CHAPTER TEN

BABY JANE CONNOR

"So, you're going to talk to Monroe about being best man?" Lena asked Nick over her tea before they both left for work that day.

"Unless I can think of a solution today," Nick sighed. "There's no getting around it."

"It'll be okay," Lena assured him. "I mean, I'm sure they'll be upset at the situation, but they'll understand the risk too. Or maybe they'll know a solution."

"Here's hoping," Nick said.

By the end of the day, Nick – or Hank and Lena – couldn't figure out a way around the obvious risk Nick being best man posed. So, Nick had to leave the station with a heavy heart to tell Monroe he just couldn't do it.

Monroe had answered the door with an easy smile. But Nick wasn't smiling. "We need to talk."

Monroe sighed, "Who's dead?"

"Nobody. At least not yet," he said wryly as he entered the house. "Look, I got a problem."

"Rosalee, it's Nick. He's got a problem," Monroe called as he shut the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, Rosalee, but this is kind of important," Nick said apologetically as they all stood in the living room.

"Hey, Nick, what's wrong? What kind of case is it?" Rosalee asked.

"It's not a case," Nick sagged. How was he going to do this?

"Really?" Rosalee frowned. Neither of them knew what to expect.

"It's your wedding," Nick sighed.

"What?" Monroe frowned.

"I can't be your best man."

Both Monroe and Rosalee heaved mournful sighs. "What?"

"I am honored that you asked me," Nick insisted, "but it's just too dangerous. Both of your families are gonna be there and, I assume, wesen friends of yours. Now, what if one of them woged, saw that I'm a Grimm? I mean, you saw how your parents reacted."

Rosalee and Monroe both seemed to understand what he meant now.

"I don't want to hurt anybody, and I don't want anybody to get hurt because of me," Nick told them.

Rosalee frowned, "Our day would be ruined if you weren't there. Monroe and I would never have met without you."

"And there's nothing I would want more than to be there, but I just don't know how to make that work," Nick lamented.

There was mournful silence for a moment before Monroe lifted his head and said, "Sunglasses."

Rosalee gasped excitedly, "Yes!"

"For your eyes," Monroe gestured towards Nick's jacket. "Do you have your sunglasses?"

Nick frowned, a little confused, but said, "Uh, yeah," and pulled them out of his pocket.

"Put 'em on. Let's try it out," Monroe urged him.

Nick slipped on his sunglasses and watched as Monroe and Rosalee ducked their heads down to peer at his eyes and woged in front of him. Monroe's voice was beastly deep as he asked, "You see anything?"

"Yeah, you just..." Nick gestured to their woged forms.

"Not you," Monroe cut him off.

"No, nothing," Rosalee answered.

"Me neither."

With big smiles, the couple woged back. Monroe clapped, "There you go! Problem solved. Best man."

"Whoo!" Rosalee cheered.

"So, sunglasses will actually help?" Lena asked when Nick got back and told her how it went.

"They couldn't see my eyes at all," Nick said.

"Well, let's hope you can keep the glasses on the whole day," Lena said as they played rock 'em sock 'em robots. Lena had seen the game at a vintage store and couldn't resist buying it. It had been one of the first things someone had ever given her. But she had lost her first one moving around so much in the system.

Nick groaned when his robot's head scooted up into the air as she sucker punched it with hers. "How are you so good at this?"

"Thumb dexterity from video games," Lena grinned. "Kevin had an xbox, always arguing that it made him a better surgeon."

"And you bought that?" Nick chuckled, glad that she could talk about her late husband without a touch of sadness in her voice. Just fondness.

"Everyone backed him up," she excused herself. "And it's not like he spent all his time playing them. Eventually, I started participating."

"So, you and Rosalee are seeing if her grandmother's dress fits tomorrow, right?" he asked as they reset their robots for the rematch.

"Yep," Lena smiled. "I'm really excited actually. I love everything about weddings. And we may stop by another shop to look a bridesmaid's dresses. Won't make any decisions until Rose's sister can be around to give some input though."

