A/N: Little holiday one-shot, takes place during Season 2, post body swap, pre-awake Nadia. Happy Holidays and enjoy! And I know this a bit late, sorry…
Bo sat alone on her couch, the lights from the Christmas tree she and Kenzi had rescued from somebody's garbage casting the room in a warm light. Honestly Bo had thought Kenzi was full of shit when she had told her not to bother picking up a tree from the lot next to their grocery store. She had said to wait, once the kids were let out of school on winter break all they would have to do is hit up some of the nicer neighborhoods where families who went on holiday trips celebrated early. Sure enough a quick drive through Yorkville presented them with a treasure trove of discarded yule tide decorations. Kenzi had remarked on the wastefulness and stupidity of rich people as this type of careless disposal was akin to sticking a neon sign on their front lawn for the criminal community declaring brilliantly, "Please come and rob us, we are out of town".
Bo smiled at the thought of those entitled rich bastards, the same ones who wouldn't hesitate to look down on her and Kenzi, coming home from their Hawaiian or Caribbean vacations to a house devoid of their precious possessions. Taking a sip of wine, Bo realized she was being petty, and her distaste of the upper crust probably had more to do with her lingering jealousy over Ciara. She didn't like to admit it, but the jokes from Hale and even Kenzi about how Dyson had "traded up" bothered her. She knew that they were just teasing, trying to cut through the awkward with humor, but it was true; the fairy was a goddamn billionaire and she lived in a house with no walls. It was probably for the best, it's not like she and Dyson would have lasted anyway, they were both too much alike. Then there was the added bonus of his territorial wolf bullshit, that would have gotten old quick, but still they really had loved each other for a minute there.
It was never the break-up that bothered her; relationships fail, and even though she didn't have a lot of experience with it she could still understand. The way they were broken up, that was the thing that ate away at her. Dyson sacrificed his love to help her defeat her mother, as far as grand romantic gestures go, that was pretty up there. Then he just disappeared for three weeks, finally shows back up, drops this bomb on her and goes back to banging waitresses. He never even talked to her about it, he said it was done, end of story, the asshole. Now he was off playing house with his new girlfriend, who was fucking perfect, and had commandeered her best friend for the night. Well that wasn't entirely true, Ciara was having a holiday dinner and invited them both. Bo had opted out, but saw no reason why her bestie had to sacrifice a free meal, an insanely expensive free meal, simply because she wasn't feeling sociable.
Bo took a sip of wine; damn this shit is smooth, and sighed. It seemed like just when she was feeling over everything, something would happen to bring it all up again. Yeah something like an escaped Dark fae prisoner with a test tube full of body swapping blood and an ill conceived night out avoiding leading to being trapped in the Dal, she really did have the most absurd life. She and Ciara had bonded a bit over that whole death sucking saving her life thing, which had probably prompted tonight's invite. The worst part about it, she really wanted to go dammit! Fuck Dyson and fuck his perfect girlfriend that Bo, try as she might to hate her, actually liked!
Bo took a deep breath followed by another long pull from her wine glass. If she wasn't careful she would finish the whole bottle, and maybe the other two in the cupboard. Whatever, her life was shit and this wine was good. Lauren had recommended it, and dammit that woman had good taste. Lauren, there was another mess. She hadn't even begun to sort her feelings for Lauren. First there was the thing with the Ash, Kenzi called it a spy-bang, but Bo had never seen it that way, not even the night it happened. She knew that Lauren cared and after dealing with Lachlan these past few months, Bo had come to realize the severity of her situation. She had been deluding herself all along; Lauren was a slave, chattel, in the eyes of the fae. Bo didn't like it, but she could understand the reason why Lauren was so detached, her Dr. Freeze persona as Kenzi called it. Bo knew that wasn't the real Lauren, she had seen glimpses of her; moments when they were alone, when she let her guard down, in bed. Hmm… now that sounded appealing.
