Fic: Surviving Life [2/?]
Title: Surviving Life
Fandom: Silent Witness
Rating: T
Warning: Mentions of sexual violence- nothing graphic
Summary: Nikki always knew that arguments would have consequences, but she had never thought that a disagreement over a case could lead to… this. Hopefully the fic is more interesting than the summary!
Prologue
Chapter One- Doing What I Have To Do To Survive
Nikki found herself staring back up at the ceiling, finding it even harder to get to sleep. Her brain was so wired; she couldn’t stop thinking about Harry and the Flanagan case. For a moment she considered going back to work to apologise to Harry, and perhaps persuade him to help her, but she soon came up with what she thought was a better plan.
Back behind the wheel, she plugged the address into her sat nav and set off. She started to realise that this might not be the best idea, but despite herself she carried on.
She arrived at her destination and looked up at the big Victorian house before her. With a deep breath she nervously knocked on the door. A tall, middle aged man answered, “Mr Grayson? My name is Dr Alexander, I’m a Home Office pathologist,” she pulled out her ID, “I was wondering if I could-“
“Talks to me about the deaths of my step children?” he finished her sentence for, “Come in.” he groaned.
As she followed him through to the living room, Nikki remembered seeing him on the news playing the grieving parent. As she looked at him, she wondered whether he really could be a murderer, “Mr Grayson, I’d like to ask you what your stepson was like, if I may?”
“Well he was obviously a sick bastard, doing that to his sisters. And he was a coward too.” He seemed incredibly calm and collected, almost practiced perhaps.
“I mean before the attack.” She sat down, trying to observe his body language which was so far telling he that something was definitely wrong here. He knew something, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what.
“Does that honestly matter? You already know that he killed them, what more do you need?!” he said with a note of anger.
“I’m just trying to establish what state of mind Jacob was in before the attack, whether there were any indications of what was to come.” In other words, did he kill himself and his sisters, did someone else or did you?
He looked a little annoyed but remained calm, “I thought you were a pathologist, not a psychologist.” Nikki didn’t answer him, “Would you like a cup of tea Dr… Alexander was it? Or some coffee perhaps?”
She suddenly realised that she hadn’t had anything to drink since the previous night, “Um, yeah, a coffee would be great.”
As she waited for him to return, she started to look at the various photos placed around the room. There were various photos of the family that had once consisted of five people. She picked up one of a younger looking Peter Grayson playing with three teenagers on a Mediterranean beach.
“We were so happy then.”
Nikki jumped, she hadn’t noticed him return to the room, “But you haven’t been happy recently?”
“Not since my wife died, no. Anna took it the worst, she struggled to accept her mothers death, but Marie and Jacob looked after her.” He handed her the mug of coffee before sitting back down with her, “Why are you here Dr Alexander?” she stared at her as she took a large swig of her drink, “What is it you really wanted to talk to me about?”
Something in his eyes made her scared, “I just… I just wasn’t entirely sure that Jacob was the kind of person who would do this to his family or to himself. As you’ve just said, he looked after his little sister, they were close.” She started to blink rapidly as her vision slowly became blurry.
A sick smile appeared on his face, “Yes they were doctor, but does that automatically mean that he’s incapable of doing these things.” His voice seemed distant.
“Well no, I guesh not.” She gasped, hearing her speech slurring, “Mr Grayshon…” everything began to swim, “Oh…Oh God.” She had never felt so light headed before. She looked up at Peter, “What… why?” this came to no more than a whisper.
And then there was darkness.
*****
Harry sat with his phone to his ear. No answer. Again. He’d lost count of the amount of times he had tried to ring Nikki that morning. Of course he thought that Nikki should be the one to apologise to him, but he was easily prepared to put that behind him for the sake of her happiness and her friendship. It was just one of things that you had to put up with when it came to Nikki. Not that she wasn’t an easy person to get along with; they had one of the most natural friendships he had ever experienced, so yes, sacrificing a little bit of pride would indeed be worth it.
“She’s still not picking up?” Leo walked past, “Don’t worry, she’s probably fast asleep or something.”
