AN: Some misunderstanding with the initial post/AN. This is the last chapter with Nadalind for a bit. Next week back with the scoobies. Thanks again to everyone for all the feedback. It means a lot to me. :-)

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Though he promised Adalind he wouldn't go looking for trouble, he's as surprised as anyone that for nearly three months afterwards he keeps it. Though he follows the progress of the wolf in the woods via the tracker they have on him, he's kept busy with other things, the winter especially harsh, resulting in several accounts of poaching, and he spends his first few weeks alone on the job going after leads on that. He makes three arrests in as many weeks, impressing his boss, who wonders aloud if they even need Ted to come back.

"You've made more progress in the three weeks than he made in three months." Ted's due to come back shortly, after a long leave of absence after a fight with a bear.

Life at home keeps him busy, too, though it settles into a sort of uneasy routine. Uneasy for Nick, because he's wary of the sort of calm and banality that settles over them, afraid it's the proverbial calm before the storm. He can't imagine Renard's given up, though each day that passes without incident makes him wonder if they're succeeding in what they set out to do. Adalind spends the next few months acquiring more furniture for their cabin, making it into a home with the addition first of an armchair, and then, later, a sofa and a couple of tables. She, most days, spends uncomplainingly with the children, working with Diana at home on schooling, and helping Kelly to take his first steps.

He babbles incessantly now, and not only does he recognize Nick as Dada, Adalind as Mama, and Diana as Deedee, but he continues to add words and recognition every day, and Nick is amazed at how fast he grows. He toddles around unsteadily here and there, but his preferred, and speediest method is still crawling, and when Nick mentions to Jake how they have to watch him because he's into everything, Jake brings to work a load of baby and toddler gear that fills the back of his Park service issued crew cab.

"I remember you said you guys were starting over and didn't have much," he says awkwardly. "So I thought you might like some of this stuff now that we're not using it. Sorry so much of it is pink," he adds.

"You sure you're not going to need it?"

"God I hope not. After the last one Leslie said I needed to take care that I never touch her again or that if I do I'm firing blanks for the duration."

"You could have tried birth control," Nick suggests.

"We were on birth control with the last two. Supposedly with a 99% effective rate. You didn't know you were working with a one percenter, huh?"

"Congratulations."

"Thanks, I didn't take it so well at first, but it's all good now."

Nick can understand the feeling, remembering how he felt when Adalind dropped the bomb she was pregnant with Kelly. He wonders now how he would take the news if he found out she was pregnant again, himself a one percenter. He's slightly unsettled to know he hasn't exactly inquired into what methods Adalind's using to prevent an unexpected addition to their family. The sad fact is, he's not doing anything to help stop it. He's actually increasing the likelihood of it with the amount of sex they now have.

Without police and wesen issues interrupting him at all hours of the day and night, he's generally home by six every evening, and he and Adalind have settled into a very welcome routine of having sex regularly.

He thanks Jake for the donations and even though they are a little more effeminate than he'd prefer for his son, he can tell Adalind's excited. It helps to further make the cabin feel more like their home with a highchair and a playpen and a swing for Kelly and his toys all around. Diana's slowly amassing a few personal effects, too, though it comes to Nick how lonely she is for friends of her own.

This is apparent when, unable to offer any more excuses without being suspicious or rude, especially after Jake's generosity, they agree to a dinner over at his house, and Diana is introduced to Jake's daughters.

Dinner's a mostly uneventful affair and surprisingly pleasant, despite the fact Jake's wife spends most of it subtly interrogating both Nick and Adalind. She rivals some of the best interrogators he's known and she covers a dozen topics ranging from Adalind's background to how she and Dave met, and whether they plan to have more children.

"You're not getting any younger," she points out as both Adalind and Nick fumble for an answer.

"We—"

"I don't—"

"Christ, Leslie," Jake mutters and Leslie gives him a flinty eye.

"We haven't really talked about it," Adalind stutters out, glancing at Nick and then hurriedly looking away, leading him to think she's thought about it, and he wonders again about what measures they're taking to prevent another one, and how he'd feel if she told him they were expecting another one tomorrow.

"We didn't plan any of ours. None of them," Leslie informs them as Jake rolls his eyes skyward.

