Adalind quickly moved to take Diana from Kelly and knocked on the door as Hank moved to grab Nick out of the car in a hurry.
He practically picked him up out of it and Adalind knows that must have been from fear and adrenaline because Nick was basically dead weight to move right now. The wind chill she didn't care for but gave her extra goosebumps from the cold.
Kelly helped move Nick to the door and they were met by Monroe opening it up. A look of horror soon etched on his face at the sight of his friend. "Oh my god. C'mon!" He exclaimed, Adalind was glad someone else conveyed her panic the way she would.
She stepped aside to allow Kelly and Hank through first since they were practically carrying Nick in.
He held the door open for her to follow through which didn't take long as they rushed Nick into this room with a very small, bed-like chair they sat him down on. It smelled pretty awful in there too so she assumed whatever Rosalee made, that was it.
It was like watching a bloody movie from the trail of blood that followed from his constant coughing it out.
She watched Rosalee come in with this jar filled with a very clear substance. Along with a needle if that's what you can call it. The thing looked like it was at least half a foot long and it was quite thick as well. A bucket she noticed as well that she handed to Monroe. Adalind also took notice of a thick towel that Nick's head was currently on.
"What do we do honey?" Monroe asked in a frenzy to Rosalee.
Adalind felt her gut trembling because he was coughing so uncontrollably she wasn't sure he ever stop. The veins were no longer growing at a slow pace but steadily. She wanted to say hurry or anything but her throat was caught in a fearsome lump.
"Hold his mouth open!" She directed to Kelly who obliged immediately.
Rosalee tried to pour some into his mouth but he ended up coughing it out. "He's got to swallow this three times!" She called out the issue.
"What the hell do we do then!" Hank hastened out.
"We better think fast because we don't have long!" Monroe called out and him saying that rose Adalind's blood pressure higher than it already was. Nick was coughing so much that everybody was getting a trickle of blood on them in some way.
Adalind was about to use her powers to hold his mouth open for them but then all of a sudden Nick's mouth shot open wide.
What the hell?
Everybody's confusion grew fast but Rosalee took full advantage, hurriedly pouring a big gulp into his mouth and Kelly turned around to stare at Adalind. It caught her attention until she realized she wasn't staring at her.
She was eying Diana.
Adalind looked down to see Diana's eyes glowing purple. So she was the one who held his mouth open.
Rosalee was pouring the second gulp into his mouth and whatever it was must have tasted awful because Nick wasn't even coherently awake but it appeared to disgust him nonetheless.
Adalind wishes she knew what was going on but she was just glad whatever was happening was happening. Rosalee poured the last gulp into his mouth and all of a sudden Nick just stopped moving. Completely.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Hank said, his breath still not leveled yet.
"Yes." Rosalee said as she placed the jar down and grabbed the extremely long needle. Looked more like something to impale somebody than anything else. "That stills the poison." She held up the large syringe. "This is supposed to be the final thing." Nick's mouth closed after she finished saying that as well.
Kelly turned around again to see Diana's eyes no longer glowed and she just went back to having a blank baby face once again. She gave her a little wink and Diana laughed. Probably would have been adorable to everybody if it wasn't for this situation.
"Did his heart stop?" Monroe asked with heavy concern.
"Yes." Rosalee answered and everybody glared at her with confusion.
"What!?" Adalind exclaimed at that.
"It's supposed to stop his heart and then you inject this into it after it does." Rosalee clarified but it didn't make anybody feel much better.
"Let me do it." Kelly said and everybody turned to her. "Your hand is shaking. Let me do it." She said again and Rosalee gave her a look of acceptance and handed it over. Rosalee went to stand by Monroe now and Adalind was disturbed by the fact she was pretty sure his heart officially stopped now.
Kelly didn't look too comfortable herself and Adalind couldn't blame her. She was about to stab her son pretty much.
Kelly took a breath and drove it right down into his chest, above his heart. As soon as she did though, Nick shot in a seated motion and his eyes burst open but the veins hadn't left at all nor the pale skin.
He headbutted Kelly causing her to fall back and Hank was about to push the rest in himself but Nick wrapped his hand around his throat and began choking him. Rosalee and Monroe moved to do it but Adalind Woge then held out her hand to use her powers.
The syringe plunged the rest of the way into his chest and then the aggressive breathing he was doing stopped. Then he collapsed back down into the bed-like chair again. Hank grabbed at his own throat to make sure he was all good.
He looked up to Adalind who just shifted back to her normal face. He didn't say anything but gave her a nod to say thank you. "Uh, was that supposed to happen?" Monroe asked the question everybody was thinking.
Rosalee went to help up Kelly but Kelly gave her a hard look before she even touched her. Intimidated, Rosalee backed up and allowed Kelly her space. "No...I think that is whatever happened when he was zombified still taking effect.
