Summary: Things come to close to home when Nick is badly injured, causing Sean to realise his people are spread to thin and dealing with to much at once.

Notes:

mo ghrá - my beloved (Irish Galic)

Mon coeur – My Heart (French)

Irish Galic

Is é seo Burkhardt seiceáil I - This is Burkhardt checking in

Pasfhocal – Password

Mar sin, An mbeidh sé mar a bhí roimhe seo - So, Will it be as before

Mar sin, beidh sé amhlaidh arís - So Shall it be so again

Téigh ar aghaidh Nick, cad a theastaíonn uait - Go ahead Nick, what do you need

Teastaíonn faisnéis uaim, tá comhad cáis á sheoladh agam chugat. Screadann an t-amhrastach wesen ach tá mé as mo dhoimhneacht anseo. Tá mé ag cosaint a sprioc faoi láthair, gan mo chuid leabhar tá mé á dhéanamh dall. D'fhág sé rian coirp ina dhiaidh go dtí seo. –

I need information, I'm sending you a case file. The suspect screams wesen but I'm out of my depth here. I'm currently protecting his target; without my books I'm doing it blind. he's left a trail of body behind him so far.

Tuigtear. Beidh duine éigin ag breathnú isteach air agus ag dul ar ais chugat. Chun anois a choinneáil do cheann suas agus céadfaí ar airdeall ard. Meisner amach

Understood. I'll have someone look into it and get back to you. For now, keep your head up and senses on high alert. Meisner out

When Lines Begin To Blur

Well Renard's hope for answers came quickly but not in a way he'd hoped, if anything it had become a bigger headache then he'd wanted. After Monroe had gotten them a name and address for the watch, Hank and Karl had taken off after the lead only to find another body, that's when the penny dropped for Hank and that's how they found themselves now sat in Renard's office.

"It was a triple homicide five years ago. Jack Lambert, his wife and seven-year-old daughter were abducted from their home and taken to an abandoned quarry near tiger and tortured for two days. I'll never forget the crime scene" said Hank as he shook his head at the memory, making him shudder.

"I remember the case; it was one of your first cases as a detective under me. Oleg Stark was a contract killer suspected of murders in three different states" Renard said from the edge of his desk as he checked through the files.

"This time it was personal; Jack Lambert was a business associate of Stark's who knew he demanded to be paid in gold. Jack found out where he stashed it and stole his gold. It was a revenge killing, that's why he got sloppy" added Hank frustratedly as if it was all clear now the bigger picture had been seen.

Renard took another file off Officer Walsh as he presented what he'd found out, he was trying to fight off the growing feeling of unease rising within him. Renard hated that he had a feeling about this case, a feeling that was leading him towards a path he wasn't looking forward to heading down.

"Stark left a gold coin behind that's how I knew it was him. He was tried here in Portland but sent to pelican bay." Hank continued unaware of Renard's growing concern.

"How did he get out?" he questioned,

Renard was concerned not only as a captain but also as the Prince of Portland and having a trained assassin among them was more then he was ready to face, the reapers where still lurking around if the rumour mill was to be believed. Plus, now with the possibility of Geiers this was more than Renard's people could deal with.

"24 hours ago, Stark escaped he was on medical transfer when he got his chance. He broke both the doctors legs and beat 2 guards into a coma" Karl interjected breaking Renard's thoughts

"Why didn't we know he'd escaped?" Renard questioned

"Bulletin hit California they thought they had him, by the time they realised he was long gone. Stark's medical records are all kinds of messed up, but the long and short of it he can't feel pain like we can and his bones are so think nothing short of a truck is breaking them" sighed Karl as Renard just rubbed his face groaning at the ignorance of his Californian counterpart.

"So, what's Starks connection to our case?" Renard sighed the question

"Judge Patterson resided over the case, Mary Robison prosecuted it, Denis Chilton was the jury foreman. Remember the time and date on the watch,

10:15 am March 11

that was the moment Stark was sentenced to 300 years in prison" Hank explained angrily.

"That would mean as the arresting officer your next" Renard realised as Walsh looked at him too.

"I'm going to take this bastard down" growled Hank as Renard stood up and got in Hank's personal space.

"No, no your going into protective custody" Renard snapped making Hank's hackles rise and him turn to square off with Renard.

"I'm not running" he spat

"He's already killed 3 people, I'm not about to lose a good cop" Renard raised his voice as he kept the Biest within down but let the Prince rise as he attempted to make his detective back down.

