CHAPTER TWELVE

KEY

"Okay, I think that's all for now," Lena said as she and Rosalee went over wedding tasks to be done at the shop's counter. "How does spaghetti sound for dinner tonight?"

Rosalee smiled, "Sounds delicious. And thank you again for helping out so much with the wedding. I can't imagine doing it all on my own since my sister's so busy…"

"Like I said I love weddings and I love you and Monroe," Lena told her. "Of course, I am at your disposal. It was the perfect time with my patient load so small still."

"And… how are things going with Nick?" Rosalee asked slowly, a small secretive smile on her face.

Lena knew what that smile meant. "How could you tell?"

Rosalee smiled gleefully, "You just have that kind of glow about you. And… Nick let it slip to Monroe."

"Damn," Lena cursed. "I was hoping to tell you myself soon. It's really new."

"I think it's really perfect," Rosalee told her. "You and Nick obviously got very close since you came to Portland, and I think you've both helped each other. And you're always concerned with the other first before yourselves. At first, I thought it was just because that's how Nick is, but I think it's more than that."

"I don't know what it is just yet," Lena sighed. "All I know is that I like Nick. It's easy to talk to him, there are no secrets, and we can support and help each other."

"I think it's sweet," Rosalee said. "And I think it works."

"I hope it keeps working," Lena smiled meekly.

Lena was on the phone with the man making Monroe and Rosalee's wedding cake while Nick got wine from the garage and Rosalee tossed the salad. She had just hung up and walked into the kitchen, telling Rosalee, "Papa Haydn's all set with the cake, by the way."

"And you have the playlist for the reception?" Rosalee asked as she finished the salad.

"Yep, that's done," Lena told her. "And the place cards are ready. They just need to be picked up." She picked up the bowl of spaghetti.

"Oh. I'll do that," Rosalee offered.

"No, I got it," Lena assured her.

"Wow," Monroe whistled. "You're doing all that?"

"I warned you all that I love weddings," Lena laughed as she brought the spaghetti to the table.

"There'd be no wedding without Lena," Rosalee said, following her with the salad.

"Wait a minute, what about the groom? Don't you need me?" Monroe asked.

"Oh, for certain things," Rosalee smirked.

"The best man has the easiest job in the world," Lena complained. "All Nick has to do is... is not lose the ring and make a speech."

"What ring? What speech?" Nick joked as he set out silverware, earning concerned looks from the party around him. He grinned, "Yeah, yeah, I got the ring."

"And what about the toast?" Monroe asked.

"It's getting there," Nick said, going back to the kitchen for wine glasses.

"As long as it's done Saturday," Lena warned him.

"Saturday. This Saturday?" Nick said. Everyone stared for a moment and he grinned and complained, "Nobody gets me," before calling upstairs, "Trubel, dinner!"

"I'll just get her," Lena said lightly, jogging upstairs.

"Hey, how's Trubel handling all this, by the way?" Monroe asked as he and Rosalee took their seats as Nick poured them wine.

"She seems to be handling it well," he answered. He took a seat at the head of the table. "I'm just glad I didn't find out when I was that young."

"How much do you actually know about Trubel?" he asked.

"Not a lot," Nick admitted. "I've been trying not to push. I just know she's had years of people telling her that she's crazy."

"And how are things going with Lena?" Monroe asked slyly.

Nick gave him a look, gesturing to Rosalee.

The Fuchsbau rolled her eyes, "Lena told me this morning. I'm really happy you found each other."

"Well, it wasn't hard, she slept down the hall," Monroe quipped.

"Ha, ha," Nick said sarcastically. "It's new and everything, but I was never able to be as open and honest with Juliette since becoming a Grimm that I can be with Lena. And she actually understands most of it, without having to force it. We're taking things slow, seeing where it goes."

"I think it will go well," Rosalee said optimistically.

Lena came back downstairs and sat next to Nick at the table. Trubel wandered down after her, pausing at the table, "Sorry. Was everybody waiting for me?"

