((Author's Note: Yo thanks a lot for everyone's support! I really do love you guys and wish I had the motivation to really keep this fanfiction going at a decent pace but, as things are, I was occupied with three other really large projects over at AO3. At this moment, I've knocked one of them out entirely and ended up putting the other two on ice, so please expect more thorough updates coming in, alright? Alright! Hope this was worth the wait!

Also, I might be editing a few chapters to go along with the canon that grimms have black eyes as opposed to gold, and also just to amp quality because I feel like I've improved a lot over this hiatus.))

That author's note was written five years ago. I'm going to keep it intact for the sake of nostalgia.

Hello everyone! Thank you for waiting five years for a new chapter of this really old, self-insert Grimm fanfiction.

I hope it's been worth it:

It was always something for Monroe. Whether it was a grimm breaking down his door, needing to shoot an ogre to save said grimm, or having to deal with a normal work schedule while also being a decent guardian to his only niece. At this point, he'd rather take his chances with the grimm.

"I just don't understand why Angelina needs to come over here," Maria said, trying to keep the audible whine out of her voice.

Monroe turned around with an exasperated sigh as he finished combing his hair. "We've been over this, Maria. While I trust you, I just don't feel okay with leaving you home by yourself. Angelina's the only one available to come over."

"I'm a little old for a baby sitter, don't you think?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow. "Besides, it's only going to be for a few hours. And it's going to be in the middle of the day!"

"She's not a babysitter, alright? I think you're fully capable of making your own meals and things like that, but I'd still like someone at the house with you." He calmed down and gave her a serious look. "To be honest, I'm still kind of spooked after that guy who tried to shoot me, okay? I know that you were just up the stairs, and it would just make me feel better if someone was here with you, okay?"

She puffed out her cheeks as she glared up at him, trying to think about it before she resigned with a sigh. "Fine. You're lucky Angelina's kind of cool."

Monroe snickered and turned around to continue working on his half-combed hair. "Yea well, between you and me, I'm kind of hoping you can keep her out of trouble tonight, alright? I mean, Angelina's great and all, but things got a little too crazy the last time she was over."

"I don't think you can blame her for a killer cop," Maria said as she leaned against the doorway to the bathroom.

"I'm not blaming her for anything, but I think we can both agree that launching out vigilante style to kill him herself was a bit wrong, right?" he said, meeting her eyes in the mirror.

Maria turned away from him, thinking carefully about what she would say next. Finally, she said, "But she wasn't the one to kill him, was she?"

Monroe stopped again, almost dropping his comb into the sink before turning around. "Hey," he began, "don't let you beat yourself up over that." He leaned down somewhat. "You did what you thought was right. You protected me, and probably Hap and Angelina too. I'm not saying killing is right, and it's not what I want for you, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do in those situations. Just because we shouldn't rely on our instincts or give into them all the time, doesn't mean we shouldn't listen to them at all, okay?"

She nodded and shifted her eyes away again. He was about to say more when they heard a knock on the door.

Jumping at the first chance to run, Maria skirted out of the room and left Monroe to finish getting ready. There was no surprise when she got downstairs to find the door already open and Angelina standing in the door way.

"Ay," she shouted as she closed the door behind her. "There's my favorite god child!"

Maria smiled, but then her face twisted in confusion. "I thought Charlie and Grace were my god parents."

"Yea your parents let them think that too," Angelina said with a wink.

Before she could respond, Monroe came down the stairs, hands fiddling with the collar of his shirt. "Hey, Angelina, thanks for coming over."

"No problem!" she said, reaching up to ruffle his hair and causing him to cry a bit on the inside.

"Well, I have to get going," he said as he walked to the door. He set his hand on the knob, turning to them once more to add, "Behave."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Angelina said as she placed a hand on Maria's shoulder.

"I wasn't talking to her."

Angelina sighed dramatically as he left, locking the door and turning on her heel with a grin. "Alright, now that the nerd's gone, what do you wanna do?"

"I don't really know," Maria said. "I mean, this is the first week I've had without people trying to kill me for one reason or another so, there's that."

"Come on, what do you usually do?"

She shrugged.

"Read?"

Angelina continued staring at her, nodding slightly. She was obviously judging her, yet doing well to remain polite.

"Well, how about we head out then?"

"And do what?"

"Oh, I'm sure we could find something to do. It's not even noon, let's have a girls' day out!" she said as she turned towards the door and grasped the handle.

Maria peered at her face, trying to get a sense of what she was up to as she followed her out.

Upon reaching the driveway, she realized a major issue.

"You don't have a car," she said.

"Uh, yeah. Cars are for losers."

"I don't think Monroe has motorcycle helmets."

Angelina scoffed. "Guess you'll just have to use mine," she said, tossing it towards Maria, who scrambled to catch it. "Don't worry- your uncle always said I have a hard head."

She winked as she threw her leg over the bike, grabbing onto the handlebars with a light smirk.

"Get on!"

