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Chapter Text

Rosalee was sifting through the books they had on hexenbiests, trying to find some way, some spell, some potion – some solution, to get the old Juliette back. The woman she had visited in jail was someone she no longer recognised, and she was afraid. Scared that, the woman who had been her friend, might be gone for good.

She was distracted from her introspection by the sound of the bell above her shop door and looked up.

“Hey, Nick.” She greeted absentmindedly.

“Hey, Rosalee.” He returned, his voice tense and upset.

Just then, Rosalee recognised the woman who entered the shop behind her friend.

“Oh, my God.” She cried, her mouth falling open with surprise.

“That won’t be the last.” Nick said wryly.

“I thought you never wanted – oh, my God!” Rosalee began, and then Adalind Schade opened the expensive looking coat she was wearing, exposing her very large, pregnant belly. Rosalee jumped to her feet.

“Again?” She demanded.

“Nice to see you too, Rosalee.” Adalind said sardonically.

“Who's the sperm donor this time?” Rosalee retorted. However, it wasn’t the other woman who answered her.

“It happened when she was Juliette.” Nick told Rosalee, his voice flat.

Rosalee was so overwhelmed, she threw her hands up, and then sat back down. “I think I... I-I-I might explode. Does Juliette know?”

“Yes,” said Nick.

Rosalee turned to face Adalind, and said smugly, “well, you have a surprise coming.”

“She's a Hexenbiest, I know. Look, I am well aware of your help in kidnapping Diana, so nobody's perfect.” Adalind replied, sounding just as smug.

Nick cut in before a fight could start. “Adalind knows how to help Juliette, then we have to help her do it. Or at least I have to help do it. Or you may just never want to see me again—"

“Nick—" Rosalee protested softly, but was interrupted by the hexenbiest in the room.

“That's my mother's book. Do you have the hat?” Adalind asked, sounding excited.

“Yes.” Rosalee answered automatically.

“Then all we need's my mother.” Said Adalind, as if this was as easy as pie.

“I thought your mother was dead.” Rosalee queried, confused by what the witch was saying.

“Well, she couldn't help if she was alive.” Adalind told her, as if it should be obvious. Rosalee was starting to get a headache. Nick brought her attention back to the problem at hand.

“Can you do this?” He asked earnestly.

“If there is even the slightest chance it will help Juliette, yes. Because I have nothing.” Rosalee replied, her frustration evident in her tone and her expression.

They were interrupted by the sound of Nick’s cell phone ringing.

“Hank.” He said, when he answered it.

“I know this is probably not a great time. Captain told me why Adalind was here. You all right?” His partner, at the other end of the line, sounded concerned.

“Pretty far from that.” Nick answered honestly.

“Yeah, well, another body was found off the same highway, half a mile south of where we found our first vic.” Hank told him ruefully, clearly not wanting to add to Nick’s burdens, but unable to do anything about it.

“I can meet you there.” Nick told him, and hung up. He went to leave, but was stopped by the sound of Adalind’s voice.

“Nick, wait! There’s something I think you should know.” She said, her tone urgent.

“What?” He demanded flatly, wanting to get away from this woman who always managed to cause him grief.

“Earlier today, Kenneth guessed that the baby is yours. He said he was going to tell Juliette. He’s trying to get her to betray you.” Adalind said hurriedly. She was very nervous about speaking up, as these two were very unlikely to believe her, but she knew she had to do something. Kenneth was planning to kill Kelly, which meant Diana was also in danger.

Plus, Kelly had saved her life, Adalind felt like she owed it to her to do everything in her power to save Kelly’s.

“What? Who the hell is Kenneth?” Nick demanded. Rosalee was just staring at her, incredulously.

“He’s a Royal, he was sent here when the king sent Victor back to Vienna. He’s trying to lay a trap for your mother. He is convinced you have some way to contact her, and that Juliette can access it. That’s why he threatened to tell Juliette about the baby, he thinks it’s the leverage he needs.” Adalind said insistently, and her audience could hear the sincerity and urgency in her voice. She was obviously worried, and also very obviously she believed what she was saying to be true.

“What did he say exactly?” Nick demanded, coming closer and looming over Adalind.

She felt threatened, but soldiered on. Her brow wrinkled as she concentrated on trying to get the words verbatim. “He said, ‘It's surprising how quickly betrayal becomes a viable option, given the right circumstances,’ and then, he said, um, ‘But the real question is, what will Juliette do when she finds out that you and Nick are having a love child?’”

Nick cursed under his breath. If that was what this Kenneth person said, then his intentions were clear. And Juliette had turned up suddenly at the precinct, already knowing about his child, when he, himself, had only just found out, minutes before.

“It makes sense,” he said slowly, “when she came to the precinct earlier, she knew about the baby. And someone had to have bailed her out…” his voice trailed off as he mulled it over.

“She came to the precinct?” Rosalee asked, alarmed at what this could mean.

“Yeah, she wanted to kill me.” Adalind put in helpfully. “Not that I blame her”, Adalind said softly. She didn’t know about Nick’s super hearing, and so she probably assumed neither he nor Rosalee had heard her. But he had, and it stirred an uncomfortable emotion in him. Sympathy, for Adalind Schade.

He decided he had to get a message off to his mother as soon as he could, and, he would also need to check on the trailer. Juliette knew where it was and how to get in. If she was pissed at him, and her display earlier showed him that she was, then who knows what she might do? Especially if she started feeling vengeful.

He had to remove or negate any advantage her knowledge of him could give this new Royal. His mother and his family’s trailer were two obvious targets.

He didn’t say any of this out loud, not wanting to share two of his closely guarded secrets with the witchy thorn in his side just yet.

“Right, yeah, thanks for telling me,” he said gruffly.

Adalind looked surprised, she didn’t expect to be thanked. Before she could say anything, Nick went on.

“I have to get to this crime scene,” he said, “you stay here with Rosalee.” And with that, he resumed his journey out of the Spice Shop.

Adalind knew she had done the right thing, but it didn’t stop her from feeling scared. She was sort of safe, for now. She knew for certain that Nick would never hurt an innocent child, and so while she was carrying his baby, he would not hurt her.

But what about after?

Chapter Text

Nick called Hank to let him know he was going to be delayed, and swung by the house to send his mother a message. He wasn’t sure that acting on the word of Adalind was a good idea, but in this case, warning him about Kenneth helped her as well. It would mean both she and Diana would be better protected. He believed he could count on her self-interest in this instance.

The message he sent was brief, but pointed: “M, Juliette compromised royally. Do not act on anything she sends you; it will be a trap. Love you, N”

He hoped that would be enough to make sure she didn’t come here with Diana. Or if she did, then she would know not to trust Juliette.

Once that was done, he quickly made his way to their newest crime scene, to meet up with Hank, and another bloody, brutal murder. Oh, joy.

Turned out the victim had been there for at least a week, and a pattern was emerging. With Monroe’s help, as he was at the Iron Hans Camp talking to the young Wesen boys, they discovered the killer was not Hans or his son – but in fact was his daughter, Maggie.

But while they managed to save her latest victim, she was killed when he fought back. Nick felt sorry for her family, but couldn’t help thinking it was some kind of justice.

He left the others at the scene, and made his way over to his piece of land where he stored Aunt Marie’s trailer. His gut was telling him that he needed to check up on it, and he’d learnt in the years he’d been a Grimm, that he should trust his instincts.

And, he was right to, because when he got there and parked his car, he could see light coming from the trailer windows. He knew without looking, just who was in there.

He rushed the door, and drew his gun on a very surprised Juliette. She had his book about Hexenbiests in her hands, and had clearly been in the process of ripping it to shreds, when he had stormed in, interrupting her.

Very quickly, she threw off her surprise at seeing him, and woged. Snarling, she charged towards him. His instincts, once again, took over, and he fired a shot at her.

It missed her, just, but it stopped her in her tracks. She shook off her woge, and stared at him, stunned. For a moment, he just stared back, equally stunned.

He couldn’t believe he’d shot at the woman he had loved for so long. But she had been about to attack him, and his training as both a cop and a Grimm kicked in, and he just – reacted. Adrenaline was surging through his veins, and he was breathing heavily, trying to anticipate what her next move would be.

He saw her eyeing the door, obviously wanting to run, to get away, and decided to take a step back, out of the doorway, leaving it clear.

For all he had wanted to see and speak to her, had been desperate to find her since she walked out on him, now was not the time. Not after what had just happened, and also not after what had happened in the precinct, with Adalind.

She took the offered escape route, and bolted out the door, and Nick waited for a few moments, before checking to see she was really gone. She was, and he heaved a deep sigh. He had prevented her from destroying his family’s legacy, but she wasn’t likely to give up.

She blamed him for what had happened to her, and she wanted to punish him. He could empathise with her, it was him being a Grimm which had put her in harm’s way, but that did not mean he could excuse her behaviour. Still, since he had blocked her from her goal, here tonight, she was bound to try something else. He just didn’t know what, and that was frightening. He couldn’t predict her moves anymore; it was like he didn’t know her at all.

What he could do though, was make sure she didn’t have a chance to try and get at his Aunt Marie’s trailer again. Having a clear plan, something he could physically do, made him feel a bit more in control of this frankly, chaotic and crazily complicated situation his life had become. And soon, a baby would be added into the mix. An innocent child, who had no part in the mad game of one-upmanship between his parents, which led to his conception. And nor should he.

Gathering himself, Nick put a call into Monroe and told him what had happened, with Juliette, and her attempt at destroying the trailer. Monroe was horrified. His friend suggested Nick drive the trailer to the rear of the Spice Shop, and offered the basement for him to store everything in. Nick initially protested, worried that it would make the shop an even bigger target, but Monroe insisted, and Nick just didn’t have the energy to argue with him right now.

The support he felt from all of his friends, through all of this, was one of the only things keeping him going.

He called Wu and Hank to tell them what was up as well, and they arranged to meet him at the shop when they were done with the crime scene at the campsite. That case seemed like days ago, instead of just an hour or so.

He hitched up the trailer to his Land Cruiser, made sure everything was secure, and gingerly made his way off the dirt track, and on to the main road, where he picked up speed. Tonight felt like it would never end.

Back at the Spice Shop, Rosalee and Adalind were working together in stony silence. It was making the witch feel uncomfortable, as she felt judgement in every look the fuchsbau shot at her, across the table.

In the end, the silence was stifling her, and Adalind felt she had to say something.

“You don't trust me.”

Rosalee gave her a look loaded with contempt. “Why should I?”

“Because I'm just trying to protect myself and my baby from being killed by Juliette. You've seen what she is now.” Adalind declared, trying to appeal to the other woman’s sense of survival, or even some sympathy.

“I have.” Rosalee said flatly, glancing up at Adalind, and then resolutely back to her pestle and mortar.

“You think I planned all of this?” Adalind demanded, shocked that the other woman would even think for a minute that this is how she wanted things to work out.

“I don't.” Rosalee said, but before Adalind could interrupt her, she continued, “now, how is the suppressant supposed to work?”

“I don't know how it works. I just know that it should.” Adalind admitted.

“I wish it was a little more sure than should!” Rosalee shot back, outraged.

“It's not like I do this kind of stuff every day. You know, I was a perfectly happy lawyer just minding my own business before Nick's aunt came to town.” Adalind complained, thinking back to that time and how stupid she was to have ever trusted Sean. Or her mother. If she’d kept well out of it, chances are, none of this would ever have happened. Then again, if that was so, she wouldn’t have had Diana.

But, well, she didn’t really have Diana now, did she.

“I really doubt his aunt is responsible for everything you've done.” Rosalee scoffed, clearly annoyed that the witch would try and blame her behaviour on someone else, instead of owning it.

