Chapter 2 – My House is My Castle

"What will you do with that rod?" asked Monroe. "Seems be really powerful."

"I'll better place it here," answered Nick and placed rod into weaponry cupboard in trailer. "That's kind of absolute powers. Each power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Adalind, are you able to do an spell or something, that would prevent unauthorized access here?"

"I could," smiled Diana and made classic 'AbracaDabra' moves with her hands.

Strange light erupted from her fingers and diffused to surroundings.

"Now only us or our invited guests could go here and enter in," said strange girl…

XXXXXXX

"Bud, may we come to you today with Adalind and children?" called Nick to his Eisbiber friend. "I possibly have a contract for you."

"Sure, but, Nick, my wife is here," Bud sounded unsure. "Adalind and children? Nick, that belly of her did not look so…"

"Bud, I mean also with her first child," explained Nick. "Maybe I should be sorry her daughter is not my own too."

"OK, OK Nick!" Bud changed in second into enthusiastic. "Phoebe would love to have somebody else to speak with."

"What are you organizing?" asked Adalind. "What's up?"

"I guess, our lodge needs to be improved, ideally to that level, so each child will have own room," answered Nick. "I believe, you remember Bud?"

"Off course I remember him," Adalind smiled, remembering slightly confused Eisbiber. "But he repairs refrigerators, doesn't he?"

"Yup," Nick smiled wide. "But he knows people who know people and he's more than able explain them, how wise it would be to offer good price for a well-done work."

"Are you going to abuse your being a Grimm?"

"Maybe use," Nick nodded. "I'll pay a fair price, but we would need some extra works to be done silently, off records. And Bud can recommend us whom to ask and he would ask them not to cheat on us."

"Can I go there with Diana and Kelly?"

"Bud would be happy," Nick nodded again. "He and his wife are long time together. I guess, he would appreciate, if his wife would divide her attention also to other persons."

"That sounds pretty cynical," accused him Adalind. "What should we tell them?"

"Chose yourself," Nick shook his head. "Common conversation is something I was never good in."

"I can easily imagine," Adalinf looked on him seriously. "You are better, than I expected, once asked for your protection, but your conversational ability, if it doesn't concern somebody's violent death, is really limited. And Diana is pretty able to steal all the attention."

"Fine, so let's go!"

Nick had a think for a moment, than he looked on Adalind.

"What?" she asked seeing his pensive face.

"Would you wish to marry me, now, once we succeeded and won?" asked Nick a question.

"Is it a proposal or just a question?" asked Adalind carefully.

"Well, I would wish it to be a proposal, but we are in hurry a bit now, I have no ring to offer right here and with our history together…"

"Yes, our history…" nodded Adalind. "I guess, with our history this is the best I could expect from you. So yes, we just need to arrange details. I'm able to be pragmatic enough," she gave a sigh. "I know, we have only low chance for fairy-tale 'and they lived happily ever after' end. Rather for brothers Grimm ending…"

"Good, so we could go to jewelry shop together," Nick felt alleviation. "You will chose, what ring you would love to have and we'll arrange other details."

"Once you wish to rebuilt that loft, we'll need more money, than we have right now," Adalind was as almost always pragmatic. "And I know, whom to ask for finance aid."

"Whom?" Nick was curious. "Should I use my Grimm eyes or violence will be necessary?"

"Could be," nodded Adalind. "I wish to get a payback from Harrison Berman. He introduced to me Conrad Bonaparte and I believe, he knows a lot about Black Claw. Maybe you should invite for interview with him also Eve and Trubel."

"Sounds like a plan for funny afternoon," smiled Nick. "How much could he hold dear his life?"

XXXXXXX

"Bud was so secretive, once he explain, you are to come for a visit," slowly eldering Phoebe Wurstner invited them in. "So I decided I must invite you first."

"Adalind Schade, soon Adalind Burkhardt," her smile was wide. "Really a pleasure to meet you."

Nick wished to know, in what extent it really was a pleasure and in what extent it was sociable hypocrisy. But he dug from the deepest a smile on his own face. He kept crib with Kelly and Diana kept her mother's right hand on herself.

"Nick Burkhardt," nodded. "Nice to meet you, Bud speaks about you quite often."

"I could imagine," Phoebe half-closed her eyes, observing him. "About you he did not speak a lot, about your future wife even nothing at all."

She turned:

"Bud Wurstner! Come here! Now!"

Then she turned to guests.

"So, you will be soon married," nodded. "I remember you from Rosalee Calvert and Monroe wedding, you were his best man!"

Her face turned to smile a bit.

"But there was an problem, as I remember," she frowned.

"Well, problems could be," Diana's voice was ringing a bit too loudly. "Mum is Hexenbiest and Nick is a Grimm."

When Bud hurried to entrance door, he found his wife woged and scared a bit and observed also quickly dewoging Hexenbiest.

"You never told me, he's a Grimm!" Phoebe almost shrieked to her husband. "Grimm in our house. I should pray to Lord, to stay us all alive."

"I'm not that kind of Grimm!" defended Nick himself.

Finally that meeting was not such a fiasco. Diana was enchanting in many sense of that word. Adalind and Phoebe found many points to debate about, especially concerning raising children.

"So they stole your daughter from you?" Bud's wife was shocked. "Is it her?" showed on Diana. "She looks like a real princess."

"It's because I AM real princess!" explained Diana. "My daddy is prince, however he will be never king after his father."

"That girl has really a fantasy!" said Phoebe.

"Unfortunately it's true," said Adalind. "Sean Renard really is illegitimate son of dead king Frederick Renard. Diana's grandfather was one of reasons, why they decided to take her from me."

"I was with grandpa when Martin decided to let him fly," smiled Diana.

