At dusk Lauren and Kenzi stood outside. It was warm but breezy, the cool air was comfortable and comforting. The earlier rain had passed, revealing a night sky clear with a large moon and stars. Being outside felt good and eased some of Lauren's tension and worry, though, she was still anxious about communicating with Bo. She held the crystal orb tightly in her hand. It was set to activate in a few minutes, and her chest was tight. Being without Bo left her with an emptiness that was hard to define, although the emptiness was, slightly, filled knowing she was carrying a part of Bo inside her.

Pacing back and forth seemed to quiet her mind, but there wasn't much she could do to calm her anxieties. Despite her aching feet, she tried to distract herself by keeping her body active, but so far it was only vaguely working. Over time, the hurt of losing Bo didn't seem to go away or stop, if anything it was getting worse. On the other hand, she couldn't let her sadness consume her. She was searching for a balance between her hurt and needing to live her life. Maybe it sounded easy, but honestly, it was a very hard thing to find.

Kenzi, for her part, appeared more relaxed, eager even. She gazed upward at the sky with her hands on her hips. "I can't wait to talk with your baby mama."

The words cut through Lauren's contemplation, bringing her back to the present. "I'm so glad you've upgraded to baby mama and not baby daddy."

Kenzi gave a small shrug. "We're flying blind here, Lauren. We have to make up our stuff to explain all this." She poked Lauren's side. "So, what are you going to say to Bo?"

Lauren turned, her heart twisted, and looked at her. "That I love her."

Kenzi scoffed. "I know, sometimes, you're withholding with using your words, even with your big brain, but don't you think you should say something more to her?"

Lauren stiffened and shielded her body with her arms. "I don't want to make her feel bad. I just want her to know that we love her."

Kenzi gave Lauren a pointed look. "I love BoBo, but sometimes that girl needs a big kick in the ass to get her to stop wallowing and do something. Maybe she needs to hear that from you."

"Kenzi. I'm sure Bo is doing everything in her power to get home. But it might be hopeless, and if she's stuck there forever, I want the last thing she hears from me to be that I love her." Their eyes quickly met and Kenzi saw the gleam of tears in Lauren's eyes.

"Are your hormones scrambling your brain again, Lauren? Bo's coming home, there has to be a way." Kenzi felt at surge of frustration, but she knew deep down Lauren had a point.

Lauren stared off into the distance with a pained expression. "I don't know, I'm not finding anything of use in Trick's books." She admitted with a somber sigh.

Kenzi took a few steps until they were standing shoulder to shoulder. "Dyson thought there was a way."

"He thought, maybe, the shamans could give us some information. But, honestly, he didn't seem very confident about that." No matter what they did, they seemed to tiptoe the emotional landmine of their situation. All it would take was one wrong word or step, and everything they were holding on to would come tumbling down but they couldn't allow that to happen. They had to remain hopeful for each other.

A long heavy silence filled the space between them, and Lauren wondered how long they could pretend that everything was okay with Dyson and Tamsin. From the corner of Lauren's eye, she saw Kenzi shift uneasily, running her fingers up and down her arms.

"You really think Bo is trapped there forever?" Kenzi's voice came out as a whisper.

"I hope not." Lauren sounded calm in spite of the raging nerves coursing through her.

More silence followed, before Kenzi changed the subject. "What about your other situation? The baby, any luck finding anything out about that?" Kenzi poked Lauren's swelled belly as she spoke.

"No." Lauren's voice was a scratchy whisper, her gaze averted from Kenzi.

"More weird dreams?" Kenzi asked trying to pull Lauren into a conversation. Talking things through helped her nerves, which, in truth, seemed to be the opposite of how Lauren dealt with problems. Kenzi wondered if it was because Lauren was alone for so long. Maybe Lauren had gotten used to figuring things out on her own, and she wasn't accustomed to talking through situations or problems with others.

"Yes."

Kenzi made a face. "Ok, are you distracted or something? I'm trying to talk to you. And yes and no answers aren't helping."

"Sorry, I just…I don't know what to say. I guess the only thing we can do is wait to talk with Bo." Lauren tried to smile, but her mouth and body were too stiff.

