a/n: This was supposed to be another one-shot but, well, everything that needed to be said just wouldn't fit in one reasonably sized chapter so now you'll get five parts. This story (which follows Two Steps Forward) will mark a turning point in Adalind and Nick's relationship which should mark for a change in the tone (for the most part) of this series. There'll be less angst going forward (less, not none) which i'm really looking forward to. Thank you all so much for the support with this series, please let me know your thoughts at the end.

'Til it's Gone - Part 1

With his back to Renard's office, Nick couldn't see anything of what was going on in there without turning around and making it really obvious he was watching. Given who Renard was meeting with, having a Grimm staring through the window probably wasn't the wisest choice so he was relying on Hank's ability to monitor the situation out of the corner of his eye while he pretended to get some work done.

It was just that actually getting work done was next to impossible when a known member of Black Claw was within reach and, worse, at his back.

Just thinking about her eyes drilling into the back of his head gave him chills and he had to fight the urge to leap to his feet, burst into the office and take her back to HW where Eve would torture every last bit of information out of the redhead.

Thankfully, Wu saved him from doing something so stupid when he walked up and held out a piece of paper with an address on it. 'Car accident,' he supplied helpfully, 'With a possible side of murder and kidnapping.'

Nick snatched the paper from Wu's hand, grateful for the distraction. Five more minutes and he couldn't guarantee he'd keep a safe distance from Rachel Wood. Abducting her to get answers would certainly help them solve the question of Renard's loyalties and it would serve the duel purposes of getting them answers about why Black Claw was so interested in Renard playing happy families with Adalind.

Because that had to be about Diana, right? There was no reason Black Claw would care about who was mayor of Portland, how was that considered a significant win for them when they'd be better of pulling Renard's strings as a Royal? That was a fight Nick imagined Renard would happily join forces with Black Claw to win.

Renard had proven time and time again that his only true loyalty was to himself and Nick doubted after years of plays and manoeuvring, Renard was happy to sit back and let Viktor slide into the role of King. The very fact that Renard hadn't mentioned anything about the Royals lately was disconcerting. Nick was so used to their little power games spilling over into his life that the reprieve was unsettling to say the least.

Honestly, with the news the King was dead, Nick would have expected things to heat up not settle down. He couldn't imagine Viktor was the only member of the Royal family asserting power. Eric and Kenneth had both been strong players and given how many Royals seemed to creep out of the woodwork the silence was definitely worrying.

But that was something to worry about later, right now he had an accident with a possible side of murder and kidnapping to deal with.

Hank pulled up behind Wu and another patrol car at a busy intersection. Traffic was doing their best to redirect angry drivers but the area still looked more like chaos than a controlled scene. The line of emergency vehicles cordoning off the intersection blocked Nick's view of the actual scene as he and Hank stepped out and met up with Wu who was talking to a uniform guarding the scene.

'What have we got?' Hank asked and Wu turned, notebook already out and open to a fresh page.

'White delivery van ploughed through a red, T-boned the car passing through the intersection. Driver of the van died instantly but here's where things get interesting. According to witnesses, a black SUV pulled up on scene and four men got out. Witnesses say they took the woman from the car the van hit.'

Nick's eyebrows shot up. That didn't sound like the usual traffic incident and he could see why they'd been called. Sounded a little too professional, van used to T-bone the car and then a second vehicle abducted a woman from the vehicle.

Wu issued an order to the uniform and the three of them rounded the barricade of emergency vehicles to get their first look at the scene. For a moment all Nick could see was shattered glass and crumpled metal and plastic and then he actually took in the details. The white van had hit the passenger side of the smaller grey car, pushing it off course and onto the sidewalk where it had taken out a couple of tables from a café on the corner.

Nick opened his mouth to ask a question and then his brain finally caught up with what his eyes were seeing. He was moving before his brain had finished issuing the order to his feet.

He recognised that car.

'Adalind!'