"He's killed a lot more than that…..."

"I'm not going to risk it and neither are you, I understand why you wanna get him, I feel the same way but protective custody that's my call not yours" the finality of Renard's words spurred on rubbing Hank the wrong way.

"Stark had to move fast so I'm running B as well as stolen cars" Karl spoke up as he tried to defuse the situation

"Then get on it" snapped Renard as he all but threw Karl and Hank out his office before closing the door behind them.

Renard felt like crap as the door slammed shut, he'd never lost his cool like that before. With all going wrong within his Canton he'd allowed his frustration to bleed over into his human life, he wanted Hank to see things from his point of view but at the same time he'd realised that without the knowledge he had how could Hank see anything beyond his case. Sighing to himself he cast a glance out of his office window towards Hank's desk where the frustrated Detective was working, his face set in anger. Pulling out his phone he sent a message.

Moments later the message alert bleeped signalling that he had a reply, opening it he read the message before sitting back down and attempting to work on his laptop. Time quickly passed and soon a knock at his door made him look up, he sighed as Wu opened the door, a small smile broke over his face as Nick entered and sat down in front of Renard.

"I got your message Sean, you were realy cryptic what's up?" Nick asked with a smile as Sean passed him a file.

" Oleg Stark, contract assassin. He was given three hundred years in prison, tried here but incarcerated in Pelican bay. My call out last night was the beginning of his revenge killing's here in Portland" said Renard as Nick gave him an 'oh fuck' look.

"So far, he's killed the judge, prosecutor and jury foreman. All that's left is the arresting officer" said Renard as Nick looked at the file

"Hank?" he said worriedly.

"This case isn't officially, nor is it a wesen case. But I haven't got a Detective or an officer with enough skill or attuned enough to watch over him. Not to mention Hank's fighting me on this, if I present you as an option he might not fight so much" sighed Renard as Nick nodded, he stood and called Hank into his office.

"Captain?" Hank questioned as he saw Nick sitting

"Here's a compromise, I need you covered and you want to catch Stark, you know Nick's skill's, you've seen what he can do. I'm aware that this isn't a wesen case but Nick's more alert then any man or woman with this department. So here's what I can do, Nick's going to shadow you, he's not going to interfere unless he needs to and you can work the case" said Renard as Hank looked between him and Nick before giving up and sighing.

"It's not like I'm going to have a choice, but your right Captain I'd rather have Nick covering me" Hank answers as Renard seemed to relax.

"I'll get him a pass, let me know if you find anything" with that Hank and Nick left the office.

Nick followed Hank to his desk, taking a seat he greeted Karl Walsh who was working on his side. Hank passed Nick the files he had from the past case and what they knew now, Nick read through it while he watched Hank silently rage beside him.

"So, this guy's been shot 3 times and stabbed twice, right?" Nick questioned

"Yeah, one of those bullets was mine" Hank snapped at Nick making Karl give him a surprised look, with a sigh Hank's partner got up and headed to check something out Nick lent forward and spoke lowly.

"Come on Hank, Sean's just doing what he thinks is right" Nick said empathetically

"What's right for him is not right for me" growled Hank as he tried to goad Nick

"He's doing his best Hank after all your not just one of his people, your our friend, our family. Sometimes the lines blur for us when it comes to that. Give him a chance Hank, who knows his people may turn up something we all missed" the warmth of Nick's words finally got through to Hank who let out a defeated sigh.

"I know, I just don't like being grounded while someone's out there ripping up the city looking for me" huffed Hank as Nick nodded but before they could talk Wu showed up

"I think I've got what your…...? You're not the usual ass that sits here unless Walsh finally had a makeover?" Wu retorted making Hank laugh and Karl yell something from the breakroom.

"Nick meet Wu, sarcastic asshole of the Pd. Wu meet Nick Burkhardt soon to be Renard or is the Captain about to become Burkhardt I'm not sure how that's supposed to work?" Hank laughed as Wu looked on with a questioning look.

"Hey, just call me Nick. I'm as Detective Griffin so elegantly put it your Captain's fiancé. But for the record Sean and I haven't discussed that yet. Though it's probably gonna be Burkhardt-Renard if we take each other's name. otherwise, we will probably just keep our names. I'm a bounty hunter, and Sean's asked, could I keep and eye on your fine detective here since he's apparently gotten himself a huge target on his back" laughed Nick as he ribbed Hank making Wu roll his eyes.

