White Tie

This is a work of "Lost Girl" fan fiction, based on an image and an idea, both of which I couldn't get out of my head. Set between "Here Comes The Night" and "End of Faes". I've taken a few liberties with minor aspects of the canon. Knowledge of characters and story lines helps.

When Lauren opened the door, Bo froze. Whatever she had imagined, it definitely hadn't been this. Even the "hi" that had been on her lips was lost at the sight of Lauren in her formal evening wear. "It's a white tie affair," Bo had warned when she finally got around to calling Lauren. She had asked Dyson and even Trick to be her plus one, but they had baulked, each on a different pretext. Tamsin had been MIA for a few days. But Bo needed back up, so here she was, staring at her - yes, well, her what? Former lover? Current lover? Friend? Soul mate? Love of her Life?

Ever since that night in the clinic during the blackout, Bo hadn't been thinking straight.

And this did not help: Lauren had taken the "white tie" request literally. Well, almost literally. Bo's eyes swept the doctor's body several times, taking it all in. Black dress pants with razor-sharp creases hugged Lauren's slender hips and stretched her legs almost to infinity. The low-cut white waistcoat fit her like a glove. What was lacking was the tie.

Even more noticeably absent, however - entirely and undeniably absent - was the shirt. Where boiled linen should have been, there were only very appealing expanses of smooth and lightly tanned skin.

Lauren turned around to pick up her long-tailed black coat, and Bo realised that the vest covered even less at the back than it did at the front. The narrow band of starched fabric that went around the back of Lauren's neck was hidden by the waves of her golden hair. Between the silky curls and the waistcoat's lower sash at the top of her pants, there was nothing but subtly muscled back.

Lauren faced Bo again, slipping into the coat-sleeves and straightening her hair, and covering, very much to Bo's disappointment, all that glorious skin. For lack of anything better to do, her eyes settled on Lauren's neck and chest. Following the line of her cleavage downwards, it suddenly hit her what exactly "nothing but subtly muscled back" implied. Bo felt dizzy. Images flashed through her mind - of sliding the black coat off Lauren's shoulders, of slowly unbuttoning the waistcoat. Images of lips meeting and hands exploring and dress pants dropping and…

"Do you like it?"

The sound of Lauren's voice, halfway between sultry and shy, drew Bo out of her trance.

"Huh?"

Lauren's lips curled into a smile that was - almost - more enticing than the images Bo was hastily trying to push out of her head. "I had it tailor-made ages ago for some charity theme costume event at Yale that I couldn't wriggle myself out of. It still fits, isn't that amazing?"

"I - yes, it – it – is an amazing fit. And you look – wow. Wow. I just didn't expect… I guess I was expecting a dress."

Lauren's smile broadened. "Well, you may have noticed that I actually avoid dresses whenever I can. I feel restricted in them. Trousers make me feel less restrained." She spread her arms. "They make me feel - free."

This was the change Bo was still trying to take in. Lauren had always been strong, brave, loyal, but lately, there was an added quality of self-confidence that hadn't been there before. Even in the flat dress shoes she was wearing, Lauren seemed to stand taller than Bo in her four-inch high heels. It was a new quality, and a stunning one, and Bo didn't know what to make of it.

Then again, if it meant going to a party with a woman who looked as hot as this and radiated an aura that could illuminate an entire city, Bo wouldn't complain.

The only thing she'd rather do was not go out at all but stay in with her, for days, if possible. But there was the mission…

"I'm really glad you were free this evening. I need back up on this, and Dyson and Trick just bailed on me with some lame excuse, and Tamsin has gone AWOL…"

"If telling me I was your last option is your idea of a compliment, I think we actually may have more work to do on your people skills than on mine." Bo blushed and bit her lip, but Lauren smiled, a full-blown smile that reached all the way up to a pair of sparkling brown eyes. "It's okay, Bo. I understand."

She wasn't sure if Lauren meant the current situation or Bo's general and unprecedented awkwardness around her, but when Lauren covered Bo's hand, thinking once again went out the window.

"I… You… Well, the limo is waiting," she said. "Are you good to go?"

"As good as I'll ever be," Lauren said. "But maybe on the way, since you were somewhat vague on the phone, you could tell me what this is all about?"

"Oh, hell, yes, of course, I… What was I thinking?" Bo shook her head, trying to clear it from the cobwebs of confusion and desire. "Apparently, Trick is missing an artefact from his safe, and he thinks that Iris may have stolen it when she was down there with Mark."

"Mark... You know, one thing I'm really happy about is that you didn't ask him of all people before you asked me."

"I needed someone with a working brain," Bo dead-panned. "Truth be told, you actually were my first pick, but knowing how much you hate these types of parties, and also…"

No. Bo had no words to tell Lauren what was on her mind, in her heart, what had been rumbling and tumbling there since they'd made love on the storage room bed in the clinic. Stealing time while the world was coming to an end because in that moment, to Bo, nothing else mattered. They had been so close, and yet Bo felt as if Lauren had been holding back, keeping a distance that had never been there before, not when they were fighting, not even when they were physically apart. It was even more puzzling after Lauren had finally opened up about her plans and dreams during that magical slow dance. Bo couldn't make head or tails of any of this, and every time she tried to, all her other problems, the Ancients, her father, Tamsin, the mystery box, came crashing in.

Or this little mess. She realised that Lauren was still waiting patiently for her to explain the mission.

"…and also it's not very science-y," she finished, lame even to her own ears.

"I can throw things, too, you know."

"That's true." The cheeky twinkle in Lauren's eyes was new, too. And hellishly distracting. "Anyway, Trick's missing a special medallion called -" Bo dug in her clutch for the note she had written "-the Glaukes. Apparently, it's…"

"…an owl. Well, that's the literal translation. The Athenians used the word synonymously for 'drachmas', their money. The owl is the symbol of Athena, goddess of wisdom; strategy; law; and craft." Lauren smiled again, showing off her dimples. "Always one of my favourites. She's the brainy one, so right up my alley."

