CHAPTER SIXTEEN

OCTOPUS HEAD

Lena slept in a little later than usual that morning but dragged herself out of bed. She was glad she didn't have any appointments. She was just on call for emergencies. Also, given how late they'd been up, she convinced Jessie and Scott to wait another day before driving back to Beacon Hills, so they were fresh enough for the drive. She jogged down the now-clean stairs into the kitchen to see Nick on his phone talking seriously.

"How many bodies?—Any witnesses?—Okay, I can be there in 15 minutes. Okay." He hung up and looked over at her. "Hey, did you get any more sleep last night?"

"Not much," she said honestly. "Got a case?"

"Looks like a home invasion, one fatality, one person in the hospital," he told her.

"Be careful," she said. "Did you get something to eat?"

"Toast," he said, taking a gulp of his coffee and dumping the mug in the sink. "I'll be fine." He made his way out of the house, stopping to greet a waking Scott and Jessie on his way.

Trubel skipped her way down the stairs a few minutes later, all dressed. "Morning," Lena said.

"Morning. You okay?" Trubel asked.

"For the most part," Lena said, pouring herself a bowl of cereal. "How about you?"

"Same. Hey, can I borrow your bike today?" Trubel asked.

Lena nodded. "Of course, no need to ask. Just be careful."

"I will."

A rapid beeping from Lena's hip sounded as Jessie and Scott came into the kitchen from the living room and said good morning. Lena answered with a, "Good morning," for them as she checked her pager and pulled out her phone. "I've got to check on a patient. Will you guys be okay entertaining yourselves for a bit since I made you stay an extra day?"

With a grin, Jessie nodded. "Of course. I'm thinking of taking Scott to the trailer to show him some more Grimm and wesen stuff. I don't have nearly as much as Marie hoarded over the years."

"Did Nick tell you where it is?" Lena asked as she got her bag and kit ready to go.

"Yeah, and we can find the rest by scent if we need to," Scott said.

"Then I'll see you guys later," Lena said, rushing out the door to Dana's home. When she got there, Sam was sweating and anxious. She could only imagine how he must be feeling since his mother's attempt on the baby not too long ago. He let her in, and she saw Dana on the couch, eating a cookie with a sheepish expression on her face.

"I feel like the pregnant lady who cried wolf," Dana said as she cradled her belly. "I thought I was having contractions. They woke me up this morning. So, Sam paged you. But when I came downstairs, they stopped."

"No new contractions since you paged me?" Lena asked, sitting beside Dana, and grabbing her wrist to take her pulse. "Are they painful or more just uncomfortable?"

"No new ones, they felt like mild cramps," Dana explained.

"Sam, go get Dana a big glass of water, please," Lena said.

Sam nodded and rushed off.

"He was worried the baby was coming too early," Dana said fondly.

"You've got a few more weeks to go, hun," Lena assured them as Sam returned with the glass. "Drink up. These sound just like Braxton Hicks contractions."

"Those are the false contractions, aren't they?" Sam asked.

Lena nodded. "Basically, the rehearsal. Sometimes linked to dehydration so drink plenty of water as well as your regular medical and dietary routine. They're not as big or as regular as actually contractions, and they can go away when you drink, eat, change position, that kind of stuff. Getting out of bed and coming downstairs probably did the trick for today."

"So, how do we tell the difference later?" Sam asked, worrying.

"Everything I just told you," Lena said. "The next time you start feeling contractions, start timing them, tracking them. When they become regular and closer together, then you know it's real. I told you the rule – 5-1-1. Then we know it's go time."

"Thank you," Dana said, taking Lena's hand. "We don't know what we would have done if you didn't do house calls."

"I live for the unorthodox," Lena joked.

After checking out a crime scene that resulted in a dead woman and man with severe head trauma and no memory, Nick and Hank knew they had to check out the trailer. This was a wesen issue. They were confused when they saw a dark green bike outside.

"That's Lena's bike," Nick said, going for the door. But it opened before he could reach it and revealed a grinning Jessie with glowing cobalt eyes.

Hank's eyes widened. "Haven't seen those in a while."

