She'd only met Willard Rautbort a handful of times the first time she worked at Berman, Rautbort, and Associates. The man was a hermit, according to office whispers. Thus, being called into a last minute meeting with the most reclusive of her bosses and one of the company's big clients couldn't be taken lightly. Adalind left Kelly in the company of the only person she could afford to trust in that forsaken place, Rocky, the mail carrier. She'd known Rocky since before but it was also because of the fact that she always got her mail not tempered, detecting no magic around it that went a long way towards getting into Adalind's graces. It helped that Kelly's face always brightened up whenever Rocky stuck his head around her door. The two had become fast friends in the months back.
Adalind had panicked as she stood outside Rautbort's office on the dot for her meeting and heard two male voices already at the brass tacks of things. She cursed under her breath before rapping her knuckles gently against the obscured glass door.
"Adalind, come on in," she heard from inside. "Please take a seat."
"You do see the importance of acquiring such an important artefact?"
"Absolutely, it's not the sort of thing you want to let slip through your fingers. I only wish we had more time."
"My sources tell me time is quickly running out. Several buyers have already lined up but the gentleman has refused to even entertain my offer to double the asking price which is where you come in." The gentleman gave a quick glance at Adalind before returning his laser-like focus on the elderly man behind the massive mahogany Kittinger Partners desk, a glaring contrast to the rest of the contemporary-modern office setting. "I understand you specialise in these sort of transaction, Ms…?"
"Schade."
"Aah…" was all the man said as if he knew something that Adalind did not. It made her uneasy suddenly.
"Mr Conrad Bonaparte is a long standing client of this firm and has shown a particular interest in a sort of heirloom from the old country and seeing as you are the only Hexenbiest in our employ, a great opportunity has presented itself," said Rautbort with little emotion.
Adalind could feel the proverbial noose tightening a little more round her neck.
"There are quicker and more blunt ways to deal with this issue but using a little finesse is much more preferable considering all the players at the table."
Reading between the lines, Adalind began to object without refusing outright what was clearly an order. "I am a lawyer, I'm certain there's something I can dig up to ensure the favour swings considerably your way."
"Perhaps you misunderstood. I am aware of your abilities, some of which I do not possess." He woged, much to Adalind's horror but she swallowed her terror before it showed on her face. This was a test and Adalind realised failing was the difference between death and something worse.
"I uh…persuasion isn't exactly part of my skillset."
"Isn't seduction a form of persuasion, you certainly know how to seduce don't you?" Bonaparte added.
Eww. Why did people automatically assume just because she could do something that she enjoyed those particular aspects of her abilities? She thought of Viktor, what he'd asked her to do during a very desperate time in her life. No matter what she thought of that time, she could never take back the unexpected gift she received. She learnt a very hard lesson back then and had sworn to never put herself at the mercy of another powerful man but now sitting in Rautbort's office, it appeared that old habits did in fact die hard.
"Adalind, I'm not asking you to climb Mt Everest. You've done this before," her boss cut in.
Yeah, a whole lifetime ago and she wasn't that person anymore. She helplessly thought of how to tell her boss and his full Zauberbiest friend that without cutting her life very short, prematurely. Kelly was still too young to lose a mother, she thought, teetering very close to a full-blown panic.
"Alright, what do you need me to do?" she exhaled slowly, desperately attempting to school her features before exceptionally observant eyes.
"There's an antiquarian in Germany who has in his possession a very important book, part of a collection but I don't care about that."
"You want this book."
"Yes."
"You say you've offered him double…for the whole collection?"
"No, just the one book. He's obstinate you see, insisting on selling everything. It belonged to a nonagenarian who left no heirs."
"You mentioned something about this artefact…book being an heirloom but its previous owner left no living relatives?"
"Do not concern yourself about the details,"
"No, it's alright that she knows. This book is the Book of Grimm."
She nearly blanched remembering and then remembered her present company.