Kenzi nodded and put an arm around Lauren, and they stared at the orb waiting for it to activate.

XXXX

A cool, sea breeze tossed the air around the girl and tugged at her nightgown as she walked down the sand towards the water. In the distance, her name was whispered, calling her to the sea.

Behind the girl, Bo watched in horror as her daughter walked towards the dark figure and the water. Bo heard the crash and roar of waves. It filled her head, completely, and it terrified her. Her body trembled violently watching her daughter's steps away from her.

The girl glanced back, meeting her mother's eye. She paused, but Bo was rooted in place unable to reach her, unable to call out to warn her. Her daughter's long hair glistened in the sunlight, tears sprang into Bo's eyes as she remembered all her other dreams and what came next. In a flash, something pulled the girl forward, and she was gone, disappearing into the waves of the crashing sea.

Bo bolted up and scanned the room, her body shaking. With a quick hand, she threw off the blankets and rose stiffly. Silently, she paced around her chamber. She picked up the orb and wished it would activate. She needed to talk to Lauren, see Lauren, to know she was ok, that the baby was ok. But she still had no idea when it would become active.

Bo felt anxiety twist inside her, for her daughter, for Lauren. And now fear galloped inside her, and in her mind, she was brought back to her nightmares. She was terrified of what they could mean.

But Bo only had a second to consider her nightmare, for in the next second across the room from her appeared a sort of black mist. She blinked; it hadn't been there a second ago. But it seemed to be growing as she watched it, and to stretch out long and wide.

At first, it looked like nothing, and then an outline of a person appeared. It moved closer, and she realized what it was. It was Hermes. Within an instant, he had a perfectly formed human body.

Annoyance crept into her when his expression was uplifted and overly sweet.

"My Queen," he said with a mocking bow. "Our time has come; the vessel is ready."

Bo was quickly angered. "I never agreed to your plan. I don't trust you." She called out heatedly.

He grinned, and she wanted to slap his face. "Sorry." He bowed again. "With your permission, my queen, I would like to help you escape this prison." His grin disappeared. "You have a choice to make, an important choice. Now is the time."

Bo marched toward him, her expression stern, and she never looked more the part of the queen they called her until that moment.

Hermes cleared his throat. "The thing is, this is your only chance to help your daughter." He shrugged. "But I leave the decision in your hands. Come with me or stay here helpless forever."

Bo scoffed. "One thing I know for sure is there's always options." She tilted her head and glared at him. "I can figure something out on my own."

He mirrored her and tilted his head. "Like what? You might want to think about your daughter, your lover…your heart…"

Bo turned and took a few quick steps away from him and stared across her chamber. Lauren. Her dreams. The little girl on the beach, her daughter, Kenzi, her family, all rushed through her mind in quick flashes.

"There's much more for you to accomplish Bo, so much left for you to do. But you don't have much time. A decision must be made. The prophecy will come true, whether you're here or not. You must return." His voice was stern and steady.

All at once, a sense of revelation filled Bo, a sudden feeling of panic, and that her only chance to get to Lauren and Isabeau was slipping away.

She spun around and stared at Hermes. "I want to go back. Get my body. Save Lauren and my daughter. But I don't trust you, and I will be watching you." She pointed her finger at him.

He nodded with a sly grin. "Excellent, choice." He held out a hand. "Time to go, Bo." His eyes were dark, black, emotionless.

Bo only briefly hesitated, and glanced at the orb. Then she reached toward him. Their hands never actually met. Just as she was about to touch him, she felt a tingling force, and saw a flash of light. Then he was gone, and Bo was in darkness with several odd sensations running through her at once.

The first thing she noticed was a feeling of detachment from everything, a falling fast through a tunnel feeling. The second was cold, devastatingly cold. She had no control of her body, emotions, or thoughts as she was being sucked away fast from the underworld.

She jolted to a stop and pain rushed through her body. Unknown images, thoughts came to her, climbing into her mind. Everything hurt, and she couldn't move.

Strangely, the realization that her body was not her own, and she was laying face down in dirt came to her.