Jessie smiled as her eyes returned to their natural color. "Was expecting you guys earlier. On a case?"

"How'd you know?" Hank asked as the cops stepped inside to see Trubel and Scott sitting, surrounding by books. Scott was also studying some of the medieval weapons with an anxious expression.

Trubel looked at them and then Jessie. "You were right, it was them. I wasn't sure."

"She wanted to great you with a broad sword," Jessie said teasingly.

"You rode all the way out here?" Nick asked Trubel.

"She rode, we ran," Scott said. "Beat her here too."

"I wanted to show Scott some of this stuff since it's not in my bestiary," Jessie said. "Anyway, your case?"

"How'd you know we had a wesen-related case?" Hank asked.

"My special feelings," Jessie shrugged. "I guess you guys never really got to see those in action."

"What are we looking for?" Trubel asked eagerly.

"Some Wesen that probes the back of your head and you can't remember anything," Nick said with a grimace.

"That's different," Scott commented.

The five of them poured over the many tomes in the trailer. It was Trubel who found the right wesen. "Hey, check this one out."

Scott tried to read the name correctly. "The Gedak—"

"The Gedachtnis Esser," Jessie corrected. "Looks like an octopus wesen. That is new."

"And it looks like some kind of memory eater," Trubel said.

"That would explain the condition of our victim," Nick said.

Trubel began to read the description. "It is not known how this Wesen removes the memories of its victims, only that it can. I surmise it has something to do with the electrical charges in the brain. After an attack, the victims are usually diagnosed with advanced dementia. From interviewing some of these unfortunate souls, I can see why. This is one of the most heinous Wesen I have ever encountered. They rob the victims of their very lives by stealing their past and leaving them void of any human connection, devastating to their loved ones, and leaving the victim unable to identify the attack or the attacker. Justice within the confines of the law is, therefore, impossible."

Nick's cell phone rang as she finished.

"Burkhardt—when?—Okay, got it." He hung up and turned to his partner. "They just picked up a suspect driving the victim's car."

"It's got to be the Gedachtnis Wesen, right?" Trubel asked, eager to be involved.

"Might as well all check it out," Jessie said, tugging on Scott's hand as they exited the trailer.

Trubel, Jessie, and Scott hung out outside the precinct while Nick and Hank interviewed the guy. It had been about half an hour when Jessie's cell phone rang, and it was Nick.

"Hey, is it him?" she answered her phone.

"Couldn't tell, he didn't woge or anything, but he seemed off, too calm and controlled," Nick said. "I need you guys to shake him up and see if he woges."

"We got a plan for that," Jessie said, signaling to Trubel.

As Trubel put on sunglasses and a hoodie and started towards the sidewalk from the bench, Jessie heard Nick asking, "Do I even wanna know?"

"Probably not," Jessie said. She and Scott watched as the guy walked out of the building and across the street to the sidewalk. Trubel, disguised, grabbed for his bag and he struggled with her. Jessie saw as he contorted his head back and it changed, growing bulbous and dark coral in color, growing four tentacles that slithered around his jaw and shoulders.

"Ew, gross," Jessie said. Scott was confused, as he couldn't see it. She spoke into her phone, "It's him. Trubel's on it."

Lena stopped by the house briefly between leaving Dana and Sam and going into the clinic for a few more appointments with new patients. She changed into more appropriate work wear for the clinic and decided to check her emails. After seeing nothing urgent in her inbox, she went to her Drafts folder and saw something new from Nick's mom, Kelly.

When Kelly had been in Portland and had more than two seconds to talk to Lena, they came up with an alternate system of communicating. Based on some of Lena's less legal experience during her time on the streets.

Lena created a new, innocuous, email account, that she shared the name and password information with Kelly. Instead of sending emails to different addresses with time stamps and location stamps, they'd write a message, but not send it, and save it to Drafts. Then the other party would log in from wherever they were, and read the Draft, and draft their own response.

That way the location or IP address was never traceable. Kelly still communicated with as little information in the message as possible and requested that Lena delete any message in the folder after fifteen days, no matter if it got a response or not.