"I've heard of those, I even came across one a few years ago, a journal of sorts, documenting all the different wesen Grimms have encountered over the years," she said calculatingly. She figured the more she seemed unassuming and forthcoming, the better. She didn't think this Zauberbiest took kindly to being deceived.
"Not this particular book, I have it on good authority it's a genealogy book, a family tree from the seven knights down to a new born babe from only a few months ago, that's how meticulous and accurate it is. I need you to work your magic." Bonaparte pointed a long, scrawny finger in her direction. "Get me that book before this imbecile old man sells it to his nephew's friend, your very own local Grimm."
Adalind visibly gulped.
"Aah, we've had some dealings with that particular Grimm a few years ago, though we were not aware of it at the time, a Detective Bernard…Burk –something or whatever his name is. It was an unfortunate thing; we lost a handful of Hexenbiests at the hands of a queen Mellifer and her killer bees, all except for Ms Schade here."
"Yes, yes I remember that. She nearly killed me."
"…Had the Grimm not stepped in…." Bonaparte looked her way as he spoke.
Adalind couldn't tell whether he insinuated something, if anything at all. The ground beneath was shifting fast and if she were not careful, she could easily fall through the cracks set up by Mr Bonaparte. Did he know more than what he let on? She hoped not, or else she'd be dead…likely.
"I cannot stress the importance of getting hold of that book," he said.
She understood, all too well. Nick was certainly in that book and perhaps Kelly as well. Her blood instantly ran cold like water trapped in a stone when the full weight of that book in Bonaparte's hands hit her.
"From what I understand, this Grimm is a dog with no bite but I do not want to test that theory just yet. It's the only reason that old man is still alive and we're having this conversation right now, his connection to the Detective."
Adalind could have laughed at the irony of that statement.
"Your flight leaves tomorrow morning. Get this done and who knows, you might make partner before the year is out." Rautbort said, as if he were dangling a carrot in front of Adalind when it reality it was a big heavy stick. "Clara will forward you your itinerary." With those words, he dismissed her from his office.
Adalind quickly made a beeline towards the safety of her office and to her son. Now more than ever she wanted to hold him in his arms, never did she imagine returning to work would be equivalent to walking into the lion's den. She needed to get him as far away from that place, away from Bonaparte or anyone one posing a threat to him as humanly possible. She needed to quit, walk out the door and never look back but not before she took care of this new problem fatefully dropped into her lap.
Adalind found her office vacant, Rocky and Kelly, nowhere in sight. She quickly stemmed down her panic as they entered her office directly after her. Rocky handed Kelly over to his mother and she thanked the old man, a Mauzhertz, for watching over him during his run. Years ago, it wasn't not long after Adalind began working for the firm, she had helped him against his landlord, who had tried to illegally evict him and his rather big family and Rocky had sworn to pay Adalind back somehow but she hadn't even thought about money at the time. She had felt that she was helping someone who needed it at the time.
She was still an idealist at the time, before her life grew extremely tumultuous due to a demanding mother, her associations with some dubious clients and problematic Royals. After all these years, Rocky still reminded her of the "kindness" she'd shown him, as he liked to tell her. She thanked him and dismissed him, not wanting to go through another rendition of how appreciative he was of her return to B.R.&A. shutting the door behind her.
On her desk, she found a conspicuous folder with the name Leipzig, Germany scrawled on the side. Tentatively, she opened it as if she was afraid of something jumping straight out of the pages, yet still hoping she was over reacting. There were two names, Josef Nebosja, the dead Grimm and Felix Dietrich, the Blutbad antique book appraiser, from the sound of things, Monroe's uncle. She went through the folder not once but three times absorbing as much information as she could. There were photos of what looked like twenty Grimm journals, some contents included, all except from one book, the Book of Grimm. Adalind suspected that particular book had its content specially sealed shut for a reason, against people like Bonaparte who were desperate to get their hands on it.
