Vera consumed every thought of Adalind. She vacillated between Vera being the killer Nick hunted and someone that was coincidentally at the right place and time. Had she been playing her and Rosalee all this time, a predator lying in wait for its prey? It had been a while since Adalind felt used and there was no worst feeling in the world than that, except the few times she was betrayed by those closest to her.

"I still can't believe it." Rosalee said.

Adalind could.

She'd done the same thing years earlier, making friends with people for the purpose of destroying them. It was her ammo, shamefully so, and now the shoe was firmly on the other foot and Adalind hated every minute of it. At any other time, she'd be up for the challenge, she missed getting a good scrap or two since having her children and it's because of her children she'd towed the line. She had to think about them first.

The idea that they knew the identity of Portland's serial killer was nothing more than an educated guess, stemming from years of being on the other side, conspiring against the very man she now loved whole-heartedly. It was something she wasn't proud of anymore and unfortunately, something she just couldn't sweep under the rug because she wished it. In a sense, she could see things in a way that the others could not. She only wished she'd seen through Vera sooner. She was only glad she'd not let that women sink her claws firmly into her life or who knew how things would turn.

Adalind thought of the times they had met with one another, Vera had been careful to make certain she was there first, a sign of a pro perhaps. However, how had she done it? That day at Laurelhurst, it was a spur of the moment decision to take Kelly to the park, she hadn't told anyone…or had she? Adalind couldn't remember that day, what annoyance at her office that drove her away. When she first told Rosalee about Vera later that day, it was as a footnote after a long a trying day at the office, it surprised her to find the two were also already acquainted.

Untypical of Adalind, she had thought nothing of it, it's not as though Portland was a small city where everyone knew everyone else. If meeting Vera happened by coincidence, and this latest killing was simply another coincidence on top of the many others that came before. That was one coincidence too many. It set a wild fire to the detectives' case, getting them that much closer to solving it but it also left the group frazzled with deadly possibilities.

Hank and Wu made their exit but Nick lingered, tethered to Adalind and his son by an invisible cord.

"What is it? I already told you everything I can think of." She said.

"I know, I know…it's just the cop in me can't let this go and the father and fiancé in me…." He said as he moved into her arms.

Aww, she thought. He was making her melt. This man made it impossible for Adalind not to love him, her protector in every sense of the word.

"We're going to be fine." She reassured him, she was full powered so that wasn't her trying to placate him, it was the truth.

"I just want you both safe, all of you. Will you stay here, at least until I return?"

"...Alright, but we're going to have to leave some time. You are going to be gone for hours at the very least, I don't we're going to see you until tomorrow morning. I don't want to inconvenience Monroe and Rosalee."

"Well then, I'm taking you both, home. I'd feel better knowing that you're secure there than—"

"Aah Nick…we came here separately, remember?"

"Fine, I don't mind following you home."

"No you won't."

She didn't want to argue with him since technically, they wanted the same thing but at the same time, she was the more rational of the two at that moment. The truth was that nothing had happened to her, or Kelly and nothing had happened to any of his friends either.

Earlier, he'd called Bud to check in with the Eisbiber and learnt that he and Phoebe were more than all right. They were visiting the mother-in-law, out of town and Bud, the curious beaver that he was had questioned Nick about the reason for the call but Nick had managed to evade giving a straight answer, not wanting to alarm his flighty friend.

"We're all going to be alright," she repeated more firmly than before. "…I am a Hexenbiest again, so I can handle things fine while you're gone."

"Are you sure? It's not as though you've had an opportunity to test them, properly I mean. You told me something felt different since the suppressant wore off…."

Right, she'd forgotten about that but then how could she test the extent of her abilities when old memories of her past life filled her with shame? No doubt that things between her and Nick had improved dramatically but she couldn't fully shake off some of the insecurities about what she was.