"We thought we would all eat together," Nick said, gesturing to the empty seat and plate for her.

"Oh. I gotta get used to this too," Trubel said as she sat down.

"You like spaghetti?" Rosalee asked.

"No. I love spaghetti," Trubel answered, seeming more relaxed with them.

"Eat as much as you can then," Lena said, dishing herself some before gesturing for Trubel to get her food.

Trubel quickly scooped spoonful after spoonful onto her plate.

"Can I say something, Trubel?" Rosalee asked, looking wary but warm.

"Uh-huh."

"I know I don't really know much about you. But I'd like to say that I think you're doing a pretty good job handling this, considering how incredibly difficult this must have been," Rosalee said.

"Well, I really didn't expect to live this long," Trubel admitted.

Nick, Monroe, and Rosalee all seemed alarmed at her words. But Lena understood what she meant. She put a brief hand on the younger woman's shoulder and said, "Good to see you've exceeded your own expectations then. Eat."

Trubel seemed relieved she'd said something to break the tension and dug into her food.

Monroe changed the subject, "So, Lena, Rosalee mentioned you have two new patients. Things are really picking up for you in the midwifery world."

Lena smiled and sipped her wine, "Yeah, these best friends collaborated and conspired together to get pregnant at the same time. Somehow it worked. Their due dates are within two weeks of each other. They're determined to raise their children together. Their husbands have little to do with the appointments. By policy they have to have separate appointments scheduled, but one of them is always at the other's appointment."

"That sounds scarily codependent," Nick commented around his food.

"They've already picked out names for their kids whether they have boys or girls or a combination, and they all rhyme," Lena deadpanned.

"That just sounds scary," Trubel joked.

"Let's just say I can wait until they give birth," Lena said. "Or rather I hope it all goes by quickly and I never have to see them again."

The table laughed before conversation turned to wedding plans or work or how underrated the glockenspiel was according to Monroe.

Trubel had practically licked her plate clean so Lena asked, "Do you want more? Hand me your plate, I'll get it."

"Thanks," she awkwardly smiled as Lena took his plate to get her more food from the kitchen.

"You remember the first time you saw a wesen?" Rosalee asked Trubel.

"Yeah, I remember. It was in one of the foster homes I grew up in," she said.

Rosalee looked pensive. "I was 13 when I found out I was a Fuchsbau."

This confused Trubel, "You didn't know?"

"You don't really know when you're a kid," Monroe explained. "Kind of hits you later. But at least we had family to tell us what was going on."

"You really didn't have anyone to help you through this?" Rosalee asked sadly.

Trubel shook her head, "Mm-mm."

"When did you find out?" Rosalee asked gently.

"Um..." Trubel kept her face clear of emotion as she started to explain, "There was this guy that used to fix things around the house. He was always really nice to me, till, uh..." She had everyone's undivided attention now.

Nick and Lena shared a look as she returned to the room with Trubel's plate, remembering what Lena had gone through.

"One day he asked me to help him in the garage. And he grabbed me. I saw his face change. And, um... He pushed me down on the floor. But I was so scared by what I saw, that I just grabbed the first thing I could, which was a-a screwdriver. And really all I wanted to do was just push him away from me, but, um..." she trailed off, the assured them, "He didn't die... Or anything. He just... he did get off me really fast, though." She chucked wryly at that. "And that was the first time I heard anybody say "Grimm." I-I told everybody what I saw. And that was the first time they locked me up. Said I was lying. And then when I said I wasn't, they said I had to be crazy so... Yeah, I got pretty used to being crazy." There was moisture in her eyes as she looked at all of them. "Until I met all you guys. I realized I wasn't alone." She paused, taking in their stares, before finally looking at Lena with the plate of food. "Can I have that now?"

This broke up the tension. Lena chuckled and set her plate down. The landline started ringing then, and being closest, Lena answered it, "Hello?" There wasn't an immediate answer. "Hello?"

