The World Needs More Grimm

Chapter 20

Weight of the World

It is Tuesday March 10th 2020.

It's approximately 5:00am. Trubel is awake, laying on her bed at HW Portland.

She's still pondering about everything. Not only does she have the weight of this case with Oscar Torres and a newly revealed Stan Lewis on her shoulders, she's still weighed down by thoughts of Josh, Meisner and the stick.

Her phone rings. She's used to this routine by now. She doesn't even have to look at her phone to know it's Josh calling.

She answers. "Good Morning Josh." She can't help but sound weighed down.

"Good Morning Trubel." Immediately he can tell something is wrong by the tone of her voice. "How are you holding up?" He asks, sincere.

Trubel sighs deeply this time. "Barely." She replies, honestly.

"I'm sorry. Wish I could help." Josh replies softly.

"I know Josh." Trubel says reassuringly. She doesn't want him to think that she's angry at him again.

Intuitively, Josh realizes he needs to be forthcoming. "I can't help thinking that I'm part of the problem. I feel like I drove you away." He tells her.

Trubel clears her throat. "I know you do Josh. I can feel it." She replies softly.

Josh wants to lighten the mood. "Hey, guess what?" He asks her.

"What Josh?" Trubel responds, only half-listening.

"I finally had that talk with Matthews last night." Josh replies confidently.

Trubel can't help it. Her eyes light up. "You did? Josh, I'm so glad." She replies.

"Yeah, it was long overdue." Josh tells her.

"I'm dying to know how you started THAT conversation." Trubel adds.

"Well. I had to ask her about mai-tais at the beach." Josh lets out a nervous laugh.

"I see. And? What did she say?" Trubel asks, curious.

Josh sighs. "You were right. She does like me. But, she claims she'll be over it soon." He explains.

Immediately Trubel is skeptical. "Why do I get the impression there's more to this story?" She asks.

"Because I also told her about us, Trubel." Josh tells her, lowering his voice. "How we met in 2014, what happened in 2015 and—" He lowers his voice to a whisper. "-that I still love you." He finishes barely loud enough for Trubel to hear.

Trubel sighs. "Josh." She whispers.

"Please don't be angry Trubel. We're good, really. She assured me that she's not in love with me." Josh explains.

"Josh, I'm actually proud of you for telling her the truth. That took guts." She says with a hint of pride in her voice.

Josh is very surprised. "You are? Wow. You made my day. Thank you." He tells her.

"You're welcome." Trubel replies.

"Well—now that I told you about my talk with Matthews, I can move on to why I really called. Work." Josh says.

"Of course." Trubel responds.

"So we spent the better part of yesterday putting eyes-out for Stan Lewis as well as narrowing down his known associates." Josh informs her.

"Alright. Anything promising?" Trubel asks.

'Still working on a few leads. I also looked into your contact, Dawn Richardson, the owner of the hair salon." Josh reveals.

"Alright. And, what did you find?" Trubel asks.

"She's squeaky clean. No criminal record, volunteers in her community, and she's owned that shop more than 10 years." Josh explains.

"Her story is proven legit. Alright." Trubel adds.

Josh now moves on. "You know Trubel, I really wanted to get your 'feel' on something else." He tells her.

Trubel is curious. "Ok. What is it?" She asks.

"Adding Stan Lewis to the growing list of people that we are looking for, I had a thought yesterday. We now have 3 scientists, 2 of whom it's confirmed know each other." Josh explains.

"Yes, you are correct." Trubel responds.

"And Ben Peters told you the lab & medical equipment was being made for an associate of Oscar Torres that Ben Peters personally never met." Josh adds.

"Yes, that's what he said." Trubel agrees.

"Trubel, what if Stan Lewis IS our guy? The associate of Oscar Torres that Ben Peters referred to?" Josh asks, excitedly.

"Possibly. What about this business Ben Peters told me Oscar Torres needed the medical & lab equipment for? Are there any companies Stan Lewis owns or is affiliated with?" Trubel asks.

Josh sighs this time. "I did think about that yesterday. That's where it gets really bizarre. There is absolutely nothing. Stan Lewis hasn't had a job since he graduated." He explains.

Trubel is puzzled. "That's extremely—unusual." She says.

"Think also about the fact that out of the 3 scientists, only one is Wesen AND has a masters degree." Josh tells her.

Now it's her turn to sigh. "Alright. You have my attention Josh. What is your theory?" Trubel asks.

"Maybe—the 3 scientists are working on some top-secret government project? That could explain why they disappeared off the face of the earth. The medical & lab equipment—the list goes on. It's just—that's the direction everything seems to point towards." Josh explains.

Trubel ponders deeply. "You know Josh, we could find that out. It will take some time, but I can work on that with you when I get back." She tells him.

