Twenty - Four hours. She’d been gone twenty four hours and then some. Though she wasn’t even sure where she was. Grace had read about some crazy dude in the paper had been lighting half of Tierney on fire but she’d never imagine this guy would come after her. No wait, the victim of those fires had described something different.

The guy had spent the last few hours making her watch things burn and telling her that she was going to be next. She had no idea that Matt was looking for her. All she could think about was getting back home and if that was even in the cards. Breath picking up she inhaled deeply. Breathe Grace, hold yourself together. This wasn’t something she was trained for, what was wrong with this picture? What did she do to deserve this?

Police had been and gone at the Cole residence when the 911 call came in from the neighbor across the street from the residence Grace had been taken too came in. Grace was unaware of what was going on. She could only watch the man in front of her lighting the chords on fire. The fear that burned in her eyes as she was forced to watch, he was fueling off of it.

Grace closed her eyes and tried to picture something much better than what was happening. She was scared and could feel her body shaking. What was he going to do to her?

---

One of the cops had been patrolling the area around the Cole residence looking for her when the call came in. ’Radio to Unit 15. BOLO matching blonde female missing from Tierney spotted. Last seen fifteen minutes ago with two young males, between the ages of 20 and 22.”

“Unit 15 responding” he replied before getting the address of the call. Why did people take so long to call things in? Sheesh. The police unit headed in the direction.

---

“Drink it” the guy demanded putting the shot glass full of gasoline up to her mouth.

Grace snorted and became defiant. The chair quickly tumbled to the floor where he flipped her onto her side and forced her mouth open and poured the gas down her throat. He stroked her throat forcing her to swallow.

It burned and there was little she could do except lay on the floor tied up sideways watching him play with the fire again. Matt.. Kaylee… She wanted her family, she wanted to go home.

Tag: Petty Officer Matthew Cole

Matt didn't think much of it when Grace was not home 5 minuets after the time she was due to be back, or even when it was 10 minutes after. But when he glanced at the clock on his way past it and saw that she was 20 minutes late he pulled out his phone to see if she had left a text or tried to call and he had simply not heard it for some reason, but there was no message and no missed call. Not that 20 minutes was cause to sent out a search party but it was just that Grace normally called if she was running anything more than 5 minutes late.

So he called her and when he got her voice mail he hung up and tried again a few minutes later, and when he had gotten the voice mail again he left a message letting her know he was calling to simply make sure she was alright, then went on to call his mother and father in law to see if she was there and had maybe lost track of time, after all it was easily done.

But when Grace was not at home or at her parents house and still hadn't answered her phone an hour later Matt called her brothers and her friends too, that was when he asked the neighbor to keep an eye on Kaylee while he went out in his truck to make sure Grace wasn't broken down at the side of the road somewhere, or worse.

Then mild concern grew into alarm, worry and total distress as the hours rolled by one after another after Matt had called everywhere including the hospital and got nothing. And it was more that disconcerting when the police stated she had to be missing for 24hrs before he could file an office missing persons report. It had been the longest night of his life as the reality hit harder and harder with every passing hour that something was very wrong.

And now 24 hours later the police had been and gone and Matt's stomach was doing flips...his wife was missing. She was missing and there was nothing he could do, a fact he struggled to cope with as he sat at the table with his hands on his head. Police had told him to stay home in case some one called to give ransom demands and that was the only reason he wasn't out looking for Grace. He ran his hands through his hair and held the back of his head, there were no words to describe what he was feeling inside and it was all he could do to hold it together for Grace's sake if not for Kaylee.

His brother in law Nathaniel squeezed his shoulder in way of support as he was stood next him, the entire family was in shock and any differences they had didn't count for anything right now. Right now they were united and Nathaniel was at the house with Matt and his mother in law while his father in law and other brother in law Kurtis were out looking for Grace.

