Chapter Text
"No!" The word burst from Nick’s lips before he could even think. His heart pounded as he processed what they were suggesting. How could they even consider this?
"It's the only way to keep her safe. This child could change history, Nick," his mother whispered, careful not to let Adalind hear them.
Nick’s gaze flicked to Juliette, searching for support, but she didn’t meet his eyes. The quiet way she stood, the set of her shoulders—she agreed with his mother.
"You want me to help take a child away from her mother?" His voice was low, incredulous.
"Forget that Adalind is the mother—I can't do that. I won’t." He squared his stance, blocking the staircase as if his own body could stop this from happening.
His mother exhaled, a rare flicker of pain crossing her otherwise unreadable expression.
"This isn't the same as what happened to you, Nick. She's a Hexenbiest—she tried to kill all of us at least once!" Juliette’s voice was sharp, her frustration spilling out.
As if he didn’t know that. As if he hadn’t lived it. But knowing what Adalind was didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t let them do this—not to an innocent baby.
"I know what she is," he shot back. "I also know what my mom is. How many people see you as a monster?" He took a step back, his heel brushing against the first stair. How could Juliette not understand why this was different?
Juliette’s expression hardened. "She tried to sell her baby, Nick. How can you possibly think she could be a good mother? I don’t even know how she can justify bringing a child into this world. I couldn't."
The words hit him like a brick to the gut. I couldn’t.
She didn’t want that? She didn’t want this—the life he was fighting for?
Then why was she still here?
"I know this isn’t ideal," Kelly said softly. "But I’ll be with her. She’ll have a mother—just not her mother." She reached for his shoulder, but he pulled away.
"And what happens when it’s ‘safer’ for her if you disappear?" His voice was quieter now, frayed at the edges. "Safer for you to be dead?"
The exhaustion settled deep in his bones. He’d never imagined himself standing on Adalind’s side, but he could overlook her past for the sake of an innocent child. The baby wasn’t guilty of anything.
His mother softened. "Nicky..." she murmured. "That will never happen again. She’s too important."
She reached for him once more, but he shook his head.
"And I wasn't?" The words slipped out, raw and bitter. Nick shook his head. "No. We'll find a different way."
He turned and strode up the stairs before his mother could press the issue. He didn’t trust her not to push it, and as much as he hated to admit it, Adalind needed to know what was happening. She needed to know who she could trust.
Reaching the guest bedroom, he knocked softly.
"Come in," she stage-whispered.
When he eased the door open, she sat on the edge of the bed, cradling Diana against her chest, rocking her gently. She looked peaceful—sweet, even—which made him uneasy. He wasn’t used to seeing her like this.
"Is she asleep?" he asked quietly.
Adalind nodded, glancing up at him. Her exhaustion was plain, but so was the worry in her eyes.
"I'm sorry she brought us here. I didn't know." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I know I've done a lot of bad things to you and your friends, but Diana hasn’t. She hasn’t done anything. Please... you don’t have to help us, but just—don’t do anything to my baby!"
Her voice wavered, tightening with emotion, and she blinked rapidly, trying to hold back tears.
Nick inhaled deeply, steadying himself. "I hate you," he admitted, his voice calm but firm. "Any other time, I would’ve just as soon cut your head off as help you. But your baby—Diana? She needs my help. And I promise, I’m going to do what I can to keep her safe... and with her mother."
A small, broken sound escaped her—a short laugh that could’ve easily been mistaken for a sob.
"That’s fair. More than I deserve, probably," she said, swiping at her eyes with the back of her free hand. In the soft glow of the bedside lamp, she looked almost fragile.
"You were trying to kill my partner. And my aunt," he reminded her, though there was no heat in his voice. "Look, I’m not here to fight. I just wanted to tell you—keep Diana with you. I’m worried my mother thinks she’d be safer without you. I don’t. But that might not stop them."
Adalind stiffened, her arms tightening around Diana. "I won’t let them take my baby," she whispered, her voice thick with barely restrained panic. "I’ll die first!"
Before he could reassure her, she woged, her jaw snapping with a sickening crack, rotting teeth bared in a warning.
