Five Times People were truly amazed by Lauren (and the one time they weren't)
(Or the 5 times people had underestimated Lauren and she impressed them, and the 1 time they already expected it of her)
A/N: Another 5 and 1 story but same disclaimer applies: I don't own Lost Girl, please don't sue me.
1. Hale
Hale stiffened when he read the text. She couldn't. She would. He sighed heavily. He really should have known better than to pull this stunt. He hadn't even been here for two weeks and now it's all over. Shame because he liked the job too.
He ran to intercept her, knowing it was futile and wanting to try anyway. Hale caught up to her just in time to see her throw the Ash's doors open, ignoring the guards trying to stop her. He slipped past them hurriedly, offering a sheepish smile and a "Sorry guys."
"Baroness Santiago. To what do we owe this unexpected pleasure." Hale heard the Ash soft voice and winced. He wanted to cover his eyes and pretend this wasn't happening. His Grandmama, (for who else could it be, whose mere presence would want to send him whimpering to the nearest corner) the Baroness Maria Elisabeta Antoinette Santiago - matriarch of the Clan Zamora (a most noble and important house), merely nodded at him and said, "Ash."
Hale would have liked to throw himself between them, offer apologies to the Ash as he dragged his Grandmama away but he was frozen. His grandmother continued. "I apologize about the interruption..." but was cut off by the Ash's imperious voice. "I accept your apologies Baroness. I was currently in discussion with my human about the state of fae health care. Perhaps you'd care to share your opinion about it?"
Hale saw his Grandmama falter and flush a little. Even he could tell by now that the Ash was not pleased with her barging in. Before she could reply, the Ash spoke again. "Let me introduce you first. Baroness this is my new human doctor, Lauren Lewis. Dr. Lewis, meet the Baroness Santiago and her grandson Baronet William Haley of Clan Zamora." It was a very unusual move. It was like introducing the furniture. Hale saw his grandma's confused face but manners were too ingrained in her to just outright ignore the Ash, even for a human.
"Well met, Dr. Lewis."
The human doctor turned to look at them fully and executed a slightly wobbly curtsy. And then she did something astonishing. She whistled. What was actually shocking was that Hale recognized the tune. It was the polite version of greetings in Siren clans. He shot a quick look to his grandma and saw the similar disbelief he felt on her face.
"How...?" she sputtered a little before her eyes narrowed. Oh boy. "Why have you taught her the rituals of our people?"
The Ash seemed to take offence at her tone of voice and raised an eyebrow. His grandmother looked chastised, which was another surprise to Hale. He'd never seen her look like that before. The Ash spoke up. "I did not teach her anything. But should I decide otherwise, I don't think you are one to stop me from doing what I please with my human, Elisabeta."
Ouch. Hale looked back to his grandma who had now looked abashed and chastened. "I'm sorry Ash. I just wondered..."
The Ash looked to his human."Lauren, tell us how you know of this greeting?"
The human flushed and kneeling quickly said, "I'm sorry if I transgressed my Lord Ash..." she paused at his impatient gesture to go on, "The Fae library does not only contain books but video clips and audio bites that enhance one's knowledge. I am lucky to be allowed access."
It was a nice, diplomatic answer. The Ash looked a little smug and Hale turned to see his grandmother's reaction. She had gathered her composure by now. "Ah, while I did not expect a human to know, I must say Ash that your human is a very curious creature."
"She is." The Ash then said, "Well Baroness, pray tell us what was so urgent before."
And then his Grandmama launched into her tale, of not wanting Hale to work as an enforcer, of it being too dangerous for her "baby Haley" and for the Ash to let him go. When she finished, Hale was nearly a ball curled on the floor with shame. The Ash's only response was, "I see." And then he turned back to his human and shocked them all again by asking for her advice. "What do you think, Lauren?"
If her grandmother had any objections to this, she didn't voice it out loud. Instead, they listened to the halting voice of the human doctor, Lauren.
"I... I've read of Clan Zamora before and their deeds during the fae wars. Bright, brave warrior sirens who've brought down armies by their voice alone. I think my Lord Ash would be most fortunate to have one serve as his guard but... um... I understand too her Baroness' point. The Baronet has his duties to his family. Um..."
Hale was stunned by that answer. He didn't think he was bright or brave choosing to go into the Ash's service. He just wanted to get away from his grandmother's influence but now he felt like puffing his chest in pride. Most importantly though was the way his grandmother looked thoughtful now.
The Ash said, "There you have it Baroness. I would be honored of course, to have a siren from your clan join my guard but I too understand how you would worry about your grandson."
