Author's Note: I realize that Nick's house is technically a two bedroom house but I've decided to make it larger just because I want to.
Hope you enjoy!
M
Sergio watched the blutbad as it went about its day. Truth be told, this was one of the most boring blutbadden that he had ever followed but he did his job and made sure to take special interest in whom it interacted with. Mostly it seemed to spend its days either at this house or at some spice shop with a fuchsbau. Every once in a while, the grimm would show up, or call perhaps, but those moments appeared to be rare.
Good. That was going to make taking it so much easier. That was, of course, until the grimm had shown up at the blutbad's house. Sergio could sense the urgency in the younger grimm but to his credit, the man moved as though it were just another day.
With nary a sound, Sergio left the tree copse in which he stood and went to his car. It was time to move on to his next victim.
Pulling up alongside Monroe's curb, Nick shut his Toyota off and checked the surroundings for signs that something was wrong. He sighed when he found none and opened the door to get out.
After realizing what it was the Sergio had planned, Nick had spent the next couple hours, calling both Monroe and Rosalee to warn them of Sergio's intent and to beg them to be careful and watch their backs. After being assured that they would, Nick had hung up and proceeded to pace throughout the house. It hadn't taken long for Sean to get thoroughly annoyed with that, however, and had attempted to distract him with whatever he could think of. He had tried the idea of training but when Nick had shaken his head against it, he had moved on to the possibility of inviting Monroe, Rosalee, and Hank over for a Christmas dinner.
The idea had, at first, been rejected. Nick hadn't been in the mood for company or Christmas but the more he'd thought about it, the more he'd warmed to it. All the memories he had in the house were with Juliette, making staying in the house very painful as well as a small form of torture. Deciding that it would be good to make new memories with his friends, Nick had eventually given in. He'd immediately asked if Sean planned on being there and when he'd discovered that he had, Nick had smiled. Having Sean there for him the night before had been unexpected but welcome and it had helped Nick to feel a little closer to the regnant.
Once that had been settled, Nick had proceeded to call everyone back and ask them to dinner. They had all readily accepted, with some mentions of hopes that it didn't turn out like Thanksgiving had, and then all that had been left to do was buy the things needed for the dinner. As soon as Nick had hung up, however, Sean had already assured him that he'd take care of the food and had bid him to go upstairs and get some more rest.
This morning, Monroe had called saying that his car wouldn't start. Nick had had an ominous feeling and so had offered to come and pick the blutbad up. Snow had been falling down in sheets ever since last night and it was slowly starting to fill the streets to the point where the plows would be needed. He judged that by the evening, the streets would be completely covered. The same idea had occurred to both Monroe and Rosalee, whom were at Monroe's house together. They had called him to ask if they should cancel their plans. It was obvious that they didn't truly want to (and Hank didn't either) and so Nick had said that if all else fails, they could stay in one of two guest bedrooms.
So now here he stood, watching the snow fall from Monroe's front porch. After taking a moment to listen to the quiet, Nick knocked on the door, smiling when he heard Christmas music coming from inside the house. Apparently Monroe was in the mood from some Christmas cheer.
As it turned out, it went way past Christmas cheer. When Monroe opened the door, Nick's jaw dropped. The entire inside of Monroe's house looked like the Christmas section at Macy's had thrown up all over it, although he could see signs of antiques in amongst the decorations and tinsel. Nick's mouth remained open slightly as his eyes took it all in, including the Santa hat on top of Monroe's head.
"Nick!" Monroe cried, looking happy to see him.
"Uh, trick or treat?" Nick joked. Not only was Monroe wearing the hat, but he also had on the full-on Santa suit. Monroe rolled his eyes and stepped back to let Nick in. "You're not planning on wearing that all day, are you?"
"What? Oh, no, this was only for this morning. Every Christmas morning I go over and play Santa for the kids at Treeview hospital."
"That's very nice of you, but shouldn't you be doing that on Christmas Eve?"
"Probably, but the bauershwein who works that shift and I don't necessarily get along so I wait until the morning when there's a eisbieber there."