“What are we going to do about the Flanagan case?” Harry asked, knowing that they couldn’t go on like this.
“I’m sure she’ll see sense when she’s had some rest.” Leo sorted through some papers.
“So you do agree with me then, it was definitely the brother?” Harry just needed to make sure.
“Of course.” Leo smiled.
*****
Nikki’s eyes slowly flickered open… where was she? Why did her head feel like it was made of lead?
Her eyes scanned the room, though she seemed unable to move the rest of her body. She realised that she was lying on a bed, a bed that wasn’t her own. A beam of light shone through a gap in the heavy curtains that adorned the large window on the wall to the right of her; it was still day time.
Someone entered the room, “Awake at last Nicola?”
She racked her memory, trying to remember who this man was, “How do you know my name?” she asked, her voice hoarse and weak.
“You showed me your ID, don’t you remember?” As her vision started to focus, she noticed him smiling.
“Do you know Nicola, you remind me so much of my eldest, Marie. She was beautiful, slender… blonde.” He sat down on the bed beside her. She felt all of her muscles tighten, “She was wonderful Nicola, you would have liked her, I’m sure of it.”
Her memories started to return to the conscious part of her brain, “You drugged me?”
He started to stroke her hair, “I just did what I had to Nicola, you understand that don’t you?”
She shook her head slowly and painfully, “You killed your step children?” her voice was trembling.
“Like I said, just doing what I have to do to survive.” He told her, smiling.
“Please get of me!” She whispered, close to tears.
“Marie always liked it when I stroked her hair, it made her feel special. She was special. Her real father never appreciated that.” He started to use more pressure, stroking her head and arms so hard that Nikki thought they might bruise, “I bet your special too Nicola. Did your father love you?”
She gasped, trying to pull away from him, “Please let go off me!” He grabbed her arm, “You’re hurting me!”
The smile disappeared from his face, “You’re not going anywhere Nicola.”
Adrenaline rushed through her veins; she lunged for the bed room door, trying to free herself from his grip.
For a moment she got away.
She nearly made it out of the door.
She was dragged back to the bed, kicking and screaming, tears streaming down her fragile face.
Fandom: Silent Witness
Rating: T
Warning: Mentions of sexual violence- nothing graphic
Summary: Nikki always knew that arguments would have consequences, but she had never thought that a disagreement over a case could lead to… this. Hopefully the fic is more interesting than the summary!
Prologue
Chapter One- Doing What I Have To Do To Survive
Nikki found herself staring back up at the ceiling, finding it even harder to get to sleep. Her brain was so wired; she couldn’t stop thinking about Harry and the Flanagan case. For a moment she considered going back to work to apologise to Harry, and perhaps persuade him to help her, but she soon came up with what she thought was a better plan.
Back behind the wheel, she plugged the address into her sat nav and set off. She started to realise that this might not be the best idea, but despite herself she carried on.
She arrived at her destination and looked up at the big Victorian house before her. With a deep breath she nervously knocked on the door. A tall, middle aged man answered, “Mr Grayson? My name is Dr Alexander, I’m a Home Office pathologist,” she pulled out her ID, “I was wondering if I could-“
“Talks to me about the deaths of my step children?” he finished her sentence for, “Come in.” he groaned.
As she followed him through to the living room, Nikki remembered seeing him on the news playing the grieving parent. As she looked at him, she wondered whether he really could be a murderer, “Mr Grayson, I’d like to ask you what your stepson was like, if I may?”
“Well he was obviously a sick bastard, doing that to his sisters. And he was a coward too.” He seemed incredibly calm and collected, almost practiced perhaps.
“I mean before the attack.” She sat down, trying to observe his body language which was so far telling he that something was definitely wrong here. He knew something, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what.
“Does that honestly matter? You already know that he killed them, what more do you need?!” he said with a note of anger.
“I’m just trying to establish what state of mind Jacob was in before the attack, whether there were any indications of what was to come.” In other words, did he kill himself and his sisters, did someone else or did you?
He looked a little annoyed but remained calm, “I thought you were a pathologist, not a psychologist.” Nikki didn’t answer him, “Would you like a cup of tea Dr… Alexander was it? Or some coffee perhaps?”
