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, for language and adult themes.

Spoilers: Slight mention of the events of S8's 'Endgame'. This is set somewhere between S8 and S9 but before the arrival of Sarah Cavendish.

A/N: So, this is my first foray back into the fanfic world after an unintentional break – circumstances in RL have been tough over the past couple of months – so I hope you enjoy! And please forgive the absolutely ridiculous premise of the story – I know this kind of thing has been done a million times before in every fandom but the idea just wouldn't leave me alone! Thank you x

Eve Lockhart eyed the progressively blackening sky with trepidation and glanced at her watch, a sense of grim resignation settling in her stomach as her mind interpreted the meaning behind the delicate hands of the dial. I don't like this, she thought nervously as she tried to return her attention to the task before her. Not one bit. The team had been searching the woods for close to an hour, the location a result of forensic evaluations combined with an anonymous tip-off but so far they had yielded nothing, and Eve was beginning to suspect it would prove to be an entirely fruitless exercise, irrespective of the number of hours devoted. She glanced around at the weary faces of her colleagues, their complexions appearing increasingly grey in the shadowy dusk of the fading sunlight, the previous levity in their conversation having long since vanished as the bleak reality of their ineffectual exploration evidently began to set in. This is ridiculous, Eve thought testily, brushing away a stray strand of chestnut hair from her eyes. I never should have agreed to this until the morning….

She straightened decisively from her cramped squat, her hands coming to rest atop the angular planes of her waist and she took a deep breath, blowing it forcefully away in a futile bid to supress her frustration and anxiety.

"Can I just point out," the scientist announced irritably, "that starting this at near-on four o'clock in the depths of winter was really bloody short-sighted. I'm still not clear on our timescales here."

Spencer Jordan laughed loudly, pre-empting a response from the other members of the group. "Oh, come on, Eve," he teased lightly. "I thought you were supposed to love all this outdoorsy crap?"

"Not when the ambient temperature is barely above a degree." Eve sighed heavily and turned towards the Unit's leader, her expression solemn. "I did warn you about this, Boyd."

Peter Boyd rose to his feet, his superior height giving him the advantage as he stared down at her, his gravelled tone reverberating stonily into the oppressive silence of the increasingly darkening woods. "So what's the problem? We're properly suited and booted, aren't we?"

"More or less."

"Well, then. Let's get back to it and stop wasting whatever time we've got left."

"Here, here," Spencer agreed, stooping back down to survey the soil. "I've got a pint with my name on it which I've got no intention of disappointing."

Eve held her ground and shook her head. "You're both missing my point. We're going to be losing daylight soon and it's a good two hour walk back to the cars."

Boyd narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I'm well aware of that."

"Are you?"

Grace Foley held up her gloved hands in a gesture of placation to halt the mounting hostility, her breath billowing softly from her mouth in white plumes as she spoke. "Look, no-one's to blame here. If we'd left before the results came in we'd have been searching blind…."

Boyd gave a snort of contempt. "We might as well have been, for all the good those fucking results have done us."

"I warned you they wouldn't necessarily be definitive, Boyd," Eve cut in firmly. "In fact, if you recall, my exact words were: 'This pollen could have come from a number of locations in this area and…'"

"But combined with the other informative we received this was as good a place to start as any," Spencer replied with a shrug. "It was always going to be a long shot."

"It's far slimmer odds than that, Spence," the scientist continued, her dark eyes fixed determinedly away from her colleague and towards her boss. "My advice was to have the samples analysed by someone with more specific expertise."

"We needed a quick answer, Eve, just a bloody ballpark estimate," Boyd answered evenly. "The fine detail can wait until later."

"So you just thought we should chance it?"

"Come on; you know as well as I do how long those specialised tests take. We could have been talking weeks rather than hours."

"I understand that."

"So what's your point?"

"My point is we should have left this search until tomorrow."

"And risk losing vital hours on this case?" Boyd's glare was intense. "We need to find something that categorically puts him in the frame, Eve. I don't want to have to explain to another victim's family that we had a solid lead we just couldn't be arsed to follow up on right away."

