A/N: Hope all is well guys.

I want to answer some inquiries real quick. I always intended on starting this chapter where chapter 10 left off, doing Bo's POV, which is why I always label whose POV it is & doing some flashbacks. So just hang tight guys!

Also, for those dealing with inclement weather…Please be careful. I was almost in an accident on Friday because they didn't salt the roads enough after it snowed. The vehicle I was in slid on ice & almost hit/was hit by several cars before it came to a stop. After that; a 20-minute ride turned into an over an hour ride. But I'm thankful to be unharmed. So just be careful & safe guys.

Twitter: DrLaurenLewisZP

Alright, we're starting right where we left off!

R/R & ENJOY!

Lauren's POV – The Congo – Lauren's Hut – Afternoon

"I- I mean, what are you doing here? I'm sorry, I'm a little sleep deprived-"

"Lauren, calm down. First, where can I put this cake down?" I shook my head in attempt to regain any composure that I may have left.

"Here, let me take that and follow me." I took the cake from her and brought her deeper into my modernized hut that only has three small rooms, one medium size room and one very large room. The biggest room being the office/research lab and the small rooms are the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, while the living room/dining room is the medium size room which is what you walk into as soon as you come through the door.

"Are you hungry? Did you eat on your flight?" I knew I was rambling but for some reason I was just so nervous.

Good thing we just took a seat on the couch…Which is actually a red loveseat…How…ironic.

"Oh darling, we all know you're nervous because you love the girl…My, my, how the times have changed. First, you were/are her angel and now, she's you're angel. How ironic, indeed."

"Lauren? Did you hear me? Are you okay?" I blinked twice as I mentally shook my head to clear it of Evony's voice and focused all my attention back on Bo.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry, what did you say?" Bo gave me a look of concern as she answered me…again. "I said I already ate, thank you though…Do you plan on holding that cake forever?"

I blushed as I followed Bo's gaze down to the birthday cake in my hands before I put it on the coffee table. "I'm sorry that I couldn't get here until after your birthday…And now that I think about it, I hope I didn't come at a bad time."

"No, of course not and don't apologize for coming after my birthday, it's not like I was expecting you or anyone that's from home that isn't a colleague of some sort. But, I'll be right back, I'm going to get some plates, forks and a knife for the cake." I told her as I stood up and started to make my way over to the very small kitchen.

"Why shouldn't I be sorry for being late for your birthday when you're never late for mine, including while you've been over here?" I froze in place halfway towards the kitchen. Did she just say what I think she said?

"I know that you come home twice a year every year since you've been over here; once to spend time with everyone; mostly me. Then, you come a second time to secretly give Kenzi my birthday present so she could get it to me."

I slowly turned around and looked her in the eyes. "How'd you find out?" She walked over to me, closing the gap between us.

"I can literally feel your presence when you're close by. Now, my question is why? Why did you do secret visits on my birthday and once on Christmas?"

"I- I- I-" Bo being so close to me and holding my hands and hers made it very hard to think straight, which is why I'm stammering on like a complete idiot. "I think I know why. I think it's because you have feelings for me now and you don't know how to handle them because they scare you and because you think having feelings for me is wrong because of our history and age gap."

"Bo-" She shook her head to silence me. "I'm not done talking yet and letting me finish what I have to say is the least you can do for visiting me behind my back and using my best friend to do it, don't you think so?" She asked in a silky soft, velvet-like whisper.

"Okay." I whispered back; feeling completely overwhelmed by how close she is to me. Our lips are just inches apart and I just realized that my back had somehow, at some point…became pressed up against the wall.

I was trapped between a hard place and…Bo. And if I'm being completely honest with myself, I loved it…I wanted it.

"Lauren, I've loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. I love that we became best friends. I love our history together. I love learning from you which is the main reason why I graduated from high school a year early and went straight to college. You've always helped me and been there for me for anything and everything. I appreciate everything that you've ever done for me and everything that you will do for me in the future. But there is something I have to know for sure…Do you have feelings for me?"

"Bo, it's not that simpl-"

"Did you mean it when you said I was beautiful?" I hesitated for a long moment before I nodded slowly. I never lied to her and I won't start now.

"Do you have feelings for me? No complicated answers, I just want a yes or a no." I swallowed hard as Bo's lips seemed to get closer and closer to mine.

"Bo, please…"

"You gave me a promise ring. You visit me in secret every year. Lauren, please don't lie to me."

