The morning after Adalind had suggested them living together, Nick laid in bed awake with Adalind sleeping in his arms and a large smile on his face.
The night had been filled with passionate love making, absolutely no time for discussing anything.
Nick imagined what living with Adalind would be like and the joy in his heart only got bigger.
There would stop being a need to discuss whose place they were staying at that night or being forced to go back to his lonely apartment when he had to work late on a case and he didn't want to bother Adalind.
There would always be an assurance they would be sleeping in the same bed every night. Preparing meals together in their kitchen. Having friends over and sharing special events in their home.
The more Nick thought about it the more he loved it.
And then he focused more on the images in his mind. It wasn't an apartment he was dreaming about, it was a house.
His and Adalind's house. Designed by the two of them. A merging of their tastes and interests. It was perfection.
He felt Adalind stir awake in his arms and he didn't stop himself from gazing at her as her eyes opened and she looked at him with a loving smile.
"Good morning."
"Morning."
Nick lowered his head and kissed her gently on the lips. She cupped his head as they lingered for a moment.
Once they were able to pull themselves away from one another and start their day, Nick told her his imaginings of them living together.
"I realized that everything I was thinking took place in a house, not an apartment."
"I wouldn't mind having a yard so I could have an herb garden." Adalind said thoughtfully.
Nick smiled brightly, thrilled that Adalind was not only taking his idea seriously, but was also already imagining for herself things she would want. He believed that boded well for his plan.
Adalind thought the idea of getting a house together made sense. It would certainly be more secure for the both of them. She was sure her protection spells would be stronger with a place she and Nick actually owned.
Searching for a house took time. Especially when the two people looking for the house had very busy lives. Most of the house hunting took place when the two of them were curled up in bed, resting between rounds of love making. Adalind would get out her home laptop and search for houses for sale in their area. Each one also used any breaks they had at work and then would send the info to the others email or cell phone.
During those weeks of house hunting, Nick and Adalind's friends ended up meeting. Unfortunately, it was not under the best of circumstances.
Nick and Hank were assigned to investigate a criminal lawyer suspected of hiring his current and former clients to commit crimes against those the lawyer felt wronged him.
A former secretary, who was suing the lawyer, Raymond Kines, for sexual harassment, claimed her car had been vandalized on several occasions because her former boss was sending men to do it, and that he had done similar to other people. After the second time her tires had been slashed and her windows broken, she had set up a small security camera hidden in the rear view mirror that was motion activated. The camera picked up a man who had been arrested several times for breaking into houses and stealing any valuables. Since the vandals lawyer was the former boss of the car owner, it was enough of a coinsurance to investigate further.
And that's when the murder plot was discovered.
Kines was furious about being rejected by a woman he had been seeing and had offered to pay five thousand dollars to a couple of his frequent clients if they would kill her.
Burks had recorded every conversation he had with his clients as a means of insurance. If they didn't pay him, the recording would be edited and given to the police if the client failed to pay attorney's fees.
It was completely unethical and illegal. Kines would have been arrested and disbarred, but his clients wouldn't have known that.
Kines had recorded himself offering to waive his fee and even give money if two particularly violent clients would kill Kines' ex girlfriend.
When Kines told the hitmen where his ex worked, a chill ran down Nick's spine. It was the same law office Adalind worked at. Then Kines continued with the description and said she was a devorce lawyer (Nick knew Adalind was a financial and business lawyer) by the name of Felicia Alverez.
Not Adalind, but her friend. Adalind had often talked about her closest friends at her law firm.
Nick's instincts warned him they needed to move fast.
Hank and Nick called for an all points bulletin on Kines, whose new secretary said took off the moment the officers entered the office building where he worked. They also had people check the courthouse and the law firm to attempt to find Felicia and ensure she was safe.
Nick called Adalind, certain she would know where her friend would be at that time. Adalind told him Felicia was meeting a new client at his place of work. Adding up all of the information, the detectives and the blonde lawyer were certain the meeting was really a set up.
Sure enough, when Nick and Hank arrived at the address Adalind provided, they discovered two men with large knives pointed at a woman.
Nick and Hank tackled the two men and quickly disarmed them. The two men were taken by surprise and had not had a chance to put up a fight, though that didn't stop them from cursing at the detectives. Or threatening the lawyer who had hired them.
"If I ever see him again I'm ripping his fucking throat out!" One growled.
Obviously they weren't hired for their intelligence. Seeing as how more charges could be added on because of voicing threats.
