Chapter Twelve

The day of the wedding came and everything seemed fine. Nearly too fine for Nick's liking. He kept glancing at his phone in fear he missed a text, glancing out of the window to see if the weather had suddenly changed from sunny to rainy and he kept pestering Monroe about the wedding rings. Everything was going smoothly and Nick had to tell himself that it really was okay for things to be going smoothly. That it wasn't necessarily the calm before the storm.

Nick and Adalind were by no means traditional, but Adalind still wanted some time to prepare for the wedding on her own. The concept that a groom shouldn't see the bride before the wedding was her inspiration and it made for a convenient excuse. To accommodate her wishes, Nick had stayed at Rosalee's and Monroe's house the night before. The plan was to have all the men meet there and all the women would meet at Nick's loft before heading to the venue Nick had rented out for the wedding. The guest list was quite small, so he found the smallest place he could find. Neither he, nor Adalind, had any living relatives, save their children. All of Nick's friends became Adalind's friends with time.

Trubel was the first to arrive, but at the wrong location. When Nick opened the front door to let Trubel in, he didn't hesitate to ask, "Um, Trubel, why are you here?"

The answer was obvious. "I figured I'd leave my bike here and ride with Rosalee to and from the wedding. Don't get me wrong, the mental image of me wearing a bridesmaid dress on a motorcycle is pretty awesome, but why risk it?"

Nick smiled. But then a realization struck him, "Actually, this is perfect and you're early enough that we can make this work." Nick called out to Monroe who had been in the kitchen eating breakfast. When he arrived out in the living area Nick told them both, "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but, I'm going crazy thinking any second now something is going to go horribly wrong. Maybe it's nothing. But I can't shake the feeling and I'd really like for one of you to go out and get the Staff from the trailer."

Rosalee stepped out from the kitchen, she had overheard the conversation despite Nick trying to keep his voice down. "Oh no... No, you don't. We are going to need every minute we can spare to get this wedding ready on time. Trubel doesn't have time to go driving out to the middle of nowhere." Rosalee had an uncanny ability to scold someone and make them smile about it.

Nick rubbed his temples and nodded his head, "Fine. Fine. I'll go grab it myself then."

Rosalee wasn't having any of that either, "No, you are not."

Nick scratched the back of his head and said, "I'm not getting cold feet or anything, I just worry about that other Grimm. We have no idea where he is right now..."

Rosalee put a hand up to signal Nick he could stop talking and said, "Okay, okay. I see your point." She checked her watch and said, "Ugh, men. You guys take like ten minutes and you're ready. The one person who can stand to be a little late is Monroe, right? The rings are near the end. So, Monroe, once you have on all your wedding clothes, drive out to the trailer and get the Staff." She clenched her jaw and spoke her next words through her teeth, "Do. Not. Get. Grass. Stains. On. Your. Clothes." She kissed his cheek and called to Trubel to help get the triplets into the car. Thankfully, Bud and his wife volunteered to watch the kids during the wedding ceremony, but it was still quite a task to get them all there.

It wasn't long after that Hank and Wu arrived. Rosalee wasn't too far off in her time estimation. All the men were in their suits in roughly fifteen minutes. Nick and Adalind had decided to have the men wear black suits and neckties rather than the common tuxedos seen at weddings. Monroe then got in his car and went to get the Staff. Hank and Wu stopped in the kitchen to drink a beer each before heading out.

Nick glanced out the windows again to make sure nothing was amiss. But so far. The day seemed fine. Too fine.

  ***

When Nick arrived at the hotel he had rented space out of, he was confused when the manager told him there had been a mistake and that his venue had been moved to a larger hall. Nick raised an eyebrow and said, "And the hotel isn't charging any extra?"

The manager simply said, "Sir, the arrangements have been made. You are good to go in the larger space."

Nick certainly wasn't going to argue the point. So he simply asked if someone could show him where it is he and his party can rest until the bridal party was ready. They were taken to a men's dressing room.

Nick looked at Hank and said, "You think you're going to be doing this a fourth time?" Since Hank had already been married three times, Nick was asking if Hank would ever dare take the plunge again.

Hank pursed his lips and said, "Nah." But then a moment later he corrected himself, "Maybe."

Nick asked, "Where's your date?"

Hank answered without looking at him, "She'll be here. Don't you worry."

The wedding party consisted of Rosalee, Trubel, Monroe, Hank and Wu. Since there was an extra man in the party, Hank insisted he'd just find a date. No extra bridesmaid dress necessary. Thankfully, Deputy Sheriff Janelle Farris had agreed to meet Hank at the wedding. There had been talk of having Eve be in the wedding party, but her responsibilities at HW seemed to never end. Nick could only hope that she was still tracking Spencer.

Monroe walked through the door holding the Staff, once again, it was wrapped in bedsheets. He said, "See? I got back with plenty of time to spare. Where should I put it?"

Nick said, "Well, it's about that time when ushers have to go out and 'ush' right? So, could you take it out and stash it somewhere safe but close to the altar?"

