O Fortuna

Chapter 15

-/-/-/-/-/-

Rosalee's sobbing broke through the chorus of a thousand clocks tick-tocking. Her fingers trembled as her sorrow coughed out. "It's just sometimes... I shouldn't say this... It feels like everyone around Nick ends up dead."

Adalind wrapped her arms around her as she melted into her shoulder. Rosalee sniffed. "Monroe's uncle was a good man."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not fair." Rosalee wiped her eyes. "Wu said it looked professional. And what if they come after us?"

Adalind waited, sensing there was more.

"For the first time in... Forever, my life isn't a wreck. Then seeing you and Nick, so happy with the baby. And Monroe, I love him so much. I have an actual real life husband who cares, and I can't stand the thought of losing him. I stopped taking birth control so we can try, but what happens if he ends up dead? I'm not naive. This black claw group must have a ton of resources."

Adalind's stomach knotted. She had laid awake nights worrying about Nick. In the Wesen world, Grimms were fairly short lived, especially compared to her kind. "We're just going to have to make sure that doesn't happen."

Rosalee nodded and pulled Kelly into her arms. He patted her face, babbled, and laughed. She winked at him and twisted her head. Silky orange fur sheeted her body and her mouth transformed into a short snout full of sharp teeth. Kelly's eyes glittered and his face lit. He giggled and babbled as his fingers ran through Rosalee's silky fur, but tears welled in her eyes. Her voice cracked at a whisper, "Sometimes, I wonder where they are."

Adalind waited, and Rosalee continued, "You remember when I got sort of adopted as a mother by that group of orphans?"

Kidnapped is the word you're looking for.

Rosalee stared out the window. "The girl, Lily, was a Fuchsbau. At first, I thought she might be..." Her brow wrinkled and her teeth pinched her lip. "But she wasn't old enough." Her forearm scrubbed across her eyes. "I was sixteen and high as a kite, shacking up with all sorts of guys. One day, I woke up on a nasty mattress in a crack house, and Maggie had been with the state for over a year. Her foster parents loved her so much, and my boyfriend didn't want anything to do with somebody else's problem. I got so high that I couldn't feel for a long time."

The back of Rosalee's hand dragged across her nose. She set Kelly down and transformed back into her human form. He crawled towards the coffee table and pulled up, but flopped on his back, rolled over, and headed off the other direction. "But my second... I didn't even name him. I had the baby down in Eugene and left for Seattle two days later."

The question laid heavy on Adalind, but she didn't dare pry. As if in answer, Rosalee said, "Monroe knows. I can't exactly say he approves, but he understands."

Pain exuded from every pore in Rosalee's body as Adalind rubbed her back. "How old would they be?"

Rosalee let a long sigh drift out. "I think she would be... About fourteen and he would be twelve."

"How can I help?"

Antique cuckoo clocks erupted into a cacophony of chimes, whistles, and hoots, drawing Kelly's attention away from exploration, but Adalind waited. Rosalee let out a deep sigh and forced a smile. "This whole mess with Monroe's uncle has to be dealt with. He probably has a will, but Monroe's mother was his only living family. I'm sure she will need some help with sorting out the closing of his business and his affairs in Europe, and I'm not sure how it works with a foreign national being murdered here."

Adalind nodded. She still knew several people in the German Consulate. "I'll make sure things are sorted out here in the US, and help you guys get a good lawyer over there."

Goosebumps rippled over Rosalee's skin. "I know they want to go after these guys, but won't whoever sent those men after Monroe's uncle just send more."

-/-/-/-/-

The Loft's giant garage door rolled up sending streamers of sunlight glittering off Trubel's black Ducatti.

A very hungry Kelly was already oink-oinking cries for dinner when Adalind hauled the groceries out of the elevator. Trubel paced back and forth across the kitchen. Her greasy hair stood straight up from the stiff fingers she scrubbed through it. Fire burned in her blue eyes, but worry lined her face.

Adalind stuffed the meat and milk into the fridge before scooping Kelly out of the car seat. His howling turned into wailing as she settled into the couch. It only took a moment for him to quiet and begin feeding while Trubel followed, pacing through the living room.

Adalind cradled Kelly's head and asked, "You ok?"

"I don't want to mess it up."

Adalind waited while Kelly nursed. Trubel continued, "The books say you can read minds and emotions and stuff. Not you you, I guess for now. Hexenbiests. Is that what made Juliette freak out and go crazy?"

