Hey everyone!
After that explosive ending from the previous episode, it's time for the next episode! Thanks again for your comments and insights, I love knowing how you guys' minds work, and your remarks often make the story better. Please keep them coming :)
'Heritage' spans over 3 episodes, and I'll clearly be denoting when one episode ends and the next begins, but they will all be posted under the same story because they belong together. Heritage is -in certain ways- nothing like any of the previous episodes, because from here on end the story line will centre much more around Bo and Lauren's pasts/futures/family/entourage/... So less 'monster' episodes and more story arc.
Story picks up the day after Bo and Lauren's fight
Replies to reviews are at the bottom of your page :-)
Episode 4: Heritage I, Chapter 1
The Dal Riata upstairs apartment
Lauren walked into the apartment and tossed her keys on the kitchen table. She opened the fridge and without bothering to take a glass -too tired- drank straight out of the carton of milk. She pulled out her phone and checked it.
Nothing.
Not a word from Bo, despite Lauren's 23 text cries of attention. She sighed. Bo had stormed out the house the night before, and hadn't returned to their bed. Lauren had been unable to sleep, replaying every word of their last discussion in her mind, then later worrying where Bo was, when she'd be back and even later wondering, worrying if Bo would ever come back. She'd never seen Bo this upset, this mad, or this concerned before. Lauren hated fighting with Bo. It wasn't as if the couple had never fought before, they had had some epic fights before, but they were a far cry from the blissful, loving months they had shared since they had last gotten together again.
Once her own anger had cooled, Lauren had wanted to run after Bo, apologize, or at the very least, explain, make Bo understand why she did what she did, but it had been too late by that point. Being at work had been a welcome distraction; no one had expected her to be there, but helping to get the hospital up and running again had made her feel empowered, it made her feel like she wasn't just a victim, it made her feel strong and useful, like she was in control of her life. She had stayed until everyone had left reluctant to go home to an empty flat, to find Bo still gone, and to sit there longing for her girlfriend's arms around her.
Lauren sighed again and looked at her phone for the umpteenth time; 7pm and still nothing. She growled frustrated. Usefulness had left Lauren dirty and sweaty. She rubbed her temples. Perhaps a shower would make her feel a little better, afterwards maybe she could eat something and perhaps figure out what to do about this fight with Bo. Heading upstairs, she heard noises coming from the bedroom, and changed direction to push the door open. The woman she hadn't seen in over 24hours, the woman whose comfort and reassuring words Lauren had so desperately craved was in their bedroom. Lauren's heart skipped a beat as she realized what the brunette was doing.
"You're packing?" Lauren asked with the steadiest voice she could manage.
"I'm packing"
"You're leaving?" Lauren tried to calm her breathing, almost afraid to ask.
"I'm leaving."
"Bo" "I…" tears formed in the doctor's eyes.
Bo stopped packing, looking up in Lauren's eyes. "I know you want to talk about this." "I read the texts, and I'm sorry I didn't respond." " I've just had a very, very busy night and day." "We'll talk."
"When are you coming back?"
"We." the brunette's tone of voice softened.
"We?"
"We." "You're coming with me." "And we'll have plenty of time to talk on the plane." "I'm not completely done being mad at you Lauren, but we'll work this out."
Lauren closed the distance between them and cupped Bo's cheek. She kissed her with all the relief that flooded through her. Bo took a moment to respond, unsure of how to react with the conflicting emotions inside of her. She was still mad at Lauren, still baffled by the blonde's actions, but as she felt Lauren's grip tighten on her and felt the doctor tremble against her, she could also feel how relieved she was, and how horrible she'd been feeling about their fight, possibly as horrible as Bo had felt.
"I really do hate fighting with you." Bo said over Lauren's lips, then exhaled in her neck and hugged the doctor close.
Lauren agreed nodding in Bo's neck "Where are we going?"
"London."
The Airport ticket queue
"Passport."
"Thanks." "Wait, what…?" Lauren said looking at her passport "Who's Helga Birkenbaum?"
"That would be you." the Succubus smiled.
"Why am I just not Lauren Lewis?"
Bo made a face. "Really?"