Nick didn’t flinch. He simply held up a hand. "I know." His voice remained steady. "I’m going to stay outside your room tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll move you somewhere safer. I think I have a plan, but it’ll take time to pull together. I promise—I won’t let them take Diana’s mother away from her."
Slowly, her woge faded, her human features reemerging as she stared at him.
"Nick."
He paused in the doorway, looking back at her.
"Why are you doing this for me?" Her voice was quiet, hesitant—like she was afraid to question the logic that was working in her favor.
He met her gaze, unblinking. "I’m not." A beat of silence. "No child should grow up without a mother. Not even yours."
With that, he stepped out, closing the door behind him. He needed to find something to sit on. It was going to be a long night.
Juliette came upstairs an hour later—maybe less. Nick wasn’t asleep, not really. He drifted in and out, too tense to truly rest.
"Nick."
Her voice was soft as she touched his arm. He blinked and swiveled the chair away from her, carefully setting his laptop on the floor.
"Can we talk?" She nodded toward their bedroom.
Nick crossed his arms. "Not if we can’t do it here. I don’t believe for a second that my mother is giving up on her plan."
Juliette frowned, crouching slightly to keep her voice low. "I don’t understand why you’re so angry. She wants to protect the baby."
She reached out, brushing her fingers along his cheek. It took him a moment to let himself lean into the familiar touch.
"Diana," he murmured. "That’s her name. And I have a plan—one that doesn’t involve kidnapping."
Nick caught her hand, his thumb gliding across the soft skin of her wrist. In the dim light of the hallway, he could barely make out the crease of frustration between her brows.
"How are you going to hide a Hexenbaby?" she asked, voice edged with skepticism. "She’s already using her powers."
Juliette yanked her hand away. The sharpness in her movement made something twist in his chest. Why is she angry with me? He was the one trying to protect an innocent child, not steal her away from her mother.
"I don’t know," he admitted. "Honestly? I thought maybe Grimm blood—if we have to. But not before I talk to Rosalee."
He leaned back, reaching for his laptop again. Juliette watched him for a long time, her gaze unreadable.
"Tell me this isn’t about her," she finally said, her voice quiet but cutting. "How is this not you protecting the woman who ripped my life away, Nick?"
This time, she didn’t bother whispering. Nick didn’t care if Adalind heard, but he didn’t want her to wake the baby.
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Adalind is a monster. I know that. We all do." His voice was even, controlled. "But when I met Monroe—and a lot of my closest friends—they thought I was a monster too. How many people do you think see my mother as a monster? My aunt Marie? Did I deserve to lose my mother?"
Juliette’s eyes flashed. "That’s different! Diana is too powerful. You heard your mother!"
She glared at the closed door, as if she could see the baby through it.
Nick exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. "It’s not different. We’ll figure something out—for Diana." He turned back to his laptop, a clear dismissal. "You should get some sleep."
Juliette stared at him like she didn’t recognize him anymore.
Nearly twenty minutes later, when Nick could hear Juliette’s breathing settle into the steady rhythm of sleep, the door behind him creaked open.
He didn’t turn right away. "You okay?" he asked, casting a quick glance over his shoulder.
Adalind hesitated in the doorway. "Yes."
Diana lay undisturbed on the bed, sleeping soundly just at the edge of his peripheral vision. Nick tilted his head, silently prompting Adalind to either continue or leave.
She didn’t.
"I have an idea—to help hide Diana," she said. "We can’t use the blood of a Grimm. I already had it in me when she was born. But we can make a suppressant—something to keep her powers in check until she’s old enough to learn how to control them."
Nick studied her as she glanced down the hall, shifting uncomfortably.
"I’ve never heard of anything like that," he admitted. "And we did a lot of research while you were trying to kill us."
He stood, stepping past her to look at Diana. She was so small, impossibly fragile for something that held so much power.
"No, you wouldn’t have," Adalind said. "It’s rare. And it requires a dead Hexenbiest—a long-dead Hexenbiest. So don’t get your hopes up."
Nick met her gaze, noting the exhaustion in her eyes. She was trying to keep her expression unreadable, but she was running on fumes.
"Fortunately," she added, crossing her arms, "I know where to find one."
Nick exhaled slowly. "Okay. We’ll look into it tomorrow with Rosalee." He nodded toward the bed. "You need to get some sleep."