"Um, is Nick Burkhardt there?" a nervous sounded man asked.

"Yes, may I ask who's asking?" Lena asked him.

"He won't know me, but I need to talk to him."

Lena frowned at the weirdness of this man but handed Nick the phone. "Guy sounds anxious. Says you won't know him, but he needs to talk to you."

Nick took the phone, "This is Nick Burkhardt. Who is this?"

"I'm sorry to bother you. I just need to know if you're the Police Detective." The man did sound anxious, as Lena said.

"If there's a problem, I need to know who you are," Nick said seriously.

"Yeah, there's a problem. I'm not sure it's yours. Look, you sound like you're busy. I'll call you back." He hung up before Nick could say anything. He shrugged and put the food away.

"What, he didn't want to give you his name?" Monroe asked.

Nick sat back down at the table. "I get calls like that sometimes. They get cold feet. It's probably nothing."

Lena didn't bother changing in the bathroom anymore, but Nick still turned his back to give her a little privacy. They had fallen into a rhythm and routine together. Changing for bed, brushing their teeth in the bathroom at the same time. Sliding into bed and immediately meeting in the middle.

It was nice and simple in their world when the real world was anything but. As they lied, Lena quietly said, "Tonight was really nice."

Nick had been absently stroking the hair at the top of her head. "Yeah, it was."

"Moving here, I was supposed to be solitary," she muse into his shoulder. "I was just going to focus on work, maybe help Freddy in the shop. But now… it's like I have this whole family now. It's much better. And I know it's all thanks to you, and Monroe and Rosalee. Thank you."

She tilted her head up to look at him as he smiled down at her. He cupped her face gently, brushing his thumb over her cheek, "I'm glad you came to Portland."

She leaned in to give him a sweet kiss, "I'm glad too."

The next morning, Lena made sure to stop by the shop in-between appointments. She saw a defeated looking Rosalee at the counter. She idly waved to Monroe in the other room before asking her friend what was wrong.

"I had a little pre-wedding freak out," she admitted. "Everything today just sort of piled up and I couldn't help but think that we were crazy to think we could pull off this wedding with both our families and friends and a Grimm."

"Don't forget the hybrid," Lena joked.

Rosalee smiled weakly, "I just… I have this feeling something awful is going to happen."

"Rosie," Lena cooed, taking her friend's hands. "It's normal to get pre-wedding jitters. I got them before marrying Kevin."

"You did?" she asked softly.

Lena nodded. "I was convinced that Kevin's more traditional family members would look down on me. Or one of them would not hold their peace or something. I almost convinced Kevin to just run to Vegas and elope with me."

Rosalee gasped with a smile, "You didn't!"

"I didn't succeed, obviously," Lena laughed. "Kevin talked me off the ledge every time. Whatever happens at your wedding, the most important part is getting married to the person you love. Everything else is details."

Lena was just getting home from her last appointment for the day, ready to surprise Trubel with a shopping trip to get her some fresh new clothes. Trubel deserved it after the life she'd been dealt. She was just getting in the door, "Trubel!" and setting her stuff down, when she heard a knock. Curiously, she went to open the door, seeing a man with light hair and eyes standing there nervously.

"Hi. Can I help you?" Lena asked him.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't mean to bother you. I'm looking for Nick Burkhardt," he told her.

"He's not here right now," she told him, hearing footsteps behind her and knowing Trubel was downstairs now.

"Do you know where he is?" he asked. "I really need to talk to him."

Recognizing his voice, Lena said, "You're the guy who called last night… Are you in some kind of trouble? What's your name?"

"My name's Josh," the man sighed. "It's about my dad. He made me drive him here all the way from Pennsylvania. He gave me this drawing to show Nick."

"Let's see it," Trubel said from behind her.

Josh gingerly unfolded an old looking piece of parchment and showed them the drawing. It looked just like the drawings they'd both seen in Nick's books at the trailer. And they knew what wesen it was. A Hundjager,

"Look, I'm sorry," Josh said. "This is a waste of time. I'll just tell him that I tried, you know, so..."

