A/N: Sorry this took so long! This chapter was a bit difficult to write. It was like after doing the previous chapter, I was slightly drained of inspiration. Also, I discovered a new anime called Sword Art Online and got hooked immediately. (I recommend any anime fans here to watch that. It's fantastic. :D)

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, guys. I'm glad you liked the long-awaited Bo/Lauren meeting. This chapter doesn't have much interaction between them again (fair warning!) but it's needed for the story so, you'll have to bear with me.

Also, some news. Bad news: this story will only have 3 more chapters or so. Good news: Finally, some semblance of action will happen. Things should evolve fast after this chapter.

Lastly: I wanna say thanks to my beta again. This'll be the last chapter they would do for me, and I appreciate the time they took to help me polish the prose. I learned a lot too. Thanks!

Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 11

Bo could feel Kenzi's eyes on her but ignored the unusually bubbly girl to focus on driving. A few seconds later, she gave in.

"What?"

"What, what?" Kenzi asked, a bit too innocently.

"You were staring at me, Kenz." The girl had taken to doing that in the past few days, ever since Bo had revealed everything she found out about Lauren.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering."

"About what?" Bo asked, knowing full well that this could be a trap.

"Oh, you know -" Kenzi paused and put her index finger out while she pulled out her phone, "Wait, someone's calling. Hello?"

Bo listened for a few moments to determine that it was Dyson on the other line and tuned out the conversation.

She remembered that day when she confessed everything to Kenzi. She had expected surprise and anger at the news of Lauren's reappearance, but her best friend had actually gone crazy for a few seconds that she had genuinely scared Bo, especially when she grabbed a katana from the weapons chest and Bo saw the clear intent to inflict pain in her eyes. But then she had allowed Bo to take the sword away and slowly calmed down while Bo finished relating the whole story.

By the end, her only comment had been a surly, "Well, she could have written us another letter or given us a call to let us know she was okay."

Bo had waited for another moment but when it became apparent that that was all Kenzi was going to say, she prompted her best friend. "So?"

Kenzi then gave her a searching look and asked, "What about you, Bo-Bo? How are you feeling about all this?"

Bo had sighed then and let herself collapse on the couch where Kenzi followed her shortly to snuggle for comfort.

"I don't know. I'm happy and confused, and-and sad and angry. I don't know what I feel, Kenz!" Bo said in frustration. "I don't even know where to start making sense of all this. I finally found Lauren but it's no longer her. She's this... stranger."

"Because she's a guy now," Kenzi said, making a face.

"No, not just that. She's not a guy, or well, she is a guy, and yes, that's a drastic change, but there's something else. Something inside her and not just her physical appearance."

"Still. The turning-into-a-guy thing was really clever of her," Kenzi said, looking thoughtful. "How do you think she did that?" Bo imagined that Lauren's disguise had inspired her wig-loving friend; she just hoped Kenzi never tried to imitate the doctor.

"Anyway," Bo said, putting them back on track, "what about you? What do you think?"

Kenzi shrugged. "It doesn't matter what I think right? I'm not the one who was pining for her."

"Kenzi," Bo had practically whined then. She wondered where the angry girl from earlier went, only to be replaced by this restrained, nonchalant one.

"What do you want me to say, Bo? The doc and I are never going to be best buds. I hate her guts for leaving you and I want to punch her out if I see her face," Kenzi said, and began to show some of her former heat. But the anger in her voice was the extent of it because she remained calm as she continued. "I think she should have stayed and worked it out with you, or at the very least, she should have had the decency to say goodbye to your face. But like I said, it's not my opinion that matters. I only care what happens to you and how you'll be affected by her 'return'," she finished, complete with finger quotes.

"You're no help at all," Bo said, unable to keep from pouting.

Kenzi sighed. "Like you told her, she's not the only one who's changed. We're not the same people we were last year too. And I'm sure she knows that, so... I don't know, what is she going to do about it? What's going to happen now?" Kenzi stood up to pace. "Sure, we're supposed to keep her secret but how long? And what if the Morrigan found out that we knew, what is she going to do to us?" Kenzi looked concerned but not worried. Bo had faced the Morrigan enough times that they had gotten 'comfortable' with her as their opponent.