Memories burst through her mind. She still had no control over anything.

She heard faint whispers then darkness took over her mind. Nothingness.

XXXX

Dimly, Tamsin knew she was dying, and she was pissed. She laid still in her grave, outside of the shaman's caves. She knew she had to survive, but that seemed impossible, she was just barely holding on. She had no strength. Her numb muscles couldn't even support her weight. That filled her with hatred, for her weakness. She laid faced down, in the dirt, her body pleading for relief, begging her to slip into the darkness.

It was cold. Her clothes felt like armor, she bitterly thought it was probably her own blood that was weighing her down. Centuries of life and to have it end this way, again she was pissed at her luck, her situation, her death. Most underestimated the power of guilt, regret. She had made steps to repent for her past, yet even now she still carried the burden of her choices on her soul, facing her ultimate death.

This wasn't the first time she'd died, but it would be the last, her last life, cut short before she could fully reach redemption.

With immense effort, she pulled open her eyes, and she knew death was near why else was she staring into the eyes of a hawk. Her brain was clearly affected by the shaman's torture. Her body was shutting down, her breathing slowed, her heartbeat faint. No help was coming. She was dying, alone…with this imaginary hawk.

The hawk tilted its head and stared into her soul with blank eyes. Yep. She was clearly dying or going insane, or both, she thought.

"You're dying, but the queen is coming." A voice whispered in her ear.

In a dreamlike state, Tamsin watched the movements of the hawk in front of her. Damn bird, she thought bitterly, fly off and get me some help. Tamsin had a wild impulse to grab the hawk, but she couldn't move, death was too close.

Her body started the process of dying, black mist clouded her mind, time seemed to slip away. Her last thoughts were of her family, the family she'd only recently found, a family she had failed. Another debt left unpaid. And then, within a heartbeat, there was no more discomfort.

Her skin began to tingle with an unknown energy. Her head began to swell with strange images and memories that were foreign to her. To her shock, Bo's face flashed in her mind.

"Hold on Valkyrie, the queen is coming." The voice echoed throughout Tamsin's hazy mind.

At first, she felt the hollow nothingness, and then her mind began to clear. Lightness encompassed her, surrounding her. She felt like she was flying upward. Then suddenly the motion stopped.

Fragmented voices filled her mind. Nonsense at first, then Bo's voice became clear in her mind. She had an eerie feeling that some presence was with her. She was on the verge of dying, but something inside told her she was no longer dying. She barely had time to acknowledge the hope forming in her mind, before Bo's voice vibrated through her. Tamsin.

Tamsin tried to focus and figure out whether or not she really heard Bo's voice or not. She seemed to be coming apart. Of course, her last death would be her longest death, she again thought bitterly.

Tamsin. Bo repeated.

After a long time of confusion, pure willpower took over, and she was able to stand, stumbling and staggering to her feet. She'd accepted the strangeness of the situation, without logic interfering.

Her vision was blurry, but she focused on the hawk as it guided her away from her grave. Her uneven walking seemed to go on forever, as Bo's voice echoed in her head, and the hawk bounced in front of her. Oddly, this encouraged her to keep moving when she thought she couldn't go on.

And then, at last, the hawk stopped. "Just over there, you'll find what you need. The queen will heal your body. Give her control." The hawk said, talking directly to her.

Slowly, she continued, and then there they were, four shaman sleeping next to a large bonfire. Tamsin thought resentfully that maybe they were planning on burning her body. Again she was pissed off.

"Give over to the queen," the hawk's voice urged.

Tamsin on automatic reflex, stumbled forward and fell to her knees and concentrated on Bo. There was no mistaking she no longer had control of her body. She was only hazily aware of her movements as her body marched to the shaman's sleeping bodies.

She was startled when a stream of chi left their bodies and entered her mouth quickly. Tamsin could see it all, but she was frozen. For a brief moment, she was enfolded in relief and calm as her body healed. Tamsin fell backward and was suddenly in control of her body again. The pain was gone, and her body was healed.

The knowledge that Bo was with her, somehow, sharing her body surged through with a jolt. Confusion flashed through her. She didn't understand anything.