He started to leave but Lena gently grabbed his arm, "Wait… Josh, do you understand what this drawing is?"

She could see in his eyes that he had absolutely no idea. "My dad's had it forever. He thinks he knows what it is."

"Okay, Josh, I'm gonna call Nick," Lena said, pulling out her cell phone to call him. She waited for him to answer, but it just kept ringing until she got his voicemail. "He's not answering."

"Well, thanks for trying," Josh said. "Look, I'm sorry. I gotta get back to my father."

"Wait, Josh," Lena grabbed his arm again. "You came here for Nick?" He nodded. "Well, I have a feeling I know why your dad wanted to talk to him. But he's not the only one who can help you."

"Does your dad know Nick's a Grimm?" Trubel asked.

"Yeah, he said something like that, but... You know what that is?"

Lena and Trubel shared a look. "Take us to your dad. Now." Trubel had already started heading towards what they guessed was Josh's car.

"Hold on, why should I take you?" he asked, not moving.

"Because right now you're dealing with a Hundjager, and you don't know it," Trubel told him. "And we're the only ones who can help you right now."

"Who are you?" he asked, exasperated.

"I'm Lena, she's Trubel," Lena introduced quickly. "Let's go." They pulled him towards his car until he finally followed and got in, driving off with them.

They arrived at what looked like an abandoned warehouse of sorts. Josh stopped the car and got out, but he seemed to be regretting even taking them in the first place. "My dad's losing his mind, you know. I don't know what you think you're gonna do for him. Just... Tell him you know Nick Burkhardt and that he's not interested in any of this."

"Where's your dad?" Lena asked gently.

He gestured to the door, "Inside."

Trubel suddenly knocked him against the building, holding him there, "Are you wesen?"

He groaned, "What?"

"Trubel!" Lena chastised her.

But Trubel didn't back off, "If you're wesen and you try anything, I swear to God I'll kill you."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about! Let me go!" Josh shouted.

The door creaked open then, being pushed by an elderly man who looked pale and tired, supporting himself on a wooden cane. "Who's this?"

"Dad!" Josh exclaimed as Trubel finally let him go.

"Where's Nick Burkhardt?" the man demanded.

"Sir, I'm Nick's girlfriend," Lena cut in, trying to defuse the situation. "Your son came to my house with a picture of a Hundjager."

He gaped at her, "You know what that is?"

"I know about wesen, I know Nick's a Grimm," Lena said. "I'm guessing you are too. But your son isn't."

The man seemed disappointed as he shook his head.

"Well, she is," Lena gestured to Trubel.

The man – Rolek, he told them later – gripped his cane tight and told them to come in. They went into the warehouse, where he led Trubel and Lena to a large old looking trunk. Trubel helped him open it up, revealing that it was full of books and weapons like Nick had in the trailer.

"Oh, my God," Trubel breathed.

"This has been in my family for a very, very long time," Rolek wheezed. "My son doesn't even know what any of this means. I'm dying. I have got to get this to Nick. Otherwise my son will destroy everything in there. He thinks that I'm... I'm crazy." Rolek started panting heavily, collapsing against the trunk and his son.

"Dad," Josh caught him as he groaned. "Okay, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"No," he protested.

"Now," Josh said, turning to the women. "Help me get him to the car."

Rolek groaned, "Don't... don't leave the trunk."

"Don't worry," Lena said. "I'll get it to Nick."

"How?" Trubel asked.

"Trust me," she said. Trubel accepted it, and Josh didn't seem to care. But Rolek eyed her. "Rolek, I know how important these things are. And how bad it would be if people like the Royals or the Verat got their hands on it. I can get it to Nick, and you need to get to the hospital. Please – trust me."

Rolek took in her serious expression, and slowly nodded. Josh and Trubel took him to the car and drove off to the hospital.

Lena took out her phone and called Georgie.

"Hey, Lena."

