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Chapter Text

***Sean’s POV***

Sean had to return to the precinct upon receiving word two deaths had occurred within the precinct itself. Sean had told his wife they would pick up the conversation later. She’d merely shrugged before rolling over to face away from him. It pained him to know that he was the cause of her pain. Where did he go wrong? When had he started to truly believe in what Black Claw was preaching? When he had first agreed to work with them, he had done so to protect his family. Because he thought he could use his position to mitigate whatever Black Claw had planned for Portland. He hadn’t considered himself a part of Black Claw. And now…no wonder Lorelei could barely look at him. Meisner was right. He had chosen the wrong side.

Arriving at the precinct, Sean approached Sergeant Franco. He found two uniformed officers dead, their throats ripped out. “What the hell happened here?” Sean asked Franco.

Franco sighed. “We’re not sure, Captain. All we know is what the jailer told us. Seven North Precinct cops were sent to transport Burkhardt to the North Precinct, and somehow, between the time he was taken out of the cell to before he got out of the building, these two got into it with somebody…or uh, something.”

Sean frowned as he looked at the bodies. So, they were from the North Precinct. Sean knew that was an all wesen precinct who were loyal to Black Claw. By the time Black Claw was done, the entire department would be wesen. It must have been part of Bonaparte’s plan, having Nick transported there. To what end? Sean didn’t know. And he probably never would. But that didn’t explain what had happened here. Nick did not have the ability to do this kind of damage. It looked as if the victims had been mauled. Probably by some type of wesen. Could it have been Monroe or Rosalee?

Franco was still filling him in. “There were no witnesses, the rest of us were out on a bunch of bogus 911 calls. And you know Captain, I think it’s a little too coincidental that we got those calls just when they were coming in to get Burkhardt.”

Sean was at a crossroads here. Black Claw would want him to blame this on Nick. Use the full force of the Portland PD to hunt him down. Treat him as a killer. Armed and dangerous with a shoot to kill order. Nick was a problem for Black Claw and if he wasn’t going to join them, they would want him dead. Why else would Bonaparte want to know where Nick was? He clearly wasn’t with the North Precinct any longer.

Or Sean could do the right thing by his wife. If anything happened to her brother, she would be devastated, especially if he had a hand in it. And she would know. He could stop cooperating with Black Claw. The only reason he had a problem with Nick was because of Black Claw. Because Nick wouldn’t be controlled. Sure, Nick had assaulted him, but the man had clearly been pushed to his limits. He had been separated from his son.

Sean sighed, running his hand over his face. “You may be right Sergeant. Call the North Precinct, see if Burkhardt made it there.”

Franco looked surprised. “You don’t think that Burkhardt is responsible for this, do you?”

Sean shook his head. “No. I don’t. But it is strange that when Burkhardt was being transferred, there were very few people here and a double homicide occurred at the same time. It’s possible Burkhardt was the target.”

Things had gotten more complicated. After being unable to contact anyone at the North Precinct, someone had been sent over there. All that was found were more dead bodies. It was a massacre. Sean figured that Nick had arrived at the North Precinct, but had escaped, possibly with help from his friends. Possibly Eve. It explained why Bonaparte had been so angry. Oh, this was a mess. Again, he could blame it on Nick. And this time he was probably responsible for some of the bodies, but more than likely the man had been fighting for his life. Black Claw were not going to be happy about this. They were going to expect him to take action. And, as Mayor, the public would be turning to him for answers on the death of so many officers. Someone would need to take the fall for the North Precinct massacre. But, for the sake of his marriage, it couldn’t be Nick. He could only hope the North Precinct’s surveillance footage had been down.

Sean had Franco issue an APB for Nick. Not as a suspect, but as a missing person. He told Franco to make sure that Sean was notified immediately if Nick was spotted. Sean was making use of his time to pack up his office. Since he was now Mayor, he would be resigning from his position as Captain.

At one point, Sean glanced outside his office to see Hank and Wu had arrived back and were speaking with Franco. Sean’s attention was diverted by an incoming phone call. He silently groaned, recognising the number. After making sure no one was approaching his office, Sean answered. “Yes.”

“Are you with Bonaparte?”

“No.”

“Where is he?”

“I’m not sure. I assume back at the mansion.” Sean told him.

“We have been unable to reach him.”

Sean rolled his eyes. “Perhaps he is sleeping. It’s 2:45am here.”

There was silence and then the call ended. Sean let out a breath. He had lied to Black Claw. Taken the first step in breaking away from them. But Sean knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Black Claw already had people loyal to them, waiting in the wings. People in positions of power, who would be receiving more power in a Black Claw controlled Portland. If they lost that power, they wouldn’t be too happy with him. The glint from his left-hand reminded Sean why he was making the change. If he continued down the path he was on, he could lose his wife. And that was unacceptable.

***Nick’s POV***

A part of Nick wasn’t sure about this, but he was desperate to see Kelly and Adalind. Maybe he would also have the chance to see his sister. Nick was surprised to find there were indeed a lack of guards around the large house owned by Black Claw. Although Nick was still worried this may be a trap, he kept going. Opening the front door, Nick peered inside. He was greeted by the sight of Adalind descending the staircase. His chest tightened at the sight of her. Closing the door behind him, Nick picked up the pace as did Adalind. She almost flew into his arms, her lips meeting his, their arms holding each other tightly.

“Thank god, you’re alive. This has been awful.” Adalind told him.

Nick’s gaze fell on Adalind’s neck. There were bruises in the shape of a hand. Rage filled Nick as he gently tilted Adalind’s chin up to get a better look. “Did Renard do this to your neck?”

“No. Bonaparte.” Adalind told him. “He wanted me to tell him where you were.”

“You mentioned he was dead?”

Adalind nodded. “Lorelei killed him when he started to hurt me.” Adalind said, a small smirk playing on her lips. “Made it look natural, so we’re going to say he passed in his sleep. His body’s actually in that chair.”

Nick looked in the direction Adalind nodded towards. In the sitting room, he could just make out the top of a head poking out. “How did she?”

Adalind shook her head. “I’ll explain later. Come on, Kelly’s in my room.” She said before grabbing his hand and leading him upstairs. “Lorelei’s in that room if you want to see her.” Adalind whispered as they passed a door.

Nick nodded, allowing himself to be lead through another door. As soon as he saw the crib, Nick hurried to it. “Hey.” Nick said softly as he carefully picked up his son who was smiling at the sight of him. Nick looked at Adalind. “Has he been ok?”

“Yeah, but I know he misses you.”

Nick looked back at Kelly. “Hey bud.” He said quietly, holding him close. He’d missed the both of them so much. These past few days had been hell. Nick looked at Adalind again. “How’s Lorelei doing?”

Adalind sighed. “Physically, ok. But I’m worried about her. I know she tries to hide it, but she isn’t doing well mentally. She thinks everyone hates her.”

Nick shook his head. “No. They don’t. We all know that she doesn’t agree with what Renard is doing. She’s just along for the ride.” He gently placed Kelly back in his crib. “I should see her.”

Staying close to Adalind, keeping his eyes peeled, he followed her into the room she had pointed out. “Nick?” His sister was sitting up in the bed. “Oh my god, Nick!”

Nick hurried to his sister’s side, helping her to stand before sweeping her into his arms. “I’m so glad you’re ok.” Nick murmured into her hair, holding her as close as possible.

“I was going to say the same thing.” Lorelei told him, her voice sounding choked up. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what was going on until it was too late.”

Nick pulled back, taking her face in his hands. “You listen to me; you have nothing to apologise for.” He told her, gently brushing the fallen tears away. “And I could never hate you. You’re my baby sister. Ok?”

Lorelei nodded. “Ok.” She whispered. After letting out a steadying breath, her expression changed. “We need to do something. We can’t stay here for much longer. We want to go home.”

Nick understood. He really did, but it wasn’t that easy. “I know, I know.” He said as he took Adalind in his arms. “You can’t leave yet, not until I deal with Renard.”

Lorelei sighed. “As upset as I am with my husband, I don’t want him dead. But he is Black Claw’s key to obtaining control of Portland.” She said slowly and Nick recognised the expression on her face.

“You have an idea?”

Lorelei nodded. “If Sean were to abdicate as Mayor, publicly. That would fuck things up for Black Claw.”

Adalind gave her a funny look. “There is no way he will do that.”

“We don’t need him to. All we need is someone who looks like Sean. And, for the real Sean to be kept busy while his doppelganger holds a press conference.”

A look of recognition crossed Adalind’s face. “The Verfluchte Zwillingsschwester.” She stated.

“Yep.”

Nick nodded. “That might actually work.”

Nick snuck out of the Black Claw mansion with a renewed sense of hope, as well as some of Renard’s clothes and hair. Nick had also received a call from Hank. Apparently, Renard had issued an APB for him. Although, according to Hank he was listed as a missing person. After what had happened at the North Precinct, Nick would have thought Renard would be trying to pin that on him, take him down using the law. Being told he was listed as a missing person instead of a suspect threw him. What was Renard playing at? Was he planning to set him up?

Nick still decided to err on the side of caution and keep a low profile. He filled the others in on the plan. There was some conflict about whether or not they should use the spell, considering the problems it had caused in the past. There was also some debate about who would turn into Renard. Ever since Nick had healed Eve with the stick, she had felt off. Turning into Renard had been hard enough when she was at full strength, but now she wasn’t sure she could undergo the transformation. Nick decided that he would be the one to do it. With the plan in mind, now all they needed to do was execute it.

Chapter Text

***Sean’s POV***

The sun had finally risen, and Sean was still at the precinct, running on very little sleep. When he had received the call that Bonaparte had been found dead, Sean couldn’t believe he had almost forgotten about that. Sean played his part, pretending to have no knowledge, asking how he died. Whoever had found him seemed to believe he had died of natural causes. He gave the caller permission to call for assistance. The body was picked up very quickly, thankfully before any of the children saw it.  Following that, Sean had a nerve-wracking call to advise those higher up that Bonaparte was dead, of apparently natural causes. There was, of course, disbelief about that being true. Surely the great Conrad Bonaparte didn’t meet his demise via natural causes. No doubt someone would be on their way to Portland soon to verify.

As luck would have it, the surveillance system at the North Precinct had gone down around the time Nick had been picked up. Meaning, there was no footage of the person or persons responsible for the massacre. There was also surprisingly little evidence that would aid in catching whoever was responsible. Still, knowing that people would turn to him for answers, Sean continued to act as if he were vested in the investigation. His only interest was in finding someone to shift the blame on to.

There was still no sign of his brother-in-law. No doubt he’d gone into hiding. Sean wasn’t sure how he could get the message to him that he wasn’t trying to kill him or arrest him. Hank and Wu were here, but there was no way in hell they would believe him. Neither would any of the others. Sean wasn’t even certain his wife would believe him at this point. Not that he could blame her. And it wasn’t as if he wanted to admit what had occurred the night before.

Sean was in his office when he received an unexpected visitor. “Jeremiah. Well, this is a surprise.”

The man was looking at him, a serious expression on his face. “We need to talk.”

Sean nodded. “Yeah, of course, come on in.” Sean told him. “Something about the campaign?”

Jeremiah had stepped further into his office by that point, turning to face Sean. “No, I don’t want to talk about the campaign.” He said his tone frustrated. “Shut the door.”

Sean wondered what this could possibly be about. “Alright.” Sean said as he moved to close the door. “What’s the problem?”

“Rachel Wood.”

Sean paused. Ah yes, the woman his daughter had killed. By this point Sean knew Rachel’s body had been found. Hank and Wu were working on the case. “Yes. Rachel’s death is a great loss. I assure you; it is being investigated.”

Jeremiah scoffed. “Your officers are investigating? That’s like a fox guarding the henhouse.”

Sean frowned. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“You were having an affair with her. And then you killed her to cover it up.”

Sean shook his head. “I was not having an affair with Rachel.” Sean insisted. “We worked together. Nothing more.”

Jeremiah shook his head. “That’s not what Rachel insinuated.”

Sean sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. “I am aware of Rachel’s attraction to me; however, I assure you it was one sided.”

“If you weren’t sleeping with her, then why were you at her house so late last night?” Jeremiah asked. Sean froze. It certainly wouldn’t be a good look, having someone witness him at Rachel’s house the night of her murder. “I saw you go into her house. When I went in after you left, she was dead. I found her body.”

“Look, I didn’t kill Rachel.”

Sean’s denial seemed to fuel Jeremiah’s anger. “I loved her. And you killed her.” Jeremiah let out an angry laugh. “And now your precinct is the one investigating her murder.”

Sean couldn’t help but feel a little pity for the man. However, he was aware that his accusations, if made public, may not end well for Sean. “What do you want?”

“Justice.”

“And you will get that, once my officers track down the real killer.”

Jeremiah shook his head. “You are unbelievable. Still denying it.”

The man was starting to annoy him. “And how do you expect to get justice if you don’t trust the system?”

Jeremiah straightened up, his expression changing. “Why don’t you think about how much it’ll cost to keep my mouth shut? You got 24 hours before this city knows what a great family man you are. And, out of respect for Lorelei, because she is a good woman, I’ll tell her before I tell the media.”

Sean clenched his jaw, any pity he had for the man disappearing at the mention of his wife. Despite Sean knowing that none of Jeremiah’s accusations were true, he didn’t want his wife to experience anymore distress than she already was. Sean glared at the man as he left his office. He needed to do something about him before he started flapping his gums.

Less than an hour later, Sean was speaking with a prospective candidate who would be taking over his position as Captain. “As you know, the new Captain of this precinct will be reporting directly to the mayor’s office.” Sean explained to Lieutenant Grossante.

“I understand.” Grossante said. “It would be an honour to succeed you, sir.”

“Yes, I know. Before I announce my decision, you’re gonna have to prove your loyalty.” Sean told him, quickly glancing out the windows before leaning forward, his voice dropping. “And not just to the mayor’s office…but to me.”

A smirk crossed Grossante’s face as he also leaned forward. “I’m ready anytime…sir.”

“What are you doing here?”

Sean was standing at the door of Jeremiah Rogers apartment. He wanted to deal with this as quickly as possible. “I have what you asked for.” Sean said, holding the briefcase up, allowing Jeremiah to see it through the peephole of his door.

“How much?”

Sean sighed. “If you want it, open the door.”

A moment later the door was opened, revealing Jeremiah with a gun in hand. Sean stepped inside. “I guess you don’t trust me.” He commented as Jeremiah closed the door behind him.

Jeremiah moved to stand opposite Sean, gun directed towards him. “Show me the money.”

Sean opened the briefcase and turned it around, allowing Jeremiah to look at it. His eyes widened slightly before his gaze returned to Sean. “Now, how do I know you’ll stop threatening me.”

“You killed the woman I love. You don’t deserve an answer to that question.”

“I did not kill Rachel.” Sean said, trying to keep calm.

Jeremiah scoffed. “If you’re innocent, then wouldn’t have paid.”

“Oh, I’m not paying.” Sean said, slamming the briefcase closed. “You are.”

Jeremiah frowned as Sean’s gaze lingered at something behind him. Jeremiah barely had a chance to look behind him before Grossante grabbed the man, slicing his throat from behind. Jeremiah breaths turned to gurgles as he fell to his knees, his gaze still on Sean. For a moment, Sean was taken back to Meisner’s death, and the action Sean had taken to hasten it. Sean was brought back as Jeremiah’s body hit the floor with a thud.

Grossante woged back as his gaze fell on Sean. “Sorry about the blood sir.” He said, referring to the streak of blood that had hit Sean’s shirt.

Sean smirked at him. “It’ll wash out.” Grossante returned the smirk. “Congratulations on your promotion…Captain.” Briefcase of money in hand, Sean headed for the door. “And when you’re done cleaning up, come meet me back at the precinct.”

Grossante nodded. “Thank you for the opportunity, sir.”

Sean returned to the mansion to change his shirt. As he entered the bedroom, he found Adalind and Lorelei talking. His wife was laying down, a heat pillow resting on her forehead while Adalind was sitting beside her. Both women looked surprised to see him. “Why are you home?” Adalind asked.

“I need a shirt.” Sean told her as he removed his jacket. “Are you alright, mon amour?”

“Yeah. Just a bit of a headache.” Lorelei replied. “The heat pillow is helping though.”

Adalind frowned as she looked closely at his shirt. “Is that blood?”

“It’s not important.” He told her.

Lorelei sat up, removing the heat pillow. “Are you hurt?” She asked concerned.

“No.” He assured her. Accepting his answer, Lorelei laid back down, returning the heat pillow to its position.

Adalind looked suspicious. “What happened?”

“Well, someone thought I killed Rachel.” He answered as he unbuttoned the bloody shirt. “Thought it’d be worth a lot of money not to say anything.”

“So, that’s not your blood.” Adalind slowly asked.

Sean scoffed. “Blackmail is risky business.” Sean answered as he headed towards the closet.

“You know. I think I see some blood in your hair.” Adalind told him

Sean frowned. “Where?” He asked, lightly patting his head.

“Maybe you should take a shower.” Adalind suggested “You don’t want the girls to see blood in your hair…or anyone else either.”

Sean sighed. He needed to get back to precinct, but she was right. It wouldn’t be a good look if anyone were to see blood on his person. Dropping the bloodied shirt on the chair, he changed direction and headed to the bathroom. After washing himself thoroughly, just to make sure there was no blood left behind, he stared getting ready to go out again.

“Now that you’re here, why don’t you just stay home?” Adalind suggested as he combing his hair.

“I gotta get back to the office.”

“Why? We can make dinner.”

Sean shook his head as he finished up in the bathroom. “Can’t.” Sean told her.

Adalind sighed, glancing at Lorelei. It looked as if his beloved had fallen asleep. Good, she needed it. “Come on Sean. You’ve barely been home. You should spend some time with your family.”

Sean didn’t need that reminder or the guilt trip. He was aware he hadn’t been able to spend as much time with his family lately. But once he took office, he would be able to do that. “I understand.” Sean told her as he grabbed another jacket from the closet. “Just not tonight.”

 “Well, there are things we need to talk about.”

“Like what?” Sean asked, pulling the jacket on as he started making his way towards the door.

“Well, Diana for one.” Adalind said walking beside him.

Sean looked at her. “Diana? Why, did she kill somebody else?”

Adalind looked frustrated. “No, Sean. She hasn’t killed anybody else, but she has other issues.”

Sean was getting frustrated himself. The mother of his eldest was so much more needy than his wife. Lorelei understood his job meant he couldn’t be as involved in the parenting decisions as they’d both like. If there was something that needed to be discussed and he had to leave, she typically waited until later on when he could devote time and attention the issue. “Can we just talk about this later?” Sean asked continuing his journey to the door.

“You want to put off talking about your own daughter? I mean, what kind of father are you?” Adalind hissed angrily, glancing at Lorelei to make sure she didn’t wake her.

Sean sighed in frustration. “Ok, all right, what?” He asked stopping and turning to face the blonde.

He must have surprised Adalind, as she appeared lost for words for a moment. “Well, her education, for one.”

Sean stared at her, inwardly rolling his eyes. “Her education?” He asked, waiting for Adalind to elaborate. “What about it? I mean, she’s getting an education from you and Lorelei.”

“I’m working again. And in a few weeks, Lorelei is gonna have four children demanding her attention. It’s not fair to put Diana’s education solely on her.”

Sean sighed. That was true. Even with the addition of nanny’s, it was going to be hard on his wife. “I mean, maybe it’s time we send Diana to school.”

“Ok. But where?”

“I don’t know. Just pick a place. Whatever you and Lorelei decide, is fine by me.”

Adalind glared at him. “Ok. One, just because Diana has two mom’s, doesn’t mean you get to flake out on parenting decisions. And two, this is Diana. It’s not going to be that easy to ‘pick a place’.” Adalind said. “What if she gets into a fight with a kid on a playground, or what if one of her teachers give her a time-out? I mean, that might be a forever time-out for the teacher.”

“Well, we’ll just have to explain to her that there are certain boundaries, all right? We’ll work it out.” Sean said before trying to move past her to get to the door.

Adalind moved to stand in front of him again. “No, I mean, she – she can’t go to a public school. She can’t go to a private school. We certainly can’t homeschool her any longer.”

Sean sighed in frustration. “Can we deal with this later?” He asked her. This really was a conversation that they could have at a later time. When Lorelei was awake and could chime in. She probably had some ideas now that they had started integrating Diana into the world.

“But, if she doesn’t go to school, she won’t have any friends.” Adalind said looking panicked. “I mean, she’ll have no sleepovers, no playdates. She’ll have zero social skills. How are we going to deal with it?”

“Ok, all right, I get it. Ok.” Sean told her. He glanced at his watch before looking back at Adalind. “I guess I can be a little late. What’s on your mind?”

Adalind looked surprised that he had agreed to discuss this now. “Uh, well, a lot of stuff.

Sean sighed; Adalind had been prattling on for the better part of fifteen minutes. “Alright, look, maybe I haven’t given Diana’s education a lot of thought.” He admitted. “But considering everything that’s been going on recently? I mean, look, her education is just as important to me as it is to you and Lorelei.” He said as he stood up from the armchair, he had seated himself in. “But right now, I have to go.”

As he headed towards the door, Adalind ran around the front of him. “You don’t know how happy that makes me to hear you say that.” She said, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Sean was surprised at the sudden show of affection, especially coming from Adalind.

Sean gently untangled himself. “Adalind, please, I have to go.”

“I know you have to go.” She said loudly. “And that is why it is so amazing that you stayed here to talk about our daughter. You are an amazing father.”

Sean nodded, inwardly rolling his eyes at her antics. “Ok, yeah, I just –.” Sean trailed off as he heard his own voice coming from the TV. He turned to look at it.

“Citizens of Portland. It is with great sadness that I stand before you tonight. Now, I wish to say that I am profoundly grateful to the people of this wonderful city…”

“What the hell.” Sean hissed as he grabbed the remote to turn up the volume. It may have looked like him on the screen but that was not him.

“For electing me as their mayor. But it has become apparent that the recent attack on the North Precinct will require my full attention. And I am therefore, abdicating the mayorship.”

Sean felt white hot rage at those words. “What!” He shouted.

“I cannot, in good conscience, leave the police department at its time of greatest need.”

“When did you record this?” Adalind asked.

“I didn’t record this!” Sean angrily said. “It’s live!”

“The recent manhunt for Detective Nick Burkhardt was actually an undercover investigation staged to bring the real killer to justice.” Sean glared at the screen. There was never a manhunt for Nick. But at least he knew who was responsible for this. And there would be hell to pay. “And now, since this is an ongoing investigation, I cannot further comment but I would like to thank Detective Burkhardt for his exemplary work and congratulate him on a job well done.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no!” Sean yelled, throwing the remote on the ground so hard it broke. “No!” Sean spun around to look at Adalind who was cowering against the wall, slowly sliding herself along it. No doubt heading towards his wife to use her as a human shield. “If I find out that you had anything to do with this…”

“What the hell is going on?”

Sean’s head wiped around the source of the voice. Lorelei was sitting up on the bed woken by his yelling. “Ask your friend.” Sean said in a low voice. He glared at Adalind one last time before leaving. He may not be working with Black Claw anymore, but he’d had every intention of retaining the mayorship. He needed to try and fix this mess.

Chapter Text

***Adalind’s POV***

Adalind took in a few breathes, letting them out slowly as she tried to calm herself down. She had never seen Sean that angry before and if it wasn’t for Lorelei; there is no telling what he would have done to her. “Are you alright?”

Adalind looked at Lorelei was now standing. She nodded. “Yeah.”

“So, I assume the plan was put into motion?”

“Yeah. Nick changed into Sean and announced live on TV that he was abdicating the mayorship.” Adalind explained. “Sean was not happy to say the least.”

Lorelei bit her lip. “No. He certainly wasn’t.” She said as she moved to where her handbag was sitting. “You probably shouldn’t be here when he gets back.”

Adalind nodded. “I agree.”

“Here, take my car and take the kids.” Lorelei told her handing her keys over.

Adalind looked at her in confusion. “You’re not coming?”

Lorelei shook her head. “I will. Eventually. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. But I want to tell Sean in person where I’m going. And he can either get with the program or live alone.”

Adalind was surprised, but Sean seemed to have push Lorelei to her limits. “You want me to take Liv?”

Lorelei nodded. “Yeah, just for the night, if that’s ok.”

“Of course.” Adalind told her.

Despite Adalind insisting that she could do it, Lorelei insisted on packing a bag for Olivia on her own. The pregnant Grimm pointed out that Adalind needed to pack up Kelly and Diana’s stuff, as well as her own items. Lorelei also sent Ella away, telling her they had things handled for the night. No further information was provided, and she didn’t ask any further questions. Lorelei kept an eye on the kids as Adalind started loading things up in the car. Diana was a little confused, but Adalind told her they were going home. She’d asked about Sean, Lorelei, and Olivia. Adalind assured her that they were going home as well. Sean wasn’t going to have much of a choice if he wanted to be with his family.

Hank and Wu arrived as Adalind and Lorelei were bringing the kids downstairs. Nick had sent them to help the women and children get out. Adalind was anxious to find out that not only was Nick still stuck as Sean, but he had also gone to meet Sean without any backup. Neither of the men were keen on leaving Lorelei behind, but she assured them she would be fine. Adalind had given her friend a tight hug, whispering for her to be careful. Although Adalind was confident that Lorelei could protect herself and that Sean would never hurt her; he was unpredictable at the moment. With Wu driving Lorelei’s car and Hank leading the way, Adalind bid a silent good riddance to the house that had seemed like a prison.

Hank and Wu took them to the spice shop. That’s where the others were trying to figure out how to turn Nick back into himself. By the time they arrived at the spice shop, Kelly and Diana had fallen asleep however Olivia was wide awake. Adalind pulled Kelly and his car seat out while Wu grabbed Olivia and Hank carried a sleeping Diana. They entered the shop to find Monroe, Rosalee and Eve discussing how to help Nick. Adalind looked at Rosalee while gesturing to Diana. “She fell asleep in the car.”

