Chapter 17 Adalind

Why can't I sleep? She asked herself. Sure her cumbersome abdomen was difficult to maneuver. Adalind never did get this big with Diana, she remembered with a sad smile to herself. However, she suspected there was another reason for her insomnia. Who could sleep well being in the same suite as Prince Kenneth, especially with the kind of secret she was keeping. The baby of a Grimm! Adalind could only imagine Kenneth's reaction.

From the first day when he walked in on her dressing, Adalind had been wary of this new Prince. There was an air of ruthlessness and malice about him that alarmed her, and Adalind had known her share of malice. She tried to cover herself by claiming Victor was the father when Kenneth discovered her growing belly, but little did she know she was digging herself in deeper. It was later that day, when Kenneth coolly accepted information from a man who was a double agent between the family and Sean, that the cold hand of fear gripped her. Kenneth beat the man on the spot, in front of her, for feeding him false information from Sean. It was the first time Adalind had been thankful Kelly Burkhardt had her daughter instead of her. Adalind prayed Diana stay as far away from this man as possible. If Victor had been a weasel, Kenneth was a viper and just as deadly. Without breaking a sweat from beating the man, Kenneth turned cold eyes on her and informed her that Victor was sterile.

Just thinking about it, made Adalind swallow nervously as she lay awake in bed. Deciding against futile attempts at going back to sleep, she got up and decided to get dressed. Only one thing had her more disturbed than Kenneth and that was Juliette. Last week Juliette attempted to kill her and even Kenneth seemed unmoved to do something about it. In fact he thought Juliette would be useful, but Adalind knew that would never happen.

An hour later she heard the others stirring for breakfast and she emerged herself. Kenneth was on the phone with the King, she discovered. In Austria, it would be early evening. The conversation didn't sound promising for Sean. Whatever crap he had pulled over the years, Adalind didn't wish him dead. As Kenneth hung up, she asked, "Is the King going to kill Sean?"

"Considering he's the father of one of your children, does that upset you?" Kenneth inquired with contempt.

"Does anyone actually care what I think?" Adalind's response was nearly cut off by Kenneth's quick reply.

"No," was his bored drawl. Then walking into the dining room, Kenneth continued, "but I do have some information you might be interested in. I just found out your little Hexenbiest chum, Juliette, has gotten herself arrested."

What? "She's in jail," Adalind responded.

Kenneth kept his back to her as he replied, "She throttled a couple of people at a bar. Apparently, they didn't have it coming."

With a sigh she said, "If that happened then she's starting to accept becoming a Hexenbiest. Things are going to get worse before they get...really bad."

"Including her desire to kill you," Kenneth quickly stated. What was in his brain, Adalind wondered with apprehension.

"Yes," Adalind answered.

"Then this could be the opportunity we've been waiting for," Kenneth returned still facing away from her. Adalind's legs felt none too steady. Kenneth was too calculating for her to feel at ease with the way the conversation was going.

"I'm sorry, but I don't see an opportunity anywhere near her," Adalind responded.

"Juliette knows just about everything there is to know about Mr. Burkhardt, about his mother, and therefore, about where the child, your child, might be," Kenneth expounded.

"Okay, she might have beat up a couple of people at a bar, I mean God knows we've all done that, but there is no way she's going to betray Nick, if that's where you're going," Adalind stressed.

Turning around while putting on his coat, Kenneth said, "It's surprising how quickly betrayal becomes a viable option, given the right circumstances." That did not sound good, Adalind thought as the floor felt like it was crumbling under her feet.

"Which right circumstances?" She desperately questioned.

Sean, the snarky bastard, thought she wouldn't know who this baby's father was. Well Adalind would have gladly latched on to any other possibility, but there was only one man that she had been with. This truly was jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, she thought ironically, biting her nails unconsciously while waiting in Sean's office. Now was the moment of truth. If ever there was a time to dig deep and find out if she could face her fears, now was that time. Kenneth would exploit every jealous bone in Juliette's newly empowered body and Adalind would do anything to keep this baby safe. She couldn't save Diana, but by God, this baby would not leave her side. At least this time, Nick would have a vested interest in this child. Adalind hoped that was enough, but she still had a little insurance in the form of the suppressant.

The door opened as Nick asked Sean, "Is there a problem?" Sean had motioned in her direction.

Seeing her for the first time, Nick looked amazed. "Adalind? Why are you here?" He was bewildered, but Adalind would have expected him to be furious. Time to lay all her cards on the table, she thought opening her coat and turning slightly so there was no question. Nick glanced at Sean with a glare.

"Again?" Nick growled.

"That's not mine," Sean stated flatly.

Say it, Adalind, just say it. "It's yours," she finally blurted out.

"What?" Nick was staring her straight in the eyes. "How's that possible?"

Swallowing she responded, "You remember that wild afternoon with Juliette?" Since that question was obviously rhetorical, she was about to continued when Nick answered.

"No," he simply replied, his eyes never leaving hers. Adalind looked away. What was Nick's game?

"He wouldn't remember because just days after you left him defenseless, a Gedächtnis Esser sucked his mind dry," Sean said harshly. What?! Nick couldn't remember anything before that? What did that mean for her baby and her?

"Lay off her, Capitan," Nick told Sean pointedly. "I'm big enough to take care of this," then looking at Adalind again Nick asked, "What do you need?"

Wait a minute! What just happened? For a few seconds Adalind was speechless, then chalking it up to pregnancy brain, she dismissed the idea that Nick had just defended her. "I need you to protect me from Juliette, because God knows no one else will. I've already had one child taken from me, I'm not going to lose another," sending a glare Sean's way she continued, "Even he wouldn't protect his child the last time."

"I did what I thought was best for Diana," Sean quickly stated.

With sarcasm in every syllable she countered, "Yeah well, it's just a room full of heroes." Taking a deep breath she looked at Nick and said, "Now I need one. I need...you Nick," Adalind choked out.

"Of course," Nick replied to her to complete amazement. Adalind nearly coughed because she forgot to breath. Hold the phone!

"What about Juliette? Don't you hate me for her becoming a Hexenbiest?" Now why did I say that, Adalind berated herself.

"No. Juliette decided to help me get my Grimm powers back without my knowledge," Nick expressed with a hard look. Adalind knew that look well.

"I have a way to help Juliette be normal again. It won't cure her, but it will suppress all the Hexenbiest in her," Adalind needed Nick's help to disarm super Juliette.

"That would probably be wise. She's going insane, I think, and that's not safe with the power she has now," Nick responded with a detachment that almost scared Adalind. She never thought Nick would ever speak of Juliette in that manner. "What can I do?" He asked.

"First I need my mother's body exhumed, then I need Rosalee's help and I need you to convince her, cause I can't do that alone," Adalind continued rather dazed. At that moment the baby started doing acrobatics in her stomach and she smiled. "The baby's kicking, wow, a lot. It's a boy. I wanted to know. He's still kicking," she looked up at him and said, "Nick you should feel this." Although he looked completely out of his element, Nick tentatively reached out and allowed her to put his hand where the movement was. He looked up meeting her eyes when a particularly hard kick was felt. "He's strong, like you." Her breath caught at the awe in Nick's eyes. Adalind was so discombobulated, she withdrew slightly from him breaking his hand's contact with her belly and Nick frowned.

He took a breath then turned, "Okay. Let's go." Nick held the door open for her. Alright, Adalind, time to put those promises into action, she mused as they walked out into the hall and froze. JULIETTE!