Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nick was going to die.

Of boredom.

He groaned, scrubbing his hand over his face as the computer screen before him blurred. Both Hank and Monroe had started actively sabotaging his attempts to do anything Grimm related outside of work, and now he’d been officially relegated to desk duty. And while the mother-henning rankled him, he wasn’t stupid enough to go hunting down criminals while pregnant without backup.

Monroe had told him only he would be stupid enough to go hunting down a pride of Lowen while pregnant.

But being pregnant wasn’t the problem. The problem was that he didn’t have backup. So now he had to do what Sean had ordered him to do and sit at his desk and do nothing.

Well, it wasn’t nothing, he was doing paperwork. But it felt like nothing.

Watching the clock did not make it go faster. In fact, Nick was fairly certain it had ticked back a minute when Wu walked up and said, “You look thirstier than the ficus in the breakroom.”

Nick shook his mouse to keep his screen from turning off. “That ficus is dead.”

“You will be too, if we don’t get some fluids into you. First round’s on me, but only because I was the one who was supposed to water that ficus and I can’t let you die, too.”

He couldn’t help the laugh that pulled from him - Sean had been annoyed by the death of that ficus - except he couldn’t actually drink, and his laughter died down into a frown as he muttered, “Oh, wait, I can’t. I’m pregnant.”

Wu’s brows shot up as if attempting takeoff, and he let out a low whistle and nodded slightly, saying, “Congratulations.”

Fuck.

He hadn’t meant to say that. He wasn’t ready for the whole precinct to know - Nick had only been on desk duty for one day, and the reason for his confinement had yet to circulate. Nick choked out, “Wu, I-”

Wu held up his hand. “I’ve heard mocktails are ‘in’ right now.” 

What did that have to do with anything? “...What?”

“You know. They’re non-alcoholic.” Wu shrugged. “So we can still get you that drink, if you’re feeling up to it.”

Nick sat back in his seat, his throat tight. Wu still wanted to go out? It had been a long time since he’d gone out with Wu and Hank. Too long. “That… I’d actually really like that, yeah. But Wu, you can’t tell anybody.”

“It's not me you need to worry about,” Wu said, casting a glance at Sean’s office where Sean sat watching them with a frown. 

Nick shrank in on himself, his cheeks burning as he muttered, “It's not...”

Wu lifted a brow at him, and despite the fact that he was a beta, Nick couldn't help but look away. Of course Wu had known.

“Right,” Wu said. “Tonight, first round’s on me.”

And he spun away on his heel, calling after another officer. Nick resolutely did not look at Sean as he turned back to his computer, shaking his mouse again to wake it up.

He could do with a bit of normalcy.

Chapter Text

Mocktails were dangerous.

Nick sipped at his second glass of a Moscow mule - sans alcohol - bouncing his foot along to the beat of the song playing in the bar. He hadn’t had this much sugar since he’d stopped buying coffee from the donut shop, and he could feel it buzzing through him just as well as any beer.

The mocktail went down like juice though, which it basically was. Nick could drink five of them and not even notice until nature called. At least with beer he knew how to pace himself. With the mocktail it was all too easy to drain the glass.

“So this guy,” Wu said, leaning in and raising his voice to be heard, “he’s wearing a fake mustache, and it’s already half-way peeled off by the time I get there.”

Hank groaned, a grin already forming on his face. “Tell me you ripped it off.”

Wu grimaced in an exaggerated show of disgust. “Would you have touched his glorified nose hairs?”

“Hey!” Hank smoothed his thumb and forefinger over his pencil mustache. “They’re called ‘landing strips’.”

Nick choked on his drink, coughing out a laugh as he managed to force out a strangled, “That is not what that means.”

Wu’s face had twisted into genuine revulsion. “Okay, fine. Would you have touched his ‘landing strip’?”

Hank raised his beer. “Part of the job.”

“For you, maybe. I don’t get paid enough for that shit.” Wu shook his head and continued on, “So, anyway, this guy…”

Nick’s mocktail drained all too fast in the wake of Wu’s story, and he excused himself for the bathroom and headed off, pulling his phone from his pocket as he crossed the bar. The time on it read later than he expected, but not late enough that he couldn’t catch Sean before he went to sleep. Nick sent him a text, a smile blooming on his face when he quickly got a response:

Sean: It’s never too late for you to come over.

Well then, he couldn’t keep Sean waiting. Nick hurried through his business, and when he was done he returned to the table and made his excuses.

“Yeah, yeah,” Hank said, waving him off. “Go have fun with the captain.”

Heat rose in Nick’s cheeks, but he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face as he left, whistling while he stepped out of the bar. The night air chilled the warmth in his cheeks, and he tucked his jacket tighter around himself, making his way down the street to where he’d parked his car.

He needed to do this more often. It had been too long since he’d had a night out with the guys, and once the baby came those would become even fewer and farther between. Not that Hank and Wu wouldn’t be right there beside him when the time came. They’d already started fighting over who was going to be the better uncle.

Nick pulled his keys out as he walked, thumbing through them for the right one. Drinking the mocktails had been nice, but he missed his beer. Not much could replace the full mouth fizz of a good hops.

The back of his neck prickled.

Nick stopped and turned around. No one was there, the street deserted at this time of night. The prickle persisted though, and he frowned and turned back around, pace quicker than before as he headed for his car. He might’ve been a cop and a Grimm, but that didn’t mean there weren’t those who would see a lone omega and try to take advantage of them.

A whistle split the air. Nick glanced in the direction it came from, just as something sharp jabbed into his arm.

