The mornings become Lauren's favorite times. She's always been inclined to face the day early, but opening her eyes to Tamsin's squashed face makes her infinitely more so. Weekends find Lauren either dragging her reluctant girlfriend behind her to the park, or stretching a "wake-up call" into a two-hour affair that totally counts as rigorous exercise.
On weekdays, though, when Tamsin hasn't had the night shift the night before and Lauren feels her usual itch to be productive, they prepare for the day together. Lauren fits seamlessly into the familiarity they mold, until she can look up from her coffee and see Tamsin smiling at her over the rim the cup.
They take each day as it comes.
Tamsin also starts driving her to work every morning. It doesn't matter how many times Lauren protests that Tamsin needs all the sleep she can get, her girlfriend just holds the passenger door open and taps her foot impatiently against the gravel until Lauren huffs and gets inside.
Today Lauren pauses with the door cracked open, one foot in the entryway, and they kiss with the mid-autumn leaves swirling into the corridor. The chill in the air is brand-new, so Lauren catches the last of summer's warmth with a hand on Tamsin's cheek.
She looks down.
"You're wearing your uniform."
Tamsin blinks. "Yeah? We're sort of supposed to when we show up at work. Am I missing something here?"
"No, no-" Lauren says, shaking her head and smiling. They'd had an eventful night, and needless to say, Lauren would have to completely reorganize the briefcase that Tamsin had yanked out of her hands as she'd pulled Lauren over the couch and onto their floor. That, and her girlfriend owed her a new dress shirt. A closet of dress shirts.
"Then what?"
"I just like seeing it on you, miss sarcasm. Don't get a swelled head."
Tamsin's grin and stance widen as she snags her (completely unnecessary and rarely worn) uniform cap off its peg. She pulls the brim low on her brow and Lauren's eye rolls grow exponentially more pronounced.
She loves it, actually adores it when Tamsin gets silly, but it's not like that information needs to be disclosed.
"Never thought the uniform did anything for you." Tamsin smirks. "If you're lucky, maybe I'll pull you over one night, ask you to show me some identification?"
"Glad to see all your police training went to productive avenues."
"Oh come on, you can't tell me the cop thing wasn't at least a little hot." Tamsin laughs, "Or else all of this just went to waste. You know, I never really had to wear my uniform all the time when you'd just moved in, I just wanted to impress you."
"You didn't?"
Tamsin snorts.
"Of course not. The collar itches and it's a fucking bitch to dry-clean. You doctors and your scrubs and lab coats don't know how much it takes to look this good." Tamsin twists her cap so it slants to the right and covers about half her face. Her hair falls in loops over her ears.
"Right, because my scrubs and lab coats didn't get you going either. God, I was wearing hospital gear when you first ran into me in the park, and if I seem to remember, you were the one who did the double take." Lauren teases. "To each her own, Officer."
Tamsin's smile widens and she puts a clearly intentional hand on Lauren's waist, but before they can both be late to their jobs, Lauren's phone goes off. She looks down, and sees Ciara's name pop up on the screen.
"Hello?"
"Lauren! Oh, thank God I got a hold of you!"
Lauren shoots Tamsin a worried look.
"Yes, yes, of course. I'm headed there now. What do you need?"
Lauren listens intently, then lets the arm holding the phone drop to her side. She looks at Tamsin with blank eyes for a second, but then, like a bottle shaken and the lid popped off, she's grabbed her briefcase and shut and locked the door in one abrupt motion. Tamsin holds her hand open and Lauren drops the car keys into her palm.
"Lauren?"
"Tamsin, I know I always tell you to drive under the speed limit. Well, ignore that. Drive as fast as you can get away with."
"What?"
Lauren's false levity dissolves as Tamsin cocks a concerned eyebrow, and the sound of an alarm pierces the morning silence.
"Someone's broken into the hospital."
Tamsin regrets taking Lauren's car, because if it was her own she'd be speeding through red lights and pushing the speedometer to the barest fringes of tolerance. She feels Lauren's agitated state, physically; she's vibrating in her seat, her fingers flying over the keyboard of her phone as she texts Ciara back and forth. Quickly afterwards, texts aren't enough.
"Are you sure you're not hurt?" are the first words out of Lauren's mouth. She waits.
"It's on the fourth floor! Why on earth would someone go through that much trouble?"
"No, of course I haven't."
Lauren sucks in air through her teeth and Tamsin drops a hand from the steering wheel to clasp it around her girlfriend's.
"…only mine? I don't understand, there's nothing valuable in there, Andrews's lab has the safe in plain view, for Christ's sake-"
"…"
"Okay, we're pulling up to the hospital now. See you."
Tamsin sprawls across two parking spaces in her haste. Their hands separate so they can exit the car but snap back together as if magnetized, their footsteps keeping perfect pace as Lauren dashes through a practiced route to the atrium, the waiting rooms. The elevators, predictably, have been shut off.
Their footsteps echo through the empty stairwell.
Lauren bursts through the door and Ciara's worried face greets them behind a few layers of caution tape, startlingly yellow against that unique hospital white. As Tamsin watches them embrace she lulls herself into the false belief that everything is okay- no one is hurt and that's what matters.
But there's a reason for the caution tape.
Tamsin looks beyond the two of them and her blood runs cold.
There's something about broken glass that's so violent; jagged edges stabbing the air, scattered pieces across the floor, a whole rack of test tubes and beakers that only add to the glittering mess in front of them. A few bullet casings roll underfoot.
