A/N: First of all thanks for the Follows, Reviews and Favs :). Second again a very special Thanks to Merlyn Pyndragon for her awesome work on betaing this story. I'm so lucky that you've found me :D!

And I want to dedicate this chapter to my dear friend Dingosue from Twitter. Hey, I waited long enough with the torture to make you a special BDay-present with it ;). I hope you enjoy! And again, a Happy, Happy Birthday to you!

And at least, WARNING: Torture chapter! If you cannot stand it, better don't read the first scene.

Nick thought his arms would both dislocated if Eric didn't let him go. He was nearly lying on the ground now, with the Royal still behind him, holding him down on his knees. His arms and shoulders were hurting like hell, strained behind his back. And probably the worst thing of this situation was that Nick could hear Hans and Franz rummaging and giggling but he wasn't able to see what was going on behind his back.

One thing was clear: it wasn't another nice gesture or a candlelight dinner. Nick heard the sound of water poured into something, and he heard the sound of dishes and was pretty sure, this dishes weren't meant for burgers and fries.

Damn, why did he refuse the offer? Why didn't he try to relax this one time for a second, if only to get some real food and a bath? But no, he couldn't keep his mouth shut. He had to think about possible consequences and now he would pay a price for this.

Stupid! Sometimes he was so damned stupid, he accused himself.

"We are ready, your highness," Franz finally said.

"Very well, right, my sweet Grimm?" Eric answered, pulling Nick on his feet again but still holding him tight. "Now let us see what you are going to earn for your stubbornness. Move!" He pushed the young Grimm around so he could see what the two others of his kind had set up.

Nick's eyes widened when he saw the tub in the middle of his cell. It was filled with water. The size of this tub would probably fit him, leaning over it. And suddenly his stomach began to hurt.

No! This couldn't be the plan!

Hans and Franz had pushed the mattress off his bed and placed a single dish and a bowl on the boards. The bowl was filled with the greyish mush they had served him two times before. Again a bottle of water was standing there, too, so far the only food Nick had accepted. Now this bottle seemed like a bad joke with the cask full of water near by.

"Easy decision, my sweet Grimm," Eric told him. "You will eat, here and now. You will be surprised but I would let you loose for that. If you refuse to eat, Hans, Franz and I will – let us say, there are ways to persuade you into eating. So, it's up to you now."

"What happened to the soap and warm water?" Nick couldn't resist to ask.

"Funny," Eric answered, dragging him to his bed. "Now what, Grimm? Eat or do you still need a lesson?"

Nick looked at the tub.

Did Eric really want to drown him? What else could it be for? It was for him, this was clear. But for what?

Eric pushed him on his knees again in front of the bed. Franz came along and put some of the mush onto the dish.

Nick turned his head in disguise. This stuff smelled like old shoes mixed with rotten flesh. And it was probably made with both. It looked terrible, it smelled even worse and he didn't think he wouldn't be able to swallow even one spoonful of it.

"Your decision, my sweet Grimm? Or do you need some help eating?" Eric asked, grinning wolfishly.

Nick looked up into Franz' face. The Grimm gazed back down at him, grinning.

He knew, it came to Nick's mind. And it was probably planned to get him in this situation. Surely it was somehow planned, he corrected himself. This was a lesson, just like Eric told him before. And probably this whole day, with him witnessing them killing a Wesen and then this so-called lesson, was planned from the very beginning.

A shred of memory came back into his mind while he stared up into Franz' face - how he felt in that container when he realized that everything that had happened during those last few days had been a trap for him. Suddenly he remembered the pain, when the spittle hit his face. He remembered that he really thought he would go to hell, when the Cracher-Mortal put him into the coffin and ...

The memory ended.

"Your decision, my dear Grimm? Would you please let us know what you have in mind?" Eric asked him again.

A voice, saying something to him.

Nick lowered his head. Frowning, he stared into the bowl with the mush.

A voice. A voice he'd barely remembered. The green spit that paralysed him, leaving him alone in a hell made of pain. A voice he now started to learn to fear.

Eric's voice!

It wasn't that surprising to learn that Eric was the one behind the plan. But it still surprised Nick how well the Royal seemed to know him. Back in Portland, all what he thought would be his strengths were turned against him to trap him in that container.

So what?

Nick stared into the bowl with the mush, and suddenly he realized that this mush wasn't only greyish. There were some red drops inside the bowl. A dark and full red.

Nick sniffed again.