"I don't know, Kenz," Bo admitted, looking down.

That was where the conversation more or less ended and here they were in the car, three days later, still on a 'Lauren-limbo', so to speak.

Bo had been grateful to get the call from Dyson about the new case, even if she was still pissed at him for his part in Lauren's disappearance.

Speaking of which, Bo turned to look at her best friend who was still speaking to the shifter in question.

Kenzi's voice was a tad cooler than it usually was regarding the wolf, but Bo hadn't been the only one irritated with Dyson's underhandedness. Kenzi had been disappointed to learn of Dyson's actions and was further irritated because keeping Lauren's secret meant not being able to "chew that mutt" properly.

For now, Bo was going to ignore what Dyson did and let Kenzi deal with him. When time came and the secret was revealed, she would be sure to have an appropriate punishment waiting for the wolf.

xxx

Kenzi was listening with a half-ear to Dyson and adding appropriate umms, and yeahs at proper intervals but most of her concentration was still on her best friend. She noted the slow, wicked grin that appeared and for a second, wondered what Bo was thinking. Then she decided that she didn't want to know after all.

That evil grin had appeared often enough in the past year that Kenzi had learned to associate it to QB Bo, and judging from the mayhem that usually resulted afterwards she was really better off not knowing what triggered this one. It was just one more thing she had learned to live with regarding her best friend.

Kenzi stole another glance at Bo. She knew that she really should be more careful about the staring thing because her best friend was getting creeped out, but she couldn't help herself.

She was waiting for the big blow-out.

Bo had been sad and anxious when she told her about Lauren and Kenzi couldn't believe that was the extent of her reaction. She knew Bo too well, to believe that was the end of it.

Kenzi directed one more positive hum to her phone before Dyson finally said goodbye. Bo raised a questioning eyebrow at her when she put her phone away but Kenzi just shrugged it off.

When Bo turned back to the road, Kenzi let her mind drift again.

No, she thought, taking one last look at Bo. She did know this Bo, but this was also a 'new' Bo. This was the Bo of last year, the Bo without Lauren.

Now that Lauren was back, would Bo revert to the old her?, she worried. Was it even possible after all the changes?

Kenzi thought of the past year. It had been a hard year for all of them, but it was especially hard for her to watch her best friend change to this person before her now.

It wasn't like she didn't like this new Bo, but sometimes, Kenzi missed the simpler times.

This Bo was..., Kenzi struggled with a proper way to describe the change until it suddenly came to her. Inhibitions.

This Bo was less inhibited.

It started with the eyes first, flashing blue all the time, and the outbursts of temper that had scared Kenzi into doing her chores.

Bo had been easy going most of the time, which was why she was a perfect house mate for Kenzi. But she began to become... more intense.

It was too late when they noticed the changes and Kenzi still blamed herself a little for that. She imagined sometimes that if they had caught it early, that maybe something could have been done for Bo.

But Lauren's disappearance had distracted all of them. When Bo had been too angry, or too reckless, they all told themselves that Bo was only acting out her feelings of worry and loss. After all, Lauren hadn't only been a friend, she was the succubus' lover. And unlike with the runaway Dyson's case, Lauren was human and more fragile. Everyone had been eager to excuse Bo's actions back then as a sign of her fear for the doctor.

And when Bo had started to become more aggressive with her feeding and became too violent to people that opposed her in the cases they handled, they figured that she was just venting her anger and trying to move on.

It hadn't helped that Bo was suddenly hailed Champion by both sides too. Before, Bo had been considered at best, a useful pawn for her neutrality as both sides utilized her investigation services, and at worst, an annoying pest who poked her nose in people's business, despite having no affiliation. After the battle with the Garuda, Bo had suddenly become someone important. If they recognized her, people took their time to greet her or even buy her an occasional drink at the bar. And while Kenzi would never deny that she had enjoyed that attention, she hadn't been as happy with the other changes it brought to their lives. She had learned quickly that free drinks hadn't been the only consequence of the rise in their popularity: it had also meant Bo becoming more embroiled with fae politics until she was even considered an unofficial advisor of the new Ash.