He reached the car in seconds; the driver's side looked clean and almost undamaged, barring the scratches and dents in the door panels where the car had struck the tables. Both the driver and rear passenger windows had been smashed. He reached the driver's seat first, knowing what he would find before he looked inside.

No Adalind. He'd known, even as he'd desperately looked she wouldn't be there. Wu had said the driver of the car had been taken. Frantic now, he searched the backseat but with a sinking heart saw the carrier in the back was empty. He spun away from the car, colliding with Hank who had run up behind him.

'Kelly!' he half shouted, half demanded. 'Kelly!'

'Nick!'

Nick spun at the sound of his name and saw Wu hadn't followed them to the car, he was standing at the open back doors of an ambulance. Nick ran, heart pounding in his chest with fear of what he might find. He sagged against Wu in relief when he found his son safely nestled in a blanket in the arms of a teenage boy wearing a t-shirt with the café's logo on it. Kelly seemed a bit distraught but was otherwise unharmed.

'Kelly.' Nick reached desperately for his son, pressing him close to his chest and just breathing him in. No one spoke for several moments, giving Nick the time he needed to calm his racing heart. Kelly was safe, he was unharmed and he was safe. Right in that moment, the relief that Kelly was alive and safe was enough that Nick could take a deep breath, open his eyes and think.

'Adalind?' he asked, fearing the worst. He knew what the witness report had said, knew what the uniform and Wu had passed on when they reached the scene, he'd seen the empty drivers seat for himself but he needed to hear it again, needed to hear the whole story now that he understood who was involved.

Wu shook his head. The boy, still seated in the back of the ambulance spoke up, 'They took her, dragged her right out of the car.'

'They?' Nick questioned sharply. The teenager seemed to understand the sharpness wasn't directed at him and so he nodded easily before going into more detail.

'There were four of them, dressed in black and they had these masks, they looked like monsters.' The boy shook his head and rubbed his arms as though to fight off a chill. 'They smashed in the window and dragged the blonde out of the car. I've never seen anything like it. It was like something out of a movie! She was kicking and punching them – man, she killed one of them, I didn't see how but he just dropped – and then one of them jabbed her with a needle and she stopped fighting them. They shoved her into the back of an SUV and drive off.

'It happened so fast; we didn't even know what was happening and then after they'd gone we heard the kid – Kelly? – crying and I had to smash the back window to get him out.'

Despite the warmth radiating from Kelly, Nick had gone cold. Fear was fast being replaced by fury and it must have shown on his face because this time the teenage boy shrank back from him.

'I'm sorry we couldn't stop them,' he said nervously, 'I'm sorry we couldn't save your wife.'

Nick didn't correct the assumption, just nodded and turned to face Hank and Wu. His voice, when he spoke, was ice cold and all Grimm. He wasn't afraid now, he was furious, furious that a group of wesen had targeted Adalind, that some unknown group had risked the life of his son and dragged Adalind out of her car and taken her to god knew where.

'I'm going to find the people who did this and I'm going to kill them.'

Hank called Rosalee while Nick started taking statements and talking to witnesses. It was a little tricky to do with Kelly held tightly in his arms but the look on his face left no room for argument. Everyone gave him the same basic course of events.

Adalind had been moving into the intersection when the van had hit her. The momentum of the hit spun her car slightly and drove it sideways through the intersection until it had hit the curb and come to a stop after cleaning up a number of tables at the corner café. All of the witnesses said the same thing after that, before they'd been able to overcome their shock and go to Adalind's aid, a big black SUV had pulled up and four men (dressed in black and wearing animal masks) had gotten out and pulled Adalind from her car.

Every witness he spoke to told him how hard she'd fought back, how they were pretty sure she'd killed at least one of her attackers before they'd bundled her into the SUV and sped off.

The fact that she'd managed to kill one of the men would have been a comforting thought if he weren't worried about the kind of payback they'd try to deliver.

