Chapter 2

Nick first realised something was very wrong when at the end of the day, he drove home to find an unfamiliar car in the driveway.

He touched his gun to make sure it was by his side and made his way cautiously to the door. He took out his key and tried to insert it into the lock. The key word being tried. His key didn't fit.

Nick frowned and knocked on the door. Had Juliette changed the locks?

An unfamiliar face opened it.

"Can I help you?" A woman in her late 60's asked.

"Who are you?" He asked, "Where is Juliette?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know anyone by that name," the woman said hesitantly. She turned and yelled out: "Charles! There's a man here asking for a Juliette?" Then she turned back to look at him, keeping the door half shut, as if she was afraid Nick was going to mug her.

"Listen, whatever you're trying to pull, it won't work on me," Nick growled out. He was utterly exhausted and this, whatever it was, wasn't making him feel any better. He pulled out his badge and flashed it to the woman before pushing his way past her and striding inside.

"Juliette!" He called out.

A man coming from the kitchen, who was about the same age as the woman, stopped short as he saw Nick walk inside. "Hey!" he bellowed angrily.

Nick ignored him in favour of staring around the living room. It was just wrong. The colors of the walls were different, all his and Juliette's furniture was gone and the pictures around the house were of the woman and man he had just met. There was nothing left to suggest he and Juliette had ever lived there.

"What...?" Nick managed to say, his jaw was hanging out.

"He showed me a badge, I think he's with the police," the unknown woman said to her husband. "Says he's looking for a Juliette."

"Listen, we don't know any Julia," the man said, crossing his arms. "We've lived in this house for 10 years, and unless you've got a warrant, I suggest you get out."

Nick stared at him, blinking. "Right, sorry, there must have been some kind of mix up..." he muttered, heading towards the door. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"It's alright young man," the woman said at the door as he turned to look at the house for the last time. "I do hope you find who you were looking for."

Nick was sitting back in his car, staring through the windshield with unseeing eyes when his phone rang. Since the called ID told him it was Captain Renard, Nick stopped what he was doing to answer it. "Burkhardt."

"Where are you?" Renard asked.

"Is there a case, sir?" Nick said quickly into the phone, preparing to take off.

There was a brief pause. "Have you been drinking?" the Captain asked.

"What? No," Nick said. "Look, I'm in a middle of a situation right now, I'll call you later." He hang up.

Then he started the car and drove straight to Monroe's.

Nick was shifting his weight anxiously on Monroe's porch as he knocked on the door. Although it was very late, it didn't take long until Monroe opened, his face alarmed.

"Nick? Is everything okay?" Monroe asked, wrapping a nightgown around himself.

Nick pushed past him into the house, "No, not really, there's something really weird going on." He entered the living room. "I was just at our house. My keys didn't fit, and some old couple was inside, claiming they'd lived in that house for the past 10 years." Nick slumped down on Monroe's couch, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"What?" Monroe said, baffled. "That is the weirdest thing I've heard in a while, and trust me, I've heard a lot of weird things."

"Yeah," Nick agreed. "But get this: earlier today there was this weird lady at the crime scene, she did something to me and I passed out. She was definitely wesen. I didn't think about it before, but..."

Monroe's cellphone rang, interrupting the two of them. "Monroe," he greeted. Suddenly his face turned anxious. "Oh. Yes. He's here. Of course."

Nick frowned. "Who is it?"

Monroe glanced at him, but didn't answer. "All right. Yes, I definitely think something's going on, he just told me he was at the house and none of his keys fit, and some old couple was living there... Yeah. Okay."

Nick felt a headache building up. "Monroe?"

Monroe finally hang up. He was looking at Nick with something akin to a guilty expression on his face. "Uh. It was Renard, he said he was already on his way. Look, it's none of my business if the two of you are fighting, but..."

Nick's face crunched up in confusion and he interrupted Monroe. "The Captain? Why did he call you? Where did he even get your number?"

Monroe's face went from guilty to confused. "What?"

Nick got up from the couch and narrowed his eyes. "Monroe, why was the Captain calling you?"

Monroe raised his hands in surrender, "Look, he was just worried okay? He tried calling you and you said there was a situation. I think he just assumed it meant a case, and since you weren't talking to him, he knew you would be here."

Nick's eyes widened. "What?"

Monroe blinked. "What, what?"

"Since when have you two known each other?" Nick hissed.

"Okay," Monroe said slowly, "Now I'm really confused."

There was a knock on the door.

Monroe rushed to open it, leaving Nick in the living room, fuming. He couldn't believe Captain Renard and Monroe knew each other, and neither of them had mentioned it to him.

"Nick, are you okay?" the Captain said, rushing towards him.

Nick narrowed his eyes. "Since when have you two known each other?"

The Captain stopped like he had hit a brick wall. "What?" asked.