"It is." Hank said simply. "Happened on a case we had earlier in the year." He was still rubbing his neck.
Adalind knows what they're talking about. She just watched it happen in that forest they were in that felt so long ago. "Now what?" She asked somewhat impatiently. Kelly finally stood and wiped her black trench coat down to smooth it back out. Rubbing a fist over the small amount of blood coming from her nose.
Actually, it looked dislocated. Well, it was but she placed her thumb and index finger on it and grasped it, then jolted it hard to the right and everybody heard a pop. Causing everybody to turn toward her and she waggled her nose somewhat.
"What? Think this is my first dislocated nose?" She asked them all as if it was ridiculous.
Rosalee made a little face but spoke. "Someone should get the bucket ready." She said next.
"For what?" hank asked.
They watched the blackened veins start to shrink and shorten in length. It almost looked like roots that grew but now were leaving, everybody cringed at the noise it was making too.
Sounded like a serpent slithering through autumn leaves. "That." Rosalee said. "I'm sorry Nick." She continued sadly.
"For what saving his life?" Monroe had a smile flash on his face in some disbelief that Rosalee said sorry and because it looked like things were looking good.
Rosalee let out an uncomfortable sigh. "Because this next part isn't going to be pleasant."
"Like the first parts were?" Monroe asked incredulously. Rosalee gave him a repressed look to symbolize that may have been the easy part at this point. Monroe gulped. "Oh god..." Whatever it was, Rosalee knew nobody was going to like it.
All of a sudden Nick's midsection arched up towards the ceiling and everybody was startled.
"Now what's happening?" Kelly asked her, still staring at Nick with deep concern.
Rosalee didn't answer but made a face that showed she probably shed tears if she didn't know this was supposed to happen.
Nick let out a sudden loud shriek of pain and Adalind didn't even know he could make a noise of such. Hank moved back closer to the wall and now Nick was screaming at the top of his lungs but it sounded worse because you could tell he was trying not to.
Sounded like a strain that was causing even more pain. He was gritting his teeth so much that she was surprised they didn't crack. Adalind covered Diana some more.
"Nick!" Hank called out worriedly.
Adalind knew her mouth was hanging open in fear, shock, and horror most likely. Nick's hands gripped the sheets in agony to hold onto something as another cry of pain came out of him. "What's happening?!" Kelly actually looked pretty scared.
Rosalee's eyes were balling up more but no tear shed and Monroe had a face of great disturbance as did everybody else.
Suddenly, the black substance started coming out of Nick's ears, each corner of his eyes, and his nose. It caused him to shriek out once again, not being able to hold it in that time and he gripped the sheets harder.
Hearing him in so much pain was breaking her heart and Diana began crying. Adalind tried to comfort her but it was hard when she herself was losing tears. Adalind didn't understand though, he still was disturbingly pale and the veins were leaving but still visible.
She knows it may take a while but this seemed like a lot.
Rosalee!" Adalind called out.
"It's working!" Rosalee said back but she could tell it wasn't easy.
The way Nick's eyes were bulging out from the agony of it all was hurting her soul even more. When would this just end? Nick making cries of pain wasn't something she ever is happy for, not like this even when she hated him.
It was seeping out of him like sludge eking its way out of something too small to hold it. Now everybody understood why Rosalee placed the towel down because that's where it was all heading after it left him.
The syringe still in his chest made the scene worse for Adalind.
Made Nick look like some science experiment gone haywire. She rocked back & forth to try and soothe Diana but it didn't appear to be happening anytime soon. So Diana was pretty much like how everybody else was feeling then.
You wouldn't even know the towel used to be a light shade of green anymore by how much the poison leaving Nick tainted its color.
Then thankfully, Nick just went quiet and his eyes closed as he sunk back down into the bed. Did he pass out? Everybody's breath was going so rapidly from the fear of it all, you probably could hear a pen drop in there right now.
Diana still was crying but settling down.
"Quick the bucket." Rosalee said hastily and Monroe was quick to react to her words.
"What do I do?" Monroe asked her.
"Nick's going to need it." Rosalee said and Monroe bundled his face in confusion as did everybody else. He walked over and placed it on the floor, parallel to where Nick's head would be, and stepped back.
Hank felt isolated in the corner at this point but he wasn't moving that's for sure.
Everybody watched in silence and Adalind noticed he still wasn't breathing so his heartbeat hadn't started and she was about to point that out rather panicked but she never got the chance to.
There was this black-like blotch traveling up his chest, then it was at his larynx. Until it appeared as if it was about to come out of his throat through his mouth.
And it did.
