Chapter 76

Three bags were better than two. I added a third bag of baby carrot sticks to my cart as I moved through the produce section of Whole Foods. The police station hadn't taken nearly as long as I'd anticipated, so I gave myself a small break and went to the store to buy a few essentials for my bunny pals. Chloe was covered. I had the carrots and two bags of celery. I'd grabbed a bag of seedless grapes and ripe blackberries for Pete.

Not to leave out Monroe, I'd picked up his favorite organic Dutch dark chocolate, a lovely bottle of sauvignon blanc, and a bag of Peruvian dark roast coffee beans that he'd been wanting to try, but hadn't gotten around to purchasing. There. That ought to bring back some good girlfriend Karma.

My smile returned as I took a little extra time through the aisles. I breathed in the aroma of fresh flowers, selecting a bouquet of yellow daisies to spruce up the dining room table. I sampled a few cheeses while humming along to the random instrumental music that droned through the store. This was normal. I needed more normal.

Unfortunately, the normal was only temporary. Try as I might to prevent it, the events of yesterday trickled back through to the surface of my mind. It was so surreal. A small part of my brain was convinced it was all some crazy hallucination, or a bad dream. If only it were that simple.

Jack had hurt me in ways I'd never thought possible. It wasn't fair he got to walk away after that. And to top it off, he got the luxury of never having to remember any of it. Sadly, it would never leave my mind. And what would come of Jack's memory? Hopefully we'd erased everything and there wasn't anything we missed. I recalled the list of things we changed, checking it off. No, we'd covered everything. Maybe he'd still go back to St. Louis. Either way, as long as I was free of him, then it really didn't matter.

I glanced down at my hands as they gripped the handle of my cart. Pete hadn't said anything when we told him I'd used my abilities to save Monroe, but he'd given me a worried look. I thought back to our talk about balance. Maybe it was fine, but still I had a gnawing feeling that using my abilities could have repercussions. I wasn't going to test fate any more than I had to. Until I could better understand what I did, it was best not to use this ability anymore. Hopefully no one else would be hurt badly enough to ever have to.

And then there was Dad's letter… It only left more questions to be answered. Maybe there was something in my dad's office that would help me learn more. I could search in May. But all the lies and the deceit burned me to the core. The truths still needed to be figured out… Who were these people pulling the strings of my life like a marionette? What could they possibly want that would scare my dad so much to risk his life to prevent it? I stopped my cart and held my head in my hands, taking a few deep breaths. No matter, I had to focus. There was no sense in having a nervous breakdown. The time for that was long over. Thank goodness I had friends and loved ones who cared. I needed my inner circle now more than ever.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

I opened my front door to the wonderful aroma of orange, sugar, and coffee.

"Hey!" Monroe said, helping me with the door as I walked in. The dining room table at the far end of the room was filled with lots of food. Chloe and Pete were already eating. Breakfast was in full swing at la maison de Davenport. "So, did Nick take care of everything?"

I hung up my shoulder bag and coat on the rack. "Yeah, he said he'd file it away."

"File it away, meaning it's over?"

"I guess so," I replied with a shrug as Monroe and I went to the kitchen. I set the groceries on the counter and worked to put them away. "These are for you," I grinned as I handed him a separate bag.

Monroe rummaged through with his eyes bright. "Dude, Dutch dark chocolate? And these coffee beans are the kind I…" he looked back up, beaming. "Come over here." Monroe took me in his arms, kissing me deeply as we leaned against my fridge.

"Thanks for everything, Monroe. I don't know what I'd do without you," I said once he let go. "You keep saving me, and I'm just sorry I keep needing to be saved so often."

"Hey, you know, we saved each other, remember?"

I looked up into his soulful, brown eyes. "Yeah, I remember." Maybe there was a Zaubertrank that could make me forget, too.

"Man, this week has been…" Monroe trailed off as he shook his head. "I mean, I don't feel like we've had much time together that hasn't involved some kinda ominous, foreboding issue wrapped around it, you know? And after missing Easter with you on Sunday and…"

"Easter?" I looked up. "You celebrate that?"

"Well, yeah. Don't you?"