None of them had even realised Kelly was in the car until after the SUV left and he'd started to cry. Nick got the feeling that had been Adalind's doing. He got the feeling she'd been using her newly returned powers to keep the men from noticing Kelly, he didn't think she'd have had so much trouble with the four men if she hadn't been focused on something else.

If he focused on how dangerous Adalind could be then it was easier to do the job. If he could remind himself how capable she was then he didn't have to think about how he might not find her until it was too late. Adalind had a lot to fight for and she never gave up easily. Nick would find her and when he did she would be alive.

She had to be. He refused to accept anything else.

He stayed away from the bodies of the van driver and the would-be kidnapper while he still held Kelly. He had to trust that Hank and Wu knew what they were doing and would find every clue there was so they could find Adalind faster.

Because they would find her. They'd find her and he'd take her home and he'd hold her and Kelly until this whole thing became just a nightmare.

He couldn't seem to stand still. When he stopped moving, stopped working then he had to think about what Adalind might be going through. He had to think about why they might have taken her and what they might be doing to her. Did they want information? If they wanted something from her did that mean they were going to torture her? Why take her? Was this about Adalind or about him? Or even Renard?

No he couldn't think about that just yet. He wouldn't.

He'd just decided to search the car when he heard Rosalee shout his name in a frantic voice. He looked up and waved to the uniform to let her through. He was surprised to see Monroe wasn't with her and realised she'd probably been at the shop when Hank called.

Alarmingly, when she reached him and gripped them both in a tight hug, he found his throat closing up and tears threatening. His son was safe, he had to remember that, Kelly was safe and he would find Adalind.

'Can you take him?' Nick choked out, gently handing Kelly to Rosalee.

He hadn't even needed to ask, Rosalee took Kelly and held him close, looking up at Nick with wide eyes that were filled with so much fear he had to look away. 'Adalind?' she asked in a low voice, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

'They took her.' He coughed, like that would clear the lump from his throat and looked at her, showing her every bit of the determination fuelled by fury he was feeling. 'Take him to the loft where its safe. I'm going to find her.'

Rosalee looked like she wanted to say something more, something intended to comfort him but she thought better of it. Instead, her expression hardened, turning slightly feral as the fuchsbau threatened to shine through.

'You'll find her,' she told him firmly. 'I'll keep Kelly safe.'

Nick placed a final kiss on Kelly's head and then turned to focus all of his attention on the scene. He started with Adalind's car, feeling a brief flash of amusement when he realised she'd be happy to learn they'd have to get her a new one. She hadn't said anything, hadn't had to, he'd known how much she hated driving Juliette's car and thinking about that one spark of happiness helped him focus on finding Adalind.

Because he would find her.

There was glass on the floor on the driver's side from the window and more on the ground outside where it must have fallen when she was pulled out of the car. There was a huge dent in the dash that looked like it had been caused, not by the crash, but by a kick. He could picture it in his head, how Adalind would have tried to get away, even as they'd pulled her backward through the window. She would have been fighting to save herself and keep their son hidden.

He tried to handle on the driver and rear passenger doors and found them firmly locked in place. The impact had jarred the frame enough to jamb the doors. He'd leave it up to CSU to get into the car but he leaned in through the window to get a closer look. He couldn't see any blood and that gave him hope that Adalind hadn't been hurt in the initial crash.

He spotted her cell phone wedged between the seat and the middle console. The thing was likely covered in his prints anyway, but he still reached for it only after slipping on some gloves. Back on the sidewalk he unlocked the phone (not even considering what is said about their relationship that he new the passcode and she knew the one to his phone) and flicked through the call log. All of her outgoing calls were to him or Rosalee with just one to Monroe and for the most part the same could be said of incoming calls but with the addition of four calls from Renard. None of those calls lasted more than a few seconds and they were weeks apart.