Tamsin looks closer, and realizes that the other labs along the hall are spotless, undisturbed. All the mess comes from one source. But in one, there is no equipment spared. Computers are smashed and parts of machines Tamsin didn't know existed are in pieces on every surface. Heavy, booted footprints have ground pieces of glass to dust, glittering below.
Lauren's lab.
Someone has broken into- and destroyed- her girlfriend's lab. That Lauren, if she'd been there at her usual ridiculous time, would have been inside.
Someone has called the police, obviously, and Tamsin's radio comes to life on her hip with the most basic of details of the crime. It doesn't really encapsulate what's actually happening- it never does. Curious janitors and staff mill around, whispering, and Tamsin quickly dials down the volume on her radio, but Lauren doesn't act like she's hearing any of it.
The doctor is standing with one hand over her mouth, and when Tamsin whispers, "Are you okay?" in her ear Lauren only waves her on.
Tamsin crouches as close as she dares to one of the footprints, outlined in smashed glass. She pulls out her phone and begins to document the evidence, and for a second there is only the flashing click of the camera as everyone waits with baited breath. No way is she going to risk the evidence by fumbling around.
She just needs to keep everyone calm.
Lauren coughs.
There's a fair amount of dust kicked up by their hurried breach of the room, and from the light streaming in through the broken window all she can see are the dust motes floating about.
But she can't move to wipe away the ones that fall on her clothes or on Tamsin's or Ciara's, because someone has destroyed her lab.
Someone has targeted Dr. Lauren Lewis and marked her, in no uncertain terms, to be attacked.
There literally is not a piece of unbroken equipment in the room. They even broke the eye-wash station, for crying out loud. Tamsin is the detective in the family but she doesn't need to ask to know that this crime wasn't about theft.
This is about intimidation.
Her lab, her friend-
"Ciara, are you-"
"Ciara's fine, because she clearly wasn't the target of whatever these jerks wanted." The woman quips, her arm stroking a permanent, comforting circle on Lauren's back. "I should be asking you if you're okay."
Already Lauren hears the squeaking of the janitor's cart approaching, doubtless at Evony's command to get rid of the mess as soon as possible. It's bad publicity to have someone break into your hospital when there are patients ten feet away on life support, Lauren imagines. Soon all of this will be gone.
The clacking of heels announces Evony's appearance.
Lauren hasn't had much contact with the other woman since their incident a few months prior. Something about being brutally rejected in a parking lot sours even the best of relationships, and since theirs had been built on a foundation of authority rather than genuine interest- well, Lauren doesn't blame Evony for ignoring her. She'd not made much effort either. They behaved like wisps around each other, aware of the other's presence but rarely acknowledging it.
To no one's surprise, Evony is dressed like she's going to an inauguration. For herself.
But the perfection is marred by her fury when she sees the four of them, and an empty laboratory. Lauren bites down hard on her lip when she sees Evony's face.
"What the HELL is going on here?" The woman thunders, her high heels crushing bits of plaster and glass as she strides towards the two of them.
Luckily, neither she nor Ciara get a chance to respond before Tamsin steps forward and pulls out her badge. Her hat is still askew on her head.
"I'm Officer Skarsten, ma'am. Am I right in assuming you are Evony Marquise, administrator of this hospital?"
Evony is clearly taken aback by this woman, this unexpected police officer that seems to be clutching her best doctor's hand while holding a police officer's badge with the other.
"Yes, that is correct. Now who the blazes are you?"
Tamsin's eyes narrow.
"I'm the person who's going to catch whoever did this."
They end up taking Lauren and Ciara to the station to give their reports. Tamsin is shuttled into a different car after refusing multiple times to leave their side, and Lauren gets only one more glimpse of her before she disappears through a different set of double doors with armful of papers.
Lauren clasps Ciara's hand tightly and only lets go when she goes in to give her interview. Ciara disappears and Lauren is left alone.
A sort of drowsy silence covers the station; only the soft hum of the lights and a vague sound of clacking computer keyboards disturb the peace. Lauren looks around, spots a set of plastic chairs near the door where Tamsin left.
She's headed in that direction when a voice breaks the stillness.
"Miss Lewis, over here." She turns around to see a large, burly man approaching her, a bottle of water in one hand and the other outstretched to her. His uniform is a mass of wrinkles and droplets of water bead his ruffled hair; in short, he looks exactly like Tamsin does when she stumbles out of bed for the pre-dawn shift, and the tightness eating into Lauren's temples ceases for a moment as she smiles in understanding. "I'm Bill, Tamsin's partner on the force. It's wonderful to finally meet the woman she's always talking about."
"Call me Lauren, please." Lauren says automatically, shaking his hand, pride straightening her spine a little at the mention of Tamsin's name. She tries to keep her eyes on his face but can't help scanning the station, the place where Tamsin spent so much time recently. "Thank you for everything, for being with her through all of this. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."
"Psshhh. I didn't do shit, she was the one who saved me before we'd even met. It's my pleasure to work with her, trust me. But I understand you and I will be the ones working together this morning. Water?" He hands her the bottle, and catches her glancing at the empty desk where Tamsin's nametag is placed.
"She's still briefing the chief, getting the paperwork together. Something like this happens and if you don't document everything, it'll be a total shitshow later. Do you want to wait for her to get here before I start our interview?"
"I didn't think third parties were allowed in interviews."
Bill breaks into a wide grin.
"You're right, it's completely a violation of policy. But fuck that- if you want her inside, we can wait."
Lauren considers, then shakes her head.