I hadn't celebrated Easter in a long time. I wasn't much of a church-goer to begin with. Spiritual, yeah, but not very religious. Sure, I respected the meaning, but the rest…? Well, after befriending Chloe, the whole Easter Bunny thing lost its charm. She detested that holiday something awful for obvious reasons. With what I could see, eating chocolate shaped like bunnies and eating marshmallow chicks didn't seem too respectful, either.

Mom and I had talked that day about her going to Aunt Marjorie's for dinner. We'd always have a family event during Easter, complete with a large dinner. My mom loved hosting, but it was more for the dinner than for the holiday. This year, Mom said it just wasn't the same without Dad and me being there, so Aunt Marjorie had insisted on taking over, complete with a trip to St. Anthony's for mass. Part of me was glad I'd missed it.

I bit at my upper lip. "We don't mention the 'E' word." I pointed to the other room.

Monroe squinted at me, but then the light bulb flashed on over his head. "Oh…" He glanced behind him, then back to me. "Well, uh, I suppose that isn't, umm, the best holiday for them, huh?" His sheepish grin overshadowed his words.

"Was that why you had a special dinner that night?"

"Yeah, but then you went over to the trailer."

"You should have said something. I didn't realize."

"Well, we haven't really discussed our religious beliefs, so I didn't want to, you know, assume that was something you…" Monroe glanced down, rocking on his heels."

I held his arms. "We'll talk beliefs sometime soon. I'm interested to hear yours."

Monroe looked up, smiling. "I'd like that. You know when I was a kid my nana would do up a big family thing for Ostern, she preferred the German term, anyway, we used to go out to the woods and…" Monroe paused, as his eyes went wide.

"What? Did you guys go hunting Easter eggs?"

"Umm… Let's just say it wasn't eggs we were out hunting, but anyway..." He sighed lightly. "Another talk for another day, right?" He patted me on the arm.

"Yeah, let's refrain from talking about that here," I replied quickly.

Oh my! They probably ate the Easter bunny on Easter. I didn't want to think about it. Not with Chloe and Pete at my house. No, I needed normal, thank you very much.

Monroe helped me arrange the flowers in the large vase I'd purchased while I finished up putting the groceries in the fridge.

"So what other errands do you have today?"

"I'll probably spend some time with Chloe, and then I have Miss Lawyer's party to go to. I'm meeting Nick tonight afterward to go over everything." I skipped the part about the gun range. He didn't need to know about that one.

"Oh, party. That's right. You're still going to that party thing tonight?"

"I want to at least make an appearance," I replied. I still wasn't in a party mood, but now it was definitely too late to cancel. Besides, it would be a nice distraction. "I could use a little normal after everything that's happened," I added.

Monroe nodded. "Well, come to the table for breakfast. There's some normal food with your name on it." Monroe took my hand and led me to the dining room table.

"What's this about a party?" asked Chloe as I put the vase on the table and sat down beside Monroe. Her expression told me that wasn't the only thing she'd overheard us discussing. I told her about my lawyer friend having a few people over.

"A lawyer party? Wow, you sure know how to have a good time," she grinned.

"Hey, it never hurts to know a good lawyer," I replied as I filled my plate.

"The two in Louisville have sure helped you out of a few scrapes," Chloe commented, to which Monroe raised an eyebrow.

"Well, this one isn't Wesen, so it won't be the same as Louisville."

Pete looked at Chloe. "I think I remember hearing about one of those. The Wolliglama of 2006?"

"Or the Truthahn of 2008." Chloe gave me a knowing look.

"Okay, but those were… Just knock it off," I said with a wave of my hand.

"Do I even want to ask?" questioned Monroe.

"No, you don't," Chloe replied with a smirk. "But let's just say our girl sure has luck on her side."

Monroe shook his head at me. Thank goodness Chloe didn't share the rest. I didn't need another intervention.

"So, what are we doing after this killer party?" asked Chloe.

"Umm… I'm going to see Nick about that letter."

"Oh," she said softly. Pete looked down at his plate. Apparently Chloe had filled him in.

"You want me to go with you?" asked Monroe as he took my hand.

I nodded. "Yeah, that might be for the best."

After breakfast, Pete went upstairs and Monroe had to leave to get some work done. I should've been working, too, but that was the furthest thing from my mind today. I'd catch up later. I needed a mental health day. Chloe and I did dishes as she tried to keep the conversation light and airy. Sadly, it didn't last long.