So far, the system was working. And there was a new message in the Draft folder for Lena to read now.

Oracle sent me to friends of J. they're safer for D. Tell no one. Delete this immediately after reading. Let all continue to believe D is with me.

Tell N I love him. Be safe.

-M

Lena read the message a few times, memorized it, and then deleted it from her Drafts. She really hoped Kelly knew what she was doing with Diana. That poor baby girl deserved a good and safe childhood.

Jessie and Scott tagged along with Nick and Hank as they waited to hear from Trubel.

"I wish you didn't let her go off and follow our murder suspect," Nick said.

Jessie shrugged. "You have to trust her and just watch her back. She's a grimm too, you know."

"I know. But she's still new," Nick said.

"Same could be said for you or me," Jessie pointed out. "When do we stop being new?"

"When you cut off a wesen's head with a machete…" Scott mumbled.

Nick's phone rang, and seeing it was Trubel, he put it on speaker. "Go ahead, Trubel."

"Octopus head is checking into the Multnomah hotel," she said in a hushed tone.

"We're on our way."

They drove out to the hotel and met Trubel across the street.

"Okay, he checked into room 402."

"How'd you find that out?" Hank asked, earning incredulous looks from Trubel – and Jessie.

"You're kidding, right?"

"We know he's the guy we're after, but now we're going to need some background on him to see how he connects with the victims," Nick said. "All we got is he can steal peoples' memories."

"And their cars," Hank added.

"Why don't we just go in there and take him down right now?" Trubel asked.

"'Cause we don't have any evidence or motive that ties him to the crime," Nick said.

"Yeah, I wasn't talking about arresting him," Trubel mumbled.

"We have to do things legally first," Jessie said with a wry smile.

"Especially when there's badges involved," Scott said.

Nick nodded and turned to Trubel again. "Just keep an eye on him. Let us know if he moves, and nothing more."

Trubel nodded. "All right. Hey, you got any money for lunch?"

With exasperation, Hank pulled out a bill and handed it to her. "Make it last."

"Thank you," she said, grabbing it and jogging back across the street.

"Hey, I need a receipt," he called after her.

"All right!"

Nick watched her go with worry and Jessie took his hand to comfort him. "She's tough. You gotta trust her."

"She'll be fine. Let's go," Hank reiterated, and they all got in the car.

While Nick and Hank went to use their cop resources to check out the suspect's information, Jessie and Scott walked around the grass outside, hand in hand.

"Wedding yesterday, wesen hunting today," Scott said with humor. "Was it this exciting when you were here before?"

"I guess so," Jessie murmured. "It's all a bit fuzzy for me sometimes – to think about what happened when I wasn't really myself. But I remember the important bits. Dealing with naiads, lowens… Hilda."

Scott felt her grip on his hand tighten at the reminder of Hilda. The hexenbeist who'd killed and then transformed Alex, who then came to Beacon Hills for Jessie. "You took care of her. She can't hurt anyone without her powers."

When Hilda had come for Jessie, she'd used her grimm blood to strip the ugly hexenbeist of her powers. Like Nick had once done to Adalind.

"I know. We're still dealing with her aftermath though," Jessie said. "Alex isn't really Alex anymore. He's not the same. And because he wasn't born a parahuman, and not traditionally turned, we really have no idea what she did to make him a sauberbiest or what other consequences or side effects there could be."

"Well, that's not the only thing we have to worry about," Scott said.

"Yeah, you've got an official beta now," Jessie said. When being attacked by assassins, Scott had been forced to bite a sophomore named Liam in order to save his life. So now, they had a new temperamental werewolf to train and watch over. "But you're a good mentor, you're good at teaching him. And he's got Beth too." Liam and Jessie's little sister, Beth, had been dating for a while now.

"Yeah, she keeps him grounded somehow," Scott admitted.

Their conversation stalled when Jessie abruptly stopped walking and peered at the front of the precinct, seeing the FBA woman from earlier.