“I made up the bed.” Rosalee said leading her over to the bed. Hank gently laid Diana on the bed, covering her up with the blanket while Adalind set Kelly and his car seat on the end of the bed.

“Where’s Lorelei?” Eve asked, her gaze falling on Olivia. The little girl was perched on Wu’s hip smiling at everyone.

“She stayed behind.” Wu said, still not looking happy about it. “Said she’ll follow along at a later time.”

Monroe’s eyes widened and Rosalee looked concerned. “Does Renard know this whole thing was her idea?”

Adalind shook her head. “No. And I have a feeling she plans on telling him that herself. I think he’s really pushed Lorelei to her limits. She said she’s going home, and Sean can either go with her or live alone.”

“She’s staying with him?” Rosalee asked, clearly questioning Lorelei’s judgement.

Adalind decided to change the subject. “So, you said Nick is still stuck as Sean?”

Monroe nodded. “Yeah. We think it has something to do with him being a Grimm.”

Eve looked at Adalind. “You know more about these spells than anyone.”

“Walk me through exactly what you did.” Adalind said coming to stand beside Eve so she could see the book they were using.

***Sean’s POV***

Sean was going to kill his brother-in-law. He was actually going to kill him this time. Sean arrived at the precinct to be met by Wu. The man cockily suggested he shouldn’t go upstairs because there was already a Sean Renard up there. And then the man himself had arrived with Hank in tow. It was a surreal experience, facing oneself. Sean hadn’t been able to confront Nick as there were reporters on his tail. The older Grimm had snuck off, leaving Sean at the mercy of the reporters. Sean had tried to take back the abdication, insisting it hadn’t been him. However, he couldn’t explain who the person on the news was. Once in his office, Sean had slammed the door and thrown his tie on the ground. He was the mayor dammit, he won fair and square, he wasn’t going to give that up. However, he had no idea how to undo what Nick had done.

Upon realising that his computer and briefcase were missing Sean knew that he would have to confront the pain in his ass that was Nick Burkhardt. Who knew what else the man would do, running around the city looking like him. Pulling out his phone, Sean called Hank figuring he was still with Nick.

“Hey Captain.” Sean could hear the smugness in Hank’s voice. “How you doing?”

“Put him on the phone.”

A couple of seconds later he heard a familiar sounding voice on the other end of the line. “Thought I might hear from you.”

“So, it hasn’t worn off yet.” Sean commented.

“Nope, it hasn’t worn off...and it won’t unless we come to an agreement.” Nick told him.

Sean scoffed. “You think it’s pretty clever what you did. But this little game is over as of right now.”

“It’s not a game, and it’s not over.” Nick said. “Now, if you think Portland’s big enough for two Sean Renard’s, think again. You’ll always be contradicting yourself. No one is ever going to believe you. They might just think you’re crazy and lock you up.”

Sean clenched his jaw, trying to calm himself down. “Well, then I better have a talk to myself…face to face.”

Twenty minutes later Sean found himself, gun in hand, stepping out onto the rooftop he was meeting Nick on. Nick stepped out; his own gun directed at Sean. Sean stared at him, waiting for him to make a move.

“So, if I shoot you is that considered suicide?”

“I thought we were here to talk.” Sean asked him. “At least one of me is good for my word.” Sean threw his gun to the side. Nick considered him for a moment. Sean took a step towards him. “I really think there’s only room for one of me in this city.”

Nick lowered his gun before throwing it to the side, stepping closer to Sean. “Which one is that gonna be?”

Sean started to remove his jacket, with Nick mimicking him. Sean took the opportunity to get the first punch in. Nick stumbled slightly, his hand holding his face. He looked at Sean, letting out a little chuckle. “I thought I’d give you that one.” Nick said as he continued removing his jacket. Sean did the same. “I know how much you’re hurting right now.”

Jackets thrown to the side and the fight began. Having the same body, they were evenly matched. Sean increased his odds by woging, figuring Nick didn’t know how to do that. “I knew that was coming.” Nick commented picking himself up from where Sean had thrown him.

“What’d you expect, a fair fight?”

Nick stood up. “Not from you.” He replied.

Sean was surprised when, with some effort, Nick woged. Once Sean got over his initial surprise, he grabbed a pipe and swung it at Nick. Nick disarmed him, returning the fight to hand-to-hand combat. It got to the point where they couldn’t go on. Both battered and bruised, lying on the ground. “We can do this all night.” Nick commented.

Sean glanced over at him. “It won’t change a damn thing.” He said, trying to get to his feet.

“No. It won’t.” Nick agreed.

Sean glared at him. “I want my life back!”

Nick nodded. “Yeah, so do I.”

“But I get to be Mayor.”

Nick shook his head, scooting backwards to lean against the wall. “Not gonna happen. You already quit and everybody in Portland knows it.”

“HW is dead in Portland, Nick.” Sean reminded him. “So, you got no one backing you up.”

“Yeah, so is Black Claw, Sean. And with Bonaparte dead, you got no one to back you up either.”

Sean managed to get to his feet. “Yeah, well, someone’s going down for the North Precinct attack. And that’s not gonna be me.”

“Yeah well, someone’s going down for killing Bonaparte. And I’m sure we can both agree it’s not gonna be Lorelei.” Nick said standing up.

“Boneparte’s death looked like natural causes. And unless Black Claw figures out it was her, she’s not going down for that.” Sean sighed. “So, how do we do this?”

Nick thought about it. “Blame the North Precinct attack on Bonaparte.”

“How does that work?”

“Corrupt cops under Bonaparte’s control got greedy. They went after him; he went after them.” Nick explained. “That’s why you resigned the mayorship. You wanted to lead this investigation.”

Sean considered his plan. It could work. He still wasn’t happy about losing the mayorship. But what happened after that? “You really think we can go back to the way it was?”

Nick shook his head. “No, but we’ll figure out a way to make it work.”

“For both of us.”

“It’s the only way.”

Sean sighed. “I suppose you’ll be returning to the precinct.”

Nick nodded. “I will. As will Hank and Wu.”

“Sure, anything else?” Sean asked sarcastically.

“Yeah. I raise my son.”

“I raise my daughters.”

“Adalind comes with me.”

Sean was a little surprised by that. But he didn’t really care what Adalind did. “Lorelei comes with me.”

Nick paused. “I can’t make any assurances on my sisters’ behalf. Whether or not she still wants to be with you is up to her. But no matter her choice I will support her.”

Sean hadn’t considered the possibility Lorelei could leave him. Well, he had but had tried to avoid thinking about it. He had certainly put her through a lot. But surely, she wouldn’t leave him. Sean nodded before turning around to grab his gun and jacket. He paused looking back at Nick. “Just remember, Diana loves her daddy, she would hate it if anything bad were to ever happen to him. And if I ever see another me again, this deal is dead. And so are you.”

Sean arrived back at the mansion to find his wife sitting at the bottom of the stairs, a suitcase beside her. Sean froze. Was she leaving him? Was this it? Where was Olivia?

“You’re leaving?” Sean asked his voice thick with emotion.

Lorelei sighed. “Yes…no…kind of.”

Sean stared at her in confusion. “What?”

“I’m waiting for an ambulance. I think my preeclampsia might be getting worse, so as a precaution I am going to the hospital.” Lorelei explained. “The ambulance should be here soon.”

“You should have called me.” Sean told her.

Lorelei rolled her eyes. “You were a little busy. Based on the bruises, I am assuming you and Nick had it out.”

Sean glanced down at himself. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“And what was the result?”

Sean sighed; she was no doubt wondering if her brother was ok. “Nick is alive. We reached…an agreement.” Lorelei nodded slowly. Sean needed to know what would be happening with them. “Are you going to leave me?”

Lorelei let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. “No. But when I get out of the hospital I am going home. It will be up to you whether you join us.”

Sean nodded. Now that he wasn’t going to be mayor or associated with Black Claw, he couldn’t stay in this house. “Where’s Olivia?”

“I sent her with Adalind for the night. I wasn’t sure what kind of state you’d be in when you returned.” Lorelei told him. There was a moment of silence. “Look, Sean. I am not happy with you right now.”

“I know.” Sean said quietly, unable to meet her eye.

“I don’t think you quite understand the impact your choice has had on me. You signed us up to join something akin to a cult.” That was an interesting way to describe Black Claw. “I was supporting you to become mayor, not aid in world domination. You isolated me from my support system at a time when I needed them the most. You left me alone in this house by myself, in fear for my life and the life of my children.” Sean stared hard at the floor. “I don’t even know everything you have done that impacted my friends and family. And I’m not sure I want to know.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to end up like this.” Sean told her.

Lorelei sighed. “I’m sure you didn’t. But it did end up like this.” Lorelei said. “You started buying into Black Claw’s ideology. Something had to be done. So, I suggested that someone pretend to be you to force your hand.”

Sean looked up quickly. “What?”

“You heard correctly. The whole plan was my idea. I handed over your hair and your clothes. Because I needed this to end. I couldn’t live like that any longer. I was miserable. I was going to a dark place. So, I played a part in forcing your hand.”

Sean stared at her. This has all been Lorelei’s idea. He was no longer mayor because of his wife. Sean wasn’t sure how to feel about it, however he couldn’t blame her. His soulmate had been suffering and he was too selfish to do anything to help her. He just kept hoping she would eventually get used to it. It was his fault she had gone behind his back. Before Sean could say anything, he heard a knock at the door. “Paramedics.” A voice called out.

Sean spun around and strode over to the door, opening it up. He allowed the paramedics in and showed them to his wife. He stood back as Lorelei explained the situation. Her mood had changed, she seemed more upbeat with the paramedics. It was determined that they would take her to the hospital, just to be safe considering her history. Lorelei insisted Sean stay behind, saying there was no point in him hanging around the hospital all night and she promised to contact him once she knew more. Sean knew Lorelei needed some space from him and he didn’t begrudge her for that. Sean had a lot of self-reflecting to do. He also needed to clean his wounds both physical and those to his ego.

Once Lorelei had been taken away Sean moved upstairs to the bedroom. He slowly started removing his jacket. Damn, he hurt everywhere. Sean suddenly heard a voice from behind him. He pulled his gun out and spun around the face the person it belonged to. He couldn’t see who it was, they were seated on the armchair, their face shrouded in darkness.

“So, how did it go?” there was something familiar about the voice. The man stood up and moved into the light. Sean’s eyes widened in surprise. “I tried to tell you. You chose the wrong side, Sean.”

Chapter Text

***Sean’s POV***

Sean stared at the man before him. How was this possible? He was dead. Sean knew that for certain. Yet he here was, standing in front of him. He must be seeing things. “You’re not real.” Sean told him.

“Real enough that you’re talking to me.” Meisner said.

Sean shook his head. “No. No, you’re dead.”

“Does that really matter?”

Sean slowly lowered his gun and stepped a little closer to him. “What do you want?”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to get the hell out of here.” Sean replied, trying not to freak out.

Meisner scoffed. “I’m not gonna make it that easy for you.”

Sean stepped forward quickly, placing his hand against Mesiner’s chest. His eyes widened as he made contact with it. “Oh, I’m here. You sure you want to do this, so soon after your little tussle with Nick.”

Sean just stared at him. The silence broken when his phone started ringing it. “Go ahead.” Meisner said. “Take it. I’m in no hurry. It could be your wife…or the paramedics.”

His eyes still on Meisner, Sean pulled his phone out of his pocket, glancing at the caller ID. “What?” Sean asked the person on the other end.

“I saw what you did on the news.”

Sean shook his head. “That wasn’t me.” He insisted.

“Do you know how much time and blood it took to get you elected mayor?”

“That was the Grimm.”

“How?”

Sean turned away to avoid Meisner’s judgemental stare. “If you really want to know, it’s an ancient hexenbiest shapeshifting spell called the Verfluchte Zwillingsschwester.” Sean told him angrily.

“You’re a zauberbiest, you should have known this would happen.”

“Oh, really? You have a lot of experience with the Verfluchte Zwillingsschwester?” Sean’s voice was increasing in volume as his anger and frustration came out.

“If Bonaparte was still alive, you wouldn’t be. Your mistake has cost us more than you know.”

“No, my mistake was thinking that you knew what you were doing.” Sean said before hanging up the phone. Letting out a breath, Sean turned to face his other current problem only to find Meisner gone.

Sean spun around, looking at the different areas in the room. There was no sign of him. But he had been there. Sean had spoken to him, touched him. What the hell was going on?

***Lorelei’s POV***

God, what a day. Hell, what a week. Lorelei let out a sigh as she stared blankly at the wall. She had been moved up to the maternity ward after the ER had determined it would be best to admit her. Blood and a urine sample had been taken, and she was still waiting on the results. It was after Adalind and the kids left when Lorelei realised something wasn’t right. The headache wasn’t going away, she started to feel nauseous and had thrown up. She was also experiencing some pain in her upper abdomen. Despite wanting to speak with her husband, Lorelei had made the decision to call for an ambulance. She couldn’t risk the possibility that her preeclampsia was getting worse.

Sean had arrived back before she left for the hospital. She’d had the chance to get some of the things she wanted to say off her chest. She’d also wanted to be the one to tell him that having someone impersonate him had been her idea. He needed to know the impact his choices had on her personally. She’d not had the time to go into detail, and she was sure he knew to some extent, but she needed to say it. Lorelei had been sure Sean would be angry with her for betraying him. However, he seemed to accept it. Which was good, because if not for him she never would have done that. Lorelei loved that man to death, she had no plans on leaving him, but what he had done couldn’t be without consequences. Lorelei wasn’t sure exactly what deal Sean and Nick had struck, but hopefully there wouldn’t be further problems.

Lorelei had been on the ward for about an hour and a half when the on-call OBGYN came in, followed by a nurse wheeling an ultrasound machine. “Lorelei?” She asked. Lorelei nodded. “Hi, my name is Dr Rushton, I’m the OBGYN working tonight. How are you feeling?”

Lorelei shrugged. “I don’t know. A little freaked. But I’m not feeling nauseous anymore, so I guess the anti-nausea medication worked.”

Dr Rushton nodded. “That is good to hear. I got your test results back. It’s as you suspected, results indicate your preeclampsia has reached a severe level, so you made the right call by coming in.”

“Ok.” Lorelei said slowly. She had been hoping she was wrong.

“Results also indicate hemodylsis, your platelet count is low, and liver enzymes are elevated.”

Those seemed familiar, Lorelei could recall reading about them when reading about preeclampsia. “HELLP syndrome?”

Dr Rushton nodded. “Yes. You’re familiar with it?”

“I remember reading about it. It can affect your blood and your liver?”

“That is correct. I want to send you down to get some more scans to give us a better idea what we are working with. Before we do that, I wanted to quickly check on the babies.”

Lorelei was relieved that the little ones seemed to be doing well. Whatever was going on in her body wasn’t impacting them. Both girls were still head down and had moved further down into her pelvis. Once confirming the babies were fine, Lorelei went off to get her scans done. Once they were completed, she was returned to the ward. Lorelei tried to sleep but woke up every time the nurses came in to check her vitals. At one point, a nurse told her they were giving her something to prevent seizures. It was close to sunrise when Lorelei decided to give up on sleep. Grabbing her phone, she sent a message to Sean updating him. She’d sent a couple over the course of the night to let him know what was happening.

Her husband made an appearance around 8am. Lorelei was sitting up in bed eating breakfast. The knock at the door had her looking up to find her husband standing there awkwardly. Lorelei smiled at him, a genuine smile. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Sean said, returning her smile although there appeared to be relief behind it. He approached her bed. “How are you feeling?”

Lorelei sighed. “Tired. Mild headache.” She shrugged. “Could be worse though.”

“Has the doctor been in to see you this morning?”

Lorelei shook her head. “Not yet. Soon hopefully.” She looked closely at her husband, noting the bags under his eyes. “Did you sleep?”

Sean nodded. “Yeah, I got some sleep.” He replied.

Lorelei noticed he seemed to be having a hard time looking her in the eye. She sighed. “Sean. Look at me.”

After a moment, his gaze met hers. She could see the fear in his eyes. He was afraid she was going to leave him.  Lorelei patted the bed before holding her hand out to him. Sean took her hand, holding it tightly as he sat on the edge of the bed. “When I get out, are you coming home with me?”

Sean nodded. “If you want me to, I will.”

“I want you to. But our home, not Black Claw’s.”

Sean nodded again. “I’ll make arrangements to have our belongings moved back home.”

“You’ll also need to contact Angela. Someone needs to watch Olivia and Diana while I’m in the hospital and you’re working.”

“I’ll call Angela on my way to work.” Sean said, his hand still tightly clutching hers. “And I will avoid working late so I can be there for the girls.”

“Are you going to be alright on dad duty? I don’t think you’ve done any solo parenting, at all.”

Sean rolled his eyes. “I am perfectly capable of taking care of my daughters without a chaperone.”

Lorelei smiled at him teasingly. “Just checking.” She told him. Sean returned the smile before bringing her hand up and pressing it to his lips before allowing it to rest in his lap.

“Hello you two.”

Sean and Lorelei glanced at the door to see Dr Brody standing there. “Hi Dr Brody.” Lorelei greeted her. “Got any news for me.”

Dr Brody nodded. “I do indeed. I’ve just finished meeting with the OBGYN on last night. We were looking over your results. You really are an overachiever aren’t you, Lorelei?”

“Preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome?”

“Yes. Thankfully, we are not seeing any damage to any of your major organs at this time, so you came in at the right time. You are stable; however, we do need to start seriously considering getting those girls out.”

Sean squeezed Lorelei’s hand. “How soon?”

“Because Lorelei is stable, I would like to wait a few more days before delivering.” Dr Brody looked her Lorelei. “I’ll be starting you on corticosteroids to help the girl’s lungs mature a little bit more. We’ll also keep you on the magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures in addition to your blood pressure medication.”

Lorelei nodded. “Do you think I’ll still be able to deliver vaginally?”

“At this stage, I am leaning towards yes.”

Lorelei gave a little fist pump. “Yes.”

Dr Brody laughed as Sean shook his head. “You are the only expectant mother I know happy about the prospect of going through a vaginal delivery.”

Lorelei shrugged. “I just don’t want a c-section if I can help it.”

Dr Brody nodded understandingly. “I get it. I do.”

After Dr Brody left, Lorelei saw her husband had a troubled look on his face. “Sean, you better not be blaming yourself for this.”

“My actions certainly didn’t help.”

Lorelei rolled her eyes. “Probably not, but so help me, if you don’t stop making this about you, Imma smack you.”

Sean sighed. “I’m sorry. You married a selfish man.”

“Yeah, and one who makes stupid choices. Seriously, I’m under twenty-five and my brain isn’t fully formed, yet you are the one doing stupid shit all the time. What gives?”

Sean ducked his head although Lorelei could see the corner of his mouth curling up. His gaze dropped to his watch, and he sighed. “I should get to work. You’ll keep me updated?”

Lorelei nodded. “Of course. Don’t forget to call Angela. Hopefully she can resume her duties tomorrow.”

“I’ll call her. You just focus on yourself and the twins.” Sean assured her.

There was a pause and Lorelei saw Sean’s eyes drop to her lips. Internally rolling her eyes, Lorelei grabbed him by the tie and pulled him in for a kiss. His hand slid into her hair, gripping at her hair. Lorelei’s hand moved from his tie to cup the back of his neck. Sean let out a sigh of contentment as he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. “I love you.”

“I love you. Even though you’re an idiot.”

***Sean’s POV***

Once the way to precinct, Sean called Angela who was more than happy to resume her duties. The woman seemed unaware of Sean’s involvement with Black Claw, and he would prefer to keep it that way. Angela was concerned to hear that Lorelei was in hospital but pleased to know the twins would be arriving soon. She informed she would speak with her sisters to start getting things prepared for the twin’s arrival. Arriving in his office, Sean had settled in his chair drinking his coffee as he looked over the headline of today’s paper announcing his abdication. Sean was bitter about the loss of position, but there was no way to take back what Nick had done. He would just have to learn to accept it. Although perhaps it was a blessing in disguise considering the twins would be here soon. It would be easier to take time off work so he could support his wife.

Outside he heard a round of applause. Looking up, he saw Nick and Hank had arrived. They were considered heroes. Everyone believed they helped catch the person responsible for what occurred at the North Precinct. Nick’s idea for palming off the responsibility for the North Precinct massacre and Bonaparte’s death was working. Although this idea also made it appear that Sean was a hero, he wasn’t happy with Nick, Hank, and Wu. Once the crowd had cleared Sean stepped out to address the trio. “You three, my office.” The three of them entered his office seeming a bit apprehensive. “Why don’t you close the door.” Wu did so as Sean faced the three men. Sean sighed. “Well, we’ve all made mistakes.” He saw them exchange looks. “That was one hell of an undercover operation that ‘we’ pulled off.”

Nick smirked at him. “Yeah, you looked pretty good on TV.”

Sean glared at him. “Yeah, well you didn’t.” Sean clapped back.

Nick glanced at Hank and Wu before looking back at Sean. “People really seemed to like it.”

“I know I did.” Hank added.

Wu also decided to comment. “Sometimes, Captain, you have to sacrifice for the good of the –.”

“Shut up.” Sean told him. They were deliberately rubbing this in his face. And they may not like him, but he was still their Captain and deserved to be treated with respect. “Let’s get one thing straight here. I’m in charge of this precinct.  Any of you get out of line again, you will be outta here.”

“So…no medals, then?” Nick asked. He was really pushing it.

Sean sneered at him. “Get out.”

Smug expressions still in place, they silently left his office. Sean picked the paper back up, staring at it. “Well, I don’t think that was in the spirit of reconciliation.” A familiar voice said from behind him.

Sean turned around to find Meisner there, wearing a suit. He glared at the man. “You get out too.”

“I would, if I was here.”

“You’re standing here ‘cause you’re dead?”

“Aren’t you worried about the fact that you’re talking to someone who isn’t even here?” Meisner asked him.

Sean glared at him as he picked up his coffee mug. “Oh, let’s see how here you really are.” Sean told him, moving to approach him.

Meisner’s eyes widened and he backed away. “Whoa, now wait a minute, Sean’s, that’s hot coffee.”

Sean flung the hot coffee at the man. His own eyes widening as the coffee went right through the man, splattering against the window.

Meisner looked at the splatter before turning back to Sean. “Talk about hot coffee going right through you.”

Sean sighed, the fight leaving him. The man was definitely not solid. Was he a ghost? “Why are you doing this?”

Meisner shrugged. “Well, my calendar’s pretty open, seeing as how I’m dead.”

“Look, if this is some kind of revenge haunting don’t forget I shot you to put you out of your misery.” Sean reminded him.

Meisner’s expression softened slightly. “Oh, and I thank you for that. Really.” His expression changed again. “But don’t forget you betrayed us all. It’s the real reason I’m dead.”

“No, I gave you an opportunity to join me.” Sean shouted at him.

“Don’t think you cleared that with your friend Bonaparte.” Meisner pointed out.

Sean sighed in frustrated. “All right, I don’t have to listen to any of this.” Sean said heading to the door.

“By the way.” Sean paused looking at Meisner, who had a cheeky smile on his face. “Bonaparte says hi.”

Sean glared at him before exiting the office, slamming the door behind him.

Thankfully, he didn’t see Meisner for the rest of the day. Sean left work early that day, heading to the Black Claw mansion to finish packing up his family’s stuff. It mainly consisted of clothing. Everything else was still at home. Black Claw had provided everything. Once he had returned their possessions to the house, he went grocery shopping. Lorelei had called earlier to let him know that he would have both girls with him this evening.  Adalind would be dropping them off later this evening. His wife was in good spirits despite being in hospital; however, the most recent blood test detected a drop in iron levels and her platelet count. She was currently receiving a blood transfusion to try and mitigate that.

The sun had set when Adalind dropped the girls off. Sean opened the door and was immediately greeted by Diana. “Daddy.” She said, throwing her arms around him.

“Hey, honey.” Sean said, holding her tightly. As Diana stepped away, Olivia took her place. “I’m so happy to see you both.”

“I missed you and Mama.” Diana told him as Sean stood up, Olivia still in his arms.

“We missed you too.”

Adalind looked at Diana. “I will be ready to pick you up tomorrow, or before, if you change your mind.”

Diana smiled at her. “I’ll be ok. I love you.” She said before giving Adalind a hug.

“I love you too.”

After saving goodbye, Adalind left. Diana turned to look at Sean as he closed the door. “So, what do you feel like doing? Do you, uh, wanna watch a movie or are you hungry?”

Diana thought about it. “I’m hungry. What about you Livy?”

Olivia rubbed her stomach. “Hungry.”

Sean smiled at his girls. “Alright, let’s go make dinner.”

They headed into the kitchen and Sean started to prepare the food with some help from the girls. Olivia was standing on a little footstool at the counter while Diana was preparing to add the pasta to the water. “No, honey, you have to wait until the water boils before you pour that in.” Sean told Diana.

She glanced at him. “It is.”

“Sweetie, the stoves not even…on.” Sean trailed off as he heard the water in the pot start to boil. Diana removed the lid and poured the pasta in. After placing the box down, she turned to look at Sean.

Sean chuckled. “It must be fun being you isn’t it.” He commented as Diana moved to continue working on the garlic bread. Out of the corner of his eye, Sean saw Olivia reach out and grab yet another piece of bell pepper and pop it in her mouth. “Olivia, if you keep eating the bell pepper there won’t be any left for the pasta sauce.” His youngest gave him a cheeky grin and Sean chuckled again.

Once dinner was ready, the three of them sat at the table eating. Sean was regretting the white shirt he was wearing. Although Olivia was reaching the point where she could feed herself, she still required some assistance. However, his toddler wasn’t keen on the help. As a result, she got bolognaise everywhere in her immediate vicinity. She’d definitely be needing a bath. And his shirt would need a soak.

