Family Ties – Chapter Five

AN – Thank you for all the comments and wow, did we get some reactions from that post script! I have a plan for this story and how certain characters will turn out so I hope you stick around to see what happens. But Adalind is one of my favourite characters, her overall story arc in the show just made me like her and want her to get a happy ending. She did but this idea got stick in my head and I thought I could jiggle some things around so there were some more happy endings. It might take awhile for us to get there though so let's get to the next chapter …

I do not own any characters or stories from the tv show Grimm. Some dialogue is lifted from various episodes in Season 3. No infringement or copyright is intended. It's all for fun, no profit being made here.

-G-

The castle is bustling with movement. Doors slamming and phones ringing as people gather in different rooms. There's tension in the air and everybody is on guard as to when it might explode.

"The child must be found!" The king's voice thunders and everyone in the room bows down in deference. "I do not care what it takes, who we have to use, who we have to kill!" He points to the different men in the room. "Get this done! Work together, use the resources we have at our disposal. That child must be returned to the family!"

Prince Victor nods and Prince Kennth steps to his side.

"Do not worry, your majesty. We will not let you down. The child will be found and returned to their rightful place, with us and their true family."

-G-

Adalind startles awake and her hand instantly goes to Diana. The car bounces again and she blearily looks around at the road they're on.

"Sorry," Kelly says from the driver's seat. "We shouldn't have to stick to back roads for much longer but I wanted to put some distance between us and Portland before we did go onto the highways."

"It's ok," she stretches and checks on Diana who's gazing up at her. "We're ok." She thinks she saw some toys in one of the bags Nick produced and reaches down for a set of keys for her daughter to fiddle with. She waves them gently in the air above her before pressing them into Diana's reaching hands.

"Do we have a destination in mind?"

"More like a direction," Kelly replies and Adalind nods, thinking this might be a situation where knowing less is better. "You're going to have to teach her not to do that in public." Kelly states and Adalind meets her gaze in the mirror before turning to her daughter. Whose purple eyes are focused on the keys and levitating them in the air, just as Adalind had been moving them not a moment ago.

"Oh."

-G-

"You ok Partner?" Nick jumps slightly as Hank sets a coffee down in front of him and gives him the eye.

"Yeah, yeah, just thinking." He replies and moves forward to take a gulp of the hot liquid.

"Want or need to share?" Want? Surprisingly no, he has no desire to speak of what occurred in the past few days and absolutely no wish to put any of his three charges, as he's begun to think of them, in danger. It's his job to keep them away from danger and while he might not be an active combatant right now, he can use all that he knows to keep them safe.

And isn't that just a bit of a mind-bend. Going from thinking how to best Adalind in a fight and how to track her down to now, how best to protect her and which ways they can use so they're not found. He feels like he's rolled with the changes in his life fairly well but this one still sends his thoughts haywire. He won't lie to himself though, he felt something in that warehouse and his gut doesn't usually steer him wrong. He believes this is the right thing to do.

Doesn't mean that there isn't a part of him that wishes he could share the load. Tell his friends and get their perspectives. He's only survived this far because of all the help he's received and he knows that they would help him now too. Still, he acknowledges those feelings and then pushes them aside. Keeping the secret is what will work, will keep them out of sight and out of harm's way.

"Thanks Hank but not right now." He spies Wu over his shoulder and moves to stand. "What you got?"

"Checked twelve restaurants. Only two had the style of French fry left in the truck. Pulled surveillance on both of them, and lo and behold, got our truck. But I was a little surprised to see who was driving." Sharing the surveillance pictures also shares the surprise. A young woman in the driver's seat and ordering at the drive thru.

"You're kidding me," Hank says and Nick shares the sentiment. They talk for a few more moments before splitting up and Nick focuses his thoughts back on his murder investigation.

Which is easy to do when he's following leads across the city, seeing more dead bodies and trying to track down whoever or whatever this woman is.

And then it becomes a lot more personal when they discover she's a Grimm. The scuffle around the car, the fight and Monroe's shouting lead to Nick being sat in the back of Hank's car with one very agitated young woman.

"You're gonna try to kill me?"

"No, we're not." Nick states and then his senses seem to flare up and he sees the move before she makes it, easily blocking the attempted headbutt and pushing her back into her seat.

"I'm sorry, but stop it. Alright? You're going to get yourself hurt and I don't want to do that."

"You're gonna arrest me?" He tries to think it all through as they talk and Hank drives but it's a lot and the girl gives them nothing. Eventually he has to concede and they take her to the precinct, though it's not what he really wants to do.

Another Grimm. Here in Portland. His thoughts run in circles as they get more information about her and her past but one thing settles quickly. He wants to help her. Nick thought his introduction to the world of Wesen was a bumpy one but this girl has been through more than most. In normal terms and beyond. He had people to help him learn and now is his chance to pay that forward. To bring information and maybe a sense of peace to her world, let her know she is definitely not crazy and, if she wants, is no longer alone.

Getting her out of the precinct also seems a good idea and he finds himself keen to keep her off of the captain's radar. They might be somewhat alright with each other at the moment, able to work well together when needed, but Nick hasn't forgotten all the mess at the beginning of his Grimm life. No, the captain doesn't need to know about her which means they need to leave and there's only one place he wants to take her.