"Georgie, can witches teleport with a carry on?" she asked quickly.

"Big or small?" Georgie asked.

"Big and heavy," Lena eyed the trunk warily.

"Of course, you can, but it'll take a lot of concentration, knowing exactly where you're going, and you'll be pretty exhausted after," Georgie said. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know yet, I just need to hide this big thing and I don't have my car on me," she said. "I've only teleported once, and it was in a panic when I didn't even know I could do it."

"I can walk you through it," Georgie offered. "Do you have a place in mind? Something you can picture clearly?"

Lena thought for a moment, wondering where she should take the thing. The house seemed too obvious. She would have to take it to the trailer. "Yes, I do."

"Okay, are you touching the thing?"

Lena crouched down and put her hand on the chest after shutting it. "Yes."

"You're going to close your eyes and picture the place you want to go," Georgie instructed.

Lena closed her eyes and remembered the inside of the trailer in her head from all the times she'd been there since coming to Portland.

"Take a deep breath and imagine that you're there," Georgie told her.

Lena had to take a series of deep breaths, remembering sitting on the couch, picturing herself standing in the trailer with the trunk. She shivered when she felt a gust of wind whirring around her, growing louder as it whipped into a twister and then she felt light as air. In another few minutes, she felt her knees land on the floor of the trailer and something like wood snapping. She opened her eyes and grimaced when she saw that the trunk had landed half on the table and snapped one of the legs.

"Lena?"

"I can't believe it worked," Lena breathed. She sagged on the couch, eyes drooping. "Why do I feel as if I just ran a marathon or something?"

"Teleporting with carry-ons can take it out of you," Georgie said. "You should rest up."

"Thanks for your help."

"No problem."

After hanging up, Lena set her phone down and reclined on the seat, eyes already falling shut as darkness swept over her.

Nick sat at his desk at the station after he and Hank finished talking about a new case. An old man and his son, Rolek and Josh Porter, may have killed a verat in their hotel room before fleeing the scene with a large trunk. He was running their names in the system when his phone rang.

"Burkhardt."

"Nick, it's me. I'm at St. Joseph's hospital," Trubel's voice answered.

He frowned. "Why? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"That call you got the other night? The guy showed up with a drawing of a Hundjager. His name is Josh," Trubel explained in a hushed voice. "Not the Hundjager, the guy that showed up. I couldn't get ahold of you. So, he took me to his dad who's sick. We had to take him to the hospital. And get this: He's a Grimm."

"Josh?"

"No, his dad," she clarified. "Yeah, he's got a trunk full of weapons and Grimm books. And his son thinks he's crazy, so he has nobody to talk to... it's kind of like me... except he knows who he is. And this big trunk has been in the family for a really long time. And now that he's dying, he wants you to have it."

Nick lowered his voice, "Okay, hold on. This guy's a Grimm. Are you sure?"

"Oh, yeah. It's kinda weird, isn't it? All three of us in the same place at the same time? Except he was looking for you. Yeah, he really wants to see you. He drove all the way from Pennsylvania. Oh, and he wanted me to tell you he has a key?" Trubel didn't understand what was important about this key.

"A key? What kind of key?" Nick asked, sharing a look with Hank.

"I don't know. He just wanted to make sure I told you. Like it was really important, like... Like you were supposed to know," Trubel said, confused.

"Wait a minute. What's this guy's name?" Nick asked, staring at the hotel photo of their suspects leaving the scene of the murder.

"Rolek."

"Rolek Porter?" he asked.

"I don't know his last name."

"And the son's name is Josh?"

Hank seemed to be understanding what was going on. They never could have a normal investigation.

"Yeah."

"Are they driving a Volvo?"

Trubel paused, "How'd you know that?"

"Where's the car?"

"It's in the emergency parking lot."

"Stay with the car. We'll meet you there in ten minutes." Nick hung up and stood, grabbing his jacket. "Hank, you're not gonna believe this!"

"Trubel's with Rolek Porter and his son? How the hell did that happen?" his partner asked.

