Thank you for your interest in this story! Love your insightful comments.
Note - there was a time jump at the end of the previous chapter as you may remember :) It's been over year and a half since the accident.
xoxo
"Stop the car Tamsin! Stop!" Lauren stared at Tamsin relentlessly, until the woman behind the wheel briefly met her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Tamsin sighed, not stopping the car or even slowing down, but kept her eyes on the road. They'd been through this many times already in the last few hours. She knew Lauren was having terrible separation anxiety and Tamsin was trying to be patient. Her patience was thin for it being the asscrack of dawn, but the valkyrie was trying. Really.
"I can't leave him. We have to go back." Lauren murmured in distress. "We'll take him with us." She suggested with urgency.
"You said goodbye already. And it's only for a night. Toby will be fine. He has all he needs. And your parents love to have him."
"But.."
"He'll be fine. Or do you not want to go at all? That's more than fine with me.." Tamsin said in a hopeful tone. "Some boring one-day medical conference.. For nerds. There'll be herds of nerds milling about.." She shuddered in mock disgust.
"Hmph." Lauren huffed. "I'm a nerd."
"I know, but I'm not. Do you want me to suffer?" Tamsin whined, but saw Lauren smirking and smirked herself. "Don't answer that."
"Anyway.. We can skip this trip and stay home. This thing is not even manditory, but you insisted to go. Insisted! I don't object, if we miss it. Truly." Tamsin glanced at Lauren seated next to her. The woman was wringing her hands and worrying her lower lip between her teeth.
"Oh gods.. Drive. Drive, before I change my mind. Again." Lauren finally groaned.
"We'll fly to Montreal. We'll be there by noon and your conference starts in the afternoon." Tamsin reminded. "And we'll be home by tomorrow evening.
"Let's do this. Our flight leaves in two hours. We're doing this." Lauren finished nodding her head resolutely.
"Good girl." Tamsin cooed playfully.
"Shut up."
.
"Yes Bo. Jeez. I'll bring you something. Do you want some knick-knacks or sweets?" Kenzi asked rolling her eyes. Bo had called her to remind to bring her something from Montreal.
"Sweets." Bo laughed on the other end. "You're coming home tomorrow right? Or did you find yourself a cute nerd to salivate over?"
"I found myself a new laptop! And I'm coming home with it tomorrow. I'll take the afternoon train. You can come pick me.." Kenzi trailed off as she saw a familiar figure standing in front of a café.
"Kenzi? Hello?"
"Hold on.." She muttered to Bo and walked closer the woman. It can't be.. It just looks like her.. From behind. Duh! Just go and see. It's not her. How could it be her, Kenzi rambled inside her head.
"Bo? I'll call you later, okay?" She said and ended the call without hearing Bo's reply.
"Excuse me?" Kenzi said carefully as she tapped the woman's shoulder, making her turn.
"Oh my god! Lauren?" Kenzi gasped, her big eyes were wide in shock and disbelief.
"Yes?" Lauren asked hesitantly. She didn't recognize the woman. Maybe she's one of my former patients, Lauren mused.
"Holy shit.." Kenzi gaped at the woman. "Holy shit, holy shit, holy.." She chanted clearly shaken.
"Hey Kenzi!" Tamsin appeared at Lauren's side greeting Kenzi seemingly nonchalantly. "Lauren this is Kenzi.. An old friend." She said in a strained tone, giving Kenzi a pointed look.
"Nice to meet you Kenzi. Obviously Tamsin has told you about me?" Lauren gave a friendly smile.
"What? No. How do you mean?" Kenzi stared at Lauren unblinking, not believing, that the blond was really there. Standing there. Right in front of her. She resisted the urge to poke the smiling woman to see, if she was really real.
"You knew my name." Lauren said looking a bit confused. She glanced questioningly at Tamsin.
"Would you excuse us a minute Lo?" Tamsin said with a sweet smile and then scowled at Kenzi, yanking her the opposite way.
"Sure. I'll wait for you inside. I'll call home." Lauren shrugged a little as she turned towards the cafe.
.
"What the hell are you doing? Where are you dragging me? Why doesn't she remember me? What the hell's going on?" Kenzi fired off snarling, feeling a bit lightheaded and totally unreal.
"Tamsin! What is this?" Kenzi screeched, when Tamsin halted her stride after ducking behind a building.
