Chapter 95

The next day was a struggle to get through work. Exhaustion tugged at me, mind, body, and soul. Between being screwed nine ways from Sunday both in my dreams and in reality, and then a vigorous Pilates workout with Monroe before work this morning, it was a miracle I was sitting upright. I'd survived on sheer willpower throughout the day, since the two double espressos from Starbucks I'd succumbed to weren't cutting it at all.

This morning when I'd taken Monroe home, we had discussed our schedules and plans for tonight. The one thing we failed to discuss was last night. He'd made no mention of his Mr. Hyde on steroids moment, and I didn't bring up my Christina Aguilera one, either. We both had acted like nothing had happened. Maybe it made choosing easier. I shook my head. The less I thought about it, the better.

It was time for lunch, and I was more than glad to step away from my desk. My focus was gone today, absolutely gone. Fortunately my next training wasn't for a few hours. I could take a long lunch today. A grin spread across my face as I headed to my car and took a drive to the Portland police station. I needed to see Nick. After last night, a big apology was in order. Oh, but he didn't want anyone to know we knew each other… And now that we were really getting to know each other, it put a whole new spin on things. No, I needed to see him. Maybe he'd forgive me for last night and for visiting his work, too.

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

I pulled in to the parking area. Nick's Toyota was sitting in the 'official use only' lot across the way. Good, he was here. I smoothed out my hair and did a quick check on my make-up in the visor. I reached into my bag and added just a hint of lip gloss. There, much better.

I made my way up to the building, dodging the occasional passersby as I went. Steadily, I crept up the stairs like I was a criminal being in here. As I was heading up, Sergeant Jokes-a-Lot was heading down. My breath caught in my throat as I turned my head and he breezed past me. I held my hand to my chest as I continued up the stairs. That was close.

Edging around the corner of the lobby, I spotted Nick at his desk. He was typing away at the computer while making notes here and there in a folder beside him. God, he looked good today. Fortunately Detective Swagger wasn't in sight and the other officers and suits seemed to be engaged in their own work, taking phone calls and sipping on burnt smelling coffee. I stepped further out so Nick would take notice.

His eyes met mine, and that sexy, toothy grin of his appeared. He shot up from his seat and came toward me. "What are you doing here?" he asked as we circled back into the empty lobby.

"I had to see you, I'm sorry, and I know you don't want anyone to know we..."

Nick kissed me hard before I could say any more. He let go of my lips sooner than I would've liked. "I'm glad to see you."

"You, too." The heat of his body warmed me straight through my blouse as we both leaned against the wall of the lobby.

"Last night can't happen again," he whispered. "That whole thing drove me crazy."

"I'm sorry." Apparently I'd driven both men crazy that night. I chewed at my lip as I looked into his blue-green eyes. "Will you join me for lunch, please?" I asked with a need in my voice I even surprised myself with.

"It's funny that you came here. I was tempted to go to your work today."

Come to my work? I hadn't told him where I worked.

"How would you've found me?"

"Come on, Renée. I'm a detective." He grinned at me. "You don't think I have everything here to find out where one person works?" His grin was infectious, and I had to grin back at his skills.

"Oh, Detective. You're so crafty," I said. "So lunch... Come with me?"

"Yeah, let me just grab my jacket," he replied quickly. "Don't move from this spot."

I nodded eagerly. "Yes, Detective Sexy."

His eyes twinkled with an amusement at his nickname. "I like that. I'll be right back."

He rounded the corner, and I leaned fully against the wall, knocking my head back. It was like someone had filled it with helium. I hadn't been this giddy in a while. This was such a great decision. Lunch with Nick would give me enough of a fix so I could concentrate on my trainings later this afternoon.

Nick returned, wearing his black jacket. He took my arm as we walked down the beige hallway to the stairs. Nick darted his head back and forth before pulling me into another kiss, tipping my chin up with his finger. It was a longer kiss, a more... Oh, my head was so light. I felt eyes on me, and I moved away from Nick's lips. Captain Debonair was standing off in the distance. He smiled and walked off.

"Holy hell!" I exclaimed in a whisper. "We gotta go!"

"What's wrong?"

"Your captain... He saw us!" I clasped a hand to my mouth. Oh, this was bad. So incredibly bad.

Nick darted his head behind us. "Are you sure it was him?"

"Yes, it was him." I sighed as I tugged on his arm. "Let's just go before anyone else sees us."

We raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Rushing out of the precinct, we headed toward the parking area. Nick pulled out his keys, unlocking his Toyota.

I opened the passenger door. "I really hate sneaking around like this."

"We won't have to sneak around for long." Nick assured me as we both got inside. "I don't want to hide someone as beautiful as you are." I melted inside the car. He took my hand and he started the ignition.

"What you did last night… touching me, teasing me. It was so dangerous," I said as I buckled up. "Monroe picked up on that. The scent was all over us. If you hadn't been texting, he would've figured it all out."

"I couldn't help it, Renée. All I wanted to do was touch you. Monroe can't come back to the trailer," he said adamantly as he pulled out onto the road. "Trying to cover up what we're doing is hard enough already." He turned to look at me. "Watching you two, together… That was unbearable."

"I know, and I'm sorry." I sighed, knotting my fingers together in my lap. "But he can't be banished completely. I tried to dissuade him from coming with me last night, and it was useless. He'll be suspicious if I try again."

