In which our heroes go home and confront Juliette...
Nick had never experienced intimacy with another man (at least, not that he could remember), but Sean gently guided him through the process. He found he liked it. Afterward, Nick rested his head on Sean's smooth, muscular chest, and the Prince ran his hand through Nick's hair. He missed this. He missed gentleness, warmth, affection, closeness.
"How did you like that?" Sean asked quietly, kissing Nick's temple. Nick turned and caught his boss's lips in his own. He felt Sean smile. "That much, huh?" he asked when they parted. Nick nodded against Sean's cheek. Sean sighed contentedly. "The first few times are always the most difficult. It takes some practice..."
"'Kay," Nick commented drowsily before drifting off to sleep cuddled in Sean's arms.
XxXxX
Nick woke again before Sean. He smiled and gentle nuzzled the Royal's chest, remembering the previous night. After listening to the heartbeat next to his ear for what could have been a minute or an hour, Nick extracted himself from Sean's grip without waking him. Nick found his pants and walked out to the main portion of the suite, where he once more found Monroe sitting reading a newspaper. The Blutbad looked up, smirked, and looked back at this paper.
"What?" Nick asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
"Well, I'm just glad the sexual tension between you two is resolved. And don't say it isn't because I can smell it from here." Nick plopped down in a chair next to his friend. "However, you seem happier than you've been in months, so I guess you enjoyed it. I don't need details, though, okay?" Nick nodded.
"How are your vows coming?" Monroe sighed and shook his head.
"I'm still stuck. I mean, 24 hours ago, I just had the most perfect moment with her... and I'm never going to have that again..." Nick reached up and put his hand on Monroe's shoulder.
"You won't have that perfect moment again... but there will be others. And other moments that won't be perfect, but they'll just be right... You had moments like that before yesterday, right?" Monroe nodded. "Just think of what's to come... imagine her looking in your eyes and telling you that you're going to be a father... the first time you hold your child... the first time that child looks at you and says 'Daddy'..." A big smile spread across Monroe's face as he imagined it. "See? And there will be bad moments, but you'll face them together, and the good moments, like yesterday, will become perfect memories. Because if I know you, you're not going to stop trying to make those moments happen for her..." The moment was interrupted by Hank and Bud wandering out of their room.
"Guess what?" Hank began, "We remember what happened last night!" Nick and Monroe laughed. "Good. When Sean gets up, we'll go down to the casino and cash in my ticket and then we'll check out... hopefully we didn't destroy anything too expensive..."
XxXxX
Fortunately the hotel manager on duty was a nice lady that Monroe and Sean were able to charm into not being too terribly angry about the damage. They caught the shuttle to the airport, and soon enough were back in Portland. They piled into Sean's car and made their way back to Monroe's house. Monroe hugged Hank and Bud, thanking them profusely for the weekend, before Hank took Bud home. Now it was time to strategize while they waited for DeEtta to bring Rosalee home. Nick went into all of his accounts on Monroe's computer, changing his passwords, quietly taking his life back. Eventually DeEtta's car pulled up, and Rosalee's keys jangled in the lock. Monroe opened the door and found himself of the receiving end of a deep kiss from his intended. DeEtta stepped inside, watching her little sister's PDA with crossed arms and a look of mock disgust. The older Calvert turned to Nick and Sean.
"So no pictures of him in Mickey ears?" They shook their heads. She sighed. "I am incredibly disappointed..." she glanced at the kissing couple. "But if they're happy, I'm happy." She smiled, and cleared her throat. No response. She tried again. Still nothing.
"ROSIE, I'M LEAVING NOW!" Rosalee broke away from her fiancé and hugged her sister.
"Thanks for everything, DC," Rosalee said with a smile.
"No problem, RC; however..." DeEtta poked Monroe in the chest "DO NOT let her get to that point again! Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good. Call me later." The sisters hugged once more, and DeEtta was out the door. Monroe wrapped Rosalee in his arms and she melted into his embrace rather than burrowing.
