II. Worry
"Wait the guy got sued for stealing a wave?" Monroe rises both eyebrows. "No way, you have to be pulling my leg."
Adalind laughs. "It's true, I swear. It was my first case when I was doing my internship in California. This surfer comes in and says that this other surfer is suing him over a wave and that he needs a lawyer because he is innocent and is gonna prove it."
"How do you even own a wave to have it stolen?" Rosalie asks incredulously.
"Well-Sorry." The ring of her cell interrupts what she was going to say. "Hey Nick."
"Where are you? Are you and Kelly okay?" His voice sounds rough and his tone is urgent.
"We're okay. We're at the store with Rosalie and Monroe."
"Stay there. Don't leave their sight. We'll be there soon."
His tone scares her. There are very few things that can really rattle Nick. "What's going on?"
"I'll explain when I get there. Just stay."
"We're not going anywhere."
"What is it?" Rosalie asks as soon as she hangs up.
"I don't know, but Nick sounded worried. He wants me and Kelly to stay with you guys until he gets here."
"Worried about what?"
"I don't know."
Some minutes later they heard the door rattle and Monroe goes to open it. Nick's burst through the door before the Blutbat even finishes opening it.
"Adalind! Kelly!"
"We're here." She calls from the table and he turns and hops towards her. "What happened? What's wrong with your leg?" His take her in from head to toe and then go to Kelly who is sleeping next to her in his carry on chair. "Nick, we're okay. But you need to sit down and tell me what's going on." She takes him by the arm and he almost collapses on her. Monroe jumps in to help before Nick takes her down. Together they guide him to the small bed in the back of the shop.
"We were on a case. It turned out to be Wessen related."
"How fond are you of these pants?" There is a cut high on his tight that's bleeding.
"What?"
"It doesn't matter." She grabs the ragged edges of tear in the pants and pulls. As the fabric tears away, she inhales sharply. Rosalie is at her side with her arms filled with bandages. She comes to an abrupt stop when she sees what she sees. "Please tell me you have periwinkle in the shop."
"Monroe, third shelf to the left, green powder, and bring St. John's wort too. Fourth shelf to the middle, yellow powder." Monroe runs to the other side of the shop.
"I told him to go to the hospital, but he wouldn't hear a word of it." Hank curses. "He's stubborn as a mule, you know."
She nods. "The hospital wouldn't have helped anyways." She takes the wet cloth and the bowl of water that Rosalie hands her.
"I'm fine." Stubborn doesn't even begin to describe her Grimm. "The victims were all mothers with their babies. She tortured them before she killed them and when she got me she showed me what-" He hisses when she touches around the wound with the wet cleaning cloth. The skin around it is an angry purple under the blood and there are dark tendrils coming out of it under his skin.
"I'm sorry, but I need to clean it."
"Adalind, she showed me you and Kelly dying, and I couldn't anything. I couldn't stop it." Once that wound is clean, she takes off his jacket and checks his arms and chest for more wounds.
"It wasn't real." She swears when she finds another wound on his left side. "Rosalie, how's that boiling coming?"
"I'm going as fast as I can." She fires quick fast orders to Monroe and Hank.
"She showed it to me as if I were her, as if I were killing you." He sounds groggy and his voice is as rough as when he just wakes up.
"It wasn't real. You would never hurt Kelly." She washes the second wound to get as much of the poison out. If there's one thing she is sure of in this world is that Nick would die before hurting or letting someone hurt their son.
"I know. I wouldn't hurt you either," she feels his fingers at her jaw and looks up at him flabbergasted, "not ever again." His eyes are kind and honest, and she can't remember anyone ever looking at her like that. "But it felt so real, I was sure she was showing me something she had already done."
"But it wasn't. We're okay and you're going to be okay." She turns her head dislodging his hand from her chin. Rosalie finally finishes and brings the poultice and a tea. Adalind takes the tea and makes him drink it. His five o'clock shadow is rough under her fingers. "And you're never going against a Tarant again without a full body armour. In fact, you should always wear one if you're going to be this reckless." She berates him while helping Rosalie dress and wrap the wounds. There is another one on his shoulder. Stupid Tarants with their six arms.
"Adalind, you know I wouldn't hurt you." One of his hands covers hers and there's that look in his eyes again. Ernest, sincere. She shallows the sudden lump in her throat and nods.
