Chapter Ten - The Warding

It didn't take long, once Monroe, Rosalee and Trubel had arrived back at Nick's house, for them to, once again, divide up their tasks and get everything prepared for the spell casting.

Adalind was impressed by this spirit of cooperation, and it demonstrated to her, in a remarkably simple way, that her mother's teachings of self-reliance and power for power's sake, were fundamentally flawed.

Nick and his friends showed her that a truly strong person admits when they need help, and offers support to others in return. That true and steadfast friends, that family, were the real treasures and things were just that, things.

Adalind had never gone without material things as a child and a teenager, and, as an adult, she had thought that the lifestyle that Sean was seemingly offering, would make her happy. But having things and using the admiration of other people can never really give you self worth. When the locus of your self-worth is external, that is to say, when it's not coming from within, then nothing will ever be enough. Things are cold comfort, and ultimately, will never fill a void within. That's something you have to do for yourself.

If she'd had a mother who truly loved her unconditionally, then she could never have been tempted by Sean and the life he was pretending to offer her. Now, she realised, in all the scheming, in all her acquisitiveness, in all the god-awful plans she had gone along with, in reality, she had simply been searching for her mother's love. Something she had never had, and never will have. And as much as she would like to scream and lash out at the world around her, and indulge in all the vindictive schemes her hexen spirit was whispering to her, she knew that road led nowhere good.

In fact, it would probably end in her death, or even more horrifyingly, the deaths of her children.

Such endeavours were, ultimately, pointless. She should have had loving parents, who nurtured her and kept her safe – taught her right from wrong, and how to love and respect her fellow creatures. But she didn't, and she couldn't change that. She was an adult now, with one child who-knows-where, and another on the way. Time to pull her socks up and start acting like an adult, a mother.

She suddenly felt incredibly free.

It was as if a huge pressure, a massive weight, had just been lifted. She had nothing to prove, to anyone. She had no reason to compare herself to anyone. She was good enough, just the way she was. She could choose how to live her life, and her mother's opinion counted for nothing.

Neither did Sean's.

She did care what Nick and his friends thought, but she knew that they were good people. And, they seemed to be giving her a chance here, to do better, to be better. And she would not waste it. She knew enough about them now to see that, if she genuinely made the effort to do good, and be good, if she was honest with them, they would not forsake her.

And she could see that, even if she and Nick were only ever friends and co-parents, raising their child together, that that life could be a truly wonderful life. A life filled with friends, family, warmth and love. It would have none of the glitter and promises of power and magic that Sean and her mother had tempted her with before, but that was actually a blessing.

For the first time, she had a clear vision of her future, a happy future. Sure, there were details to work out, but she felt hopeful, as she had never really felt hopeful before.

Her attention was drawn from her thoughts by a gentle touch on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Rosalee.

Apparently, they were ready to ward the house.

Her positive feelings only increased, as she felt grateful for this chance to do something for the people who had put their necks on the line for her and her child. True, they hadn't done it only for her, but still, they did more than anyone else ever had.

The warding itself was tiring, but not overly so, and had gone rather smoothly. Well, for the most part. Adalind had had a major wobble when Nick had suggested she add her own blood to the warding scheme. His friends had been shocked too, but when she stopped to think about it, it only made sense.

She was the mother of his child, and, even after she had given birth, would be his primary caregiver. Simply put, they would need somewhere to live, and somewhere safe for the child of the Grimm. In fact, Nick was giving her a great gift – a safe place for her and her baby, their baby, and the promise that he would not take their child from her. It was a purely practical decision, and yet...

She had to fight back tears, and stop herself from hugging him. She couldn't help sniffing a bit, and he had rushed to apologise, but she had waived him off. She had blamed it all on the pregnancy, though she was aware no one believed her.

Once it was done, she allowed herself to be bustled off to rest by Rosalee, but had insisted that she be allowed to stay downstairs, just in case. So, she was once again on the undamaged couch, propped up by cushions, covered with a blanket, and sipping on some delicious tea, provided by Rosalee.

The others naturally drifted into the same room, and began discussing their next move. Juliette had been neutralised, for now. No one really knew how much had been her, and how much was her being a new hexenbiest. Adalind was not sure how Nick was feeling about his girlfriend. And though some might argue it wasn't her business, she believed it was and is. If he and Juliette managed to salvage something out of this mess, and resumed their relationship, then Juliette would very definitely be part of their son's life.

It could end up being incredibly awkward, but Adalind made a silent promise to Nick that, if that's what he wanted, she wouldn't get in his way. The secret attraction she had felt for him since they first met was something she could easily hide, hell she'd been repressing it for years, having previously believed herself mad, when she had fantasised about him. She would need to see some real progress on Juliette's behalf before she let her get too involved with their son, but other than that, she would not stand in his way. No matter how attracted she was to him..

She only hoped she could live up to the good intentions she had right now, especially since she knew she had a very difficult road ahead of her. She was hopeful that she might be able to lean on the new set of people who now surrounded her. They were all good examples to follow, and Rosalee seemed like she might, at the very least, be interested in helping her stay on the good path, the right path.

The quiet atmosphere which had settled over the group was broken suddenly, by the sound of Nick's cell phone ringing.

He looked down at it and read the name on the screen. "It's Henrietta," he announced, answering the phone and putting it on speaker. "Henrietta, hi, I've got you on speaker." He said.