"I'll tell you on the way."

Hank and Nick quickly arrived to the hospital parking lot where Trubel was standing next to the exact Volvo they had an ABP out for today. "Make, model, and plates match," Hank said as they stopped and got out of the car.

Nick peered into the back to see nothing inside, "Where's the trunk?"

"With Lena," Trubel said.

"What?" Nick asked, more like a demand.

Trubel shrugged, "Well, she insisted that she'd take care of it. Get it to you. I assumed she was stashing it somewhere safe, but I don't know how. We rode with Josh, so she didn't have a car. But Josh's dad was bad, and she said to just trust her."

"I'm calling her," Nick hissed impatiently, pulling out his phone to dial her number. It rang out until he got her voicemail. He cursed. "She's not answering." He turned to Trubel, "Where are Josh and his dad?"

"I can take you."

"The Verrat believe he's got that trunk. He's already killed one of them. They're gonna be looking for that," Nick told his partner.

"I'll stay with the car," Hank said. "And I'll keep trying Lena."

"Thanks," Nick said as he pulled Trubel towards the hospital. She led him up to the ICU to Rolek's room.

She knocked on the door to get Josh's attention, "Hey, this is the guy that your dad wanted to meet."

"I'm, uh, Nick Burkhardt," Nick said awkwardly.

Josh stared at him. "He came all the way to see you. I think it's too late."

"Could I talk to him?" he asked.

Josh slowly nodded, "Yeah. You can try." He stood over his father and gently held his shoulder, "Dad?"

"Huh?" the old man murmured.

"Nick Burkhardt's here."

Rolek muttered under his breath, turning to Nick.

"I know you came a long way to see me, and I'm sorry it took so long. But I'm here now," Nick said quietly.

"I have to give you something," Rolek wheezed.

"Well, I know where the trunk is," he fibbed. He had to assume that it was safe with Lena. That she was safe.

"That's good," Rolek whispered weakly. "But no... There's... there's something else. Something that was given to me by my father. And his father. I couldn't do what they did." He paused, "Josh had nothing to do with the man in the hotel room. I killed him."

"He was Verrat."

Rolek sagged, "You... you saw the tattoo?"

"You know about all this?" Josh asked, wondering if everyone was crazy.

Nick nodded, "Yeah, I do."

"You can't arrest him," Rolek pleaded.

"Dad, it's okay," Josh assured his father. "The police know it was self-defense. They told me."

Nick looked up at him. He didn't know the department had gotten a hold of Josh. "Who told you?"

"Detective Donavon. He called me, he said they were on their way here," Josh said. "You didn't know that?"

"Are you sure it wasn't Detective Holtby or Bauer?" Nick asked.

Josh shook his head, "No, it was Detective Donavon."

"I have to give you the key," Rolek wheezed. "I promised my father... I would protect it and I would pass it on. But Josh isn't one of us. I had to find someone like us. And you're the only one I could... Find."

"Where is it?" Nick asked softly.

"I'll show you," he groaned, twisting in his hospital bed. "Give me my cane."

"Dad, you can't get up." Josh tried to push him back down.

"I have to get my cane." Rolek gasped as his eyes rolled back and his heart monitor started flatline.

"Dad. Dad. No, dad!" Josh panicked as a team of hospital staff swarmed over to the room.

"Clear the room. Code blue. We got a code blue."

"You have to wait outside," a nurse ushered the three of them out as a crash cart was wheeled in.

"There's no breath sounds. Start compressions."

"Right away, doctor."

"Give him an O.P.A."

Nick pulled Trubel aside, "We've got a problem. There's no Detective Donavon in the department. I need you to move that car out of here."

"All right," she agreed.

Nick walked over to Josh and told him, "If that Detective shows up, don't let him in there. Call me."

As he and Trubel made their way out, she asked, "What's up with this key he keeps talking about?"

