CHAPTER FOURTEEN

LAWFULLY WEDDED WESEN

First thing in the morning, Lena woke up – careful not to wake Nick. She tossed on yoga pants and a sweater, grabbing an apple on her way through the kitchen. As she walked past the living room, garment bag in hand, she grimaced when she saw Jessie and Scott waking up. "Sorry – didn't mean to wake you up."

Scott answered before Jessie could open her mouth. "She's been awake for hours."

Jessie turned to her boyfriend in shock. "How do you know that!?"

"Werewolf," he told her, as if it was obvious.

Jessie rolled her eyes and smiled at Lena. "Don't worry. I don't need as much sleep since turning. Scott's been an early riser since last year."

"Great," Lena smiled, relieved. "Well, I have to run to Rosalee to get her ready in the dress. Help yourselves to anything in the kitchen. And make sure to be ready on time."

"We will," they called as she walked out of the house.

Rosalee was more than relieved to see her when she arrived, and immediately ushered her upstairs in her and Monroe's room where Gloria and Alice were waiting with the hair and makeup girl.

"Your makeup looks beautiful," Lena complimented her as she hung the dress over the bathroom door.

"Thanks," Rosalee said. "Tanya wants to finish doing my hair before I put on the dress. Will that work?"

"Yeah, you can just step into it," Lena assured her. "It's a modified corset style so we should have to mess with any seams for it to fit you. I had it cleaned before I moved out here too."

"Well?" Alice prompted her, gesturing to the garment bag.

"Let's see this dress Rosie loves so much," Gloria urged.

Rosalee quickly shook her head. "No! Don't! I want them to see it for the first time on me."

Lena chuckled. "Okay, then. Get your hair done and let's get you in this."

"I'm so sorry you have to miss your hair appointment for this," Rosalee apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Lena said. "I can handle getting myself ready later after I do everything else, I need to get done before we head up to the lodge."

"She's been doing so much," Rose told her mom and Alice. "None of this would have been possible without all her help."

"I love weddings," Lena said for what felt like the millionth time, but in a way, she didn't get tired of saying it.

When Rosalee's hair was done and all pinned together, the girls waved the mothers out of the room so Lena could help Rosalee into her dress to make sure it would fit all right. Lena got it out of the garment bag and held it so Rosalee could step into it and slip her arms through the small straps. Lena professionally laced up the back and tied it off beautifully. She gestured for Rosalee to get a look at herself.

"Oh, it's perfect," Rosalee gasped, hands covering her gaping mouth. She turned to Lena, taking her hands. "Are you absolutely sure that you're okay with me wearing it? I mean – I know how special it must be to you."

"Which is why I'm absolutely okay with you wearing it," Lena assured her. "I'm beyond touched that you thought of it because you loved it. And I'm happy to help you feel the way I did on my wedding day. Because there's nothing like it."

"You really loved Kevin," Rosalee observed by the wistful smile on her friend's face.

She nodded instantly. "Still do. Always will. And I miss him too. But that doesn't mean that I'm not happy here with all of you. And with Nick."

Rosalee smiled. "I'm still so glad that you and Nick found each other. Just in time for a wedding too – I hear they're really romantic."

"They really are," Lena squeezed her friend's hand.

When Lena finally let Alice and Gloria in to see, the women had tears in their eyes and gushed about how beautiful it was. Lena had to rush off to get some day-of-wedding errands done with.

"Why do we have to move it now?" Trubel asked as she and Nick drove the trailer to its new hiding spot.

"Too many people seem to know where it is, and we got this new stuff. It seems like a good time to find it a new home. I bought a piece of land. A patient of Lena's is a real-estate agent. So, Lena said we wanted a few acres that were hard to get to and not easy to find. It has no address, and it's not in my name. It's gonna be a lot harder for people to figure out where it is," he explained.

"How many times have you had to move it?" she asked.

"This is the second time for me, but this came all the way from New York with my aunt Marie," he smiled as he remembered her.

"That's who raised you, your aunt Marie?"

He shook his head. "I had my mom and dad until I was 12."

"What happened to them?"

"My dad was killed, and I thought my mom was too until a couple of years ago," he explained.

"Were they grimms?"

"My dad wasn't, and my mom was... is," he corrected himself at the end there.

"You've seen her?" Trubel asked, a bit more shocked at the prospect of his mom coming out of the dead.

"Oh, yeah," Nick chuckled. "She's come to visit a couple of times."

"You're right," Trubel said later as they parked the trailer behind some trees in the middle of the woods. "It is gonna be harder to find. Think it'll be safe here?"

"For a little while." Nick grunted as he unhitched the trailer from his car.

"You know what you were saying about your mom coming back?" Trubel asked. "I don't know how I'd feel if I saw my mom and dad again. Must have been weird."