“That's not what I'm saying,” she began, before suddenly feeling bone weary. “What's the point? You all hate me anyway, even though I did side with the Resistance and come back here with Nick's mom and Diana. I trusted you. Remember? When I was staying at your house? I thought you were trying to help me.” Adalind said, the hurt she felt from that time seeping into her voice and her expression.

Rosalee at least had the good grace to look ashamed. “I don't feel good about what we did. But it was necessary to protect your child.” She said firmly, and then continued, “what's left?”

“Just my mother.” Adalind answered, more than willing to let the subject drop for now.

“Okay. When do we get her?” The other woman asked.

“We'll dig her up tomorrow.” The witch replied, with a note of finality.

Chapter Text

Arriving at the back of the Spice Shop, where Rosalee usually took in large deliveries, Nick parked up, and spotted Monroe, Hank and Wu, faces grave, but ready to help him as usual.

The four of them made a sort of factory line, boxing things up, and then passing said boxes along to the next person and so on, until they were neatly stacked in the shop’s basement. They would need to do some organising, so that they could access the books and other resources quickly when they needed to, but for now, Nick was just glad that his family’s legacy was safe.

Well, safer than it had been.

When they all got back upstairs, and went into the shop’s back room, where the two women had been working, he noticed Adalind was flicking through one of her mothers books, looking a bit awkward and uncomfortable, while Rosalee was tidying away jars of ingredients the two women must have been using for the suppressant potion.

The atmosphere was tense, and he couldn’t help thinking that, while brewing, the two women had had words, and it hadn’t been friendly ones. Unsurprising really, given the history between them all.

Rosalee looked up as she noticed them, and asked if everything was alright. He saw Adalind glance at him out of the corner of his eye, looking concerned. She quickly looked away, clearly not wanting to get caught, and he wondered what was going through her mind just then. Ignoring the witch and the whole host of complications she brought into his life for the moment, Nick answered his friend.

“Yeah, for now. Look, Juliette tried to torch the trailer.” He told her grimly.

“Oh, my God, so all the stuff you were bringing in…” She said, horrified.

“Yeah, we've moved everything that survived into the basement.” Monroe told his wife.

“Survived, you said she tried – “ Rosalee started, but Monroe cut her off.

“Yeah, she tore up some stuff, but luckily Nick stopped her before she could, you know, set fire to anything. I told Nick it would be alright to keep everything here; in case she tries again.” He said, obviously worried, but willing to do anything to help a friend.

Rosalee got his unspoken message and nodded, “sure, good idea. What if she comes here though, and…” her voice trailed off and everyone looked at each other, clearly concerned and unsettled.

“Well, I could, um, there is a spell…” Adalind piped up, hesitantly. She knew her lot was thrown in with Nick and his friends now. Her son, the child she now shared with Nick Burkhardt made it so, because he deserved to have his father in his life, and she would never stand in his way. That meant, she had to have some kind of friendly relationship with the Grimm, his friends just came as part of that.

“A spell?” Rosalee demanded, her eyebrows raised sceptically.

“Yes, um,” Adalind flicked through the book she had been pretending to read, to a page she already knew well. “Here, it prevents fires not started by the owner of the property.” She slid the book over to Rosalee so she could examine it. Monroe, Hank and Wu read over her shoulder, while Nick stood between the witch and his friends.

He wanted to examine the book with the others, but he admitted to himself, that Rosalee and Monroe were more likely to understand the mechanics of the spell than him. He was confident they would be able to tell if the spell really worked the way the witch claimed. So, he stood silently and waited for their verdict.

“It says here, that a Hexenbiest can cast it, It needs to be renewed every few years, and they can transfer the anchor to new owners…. why would you do this for us?” Rosalee demanded, face stern, hands braced on the tabletop.

Adalind hesitated for a second, torn.

She was in their power now; she was pretty sure everyone in this room knew that. But did she really want to lay it out there, make herself vulnerable in front of these people, most of whom, likely hated her?

“Well, I , look, you’re all helping me. I know you’re doing it for Juliette, not me, but you are helping me at the same time. I figure, if I can help you, just a little bit, it’s more fair. And really, it sort of helps me too, because we’re making the potion here, and this spell will make the shop safer, so…” she ran out of things to say, feeling anxious and scared.

This was not who she was, normally, not who she had been, anyway. Back when she was practising law full-time, she was proud of her eloquence and her abilities to marshal her arguments to win a case, or persuade a client round to her way of thinking.

Now though, the stakes were higher, more personal, and she was struggling to make herself understood. Maybe, that was partly because she barely understood herself, these days. She was so far out of her comfort zone. She had been living moment to moment with the Royals, never really sure that they wouldn’t turn on her at the slightest provocation.

It made for a life filled with nervous tension, leaving her mind all jumbled and confused. She waited with bated breath to see what the Grimm and his friends would decide.

The others seemed to leave the decision up to Rosalee, which made sense, since she was the owner of the shop. Adalind looked the other woman in the eyes, held her assessing gaze, and waited.

Whatever Rosalee was looking for in her eyes, she apparently found, as after a few moments that seemed to last forever, she nodded, and pushed the book back across the table to Adalind.

“I have all the ingredients you’ll need, just give me a minute.” She said, and walked off into the rows of shelves in her shop front.

Everyone, including Adalind, seemed to heave a big sigh of relief. Then Nick, out of nowhere, surprised himself and his friends, when he went to stand next to Adalind and asked, “How can I help?”

She wasn’t sure if it was as big an olive branch as she might hope for, but she wasn’t about to sniff at it, and motioned to the mortar and pestle in front of her. “Can you clean this, please? I need a clean one to mix with?” She asked hopefully.

Nick merely nodded, picked up the items, and made his way to the sink in the back of the shop. Hank, Monroe and Wu all watched the two of them like they were witnessing something impossible.

Impossible things were a common occurrence with this Grimm however, and after a moment, they seemed to shake off their stupefaction and all leaned in to offer help.

A little bit of mixing here, and a few spoken words of Latin there, and Adalind was ready to inscribe the runes of protection on the Spice Shop. A drop of Monroe and Roslaee’s blood tied the new wards to them, and the runes carved into the wooden lintels above the doorways in the shop, then painted over with the mixture, meant that the shop was safe from accidental and not-so-accidental fires for the foreseeable future.

The tension in Monroe and Rosalee’s shoulders seemed to ease somewhat, for though they had freely offered the use of their basement to their friend, and would have done so without any protection, knowing that Juliette would not be able to torch their shop as a way of getting to Nick was a weight off their minds.

Feeling slightly bolder, Adalind spoke up again. “There are other protections you can add, I can make a list for you, and show you where they are in my mother’s books. If there are any you’d like me to do, just ask.” She offered, feeling good about being a hexenbiest for the first time in a long while.

Rosalee and Monroe shot her a grateful look, and thanked her.

Nick was feeling conflicted, however. He was quietly impressed by Adalind’s power, and her willingness to put it to use protecting his friends, and he didn’t like the feeling. He had to be honest, even if only to himself, however.

For all she had said that she was doing it out of self-interest, protecting the suppressant potion, he could tell that was just something she had said to make the offer more palatable. It was a genuine offer to help, he could read it in her face and hear it in her tone of voice. He’d always been able to read her like an open book, even when they were still mortal enemies.

That was one of the things that had made him so angry with her – when she had first started working against him, such as when she was dating Hank, he could tell this wasn’t something she really wanted to do, and it made him angry that she was attacking him on someone else’s orders.

It confused him, and he didn’t like being confused. It was almost a relief when she started attacking him for her own reasons, at least then he could see an understand her motives. He was still pissed, but at least he could see her reasoning, twisted as it was. Then again, was it really? She had attacked Juliette because he had taken her powers, and, he later learned, her mother and Renard had discarded her.

He’d taken something he loved, so she had done the same to him. Just like when he and his friends abducted Diana from her. For all that they had good intentions, and Renard’s permission, there was no point mincing words. They had abducted Diana, a baby, from her mother.

She had simply been doing anything she could to get her daughter back. Even though he’d only found out about his son today, he could already feel his protective instincts rising, and he couldn’t imagine what he would have done in her shoes. What he would actually do, if a threat to his unborn child presented itself.

The thought actually scared him.

Chapter Text

Still in the Spice Shop, Nick, his partner Hank, Sergeant Wu, Monroe, Rosalee and Adalind, were discussing the hellish day they had all had. And, sadly, the same person was at the root of all of it. Not that it was that simple. Juliette and her ‘situation’ was a tangled mess of moves and counter moves, filled with guilt, recriminations and hurt.

“Does anybody know where Juliette is?” Rosalee asked, her hope that they might be able to get their friend back again, with the suppressant potion recipe Adalind had given her, evident in her voice.

“No.” Nick said ruefully.

“She, well, she’s probably with Kenneth. At the Deluxe.” Adalind offered hesitantly.

Nick could have kicked himself, now that she said it, it seemed pretty obvious. Just as they’d supposed earlier, Kenneth had likely paid Juliette’s bail, and told her about the baby. Chances are, he had enticed her to his side. She had certainly gone out of her way to burn bridges with him, and all of their friends.

“Much as I hate the idea, I think you’re right,” Nick said to Adalind, “and we need to get you someplace safe. You can't stay here tonight. And I can't take her to my house, that's the first place Juliette'll look.” He declared, looking at his friends in an appeal for ideas.

“Well, my place would be the second.” Hank said, shrugging.

“There's no way she's staying at our place. Sorry, I mean, same problem.” Monroe piped up.

“Uh, after eating one of Adalind's cookies and devouring half my carpet, I'm not all that keen, but whatever you guys need.” Wu offered.

“Where's the last place Juliette would look?” Rosalee cut in.

They all paused to think for a moment, before an idea came to Nick. He knew exactly where he could take her, and be reasonably sure she and his unborn child would be safe.

Nick knocked on his eisbiber friend’s door, anxious to get Adalind inside and out of sight. He wasn’t sure if he was doing the right thing here, it had seemed like such a perfect plan when he had first thought of it. But still, he knew Bud would never turn him down, so was it ok that he was putting him at risk like this?

Before he could talk himself out of this plan, the door opened, and Bud ushered Nick, Hank and Adalind in.

“I got the blinds down, curtains drawn, backdoor double-locked.” He said, shutting the front door behind them, and joining them in the living room.

“Bud, this is Adalind Schade.” Nick said, introducing his old friend to the blonde hexenbiest.

Bud reached out and shook Adalind's hand. “Adalind, very nice to meet you. Any friend of Nick's is a friend of mine.” He said, his good nature shining through.

Nick drew Bud’s attention back to himself, “now, listen. This is very important. Nobody can know that she is here.”

“Gotcha.” Bud agreed, his expression serious.

Hank cut in, “not even your wife.”

“Of course not!” Bud scoffed.

“When does she get back?” Hank asked.

“A week from Thursday. She-she and the kids are visiting her sister Louise in Ann Arbor, so we're good.” Bud looked over at Adalind, who had undone her coat and was looking around the room, her hands on her hips. “And you're very pregnant. W-which is okay, 'cause, you know, I've been there, done that. Not that I've been pregnant but well, that was a stupid thing to say. So, what do you need me to do here?” He turned back to Nick.

“Just keep her inside.” Nick said, and then he looked at Adalind, “don't answer the phone or the door.” He instructed, and she nodded her agreement.

“Copy that,” Bud said, and then looked at Nick, concerned, “is, uh, her husband or, you know, significant other in trouble, too? 'Cause I have enough room. The fridge is stocked. D-d-does he like pie?” He directed the last question to Adalind herself.

