Chapter 2:
Bo, this is Ava. My granddaughter." Tamsin said looking at the stunned succubus.
"You're granddaughter?" Bo repeated in a surprisingly calm tone, so as to not frighten Ava anymore then she already had.
"Yes. Ava, come say hi" Tamsin said as Ava came over and hid behind Tamsin's leg. Tamsin had a hand on Ava's shoulder blade, as Bo crouched down to Ava's level.
"Hi Ava, I'm Bo. I'm sorry if I scared you, I didn't mean to" Bo said smiling at Ava. Tamsin smiled slightly as she watched Bo try to interact with Ava. Ava wasn't so sure, so she looked up at Tamsin.
"It's ok squirt. Bo's one of the good ones." Tamsin said.
"Hi" Ava said quietly.
"How old are you?" Bo asked
"I'm six"
"Wow! Six is a good age"
"Why?" Ava asked curiously.
"Well, when you're six, you start losing teeth, which means the tooth fairy comes and visits. You get to eat all your Easter and Halloween candy, where as before, your mom would go through a take the things she liked out of the bags. My mom always took my Reese's peanut butter cups, which are my favourite"
"M…my mom always takes my kit-kats, I like those" Ava said smiling.
"Hey squirt, why don't you go hangout in the living room. I need to talk to Bo" Tamsin said looking down at Ava.
"Ok, but can we watch a movie later?" Ava asked.
"Sure, did you bring something?"
"Yea, Over the hedge" Ava replied before looking at Bo, "you can stay too if you want"
"I think you should check with the boss lady over there" Bo said glancing at Tamsin.
"Please can Bo stay?"
"If Bo wants to stay she can" Tamsin said smiling at Bo, Ava then looked over at Bo.
"Well, how can I say no, to a face that cute. If you go get the movie, we'll both join you after our chat" Bo said.
"Yay!" Ava said as she hugged both Tamsin and Bo before bounding out of the kitchen. Both women were surprised that she hugged Bo.
"She likes you" Tamsin said clearing the kitchen table.
"She seems like a sweet kid. I take babysitting was the personal thing that came up?" Bo asked sitting down at the table.
"Yeah, I walked into the Dal, and there's Ava and Taryn, my daughter, sitting talking to Trick" Tamsin sitting across from Bo.
"Why wouldn't you just tell me you were babysitting?" Bo asked.
"Do you realize how crazy that sounds? 'Tamsin' and 'babysit' in the same sentence? Makes people wonder, plus not a lot of people know about Taryn and Ava"
"How come?"
"I had Taryn when I was really young. I failed to complete a task during training and as punishment…" Tamsin let the sentence hang.
"Oh. I'm sorry" Bo said, not really knowing what else to say.
"After I found out I was pregnant, I was taken in by one of my mentors, Acacia. At the time I didn't know she was dark fae."
"So you weren't always dark?"
"No. But when it came time to choose a side, I chose what I knew. But I made sure Taryn knew there was another option."
"So, Taryn is light fae then?"
"Yes she is"
"Wow, no wonder people don't know. Sounds complicated"
"No shit. But, I love both of them Bo, I would do anything to protect them"
"They're your family. I get that," Bo said smiling.
"When Taryn called and told me she was in labour 5 ½ weeks early, I dropped everything to be with her. Ava actually spent the first two years of her life in and out of the hospital. She was so sick, and I was scared" Tamsin keeping her emotions in check.
"Tamsin. You don't need to tell me anymore if you don't want to" Bo said giving Tamsin's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"It's fine. Ava had some pretty serious kidney problems, but she's in remission now, has been for about 2 years"
"That's great. Listen if you would rather it just be the two of you, that's ok with me"
"No. I'm actually kinda glad you're here, plus, Ava seems to really like you"
"Ok, I'll stay. Can I ask you a question though?"
"I guess, why not at this point" Tamsin replied.
"Where's Ava's dad? Unless…"
"No. What happened to me did not happen to Taryn. She met a great guy about 8 years ago, but shortly after Ava was born, he was killed in a freak accident. Taryn was crushed"
"Wow, that's rough. Is Taryn a Valkyrie too?"
"Taryn is half Valkyrie, half shape shifter. But instead of shifting into a single set animal like Dyson, she has the ability to shift into any animal or person she touches."
"That's cool. Good thing she's light fae"
"Tell me about it. We should get the movie started before Ava gets restless," Tamsin said as she and Bo stood up from the table. Bo gave Tamsin a quick hug.