As Monroe walked out, Hank turned to Nick and said, "Are you nervous?"

Nick replied, "About the wedding? Not so much. About the marriage, not even a little. But I am worried Spencer will show up to wreck the ceremony before, during or afterwards."

Hank asked, "Do you have any reason to believe he even knows you're getting married?"

Nick said, "Well, we did put a small announcement in the Portland Gazette. So, maybe. Still a long shot, though."

Hank leaned in closer to Nick and said, "By all accounts, you shouldn't even be walking right now. He probably thinks you're still laid up in a hospital bed and will be for weeks."

Nick nodded. That was the affirmation he needed to hear. But he was still glad that he had Monroe get the Staff.

There was a knock on the dressing room door and it opened a moment later with Rosalee sticking her head in but shielding her eyes on the off chance the men weren't fully dressed.

She shouted, "We need the ushers out here!" Then she closed the door without awaiting confirmation.

Nick gestured to Hank and Wu and said, "You guys get out there. Though I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. There's only going to be like five people here."

As Hank and Wu walked out, Monroe walked back in and sat quietly in his chair next to Nick for only a moment before he asked, "You got your vows all worked out?"

Nick nodded and said, "Yeah, I think so. I've been running through them in my head for the past week"

Monroe said, "You know, man, I really feel like we're living a really special moment right now. In so many ways. A Grimm marrying a Hexenbiest. A Blutbad, a Fuchsbau and another Grimm in the wedding party? Not to mention the Wesen you invited that will be there to witness it. But, for just a moment, forget about the magnitude of the history you're about to make today. You're marrying the woman that you love, man. I get that you have the weight of the world on your shoulders sometimes. But just stop and think about that for a minute, dude. With the exception of your kid being born, this will be the best day of your life."

Nick nodded and took a deep breath. He slapped Monroe on his knee and said, "And that is why you're the best man. Come on, let's get out there."

Monroe stopped him, "Actually, I'm going to need a minute, I need to make a phone call real quick."

Nick checked the time and saw no reason they couldn't wait another minute or two. But before Nick could ask why Monroe needed the extra time, the phone call had already been made and Monroe was motioning for Nick to leave the dressing room.

When they walked through the doors of the hall, Nick assumed he entered the wrong area. Yes, the hall was larger than he rented, the manager had informed him of that, but there were so many people seated in the pews. It was by no means crowded, but he didn't need to count them to know that it was far more than he'd invited.

Nick stopped and began walking backwards but Monroe caught his shoulders and said, "Hey man, where you going?"

Nick pointed at the people in the pews and said, "We have to be in the wrong hall, I didn't invite this many people."

Monroe chuckled and said, "Well, dude, maybe you didn't... but I did."

Nick snapped to attention, looked at Monroe and exclaimed, "What?!"

Monroe spread his arms wide and said, "Yeah, this is my wedding present to you."

Nick tilted his head, squinted and asked, "How do you figure?"

Monroe tugged at Nick's sleeve to get him to walk to the end of the aisle while he explained, "Well, you see, I felt kinda bad about how few people you and Adalind were going to have at your wedding. And it occurred to me that you've helped a lot of Wesen in our community and never thought twice about it. Like, you remember when that Bauerschwein was killing Blutbaden with those mushrooms? And you and me a dozen or so Blutbaden got him to confess to it? Well, I invited those guys here. You helped us out. They wanted to show you their respect and support. My parents are around here somewhere, too."

Monroe pointed out a familiar face to Nick. It was Robin, a Seltenvogel, a bird like Wesen that Nick had rescued from a Klaustreich, an alley-cat like Wesen. "It took me weeks to track her down. But, when I told her what was going on she said she would be honored to be here."

Nick felt like he was on the very old TV show, 'This is Your Life.' But putting aside the comic comparison, he was overwhelmed with the number of faces he saw. Several of which Woged when they saw that he was looking at them and they didn't react at all to the fact he was a Grimm. Well, they did react, but with smiles and waves.

Monroe finished, "I tried to track down the Glühenvolk but the last I heard was that they went to Alaska and that place is huge. I couldn't locate them. But I got everyone else I could. I didn't do it entirely on my own though. Hank helped too. See?" He pointed out the Seidels and the Barlows with their daughter Tabitha who were all seated on the same pew.

The pew in front of them was empty so Nick walked into that row and reached out to shake the hands of the people he'd met only a couple weeks ago. "Mister and Misses Seidel, I'm surprised to see you here."

Misses Seidel said, "Please, call us Isaac and Sasha." She pointed at her husband and said, "Isaac insisted we come. He was really taken aback at how hard you fought to catch the bast..." the rest of the words got caught in her throat. She straightened herself out and continued, "Besides, we wanted to accompany the Barlows." She leaned in towards Nick and covered her mouth with her hand and finished her thought, "You know, to help them feel safe."

