Chapter 19 **Author's Note: Well, this is it. Thanks for going on the ride with me. And if you're reading this months, years from now, please still comment - It's nice to know that people are still reading and (hopefully) enjoying.
Chapter 20
The sound of a car driving up and idling in the area had distracted the Skalengecks enough for Nick to stagger away, dragging his bad leg behind him. He’d dropped behind a log, pulled himself behind a tree. He thought he’d lost a little time after that, remembering opening his eyes to find the best sight ever: Monroe’s concerned face. He watched as Monroe’s eyes flickered toward the Skalengecks, and he knew that they weren’t going to get off easy. The former cop inside of him didn’t make a noise as Monroe woged and leapt on top of one of the Skalengecks.
Watching Monroe was a revelation. Nick had been in many fights with Monroe, hell, they’d literally fought back to back, and he knew that Monroe was a deadly force – anyone who could pull off an arm wasn’t someone to be taken lightly – but this was altogether different. The Monroe he knew, the weider vegetarian Blutbad who enjoyed microbrews and organic fruit became this wolf filled with rage and righteous indignation. He ripped into one of the Skalengecks, tearing him apart with his teeth and claws, his growls getting deeper with each shake of his head. He’d stepped on the Skalengeck Nick had shot, who hadn’t moved from the ground, and ignored the third until he’d gotten stabbed in the side.
Nick had winced, knowing firsthand how it felt having that blade slide into his skin.
The wolf barely stopped growling and turned toward the last remaining Skalengeck, blood and meat dripping from his muzzle.
Nick sighed and coughed, feeling a pain in his ribs as he thought that if the Skalengeck had had any intelligence, he’d have run away. Instead he’d stuck his knife into Monroe, managing to anger the wolf and gain its attention.
It was over in less than a minute. Nick remembered the wolf running over to him, whining as he nudged his bloody muzzle over Nick’s arm. “Monroe, I need to you call Hank. Can you do that?” Monroe hadn’t automatically changed back, but Nick didn’t know if it were by choice.
Monroe huffed and turned in circles, obviously torn between running back to the road or staying with Monroe.
“Go,” Nick whispered, knowing Monroe could hear him. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
And that was the last thing he remembered before waking to Monroe and Hank whispering to each other in his hospital room.
He must’ve moved or made a noise, because he felt the warmth of Monroe’s hand pressed against his. “Nick, you awake?”
Nick managed to moan an, “m’wke.”
“Do you know where you are?” Hank’s voice.
“H’sptl.”
“You remember what happened?”
“Three Sklng’ks.”
“There were only two,” Monroe corrected.
“Three. Sh’t one b’for you got thr’.” He almost smiled when he realized he could almost hear Monroe frown.
“I only remember two.”
“No, there were three,” Hank corrected. “Bud and I found enough body parts for three separate bodies.” His tone indicated that it hadn’t been a good time.
Monroe shifted, his clothes a whisper against his chair. Nick imagined his running an embarrassed hand through his hair. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
“Hey, you saved Nick. While I don’t really want have to sort through that again – ever – I’m glad that you’re both still breathing.”
Nick heard the door open, a female voice saying, “Mr. Monroe, why don’t you come this way?”
“I’m fine!” Monroe protested. “I have an ice pack for my eye.”
“Yeah, but you’re dripping blood on the floor,” Hank pointed out.
“That’s not mine.”
“Stab’d. In th’side,” Nick offered helpfully.
“What?” More shifting from Monroe. “Oh.”
“I’ll stay here with him,” Hank promised. “Go get fixed up.”
Monroe leaned close, pressing his forehead against Nick’s. “I’ll be right back.”
Nick hummed his agreement, enjoying the brief warmth before Monroe stepped away.
He heard the door close, the screech of Hank’s chair sliding closer to the bed. “I know it’s been a while, but your idea of wooing really leaves a lot to be desired.”
Nick smiled. He knew he could turn his head, open his eyes, and see his ex-partner, but he was enjoying the floating feeling and just decided to enjoy the wave before the pain returned. “Did better earl’r. Went for a h’ke.”
“I guess you should’ve stopped while you were ahead.” Hank chuckled, and Nick heard a crackling sound. “Go to sleep, man. Heal. I’m just gonna sit here and read the paper. I’ll give you dating lessons when you start to feel better.”
Nick wanted to laugh, but he felt his ribs protest. Instead he just let himself float away.
Two days later Nick walked into the house, heading straight for the sofa. Mindful of his bruised rib, he collapsed gently on the cushions, happy to be home.
“I made you some lunch before I picked you up,” Monroe said, bustling inside with Nick’s bag.
Nick sighed, watching Monroe drop the bag by the stairs on his way to the kitchen.
Immediately, Monroe changed direction and headed to the sofa. “What’s wrong? Do you need a pain pill? A blanket?”
“I’m good,” Nick said, and Monroe fairly ran to the kitchen. It’d taken a couple of days before he’d been coherent enough to realize that Monroe was doing everything he could to avoid looking Nick in the eye. He moved constantly, covering Nick with blankets, adjusting the bed, drawing the curtain over the window. Nick fell asleep to Monroe puttering around and awoke to the same thing. No matter how he’d tried to get Monroe to just sit down and talk to him, he was hampered by his injuries. Now that he was home, he was determined to find out what was making Monroe so jumpy.