It was on the tip of her tongue to make some smart comment, maybe to ask Nick if he liked pie, just to get a rise out of him. But it occurred to her that things had been going, if not smoothly, then better than she had expected. Making a catty remark now might jeopardise any goodwill she had managed to foster in the Grimm and his friends.

So, instead, repressing the urge to be a smartarse, she said, “no, there’s no one, no need to worry. Thank you for offering though.”

Nick flicked a slightly surprised glance at her, before turning his attention back to Bud. “Right now, you just need to make sure that she's safe.”

“Yeah. Sure. Right. Whatever you need.” Bud replied loyally.

“Oh, and Bud? Juliette left me.” Nick confessed, clearly pained.

“Whoa. I can't believe that.” Bud said, horrified.

“It's complicated. If Juliette tries to contact you, don't tell her anything.” Nick explained.

“She wants Adalind dead.” Hank told him.

Bud looked flabbergasted, but rallied quickly, “D- well, yeah, I'll-I'll okay. Okay. I mean, uh, you know. These things happen, I guess.” He said, obviously bewildered.

“Thanks, Bud.” Nick said, patting him on the shoulder. After exchanging an uncomfortable look with his former enemy, turned mother of his child, Nick left, Hank following behind him.

Nick and Hank separated, Nick dropping him off by his car, before making his way home. Adalind had really surprised him today and it had left him feeling incredibly unbalanced. Not only with the revelation that he was very soon to be a father, but also, by her behaviour. The way she had treated him and his friends. He didn’t understand it, and it was frustrating and worrying him.

Was she just being practical, throwing her lot in with him and his friends, since the Royals clearly couldn’t give two hoots for her? Was she sincere in her efforts to help, as he had suspected earlier in the shop? Had she always been this way? And was it only the influence of Renard and her mother that made her his enemy in the first place?

Hard to say. Tough to know too, since the only person he could ask was Adalind, and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to trust anything she said. Or even if she would answer him. After all, she may be trusting him to protect his child, and by default, her, but taking him into her confidence was extremely unlikely. Not to say laughable.

What he could tell, just by observation, was that she already loved their son. From that, he could make some assumptions about her motives and what she was likely to do next. She clearly believed Nick was crucial in protecting her and their baby, so she was not likely to work against him. Well, for now, anyway.

And she had been very useful, so far. Her revealing freely what she knew about Kenneth and his plans, had made it possible for him to warn his mother of a possible ambush. And it had prompted Nick to negate whatever leverage Juliette’s knowledge of him might give this new, ruthless Royal.

Pulling up at his house, Nick turned off the engine in his Land Cruiser and heaved a great sigh. He was home, but he didn’t feel safe. Juliette was still out there, and who knew what she might have left for him to find in the home they once shared.

He got out of the car, locked it, and drawing his gun, went to his own front door. He unlocked it, and slowly went in, feeling angry and hurt that because of Juliette, he was now going to have to clear his own house the way he would a hostile scene.

He went around the whole house, finding that nothing had moved since the last time he had been here. Well, at least, not that he could remember, anyway.

The first thing he did, was log into his computer, the password of which he had changed after emailing his mother, to see if there was any reply.

There was one message, from his mother, stating that she was coming to Portland, but would only show herself once she had spoken to him directly.

Nick wished she would stay away, with the Royals here it was just too dangerous for her and Diana to come back to Portland. But he knew she would not be dissuaded once she had made her mind up. Plus, chances were, she had already left, and he would be too late to stop her.

He would have to make sure he had his phone on, all the time. She had the number, so he just hoped she would call him when she got to town.

It occurred to him that he would also have to tell Adalind that his mother was on her way, with Diana. It might make things more complicated, but after snatching her child from her once, he didn’t think he could live with himself if he kept them apart a second time.

Gradually, he eased his mind enough to go upstairs and attempt to sleep.

Rest, however, was a long time coming.

Chapter Text

The following morning, Nick was just finishing off his coffee in the kitchen, when he got a call from Hank. They had a body, and his partner was on his way to pick him up. When they arrived at the murder scene, they were greeted by Sergeant Wu.

“Get any rest?” He asked.

“Not much.” Nick answered honestly.

“Me either.” Added Hank.

“Guess we're all in good company.” Wu said sardonically.

“What do we got?” Hank asked, somewhat wearily.

Wu got down to business, and reading off his notes he brought them up to speed. “Mary Ann Casey, 24 years old. Picked up a few times for prostitution. Someone cut her up pretty good.”

“Who found the body?” Hank asked, and Wu led them over to the victim’s roommate, who was sat in the back of his car.

Seemed to Nick, that even though his whole personal life was imploding, it was business as usual on the streets of Portland. Much as any murder victim upset him, it was sort of helpful to go through their well-practiced routine. It grounded him, just a little.

While he was at the crime scene, Adalind was across town with Sean, Monroe and Rosalee, waiting as the officials exhumed her mother’s body from her grave.

Adalind wished she didn’t have to do this, but it was not hyperbole to say that her life depended on it.

Sean seemed to sense her mood, because he asked, “you need a minute?”

Adalind nodded, “yeah,” and quickly made her way over to her mother’s casket.

Ignoring the brief exchange of words between Rosalee and Sean behind her, Adalind steeled herself to say what she wanted, what she needed to say. Though she knew her mother couldn’t really hear her, this was her one chance to express how she really felt.

“Hi, mom. It's me,” she began slowly. “I know we never had a chance to say goodbye after you kicked me out. So goodbye. And there are probably a few things you should know. I had a baby with Sean. Can't imagine what you'd think of that. I named her Diana. But that didn't work out so well because she was stolen by the Grimm and his friends, including Sean, and the Grimm's mother who, by the way, killed you... which, I guess, you do know.”

Adalind paused to take a deep breath before continuing. “Anyway, uh, now I'm gonna have another baby. You'll never guess who the father of that one is. It's Nick, the Grimm. So, the only reason you're not rolling over in your grave is because you're here. You weren't the greatest mother. And I'm sure I wasn't the greatest daughter. But I loved you. And now I need you. You are gonna help me stop Juliette from killing me and my baby. And then I'm gonna get Diana back, and I'm gonna raise both of my children the right way.”

Adalind heaved a great sigh, trying to hold back the tears she could feel pricking at the corners of her eyes. “So, thanks, mom, for being dead when I needed you the most.”

Adalind turned around to face the small group of people behind her, all of whom were clearly pretending they hadn’t heard a word. “Let's get her out of here.” She declared with finality.

________________________________________

Having processed all they could from the scene, and made sure that Mary Ann’s roommate, Heidi, had got home safely, Nick, Hank and Wu went back to the precinct to look into their victim’s background.

Hank was currently leafing through her rap sheet, and turned to Nick to update him on it.

“According to Mary Ann's sheet, she's been picked up for prostitution and possession. Last arrest was three months ago. First offense a year and a half before that. Previous address in Creswell.” He read off.

“What about known associates? Any dealers in there?” Nick asked, frowning.

“Two that I know of: Marcus Ivon, Clinton Wasco.” Hank told him.

Wu came over, and announced, “Just got the report from the M.E. Says the victim's uterus was skilfully removed with a very sharp blade.”

“Are we talking scalpel?” Nick queried him.

“A drug dealer with a medical degree? Probably not.” Hank dismissed the idea.

“The wounds indicate that the killer is left-handed.” Nick said, reading from the medical examiner’s report.

Hank frowned, brow crinkled in thought, “really? This is starting to sound a little familiar. Prostitutes, left-handed killer, organs being surgically removed.”

Nick caught on immediately, “you're thinking Jack the Ripper?” He said, closing the report and turning to his computer. He opened a search engine on his browser.

“Well, if I remember correctly, same M.O. Only difference is that was London, and this is Portland.” Hank theorised.

Nick did a search on Jack the Ripper, and brought up a wiki page on the killings in Whitechapel. “Here we go: "London, September 1888. Elizabeth Stride's body was found in a dark yard off Berner Street at 1:00 a.m. Her throat had been cut with a sharp instrument. Another victim named Annie Chapman also had her throat cut and uterus removed by an unknown assailant."”

They decided they’d better get the captain up to speed on their latest theory, and brought all they had to his office.

“You think this is a Jack the Ripper wannabe?” Renard asked, looking at the photos they had printed from the Whitechapel case.

“Maybe.” Said Nick.

“You tied this to any other victims?” Renard asked.

They explained that they only had the one case in Portland, so far, but that they were looking into possible cases in a five-state area. Nick raise the possibility that there was a difference to the Whitechapel murders, in that he knew that their victim was Wesen, though he admitted Wu could be right when he said that maybe Jack’s were too.

Renard reminded them that the last thing they needed was a media frenzy, and asked them to keep this new theory under wraps. Nick, Hank and Wu agreed, and promptly left the captain’s office to continue their investigation, by looking into the books recently relocated to the basement of the Spice Shop.

All the while, Nick was wondering how things were going with the suppressant potion. He had tried to tell himself he shouldn’t put too much faith in Adalind, that he shouldn’t let himself hope that this was really the solution to his problems with Juliette. But he couldn’t help it. He wanted the old Juliette back. Even if things were bound to be ridiculously awkward, what with Adalind being the mother of his first child.

As Nick’s thoughts were going round and around, not really getting him anywhere, Adalind was in the back room of the Spice Shop, holding a scalpel and looking down at her mother’s desiccated body. She slowly lowered her hand to make the first cut, before stopping abruptly.

“I can't do it. I know I need to, but I can't.” She said, apologetically. Monroe also couldn’t bring himself to cut up Adalind’s mother, so Rosalee ended up doing it.

They had collected most of the parts they needed, and were about to crack her ribcage, when there was a knock at the door. Adalind looked up, alarmed, and Monroe rushed to reassure her.

“Don't worry. I'll check and see who it is before I let them in.” He said, before putting down the hammer and chisel and going to answer the door.

Rosalee asked the other woman if she was ok, and Adalind didn’t know how to respond without sounding bitchy. She decided to just say what was on her mind anyway.

“It's just not that easy being pregnant, cutting up your mom, and waiting for someone to kill you.”

Rosalee gave her a look of sympathy mixed with some mild exasperation. About on par with what Adalind had been expecting, then.

Monroe called out from the front of the shop, “honey, it's Nick and Hank. We'll be in the basement.”

He led them downstairs and the three of them went through the boxes of books in order to look for serial killers. It took a while, but eventually Monroe spoke up.

“Wait a minute. I think I might actually have something here. This is from the Luxembourg Peasant's Revolt of 1798. Check this out. "During the chaos of the bloody conflict, I continue to patrol the streets at night, where Blutbaden from the surrounding countryside had come to feed on refugees." Now, let me just clarify here: My family never did the refugee thing. Just for the record. "Having killed two Blutbaden in a fortnight, I was somewhat surprised to discover several bodies of young girls whom I knew to be Wesen with their throats slit and their stomachs cut open. Normally, I would not get involved in Wesen-on-Wesen kills, but the sheer brutality made me curious. Was this the work of another Grimm?"”

“Well, was it?” Hank asked.

“I don't know. Let me see if there's more. Aha, it goes on, "Later, came upon a soldier killing one of the town's prostitutes and removing various organs. For what purpose, I still do not know, for when I cornered the soldier, he did not woge. Yet, there was something in his eyes, as if the Devil himself had taken hold of him. At that moment, I knew what I had to do, Wesen or not. And even as I plunged my sword into him, he smiled as if death meant nothing to him."” Monroe read from the book, with a look of horrified awe on his face.

Hank looked up, also horrified. "Taken hold of him"? Does this mean the soldier is the killer?” He asked, looking between his two friends.

