A/N: Our favorite couple have worked on the relationship stuff, now it's time to face the succubus stuff. How can Bo be monogamous? Thanks for reading! :-)


The next morning, after another hearty diner breakfast, the two lovers returned to Lauren's apartment, relieved that there were no longer any signs of her attack. They were feeling bloated from having consumed way too many pancakes, so they lit some scented candles, and grabbed a blanket so they could relax and snuggle on the couch.

"I can't believe how much I ate!" Lauren groaned. "I guess after yesterday's emotional Olympics I was in need of some serious comfort food. But you really need to stop me before it gets this bad," she whined, smirking at her girlfriend.

"Sorry, can't rely on me, babe. I was just as out of control with my carb binge, so wasn't exactly thinking clearly." Bo chuckled.

"Mmmm… this feels nice. You want a little music to chill out with?" Lauren asked.

"Sure sweetie, go for it."

Lauren grabbed the stereo remote off the coffee table and soon the soft cadence of instrumental jazz wrapped the room in a warm glow.

"I think I could fall asleep to this." Lauren stifled a yawn.

"Go right ahead if you want to, baby. All I care about is being close to you. Who knows I might doze off too."

"Love you." Lauren sighed drowsily.

"Love you too, sweetie." Bo placed a sweet peck on Lauren's cheek as they slipped into a comfortable silence.

They stretched out on the couch, Bo spooning Lauren in a gentle embrace. Periodically she would stroke Lauren's hair, lightly kiss her neck, or rub loving circles over her stomach. Lauren drifted closer and closer to sleep as she responded to Bo's caresses with happy sighs and murmurs. Fifteen minutes later, Bo smiled contently when she noticed that Lauren's breathing was soft and steady, indicating that she was asleep. Within minutes Bo succumbed as well, drifting off in the soothing warmth of holding her lover.

Bo awakened a few hours later when she felt Lauren stir. Both groaned as they tried to sit up, their bodies achy and stiff from spending too much time on the couch.

"Oh shit. I have a nasty pinch in my neck," Lauren complained while rubbing her neck and testing her range of motion.

"Oh baby I'm sorry. Let me get you some Tylenol and I'll rub it for you." Bo cooed.

"Mmm… you'll never hear me say 'no' to one of your massages," purred Lauren, as Bo stiffly got up and trudged toward the kitchen.

"Her ya go, hon." Bo handed Lauren her water and painkillers and then climbed up and sat on the back of the couch behind her girlfriend, her legs framing Lauren's arms and shoulders. She gently stroked Lauren's shoulders and planted a quick kiss on her hair. Once Lauren placed her water glass on the table, Bo began to gently rub and soothe her girlfriend's sore neck and shoulders, gradually increasing the pressure as Lauren began to purr.

"Oh baby you are so good at that…" Lauren sighed happily.

Fifteen minutes later, Bo changed to light stroking again and asked her girlfriend, "Does that feel better, sweetie?"

Lauren tried moving her neck a little. "Mmm… much improved. It'll be even better once the Tylenol completely kicks in. Thank you, baby."

"You are most welcome m'lady." Bo placed a final kiss on Lauren's hair and then awkwardly climbed down to join her girlfriend on the couch. "To be honest, I still feel full from this morning's binge, but we can still go out for lunch if you're hungry."

"Actually I'm fine too. We can just wait and have an early dinner. I wouldn't mind a cup of tea though." She exaggeratedly batted her eyelashes at Bo, earning her an affectionate smirk in response.

Bo got up and headed back to the kitchen. "Your wish is my command," she said with a flourish.

Soon both women were relaxing on the couch again, quietly sipping their tea. Bo finally broke the silence.

"So baby, do you think you might be up to round two of the Girlfriend Summit?"

Lauren sighed slightly. "It's not exactly my favorite pastime, but if I could survive yesterday, then I can survive today."

Bo placed her empty mug on the coffee table. "Ok." She took a deep cleansing breath. "Sweetie, I know you love me, but the succubus has been getting in the way. I haven't been able to give you the kind of monogamy you deserve. You think you're not 'enough' for me and I feel like I can't be human 'enough' for you." She paused for a moment, then forcefully exhaled and pressed on with determination. "But honestly? We need to get over ourselves and just tackle the logistics and let go of all the stupid inadequacy issues, because they aren't helping the situation. So I think it's time to talk about 'succubus management.'" Bo emphasized with air quotes.

Lauren knew Bo wanted to talk about this, but she really didn't see the point. A succubus had biological needs and a long lifespan. That would never change, there was nothing to manage. The million dollar question was could Lauren learn to suck it up and deal, or would it ultimately pull them apart?

Bo continued, "but first I want to know if there are any non-succubus-related issues that we didn't get to yesterday."

Lauren searched her brain for a few moments but came up blank. "I can't think of anything now – yesterday seemed pretty comprehensive and exhausting. But if we are going to continue with the so-called lesbian processing, I reserve the right to bring something up later if I think of it."

"Ok it's a deal. So… yesterday you said things started to go wrong during the kitsune situation. But I think it was actually sooner than that. I'm sad to say we took a turn when I let Dyson heal me. And when you agreed to compromise and accept me feeding off others, I think it started undermining your trust and eventually it just hurt you too much. I know you tried hard to be supportive, but I think it just fueled your insecurity and the damage it caused to us just wasn't worth it. But I'm really touched that you tried so hard to cope with it. I just hope you know that I want to be monogamous just as much as you do."

