A/N: Sorry it took so long my lovely Grimmsters but the climax is finally here!

Just a few quick things before we go:

1. Okay, seriously, a few weeks ago, did anyone else notice how close that episode's plot was to this one? I mean, I don't claim to have written an episode of Grimm indirectly, but I really want to know how two minds can think up the same general disease, with a rash and the violence and the fever and all that jazz. I swear, if they read this, it would make my life. To have inspired an episode for a television show... wow. Otherwise I guess great (gruesome) minds do think alike. Still exciting.

2. Thank you all for bearing with me and being so patient. Life is coming at me hard and fast recently, so I'm updating when I can. Thanks for continuing to follow the story even on my hiatuses. I love you all and appreciate all your kind reviews and the fact that you still take time to come read this.

3. Usual disclaimers apply.

Enjoy!

Chapter 10

She set the pot carefully on his nightstand and gestured for Nick to place his on the desk at the other side of the room. She then moved close to Monroe's side. His eyes were closed and he was on his back, eyes squinted shut, face contorted in pain, chest heaving, and face coated with a thin sheen of sweat, a sweat that darkened his hair and beaded on his brow, sliding silently down his face. She wondered if he had finally managed to fall asleep, but a soft whimper from him told her this was not so. She dragged his desk chair over to the side of the bed and sat down, the pot in her lap, one of the cloths floating atop the liquid, eyedropper in hand.

"Monroe?" Rosalee said, and her voice cracked under pressure of her nerves. "I-I've got your medicine. Are you familiar with the Lupofiebre treatment?" He opened his eyes blearily and nodded once. He had heard from other Blutbaden how painful it was. At this point, however, he didn't think anything could hurt worse than the rash itself. His chest burned as though on fire. Every nerve ending in his body tingled with pain.

"Well, that's good," she said. Her hands were shaking, causing ripples in the water. "At least it won't come as a surprise. Okay. Well, just relax." She was trying really hard not to start crying already. "I'm going to tell you a story, Monroe," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's about a Blutbad like you. A Blutbad that has Lupofiebre. Just focus on the story, alright?" She slowly and deliberately filled the medicine dropper with the liquid. She held it up in front of her eyes and, cringing, held the tip over Monroe's chest. "Once upon a time…," she squeaked, squeezing the black rubber bottom of the dropper and releasing the medicine onto Monroe's open wounds.

His first instinct was to scream, which he did. Loudly. It felt like she had poured rock salt and boiling oil in his already aching wounds. Cutting the scream off, he lost his head and transformed, snarling at her, muscles contracting as if ready to pounce at any moment. She had been expecting this, however, and glared at him, shifting into her fuchsbau form and growling right back at him.

Monroe, calm down, she said, speaking to him in the Wesen language that was familiar to both of them. It's just me. Me, Rosalee. I'm going to help you! Monroe didn't answer. Rosalee cringed and squirted another dose of the medicine into his wounds. He shouted again in pain and lunged for her. Luckily, in that moment, Nick's hand found Monroe's arm, gripped his bicep like a vice, and held fast, pushing him back to a lying position.

"Easy, Monroe," he said gently, keeping a firm hand against Monroe's arm. "You don't want to hurt Rosalee. You'd never be able to live with yourself if you did." As Nick spoke, Rosalee shifted back into her human form and continued to apply the medicine in generous doses to Monroe's rash with tears in her eyes. Monroe writhed and growled and yelped, shooting up once again to attack Rosalee, all traces of his humanity gone from his eyes. Nick caught his hands deftly.

"Monroe, look at me," he said. "Rosalee's just trying to help! It'll be over soon. It's just Rosalee. You're fine, Monroe."

She continued to apply the medicine as this happened, her hands trembling so badly she spilled multiple times on his sheets. She was scared. In one swift movement, at any second, Monroe could rip out her throat and she'd be powerless to stop it, weighed down by the pot and unwilling to hurt him while he was in such a state by fighting back.

She must have squeezed some into a very sensitive spot, for just then Monroe threw his head back and howled in agony before transforming back into a human and going limp, shuddering and writhing from the pain, only half-conscious.

"Monroe?" Nick asked worriedly, looking down at his friend and then over at the apothecary. "Rosalee, what's happening?"

"He's not angry anymore," Rosalee explained, her voice quavering. "Just in a lot of pain. He can't fight anymore. I must have hit a trigger spot." Nick was quite confused, but decided to drop it. Clearly Monroe had lost his drive to fight – from the pain perhaps? Was this the equivalent of being "broken" when tortured by the royal families, he wondered? He looked down, his hand still on Monroe's shoulder. The Blutbad was squirming, his eyes clenched shut, a few stray tears sliding silently down his cheeks. His breath came in short puffs, and he was whimpering softly and yelping every so often.