Monroe came in with a tray loaded with food, placing it gently on the coffee table. He handed Nick a bowl.
Frowning, Nick looked down at it. “This looks like a salad.”
“It’s not just a salad,” Monroe corrected him, his focus on the food on the tray. “It’s chunks of grilled salmon, which is rich in omega-3 and vitamins A and K. You also have green peppers, which are rich in vitamin C and help reduce inflammation. I cut up onions and added a little garlic; both are rich in antioxidants. Plus the garlic can rid the body of parasites. I also put some tomatoes in there. I brought a couple of different dressings, because I couldn’t remember which one you liked.”
“Because I don’t really eat salads,” Nick muttered, poking at a spinach leaf with his finger.
“You need to heal,” Monroe said firmly, shoving a fork into Nick’s hand.
“I could put most of this stuff on a burger,” Nick offered.
Monroe paused. “I’ll go get some ground beef from the store.” He turned, heading for the door.
“Monroe –”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Monroe!”
Monroe paused, his back to Nick.
“Just come over here and sit down for a minute.”
Monroe slowly turned, and Nick watched his eyes dart toward the kitchen as if he were trying to figure out an excuse to head in there.
“Monroe. Sit.” Nick even patted the space next to him.
G R I M M G R I M M G R I M M G R I M M G R I M M G R I M M
Monroe sat next to Nick, wanting to be anywhere but where he was. After things had settled – after the panic of getting Nick to the hospital, coming up with a suitable story with Hank about what had happened, limping around the waiting room until a doctor had come out and informed him that he was Nick’s emergency contact, waiting for Nick to wake up in the room he’d been placed in after recovery – Monroe had a chance to sit down and think about what had happened, how he’d wolfed out and torn apart two Skalengecks in front of Nick.
At first, he’d just been elated that he could even do it at all. The feeling had flowed through him, as natural as it had ever been.
Then he started to realize that Nick had seen the whole thing. He’d shoved his muzzle, still dripping blood and flesh, into Nick’s neck.
It wasn’t as though Nick didn’t know about it – he’d read the books in the trailer, seen the pictures. But it was one thing to read about it, another to see it played out in front of you, and yet another to know you lived with that, slept in bed beside it.
This self-hatred was one of the reasons he’d gone weider. He didn’t regret what he’d done; they’d tried to kill Nick, and they weren’t going to stop until he was dead. But he did regret what he’d become to do it. And he mostly regretted that his best friend had had to watch. He was horrified at what he’d become; he didn’t want to imagine what Nick thought of him.
It was funny, actually. Monroe had returned to Portland, anticipating the time when he could leave. And now he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to stay.
He took a deep breath, staring at the plated casserole on the coffee table. He supposed he might as well as address it instead of continuing to wait for the inevitable fallout. “Look, I know what you saw… I mean… you’re a Grimm, so you’ve seen some pretty ugly stuff, but it’s one thing to know it and another to actually see it, right? I mean watch it happening right in front of you. Watching someone you know… So it’s understandable… I mean, I can understand if you don’t want…” He balled his hands into fists and rested them on his thighs. “Look. If you want me to leave – ”
Nick’s hands took hold of Monroe’s left fist and slowly unfolded the fingers.
“Monroe, I want you to look at me.”
And this too is what he’d been avoiding. He didn’t want to see the look of horror and disgust, or even worse, fear in Nick’s eyes. Just the thought of it reminded him of the blame and anger that had been in them two years earlier. The ball of dread in his stomach gave a lurch.
“You’re starting to worry me, so I need you to look at me now.” Nick’s voice was gentle but firm, less of a demand but more of a simple statement of fact.
Monroe couldn’t resist that voice with that tone, and he braced himself as he turned to face the most important person in his life.
Nick took one of Monroe’s fists, gently opening Monroe’s hand. Finally Monroe turned his head, physically bracing himself as his eyes met Nick.
Nick smiled, pulling Monroe’s hand to his chest. “You haven’t looked me in the eye since I got myself beat up by a few Skalengecks.”
“They…” Monroe’s voice dropped off as he stared at his hand now pressed against Nick’s chest. He could always hear his Grimm’s heartbeat, but now that he’d almost lost it, feeling it meant so much more. He scrambled to remember what he was going to say. “They were going to kill you.”
“And then you saved me. You have no reason to be ashamed.”
Monroe’s eyes shot to Nick’s, and he found understanding there. Confused, he said, “I’m not ashamed.” He saw Nick’s chiding look and amended, “I’m not ashamed of who I am so much as of what you saw.”
“I’ve seen worse,” Nick said, amusement in his voice.