"I haven't seen you or heard from you in ages! You just disappeared! And Lauren? She's supposed to be dead! DEAD!" Kenzi continued to rant, after the tall blond stayed silent. "I need to talk.."
"Shut up! And don't you dare go talk to her alone." The valkyrie warned hissing. "She doesn't need you confusing her."
"It's really her?" Kenzi whispered with tears brimming her eyes.
"Yes. And.. no." Tamsin breathed quietly. After Kenzi's confused expression, she added. "She's not the Lauren you knew or remember."
"What's wrong with her?"
"There's nothing wrong.. Kenzi, she has a new life now and I need you not to mess it up."
"That's not enough for me. I'm not going away, until I know what happened. How is this possible? I saw her Tamsin. I saw. She was dead. How is she now undead? Not undead.. No. That sounds like a zombie.. Um.. Alive I mean.. Alive! And hanging out with you?!" Kenzi rambled. Different emotions were bouncing restlessly around inside her. Happiness, hope, confusion, apprehension and hesitation to start with. Bo was gonna have an epic flip out, Kenzi suddenly realized.
"Shit.. The moment I saw you here, I knew you'd be a pain in my ass.." Tamsin groaned.
"Well, Ass is my middle name." Kenzi quipped still dazed, making Tamsin snort. "No. No. I meant Pain is my.. Whatever. I am dreaming or what?" She sighed shrugging. She felt her brain was on overload. Her brain was fried.
"I'll meet you later okay? Lauren's waiting for me. Kenzi please don't say anything to Bo." Tamsin begged.
"But I.." Kenzi sighed with wide hesitant eyes.
"Kenzi I'll tell you everything, but you can't tell anyone you met her. Please."
"Okay.." Kenzi agreed reluctantly. "I won't. Yet."
"Meet me at Glenda's. At 7pm? It's at.."
"I know where it is." Kenzi said. Maybe I am really dreaming or maybe.. I'm dead too, she thought as her gaze followed the Valkyrie walking away.
.
"Finally! I thought you blew me off." Kenzi spat looking annoyed as Tamsin plopped on the seat next to her at Glenda's bar.
"Would I do that?" Tamsin scoffed, but noticed Kenzi's incredulous face. "Yeah right.. Sorry. Don't answer that."
"Right." Kenzi rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I'm late. Had trouble shaking Lauren. She wanted me to escort her to this evening thing, but.." The Valkyrie continued.
"Are you with her?"
"Yes. I've been with her since we left Toronto." Tamsin stated matter-of-factly.
"As a couple?" Kenzi clarified.
"We are close." Tamsin said as she waved for the bartender and ordered herself a beer.
"Oh." Kenzi exhaled feeling oddly relieved. Close – that's not the same as a couple is it, she pondered. Is it? "How is she doing? The doc?"
"Lauren is good. After we went to Van.. moved in the city, she was like whirlwind getting her life back on track." Tamsin smiled fondly. "She got.. settled and now she's got her plate full with life and work."
"She's happy?"
"Very." Tamsin assured.
"That's good." Kenzi gave a small smile. "It's strange no one has found out about her.."
"She's dead. Nobody's is looking for her. She even has her own name still. There tons of women named Lauren Lewis. And the Morrigan is always vigilant. She's keeping Lauren cared for."
"So you two are living here in Montreal?" Kenzi asked after a beat.
"We're visiting." Tamsin said. "A medical conference."
"Where do you live then?"
"I'm sorry. I really can't tell you that." Tamsin said sincerely. "What are you having?"
"I need something strong… Vodka." Kenzi sighed. "This is so.. fucking weird."
"Come on, let's get a table."
.
"Did you lie to me about Lauren being dead?" Kenzi asked quietly after a few drinks.
"No. I thought she died. I saw her.. Dead. I would not lie about something like that." Tamsin reassured.
"Yeah.. She was cold. She was dead. Wasn't she?" Kenzi pondered shaking her head in disbelief.
"She kinda was. The fairy, Freya, managed to heal Lauren with great effort. And then.. Well.. Rigory, if you remember him?"
"Vaguely. The tall man, who looked like an undertaker?"
"That's the one.. He's has the power to do that - Make someone look like they're dead. Suspended animation, Rigor Mortis or some shit.. And he can also make new memories and wipe out old ones. Rigory is very powerful. Apparently he owed Evony a serious favor."
"Evony set this whole thing up? Why?" Kenzi asked surprised.