Upstairs, he got them into the bath. Once they were both clean, he allowed them some extra time in the bath. Diana entertained Olivia by enlarging the bubbles and floating them to the roof where they burst. Olivia laughed as if it were the funniest thing she had ever seen. Once they were clean and dressed, the three of them settle on the couch watching a movie.

“Daddy. When is Mama coming home?” Diana asked him as the movie was ending.

Sean sighed, glancing down at Olivia, sprawled on him fast asleep. “I’m not sure. But when she does come home, your baby sisters will be here.”

Diana smiled widely.  “I can’t wait.”

Sean smiled back at her. “You like being a big sister?”

Diana nodded as she looked at Olivia. “It’s my job to protect my little brother and sisters.”

“It is. But you don’t need to protect them all the time. That’s the responsibility of us parents.” Sean told her. Diana nodded. “Come on, the movie is over. It’s time for bed.”

Chapter Text

***Sean’s POV***

Once the girls were settled in bed, Sean headed for his own bedroom determined to get a full night’s sleep. As he was grabbing his sleepwear he paused, sensing another presence. “You gonna follow me everywhere?” Sean asked with a sigh.

“I imagine it feels good to be home, Sean. But I’m not following you.” Meisner replied. “I’m haunting you. There is a difference.”

Sean turned to face him. “Well, it’s annoying in either case.”

“You know, it’s been a while since I’ve seen her.”

Sean frowned. “Seen who?”

“Diana. I was there when she was born. It’s quite an experience” Meisner commented. “I’m not really used to bringing life into the world.

“Is that what this is about?” Sean asked feeling frustrated. “You want some thanks for being there when I couldn’t be? Well, thank you, really. Thank you for being there. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for Diana and me.” Sean turned away from him and started unbuttoning his shirt.

“It’s too bad you didn’t think of that.” Meisner replied. “Before, you know, that betrayal thing.”

Sean looked at him and let out a bitter laugh. “Now is this gonna be a regular treat with you? You’re gonna keep showing up here and making me feel sorry? Because I don’t do sorry very well.”

“Do I look shocked?”

“Look, we had some good times together, and I really appreciate everything you’ve done for all of us. For Diana, for Adalind, and me. Did I leave anybody out? Because I would really like to be done with this, once and for all.”

Meisner shrugged. “I’m not sure I can commit to a half-assed haunting, Sean.” Sean sighed. Of course it wouldn’t be this easy. “I mean, you wouldn’t respect me if I were to take a cheap thank you and drift off into whatever awaits me. I think we have some real issues to work through.”

“I’m tired. I just wanna get some sleep.” Sean said, almost pleading with him. “I’d love it if you got the hell out of my room.”

“Well, there’s the problem. Am I in your room or am I just in your mind?” Meisner asked. Sean just stared at him. “Now, that’s just awesome. Am I even here?” He said, sitting down.

“Ok. Fine. You take the bedroom.” Sean told him before storming off downstairs. Breathing heavily, he headed straight for the bar. He wasn’t going to get drunk, he just needed something to take the edge off.

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Sean froze. Dammit. “I’ve heard the only way to battle your demons is to take a trip to their hell.”

The sound of a gunshot had Sean woging as he spun around. As he did so, there were more gunshots and multiple Meisner’s laying on the ground, dead. With every gunshot, another body appeared. What was happening to him?

Sean didn’t have the best night sleep. Eventually the gunshots stopped, and the bodies disappeared. Meisner left him alone, but Sean was sure he would return. Despite the lack of sleep, Sean was grateful when the sun rose. It meant the girls would be waking up. Meisner hadn’t bothered him when he was with them, so he was hoping their presence would keep Meisner away. Olivia was the first to wake, calling out for him. Sean felt himself relax when he entered her room to see her smiling at him. Diana woke up not long after that. He got the two ready for the day before the three of them had breakfast. Angela arrived while they were eating, and both girls were happy to see her. Eventually Adalind arrived to pick Diana up, and Sean headed to the hospital to visit his wife before he headed to work.

Later that day, Sean decided to seek help for his ghost problem. Luckily, Angela was willing to stay with Olivia for a little bit longer. Knowing his youngest was taken care of, Sean headed to meet an old…acquittance. “Things haven’t been going so well for you.” Steiger commented upon seeing Sean.”

“They haven’t.” Sean confirmed.

“I voted for you. Why’d you quit?”

Sean sighed. “It wasn’t me.”

Steiger raised an eyebrow, looking sceptical. “Looked like you.” Sean gave him a look and Steiger chuckled. “You’re telling someone used a Verfluchte Zwillingsschweste on you.”

“That’s not why I’m here. I…I need your help.” Sean said awkwardly. He hated asking for help or admitting weakness. But he needed this issue dealt with.

“Well, I didn’t think you came in to buy a guitar.” Steiger straightened up, crossing his arms. “What’s the problem?”

“I’m being haunted.” Sean admitted.

“Hmm. Anybody you know?”

Sean nodded. “Yeah.”

“Were you responsible for the death?”

Sean clenched his jaw. “In a way.”

“You wanna narrow that down a little?”

Sean huffed. “Look, I killed him to put him out of his misery. And this is the thanks I get. I just wanna know if it’s real or if I’m losing my mind” Sean told him, starting to get worked up.

“All right, all right, all right.” Steiger said in a placating tone. He sighed. “This isn’t going to be simple. Would did you bring me in order to find out?”

Sean held up his right hand before pulling the ring off. “This was my father’s.  And his father’s before him.” Sean told him before handing the ring over. Despite the pain caused by that side of the family, Sean wore the ring as a reminder that he didn’t need them, that he had made his own way in the world.

Steiger took the ring from Sean, examining it closely. “All right then. Let’s go find out if this ghost is real.” He stared walking towards a double set of curtains. “This way.”

Sean followed, pausing as Steiger opened the curtains revealing a large glass box. He moved behind it, pushing it into the main shop. Sean stepped forward to take a closer look. “Aspirateur d’Esprits.” Sean read out. He gave Steiger a confused look. “A spirit vacuum?”

Steiger nodded. “If any spirits are attached to you, this will pull them out.” He informed Sean.

Sean sighed. “What am I supposed to do?” He asked, looking at the box sceptically.

“Take off your clothes and get in.”

Sean stared at him in disbelief. “Seriously.”

“You want to find if your haunting is real, don’t you? If it’s all in your head, nothing will happen.”

With a sigh, Sean stared removing his clothes. He had to find out for sure. Once Sean had undressed, he stepped inside, and Steiger closed the door behind him. “You ready?” He asked.

Sean nodded. “Let’s get this over with.” It was hot inside this box. Was it supposed to be this hot?

Steiger flicked a switch and machine came to life. It was loud. Sean watched as Steiger adjusted different knobs and switches. Sean stared to feel unwell and in pain. It felt like…something was being sucked out of him. He groaned before crying out as the pain grew in intensity. “It shouldn’t be too long now.” Steiger informed him before giving him a thumbs up.

Sean clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as the pain got worse. As he shouted out in pain, he became aware of some kind of mist inside the box with him. He stared at it in surprise. There was more pain, and he cried out again. As he opened his eyes, he saw Steiger fall to the ground. As the man stood up, Sean saw that it wasn’t Steiger, but Meisner dressed as he had been the day he died, bullet wound in the centre of his forehead. Sean stared at him in fear as Meisner hit another switch. The noises coming from the machine grew louder. Sean yelled out as banged his fists on the door, trying to get out. This was it. Meisner was getting his revenge. The pain intensified and Sean felt himself starting to lose consciousness. The last thing he saw was Meisner’s face staring at him.

When Sean regained consciousness, he was surprised. The shop was empty. Truly empty. There was nothing in it. As Sean slowly got up, he realised he was wearing his clothes, yet couldn’t recall getting dressed. What the hell? Sean slowly walked towards the door, glancing outside. His gaze fell on the hand that once held his father’s ring. It wasn’t there. Hearing something behind him, Sean spun around, finding himself face to face with Meisner. “The mind is a terrible thing to lose.” And then he was gone.

Sean had no idea what the hell happened. Maybe he was losing his mind. But he clearly remembered entering a shop, speaking with Steiger, the pain associated with being in the Aspirateur d’Esprits. It had to have happened. His ring was gone. But where was Steiger? What happened to his pawn shop? Rattled, Sean decided to get out of there. He needed to go home. By the time Sean arrived home, he’d convinced himself nothing had happened. None of the events of the past couple of hours occurred.

“I’m sorry I’m so late.” Sean told Angela after entering the house.

Angela had been about to walk upstairs. She had Olivia and a bottle in hand. “That’s fine Sean.” Angela assured him. “I was just about to put this one to bed.”

“I can do that.” He told her.

Angela nodded, handing Olivia over to him. “I left a plate in the fridge for you. She’s been fed, bathed and has a clean diaper. I’m a little late getting her to bed because we went to visit Mommy and she had a nap on the way home.”

Sean pressed a kiss to Olivia’s head. “Thank you. How was she today?”

“Good. Although there were some tears when we left the hospital.” Angela informed him.

Sean glanced down at Olivia who was resting her head on his shoulder, sleepily rubbing her eyes. She was definitely ready for bed. Sean looked back at Angela. “Thanks again Angela. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

As Angela let herself out, Sean took Olivia upstairs. “Did you have a good day today?” He asked her as settled in chair in her bedroom. Olivia nodded. Sean shifted her so he was cradling her before handing her the bottle of milk. As she drank her milk, Sean gently spoke to her, telling her about his day. Well, not everything, of course. Once the milk was gone, he stood up and tried to lay her in her crib. But she was having none of it, she started crying and clinging to him. “Hey, what’s all this?” Sean asked softly as he held her close.

Olivia quietened down, only letting out little sniffles as she snuggled against him. Sean returned to the chair, keeping his daughter close, gently rubbing her back and pressing little kisses to the top of her head. “It’s alright. Daddy’s here.”

Eventually his little princess fell asleep, and Sean was able to transfer her to the crib without any fuss. He moved downstairs to grab the plate Angela left for him. Once he’d eaten his fill, he returned upstairs to start getting ready for bed himself. Hopefully, hopefully, he’d be able to get a good night’s sleep. As he settled in bed, he sent a message to his wife wishing her a good night. The house felt so empty without her, the bed even more so. Sean hoped she wouldn’t be gone for much longer. Dr Brody had discussed inducing Lorelei on Sunday if the twins didn’t start to come on their own. In light of that information, Sean had advised his higher ups that he would be starting paternity leave on Saturday and would be on paternity leave for a minimum of two weeks.

Glancing at his phone, Sean was disappointed Lorelei hadn’t replied, but she was no doubt sleeping. At least he hoped she was. She needed her rest. Rolling over to Lorelei’s side of the bed, Sean buried his face into her pillow, inhaling her scent as he drifted off to sleep.

“Daddy. Daddy.” Sean slowly opened his eyes as he heard Olivia calling out for him. He froze when he realised her voice wasn’t coming from the baby monitor. His daughter was standing beside the bed. She beamed at him when she saw he was awake. “Hi!”

“Hi.” Sean said returning her smile before glancing at the clock. It was five in the morning. He looked back at his daughter, a look of confusion on his face. “Is Angela here?”

Olivia shook her head. “No.”

Sean frowned. “Who got you out of your crib?”

Olivia patted herself on the chest. “Livy.”

Sean looked at her sceptically. “You got yourself out of your crib?” Olivia nodded. How did she do that? Sean rolled out of the bed, rubbing his eyes. “How did you do that?” All he got in reply was a cheeky grin, identical to her mothers.

After using the bathroom, Sean grabbed Olivia and carried her into her bedroom to get her dressed and change her diaper. Once that was done, Sean stopped before leaving the room as he turned back to look at the crib. If Liv was starting to climb out of her crib it might be time to get her a convert it into a toddler bed. Sean walked over and placed Olivia in the crib. “You wanna show Daddy how you got out of your crib?” He asked her.

That same cheeky little smile crossed her face. Sean almost stumbled back when he saw Olivia’s blue eyes glow, the same way Diana’s did when using her powers. The pieces holding one of the sides in place unlocked and the side swung down. Olivia got down on her hands and knees before crawling backwards out of the crib. Once she was clear, the side swung back up and locked into place. Olivia turned to look at him, her eyes returning to normal. Sean stared at her in surprise. Olivia had powers? Was this a new thing or had it happened before? No one had mentioned anything. Then again, his wife failed to mention she herself developed some kind of power.

Sean picked his daughter up. “Very impressive.” He told her. “But no more jailbreaks, ok?”

Chapter Text

***Lorelei’s POV***

“Hey stranger, long time no see.”

A smile broke across Lorelei’s face when she saw her brother standing at the door. “Hey.”

Nick approached her, giving her a hug. “How are you doing? Any updates from the doctor?” He asked as he perched on the edge of her bed. Lorelei had sent a message to Nick and Adalind last night, letting them know that she was in the hospital and probably would be for the foreseeable future.

Lorelei nodded. “Yeah, Dr Brody came in a short time ago. My preeclampsia is being a little bitch. Thankfully, I got here early enough that it’s settled down a bit. They started me on magnesium sulfate to prevent any seizures.”

Nick nodded slowly. “And preeclampsia is what hospitalised you last time?”

“Yes. Although its not that bad this time. I did however get a second diagnosis. It’s called HELLP syndrome. It’s basically a disorder of the liver and blood.” Lorelei explained. “The name is an acronym of three abnormalities seen on lab analyses. Hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count.”

Nick looked concerned. “That doesn’t sound good.”

Lorelei shrugged. “If they didn’t catch it early, it could have been. It’s actually rare and has vague symptoms. I got lucky they realised that was what I had.”

“Lucky indeed. So, what does that mean for you and the twins?”

“I’ll be in the hospital until I give birth. Which will probably be within the next week. Sooner rather than later.” Lorelei told him.

Nick sighed. “You certainly don’t do things by half, do you?”

Lorelei sighed. “No. No I don’t.” She agreed. “But enough about me, I’ve been out of the loop. What the hell has been going on?”

Despite Nick not wanting to cause her any more stress, she managed to convince him to fill her in on what had been going on within their group. Lorelei found out that Black Claw had wiped out HW in Portland. The only survivors had been Trubel and Eve. Trubel had headed off to help HW in other parts of the world. Nick admitted that the destruction of HW’s Portland branch had pissed him off and he’d made the mistake of attacking Sean in the precinct, resulting in his arrest. Nick had been transferred to the North Precinct which had been all wesen, loyal to Black Claw. There Nick had met Bonaparte, who had played with his mind and tried to get the Grimm ancestry book. Nick had been saved by Eve, resulting in the deaths of everyone at the North Precinct. No wonder Bonaparte had been pissed when he returned to the house. Lorelei also found out a little more about whatever arrangement Sean and Nick came to. The North Precinct attack was successfully blamed on Bonaparte. Sean returned as Captain. Nick, Hank, and Wu kept their jobs. It sounded like things were returning somewhat to normal. Although Lorelei knew that any trust her friends and family had in Sean had been destroyed. Not that she could blame them.

“Does Renard know most of the plan was your idea?” Nick asked Lorelei and she confirmed he did. “What was his reaction?”

Lorelei shrugged. “I assume he’s hurt. But I think he gets why I did it. I get the feeling most of the blame will be on you though.”

Nick also provided an update on the stick and the cloth. Apparently, Eve had been able to see some kind of symbols on the cloth that the others couldn’t see. Between that, the side effects she seemed to experience after being healed by the stick, and something called a death grip she experienced when trying to get rid a dead Black Claw agent from the spice shop, she had believed more answers could be found on the cloth. Eve didn’t believe anything good could come from the stick. Lorelei also learned that Adalind and Diana had seen the cloth, with Diana being able to see the symbols like Eve could.

“I was wondering how Diana was capable of seeing the symbols that weren’t even visible with spectral imaging. And then Eve reminded me what Mom said about Diana having a special destiny.” Nick told her.

Lorelei bit her lip. “So, you think Diana is somehow connected this?”

Nick sighed. “I don’t know.”

Before leaving, Nick showed her a photo of Diana’s drawing of what was on the cloth. Something about the layout looked familiar to Lorelei, but she couldn’t quite place her finger on it. Nick begrudgingly sent her a copy of the photo. He insisted she should be focusing on herself, but Lorelei pointed out that she had a lot of free time at the moment. And it wasn’t like she was going to be doing anything crazy.

Later that evening, Lorelei received a brief visit from Wu. It seems Nick had told the others about her concerns about them hating her. She’d been receiving messages from the others all day, assuring her they didn’t think any less of her due to her husband’s actions. Wu decided to let her know in person, while also updating her on the changes that had been happening to him.

“So, you’re not wesen but you can woge?” Lorelei asked after her friend filled her in about his lycanthropia.

“Correct.”

Lorelei looked at him in concern. “And how are you feeling about this?”

Wu shrugged. “I was freaked out at first. But I think I have a pretty good handle on it.” He thought about it for a moment. Wu had mentioned accidentally killing two Black Claw agents at the precinct, no doubt he was considering that. “For the most part.”

“I suppose it can come in handy.” Lorelei commented and Wu nodded.

“That is true.” He agreed. “I’ll be able to provide some more muscle for the group.”

It was nice to see that her friend had a positive outlook towards the changes he had been undergoing. He accepted that it was something that he couldn’t change and learnt to deal with it. Lorelei could relate to that to some degree. When she first realised, she had access to powers, although a little freaked, she had looked at the positives of it. Even when she realised that perhaps the newfound abilities weren’t her children’s, although there was a little worry, she didn’t freak out. Lorelei did wonder if it would be a temporary thing, but worrying over it wouldn’t benefit her at all. She just accepted that this is the way things were, and she’d give it more thought it the powers continued after the twins were born. When she’s accidentally killed Bonaparte using those powers, there was some concern. Lorelei had just wanted the man to stop hurting her friend. Yes, she wanted the man dead but didn’t realise how much power there was behind her words. Still, she was a lot more cautious about what she said and did at the moment, Lorelei didn’t want to risk accidentally killing or hurting someone again.

The next day Adalind came in just before lunchtime with Kelly and Diana. Diana filled Lorelei in on her night with Sean and Olivia. It sounded like things had gone well. Lorelei was relieved to hear that. This was the first time Sean had been solely responsible for the kids, and although she had been sure things would work out, there had been some part of her that had wondered how it would play out. Lorelei was also relieved the find out that Sean had already moved them back into their home. She knew he would but was still surprised it had happened so quickly.

Adalind had set Diana up to with a colouring book, giving the women an opportunity to speak. Lorelei asked how things were between her and Nick. Adalind had blushed, admitting that things seemed to be well. Nick had told Adalind he loved her, and Adalind finally admitted to him that they were soulmates. Although surprised, Nick had taken the news well. “Mommy, does this mean you and Nick are getting married?” Diana asked.

Adalind looked a little flustered at that question. “Um, I don’t know. Maybe. Why do you ask?”

Diana shrugged. “Well, Mama and Daddy are soulmates, and they’re married. And Monroe and Rosalee are soulmates, and they’re married.” She replied.

Lorelei stepped in. “Well, just because people are soulmates doesn’t automatically mean they have to get married. It’s a personal choice. But, between you and me. Yeah, Mommy and Nick are eventually going to get married.”

Diana seemed happy with that answer. Adalind raised an eyebrow at Lorelei who shrugged. Lorelei knew her brother. He was someone who believed in marriage and she had no doubt that he would eventually want to see a ring on his soulmate’s finger.

“Actually, speaking of asking questions. There is something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Lorelei said to Adalind. The blonde looked at her with interest. “I was wondering if you’d be my other support person when I’m in labour.”

Adalind looked surprised. “You want me there when the twins are born?”

Lorelei nodded. “Yeah. You’re one of my best friends and you’re someone with experience in giving birth. Plus, I’m having twins and I’m not sure if one or both will need to go to the NICU. Having another person, I trust to follow them up there will make me feel more at ease if they do have to go.”

Adalind looked flattered that Lorelei trusted her to be there when she would be at her most vulnerable. “I’d be honoured. Of course I’ll be there.”

Lorelei flashed her a smile. “Thank you.”

Eventually, Adalind and the kids left. An hour or so later, Angela arrived with Olivia. “Hi baby.” Lorelei gushed upon seeing her little girl. “I missed you.”

Angela and Olivia stayed for a while, giving Lorelei the chance to spend some time with Olivia. Lorelei would be in the hospital until the twins were born and then who knows how long after. She had been preparing Diana and Olivia for the twin’s arrival. As Diana was older, she understood that changes would be happening. Olivia didn’t understand the same way. It was going to be a big change for her when the twins finally did come home. Furthermore, she also didn’t understand why Lorelei was in hospital and why she couldn’t stay with her. When Angela eventually headed home, Olivia had not been happy at being separated from her mother. It broke Lorelei’s heart, hearing her little girls sobs quietly dying off the further from Lorelei’s room she got. According to Angela’s message, Olivia had cried herself to sleep on the way home, although she had been in a better mood by the time she woke up. It didn’t make Lorelei feel better though. She felt guilty not being able to console her daughter, about being separated from her. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

Lorelei awoke early the next morning, surprised by how well she had slept the previous evening. She had woken a few times to use the bathroom but had fallen back to sleep with ease. As Lorelei used the bathroom, she noticed more discharge in her underwear than usual. There was a jelly like pink mucus. Lorelei frowned slightly but wasn’t overly concerned. The nurse, Debra, was coming in to check her vitals as Lorelei exited the bathroom. Debra wasn’t concerned either, especially when she had Lorelei show her.

“It could be the show. The mucus plug from the cervix.” Debra said as she helped Lorelei back into bed.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” Lorelei commented. “Do you this means I could go into labour soon?”

Debra thought about it. “Not necessarily. It can come away days or even weeks before labour begins. Are you having any contractions?”

Lorelei shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. I do have back pain, and I’ve noticed an increase in the Braxton Hicks. But those are normal for this time of the pregnancy.”

Debra offered her a smile. “That is true. If you like, we can have a look, see if anything is happening.” She said as she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Lorelei’s arm and added the device to measure her heart rate to her finger.

Lorelei shook her head again. “Nah. If I start having contractions maybe, but like you said, the show can come away days before labour starts.”

Debra nodded. “How are you feeling in general? Anymore nausea or headaches? Vision changes? Shortness of breath.”

“Not really. If anything, I’m finding it easier to breathe since the girls started dropping further down into my pelvis. Only problem with that is I have to pee even more.”

Debra chuckled. “I know exactly what you mean.” She said as she made note of Lorelei’s vitals. “Blood pressure is still quite high, even for you. Dr Brody still wants to induce you on Sunday?”

Lorelei nodded. “Yeah, if the girls still haven’t made an appearance by then. I’m kind hoping they start making their own way into the world. Being induced doesn’t sound like a pleasant experience.”

Debra shook her head. “It’s not. I had to be induced with my first child. And my second. I manage to avoid it with my third, but I wasn’t dilating so they had to do that manually.”

“Oooh. Yep, I’ve read about people’s experiences with that.” Lorelei looked down at her belly. “Come on girls, don’t make mama go through that.”

Debra laughed. “Ah, if only it were that easy.”

Debra was finishing up when Lorelei’s breakfast arrived. Despite always hearing people complaining about hospital food, she’d been lucky. The food she received was pretty good. As Lorelei was finishing up with her breakfast, Sean arrived. Things seemed to be going well at home, for which Lorelei was grateful. However, she could see that something was bothering Sean. After finishing up in the bathroom, she asked him.

“Why didn’t you tell me Livy has powers?”

Lorelei gave him a strange look. “I don’t think Livy has powers. Does she?”

Sean nodded. “Apparently so. I woke up this morning to find her standing by our bed. I asked her to show me how she did it. And needless to say, it involved magic.” He looked at Lorelei. “You didn’t know?”

Lorelei shook her head. “No. I didn’t. Last week Ella noted a couple of times she entered the nursery to find Livy out of her crib, playing with her toys, but I assumed she was just climbing out of the crib.” Looks like Olivia was taking after her big sister. “Is it like with Diana? Her eyes woging when actively using her powers?”

“Yes. Her eyes glowed the same blue colour yours did when you…told Bonaparte to die.” Sean informed her. Which was news to Lorelei.

“My eyes did that?” Lorelei asked slowly. Neither Sean nor Adalind mentioned that little nugget of information. Did her eyes woge when she was telekinetically moving things around as well?

“They did.” Sean confirmed. “You didn’t know?”

 “No. But, I suppose it makes sense. But, back to Livy. If she’s getting herself out of her crib, it might be time she’s upgraded to the toddler bed.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Sean agreed.  “Just wanted to double check with you before I did that.”

Lorelei smiled fondly at him. “Mon amour, if you think Livy is ready for the toddler bed than go for it.”

Sean seemed unsure but after a moment he nodded. “I’ll get that done tomorrow morning. I’ll be on paternity leave as of then.” He informed her.

When Lorelei woke from her mid-afternoon nap, she felt an usual surge of energy. To make use of the energy she went through her hospital bags, the ones containing her belongings and the one for the twins. Even though she had gone through these bags’ multiple times already, she went through them again. Double checking against her list, while also looking over the suggestions she found online. She didn’t want to have worrying about needing something while in labour or just after birth. Everything was still set up at home. Even though Sean had intended for them to be living in the Black Claw mansion, he had not yet had the stuff from the twin’s room moved over. Which worked out well as they had not stayed in that house. The car seats were already in her car, which Adalind had advised was parked in the garage at Sean and Lorelei’s, keys had been handed over to Sean. Angela had let her know that Amelia and Amanda had spent the morning at home helping to ensure everything was ready. All three were ready and able to take car of the kids when Lorelei went into labour, including Kelly.

