Hey all, so I'm back after a long, oh so long, week of school. I thank you all for reviewing the previous chapters, for taking the time to read my story and, of course, for waiting. This one is a bit short than last week but it's the first time our ladies are really alone, let's see how it goes shall we? Enjoy.


Bo stands by the door, listening as Kenzi and Trick lock up the place and head out, just to give the two women some space. Lauren is planted by the table, digging slowly through the first aid kit, her back to Bo. The room is silent, except for Lauren's sorting, but Bo wishes it were otherwise. There's the small problem that Lauren won't let Bo anywhere near her. There's this underlying anger, driven by fear, that has encapsulated Lauren, overcome her and keeping Bo at arms length.

"Is there anything you need?" Bo asks, wishing that Lauren would say yes….but unsurprised when she replies otherwise.

"I've got it." Lauren snapped "You don't need to stick around, I'm sure you've got- other things to do."

"Like what?" Bo responds, not moving from her place by the door "Look, Lauren, I've known you for about thirty hours now and in that time I've broken into a hospital, impersonated a doctor that doesn't exist, stolen patient files. Let's not forget to add the fact that you just got jumped. I'm not going anywhere."

"Well maybe you should go." Lauren spat, her words harsh and bitter "Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea."

"You don't believe that."

Lauren turned around and her eyes flashed "How do you know what I believe?" she spat through gritted teeth.

Bo stepped forward, halving the distance between them "I don't, I barely know you beyond a Google. And al that told me was that you're one of the best pediatric surgeons in the country, probably the world. I know that means you're incredibly hardcore, but more than that I know that it means that you care about the kids. I know that you want to know what's happening to these kids and I know that seeing them in constant pain for even a couple of minutes is unbearable." She was on a roll now, and carefully watched the doctors face as she continued to talk "I know that you're in the middle of something big and the fact that you're amazing at your job is probably the one thing that kept you alive tonight."

Lauren's eyes dropped, and she didn't reply for a long while but when she did her voice was low and the pain was unmistakable, although from her physical injuries or otherwise, Bo couldn't tell "These kids are being tested on, and it's being done in the crudest of possible ways, that much I know. I know that the changes to their blood are deadly and incredibly complex, which means that the people who are behind this must have deep pockets and eyes everywhere. I've made myself a target because I started digging and they gave me a warning, this makes two. I know that I should back off, that I should stop digging and go back to operating and saving lives." She paused, letting her good arm take her weight as she leaned back against the table.

Bo moved to help her but Lauren stiffened and she froze, keeping her distance "I can-"

Lauren ignored her, unclenching her jaw and letting out a long breath "What I don't know, Bo, isn't how you can help or if you can, but if I should let you keep going." A bitter smile crossed her lips as she met Bo's gaze "I almost got killed tonight and the first place I thought to come was here, I was going to tell you to back off, to forget about it. Then I remembered what you said, yesterday and-"

"I see everything through." Bo reminded her "And you told me you were okay with that."

"That was before I got jumped in my own home." Lauren countered "These people, whoever they are, sent me a message, maybe it was meant for you as well."

"I don't care." Bo replied immediately "About their scare tactics" she amended "It gives me all the more reason to go after them, but it's you that I'm worried about."

"I've been in worse."

"I don't want you to get hurt again."

"The only way for that to happen is for you to let this all go." Lauren said "Believe me I've tried to think of other ways for this to work, but-"

"I've got an idea, one idea mind you, but first, will you please let me help you?"

"Fine." Lauren sighed and Bo moved to come help "But Bo, you have to promise me something."

"If it's related to stopping-"

"It's not" Lauren shook her head "I couldn't do that, I can't stop myself from digging. But I-I want you to be careful, more careful than you normally would. And I want you to not brush me off, I know you think I'm just some doctor over my head-"

"I don't." Bo started, but her comment was ignored as Lauren continued to talk

"-but these were my patients, I had to look these kids parents in the eye and tell them that I didn't know what was wrong with their children. You can't shut me out of this."

"Of course." Bo said "I was never meaning to-"

"You hung up on me."

"You were panicking." Bo floundered

"And I'm sure you've never dealt with panick-y people before." Lauren said dryly.

"You're different." Bo blurted before she could stop the words from slipping past her lips.