"Kelly was a bit of a surprise," Adalind admits, and Nick manages not to snort out loud. "But a welcome one," she adds hastily.

Leslie also manages to touch on the reason why they moved to Whitefish, or at least the reason they're offering, which is that they're starting over, getting Adalind away from an emotionally manipulative and controlling relationship.

"Wow," Leslie says, looking at Adalind over her wine glass.

"Yeah, he was clever and charming, and conniving," Adalind says a bit hesitantly, as though she doesn't want to talk about it. "When I first met Diana's dad, I was flattered when he showed me interest. He's older than me, and he came from a pretty prominent family overseas and he was eager to prove himself, sometimes by dubious means. He could be ruthless, too. I was young and naive and thought I had landed a great catch, and that I wanted the things he represented. He's pretty…politically...connected, and all he wanted was power. He started to make some cutthroat decisions to attain it. After I had Diana...some things happened that made me question what were important, but it seemed like Diana's well-being wasn't always at the forefront of his mind, and his decisions started affecting my and Diana's life. I had to get out."

"He doesn't sound like a good guy," Leslie remarks without censure.

"He's...he's not when all he's focused on is how he can move up in the world. He's not surrounded by the best people, either. I didn't want my daughter around it."

"You ever think about going to the police?"

Adalind smiles thinly. "He is the police."

Jake flicks his eyes to Nick and Nick smiles grimly and waits to see how they react next. Adalind's playing it perfectly. A pretty young woman taken in by an older, influential man. Someone in a position of power, charismatic and controlling. The sense that she's gotten in over her head and has nowhere and no one she can to turn to for help when her situation becomes unbearable.

"Dave was my salvation," she says, smiling faintly at Nick.

"Sounds so dramatic," Leslie comments, swishing her wine around in her glass before taking a sip.

"I know, right? It's like a Lifetime movie, or something," Adalind agrees. "I just want to be with my husband and raise my children and live quietly without anyone bothering us."

"Here's to that," Leslie says, holding out her wine glass and everyone clinks in agreement. After that, it's Nick's turn for questioning as Leslie turns her attention to him, but he's had years of practice deflecting questions and lying about who he is, not to mention the years being on the other side of the interrogation table, so she's not able to garner much more information than she already knows. He allows a few tidbits, here and there, since he doesn't want to seem too secretive, knowing how it can backfire and be cause for more scrutiny. There's a fine line between private and people thinking you're hiding something. They spend three hours chatting amiably, and Nick is pleasantly surprised that Diana manages to abide by their decree to not use her powers and to be on her best behavior.

When it's time to leave, they collect her from the playroom where she and Jake's three girls have spent most of the night playing. They find Diana and Jessie, Jake's oldest, sitting cross-legged on either side of a large dollhouse in the middle of the room, adorned in bright pink and purple feather boas and in Diana's case a crown, and Jessie's a pair of butterfly wings, discussing decorating ideas for the "ballroom," and Nick notes that despite limited interaction with the royal side of her family, or any children's movies for that matter, she seems to know exactly what the role of princess entails. Maybe it's something all little girls learn early, he thinks.

"Your royal highnesses, it's time to call it a night," Jake informs them.

"I'm the princess," Diana tells him primly and Adalind chuckles nervously.

"I'm the good fairy Esmerelda, esteemed counsel to the princess," Jessie pipes up in a haughty tone.

The younger girls inform the adults that one is a knight, despite a vigorous argument from Jessie that only boys can be knights and she's clearly not a boy. She christens Kelly, half asleep and held securely in Adalind's arms, as the knight, much to Lizzie's indignation, when Diana interrupts her.

"Kelly can't be a knight, he's a Grimm, right mom?" and Nick feels his heart seize.

"Sure," Adalind says agreeably, in a tone of voice that says she's just going along with it, and isn't it cute what the girls have thought up? "It's time to go. Say goodnight to the girls and help them put the toys up."

"What's a Grimm?" Lizzie inquires.

"They're like a knight," Diana says. "They're supposed to fight the bad wesen."

"What's a wesen?"

"Ooooh-kay, I think that's enough fairy tales for you," Adalind says with another strained chuckle, patting Diana's shoulder, smiling at everyone. "Maybe we'll check something new out at the library, like a Nancy Drew, next time."

"Who's Nancy Drew?" Diana asks.