She made a few calls, wanting to confirm what lay in the file. Not like what she heard, she pulled out one of her cell phones, not the "office" one but her personal phone, untraceable, and searched for a specific number. Adalind stepped out into the balcony of her office for more "privacy" and searched through her phone for names, her call log of people she trusted with her life and all she came up with was Nick, Rosalee, Monroe, Bud and more of Nick and she couldn't go to them with this, at least not yet. Nick had a certain way of dealing with a problem; and not to quote Bonaparte but she needed to act swiftly and secretly. She needed lots of cash and fast.
She came across Renard's name and quickly scrolled past it. He was a friend to no one, not even an ally she could trust after everything they had been through in the past. That man never scratched anyone's back without getting something more out in return and Adalind was as adamant to ensure he got little to no wind of Grimm book existing after years of him manipulating Nick to try to control him over to his side, as he did with her, to get in with the Royal side of his family.
Adalind made a call to her banker. It was a long shot. Could she get the money before meeting with Mr Dietrich, the reluctant seller? It was clear to her he held out as long as he did because of Monroe and by extension, Nick and the only reason he still had the books in his possession was probably due to Nick having difficulty coming up with the money in such a short time. What made her think she'd be more successful, where he failed? She wondered to her herself. And what if her boss got wind of this plan, what if Bonaparte discovered her treachery? No matter, she'd cross that bridge if and when she got to it. For Kelly, she would do anything to keep him safe. She'd risk everything for him, including her life.
"I know it's short notice but it's vital I have that money before the day's end." She said to the man on the other end of the line.
"I understand. I'm not guaranteeing anything at this stage but I'll see what I can do for you," said the banker, a nice enough man, apart from the flirtatious way he sometimes conducted himself whenever they were face to face. Years ago, she would have taken advantage of the Kerhseite's naiveté but she found the whole spectacle tiring these days. It was impossible to flirt with or even enjoy a man's attention when she craved just one specific man's attention and he hardly paid her the sort of attention she longed for.
After the call, she returned to her desk, the picture of serenity but Adalind's heart thrashed wildly against her chest. She'd done all that she could for her little bundle of joy, happily chewing one of his toys in his cot. However, it gnawed at her to leave the rest to an accountant in a downtown bank. The fact that Bonaparte was willing to play nice with Monroe's uncle for a bit longer was a boon neither she nor Nick could have expected or hoped for, so she intended to make the best of it. It wasn't lost on Adalind what would happen should Bonaparte run out of patience. She shuddered at the thought.
After a hapless hour of trying to work and go about life as normal, Adalind gave up and let Kelly entertain her for a bit as she waited for a call from the bank with news of her loan. "It's all for you Kel, and for Dada and Trubel too, wherever she was. Your grandmother would flay me alive if she ever heard me speaking like this right now but then again, she's gone and I can make my own decisions."
A loud shrill of her desk phone startled her from her loud thoughts; she picked up the receiver after another ring or two after settling her racing heart. Perhaps it was Mr Charleston from the bank. It was her P.A. Sandy Grootbaum, "I'm sorry to bother you Ms Schade, there's a Mr Kessler waiting on the line for you. He doesn't have an appointment but says it's urgent."
Kessler? She only knew two people by that name, and they were both dead and then it clicked…. "Patch him through," said Adalind.
"Adalind Schade speaking, what can I do for you?"
"Adalind—Ms Schade, I apologise for imposing on your time—"
Relief swept over Adalind as she recognised the man's voice immediately, as if he somehow knew she needed to hear his voice to calm the storm quickly brewing inside her.
"Mr Kessler, I apologise. The error is mine, I meant to pencil you for an appointment, but it had slipped my mind, how about we meet for an early lunch, today, if you will?"
That caught Nick by surprise. She heard something catch in his throat before he replied without breaking a beat, "I would appreciate that."
"Let me sort out some things on my end and I will text you the location, I still have you number. However, there's one little matter I hope it won't be a problem. I have very young son with me, he'll be joining us today. I know it's unorthodox…."
