Work Text:
-G-
“Ah, we are so lucky to have friends like these,” Adalind says with a sigh and Nick feels a smile spread across his own face at the statement, as well as how she cuddles in close to him. The evening that they had just had, had been one of the better ones in recent times. All of them together with no urgent matter to attend to; other than ensuring Monroe had a good time on his birthday weekend retreat.
They’d all set aside the time, travelled to the hotel that Rosalee had picked and ensured that they could have time together, uninterrupted. Adalind had liaised with the hotel to find them a babysitter for their evening meals and Nick had managed to surprise her with an upgrade to their room, giving them a suite. It meant, for once, Kelly was in his own space in the room linked to theirs.
“Yeah,” he agrees quickly as he pulls her close with his arm behind her. “And for us to have us.” He cups her face and kisses her, Adalind responding quickly. She hums into his mouth and they break apart as they both settle into bed. It’s so nice to have this time, after such a lovely evening with friends, to then be together. It was almost like having a proper date, even though he and Adalind had skipped that part of conventional dating and they both were ok with that. What they had now worked for them, as well as being so close to his friends, who they had spent most of the last several hours in the company of. Still, they’d gotten dressed up, had a great time reminiscing and eaten good food; with the added bonus of free champagne.
“That, uh, waiter who brought us the champagne?” He asks as a sudden thought crosses his mind. He’s also still wearing his watch so he unclasps it, not wanting to sleep with it on.
“Yeah, what about him?” Adalind asks with a slight frown.
“He looked a little familiar,” Nick states as he twists to put his watch on the bedside table. The guy’s face flashes into his mind’s eye, along with the feeling that there’s something there but he hadn’t fully paid attention to it, not when in such a nice setting and having a lovely time with his friends.
“Maybe you arrested him at some point?” She suggests but he shakes his head.
“No, that I would have remembered,” he says with confidence. Those are details that stay with you, as he’s sure Hank and Wu would agree. He tries to push the wayward thought out of his mind and return his attention back to solely being on Adalind, and the fact they’ve got the whole room to themselves. He moves to cup her face again but she pulls back slightly, with a cheeky grin.
“Well, unless you’re going to invite him up, will you turn off that light?” He huffs out a sigh but turns to do as she’s said, though her hand stays on him and encourages him back once he’s completed the task. They kiss and Nick is only too happy to sink into a deeper embrace and lose himself as Adalind encourages him to roll on top of her and let them be as close as they can.
-G-
Nick wakes up feeling odd. He’s not sure why, as he slept well after he and Adalind had been together and he can’t remember any disturbing dreams. Adalind is in her normal place; head resting on his chest and the weight and feel of her is comforting as well as being slightly unsettling, for some reason. It’s not her though, it’s just … something. He looks down to her before looking around the room but can’t quite figure out what’s wrong. There’s nothing that seems out of place or erroneous, it’s just … something that he’s not sure about, something off. Adalind appears to have woken at the same time as him and they both shift and look to each other before moving more upright. They both sit up and let out sighs, as if they’re both having the same feeling but aren’t sure what to do about it.
“I need some coffee,” Nick states with a heavy huff of breath, hoping he’s just feeling a bit foggy after having such a rich meal and such nice champagne the night before. Maybe if he just sticks to their normal morning routine, he’ll feel a bit better.
“Me too,” Adalind agrees and Nick throws the duvet cover back, taking her agreement as a purpose to focus on. He knows the hotel has a fresh coffee station as part of the breakfast buffet so he rises to get dressed so he can go get them both a cup as Adalind turns to the other room, and their son, to get both of them ready for the day.
Walking down to the right room, that feeling from when he first woke doesn’t fade or change, just settles in his stomach. He takes note of his surroundings and the people around him as he walks but nothing seems out of place. Nick is standing at the coffee station when Monroe comes to stand next to him.
“Morning,” he says, looking forward and Nick glances at him before looking back at the coffee as it’s finally ready.
“Morning,” he replies and one of the hotel’s staff joins them on the other side of the table.
“Morning,” she greets, energy in her voice and face lit by a smile. It’s professional but kind and for some reason, catches Nick’s attention.
“Morning,” Monroe replies neutrally as Nick also echoes the greeting and then frowns as he notices the lack of emotion in his own voice and Monroe’s. Not that either of them sound mean or horrible, just, they don’t sound like their normal selves, either.
