Nick saw Adalind running out of Renard's office. It didn't take a detective to notice that she was upset. Her face was red and there were tears streaming down her face as she walked quickly out of the bullpen.
Nick, unable to help himself, ran after her.
"Adalind!" He called out. "Wait!"
In her state, it didn't take much for Nick to catch up to her and be able to get a closer look at what was wrong.
Two months ago, Nick had saved Adalind from a queen bee who had been intent on killing all hexenbiests.
Adalind had burst into tears and ran into Nick's arms for comfort after he had shot the bee wesen just as she was about to inject the hexenbiest with deadly venom.
Six week ago, Nick had been called to the nicest hotel in the city, where he and his partner had to look into the death of who turned out to be Adalind's mother.
Adalind had looked as though her entire world had come crashing down. And in a way, it sort of had.
She had been at the hotel restaurant, having a business dinner with two partners from her law firm and a highly valued client, when a loud commotion was heard in the lobby.
Adalind saw with her own eyes her mother fighting with another woman, Sean Renard shouting for them both to calm down so they could discuss things like reasonable adults.
She witnessed her mother run toward the woman, who used her momentum against her and threw her into the wall behind her.
Unfortunately, there was a large mirror on that wall. Shards flew from it. A large one going straight into Catherine's neck, severing her artery.
The police had already been called. And Adalind overheard Sean Renard explain that he had been seeing both women.
"Guisselle traveled a lot. When she was in the city, the two of us would meet in this hotel and enjoy one another's time. Usually, she would call me to say she was coming in."
"I wanted to surprise him." Guisselle explained. "Turns out I was the one who was surprised. I should have been suspicious from the start when a man as good looking as him said he was perfectly fine with a monogamous long distance relationship."
"I never said I was looking for a monogamous relationship." Renard defended.
Adalind wanted to scream at him that he never mentioned he was sleeping with multiple women. One of whom happened to be her mother.
"Catherine wanted to have dinner in the restaurant. She loved all of the attention she got. It always turned her on. People gazing at her was foreplay. Unfortunately, we ran into Guisselle, who was checking in. Guisselle as me why I was with an old hag. Catherine threatened to rip her eyes out. That's when the two women became violent with one another."
Sean Renard had noticed Adalind staring at the scene just as her mother's blood was pooling around her lifeless body.
He had enough consideration to explain to his newly arrived detectives that she was the deceased's daughter.
Adalind, in shock, was as still as a stone, and not making a single noise. The only movement from her were the tears trailing down her pretty face.
Nick had draped his coat around her shoulders, then gently guided her to his truck and taken her home. He had made her a cup of tea and sat with her, holding her as she cried. And then tucked her into bed when she began to drift to sleep.
And now for the third time in two months, Nick was holding Adalind while she cried.
Though her voice was slightly muffled, from her face being buried in his chest, Nick heard Adalind confess what the newest reason for her distress was.
"I'm pregnant. I told Sean and he told me that it wasn't a good time for either one of us to be dealing with a baby. He was so cold. So dismissive. He barely even looked at me the whole time."
She looked up at Nick, her face full of heartbreak. "I don't know what to do. I can't think straight. Too much has happened. I don't have anyone to help me."
"Yes you do. You have me. I'll take care of you; and this baby. Whatever you need, whatever the both of you need."
Nick was dealing with his own life drama.
His girlfriend of nearly four years had left him without a word of warning or explanation.
He had gotten home from work to discover her things missing. No note, no message of any kind.
He first tried to call her cellphone, only to discover it was not in service. He called the cell company and they informed him that she had canceled her phone with them the previous day.
Nick called around to Juliette's friends and family members to see if they knew what was going on. But it was when he called her place of work that he found out that she had quit. She had told them she needed to figure things out. And the only way to do that was to get away from everything and everyone in Portland.
After exhausting every resource he had, Nick was forced to come to the conclusion that there was nothing he could do to fight for his relationship.
Powerless to fix his own problems, Nick welcomed the chance to focus entirely on someone else.
Adalind welcomed the chance to allow someone else to do all of the thinking. Everything that she had been through had taken its toll on her. The emotions churning within her made it impossible to think straight.
She had been hoping Sean Renard would show support and compassion for her, but since that wasn't going to happen, she welcomed it from Nick Burkhardt.
Twice before, Nick had taken care of her. So Adalind trusted Nick to continue. She allowed herself to fully relax and let guide her.
She had spent her entire lifetime looking after herself. Her mother had barely been around most of her life. And had rarely shown any kind of affection.
Perhaps that was why she had been so blind when it came to seeing past Sean Renard's charm. Why she hadn't realized he was only interested in her when she was doing well.
When she had told him she had been given a huge bonus for helping her firm win a case, Sean had shown up at her door, surprising her with flowers and champagne. They had gone dancing, had several drinks, then had returned to her place and enjoyed another kind of dance.