"Hold that thought," Jessie told Scott, letting go of his hand to start marching towards the building, towards the Agent. On the way, with grace and without looking, she grabbed a to-go coffee cup from someone else's hand and crossed the street just ahead of where Chavez was walking and pulled out her phone to pretend she was distracted and texting. She 'accidentally' bumped into Chavez and spilled the coffee all down the front of her pantsuit.

Scott laughed as his girlfriend pretended to be apologetic and offer to pay for dry cleaning. Chavez gave her a frustrated expression and stormed off back towards her car on the street. Jessie shrugged and walked back towards him, handing some cash to the person whose coffee she stole.

"What was that about?" Scott asked with a chuckle as she rejoined him.

She shrugged again with a perturbed smile. "I don't know. Just had a feeling it was necessary to stop her going in and talking to Nick. Besides – he has enough to deal with."

"Did she recognize you?" he asked.

"Yeah, asked what I was doing there, but since my cousin works there, I just claimed I was bringing him a decent cup of coffee that's now staining her outfit," she explained.

Like clockwork, Nick and Hank bustled out of the precinct and waved them over. They piled into the car and Nick's phone vibrated. He answered, "Nick.—Where are you?"

Both Jessie and Scott could hear Trubel on the other side.

"I'm still following him. He's going after someone else."

"How do you know?" Nick asked.

"'Cause I heard him making a phone call. He said he was gonna tell somebody about an accident and a murder."

Nick's jaw clenched. "Trubel, listen. We don't know who this guy is. I do not want you getting close to him."

There was a pause on her side and then she was cursing, "Damn it. I lost him."

"Tell me exactly where you are," Nick insisted.

"65th and Alameda."

"Stay put. We're on our way," he said, hanging up and telling his partner where to go. They raced there, pulling onto the corner and getting out of the car to look around. But they couldn't see her anywhere. "This is where Trubel said she'd be. Where the hell is she?"

"This is why I don't have kids," Hank muttered.

Jessie playfully smacked his arm, earning a brief grin before all turned serious again as Nick tried calling Trubel.

"She's not answering. Maybe she's still following him," he said.

"What if he made her?" Hank suggested.

Scott was on the corner trying to see if he could pick up a scent. Jessie was also trying to see if she could catch a feeling.

"I can't keep dragging her into things like this. She's gonna get hurt," Nick berated himself.

"All right, slow down. We go back to the hotel, see if we can find something in his room," Hank suggested.

"Wait," Jessie said, stopping them from getting back in the car. "Follow me."

Jessie took off down the street, and while they were confused, the boys followed. They came up on a corner house and Jessie raised her foot to kick the front door in.

Nick and Hank shared a look and just went with it. They'd chastise her later. They brandished their weapons and announced, "Police!"

Jessie and Scott rushed in to see the suspect man leaning over a barely conscious and tied up Trubel.

"Now, why would somebody like you be following me? No matter. I'll find out."

Jessie thrust her hands out and a blue light slammed the guy back into the wall, knocking him out cold.

Nick put his gun away and checked on Trubel, waking her up and undoing the tape around her wrists. "We told you to stay put. Do you realize what he could have done to you had Jessie not been able to find you?"

"Sorry," she mumbled, still disoriented.

Hank had gone into the other room when he noticed another bound and out man on the floor. They rushed Nick, Jessie, and Scott out to the car while they took in the scene and made their arrest. Trubel was ordered home but Jessie and Scott tagged along back to the precinct with Nick and Hank. They were too curious to know who this octopus guy was.

"Timothy Croftin Perkal," Hank announced when he ran the prints and found a match, "Canadian, wanted in Canada, U.S., and Great Britain for espionage."

"So we caught ourselves a spy," Nick mused.

"Cool," Scott said, earning looks of amusement from the others.

"What were you thinking!?" Lena chastised Trubel as she put an icepack on the bump on her head. "You're not an officer, you're untrained, and you were alone. What if Jessie with her freaky vampire six sense wasn't there to find you before that guy started sucking out your memory? You could be a vegetable!"

"I know, I know!" Trubel complained, face turning pink in shame. "I'm sorry."

