A/N: Here's another update! Read on!
Dsiclaimer: I own nothning.
It was nearing midnight when Sean received another call from Rachel; they had Diana. They had retrieved her, and she was currently at the same safe house where Nick was being held. When he had heard this, the zauberbiest felt immense relief spread throughout his chest. As soon as work ended, Sean hurried over to the safe house, eager to see his daughter.
When they opened the door for him, the same Black Claw member from before silently escorted him inside and to the living room. Sitting on the couch next to Rachel Wood was a young girl- his daughter, Diana. It looked as though she had heard him approaching because she looked up and smiled. Diana looked so much like Adalind, it was uncanny; beautiful, long, golden blonde hair, a wide smile, an intelligent gaze. Her eyes were blue-green and sparkled with a youthful mischievousness as she looked at her father. Her clothes were simple for his own tastes, but she looked well taken care of. Sean was grateful for that, at least.
Slowly, he walked up to her and knelt to her level. "Diana," he began, his eyes searching hers. "Do you know who I am?"
Diana's smile grew wider. "Yes!" She said happily. "They showed me pictures of you when they brought me here. You're my Daddy." Her eyes glowed purple for a moment before she added, "I can tell that it's true. I can feel you-" She tapped her chest where her heart would be. "-right here!"
Sean smiled broadly. Diana was talking about the bond Wesen children had with their parents. It wasn't like a bond between mates, more like a way for parents to feel if their child were in immediate danger. And for the children to seek comfort in their parents from far away. Sean hadn't been able to bond with Diana like he had hoped but he was glad that there was something there.
"That's right," he said, still smiling. "I'm your Dad. I've been waiting a while to meet you."
With that, Diana grinned and hugged her father around the neck. Smiling, Sean stood with her in his arms, a happy feeling spreading throughout his chest. His daughter was finally with him. She was safe in his arms.
"Daddy," Diana said as she pulled back, a frown on her face. "Where's my Mommy? I can feel her too but... she's not here."
"You'll meet Mommy soon, Diana," Sean promised, his tone sincere. "I'm going to call her in the morning to come and meet you."
Diana smiled but looked as though she had had one last question.
"And who's that man that's asleep upstairs?" She asked curiously. Sean frowned a little before narrowing his eyes at Rachel. The woman held up her hands in surrender.
"She is a very curious child," Rachel explained with a cheeky smile. "Wandered away from me for a few minutes and ended up in Detective Burkhardt's room."
"He was having nightmares, Daddy," Diana explained earnestly. "Bad ones. I wanted to help him sleep better but they took me out of the room."
Sean lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Nick had nightmares? Well, the man is a Grimm and a cop. The things he's been through would be enough to disturb anyone's sleep. Even Sean's. Apparently, the nightmares were also strong enough to infiltrate Nick's sedated sleep. That was concerning.
Sean cleared his throat before looking at Diana. "That man's name is Nick. He's... a good friend of mine and Mommy's."
Diana frowned in confusion. "Then why is he all tied up?"
Sean nearly blanched before quickly regaining his composure. Diana was observant. She might even be able to tell when she was being lied to. He had to settle for half-truth.
"Because something happened that hurt him badly," he replied. "You see, Nick is a special type of person who can see what others can't-"
"You mean a Grimm?" Diana cut in.
Now, Sean couldn't hide his surprise, along with everyone else present. He didn't think that his daughter would know the exact term for what Nick was. Especially without meeting him officially.
"D-diana, how-?"
"The lady that took care of me before was one," she answered easily. "I asked how she knows about Wesen stuff if she can't change. She told me it's because she can see when no one else can. Nick can do that too?"
Ah. Kelly Burkhardt. Nick's mother and his son's namesake. Sean should have known. Vaguely, he wondered if the older Grimm had mentioned her son to Diana before her death.
"Yes, he can," Sean answered honestly. "And because he can, he gets very...angry and scared when he's injured. He won't trust anyone close by, so we had to give him medicine to help him sleep and tie him up so he wouldn't hurt anyone or himself." It wasn't completely a lie. An injured and/or delirious Grimm was a dangerous one. When in a vulnerable state like that, a Grimm's primal survival instincts kicked in. Only the will to leave would be there until someone would manage to calm the Grimm. Nick, when he finally woke, was going to be delirious- at the very least. At the most...furious and drugged.
Diana cocked her head to the side, as if trying to gauge the truth of her father's words. After a moment, she then said, "Well, I wanna help him sleep better. I used to help the Lady Grimm. She had nightmares too."
Sean nodded, admittedly a little curious on how his young daughter could help Nick. Also, if all Grimms had nightmares or if it was just a Burkhardt thing. "I'll take you to him," he said. He nodded in slight gratitude to Rachel before marching upstairs with his daughter in his arms. When they reached Nick's room, Sean gently pushed the door open.
Nick was still heavily sedated and asleep, leather straps still holding him down. The blanket that Sean had laid on him had been folded back to reveal his chest and the Prince clucked his tongue in annoyance. What made him narrow his eyes, was the pinched expression on Nick's face. The Grimm was frowning in his sleep and his eyebrows twitched and pinched together. His skin started to grow pale, something that happened in accordance with adrenaline after his zombification. He was having a nightmare.
Sean set Diana down and strode over to Nick, pulling the blanket completely over him. Gently, he brushed his knuckles against Nick's stubbled cheek, green eyes examining the tortured looking expression of his detective. He barely registered that Diana walked up beside him until she spoke.