"Okay, maybe not the smartest question." "But,…Helga?" "Why am I Helga?" "I feel like I should be wearing a dirndl, have my hair in braids and be carrying cans of freshly squeezed milk."
"Hey!" "I had to improvise, not like I had a lot of time to have these made."
"Okay, so what's your name then?"
"Eh." "Amy Pond."
"From Dr. Who?"
Bo nodded giddily.
"Was Xena taken?"
"Vex said it was too obvious" "And no last name."
"Again…Helga?"
"What?" "At the time, I was thinking about you in one of those dresses" Bo smirked and wiggled her eyebrows.
"And that's a turn-on?" Lauren asked incredulously.
"Yes!" "Alright, we're up." "Smile and look Helga-ish."
"What?" "What do Helgas look like?"
"I don't know" "Demure?"
"Yez, zhello, my name siz Helga" Lauren said in her best German accent
"Oh my God" Bo exclaimed as Lauren grinned, thinking those few years in college taking German had paid off. "That was horrible" "Don't speak" Lauren's grin turned into a vacant stare. Bo bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud at Lauren's face. She turned her head towards the young woman behind the ticket desk, and flashed her a smile.
A few minutes later
"Tickets."
"First class?" "Can we afford that?"
"I got us a free upgrade" Bo winked.
"The perks of dating a Succubus." Lauren grinned.
"Yes!" "Apparently there is this lounge thing, we can get free food and drinks there before our flight." Bo looked giddy like a schoolgirl, making Lauren smile widely.
"Have you ever flown before?"
"Only on a Hippogriff." "I'm excited!" Bo wiggled her brows.
Lauren couldn't help but chuckle.
Twenty minutes later: First Class Lounge
"This stuff is FAN-TAS-TIC!" Bo said as she stared at the spread of food in front of her. "Wish Kenz was here" "She so would have loved this"
"We'd have to drag her out of this place kicking and screaming" Lauren chuckled.
This really is good food" Lauren agreed.
"To the food, and to absent friends and family." Bo toasted, her voice breaking slightly as her mind wandered to Trick, Aoife, Tamsin, Hale and all the other people they had lost recently.
"I really didn't think it through." "I mean, you're right…I knew it wasn't the best timing, and I knew I'd be putting myself in danger." "It's just, I wanted it so badly, Bo." "This life with you, our life." "Me, finally being able to be "ME" again." "I wanted it so badly, not only for me, I wanted it for all other Fae 'wards, and I think it was just easier to be blind to all of the other consequences." "I didn't think about putting you in danger, or maybe I did, but then I just placated myself with the thought that it wouldn't be that bad, that they wouldn't dare hurt you." "I was just so tired, so sick of being a slave."
"I know." Bo said, she looked away for a moment contemplating her words "It's just that I know how rational you are, how logical your brain works, I just never thought you'd be this 'emotional' about your choice."
"I'm not always rational, Bo." "I may be a scientist, but it doesn't mean I let logic dictate my life" "If I did that, then I wouldn't be with you." "You're not exactly the logical choice…" "I mean, love isn't logical." "I mean, in ways you are,…"
Bo raised a brow.
Lauren frowned catching Bo's puzzled expression, and pushed a lock of her hair back before she turned towards the brunette again. "It's a known fact that people usually find their mate in the person that fulfills their most primal instincts of safety and procreation." "It's why women in general are attracted to physically prowess men." "Men with deep voices, tall,…even chest hair may evoke the sense of 'strength' a woman looks for in a partner. And in that case, you are the obvious choice of course seeing as..."
"I don't have chest hair, Lauren." "And I don't think I rank high on the procreation score card either." Bo said, secretly stifling a laugh.
"Well, no." "Yes." "Of course, and it's different for gay men and women." "I mean, it's just been scientifically proven that women can chose their genetically compatible mate based on scent, well, the smell of the partner's sweat" "And,…"
"What?" Bo burst out laughing.
Lauren stopped mid sentence and smiled sheepishly "I'm doing that thing again, huh?" She looked up at Bo with a slightly embarrassed glance only to find Bo widely grinning.
