Summary: Hank's guilt gets the better of him, but in pursuit of this he finds himself falling down the rabbit hole of truth.
Notes:
Down The Rabbit Hole
As dawn broke Hank was already out within the forest, he'd barely slept and was being eaten away by guilt.
Nine years,
Nine dam years the kid had been out in that forest right under their noses and not one of them found her. But that was ending now, he was determined to find Holly even if it ment searching the forest every day until he died, he would find her. Starting at the crime scene he began his search were he'd seen the Captain and his boyfriend…(that was still sitting a little strange with him) stood talking. He'd seen them while everyone was rushing around, he'd watched them off just out of sight as Nick (he remember they guy's name finally) had been animatedly showing the Captain something, at the time it had struck him as odd especially since the Captain had said nothing about this. Now he wondered if Nick had spotted something a Detective wouldn't have been trained to, but someone say a bounty hunter might have instinctually picked up upon but not having the full story may have kept to himself or his lover.
He was about to look around until he heard voices and the approach of others, pulling his gun he followed the sound.
"PORTLAND PD PUT YOUR HANDS UP" yelled Hank as one of the men jumped and the other spun round and quickly held a dagger up to his throat.
"Detective Griffin?" asked Nick as he removed the blade and stood before Hank.
"Burkhardt right, the Captain's boyfriend? What are you doing out here?" he asked suspiciously?
"Sean filled me in, he figured I'd be of help since I'm used to hunting suspects across terrain like this" answered Nick as he replaced the dagger back in it's holster.
"Nice weapon?" Hank questioned as he rubbed his throat.
"It's useful against predators" Nick countered quickly.
"Who's this?" Hank asked as he looked Monroe up and down.
"A friend he's got similar experiences in this thing" said Nick vaguely as Hank got the feeling, he wasn't being told the full story.
"So were do we start?" he asked as Monroe looked at Nick.
"Its…" before Nick could speak Hank put his hand up.
"Your not leaving me out of this, Nine years ago I failed to find this girl, I'm not losing her now. I made a promise to her mother and I intend to keep it" said Hank as Nick sighed, he knew he wasn't going to talk him out of this, he just hoped this wasn't going to blow up in his face.
"I found some evidence of another at the crime scene, it wasn't until Sean filled me in it made sense. The tracks start here and led deeper into the forest" said Nick as he crouched down and showed Hank what he saw, Hank followed his gaze easily picking up on what he was being shown instantly now he knew what he was looking for.
Nick got to his feet and looked Hank dead in the eyes before he spoke to him.
"If we do this you, do it my way Detective…."
"Hank" Hank instructed.
"Hank, if I tell you to do something you do it without question. First sign you're going to cause problems and I abandon the hunt and will not hesitate to report you to your Captain, he trust me and he trust my skill. Whether we are sharing a bed together doesn't even come into this, he knew me long before we became romantically inclined, he knows I get results" Nick commanded like a drill instructor before his recruits.
Hank resisted the urge to salute, but his whole body screamed to do so despite being almost a decade shy of retirement from the service. Something about Nick called out to that part of him and he knew there and then Nick wasn't playing.
"Yes sir" Hank replied as Nick nodded at him.
"Good" Nick answered cooly making Hank shiver, as Nick returned to checking out the path a head.
Getting to his feet the three of them walked in silence for a bit, it wasn't an awkward silence but that of a tracker searching for his prey. After a while they came upon a small patch of ground littered with bones.
"A Knochen Hof?" Nick questioned as he knelt down and checked over the bones as Hank looked confused, as Monroe explained.
"A Bone Yard, but there's a spiritual meaning you've taken a life to sustain a life, the sacrifice has to be honoured and returned to the earth. You know before digestion" laughed Monroe as Hank nodded dumbly before Nick rose and carried on.
Suddenly out the corner of his eyes Nick clocked a shadow, signalling to Monroe Nick took off. Monroe followed as Hank barely kept up. Hank begin questioning if Nick was even human, he may not be in the service anymore but he wasn't out of shape but next to Nick and his friend he seemed unfit. As he arrived behind of them Hank froze, before him was what appeared to be a child but her face wasn't human it was more animalistic as she growled at Nick and his friend. Nether one of them seemed disturbed by this, then he watched as Nick's friends face changed, he looked similar to the girl and he was roaring back at her.
This seemed to startle the girl before she fled and Nick's friend was human again, Hank felt up ended by this. His world suddenly seemed so outside of the sane that he didn't realised Nick was talking to him.
"Hank pull it together, Not here, I have answers but this is not the time or place. For now, we need to focus on the girl" said Nick as Hank nodded dumbly before speaking.
"Yeah…yeah man ok, but you owe me explanations" demanded Hank as Nick agreed.