Frowning, Lorelei gently rubbed along the bottom her bump. Ever since she’d woken from her nap, she’d been having pain akin to period cramps. They weren’t too bad, but it was uncomfortable. Plus, her lower back was really hurting. Struggling a little, Lorelei got out of bed. Perhaps she had been sitting for too long.

“You checking out already?”

Lorelei looked at the door, a smile crossing her face. “Hey. No. Just making sure I have anything.” Lorelei replied. “It’s great to see you both.”

Rosalee returned her smile, pulling the younger woman into her arms. “It’s good to see you. I’m sorry we haven’t been able to visit.”

“That’s alright. Things have been crazy lately.” Lorelei told her as Monroe stepped forward to hug her as well. “I’m a little surprised to see you guys here this time of day. You’re usually at the shop.” Lorelei didn’t miss the look the couple exchanged. “What?”

After their silent conversation, Monroe turned back to Lorelei. “We were actually here for another reason and decided to kill two birds with one stone.” He admitted.

Lorelei stared at them, her eyes narrowing as she looked between them. Her eyes suddenly widened, and she gasped. “Oh my god! You’re pregnant! She squealed.

The smiles on their faces said it all, but Rosalee verbally confirmed it. “Yes. I’m pregnant.” She laughed as Lorelei threw her arms around her.

Lorelei reached to grab Monroe. “Get in here.” She said, drawing him into a group hug. “Oh my god, this is amazing. You guys are gonna be the best parents.”

Eventually, the group hug ended, and Lorelei looked at her friends. “So, how far along are you? When can we expect the baby to arrive.” Lorelei didn’t miss the look they exchanged. “No, don’t tell me you’re having twins as well?”

“It’s actually triplets.” Monroe informed her.

Lorelei’s eyebrows shot up as she looked between them. “Wow. You got three on the first go.”

Rosalee nodded. “Yeah. We just found out. Although Diana is the one who gave us an indication there may be more than one.”

“Diana could tell?”

“Yep.” Monroe replied.

“And to answer your first question. I’m about 10 weeks.” Rosalee told her. “Due date is early July but it could be earlier as I am carrying multiples. But I suppose you are aware of that.”

Lorelei nodded. “Oh yeah. Well, I know some great websites and blogs regarding carrying and raising multiples, I can send the links to you.”

“That would be great because we are….”

“A little freaked out.” Monroe finished and Rosalee nodded in agreement.

“I get it. I was a little freaked out when I found out I was having twins. It is a completely normal reaction.” Lorelei assured them. “And you guys have the love and support of your friends and family. We got your back.”

Chapter Text

***Sean’s POV***

Sean left the hospital feeling a little lighter. He’d been upset at the idea of Lorelei keeping such a big secret about his daughter from him. However, the discovery that he may be the first person to learn this about Olivia had him feeling good. There were a lot of her firsts that he had missed, only being aware of them after the fact. But this may be one thing he knew before anybody else. Lorelei hadn’t seemed overly surprised, however she was helping to raise Diana, and Olivia carried his genes, so Olivia possibly being a hexenbiest was something she was probably prepared for. It was a surprise that she was exhibiting powers so young though.

As Sean was arriving at work, he found himself distracted as he remembered his ghost problem. He hadn’t seen Meisner since last night. Sean found himself wondering if he was still being haunted or if Meisner had gone away. Sean entered his office cautiously, glancing around as he shut the door. The last couple of times he had been in here, Meisner had made an appearance.  No sign of him yet. Approaching his desk, Sean placed his briefcase down and opened it, slowly removing the files. He paused when he heard a noise.

“Meisner.” He said quietly, glancing behind. “Meisner, are you here? Don’t play games with me. I’m tired this.”

At the sound of the door opening, Sean’s head snapped in that direction. An unknown man entered, staring Sean down before closing the door behind him.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“We’ve spoken on the phone.” The man replied. “I am Anselmo Baledin.”

Sean quickly glanced outside to see if Nick, Hank, or Wu were there. It didn’t look like they were. Good. “What are you doing here?” Sean asked returning his attention to Baledin. He knew it was a matter of time before someone from Black Claw approached him.

“It’s important that we talk, now that Bonaparte is dead, and you’ve killed your political career.”

His gaze still on Baledin while also keeping an eye outside his office. “Look, I told you. The Grimm was responsible.”

Baledin took a step closer to him. “You also told us you can handle the Grimm.” Baledin noted. “Instead, he seems to have handled you. Quite well.”

“He had help.”

“So did you.”

“Yes, but the help he had was much better than the help I had.”

Baledin shook his head. “I’m here to clean up your mistakes.” Baledin informed him.

Sean frowned. “What exactly does that mean?”

“Our goals have not changed. We want you to pick up where we left off.” Baledin informed him.

“You mean, with everyone dead?”

“Except you. You are the sole survivor. You said Bonaparte died of natural causes. He was found in a chair in the sitting room.”

Sean nodded. “That’s what I was advised. And according to the coroner’s report he died of heart failure.”

Baledin looked at him suspiciously. “Yet, the report also mentioned there was no apparent cause of the heart failure. Almost as if it was saying his heart just stopped for no reason.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“There was more than one person in that house capable of such an act.” Baledin replied. Sean stayed silent. “But, let’s get back to the Grimm. The elder one that is. He should be dead, yet he is not.”

“Like I told you, he’s being protected by something very powerful.” Sean told him. Sean meant that. It was still a surprise that Nick managed to walk about of the North Precinct alive, even with Eve’s help.

“And that’s the part I’m having a hard time understanding.”

Sean was done with this conversation. “Oh well, maybe you’ll understand this. I’m done taking orders.” Sean said as he moved from his desk towards the door. “I’m done with Black Claw.” Sean opened the door. “And I’m done with you.” Baledin stood still for a moment before turning to face Sean. “And you were right, it was important that we talk.” Baledin stared him down for a moment before exiting the office. Sean closed behind him, letting out a breath. That had felt liberating, freeing himself from the shackles of Black Claw. At the back of his mind, Sean was aware this wouldn’t be the last of it but for now he allowed himself to enjoy this small win.

The rest of the day was uneventful. No interactions with his brother-in-law. No visits from ghosts. Or so he thought. Certain that the precinct would be fine without him for a couple of weeks, Sean packed up and headed out. It was later than he would have liked, however it was a necessity. As Sean was heading towards the elevator he paused when he saw a familiar face, one had been hoping was gone.

“I’m not here to haunt you.” Meisner told him.

“Really?” Sean asked feeling sceptical. “Then why don’t you go wherever the hell it is you go.”

Meisner raised an eyebrow. “Well, you might want to reconsider conversing with someone no one else could see.”

Sean glanced behind him to see two officers standing at the other end of the hallway looking at him strangely.  When Sean looked back at Meisner, he was gone. Feeling frustrated, Sean continued towards the elevator.

“I believe they’re going to kill you.” Meisner was back.

Sean paused again, glancing at him. “Who?” He asked quietly.

“Two men waiting by your car.” Meisner replied.

Sean looked at him suspiciously. “Why are you telling me this?”

“You trust me?”

Sean sighed, thinking about it for a moment. If Meisner was correct, there was an ambush waiting for him in parking garage. And Sean had too much to live for to risk dying or being seriously injured now. “Yes.”

Meisner directed Sean to use the stairs as they were expecting Sean to exit via the elevator. There was one hiding behind a pole and another waiting by his car. As Sean reached the parking garage, he saw the man waiting by his car was Baladin. He didn’t recognise the other. Meisner approached the other man, waving his hand in front of his face. The man stumbled slightly, blinking rapidly as he rubbed his eyes. Meisner had informed him the man would be temporarily blinded, giving him time to take out Baladin. As Baladin turned in Sean’s direction, he moved quickly, disarming the man and shooting him with his own gun. With Baladin down, Sean quietly moved towards the other man. Mesiner waved his hand in front of the man’s face. He let out a gasp when he saw Sean pointing the gun at him. It was the last noise he made before he died.

Sean turned his gaze to Meisner. “You saved my life. Why?”

“This time you chose the right side, Sean.” Meisner turned around and walked away.

Sean followed him. “We done?” The only answer Sean got was a wave as Meisner continued walking off before disappearing. Glancing at the dead body, Sean headed to his car. He had a feeling it was over. Meisner was done haunting him. And now, Sean could focus on his wife and children.

The next morning after getting himself and Olivia ready for the day, Sean found himself in Olivia’s room trying to figure out how to convert her crib into the toddler bed. Thankfully, his wife was organised, and he was able to find the instructions. The problem he had was that they weren’t all too helpful. Sean was grateful that Angela and her twin sisters were over. They were busy making sure the house was ready for the twin’s arrival as such Olivia wasn’t in the room to hear him cursing the bed and its makers out. Why didn’t the instructions make sense? The sooner he got this done, the sooner he could visit Lorelei at the hospital. Eventually, Amelia took pity on him and came in to give him a hand. The fresh set of eyes and hands allowed Sean to complete his task. Olivia’s bed finally resembled the image in the instructions.

With the bed completed, Sean could finally make the trip down to the hospital. Leaving Angela and her sisters to do their work, Sean loaded Olivia up into the car and headed off. He couldn’t help smiling to himself as Olivia babbled to herself in the backseat, occasionally including him in the conversation. She wasn’t at the point where she could string long sentences together, but she knew enough words to get her point across. And when words failed her, Olivia had no issue using nonverbal cues to let people know what she wanted. As of the day before, Olivia was now 15 months old. Before going to sleep last night, Sean had found himself reading through one of Lorelei’s parenting books. It had been some time since he had done that and he felt the need to do so, to better understand Olivia and the changes she would be going through, and what he could do to help her adjust to the arrival of her little sisters.

By the time Sean and Olivia reached Lorelei’s room, it was about 1pm. They entered the room to find Lorelei coming out of the bathroom. “Hi.” Lorelei happily greeted them as Olivia let out a little squeal upon seeing her mother.

Sean approached her, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Hi. How are you feeling today?”

“Alright.” Lorelei replied as Sean helped her back to the bed. “I might be having contractions though.

“Have you told the nurse?” Sean asked as Lorelei took Olivia from him once she was in bed.

Lorelei nodded. “Yeah. Dr Brody is currently making her rounds, and she’ll check to see if I’m dilating. The contractions are still about 10 minutes apart though. And they’re not too painful at the moment.”

Sean perched on the edge of the bed beside her. “How long have you been having contractions?”

“It’s been a few hours at least. That’s when they started to become noticeable.” She answered before changing the subject. “Did you manage to convert the crib?”

Sean groaned. “Eventually. Those instructions weren’t that helpful.”

Lorelei gave him a sympathetic look. “Yeah, instructions very rarely are. You usually just figure it out yourself.” She looked at Olivia. “Are you going to sleep in your big girl bed tonight, Livy?”

Olivia nodded as she snuggled into Lorelei’s side. Sean and Lorelei started discussing what would need to be done if she was in labour. “I’ll give Adalind a call and let her know. I’ll also pass the message along to Angela, Amelia, and Amanda. I’m not sure which one was going to watch the kids overnight while I was in labour.”

“I think Amanda mentioned taking the overnight shift.” Sean told her. “Did you want to tell anyone else you’re in labour?”

“Not really. Otherwise, I’m gonna keep getting messages asking if the babies are here yet.”

Sean nodded understandingly. “Is there anything you want me to get from home?”

Lorelei shook her head. “No. I’ve got everything. I’ve gone through those bags a million times in the past couple of days.

Their conversation was interrupted when Dr Brody entered the room. She asked Lorelei a few questions about her contractions before deciding to check her cervix.  Dr Brody did have to wait a moment as Lorelei rode out a contraction.

“You can sit back up Lorelei.” Dr Brody told her before addressing both of them. “I can confirm that you are dilated about 5cm. Looks like you are in labour.”

“How is her overall health?” Sean asked Dr Brody. “Will she still be able to give birth vaginally?”

“At this point in time Lorelei is stable, so I don’t see why not. We’ll obviously be monitoring her and the twins very closely throughout the whole process.” Dr Brody answered. She left not long after that, informing them she would be letting the maternity tea know that Lorelei was in labour.

It was just past 1 when Sean left to return Olivia home. Lorelei had already called Angela to pass the news along to her sisters. The three women were still at Sean and Lorelei’s and would be sticking around for the time being. Sean had been right; Amanda would be staying with the kids overnight. After bidding Sean and Olivia farewell, which thankfully was without tears from Olivia, Lorelei was picking up her phone to call Adalind. As Sean made his way through the hospital, he couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. The last time they hadn’t gone through labour, Lorelei’s c-section was planned. So, this was in some way a first for them. Sean just hoped everything would work out.

Chapter Text

***Lorelei’s POV***

If Lorelei was honest, she’d started wondering if she was going into labour as she was falling asleep the evening before. However, the contractions she had been feeling were not that bad and quite far apart. She had woken a couple of times during the night and noticed them, but it wasn’t until Lorelei woke that she realised they were happening more frequently, were getting stronger, and lasting for longer. By the time she was finished lunch, Lorelei realised they were about 10 minutes apart so she should probably inform the staff.

As Sean and Olivia were leaving, Lorelei had intended to call Adalind straight away. However, she was hit with another contraction. Once it was over, Lorelei called her friend. Adalind was excited to hear that labour had commenced. She’d be at the hospital once Kelly woke up; then she’d take both kids over to Sean and Lorelei’s. Nick was aware that was the plan, but Adalind would call him to let him know that’s where Diana and Kelly would be. He was working a case and may not be home til late.

By the time Sean returned to the hospital, Lorelei was seated in bed eating a light dinner. Nurses noted it was a good idea to have light snacks to maintain her energy reserves, but advised any heavy meals so she wouldn’t feel nauseous later. “How are we doing?” Sean asked giving Lorelei a kiss before moving to place his bag over by the window.

Lorelei shrugged. “Alright at the moment.” Lorelei answered. “Not much has changed. How’d Livy go when you left?”

Sean smiled. “She was fine. Adalind was bringing Diana and Kelly over as I was leaving. She was excited to see them. Even more so when she found out they would be having a sleepover.”

Lorelei smiled as well. Olivia loved her big sister and baby cousin. Diana was someone she could play with, and she was just fascinated with Kelly, showing more interest in him the older he got. Spending time around him would help her get used to having babies around all the time. Lorelei was distracted when she felt something leaking out of her. She frowned, which Sean noticed. “I’m trying to decide if I peed myself a bit or my water is breaking.” She told him when he asked if everything was ok.

“No big gush?”

Lorelei shook her head. “Nah. Help me up, I might use the bathroom and see if the leaking continues.”

The nurse, Priya entered the room as Lorelei was finishing up in the bathroom. Sean filled her in, and she suggested changing the pad Lorelei was wearing before lying down and relaxing for about 30 minutes. If fluid came out when she stood after lying down, it was probably her water breaking. So, Lorelei did that. She was still leaking. Priya was advised as she was returning to the room, this time to check on Lorelei’s cervix. Lorelei was at 6cm by that point and the contractions were starting to get more intense. A quick test of the fluid leaking out confirmed it was amniotic fluid.

It was about 5:30pm when Adalind arrived. She met up with Lorelei and Sean as they were taking a walk up and down the corridor. Lorelei was enjoying the change of scenery, having been in her room most of the day. “I brought the snacks.” Adalind said holding the bag up. Lorelei had given her a list of snacks to pick up on the way. She didn’t think it would hurt to have them available for the labour and post-birth period. The snacks would be handy for all of them.

“Legend.” Lorelei said pausing as she felt another contraction coming on. “Oooh, this one really hurts.” She commented, breathing through the contraction. Once it was over, they continued the journey back to her room.

Back in the room, Lorelei decided she wanted to change into the labour gown she had bought. It was designed by a Labour and Delivery Nurse and a Doula. Lorelei had actually bought it when she was pregnant with Olivia, but she never got to use it. It was both stylish and comfortable while also providing easy access for the medical team. It fell below her knees and had long loose sleeves that she could roll up. It was a dusty pink colour and felt like a dream when she put it on. It did take a little longer than expected to change as contractions were coming every five minutes by this point.

After changing, Lorelei opted to stand beside the bed leaning forward on it. Sean was standing beside her, massaging her back while Adalind was on the other side of the bed. “Since we’re all in one room together, it might be a good time to talk about Diana.” Lorelei suggested after working through another contraction. “You know, school and introducing her to kids her own age.”

There was a moment of silence. “You should be focusing on yourself right now.” Adalind told her.

“We can discuss it later.” Sean added.

Lorelei huffed. “I need something to distract me and we need to talk about this sooner rather than later.” She said looking up at Adalind who seemed to be exchanging a look with Sean. “Look, I am getting ready to push two babies out of me. If I want to talk about this now, we are talking about it now.”

“Anything you want, mon amour.” Sean told her.

“What did you have in mind?” Adalind asked at the same time.

Lorelei straightened up. “I thought we could start small, introduce her to someone her age. You know Bud?” Lorelei looked at Adalind who nodded. “Well, his youngest Patty is about the same age as Diana. I thought she’d be a good place to start. We all know Bud. He and Phoebe are good people. And Patty is a combination of the both of them. Friendly but also doesn’t take shit from anyone. I’m sure Bud and Phoebe wouldn’t mind introducing her and Diana.”

Sean nodded. “That may work.”

“And from there, she could meet other eisbibers in that age group.” Lorelei added. “Once Diana is used to a small group of kids her own age, we can start discussing school with her. I’m thinking we could enrol her to start next September. If she’s around age 10 now, she’ll be 11 by that point. Old enough for 6^th grade which is the start of middle school.”

“A period when every kid is starting a new school.” Adalind said slowly. “She won’t be the only new kid at the school.”

Lorelei nodded. “Exactly.” She let out a moan, leaning forward again. “Contraction.” She groaned out. Adalind reached forward grabbing her hand as Sean rubbed her back. “Ooh, they’re getting worse.”

Once the contraction was over, Sean suggested now may be the time for some form of pain relief. Lorelei agreed with that. Priya was called in and it was decided that Lorelei would give the nitrous oxide a try. Although there was a chance it may not work, Lorelei was willing to give it a go. Thankfully, Lorelei felt it did help a little bit. Once she was sure Lorelei was able to administer it herself, Priya let them be.

Lorelei was sitting on the bed as she wasn’t sure how the gas would affect her. So far, it was ok and took the edge of the pain. “I think I’m gonna put Olivia back into daycare next year. She’s another one who needs to be spending time with kids her own age.” Lorelei commented between contractions.

“If that’s what you want.” Sean told her gently squeezing her hand.

Lorelei nodded slowly. “It is. Maybe for only a couple of days per week to start off with. And then when I start back at college next September, I can put the twins in as well. They’ll be about 10 months by that point.”

***Sean’s POV***

By 10pm, Lorelei had reached 8cm and had been moved to the birthing suite. Contractions were now 2 minutes apart, lasting about 60 seconds. The gas was no longer having any effect dulling the pain, and the most recent blood test showed that Lorelei’s platelet count was still low. That meant it was too risky for an epidural. Another blood transfusion had been performed but it wasn’t enough to make a significant dent in the platelet count. His wife was in significant pain, and it was only going to get worse. Sean and Adalind were doing their best to keep Lorelei’s spirits up. They took turns heating up Lorelei’s heat packs, the only other pain relief available that Lorelei could use. The gas was still being used to help keep Lorelei calm. His wife had taken to swearing frequently, claiming it helped make her feel better.

By 11:30pm, Lorelei had reached 10cm and was ready to start pushing. There were quite a number of people in the room. Dr Brody, Dr Scott who was a paediatrician specialising in twins, two labour and delivery nurses, and a few other people. Sean wasn’t sure if they were nurses or doctors. His beloved tried a few different positions before deciding that lying back on the bed was the best position. She was exhausted. Sean was standing beside her, holding her hand while Adalind was on the other side. Each of them doing their job, encouraging Lorelei to keep going.

“Alright Lorelei. Head is out. On the next contraction, I need you to give another push.” Dr Brody told Lorelei.

Lorelei, her face red and sweaty, nodded. “You got this Lorelei.” Adalind told her.

“Ah.” Lorelei cried out as she pushed with all her might.

“Here she is. And what a set of lungs.” Dr Brody commented as she handed their crying daughter to one of the nurses. “We’re just quickly checking her over, you take the chance to rest. We got one more left.”

Lorelei nodded, resting her head back against the pillow. Adalind had stepped away to keep a close eye on the newborn baby. Sean pressed his lips against the side of Lorelei’s head. “You did so well mon amour. I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you.” She murmured back.

One of the nurses came over carrying their little girl, closely followed by Adalind. “Here you go Mom and Dad. She is a little small, which is to be expected, but doing well.”

Lorelei quickly unsnapped the top of her gown so she could do skin on skin contact with the baby. The nurse got the baby settled before stepping back. “Hi baby. Hi Aurora. Welcome to the world.” Lorelei said, her voice a little choked up. “Liliana will be along shortly.”

Sean rested his head against Lorelei’s as he gazed down at Aurora. He gently stroked the back of Aurora’s head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Adalind was taking pictures of them with Lorelei’s phone. “Congratulations to the both of you.”

“Thank you.” Sean told her and she nodded at him.

Lorelei placed her hand on her still swollen belly. “You saw how your sister did it, just follow her lead.”

Dr Brody stepped forward. “We’re going to do an ultrasound, just to make sure Liliana is still head down.” Lorelei glanced at Aurora. “Don’t worry, you can keep a hold of Aurora.”

As Dr Brody was doing the ultrasound, Lorelei shifted Aurora slightly and almost immediately the baby latched on to her mother’s breast and started feeding. “Someone likes their food.” Adalind commented with a laugh. “Just like her mother.”

Lorelei stuck her tongue out at Adalind who laughed again. By the time Aurora finished feeding, Liliana was ready to enter the world. The nurse took Aurora and went to clean her up with Adalind close behind. Thankfully, Liliana was heading out head down, just like her sister. “Come on Lorelei, you’re so close.” Sean told her.

“Fuck, I am so tired.” Lorelei cried collapsing against the pillows.

Dr Brody looked up at her. “I know you are. One more big push and she’ll be out. Then you can rest and wait for the placenta.”

Sean helped Lorelei sit back up. “Motherfucker!” Lorelei yelled out as she pushed, earning a laugh from a couple of the staff. She collapsed against the pillows again.

“And that’s all the babies.” Dr Brody commented, although her voice was a little strained. “Another girl, but we knew that already.”

Sean was concerned. Liliana hadn’t cried yet. Was she alright? Sean tried not to panic, especially considering his wife was realising their daughter hadn’t made a sound. And then suddenly, a loud cry rang out from Liliana. Sean felt himself relax and saw Lorelei was as well.

“She just needed a couple of seconds to get over the shock of being born.” One of the nurses said, as she took Liliana over to where the paediatrician was so they could check her over.

Lorelei was looking anxious, glancing over at where the girls were, biting her lip. Sean wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pressing his lips to her temple, trying to keep her calm. Adalind was still hovering over the staff, keeping close to the twins. Eventually the twins were brought over and placed on Lorelei’s chest. “Liliana needed some extra help, but both girls are doing fine at the moment.” Dr Scott informed them. “She is a little smaller than Aurora, but not by much. However, they do have a low birth weight. We would like to keep them in the NICU for the next 24 hours at least.”

Lorelei nodded as she placed a kiss on each of the girl’s heads. Whereas Aurora was able to feed straight away, Liliana seemed to have some trouble latching on, but she got there eventually. By 1am the placenta had been delivered. Lorelei was taken to the recovery room while the twins were taken to the NICU. Sean followed his wife while Adalind followed the twins. Sean was worried about his daughters; however Dr Scott was optimistic, his only concern was their size and ability to regulate their body temperature.

“I wish I could go with the girls.” Lorelei said quietly as she was settled into the recovery room.

Debra, the nurse, offered her a smile. “I know hon. But you’ll have plenty of time to see them. You can use this time to rest. It was a long labour, and you’ve earned it. Aurora and Liliana are getting the best care in the NICU.”

Lorelei nodded. Sean took a seat beside her and took her hand in his, pressing a kiss to the knuckles. “Adalind’s with them. She’ll keep a close eye on them.” Sean assured her.

Lorelei smiled at that. “Yeah. She will.”

Lorelei didn’t get much of a chance to sleep. Debra noticed there was a drop in Lorelei’s blood pressure and that Lorelei was looking pale. She checked under Lorelei’s gown and realised she was bleeding excessively. Lorelei was given a blood transfusion while medical staff worked to figure out what was happening. There were no obvious tears externally or in the vagina. Medical staff believed it was due to the uterus not contracting as it should post birth. In addition to being provided with some kind of drug, Lorelei also received a uterine massage, which from the way Lorelei acted was not pleasant.  When that didn’t work, Sean watched helplessly as his wife was rushed off to the operating room,

Debra tried to keep Sean spirits up. “Come on Sean, let’s go see the twins.”

Sean had nodded, feeling numb. The tiny nurse steered Sean towards the NICU. Adalind was surprised to see them. She was gowned up, sitting in a chair between the twins’ incubators. Debra explained things to Adalind, who’s surprise turned to concern. Debra had to get back to the maternity ward but assured them she would keep them updated. Adalind and Sean sat in silence for a while before Adalind spoke. “Lorelei’s a survivor. It’ll take more than childbirth to take her down.”

Sean nodded absentmindedly as he placed his hand into the incubator, letting Liliana grasp his finger. She was so small, much smaller than Olivia had been. Both twins were just over 4 pounds. Aurora was 4 pounds 12 ounces and 17.9 inches while Liliana was 4 pounds 11 ounces and 17.8 inches. At the moment, both girls were doing well. Although Liliana had needed a little help with breathing after birth, neither girl currently needed any help with breathing although as a precaution they were getting some extra oxygen.

