours in August doesn't give you the right to lord it over me…."

"Even if you have waited until five pm on Christmas Eve to suddenly make a break for it?"

He stepped towards her fractionally, enjoying their banter. "I was working before then, Grace, in case you'd forgotten."

"Hmm. On that non-existent investigation that's so intrigued the rest of us?"

He grinned broadly. "Yeah. It's kept me busy for days."

"Give over, Boyd. You've had all year to shop, just like the rest of us." Her sapphire eyes were sparkling. "I don't want to stereotype your gender but…."

"You're going to anyway…."

"…but why d'you feel the need to do this every year? It's not like the date of Christmas changes."

He shrugged. "Maybe I need the pressure. It's how some people work best, you know."

"That's true. But the more pressure you're under, the more stressed you get, the more irritable you are….It's not a good look for Christmas, Boyd."

"Especially when you're radiating peace and joy to all mankind?"

"Exactly. Just for once it would be nice for us to be on the same page."

He rolled his eyes. "You finished?"

"For now."

"Good." He paused, ducking briefly back inside his office to retrieve a brightly coloured bag. "You at all interested in what I was buying, by the way?"

She frowned quizzically. "Any particular reason why I should be?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, even as he proffered the bag towards her, watching with a slight thrill as her mouth fell open in surprise, her cheeks becoming tinged with pink. "Merry Christmas, Grace."

Wordlessly, she accepted the gift, ignoring the tingle which rippled through her body as her fingers brushed his, her heart beginning to pound at the unexpectedness of his gesture. For six months they had been skirting around the edges of a real relationship, Boyd blowing alternately hot and cold, at times overwhelmingly passionate in his attentiveness followed by inexplicable periods of sullen withdrawal, and she had finally run out of patience, promising herself that she would end it, despite the desperate longing of her heart, the perpetual craving of her body for his. Now, she found herself speechless as her fingers retrieved a red box from the bag, a small gasp escaping her lips as she opened it to reveal an intricate pendant hanging from a delicate silver chain.

"Oh, Boyd," she breathed quietly, still unable to quite believe her eyes. "It's beautiful, I…I don't know what to say…."

He gave a slight smile and stepped towards her, taking the box from her hands and removing the necklace, running the chain through his fingers and moving to stand behind her, his fingers grazing her neck as he draped it across her skin and attached the clasp. Momentarily, he turned her back towards him, their bodies close but not touching, each radiating heat, anticipation. Grace's fingers moved to caress the pendant as he reached out to gently stroke her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I know I haven't…." he broke off and sighed before taking a deep breath. "I know I haven't been very good at this, Grace. But if you still want to….I …I really want to try."

"Peter…."

"I can't promise it'll be perfect, I mean I'm not exactly a hearts-and-flowers type romantic…."

Grace smiled, her heart swelling as her vision blurred with tears. "Did I ever say I wanted that?"

"Well, no, but…."

"I want you, Boyd. Warts and all."

His smile was dazzling, his dark eyes warm as he closed the gap between them, bringing his other hand up to cup her face, his thumbs tracing gentle circles across her cheeks, the curves of her mouth before brushing her lips with his. She sighed softly as he pulled away, deeply touched by the intimacy of his actions but wanting more. As if reading her mind, he moved towards her again, his eyes darkening with intensity as he captured her lips once more, her mouth opening readily beneath his insistent tongue as she moaned her pleasure against him, his hands slipping down her body to rest at her waist as he backed her against the glass wall of her office. His lips found her neck, caressing her sensitive skin, his tongue lapping at the tender hollow of her throat, his body pressed firmly against hers and she groaned as his arousal brushed her stomach, his fingers moving to the waistband of her trousers.

"In the office, Superintendent?" she mumbled breathlessly, angling her head to allow him closer access to her neck, feeling him smile against her skin.

"Wouldn't be the first time, would it?" His voice was husky, the gruff baritone resonating through his lips as he nipped gently at her neck before kissing his way along her jawline, swallowing her throaty laugh as he claimed her mouth once more.

Momentarily she placed a hand against his chest, an attempt to halt the teasing movements of his fingers as they stroked the naked skin of her waist and lower back beneath her top, as they toyed with the button of her trousers. "Peter...." she managed softly, forcing herself to disengage her lips from his, the breath leaving her body in a sudden rush as she absorbed the raw need in his nearly pupil-less eyes, the ragged motions of his chest.

"Oh, Grace," he groaned theatrically, hooking a hand about her waist and pulling her roughly against him. "Don't tell me you've got a headache. Please."

The profiler rolled her eyes good naturedly and slipped her arms around him, tapping him lightly on the backside. "Just getting too old for the sofa, that's all."

"What about the desk? Or the wall?"

"Boyd!"

He grinned boyishly, moving his hips against her. "What?"

"Just...There's a limit to how far you should go beneath the mistletoe, don't you think?"

"Oh, come on. It's Christmas Eve, there's nobody here...."

"Then let's take the opportunity to get out of here and go home." She stretched up to kiss him suggestively. "I've got a nice, warm bed, Boyd. And if you behave yourself, I might even cook you breakfast in the morning."

He smiled broadly. "Your kids won't mind me muscling in on their mother's Christmas?"

"My kids have all flown the nest, remember, they're doing their own thing."

"They're not coming to see you?"

"Not 'til the evening."

The mischievous sparkle in her eyes made him grin and he pulled her even closer towards him. "So we get to entertain ourselves for most of the day, then?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Think you're up to the challenge?"

His grin widened, his eyes ravenously hungry as he looked her. "Oh, God, yeah."

Grace laughed, disentangling herself from his arms and moving into her office to retrieve her coat, reappearing moments later to see that he had done similarly. "Shall we go?"

He gestured towards the door. "Lead the way."

Smiling, she complied, warmth spreading throughout her body as she felt his palm resting gently on her back, her heart threatening to explode through her chest with happiness as they stepped out into the crisp winter night.

FIN