A moment later Kaylee came over to her father and started to cry once again. Matt immediately stood to his feet and lifted her up holding her against his chest as she cried, "It's okay baby. It's gonna be okay." he said in a low, soft voice, she was over tired and that didn't help with the tears. "Okay, okay." He said again, softly as he rocked his body soothing her. "Stay by the phone, I'm gonna put her to bed." He said, "Of course." Nathaniel replied and Lorlene nodded.

Matt carried Kaylee upstairs and put her in her bed, as he pulled the cover over her she looked up at him, "Daddy, when is Mommy coming home?" She was too young to fully understand just what was going on, and oh how hard it was to her her keep asking that. He stopping his eyes from misting the best he could, "Soon, baby. I'm sure she'll be home soon." He replied softly as he stroked her gently on the head until she fell asleep just a couple of minutes later.

Once Kaylee was out Matt got up and walked past her room to the den and turned on the police scanner to see if he could hear anything regarding the search for Grace. He wasn't supposed to have one seeing as he wasn't a cop, but he found listening to it rather interesting, not that he did that all of the time, and even his cop friends had told him what some of the codes meant.
At firs there was silence and static, then there were a couple of very minor calls of no consequence. After a few minutes of listening Matt closed his eyes and tipped his head back and took in a shaky breath. Where was she? He just prayed that she would be alright.

Looking back at the scanner he exhaled and blinked away the mist that had finally formed in his eyes, then his attention was grabbed by the next call.

’Radio to Unit 15. BOLO matching blonde female missing from Tierney spotted. Last seen fifteen minutes ago with two young males, between the ages of 20 and 22.”

He perked up and listens intently to the conversation and got the address in question.
Walking briskly he hurried back down, "Keep an eye on Kaylee and stay here in case the phone rings." He said as he passed the table. But before they could ask where he was going Matt was out of the door. He got in his truck and headed in the direction of the address, the truth was he had not idea of what he was gonna do when he got to the address, the police were on their way and they wouldn't let him in. But still he had go in case Grace was there, she would be shaken by all of this and would need him to be there for her, and if she needed to go to the hospital he needed to be there to ride in the ambulance with her. Oh his stomach flipped at the thought, what if she was hurt?

He hurried over to the address, going over the speed limits. This probably wasn't the sensible thing to do but his head was a mess and it would be until he had his wife back, until Kaylee had her mother back. He focused himself on the road, the last thing he needed was to cause an accident, and when he arrived in the neighborhood he pulled his truck up at a skewed angle and jumped out of it, and quickly started looking for the exact address.

Where was it, where were the police?

Tag: Gracelyn Cole.

One thing that Grace was, prompt. Her cellphone had been dumped and turned off so that it could not get pinged. There was nothing that was trackable. All she could do was hope that someone found her. It was a long shot at best, but Grace had to keep the hope up but being told she was going to die for so long. That’s when gasoline covered her hair and clothing. There was nothing she could do to fight back.

“You will die here.” The man taunted as he grabbed her gasoline soaked hair and force her to look at him. “Look at me.” The voice further demanded. “I want to watch the light leave your eyes.” Grace felt queasy to her stomach and everything around her wouldn’t sit still. Though she knew not to throw up. If it burned going down it was going to hurt worse coming up.

She could hear the sirens, she had no idea they went flying past Matt’s truck. It was enough to spook who was ever there and they took off running leaving Grace laying on the floor soaked in gasoline. The smell was enough to make her want to throw up the gasoline she had to drink. It will do more harm than good. Come on Grace hold it together. Help is coming. Where was Matt? She wanted Matt.

Somewhere between the blur of things she saw movement as she laid on the floor. Who was there? She wanted to call out but her throat burned. Grace felt someone touching her and she tried to move away but she was bound. Trying not to freak out she was failing as she pulled on the ropes.

Then she was free of the binds and she let out a scream. Paramedics and police were trying to help and she had an altered reality of what was really going on. Grace didn’t register it as help. She came outside and was running. Wanting to be away from the men who had done this.

