Chapter Thirty Eight

Weep for yourself, my man,

You'll never be what is in your heart

Weep little lion man,

You're not as brave as you were at the start

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man

Through the course of their relationship Maddie had never been able to sneak up on Sean, no matter how hard she tried he was always constantly aware of her presence. She wasn't sure if that was part of his natural self awareness or if it was aspect of the bond between the two of them. She didn't know why she expected this time to be any different. When her phone had begun to ring, it had vibrated it's way across the coffee table and making a noise so infuriating she wanted to fling it across the room. She had thought for sure that it had awakened Sean. However he had failed to make an appearance throughout her conversation with Nick so she suspected the trauma of tonight had worn him out so much that he had managed to snatch a couple of hours of sleep.

With that in mind she decided to dress in the dark, squinting at the clean laundry basket set aside on a dining room chair, ready to be put away in her bedroom. She'd just managed to shimmy her way into a pair of black jeans before the living room light was flicked on and Maddie found herself blinking against the harsh brightness.

It took a few moments for the bright spots dancing in front of her eyes to clear but when they did the perpetrator was standing in the doorway of her hall, his arms crossed over the black t-shirt he was wearing as he leaned against the door frame. Sean's dark eyes were on her, she could feel him surveying her attire and taking in the two brightly coloured odd socks before his gaze swept upwards. His black hair was neatly combed; his own denim jeans hugged his lower body as he stood before her. He was even wearing shoes.

"You're leaving." He stated watching with amusement as Maddie struggled to pull a forest green sweatshirt over her head. It took her a moment to get herself through the correct opening before she yanked it down over the white vest top she had been wearing as pajamas.

"I've got something I need to do." She mumbled, allowing her hair to fall over her pretty facial features to mask her expression as she reached for her car keys.

Sean crossed the room in three long strides, his hand seeking out his chocolate brown leather jacket from the wooden coat pegs beside Maddie's front door before he pulled it up over his broad shoulders. She was hiding something, he could feel it through the very fibre of his being as her blue eyes darted away from his. He thought it was something to do with Nick, he had suspected whatever Adalind had put into motion was now playing out and he couldn't stand the thought of Maddie twisted up in all of that, not without someone watching her back.

It hadn't occurred to him until tonight that she may actually know that Nick was a Grimm however it would explain the results in some of their cases. He had thought that Nick had taken care of the Wesen on his own but it was clear that Maddie had a hand in it. He wasn't sure whether to be impressed by that fact or terrified. It opened the young detective up to more danger than even he could have anticipated. She was already there with one foot in his world, long before he had decided to pull the plug on their relationship. Her interactions with the Grimm and other Wesen would have put her right on his family's radar and that concerned him deeply. He thought of the time that he had wasted trying to rid himself of the feelings that he held for her. By distancing himself from her he had convinced himself that he was safe and that there were no chinks in his armour, however without her he was vulnerable. Tonight had proved that.

"Something that includes your sidearm?" he questioned, quirking his eyebrow at the gun Maddie was clipping to her belt.

"Look, this doesn't concern you." she informed him, her blazing blue eyes meeting his with a fury that she could barely contain.

There was something wrong. It didn't take a genius to work out that Maddie was trying to shield him away from it. It was admirable really, the way she thought that she had to protect him but he was a grown man, a captain and a prince no less and he would fight any battle he chose.

"If you're involved, I am too." he refuted simply, taking her olive green parka jacket with the furry hood off the coat peg and holding it out for her. Maddie scowled before stepping towards him and putting her arms through each of the sleeves.

"Sean…" she said softly before turning to face him. He reached for the zipper of her parka coat before fastening the metal together and following the trail until it was zipped up to her chin. Her blue eyes were on him earnest and pleading "...please just let me handle this."

She didn't touch him and in a way he was grateful for that, despite knowing that it had been Adalind who had attacked him earlier she had still been wearing Maddie's face. It was hard to disassociate Maddie from the equation. He could tell she wanted to, it was a fierce urge that he himself had spent the last six weeks struggling with but she resisted and he was glad. Right now that would have been too much.

"No." he responded frankly. "If it's to do with Nick I need to be there. Adalind tried to put me out of action tonight. I can only assume it's because she intends to make a move against him."

Maddie drew back, her expression echoing the surprise he felt at emitting the words with such carelessness. It made him realise that he wanted this to be a partnership, that he was willing to share information with man inside him still wanted a relationship, no matter what happened tonight. More than anything he wanted a balance of power. He'd held the reins for so long with every single woman he had been with he wasn't sure what it felt like to be on even ground. This was a step though, he thought, he had held so many secrets inside himself for so long they had become a part of him and he wanted Maddie to know that side of him and know that he was willing to commit.

"You know about Nick?" her voice cut through his thoughts as she crossed her arms over her chest. He couldn't read the expression on her delicate features, it was like a wall had been thrown up blocking out her thoughts. However her body language showed that she was on the defensive, he commended her for that, it meant she was willing to protect her friend's secret in the face of someone she cared about.

"You're not the only one that's had his back." Sean informed her, crossing his own arms over his chest to mirror her stance. "There's worse things out there for a Grimm than the two of you can even imagine."

Maddie didn't know what was more frightening, Sean's admission that he already knew about Nick and had been actively watching over him or the fact that there were scarier things than what they had been dealing with over the past few months. She shook her head at the thought before grounding herself once more by taking a deep breath. This was a conversation for another time, right now she needed to be somewhere and it looked like Sean was coming with her.

"This is something we're going to need to talk about later." Maddie asserted as she moved past Sean, their clothes rustling lightly as her hand came to rest on the door handle of the front door. "Right now we have somewhere else to be."

Hi guys, after a long hiatus I'm back with this story so thank you for being patient.

Half winged angel: I am so glad that you're happy for this story to be back on the road again. Your chapter wish is my command.

Nakuo: Adalind was a biatch on the first few seasons, she sort of became more likeable in the past season. I'm not sure who will take care of her yet.

Vamp: Thank you very much for waiting so long for a new chapter and sticking with me.