It was a warm summer day in Portland. A gentle breeze was blowing, lending to a feeling of lazy contentment.
Adalind, being very pregnant, had settled herself into a lounge chair. She wore a white dress with strawberries all over it and Nick couldn't stop himself from gazing at her. She looked so much like an angel, he wanted to capture the image for all time.
He went into the house and got frozen popsicles for each of the kids and his large sketch pad. While the kids were preoccupied with their treats, Nick sat in the chair next to Adalind's.
His eyes barely looked away from the beauty as his hand moved the pencil over the paper. Every line, every curve of his beloved wife, he drew, not ignoring a single detail.
It was something Nick had started doing whenever he happened to have some free time and thoughts of Adalind filling his mind.
His joy and excitement at getting to be a part of and watching the development of his child was hard for Nick to contain sometimes. The only outlet he could think of was to use his skills as an artist.
So far, he had filled three large sketch pads with images of Adalind and her growing belly.
The night of Father's Day, after a day of fun and family, everyone in his household had been exhausted. Adalind had fallen asleep shortly after saying good night to the kids. But Nick had been unable to close his eyes.
He kept thinking how absolutely ethereal Adalind looked in her blue dress. The way she was smiling at her belly as she told the baby inside her that she was so lucky because her daddy was the best father in the world.
Nick's heart had clenched at the unfiltered love and pride shining in Adalind's eyes. He was unable to sleep until he had put the sight in his sketch pad.
And then he had drawn another after that one. The next one being of Adalind sleeping in her nightshirt. Though it was a pale blue, it looked white in the moonlight that beamed in from the window.
Only because he worried so much for her and wanted her to have an undisturbed rest that Nick was able to prevent himself from leaning in and kissing her everywhere.
Though doubtful she would have minded, he still valued her own wellbeing over his desire for her body.
So he contented himself with capturing her image with pencil and paper. The pencil caressing the image of her face the way his fingers always longed too.
Nick learned to have a sketchpad with him everywhere, even keeping one in his truck and in Hank's car, or Monroe's, depending on who he was with, for times when they would be staked out in front of a suspect's place, waiting for them to emerge.
"You must have hundreds of those by now." Hank once commented.
Nick had only shrugged. He hadn't really counted. He didn't have any plans for any of them.
"You should give them to Adalind as a gift." Rosalee suggested when Monroe told her about Nick's artistic obsession. "I'm sure Adalind would love seeing how you feel about her conveyed in something you've made."
Nick, loving that idea, smiled and said, "I'll give them to her after the baby is born."
But the surprise came much sooner than Nick had planned.
He had been organizing the sketches in his designated office when his son had called out for help. Nick, thinking he was only going to be a second, left them on the table uncovered.
Going into the kitchen, Nick had found Kelly hanging by his pants on a kitchen drawer.
"The drawer came out by itself!" The little boy shouted, even though he saw his father standing just a few feet away.
"I think your mother put a spell on it to punish you whenever you climb up on the counters to get cookies when you're not supposed to."
More likely it was just a random accident, but Nick saw nothing wrong with using the idea of the supernatural to make the child behave.
It was what most parents had done for ages. Nick just had the advantage of having a wife who really did know how to wield magic.
While her husband was dealing with their son, Adalind was in search of a working pen. Something that seemed to be elusive even in their extraordinary household. She went into Nick's office and saw the drawing he had made.
Adalind felt tears pooling in her eyes. She could hardly believe that Nick had created so many sketches of her pregnant with their baby.
"Most beautiful collection of artwork out there." Nick murmured as he wrapped his arms around Adalind, making sure to place his hands on her protruding belly.
She turned slightly, reached up with one hand and cupped his neck, pulling him in for a kiss.
And if Nick could chapter the feeling of that kiss in artwork, he would. But since he couldn't, he settled for capturing his beautiful wife's lips instead.