Debra returned to the NICU just after 5am to let them know that Lorelei was out of surgery and recovering in the maternity ward. It seemed a number of factors contributed to the postpartum hemorrhage. Uterine atony where the uterine muscles don’t contract sufficiently. Another was that not all of the placenta had come away. The final factor was the HELLP syndrome and the low platelet count. Lorelei was going to be fine, however. They’d stopped the excessive bleeding.  Lorelei was currently receiving blood and iron transfusions along with IV fluids to help replenish the blood she had lost. She was expected to make a full recovery.

“Hey.” Sean said quietly as he came to sit beside his wife.

Lorelei gave him a tired smile. “Hey. How are the girls?”

Sean pressed a kiss to her knuckles, his hands gripping hers tightly. “They’re good. Sleeping.” Another kiss. “How are you feeling?”

Lorelei groaned. “Like crap. I’m so tired.”

“Go to sleep.” Sean told her. “I’ll be right here.”

Lorelei's birthing gown

https://www.wearlila.com/products/amelia-labor-postpartum-gown-in-dusty-rose?_pos=1&_fid=048a2f304&_ss=c

Chapter Text

***Lorelei’s POV***

Damn, Lorelei really did feel like crap. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and the first thing she saw was the top of her husband’s head. Sean was sitting beside the bed, his hands holding hers tightly, and his head resting on the bed. A slow smile crossed her face, and she gently squeezed his hand. Sean’s head shot up. “You’re awake.” He said, his voice thick with sleep.

Lorelei nodded. “Yep.” Her own voice was also thick with sleep.

Sean gently kissed her forehead before pulling back to look at her, his hand stroking her hair. “How are you feeling?”

“Um…tired. Weak. I have a bit of a headache.” Lorelei answered slowly. It was a little hard to focus at the moment. “What time is it?”

Sean glanced at his watch. “It’s about 10:30am.” He replied before looking back at Lorelei.

Lorelei nodded again. “The twins?”

“They’re doing well. No concerns regarding them. They are feeding well.” Sean informed her. During labour, Lorelei had been pumping periodically in case the twins ended up in the NICU and/or she was unable to feed them herself. “Angela arrived about an hour ago. She sent Adalind home and took over for her.”

Lorelei gently cupped Sean’s face, her thumb brushing over the dark circles under his eyes. “Have you slept?”

Sean shrugged. “A little.” He admitted.

Lorelei glanced at the cot set up in the corner of the room. It looked like it hadn’t been slept in. “I’m guessing you slept sitting up?”

Sean didn’t answer. He placed his hand over hers, turning his face to place a kiss in the palm of her hand. “I was afraid I was going to lose you.” He whispered.

“What happened?”

“Postpartum hemorrhage. Blood tests indicate you have severe iron deficiency anemia. Although the HELLP syndrome seems to have sorted itself out. Blood pressure is still a little high but not at preeclampsia levels.”

Lorelei nodded tiredly. “HELLP can clear itself up post-delivery.” She said slowly. “But I imagine my hemorrhage will lead to a longer hospital stay.”

Sean nodded. “They’ll also want to run more tests. There are concerns that you could get PPCM and pulmonary edema again.”

At that moment, Priya entered the room. “Hi, how are we doing?”

“Tired, weak, headache.” Lorelei informed her. She had so little energy. “Oh, and hungry.”

Priya offered her a smile. “All normal. I hear you hemorrhaged after birth.” She said as she moved around taking Lorelei’s vitals while checking the many bags hung up around her. “Might need a new IV bag, this one is almost empty. I’ll also arrange for you to get some food. In the meantime, how is everything going downstairs?”

“Do I still have the catheter?” Lorelei asked her. Priya nodded. “Ok, that explains that feeling. Honestly, I feel like I’ve been ripped apart.”

“You mind if I have a quick peek?”

Thankfully, all seemed to be well downstairs. Considering she had pushed two babies out. It was looking as expected. The catheter was staying in for the time being, until the doctors cleared it for removal. Lorelei was then sent to have some scans to check on the major organs in her body. She managed to convince Sean to stay in the room and actually sleep. It was a testament how tired he was because he gave in easily. The man dropped off to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Lorelei gave him a smile as she was whisked away to have the scans done.

By the time Lorelei returned to her room, it was almost midday. Sean woke as she returned which was good as their lunch was delivered. The two ate keeping the conversation light. Lorelei’s phone kept pinging as she received messages from her friends and family. Adalind had passed along the news, also having the foresight to advise everyone to wait until they were told before coming to the hospital. Lorelei was grateful for that. She did not have the energy to entertain people. Besides, with the girls in the NICU there were limited people who could visit them.  After lunch, the couple headed up to the NICU to visit the girls.

Visiting the NICU had been hard for Lorelei. Seeing her little girls in their incubators. Although they weren’t surrounded by as many machines as some of the other babies in the ward, it was still confronting. Lorelei bit her lip as she stared at Aurora, tentatively reaching through the opening in the incubator to rest her finger in her little hand. A tearful smile crossing her face as her tiny daughter clasped her finger tightly. “Hi sweetheart. It’s Mommy. I’m right here.” She told her quietly.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. “They’re doing well.” Angela informed her. “Feeding well. They don’t need any feeding tubes or oxygen. Just the warmth the incubators provide.”

Lorelei nodded, unable to tear her gaze away from her daughter. She was so tiny. But so beautiful, so perfect. They were going to be ok. She was going to be ok. She just had to keep reminding herself that. Lorelei eventually tore herself away from Aurora to see Liliana. She was smaller than her sister, but just as perfect. Her grasp reflex just as strong. Lorelei eventually tore herself away from Liliana. She could feel whatever strength she had was wavering. As much as she wanted to be with her daughters, Lorelei knew she had to rest. She had to get better so she could take care of them.

The trip back to her room was hard. Lorelei managed to hold her tears in. It wasn’t until she was back in bed when she broke down. Sean carefully climbed into bed beside her, pulling her close. He didn’t say anything, just held her, stroking her back and pressing kisses to her head. Eventually, Lorelei fell asleep listening to the sounds of her husband’s heartbeat.

Monday was a bit of a blur for Lorelei. She knew that Sean hadn’t left the hospital all day. Adalind was at the hospital all day as well, taking over for Amanda who had stayed with the twins overnight. The only time Sean had left her side was to switch with Adalind so that he could spend time with the twins. Lorelei hadn’t been able to see her babies. Between Sunday and Monday, Lorelei had started experiencing heart palpations and shortness of breath overnight. She was incredibly fatigued and weak.

Dr Brody had arrived, along with a cardiologist, advising that test results from yesterday indicated a return of the peripartum cardiomyopathy and pulmonary edema. Lorelei was placed on oxygen and a bunch of other medication, in addition to what was she on for the hypertension and anemia caused by the hemorrhaging. She couldn’t seem to catch a break. At least they caught it early this time.

Between the diagnoses and not being able to see any of her kids, Lorelei’s mood was pretty low. She kept trying to be positive, but it was so damn hard at the moment. Why did everything have to be so hard for her? Why couldn’t she catch a break? It seemed that any time something good happened, something bad happened to fuck everything up. These new diagnoses would mean that she would be in the hospital for longer, meaning she would be away from Diana and Olivia for longer. It meant she couldn’t travel to the NICU as she pleased to see her youngest kids. It meant a longer recovery time. She still wouldn’t be able to return to helping Nick with Grimm stuff or help her friends figure out what the symbols on that damn cloth meant. It meant that she would have to continue taking things easy.

Sean and Adalind tried to keep her spirits up. They really did, but as the day progressed Lorelei got more irritable.  She tried not to take it out on them, she really did. Lorelei caught herself before she blew up on Adalind. She’d mumbled something about needing sleep and had laid down with her eyes closed. Her friend was just trying to help, and Lorelei had been about to bite her head off. Lorelei had feigned sleep and Adalind pretended she didn’t notice Lorelei pretending. The tears rolling down her cheeks gave her away though. Eventually, Sean returned. He and Adalind stepped out in the hall to talk. Lorelei pretended they weren’t talking about her, but she knew they were. They were worried about her, and she didn’t blame them. She wasn’t herself today.

When Sean returned to the room, he was alone. Amanda was in the NICU with the twins and Adalind would be returning home for the evening. After dinner, Sean rejoined Lorelei in her bed and the two fell asleep, holding each other close. Tomorrow would be a new day. A better day.

Tuesday was a better day. Not the best, but better than Monday had been. Lorelei had felt well enough to travel to the NICU to visit with Aurora and Liliana. She’d had the opportunity to hold her daughters and she got to feed Rory. The girls were no longer in individual incubators. Apparently, Amanda had suggested having them in the one incubator, suggesting it would help them thrive being close to one another.  They looked so cute curled up beside one another. Somehow it made it easier to leave them in the NICU. The knowledge that they had one another even when Lorelei couldn’t be there.

Later that afternoon, Adalind brought Diana and Olivia in to visit her. Seeing her oldest girls had brightened Lorelei’s mood. Both girls had curled up beside her on the bed, telling her what they had been up to during the time she’d been in hospital. Sean had taken Diana to the NICU to meet her baby sisters. It had been decided that at the point in time, they’d wait before introducing Olivia to the twins. The NICU probably wasn’t the best place for a toddler, even one as well behaved as Olivia.

Tuesday evening saw the arrival of Nick, which also coincided with Sean’s visit to the NICU to help with the twins feeding. The siblings had an hour together. Nick was naturally concerned about his younger sister. Another pregnancy, another brush with death. Lorelei had scoffed, pointing out as a cop he frequently had brushes with death. They’d agreed to disagree. Lorelei showed Nick the photos she had taken of his youngest nieces.

“So, they’re completely identical? Can you tell them apart?”

“Not yet. But they both have a little birthmark on their ankles. Rory’s is on her left ankle and Lily’s is on her right ankle.” Lorelei informed him. “That will make things easy while they’re young.”

Nick nodded. “I suppose that will be helpful until they start developing their own personalities.”

When Sean sent Lorelei a message advising that he was returning to her room, Lorelei let her brother know. That was the end of their visit but Nick promised he’d stop by again so he could officially meet his newborn nieces. About ten minutes after her brother left, her husband returned to the room.

“How was your visit with Nick?” Sean asked as he joined Lorelei on the bed.

Lorelei snuggled up close to him. “It was good. He can’t wait to meet the girls.” She replied. “Speaking of which, how are they doing?”

“Still doing well. They’ve both put on some weight.” Sean told her, lacing his fingers through her own before bringing her hand up to place a kiss on it. “The nurse said that’s promising. If they keep that up, they’ll be able to leave the NICU soon.”

Wednesday saw the arrival of more visitors. Rosalee stopped by in the morning on her way to the shop. Sean made an excuse and left the room, allowing Lorelei time with her friend. Rosalee had been there for about 15 minutes before she brought something up. “So, you know that Monroe’s birthday is coming up?”

Lorelei nodded. “Yeah.”

“I wanted to surprise him with a weekend away at the Columbia Gorge Hotel.”

“Oh, I’ve heard good things about that place. You guys are gonna have a great time.” Lorelei told her.

Rosalee smiled at her. “Yeah. I think we will. The thing is I wanted to invite the whole group to join us.”

Rosalee seemed a little nervous when she said that. Lorelei couldn’t figure out why. “Oooh, that’s a great idea. After everything that’s happened recently, you all deserve a weekend away.”

Rosalee looked a little relieved. “I thought the same thing. I just feel guilty about everyone going away while you and the twins are in hospital.”

Lorelei grabbed her hand. “There is no reason to feel guilty. We are all doing fine. I’m stable. The twins are stable. I’ve got Sean, Angela, Amanda, and Amelia. You guys should go enjoy your weekend away.” Lorelei told her. “Especially you and Monroe. It might be your last chance to have a vacation before the triplets are born.”

It took a little more convincing, but eventually Rosalee felt less guilty about the group heading away for a few days. The fuschbau stayed a little longer before she headed off to work, and Sean reappeared. Lorelei filled him in on Rosalee’s plan. It meant that Diana would be at their place all weekend. Lorelei suggested that Sean should spend the weekend with their older kids, some quality one on one time with Daddy. Her husband had been a little apprehensive about leaving Lorelei and the twins alone at the hospital, Lorelei assured him that they would be fine. If Lorelei was honest, she was looking forward to some time without Sean hovering over her. And hopefully with her friends and family away, it meant less calls and messages. She loved them all, but she needed some peace and quiet. Well, as much as she could get in the hospital. The hospital staff were a given, but some space from her loved ones would be nice.

On Friday, before Sean headed off, he and Lorelei headed to the NICU for their morning visit with Rory and Lily. The twins were surprising staff with how quickly they were gaining weight. There was a discussion about moving the twins out of the incubator and into a regular bed. They would still be in the NICU, but out of the incubators. Lorelei and Sean agreed to this. If the twins did well out of the incubator and continued gaining weight, they may be able to return home sooner than expected.

After reassuring Sean that she would be fine without him at the hospital 24/7, her husband had headed off. Lorelei had flopped down on the bed. It was one of the first times she was really alone since before having the twins. Despite only being less than a week, it felt longer. The twins were doing well. Lorelei was still feeling quite fatigued and weak, although her health was starting to improve. The medications and treatment she had been undergoing were doing their job. She no longer needed additional oxygen or blood transfusions. Lorelei was still anaemic, but her iron levels were improving. It would still be a long road to recovery, but at least the journey was starting. Her doctors were hopeful she would make a full recovery, just like after Olivia had been born. As long as Lorelei took things easy. That wouldn’t be hard. Even at home she would be surrounded by people. Sean, the kids, Angela and her sisters. No doubt there would be an influx of visitors when she was able to return home. It’s why she was enjoying her solitude right now.

Despite the improvements in her physical health and the knowledge that the twins were thriving, Lorelei’s mood was still low. Another reason she was grateful to be alone. She didn’t feel the need to put on a brave face. If she wanted to try, she could do that. If she felt irritable or cranky or any other negative emotion, she could do feel that way. Lorelei wasn’t sure if she was experiencing baby blues, or her mood was a symptom of her conditions. Either way, Lorelei hoped if she was just given the opportunity to freely feel her emotions, things would get better. She just needed time to process everything and with her solitude, she would have a chance to do that.

Chapter Text

***Sean's POV***

Sean didn't feel completely comfortable leaving his wife and newborn daughters at the hospital. However, he was looking forward to some one-on-one time with Diana and Olivia. Angela was taking the next couple days off to have a minor medical procedure off. Amelia was off to help Angela, while Amanda had prior plans with her son for the next couple of days and would have to leave once Sean arrived back at the house. Amanda had just left when Adalind brought Diana over.

"Daddy! I missed you." Diana said as she ran into Sean's arms.

Sean couldn't stop the smile crossing his face as he picked his daughter up. "Oh, I missed you too."

"Are Mama and the twins home yet?"

Sean shook his head. "Not yet. Maybe sometime next week."

Diana looked a little disappointed for a moment before perking up again. "I'm hungry. Want me to make breakfast?"

Sean nodded. "Sure, if you'd like." He said, placing her on feet.

"Yeah." Diana said before taking Olivia's hand. "Come on Livy, you can help me."

Sean and Adalind watched as the girls walked off towards the kitchen. Sean turned back to look at Adalind. There was a moment of awkward silence. "I'll be back early Sunday night to pick her up." Adalind informed him. "What are you guys gonna do?"

Sean shrugged as Diana asked him a question. "How many chocolate chip cookies do you want for breakfast Dad?"

Sean raised an eyebrow, as did Adalind. "Have fun." She told him before walking off.

Sean chuckled as he closed the door before addressing his eldest. "Hey, honey, how about pancakes instead?"

"It's ok. I'm making both."

Hopefully he could convince the girls to eat the pancakes before they started on the cookies. Cookies weren't exactly the best breakfast food. Sean moved towards the kitchen before Olivia got her hands on the chocolate chips.

Sean was successful in convincing the girls to eat their pancakes first, although that was because the cookies took longer to make than the pancakes. After breakfast, Sean set the girls up at the table where they were colouring while Sean did the dishes. At one point when Sean went to check on them, he found Olivia was not at the table. "Where's your sister?"

Diana glanced up at him. "Upstairs taking a nap." She answered before returning to her colouring.

Olivia did have a tendency to put herself down for a nap, but there were baby gates on the stairs, so getting upstairs wasn't an easy feat for the toddler. "Did you open the baby gates for her?"

Diana shook her head. "She did it herself."

Of course she did. Sean thought to himself. She had been able to open her crib herself, so the gates would be a piece of cake. "I'm just gonna check on her." Sean informed Diana before heading to the stairs. As Sean opened the baby gate at the base of the stairs, he questioned whether they were necessary if Olivia could open and close them herself.

Upstairs, he found Olivia curled up in her bed, sound asleep, Molly and Daisy curled up with her. She'd even closed the curtains. It may be his first time raising a toddler, but Sean wondered if Olivia had inherited her mother's intellect. In some regards her behaviour didn't match what the books said to expect. Sean arrived downstairs as the oven alarm went off, letting him know the cookies were ready. Once they had cooled down enough, Sean placed them on a plate, although he had been unable to stop himself from sampling one of the cookies. "Diana, these are amazing." He commented. "These cookies are perfect." He told her as he set the plate beside her.

"I know." Diana said, her attention on what she was drawing.

Sean tilted his head to get a better look as he stood beside her. The images were certainly...unique. "What are you drawing?"

"Stuff I saw."

Sean raised an eyebrow. "Interesting stuff. You saw this?" He asked her. Diana had been drawing a series of symbols.

"Yeah."

"Where?" Diana didn't reply. "Diana?"

"Mommy said I can't tell you." She finally said.

Sean frowned. "Mommy said you can't tell me what?"

"It's our secret. I promised Mommy I wouldn't tell you what I saw in the secret room."

Secret room? Where? This was certainly peaking Sean's interest. "Hmm." Sean placed his cookie down on the plate, brushing the crumbs off his hands as he picked up one of the Diana's drawings to take a closer look. "Wow, these are really nice. You're a really good artist, you know that?" Diana nodded silently. "Do you mind if I take a picture of these?"

Diana shrugged. "I guess."

Sean pulled out his phone. "Ok." He said, quickly taking a few photos of Diana's drawings. He wasn't exactly sure what these symbols were, but he had a feeling there was something going on here. Especially if Adalind had Diana keeping it a secret from him. A few months ago, he may have been briefed on whatever it is Nick and the others were working on, but now. Well, there was no trust. Sean tried to get some more information out of Diana. "Wow. You say you saw this in a secret room, huh?"

"Daddy, I told you I can't tell you." Diana said sounding a little frustrated. "I promised."

Sean sighed. "Well, can you tell me where the secret room is?"

Diana gave him a look. "No."

"Ok. All right." He told her. "You know, it's good that you can keep a promise. Mommy probably thought these were very important if she wanted you to keep that secret."

Diana nodded, eyes back on her drawing. "Uh-huh."

Now Sean really wanted to know what this was about. What were these symbols? Where was this secret room? "Do you know what these symbols mean?"

Diana shook her head. "No. She just said it might be dangerous."

Sean frowned. Before he could give it anymore thought, the doorbell rang. Leaving Diana drawing, he headed to the front door.

"Delivery for a Sean Renard." The man at the door said.

Sean frowned as he looked at the man and the small tree beside him. "What's this?"

The man looked at the tree. "Picea glauca 'Conica'. Or, for those not versed in tree talk, Dwarf Alberta Spruce, a dense confir used as an accent tree –."

Sean cut him off. "No, I get all that, but what – what's it doing here?"

The man sighs before gesturing to the card attached to it. "Says Congratulations on the birth of your twins, Captain and Lorelei, from your friends at the precinct." Sean stopped forward to look at note himself. It was an odd choice of a gift. "Where do you want me to put the accent? I've got another one on the truck."

"I don't care. Somewhere on the porch, I guess."

The man nodded before holding his clipboard out. "If you could sign right here."

Sean waited at the door as the man finished his delivery, still wondering who at the precinct decided to give such a strange baby gift. "That's it." The delivery man said as he finished unloading the second tree. "Have a nice day."

"You too." Sean told him as he re-entered the house, closing the door behind him. As Sean approached the table, he noticed Diana was no longer sitting at it. "Diana?" He entered the kitchen, calling out her name. Not there either. Sean continued moving through the house calling out for his daughter beginning to grow concerned when she didn't answer him.

She wasn't in her room or Olivia's or any of the other rooms. He was starting to panic as he headed back downstairs. As Sean was heading to the stairs leading down to the basement, something caught his eye. A leaf sitting on the floor behind the table Diana had been sitting at. Sean approached it. It hadn't been there earlier, and as it was winter the only time the doors to the deck were opened was when Molly was taken out. Picking up the leaf, Sean felt fear course through his body. Diana wasn't in the house. And she knew better than to just leave. Someone had taken her. "No." Sean said out loud as he dropped the leaf and moved back into the kitchen. "No, no, no, no. Oh god!" Pulling out his phone, Sean unlocked it with the intention of calling 911. But then he stopped. Diana was perfectly capable of protecting herself. Whoever had taken her may have caught her unaware. They had no idea what Diana could do. And they deserved whatever happened to them. Sean scoffed as he he locked his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. As he grabbed another cookie, he couldn't help but pity the person who had kidnapped his daughter. They were in for a nasty surprise.

Sean kept his phone close. He figured whoever had taken Diana would be calling to either make their demands or begging for help. While Olivia slept Sean settled in the living room looking over Diana's drawings. Some were familiar, he knew he'd seen them before but couldn't quite put his finger on where. When exactly had Diana seen these symbols? Where was this secret room? And what was it about them that made them dangerous? What was Adalind dragging their daughter into? Sean wondered if Lorelei knew anything about them. Although if they or whatever they were associated with were a secret, it was doubtful that Lorelei would tell him. Especially as he wasn't exactly in her friend's good books at the moment.

Eventually Olivia woke up. She did ask about Diana but was easily distracted from the topic. Sean made lunch for the both of them. As they were finishing up Sean received a message from an unknown number. Opening it, he saw a photo of Diana sleeping. She'd obviously not been awake in the time she'd been with her kidnapper, otherwise this message would be very different. Then his phone rang.

"Yeah?"

"You should've kept your word." A familiar sounding male voice said from the other end.

"Lieutenant Grossante." Sean greeted him.

"If you ever want to see your little girl again, listen carefully."

"You have my daughter." Sean confirmed.

"You stabbed me in the back."

"Look, there were things out of my control." Sean told him.

"You threatened to have me arrested for a murder you had me commit." Grossante said angrily.

Sean frowned. "I never threatened to arrest you."

"I was in your office! You said it to my face!"

Sean knew that never happened, but Grossante thought it did. It clicked. Nick. Grossante had been speaking with Nick when he was pretending to be Sean. Sean chuckled. "No, no. Look, I—I was not being myself back then." He couldn't exactly tell him the truth. The man wouldn't believe him anyway.

"You're going to keep your end of the bargin. Just like you promised."

Sean raised an eyebrow. "Now, are you sure you want to be doing this?" Sean asked him. He really had no idea what he was dealing with.

"You owe me."

"I understand you're upset. I just—."

Grossante cut him off. "You are gonna make me captain of that precinct, or your little girl dies."

The call ended and Sean sighed. He really did have some pity for the man. But Sean wasn't giving him his job. And Grossante made the choice to kidnap Diana. He deserved whatever he got.

A couple of hours later, he got another call from Grossante. "Hello." Sean said, trying not to smirk.

"H—H—Help me."

Sean did smirk this time. "Grossante."

The man sounded out of breath...and terrified. "Please. You have to hurry. Help me."

"Where are you?"

"I'm –I'm at the old Portland Metalworks shack. 2872 Northwest Industrial. Please, for God's sakes. You gotta hurry."

Sean thought about it. "Yeah, listen. There's a couple of things I got to take care of first, but I'll be there as soon as I can."

"No. No! No, listen to me." Grossante hissed. "For God's sakes, you got to get here. Sh—She's gonna kill me."

In the background, Sean heard Diana's voice say in a sing songy voice. "I found you. That's not a very good hiding place."

"Oh. Oh, no." Grossante said. "Please. Oh god. Please."

Grossante screamed. Sean listened for a little longer. It sounded like Grossante had been separated from his phone as his screams sounded more distant. Sean shrugged and ended the call before looking at Olivia. "How about we have an afternoon snack?"

The sun was setting when Sean finally headed to the address Grossante had provided him with. Olivia had drifted off to sleep, so he left her in the car as he approached the building, wondering what state Grossante would be in. As he opened the door, Sean found Grossante on the floor. It appeared he was trying to crawl towards the door.

"Oh, hey there, Lieutenant." Sean commented looking down at the man. He was not in good shape. "You and Diana have been having a lot of fun, I assume?"

Grossante looked at him as if he were crazy. "Daddy!" Diana called out happily.

"Ah!! Grossante cried, flinching at the sound of Diana's voice.

Sean smiled as Diana ran up to him. "Hey, honey. Oh!" He said picking her up. "Did you have a good time with the lieutenant?"

Diana nodded. "I sure did. Can I stay a little longer?"

"I think you've had enough fun for now." Sean told her.

"But we can have another playdate sometime?"

"Of course. Anytime you want." Sean said as he turned to leave with his daughter.

Diana looked over his shoulder at Grossante. "Bye. See you soon."

Sean closed the door to Grossante begging him not to leave him there. Ignoring the man's cries, Sean headed back to the car. Hopefully, the man had learnt his lesson and wouldn't be messing with his family again.

Chapter Text

***Sean’s POV***

The next morning, Sean got the girls ready and headed out. He was going to stop in at the hospital to visit Lorelei, Aurora and Liliana before taking Diana and Olivia to do some Christmas shopping. Lorelei had done most of the Christmas shopping already, but suggested Sean could take the girls out to get some last-minute things.

“Mama!” Diana cried happily as she entered Lorelei’s room. “I missed you.”

“Hi.” Lorelei said, a smile crossing her face when she saw them. Sean placed Olivia on the bed before picking Diana up and placing her on it as well. Both girls hugged her tightly. “Oh, I missed you both so much.”