"And a virgin, if I remember correctly." Bo couldn't help herself.

"Touché," Lauren laughed, tilting her head back and throwing Bo yet again with the sight of her slender neck. "Guilty of picking and choosing which Athenian qualities I prefer."

"But why would Trick keep an ancient Greek coin?"

"The owl has keen nocturnal vision. I've read that among all the drachmas the Athenians made, there was one special coin forged from a rare metal on the altar of Athena. According to legend, it would allow its owner to see in the dark as well. I assume that after the blackout, Trick might want to have one of those on hand. Not everyone has the luxury of a back-up generator."

There was that twinkle again, and the lift suddenly felt very close around Bo. She hadn't let herself use her power to read Lauren's sexual aura for a long time, rather relying on her human senses when she looked at her, but now she couldn't help it. The blonde's glow was off the charts.

Through the slight haze Bo found herself in, she suddenly realised that Lauren was well aware of her aura, and that she knew that Bo knew, but she kept on calmly. "So we're heading for some as yet undisclosed location and assume that whoever we're meeting there knows the whereabouts of the Glaukes?"

"Oh, I know who has it. We're going to an arts dealer's villa on the outskirts of town. Something something Abernathy the Third. Trick had some intel that Iris simply sold the coin, not knowing its significance. Apparently, this Abernathy guy is so proud of his new toy that he throws a party just to show it off. I am supposed to be some new-money collector who'll try to buy the thing off of him. Obviously, we're actually going to steal it. Trick's afraid the Ancients might find out and try to grab it before I can get it back for him."

"Now, that sounds like a fun night: impersonation of some socialite's plus one and the redistribution of wealth with a dash of maybe locking horns with the Ancients. And you wonder why all of the gang gave you a rain-check?" Lauren nodded her thanks to the driver who opened the stretch limo door for her. "Nice car, by the way. What happened to the Camaro?"

"It wasn't colour coded with my dress. About which -" Bo held up an admonishing finger "- you could have said something nice, by the way."

It was Lauren's turn to let her eyes blatantly rove Bo's body, and not for the first time, either. Bo was sheathed in a low cut shift dress in a deep red that perfectly matched her chocolate brown eyes and dark hair. It looked simple, but that was deceptive. Small tucks and folds around the chest and hips accentuated Bo's exquisite figure. Two slits just this side of indecent revealed legs so shapely that anyone, let alone Lauren, would have a hard time to ignore them. "To quote: wow. You look - wow." She turned sideways in her seat which made the waistcoat gape and reveal enough to completely destroy Bo's equilibrium. "But don't tell me you hadn't noticed me noticing that when you read my aura."

Bo knotted her fingers into each other to prevent them from following her urge to free all the gently swelling beauty the starched white linen contained. Bold flirty Lauren was beginning to prove entirely irresistible. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I don't know what came over me."

"You're a succubus, Bo, that's what came over you. I appreciate the fact that you haven't read me in a long time, but I also appreciate the fact that you just did. It's, well, it's flattering. And, before you ask, for once I am not scientifically curious about the result. We have a mission to accomplish, don't we?"

Bo rapped on the tinted window separating them from the driver. When he rolled it down, she asked: "How long is it gonna take us to get there?"

"About twenty minutes, ma'am."

Bo dropped into the leather seat again and grinned broadly at her companion. "I'd say that's long enough for a little scientific research, don't you think?"

###

She expected something sensible for an answer, something about the task at hand and the need to stay clear-headed for it. Instead, Lauren leaned over, took Bo's face in her hands and kissed her, gently and hungrily at the same time, and Bo felt herself melting into the taste of Lauren's lips. The world around her blurred until there was nothing but that kiss, a slow dance, a deep well, sweet like jasmine. When she re-surfaced, the car had stopped, and to her own surprise, Bo the Almighty Seductress had accomplished nothing more than this – unforgettable but overall very chaste – kiss.

More oddly, she wasn't even disappointed.

Lauren saw the puzzled frown and chuckled quietly before she kissed Bo again, just a soft and quick caress. "Interesting," she said. "But at least now we don't have to worry about disarrayed garments or misplaced underwear items."

Bo could have sworn Lauren had winked at her, but this was Lauren. The idea that a wink might have been involved became less likely with every second.

While Bo still pondered the lack of greedy lips and bare skin and roaming hands during the drive, Lauren had walked around the car and now held the door open for the red dress and its wearer. "It must be the tails," she apologised. "They make me want to do all kinds of chivalrous things, but I think I can abstain from the worst of it - I absolutely promise neither to joust nor to burst into a medieval love song."

"That's a relief," Bo said, but she took the proffered hand and stepped gracefully from the car. "Unless, of course, you'll sing in French."

"About blond lovers? Hm. I'm not sure that between the two of us, I'm the one who's qualified to speak – or sing – on that subject."

Bo had tried. She really had. Tried not to confuse whatever was between them even more. Tried to tread cautiously around Lauren. But Bo and caution didn't go well together at the best of times, and at the sight of Lauren's raised eyebrow, at the sound of simmering tease in her voice, caution took a polite bow and exited quickly. She feathered a kiss on that oh so familiar spot just underneath Lauren's ear and whispered "We shall see who'll be singing the final note", saw the blush spread over Lauren's neck and face and felt the temperature rise between them.

Lauren hummed. "But first, we have an entire opera to sit through."

"Buzz-kill."

"I'm merely savouring the sweet torture of delayed satisfaction. And trying to stay one step ahead of the Ancients." Lauren held out her arm. Apparently, the tails were at work again. "Shall we mingle?"

They joined the throng of guests, and Bo noticed that, for the first time she could remember, the heads that turned weren't for her alone.

"You're making quite an impression, Doctor Lewis," she said.