"Sounds nice," Nick commented. "Now that I'm confirmed best man, I have to actually come up with a speech."

"Oh, you'll be fine," Lena smiled as they began battling again. "I was thinking, tomorrow for dinner, we could make pizza."

"Make pizza?" he echoed.

"Yeah, I briefly worked in a pizzeria before the dishwashing job and got to make everything from scratch. I already have the stuff we need, and I can show you how," she offered.

Seeing that she was excited at the suggestion, Nick found himself eagerly agreeing with a chuckle, "Sounds fun."

Lena casually awed at the beautiful wedding gowns around her at the bridal store while she waited for Rosalee to get on her grandmother's dress. The seamstress working there was a lovely girl named Jane, who idly chatted with her about her own wedding dress and the wedding preparations coming along until Rosalee appeared, throwing the curtain open and appearing in her dress. It was all lace up to her neck, with slightly puffy sleeves that encased her whole arms in lace, and a silky skirt down to her feet.

Lena gasped.

Jane smiled, "Looks like alterations won't be needed after all."

"Thanks," Rosalee smiled as she approached the pedestal in front of the three mirrors. "You think my grandma's dress fits?"

"Absolutely. The silhouette's perfect," Jane said.

"What do you think? It's not too "not me," is it?" Rosalee asked Lena.

"No, it fits you, Rose," Lena told her. "You look beautiful."

"Really?" the bride-to-be blushed.

"Stunning," Jane concurred.

Rosalee breathed out, "Whew. Okay, then I guess... I guess... oh, my God! Is this really me?"

Lena stepped up next to her and took her hands, "Listen, stop second guessing yourself. This is your wedding, it's one day. You're going to look perfect and Monroe is just wanna go ahead and get married so he can call you his wife."

Rosalee giggled a bit as she studied her reflection, "Yeah, you're right. Okay."

Lena waited patiently while Rosalee changed back into her street clothes and was ready to move on with their day.

"So," Rosalee said as nonchalantly as possible as they exited the dress shop, "I noticed that you're not wearing your wedding ring."

"Oh," Lena murmured, absentmindedly rubbing the bare finger. "I just… thought it was time. I mean, I've been through two wedding anniversaries without him now. I came here for a fresh start. I don't think I can do that if I'm still acting like I'm married."

"It's not forgetting him to move forward," Rosalee assured her friend, putting an arm around her. "I didn't know Kevin, but I think any husband would want their wife to be happy. You deserve your fresh start."

"I think I've got it here," Lena agreed quietly.

"How did you do this every night?" Nick asked as the pizza dough he just tried to toss stuck to the ceiling above them.

"Well, to start, we had a higher ceiling," Lena giggled. "We have plenty of dough to work with. Maybe we won't toss it so high this time."

Nick chuckled as they readied the dough and she showed him how to toss it out. He did, and luckily this time it didn't stick to the ceiling and he was able to catch it.

"Okay, did you decide on toppings?" Lena asked while she spooned their homemade pizza sauce with parmesan inside over their dough.

"Unless you have any objections," he said as he pulled out ham and pineapple and pepperoni.

"Oh, that looks good," Lena mused as she started spreading shredded mozzarella over the pizza.

Together, they dispersed the toppings over it and Lena opened the oven to put it in. Nick was still standing beside her, and she bumped into him when she straightened up. They sort of knocked into each other and Nick held her elbows to stop her from bumping into the hot oven.

"Whoa, sorry, didn't think I was in the way," Nick told her, peering down at her. He chuckled when he noticed a bit of red sauce smeared on her chin. "You have a little sauce on you."

"Oh, where?" she asked, fingers reaching up to brush against her cheek.

"Here, I got it," he offered, reaching to try and rub the sauce away. His face got close to hers, his fingers cradling her chin. Lena looked up, meeting his eyes. Her face dropped into a passive sort of expression, just watching him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he knew what he was thinking. He was thinking about how less and less they came to feel like roommates and how more and more his house felt like home with her in it.

When she didn't protest his closeness, and his hand holding her face, he started daring to think that maybe she felt the same. And he leaned in, eyes closing, and pressed his lips to hers.

