Author's Note: Sorry again for the delays between chapters guys. I've been caught up in real life and had a bit of writer's block. I apologize for it. :( Also, been binge watching Warehouse 13 for the first time. I must say...I love it. Yep. But, I am gonna get to work on more chapters. Maybe finish it up soon, since I am having such a hard time with keeping up anymore. What do you all think?
Bo had been out fighting off a strangely large amount of fae that seemed to be causing disturbances around the gang's usual haunts. The Dal in particular, and a few that had seemed to try to follow her home. As she walked into the clubhouse, she shut and locked the door behind her. She looked over to the couch where Tamsin and Kenzi were sitting. It looks like she'd barged in on a serious conversation.
"Sorry...didn't mean to disturb you." Bo told them, heading for the kitchen.
"It's okay, Bo-Bo. We uh, actually need to talk to you." Kenzi told her.
"Well unless Tamsin got you pregnant or you have any idea why fae are going crazy around here, then I'd much rather wait until I've had a shower." Bo replied tiredly as she chugged a bottle of water.
"Well, actually, we do have an idea about why the fae have gone crazy." Tamsin told her after rolling her eyes about the pregnancy joke.
Bo looked between the two of them the straight at Kenzi. "What did you do this time?"
"Moi? I did nothing! This TOTALLY isn't my fault. Right Tam?"
"Right. It's actually mine." Tamsin sighed, feeling Kenzi put her hand on her leg. "I pissed Odin off."
"How did you do that?" Bo asked her, raising her eyebrows.
"By telling him he wasn't gonna talk me out of bonding with Kenzi."
"Oh. Well in that case, good for you. But bad for us. How do we stop this stuff?"
"Well, until the bonding is complete, he is probably going to keep sending his goons. Luckily we leave tomorrow to go take care of it. You think you can hold things down til then?"
"I'll do my best. But these things are everywhere." Bo told her. "Is there anyway that you can leave like NOW? Get there early maybe?"
"Geez Bo-Bo if you don't want us here, whatever. But you don't have to be so mean about it." Kenzi scoffed.
"That's not what I meant Kenz. I just meant if you bond sooner, then maybe they will stop attacking us."
"Oh. I knew that." Kenzi replied. Bo rolled her eyes and then went upstairs to shower, leaving the couple to themselves.
"Maybe the succu-slut is right Kenz." Tamsin said, her nickname for Bo earning her a light smack on the arm. "Maybe we should nap a little, then head out earlier. If anything, Odin's lackeys will follow us and leave the others alone."
"Yeah, but won't we have to deal with them all ourselves then? Tam, baby, you're strong, but you won't be able to fight them off forever. I can help, but I'm no fae." Kenzi told her, resting her hand on Tamsin's thigh.
"I know babe, but it's the only way I am going to be able to keep Bo, Dyson, and the others safe from the problem I caused. I'd love to be able to keep you safe too, but there's no guarantee. You have to be with me for this." Tamsin told her with a frown.
"You'll keep me safe baby." Kenzi assured her, leaning up to kiss her softly on the lips. "You always do. Besides, I'd much rather be with you, so that I know you are okay."
"Alright, babe. I am gonna take a nap, so that I can try to drive straight through without stopping for sleep." Tamsin replied, getting up off the couch. "You don't have to, you can sleep on the drive if you want."
"I'll join you babe." Kenzi said as she got up off the couch too. "I'll go tell Bo what we are gonna do."
"Alright." Tamsin told her, kissing her softly before heading to the bedroom they shared. She kicked her boots off and crawled in bed, closing her eyes, sleep coming quickly.
When Tamsin awoke a few hours later, Kenzi was nuzzled safely into her side, an arm and leg draped over the Valkyrie's body. The blonde smiled at the peaceful woman in her arms, letting her sleep a little longer. She checked the time, it was just after 2 am. She wanted to be on the road by 3, so she gently nudged Kenzi to wake her as she turned on the lamp next to the bed.
"Hmm, I'm awake." Kenzi said and then fell right back asleep. Tamsin smiled softly, and kissed her forehead.
"Baby, wake up. We need to get ready to go. You can sleep in the truck, I promise."
Kenzi stirred and opened her eyes, looking into beautiful green ones. She smiled at the blonde and immediately leaned in for a kiss before stretching and sitting up. Tamsin sat up with her and watched her, smiling.
"I need to shower, Tam. I don't wanna be in the truck for that long without one." Kenzi told her.
"Yeah, me too. I'll join you." Tamsin replied.
Kenzi smiled and nodded as she got up out of bed, holding her hand out for Tamsin. The blonde graciously took her hand and got up out of bed as well, following her love to the bathroom upstairs and getting in the shower. They washed quickly, spending a little time holding each other under the warm water before they turned the shower off and went to get dressed.
Tamsin was dressed casually, in comfortable jeans and a black top with a jacket. Kenzi was dressed similarly, knowing that she'd need to be comfortable for the ride. Only she was wearing one of Tamsin's hoodies that was a bit big on her. Tamsin looked at her with a smile, seeing her in her shirt somehow warmed her heart a bit.
She started packing a duffel bag with some essentials, extra clothes, toothbrushes, etc. She also made sure she had her other bag, the one with the Valhallan blade that they had performed the first part of the ceremony with, and her Valkyrie armor, that she would have to be wearing when travelling to Valhalla and during the ceremony.
"You ready to go Short Stack?" Tamsin asked her as she zipped up the bag.
"Are we gonna stop for breakfast? Cause mama is starving!" Kenzi asked as she helped Tamsin with the bags.
"We have to stop and get gas, we'll get snacks and drinks then. That work for you babe?"