"It's the company I keep." Lauren smiled. "So, where's our host?"

"Over there," Bo said and headed for the middle-aged, slightly overweight man in a tuxedo who was greeting people in an excessively marble-fitted hallway.

"You must be Bo Dennis," he exclaimed and grabbed Bo's hand. "The rumours of your beauty don't do you justice!" Bo in her guise as the shallow socialite giggled and could almost see Lauren's smirk even though she was one step behind her. "And company, I presume?" Lauren introduced herself. "Doctor, hm? My, my, it's hard to believe, but you're just as pretty as Ms Dennis here."

"I strive not to make a living out of being over-qualified eye-candy, Mr Abernathy." Lauren's voice was so charmingly polite that the art dealer didn't even notice the sting. Bo suppressed a grin.

"Please, ladies, make yourself at home. Oh, and make sure to meet your fiercest competitor for the coin. He's the gentleman in the white dinner jacket."

Bo followed Abernathy's pointed finger. Heratio was lounging casually at the champagne bar, glass in hand, his eyes scanning the room and settling on Bo.

"Holy smoke! The Ancients have gotten here before us."

"Is that the one who made the Oracles take their own sight?" Lauren shivered at the memory of Cassie's eye sockets, bloody and empty. She was still working on a viable procedure to restore the Oracle's vision. "It's a shame we can't make him pay for what he did to those women."

"Can't make him pay yet," Bo corrected. "We need to find out more about them first, but if I have any say in it, he's going to pay, and big." Bo carefully un-balled her fist. "Thing is, if he's here, Zee is probably not far. I need to talk to slime-ball over there. Can you keep an eye out for creepy blondie?"

"Zee? The not-so-dead woman from my morgue? Of course."

Bo ambled casually over to the bar, but before she could say anything, Heratio zoomed in, hugging and air-kissing her like she was a long lost friend from their Central Park penthouse days.

"Bo!" he shouted in fake delight. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"What?" she hissed into his ear. "Did you think the little firework your lovely wife threw at me would kill me? Or even just make me go away?" And audibly: "Heratio! What a surprise! I hear you're about to go into mortal combat with me about a certain coin?"

"Darling, it's just a friendly competition between collectors, right? Have you seen what a treasure we're talking about?"

"I simply had to greet you first. Where's your better half?"

"You'll probably find her by the showcase. She just can't take her, you know, eyes off that little owl."

"Well, then I can kill two birds with one stone, as they say: say hi to Zee and take a look at our coin."

"You do that; I'll see you around."

With a parting homicidal stare, Bo made a bee-line back to Lauren, but before she could say anything Lauren pulled her into her arms and kissed her, passionately, letting her hands glide over Bo's back and sides.

"Whoa." Bo came up more than a little breathless. "Not that I mind - at all - but what was that about?"

Lauren held up a tiny dark red disk and then dropped it into a champagne glass on a passing waiter's tray. "He bugged you when he hugged you. Ancient ruse, word play intended both times. You were so distracted by his fake amiability, you didn't even notice. Sorry for the groping – he'd hidden it in one of those pleats. Rather delicious pleats, I might add. He knew we, or at least you, would be coming. He even knew the colour of your dress and brought a bug to match it."

"Why, Doctor, I'm impressed. Now I have to assume that Dyson's training did extend to shadow-thieving and panties after all?"

"Well… Not to panties."

Lauren looked as if she was pondering an even more physical search for additional electronic devices, and Bo's heart skipped a few times. But the Voice of Reason prevailed and Lauren resolutely dug her hands into her pockets. This gave her a rakish look and accomplished the exact opposite of settling Bo's thundering pulse. "What's next?"

Bo swallowed the lump in her throat. "We'll meet and greet the other half of Creepy Couple."

"Neat."

###

They threaded their way through the crowd, asking for directions to the room where the coin was on display. The villa was vast and modern and over-decorated with ostentatiously expensive furniture, knick-knacks and, of course, art. The floors were marble, columns that didn't support anything were sprinkled everywhere, and mirrors and gold made the walls flash like an impostor's false teeth.

"I wonder what made this pompous poser buy something as exquisit as the Glaukes coin in the first place," Lauren mused as their footsteps were echoing down yet another hallway. "Or, rather, who?"

Bo stood still, forcing Lauren to stop as well. "You think this is a set-up?"

"Well, supposedly this party is all about showing the coin off, and yet the Hall of Fame is hidden in the remotest part of the house, and we haven't met anyone for a suspiciously long time."

"Hm. So maybe Iris did know what exactly she stole from Trick after all." Bo fished her phone from her purse. "Do you have a signal?"

Lauren checked her mobile. "Negative, ma'am. How's your energy level? No, not your phone's. I meant: when did you last feed?"

Bo blushed. "Um, yesterday…" She waited for the briefest shadow of pain to leave Lauren's eyes. "Lauren, I'm…"

"It's okay, Bo. I asked, didn't I?" Lauren took a deep breath. "Besides, it's not really any of my -"

"Lauren -" But again, Bo was at loss for words. All she knew was the overwhelming need to feel Lauren's skin, her lips, her breath, to let their bodies close the gap between their hearts. She pushed Lauren into an alcove, backing her up against the wall, and kissed her hard, lips crushing, tongue finding tongue in a hungry whirl. This time, the waistcoat never stood a chance as Bo rapidly loosened the buttons and let her hands taste the soft warmth of Lauren's breasts.

A low purr passed from Lauren's mouth into Bo's, deepening into a quiet moan when Bo's thumbs started circling the tips. The small sound drove Bo straight into no-holds-barred paradise. She kissed her way along the world's most beautiful chin, nipping softly at Lauren's personal rapture point where jaw met neck and down to her collarbone where she lapped up a tiny drop of perspiration before making her ravenous way back to Lauren's lips.

"Bo… Please…" Lauren sang.