Maria complied, fixing the helmet over her head. It fit snuggly, and she pulled her hair out from where it had been pressed to her face as she struggled to work her way behind Angelina. This caused her grin to blossom into a full smile, forcing up the kickstand and starting the bike as she yelled, "Hold on tight- grab onto your wrists."

Again, Maria did as she was asked, now with the underlying fear of flying off.

No sooner did her hands meet over Angelina's torso did the bike begin speeding out of the driveway and down the road.

Even under the helmet and behind her estranged almost-relative, Maria could feel the biting chill whip across her face. The hair that hadn't made it under the helmet beat against her back as they drove into the wind. The well-lit, urban street looked like anything but, houses blurring into distant and foreign roads.

It took her some time to realize that she still didn't know where they were going.

She never realized that she didn't care.

They made a stop at a gas station, Angelina telling her to wait outside before reappearing with a bag that she placed into the compartment under the seat.

Then they were riding again. It was easier to get on this time, almost familiar after only having done it once before.

It was over again all too soon, this time as they stopped at an area by the sea. It was deserted in the midst of fall, everyone apparently finding it too cold for the oceanside. Maria would have agreed, bundling further into her jacket as Angelina tugged the helmet off of her head without asking.

"Come on," she said, shooing her away so that she could put up the kickstand and swap out the bag of stuff she'd gotten earlier for the helmet. "Let's live a little."

Maria pursed her lips as they took a seat on the ground.

How could a woman make sitting on the ground look cool, she wondered as she watched Angelina drop with one leg propped up in front of her.

She offered a bottle from the bag to Maria.

She almost took it from her, pausing when she noticed the packaging inside of the plastic.

"Oh- no," she laughed, "I- I can't I-"

"Kid, it's one beer. Your uncle doesn't have to know." She waved it temptingly, tilting her head down to gaze at Maria through her eyelashes.

"It's not that," she said, "I just don't want to."

Angelina formed a mock-pout, shrugging and twisting off the cap herself before producing another bottle from the same gas station bag.

It was shorter and squarer in shape.

An ice coffee.

Maria took it, mumbling thanks as Angelina reclined onto her elbows.

"So, your dad's a grimm."

Maria popped the cap off of her coffee. "Yep."

"And you found out about that, after all the shit I said about grimms."

"And continued saying in front of me after you knew I knew? Yep."

"You say that like you're offended."

Maria didn't confirm or deny this, shrugging as she took a sip of her drink.

"I wouldn't blame you if you were," Angelina said with a sigh, swirling her bottle with a turn of her wrist. "If it means anything, your dad was one of the better ones. Stopped hunting entirely, actually."

"I figured," Maria mumbled. Then, after a pause, "What if I said Nick was one of the better ones too?"

Angelina laughed. It was a cruel, twisted thing that ended with her gripping her thigh to sit up.

"He's a cop, kid. Even if he wasn't a grimm, he'd never be 'one of the better ones.'"

Maria shrugged again. "Apparently he's dealing with mauzhertz. I heard him talking about it last night with Monroe."

She gave another laugh, this one calmer as she asked, "What did a mauzhertz do? Loiter?"

"Something about a murder," she said. "I wish he'd ask about a- a robbery or something for once. I thought Portland was supposed to be safe."

"No where's safe kid. Not for any of us, and especially not for you. There are people out there who want everyone to fit in a box. Grimms, people higher than them- they're all part of a system that I'm sure I never cared enough about to learn. Your parents said 'fuck that system,' and that's when good things like you happen."

Maria turned towards her at that, eyes widening as Angelina stubbornly refused to meet her eyes.

Unsure of what to do next, Maria nodded and said, "Thanks for that."

"Oh don't go getting all sappy," Angelina down the rest of her bottle and placed it back into the six-pack, pulling out another.

"You're the one talking about 'good things,'" Maria grumbled with a smile, her coffee suddenly tasting too sweet as she nursed it.

"Yeah, well, Sarah died believing in good things," Angelina said, not even blinking in apology for her harsh tone.

In a strange way, Maria was grateful for that harshness after months of being danced around. Still her hands wrung tightly around the bottle in her hands, knuckles turning white with the strength of her grip.

"Do you think they'd still be alive if they'd been together, but they'd never had me?" she asked, voice quiet.

"Dunno," Angelina answered honestly. "My advice? Don't think about it."

She leaned over, topping off Maria's half-finished coffee with some of her gas-station beer.

"Ah- hey!"

"It helps," Angelina laughed. "If you really don't want it, you could just dump it out."

Maria studied it with a grimace.

"Come on, it's mixed with coffee, so you can't even get drunk off of it, no matter how much you drank."

"I don't think that's right."

"Come on- it's chemistry," she shouldered her with a chuckle. "What are they teaching you kids now a days?"

Maria didn't answer, raising the bottle to her lips and taking a numbing gulp.

She'd finished her coffee-beer, Angelina having downed two more from her regular package, as they chatted about other things.

It was nice, talking about her parents being dead without talking about the dead thing.

She remembered other conversations, leading back to issues about blame- People saying "It's not your fault your parents are dead," when she never thought it was. Or Monroe saying it wasn't on him for keeping her lineage a secret from her, as if she was meant to blame her dad or her grandmother or some other distant force for never knowing she was half monster and half monster hunter.

