Title: Hydrotherapy

Author: hbomba

Rating: M

Summary: Bo doesn't appreciate Lauren's new boss running her ragged. A little TLC is in order.

There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them." - Sylvia Plath

Their relationship was unconventional in every sense of the word but Bo and Lauren had carved out some essential rules which they lived by. And still sometimes life got in the way and it was understandable but it had been three days. Three days since Bo had heard from Lauren beyond a truncated phone call from her cell phone to say she wouldn't be over each night. When the phone rang on the fourth night, Bo gritted her teeth.

"Hey babe," Lauren said, rushed already.

"Hey," Bo echoed.

"I'm afraid I'll be late tonight. I have a few more things to finish up before I can get freed up." Silence. Bo was still in shock that she hadn't called it off again. "Bo?"

She snapped back to the present. "Yeah. I mean, sure."

"I hope that you didn't have any plans for us."

Bo wanted to ask why she would have plans for someone who kept cancelling on her, but bit the inside of her cheek instead. "No," she started. "I mean, no." She sighed.

"Is everything okay?" Lauren asked through the receiver.

"Yeah, I'm just…" Bo scrambled for an excuse. "I'm drunk." She closed her eyes and shook her head. She wasn't drunk, of course, but it was the only excuse that would absolve her strange behavior.

"Isn't it a little early, even for you and Kenzi?"

Bo looked at the clock. Three p.m. "It's five o'clock somewhere," she covered.

"Okay then," Lauren said sarcastically. "I have to go. I'll see you tonight."

The line went dead. Bo held the phone away from her and stared it down. "Shit."

Kenzi wandered over to the table. "Uh oh, lover's quarrel?"

"No, I-" She hesitated. "I don't know. Lauren's been MIA for three days and now she wants to come over like everything is normal?"

"Well, isn't it?" Kenzi reasoned.

Bo exhaled. "You're supposed to be on my side," she said, only half-joking.

"Sorry!" Kenzi made a face. "Let me try again." She cleared her throat. "You are totally right! How dare she take a few nights off from you!"

Bo frowned. "That's not exactly what I meant."

"But isn't it? You're just sour that she isn't pining away for you when she's not here, Bo-Bo."

Bo started to say something but stopped short. "Dammit!" She breathed, the irony of the situation not lost on her. "I'm whipped. That's it, isn't it?"

Kenzi chuckled. "Girl, she had you at hello."

Bo smiled. A big, goofy smile. She shook her head again. "Shut up." She pushed Kenzi's shoulder. "I just don't get her, you know?"

"I love the Doc, and don't get me wrong, but she's… how do you say… a nerd. And you my dear succubus, are not."

"So what?"

"While you or I are plotting our next pint at the Dal, Lauren is planning her next experiment."

"And because she's smart, she gets to blow me off for days at a time?"

"She just has a lot more on her mind than us, that's all."

"Well, I want to feel important, too." Bo crossed her arms.

"Don't we all, sugar tits, don't we all."

Bo sighed. "Guess I should go get ready." She hopped off the stool and walked toward the stairs. "I'd vacate the premises unless you want to feel the awkward that's sure to come," she said, looking back over her shoulder before ascending the stairs.

She took her time getting ready, paying close attention to every detail. Perfume on her pulse points, making sure that her make-up was perfect and her clothes were tight enough. She hadn't seen Lauren in three days and Bo was bound and determined to be the reason she never went that long again.

Kenzi did evacuate, leaving Bo with the clubhouse to herself. Time passed slowly and the later it got the more sure Bo was that Lauren would call again and cancel. But Bo was sipping wine when she heard Lauren in the hall. The door creaked open. Bo looked over the couch at Lauren who looked exhausted. Instantly, Bo felt bad. She didn't know what she was expecting, but a worn out girlfriend well past the witching hour didn't make the short list. She stood, smiling brightly at the sight of Lauren. Her features softened and Bo could tell her efforts to entice her were not lost on Lauren.

She walked slowly, exhaustion showing itself in her every move. When she reached Bo, Lauren leaned into her shoulder, pressing her head against Bo's. She wrapped her arms around Lauren and inhaled her scent. Three days may as well have been three years for how desperate Bo felt about her closeness. "I didn't think I'd see you tonight," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," she said into Bo's shoulder. "The Morrigan's been piling it on. I think she's still pissed at me."

