Chapter Twenty-One: War of the Worlds
"I have foresworn myself. I have broken every law I have sworn to uphold, I have become what I beheld, and I am content that I have done right." – Agent Eliot Ness from The Untouchables
"The entire British empire was built on cups of tea, and if you think I'm going to war without one, mate, you're mistaken." – Eddie from Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
Two things happened while they waited for the war to start. The first thing was obvious: Lachlan's body was found in exactly the time Lauren had requested. Nobody retaliated immediately, but she had feelers on the street. As suspected, the only issues were people trying to decide who was responsible. There were fights every night, and too many casualties from all sides were happening in their own back alley confrontations between families. It was hard to keep track of everyone who was involved, so it was hard to read a pattern. All of the families were involved in this war. Hale and Dyson both said they had never seen the streets so bloody before, but Lauren was too busy trying to keep control and make the right moves.
This led to the second thing that happened, which was not obvious and surprised everyone, including herself: Lauren had taken over in the meetings and Trick just sat there and agreed with whatever she said. It didn't make any sense; nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Still, Lauren knew someone had to take charge because they were at war now. She couldn't stop to think about how she gave orders to attack, torture, or kill other human beings. She couldn't think about her Hippocratic Oath. She couldn't think about her own moral codes and how much it broke her heart every time she had to give an order like that.
Dr. Lauren Lewis had shifted into her role as consigliere completely now. Only, she was acting as more of a don at the moment since theirs had gone dumb somehow. It was something Lauren never suspected to see. Trick was scary, and he still was scary, but he was almost a shell of himself. If she could get him alone, she would actually request him to have a CT Scan and possibly some other tests to determine the underlying issue. It had to be medical because FitzPatrick McCorrigan did not give up his power. Unfortunately, that also meant he would never agree to come in for testing, which is why Lauren never suggested it before.
At least this way he only looked like he was taking on Lauren's role in the meetings. She had been right before, so maybe he was trying to somehow gain his power and control back by looking like he had done this on purpose. Nobody in that room would question him about it if he claimed that was why. Lauren felt awful for thinking it, but she wasn't entirely positive he wasn't doing it so that she could fail and the orders would be shifted back to him. Bo even mentioned post-coital the other night that he was probably playing some game; she knew her grandfather wouldn't just let Lauren take control like that unless he had a plan. It actually unnerved Lauren because she didn't know. If he was playing her for a fool, Lauren only felt more compelled to make the right moves. So, when someone brought her information, she didn't jump to a "kill" order or suicide mission. She took the time to think about the information and then gave her orders. It proved effective so far, and they were almost month into the war.
Looking out of her house windows, Lauren saw the trees and flowers had bloomed quite beautifully. It made her view in this house all the more amazing, and she made a note to have the pool readied for the upcoming summer months so that Bryce could go swimming. Lauren wasn't too busy to admit she liked the idea of Bo sunbathing out in the back yard, too. It brought a quiet smirk to her lips as she gripped the tea mug above her shoulder. The steam had long gone from her face, but she still felt its warmth. She felt odd for feeling comforted in a time of war, all while the weight of her actions was heavy.
She felt even stranger that she was able to sleep so peacefully, though that could've been the seemingly massive amount of fucking she and Bo had been doing. While Lauren wished the war would find a resolution, she knew she would miss the extreme sex and passion. At first, she felt slightly guilty for being so turned on, but seeing how Bo looked at her and feeling her own rush proved to build up a lot of energy and tension. They had even fucked on Trick's desk last week, right after a meeting. Anyone could've walked back in there; Trick could've come back in there and caught them. Maybe that was part of the thrill of it; maybe that was part of the tension and passion. Whatever it was, it was working quite well. Lauren's body felt like it wanted to pass out and give her pubococcygeus muscle a rest. She was definitely high on her oxytocin and prolactin, and maybe that's why she felt calm through this whole experience. Maybe that's why her sexual responses were heightened, as well. Maybe being able to be sexual during times of war was what kept a person calm so they could win a war.
"Please tell me you were thinking of me naked just then." Bo appeared behind her and moved her hair to the side. Lauren should've already been in the shower and headed toward the compound to meet with Trick. She wanted to go over her new strategy with him, since he was still technically her boss. Lauren had never lived through a war, but Trick had, and she still hoped he would involve himself more.
