A/N: There's been speculation that the writers on the show will have Adalind hide what's happening from Nick, but that would be out of character for her. Even though that was her gut reaction with Rosalee in the spice shop, she has more courage than that and, let's face it, Adalind doesn't like hiding things from Nick. Why else would she put herself out there the night before he left even though Nick could have rejected her advances? Even as his worst enemy, she came to him for help when pregnant with Kelly and you could see how difficult that was for her. I hope the show doesn't make her go out of character, we have had enough of that last season!

Nick POV

Out of desperation, he was here at HW to ask Meisner's help to track down Adalind. Trubel met him at the entrance, took one look at him, and whistled her reaction to his disheveled appearance and signs of his lack of sleep. "You don't look so great," she stated wryly, but Nick wasn't in the mood to banter.

When he had finished his shower, emerging from bathroom yesterday, Adalind was gone. Curious, he checked on Kelly who was fast asleep, which was slightly alarming, but when Nick found her note his heart dropped. So he wasn't the only one concerned about what she might do during her change. Immediately he felt ashamed, ashamed that he could assume she would be dangerous, especially to her own son. Yet, Juliette's drastic physical and emotional transformation had loomed large in his memory. What horrible things she had done that Nick never could have imagined, in a million years, that she could be capable of. That's when it had hit Nick. Adalind would never be like Juliette was, and he knew that because he knew what kind of Hexenbiest she had been, specifically after Diana was born. This change wouldn't be easy, but Nick knew one thing for certain, he wanted Adalind in his and Kelly's life Hexenbiest or not.

They had had a rough night, Kelly and him. Nick was jet lagged and Kelly wanted his mother. Well, that was where Nick agreed completely with his son. This was his third night without her and he wasn't taking it so well. Pacing the loft with his irritable son, Nick ran a frustrated hand through his hair more than once. He called Adalind again and again, but realized after the fifth call that if she was trying to protect them, she wouldn't call until she had a solution. When morning finally came, Nick was done waiting, done worrying. He had to do something. Meeting Rosalee at her house, he had called her to watch Kelly. Perceptive as always, Rosalee wouldn't let him leave without an explanation. "Alright, Nick. What happened? She told you didn't she?" Then with a worried expression she asked, "You didn't kick her out, did you, because she thought you might."

"Of course not!" Nick was doubly concerned that Rosalee would have to ask him that and Adalind could even think such a thing. However, some part of him understood. After all he had never really told Adalind how he felt about her, only took what she had offered him that night they spent together.

"She saved me you know," Rosalee stated trying to meet his eyes that he had lowered.

"What do you mean?" Nick couldn't imagine what she was referring to.

"That day that Adalind's Hexenbiest returned, it was a denfese mechanism," she started. Then taking a deep breath she continued, "This guy I used to know came begging money for drugs, but when I wouldn't give him any, he started tearing up the shop and even hit me knocking me down. That's when she stood up to him and told him to stop, that she was going to call the police. He's a Kackenkopf and, of course, being an addict he wasn't going to let her call the cops. He Woged and went after Adalind and that's when her Hexenbiest defended us." It took several seconds for him to digest the whole story. So this happened because their friend needed help and Adalind stepped in. A peace, about the whole situation, had settled on him with that revelation.

Now, following Trubel through the sterile halls of HW, determination to bring her home drove Nick despite his lack of sleep. Trubel stopped in front of a particular door and knocked. "Yeah," was the reply. Trubel pulled open the door without further preamble, then they both froze. There was Adalind. She had been with Meisner and she was in his arms!

"Oh, Adalind," Trubel said, finding her voice first. Looking over at him she continued, "Nick, I didn't know she was here, otherwise I would have told you." Meisner and Adalind parted, but Adalind faced away from them. Nick finally acknowledged it was okay to Trubel with a small nod. He glared at Meisner. What in the hell did the man think he was doing?!

"Burkhardt," Meisner spoke cooly returning his glare.

"You should have called me," Nick ground out. Meisner cocked one eyebrow at him, as if to say 'Really.'

Then sending a much softer glance at Adalind, Meisner told her, "I'll give you some time alone, if that's what you want." The bastard better not come between us, Nick growled to himself. That would be a big mistake! Adalind simply nodded after a moment and Meisner started to leave. Stopping next to Nick, he said in a less detached tone, "I appreciate that we'll need to work together, in the future, so I'm sorry about my silence," he began then looked one last time back at Adalind before continuing, "but in this case, my loyalties didn't lie with you." Swallowing his anger, Nick was envious of their history. He would never lower his guard about Adalind around this guy, but he respected that Meisner wouldn't make her do anything she didn't want to do.

When the door closed behind him, Nick came around to face Adalind. Her tear stained cheeks spoke volumes.