"Well, how do you expect us to be together if he keeps coming with you?" Nick questioned. "You think he's gonna keep translating German if I've got you on top of the desk, and my mouth is…"

"No," I cut in. Thoughts of last night's dream marathoned through my mind. "But he enjoys the Grimm work."

"And I'm sure he enjoyed himself after you guys left, too," he mumbled.

That was an understatement.

"Oh, like you and Juliette are being chaste?" I snapped back.

Nick scowled, shaking his head. "At least we're not in each others' laps right in front of you."

"Thank goodness." I sighed. "But if he knows we're at the trailer, then he's gonna wanna go with me."

"Then don't tell him."

"That'll just turn into a mess. I can't lie to him. I mean, I'm already lying to him, but…" I held back a few tears as my stomach knotted as tightly as my fingers.

"Maybe I could go to your house, instead."

"You can't do that," I replied quickly. "I've been spraying that wolfsbane all over the place already. If you come over, there's no way I can completely mask your scent, and he'll want to know why you were at my house. Crap, trying to weave that kind of lie would be an even bigger mess. At least he knows I come over to the trailer."

"Then that settles it." Nick ran a hand through his hair. "He can't come back over. We're not having a repeat of last night."

"He's still a part of my life, Nick, just like Juliette is still a part of yours. We both know that you and I aren't at a point yet where we're about to dump our significant others." I paused, but then added. "Are we?"

Nick tightened his grip on his steering wheel as he turned left onto Northwest Front Avenue. "No. I still love her, and you obviously still love Monroe."

"So what are we gonna do?"

He shrugged as he replied, "All this is confusing." He reached for my hand. "Maybe it'll take some time to figure out what we want, but right now I'm here with you. When you poked your head around the corner at the statio, it was the happiest I'd been all day."

I beamed at him. "Me, too." I let go of his hand as my fingers moved up to his shoulder and then into his hair. "So what would you like for lunch?" I managed to get out. The giddiness was surrounding my voice.

"I just want to go somewhere where we can be alone."

I glanced over at Nick, whose blue-green eyes were fixed my way. "Sounds delicious."

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

We drove far up to the North end of town. No one knew us in North Portland. Aerosmith was playing 'Crazy' on the radio, and I hummed along.

"I never cared for Aerosmith," said Nick.

"What's wrong with Aerosmith?" I turned the volume down. "They're an amazing group."

"That lead singer guy. He's just a bit overzealous."

"Well, Steven Tyler is a Regenbogenvogel. They usually are."

Nick straightened in his seat. "A Regen… what?"

"A Regenbogenvogel. A peacock-like creature."

Nick's eyes widened as I glanced over. "Okay, that would explain a lot."

I changed the station as The Darkness' 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love" played through the Toyota.

"Can't explain all the feelings that you're making me feel.
My heart's in overdrive, and you're behind the steering wheel.

I believe in a thing called love.
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart.
There's a chance we could make it now.
We'll be rocking 'til the sun goes down.
I believe in a thing called love.
Ooh!"

Oh, I believed in love. I just believed in it way too much. But did I love to easily? Yeah, guilty as charged.

"Are these guys Wesen, too?" Nick chuckled, snapping me back to present.

"Not that I know of." I turned to face him. "So now that you can see, you need to re-watch a few movies and music videos. It's amazing how many Wesen are in show business, although most are good about keeping their woge hidden on screen. Well, except for Jim Carrey. That baboon spends more time woged out than he does in human form."

"Jim Carrey is a…?" Nick's eyes grew wide.

"Oh, you have so much to still learn." I laughed. "There are some I didn't even know about until Monroe told me." I held in my breath at his name. Monroe.

As Nick continued to drive, we talked more about celebrity Wesen. Nick seemed enthralled. I had to admit it was fun to describe all this to someone who'd never seen it.

"Ooh, we could watch The Maltese Falcon at the trailer tonight. Peter Lorre has a brief woge into a Scharfblicke when Humphrey Bogart slaps him."

"Is that the old movie about the lost bird?"

"A statue of a bird, yes."

"It's a statue? I always thought it was about someone's missing pet."

I laughed, but then Nick wasn't. Oh, God, he wasn't joking. I tilted my head. "You have seen it, right?"

Nick shook his head. "Not really."

"It's one of the greatest detective movies out there. You're a detective. How could you not have seen it?" Not only had Nick skipped cop shows, classic detective films were apparently not something he watched, either.

"I guess I never got around to it."

"Well, you and I are gonna watch some Sam Spade tonight, Detective Sexy."

"Before The Maltese Falcon?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes as I sighed.

A/N: So Renée and Nick got caught by Renard. Yikes!

They might be in "Love," but here we still see a bit of that typical angst coming back out between them. It's not entirely gone.

Some of you might take the time to look it up, others may not, so I'll just save you time. Regenbogenvogel translates (loosely) to rainbow bird. My ha-ha to the NBC peacock. Yes, I think Steven Tyler is fantastic, and colorful, and proud as a peacock. Peter Lorre's eyes already look like Owl eyes, and well Jim Carrey? Do I really have to explain it? LOL!

2 chapters to go!

UPDATE: I submitted a pic of a Regenbogenvogel to the NBCGrimm Twitter page and they retweeted it. I thought that was kinda cool. (: