Grace O'Connor - Home and Away Characters

Grace O’Connor (2002)
Mary Docker
Episodes: 3211; 3237–3255

Marital Status: Nathan Roberts (assumed)

Occupation: Nurse

Grace was an Irish nurse on placement at the Northern Districts Hospital whilst on a working holiday. She was first seen looking after Justin Bell alongside Charlotte Adams after he was brought into the hospital following a beating. She was later involved in looking after Donald Fisher and several Summer Bay High students who had been involved in a coach crash. She also saw to Nathan Roberts, who was feeling dizzy after inhaling fumes whilst helping the rescue operation, and placed him on oxygen. She continued to see Nathan at the hospital as Nick Smith, who was left temporarily confined to a wheelchair by the crash, started his rehabilitation. Grace admitted to Nathan that she’d seen his TV interview, where he had been outed as an ex-criminal, but wasn’t phased by it, assuring him that everyone at the hospital saw him as a hero.

When’s Nick discharge from hospital was delayed due to no-one being available to assess the Beach House for his homecoming, Grace was found to be suitably qualified—having spent three years on a spinal unit in Dublin—and stepped in to help. She inspected the house and when Nathan returned home he thanked her for the pep talk which had led to him gaining a job with Alf. When she tried to leave, after giving Nathan a list of DIY jobs to adapt the house for Nick’s return, her car broke down. Nathan repaired the car for her and she thanked him by asking him out to dinner.

Having only recently got out of prison, Nathan was unsure how to behave, attempting to unnecessarily help Grace with her chair and feeling it was his duty to pick up the bill. When she later dropped him home, Nathan attempted to kiss Grace but was embarrassed when she stopped him and he made a hasty exit from the car. When she went over to the house the following day after Nick fell out of his wheelchair, she told Nathan she’d had a lovely time and would like to do it again sometime.

They later bumped into each other on the beach, and Nathan watched as she went for a swim. She later asked him to put some sunscreen on her back, but seeing Alf approaching, Nathan made the excuse that he had to get back to work. He later dropped by again to find Grace had fallen asleep and got sunburnt, having missed a large part of her back when applying the sunscreen herself. She jokingly told him it was his fault, and they had a drink together at the surf club. When Grace started to feel a little woozy from sunstroke, Nathan invited her back to the Beach House where he applied some aloe vera to her back and let her rest. After joining the household for dinner that evening, Grace kissed Nathan as she left, called him a “silly eejit” and said she wanted to see him tomorrow. After talking with Hayley and with his mind racing as to what the kiss meant, Nathan ended up calling Grace that night whilst she was in bed, but got tongue-tied and said he just wanted to see how she was.

The next day Grace brought a book around to the Beach House for Nick, and asked Hayley whether Nathan happened to be around. To her amusement, Hayley revealed that Nathan had gone over to Grace’s place with an equally flimsy excuse to see her, and told Grace that they needed to get their acts together. When Nathan returned, and after a kickstart from Hayley, Nathan and Grace kissed.

Grace and Nathan’s relationship continued to go well and they spent the night together, but a few days later Grace announced that her placement in Summer Bay was ending as she was being transferred to Alice Springs. Nathan was disappointed but resigned to their separating. He tried to cover his feelings by saying it was just a holiday fling to her, and Grace responded by asking him to come with her. Nathan was unsure given how he was only starting to get back on top of things and reconnect with Irene, but Grace stated that she had a good feeling about the idea. After a pep talk with Irene, where she said that she could see how attached they’d become and that it was a chance for a fresh start, Nathan invited Grace back that evening to tell her that he would be joining her.

Grace joined the family in celebrating Nathan’s 30th birthday the next day. She presented Nathan with a booking for a 4WD tour to Kings Canyon in two weeks time, and assisted in taking a blindfolded Nathan out for his big birthday surprise, a flight in a Red Baron plane. She invited Nathan back to her place afterwards as a distraction in order for Irene, Hayley and Nick to set up a party at the Beach House. That evening, she brought Nathan to the house to be surprised by his family and friends, and was last seen dancing with Nathan as a proud Irene looked on.

In 2016, Irene mentioned that Nathan was married to a “lovely Irish girl”, presumably referring to Grace.