Adalind scoffed. "Forgive me if I’m afraid to go to sleep in a house full of people who either want me dead or want to steal my baby."
Her voice was cold, biting. Nick just raised a brow, unfazed.
"Nothing is happening tonight," he said evenly. "I’m out here losing sleep so you don’t have to. If you’re staying up, then I’ll go to bed."
He turned, gripping the back of the chair, but before he could sit, Adalind grabbed his elbow. Her fingers were slender, but her grip was tight.
"No!" The word came out too fast, too sharp. She swallowed hard. "I... I’ll try to get some sleep."
She quickly looked away, releasing his arm.
Nick let go of the chair and eased back into it, settling in for another long night.
***
"They can come with us. The last place anyone will look for her is with the people she repeatedly tried to kill for the Royals." Nick balanced a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in one hand while holding a glass of orange juice in the other.
"He's right," Juliette muttered over her coffee, giving him a hard look. "Everyone knows how much we supposedly hate her."
Kelly exhaled, clearly reluctant. "Fine. But hiding her powers won’t be enough to keep her safe—not while she’s with Adalind."
Her stare was just as sharp as Juliette’s, but Nick only rolled his eyes. He wasn’t about to have this argument again. Instead, he took the food upstairs to wake up the angry Hexenbiest.
Bracing the juice in the crook of his arm, he knocked lightly.
Adalind opened the door, her posture tense, exhaustion written all over her face.
"I figured you’d rather eat up here," he said, stepping past her to set the plate on the dresser. "You can take a quick shower, but we need to leave in twenty minutes. I want to get you to the spice shop and start getting things together for your new life."
She barely reacted, hugging her arms around herself. "I don’t like bacon," she mumbled.
Nick made a face—because seriously, who doesn’t like bacon?—and promptly snatched the three strips from her plate. He popped one into his mouth and raised his brows in a smug little smirk.
Adalind shook her head, watching as he paused by Diana’s crib, his expression softening as he gazed down at the sleeping baby.
"There’s a new toothbrush in there for you," he added, jerking his thumb toward the bathroom before walking out.
When he came back downstairs, Kelly and Juliette were waiting for him.
"What exactly is your plan?" Kelly asked as he finished the last bite of bacon.
Nick swallowed before answering. "We can get false documentation—Rosalee has a few connections there. We mark Adalind as a person of interest in her mother’s murder, leave a trail that’ll have the Royals chasing their tails while we set her up with one of the discarded witness protection identities. Those have history, they won’t stand out like something new. It won’t be as clean as if we went through WITSEC, but there won’t be a paper trail leading back to us."
Kelly and Juliette exchanged a look. It wasn’t the worst idea.
"We’ll need a truck," Kelly added. "Something reliable. And not stolen, unfortunately."
Nick nodded and grabbed his laptop, flipping it open to show a few options he’d already looked into. "I found a few. It’s a good place to start. Even if we have to abandon the identities later, it’ll buy us time to prepare."
Kelly sighed. "Alright. I sent the addresses to Bud—he’s checking them out now. He’ll text me if one works out."
Nick crossed his arms, leaving the laptop open on the counter. He might have been stuck pulling an all-nighter, but he hadn’t been sitting idle.
Juliette hesitated before speaking. "I don’t think I’ll ever understand why you want to keep that poor little girl with someone as volatile as Adalind." Her voice was quiet, but the judgment in it was unmistakable. "Her life is dangerous. But… I’ll help any way I can."
She stepped closer, tucking herself against him. Without thinking, Nick slipped an arm around her, holding her out of habit. He loved that she stood by him, even when she disagreed.
But he wished she could see what she was really saying about their own future.
Their life was just as dangerous—maybe even more so.
"Sorry, she's hungry, and I don’t exactly have a nursing bra—but you said I only had twenty minutes."
Adalind came downstairs as quickly as she could, adjusting Diana in her arms as the baby latched. Her shirt was pulled up just enough for feeding, with what Nick suspected was his towel draped over her shoulder and Diana.
Nick barely spared it a glance. "It’s fine. She can eat in the car."
Kelly was already heading out the back door, waiting for no one. "There are some additions to that plan we need to work on," she called over her shoulder.