Grace wasn’t watching where she was going and smacked right into Matt. She stumbled backwards and her breath was panicky. The smell of gasoline overpowered her sense of smell. Nothing about Matt registered at first until she glanced at his face while she was looking for a place to run.

“Matt?” Her voice rasped in a question. The police who had come inside were right behind her. Trying to catch her was like going on a wild goose chase. Good luck with that.

Grace hadn’t realized that was Matt was there yet and so she frantically started screaming for him. Grace was feeling dizzy and put her hands on her thighs bending over. Oh her throat hurt and she could still smell the gasoline.

Grace collapsed to the concrete. The smell and the nausea getting to her as she was starting to loose focus of everything. It was blurry and nothing would sit still. Maybe she could just lay here and relax a while. Yes, sleep sounded wonderful right about now.

Tag: Petty Officer Matthew Cole

Matt ran a few paces along the sidewalk then slowed to a stop as he looked up at the buildings searching for the right number. It was only a couple of seconds later he saw the police cars screech to a stop a fey yards down, "Grace!" He said quietly to himself before he ran towards the building. Was she inside? He hoped she was inside and he prayed with everything that he was that she was ok as he hurried along the pavement.

"Wow, wow." One of the officers said, grabbing Matt by the shoulders and stopping him entering the building.
"Is she in there? Is Grace in there?" Matt asked, his voice on edge. "Sir, you can't go in there." The officer said in a firm but professional tone as he stood between Matt and the building, stopping Matt going inside.

"I need to get to her. I need-I need to help her." Matt said in a rattled tone, looking past the officer and at the building. He was obviously worked up and not thinking straight. "You the husband?" The officer asked, a touch of sympathy in his tone on seeing Matt's distress. "Yeah." Matt replied, not fully focused. "Ok. We need you to stay right here, understand?. You wanna help you wait outside."

Matt nodded, again looking past the officer to see some of the other police already going into the building. "Ok." He replied. His natural impulses were to run inside but his mind was foggy and clouded and he was in no state to argue with the officer. Instead he waited there as instructed and he watched the officer and the medics head inside the building behind the other officers.
Matt ran both hands over his head as he looked at the building and waited. For the past 24 hours he'd had no idea what was happening to his wife or where she was and he had been going out of his mind.

It was only a couple of minutes later when she came running out, "Grace?!" He said as she ran towards him. But it couldn't have registered as she ran straight into him and didn't recognize him at first, "Grace." He said gently held her by the shoulders and trying to look into her disorientated eyes, "You're ok honey, You're ok."

“Matt?”

"It's me honey, it's me." He answered her as she began to scream for him.
He wrapped his arms around is frantic wife and held her as she knelt there on the concrete. "You're safe now, you're safe now." He whispered in a comforting, but somewhat emotionally charged voice as he held her tighter. The fumes were enough to make his airways sore and he didn't understand why she was all wet, but in that moment he didn't want to think about what had happened to her, what could have happened and he just held on to her, "It's ok, it's ok honey, it's ok." he whispered ever so quietly, with his cheek against her head and tears in his eyes.

It was only when the medics came over that Matt let go, allowing them to see to Grace and load her into the back of the ambulance. He sat next to her in the ambulance as they made their way to the hospital to check her out, and looking down at her he held her hand and gently stroked her forehead with his thumb, "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" He asked with misted eyes. He was just so relieved that she had been found.

Tag: Gracelyn Cole.

(If you didn't want them to go the hospital yet I can edit )

Someone was holding her. The first instinct was to try and get away. Fear raced through her body and she kept turning like someone was chasing her. The voice… no, she was safe. Any other time Grace would have argued that she was not okay. She was certainly far from it when it came to mental state. She shook a little and slowly tried to process everything.

Her arms wrapped tight around him once she processed his scent through the gagging gasoline fumes. Her eyes were closed so the fumes wouldn’t tear at her eyeballs. She turned off his shoulder only to cough at the fumes. Between wanting to throw up, coughing, and her skin irritating she had more propriety than to take her clothes off in the middle of the street.

