Sean felt relief run through him as Nick pulled up out the front of their house. He carefully pulled himself out of the car and could still feel the pull across his chest. Nick just watched him with sharp eyes but didn't try to help which Sean was grateful for. He'd had enough of people pawing him, not that he minded when Nick did it. He just wasn't used to strangers touching him and he'd snapped at more than one.
Once he was on his own feet he glanced around as he shut the car door. Nick walked forward and opened the front door. He slowly made his way towards him as Nick held the door for him with a smirk on his face that Sean wanted to either kiss or punch off. Nick must have picked up on his expression for his smile widened but he didn't say anything.
Sean just groaned and walked into the house and looked around. Everything was neat and tidy around him as he walked towards the steps and paused.
"Bloody steps," Sean cursed on the fourth one and Nick snorted.
"You chose this house," Nick retorted.
"If I knew I was going to be shot," Sean drawled. "I would have chosen one without a second floor."
"Or at least a bedroom on the first floor."
Sean just gritted his teeth and kept going, he was sweating by the time that he got to the bedroom. Nick slipped his hands into his jacket's collar and gently slid it off his shoulders. Sean could feel the anger building until Nick slipped his hands under his shirt and kissed the back of his neck. The tension and anger drained out of him and he leaned back. Nick just held him with his hands resting on his stomach.
"Do you want a shower before bed?" Nick questioned, his breath tickling his skin.
"Are you going to help me?" Sean countered.
"I'm sure I can run the soap over you," Nick answered mildly and kissed the side of his neck. "Got to make sure that you're washed all over."
Sean shivered and carefully turned in Nick's embrace before taking the man in a lingering kiss. Nick returned it with just as much need as they stood there, wrapped around the other. They broke apart when the need to breath became an issue but didn't step back from the other. Sean looked down into Nick's eyes and couldn't imagine his life without him.
"What's that look for?" Nick questioned with a frown.
The realisation that he would have been dead on that road, if it weren't for the man before him, was just starting to trickle into his mind. Nick's frown deepened as he looked at him in concern.
"Sean?" Nick whispered. "Are you okay?"
"Yea," Sean answered roughly and pulled Nick into a tight hug.
He ignored the pain in his chest at the move as he held Nick. He wasn't sure what his life would have been without him but he did know that he probably wouldn't be standing here. He could feel that like a pressure on his shoulders as he tightened his hold on Nick.
"Sh," Nick whispered and rubbed his back. "It just caught up with you?"
"Yea," Sean sobbed and didn't feel the least bit embarrassed that he was showing Nick a vulnerable moment. "Yes."
Nick just held him and Sean could feel a different tightness in his chest as he took in the familiar scent. That feeling of belonging rolled over him and he wasn't sure how long they stood there for. They both started when they heard the doorbell ring and Nick stepped back.
"I'll get it," Nick told him. "You have a shower, Monroe and Rosalee are coming around for lunch tomorrow."
Sean would have groaned if it weren't for the fact that he was looking forward to seeing them. They had managed to have a few days honeymoon before Nick had called them. Nick gave him a smile before walking out of the room and Sean watched his smooth steps with interest. He slowly undressed and took in the bruising on his chest and the two small entry marks from where the bullets had hit him. He knew how close to death he'd come from the placement of those marks.
"It's Trubel and Josh," Nick yelled from downstairs and Sean sighed.
It looked like the house wasn't going to be empty for long. He also found that he didn't mind that either.
xXx
Hank frowned at the one photo they had of the man that had shot the Captain. He was turning away from the camera and had the build of a man with short grey hair but beside that it could have been anyone. It was frustrating to say the least, with the amount of press that had been at the scene, this was the best they had recorded. They knew that the man that had been killed was an Aston Carlton, aged twenty-seven, that had lived in Portland his whole life. He had no connections to Wesen communities or the Verrat that they could find.
He'd had a mother and father and three brothers and without Nick to confirm they didn't know if they were Wesen but they had been shocked and upset by their son's death. The second man that had been killed had no record and was still a mystery. No one knew him or why he'd been at the house. The fact that both men had been found with limited clothing and in the bedroom together hinted at some type of relationship between them. The second man however had had no phone or wallet which was a red flag in Hank's book.
