A Warning to Dramione shippers: This is not the fic you are looking for. It's about a completely unrelated TV series named Grimm. Sorry, though I promise I've got plenty of Dramione fics lined up, so don't give up on me! I still love you guys!
To those reading for Grimm: Hey there, readers! So, based on the latest Grimm episode (named the same as my fic), I created a story about Nick and Monroe being Holly's dads. Yes, they are biological dads, and no, I don't know how it's possible-it just is. Anyway, like it says in the description, it pretty much follows the episode-same vic and same brothers and everything-it's just that Holly isn't Holly Clark.
I must warn the Nick/Monroe shippers that it has very few overly-romantic scenes between the two of them, if any, so I apologize if that's what you were looking for.
So with all that out of the way, here's my fic. Enjoy!
Nick didn't really see anything important with the case at first. Honestly, whoever the killer was, they killed the right person—and for the right reason, if they saved those hikers. He didn't even think it was a Grimm case.
Then, he searched for the hairs, and he saw her.
Well, he saw a person with long hair running away from him. Nick ran after her thinking only along the lines of a cop chasing a suspect. When she started slowing down, he was a bit surprised, so when she stopped, so did he. Then she turned around, full-on Blutbad face snarling at him.
In any other situation he would know what to do. In any other situation he would have run after her—the prime suspect. In any other situation, she would be arrested immediately. But in any other situation, Nick wouldn't have recognized her face.
She turned away again, but Nick didn't move. His brain was still processing what he saw. When everything finally clicked in place, she was gone. Still, that didn't stop Nick from shouting at her.
"Holly! Come back!"
"Detective Burkhardt!"
Nick turned at the sound of an officer calling his name. He noticed Officer Wu talking to Hank but didn't think on it. He had already told himself he had imagined seeing Holly's face, so he just continued with the case as if he didn't recognize her. She was just a girl in the woods—probably their murderer.
The officer reached Nick and held out a crime scene photo. It seemed like just a picture of the forest, but emerging from behind one of the trees was a dark, human-shaped blur. Nick looked back at the officer, raising his eyebrow, but inside, his heart was racing.
"I know, I know," the officer said. "Look, one of the investigators on the scene was testing out his camera, just taking a shot of the scenery, so it's not even the crime scene. Still, the area was blocked off from hikers, so that could be the person you saw in the woods."
"I can't really tell much from this picture," Nick noted. "I'll check it out anyway, though. Thanks."
The officer nodded and walked away. Nick turned around and, just as he'd started thinking about telling Hank about the photo, Hank started heading his way. Nick really didn't like the look on his partner's face.
"Nick, can I talk to you in the hallway for a minute?" Hank said. Nick noted that he also didn't like his partner's tone.
"Sure."
Outside the office, Hank sat down on a bench and motioned Nick to join him. Swallowing, Nick did so.
"What's wrong?" Nick asked.
Hank sighed. "We did some tests on that hair you found, and…look, Nick, I really don't want you to get your hopes up."
"Just tell me Hank," Nick said, suddenly anxious.
"The hair belonged to…" Hank sighed again. "It belonged to Holly."
Nick stood up, suddenly at a loss of what to do. For the moment, he settled with pacing.
"Calm down, Nick," Hank said quietly. "It doesn't necessarily mean anything. Didn't you go camping up there before?"
"I found one of the hairs on a freshly broken branch!" Nick cried. "And another in a bullet—oh god, no. No, she could be injured! I have to go find her!"
Nick stopped pacing and started walking toward the entrance to the precinct, but Hank grabbed his arm and spun him around.
"Nick, it will be okay. Just calm down, and—"
"How am I supposed to calm down, Hank?" Nick found himself yelling. "She's my daughter!"
Nick ripped his arm out of Hank's grip and ran out of the precinct.
Nick barged through the door of his house, shocking Monroe and making him nearly drop the clock he was working on.