With everything that had happened right in front of her and finding out her ex had put a hit out on her, the emotional toll caused Felicia to woge. Not fully, just enough for other wesen and grimms to know what she was.
Nik was surprised to see that she wasn't a hexenbiest but some sort of large cat like wesen. He had assumed that most of the people in Adalind's law firm were biester.
She seemed to take a slight step back, as if in reflex, then shook her head slightly, going back to her regular form.
"Oh! You're Adalind's!" Felicia said, recognizing the man she had seen coming out of her friend's office with a satisfied grin on his face a number of times. She cut herself off from saying grimm, since Adalind had told her Nick's partner was not yet in the loop about everything.
Nick smiled brightly like a boy who just found out his crush liked him back. "Is that what Adalind calls me, hers?"
"Actually, she calls you things like "my man", "my sexy man", her reason for rushing out of work and turning down most invites for drinks from friends at the office and all invites from any guys who are looking to get a little too friendly."
"Who are these guys trying to get too friendly with her?" Nick nearly growled.
Felicia laughed. "Don't worry. They backed off when Adalind asked them if they could last four hours like you can. Of course, there's always that one guy whose persistent and claimed he could. We all knew he was lying. Adalind shot him down by telling him you carry a badge, a gun and were very possessive of her."
"Damn right." Nick nodded his head once. "I've waited my whole life for Adalind. I sure as hell won't be letting her go without a fight."
Clearly impressed, Felicia said, "I think Adalind's been wishing for someone like you her whole life. You are everything to her and she's just as possessive as you. Trust me when I say she's fighting just as hard for your relationship as you are."
Hank cleared his throat. Then held out his hand. "I'm Hank Griffin, Nick's partner and the unfortunate soul who has to see him all happy and in love while I suffer from being single."
Nick smiled at Hank ensuring to let the attractive woman know he was very much unattached and unhappy about it.
They called in the arrests and the men were taken to the precinct for lock up. They were notified Kines had been picked up and taken to the jail. He had run a red light in is attempt to flee the area and had caused a crash. Thankfully, no one was hurt and it was one more thing to tack on to Kines' list of crimes.
Felicia followed behind the detectives in her own car, saying she was composed enough to drive. She happily gave her witness statement about the whole incident.
Nick read Felicia as a woman who knew she was smart and sexy. She was a strong willed woman who was unafraid to take charge. Assertive and confident, she was one to never allow anyone to get away with giving her less than their very best. She expected a man to treat her as an equal. She didn't need a man to make more money than her or take care of her financially. She expected a man to take care of her emotional needs and sexual desires. She wanted a life partner, one who was a passionate lover and a good friend.
And with her dark looks and lush curves, Hank was practically salivating with desire every time he looked at her.
Nick was sure Adalind had been right in thinking Felicia and Hank would make a very good match.
They just had to inform the older detective about the whole grimm wesen thing.
Adalind ran in to the precinct's bullpen and as soon as she spotted her friend chatting with Nick and Hank at their desks she rushed to her and pulled her into a tight hug, relieved to see her friend was safe.
She then turned to Nick, hugged him just as tightly and kissed him deeply. She whispered in his ear, softly, for only him to hear. "When we get home, I am giving you a hero's reward."
Turning back to her friend, as if she hadn't just enticed Nick, Adalind said to Felicia, "I'm so glad you're alright."
"Thanks to your boyfriend and his partner." Felicia replied. "I just can't believe Ray actually wanted to kill me. We only went out a few times. And he wasn't really all that passionate about us."
"More than likely it's an ego thing." Nick explained. "Being the one getting rejected was not something he could tolerate. You were the one to end it, not him. He didn't like having the control taken from him and decided you needed to suffer for it."
"That makes more sense. Him being a control freak with a fragile ego is part of the reason I dumped him." Felicia sighed wistfully. "If only I could find a man who respected me as an equal and was also romantic. Like Adalind did. But where could I find someone like that."
"Why don't we all go for drinks after work?" Hank suggested.
That was the start of Hank and Felicia dating.
Within just a few days, Monroe would also be starting his own romance thanks to Nick being a detective and his friend.
A wesen owned spice and herb shop had been broken into, the owner killed. The victims sister arrived to handle things. She had been startled and wary at first, she didn't trust the police and she certainly did not believe a grimm would be concerned with the death of a wesen. But changed when Nick introduced her to his blutbad friend Monroe and hexenbiest girlfriend Adalind.