“Or something was making him do the killings.” Nick suggested.

Monroe scoffed with disbelief. “You mean the old "Devil made me do it" defence? Come on. That is, like, a classic Wesen excuse.”

________________________________________

Rosalee and Adalind had just finished grinding the last rib they needed, and had added the powdered bone to the potion, when they heard the sound of Nick, Monroe and Hank coming up the stairs from the basement.

Rosalee turned to look at her husband and asked, “did you find anything?”

Hank was the one who answered her. “Yeah. And it's a little unnerving.”

Monroe elaborated. “Nick thinks the killer who did the killing, wasn't actually the killer who did the killing, because the killing was done by a killer who'd been dead a long time.”

Rosalee looked a bit confused. “Seriously?” she asked.

Nick explained. “According to the books, Jack the Ripper might have been around a hell of a lot longer than anybody thought.”

The fumes coming off the cauldron made Adalind feel really woozy. Luckily for her, Rosalee was paying close attention and warned Nick that it looked like the mother of his child was about to faint.

He caught her just in time, and led her over to the cot Rosalee kept in the shop. They had a brief argument when she tried to insist that she should continue working on the potion, but eventually, he managed to persuade her to lie down and rest.

As he was getting her a glass of water, he heard Monroe and Rosalee exclaim over the potion. Turned out, the way you knew a hexenbiest potion was ready, was when you saw a skull appear on the surface. Privately, Nick wondered why everything had to be so creepy.

All they had left to do was strain the potion, which was actually done through the witch’s hat that had belonged to Adalind’s mother. Seemed like a pretty weird way of doing things, but then no one ever accused hexenbiests of being normal.

When the potion was strained and pure, Nick followed his gut once again and stopped Adalind from drinking it. This time they really argued.

“If she stays a hexenbiest I’m dead! She won’t drink it if she doesn’t know it works!” Adalind protested.

“I’m not sure she will drink it willingly anyway. She likes the power; she doesn’t want to give it up.” Nick claimed, and Adalind relented.

“Well, what the hell did we make this for then!” She protested, almost at her wits end.

Rosalee looked thoughtful for a moment, then asked, “Adalind, this can’t be the first time a hexenbiest has gone off the rails. I mean, what with teenagers and stuff, I reckon it must happen all the time. What is usually done?”

Adalind looked taken aback, and then considered the question. “Well, it depends. Sometimes the parents would be able to overpower the young biest, but if not, then they would send them to a local elder. A hexenbiest who has the power and experience to control the young biest, and teach them how to use their power properly. There’s one in Portland, actually. Sean sent Juliette to her I think.”

“Henrietta!” Nick interrupted her. “Yeah, I met her. Do you think she will help?”

“Well, yeah. I think so. Especially now that we have the suppressant potion.” Seeing the confused looks on her audience’s faces, Adalind explained her reasoning. “Juliette is more powerful than Henrietta, right now. So, she wouldn’t be able to restrain her in the normal way. But, if we can work out some way to get the potion into her, then Henrietta can do her thing and, you know.” She said, shrugging. 

It was agreed between them that Nick would go to Henrietta’s house, since he had been there before, and ask for her help. Adalind called ahead to let her know he was coming, aware that Henrietta was not fond of surprises.

Once that was done, and Nick was on his way, Adalind crossed her fingers and sent a prayer to Hecate, hoping that they could stop Juliette before she killed them all.

Chapter Text

While Nick was gone, they secured the potion in the shop’s safe, and set about cleaning up. As they were doing so, a thought occurred to Adalind.

“When you were talking about Jack the Ripper, I didn’t follow it at all. What did you mean?” She asked Monroe.

He looked a bit uncomfortable, talking to their former enemy, but his enthusiasm for history and storytelling overrode any uneasiness he might otherwise have felt.

Eagerly, he told her what they had found in the books about killings similar to the one Nick and Hank were investigating.

Adalind took it all in, mulling it over, before arriving at a conclusion. “The only way I know that that would be possible, is spirit possession. When someone dies, a portal opens so that the spirit can pass on. However, if they are brought back, sometimes, something from the other side can hitch a ride and cross over.”

She looked up at the shocked faces of Nick’s friends, and suddenly felt unsure. “W – If these murders have happened in the same way, but hundreds of years apart, then it could be the same spirit, each time.” She defended, thinking that they were judging her, and not favourably. “You can ask Henrietta when she gets here, she would know as well.”

Rosalee realised that Adalind thought they were annoyed at her, and while that was sort of true, given their history, in this case she was actually being incredibly helpful.

She considered the situation, in light of what they had just learned, and then suddenly, she made the connection. “You know, Sean died. And his mother brought him back. And he came in here not long ago, saying that his wounds kept reopening. Is that a symptom of a possession?” She asked Adalind.

“Well, yeah, did he say he was having blackouts?” She asked animatedly.

“Yeah, and he can’t remember what happens when he wakes up afterwards.” Rosalee told her.

Hank and Monroe watched the two women as they talked, not wanting to interrupt when it seemed like they were actually getting somewhere.

“That’s good. That means the spirit, if he is possessed, hasn’t taken control yet. When he does start remembering, it’ll be too late.” Adalind said, biting her thumb anxiously.

“What can we do about it?” Rosalee asked. As she did so, they heard the bell above the front door of the shop go, and Nick came in, followed closely by Henrietta. The older witches’ face was calm, as usual, but she did look intrigued as to what was going on.

Adalind couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t every day you found two hexenbiests conspiring with a Grimm and his friends. She realised, too, that Henrietta knew exactly who the father of her baby was. She didn’t know how the other witch had worked it out, but she was positive that she knew, and what’s more, she thought it was terribly amusing. But, she couldn’t think about that now, so she forced herself to focus on the matter at hand.

She started filling in Nick and Henrietta on what they had been discussing, along with Rosalee, and the elder hexenbiest confirmed everything Adalind had supposed.

“If Sean did die, and Elizabeth used the spell I think she did, then he’s a likely candidate for the possession.” She confirmed.

They were interrupted by the sound of Nick’s cell phone ringing. Nick answered it, listened for a moment, and then said, “Wu, I'm putting you on speaker.”

“Nick, we got another body, same M.O.” They all heard the sergeant say, through the speaker on Nick’s phone.

Nick asked, “Where?”

“Under the Broadway Bridge across from Union Station. We're sealing off the area. It's the roommate. The one we talked to.” Wu said, upset.

“We're on our way.” He hung up the phone, and then turned to the others. “We need some way to confirm it’s Renard. And then when we do, we need a plan.”

The three of them who had been discussing the problem with Adalind turned to her. Nick also looked at her, interested as to why his friends seemed so sure she had the answer.

“Well, I don’t know how you would confirm it – maybe there was a witness or something? Not really my area. And I know it’s not something I can sense. Henrietta?” The elder biest shook her head, so Adalind went on. “So, to get rid of the spirit, you have to open the portal again.”

“Then how do we do that?” Nick asked eagerly, pleased that they may be able to put a stop to these brutal murders.

“You have to kill him.” She said, but before the others could protest, she added, “of course, you don’t actually have to kill him, but you have to make the spirit think that Sean is dying. Do you have a way of doing that?” She directed the last question at Rosalee, but it was Hank who answered her.

“What about the Dead Feint, the same one we used on Monroe when they hired Angelina to kill him. The only way to prove she had done it was to show them his dead body.” Hank suggested.

Rosalee nodded. “The tetrodotoxin. It slows down bodily functions, but it's very dangerous.” She warned.

“I'll say. It almost killed me.” Monroe declared unhappily.

Nick looked exasperated. “Well, if we don't figure out a way to get rid of it, we will end up killing him.”

“We need to make sure he's involved in all of this. 'Cause I'd like to be real sure before we do it.” Rosalee said firmly.

“Yeah, we can check the surveillance footage. If we spot the Captain’s car, then we’ll know he was in the area.” Nick agreed.

“Should we tell him about all this?” Hank asked.

“No,” said Henrietta firmly. “Everything that Sean knows, the spirit knows, and he can’t know that you’re on to him, it might make him escalate. Try to come up with some reason to bring him to us. You’re a bright young man, Mr Burkhardt, I’m sure it’s not beyond you.” She said, teasingly, and Nick repressed the urge to roll his eyes.

He failed to catch the sharp look that Adalind sent the other witch, but Rosalee did not, and she filed it away as something to think on, once this latest crisis was resolved.

“Right, we’d better get going, Wu is expecting us. We’ll try and get a look at the footage as soon as we get back to the precinct.” Nick put his coat on, Hank right behind him. He got to the door, and turned to look at Monroe and Rosalee. “I’ll call you when I know something.” And with that, the two detectives left.

“We’d better get to work on the stuff.” Rosalee said, and, for the third time that day, the mixing bowls and utensils went into the sink to be washed up.

With Henrietta gone to make tea, and Adalind gone to use the rest room, Rosalee took advantage of the private moment to lean into her husband, and whisper, “Nick has got to be going crazy right now. Maybe we should contact Trubel.”

Monroe whispered back, “That's probably not a bad idea.”

Nick and Hank made their way to the scene, rushing a bit, because they were later than they had told Wu. They made fairly good time however, and if Wu wondered where they had been, he didn’t say anything when they arrived.

The three of them looked at Heidi’s body, shocked by the savagery of the wounds inflicted on the young woman.

“M.E.'s on her way, but just like her friend, one slice to the throat, abdomen cut open. So, it's either the same Jack copycat or a copycat of the copycat.” Wu told them; his voice flat.

“What about the possession thing?” Hank suggested.

“What possession thing?” Wu wanted to know.

Before Nick could explain what they had found in the books, Renard walked up to them. “I've been getting hourly calls from the Mayor's Office wanting to know what the hell we're doing about this. Is it the same?”

“Yeah.” Hank told him.

“Do we have any leads?” Renard asked, and Nick remembered what Henrietta had told him. Jack knew everything the person he was possessing knew. So, they couldn’t give any hints that they were on to him.

Hoping that Hank also remembered, and that Wu would keep quiet, Nick said, “Nothing new yet.”

Renard was obviously not happy, but didn’t press the issue. When Nick was sure he was out of earshot, Nick explained what was going on to a very confused Sergeant Wu. He agreed to keep it under his hat, so to speak, until they had evidence of the Captain’s involvement in the murders.

With that decided, they finished up at the crime scene, and headed back to the precinct. On the way there, Nick called Monroe to tell him the latest. They agreed between them that the toxin might not be enough, and they might have to put on a show for the spirit. Monroe suggested shooting Renard with blanks, but Nick disagreed. He argued that the spirit might not believe it if he doesn’t feel any impact from the shots. They eventually decided to use rubber bullets, as Nick knew that he could get his hands on some.

When the two detectives sat down at their desks, they found that the surveillance footage they needed had arrived, so Nick and Hank divided it up between them and got started.

After a while, they were both starting to feel the strain.

Hank sighed. “There's nothing in this one. Maybe we missed it.”

“Maybe we're wrong.” Nick suggested.

“Maybe we're just too damn tired. What do we got left?” Hank asked.

Nick also sighed. “Bank footage on Alder. Looking at it now.”

Hank rubbed his neck, it was starting to feel stiff from all the time he had spent hunched over his computer, staring at the CCTV footage. “There's more footage from West Burnside. I'll pull it up. All these cars are starting to look the same to me.”

Nick suddenly sat up straighter. “Whoa, wait. I got something. Is that the Captain's?” He zoomed in on the vehicle, as Hank got up and came to look over his shoulder at the car on the screen. Captain Renard was clearly visible in the driving seat of the car Nick had enlarged.