"You don't think Monroe still celebrates Ostern like he used to, do you?' Chloe asked.

I shook my head. "Unless he's chasing tofu, then no."

"My dad's grandma barely survived one Easter chase, only it wasn't Blutbaden, it was a pack of Coyotls." She shuddered. "I hate that damn holiday. I mean one Wesen gets a little creative with eggs back in the day and a whole stupid fad starts."

"Well, you don't have to worry," I said while putting plates away. "No one is going to chase you like that."

"If I'm going to get chased, he better be incredibly sexy and doing it in his Ferrari."

Shortly after, Pete returned downstairs, wearing a white dress shirt with a burgundy tie. He said was going to see Rosalee at the funeral home, and then he had some things he wanted to do while he was in town.

"What kind of things could you possibly need to do in Portland?" Chloe asked as she plopped down on the couch.

"Just… a few errands," Pete vaguely replied as he walked out the door before Chloe could pry any further.

"So, I guess it's just you and me today," Chloe grinned my way. "I have some errands I need to do, too."

Chloe's version of 'errands' was shopping. She had the cure for my woes. I showed her around town, trying to prove to her that Portland wasn't all that crazy. She still wasn't convinced, but her credit card sure had a good time.

For the rest of the day Chloe kept me sane. God, I'd missed my best friend. After we'd exhausted ourselves shopping, I took her to the Fifteenth Avenue Hophouse on Northeast Brazee Street for lunch. She'd smirked at the restaurant name. It wasn't too far from where I worked, so I'd driven past my building to show her along the way.

"The place I've got booked in Florida is ocean-side. I can't wait to run my toes through the sand," Chloe sighed as she scooped up a bit of hummus onto her carrot stick. "I need warm weather, pronto. How do you handle this kind of climate? It's freezing here."

"Day by day. But the natives say it feels amazing in the summer." I took a sip of my herbal tea. "Florida sounds good right about now, though."

"I wish you could come with me. You deserve a vacation."

I deserved something. My brain was so overloaded that I wanted to cry, or drink, or drink and cry. Yeah, drink and cry. That was an excellent combo. But there was no time to stop and have another pity party. The Beatles said it best, 'O-bla-di, O-bla-da, life goes on.'

"I'll be getting one soon. I'm looking forward to going home in May," I replied wistfully. "At least I had May to look forward to. That was as close to stopping life and taking a break as I would get. "I miss my mom." Regardless of my dad's lies, I knew my mom was genuine.

"She's doing good though, Renée. Honestly she is." Chloe rubbed my arm. "This hasn't been easy for you guys, I know, but considering everything, your mom is coping well."

I nodded slowly. "Let's not talk about it right now. Tell me more about this ocean-side view." More than anything, I needed distractions.

Chloe went on about Florida plans as I tried to push aside everything else. Spring was supposed to be better. So far, it officially sucked.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Later that afternoon, I put away my new pair of dress shoes while Chloe lugged her new purchases upstairs. I had to meet Nick at the gun range in half an hour. I told Chloe I needed to run a few errands of my own, and I'd be back soon. If she knew I was off shooting guns she'd have had a panic attack.

Nick's Toyota was in the near empty parking lot as I pulled up to the Multnomah Gun Club on the Northeast side of town. I walked through the entrance and searched the lobby. Juliette's red hair caught my eye. Standing beside her was Nick, filling out some paperwork at the counter.

Juliette turned as I approached. "Hi," she said with a warm smile.

Nick looked up quickly. "Renée, hi," he awkwardly said. "Juliette, you remember Renée, right?"

She nodded and pursed her lips briefly. "Yes, I remember her."

"She's going to do some shooting with us, if you're okay with that?"

"Of course. Sure," she replied. "Have you been doing all right since what happened?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I said softly. "How about you?"

"Renée, you need to fill out these forms," Nick cut in, giving me a hard glare. Right, no chatting. He turned to Juliette as he handed her what looked like headphones.

"I brought some ears for you, too." He handed me a pair as a lady behind the counter passed me a form. "She's going to need to rent a pair of eyes," he told the clerk and she nodded. Eyes? The clerk pulled out a pair of large glasses. Ah, eye protection. Okay. Eyes and ears. Got it.