The first note of Bo's favourite song, the sweetest tune she would ever hear. Lauren ran her hands from Bo's shoulder blades down to the small of her back, cupping firm cheeks, pulling her close and sliding a black-clad limb between Bo's legs. Waves of white pleasure washed over Bo with each roll of her hips against Lauren's toned thigh.

The song turned into a duet, melody and counterpoint, soaring even higher when Bo unzipped the dress pants and slipped her fingers into Lauren's waistband, while Lauren's hand swept the deep red fabric of Bo's dress up and away, reaching for her core. Interval, harmony, rhythm fell into place, crescendoing freely into a symphony of delight until the final cadence of blinding release rang through the marble hall.

They held each other upright on wobbly knees, gently kissing, drifting together until legs and breaths were reasonably steady again.

"You have an impeccable sense of timing," Lauren murmured contentedly.

"Hmmm. You're not the only one who knows how to seize an opportunity."

"Bo, that wasn't even half an opportunity."

"You've reached the complaints department. Please fill out forms number 276 dash A to F in triplicate."

Lauren chuckled. "Who said anything about complaining? I'm merely marvelling at how inevitable you are."

"I blame the suit. You may think it makes you – what did you call it? – chivalrous. As the expert, I can assure you that the only thing it does is make you irresistible." Bo took a step back to appraise the sight of Lauren in her formal half-dressed state. "Do you need a hand, um, with those buttons, perhaps? Or your … pants?"

"You are well advised to take care of your own clothes, my dear. They seemed to have suffered a certain, well, disarrangement too." Smoothing down her black coat, Lauren briefly kissed Bo again. "I might take you up on your offer, though. Later."

"And here I thought I was the insatiable one…"

"Well, apparently, it's contagious, so why -"

"Oh look, sweet lover's talk." The voice from down the hall made the two women snap around.

"Zee!" Bo's hackles were up in record time.

Lauren briefly wondered how long she had been standing there before her methodical mind discarded the thought as irrelevant. Seeing the woman she knew as Elizabeth Helm up and walking around for the first time was unsettling enough. A minute frown passed over Zee's face, as though she recognised the doctor, but then she turned her attention to Bo, who instinctively stepped between Lauren and the threat.

"Beautiful dress," Zee remarked. "And I'm glad to see that my little firework, as you called it, did not leave a permanent blemish on your perfect skin."

"Cut the crap," Bo growled. "What do you want?"

"Why, Athena's coin, of course." Zee looked like that was the silliest question she'd ever heard.

"No, you don't," Lauren said matter-of-factly. "The medallion was yours the moment Iris stole it from Trick. You set this whole thing up. So what do you really want?"

Zee focused her full attention on Lauren which made the doctor squirm inwardly, but she held the gaze. "Do I know you?" She shortened the distance between her and the couple. "You seem a little familiar…"

"Well, all I can say is that I know you, lady. You killed my colleague. Before that, you were a stiff in my morgue like your husband, and believe me, I would prefer if you had both remained in that state."

"And all I can say is that I think those exquisitely tailored breeches are a little big for you." With a flick of her wrist, Zee unleashed a bolt of lightning at Lauren, but it never reached its destination. Bo had jumped into its path, and it sent her skittering halfway down the hall.

"Bo!" Lauren cried out and started to run after her when her hand was caught in a vice-like grip and she was pushed against the wall yet again.

"The first time was a lot sexier," she quipped to hide her fear.

"Lippy, huh?" Zee's hand closed around her neck, squeezing hard. "Well, now I'll just have to close that big mouth of yours and teach you once and for all never to interfere with the Immortals again, little human."

Another puzzled frown crossed Zee's face, and the pressure on Lauren's windpipe eased a little. She tried to suck in as much air as she could while Zee's eyes probed her. "Yes, I do know you. How? Who – who are you again?"

"My name is Doctor Lauren Lewis," she rasped, bursts of words fighting against the choke-hold on her neck. "And believe me - you've never - met me before, and - being able to say that - gives me great pleasure."

"Lauren Lewis. No, that can't be… But I've – I've seen you before. I have an image of you, in my head. I just can't place it." Zee's hand was still hard under Lauren's jaw, but at least for now, she could breathe almost normally again.

"Well, while you search your memory, you can answer my question: what do you want? It's not the coin, that we can agree on."

"Of course not, silly mortal! The coin is already safe in my possession." She jerked her head at Bo who was still out cold. "I want her."

The sight of Bo's inert body on the floor made Lauren's heart stop. She was straining to detect breathing, and relief flooded her when she saw Bo's hand twitch and her chest rise and fall ever so slightly. Keep this monster distracted, she urged herself. "Why? Why her? What has she done to you?"

"Oh, nothing just yet. But she carries destiny on those pretty shoulders of hers."

"Destiny. Really. And what 'destiny' is that exactly?"

"Frankly," Zee shrugged, "I don't know. Yet. That's why I have to take this little succubus with me. I'm sure Heratio and I will find ways to make her tell her story."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lauren saw Bo reach into her clutch. She was hoping that somewhere in that tiny bag, a big girl weapon was hidden. "Oh, torture, huh?" She looked straight at Zee again. "How old-fashioned, even for you." Lauren was running out of distractions. "Well, I don't think you'll carry off your prize, lady. Not if I can prevent it."

Zee laughed. "But that's the catch, isn't it? You can't. You're weak. Insignificant. A mere human." The grip around Lauren's neck turned iron again, fingers digging deep into her flesh. She knew she had ten to fifteen seconds before the blood flow to her brain would stop and she'd lose consciousness. She was already excruciatingly hungry for air. Stars were dancing before her eyes, and she could feel her muscles go slack.