"No, it's alright. It won't take too long, right? I could be out at the same time she is."
"Should be, yeah. Well, if you're sure, then come with me."
They go into one of the interrogation rooms, dark and dim and cool, and Lauren squirms a little in the uncomfortable chair. It unnerves her to think of who else has probably sat in the same chair- murderers, maybe. Bill doesn't seem to be bothered, but opens the file in front of him, uncaps his pen, and leans back in his chair.
"The front took care of all identification, but I still need some for the tape. Name and date of birth, please."
"Lauren Lewis."
"Why were you at approximately 5:00 this morning?"
"I was at home, getting ready for work. I would usually already be in the hospital by then, but I was running a little late this morning. Tamsin- excuse me, Officer Skarsten, was about to drive me there."
"Hmm, good. Can you tell us your occupation and relationship with Miss Marquise and her clinic?"
"I'm employed as a doctor there. Well, technically a resident- I'm not exactly a doctor yet." She scrambles to extract her hospital identification from her pocket. "But I've been working in a doctor's capacity for a while now, conducting research, seeing patients. Miss Marquise can vouch for that."
Bill's eyebrows raise from behind his clipboard.
"Tamsin said you were smart, but I didn't know you were that smart. Well done, Lewis."
"Thank you."
Lauren dips her head in acceptance of the compliment.
"Your relationship with the staff? Anyone you think you've pissed off lately?"
Lauren searches and searches, and comes up empty. She's had nearly an hour to think about it, on the ride to the station and every second that she'd stood outside the lab, but still comes up empty. No, she has no fucking clue who would do this.
Bill chews on his pen in deep thought before tossing it and the clipboard to the table with a clatter.
"Sorry, I just- I hate these formal interviews. I'm just going to talk to you, that alright?"
"Sure."
Bill clasps his hands around the back of his head and leans back in his chair.
"Start from the beginning, when you showed up at the hospital. Your fellow doctor already explained what she saw, but I'm interested in what you did. Anything you noticed, anything at all- you never know if it could be important."
Lauren stares at the white plastic table in front of her, and tries her hardest to remember.
"I was working on some sensitive material, patients with some of the undiagnosed diseases, blood samples of unknown origin. Nothing dangerous or useful as a bioweapon, though. I don't have any outstanding contracts with anyone other than Miss Marquise."
"Was there anything particularly valuable in your lab?"
"Chemicals, I guess, and um…we have some expensive equipment. But they smashed those and nothing seemed to be missing., just spilled all over the place. I'd have to check how much we had, but you'd think they'd be more careful if they intended to steal it."
"You're right about that."
Lauren takes a deep breath and thinks long and hard. A fellow jealous doctor? A patient? Suddenly, something comes to mind.
"Tamsin- I don't know what Tamsin's allowed to tell me-"
"She told you about our drug operation, didn't she. Dirty heroin, right?" Bill asks flatly, pulling the pen he's been chewing out of his mouth. Lauren glances wildly about, practically confirming that yes, Tamsin had broken protocol by telling her pretty much everything that was supposed to be confidential. But before she can formulate a halfway convincing poker face, Bill clamps his teeth back down on the pen. "Yeah, she probably shouldn't have told you, but I'm not going to bust you for that. That's not how anything gets done. I'm assuming she sent you a sample to work on, right?"
"She did. And I was making serious progress among some of the patients. Something like that, a cure for whatever poison you're finding in the heroin, would be valuable. I assume that what they were really after."
Bill fiddles with his hands, intrigued.
"We'll make a detective of you yet, doctor. That's exactly what I'm thinking. Now, the question is, how did they know?"
Lauren shrugs, helplessly.
"I mean, no one has access to that lab but me and Ciara. And she wouldn't do anything, ever, to hurt me."
"Hmm."
Lauren sits up straighter and fixes Bill with an iron stare.
"She wouldn't."
"I believe you, trust me." Bill stares right back. "But I'm in the business of finding out the truth, and that means I take no chances. You understand."
Lauren has no choice but to nod.
They chat for a few more minutes, but as it becomes clear that Lauren really has no idea who might have done the deed, Bill turns off the tape, stows away his pen and clipboard. He unlocks the door and guides her out, back into the brightly lit hallway. Before they reach the foyer, however, he touches Lauren on the shoulder and they stop, Lauren glancing curiously at him.
His hair is graying at the temples. She hadn't noticed it before.
"Look." Bill begins, and sighs. "Tamsin loves you."
Something clicks into place.
Something sparks in Lauren's chest.
At the same time, when her surprise must give her away, Bill's mouth drops open.
"Oh shit. Oh shit, oh fuck, she hasn't told you yet, has she? I mean, she hasn't told me either, I swear, I just assumed -"
"No, no." Lauren quickly says, a little dazed. "I guess- no, she hasn't told me. But it's okay."
Bill still looks devastated.
"Oh Lord, I'm an asshole."
"Bill, really-"
"The reason that I know- you're all that she talks about outside of work. She doesn't go out with the rest of the squad because she wants every moment with you. She's asked my wife for tips and shit on how to make this police-officer thing work, and don't ask me what they are because I have no fucking clue how she does it."
That's a surprise. A nice one that warms all of Lauren inside and out. Bill blows out a breath.
"Just- it's all temporary, okay? It's a skin we put on now that we shed later when the job's done. She's doing what she must- and I bet my hide she's the very best at it. Don't worry until you need to."
Lauren shakes her head.
"I worry anyway. By the time it's necessary, it'll be too late."
