Chapter 21

Monroe and Rosalee hadn't warmed to the fact they were being used as a boarding house, but it didn't seem like they had much choice in the matter. No one in the house had a choice. They'd all been swept up in the same all-consuming storm.

Lily lingered in the background while the others tried to figure out what to do. Adalind was as out of place as Lily was, but she had the baby to cling to.

"Okay, we're leaving." Nick said as they came into the living room.

"Wha… all of you?" Adalind stammered.

Renard nodded and stepped in front of her. He took a knee to better look her in the eye.

"It's safer if you stay here alone. There's no other way."

He looked at her sadly because he could see the fear in her eyes. Adalind struggled to say something, but she couldn't think of the words. Instead, her lip simply quivered.

Renard stood and looked to Lily who was standing near the fireplace. He walked over to her.

"I need you to stay here with Adalind." He whispered so only she could hear.

Her face fell and a single brow rose.

"You're joking." She said bluntly. Renard shook his head. "She called me a slut and a freak in the same breath, minutes after meeting."

"You're still hurt." He said. "And," he hesitated.

Renard took a half step closer. Adalind hadn't seen Lily change in the hallway –she was still hiding in a crouched position- and he didn't trust the blond not to turn Lily over to the Royals if she thought it'd help her. Renard loomed over Lily to the point she almost had to crane her neck to look at him. There couldn't have been more than a foot between them, and still it didn't seem to be close enough. Renard was truly paranoid someone might overhear what he was about to say, so he leaned down to speak into her ear.

"There's still a bounty on your head through the English Royals," he whispered into her ear. "And if any of the Verrat recognized you, they may tell them you're still alive." Renard pulled back enough to look her in the eye. "Stay here, where they can't find you, and protect my daughter." Lily didn't seem thrilled, so Renard said something that rarely ever left his lips. "Please."

Lily was aware he didn't ask permission for anything and her expression showed it. Hesitantly, she began to nod. He made valid points about her being hurt and the Verrat recognizing her. Like Maxwell had said before she snapped his neck, word spread that the child of Andrew and Michelle Quinn had two different colored eyes. She tended to stand out.

"Fine." Lily muttered.

Renard gave her a parting nod then left with the others. When they were gone, Lily looked at Adalind. She immediately sighed and rolled her eyes. She wasn't happy about the babysitting job she was being stuck with.

Lily took a seat at the kitchen table, away from Adalind, and let herself relax just a bit. She was beginning to get tired and ith that returned the pain. It was bound to happen when the adrenaline finally subsided.

"Would you like some tea?"

Lily jumped and looked up to see Rosalee standing beside her. She smiled warmly and Lily found herself doing the same.

"Sure." Lily said. "Thank you."

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she reached for another mug.

"I'm all right." Lily replied. "Just a bit tired, I suppose."

"Been a long day?" she asked with a light smile.

"And it seems to be a longer night coming."

"Yeah," Rosalee let out a weak laugh as she poured the hot water into the mug.

She approached Lily with the steaming cup and slid into the seat beside her.

"And the uh…" Rosalee glanced over her shoulder to make sure Adalind wasn't too close. "The woging?"

"There was an incident earlier." Lily admitted. "But I was able to calm down before anything happened."

"That's good. Soon, you'll be able to control it."

"I hope so." Lily said softly. She turned her mug softly from side to side and watched as the water slowly turned darker as it leached out the spices in the teabag. "This is all still a bit new."

"I know, but at least you know about this world." Rosalee seemed incapable of being anything other than kind. "I mean, your parents told you about all this stuff, and you're a Grimm, so you know about Wesen." Lily was nodding slowly. "I'll admit, it's a little trickier for our kind, but-"

"Our kind?" Lily didn't understand the phrase. "Wesen?"

Rosalee shook her head.

"Animal, Wesen." She clarified. "More specifically," she shifted a bit in her seat, "Those of us on the predatory side of it."

Lily felt a pit in her stomach.

"The ones with fangs and claws." She said.

Rosalee nodded sadly.

"It's a little easier to trigger us at first, but like I said, it does get easier."

Again Lily found herself nodding. She didn't know if she agreed with Rosalie or not because she had no way of really knowing, but she accepted the seasoned Fuchsbau's explanation. It was the best she could do.

The following night:

The plan went as well as they could have hoped considering where it was going to lead. Renard, Kelly, Nick and Lily sat in the back of the limo with Diana while Hank and Monroe were in the front. The baby still slept soundly in Kelly's arms. Renard had been staring sadly at the little baby since they'd stolen her back from Victor. It was palpable how scared and sad the new father was. After all, he'd only had his daughter for a day and now she was leaving again. He had to keep repeating to himself that it was the best thing to do.

They hardly spoke after they dumped the limo and broke apart for the night. Kelly, Nick and Hank took Diana. Monroe went home to Rosalee and Renard and Lily headed back to his apartment. She hadn't been given a chance to really leave since everything began, but she'd booked a room while she was at Monroe and Rosalee's. She only had to go back with Renard to get her things.

They were silent the entire drive back.

When they walked through the front door of his apartment it was eerily silent. Renard expected an angry Adalind to show up out of nowhere, but she didn't. She was nowhere to be seen. He didn't know if he felt safer or not with her gone. Lily broke off after making it through the door to get her things ready. Renard didn't know that was her plan until she emerged again pulling her suitcase behind her. His brows came together softly.