Something in Monroe snapped at the realization that Nick wasn’t taking this as seriously as he should’ve been. Growling, he pressed Nick against the sofa – gently, since the Grimm was still healing. “You’ve never seen me do that before.” Nick opened his mouth, but Monroe pressed forward. “You watched me tear apart two Skalengecks, and Nick, I – I enjoyed it! I relished the feel of their entrails in my mouth, their blood on my tongue. Tearing them apart with my – ”
The warm fullness of Nick’s lips against his totally derailed Monroe’s plans. He stilled, stunned, trying to reconcile that his dreams and reality had coincided. Then Nick pulled his lips away and returned with a different angle, his mouth open slightly, and Monroe’s fragile control snapped. With a groan, he grabbed the back of Nick’s head and slipped his tongue inside his mouth, and it felt like coming to a home he’d only found in his dreams.
G R I M M G R I M M G R I M M G R I M M G R I M M G R I M M
Nick hadn’t meant to do anything other than talk to Monroe, but watching his best friend rip into himself, blame himself for saving Nick’s life… and all Nick could think about was taking the sad look away from his eyes. The next thing he’d known, he’d pressed his lips against Monroe’s, something he’d wanted to do for so long but hadn’t allowed himself. Monroe grabbed the back of Nick’s head, and something inside of Nick wondered what had taken him so long.
And then Monroe had slid his tongue into Nick’s mouth, and all Nick could think about was being surrounded by Monroe, his heat and his warmth.
A sudden pain in his shoulder forced his mouth away from Monroe’s, and he suddenly remembered that he was still healing. He opened his eyes and realized that he now lay reclined on the sofa, Monroe draped over him. The pain aside, he kind of liked it.
“Shit,” Monroe groaned, “I’m sorry.” He braced himself to pull up, but Nick tightened his arms around Monroe’s waist. “Nick, I’m hurting you.”
“It just hurt a little bit,” Nick said, “It’s feeling better already.”
“I’m too big,” Monroe muttered, still trying to get loose.
“You’re perfect,” Nick said, still refusing to let go.
Monroe stopped, sighing, his eyes catching Nick. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Okay,” Nick said, thinking quickly. “How about this?” He slowly eased himself around Monroe, sliding Monroe behind him on the sofa and edging them around until he was now on top. Grinning down at Monroe, he asked, “better?”
Monroe’s eyes, now tinged with red, still looked worried. “I’m supposed to be weider –”
“It’s my fault,” Nick broke in.
Monroe snapped his mouth closed, confusion all over his face.
“If I hadn’t tracked down that Skalengeck the other day, then those guys wouldn’t have tracked me down and pulled me out of the car. If I hadn’t called you for help – ”
“They were going to kill you! It wasn’t your fault!”
“Then how was it yours?” Nick asked evenly.
“I could’ve done something else.”
“Like what?” Nick fought his smile. “Arrest them? Oh, wait. You’re not a cop. Beat them up? You were outnumbered, and frankly, they would’ve killed you if you hadn’t woged. So basically, you’re apologizing for saving my life.”
Monroe looked confused. “You just shouldn’t have had to see –”
“The part of you that you keep hidden? The part that the bad Grimm had tried to take away from you but that you had finally gotten back? Monroe, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m still here. And I’m not going anywhere.”
Monroe closed his eyes, shuddered, resting his forehead against Nick’s like they did at night when they laid side by side.
Nick waited a few seconds before cupping Monroe’s cheek. “Are you okay?”
Monroe huffed a laugh. “I should be asking you that.”
Nick shrugged carefully. “You got hurt, too. Stabbed.”
Monroe frowned. “I’m almost completely healed, but I still don’t remember that.”
“You don’t remember that third Skalengeck you wiped your feet on either,” Nick teased.
“Too soon for jokes,” Monroe grumbled.
“Just tell me the truth. Do you want this? Us?”
Monroe opened his mouth, but Nick saw the shadows in his eyes and got worried, not that Monroe wasn’t interested – he definitely kissed like he’d been into it – but Nick needed to hear Monroe actually say it.
“What?”
“I just don’t want – what if I make another mistake?”
“Another mistake?” Nick wasn’t following.
“Last time, it was Ros –”
Nick covered Monroe’s mouth. “Remember when I told you that he was after you and not me?”
Monroe’s frown deepened, and Nick could see his confusion.
“And then Hank agreed with me, but you just ignored us and forced the three of them to go to the meeting house?” He slowly lowered his hand.
“Those things never happened,” Monroe whispered.
“That’s right. We all made the mistake of thinking he was after me and not you, and it cost us three terrific people. And no, we can’t guarantee that we won’t make a mistake again. But what we can do is have each other’s backs. And I promise you this: living with you is way better than just existing without you. It’ll be epic.”
Monroe’s eyes softened.
“So let’s try this again. Do you –”
“Hell yes!”
Nick didn’t even try to keep the smile off his face or out of his voice. “Then it’s all good. We’re all good.”
“You think it’s gonna be that easy? A Grimm and a Blutbad?”
“We’re already sharing a house and a bed,” Nick pointed out. “Now we can have a little more fun in both.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Monroe chuckled. “You must be the worst Grimm ever.”
“I’m the
best Grimm ever,” Nick corrected him. “I’m your Grimm.”
“My Grimm,” Monroe said in a whisper.
“My Blutbad,” Nick said, closing his eyes for the best sleep he’d had in days.
The End
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