Bo shot up in bed glancing around, she caught sight of blonde hair fanned out the pillow beside her. Lauren.
She remembered, Lauren had appeared in Dyson's mind after Lauren… no it had been Flora not Lauren, had died. She hadn't been able to believe her eyes. She had just witnessed the woman she loved die, and yet there she was with her, in the clothing she had just left her in.
Wait. Lauren had appeared in Dyson's memory. Oh no. Human's can't… Lauren what did you do? She could die. Lauren could die. She had to get Lauren out, she had to get her out now!
"No. No. A human can't be in there." Bo said aloud as she scrambled over and tried to shake Lauren awake. "Lauren." She tried calling the blonde's name. The red string, she needed to get it off of her now. She quickly scrambled towards Lauren's ankle, determined to get the string off of her.
Just as she was about to untie it she looked up and saw the message written on her mirror in bright red lipstick and capital letters.
DON'T CUT THE RED STRING
She glanced over at Lauren, what was she supposed to do now? Bo quickly began to pull the LED's off of her face and chest. She needed to come up with something, there had to be some way to connect to Lauren, and there had to be some way to save her. She had just found Lauren again; she could not loose her, not now, not yet, not when they had just come back together. Not before she could tell Lauren she loved her again. There still so much they needed to do, so much they needed to talk about. So much she needed to apologize for, and she needed to tell Lauren, she needed to tell Lauren that she was her choice.
Come on, Bo think, there has to be something you can do.
"Don't cut the red string." She heard Lauren murmur out in a sleepy tone. Yes, helpful, thank-you Doctor Obvious.
What would Lauren do if the situation was reversed? Oh who was she kidding Lauren wouldn't have allowed herself to get into this situation to begin with. Bo looked over at Lauren, she looked more like she was asleep then she was caught in someone else's mind.
How could she bring back Lauren? There had to be something. Bo pulled herself back up to lie next to Lauren, her body half hovering over Lauren's own.
Despite the circumstances, Lauren looked beautiful, she looked so beautiful and so alive. Unlike what she had seen in Dyson's memory, where she'd had to watch her die, had to watch her become a monster. Just like the lover's who reminded her so much of Lauren had each time, all of the love stories she had been shown were her and Lauren, always her and Lauren.
She couldn't loose Lauren. Not here, not to this, not by Lauren sacrificing herself to save Bo. She couldn't loose Lauren like this. She couldn't loose Lauren at all. She watched for a moment as Lauren's chest rose and fell. She was still alive, she wasn't like Flora, at least not yet. Come on Bo think of something, there has to be something that you can do.
Bo glanced down at Lauren again, reminding herself that Lauren was still breathing, still alive. She wasn't dead, not like in Dyson's memories. No here Lauren look tranquil… almost like a sleeping princess. Sleeping Princess. True Love's kiss. A fairytale, but what has learned with her Fae if nothing else, that sometimes the impossible is real? The idea was insane, improbable, and the concept more then likely unreal. But she loved Lauren, and she could not loose her, not here, not today, not to this. She couldn't loose her, she couldn't and she wouldn't allow this to be what took Lauren from her!
And at this point what could kissing her hurt?
At least if she lost Lauren there would be one last memory, one last beautiful moment. One last kiss on the lips of the person who meant so much to her in this world. One last memory before she lost Lauren to death, or insanity. One last memory of those warm lips pressed to her own. Bo leaned over and kissed Lauren on the lips.
At first she didn't get any response, Lauren's lips were slack against her own. Bo felt her heart clench, this idea had truly been insane. She decided to allow herself to kiss Lauren for a few moments longer before she pulled away. But a moment later she felt a hand come up to cup her cheek, she felt the lips against her own starting to respond.
It had worked. It had honestly worked, or it was just a coincidence and Lauren had managed to sever her own string. But still either way, Lauren was responding, she was moving. Bo could feel relief coursing through her, she wasn't going to loose Lauren today. Lauren was alive, and she was responding. She most likely knew where she was. There was still a chance, still time for them to be again, for her whole family to be together again.
She pulled away for a moment, only for the hand she had felt come to rest on the back of her head, guide her lips back to Lauren's, who was lifting her head to meet her.
It was a soft and gentle kiss, full of meaning. Oh god, she had nearly lost Lauren. She felt Lauren pull away from her a few seconds later. Her brown eyes open and big, they were so full of concern and worry, maybe even a few hints of tears.
"I cut the string." She heard Lauren say, her voice soft, a little weak. But still here, still alive, still talking. Oh thank god. Bo didn't know what to say. The emotions that were coursing through her. The relief at knowing that Lauren was alive, and that she was here with here, mind fully intact, alive breathing, and here with her. She was happy because she knew what she could do to save Dyson, she knew what they needed to go retrieve to prove his innocence. She was more happy because Lauren was here, safe, and alive. Anger at Lauren for nearly sacrificing herself in order to save her, again.