Once I'd signed my life away, the three of us headed to the lanes. The faint smell of gunpowder clung to the concrete walls. It was unusually quiet for a gun range. Shouldn't it sound like World War II in here? I scanned the room. Well, no wonder it was silent, we were the only ones around.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Nick.

"I arranged for us to have the place to ourselves. It's easier to go over what to do this way. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to hear anything with these on and the guns." He pointed to the 'ears' as he spoke.

I raised my eyebrows. "You have that kind of pull?"

"The owner is a friend of mine." Nick smirked. "We met back when I first joined the department here."

"Nick has many connections," Juliette added with a grin. Yeah, more than Juliette ever knew.

Nick took care of setting up the targets as Juliette and I stood by one of the lanes.

"Have you done this before?" she asked as we waited for Nick to finish the setup.

"Not at a gun range, no. And not with a handgun. I've fired shotguns before, but that was a long time ago."

"It's my first time with any of it," she said. "I never thought I'd need to, but after everything that's happened…" she trailed off with a sigh and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear.

I nodded slowly. "I understand. Being kidnapped changes your perspective."

"It's more than just that," she replied. "It's also the…"

"Okay," Nick said as he came up behind us before Juliette could finish. "Renée, I'm going to put you over in this lane, and Juliette I'll have you over in this one." He pointed to two lanes side-by-side. "Renée will shoot first, since she can't stay for very long." He emphasized that last part as he stared directly at me.

Hmm… Guess that meant I was going to fire few shots, and then scram. Was he really that afraid of me talking to Juliette? I'd been keeping this secret from humans much longer than he had, for sure. I refrained from shaking my head at him.

"But first we're going to start in this lane," Nick continued, "and I want you both watching, so I can show you what to do."

We nodded as I stood next to Juliette. I glanced out at the human silhouette target. This was no soda can. When my dad had walked me through shooting, I'd picked it up rather quickly. Hopefully this would be just as easy.

"Okay, go ahead and put your eyes on," Nick instructed as he set the box of ammo on the table in front of us and retrieved his gun. "Since this is your and Renée's first time with a handgun, I'll go over the basics."

Juliette moved in closer beside me as Nick explained the parts of the handgun. Surprisingly, Nick was a good teacher. He removed the clip and slowly loaded the bullets, explaining the proper way as he went, and then snapped the clip back into place. He did it a second time, just to ensure we had it right. Nick went over the importance of keeping the gun safety 'on' until the gun was ready to be fired. He showed us both positions, guiding us the rest of the way through the process. I took it all in.

"Okay, so I want you two to take this slow when it's your turn to shoot." He aimed the gun to show us. "Keep your dominant hand gripped here and when you're not shooting, you'll want to keep your trigger finger positioned along the edge," he coached while demonstrating. Nick showed us how to wrap our palm around the gun with our other hand. "This firm grip will give you the most accurate aim."

Juliette and I watched attentively to everything including proper stance. Nick showed us one called Isosceles stance and a second called Weaver stance. Who knew stances had names?

"Put your ears on and I'll fire off a few rounds."

We donned our 'ears' and Nick fired into the target. He really knew what he was doing. Eight bullet holes ripped through the silhouette, practically pulverizing the 'X' in the center. He turned and smiled at us both as he took off his 'ears.'

We removed ours, too, as Juliette fawned over Nick's skills.

"Impressive," I said appreciatively.

Nick smirked. "I've been doing this a long time."

After Nick had reviewed the steps again, he asked me, "So, are you ready?"

"Sure," I replied. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Go ahead and put your ears back on," he instructed as he slipped on his own.

We followed Nick to my lane. Once my 'eyes' and 'ears' were secure, he handed me the gun. I mimicked Nick's stance and position, focusing on the target.

"Okay, that looks good," he yelled over the ear protection. "Now squeeze them off slowly."

Each shot flew through the paper as I rhythmically pulled the trigger to Pat Benatar's 'Hit Me with Your Best Shot.' Once I was out of bullets, I looked back at Nick, whose mouth was slightly agape. Six bullet holes were scattered close around the 'X' with the seventh one dead in the center. The eighth hole had barely crossed the line to the next ring. I was a bit disappointed about that last one. I removed my 'ears.'