"She could smell you," Rosalee answered the question before Monroe could ask it, "But she understood why we did it. And since the other bridesmaids' noses aren't as good, she's the only one who knows. Everyone else thinks I ate something that didn't agree with me." Monroe smiled and kissed his bride-to-be's forehead.
"Okay. We were trying to figure out what to do about Juliette." Rosalee smirked.
"Well, she's really mad at me, too... I'm not telling law enforcement how to do their job, but just because Nick doesn't bruise..." Monroe looked horrified.
"Honey, no!" He wrapped her in a protective embrace. Rosalee gently took his chin in her hands and looked into his eyes.
"Two females fighting over territory," she said quietly. Monroe whined, looking from Rosalee to Nick and back.
"We'll use that as a last resort," Sean reassured the Blutbad. Monroe sighed; his protective side clearly did not want to see his beloved in harm's way.
"If you're sure..."
"Don't worry. I can defend myself if I have to. But this is only if she doesn't let Nick go willingly."
XxXxX
"Well, that doesn't look good," Monroe commented as Sean parked the car in front of Nick and Juliette's house. Nick's mouth fell open, as he was pretty sure all of his possessions were now out on the lawn. Many items looked liked they had not been put there too gently. Sean, Nick, Monroe, and Rosalee got out of the car and started walking toward the house. Out of the corner of his eye, Nick saw Monroe take Rosalee's hand. As they approached, Juliette came out of the house and walked toward them, arms crossed tightly, brow furrowed. The serpent was coiled, ready to strike. Nick stopped just out of her immediate reach, Sean on his left, Monroe and Rosalee on his right.
"Juliette, I..." he began, but Juliette lunged at Rosalee, grabbing a handful of the Fuchsbau's hair.
"YOU SLUT! YOU FUCKING TRAMP! I WILL KNOCK YOUR WHORE ASS OUT!" Nick instinctively wanted to pull them apart, but Monroe stopped him.
"Never get between fighting females," the Blutbad muttered, "especially over territory." The girls scrapped for a few minutes, but it was soon clear that while Juliette could fight well with weapons, she was not very skilled at pure hand-to-hand combat. Rosalee gained the upper hand, pinning Juliette facedown on the grass, her knee between Juliette's shoulder blades. She leaned down and almost purred in Juliette's ear.
"Juliette, honey, I never mentioned it, but I've spent time on the inside, and I am NOT afraid to shank a bitch. Now, you can either calm the hell down and we can discuss this like rational people, or these two lovely law enforcement agents can file an assault charge. It's up to you." Juliette narrowed her eyes, then turned her head to Monroe.
"SHE'S CHEATING ON YOU! With Nick! She seduced him! He sent me a text! It's probably not the first time, and it won't be the last! She's a gold-digging slut!" Monroe once more demonstrated his masterful self-control, but Rosalee was visibly angered.
"Even the Kehrseite plays the Wesen card? REALLY? I oughta smash your face into the concrete..."
"Rosalee..." Monroe put a gentle hand on his fiancée's shoulder before dropping to a squat in Juliette's sightline. "Juliette, I sent that text. She was having sex with me. Nick confiscated my phone, so I stole his. I meant to text him to let him know we were safe, and I sent it to you accidentally..." He paused as he noticed the look on Juliette's face. "You don't believe me, do you?"
"No," she snarled, "you've been pussy-whipped for her so long I'm pretty sure she stole your balls and has them in a jar somewhere. Which is just as well, because I think she's the only person alive who would want to sleep with you anyway, you... you FREAK..."
"OKAY, unnecessary..."
"And completely false. Honey, they say it ain't the size of the ship, it's the motion of the ocean, but my man's hung like..."
"Okay, Rosalee..."
"Just sayin', any girl that turns down an opportunity like that is out of her damn mind... Now, I can let you go and we can try again, or we can find a pair of handcuffs, and it will not be as fun as it sounds. Your choice."
"Get off me." Juliette growled. Rosalee complied, and turned toward Monroe, who nodded reassuringly. Juliette stood up, brushed herself off, glanced at Nick, and attempted to grab Rosalee while the Fuchsbau's back is turned. Sean stepped between them and woged. Juliette recoiled from the appearance of Sean's Wesen form.
