It's the calm that you notice in the moments before your own death. More often than not everything around you is frantic but somehow your body finds a peace. Looking down at her blood filled hands it was that internal calm that struck Bo the most. Lying flat on her back with a single bullet embedded in her gut she was aware of her body slowly shutting itself down but was equally cognisant of the fact she didn't seem to care. All in her mind was calm.

Above her Tamsin screamed into her radio with one hand while applying pressure to Bo's wound with the other. This drug bust had quickly descended into the mother of all fuck ups, nothing had gone right for the two detectives from the start. On the job you're trained for days like this, days when the gods simply aren't smiling on you. All you can do is pray that that when your bad day comes nobody gets hurt. Today someone got hurt.

Bo couldn't hear the words but knew by the look on her partner's face that she wanted her to stay, the words hold on mouthed time and time again. Still, despite the desperate pleas from her colleague and friend, the brunette was leaning towards letting go. It took a strong paramedic to remove Tamsin from Bo's side, the blonde's hand on the wounded stomach quickly replaced with mountains of gauze. As they placed her inside the ambulance Bo watched Tamsin fight for a space by her side, she could see her distress and in her declining state felt compelled to reach out her bloodied hand in comfort.

As they arrived at the hospital Bo felt her vision drift in and out. She could feel herself being rushed inside the ER doors and could sense the swarming motion of hands upon her. As she watched the passing lights above her as she was pushed through the corridor at speed the only face she could make out was one doctor above her. Those eyes, those warm brown eyes that were so familiar to her, looking straight into her her own, asking questions of her. It was statement of disbelief more than anything as the brunette forced the word from her dry lips, "Lauren?"

But she knew it couldn't be, she'd lost Lauren first through her own act of stupidity and then, before she had a chance to make right between them, to the typhoon, to that awful bloody hurricane. But as she held the gaze of the doctor above her she was certain it was Lauren, "am I dead?" the words were whimpered out . Perhaps this was a cruel purgatory, a place to face the mistakes of her past before she had any hope of the happiness of a heaven or the misery of a hell. And so Bo closed her eyes and whispered words of redemption hoping that whoever needed to hear her remorse would and that finally she might be allowed some peace.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Tamsin paced the waiting room, up and back in the same repetitive motion. Watching on, Bo's sister Kenzi had felt sure the detective was probably ploughing indentations into the floor such was the fury and consistency of her strides. Waiting in addition to the two women was the Captain of Bo and Tamsin's precinct plus a couple of other colleagues. Downstairs another twenty or thirty police officers had gathered to wait for news. Bo was well liked and news of her shooting had spread quickly across the city. Everyone was anxious and the atmosphere at the hospital was tight with concern.

When Dr Lewis entered the waiting room to provide an update Tamsin stopped dead in her tracks. The stress of the evening was already too much but upon seeing Lauren standing in front of her the blonde just about lost her legs. Both she and Bo had thought Lauren dead, they had been told she was lost but now here she was standing in front of her, living and breathing. Reaching for a seat next to Kenzi the detective felt unsure what question to ask first, so she went with the one that she felt would be the easiest answer, at least for now.

"Doc, how is she?"

Lauren walked towards the huddle of concerned faces so as to allow her voice to remain calm and even.

"She's lost a lot blood. It appears the bullet has also hit her kidney and she's currently in surgery where I expect they'll attempt to remove it and assess the extent of additional internal damage. I have to tell you that at the moment it's touch and go."

All in the room were grateful at least that their friend stood any type of chance. It had seemed, at least to Tamsin a matter of hours ago, an unrealistic proposition. After a few more words of explanation Lauren turned to leave, promising the group that she'd update them as soon as she knew more. Tamsin followed the doctor out of the waiting room and grabbed her by the wrist.

"Yo Doc, this is either the night of the undead or news of your demise was grossly, and I mean very grossly, exaggerated"

Lauren stood for a moment with a confused look in her eye, "there were rumours of my demise?"

Tamsin eyed the doctor cautiously, she could see explaining to someone their own death was a difficult conversation to have at the best of times but with all the activity and emotion of the past couple of hours it was tougher still, "after the storm Doc, you were put on the UNs deceased persons list".

Lauren stood mouth agape, she knew the chaos that followed that night, and she knew how close she had come to end, but with few friends and no family to report to she had never thought to check the initial death listings. "I had no idea, I guess everyone I knew except you and.." the doctor paused and Tamsin could see emotion envelope her, the resolute woman before her was on the brink of cracking, "..and Bo were in Honiara with me". And that was the truth. Tamsin and Bo had only left the Pacific weeks before that major hurricane had hit the outlying Solomon Islands. Things between Bo and Lauren had ended in worst possible way in the days prior to the brunette completing her tour. For Bo the devastation at losing Lauren and having to leave her in the Pacific was brutal but then when news of her death came she was simply inconsolable.

"Well Doc, the good lord you ain't but I for one am damn happy to see you resurrected. And Bo, well, when she pulls out of this she's probably going to see your arrival literally as the second coming. It broke her you know, thinking you were dead".

In the three long years that had passed since Bo left, Lauren had lived things between that time and this that she would prefer to forget. When Bo had left the Pacific it marked the beginning of the worst period of her life, like the brunette's departure was a catalyst for the world almost literally falling apart around her. When she saw her former lover wheeled in to her emergency room she had struggled for a moment to hold her nerve. The woman she had once loved, now so broken, bloodied and fragile, was once again on the cusp of being taken from her. She had been shocked by how much it affected her. All those feelings she thought long gone forced to the surface once more.

In her mind now however nothing had changed, the hurt inflicted on her was still as real this day as it had been three years earlier. As a doctor she had been taught to avoid providing false hope and she put those learnings to work with the detective standing In front of her now. "Tamsin, it's good to see you too and I'll do everything I can for Bo now, but when this thing is done it doesn't change anything between her and me, you understand that right?"