When the men who killed her brother Freddy broke into the shop again and tried to hurt her, Nick offered Rosalee protection and called Monroe when the female fuchsbau requested that the blutbad be the one to stay with her.
Ultimately, it was Rosalee who was the greatest help in solving her brothers murder. The men who broke into the shop were addicted to an herb that only gave wesen a certain high. Nick was able to read that the fuchsbau herself was a recovering addict. She lead them to where the perpetrators were most likely getting their fix and even saved Monroe's life when one attacked him by hitting the murderous wesen in the head with a brick.
By the end of the case, Nick could tell his friend was smitten and was certain the pretty lady fuchsbau was a permanent member of the group.
Hank was puzzled at first why Nick had asked Monroe to help protect a witness. All he had known about the guy was that Nick had once suspected him of kidnapping and he had a freakish amount of knowledge about timepieces.
Though Hank knew it shouldn't really surprise him that Nick had somehow befriended the guy, that was just how Nick was. Able to turn most acquaintances into friends and friends into family.
It wasn't long before everyone found themselves socializing more with one another.
Adalind befriended Rosalee. The hexenbiest had offered her condolences about the loss of the fuchsbau's brother and offered to help with anything.
The two women would meet up, share a cup of coffee and talk about whatever was on their minds.
Of course, with Nick being a detective and a grimm, Monroe, Rosalee and Adalind spent a great deal of their time together helping him with whatever case he was working on.
Making friends and helping the good grimm protect people made Rosalee decide to stay in the city and operate her brother's business herself.
And since Monroe had his own business fixing clocks and Adalind was a financial and business lawyer, Rosalee had plenty of help in making the business a success.
If it was true that there was strength in numbers, than Nick and Adalind felt like the strongest people in the world.
Adalind especially was enjoying having Nick and her friends getting along so well. It added more people on her side incase Sean or Catherine tried to pull any more stunts trying to drive a wedge between herself and Nick.
The more people around Nick who loved him and wanted to help him, the more people that stood between Nick and the manipulations of Sean Renard and Catherine Schade.
Adalind especially enjoyed how there were wesen members with teeth and claws that could tear a body apart, and that the human members carried badges and guns.
Wu was added to the group when he noticed Nick's male friends were getting very attractive girlfriends.
"You don't by any chance have any other single friends, do you?" Wu asked Adalind one day when she came by the precinct to have lunch with Nick and talk to him about their group of friends getting together to have dinner at a restaurant.
"My friend Caroline is single." Adalind said when she thought about what Nick had told her about the sergeant and considering who she knew that would be a good match for him. "But I feel the need to warn you. She loves cats and is a big gamer."
"Sounds like my soulmate."
"Oh, great! How about I call her and the eight of us can all have dinner together."
That evening, as Nick and Adalind were getting ready to meet their friends at the selected restaurant, Nick asked, "The friend you're setting up with Wu, Caroline, what kind of wesen is she?"
"Dryades. Human stories would call her a wood nymph. Wu would probably find her wesen form really attractive."
"Wood nymph? Like in those Greek myths of women who are chased around by guys with legs like goats?"
Adalind laughed. "Kind of. Of course, like with all stories, there have been a lot of exaggeration. Dryades are known for being very clever. And full of energy. A friendly nature unless you try to hurt someone they care about."
Seeing a thoughtful look over Nick's face, Adalind asked what was wrong.
"I'm just worried about how good of a match it will be. Remember, Wu's human."
"There won't be a problem. Dryades never harm those they care about. If you're worried about speed or strength, neither would be triggered unless there's a threat. And if you're worried about their sex life, those like Caroline have always been able to enjoy themselves no matter who they were with. Just a little bit of affection can go a long way. A slow kiss and a soft caress can trigger an orgasm. There also may be a little something about Dryades that can get a man going and lasting a long time."
"What about Hank and Felicia?"
"Trust me. Everything will be alright."
Nick read Caroline as a woman who loved to laugh. A sense of humor was the most important quality in a potential life partner. It made her a good match for Wu.
Wu seemed to be taken with her right away.
The whole group sat around their table, talking and laughing with ease.
Seeing Nick so happy and surrounded by people who already loved him or were starting to made Adalind feel more at ease about Nick's safety.
Especially since she could see Sean Renard in one corner of the restaurant and her mother in another, staring at the large group with calculating and conniving looks on their faces.