In which we hear Monroe's telling of events...

While Monroe showered and dressed, the other men set about cleaning up the suite the best they could. Hank and Sean were finally able to get the chair off the chandelier, but nobody really wanted to talk to anybody else. When Monroe finally emerged from the bathroom in a fresh set of clothes, he made a beeline for the bag of food. When he sat, everybody stopped what they were doing and sat around the table as well.

"Please tell me you're not going to sit and watch me eat..." he mumbled, opening the bag of chips.

"Well, we would like an explanation... you promised us..." Nick began. Monroe put the bag of chips down and stared hard at the Grimm.

"Two can play at that game. YOU promised you would stay sober. And you didn't. And you are all incredibly lucky that I am apparently not a mean drunk. So there is that. But I suppose I should be happy, because the fact that you guys all got wasted afforded me a whole uninterrupted twelve hours with Rosalee..."

"That's the first thing!" Hank said with annoyance in his voice, "What the hell? Why is she here?" Monroe raised his eyebrows.

"Remember the endorphins I mentioned earlier? They're wearing off. Please adjust your attitude. I'll tell you what happened, but I need to eat something. Patience." He unwrapped the veggie wrap, sniffed it, and took a bite. He chewed for a moment, as if trying to gather his thoughts.

"First thing you need to understand is that Rosalee and I haven't had the opportunity to be be... intimate... in the past few months. Every time we've tried, the phone would ring, or the doorbell, or something. Life or death, everything's always life or death. Things kept coming up, dragging one or both of us away. I found it annoying, but with meditation and yoga, I could deal with it. Fuchsbau vixens aren't wired like that; if they don't get a steady... outlet... they get really stressed out. You know how frustrated she's been lately? Why she can't make any decisions? Built up, pent up hormones. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it..."

"So you couldn't have fit in a quickie at one point?" Hank grumbled. Monroe took another bite of his wrap and glared at the detective as he chewed.

"Hank, I don't really do quickies, if you know what I mean. And even if I did, by the time it became a noticeable problem, it was beyond what a quickie could solve anyway. And honestly, the fact that she let it get to that point should tell you something about how important she thinks our work with you guys is.

"So when you guys told me you'd decided on Vegas for the bachelor weekend, I got an idea. Rosalee told me DeEtta and the bridesmaids were having a hard time figuring out what to do because half of them wanted to do Vegas and half wanted to do Disney. DeEtta had Rosalee decide. We decided that if we're all at the same hotel, she or I could slip away in the middle of the night, have a roll in the hay, then go back to what we were doing like nothing had happened. This would be further aided by the fact that most of you, and especially DeEtta, have ridiculously low alcohol tolerance." He took another bite and regarded his friends cooly. "So, what's the last thing everybody remembers?"

"You fell in a bush," Sean began.

"Then you hugged me," Nick continued.

"Don't remember much of the show, but Destiny..."

"Rita."

"Rita was flirting with me and agreed to come back with us."

"Blonde twins getting upset when I told them I was married, but wanting to come back with us anyway." Monroe sighed and his head fell back a little.

"Okay... well, the fact that you found out the one dancer's real name tells me that you were looking for me. That happen this morning?" His compatriots nodded. "And going by what you said to Rosalee, I take it there was some sort of confrontation with Eric at some point today as well?" More nods. "Oh, boy... okay... well, here we go...

"Nick, please don't take this the wrong way, but when I went to hug you, it was mostly to get my phone back. Rosalee and I were sending each other updates. I did get a little confused with hula-hoop girl looking so much like her, but then I remembered she told me they were seeing O, which is Cirque's show downstairs here. So I grabbed a phone that I thought was mine and put it in my pocket. The show was nice. Girls were pretty. I go to the bathroom afterward and send Rosalee a text to touch base; I let her know Nick had my phone so I stole his... Oh, here, by the way." Monroe pulled Nick's phone out of his pocket and slid it across the table.

"When I got out of the bathroom, Bud apparently endeared himself to the twin Spinnetod, who assured us they weren't hungry, and Hank was hanging on Rita. They and a few other girls accompanied us back to the hotel. Rita called the girl from Zumanity who does the hula hoops, and I got a little confused again... I kept calling her Rosalee. Her name is Barbara, but she goes by Babs. Anyway, we all come up here and Nick puts on music, Hank raids the bar, and I sit and talk to Babs. I think she got the wrong impression of me, because she started getting really handsy. I text Rosalee to get over here and bring the girls because I was getting really uncomfortable and Babs didn't seem to understand that while I was planning on having sex, it wasn't going to be with her.

"Bud was starting to pull people from the hallway in to join us. That's when the girls showed up: DeEtta in a blue wig, Rosalee in pink, Mariyam in red, Audrey in yellow, and Lindsey in green. They had decided to do like an '80s thing, and were going by their initials: DC, RC, MM, AG, and LV. So I introduce Rosalee to Babs, and Babs got mad and tried to attack her! I let Rosalee take care of it, because your should never get between two females, especially if they're fighting over territory, which they were. They cause a bit of a scene, and Nick and Sean tried to break it up but I stopped them. Rosalee gained the upper hand, and was actually about to bash Babs's head into the floor before I stopped her and pulled her off. Turns out Babs was another Fuchsbau, and Rosalee asserted her dominance. So Babs leaves.