“Are you enjoying your stay?” She asks, again voice animated and eyes bright.
“Yeah,” Monroe replies, barely looking at her.
“Yeah,” Nick repeats and places his hands on the cups on the table in front of him. A thought flickers but the coffee is ready and he knows Adalind is waiting so he scoops them up and retreats back to their room, his thoughts a bit muddled.
The walk back to the room is quicker but no less confusing. Nothing is wrong and that’s what’s niggling away at Nick, almost like his senses are saying one thing but the feedback from everything else isn’t getting nor giving the same message. There isn’t anything that should be bothering him and yet … something is.
“Morning,” Rosalee greets as she comes out of her and Monroe’s room, which is just down the corridor from his and Adalind’s.
“Good morning,” Nick replies as he continues past her, his and Adalind’s coffees in his hands.
“Did you see Monroe?” She asks and Nick looks up, taking in her face as she looks at him for an answer.
“Yeah,” he says as he blinks, her face coming into hyper focus for him and almost seeming to glow. She looks … beautiful. “He was getting coffee.” He answers automatically as he continues to stare. Why has he never noticed just how beautiful she is before?
“Okay. I’ll see you soon.” She smiles and Nick moves back to his room as she walks the other way. He opens the door as her face stays in the front of his mind and he realises she’s walking away from him and that’s … not something he wants. He needs to be closer to her, not further away.
“Coffee,” he announces to the room and he thinks he hears a reply but he’s already turning, exiting the room to focus on what he needs to; reducing the distance between him and Rosalee.
She fills his thoughts in a way that’s never happened to him before. None of his other relationships have ever been like this. She’s taken over his head and his heart and it’s suddenly absolutely imperative that he find her and tell her.
“Rosalee!” He calls as he finally catches up to her outside, on the hotel’s patio seating area, and she gives him the most beautiful smile.
“Nick, have you seen Monroe?” She asks but all he can do is stare. His heart seems to beat faster as he stands so close to the woman he suddenly knows is the one for him.
“I never realised how beautiful your eyes were,” he states as he continues to stare and her smile softens, though remains radiant.
“Thanks, I like yours too,” she replies and his heart lurches at getting a compliment from her. It means so much and he resolves to pay it back in kind to her, a hundred times over. But then she takes a step away from him and Nick can’t have that. She can’t be allowed to be away from him, not when he’s just realised what she means to him, not when he loves her so.
“Ever since the first time I saw you, I knew you were special,” he starts, knowing he has to get her to stay; to understand how he feels and to be with him. “And I knew we were meant to be.”
“Meant to be?” She repeats and her face falls into a frown. “What are you talking about?”
“Us. You and me,” he states and frowns as she pulls back. Her face swims in front of him and he stares as she looks at him in a way he knows he’s never seen before.
“Are you joking?” She demands, voice stressed and Nick doesn’t like that, knows his friend shouldn’t sound like that. Friend. His friend. What was he just thinking?
“What?” He says dumbly, doubt colouring his voice as it fills his thoughts.
“Nick, are you ok?” Rosalee asks and he can only stand there and blink at her.
“Rosalee?” He checks, still blinking heavily.
“Nick, is everything ok?” She takes a step back towards him, her face and voice full of concern. He looks around, taking in the hotel patio and the people around, the other guests and hotel employees. That sense from earlier is back, about something being off but he can’t quite say what it is or put his finger on it. He just knows that something isn’t adding up.
“I’m not sure,” he says as he continues to look around. “Something …”
“Nick, what are you feeling?” Rosalee asks quickly, voice troubled and he doesn’t like that but he can’t give her an answer, as he doesn’t know himself.
“Feeling?” He repeats, his brow furrowing but it evens out as he looks back at Rosalee and the world clarifies around her as her eyes meet his. Her beauty hits him again and feelings swell inside his chest as her face almost shines in its beauty to him. “I know you must feel it too. How could you not?”
“Nick?”
“Rosalee,” he sighs and stares at her, feelings surging up from his chest into his throat as he takes in her beautiful features. Words just don’t seem enough to convey how deep it all is, everything he feels towards her and for her. “Oh, Rosalee.” Just saying her name means more now and he hopes she can hear it. If not, he’ll just keep saying it until she understands, until he knows that she knows how he truly feels for her. “Ros-a-lee.”