Nick shot up again but this time turned to the side and began vomiting out very huge amounts of the black substance. Monroe made a face of disgust at the scene as did Hank. Well, pretty much everybody. Adalind kept rocking Diana soothingly along as she could and her cries were quieting thankfully.
The bucket was making splashing sounds so that's how much he was still puking out.
Rosalee walked forward as he gagged one more time and seemingly officially passed out again but he still wasn't breathing and Adalind felt that panic rising again. Rosalee grabbed the jar with probably one more gulp of whatever the hell was in it. She let out a tired and sad sigh "Monroe, his mouth." Rosalee.
Monroe made a face that showed him asking in disbelief that there possibly can't be more to do and put him through. He sighed and got down on one knee. Everybody else began moving in close to see what was going to happen.
Monroe made a face at having to open Nick's mouth as there was the residue of the stuff on it. "This stuff can't...you know...poison me now can it?" He asked before grabbing Nick's mouth.
Rosalee shook her head. "It only can work if forcefully entering you." Rosalee explained.
"So this stuff can be bath water and not kill you just because nobody tried to kill you?" Hank asked in a 'you can't be serious tone'. Rosalee shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"I wouldn't word it like that but in a way." She said and Hank's brows rose for a moment in amusement at that. Adalind had to agree. Pretty dangerous stuff to be rendered useless if not being stabbed or shot into you but then again. This is their world, she shouldn't expect differently. Everything has a drawback to it.
Spells, rituals, poisons, etc.
Monroe held Nick's mouth open and Rosalee poured the last of it in his mouth and Monroe let go. They both stood and watched on. Kelly swallowed a lump in her throat that she would probably never admit to.
Adalind watched on hopeful.
She walked over and crouched down as she kept ahold of Diana and placed her hand on top of Nick's then began holding it. Kelly didn't budge but the action didn't go unnoticed by Monroe, Rosalee, or Hank. All sharing a glance.
"Should he be waking up by now?" Hank asked.
Rosalee nodded her head. "Yes, he should be." Her brows furrowed.
"I mean he is pretty beaten up right now." Monroe said as reasoning and everybody shared that same thought.
Nick felt his eyes slowly open up.
Once again. A bright light. Angelic as ever. He wanted to be annoyed by this somewhat, did this mean something? Or was he always just so out of it his mind took him here?
He felt like he couldn't be annoyed though, not here.
Felt peaceful, safe almost.
He was in a bed that was completely white. White sheets, white pillow, everything was a shining, platinum white. Like it was supposed to be soothing.
He sat up and placed his feet down. Strangely felt like cotton under his feet. Was this in his head or something else? It always felt so real, yet made up at the same time and he could never wrap his head around it.
He looked down at where all of his pain should be from the injuries but of course, they weren't there.
Eying his hands now, just to look at them.
He looked forward and he saw a figure again this time. Smaller than usual. It always usually ended up being Adalind blissfully in his face or the vicinity somewhere but it didn't appear so this time.
The figure never moved. Just stood.
He couldn't see the face so was it a He or She?
"Hey." He called out to it but it didn't move. "Hey!" He called out a little louder. "Who are you?"
Nick stood now. "Is this real?" He called out to it. No reply.
Nick walked toward it but then it started to run from him and he chased after it. "Hey!" He felt like he never ran faster yet was so far behind. Then all of a sudden a chasm appeared in front of him and he tried t maintain his balance.
Arms waving to try and catch himself but he ended up falling.
But then his wrist was grasped from behind. He turned around and there she was now. Adalind.
It wasn't her figure that was running and he looked back in the direction it went but saw nothing. He turned back to face Adalind now. She always had that angelic smile here. He may have been confused by all of this but it was beautiful.
"Breathe." She said simply.
He didn't for a moment, still capturing what this meant. What the hell did it mean?
He grasped her wrist back and they both let their hands slide down until they were each holding. Nick watched her gorgeous eyes for one more moment and shut his. Then he did as he was told.
He breathed.
Everybody in the room grew restless as they watched on, he hadn't breathed or moved yet and Rosalee's heart began aching. What if she didn't do it right or missed a step? She was panicking in her head but didn't want to say anything out loud.
While everybody was busy watching Nick, nobody noticed Diana's eyes were glowing purple the whole time.
Then they stopped.
She let out a baby yawn and almost immediately fell into sleep.
Adalind looked down and felt her hand get squeezed by him a little and before she could say anything they watched his chest breathe in and then out along with some color returning to his skin.
Although slow breaths...they were breaths nonetheless.
A huge gasp was let out by everybody in that room. "Thank god." Rosalee said as she hugged herself to Monroe's side and even Kelly look like she let out a breath she was holding.
He hadn't opened his eyes or awakened at all yet.
But Nick Burkhardt was alive.