Watching as she takes in everything in the trailer brings back memories of his own first forays into the books and all the collected artifacts held inside these metal walls. But it's no place to stay long term and that fact leads him home.

"Juliette, this is Theresa Rubel," he smiles to soften his introduction and show everything is ok but Juliette still looks on guard.

"Nobody calls me Theresa," comes the snappy response.

"Uh-huh, so what do they call you?"

"They call me Trubel."

"Trubel. That's an interesting name," the words are polite but the look she shoots Nick is not and he knows he's got a long night of explaining ahead of him.

"She's been on the run for years. I mean she thought she was crazy. She just needs a little help." He's aware his tone is cajoling but he really wants this to happen.

"You really think you can help her?" Juliette doesn't sound certain but Nick is. He's been through some of what she has and can help her to learn in a much better way than he did.

"I took her to the trailer, tried to explain what she was as best as I could, but that's a lot to take in for someone as young as she is. Juliette, she just needs a warm bed, a roof, and a little understanding." She flickers her eyes away from him before doing that little shrug of hers, telling him she's not really sure but she'll go along with him for now.

"For how long?" She asks and Nick hedges his answer. He wants to do right by that young woman and that might not have a timeframe he can give.

Dinner and talking about Grimms make him think of his mother and the new information about Grimms she told him. Being a Grimm is something more but to have it be magic, he's not sure how he feels about that and definitely needs to do some research of his own. Maybe there's something in the trailer that could help, after-all his Aunt Marie travelled a lot over the years and may have picked up a book or something else that could shed more light on that.

He can tell Juliette isn't as invested in the conversation as they are but she still talks politely and helps to get Trubel settled into the guest bedroom.

Once in their own room she turns to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Thank you for this. I know it's a lot but she really does need help." She shakes her head at him and moves to start her nighttime routine.

"I understand that but you can see my side too, right? You've brought a violent, unknown person into our home. I think I'm well within my rights to be wary."

"I get that, I do-"

"Do you? Nick, just because she's a Grimm doesn't mean you know her. She could be that and be a killer. We could be murdered in our beds tonight!"

"Ok, firstly, I will hear anyone coming that close to us and secondly, I'm no slouch in the fighting department. I will definitely fight to stop anyone hurting you. She's done what she's done because she was alone and didn't know what was happening." He really needs her to believe him and trust him with this.

"I know you will," Juliette replies softly and steps towards him and into a hug. "It's just … there's still a lot we don't know." She leans back and up and gives him a soft kiss. "More Grimm stuff isn't what we need."

"That's part of me though," he points out. "And you're with me."

"Yes, I am," she gives him another kiss and moves to the bathroom. Nick starts to take his watch off and then change for bed. "I'm with you, not a Grimm." He looks up sharply at her words but he doesn't think she intended him to hear them and so he says nothing. Just lets them echo in his head as he heads to bed.

-G-

There seemed to be an electric current running through his body. All his senses are on high alert even though he knows he's dreaming. The landscape around him is hazy, indistinct with muted colours and objects around him. But someone else is there, she's there. Somehow, he knows the shape of her body, the fall of her hair. Their eyes connect and Nick feels the snap of power as it rushes through the air.

"Nick?"

"Adalind?" The scenery around them ebbs and flows but remains unclear. "What is this?"

"A vision," she replies but sounds uncertain.

"Vision? Of what? Where are we?" She looks around as he does but nothing gets any clearer. The edges of whatever surrounds them still blur and blend together.

"I don't know … this feels like a … a dream," she looks uncertain but her words jog Nick.

"I think, yeah, I remember going to bed … I know I'm dreaming but it also feels … real? Like I'm seeing the real you, talking to you."

"This isn't real, no matter what it seems like."

"Then what is this? I know I went to sleep. And look around, this doesn't seem to be a real place. It's like … a scene or place without definition. Like a dream but with awareness, realness." He hopes he's making sense. Looking around he gets no indication or feeling of where they are but now he's thinking about it he's got this sense, he just knows this is a dream, and a shared one at that.

"This can't be real. That kind of connection, linking two beings through the subconscious, only comes from powerful magic." Adalind is shaking her head but the more she refuses the more certain Nick feels. He might not know as much as magic and abilities as she does but he's got his gut and perception and everything in him is saying this is something real. That they are talking to each other, as if on some freaky, other plane, face to face, phone call.

"Like what we did to protect Diana?" They stare at each other for a moment and she slowly nods.

"Yes, just like that. Magic is all about intent and cause and effect. Something like this could be a … a side effect, I guess."

"Side effect," he mutters and then shakes his head. "We need to know if this is real, for certain. My mom is in contact with me, she has a phone for situations like this, get her to message me and then we'll know for sure this is happening." The space around them shimmers and they both look around as the colours start to mix and blend together, darkening around the edges of their view.

"What should it say?" She asks and Nick just says the first thing on his mind as black covers his vision.

"Purple gaze."

-G-

AN – Please let me know what you think!

P. S – Wu is absolutely correct when saying that a 'French fry is like a fingerprint'. That was one of my favourite lines of his and I would gladly go through every fast-food restaurant to record said fingerprints lol.