"Ms Schade, it will be no problem at all, I have a way with children. I would never ask you to leave him behind." Nick said.
"That's perfect. See you in thirty."
*/*/*
Adalind parked on the side kerb across from the restaurant she'd texted to Nick. She could see him sitting by the window inside, waiting for them. She tried to temper down her emotions, the last thing she wanted was to escalate a situation that was still within her control.
She entered the restaurant and instead of heading to Nick's table where he'd stood on his feet to greet her but instead, Adalind tipped down her head and walked passed him to one furthest from the window and public view. The paranoia was irrational but after the morning she had, she needed to exercise more caution. Nick joined her a moment later, surprise, written on his face. He quickly pulled a chair for her to sit before taking a seat across from her. He lifted Kelly from his stroller and placed him across his lap.
"Well, this isn't exactly how I thought this would go when I called your office."
She was grateful he did, though it was on the tip of her tongue to ask him why he did call.
They'd long agreed to keep Nick Burkhardt, the Grimm away from the place she worked. No one could know their connection to one another, no matter what. While all of B.R.&A. knew about Kelly, his paternity was a well-guarded secret and they had both sworn to keep it that way. To most of Portland, Nick and Adalind had very little dealings together and maintaining that ruse was paramount for Kelly's safety. As Grimm and Hexenbiest, they'd racked up enough enemies to make their son an easy target and to have the secrecy of his paternity exposed was to put a target on his back. Today of all days proved that decision prudent.
"I'm glad you did, you gave me a good reason to get out of the office. I needed that."
"Something's wrong. What happened?" His concern was palpable; she could tell by the way he held his son a little tighter against his chest.
"Nothing…but I think it's time I stopped bringing Kelly with me to work." She interrupted his speech.
He said nothing but his countenance had grown a shade darker.
Adalind calculated the risk of telling Nick about Bonaparte. In truth, she was dying to tell him. While at the loft, he'd always made her feel safe, safer than at any other time in her life and now more than ever, she wanted to feel that way again but times had changed. Their time at the loft was over but one thing remained, their love for Kelly. She remembered when she came to him at the Precinct with news of her pregnancy, seeking his protection and Juliette; freshly minted Hexenbiest intercepted them before they could leave.
Adalind remembered how Nick solidly stood between her and his homicidal girlfriend, she desperately needed that Nick again, but now something new, unfamiliar and even more intense had rapidly risen within her. As he sat there stoically holding their son, a strange fire burned right through her. Adalind felt a sudden but strong and primal sense to protect Nick from harm, from the Zauberbiest that had deadly intentions against his kind despite the fact that Nick, as a Grimm was more than capable of taking care of himself. Suddenly, Adalind wanted to be the one to stand between him and those who wanted to kill him.
A calmness swept over her, a contrast to the storm brewing behind those grey stormy orbs looking down at her.
"This is unexpected." What he really meant was, "What the heck happened at that office to make you want Kelly away from you for longer than a second?" His voice was calm but it belied the truth staring her in the face. Adalind saw a vein pulsating erratically at his temple, Nick, clearly reigning in his better nature.
"I think it's time. I mean look at him, more and more he's beginning to look like you every day and I'd rather he be far away from that place before someone puts two and two together." She answered but it wasn't enough to mollify him.
"Something did happen." He said intensely, taking her tiny hand in his. It was so big, calloused from the hard life he lived but it was also so soft to the touch, gently caressing, something she didn't expect but greatly welcomed. His whole body had grown taut, like a beast waiting to strike at the first threat around him, a glaring contrast that had surprisingly made Adalind weak at the knees in the months they had spent together. Never did Adalind think a Grimm, of all beings, was capable of as much tenderness and strength as Nick had shown her in months past. It was so easy for her to want to fall again back into his arms; instead, Adalind steeled herself for what followed.
