Note: This one-shot is set during The EverAfter War on the night before one of the big battles

Disclaimer: If I were Michael Buckley and not myself, I would focus all of my energies into completing the final Sisters Grimm book and would, therefore, have no time to write fanfiction.

Bonded

I'm not at all sure why I decided to take a walk tonight. It may have been restlessness—caused no doubt by the anticipation of tomorrow's battle against the Scarlet Hand. It may have been a simple desire to be completely alone with my thoughts. It may have been seeing Henry, holding Veronica's hand as they lay side-by-side in their sleeping bags.

It may have been any or all of these reasons—or it may have been something else entirely. But whatever prompted my actions, I exited the safety of the Hall of Wonders and entered Charming's camp.

So now here I am, walking outside on a dark, cold night and wondering for the millionth time whether or not I've made the right decision by agreeing to fight tomorrow.

Eventually, I reflect that it doesn't really matter whether or not it was the right decision. I'm still going to stick by it.

It's funny what love can do to you. Most of the time I can't make up my mind about anything. I'll continue to search for a better option, eventually forcing myself to choose between the chair that is "too hard" and the one that is "too soft."

But where Henry Grimm is concerned, I'll never second guess myself. I will willingly give up anything and everything for him—my freedom, my life, even.

Even though I know he'd never do the same for me.

For Veronica, maybe or Jake or Relda or Sabrina or Daphne. But not for me.

I'm nothing to him but an old girlfriend. No, I'm more than that. I'm the reason that his father is dead. I'm the living, breathing incarnation of every painful memory that he can't forget—regardless of how hard he may try.

I may be worse than nothing to Henry Grimm, but he's everything to me. He was my first, my only love. He took my on my first date and gave me my first kiss. He's the reason I allowed myself to grow up, an almost unheard-of feat for most EverAfters. He's the reason I came back to Ferryport Landing after all these years, even knowing that my return will trap me here forever.

I had tried to forget him during my years beyond the barrier. My long, curly blonde hair earned me dozens of male admirers, some even more charismatic than Henry. Each of those men was wonderful in his own way, but I always found these relationships to be "too hot" or "too cold." Only Henry Grimm would ever be "just right" for me.

As I continue to walk through the camp, I try to think of something else. My attention is then diverted by a dark figure, kneeling on the grass a few inches from Briar Rose's grave. I should really go back into the Hall of Wonders and tell everyone about the intruder, but I find myself hesitating. I guess some of the old "Goldilocks curiosity" lingers in me yet.

I take a few steps closer to the figure, prepared to summon my animal friends for protection should the situation prove hazardous. As I approach the intruder, I soon realize that I recognize the kneeling man—and that he isn't an "intruder" after all.

Jacob Grimm has changed in the fifteen years since I last saw him. He's older, taller, and –much as it pains me to admit it—even more handsome than his brother.

But Jacob has also changed in ways beyond the physical. The Jacob Grimm I used to know always had a crooked grin on his face and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. The quiet, melancholy man weeping beside the grave of his true love is a complete stranger to me.

And yet, I find that I like this sensitive version Jake better than the impulsive Jake who was my frequent partner-in-crime. I understand him far too well. This Jacob Grimm has vulnerability about him, but with that vulnerability comes a curious strength of purpose. He'll fight for Briar's cause—maybe even die for it—because he knows that is what he must do.

What he and I both must do.

I guess Jake and I are kindred spirits—both adventurous, rambunctious children that love has transformed into mature, self-sacrificing adults.

I walk over to him and kneel beside him. Jake seems startled at first by my presence, but he allows me to put a hand on his shoulder. Neither of us says a word, but somehow we know that we have been bonded forever through the shared sorrow of having loved and lost.

The End

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