Title: Extreme Makeover

Author: TartanLioness

Summary: Grace got a makeover sometime between series three and four. How did the team react?

Pairing: Grace/Boyd

Rating: T

Early Monday morning, Dr Grace Foley left her car, swung her coat over one arm and her hand bag over the corresponding shoulder, and walked tentatively into the Cold Case Unit's headquarters.

She subconsciously smoothed down the front of her trousers and lightly shook her head, making her freshly cut and dyed hair fall naturally into place.

Her girls had been over that weekend and had despaired at their mother's 'mumsy' – as they called it – appearance. Resolutely, they had taken her out shopping, determined on giving her a complete makeover. Grace had been reluctant at first, feeling quite comfortable with the old way, the old look, the old hair. The girls had pointed out that it was, indeed, that; old. And Sunday evening, when Grace stood before the mirror, staring at herself, she had to admit that she was more than happy with the transformation. For the first time in years – since Jack died, she knew, without acknowledging it – she had felt truly attractive… sexy even.

The girls had been standing behind her, looking equally nervous, expectant and excited. She had hugged them and they had laughed and she had tried to get used to her new hair; shorter and darker, bringing out her vividly blue eyes.

She had to admit it; she loved her new look. The girls had been right: she had been getting mumsy since Jack died. There was just no one to dress up for every day and she had relaxed. But now she felt classy and sexy and she smiled to herself as she pushed open the doors to the main office.

Boyd was – not surprisingly – already in his office, probably intensely caught up in some file or other. Spencer sat at his desk, talking to Mel, who was standing next to him with her arms crossed and her back to the doors.

"Good morning, all," Grace said lightly, going into her office, hanging up her coat and dropping her bag on the floor.

"Morning, Grace," both officers replied, looking up.

As Grace came back out of her office in search of some tea, she noticed the stunned expressions on her colleagues' faces. She felt herself blush and mentally scolded herself.

"Wow!" Mel was the first one to come around. Grace smiled at her, knowing that her cheeks were glowing. "You look fantastic, Grace!"

"Thank you," she replied graciously. "My girls were over this weekend and apparently I had become too 'mumsy' for their liking."

Spencer's eyes still looked about ready to pop out of their sockets. He got a grip, closed his mouth and grinned at her before wolf whistling.

Grace laughed a little and, blushing, twirled on the spot, showing off her new look. Mel and Spence both clapped lightly, chuckling.

"Can't believe you trusted your children with something like this," Mel sniggered. "But you really look great, Grace!"

"Thank you, sweetie," Grace said, hugging Mel briefly.

In his office, Boyd wondered about the unusual amount of noise coming from the main office. Starting the morning with greetings and chitchat was an every day occurrence and he didn't mind it at all – after all, it was a workplace, not a prison, he was running. But usually the morning-chitchat was kept at a decent volume. Today, he heard excited exclamations, clapping and – he could hardly believe it – whistling.

Finally, his curiosity overrode his professionalism. He put his files aside and went to his door, leaning against the frame for a moment. Spencer was sitting at his desk; Mel was standing next to him with her back to Boyd and facing Grace. The older woman laughed at something Mel said – Boyd could hear her, but Mel standing in front of her, hiding her from his view. Mel moved slightly, however, and Boyd could finally see the laughing Grace. He felt his jaw drop and his eyes widen. She was gorgeous. He could hardly believe it was her. He let his eyes sweep over her. Her hair had been cut. And it seemed darker. Her make-up was different, too, he thought, or maybe it was just his imagination. Her clothes… her clothes were definitely different. Very flattering. Modern, but fitting for her age, too. Accentuating her natural beauty. Beauty? He had never put beauty and Grace in the same thought before. She was a nice-looking woman, certainly, but this… this was incredible! His eyes went back to her face. She was looking at him with laughter in her eyes and an eyebrow raised.

Self-conscious, he closed his mouth and ventured into the main office.

"Enough chatter," he grumbled. "Let's get to work."

"What," Mel said sarcastically. "On that non-existing case we're working?"

"Actually, DS Silver, we do have a case." Boyd scowled at her. She nodded and sat down at her desk. "On November 16th 2001…"

It was a long day for Superintendent Peter Boyd and it had nothing to do with the case. Grace was bent over the police files from 2001 and Boyd could freely look at her. And so he did. Far more than he should have. It was a scary experience to suddenly realise that a good colleague was, in fact, a very attractive woman. Especially when one had worked with said woman for three years and never noticed. He shook his head and glanced down at the file on his desk. He still hadn't read further than the first two pages. He sighed.

Frankie came nearly running into the main office with a photograph in her hand. She called the team together eagerly, looking as though she'd explode if she didn't share her news immediately.

Boyd sighed again, let file be file and joined his pathologist.

"You will not believe what I have found," she said eagerly. "I did some tests and –" She stopped abruptly, staring at Grace. The rest of the team looked at each other and then at Grace. Grace looked confused.

"What?" she finally asked.

"You look amazing! What happened?!"

Everyone but Boyd laughed.

"My daughters." Grace winked. "Their fault."