Made sense, Nick conceded. He didn't have time to say as much, however, because from behind him he heard Rosalee call his name.
"Merry Christmas, Nick!" she warmly greeted. He noted by the hint of sadness in her eyes that she wasn't necessarily comfortable with all the Christmas decorations and he empathized with her. Neither of them, it seemed, wanted to do much celebrating today but for their friends, they were both going to fake it as well as they could. She walked into the living room from the kitchen, with her arms open to hug him.
Nick put on his best smile, which he was sure didn't fool her, and gave her a hug. "Merry Christmas, Rosalee," he said before releasing her and stepping back. "What's going on in there?" he asked, nodding towards the kitchen.
"Oh just some pies and rolls," Monroe replied offhandedly. He came over and wrapped his right arm around Rosalee's shoulders, looking like a couple while still managing to leave space in case she wanted to pull away.
"For who?"
"For us," Monroe said and making it sound like that was the most obvious answer.
"You didn't have to do that, Monroe. I said that I had the food covered," Nick answered back, though he conveniently left out the part where he still wasn't sure how Sean was going to do that or what they we're having.
"Yeah, I know but I happen to like baking and you, well, you kinda suck at it."
"That's because I don't bake," Nick argued back with a slight smirk. Trust the food snob to make more work for himself simply because he didn't trust Nick's cooking. Hell, Nick probably could have just asked Monroe to make the entire meal, and he probably would have. "Anyways, you guys ready?"
"Yeah, just let me grab the food and then we can go."
Nick gave Rosalee questioning look. Monroe didn't seriously plan on wearing that suit, did he?
She smiled at him and looked to her right where Monroe was almost to the kitchen. "You should probably change first, Monroe," she reminded gently. "I can take care of the food."
Monroe stopped and looked down at himself and then looked back up. A look of incomprehension crossed his face before dawning realization wiped it away. "Oh, right," he said, now coming back towards them. "Wouldn't want to hang out with the Guardian of Portland looking like Santa."
Sean stood in Nick's living room, trying to talk himself into having more patience with the eisbiber who currently stood before him. The trouble was that the man kept yammering on and Sean found his desire to snap at him growing with every word. How Nick put up with this, he'd never understand.
"How is Nick doing? Is-is he okay?" the eisbiber stammered and rattled. "I mean, of course he's not okay, what am I talking about? But, you know, is he mourning like he should be?"
Well that was a curious way to put it. But Sean still got the point and it took all of his willpower not to roll his eyes or herd the wesen out of the house.
"Nick's fine," he said, hopefully as indulgently as Nick would have. He tacked on a smile just to be sure.
While most lower wesen were spineless, this particular eisbiber has proved himself to have more courage than the rest. He was willing to stand up for and with Nick as well as help out if it was needed. Sean knew that the only reason they were able to put Butrell behind bars was because he had talked his friend into coming forward. For an eisbiber, that showed a lot of courage and strength.
It was because of that that Sean wasn't snapping at the man or dismissing him outright. To put it bluntly, he was useful, for both himself and for Nick, and he wasn't about to destroy a connection like that.
"He is? Oh good, good, the wife will be so glad to hear it," the eisbiber, Bud was his name, answered. "She hasn't met Nick yet, but she still dotes on him. I-I think it's because she's afraid that he'll kill her if she doesn't. Old world thinking is hard to break, you know, and we've been taught for so long that grimms are killers, so it's hard for her to understand that Nick isn't going to chop her head off."
No, but Sean was seriously tempted to do it.
He turned his head to the left when he heard Nick's truck drive by. Even though he couldn't actually see the vehicle, he followed it as it wrapped around the block and pulled up into the driveway, using the sound of the truck as well as Nick's scent to keep track of where it was. When multiple car doors slammed closed and three sets of footsteps sounded, Sean steeled himself for a night of relative small talk and being pleasant.