"You guys all thought our little stunt was great, and agreed to play along with the initials thing. Time passes, more and more people get dragged in, and I don't care because I've got Rosalee. We cuddle up on the couch together, watching Nick and Sean dancing together and Bud pull people in, telling each other about our day. We found the calm in the eye of the storm, so to speak.

"Then we see Bud bring Eric in, although we didn't really recognize him at first. He stands there awkwardly with a bottle of absinthe for a moment, then Sean sees him and goes all Superman. I shit you not, he just about flies over to Eric, screaming 'NOT MY GRIMM!' at the top of his lungs and punches him in the face. One solid punch, boom, right to the jaw. Eric goes down pretty hard, and the bottle of absinthe rolls away. As soon as Sean yells Grimm, about half the people in the party freak out, woge, and run for the door. It was actually kind of hilarious. Sean goes through Eric's pockets and takes off his Royal ring, and Nick comes over. I guess that display of Alpha-level aggression is what it took to break down the walls of the Friendzone, because Nick just about throws himself at him."

"You mean we kissed?" Sean asked quietly.

"Sort of like there was no tomorrow. It was sweet, you defending him like that. Rosalee checked to confirm he wasn't dead, and Hank suggested we tie him up and hide him somewhere, because that would teach him. Rosalee takes off the fishnet tights she was wearing, and tells us there's a service closet down by their room. We tie him up with the most elaborate knots I can remember from Boy Scouts, and Hank and I carry him down the hall with Rosalee leading. We get to the service closet, and... I probably shouldn't tell you this, but Rosalee can pick locks. It's probably the only door on this floor that needs a key, and she picked it like a Bond girl or something... it was insanely sexy. If Hank hadn't been standing there... well, swaying, really... I would have just dragged her back to her room and had my way with her... I was really tempted..."

"Quit drooling and keep talking."

"Well, Hank, then you started stumbling back to our room, so we followed. When we got back, Sean and Nick were still making out and Rita had prepared absinthe shots. I've had absinthe before and was not really looking to repeat that experience. Rosalee didn't like the way it smelled, so she gave her shot to DeEtta. Rosalee pulls me into a corner and we start kissing. It was nice... until Hank decided that since it was our party, we needed to be at the center of attention. So he pushes me down in a chair in the middle of the room. Now, X Burlesque does a thing called X Burlesque University where they teach you some dances and how to put on showgirl makeup and stuff. The girls did that yesterday, so they kind of goaded Rosalee into doing a lap dance for me. And it was AWESOME. Everyone else just kinda disappeared... and I had to have her.

"So I get up and we make for the bedroom, and Hank, I swear to God, I have never wanted to snap somebody's neck so much in my life. Hank stops us and decides that we needed to, and I quote, 'cut the bullshit and get married already'. He asked the people at the party if we should get married that night here in Vegas, and the answer was a very enthusiastic yes. Rosalee just about begs me to go along with it. Says she has hated the entire process of wedding planning and just wants to be mine. She looked like she was going to cry... and you guys know me, how am I going to deny her anything? Then DeEtta upchucks all over the chair I had been sitting in. She didn't look so good, so the other girls wished Rosalee good luck and take DeEtta back to their place. She felt much better in the morning, and I don't think she remembered anything..."

"She didn't," Nick interjected, "She thought we were at Disney when we called."

"You called her?"

"After you and Rosalee hung up on us."

"Oh. Anyway, Bud starts cleaning up the vomit, and Hank is still trying to convince Rita to stay with him, so we pull Nick and Sean apart and ask them to come with us, be our witnesses. So we find the closest 24 hour chapel over on East Harmon, and make our way there, two couples kinda stumbling around, singing and kissing and laughing...

"We get there, and Rosalee loved it; the gazebo was all lit up and it was nice... a little too much red, but it was nice. Linda was very sweet, got everything all set up... And just as she had us join hands, I looked into Rosalee's eyes... and I couldn't do it. It wasn't right. I mean, we were in Vegas, she was wearing a ridiculous pink wig, we were both a little tipsy still, you two were out of your minds and probably weren't going to remember even being witnesses in the morning... that wasn't how I want it to happen. And I told her so. And she started crying... aww, man, that was almost enough to make me change my mind. I hate seeing her cry... I pulled her into a corner and convinced her we've already put so much work into the wedding and it would be a shame to let it go to waste, and it was because I wanted it to be perfect for her... And so I asked her, point blank, if she wanted to take the biggest step in our relationship giving in to drunken peer pressure like some stupid high school kids. And she said she didn't. So I promised her I would take care of her... needs... and then she should be good to go to wrap up the last minute details.