"It's a long story," Nick spoke low and quickly. "Has to do with the crusades and a bunch of knights who were grimms who found something that they thought no one else should have, so they buried it in the black forest and made a bunch of keys that had a map that supposedly leads to where it is. That enough?"

"Good enough for now."

Nick's phone rang. He answered, power walking out of the ICU. "Hank."

"Three guys are checking out the car."

"I'm on my way."

"Leave Trubel inside. This could go bad."

Nick hung up and stopped Trubel, "Stay here. Those guys at the car, they're Verrat and they're armed, and I don't want them knowing what you are." Before he left, he asked once more time, "You're gonna stay here, right?"

"Uh-huh," she muttered. But of course, she didn't listen. Because the three Verrat were more than a handful against Nick and Hank. And Trubel definitely knew how to handle herself. Hank had almost been hit by a SUV when Nick got there to fight off the goons. Trubel did the most damage by the time the bad guys were all knocked out.

"You okay?" Nick asked Trubel once they caught their breath.

"Yeah. You?" she panted.

"Yeah, we're good."

Hank gave his partner a look, "I thought you were gonna tell her to stay inside."

"He did," Trubel said.

Nick nodded. "Good thing she didn't listen."

Trubel pulled up the hand of the guy's whose head she put through the car window and showed Nick the tattoo on his palm. "Hey, this means they're Verrat, right?"

"Yeah. You can't be here. Take this car, go home," Nick told her. "I still have to get through to Lena."

"I got this," Hank offered. "You talk to Josh and look for Lena."

"Thanks," Nick said as he made his way into the hospital. He tried calling her twice as he made his way back up to the ICU, but he got her voicemail both times.

He put his phone away when he reached the hospital room, and saw a despondent Josh sitting at his father's bedside, no machines connected to him any longer.

"He died," Josh whispered.

"I'm sorry," Nick told him. After a pause, he added, "Look, I'm sure you have a lot of questions. So why don't you just do what you have to do here and then come by my place? By the way, we've got your car. Just figured that would be a lot easier than explaining everything else. I'll have an officer pick you up when you're ready."

Josh looked at him and asked before he left, "What kind of cop are you?"

"I get asked that a lot."

Lena had no idea what time it was when her eyes finally opened. But she could see it was dark out and panicked. The others must have been worried. She cringed when she saw a long list of missed calls on her cell phone from Nick and Hank. She immediately clicked on Nick's number to call him back and let him know where she was.

"Where are you? What happened?" Nick's worried and slightly angry voice answered her.

She stifled another yawn, "I'm sorry, I'm okay. I'm at the trailer. With the trunk. Did Trubel tell you about Josh and his dad?"

"Yeah," Nick sighed. "Rolek passed away at the hospital."

"Oh no," Lena sighed.

"I thought something happened to you," Nick told her. "The Verrat want that trunk."

"I'm sorry, I passed out," she quickly explained. "They had to get Rolek to the hospital, I knew the trunk was too important to leave laying around in a parking lot. So, I took it to the trailer. But I didn't have my car. So, I teleported."

"On purpose?" Nick asked, baffled.

"There's a first time for everything," Lena said. "Georgie coached me through it."

"Okay, sit tight. I'm coming to get you," Nick said before they said their goodbyes and hung up.

Lena sat and kept herself from falling asleep again. When she heard a car outside, she peaked out the trailer window, seeing Nick getting out of Hank's car. She went to the door and ran out of the trailer and into his relieved arms. Nick hugged her tightly, reassuring himself that she was okay.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," he scolded her.

"Promise," she said, pulling away long enough to kiss him.

"Let's get the trunk to the house, we have to find the key," he said.

"Key, what key?"

As they carried the trunk and shoved it into Hank's backseat, Nick explained about keys that Grimms guarded since the Crusades, that had a map to something they hid. The Verrat wanted it badly. And since Rolek was dying and Josh wasn't a Grimm, he had to get the key to Nick.

When they got themselves and the trunk back to the house, had pretty much emptied the contents of it all over the dining room, searching for the key.