Kenzi knew now that the power rush of that new position must've proved irresistible to QB Bo.

Unfortunately for all of them, they hadn't recognized the QB until much later, when Bo had started draining her food sources too much: no outright killing - at least, not yet - but leaving them so weak that they required medical treatment.

By then, it became clear that there was something else wrong with Bo.

They had all banded together to stage an intervention for the succubus, but it still took months before Bo began to improve.

Kenzi always compared that time with their early days in fae world, when Bo had been learning how to feed and control herself. The difference was that last year, there had been no help from a Light Fae doctor - no effective help, anyway - and it had been more painful and tiring to watch.

Kenzi had developed a theory, as she watched Bo struggle with her control again, and believed that the reason the succubus had a more difficult time this time around was because of fear. In the beginning, Bo had been afraid and running away from herself for most of her life. She had been motivated with a need to stop hurting people and it helped her gain that control easily.

This time though, Bo had to fight with herself. Part of her genuinely enjoyed the power she possessed - especially the part where she didn't have to restrain herself anymore - and Kenzi thought that it had been hard for her to go back to being cautious and on guard and "good". She had a taste of being "bad" and she hadn't wanted to let it go.

Through it all, Kenzi had stood by her best friend. She helped pull her from the brink again and again, and comforted the succubus at her lowest days.

That was why she had been so happy when Bo and Dyson got together. Because Kenzi thought Dyson was a solid rock for the succubus to lean on, and someone who could help her forget her worries.

And that was why, she couldn't indulge her own grudge against Lauren right now. She needed to be there for Bo and watch out for her, as she always did.

xxx

They arrived at the place first, and decided to go ahead without waiting for Dyson. The case this time was about the death of a Light Fae and Dyson had asked for their help because the fae had resided - and been killed - in a neutral slum area that was actually heavily populated by Dark Fae. He had anticipated some problems with the locals, especially with information gathering, and opted to ask Bo's help instead of going to the Morrigan.

Bo was first confused at the marked lack of police outside, before she remembered that news of this death was reported via fae channels. Dyson hadn't bothered to include the human police in this.

The apartment door was already open but Bo stopped abruptly when she heard voices inside. She grabbed Kenzi's arm and motioned for silence, as they quietly crept closer to the door.

The sight that greeted them was a big shock.

There were three people in the room - two males and one female - formed in a half circle and all were looking down on something - probably the body - blocked by a couch. Lauren was one of them.

It took Kenzi a couple of seconds before she realized this and then she yanked Bo away, and began to whisper, "That's Lauren right? Lewis something? That's her?!"

"Yes," Bo whispered back.

"Are you sure? Why is she here?" Kenzi paused to give her a look. "You didn't tell her, did you?"

"No!" Bo protested. "Of course not! I don't even have a way to contact her, except for that bar."

"Okay, good." Kenzi relaxed for a second before she remembered her other question. "Why is she here then?"

Bo grew frustrated. "I don't know, Kenz." She shrugged. "Dyson did say that this is nearly Dark Fae territory. Maybe they were checking in?"

"And who are those people with her?" Kenzi continued, half ignoring Bo.

They were both startled by a loud voice that suddenly filled the hallway.

"Ah, see! I knew I heard someone!"

It was the other blonde male from the room and he looked at them with cheerful curiosity. "What're you guys doing here?" he asked. "I don't think anyone's supposed to be here right now." He turned to back to the room. "Hey doc, did you ask for back up?"

Bo was sure that he was talking to Lauren so it was a surprise to hear the female voice answer instead. "No, I didn't. Who is it?"

Bo regained her composure then and started walking confidently towards the guy, evaluating him at the same time. He was good-looking in a "freshness of youth" kinda way, and she was momentarily distracted by the thought of how his chi would taste. Fortunately, Kenzi was there to keep her on track.