Bo chuckled and rubbed her back. "I wouldn't doubt it. She doesn't seem the type to forgive and forget." She kissed Lauren's temple and pulled away. Lauren immediately dropped onto the sofa. "I got Chinese food. If you're hungry."

"I'm starved," she said from her spot on the couch.

Bo nodded and began spooning rice onto a pair of paper plates, "When was the last time you ate?" But Lauren didn't answer. She did that when she knew Bo would have a reaction to what she had to say. Adding kung pao chicken and bean sprout lo mein to the plates, she placed an egg roll on the side. A few minutes in the microwave and dinner was served. Bo lit a candle and they sat cross-legged on the couch, Lauren attacking her plate with much enthusiasm. "So what kind of stuff is she having you do?" Bo asked.

"Blood testing, anti-venom research, and seeing patients mostly."

"Doctor to the Dark," Bo said matter-of-factly.

"Almost as glamorous as human slave, Doctor to the Light."

"If you hate it that much, walk away."

"I can't. Those Fae haven't had a doctor in years, Bo. They need basic care."

"You can't do it all, Lauren. Look at you, you can barely sit up."

"It's just been a long couple of days," she said. "It'll get better."

"Come upstairs with me."

Lauren was hesitant. "I don't think I can, Bo."

Bo laughed. "Not that," she said, patting her knee. "C'mon." She pulled on Lauren's hand and towed her across the main floor and up the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Lauren asked as Bo turned the bathtub taps on.

"I'm drawing you a bath," she said.

Lauren smirked. "A little chivalrous don't you think?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing…" Bo challenged.

"No, I don't suppose that it is but…" She turned to Bo and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Would you hate me if I just wanted to go to sleep?"

"Humor me," she said, reaching for the buttons on Lauren's shirt. She popped each one from their buttonhole as Lauren watched. Bo stepped away to add bath salts to the filling tub. Lauren shrugged out of her shirt and tugged her camisole over her head. Unbuttoning her jeans, she slid them off her hips. Her bare feet flexed on the cold tile floor and Bo turned off the water. Bo couldn't disguise the sideway glance as Lauren stepped out of her underwear, unhooked her bra and stepped into the tub.

The sound that escaped Lauren as she sunk into the milky water made Bo shiver. And when Lauren opened her eyes, Bo was naked too and slipping into the other end of the tub.

"I knew you had ulterior motives." Lauren smiled sleepily.

"Someone's gotta make sure you don't fall asleep and drown," Bo said seriously.

"So you're the lifeguard of the tub?" She asked with much mirth in her voice.

"Something like that." Bo grinned wickedly, lifting Lauren's foot and beginning to massage it.

Closing her eyes, she groaned. "Unf." Lauren opened one eye. "What's gotten into you?"

There were so many ways to answer that question. Her emotions ran the gamut. Everything from relief to guilt and anything in between. But each time she asked herself that question, Bo always arrived that the same conclusion. "I just hate seeing you so run down."

Lauren looked embarrassed suddenly. "Is it that obvious?"

"Nothing that a little beauty sleep couldn't fix," Bo said indelicately.

"Well, that's a relief," she said sarcastically and sunk into the tub, wetting her hair. When she emerged she wiped the water from her face with her hands.

"You can't keep letting her run you ragged, Lauren."

"She the leader of the Dark, not to mention my boss."

"So? She's powerless."

"You mean she's human."

Bo cocked her head. She had just stepped in it royally. "I didn't mean-"

"I think you did."

"What I was going to say is you don't have to be afraid of her."

"I never was."

"You have seen her melt people, right?"

"She was never inclined to hurt me, Bo. She only wanted one thing."

"If we're going to talk about operation: tongue lashing, I think I may be starting to prune."

Lauren gripped the edge of the bathtub and stretched her fingers towards Bo's hands. She covered them and pulled Bo toward her. "You look fine to me."

"Maybe, but I'm allergic to this conversation." Smirking, Lauren ran her hand along the length of Bo's leg underwater and soon Bo's hand was on her knee. "Don't poke the succubus, Doctor."

"Or what?"

"Or you're never going to get any sleep."

The low laugh that escaped Lauren then made Bo shiver again. "There is a restorative property to baths," she said. "I'm feeling refreshed already."

This information hit Bo like a lightning bolt, electrifying her body and filling her with anticipation. She got to her knees and crawled over Lauren. Lowering herself onto her elbows on the rim of the tub, she propped herself up there. Her breasts pressed against Lauren's as her lips grazed her cheek. "Is that a green light, Doctor?" She laughed again and Bo grinned against her ear. "Because I've missed you."

