Nick found the tweezers and was turning around to say so when he saw Monroe go down.
"Monroe…Monroe! What's wrong?" Nick asked hurriedly as he rushed to his friend's side.
Monroe's words were slurred and quiet, and Nick struggled to understand him. "Sick….Call…Rosalee." With that, he was out.
The Grimm quickly checked Monroe's pulse to make sure he was alive, and when he was satisfied that it was steady, Nick hoisted Monroe up, wrapped an arm around the Blutbad's waist, and placed one of the other man's arm around his own neck.
The fact that Monroe was unconscious didn't make the trip to Nick's jeep easier, but Nick managed to get Monroe stretched out across the back seat and strapped in. Concern for his friend overrode Nick's responsibility to clean up camp, but he made a mental note as he buckled himself in and speed-dialed Rosalee to come back once Monroe was settled in at the spice shop.
xXxXx
Nick drove as fast as he dared, returning to Portland in just under two hours. He pulled into the parking lot of Rosalee's spice shop, and seeing the sign flipped over to "closed", began banging on the door.
Rosalee!" he called. "Rosalee, open up. It's Nick."
The female Fuchsbau rushed to open the door. "Where is he? Has there been any change?"
Rosalee followed Nick to the jeep. "He's laying down in my back seat, and he's still unconscious."
"Let's get him into the back room, and I'll take a look at him."
Once Monroe was unstrapped, Nick grabbed him underneath the arms and pulled his friend out of the jeep. Rosalee wrapped her arms around Monroe's knees and helped Nick carry him inside.
They placed the Blutbad on the couch and Rosalee immediately turned his head so she could see the bite.
"He's pretty warm; must have a fever. And what's this…you left the tick in? Nick, why didn't you take it out?"
"He passed out on me…removing a tick was kind of low on my list of priorities." For the first time since leaving the campsite, Nick got a good look at Monroe's neck. The area around the tick was swollen and red, like he'd been bitten by a spider instead.
"I've never seen a tick bite like that before!" Nick exclaimed.
"Yeah, maybe not on a human," Rosalee replied. "Look, with humans, ticks suck your blood. But it's different with Wesen. Ticks carry viruses that aren't generally fatal to us, but always dangerous. A tick bite for us is a little like a spider bite for a human. I had no idea Monroe was this bad, or I would've started working on the antidote and had it ready before you got here."
"What antidote? What concoction cures this kind of thing?"
"I'll get started on that in a few minutes, but first I need to remove this tick before it injects anymore of it's toxin into Monroe's system. I need some tweezers."
Nick reached into his jean pocket and pulled out the tweezers he'd found at camp. He'd backed away from the couch to give Rosalee space to examine Monroe, but as he came close to hand over the tweezers, he watched as Monroe woged into his Wesen form and began to growl.
Nick took a step back after handing over the tweezers, and Monroe returned to his human appearance.
"What was that?" Nick inquired. "Why did he woge the way he did?"
"I don't know. Probably some sort of involuntary response to the virus running through his system," Rosalee answered. "There, the tick's out. I'm going to get started on the antidote. Go into the bathroom - it's right through there - and wet two paper towels. Put one on his forehead and the other on the bite mark."
Rosalee went into the front room to gather the ingredients she would need, leaving Nick to tend to Monroe. He did as he was asked, and after wetting two paper towels, he returned to Monroe's side.
Nick reached out to place the paper towels on Monroe, and the Blutbad immediately woged and began to growl again. Pulling back, Nick waited for his friend to relax. Monroe turned human once more, but when Nick tried a second time to do as Rosalee had requested, Monroe woged yet again.
There's no way that's an "involuntary response" to the virus, Nick thought.
Rosalee reentered the room as Nick was trying to carefully place the paper towels on Monroe's neck and forehead. Monroe's growling intensified the longer Nick hovered over him, though he never attacked. The moment Nick backed away, Monroe once again morphed into his human form.
"The base is simmering, and it'll take a little while for it warm to the proper temperature," Rosalee informed Nick.
"Okay." Nick glanced at Rosalee before returning his gaze to Monroe. "I don't it's the virus he's reacting to. He woges every time I get near him."
"Stay there, I want to see something." Rosalee walked over to the couch and knelt beside it. She reached out and placed her hand on Monroe's shoulder, watching for any change in his appearance. He stayed the same.
Moving away, Rosalee motioned for Nick to come closer. "Reach out to him, just like I did. I want to see what happens."
Nick did as he'd seen the Fuchsbau do. He lowered himself to the floor, but before the Grimm had a chance to stretch his hand out, Monroe woged, and though his eyes were shut, it was clear to his companions who he was growling at.
"Nick, get away from him. Now, he is still unconscious, so he's not even aware he's doing it. It's also very unlikely that he'll hurt you, but I don't want to take that chance."
"Why is he doing that? What's causing it?" Nick asked.
"I…I'm not really sure," Rosalee responded. "I haven't treated that many tick bites, but I've never seen one that caused that reaction. It's almost like his ability to sense a Grimm has been heightened, and with the state he's in, he doesn't realize…"
"…That it's me," Nick finished for her. "All right, so what do you want me to do?"
"Since you seem to triggering Monroe's woges, it would probably be better if you left until I get the antidote in his system, which should be ready in about forty-five minutes. I'm not sure if the morphing process harms him, but it's definitely not helping him. A woge is a sort of defense mechanism, and whether Monroe is unconscious or not, right now he feels threatened every time you get near him."
Nick nodded in agreement. "Yeah…okay. Our gear is still at the site, a couple hours away. I'll go pack everything up and bring it home."
"That'll give the antidote plenty of time to get into his system and start working. Come back when you get home."
"I will." Nick looked over at Monroe. "Take care of him, Rosalee. Call me if anything changes."
Nick didn't wait for an answer. He made his way to the front door and let himself out. Before getting in the jeep, Nick leaned against his door and looked in the direction of the spice shop. He crossed his arms, remembering the wooden figurines in the process. Uncrossing his arms, Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out the pieces, focusing mostly on the wolf.
"Monroe," Nick whispered, "I wish there was a way I could fix this. I wish I knew how. But the best thing I know to do for you is to let Rosalee take care of you."
With that, Nick returned the figurines to his pocket, got inside the jeep and cranked it up, and pulled out of the parking lot.