"You're Dark Fae right?" she asked, also eyeing the guy intently. Her look was more suspicious than hungry, though.

At the guy's nod, Kenzi continued. "But this is a Light Fae victim. What're you guys doing here?"

The guy was looking at Kenzi like she was a dog that suddenly started talking, but he was backing away from her approach too.

They both stopped when they reached the threshold and Bo saw that Lauren and the unknown woman had moved closer to the door. Bo was also irritated to note that Lauren wasn't even paying attention to them. Her gaze was firmly set on the blonde guy and she looked amused.

"Hey, what's this?" Lauren spoke up and Bo was startled to hear that male, husky voice coming from her. Beside her, she could see that Kenzi too had stiffened in surprise.

Bo suddenly realized that this wasn't Lauren, but Lewis. And for all intents and purposes, he was still a stranger to Bo.

"Is the puppy scared of the little girl?" Lauren, no Lewis continued, smirking at the blonde guy.

Kenzi hissed at that but she made no other move.

They both watched in astonishment as the guy gave a low growl and pounced on Lewis, starting an impromptu wrestling match.

Bo's first reaction had been to rescue Lauren/Lewis, but she stopped when she heard him laugh in delight.

It was like an electric shock to her system, paralyzing her in place.

She had never heard Lauren laugh like that before. Loud and carefree, like she had no worries in the world.

The Lauren in her memories had smiled and chuckled softly and one time, even giggled, but she had never laughed like she was really happy. She had been too serious most of the time.

A part of Bo was stung that it hadn't been her who caused that laugh but mostly, she just felt a sense of gladness filling her. There was something refreshing and enticing about that laugh that she found herself wanting to join in.

Before she could do anything do, the other woman had intervene with a sharp, "Stop it, you two!" She didn't really seem angry, but her voice indicated her exasperation when she muttered, "Boys!" and continued with, "Aidan, get off of Anders, please."

"Sure thing, doc," Lewis said, fixing his clothes as he moved away from the guy called Anders. He looked sheepish as he apologized to the woman. "Sorry about that, but I can safely say that he started it."

"Hey!" Anders protested, glaring at Lewis playfully.

The doctor turned back to the them. "I'm sorry about that. What were you saying before? You're Light Fae?" She began to look suspicious.

Bo pulled her gaze away from Lewis and stepped in to introduce herself. "I'm Bo."

As she expected, everyone's attitude visibly shifted, even Lewis', which was another surprise.

"The Bo? Champion of the Fae?" Anders asked interestedly.

Bo barely hid a proud smirk. Despite everything that had happened, she still couldn't help but feel a thrill whenever her name evoked an awed response.

"Yeah, that's me," she answered and then turned to her best friend. "This is Kenzi."

Anders gave Kenzi a curious look but the other two barely looked at her. Bo could almost feel Kenzi's affront to that, but she ignored it for now. "A Light Fae detective called us about this case, and he's on his way here now. He didn't mention Dark Fae coming in?"

"This is Dark Fae territory," the woman boldly said.

"Uh, no it's not. This is neutral territory," Kenzi said, unable to hold herself back anymore. Bo noticed that she was still shooting watchful glances at Lewis, but the other guy was still ignoring her.

"Your human's pretty mouthy," she commented, pointedly directing her words to Bo and ignoring Kenzi.

"She's not just my human, she's my best friend," Bo answered back and continued without pause. "And she's right. This is neutral territory. Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Oh, that's right. We haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Dr. Marian Sabel, this is Dr. Aidan and that's just Anders."

Anders shot Dr. Sabel a wounded look, "Hey!" and then growled at Lewis when he caught the other guy's soft snort.

"Right, so..." Bo faltered, realizing that she wasn't sure what to do now. What was the protocol for this kind of thing?, she thought, sending the question to Kenzi via her eyes. Kenzi widened her eyes, and shrugged, a reply that clearly translated to: Why are you asking me? I don't know.