"We need to head back and regroup, there's more to this story and Hank you're in a position to find out more" said Nick as Hank nodded but Nick could see the cogs turning.
"For now, Hank say nothing about this, I will explain but tell no one. This is white coats level crazy if you bring it up before you know the truth" Nick said as the hint was there and received.
Hank left them both and headed back to the station, Nick and Monroe put thoughts of Hank to the back of their minds as they picked up the girl's trail again. The chase was short lived as they came to rest at the foot of a tree and hight in its branches was a hastily created house, this was it this was how a child had survived in the woods for Nine years alone. Monroe realy hated Nick some days, he thought to himself as he watched the young scale the tree like it was nothing.
He was a creature unto his own, something told Monroe moral compass aside Nick was unique within the Grimm's. He was almost wesen in how well he could adapt and overcome situations taking everything within his stride, following up the tree Monroe felt a pang of guilty for arguing with Nick the night before as he saw the young girl passe out on the floor.
It was overuse that she was badly injured and suffering from a fever of some sort, as he approached the young girl opened her eyes and he features instantly changed but she was too weak to do much else. Checking her over Monroe calmed her down as he began feeling something akin to pack bonds towards the injured girl, she hissed suddenly making him rear up against it's cause until he realised Nick had found her injures. He hissed a the large buckshot wound upon her side as Nick dropped his pack, pulling out supplies Monroe recognized from the spice shop he understood Nick's motives.
After applying the salve to the wound and bandaging her, he gave he something in a cup of water from his pack before settling her back down.
"We can't move her yet, not at least until the stuff I gave her has chance to take effect. So, for now we wait and watch over her until she's strong enough to move" said Nick as the girl fell back into a deep sleep.
As Hank returned to the Pd after taking a detour to Holly's adoptive mothers home, something wasn't stilling right with him. He'd called a head to get a check done on a name he'd been given, but as soon as he turned the corner, he couldn't help but hold back a small laugh at the sight of Wu bent over his desk skimming files with a pen between his teeth. It was a sight that brought back to many memories of late-night case's he'd lived through.
"Your beginning to look like a real detective" laughed Hank as Wu looked up and rolled his eyes.
"I'm starting to feel like one just without the pay rise" Wu joked back to ease the tension of this case.
Wu was no fool, he knew tensions were high with this case but not all the tensions were because of it. He'd see the look Hank had given the Captain's visitor and how the Captain had greeted him. Less of an old friend and more of a warmly embraced love, whoever he was to the Captain it had gotten under Hank's skin and he just hoped it wasn't going to end badly for Hank or the Captain.
"I found your Jimmy Addison, but I also found this" said Wu as he handed Hank a file.
"All the neighbours were interviewed the day Holly Clark disappeared and he had the best alibi. He was in the hospital, bitten by a wild dog while hiking" Hanks face fell but Wu wasn't finished.
"Funny thing is they never found the dog, his injuries were bad too took a chunk of muscle and broke his tibia" added Wu as the light bulb clicked in Hank's mind.
"Where was he hiking?" Hank questioned.
"up near mount hood" Wu replied as a very dark puzzle started dropping into place.
"This doesn't make sense, your hiking mount hood there are closer hospitals then the one he was take too" Hank questioned with a look of confused suspicion on his face.
"Unless you had something to hide" corrected Wu with a look.
"How did we miss this?" asked Hank with a growl.
"He was in hospital; everyone was frantically looking for Holly no one would have questioned it" explained Wu sympathetically as he could see his friend was tearing himself up over this.
"Last known address, come on lets go see what he has to say now" Wu said cooly as Hank nodded and took off with him.
The drive was tense but Hank was more afraid of what maybe said now, then he was about the explanation Nick was going to give him later. Pulling up he checked his weapon before getting out and headed toward the door, knocking on it they both waited until it opened.
"Are you James Addison?" Hank questioned the man that opened the door.
"Yes, what's this about?" he asked as the man looked nervous.
"Mind if we come in…...?" Hank asked as the man looked nervous and confused.
"It's only goanna take a moment" Hank reassured him calmly.
"Ok can I ask what this is about?" he once again questioned before letting Hank and Wu entered his home.
"We have reopened the holly Clark case, I believe you were a neighbour of hers when she disappeared" Hank explained as Wu supported him, making the man stiffened.
"You lent the Clark family some camping equipment?" Hank asked the question as he looked round the clutter house and the man who too looked raggedy as if he'd not left the house in a while.
"Yes" answered the man shakily.
"Do you remember where they went camping?" Hank asked as the man stumbled over his words.
"You were injured the day she was take?" Wu spoke up making the man look between the two of them.
"Yes, I was in the hospital, they talked to me there it should be in your repot" the man huffed as he tried to look at them angrily but his nervousness was visible in his eyes.