"Oh, I used to love Nancy Drew," Leslie says. "I've read every one. She's a detective, she solves mysteries."

"Like Nick?" Diana says skeptically.

"Who?" Leslie asks.

"Somebody Addy used to know," Nick says with a strained chuckle of his own. "Hurry up," he adds needing to speed things along before everything starts to unravel. "We need to get Kelly to bed." After some whining from the girls they grudgingly comply. Diana bids everyone goodbye with a wave, and Leslie and Adalind make promises that the girls will get together soon.

"That wasn't so bad," Adalind says in the silence as they drive home, Kelly asleep as soon as the car started moving. "I don't think they suspect anything weird," she adds, when Nick frowns, not as convinced the evening came off as seamless as they were hoping, but nods in agreement. Nothing was as weird as the reality, anyway. "Did you have fun with Jessie and the other girls?" Adalind asks Diana over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Diana says, "Jessie's nice," and Nick reflects she did seem content all night, the girls playing largely without incident, though he wonders how much of her will was exerted on the other girls. "I didn't use my powers," she adds, her words uncannily in line with Nick's thoughts, and he tries not to show his discomfiture.

"Yes, you did good," Adalind agrees. "Thank you."

%%%%

It's a few days after the dinner when Nick finally meets the other warden of their territory, Ted.

Ted's a couple of inches shorter than Nick, with a muscular build and a general aura about him that screams muscle head. He's also got dark eyes, reddish blonde locks, and a wild look about him. He eyes Nick - and Nick's sunglasses - mistrustfully when he enters and glances at Jake.

"Who's the movie star?"

"This is Dave," Jake says. "He's the new game warden I hired while you were out."

Nick politely holds out his hand to shake while Ted pretends not to see it. Nick lets it drop as Ted grunts, tossing a bag onto his desk, and then proceeds to stare down Nick at his. Nick leans back in his chair and laces his fingers together over his chest, not the least bit intimidated.

"Lights too bright?" he asks rudely.

"A little bit," Nick says.

"You hung over or something?"

"He's got an eye condition. He has to wear them all the time," Jake answers, trying not to roll his eyes. Ted grunts again and takes a seat, looking his desk over carefully, as though Nick's been there, rifling through it, disturbing the contents.

He hasn't, but Ted makes a good show of spending the next ten minutes going over everything carefully before he's forced to give up for the time being.

Over the next few minutes, Nick discovers in addition to being rude and paranoid, Ted's loud and obnoxious. Suffice it to say, he's an asshole.

This is readily apparent when Adalind blows into the ranger station two days later to pick up Nick's check to cash. Ted spies Adalind from his spot at the back of the office, near the microwave, where he's fixing up something that smells like reheated worm guts, and Nick mentally adds that to the list of offenses he's tallying on Ted. Ted whistles loud and low, and the beautiful smile Adalind had bestowed on Nick when she spotted him falters.

"Oh, sorry, didn't realize someone else was here," she says by way of apology. The door to the office rattles as Diana maneuvers an unsteady Kelly through it, both giggling. Diana is very fond of her brother, and Kelly, her. Over the course of the last few months Nick's had plenty of opportunity to see how Diana dotes on him, and their mutual love of Kelly and Adalind has helped to bridge some of the separation and awkwardness between her and Nick. She's taken to waiting for Nick to come home every day, skipping out to him when he arrives and bombarding him with questions about his day and anecdotes of hers, the things she's learned in "school" with Adalind, which definitely sounds non-traditional from what he was studying at her age, and "assisting" him with various projects around the cabin and property.

"Dada!" Kelly cries out when he spots Nick, and pulls out of Diana's hands and crawls speedily over to Nick's feet, using a grip on Nick's pant leg to pull himself up. Nick smiles down at his boy, before Ted's next comment causes him to scowl.

"These carpet crawlers yours?" Ted asks Nick and Adalind gives him a look.

Ted doesn't wait for a response as he turns his attention more fully to Adalind, who admittedly even with jeans she's been wearing for days straight and a well-worn sweater, manages to look pretty damn good, with blue eyes that pop with her darker locks and porcelain skin. The sweater clings to her form, accentuating every curve and Nick would definitely appreciate the view more if Ted wasn't being so obvious in his approval of it, too.