"He looks like he's hurt, Daddy," she said, sounding concerned. Sean looked down at Diana to see her eyes glowing purple once more as she looked at Nick's expression. She shivered before adding, "His nightmares are scary." She looked up at her father and asked, "Can I touch his forehead?"
Sean nodded slowly and stepped to the side to give Diana room. The young girl stepped up next to Nick and reached out, placing her hand on his forehead. The aura around her hand and her eyes began to glow purple. She frowned sadly.
"You have bad dreams, Nick," Diana said quietly, her eyes scanning Nick's face. "You've been hurt, both in your heart and in real life. j I can't stop the monsters in real life... But you deserve to have monster free dreams."
With that, Nick's facial features began to relax as Diana's hand glowed brighter. His frown faded and his brows un-furrowed. The paleness in his skin even began to fade and Diana smiled.
"Have nice dreams, Nick," she said happily. "I can't wait to finally talk to you when you wake up."
Sean watched his daughter in amazement. Then a smile crossed his lips. This was good. If Diana was responding positively to Nick now, their relationship will build in the future.
"You will soon, honey," he said, kneeling to hug her. "You will soon."
Meanwhile, at Monroe and Rosalee's home, Adalind was trying to relax in the living room on the couch, unable to focus on the TV in front of her. In the armchair next her, Trubel was reading one of the Grimm books, a frown marring her features. Rosalee had a botany book open on her lap as she occupied the other armchair, her fingers tapping the armrest. It was only the three of them right now; Monroe and Wu went to check up on the spice shop and Hank had taken up patrolling the neighborhood. Kelly had long since falled asleep, leaving the adults with time to themselves.
Adalind felt restless and she could tell the the other two did as well. They all ached to do something to side in the search for Nick, but they had to be patient. All of them had agreed that if the police didn't find something within one more day, they would handle their own search for the missing Grimm. Adalind's biest growled at the thought of waiting, wanting desperately to find her mate. While Adalind did hate to wait, her more rational, less feral side understood the illegality of what they were planning. They were basically going vigilante and disrupting a police investigation. The thought crossed her mind to make Sean aware of their plans, but she decided against it. He already had his hands full with the current investigation.
Suddenly, the sound of a cellphone ringing brought Adalind's out of her thoughts. Looking around for the source, she saw Trubel pulling her cell phone from her pocket. Trubel briefly glanced at the caller ID before answering.
"Trubel," she answered as Rosalee and Adalind quietly watched her. Whatever Trubel was told next wasn't good, for her brows furrowed and her lips tightened into a frown.
"When did this happen?" She asked the person on the other line as she stood. Adalind and Rosalee exchanged concerned looks while Trubel collected the keys to her bike while listening to whoever was speaking to her.
"Alright I'm on my way way," Trubel said before hanging up. She then looked up at the other two in the room. Walking to the front door, she said, Meisner needs my help with something important. It's close by so I'll be back. Call me if there's any word on Nick."
Before anyone could say anything else, Trubel was out the door and headed towards her bike. Adalind and Rosalee both let the surprise wash over them.
"What do you think that was about?" Adalind mused, her brows furrowed in concern.
"Not sure," Rosalee said, casting an uncertain look at the front door. "But I think I should give the guys a heads up. I'll be right back."
With that Rosalee pulled out her phone and went into the other room to call Monroe. When Rosalee left the room, Adalind's burner phone began to ring. She flipped the phone open, and answered, "Hello?"
"Adalind." It was Sean. Adalind stood from her seat on the couch slowly.
"Sean, what is it?" She asked carefully. "Is there news on Nick?"
"Yes and no," Sean answered cryptically. It grinded on the Hexenbiest's nerves. She was about to voice her displeasure when he added, "But I have something important to speak to you about. We need to meet. Alone. Can you do that?"
Adalind pursed her lips in thought. She... barely trusted Sean, but the possibility of him having some news on Nick's whereabouts drew her in. Sighing a little, Adalind responded, "Alright... Where?"
She could practically hear the smugness in Sean's voice as he said, "I'll send you the address. See you there."
With that Sean hung up. Moments later, a small ping alerted Adalind that she had a message. Opening the message, she frowned. It was at car garage under a Insurance building. Why would Sean want to meet there? Just as she was pondering this, Rosalee walked back into the room.
"I let Monroe and Wu about Trubel," Rosalee said when Adalind looked over at her. "I called Hank too, to be sure. Trubel already filled him in on her way out." Rosalee frowned when she saw Adalind's expression. "What's wrong?"
"Sean just called me," Adalind explained, turned her phone over between her hands nervously. "He said that he might have some news on Nick, but I need to come meet him. Alone."
Rosalee's brows furrowed in concern and she walked over to Adalind. "Did he sound sincere?" She asked seriously.
"I... I don't know," Adalind admitted. "But right now, I'm willing to take a risk."
Rosalee wrapped her arms around herself, thinking hard. Finally, she said, "Okay... Send me the address. If you aren't back or don't call me within an hour, we're going after you. Alright?"
Adalind nodded, snatching up her keys. "You can handle Kelly while I'm gone right?"
Rosalee smiled wearily. "Of course. Be careful."
Adalind nodded and hurried out the front door, into her car, and began her drive to the address Sean gave her, a feeling of trepidation overcoming her. Whatever Sean had to tell her, she hoped it was good news. For the sake for her sanity and the sanity of their friends.
A/N: Please review! I'm starving for them!
~Ellie~