10. Family
Lauren handed Bo the thermos of coffee while the two of the waited in the Camaro in an alley that faced the office building. Bo had gone in to see if Reese was there but he wasn't in yet, so waiting it was. "I'm glad you're here with me," Lauren said, grabbing Bo's hand to interlace their fingers.
"Forever and always," Bo said softly, lifting their hands to kiss Lauren's.
"I'm really nervous," Lauren confessed, biting her lip as her eyes remained fixed on the office doors, unblinking.
Bo looked over at her and smiled. "You're cute when you're nervous."
Lauren snorted, "You always think I'm cute." Lauren scrunched her nose and Bo kissed her on the cheek.
"Well, I can't argue with that. But I'll be with you the whole time okay? Just relax, it's going to be great," Bo squeezed her hand and Lauren clasped Bo's hand in both of hers, sighing with relaxed contentment.
The sat in the car for hours, wrapped in each other's warmth and love, cuddling and kissing occasionally. Bo was growing tired, it had been too long since she'd fed or slept, but she forced herself to stay awake.
"Wait – Bo, I think that's him," Lauren started to undo her seatbelt but Bo stopped her hand.
"You know you can't run up to him on the street, what if he's being watched. You know what we talked about, head to the hotel."
"Okay."
Bo waited until it was safe to cross the street and closed in on the dark haired man on the sidewalk. "Reese!" Bo shouted, he faltered but had obviously trained himself not to respond to his old name. "Ethan! Ethan Alexander!"
The man stopped and turned to face Bo, she caught up to him, a little short of breath. "I have someone who wants to see you."
"Uh – I'm sorry ma'am but I have to get to work."
"Ma'am?" Bo put her hand on her hip and glared at the man who had the same eyes as her lover. "I'm not a ma'am."
"Yeah – sorry, I have to get going," The man turned away and headed towards the buildings doors.
"Wait! It's your sister!" Bo shouted.
The dark haired man faltered again and turned around, a haunted look deep in his eyes.
"Follow me," Bo said quietly, not wanting to talk about it on the street.
Reese didn't seem to need any more information and followed Bo towards the alley. She turned and walked into the hotel a few doors down from the alley and went inside. She headed up to their room and unlocked the door, Lauren was pacing nervously in the room.
She stopped and looked up, her eyes filling with tears as her hand fluttered to her mouth. "Reese," she whispered.
The man stood in the doorway for a moment and then ran to his sister, enveloping her in protective hug. He was tall with wide shoulders and very muscular. His suit did little to hide how in shape he was. His hair was dark and his eyes were bright hazel, he was a little more tanned than Lauren and had dark facial scruff on his face. If Bo still had a thing for anyone besides Lauren, she would admit she found him quite attractive.
"Karen, what're you doing here?"
"It's Lauren actually – I was looking for you."
Reese laughed, "Well obviously. It's dangerous for us to be together, is everything okay? It's so good to see you K-Lauren. It suits you," he held her hands and smiled at his sister.
"Thank you. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of 'Ethan', but I can't judge." Reese dropped her hands to stand back and take her in. Bo walked over to Lauren and slipped her hand her lover's hand. Reese caught the action and took them in for a moment and then he smiled. "I'm here because – because I'm getting married and I wanted you to be there." Lauren lifted their intertwined hands and Reese smiled.
"Are you serious? My big sister is getting married? Wow, I can't believe this," Reese raked his hand through his hair and Bo thought of how much the small action made him look like Lauren.
"Yeah Reese, this is Bo."
"Hi," Bo said, offering her free hand. They shook hands and then Reese held his arms out.
"Come on, get in here. We're going to be family soon," Bo smiled and shared a look with Lauren before hugging the tall man tightly.
"I'm so happy you're so good Lauren. I-I think about you every day. I've missed you so much," Reese's light hazel eyes welled with tears.
Laure's did as well and she dropped Bo's hand so they could embrace again. "I'm so glad you're alive. I thought-I thought maybe-"
"Well now you know, I'm alive and well." Reese smiled a charming smile and Bo shook her head, clearly adorable charm ran in the family. "I have to say, you look incredible sis. But you seem… different."
Bo and Lauren shared a nervous glance that said 'Oh, you know. Not different, except that I'm now an immortal creature known as a Fae who happens to be a Woodland Elf.'
"Well, what can I say I-I'm happy. Happier than I've ever been," Lauren shrugged and Bo slid her arm around her lover's waist. Bo thought about how she'd never been clingy with any other partner she'd had before, but with Lauren, any distance at all between them seemed to feel like miles and she always found herself unconsciously reaching for the blonde Fae.
"I can tell. Wow, this is incredible man. I can barely wrap my head around the fact that you're here right now. When I woke up this morning I definitely didn't expect to run into my long lost sister. How did you find me?"
Lauren laughed, it was so good to see him, she felt all of her stress and guilt slipping further out of reach as she saw the happy-go-lucky boy she'd grown up with and been attached at the hip to.
Bo spoke, "We found your ex-girlfriend, Caroline. She really misses you by the way and she wanted us to call her if we found you. Caroline gave us your name, which led us to that article they posted about you in Philadelphia which finally led us to the New York Greenpeace office."
"Wow, that's pretty impressive stuff. Clearly I need a new job if I'm that easy to find."
"Oh trust me, it wasn't easy. I'm kind of a private investigator so finding people is a bit of a specialty of mine and I have to say, you were probably the most difficult person to track down that I've ever come across."