"Well, the unnecessary image of the Captain being romantically involved with anyone, that's going to take a bottle of cheap tequila to remove. That aside, welcome to this dysfunctional duo, I'm glad to see at least someone is able to make him see sense. Now with that here..." said Wu as he put down some papers on the desk

"This might be what you're looking for, 68-year-old man just had his car stolen from a rest stop just outside town." Hank took the paper and started looking it up, Wu left them as Nick came to look over his shoulder as Hank explained a few things to him.

"So, what do you know about Stark? Where's he from? does he have any family? maybe we can get ahead of this guy?" Nick asked as he came to sit on the edge of the desk beside Hank.

"That was one of the weird things about him. He didn't seem to come from anywhere. No record of where he was born, no record of his family it was just like this guy fell out of the sky" Hank sighed as a few warning bell's were going off within Nick's head.

Getting up Nick left Hank looking over his cases while he found a quiet corner just out of sight, while he was still able to see Hank. He cast a look towards Renard's office, he was on the phone pacing within. He knew that his mate was under a lot of pressure because of this, a lot of people wanted answers Renard included. Pulling out his cell he hit dial on a hidden number.

"Is é seo Burkhardt seiceáil I" spoke Nick as he changed from English to his native Irish, he'd hated keeping this from Renard but he knew he needed to for now.

/Pasfhocal/

"Mar sin, An mbeidh sé mar a bhí roimhe seo"

/Mar sin, beidh sé amhlaidh arís, Téigh ar aghaidh Nick, cad a theastaíonn uait/

"Teastaíonn faisnéis uaim, tá comhad cáis á sheoladh agam chugat. Screadann an t-amhrastach wesen ach tá mé as mo dhoimhneacht anseo. Tá mé ag cosaint a sprioc faoi láthair, gan mo chuid leabhar tá mé á dhéanamh dall. D'fhág sé rian coirp ina dhiaidh go dtí seo" Nick sighed as he explained

/Tuigtear. Beidh duine éigin ag breathnú isteach air agus ag dul ar ais chugat. Chun anois a choinneáil do cheann suas agus céadfaí ar airdeall ard. Meisner amach/

Nick hung up and sighed again wiping the call and putting his phone back into his pocket, before heading back over to Hank who was deep in thought.

"I found your car" came a voice from behind them, turning they saw Wu holding what Nick figured was an address.

"Or what's left of it. Blown up in a parking lot just across from the city rec facility on 20th and Belmont" with that Wu began heading out but Nick caught the look on Hank's face.

"Hank?"

"That's by my old place, I lived a block away when I worked Starks case, it's him. He's sending me a message" Hank growled as he stood up but as he went to move Renard came out off his office.

"Captain?" Hank growled lowly as he looked at Renard, making Nick begin to take a protective stance by his mate.

"I'm coming with you, No arguments. Stark is still out there and this is his warning" Renard replied cooly as they all headed to his SUV.

Hank sat in the back alongside Wu as Nick jumped in the front, the tension in the SUV could be cut with a knife it was so thick and heavy, Nick felt in the middle as he was attempting to keep his mate calm while keeping his friend from doing or saying something stupid out of anger. On top of that, he was still awaiting a call back about his suspicions about Stark.

The scene was chaos when they arrived, fire and Pd were on scene as the blaze was brought under control. Wu confirmed the vehicle was the one they were looking for. In all the confusion and chaos none of them saw Stark watching from a distance, his gaze locked on Nick who was shadowing Hank. Stark was no fool he could see the prince clear as day, he chuckled as he thought about how many of them skuttling round knew who was actually giving the orders. Pulling back into the shadows he had a plan, a plan that if it worked would lead him to his target and simultaneously strike a blow to the heart of the Prince of Portland.

The rest of the day passed without a problem, Hank had reluctantly agreed to head to Wu's place for the night. If only to save him from rooming with Nick and his Captain, or having Nick room with him tonight. He liked the younger Grimm, hell he'd come to see him like Monroe did. The annoying little brother you had to always look out for but would kill for if he was hurt. But he realy didn't want to deal with his Captain on a day-to-day basis if he took away Nick from him at night. Hell no a Captain without coffee was like a bear with a sore head, no way was he subjecting himself willingly or anyone else to one who'd been going without sex.

Renard had a few more things to deal with at the station before he could call it a night, so with a quick peck on the cheek and a promise of dinner Nick left the station for home while Hank sat on the edge of the Captain's desk. Hank, Wu, Karl and Renard went over a few more things before finally Hank decided it was time to head off.