Adalind let out a long sigh as she settled Kelly on her shoulder and patted out the burp. He was back to suckling and she began. "It's true, we are extremely perceptive. The world is like a tidal wave flooding us with noise. People thinking, people feeling, everything around us. It's extremely bewildering when we first get our powers, but you learn to ignore all the crazy around you. That's why many Hexenbiests live solitary lives."

Trubel frowned. "So, when somebody is afraid of you, you can, like feel all the fear, worry, anger, and disgust?"

Adalind nodded. "You know how Wesen are afraid of Grimms, just imagine you heard all the crazy rattling around in their heads. The 'I hope she doesn't touch me,' 'Don't dare tell her about your aunt,' and, 'Where does she keep the axe.' Oh, and don't forget all the nasty running through men's minds when they ogle you."

Trubel sat beside her and stared out the window with her fingers cupped over her mouth. "I just can't imagine. Guys can be stupid enough. Actually getting inside their heads can't be better."

"Juliette and Rosalee were close. Can you imagine your best friend calling you disgusting and wishing you were gone, and it's not just an act. Rosalee was terrified of Juliette's presence, and everybody wanted her gone. Honestly, having my powers suppressed is kinda nice and Nick's loft is better than I expected. I can have actual peace and quiet."

Even as she said the words, her chest tightened and butterflies flickered through her stomach. Freddy was terrified of Hexenbiests, and you exploited that. What happens when you get your powers back? Trubel interrupted her thoughts, "So, what should I do? We're assigned to work together."

Kelly scrunched his face and drew up his legs and started fussing again. It took extra doses of gas drops to get him settled into his crib for a late afternoon nap. Adalind made her way back into the kitchen and put the groceries away. "Honestly, I wish people would just be straightforward. Don't lie. Relax. Maybe don't visualize kicking her ribs into her lungs or hacking her to pieces with your machete."

Trubel's face flushed. "You know about that?"

Adalind winked. "Just saying. Grimms are an ocean of murder. Relax and be yourself. She needs to know she can count on you."

"For the record, I wasn't going to hack you up."

Adalind gave her a smirk. "I know. You're more of an off with her head type."

Trubel's mouth dropped open but Adalind touched her arm. "You wouldn't believe all the stuff going through Nick's head when I showed up in Renard's office. Honestly, I got pretty good at tuning it all out. You helped me a lot and you saved Nick's life when The Royals were after us. He was in a really bad place and was relying on you. I was too. Thank you for stepping in."

Relief washed over Trubel's face and her posture softened. Adalind poured her a glass of white zin to calm her nerves. Trubel slumped into the couch and disappeared into the wine while Adalind headed back into the kitchen. There was a lot going on between this nut job Wesen group, Monroe's uncle's murder, the asbestos case, and family life.

Family?

The old F-word again.

Kelly was crying again before she could dwell on that. His face scrunched and his legs drew up. She slid the gas drops out of the baby bag and gave him a heavy dose. Fifteen minutes of crying and light bouncing later, he settled down. He would be farting up a storm in an hour. Adalind frowned. Her milk was working better than anything else, but he still had trouble with colic. She had packed a dozen bottles of breast milk in the freezer so Nick could help when she was busy, but still, dealing with the gas attacks wasn't easy on her little man.

-/-/-/-/-

The moon was already shining bright in the night sky when Nick waltzed in the door with glittering eyes and a face full of mischief. He smelled of violence and was chitter-chattering at one-hundred miles an hour. She finally slowed him down enough to make out the word, "Keys."

"As in Grimm keys?"

He nodded. "We found more. Monroe and I are going to hunt down whatever it was they left."

Her stomach knotted and her chest tightened. The fucking keys! Wasn't it bad enough that some some nut-job Wesen cult was sending professional killers? If they were willing to murder random innocents for a bunch of dusty old books, what would they do for The Grimm's treasure?

Oh, and never mind The Royals... Sure, she hadn't heard from them in a couple months, but if they caught wind of this? She was sure they were monitoring Nick and company. The last thing she needed was the next Kenneth running two-dozen Hundjagers into her house. Her frustration flared. "These keys lead to nothing but death. There are a lot of powerful people who will do anything to get their hands on them."

Instead of snapping back, Nick de-escalated, quieting her anger without giving in. Her stomach knotted as realization soaked in. He trusted her enough to share this, even knowing that she was the one who had hounded him and wrecked his entire life for the stupid bauble. His warm hand sent her memory back to hovering over his unconscious aunt's body and driving the needle full of poison into Nick's arm. Guilt knotted her stomach. "I guess I owe it to your Aunt Marie too."

His confidence quieted her nerves. "Monroe is going with me. Rosalee will stay with you and Kelly while we're gone."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow."

Tomorrow?