Nick didn't know how best to thank them for attending so he shook their hands again and moved further down the row so that he could speak with the Barlows. He started with Tabitha. She looked so different. Wearing clothes that weren't oversized and with her hair parted down the middle, separated into two afro puffs on top of her head. Nick leaned down, smiled and said, "You're looking very pretty today, Tabitha." She smiled and hid her face in her hands. Nick laughed a bit at how she was smiling and acting so shy at the same time. He shook the Barlows' hands as well and thanked them for coming and said loud enough so that the Seidels could also hear how honored he was that they all came to his wedding.

Nick walked back to Monroe and asked, "Does Adalind know about this?"

Monroe let out a laugh and said, "Nope, cause if she knew, then you'd know." He tapped his temple. "Had to be smart about it."

Nick continued to walk down to the altar seeing more familiar faces as he did so. He saw a handful of people he knew to be Indole Gentiles and several Eisbibers that he knew to be friends of Bud's. He saw Jarold Kempfer and his daughter, Hank's goddaughter, Carly. Carly stood up from her seat to smile and wave enthusiastically at Nick. Nick smiled and waved back as he said, "I don't know what to say Monroe, this may be the most thoughtful gift I've ever been given."

Monroe smiled a mischievous grin, slapped Nick on his back and said, "The day isn't over yet, my friend. Just you wait."

As Nick waited for the wedding to start he did his best to go around the hall to shake hands and thank his unexpected guests for attending. He also stopped to visit Bud, who was holding his son Kelly, and Bud's wife was doing her best to keep the triplets amused. Their own children seemed to be pretty bored of the wedding already. Nick thanked them for being kind enough to watch their four children while also bringing their own. Bud, as gracious and kind as ever said, "Are you kidding me? We wouldn't miss this for the world!" He looked over at his own children and said, "Don't mind them though, this is the fourth wedding we've all attended this summer and I think they're over the whole concept. Kids."

As Bud began admonishing his children, demanding they sit up straight and be respectful, Nick looked around again and wasn't surprised to find Samantha in attendance sitting not too far from Sheriff Deputy Janelle Farris. Nick went up to the Deputy first, "Can I call you Janelle when you're in your civvies?"

She rolled her eyes, smiled and said, "I think we're well past formalities at this point." She stood up to hug Nick and he saw she was wearing a knee length red dress. A far cry from the uniform he'd only ever seen her in. He thanked her for coming and especially at the last minute. She had seen Nick going around the room shaking hands and had caught a few snippets of the conversations he was having with the guests and couldn't contain her curiosity, "What's..." she half gestured towards everyone in the hall, "all that about?"

Nick rocked on the balls of his feet for a moment trying to come up with an appropriate explanation, thankfully Samantha had overheard and was kind enough to walk over and interrupt, "Hi, I'm Samantha, but you can call me Sam." She extended her hand out so that Janelle could shake it. When she released the handshake she turned to hug Nick which he returned in kind.

Samantha turned back to Janelle and explained, "Nick here has helped a lot of the people in attendance. Including me. One could easily say that he's gone above and beyond the call of duty."

Nick shook his head but Samantha wouldn't have it, "No, stop with the modesty." She looked at Janelle who was staring at Nick's face waiting for him to confirm or deny anything Samantha was saying.

He finally admitted, "Okay, yes, I've helped some of the people here as part of my responsibilities as a Detective of Portland PD. Monroe and Hank tracked them down and invited them here as a surprise for me. So I was just thanking them for attending."

Janelle, still curious, turned and asked, "Sam, how did he help you?"

Samantha shook her head and said, "Oh no. I promised myself that I was not going to talk about the details of that today. Not while I'm wearing this makeup." Janelle nodded in understanding of the hazard of running mascara.

Nick, grateful for a change in topic leapt at the opportunity and said, "You look great by the way. Both of you do."

Janelle said, "You clean up rather nicely yourself. I see you decided to keep the stubble?"

Nick shrugged and as he walked away, he said, "My fiancé likes it."

He was about to go stand by the altar and await the start of the wedding when he saw his boss, Captain Sean Renard, the father of the flower girl, Diana, standing by the main doorway. When they caught each others' eyes they began walking towards each other and met halfway in the aisle. Nick assumed there must be something wrong for Renard to be there as they weren't on the best of terms, however, neither were they enemies at the current moment.

Nick was surprised to see that Renard was jovial. Well, jovial for Renard anyway. He always seemed to walk around with an air of superiority and it seemed, at least for the moment, he'd relaxed a bit.

Renard said, "I just wanted to stop by in person to see Diana in her dress before I went into the office. I figured while I was here, I'd let you know that there have been no other sightings of Spencer anywhere in the Portland area. I thought knowing that might help you relax and enjoy your day a bit."

Nick nodded, "I'd feel better if he were in prison. But yeah, that is good to know. Thanks."

Renard nodded once and said, "Rosalee told me to tell you that they should be ready soon and, in her words, 'get your butt down to the altar.'"

Nick said, "I still have my phone in my pocket, if there are any sightings of Spencer, especially if they're anywhere near here, call me."

Renard nodded his understanding and went back out the way he came in.