“Nick,” she says slowly, eyeing him warily and almost leaning back from him. “I think … Nick, before you say anything you’re about to regret-“
“I love you,” he states strongly, as the emotion swells. He can’t believe he hasn’t acknowledged it before, hasn’t spent all this time telling her, just how much he loves her.
“Nick, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but please stop.” Her words and face are alarmed and she does that thing again, when she steps away from him.
“It would be easier to stop the world from turning,” he replies earnestly and her face transforms in a grimace.
“Okay, now you’re-you’re starting to freak me out. I’m going to find Monroe. Please stay here. Nick, I mean it.”
“I do too,” Nick states then thinks of his words, how they could be applied to another circumstance and he drops to his knee in recognition of that. “You’re the only one for me.” He declares passionately and her arms fly up as her face changes once more.
“Good god!” She explodes and then pivots, walking rapidly away from him.
“Rosalee! Please!” He climbs to his feet in order to race after her but a dizzying sensation sweeps over him and Nick almost stumbles. He looks around to get his bearings, as his mind tries to pick up cues from his surroundings as his heart beats emotion around his chest in uneasy waves.
This is wrong, but right but wrong. His insides squirm as feeling erupts in a surge and yet also fade away just as rapidly. Rosalee’s face swims in his mind’s eye but so does another, pale and surrounded with golden waves, one that is quieter but has an intensity of emotion linked to it that’s hard to describe. Nick feels like he’s all twisted up and his gut heaves with uneasiness at the mix of wrong and right and not knowing which is true.
“Nick,” a voice calls and he turns to the familiar sound, even if its not one he particularly wants to hear.
“Oh, hi,” he greets Eve blandly before turning away from her. He was going after Rosalee, he had to talk to her, about something important. But now that she’s not right in front of him, his previous reasoning wavers. Again, there’s so much uncertainty, other than that feeling in his gut that something isn’t, one hundred percent, right. But Rosalee helps, so maybe he needs to find her so she can help sort this out?
“Thank God, I found you,” she states and Nick looks to her to see if she’s picked up on this sensation of uneasiness. “Thank God it’s not too late. Do you feel that?”
“Feel what?” Nick echoes her words then frowns when he realises this is sounding familiar. Didn’t he and Rosalee just talk about something similar to this? Wasn’t he meant to be finding her? He needed to talk to her yet Eve was here and then, there was someone else … why was he thinking of Rosalee? Why her and Eve and not Adalind? What was going on?
“There’s never been anyone else for me. There never will be. To think, we almost threw it all away.” Eve sighs as Nick stares at her and watches as her face transforms as she talks and gazes up at him. Discomfort grows in his stomach and he knows he wants to be anywhere but here. He needs to find Rosalee. They have to talk. And, in the back of his mind, there’s a gnawing and growing thought that he needs to check on Adalind and Kelly.
“What?” He asks distractedly then tenses up as Eve grabs hold of him and kisses him. It’s wrong, so wrong. All wrong. Her touch means nothing to him, feels almost repulsive. He reacts on instinct, shoving her away and glaring at her for daring to touch him like that.
“No, Eve, no!” He states and then turns, almost breaking into a run as he traces Rosalee’s steps as well as attempting to put as much space as possible between him and the woman he no longer truly knows. No longer wants. She’s not part of his life like that anymore and when he thinks of who is, golden skin and soft, blonde curls come to mind even as Rosalee’s face shimmers in his mind’s eye.
He has to find her, has to talk to her and has to settle his heart and mind and make sure she understands how he feels. Nick just wished his gut would settle down and let his heart lead on this and not keep giving him some weird, vertigo-like feeling. He should be on top of the world, he has the focus of the love of his life yet that unsettled feeling won’t leave him alone.
-G-
“Rosalee,” Nick calls as he finally finds her again, after what feels like running around the hotel for hours. Of course, he would have been with her quicker if he hadn’t had to dodge and avoid the woman suddenly obsessed with him and wanting him back, even after everything that’s happened.
He hurries along the corridor and takes in how she’s standing, how her shoulders are up and something is clearly displeasing to her. Other people are here too; Monroe and Adalind and he groans as he realises that Eve has caught up to him again too.
“Nick!” The others in front of him turn at her shout and he sees Monroe’s face transform.
