Chapter 72

We went back to Monroe's house and I was grateful not to have to look at mine for the time being. Chloe and I sat on the gold couch as Monroe took my battered cuckoo and laid it on his work bench. I couldn't stand to watch and turned my head away.

Chloe reached for my arm. "He said he'll fix it."

"It's more than just that," I sighed as I pulled myself together. Breathe in calm, breathe out tension… My breaths slowed as the calm settled in.

Monroe came back into the living room and looked down at us both. "I'm going to take a much needed shower if you ladies are okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied vaguely and Chloe nodded in his direction.

Chloe turned to me as he headed upstairs. "Is this what it's always like for you here?"

"No, this day was pretty awful. The others were milder." I tried to chuckle, but I just couldn't. "Chloe, are you okay?" I asked, taking her hands in mine.

"I'm really stressed, Renée. But Monroe, I mean, he took a knife for me. Your boyfriend is pretty amazing. And I know he can hear me up there," she said, looking up at the ceiling, "so I'm not going to be too sappy, but you have a spectacular boyfriend and I'm grateful he was there." She looked back to me, forcing a smile.

"Why, Chloe Haas, does this mean you finally approve of my boyfriend?" I genuinely grinned this time.

"One-hundred and ten percent. If you're going to live in this fucked up town, I know you're fully protected as long as he's around."

I hugged her tightly. "You just made my day."

"So, what else can you do, you know, with this Waldgeist thing?" Chloe asked hesitantly.

I shrugged. "I can rejuvenate leaves."

"What?" Chloe crossed her arms.

"Pete tried an experiment last night," I said. "He brought in a brown leaf and I held it in my hands. It turned as fresh and new as if it was right off the tree." The whole thing was as bewildering as it sounded.

"So, do you have magic powers? Is that what this is?"

"I have no clue, Chloe. Pete says that Waldgeists are magical, and I witnessed magic when I met my dad's relatives, but what I did with Monroe back there… Well, I'm not even sure what I did." I leaned back into the couch and let out a sigh.

"It looked like something out of an episode of Smallville or something. Maybe you ran across some kryptonite," Chloe said, nudging my arm.

"Since when do you watch sci-fi TV?" I asked.

"Harvey has been introducing me to a few shows. Apparently I'm missing out since I'd never seen that or Doctor Who. We had a marathon last week at his house, and I was up to my eyeballs in 'geek-speak.'" Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Are you and Harvey…?" I asked with a grin.

Chloe shook her head. "We haven't found the va-va-voom." She frowned.

"Maybe you're his kryptonite," I laughed. It felt good to laugh.

"I've given him three weeks, so I'm throwing in the towel. He can talk sonic screwdrivers and superhero capes with someone else."

I patted her arm. "Well, you deserve someone who wants to do more than talk."

"You're mocking me, aren't you?"

"No, I'm just saying if he's moving too slow then there are… other bunnies in the field."

" Really, Renée?" She scowled at me. "You really had to go there?"

I chuckled, "Couldn't help it." I needed to laugh, even if it was at her expense just a bit. "But in my experience, the ones that are all talk now, do more than talk later."

Chloe shook her head. "I'm not that patient."

"You never have been," I replied with a smirk.

Chloe kept me distracted with more normal talk, and for a brief moment everything else melted away. Monroe returned, looking more refreshed with his blue and green plaid shirt and just a hint of a white t-shirt poking out from the top.

"I could use some coffee. You guys want a cup?" Monroe asked, moving toward the kitchen as he spoke.

"Absolutely," I replied.

"That or a beer," Chloe said.

"She wants coffee," I said quickly.

Chloe's phone rang. "It's Pete," she said while holding her hand to the receiver. I took the opportunity to help Monroe in the kitchen while she talked to her brother.

Monroe practically beamed as he worked his magic on the French press. "So, I'm spectacular, huh? That has a nice ring to it."

"What you did today, it was beyond heroic. You're just so incredible."

"Anyone would've done the same thing," he humbly replied.

"You're usually right about many things, but this time I think you're wrong," I said as I hugged him from behind.

I rubbed his shoulders as he worked. He let out a pleasing sigh as I pressed my fingers into his neck, knowing the places that felt so good to him. Leaning my head against his back, I took in his fresh application of Old Spice.

"Renée, whatever you did, it, umm, healed more than just what your ex did," said Monroe.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… Well, I fell off my bike when I was sixteen, and I've had a scar on my leg ever since… Well, until today. Like, every battle wound I've ever had is, like, totally gone now, dude."