"If you lay a finger on her, I will arrest you. In fact, if you touch anybody, I will arrest you." Juliette turned to Nick.
"You let this happen! You let her seduce you!" she screamed. "Was she worth it? Let me guess, Monroe actually likes being a cuckold so he was watching? Or did you share her? Pass her back and forth?"
"Why does this keep ending up being about me?" Monroe muttered under his breath. Rosalee elbowed him.
"Juliette, I..." Nick looked at his friends and at Sean, "I don't want to live like this anymore. Thank you for removing my stuff from the house. I'm leaving. I already have a place to stay, and I have already changed all my passwords. Goodbye, Juliette."
"You can't! After everything you've put me through, you can't just up and leave!"
"Yes, he can," Rosalee growled, woging and baring her teeth. Monroe followed suit.
"And don't think he won't file a restraining order," Sean added. Juliette turned back to Monroe.
"You're going to be miserable with her! She'll bleed you dry and leave you for something better. And I can't WAIT to see your names in the divorce column! ...What the fuck is so funny?" Rosalee, Monroe, and Sean were all laughing. Rosalee recovered from her fit of giggles first.
"Nothing. Alright, well, we brought some boxes, so we're going to help Nick pack his stuff up, and you, Doctor Silverton, can go find some other poor sap to use and abuse. And once we get Nick settled where we're taking him, I'm going to go back home with my fiancé and have him fuck me with his freakishly gigantic monster..." Monroe put his hand over her mouth as his ears turned red.
"Okay, Nick, we're going to need to sort things you need and things we can box. Anything you don't need we can keep in the spare room at our place, okay?" Nick nodded. "And Juliette..." he turned to the Kehrseite, "if you ever touch Nick or Rosalee again, I will kill you. I am not kidding. So I would suggest you make yourself scarce because, big emasculated freak I am, I may get confused and think you're attacking them." Juliette turned to Nick and Sean.
"You're going to let them talk to me like that?" She asked Nick.
"Juliette..." Nick inhaled deeply, "go fuck yourself." With that, Juliette turned on her heel in a huff and walked back into the house to a collective sigh of relief.
"Okay, let's start boxing everything." They were able to make pretty quick work of it, as Nick didn't own many things on his own. When they were finished, they loaded everything into Sean's car and Nick's truck. Sean took Nick's house key in to Juliette (and coupled its delivery with some more threats), and they transferred Nick's things to Sean's spacious home. After everything was unloaded, Nick drove Monroe and Rosalee home. They sat in the back of his truck, and Monroe was asking over and over again if Rosalee was okay after having to fight Juliette. Rosalee assured him that she was perfectly fine.
"Although..." she murmured, "If you'd like to check me for bruising, you're welcome to..."
"I think I can do that..."
"So I take it you would like to be left alone this evening?" Nick asked, looking in the rearview mirror. The couple just about glowed together, and he felt a slight pang in his heart. But, he quickly reminded himself, he had the opportunity to try something new...
"Well, if it's life or death..." Monroe started.
"We should come up with a system. How about, uh, things that can wait are a text; slightly more important things are a call; and things that are super-important are two calls in a row?" The Fuchsbau and the Blutbad shared a look.
"Okay, we can try it and see how it works. Tonight is a two-call only night, okay?"
"Noted." They arrived at the house and Nick got out. He threw his arms around both of his friends, and they hugged him back. "Thank you both. For everything. Now, take care of each other tonight and let's get you two hitched!"
XxXxX
Nick drove back to Sean's wondering what was in store for him. For them. He parked his truck and climbed the stairs. Sean had already given him a spare key, but the door opened before he could put the key in the lock. Sean opened the door wearing a fluffy green bathrobe.
"I was waiting for you," he said with a smile, "I was going to take a shower, but I figured it would be such a waste of water if you wanted one, too... What do you think?" Nick smiled and closed the door behind him.
One more chapter to wrap up, my dears!