That night proved to be the beginning of a meaningful change – an unspoken extra level of comfort. For the next week, Nick and Adalind began to more and more allow themselves to feel comfortable around each other. They binge-watched an entire season of Game of Thrones together, shopped online and ordered some things for the baby, and ate dinner together on any night Nick wasn't working late.
One night, Nick noticed Adalind struggling to take off her shoes before sitting down on the couch and inquired about it. Once he learned her feet were swollen and sore as a result of the pregnancy he offered to give her a foot massage. She had refused at first, but he finally convinced her to stretch out on the couch and slide her feet into his lap. "I think you missed your calling," Adalind claimed as he relieved the tension in her feet. "Forget being a cop, or a Grimm. You should be a masseuse." Nick laughed as he continued his work. "I'll keep that in mind if things go south with my current professions." He continued rubbing her feet while they watched a movie. In about half an hour, he noticed her feet got much heavier, and realized she was no longer helping support them. He looked over to realize she had fallen asleep. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. As he gazed at her, it hit him. He didn't just care about Adalind because she was carrying their baby. He cared about her, and as more than a friend. It was both a frightening and comforting thought. Juliette had only been dead a few months, but he knew he'd starting grieving for her the day she became a hexenbiest, and certainly once it was clear she had embraced that lifestyle and had no interest in returning to her old self. Was it possible for him to find happiness with Adalind? It seemed like a crazy notion, but as the same time, as he sat her looking at her beautiful face and belly swollen with his child, seemed to make all the sense in the world.
He gently slipped her feet out of his lap and onto the couch. He got up, covered her with a blanket, turned off the TV, and left her to sleep. Just as he had done the night he'd given her a back massage, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "Goodnight, Adaldind," he whispered. The next morning, he emerged from his room to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and breakfast. Adalind was busy at the stove cooking scrambled eggs, and he could see bread popped up from the toaster. "Morning," he said happily. "Morning," she said and turned to smile at him. "I made you breakfast. Hope you like eggs." "I love eggs," he responded smiling. "You didn't have to go to this trouble." "I know," she replied, "but I wanted to. It was the least I could do to pay you back for taking such good care of me and the baby." As she finished the sentence, there was an emotionally charged moment between the two of them as they held each other's gaze. Nick suddenly felt a strong urge to kiss her, but instead blinked himself out of the moment, and said, "Well, it smells great." Adalind came back to reality as well and said, "Well, sit down before it gets cold."
As they sat and dined together, Nick noted how natural it felt. They had been eating together quite often – but mostly from ordering take-out. There was something special about waking up to her cooking him breakfast. As they cleared the dishes, Adalind suddenly giggled and looked down at her stomach, and said, "Well, good morning to you too, little one." Nick looked down at her stomach too, and he could see it slightly moving from the baby kicking under her t-shirt, which was tight against her belly. "He must like eggs, too," she laughed as she patted her stomach. Nick couldn't help himself and stepped closer to her. "May I?" he asked and held his hand in her direction asking permission to touch her stomach. "Sure," Adalind responded. She was delighted her was showing interest in her and the baby. She reached out and took his hand to guide it to the right spot on her stomach. Nick could feel the baby kicking underneath his hand and smiled widely. The moment took them both back to a time that seemed long ago now – but it was actually only a few months ago. When Adalind first told Nick she was pregnant and tried to get him to feel the kicking baby he had recoiled at her touch. This morning, he had not only welcomed, but also initiated it. What a difference just a short time had made. Nick left his hand on Adalind's stomach for a few minutes just feeling their baby kick. Their eyes locked, and once again, tension filled the air. Nick once again dodged his urge, removed his hand, and said, "Well, I had better get ready for work." "Okay," Adalind said cheerfully, and went back to clearing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. Nick showered, dressed, and left for work. He resisted the urge to return to the kitchen as his heart was tugging him in a direction that might lead to a good-bye kiss. Instead, he just called to Adalind telling her goodbye and to have a good day. She responded in a similar, happy fashion and added – "See you tonight!" It felt natural, good, and weird all at the same time.
