A sequel of sorts for a fic that I wrote sometime ago. Just Deserts Pt 1 stuck closely to canon, but Part II veers off from the show.
Author's note: Sooooo. This was supposed to be a Christmas fic. But life happened and here we are. I hope you'll like it.
She hears the screams today.
She wasn't there when it happened – she usually stayed in the background and trusted her brother with those tools, but it didn't make a difference. When she heard about the chaos on the radio, watched the site on the news, and saw the remains of her work in the newspapers, she realized that she could hear the screams just fine.
It was eleven people, but when under duress, especially after a stint time in the dungeon, she would hear the screams of ten times that amount. And today, she wants to add her own to them.
Instead, she counts her steps and concentrates on putting one foot ahead of the other. If she times her breaths with the steady rhythm, she finds that she can keep the pain at bay.
Left.
She slips, but grits her teeth and tells herself that the nightmares and pain will stop, as they always do exactly 30 days after the 'real time' torture.
Right.
She then focuses on the science behind their methods, and marvel at how the light fae can inflict so much agony – mentally and physically – without even lifting a finger to her.
Left.
And when that fails too, she suppresses the urge to look up and snarl at those who stare at her – surreptitiously or not – and tell them that they're just as barbaric and inhuman as the Dark. But she keeps her gaze on her feet, avoids everyone's looks and nearly bites off her lower lip to keep up the appearance of being well.
Right.
She nearly laughs at her pathetic attempt as she is sure that every fae in town, from the elders to the under, have heard about how The Ash finally punished his little human slave, and rightfully so.
She lets out a shaky breath when she reaches her semi-sanctuary, pausing only to nod at her assistants, and heads straight to her bench in the laboratory. Once again, she's dwelled a little longer…there…than she should, and she resumes her work with haste.
"Hey."
She straightens up and nearly cries out in pain, but manages to mask it by squinting at the tip of her micropipette. And this time, instead of ignoring the succubus, she smiles and returns the greeting softly. Bo's smile is bright and relieved, and she feels lighter.
"I stopped by just now and your assistants told me you were out." The succubus steps forward and fiddles with the laboratory equipment. "Were you at lunch?"
"No. I was…visiting a patient." She pulls off her gloves in an effort to distract Bo. "What can I do for your today?"
"Uh…well, I brought you this." A big white box is presented to her and she blinks in confusion. Bo's bashful nod at the package chases her out of her stupor, and she rolls her eyes at herself. She opens the box to see a chicken salad and a slice of lemon meringue pie.
"It's the dessert that I promised you." The succubus says. "And I know you often miss your meals, so I got you lunch as well. Sorry it's late, I've been busy with a case."
"It's okay, Bo," she stops the succubus with a smile. "Thank you – that's very thoughtful of you. How was the case?"
"It was pretty cool, but kind of gross," the succubus shrugs and hops on to a stool. "Kenzi had a friend who was working at this fancy country club and he disappeared, so we went to check it out."
As Bo gets to the part about the nightly orgy, Lauren wants to laugh at how the succubus's slightly bored expression transforms to 'eager puppy'. "Hmm. So did you enjoy yourself? Show them how a succubus does it?" she teases.
"No. I uh…we had to go." She struggles to hear the end of the sentence as Bo appears to develop a sudden fascination for her shoes. After peeking to make sure nobody spilled any mysterious substance on the floor, she bends her head and tries to catch the succubus's eyes. "Bo, are you alright?"
Bo looks up and smiles, and she recognizes that expression instantly. It's that smile she sees in her reflection every day – the very one she's been wearing since she resurfaced from her punishment.
Alarmed, she reaches for Bo's hand when she notices a ring – one she hasn't seen before – on the succubus's finger. She curls her hands into fists instead and puts them in the pockets of her laboratory coat.
She takes a deep breath, reminds herself that it's no longer her place, and mirrors Bo's smile. The succubus has Dyson, and she has her own…mission. One she nearly blew when she took risks to help Bo without The Ash's permission.
"I'm okay," Bo says hesitantly. "It's something I have to work on…being a succubus. But I'll get over it."
"Bo…" she knows she shouldn't, but she's never been able to detach herself completely when it came to the succubus. "Do you need help? Are the injections not working? The Ash's given me permission to assist you with it, so I can look into it –"
"No, no," the succubus waves her hand, "it's not the injections, they work fine. I just…do you think I'm sleazy?"
She's not sure if it's the mental and physical toil from her punishment or if she's just stunned by Bo's question. Bo's tone resembles a little girl asking her parents if they love her even when she's bad, and an irrational anger rises in the doctor.
"No." Realizing the gravity of the situation, she places a hand on Bo's arm and looks into her eyes. "Absolutely not. Bo, we've talked about this before, remember? You're a succubus, it's what you do. There's no shame in getting what you need."
"Thanks, Lauren," Bo's smile almost reaches her eyes this time. "It means a lot to me, really."
"But hey," the succubus hops off the stool, "I came to ask you something else. I'd like to invite you over for dinner. With the gang."
"Oh," her eyes widen. The Ash sometimes requires her presence at formal meals or at certain events, and occasionally a grateful fae would ask her over for something casual, but she can't remember the last time it happened. "I uh…I'm afraid I'm quite busy at the lab."
"Then we'll wait until you have time. It can be this weekend, or the next, or the one after that. You saved our lives a number of times, doctor; we can certainly make some leeway for your crazy schedule."
"Okay," she gives in, knowing Bo won't take no for an answer. "We can probably do next weekend, if you're fine with that?"
"More than fine, Doctor Lewis." Bo claps her hands and does a mock salute. "I'll see you on Sunday, if not before! And don't bring anything, your presence is enough!"
And as she watches the succubus walk away, for the first time in weeks, her smile is different from the one she's been seeing in the mirror every day. She packs up the boxes and takes a closer look at the pie. Bo must have traveled quite a distance for that pastry – she knows there isn't one in town that can make one that good.
She knows because it's Nadia's favorite dessert, and one she's baked every week during their first few years with the fae.
Maybe she can bake one again when she spends Christmas with her girlfriend this year.
