Callie and Rainie were having trouble in school again. Only this time it was because they were stressed about Nick and Juliette. Callie was constantly over at Hanson's or with Holly and Roddy and Rainie was stuck trying to find friends to come play with. Although they'd tried everything it seemed that Juliette was not remembering Nick and to make matters worse, they were beginning to fight a lot more now.
Matters got even worse when Callie threatened to move out and Nick and Juliette began fighting over the reasons why and then began fighting over Rainie.
Callie made sure Rainie stayed in her room and signed feverishly at her parents that she wanted to move in with Hanson because she couldn't stand it here anymore.
"YOU BOTH FIGHT ALWAYS. HURT RAINIE, HURT ME. ME DONE. ME WANT LEAVE."
"Callie, you can't just move out." Nick had said, "And I know Hanson has offered to let you stay with him, but after Holly I just can't let you do that."
She glared, "HANSON NOT SAME. YOU KNOW NOTHING. NOTHING!"
Nick sighed and Juliette sat at the table sighing with tears in her eyes.
Finally Callie looked at her and decided enough was enough. She hadn't wanted to say anything and it hurt her so much to do this. But after Holly had called her and told her what her dad had seen at Rosalee's, she decided it was time Nick knew.
"YOU SEE MAN. HOLLY SPEAK ME. YOU CHEAT NICK. YOU TERRIBLE!"
Juliette stared at her in horror and then looked at Nick who stared incredulously at them both, "What did you just sign? Callie, that's terrible if that's a lie."
"NO LIE! MONROE SEE."
Nick looked to Juliette who was looking uncomfortable and then glared, "Is that true?"
Juliette had tears in her eyes and was looking angrily at them both. She stood up indignantly and then shouted, "Okay, yes! I have been seeing someone! And you know what? I tried. I tried remembering you but I just can't, okay?! You have no idea what this is like and I can't stand it."
Callie finally cried and signed, "ME LEAVE TONIGHT."
"Callie, stop!" Nick cried. Then he looked accusingly at Juliette.
"Don't you dare blame this on me. They are my girls, not yours." She cried.
"Doesn't matter at this point. I'm gonna take a note from Callie and move out as well. I expect visits with Rainie every day."
"Don't think I won't take it to court!" Juliette yelled as he went upstairs to pack.
Rainie came around the corner as Nick went upstairs. She saw Juliette crying and couldn't help it. She cried as well. She felt lost as both Nick and Callie left with bags in their hands and their mom sat at the table, devastated and crying.
Nick left her, her sister left her, now she was losing the only mother she ever knew. No one cared about her. She was nothing and felt worse than ever.
She went upstairs and decided to pack a bag as well. She was done living in the real world. It was worse than living on the streets. That was where she belonged, so she'd go.
…
Roddy was helping Holly unpack the last of her things. They'd heard the news that Nick was staying with Monroe and he didn't want to stress her out so he officially let her move out and live with Roddy. Monroe ordered her to visit or call every day and to be safe and healthy. He trusted Roddy at this point being that he'd asked Monroe for a lot of advice regarding Holly.
Holly got a text and stared at it as Roddy's phone rang.
"Hey Hanson, what's…What?! She's what?!"
"Roddy, Callie left home and is living with Hanson." Holly said.
"I know, Hanson's telling me." He said, "We're coming over, stay put. Is she okay?"
Holly read another text from Callie and felt terrible. She'd been fighting with her parents again. And they all knew that Nick had moved out. They didn't expect Callie to as well. She wondered how Rainie was doing but she assumed she was fine with Juliette.
Holly sighed and threw aside her bag to grab her purse as Roddy grabbed his keys.
Looks like they were in for a long night.
…..
Nick sat staring at the TV screen as the face of his boss became etched in his brain. This was the man Juliette was seeing. He couldn't believe it. He seethed inside and wanted to punch something, anything, when his phone rang.
He was stunned it was Juliette. He answered her tersely, "What?"
"You don't have to be mean. And if Rainie's with you she needs to come home now!"
"What? Rainie's not with me." He said.
"You better not be lying because I am freaking out that I can't find her Nick!" Juliette roared.
Nick sat up straight, "I'm not lying, she's not with me. She's not with you?"
"I've looked all over and I can't find her. Oh God!" she cried.