"Well, a little bit," Nick admitted, remembering his mother crashing into his house in the middle of his fight with the man he'd believed had killed her.

"I don't know if my parents were grimms or not."

"One of them had to be," he said as he opened the back of his car with the trunk inside. "Let's get this trunk inside." They both got grips on the handles. "Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it must not have been easy for him," Trubel later remarked as they unpacked the trunk in the trailer.

"Who?" Nick asked.

"The guy that had all this stuff," she said.

"Rolek?"

"Why do you think he didn't want to be a Grimm?" Trubel asked, frowning as she looked at all the stuff he hoarded but never used.

"Well, he probably wanted a normal life," Nick guessed.

"That's possible?" Trubel looked up from the books she was setting down.

"No," Nick said honestly. "And I guess it caught up to him in the end." He marveled at the long knife he pulled out of the trunk. "Ooh. Haven't seen one of these before."

"Some kind of knife," Trubel remarked.

Nick's thumb hit some kind of trigger and two thinner blades popped out of the main blade. He chuckled, "Impressive."

"If you could choose to be a Grimm or not, what would you do?" Trubel asked after a moment.

"Well, it hasn't made my life any easier. Or yours," he admitted.

Trubel chuckled derisively. "Better being a Grimm than being crazy. I think."

Scott and Jessie weren't out in the living room when Nick and Trubel got back. There was a note saying they'd gone to get a gift bag for their wedding present.

"Want me to order you takeout for tonight?" Nick offered Trubel as he went to the desk drawer where their takeout menus were.

"Oh, you mean so I won't cook?" Trubel asked.

"Is that what you call it?" Nick asked with a joking grin. "I'm kidding. Sort of. All right, we got pizza, Chinese…"

"You know, I appreciate all you've done for me, but I can't keep living off you guys," Trubel said, weary frown on her lips.

"Well, you can for a little while. Just until you know what you need to know," Nick told her.

"Do you know what you need to know?"

Nick chuckled. "I'm working on it. And like I said, I like having another Grimm around." He didn't actually want her to leave.

"At some point, I'm gonna have to..." she struggled to say, "I just can't keep living here. If I get hungry, I will figure it out."

She took the takeout menus and made her way upstairs. Nick followed up to go to his own room, seeing Lena in the bathroom drying her wet hair, fluffy robe adorning her body and steam still coming from the shower. She sighed when she saw him in the fogged-up mirror.

"There you are!" she greeted him. "How far away is this new plot of land you took the trailer to? I thought you were gonna be late."

"It's far enough," he answered. "And you're not ready either."

"Well, I had a million things to do, not one," she pointed out. "And I missed my hair appointment, so I have to make do with some slapdash work to look presentable next to Rosalee who already looks amazing."

"Whatever you look like, you'll look beautiful," Nick told her, walking into the bathroom, and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She blushed and smiled. "You're sweet. But you cannot distract me. You need to get ready. Into the shower with you."

Nick smirked and said, "Yes, ma'am," getting undressed slowly, in front of the mirror, before he walked into the shower to clean up.

Adalind waited in her car until she saw Nick go inside to make her move. Already disguised as Lena, she made her way into the house with her skeleton key. It was now or never. She had seen on one of her earlier break-ins to the house that Lena was at her hair appointment according to the desk calendar.

She paused in the living room, grimacing at the sight of an air mattress on the floor and the coffee table pushed aside. Who else was here?

The door opened and she got her answer in the form of Nick's cousin, Jessie, the half-Grimm, half-vampire, and some tanned boy she'd never seen before.

"Hey, Lena," Jessie greeted, warily eyeing her.

"Hello Jessie," Adalind awkwardly greeted back. "Well, I have to hurry up and get ready."

She tried to go upstairs but was blocked by some glowing blue force field of sorts. She heard growling and turned fearfully to see that the boy's eyes were glowing red and Jessie's eyes were glowing bright cobalt.

"You're not Lena," he growled.

"Who are you?" Jessie demanded.

Eyes wide, Adalind raced for the backdoor and fled, using her abilities to bar the door behind her so whoever that man was couldn't get her. She would do what she needed to do another time. Or tell the Royals that she had. Anything to get her daughter back.

"What the hell?" Scott exclaimed when he couldn't re-open the kitchen door.

"I don't know," Jessie sighed. "But whatever they wanted to do here; they didn't get to. We interrupted."

"How do you know they didn't mess with anything before we got here?" Scott asked.

"My feelings are back now, Scott," she pointed out. "Look, we have to finish getting ready for the wedding. Nothing is going to ruin it. Let's wait until after to tell them about this."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked warily. "Keeping things under our hats has never worked for us before."

"It won't be for more than a day," she shrugged. "There's nothing they could do with the information until after the wedding anyway."

"Okay," Scott sighed. "We'll tell them later."