Bo pulled Lauren into her and kissed her. "Geek speak." "Don't ever change Dr. Birkenbaum."
Forty minutes later: twenty minutes before boarding
"Latte?"
"Yes, please."
"I could get used to traveling with you."
"We don't know yet whether I have an irrational fear of flying or get airsick."
"Well, I am a doctor." " I could medicate you either way."
"I might still throw up on you."
"I'll make sure we have enough sick bags before we take off."
Bo chuckled "Good." she leaned over and pecked Lauren on the lips. "I'll get us those lattes."
Lauren leaned back with a satisfied, happy smirk "Yup, I could definitely get used to traveling with you."
On the plane
"This is so cool!"
Bo grabbed her touchscreen TV and scrolled through the various films on offer, giddy as a schoolgirl she looked up at Lauren who was doing the same.
"Omg, I'm not going to get a wink of sleep!" "I've wanted to watch all of these movies!"
"Babe, want to watch the newest Star Trek with me?" "It has Chris Pine in it?"
"Who?"
Lauren tilted her screen and pointed.
"Oh, that dude." "Mmmm, yeah, I could definitely Pine over him." Bo laughed at her own joke.
Lauren hit her over the head.
"Ouch!" "What was that for?"
"You knew who he was." Lauren rolled her eyes. "You just really wanted to make that joke, huh?"
Bo laughed. "I did."
Maybe we should watch a Rachel Weisz movie." "She is ever so dreamy." Lauren did her best schoolgirl crush imitation.
"Oh yeah" "She is fine." Bo licked her lips. "Loved her in The Mummy, the cute British accent, goofiness, the HOT librarian vibe she had going on." "And then the fight scenes." "Ay Caramba!"
Lauren slugged the Succubus again, harder this time and huffed. "So feeling the love here." Bo chuckling, turning into laughing, then grinning.
"She reminds me of you." Bo said in a peace offering "All the pretty, smart ones do."
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard this Alpha flight 7863 towards London, England. My name is Cole Davies, and I will be your Captain today. I am accompanied by my copilot for tonight Captain Kate Stevens. Well folks, we have about an 8 hour flight ahead of us, weather reports do include some turbulence along the way, but nothing too heavy,…
Thirty minutes later: 6000 feet and still climbing
"Wow", the take-off is a rush!"
"Don't talk to me right now." "Omg, I think I'm going to be sick!" Lauren snapped keeping her eyes firmly closed and grabbing her seat, her facial features scrunched and her body completely tensed. Bo reached over and let some of her Chi flow into the doctor who instantly relaxed.
"Oh, that's better."
Fifteen minutes later
"Not even a Gabrielle?"
"Oh, that would have been good, but she doesn't have a last name either."
"There was no legal requirement for last names until Napoleon introduced the Code Napoleon in Europe in 1804."
"Where do you store all these facts?" Bo asked with genuine wonder.
"You could have made up a last name."
Bo rolled her eyes, grinning. "If it means that much to you, then next time we have to flee the country you can pick our undercover names."
"Oh" "In that case, I'm going with Kathryn Janeway."
"Hmm, no." "Sadly that name has already been claimed by me" "You can have Dr. Beverly Crusher though" "I can totally see you pulling off that big 80ties hair."
"Maybe I should go for the well-endowed Seven of Nine." "Jeri Ryan."
Bo looked quizzically at Lauren's chest and scrunched her nose. "Hmm." "Not really seeing it."
"That's it, you just lost your one chance of joining the Mile High club!" Lauren playfully glared.
"But, but, but…"
One hour later: the first class bathroom
Lauren's nipple was in her mouth as Bo carried the blonde to the marble countertop of the wash basin and sat her down. Bo looked up, her mouth and tongue moving from Lauren's breast to her mouth. Bo pushed away the fabric of Lauren's panties and slid two fingers inside of her. Bo moaned at how wet the doctor was, how eager her hips were and how she moaned Bo's name.
Two hours later
"I liked the first two better"
"Yup."
"Still…"
"Oh yeah, definitely."