She used what little strength she had left to reach into the secret pocket on the inside of her coat cuff and retrieve a syringe she had hidden there, praying that the anaesthetic would have the same effect on this ancient type of Fae as on the younger races. A quick jab was all she had strength for. It wouldn't save her, she knew that. The narcotic would take a few seconds to take effect, and she didn't have even a few seconds. But it just might give Bo a chance to escape.

Zee chuckled when she felt the needle in her arm. "Oh, mortal, do you think your little sting will hurt me?"

The last thing Lauren saw before the world turned black was Bo charging at Zee like a mad bull on PCP.

###

Bo tackled the Ancient and rammed her into one of the columns, knocking the wind out of her. Then Bo took Zee's head between her hands and let it crack resoundingly against the marble.

Looking down at Zee, she took a deep breath of her chi and snarled: "I told you never to underestimate me," before she rushed to Lauren's side. She raised her body carefully from the marble floor, sheer terror sweeping through her at how lifeless Lauren felt.

"Lauren," she implored. "Oh Gods, Lauren, breathe!"

She bent down to her lover and felt one faint whiff of air against her lips. Then nothing. She dimly remembered a life saver course in summer camp, clamped Lauren's nose shut and breathed steadily into her mouth. She felt her heart rise in her chest and tears well up in her eyes when Lauren didn't react.

"Lauren," she whispered. "My love. Breathe. Please, Lauren, please breathe!" Sobbing silently, cursing herself for everything she hadn't said, hadn't done, she placed one kiss of life after the other on Lauren's lips, to no avail.

From the abyss of her helplessness and the bottom of her soul, Bo drew her deepest breath yet. It changed on its way up, and she exhaled most of the chi she had just taken into Lauren's half-open lips.

Seconds stretched into eternity before Lauren stirred, and Bo came close to fainting with relief. "Lauren," she sighed and held her as if she wanted to wrap herself around her, then crawl into her, and never leave again.

"Bo, hey," Lauren mumbled. "You're kinda crushing me." But she clung to Bo, who eased her desperate hold a little.

"Oh gods, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my lo- Lauren." Bo's tears, part dread, part relief, fell onto Lauren's face as it slowly changed from ghostly paleness to a more natural colour.

"Don't be," Lauren whispered. "Just hold me. Please?"

"I've got you, I've got you," like a mantra as she dried the tears from Lauren's cheeks and gently combed a strand of golden hair away from her face. "Gods, I was so scared I'd lost you..." The memory of Lauren's limp body in her arms still had a cruel hook on Bo's mind. „Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Lauren frowned, getting her bearings. The colour had returned to her skin, and she carefully flexed her muscles. "Yes. More than fine. Actually, I haven't felt this strong for a long time, if ever." Bo could almost hear the scientific wheels as they started spinning in Lauren's head. It made her smile and ache tenderly at the same time. "Was that your chi? Hm. Informative."

Then Lauren caught sight of Zee. "What about her? Did you kill her?"

"I don't think so. She's rather hard-headed. But -" Bo beamed "- she's out cold, and I think she will be for a while, so…"

"She's stirring!" Lauren jumped up, surprising herself and Bo with the speed of her recovery. "Quite potent, your chi – more powerful than your punch, I'm afraid. We need to get out of here."

Lauren started running towards what she hoped would be an exit, but Bo held her back. "Wait, wait, wait – we still need the coin!"

Lauren grinned and plucked a shiny silver disk from her pant pocket. About the size of a quarter, it had a perfectly executed owl embossed on one side and a woman's figure with a helmet and a long spear on the other. "May I introduce you to Athena," Lauren said proudly. "The daughter born from Zeus's head and…" She stopped and stared at Zee who was still unconscious but groaning now. "Zeus had … an image … of Athena in his head…"

"Lauren?"

"Zee said she had an image…"

"Lauren, are you okay?"

"What?" Lauren blinked and looked at Bo.

"Are you okay? Because, seriously, since you have the coin, we'd better… Wait a moment! Her, too? Are you thinking about making a career out of picking pockets?"

"Well, since my science failed me and the anaesthetic apparently didn't work…" Lauren frowned. "She is Fae, isn't she? Hm. Maybe her race is too old for the narcotics I synthesised for the more recent specimen." She reached into the sleeve of her coat again and pulled out a sterile swab. She tiptoed nervously towards the Ancient, checking frequently to make sure Bo was there, ready to pounce if Zee so much as moved a finger. Carefully, she swept the inside of Zee's mouth, then closed the lid on the swab container. "That might help."

"Okay, you are officially a genius and I am officially impressed," Bo urged. "Now can we get the hell out of here before she wakes up fully and turns us into tiny samples of Fae and human DNA?"

"Absolutely." Lauren cast a last glance at Zee, shaking her head. "I'm sure it's a coincidence," she murmured, then took off after Bo.

###

Looking for an escape route, they turned corners, ran up stairs and raced down hallways. Wherever they went, windows were barred, doors were locked and soon enough, they heard someone running behind them.

"Two pairs of feet," Bo panted. "High heels and flats. Zee and Heratio, wanna bet?"

"Naw. Odds are too bad." Lauren was out of breath. "Is there no way out of this artsy hell-hole?"

"Apparently, none that doesn't involve property damage. Oh, fuck!" They had turned another corner and found themselves in a dead-end corridor with a rather solid-looking wooden door at the end. The running feet were coming closer.

"Give me your shoes!"

"My what?"

"Your shoes, can I borrow your shoes?" Bo pointed at the four-inch pumps she was already slipping out of. "These are no use against a door."

Hastily, Lauren untied her dress shoes and handed them over. While Bo put them on, Lauren also discarded her black socks. Running barefoot seemed the less accident-prone option.

Turning her back to the door, Bo swung her right leg up and backward like a wild horse in an unfamiliar box. The first kick made the jamb groan a little. The second kick loosened a few splinters around the lock. She grinned, certain now of her victory. "And don't think I haven't noticed you staring at my legs, Doctor!"

Lauren shrugged and returned the grin. "Isn't that the entire purpose of that dress?"