The succubus instantly felt that familiar hunger rise. For some reason it was never that hard to control with Lauren. The times they had been together, her succubus was locked away and she could just be "Bo" with her. It wasn't for a lack of passion, the doctor had skills, and God those hands. It wasn't all about the sex either, well some of it was. OK, most of it, but there was something else. Bo sighed; she knew what it was even if she couldn't say it out loud. Then there was the other thing; Lauren had a girlfriend. She was in a coma, but still Lauren was off limits, sort of.
Bo drained her wine glass and stood up; this was boring as hell and really sad. What the fuck was she still doing here, she needed to get out. Unconsciously Bo started to gather some items, placing them in a basket. She needed to go upstairs and grab her jacket, maybe check her hair and make-up while she was at it. There was no question where she was going, the first thoughts of Lauren possibly spending the night alone or worse next to her comatose girlfriend; yeah Bo needed to get a move on. She would try the Fae labs first, Lachlan owed her a favor anyways, failing that she would head over to her loft, but she didn't think that would be necessary. Lauren would in the lab, it was her sanctuary. Bo smiled thinking of the geeky doctor in her lab coat looking into a microscope knowing she would be there soon.
Alone in her lab, Lauren poured over her notes from a recent autopsy she had conducted on a peri. It was routine, but it was also really the only work she had to do tonight. Lachlan had been putting the screws to her for awhile now and 16 hour work days left little time for her to do anything else. The consequence being she was completely caught up with virtually everything she had on her docket. Such a foreign feeling for the doctor as she always had one or two research projects that needed tending, but there were only so many times a day that she could measure mold growth and her other project, well girlfriend to be more accurate, was holding steady. Her monitors reading the same numbers that they had for the past five Christmases.
It was hard to believe that it had been that long, but the last time she and Nadia had spent an actual holiday together they were packing for their trip to the Congo. They had been set to leave on January 2nd, so they had rushed through the festivities, focusing their efforts on malaria shots and cramming in as much face time as possible with the people they weren't going to be seeing for three years. Their last real Christmas and they had treated it like a chore; the irony was not lost on Lauren.
The doctor leaned back on her stool and sighed, the only books in the room were medical journals, all of which she had read, twice in some cases. She closed the folder in front of her, there was nothing more to be done here tonight. Lauren decided it was time to go home, she had been avoiding it; the place felt more like a cell in the dungeon than a home most of the time anyways. She could always do what she had done last year, drag a mat from one of the exam tables to Nadia's room and sleep next to her stasis pod. For some reason last year that hadn't seemed so depressing, but now… she just couldn't picture herself doing that again. Well she knew the reason, maybe she couldn't say it out loud, but she could admit it to herself all alone here in her lab, Bo. The damn succubus came crashing into her life like a freight train and Lauren had been directly in her path.
She wondered what Bo was doing tonight? Lauren would give anything to be at the Clubhouse with her. She knew her focus should be on her comatose girlfriend, but if she were still being honest, Lauren had let go of Nadia a long time ago. Her fantasy was simple; she had made some cookies to shut Kenzi up and she would be cuddled against Bo on that lumpy old sofa. Lauren's head would be resting on her shoulder while they sipped her Aunt Edna's homemade eggnog and watched the Yule Log channel because there was no way in hell she was going to let Bo light a fire in that fireplace. There would be no human/fae bullshit, no slavery, no impending doom, just the two of them sharing a moment under a blanket.
Lauren glanced at Nadia's monitor again, no more girlfriend in a coma. As tempting as it was, she had never resented Nadia. Lauren had made her own choices and she had to live with them, but here tonight she could admit that she was feeling it a little, and that the thing keeping her from Bo was Nadia. She knew that it was unfair to blame her and there was also that whole being enslaved to the Ash deal, but if she could just let go of her conscience she could be with Bo tonight. Of course the Ash would probably throw her in the dungeon for running away again, but it would be worth it just to spend another night with Bo. She was still kicking herself about that, she had stayed at Bo's for a week, but they were both to busy being respectful that they waited until her last night to get physical. They should have spent the entire time banging; yes she was hiding out, and yes it was terrifying, but it was the first time she had felt remotely free in years. The tiny respite was like a vacation and she hadn't been able to get Bo off her mind since.