He took them to be the calls he'd made each time he'd tried to convince her to play at being a family. Nick knew for a fact the only reason she'd taken the last call and gone so far as to meet with Renard was to find out once and for all what Renard wanted.

Given that Nick had gotten word from Meisner that Diana was somewhere in Europe with a Resistance family – well and truly out of Black Claws reach, for the moment at least – the last meeting Adalind had with Renard had been a waste of time.

The second attempt at blackmail might prove useful in the future, however, and Adalind was all for using it to take Renard down a notch or two. Given how mad she'd been about he whole thing, Nick wouldn't be surprised if Renard's death suited her just fine.

There were certainly days where he felt that way.

He got distracted for a moment when he flicked through her list of contacts and discovered there were only eight contacts listed and one of those was Kelly's doctor. He hadn't realised how isolated she was, he'd known of course, that she got lonely sometimes, but seeing the evidence of how few people she interacted with caused the lump in his throat to return.

The photo she'd assigned for him nearly pushed him over the edge. It wasn't one he'd ever seen before; he didn't even know when she'd taken it. It was a shot of him, lying on his side in the middle of their bed with Kelly sleeping tucked securely against his chest. He was as asleep as Kelly, one arm splayed across the bed, the other cradling Kelly. Even in the photo he could tell he was exhausted, easy to understand why he'd never noticed Adalind taking the photo.

Her phone was full of photos like that, shots of Kelly playing, more of their son with Rosalee or even Monroe and plenty of ones with Nick and Kelly. She even had a few of herself that Rosalee must have taken of her and Kelly and one that must have been Monroe's work because it showed both Rosalee and Adalind lying on the floor with Kelly between them.

The lump in his throat tasted of guilt this time. He had a few photos on his own phone of Kelly and a couple of him and Kelly but anyone picking up his phone would see no evidence Adalind was a part of his life. The thought made him sick. It was just another one of those things that snuck up and punched him in the gut.

He didn't think of things like that, never thought to snap moments of Adalind and Kelly or even just Adalind now that he could (sort of) acknowledge she was more to him than just Kelly's mother. He didn't have a cute shot of Adalind on his phone for when she called – not that he had one for any of his friends – but staring at the evidence of how much a part of her life, he was, Nick felt like he'd somehow betrayed Adalind by not thinking of those things.

He flicked through her photos again, slower this time, and chose a dozen that he sent to his own phone. He didn't consider how it looked to the people working the scene, him standing there on the sidewalk staring at her phone and then his own. He just waited for the message tone to sound and chose his favourite, assigning it to Adalind's contact.

Because he would find her.

'You doing okay?' Hank asked him, appearing suddenly by his side and causing awareness to flood back to Nick.

'I didn't have any pictures of Adalind on my phone.'

He wasn't looking at Hank, so he didn't see the strange look on his partner's face. If he had, he might have hated the sympathy he saw there.

'She definitely put up a fight,' Hank told him. 'Driver of the van died on impact, no ID yet, his prints aren't in the system and he didn't have any ID on him. The van was reported stolen from a catering service last week.'

Nick nodded to show he was listening and pocketed his phone before carefully sealing Adalind's in an evidence bag that he handed off to one of the guys from CSU who moved in to start looking over the car for evidence. 'I'm going to want that back,' he told him sharply.

'The second body, also no ID and no prints, looks like he died from a broken neck. ME's preliminary says it's not consistent with a fall and doesn't exactly make sense given the witness' description of the fight.'

At this point, Nick probably should have mentioned the return of Adalind's powers but while he found it nothing to worry about and he knew Monroe and Rosalee had accepted it Nick wasn't sure how Hank would feel. He didn't know a lot about how Hank felt about Adalind but now just wasn't the time to find out.

'Wu's got uniforms canvassing the area and pulling surveillance from the businesses around the intersection. There are three traffic cams on this intersection too, hopefully they got us enough to ID our kidnappers.'

