It was the same thing every morning. Get up, eat, shower and plaster on some kind of animal secretion to hide her scent. She was working at a local clinic hours outside of Toronto. She loved being a doctor and having to hide wouldn't stop her from her second love. Medicine was always her first love but took second place the minute she met and fell in love with Bo.
Bo. She wondered how the succubus was doing but she couldn't sit on her thoughts all day. Patients needed her. She treated everything from dog bites to motor accidents almost daily. Some of the car accidents were mostly due to someone drinking and driving. Most survived. Others did not. Lauren had seen enough death in Afghanistan to haunt her for the rest of her life but she still loved being a doctor. If she could save at least one patient a day, her job was well worth it. She kept to herself mostly as not to draw too much attention to the Fae brilliance she knew she had inside. She worked a 8 hour shift knowing she needed to make a phone call every day around 4 pm. She would call Dyson. He was her go to for everything happening with her favorite succubus. Most of his reporting on Bo was that she was doing well but it was always too dangerous for Lauren to talk to her much less come home.
Her call was over and her day was done. She headed back to her hotel room. It was a nice enough hotel. The doctor had seen people living worse. She kept the bare essentials. She even had food. She laughed when she thought of how Bo would tease her about forgetting to eat when she was in full on geek mode. In her talks with Dyson she would also learn if anything Fae was in her neighborhood in case she needed to relocate immediately. This was a quiet life. And a raging doctor mind was getting bored in this environment. She longed for cases that kept her up all hours of the night. The clinic closed at 6 so there was nothing she could do about more hours as the clinic's budget wasn't that great. "You can't put a price on a life", Lauren often thought to herself but she kept going to work day in and day out.
Before she headed to her room she would stop off in the woods just a block away to find another animal scent. She did scrub hard when she arrived at work but the rest of her smelled like she slept in the woods. None of her coworkers or patients complained as the good doctor was thorough with treating the patients. She had a warm comforting smile that calmed their souls directing their minds away from the present pain and worry.
Secretions secured in a jar, she headed home to a nice long bath. Once she bathed she rarely stepped out of her room for anything. She couldn't risk being discovered. She soaked for hours until she couldn't keep her eyes open. She crawled into bed and hoped all of this loneliness would be over soon. She was tired of hiding. Tired of being a slave again. This time a slave to the fear of the Fae that were after her.
Another day dawned. Get up, eat, shower, plaster the latest secretion. Lauren took deep breaths trying to pump herself up for another day of this life. She was somewhat free but it wasn't the freedom she craved. She wanted to be free to go and do whatever. This would be over soon. She just had to keep telling herself that. She couldn't afford to break down. There was no shoulder to cry on. She didn't trust anyone she worked with to confide her problems to. All she had was her daily phone call to Dyson as her only link to her old life.
The clinic was slow at first but by mid morning was buzzing with patients with various illnesses and injuries. Lauren was alarmed when a coworker mentioned a patient they treated and told to come back the next day had healed already. Lauren was close to believing that her cover would be blown so she used more of the secretions and kept her hair up under her surgical mask. She wore extra scrubs to bulk up her physique.
"Why would the Fae be coming here, to a human clinic? Lauren asked herself as she looked around. She snuck away during her lunch hour to try and call Dyson. She didn't get a answer and started to panic. She didn't like the sinking feeling that was on fire in her stomach. The doctors that were talking about that particular patient said he seemed to be guiding the doctor's hands during his treatments. To Lauren that sounded like a Mesmer. A Mesmer that didn't particularly like her.
Lauren decided that night that she needed to relocate again. She saved up some money so she could rent a car, if needed. She packed up. Before she left she called Dyson again. He answered and told her that he didn't know of Vex being in her area or any Fae for that matter.
His voice wasn't convincing but she told him she was changing cities and hotels again. He told her to call if she needed anything else. Bo was fine but Lauren was still in danger. He would keep tabs on everything going on back home. He and Kenzi were taking good care of Bo and Lauren needed to stay away for her own safety. Vex and Dyson were never best friends so how could Lauren be sure Dyson knew anything about Vex's whereabouts or antics? She wondered internally.
In her mind Lauren was on her own. She had no choice but to keep contacting Dyson or she would never know how Bo was or if the Fae was still after her. She only trusted Dyson because he had police contacts and could sniff out any scent. Even her own if she stopped the secretions.
She called a cab and asked to be taken to the farthest hotel the driver knew of. Her new hotel was indeed far out and had a adjoining diner in front. Lauren applied for a job the next day. Waitressing. She never had a job like this but how hard could it be? The plates would be a lot lighter than assisting some Fae to a gurney. After a week of settling in to her new routine her calls to Dyson started again. She started to wonder just how bad the threat was as almost 4 months had come and gone. Wouldn't Kenzi ask Dyson about her since he told her they both were taking care of Bo and trying to keep her out of danger?
Lauren went back to her morning routine almost down to the last detail. She stopped the secretions as she did not want it to blend with the food she served. Lauren felt a little better but still had chills running up and down her spine. Their daily calls becoming far and in between, Dyson agreed to come out and inspect the area to see if he detected any Fae. He told Lauren he would be out in a week. She gave him the address and phone number to the restaurant should he not be able to reach her by the burner cell he had provided. Lauren went to work that morning a little relieved until she saw some customers come in as she peeked through the little window leading out to the dining area. She saw the Una Mens. All of them.
"Shit! Lauren whispered.
Lauren had convinced her boss to let her take off early. She fled out the back. She called a coworker and asked her to bring her bag to her. Her cell phone was inside. She knew if she called from any other number Dyson likely wouldn't answer. She couldn't go back in, she didn't know if they were still there and she was in real danger now.
Her coworker met her at her room with her bag. She immediately went into her room and called Dyson.
Dyson was at the police station but he was away from his desk when his phone rang.
"Dyson listen I don't have a lot of time to talk but the Una Mens have found me", Lauren rambled into the phone.
"Lauren? Said a stunned Bo glaring at Dyson walking towards her.