“Matt.” It was a resolved tone. One where she had finally put the pieces back in place. Though still very clearly she looked a bit out of it. More like she was drunk. Her throat still burned. “I want to go home.” Grace rarely if ever complained but right now her tone was more miserable sounding and hoarse than home sick.

Grace didn’t want the medics anywhere near her but she’d never been one to fight with them. They had a job to do but right now she didn’t want to let go of Matt. It had been harder to get her to lay down because she had to let go. Then there was strapping her up. She’d told them to stop and that she didn’t want to drink it anymore. The medic looked confused for a second until it clicked.

Soon Grace registered the familiarity of the thumb on her face. She didn’t need to panic. Grace had a few panic triggers. The biggest was tight spaces. One could now add the smell of gasoline to the small list. “They made me drink it. I didn’t want to…” She was almost delirious.

The medic started talking to Grace to try and find out how much she’d been given but she wouldn’t talk to them. “We need to know how much gasoline you swallowed Grace.” He looked towards Matt after making that statement. Well maybe the woman’s husband had missed what he’d said. Sometimes they did and sometimes they didn’t.

“Her vitals are normal. She’s going to have trouble breathing. Her body is going to have to process this on its own. She’s going to do damage to her throat lining if she throws up like she wants. She will be alright.” The medic half explained to Matt while giving Grace some fresh air.

Grace started mumbling something about wanting to go home again. She didn’t let go of Matt’s hand and she leaned into his thumb. “I’m sorry…” She started to apologize but she wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for.


Tag: Petty Officer Matthew Cole

"I know baby, but the doctors have to look over you first. ok?" He told her in a gentle voice when she said she wanted to go home, "As soon as the doctors finish looking at you, you can go home." He assured her, it just wasn't the moment to say that it could take a while for the doctors to look at her.

He frowned as he watched the medics strap her in and he hated seeing her in such a state. Then when she started saying something about not wanting to drink it anymore Matt frown deeply and a look came over his eyes, he knew what she was saying even if the medic took a second to click.

“They made me drink it. I didn’t want to…”

Matt's stomach twisted and tightened at the thought of what she had been through as she spoke. He leaned in more intently, continuing to stroke her forehead, "It's ok, it's ok. Shhh." He put his lips on her forehead for a second, he could taste and smell the gas on her and it was disgusting and overpowering but he didn't care, "No one is going to make you drink anymore. It's over."

He looked down into her eyes with a loving expression on his face that was mixed with dismay and relief. But inside he was livid and oh so angry at the kidnapper for making her drink it and for covering her in it, let alone for taking her in the first place.
Oh why had she been drenched in gasoline anyway? Why would anyone do that? And the answer that came to his mind made him feel absolutely sick to his stomach.

Matt turned his head, his face was whiter with the though that he had been one lit match away from losing his wife in such a mortifyingly horrific way, but he listened as the medic spoke.

“Her vitals are normal. She’s going to have trouble breathing. Her body is going to have to process this on its own. She’s going to do damage to her throat lining if she throws up like she wants. She will be alright.”

His mind was a little out of it too with everything that had happened, but Matt took in everything the guy said and nodded lightly. That was good, not that she would have trouble breathing and her body would have to process it on it's own, but that she was going to be alright.

Turning back to Grace he held her hand with both of his and looked at her, "Tell me, how much gasoline did you drink sweetheart?" He kept his voice on the low side, but this time his tone was more firm and serious. He hadn't missed what the medic had said about needing to know.

Tag: Gracelyn Cole.

Grace nodded, she completely trusted Matt. If he said that he was going to do something, she knew that it would get done. She wasn’t processing exactly how she got to the ambulance but as long as Matt was here, she knew that nothing was going to happen.