Lena's stomach felt like a butterfly resort at the contact. She had no idea how she felt other than – as she hadn't expected to feel when she kissed a man after Kevin's death – she didn't feel guilty or wrong. She didn't feel like she was cheating on Kevin. She just felt like Lena – kissing Nick.

They were startled apart by a pounding at the door. They both pulled away, frowning. Nick asked, "Were you expecting anyone?"

Feeling slightly breathless, she shook her head.

"Okay, I'll get rid of whoever it is, and then we'll…" Nick trailed off. Was it going to be awkward now?

"Yeah, yeah, get the door," she ushered him out, setting the timer for the pizza.

Nick groaned inwardly as he approached the door as the person kept banging on it. When he pulled it open, he didn't expect to see his mother with a bundled-up woman taking shelter under a coat from the pounding rain. "Mom?"

"Shut the door," Kelly Burkhardt said, ushering the other woman inside. "I need your help. There's a lot I've got to tell you."

Nick sighed and shut the door, "When did you get here?"

Hearing voices, Lena wandered out of the kitchen, "Everything okay?"

Kelly removed her hood and gave Lena a smile, "Lena, it's good to finally meet you."

"You are?" Lena prompted.

"This is my mom," Nick told her, standing next to her.

Lena gaped at the woman with severe features and spiral curly hair around her chin. "Oh! Kelly!"

Lena was about to formally introduce herself to Kelly when the bundled woman took over the coat blocking her head and revealed herself to be none other than Adalind cradling an infant girl in her arms. When she saw Nick, her eyes widened as she sharply gasped, "Oh, God!"

Nick glared instantly at the blonde woman, but Kelly was rushing to reassure her, "No, no, you're safe here. This is my son, Nick. He'll help protect you."

"Protect me?" Adalind cried out. "He won't protect me, he'll kill me."

"No, no!" Kelly insisted.

"Why did you bring her here?" Nick demanded to know.

"Oh my God! And you're his mother?" Adalind turned on Kelly.

Kelly frowned at her son, "You know her?"

"She's the one who put Juliette in the coma. Tried to kill Hank. Adalind," he filled in.

Kelly gaped at Adalind, "She's that hexenbiest?"

"This is Adalind?" Lena questioned. "The evil hexenbeist that made me scared that I could possibly be half-hexenbiest?"

Kelly frowned in confusion, "Hexenbiest? You thought… no, dear, you're an elemental witch."

"Why did you bring her here?" Nick repeated before Lena could ask what an elemental witch was.

"I'm not staying here," Adalind spoke over him.

"No, no, no, you're not going anywhere," Kelly blocked her when she tried to leave.

"No, she can't stay! No way!" Nick exclaimed.

"No, you don't understand," Kelly told him. "I was recruited by the Resistance to get her to safety."

"Safety, why?" Lena numbly asked.

"I didn't know who she was, only that she and the baby had to be protected at all cost."

"What is so valuable about her?" Nick asked.

"Her child," Kelly revealed softly. "The Verrat were waiting for them outside of Zurich. The Royals want this child."

"If I stay here, he'll kill me," Adalind spoke in fear.

Nick glared at her, "As if I don't have a good reason. You poisoned Juliette. You tried to kill my Aunt Marie."

Kelly turned on Adalind, "You tried to kill my sister?"

"If she needs to be protected, it is not gonna happen here," Nick decided.

"What are you gonna do, Nick?" Adalind asked him sarcastically. "Are you gonna kill me? And my baby, huh? Is that what you're gonna do?"

The house suddenly started to rumble, as if an earthquake shook the foundation. They could hear glass breaking as a picture frame got knocked over.

"What was that?" Lena asked as Nick reached out to steady her.

"That was the baby," Kelly said knowingly.

Adalind grimaced as her daughter started crying. "She's hungry. I haven't had a chance to feed her."

Lena took her in and decided to act. "That blanket is soaking and she's too cold. We need to get her warmed up. Follow me." She started for the stairs but Adalind hesitated. "Adalind, come with me now. We need to take care of your daughter."