"Is there a reason you had to slam the door shut?" Monroe asked with exasperation, picking up the parts of the clock that had fallen out in his moment of surprise and pushed his glasses back up his nose.
"Yes, there was," Nick said, shoving his hand in his pocket. He pulled out the picture the officer had taken, and slammed it down on Monroe's work desk. Monroe sighed and picked up the photo. After a moment, he looked at Nick over his glasses.
"I see a person running in the forest," he said bluntly. "Actually, I just see a blur in a picture of a forest."
"Well, I actually saw what was running through the forest and I know who it was," Nick said.
"Is this about one of your cases? How is that important enough to slam—?"
"It was Holly," Nick interrupted, clenching his jaw to release some pent-up energy.
Monroe slowly took off his glasses and wiped a hand over his face. He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. All the while, Nick was shifting from one foot to the other apprehensively.
"Well?" Nick finally asked.
"Nick, we've been over this," Monroe said. "We promised each other that after the funeral we would accept that she's gone and—"
"—continue with our lives, I know," Nick finished, clenching his teeth again, "but Monroe, I saw her. I'm sure of it. And if you'll just listen—"
"She ran away nine years ago, Nick," Monroe said forcefully. "We had the funeral five years ago. There's no way she could live on her own for that long, and especially not in the woods. Even if she did, she wouldn't recognize either of us and would probably kill us on sight."
Nick suddenly felt frustrated tears sting his eyes, but he blinked them back angrily. He put his hand in his pocket again and pulled out a pink hair clip in the shape of flowers, holding it out to Monroe, who looked down at his lap.
"You still carry that around with you?" Monroe asked.
"Ever since I found it on the ground that day," Nick answered. "Do you remember why she used to wear this all the time?"
"Of course I do," Monroe said, looking at Nick again. "You gave her the set for her fifth birthday, and she swore she wouldn't take it off, so that no matter how late you had to work and no matter what you were doing, she would always have a little memory of you with her. But she's not that little girl anymore. The day she started to fang out is the day we lost our little girl to pure instinct and fear."
Nick shoved the hair clip back in his pocket. "Look, I'm going back out there, and I'm going to find her, with or without your help."
"Not at night you're not," Monroe said as Nick turned to the door. "We'll go in the morning."
Nick spun back around with a tiny smile. "You won't talk me out of this. You know that right?"
Monroe nodded. "But at least I can protect you."
The next morning, Nick and Monroe found themselves walking on the outskirts of the crime scene, backpacks slung over their shoulders.
When Nick woke up that morning, the memory of the Blutbad he'd seen had gotten less vivid and he was beginning to doubt himself. Therefore, as he described his actions to Monroe, he began to refer to her as "it".
"I saw it run this way," Nick said, directing Monroe's nose in the direction of the Blutbad's path.
Suddenly, Monroe stopped sniffing and turned on Nick.
"Would you stop saying 'it'?" he demanded.
"Look, I'm not so sure of what I saw anymore," Nick said dejectedly. "Even if it is Holly, she's the one that killed the vic."
Monroe put his hand on Nick's shoulder kicking himself for lashing out at the already emotionally-wrecked Grimm. He was about to say something when he heard a noise in front of him. He looked up to see a Blutbad running across his path. He heard a growl of frustration as she turned and started running away from him. Monroe gave chase, followed by Nick.
Eventually the Blutbad stopped and Monroe stopped as well, wary of what she was going to do. She suddenly turned around and roared at Monroe. He knew she was trying to stand her ground, let him know he wasn't welcome. Monroe knew he couldn't let her get away with it, so he transformed as well and roared right back. A flicker of shock ran across the girl's face, just a tiny spark of human, and that was enough.
Like Nick, Monroe had been stunned enough that he didn't run after her. He just stammered, trying to explain to Nick, who had finally caught up.
"Holy crap. That was—holy crap!"
And once the words were out of his mouth, Monroe could move again. Actually, he could sprint again. Fueled by the desire to see his long-lost daughter again, Monroe left Nick completely in the dust, running faster than he ever remembered running before.