Lauren looked at her, something tugging at the corners of her lips as she replied "May I ask why?"

Of all the things to say Bo chastised herself, tying to come up with something to say that didn't sound overly awkward "You just are, I can't explain it." Bo said finally, looking firmly at the floor.

Lauren wanted to probe more, part of her wanted to know if Bo was feeling something like she was. Not that there was exactly something Lauren could put her finger on, it was like trying to keep hold of soap, the words lingered for only a moment before slipping away. But Lauren recognized the twisting in her stomach as Bo took a step towards her, fingers brushing against her shirt "Can we take this off?" she asked, her voice lilting to a question.

"Yeah" Lauren nodded "My arm though, it's not broken, but it's definitely bruised."

"I'm here to help." Bo said "I'm sure we can figure it out."

Lauren swallowed, decidedly ignoring the way her skin blazed and smoldered as Bo's fingers brushed her skin as she grabbed the hem of Lauren's shirt "We cold try and lift it, or I could cut it, might be less painful."

"Then I'm without a shirt." Lauren pointed out "Or I have a ripped shirt that I can't wear."

"I have some extra clothes upstairs."

"Upstairs?" Lauren breathed as Bo grabbed the scissors from the table, the cool metal skimmed her skin and she caught her breath.

"Trick keeps some clothes, in case I need 'em or sleep here or whatever." Bo shrugged, looking up at the doctors dilated pupils and swallowing, when had her throat gotten this dry?

"You spend a lot of time here then?"

"This is more or less home base." She said, cutting the doctors shirt off with two careful slices and gathering the pieces to rest on the table.

Lauren shivered, although not from the cold, she could feels Bo's eyes on her surveying the damage "Just some bruised ribs" Lauren said, her breath catching again as Bo ran a hand down the curve of her spine, surveying expertly for bruises or other damages "You done this before?" she asked, desperate to focus on anything but how close they were.

Bo, enraptured by the exposed skin in front of her, took a full three seconds to realize that Lauren had asked her a question "Come again?"

"You know what you're doing, looking for internal injuries, I'm wondering how. If I'm allowed to ask."

"Sure, sure" Bo smiled, looking over at Lauren from where she moved to get some things from the table "you can ask me anything, doesn't matter, I'll try and answer. As for that question, my line of, uhm, work doesn't really lead me to interact with the best of people. I've gotten in some scrapes of my own before, after a while you learn what to look for."

"Worst injury?" Lauren blurted "Sorry, sorry, that just came out-"

"Lauren" Bo laughed, returning to front of the doctor bearing two some alcohol wipes and a roll of gauze "I said you could to ask anything, don't apologize for asking."

Lauren suppressed her embarrassment, hissing as Bo went about cleaning a graze on her arm "Worst injury?" she repeated through clenched teeth.

Bo thought about it, trading wipe for the roll of gauze "Punctured lung." She replied, wrapping the gauze and reaching for the tape "Took a kick to the ribs that flat out broke a couple of 'em, the loose bits punctured my lung. Kenzi had to the rush me to the hospital…" something flickered in Bo's eyes as she trailed off "I almost died that day." She added, almost to herself

"I-I'm sorry." Lauren said "That must have been-" she cut off, what was the best way to say awful, pain, traumatic?

"A learning experience." Bo said, tone changing "I learned never to go into a meeting unarmed after that." She said "Now I always carry."

"That's one way to take it." Lauren commented "Not that I'm trying to offended to, I just, most people would have backed off."

Bo smiled "You need to stop worrying about offending me doctor, I'm not made of glass, and you might learn that I'm not like most people."

"I think I've gotten that already." Lauren said wryly

"Oh really." Bo replied with a smile as she stepped back "So we've got the cuts covered and you're not too damaged in your ribs, I would ice everything, but I'm not the one with the PhD."

"Icing is about all I can do." Lauren said, reaching for the tattered shirt but stopping herself.

"I can run upstairs and grab you something to wear." Bo said, pausing by the staircase and giving Lauren a serious look "Where are you staying?"

Lauren was taken aback "I was planning on going home, there's a lot to clean up."

"Oh no way Doc" Bo said, shaking her head "No way, you can stay with Kenz and I, do you work tomorrow?"

"Bo, I can't possibly impose on you like that."