Slowly, Adalind followed after her.

"Lena, you can't trust her," Nick warned.

"It's not about trusting her, Nick. It's about what's best for the baby," Lena told him. "This is my job."

Lena led her to the guest room and took the baby girl from Adalind, taking her into the bathroom to strip off the wet blankets and clothes and check her over. She had to make sure the baby was healthy.

"What did you mean?" Adalind weakly called from the room. "By 'this is your job.'"

"I'm a midwife," Lena said as she got out her medical bag. "That includes prenatal and post-natal." She quickly scooped the baby up after checking her over and walked back into the room, "She's warm now. And she seems pretty healthy. Grab that blanket on the chair and put it on the bed." Adalind nervously did as told and Lena laid the baby down to start swaddling her. "How old is she?"

Adalind frowned uncertainly. "I think it's been about ten days."

"That seems about right for her size. What's her name?" Lena asked. She looked back at Adalind's silence and saw the woman frowning. "You haven't named her yet?"

Adalind sounded tearful as she responded, "There were too many people trying to kill us. I just haven't had the chance to think about it."

"Okay. You're exhausted," Lena said, beginning to put the baby in her mother's arms and guiding her to hold her correctly. "Here, hold her like that. And lay down and rest."

"What about Nick? He wants me dead," Adalind asked.

"Whether or not he wants you dead is irrelevant now," Lena said. "There's a baby involved; we all have to think about her safety."

"Why are you helping me?" Adalind asked her in a small voice.

Lena softly stroked the baby girl's soft cheek with a strained smile. "I took an oath. Outside of that, I believe in second chances. Regardless of if you prove trustworthy or not, I've heard a bit about the Royals and know enough to know we can't let them get their hands on your baby. Get some rest, feed your daughter. Call out for me if you need me. My name is Lena."

"Adalind," the hexenbeist introduced herself softly. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me until you're both safe," Lena said as her parting words.

On her way downstairs, she heard Kelly saying, "Well, she must have gotten 'em back."

"Are you kidding me? They can do that?" Nick was asking.

"Yes."

"Who can do what?" she questioned as she joined them in the dining room.

"A hexenbiest who has lost its powers can regain them. Now it makes sense," Kelly breathed.

"Really?" Nick scoffed.

"It's why her baby is so special," Kelly explained. "Nick took Adalind's powers, but while she was pregnant, she must have gone through Contaminatio Ritualis."

"Contaminatio Ritualis?" Lena pronounced slowly.

"For what it's worth, it's supposed to be a long and painful experience that restored her powers," Kelly told them.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Nick sighed.

"Listen to me, both of you," Kelly beseeched them. "This child has an extraordinary destiny. In the wrong hands, it could do great evil. But in the right hands, it could do great good."

"So, Adalind's daughter is like the wesen world's John Connor or something?" Lena asked.

Kelly pursed her lips in thought and then nodded, "More or less. I know how it sounds, but personalities appear in the world who people follow. There's no rational explanation why."

"Unless you believe in Fate," Lena surmised.

Nick gave her a look, "What, you do?"

Lena looked at him, "Do you really believe all that's happened since my move is a coincidence? Coming here, meeting you guys, learning about wesen right before I finally woge for the first time? And now this? Adalind who fled Portland, gets rescued from danger by your mother of all people, and they're forced to come here for safety? It has to be connected."

"I don't care how this is connected. If Adalind has her powers back, she's not gonna be doing that kid any good, so as far as I'm concerned, the sooner we get her and her destiny to the Resistance, the better," Nick determined.

"Nick, that's not gonna work either," Kelly said.

"Mom, you've been doing this whole thing for the Resistance," Nick exclaimed.

"The child can't belong to the Resistance or the Royals. She has to have a normal childhood, in as much as that's possible," Kelly insisted. "How she is raised will make all the difference in who she becomes. That means Adalind and the baby stay here..."

"No," Nick protested.

"…until I can figure out what to do with them."