They'd hit another dead end, just like the other cases with only Nick's word that the artist was the same in this case and their last but not the earlier cases. Which they were still waiting for forensics to confirm.
"Do you think it's a Wesen talent to make dead ends?" Hank asked Wu. "It seems to be that these cases just hit a wall."
Wu shrugged from Nick's desk across from Hank.
"I suppose their level of strange may cause other police to let it slide," Wu remarked.
"'Animal attack' being the main cause of death," Hank muttered. "People cut in half with acid, claw marks and throats ripped out. Makes it hard to make a case against someone."
Wu looked up from the computer before him.
"Yes," Wu said dryly. "I haven't thanked you for opening my mind to the real reason for those things."
Hank huffed a laugh.
"At least I'm not alone," Hank pointed out.
They both glanced over when Nick walked into the station and weaved through the tables towards them. The man looked drawn and looked like he hadn't slept but his eyes were sharp as they focused on them.
"Hey, Nick." Hank greeted. "I thought you were still on leave?"
"I wanted to see if you had anything for me?" Nick questioned.
"Just a back profile of the shooter," Hank replied and showed him the photo. "Not much to go off."
Nick frowned at the photo before nodding in agreement.
"What about the double murder?" Nick asked and Hank shrugged.
"We are guessing that it was the same man that shot the Captain," Wu told him. "No fingerprints or evidence to point in any direction. The victim was a bit of a loner and the other man, we haven't been able to ID."
"Do you need me to see if he was Wesen?" Nick questioned as he rubbed his face.
"Not sure if it would help," Hank remarked. "He didn't have a tattoo and we haven't found any weapons in his house to point towards a Reaper."
"I wouldn't mind ruling it out," Nick said.
Hank brought up the profiles of the family and the interview notes.
"Wait," Nick said. "Do you have video of the shooting and the crowd?"
"Yes," Wu answered.
Nick stepped around to his desk and focused on the screen as Wu brought up the footage. Nick leaned his hands on his desk as Wu ran the footage, he got glimpses of fur or scales of Wesen and his headache kicked up a notch.
"Stop," Nick ordered as he rubbed his head.
"Nick?" Hank asked in concern.
"Sorry, headache." Nick answered. "Start it again."
Wu clicked away on the computer and started the film again. Nick focused on the screen but it was too much, he froze when he saw Sean on the ground. Wu clicked on the computer and the video closed and Nick sighed. He couldn't shake that image of Sean on the ground and he knew that Wu hadn't meant to roll it that far.
"Sorry, Nick." Wu offered in apology and Nick nodded.
"Not enough sleep," Nick muttered. "To focus on each Wesen."
"How's the Captain?" Hank asked instead.
"Grumpy," Nick answered. "Told me to go find something to do. Trubel and Josh turned up yesterday, so I had to get out of the house. Monroe and Rosalee are coming around for lunch so I can't be too long."
"Sounds like a full house," Hank said with a grin. "How's the Captain handling that?"
"I was tempted to call Monroe and cancel," Nick confessed. "I'm sure they won't mind if Sean hides away in the bedroom. Wu, let's try that video again?"
xXx
Monroe looked around as Rosalee pulled her car into the driveway of Sean's new house. There was another car parked there that he didn't know and he tensed. He stepped out, snagged up the bags of food and padded over to the unknown car and looked in.
"Hey!"
Monroe looked over to see Trubel looking at him from the front door. He felt that bolt of fear before reason came to him and he relaxed. It had taken him a while to get used to Nick's Grimm presence and Trubel gave off the same, if muted, feel.
"Trubel," Rosalee cried and hurried forward to greet the young woman. "When did you get here?"
"Yesterday," Trubel answered as she held open the door. "Nick's not back yet."
"He's not here?" Monroe questioned. "Did he get called away on a case?"
"He didn't say," Trubel answered as they walked through to the kitchen. "Just that he would be back for lunch."
Monroe placed the bags of food on the counter and looked around the neat kitchen and the view of the city. Monroe wandered over to the glass doors and stepped out. Rosalee settled next to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she smiled up at him. Monroe dipped down and kissed her.
"Didn't you have enough time on your honeymoon for that?"