Part of her still didn't know which as which.

They talked about other things- similarities and differences from Monroe as he was now to him in his younger days.

Even as they boarded the motorcycle, Maria sliding the helmet onto her head, she was saying, "There's no way- No, I don't believe you!"

"It's true- he ripped its head clean off and sucked the chicken dry right in front of that poor, poor farmer."

"No- he won't even get those vegan look-a-like patties in the house! There's no way he used to literally raid chicken coops!"

Angelina laughed, her smile dropping as she turned away from Maria to say, "Not any more…"

Maria didn't hear, clinging to Angelina's back to enjoy the ride home.

It was a pleasant day, and one sorely needed after what felt like a year of insanity.

That pleasantness came to an end when she felt Angelina grow rigid in her arms.

Blinking her eyes open, she looked p through the visor to see Angelina half-woged out, eyes locked on something as they slowed their approach to the bike's minimal speed before they risked falling over.

She tried peaking over her shoulder, eventually landing her eyes on her uncle's yellow beatle.

She was about to ask what the issue was, until she noticed a red smudge on its hood.

Is that blood? she asked herself, heart pounding as they pulled into the driveway.

Angelina was off in an instant, not waiting for Maria as she ran up to the door and pounded on it.

Soon enough, Monroe answered, his face a mess and puffy eyes full of relief.

"What happened!?" Angelina asked, shoving him inside as Maria numbly followed.

"I'm fine I'm fine- nothing happened to you guys, did it? Oh my God, I was so worried- I came home and you weren't here, and I noticed the bike was gone- didn't you get my calls? I've been calling all day, and I could hear Maria's phone upstairs but-"

"I left my phone with Hap because his went up with his house, and I don't have a landline."

"So you were planning on going out without any way to reach me!?"

"Monroe, focus," Angelina pressed on his shoulders, forcing him against the wall of his stairway. "Who. Did. This?"

Monroe opened his mouth to answer, but then his eyes found Maria's and he turned away in shame.

"Can we talk about this later?" he mumbled, and Maria's heart broke.

"Who did it?" she asked. "Was it because of me?"

"No no!" he said, pealing himself away form Angelina to turn towards his niece. "I- no it has nothing to do with you." Not this time, I think.

He kept that thought to himself, looking to Angelina with pleading eyes.

"It's about Nick then," Angelina said, biting her cheek as she began pushing up her sleeves and pacing up and down the entry way. "What- what they don't like a blutbad helping a grimm or something?"

"I'm sure that's it," he finally said.

"Wait- who's 'they?'"

"Reapers," Angelina hissed. "Ugh, this is such bullshit! I thought the 'debt was paid' and all that shit!"

"It's probably a lot more than that," Monroe conceded, raking his hand through is hair and wincing when he hit a sore spot. "Look, let me clean up. Nick's coming over later tonight, we can talk more then."

Maria looked at the ground, only barely daring to steal a glance at her uncle before she asked, "Are you going to tell him to stay away again?"

Monroe barked with laughter, regretting it as the sudden noise and effort cause his headache to worsen. Groaning, he said, "No- definitely not. In fact- those sons of bitches can come and get me. I'm tired of them trying to impose this 'status-quo.'" Thinking again, he turned towards Angelina with wide eyes. "Ah- by the way, things might get a bit dangerous around here, Angelina- and after all of the stuff with Hap and-"

"Oh no you don't," Angelina grinned. "Tell that grimm to get his ass over here ASAP. We're dealing with this head on." She turned to Maria. "'Fuck the system,' right kid?"

Monroe gaped, asking her to reel it back in while she laughed over him and ushered him towards the kitchen to properly clean his wounds.

Maria's stomach tightened at the realization that they'd almost made it through a week without a threat on anyone's life. Still, underneath the brambles and caution, there was a warmth that she knew she owed to Angelina and Monroe.

She didn't understand everything quite yet, but it was at this point she knew that her time in the shadows was over.

It was time to take a stand, and she'd do so with a smile.

Another Author's note

Hey! Razz here, from the present this time!

51 followers, huh? I wonder how many of you are still around.

I started this story as a journaling/therapy project after some really bad things happened to me. Maria's an obvious self-insert from a time where I was still figuring a lot of things out for myself and it's nice to see that so many people enjoyed this story. She was my first "character," and really something I needed to get through some trauma I was dealing with. It's been five years since I updated this fanfiction, but I've never forgotten what it's done for me.

Every few months, I get someone new who's following the story and I have to wonder what kind of person you are.

Are you interested in this journey? Do you actually want to see Maria happy? Do you think this is a troll fic and expect comedy to ensue, similar to that of "My Immortal" or "Homestuck High?" Whatever the case may be, I have to commend anyone who followed in the past year (and there are QUITE A few of you from the past year) for seeing a fanfic that hasn't been updated since 2014 and deciding "What the hell!"

So, here we go.

I had half of this chapter written already. I guess posting it was the right thing to do.

I don't know when the next chapter will be up- let's hope it won't be five years!