"You sure your ok with this Hank? Offer still stands Nick's a hell of a cook" Renard offered with a smile, the Captain had faded from his tone hours ago and Hank had began seeing the man his friend had fallen in love with.

"Nar I'm good. If I've got to have a babysitter, I'd rather not get in the middle of you two love birds all the same" chuckled Hank as he bid the Captain good night.

Meanwhile Nick had long since arrived home, he'd shed his clothing from the day and opted for sweatpants and his beloved Captain America top as he padded round his kitchen bare foot. As he tended to the food now and again, he'd catch sight of his bond mark with Sean and find himself smiling. To an outsider it was just another tattoo that sat alongside the several other tribal and Celtic bands that covered Nick's skin, but to him and his wesen friends it ment so much more. The radio was blaring away as Nick happily sang along, popping small bits of leftover into his mouth as he finished up the meal. A sudden sound had him stopping as he attempted to pinpoint the origins with his gifts.

"Stupid Racoons" Nick growled to himself as he figured Hank's case had him to much on edge, he was looking forward to dealing with that once Renard got home.

The devious smirk that crossed his face at that thought would have had any sane man running for cover, but Nick knew his mate well, it would just mean they were in for an enjoyable evening. The sounds of key's in the door brought Nick back to his current activities as he slid over the wooden floor towards the opening door, throwing his arms round Renard as he entered had him startled at first but soon enjoying the loving embrace of his mate.

"Take it someone's in a good mood?" Renard chuckled as Nick just pulled him closer for a kiss.

"What gave you that idea?" Nick chuckled as they broke the kiss before he popped a bit of carrot into Renard's mouth and bounced off back into the kitchen.

Smiling Renard followed behind happily as he stripped his jacket off him, removing his tie and rolling up his sleeves he went to help out but Nick swatted his hand.

"Go get yourself changed and come down more comfortable, today has been hard on us all. Tonight, we are going to chillout" said Nick as Renard gave him a flirtatious look.

"Later Mo Ghrá, for now go change" Nick commanded as he slapped Renard's ass as he left and headed up to get changed.

Not long later Sean joined him and they enjoyed the dinner on the table, Sean didn't think he'd need to eat again for weeks until Nick brought in a cheesecake making him pull Nick down on to his lap. Once dinner was over both men were on a high as Nick ordered Sean to get a blanket from upstairs while he cleaned up, after that they planned to enjoy a film together. Nick was busy cleaning up when he heard noises outside again, this time he didn't bother checking as he went to the back door to shoo off the racoons. But before he could open the door it splintered in front of him flying off the hinges as he was thrown backwards, hitting the ground hard as he fell through the table.

Winded Nick tried to get to his feet as his attacker came at him strong, but his attacker was large and solid he used this to his advantage as he kept Nick from getting to his feet. The beatdown was brutal and Nick had counted at least four broken ribs so far, then the guy brought his boot down hard on his knee.

"WHERE?...IS?...HE?..." yelled the intruder as he hit Nick over and over before pulling back.

Panting from his spot on his back on the floor, Nick's arms covered his face in defence, so he barely saw the woge and suddenly things made sense.

"Oh Fuck" muttered Nick as the other man finally saw Nick

"GRIMM" he lowly growled as suddenly his anger took over and pulling Nick up, he flung Nick through the half wall by the stairs, Nick hit the bottom step with a sickening crack but the guy wasn't giving up as he went to charge Nick.

Doing the only thing he could Nick raised his arm and braced for impact, when it didn't come, he looked up to see Stark flying back. Looking up weakly he saw Sean stood at the top of the stairs, woged with eyes burning with hellfire, his outstretched hand holding back Starks attacks as he forced all his body had into his powers.

"Nicky" he yelled as he came down to his side, keeping his hand up allowing him to shield them both he attempted to check Nick over.

Stark got to his feet and was about to charge again until he realised who the other man was, as Sean snarled at him, he thought better of it and raced out the house. Dropping his shield so he could check his mate over Renard was relieved when he heard sirens and saw Detective's Meachem and Pogue enter.

Everything was a blur as Renard's attention was completely on Nick as their home was checked over, next thing he knew he was being helped to his feet as Nick was being placed on a stretcher and taken out to the waiting ambulance. Renard followed behind, reaching for Nick's hand he felt like the bottom had fallen out of his world as he looked over the unconscious form of his mate now black and blue from the beating.