"I'm on it. Just do whatever and stay there. She may turn up." Nick ordered, hanging up. He looked at Monroe and stood up, "Call Bud and Holly. I'm calling Hank and Hanson. Rainie's missing."
"Oh God." Monroe groaned.
Nick grabbed his things and they both split up.
…
Callie was being held by Hanson while Roddy and Holly listened from the couch. Hanson explained what Callie had told him. Callie wiped her eyes fiercely and stared at the wall.
"Cheer up, things will get better." Holly told her.
"Yeah, I mean, look at us. We're living together and doing fine. And I'm sure things will get better between Nick and Juliette." Roddy agreed.
Hanson smiled at his friends who were so supportive of Callie being with him. He was afraid they'd convince her to go home when he knew she was failing school and drinking and disappearing because of Nick and Juliette. At least here he could keep better tabs on her and help her get back on track.
Callie's phone vibrated as did everyone else's. They all answered and Callie got the text. She stood up and sobbed silently, dropping her phone.
Hanson answered his phone as well as Holly and Roddy read Callie's text. They'd all heard the news; Rainie was missing.
"FAULT MINE!" Callie signed, crying, "ME NOT HELP HER. SHE GONE! SHE HURT MAYBE!"
"It'll be fine, Callie, we'll find her." Hanson said as he and Roddy grabbed their keys, "We'll split up. Hank, Nick and Monroe are all looking for her."
Callie nodded and grabbed her things and texted Rainie, hoping to get an answer from her.
"Nick said he tried tracing her phone, she must have destroyed it because there's no signal." Hanson told her. She sobbed again and followed him outside.
She prayed the whole way that her sister was alright. Inside she was beating herself up for not checking up on her and for just leaving her like that. She should have dragged her sister along with her.
She put her head in her hands and nearly vomited as Hanson drove, thinking of all the terrible things that could be happening to her sister. She once lived on the streets and she knew more than Rainie how terrible people were and how bad things could get.
She suddenly remembered something.
"BUILDING! I KNOW! GO!" she quickly signed to Hanson, who had to be careful while driving. He quickly interpreted her signing to a street and then drove there quickly.
If Callie was right, maybe Rainie went to their old hide out. She sure hoped so.
She closed her eyes and tried not to think about anything horrible happening to her sister and prayed that somebody would find her. And tonight.
…..
Rainie wandered the city streets. She'd passed a few places she'd come to know but decided to really just disappear and wander off into unknown parts of Portland. She was only wearing her jeans and a dark blue hoodie. She kept the hood up to keep out the chill but she still shivered as she walked with her purple backpack filled with only a few things. She'd also packed some snacks for now until she could find a way to get food. Not that she was hungry these days.
It was very dark and cold but she trudged along anyways, ignoring passerby's and cars as they went past her. No one really seemed to notice her and she found she was getting used to the feeling. She was just a waste of space really. Nothing mattered anymore.
She looked up when she saw a group of teenagers watching someone play guitar and drinking beer. They were also carrying bags and looked homeless. Maybe she could start a new family with them?
She walked up to them shyly and a girl noticed her and gave her a funny look. Rainie gulped and walked up to her. The girl smiled but looked warily at her.
Rainie started signing that she was lost and wanted to find a place to stay.
The girl stared at her hands and then took in her attire and book bag.
"Kid, did you run away from home?" she asked.
Rainie shook her head and lied, signing that she was homeless.
The girl did not understand what she was saying but quickly got the others attention, "Hey, where's Zayne at? He's deaf, he can understand her."
"Is she deaf?" a boy asked.
"Are you?" the girl asked Rainie, who shook her head and pointed to her mouth.
"I guess she can hear, she just can't speak." The girl said, "I think she's lost or something. Might be homeless too."
Rainie nodded and the girl smiled, "Stick with us, we'll help you out."
"I'll go find Zayne, he's around here somewhere." The boy said getting up.
Rainie signed a thank you to them and sat down next to the girl who offered her a small granola bar. Rainie took it and ate it feeling slightly better than earlier.
"Do you have a mom and a dad out here?" the girl asked.
Rainie shook her head.
"How long you been out here?" another teenager asked her.
Rainie shrugged, pretending she had no clue.
"How old are you?" he asked.
Rainie held up her fingers to say she was 9 now.
They nodded sadly, "That's too young." A kid said.