"Uh, since forever," Monroe said, coming to stand next to the Captain. "You introduced us, remember?"

"No..." Nick hissed, grabbing Monroe's arm. "I've never seen you two in a same room together, apart from when I tried to get you arrested. Something really weird is going on," Nick whispered to him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Renard watching them.

Nick gave Monroe a pointed look. "We should check the books. I'll be at the trailer. Sorry Captain, I really have to go," he said and moved to go past both Monroe and Renard.

He was almost at the door when Monroe's voice stopped him. "What trailer?"

Nick turned slowly to look at Monroe. "Are you serious right now?"

Monroe and Renard swapped concerned looks.

"There is definitely something wrong with him," Monroe said, glancing pointedly at Nick. "Looks like he might have lost his memory..."

Renard was talking to Monroe, but he kept throwing worried glances at Nick. "You mentioned something about the house?"

Nick noticed that while Renard was talking, he also seemed to be texting someone on his mobile.

"He said his key didn't fit and that some old couple was living in there," Monroe repeated. "It seemed a little weird."

"I was at the house few minutes ago," Renard said, putting his phone away, "there was definitely no old couple."

Nick crossed his arms, "Okay, what what is going on? First Juliette loses her memory, and now you two are suddenly best buddies?"

Monroe and Renard turned to look at him. "Who's Juliette?" they said in unison.

Nick stared at them incredulously, but their serious expressions didn't waver. He fell back down on the sofa, and put his head in his hands. "Oh my god," he breathed out.

"Nick?" Monroe asked. "Who's Juliette?"

Nick glanced at him through his fingers, feeling like his head was going to explode. "I don't... Maybe I'm going crazy. Or maybe I hit my head worse than I thought and I'm now bleeding to death outside that warehouse and this all is just a weird, incredibly realistic dream."

The Captain approached him and put his hand on Nick's shoulder, "Nick, talk to us. We can't fix this unless you tell us what's wrong." His presence was surprisingly comforting.

"I don't understand what's going on," Nick admitted tiredly. "Juliette is gone, so is our house... You suddenly know Monroe? This is too weird."

The Captain took a step back. "Nick... Who is Juliette?"

Nick looked up at him, and then at Monroe. "You really don't know her?"

"Sorry, dude," Monroe said. "I've never heard you mention anyone called Juliette."

Nick bit his lip, "That's crazy. I've lived with her for almost three years. You've both met her, several times."

The Captain's face suddenly crumbled for a second, but it was hidden behind his usual mask of calm so quickly Nick wondered if he'd imagined it.

"She's your... girlfriend?" Renard asked slowly.

"I asked her to marry me," Nick admitted, shrugging, "But she said no."

"Wait!" Monroe exclaimed suddenly. "You said said there was an old lady at the crime scene! You mentioned that she did something to make you pass out, and that she was definitely wesen?"

"Monroe!" Nick hissed, shaking his head. "Not in front of the Captain!"

Monroe blinked, and Renard frowned at him. After a moment Renard turned to Monroe. "Could he have been poisoned?" he asked, ignoring Nick's befuddled staring.

"We should ask Rosalee," Monroe said thoughtfully, "She would definitely recognise the symptoms."

Now Nick was really feeling the need to hit something. "I'm right here!" he growled at them.

"I'll call her," Monroe said, ignoring Nick, and took out his phone.

There was a knock on the door.

Nick felt like he really needed some fresh air or he would snap, so he opened it.

Adalind Schade stood there, giving him a bright smile. "Hi, Nick."

"You...!" he was about to punch her in the face, which she must have realised, because out of nowhere she woged and took a hasty step back.

Monroe rushed to Nick and had physically stopped him from jumping at her. "What the hell Nick?!"

"It's Adalind Schade!" He yelled, struggling against Monroe's grip, "She almost killed Juliette! She tried to poison Aunt Marie! She's a psycho!"

"Calm down, Nick!" Monroe yelled, his voice distorted from a woge, "She hasn't done any of those things! We don't know anyone called Juliette, remember? And your Aunt was killed by reapers!"

"Who's Juliette?" Nick heard Adalind ask the Captain, who was escorting her inside the house past Nick and Monroe.

"His girlfriend, apparently," Renard said.

Adalind stopped. She stared at Nick, and then at Renard, whose face was giving nothing away. "Oh."

Once they were inside, Monroe and Renard explained everything to Adalind, who was looking thoughtful. Nick glanced at his Captain, standing there calmly beside the two wesen. Captain Renard, who hadn't even reacted when Adalind and Monroe both had woged. Renard, who Nick had known for years. But apparently not well enough.

"I don't get how you are involved in all of...this," Nick said, staring at him.

Renard just looked at him, his expression perfectly calm.

Then Monroe blurted out, "He's the Prince!"

That was the last straw on Nick's horrible day.

He snapped, and punched his boss.