"Nick, I'm going out of town for a few days. I fly out tomorrow morning." She began. The surprise on his face was expected so she pushed on. "I'm hoping it will be a short trip, regardless, it had me thinking about our custody arrangement…it's time I revisit that as well, to make it joint." The words rolled off her tongue on their own, to her own surprise. She never considered this move until that moment and it felt right.
"What…Adalind?" he said her name in a way that made her insides flutter with butterflies and almost had her lose her nerve. "What the heck is going on?"
"My work load is piling, I can no longer keep up. If he won't be with me all day, we both can have equal time with him. It makes perfect sense."
"Sense? You're not making any sense. You Adalind Schade, are giving up Kelly?"
"No-I'm not giving him up, I'm just being practical. This trip, even though Rautbort sprung it on me only this morning, it's for one of our big clients. It's given me time to pause and think of what's best for Kelly.
He wasn't fooled. Nick had a talent of smelling "bs" a mile away, not even Adalind could finagle her way out of telling him the whole truth, but at least she could delay it….
"This client of yours, had you worked with him before today?"
"No."
"So he is the reason you don't want Kelly at the office and this whole shared custody twist, not that I'm not appreciative but something else is going here."
"There's nothing to worry about. Nick, Kelly's growing up so fast and he's going to need someone to give him undivided attention. I can't do that over a stack of legal documents and meetings all day, no matter how much I want to. He…he needs this and it was never fair of me to take him away from you in the first place."
"Who is he? What is he?" His voice was low, but she heard his control slipping.
"Nothing…nothing I cannot handle." She said but it only reinforced the dread building inside of Nick. He gave her a grim look, needling out a little more from her. She sighed. "He's someone I cannot afford to make a mistake around."
"So why won't you tell me who-what he is?"
"…Because nothing's happened and nothing is going to happen. I'm going to make sure of it."
"But you are worried, which makes me worried. I know you hate waring in that place, and now this client…"
"I'm probably just overacting. I have a knack for doing that." She gave him a weak smile.
"I know that things have been weird between us but you know you can tell me, whatever it is. You can trust me…I can help you."
"I know you can, that is what I love about you, but this is something I need to deal with myself and my way, at least for now."
Something incandescent flickered behind his eyes at her words.
"What, what is it?" she asked him self-consciously, confused by the change in his bearing and only then did she realise what she'd said aloud. "I'll be gone for a few days, then we'll talk." She continued as normal.
"Adalind…whatever it is, you aren't alone in this. I want to be there…for you." He said, the last word stressed for emphasis. "I know it's not my place, and maybe it never was with how things played out between us but oh how I wished it were my place, not to tell you what to do and make you do anything but to be there for you…to be with you and not because of Kelly either."
"What are you saying?" Her heart began to race listening to his words.
"Damn it. I was hoping to do this under better circumstances; to say what I have needed to say since that day."
Somehow, she knew which day he meant.
"Maybe I am too late but I wish I could go back to that day and do things differently, to tell you that you had nothing to be afraid of with me because I would never hurt you. I would never let anyone else hurt you, not again. I know that this is not the time but I should have stopped you from leaving. I should have fought harder for what we had…almost had."
She actually couldn't believe her ears. For so long she was afraid to hope for more because why would she after she'd hurt him so much in the past? She had no right to expect anything from him. In that restaurant, his words unfurled something deep, a fresh reservoir of feeling as they tumbled to the surface with each deep syllable. She was a Hexenbiest, yet Nick Burkhardt worked something heady in her heart, stronger than any potions she'd ever cooked up in her life, impossible to contain.
"I don't know what to say."
"Tell me you will have me because I cannot live another day without you, not one more second. I tried and it gets harder and harder with each passing day. I miss you." His eyes glazed with unshed tears, which he quickly brushed off. "I don't know, maybe I am going crazy, slowly losing my mind. I'm drowning myself in work, which is chaotic enough as it looking for ghosts where there aren't any and maybe I am projecting some of my issues on to you with your work because I know I messed up, big time and I want to be the man you…I'm sorry. I'm sorry, forget I said anything." He said clearing his throat and pulled away from her, as if he just realised he'd said too much.