They glanced back to the doors to see Nick standing there with a grin on his face but they could see the fatigue. Strangely the presence around the Grimm also seemed muted as he stood there.
"Did you have a case?" Monroe countered as he turned but didn't release Rosalee.
"No," Nick answered. "Sean had had enough of me and told me to leave him alone."
"I did no such thing," Sean disagreed as he stepped out of the doors.
"He was being grumpy then," Nick amended and Sean sighed.
"How was the honeymoon?" Sean questioned.
Monroe gave him a grin but he looked Sean over in concern. He could tell that the man was still in pain and he looked pale as he rested a hand on one of the chairs on the patio.
"Wish it could have been longer," Monroe answered. "A month at least."
"We both had to come back to work," Rosalee added. "How are you feeling, Sean?"
"Tired," Sean answered easily before taking a seat in the chair.
"Anyone else and they would have still been at the hospital," Nick remarked. "He's lucky he escaped that fate."
Sean glared over at Nick and the Grimm gave him a cheeky smile.
"Did you want to have lunch out here?" Rosalee questioned.
"Sure," Nick added. "I'll just grab the bags."
Nick turned and Monroe fell into step with him as they walked back into the kitchen.
"Trubel!" Nick called out. "Josh! We're having lunch outside."
Nick pulled out plates as Monroe pawed through the bags.
"How is he really doing?" Monroe asked in concern. "You don't look well either."
"Sleep's been a bit rough," Nick commented as he dished up the food. "For both of us."
"The connection?" Monroe questioned in interest.
"Sean says he's been having my nightmares," Nick said with a chuckle. "I think he's just complaining."
Monroe barked a laugh at that.
"Oh," Nick added with a smirk. "I met his mother, I don't feel like I have as many issues now."
"You don't have to tell me about families," Monroe grumbled and the two men shared a look.
xXx
Sean woke with a chocked yell in his throat and knew how Nick felt. He glanced over his shoulder to see the man asleep with his back to him. The slight light of dawn was seeping into the room as he pulled himself from the bed with a soft groan. He was healing fast but not fast enough for Sean's liking as he pulled on a pair of pants and his jacket.
He padded over to the bathroom before making his way downstairs. The house felt a little more full with Trubel and Josh there and Sean could barely remember a time when it was just him. He poured himself an apple juice before stepping outside to the slight drizzle of the morning. There was a cool breeze as he listened to the rain hitting the patio roof above him, which was a change to his apartment. Only the odd car passing on the road reminding him of the bustle of the city.
"Can't sleep?"
Sean glanced over his shoulder to see Trubel as she stepped out the back doors and give him a once over.
"You could say that," Sean replied.
"I can't believe that someone tried to kill you," Trubel remarked.
"And, so far, is getting away with it," Sean added.
"You must have angered someone."
"That could be a long list."
Trubel stepped closer to him and they both looked out at the city as the light rain fell. He had two Grimms under his roof and yet felt safer now that Trubel was here.
"Why are you up?" Sean asked as the sun rose higher on the horizon.
"Nightmare."
"Is that a Grimm thing?" Sean asked in amusement.
"Probably comes from seeing the monsters," Trubel replied and wrapped her arms around herself.
Sean reached out and gently laid his hand on her arm, offering a small amount of comfort. Something that he wouldn't have done before Nick was shot and entered his life on a personal level.
xXx
Sean stepped into the living room then paused.
"What are you doing?" Sean drawled and Nick looked over at him.
"Nuthing," Nick mumbled around a pen in his mouth.
"Really?" Sean remarked in doubt. "Is this a new style of wall art?"
Nick had placed up crime scene photos and other things on the living room wall from one end to the other. They were of the four Reaper cases and Nick had placed the photos of the two earlier cases to the left and the other two to the right.
"Two killers," Nick reported. "The earlier two are done by the same artist and the other two by a different hand-"
"What about the case of a Reaper that was killed?" Sean cut in. "Is it connected, not to mention the herbs. You were drugged by the Verrat and the herbs we found could have been mixed into a sedative. The name that they'd used to rent that room was a fake so another dead end."
"And you found that spell on me," Nick added then held up a file. "I was about to put that case up."
"These all can't be connected," Sean muttered as he looked at the photos of the crime scene. "You don't want to fall into the trap of making connections when it could just be bad timing."