"Lauren!"
The doctor automatically turned to the sound of her name being called, her face erupting in a wide smile. It was a reflex, the voice sounded like Bo's. The mind likes to play tricks on the weary and if she hadn't seen the succubus with her own eyes, Lauren would have been assured she imagined it. Bo had on her trademark black leather everything, sporting a wicked grin and carrying a bread basket filled with wine. Lauren slapped herself internally for gawking at the woman, eventually regaining the power of speech, "Bo, what are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious," Bo sat her basket down on the lab table motioning towards the wine, "I thought we could run some tests to see how much alcohol I have to drink before feeling the effects then compare that with an average human."
Lauren didn't know how to respond to that, "Uh, I'm sorry, what?"
Bo waived her off, "Lauren I'm kidding."
"Oh."
"I got that wine you like; it's Christmas Eve and I was hoping you would want to have a drink with me."
"Yes, of course!" Lauren instantly blushed. It shouldn't be surprising; she had a habit of blurting things out around Bo. "I mean that sounds nice."
"Great," Bo smiled at her then proceeded to set up two red plastic cups. She readied the corkscrew and popped open the first bottle pouring equal amounts of the liquid into each cup, "Sorry about the glassware. I only have a couple of wine stems and I didn't trust my self not break them."
Lauren nodded, "its fine Bo." Her brain was still catching up to the fact that the succubus was there at all. Someone like her, how could she not have plans on Christmas Eve? Not that she was complaining mind you, oh no. This was great, Bo's presence was intoxicating, and she could already feel the warmth spreading through her body and she hadn't even had anything to drink yet.
Bo handed her a cup, raising it up in a mock toast, "Cheers to us."
"You know it is not customary to toast with red wine, such a thing requires champagne."
Bo shrugged, "Well you know me and traditions, now toast me dammit."
Lauren instantly caved, clinking their plastic cups together in celebration, "Cheers."
"That's more like it doctor, cheers." Bo flashed a sly grin before taking a large gulp of wine. Lauren's eyes were instinctively drawn to her mouth; Bo knew this of course teasing her as she slowly traced her tongue along her top lip. Lauren could feel the heat rushing to her loins. It was like a lightening bolt; Bo smirked again clearly seeing the spike in arousal. She internally chided herself at her utter lack of control. The momentary lapse was fleeting as the emotions of the moment started to overwhelm her.
"No come on let's get out of here."
"I would love to, but humans are still on lock down and after the last time…"
"I know," Bo reached into the pocket of her ridiculously tight pants and pulled out an ornate key, "Lachlan gave me the key to one of the media rooms."
"Oh so he knows you're here."
"Yes, I was a good girl and played by the rules. He's still a giant douche; he cashed in the favor he already owed me and now I owe him a future favor, but apparently he does have a soul so here we are."
"That's very sweet of you," Lauren was genuinely touched that the succubus thought enough of her to be indebted to that jackass. "I just hate the idea of you owing him anything."
"It was well worth it," Bo put the cork back in the bottle, setting it gently back in the basket. She picked it up and walked around the table holding out her hand which Lauren gleefully took, "You know this place better than me, so lead the way doctor."
Lauren shook her head and smiled, this was the best present she could have gotten and if she and Bo were too accidentally-no it was best not to get ahead of herself. However, if Lachlan could take a night off from being a tyrannical monster than she could take a night off too and just enjoy her time with Bo. Emboldened by this the doctor leaned in, placing a soft kiss on Bo's cheek. Bo tried to play it off, but Lauren could see the crimson coloring her face, "Merry Christmas Bo."
Bo cleared her throat, "Merry Christmas Lauren." Both women smiled as they walked down the hallway, it was going to be a great night indeed.