“It's him.” Hank said, sounding surprised.

Nick consulted his notes. “It puts him in the area within one hour of the first killing.”

Hank looked up, and spotted their boss walking towards them. “He's here.” He warned Nick, who promptly hid the paused video they had been studying.

Renard stopped next to Nick’s desk, his face grave. “I need to see you both, now.”

The two detectives shared a significant look, before they both got up and started to follow the Captain to his office.

After a moment, Hank stopped Nick with a hand on his arm. “Hold on. Before we go in there, if he's dealing with what we think he's dealing with, who the hell are we gonna be talking to?”

Nick paused, thinking. “Well, that’s true. We just have to get him to the Spice Shop, without him or the thing in him, getting suspicious.”

Hank’s expression cleared slightly, “Right, yeah, Henrietta. OK.”

They made their way into the office, shutting the door behind them. Renard was facing the window, anxiety coming off him in waves. “There's something very wrong with me. I'm starting to think I'm losing my mind.”

“What happened?” Nick asked gravely.

“Earlier tonight, I thought I was bleeding again. I saw it. I felt it. It was real. Then I remember falling. Then I woke up, and I was in bed, as though nothing happened. And there was a voice. I heard-I heard this voice. I don't know.” Renard had turned to face them, and Nick could tell he was scared. Really, really scared. He felt sure that what Adalind had suggested was true.

Hank moved closer to the Captain. “You blacked out?” He asked.

Renard looked like he was trying to remember, his face pained. “I guess I did.”

“Captain, that’s not good. Look, we need to deal with this. Let’s go to the Spice Shop. I’ll bet Rosalee knows a way to help you remember. She and Monroe helped before, with the obsession spell, right?” Nick suggested earnestly.

He wasn’t sure if Sean, (or Jack), was buying it, but he nonetheless seemed relieved that Nick wanted to help.

“Might work you know, Captain.” Hank added.

Renard seemed to contemplate it for a minute, before he answered. “OK, yeah. That’s, well. That’s a good idea. I went to see her about all this before, she might have had a chance to look into it by now.” He picked up his coat, and they all left the office.

“I’ll call Rosalee and let her know, make sure she has the shop open for us, and tell her to clear out any strangers.” Nick said, and Sean nodded. He really didn’t want any onlookers for this. Especially since he was worried what he might end up remembering.

When they actually got Renard to the Spice Shop, they set the elaborate plan that they had concocted, in order to fool the spirit inhabiting the captain, into motion. This was likely their only chance to convince the spirit to move on.

Rosalee gave him the Dead Feint, as they had planned, telling Renard that it was a potion to restore his memory. They got him to lie down, and waited. Their guns were loaded with the rubber bullets that Wu had got for them, once Nick had filled him in on the plan. He had got them from storage while Nick and Hank had been looking at the surveillance, and had gone to the Spice Shop while they were in the captain’s office.

They didn’t have long to wait before the toxin took effect.

All in all, their plan went about as well as they could have hoped, though Jack’s spirit trying to throttle Rosalee was not in the plan. It did give them an opening to shoot him with the rubber bullets, and they all witnessed dark, grey smoke leaving the captain’s body.

They waited a moment to be sure the spirit had gone, and then Rosalee gave him a dose of adrenaline to wake him up. There was no reaction, and for a second, they worried that he was really dead, before Sean suddenly gasped and coughed, waking up.

“Captain?” Nick asked, hesitantly.

Renard coughed again, and then answered. “Yeah?” His voice was pained and weak.

“It's really you?” Monroe asked.

Renard was confused. “What happened? I feel like I got hit by a truck.”

They helped him up, and were all glad that he was able to stand up under his own power, even though his movements were stiff and pained.

“What do you remember?” Rosalee asked gently.

Sean rubbed his chest, clearly feeling the bruises forming from where he was hit by the rubber bullets. “Oh, God. I remember-I remember coming here, and you gave me something.”

Rosalee nodded. “Yeah, to help you remember.”

Renard looked concerned. “I-I don't think it worked.” He stopped speaking suddenly, grabbing his chest as if he was in pain. “Oh! Oh! Oh, my God, no, I can't be bleeding again.” He ripped his shirt open, and Nick and his friends could see his bullet wounds fully heal, for what was hopefully the last time. “What'd you do to me?” He asked, looking around at them all in surprise.

“I think we cured you.” Rosalee said, with an air of triumph.

“The murders, we think it was a spirit that came back with you when your mother saved your life. What we just did – we think it’s gone back to, wherever it came from.”

Renard still looked confused, so between them, Wu, Nick, Hank, Monroe and Rosalee gave him all the details of what they had worked out. It took a little while, but he finally seemed to get the gist of it. He was incredibly grateful, but horrified that his body had been used to kill those women.

They were about to tell him about Adalind and Henrietta, who were hiding out in the basement, but they were interrupted by rapid knocking at the door.

Monroe looked worried. “What now?” He went over and opened the door, and then stepped back with surprise. “Hey. I can't believe you got here.”

Trubel stepped forward, into the shop and looked around at the people gathered there.

Nick greeted her with a big smile. “Trubel?” He asked.

Chapter Text

Nick was more than happy to see Trubel, in fact, he was greatly relieved. He had been worried about her since she had left with Josh, but looking at her now she seemed healthy and happy. And there was a confidence in her which had been missing before. She seemed much more self-assured now, and he could only hope he had played a part in that.

It took a while to get her up to speed, especially since Nick was wary of revealing too much in front of Renard. But since Sean knew most of the salient points already – Juliette was a hexenbiest, the royals are in town to try and get Diana – Nick wasn’t too worried he was leaving himself susceptible to his captain’s never ending schemes.

Trubel was understandably shocked and dismayed by what had happened with Juliette, and was deeply upset that Nick had caught her trying to burn down the trailer. That place was special to her, it was where she found out for sure that she was not crazy, and, more importantly, that she was not alone.

“So, what are we going to do?” Trubel asked, looking to Nick.

Nick thought about it for a moment. His mind churned restlessly as he thought through what needed to be done, and what, in reality, could actually be achieved. He also considered a question which had been troubling him for years, and one which he had never managed to truly answer.

Could he trust Renard?

Adalind was downstairs, heavily pregnant and vulnerable. True, she was a hexenbiest, so she wasn’t totally defenceless. And Henrietta was with her, so maybe letting Renard in on their plans this once was not as risky as it could have been.

He made his decision. “Rosalee, can we close the shop, and join the others downstairs?” He asked.

Juliette was with Kenneth, making plans to ambush Nick’s mother, when her phone rang. It was Nick, and part of her was scared to answer.

Since their confrontation in the trailer, she had kept her distance. The fact that he had dared to shoot at her, told her he was close to giving up on her. Or, that maybe, he already had.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Even though she had walked out on him, had even slept with his boss, she still felt that he belonged to her. Burning his aunt’s trailer, destroying the legacy of his family, was just punishment for his betrayal of her.

Because that was how she saw it, despite how hypocritical that made her.

Her plan to distract him so she could email his mother had not worked out at all, but after watching the house they used to share, she had used the key she still had in her possession to go in and access his email while he was out.

Juliette was pissed to see that he had already contacted Kelly and warned her, but while she was pacing angrily across their living room and trying to think of what to do next, Nick’s computer pinged to indicate an incoming message.

Kelly had replied quickly for once, but her message back to Nick was extremely irritating. She commiserated over the situation, and promised she would not trust a word from Juliette.  There was one bit of good news however, Kelly said that she was coming to Portland.

So, it hadn’t been a total failure. And Kenneth needn’t know that Kelly had been put on alert. After all, he seemed to think he was a big shot, surely he could take on Kelly with no issues. Even if he couldn’t, it wasn’t her problem.

After reading the email, cursing Nick and his mother all the while, she had left the house and gone back to the hotel to meet Kenneth, and let him know that Kelly Burkhardt was on her way.

Since then, they had been making plans to take over key positions in the neighbourhood, so that they could converge on the house when Kelly arrived. Juliette neglected to mention that Kelly might not actually go to the house, as she really didn’t care if Kenneth’s plan succeeded or not.

She just wanted revenge on Nick and his friends for what they had done to her. And for helping that bitch and her devil spawn.

“It’s Nick.” She told Kenneth, looking down at her phone.

“Take it.” He said, with an amused grin.

She smiled back and answered. “Nick.”

“Juliette, we found a way to help you.” He said, his voice dark and intense.

“Help me? Really?” She asked, her tone dry and sceptical.

Nick apparently decided to ignore her tone, and carried on. “Yeah. We have a suppressant.”

“A suppressant?” Juliette said, sounding surprised, sharing a look with Kenneth.

“We tested it, and it will work.” Nick said earnestly, and Juliette rolled her eyes. What an idiot. He basically just told her he’d rendered Adalind powerless.

Juliette adopted an equally earnest tone. “I thought you said there wasn't a cure. Rosalee and Henrietta both said—"

Nick interrupted her. “I know, but this can help. Juliette, this will work. Just come to the house. Monroe, Rosalee, and-and I have found something.”

Juliette repressed a snort at his slip of the tongue. “Not the Spice Shop?” She inquired, wasn’t that usually where they did this sort of thing? Maybe he had stashed that hexen-bitch there.

“No, Rosalee is worried that it might react with some of the stuff she has there. It can get a bit intense when the suppressant works,” Nick said, providing her with further proof that he had been stupid enough to neutralise Adalind for her.

“When?” She asked.

“Now?” Nick suggested.

Juliette looked to Kenneth, who nodded, though he did look a bit put out. “Okay.” She said, and turned to her new partner in crime.

“He’s at the house, so what are we going to do now?”

Things in the basement of the Spice Shop had been a bit strained, at first. Sean was wary of Adalind, Adalind was wary of Sean. Nick and his friends were wary of Sean and Adalind, though they were inclined to be less distrustful of the latter, since she had clearly been doing her best to help them.

Henrietta’s presence seemed to smooth things over, all the years she had spent containing and instructing temperamental biests had given her an authoritative yet nurturing mien. It made everyone sit up a little bit straighter, and pay attention to her, without seeming to realise they were doing it.

Once Sean had been filled in on what they had discerned of the royals’ plans, and Juliette’s role in them, they put their heads together to try and think of a way to combat them, which involved the least bloodshed and danger.

It was agreed that they needed to get Juliette to take the suppressant. In her current state she was just too dangerous and unstable to be left to her own devices. Not only were Adalind and her children under threat, but so was any average joe who happened to cross her path. The slightest thing could set her off, as evidenced by the bar fight she had started.

They also all agreed that it was extremely unlikely she would take the potion willingly. Nick shared what she had said when he had visited her in jail.

“I like this power, Nick, and I know you do too.”

“I’d feel better if we gave her a choice though.” Rosalee said, and Nick smiled at her sympathetically. He knew she missed the old Juliette, hell, he did too. But he just didn’t see it happening.

He wasn’t sure what had convinced him of that, maybe it was seeing her in his family’s trailer, ready to destroy his legacy, destroy everything his ancestors had worked so hard to protect. It was part of who he was, part of his identity as a Grimm, and she wanted to take that away from him. She wanted to destroy him utterly, it seemed, and while he had his part to play in what had happened to her, he believed that now, given the choice, she would choose power.

Still, he knew Rosalee needed to offer her friend a chance, that now she and Adalind had made the potion, had found the solution she had been searching for, for so long, she needed to offer it to Juliette, to give her a chance to get back her old life, just like she had promised to.

“Ok, I understand, and I’m fine with that, really. But we need a Plan B. Suggestions?” Nick told her, and then looked around the room at the others.