“Eve,” he cries out and he sounds like a man that’s been deprived of water who has suddenly found an oasis. He’s held back from approaching her by the blonde at his side, as she tries to cling to him. Adalind looks upset and the visual causes a wave of disease inside him before it’s eclipsed as he refocuses on his true love. Rosalee is what matters and he needs to tell her that.
“Monroe, Monroe!” Adalind cries passionately and Nick frowns at the sound, so used to another name, his own name, said from Adalind’s voice in such a way. Eve pulls at him and twists him away so he can only see her. Her face is familiar to him but it means nothing now.
“What is wrong with you?” He snaps as he, once again, shrugs out of her grasp.
“Nothing, now we’re back together,” she declares and his whole being almost heaves at those words. That is wrong, on so many levels that he can’t describe.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Monroe snaps as he strides towards where Nick stands, caught in Eve’s grasp. Adalind follows at his side as Rosalee looks almost frozen, staring at them all from a slight distance away. “You dumped her!”
“I did not,” Nick states, almost without thought, then shakes his head as he looks around. They’re all crowded around, so focused on each other but in a way they’ve never been before. It feels … wrong. He just wants to be with his love, wants to shout to the world how he feels for her and the perfection that she is … but … but he’s never been that guy, never really been into demonstrative or really public displays of affection.
His relationships are his, he prefers them private and something to nurture and treasure. To keep safe and loved. What is he doing? Voices rise as they all begin to argue and Nick feels trapped, emotion swelling as something akin to maybe logic battles within.
“Monroe, please!”
“She’s mine, now and forever!”
“No, no, I’m Nick’s!”
“She’s not yours, I’m yours!”
“You need to back off!” Nick shouts, shrugging out of the oppressive hold and trying to gain some space. He’s not even sure who he’s talking to, he just needs some room to breathe and to collect himself and figure out what the hell is going on.
“You need to back off!” Monroe repeats aggressively after him as Nick glances wildly around, taking in how everyone is stood and the rising feeling in the corridor as well as, is someone singing?
“We were meant to be together!”
“No, we weren’t!”
“Rosalee!” He cries out as the other voices around them build but then a sound cuts through it all, small and innocent yet upset and insistent and it makes him freeze. “Kel-Kelly?” Nick shakes his head then looks about, ignoring everyone as he recognises Kelly’s distressed cries. “Kelly.” His son is in his pram, pushed back to the edge of the corridor but not exactly in a position of safety. He roughly pushes past whoever is stood next to him before taking a knee next to Kelly and placing a hand on his chest. “Ssh, son, ssh.”
“Nick, don’t!” Eve cries and he looks back up to see how everyone is stood, all combatant and aggressive. He frowns and looks past them all to Rosalee, who looks distraught and confused. She’s stood apart as Monroe, Eve and Adalind all tussle together, each trying to get another’s attention. Pulling at clothes and twisting arms and limbs to almost wrestle who they want into their chosen place. Kelly continues to cry and he turns his attention back to his son, trying to calm and reassure him.
“Kelly, I’ve got you, bud, ssh,” he murmurs and meets his son’s eyes as he continues to cry.
It almost feels like he’s been underwater, that he’s been sucked under and everything is distorted. That only such a sound as his son, crying and almost calling to him, would be enough to pull him out. But what was going on? What was causing this?
“God, now look what you’re done!” Eve snaps from behind him. “It wasn’t enough to steal Nick from me. It wasn’t enough to have the baby that should have been ours!” Nick looks up sharply at those words as Adalind gasps. That wasn’t what happened, no, it was … he shakes his head again as memories and feelings and confusion race through him.
“Back off, you crazy bitch!” Adalind snaps and Nick knows that response isn’t quite right either. She would never … the woman he knows now would not bring such attention, and in such a way, to something that she regrets and lives with every day.
“Rosalee, something’s wrong!” He shouts but keeps his eyes on Kelly. He has to check on him, keep him safe and there’s another thought, a niggling suggestion that his eyes can’t be trusted right now. “I don’t – I can’t,” he stutters, trying and failing to explain it.
“Nick,” Rosalee calls back as Eve also says his name and he looks up, one face easy to slide past while the other crystalises, in everyway that matters. How can he be here, on his knees, when he should be there, before her and begging her to be with him.
“Rosalee, please!”
“Nick, no, close, your eyes! Don’t look!” She shouts desperately but he shakes his head, unable to comply.
