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“Here, get him back,” he heard Rosalee instruct.
He felt Hank drag him backwards into a post, propping him up against it, and then heard him step away. A few seconds later, he heard the spoon mashing up what he assumed was the eye of the Jinnamuru Xunte.
He heard Hank make a noise of disgust as Rosalee was spreading something with the spoon, quickly followed by Monroe saying, “Oh, Nick, trust me, dude… you don't wanna be seeing this.”
“Alright Nick, I'm gonna put this on your eyes. It’s gonna sting a bit.”
His attention shifted back to Rosalee as she took a step forward and placed something on his eyes. For a split second, he thought, oh, that wasn’t that bad, but as soon as he had that thought, his eyes were on fire.
He could hear Andre saying something in the background, but all of his attention was on his eyes.
Rosalee looked up at Monroe and Hank when suddenly they heard something crashing down the stairs. Hank briefly squeezed Nick’s shoulder before standing up to follow the Jinnamuru Xunte, leaving Monroe and Rosalee with Nick.
Nick doubled over, crying out in pain and reaching for the bandage over his eyes.
Rosalee quickly moved to grab his hands while Monroe pulled him back against his chest, taking his wrists from Rosalee and holding them tight.
“Nick, hey, Nick,” Rosalee said, gently cupping his face in her hands.
“Please- get it- it hurts, take it off, please,” he begged, desperately trying to pull his wrists from Monroe’s grasp.
“Crap, the police, I can hear the sirens,” Monroe said. “Here, take his hands-”
Rosalee grabbed Nick’s hands and Monroe stood up, adjusting the Grimm in his arms so that he could hold him tightly before Rosalee placed Nick’s wrists back in his hands.
Rosalee and Monroe looked at each other, and then back at Nick.
“We have to get him out of here,” she said urgently.
“My house, it’s closer,” Monroe said, nodding.
Meanwhile, they were trying their best to tune out the sounds of anguish Nick was making, knowing that they couldn’t help him, not with the police on the way.
Somehow they managed to get him in the car and to Monroe’s house without too much incident. Monroe managed to sit on the bed with Nick, returning to his previous position, his arms wrapped tightly around Nick’s torso to keep him pinned against his chest.
At some point during the car ride, Nick’s struggles had subsided, replaced with quiet crying.
Rosalee sat next to them and took Nick’s face in her hands once again, this time gently rubbing the tears away. Nick leaned into her hands, whimpering softly.
“God, Nick, I’m so sorry,” she said before moving to grab the paste and another bandage from her satchel.
She looked up at Monroe, who nodded and tightened his grip, before saying, “Nick, I’m going to change the bandage now, okay?”
She didn’t wait for a response, quickly spreading the rest of the paste onto the second bandage before removing the one over Nick’s eyes, prompting a cry of pain.
“Sorry, sorry…”
She quickly plastered the second bandage on, and it seemed like it was almost worse than the first time.
“Stop, please, I can’t-”
Monroe rested his cheek on Nick’s head, not being able to do much else, and Rosalee gently grabbed his shoulders.
“I know, it’s gonna be okay. You can do this,” she said firmly, sliding one hand up to his face and grabbing his hand with the other. “You’ve got this.”
Monroe shifted his grip, holding both wrists in one hand, using the other to gently run his fingers though the Grimm’s hair.
“Nick, hey, I need you to listen to me. Take a deep breath, okay? In and out,” Rosalee instructed.
Nick tried, though it ended up being more of a hiccuping sob than a breath, but it was better than nothing.
“Good. Okay, you’re doing great. Focus on me.”
Nick nodded. He was doing his best, but it was hard to concentrate on anything when it felt like his eyes were on fire. He kept trying to take breaths, eventually managing a full one.
“Good, good job. You’re doing great, Nick,” he heard Rosalee say.
“How- ho long- when-” he couldn’t get the whole sentence out, but luckily Rosalee understood.
“You can take it off in ten minutes, you’re almost done,” she reassured, but to Nick, ten minutes seemed like an eternity.
“You’re so close, man,” Monroe said, speaking up. “Just a little longer, now. You can do it.”
Nick nodded, hoping that he could, in fact, do it.
“Can I-” he tried to tug his arms out of Monroe’s hold and, after checking with Rosalee, he let him go.
Nick immediately turned into Monroe’s chest, wrapping an arm around him. He reached out for Rosalee, but she was already pressing up against him, doing her best to offer comfort.
“Ten more minutes,” he mumbled, “I can do ten more minutes.”
Time seemed to pass slower than he had ever thought possible, but after a while, Rosalee ducked out of his hold, getting up to grab something.
“What-”
“Be back in, like, a second,” she said.
True to her word, she came right back and sat back down next to them, turning him towards her.
“Okay, I’m going to take this off now,” she said, reaching around his head to untie the knot and gently peeling it away.
“God, that burns…” he hissed, squeezing his eyes shut.
He felt something touch his eye and flinched back.
“No, not again, I-”
“No, hey, no, no, I’m so sorry, I’m just cleaning it off, “ Rosalee quickly reassured him, immediately pulling back, feeling horrible. “Just a damp washcloth, promise.”
This time, he let her clean his eyes, doing his best not to flinch away as the rough washcloth touched his sensitive, raw-feeling skin.
He felt her pull away for a second, and then her hands were back on his face, no washcloth this time.
“Okay,” she said softly, gently rubbing her fingers just beneath his eyes. “Can you open your eyes for me?”
He did, but immediately closed them again.
“Bright.”
She moved to turn the lights off and he opened them again, squinting.
“Oh my god, I can see. I can see!”
He sat up pulling away from Monroe to look around the room, ecstatic, before tears started running down his cheeks again.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Monroe asked frantically, both him and Rosalee moving to hug him.
Nick nodded. “I wasn’t- I didn’t know if I’d actually be able- I- I can see. It worked.”
He wrapped his arms around them both, and smiled.
“I- thank you. For everything.”
“Always.”