Nick walked back down to the altar. Because there were more men than women in the wedding party it was decided to have all the men wait with Nick while the women walked down the aisle for the wedding processional, so Monroe was already waiting for him. Nick leaned as close as he could to Monroe and asked where the Staff was located, 'just in case.' Monroe pointed at the railing that was directly in front of them and told him it was on the floor against the back of it.

Nick tugged on the bottom of his blazer to straighten it out as he nodded and said, "Good." The wedding nerves were finally beginning to kick in. He looked behind Monroe and saw no one standing behind him, "Um, where are Hank and Wu?"

"Well..." Monroe hesitated because he was afraid Nick would overreact to the news he was about to deliver, "there was a slight change of plans for who the officiant is going to be. Hank and Wu are bringing them here now."

"Wait, what?! Monroe, why didn't you bring this up sooner?"

Monroe waved his hands in front of him and said, "No, no, this is fine. It's not as last minute as it sounds. The officiant just had another thing to do before the wedding and Hank and Wu are providing him transportation is all. I swear, it's all good."

"Why the change though?" Nick was becoming visibly frustrated.

Monroe put his hand on Nick's shoulder and said, "It's fine, man. We have it all worked out for you. Look, see?" At that moment, Wu and Hank came walking in through the side door with a man whom Nick recognized immediately. Judge Winston Baxter. He was wearing his judges robe and was walking calmly towards Nick. Nick half expected him to be carrying his gavel. The many times Nick had been in his courtroom, it rarely left his hand.

Nick couldn't hide his surprise as he said, "Judge Baxter? What? How? I'm confused."

The judge smiled and said, "Adalind asked if I wouldn't mind presiding over your wedding and I felt honored to do so." Then he gave Nick a wink and Woged. Nick immediately recognized him as a Lowen. A Wesen that resembles a Lion.

Nick raised his eyebrows and said, "Why do I get the feeling there's more to this than anyone is telling me?"

Judge Baxter didn't reply, he simply strolled over and stood behind the podium. The others got into position as they should have, but Nick was still staring in their direction in search of a response to his unanswered question. None of them would make eye contact with him, however. Before he could raise any more objections, the song of the Wedding March began.

  ***

Nick watched as Trubel, Rosalee and then Diana made their way down the Aisle. The bridesmaid dresses were such a light color of pink, that in certain lighting, they looked almost white. Diana, looking as innocent as ever, was tossing flower petals onto the ground. Nick remembered the conversation Adalind had with her a few days before, insisting that Diana use her hands to disperse the petals from the basket rather than her ability to float things with her mind. Diana had initially suggested she could put on quite a show of petals swirling around the venue before landing on the floor, but Adalind carefully explained that many people there wouldn't be prepared for something so amazing, and that, as with many things, subtlety is best. As she reached the end of the aisle and was satisfied she'd spread enough flower petals, she sat down on the pew closest to where her mother would be standing during the ceremony.

At last, Adalind appeared in the doorway wearing a Corset Tiered Chiffon Wedding dress. Rather than wear a veil, Adalind chose to wear a silver tiara. Her hair was tied up in the back. but in the front, locks of hair fell down, framing her face below the tiara. The bridal bouquet she carried was very small and understated, a combination of pinks and yellows.

Nick had no reason to be surprised. He'd known for a long time that Adalind was a very attractive woman, but nonetheless, he still felt as though she'd never been more beautiful and couldn't help but smile.

She took a few steps down the aisle and began to notice something was amiss. She looked first to her left and then to her right and Nick saw that Monroe had been telling the truth, Adalind wasn't expecting this many people. The look of concern on her face and the change in her stride, made him realize she was becoming overwhelmed, so he ever so subtly waved his hand at her and mouthed the words, "It's fine." When she saw how at ease he was, she dropped her guard and walked gracefully the rest of the way to the altar.

However, as she stepped next to him she did her best to hide her face as she stood on her toes making as if to kiss his cheek and instead whispered in his ear, "Who are all these people?"

Without moving his lips, he said through his smile as quietly as he could, "It's Monroe's doing, I'll explain later." Then, he spoke to her in a normal speaking voice, "You are so incredibly beautiful, it hurts to look at you. Like staring into a sunset."

She poked him in the chest and rubbed his chin with her hand and said, "You're not so bad to look at, yourself."

Judge Baxter cleared his throat and didn't hide that it was simply so they could get to the proceedings. He said, "As a judge," he pulled at his judge's robe for emphasis, "there are few things that give me as much satisfaction and fulfillment with my work as what we'll be doing here today. So, I thank each and every one of you for gathering here to celebrate the union of Nick and Adalind."

Nick looked into Adalind's eyes and she looked back, but she was biting her lip playfully. Like she was up to something. Nick had been to weddings in the past where the people involved played pranks on each other, but Adalind had never seemed like a practical joker to him. So he squinted and whispered, "What are you up to?"

Judge Baxter cleared his throat again, hiding it even less that he was trying to move things along. He continued, "Now, normally a wedding officiant would get up here and drone on and on about life long commitments and, if they're a religious person, the joining of two souls and several other cliches."