"Wow, you look so handsome," Lena said as Nick finished getting into his suit. She had curled her hair and gave herself a braided crown with half of her hair and some light make up. "Help me get in my dress?"

"Absolutely," Nick eagerly agreed, helping her get the dress over her head without snagging on her hair. "You look beautiful."

She smiled. "Thank you. We need to be gone in ten minutes. Do you have the ring?"

"Yes," he said, patting his breast pocket.

"And your sunglasses?" she asked again.

Nick cursed, going to the nightstand, and grabbing them. "You're a life saver. I'll meet you downstairs," he said, kissing her cheek and leaving.

"You guys almost ready?" Nick asked as he walked into the living room, seeing Jessie there wearing a nice dark green maxi dress and Scott in a dress pants and a matching button up.

Jessie was sticking a pin in her hair to keep it out of her face. "Yes, we're ready to go."

"And now so am I," Lena said, skipping downstairs with her heels and purse. Nick helped her into her coat at the door and the four of them were off. They drove companionably in Lena's SUV until they made it up to the lodge. As they got out of the car, a very excited Bud ran up to greet them.

"Nick, Lena!" His eyes turned excited to Jessie and Scott too. "And Jessie! And her handsome boyfriend!"

Jessie chuckled. "Nice to see you, Bud. How's the wife and kids?"

"Wonderful handfuls," Bud chuckled. "Is this the most wonderful day or what? Hey, I'll see you all inside." He scurried away to grab his seat.

Nick squeezed Lena's hand as they walked inside. "I've got to meet with the boys."

"I've got to look in on Rosalee too," Lena smiled.

"And we need to grab seats," Jessie said, grabbing Scott's hand and tugging him along for good seats behind Rosalee's mother.

Lena made her way up the stairs to the room Rosalee was getting ready and knocked. "It's Lena!"

"Come in!"

She walked in and marveled at Rosalee. "Aw, you look so beautiful."

"Thank you," Rosalee said. She took a deep breath. "I can't believe the day is finally here."

"Believe it," Lena told her.

Downstairs, in a side room, Monroe was hastily checking his suit in the mirror.

Hank stood behind him, trying to calm him. "It's going to be fine."

Monroe groaned. "No, I know. I know it's gonna be fine. But, you know, you've been through this, like, a million times."

"It wasn't a million times. It just felt like it," Hank muttered.

Bart poked his head into the room. "About time."

"Okay. This is happening,"

Lena waited at the bottom of the stairs with DeEtta for her cue. She saw a nervous Monroe stand up at the altar with the Judge. Nick patted his shoulder and whispered something to him before walking to his spot where he'd meet her to walk with her to the aisle. Hank followed, standing at his spot waiting to walk Rosalee down the aisle.

When the music started, DeEtta walked down the aisle on her own first, giving some people a wink. She may have had a drink before the ceremony.

Then it was Lena and Nick's turn to meet at the end of the aisle and walk off. She tucked her hand into his elbow and smiled as they slowly made their way to the altar.

"Did I tell you that you look beautiful?" Nick asked, his dark sunglasses blocking sight of his eyes.

"Yes, but you can say it again," she smiled, whispering through her teeth.

"You look beautiful," he whispered, grinning. "I'm a lucky guy."

They got up to the altar and separated. She went to stand in front of DeEtta while Nick stood behind Monroe.

The music changed to the wedding march and everyone stood and turned to watch Rosalee walking down the stars to meet Hank, who graciously took her arm and walked her down the aisle. Lena peaked at Monroe's face to see him utterly taken away by the beauty of the woman who would be his wife momentarily.

Rosalee was blushing beautifully as she stepped onto the altar and handed Lena her bouquet of flowers. Lena took it and kissed the air, aiming for her friend.

"Monroe..." Rosalee's voice was soft as she began her vows. "When we first met, I didn't know what to make of you." The couple shared a laugh at their first meeting. "And it wasn't under the best of circumstances. I had just lost my brother and was going through a very difficult time. But once I met you, you just lifted my spirits, and you poured happiness back into my life. And it's only gotten better ever since. I love you."

Nick and Lena shared a look around Rosalee and Monroe.

"I wasn't really a believer in love at first sight until I met you. Although, to be honest, it wasn't really love at first sight so much as it was love at first brick..." Everyone laughed at the beginning of Monroe's vows. "Because if you hadn't hit that guy when you did, I don't think I would be standing here today. It is the life you saved with that brick..."

Lena vaguely frowned when she heard a light vibrating sound and saw Nick turning his phone off.

"…I now give to you heart and soul. Now and forever."

"Do you have the ring?" the Judge asked Nick.

"I do," Nick smiled as he handed Rosalee's ring to Monroe.

Monroe slipped it halfway down her finger as he recited, "I, Monroe, take thee, Rosalee, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward... For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part." He smiled at his bride as he slipped the ring fully on her fingers.