"You're lucky," Lena emphasized. "But luck runs out. You can run around half-cocked into dangerous situations all the time. I know you talked to Nick about going off on your own, well, missy, that ain't gonna happen until you prove that you can actually handle yourself."

"I can!" Trubel said. "I got caught off guard."

"It's not called getting caught off guard when it becomes a pattern," Lena said. "Or did you forget about the Lebensauger shoplifting ring?"

"I'm sorry – how many times can I say it?" Trubel snapped.

But Lena didn't let her attitude get in the way of her scolding. "Until I'm convinced you actually realize the danger you put yourself in time and time again. You need to realize that you have a group of people who care that you're safe and happy. And that you can't rely on instinct all the time. You need actual training. So – that starts once we see Jessie and Scott off tomorrow."

Trubel turned to Lena with shock. She hadn't expected the turn the scolding had taken. "What?"

"I didn't just rely on my back-alley upbringing to get me through dangerous situations earlier," Lena said with a sarcastic expression. "I took self-defense classes and stuff. So I'm gonna start walking you through some of the stuff I've picked up. You and Nick should probably start trying to learn how to use the weapons in the trailer too."

Trubel gave the older woman a small grateful smile.

Once the case was over with, Nick and Hank finally got a moment to go see the Captain once they knew he was waking up in the ICU.

"Hey, Captain."

"It's good to see you guys," Sean answered, still sounding a little groggy.

"You too," Hank responded. "You look pretty good for a guy who's been through what you've been through."

"How are you feeling?" Nick asked.

"Better than I was," he said. He peered up at Nick in concern. "Listen, Nick, did you get what I brought to your house for you?"

Nick shook his head. "No, but it doesn't matter. Scott and Jessie got to the house around the same time Adalind did disguised as Lena and chased her off. Hank and I tried to track her down but she's on a plane back to Vienna."

"I should've known what Adalind was up to. She was going to strip you of your Grimm abilities," Sean said, as if angry with himself. "But I'm glad the young lady staying at your house knew how to handle a machete. I owe her."

"Well, I'm just glad you're still here," Nick said, not wanting to dwell on Trubel.

"So am I," a feminine voice sounded from the doorway. Hank and Nick turned to see a sleek blonde woman walking into the room, smiling warmly at the Captain.

"Detectives Burkhardt and Griffin, this is Elizabeth Lascelles, my mother," Sean introduced.

"Oh. Hi," Nick and Hank said, a little gob smacked.

Sean smirked at their surprise. "She's had a little work done."

"Trubel, breakfast!" Lena called up the stairs as Nick and Scott set the table. Jessie was flipping pancakes at the stove while the eggs cooked.

Trubel came down the stairs, excited. "Oh, I know. I smelled it." She grabbed a handful of bacon from the plate set beside the stove. "Bacon, that's all I want."

"Whatever you want, eat it at the table with all of us," Lena said sternly. "We're seeing Jessie and Scott off."

Trubel sheepishly nibbled on her bacon as she took the seat Nick gestured for her to take. Scott asked her concerned, "How do you feel?"

She shrugged. "Well, my head hurts, but I haven't slept that good in a long time."

Lena set out the food with Jessie as they all sat down and ate. Jessie quietly ate her food until Trubel suddenly asked, "Hey, do you drink blood?"

The table was silent for a bit before Jessie finally answered, "Um, sometimes. I need a cup or two every month or so to keep my strength up. I've had to drink a bag when I've gotten really hurt. Kind of like when an injury would call for a blood transfusion. I've never killed anyone or bitten anyone against their will."

Trubel nodded absently. "Just curious."

They chatted amicably over breakfast until they were done. Trubel asked to borrow Lena's bike to go out and then said her goodbyes to Jessie and Scott.

"It was cool to meet a vampire and werewolf," she had said. "Never thought I'd meet a couple made of them."

"It would probably shock a lot of people who didn't know us before we got turned," Scott chuckled. "It was nice to meet you too."

"It's good to see Nick's got more people watching his back," Jessie smiled at both Trubel and Lena. They both smiled back.