"I get that. But Lauren, it's not assured. Don't put yourself through that or you'll drive yourself and Tamsin crazy."
Lauren opens her mouth to retort, but just like every other time she'd dared to ponder the subject, her mouth won't quite obey her.
"Is there- tell me the truth, is there something serious where Tamsin goes every night? Is there a chance one of you could be hurt doing whatever you do?"
Bill leans against the opposite wall.
"I can't assure you of anything. But yes, it has the potential to be dangerous. No promises one of us won't be caught in it, and won't be hurt in the process. I've never been a liar."
The force of Lauren's fear locks her throat in icy chains.
"But pessimism is the real poison in this profession. We've all got each other's backs here, you can be damn sure of that. I'd take anything headed Tamsin's way before I'd let her do take it. I've been here longer, anyway."
"I don't need you to do that."
She does, actually. She needs everyone in the world to go into danger before Tamsin does. It's an impossible wish in an impossible path, but damn if she didn't wish it anyway. Lauren's eyes burn as she forces them not to water. Damnit, eyes.
"The worst is never inevitable. All we can do, we will, to come back. Okay?"
Lauren takes a deep breath. Reality rushes in.
"Okay."
Tamsin is the first thing Lauren sees when they walk back into the foyer, her ankles locked tightly together as she leans forcibly against the wall, arms folded. Her shoulders slump in relief when she spots them, a visible shudder through Tamsin's body. Some instinct, something deeper than fear, seizes Lauren at the sight of her.
Tamsin is here. She's here, in a moment that she might not be again.
"Is there a place we could go? I just need to talk to you." She whispers urgently, staggering a little with her eagerness to get out, get out. Tamsin supports her, holds her up. Her girlfriend smells like cinderblock and detergent, intrusively unfamiliar to the scent Lauren usually breathes in every other time she sees her. Tamsin nods, a little concerned.
"Yeah, yeah, of course. What about Ciara?"
"She's taking the day off, she's already gone home. But I really do need to talk to you.
Tamsin steers them through the hallways, checking to make sure no one is around before opening the door to the locker rooms. She does another check before she guides Lauren inside, and their mixed breaths echo in the emptiness.
The room is dark enough that Lauren can't make out the look on Tamsin's face. Tamsin locks the door behind them but doesn't turn on the lights.
"I'm practically the only one who uses this place. Perks of being one of the only female workers in this police station. Now, what did you want to-"
Lauren kisses her, and Tamsin has nowhere to go but back against the metal of the lockers, startled hands automatically coming up to cup Lauren's face. But it takes a mere second to sink into the doctor and Tamsin sighs, savoring the ever-welcome closeness of her, the softness and the movement and the stress draining from her as quickly as they came.
Lauren's body is trembling as she kisses Tamsin again, harder, shaking with tension, arousal, and yes, fear. She guides Tamsin's hands to the small of her back, clasps them there, venturing forward with just her hips to bring the two of them together.
Tamsin kisses her back hungrily, taking whatever contact she can get, but when she hears vague footsteps through the wall, she jerks back.
"Lauren, anyone could come in-"
"You said it yourself, you're the only one who uses this room. The door's locked. Just you and me."
"Lauren."
Lauren grasps her collar.
"Shhh."
Tamsin just stands there in the darkness, silent, listening to the harsh rhythm of Lauren's breaths and letting the warmth of her seep in through her clothes. Lauren fidgets but never breaks her gaze, her fingertips frozen at the clasp of the first button on Tamsin's shirt.
When Lauren moves in again Tamsin doesn't protest.
It's been too long since she's done this. Not sex, though if she had any choice she would never let Lauren leave their bedroom again. But the strum of unbearable longing , the ache of wanting someone right here, right now, and with the opportunity to just take at her fingertips.
She's missed this.
Lauren licks her lips and Tamsin watches the movement of her tongue, those lips that make her imagination run wild- but Lauren doesn't seem to be a mood for just watching. When Lauren waits for a nod of confirmation, a sign, anything, and Tamsin whispers, "Okay," her voice is gritty around the edges with how much she wants her.
They meet in another kiss. Tamsin digs her heels in hard against the wall, and smiles.
The sound of Lauren unbuckling her belt seems to echo through the locker rooms and Tamsin makes a swift assurance that the door is indeed locked. Lauren's hand pushes inside her uniform, gently cupping her breast, and Tamsin shivers all over like she's been shocked. Electricity seems to spark from her fingertips when she rakes blunt nails down the nipple.
Moisture. Moisture and heat, pooling between her legs, between her lips. Implicit in Lauren's eyes.
"You're mine." Lauren mumbles, and her mouth nips along Tamsin's neck and collarbone, experimenting with soft kisses and harder bites, until Tamsin doesn't have to look down to know that her entire chest is flushed and hot from the attention Lauren is paying to her. Her shirt is torn open, her bra pushed out of the way because Lauren's tongue doesn't stop tasting long enough to bother with it. Lauren's shoulders dip and Tamsin's nipple is in her mouth, her burning, magic mouth working as if Tamsin's life depends on it.
"Lauren, Lauren-" Tamsin pants, and unclasps her bra herself.
Her girlfriend surges up again and swallows her words, lips kiss-swollen, an obscene sort of pop as Tamsin's breast is released into the now-chilly air. Goosebumps rise up on her flesh, as Lauren unzips her pants. That sound is going to haunt her. She won't ever enter this room again without hearing it.