Fifteen minutes later
Light was fading outside of Bo's window. The familiar 'ding' chimed through the airplane as the nightlights switched on. Bo glanced over at Lauren who had drifted off, and smiled. It was so easy to fall asleep in these comfortable first class seats, beds really, and the food and drinks they served were excellent here. Still, part of Bo wished they hadn't gotten the upgrade. She would have liked being oddly cramped together with Lauren, being able to hold her hand, touch her leg with her own without drawing attention, or have Lauren's head on her shoulder as the doctor fell asleep. For the next couple of hours though, she would have to contend herself with watching her sleep. There were worse ways Bo thought to spend your time.
Forty minutes later
"Hey." "You're awake." Bo said looking up from her book.
"How long was I sleeping?"
"Not long, give or take an hour."
"What are you reading?"
"Anne of Green Gables" Bo said with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. "I know it's a children's book, but I hmm" "Well, I never had the chance to read it when I was younger"
"It's a great book." "You'll love it."
Bo nodded "I think so." "I like Anne."
"Bo?"
"Yes." she said without looking up.
"Where were you last night?"
Bo closed her book, and put it on the nightstand next to her a small sigh accompanying the movement.
"I was out proving a point, I guess."
"That's vague."
"Yes." "Well, I was out proving I am a big bad ass."
"You slept with someone else?"
"What?" "No." "Course not." "Why would you think that?"
"Proving a point." "You being a succubus."
"Oh." "No." "Look, it's just not something I'm proud of, it needed to be done, but I wish I could have avoided it." Lauren caught the whiff of disgust and shame in Bo's voice.
"What did you do?"
Bo's face contorted in painful expressions.
"I, well, we…" "The bodies." "We sent them back."
"From the attack?"
"Yeah." "It was a declaration of war, Lauren." "The attack was the Fae way of saying that they can get to the people I love anytime, anyplace" "We had to send an equally strong signal back." "So, Dyson, Julius, Vex, Evony and I paid a visit to some of the most influential and notorious Dark and Light Fae figures in town."
"Paid them a visit?"
"We broke into their places, dumped bodies in their hallways and roughed their security up." "No one was killed, but it wasn't pretty either."
"Good."
Bo frowned, glancing over at Lauren. Her face a mixture of anger, pain and righteousness.
"Are you alright?"
Lauren shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. Bo stood up from her seat and went over to Lauren's. She sat on the side and pulled the doctor in her arms. "It's okay" Bo said gently, Lauren turned towards her and sobbed into her shoulder."I'm sorry I left you alone last night"
Lauren shook her head in Bo's neck. "I missed you last night, but I'm sorry you had to do that." "I know you didn't want to."
"Babe, you can't take the blame for all of this." "Truth is, we have dangerous lives" "This had been coming our way for some time now." "And truth is I am glad you unaligned."
Lauren smiled. "Do you think they would mind if you crawled into bed with me here?"
Bo smiled. "I'll pulse them if they even look at us funny."
"I'll tell them you need my medical assistance."
"Dr. Helga Birkenbaum?" "Sexy."
"Frau doctor iz in ze house."
Bo laughed giving Lauren a soft kiss, and scooted next to Lauren. Lauren quickly converted her seat into a bed.
"Ms. Weisz?"
"Yes, please."
Five minutes was all the pair needed to fall asleep.
Like a cloak the blackness hung about her, clung around her. Warm, suffocating, constricting, the feeling of inevitability creeping up, heartrate skyrocketing. There was something unnatural about this darkness, something lurking in the shadows making her skin crawl, the hairs in the back of her neck standing up. She wanted to run, but something wasn't letting her, something around her wrist constraining her, something around her neck, around her ankles, and then the pain hitting her body, the pinpricks, the roughened, tender flesh, the blood she felt dripping down her legs, down her arms and neck, the ache in her muscles from standing in the same position far too long, a dull pain that had drained her of fight, of strength. And then Lauren's voice, shrill, high, crying for help. Bo yanking, desperately trying to free herself from the chains that were cutting into her skin, blood now flowing freely. Her cries desperate, her entire body fighting, wrestling, trembling with rage, her eyes flashing blue, her ankle snapping, but no amount of force able to free her. A constant fight, her voice hoarse from shouting. Rage slowly being replaced by hopelessness and then as Lauren's cries died out, Bo sobbing her name. Bo knew she was being watched, a pair of red eyes staring at her from under the veil of darkness.
