Bo could feel herself fall to her knees as she was pushed out of the way of the oncoming power. She could only stare wide-eyed as Lauren took the blow that had been intended for her.
It took her a few minutes to break her shook, and when she looked again she could see a spatter of crimson red blood staining the floor around Lauren. She found herself wondering if Lauren was unconscious or not, and found herself hoping that she was.
Slowly ever so slowly she realized that their was blood slowly starting to stain the floor around her lover, and it slowly started to dawn on her that this was not the same blood that was spattered around. It slowly dawned on her what that meant. Lauren had taken the blow that was intended for her, she had pushed her out of the way.
Oh god. Oh god. No, no. Please no. Please. Please, please. No. Of all of them, why was it her.
The blood was starting to pool a little bit around her.
Lauren was dying if she wasn't already dead.
No. No!
She could feel tears starting to gather in her eyes.
Not Lauren. Of all of them why her? Why... She couldn't... There had to be something she could do.
She could see that Lauren was moving, turning her head ever so slowly and gingerly so that she could face her, Bo could see the corner of her mouth, what looked like a grimace turning into a smile when she saw her.
Bo could still feel a little bit of a tug towards someone else, Rainer, but at the moment her heart was overwhelmed with love for the woman in front of her. And because of that love her heart was aching.
Lauren was dying and she was frozen, she couldn't do anything, she could barely think. She knew she could do something, but she couldn't remember what she had to do.
She glanced over at Lauren again.
Despite it all Lauren still looked beautiful. Although as she would point out, Bo was incredibly biased.
When Lauren finally turned to face her fully she could see that something was more wrong then she had first thought. There was a small trickle of blood coming from her mouth... Oh god.
"I love you Bo, don't ever forget that."
Don't sound like your dying Lauren... Please don't act like you're dying baby.
But wasn't that exactly what Lauren was doing.
She had taken a blow that was intended for her, there was something nagging at her memories, but she couldn't remember what it was. Some of her memories must still be missing then, not that she could trust the ones that Rainer had "restored".
She looked over at Rainer and snarled slightly before she was interrupted by as light groan coming from Lauren's direction.
She scrambled over turning Lauren over and onto her back so that she could get a better look at the wound.
What she saw horrified her.
The area and Lauren's stomach and lower chest were charred black, blood escaping from the wound at a very rapid weight.
She knew that normally Lauren would be instructing her on what to do, but instead she felt a hand come up to cup her cheek, her thumb starting to wipe away tears that she couldn't even remember letting fall.
She could see that Lauren's eyes were staring to fall closed, she was struggling to keep them open.
Which meant that she was struggling to stay awake, to not slip away just yet.
Oh please no, anyone but Lauren, she was never supposed to die like this, protecting her. That was her job to put her life on the line; Lauren was so delicate and fragile, her life so short.
She was so human. She was never… she shouldn't have… oh baby why?
Please Lauren, you have to stay with me.
When she had thought she had lost Lauren in Dyson's memories she had been ready to die, to be driven insane.
If Lauren died here… if she died now. There was no guarantees that she would fight to stay on this Earth for very long.
"Lauren, please baby stay with me."
She could see Lauren open her eyes slightly, they were a little glazed over, glassy and dull. But still she could see a spark in Lauren's eyes, a reflection she had seen a thousand times during their quiet moments, and a few times during the more explosive moments.
Love.
Oh god, baby you idiot.
"You be good okay? I won't be around to heal you..." She could hear Lauren trail off as she struggled to breath.
Lauren... No.
This could not be happening, no please anyone but Lauren.
This was Flora all over again wasn't it?
She was losing Lauren.
She was going to lose the love of her life.
So that's it huh?
You finally realize that she's it when she's dying.
It's always you isn't it baby?
"Please no Lauren you have to fight. I love you so much, please fight baby. I love you so so much and I'm an idiot aren't I. You have to fight Lauren, come please fight baby. I'm so stupid though aren't I baby? I don't realize that it's always you isn't it?"