"Nick, don't worry so much, everything is in working order." She said as she levitated Kelly's chew toy from her carry bag into her hand without looking. She could have done more, really raise the roof off but she didn't want to cause a ruckus in Rosalee's shop. "See? Now go, they need elsewhere. I'll stay with Rosalee as long as it's necessary and when it's time to go home, I'll let you know so you needn't worry so much."

Sometimes it was easy to forget that Adalind wasn't the powerless waif from a year ago when she was desperate for protection. The entire dynamic of their relationship had changed and for the better. She only wished they had time to settle into this new and wonderful thing before diving once more into the chaos and violence that marked their lives since the day they first laid eyes on one another. She had yet to enjoy being a mother, being in love, recently engaged and now there was a killer possibly hunting them….

His brow creased with broody displeasure. It made him even more gorgeous to her and that gave Adalind secret pleasure to see how deeply he cared, which she hid behind her long lashes as she smiled at him.

"Please," he said as relaxed a bit, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.

They exchanged an "I love you" and a chaste but expectant kiss for the next time when they would see one each other. It had none of the awkwardness that had marked their embrace earlier that evening with Hank and Wu now gone. Rosalee and Monroe didn't count as she felt no judgement from them being intimate with Nick.

"Now go," said Adalind.

Nick bid his friends good night, gave his family one final kiss and disappeared up the stair into the night to catch a killer.

"Now how about some tea?" Rosalee asked.

"How about something a little stronger?" Monroe pulled out a bottle of Bourbon from the cupboard and waved it at his wife instead.

"Bourbon sounds a whole lot better than tea," said Adalind, a bit more relaxed.

"Yeah, that's actually much better," said Rosalee as she swapped the mugs for glasses.

They tried to keep the conversation light, like the recent engagement but all roads seemed to lead to Vera. They hadn't proven anything definitively yet, that she was, in fact, the serial killer, but the circumstantial evidence was conclusive enough. Monroe, just like Nick, was as curious about every minor little detail. It was a surprise he wasn't a detective like Nick.

"How exactly did you meet?" He asked Adalind.

Adalind recounted the story for the umpteenth time.

"So she was at Laurelhurst Park before you?" he said thoughtfully.

"That's why the whole thing doesn't make sense, if she's been stalking me this whole time. How could she have inserted herself into my life if I was almost always the last to show up at every location…unless she knew what my movements were beforehand? We're talking several places here, very random unrelated locations. It was the park; there was the one time at a gym, the airport coming back from Germany and the Spice Shop. I think there was a grocery store somewhere in between all of that."

"Could she have known…beforehand that is, where you'd be?"

"No…I don't think so. It's mostly places I've been to around work and there's not a lot of people I converse with so easily these days, not since Nick's mom and Diana's last disappearance, except maybe Sandy."

"Who's Sandy?"

"Sandra Grootbaum, my PA at the office."

"A-HA!" cried Monroe as if he'd just solved a great mystery.

"No, unlikely, I only tell her so much but not everything because of Nick. My firm can never find out about Nick."

"She would still be the person that makes your appointments, knows your daily routine the most, in case they needed to reach you at the office." He said.

"Adalind, he does have point."

He did, so did that mean she had a spy in her very tiny circle? Hand Sandy betrayed what little trust she had in that office, or worse, was mousy, meek Rocky sold her out to Vera? She could hear her mother's reproachful voice calling her a fool because this was exactly what happened when she trusted people.

She sighed in frustration. She loathed the idea of her mother being right about anything, especially with regards to Adalind allowing herself to grow attached to other people. Although Hexenbiest weren't loners by any stretch of the imagination, their inherent ability not to trust still fostered a lonely life, something Adalind was adamant to break now with Nick and the likes of Rosalee and Monroe. She had hoped Vera would be another acquaintance that could grow into something more substantial but that was no longer an option for her.

"So what now?" Asked Monroe.

"Now we set a trap. It's the only way to sniff out the rat." She said and paused. At least there's one thing I can be grateful for…."

"What's that?" asked Rosalee.