"WHAT?!" Bud's wife was shocked again.

"Member of Laufer Martin Meisner dropped king from helicopter, when king tried to escape from Portland with Diana," said Adalind. "Martin was later murdered by Black Claw."

"Quite a sad story," said Phoebe. "So now you and Sean Renard will raise Diana what way? She seems to be powerful girl in future."

"Not in future," said Diana and with few moves of fingers she let levitate tray with cakes and forks were orbiting around it.

"Diana," said Adalind with a false soft tone. "What I told you about levitating sharp things?"

"To use it only in self-defense or during practicing self-defense," said Diana with half-apologetic tone and let forks 'land' on table on place she moved them off.

"Good girl!" said Adalind. "She is in Joint Custody with Sean. She must spend some time with her father too, but he tends to mollycoddle her."

"That almost all fathers tend to do," nodded Phoebe. "Bud always said he never do it, but without my proper leading our children would be spoiled."

Nick had problems not to laugh loudly.

Phoebe shot a glance to him:

"I'm curious, how YOU will raise YOUR son Kelly. Grimms are hardly really different in it. Will Kelly be a Grimm, Zauberbiest or some combination of both?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders:

"I could do my best, off course. According Grimm books Kelly is first child of such origin. So no idea, what will he be. And in our family it was usually women, who were strong. When my father was murdered and as I believed together with my mother, I was raised by my aunt Marie Kessler. Only later I learned, how to be a Grimm. Nobody was sure, whether I am or I am not one. And we moved a lot, probably my aunt wanted to avoid our being traced and killed."

After this a short time of silence appeared.

"Nick, what EXACTLY would you need from me?" asked Bud. "I'm proud to be your friend, but I do not get well, what you are asking."

"Well Bud, you told me, lot of construction firms here are owned by Eisbibers. I believe, you know almost everybody in local Eisbiber community…"

"And with everybody from them you drink a lot of beer," added Bud's wife.

"So you know, whom to ask, if I need my new place to be rebuilt into some kind of fortress. And you could organize them, so not all plans will be in City Planning Commission," continued Nick. "As you will act as Site Manager, you will be also paid as Site Manager. I believe, nobody of them would allow cheat on you."

"They will not," nodded Bud. "So Site Manger in building home for a Grimm… Sounds great."

"You'll have to drink less beer," teased him Phoebe. "Not to fall somewhere…"

"OK," bantered Nick. "So I'll go to behead some bad guys to accumulate funds for building."

Moment of dumfounded silence explained him, his joke was not accepted so well…

"I was only joking," defeated Nick himself.

"Nick, that's what we all here know, but, with Grimms and wesens, maybe better do not joke such a way too often," said Adalind with serious tone.

Nick made woebegone face, what made Adalind and Diana to laugh.

"So I believe, we made a deal," said Adalind to Bud. "Your wife is great, you must be really lucky being with her."

"Yup, I really must," said Bud very silently murmuring…

XXXXXXX

"How much will we need?" asked Nick to Adalind. "Is there any spell or so to predict it?"

"Trust me, most of predicting spells are total crap," answered Adalind. "I guess, a bit more, than usual house here costs, as you need improved safety, it means more expensive materials, better equipment and so on. The only we have now is a place to be totally converted. I will ask one million from Berman tomorrow, just to get payback for his friend Bonaparte…"

"I'm really glad, you are now on my side," said Nick and hugged her, attempting to kiss.

"Could you two let it for time I'll have my own room?" asked Diana with overacting hurt tone…

XXXXXXX

"Trubel, may I ask you for favor?" asked Nick.

"Sure, what's up?"

"I'll need tomorrow interrogate one wesen lawyer," explained Nick. "Ask also Eve, she has remarkable success in interrogating of uncooperative wesens. He could have info also about Black Claw, but I want him to pay for forcing Adalind to leave me. He was one of responsible persons."

"Fine," answered Trubel. "I'll ask Eve. I guess, it's about Harrison Berman. We studied that office in HW. They have not bad system of security video footage. We would need also Wu, he could do our IT backup."

"Good to know," said Nick. "Calling him."

"By the way Nick," continued Trubel. "Josh is here in Portland. We decided to marry. If you wish to marry Adalind, we could do it together."

"Sounds interesting," agreed Nick. "I'll ask Adalind, how does she look for that."

"How Adalind does look for what?" asked Adalind, hearing him.

"Trubel and Josh decided to marry," said Nick. "She offered me to do both weddings together."

"Nick, give her to me!" demanded Adalind. "I'll discuss it rather with her. Go and prepare instruments of torture or something for tomorrow."

"Nick, we should talk," said him Diana.

Nick was a bit unsure, what to expect. Girl showed him to go aside.

"Yes, Diana?"

"Nick, if you marry my mum, could I tell you dad?" asked young witch.

"Do you really wish so, wouldn't it be confusing with Sean Renard?" asked surprised Grimm.

"Daddy I'll also name dad, where's the problem?" asked Diana with innocent face. "Could I go for your playdate tomorrow with you? I want to have some fun."

"Ask mum, but I'd say yes," answered Nick.

He imagined, extra-super-mega-powerful Hexenbiest could be argument hard to beat…

XXXXXXX

"Wu," called Nick, finally with his phone again.

The phone was still warm because of Adalind kept it on her ear for a pretty long time…

"Hi Nick, what's up?"

"May I ask you for favor tomorrow? It's out of badge action with wesen lawyers?"

"Just tell me, please. It's not breaking into Berman, Rautbort Law, is it?"

When Nick remained silent, Wu continued:

"Crap! You are going to break into there!"

TO BE CONTINUED…
ONE SUITABLE DAY…