Title: The Gemini Effect
Authors: hbomba & lonejaguar
Rating: M
Summary: Post-finale. Lauren deals with the consequences of her actions in S5 and Bo finally faces the Elders that Trick had shielded her from for so long.
A/N: While we don't claim to fix all the oversights of the finale/series, this is a definite start.
"Body and spirit are twins: God only knows which is which." | Algernon Charles Swinburne
"We are linked by blood, and blood is memory without language." | Joyce Carol Oates
There was so much loss and life was so different without those souls in her life. Trick, Tamsin, gone for good and Kenzi, on the peripheral of her life from here on out. It was a painful, awful place when her mind wandered there but there was one bright spot: Lauren. She was all Bo needed and was now finally positioned to stay awhile in her life. Unfortunately, life was constantly changing and charging ahead, leaving Bo feeling like she was chasing inevitability. And today she had chased it into a political nightmare.
Walking through the corridors to the Elder's meeting place, Bo was humbled by its age and her relative newness to the Fae world, even if she was as some might posit "all-powerful." She was venturing into a world she had been shielded from by Trick and probably for good reason. Bo was no diplomat and she was far from diplomatic on most occasions. But the colony needed her. Now was not the time to shy away from ideals. She would create a new legacy and do something even Trick couldn't manage: she would make being unaligned an option, she would establish a territory and she would protect them. Bo was no diplomat but she was a hell of a protector and she knew that was what set the Elders off.
"You must be kidding," Prigg, a Light Elder, exclaimed.
"Child, the fact that you were even allowed to remain unaligned is a travesty and now that Trick is-"
"What?" Bo interrupted. "Dead?"
"I was going to say protecting you from the realities of the Fae."
"Please accept our condolences on the loss of your Grandfather," said another Elder.
"I'm sure you're all broken up about it." Bo paced aimlessly in front of their oversized and ancient table. "Look, you don't like me and it's pretty obvious my life would be a whole helluva lot better without you all, so let's come to an agreement. I stay out of your shit, and you stay out of mine."
"If you think we're going to let you set up an unaligned territory and recruit Fae to your cause, you are sorely mistaken."
Bo slapped her hands onto the table in front of the Elders. "Here's the thing: I'm going to do this and you're going to do whatever you're going to do and when the dust settles we'll see if you still think compromise is such a bad idea."
Prigg stood abruptly and smoothed his suit. "Perhaps you should be more concerned about what we might do to you… or the good doctor in your stead."
"Buddy, you should learn to pick your battles because this is one you will not win."
"On the contrary," a Dark Elder stood. "She is the problem with her biological weapons and now you want to create a sanctuary for this behavior. Unacceptable!"
"I'm afraid I have to agree, Succubus," a Light Elder said. "What you propose goes against every tradition the Fae have known. It would be irresponsible to abandon our ideals and wander into the unknown with an unproven leader."
"Unproven, my ass."
"Please, people!" Prigg's voice boomed through the hall. "I think we're through here."
"Suit yourself," Bo said, pushing off from the desk. "Remember this conversation, Prigg." Bo's heels echoed in the emptying hall as she walked toward the large double doors.
Prigg scoffed. "I might encourage you to do the same." His smarmy voice gave Bo the chills and followed her through the halls on her way out.
Everything in her life as she knew it had changed. She had realized her birthright and banished it but not without damaging relationships with doubt and fear. Bo was powerful, more powerful than anyone had given her credit for and when her time came, the Dark Queen had defeated an entire city with the power of the Pyrippus. She was the most powerful succubus that had ever lived in the thousands of years the Fae had walked the Earth. And a week ago she defeated her father, Hades, Lord of the Underworld and what a mindfuck that was. Bo was exhausted. It was off and on again with Lauren. She had lived through worse, but she couldn't remember how, for the life of her, when her heart hurt so badly from simply wanting Lauren.
Bo looked around her opulent hotel room overlooking the colony. She'd been given a suite for as long as she needed by the Selkes she had helped return their pelts to. It'd been a few years since she'd seen the girls and they'd done well for themselves. They'd cashed in on a couple of bed and breakfasts and bought a hotel. It was like a live action game of Monopoly and Bo had clearly reaped the rewards.
