"Oh god, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Lauren said, trying to assure the concerned face in front of her. "It felt like I was having a dream. A very vivid dream, but a dream nonetheless."
"Then you woke up and it was real," Bo countered.
"Then I woke up and realized it wasn't you."
They both got quiet.
"My feelings started to swirl at that point, like too many clothes in a rickety washer. After getting past the initial shock, the main thing I felt was"—Lauren paused, searching. "Unfaithful." She cringed and looked down at her shoes. "I thought it was you." She looked back up into brown eyes. "I miss you, Bo," she said in a thin voice. "I miss your bed. I miss your arms around me."
Bo opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it and gently pulled Lauren to her. She wrapped the doctor tightly in her embrace and closed her eyes. 'This woman,' she thought. 'What she does to me.'
After several minutes, Lauren pulled back. Bo searched Lauren's face. "You're sure you're okay? It's no joke; you were taken advantage of by some kind of demon or ghost. If you want to talk about it, any time, we can talk and I'll help you with whatever you need."
"You're sweet," Lauren said through a slowly spreading smile. She tilted her head to one side. "You take care of me."
"Not always," Bo said. "I have a lot of catching up to do in that department."
"Yeah. You do," Lauren smiled.
"How about we start right now?"
Lauren's smile brightened into a grin. "What did you have in mind?"
"Come home with me and see," Bo suggested, and they spoke clearly, without words, for the rest of the night.
THE END