[Author's Note - I am trying to actually incorporate a little of a fey mystery in here along with the Bo/Dyson relationship and, of course, Bo's history...hence there will be chapters like the last one.]

Chapter 4

The Dell was in full swing when Bo and Kenzie entered. Bo wondered if the place ever experienced a lull in business while side-stepping around a solidly-built man. He grunted at Bo before snarling at Kenzie.

"She's mine." Bo said simply. The large man grunted again and turned his back to the two women.

"Troll." Trick said as way of explanation from his box behind the bar when the women reached the long wooden counter.

"I thought they only had one eye and lived under bridges that billy goats wanted to cross over." Kenzie quipped.

"That would be trolls in the mountainous north regions." Trick replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Kenzie stared at him in disbelief. Everything she had been told as child…all those stories…were slowly becoming fact with each passing day.

"Place is busy tonight." Bo observed.

"That's usually a good thing." Trick replied, shrugging as he dried a glass. "Are you looking for a little more elbow room?"

"That would be nice." Bo smiled sweetly.

"Your tricks won't work on me." The gnome bartender pointed out, ignoring the irony in his comment.

"Maybe I'm smiling to be friendly and polite."

"That would be a first." Kenzie remarked.

"It's not too late for me to tie you up to the pole out front like a dog. No one here would comment on that."

Kenzie's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't!" The human woman protested.

Bo shrugged and turned back to Trick. Grinning, the gnome pointed out a booth in the back. It was usually empty, Bo remembered, unless Dyson was in the area. She arched an eyebrow at the small man.

"It's my private booth. I reserve it for my friends."

Dark eyes widened slightly at the compliment and this time the smile was genuine. Nodding her appreciation, Bo made her way across the room and entered the semi-private sitting area. She settled into the chair, making sure she faced the opening. Perhaps it was paranoia, believing that a threat could walk in at any time. Perhaps it was hope, desiring Dyson to walk in at any time. Either way, it was the more advantageous seat in the area. If Kenzie noticed, she didn't comment, choosing instead to plunk herself down rather unceremoniously into one of the other chairs.

Moments later, Trick arrived carrying two glass mugs of something amber in colour and frothy on top.

"It's a special brew from the east. Just came in today. Let me know what you think of it."

As quietly as he had approached, Trick disappeared from view. Bo took a sip of the brew and enjoyed the light bit of carbonation.

"Flavour bubbles." She observed, noting her appreciation. Reaching in to her jacket, Bo pulled out the yellowed paper she had taken from Bill Mercer's office. True, she didn't have his permission, but something in the fey said this was linked to the garden of statues. She looked up at Kenzie, inviting the human woman to lean forward. "Any idea where this could be?"

There was a heavy, deep dramatic sigh, distinctly on the unhappy side. Bo looked up and observed Dyson leaning on the frame of the partial wall that separated the booth from the rest of the bar's patrons. So much for the most advantageous seat.

"Why do I have a horrible feeling that you two are up to no good?" He asked, no smile on his face.

"Because you think you know us." Kenzie volunteered. "Where's your shadow?"

"Having a life. Shouldn't you have one?" Dyson moved in closer. While his question was to Kenzie, his light eyes never wavered from soaking up Bo. He sniffed her delicate scent outside of the bar and, despite all of the bodies and drinks, as soon as he had entered The Dell, he knew immediately she was nearby.

The spunky woman looked back and forth between the two fey and reached a decision pretty quickly.

"Yeah. Maybe I should try to find one tonight." Kenzie guzzled back her beer and stood up. "You two kids behave."

"Define 'behave'." Dyson asked, a knowing smile directed at Bo. She returned it.

"Never mind. Just…just…oh hell, I'm outta here." Kenzie grabbed her shoulder bag and slowly meandered her way out of the bar.

Leaning over Bo, Dyson whispered, "I hope you don't mind that I wanted her gone." He licked the shell of Bo's ear, causing the woman to shiver delicately.

"I'll manage without her." Bo murmured. "But why did you want her gone?"

"So that I could do this without her cheering us on." Dyson moved his mouth from Bo's ear to her mouth. Hungrily, he nibbled on her mouth encouraging her lips to open. On a sigh, Bo's mouth parted and his tongue boldly entered. Gripping the arms of the chair, Bo pushed herself up into the were-fey, soaking up his body heat through her own leather jacket. Her breathing increased and Bo thought her heart would beat out of control. His own arms braced on the sides of the chair, Dyson pushed against Bo. She lifted one hand to his shoulder, encouragingly squeezing him to keep up his kiss. The other hand snaked around to the back of his neck, toying and tugging with strands of his red-gold hair. Dyson pushed Bo back into the soft, plush cushions of the chair, growling his desire for the succubus fey.

"Do I need to break out the water hose on you two?"

Splitting apart, the two fey looked over to see Trick standing near by.

Bo, attempting to regain her breath, panted at Dyson, "You got rid of Kenzie…you didn't think about him, did you?"

"I thought he had better manners than this." Dyson sulked mildly, brushing past Bo and claiming the seat beside her. Leaning forward, Dyson took a sip of the amber brew in front of Bo and raised an eyebrow at Trick. "New?"

"Just in. Thought you might like it, so I brought you a pint." A mischievous grin crossed Trick's face. "It's a good thing that many of the old ways have been forgotten, but be thankful no one saw that except for me."