"In the meantime, Nick and Sean are dancing and singing to the music playing over the speakers. It was ridiculously adorable, if I may say so. So we tell Linda we aren't going to go through with it and apologize for wasting her time when Rosalee suggests Sean and Nick get married. Linda explains that since gay marriage isn't legal in Nevada, they can't be married, but they can have a commitment ceremony. You guys decide you want to, and I figure hey, you won't remember and it's not legally binding, no harm, no foul. Let you have a little fun before we have to face Juliette." Nick stiffened at the mention of Juliette's name. Monroe must have noticed, because he continued quickly.

"So we do that... and it was really cute, by the way; their commitment ceremony script is actually very sweet... and head back to the hotel. We get back to the room and Rosalee and I just head straight for the bedroom. I'm not going to get into a lot of details, but for some reason, you guys decided that we weren't allowed to have sex. You literally tore the door off. I don't know how the fuck you idiots did that, but you did. Then you literally pull me off her like it's a shivaree or something. I tried to stay on her, and ended up shredding the covers. And that's when Rosalee flipped shit. She gave you guys the biggest lecture about being cockblocks, especially Nick. But honestly, I think you're lucky she didn't bite you all. She was fucking pissed. So she hands me my pants and we leave. All the bridesmaids are passed out, so we lock her door and just... have a good time."

"And you didn't think that maybe, just maybe, you should remind us?" Sean looked like he was getting a little angry.

"I sent a text from Nick's phone to mine this morning after we finished our second round, before we took a nap. I mean, we had to turn Nick's phone off because Juliette wouldn't stop calling, but we figured the radio silence to Rosalee's phone meant we had your blessing. Nick, you can look for yourself." Nick powered on the phone. He ignored the missed calls and voicemails from Juliette. He opened his texts. He felt a cold weight drop in his stomach. He scrolled up, and his suspicion was confirmed.

6:43 AM

Having sex with Rosalee. I'll let you know when we're done. Enjoy your day.

The name at the top of the screen, the recipient of said text? Juliette.

"Oh fuck..."

"What?" Monroe asked, concern crossing his face. Nick felt himself go pale as he handed the phone to Monroe. The Blutbad's eyes went wide.

"Oh my God... Oh, God, I'm so sorry... oh God, no wonder she wouldn't stop calling... Oh God..."

"WHAT?" Hank, Bud, and Sean all asked in unison.

"I sent the text to Juliette." Sean took the phone and started scrolling through Juliette's angry texts.

"Lot of threats here, Nick... probably in the voicemail, too..." Nick sighed and his head fell back. And he realized he didn't really care. Sean knew. Monroe knew. Rosalee knew. They said they would help him. It no longer mattered to him.

"You know what?" Nick began, "We'll get there when we get there. Monroe, there's something we need to tell you, though..." Monroe finished up his meal and was gathering up the trash.

"Hmm? What?"

"Eric was really, really mad at Sean... and when we saw him earlier, he said he was going to ruin you and Rosalee's life together. He was going to seduce her away from you with money and jewelry or whatever, and then do a memory thing like Adalind did to Juliette to make her... forget you... He said you were more emotionally fragile and wouldn't be able to handle it... Sean threatened him, but I think you and Rosalee may want to be careful..." Monroe sat for a moment, processing what Nick told him; but instead of appearing worried, the Blutbad started laughing.

"He thinks it would be that easy just because she's a Fuchsbau, huh? Well, he missed that window of opportunity. Definitely never gonna happen now." He smiled widely, and Nick was confused. They weren't married yet... What was he talking about? Fortunately, Bud spoke up.

"Wait, you aren't saying what I think you're saying... are you?" Monroe pulled down the collar of his shirt with a dreamy smile. On his left shoulder was an angry red bite mark. It looked deep.

"Yep!" Bud looked horrified.

"You mean you didn't wait until your wedding night? Oh my GOD, Monroe!"

"Wait," Hank interjected, "Rosalee did that to you?" Monroe nodded.

"Yep! And she has a matching one, same place."

"I can't believe you did that! What will people say?" Bud was getting worked up.

"Bud, we are grown adults! Who are getting married in 13 days anyway! Who cares if we claim each other now?"

"But why did you bite each other?" Nick asked. Monroe sighed.

"Certain species... Blutbaden, Fuchsbau... mark their mates. That is, in the throes of passion... traditionally, consummating a marriage... during climax, both parties will woge and one party will bite the other. They bite hard enough to draw blood, and it will still be visible in human form as a scar. It tells anybody who would try to seduce us that we are already taken. And while not a lot of research has been done into it, it connects us emotionally; the mix of pain and pleasure is symbolic of how our lives together will be, and the blood bond somehow acts kind of like a homing device... That is, we'll always be drawn back to each other. I am hers until I die, she is mine until she dies. It isn't something to be taken lightly, and some couples wait years to claim each other... But the moment presented itself this morning, and she asked me to do it, so I marked her and then our next round, she marked me... Point is, if that bastard wants her, he will have to drag her away kicking and screaming..." He shrugged and stood up.

"Okay, now that you know what happened, we should work on cleaning up best that we can. And if it's all the same to you, I think we should figure out something to do tonight that doesn't involve too much drinking, okay?"