Nick didn't know where this was going, but he had no objections to fast forwarding to the good parts. Though he couldn't help but to look around the room to see if there really was some master-plan prank that he was the only one not aware of. But everyone else there seemed to be just as enthralled in the judge's desire to speed things along.

The judge gestured to Nick as he said, "Now, normally, it is somewhat customary for the groom to give his vows first. However, I received a special request from Adalind that she be allowed to say what she has for her vows prior to the groom. Which I am inclined," he grinned and winked at Nick, "to grant."

Nick thought to himself, 'We had a rehearsal dinner only a couple nights ago and we are completely off script to what I was told was going to happen,' but rather than say all that, he reiterated, "What are you up to?"

Adalind smiled up at him and, just loud enough that only he could hear, she said, "Nick, relax. I have some things I have to say."

She then brought her voice to a normal volume, "Nick, I think it goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. I love you. I love you more than I thought it was possible for me to love anyone that wasn't one of my children. To be standing here, in a wedding dress, getting married to you, I never conceived for a moment this could happen until you put this," she raised her left hand to show her engagement ring, "on my finger. And even after that, I've wondered several times since if I would wake up and find it was all a dream. To think that you would propose to me, after everything I'd done to you in the past, the hurt I'd caused... I never thought you'd forgive me because I never thought I deserved your forgiveness." As close to tears as she was, a loving smile crossed her face and she said, "But, Nick, you found a way to let me into your heart and I am the happiest I have ever been for it. So, I thank you for that." A tear fell down her cheek and she half panicked, "Oh no!" and dabbed at her eye.

Rosalee came up from behind her with tissues and a compact. She was prepared for any tears that may rear their damp ugly heads in an attempt to destroy eyeliner. Nick and the rest of the people in attendance couldn't help but laugh a little to themselves at the spectacle. When she was done helping, Rosalee did a little curtsy and returned to stand behind Adalind.

Adalind continued, "As I was saying, the way you accepted me into your life when you genuinely didn't have to, and how you care for Diana and Kelly, it says so much about you as a man and a father. And now I'm gonna let you in on a secret..."

Nick tilted his head to the side, implying, 'Okayyyyy?'

Adalind continued, "The people standing up here with us. They're not your friends. They all stopped being your friends a long time ago." She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to help prevent more tears, "They are your family, Nick." She swung her arms out wide to gesture to everyone in the wedding party, "This is what you do. Every person up here with us would proudly call you a member of their family and defend you to the ends of the earth. I know that we've both lost the family closest to us, except, of course, our children. But, Nick, you accepted me and made me a part of this family." She turned back to look at Rosalee and Trubel and then back around to look behind Nick at Monroe, Hank and Wu. "A new family that you've been making for yourself. It's not just the love that you've given me yourself, but the love and acceptance of those closest to you as well. I look at the people around us and I feel so much warmth and caring and understanding. Something I've never had before if I'm being completely honest. And it's something I'm proud that my daughter," she looked over at Diana, "and our son," she looked over at Kelly, "will get to be a part of as they grow up." She returned her gaze up into Nick's eyes and said, "So, thank you for giving me what I'm sure you didn't even realize you were giving me."

She bit her lip and she displayed her mischievous grin again. Nick raised an eyebrow. Before he could ask her again what she was up to, she began speaking again. "And now for my wedding gift to you. There is one person in the wedding party that my words may have been a little more true for than the others. I had to get some background information, Monroe and Rosalee were more than happy to fill me in on the details." Here, she stopped speaking to Nick directly and turned to face those in the pews. She spoke loudly for the benefit of the people in attendance, "Many of you aren't likely to know this, but when Nick met Trubel, she was homeless. Wandering from town to town. But Nick took her in. He gave her a safe place to sleep, food, a roof over her head. He gave her a home. Security. And just like me, he gave her a family." She turned back to Nick, she spoke her words carefully as she said, "I've seen the way you two look at each other. You love her like a father loves a daughter. I asked her about it, and, she confessed to me, that she loves you like a daughter loves a father. You are the only father figure she's ever known, Nick. You made her your family."

She turned to face the people in attendance again and very loudly stated, "I think it's obvious that, in the strictest and most technical sense, Nick isn't quite old enough to be Trubel's father. But in the eyes of the law that doesn't matter. Also, Trubel is in her twenties, a full grown adult, and again, in the eyes of the law, that doesn't matter."

Nick interrupted, "What are you saying?"

Adalind smiled, "Apart from our beautiful wedding, Judge Baxter is also here at my request to oversee the signing of official adoption papers." She turned to Diana, who had been sitting quietly swinging her legs back and forth on the pew she was seated on, and said, "May I please have the papers I gave you earlier?"

Diana reached into her flower basket and pulled out paperwork that was stapled together at the corner. She smiled and handed them to her mother.

Adalind took them and said, "Thank you, baby." She turned back to the audience who was watching her intently. Even Bud's children had stopped dozing and were gawking at the proceedings.