But it wasn't enough.
Soon, Holly's trail had completely disappeared, and Monroe was turning, looking to find her face again, when Nick caught up with him.
"Where is she?" Nick asked.
"She's here—I can smell her," Monroe explained. "I just don't see her."
Nick's shoulders fell, but if anything he was glad he hadn't imagined it. Holly was alive, after all these years. Now if he could just…
Suddenly, Nick noticed something odd about the tree. First of all, it was huge—larger than the trees around it. Second of all, there were footholds—manmade footholds. Nick's pulse rose as his eyes slid up the trunk of the tree.
"Monroe…" Nick said, not taking his eyes off the house above him.
"Well…that's one heck of a hunting blind," Monroe said casually.
Simultaneously, Nick and Monroe turned their heads to look at each other, the same lines of thought going through their minds. Both wanted to see their daughter desperately, but she was obviously feral and therefore dangerous. So, much as Nick wanted to go first and as much as Monroe wanted Nick to, they both agreed that Monroe had to be the first to climb.
Soon, Nick and Monroe were both huddled in the tree-house, looking at their sleeping daughter for the first time in nine years. Monroe was the first to move. He felt the girl's sweaty forehead, noting the fever. He was just about to touch her shirt, where there was a bloodstain, but stopped and turned to Nick.
"If she tries to attack me, I'll need you to shoot her."
Nick gave Monroe a look.
"She's dangerous, Nick, and whether she's our daughter or not, it's not going to do any good if she ends up killing me," Monroe explained.
Nick sighed but put his hand on his gun. Monroe turned back to Holly and slowly lifted the bloody hem of her shirt back, revealing buckshot holes. She slept on, so Nick pulled out his first aid kit from his backpack and started wiping the blood from the injury. This woke Holly up, and she immediately began snarling. Nick froze while Monroe let his eyes turn red, showing Holly how much stronger he could be.
"We're trying to help you," he told her slowly. "You're hurt, and we can fix you up."
"Do you remember us? We're you're—" Nick stopped talking immediately when Holly growled at him.
"She doesn't seem to trust you as much," Monroe said, shushing the girl, calming her again.
Nick couldn't deny that it hurt him to hear that. He understood completely why she trusted Monroe more, and it wasn't entirely because he was a Blutbad as well as her. Monroe was home so much more than Nick, since he didn't have to leave the house to work, and he didn't have crazy hours. Nick had felt guilty about it when they were raising Holly, and that pain was now back in full force.
Remembering that, however, also brought back the memory of the hair clip, and Nick pulled it out, showing it to the girl. She stared at it, but Nick couldn't completely read her face.
"You're name is Holly. Do you at least remember that? Holly," he said.
Holly looked from Nick to Monroe and back before croaking out, "Holly…"
And with that one word, suddenly everything became okay—Holly would be okay. Nick and Monroe looked at each other, blinking back tears. Holly slowly reached out her hand and took the hair clip from Nick, who let her take it before she settled back down to sleep. Meanwhile, Monroe swiped a hand across his eyes before continuing Nick's job of wiping the blood away.
When the wound was finally dressed, Monroe felt Holly's head again.
"She's still got a major fever. I'll need that burdock root we saw on the way here," Monroe said.
"We should just get her to a hospital. Neither of us is going to be able to get that buckshot out without hurting her more."
"She's still feral, Nick. She won't so well in society. She'd be too dangerous in a hospital," Monroe argued.
"But she'll die if we let the wound get infected. We need a trained medic," Nick insisted.
"A trained medic won't do anything if she kills them—she nearly killed you!" Monroe yelled.
"And she'll die if we don't get help up here!" Nick shot back.
Monroe sighed. "This is one of those rock and a hard place type things isn't it?"
Nick didn't answer but put his hand on Monroe's shoulder. "Look, I'll go out and call Hank. You stay with Holly, and I do mean stay. Those brothers I told you about really want revenge."
