Rating: G

Warnings: None.

Fandom: Grimm

Pairings: Past Juliette/Nick, future Nick/Monroe.

Premise: Cursed!baby-Grimm!Nick is trapped in Aunt Marie's creepy old house on the coast. Monroe arrives to appraise the antique clocks, and meets what appears to be the ghost of a Grimm. It's not quite that simple, though.

Disclaimer: I don't hold the copyrights, I didn't create them, and I make no profit from this.


The woman who knocks on Monroe's door at the incredibly civilized hour of eleven in the morning is very pretty. Her hair is red and her eyes are hazel, and the way Monroe's heart skips a beat can't entirely be attributed to the red pea coat she's wearing.

It's also not entirely the fault of the truly lovely skeleton clock she's carrying tucked under one arm.

"Yes?" Monroe asks politely, opening his door a little wider. She smells like rain, animals, and the sharp tang of medicine—human, though, entirely. "Can I help you?"

"You're Mr. Monroe, the clockmaker?" she asks in return, shifting a bit awkwardly. "I was told you take rare old clocks?"

That's straightforward enough. Monroe opens his door all the way and steps back. "Definitely, and if only they were all as nice as that beauty you've got there. For sale?"

The woman steps in, smile blooming. If she's pretty when she's solemn, she's absolutely stunning when she smiles. "It's a bribe to get you interested. There are several more like this, and some that look even older. I just don't know what to do with them." She shifts the clock to her hip and offers a hand. "I'm Juliette Richards."

"Just call me Monroe," Monroe returns, shaking hands. She's got a firm, no-nonsense grip and a steady gaze. And a wedding ring, which is a bit of a disappointment. "Cleaning house, are we?"

Something sad, but resigned, creeps into her gaze, and she quirks a half-smile at him. "It's kind of a long story. Do you have a minute?"

"For clocks like that one? I've got all the time in the world." Monroe gestures her towards the couch. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?"

Juliette shakes her head as she takes a seat. "No, thanks. I just…" She trails off, but for once Monroe doesn't need social subtitles to get that this is a bit of a painful topic for her. He sucks in a breath and quickly takes the chair across from her, settling long limbs as gracefully as he can.

Instead of looking at him, Juliette plays with the simple gold band around her finger. "I was…engaged once before," she says after a moment. "Nearly ten years ago now. He was a detective here in Portland, and he inherited a house in Azalea Bay. Do you know it?"

Monroe does. It's about an hour's drive south, a sleepy coastal town with incredibly expensive real estate and lots of beautiful old houses on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. "Azalea Bay?" he repeats, leaning forward to get a better look at the clock as Juliette sets it on the table between them. "No wonder it's in such good condition. Family home, I take it? That's the best way to preserve pieces like this, keeping them in one place and —" It's only with extreme self-control that Monroe manages to cut off the ramble before it can pick up speed. He carefully bites his tongue, nods politely, and gestures for Juliette to continue.

Thankfully, Juliette just looks kindly amused. "Yes," she answers. "Nick's aunt Marie owned the house, even though she rarely stayed there, and she left it to him when she died. We used it as a vacation house." The sadness in her eyes darkens, and she bites her lip a little, playing with her ring again. "While we were up there one weekend, Nick disappeared. A…body was never found." She swallows and shakes her head. "Nick left everything to me, and I…can't. But my husband and I are moving to Seattle, and I don't want to just leave the house sitting there with all those antiques in it."

A ghosting touch over the skeleton clock, and then Juliette smiles at Monroe again, just briefly. "If you're willing to make the drive down there and spend time sorting through things, you can keep whatever catches your interest as payment. I just…want it to go to someone who will appreciate the history."