"This is my wife," Nick emphasizes pointedly, by way of introduction, and Adalind's eyes flick to Nick's, "Addy, and my two children, Kelly and Diana."

He doesn't think Ted hears him though because he's too busy trying to hit on Adalind, as though Nick hasn't said a thing, and both Nick and Diana regard Ted with a decidedly unfriendly look. So does Adalind, though she tries to appear polite, and Nick sits back, silently lamenting the fact he won't get to see Adalind hand this jerk his ass, which is a shame really, because he can admit Adalind in 'biest mode is a wonderful sight to behold, particularly when it's not Nick's ass she's kicking. Although, really, he's probably had a few more thrills than he probably should admit to even when she was. Fleeting thrills, but thrills nonetheless.

"Hello," Adalind says politely, if coolly, to Ted, but she doesn't offer any more than that as she turns her attention to Nick.

The curt dismissal clearly rankles Ted, as he clenches his jaw and woges briefly, revealing the not surprising face of a Klaustreich and Nick barely refrains from rolling his eyes. He doesn't think Adalind sees it from the angle she's facing Nick, and thus facing mostly away from Ted. Nick can't help but think he's doomed in this notion of living quietly in the mountains somewhere. Naturally an office with three people and one of them would be Wesen, plus the fact that whatever mauled him in the woods had to be wesen. He doesn't know what that says about the prevalence of Wesen in the general population - that at least thirty percent or greater of it is parahuman?

It probably says more about his miscalculation, or his hope, that despite being neck deep in wesen issues his last six years in Portland, he thought he might be able to find someplace devoid of wesen.

Ted makes no attempt to hide he's eavesdropping on Adalind's conversation with Nick, and Nick can tell she's annoyed with it.

"The kids and I are going to run into town and get some things," she says and Nick nods, having already assumed that based on her behavior the last five paydays. It's something of a routine now, so that the last two paydays he's already signed his check in anticipation of her arrival and today is no different. He hands her the check and she flashes a high wattage grin at him. "We'll let you get back to work. Say goodbye to daddy," she instructs the kids, and though Diana's never referred to him as anything other than Nick, or Dave if the situation calls for it, in the nearly six months they've all been living together, she offers a "Bye, daddy," as she reclaims Kelly and waves his arm for him at Nick.

The shocks aren't over, though as Adalind offers a farewell of her own.

"Bye, sweetie," she says and Nick raises his eyebrows in acknowledgement and then surprise when she bends down and plants a solid kiss on his mouth.

She flashes another smile, this one a frosty one, at Ted and follows the kids out of the office.

Ted glances back at Nick, looking like he wants to say something but thinks better of it, and Nick laces his fingers behind his head and leans back in his chair and smiles.

%%%%%

He's not smiling, though, days later, when he's stuck in his truck, Ted beside him at Jake's instruction, as they drive up over one of the mountain passes in pursuit of illegal hunters who've been reported in one of the wildlife reserve areas.

Ted and Nick have spent most of their acquaintance, subtly in Nick's case, and obviously in Ted's, avoiding one another. Nick, because he finds Ted obnoxious and he doesn't want to risk tipping him off to the fact he's a Grimm; Ted's reasons for avoiding Nick are less obvious, he's not sure why, except Ted's an ass, and clearly finds Nick's presence in the office threatening for various non-Grimm reasons.

It's approaching spring, though one would never know it with the record snowfall they've had, much of which is still present on the ground, especially higher up in the mountains. The wolf's been sighted a handful of times, but neither Nick, nor Jake, or even Ted have been able to do much about it. It displays an uncanny ability to stay ahead of their efforts, and by the time they're able to get to the area where it was last spotted it's gone. So, too, is the curious pattern it was exhibiting earlier that Jake had carefully noted with pushpins on his map. All in all, its behavior leads Nick to further believe what he's dealing with is wesen.

He's also heard the story from Adalind about a Mike Gillespie and a pet wolf, and he mentions the name to Ted, mostly to fill the awkward silence pervading the cab of his truck.

"Gillespie?" Ted repeats, surprised. "That ole' crook? Yeah, I've heard of him. Hell, haven't heard that name in a long time. How'd you hear about him?" he asks Nick with a note of suspicion.

"My wife discovered an article on him and a pet wolf he had in a book about the area here when she was browsing at the library. She's interested in history and local lore, and the like."