"Boyd…." Grace's tone was one of warning, her gaze unwavering as he held up a finger to halt her continuing address. "That's not what she said."

Eve gave a frustrated sigh though she flashed the older woman a grateful glance. "Not even remotely."

Boyd made a gesture of irritated dismissal. "We're at a pivotal point in this investigation and if you can't see that then you…."

"Not pivotal enough that twelve more hours would've made a difference. And certainly not pivotal enough to risk spending the night out here."

Grace frowned deeply at the scientist's determined statement as it settled in the sudden silence, instinctively pulling the raspberry wool of her coat tighter about her slender frame. "Is that what we're talking about, then?" she asked quietly, unable to prevent the nervousness that had snaked about her tone.

Eve nodded darkly. "That's what I'm worried about, yes."

Spencer gestured derisively. "No chance. If we start walking back now…."

"We'll be stumbling around in pitch black conditions in an hour, an hour and a half at the most."

"We've got torches…."

"It's not safe, Spence." Eve's insistence was adamant. "I'm serious."

"And it's safer to bed down and freeze to death, is it?"

The scientist sighed dejectedly. "I've got a tarpaulin in my kit. It's a bit rudimentary but we might be able to fashion some sort of tent…."

"No." The policeman's voice was resolute. "No fucking way, Eve."

"What's the alternative?"

"I've told you…."

"That's enough," Boyd interrupted sharply, decisively, instantly drawing the group's attention in his characteristically brusque fashion. "Spence, get out your phone and call it in. Make sure someone knows where we are."

The DI frowned in presumptive irritation. "And then what?"

Boyd held the junior officer's gaze squarely. "We walk back as far as we can while the light holds…and then we do what Eve has suggested, alright?"

Spence looked aghast. "You're not being serious…."

"Alright, Spence?"

The younger man blew out a disapproving breath but retrieved his mobile from his jacket and moved away to press it to his ear, Grace raising her eyebrows quizzically towards Eve as the remainder of the group stood ever closer together.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" she asked the younger woman softly, raising an apologetic palm as Eve sighed dishearteningly. "Sorry. I know you wouldn't have even brought it up if you weren't."

"I just can't see another option," the scientist replied. "We left it far too late in the day at this time of year."

Boyd frowned menacingly. "You've more than made your point."

"I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree then, aren't we?"

"If you say so."

"Recklessly endangering this team, Boyd…."

The DSI gave a short, incredulous laugh. "Is that really what you think?"

Eve folded her arms across her chest. "I brought up my concerns before we even left the office, for all the good it did me."

"And I suppose you agree with her, do you?" Boyd addressed Grace with a thinly veiled accusation, his eyebrows raised in expectation as he awaited the inevitable.

The psychologist's expression was a haven of calm as she fearlessly held his gaze. "Did I say that?"

"It's written all over your face."

She smiled crookedly. "Let's not get into another debate about mind-reading, shall we?"

"For God's sake." Boyd threw up his hands in frustration and made to turn away, his body halting of its own volition as Grace grasped resolutely at his forearm, her grip firm through the layers of their clothing.

"If we're going to do this," she told him unwaveringly, though her eyes had also flickered towards Eve, "then we need to leave the bickering at the door, okay?"

The scientist grinned widely. "Not sure we're going to have a door, Grace."

"You know what I mean."

The younger woman sobered sheepishly and nodded. "I do."

"Okay, Boyd?"

He looked at her for a long moment, the fact that she was still holding tightly to his arm vaguely amusing him as he pondered briefly just how easily she was capable of exerting her control. "Fine," he muttered gruffly, inclining his head in the direction from which they had previously walked as he noted Spencer beginning to approach the group anew. "Let's get going, shall we?"

The two women exchanged wry glances as they fell into step behind the DSI, Grace smiling gratefully towards Spencer as he pointedly took up the rear in a grudging, stony silence.

TBC