I had started this before my vacation and didn't want to leave you waiting for three weeks or more for part two. My vacation then breathed life into another idea I've been playing with and Honesty was put on backburner, but since Hank knowing is a Grimm is vital for the new story, I had to finish this, too. Life is complicated :P

Anyway, here's part one. Still working out the last kinks in the second part.

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TITLE: Honesty 1/2
SERIES: Fate Lines
PAIRING: Nick/Renard
SPOILERS: Bad Moon Rising
AUTHOR: Macx
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belongs to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money :)
FEEDBACK: Loved

That the press hadn't been all over the abduction and ritualistic imprisonment of a young girl from Portland, Oregon, was thanks to the superb political and media skills of one Captain Sean Renard. The arrest of the clan of coyotls was almost under the media radar, though some leaked through.

Just a few tidbits.

Like the abduction of Carly Kempfer, whose name wasn't even mentioned.

Renard kept everything under a tight lock and Nick was thankful for it. As was just about everyone involved on the Kempfer side of the family. Jareld and Carly had clung to each other from the time the whole mess had been over till the arrival of the paramedics. Jareld had gone with his daughter, of course.

"I'm dealing with this scum," Hank had simply growled, nodding at the cuffed and shook-up Walker clan, who had been awaiting transport.

"I can do this alone, Hank. She's your goddaughter."

"And I'm an officer of the law and I'm doing my job right here," had been the firm reply.

Nick hadn't added anything to that, but they had swung by the hospital before going to the station to give a prelim to Renard.

Carly had been with a doctor and Nick had told Jareld to call; for whatever. Hank had added to that. The coyotl had been too shocked still to do more than nod.

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Renard had been fielding calls and weaving a net of half-truths and protective lies by the time the two detectives came to the station. The Walkers had been booked and would be transferred to their individual holding cells soon.

"Good work," Renard simply said when the two men were done explaining what had happened. "I should mention that next time, Detective Griffin, you step back when it comes to personal involvement in a case."

Hank's impression grew stony, but he nodded. "Yes, sir."

They knew that no matter what, Hank would have pursued the case. Jareld had come to him for help with his missing daughter and Griffin wouldn't have handed over the case to anyone.

"No evidence was compromised," Nick stepped in, gray eyes firm and steady. "We only went out to the farm to talk to Jareld's brother-in-law. No one expected them to shoot at us, let alone have the girl hanging in a well."

Renard grimaced. "I'm very much aware of it. The media thankfully isn't. And they won't if it's up to me. No need to have this splayed out over the front pages."

"Thanks, captain," Hank said softly. "I appreciate it. As does Jareld."

"How are they?"

"Shocked. Carly's still shaken up," Nick replied. "Jareld's with her and we'll drive by the hospital again later."

"They did nothing to her," Hank added, interpreting Renard's expression correctly.

"Good. Now go. The full report can wait till tomorrow."

Nick nodded, not lingering any longer than any detective would. They kept their personal interaction down to a minimum, like superior and detective.

Hank let out an explosive breath, looking tired and worn and just slightly more nervous than his normal state-of-mind.

"Ready?" Nick asked calmly.

"Yeah." The dark eyes shot Nick a look that spoke of many, many question.

"Later," he promised.

They would talk; they had to talk. But right now Hank needed to know his friend and his goddaughter were okay. After that, Nick would try to answer any question his partner had.

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He had let Hank choose and the choice had been Nick's place. Nick had been surprised by that; he would have bet on a bar or diner, but Hank apparently didn't want a public place. For Jareld Kempfer the choice had been a little less comfortable, going into a Grimm's home, even if it was the man who had saved his daughter. The coyotl appeared nervous and kept looking around like he needed a good flight path; just in case.

Nick rooted through his fridge and offered each man a beer, trying to be harmless and calm around the nervous wesen. He knew he had his shields up, that nothing of what he was showed, but Jareld only gave him a tense, brief smile.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the Grimm said softly.

"I know," was the answer. "It's just… new."

Hank, who had overheard the exchange, grimaced. "Talk about new! You didn't have your world upended and rearranged."

Jareld took a deep swallow. "In a way I did. Grimms aren't the good guys. They lop your head off. They're the nightmare of our world."

Hank shot his partner a look. "Huh."

Nick shrugged. "I'm not that kind of guy."

"I figured that out," the coyotl said with a smile.

Carly was at the hospital for the night, under guard, her multiple abrasions, contusion and a few lacerations being treated. She was under observation just in case, mainly because of the shock of the abduction. That the young woman had handled it all much better than a non-coyotl girl would have had been of no consequence to the decision. Jareld felt better knowing she was guarded and in the best hands – and Renard would make sure it would be just like that. He had employed two hexenbiester as night nurses to keep an eye on the young woman.
Nick knew his mate had no obligation to do anything of the like since neither Carly nor Jareld were of any consequence to him, but it had mattered to the Grimm, so the regnant had done it.

Sometimes the kind of control he had over Sean astounded and slightly frightened him.

Looking at Hank, Nick saw him bursting with questions and he grinned a little. "Ask."

"I wish I knew where to start! Man, I know I'm crazy, seeing all these things, and now you say it's real and all."

Jareld played with the label on his bottle. "It is real."

"How long has tis been going on?"

"For me? Just before Aunt Marie died," Nick told him truthfully. "Scared the crap out of me, too. As for the existence of wesen like Jareld? I think all of history."

Jareld nodded.

"No one ever caught on to that?"

"Oh, a few did. They ended up in psych wards or the like. The others, the ones who can see all the time, are the Grimms."

"Like you."

"Like me."

"Why Grimm?"