Apparently they had been too drunk to remember to use protection.
But just a week later, when her life had been literally in danger, Sean had distanced himself from her.
The two people she thought should care about the most, were nowhere around.
The night she had nearly been killed by the melliffer queen, she had called her mother, seeking comfort. But her mother hadn't answered her phone, or returned the message Adalind left, requesting Catherine call her back.
She had then called Sean, hoping he would be her prince charming and show up at her door with flowers, offering to hold her.
But once again, she was left with silence.
It would be weeks later, after her mother's death that Adalind would find out that while she was alone, recovering from her near death experience, that Sean Renard was in bed with one of his regulars. While she was wrapped tightly in a blanket, wishing it was someone's arms around her, Catherine was seducing some fool out of his millions.
When Nick had stayed with her that night, it was the first time she could ever remember feeling like there was someone who wanted to put her first.
Nick ended up spending more time in Adalind's home than his own.
With Juliette gone, and still no word from her, the house no longer felt welcoming. It held a cold stale atmosphere. Nick would do his best to not think about the memories the place held as he did whatever needed to be done. It was difficult at first, having to sleep in the empty bed, but once Adalind confessed that she slept better when he was with her, he stopped sleeping in his own bed altogether. He welcomed any chance to not have to spend time in the building he once shared with Juliette.
He stopped buying food for the house, since he was either at work, at Monroe's, or with Adalind.
For a while, the house was only a place for Nick to shower, shave, and grab a change of clothes, before heading off to wherever he was needed or wanted.
Then one day Adalind presented Nick with a drawer in her bathroom cupboard for him to keep his hygiene products, and revealed an antique wardrobe for him to keep his clothes.
"I saw it sitting in the window of a shop and just knew it would be perfect for you." She explained, smiling brightly. "The men who delivered it were even kind enough to move my bedroom furniture around so it would fit in here."
Nick moved most of his everyday wear into the wardrobe the next day. His dress blues and his more formal wear remained behind, as well as any item Juliette had given to him as a gift. It hadn't felt right to take Juliette's gifts to him out of the house. His formal wear he left behind simply because he didn't need it and there wasn't room for it in his new wardrobe.
When Nick introduced Monroe and Adalind, the topic of where Nick was keeping his nicer clothes came up. Monroe suggested Nick keep them in his mostly empty cedar chest.
"I barely use it anyway man. And this way, if you need something, I can run it to you. In case, you know, you have to run straight to a special occasion right after getting into a fight with a schakal or something."
"He does have a point." Adalind nodded in agreement.
With the two smartest people he knew of like mind about the situation, Nick could see no reason not to listen to them.
Nick started only going to the house he had shared with Juliette once a month. And he spent only a half hour there. Mostly to tidy up and ensure everything was still in good condition.
Just in case Juliette were to return without notice, he had a note on the fridge that the water and the electricity were still working, but there was nothing else.
Nick made sure the mortgage, the insurance, the water bill, and the electric bill were up to date, but he took care of them digitally at work.
Most of the appliances were unplugged, since there was no one to use them. Nick's bank account enjoyed having such small bills to pay, but the money he saved was used for the mortgage, since he was the only one paying it.
He probably would have just sold the house, if he was certain that Juliette was gone for good. But since she never spoke a word about what her plans were when she took off, that chapter remained in limbo until informed otherwise.
Outside of that one half hour each month, Nick was moving on and enjoying his life. His reputation as a Grimm was improving, mostly thanks to Adalind's coworkers telling anyone who would listen about the Grimm who was taking care of a hexenbiest who was pregnant with another man's baby.
"They probably want to nominate you for sainthood." Adalind joked when she informed Nick about the gossip in her law firm. "Especially after today. I nearly ripped Doug's head off when he questioned me if it was wise for me to put so much sugar in my tea. I asked him if it was wise to risk getting a stapler shoved up his ass. He literally backed out of the break room."
Nick laughed. "I'll bet he'll think twice before questioning you on anything again."
They were in her kitchen, preparing the evening meal together as they talked about their day.
"I would have thought that would have been taken care of when they found out I had a grimm looking out for me. But Doug is one of those people who always feels the need to express his opinion. We're pretty sure that's why he hasn't been made a partner yet."
"What does he do when he's with clients or in a courtroom?"
"He's never around important clients. And he's never in the courtroom. He's a financial lawyer like me, so he mainly handles wills and trusts. He can't get into much trouble with those." Being reminded of something, she looked at Nick and said, "Speaking of wills, if something should happen to me, I'm putting you in charge of my estate. I trust you to handle things."
"Maybe you should also put Monroe or someone else you trust in your will as well. Just in case."
There was suddenly a charged energy in the room. The intense look in Nick's eyes spoke of what his words didn't. That the reason Adalind might be gone, might be because he wasn't alive to save her.