"What I know for sure," Nick said and pointed to the two drawing of the scythes. "These are done by different people. Whether they are working together or not is the uncertain part."
"These last two could have been used to draw us out," Sean pointed out. "The fact I was shot after being call out on this one could be proof of this. The victims could have picked due to the way they were found, to make a point about our relationship. Which points at the fact that the person that shot me, knows us well enough to make that connection, if that is the case."
"The Reaper was killed between case one and two so he couldn't have been the artist. The first case the victims were drugged but the second wasn't. The first killings have a connection to your family and yet the others don't have a direct connection."
"His wife was drugged, however."
Nick and Sean fell into silence at that.
"It may not even be a Reaper doing the killings," Nick stated. "Their calling card is well known."
"The Verrat tattoo is well known as well," Sean added. "But the tattoos that we found on their palms had been there for a long time. They were authentic Verrat and did come into the country with Viktor."
"Yes," Nick said in agreement. "For the first case and the second case they could have been Verrat. We could strike the brothers' murders off as being separate and the second killing had the same artist and the possibility of Verrat. The third and fourth are different again."
"The second artist may have just been taking advantage of the fact of the first two killings."
"Which means that they had access to the files or knew about the details of the killings, the drawing wasn't released to the press. They look close enough that to an untrained eye they could be mistaken as the same artist."
"Which could bring us back to our FBI agent," Sean finished. "Agent Chavez was interested in any case related to the Verrat."
"Did you see him?"
"No," Sean answered. "But I didn't see much before I was shot."
They looked at the photos in thought.
"What are you doing?" Trubel asked as she stepped into the room. "Are these case photos?"
"Have a look," Nick offered. "Maybe a set of fresh eyes might help."
Trubel stepped closer as Nick tacked up the photos of the murdered Reaper and the scythe. He placed them between the case photos of the crime scene where the scythe was drawn on the wall.
"They all have their heads," Sean muttered as he looked from photo to photo. "Reapers have a thing about cutting off heads."
"Because that's what Grimms do?" Nick questioned and Sean winced at the wording. "Well, excluding current company…not lately at least."
"You've cut someone's head off?" Trubel asked in interest.
"Not lately," Nick replied. "That I can recall. Sean?"
"Not my style," Sean said absentmindedly.
"What is your style exactly?" Nick asked.
Sean looked over at him, "Not discussing committing murder in my living room."
Trubel snorted at that answer and looked back at the crime scene photos.
"So, this bloke was a Reaper?" Trubel asked, pointing to Daryl Martin.
"Unconfirmed, his wife killed him in a domestic." Nick answered. "But the weapon was in his cupboard and the wife wasn't a Wesen that I could see. I didn't get a chance to see their daughter."
"He could have done the first killing," Sean mused. "Take out two Verrat that were with Viktor when he came."
"You said yourself that Reapers were known for going after Grimms and not Verrat," Nick reminded him.
"Is this what police work is like?" Trubel asked as she looked between them.
"Sometimes," Nick answered.
"Or it's about a grandmother hitting a detective over the head with an umbrella," Sean added and Nick groaned.
"I'm never going to live that down," Nick grumbled. "She got away with it too!"
Trubel looked between the two men with a smile.
"I've missed you," Trubel admitted and Nick laughed.
"What about Josh?" Nick questioned.
"He snores," Trubel said with a wince. "Loudly. I don't miss sharing a room with him."
Sean snorted and they focused back on the photos.
"First case and second the same artist had to be there," Sean mused. "If our dead Reaper had a partner, he could be the artist, which links these two cases together."
"Third and fourth cases are linked by the same artist," Nick pointed out. "If we take just those two cases, we could say that they were staged for us. Which means that someone had access to those files to know that we'd had two Reaper cases. Which just brings our thinking back around in a circle."
"Maybe a call to Agent Chavez?" Sean ventured as he looked carefully at the photos.
"That wouldn't tip our hand?" Nick questioned.
"I'm surprised that she hasn't been on the phone already."
Josh walked in and they glanced over at him as he stepped closer then frowned.
"I know that man," Josh announced and pointed to the dead Reaper. "He came to see my father."
Sean and Nick paused at that.
"In what way?" Nick asked and Josh shrugged a shoulder.