She could see Lauren smiling at her slightly, the hand that was cupping her cheek was starting to drop slightly.
She was dying. God why couldn't she remember what to do?
Why?!
She looked down at Lauren again.
She was an idiot. She well and truly was an idiot.
She should have known. Of course Lauren was her choice.
Since Hecuba.
Actually it went further back.
That night. The first time they had been together. Her first time ever making love.
She knew. Lauren had broken her heart, but she had fallen in love with her that night.
Stupid idiot. Should have known.
She could see Lauren's eyes fluttering closed, not opening again.
Please baby no. Please. Please.
"Please Lauren hang on! Please baby please fight. You're my choice, you've always been my choice. And I cannot believe that it took this of all things; I'm such an idiot aren't I? You're my destiny aren't you? Not Rainer." She could feel the rise and fall of Lauren's chest getting shallower by the second.
"Lauren please fight. I don't even know if you can hear me. Come on Lo! Baby please, breath."
She could feel Lauren's chest stop its erratic motion for a few moments before they began again, slowly.
The time between the rise and fall of her chest was lengthening, like she was struggling to take each breath.
No.
She could feel Lauren's hand slip from her cheek entirely.
"Lauren I love you, please fight. Please just fight for me, if you can't do it for yourself then please do it for me." Please I can't lose you. Not now. Not before I get to apologize for being such an idiot."
She brought her hand up from where it and been pressing against the wound to feel for the pulse, like Lauren had taught her. Keeping pressure on the wound was probably pointless by now, she could feel something warm and sticky on her lap, and she was sure if she looked around she would see blood.
She pressed around desperately at Lauren's neck trying to find a pulse. Her hand was shaking so much, but she focused on Lauren's face, she knew that if she looked at her hand she would probably be sick.
Please… please. She finally found the right area.
She found it, but it was... thready? And fading rapidly.
No. Oh Lauren… oh my stupid girl. I have no right to call her that Bo thought. But still. She knew that she was begging.
Why couldn't she remember?!
She glanced up at Dyson, the tears starting to run down her cheeks again when . She shook her head Lauren was fading fast. And there was nothing that they could do. She shifted Lauren so that her head was cradled against her chest, and started to play lightly with her hair.
She could still feel Lauren breathing very lightly against her skin, a shallow rapid rhythm. At least for the moment she was still with them. It wasn't too late yet.
"My stupid, brave girl, I love you so much. And I will fix this. I promise, I love you so much Lauren." Bo sighed gently and leaned down to press a kiss to Lauren's forehead. She could hear a sad howl.
Dyson more then likely, although why she couldn't explain.
She couldn't feel Lauren's breath against her collarbone anymore.
Oh god.
Oh god.
She could feel something surging up, an old familiar power.
It was the same feeling she had felt the first time that Lauren had been threatened by the Lick.
She glanced over at Dyson and then allowed her vision to drift to Trick. "Dyson, Trick, Kenzi and Tamsin, if you can hear me. Run!" She yelled at them.
Hoping, against all hope that they would listen to her.
She was going to lose it. She could feel the power surging forth through her.
Dark. Seductive. Destructive.
But also something that was more… human.
Anger. Sadness. An overwhelming sense of loss.
You to? You knew all along.
Lauren knew too didn't she.
Trigger her would wipe Rainer's hold.
That's why you were triggered for the first time when Lauren was endangered.
Congratulations Bo, you're a royal screw-up and a royal idiot.
She could hear herself let out an angry growl, she could hear feet hitting the floor in a rhythmic beat. Good.
She heard her dark side utter one thing.
"The stupid foolish human. She knew. She knew!" She could feel her body turning, presumably in the direction of Rainer. "You made a colossal mistake Wanderer. I. Bow. To. No. One. People bow to me, but I do not to them! I shall rule all, and no one shall stop me! No one shall control me."
She didn't bother to fight.
Honestly she wanted Rainer dead.
She knew she would come back eventually.
She always came back from this.