"Gillespie, man. There are some crazy stories about him," Ted says with a snort.

"What kind of stories?"

"You wouldn't believe me," Ted says, shaking his head dismissively.

"Try me," Nick replies. "Besides, I love a good story."

Ted's silent for a moment, and Nick waits him out before Ted speaks reluctantly.

"Wasn't no pet, the wolf. At least not how I heard it, anyway."

"What'd you hear?"

"The story of Gillespie and that damn wolf has been passed down for the last three generations at least. That wolf was a monster, huge sucker, and mean as a demon, but clever, too. Wasn't nothing right about the wolf, or like any wolf you and I have met."

Nick thinks of Monroe, thinks of every Blutbad he's met and wonders if Ted is obliquely referring to that, or something else. True, the typical Blutbad could be vicious, certainly clever and cunning, like in the case of Angelina, but would he categorize them as mean as a demon? Was that even something he should be trying to categorize, given it's likely just Ted's opinion? Maybe it was just the way the people categorized the carnage typical of them.

"My wife said in the story she read that Gillespie supposedly saved the wolf's life."

"More like he spared it, but for whatever reason no one knows. Gillespie wasn't much nicer than the wolf, and he was definitely uglier to look at."

Nick glances at Ted, noting a couple of scars on his cheek, as Ted watches the scenery pass by on the highway. Because of their pernicious nature Klaustreichs were likelier than most to be involved in violent altercations. Eventually you rub someone the wrong way that can do something about it. He can't help but wonder about Gillespie, the likelihood that he was wesen, too, but what kind? Was he a Sammlergiftmicheren? Adalind thought whatever might have attacked him was that, but she had a hard time explaining and remembering what they looked like, having only heard of them herself in passing. He wishes he had his Grimm books or Monroe and Rosalee for more information. He makes a note to go to the library with Adalind one day and see if he were to google the name if anything would come up, but he doesn't think it's likely.

"My wife tried to find some more information on Gillespie, but she couldn't really find anything. Doesn't seem like a lot was known about him."

"Kept to himself, mostly. He hated the townspeople and the townspeople hated him. Traded with a few of the Indians living up in the hills, but most of the time you hardly ever saw him."

"No family?"

"None that would ever admit to it."

"So, no one knows if he ever had children or not," Nick says, wondering if what they were dealing with now was somehow related to Gillespie, a descendant.

"If he did, he probably skinned and ate them," Ted says and Nick grimaces. God, he hopes he's not going to have to deal with some baby-eater, and he has a moment where he sees Monroe's disgusted face before he mentally shakes the image loose. Nick glances at Ted and Ted smiles grimly.

"Like I said, he wasn't much nicer than the wolf."

"Where'd he come from? Was he born here?"

Ted shakes his head. "Best anyone can guess is he came from Canada, followed the big game down this way and settled for a bit in the area. He probably lived here twenty or thirty years or so before folks said he went back, but no one really knows for sure. There's lots of theories about Gillespie and why he disappeared."

"Such as?"

"Whatever partnership he had with the wolf came to a grisly end, grisly on Gillespie's side. Not to mention the fact, he left during a difficult winter, kind of like the one we just had. Back then you hiked through the mountains if you wanted to get somewhere. There's plenty that say he succumbed to the elements and his bones are scattered over the mountain pass by the wildlife who feasted on his carcass."

"Right," Nick says.

"There's still others that say Gillespie never left, just retreated further into the hills and survived off the land."

It's this that makes the back of Nick's neck prickle, because despite the fact that Gillespie would, or should, be so old a man as to be certainly dead, he's reminded of Adalind's admonishment before he left for Germany. Some very bad things live a very long time.

Maybe whatever Gillespie is, is one of those things. Maybe the wolf, too. Maybe they're the same thing, not two different ones as everyone suspects.

"Which do you believe?" Nick asks him, shifting the truck into four-wheel drive as they begin a narrow path up the mountain pass where the hunters were spotted.

"Nobody's going to run me off," Ted says, and Nick wonders if it's a veiled threat. "Everything that everyone says about Gillespie would make me think he stuck it out."

"Maybe he just got tired of dealing with everyone's shit," Nick points out. "From what my wife read and what you've said he wasn't very popular, and it seems like the townspeople wanted him gone."