"Stop," he groaned. "Please. Have mercy on me." Nick looked over at Rosalee, but quickly looked away when he realized she was crying too. He felt awkward, like he was invading a private moment.

It was breaking Rosalee's heart to hear Monroe like this, to see him like this, to know how much pain she was causing him.

"Shh," she said. "It's just me, Monroe. I'm not doing this to hurt you."

"Oh God," he moaned. "Oh God please. Please! I'll do anything, say anything, tell you whatever you want."

"Hallucinations?" Nick guessed.

"Yes," Rosalee said, not meeting his gaze. Her voice was an octave higher than normal and cracked with emotion. "Just a few more drops, Monroe, that's all. Just a few more. We're almost there." He screamed again, the sound loud, long, and guttural, and he tried to jerk away, but it was as though something was holding him in place. Nick wondered about this until Rosalee said "He's weak. Too weak to move. That's normal."

"Normal. Okay," Nick said sarcastically. Rosalee ignored him and squeezed the remainder of the medicine onto the rash. That final squirt did it: Monroe screamed again and went unconscious, the pain too much to bear.

"Woah!" Nick cried in alarm. "What's happening?"

"Fainted from the pain," Rosalee whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes. She took the cloth and gingerly blotted at the excess potion, clearing it from his chest. "He'll wake up in a little bit. Thank you," she added, "for keeping him down. He could have killed me, you know."

"He wouldn't have," Nick said. "He was holding back. He was fighting to keep himself."

"I believe that," Rosalee said and handed Nick the empty pot, taking the one full of the cool medicated gel onto her lap and applying a generous amount to Monroe's chest with a washcloth. The effect was instantaneous: Monroe's face immediately lost all tension and he breathed a sigh of relief. She continued to slather his chest with the ointment she had concocted in a slow, ritual fashion.

"He really likes you, you know," Nick said awkwardly. Rosalee looked up from her work and offered a small smile, one that only gently raised the corners of her lips.

"Yeah," she said thoughtfully. "Yeah. I do know." She finished what she was doing in silence, sighing in relief as she watched the rash begin to scab over and heal.

"He's going to be fatigued when he wakes up," she said. "But thankfully it'll just be like a normal flu now. I can give him an herbal remedy for it. He should be better soon."

"That's good," Nick said, feeling relieved. "That was… really nasty."

"That's Lupofiebre for you," Rosalee said with a sigh. "But look. It's already healing." She gestured to Monroe's chest. Nick came in closer for a better look. Sure enough, most of the gashes were already sealed with a thin shell or completely gone.

"Wow," Nick said. "I wonder if my ancestors knew anything about this."

"They probably did," Rosalee said. "This would kill Blutbaden more quickly and efficiently than any of your family's weapons could."

"Sounds… morbid," Nick said.

"It was," she responded, going back to her soothing work. She looked at his features, slack and relaxed now, his breathing regular, his heartbeat back to normal. Rosalee couldn't help but smile. He was going to be okay. The back of her hand found his cheek and stroked it gently.

"He gonna wake up anytime soon?" Nick asked.

"In a few minutes, probably," she answered. "Want to stick around? He won't be hallucinating reapers anymore." Nick smiled.

"Sure," he said. "Of course. Can I help with something?" Rosalee pondered that for a second.

"Do you know how to brew tea?" She asked.

"Like… medicinal herbal tea like you make, or just normal tea?" Nick asked.

"Just regular, normal tea," Rosalee clarified with a smile.

"As long as you don't mind a tea bag," he said with a shrug. Rosalee chuckled.

"He'll get a kick out of that," she said with a smile. "Yes, that will be fine. If you could go do that, it would be great."

"Will do," Nick said. Just as he was crossing the threshold of Monroe's room, Rosalee called him back and handed him both pots, now empty.

"Please?" She asked with a charming grin. Nick smiled at her and nodded once, turning to go. The fuchsbau followed him out, going as far as the bathroom, where she soaked a new cloth in lukewarm water, wrung it out, and brought it back to the bedroom. She used it to sponge off Monroe's sweaty face and neck to help soothe the last traces of fever. He was already beginning to look better, some color returned to his cheeks and the unhealthy heat his body had been radiating suddenly cooled.

That had gone much better than she had expected, she decided. Monroe hadn't tried to kill her. That was certainly an accomplishment if nothing else. The most dangerous part was behind them. Now all that was left to do was make him feel better.

A/N: Final chapter is next! I hope you all have enjoyed this journey - I know I certainly have. Loose ends will be tied up, and the Mary Anne plot will be brought up again. I'm so excited to be finishing this. Hope you liked this part. As always, reviews are wonderful and cherished, so feel free to leave me one!

Ciao,

~PG22