"Consider yourself invited and thus, not imposing on anyone." Lauren shifted, hands wrapped around her stomach as she looked anywhere but Bo "Lauren, look at me, please." Lauren dragged her eyes up to meet Bo's gaze "You were attacked, and I-I hate that it happened to you because let's face it, Kenzi and I's expedition into the hospital caused it. I want to" she let out a breath "I want to find out who did this to you, and I want to make them hurt. But right now I can't, right now we need to make connections and keep you safe."

"I can handle myself."

"I'm not saying you can't Lauren, but I'm not letting you go home alone, not tonight anyway." Bo broke off for a moment "Please."

Lauren bit her lip "I don't work tomorrow."

"So come, at the very least let me keep you awake in case you have a concussion."

Lauren relented "Fine." She said "But tomorrow-"

"Tomorrow we can go to your place and clean up."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Bo grinned, disappearing upstairs, leaving Lauren alone and shirtless in the back room.

As she listened to Bo traipse about above her, Lauren tried to take even breaths, and calm herself. The adrenaline was wearing off and the full impact of what had happened to her was beginning to hit it her. The memory of opening her door and immediately feeling that something was off, or was it the presence of that who had been waiting behind the door that made her body tense. She remembered reaching for the lights and a hand curling viselike around her wrist and wrenching it behind her back.

Slammed into a wall.

Shouting out.

Dropping to the floor.

Kick.

Struggle to her feet.

It's too dark.

Too many people.

Wall.

It's a flurry of images and pain as she tries to remember any small details about the men who ravaged her apartment

Hand, there was a hand, on her wrist, she tensed, and pulled back "Lauren, Lauren." There was a voice.

It was Bo.

Christ.

She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and opened her eyes, Bo was standing on front of her, a shirt draped over one shoulder, she was holding Lauren's hands and trying to get her to focus "You okay?" she asked "I came back down and you were freaking out."

"I'm fine." Lauren said, her voice coiled as she took the offered shirt and started to pull it on.

"Let me help." Bo said as Lauren struggled to get it over her bad arm, gingerly Lauren, with the assistance of Bo, worked her strained arm into the clothing "You want something to eat?"

Lauren, not quite recovered from her flashback shook her head "No thank you."

"Alright." Bo shrugged "Let me pack some things up and then we can head back to the apartment."

"What about Kenzi?"" Lauren asked

"She's out doing go knows what with Trick, I'll let her know where I've gone but she'll be fine."

Lauren watched as Bo moved around the room collecting papers and organizing them into various piles before stuffing them into a bag "Is that from the hospital?" she asks

"Yeah" Bo nodded "I was looking over them before you arrived, and actually was making some connections."

"Oh yeah" Lauren said, curiosity piqued "What were you thinking?"

"Shots." Bo said, "Or something like that, I have it all written down." She explained, calling over her shoulder as she got the last of her things together "You ready to go?"

"Yeah" Lauren said, moving to follow Bo out of The Dal "Do you lock up or…?"

"No one is dumb enough to try and steal from Trick." Bo smirked, holding the door open for Lauren "The one guy that did got a lot worse than the cops called on him."

"What happened?" Lauren asked

"Trick put him to work, and next thing you know they're best friends and he's a working for the CPD."

"You mean Dyson?"

"Yup" Bo said "Idiot broke into The Dal back in it's early days, Trick caught him red handed and made him work until he'd earned double the amount he stole, he did something else but neither of em talk about it and no ones tried robbing Trick since. So I guess it worked."

"Strange." Lauren murmured, almost to herself.

"What is?"

"How all of you seem to know each other." Lauren commented "Dyson, Trick, you, how does Kenzi fit in?"

"That's a long story" Bo said

"We have a long night if you're watching me for a concussion."

"I'll tell you when we get back, or better yet I'll wait for Kenz to tell you, she tells the story best."

"Story sounds good already." Lauren said, looking over at Bo, catching the way the woman walked, hands jammed into her pockets, eyes focused elsewhere as she walked he familiar streets.

There was something there, an attribute less describable to the doctor, even with all her years of schooling, that she couldn't quite put her fingers on. Something about Bo maybe, or the way Bo made her feel….even after thirty hours. Or, on the other hand, maybe it was just the post-adrenaline crash making her overanalyze, either way, tonight held more than apprehension and nerves. Lauren knew she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.


**End Chapter Four**