She continued loudly, "I have in my hands here, actual LEGAL documents that, if Nick signs them, he will, forevermore, be Trubel's adoptive father." She gestured at her own children and said, "And Diana and Kelly will have a new big sister. Now remember, I'm an attorney," she pointed at Judge Baxter, "and he's a judge. We assure you, this is all perfectly legal."

She stepped back to show Nick the paperwork. The most important page, the signature page, already had two signatures on it. One was Judge Baxter's and the one next to it... Nick took the papers from Adalind and stepped over to Trubel, who, for the duration of Adalind's speech, had been unable to look Nick in the eye.

He put the signature page under her face and said, "You've already signed it?"

Trubel nodded and loud enough that only Nick could hear it, she said, "I didn't have to think twice."

Until that moment Nick had been in disbelief, thinking perhaps it was a prank. He was beginning to think he was possibly feeling how Adalind felt the night he proposed, because it never occurred to him that such a thing could even be possible. As his eyes welled with tears, he had to bend over and place his hands on his knees to steady himself.

He put one arm in the air as all he could bring himself to say was, "PEN!"

Adalind called out, "Oh, Diana, the pen!"

Diana reached into her basket again and pulled out the pen. She handed it to her mother who in turn handed it to Nick. Nick stepped back to the altar and used his finger to draw a small circle in the air, signaling to Monroe to turn around. Using Monroe's back to steady his hand, he signed papers to become a father for the second time.

Adalind called out, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you," using both of her arms, she gestured to Trubel, "Theresa Rubel Burkhardt!"

Everyone in attendance got on their feet and applauded. Several people were openly crying in the pews. Woged faces were popping up randomly through the hall. Nick walked as quickly as he could over to Trubel and wrapped his arms around her. She hugged him back and then neither of them could hold in their emotions any longer and they both cried for a brief moment. Rosalee and Monroe also had their share of tears. Wu and Hank managed to keep a grip on their emotions but they applauded along with everyone else.

Adalind had to get more tissues from Rosalee who was using quite a lot herself. As the applauding began to die down, Adalind made one more announcement, "Theresa Rubel Burkhardt would like me to remind you that she will continue to go by the nickname, 'Trubel.' Thank you."

Adalind took the paperwork from Nick and handed it to Judge Baxter who signed where he was required to sign and then handed the papers back to Adalind who handed them to Rosalee for safe keeping.

Nick had stopped hugging Trubel long enough to wipe at his eyes. He asked for tissues from Rosalee. Before he could return to the altar to continue his wedding, he hugged Trubel one more time so he could tell her, "I love you, Trubel. I will forever be grateful that you came into my life."

Trubel couldn't bring herself to say anything so she instead hugged him a little tighter.

After a few minutes of everyone clearing their faces of tears and gathering back what they could of their composure, they returned once again to the matter at hand of two people and their wedding ceremony.

Judge Baxter announced, "Now you see why I skipped a lot of the cliches and marriage related platitudes." Some laughter spread through the pews but many were still recovering from the emotion of watching a live adoption take place in the middle of a wedding.

Monroe put a hand on Nick's shoulder and said to him, "History, dude. People will be talking about this for years."

Adalind continued, "So... as I was saying... I love you, and I want very much to be your wife." She smiled to punctuate her summation.

Judge Baxter said, "And now the groom may deliver his vows."

Nick had a lot he had planned to say. He had wanted to try to clean up the near mess of a proposal he had made to Adalind months earlier. But all today's surprises had left his mind swirling. So he started as best he could, "Adalind, you've given me a tough act to follow." He smiled as he said, "I'm never going to forget what you've done for me here today. I was going to talk about how much you'd changed in the years since I've known you and all that would be true, but after today, anything I would have to say about it, couldn't do it justice. How you used to be? It just doesn't matter anymore. So, I'll just say this. You give me strength and purpose. As long as we're together I know we can accomplish anything. No matter what the world puts in front of us, we will overcome it. The love we have for each other makes us an unstoppable force and our marriage will be one for the ages..."

He paused. Adalind thought nothing of it for the first second or two. But after several seconds passed, she spoke, "Nick?"

And then he continued speaking as though there had been no break, "I love you and I want very much to be your husband." He nodded and smiled.

Judge Baxter released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and said, "Excellent. Now I'd like you take each others' hands."

They clasped hands and the Judge bade them both to repeat these vows to each other, "I promise to love you without reservation, to honor and respect you, provide for your needs as best I can, protect you from harm, comfort you in times of distress, grow with you in mind and spirit, to always be open and honest with you, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live."

The judge continued, "Do you, Nick, take Adalind to be your lawful wedded wife, to cherish in love and in friendship, in strength and in weakness, in success and in disappointment, to love her faithfully, today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you shall live?"

Nick replied, "I do."

"Do you, Adalind, take Nick to be your lawful wedded husband, to cherish in love and in friendship, in strength and in weakness, in success and in disappointment, to love him faithfully, today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you shall live?"

Adalind shifted her weight forward onto the balls of her feet in the form of a tiny hop as she said, "I do!"

Judge Baxter smiled and said, "The rings, please."

Monroe fished the rings out of his pocket and handed them to Nick. Nick in turn handed his future wedding ring to Adalind.