"Lauren had went to her for help. You know, before the accident. She wanted to get away. No matter what, she had said. She wanted to get away to start over and Evony made it happen. And you know the Morrigan - Go big or go home."
"She said it to me too.." Kenzi sighed remembering her short encounter with Lauren, before she.. died. "That she wanted to get a new start." She added, when Tamsin gave her a curious look.
"Yeah, well I didn't know all this back then. Evony told me some of it, when she took me to meet Lauren. And found out the rest later."
"Oh? How did you find out Lauren wasn't dead?" Kenzi asked curiously.
"It was a few hours later, you know, after you managed to get Bo out of the morgue. She was a mess wasn't she.."
"Yeah. She was a mess for weeks. Months. All of this broke her heart. Bo hasn't been the same since. She's changed for the better in many ways. I mean the way she treats people, but Bo.. She's sad and has no hope in her."
"Oh.." Tamsin met Kenzi's teary eyes. "Well, the Morrigan brought me to this one room and I remember wondering why I need to be in the hospital still.. I was shocked to put it mildly, when I saw Lauren just sitting around. Right there on a hospital bed, swinging her legs nervously.. I really thought she had died. But there she was - alive and well." Tamsin said shrugging and recalled a memory, when Evony had dragged her to a room in the hospital. "That was a weird moment."
...
"What the hell?" Tamsin screeched as soon as she saw Lauren sitting on the bed, her feet dangling over the side.
"Quiet." Evony snapped at the valkyrie.
"Lauren?" Tamsin whispered to the doctor, making her meet her eyes.
"I'm sorry.. I'm a bit disoriented." Lauren apologized. "I.. I don't remember.."
"It fine. It's perfectly normal." Evony smiled, giving the valkyrie a pointed look telling her to keep her mouth shut. "Lauren, after we meet with Rigory again, Tamsin here will be escorting you home."
"I am?" Tamsin cut in.
"You are." Evony said curtly.
"Shouldn't we call Bo? She could.."
"Who's Bo?" Lauren asked.
"No one. Just one of my underlings. I trust you in Tamsin's hands. She's the best." Evony rattled, while Tamsin stood there with her mouth hanging open. "Your parents will meet you there. You will be staying with them for a few days, if that's okay? They didn't know you were sick, they thought you were.. dead. Well, anyway they love you and can't wait to see you. Is that okay?"
"Yeah. They thought I was dead?" Lauren asked in a sad tone.
"Yes. You were a Jane Doe in a hospital here. In a coma after your accident. Tragedy. But now everything's going to be better. You're going home." Evony smiled again and then gave Tamsin a nod.
"I'll have a few words with Tamsin outside, okay?" Evony told Lauren and squeezed her arm gently.
"Okay."
...
"Evony told me in not so many words that Freya had been able to heal Lauren, but there were some.. issues still with her brain. Which was true. I met Lauren, before Rigory did his memory altering thing.. She was disoriented and didn't remember me or even Evony. There was some damage done by the crash. Lauren wouldn't have been the same even if Evony hadn't intervened."
"Okay?" Kenzi inserted tentatively. This all was a bit much. Her head was spinning with all the information. Information on the woman, a friend, she thought had died.
"Lauren wanted a new life and she had discussed it previously with Evony. And Evony went all in with Rigory. He was there to make Lauren 'dead'.." Tamsin gestured the quotation marks with her fingers. "And to.. I don't know. Poke in her head and memories. Deleting and uploading stuff I guess."
"What stuff?"
"All the fae stuff deleted. She's just a normal doctor, who was in an accident while traveling and fell into a coma. She was never a slave. She was never mistreated. She's happy, Kenzi."
"She remembers nothing of her time in Toronto? Or with the Fae?" Kenzi said, before adding quietly. "Bo?"
"No. She's lucky like that." Tamsin smiled softly.
"How is it possible to just.. plop her into a totally new life?"
"The Morrigan has her ways. I don't know, how many brains she scrambled to do this. At least some I guess. Her family and colleagues at least.. And Lauren is under her protection even when she doesn't know it. To Lauren Evony is a friend."
"That's some weird shit.." Kenzi breathed.
"Tell me about it." Tamsin sighed. "If you want to meet her as a new friend, we could maybe do that? Lunch tomorrow? As a new friend?" She stressed.
"Yeah. I'd like that." Kenzi swallowed thickly. "I'd love to meet her."
