Chapter Eleven : The Answer Hiding In Plain Sight

"What are you doing here?" she asked her smile fading slightly as she tossed the last pillow onto the floor.

"This is still my home too," Lauren paused the once playfulness missing from her tone. "or is that something that's changed too?"

"No. You just haven't been here for almost two weeks, little off putting when you just pop up."

"I needed-"

"Space?"

"Yeah, space Bo. How inconsiderate of me after nearly dying and losing another child. And having a friend go on some death march to help save me, a task that required me to now be the object of some super powerful, unbeatable Fae that no one knows who he really is. Very inconsiderate of me."

"That's not what I said." she huffed while she turned her back to her wife, pulling back the comforter. "I can see your time with him has made you less passive." a twinge of jealousy pulling at her.

"No that's the massive amounts of hormones I'm dealing with. Good to know you still care enough to be jealous though."

"So are you home for good or just passing through?" she asked brushing past the comment.

"I can't stay here, you know that. It wouldn't be safe for you or my brother or Kenzi."

"Yep." Bo turned around face fixed in a death glare, arms folding over her chest. "So?"

"I miss you," Lauren let out softly after long silence, her defensive manor dropping as she cautiously neared the succubus who didn't back away but also didn't let her guard down. She reached her hand out for her wife's arm who took a step to the side. "And you wonder why I don't feel welcome? Eric and Kenzi won't even speak to me and you-"

"Don't feel bad they aren't speaking to me either," her eyes fell back to the floor. "Is this really how it's going to be from now on? You disappear for days at a time, I don't see you. You don't call or text and then you pop up and expect me to what?"

"I expect you to be my wife."

"Yeah," the succubus had to pause, a rush of pain hitting her like a train. "Are you still mine?" the two glared one another down, the blonde doing a better job at hiding her building hurt. "Lauren, I beginning to forget what it's like to have a wife."

"Well then why don't you go find Dyson, always helped you in the past." she spat back, her eyes narrowing in anger this time it was her turn to take a step away.

"Get over it." her words muffled by a snort as she rolled her eyes. "You're like a broken record with him. It's almost two years since he's been in the picture like that and hell to be honest I don't even know where he is now."

"Well only took you a couple years to-"her fit stopped without warning, her hand going to her stomach, her features tightening in a moment of pain.

"Are you okay?" Bo was at her side in am instant one hand on her shoulder as the other rested over her wife's. "What? What is it?"

"I'm fine," she almost laughed at the succubus over reaction. "it's just a kick."

"They're painful?" her eyebrow raised while her eyes did a continuous jump from Lauren's softened face and her stomach that was covered by their hands.

"Can be every once and a while."

"Have you been to see someone ? I don't think it's normal—are you showing?" her tone full of confusion as she glided her hand off of Lauren's and across the free side of her stomach. Hesitantly her hand dropped lower, sticking her thumb under the thin, blue materiel she pushed it up just to the start of her wife's ribs. "Oh my God,"it escaped her as she ran her hand over the soft skin, a medium size bump already present. "Is this-"

"Normal? No I'm six weeks and this is what approximately nineteen weeks looks like." her small smile fading as she retreated pulling away from her near gleaming succubus.

"Do—is it a boy or-"

"I don't know. I haven't-"

"If it's a matter of Juliet we can find another OB."

"No, it's not a matter of her I just—it doesn't matter to me." the tone of the last five words wiped the smile right off of Bo's face.

"Do you really resent our child that much?"

"Don't go there."

"Do you?" she demanded.

"Yes. Bo don't do that, don't look at me like I'm the most horrible person in the world. I—I'm somehow the Queen of the Dark Fae because some pyscho wants this-" she used her hands to gesture to her stomach. "I can't come home, I've lost friends, family. My relationship with my wife is all but-" she paused as a mixture of anger and pain come over her wife's face. "I hate myself for feeling this way but I do."

"Well that's that then huh? It's all about what you feel and how you feel."

"We were doing so well please don't-"

"I've tried to understand this new you. This dismissive, inconsiderate, un-compassionate, selfish you believe me I have and sometimes I do. Sometimes I can get it but most times I just don't. I don't understand how the Lauren I knew, that I fell in love with could be so—so-so this."

"I've wondered the same thing," she made her way to the door trying her best to keep her anger under control. "Not just about myself though." with that she was through the door and down the hall within a matter of seconds. She balled her fist fighting the urge to turn back around and have it out with the succubus. Give her a real piece of her mind but instead she walked through the darkness of the living room, trying to step as lightly as she could since her brother and Kenzi were asleep.

"I was expecting that to go differently." Kenzi said as the front door slammed, her eyes remaining closed.

"Yeah, but then again nothing about this life has gone the way I thought it would."

"You know for a jock you tend to brood a lot. It's not an attractive feature."

"You're crazy," she turned onto his side, opening one eye a couple seconds later she did the same. "all my features are attractive."