Nick drove to work preoccupied. Though he was actively trying not to let it happen, his feelings for Adalind were not just growing more obvious, they were growing stronger. Work had fortunately been a bit slow recently, which was a relief for Nick and his partner Hank. Today, they were actually patrolling, something they rarely had time to do. Nick was driving. After the third time Nick had to be honked at to go through a green light, Hank finally said, "You okay?" Nick shook his head trying to pull himself back to reality. "Sorry, just a lot on my mind." "Want to talk about it?" In truth, he did. Maybe Hank would understand, maybe he would tell him he was crazy, at least maybe saying it out loud would make him feel better. Nick pulled into a diner parking lot. "Let's get lunch, and I'll tell you." Hank didn't argue. They got a table in the corner that was fairly isolated and ordered lunch. As the waitress walked away, Nick just laid it all out there.
"Okay, I'm just going to say it. Here's the deal," Nick started. "I think I might be developing feelings for Adalind." Hank just looked at him calmly waiting for him to continue. "Like romantic feelings," Nick added expecting Hank would now start telling him he was crazy or his jaw would at least drop open, but he didn't even look surprised. "Well?" Nick asked. "Well, what?" Hank said. "That's nuts, right?" Nick followed up. "Well…" Hank started. "Well, what?" Nick said. "I'm not sure it's crazy," Hank said. About that time, the waitress returned with their food, so they paused a moment to let her leave it. When she was out of earshot, Hank started again while popping a fry into his mouth. "Nick, I know some terrible things have happened in the past with you two, but Adalind's a beautiful girl, and she is carrying her child. She seems different now, and actually enjoyable to be around. I'm not surprised you might like her." Nick stared at Hank blankly, shocked that his friend was being so understanding. "What?" Hank asked. "Did you want me to tell you it's a bad idea?" "I don't know," Nick answered honestly. "Nick, you and Adalind doesn't make sense, I'll agree with that, but sometimes these things don't make sense. I'm not saying it would be easy, but maybe if you are feeling this way, you should at least explore it further. It's not like anything worse than already has happened could happen." It was a hard truth, but Hank was right. "So, what are you suggesting?" Nick asked. "I don't know, does she feel the same way?" Hank answered back. "I'm not sure," Nick said honestly. "We've had a few…" he searched for the words…"emotionally charged moments, so maybe, but I'm not sure." "Well, why don't you ask her out on a date?" Hank asked. Nick laughed, "We live together!" he said. "We are spending plenty of time together." "So," Hank said. "That's not dating. You are living together because it's convenient and makes sense because of the baby. If you ask her out, one, you can figure out if she feels the same way, and two, it will let her know that you are interested. She's probably wondering the same things you are, but she doesn't have anyone to talk to about it." Nick was stunned at his friend's calm, collected, and reasonable advice. "I'll think about," Nick finally said. Hank just smiled. Nick felt much better after talking to Hank, and for the remainder of lunch they just talked normal day-to-day stuff.
Nick drove home from his shift thinking about Hank's advice. Was it really that simple, he thought to himself? Just ask her on a date – then what? It was all just so crazy and complicated. Dating the mother of his child who he not too long ago hated. Adalind had hurt him beyond belief, but he had hurt her too. She had also been supportive of him when his mom died and was really trying to turn her life around. She was literally and figuratively a different person. Nick also couldn't help but feel guilty. Juliette was dead. Could he really already be thinking about moving on? Was that the right thing to do? What would Monroe and Rosalee think? Did he really have feelings for her, or was he just projecting or pretending because of the baby? Did Adalind even feel the same way? A million questions were running through Nick's head. Still, after all the questions – Nick knew one thing was true; the questions weren't going to go away. In fact, they would probably just keep coming. Maybe a date was the answer? Hank was right. If he asked Adalind out, he could at least figure out if she might be experiencing the same things he was by whether she was open to the idea. By the time he pulled up outside the house they were sharing, he had made up his mind. Crazy or not, he was going to do it. It was Friday evening, after all – date night? Right?