My eyes widened. "Seriously? Even the Blutbad bite?"

"Dude, it's kinda like you took an eraser to everything."

"Oh my. I don't know what to…"

"What? You're where?" Chloe barked loudly from the living room. I left Monroe to go see what was going on. She looked at me as I lowered myself back on the couch. "Hang on, Pete. I'm putting you on speaker," she said.

"I said I'm about to go into a trauminsel. I'm doing Grimm work!" Pete said with a grin in his voice. "This is really cool!"

"A what?"

"A trauminsel?" Monroe asked with concern while walking back into the living room, juggling coffee mugs and setting them down quickly. "Here in Portland?"

"Is Nick with you?" I asked Pete.

"Yeah. Hang on a second."

"Nick, where are you guys?" I asked after Pete passed him the phone.

"We've located a place where the Skalengecks might be. Earlier today we were at their apartment and found the 'J' they stole from the spice shop. They got away after some gun fire back and forth. Along with the 'J' there was this horn thing they were using. It's called a… slaugenhump." Nick paused for a moment. "Or is it a snogginglump?"

"Saugendampf," Monroe corrected him. "Oh man, if they were using one of those then they're hardcore addicts, dude."

"Rosalee seems to think we'll find them at this island of dreams, trauminsel thing. It's like a Wesen crack house."

"And you're taking Pete with you? Is that safe, man?" Monroe asked and I caught a worried look in his eyes.

"I just need him so we can get inside. He'll be fine," Nick assured us.

"Okay, Grimm. Don't you dare let anything happen to my brother," Chloe warned in her mothering tone. She started clicking as she undoubtedly feared the worst.

Monroe stared at the phone with his hand on his chin. "Man, I should be there with you."

I glanced up at Monroe. "You were busy getting stabbed and rescuing Chloe," I reminded him, shaking my head.

"What?" Nick asked with uneasiness in his voice. "Monroe you didn't mention getting stabbed. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just be careful out there, dude. Addicts and guns are a bad combo."

Chloe hung up the phone and shook her head at me. "Since we've come to Portland, I've been held at knife-point and now my brother is going to a Wesen crack house. This is definitely not what I expected when we came here."

"It's really a nice town… sometimes," I said while trying to sound in good spirits.

"Here, have some coffee," Monroe offered, handing Chloe a blue mug. "I trust Nick. If he says your brother will be fine, he will be." She took a sip and let out the same noise I usually made. One tends to make noises after experiencing java heaven.

"My goodness, this is incredibly good!" Chloe said to Monroe, smiling at him.

"Best in Portland, or so my fans say." He grinned in my direction, leaning back into his brown, leather swivel chair. I returned the grin. "So what do you ladies think about dinner? I don't know about you, but I'm starving." Monroe reached for his stomach. "A few cherry turnovers aren't enough to tide me over for a day."

I hadn't even thought about food with everything that had happened, but my stomach growled at Monroe's mention of it.

"I'm a whiz in the kitchen. Let me handle it," Chloe offered, springing up off the couch. "Which way is it?"

I pointed to the doorway to the right as she hopped forward.

Monroe got on his feet and flashed me a worried look. He wasn't ready to have a rabbit make herself at home in his kitchen. Monroe was very particular about who was in there. Save for a few romps we'd had in the heat of the moment, everything else was scrutinized by his watchful eye.

"Umm, here's a thought... Why don't we both cook?" he suggested as I walked in behind them. Chloe shuffled through his cabinets and drawers. I put my hands on Monroe's tense shoulders.

"No, you guys go enjoy each other's company. I'm fine. Just looking for… Oh, here we go!" she said as she produced a colander.

Monroe's eyes widened as he held his face with his hand, as if not exactly sure what else to say.

"It'll be fine. She's good in a kitchen." I took Monroe by the arm, coaxing him back into the living room. "Come sit back down and try not to think about it, okay?"

He sat down on the couch beside me, still quite wide-eyed and seemingly worried about bunny collateral damage.

"She's making you dinner because she likes you," I said, grinning at him.

"Maybe it's okay if she doesn't like me that much," he replied, turning back as something metal hit the floor.

"It's fine. Don't worry, I got it!" Chloe called out.

"Aw, man." Monroe shook his head.

A/N: So, Pete is taking over for Monroe in Island of Dreams. Chloe is taking over for Monroe in the kitchen, too. Poor Monroe!

Hope we're enjoying so far. 3 more to go today.