"Please, please,… please let her go" "Please let her go" "I will stay here, I will do anything, but please let her go!"
A horrible, twisted laugh reverberated through the darkness.
Bo woke up with a start, her heart was pounding in her chest, sweat was pearling down her forehead her body trembling, but Lauren was soundly sleeping next to her, and the airplane was gently humming in the background. Bo inhaled and exhaled slowly, steadying her breathing. She looked down at the sleeping blonde, brushed a few stray hairs away from her face and leaned in with a grateful kiss while a tear fell from her eye. Lauren stirred and brought Bo's hand that was still interlaced with her own up to her mouth. She placed a soft kiss on the back.
"Go back to sleep" Bo said softly "We still have about four hours of flight ahead of us" Lauren turned around hearing the uneven tone in Bo's voice, her brow furrowing as she saw the Succubus' red eyes.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
"Bad dream." "Sorry." "I didn't mean to wake you."
"Again?" "Same dream?"
Bo shook her head "Not the same, but the same, I guess." "Always about losing you."
"I'm not going anywhere" Lauren cupped Bo's cheeks looking into her eyes "Babe, they are just nightmares" "Your subconscious projecting fears in your most unguarded moments"
"I've never had them before." "With however crazy our lives sometimes are.." "I don't know, they just seem so real."
"I still think they are just dreams, and I think it's no wonder they are surfacing now" "The last couple of months have been brutal, and then I actually put myself in real danger" "It's is no wonder your imagination is running rampant" "But, you know how I love tests" "I promise you that I will run every possible test I can think of on you to get to the bottom of this, okay?"
Bo nodded her head "You're amazing." "You always make me feel safe, reassure me."
Lauren smiled "I'll always try" Lauren wrapped her arms around the brunette and pulled her close for a tight hug, she squeezed her girlfriend to her and placed a soft kiss in her neck, a troubled, unsure, scared look in her eyes. When they broke the hug, Lauren flashed Bo her most reassuring smile, and kissed her lips softly again.
"So" "Why are we going to London?" "This isn't just to get me out of the country for a while, is it?"
"Surprised you've waited this long to ask me."
"I just wanted to enjoy travelling with you, wanted to pretend we were a normal couple on holiday for as long as possible"
"Well, you could pretend that we are a normal couple visiting my family."
"Your family?" "Trick's family?" "I..hmm…I didn't know he still had family."
"Yeah, you and me both."
"London though?" "I thought Trick was Irish."
"He is,…was." "It seems the company headquarters are there and that is where my great grandmother lives."
"Trick's mother?"
"Yes." "Catherine McKenna." "We have an appointment with her tomorrow."
"McKenna?" "The Catherine McKenna?" "That is your great grandmother?"
"Why am I not surprised you know her?"
"Bo, the McKennas are…"
"Harry Potter famous?" "So I've been told."
"Something like that." "They're royalty among nobility, considered the most powerful and prominent family of the Fae world. Lauren shook her head. "Why didn't I put that together with Trick being the Blood King."
"Yeah, no clue how you missed that…" Bo said, feigned disbelief in her voice.
"They designed…" Lauren turned her face towards Bo while she was trying to finish her thoughts"
"You're going there to investigate aren't you?"
Bo nodded "I need to figure out if my family had anything to do with this."
"So, instead of running to safety, we might just be running straight into the lion's den." "Not really a normal family visit."
"I have a hard time believing my grandmother was directly involved." "She knows who I am Lauren, she knew about Trick being alive." "She could have had me killed at any given point in the last five years if she wanted to." "I'm just not sure about the rest of the family."
"Or some other mole in the company."
"Exactly."
Bo closed her eyes again letting her head rest on Lauren's shoulder. Lauren smiled and clasped an arm around her waist. The blonde reached over to Bo and snatched "Anne of Green Gables" from the nightstand. She fingered the pages up to where Bo had read and after placing a soft kiss to the side of Bo's head, she softly read to the Succubus about the wild adventures of the red headed blonde orphan girl.