"Alright. When?" Josh asks, anxiously.

"Thursday night." Trubel replies softly.

Josh is surprised. "Really?" He asks.

"Yes Josh." Trubel confirms.

"I guess I don't need to tell you how happy that makes me." Josh says, lowering his voice.

"I already know." Trubel sighs.

"Alright then. Well, I'm going to get back to work. But call me if you need anything or find out something else." Josh tells her.

"I will Josh. See you Thursday." She says, preparing to hang up.

"See you then." Josh replies.

They hang up at exactly the same time.

It is 11am on Wednesday March 11th 2020. Trubel was just preparing to leave HW Portland to drive to Nicks. However, she is told by a HW Portland team member that Eve has returned from her assignment overseas.

Even though she just returned, Trubel wastes no time and enters Eve's room.

"Hey Eve. Glad you're back." Trubel says as she enters.

Eve is sitting on her bed, changing her shoes. She looks at Trubel. "And you're back from New York." Eve sees the look on her face. "Something's different." She says to her, lowering her voice.

Trubel approaches Eve and sits right next to her. "I need to ask you about Meisner." She says barely above a whisper.

Eve's face lights up. "You're finally ready to talk about it. After all these years." She says, lowering her voice.

Trubel is floored. "Eve, you KNEW?" She asks.

Eve nods. "Of course." She says.

"Did you know that my feelings for Meisner started right after I-I" She stops herself. After a moment, she's ready to speak with their agreed code words. "After I received healing therapy for the first time?" Trubel asks her, speaking barely above a whisper.

Eve immediately knows she's referring to the stick or staff and it's power. "No I didn't." She pauses, ponders what she was just told, then looks at her. "Are you sure this is what you want?" She asks.

"Yes Eve. I need closure." Trubel replies confidently.

Eve looks at her. "What do you want to know?" She asks.

"Did Meisner know how I felt?" Trubel finally asks.

Eve takes her time responding. "Trubel, the more important question you should be asking me is, what was it?" She finally says to her.

Trubel sighs. "Ok Eve. What was it?" She asks.

"You were falling in love with him." Eve informs her.

Her eyes water up. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Trubel chokes back tears.

"But there was no time. That's why after all these years, you still feel confused." Eve explains.

Trubel ponders. "Ok. I get that." She responds.

Eve looks at her, puzzled. "What happened to you in New York?" She asks.

Trubel looks at Eve intently. "Remember Josh Porter? From Philadelphia?" She asks.

"Yes! You saw him?" Eve asks, excitedly.

Trubel looks at her with surrendering eyes. "He's a Grimm, working for HW in New York City." She explains.

Eve nods. "I see. Past and present collide." She responds.

"Last week, Josh confessed that he fell in love with me in 2015—and he still feels the same." Trubel informs her, lowering her voice.

Eve takes a moment and looks at her intently. "I'm not surprised." She finally says.

Trubel is floored. "Seriously Eve?" Is all she can say.

Eve smiles this time. "How could he not feel the way he does about you? Trubel, you're awesome." She pauses a moment. "You don't doubt him. That's good." She explains.

Trubel resists the urge to smile, and sighs instead. "I have an idea how he feels." She tells her.

Eve nods in agreement. "Meisner knew how you felt." She reveals.

"I'm actually glad." Trubel responds.

"Yeah, Me too." Eve reveals.

"Nick thought for closure, I should find out if Meisner had feelings for me." Trubel tells her.

Eve looks at her intently. "You can't move on without knowing, can you?" She asks.

Trubel shakes her head. "I can't." She responds, her voice almost cracking.

Eve looks at her intently. "I'm really sorry Trubel." Is all she can say to her.

Trubel tears up again. "Yeah, I thought so." She's at a loss for words.

"You have to go back to New York, don't you?" Eve asks.

Trubel nods, without saying anything this time.

Eve appears to be pondering deeply. Finally she speaks. "You know—when Nick & I were—" Now it's Eve's turn to stop herself. She gathers her thoughts, and her words. "—alone, together, on March 24th 2017, I told him—there-something that I've never told anybody else. Everything that happened that brought us, together to this place-happened for a reason. Trubel learn my life lesson-don't waste time on what could have been."

Trubel shakes her head. "I'm not. That's why I want closure." She says matter-of-factly.

Eve smiles widely this time. "I wasn't talking about Meisner." She tells her.

Trubel is shocked speechless.

Eve now stands up. "I'll be available for you anytime you need." She informs her.

Trubel takes the cue and stands up also. "Thanks Eve." She responds genuinely appreciative.

Eve smiles widely. "Tell Josh I said hi." She says, half-joking.

Trubel resists the urge to smile widely herself. "I will." She responds while walking out.

END OF CHAPTER 20