A/N: Thanks again for all the follows and favs! And again a special thanks to Merlyn Pyndragon, who's doing an awesome job with betaing the story. I know it's not easy work and your suggestions are much appreciated :)
Hank realized that he forgotten his badge at Constance's when he was halfway to the precinct. In all the years as policeman he never once forgot the badge, heck, he kept it with him when he was beaten up by Adalind's henchmen last year, during his vacation that spring. The only place he put it aside was to take a shower or bath, but even then it was always within reach.
Maybe this was a sign.
Hank snickered. A sign? A sign for what?
He wasn't superstitious! He never had been, otherwise he would have never made it beyond his first marriage.
But this time, for the very first time, he thought it really could be a sign. A sign from his soul to show him where his priorities should be now.
Maybe it really was time to move on. All those strange things he'd experienced while he was the partner of a Grimm he wanted to leave behind. But at least he failed because every time he went to work he was confronted with it. Only to think about his own boss.
Hank took the next street to turn the car around and drove back.
Constance should have gone to work now too, he remembered. She told him she had an early appointment with an old patient who just came back to Portland.
Leaving Portland, would that be an answer?
Hank thought about this not for the first time. He'd spent his entire life here, except a few trips out of state. He never thought about am actual move before. But right now he felt like he had lost his direction and needed to seek a new one. Constance surely would find work elsewhere, and ex-cops never had a big problem finding a new job – he could even ask for a transfer.
Like Nick, it came to his mind.
For a moment he fought against this thought. It still hurt to think about his missing partner. Maybe not as much as he was supposed to feel, but it was too easy to blame Nick for everything.
Well, one day he surely would come back to Portland for the belated funeral, he was sure. After all this time, it was impossible to think that Nick was still alive.
It would be a relief to leave Portland and all its weird tendencies behind and start anew somewhere else, Hank decided, avoiding every other thought about his lost partner. It was time to leave the past behind and move forward. He left the GrimmGang because he wanted nothing more to do with it, nothing to interfere with what his own life was shaping up to be. Leaving Portland would only place another barrier between him and the war he wanted no part of.
Would Constance come with him? He wasn't sure, but he hoped she would. A world without her, that alone was impossible for him to comprehend right now. He wanted her at his side. Maybe he could make a proposal soon, maybe later.
Hank parked the car on the street when he arrived at Constance's. It wouldn't take long to get his badge and drive back to the precinct.
After he got out of the car he walked up to the front door. A glance at the driveway told him Constance was still at home. That made him wonder a little. Maybe the appointment was cancelled, he thought as he searched for his key and unlocked the door.
The air inside smelled weird, like wet walls and furniture. The complete opposite to how it smelled last night.
What was going on here?
Maybe Constance just forgot to turn off the water and ...
Hank's heart missed a beat when he thought about what probably did happen during the time he was gone.
"Constance?" he yelled and began to search the house.
The kitchen was empty, the dishes from the breakfast cleaned and cleared away. Everything seemed normal.
Sleepingroom, empty and also clean, the same for the living room.
"Constance?" Hank yelled again, this time more nervous.
Something was wrong, he could feel it. But what?
He felt something wet and cold drip onto his head. Looking up, he saw a huge wet spot on the ceiling just as another drop of water loosened and fell to the ground.
The bathroom was up there!
Hank turned around, ran to the stairs and took two steps at once.
"Stanza! Where are you?" he yelled, feeling his heart pumping like a drum.
No! She was fine when he left her a few minutes ago. She couldn't be so ...
He heard noises. Burbling of water, a low male voice.
Good Lord! There was a burglar around in Portland. True, usually he did his jobs during the early evening, but it was possible for him to change his habits to throw off the scent of the police. If this burglar was around ...
"Constance, I'm here!" Hank grabbed his gun and threw himself against the closed door to the bathroom. The floor tiles were wet and slippery and Hank nearly lost his balance, but somehow he managed not to fall down. Instead he moved around to the well of the noises and the burbling – only to stop in the middle of the movement and stare at the scene right before his eyes.
Constance - it was Constance, no mistake - was sitting on the rim of the bathtub. But the color of her skin had changed as well as her face, and her beautiful black hair was silver now.
Hank stared at her. He and couldn't believe it. This couldn't be true! It was impossible!
In the tub he saw another one just like Constance, only woged into full form with his legs turned into a huge fluke. And that Wesen in the tub was definitely male, this was clear.
Wesen! Damned Wesen! These half animal folk brought all the trouble into his life. The reason why he left the GrimmGang was because he never wanted to get into too much detail ever again. And now ...
Hank felt his heart shattering.
Constance, the love of his life, the woman he fell for, who seemed so perfect to him, she was a Wesen! Another of them!