City of London
London was a wonderful city. Bo and Lauren had arrived early, had taken a cab from the airport that had taken them to their hotel and from there they had decided to go out and explore the city. They joined a free guided tour, and had spent the next four hours trudging through the city, learning about its history, and odd ends and corners to visit. Lauren had loved it, she was always up for more facts, more knowledge, and the guide hadn't disappointed, but what surprised her most was how much Bo was enjoying it too. She seemed to hang on the guide's every word and looked like a giddy school kid most of the time. Lauren had never seen this side of Bo before. The brunette was so relaxed, so into the stories of the city that the Bo from Canada, the one that couldn't sleep, and was always on edge, seemed almost unrecognizable. Lauren swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She wished she could see Bo this happy, this engaged, this interested and enthusiastic more often, but sadly, that never seemed to be how their lives worked. The doctor squeezed Bo's hand as the latter continued listening intently to the stories about the Tower of London. Tomorrow their lives would probably dial up to their normal level of mortal danger and intrigue, but today and tonight, Lauren was determined to spend as normal a vacation day as she could with her girlfriend. She didn't even have to look at Bo to know that she was thinking the exact same thing.
City of London, the Bailey's Hotel bar
"Here's to the princes in the Tower, to Guy Fawkes, and William Shakespeare,…"
"I never knew you were such a nerd."
"I'll beat you up if you ever tell." Bo said with a stone cold glare, until she couldn't suppress her laugh anymore. "I've always loved history." "Was the one subject that didn't make me fall asleep."
"There are so many things I don't know about you." Lauren said with genuine intrigue.
"Ah, you know me, Doc." "Small town girl on her way to becoming Cherry Princess, too dumb to know the difference between a telescope and a microscope." Bo looked at her scotch, the rim of the glass, the way the lights from the bar reflected on the surface of the drink seemingly capturing her full attention.
"I think I may have had a bit too much to drink." she said with a chuckle.
"It bothers you."
"I'm not sophisticated, not worldly, I have no formal education."
"You are beautiful, smart, brave." "You have more street smarts than anyone I know."
Bo chuckled again. "I'm sure the Great Catherine McKenna will love those."
"You're worried she won't accept you?"
"I just don't fit in, Lauren." "My dad is this genius scientist, geneticist, doctor, manipulator,…whatever he is." "Not saying I want to be like Jack." "I just always figured I was more like my mother's side of the family, but I've been reading up on Catherine McKenna…" "She reads more like your grandmother than mine."
Bo leaned back in the comfortable leather chesterfield of the hotel bar, took another sip of her drink and sighed "She knew about me, she knew about Trick" "Why didn't she reach out to me?" "Why didn't she come to the funeral?" "Her son dies, her granddaughter dies,...and what…it doesn't phase her?" "Why didn't she come to the airport?" "She knows I'm here" Bo sighed again, exasperated
"I - just -don't- get- it" "Is my entire family nuts or are they all psychopaths?"
"We're not all cuckoo, darling." "Though your great-uncle Graham was a right git." an unfamiliar voice of an elderly woman answered.
Bo blinked, and stared at the woman seated in the sofa adjacent to theirs. Bo could have sworn that seat was empty only seconds before.
"Hello, Isabeau." The woman stayed in her seat, her eyes only briefly lingering on Bo before they returned to the magazine she appeared to be reading.
"You look so much like your mother" "Please don't get up" she said hastily as she saw Bo wanting to come over. "Just stay where you are, it's not safe" "I just wanted to see you before the formalities of tomorrow"
"Catherine." it wasn't a question, it was more of a statement when Bo looked at eyes that mirrored her own.
"Call me that tomorrow." "Be sure to use your false identities at the reception desk as well." "Nod if you understand, Isabeau." her voice was stern.
Bo nodded sheepishly.
"Dr. Lewis or Ms. Beattie, whatever you like to call yourself these days." she said as a less than warm goodbye to Lauren, and with that Catherine McKenna disappeared in a slow rolling shadow.
"Wow, she's an Obscura." Lauren muttered.