Nick nodded again. The fury was starting to ebb and in its place was numbness. Numbness and guilt. Why hadn't he made more of an effort? Why was it always Adalind who had to take the steps in their relationship? Why hadn't he done anything about her loneliness when he knew how much she hated being stuck in the loft?

Working occasionally at the Spice Shop when Rosalee needed an extra set of hands wasn't enough. The problem was, Nick didn't really know how to help her. He wasn't exactly a stellar example of friendship. Once he'd become a Grimm he'd practically thrown aside all of the relationships he'd built over the years. He never spoke to any of the friends he'd had before his Aunt Marie had died and he'd definitely made a choice to avoid the friends he'd shared with Juliette. That way led to some really awkward questions he had no way of answering.

When he really thought about it, did he have any more contacts in his phone? If you took away all of the numbers related to work (not including Hank and Wu) then he was left with the same numbers as Adalind: Monroe, Rosalee, Bud and Kelly's doctor. Trubel's number in his phone didn't work anymore and he wasn't about to count Renard as a friend.

The only difference was, Nick interacted with people on a daily basis. He was constantly in contact with people he worked with, witnesses, people from the lab and evidence. Even when he wasn't, when he was working as a Grimm he encountered wesen, both good and bad.

Adalind didn't have all of that; she didn't have that exposure that might help her make more friends.

As depressing as the realisation was, it did make Nick feel slightly better. 'Let's head back to the station,' he said finally, casting one last look over the scene. 'I want to start looking through surveillance and I want to see if Monroe and Bud know who our kidnapper is.'

Hank nodded, he looked like he wanted to say something, maybe ask again how Nick was doing but he, thankfully, kept from doing so. Nick didn't think he'd be able to handle the question right then and he wanted to get the hell away from the crime scene before someone started questioning whether or not he was fit to work the case. There was no way in hell he was going to sit this one out.

Because he would find her.

Back at the station, Nick didn't even make it to his desk before Renard was poking his head out of his office and calling all three of them in. 'Shut the door,' he ordered Wu, seating himself behind his desk.

Nick had always hated the feeling of talking down to Renard, it gave the mistaken impression they had some sort of control over the situation.

'What do we know?'

Hank filled him in, Nick wasn't sure he could have gotten through a report without letting his feelings get in the way. Hank, although he was mad, could still be objective. To him, Adalind was just the mother of Nick's child and the woman who'd once tried to kill him. Thankfully, the former overrode the latter these days in Hank's mind. He hoped.

'Any ID on our kidnapper?'

'Not yet,' Hank replied. 'None on the driver of the van either.'

'Nick,' Renard spoke directly to him for the first time, 'Do you have any idea who might be behind this?'

Nick shook his head, it wasn't that he didn't have any idea, it was that he had too many. There were simply too many people who would like to get their hands on Adalind. Black Claw, HW, the Resistance, the Royals, not to mention a slew of random wesen she'd pissed off along the way. And that was only taking into account the people or groups who might have taken Adalind because of who she was not because of who she lived with.

The list of people who might try to use Adalind to get to him was just as long and likely included a lot of people he'd never even met before who wanted him just because he was a Grimm and rumoured to be in possession of a number of Keys.

Renard sighed. 'Alright, keep me informed.'

It was only when he was back at his desk trying to put together a list of Adalind's enemies and one of his own that he realised Renard had not once asked him if he was okay. There'd been no question about Nick's ability to continue doing the job without his emotions getting in the way. And he was sure it had nothing to do with him believing Nick was capable of setting aside his feelings.

No, Renard hadn't asked because it honestly hadn't occurred to him that Nick would care. To Renard, Adalind had and always would be, a means to an end. He honestly didn't see how much Adalind had changed, how much she'd grown and not just because she was a mother now. The knowledge that Renard didn't seem any more concerned about Adalind than if it had been a perfect stranger who had been taken, rather than make Nick mad, reinforced his feeling that Adalind deserved so much more than he'd been able to give.