"I can't find it," Nick complained.

"Me neither," Hank said.

"If there's a key in here, I have no idea where it is," Lena shrugged.

"Nick, there is stuff in here I have never seen in any of your books," Trubel called his attention, showing him the drawing in the book she was holding. "You ever heard of an "Abartige Aasfresser"?"

"Not until now," he mused.

"You really see this stuff?" Josh asked, overwhelmed.

"I haven't seen this one yet."

"But it's all true?"

Lena looked at the scared man who'd just lost his father. "Some people just have another side to them. A beast within that they can hide. But people like Nick, Trubel, and your dad could see whether they hid or not."

"Josh, just 'cause you can't see them now, doesn't mean you won't someday. Hit me pretty late, too," Nick warned him.

"Well, at least I'll know it's real. Sort of," Josh sighed.

"I can't find this key," Hank said again.

Nick asked Josh, "Have you ever seen it?"

He shook his head. "No. All I know is he was really worried about it. Wanted to get it to someone who would understand."

"So where else could it be?"

"I don't know. I don't even know what we're looking for," Josh said.

"There's no way he left it behind in Pennsylvania," Lena thought out loud. "It had to be close to him. So, it's in here somewhere."

"When he told you about it, he was trying to get out of bed, like he was gonna show you where it was," Trubel turned to Josh, remembering the exchange in the hospital.

"It wouldn't be in that hospital room. He never got out of the bed," he told her.

"Maybe he wasn't trying to get up," she suggested.

Josh started nodding slowly, thinking about it. "He was asking for his cane." He walked over to where the old wooden cane was propped against the wall and picked it up. He handed it to Nick. "He's had this forever. He got it from his dad, who got it from his dad."

Nick inspected the cane in his hands, peering at it closely. He grabbed the handle and felt it twist. He grunted as it just popped off. "Did I break it?"

"I don't think so," Hank said, holding his hand out. "Can I see?"

Nick handed it over and Hank peered at the little metal screw sticking out of the handle. He saw a small hole at the top of the can and pushed the screw through, popping out a little metal bar. He turned the hollow can over and shook it, something dropping into his palm.

Nick picked it up, marveling at the elegantly engraved metal.

"Is that a key?" Josh asked.

"It is now," Nick said as he turned the metal sides apart, revealing the key within.

The group was silent at the spice shop while Rosalee retrieved the first key from the hidden space under the floorboard. Nick pressed the engraving into black ink and carefully pressed it next to the first ink print, creating a bigger picture of a map.

"Nick, remember that map I showed you at my house last year?" Monroe asked.

"Yeah, the one that your great-great uncle drew," he said.

"It was actually great-great-great grandfather on my mother's side. But the point is... We are definitely talking black forest."

"Germany," Trubel guessed.

"That seems to be where everything started," Lena mused.

"Well, we're one key closer to... God knows what," Monroe said.

"I wonder if we'll ever know," Rosalee wondered out loud.

"I don't think I want to know," Josh admitted. "Well, at least I know my dad wasn't crazy. Unless all of you are."

The others shared a wry look between them.

"I'm sorry I worried you today," Lena apologized again as she and Nick slipped into bed.

"It wasn't your fault," he told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Who knows if the Verrat would've gotten the trunk if you hadn't hidden it at the trailer. I'm impressed that you teleported on command though."

"It drained the hell out of me," she said, resting her chin on his chest to look at him. "Now, I feel like I've just slept for ten hours."

Nick chuckled.

Lena quieted for a moment, before shifting up so she could plant her lips on his. He answered her languidly, cupping her face. She trailed her hand along his soft cotton shirt covering his chest and stomach, squeezing his side.

He grunted, pulling his lips back as he asked, "What are you doing?"

She gave him a look, "I know it's been a while…"

"No, I mean… are you sure?" he asked seriously, looking into her eyes.

She smiled softly at him, "Extremely. You?"

He answered her this time with the most passionate kiss he'd ever given her.