Tamsin nodded gently, she knew Bo well enough to know that this was the beginning of her atonement. Rather than force the subject the tall blonde instead decided her energy right now was better served on her partner's recovery. She couldn't help however giving the doctor a snide knowing look while nodding in agreement, "sure thing Doc, sure thing".

Lauren turned away once more trying to hide her frustration. She had always liked Tamsin's toughness and spunk but hated how the tall blonde seemed always to find the way to say something and mean something else entirely. The worst part of it all was that on so many occasions in the past that snide knowing look had actually turned out to be the source of truth.

The Solomon Islands - three years earlier
Tamsin stepped out of the shower in the hotel room that she shared with Bo in Honaria. The two woman had arrived in the small Pacific nation less than 24 hours earlier. This was the tall blonde woman's fourth shower in that time. The second she stepped out of the bathroom she was sweating again, causing her to growl in frustration, "humidity is the essence of all evil". Nothing here survived long if it couldn't survive the wet heat.

Lying on one of the beds in the room Bo looked up briefly and smiled before returning her attention to her regional assistance handbook. Tamsin could see that the brunette was not going to allow them to treat this program as a holiday, Bo was already bringing the same committed diligence that she brought to her policing in Canada. They were in the Pacific as part of a Commonwealth civil policing program to assist local law enforcement agencies with upskilling, procedures and training. For the next six months they would be working alongside their counterparts in the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu. When the offer had been made to Bo and Tamsin they jumped at opportunity to escape a Canadian winter. They were both outstanding police officers and could offer a lot and in Tamsin's mind a nice tan and some piña coladas were simply attractive perks of what was going to be a tough job. Already however she was finding the heat hard to bare, you don't so much sunbath here as turn into a molten puddle of sweat.

Closing the handbook Bo gathered herself from the bed and started to flick through the pile of clothing in her suitcase. She had not packed appropriately. Leather has no place in the tropics.

"How do you think people will be dressed for this meet and greet this evening?"

Tamsin still wiping sweat from her body with her towel cringed at the thought of needing to wear any clothes at this point, "it's at a bar called the Dancing Cocktail I think we're safe to assume the only formalities will likely involve what colour umbrella you'd like in your drink. I get the sense formal attire here involves wearing a clean sarong and deodorant".

Bo gave a light laugh, she'd of course done her research but there was a part of her that was terrified that she'd make some major cultural faux pas that would lead to a major international incident. This program was a big deal for her and one that she'd hoped would lead to quicker promotions on her return to Toronto. Searching through clothing once more she settled on a pair of fitted shorts and a white shirt. Neat, casual, inoffensive. It's a shame the night itself didn't pan out that way too.

xxxxxx
Tamsin was right, this meet and greet evening of police participants from across the Commonwealth was absolute drunken debauchery. The only thing this party lacked was a sense of formality. Put a group of Australians, Canadians, Brits and Kiwis in a room together, mix alcohol and heat and this tends to be the result. Bo had initially attempted to maintain a level of decorum, even if her friend did not. But then Dyson walked into the bar. Of all the bars in all of the world he had to walk into the Dancing Cocktail, a million uncivilised miles from anywhere. Tamsin had almost choked on her straw when she saw him cross the bar. He was a fellow officer from a different police precinct in Toronto and he and Bo had a history and what a torrid history it was. As soon as Bo caught a glimpse of him she began drinking a little faster. Tamsin shook her head as she watched them interact for the first time. This was not going to end well, it always began with friendly fucking and ended in rounds of arguments between the two. They had a compulsion to inflict a wonderful misery on each other. When a slightly drunken and cheerful Bo skipped up to her partner and advised that Dyson had revealed that the six Canadian police representatives were all being housed together within the next few days Tamsin spat out her candied cherry in disgust. Bo and Dyson living together, this could not be any worse.

Bo could see the look on Tamsin's face and knew exactly what she was thinking. "Don't worry Tamsin, I'm not going back to that mess, new country new start. We're just friends". Tamsin simply rolled her eyes. Bo in an attempt at levity grabbed the blonde's hand to drag her to the dance floor but Tamsin was able to remove herself easily from her grip. The sudden disengagement from the blonde sent Bo hurtling backwards smashing straight into a body behind her. Turning around quickly Bo saw a gorgeous blonde woman dripping in what appeared to be a jug of beer. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry" Bo quickly began wiping down the woman with her drunken paws, only to have her hands slapped away, "please stop I'm fine, I just need something to dry myself off". Bo looked up at the woman and they stared at each other for the briefest moment before the brunette ran to the bar to fetch a cloth. Tamsin watched the whole thing unfold and couldn't help but laugh.

Sauntering up to the beer covered woman Tamsin noticed that her eyes had not left Bo, "see something you like?" The woman quickly looked to Tamsin who was now sidled up next to her eyeing Bo too. Patting herself down again Tamsin could see the woman blush before she looked to the taller blonde and questioned her "what?". Tamsin might have been drunk but she was in her own mind absurdly confident in what she had just seen, "you were checking out my friend's ass and I was just asking whether you had seen anything you liked?" The smaller blonde was at a loss for words, trying briefly to find a retort she instead just continued to blush for a moment before the taller blonde put her out of her misery. Offering a hand she broke the deadlock, "I'm Tamsin, and that quality piece of ass you were eyeing off is Bo, we're here with the police exchange program from Canada". The smaller blonde took her hand and and shook it "Lauren, I'm a doctor here, Canadian too, and just for the record I wasn't eyeing off your friend's ass". Tamsin gave Lauren a knowing smirk before nodding, "sure thing Doc, sure thing".