The judge had them both recite the very simple promise of, "With this ring, I thee wed." as they placed the rings on each others' fingers.

Then the Judge clapped his hands together and announced loudly, his voice booming through the hall, "By the power vested in me by the state of Oregon, ladies and gentleman, I present to you Nicholas and Adalind Burkhardt. Nick, you may kiss your bride."

Nick placed his hand on the small of Adalind's back so he could lean her back as he kissed her for the first time as her husband. The people in attendance applauded, many of them stood as they did. As the applause began to die down however, Nick and Adalind had remained relatively motionless. Their lips connected in the same position for several seconds.

At first, it was amusing. People assumed it was just part of their show. But after several more seconds passed it began to feel awkward. Monroe leaned towards them and said, "Uh, Nick?"

When he didn't get a response, he stepped forward and began slowly circling them. A look of puzzlement apparent on his face, but looks of panic had begun to appear in Nick and Adalind's eyes. Monroe said, "Um, Rosalee, it doesn't look like they can let go."

Diana, who'd been sitting patiently in her seat began to grow worried as she called out, "Mommy?" Diana got up from her seat and approached the couple and gently tugged at the skirt of Adalind's wedding dress as she repeated herself, "Mommy?"

A light appeared on Adalind's and Nick's cheeks. Monroe's first reaction was that it was a reflection and began looking around for the source of it. Trubel had stepped over to them and as gently as she could she attempted to separate the two of them by force with no success.

When Monroe couldn't find the source of the light he looked back at the couple to discover the light was getting brighter. Slowly but surely, the light continued to get brighter and brighter. The expressions of alarm on Nick and Adalind's faces were clear to everyone in the hall. Families began to gather their things to leave. One of the first to leave was Bud with his family and Kelly. Wu and Hank took control and began asking the remaining families and Judge Baxter to please leave as well.

Janelle Farris wouldn't have it though. She was a Deputy Sheriff and took her oath seriously, she also began to herd people out of the hall before she turned to Hank and asked, "What the hell is going on?"

Hank didn't mince words, "I think it's pretty obvious we don't know."

The light that had been growing between Nick and Adalind had gotten so bright they'd become difficult to look at. Trubel had to shield her eyes as she attempted one more time, with less care, to separate the two of them. Diana had begun repeating herself over and over, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

Rosalee was just about to escort Diana out of the hall for her safety when a blue arc of what could only be described as electricity shot out from the light between Nick's and Adalind's faces and hit Diana squarely in her chest connecting the three of them. Though Diana's eyes were open, it seemed she wasn't looking at anything in particular and became completely unresponsive. The arc of electricity buzzed very loudly and fluctuated sporadically in the air. Trubel, who'd not had any luck at all in separating them even a little, called out, "Let's all try to pull together."

It was very difficult to lean in towards them, as the light was still growing brighter and they could all feel heat coming off of them. They all did their best to grab a different limb. Trubel announced, "On the count of three... One..." Before she could make it it two, a second arc of electricity exploded out from the center of the light, knocking all of them down, except for Nick, Adalind and Diana who remained frozen where they stood.

Monroe shouted, "Oh my god," when he realized that the second electric arc had shot through the railing by the podium and must have connected with the Staff that had, until then, been laying on the floor.

Monroe shouted to Hank, "I'll try to get the Staff, you try to get Diana!"

Hank rushed forward to grab Diana, but placing his hands on her was like touching the burner of a hot stove. Monroe rushed around to the other side of the railing to discover that while the Staff was still there, it was no longer on the floor, it was floating several inches off the ground. The blankets it was wrapped in were beginning to burn.

Monroe called out to Wu to get a fire extinguisher. When Wu returned with it, the Staff was hovering off the ground by a couple feet. Monroe used the extinguisher to keep the blankets from causing more fires around the venue. In mid-process of extinguishing the flames, Rosalee yanked on his sleeve to get his attention to point out that Diana was now also hovering a couple feet off the ground.

Monroe didn't have to ask anyone, as he looked around the room, he knew that no one had any idea what was going on or how to stop it. He began feeling an odd sensation as though he was being pushed. Yet, no one was touching him. As he surveyed the room he could tell he wasn't the only one feeling it. Everyone seemed to be getting pushed away from Nick and Adalind. He leaned into it in an attempt to get back to the newly married couple, but with every step he took it became harder and harder to move in their direction. Eventually, he began losing ground. It seemed everyone else had also lost a step or two. The force continued to push everyone further and further away. Only Nick, Adalind, Diana and the Staff remained in their original locations.

Monroe was just about to fall over from the force when he felt it dissipate. Then the force that had initially been driving him away, began pulling him towards Nick and Adalind. As much as he'd been trying to originally fight the force pushing him away so that he could could try to help Nick, Adalind and Diana, once the direction had shifted, he couldn't help but to instinctively begin fighting the pulling sensation. Diana, who had seemed unable to move or speak since she had been struck by the arc of electricity, let out a long wailing scream. When, at last, she seemed to run out of air, the arcs of electricity began to crackle and pop and then with a final resounding crack everything stopped.