"All the more reason to stay," Ted replies. "Fuck 'em. Still, that deep in the woods, that's a hard life."

"Sounds like he was used to it," Nick says. Ted tips his head, conceding the point. "Did anyone ever see Gillespie with the wolf?"

"That lived to tell about it?" Ted asks. "Not that I ever heard. All the stories that have been passed down are just that, stories. No one's ever had a credible sighting or proof that the wolf even existed, or that the wolf was a domesticated pet of his, or whatever else they can make up."

"Supposedly this wolf attacked and killed several humans in Kalispell, and some other places."

"The wolf was just being wolf. They do that when you encroach on their territory and threaten them or their young. They get aggressive, too, if there's not much food. Bold, like the one Jake's following."

"Have you seen him?" Nick asks him.

"Once," Ted admits. "He's an impressive animal. Almost hate to have to put him down. Hoping maybe we can relocate him, but once they attack humans you pretty much have to put them down, they just keep getting bolder and bolder, and humans keep getting stupider and stupider."

"He's huge," Nick says. "You think he might be a descendant of Gillespie's wolf?" Or, perhaps, Gillespie, Nick adds silently.

"Anything's possible," Ted replies with a shrug. "You see all sorts of strange and incredible shit up here, especially if you live long enough."

"Like what?" Nick asks warily, wondering what Ted might be referring to, or if it's just a general remark.

"I'd hate to spoil the surprise. You think Jake's wolf is what got you?"

It's Nick's turn to shrug. "I don't think so," he admits. "I was looking right it when I got attacked. No way it moved that fast."

"You'd be surprised how quickly some things can move," Ted says. "You got lucky," he adds disgustedly. "Not a lot of friendly things deep in the forest. You're on their turf, not yours."

"True," Nick says, bracing as they go over some tree roots.

"Why's your wife so interested in this?" Ted asks him.

"Like I said, she's big into local lore, myths and legends, and history. She's kind of a big nerd that way."

Ted grunts.

"So what's your story?" Ted asks him, turning more fully to look at Nick.

"What do you mean?" Nick replies.

"You're not from here. You've got some hot babe of a wife and two kids, and what? You just decided to move them out in bumfuck nowhere and rough it in the woods?"

"I was looking for work at the resort, and Addy spotted this job in the paper. It seemed like a better fit."

"You don't find many people that move up here for the bustling career opportunities," Ted replies, and Nick nods in agreement.

"No, probably not," he agrees.

"Where are you from?"

"I've lived all over," Nick answers vaguely. "I was raised by my aunt, and one year we lived in Idaho and I went with some school friends to the resort in Whitefish. This is a beautiful area," Nick says. "I remember thinking how nice it would be to raise a family in a place like this. Not be constantly moving."

"Didn't you serve in the military? Jake says that's how you damaged your eyes. I don't imagine you stayed in any one place too long there," Ted remarks, and Nick nods again, ruefully. He wonders how much Ted's been checking up on him. He remembers the dinner with Jake and his thoughts that they might not have come off as unsuspecting and innocent as they were hoping and wonders what's been going on that he's not aware about. Are Jake and Leslie starting to question what they know about him?

"Where'd you serve?" Ted asks him.

"Overseas a bit," Nick says. "I was a MP," Nick says, and Ted snorts.

"You seem like a cop," Ted says and Nick tries to hide a frown, wondering if there's some aura about him he'll never be able to shake. "How'd you end up on the wrong end of a flash bomb, then?"

"Wrong place, wrong time," Nick says. "Don't remember much about it, really. I was glad to get out," he adds, hoping that will deflect any deeper questions about his service. It seems to work.

"Your wife work?"

"She stays at home and takes care of our son and daughter; can't afford daycare."

"The girl's not in school? Seems like she should be in school."

"She's home-schooled," Nick replies. "She's been through a lot and my wife and I don't think she's ready to be enrolled in a public school yet."

"She's a strange one," Ted agrees. "Something's not right about her, the way she looks at you," he adds, and Nick's frown deepens, wondering if Ted means himself, or Nick, and what specifically about Diana he's seen. "This looks like the spot," Ted says, pointing to a site that looks like an abandoned camp. Nick's glad to get off the subject of Diana and his life for the time being.

