After standing in front of the door for what seemed like hours, trying to gather up her courage, Lauren finally mustered enough to knock. After a few moments, the door opened and she was greeted by her girlfriend, who much to her dismay was dressed only in a loosely drawn in robe. Lauren couldn't help her eyes being drawn to the expanse of skin and cleavage that Karyn was showing off right now. Her girlfriend was extremely attractive and Lauren was not immune to her charms, but she knew that ogling her right now was only going to make the conversation harder, so she smiled gently and brought her eyes back up to meet Karyn's, trying to ignore the knowing smirk that was plastered on her face.

"Hi, can I come in?" she asked softly.

"Of course," came the reply as she backed away from the door and allowed Lauren to enter the hotel room. Lauren glanced around, noticing how neat everything was. Karyn was a bit OCD, which was saying a lot for Lauren who wasn't exactly known for her chaotic nature. The room itself was large, though had seen better days. The Royal York used to be the grand daddy of hotels back in the 20's and 30's. It was still popular today, but time had taken its toll and most rooms were in serious need of updating. Looking around, Lauren could see Karyn's clothes lined up with near military precision in the closet, her shoes stacked neatly underneath. There was a newspaper and some other papers on the table, all in neat piles with straight edges. As a doctor, Lauren silently wondered if OCD would get better or worse after hundreds of years, and made a mental note to look into that when she had some free time.

Hearing the door close behind her, Lauren was roused from her thoughts and turned to look at her girlfriend. Should she even be calling her that now? Now that she had betrayed her trust and her love?

"So, did you sleep with her?"

Lauren's eyes shot up as they got wide and looked directly at Karyn. She couldn't quite make out the emotions flittering through her eyes. Anger? Betrayal? Whatever it was, it unsettled Lauren who had never seen the expression on her before - it made her seem predatory and dangerous, two things she had never associated with Karyn. She was too stunned to speak, so she stood there mute, her silence most likely giving Karyn the answer her words were not.

"Why am I not surprised? The way you talked about that succubus, I am shocked it didn't happen sooner."

"Karyn…"

"Lauren don't. What are you going to say? It was a mistake? You didn't mean for it to happen? It won't happen again? You know none of that is true."

Lauren lowered her head out of habit. Looking at the floor, she knew Karyn was right, but she wasn't going to say any of those things. Keeping her eyes looking at the worn down carpet, she said the only thing that was true. "I'm sorry."

"I don't get it Lauren. The woman plays you for years, flip flopping between you and the wolf, breaking your heart and driving you away in the process. Why would you go back to her? I love you, I have been faithful to you and treated you like you deserved. Why Lauren?"

Lauren shook her head, her eyes still cast downward. She had expected a painful conversation when she got here, but she hadn't expected the open confrontation she was getting now. Bringing her eyes up, she tried to respond to the question she had been trying to answer herself for years. "I can't explain it, I…she just….it's like she is inevitable to me, my soul mate. I know it makes no sense, I know how she has treated me in the past, but I love her. No matter how far away I run, I always seem to end up in the same place. I came back here because she was sick and the Ash asked me to help, nothing more than that and I certainly never expected things to work out like this. I never meant to hurt you Karyn, I swear."

"I know Lauren. But it does hurt. A lot. I think you should go now, we really don't have much else to say to each other."

Lauren fought back the tears as she nodded her head and moved towards the door. Karyn did not follow, but tracked her movements with her eyes. Putting her hand on the door handle, she paused and looked back before she left. "I really am sorry Karyn. Please be well." Watching the tears threaten to spill in Karyn's eyes, she turned back and walked out of the room, shutting the door gently behind her. Moving quickly to the elevator, she pressed the button and thankfully only had to wait a few minutes for it to arrive. And even more fortuitous, the elevator was empty, and as soon as the door shut, she slumped against the back and let the tears fall freely.

xxx

Bo was sitting quietly in the Crack Shack waiting not so patiently for Lauren to return. Trick was still back at the Dal continuing to research and Kenzi had gone upstairs to take a nap. Despite the fact that she missed Lauren, it was nice to be home, alone and feeling healthy. It had been a long time since she had been healthy and she was simply savoring life right now.

