Grimm Season Six, Episode Sixteen: One Happy Family

Chapter Five

Trubel was looking anxiously out the window of Wu's squad car as he drove her and Tara to the scene of the homicide. She was nervous about how she should be acting around Tara. Should she be making small talk? Should she coax Wu into saying something?

Or maybe she should keep sitting there in silence like a weirdo while Tara wondered why she had to spend the lengthy drive staring at the back of Trubel's head and waiting for her to do something. That should go well...

Why wasn't Tara saying anything? She seemed charming and social and interesting. Shouldn't she have something to say?

Trubel turned her head slightly and saw Tara watching her out of the corner of her eye. Tara smiled gently, noticing Trubel's curiosity. Trubel panicked, cringing and turning her gaze back to the forest lining the highway.

It seemed like Wu didn't like the silence, either. He attempted a conversation a few times to fill dead air between them. "So, are there a lot of forests like this where you're from?" he asked.

"I live in New York. Central Park is the only place I spend any time outdoors," she answered bluntly, still looking at Trubel and waiting for any sort of interaction. She was just as nervous as Trubel about making a good impression.

"New York, huh?" Wu asked with interest. "I've never been to the city. Is it anything like Portland?"

Tara shrugged even though Wu couldn't see her in the backseat. "I don't know. I haven't really seen Portland," she said, speaking just as bluntly as before. She didn't want to talk to Wu, she wanted to get to know her sister.

Wu gave a conversation one last try. "Well, I'm sure it's no New York, but there's plenty to see in Portland. Any of us would be happy to show you around," he offered.

"Great," Tara said politely. "Thank you." She didn't contribute anything else to discuss, and Wu didn't want to annoy the new girl in town, so he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he turned the volume up on his car's stereo, and the song, "Drown" by the Smashing Pumpkins began to play. Surprisingly, the music elicited a response from Tara.

"Is this the Smashing Pumpkins?" she asked.

Trubel couldn't help herself. She had to ask, "The who?"

"The Smashing Pumpkins," Wu answered. "Yes, it is."

Trubel looked at Wu and Tara with confusion. "Am I supposed to know who they are?" she asked.

Tara laughed happily and said, "Probably not. They were popular in the '90s, so you would have been a little too young to really remember them."

"So why are you listening to them?" Trubel asked Wu. She'd never heard him play music before. Maybe he was into old rock music...

"Nick likes them," Wu answered, suddenly sounding grumpy. "I thought maybe he would drive with me."

"You're still kissing up to him for the best man competition," Trubel concluded with understanding. She scoffed and shook her head while Wu desperately said, "It's not over until it's over."

"We'll help you out. I'll make sure Nick rides with you on the way back," Trubel promised.

"I've always liked you," Wu jokingly approved of Trubel.

Now that the awkward tension of silence was broken, Trubel decided to keep the momentum going. "Do you like the Smashing Pumpkins?" she asked her sister.

Tara shook her head. "Not even a little. I try not to think about that decade," Tara answered simply. Her tone was bright and cheerful, but something about her expression told Trubel that there was more to the story. She'd have to ask about it later...