Note: A series of short stories centred around all the time Grace's life was in danger. The unsaid words, unseen scenes that were not in the episode.
Pairing: Boyd/Grace
Black Eye, Broken Wrist
The first time she got injured on my watch was during the Charlie Sutton case. My decision to reopen the case caused someone to panic. In the panic, she got put in harm's way and got hurt. Receiving the call from Frankie, hearing 'Grace has been attacked', my mind couldn't register what I had just been told. For a minute I thought it could have been a random mugging on the street, a spur of the moment. But, when Frankie informed me Grace been attacked in her own home, I knew then it must have been related to the case.
As I drove towards her place, I didn't know what to expect. When someone says 'attacked' you wonder how big of an attack. Was there serious injuries or just minor ones. Pulling up to her street, I could see flashing lights of both police cars and the ambulance. Observing the crowd that had gathered the thought of her having serious injuries still remained in my mind. Seeing the paramedics outside her front door put some of my worries at ease, but that still didn't mean I wasn't scared. I was terrified because she had been attack. I gave a quick nod towards the office standing outside before I entered her house.
"Oh, Jesus!" I breathed out.
Grace looked up. "Oh hi." In her hand she cradled a cup of tea.
"Are you alright?" I asked gently sitting next to her as I moved a strand of hair away from face.
"You should see the other guy." Came her reply.
I saw her wince when I touched her face. She had a black eye, nothing else. "Sorry." I said. "What happened Grace?"
"I feel so stupid. I didn't even hear him come up behind me." Grace responded, not wanting to look at me. "He grabbed me, we struggled. He pinned me to the ground before it becomes a blur. Then when I came around the room was in disarray and the file was gone. I should have done more."
I gently placed my hand on her arm. "Grace, you're lucky you didn't get seriously hurt."
Grace shook her head. "He didn't want to kill me. He just wanted the file on the Harper report."
"You don't know that Grace!" I shouted, not intending to raise my voice. "He might have killed you if he hadn't got what he was looking for."
"Boyd, he rifled through my bag. He knew exactly what he was looking for. It's my fault, I shouldn't have brought work home with me." Grace said.
"It's not your fault. It's no one's fault. But, it looks like the reopening of this case has caused someone to become worried. For now, though let's get you to the hospital. You need to be checked out."
Grace was in no mood to argue so reluctantly she went into the ambulance. While the ambulance drove off into the distance Frankie and I stayed behind to process the scene. As I looked around the living room to see if there was any evidence that could point towards a suspect, I let out a deep sigh. That was close, I said to myself. Too close. I turned my attention to Frankie who was writing up the last few details on the swabs she'd collected from Grace.
"Do you think you'll have any luck getting a DNA profile?" I inquired.
"Don't ask me to give you anything concrete at the moment, Boyd. You know I have to get these samples back to the lab and run some tests. I'll know more once I've done those." Frankie retorted back.
"Come on, Frankie." I plead. "Just give me a rough opinion."
"Fine. Based on my samples I got from under Grace's fingernail, my rough opinion would be 'yes'. I think I'll be able to get a DNA profile from the sample."
I gave a hastily nod. "Thanks, Frankie."
"But, don't quote me on that." I hear her say as I head back out to my car.
I sat in my car for a few minutes, hands on the steering wheel. Even though Grace had some minor bruises, the fear in me still lingered. If something had happened to her, I knew the team would come under scrutiny from the Commissioner. If inquiries were made and evidence was found that I, Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd was a liability because I was unable to protect my team, I'm certain the CCU would get decommissioned. After almost losing Mel, the Commissioner warned me anymore incidents like that and I could say goodbye to the unit. I reassured the Commissioner nothing else like that would ever happened again. I had given him my word. Now that was broken. I had let Grace get injured because of this investigation. I thumped the steering wheel hard, causing the horn to blare. Silently, I swore under my breath hoping I hadn't woken up the rest of the sleeping street. I knew I had to get over to the hospital to see how Grace was doing, but what could I do once I got there? Nothing. I just had to let the professionals get on with their jobs. If there was something to tell, I would have received a phone call. And for now, my phone hadn't rung, so no news was good news. Speaking of phone calls, there was one I had to make.
The tone dialled for a couple of seconds before the familiar voice of Spence answered.
"Sir?"
"Spence, Grace is at the hospital."
"What? Is she okay?"
In the background, I could hear the sound of Mel's voice and then Spence relaying to her what I had told him.
"She got attacked. I'm on way back to headquarters, I'll let you know the rest when I arrive." I explained before I ended the call.
I arrived back at the headquarters and strolled straight over to the main room. I was met with the concerned faces of Spence and Mel, both nervously waiting for an update on what happened and if Grace was alright.