"Probably a family situation." Another girl admitted.
Rainie got comfortable enough to sit closer to the girl for warmth.
They cheered her up by playing music and singing along.
The boy who'd left came back with another teenager who was wearing dreadlocks and a cap. He came over to Callie and smiled.
He began signing so Callie signed back. They signed about her being lost and scared and alone and he was able to tell his friends on paper her situation.
"She can stay with us for now." A boy said, "Yeah, we'll be heading out tomorrow morning and some of us collect money by playing music or selling art stuff. If you wanna help us, you can join our group."
Rainie nodded, feeling much better. She remembered not being able to rely on anyone but her sister because she couldn't speak, but now she felt connected to other kids like her. Granted she'd lied about not being a runaway but who cared. She was ready to find a new family.
…
Callie cried as she searched the building with Hanson. Rainie wasn't here.
She walked out with him to the car and sobbed into his shoulder and he held her. He knew how devastated she was feeling about her sister. She cared a lot about her and she felt it was all her fault.
"Callie, it's not your fault." He told her quickly, "Shit happens. We'll find her, we can't lose hope."
She hugged him and sobbed some more and he sighed, deciding she'd been needing to cry it out for a while now. Her situation sucked and he was just glad he was able to do what he could for her; providing a home being one of them.
"Tell you what, I'll take you home to my place and let you get some rest, I'll go look at a few more places. I still know some guys around here who could help."
She shook her head, demanding she keep looking when he took her shoulders into his hands, "I'm not gonna give up, but you're a mess right now. The minute I hear anything you will know, okay? Besides, maybe she'll show up at my place."
She bit her lip and finally nodded sadly.
He led her to the car just as he got a text from Roddy that he hadn't found her and he and Holly had to get home cause Holly needed rest and he couldn't really leave her.
Hanson was fine with that because he knew others were still looking.
He looked sadly at Calllie who resembled a corpse from all the stress she was under. He decided that once Rainie was found he'd have to have a talk with Nick about all this. Nick had been too focused on what he was doing out there in the Grimm world he'd been neglecting quite a few things and Hanson was having to clean up the mess for him. He knew Nick didn't do it purposely, but Hanson was a Grimm too and he couldn't always just be the sidekick.
He took Callie inside and got her to bed quickly and then drove out to town looking for his old pals. He knew some of the places where they'd stay if shelters were closed, so he started there.
He pulled up and walked around, not really seeing anything. He managed to ask a few friends if they'd seen a little nine-year-old girl walking around, but nobody had noticed anything. He finally walked to another part of town where he heard some music playing. He remembered this spot being another place where homeless kids hung out at.
He walked closer and saw a large group of them laughing and singing. He looked around when he noticed a little kid with a hoodie on wearing a purple book bag. He walked closer and called out, "Rainie?!"
The kid turned around and he was relieved when he saw Rainie looking up at him fearfully and then angrily.
"GO AWAY!" she signed. The other kids turned to look at her.
"You know her?" the girl holding her asked.
Hanson nodded, "I'm her sister's boyfriend. She ran away tonight."
Rainie glared at him.
"She told us she was homeless." The girl said, "We had no idea."
"It's okay, she was at one point." Hanson said, hoping to not make Rainie look so terrible.
He walked over and bent down as one of the kids greeted him, "Hanson? Is that you?"
Hanson looked up and smiled, "Hi Greg!"
"Hanson used to be on the streets too, but he just got a job as a police officer." Greg told everyone.
They all beamed at him.
He shrugged, blushing slightly, then got back to Rainie who didn't look quite as ready to leave the group.
"Rainie, come on, let's go home, everybody's out looking for you and Callie's really worried." He said.
She shook her head.
The girl chuckled, "Kid, Rainie. I wish someone would have found me like Hanson here. I'd go with him if people are worried about you. You don't wanna end up like this."
Rainie nodded sadly but then looked angrily at Hanson, "FIGHTS. ME HATE. NO GO."
Hanson nodded and sighed, then looked at the girl who chuckled at him, "Go ahead." She smiled.
He came over and picked up Rainie, who put up quite a fight, but he managed to put her over his shoulder and carry her away.
"Bye Rainie!" The girl said.
"Come back and visit soon with your family!" another called, "Zayne loves when he meets another signer!"