Lauren's Room At Compound

"I'm not in the mood." she snorted, walking into her room finding Audrey sitting on the corner of her bed, a random volume of Sasha's diaries in hand. "Please leave,"

"You're quite different then how she described you here."

"I was a different person then,"

"Or maybe just a different one with her," her eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"What do you want?"

"I came to see how you were. I feared my news might have troubled you."

"No, of course not. Why would it?" she kicked off her shoes, before throwing her jacket onto the floor.

"I can see Sasha greatly romanticized you," the Ancient brought herself to her feet.

"How do you think I should be handling this? I still don't know what I am or even who I am anymore. I've lost everything that matters."

"You still have your life, the life of your child. A mate who has proven she will sacrifice everything for you even if it isn't her's to sacrifice. You're mother and brother's girlfriend gave their lives to protect you. And despite everything your brother and wife's best friend are still willing to do what it takes to protect you. Most people would consider you quite lucky Mrs. Lewis."

"I can't-" her broken whisper brought the Fae to a stop. "I can't get attached to this child. How can anyone expect me to when I'm just going to lose it?"

"You misunderstand, Akuma doesn't want to kill you." she turned back around to face the blonde. "He wants you as a mate, and to keep this child as his. True once it's born if you defy him then he might but other then that your life is safe."

"What am I?" it was a broken plea laced with what remaining hope she had left inside.

"We couldn't mate with humans, a lot died just in the sexual process itself but once that part of ourselves was under control we, well the males tried to reproduce. Dozens upon dozens died trying until the numbers grew to great, drew to much attention to us and we went into seclusion for a period. The myth is that a single child was born of a human mother and Dark Ancient who had all of the benefits of both parents with none of the consequences. It was a myth, one that held no weight for thousands of years, we had children who had children and eventually we were able to fade into the background never worrying about what happened."

"That's him, this child?" all she earned was a slight tilt of Audrey's head in response.

"You were born from a human father and Reyna, you should have been completely human. Your DNA unaffected as is the case with all the others that this has happen to, but as you know that wasn't the case. You are one in six billion quiet literally. You weren't Fae but you were never truly human, which as you know is why my children needed you."

"So what, because I was human at one point and now am Fae he feels some sort of what? Connection?" she asked trying to understand what the point of the history lesson was.

"In a respect yes, thus why he doesn't want to hurt you. After this child most likely he will want to reproduce his own offspring now that he's found someone capable. But this child, yours and Bo's is in it's own right a hybrid to an extent, one like him."

"So if I refuse him, he kills me but still has a child like him but if I accept he'll be able to have his own. Either way he wins."

"Yes."

"Well then that's it, isn't it." Lauren shook her head in disgust going to her bed, taking a seat. "You and the rest of your kind can't kill him or is it a matter of won't?"

"You misunderstand, we don't want him. His very existence is an abomination-"

"As is mine?" the disgust growing within herself.

"No, you have consequences. You are unique for a lack of better word but not an abomination. See nature has this I believe you would call it a fail safe? It must be balanced. When we had our children they lost some of our abilities. And their children, and theirs and so on until now each born Fae only had one ability some weaker then others. Akuma kept every ability of his father never losing a sliver of strength in fact growing stronger. Other Fae abilities don't work on him as they don't on us."

"The benefits of being born of an Ancient Fae, what are the human ones?"

"For starters he was born looking like you, we didn't always look human it took a thousand years or so for us to find a way for that to happen. He has a natural ability to love, a conscious which we don't although he apparently has an ability of ignoring it. The only thing nature seemed to balance out was on him being incapable of reproducing, that was until you came into existence."

"Is there a way to kill him or are my only options to die or surrender to him?"

"That is enough," the leader of the Dark Fae emerged from behind the ajar door. Audrey stood silent in a stare down with him, both sizing each other up neither backing down. Smirking she began to push past him,

"Remember I could kill you and there wouldn't be a thing you could do to stop me."

"That's why I said it politely." he grind slamming the door behind her. "Thought you didn't want a history lesson?"

"Why'd you do that?'

"Sweetheart, Ancients don't feel emotion, they have no conscious. Everything they do has a self preservation underlining or a benefiting nature."

"As oppose to you?"

"They can't be trusted, Light or Dark. They have a different set of rules."

"It seems like everyone has different rules. Least with humans there is one set and that it. Good is good, bad is bad. Right is right and wrong is wrong. Here it seems those terms depend on the individual."

"Light Fae may be good but they lie. Dark Fae may be evil but we don't lie, after all your experience how many times have you been lied to by a Dark?" she remained silent staring up at him, her body starting to feel increasingly weak. "I will protect you the best I can Doc."

"Really don't want to bow to me anymore do you?" she attempted to joke, still not completely sure rather to take his words as truth or just another lie.

"I promised your mother once I would keep you safe it's just a benefit of stopping him from getting what he wants, I really don't wanna see that little prick in charge." he started to turn to leave, "And I don't wanna bow to you any more, isn't good for my ego." with that he disappeared behind the door leaving her completely alone once again.