"Hank!" she exclaimed, sounding surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Hank stared for a moment in her now yellow eyes, while he put his gun back.
There were no words for how he felt right now. Betrayed and used maybe.
"Hank, I wanted to tell you earlier ..." She took a step towards him.
Hank began to shake his head, then he turned around, still silent.
There was nothing to say anymore.
"Hank, please! It's not like it seems," Constance said to him, lifting her right arm as though she wanted to hold him back.
Hank walked back to the door, avoiding her touch. With one last look he closed the door again.
"Hank!" he heard her scream. But there was nothing he could do right now. Nothing besides leaving her house ...
Somehow this place seemed familiar, Wu thought when the captain stopped in front of a shop down in the Pearl. They had to make this trip down here, Renard had explained on the way, because Juliette had some important news for him.
Juliette? Nick's Juliette?
Wu was still wondering about that. Last night they were at Juliette's and Nick's house, now she called and the captain just jumped in his car and drove here. Didn't Nick told him just before he vanished that he was about to reunite with Juliette again? And now Renard was jumping in just after she called? What was this about?
The shop they stopped in front of was the same Nick had sent him to more than a year ago, Wu remembered. The one where he lost his memory of nearly an entire day and started afterwards eating keys and paperclips and coins ... and the fill of his old couch.
Damn, what was going on here?
"Stay here," Renard ordered, taking the key out of the ignition lock. "I'll be back in a few."
"Maybe I should go with you? This place has the ability to steal your time," Wu insisted and got another of Renard's "are you kidding me?" looks. He shrugged. "I'll be right here, waiting."
The captain nodded and left the car to walk over to the shop.
What was going on here? What it have to do with Juliette? And why Juliette seem to have some influence over the captain?
Wu thought about it.
Back then, just after Nick and Juliette broke up, Nick was really pissed at Renard. This was the main theme of gossip at the precinct some days. Then Renard came there with a black eye and Nick with a swollen hand. Their relationship never was the same again.
Could it be possible that Renard was the one Juliette had left Nick for? Did she fall for him while she had issues with her memory?
Wu looked to the entrance of the shop, gnawing on his knuckles.
He could see movement behind the blind. Maybe Renard arguing with someone else.
Why was this about Juliette? This place was possibly the last place on earth where he would look for her. The shop was old fashioned, smelled weird and -
Wu stopped thinking when he saw a movement from the side alley that began next to the shop. Someone just appeared there.
Wu frowned. Pressing his nose against the car window, he tried to identify the person he just saw, but whoever it was, he or she hid in the shadows.
Damn!
Who the heck was that?
Wu thought for a moment, looking again to the entrance. Nothing changed there, Renard would be busy for some more minutes he was sure. So Wu tried the door. It opened.
Slowly he left the truck, trying to make no noise and draw no attention to himself. He had the impression that he knew whoever was hiding there in the early morning shadows, and he wanted to make sure that he got a good look at him before the person had a chance to vanish.
Still moving casually, pretending to simply walking his daily route, he came closer to the black shadow in the dark alley.
There was an illuminated window on that side of the alley, showing inside the shop, or better the side room to the shop, probably the break room. And on the far side of this window there was the black shadow, definitely watching what was going on inside the building.
Wu tried to get a better look, but he was too far away and the light from the inside of the house worked like a barrier, he couldn't make out more than a silhouette. Broud shoulders, probably wearing a coat.
Slowly Wu moved closer, trying to distinguish more details.
That shadow looked familiar to him, as though he had seen this person before. But something was still missing ...
Wu strained his eyes, taking another step. And something creaked under his shoe.
The shadow moved around, now in full height, eyes staring straight at him and then ... the shadow began to laugh. "Mon ami! I knew we would meet again," a familiar voice said in a heavy accent.
The monster!
Wu lost a second, trying to loosen the holster strap of his weapon without being conspicuous. The clasp was still fixed. The shadow used that second to step into the early morning light and put the tophat on his head again.
No!
Wu turned around and ran, not back to the truck but to the entrance to the shop. The car was ways too weak as a hideout, but inside the building there were other people, there was the captain and probably Juliette, and he would feel much safer with numbers.
The door was closed but not locked. Wu opened it and rushed into the shop as fast as he could. Kicking the door shut, he finally turned around, again fumbling with his gun.
"Sergeant, didn't I tell you ... ?" Renard's voice stopped before he said: "You look like you'd just seen a ghost, Wu. What's wrong?"
"It's him! The monster from the container yard!" Wu said hastily. Finally he managed to open the button closing the clasp while Renard turned to the door. Lifting the blind, he looked outside.
"There's no one," he finally decided. Frowning, he turned to see Wu staring at him. "Are you sure you weren't mistaken?"