"If someone's been spying on me in that firm, it's clearly off the clock, so to speak. Berman and Rautbort have no knowledge of his or her extracurricular activities at the office or else they'd have her head for working for a Grimm."

"Can you be sure about that?" asked Rosalee, her concern written all over her face.

"I'm already touting the line as it is because of Nick. I know for a fact if B.R.&A. knew just how close I was to Portland's Grimm, they would have come after me in an instant."

"I sure hope you're right," said Monroe.

"I know I am."

*/*/*

Adalind and Kelly were sitting at the Laurelhurst Park bench enjoying the afternoon's light breeze, while Nick was sweating up a storm over the barbeque. They were celebrating their son's first birthday, a very important milestone for Adalind but honestly, every milestone was important to Adalind, she thought contemplatively between ogling her sexy Grimm and entertaining their son with a squishy toy. Everything she experienced with her son was a first. It should not have been that way because of Diana but unfortunately, that wasn't up to her.

Nick had wanted to hold the festivities above the loft in their new garden but Adalind swayed him to the park instead, "Kelly likes the park. It's something that had become a favourite past time," she told Nick that morning and so they gathered all their friends for a picnic catered more for the adults than the birthday boy, it's not as though he would remember the day when he was older, thought Adalind wistfully.

She shut her eyes for a moment and soaked in the sunlight but a shadow passed before her and Adalind felt the sudden weight on the opposite end of the bench. When she opened her eyes, she found Vera Fischer, sitting beside her, dressed immaculately and smelling like Coco Chanel, as per usual.

"Hello Adalind…beautiful day, don't you agree?" she said, however there was nothing remotely casual about her tone.

"Hmm…it is, Kelly's loving it, aren't you Kel-bell?" she said as she a lump of suspicion as she rocked Kelly's stroller back and forth between the two of them. "Where's your little one, I don't see her around, perhaps you can join us, we're celebrating this guy's big day." asked Adalind as she scanned the park for a little girl if she actually remembered the toddler's complexion but in truth, she didn't.

"I'm not here for that, I'm here for another reason," said Vera cryptically as her hand laid hold of the stroller suddenly, causing the hairs at the back of Adalind's hair to bristle quite sharply. Vera rose to her feet, the sun well behind her blinding Adalind, albeit shortly. "What a pretty little Grimm you are," said Vera and she scooped Kelly out of his stroller, much to Adalind's annoyance.

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?" Adalind asked, pushing to her feet. She bristled with a possessive and protective streak that was her companion since the day she found out she was pregnant with Kelly. "Vera, give me back my son," Adalind hissed like a snake ready to bite.

"…But he's not your son."

Adalind felt the back of a steel fist connect hard with her chin and sent her crashing hard against a tree several yards away.

Adalind woged but that didn't dull the pain of the impact to her side and lower back. She'd cracked a few ribs, judging from the sharpness of the pain she felt in her midriff.

"I mean look at yourself…witch, he was never yours!" growled the other woman while nestling Adalind's son across her chest as he began to cry. Vera looked once at Adalind with open contempt, turned and walked away.

Adalind's vision turned red with fury as she flew to her feet. Using her mind, she wrestled Kelly free from the Grimm's arms, swaddled him safely into his stroller and shuffled it far away from Vera's grasp as she pounced on the other woman, landing a heavy blow of her own across Vera's perfectly made up face. Adalind was always great at multitasking but that was the last thing on her mind. All she could think of was getting Kelly safely away from this apparent psycho Grimm.

"That…is going to cost you," Vera said as she wiped the trickle of blood from the corner of her lips and rose to her feet, looming large in front of Adalind but she wasn't fazed for a second. She wasn't the first Grimm she ever faced nor was she afraid of her.