"You know I am always here for you, no matter what" Bo said
"I do now. Thanks. And thanks for being such a good friend and girlfriend." Tamsin said as they headed to the living room.
"Hey squirt. Whatcha doing?" Tamsin asked ruffling Ava's hair as she and Bo sat on the couch next to each other.
"Colouring. Bo, how do you spell your name?" Ava asked looking at Bo.
"Oh, it's just B-O. Why?" Bo asked, Ava as she carefully concentrated on printing Bo's name.
"This is for you," she said handing Bo a picture she had coloured.
"Thank you. It's beautiful," Bo said smiling and taking the picture.
"And this one is yours" Ava said smiling as she handed Tamsin and equally nicely coloured picture.
"Thanks. Now, want to watch your movie?" Tamsin asked placing the picture on the end table.
"Yes!" Ava said excitedly as she quickly cleaned up her colouring books and crayons, while Tamsin set up the movie. As the movie started Ava curled into Tamsin's side. Tamsin wrapped her arms around Ava and looked at Bo.
"One of the very, and I mean very few people who can make me turn to mush and break down my walls" Tamsin said, while giving Bo a looks that read 'tell anyone about this, and you are a dead fae'
"Well, I like this side of you" Bo whispered, smiling at the big badass Valkyrie, who was showing a much softer side of herself.
With in 20 minutes of the movie starting, Ava was sound asleep against Tamsin. Bo looked over and saw Ava who was sound asleep curled up against Tamsin and had a small fistful of Tamsin's shirt in her hand.
"I think she's out for the count," Bo said quietly.
"Yup, definitely out like a light." Tamsin said scooping Ava up and standing from the couch. "I'll be right back," Tamsin added.
" Ok" Bo said as she watched Tamsin carry Ava to her bedroom. Bo smiled as she glanced at the kitchen and decided to do the dishes while she waited.
"Are you doing my dishes?" Tamsin asked as she entered the kitchen a short while later.
"Yeah, I thought I'd help get them done and out of the way" Bo said as she placed the last dish in the dish dry rack and drained the sink.
"Thanks for that" Tamsin said as they headed to the couch. Bo looked over at Tamsin and noticed how tired she looked.
"C'mere" Bo said stretching out her arms once they were seated on the couch. Tamsin scooted closer.
"I forgot how much work kids are" Tamsin said as Bo wrapped her arms around her, much like she had done with Ava earlier. Tamsin yawned and closed her eyes.
"I think someone else is ready for bed" Bo said glancing at her girlfriend
"Yeah, you should go put your pj's on" Tamsin said sleepily.
"Me? I was thinking you. You live here"
"Mmm…" Tamsin mumbled incoherently. Bo looked down and realized Tamsin had fallen asleep. She unwrapped one arm and reached for the blanket on the back of the couch. Bo scooted down the couch so they were both lying down and then she covered them with the blanket. Bo began drifting off a short time later.
In the middle of the night there was a crack of thunder so loud it shook the windows of Tamsin's apartment, and almost reverberated off the walls. Bo was startled awake by the thunder and in the process woke Tamsin.
"Bo…what the hell's the matter?" Tamsin asked still more then half asleep.
"Nothing, the thunder just woke me" Bo replied as she heard footsteps and a crack of lightning lit up the room.
"Ava, sweetie what's wrong?" Bo asked when she saw the scared little girl clutching her stuffed animal. Just then there was another crack of thunder and Ava went running to Bo.
"Oh sweetie, you're shaking!" Bo exclaimed as she picked up Ava and wrapped her arms around her. Tamsin was now awake.
"It's ok squirt. The weather's outside, it wont hurt you" Tamsin said as she rubbed her granddaughters back.
"Scared" Ava mumbled into Bo's shoulder.
"Ok, well, how bout the three of us get into bed. You can sleep in the middle and Bo and I will protect you. Sound good?" Tamsin asked. Ava nodded her head in agreement as they got up and headed to Tamsin's bedroom to go back to sleep.
Bo tried laying Ava down, but she wouldn't let go, so Bo laid down with her. Tamsin climbed into bed and immediately felt Ava curl up against her. Both Bo and Tamsin had an arm around Ava under the blankets. Both Tamsin and Bo felt how Ava relaxed once she realized she was safe and that nothing was going to happen to her.
"You did good succubabe," Tamsin said before drifting off.
"You too Tams" Bo said before she too fell back to sleep. As the storm raged on outside, the succubus, the Valkyrie and the baby fae all slept peacefully.