Henrietta shared an indecipherable look with Adalind, and then spoke up. “I believe that between us, we can contain her. She is powerful, very powerful, but not more so than the two of us combined. We can hold her in place, without hurting her,” She hastened to add as Rosalee and Monroe looked alarmed, “then you can administer the potion to her.”

Rosalee looked cheered by Nick’s agreement and Henrietta’s suggestion, and sat forward, excitedly. “Yes, I have a needle we can use to give her an intraperitoneal injection, it’ll inject the potion directly into her stomach, just as if she drank it herself.”

“Much better than trying to force it down her throat. Let me just say that I would not be on board with that.” Monroe put in, and Nick nodded. He would have had a really hard time doing that. Though, in all good conscience, he had to admit that if it came down to it, he would have.

“Good, great. So, we have a backup plan for Juliette and the suppressant. Now we just need to get her here.” Nick said, and Sean frowned.

“I think it would be better to do it at your house Nick. Kenneth is probably expecting your mother to go there first, so he’ll try to occupy the house. And possibly, some of your neighbours’ homes. If you get Juliette to come to your house, then she’ll tell him, and he’ll have to rethink.” He said.

As much as he often distrusted his captain, and found his haughty manner irritating, Nick had to admit that the man could be very useful at times.

Trubel spoke up. “He’s right Nick, if we all go to your house, and stay there until your mom gets here, then we can make sure it’s safe for her and Diana.”

Nick looked to Adalind, who was starting to flag a little, or a lot actually. Unsurprising really, they had been on the go since she had appeared at the precinct, with only a short respite at Bud’s house.

“Yeah, I agree. And that way, Adalind – you can guard Diana while we take out any stray Verrat.” Nick said.

Adalind was touched. The anger she felt for him, for taking her daughter away, was still there. And it probably always would be, unless she could find it in herself to forgive him. Once, she had thought that would be impossible. But, if he helped reunite her with her baby girl, she could see herself forgiving him, one day.

“Right, so, we need to get supplies, and meet at my house. Hank, Wu, can you go to the grocery store, get us stuff to tide us over?” Nick asked, and his two colleagues nodded, getting their coats and heading upstairs to go to Hank’s car.

“Captain, I guess, do whatever you need to do and meet us there?” Nick said to Renard, looking and sounding a bit awkward. It was ingrained in him to show respect to his boss, and even though he had had less than charitable thoughts and feelings towards the man, habits were hard to break.

“Sure. I need to go home and change.” Sean said, reminding them that he had not long been freed from his possession, and there was still blood on his shirt.

“Rosalee, Monroe, can you get the injection stuff ready, and bring anything you think we might need?” Nick asked his best friends. He knew that when the two of them let their imaginations run wild, they came up with some awesome and very useful stuff. Part of him was actually looking forward to seeing what they might concoct.

“Trubel, can you get the crossbows for me, and Henrietta and Adalind, can you help me get the bolts ready? We can use hellebore to sedate, and hemlock to, well, you know.” Nick, said, eyebrows raised.

Everyone snapped to, getting on with their tasks. They arranged it so that Nick would drive Trubel, Adalind and Henrietta to his house, though they would stop by Henrietta’s to collect some of her things on the way.

Then, they would wait for the others to join them, and only then would they call Juliette and tell her about the suppressant.

It was going to be a bit of a squeeze, fitting everyone in the house. Plus, they had no idea how long it would take his mother to get there, since no one knew where she was coming from. So, he planned to dig out some of his camping gear when they got home, just in case they were in it for the long haul.

Sean said it was unlikely, because Kenneth was much more brash and action oriented than Victor, and once he knew there was a spanner in the works, he would take immediate action to remove it.

Still, didn’t hurt to be prepared.

When they got to the house, Adalind was harassed into resting by Henrietta and Nick. They herded her up to Nick’s bedroom, and fussed over her until she was under the covers and propped up by several pillows.

Henrietta went downstairs to make her some tea, leaving Nick and Adalind alone for the first time in, well, who knew how long? Since the last time they were both in this room? Did the car ride from the precinct to the Spice Shop count?

Adalind couldn’t bare an awkward silence, so she broke it almost straight away. “Nick, thank you for doing this.” She said, and was charmed by his uncomfortable but genuine smile.

“I, uh, you’re welcome.” He said, looking away, and rubbing the back of his neck. She could tell he didn’t really know what to say or do, so she took pity on him.

“I’ll be fine here, I promise not to get up unless Henrietta says it’s okay.” She promised, widening her eyes to try and look innocent. In truth, she was going to do whatever she wanted. It just so happened that right at this moment, what she wanted to do was put her feet up and rest. A happy coincidence.

“OK, well, I’ve got a lot to do so, I guess I’ll see you later?” Nick said, before hurriedly fleeing the room. Adalind repressed a chuckle, not wanting him to think she was making fun of him.

Such a contrast, between intense, brooding, deadly Grimm, and bashful, flustered man-child.

Adalind couldn’t help but find it endearing, then realising that she was still smiling fondly at the closed door, abruptly stopped and blamed any softening feelings on the baby.

Henrietta’s knowing smile when she re-entered the room however, told her that her admiration of her baby’s father had not gone unnoticed. At least, not by someone who knew her as well as her former teacher did.

She decided to ignore it for the time being, and focussed on trying to relax. They had a plan, and if all went well, Juliette would no longer be a threat to her and her baby. At least, not as big of a threat, because Adalind did not believe that supressing the hexenbiest would change the other woman’s feelings towards her in any significant way.

And that raised another question. What if, after Juliette had been suppressed, she and Nick took up where they left off? Where would that leave her and her baby?

It was a scary thought.

Chapter Text

Juliette stood on the sidewalk in front of the home she used to share with Nick. At one time, this place was filled with laughter and love. Now, it just reminded her of all the times he had betrayed her. All the times he hadn’t put her first, the missed dinners, the parties with friends, and making her drink that potion just so he could turn back into a Grimm. When really, it had been his fault he’d lost it in the first place.

She was really sick of having to suffer just to make things better for Nick and his friends. It wasn’t fair. And now, now that she had something for herself, now that she was the special one, they wanted to take it away from her.

Well, more fool them. They could try, certainly, but this bitch had claws now. And since they had been so kind as to dispose of Adalind for her, there was no one to stop her from getting her revenge on all of them.

These thoughts warmed her, as she walked up the steps to her old home, and knocked on the door.

“Let the games begin.” She thought, holding in a chuckle.

There was no reply to her knock, so she just decided to get this over with and let herself in.

It had seemed like they would never be ready to confront Juliette, but when the mass of people descended on his house, dividing up tasks, getting things done in a relatively short amount of time, Nick allowed himself to feel some optimism for how this might turn out.

Adalind was still upstairs resting, as Henrietta had ordered her to stay there until they were ready to roll, so to speak. Nick was just glad that she was out of sight for the moment, and so he could put her, and the tangled knot of emotion she stirred in him, out of his mind.

Henrietta had prepared the suppressant, adding her own blood to it, as a way of bonding Juliette to her. She said that it would not hurt Juliette, and would make it easier for her to control her and ease her into her powers, so he didn’t argue.

Hank and Wu had arrived around the same time as Monroe and Rosalee, and he could tell by the overnight bags each of them had, along with the bags of groceries, that they had all stopped at home to grab a few things first.

Renard was the last to arrive, having gone home to shower and change, and he too was toting a posh looking overnight bag. Part of Nick might have had a few snide thoughts at his Captain’s obviously expensive tastes, but the man was seemingly willing to entrench himself with the rest of them, so he kept his less than charitable thoughts to himself.

He had a few moments, while the others were buzzing with activity around him, to sit on his sofa and try to catch his breath.

He had no idea how he really felt about this whole snafu. He hadn’t had time to weigh and measure his decisions as much as he would have liked to, and was mostly running on instinct thus far. It seemed as though it might work out alright, however, since Henrietta believed that in giving the suppressant to Juliette, she would at least be able to stop her from descending even further into darkness.

What would happen when the baby was born though? That was one of his biggest worries. He and Adalind had been at odds for so long, that this new, helpful person, carrying his child, was not someone he recognised. She had done some truly heinous things, and though he was starting to see things from her side, he still couldn’t forget the pain she had caused him and Juliette. And Hank, and Wu, and…

But then, the same thought kept coming back to him.

He had stolen her baby.

He had actually stolen a new-born baby from her mother, and felt morally justified in doing so.

The thought made him feel nauseous with guilt now. Now that he had felt his son moving under his hand, had made a connection to him. Now that he felt like a father.

He could tell himself that it was the only way, that it was all to protect Diana, but with the benefit of hindsight, he knew he was wrong. In more ways than one. He was wrong that it was the only way, and he was wrong that he was acting purely for Diana’s benefit.

In sending Diana away with his mother, a part of Nick was hoping Adalind and all the hassle and suffering she brought with her would disappear too. How could he be so blind? Adalind loved her daughter unreservedly, unselfishly and completely.

It was there, in her eyes, every time she had looked at her baby girl. And it was there in her eyes when she came to his door, panicked and hysterical that Sean had given her baby to Victor.

Adalind was not wholly unreasonable. Though he massively disagreed with her actions and the motivation behind them, he could see why she had come after his aunt, and Hank, on Renard’s orders. She had loved him, had believed he loved her, and his aunt was a Grimm. The stuff of nightmares to Wesen children, and her kind’s natural enemy.

He felt so conflicted.

He was hopeful that he and Juliette might be able to work something out, but he wasn’t sure, at the same time, if he really wanted to. She had broken his trust significantly. And then there was his son. Nick already loved him, but the way he was conceived was hanging over his head.

He could admit, to himself only, that he felt horribly violated. She had had sex with him without his consent. When Juliette was raging about what had happened to him, she didn’t seem to notice, or maybe it didn’t even occur to her, that he would feel so violated. Everyone else seemed to skip over it too. They just focussed on the loss of his powers as a Grimm, and yes that was another thing that hurt him, more than he ever thought it would or could, but still.

Adalind had used magic to get him to sleep with her, without his consent, and it was horrifying. He had had no idea that it wasn’t Juliette. He had no reason to think it wasn’t her, and so while she may argue that he should have been able to tell by the way she moved, or spoke, his mind hadn’t gone there. Why would it? He had had no idea until then, that such a thing was even possible!

When Elizabeth had presented the potion as a way of him getting his Grimm back, he had hesitated, but not for the reason that the others probably thought. Sure, he was worried for Juliette, what it might do to her, and he would never pressure her into doing it if she felt she couldn’t, or just didn’t want to.

But secretly, he wasn’t sure he would even be able to do it. Adalind had made him feel vulnerable in a way he hadn’t felt since, well, probably since Oleg Stark. Even the thing with the Baron hadn’t been so bad, because he’d been in an altered state of mind for most of it. And it was an attack, a Wesen attack that had been thrown at him.

But both Adalind and Stark had crept into the place he had felt safe, and then shown him that he wasn’t, and never would be.

And now that same safe place, the home he’d lived in for over six years, was under threat again. Not just from the royals, but from the woman he’d shared a life with.

He realised there and then that he didn’t want to live here anymore. He hadn’t felt safe here for years, and the stress of that had been wearing on him for a long time.

It would probably help with the Adalind and baby situation too, that if they had to co-parent or something, it was in a new place, with no bad memories haunting its halls and bedrooms.

“Nick!” He was suddenly snapped out of his intense introspection, to find Monroe kneeling in front of him, his eyes wide, and definite worry in his expression.

He glanced around and saw Trubel, Hank and the others spread about the room, some sitting, some standing, but all looking equally concerned. He didn’t see Henrietta, Adalind or Rosalee, though, and he frowned.

