Nick never was an early bird but getting up at 5.30 AM was a bit too … early for him. The only thing that kept him alive and awake was Monroe's coffee – and, of course, later the breakfast he always was looking forward to.
While the Blutbad was busy with his Pilates Nick drove up to the bakery his friend was frequenting and got Monoe's usual order – as a double which the shop-girl only slowly get into her mind. When he came back to his new "home" (well, it still didn't feel like home but he had to accept it) his friend was usually taking a shower and Nick put up the dinner-table for their breakfast.
What was getting into a tradition for them both. Monroe had tried during the first days to interest Nick into his training but the Grimm avoided this as good as he could – finally in the way it was working now.
One week before Hank would finally released from the hospital Nick really hoped to get his partner back as soon as possible. But the broken bones needed for an only human much longer to heal than it took for Nick as a Grimm. So, he was doing his work alone, trying to stay away from Renard and the precinct as good as he could. Good to have Wu there who kept him up to date, told him about his duty and so on. And the moving over at Monroe's was right now the perfect excuse not to go to the precinct and met his boss.
On the positive side: he was sleeping in a bed now, a bed, not on a couch! His back was more than thankful for this change. It was also a good feeling to come home from work and have someone around carrying for him and what he was doing – not to mention that Monroe really was a good cook! Nick felt that he was calming down, that his anger (still there) wasn't on the surface of his mind anymore. True, it was pretty close and one reason why he avoided to go to the precinct, but he wasn't in the mood anymore to beat the hell out of every criminal Wesen he could find – which was right now with Hank in the hospital not such a good idea.
The, to quote Monroe here, not so bright side was, that Nick finally got that Monroe was about to start a relationship with Rosalee and their phonecalls till late at night wasn't exactly that informative for him as they were for them both. Nick liked Monroe and he liked Rosalee and he truly liked that they are together. But right now it was hard for him to see the lucky Monroe falling in love while his own heart was broken.
All in one Nick was on his way to heal – somehow. So he thought.
So this morning started like every other during the last week: Monroe woke him up, he drove to the bakery, then they had breakfast together when Nick's cell-phone started to ring. Sergeant Wu just called to tell him about the new case on which he was supposed to work on. So the breakfast ended very quickly with Nick getting his jacket and his keys and heading out to his truck to drive back to the city where the crime scene was.
Wu welcomed him and there was a bunch of forensics sticking around, taking photos, searching everything. It was a not so frequented street where Wu led him to and he finally found …
"A shoe?" Nick raised his eye-brows. "You are calling me for a shoe!"
"A women's high heel, to be correct", explained the Sergeant to him. "And that's not all. Come with me."
Nick took a last look at the shoe laying there in the middle of a small puddle before he followed Wu to a second mark on the ground, which turned out as a little more interesting: some dark-red dotts on the ground.
"Blood?" Nick asked.
Wu nodded and moved two fingers. "Follow me, oh stranger", he said.
Nick grinned and did so.
There was a third and a fourth yellow mark on the ground, and Wu let him now to the third one. "Would you please take a look?" He ordered, pointing to a small black purse on the ground. A woman's purse with a silver chain as strap. The chain was broken like someone had pushed too hard on it.
"Do we know who's purse we have here?" Nick asked looking around.
"Put on gloves and it's all yours", Wu explained. "Forensics have taken more than enough photos from it. But they won't move it until the okay of a detective."
Nick smirked, took the blue latex-gloves Wu was offering him and kneeled down beside the purse. Slowly he took the purse and opened it. Inside there was a smaller second purse, some keys, a small mirror, a lipstick and … well, a condome.
"Someone had planned a nice evening", Wu grinned.
"Could be ..." Nick was more interested in the small purse and opened this to find a driver's licence with the photo of a young woman there. Blonde hair, blue eyes, nice smile …
"It's the purse of Erica Langston", Nick read and looked up. "Ever heard this name before?"
Wu shoke his head. "Not that I know of", he answered.
"Me neither ..." Nick searched the small purse. Some money, maybe enough to take a cap, a creditcard also of a Erica Langston … and a staff badge from a lawyer's office. And that office of course he remembered – unfortunately too well.
"Oh great!" Nick mumbled.
"What?" Wu asked.
Nick stood up again, frowning when he noticed something on the other side of the street. There now had stopped another car and a man was arguing with two officers guarding the crime-scene.