"Bud?" Nick's voice said as the group came into the living room. A smile appeared on his face but as it didn't reach his eyes like usual, Sean considered it nothing more than the ghost of what it normally was. Still, it was there and it was better than the broken man that had met him at the door two nights ago. "What are you doing here?"
The eisbiber looked between Nick and Sean, evidently wondering how much he should say. Sean stepped in for him, lest he should work himself into a heart attack. "I asked his wife for help with all the food."
"She was thrilled to help," Bud put in, apparently fearing that Nick would be upset that Sean had asked. Frankly Sean didn't care if Nick was upset or not. It was done. "And she added a few more things. You know, just in case."
Given's Nick lack of dismay at everything, it was probably less than what the eisbibers normally gave Nick but it was still too much; especially for one man.
Since it was obvious to even the eisbibers that Nick had enough blankets, they had settled for pot holders and a tablecloth instead. The work was fantastically done, Sean admitted, but it was a bit too homey for him. Alongside those, on the table in the dining room, were enough pies to share between the five of them as well as some rolls, a couple loaves of bread, and more than five dozen large muffins. That was all second to the feast they had provided for Nick to eat tonight – ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, two different kinds of sweet potatoes, and more rolls.
How they thought that Nick could eat all that, Sean wasn't sure and he didn't bother bringing it up. No doubt both Nick and Bud already knew that.
"Well tell her thanks for me, Bud," Nick said after having turned behind him to look at everything. "I'm sorry to make you have to leave your family on Christmas, though."
"Oh, it's no problem," Bud immediately assured. "We had Christmas this morning and now the wife and kids are getting ready to go over to my brother's for dinner."
"Well, you should get back to them before they leave you."
Gentle though it had been, it had still been a hint for Bud to leave and the eisbiber recognized it and didn't argue against it. He nodded, said for Nick to let him know if there was anything that Nick needed, wished them all a Merry Christmas, and then stammered through his hopes that Nick was doing alright before he eventually left. Since he was backing out of the front door, he didn't notice that Hank was right there and so ran right into him when he pivoted to walk forwards. Again apologies were nervously made as well as another wish for a merry Christmas and then, finally, he got into his truck and headed home.
"Is he always that nervous?" Hank asked, pointing his finger in the direction from which Bud had just left.
"Pretty much," Nick answered while Monroe and Rosalee echoed a simultaneous, "Yes," behind him.
"Okay," Hank said, drawing the word out for a bit. "So, you gonna invite me in or what?"
While day turned into evening, the group sat around and talked. The TV had been put on for background noise and sometimes when the conversation lagged, they would all watch whatever it was that was on, but otherwise they all carried out their own, private conversations with one another.
Around five o'clock they decided that it was time to eat and so while Sean and Hank cleared off the table, Nick, Monroe, and Rosalee gathered the plates, cutlery, and food. When one group would go into the kitchen with their arms full, another would come out. Slowly the extras were replaced by the meal and while Nick went to grab everyone something to drink (which mainly consisted of wine and beer), the rest unstacked the plates and passed around the silverware.
Once in the kitchen, Nick allowed his smile to relax. While there had been times when he'd truly laughed or smiled today, most of the time he had been faking it. His mind kept thinking about Juliette, about the Christmases they had shared together, about how her parents were doing today, and about how she would never see another Christmas again. It didn't take long for the happiness on the surface to fade and the grief which lay just beneath to replace it.
In the dining room he could hear Monroe's chatter and Hank and Rosalee's laughter. He was glad that his friends were enjoying themselves and a big part of him wished that he could too. But another part believed that if he allowed himself to forget, that he was being unfaithful to Juliette and what her death meant in some way.
There were a lot of things in the world that were bad. But Nick believed that there weren't many quite so much as guilt. Guilt could drag you down and keep you there. It made you act irrationally and sometimes illogically. It made a person keep themselves from feeling joy simply because of one moment of pain. It swallowed your life whole and never released you.
"You okay?"
Sean's voice startled him and Nick jumped slightly at the sound of it. He turned around, beer and wine in hand and gave the other man another smile which he didn't feel. "Yeah, fine."