Lauren's eyes started watering as soon as Bo mentioned Dyson. She was really going to hate this conversation. Bo leaned over to the end table to grab another box of tissues.

"But Bo, it doesn't really matter what we want. You need more chi than I can give you. It's as simple as that. And your speech about chi just being groceries was so reasonable and touching and makes so much sense and I'm so angry with myself that I can't get past this. I've been a terrible girlfriend!" Lauren choked out between sniffles.

"No, no sweetie…shhh… don't you think that for a minute! Guilt doesn't get us anywhere. Lo, you are a wonderful girlfriend and I am so lucky to have you. But I just hate seeing you beat yourself up like this."

"But Bo, I know it's so unfair of me! …I'm so ashamed that I let jealousy become more important than your physical wellbeing. My god, you were bleeding internally! How could I not want you healed, no matter who did it? I just hate myself for that. It's one of the reasons I was afraid we could never stay together. It's not fair to you and I was afraid my stubborn feelings would just end up tearing us apart!"

"Shhhh…it's alright just breathe baby." Bo wrapped her arm around Lauren's shoulders and pressed kisses into her temple and hair, hoping to calm her. "Listen baby, sometimes no amount of logic can change what the heart wants. I know you have insecurity issues, and I don't blame you for that. I love all of you, including your neuroses." Her last comment earned her an eye roll and embarrassed smile from Lauren. Well that's a good sign.

Lauren dabbed at her eyes in frustration. "Bo, last night was really special, and it gave me some hope. But I also know that small feedings like that can't help if you're seriously injured."

"Well, I did say I have some ideas." Bo gave Lauren's shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

Lauren tried to rein in her emotions. Why am I already falling apart? Stop jumping to conclusions and hear her out! Lauren's voice was strained as she continued to sniffle. "Ok. I'm listening."

"Ok. I think where we messed up before is that we need more specific guidelines and contingency plans so nobody gets caught by surprise. I feel terrible about what happened with Dyson, but we hadn't really talked about what to do in an emergency. I didn't have a plan and I wasn't able to think clearly. I was in a lot of pain, I got scared, and I was close to passing out. Dyson saw that I was about to keel over, and I almost screamed when he lightly touched my side. He demanded to look and he saw that the bruise was enormous and so dark it was almost black. He said I was bleeding internally and he got scared. So was I, but I kept saying no, I'm monogamous. Dyson said there would be no strings, no confusing feelings, I just needed to heal. So I took the easy way out."

"But Bo, you had to! Your life was in danger!"

"No, Lauren. Dyson knew that I didn't want to cheat on you. He gave me a choice. He said it was him or an ambulance. But I panicked and I made the wrong call, and I've regretted it ever since. Is there…" Bo's voice cracked as her eyes filled up again. "Is there any chance you can forgive me?"

Lauren was stunned to learn Dyson offered an ambulance out of respect for their relationship. In that moment she realized how much she had misjudged him. She took a few moments to gather her thoughts before responding. "No, Bo, you didn't make the wrong call. There's nothing to forgive. It's wrong of me to expect you to go through the trauma of surgery and recovery when you could be instantly healed in a matter of minutes."

"Thank you, babe. I really do appreciate that, but…this is what I'd like to propose." She took a deep breath to compose herself and gather her thoughts. "If I'm severely injured, I will have both you and the Light's hospital on speed dial. When the ambulance gets me to the hospital, you gather up as many staff volunteers as possible to line up and offer me some of their chi – feeding without sex of course, so I'll need a lot more of it. If that's not enough to get me stabilized, or I become unconscious and can't feed, then I can have emergency surgery. Then instead of recovering over several weeks like a human, I can let you heal me at home over several days or a week or whatever it takes to do it safely. That way I stay faithful, our relationship is safe, and I would still heal way faster than a human." She held Lauren's hands up to her lips and kissed them. "Baby, this is a compromise I am more than willing to make."

With lips and chin trembling, Lauren just stared dumbfounded at Bo. Her breathing became labored as tears leaked from her eyes. Quaking with emotion, she suddenly reached behind Bo's head and pulled her into a bruising kiss. After a few moments she broke away because she couldn't stifle a sob. "Bo I'm going to feel guilty as hell if this happens. But until the day comes that I can get over myself, I'll take you up on your offer." She hugged Bo tightly and sniffled while she rested her head on Bo's shoulder. Without letting go, she whimpered, "You are the most incredible, loving, selfless woman I've ever had the privilege of knowing. And I love you."

Sitting side by side made it difficult to hug tightly, so as she did the day before, Bo guided Lauren into her lap as they continued to hold each other. By now Bo's eyes were brimming with tears, but they weren't sad, but hopeful. "I love you too, Lo. I love you too." She pressed her cheek to Lauren's temple. "As much as I love the flattery, I know I'm still a work in progress, but I hope you give me a chance to become the kind of girlfriend you deserve. I want to be all those things and more." Lauren clutched her girlfriend tighter and buried her face in Bo's shoulder.

After several quiet minutes, Bo asked, "You doing ok sweetie?"

"Yeah. Much better." She grabbed another tissue to blow her nose.

"We covered the worst case scenario, but I wanted to go over some other feeding stuff."

"Ok."

"I want to talk about different kinds of chi."