There was a slight smell of metal, almost an overlay of the old shoes. Metal as in blood. The red drops -

Nick began to shiver. Blood and meat and who knew what else.

"Are we going to get an answer from you or should we start immediately?" Eric asked.

Nick shook his head. "I'm not eating this," he answered. "Never."

For a moment there was silence in his cell.

Maybe Eric had thought it would be enough to show him that he would be drowned if he would still refused to eat and was now baffled that he still wouldn't comply. But maybe -?

Franz began to laugh and turned around. "Do you want me to take care of it, your highness? I'll make sure he eats," he said.

A hand grabbed his hair, pulling his head back. Nick looked up into Eric's face, trying to look as determined as he could be. The Royal studied his face with some interest before he pushed him completely aside. "He will never eat this," Eric said. "You would only risk killing him that way. There will be other chances and other methods to get him there, believe me."

If Nick thought he would be free long enough to put a little distance between himself and Eric and his henchmen, he was wrong. Hans came along and grabbed him by the back collar of his jacket to haul him onto his feet again.

Eric turned around, again watching him, before he nodded. "But it's about time for him to learn a little respect. Show him his near future," he ordered.

"One day you will pay for everything you are doing to me," Nick swore. His heart began to pump and sounded like a massive drum in his ears.

Eric smiled at him in amusement. "That will definitely be an interesting occurence, don't you think?"

Hans dragged him to the tub in the middle of the cell while Franz put the bowl and the dish aside to make room for Eric to sit down.

Once more pushed down on his knees, Nick tried his best to prepare himself for what would happen to him next. The tub was full of water, surely cold water, and he would be pushed under from both, Hans and Franz. Nick wasn't sure if he should wish that they would wait too long to let him breathe again. It wouldn't be the easiest death, but at least this would be over before it got too painful.

Franz came to help Hans. Together they put Nick back on his feet again and turned him around, with his face to the cask.

What?

Nick didn't have the time to protest before he was pushed into the tub. The water was ice cold!

Nick gasped for air, feeling both Grimm pushing him down. And then he was underwater. It was so cold it felt like little razorblades were shaving the skin from his face. His abdomen locked, so even if his head was above the surface, he wouldn't be able to breathe. He tried to fight against the hands holding him and pushing him deeper and deeper into the tub. Water entered his nose and ran down his airway, no matter how hard he tried to keep it out of his body.

It felt like forever before he was grabbed out of the water. Nick gasped heavily, shivering and feeling nauseaous.

"Once more," Eric's voice ordered.

Nick was pushed again forward. They didn't give him the time to take a last breath before his face was back underneath the water. He felt the hand on the back of his head, still holding him beneath the surface, and began again to fight against it.

He didn't have any air in his lungs. He would drown if they didn't show him mercz soon, this was clear.

His lungs began to burn, not only because of no fresh air but also because of the water he'd already breathed in. He somehow managed to cough, small bubbles bursting from his mouth, and more water rushed in.

Nick fought harder, trying to break free but also knowing this was impossible. He was alone against two others, handcuffed and weakened from malnourishment. Even his own instinctual abilities were failing him.

His knees began to quiver, his movements slowed down.

And then – the hand that held him down underwater, grabbed him again and lifted him up.

Desperately Nick gasped for air, coughing and choking and powerless. He was sure that if he wasn't still being held by one of the two other Grimm, he would have fallen to the ground.

Another hand grabbed his hair, lifting up his head while he was still fighting to get enough air in his lungs again.

"Do you need another lesson or is this enough now?" Eric wanted to know, looking down at him bemusedly.

Nick swallowed some air. "I -" He started to cough again, feeling helpless and nauseated.

"You will eat now. If not, we will repeat this. And you can be sure, we all have a lot of time to teach you this lesson. Do you hear me?" Eric said.

"I'm not eating that gruel!" Nick answered, still breathless. He stared up at the Royal, as infuriated as a bull.

"Oh, you are not eating the mush, you are right. You will get another diet now." Eric took over for the Grimm, Nick wasn't sure which one, still holding him. "Go and bring some dry clothes for him. I'll take care of him," the Royal ordered. Dragging Nick back to the bed, he pushed him onto the bed boards.

Nick was still busy with regaining his breath, and he slowly became truly aware of how cold he was. His shirt was drenched, as well as the windbreaker. water has splashed on his pants. Surely a result of his useless attempts to fight.