"Wow that's convenient – and I'm flattered. A private investigator, huh? What's that like? I think it'd be pretty boring sitting in cars watching married men cheat on their wives."
Bo and Lauren's eyes met again and Lauren had to duck her head to hide her smile. "Uh, you'd be surprised," Bo said, ducking her head as well, Lauren's smiles were always infectious to her. "Look we don't want to keep you from your job and arouse too much suspicion."
"Yeah, we'll let you go. Let me leave you our number. Do you have a phone?" Lauren asked her brother.
"Yeah of course, I'm in hiding I'm not Amish sis. I've got a burner, give me your phone I'll put the number in."
"So will you come to the wedding?" Lauren asked, eyes hopeful.
Reese smiled and grabbed his sister's hand. "Nothing could keep me away."
Lauren jumped up and down and clapped her hands together and Bo threw her head back and laughed. "Ooh, yay! Oh, I'm so happy about this, you have no idea."
"Me too, I am dying to catch up more and learn more about my soon-to-be sister-in-law."
Reese and Bo smiled at each other. He handed Lauren's phone back to her and turned back to look at Bo seriously. "Take good care of her, okay?"
Bo nodded seriously and clasped Lauren's hand in both of her own. "She couldn't be in better hands, I promise you. Nothing bad will happen to her while I'm around."
Lauren bit her lip, dying to make a dirty joke about Bo saying she 'couldn't be in better hands'.
"Bo's not lying, she may not look it but she's one tough cookie."
Bo smiled and looked adoringly at Lauren, "And I'm sure you already know this but your sister is one tough cookie herself. I'm not too worried about her safety."
The girls laughed and Reese quirked an eyebrow, a little suspicious as to what their knowing looks meant. "Well, I do know that she's one tough cookie. But she's still my sister, so make sure you watch out for her."
"I always do," Bo nodded at him sincerely and Reese smiled, satisfied.
"I love you sis."
"I love you Reese," Lauren reached her hands up and cupped his face. He turned into the small, curly hair boy she knew instantly and her heart filled with love. Lauren let out an emotional, disbelieving laugh. "It's so good to see you baby brother."
"It's good to see you too partner. It's been too long. I don't care what the risk – I need you in my life again. I have to admit that it's been a lonely life since I saw you last but the one thing I miss most is you. I don't feel like me without you," Reese seemed so vulnerable suddenly, Bo averted her eyes at their intimate moment, seeing the strong man in a different way abruptly.
"I don't feel like me without you either Reese Piece. I need you in my life, why do you think I'm here? I couldn't get married without my only other family member and the person I was closest with in the world by my side. Speaking of which, will you be my best man?"
Reese choked out a laugh, his throat thick with unshed tears. He suddenly felt eight years old again at the nickname he hadn't heard in so long. "Of course I will, I'd be so honored. But I have to say I'm not getting strippers for my big sisters bachelor party, no matter how cool of a brother I am."
Lauren and Bo laughed. "Hey, no strippers!" Bo pointed her fingers at both of them and narrowed her eyes.
"Oh trust me, I don't need strippers, this one is enough of a handful." Lauren looked at Bo flirtatiously and the Succubus bit her lip and almost blushed.
"Whoa, TMI, I don't want to think about my new sister-in-law doing a strip tease. That has to be like incest or something."
Bo laughed and smiled, she knew she was going to like Reese but she wasn't prepared for him to wiggle into her heart so quickly. She should've been though, she'd fallen in love with Lauren in a matter of minutes.
"Okay, now we're really going to let you get to work. It was so amazing to meet you Reese. I just want you to know how much I love and adore your sister. You don't have to worry about her, she's loved and spoiled and safe."
Reese smiled at Bo, he liked this mysterious dark haired woman and he rarely liked people so quickly. "My sister is no dumby, if she picked you and made such a serious commitment to you – I know you have to be something special. Thank you for taking care of her, it means more to me than you can know."
Lauren was standing to the side with happy tears running down her cheeks. "Okay let's get out of here before I melt into a big puddle of joy."
Bo laughed at her lover and waited as her and Reese hugged again. She took Lauren's hand to leave and Reese stopped her. "Ah! Where do you think you're going? Get in here, give me another hug."
Bo laughed and shook her head, reaching out to give Reese another hug. He rested his cheek on the top of her head and hugged her tight, holding her in his arms. She relaxed into his embrace. She'd never had a brother before, or even a friend who was truly like a brother. She sighed happily, it was nice.
The three of them smiled at each other with big stupid grins on their faces like they had a secret and finally Bo and Lauren left.
"That was so surreal," Lauren whispered as they got into the Camaro.
"He's incredible babe. He's so much like you, this was so amazing. I'm so happy for you."
Lauren swatted her lovers arm. "Bo do you have a crush on my brother?"
Bo shrugged playfully, "What can I say? You have good genes Lewis."
Lauren threw her head back and laughed, shaking her head.
"He's charming and his little mannerisms are so like yours – I knew I'd like him but wow. It feels like there was something missing in my life that I didn't even know was missing til now. He just 'fits' you know?"
Lauren bit back fresh tears and nodded. "How do you think I feel? I feel like a hole in my heart has been filled and now – I'm so full of love. I cannot wait to marry you Bo Dennis. If I wasn't worried that our family would kill us, I'd get married to you right now."
Bo bit her lip as she pulled out of the alley, "Don't tempt me."
Lauren smiled at her, her eyes twinkling, feeling lighter than she could ever remember feeling.