CHAPTER ELEVEN

When Nick finally made his way back to the emergency room where Monroe and Rosalee were waiting for him, he felt defeated; and he looked like hell. His eyes were bloodshot, and the light blue color of his irises had been replaced by complete darkness.

As soon as she saw him, Rosalee got up from her chair and ran to him to give him a hug. They remained in a silent embrace for a long moment. She could feel his body was still shaking from all the crying. She slowly let go of him, sliding her hands down his arms.

"I promise you Nick, I will do everything in my power to help you find a way to save her" she said.

"Thank you Rosalee" he said, his voice a mere whisper.

Monroe joined them and placed his hand on Nick's shoulder.

"We're here for you Nick. We won't let her slip away" he said.

"She seemed so lifeless..." Nick whispered. "I begged her to hold on, but..."

He was unable to get the rest of the words out. Tears started rolling down his cheeks again.

"Come on, let's go" said Monroe.

"I can't, I need to stay here just in case..." Nick started.

"The doctor came by while you were with Adalind" interrupted Rosalee. "He mentioned he would let us know as soon as anything changes. He suggested we should all go home in the meantime."

"You can stay with us" Monroe said.

"No, I should go home to be with Kelly and Diana..."

"I don't think they should see you like this, Nick" said Rosalee. "I already called Trubel to let her know what happened. She said she'll take care of the kids while you're gone."

"Ok" Nick said. "Thank you."

Monroe led Nick towards the exit and pushed the door open. Before he walked out, Nick looked back one last time, desperately hoping that Adalind would somehow come running down the hall and into his arms.

"I love you Nick" whispered Adalind as she lifted her head to kiss him.

"I love you too" Nick breathed between his lips.

She was wearing a flowy white dress, her soft curls cascading down her shoulders. Her face exuded a gorgeous glow, and her blue eyes, as beautiful as ever, were sparkling.

"Nick... I'm pregnant."

Nick was speechless for a moment, not sure he had heard right.

"What?... oh my God!" he said, lifting her up in his arms, laughing.

He put her back down and leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. When he opened his eyes, Adalind was gone.

Nick woke up with a startling jolt, his heart racing. At first, he had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there. But when he heard the ticking of numerous clocks, he realized he was in Monroe's living room.

He closed his eyes and replayed the dream he'd just had in his mind. The pain and sorrow immediately came rushing back. The agony was so intense he had trouble breathing.

"Adalind" he murmured.

"Nick, are you ok?" asked Rosalee as she came into the living room, holding a cup of coffee. "I heard you stirring..."

"Yeah... I just had a dream" Nick responded, looking down at the floor.

Rosalee didn't need to ask; judging by the look of sorrow on Nick's face, she could sense he'd been dreaming about Adalind.

"Here" she said, handing him the cup of coffee.

"Thanks."

"I've stayed up all night looking at the books, and..."

"Rosalee, you're about to give birth, you shouldn't be overexerting yourself" Nick interrupted.

Rosalee felt touched that despite the hell he was going through, Nick still worried about her comfort and well-being.

"I couldn't sleep" she replied. "I figured I'd make myself useful."

"Did you find anything?" Nick asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Yes, I did."

Nick shot up from the couch and set his cup on the side table.

"What is it? Is it a complicated spell?"

"No, it's actually quite simple; there's only one ingredient."

"Is it hard to find?"

"No, we won't need to go far… it's right here. It's your blood."

"Did you say blood?" asked Monroe as he entered the living room.

"Yes, that's all we need to save Adalind. Nick's blood" Rosalee explained.

"But how? How is my blood going to help her?" Nick asked, puzzled. "Is it because I'm a Grimm?"

"No, it has nothing to do with your Grimm powers. The spell we performed on Adalind was supposed to annihilate her Hexenbiest powers by obliterating any possible compulsions to destroy. The key ingredient being a mother's unconditional love, we used strands of Kelly's and Diana's hair. Now, I have no way of knowing if the spell worked or not… we won't know for sure until Adalind wakes up."

"Ok… so how will my blood get her out of her coma?"

"The doctor said her heart stopped beating. According to ancient texts I found in the books which pertained to similar cases, the only way to revive her is to use what's called true love's blood."

Nick suddenly sensed a glimmer of hope rising from the darkness that had engulfed him when he found out Adalind had collapsed.

"So my blood can save her simply because she's the love of my life" he said.

"Exactly" Rosalee confirmed.

"And how would we administer it to her?"

"We would inject it in her veins, like any other blood transfusion; except we would only need a syringeful."

"So let's do it!" Nick said, rolling up his sleeve.

But he noticed Rosalee was hesitant. She was looking at Monroe, tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked.

"It's not that simple…" Rosalee said with a shaky voice.

"What do you mean? You just said that all she needs is my blood!" Nick screamed as he started to get impatient.

"Yes, but… Nick, the babies she is carrying could potentially have Hexenbiest blood…"

Nick's heart stopped. He didn't need Rosalee to explain what this possibility meant. He knew full well what it implied. If they injected his blood, Grimm blood, into Adalind's veins and that their unborn children were half-Hexenbiest, it could lead to their death. Adalind had lost her Hexenbiest powers years ago when Nick had infused her with his blood. She had survived, but she was also much stronger than their unborn babies were.

Nick sat back down on the couch and put his head in his hands. His own blood could save the life of the woman he loved, but it could also end his children's.

"Nick, I know this must be a difficult decision to make… I can't even begin to imagine having to choose between the love of your life and your children…" Rosalee said. "But time is running out."

Nick lifted his head up to look at his friends. He needed to make sense of all of this before making his final decision.

"We don't know what Kelly is yet" Nick said. "It's too early to tell. There's a chance he's neither Grimm nor Hexenbiest. I mean, look at Diana; she should be half-Hexenbiest and half-Zauberbiest, but she seems to be something else altogether. Have you come across anything in the books regarding Grimms and Hexenbiests having children together?" he asked Rosalee.

"No... I think you and Adalind are probably the first."

"Wait a second... doesn't Adalind already have Grimm blood running through her veins?" asked Monroe. "From when Nick took away her powers?"

"Yes, that's right..." said Rosalee.

"So if she already has Grimm blood in her, then the fact that her babies are already feeding off that blood would make them immune to Nick's blood, correct?"

"Possibly, but we can't know for sure."

"And what about Adalind? Will another shot of Nick's blood take away her powers again? I mean, if the spell you performed didn't already work?" Monroe asked.

"No, it shouldn't. Her powers were taken from her the first time because Nick's blood was new to her, sort of like a foreign organism attacking hers. But like you mentioned, Nick's blood is already running through her veins, like it's a part of her. Adding more won't make a difference when it comes to her Hexenbiest powers. But it should revive her according to the texts I read. Not because it's Grimm blood, but because it's true love's blood."

Nick had carefully listened to his friends' discussion, weighing every word. As much as he feared that his blood could potentially harm his children, he knew there was really only one choice; he had to save Adalind. He couldn't possibly live without her; he would go mad.

"Let's do it… I can't lose Adalind."