Bo thought for a second before she declared, "The Light Fae detective is coming soon, so you guys can discuss territory issues then. In the meantime, we'll look around for clues."

The Dark Fae all looked at each other for a second before Dr. Sabel said, "That would be fine."

Bo gave her a nod and their little circle broke up as everybody began to move around. Bo found herself following Lewis and stopped when she saw the body for the first time.

It was almost a stretch to call it a body because it seemed like half of it had melted into a puddle. Bo suddenly realized that the delicious-meat smell she had been sniffing for the past ten minutes had been this unfortunate guy.

Kenzi too seemed to have that realization because she had paled dramatically and began to back away from the body.

Although Bo wasn't usually queasy, this one affected her more than most so she followed Kenzi into the bedroom.

They puttered around the victim's things for a while until Kenzi got a text from Dyson that he was on his way up. They were about to exit the room when Bo stopped to watch to the conversation outside. Kenzi sidled beside her to watch as well.

It seemed like Anders and Lewis had been wrestling again - an event that was still boggling Bo's mind, considering Lauren's former aloofness. It was also the one thing that hammered into her mind that this person was not Lauren, but was Lewis instead.

Dr. Sabel had her hands on her hips and was in the middle of scolding the two. "You almost stepped on the body! What is wrong with you two? Especially you, Lewis!" She gave big sigh. "No, wait, don't tell me. You're punishing me, aren't you? Because I told you I didn't miss you and I didn't need you here?"

They all felt the atmosphere change when Lewis gave her a lazy grin and sauntered closer to the other doctor. "You got me." He stepped closer to Dr. Sabel, breaching her personal bubble casually. Bo watched him lean closer, his lips barely brushing the woman's ear, as he whispered something with that sensual smirk on his face. She saw the woman's face grow red with embarrassment and saw the confirmation of her reaction in the jagged spike in her aura.

Bo felt a mixture of arousal and fury engulf her and the only thing that stopped her from storming into the pair and pulling them apart was Kenzi's hitched gasp at her side. She turned to look at her in concern and saw that she had gone slightly pale.

"Kenz?" she asked worriedly.

"This isn't happening." Bo heard Kenzi whisper before her friend turned to her with wide eyes.

Bo was about to ask again when she noticed that Kenzi's aura had also spiked significantly and realization bloomed in her eyes.

Kenzi had continued speaking, although she seemed to be talking to herself now. "I can't believe I find him hot! That's...that's like Dark magic, right? Ugh. I think I need some air. " She shook her head and began to walk away, "No, I definitely do."

Bo looked at her for a second before she remembered Lewis' (Lauren!) flirting and turned to see that they were now laughing good-naturedly.

"My mate would kill you if he knew how you like to corrupt me, doctor," she said to a grinning Lewis.

Lewis was about to reply when a male voice cut him off, drawing all their attention.

"What's this?" Dyson had finally arrived and was glaring at the Dark Fae with suspicion.

It took a while before they finally settled to "share" the crime scene but Bo didn't get a chance to talk to Lewis privately. She was also disappointed to see the he was still ignoring her - or rather, politely treating her as a stranger - and didn't seem to be too concerned whenever Dyson put his arm around her, who was acting more possessive than usual and glaring at the other "guy".

It was only later, when they were all leaving, that Bo got the chance to get close to Lewis and whisper a soft, "I want to see you tonight. Same place?"

Lewis' nod was almost imperceptible but Bo saw it and relaxed for the first time since she stepped out of the car.

Yet another A/N: When I first imagined this scene, I haven't seen the Lost Girl trailer yet where Bo turns "bad". I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to guess a little bit of what's in the succubus' future. However, as you can see, my Bo is less "dark" than the one on the show. But actually, I think right now, I'm more interested to see in how far they could take Bo in that path. I kinda wish I could do that in this story too, but as you all know by now (if you've read some of my other stories), I'm really Lauren-centric - so she's the one I've pushed to that sorta darkness.

Well, this ramble is mostly pointless so to make up for that... next up: another Lauren and Bo heart to heart. And probably a bit more Jealous!Bo. :D