"I have to agree with her," Lena sided with Kelly reluctantly. "If she's raised with this destiny hanging over her head, there's no telling what she'll do with it."

They were cut off by a loud crashing sound. Lena didn't bother asking what it was because it came from upstairs. She rushed up the stairs with Kelly and Nick on her heals and ran into the guest room to see the little baby girl squirming alone on the bed.

"She's gone," Nick said as he and his mother checked the open window.

"She left her baby? What is wrong with her?" Lena stewed in anger as she scooped up the baby and cuddled her to her chest. But a second later, she realized she was really cradling a throw pillow. "Um, Nick?"

Nick looked over to see the baby had turned into a pillow. "Well, I didn't see that coming."

"I told you that baby was powerful. We have to get them back," Kelly said.

"Where would she go?" Nick asked.

Kelly's face dropped, "The truck."

"Go! Go find her!" Lena ushered them out of the house quickly.

Lena waited around for hours until Nick called her, saying the Verat had found Adalind at Sean's apartment building and attacked. They got out okay, but one of the Verat was an FBI Agent. They were taking Adalind and the baby to Monroe and Rosalee's and Nick asked Lena to meet them there. She was already on her way to the car when they hung up.

"Monroe, Rosalee?" she said as she knocked at their door when she arrived.

"Hey," Monroe said as he let her in. "Are you up to speed with what the hell is going on?"

"Barely," she admitted. "All I know for sure is that there's an innocent baby involved."

"Does Adalind trust you?" Rosalee asked.

"More than Nick and Kelly, for sure," Lena said wryly. "Also, don't know why I'm even still thinking of this with everything going on, but Kelly said my mom was something called an elemental witch… Do you guys know what that is?"

"Well, I've heard of them," Rosalee said slowly. "But they're not wesen so I don't know much other than part of their powers are tied within one of the elements. Fire, water, earth, air…"

"Dandy," Lena sighed as there was a knock at the door.

Monroe went to get it, seeing Nick with a group of people behind him.

"Hey. I really appreciate you doing this."

"Me too," Sean said as he entered, and the door closed.

"Lena," Adalind sighed in relief and immediately went to the midwife's side.

The others were admittedly confused at the hexenbeist trust of Lena, but they were also relieved.

"Well, you remember my mother?" Nick awkwardly carried on.

"Of course. Hi," Rosalee tried to greet the woman warmly.

Kelly just stared and then walked off into the house.

"And, Adalind, this is Monroe and Rosalee," Nick gestured to his friends.

Rosalee peered at the baby in Adalind's arms. "Wow. She's beautiful." She then gestured for Adalind to follow her, "Come on in. Let's get you settled." And only with Lena accompanying her, did she follow.

Rosalee showed Adalind their comfortable couch and had her sit down and relax. Adalind pleaded for Lena to take a look at her daughter and make sure she was okay. Lena took the baby and set her on the coffee table to check her over.

"I also brought a few things you might need," Lena said, gesturing to the bag she'd brought. "It's not much. I only have equipment for babies immediately after birth. But a thermometer is always useful."

"Thank you so much," Adalind breathed as she had her daughter back in her arms. "Everything has been so crazy…"

"Why don't I make some tea?" Rosalee offered, she and Monroe going off into the kitchen.

"Do you think everything will turn out okay?" Adalind asked Lena softly.

Lena slowly shrugged, "I can't say. I grew up ignorant of this whole world, in danger without realizing it. And I'm just now getting to come to grips with what it all means. I can't say that your daughter's life will be easy, or if she'll ever be safe. But you're her mother, and I know you know what kind of sacrifice comes with having children and loving them unconditionally now that you are."

Adalind slowly nodded and stared at her daughter. Kelly wandered into the living room and stood in front of them. She looked like she walked in with a purpose but lost it as she stared at the child holding onto her necklace. Adalind looked up, "Do you want your necklace back?"

"Uh, no," Kelly said, like she'd been pulled out of deep thought. "No, no. Let her keep it."

The others walked into the room as Nick announced, "We're leaving."

Adalind frowned as Lena stood to join them and asked, "All of you?"