Grace was staring up at the top of the ambulance and things were starting to go in and out of focus. She was going to argue about it not being okay but the moment she heard Matt’s voice any argument she had was gone. If he said it was okay then it was okay. She didn’t register the IV until it was in her arm but her focus remained in Matt’s direction as she whimpered a little. Grace had always hated needles but she wasn’t scared of them. “Home. Promise me. I wanna go home.” She wanted to be anywhere but the ambulance.

Grace’s voice sounded a little raspy. It was much like drug detox, Grace’s body was going to have to process it on its own. The medic gave her something to keep her nausea down. “Where’s Kaylee?” Grace wanted to know where Kaylee was and if she was safe. Matt wasn’t there with Kaylee what if the man grabbed Kaylee. Grace could only jump to the worst logic. She was missing the logical part of her protective brothers being around town. Logic right now, well there was no logic right now.

Matt wanted answers but Grace wanted to go home. Why was Matt questioning her? She hated his firm tone if one really wanted to dive to the bottom of it. It made her feel like a kid in trouble. The low tones just made her feel like no one else was meant to hear it. “A sip, I couldn’t spit it out.” She sounded like she was trying to get out of trouble for something she may have done wrong. Tones laced in panic.

Grace wasn’t sure if Matt was upset with her or not. In her mind, she had just been scolded. Rolling her head to the side she breathed as best she could. She closed her eyes and tried her best not to become more nauseated by the smell. Whoever had done this, she hoped Matt didn’t find them or she might be bailing him out from behind bars.

Tag: Petty Officer Matthew Cole

When Grace whimpered at the use of the needle Matt gently squeezed her hand as comfortingly as he could, "It's ok." He reassured her softly.

He looked at her when she said again that she wanted to go home. He knew she was going to pull through because the medic had told him so, but he didn't know how long she would need to be in the hospital for before she would get the all clear to go home. And right now Grace was a little out of it and he was careful about make any promises on taking her home in case she misunderstood and though she would be able to go home right away. No, Matt always kept his promises and never, ever made them lightly. But seeing her there now he could tell she needed it.

He leaned in a little closer to Grace, looking into her eyes as he so often did, "Hey, you really think I'm gonna let them keep you away from home any longer than they need to? Like Kaylee said, I can barley tie my shoes without you." He joked lightly, "I'm gonna take you home as soon as you are well enough, promise." He said putting the back of her hand to his lips and kissing it, "You just need to get better first, thats all."

Again he looked at her when she asked about their daughter, "Kaylee's at home with Nathaniel and your mother. She's in bed asleep, she's fine." He assured her.

He would have to call them and let them know Grace was alright as soon as he got to the hospital.

Seeing her distressed and hearing her tone when she said she only drank a sip he immediately started stroking her forehead, "Hey, it's ok. It's ok." It was like she felt she had done something wrong, like she was afraid he was going to be mad at her and she was obviously still in shock and confusion.

Oh, he hated seeing his wife like this. He just wanted to scoop her up, hold her in his arms and make it all ok some how. She had nothing to be sorry for, none of this this was her fault in any way, How could he possibly be mad at her? "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault sweetheart." He said in a soft tone.
He could be a bit bull in a china shop sometimes, but he had a gentle side to him too. A side that Grace always brought out in him, as did Kaylee.

But he wasn't totally convinced she had only had a sip, not that he was a doctor but he thought it would take a little more than a little sip to make her ill like this. Not that he thought she was fibbing, but she was a little out of it. "Are you sure a sip is all you had baby?" He asked, keeping his voice soft this time as he stroked her forehead, "How much is a sip?"

It wasn't like he wanted to have to ask her these questions but the medics needed to know. Not that they could do much so it would seem, as they had already said Grace's system would have to deal with this on it's own.

"Can't you pump her stomach or give her charcoal or something?" He asked the medics.
He was no doctor and he knew it, but he could see his wife was feeling sick and wasn't in the best shape right. He loved her and hated seeing her in any kind of pain.

Tag: Gracelyn Cole.