Sean didn't reply or react. Green eyes roamed over Nick, probably searching for signs that something was wrong with him. When they didn't find anything physical, they returned to Nick's face, their look neither pitying nor hard.
"You do remember that I know when you're lying, right?" he reminded, blocking Nick's way to the dining room.
"Just, let me get through tonight, alright?" Nick practically begged. He knew that he wouldn't have gotten away with lying but he also just didn't want to get into it right now. All he wanted to do was go back in there, pretend that everything is fine, and be with his friends. It felt a little childish, wanting that, but that was what he needed.
Sean raised his head ever so slightly and then stepped out of the way. He remained in the kitchen behind Nick for a moment and then Nick heard him follow.
"Finally!" Hank praised as he grabbed his beer out of Nick's hand. "What took you so long?"
Nick smiled, sitting down with his back to the front door. "Sorry," he apologized as he handed the wine bottle over to Monroe. "Had to find the bottle opener." He left it vague on which bottle opener he needed but they didn't ask for specifics. Either they were content to let him be with his small secrets or they were simply too excited by the food to notice. Whichever it was, Nick thanked God that they didn't ask and left it at that.
'So, what makes you think Sergio will come after me?" Monroe asked as he placed a couple slices of ham onto Rosalee's plate. Since he mainly preferred to eat vegetarian, Nick had made sure to have soy steaks inside his refrigerator, ready to eat for the blutbad.
"It kinda makes sense, doesn't it?" Hank asked as he plopped some mashed potatoes onto his plate and then passed the bowl over to Sean. "I mean, you were one of the first wesen that Nick came up against and didn't kill."
"Thanks for that, by the way," Monroe said, making it sound almost as a side note.
"No problem," Nick answered even though the thought hadn't even occurred to him at the time.
Unlike the others, Nick made sure to keep his portions small. He wasn't all that hungry but if he didn't eat something, they would all notice so he took a little of each. He now put a small bite of turkey into his mouth and chewed, letting them carry the conversation as he did so.
"And you're also one of Nick's closest friends," Sean added, taking his own portion of potatoes after Hank had passed them over.
"So what, the others were just the appetizer and I'm the main dish? Well, that's comforting."
"No, Nick is the main course," Sean corrected. "The others weren't even worth mentioning to Kelly and Sergio and you're the bait they plan to use to lure Nick in."
"Yeah, that doesn't sound much better," Monroe groused. "Why do they want Nick so badly anyways?"
"Mostly, it's to get to me."
"What makes you so special?" Hank asked, confused. His hand, which was previously frozen halfway to his mouth, now moved to fork a bite of sweet potatoes into the opening. His brown eyes remained focused on Sean as he patiently waited for an answer.
It was then that Nick noticed they were all looking at Sean, waiting for an answer. Not surprising when you drop a small bomb like that and then get asked why. Still, Nick sat back, content to take a back seat and letting Sean take the wheel.
Sean placed his fork back on the table and then leaned back into his chair, evidently settling in for the long conversation that was about to take place. He folded one leg over the other underneath the table and then laid his hands in his lap. Nick had to admit that he looked relaxed but underneath the calm exterior, Nick sensed something else. Something more animal than man, gearing up for a fight.
"There has always been..tension between my youngest brother and I," the regnant began. "But recently things have escalated to hostility."
"Recently being?" Monroe put in.
"Within the past few years." They all gave one another looks and then they all looked over at Nick, not missing the timing of the escalation. "Now, obviously, having a Grimm within my protectorate made things worse, but it wasn't until he got wind of my true feelings for Nick that he decided to up his game entirely."
"When did he find that out?"
This time it was Rosalee's turn to ask. After asking the question, she put a bite of ham into her mouth and then gently chewed as she waited.
"The night the Reapers attacked Nick, after Butrell was arrested."
The quiet that descended on the room made Kylie's nail clicks from the room above seem abnormally loud.
"You knew as early as that?" Rosalie asked with something akin to awe in her voice. There was also something else which Nick couldn't define. It almost bordered on romanticizing but not quite.