No one was blood bound to her.
She hadn't feed in a while. Although that would change soon.
She would run out of power and return.
Her loved ones had escaped and the love of her life was dead.
What reason did she have to fight this power?
None.
She gave in.
I will not harm our love; I will never harm our love. I promise you that. Echoed in her mind. She didn't know the voice and she didn't recognize it. But she knew in some odd way, it was a part of her.
You choose right.
She's our destiny.
Thank-you. She though back to the voice before she surrendered her grip on consciousness.
Everything went black.
She blinked her eyes open.
The first thing she noticed was that she was standing over something that was dissipation rapidly into black smoke, Rainer's body. Or perhaps him.
She could not muster up an ounce of caring at this point.
He had killed Lauren.
That was all there was to it.
Lauren!
She ran over and knelt next to Lauren, stroking her cheek before she tilted her head back in order to breath the Chi that she must have taken from Rainer into Lauren.
When she pulled away she looked over at Lauren she could feel her heart breaking, it hadn't worked. She felt tears running down her cheeks again.
She was still… no wait.
Her chest.
There was a faint motion, a faint rise and fall.
She rushed over to Lauren's side, when she looked down to where the gaping stomach wound had been she saw a horrid looking bright red scar.
But the wound was closed.
That was all that mattered.
Gently she slipped one arm under her legs and the other around her shoulder, and slowly, carefully she lifted Lauren up, cradling her to her chest as she stood up.
Walking slowly and carefully she crossed the Dahl into Tricks private quarters. She glanced around briefly and noticed odd pilings of books and various things out of place. Any other time she would have cared… but right now.
Right now nothing mattered but making sure that Lauren was comfortable and stable.
Quickly she crossed the study to the overly wide lounge chair that she sometimes took naps on.
She carefully lowered Lauren onto the chair and then lay down next to her on the little space that was left.
She brought a hand up to play with Lauren's hair, brushing it away from her sweaty forehead. She leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek before she pressed her forehead against the side of Lauren's as she started to sob.
She had almost lost Lauren.
She was so stupid.
Why did it take death to see what she should have known all along?
Why?!
Oh god. Lauren. Her stupid, brave, idiotic, lover.
Her girl.
This was it.
No running away anymore.
No more stupidity.
Just no more anything.
She lifted her arm out from underneath her to snake under Lauren's back and pull her as close as she could.
She could feel the steady rhythmic rise and fall of Lauren's chest against her own. It was still a little weak and still a little erratic.
She propped herself up and leaned over to press a kiss to Lauren's cheek before she tilted her head back slightly to open her mouth so that she could breath what she assumed was more Chi into Lauren, hopefully it would also help make her more comfortable if she was in any pain.
She used her other hand to stroke Lauren's cheek as she pressed a gentle kiss to her lips before she settled back down.
She felt a little movement coming from next to her, but when she looked Lauren showed no signs of awakening.
"Shhh baby, I'm right here. Nobody's going to hurt you like that again." Bo whispered into Lauren's ear.
She felt a little sleepy, which was honestly not something that was uncommon after she went supper-succubus.
She let out a content murmur as she pulled Lauren a little closer to her, keeping her forehead pressed against the side of Lauren's. She inhaled Lauren's scent lightly, and stroked her cheek again.
"I love you so much. And I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you." She whispered, pressing a kiss to Lauren's neck, stroking her cheek softly.
"There are about a million things I need to apologize for aren't there?" Bo murmured into Lauren's ear, she knew that Lauren more then likely couldn't hear her, but it still felt good to say them aloud. "But we go at your pace baby, whatever that is."
She felt Lauren move a little against her, but her breathing remained relatively speaking deep and even. "Shhh." She cooed in Lauren's ear.
"Sleep baby. If you can hear me sleep." She pressed one last kiss to Lauren's cheek before she closed her eyes and curled up against Lauren, keeping her in a loose embrace.
As she was drifting off she could have sworn she heard a sleepy voice whisper. "I love you too honey."