Boyd groaned. "Could we get back to work, please?" Aha, so that's what happened, he thought. "Frankie, what do you have?"

Boyd sent his team home at 8 o'clock. Frankie's discovery had been the break they had needed and things had gone smoothly after that. He was almost worried; things had gone too smoothly.

The kids had of course been surprised that he let them go before midnight in the middle of a case, but he had been preoccupied and he didn't think there was any reason to torture himself any longer.

He casually hovered in Grace's doorway, watching her gather her things.

"Are you just going to hover or are you going to come in?" she said without looking up. Boyd grinned to himself.

"Didn't want to disturb you if you were busy," he excused himself. Grace looked at him, a smile playing on her lips.

"Did you want something?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Take you out for a drink?"

"Why?" Grace's eyes narrowed. "Are you planning on luring me back here to work all night?"

"What, can't I take you out without needing a reason?" he asked loudly, getting annoyed. Grace winced.

"Boyd! Use your indoor voice, please. And I suppose you can take me out for no apparent reason, but it's not like you."

"Well, we can go out to celebrate your new look, if that'll satisfy you," Boyd said, his voice at a decent volume again. He grinned at her and Grace felt her heart flutter, not sure if it was because he finally addressed her new look or because he smiled at her, and chastised herself for acting like a teenager.

As the drink became two and then three, Grace looked at Boyd with mock reproach and said, "You really are trying to get me too drunk to drive home, aren't you?"

"Would I do that?"

Grace just looked at him. He grinned at her, shrugging innocently.

They phoned for a cab back to the office around eleven. The ride was quiet, both passengers leaning their heads against the headrests.

When they arrived at CCU headquarters, they all but stumbled into Grace's office. Boyd threw himself on the couch. Grace chuckled and sat down next to him. After a few moments, she said, "We should drink some coffee."

Boyd groaned in reply. Grace shook her head but quickly stopped; everything spun. Sighing, she got up from the couch and went to make coffee.

When she stepped back into her office, bearing two mugs of steaming, black liquid, she suddenly felt more self-conscious than she had all day. Boyd was watching her intently. He accepted his mug, sitting up straighter in the sofa, but he kept his eyes on her. He had sent her barely hidden looks all day, and Grace had secretly enjoyed those, but this was something else, something else entirely. There was nothing hidden about the way he looked at her now. She blushed and reclaimed her spot next to him on the sofa. She balanced her mug of coffee on her knees and leaned back, closing her eyes so she couldn't see the look in Boyd's deep brown eyes.

She felt him move slightly next to her and then her mug was pried out of her hands. Her eyes flew open and met Boyd's. Grace's breath hitched in her throat. Boyd pulled away a bit, but only to place her mug next to his on the floor. His hand found her cheek and she forgot to breathe. She laughed nervously.

"B-Boyd, what –" He put a finger to her lips, effectively silencing her. His hands caressed her face, touched her hair, played with her earlobes. His face hovered closer and closer to hers and Grace swallowed the lump in her throat.

"If you don't want me to kiss you, tell me now," he whispered hoarsely. Grace bit her lip.

Tell him to stop, you idiot, her mind screamed at her. You're both drunk! It's the alcohol talking! But god, I want him to kiss me so badly, she succumbed.

"Kiss me, Peter," she whispered back frantically, her hands creeping up his back, caressing the strong muscles through his shirt. His lips found hers in a searing kiss and she opened her mouth to him, caressing his tongue with hers. She clung to him, her nimble fingers pulling his shirt from his trousers and getting up under it, feeling his warm skin. She gasped as his palm closed over one of her breasts and he pulled her under him. She could feel his hardness pressing against her and it made her soul sing. Peter Boyd wants me! His mouth left hers and instead made its way down her throat, nibbling softly, making her groan. Her fingers fumbled at the buttons of his shirt, undoing them clumsily. Finally, his chest was exposed and Grace kissed her way down it even as she pushed his shirt down his arms.

Boyd pulled away from her, and something inside her rejoiced at the fact that he was as out of breath as she was.

"No, Grace," Boyd said, closing his eyes. "I can't take advantage of you like this. Not you. I won't sleep with you in your office after a night out."

As he spoke, Grace's feelings went from embarrassment to annoyance to understanding.

"You mean you would like to see what my bedroom looks like?" she asked, amusement evident in her voice.

"I mean," he said slowly, deliberately, looking as if he could hardly believe he was saying it, himself. "That I don't want you to think that this is about how much we drank tonight." He sat up in the sofa and sighed. Grace sat up, as well, and put a hand on his arm. "I… Grace, my feelings for you…" He faltered. Grace smiled sadly.

"You don't have to say it, Peter."

He was silent for a long while. Finally, he said quietly, "I've loved you for a long time. The physical part was just never an issue. Now…" He sighed, not noticing that Grace's breath had hitched. "Now, I can't seem to keep my eyes or hands off you!"

"Oh, Peter," Grace sighed, placing a hand on his arm. Then the devilish side crept into her. She giggled. "I can't believe you used the 'L' word!"

THE END

AN: this started as a crack!fic like thing but eh didn't turn out that way. I hope you enjoyed it.