"Yeah, sure. Gas station donuts for the win! I approve." Kenzi smirked, then added on, "Just don't ever eat gas station sushi. Bad idea."
"I'll keep that in mind." Tamsin chuckled, throwing the bag over her shoulder. "You gonna say goodbye to Bo?"
"Nah, I took care of that before I came to bed." Kenzi replied. "She got all weepy. Like her kid was moving away to college, or getting married or something."
"Well, you kinda are. In the Valkyrie way. The marriage thing." Tamsin told her, scrunching her nose. "You still sure you wanna do this babe?"
Kenzi nodded and walked up to Tamsin, hugging her tightly. "I've never been more sure about anything, Tam. I love you. I want to spend forever with you."
"I love you too baby." Tamsin told her, pulling her in for a soft kiss. "Now let's get this show on the road."
After a quick stop to fuel up the truck and get some breakfast, and snacks, the couple was on the road. Tamsin had been driving for nearly eight hours already and was starting to stiffen up and get sore. She looked over to Kenzi who had dozed off in the passenger seat, and smiled. She then took the next exit off of the interstate and stoppped, getting out of the truck to stretch her legs and refuel the truck for the second time since they left.
The Valkyrie looked around, rubbing her arms when the crispy, cold air hit her. They were definitely further north than they were used to, and it was definitely colder. She frowned, and finished pumping the gas, quickly going inside to pay.
"Get away from me! I know what you are and what you are trying to do!" Kenzi yelled as she was backed into the driver's side of Tamsin's truck by the blonde woman before her. She resembled Tamsin in a lot of ways, but her face was void of emotions and her eyes blue instead of Tam's gorgeous green. Kenzi noticed as the blonde began to darken her features, trying to look away, closing her eyes tightly and kicking at the intruding woman.
"Tamsin doesn't love you. You are pathetic. A human. You aren't even a warrior. She can't love you." the Valkyrie said in an even tone as if she were reciting scripted lines. Tears were running down Kenzi's face as fear was trying to take her over. The little brunette tried everything she possibly could to fight off the woman, but the Valkyrie overpowered her, forcing the human to look at her. "She's strong, powerful, and can do much better than you."
Tamsin felt the doubt and fear being cast as she was in the store, she threw her money at the attendant and rushing outside to see the Valkyrie in her truck with Kenzi. She could feel the fear and doubt that was being cast on Kenzi and rushed over, pulling the other blonde out forcefully, throwing her to the ground and holding her down by her throat.
"What the fuck are you doing to my girlfriend?" Tamsin yelled, her eyes full of rage and fear.
"What do you think? HE ordered me to make her not want to bond with you. To make her feel like the inferior pathetic human that she is." The other Valkyrie laughed, grabbing at Tamsin's hand on her throat.
"She is NOT pathetic! You'll regret coming here, and you'll regret messing with my woman." Tamsin threatened her, looking around to see that there were no other people around, before taking her free hand and grabbing the other Valkyrie's, snapping one of her fingers, causing the blonde to wince, but she made no sound. "What's your name?"
"None of your business, bitch." she replied, earning herself two more broken fingers for her quip. "Fuck! Alright, alright! My name is Astrid!"
"Well, Astrid, you can go tell Odin that he is NOT changing my mind! And the rest of you can stop harrassing me and my girlfriend!" Tamsin growled.
"Good luck with that honey. Because until Freya blesses you, you are not protected by her. You still belong to him. And he wants to keep it that way." Astrid said as her face begins to darken.
"Nice try. I can fight it off. Casting doubt doesn't work on me." Tamsin smirked.
"No, but it certainly worked on your girlfriend. She thinks you don't love her." Astrid smirked back. Tamsin turned to see Kenzi watching from the truck, tears spilling down her cheeks. She turned back to Astrid and pressed harder on her neck, choking her.
"Looks like you won't be giving Odin my message after all. Hope you like being reborn." Tamsin told her and snapped her neck. Astrid's body instantly dissipated in a gold shimmer, going back to Valhalla to be reborn.
The Valkyrie immediately ran to the truck, getting in and pulling Kenzi into her arms. The brunette didn't fight it, but she was still crying, limp against the blonde. Tamsin rubbed her back and ran her fingers through Kenzi's hair, comforting the girl.
"Is it true, Tam? Do you think I'm weak and pathetic?" Kenzi asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"No, baby, not at all. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. I love you." Tamsin answered her.
"You can't love someone like me."
Tamsin pulled back from Kenzi a little, looking deeply into her eyes as her own filled with tears at the human's words. "Kenzi, baby, you are my whole world." She takes the brunette's hand and put it over her own heart. "You feel how fast it's beating? It's cause I am scared, scared to death. I can't live without you. I know that you can feel what I feel. Focus, you have to know how much I love you."
Kenzi does as Tamsin says, holding her hand to the Valkyrie's fast beating heart, crying as she leans into her, trying to clear her mind and focus on what she feels. Astrid's doubt affecting her more than she cared to admit. She knew what happened, being knowledgable about Valkyries, but she didn't realize just how overwhelming and powerful the doubt they cast was. "We need to go, Tam. Let's just get there."
"We shouldn't have any more stops, baby. You okay?"
"No," Kenzi told her honestly, "But I will be. When this is over and we aren't being targeted anymore."
"I'm so sorry I let this happen. I shouldn't have left you alone." Tamsin frowned.
"Don't. Just don't. You didn't know anything would happen while you went to pay for the gas. Just drive." Kenzi told her.
Tamsin sighed and nodded, putting her arm around Kenzi's shoulder, holding her close as she drove. Trying to help comfort her and wash away the doubts that the other Valkyrie had implanted into her head.