Bo took a deep breath, braced herself and put all her strength into the third kick. The door finally gave way. Bo discarded the black shoes again. Barefoot like Lauren, she reached for the other woman's hand, and they sprinted out into the night.

"Where are we going?" Lauren asked.

"We're meeting the rescue squad."

"Say again?"

"I had a signal on my phone while you were chatting with Lady Spooky. Enough to send an SOS to Dyson and activate the tracker on my phone. Don't worry, he'll find us."

They crossed through the landscaped garden into a small copse of trees, jumped a low brick wall and found themselves on a small road through the woods.

"Do you have any idea where the city is?" Bo asked breathlessly.

"Well, it's got to be to the east since we headed west on our way here."

"Yeah, well, but where the hell is east? It's dark, in case you hadn't noticed. No sun."

Lauren craned her neck and studied the clear night sky. "There's Ursa Major, there's Ursa Minor…"

"Stargazing, Doctor? Now?"

"No, the tail of the Little Bear ends at the North Star which is there -" she stood behind Bo, took her hand and pointed to the brightest of the million silver jewels in the sky, then turned 45 degrees "- so that's where east is. And here I thought you grew up in the countryside."

"I did. And I actually remember that. It's just… It's been so long."

It was too dark to see her face, but Lauren heard the pain in Bo's voice. She gently touched her cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're here, so it doesn't really matter, does it? I mean -" Bo stuttered "- that I forgot about – stars and their positions."

The crack of a bough prevented Lauren from answering. They broke into a run again, heading in the direction Lauren had indicated. They could still hear their pursuers, but Bo was strong and well-fed, and Lauren was still charged from Bo's chi. Over time, the sound of running feet faded away behind them. In the distance, they could see the city lights.

"Jeez, how far have we run?" Lauren eventually asked, catching her breath.

Bo stopped and strained to listen. "Far enough, I think. They've given up."

"Are you sure?" She was brushing dirt off her feet, idly wondering why the small cuts and abrasions in her soles didn't sting more – another side effect of Bo's chi, she assumed.

"Well, we need to keep our ears peeled, but I think we can slow down."

"So we add outrunning the Ancients to our list of nightly achievements?" Lauren's happy chuckle welled up again. She felt light-headed and more adventurous than ever before.

"If you didn't lose the coin during that very impressive crouch-jump you pulled back there, I think we can call the evening a resounding success." Bo peered around. "Look, there are some bushes that might give us enough cover while we wait for the cavalry. Just in case they haven't given up after all."

She took Lauren's hand again and led her carefully through the thick brambles which turned out to be perfect, overgrown and thorny, with a narrow opening at the rear and a grassy clearing in the middle. The thin sliver of a waxing moon gave the place an almost ethereal glow.

"Oh, wow," Lauren said looking around. "All we need is a blanket and a hamper, and we could have ourselves the perfect picnic." She was shivering slightly, exhaustion setting in.

When she turned, the sight of Bo knocked the wind out of her. In what must have been world record time, Bo had discarded every stitch of clothing and stood gloriously naked before her. Her caramel skin, still slightly flushed from running, glowed in the silver light that seemed to caress each curve of her body. Lauren was speechless, her weariness gone.

"I have something better in mind than a picnic," Bo said.

"Really...?" Lauren breathed.

"But first, there are entirely too many garments between you and me." She stepped closer and traced Lauren's neck with her fingers until she reached the black lapels, sliding the coat off her shoulders. With careful deliberation she then unfastened the buttons of the waistcoat, sending it after the tails. The dress pants followed suit. Hands travelling slow and random roads on Lauren's skin, Bo leaned in and softly kissed her shoulder, her collarbone, then trailed her tongue up along her neck and over the curls of her ear.

"Sometimes, I forget how gorgeous you are," she whispered.

Lauren was smoldering slowly in the gentleness of Bo's touch. Her fingertips left velvet burn marks on Lauren's back, her lips drew flaming lines on her skin. Flares of heat leapt through her when Bo's breasts grazed hers, and when Bo kissed her way down across her chest and belly to the slight hollow just below her hipbone, every inch of Lauren's body was ablaze.

Bo, the fiercely unaligned Fae, was kneeling at the only altar she would ever acknowledge: the beauty of the woman before her. She couldn't help but bow, not just before her flawless body but, more importantly, before her generous heart, her valiant soul and her vast intricate mind.

Lauren was her roots and her wings, her home and her road. Whenever Bo was lost, Lauren would find her and guide her towards her truth. Suddenly, she knew she would never want to live her life with anyone but her. Bo would always want to come to rest in the calm she radiated.

All this flashed through her in one blinding second of clarity as she scraped gentle nails down Lauren's legs, taking the last piece of clothing with her. She pulled Lauren's lithe body onto her lap and caught her eyes, drowning for what felt like aeons in their light-brown depth. Giddy with passion, Bo felt an entirely inappropriate chuckle rise in her chest. Only when she heard Lauren laugh quietly, like bubbles rising in a champagne flute, did she unbottle her own pure joy.

They caught each other's laughter in a deep and melting kiss. Lauren tasted like strawberries, like spring water, like wood smoke in autumn. Bo wanted nothing more than to inhale her, in one continuous eternal breath.

Skin like silk against Bo's lips, smooth and vibrant. Lauren's hands buried in her hair, not exactly guiding Bo's mouth towards her breasts, but definitely not detouring either. When she reached the first gentle swelling, ran her tongue up its slope and around its tip, a searing jolt tore through both of them, making Lauren's hips leap against Bo who lost herself in the pleasure of tasting, brushing, tracing, nipping, letting go and gently cooling with her breath.