"We'll be fine—just make sure you're safe, too," Monroe said as the detective climbed down the trapdoor.
Once Nick saw the truck, he cursed under his breath. He pulled out his cell phone and, seeing that it had service, dialed his partner's number. Hank picked up on the third ring.
"Hey, Nick, are you alright?"
"I'm great actually," Nick responded. "You'll never believe it, but we found Holly—she's alive."
"You actually found her?" Hank sounded happily surprised and Nick couldn't help but smile.
"Yeah, but she's injured. I'd take her to a hospital, but she, well, let's just say she's turned into a wild child, so she's kind of dangerous."
"I understand. I'll find someone who can take care of her," Hank said.
"Thanks, Hank," Nick said. "And you should also know that those brothers of our vic—they're here in the forest—I think they're looking for Holly."
"You want me to send a squad out there?"
"Actually, Hank, I think I've got it. I'll call you later."
"Okay Nick, just be careful," Hank said, hanging up.
Nick put his phone away and headed back. He left the four-wheeler behind, in case it attracted attention to Holly's tree house. He had only just started trekking back when he heard gunshots.
Nick sprinted, pulling his gun out of its holster.
Monroe decided that he didn't care about Nick's cop paranoia—his daughter needed some burdock root.
"Alright, Holly, I'll be right back. I need to go get you some stuff that will make you feel better real quick."
When Holly didn't respond except by a small noise that could have been from pain, Monroe made to leave, but was stopped when Holly's hand shot out to grab his. His heart pretty much disintegrated at that moment, but he knew he had to leave. He leaned over and kissed Holly's warm forehead.
"I'll be right back, I promise," he said softly. He squeezed Holly's hand and let it go, climbing down the tree.
Monroe quickly found the burdock root, oblivious to the gun pointed straight at his head yards away. He grabbed the plant and walked away calmly, climbing back into the tree house, unaware that he was leading enemies right to his daughter.
He cut up the root and, in showing her what to do, started chewing on the root.
"See, you just chew on it like this and you'll feel better soon—here, you try," he said giving a piece to her. She chewed it and immediately pulled a face.
"I know, it tastes horrible, but just keep chewing it," Monroe said. "It's really good for you."
After a while, the girl seemed to relax and her fever dramatically reduced. Monroe pecked the top of her forehead for the second time and smiled.
"Everything's going to be fine," Monroe told her. Unfortunately his statement was punctuated by a shout.
"We know you're up there so why don't you come down and have a little talk with us!" he heard from below.
Holly was panicking, trying to get out of the bed, her eyes turning red. Monroe quickly shushed her, gently pushing her back on to the bed. He was about to sooth her more, but the gun fired again.
"Come down now, and don't pretend you aren't there!" said a different voice.
"Calm down, I'm coming!" Monroe shouted back. To Holly, he whispered, "Stay here."
Monroe climbed down, then put his hands up. "Look, I think this is just a misunderstanding. I was just hiking and I found this old place."
"We saw you digging around—what were you looking for?" one of the brothers demanded to know.
"Well, you see, that's called burdock root, and it's got plenty of benefits, like—"
"Did you kill our brother?" the other man interrupted.
"Um, you remember I was on a hike…" Monroe tried to explain, but there was a noise above. And Monroe closed his eyes. I told you to stay, he silently scolded Holly.
Both brothers looked up and one asked, "Who you got up there?"
"There's no one there," Monroe said, though his heart was racing.
"I'm gonna find out," the man said. To his brother, he said, "If I find someone—shoot him."
Monroe waited patiently for the man to climb up the tree. Every step he took, Monroe had to fight the desire to transform and kill them both. By the time the guy had reached the tree house, Monroe was strung tighter than a bow and his heart was in his throat, waiting for the order of his death.
"There's no one here!" the brother said, and Monroe exhaled quietly. Holly must have escaped somehow. And then: "Wait, I recognize the stuff up here!"