“How can I not look and take in your beauty?” He asks as he rises to his feet and starts towards her. A piercing cry from behind him makes him pause and cast an unsure look backwards. His love awaits but this sounds tears at something inside of him that pulls that bit deeper. It doesn’t make sense, none of this does, but Nick has an almost internal and instinctive response to the child before him.
“Nick!”
“Eve!”
“Monroe!”
“For Kelly, close your eyes!” The voices all meld, high and emotional, but that last one sticks, as well as the increasing cries of the child in the pram and Nick screws his eyes shut as he tries to make sense of it all. With his sight gone his hearing kicks into overdrive, as it’s done ever since his encounter with the Jinnamuru Xunte. He can tell, from the sounds of movement, where everyone is stood and one sound creates a base beat that is instantly recognisable and reassuring in the same manner. It tugs at something deep inside, an echo of a feeling. He’s heard it for so many nights and has often checked to make sure it’s there, that the being it indicates life of is happy and healthy and whole; his son.
“Kelly, shh, daddy’s here,” he murmurs and tries to block out everything else. He opens his eyes, just a slither, so he can visually check on his son. Carefully, he steps forward and places a gentle hand on his son’s chest, where the young boy hiccups and looks up at him. The ache and feeling that surges up is nothing compared to what he’s felt in the last hour or so, and he knows this to be the truest thing he’s felt since he woke up that morning. He murmurs soft endearments as Kelly’s whimpers quieten and gently strokes with his thumb in, hopefully, a reassuring manner for his son before closing his eyes tight again and cocking his head to listen to what might be happening behind them.
Everyone is breathing hard, heartrates elevated and clothes rustling as they move and push against each other. Is there even someone singing nearby? Badly at that? The faint sound catches his attention before the clearer noises from those near him in the hallway bring him back to focus in on his friends, who are acting as strangely as he feels.
“Nick.”
“Eve.”
“Monroe.”
Everyone is shouting, impassioned and angry at the same time and it’s confusing even as his own feelings sway between wanting his son to be safe and the surging impulses to declare his undying love to a woman who one moment is everything and the next, he remembers she’s married, and very happily so, to his best friend.
“Nick.” Rosalee’s voice holds a different note, both plea and confusion present. “I don’t know what’s happening but this is all wrong!”
“I know and I can’t, I can’t tell you what it is,” Nick calls back, turning his face towards her but not yet daring to open his eyes. His hand stays on Kelly, his son’s warmth seeping into his hand. “I … my feelings … it’s all wrong.”
“Nothing is wrong because we can be together again!” Eve interrupts and instantly gets heated responses from both Adalind and Monroe, arguing in the opposite. They talk all over each other and the sounds around him increase as they move, push and shift around him, and each other.
“People!” A voice suddenly bellows as it sounds like a door crashes open nearby. “People, people, people, what the hell is going on?!”
“Hank,” Rosalee calls out as Nick tilts his head to try to focus on their conversation, and not the other’s passionate bickering. “Thank God. I need your help, something terrible is happening!”
“No, no, no,” Hank replies and his voice sounds strange to Nick’s ears. “Don’t I know it. I have been interrupted in a beautiful place on a beautiful day from the one true love of my life.” He takes a deep breath. “Do you hear me?” He shouts and it makes Nick frown, never having really heard his partner sound like that. Except … maybe, when he was under the influence of the coins.
“Rosalee, something is altering all of us!” Nick calls out as things he’s picked up on and his earlier, and recurring sense of unease, start to paint a picture.
“But I feel fine!” She calls back and he frowns. She has been the most normal in all their interactions and he thinks again of his and Monroe’s responses to the hotel worker earlier on in the day. It’s all … off somehow and there has to be a reasonable explanation.
“Why? What’s different about you?”
“You, baby,” Hank suddenly declares and Nick thinks he hears him begin to walk somewhere. “Come on, come on, come on. Stop beating around the bush.” Ok, so it had been someone singing earlier and it was his partner. Again, that was not an action Nick would have said Hank would do, and certainly not with the tone of loved-up sickliness that he could hear contained in his words.
“Oh my god,” Rosalee exclaims in horror and Nick can’t stop himself from looking at her to check on her, not when she sounds like that. Their eyes lock and he hears her murmured words even as light washes over her face, causing it to glow beautifully, and his heart thumps with feeling towards her. “It’s the Amor de Infierno.” Her eyes close, as if in deep pain, before she whirls and almost sprints away.