Lauren brought a hand to the back of Bo's head as her lips moved to her neck. Her hands were in Bo's hair as their mouths met in a gentle kiss. Bo slid her knee between Lauren's legs. She ran a hand over her breasts and slipped beneath the milky water. Lauren's hips jumped as Bo's hand made contact with her.

Her head fell back and her mouth opened but no sound came. Bo teased her mercilessly, trailing a finger over and around her center. Lauren gripped the edge of the tub, holding on for dear life as Bo explored her core. It would be a quick liberation of her senses. A flick of her finger, the sweet pressure of another and a kiss that sent chills through her body all conspiring to guide her through the fastest orgasm on record. The breath caught in her throat as she choked out Bo's name. She was so close and the gentle way Bo touched her, while maddening, also filled her with unmatched desire. Lauren's hips were moving with Bo now, rolling back and forth as Bo circled her core. The water caressed her in the wake of Bo's hand.

Bo was transfixed. She stared at Lauren, watching the effects each swipe of her finger had on her while chewing on her bottom lip. When she opened her eyes, Lauren was met with the brilliant blue twinkle in Bo's. The breath caught in the back of her throat as Bo's name became her mantra. And just like that, with a flick of her wrist did Bo bring her release. She hovered above Lauren watching as she arched out of the water, hips undulating as Bo's hand slowed. And, as her body continued to quake, Bo stayed with her, following her hips through their revolutions before kissing her again.

Bo was vibrating. The draw off their bathtub rendezvous was no where near enough but tonight it would have to be because, as much as it pained Bo, tonight was about Lauren. She needed to be there for her and she was starting to pull away when Lauren stopped her. "Where are you going?"

Bo swallowed. "Nowhere."

Reaching between them, Lauren found Bo and trailed lazy circles at her center. Bo grunted, still holding herself up on the side of the tub. She kissed her then, a slow and tenderly. Her hips were moving now, relentless thrusting into the water. Lauren rubbed her faster, harder. Bo's head fell to her shoulder. Her hips jerked and her body tensed as white hot heat washed over her. Water sloshed onto the floor as her hips stilled and her chest heaved. She let herself relax and covered Lauren with her body, pressing her forehead to Lauren's. "That was unexpected," she breathed.

A smile crept across Lauren's face. "There might be more surprises if you take me to bed."

Bo wasted little time climbing out of the tub before helping Lauren out. And they made love for hours on end, Lauren's sleep deficit growing exponentially. And when they finally collapsed together, gasping for air, laughter is what followed as they rolled around in the sheets of Bo's bed. Revisiting each other's bodies over and over again until sleepily, they made love one last time before drifting off with her head on Bo's chest.

Bo had let her sleep. She opened her eyes blearily and checked the clock on the bedside table. Two o'clock. In the afternoon, she presumed. Lauren sat up abruptly. She had a number of obligations that she'd already blown and so she rushed to make the what she could out of the day. She dressed quickly and hurried downstairs. Bo was laying on the couch flipping channels when she blew by the sofa with her purse in hand.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Where's the fire?" Bo knelt on the couch, looking over the back at Lauren who walked back over to her.

"I'm very late, Bo. You should've woke me."

"You needed your rest."

"Evony is going to be pissed. She had a meeting with an elder this morning and she was counting on me."

"You don't owe that woman a damn thing, Lauren."

"This is my job. I chose to work for her."

"What if I asked you to come work for me?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Lauren shrugged off the idea immediately. "Are you serious?"

Bo nodded. "I am totally serious."

She shook her head. "It would never work. We need the resources of either Light or Dark. And how are you going to pay me?"

Bo smiled.

"I can't live on love alone, Bo." She smirked.

"Okay, fine. So it wouldn't work. It would probably be a colossal mistake but how are we going to know until we try?"

Lauren took Bo's face in her hands and smiled down at her. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you and I both know this is how it has to be."

"Will you at least set some rules? Like, for instance, no more three-day science benders. You do the work but you come home to sleep at night."

Lauren exhaled. "Sure. But Bo, I really have to go right now." She kissed Bo and turned to leave. Turning back she added. "I'll see you tonight," with a bright smile.

As Lauren passed through the doorway and disappeared, Bo dropped back down on the sofa and a lovelorn sigh escaped her. She smiled at the television . "See you tonight."

Fin.