After a lingering silence, Bo's voice filled her head again. "Tamsin, it's me. I'm with you. It was the only way to escape the underworld. We have to get out of here and get my body back."

The fog in Tamsin's mind slowly started to clear. Her first reaction was to panic. "What are you talking about? This is lunacy. I've gone crazy, or I'm actually dead…most likely. Dying is the worst, I'm sick of it."

"Quiet." Bo snapped.

Tamsin's panic turned to indignation. "What! This is my mind. You don't tell me to be quiet in my own head!" She was talking out loud now, talking loudly to Bo.

"I can't think when you're talking so much," Bo said, sounding annoyed as she whispered in Tamsin's mind.

"You do realize how that sounds right? You're a visitor in my body…my head…I'll talk when I want." Tamsin continued talking out loud and threw her hands in the air.

"Is this really what you want to be doing, right now? We need to escape." Bo said harshly.

"Oh, I have a feeling this is going to be a real joy. I'm thrilled actually. Where's that hawk, he's behind this, I'll going to strangle him." Tamsin shifted her head back and forth quickly looking for him.

"I think he's gone."

"Peachy. It's just you and me. Wait, why were you able to use your powers against them? They were shielded from my powers."

"You think I know? We need to hide and make a plan." Bo urged into her head, by her tone she was clearly going impatient.

Tamsin held back her retort and scanned her eyes over the landscape. With a shrug, she sprinted clumsily off in a random direction for a place to hide.

XXXX

Lauren and Kenzi stood hand and hand waiting for the orb to activate. Both their hearts pounded in their chests with anticipation. It was overwhelming.

With their eyes locked on the orb, at first they saw a faint speck, like a lightning bug, in the center. They squeezed each other's hands. The green light burned brighter filling up and slowly taking over the orb.

"How do we know it's working?" Kenzi whispered into Lauren's body.

"We'll see Bo inside the orb," Lauren whispered back, her eyes fixed on the orb.

"Oh. Freaky." Kenzi bent down to scrutinize the orb closer. She jumped back when, for a second, the orb glowed yellow. Excitement and anxiety clashed inside both their stomachs. And then the color cleared and the shining faded away, it was clear again.

They both gaped at the orb, bewildered, and both their shoulders slumped in unison.

"Lauren, what happened?" Kenzi turned to Lauren, she grabbed the orb and started shaking it as if that would make it activate.

Lauren sighed, and took it back. "It didn't work."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe…I don't know..." Lauren gradually trailed off and silently studied Kenzi's face.

"Shit, shitty shit balls." Kenzi kicked the dirt and walked forcefully away from Lauren. "Can we catch a break, please?" She shouted into the sky. "Just once?" She fell to the ground and held back her tears. "What now, Lauren? All our hopes were placed on that stupid orb." She buried her face in her hands. "We need Bo. Fae shit never works like it's supposed to." It was getting harder and harder to hold on to hope for getting Bo back.

Lauren placed a comforting hand on Kenzi's head. "We have each other, and that's very important." She sighed and closed her eyes. "And with or without Bo, you and me are going to be just fine," Lauren reassured her, even though, her heart was in turmoil ever since Bo left. But she needed to be strong, no one understood what she was going through but Kenzi. They had to remain strong for each other.

Kenzi peered up at Lauren. "We are two fierce bitches."

Lauren chuckled. "Exactly. We'll find a way. We'll get Bo back." Lauren found relief and satisfaction in comforting Kenzi and, surprisingly, she believed her own words. She needed to remain confident instead of simply feeling lost and helpless.

Kenzi stood quickly and brushed the dirt off her pants. "Yeah we will. That baby needs her mommy."

They grinned at each other and wandered back to the apartment, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. As Lauren walked she fixed her mind on coming up with a new plan to get to Bo. She needed a goal, something to focus on to keep her mind busy, so her sadness didn't overwhelm her. They had to keep trying, even when it looked hopeless.

XXXX

AN

Wow, sorry about the wait for an update. I do feel bad for leaving this story hanging. Hopefully, I can start updating quicker.

Thanks for reading and reviewing :)