"Yeah," Sean said, crouching in front of her. "It's better if you stay with them alone. There's no other way."

Lena felt uneasy as she had driven back to Nick's house. She didn't know where Sean was going. But she knew Nick and Kelly were behind her in his car and Nick was calling Hank to meet them so they could try to come up with a plan. The whole time, she had a tiny ball of dread in her stomach.

When Hank finally got there, they quickly brought him up to speed, but he was befuddled at how much had happened in such a short time.

"She has a baby? You're kidding me," Hank said.

"Nope," Nick shook his head.

"When did this happen? I mean, when did she give birth?" Hank babbled. "I mean, how old is the baby?"

"It's not yours," Lena chuckled, having been briefed with that drama when Adalind tried to kill Hank to get to Nick.

"Thank God," Hank said with relief. He cringed at his wording, "I mean—thank God. That's not a woman you wanna have a baby with. Who's the idiot father?"

"The captain," Nick smirked.

"Popular, this Adalind," Kelly commented.

"That's one way to look at it," Nick quipped. "Three hundjagers tried to kill the captain and Adalind tonight to get the baby. One of them's an FBI agent working for the royals. We don't have a lot of time."

"Okay. Okay, what do you need me to do?"

They put their heads together and finalized a plan they had already started forming with Sean. Lena didn't like it one bit, but she knew they didn't have a lot of options. They were going to make a show of surrendering the baby to Victor – the Royal – for Adalind's benefit. Then pose as the Resistance and steal the baby from Victor. Kelly would then take the baby and go on the run, raise her, keep her safe.

The bulk of the plan would be put in place the next day. So, they all went to bed. Kelly said she'd go back to Monroe and Rosalee's to guard Adalind and the child. Hank took the couch. Nick and Lena awkwardly went upstairs.

They hovered at the top, neither making the move to go to their separate rooms. Nick didn't look at Lena as he asked, "Should we talk about… what happened? Before my mother and Adalind showed up?"

"Do you want to?" Lena asked him. "Now?"

"Better than never," Nick said, turning to her. "How do you feel about it?"

"Honestly," Lena let out a sigh, "I thought I'd feel like I was betraying Kevin. And I feel guilty… because I didn't feel that way. I wanted it to happen. And I liked it."

Nick couldn't help but smile, more than relieved to hear her say that. "I wouldn't dream of replacing him…"

"I know," she assured him. "Nick, I don't regret what we did, and I would like to talk and figure out what it really means for us. But right this second, all I can really think about is Adalind and the baby and what your mom said about me being a witch. Can we just, wait until this is over and we have time to just sit down?"

"Yeah, of course," Nick said. "And about what my mom said – elemental witch. I've heard that term before."

"You have?" Lena frowned.

"Yeah, I think my cousin, Jessie has a friend who is one," he said. "When this is over, I'll call her. See if she can get you in touch with her friend and you can get some answers."

"Really?" Lena asked, thinking it sounded too easy.

"Yeah," Nick said. "We're going to figure this out for you Lena. Whatever it takes."

Without thinking, Lena leaned up on her toes and kissed him soundly. Nick was startled by it too, but softly kissed her back, cupping her face. This kiss was allowed to slow down and end on its own, and Lena quietly said, "Goodnight, Nick."

"Goodnight, Lena," he said just as quietly as she went into her room.

The next day, Nick and Lena shared a heavy look as he left for the station with Hank. She didn't even have any appointments to keep her occupied as she waited to hear if the plan worked. She had moved nervously from one room to the next all day until nightfall came and she finally got the call from Nick. It worked. Kelly was already on the road with baby Diana – what Adalind had finally settled on naming her – and he was on his way home.

She had hugged him tightly when he made it through the door to reassure herself that he was okay. They eventually slumped onto the couch with cold pizza from the night before and beers. "Do you have any idea where they are?"

Nick shook his head, "You know my mom enough by now to know they could be anywhere."

"What do you think she's gonna do?" Lena asked him next.

"Probably what my aunt Marie did with me. Move around a lot," Nick took a drink of his beer.