"I have to think on this, Ash." She glanced back at Lauren and said, "Your human is remarkable, for her kind. I applaud your wise decision in keeping her." And then in a graceful curtsy, she left dragging Hale out with her.
A couple of days later, Hale was allowed to stay in the Ash's service and he'll forever remember that it was due to that human doctor, Lauren Lewis.
2. Trick
Trick noticed the human woman on his bar a little late. One of the customers had been too picky with his beverage and made him replace it again and again. This was the part he didn't like in pretending to be an ordinary fae. If he was still King, nobody would dare speak to him this way. Heck, if he was still using his blood, he'd make it so this guy can't drink any type of alcohol anymore.
When he finally saw the human, she was already settled with food in front of her. It was a shame but humans weren't generally allowed in the Dal. He was about to go to her when she leaned a little and he saw the swinging necklace. The Ash's mark. Oh. That changed things then.
She noticed his approach though, and spoke first. "I'm sorry. Was I not allowed here?"
He smiled at her. "No, no. Well, normal humans are not allowed but those affiliated to fae can come provided they are marked. To avoid misunderstanding, of course."
"Of course." She showed her necklace. "I am the Ash's ward."
"I can see that. I am the barkeeper of this way station, Fitzpatrick MacCorrigan at your service. But you can call me Trick."
"Well met Trick, I am Dr. Lauren Lewis."
"Well met, Dr. Lewis. Can I get you something else?"
"No thank you. I believe I'm all set."
Trick smiled at her again and said, "Then do not hesitate to call upon me should you need anything. The Ash's wards are always welcome to my place." She smiled back at him and he left.
As he worked, attending to other customers, his mind was still on the human. A doctor and she had been polite and nice. He wondered about her story, how she came to be in the Ash's service. Trick was also aware that the human, Lauren, was still looking at him curiously.
When he found time, he wandered over to her again and said, "May I ask what is the matter? You have been staring at me all night and I wondered if you need anything else. A refill maybe?"
The human flushed in embarrassment. "I apologize Trick, if I offended you with my staring but I was certain that I have seen your face before."
"Oh?" He wanted to say he had one of those faces but before he could, she was speaking again.
"Yes, from the fae libraries. One of the etchings there that depicted the old Blood King. He looked remarkably like you."
All blood in Trick's face fled and he was aware that a few precious seconds were wasted as he dealt with shock. He recovered quickly and tried to gamely refute that suggestion. "The Blood King? Well, that is great honor indeed to have a face like him."
But the human was barely listening to him now. "Oh, but you said you were a MacCorrigan right? I remember, they were close kin to the Blood King too! Some fae scholars even argue that the King's wife came from that clan, that he had married a close cousin. Others of course don't believe that and say she came from another clan of seers..."
Trick listened in amazement to the human still babbling in front of him. In a thousand years, no one had recognized him and now this slip of a human, a doctor owned by the Ash, had named him and was now dissecting his family tree.
The human abruptly stopped talking. Perhaps she saw his dumbfounded face and mistook it for something else. She blushed and apologized immediately. "I'm sorry Trick, I... I tend to babble sometimes about things that interest me and I've been studying fae history lately but...uh... I'm sorry if I offended you. Again."
He smiled gently at her. He recognized now that crisis has passed, she would never connect him with the Blood King anymore, if that embarrassment was any indication. But his curiosity was also piqued. "I am not offended, Dr. Lewis but curious instead. Do you like fae history?"
"Oh yes. I find it fascinating."
"I see." Trick thought that the most fascinating and amazing this was actually the human herself but he kept that to himself for now. "Then you must know the significance of the name of my bar?"
Lauren's eyes grew brighter with excitement. "I was hoping to talk to you about that too..."
Yes, definitely an unusual, remarkable human.
3. Dyson
For as long as he had known her, Dyson had always been irked by the presence of Dr. Lauren Lewis. That wasn't so strange as she was the Ash's minion and he generally disliked anyone stupid enough to blindly follow him. But even when he'd learned of Nadia's existence, it still did not endear him to Lauren. In his opinion, even if the Ash was doing her a favor, Lauren should still not want to be so close to him.
On the other hand, he was also slightly bothered that such a weak human should provoke such strong feelings in him. He was Alpha and the human was nothing, in the long run. If he was offended by all those weaker than him, then he would never stop being offended.