The reverent care Bo took when she rolled Lauren over on her back in the soft grass made the doctor giggle again, but her grin faded to a smile when she noticed how Bo's eyes were traversing her body, mapping every line, every muscle, every subtle hue of her skin. "With my body I thee worship…" Bo breathed inaudibly. Lauren laid out for her like that was a divine temple, a holy flame radiating heat that spread through Bo like molten lava.

Kneeling above Lauren and before her at the same time, Bo kissed her, slowly trailing from chin to ear and back, returning to the sweetness of her lips, then down her slender neck, wandering further towards Lauren's breasts again. Caressing until soft whimpers turned into quiet yelps, Bo let her fingers take over where her lips had left and butterfly-kissed her way further down over Lauren's quivering ribcage and the taut muscles of her abdomen.

Lauren was breathing hard, trembling, flushed and radiating an otherworldly glow. She raised her hips towards Bo, opening up, inviting her in.

Bo lost all sense of time and place and existence inhaling Lauren's scent, drinking her desire, drowing in the flood of her rapture. It was a miracle how completely Lauren handed herself over, her rigid walls of protection crumbling, her constant guard finally standing down. Her fragility, the way her body yielded, tensed and relaxed, writhed and rocked with abandon under Bo's deliberately slow rhythm, and the rhapsody of her lover's pleasure filled her ears and her heart with awe.

She wanted to keep Lauren afloat for as long as possible, teasing without torturing, making her yearn without making her beg, only wrapping her whole being in a blanket of sensual exultation. Bo didn't know how long they were suspended in this spell before the seismograph hidden somewhere deep inside her recorded the first shudder of a force she could no longer stop, nor did she wish to.

She felt Lauren unravel, slowly but relentlessly. Nails scratching along Bo's shoulders, fingers entangled in her hair; hips rocking harder; small cries getting louder, bringing Bo's name with them, urging, pleading. Lauren was emitting pure heat now, wild and free. One long high arch, one last deep shudder, and one long sweet cry soared into the woods.

For a moment, Bo kept her covered with her mouth, gently, reluctant to let go, then Lauren pulled her up, wrapping her arms and legs around her and holding her, still shaking quietly and humming from deep within.

"You still take my breath away," Bo said, breaking the contented silence.

"Hmmm…" Roaring flames slowly turning into ambers. "I think it was actually the other way round…" And with a few entirely futile attempts at keeping it in, Lauren burst into the most contagious giggle fit Bo had ever heard. Even if she'd wanted to, she couldn't keep herself from joining. Laughing till they gasped and kissing whenever their lips were close, they rolled around in the grass as if the world and its sorrows could never find its way between them.

###

Dyson glanced sideways at Tamsin's wide-eyed horror when the chuckles and the high clear peals of mirth wafting out of the thick brambles reached her ears. Even he would never have guessed that Bo, or Lauren for that matter, could sound so free. So happy.

Tamsin might have been able to erase the sight of Bo and Lauren making love in the clinic. She might have pondered Bo's "I love you – but not like that" long enough to squeeze an ounce of hope out of that sentence. But this, this song of unadulterated bliss, destroyed every dream she ever had.

Dyson made his way back to the car and considerately honked the horn a few times. Not for the first time that night, he wished he could have persuaded Tamsin to stay at the Dal where he had watched her nursing what was at least the fifteenth shot when Bo's distress signal arrived. She had insisted on being part of the foray, hitting him when he argued that maybe she wouldn't want to run into Lauren. "Do I look like I give a flying fuck?" she'd shouted. "Bo is in danger, and you think I'm going to sit here doing nothing?"

He felt Tamsin's pain, knew all too well from where it came. Still, he couldn't help grinning broadly when he heard Bo's and Lauren's laughter come to a skidding stop with a completely unembarrassed final set of chortles. His high-fidelity wolf ears tuned into the frantic collecting and re-donning of garments before Bo and Lauren, smoothing down hair and clothes, emerged from the brambles.

Lauren saw Tamsin first, and Bo could almost hear the roll-up door of Lauren's heart slam shut. Again. Yet she gave Bo, who stood frozen between two steps, a quick smile, sweet and tender, before she kept on walking. She briefly locked eyes with the Valkyrie, acknowledged the pain in the other woman's stare by averting her eyes and tiptoed out of the encounter like a burglar at the click of the home-owner's key in the lock.

To Lauren's surprise, when she reached Dyson he wrapped her in a strong wolf hug, kissed her hair and said warmly: "I'm glad you're safe, doc!"

"All hale and hearty", Lauren said. "Thanks for swooping in for the rescue again." But her smile was lopsided.

Dyson glanced at the Valkyrie-Succubus stand-off unfolding by the roadside. "Lauren, I still stand by what I told you once, back at the Dal: she really does love you."

"I know, Dyson. Me. And you. Ryan. Then Rainer. Now Tamsin…"

"No." Dyson shook his head. "Neither me nor Ryan nor Tamsin, and don't even mention Rainer. Only you. No one else. Not like that."

"You're a kind wolf for saying that. But look at them. I can almost feel Tamsin's heart tear. You and me both know what that feels like. Believe it or not, it pains me to see her suffer." Lauren sighed. "It took me years not to fall apart anymore every time Bo's eyes began to wander. The gods know that I'm hers until my last breath, but I can't afford to be in tatters all the time. Nowadays, I try to recognise Bo for what she is: a secluded cabin by the lake or an empty beach on a tiny tropical island - a place I rarely visit but when I'm there, I am completely and thoroughly happy. For ordinary days, however, I need a room of my own where I can at least be content." She took Dyson's hand. "A room, by the way, where you will always be more than welcome."

Dyson looked at her pensively. "We've come a long way, Lauren, haven't we?" She smiled and nodded. "You're an amazing woman."

"Oh, well, mostly I'm amazingly cold." Lauren stood on her toes and pecked Dyson on his scruffy beard. "I'll just sit in the car." But before she could climb into the vehicle, she heard Tamsin shout "Get the fuck out of my fucking way, Bo!" and saw the Valkyrie storm off. She brushed Dyson aside who tried to stop her. "I'll walk," she spat. "And you!" pointing a finger at Lauren. "Don't you dare look at me like you feel sorry for me! You may have won this round, but the match isn't over yet."

