A/N: Hey guys hope all is well!

This chapter was extremely difficult to write so I hope it turned out okay. I wanted to make it a little longer but, I have no time this week. Anyway, hope you guys like it!

All errors are mine & thank you for everything as always!

Twitter: DrLaurenLewisZP

R/R & ENJOY!

Lauren's POV – Few Weeks Later – Christmas – Outside of the McCorrigan's Residence – Late Evening

"Are you sure you don't want to go in there? You know she misses you and would love to see you…She would want to know that you're here, you know that."

I sighed as Kenzi and I leaned against my black BMW rental, watching the festivities going on inside the house through the small living room window. "I can't Kenzi. I flew in only to be here for less than 2 hours just to see my mom and to check on Bo…in secret. The only reason I contacted you is so you can sneak in this gift for Bo and put it under the Christmas tree for me. Here…"

I handed Kenzi a small 6x9 box wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper. "What is it?" Kenzi asked as she took it from me.

"It's a box with a letter and ring box inside of it." I answered as I caught Bo in my view of the window talking to her Aife and drinking eggnog. "When she asks how the gift got under her tree without her knowledge just tell her that I mailed it to the hospital so it was less likely to get lost during international transit and that it was then forwarded to Evony so she could give it to you so you could make sure Bo gets her gift from me in surprise."

Kenzi agreed to do so with a bit less hesitation than I expected. "Okay…but, just so you know, I prefer that she knows that you're here and that you give it to her yourself."

"That won't help her move on and like I said Kenzi, I don't have the time." I heard Kenzi sigh in defeat as I continued to watch Bo through the window. "So, a ring…?"

I smiled, "It's a promise ring with her birthstone in the center. It represents the one promise that I know Bo needs to hear most."

"And what's that?" I tore my eyes away from the window to look Kenzi in the eyes. "The promise to return to her as soon as I can…Anyway, I gotta get back to the airport."

Kenzi pulled herself off of my rental car as I got in it and started the engine. "Thanks again for meeting me out here Kenzi. You better get back inside before they start looking for you. Oh, and compliment them on the Christmas lights and decorations on my behalf please."

Nearly 1 Year Later – Outside of the McCorrigan's Residence - Bo's Birthday – Almost Midnight

"So, we gonna do this once a year or something?" I smiled in appreciation as Kenzi took my gift for Bo to sneak it in with her other gifts, saying it came through the hospital just like last year for Christmas. "She really misses you, you know."

"I know." I answered simply as I saw Bo through her bedroom window on her laptop. "I saw her 6 months ago and spent almost a whole weekend with her…She gets even more beautiful every time I see her, both inside and out...Is she seeing anyone yet?"

"Are you asking in hopes that she's moving from you like the logical side of you wants or in jealousy because apart of you has feelings for her?" I shook my head as I stood up from leaning against my rental car.

"I don't have feelings for Bo. At least not romantic fee-"

"When are you going to stop lying to yourself? Cause' ya sure ain't fooling me."

"Ken-"

"No, don't, "Kenzi" me, LoLo. Actions almost always speak louder than words." Kenzi got off the side of my rental car and practically jumped in my face to look me right in the eyes. "Look, these secret yearly meetings so you can hand off BoBo's present to me have gotten you and I closer which is cool. But, I hate keeping these meetings from Bo. But, there is something I hate more than that. I hate that you keep lying about your feelings about Bo."

I sighed, "Kenzi, whatever my feelings for Bo may be. I'm doing this with her best interests at heart. I was originally going to turn down the chance to go to the Congo the day after Bo's sweet 16th birthday until I found out about her genuine adult feelings for me which I originally thought was nothing more than a crush when she was a kid. So, the day after her birthday I went into my boss's office and told her that I would go to the Congo. I did that to help Bo move on from me. Now, I admit that I should have told Bo at least a week before I had to leave and not the day before; that part I did poorly out of fear and I regret letting my fear dictate my actions. But still, I did all of this to help Bo move on to someone that's appropriate for her. Everything I do is for Bo."

"Exactly! Everything you do is for Bo! I bet she was the main reason why you were originally going to pass on the expedition to begin with, right? So you could stay close to her and not break her heart, right?"

I glanced at my watch to avoid eye contact with Kenzi and her questions. "I'm sorry, I gotta go. You know they only give us two weeks of leave time in total to get away from the Congo every year and unfortunately the travel time gets taken from that leave time. So I have to go now to make it back to the Congo in time to avoid any disciplinary actions against me or my team; since I'm using my last two days of time for the year on this quick visit and it takes about 14 hours give or take to get back to the Congo…Happy holidays, Kenzi."

"She's dating this kid named Kyle...Has been for like 3 weeks now." I involuntarily winced ever-so-slightly at Kenzi's answer to my earlier question. But, I knew she saw my involuntarily response anyway.

"Oh…that's…that's good…" Kenzi rolled her eyes at my weak attempt to rebound from my unexpected reaction. "You can only keep lying to yourself for so long, LoLo."

I just looked at her one more time before I got in my car and drove off without another word or looking back.

Nearly 3 Years Later – The Congo – Lauren's Hut – Afternoon

"Hey Kenzi, it's Lauren…I just wanted to let you know that I'll be flying in, in about four days to give you Bo's birthday present so you can give it to her for me like you do every year…and to...according to you; stalk through her window for a bit. Anyway, call me back or text me so I know that you got this message."

"Excuse me, Dr. Lewis?" I whipped around to face Hale at my hut's entrance way. "Yes, Hale?"

"You have a visitor." I raised my eyebrows at him with curiosity. "Oh? Who is it?"

Hale smiled, "Some young, hot, wannabe reporter that seems to know a lot about you." I groaned, "Not another one…I wish the hospital would let me reject interviews." I sighed as I said the next few words that I really didn't want to say. "…Send her in."

Hale looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "How'd you know it was a female reporter?" I chuckled, "You objectified her and you're not gay."

Hale blushed as he scratched his head in embarrassment. "Oh yeah…I'll go get her and send her in." Hale left my hut immediately; giving me a just a few moments to look in the mirror again to make sure my hair is okay.

I turned myself around from my mirror with a fake smile on my face when I heard footsteps coming my way. "Hello, how can I help- Bo…"

My whole body was stunned into shock and awe as I saw Bo standing right in front of me with a birthday cake that was just like the one she made for me when we first met when she was just 6 years old, all those years ago.

…She looks so damn…beautiful. She was absolutely…breathtaking. She was…wow…

"Hi Lauren, happy belated birthday…" I gulped nervously as she continued to look at me with a warm, welcoming smile. She was obviously tired and sweaty from a long journey…But…

But, I swear she looks like an angel. She looks…perfect. So much so, that I couldn't control the next words that came out of my mouth.

"My god, you're beautiful..."