Tamsin wraps her arms around Lauren's neck and deepens the kiss, no escaping, and the metal at her back rapidly warms to the heat of their bodies, crashing together over and over again. She sucks Lauren's bottom lip between her own and tangles their tongues together. They kiss for what seems like hours, like the rest of the world has faded from existence.
They break for breath. Lauren's breasts brush against her own, nipples hard and sensitive through layers of fabric, and when Tamsin drags a hand down her girlfriend's body and into the waistband of her panties, her fingers come away damp.
Lauren falters and Tamsin flips them so Lauren crashes against the lockers, a crash that echoes through the cavernous room. Tamsin doesn't care. She kisses Lauren hungrily, running her hands up her girlfriend's sides and to her chest, cupping heavy breasts as her mouth works its way down Lauren's neck. Lauren's chest rises and falls in perfect time, her skin flushed, and Tamsin runs her hands over her body in an attempt to cover it all. She fails, and tries again.
Lauren's soaking down her thighs when Tamsin sucks two fingers into her own mouth and begins to tease her with them, parting her folds and stopping without reason. Lauren grabs Tamsin's wrist, breathes heavily with her mouth just open against Tamsin's, and takes matters into her own hands.
Tamsin watches, turned on beyond belief, as her girlfriend sinks down on two of her fingers, bumping hips with Tamsin in an effort to get her to move. It's only for a second, and then grasps Lauren around the waist and they thrust together, breath coming in equally short gasps as she feels Lauren's impossibly hot sex close around her. She's so wet it's almost difficult to go harder but Tamsin does, pushing her palm in circles against Lauren's clit and her head hard into the crook of Lauren's shoulder.
"Tamsin- oh, God-"
She feels drunk on it. Tamsin sets a maddening rhythm, her lungs burning as she works her fingers inside her girlfriend. Before long, she has Lauren on the precipice, balancing precariously on her fingertips.
It takes the barest hint of a kiss, the slide of Tamsin's tongue and the smallest smile and rumble of a laugh in the softness of Lauren's neck. Lauren moans from somewhere deep within her body and Tamsin feels it reverberate through her own, Lauren's satisfaction. A gush of liquid runs down her palm. Tamsin waits for a second, gently riding out the end of Lauren's climax with her, in waves rippling out from her body. Her girlfriend gently kisses both her shoulders, looks up at her with wet eyes and kisses her mouth.
Tamsin licks Lauren off her fingers and whispers against her cheek, waiting for their heart rates to stabilize again.
"You're beautiful."
Lauren's laugh comes out in a sigh.
"So are you."
When she begins to kiss Tamsin harder, slipping her tongue into Tamsin's mouth, a swift and sudden doubt makes her falter. Lauren pulls back and tucks her head into the tangled mess of Tamsin's hair. Her eyes betray no fear.
"Are you okay?"
Tamsin struggles to find her words, and realizes that she has no idea how to say them.
"I'm just glad-" Tamsin finally murmurs, as Lauren kisses her exposed collarbone. "-that I'm here with you. That we're here together."
As if in acquiescence, Lauren drops to her knees.
The floor is hard and chilly and her knees protest, but she runs her hands up the backs of Tamsin's calves, her thighs, and takes a grip behind Tamsin's knees before kissing the juncture between her torso and her leg. Tamsin squirms as Lauren's tongue flicks out, tasting, and she's so wet that Lauren can feel the dampness on her chin as she moves down and diagonal.
"You-"
"Shhhh."
Tamsin's about to protest, argue that Lauren makes far more noise that Tamsin when she's given reason to be, but then her girlfriend pushes into her sex with her tongue and Tamsin moans, hooking a finger into her own mouth to stay quiet. She's so wet she can hear it- she can smell it.
Hurried and hidden from detection, no comfort given and none asked for. Lauren slides two fingers into Tamsin and begins to thrust, lapping when Lauren's hips come within tasting distance and fucking her a little harder when Lauren's hips buck away.
She grips at Lauren's shoulders and suddenly bends over her when Lauren's frantic fingers graze some spot that sends pure heat through her torso.
"Fuck- fuck, Lauren-"
"Hold onto me."
Lauren just keeps going, kissing the damp, stiff curls just above where her fingers are bringing Tamsin to the brink, and slides a hand across Tamsin's stomach muscles to get as much contact as possible. For as hot as Tamsin is Lauren is hotter, her touch agonizing in the best way as she fucks Tamsin hard and fast. For tenderness, Tamsin has Lauren's lips licking swirls over her hipbones, replacing Tamsin's moisture with her own, rough when she kisses lower and softer when they caress Tamsin's clit.
She must be cherry red by now. She is kiss swollen and about to burst with how much Lauren wants her.
The lockers rattle behind them. Lauren doesn't stop, pushes another finger into her and smiles against Tamsin's thigh when Tamsin stifles a cry in response. Her face pressed tightly to her, Lauren's body maps onto her own.
In no time at all Tamsin feels the tingle of release begin to form, coiled somewhere deep in body and urges Lauren on silently, her fingers tangled in her girlfriend's hair and one leg thrown over her shoulder. She throws her head back and closes her eyes, pumps her hips in steady rhythm with a single goal in mind.
Lauren pushes into her one more time and holds her fingers there, rising back up Tamsin's body in time to catch Tamsin's gasps in her mouth and wrapping a strong arm around Tamsin's waist.
Her girlfriend is solid and steady and smells like sex and sweat and Tamsin can't get enough of her. She comes down from her orgasm slowly, her hips still arching forward, clutching tightly at Lauren until she's sure neither of them can breathe.