There are tracks everywhere, especially all around the camp site where the hunters moved about frequently. Finally they hit upon a set that appears, according to Ted, to be the direction they set off in, and Nick and Ted follow. They march through the snow without speaking, Nick listening with his enhanced hearing and Ted tracking the scent while looking like he's tracking the footpaths in the snow. Both stop when they reach a clearing, Nick's skin prickling with the sense of unease, and he can only assume Ted senses the same thing.

"Park service!" Ted calls out, though Nick doesn't see or hear anything. "You're trespassing on government property and hunting illegally. You need to surrender your firearms and come with us."

A rifle shot rings out ten seconds later and whistles in the air right by Nick's ear, as Nick and Ted both dive for cover, each behind a tree.

"Doesn't sound like they're going to surrender," Nick says to Ted, who snarls.

"Assholes," he mutters.

"Game warden! Cease fire and lay down your weapons," he calls again and Nick looks over his shoulder to see where Ted's yelling to.

Another shot rings out in response, followed by a couple more, and based on their trajectory Nick deduces they're being shot at from multiple shooters scattered in sort of a half-moon shape around them.

He's been plenty beat up before on the job, and other than the time in the loft when Renard and black claw threw everything they had at him, he's never been shot while on duty. And technically he had been removed from duty when he was shot by black claw, he reasons, so he thinks there's no reason to start a new trend now.

"You got a line on any of them?" Nick asks Ted. "I can't see anybody."

Ted nods as he pulls out a pistol. "Four o'clock, in the bushes, wearing hunting camouflage," and Nick squints and looks where Ted's indicating. After a moment he sees it, or he thinks he sees it, someone in hunting gear, ducked down more behind a fallen tree trunk than bushes. He looks back around, trying to see if he can pinpoint anyone else in the same type of gear, and thinks he sees someone to his left.

He can't miss the Jagerbar running straight at him, though, when he turns back around to tell Ted, and he yells out in surprise, as the Jagerbar changes course abruptly as he catches sight of Ted and attacks him. Ted woges and snarls, lashing out as the Jagerbar tries to slash at his abdomen. Nick fires a shot, catching him neatly in the lower thigh, and the Jagerbar yelps and drops to the ground, face returning to human form as he lies there stunned, clutching his bloody leg. He turns to attend to Ted when he realizes that Ted's already up and running towards the brush where the shots came from.

"Ted! Ted!" Nick yells, glancing at the wounded man shivering on the snow. He pulls off his knit hat and presses it firmly against the wound, making the man cry out.

"Hold this, here. Firmly," he commands and the man nods hurriedly. "Do that and you probably won't lose the leg or your life," Nick adds and the man blanches. He thinks the wound is superficial, but he's hoping he'll be worried enough to just stay put so Nick doesn't have to worry about him trying to come after them again.

Another shot fires through the air, cracking the quiet with violent intent as Ted zeroes in on his target and dives for him. Nick's up and running when he's rudely reminded there was a report of three hunters, not two, when another shot rings out winging him in the arm. The force of the shot throws him, and he rolls into the snow, glancing down at his arm and huffs a breath of relief when he realizes the shot only grazed him. The relief is short lived, however, when another Jagerbar runs at him and body slams him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

And his sunglasses off his face. He squints in the suddenly bright daylight, trying to get his bearings as the Jagerbar rears up ready for another attack, when it locks eyes with Nick.

Fuck.

"Grimm!" Nick hears his shocked roar, and it all comes together, instinct and self-preservation and duty, and he somehow manages to get out from under the Jagerbar and level a blow himself. He adds a kick, too, for good measure, but he doesn't have much time to gather his wits, before the Jagerbar recovers his surprise and charges again, and it's all Nick can do to keep him from disemboweling him.

He scrambles for his gun, glinting in the snow, but he can't get a grip on it and still defend himself from the Jagerbar. He levels a few punches in its snarling face, finally succeeding in loosening the Jagerbar's grip on him for a moment. The moment's all he needs though to lunge for his gun and he grips and turns and fires the shot, nailing the Jagerbar in the shoulder. The face morphs back into a human one, and Nick watches, panting hard, as the Jagerbar lies stunned, before slowly meeting his eyes.