For the first time, Adalind gazed into the dark bottomless abyss drawing her in like a moth to a flame but she would not fall for it. It's never been documented what the darkness behind the Grimm's eyes were. Many wesen who lived to tell the tale talked about seeing the absolute worst of themselves in those darkened orbs but there was always something that inspired an unnatural, paralysing fear that made even the strongest wesen want to run but Adalind firmly planted herself between Vera and Kelly. She wasn't like any other wesen and much more than that, she was a mother who would rip off the throat of anyone that dared threaten her son. "You will not touch my son let alone come near him." She warned Vera, the Grimm.

"As if you have the power to stop me," sneered the other woman towards Adalind.

"I will do much more than that you crazy bitch!"

"Or you think Nick is going to ride on his high horse and fight your battles. He isn't, I've made sure of it. He will never stand between you and I ever again, believe me." Vera threw back her head in laugher.

"What are you talking about?" Adalind looked towards the barbeque stand but Nick was nowhere in sight, in fact, none of their friends were there. The whole park had emptied, leaving the two women alone with Kelly's bewildered cries, throwing Adalind into confusion, temporarily.

Vera took a step towards Adalind but she gathered herself immediately and yelled for the other woman to back off. Each syllable dripping with more venom in case the message was lost in translation.

Vera only smirked her way as Kelly's cries grew to a crescendo. The need to tend to her distressed son made Adalind turn her eyes back to him to as to reassure him that his Mama was there for him but when she turned back to face Vera, the Grimm had disappeared all except her wild cackling as if she knew something that Adalind did not. Adalind walked over to Kelly's stroller to take him into her arms but he too had disappeared as the echo his wailing pierced Adalind's heart like a thousand sharp daggers.

"Kelly!" She called out to him desperately, searching every inch of that park to no avail. There were no children playing in the sand pit or nor the jungle gym, no parents watching from a distance, not even a car drove by. Adalind stood all alone in the middle of the park with Kelly's cries and Vera evil laugh ringing in her head like a haunted carousel.

"Kelly, KELLY!" She cried out until her throat now hoarse with exertion, searching for him in ever place she could think of, including her office, the loft and Spice Shop, every place she knew where to look but he was gone and so was Nick. Adalind was once again all alone in the world….

"What did I tell you Addy," she heard her mother say.

A boisterous wind crashed against the shutters jolting Adalind from a deep sleep. She opened her eyes still heavy with restlessness. She winced in pain as she tried to stretch a little. In fact, her whole body ached as if she'd been in a serious fight but couldn't be since she spent most of the night with Monroe and Rosalee. She considered the possibility of a dream but the last tendrils of her dream ebbed away the more awake she became. It would not have bothered her had she not felt dampness on her palms. At first, she mistook it for sweat only to find it was her blood evidenced by the stained sheets. Somehow, her fingernails had dug deep into her palms; tearing the skin, but how and why?

Kelly?!

She immediately jumped off the bed towards his crib but thankfully, she saw him lying peacefully, sound asleep, without a care in the world. She should have been relieved but something nagged at her. She looked down her bloody palms again, wondering what had happened. She clearly dreamt something terrible to make herself bleed this way so what could it have been? Adalind gently felt her ribs once more and in deed, they were cracked. She was familiar with night terror growing up but never anything to illicit a physical manifestation; worse, she didn't even remember what she had dreamt.

Adalind closed her eyes, willing herself to remember but all she managed was to wrinkle her nose at an imaginary smell, Chanel No. 5. She closed her eyes once more but there was nothing else. Her recollection of the dream was gone. Resigned, she shook her head from side to side. She was awake now, there was no point trying to conjure up what she couldn't remember, and whatever it was, it was over, she thought wearily. She looked down at the bloody sheets, and yanked them off the bed to stuff them in the washing machine before Nick returned home and faced a barrage of questioning to which she had no answers.

When Nick finally returned home, she didn't bother checking the time on the clock. It was very early in the morning and she hadn't slept a wink since she woke from her nightmare. She listened to him walking around the loft checking and double-checking everything, making sure they were secure before trudging into the bedroom with the world heavy on his shoulders, a call back to the early months after Kelly's birth and she had suppressed her abilities. Every rattle against the windows had kept her wide awake at night until Nick came home, it was the only time she ever felt safe, waiting with anticipation to feel his wait against her.

