Athena Grant-Nash

**Athena Grant-Nash** (née **Carter**) is a main character on *9-1-1* who works as a field sergeant in the Los Angeles Police Department. She debuts in the first episode of the first season of *9-1-1* and is portrayed by Angela Bassett.

Athena is married to Bobby Nash and has two children, May and Harry, with her ex-husband, Michael Grant, whom she divorced after he came out as gay.

## History

### Early Life

Athena grew up in the town of Belleville in Florida. In 1977, when Athena was 9, her father, Samuel Carter, and the rest of the neighborhood helped look for a missing girl named Tanya Kingston, who was a grade below her at school. Tanya had been kidnapped from her bed. The only trace of her they found was a barrette in the woods. Athena saw how hard losing a child hit the little girl's parents and vowed to become a police officer so that she could find the little girl and reunite her with her parents.

### College Life and First Engagement

As an adult, she later moved to Los Angeles. She was attending law school at University of Southern California in 1989 instead of her previous desire to become a police officer. At a job fair, she and her friends ran into Emmett Washington who was there trying to recruit people to the force on behalf of the LAPD. Athena found it a waste of time, refusing the idea of someone upending their whole life just because someone hands them a flyer. Before leaving, Emmett gave his number to Athena, in case they changed their minds.

Later that night, Athena had dinner with her mother Beatrice, who had come all the way from Florida to visit her. Beatrice told her about her desire to want to move to California in order to stay closer to her, and Athena could help to convince her father by promising grandchildren. Athena stopped her, letting her know that she wanted to finish school first, get a good job, then get married and have kids much later. Beatrice also let her know that Tanya Kingston's mother has passed away from cancer but she believes that she died from heartbreak, as she had never gotten over her daughter going missing. Remembering her desire, Athena decided to meet up with Emmett for dinner on the recruitment. Emmett told her the department's goal was to get 20% female officers and there was only about half now. Athena worried that she will stick out, but Emmett reassured her she will stand out regardless. Emmett began to tell her how he decided to become an officer, on making a difference in the world which inspired her. Six weeks later, she quit law school and began dating him shortly after.

On her first day, she was partnered with Officer Brogan McCluskey, who was reluctant about her efforts due to many of the female recruits he has trained left the force after getting married and have children. Athena assured him that she will do her job well and took on the challenge. She impressed him with her efforts the first day but got in trouble for denting one of the cars. As time went on, McCluskey and her grow into a close partnership and her efforts helped lower the number of incidents in officer-involved shootings in the decade.

During a New Year's stop with McCluskey, Athena was approached by Emmett, who told her they were not in their sector. He asked her out to dinner that Sunday for a surprise and she accepted. While getting ready for dinner, Emmett tried to find the phone to call the restaurant as they were running late. Athena helped look for the phone and found it, but accidentally found an engagement ring under his clothes as well. Surprised, Emmett decided to propose to her in the room and she happily accepted.

Sometime later, Emmett called Athena on what kind of dinner to pick up for their meeting with Beatrice. Athena asked him for a favor to pick up cream for her mother's coffee as well, to which he accepted, thinking he would "rack up future son in law points". After they hung up, she told Beatrice it bought them more time, as in reality, she wanted more time to look at her wedding dress with Beatrice helping her. Happy for her, Beatrice told her Emmett is a good man and she knew they will have a wonderful life together.

A little while after that, she received a phone call that led her to a convenience store, where she found Emmett's body, having been gunned down in a "wrong place, wrong time" robbery. Devastated, she went off herself to be the one to break the news to his mother, whom she had grown close with.

The case itself and the identity of the killer haunted her for the next thirty years and it convinced her to remain as an officer, along with seeing footage of Rodney King's arrest and the riots that resulted from it. She expressed these wishes to Beatrice, who was angry at her choice and believed that she will follow Emmett into the grave if she continues, and the reason she joined was because of him. Athena rebuked this, telling her she was staying, because more cops like herself would be there, and less like the bad ones. She told Beatrice it was not her decision, and neither her business as well. This drove a rift into their previously close relationship as well.

### Divorcing Michael and May's Suicide Attempt

Athena eventually married Michael Grant and they have two children, May and Harry together. Fourteen years later, he came out to her as gay and she had trouble coming to terms with it especially when she was told that he was seeing someone behind her back. Going to couples therapy together, Athena went in there with the hopes that the two could continue their marriage as they both still love each other even though that meant that they would have to live without sex. Michael however, didn't feel the same, especially as he has met another guy.