"Grimm," he whispers in awe. It's the last thing he says as he loses consciousness, and Nick closes his mouth and pulls away from the body. He checks to make sure the Jagerbar is still breathing, not sure if it's better in the long run for him to be dead or alive. Both will require long explanations if he's not careful, but he doesn't have any more time to give to the topic as he registers Ted still scrabbling with the last Jagerbar. He pulls himself to his feet to see if he needs help, glancing towards the area where he left the first Jagerbar wounded. He squints in the distance and then realizes he's still missing his sunglasses. He searches, looking over the snow and then back at the dead Jagerbar and spies a broken ear piece in the snow.

Shit. He glances back towards Ted. He's woged, and it doesn't look like Ted is gaining much advantage from the fact. Nick utters another curse and goes to his aid. He fires a shot between them, and both Ted and the Jagerbar flinch away in surprise, Ted's face morphing back to his human form.

"Put your hands above your head," Nick commands. "Now." He fires another shot to show he's serious, this one just centimeters above the Jagerbar's head and the Jagerbar woges back to his human alter-ego and complies. "Face down on the ground," Nick adds.

Ted takes advantage of the distraction and dives for his own discarded firearm, and points it at the Jagerbar menacingly.

"You okay?" Nick asks him, wincing as he finally registers the wound in his arm. Ted nods.

"You? Where are the others?" Nick nods his head in the general direction of the other two wounded, as Ted pulls his eyes away from the Jagerbar and looks.

"Did you do that?" he asks disbelievingly and Nick shrugs.

"I guess," he admits and Ted eyes him suspiciously.

"How?"

"Lucky, I guess," Nick says, and Ted's eyes narrow further as Nick avoids his gaze.

"You're the damn luckiest, unlucky bastard I've ever met."

"No argument here," Nick agrees.

"You hurt?" Ted asks gruffly, looking at his arm.

"Just a graze," Nick says and Ted grunts, wrenching the arm of the Jagerbar painfully and yanking him up. "I'll be okay."

Until I get home and my wife sees it.

Except, of course, Adalind's not really his wife, but that hasn't deterred Nick from starting to consider her as such, whether or not the document that says they're married is a forgery. In the same manner he's started to think of Diana as his daughter, at the very least his step-daughter, he's begun to think of Adalind as the woman he'll spend the rest of his life with. That he wants to raise a family, and spend the rest of his life with.

Granted, the rest of his life doesn't appear it will be a very long time, if he keeps winding up in situations like these.

%%%%%

He's granted a small mercy when he's able to drop off the knocked-out Jagerbar at the hospital before he regains consciousness, but it's a shallow victory. Once he does, he's likely to talk, and rumors of a Grimm will circulate like wildfire. There are so few Grimms in the world, it will certainly shine a spotlight on the region among the wesen community, and he wonders if he should pack up Adalind and the kids and get out now while he can. Or, should he take steps to ensure the Jagerbar is never able to talk about what he saw, and it's this idea that gives him the most pause as he considers his options. He's pensive all the way back to the ranger station, and he's aware Ted's shooting him looks from time to time and that he may have another problem on his hands.

He's fairly certain Ted didn't see anything revealing about Nick, and Nick's been careful to avoid his eyes. Ted's even driving back, just to ensure that his focus stays more on the road than Nick, and Nick hopes it helps lend credibility to his claim about his eyes. He doesn't think it does, though, and he keeps a hand over his brow, ostensibly shielding light from his sensitive eyes, but it also helps to hide his unease, and further avoid interacting much with Ted.

Ted doesn't offer the use of his sunglasses to Nick, which also makes Nick suspect that Ted's not completely buying his story, but he can't tell for certain. Maybe it's just paranoia on Nick's part. Maybe it's just Ted being a typical ass on his.

Either way, they both seem to be glad to be out of each other's company when they part ways at the ranger station, and Ted leaves Nick to deal with explaining the finer details about what happened to Jake.

It's late when he gets home, and Diana's either given up on him, or is already gone to bed. There's no one waiting on the porch to run out and greet him, and he finds he misses his tiny one-man welcome committee.

Adalind, however, is up waiting for him inside, looking anxious and upset and Nick stifles a sigh and plasters on his best "I'm okay, everything's fine" smile before it slides right off with her next comment.

"I think we have a big problem. It's Diana."