Author's Note: Hey guys I'm back! So sorry for the long wait. I had the equivalent of a thesis due for my teaching credential program. It turned out to be 120 pages long! I also student teach during the day and take night classes. So yeah, I'm sure you guys can see why I was stressing and unable to find time to write. I am back to working on Tortura, but I starting getting side tracked by this idea. It has refused to leave me alone since December! So I finally gave in and began writing it. It will be a chapter story, but not as long as my others. I'm guessing about 6 or 7 chapters total. Then again, my stories have a tendency to take on a life of their own so we'll see ;) As always, I hope you enjoy it. Please leave me a review! They brighten my day and I could really use that after this past week.
Takes place right after "Truth and Consequences" in season 2. Italics in this chapter refer to a flashback.
Disclaimer: Lost Girl isn't mine nor are any of the characters being used in this story.
By Your Side
"This is where I belong right now, by your side."
Kenzi sat on the edge of the bed, watching her boyfriend sleep. A stray tear ran down her cheek, her heart torn. She gently eased out of bed so as not to wake Nate. She slid her boots on, quickly lacing them up. She picked up his wallet from the nightstand, taking, flipping through the dollar bills inside it. She hoisted her still-packed duffel bag over her shoulder. Her hand touched their hotel room doorknob, looking back one last time at the man she loved. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. She stepped outside, closing the door slowly with the knob still turned so it wouldn't click. Kenzi took a deep breath of the crisp night air before proceeding towards the hotel office. She left her duffel bag hidden around the side of the office before entering.
The clerk looked up, smiling at the woman walking towards him. "How can I help you miss?"
Kenzi returned the smile, "hi. My husband and I are staying in room 326. We have a wake up call scheduled for 6am. The business meeting we were driving to has just been cancelled," she rolled her eyes. "Go figure right? Anyways, is there any chance I can cancel the wake up call? There's no point in getting up early anymore and my husband is so tired from all this driving. He deserves to sleep in."
"Sure thing miss." The man hit a few keys on his computer, clicking the mouse every once in a while.
Without turning her head, Kenzi's eyes shifted taking in her surroundings. Only one surveillance camera was in the room and it was pointed towards her and the register. She easily recognized the make and model as an SSA version 7, one of the cheapest security cameras available. She also knew that if it was working properly then the small red light on the right side would be on which it was obviously not.
"There we are, room 326." The man pushed a few more keys. "Your wake up call has been cancelled. Is there anything else I can do for you tonight?"
Kenzi leaned onto the counter, "actually there is. I hate to be a bother; my husband always says I'm so forgetful. So what do I do? I go and leave my toothbrush and toothpaste at home," she laughed out of embarrassment. "You wouldn't by any chance happen to have any extras would you?"
"Of course! I'll go get those for you." The clerk went into the back room, riffling through some drawers.
Once he was out of sight, Kenzi slipped behind the cash register. She pulled on two gloves so she wouldn't leave any fingerprints behind. She clicked on a current hotel reservation, checking out a random guest. She clicked on payment and then checked the payment method as cash. The register drawer popped open. She quickly grabbed a few fifties and twenties, shoving it into her back pocket. She could hear footsteps coming from the back. Kenzi slid the cash register drawer back into place with a soft click to make sure it locked. She ripped off her gloves, stuffing them back into her jacket pocket. She slid back into her original position on the opposite side of the hotel desk, pretending she had just been waiting this entire time.
The man appeared seconds later, carrying a new tube of toothpaste and an unopened box containing a toothbrush. "Here you go," he handed the items to his guest. "Will that be all?"
"That's it, thank you," she smiled kindly. "I'll see you in the morning for check out!" She waved bye to him over her shoulder.
"Good night miss! Sleep well," he called after her.
Kenzi picked up her duffel bag after she exited the office before rounding the corner of the hotel, walking towards the back. She silently apologized to Nate for any trouble her sticky fingers may cause him. He will be questioned about the missing money, but she knew they couldn't pin it on him. They would have to release him. Still, when she got back home she would have Dyson and Hale look into it just to make sure they weren't trying to make Nate look guilty or anything. At least him being detained would give her more time. She sighed in relief, noticing the cab she had called earlier when she had told Nate she was going to take a shower was parked nearby. She opened the door, tossing her bag inside. "Where to?" the taxi driver asked. Kenzi handed him a piece of paper with her home address on it. "This is a long drive. It's going to cost a lot."
Kenzi pulled out a small wad of cash. "I know, I've got it covered." The man nodded to her, shifting the car into drive before exiting out onto the main street. Kenzi sighed, leaning her head against the cool window. It felt good against her hot skin, calming her throbbing headache. Memories from two days ago raced through her head.