“Rosalee!” Nick calls as he goes to stand but the heat and small body under his palm hold him tethered in place. He can’t stand the possibility of losing the connection he has, nor the idea of Kelly becoming upset again. Nothing makes sense right now and he has to do something. He has to help, but how? Rosalee seems to know what’s going on but every time Nick looks at her his heart starts telling him things he’s never felt before and all their friends seem to be just as caught up, in whatever this is. And he can’t leave Kelly; his son cannot be left upset and unprotected.
Slowly, Nick opens his eyes to look down at his whimpering boy, face red and eyes bright with tears. His breathing is settling but clearly something is still upsetting him and Nick wonders if Kelly has picked up on the wrongness of the situation around him. Voices swell and Nick cautiously looks up, ready to slam his eyes shut if Rosalee is still present. She’s not but that doesn’t mean he understands what’s happening any easier. Bodies push and shove and voices rise, filled with strong emotions and confusing desperation.
“Monroe, Monroe!”
“My love, please!”
“Nick, please!”
“She’s mine!”
“Let’s get it on.” Hank sings as he stares into, Nick blinks as he takes that scene in, a mirror; seemingly serenading himself. And he just in his underwear …
“This can’t ... what’s this all about … love?” Nick thinks out loud and suddenly Adalind, Monroe and Eve all start declaring their love for all the wrong people. And, hang on, where’s Wu?
“Love like this cannot be a lie!”
“Monroe!”
“Nick!”
“Leave him alone!”
“You leave him alone!” Suddenly Eve and Adalind are right in each other’s faces and Nick stares as he can almost see the emotions change, from love-focused to anger fuelled. “You leave him alone or I’ll kill you, which is something I should have done a long time ago!” Eve threatens but before she can make any kind of physical move Monroe grabs her and pulls her close.
“Rosalee!” Nick shouts, wanting her help, needing her near and also, trying to get her name into the head of his best friend, her husband, as he seems intent on another woman. Monroe doesn’t even blink at the name, instead he pulls Eve even closer and then kisses her, as Nick and Adalind watch in seemingly very different levels of horror and dismay. Nick stares on as Adalind screams out in shock and revulsion.
“Nooo!”
“Everybody stop!” Nick orders roughly and they all, miraculously, do; each turning to look at him in their own way. “This isn’t right. All of us aren’t acting right, or even normally! We need to stop and think!” There is silence and stillness for a moment before voices and movement explode once more.
“Nick!” Eve cries, trying to shrug Monroe off but he grapples to keep hold of her, even as Adalind struggles to get his attention, and touch, onto her.
“Eve!”
“Monroe!”
“You, you give me good feeling, ooh.” Hank continues to sing and gaze at his own reflection in the mirror just past them all.
“Eve, I love you, stay with me!” Monroe cries as the brunette twists out of his grasp and then gasps in horror as Adalind steps into the space she left.
“You don’t want her! You have me!”
“No! Stay away! Eve!”
“No, it’s Nick, I love Nick!” Eve shouts back as she stumbles in his and Kelly’s direction but Monroe pulls her back, even as Adalind refuses to move out of the way.
“Adalind!” Nick calls out and unintentionally gains all their attention.
“No Nick, don’t talk to her!” Eve commands and the blonde gasps as Monroe frantically shakes his head.
“Don’t talk to him! You have me, love me!” He yelps, pulling at Eve even as she tries to wrestle free and Adalind tugs at him.
“No, you’re my love! Monroe!” She cries and as he twists to get away from her, she stumbles forward and crashes into Eve. Both howl in pain and glare strongly at each other.
“Watch it, bitch!” Eve snaps and Adalind glowers at her.
“You watch it!” She snaps back and Nick sees Eve ball her fists together, which maybe Adalind sees too because, with a twist of her head, she Woges.
“Adalind, no!” Nick shouts and surges forward to try and jump in between them before anything can happen but gets met with an enraged, and Woged, Monroe.
Nick grapples with his friend, trying to neutralise his movements and not do anything to hurt him, as well as protect himself from Monroe’s angry physical intent. He swings him round, looking up to see Eve and Adalind tussling too and he checks behind him to make sure Kelly is in his pram, at a safe distance from the fighting.
