Howl.

Sarah Whitley had been found three hours ago in the woods not far from where she lived with her father and step-mother, ice-cold and unconscious.

A fresh purple bruise forming against the pale skin of her left eye and her black hair matted and strained from excessive tugging. Finger marks had been found around her wrist and the front of her dress had been torn in the struggle. Her hand had reached out and the scarlet red of her lipstick could be seen clearly on the half eaten apple lying just at her numb fingertips.

She had been found by her boyfriend late in the afternoon after she had left him a panicked voicemail almost two hours prior the initial attack, Nick had listened to it over and over again, the crunching of leaves that indicated two separate pairs of feet running through the tree's, her breath hitched as she sobbed the same three words 'she's after me, she's after me...'

It had followed with Nick and Hank spending the afternoon searching through the woods in hope of finding footprints or other incriminating evidence that could lead to finding whoever had been responsible for Sarah's attack.

Interviewing anyone in connection with the victim or anyone who may have seen what had happened or heard something while around the park area, they had come up empty handed, no disturbances had been reported and none of the surrounding houses remembered anything other than Sarah leaving the house late that morning.

"Sounds a lot like that Snow White story if you ask me," Hank sighed watching Nick poke at the apple confined to a plastic bag with the end of his pen curiously. "All we need are seven little men to come out shouting about a witch."

"Yeah," Nick replied his eyes instantly shooting up from the apple when he too realised that there was a distinct familiarity of the way in which the crime had been conducted. Everything down to the black hair and blood red lipstick screamed fairytale at him, he felt a cold churn in his stomach. "Yeah, you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Hank snorted lazily swirling in his chair again when Nick shot up and grabbed his jacket. "Hey! where are you going?"

"I just need to check something; I'll give you a call if I find anything." Nick replied hurriedly shrugging on his jacket and snatching the see-through bag and apple from his desk. Pointedly ignoring the snarky comment Hank had thrown at him as he pushed through the doors of the precinct and climbed into his car.



Monroe didn't need to open the door to know that Nick was stood on his porch, riffling through his pockets and mumbling to himself. softly The darkly familiar scent of the Grimm had already distracted him from his latest project and no matter how hard he had tried to get back to what he was doing he found himself setting down his glasses, and making his way to the front door just as Nick knocked.

Monroe stared at him for a second; a frown weighing at his mouth when Nick pushed passed him and squared his shoulders, soft grey eyes cautiously glancing around before a small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth in greeting. "What do you want now? I have a busy life too you know."

"Really?" Nick asked fishing around in his pockets when Monroe scowled at him. "Here." He mumbled tossing the apple to Monroe who turned the bag over and over in his hands distastefully before looking back at Nick.

"Is this your idea of a gift basket? I know you like to think of us as friends, man but seriously? Sharing your lunch with me is a bit much. Especially when you wrap it up so poorly." Monroe mumbled lifting the bag to his nose.

"What do you smell?" Nick inquired moving closer to Monroe when he wrinkled his nose and pulled back abruptly, the apple quickly thrown back into Nick's awaiting hands.

"Apples," He answered looking back up at Nick who relaxed his shoulders and sighed in relief. "And poison." he added.

Nick tensed again, groaning loud enough only for Monroe to hear as he rubbed tiredly at his eyes, "Perfect," he whispered shoving the bag back into his pocket. "Any chance it could be something a human could get hold of?"

"No, you can't get that stuff anywhere, except maybe off the black market but even then it's rare only witches know how to make it and not many of them do that anymore. A witch a few years ago made one just for show accidentally added it to a bowl of apples she had laid out for dinner, couldn't find it in the end. Killed her husband accidentally." Monroe mumbled making his way past Nick into the kitchen. "Where'd you find that thing anyway? And what poor soul's eaten it?"

"A girl Hank and I were called to an hour ago."

"Ah, horrible way to go." Monroe whistled morbidly as he padded around the kitchen collecting clean mugs from behind Nick and fiddling with the coffee maker.

"She isn't dead," Nick mumbled leaving the 'yet' part silently hanging from the tip of his tongue. "She's in the hospital. She's was unconscious when we found her, the nurse said she went into a coma as soon as she arrived at the hospital. No one knows what's wrong, the poison hasn't shown up in any of the blood test and her body isn't deteriorating in anyway. She's just laying there."

"That stuff usually kills instantly," Monroe shrugged. "It's made especially with that idea in mind. A single bite and the victim just drops dead. It's probably the cleanest way to kill someone, no blood or screaming just a body to get rid of in the end."

"And yet she didn't die." Nick stated leaning against the counter when Monroe settled the Coffee beside his hand with a slow smile. "What do you know about Snow White?"