Thus he was more than amazed to see that meek doctor stab the Dark fae with the steak knife without blinking. He felt some of the warm blood splash his face and he had to stifle the automatic growl that rose in his throat. He watched disbelieving as she pulled the second heart out and find time to appreciate its beauty before stabbing it with the knife.
He realized then what made this woman very irritating. Because Lauren was an Alpha in her own right; a master doctor who was top dog in her own career. She wasn't weak at all, like he'd always believed. She had steel deep in her, seldom seen but undeniably there. He remembered now how she'd always tried to look him in the eye, how she never immediately backed down from their arguments.
Dyson shook his head wryly. He really should have known better to assume otherwise, considering that she was now the Ash's chief doctor. How else could she manage to climb up to that position without being ruthless in her own way, a human in fae world?
This was definitely a women worth watching out for.
4. Kenzi
Lauren had only been in the clubhouse for two days and already, she was driving Kenzi insane. Yesterday she had been cooking like crazy, creating nutritious, delicious food that Kenzi was sure made specifically to fatten her up and babbling about the chemistry of food all the while. Now she'd woken up to the vacuum (she didn't even know that they had a vacuum cleaner) because Lauren had felt like cleaning.
Bo was no help, having left earlier to investigate a new case. She had asked Kenzi if she wanted to come but it had been too early for the hung over goth teen and she had passed. In hindsight, she should have just sucked it up earlier than be woken up by this din.
Picking herself up from her messy bed, she barely stopped herself from yelling at the doctor. It wasn't Lauren's fault that she had a new jerk boss or that she was bored and doing house chores. There was also no point in shouting at her because Lauren never really lost her cool (except when it came to Bo or the former Ash) and would just apologize sincerely, making her feel guilty in return.
Kenzi decided that removing herself from the equation was the proper solution. Mind made up, she hurried downstairs, gave Lauren a forced cheery goodbye, ignoring her offer of breakfast and headed straight to the Dal for hair-of-the-dog remedies for her headache.
When she got back home later that afternoon (having decided that she lived here and shouldn't be forced out of her home), she stopped by the door to listen in. It was deathly silent. Now she panicked a little. What if the Ash and his goons took Lauren and she wasn't there to stop them? Bo would kill her!
Kenzi hurried inside and stopped short. For a moment she thought that the Brownie had come back and fixed it all up. And then she smelled the familiar baked goodies from yesterday and growled softly, "Lauren."
As if conjured by her voice, the doctor appeared. "Oh hey Kenzi, you're back. Good, I baked some apple pie if you want some and I hope you don't mind but I sort of did your laundry too. Well, yours and Bo's. I was also downstairs for a while and I was wondering if you had some sort of system for that stuff in the basement...?"
Kenzi, unable to take it anymore, yelled out. "STOP!" Lauren stopped abruptly. Kenzi continued. "You did my laundry?" Lauren nodded. "And you fixed the house?" Lauren made as if to speak but Kenzi stopped her, "Ah-ah, yes or no only Doctor."
"Yes."
"You did it all in the what? 6 hours I've been gone?"
"Yes."
Kenzi sighed heavily. "Now you want to fix the basement. God, aren't you tired yet?"
Lauren would have answered again but Kenzi interrupted her. "Rhetorical question doc. Anyway, you're making me tired just looking at you." She sighed again and then an odd idea came to her. "Don't worry doc, I got just the thing. Something that will help you relax physically but stimulate that big brain of yours."
She quickly herded Lauren to the couch and booted up her gaming system. "We're gonna play my favorite game of alien robot hookers and... ah-ah you are not going to protest. You are in my house and I make the rules. Comprende?"
Lauren nodded meekly and said, "I don't know how though."
Kenzi explained the control buttons and the goal of the game. It was easy enough that Lauren caught on quickly.
Kenzi didn't notice it at first, having been thoroughly distracted by her own gaming but Lauren's progress with the game improved exponentially after a few game overs. It was only when her character died and she finally turned to look at Lauren that she was shocked. The doctor was steadily plugging on the robot hookers and doing stunts with her character that Kenzi never thought was possible. She watched, amazed and slack jawed, as the good doctor continued well past her own high score until she finally died.
"How... how did you do that?"
Lauren turned to look at her. "I always had good hand-eye coordination and superb concentration skills. But you're right Kenzi, this was very relaxing. Another game?"
Kenzi tore the controller out of her hands. "No! You're dangerous to my high scores! Go! Shoo! Do more cleaning. And never touch my game anymore, okay?
And Kenzi was once again shocked when Lauren smirked at her and said, "What, can't handle a little competition?" she turned away but before she left, she added, "Don't forget to eat your pie."