Adalind hesitated, looking at Nick. Why was she looking at him? The realization irritated him more than it should have. His life would be so much easier if he’d just killed her in the hospital with Marie.
"I actually had an idea about that—the protection part, I mean," Adalind said, shifting Diana slightly. "I don’t even know the full plan, but there are a lot of spells that could help keep us hidden. We should get the books and a few other things from my mother’s storage locker… since we’re already digging her up anyway."
Nick exhaled. As much as he hated Hexenbiest magic, he couldn’t deny its effectiveness.
"I can send Monroe to get it now. He can meet us at the spice shop with whatever he finds." Nick stepped aside, holding the door open for her, then Juliette.
Adalind hesitated. "I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Some of that stuff is dangerous. If you don’t want me going, you could send Sean. He’d know what not to touch."
Nick watched as she pressed herself as far as possible against the door behind the driver’s seat—putting as much distance as she could between herself and his mother.
"Text him the address and what you need," Nick said, holding his phone over the back of his seat as he pulled onto the road.
Adalind took it without hesitation, unlocking it effortlessly.
Nick frowned. When did she learn my passcode?
Before he could dwell on it, Kelly snatched the phone from her hands. Adalind rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. She had nothing to hide in the message, and Kelly sent it without another word.
***
"Nick!" Rosalee beamed when he walked in, but her expression quickly shifted to confusion as the rest of the group followed. "And Adalind? Wait—she didn’t try to kill you again, did she? Is that a baby?"
Nick flipped the sign to Closed, locking the door behind them.
"Yes. Not that I know of. And yes." He placed a hand on the small of Juliette’s back, leading them toward the side room. "Is Monroe here?"
"Monroe! Nick’s here—and he brought… company!" Rosalee called toward the basement, following close behind.
"Company? Like Hank and Juliette?"
Monroe hustled up the stairs, his mouth opening slightly—then completely dropping when he saw the group.
"Dude!" His wide-eyed stare locked onto Nick.
Nick sighed. "I know."
He wasted no time. "Long story short—this is Diana. She’s the daughter of a Royal and dangerously powerful. We need to get her and her mother"—he gestured toward Adalind—"somewhere safe. We have a plan, but it can always be better. She’s going to make a suppressant for Diana. Rosalee, we could really use your help with that. Monroe and Hank—if you’re up for it—you’re going to dig up a body."
Monroe looked at him like he’d grown a second head. "Dude! I mean, of course we’ll help, but… dude!"
"I’ll start setting up," Rosalee said, already moving to clear the workspace. "But Nick, we’re going to need a lot more explanation."
Nick took the time to fill her in. Halfway through, Renard arrived with the supplies Adalind needed, which derailed everything when he had his first real moment with Diana. That alone added six more steps to the plan—including the controversial idea of handing the baby to the Royals only to take her back, making them believe the Resistance had stolen her.
Adalind hated that part. And he still had to convince her to cooperate.
By the time Monroe and Hank had the body, the sun had long set.
"Once the Royals contact Renard, we’ll get her back. We’ll be on the plane—nothing will happen to her. Then you and my mother will—"
"Your mother?"
Adalind held up a hand, stopping Nick’s fourth attempt to convince her. She’d softened slightly after speaking with Renard, but she still wasn’t on board. And if she was going to sell this, he needed her to be all in.
"You’re not the one getting us out of the city?"
That wasn’t the objection he’d expected.
Before he could answer, Juliette poked her head in. "Nick, can I talk to you?"
Adalind seized his moment of distraction, turning her focus back to stirring the suppressant.
"Yeah, just a sec." He exhaled, running a hand over his face before turning back to Adalind. "Look, my disappearance would set off red flags. It’s safer with my mother." He took a step back toward Juliette, hoping to end the conversation.
"Unless she decides to run off with my baby."
Nick froze.
Adalind’s voice was tight, but beneath the sharpness, he could hear the fear creeping back in.
"You could use it to send them looking in another direction—just like my APB. Renard could write up paperwork about you going undercover or transporting a witness. It wouldn’t even be hard. You’d even get paid."
Nick clenched his jaw. She wasn’t wrong. His mother still wasn’t fully on board with keeping Diana with her mother.