"Seriously? I thought this was going to be a social visit." Monroe groaned rolling his eyes when Nick nodded. "Why don't you just read the book? Surely even you've heard the story of Snow White. Everyone knows the story of Snow White."

"Funnily enough fairytales were never a big part of my childhood." Nick mumbled crossing his arms at his chest when Monroe rolled his eyes again and turned back to his own coffee. "Come on Monroe, I've seen the film but I don't know what really happened, that's what I have you for."

"Neither do I!" Monroe protested. "That was a long, long time ago. I only know what is written in the books. And what my Grandma use to tell me/ She was the daughter of a king and queen, her mum died giving birth and her dad re-married—"

"So she had step-mum?" Nick echoed, quickly apologizing when Monroe scowled. "Sarah's mum left when she was young and her dad re-married a few years ago." He added out loud before Monroe coughed and arched his brow impatiently. "Sorry, sorry carry on."

"Yeah, her dad re-married a witch who was envious of Snow White because she was prettier or something like that; anyway she sent Snow White and a huntsman out into the woods where he was told to kill her and take back her heart as proof that had done as she had asked."

"Her dress had been torn." Nick whispered interrupting the Blutbad again.

"Anyway," Monroe groaned. "The huntsmen didn't have the heart to kill her and Snow White made a promise never to return home if he left her in the woods which he did. Taking the heart of a boar back for the queen. Snow White then found a house belonging to seven dwarfs – I can't believe I'm doing this." Monroe groaned. "It's ridiculous, I don't even do this for Holly and I like helping her."

"Please Monroe; I need your help on this."

"You always need my help! Don't I help you out enough? Can't you get someone else to tell you the story or actually read it for yourself?" He mumbled; stiffening when Nick looked up at him with those scarily adorable puppy dog eyes.

"But that's what I have you for, come on Monroe you know I wouldn't ask unless I was really desperate." Nick whispered clapping his hands together when Monroe seemed ultimately unaffected by his big grey eyes and sloppy frown. "It's always better coming from you anyway."

"See it's things like that, that make Roddy think that we have a thing." Monroe growled, shaking his head to clear the hot flush climbing up his throat, especially when Nick's eyes widened in confusion and he opened his mouth without anything to say. "Fine, when she got to the house she ate some of the food and slept in a few beds that's where the dwarfs found her, they told her she could stay as long as she cooked and cleaned while they were at work."

"Did she?" Nick asked ignoring the pointed look Monroe threw his way.

"Yes, when the witch found out that she was still alive—"

"How did she find out?"

"She had some enchanted mirror or something like that. Haven't you heard the line 'mirror, mirror on the wall who's the fairest of them all'?" Monroe asked almost relieved when Nick nodded. "Well, when the queen asked and the mirror replied that it was Snow White living in the forest with the dwarfs the witch set out to kill her herself this time to ensure that she really was dead."

"With the apple?" Nick prompted sagging in defeat when Monroe shook his head.

"Not at first, first she tried strangling her with some lace but the dwarfs came home in time to cut her loose and then with an enchanted comb, then she gave Snow White the apple, only half of it though. To persuade Snow White that it was safe she ate the non-poisoned side herself, giving the poisoned half to Snow White."

"And she died." Nick summarized.

"If you'd shut up, you'd find out." Monroe growled. "No she didn't die. I mean technically she did die, I mean she didn't have a heart beat and the mirror didn't dispute the witch's claim in fairness." Monroe mumbled pondering the idea for a second. "The dwarfs then made her a coffin from glass and laid her to rest in the middle of the forest—" Monroe stopped eyeing Nick expectantly.

Nick opened his mouth to prompt Monroe further only to find that he'd moved away from the counter and was stood just in front of Monroe, his eyes wide under his stupid teenage boy hair cut and his phone ringing loudly in the silent space between them. "It's Hank." Nick mumbled up at Monroe who shrugged as Nick answered. "Hank... Yeah, I'm on my way... no I didn't find anything."

"I'm guessing that story time is over then?" Monroe mumbled grinning when Nick downed the last of his coffee and nodded. "Well as usually it's been fun," he mumbled, the sarcasm of his tone bypassing Nick who nodded eagerly. "Are you coming for dinner tonight or will I get to have my house to myself?"

"No, I'm coming for dinner. Since Juli... I haven't been shopping so there isn't any food at mine and I still need your help with the case." Nick smiled. "About five right?"

"Five." Monroe confirmed automatically because having Nick over for dinner was far from an irregular occurrence, in fact having Nick over all together wasn't as irregular as Monroe's family would have liked, if they knew. "If you're late, I'll eat without you."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."



Monroe should have known that Nick already had an idea up his sleeve for the night, one that Monroe wouldn't like, when the detective had turned up with Monroe's favourite beer in hand and a smile that was too nice even for Nick plastered on his face. "Whatever it is, the answer is no."