Kenzi stared at the doctor's retreating back, not knowing if she should be amazed or terrified by a woman who's already a great doctor and researcher, was also better than a Brownie with her housekeeping skills and could game like a pro. She decided to be the latter. Poor Bo. She won't know what hit her if ever she decided to just be with the doctor.
5. Bo
Ever since she'd learned the Lauren was a human and she wasn't, Bo had always thought of her that way. It wasn't anything bad really, she did it with Kenzi too, just a hyper awareness that humans were weaker than fae and that she should be more careful with them.
She knew of course the Lauren was a very intelligent person and brilliant at what she does. The doctor also was very kind and had a quirky sense of humor that she found sexy.
Bo also knew that being human didn't mean being more afraid or less brave. Kenzi often stated loudly and frequently how 'freaky' the fae was and how scared she was of certain situations, but it didn't stop her following Bo from her crazy shenanigans.
But then again, that was Kenzi, not Lauren. If she would compare the two, she'd say that Lauren was the more fragile one. She was the one who was stuck inside a lab every day, interacting best with the things she saw in her microscope rather than with people. This view of Lauren was only intensified when she learned of the doctor's true position in the Light Fae: a human servant.
It baffled and horrified her, how someone could just give themselves to someone else as virtual slaves. Bo never imagined doing that for any reason herself and Lauren... well, she tried to be understanding about it. But in the deepest part of her mind, there was a part of her that couldn't help but judge and pity the doctor. She wasn't truly aware of it but it was there nonetheless, coloring her thoughts and actions.
So after her initial reaction upon discovering Nadia's existence (which was more or less, shock and anger and hurt), she found herself re-analyzing her feelings about Lauren. And she found herself utterly amazed by the doctor.
Lauren had given herself to the Ash because she had loved a woman so deeply and completely that she had given up her life for her, had willingly enslaved herself for a chance to save the woman she loved truly. Her woman. Her girlfriend, Nadia.
It was the stuff Bo could only dream of, when her longest romantic relationship had been with her high school boyfriend lasting only 8 months and the shortest was one night in her bed. She never imagined that kind of devotion, that kind of loyalty and it humbled her. She had thought Lauren weak because she had succumbed to the Ash, when all the while, she was the strongest of them all. Selfless and brave, a frail human that pitted herself to the world of fae, all for love.
Bo wanted to be worthy of that kind of love too. (She wanted Lauren to love her too)
1. Nadia
Nadia knew Lauren. In fact, she used to brag to their friends that she knew Lauren better than she knew herself and she believed it was true. She and Lauren were so in tune with each other that they could practically read each other's thoughts. There were the type of couple that would finish each other's sentences and have silent conversations using their eyes.
But that was before.
Before her 5 year coma, before they learned of the fae... just before.
Now they can't finish each other's sentences and there's only slightly awkward silences. Every eye contact seemed laden with complicated conversations she couldn't quite understand.
But still, Nadia knew Lauren and so she wasn't as surprised as she should have been when she learned of Lauren's feelings for Bo.
People had often thought that Lauren's professional demeanour was her real personality. That she was as cold and distant as the microscopes she used in science. That was not true of course and those few who were allowed in, they saw what Lauren truly was: brilliant but kind, loyal, nerdy, dedicated and a beautiful, beautiful person inside and out.
She had a big heart too. Nadia remembered how much Lauren had cared for each and every one of her patients before, (when it was easier to be detached) and how she had continued to fret for them at home. Lauren cared deeply for her friends, had been willing to give so much of herself for all the people she loved. (More comfortable being protector/care taker, than being protected and taken care of)
Therefore it was no surprise that Lauren could find space in her heart to love another person. She was just that amazing.
Nadia didn't take it as Lauren loving her any less. She knew after all this time, she could see, that Lauren still loved her. Yes it's not the same (nothing would stay the same after the previous 5 years) but it was still there. She could nurture it and it would grow back to the way it was. And most importantly, she knew Lauren wouldn't abandon her. That's what made it so difficult. Because she could also clearly see how it tore Lauren up, to feel this way.
Lauren's feelings for Bo were more intense, more tumultuous and immediate. Their past was dull and faded in comparison. She understood this completely. (Just as she understood that while past Lauren and her were like peas in a pod, this present Lauren fit better with Bo now)
Nadia just wished she could be amazing herself and be able to let Lauren go, for love's sake.
THE END
One last oneshot before I return to writing The Human Doctor. I hope you enjoyed it. :D