A knock at the door. She crossed the room and opened the door to find a cart with two covered meals. Bo smiled pulling the cart through the door, the aroma of prime rib, au jus, baked potato and vegetables filling the room. It would be a good night. Another knock sounded and Bo smiled because this time, it would be who she was hungry for.
"Lauren," Bo greeted her warmly, pulling her into her room.
"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said they set you up with a hotel room," Lauren said, looking around in disbelief.
"Are you hungry?" Bo lifted the lid to their dinners and released the scent of expertly prepared food into the room.
Lauren was drawn to the cart. "That smells incredible."
"You haven't eaten," Bo said knowingly.
Lauren smiled. "I can't fool you."
Bo carried their plates to the small table by the window and returned to the cart for cutlery. She took Lauren's hand and pulled her toward her seat.
"Sit. Eat." Bo pulled out Lauren's chair out for her and pushed it forward once she was seated before sitting across from her.
Lauren was eagerly sawing into her medium rare cut of beef before Bo had settled across from her. She chewed and swallowed before asking the pertinent question: "Bo, what's this all about?"
She smiled. "I haven't seen much of you since you pledged to love me for the rest of your life and I thought I probably shouldn't let it go too long before calling to fix that oversight."
"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I've just been hyper-focused on my research."
"You look tired, Lauren. I'm worried about you."
Lauren lowered her fork. "You know, telling a woman she looks tired is probably not the way to get this evening to end the way you want it to."
"Now it's my turn to apologize."
She waved a hand. "It's okay. Tell me, did you meet with the Elders yet?"
"If you could call it that." She shook her head. "They aren't members of my fan club just yet."
"Give it time… They all come around eventually."
"One way or the other." Bo grinned.
There was a pattern to their love affair. A clandestine meeting, where was unimportant, a meal ordered in and left to get cold as they made love, only to return to the food hours later, reheated and eaten amongst the sheets.
Tonight, however, would be different. Bo hadn't seen Lauren in over a week and though she was hungry for her touch, she would resist. Tonight they would reconnect over a hot meal and wine and when Lauren reached for her, she'd resist, at least momentarily, but only because she wanted her seduction to be seamless.
"So tell me, Doctor," Bo sipped the fine red wine the Selkes had selected for their meal. "What has been keeping you so busy?"
She could swear Lauren flinched at the question and she felt her exhale at the pressure. "The research lab, mostly." She smiled, but it was too late to pretend.
"Research." Bo nodded. She knew nothing of Lauren's experiments other than the fact that Lauren had a research lab at the clinic and for the most part, she preferred it that way. Science made Bo feel insignificant in Lauren's eyes-not that she was, just that she felt that she could never offer the same stimulation. Of course, the truth was that only Bo could offer the type of stimulation that Lauren craved.
And things were awkward-critically so-and Bo couldn't explain where their easy connection had gone, but it had turned the last time Lauren walked out on her. All things being equal, Bo was still stinging from the rejection of her love despite knowing that Lauren operated on fear when she made such brash decisions.
But tonight wasn't about reminding them of the current shortcomings of their communication. Instead, Bo looked to reignite the passion she had always felt for Lauren. It hadn't gone out, not by any stretch of the imagination, it was just muted down and hidden by their decisions and Bo's recent trip to the dark side.
Nearly killing your lover and friends not once, but twice, didn't instill much faith. Still, when they set their forks down and looked through the candlelight at each other, she wasn't surprised to feel Lauren burning for her. Bo stood in front of her with so much to say but no words except one. "Lauren…"
After everything, Bo still loved Lauren and Lauren still loved Bo. They were secure in that knowledge, at least, and when Lauren reached for her again, Bo didn't resist her. Their lips met with a furious intention, their clothing removed with desperation and their bodies were quickly reacquainted. When it was over, Bo knew she had orchestrated the perfect seduction. One that she felt reverberating through her body the next day.