“Baby!” Olivia said loudly.

Sean looked in the direction she was pointing. He saw that Aurora and Liliana were in bassinets in Lorelei’s hospital room. He looked questioningly at his wife as Diana slid off the bed and went to see her baby sisters. “They just brought them down. Said they don’t need to be in the NICU anymore.” Lorelei explained. “They’ll be in here until they’re discharged.”

Sean raised an eyebrow. Yesterday morning Sean and Lorelei had been advised that the twins would be in the NICU for a few more days. Now, a day later they had been moved into Lorelei’s room. “Did the doctor say when that would be?”

Lorelei shrugged. “At the rate they’re gaining weight, he thinks it could be by Wednesday.” Lorelei lowered her voice. “I think the twins are taking after their older sisters. The rate at which they’re gaining weight is similar to how Olivia went from 33 weeks to 36 weeks in a matter of days.”

Sean nodded. The twins weight gain was something that couldn’t be explained. Hopefully they wouldn’t take after Diana in the sense that they aged quickly.  Sean was about ask Lorelei how she was but had to quickly grab Olivia who was trying to climb off the bed. “Daddy, baby!” His toddler said eagerly pointing at the twins.

“I know. Those are your little sisters.” Sean said taking Olivia in his arms before coming to stand beside the twins bassinets.

Lorelei joined them. “That’s Rory and that’s Lily.” Lorelei told her. “Rory, Lily, this is your sister Olivia.”

Olivia screwed her face up, appearing to be thinking hard. She pointed to Lorelei’s stomach. “Baby.” She said before looking back at the twins, pointing at them. “Baby.”

“Yeah. The babies were in Mama’s tummy and now they’re out here, with us.” Diana told her. “And when they are a little bigger, they are coming home with us.”

Olivia nodded. It was hard to tell if she really understood, but she seemed content. She rested her head against Sean’s shoulder, looking at her little sisters in awe. Lorelei had wrapped her arm around Diana’s shoulder, resting her head on top of her blonde hair. Sean felt a wave of contentment wash over him as he looked at his family. He didn’t think it was possible to be happier than he was right now, surrounded by those he loved the most.

After a couple of hectic hours shopping, Sean was relieved when they arrived home. It was just over a week until Christmas and it seemed like everyone was out shopping for Christmas. No wonder Lorelei usually tried to finish her shopping before December, people were crazy this time of year. Diana carried some of the bags in while he took Olivia upstairs. The toddler had fallen asleep in the car on the ride home. He placed her in her bed before heading downstairs to bring the rest of the shopping in.

Diana was putting what had already been wrapped under the Christmas tree. Sean carried the groceries into the kitchen while she did that. The groceries mainly consisted of things for Christmas baking. Diana wanted to make gingerbread men and Sean thought decorating them would be a great activity they could do together. As Sean was putting the groceries away, Diana joined him in the kitchen. “Daddy, will Mama and my baby sisters be home before Christmas?” She asked sitting at the kitchen island.

“I hope so, honey.” Sean answered as placed the flour into the pantry. “But we’ll have to wait and see.” Diana nodded. “How about you go draw a picture for Mama while I finish putting the groceries away, then I’ll make some hot cocoa, and we can watch a movie.”

Diana perked up at that. “Ok.” She said sliding off her chair before running off.

Sean smiled briefly before turning back to finish up his task. He hoped his other girls would be out of hospital before Christmas. It was their first one with Diana, the first Olivia was old enough to understand, and it would be Kelly’s first Christmas ever. Lorelei and Adalind had wanted to make it extra special. Everyone would be gathering at Adalind and Nick’s place for a late Christmas lunch/early Christmas dinner. Although Sean wasn’t sure if he was still invited. Not that he could blame anyone. He had made some…less than stellar choices that impacted the group. He was man enough to acknowledge that. At least he would have Christmas morning with his family, even if he didn’t get to spend the whole day with them.

Shaking his head, Sean put the last item away before grabbing what he needed to make hot cocoa. As he was waiting for the milk to heat up, he thought about his wife. Even when she got out of hospital, she would still require a great deal of help. Although the doctors expected her to fully recover, it would be quite a while before Lorelei was perfectly healthy. Sean had already made the decision to extend his paternity leave for another couple of weeks. And with Angela and her sisters, they would have plenty of help around the house. Hopefully returning home would help to lift Lorelei’s spirits somewhat. Despite trying to hide it, he knew his wife was struggling. One of the nurses had mentioned that Lorelei was at risk of postpartum depression. She’d given Sean some information about what to look out for. She had even offered to connect him with a psychologist who specialised in postpartum mental health. Sean had read over the information and turned to the internet to find out more. He wanted to be prepared to support his wife if her baby blues turned in PPD. As strong and resilient as his wife was, even she had her limits.

Sean was finishing up with the hot cocoa, Diana came in to show him her drawing. It was a family portrait. “Mama will love it.” Sean told her, handing her a cup of hot cocoa. “Do you know what movie you want to watch?”

Sean and Diana were halfway through A Muppet Christmas Carol when Olivia came downstairs, followed closely by Molly and Daisy. Rubbing her eyes, she climbed onto the couch, sliding in between Sean and Diana, while Molly and Daisy curled up in front of the fireplace. Once the movie was finished, Sean decided the treat the girls with pizza for dinner. While they waited for the pizza to arrive, Sean put on another Christmas movie, The Grinch. He’d been concerned Olivia might find the character of the Grinch scary, but it turned out he was her favourite character in the movie.

When the pizza arrived, Sean had intended to pause the movie so they could eat but Diana convinced him to let them eat in front of the tv. That didn’t turn out to be the best idea as Olivia and Diana were too engrossed in the movie to eat. Sean had to resort to hand feeding the toddler to make sure she ate. Diana had to keep being reminded about the food in front of her. She’d take a couple of bites before being distracted by the movie. Despite feeling a little frustrated, it was good to see his daughters acting like children their own age.

Once the movie finished, Sean took the girls upstairs for their bath and to get them changed into their pyjamas. When they were dressed, it was back downstairs for another Christmas movie as well as some hot cocoa. The three of them settled on the couch with their hot cocoas to watch The Santa Clause.  It wasn’t until the movie had finished that Sean realised both Diana and Olivia had fallen asleep. After putting both girls in their beds, Sean settled in his own to call Lorelei.

“How’d your day go?” Lorelei asked him.

Sean smiled. “Shopping was hectic, but we spent the rest of the day watching Christmas movies.”

“Oooh, which ones?”

“The Muppets, The Grinch and The Santa Clause. The first one.”

“Good choices.” Lorelei commented.

“How was the rest of your day?”

“Uneventful. Pretty much just pumping, feeding the twins, and resting.” Lorelei answered. “And of course lots of cuddles.”

Sean nodded. “And how are you?”

Lorelei sighed. “I’m ok. Still tired and feeling a little weak. But I’m not feeling as dizzy as I was and it’s getting a little easier to concentrate.”

“Did you see any of your doctor’s today?”

“Yeah. Dr Brody stopped by this morning. She is pleased with my progress. And then Dr Pham, the cardiologist was in this afternoon. He said he wants to do another round of tests before discharging me, but I’m stable and the medications seem to be working.”

“Well, that’s good news.” Sean told her. “Sounds like you and the twins could be home this week.”

“Yeah.” Lorelei said although she didn’t sound certain.

Sean frowned. “Are you alright?”

Lorelei sighed. “Yeah. I want to go home, but…I don’t know. I guess I’m just a bit anxious. There are doctors and nurses here in case anything goes wrong. But at home, we’d have to wait for the paramedics to arrive.”

Sean could understand where she was coming from. “I understand your concerns. However, the doctors wouldn’t discharge you all if they had any concerns.”

“True.” Lorelei said faintly. She sighed again. “You guys still coming in tomorrow morning?”

Sean wanted to discuss her concerns more, but didn’t want to push her. “We are. Then I thought I would take them to OMSI. You mentioned they enjoyed it last time.”

Lorelei chuckled. “They had a blast last time. Diana’s been wanting to go back ever since. Make sure to take lots of snacks with you. Dragging them away from the exhibits to get them to eat lunch was basically impossible.”

Sean nodded. “Noted.”

Lorelei hadn’t been kidding when she said getting the girls to sit down and eat lunch would be impossible. Thankfully the snacks he brought providing enough sustenance to keep them going. Although Sean had wondered if he should have left the museum until after Olivia’s nap. He’d been hoping she’d sit in her stroller and fall asleep, however that hadn’t occurred. She didn’t even fall asleep in the car ride home. The lack of nap resulted in an overtired toddler who got crankier as the day progressed. Eventually, she fell asleep eating her afternoon snack. Sean had a feeling bedtime would be later today.

Diana had been in the bath when her little sister came stumbling into the bathroom like a little drunk person. Olivia had already managed to remove her pants and socks in preparation for joining her sister in the bath. Sean made quick work of the rest of her clothes and got her in the bath. The warm water seemed to wake Olivia up and before Sean knew it, she was acting as her usual self. After cleaning her up, Sean sat back and let them enjoy the water.

With bathtime over, Sean and the girls headed back downstairs. Adalind had sent him a message letting him know they’d be arriving back around 8pm. There was still another couple of hours to go, so they’d settled in the living room watching another movie. It was just finishing when Adalind arrived to collect Diana.

“How’d your weekend go?” Sean asked as Diana ran upstairs to get her bag.

An odd look crossed Adalind’s face as she paused for a moment. “It was certainly interesting.” She answered. Sean raised an eyebrow. “It’s a long story.”

Once Diana and Adalind had left, Sean turned to look at Olivia who was standing on the couch. “Are you ready for bed?” Sean asked her.

Olivia shook her head. “No. Play!” She replied before she started jumping up and down.

Sean sighed. This was going to be a long night.

After letting Olivia run around for a little while, he was able to herd her upstairs. Once they reached her bedroom, she’d grabbed a few books from her bookshelf and handed them to Sean. Olivia had proceeded to grab her stuffed wolf before leaving the room. “Where are you going?” Sean asked, placing the books under his arm so he could grab her bottle.

“Daddy room.” Olivia replied as she continued her journey.

Sean followed her. Once she reached his and Lorelei’s room, she threw her wolf on the bed and proceeded to try and climb up after it. Upon realising she couldn’t do it herself, Olivia turned to him for help. “Daddy, up.” She said patting the bed for good measure.

Sean placed the bottle and the books on the bedside table before placing his daughter on the bed. Olivia pointed to his own nightwear which were folded at the end of the bed. “Dressed Daddy.”

Sean smiled at her. “You want Daddy to change into his pyjamas?” Olivia nodded. “Ok. You wait right here.” He told her. Sean handed her one of the books before grabbing his pyjamas and stepping into the bathroom to get changed. When he stepped out again, he found Olivia jumping on the bed. “Ah, ah, ah. No jumping on the bed.” He said in a mock stern tone.

“Ok.” Olivia said, falling to her hands and knees. She crawled up to where the pillows were and tried to pull the covers back. “Daddy, help.”

“Are you sleeping with Daddy tonight?” Sean asked as he stepped forward to pull the covers back.

Olivia nodded. “Yes.”

Figuring if it would get her to go to sleep at a reasonable time, Sean wouldn’t argue. As Sean turned a couple of the lamps off, Olivia climbed under the covers. Sean joined her and she snuggled up beside him before handing him the book. In return, he handed her the bottle. He started reading to her as she worked her way through the bottle. By the time Olivia had finished her bottle, Sean was just starting the third book. As he turned back from placing the bottle on the bedside, Sean noticed that Olivia had finally fallen asleep. Deciding against moving her, Sean switched to his own book and settled back against the pillows to relax before he went to bed himself.

Chapter Text

***Sean’s POV***

On Tuesday morning when Sean arrived at the hospital, he found out it would be the last time he would be doing so. Lorelei and the girls were being discharged that day. Aurora and Liliana had amazed staff by how quickly they had gained weight. As of Tuesday morning, they were 5.55lbs and 5.5lbs respectively. And with no additional health issues, the doctors had determined they were ready to go home. Lorelei’s own test results showed she had recovered enough that they felt comfortable enough to send her home. All three of them would have appointments to check their progress a couple of days after the New Year started.

Sean had contacted Angela to let her know. She told him she would let her sisters know, especially Amanda who would be acting as their night nurse for the first few months. After that period, she would join her sisters as their regular nannies, taking turns caring for the children. Once that was done, Sean helped Lorelei pack up hers and the babies’ belongings. “I swear, I didn’t have this much stuff when I arrived.” Lorelei commented as she pushed down on her suitcase, trying to zip it up.

Sean looked up from where he had finished zipping up the twins’ bag. He walked over to where his wife was and used his body weight to hold the suitcase closed, allowing Lorelei to finally zip it up. “You did receive some gifts while you were in here. I’m sure they added to the load.”

Lorelei nodded. “True.” She turned to look at the girls, who were in their bassinets. “Let’s get these two into their car seats and head home.”

“Mommy!” Olivia flew down the hallway, throwing herself at Lorelei’s legs as they entered the front door.

“Hi sweetheart.” Lorelei said as she bent down to pick Olivia up. “How are you?” Olivia in her arms, Lorelei headed towards the living room where Angela was waiting for them. “Hi Angela.”

Angela pulled Lorelei into a hug. “How are you sweetheart?”

Lorelei smiled at her. “Tired. But glad to be home.”

Angela nodded understandingly before turning her attention to Sean and the twins. “Hello little girls. Look how big you’ve gotten since I last saw you.” She cooed.

“Just over 5.5.lbs now.” Sean informed her. “And if you’ll excuse me, I might take them upstairs, get them out of their car seats.”

“Of course. Olivia was just about to help me make lunch, weren’t you sweet girl?”

Olivia nodded and Lorelei handed her over to Angela. Sean started making his way up the stairs, followed closely by his wife. Setting the car seats on the bed, he unbuckled Aurora from hers and gently picked her up. “Welcome home sweetheart.” Sean told her softly as he moved to place her in the bassinet.

Lorelei removed Liliana from her car seat. She gently placed her in the bassinet before turning to Sean. “I might have a bit of a lie down before lunch.”

Sean nodded, removing the car seats from the bed. He helped his wife onto the bed before sitting down on the edge beside her. “Is there anything you need?”

Lorelei shook her head, a smile on her face. “I’m all good.” She replied.

Sean placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “I’m gonna put the car seats in the twin’s room. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

The rest of the day was uneventful. Lorelei spent the remainder of the day upstairs with the twins. The twins were feeding around every 90 minutes for about 20 minutes each. Lorelei would alternate between feeding them at once or one at a time. When she wasn’t feeding them, she was either resting or pumping. Sean and Angela took turns staying with Lorelei, bringing her food and drinks. Both had offered to feed one or both of the twins, but Lorelei was insisted that for this first day, she would do it herself. She wanted to stock up on breast milk, so she was able to better rest overnight and tomorrow.

Amanda arrived around 7pm just as Sean and Lorelei were putting Olivia to bed. The twins and their bassinets were moved into the guest room where Amanda would be sleeping when she wasn’t attending to the twins. It was determined that for this evening, at least, Amanda and Sean would do the feedings while Lorelei slept. By 10pm, Lorelei and Sean were heading to bed. The twins had been fed and they had an hour and a half before they were due to be fed again. Turning off the lights, Sean joined his wife in bed. She shuffled closer to him, her head resting on his chest. “I’m glad to be home.” Lorelei told him.

Sean pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m glad you’re home as well. All of you.”

Lorelei looked up at him, her hand coming to rest on his cheek. Sean leant down capturing her lips with his own. “I missed being able to do that without the heart monitor going off.” She said with a chuckle.

Sean hummed in agreement. “Likewise. Now, get some sleep.”

Sean entered the kitchen the next morning desperate for coffee. Every time the twins had awoken, so had he. Lorelei had as well, but it didn’t take much to convince her to stay in bed and leave it himself and Amanda.  

“Morning. You look like you could use this.” Angela commented as she offered him a cup.

Sean smiled at her gratefully. “Thank you.” He said accepting it. He pressed a kiss to the top of Olivia’s head before sitting down at kitchen island. Olivia was eating some fruit while Angela was preparing breakfast. And it looked like she was preparing a feast.

“How’d everything go last night?” Angela asked as turned back to the stove to finish up the bacon.

“It went well. The twins are feeding frequently but not for very long.” Sean answered. “And with the two of us feeding them at once, we weren’t awake for very long.”

Angela nodded, placing the bacon on an oven tray. “How frequently are they feeding?”

Sean rubbed his eye. “Every 90 minutes.”

“That is frequent. I suppose it’s because of their size. Over time there will be longer and longer breaks between feedings.” Angela slid the tray of bacon in the oven to keep it warm. “How often did Lorelei try to get up?”

Sean swallowed his mouthful of coffee. “She didn’t. She would wake up, but it was easy to convince her to go back to sleep.”

“That’s good to hear. She needs to rest. I’m glad she’s taking the help. She can be quite stubborn, that one.” Angela said with a chuckled.

Sean smiled into his cup. That was true. Although Lorelei had gotten better at accepting help over the past year. “I’ll have you know, I come from a long line of stubborn people.” Lorelei said as she entered the kitchen.

“Of course you do.” Angela said, rolling her eyes. Lorelei smiled cheekily at her as she walked over to Olivia to kiss her good morning. “Do you want a drink? Coffee, tea, juice, milk?”

“I might grab a juice.” Lorelei said making her way to the fridge. “Anyone else want some?”

Olivia raised her hand. “Me!”

“What do you say.” Lorelei prompted her.

Olivia thought about it for a second. “Please.”

Lorelei nodded. “Good job.” She said as she grabbed a glass and Olivia’s sippy cup from the dishwasher.

Amanda soon joined them in the kitchen to let them know the twins were awake. Juice in hand, Lorelei headed upstairs to feed them. By the time she was done, breakfast was ready and the five of them sat down to eat together before Amanda headed home. Lorelei headed upstairs to feed the twins again while Angela got Olivia in her winterwear before taking her outside to play.

Sean headed into the office, closing the door behind him. He pulled out Diana’s drawings and sat down at his desk. Powering up his laptop, he opened up the program that would allow him to videocall a contact who may be able to shed some light on the meaning of the symbols. Sean had considered asking Lorelei, however if she knew about the symbols, she may be unlikely to tell him about them, especially if she had been told to keep it a secret.

Dasha looked surprised when she answered the call. “Allo? Sean Renard…This should be interesting.”

Sean smiled at her. “How are you doing, Dasha?”

Dasha shrugged. “How are things in Irkutsk, Siberia? What do you want?” She asked, although the smile she gave him indicated there was no malice behind her words.

Sean glanced at the drawings before looking back at the screen. “I have something I need you to take a look at.” He replied, holding the drawing up for Dasha to see.

Dasha stared intently at the image. “What is it?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I want you to look at it.” He told her.

“Where did you get this?”

Sean glanced at the drawing, wondering how much he should tell her. “My daughter drew it.”

Dasha’s eyes widened. “You have a daughter?” Sean nodded, unable to stop the small smile that crossed his face. “Things have changed, haven’t they, Sean.”

Sean nodded. “Yes, they have.”

Dasha swallowed the tea she had been drinking. “Why would your daughter draw something like this?”

“She said she saw it.”

Dasha raised an eyebrow. “Where could she see this?”

“In a secret room.” He replied. “That’s all I know. Can you figure out if this means anything?”

“I will tell you right now, it does mean something.” Dasha informed him. “What, that will be more difficult. I will call you…when I know something.” Sean nodded understandingly. He knew it may take some time. “What is your daughter’s name?”

“Diana.”

Dasha nodded. “Send me the drawing.” She paused for a moment. “Sean, do you know who the mother is?”

“Goodbye, Dasha.”

Sean headed upstairs to find Lorelei had fallen asleep while pumping. Noticing that the bottles weren’t drawing any more milk, he gently disconnected the pump and covered his wife back up. Bottles in hand, he headed downstairs to put them in the fridge.  As Sean was finishing up, Angela and Olivia came back inside, although it sounded as if Olivia would have preferred to stay outside. “It’s time to be inside.” Angela told her patiently as she removed Olivia’s little boots. “We’re going to have a snack and then you are going to have a nap.”

Sean took over getting Olivia out of her winterwear as Angela went to prepare the morning snack. “Another coffee, Sean?” Angela asked. “I was going to have one.”

“Please.” Sean answered as he hung Olivia’s jacket up before picking her up. “Did you have fun playing outside?”

“Yes.” Olivia said, fiddling with the collar of his sweater. “Brrrr.”

“Yes, it was cold outside.” Angela agreed adding some of the apples she’d cut up onto a plate, along with some cheese and crackers. She handed the plate to Sean. “I’ll make up our coffees.”

“Thanks Angela.” Sean said before carrying Olivia and her snack to the table. He placed the plate on the table before getting Olivia set up in her highchair. Sitting beside her, Sean placed the plate in front of her. She went straight for the cheese.

“Lorelei awake?” Angela asked as she joined Sean and Olivia, sliding his coffee towards him.

Sean shook his head. “No, she fell asleep. Which is good. She needs it.”

“Maybe you should get some sleep as well. You look tired.”

Sean nodded. He felt tired. And although he knew he should get some rest, he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep during the day. Perhaps he should at least lie down. It couldn’t hurt. Then he could be there for Lorelei and twins. After finishing his coffee, Sean headed upstairs to join his wife.

Later that evening, after Olivia had gone to bed, Sean was in the office again accepting a call from Dasha. Lorelei and Amanda were upstairs with the twins. “Are you alone?” Dasha asked him.

“Yes.” He confirmed.

“What you have me is unlike…anything I’ve ever seen…”

 “Do you know what it is?”

“I know what some of it might be.” Dasha said slowly, holding up a copy of Diana’s drawing. “And it scares me.” Sean frowned. “I can’t tell if it’s good or bad. Probably bad.”

Sean leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. “What is it?”

“An ancient prophecy…possibly…which predicts…something coming…”

“From where?”

“Somewhere we don’t know.” She paused. “You said your daughter made these images.”

Sean nodded. “Yes.”

“Then she should be connected to this…in a way we can’t imagine.”

“To what’s coming?” He asked, wanting to confirm.

Dasha nodded. “Yes. Watch her very carefully.”

As Sean ended the call, he felt a sense of foreboding. Something was coming. And Diana was somehow connected to it.

Chapter Text

***Lorelei’s POV***

The first couple of days out of the hospital went better than Lorelei expected. It was good to be back home. She had missed the older girls who were happy that she was home. Diana had spent Thursday with them. She loved her little sisters, relishing any opportunity to hold them. Whenever they were awake, Diana was by their side. Olivia seemed to be fascinated by the babies, although she didn’t understand that they couldn’t play with her like Diana did. Lorelei and Sean made sure to spent time with both the older girls together and individually.

Angela, Amelia and Amanda constantly made sure Lorelei and Sean were taking time out of the day to focus on themselves, individually and as a couple. At this stage, it was only little things such as kid free time. Their lives revolved around the kids, specifically the twins at the moment. Their kid free time wasn’t long at the moment, but it had been beneficial for them both. It was hard finding the right moment. The twins were feeding frequently, and when they weren’t feeding, they were sleeping. It was when they were sleeping that Lorelei was pumping. Thankfully, Lorelei had a good milk supply. There was a good stockpile in the fridge and freezer. It meant that Lorelei didn’t need to present for every feed.

Although Lorelei was doing well most of the time, there was almost like a black cloud hovering over her. During her kid free time, she mainly slept. It felt like most of day was spent sleeping and she felt guilty about that. Sure, she was unwell, but she felt like there more she could be doing. But she didn’t have the energy. And nothing other than the kids held her interest for too long. Reading, watching tv, or any of her other hobbies she could do sitting down, none of these appealed to her at the moment. Lorelei knew she was unwell and that she should be kinder to herself, but she was always someone who held herself to a high standard.

On Thursday night, after putting Olivia to bed, Lorelei headed to the bedroom while Sean was helping Amanda feed the twins. Checking her phone, she saw a missed call from Nick. Picking up her phone, she called her brother back. Perhaps he had an update regarding the symbols on the cloth. She knew they were some of calendar and that they were referring to December 24 of this year. However, they had been unable to work out what they could expect to happen on that day.

“Hey, how are you?” Nick asked as he answered the phone.

Lorelei shrugged as she leant back against the pillows. “I’m ok. Still tired, but I think that will be my new normal for the next few months. How are you going?”

“Good, good. Uh, any chance you could come over tomorrow morning? The others will be here.”

Lorelei frowned, glancing towards the door before returning her attention to the call. “Yeah, I think so. Is it about…you know?”

“It is.” Nick confirmed. “Got a bit of an…update for the group. Better to do it in person.”

“Ok. What time?”

“7.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Leaving her sleeping husband, Lorelei crept out of their bedroom and down the stairs. As she was grabbing her jacket, Angela came in through the front door. She was surprised to see Lorelei awake so early. “Hi. Where are you heading off to?” Angela asked, noting Lorelei had her jacket in her hand.

Lorelei glanced down at her jacket before looking back at Angela. “I gotta talk to Adalind about something. I shouldn’t be gone long. Everyone else is still asleep.” Lorelei told her as she grabbed her boots.

“Alright. Is everything ok?” Angela asked looking concerned.

Lorelei nodded. “Yeah. Um, it’s just about Christmas.”

Thankfully, Angela didn’t ask any further questions. Lorelei got her boots and jacket on before heading out the backdoor to access Nick and Adalind’s yard by the back gate that connected the two yards. Hands jammed in the pockets of her jacket; Lorelei made her way to the back door. Adalind quickly let her in. “Oh, it’s getting cold.” Adalind commented.

Lorelei chuckled. “Indeed it is. Maybe we’ll get snow for Christmas.”

“Hi, how are you doing?” Rosalee said approaching her for a hug.