"I'm not sure," Josh replied. "It was when he started to talk about Wesen and finding you."
Sean felt a chill go down his back and stepped over to the case files.
"Nick," Sean whispered. "The family have lived in Portland for about three years."
"You think he knew that I was a Grimm? That would have been just after Aunt Marie arrived here," Nick mused with a frown. "If he did, that means that he also didn't come for my head."
"And could have passed your information to my father." Josh added.
"A Reaper and a Grimm working together?" Sean said in disbelief. "From his file, he wasn't an upstanding citizen."
"Reapers are Wesen," Trubel reminded them. "And Nick works with Wesen."
"Reapers seem to stand apart from other Wesen," Sean said with a grimace.
"Like Hexenbiest and Zauberbiest," Nick offered with a grin.
Sean groaned and settled into a seat.
"I think I should see the daughter," Nick suggested. "That would help confirm whether he was a Wesen."
"No," Sean answered. "You just have to see one of his interview tapes. From his file, he'd ended up at the station more than once."
Nick paused then nodded as he pointed a finger at Sean.
"And that's why you're the Captain," Nick pointed out with a laugh before he walked out of the room to get his laptop.
Sean leaned back in his chair as he rubbed his chest.
"Still giving you trouble?" Trubel asked in concern. "You don't look well."
"Thanks," Sean drawled and Trubel quirked her lips in a smile. "It just flares up every now and again."
Nick hurried back into the room with his laptop then looked at Trubel with a grin then at Sean.
"What are you thinking?" Sean muttered and Nick's smile widened.
"Let's see if this is a Grimm talent or from the connection," Nick stated and looked at Trubel. "Want to test a theory?"
"Sure," Trubel answered and walked over to him.
Nick then looked at Josh and the young man shifted.
"Have you seen anything lately?" Nick asked. "My Grimm power didn't come in until after my aunt got sick."
"You think that I might become a Grimm?" Josh uttered with wide eyes and Nick shrugged.
"I'm not one hundred percent sure how it works," Nick remarked. "But you do have the blood line. My aunt said that it comes to woman earlier than men."
"Is that so," Sean intoned. "That is interesting."
"Right," Nick announced and logged into the police database. "Come have a look at this Trubel."
Nick grabbed up the file of Daryl Martin and typed in the case number and flicked through it until he found an interview video and brought it up on the screen. He played it without sound and focused his sight on the man then frowned as he got an image, but it wasn't the image of a Reaper. He looked up at Trubel beside him as he woman watched the screen.
"What am I looking for?" Trubel asked then started. "He's a Wesen! What type?"
"Reaper?" Sean asked.
"Nope," Nick answered. "This makes more sense now, he's a Lausenschlange, a snake Wesen."
"Sounds like he got lucky with a Reaper then and wanted to keep a trophy," Sean stated. "Can you only see him when he woges, Trubel?"
Nick tapped away on the computer and started the video for Trubel to see. He watched both the screen and Trubel and didn't try to focus on the man's nature this time. He saw the moment that Daryl woged and Trubel saw him.
"I would say that my talent is due to the connection," Nick remarked.
"So," Sean summed up. "The only connection between the cases and the Martins is the fact that the wife was drugged? That's slim."
"Those herbs we found were in another room at the same motel," Nick pointed out. "I think that we can look at that connection with doubt."
"The first two cases were Verrat."
"And the last two weren't."
"It could have been a Reaper cleaning up Verrat."
"And the last two was a set up for us."
Sean and Nick shared a look as Trubel and Josh looked between them. Trubel gave them a smirk and they realised that they had been finishing each other's thoughts.
"The compulsion spell is the odd one out," Nick stated as he looked over the photos. "If the FBI agent had something to do with setting you up then who placed the compulsion spell?"
"They wanted the key," Sean added. "They could have been working with the Varret or the Royals. My bet is on the fact they had to be a Hexenbiest or Zauberbiest."
"Is this how you work cases?" Trubel asked.
"Throwing out random questions?" Nick inquired with a smirk. "Hoping something slots in somewhere?"
"Only when we hit dead ends," Sean drawled. "You better give Hank and Wu a call about this."
"We could turn it into dinner," Nick added and Sean groaned.