Another day, Athena prepared the kids for school when May was apparently sick. Going into her room to see about her, she found that May had taken some pills that belonged to her. Panicking, Athena called 911 and May was rushed to the hospital where she recovered and told her parents that it wasn't just because of Michael coming out of the closet, it was also due to her life at school as she was being bullied. With the addition to the chaos, Child services arrived and told Athena and Michael to leave as May was being assessed due to her suicide attempt.

At first, Athena tried to stay married to Michael for the sake of their children. But after realizing that she would become too resentful and hateful towards Michael if they stay married for longer, she decided to divorce him. They divorced amicably and maintain a close friendship afterward.

### Marriage to Bobby

At the scene of a severe motorcycle accident, Athena approached Bobby and comforted him after she saw him leaving the scene shaken up. She asked him what she could do to help him and agreed to go to church with him after he asked her to. At church, they reflected on their lives and prayed together. Later on they went on a date and began dating in secret. About four months later, Bobby wanted to let everyone else know about their relationship, but Athena refused, afraid of embarrassment, how long the relationship would last, and being hurt again as a result of feeling her marriage to Michael was a failure. After talking it out with Michael, she apologized to him and revealed their relationship to the other members of the 118.

As the months passed, they grew closer and Athena asked Bobby to move in. Upon being asked, he reacted with surprise at first, and she told him she wasn't trying to pressure him, but that she was open to having him in her life in an even closer way. After thinking it over for a while, Bobby instead later proposed to her, which she accepted quickly.

Their wedding plans, however, ran into a couple of issues, ranging from her strained relationship with her mother when she visited, along with the threat of a serial bomber running amok town. Ultimately, Bobby realized that there was a lot of pressure around them so, they decided to get married quickly at the courthouse.

### Bringing Emmett's Killer to Justice

Almost 30 years after Emmett's death, the murder weapon from his case resurfaced and that drove Athena to finally bring the person who killed her former fiancé to justice. The gun went through many more owners in 1991 and she had to trace back all of them, but she was eventually able to locate the culprit Dennis. Athena also learned that since the accident, Dennis gotten clean from drugs, become a member of church, and even won several awards for helping at-risk kids. She said to him that Emmett would be impressed with the life he has built but for her, she can't look past the fact that he built it on the back of a dead man. Dennis then said to Athena that she has carried his burden for almost 30 years and it's time for him to take it back. She then brought him to the station and watched as he confessed.

Athena later went to Emmett's mother's house and told her that they've made the arrest. After getting the closure she needed, when she got home, she finally broke down in Bobby's arms as he held her. As a result of investigating the case on her own, Athena was temporarily suspended from duty.

### Attack and the Aftermath

Athena arrested a man named Jeffery Hudson for flying a drone over a private property without his remote pilot license. At the station, he was handed over to FBI, but Athena asked for a search warrant as she remained suspicious. By the time she found out that Jeffery was a serial rapist who used his drone to stalk his targets before he raped them, he was already released from custody with just a warning.

She joined a task force to bring him into justice and on the evening of May 4, 2020, she eventually found him at a self-storage. She at first didn't know if Jeffery was inside the self-storage, but saw that the door of the facility was suspiciously wedged open, so she went in to check without any backup. Inside, she found a makeshift bed and while she was asking dispatch for backup, Jeffery came up behind her and ambushed her. He started attacking her brutally, but Athena managed to shoot him in the groin and get him arrested.

After the attack, Athena was hospitalized for 4 days. She was traumatized and saw Dr. Kara Sanford, a victim advocate, to help her with the trauma and get back on the job. After taking six months off work, she eventually returned. It was later revealed that she was offered retirement after the attack but dismissed it.

### Harry's Kidnapping

After over a year since the attack, Jeffery's case went to trial, and Athena was called to testify in court. Amidst the chaos around the ransomware attack, Jeffery managed to escape from the court and sought revenge on Athena. While she was busy at work due to the citywide blackout, Jeffery came into her home and took her son, Harry, who was there.

Athena and the 118, who were helping her find Harry, had Jeffery cornered at a metro station. There, Athena shot Jeffery in the chest after he threatened to shoot Bobby. Though he was killed without revealing further information, Athena and the team figured out where Jeffery hid Harry and found him walled up alive at an abandoned site with May's assistance.

After the kidnapping, Athena was frustrated because of Harry blaming her for what happened to him and refusing to talk to her. They both went to therapy to deal with their traumas, and after some time, Harry started to heal and they reconciled.

