The captain sat at his desk, his office door closed and, for now, unbothered. His mind was focused on Erin. Why did she resurface now? It was clear she still resented him for the incident between himself and her foster brother, Rider. He hadn't meant for her to have been there. Of course, he should've known Rider would never leave her alone with Ben and Rider's mom, Rebeca. He cursed himself for not realizing that at the time. How stupid could he have been for following through? He should've done something to make sure Erin wouldn't be there. But it had to be done then, otherwise by the time she realized she was a Grimm, he wouldn't be able to intervene because of Rider. Rider had to be taken care of so he could train Erin and use her for his own benefit, but things just didn't go as planned.

He closed his eyes and sighed as he remembered seeing her face sobbing over her brother's body. He hadn't known what to do. She looked utterly destroyed and betrayed-all he could do was leave and never see her again, and that's what he did. Never in his life had Captain Sean Renard felt so guilty. He murdered the only person Erin had felt she could trust at the time, the only person that could ever protect her from Ben's violent fits. And because of him, Ben's violence only grew worse since Rider was killed, and Erin was left alone to suffer because of it.

She resented him and she had become so much more cold and cynical than he'd known her to be, but he could only blame himself. He thought maybe it was better that she didn't think he cared anymore. He could still somehow use her Grimm abilities for his own good, and train her to be the Grimm he knew she'd become. But he'd have to watch out for Detective Burkhardt. He was a good detective, and so was Detective Griffin. But he vowed he'd get through to Erin before they did, one way or another.

When Nick entered Erin's room, he found her lying awake and staring out the window. "Hey," he said as he stood beside her.

She jumped and winced, then scowled at him. "Don't do that, Detective," she hissed.

"Erin, you can call me Nick," he told her with a grin.

She looked back out the window and shrugged. "I don't know, what if you're not telling the truth? Or maybe you're just wrong, maybe I'm not you're cousin," she said, "and maybe my biological mom is still alive because she's not who you think she is."

The undeniable hope in her voice sliced through Nick. He knew for sure her mom was dead, but she was in denial. He didn't blame her for wanting to hold onto that false hope, but it was painful to watch her suffer over it. Her mom was dead, she'd died in Nick's arms. Nick sighed. "Erin," he said, and she turned and looked at him expectantly. "I know it's a lot to take it, but I promise it's the truth."

"Yeah, but-" she paused, thinking, "but what if it's not the truth? I'm not saying you're lying, but what if you're wrong? What if my mom isn't your dead aunt, what if she's out there somewhere with my dad? My real dad," she said hopefully.

She wasn't angry with Nick for trying to convince her that her mom was dead, she was just hopeful. But Nick felt that maybe a little part of her knew and just refused to accept it. However, he thought about what she'd said. About her mom being with her dad. He knew her mom was dead, but he realized suddenly he had no clue who her father was, and he was suddenly eager to find out.

"Erin, listen. I'm not lying, and I'm not wrong. The fact that your biological last name matches my aunt's and the fact that you both happen to be Grimms is no coincidence. She's dead, Erin," Nick said. Before Erin could say anything, Nick continued, "but that doesn't mean your dad is too, whoever he is."

"Well you're a cope, can't you find him or something?" Erin asked him eagerly, her eyes sparkling with hope.

Nick didn't want to disappoint her. "I'll try, ok?" he said. Erin nodded. "I need to get back to the precint."

"As soon as you find out anything, tell me," she ordered him. Nick flashed a smile and stood up to leave, but Erin grabbed his arm with all the strength she could manage. "I mean it, Detective," she growled, "no secrets. You find something, you come back and tell me immediately. Even if the stupid doctors won't let you in."

"Hey, those "stupid doctors" saved your life," Nick reminded her.

Erin locked eyes with him and whispered, "no, they didn't. You did."

Nick studied her face. He now realized she was utterly identical to him. Her long, wild, ebony hair framed her bruised face. Her eyes were a light, pretty shade of greenish-blue, more green than his were, her mouth was small and cute, and her jowls were strong, giving her a familiar look that wasn't from his aunt's genes. He couldn't think of who, however, though he assumed it was from her dad's side.

"I didn't stitch you up and save your life, I just found you," he reminded her. For a brief moment, his mind flashed back to the memory of her writhing and screaming on the ground.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to be found anyway," Erin mumbled.

Nick stood, shocked. "Erin, you would've died," he told her, bewildered as to why she would say something like that.

"It'd be better that way," she whispered, avoiding his gaze and looking out the window instead.

"Look," Nick said, "whether you're willing to accept it or not, I'm your cousin. I know it and I have all the proof I need, so I feel a little bit responsible for what happens to you. I don't need your blood on my hands."

Erin sighed and gritted her teeth bitterly. "They'll come back. They weren't finished. What they did to me now was just a message. Next time, I'll be dead. I know it," she told him solemnly.

Nick tensed slightly and felt chills. "You won't die, I'll make sure of it," he assured her. "We're probably the last Grimms and I'm not going to let them kill you.

Erin just shook her head. "I want to leave. Now," she said, "I hate it here, I want to go home!" she cried, sitting up suddenly, then she clutched her ribs painfully and gasped.

"Calm down, you're not going anywhere, so don't strain yourself," he muttered, laying her back down gently.

She tightened her jaw, "I don't want to stay here, Detective," she murmured, looking into his eyes.

Nick gently brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and smiled gently, "I promise you'll be ok here. I'll be back as soon as I find something out."

Erin simpy turned her head away from him and said nothing as he left the room to go back to the precinct.

Nick was sitting at his desk, trying to find information about Erin's biological father, when Hank walked over to him.

"Hey, what are we doing about that kid?" Hank asked him.

Nick looked puzzled, then realized her was referring to Erin. "She's off the hook, Hank," Nick replied nonchalantly. He'd forgotten to mention, well, everything, to Hank.

"Off the hook? Nick, you can't be serious. After what she did to the captain?" Hank sat down in his own chair adjacent from Nick's. "What she did was assault, Nick, and we're just letting her go?" He wasn't necessarily angry, just slightly irritated.

Nick sighed. "What do you want to do Hank, haul an eleven-year-old to juvy?" Nick snapped. "Look, it's not really my department, and it's not your either. She's a kid, she got scared, she has some history with the captain apparently, she did it out of instinct. And it's possible she has anger issues, Hank," Nick said.

"Yeah, I can tell," Hank muttered. "But really, why would she kick him?" he asked.

Nick shrugged. "I don't know, she doesn't seem too fond of him, does she?" Nick grumbled sarcastically.

"Delinquent," Hank mumbled as he stood up. He clapped Nick on the shoulder and left him alone.

Nick sighed with relief and began his search, which took a little over an hour before he found what he was looking for. He froze and stared at his computer at the name he'd found.

Farley Kolt.

The Steinadler?! You've got to be kidding, he thought to himself.

He remembered his encounter with Farley Kolt, the Steinadler. He remembered what he'd told him, about how he'd had a "thing" with a woman. A woman who had left him to take care of her sister's kid. His mom's kid. Him.

Nick knew Erin was desperate to meet her dad, but what was he supposed to do? He had no idea where he was, and it would take time to track him down. It's not that he couldn't, it's just that he couldn't get Erin involved with him. It was dangerous. Nick sighed: he couldn't believe he wanted to protect Erin from her own father.

Nick had lived without his parents for eighteen years, but that didn't mean he was alone and unloved. He'd had his Aunt Marie. He sighed again when he realized Erin didn't have her parents, nor any aunts or uncles to take care of her. He realized her was going to have to make a decision, a big decision. And very soon, too.