Good. Let her feel it.
Lauren pants in her ear, scattering butterfly kisses along her cheek as she slowly, without looking, without pausing, begins to re-button Tamsin's shirt.
She'll have bruises on her back, no doubt. Lauren will have Tamsin's fingerprints on hers.
"I love you." She kisses Tamsin's cheek and buries her nose in her hair, mouths the words with silent contentment. Tamsin misses it.
Lauren has to go back eventually.
"Alright, let's just cut to the chase."
The day after, when Lauren fights off both Tamsin and Ciara's protests that she needs to stay away, she heads into Evony's office to decide their contingency plan. Actually, Evony wants to discuss a contingency plan- Lauren's good with just working with Ciara's lab until she can fix her own. But Evony is not to be denied, not when the letter informing Lauren of their meeting is an actual letter, printed on cardstock with the Marquise family seal waxed on the outside.
Which explains why Lauren is outside her office at six in the morning.
She doesn't have to wait long. As soon as Lauren's knuckles hit wood the door swings open, and Evony doesn't even spare her a glance before stalking back to her desk with a beckoning finger. Lauren is clearly expected to follow, and sits gingerly in the leather chair in front of her boss. Evony shoves a pen into her hand and Lauren takes it, not knowing why, then stares down at the thick stack of paper in front of her.
"Let's cut to the chase. The summer is over, Lauren."
Lauren looks outside, and sees that it's true; not even five o'clock and the sun is already dimming, slipping away from the high-rises and down towards the horizon. So much has changed since the first time she stepped into this office.
"What is this really about?"
"What does it look like?" Evony snaps, and pushes the paper until it's almost off the desk and pressing into Lauren's chest. "Your probationary period, your temporary residency, whatever- you don't have to be here any longer. I'm letting you out of your contract before you sue this clinic and the medical school to high heaven. And believe me, darling, if you think you can outsmart my lawyers-"
"-but I don't want to leave."
"What? Don't play stupid with me, Lewis."
"I'm learning so much from being here, working here." Lauren says, a little annoyed. "If you think one little incident can stop me you're wrong, I won't be intimidated that easily. I still have a year of residency left, and I'd like to complete it here like I planned to all along. And stay, if my work is valuable enough."
"You might have been killed."
"But I wasn't." Lauren says, firmly. Evony's nails are free of polish and the lines around her eyes are untouched. "And if the police do their job, I won't have to worry about it at all. Until something far more terrible than a broken lab happens, I'm not leaving."
"I won't be responsible for your safety. Contrary to how it may seem, the hospital is not impenetrable, if you keep putting yourself in harm's way."
"I'm seeing this through." Lauren replies. She sets one fist against the arm of the chair. "I appreciate your concern but you'll have to give me a better reason to sign this, ma'am."
Evony looks at her, dumbfounded, and when Lauren doesn't flinch or make any move to indicate that there has been a mistake, she quickly clears her throat and snatches her hand (and her papers) back.
"It's your funeral."
"Thank you."
It's only when Lauren is walking down the hall that she realizes she still has Evony's heavy ivory pen clutched tightly in her hand.
Tamsin takes one look at the clothing she's wearing and makes a face.
"You are kidding me right now."
Bill is equally unamused.
"Don't give me that look. Officer Suarez wore less than this on her own undercover op. The less you wear, the less threatening you are to them. It's textbook."
"Am I supposed to care about that? This won't cover half my fucking chest."
"That's the point." Bill shoots back. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, no one's going to believe you walked in without a coat so take mine. Tell them it's from your boyfriend or something."
Tamsin snorts but takes the coat anyway. "I'm bringing my pepper spray. And my Taser. You and Vex better be ready if this thing goes south, because otherwise I will shove this goddamn stiletto somewhere it doesn't belong."
Vex flips her off but crouches back down to fiddle with the equipment that controls Tamsin's wire. Bill puts heavy hands on Tamsin's shoulders.
"First sign of trouble, you get out. Don't be a hero- not yet."
Tamsin nods and takes a deep breath.
She doesn't walk into the Dal- Tamsin struts, moves with the kind of tension-laden slowness that sits coiled in every movement she makes. This is not the time for timidity or shyness. She needs to get in, get out, and makes sure Beth does the same.
Almost as soon as she walks in, Tamsin knows some balance of power has shifted. For one, there are fewer drunks in the place, an equal number of bodies but this time they're sober, watchful. There isn't a person in the room, Tamsin would bet, that isn't armed. She hardly dares to breathe.
There is a crowd around the bar; this time, however, she has a feeling it isn't an admiring one. Tamsin glances at it and looks away, but not before she catches a glimpse of long black hair.
Fuck.
But Tamsin bides her time and slips into a corner, praying no one sees her as any different than the usual clientele. A few men give her lingering looks but quickly loose interest when she fixes the least friendly look on her face that she can manage. Then she spots Beth.
She's at the bar. A tiny, elderly man is beside her, his hands crossed at the wrist behind his back, with an expression of murder on his face. The expression, and little else. They're surrounded by people. Suited, grim, angry people.
Tamsin looks closer. The ringleader appears to be a bearded man, startlingly handsome, with none of the grit or roughness of the men behind him. He inspects his fingernails, seemingly bored, but Tamsin doesn't miss the lecherous glances he tosses Beth's way.
Oh shit, they're talking. Tamsin fumbles with her earpiece.
"You're on thin ice here, McCorrigan."
"You'll get what you want. Just give me a few more weeks, there are risks in the entire supply chain that you have to account for. We just got unlucky."