Kenzi walked inside the clubhouse, surprised to find the man she had just broken up with only 24 hours ago sitting on her couch. "Nate!" she exclaimed, happy to see him. She never thought she would see his handsome face again. But after what Kenzi had said to him and how he reacted, why was he here now? "What's going on?"
Nate looked up at her with a serious expression, fidgeting with his hands. He stood up, walking over to her. He grasped her small hands in his own. She glanced down at the gesture, her piercing blue eyes looking to his for answers. "Kenzi…I know the truth."
Kenzi took a step back, breaking the contact. "What? The truth about what?"
"About what's going on."
"Well would you care to share it with me?" Kenzi played stupid, still unsure what he was talking about exactly.
"Kenz, Bo called me this morning. She-" he tried to explain.
"Bo?!" Kenzi cut him off in shock. "What exactly did she tell you?"
Nate took a deep breath, knowing this was going to be difficult for them both. "She told me that you're in danger Kenzi. She told me that I need to get you out of here, that if you stay here, there's a good chance you could die," his voice breaking on the last word.
"No," Kenzi whispered. She couldn't believe this was happening. Her best friend, her sister, had betrayed her. Kenzi had thought Bo understood last night, but apparently not. Apparently she thought Kenzi couldn't make her own decisions. Instead, she had to go behind Kenzi's back and get Nate to take her away. "No, I'm not leaving," she said adamantly. "Nate, you don't understand. What's coming isn't after me, it's after Bo! I can't just leave her here alone!" she shouted.
"I know, she told me. She explained to me that that's why you pushed me away. Kenzi, I know you want to protect her, but she also wants to protect you, and so do I."
"I can't…I can't…" Kenzi kept mumbling, shaking her head back and forth. "I won't."
"Kenzi please," Nate begged. "Come with me. I'll take care of you. You're in danger if you stay with Bo. She can't run from it, but you can. You can survive."
Survive. That one word resonated in her mind. That's all she had ever done with her life is survive. She didn't just want to survive anymore, she wanted to live. Living meant doing what was right, damn the consequences. She couldn't live knowing Bo had sacrificed herself to save her. Kenzi had never felt more alive than when she was with Bo. No one had loved her until she met the succubus. She was not going to let the first person who ever cared about her die. "I'm sorry Nate. This isn't right. I won't abandon her when she needs me the most."
Nate reached for her hand, but she snatched it away. "Kenzi," he began, afraid of how she would react to his next bit of news. "I was hoping you would come with me willingly. Staying here isn't an option. Your bag is already packed and waiting in my car."
Kenzi took another step back, her heart beating hard in her chest. Everything was spiraling out of control. "I'm not going anywhere," she gritted her teeth.
"Kenzi-"
"No!" she yelled. "If you really love me, you'll let me stay."
"It's because I love you that I can't let you stay," He put his arms around her, leading her outside. Kenzi fought back, pushing and shoving him the entire way, but Nate refused to budge. He would take any beating if it meant keeping Kenzi safe. She meant more to him than even his own life, and now he knew that Bo felt the same. She contacted him because they both had Kenzi's best interests at heart. They stopped at the passenger side door of his car. Kenzi's chest was heaving from exertion and anger. She had a deadly look in her eyes, one he had never seen before. "Please get in," he begged. "I can deal with you being mad at for the rest of my life, as long as you're alive."
Kenzi stared at him, glancing back at the abandoned building she had come to love. Bo wanted her gone, and Nate wanted her. She knew in heart that they were doing this out of love, but at the moment she held nothing but resentment for them both. She didn't give Nate the satisfaction of an answer. She opened the door, slamming it shut once she was inside the car. Nate breathed a huge sigh of relief. Kenzi stared out the window, never once turning to face him. The entire drive, a nagging feeling inside of her kept telling her to go back, that this wasn't right. She tried suppress it, telling herself that it was too late now. The feeling made her physically sick. Nate had to pull off to the side of the road twice when Kenzi literally got sick to her stomach. He held her hair back while she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the ground. She only spoke to him when necessary. Otherwise, she remained silent and stoic. Nate tried to get her to talk. She hated being mad at him, but she couldn't shake the anger that boiled within her.
Kenzi bit her bottom lip hard, trying to stifle the sob that wanted to escape. Silent tears streamed down her face. She felt horrible leaving Nate behind, especially without even saying goodbye. She hoped the note she left behind on her pillow would be enough. Despite ditching Nate, and going against both his and Bo's wishes, Kenzi felt so much better than she had the past few days. Her heart was lighter, like this is what she was supposed to be doing. She had tried to tell Bo before what her heart told her; "I know what you told me. And what Trick told me and Nate. But what about what my heart told me? It told me that this is where I belong right now, by your side." She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she was home already.