"…Yes, I do you have feelings for you…but it's wrong, Bo…" Bo chuckled at me with a small smile. "Why? Because of the age gap? If so, you need a new argument because while your 29 now, in 4 days I'll be 20, we're both legally adults now; we both have been for almost a couple years now and, relationships with the minimum of a 10 year age gap is pretty common nowadays and our age gap isn't even 10 years."

"What about our…unique history? It'd be very…weird." Knowing Bo, I knew I lost this argument already. But I still had the urge to try.

Bo chuckled, "It's only weird if you think of it that way. The way I see it is; people in relationships spend all their time trying to get to know their significant other as much as possible. But thanks to our history, we already know each other better than most couples will ever know each other. We already know each other's history since we went through it together. We also know each other's pet peeves, likes, dislikes and so much more already thanks to our unique history. People spend their whole lives looking for the best friend that they're going to marry one day. Lauren, we've already done that. We know so much about each other and we get along so well and I've waited for this opportunity my whole life and I'm tired of waiting. So please tell me that you've officially ran out of reasons of why we shouldn't be together because I'm gotta warn you; I'm here on an internship to become a reporter and if there's one thing that I'm good at besides asking questions; it's doing my homework. So believe me when I say that I have an answer to every one of your possible arguments, Doctor…Plus, I've been preparing for this conversation my whole life. So you may as well just admit defeat, my angel."

"But-" Bo silenced me with a soft, extremely addictive; kiss on the lips that caused a loud moan to escape from my lips. I deepened the kiss without even realizing it even though the need for oxygen was growing rapidly.

We broke apart when the need for oxygen became too much of a necessity. "…That was like the 4th of July in my mouth!"

I chuckled, "Agreed. But, your mom is going to kill me." Bo chuckled with a grin on her face. "So, does that mean you'll finally give me a shot?"

I smirked, "Something tells me that you won't give me a choice in the matter and that you won't unpin me from this wall if I don't…But Bo, odds are that it's going to be a long distance relationship for at least a year…And wait, in your most recent letter, which I got this morning, you had a boyfriend."

Bo nodded with a small chuckle as she freed me from being between her and the wall. "I'm fine with long distance and yes, I had a boyfriend. I dumped him last week after my mom surprised me with a ticket to come after you for my birthday."

I was stunned yet again. "…This was…Aife's idea?" Bo nodded with a smile. "She saw how much I missed you everyday and how unhappy I was. So she bought me a round trip ticket as my birthday present and said, "Go get your angel and don't take no for an answer because everyone knows that she's in love with you too." So you see, my mother won't kill you and I already got your mother's blessing too. So your mother won't kill you either. In fact, everyone thinks that I'd be good for your stubborn tendencies."

I frowned, "I'm not stubborn; you're stubborn." Bo chuckled, "Everyone is stubborn about at least one thing, including me and you. You're stubborn about giving in to your heart's true desires if it feels scary or wrong. I'm stubborn about getting what my heart desires most and about getting the truth, hence the whole reporter thing which is what you and especially my mom predicted I'd become all those years ago. But anyway, we're both stubborn about other things too. These are just our biggest stubborn areas. Now, come on, let's have some cake before we talk some more and I really do have to ask you some interview questions at some point for my article."

Bo grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the kitchen to get everything we needed to have some cake. "Wait, so how long will you be here with me? Wait, you're staying with me, right? Because it's dangerous out there…I don't want you at some kind of resort or hotel or anything."

Bo winked at me and she grabbed everything we needed while I just followed her around completely dumbfounded by today's turn of events. "I'll be here for at least 2 weeks. Then, I'll be going home to do some finals exams and such to hopefully graduate with my bachelor's degree a year early. And yes I'm staying here with you because I knew exactly what your reaction was going to be when I told you that I'd be staying here for a bit. Oh, and this cake is the exact same cake that I made for you all those years ago but this time, it's all chocolate because I know that chocolate is your favorite flavor."

"Oh…" That was the only thing that I could think of to say as I watched Bo cut the cake. "…We kissed." The realization of us having our first real kiss has me completely dumbfounded even more so then before since I never really believed that it would ever happen.

Bo chuckled as she stood up to approach me once more. "Yes, we did. Should we kiss again?"

"Uh huh..." I knew I was grinning and acting like a love-struck idiot as Bo took me in her arms for another kiss. But, I didn't care even in the slightest.

The second kiss brought out more loud moans from both of us and when I opened my eyes again, I swear the cabin-like hut had stars everywhere. And for the second time today, I couldn't control the next words that came out of my mouth.

But at least this time, I had a grin on my face.

"Oh boy."