And that's Chap 1 of Heritage! What about Catherine McKenna ey? Gosh, I think she's so cool, and cool to write too, making the all powerful Succubus feel like the (grand)child she is, and talking down to Lauren ;) She's a force to be reckoned with, and the Obscura powers are also awesome. More about that later, she'll be back.
Also, i loved writing Bo and Lauren's previous interaction, when it felt like they were on holiday. I feel like that could be them; laughing, joking, watching movies and sharing info about their lives. I especially like knowing /working out things about Lauren's past just cause her background is such a giant ball of 'nothing'. Hope you guys liked that too.
Answers to reviews
So! Lots of controversy and fireworks in the last reviews. Awesome :-) I read that the drama was 'over the top' and unprovoked? Ouch! I guess I can only say that if my girlfriend had risked war without talking to me about it, I'd be kinda pissed too ;-) It was too big a decision, and there were too many consequences to that decison to make it alone. Was Bo bitchy? Yes, but she had let this fight fester (like Koskat/Mammon pointed out), and she is genuinely baffled that Lauren put herself and so many people in danger (not just the family) with her action. At the same time, she also understands that Lauren wants to be free, she herself wants Lauren to be free.
Her running out of their flat wasn't so much a childish thing to do as it was wanting to stop that conversation before it became even nastier, grittier (Good call, Guest!) and also...she really needed to leave. Not telling Lauren what she was going to do, was however sort of childish. Bo is Bo...She is childish at times (many examples of that in the show) Maybe she just wanted to punish Lauren in a small way, or maybe it's just her temper again that has her do rash things? Even in the show I had trouble discerning what her true motivation was sometimes:-/ Anyway, you saw them pick up that conversation, this time with Bo's famous temper not flaring. And there was further opening up to one another. So yes, there is growth (just slow growth) and hopefully you guys liked that!
Guests: I never meant to suggest or write that Bo sees Lauren as a burden, because she doesn't. She's just scared that something might happen to her. After losing Trick, Aoife, ...she's really scared about losing Lauren (the dreams don't help with that), and that's also part of why Bo is so upset with Lauren (Good call, Mammon). The fact of the matter remains though that Lauren is human and that she is more vulnerable in Fae society than Bo. Her status as helpful doctor only ever mattered to those dark and light fae who benefitted from her brilliance directly. To the rest of the Fae, she's just a lowly slave with no worth. That that slave had the audacity to develop a formula that could mean the end of the Fae is bad enough, but now that Lauren has taken away that last bit of 'official protection' that she had, the hunt is on! It's sad, but her status as slave was probably the only thing that kept the Fae from killing her outright. If Lauren is a slave the formula belongs to the Fae, with Lauren's status as a free person, that's no longer the case.
JCM: 1) Think I addressed that one above 2)Lauren is/was obviously shaken bout killing someone, but she would do it again in a heartbeat. There's this quiet strength to her character I love. Yes, she holds life dear, but when something needs to be done, she does it, and so I don't think she feels guilty about killing that guy. It was him or Bo and we all know she'll always choose Bo. It was just the visceral/personal act of killing that man that got to her, I'll gladly concede that that was traumatizing for her, and maybe I should have treated/should treat that with more attention? I do think their life can't always afford the luxury of mental 'weakness', it's high paced and dangerous, and often times, they just need to 'get on' with it. 3) Bo didn't heal with Lauren cause the doctor had a broken leg and was battered, and was in no shape to give Bo chi. Also, since that weird thing with the orange glow, Bo and Lauren are reluctant to push the envelop before they know more. As for breaking the rules, Dr Burke did just grab Bo by the collar, she didn't really have a say in the matter and she did turn down the offer by the wolf. Give her some credit, sheesh! ;-) ;-) j/k, I like you keeping me on my toes :) 4) The assault teams is something they need to figure out, and why they went to the UK in the first place. 5) That is unclear for now :) 6) They left not only to find answers, but also because it became too dicy to stay.
Frenchi: We'll have to wait and see about the doccubabies. But 'heritage' is about family, yup :)
Koskat: so wonderful you've come out of the shadows! :)
Guest: I LOOOOOVE the drama too ;-)