Monroe cringed, but he didn't get the shot he was expecting. Instead, the brother in the tree climbed down…before pulling a knife on Monroe.
Nick, seeing the flash of the blade, whipped out his gun and shouted, "Nobody move!"
The man immediately jumped back in surprise, but caught himself and protested, "This guy killed our brother!"
"He wasn't involved," Nick said, his gun steadily pointed at the man. "He's with me."
"If you shoot me, my brother shoots your friend," the brother stated.
Nick knew he was right, but he couldn't just lower his gun. They would kill Monroe anyway. Nick looked at Monroe, who let his eyes turn red, then back to their usual brown. Nick knew what it meant. I can fend for myself, the gesture seemed to say. Still, brute force couldn't fend off a gun.
"Just stay where you are," was all Nick could think to say.
Then there was a sound of something whipping through the air, and the brother with the gun pointed at Monroe went down. Nick shot the other. Monroe ran to where Holly had taken down the gunman. She had fallen over, the attack taking too much out of her. She looked at Monroe, her face changing to the human form, contorted in pain.
Just as Monroe knelt down next to her, she got up and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him rather tightly, but he didn't care. His daughter was back and she was in his arms. He looked over at Nick, whose huge smile could have been visible for miles in the darkness.
Nick made a quick call to Hank to explain everything, and soon they were headed back into the city, because it seemed that as long as Holly was with Monroe, she was calm. Nick again felt the tiny sting of guilt and jealousy, especially since he again left—even to the danger of both of them. But he pushed it away, knowing that she just connected with Monroe more, being a Blutbad like him.
As Nick drove the car to the hospital, Monroe began to talk to Holly, not even sure if she understood him or not. He basically explained her entire life up until she ran away. Once he got to that part, Nick glanced in the rearview mirror listening in.
"One day, you ran away," Monroe was saying. "Your fangs came in and you got really scared when they cut your lip. You tried to talk to me, but you were too frightened, so you left the house. I tried to follow you, but I didn't know where you went. When your daddy found out, he got really scared. He tried sending out his police force to find you, but you were gone. Then, I found your little hair clip—the one right there—" Monroe tapped the pink clip that he had put in Holly's hair earlier. "We searched for four years but found nothing, so we thought you had died. We had a funeral for you and everything. We completely gave up hope of ever finding you—until now. And now you're up to speed…sort of."
Nick grinned, but when he looked in the rearview mirror again, Holly was frowning. She seemed to be looking for the right word and then: "Lost."
"Lost?" Nick asked. Holly nodded and pointed to herself.
"Lost," she repeated.
Monroe opened his mouth in shock and then slowly started laughing. "You were lost this entire time?"
Holly, hearing her word in Monroe's sentence, nodded her head more slowly this time.
Monroe laughed again, more out of hysteria than anything. "You were lost and just couldn't find your way home. I can't believe it. Nick, we're horrible parents."
"And that's funny how?" Nick asked.
"I don't know," Monroe admitted. Instead of searching for an answer, however, he just reached across the seat a pulled Holly into a hug.
"We'll never lose you again," he promised his daughter.
In the hospital, Holly was wary of the amount of people, but Monroe grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She looked up at him, and squeezed his back. They got registered, and the doctor soon came to take Holly to surgery. Monroe, still holding her hand, followed the doctor, but Nick stayed behind. Holly turned and noticed, stopping immediately. She tilted her head curiously, as Monroe turned too.
"Just go ahead," Nick told Monroe, waving them on. "No need for me to crowd the room."
Before Monroe could respond, Holly ran to Nick, and embraced him. Nick, suddenly feeling a whole lot warmer inside, put his arms around her. Then Holly pulled back, took Nick's hand, and pulled him to where the doctor and Monroe were waiting.
She slipped her free hand into Monroe's and then the trio—a Blutbad, a Grimm, and their daughter—walked down the hall, a family once more.