Love though, love was probably the most overwhelming emotion that she was feeling in the moment. She couldn't imagine what would have happened if she had lost Lauren. Loosing Lauren, the idea was like ripping her own heart out. Stupid, how could you be so stupid.
Who was she calling stupid? Herself or Lauren?
"Bo? Are you still you?" Bo couldn't respond. She didn't know what to say. Was she still herself after all that had happened? Was she still the same person she used to be? No, she wasn't. Something was wrong, something was slipping. She felt angry all the time, mad at the world. Doing things that were so out of character for her.
Using Dyson, and leading him on. Bo glanced down at Lauren underneath her. She couldn't loose either of them. She loved them both. But right here and right now, she knew. She loved Dyson, but she was in love with Lauren. She couldn't live without either of them, she needed them both in her life. But if she lost Lauren? That was it. She would loose her mind, become consumed by anger and by grief. She was in love with Lauren in a way that she had never loved anyone. And it hurt.
"Say something, please?" Lauren's tone was soft, and desperate. She must be so worried, so afraid that she had lost her mind. The look in Lauren's eyes. She looked so sad, so desperate, so worried. She took a breath before speaking, trying not be overwhelmed with her own emotions
There was something about those words sounded so familiar, the look in Lauren's eyes was familiar too. A memory came to the surface of her mind. The words she had spoken when Lauren had stopped talking to her after she had told her about Dyson, after she had told Lauren what had happened. The look Lauren had gotten in her eyes, it was the same look she had worn then, only instead of anger and hardness in her eyes, there was softness and worry.
Instead of turning her away, instead of breaking up with her. Lauren had told her that she loved her for the first time, willingly and intentionally. Not like the first time Lauren had confessed to her in the heat of the moment. That time it had been deliberate, it had been calculated and the only thing to say in that moment.
There were so many things she could say. So many things that she wanted to say, but none of them would be enough. No, she knew what she needed to say. If Lauren had echoed her, then this time she would echo Lauren. She needed to tell the blonde that she loved her. There was so much else she wanted to say, but it was never enough, it would never be enough to express what Lauren meant to her, and how afraid she had been of loosing her.
"I love you." The words slipped out before she could stop them. She saw Lauren's eyes widen marginally, tears gathering in the corner of them, before she felt Lauren grab her face with both hands and bring their lips together in a heated and demanding kiss. Bo leaned in and started to return the fierce kiss.
So many emotions being communicated, so many feelings and memories were going through her mind. Her heart was racing in her chest. From fear? From worry? Or from relief? Probably some combination of all three.
A few moments later she felt Lauren pull away, the hand resting on her cheek moving to run through her hair. She saw Lauren's eyes starting to water, a small smile slipping onto her face.
"Bo?" Bo nodded before leaning her forehead against Lauren's. She needed to tell her. They couldn't keep doing this dance, she couldn't… if she ever lost Lauren, there would be no coming back. She would never be the same again.
"I can't Lauren. I can't loose you. If I lost you…" Bo whispered as she trailed off. There was nothing she could say, there were no words to convey what she was feeling, the pain she felt at the though of loosing Lauren. She felt the hand Lauren had in her hair come to rest against her cheek again. Bo nuzzled Lauren's nose with hers, taking a moment to try and calm down.
"You're it. You're it, and I can't do anything about it. I'm in love with you and that's it, there's nothing I can do." Bo murmured feeling helpless at the realization. She had always known she loved both Dyson and Lauren, but when put in the situation where she could loose both of them.
"Bo…" She heard Lauren murmur before she felt Lauren press another kiss to her lips. Bo leaned in to return the kiss with equal pressure. There were so many things she wanted to say, so many things she wanted to do.
She wanted to yell at Lauren for being an idiot, a noble idiot, but still an idiot, for nearly sacrificing herself to save Bo. She wanted to make love to Lauren right here and right now, to allow herself to feel every inch of Lauren, to remind herself that Lauren was alive, that she was safe.
She never wanted to let Lauren out of her arms again, afraid that the moment she let go, Lauren would disappear, just like she had in Dyson's memory. But right now she also had to go save a friend.
One that she needed to have a long conversation with, one that she needed to have a seriously long conversation with. This dance between the three of them? It couldn't continue. It was stupid and selfish and immature, she knew who she wanted. It was time to end, and unfortunately the only way for it to end was by breaking a few hearts. But it would also give them all a chance to move on.
She and Lauren also needed to have a long conversation, a very, very long conversation about pretty much everything that had happened during and after their relationship. She also needed to take some time and maybe actually think about her relationship with Lauren and what had happened with them.
She felt Lauren pull away from her a minute later, her thumb stroking her cheek lightly. "Bo? I love you too." She heard Lauren breath out.
Bo pressed her forehead against Lauren's again, closing her eyes and allowed a few tears to leak out.
She could move in a few seconds, she could calm down in a few minutes. But right now she just needed a minute, because she had nearly lost Lauren again. She had nearly lost the woman she loved again.