"Yeah, were trying to establish it there was any strange activity in the neighbourhood that day?" Wu answered cooly as he didn't care for the man.
"We're going back though our old interviews to see it anyone remembers anything that day, to see if times brought anything to the forefront" Hank added.
"I was gone all day hiking mount Hood" he stuttered as he began rubbing his injured leg, Hank looked at Wu who too had noticed the reaction.
"I like that area I hike there all the time; I like to keep fit you know what they say, you can take the man out of the service but not the service out of the man. were about where you?" Hank enquired watching the panic cross his face.
"You were by yourself, weren't you?" question Wu.
"I like the solitude".
"But not on that day?" Hank shot making the guy panic.
"What do you mean?" asked the man in panic.
"You were bitten by a wild dog, that's what the reports said" Wu added.
"Well yeah if you knew all this why all the questions?" stuttered the man again as he tried to pull himself together.
"Why did you drive all the way from mount Hood to Beaverton to get treated?" Hank questioned as the guy began cracking.
"Yeah that's 100 miles away you could have been treated much closer?" Wu joined in putting more pressure upon him.
"my doctor works out of Beaverton" the guy once again snapped as he shifted from foot to foot.
"You doctor name is?" asked Hank as he pulled out his note pad and acted like he was going to take notes.
"Look I'm on disability because of that day so I don't appreciate your tone" the guy growled at him, until Wu cut in.
"They never found any wild dogs over there…"
"I've done nothing wrong" he protested.
"Then you won't mind coming downtown to make a formal statement" Hank said cooly as he looked the guy in the face, he watched the guy swallow hard knowing he had no choice.
Getting his coat, he followed Wu and Hank to their car and headed to the station.
Nick searched the treehouse while the waited for any reaction's from the unconscious girl, he took notes that he believed that Hank may be interested in including a suitcase with a name upon it. The more he looked though the more Nick believed the girl was Hank's missing girl Holly, the girl gave out a few coughs a her fever began breaking. Nick knew that they were going to need major help, she was very ill and even if some how she found enough strength to walk out the wood's upon her own two feet she was still an untamed Blutbad.
Sighing to himself Nick turned to Monroe and after a back and forth he explained that at the end of the day they needed help, so with a sigh Nick climbed down and took off to a small Ranger station on the edge of the clearing they entered through. Arriving there Nick pulled out his cell and dialled the now familiar number.
/Renard/
"Evening my Prince, I'm sorry to call upon you but I need to request some official help from your people" said Nick as Renard was confused at first then he remembered their talk about the Reapers, he smiled at the idea of Nick trying to protect him.
/Speak Grimm, as my arbitrator you have access to my people. So please state your request/
"I've found the missing girl, she's alive barely. She's got buckshot within her side and a growing fever. She's a Blutbad with no recognition of who or what she is, her verbal skills are minimal. I can not bring her in safely without startling her, but I can not in good faith leave her out there. I also have a few things here Detective Griffin may be interested in; this includes a name J. Addison" said Nick as the information blindsided Renard making him stop for a seconded before he gathered himself as he clocked Hank entering with Wu and another.
"Hank" yelled Renard as Hank looked toward Renard before leaving Addison with Wu and heading into Renard's office.
"Captain?" questioned Hank as Renard indicated to the phone.
"Nick Hank's here repeat what you just said to me" spoke Renard as Nick's voice came over his phone's speaker.
"Hey Hank, we found your girl. From what I've found here It's her, plus I've got a name here it's all over the stuff her. J . Addison. Does this mean anything to you?" questioned Nick over the phone?
"James Addison, I've just brought him in. He was the neighbour; he was in the hospital during the search. He clamed he was bitten by a dog, but from his injures a broken tibia and torn muscles that's no dog bite" answered Hank as Renard nodded.
"She's sick Hank, we need to get her to a hospital….shit I can't talk much longer" as Nick spoke the sound of a gun wrung out.
"NICK?" yelled Renard as the sound of a scuffle could be heard, then silence before the sounds of the phone being picked up followed.
"Sorry about that, looks like we had company. Two idiots seems your drug dealer had family. They've been delt with, they are alive. I'll hold them until someone come's to get them" said Nick as Renard let out the breath, he'd been holding in.
"Ok, Hank you go deal with Addison then go collect our guests, Nick I'll make sure emergency medical is waiting for you and Holly" with that Renard hung up as Hank left the office and made a beeline for Wu and Addison.
"Holly's alive, she's being brough home. Funny thing is were she was found was filled with camping equipment stamped with the same name" said Hank to Wu deliberately knowing Addison would panic.
Before anyone could speak, he jumped up rambling, he pushed Wu down and tried to strike Hank with his stick. Several Detective's and Officers pinned him down as Renard came out of his office weapon drawn.
"Get him out of here" growled Renard as they cuffed him and pulled him down to cells.