Grace wanted to argue that her stomach was just upset and that it would pass, but she didn’t like to fight and go looking for disagreements. Hearing that Kaylee was alright and knowing Matt was here now she closed her eyes and reopened them only to have them close. Her stomach was twisting but she was also tired from being awake. There had been no time to relax, the last hours had been full of panic and adrenaline.

It’s okay to sleep Grace. It’s okay. She reasoned with herself as she was still fighting the sleep. That’s when the whole conversation about how much she had to drink entered into play. It wasn’t okay that she’d drank it, it wasn’t good for her.

“A sip.” That was all she could manage out. She felt a hand on her forehead as she was growing still tired. The tone of Matt’s voice lulled her into a sense of a safety. She hardly heard them mentioning a stomach pump or the paramedic talking.

“Coming back up isn’t an option. Rest is what she needs right now, to let her body fight it." He replied seeing that Grace was trying to nod off.

Tag: Petty Officer Matthew Cole
(If you want I can have Erin come around asking questions and poking into things)

Matt could see his wife was exhausted, her eyes closing despite her efforts to keep them open, "Ok." He said softly when she repeated that she had only had a sip. He wasn't going to push her or stress her out any more more than she already was.

Matt looked over at the medic as they said it couldn't come back up and that she needed to rest. He nodded then looked back at Grace, "Go to sleep." He whispered, letting her know it was alright for her to.
He Stroked her forehead once again and gently ran a hand down her hair as he watched her eyes close. His stomach twisted slightly as he fought to keep away all the 'what if' thoughts from his mind. Right now he had to stay calm for his wife so that he could keep her calm and soothe her the best he could. No, right now he just had to look down at her and be thankful for the fact that she was alive and for the most part well, and he was so thankful for that. What would he and Kaylee do without her?

The ambulance soon arrived at the hospital and Matt stuck as close as he could to Grace for as long as he could until the doctors made him wait outside her room while they checked her over.

As soon as he got in the hallway Matt pulled out his phone and called home, letting the family know that Grace had been found and that she was now in the hospital to recover.
It was an emotional call and everyone was just so relived to be out of limbo and know that Grace was finally safe. The family said they were on their way over but Matt knew it would take a little while for them to arrive, he said goodbye and quickly put the phone away before he had to lean his shoulder against the corner of the wall as he felt his legs finally start to weaken. He let out a shaky breath and rubbed a hand over his misted eyes as he couldn't hold back the what ifs any more. What if they hadn't found her? What if she had never come home? What if he had lost her? What if the gas had been ignited? Anger began to fill his body with that last thought, drying up his misty eyes and causing him to stand upright again. Oh, if he ever got his hands on whoever did this...

Tag: Gracelyn Cole .

Ooc: Sure, why not? Bring her in

Erin padded down the hallway just as Matt was leaning on the wall. Erin had come with good news and bad news and a plethora of questions. "Petty Officer Cole?" She wanted so badly to tell him that they had the person who did this, and really they did have him but Grace would have to make an id and Erin had been in Grace's position before and more. "Erin Voight. Tierney PD." She extended her hand in greeting. "Do you have a few minutes?" She really needed to talk to Grace but there was no way in hell she was about to go barging in on Grace at a time like this. She wanted permission, and she wanted Grace to rest so their information could be at it's most accurate.

Erin remembered somewhere that Matt was on the JTF but she'd never actually met him in person. From what she gathered from personnel files, Grace hadn't been in Tierney long and had all of this tossed on her. She looked into the room a moment and then back towards Matt. "She's safe now." It was a statement not a question. Erin handed him a photograph. "Do you recognize him?" She wasn't sure if this was a vendetta that was personal or anything else but she was certain it was a copy cat of the killer she had originally started after. Now she had an obligation to make sure this copycat didn't get away with what he did.

Tag: Petty Officer Matthew Cole

Matt looked around when he heard his name, "Yeah?" He turned to face Erin as she came over to him and he shook her hand as it was offered to him.