"I hope you are better now," Eric said to him, pushing him back into a sitting position. "Take off your clothes before you get sick," he ordered, opening one of the handcuffs. "And don't even think about doing anything stupid, my sweet Grimm. You wouldn't only have me to fight, believe me."

Nick still shivered. With one hand he wiped over his face before he pulled off the windbreaker, then the shirt.

The cell was cold. Now he realized how cold. Rubbing his arms vigorously, he tried his best to warm himself up again.

Eric still stood in front of him, watching him carefully.

When steps came closer, Nick looked up to see Franz again entering the cell, another dish in his hands. A quick look told Nick that the bowl of gruel was gone. Only the water bottle still was there, on the ground near the bed.

"Eat," Eric ordered.

Franz put the dish beside Nick on the board. The young Grimm looked down at a sandwich and a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

Maybe he lost the battle, but somewhere in the middle of it he won a little.

Hungry as he was, Nick grabbed the sandwich and started to eat it, ignoring the cold looks Eric gave him.

"Why do you think I should tell Wu?" Sean asked after he entered Juliette's house.

It was now morning, another morning like so many others he'd seen since he had to leave his home back when he was only a teen. The attempt to return later, when he got a stipendiary from the Sorbone in Paris didn't really count. It felt weird back then, but he always felt more home in Genieve. Paris was a beautiful city, no mistakes there. But there was only one place that was truly home. Unfortunately this place never was accessible anymore for him after his mother took him away.

Now, again at Juliette's and Nick's home, he did not really know what to do. The group came to the conclusion they should meet for a breakfast here, as this house was known to every one of them. No, Sean felt like an intruder here. He didn't want to be here. On the other hand, this was a possibility he shouldn't miss.

Juliette looked up at him. Her lips were looking warm and soft and sweet to him. But it wasn't too hard to fight until he had himself under control again.

"Because I think Wu deserves the truth, especially from you," she said. "You've sent him in a lot of dangerous situations,"

Sean nodded. "Very well," he answered. "True, I have sent all of my men and women out into danger at some point of their careers, and sometimes, I know, it's not only the usual danger but sometimes there are Wesen involved. But that doesn't explain why you want me to initiate this revelation to Wu. I'm not as pretty as a Fuchsbau and definitely as neat as a Blutbad," he added. "I think I deserve a truth like Wu. So, why I am the one you chose?"

"Because you are his boss, I assume," Monroe said bluntly.

Juliette lifted an eyebrow. "No," she answered, "I think you owe this to Nick. It's pretty easy to show when you have friends like Monroe and Rosalee. But it is definitely much more difficult to do so without support."

"So you think I don't have support and I'm only supporting myself?" Sean looked from one to the other, awaiting the answer.

"You are supporting, only you are a little slow sometimes," Monroe answered.

Sean turned again to Juliette. "A Zauberbiest isn't something cute or pretty. Most other Wesen avoid us," he explained. "I don't see how this should work on Wu, who's already damaged. I would probably put him over the top."

"I didn't say you should reveal yourself to him," Juliette said, shaking her head, "but I think you owe him an explanation why he nearly went nuts during the last eight weeks. I know that I wished for a while I couldn't remember Nick. But now I can, and I want Nick back. What more you need to know to do this?" She lifted her chin.

Sean sighed.

If this was easy, he probably would have thought about is two years ago. But it wasn't. For no Wesen. Grimm had done a lot of damage during the past several centuries.

"Well, at least it would be the right thing, man, you know?" Monroe suggested.

It was true, it would give him a little better sleep at night. But he also had to think about the possible consequences for himself. Maybe Wu would jump on the wrong side and would snap completely. What then?

"I did and I still do everything I can for Nick," Sean answered, shrugging again. "But this situation isn't comparable with anything. I'd never been there, no matter what you are thinking." He frowned and turned around. "Besides, where is he?"

"Back in the laundry room. I told him to wait there while I got Nick's laptop," Monroe told him.

Sean looked at the Blutbad, a little confused. "What's so important about that?" he asked.

Monroe, Rosalee and Juliette exchanged a look. It was obvicious that the Blutbad didn't want to answer even when the two women tried to force him with their warning stares.

"I think, the best we can do is to contact Nick's mother," Juliette finally said, followed by a deep moaning from Monroe.

Sean started. "Nick's mother?" he asked. "His parents are dead. They died in 1993."

Juliette shook her head. "His mother survived and she was here last year when I was in the coma," she explained.

Sean looked up into Monroe's face. "Really?" he asked.