"Who's that?" Nick asked.
Wu turned around and looked at the stranger. "Dunno", he shrugged. "What you were talking about?" He pointed at the badge Nick still held in his hand.
The young Grimm looked down. "It's the laywer's office these killed laywers were working for last year. You remember that?"
Wu blinkened. "How anyone could forget about to get killed by YMCA?" he asked.
Nick again looked up when he noticed some movement out of the the corner of his eye.
The stranger had left the officers behind and was on his straight way towards Nick and Wu. And … now he was woged.
Nick's face hardened when he recognized the stranger as a Hundjäger! How much of this guys were still around here? He thought they had killed all of them.
The Hundjäger morphed back into his human form. "Detective Bruckner, 9th precinct", he introduced himself holding up a police-badge he'd pulled out of his jacket before.
"Detective Burkhardt", Nick answered, then he pointed at Wu, "Sergeant Wu, 3rd precinct. What are you doing here? This isn't your district."
Bruckner looked at Nick, then at the purse the Grimm still had in his hand. "Let me guess", he finally said, "young woman, taken last night. You've found some drops of blood on the ground and her purse. Nothing more."
"That's not too hard to explain after looking at the crime-scene", Nick demanded. "So, again, what are you doing here?"
"My job!" Bruckner said hard. "This is my case! I'm working on it!"
Wu lifted one finger. "Just to correct you: this is Detective Burkhardt's crime-scene, not yours!"
And again the Wesen woged to the surface, growling at Wu.
Nick frowned.
"My case, Officer, mine!"
"I think this is up to the captains", Nick said.
"I'm not leaving this alone, Burkhardt!" Bruckner told him, moving around and leaving them both behind on his way back to his car.
"Well, I think there's someone taking something very personal", Wu suggested.
Nick only nodded.
But … when he could get rid off this case he wouldn't have a problem with it he had to say …
Monroe was about to leave his home and heading over to the spice-shop when his cell-phone began to ring. The number he didn't know but he accepted the call with a "Yep?"
"Monroe?" A female voice asked him. "This is me, Juliette."
Monroe stopped in the middle of his movement and turned around. "That's a surprise!" He decided. "Hello Juliette. How are you?"
"It's getting better", she answered. "Look, Monroe, I don't want to drag you in the middle of this but … you know Nick still has some stuff here?"
Monroe leaned against the front door. "I think so", he said. "Is something wrong with that?"
"I don't want it in my house anymore. And I want my key back", Juliette told him. "I … well, I don't want to talk to Nick about that. The last time I saw him he looked pretty … angry ..."
Monroe sighed. "He was", he answered. "Juliette, I really think you two should take some time but not breaking up completely. And you are right, I don't want to get involved into that … but I AM involved! I'm friend of both of you!"
"So, you don't want to help me?" Juliette asked. Her voice sounded sad now.
Monroe sighed again. "I will help you two … or three, counting your new interest to that situation", he answerred. "So, what do you want now?"
"I'm with my Mome for one or two weeks", Juliette explained. "After that I would appreciate it to come back to my house without Nick's stuff still there."
Monroe bit his lips not to start to swear.
"Monroe, really. I tried! Three months I tried but … I barely remember the Nick I had in my house during this time. And I simply don't know anything about the years everyone is telling me we were a couple!"
"So you want to push him away?" Monroe couldn't understand. Well, he could, to some point. But everything else …
"Maybe it's better to get a complete rid off him", Juliette explained. "If there's is this danger you told me about I don't … I don't think I can even befriend a cop, sorry."
"So you want me to tell Nick to get his stuff out of your house?"
"And leave the key behind", Juliette agreed.
Monroe sighed again, shooking his head.
"You will break his heart a second time", he said.
"I know ..." Juliette's voice faded away. "So, please, tell him. It's not your fault, tell him this too. I only … I cannot stand his voice anymore and I don't want to argue with him about this."
"What about your new interest?" Monroe asked.
"Sorry?" Juliette sounded confused.
"Your new love or however you will call him", Monroe explained.
"He's gone too", Juliette answered. "He told me he wanted to find a cure for this. And then he left."
Monroe sighed again.
"I know this is a bad situation ..."
"Will do", Monroe finally decided. "When you are back from your Mom there will be nothing inside your house regarding to Nick."
"Thanks, Monroe", Juliette whispered and ended the call.
And Monroe felt really bad …