"What are you talking about?" Bo asked.

"You just shared a drink. You've had a sip from your mug. Dyson just took one. There is an old tradition that would mean the two of you are now married."

Bo started to choke, her eyes wide. "M…m…married?"

"I'm glad the idea of it holds so much appeal for you." Dyson lamented, mockingly clutching at his heart. He tried not to laugh at Bo's head whipping around to face him, disbelief etched on it.

"Should I tell the bar that the two of you are committed?" Trick asked playfully.

"Not unless you want to be committed to the intensive care unit at the hospital." Bo threatened. She leaned back in the chair, her head turning side-to-side to look at each man. "So, hypothetically speaking, however, what would happen if we were to…you know…commit?"

Dyson leaned forward and clasped one of Bo's hands. He could feel her heart racing, her blood pounding through her veins. Even her scent had changed in a subtle manner…he couldn't quite place it.

"You would have declared a side…my side."

"What? How? After the Test, I claimed the side of humans."

"But by committing to a Light fey, you then chose the side of Light, as well." Trick explained. "Light and Dark fey can not mix. It is…forbidden."

"It's one reason why you are so highly desired by other fey. You are their chance to experience something outside of their own side." Dyson said, his blue eyes intensely focused on Bo.

"Oh, so that's what I am…a freakish novelty." Bo couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice, despite their arrangement to keep it strictly at the 'friends with benefits' level.

"No." Dyson increased his grip on Bo, almost painfully. "You are more. You are…you."

"Gee, don't go all sentimental and romantic on me, Dyson." Bo rolled her eyes. Shifting slightly in an attempt to dispel the concentrated stare from Dyson, Bo looked at Trick. "So, what's up with the rule on Light-with-Light and Dark-with-Dark?"

"As I mentioned, our two sides have been on the brink of war for a very long time. For there to be intermingling, we run the risk of the other side learning our ways, our strategies, our weaknesses. Not to mention, if there are children. A child would need to select Light or Dark…one parent over the other. Or, worse, one side could perhaps use the child as a weapon on the other." There was a knowing look Trick's eyes, as if he was leaving something unsaid.

"But let's face it…there have been children born out of Light and Dark relationships…right?" Bo asked.

"No." Trick was serious. "Not to our knowledge. The rules are not to be broken."

"But…" Bo prompted.

Trick held up his hand, stopping Bo. He looked at Dyson and then back to Bo.

"The rules are not to be broken." He repeated and walked away.

"Did I do something wrong?" Bo asked, turning to Dyson.

Raising Bo's hand to his mouth, he gently kissed it. "No. You did nothing wrong."

"There are so many rules, Dyson. How am I to learn them and survive?"

"You pick one side and then others of your side would help you…guide you…"

"…rule me." Bo's mouth puckered in distaste. "No, thank you."

Sighing, Dyson released his grip on Bo's hand and leaned back into his chair. Idly, one of his feet toyed with the nearest of Bo's feet.

"So, when I walked in…" He started, attempting to move back to a less contentious topic.

"Yes, you caught us up to no good." Bo nodded, thankful for the discussion change. There was something so tumultuous about the ways of the fey. Despite not declaring a side, Bo knew she still needed to learn them if only to be aware of any boundaries she might cross.

"I knew it!" Dyson laughed. "Any luck with solving the case of the unknown statue?" His laugh deepened at the look of shock on Bo's face.

"How did you…"

"Hale can be…convincing when he chooses to be."

"Well, that's not fair!"

"In the human world, perhaps not…but in the world of the fey…" Dyson shrugged.

Huffing, Bo looked at the unfolded paper on the table.

"I…uhhh…took this from Bill Mercer's place."

"Speaking of not fair." Dyson murmured.

"It fell out of a book on Greek mythology that was sitting on one of his office shelves.."

"Interesting." Dyson's voice conveyed boredom. Meanwhile, his mind was racing. Greek mythology. A Medusa head. Statues. Could it be something as simple as this? Well, simple to understand, difficult to solve. Gaius Grey was still missing.

Sighing lightly, Bo pointed at the map. "So this is what fell out. It's a map. Despite the paper's yellow state, I don't think it's that old. Maybe just exposed to dampness or something has aged it prematurely."

Dyson took in the map. "It looks like Richard's Pond."

"I'm not familiar with that area."

"It's a park on west side of town. It's also the last place where several missing people were last seen over the years."

"This is connected to Gaius Gray somehow, isn't it." Bo closed her eyes, her mind knowing the answer already.

"I think so." Dyson confirmed. He explained the origins of the pond, the Medusa head and the missing young man.

"Did you go into the garden at Bill's place?"

"Yes. I'm fairly certain that the newest addition is Arthur Dawkins."

"Oh god." Bo breathed. "Is he stuck like that? Permanently? And the others?"

"I don't know yet."

"Kenzie is good at research." Bo noted Dyson's look of uncertainty. "She is! And being new to this world, she won't make assumptions that your Hale might make. Maybe she could dig up something on Medusa."

"Let's discuss strategy tomorrow. For now, how about we go back to my place." Dyson suggested. As much as he wanted to work on the case, he didn't think The Dell was the most suitable place for any of this to be discussed.