.
"How many does this make?" Kenzi warily eyed her drink a few hours later.
"I've lost count." Tamsin snorted.
"Well, can't be that many. I'm still standing aren't I?" Kenzi slurred slightly.
"You're sitting down." Tamsin deadpanned snorting gleefully.
"You know what I mean. Bitch." The goth smirked.
"So, I heard Bo got her shit together?" Tamsin ventured.
"She did."
"The Morrigan was completely blindsided by the change in the succubus. Told me that 'the arrogant cocky asshole' has changed for the better. Whatever that is."
"Sounds about right.."
"I know it's none of my business, but how is Bo doing? Really?"
"She's doing better. She lost the love of her life. It could have gone either way, but Bo picked herself up instead of spiraling out of control. I told her Lauren would want her to do better and she agreed. But it was a close call, she was ready to fall of the edge of sanity at some point.. It was hard.. for both of us. But she's doing better now."
"That's good. I'm glad."
"She's still hurting though. Tries not to show it, but I know. She's had a few dates with a few guys, but nothing's come out of those. I don't think she's had sex since Lauren died. The Morrigan is giving her the shots, Lauren cooked up. Bo sometimes feeds with a fae, who is her.. friend or more like an acquaintance I guess. And it's just feeding, no sex or even kissing."
"Dyson?"
"No. Bo actually apologized to Dyson for stringing him along and let him go."
"Wow. That's a first. No harem? She's really grown up hasn't she?" Tamsin gasped in surprise. "Didn't know she had it in her."
"She's been grieving. It changes you.. To lose someone.. Bo wanted to apologize to you too, but you went awol. She knows she was a bitch.. To all of you. All of us.." Kenzi sighed and both women fell silent.
"Yeah. Shit. I think I'm drunk! Why am I blabbing about Bo's business to you?" Kenzi suddenly blurted. "That's so wrong."
"You need to talk to someone.. I won't tell anyone." Tamsin grinned.
"Good.. Then I'll tell you one more thing, which says a lot.. About Bo and what she feels for Lauren."
"What?"
"She hasn't touched any women. Not even the littlest kiss. I asked her about it a while back. And she told me, the last woman she kissed was Lauren. They shared a serious liplock the night all the shit went down. The battle of.. whatever. Anyway, Bo doesn't want to erase 'the kis's from her lips. She wants Lauren to stay as the last woman she kissed."
"I didn't know Bo was such a sap." Tamsin gave a wry smile.
"She is now." Kenzi smiled softly. "You know, I can't keep this from Bo.. She still misses Lauren terribly.. All that pain inside her.. I can't keep this from Bo!"
"I know.. I just hope, you can point it out to her that Lauren is happy now. Bo shouldn't mess that up.." Tamsin sighed. "Or.. Or just maybe you should reconsider telling her?" She finished softly.
"I understand what you're saying.. I do. Bo will flip out. I don't know how she'll react. What she'll do.. But how could I lie to Bo about this?"
"You won't be lying. You just won't tell her."
"That's the same thing." Kenzi sighed anxiously. "But I guess I could not tell her for a while.. I don't know. This is all messed up."
"Kenzi.."
"What? Why do you look like that? Like you want something?" Kenzi groaned drunkenly.
"Um. Actually, I.. we do need your help. Lauren is attending a another medical conference.. in Toronto in two weeks."
"What?! She can't come there!" Kenzi squaled alarmed. "That's bad. I'm sure Bo can.. smell her out or something! Lauren can't come to Toronto, if you want her not to run into Bo! She can't!"
"Calm down. Lauren is adamant in going.. I haven't been able to change her mind. Maybe you could ship Bo out of town for a few days? The conference is in the outskirts of town, so even Evony approved it. And she's made all the precautions. But if you could take care of Bo.."
"Oh god... Fine." Kenzi sighed surrendering. "But just you know, this is all gonna blow up all over our faces. And I will place the blame on you."
"I think that's.. fair." Tamsin nodded with a wry half a smile.
.
Thanks for reading :)
A/N Slightly difficult chapter to get out for some reason.. But it is what it is.
A/N I quickly went through the previous chapters fixing the typos and adding a few words here and there. Nothing major.
PS. Props to Spyklv, who guessed where I got the idea for the name for Rigory! Rigor Mortis indeed! I didn't think anyone would get that just from Rigory :D