### Samuel's Stroke and Visiting Florida

Just before leaving for their honeymoon, Athena FaceTimed with her parents, who live in Florida. While Beatrice was on the phone with Athena, Samuel left to run some errands, but he suffered a stroke and drove the car into his house instead. To see her parents after the accident, Athena and Bobby went to Florida. When they arrived at the hospital, they learned that her father had been put in a medically induced coma after suffering a stroke. They later arrived at her parents' house and saw that the car was still in the house. Bobby said he could help fix some of the damage but they might need a contractor for the professional touches. Athena said they could hire an old family friend who is a handyman. Later, Junior Franklin, a childhood friend of Athena, arrived and Athena told him he wasn't the Franklin she was expecting. Junior said his father is retired now. After overhearing Athena saying to Junior that they might as well update things, Beatrice became upset and accused Athena of making changes to her house and talking about Samuel as if he were already dead. Athena explained that she was just trying to give her father quality of life, but Beatrice accused her again of trying to sell her house. Bobby then stepped in to stand up for his wife and told Beatrice to cool off, for which he apologized later, but Beatrice told him never to apologize for standing up for her daughter.

The next day, Athena came home from visiting her father at the hospital and saw the police at her parents' house. She asked Bobby what happened and he told her that a body was found underneath the house while he and Junior were digging up the foundation. Athena then realized it was Tanya Kingston's body after she saw a cop carry an evidence bag past her with a barrette in it.

### Finding Out What Happened to Tanya Kingston

Since Samuel was a suspect, the detectives came to the hospital to gather samples. They also asked Athena and Beatrice to come to the station to give statements. Athena was reluctant, but the detective told her to just be a daughter and not a police officer. Athena and Bobby later returned to the house to find Junior and his father, Reggie Sr.. Athena asked Reggie what he remembered from that night since she was so young, and it is all a blur to her. Reggie told her that Samuel asked him to build that Florida room the day after Tanya went missing, which made Athena suspicious. Later that night, Athena woke up in the middle of the night to find Bobby in her father's study looking through his things to get some insight. Athena didn't like that he was going through her father's things and told him to put it all away. Bobby didn't understand why Athena wasn't doing anything to clear Samuel's name and asked her what she was so afraid of. Athena admitted that she is afraid her father could have done it, but Bobby encouraged her to find out the truth for herself.

The following day, Athena and Bobby started to investigate the case together. They went over to Tanya's house first to check out the place, but Tanya's sister Joanne came out and pulled a gun on Athena, calling her the daughter of a murderer. After Bobby disarmed her, Joanne took them to her and Tanya's old bedroom and they calmly talked. Joanne revealed to them the details of the night her sister disappeared, admitting that she sneaked out that night to a bonfire party near an orange grove, and Tanya followed her. She also admitted that she lied to the police and her parents about what happened back then and let them believe that Tanya was kidnapped from her room. The police later showed up, since Tanya had called them earlier due to Athena and Bobby trespassing. Joanne told the police she wasn't going to press charges, but they brought Athena in for questioning, due to her interfering with an active investigation. At the police station, Athena and detective Dixon shared information, and all the evidence started to point toward Junior Franklin, who was now at the orange grove about to shoot Joanne to tie up loose ends.

It was revealed that Junior Franklin was also at the bonfire party that night and made sexual advances at Tanya. When Tanya ran away into the orange grove, Junior chased after her and then killed her. In the present day, Junior planned to frame Joanne and make it seem she committed suicide out of guilt but Bobby tackled him. Joanne then grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger, but Junior got away. Athena arrived shortly after with detective Dixon and checked on Bobby who urged her to get Junior.

In an opposite turn of their youth, Athena chased him through the orange grove. She eventually caught up to him and clocked him with a shovel, while firmly stating she finally got him after 45 years for Tanya's death. She handed him over to the detective, while telling Bobby that she's okay now.

At the precinct, Junior's father, Reggie Sr., was revealed to have covered up for him and buried Tanya's body under the room he was building at the time for the Carters. Athena and the detective showed Reggie Sr. that Junior was a predator who had killed at least six more girls over the years and coldly told him his choice led to their fates. Later, Athena and Joanne talked, updating her on the case. Joanne said she felt like everyone forgot about her sister after the first few months but Athena said she never did and Joanne thanked Athena for getting her family justice.

Since Samuel also has woken up from coma and is doing better, Bobby went back to Los Angeles, but Athena stayed behind to find someone to take care of her parents once she leaves. While in Florida, she also visited Harry who is now living in Miami with Michael and David. A few days later, Athena flew back to Los Angeles after she found somebody to help her parents.