It looked like almost everyone was here. Including Eve. It was the first time Lorelei was meeting Juliette as Eve. It was a surreal experience, seeing her again after all this time. Nick led them upstairs to the main bathroom, filling them in on what he and Eve had experienced the previous Friday morning. Apparently, Eve had been staying with them, and while taking a shower some kind of portal had opened up in the mirror and some weird skull looking figure with glowing green eyes had appeared. And then a couple of days ago, Eve had seen it again in a mirror at the spice shop. Her encounter with the being had left her in the hospital when an arm had reached out and grabbed her.

Monroe peered apprehensively at the mirror in the bathroom. “So, you felt the arm come through the mirror in the spice shop?” Monroe asked Eve.

“I saw it first, and then I felt it.” Eve replied.

“And it choked her.” Nick added as he came to stand before the mirror.

Wu raised an eyebrow. “And we’re talking that same skull creature you and Eve saw in this bathroom mirror.”

Nick looked back at the group. “Yes.”

“Anybody else seen anything in your mirror since?” Hank asked Nick and Adalind.

Nick shook his head. “Not me.” He said glancing at Adalind who also shook her head.

“No, but I don’t think we would. It seems to be connected to Eve. Or….”

“Or?” Eve asked.

“Or it’s after her.” Adalind answered. “These spirits and entities sometimes have a way of attaching themselves to people of our world.”

Rosalee spoke up. “But when Eve saw it here, so did Nick. Maybe it’s after Nick too.”

Monroe nodded in agreement. “That makes sense, I mean, Nick and Eve are pretty deeply connected.” He paused seeing the looks everyone was giving him. He cleared his throat. “I mean, you know, they were.”

“You haven’t seen it any place else?” Hank asked Nick and Eve.

Nick was silent for a moment. “Just a dream.”

“Must’ve been one hell of a dream.” Wu commented.

“That wasn’t a dream.” Everyone spun around to look at Diana who was standing at the doorway to her bedroom.

Adalind quickly approached her. “Honey, you don’t have to worry about this. We can take care of it.”

Diana shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Lorelei stepped closer to her. “Sweetheart, if it wasn’t a dream, what was it?”

“I don’t know what you call it.”

“Is it something that’s not a dream, but is also not real?” Monroe asked.

Diana thought about it. “It’s something that’s not real yet.”

Eve frowned. “Something’s that going to happen.” She said quietly.

Diana nodded. “Uh huh.”

“Do you know where?” Nick asked Diana.

“In the other place.” Diana answered. “Through the hole in the mirror.”

Monroe’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, through the hole in the mirror?” He glanced around at the others. “Ok, we need a buddy system ‘cause nobody can look into a mirror by themselves until we figure this out.”

Rosalee turned to Eve, putting her arm around her shoulder. “And you are staying at our place until we do.”

Eve, looking troubled, nodded her head in agreement. The group decided it would be best to avoid looking in mirrors wherever possible, even if they did have a buddy with them. The others started to make their way out of the house. Lorelei looked at Nick. “Do you think this could be related to the stick?”

Nick shrugged. “I don’t know. Perhaps.” Lorelei sighed and Nick looked at her. “Have you seen anything?”

Lorelei shook her head. “No, but I’m not exactly spending a lot of time looking in the mirror.” She told him. “

Nick sighed. “Just to be safe, avoid mirrors for the time being, at least without having another person with you.”

Lorelei raised an eyebrow. “I may get some uncomfortable questions if anyone in the house notices I’m avoiding mirrors.”

When Lorelei entered her own house, she found Sean and Olivia in the kitchen with Angela. “Morning.” Lorelei said as she greeted her daughter and husband. She quickly removed her jacket and boots before sitting beside her husband.

“Where’d you go so early in the morning?” Sean asked curiously.

Lorelei accepted the tea from Angela. “I just had to talk to Adalind about something.” Lorelei told him before sipping on her tea.

“What about?”

Lorelei shrugged. “Just Christmas. Did the twins wake up while I was gone?” Sean shook his head. Lorelei stood up. “They’ll probably be needing a feed soon.”

Lorelei hurried out of the kitchen. This whole thing had her unnerved. She’d seen a lot of unbelievable things over the past few years, but this was different. Other worlds, mirror portals, and some kind of…who knows what that could reach out and grab you. As Lorelei arrived upstairs, she heard the twins starting to fuss. Amanda stepped out of the bathroom. “Sounds like the babies are hungry.”

Lorelei smiled at her. “You got off at 7. I got this.”

“Well, as your friend, I will help you get set up. You go sit down, get some water, I’ll bring the babies in.”

Lorelei agreed to that. In the bedroom, she set her tea down before grabbing her water bottle, noting it needed a refill. As Lorelei entered the bathroom she paused at the door, eyeing the mirror. Straightening up, she approached the sink and quickly filled the bottle up, her eyes darting across the mirror. Once the bottle was full, Lorelei slowly stepped backwards out of the bathroom, her eyes never leaving the mirror. Man, she hoped the group figured out what was going on. She never thought there would be a day when she would fear mirrors.

***Sean’s POV***

Sean received a message from Dasha, scheduling another video call as soon as possible. On Saturday morning, Sean waited by the laptop. “Did you find anything?” Sean asked her.

“You could call it anything. Maybe more than that.”

“Well?”

“Well.” She sighed before switching to English. “I—I would like to practice my English. Not many people speak it here.” Sean nodded. Dasha picked up the copy of Diana’s drawing. “So, your daughter has drawn a very unusual combination of symbols. Some ancient, some unknown to me, which suggests that they are coming from her imagination.” Sean frowned. “However, I ask myself how this young daughter of Sean Renard, knows such ancient symbols in the first place. And why would she draw them. So, is there something I need to know about her mother.”

Sean sighed. “She’s a hexenbiest.”

Dasha nodded. “I suspected this. Are you together?"

Sean shook his head. “No.” He replied, wondering why that was relevant. “It’s complicated.”

Dasha gave him a knowing look. “Sean, everything with you is always complicated. Does your daughter have your abilities?”

“She has more than me and her mother combined.”

Dasha got a strange look on her face. “Hmmm.” She said slowly.

“What?”

“You mentioned that Diana drew what she saw in the secret room. I find this interesting. What kind of secret room in Oregon of all places, that would have this combination of symbols?”

Sean shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“I suggest you find out because I think much of what she has drawn is not from her imagination, nor from anywhere we know. Call me when you find out. I think it will be very important sooner than later.” Dasha switched back to Russian. “Because I fear nothing…until now.”

Feeling unnerved, Sean closed the laptop. Dasha was not someone who was easily shaken. Yet, whatever this was had her scared. Sean sighed, leaning back in his chair.  Sean needed to see this secret room. He needed to know how the symbols had come to be in the room, under what context. And why had Diana seen it. Did it have something to do with why Lorelei had snuck over to Nick and Adalind’s so early yesterday morning? Lorelei hadn’t provided any information about why she had slipped over there. It wasn’t just to speak with Adalind. Sean had noticed Hank and Rosalee’s cars parked out the front of Nick and Adalind’s house. It seemed like everyone had been there the previous morning. Something was going on.

If something was going on, Sean wasn’t happy at that thought of his wife getting involved. She was 13 days postpartum with a host of health issues. Her focus should be on herself and the twins. However, Sean acknowledged that Lorelei must have thought whatever is going on was important enough to get involved in. He briefly considered asking Lorelei, but if she had been told to keep it a secret, he wasn’t going to get anything out of her. But if this involved Diana somehow, Sean needed to know. There was no way Nick would tell him anything. Perhaps he could try Adalind.

Chapter Text

***Sean’s POV***

“Hello.”

“You want to tell me about the stuff our daughter’s been drawing.” It had had taken a couple of days, but Sean finally bit the bullet and called Adalind. He needed to know more about this secret room Diana had seen.

Adalind paused for a moment. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

So, she was going to play dumb. “Oh, no?” Sean said feeling frustrated. “Then I’m on my way over. We can sit Diana down and we can talk about those symbols.”

Adalind sighed. “All right, all right, all right, all right.” She said. “We don’t have to put her through all that. “

“What do those symbols mean?”

Another pause. “I don’t know.”

“And I think you’re lying.”

“I don’t care what you think, Sean. I don’t know.” Adalind told him.

Sean clenched his jaw. “I want to see this secret room.” No answer. “Damn it, Adalind, our daughter is in the centre of something big.”

Adalind sighed. “You think I don’t know that?” She asked him angrily.

“Then I need to know everything you know.” Sean retorted. Adalind paused. “Now, tell me about where the secret room is.”

“You’re gonna have to take that up with Nick. Goodbye.”

Damn it. Sean had been hoping he could avoid interacting with Nick. He hadn’t spoken to the man since that day at the precinct. The two had managed to avoid one another when Nick would come to see Lorelei and the twins. Sean could try speaking to Lorelei about those symbols and the secret room, but since it wasn’t her secret to tell she’d more than likely defer to Nick’s judgement. Sean sighed. He’d try talking to Nick.

Sean spent a few hours determining how to approach Nick about the symbols and this secret room. Slipping back into the office, Sean sent a photo of Diana’s drawing to Nick before calling the man.

“I wanna see the secret room where these symbols are.” Sean said as soon as Nick answered the phone.

“Hello to you too.”

Sean clenched his jaw. “I wanna know what the hell is going on, and why my daughter is involved in something dangerous.”

Nick paused. “Who told you it was dangerous?”

“You show me the secret room, and I’ll tell you.”

Nick scoffed. “No, it’s not gonna happen that way.”

“This is my daughter we’re talking about, and you’re putting her at risk.” Sean told him angrily.

“Share what you know. And I’ll do the same.”

Sean almost threw the phone across the room as Nick hung up on him. Damn it. Why was Nick being so difficult? Surely as a father, he knew where Sean was coming from. Where was this secret room and why couldn’t Nick just show it to him? Yet Nick wasn’t willing to show Sean the room unless Sean shared what he knew. Sean wasn’t willing to share what he knew until Nick showed him the room. Neither man trusted the other. Neither were willing to give him before the other. Sean, again, considered bringing it up with Lorelei. However, he wasn’t keen on putting his wife in the middle. Did she even know about this secret room? But, if he did speak with her about it, she may be able to convince Nick to work with him.

Sean spent the remainder of the day debating what he should do. There was a part of him that was hoping Nick would just trust that if he showed Sean this room, Sean would tell him what he knew. He knew Nick cared for Diana, surely, he could put aside his animosity towards Sean for Diana’s benefit. Or at least for his sisters. Lorelei adored Diana. Diana was her oldest child. As the hours ticked by, Sean realised that if anything was going to happen, it wouldn’t be today.

The man was resting in bed. Lorelei would be joining Amanda to take care of the twins overnight. Sean had tried going to sleep but found himself unable to. When Lorelei returned to the bedroom after feeding the twins, Sean decided to say something to her. Pulling Diana’s drawings out of his bedside draw he handed them to Lorelei. “What do you know about this secret room where Diana saw these symbols she’s been drawing?” He asked her.

Lorelei frowned, looking at the drawing as she sat on the bed. “I don’t know anything about a secret room.” She told him as she started shifting through the drawings.

Sean sighed but tried to quell his frustration. “I know the room exists. Nick and Adalind, both confirmed it. I just don’t know where. I need to see where Diana saw these symbols.”

“Sean. I’m being honest. I don’t know anything about a secret room. You seem to know more about it than I do.”

Sean looked at her closely. He believed she was being truthful about the room. “What about the symbols?” He asked.

Lorelei sighed. “You really should talk to Nick about this.”

“I tried. He won’t tell me anything.”

Lorelei bit her lip, deep in thought as she picked up one of Diana’s drawings. After a moment she sighed. “I know this one is some kind of ancient mapping of the constellations and planets.” She told him as she held up the same one, he’d given to Dasha. Lorelei glanced at the others. “These other ones might be the ones Eve drew while in some kind of a trance. I think they’re also constellations, how they were represented by different ancient civilisations.”

“Where did Eve draw them?”

Lorelei shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe at Nick and Adalind’s. She was staying with them.”

That was news to Sean. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Eve being in such close proximity to his wife and children. Especially considering her history. Evidentially uniting against a common enemy had led to Eve being returned to the fold.

“Are these symbols linked to whatever it is led to the entire group meeting at Nick and Adalind’s the other morning?”

Lorelei paused for a moment. “Yes.”

Before Sean could ask any further questions, his phone started ringing. As he grabbed it, he noticed it was Adalind. “Adalind?”

Less than an hour later, Sean and Lorelei were entering the back door of Nick and Adalind’s place. It seemed everyone was there. Everyone except Nick and Eve. Sean had only been expecting Nick and Adalind. “Well, this is a surprise.” Sean said as looked at those gathered. They may have been happy to see Lorelei, but they certainly weren’t happy to see him. “Everybody’s here.”

Monroe glared at him. “Everybody’s not here.”

“That’s why you’re here.” Hank said in a low voice.

“Let’s get one thing straight. I’m only here because of my daughter. My wife is here to make sure we don’t kill each other.”

Rosalee spoke up. “We’re here for Diana as well. And we’re for Nick and we’re here for Eve.”

“Daddy, Mama.”

Sean looked up to see Diana standing at the top of the stairs. Sean felt his expression soften at the sight of his daughter. Diana came down the stairs and ran into Sean’s arms. “I’m glad you’re here.” Diana told him.

“Me too.”

Diana looked at Adalind. “Am I going to Mama and Daddy’s?”

Adalind shook her head. “No, sweetie, Daddy’s just gonna help us find Nick and Eve.”

Diana looked back at Sean. “That would be good, Daddy. They’re in a bad place.”

Sean frowned. “Where are they?”

“The other place.”

“What other place?”

Diana looked confused at Sean’s confusion. “Through the mirror.” She said as she looked at Adalind. Sean followed her gaze to the blonde.

“It took hexenbiest blood to cross over.” Adalind informed him.

“You got a lot of catching up to do.” Monroe said.

Sean nodded. “Yeah, I guess I do.” He said slowly, glancing around at the others.

“We’ll start with the secret room.” Adalind suggested as Sean set Diana on her feet.

Diana frowned. “I thought that was supposed to be a secret.”

“Not anymore.” Adalind said as she headed to a set of stairs leading down, presumably to the basement. So, the secret room was in the house.

Sean and Lorelei followed Adalind and Diana down the stairs. The footsteps behind them let him know the others were following them as well. Once in the basement, they continued back to what appeared to have been a wine cellar. Monroe stepped forward and moved one of the shelves to the side, revealing a door which he then opened before stepping back. Sean raised an eyebrow. “That is so cool.” Lorelei said under her breath.

“How long has this been here?” Sean asked.

“It’s possible this was a cellar of an house or cabin that was here long before this area was developed.” Monroe answered. “Whoever built this house decided to keep it.”

Monroe offered Sean a flashlight. Sean accepted it, turning it on before he took a tentative step towards the room. Shining the light around it, Sean could see the room was quite large and constructed using bricks. He looked back at Monroe. “After you.”

Despite Sean insisting Lorelei stay outside, she entered the room. Adalind handed her another flashlight, directing her to shine it on the walls and the ceiling. “Wow, that’s a lot of carvings.” Lorelei commented, looking around in awe.

“So, that was all here before?”

“No. Eve carved it.” Adalind replied.

Sean frowned. “Why?”

“We don’t know and neither does she.”

Sean looked at Diana. “And you drew these because you saw them here?”

“No, I saw them on the cloth.”

“What cloth?”

Diana glanced up at Adalind. “It’s a long story.” Monroe answered for Adalind. He glanced at Lorelei and Hank who indicated he should continue. “Nick and I found something in the Black Forest.”

The Black Forest? “Wait…This have anything to do with the keys?”

Lorelei sighed. “It has everything to do with the keys.”

“You got all seven?”

“No, we got five.” Monroe replied. “But…It was enough.”

Sean shook his head. “I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it.” Hank told him.

Sean looked at Monroe. “You found what the Crusaders buried in the 12^th century?”

Monroe smiled nervously. “We did.”

“What’d you find?”

There was silence as Monroe glanced up. The carvings in the stone were glowing purple. “Woah.”  Monroe whispered.

“Me too.” Hank added.

“Daddy, do you like that?” Diana asked. They all looked at Diana, her eyes woged.

Adalind looked concerned. “Our daughter is connected to this, Sean. We need to figure out how.”

They returned upstairs, Monroe carrying a box he had retrieved from the room. The group gathered around the kitchen island as Monroe opened the box. “That’s the cloth, Daddy.” Diana told him as Monroe pulled an old looking piece of material out, carefully laying it out in front of Sean. “It has the symbols on it. Eve can see some of them, but only I can see them all.”

Sean glanced at her. “The same symbols you showed me in the room?”

“Yes.” Adalind added.

Sean peered closely at the cloth, frowning slightly. “I don’t see anything.” He looked up at the others. “This is what the Grimm Crusaders buried. This is what the Royal family has been looking for for centuries?”

“That. And this.” Lorelei said as she reached into the box and pulled out…a stick.

Sean raised an eyebrow. “A stick?” He asked sceptically. “They buried a stick?”

Monroe carefully took the stick from Lorelei. “It gets that reaction a lot.”

Hank jumped in. “But there’s more to it than that.”

“It’s not just any stick.” Rosalee added.

“For one thing, it can heal.” Wu informed him.

Sean looked down at the stick, wondering if they were pulling his chain. This small piece of ancient wood could heal. “The stick saved Monroe after they got back from Germany.” Lorelei told him.

“And Eve.” Rosalee added.

“How?”

Monroe shrugged. “Nobody knows. The last people who might have known were slaughtered when the Crusaders sacked Constantinople in the 13^th century –1204, to be exact. And it’s how Nick was able to follow Eve into the…Other Place.”

Adalind looked at him. “Sean, if you or your friend know anything about any of this…”

Sean sighed. “I don’t know if she does or doesn’t, but we’re gonna find out. I’m gonna need a computer.”

Adalind went to grab her laptop. Sean set it up on the table, taking a seat as everyone crowded around him. Thankfully Dasha was available to take the call.

“I need to know more about this Other Place.” Dasha said once she had been briefed on the situation. “Diana, what can you tell me?”

“It’s behind the mirrors.”

“Have you been there?”

Diana shook her head. “No one should go there.”

“Is it like our world?”

“A little. But its full of wild things.”

Dasha was silent for a moment. “Schrodinger’s Cat.”

“Wait a minute, are you talking about that thought experiment with the cat in the box with the posion.”

“What are you talking about?” Sean asked.

“Exactly.” Dasha said. “Cat in a closed box with poison. 50% chance the cat will be killed by the poison or will survive.

“Right…but because the box is closed, two dimensions exist simultaneously.” Lorelei said slowly. “One where the cat is alive. One where it’s dead. And as long as the box stays closed, both realities exist.”

Dasha nodded. “It’s only when we open the box that we close off one of the dimensions.”

“So if Nick and Eve went through this other dimension…” Rosalee started to say.

“It’d be like opening the box.” Hank finished for her.

“That would not be a good thing.” Dasha informed them.

Sean thought about it. “So, if we’re alive in this world, does that mean that… in the other place, they’re not?”

Dasha shook her head. “Not necessarily. What we consider death in our world is something very different somewhere else. Or, possibly, a pre-life or an afterlife.”

“Are you talking heaven-ish, or…hellish?” Monroe asked tentatively.

“Those are just words we use for when we’re not here.” Dasha replied.

“But someone very bad lives there.” Diana added. “It has a scary face.”

Adalind spoke up. “It’s the skull guy.”

Sean looked at her in confusion. “What skull guy?”

“It’s who Nick and Eve went to kill.” Wu answered looking serious.

The silence was broken by Dasha. “Are you saying that there was someone there with a skeleton face, like, a Koschie?”

Sean looked at Adalind. “You saw this?”

Adalind shook her head. “I didn’t see it. Nick and Eve saw it.”

“But it tried to pull Eve through the mirror.” Lorelei added.

Dasha’s eyes widened, and she sighed as she stood up, turning to look out the window. “Sean. Does your daughter understand Russian?” She asked, looking back at them.

Sean glanced at Diana before looking back at Dasha. “No.”

“She could be the Shaphat.” Dasha informed him.

Sean frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Dasha moved to sit down again, sighing as she did so. “This skull guy they speak of…could be what we call the devil.”

Sean heard Lorelei exhale sharply beside him. “What?!” Sean asked.

“A lot of prophecies predict the coming of a devil.” Dasha answered. “Satan, whatever you want to call it. And it was take a Shaphat and make her his bride.”

“Son of a bitch.” Lorelei hissed.

Adalind leant down and quietly asked. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Just give me a minute.” Sean replied just as quietly, turning his attention back to Dasha. “Are telling me he wants my daughter for his bride?”

Dasha’s expression was serious. “Yes. And to have a hundred children with her. That is the prophecy.”

Sean was silent for a moment, trying to comprehend what she was telling him. “No, no, that can’t be right –.”

Dasha cut him off. “I am telling you what I know of this. And this is all the help I can give you.”

“There must be a way to stop it.”

Looking solemn, Dasha shook her head. “You should prepare for the worst.” Dasha advised him. Sean could see her eyes were glistening. “We all should. I hope to God…I am wrong.”

As Dasha ended the call and Sean closed the laptop, he felt his wife’s hand squeeze his shoulder. This was worse than anything he could ever have imagine. Some ancient evil was going to take his eldest as his wife. “So, what did she say?” Adalind asked slowly.

Sean wasn’t sure what to say, especially with Diana listening in. “It…wasn’t the best news.” Lorelei answered. That was one way of putting it.

When Sean and Adalind returned from putting Diana to bed, they found the others questioning Lorelei about what Dasha had said. Lorelei was remaining quiet, waiting for Sean and Adalind to return. Sean came to stand beside Lorelei as Adalind looked at Sean. “Ok, so what did your Russian friend say?”

Sean sighed. “This skull thing is not after Eve and it’s not after Nick. There’s been a lot of prophecies about something called Shaphat, that’s what it’s after.”

Monroe frowned. “Shaphat is a Hebrew word, isn’t it?”

Rosalee nodded. “Yeah, I think it means something like, ‘deliverer’. It’s from the Bible in reference to Deborah, one of the few female prophets.”

“Well, in this case…it means child bride.” Sean told them.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Hank said frowning.

Sean nodded slowly. “That’s why she was speaking in Russian.” He inhaled sharply before looking at Adalind. “This beast wants our daughter.”

“What?” Monroe cried before putting his face in his hands.

“Well, it’s not gonna get her.” Adalind said angrily.

“How do we stop him?” Rosalee asked.

Sean shook his head. “She didn’t know.” He replied.

Rosalee sighed. “Eve found her way into the other place through the books. Maybe we can find a way to stop this son of a bitch.”

“There’s still a lot of books in the shop.” Monroe said his hands dropping from his face.

Adalind nodded. “And my mom’s book is at your house with the mirror.”

“So we should split up.” Wu suggested.

“Sean, Adalind, and the kids should go to our house with Monroe.” Rosalee said before holding her hand up as Lorelei went to speak. “Lorelei, you are still recovering and have newborn twins. You need to stay home. Maybe take to the internet, see what you can find.” His wife nodded although she didn’t look happy about it.

Hank looked at Wu before looking back at Rosalee. “We’ll go to the shop.”

Adalind started heading towards the stairs. “I’ll get the kids.”

Sean went to follow Adalind but stopped when Lorelei grabbed his arm. He looked questioningly. “Whatever you do, don’t let Diana have anything to do with bringing Nick and Eve back through the mirror.” She told him quietly before spinning around and heading towards the back door.

Sean frowned as he watched her go. The others were splitting up, Rosalee following Wu and Hank out the front door, as Monroe turned to grab the box containing the stick and the cloth. Sean wasn’t sure what Lorelei was seeing, but her perception was usually spot on. If she said not to let Diana help bring Nick and Eve back, he trusted her thought process.

Chapter Text

***Monroe & Rosalee’s House***

After settling the kids in the living room, the adults moved to the dining room to look over Adalind’s mother’s books. “This is a waste of time.” Adalind told Sean, the frustration in her voice was clear. “I know how to get in there.”

Sean continued flicking through the book that Eve had used to pass through the mirror. “Well, then if you can get in, I can get in.”

Adalind shook her head. “No. It’s hexenbiest blood. Not zauberbiest blood. There’s a difference”

Sean huffed. “Then we find a way. Because I’m not letting this thing get anywhere near my daughter.” Sean said as Monroe entered the dining room, a large tome in hand.

“Here it is.” Monroe said as placed the book before Adalind and Sean. “My family bible. Wesen version, passed down on my father’s side since 1598. The Abrahamic belief is that the dead go to a specific plain of existence after death, and the hell is ruled by a fallen angel.”

Sean shook his head. “This is not the time for bible study.”

“No, no, no, this is apropos.” Monroe said quickly. “If we think of this other place as that plain, and skull guy as the fallen angel.” Monroe opened the book to a specific page. “Aka, the devil, Satan, Lucifer, whatever you want to call him. I mean, maybe it’s not hell per se…”

Sean and Adalind looked closely at the page Monroe was gesturing to. “It looks a lot like it.” Sean commented.

“It’s different.” Monroe told him. “There’s no lava, there’s no fire, no brimstone. It’s a garden.” Sean gave him a look. “Now, I’m not saying the Garden of Eden, but I’m not not saying the Garden of Eden.” The blutbad inhaled before continuing. “The prophecy heralds a world overrun by beasts, but I think the fires of hell rage within the beast. Not on the land.”

Adalind frowned in confusion, as she looked at an image on the next page. “I thought the devil carried a pitchfork.”

“Well, technically it’s a trident. I mean, he’s not a farmer. Or, if he is, he’s the scorched soul kind.”

“Well, whatever this is, it certainly doesn’t have any prongs.” Sean noted looking at the image. Some kind of humainoid beast holding a staff.