"Sweetie!" Evony exclaimed causing Lauren to almost drop a beaker she pulled from the fume hood.
"You shouldn't be back here, Evony." Lauren's voice was calm and even but inside she was screaming get out, get out, GET. OUT.
It was Lauren's happy place, her lab, where she could be alone with her thoughts, alone with inevitability and science. But ever since Evony had fallen victim to Bo's group suck when she drained the city, she had been insufferable.
"I know, I know, I should let the artist throw paint at the canvas and hope that it sticks but here's the thing, Picasso, I've given you the keys to the clinic and you've given me nothing."
"Picasso painted with brushes, Jackson Pollock was famous for drip paintings."
"Whatever. I didn't come here for an art lesson." Evony sighed melodramatically. "Why can't you speed this up? I could make it worth your while."
Lauren took off her nitrile gloves and tossed them into the garbage. "I told you this was going to take as long as it was going to take."
"That's no longer acceptable. I have a timetable. With Trick gone, the Elders are anxious and I should be there, lording over them but they won't even let me in the door now that I'm human." She spat the last word out like it was an offending seed or pit in an otherwise perfectly ripe fruit.
The door popped open and Bo breezed in. From the look on her face, Lauren could tell she had stepped into the middle of something she hadn't anticipated. Lauren tilted her head in that way that said not a good time, Bo. Undeterred, she continued on her path to Lauren, "Hey." She ran a hand from Lauren's shoulder to her wrist. "Everything okay?"
"She's the reason you never get anything done around here," Evony accused.
"You'll have to excuse Evony, she's having a delusional day."
"I saw what you did during the blackout, I even made copies for posterity… Want one for your archive, Succubus?"
Bo raised her eyebrows. "What exactly did I walk into?"
Lauren shrugged. "I don't know."
"Oh, come on. Don't pretend that you're not dragging your feet. I know you don't want me to be Fae again."
"This may come as a surprise to you, Evony, but I have no stake in you being Fae or Human anymore."
"That's because you did this. You made me feeble and saggy, you did this!"
"Let's take a walk, Evony," Bo interceded.
She was still hollering at Lauren when Bo pulled her out of the laboratory door. Lauren sighed, her ears ringing in the silence of her lab. She had made Evony a promise and that was probably her first mistake, but she was trying-she really was-but every visit Evony made put her further behind and Bo, goddess love her, was putting her in much the same position.
She was running out of time. Lauren looked down at her hand and its unmistakable tremor. She'd been forgetting things, hence the notepad that never left her side now and she knew this was just the beginning, that things would get worse if she didn't find a way to fix Evony and herself.
The Dal was pretty well back to normal with a few twists on a theme. Dyson and Mark had done well for the place in Trick's stead. He would be proud. As she looked up at the small picture of her Grandfather that sat on the wall behind the bar, two beer mugs slid across the bar top and spun in place in front of the women.
"Getting better with your aim, Dyson," Bo said, looking up from the enticing foam. He nodded at her with a smile and Lauren and wandered away, polishing a glass.
"Thanks for your help with Evony today…" Lauren said quietly, still decompressing.
"No problem. I was in the area so…"
Lauren breathed in, thinking carefully about her words. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that."
Bo looked over at Lauren who stared into her glass. "Why do I feel like I'm not going to like what you're about to say?"
"I need some space when I'm at work, Bo," she said. "I have things I need to get accomplished and I can't do it all if I'm entertaining you whenever you stop by."
"Entertaining me?" Bo had trouble hiding the hurt the comment brought about.
Lauren closed her eyes and bowed her head. "I didn't mean it like that."
"But I distract you."
"And that's a good thing," Lauren's hand covered Bo's. "Right? Besides, you have things you need to attend to, that maybe you haven't been taking care of because you're at my lab all the time."
"You mean the Elders."
Lauren nodded emphatically. "Yes, the Elders would be a great place to start."
"Can I still stop in to take you out for lunch?"
"Occasionally." Lauren smiled.
"Define occasionally," Bo said with a grin.
Lauren pushed on her shoulder playfully. "Drink your beer." She sighed heavily. "I need to move."