## Personality

Athena is blunt, devoted, tough, and able to think outside of the box. She's very accomplished and professional. She sees things as black and white; either it's right, or it's wrong. She never gives in on the job, and she's described as working too hard for her own good. In her personal life, she's motherly and caring, and has shown again and again that she cares for her family and children. She thinks quickly about how to settle or neutralize a situation, and it may not be straight by the book.

## Relationships

### Emmett Washington

Before the series began, Athena was attending law school but was convinced to join the police force by her then-boyfriend Emmett Washington in 1989. They eventually fell in love and became engaged. Things turned tragic, however, after Emmett was killed during a robbery in 1991, a cold case that haunted her and convinced her to remain as an officer, driving a rift into her relationship with her mother.

### Michael Grant

Athena was married for 14 years to Michael Grant and has two children, Harry and May. However, their relationship deteriorated as a result of him coming out to her as gay. They both tried to keep their family affairs normal for their children at first, but Athena eventually decided to divorce Michael and they remain close friends.

Athena once humiliated a pair of dirty cops for threatening Michael and the kids. When their son was kidnapped, Michael was fully aware that Athena would not stand by and correctly guess she had a plan.

### Bobby Nash

Athena first met Bobby circa 2014-2015 when a call about a stabbing by an unknown assailant had them responding at the scene, which turned out to be an aggressive rooster that Bobby handed to Athena. They later would often work together as emergencies went along.

They became romantically involved after Athena and Michael decided to get a divorce, and Bobby decided to start dating again. After Athena comforted Bobby at the scene of the motorcycle accident, they went on a date and then began dating in secret. As time went on, they grew closer and closer to each other and eventually got engaged on Christmas Eve of the same year they started dating. They later secretly wed happily at the courthouse in the presence of May and Harry.

### Hen Wilson

Athena met Hen during an emergency, and the two quickly bonded, as they were both minority women in white, male dominated fields. They eventually became close friends and often ask each other for advice.

## Trivia

* She is the only character on *9-1-1* who so far has appeared in every episode of the series.
* Before the series aired, there were multiple press releases where Athena was credited as a detective instead of a sergeant.
* Athena's badge number is 1275 (a reference to I-275, the freeway that runs through Angela Bassett's hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida). Sgt. Grant's unit number is 727-L-30 (727 is St. Petersburg's telephone area code).
* Athena is originally from Florida, which is also the home state of Angela Bassett.
* She is Baptist.
* She is an only child.
* She and Bobby live at 1810 Fallsgrove Street, Los Angeles.
* In "Athena Begins", young Athena is seen wearing a Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sweatshirt, implying that she is a member of the sorority. That is a reference to the fact that Angela Bassett is an honorary member of the sorority in real life.
* It was confirmed in "Alone Together" that Athena hyphenated her last name following her marriage to Bobby. However, she still uses the name Athena Grant professionally.
* She is allergic to dogs.
* Athena was a cheerleader and she also used to run cross country in high school.
* In "Love Is in the Air", it is revealed that Athena and Bobby have been married for four years.
* Both Athena and Bobby have broken their arms during the series. Athena broke her arm in "Powerless" after being attacked by Jeffery Hudson and Bobby broke his in "Pay It Forward" after he was trapped under debris during the bridge collapse.

## Appearances

 "**Heartbreaker**"

 "**Haunted**"
 "**Fight or Flight**"

 "**Athena Begins**"
 "**Pinned**"

 "**Jinx**"

 "**Ghost Stories**"
 "**Fear-O-Phobia**"

 "**Cursed**"
 "**Mixed Feelings**"

 "The ATX-Files"
 "**Prince Albert in a Can**"

## References

1. ↑ "What's Your Fantasy?"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Crash & Learn"
3. ↑ "In a Flash"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Athena Begins"
5. ↑ "Let Go"
6. ↑ "Next of Kin"
7. ↑ "Karma's a Bitch"
8. ↑ "Under Pressure"
9. ↑ "Merry Ex-Mas"
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "This Life We Choose"
11. ↑ "The One That Got Away"
12. ↑ "Powerless"
13. ↑ "The New Abnormal"
14. ↑ "Treasure Hunt"
15. ↑ "Desperate Measures"
16. ↑ "Ghost Stories"
17. ↑ "Let the Games Begin"
18. ↑ "The Devil You Know"
19. ↑ "Animal Instincts"
20. ↑ "Trapped"
21. ↑ "Rage"
22. ↑ "Bobby Begins Again"
23. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt7235466/trivia
24. ↑ A Whole New You
25. ↑ Parenthood
26. ↑ Home Invasion
27. ↑ Mixed Feelings