Lauren watched her leave. "As if this was a game." She shook her head. "As if anyone could ever win."

Dyson heard the car door shut behind Lauren and stepped over to Bo. "You need to talk to her," he said.

"Oh for Fae's sake, Dyson, don't you think I already have? Twice now. She thinks we're meant for each other. Ha!" Bo sighed. "Oh, boy, I really screwed this up. Too blind to see what she was working up. I thought she had a minor crush on me, but she…"

"…fell in love with you."

"Yes. No. I don't know." Bo let out a long exasperated breath. "It may sound harsh, but I think most of it is happening only in her imagination. She wants to be in love, you know, wants it so badly, and I think me and Kenzi were just the first people to show her any kindness at all, ever."

"Well, you also showed her a little succu-touch and a little romp in the sheets."

"I know!" Bo slumped. "I did. I blew it. Completely. Gods, I'm sorry! I never meant to do this to her."

"She'll live, Bo. She'll hurt, but she'll come around." He looked at Bo. "But I wasn't talking about Tamsin. I meant you need to talk to Lauren."

She groaned. "I can't. Dyson, I don't know what to say. Every time I try, I have no words for - for what she means to me. I've tried to … to show her, but…"

"She thinks she's just one among many, Bo, and we both know that for once, her brilliant mind couldn't be farther from being right." He laid his hand on her shoulder and squeezed briefly. "Don't lose her like I lost you."

"Dyson…"

"Shut up, Succubus." He gave her a friendly pat. "We need to get out of here. Get in the car. Sit next to Lauren. Look at her. And think hard about what you're going to say to her."

Lauren didn't even notice how quiet Bo was on the drive to the Dal. She stared out the window, gazing at but not really seeing unfamiliar woods and wide open fields change into well-known city streets. Staring into empty space calmed her, and by the time Dyson stopped the car in the narrow alley behind the Dal, she had sorted the evening into memories she wanted to keep, and those she chose to let fade into insignificance.

"We're here," Bo said, shaking Lauren from her reverie. "It's time for a drink to celebrate the night."

Lauren smiled, but it didn't quite reach her weary eyes. Bo knew she was back to square one: the gap had opened up again. Cursing silently, she followed Dyson and Lauren into the bar. The two were cracking jokes, and Dyson even complimented Lauren on her suit. "You know, even barefoot you can really pull that off," he said. "Better than I ever could."

"That's only because you're somewhat under-endowed in the cleavage department, Wolfman," Lauren laughed.

Trick started drawing the first round of beer before the door had closed behind the trio.

"The warriors, all…" He frowned. "Where's Tamsin?"

Dyson hopped onto the bar stool next to Lauren and reached for the nearest beer. "Took off when she saw she wasn't needed. You know Tamsin, Trick. Probably on her way to the next watering hole. That woman has an agenda of her own." He passed the other glasses around and held his up. "To the pack!" he howled.

"To the pack!" Lauren cheered. Bo just raised her glass and drank.

Trick nodded, satisfied with the explanation for Tamsin's no-show, and turned to Bo who wiped foam and a grateful smile directed at Dyson from her lips. "So, I assume my granddaughter once again came, saw and conquered?"

"Well, not sure about 'saw', but you can definitely check 'conquered' and 'came'," Dyson mumbled into his ale, and Lauren snortled, swatting him and trying to hide it all behind a coughing fit.

Trick and Bo stared at the pair, then at each other. "You found the Glaukes, Bo, didn't you?" Trick eventually asked.

"Well, actually Lauren found it while almost getting herself killed by Zee," she said and launched into a PG-rated telling of the night's events.

When Bo had finished, Lauren took the coin out of her pocket and laid it on the counter.

"I'm still not positive as to the significance of the coin," she reflected. "The Ancients utilised it as a decoy which suggests a certain intrinsic lack of value, but I'm convinced they were actually attempting not only to acquire but to retain it in their possession. I had hypothesised…"

"Doc…" Dyson shot her a warning glance.

"Sorry. I had a hunch that the coin would enhance… That it would let you see in the dark."

Trick smiled. "Well, it can do a little more than that," he said. "But only for its rightful owners, which, obviously, is Athena first and foremost, then every blood relative – which includes half the Greek pantheon. To Fae and humans, the coin is useless, but the history books are quite clear: in the hands of an Immortal, the Glaukes will start to emit a golden light; gold being one of the colours associated with Athena. If needed, it can shine bright enough to illuminate a battlefield. More importantly, however, the coin grants the gift of foresight – well, limited foresight at least. Apparently, it will reveal the enemy's strategy."

"Wow," Bo said. "That's nifty. Small wonder the Ancients tried to get their paws on it."

Lauren took the coin into her hand and turned it over. For the first time, she really studied it. Squinting a little, she could just make out a line of symbols on the edge of the coin. "There's something written here. It's ancient Greek, I think. Trick, can I take this to my lab? I'd love to run some tests, read the writing and maybe even figure out what metal it is made of."

"Of course."

"Excellent!" She flipped the coin into her left hand and closed her fingers around it, reaching for her beer and taking a long thirsty drink.

When she set the empty glass on the counter again, three pairs of eyes were staring at her. "What?" she asked. "Don't worry. I'll take care that nothing will happen to it."

"Lauren," Bo said quietly. "We're not worried about what could happen to the coin. But… your hand, Lauren. It's … glowing."

End

Dedicated to my Queen, who will always be my Muse, and Laura, beta-reader extraordinaire.

A/N Since some people were kind enough to ask for it, and thanks to an inspiration provided by Pasha.D, I've started sequel to "White Tie" called "The River of Unmindfulness".