Chapter 6: The Warning

The next day, Adalind was reading on the small sofa in the backroom of the spice shop when she heard the door chimes jingling at the arrival of a customer.

She heard Rosalee call out, "Welcome to the…" followed by a surprised gasp of "Agent Chavez!"

Adalind immediately scrambled to her feet and ran out to the foyer. She had not seen or talked to that woman ever since she disappeared the night Juliette died. Chavez looked the same the last time Adalind saw her. Absolutely the same, down to her shoes. "Do you have news about Diana?"

Chavez shook her head. "We lost track of them outside of Seattle. We had possible sightings in Colorado, California and Arizona, but no concrete leads at this point."

Adalind tried to hide her disappointment, but she was too tired and too pregnant to keep up appearances. "So why are you here?" It came out a bit harsher than she had intended to sound.

"To share some information with you," Chavez replied. "The resistance is getting restless. They know the King is dead and the Verrat neutered and they want to strike while the iron's hot. But the resistance is also fragmented. There are so many factions and the leaders are all jockeying for power. Each one wants a Grimm on their team. Nick is hot commodity right now. Especially since the word out there is that he has the keys. These guys want Nick to pledge his allegiance."

Rosalee signaled to both women to walk to the backroom. "Have you talked to Nick?"

"I called him and he's on his way here now. But before he gets here, I want to ask YOU, Adalind, where you stand."

Adalind felt tired and irritated. She stared at Chavez for a few seconds, then said, "I don't know anything except everyone is trying to take my children from me. I don't know who is in the resistance or what each group wants or what they even stand for. I just want my daughter back and I want to keep my son safe."

"I personally give you my word. We will protect you and keep your baby safe. We will find Diana. We will not separate you from your children. I am asking you to stand with us in this Wesen insurgency."

"Why would you care where I stand?" asked Adalind.

"To be frank, we are more interested in where Nick stands. But since you'll soon be the mother of his child, we were hoping that your opinion would mean something to him. It would be very helpful for us if you could convince Nick, for your and the baby's sake, to work with us."

"Is that a threat?" asked Rosalee, who stepped in protectively between Chavez and Adalind, hands crossed over her chest. A warm wave of appreciation washed over Adalind.

The jingle at the door announced Nick's arrival. Chavez acknowledged him with a small nod as he approached and continued, "No, on the contrary, I wanted to make sure that her safety is not compromised."

Nick jumped right in, "Compromised? What are you talking about?"

"The Reformistisch faction want you on their team, Nick. Or maybe they just want the keys. Rumor has it that you've got a few. You are on the radar of the Freiheit and the fledgling group out east as well. We got word that the Reformistisch is making active plans to take your baby into their….uh…custody, to ensure your cooperation, Nick. You are not safe, Adalind Schade. You know the ob-gyn you were at yesterday? A lot of the staff at that hospital have ties to the Reformistisch."

"You were following us?" Nick asked, his voice rising in volume now. "Why the hell should we trust you?"

"Your friend Trubel is working with us. Your mother used to work for us. We have the same enemies, Mr. Burkhardt."

"I did not know whom my mother was working for," said Nick, his voice choking up.

"There will be a time when you will have to choose a side, Mr. Burkhart. And that time will come soon. You know where to find us. In the meantime, keep your eyes open." Chavez nodded at Adalind. "They'll be after her and the new one."

"We're done here, Agent Chavez." Nick gestured towards the door.

Chavez gave him a tight smile, turned and left. Rosalee followed Chavez to the front door and bolted it shut, flipping the "OPEN" sign to "CLOSED" before returning to the backroom. Nick stared intensely at the door through which Chavez just left, his eyebrows furrowed in anger and worry. Adalind looked pale as a ghost.

"Are you ok?" Rosalee asked. Nick snapped out of his stupor and looked over at Adalind, whose face was twisted in a tight grimace.

"Yeah, Yeah. I'm OK. I don't feel so good. It's just a lot to take in and I'm beyond stressed now. I'm sure it'll pass." Adalind felt nauseous as another stretch of dull ache ran from her pelvis down to her feet.

Nick was not comforted by her response. "Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

"No, no." Adalind said hurriedly, her face paler than ever. "We can't. Didn't you hear what she just said? I don't trust anyone I don't know. No hospital."

"No hospital?" echoed Rosalee. "But, what….how…where are you going to deliver the baby when the time comes?"

Adalind looked up at Rosalee, her eyes pleading. "You're just going to have to deliver this baby, Rosalee, when the time comes. And judging from the way I'm feeling right now, that time may come very soon."

It was Rosalee and Nick's turn to turn pale.

All of a sudden, a dark figure emerged at the doorway. A loud "Hi gang!" rang out, startling Rosalee into a full woge, prompting Nick to reach for his gun, and causing Adalind to almost fall off the sofa.

"Whoa!" Monroe yelled out, waving his arms above his head in surrender. "It's me. It's me. Chill out guys, what has gotten into you?"

"Chavez was just here," sighed Rosalee. "To deliver a warning." They filled him in on their recent conversation with the FBI agent. For the rest of the afternoon, the four shared what they knew about the Wesen resistance landscape. To Monroe's surprise, Adalind was completely clueless about the politics of the Wesen community.

"I knew Nick was a newbie, but Adalind, I thought you'd know a bit more than this," Monroe had a slight tone of disapproval in his voice.

Adalind was still too wound up to notice. And the pressure she felt in her pelvis was not dissipating at all. She shrugged and said, "All I ever wanted to do was make my mother happy. And all my mother ever wanted from me was to serve Sean's cause."

The pressure in her pelvis was morphing into sharp stabbing pain now. She reached out and grabbed Nick's hand, giving it a good, hard squeeze.

"Ahh!" Nick shouted. "What is it?"

Rosalee glanced over at Adalind. "Oh my god. It's time."