This isn’t what he wants to be doing, isn’t what he should be doing. None of them should be fighting, especially over feelings and relationships that are known and established. Monroe and Rosalee have only ever had eyes for each other. They’re married and happily so. He and Adalind are happy together, committed to each other as well as being a family with their son. It wasn’t what he expected but now he can’t picture his life without either of them in it. And Eve, well, Eve was a bit murky but he was positive that neither of them wanted each other in that way, not after everything that had happened.
Then there’s a sudden movement, in the air, in the space around them, Nick even feels it in his insides. Like a vacuum that’s sucked up everything false and left all that’s real, and confused, in its wake.
“Oh my God,” Adalind suddenly gasps out as they all stop and look at each other, as if only just seeing each other for the first time that day. Her Woge melts away and she looks pale and unsure as she glances from Eve to Monroe and ends up looking at Nick. He tilts his head to check on Kelly as Hank shuffles around in awkwardness.
“What happened?” Monroe questions voice high as he looks around. He and Nick both drop their arms as the two, previously fighting, women stepped back hurriedly from each other. Nick steps back and leans over to check on his son, who still looks upset but his crying has stopped.
“I don’t know,” Eve replies slowly.
“I don’t feel good,” Nick mutters as the unsteadiness that has overwhelmed him at points across the day swells once more.
“Why was I crying? Why am I in my underwear?” Hank questions quietly but, with the stillness and unease in the hallway, they all hear him. They look around at each other, all at a loss as to what to say, clearly none of them knowing what they’ve just been through, but with clarity to his feelings again Nick knows who he wants to be close to and check on next.
“Adalind,” Nick breathes out as he rises and locks gazes with her.
“Nick,” she gasps out as she shakes her head in slight bewilderment but steps into his embrace as he leans forward to pull her closer to him, and where Kelly is still in his pushchair, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.
Footsteps thump and they all look to see Rosalee run around the corner and sigh loudly as she takes them all in.
“Oh my God,” Monroe stutters and his voice breaks in pain. “What have I done?” He stumbles forward to Rosalee, gently taking her arms and staring at her in wonder and alarm. “I love you.” His words hold a desperation, as if begging her to believe him. As they’d all heard him say those words to a woman other than his wife it made sense that he would be filled with fear and nervousness that she wouldn’t believe him. Even though, before this day, he’d never given her reason to doubt him.
“You haven’t done anything,” Rosalee replies gently and steps further into his embrace. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I love you,” Monroe repeats, his words gaining strength as he gazes at his wife. “Only you.”
“I know,” Rosalee states with a gentle, loving smile up at him. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault.” She shares as she looks around at them all gathered there and still looking slightly lost and befuddled. “It was the Amor de Infierno.”
“What?” Adalind gasps out and Nick tenses as she does. That term obviously means something to her but he has no clue. “But only a Cupiditas can do that.”
“I know,” Rosalee confirms and Adalind hums as she tilts her head, even as she stays close to Nick.
“And there’s only one way to break that spell,” she continues and Rosalee lets out a low hum of acknowledgement.
“Yeah, he took a bit of a fall,” she states with a downward glance before looking up to Monroe then popping up onto her tiptoes to kiss him. “Oh, Nick, you and Hank might need to go help Wu. I think the local police were being called after what happened in the grounds.” She states ominously and Nick and Hank share a nervous look before a strong suspicion on what Rosalee could have possibly done, and what may have happened to end whatever the hell was going on with them, fills the corridor between them.
-G-
“Ok, thanks,” the officer confirms and Nick nods before walking away. The last hour or so had been filled with interviews and trying to clear up what had happened and also implement enough evidence onto and around Randy so no further questions were asked of any of them was vital, and he thinks they’ve done it.
“Well, there’s a reason why Randy looked so familiar,” Nick says conversationally as he wraps his arm around Adalind. He can’t help wanting to keep her close and touch her, just to confirm that she’s there and with him. “I arrested his father seven years ago for murder.”
“Seven years?” Monroe picks up on. “Before you were a Grimm?”
“Yeah, and that’s why I didn’t know he was Wesen.” Nick confirms.
“And that’s why he didn’t know you were a Grimm and thus, there was the possibility that you wouldn’t be affected as intended.” Rosalee points out.
“It wasn’t exactly helpful, more confusing,” Nick admits. “I felt like I was in an inner fight with myself.”