"Hey…I didn't mean to wake you." He said quietly as he slid beneath the covers.

"It's alright…I wasn't really sleeping anyway."

"Are you alright?" He asked. His concern was palpable.

"I'm fine." She lied. "…You?"

She was hesitant to ask him about the recent body they found earlier so she bit her tongue, not wanting to burden him any more with her questioning over something that had visibly affected him, so she snuggled closely into his embrace hoping to put each other both ease only just for the night. She felt him nuzzle against her hair, breathing her in as he often did. It calmed her own frayed senses that had kept sleep at bay, worrying about Kelly while also worrying about him, his safety despite the fact that he was well capable of looking after himself, even when he was a sightless Grimm.

This gave Adalind some relief but not much. She knew that while Nick wasn't a target, she knew Nick; he would make himself one in order to stop this killer. Years ago, he stood between herself and the bee queen that wanted to kill her and they barely liked one another back then. He did the same when Juliette threated her and their then, unborn son. It was in his nature to put himself in the line of fire to protect others and it was because of his protective nature that worried Adalind the most.

Years ago, neither of them had a reason to care whether the other lived or died and now the circumstances between them had changed so much so and the stakes were infinitely high for he both of them. If she was at risk, so was he. Their lives had twisted and twined together so intricately, it became increasingly difficult so see where he began and she ended.

"I'm fine." He said quietly his voice course with inexpressible emotion. It was a lie.

"Nick…."

"Hmm?" He said, affecting drowsiness for her sake but she knew better.

"I'm sorry you had to go through what you did tonight. I can't imagine how hard that was for you." She said finally unable to keep her thoughts to herself.

He didn't say anything but his arms wrapped more tightly around her body, the only reassurance he needed, she supposed.

"As long as you and Kelly are safe…that's all that matters. I told Renard about Vera Fischer."

"…And…?"

"He hasn't heard anything about a new Grimm in town. He's not happy about it."

"Of course he isn't. He's a typical Royal, he doesn't like sharing, and in his mind, Portland only belongs to him."

"On any other day, I'd be happy for another Grimm to ruin his day but not one that also threatened my family."

His family, the thought made her light headed. Clearly, Nick being so open and unguarded about her and her place in his life was going to take some getting used to.

"Did something happen when I was gone?"

"No, why do you ask?" she said drowsily.

"I can hear you wincing in pain from just holding you and this…." He said while lightly grazing the inside of her hand with his thumb.

Nick lifted her hand so he can have a clear view, even in the darkened loft.

"Oh, it's nothing serious. I think I was having a nightmare or something."

"Some nightmare that must have been, who were you fighting?"

"I didn't say I was fighting. I don't even remember what it was about."

Nick soothingly rubbed the inside of her palm.

"It doesn't really matter now anyway." She added quickly.

She thought he would drop it but instead, Nick turned her so she lay flat on her back and she looked up at him. His eyes shone through the dark like lightning over a stormy sea. "You would tell me if you were not okay."

Adalind wasn't sure if that was a question or not. She nodded her head regardless.

Nick took a hold of each of her hands, raised them to his lips and kissed the reddened palms as if his lips could minister a healing salve. He ended with a deep rich kiss of her lips that melted every bone in her body, setting it on fire.

"Thank you, that feels so much better."

"Good." He said and then rolled her back to rest against his chest.

Adalind thought he'd fallen asleep when his breathing had slowed to long and soft breaths, warm against her skin. She thought he'd finally fallen asleep but the soft raspy call of her name surprised her, "Adalind…?"

"Nick…."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

*/*/*

Notes:

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. Thank you once more for sticking with this story. Because this chapter was growing to long, the portion I snipped it at the end will be the opening of the next chapter. All comments are appreciated.