"That was amazing!" said Juliette excitedly.

"I thought you said this was your first time with a handgun," Nick remarked, taking off his 'ears.'

"It is," I replied with a smile. "Beginner's luck?"

Nick shook his head, and then mumbled, "It's some kind of luck, but it's not beginner's."

"Maybe a handgun wouldn't be such a bad thing to have."

"Shooting here is still different than shooting a… person," Nick reminded me. "And a moving target is even more difficult."

"I realize that, Nick. I'm not expecting to just go around shooting moving people." I'd rather not have to shoot anyone at all. But at least if I had to, I had good aim.

"Well, I think this has been enough of a lesson for one day," Nick said hastily. "Maybe you should head out since you said you couldn't stay for very long, remember?" He gave me a knowing look.

"Right, I have things to do after all." I held back an eye roll. "Thanks for letting me join you today," I added instead.

"Oh, do you have to go so soon?" asked Juliette. "At least stick around to watch me shoot."

I looked to Nick for approval. He gave me a slow blink. I'd just take that as a 'yes.'

I glanced at my watch then smiled back at Juliette. "Sure. I have more time than I thought."

We moved to her lane and Nick helped Juliette with her stance. We put on our protective gear again while Juliette got into position. She quickly squeezed the trigger. Each bullet hit closer and closer to the 'X' in the center. Juliette lowered her weapon once she was out of bullets. Nick and I removed our gear as we both stared at each other in amazement. Only three shots had made it outside the center ring. The other five were as good as mine.

Nick squinted at the target. "You sure you've never done this before?" he questioned Juliette as she removed her 'ears.'

Juliette let out a short chuckle and smiled jubilantly.

"Beginner's luck seems to be all around," I said with a smile. "Fantastic job!"

She nodded in my direction with her smile still in place. "I'm starting to feel safer already."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

I had two hours before Adalind's party, so I headed home to get ready.

"Did you get everything done?" asked Chloe, who was watching TV on the couch when I walked in.

"Yeah, everything's done and I'm… on target," I replied with a slight grin, tapping the rolled up souvenir of shooting practice in my hands as I walked toward my bedroom.

"Hold it," she eyeballed me as she stood up and came toward me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

There was no hiding from her. I told her about the gun range.

"Renée, you don't need to be carrying a weapon!" she exclaimed as her rabbit features came out. "Seriously, have a little sense!"

"I'm not going to go out and buy an arsenal or anything. But I just want to know I have ways to defend myself."

She shook her head. "I knew there was something off about your so-called 'errands.' I should've gone with you."

"I was barely able to talk Nick into letting me go as it was. Having you there would've made it worse."

"I just can't believe Monroe would let you…" Chloe paused. "Oh, he doesn't know a thing about it, does he?"

"No, and you don't need to mention it," I warned as I pointed my rolled up target in her direction.

"I ought to call him right now." She shook her head. "I'm sure he'd agree with me that you don't need to have a lethal weapon."

"He's already told me he doesn't want me to have one," I replied, "which is why he doesn't need to know about the gun range."

"Renée, I swear… You and your secrets." She sighed in exasperation.

"Has Pete come back yet?" I asked.

"No. He's still out. He's probably still consoling that Fuchsbau, if I were to guess."

"Oh, that's harmless, Chloe. You guys are leaving on Sunday. He's just being nice."

She rolled her eyes as she sat back down. "Right, he's just being nice."

"Have a little empathy," I said with a sigh. "She's burying her brother today."

Chloe's face softened. "Yeah, well I'm sure that must be hard."

"I'm going to get ready for this party. Will you be okay on your own?"

"Not a lot of options for anything else." She leaned her head back into the couch.

"Chloe, I'm sorry. I'm all yours tomorrow night, okay?"

She smiled. "Okay. That, I can handle."

A/N: Easter celebrations seem to vary for everyone, huh? And it seems Renée has good aim.

Sorry on delays getting new chapters. Still writing this thing, and trying not to write myself into corners. Oh, what a tangled web of plot-lines this story has. Whew! Happy Grimm Friday to all and Stay Tuned!