He knew it wouldn't take long for the cops to show and now they were here, with a stream of questions no doubt. He just hoped that they would be able to tell him they got the guy (or guys), or at least be able to tell him that in the very, VERY near future. "Um, Yeah, yeah." He replied, quickly trying to pull himself together when she asked if he had a few minutes.

He nodded when Erin told him that his wife was safe, he knew she was.
But knowing she was safe now didn't erase the fact that she hadn't been safe a few hours ago or the fact that she had been taken. And he also knew that until they got whoever was responsible the chances were that Grace probably wouldn't feel safe and would worry that they would come back for her, and that was a concern Matt wanted to put to rest as quickly as possible.

He took the photo as Erin held it out and looked at it for a moment before shaking his head, "No." He replied with a frown. "Never seen him before." He said before handing the photo back.
Part of him was glad it wasn't someone he knew that had done something so horrible, but another part of him wished he did recognize the man so that he would be able to tell them something to help in the investigation.

"Do you think he's the guy who did this?" He asked, folding his arms and looking at Erin with a tired frown.

Tag: Gracelyn Cole.

Grace rolled over. “Matt” She called out half groggy and half muffled through the oxygen she was taking in. She saw Erin talking to Matt and sighed. The cops were here and she wasn’t really ready to deal with them. Hell, she wasn’t even ready to move let alone answer questions.

“It’s alright.” Erin assured him when he said he hadn’t seen the guy before. That was a dead end for them of sorts but there could have been other witnesses. It was only a small set back and Erin wasn’t going to let it deter her.

"Matt," Grace rasped again this time coughing as she tried to sit up. No, she wasn’t strong enough for that yet.

“I can’t answer that question Mr. Cole. But I do appreciate your time.” Erin replied before she pointed in the doorway. “For right now I think someone is looking for you.” She decided to talk to Grace later, without Matt around and when she was feeling better.

Tag: Petty Officer Matthew Cole

(Sorry its short brain not working)

Grace's first call was too faint for Matt to hear as he stood in the hall talking to Erin.

He wasn't surprised when Erin told him she couldn't say if they thought the man in the photo was the one who had done this or not. He understood why and he wasn't surprised but it was frustrating, he just wanted to know what was going on.

But Matt didn't kick up a fuss, Grace was safe now and that was what he was thinking about the most. Besides he was just simply too tired to kick up any kind of fuss with Erin right now asking for information that she wasn't allowed to give.
Then he heard Grace's second call and he turned his head, looking at her through the door way.

“For right now I think someone is looking for you.”

He nodded to Erin and stepped away, going to Grace now the doctors would allow him back into the room.
He sat in the chair next to her bed and leaned over to her, affectionately stroking her temple with his thumb, "Hey, baby." He said with a very light smile.

"The family is on the way over. They'll be here in a while." He told her in a whispered tone. She looked so exhausted as she rasped under the oxygen mask. He pressed his lips against her forehead for a moment, "But for now just rest." He told her. "I'm right here." He assured her in a low voice, hoping it would make her feel safe so that she could rest.

Tag: Gracelyn Cole.

The last thing that Grace wanted was her family to see her like this. She could feel the panic building but Matt put it to rest as she felt his lips on her forehead. Him being there was comforting but it hardly stopped everything from replaying in her head. The last person that needed to know the truth was her dad, he'd probably join Matt in a man hunt. Grace's arms came up around Matt and she pulled herself up as much as she could manage before leaning back against the bed.

The nurse came into the room for the usual check in's. "Her tox screen came back. They estimate she ingested about one shot glass full. We gave her something for nausea." She explained.

Looking over to Matt, Grace smiled a bit. "What if he comes back?" That was her fear was this person coming back for her, to finish what he had started. No Matt was right here. Nothing was going to happen to her. Her heart rate spiked on the monitors and then calmed back down as she took a few breaths and moved closer to him.

Tag: Petty Officer Matthew Cole