She suddenly realised that she hadn’t had anything to drink since the previous night, “Um, yeah, a coffee would be great.”
As she waited for him to return, she started to look at the various photos placed around the room. There were various photos of the family that had once consisted of five people. She picked up one of a younger looking Peter Grayson playing with three teenagers on a Mediterranean beach.
“We were so happy then.”
Nikki jumped, she hadn’t noticed him return to the room, “But you haven’t been happy recently?”
“Not since my wife died, no. Anna took it the worst, she struggled to accept her mothers death, but Marie and Jacob looked after her.” He handed her the mug of coffee before sitting back down with her, “Why are you here Dr Alexander?” she stared at her as she took a large swig of her drink, “What is it you really wanted to talk to me about?”
Something in his eyes made her scared, “I just… I just wasn’t entirely sure that Jacob was the kind of person who would do this to his family or to himself. As you’ve just said, he looked after his little sister, they were close.” She started to blink rapidly as her vision slowly became blurry.
A sick smile appeared on his face, “Yes they were doctor, but does that automatically mean that he’s incapable of doing these things.” His voice seemed distant.
“Well no, I guesh not.” She gasped, hearing her speech slurring, “Mr Grayshon…” everything began to swim, “Oh…Oh God.” She had never felt so light headed before. She looked up at Peter, “What… why?” this came to no more than a whisper.
And then there was darkness.
*****
Harry sat with his phone to his ear. No answer. Again. He’d lost count of the amount of times he had tried to ring Nikki that morning. Of course he thought that Nikki should be the one to apologise to him, but he was easily prepared to put that behind him for the sake of her happiness and her friendship. It was just one of things that you had to put up with when it came to Nikki. Not that she wasn’t an easy person to get along with; they had one of the most natural friendships he had ever experienced, so yes, sacrificing a little bit of pride would indeed be worth it.
“She’s still not picking up?” Leo walked past, “Don’t worry, she’s probably fast asleep or something.”
“What are we going to do about the Flanagan case?” Harry asked, knowing that they couldn’t go on like this.
“I’m sure she’ll see sense when she’s had some rest.” Leo sorted through some papers.
“So you do agree with me then, it was definitely the brother?” Harry just needed to make sure.
“Of course.” Leo smiled.
*****
Nikki’s eyes slowly flickered open… where was she? Why did her head feel like it was made of lead?
Her eyes scanned the room, though she seemed unable to move the rest of her body. She realised that she was lying on a bed, a bed that wasn’t her own. A beam of light shone through a gap in the heavy curtains that adorned the large window on the wall to the right of her; it was still day time.
Someone entered the room, “Awake at last Nicola?”
She racked her memory, trying to remember who this man was, “How do you know my name?” she asked, her voice hoarse and weak.
“You showed me your ID, don’t you remember?” As her vision started to focus, she noticed him smiling.
“Do you know Nicola, you remind me so much of my eldest, Marie. She was beautiful, slender… blonde.” He sat down on the bed beside her. She felt all of her muscles tighten, “She was wonderful Nicola, you would have liked her, I’m sure of it.”
Her memories started to return to the conscious part of her brain, “You drugged me?”
He started to stroke her hair, “I just did what I had to Nicola, you understand that don’t you?”
She shook her head slowly and painfully, “You killed your step children?” her voice was trembling.
“Like I said, just doing what I have to do to survive.” He told her, smiling.
“Please get of me!” She whispered, close to tears.
“Marie always liked it when I stroked her hair, it made her feel special. She was special. Her real father never appreciated that.” He started to use more pressure, stroking her head and arms so hard that Nikki thought they might bruise, “I bet your special too Nicola. Did your father love you?”
She gasped, trying to pull away from him, “Please let go off me!” He grabbed her arm, “You’re hurting me!”
The smile disappeared from his face, “You’re not going anywhere Nicola.”
Adrenaline rushed through her veins; she lunged for the bed room door, trying to free herself from his grip.
For a moment she got away.
She nearly made it out of the door.
She was dragged back to the bed, kicking and screaming, tears streaming down her fragile face.