Sean nodded but held his tongue. Apparently he was only content to answer questions which were relevant to the trouble that they were all facing, which did not include his feelings for Nick or when he first noticed them. Come to think of it, it might be goof for Nick to find that out for himself whenever he and Sean were alone. For now, however, that could wait.
"So what do we do?" Rosalee asked after the quiet had lingered a little too long. She no longer ate, Nick noticed, but he doubted that it was because she was no longer hungry. The tone of the conversation had changed from a relatively light, information-gathering one to one that is more business-like. Monroe and Hank followed suit and Nick was glad for a reason not to have to eat anymore.
This time they all looked to Nick for answers and Nick swallowed as he tried to think of a plan. Beyond keeping everyone under the roof of this house, he wasn't exactly sure what he thought they should do. The obvious answer was to get to Sergio before he got to them but he knew that that wasn't possible for the simple reason that they didn't know how to get to him. The man was a ghost, a suspected job requirement when working for the Royals. There were no prints to use against him, no place address that was listed, nothing.
And so, the next best idea was all he had. The trouble with that one was that he was pretty sure that it wasn't a good idea at all and he was loathe to do it. Yet, it was all he could come up with.
"Bait," he said after a minute's silence.
"How?" Hank asked. "We don't know who he's going after next and we can't exactly assign a detail to each of us."
And that was true. But then something pricked on Nick's subconscious and he sat forward, feeling a bit more engaged. "No, but I'm pretty sure he's targeting Monroe."
"How do you know that?" the blutbad asked, looking more confused than anything. "Just because you think he is, doesn't mean it's true."
Before Monroe had even finished speaking, Nick was shaking his head no. "I sensed him at your house," he said, just now figuring out what that feeling had been. "He was there. Somewhere. Hidden."
"So, you want to use Monroe as bait?" Rosalee said, sounding as though she had just now caught on to the plan and didn't like it. Actually, she sounded a bit angry at the thought which was good news for Monroe and the blutbad's feelings for her but potentially bad if they all wanted to draw Sergio out.
"It could work," Hank said, not questioning how Nick had sensed the other grimm, and throwing his full support behind Nick's idea. "If we keep enough eyes on the house, we could catch him in the act."
"Nick can be the eyes," Monroe said, but Nick and Sean were shaking their heads in disagreement.
"No, if Nick could sense him then Sergio can do the same," Sean reasoned. "He wouldn't try it. It would be too easy for Nick could get to him and Sergio likes to play with his prey."
"What about me?" Rosalee offered. "I could hang out with Monroe; he'd be harder to take down if there's two of us."
"And it would make it that much easier for Sergio to kill you as well as take Monroe," Nick said, vehemently against giving Sergio another target.
"What about Hank?" Monroe suggested, targeting he only other person who would be likely. Briefly, Nick noticed that no one suggested Sean, but he supposed that that made sense since he had a close, some might say somewhat personal, knowledge of Sergio.
Nick was about to argue against it, not liking the idea of giving Sergio another, somewhat weaker target, but it was then that he realized that he wasn't going to like the idea of anyone being there because they could all be a target and so he shut his mouth. Instead, he mulled it over, not from a friend's or a partner's point of view, but from something far colder and clinical. Of them all in the room, Hank was the logical choice. Still, between Rosalee and Hank, Nick believed that Rosalee could truly be a better match since she had her wesen side to back her up; Hank just had his gun which didn't do any good if he didn't see the guy coming.
Torn, he looked over to Sean who, apart from disagreeing about Nick being the eyes, had remained silent. Sean's expression was neutral, uncaring almost. Nick could feel the rage coming from Sean but it spoke of the regnant's self-control that none of it shown on his face. "What do you think?" he asked, needing someone else's opinion, someone else who wasn't so closely tied to this group as Nick was.
"Why not do both?" he offered with so little inflection in his voice that he could have been discussing whether the Seahawks were going to go to the Playoffs next season and not people's lives. Nick tried not to let his anger at that show since that was what he needed from the regnant right now. After another thirty second's quiet, Sean elaborated, "Have Hank outside in an unfamiliar, unmarked car, and have Rosalee inside with Monroe. It provides a double line of defense and perhaps where one fails, the other won't."