"What?" Nick asked furrowing his brow in confusion when Monroe groaned and gestured for the Grimm to come in. "Look, just hear me out." He added when Monroe settled his hands on his hips and glanced down at the beer in Nick's hand. "I just thought that maybe you could..."

"Sniff it out?" Monroe finished and Nick nodded.

"It won't take long and we can do it after dinner if you like. I promise I won't bother you with anything else, but we need something and since you have like super senses I thought that you could find something we missed and I'd owe you, I don't know, a hundred?"

"One day I'm going to want to claim all of those I.O.U's and it isn't going to be pretty." Monroe growled teasingly with a fond shake of the head when Nick beamed up at him. "I'll get my coat."

"Thank you." Nick whispered and Monroe had to fight the smile from the corners of his mouth when Nick almost lit up the entire room with relief. "Seriously, I owe you big time."



Monroe had searched the entire area and come up with the same thing Nick and Hank had earlier that day. Nothing. Even when he had glanced over his shoulder at Nicks desperate look and he'd tried even harder to find something that would bring a smile to Nicks face or at least help lighten the mood a little.

"Whatever it is, it's good." Monroe sighed shrugging off his coat when Nick slumped dejectedly into the hallway and toed off his shoes. "I could smell the apples and the girl, but whatever attacked her left nothing."

"I know," Nick mumbled. "Thanks for trying. I appreciate it." He added hanging his coat beside Monroe's as though it belong there and strangely enough Monroe believed that it did. He had come down to see Nicks coat and shoes beside his own so many times in the last few months that he'd almost forgotten what it was like not to see them side by side at the door.

Having Nick around so much had been different, difficult at first and defiantly not something that he had particularly wanted to get use to, but Nick was persistent, and stubborn, he'd muscled his way into Monroe's life and had quickly became a permanent fixture.

Monroe couldn't remember what his life had been like before he'd had to start sneaking around the house in the morning to do his Pilates because Nick had slept on the couch. Or when he could sit for hours on his own focused entirely on his clocks and not come into contact with another person for days, he didn't miss it.

He fussed and moaned that Nick only came when he wanted something or needed Monroe's help but secretly he was glad of it, he was sickeningly happy to have Nick pounding at his door with cheap beer and a sloppy smiles early in the morning or late into the night after some company and something to eat, which Monroe was always more than happy to provide.

On both accounts.

It wasn't until he had come back into the living room, two beers in hand and found that Nick had flopped down on the couch and curled up with a heavy sigh that Monroe took notice of the change in the Grimm's scent, Nick no longer smelt of lingering traces of danger and the wolf inside of him no longer bitched about Nick being the enemy, instead when he was this close to Nick he smelt of security, trust and family and his inner wolf bitched continuously that he wasn't nearly as close as he should have been.

It scared him.

"You know," Nick began in a whisper. "In the film a prince kissed her and that was it! She just woke up. Any chance we could try the same thing?"

"Oh yeah," Monroe teased collapsing beside Nick. "I'll just give the royal family a call; see if they can send over one of the princes'. I have the number around here somewhere." He added around the head of his bottle.

"Right, forget I said anything." Nick grumbled defensively but Monroe couldn't let Nick off, how could he when Nick had dragged him into the woods and kept him there until it was almost midnight sniffing trees and hunting for footprints?

Nick deserved Monroe's sarcasm; the least he could do was just take it when Monroe had tried so hard to actually find something for him. Just because he couldn't stand to look at that defeated frown on Nicks face in the woods or keep smelling that awful sadness all over Nick whenever he appeared at Monroe's shoulder.

"What are you watching cartoon's for anyway?" Monroe snorted. "Please tell me you haven't been watching them for tips. If you have I might just have to kill myself."

"No," Nick stated heavily sighing when Monroe glanced sideways at him. "Juliette made me watch it when we first started dating, she couldn't believe that I'd never seen it. It wasn't even that good."

Monroe stopped, glancing down at his feet with a light curse when Nick squared his shoulders defensively. "Sorry." He mumbled because he was, he knew that Nick was still cut up about the break up and that Monroe would only be adding salt to the wound if he teased any further. "It wouldn't work though, unless this prince of yours is some sort of creature. Which I doubt, in the book the apple just fell out after said prince dropped her."

"The doctors already checked that nothing was blocking her airways." Nick grumbled, relaxing back against the couch when he lifted the bottle to his mouth and drank thirstily. "So, are you still going to make me something to eat or do I have to go home? I know it's late but I'm starving and I've been looking forward to this all day!"

"I wish you wouldn't say things like that." Monroe grumbled under his breath when Nick reached across the table for the remote. "Fine, you just sit and relax and I'll slave away in the kitchen for you."

"Okay."