Adalind nodded. “Mm, it looks more like a staff.”

“Yeah, this is all really interesting. I don’t think it’s helping us get to where he is.”

A look crossed Monroe’s face. “I think I know how to do that, but, I don’t think you’re gonna like it.” He said, his voice dropping as he glanced towards the living room before gesturing for Sean and Adalind to follow him to the kitchen. The two looked at him expectantly. “What did your friend call Diana?”

“The Shaphat.” Sean answered, arms crossing his chest as he looked at the blutbad.

Monroe nodded. “Right, and if what she suggests is true, my thinking is, Diana’s got a lot of clout in this Other Place.” Sean and Adalind looked at him sceptically. “She can do some pretty amazing things, like, appear in places she isn’t and reading markings on a cloth that we can’t see. She already knew about the Other Place, and, she knows something wicked this way coming. So, if anyone can open the door –.”

Adalind cut him off abruptly. “No, absolutely not.”

“If we just give her the stick.” Monroe was trying to explain himself.

Sean shook his head. “No, she’s not going in there.” Sean told him.

“I’m not saying for her to go there. I’m saying to let her open the mirror the way that Nick did, and then Renard and I can go in there and get Nick and Eve back.”

***The Spice Shop***

Rosalee, Hank, and Wu gathered in the basement, looking through the books available, praying they would find some answer to their dilemma. Hank was pacing around, book in hand. “Nothing about the Other Place, but the Zoroastrians believe there will be a 3000 year struggle between good and evil.” He said coming to set his book down on the table. “Which ends with a final assault by Azi Dahaka.”

Wu gestured to his own book. “Ragnarok brings a huge flood, ah…um…the sky is on fire, and all life gets swallowed by wolves.” He sighed. “So, I guess if you’re a wolf, that’s good news.”

Rosalee frowned as she looked over her own book. “There is something from Slavic paganism about protecting Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. But if left unprotected, Little Bear supposedly gets devoured by the Doomsday hound.”

Wu groaned. “Let me guess, we’re all doomed.”

Rosalee gave him a look. Hank sighed. “Anything to suggest how to stop the problem we’re dealing with.”

“Not really.” Rosalee said looking disappointed.

The three of them turned back to their individual resources, barely getting through a page when Hank spoke up again, gesturing to the book set out in front of him. “Look at this. Looks like our skull guy.” Frowning, Rosalee moved around the table to stand beside Hank. She peered closely at the book. “It’s German, I think.”

“Not modern German.” Rosalee informed him. “This looks much older. My guess is its Althochdeutsch.”

Wu looked at her. “You read Altochdeutsch?”

Rosalee shook her head as she quickly moved back to her laptop. “No, but the internet can.” The two men waited as Rosalee opened up a web browser and navigated to a specific page. “Finstarnessi ubil fahan means…evil darkness trapped.”

“Can’t say that makes me feel any better.” Wu deadpanned.

Hank nodded as he looked back at the book. “Grimm ziohan.” Hank glanced at Rosalee. “Well, at least we know one word.”

Rosalee nodded as she turned her attention back to the webpage. “Ziohan means to pull.”

Wu and Hank’s confused expressions matched Rosalee’s. “Grimm pull what?”

“Barn kwena.” Wu said, giving Rosalee the next couple of words.

Rosalee’s eyes widened slightly. “Child wife.”

“Back to the Shaphat.” Wu commented as he looked back at the book.

“Grimm pull child wife?” Hank queried. It wasn’t making any sense to them.

“Try, folgen enti fliohan.”

“Follow and flee.”

“Ok, so…if we’re unscribing this correctly.” Wu said slowly, trying to put the clues together, trying to make sense of it all. “Grimm pull, child wife, follow and flee, means what?”

“Release the evil into the Other Place.”

“And it needs a Grimm to pull something to follow and flee.” Rosalee said.

“Ok, does that mean it needs a Grimm to get him out of the place he’s trapped in?”

Hank nodded slowly. “Out of there and into here, so he can get Diana.”

Hank looked at Rosalee, noticing her eyes widening. “Oh my god, what’s today?”

Hank glanced at his watch. “It’s past midnight, so December 24^th.”

Rosalee was starting to panic as she looked over the computer program, she and Eve had used to determine what the symbols from the cloth meant. “Oh my god, that’s the day.” She told them. Hank and Wu looked confused. “That’s the day that was predicted that the planets would align and something very bad was gonna happen. This is why the skull guy went after Eve now, so that she would go after him now, so Nick would go after her now.”

Hank nodded. “So, it could use the Grimm to get here and get Diana.”

“Ok, we cannot open any portal for Nick and Eve.” Wu said.

“’Cause they won’t be coming back alone.”

***Monroe & Rosalee’s House***

“I’m going in there. I’m the only who can.” Adalind insisted to Sean and Monroe.

Sean shook his head. “Look, I’m not so sure. You may be able to open it, but it might be possible for me to go in instead of you.”

As the three discussed what to do, they were unaware that Diana had woken up. The young girl quietly rose from the couch and walked over to the dining room table. Slowly, she reached into the ancient box and pulled out the stick. Diana wanted to help; she knew she could help.

Back in the kitchen, Monroe nodded as the phone started to ring. “Ok, I think you’re right.” He told Adalind as dug his phone out of his pocket. “I think you’re the only option, we should do it, but you should, like, have a rope tied around you or something.” He turned his attention to the person on the other end. “Hey, what’s up?”

Rosalee’s voice came through. “Monroe, stop what you’re doing.”

Monroe frowned, feeling confused. “Well, why? I mean, I think we found a –.”

“Stop what you’re doing.” Rosalee said forcefully. “We can’t open the portal. It needs Nick to go through so that it can.”

Adalind glanced towards the dining room as she heard what sounded like thunder and/or lightening coming from it. “Diana!” She screamed, moving quickly towards the room.

Sean followed quickly. “Diana!”

Monroe’s eyes widened. “No, no. Don’t open it!” He yelled.

“No, Diana!”

“Close it! Close it!”

Sean grabbed Diana by the waist, trying to pull her away from the mirror. It was harder than expected.

“Diana, stop! Stop!”

Back at the Spice Shop, Rosalee stared at Hank and Wu in horror. “Oh my god, I think we’re too late.” She said making her way to the stairs, the two men following close behind.

A loud explosion rang out at Monroe and Rosalee’s as the mirror exploded, sending glass flying. Nick and Eve came flying out of nowhere, landing hard on the floor.

“Eve, Nick!” Monroe cried out.

Sean glanced down at his daughter. “Diana.”

Diana looked the two laying on the floor. “Mommy, it worked. I got Nick back for you.”

Adalind nodded, her eyes wide. “Yes, you did.”

As Adalind moved over to Nick, Sean turned Diana to face him, taking her face in his hands. “Diana. Are you ok?”

Diana nodded. “I’m ok, Dad.” She assured him.

Adalind knelt down beside Nick, pulling him into her arms. “I’m so glad you’re ok.”

Monroe was helping Eve stand up. She looked around at them, confused. “What happened?”

“Diana used the stick.” Sean informed her.

Monroe shook his head. “I…I don’t think that’s such a good thing. I mean, you guys are back, and that’s a good thing. But Rosalee said…”

Adalind looked at him, confused. “What?”

“She said not to open the portal ‘cause you wouldn’t come back alone.”

Nick’s eyes widened and he glanced around. “Are we alone?”

“Seems like it.” Sean answered.

“Whatever tried to piggyback a ride probably didn’t stand a chance.” Monroe said, trying to be optimistic despite clearly being panicked. “Because the mirror, like, totally shattered, so….”

Nick stepped away from Adalind to approach Eve. “You’re not woged.” He told her.

Eve’s eyes widened. She looked at her hands, which moved up to feel her neck. “I didn’t feel it change.”

The front door banged open, revealing Hank and Wu, guns drawn. “Nick!” Hank called out as Rosalee followed the men in.

Rosalee ran straight to her husband, throwing her arms around him. “Oh my god.” She said breathlessly. “What happened?”

“Everyone’s ok.” Hank said looking relieved.

Wu looked confused. “Wait? Skull guys not here?”

Rosalee looked at the broken mirror. “Nobody came back with them?”

“Well, uh, no, but look at the mirror.”

Rosalee glanced at Hank and Wu. “God, maybe the book was wrong.”

Monroe looked at her. “Why did you call me and tell me not to open the portal? I mean, what did you find out?”

Rosalee addressed Nick, who had been placing the stick back into its box. “Nick, we think you were tricked.”

“By skull guy.” Wu interjected.

Eve frowned as Nick came to stand beside her. “He was there. We were trying to kill him.”

Nick had a contemplative look on his face. “He could’ve killed us, but he didn’t.”

“No, he needed you there to open the way from his side, so he could cross over with you.” Hank informed them.

Rosalee nodded in agreement. “This day was predicted by all the symbols on the cloth.” She added. “We think that everything is supposed to happen today. December 24^th.”

Eve rubbed her forehead, appearing almost in pain. Meanwhile, Sean’s grip on Diana’s shoulders tightened slightly. “Wait, did he follow you here?”

Eve shrugged. “I don’t know.” She said faintly.

“Maybe he didn’t make it here, as predicted.” Wu suggested.

Nick clenched his jaw. “We better hope he didn’t.”

“It’s the perfect storm. So, skull face lured Eve to him, using her as bait for Nick, allowing him to hitchhike here.” Wu said as the group were debriefing.

Monroe stood up from where he and Rosalee were cleaning up the glass. “And the hitchhiker didn’t need a guide to this galaxy. He just needed a Grimm.”

Rosalee looked contemplative. “Well, we could be wrong.” She said with a frown. “I mean, I’m not fluent in Althochdeutsch, and internet translators aren’t the most reliable things in the world.”

“But if you’re right and this is all in some old Grimm book, that means this could be predetermined.” Monroe said looking alarmed.

Hank frowned. “We’re talking fate?” He asked.

Monroe nodded. “Yeah. In a weird way, which of course means…” He paused, thinking about it. “This conversation was supposed to be.”

The rest of the group gave Monroe a strange look. Wu spoke up. “Ok, this is one big existential migraine.”

Adalind looked at Nick and Eve, her hand gentle stroking the top of Diana’s head. “What was it like there?”

“It was a lot like the Black Forest.” Nick answered glancing at Monroe.

“Where we found the stick?”

Nick nodded. “Yeah. It was actually beautiful. Except there were woged wesen everywhere.”

“They were woged all the time?” Rosalee slowly asked.

“Even after they died.” Eve answered.

Monroe let out a breath. “Oh, Lordy, Lordy, this sounds a lot like my family bible.” The others looked at him. “A beautiful place overrun by beasts where the fires of hell rage within.”

Eve nodded. “Close enough to what we saw.”

Monroe sighed as Rosalee addressed Nick and Eve. “Was there anybody else there besides wesen?”

“There were people. Very primitive.” Eve replied.

Nick nodded in agreement. “They called anyone who wasn’t wesen Gehfleisch.”

Monroe looked surprised. “I’m sorry, they called you what?”

“You know that?” Hank asked.

“No, but I can translate it.” Monroe answered. “It means walking meat. They spoke German?”

“That’s sort of all we heard.” Eve said.

“It’s probably what Zerstoerer had in mind for us.” Nick commented looking at Eve.

Sean looked at Nick. “Zerstoerer?”

“Zerstoerer, that means destroyer.”

“That’s what they call skull man in the Other Place, and they were all terrified of him.” Eve informed the group.

Nick nodded. “Very tall. Green eyes. Was carrying a very powerful staff.”

Diana suddenly sat up, looking at Eve. “You’re different now.”

Eve looked at her in confusion. “What?”

Diana frowned slightly as she looked Eve over. “I think part of you stayed in the Other Place.”

Adalind stood up looking at Eve in concern. “Do you feel different?”

Eve looked baffled. “I…I don’t know.” She said slowly. “I…I guess a little bit.”

Eve tried to woge, however nothing happened. Monroe exchanged a look with Rosalee. Eve looked worried. “I can’t feel it.” Her eyes started to glisten with tears. “It’s gone.”

“She’s not a hexenbiest anymore.” Adalind confirmed.

“Ok, isn’t this a good thing?” He asked Eve tentatively.

“I don’t know…I mean, I think it is.” Eve said slowly. The expression on her face reflecting that she was unsure if it was a good or bad thing.  Her gaze fell on Nick. “None of us are who we used to be.”

Their attention was returned to Diana who was almost starting to hyperventilate. Adalind returned to sit beside Diana on the couch. “What’s wrong?” She asked her daughter.

“You ok?” Sean asked her.

Diana shook her head, looking distressed. “No. No, no, no, no.” She said before letting out a little shriek. Adalind pulled her into her, holding her tightly as Diana whimpered. Sean gently rubbed her arm, trying to console her. “He’s coming! He’s coming! He’s coming.”

“Honey, you’re safe.” Sean told her.

“You’re safe. You’re safe.” Adalind added softly.

Diana was not to be consoled. “He’s coming! He’s coming!” She kept crying. All they could do was look on helplessly.

“He’s here.”

Diana’s words sent a chill throughout the adults surrounding her. Although she had calmed down somewhat, she was still distressed. Others looked at each other, their expressions a mixture of fear, panic, and concern.

“Honey, we’re not gonna let anything happen to you, ok?” Sean told her.

“Don’t let him find me.” Diana pleaded. “Please, don’t let him find me.”

Nick crouched down in front of Diana. “Do you know where he is?” He quietly asked her. Diana shook her head. Nick gently rested him hand on her shoulder. “We’ll protect you, no matter what.” He assured her. “You’re safe. I promise.”

Hank nodded in agreement. “All of us.”

Diana and Adalind looked up as Wu spoke up as well. “We’re not letting anybody near you.”

Briefly glancing at the others, Adalind addressed her daughter. “Honey, come with me, ok? Come on.” She said. The two stood up and left the room.

Sean stood up as well, looking at the others. His wife’s family. The people he had a rocky history with due to his own actions. Yet, they were willing to protect his daughter. He finally addressed his brother-in-law. “I spoke to my Russian friend.” He briefly glanced at the others. “They showed me the room.”

“And the stick.” Wu added.

“We told him everything Nick.” Rosalee informed him.

Monroe nodded. “His friend has reason to believe that this Zerstoerer guy is after Diana.”

“Now, there’s a prophecy about something called a Shaphat.” Sean said.

“A child bride for evil.” Rosalee said solemnly.

Sean clenched his jaw. “I’m not letting that thing anywhere near my daughter.”

“You and Adalind need to hide her.” Nick stated.

Rosalee sighed. “Zerstoerer has connected with Eve and you in your loft, so that’s out. He connected with Eve in the spice shop, so I don’t really trust that place either.”

“There’s Lorelei and Renard’s or maybe here.” Monroe suggested.

Sean sighed, shaking his head. “No, there’s no safe place.”

Nick seemed to be thinking about it. His eyes widened slightly. “I know exactly the place you can hide her.”

“Where?” Sean asked.

“The cabin in the woods where all of this first started.” Nick answered.

Monroe frowned slightly. “Where I took you to find that postman who kidnapped the little girl?”

Nick nodded. “Exactly.” He looked at Sean. “And where you gave me the key.”

“Well, if Zerstoerer finds us there, we’re gonna be too far to get any help.” Sean pointed out.

“None of us are connected to the cabin anyway, not in a way he’d know about.”

“Yeah, but he might just be connected to Diana anyway. You know, like how he found Eve and then you.” Monroe reminded them.

“Then, it doesn’t matter where we hide her.” Hank said.

“Ok, well, is there some way we can camouflage her?” Wu asked.

Rosalee nodded. “I think there might be a way to make her invisible to him.”

Sean looked at her. “The Nuukh Suens?”

“You know it?”

“Yeah, my mother used it on me more than once when I was a child.”

“Yeah, it’s seven herbs, the sete ervas, ground into a powder and used with a nazar, the evil eye charm.” Rosalee informed them.  “When a hexenbiest administers it, it conceals the child from harm coming its way.”

“It worked for me, I think.” Sean noted. “The Royals were looking for me, and they never found me, so…”

“I have an old bracelet with a nazar on it, and I’m pretty sure we have all the herbs here.” Rosalee said, glancing at Monroe before she walked off towards the kitchen.

“What did you guys do with the books?” Eve asked. “I wanna find out as much as I can about Zerstoerer.”

“In the cellar, we left them out and open.” Hank answered.

“We were kind of in a hurry to get here.” Wu explained.

“Rosalee and I will go with you.” Monroe told Eve.

Eve shook her head. “No, if Zerstoerer is connected to me, I should go alone.”

“No.” Nick said emphatically. “None of us are doing anything alone.”

“Wu and I can go to the precinct and see if the Zerstoerer came through.” Hank suggested. “I’m sure, wherever it was, somebody had to notice.”

Wu nodded. “Yeah. I bet he’s hard to miss.” He said before the two men headed off.

As Wu and Hank exited the house, Nick went to check on Adalind and Diana. Leaving Diana to sleep, curled up on a chair, Adalind approached Nick.  “I’m taking you somewhere to hide Diana.” Nick informed her.

“I’m not leaving you.”

Nick sighed. “You can’t stay with me. It’s not safe.”

“I’ll be there.” Sean said, joining them. “I won’t let this thing anywhere near us.”

“And Rosalee’s making something to shield Diana.” Nick told Adalind.

Sean nodded. “The Nuukh Suens.”

Adalind sighed, considering it. “That could work.” She sighed again. “And I guess the safest place for Diana, is the safest place for Kelly.”

“Hey, guys, I got the stuff we need.” Rosalee called out to them.

Diana was woken up and returned to the living room. It was explained to her what they intended to do. Diana looked a little cautious. “It’s not gonna hurt, is it?”

“Nope.”

“No, not at all.” Sean assured her. “You know, my mom used it on me when I was your age.”

Rosalee looked at Adalind. “You should probably do this.” She said, handing the jar of powdered herbs to her.

The nazar was added and the mixture in the jar slowly turned into a glowing blue mist. “Ok. Here we go.” Adalind said before looking at Diana. “Just think of it as fairy dust.”

Diana gave her a look. “Mom, there’s no such things as fairies.”

Adalind smiled at her. “I forgot. Stand up and close your eyes.” Diana did as instructed. After woging, Adalind raised the jar, tipping it and allowing the blue mist to cascade down over Diana. Eventually, the mist disappeared. “Ok.” Adalind said as she woged back. “You can open them.”

Diana slowly opened her eyes. “Is that it?” She asked, looking confused. “I didn’t feel anything.”

Sean smiled at her. “Well, that’s good.”

Monroe nodded in agreement. “Yeah, sometimes it’s a very good thing not to feel anything.”

“We should get going.” Nick informed them, his expression serious.

The only light sources at the old cabin in the middle of the woods was the moonlight, the light from the car’s headlights, and, once they were turned on, the lanterns. The cabin wasn’t in the best condition, it appeared to have been untouched and was slowly being reclaimed by nature. As Nick got out of his car, he glanced around at the cabin. “This is where it all started for me.” He commented as she moved to get Kelly from the back seat. This cabin was the location of his first showdown with a wesen.

Sean had exited his own car, hearing Nick words, he nodded. “Yeah, it’s got some pretty fond memories here too.” He commented, recalling that his first showdown with Nick had occurred here. When Sean made the choice to align with Nick.

Adalind looked at Sean in confusion. “What were you doing here?”

Sean opened the door to help Diana out of his car. “Come on, honey. Here we go.” He glanced at Adalind. “Nick and I meet up here to settle our differences about the key.”

“Oh.” Adalind said faintly. “That.”

“Yeah, we both decided it couldn’t fall into your hands.” Sean told her.

“When you were working for the Royals.” Nick added.

Adalind smiled slightly. “That was before I had a baby with you.” She looked at Sean. “Or you.”

“Simpler times.” Nick commented.

As they entered the cabin, Adalind noted that it looked like nobody had been there in years. Sean questioned what had happened to the owner. “He was my first blutbad.” Nick recalled.

Sean nodded. “I assumed you didn’t arrest him.”

Nick knelt down on the floor, tossing the mat on it aside to reveal a trapdoor. “He didn’t give us much of a choice.” Nick informed him as he opened the trapdoor. Glancing at the others, lantern lighting the way, Nick began his make his way down the stairs to the cellar.

The others followed him cautiously. The lantern light revealed a four-poster bed, still made up. “That’s a pretty bed.” Diana commented. “Did a girl live here?”

Nick nodded slowly. “Not for long.” He answered. Thankfully.

Diana looked up at her parents. “How long do we have to stay here?”

There was silence from them for a moment before Sean spoke up as he set Kelly on the bed. “I’m not sure honey.”

“We have to keep you safe.” Adalind said quietly.

Diana looked worried. “So, he won’t find me here?”

Sean gently stroked the top of her head and Diana turned to look at him. “Hey, he’s never gonna find you, ok.”

“No, he won’t.” Nick agreed. He sighed. “I’m going back to the precinct to help Hank and Wu. Call me if you need anything.” He looked at Kelly, completely unaware of what was going on. “I love you, son.” Tearing his gaze from his son, he looked at his soulmate. Adalind, her eyes bright, stepped into his arms, holding him tightly.

***Spice Shop***

Monroe, Rosalee, and Eve had been surprised when Trubel arrived. It had been weeks since they had last seen the young Grimm. HW had recalled her to places unknown to continue the fight to take Black Claw down. And now she had returned, just when she was needed the most.

“So, this Zestoerer guy has Moses’ staff?” Trubel asked looking a little sceptical. “I mean, the Moses?”

Monroe nodded. “Possibly.”

“Or the Ruyi Jingu Bang wielded by the immortal monkey king Sun Wukong.” Lorelei’s voice came from the phone. Despite being unable to be actively involved, the youngest Grimm was doing what she could from home.

“Or the Kaladanda, the Staff of Death used by the god Yama in Hindu mythology.” Eve added, glancing up from the laptop.

Monroe groaned in frustration. “The point is, it could any one of these things or all of them combined. We don’t….”

“And this big stick is supposed to help him make Diana his child bride and destroy the world as we know it.” Trubel sighed. “So, long story short, we just have to destroy the Destroyer dude or we’re toast.”

“Pretty much.” Lorelei told her.

“There’s still something about Zerstoerer’s staff that’s bothering me.” Eve said, her brow furrowed in thought. “It was completely cracked up, as if it had been put back together by a lot of different pieces, and not one of all these texts references anything like that.”

Rosalee nodded. “Yeah, something about that bothers me too. I mean, if it’s as all powerful as it’s supposed to be, and belonged to all the people it supposedly belonged to…”

“Then how did this Zerstoerer guy get his hands on it?” Lorelei finished.

“I was just reading about this. There’s a prophecy.” Monroe said, pausing as moved to grab a book. “About a staff with the power of the gods and it can’t be destroyed.” He started flicking through the book. “Hang on. Right here, I got it. I got it. The staff was broken into 100 pieces and scattered throughout the world to its powers out of the hands of evil.”

“Do we think that’s the staff Zerstoerer has?” Eve asked.

Monroe shrugged. “It sure sounds like it, don’t you think?”

“What if he put all the pieces back together before he got trapped back in the Other Place?” Rosalee queried.

“Nick couldn’t even get into the Other Place without the stick.” Eve noted solemly. “What if the stick is a missing part of the staff?”

Monroe’s eyes widened. “Oh my god. What if the stick we found in the Black Forest was actually buried by the Crusaders to keep the staff from ever regaining its full powers?”

“Maybe that’s what Zerstoerer is here for.” Rosalee said.

“I hope we’re wrong.” Eve said as she pulled out her phone. “’Cause if we’re right.”

“Zerstoerer’s coming for the stick….” Lorelei noted sounding concerned.

“That Nick has with him right now.” Trubel finished for her.

When Nick arrived at the spice shop, he was surprised to see Trubel there. It had been weeks since he had seen her; unsure if she was still alive.  Nick looked at Trubel as they pulled apart after hugging each other tightly. “When did you get here?” He asked her.

“Just today.”

“What about Black Claw?”

“Black Claw’s done.” Trubel answered. “The wars over.”

“There’s nothing left?” Nick asked in surprise.

Trubel nodded. “Every cell was destroyed. But that’s not why I’m here.” Nick looked at her in confusion. “I came because I had a feeling something terrible was happening. Looks like I may be right.”

Trubel turned to look at the others. “Which takes us to the stick.” Monroe said, a book in hand.

“We think it’s a missing part, possibly the only missing part left of Zerstoerer’s staff.” Eve informed him.

Nick frowned.  “What?”

Monroe nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that would explain a lot.” Nick looked at him and Monroe continued. “Especially because historically, there are tons of examples of things with extreme power being taken apart.”

“Like the pyramid in Giza – the capstone is missing.” Rosalee stated.

Lorelei spoke up through the phone. “Or the myth of Osiris, whose body was cut into pieces and then put back together so that he could rule.”

“Basically, we think that is why the Crusaders buried the stick.” Monroe told him.

Eve nodded. “And that’s why there were so many cracks in Zerstoerer’s staff.”

“And he sure as hell better not get a hold of the stick you and Monroe found.”

“From what we’ve been reading, if this staff ever gets put back together, he’ll be unstoppable.” Rosalee noted.

Nick sighed as he reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. “It’s Hank.” He answered it, putting it on speaker. “What have you got?”

“We just got a hit on the APB. He’s still in the area. We’re headed back to the precinct.”

Nick nodded. “I’ll meet you there.” He ended the call, returning his phone to his pocket.

“Where was this guy?” Trubel asked, referring to one of Zerstoerer’s victims.

“Under the Hawthorne Bridge.”

Trubel nodded. “Then that’s where I’m heading.”

“If you see Zerstoerer, don’t do anything. Call me.” Nick told her sternly.

The two were headed towards the stairs when Eve approached Nick. “Whatever you do, don’t let that stick out of your control. It may be the only power you have against him.”