Monroe seemed to read his thoughts, because next he said, “Rosalee’s upstairs with Adalind and Henrietta. She made a tea for Adalind to help her with her pregnancy symptoms.” He said, and he got up off his knees and sat down next to Nick.

“Are you alright man? You seemed to space out, really badly, on us there.” He asked, and Nick heaved a great sigh.

“Yeah, I’m ok. I just sat down to try and get things straight in my head, and….” He trailed off, not knowing how to explain what he was thinking or feeling.

“And you fell down a rabbit hole.” Monroe declared.

Nick thought that was a very good analogy, and nodded.

“It’s ok man, take all the time you need. We’ve got things all set up now.” Monroe went on to explain the preparations they had made, and Nick himself made an effort to pay attention, and be in the moment.

He did feel somewhat better, having admitted some things to himself that he had not given form to before, even in his own, private thoughts. But for the moment, he needed to focus on the here and now, and what they were trying to accomplish.

He let Monroe lead him around and show him things, and then went back to the living room where the others were waiting. Monroe went upstairs to get the three women, and once the whole group was gathered, they went over their plans, one more time.

When everything was as ready as it was ever going to be, Nick got out his phone and made the call.

It felt like they all collectively held their breath as they listened to Nick’s phone on speaker, ringing and ringing, and then there was a voice they all recognised.

“Nick.”

Maybe because of years of coming into this house and calling out to the man she had shared it with, almost automatically, Juliette called out when she came in.

“Nick?”

“In here!” She heard him call back, his voice coming from the living room. She walked out of the vestibule, and around the corner to face the windows. Nick was standing in front of one of their couches, Monroe and Rosalee with him, and Hank was by the windows. She looked around to see if there was anyone else. After all, Nick must have stashed his baby-mama somewhere, but she couldn’t see or sense that bitch anywhere.

“Hey, Monroe. Rosalee. Hank. Nick. Anybody else?” Juliette asked, her tone flat and suspicious.

Rosalee, always the peacemaker, spoke up. “Juliette, we all know this is-it's a little bit awkward, but, really, it's for the right reason.”

“Fixing me?” Juliette questioned. As if there was anything to fix!

“Yes.” Nick said simply, and Juliette seethed internally.

Juliette paced slowly in front of them, her mind assessing. “Such good friends. But how did this happen, this special medicine? How did you suddenly figure it out?”

Hank spoke for the first time. “The books.” He said, his eyes wary as they followed her movements.

“From the trailer? I supposed it’s for the best I was… interrupted. I guess I may have overreacted a little when I found out that whore was pregnant with... a little Grimm.” She said, her words conciliatory, but her tone implying nothing of the sort.

Nick looked at her, his face earnest and beseeching. “Juliette, this will work.” He insisted, and she took that as more evidence that they had neutralised her prey for her.

Juliette nodded thoughtfully. “So that means you've tried it on, what, a Fuchsbau? No. A Blutbad? I doubt it. Wouldn't that mean you'd have to try it on a Hexenbiest to make sure it works?” She asked, and she saw the uneasy glances they exchanged. Fools.

Nick stepped forward. “Juliette, take it. And we can—"

Juliette almost laughed at his stupidity. “Oh, it's "we" again?” She said. As if she hadn’t been the one to leave, to declare it over before he even knew what was happening.

Monroe spoke next. “Look, Juliette, we're just trying to help you get back what you lost.” He told her, shrugging, not knowing what else to say to make her understand. He knew that they were going to give her the suppressant one way or another, but he hoped, he really hoped, that she would decide to take it of her own accord.

They’d filled a jar with water as a diversion, so that they didn’t risk the real potion if she turned out not to be cooperative. Rosalee now handed that to Nick, and he proffered it to Juliette.

“Take it. Please.” He practically begged her.

Juliette stared at him hard, before she reached out and took the jar. “Well, all right. Let's just get this over with.” She looked intensely at the jar, and the room started to shake. Nick felt a spike of worry for Adalind and the baby she was carrying, before he reminded himself that she was with Henrietta and the others, and was well protected.

“Juliette, stop.” Nick told her firmly, and it seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she was in.

Juliette looked up at him, her expression full of scorn and hate. “Do I look like I need anybody's help?” She threw the jar in the air, and held it there with her power.

Rosalee, playing her part to the full, rushed forward. “No, Juliette! It's all we've got!” She pleaded. She tried to snatch the jar from the air, but Juliette used her power to throw her one time friend into a wall. Rosalee landed awkwardly half on, and half off the couch.

Monroe, enraged at the sight of his mate hurt, woged, and went to attack their former friend. She dropped the jar, letting it smash, and as he began to swing at her, she smacked him back into the same wall as his wife. The two of them clung to each other, shocked and horrified at how quickly things had escalated.

Hank, seeing all this, pulled his gun and pointed it at Juliette, ready to defend his friends. She snorted derisively at him, before telekinetically yanking it from his hands, and throwing it across the room.

Juliette retracted and scowled at them all, her contempt coming off her in waves. “When are you all gonna learn that I like who I am?”

Nick had had enough, not thinking clearly, so upset that it had come to this, he didn’t even bother getting his crossbow, and instead pulled his gun and pointed it at her.

“Well, we don't.” He declared, angry and hurt.

Juliette woged, and Nick thought that the face of her hexenbiest was somehow less frightening than the woman underneath it.

“Well, that's just too damn bad. You made me. Now get used to it.” She declared, and he could feel her power forcing him to turn his gun on his best friends. Monroe and Rosalee looked back at him in fear, their faces reflecting the horror he too felt, at what she might make him do.

“I think that’s quite enough.” Henrietta’s calm voice suddenly interrupted the tense scene. The surprise made Juliette lose control of Nick, and as she turned to face the elder biest, she caught a glimpse of Trubel, crossbow in hand. She only had time to raise her hand, before the young woman she and Nick had taken in fired two bolts in quick succession, both hitting their mark.

Juliette felt the pain of them piercing her flesh, and then seconds later, nothing at all.

Chapter Text

Juliette, now unconscious, was moved to the couch which had not been damaged in the proceeding fight. Rosalee and Henrietta had prepared the dose of the suppressant potion, which would not only suppress the hexenbiest spirit in Juliette, but would also form a kind of master/apprentice binding, between her and the older biest.

This would allow Henrietta to guide and protect Juliette as she slowly grew into her powers, like a biest going through the change for the first time. Rosalee privately admitted to herself that she may have derived just a little vindictive pleasure from wielding the rather large, intraperitoneal needle necessary to inject the potion directly into her former friend’s stomach.

After cowering against the wall, bruised and battered, holding onto her equally bruised husband, while the woman she had thought was her friend made Nick aim his gun at them, Rosalee was feeling less inclined to be gentle, or forgiving. In fact, she was rather glad that the plan for Juliette from here on out was to pump her for information on Kenneth and the Verrat, and then for her to leave with Henrietta.

The way she felt right now, Rosalee would be happy if she never saw her again. Though, her soft heart reminded her that she might not always feel this way, and that once she’d had some help, Juliette might be completely different, once again.

Still, having had the memorably traumatic experience of fearing for her life, and that of her husband’s, only minutes ago, she jammed the needle into the other woman’s abdomen, and stood back, satisfied that her part was done.

Henrietta stepped forward, Adalind at her side, and the two seemed to be working some kind of spell, in tandem. Rosalee knew from earlier discussions that they were combining their power to contain any backlash from Juliette’s magic.

No one here knew exactly what to expect, as Adalind knew of the potion through her mother’s aunt, but had no documents or records which spoke of it. Henrietta too, had only heard of it through anecdotal evidence. But then, Nick had said it would probably be something like what had happened when he gave Adalind his blood.

There had been an awkward silence in the group when he’d brought up that time in their lives, and Rosalee, herself, had quietly reflected on just how things had changed so drastically between them all, that now they were allying with their former enemy to take down someone who had been like family to them.

She dismissed her wandering thoughts and focussed back on the three women in front of her. Adalind and Henrietta were both woged, and had their hands held out over the prone figure on the couch. Juliette was also woged, head raised, and her mouth was open. She looked like she was screaming, but there was no sound coming from her.

A green, amorphous figure rose from within Juliette’s body, and Rosalee knew from Nick’s description that this was Juliette’s hexenbiest spirit. The figure seemed to struggle against something, before it was abruptly sucked downwards, to disappear into Juliette’s body. Seconds passed, and then suddenly, it was over.

They all saw Juliette retract, and her head fell back onto the couch cushions. Her eyes were closed, and she looked like she was unconscious. Rosalee tried to feel concerned for her one-time friend, but really all she could feel right then was relief. The threat Juliette posed to them all was contained, for now. Hopefully, it would be for good. Time would tell, however.

She glanced over at Nick, trying to gauge how he was feeling from his expression. He looked incredibly conflicted, angry, yet sad. She knew that before, he had been hoping that he and Juliette might be able to work things out. Now, she wasn’t sure what he would do, what he actually wanted. As a matter of fact, she wasn’t sure what she wanted either.

Juliette had directly threatened her life.

She had threatened Monroe’s life.

If Henrietta hadn’t been there… it didn’t bear thinking about. There was nothing left of the friend she had loved, and as much as she wanted to blame all this on the hexenbiest spirit, surely all this anger, this darkness, didn’t appear from nowhere. Juliette had to have had it in her before her transformation. After all, look at Adalind and Henrietta. Sure, they had been born hexenbiests and had had a lot longer to come to terms with their powers, yet… they were here, making the choice to help and not harm…

Monroe, with his characteristic ability to read his best friend like a book, took one glance at Nick, and decided he needed to speak up. Nick was glaring down at Juliette, breathing heavily, and looking on the edge of an explosion.

“Man, I know you wanted to speak to her, about the royals and all, but I don’t think now is the time, you know?” He said, walking towards Nick very slowly, as if approaching a wounded, wild animal.

He saw Nick shake himself, before running his hands over his face and pinching the bridge of his nose. Monroe put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, wordlessly offering his support and reassuring him that he was there.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Adalind move as if she would step forward, her hand half raised, before she stepped back and put her head down. Her behaviour confused him, in all the time he’d known her, she hadn’t seemed like the touchy-feely type, and that she would want to comfort Nick of all people was something of a revelation too.

He was glad, however, that she had aborted the move. He really didn’t think that Nick would be able to cope with her just now, not when everything was so raw and fraught.

“You’re right man, I guess we all need a minute or something.” Nick agreed absently, and Henrietta chimed in.

“Perhaps I can take her to my home. She has been there before, so it will not be unfamiliar. And, once she is in my wards, I will be able to contain her. Also, she will not be surrounded by the life she once led, as she would be here.” She offered, and Monroe heaved a grateful sigh. That was a good idea, and he said so.

It was agreed between them, that Sean, Hank and Wu would help Henrietta get Juliette to her house, and wait for her to wake up. They would then question her on what she knew about the royals. Hopefully, she would be inclined to share, but on that, they would have to wait and see. She had had fewer run-ins with the four of them since this whole nightmare had started, so the conversation would not be as emotionally charged as it would be if they had it here and now. Plus, Monroe reasoned, if they woke Juliette here she might feel cornered and lash out.

Once the five of them had gone, the house felt much lighter. Rosalee got up to make tea, her go to activity whenever she felt tense, and Monroe surveyed the room again. Nick was sat in a chair, leaning forward, seemingly deep in thought. Adalind was hovering uncertainly between the kitchen and the lounge, while Trubel was almost standing to attention near the windows.