Nick shrugged. "Probably because the brothers Grimm were like me and they made the creatures they saw into fairy tales that the world loved to read. There were Grimms, or whatever they were called, before that."

"And you scare those creatures?"

Jareld chuckled. "Grimms are our nightmares and horror stories. You have the bogeyman, the bogeyman has the Grimm."

"But why?"

"Because like Jareld said, in the past decades or even centuries all Grimms did was kill wesen. Before that, originally, we were supposed to be arbitrators in the wesen world. We worked to handle the co-existence between humans and wesen. Somewhere that went down the wrong road and now it's… that."

Nick looked uncomfortable.

"So you're originally like cops and now you're… lone gunmen who are judge, jury and executioner?" Hank summed it up.

"You could say it like that. I came into this whole heritage late. I wasn't raised like a Grimm. I'm a cop and I'm not going around killing people who are different."

Jareld gave him a small smile.

Hank snorted. "I've known you how long? You're not the shoot-first-ask-questions-later kinda guy. Never have been."

"Tell that to someone like Jareld who can sense what you are," Nick said quietly.

"We can't tell the difference," the coyotl agreed. "I know what he is and it's an instinctive reaction."

"So… who else is… different?" Hank asked cautiously. "I mean we had some weird cases and all."

Nick sighed. "Yeah, they were weird. Even for me. Do you remember the murdered girl in the forest? And the missing child right after that?"

His partner nodded.

"That was the beginning."

"And the suspect…? Your clockmaker guy?"

"He was my first real encounter."

Jareld shot him a curious look.

"He's a blutbad," Nick explained, which got him a wide-eyed look from the coyotl.

"Wieder," Nick added. "And the guy who helped ease that whole Grimm thing on me."

"A blutbad?!"

"Yeah."

"What's a blutbad, guys?" came the exasperated question from Griffin.

"Fairy tale big bad wolf kinda guy."

Hank stared at him. "Wolf?!"

"Well, you know what I look like when I change," was Jareld's cautious reply.

"Yeah, well… yeah."

"Monroe's a wolf type."

"Man…"

"And he was the one who ran you over in the woods."

Hank looked slightly gray around the edges. That had been the moment his life had changed.

"He's a good guy," Nick added quickly. "Without him we wouldn't have caught half the guys we did."

Hank was visibly chewing on that. "Tell me about the cases," he then demanded.

And Nick did. Jareld was as astounded as Hank, though he helped with some explanations when it came to wesen, and after the second beer Hank had calmed down a little. Nick left out a things. Like the siegbarste. Like Renard. He would ease Hank into the Grimm world one by one. Right now he was simply glad his partner finally knew.

"Who else knows?" he wanted to know.

Nick blew out a breath. "From the station? None of the other detectives or beat officers. At least not that I know."

"You might not see them," Jareld added. "They could know what and who you are, but if they have themselves under control there's no telling how many there are."

"There's that. But I don't really care who and what they are," Nick said calmly. "Wesen aren't different from anyone else."

Jareld's expression was one of wonder and hope.

"What about Captain Renard?" Hank asked, breaching a topic Nick had tried to avoid.

"Uhm…"

"He knows?"

Nick sighed. "Yeah, he knows."

"Since the beginning?"

"I guess a lot longer," the Grimm answered evasively. "He knew I'm a Grimm before things became complicated. I mean, he's been steering the wesen cases towards me, so I guess he knew."

"Okay." Hank wanted to ask more, but with Jareld present Nick was glad he didn't go into the more private life the two men shared.

Instead he switched back to asking about old cases, about the people involved, and Jareld looked astounded by how much Nick had accomplished, in which way he had dealt with the Grimm stuff.

"I heard rumors, you know," he said quietly when Hank was in the bathroom. "About a Grimm in Portland. I wasn't with a pack, so things didn't really come to me right away. I heard things here or there. I was only there for Carly and I really didn't want to get involved."

"I understand."

"Sounds like I should have listened a bit better."

Nick smiled a little. "It changes nothing, Jareld."

"There are those rumors about… y'know… Portland being a protected city."

Nick glanced toward the bathroom door. Jareld followed his eyes, then nodded.

"Truth," he murmured.

"Yes."

"I made the right choice then, coming here."

Nick grinned a little. "Seems like it."

"You know… the Guardian?"

"Yes."

Jareld got the hint and simply nodded. Hank chose that moment to come out of the bathroom. The coyotl got up.

"I think it's time for me to go."

"Yeah, it's late," Hank agreed.

"We're good?" Nick asked at the door.

"Yeah, we're good. Just… I still have a lot of questions, so…"

"You can ask any time. And I'll let you know what we're up against. I don't always have all the answer, though."

"But Monroe might?"

"Him and others."

"You gonna introduce me to them? Properly?" Hank teased.

He laughed. "Yes, I will. One by one. You're part of this because you're my partner and my friend. I'm glad I can finally talk to you about this. It's been hard to keep so many secrets, Hank."

Hank clapped his shoulder. "Yeah, I can imagine. At least it lets me sleep at night now."

Nick chuckled. "You think?"

"I know. I thought I was crazy, Nick! I saw things. Now I know it's real and not just me having a breakdown."

Jareld smiled a little when his friend looked at him. "It's a relief," he agreed. "Knowing that you know. You're my best friend and Carly's godfather. Hiding this was hard."

They walked to the car. Jareld had come with Hank and Nick watched them leave. He really did feel better with this burden off his shoulders.

Now he only had to wait for the right moment in time to tell his partner that Sean Renard was a wesen, too. And the Guardian of Portland. The latter he might obfuscate a little, but maybe he would have to come clean here, too.

But before he lost a single word about Renard's role he had to talk to his mate.

tbc...