Whatever the source, the bright light went out on its own. The Staff and Diana both fell to the ground, Adalind and Nick collapsed onto each other on the floor, and the others, who had been resisting the bizarre gravitational pull, overcompensated and fell over hard and fast.

Janelle had a lot of questions, but she knew that some things were more important in that moment. She rushed to Diana and found that she was laying on the ground, awake and apparently lucid. Janelle introduced herself to Diana and asked if she had been hurt. Diana looked her in the eye as if to acknowledge Janelle's existence but otherwise didn't respond. She began looking around the room and then down at her chest where she could see the burn marks on the front of her dress. This didn't seem to phase her much at first. But then she began saying things that didn't make much sense to Janelle. Diana said softly, "I can't feel the room. It feels hollow."

Monroe and Rosalee's first instinct was to check on Diana as well, but when they saw she was with Janelle and that she was safe they turned their attention to Nick and Adalind who were still collapsed on the ground. Monroe attempted to roll them over so he could see their faces. When he reached out to grab Adalind's shoulder it was uncharacteristically rough to the touch. Rosalee didn't have to touch Adalind, she saw what the problem was right away. She glanced over at Janelle and verified that she was otherwise occupied and said to Monroe, "She's Woged. I think she might be fully Woged." She pulled Hank and Wu over to huddle around Nick and Adalind as she asked them both, "Can you see her Woged?"

Hank began to nod his head, though in an unsure way, so Rosalee reached out and forcibly turned Adalind's face to meet Hank's. Hank nearly fell backward at the shock of what Adalind's face looks like in its Woged appearance. He said as softly as he could, "Yeah, I see it. Is she just unconscious?"

Monroe verified, "She's definitely breathing. So, she's alive, at least." He took off his blazer and covered her with it as best he could to protect her from being seen by anyone who wasn't aware of what a Hexenbiest is.

Rosalee had struggled, but she managed to turn Nick over so she could check his pulse and breathing and it appeared as though he was also simply knocked out for the time being.

Rosalee turned to Hank and said, "Hank, you have to get her," she pointed to Janelle, "out of here. Even if she were ready to be introduced into this world, THIS," she pointed at the Woged form of Adalind on the ground, "would not be the ideal way to do it."

Hank nodded his understanding and requested that Wu take Diana to his car, call her father and do his best to explain what happened. Hank then stepped to Janelle and offered to meet her shortly so he could do his best to explain what was going on, but now was not the best time to go into it. Janelle agreed but with a lot of reluctance.

Once Janelle had left, Monroe began shaking Nick's shoulders, even going so far as to slap him on the face a few times in an effort to wake him up. As Nick began to come to and his eyes opened, he squinted like he was looking directly into the sun. Monroe asked, "Nick, are you okay? Can you say something?"

Nick put his hands to his ears and quietly said, "Monroe, please, not so loud." Nick attempted to open his eyes a bit more, but everything was more than it was supposed to be. The lights were brighter, the colors were more vivid, but the hardest things in the room to look at were Monroe and Rosalee. Nick asked, "Monroe, are you Woged right now?"

Monroe shook his head and said, "No. Why?"

Monroe's words were spoken at a regular speaking voice but to Nick, he may as well have been using a megaphone and shouting directly into Nick's ears. Nick covered his ears with his hands and told Monroe, "Stop being so loud."

Monroe didn't understand, but did as he was instructed, he lowered his voice to a whisper and said, "Dude, tell me what's going on?"

Monroe's head movement was the strongest evidence of it. Nick was able to see the faintest echo of Monroe's Blutbad face as a blue shimmer over his skin. But when Monroe shifted, the shimmer would drag behind, taking a second or two to catch up. Though the shimmer wasn't very bright to look at, it caused sharp stabbing pains in Nick's eyes. He had to cover them or he felt he was risking becoming blinded by the pain. He opened them a bit to look at Rosalee, and again he could see the faintest blue shimmer hovering just over her face of what he knew to be her Fuchsbau Woge. The pain was tolerable until she moved and the shimmer would drag behind again for a second or two and Nick was then hit with more sharp stabbing pains his eyes.

He covered his eyes as quickly as he could and Monroe asked, "What's wrong?"

Nick responded, "Everything is so intense. I can hear everything. I can see your Woge even though you're not Woged. I can smell everything. I can feel every fiber of the clothes I'm wearing against my skin. I have to get them off. It's starting to hurt."

Monroe did his best to remain in a whisper as he said, "Whatever happened, Adalind is stuck, unconscious, in a Full Woge. Everyone can see her."

Nick reacted on his first instinct and said, "Get us to the trailer." But when his clothes began to feel more and more uncomfortable, he changed his mind, "Actually, just get us to the loft. We have to get out of here and figure out what's going on."

Nick couldn't see what he was doing but he reached out carefully to pull Adalind's unconscious body onto his lap, he placed her head on his shoulder and held her while Monroe, Rosalee and Hank began making arrangements to get them out of there without being seen.