"Did you mean it?"
"Which part?"
"…Any of it…all of it…"
"I did but I understand if it's too late…to give me a chance. It's the reason I called you at the office today. I wanted us to talk, to really talk…."
It was at that moment the waitress returned to their table with their meals. Neither of them spoke the entire time unto the tall brunette left their table once more.
"I miss you too." She said, breaking the silence that had suddenly fallen between them.
For several minutes, they ate in companionable silence, each digesting all that was spoken.
"So what happened at work?" She questioned him, when the silence…the 'looks' between them got to be too much for her. She needed a distraction before she jumped over the table and planted a long one on his firm lips.
"Hmmm?"
You said something about work being chaotic, what happened?" she asked.
"Oh, that…it's nothing. Let's just the Grimm in me was on duty that day and not the cop. Renard suspended me for a few days, without pay. He had to 'make an example,' he said, or else it would have escalated to his higher ups."
"Ooh, I'm sure he loved that. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Now I get to spend some quality time with my boy right here, while you are away." he gently patted Kelly's fading golden crown. "You're sure-sure, this problem at your office…I can't be of any help?"
"Nick, when I need a Grimm knight in bright shining armour, you will be the first call I make."
"You said 'when' and not 'if,' so you are expecting trouble."
"I walked straight into that didn't I? Rookie mistake." She said; a lame attempt at a joke. He didn't bite.
Her cell phone pinged. It was a text notification.
Adalind held her breath as she flipped her phone and gazed down at the screen. Immediately, a warmth radiated from within her as she smiled braodly, "It's already done." She said.
"What did you do?" He asked. He wasn't accusing.
"I did what was necessary," she said, now grinning from ear to ear. She slid her phone across the table.
"What is this?" He picked up on her phone and looked at the screen confused. "I don't understand."
"This is my way of dealing not just with my problem, but out problem," she beamed, harkening back to earlier in their conversation.
Adalind's bank account was now a $100,000 and some richer. The bank had approved her loan and that meant Nick could finally get the Grimm books and Bonaparte couldn't be an issue anymore.
"Care to explain," said Nick.
"It's a bit of a long, convoluted tale about the sale of over a dozen Grimm Books or so. I know you didn't have the money, or at the very least couldn't come up with it fast enough but I couldn't wait."
"How in the world did you know about the books? Did Monroe come to you? I told—"
"Monroe? No. My trip tomorrow, it is to Leipzig, Germany. My new client, he wants me to go and get him the books using my charms, if you know what I mean." A chill went down her spine just thinking about Bonaparte, a hair's breadth from her face earlier that day.
"You didn't have to do this. I mean I was going to get those books."
"Not fast enough, what else do you know about Nebosja?"
"Other than he was a Grimm and died of natural causes at a very old age?"
"Well he was a historian, or whatever passes off as such for Grimms. I don't know how he did it, but apparently, he kept a very detailed journal of every Grimm going back to the very first Seven."
"And that's why you…"
"I got the money so you can buy the books, since this Felix Dietrich, the man I'm supposed to meet in Germany won't sell to anyone but you. I couldn't wait. My client won't wait any longer. He doesn't care about all the other books, only one that has your name, date of birth and I'm fairly sure it has the loft's address written it or else what's the point of buying a book with names but no way of tracking those name. Moreover, if you're in it, Kelly could be too." She said, and let it sink in.
"You may have gotten your abilities only a few years back but if I'm right, Nebosja somehow had the knowledge of who in your bloodline carried the sight and he recorded it, down to the last child born before he died. If you buy the books, that Zauberbiest will never know about Kelly, and he certainly won't come busting through your door and catch you unaware."
"You mean half-Zauberbiest."
Adalind shook her head, "Full…the real deal. Take the money Nick and protect our son because tomorrow, I go to Germany to do my job."
*/*/*