"Do you have the ring?" the Judge asked Lena.

"Of course," Lena whispered through her smile as she handed Monroe's ring off to Rosalee.

"I, Rosalee, take thee, Monroe, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part," she said, almost choked up, as she slipped the ring down his finger.

"Rosalee and Monroe, by the power vested in me by the state of Oregon, I now pronounce you husband and wife," the Judge declared of Mendelssohn's wedding march. "You may kiss the bride!"

Everyone started applauding and cheering as Rosalee and Monroe shared their first married kiss. It was a good thing that Nick was wearing sunglasses, but many people got swept up in the happiness and woged.

"It is with great pleasure that I now present Mr. and Mrs..."

Suddenly, Trubel barged through the doors, yelling for Nick, "Nick! Nick!"

"Oh, God," Lena whispered as the audience – still woged – turned to Trubel and started screaming in terror.

"She's gonna kill us!"

"She's a Grimm! She's a Grimm!"

Some of the ones sitting at the back grabbed for Trubel. She struggled in their grasp and called for Nick. But they grabbed at her arms and a bottle she was holding in her hand got knocked to the ground and shattered. "No!"

Before anyone could react from the altar, Jessie raced, looking like a blur to their eyes, and appeared in front of Trubel with a blue forcefield forcing the attacking wesen off Trubel and blocking the rest from getting to them. Her eyes were glowing bright cobalt as she told them, "It's okay! She's not going to hurt any of you and you're not gonna hurt her, got it? She's a friend, everything's fine! Calm—down—now."

Like a wave of calm washed over them, all the wesen relaxed their defensive and offensive posture and stopped growling. Most of them even woged back to human.

"Get back in your seats," Jessie said next, eyes still glowing.

Haphazardly, everyone sat back down.

"Thank you," Jessie said, grabbing Trubel's hand and taking her down the aisle. The forcefield bubbled around them as she walked them passed the altar and into the room where Monroe got ready.

"What was that?" Monroe asked as he and his wife, Nick, Lena, Scott, and Hank all clambered into the room after them.

"She compelled them," Scott explained.

Jessie let out a heavy sigh as she let the forcefield fall.

"Compelled them?" Trubel asked.

"Vampires can compel people to do things, like a form of mind control," Jessie explained. "I've only done it in high stress situations. Never on that many people or wesen – that was a hail mary in a time of desperation."

"Well, whatever it was, you saved my head," Trubel said.

Jessie's eyes trailed to the blood trailing down her forehead. "Did I? You're hurt."

"Why did you race in here?" Lena asked.

"Adalind did something to Nick," Trubel said, sounding panicked. "Nick had to drink the stuff in the bottle. He said something bad was gonna happen if you didn't."

"Adalind?" Lena questioned.

"He, who?" Nick asked.

"Your Captain. He came to the house after you left, and he said Adalind did something to you. And then he got shot, and I had to kill this other guy," Trubel babbled.

"Shot? The Captain's been shot?" Hank interjected.

"And I don't know who he was. He was just a Hundjager, and he's the one that shot your Captain," she explained.

"What did he say Adalind did?" Nick asked.

"Something bad," Trubel insisted.

"Can Adalind look like someone else?" Scott questioned, sharing a look with Jessie.

"She's a hexenbeist, so yeah," Jessie nodded. She turned to the others. "When Scott and I got back from the store, we saw Lena in the living room."

"But I heard Lena upstairs with Nick," Scott added. "And this woman didn't smell like Lena."

"I smell?" Lena asked.

"Nothing bad," he assured her. "Werewolves have sensitive noses, and everyone has a unique scent."

"He can even smell how you're feeling," Jessie added. "Anyway, we confronted this person because we knew they weren't Lena, blocked her from getting upstairs, and she ran off. We didn't want to say anything and spoil the wedding."

"Wait, does that mean she didn't get to do what she was trying to do?" Monroe asked, hopefully.

"I got the definite feeling that we interrupted her before she could do whatever she was planning," Jessie emphasized.

"So, I'm okay?" Nick questioned.

"Do you feel okay?" Lena asked him, already pulling his wrist to her, and checking his pulse.

"I feel fine," he told her. But she let him do what she was doing to make herself feel better. "Other than the hoard of woged wesen who saw Trubel was a Grimm."

"Yeah, we should probably get Trubel out of here," Hank said. "Especially if the Captain was shot at your house."

"Oh god," Lena stopped short. "That's right."

"I am so sorry," Nick apologized to Monroe and Rosalee.

"Don't worry about it," Rosalee assured him. "Just go ahead before Jessie's compelling trick wears off."

"It shouldn't," Jessie said.

"Still," Monroe insisted, gesturing to the exit.

Hank took Trubel's arm and pulled her outside. Scott and Jessie followed closely behind, and Nick and Lena hugged the newlyweds quickly before walking out.