“Well, it meant that you weren’t fighting any of us and we all came closer than I think any of us are comfortable admitting that we almost did come to physical, harmful blows.” Monroe shares and an uncomfortable silence settles over them. They share looks and tense gestures but none of them shy away from each other. They can’t, they all know what happened and lived through it.
“But it didn’t come to that,” Rosalee buts in, breaking the building tension in the air. “And it wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was an act of a crazy man, one who was stuck in the past.” She says firmly, meeting everyone’s eyes square on and making sure they all understand she means what she says.
“Yeah,” Monroe sighs heavily, agreement and acknowledgement contained in that one word.
“Hey, I’m so sorry this happened on your birthday.” Nick says and everyone around him chimes in with their agreement. Monroe waves away their words and offers a resolute smile.
“Please, it will take a lot more than that to break up this group.” He states with a smile. Nick nods as he thinks of everything they’ve been through, as a group as well as individuals, and of all the experiences that hold them together.
This isn’t where he thought he’d end up, nor is it exactly what he pictured for his future. But what he has is everything that he ever hoped for. He’s in a loving, committed relationship, with a son that makes them a family that has a strength to it that is focused and steadfast. He has friends, the best of friends, who he can rely on and know they have his back, just as he has theirs. It might not have been the smoothest path to get here but now that he has this, he doesn’t ever want it to go away.
“Well, as much as I agree, I also think I need a break to go have a rest and get cleaned up and recalibrate so we’re ready for my husband’s birthday meal tonight,” Rosalee says and they all agree, quickly confirming meeting times before splitting up. There’s some gentle humour and teasing as they all move away and Nick shares a look with Rosalee before she and Monroe disappear into their room as he and Adalind move down the corridor to get to theirs.
She pushes Kelly inside and they both crowd around his pram as he looks up at them, blinking heavily with sleepy eyes but a smile on his lips as he gazes up at his parents.
“He helped so much today,” Nick admits quietly and Adalind turns to look at him questioningly. “I don’t know what it was but, when I was near him, it helped clear my head and I could focus on actually thinking, rather than all the feelings that were coursing through me.”
“But that’s … that’s not something you usually hear, not when the Amor de Infierno is involved.” Adalind protests.
“It was still a fight, it was intense when those thoughts and feelings crashed through me,” Nick admits and Adalind nods in agreement. “But it was like we were linked and he just gave me that extra, I don’t know, maybe strength to focus through the fakeness?”
“Could it …” Adalind starts hesitantly looking down as Kelly starts to lose the fight against the sleep that is trying to claim him. “… is it possible, it’s because … you’re both Grimms?” She doesn’t stutter over the word and Nick knows they’ve both thought about what the future entails for their son, and what he may become. A Grimm, a Zauberbiest or some, unknown, unseen-before combination of the two. He also knows that, as long as Kelly is happy and healthy, they can deal with whatever comes their way, in terms of his lineage and legacy.
“Maybe,” Nick replies slowly before leaning forward to gently scoop Kelly up and move steadily through the room until he lays him securely in his crib. Adalind follows him and they both lean down to kiss him, earning soft sighs and baby hums but he settles and falls asleep. They share a tender look over their son’s sleeping body and Nick sighs as he picks up on his heartbeat and deep breaths.
“You feeling tired?” He asks Adalind softly and she smiles.
“A little.”
“You want to have a lie down and rest?”
“I’ll lie down with you,” she replies deliberately with a grin and Nick feels his own lips twitch up. Her tunes into her heartbeat, another familiar rhythm to him, and knows what that little flutter in its tempo means.
“Ok, let’s go together then,” he replies and they share a knowing smile before lacing their hands together and moving forward, intent on being with each other and making sure they’re both as happy as can be.
-G-
AN – Well, thoughts? This was, and remains, a favourite episode for me so twiddling it slightly was a lot of fun. I also cannot say how much I love how settled and together Nick and Adalind are in this, and the scene of them in bed talking about how lucky they are lives rent free in my head. We did not get enough of those scenes, of them together like that, in my opinion. I hope you enjoyed this and look for updates on my stories now I’m getting back into a writing groove again, though I cannot in good faith promise any kind of timeframe. I’m just happy about being able to put all the story ideas I have onto paper, so to speak, once more. As ever, thank you for reading!