"Or perhaps they'll both get killed," Monroe said, obviously not liking the fact that Rosalee could be in danger.
"That is a possibility," Sean assented.
"It's our only option," Hank earnestly interjected. He looked resigned to the fact that it was their only viable plan but he sounded determined as well. Whatever happened, Hank was evidently positive that he wasn't going to be surprised by the unfriendly grimm.
"Then it's settled," Rosalee threw in to show that she, too, was okay with the plan. "Monroe and I will be inside the house and Hank will cover the outside."
Monroe gave Nick a look that was a combination of pleading and angry, but Nick's hands were tied. When Nick returned the look, he was sure that he looked dismally resigned, which he knew wouldn't assure his friend, but couldn't muster up enough any other emotion for reassurance.
His phone ringing broke the silence and more than one person jumped at the sound. Annoyingly enough, Sean wasn't one of them, but Hank, Rosalee and Monroe had. With a sigh, Nick pushed his chair back and went over to where he'd haphazardly laid the device when he'd gotten back. The number of his doctor's office flashed and Nick's brows briefly furrowed as he answered, "Yeah?"
"Detective," the voice of Doctor Marcie Kisic greeted him. "Sorry to bother you but I figured after what I'd heard in the news," her voice changed, making it sound as though she knew more than the simple tv news coverage would say, "you wouldn't be doing much celebrating anyways."
"What's up?" he asked, curious and choosing leave her hint at Juliette's death alone.
"I've been analyzing your blood and I think I've discovered why it is that you heal faster than others, wesen or human. Are you able to meet me here tomorrow, say, around ten a.m.?"
Confusion mixed with suspicion took over him. It seemed a little too convenient that she had just now figured out the solution and wanted him to meet. He looked over at his friends, just now noticing that they were looking at him, some of them no doubt listening in as best they could, and he gave another sigh. As far things with them were concerned, there wasn't anything more that he could do and if Doctor Kisic thought it necessary that he come to her, he'd trust her..for now.
"Yeah, I can do that," he said, now focusing in on Sean, "I'm fairly certain my boss isn't going to allow me to go to work tomorrow anyways."
At this Sean smirked and nodded his agreement. The term "Bereavement Leave" rang through Nick's head and he swallowed some bile that had risen to his throat. Taking time off wasn't his way of coping; it only allowed him to dwell on things that he hadn't been able to stop and couldn't change. But, Sean was still his boss and Nick knew that he wouldn't be able to deter the regnant from what he saw as helping.
"As well he shouldn't," she agreed, sounding a bit more like an approving friend than his doctor. She must have noticed how it came out because there was a pause and then she cleared her throat, "Anyways, I will see you in the morning. Have a good rest of your Christmas, Detective."
She disconnected before he could return the greeting, which was fine because chances were that if she was working on Christmas, she didn't actually celebrate it.
"What was that about?" Hank asked, the sentiment evidently echoed throughout the group.
"Nothing," Nick dismissed, "some test results are in that my doctor wants to go over with me."
"Is everything okay?" Rosalee, ever the caretaker, asked.
"Yeah," Nick dismissed again, though he was exactly positive on that. "Yeah, everything's fine." He paused a moment to give everyone time to stop looking at him but when they didn't, he plastered on a fake smile and asked, "Who's ready for dessert?"
This seemed to signal to everyone to change the topic and so the rest of them returned his smile and eagerly agreed that they all did. Without waiting for much more than a round of hands raising, Nick escaped into the kitchen.
With the sounds of his friends' voices chattering in the dining room, Nick hid in the kitchen, allowing the sounds that surrounded him to lull him into a false sense of safety. For tonight, all would be well. Tonight, they could all pretend to be a normal group, getting together for the Christmas holiday. Tomorrow, Nick knew, is when the real world would break through their façade and shatter their world completely.
TBC