"Permanently unlucky, it seems." The man sneers. "We haven't forgotten your past, old man, and some of your sins seem oddly…convenient for a family that once commanded respect in this town. Old McCorrigan line- you used to be reliable. Now, I'm not so sure."
"My family is my business." The elderly man grits between his teeth, clenching his fists. Trick McCorrigan, no doubt. "Your enterprise only requires my involvement, and no one else's."
"Oh, but you're wrong." Beardy hisses, suddenly vicious, and darts forward to grab Trick by the collar. His hands tighten on the fabric and Tamsin half-expects to see it tear. She tenses and reaches for her Taser, ready to intervene if necessary.
"We had a deal and I'm going to get my due, don't care if it's your bar, your home, or your life I have to take. You're going to get that shipment in before next week, or I will make you wish you had." The man pushes Trick back, away from him, and readjusts his suit. "Are we clear?"
Trick keeps his head held high but his shaking hands betray him. "It will be finished before the deadline, I promise."
"You promise?"
"I do."
The man snorts.
"I don't put a lot of stock into the word of traitors-" He sets his eyes on Beth, who's teeth are gritted so hard Tamsin sees their outline in her cheeks. "-or snitches. Perhaps I'm not satisfied with your promise. Perhaps I need…collateral."
That's enough. Tamsin sheds her jacket over the back of a bar.
"I'm going in." She whispers, and when Bill splutters in protest, she tunes him out.
She barges forward and sticks up a hand in greeting.
"Beth!"
Tamsin lets out a high-pitched squeal, slides over and slips an arm across Beth's waist, trying to emit some signal that she needs to keep her mouth shut and just go with it. Beth's mouth drops open for a split second before she slaps a smile on her face and throws her arm back around Tamsin. Smart girl.
"One of your friends, Beth?" The bearded man leers at the two of them, dipping his head in a semblance of a bow. "You should introduce us."
"Ah, a gentleman." Tamsin smiles, simperingly. "Maybe you should, Beth. There's just something about a man in a suit…"
"I think you've had enough for the night." Beth says, even though Tamsin isn't drunk, can't even pass for being tipsy. Her eyes flash a furious warning. The bearded man only smiles wider at the two of them, and Tamsin takes the chance to do a full-body check. He doesn't match any profile she's seen in all the police mugshots that Bill had grilled into everyone's brains, but there's no way this guy is clean.
Exhibit A, the gun in his belt holster. Exhibit B, the hand curled like a claw around the bartop.
Trick looks like Tamsin has just fallen from the sky and done a tap dance on the bar, and the confusion on his face is clouded only by the venom Tamsin sees in it afterwords. Shit, he looks pissed.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
"Right." Trick mumbles. "Beth, do you want to escort your friend out? We are having a private conversation here."
"No, no-" The bearded man says, smirking. "Contrary to what Mr. McCorrigan believes, everything has been said. Leave the two ladies be, Tricky- where are your manners?"
Trick bites back a retort, and stiffly ducks his head.
Beth obligingly lays hers on Tamsin's shoulder, visibly easygoing, but Tamsin can feel her head shaking as it is rested cautiously against her. The man and his goons wouldn't dare do anything, not while there are so many witness is there to see it happen.
She just needs to keep the ruse a bit longer.
Beardy tips his hat to Trick, then Tamsin, and rolls his tongue over his teeth with a chilling slowness. His eyes, Tamsin notice, are bloodshot.
Damn, she needs to hurry this up before Trick throws her out.
"Anyway, Beth-" she turns to the girl at her side. "Someone puked in the bathroom and ewww, I know. And it's my first day so I don't know where any of the cleaning stuff is, so could you help me take care of it? It's just there, in a puddle on the floor. Gross."
When it becomes clear that Tamsin's not a threat (she hopes), Beardy loses interest and his expression returns to one of bored arrogance. Slowly, with a final warning glance at Trick, he tips his hat to the two of them.
"Excuse us- please continue with your work."
They stalk out one by one, each managing to jostle Trick against the bar as they exit, and Beth relaxing a little bit more with each large body that stopped pressing the three of them Tamsin doesn't breathe until the last one has left.
Music is playing dimly in the background. Weird how Tamsin didn't notice that before.
She does notice when Beth recoils from her the second the door closes, and punches her hard in the shoulder.
"Ow!"
"What the hell was that?"
Don't give it away. Not yet.
"You looked like you needed an out. I gave it to you. Sheesh, would you relax?"
Before Beth can respond, Trick McCorrigan grabs Tamsin by the arm with an iron grip. "I don't know who the fuck you think you are. Are you drunk? Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"I know her." Beth says, interrupting. Her eyes search Tamsin's for some kind of explana"She's been here a few times."
Trick whirls around.
"What the fuck have you told this-this idiot?"
"Don't talk about her like that." Beth blurts out, and steps between Tamsin and her grandfather. "She's a friend. She just got those guys to leave, however stupidly, and you should be thanking her."
"She did, by sticking her nose in a place that it doesn't belong. How many times do I have to tell you to stop trying to intervene in my business? There are things at stake here that you don't even know about! Now I have to tell her too?" He hisses at Beth, and points a finger at Tamsin. "I think you better go now."
"Sir-"
"Get out, before I call the cops."
Tamsin is just itching to pull out the badge from her boot, to flash it in his face and demand to know what's going on, but instead she just nods and squeezes Beth's arm. Beth looks at her, relieved and grateful and terrified all at once, and Tamsin nods to reassure her.