"Nick!" Juliette called again, impatience seeping into her tone.
He held up a hand for her to wait. "I’ll talk to her."
Leaving Adalind to stew with her concerns, he followed Juliette into the front room.
"I still don’t think this is a good idea," she said the moment they were alone. "Even Renard agrees with your mother."
She whispered the words, trying to usher him outside. But Nick stood his ground, unwilling to leave the building while his mother was still inside.
"We talked about this, Juliette."
He felt drained—utterly exhausted. He hadn’t slept, and aside from Monroe and Rosalee, everyone had given him hell for refusing to separate a baby from her mother. It wasn’t like he’d suddenly stopped hating Adalind. And it wasn’t like he was sending her off alone.
"I just think it’s wrong to raise a baby in the kind of danger Adalind brings."
She still wouldn’t let it go. And for the first time, Nick wondered why. Usually, Juliette took his side—even when she didn’t fully understand.
"Do you think our lives are safe enough to have kids?"
The question landed between them like a weight.
Juliette flinched, barely perceptible, but Nick caught it.
"That’s not what I meant," she said quickly. "Obviously, things are crazy right now, but they’ll even out eventually."
She wrapped her arms around herself—the exact way Adalind had when she was too afraid to say something outright.
Nick took a slow breath. "Since I became a Grimm, has it ever been calm enough for you to think about it?" His voice was quiet. Measured. "Now that you know my secrets, would you even say yes if I asked you to marry me?"
Juliette shifted, her entire body angling away from him. It was subtle, but it was enough.
The realization hit harder than any fight he’d ever been in.
She hesitated. "I don’t think now is the right time. But you know I love you—that’s not the point. This isn’t about us, Nick."
She was trying to steer the conversation back.
But Nick couldn’t. Not anymore.
"Maybe it should be." His voice was quiet but firm. "My life is never going to ‘even out.’ I’m a Grimm. If you don’t want to marry me, don’t want to have kids with me—don’t want a future that involves Wesen and bodies and fighting for our lives—then you don’t really want to be with me."
He took a step back, and Juliette reached for him.
"I love you," she insisted. "You know that. I just… I miss our normal life, Nick. I miss movie nights. I miss parties with our friends. I miss not being afraid all the time. That’s why I don’t think you’re right about Diana—she shouldn’t have to grow up afraid."
Nick exhaled through his nose. "She doesn’t have a choice." He shook his head. "Neither do I. You do, though."
The words slipped out under his breath, but she heard them.
Her expression darkened. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Before he could answer, Rosalee poked her head in. "Hey—I don’t mean to interrupt, but the suppressant is done. Also, Bud’s calling—I think we can get things moving."
Nick turned away from Juliette without another word.
"Bud, hey, what’ve you got for me?"
Moving back into the side room, he saw Adalind screwing the cap onto a large mason jar filled with what looked like water.
"That sounds perfect. I’ll leave the cash with Monroe. Go ahead and get it—I’m sending you two addresses. Grab what’s at the first and park it at the second. Thanks, Bud. Yeah, I know. I really appreciate it. Okay. Goodbye.” He tucked his phone into his pocket.
"Is that it?" Nick raised a skeptical brow at the jar.
"I know—it looks like water, right?" Monroe leaned in, inspecting it closely.
Adalind sighed. "It won’t taste like it. This should be enough to suppress her powers for maybe eight years—assuming she doesn’t build up a tolerance. If that happens, we might have to make more. But if we ween her off it slowly, her power should come back gradually enough that we can actually teach her control."
She hesitated, staring at the jar. "I just hope it doesn’t stunt her abilities. I guess being a little weaker is better than being dead or a puppet for the Royals." She looked up at Nick. "Have I mentioned how much I hate this plan?"
Nick shrugged, tilting his head. "It’s the best one we have."
His gaze swept the room, landing on the people who had completely changed his life. He had never once missed his normal life.
"Rosalee, do you have the IDs? There’s been a bit of a change."
"No problem," Rosalee said, already reaching for a pen. "Write it down. I can go now—it only takes him a couple of hours. He’s really good."
She handed him the pen, and from there, everything blurred together.
Once Nick made up his mind, he barely had a second to think.