"I know what I saw. A shadow appeared at the side of this building. It looked like it came from the roof," Wu explained. "He hid in the shadows and I couldn't recognize him. That's why I left the truck."
"There's a skylight in the side room," the voice of Juliette said. "Oh my God! You don't think the Cracher-Mortal spied on us, do you?"
Wu turned around, looking at Juliette. He blinkened. "What are you doing here?" he finally asked.
"A skylight?" Renard walked over to the closed doors to the side room. "Very possible that someone could use it to spy on everybody here." He opened the doors and entered the side room, Juliette on his heels.
Wu looked at the front door. The bar was closed now, so Renard had locked the door. Then he followed Juliette and the captain, only to stop once more right at the door, staring at a pale woman lying on a divan, looking pretty dead to him. And there, holding her lifeless hand, was Monroe, Nick's former roommate.
But what Wu let freak himself out were the eyes of the woman. They were red, lifeless but red, staring at the ceiling. He'd seen such eyes before, hell, he had! More than enough to fear these eyes, as he knew what was coming at him. Nick's eyes were like that when Wu had seen him for the last time, lying in that coffin as though dead, months ago.
Wu shivered.
"We should find a way to mask the skylight," Renard decided. "This is a perfect peek-hole for those seeking information."
"What is going on here?" Wu asked, still staring at the reddened eyes of the woman.
The captain and Juliette turned around to him. He could feel their looks attaching to him.
"It's okay, Wu," Juliette said. "This is a friendly place."
"What's wrong with her? She looks dead," Wu nodded to the woman.
"She's under a spell," Monroe answered. "And her name is Rosalee. She's my fiance."
Fiance? No way! This cranky guy with his weird clocks could get a woman while he, Wu, was still on his own? Not likely, in any dimension!
"A spell? Are we talking cheap nightclubs now?" he asked.
"No, we are talking serious sickness here," Juliette answered.
Wu hesitantly turned around to her. "What are you doing here?"
"Juliette is trying to help," Monroe answered.
She nodded. "He's right. I'm trying to help."
Renard's cellphone started to ring. Somehow this sound sounded right now very sureal, in this weird situation.
"Can I use the phone here?" Renard asked after he looked at the screen.
"Go and help yourself," Monroe said.
"And you are staying here now, sergeant," Renard ordered before he left the room.
Wu felt like an alien, stranded on an unknown planet.
"What's wrong with her? Does it have something to do with the guy with the tophat I just saw outside?" Wu asked.
Monroe's head sprang up and Wu could have sworn he saw his eyes glow.
"Wait a minute, that shadow-figure you saw was the Cracher-Mortal?" Juliette asked.
"What's a Cracher-Mortal?" Wu replied.
"Still in the dark, huh?" Monroe's voice sounded deeper, as though he was on the verge of growling. "Well, I thought our prince would have a quick explanation,"
"For what?" Wu asked.
"For what is going on here," Juliette answered.
The door to the shop opened again and Renard peeked into the room. "Juliette, would you mind me speaking with you in private for a second?"
Juliette and Monroe exchanged a look, than she nodded and followed the captain.
Wu watched her closing the door again, before he placed his attention once more on the woman.
"What infection is that?" he asked. "It's the same the people at the container yard had, am I wrong?"
"You are right," Monroe answered. Suddenly he seemed distract, looking out of the side window.
"And what is a Cracher-Mortal?" Wu repeated.
"A very bad person. He did this to Rosalee," Monroe answered. "And probably to Nick as well, based on what you have told us."
Wu bit his lips, not knowing what to say.
"He is lucky that I didn't notice him. Otherwise he would be dead now." Again Monroe's voice was so deep, it sounded like he would growl any moment.
The door behind Wu opened again and Renard entered the room, followed by a very thoughtful Juliette now.
"Looks like you didn't do more than open the book, man," Monroe said to Renard. "He's still in the dark." He nodded at Wu.
"Okay, I get it. I'm not in your special club here. You don't have to mention this," Wu snapped.
"I didn't have time to explain everything to him yet," Renard answered. "And the more important question is, why we are here?"
"Because we need help when Rosalee wakes up," Juliette answered. Silently she stopped at Wu's side. When he looked at her he noticed some tears on her cheeks, but she stood her ground.
"Why us?" he asked softly.
Juliette looked up to him and smiled without any humour. "Because Monroe won't be able to hold her back long enough until I can treat her."
Wu looked again to the woman. Now he recognized her as the woman from last night, and the night before. Rosalee, yes, now he remembered her name. She looked so different now, all pale and lifeless with those reddened eyes.
Juliette still looked at him. "And I think it's time for your first lesson, Wu," she finally decided.