The Blutbad sighed and nodded. "Really," he said, pointing at Rosalee. "We both gave her a ride. We know what we are talking about."

Sean lifted an eyebrow. This was definitely worth this visit, he decided.

Kelly Burkhardt alive and out there. And her son most likely as a prisoner in his brother's castle. Grimm never were that protective, as far as he knew. But this family was turning out to be more and more as unusual. So, anyything was possible.

"That still doesn't explain why you guys want me as a part of this," he said.

"We are trying to trust you, man. That's what we are doing. Updating you is our hope to get some updates from you," Monroe reasoned.

"You told us about the spies, I think this is only payback," Juliette said.

Rosalee only shrugged.

Sean sighed. "Well, that I told you about my spy, if you want to call him so, isn't that big revelation that an alive and probably very healthy Kelly Burkhardt is. Do you know where she is?" he looked from one to the other.

"We know that she wanted to go to Europe," Rosalee told him. "So I think it's possible that she's there. If so, maybe your spy and she can work together finding out where Nick could be."

"Won't work," Monroe said. "Remember? Kelly Burkhardt is a killer-machine when it comes down to Wesen."

Sean lifted an eyebrow.

That could be a problem, or maybe not. An angry Grimm - that was definitely nothing anyone would like to deal with. A well trained Grimm, pissed and ready for everything to save his or her progeny was very, very dangerous and probably something Eric couldn't handle.

Somehow a pleasant image, the Zauberbiest inside him whispered.

"Do you know if she's in Europe for sure?" Sean wanted to know.

Monroe shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. All I know is Nick got a couple of emails from her. I thought about informing her earlier but ... sorry to say that but I had the feeling we would be bombing some tiny sparrows in pissing her off with such news."

Sean nodded. Understandable. But, oh so, alluring. Thinking about Eric trying to get rid of an angry Grimm who was trying to protect her son was a very welcomed fantasy.

"You are grinning," Juliette said, tilting her head.

Sean realized she was right and hid his still existing grin behind a huge coughing fit.

Monroe and Rosalee exchanged a look. It was clear that they understood more about this situation than Juliette.

Sean decided the time for his pleasant daydream was over and forced himself into a serious face again. "So then we should give your idea a try. Let's find out where this will lead us."

"Very well," Rosalee said. Turning, she left the room, Monroe on her heels.

When Juliette went to follow the two Wesen, Sean held her back looking at the opened door before he turned to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You are pregnant, right?" Sean wanted to know.

Juliette's face turned first a little pale before her cheeks began to glow in deep red. That was answer enough for Sean.

"Is it Nick's? Is that the reason why you are taking over now?" he continued.

"I never gave up hope of finding him!" Juliette's voice cooled down a bit. "And I always tried to make you all work together again, just like when Nick told me about this creature no one really seemed to know about."

Sean remembered the Vulcanaris pretty well, and how good the teamwork between him, Nick, Monroe and Marcus worked back then. For that short time, he'd felt like he was part of something. A good feeling, no mistake. But it was also clear that this episode would be an episode, nothing more.

"I am pregnant, yes. And it is Nick's child I'm carrying, yes. And I will keep it," Juliette told him.

Sean nodded. "I didn't want to talk to you another way. I only wanted to make sure about your condition," he told her.

Juliette frowned. "How did you find out? No one mentioned this and everyone who knew wasn't alone with you."

Sean smiled bitterly. "That is the part of a Royal," he answered. "Like Grimm, we have a very special sight. But in the same time it's different," he explained, then sighed and shook his head. "But that wasn't why I wanted to make sure," he told her then.

"Why then?" Juliette wanted to know.

Sean looked aside for a moment. "Because it probably would help Nick, if he's really the prisoner of my brother," he finally answered. "Don't take this wrong but Eric doesn't have any scruples. If he wants something, he takes it, just like he did with Nick. And I fear what he will do to Nick now, if he isn't cooperating. To know that there's something important waiting for him here could give him enough strength to stand and flee."

Juliette's face again went pale. "You are talking about torture?" she whispered throaty.

Sean nodded. "I think this is possible, yes."

It was clear Juliette didn't had thought about this possibility. And Sean only could envy her for her innocence. The world out there, the true nature, was more dark than she obviiously thought it was. And he felt guilty to burst this bubble.

"You are right," Juliette finally said, looking up at him with a pale but very serious face and dark hard eyes. "It will give Nick the will to survive and come back. So, if this information will help him, let him know."

Sean was impressed with her surprising resilience and bravery ...