CHAPTER TEN

"Dr. Lewis!"

Kenzi groaned as Lauren fell on top of her.

"Dr. Lewis!"

"Lauren..."

"Hey. What about Kenzi?"

Bo got out of the car, albeit slowly. "Get your hands off my girlfriend!" she shouted at the stranger.

Jacob backed away from Lauren after removing her from the other human woman, his hands raised in surrender. "I work with Dr. Lewis," he said.

Bo quickly looked at Kenzi before kneeling beside Lauren. "Hey Lauren," she reached out and caressed her face. Bo watched Kenzi as she assumed a protective stance on the other side of Lauren's body. "How long?" she asked knowing Kenzi would understand.

"Shit dude, it was almost twenty seconds..."

Bo started to panic. "No... no. This is exact reason why I don't want to feed from her," she said. "Damn it!"

"Bo you can't blame her or yourself. She wouldn't want you to."

"Excuse me we need to get Dr. Lewis inside."

"And who are you again?" Bo asked as she gently picked Lauren up from the pavement.

"I'm Jacob Camden. I'm Dr. Lewis' personal lab assistant," he explained.

"Kenz, grab Lauren's stuff," Bo intruded.

"On it."

"Why are you here?" she asked as she carried Lauren towards the Shack.

"Dr. Lewis thought I might be of assistance."

"Yeah? How so?" Bo waited on Kenzi to open the door.

"I offered up my chi."

Bo and Kenzi looked at him. "So, why weren't you with her," Bo growled.

"There was an accident about three blocks away blocking traffic. Dr. Lewis was anxious to reach you, so she ran and I followed with the car."

Bo looked at Lauren, her eyes flooded with tears. "Don't make me go through this again, please," Bo whispered as thoughts of her first boyfriend, Kyle, flooded her mind.

Kenzi opened the door and let Bo through.

"I take it twenty seconds is too long for feeding off a human?" Jacob asked as he followed them inside. He had a feeling Lauren would want to know.

"Any longer and I would have killed her," Bo answered haltingly.

"But you didn't Bo," Kenzi added, in an effort to stop Bo's cycle of self-recrimination before it could gain any momentum.

"I didn't because you stopped me Kenz."

"If you'll put her down on the couch, I can start pushing fluids back in to her," Jacob interrupted as he put his case down on the kitchen counter. "Do you happen to have a..."

"I.V. pole coming up," Kenzi said as she rushed upstairs to her bedroom.

Jacob looked over to where Bo had laid Lauren on the couch. 'Amazing,' he thought. In all his years, he had never heard of this type of behavior from a Succubus after a feed.

The Succubus' concern for Dr. Lewis was evident in the way she sought to make her comfortable, kissing her hand and face with reverence. It made Jacob feel like a voyeur so he turned his head from this intimate interaction.

"Here's the pole," Kenzi called out as she came downstairs.

"Yes, thank you," Jacob said as he brought a bag of saline and an IV kit over to the couch. "Umm... I'm sorry but I need to start the I.V.," he told Bo.

Bo slowly moved aside.

"We need to take her jacket off..."

"How is she doing?" Kenzi asked.

Jacob was writing down his observations. "Hmm," he answered distractedly.

"Hot Pants, how is she doing?"

Jacob frowned.

"She means Lauren," Bo explained, never taking her eyes off of Lauren.

"Oh, yes. She's stable and should regain consciousness shortly," he said. "How are you feeling now, Miss Dennis?"

"What?"

"I'm sure Dr. Lewis would want to know how you're feeling. I can see," he gestured around his own face. "That the blistering has receded and your face appears less irritated."

"I'm fine," Bo replied.

"Well, the offer I extended to Dr. Lewis still stands..."

"Huh?"

"His chi, Bo. He's offering his chi if you need it."