"It'll be different for her," Lena assured him, and herself. "I just can't imagine how Adalind must be freaking out right now."

As if she made it happen, there was a knocking at the door. Nick immediately got up to get it but paused when he saw who it was through the window at the top of the door. He looked back at Lena, "It's Adalind."

Lena gaped, standing, "What?"

Nick turned back to open the door, seeing a meek looking Adalind standing there. "I need your help. Can I come in?" He quickly ushered her in and she looked more and more wired up as she entered. "Sean gave her away."

"What are you talking about?" Nick feigned confusion well enough.

"He gave my baby to Viktor. I need you to help me get her back," Adalind sounded close to sobs.

"Adalind, come sit," Lena tried to usher the woman to the couch.

But Adalind shook her off, "No, no, no, no. I can't stay. I have to find my baby." She beseeched Nick, "Nick, you got to get your mom out of jail. I know... I don't care if she killed my mom. That was all my fault anyway. I just really need my baby back."

"They released her a couple of hours ago," Nick said lowly.

"What?" Adalind gaped.

"They didn't have enough evidence to hold her."

Adalind got excited, looking around the house, "Is she here? I-I have to talk to her."

"Adalind, she's gone," Lena stopped her from checking the whole house.

Adalind gasped, "What? No. When?"

"Right after they let her go," Nick told her. "She didn't want to stick around, considering what had happened."

"Okay, well, then you have to get her back. She'll help me," Adalind begged.

"Adalind, there's one thing you have to understand about my mom. When she leaves, she's gone," Nick explained.

"Then you have to find her," Adalind said.

"She doesn't tell anybody where she goes," Nick sighed.

"Then you have to help me!" Adalind cried.

Lena frowned, "Adalind, if the Royals really have her, they're not in Portland anymore."

Adalind snarled at her, woging into her vicious hexenbeist form, voice gravelly, "I'm not giving up my baby."

"I'm saying that there's nothing we can do up against the entire Royal family," Lena told her, barely flinching at the hexenbiest's woge.

"Well, I'm not doing nothing," Adalind snarled again, woging back and storming out of the house.

Lena had tears in her eyes as she whispered, "I don't feel good about this."

"We had no choice," Nick told her as they sat back down on the couch.

"We took a child away from her mother," Lena let out a shaky breath. "And with her track record in the past, how far will she go to get her baby back? With her powers back and all? There's no telling what she'll do and how that will get back to us."

"The important thing is that the baby is safe with my mom," Nick said. He tentatively reached for her hand and held it.

Lena stared at their intertwined fingers, asking wryly, "Is this your subtle way of reminding me that we still need to talk?"

"Just easing into it," Nick said, leaning back against the couch.

"Wouldn't it be weird for you?" she asked, looking over at him. "Being a Grimm, and being with a wesen? Not even a normal wesen, but a wesen-witch hybrid."

"Every couple has their obstacles," Nick told her. "We don't have to think about that right now. We can take things slow."

"Slow…" Lena nodded slowly. "I can get on board with slow. But we probably already failed at that. We started living together the night we first met."

Nick chuckled at her words, "Right, but we were friends first."

"True," Lena admitted. "Are you sure you're ready for something like this?"

Nick knew she meant, was he ready to move on after Juliette left him and broke his heart. And truly, he was. He would never see Juliette again. And even if she had stayed at first, accepted it all at first, there's no telling whether their relationship would corrode eventually because of his world. There was no protecting Lena from that, she was already ingrained in it. And he just found himself drawn into her. In helping her heal. Helping her learn about this new world. Protecting her. Even opening up to her. He was ready.

So, he nodded, certain. "Yes, I am. Are you?"

Lena sighed slowly, "I'll never stop loving Kevin…"

"I would never expect that," Nick immediately assured her.

"But I also can't guard myself from potential happiness in a new beginning because I'm living in the past," Lena continued. "So, yes, I'm ready."

Nick grinned, squeezing her hand, "Then, would you like to have dinner with me? In a restaurant…"

Lena smiled and squeezed his hand back, "I'd love to."