She's coming back. Something is terribly wrong here and Beth will be dragged under with her grandfather if Tamsin isn't careful.
Goal in mind, Tamsin walks out without another word.
Tamsin's barely made it halfway out into the sidewalk when a hand grabs her by the elbow.
"What the hell was that in there?" Beth hisses. "You could have gotten in serious trouble!"
"So could you. You want to tell me what was really going on in there, because those were not Friday night drunks looking for a fight. What sort of shady shit are you mixed up with, huh?"
"I told you, they're out to get my grandfather and-" Beth stops and purses her lips together tightly. "You know what, you just forgot your jacket. I came to give it back." She tosses Bill's jacket to Tamsin, who catches it in surprise. Beth looks hurt, and angry and terrified. Not necessarily in that order.
"Goodbye, Rachel."
"No, wait-"
Tamsin rushes forward to stop her, and Beth sighs. She's so clearly exhausted- from work or from this mess, Tamsin doesn't know.
"Beth, please let me help you. If you're in danger, I know people-"
"Not the right ones. Not even close." Beth shoots back, and glances bitterly out into the street. "This is my problem so I'll deal with it, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't interfere. Trick was right. I don't even know what's at stake here, but I don't want you to be."
Tamsin shakes her head.
"We can call the cops-"
"The cops don't do shit!" Beth yells, and her fury carries her right up against Tamsin's face. "You don't think I've tried? You think I like having my grandfather worried about me and the Dal and his own safety all the time? I am walking a goddamn tightrope here and you- you're going to push me off of it."
She spins on her heel and ducks Tamsin's outstretched hand, disappearing into the side door of the Dal Riata. Tamsin watches her go.
Damnit.
Suddenly, her earpiece squeals loudly and she winces with the force, quickly yanking it out of her ear before it goes dead.
She turns in Bill and Vex's direction, and runs.
Lauren shuts off the lights in Ciara's lab, shrugging her jacket onto her shoulders and hanging up her lab coat on the peg. The hospital never sleeps but right now it's on standby, dimmed and humming gently in rest. Her footsteps are soft patters as she heads for the front office, intent on picking up her mail and getting home as soon as possible.
There are two things in her box; the latest copy of Nature, and a small package. Light. Confidential, from the hospital.
Lauren's brow scrunches in confusion. Why didn't they give this to her in person?
It's from Ciara.
Hey, Lauren. You left one of your test tubes in my lab about a week ago, I thought you'd want it back. I didn't want to give this to you in person because it may not be safe- you know. Put it somewhere not in this hospital. Keep it, and yourself, safe.
Ciara
"Ciara, you goddess." Lauren breathes, holding up the petri dish to the light. Sure enough, it's her messy handwriting in sharpie, her trademark seal on the rim.
#3, for T.
Tamsin's heroin case. One of the samples of her serum escaped the destruction of her lab.
As she walks- no, runs- to her car, to get it into her own refrigerator and safe until she can plan what to do with it, Lauren feels her resolve harden from concrete to solid steel. Whoever had tried to stop her would surely try again.
Well, she's never been one to walk away from a challenge.
"Fucking hell."
Tamsin's mouth drops open.
"Well, damn." Bill whistles, and pulls his hat off his head to run his hand through his hair. "This can't be good."
"Good call for leaving the van to come after me, you idiots." Tamsin says, disbelievingly, circling the burnt-out shell of the vehicle with soft steps. They've radioed for backup but in the five minutes it'll take for help to arrive, she's still trying to grasp the fact that someone has bombed their van.
"Vandals?" Vex asks in a deadpan sort of voice. He coughs awkwardly as he shifts from foot to foot, waving smoke away from the wrecked car and Tamsin shoots him a glance before crouching down.
"If by vandals you mean our cover is blown to shit, sure. Vandals."
Tamsin's mind flashes back to Lauren's lab, the glass, the clear and malicious intent. No way in hell this is coincidence.
"Never thought I'd say this, but this piece of shit van actually did some good for once." Bill says, kicking a now-half-melted tire. "Either way, we have to move in. Beth, McCorrigan- if the Dal Riata isn't some kind of headquarters for some shady shit in this city, then I'll eat my boots. This isn't just about heroin now. They have their sights set on something bigger."
"You're forgetting, we still don't have probable cause."
"Our van was bombed, shot at, I don't give a fuck what you call it. You don't think attempted murder of a police officer is probable cause?"
Vex chews a fingernail. "Good point."
Tamsin grunts in agreement.
She's not in any mood to banter, not when it's already been a long night and the pulse of adrenaline runs high in her blood. All that has to come tomorrow, when they're not nursing their wounds from tonight. Let Bill take care of the bureaucracy. She's only on board to keep everyone safe.
To Tamsin's surprise, Lauren is waiting at the station when they arrive. She has a laptop in her lap, her phone clutched tightly in her hand, and has perpetual lines of worry carved on her face.
The officer on duty shrugs helplessly when he sees them.
"She wouldn't leave."
Lauren rushes to the three of them, who are standing there sweaty and smelling of smoke.
"They told me your phone would be off. How did it go?"
Tamsin's body aches from how long she had to keep it tense, not moving a solitary muscle as she strained to hear Beth's conversation. Her mind still hasn't quite caught up with her body, can't comprehend that they've all escaped danger by the smallest of variables. But she smiles anyway, hugs Lauren with her shaking arms, and smiles.
"Nothing to worry about. I'm fine."
AN: You are so patient and I am so grateful for all of you.