"Already? You've only been there a few years."
"It's dark territory and I really should be impartial." She took another sip of her beer.
"You mean unaligned…"
Lauren grinned. "Maybe… I am just so tired of being beholden to Evony for anything anymore."
"Because I know someone that might be able to help you with that." Bo drummed her fingers on the bar.
"You live in a hotel-free of charge, I might add."
"The perks of being the Dark Queen." Bo shrugged with a grin.
A sly smile drifted across Lauren's features. "Don't let it go to your head, Succubus."
"Doesn't matter, anyway," Bo said. "I need to find a place of my own, too."
"You seemed pretty comfortable there," Lauren said, confused.
"It's not my scene," Bo said with another sip from her mug. She licked the foam from her lips before continuing. "And I don't like feeling like I owe anyone a favor either."
"Don't they owe you the favor?"
"I guess. I just… me staying there implies further protection and…"
"You're not interested?"
"No, it's not that at all. I help people who need help. I just like to do it from neutral ground and my neutral ground burned to the ground with everything I amassed in the past five years."
"Not everything…"
"Almost everything." She patted the bar nervously.
Lauren considered this for a moment. "You almost lost all of your friends in that fire, too."
Bo closed her eyes. She had been hoping to avoid that revelation. They didn't talk about the things Bo did when her father was calling the shots, nor did they talk about what her father did when Bo was calling the shots, breaking out of his cell notwithstanding. Tamsin had paid the ultimate price for that and it still made her sick to her stomach. Lauren's hand was on her shoulder, giving her a soft squeeze.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"
"No, you're right. I shouldn't have risked your lives like that."
"We did okay." Lauren was lying. If Bruce hadn't showed up she would have died in a heap with the others in a place that had always been a sanctuary to her. Bo was all she had left of that place of refuge. Gone was a bed more comfortable than any she had ever known, its huge four posts rooted firmly on the aged hardwoods. The velour sofa, where they had lay together on more than a few occasions and the kitchen, with its outdated snack machine and whose toaster oven had burnt every piece of toast she had ever attempted and when that wasn't good enough, it had been instrumental in toasting them.
Bo stared ahead at the long line of alcohol bottles, unsure how to recover from such social suicide. "I'm glad you made it," she said finally.
Lauren's hand pulled Bo's away from her drink and held it tightly. "I'm so relieved that you made it back to us, Bo."
"It was you, you know," Bo said quietly. When Lauren looked confused, she continued. "You're the reason I stopped feeding."
Lauren blinked rapidly. "Bo…"
She shrugged. "I remembered Dyson, Kenzi, and Tamsin, too but you… I couldn't forget about who I was with you." Bo drained her mug and set it on the bar noisily and eyed Lauren's. "You wanna get out of here?"
There were things about living in a hotel room that could not be beat. Turndown service being the number one reason Bo was a fan. So when she busted through the door with Lauren in her arms, her bed was ready. The minty parting gifts sitting atop her pillows were scattered onto the floor as they scrambled back against the headboard. They tore at each other's clothes, a revival, wicked and divine.
She never thought they'd get back to this place. She was sure that when Lauren walked away with tears in her eyes and I-love-you on her lips she would never see this place again. That she would never see her like this, or feel her like this again. She was beautifully evasive, like a wild hummingbird that flies so close to the nectar but leaves you bereft of its touch.
Joy, she felt pure joy. This wasn't their first tussle beneath the sheets since her tearful goodbye, but it was the first time that Bo felt cemented in her honor since then. She revered her, kissing the length of her body with an attention Bo couldn't spare for anything or anyone else. She was home, even when she was homeless, and loved even when she had lost herself.
Moving over her now, sweaty and exhilarated, Bo couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face. And when her eyes met Lauren's she found a smile there too. It was a shared celebration, one that would leave their breath ragged, sheets sweaty, and voices hoarse.
Bo flopped onto her back as she tried to catch her breath. Lauren chortled into Bo's neck, her hand on the other side of Bo's face. "I love you," she whispered against her cheek as Bo grinned at the ceiling. Life was good.
END PART ONE