Everyone was studiously avoiding the damaged couch, not even wanting to look at it. Monroe, himself, would rather forget about the whole ordeal. The thought of his best friend being forced to kill him, that that woman would murder him, and use Nick as the weapon…

Today had been a hell of a day, an enormous emotional upheaval for all of them. He was drawn out of his horrifying musings by Adalind’s hesitant voice.

“I, um, does anyone know when Kelly will get here?” She asked, looking worried. “It’s just, I don’t think we should leave the house empty, you know, just in case.” She said, and Monroe tensed at the reminder that unfortunately, it wasn’t over.

“No, I don’t know where she was, where she was coming from.” Nick said, frustrated. Then something occurred to him. “Adalind, can you put up wards here? Like you did at the Spice Shop, I mean?” He asked and her eyebrows rose in surprise.

“Well, yes, I mean, I would need the book, and some supplies but, sure, I don’t see why not. You’re the owner, right? It’s your name on the deed?” She asked and he nodded.

“Yeah. We were going to put Juliette’s name on, just never got around to it. And then, I thought we were going to get married, so…yeah.” He told her, and Adalind looked thoughtful.

“It, um, should be fine then. I mean, if her name had been on it too, the magic might have worked anyway, since she walked out, and magic is all about intent, so.” She rambled, obviously uncomfortable with this minefield of a conversation.

Rosalee spoke up from the kitchen. “We can get you what you need from the shop, if it’s not here. We brought some stuff, and the book so, if you want to grab it and see which wards you want?” She offered, nodding over to the pile of things she had brought with her.

Adalind bustled over, glad to have something to do, to feel useful. Being here, in Nick’s house, was a stark reminder of all the trouble they had brought into each other’s lives. Her, more so than him, she thought. After all, if she’d just told Sean to go to hell…

She found the book, and leafed through it. Taking a seat on the undamaged couch, she was surprised when Nick got up from his chair and sat down next to her. Then she reasoned, he was just being practical, since he would have to choose the wards he wanted.

The two of them awkwardly leaned against each other so they could look through the spell book at the same time.

Adalind flicked through the pages quickly, until she got to the chapter she wanted. Skimming through the list of spells and wards, she briefly explained each one and its effects to Nick, leaving it up to him to decide what he wanted.

He got out his phone so he could take notes of the spells they chose and the ingredients they would need. Once the two of them had chosen the wards he wanted, Nick texted the list to Rosalee, so that she could compare what they needed with what she had already brought from the shop.

Nick sat next to Adalind on the sofa, feeling awkward. He wanted to get up and sit somewhere else, but he was worried about offending her. Surely, she would understand that he was uncomfortable around her? But then, the manners his aunt and mom had drilled into him were telling him not to be rude. She was in a very vulnerable position, and needed care.

It was a messed up situation all round, with an innocent baby due to arrive any day now.

“We’re gonna need to go back to the shop dude. We got nearly everything here, but there’s some stuff missing. You gonna be alright man?” Monroe interrupted his stressed ruminations, thankfully before he could fall down another rabbit hole.

“Yeah, we’ll be fine. Take Trubel with you? I know you can both handle yourselves, but with the royals…” Nick trailed off, but his point was clear.

“You sure you don’t need her here?” Monroe protested.

“I’d feel better if she went with you. We’ll be ok here.” Nick said, glancing at Adalind briefly, before looking away again. He got up to see them out, and then came back to stand self-consciously by the couch.

“Are you, are you OK? Do you need anything?” He asked Adalind, and she felt a rush of unexpected affection for him. He really was a good man. A properly good man, something she’d had little to no experience of in her life. Here she was, having turned his world inside out, more than once, and yet, he was worrying over her comfort.

“I, um, I am a bit cold.” She admitted hesitantly.

Nick gathered up some cushions and a blanket, and arranged them around Adalind so that her back was supported. He drew the blanket up and over her distended belly, jumping when his hand brushed her stomach and he felt a fluttering from within.

He glanced up and caught her eyes, and the two of them shared a brief look of surprise and happiness. Then, they both seemed to remember the situation they were in, and he hastily stepped back and offered to make her something to eat.

“I'll, uh, make some sandwiches. Would you like one?” He said, moving off to the kitchen.

Adalind nodded, smiling nervously. “Yeah, anything.” She said.

“Ham and cheese okay?” Nick called out, going over to the fridge to get the ingredients.

“Sounds perfect.” She called back.

“Lettuce, tomato, mayo?” Nick asked, coming over to the breakfast bar to put the sandwiches together. He got out two plates, and a sharp knife.

“I'm allergic to tomato.” Adalind told him, looking over at him from the couch.

“That's good to know.” Nick said, as he was about to cut a slice of tomato for her. Instead, he started cutting the lettuce.

“Is there anything else you're allergic to?” He asked, figuring that they would need to know these kinds of things about each other, if they were going to raise their child together. Despite feeling his child moving and knowing that the baby was a reality, the future was still somewhat unclear to him.

The only thing he was utterly and completely sure about, was that he wanted to be there for his baby boy. His child would never know what it felt like to be without his parents, not if Nick had anything to say about it.

Adalind’s answer brought his focus back to the task in front of him.

“Just raw tomatoes. I can eat them cooked. I actually make a pretty good Bolognese.” She said, a hint of a hopeful smile on her face. He wanted to encourage this new feeling of hope and reached out in his own way.

“I like Bolognese. I actually make a pretty mean-” His phone sounded a text alert. “Sorry.” He said, looking down at the message and seeing it was from Monroe. “They made good time,” he said to himself, and then to Adalind he said, “they’re already at the shop, they reckon they’ll be back in about a half-hour.”

He finished making the sandwiches, and put them on plates, and asked her if she would like a drink. She asked for water, and he obligingly got her a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and brought both plate and bottle over to her.

She thanked him, and dug in, while he went back to the kitchen and got his own plate and drink.

They ate in comfortable silence for a while, and he couldn’t help but think that this moment, right here, was the calm before the storm. It was so refreshingly domestic, that it actually gave him hope that the two of them could muddle through this somehow, and be good parents to their child.

And really, no matter how he had been conceived, he was innocent and deserved the best start they could provide. He felt purposeful, all of a sudden, and despite the craziness of the last twenty four hours, he had a clear goal.

It felt good, and so, he looked over to the woman having his baby, and smiled. A true, happy smile.

Her answering smile was hesitant at first, and then, as it spread across her face, making her eyes light in a way which stirred something in his chest, Nick felt downright enchanted.

Oh crap.

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long, once Monroe, Rosalee and Trubel had arrived back at Nick’s house, for them to, once again, divide up their tasks and get everything prepared for the spell casting.

Adalind was impressed by this spirit of cooperation, and it demonstrated to her, in a remarkably simple way, that her mother’s teachings of self-reliance and power for power’s sake, were fundamentally flawed.

Nick and his friends showed her that a truly strong person admits when they need help, and offers support to others in return. That true and steadfast friends, that family, were the real treasures and things were just that, things.

Adalind had never gone without material things as a child and a teenager, and, as an adult, she had thought that the lifestyle that Sean was seemingly offering, would make her happy. But having things and using the admiration of other people can never really give you self worth. When the locus of your self-worth is external, that is to say, when it’s not coming from within, then nothing will ever be enough. Things are cold comfort, and ultimately, will never fill a void within. That’s something you have to do for yourself.

If she’d had a mother who truly loved her unconditionally, then she could never have been tempted by Sean and the life he was pretending to offer her. Now, she realised, in all the scheming, in all her acquisitiveness, in all the god-awful plans she had gone along with, in reality, she had simply been searching for her mother’s love. Something she had never had, and never will have. And as much as she would like to scream and lash out at the world around her, and indulge in all the vindictive schemes her hexen spirit was whispering to her, she knew that road led nowhere good.

In fact, it would probably end in her death, or even more horrifyingly, the deaths of her children.

Such endeavours were, ultimately, pointless. She should have had loving parents, who nurtured her and kept her safe – taught her right from wrong, and how to love and respect her fellow creatures. But she didn’t, and she couldn’t change that. She was an adult now, with one child who-knows-where, and another on the way. Time to pull her socks up and start acting like an adult, a mother.

She suddenly felt incredibly free. 

It was as if a huge pressure, a massive weight, had just been lifted. She had nothing to prove, to anyone. She had no reason to compare herself to anyone. She was good enough, just the way she was. She could choose how to live her life, and her mother’s opinion counted for nothing.

Neither did Sean’s.

She did care what Nick and his friends thought, but she knew that they were good people. And, they seemed to be giving her a chance here, to do better, to be better. And she would not waste it. She knew enough about them now to see that, if she genuinely made the effort to do good, and be good, if she was honest with them, they would not forsake her.

And she could see that, even if she and Nick were only ever friends and co-parents, raising their child together, that that life could be a truly wonderful life. A life filled with friends, family, warmth and love. It would have none of the glitter and promises of power and magic that Sean and her mother had tempted her with before, but that was actually a blessing.

For the first time, she had a clear vision of her future, a happy future. Sure, there were details to work out, but she felt hopeful, as she had never really felt hopeful before.

Her attention was drawn from her thoughts by a gentle touch on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Rosalee.

Apparently, they were ready to ward the house.

Her positive feelings only increased, as she felt grateful for this chance to do something for the people who had put their necks on the line for her and her child. True, they hadn’t done it only for her, but still, they did more than anyone else ever had.

The warding itself was tiring, but not overly so, and had gone rather smoothly. Well, for the most part. Adalind had had a major wobble when Nick had suggested she add her own blood to the warding scheme. His friends had been shocked too, but when she stopped to think about it, it only made sense.

She was the mother of his child, and, even after she had given birth, would be his primary caregiver. Simply put, they would need somewhere to live, and somewhere safe for the child of the Grimm. In fact, Nick was giving her a great gift – a safe place for her and her baby, their baby, and the promise that he would not take their child from her. It was a purely practical decision, and yet...

She had to fight back tears, and stop herself from hugging him. She couldn’t help sniffing a bit, and he had rushed to apologise, but she had waived him off. She had blamed it all on the pregnancy, though she was aware no one believed her.

Once it was done, she allowed herself to be bustled off to rest by Rosalee, but had insisted that she be allowed to stay downstairs, just in case. So, she was once again on the undamaged couch, propped up by cushions, covered with a blanket, and sipping on some delicious tea, provided by Rosalee.

The others naturally drifted into the same room, and began discussing their next move. Juliette had been neutralised, for now. No one really knew how much had been her, and how much was her being a new hexenbiest. Adalind was not sure how Nick was feeling about his girlfriend. And though some might argue it wasn’t her business, she believed it was and is. If he and Juliette managed to salvage something out of this mess, and resumed their relationship, then Juliette would very definitely be part of their son’s life.

It could end up being incredibly awkward, but Adalind made a silent promise to Nick that, if that’s what he wanted, she wouldn’t get in his way. The secret attraction she had felt for him since they first met was something she could easily hide, hell she’d been repressing it for years, having previously believed herself mad, when she had fantasised about him. She would need to see some real progress on Juliette’s behalf before she let her get too involved with their son, but other than that, she would not stand in his way. No matter how attracted she was to him..

She only hoped she could live up to the good intentions she had right now, especially since she knew she had a very difficult road ahead of her. She was hopeful that she might be able to lean on the new set of people who now surrounded her. They were all good examples to follow, and Rosalee seemed like she might, at the very least, be interested in helping her stay on the good path, the right path.

The quiet atmosphere which had settled over the group  was broken suddenly, by the sound of Nick’s cell phone ringing.

He looked down at it and read the name on the screen. “It’s Henrietta,” he announced, answering the phone and putting it on speaker. “Henrietta, hi, I’ve got you on speaker.” He said.