Rainie didn't hear them and Hanson waved to them, wishing them luck as he carried her to the car.
He plopped her down and she shoved him but he only laughed as he got down to her level, "Hey. You wanna come spend the night with me and Callie tonight?"
"NO!" she signed angrily.
He sighed, "Come on, we're really worried about you. Nick and Juliette are looking, Monroe's looking, Hank and Bud are looking, even Roddy and Holly looked for you earlier. We really missed you."
"NOBODY LIKE ME." She cried, signing.
"That's not true. And I know that right now things are really bad, but they'll get better. But running away doesn't solve anything. You could have gotten hurt. You are lucky you found those guys over there, but it could have been bad, Rainie. Trust me."
She glared at him through tears.
"Let me tell you a story." He said, finding a bench and walking her to it, "A long time ago, a boy and his sister ran away from home because their parents couldn't stop fighting. Only this fighting was bad. People got hurt. These two kids ran off and lived on the streets, kind of like you and Callie."
She listened and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
"But one day, being on the streets got bad when these bad Wesen kidnapped that boy and girl. They were going to hurt them. They were going to actually cut them open and take out their hearts and organs to sell or eat."
Rainie's eyes widened at this story.
"That boy was me, and that girl was my sister. And had Nick not come and saved us in time, we would have died, horribly." He said, "And Callie told me all about the guys who hurt her, and tried to hurt you. So you know why it's not safe out here by yourself."
She shivered and nodded.
"I'm not telling you this to scare you, but so you are careful. I know running away sounds easy, but it really isn't the answer, and not when so many people who love you are scared and looking for you."
She nodded sadly, "ME COME WITH YOU?"
He nodded, "You can stay with me tonight." He promised, "Tomorrow we'll see what happens, okay?"
She nodded sadly and Hanson finally sent out a mass text that he'd found Rainie and was taking him to his place. He explained where she was and why she'd left. Then he walked her to the car and took her home.
Sure enough, Callie was waiting at the door and brought Rainie to her chest and sobbed. Rainie held her back, crying silently. She broke from her sister to sign how sorry she was.
Callie shook her and signed for her to never do that again.
Rainie nodded and they embraced once more. Hanson put on a DVD while Callie washed Rainie and got her comfortable so she could watch a movie and fall asleep on the couch. Hanson walked with Callie to the room and left the door open for her in case. He was glad she was sleeping soundly and he was certainly glad he'd found her.
He sighed thinking about the mess she and Callie were in. He could promise Callie a home with him, but Rainie was another story. He only hoped whatever happened was for the best.
…
Nick came to pick up Rainie from Hanson's that morning. He hugged her fiercely and gave her the usual lecture about running away. He hugged Callie and promised her that everything would be fine and that she could stay with Hanson as long as she felt safe. But if she wanted to see him or Juliette that they were only a call away.
Callie was still very sore about all the fighting, but nodded none-the-less.
Nick got Rainie to the car and decided it was high time for a real talk with her. He decided ice cream was in order. He made sure to get her favorite and then sit at a booth and sign with her about what she had been feeling lately.
It was really nice to just talk with his daughter about how she was doing. He hadn't done it in a long time and he realized how sad and lonely she must have felt when he'd walked out like that.
"Rainie…I'm so sorry you had to see that. I never should have just left you without at least explaining or talking to you first. I don't want you to feel that any of this is your fault."
She nodded sadly and he decided it was time to take her home, "You're going to live with Juliette because I know how much she loves you and you love her. Rainie she was devastated when you left."
"YOU SEE ME?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes. He held her hands in his.
"I'll come see you every day, I promise. And if I can't, I will always Skype."
She nodded sadly, "HOME NO SAME NO."
"I know, it will feel weird for a while, but everything will be just fine in the end." He promised, "And don't hesitate to ask Monroe or Hank, Hanson or Callie, or even Rosalee and Roddy and Holly for help. Shoot, Bud is another person you can always talk to."
She nodded and then wiped her eyes with her sleeve. He came over and gave her a big hug and decided to take her home.
Once home he noticed how Juliette gave her kisses repeatedly and held her close, crying about how worried she was. Nick knew how much Rainie meant to Juliette and he would never tear her apart from her. He couldn't do that. As much as he loved his girls, he knew when it was time to just start letting go.
But as long as he was a Grimm, he would be defending them to the very end.