She still couldn't wrap her head around how she had ended up here though. She really thought she was going to die. At first she thought the all consuming hunger would just overtake her body and put her out of her misery, but when that didn't happen and she felt herself getting weaker and weaker, she thought the starvation would do her in. For weeks she endured blistering pain interspersed with bouts of unconsciousness. That was until Lauren showed up. She had no other explanation other than Trick's as to why she could feed off of Lauren and no one else. It didn't make sense, but here she was. And god was she happy to have Lauren back. She didn't know how she got so lucky to have another chance with her, but she cherished it like nothing else. She was not going to waste this chance either. She knew what it was like to live without Lauren, without her love and caring and understanding. Without her passion and wit and intelligence. She knew how empty and alone it was and knew she would never go back. She would fight anyone and everyone who tried to take her away from her. She would even fight herself to make sure she was the type of woman Lauren deserved.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of the front door opening and closing. Looking up, her frown turned into a sparkling smile when she saw that it was Lauren. The smile dimmed slightly when she saw the sad look on Lauren's face. While she was happy Lauren went to break up with her girlfriend, she knew how sensitive she was and that this was very painful for her. Deciding to take those first steps to being the best girlfriend ever, she tamped down her desire to whisk Lauren upstairs and instead got up and wrapped her in a big comforting hug.

"Hey babe," she whispered into the crook of her neck, "are you okay?"

She could feel the slight tremor in Lauren's body as she choked back her tears. Lauren nodded into Bo's embrace, but pulled her closer and held her tighter. Bo just stood there holding her, letting her drive when she was ready to speak. Finally after a few minutes Lauren pulled back and looked up into Bo's eyes, giving her a watery smile. "I am good now," she said softly.

Bo smiled back and took Lauren's hand, leading her to the couch. "Do you need anything? Coffee or water or something stronger?" Lauren shook her head. "No, just come sit with me. The place is empty for once, and it would be nice to spend some quiet time with you."

"You get to spend a lot of quiet time with me upstairs you know."

Lauren smiled. "That is rarely quiet."

Bo blushed and nodded. "I see your point. Yes, quiet time would be nice."

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Bo gently asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Lauren shook her head. "There isn't much to talk about. She guessed what had happened as soon as I walked in the door. She was hurt, and angry and me telling her I was sorry wasn't really going to change that. So I left."

"I'm sorry Lauren. Sorry you hurt because of this, and sorry someone else got hurt as well, especially someone who you cared about. But I would be lying if I said I was sorry that you are here with me."

Lauren reached up and gently cupped Bo's chin with her hand. Bo leaned into the embrace and closed her eyes slowly, loving the feel of Lauren against her skin. "I am not sorry either. But you are right, I feel awful and guilty about Karyn. And emotionally drained, between Trick's tale and breaking up with my girlfriend, I think I am in need of a shower and a good night's sleep."

Pushing herself off the couch, Lauren stood up and reached her hand back for Bo's. "Shower with me?" she asked.

Bo smiled and took the offered hand. "I thought you would never ask," she smirked as she let the woman she loved lead her up the stairs. Reaching the bathroom, they slowly undressed one another, understanding without speaking any words, that there was no need to rush anything now. They were together and right where they each wanted to be. There were questions to be answered for sure, but right now there were no monsters, no wolf, and no Ash standing between them. No Armageddon or mythical beast lurking around the corner. Just them and their love for each other.

After making love in the shower, they moved to the bed where they spent another two hours slowly re-learning and re-mapping each other's bodies. And as they drifted off to sleep, wrapped in a tight embrace, they both felt their hearts expand with the knowledge that they were finally together again.