That brought a stunning finality. A hundred thousand thoughts and emotions crystallized in a single second. I guess this is it. Nick is finally leaving you. Adalind had no time to prepare for her own battle. All she had was tonight. The words formed in her mouth before she knew they were coming out. "I know this is something you have to do, but I also know there's a chance you won't come back."

His forehead wrinkled as if this was the first time the thought had ever crossed his mind. "But Adalind..."

She cut him off and moved in closer. "And I can't let you go without knowing how I feel about you."

She twined her fingers into his and then pulled his face towards hers, stopping short. His body craned towards her and she crushed her lips into his. They broke off for just long enough for Adalind to say, "I don't care if this is a mistake. I love you."

Her fingers worked the buttons on his shirt loose while he fumbled with her bra. She gave up and pulled her shirt over her head while he shucked his. Nick's second of weak protest gave way when she trailed kisses down his chest. She almost made it to his waist when Nick pulled her up and his lips found the crease under her ear and started working down.

Tonight was different though.

She teased and dared him to take her, subtly baiting him farther and farther past the point where he usually pulled up short. The combination of fighting Wesen earlier, elation over the keys and the coming adventure had him harder than he had ever been. She had worried that he would push her off. Instead, his body responded to every touch and he took her with the passion of a long awaited lover.

Adalind woke in the middle of the night shivering and dug the covers out of their knot at the bottom of the bed. Her legs and hips were heavy and her breasts a little raw from their fun, but at least the oppressive heat had been soothed by the night's cool. Now she wondered. He had taken her to a place she had never been before but he had still been holding back. It wasn't a hunger for violence or some strange fetish. He didn't want to choke her or slap her around. That was Sean's thing, or one of them at least.

It's not like he didn't enjoy himself, either. Three times in fact. More like he wanted to fuck her brains out and fill her with his desire, but he was being good and settling for good sex that broke the constant gnaw from too many months of celibacy.

One thing at a time.

Orgasms during actual sex were a new thing, and completely awesome. Especially the part about not worrying about ripping a lover open with the jagged bones and leathery flesh of her hexenbiest form. No, that worry was now replaced with dread that he would end up dead as a result of finding whatever it was he was searching for. On top of that, Berman had chased her down and talked her into an interview next week. The truth was that she didn't want anything to do with that part of her old life, but she really needed the resources the giant firm could bring to bear with the ongoing asbestos litigation. It doesn't cost you anything to talk, does it?

She tossed and turned, staring out the high windows at the silver moonlight. An actual paying job was now mission critical given Nick's quest, and she was giving 50/50 odds of him ending up dead. Her head settled back into the crook of his neck and she was rewarded by the dead silence inside his chest. There were no words to describe how much she enjoyed his cold body against her skin, the lack of snoring, or noisy breathing. She pressed a kiss against his neck. A smile bubbled onto his face as his hand drifted over and cupped her breast. His body warmed as her fingers gently massaged him. Nick smirked when he caught her next kiss on his lips. His fingers drifted up her inner thigh and he whispered, "Sure you're not sore?"

Pleasure rippled through her and she shifted higher so her nipple was in his mouth. Her tits were one thing he could not resist, and Nick was now fully attention. She whispered, "Nothing a little lube won't fix."

Twenty minutes later, the covers were packed at the bottom of the bed and her sweaty body was wobbly. She wanted to chit chat and ask him all sorts of questions but weariness swamped her.

Morning's first embers found her snuggling back into Nick's shoulder after another round of fun. The covers were kicked into a heap at the foot of the bed yet again. Half an hour later, Kelly's fussing brought her onto wobbly legs. All she wanted now was to snuggle up and bask in the early morning's cool. Nick hopped in the shower while a cup of coffee drove off the sleep.

He had that "You want to go for two," gleam in his eye when the security alarms announcing Trubel's arrival put an end to their fun. She was here to pass off some information on a suspected terrorist's arrival in Portland. She was gone in half an hour, which brought the matter of Nick's quest to the forefront. Work called, and she settled in, obsessing over his coming departure.

That evening, His bags laid beside the elevator's wooden gate as he smiled and petted Kelly's head. "Look after your mom while I'm gone."

Kelly giggled. Adalind's stomach knotted as he headed out of the bedroom. She bit her lip and furrowed her brow. "You better come back because I don't want to explain to him why you didn't."

He stared at her for a moment and gave her that damned charming smile that caught her off guard every single time before wrapping her in a hug. She savored the last whiff of his scent before he headed towards the door. He stopped for a moment at the elevator door and looked back at her with a smile. She waited, hoping for words that never came, and with that, Nick Burkhardt was gone.