Scott and Jessie insisted on helping with clean up before they left and Trubel took off on Lena's bike. Lena and Scott were elbow deep in soapie water while Nick and Jessie dried when there was a knock at the door.

"I got it," Nick said, leaving the kitchen. He opened the door to see Wu standing there, looking a little wary. "Hey. Is it the Captain?"

"No, um..." Wu trailed off.

"What's the problem?" Nick frowned.

"We need to talk," Wu said. Nick stepped aside to let Wu inside. "Thanks." He sighed deeply. "I couldn't sleep last night. I need you to take a look at something." He pulled out a photo and handed it to Nick.

Nick frowned when he saw the surveillance photo of Trubel at a drive through when they were investigating her for the murder of two wesen.

"She's a suspect in a double homicide, and I'm having a bit of a problem with this," Wu said. "You see, she was introduced to me as a criminology student, and I'm pretty sure she's the same young woman who's staying with you. Can you clear this up for me?"

"Look, it's complicated. I..." Nick started, having no idea how to deal with this.

"Nick, who was at the door?" Lena asked as she and the supernatural couple walked out of the kitchen. She smiled a little awkwardly. "Wu, right? I'm Lena, Dana's midwife. We didn't get a chance to meet before with all the craziness."

Wu cleared his throat awkwardly and smiled. "Yeah, nice to see you. Heard you've been taking care of our boy Nick, here."

"I would say it was the other way around." Lena smiled warmly. "I don't know if you've met Jessie and Scott. Jessie is Nick's second cousin and a friend of Monroe and Rosalee's. We were just seeing them off. They're driving back to California this morning. Is there a case or something?"

Wu nervously shook his head, feigning a casual smile. "No, no, nothing like that. You guys are busy. I'll come back later."

Nick awkwardly walked him out.

Scott's phone suddenly vibrated. He took it out to see a text from Stiles demanding to know their ETA. He chuckled at it. "Well, that's our cue to hit the road."

"It was really great to meet you," Jessie said as she hugged Lena.

"You have to visit again," Nick said as he hugged her next.

"It's a deal."

Scott and Jessie got her car packed and ready and waved as they drove off.

"Do you want to tell me why Wu was really here?" Lena asked once Scott and Jessie were on the road.

Nick sighed and retrieved the surveillance photo from the desk. "He wanted to know why we have a murder suspect staying with us, and why Hank and I introduced her as a criminology student at a crime scene."

"And what did you say?" she asked, peering at the photo in worry.

"Luckily, you guys interrupted," Nick said. "What am I supposed to tell him?"

"I think you're gonna have to tell him the truth, Nick," Lena sighed.

He scoffed. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"The same way you did for Hank," Lena shrugged. "I mean, I know you were kind of pushed into it because of the stuff Hank saw. But Wu's seen stuff too, and he's putting pieces together. He was already in an asylum over this stuff. I think it's time."

"I wouldn't even know where to start," Nick admitted. "I mean, with Hank it all just came out. There was no easing him into it. There was just telling him he wasn't crazy, so he didn't shoot a teenaged girl."

"Then ease Wu into it," Lena suggested. "Start small. Assure him that Trubel isn't a criminal, that you are still his friend, and not every wesen is as monstrous as what he saw at Dana's house. The rest will come with time."

"I hope it's as simple as you make it sound," Nick said, kissing her forehead.

"It'll work itself out," Lena told him.

Later that night, Nick sat at the computer while Lena laid out cookie dough on a cookie sheet in the kitchen. She hummed 'Here Comes the Sun' to herself while she set them in the oven. Her phone rang, and she saw a number she didn't recognize. It wasn't the clinic or any of her patients. But maybe someone had gotten a new number. She answered it. "Hello?"

"Is this Karolina?" a gravelly feminine voice asked.

"No, I'm sorry. You've got the wrong number," Lena said, reading to hang up.

"No, I don't," the voice said. "This is Karolina's number. I'm sure it is."

"This is my phone and I'm not Karolina," Lena said, frowning. "I'm hanging up now."

"Don't—"

Lena quickly hung up her phone and put it back in her pocket. Weird…