"You're leaving." It wasn't a question, just a simple declaration.

"Yes." She nodded.

Renard looked up and met her gaze.

"Why?"

"I shouldn't be here… for this." She said honestly. "You've Adalind staying here and after everything… I feel a bit as though I'm intruding now, so I've booked a room at a hotel for the next few days. Besides, my building will be circus-tent-free in four days."

He nodded. Renard had nothing to say and he wasn't going to ask her to remain, so he simply nodded. Lily didn't immediately leave. She watched him for a moment as he began to strip himself of his black gloves and other bits he'd worn for their caper. He looked so sad, she felt herself moving without knowing why.

Renard had tossed his gun onto the couch when she reached him. He turned just as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Renard was shocked enough by the action that he didn't immediately return the sentiment.

The stretch to hug him hurt Lily's injury. It tugged at the stitching, but she ignored it in favor of possibly consoling Renard. So she bore with the ache of it, wrapped her arms securely around his neck and squeezed. Her fingers tenderly raked against the back of his head.

"I'm sorry." She muttered into his jacket.

Renard –who'd remained frozen staring at the floor- felt his hard exterior waver. His brows twitched before pulling tightly together. His arms came up and finally threaded around Lily. He pulled her as close as possible and hugged her tighter than he should have. Lily slammed her eyes shut to keep the tears back. She wasn't crying for what happened, she was about to cry because of how hard he squeezed her back. But she didn't remark on it. Instead, she hugged him and let him do the same.

Lily continued to gently rub the back of his head with her fingernails as consolingly as she could. She didn't know if it helped, but hoped it did. Renard felt himself bury his face into the nape of her neck and squeeze her harder. His fingers bit into her back. He needed something to help steady him, but in doing so, his massive fingers dug into Lily's incision. Her reaction was instinct.

Lily cried out when his fingers dug into her stitches. It hurt a great deal more than the hug had before. Renard loosened his grip and shot back enough to see her, but didn't let go. Lily kept one hand on his shoulder while the other gently touched her forehead. Her head and body were throbbing and her world was spinning for a moment. She took one steadying breath after another to try and ebb the pain. He noticed.

"I'm sorry." He said when he realized what he'd done.

Lily forced a smile and waved her free hand dismissively.

"It's all right," she said. She sniffed and opened her eyes to finally meet his gaze. Renard saw the pink tint and noted the tears on her lashes. Still, she kept the smile as best she could. "I'm fine."

His brows pulled together tighter than before. He didn't believe her, but it was obvious Lily didn't realize how much of her pain made it to her features.

When the pain became a dull ache, Lily's mind cleared enough she could see the sadness in Renard's eyes again. It broke her heart, to be honest. He may have only been a father for a day, but that seemed to be enough for the child to leave her mark. Her smile turned endearing.

"She'll be safe." She finally said. Renard twitched again. "Your daughter, she'll be safe."

"Diana." He said. "Her name's Diana."

Lily's smile widened slightly and she nodded her approval.

"It's beautiful." She told him. "Diana will be fine. Letting her go was probably the best thing you could've done for her."

"I'm not so sure." He admitted.

Her brows pulled together and soon her expression mirrored his. She could see it, deep down in his eyes, that for a moment he was breaking. Tomorrow he'd let his cold exterior dominate his actions again, but for the moment he let himself mourn his daughter. For a moment, he looked human.

Lily felt herself reaching up and gently touched his cheek. His skin was warm. For some reason, Lily always assumed it would be icy like the rest of him.

"She deserves a life better than the one we had." She told him.

It was a heartbreaking declaration, but one he found himself agreeing with. Lily gently patted his cheek.

"Goodbye, Sean."

He nodded and let her slip out of his hold. Renard watched her walk away and heard the door close behind her. He lingered in his spot for a moment before deciding he needed a drink. He needed many drinks.

Lily made herself as 'at home' in the hotel as one could be. It was a nicer one so that wasn't the issue. The issue was that it was a hotel and she'd spent her fair amount of time in them, both nice and ones that could benefit from a match and some gasoline.

After her shower and before she went to bed, Lily took a quick look at her injuries. She hadn't dressed yet which meant they were all easy to spot. The entry wound was on her left and nestled just beneath her ribcage. When Maxwell shot her, the bullets had almost entered through the same hole. Almost. They were struggling and fighting, so the second bullet entered just an inch over from the first. Being such a large bullet, the wounds overlapped slightly and had to be sewn shut to heal. As it was, it looked closer to a stab wound than anything. Still, it looked to be healing well.

When she turned to look at her back, Lily felt her stomach fall. It always did when she looked at the extensive injury. But, like with her chest, it was healing and nearly closed completely. A few random spots along the eight inch mark were scabbed and note entirely closed, but the rest looked impressively well all things considered. She knew the week in the hospital was what really helped her. If she'd been released after being sewn up, Lily knew she'd probably have busted one or two of them since.

With them doing as well as they were, Lily decided she could sleep without covering them for the first time since arriving home from the hospital. She hadn't ha the courage until then because she was afraid she snag them on something, but now she figured they were healed enough. Besides, she couldn't really put a bandage on her back anyway. Renard had actually been helping her ever since she'd taken up residence with him.

Slipping on a shirt and shorts, Lily decided to go to bed. She was tired and her body sore. She just wanted to sleep. Everything seemed to be calming down now –why she thought that she didn't know- but it did. She didn't realize how wrong she was however. Things were far from being calm.