He dove behind the nearest car, back slamming against it harder than he’d meant it to as he fumbled for the thing that had stabbed him. His hand closed around a long, thin tube. Pulling it out revealed a needle. The tube was empty.

His heart dropped. His knees did too, giving out beneath him as the world went fuzzy.

Nick fumbled for his phone, dropping it and letting out a curse as it skidded away. He reached for his gun instead as a car screeched around the corner of the street, black, sleek, unmarked, and pulled up alongside him. He aimed his gun at the man that stepped out. The first shot hit. The second went wide as his vision blurred, every blink taking longer than the last.

More men poured out of the car. Nick sagged against the one he’d hid behind, the gun too heavy to hold up any longer. They swarmed around him, taking his keys and gun, crushing his phone under the heel of a boot. One of the men bound his wrists, the rest keeping him at gunpoint while they hauled him, limp, into the backseat of the car.

A man sat inside across from Nick, his tailored suit designed more for a gala than the back of an unmarked van. The smile he aimed at Nick was slicker than oil, and he regarded Nick with the kind of possessive glint reserved for those with insatiable greed.

“So,” the man said, a lilt to his voice that screamed old money, “you’re the Grimm my dear brother got pregnant.”

The car jerked into motion, driving away. Nick’s head lolled against the seat, and it was all he could do to keep the darkness that crept in at the edges of his vision from dragging him under. 

“Well, Nicholas.” The man spread his hands, and the gesture had never seemed so sinister. “Welcome to the Family.”

Chapter Text

Watching Nick leave was always difficult, but Sean steadied himself with a fresh cup of coffee and headed back to his desk for another glance at the memo he was supposed to send out the next day. It was late into the night when his phone buzzed, and he glanced down at it to find a text from Nick, who was supposed to be out having fun. He opened it.

Nick: Missed you last night.

A helpless smile spread across Sean’s face. Nick had been spending the night at his condo occasionally, splitting his time between his two mates while they looked for a new place to live, and he had spent last night with Juliette. She had offered more than once for Sean to move in with them, but watching the two of them move with ease about the house they had made their own while Sean looked in from the outside wasn't what he'd had in mind when he'd imagined his future with his mate.

Messages like this one made the long nights spent alone easier to bear. Sean typed out an invitation for Nick to spend the night and sent it before turning back to his work with an incentive to finish quickly. He was packing up to leave a while later when the call came.

Sean answered with a distracted, “Renard speaking.”

“Brother.”

His phone creaked under his hand. Sean drew in a slow breath through his nose and let it out just as slowly. Eric hadn’t contacted him in some time, which meant he’d been planning something. But Sean’s contacts had found nothing. Not even Sebastion had been able to dredge up a hint of Eric’s plans, and Sean had allowed himself to enjoy the silence while he prepared for his baby’s arrival. He’d been a fool to think it would last. “Eric. What is it?”

Eric tsked. “Not going to ask after my health?” 

“No.”

“Shame. Perhaps you’ll want to inquire after your broodmare’s health, then?”

Sean snarled into the phone, woge ripping to the surface. Eric’s laughter echoed over the line, and Sean would’ve given anything to be able to slit his throat. “What did you do?!”

“Oh, brother, you really are taken with him, aren’t you? You don’t have to worry though, the Grimm is safe with me. He’s a lovely little omega. I didn’t think Grimms came like that. But even while pregnant, he smells delightful. I can’t wait to have him for my own.”

He couldn’t vocalize past a rough growl, couldn’t get any words through the clench of his teeth, his ears ringing with the words he smells delightful. 

Eric had his mate.

“I’ll say this as simply as I can,” Eric continued, “since I know you must be absolutely frothing right now: it’s time for you to bring me the key. You will get on the next plane to Vienna, and you will come alone. If you try anything, you will never get to see your child. But Father is pleased you’ve managed to breed a Grimm, and is willing to let you come home - if you bring the key.”

“Show me,” Sean forced out. “Show me he’s safe.”

Eric laughed again. “Of course.”

There was a pause, and then Sean’s phone buzzed from a notification. He pulled it away from his ear and tapped on it, opening the file he’d been sent. Sean’s chest went tight, stealing his breath.

It was a picture of Nick sitting unconscious in an airplane seat, his wrists tied together in his lap but otherwise looking unharmed.

He was already on the way to Vienna.

Sean pressed the phone back to his ear. “Let me speak with him.”

“Now, now, you’ll have plenty of time to chat when you arrive with the key. Don’t take long, Brother. Father will only find you interesting for so long, and it would be such a shame if you weren’t around to raise your child. Not to worry, though. They are family. I’ll take care of them like my own, the way the next one will be.”

The line went dead.

Sean slowly lowered the phone from his ear. On the screen was the picture of Nick, of his mate, of his future in the hands of his brother. Sean closed the picture, and dialed a number.

It rang twice. When it connected, no one spoke on the other line.

Sean did, “Change of plans. Eric has Nick.”

The call disconnected. Sean dialed again.

This time, someone did answer, “Quickly.”

“Eric has Nick,” Sean repeated. “I’m coming to Vienna.”

“You won’t make it out.”

“You will get us out.”

A sigh. “Understood.” 

“I’m leaving with Eric’s head.”

“That could prove difficult.”

“Make it work, Meisner.” He hung up. Bought a plane ticket. Closed his laptop, stood up from his chair, and strode out of his office, locking it behind him.

He didn’t have the key Eric wanted. Nick had never shown him where he’d hidden it after that first night they’d spent together, and Sean had never pushed. But he didn’t need it for this.

He was coming back, and he wasn’t coming back alone.