And that wasn't something he'd ever have thought he'd feel about Adalind. But, well, he was doing a lot of that lately. Little touches that seemed so natural, pulling her close when she sank into a nightmare, holding her hand when he led her somewhere, all of these things he'd started doing without even really being aware of it. All the little things and more that he wanted to keep doing with her, that he would keep doing with her.

Because he was going to find her.

He called Bud and sent his friend the photo of the dead would-be kidnapper. As much as he'd liked Juliette, Bud had sort of bonded with Adalind those weeks she'd been staying with him and so when he found out someone had kidnapped her his response was a lot more what Nick felt Adalind deserved.

'Are you okay?' Bud demanded and then before Nick had even formulated a response he rambled on, 'No, of course you're not okay because someone took Adalind and you have no idea who. Why would you be okay after that? Is Kelly okay? Boy, he's probably missing Adalind already and without even having any idea what's happening. You'll find her Nick, you will. And we'll help, I'll show this photo around and we'll find her, don't you worry.'

'Thank, Bud.'

When he hung up, still thinking over the list of potential suspects, Monroe walked in. He hurried right over to Nick's desk, looking genuinely concerned and when his first question was to ask if they'd found her yet, Nick had to resist the urge to hug his best friend. No one else had thought of Adalind first, well Rosalee might have but when she'd seen Nick her concern had been for Kelly. Monroe's honest worry just reinforced how glad he was to have Monroe in his life.

Nick had no doubt he'd never have made it this far without the blutbad.

'How can I help?'

Nick scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. 'I've got Bud asking around, seeing if anyone recognises this guy.' He slid the freshly printed photo across the surface of his desk at Monroe. His friend picked it up and studied it closely. For one moment, Nick hoped his friend recognised the man but the feeling fell away almost before it had begun to set.

'I'll ask around, too,' Monroe promised. 'I know a rougher crowd than Bud and most of his buddies are used to.'

'Footage from the traffic cams just came through,' Wu announced, stepping up with his iPad in hand. 'You sure you want to watch this?' he asked Nick.

'I need to see it.'

All four of them leant forward to watch the footage and Nick's stomach lurched as they watched Adalind's car move away from the lights and into the intersection before she was slammed into by the van. Nick hated to think how scared she must have been, how terrified for Kelly it would have left her.

Wherever those men were holding her, did she know Kelly was safe? Wherever she was, did she know he was coming for her? That he wouldn't stop until he found her?

Because he would find her.

'Here comes the SUV,' Wu murmured and they watched as, onscreen, a bulky black SUV sped up to the crash site, four figures in black got out and moved to take Adalind. Nick wished the footage was better quality but wasn't sure he wanted to see the fight up close. They watched as one of the men fell and the other three struggled with Adalind until she went limp and they ran back to the SUV, stuffed her into the backseat and sped out of there.

'Traffic got us a good shot of the plates and they were able to follow the SUV for another four blocks before they lost it. Back track is about the same.'

'The plates?' Nick asked.

'Registered to Anita Oberman, an eighty year old grandmother of nine, they belong to an ancient sedan that spends most of its life in her garage. Car's still in her garage but I thought you might want to check it out.'

Nick nodded. 'Got the address where the van was stolen from?'

Wu nodded and after a moment of scribbling in his notebook, tore a page out and handed it to Nick. 'I'll keep combing through CCTV from the surrounding businesses, see if I can't get us a better picture of those men.'

'Won't do us much good if they're woged,' Hank pointed out.

'It'll tell us what type of wesen we're dealing with,' Wu countered.

Hank tilted his head, acknowledging Wu's point.

'Call us if you find anything,' Nick requested, glancing between Wu and Monroe. 'Anything.'

'Hey,' Monroe said gently, 'We'll find her man.'

Nick smiled tightly and left with Hank. He had to believe Monroe was right, refused to believe differently.

Because he would find her.