"Actually, yes." Lauren thought back to Bo sunbathing by the pool and wondered if that could happen now. It would make her worries about this meeting at least subside for a minute or two.
"Well, your blush gave you away." Bo ran her lips across Lauren's neck, which caused her to hiccup in response when Bo hit her sensitive spot. There was no doubt a mark there, which Lauren told Bo not to leave; Lauren had a feeling the mark was already there when she told her not to leave it, though, so she couldn't punish her for it. Though, Lauren suspected she would have a hard time punishing Bo; even the thought of doing that for foreplay somehow made Lauren uncomfortable still. A little love tap here and there, sure, but spanking wasn't on her agenda; it wasn't something she could see herself ever doing, which was odd considering how she had let other parts of her change when she joined the family. "I'm still amazed at how easily you blush after all of the things you've managed to do to me. Do you know how hard it is to get me to pass out from sex? You realize you've managed to do it three times now just in the past two weeks?"
"Maybe you just needed to rest." Lauren smirked, not even hiding her pride at that fact. She could admit she needed the rest just as much. It would've been easy to tell Bo to just roll back over and go to sleep, but Lauren never did.
"Know what I'm craving?" Bo started running her hands down Lauren's back and sides, continuing to kiss her neck and shoulder.
"A nice back massage?" Lauren smirked and just gave Bo more access as she leaned her head to the side.
"Maybe something a little lower?" Picking up her pace, Bo moved her hands to Lauren's front, pushing her robe aside to gain access to her body directly.
"After last night's marathon, I didn't think I would get lucky again so soon." Lauren couldn't help her low chuckle as she just moved her hands to help guide Bo's. She would be doing them both an injustice if she told Bo to stop. Her body was sore, but Lauren still couldn't deny Bo's seeming insatiability.
"Well, you could get lucky times two, times three, times four." Bo punctuated her slow moves with more kisses along and up Lauren's neck to behind her ear. It didn't help that Bo hadn't put on any clothes yet. Just in case Bryce woke up, Lauren made sure to put on a robe before coming out to the living room early this morning. She didn't want to wake Bo, either, but the sun was just now starting to rise over the horizon and the dull gray sky made Lauren feel more alive somehow.
"I haven't organized my swabs in over a week, and I have cultures growing so out of control that my actual controlled cultures have mutated, and I have a meeting with Trick in…thirty minutes." Lauren took deep breaths as Bo started to tease her hands above her clitoris. She felt her muscles contracting in response; so much for giving them a rest. "I also need to be at the office for my delivery of formaldehyde later."
"Say formaldehyde again." Bo kissed her neck yet again, and Lauren wanted to give in so badly, but there was just too much to get accomplished. She couldn't stay holed up in bed with Bo all day, even if she wanted to do that more than anything else on her list today.
"I have a million things on my to-do list." Lauren hated herself a little for what she was about to do, especially since Bo had started to lightly rub circles with her fingers. Lauren's body was reacting appropriately, but her mind had already focused on getting the day started. The way they had been having sex lately, it would take too long to reach orgasm, and they would both get so caught up in it that they would lose half the day.
"I thought that I was your to-do list." Bo had that knowing grin, like she knew Lauren wanted to give in and probably would. After all, she had been giving in a lot lately. When Lauren sighed, Bo seemed to know she really couldn't and seemed to understand, so she stopped her fingers. Lauren regretted it immediately. "Fine, you are released. I'm gonna go freshen up before you have to get ready. Bryce will probably be up soon."
"Which is why you've decided it was okay to walk around naked?" Lauren moved to place her mug in the sink, pouring the barely touched tea down the drain before rinsing it and placing it in the dishwasher. "So we're clear, I'm not complaining about this, but maybe we should start being a little more careful. I wouldn't want to give your son a complex. He'll probably already need years of therapy from being part of this family."
"Lauren?" Bo had gone around the corner, already headed to the bedroom, but something brought her back. She looked serious, which concerned Lauren.
"Yeah, Bo?" She loved it when Bo said her name. Even when she was angry with her, Bo always said her name with just a hint of love and lust mixed in. That was partially why Lauren started to change her mind back in high school. It was all in how Bo said her name. At the beginning, she sounded whiny and commanding, but slowly, something shifted and Bo started to feel something, and Lauren could tell by the way she said her name. Shakespeare's Juliet asked, "What's in a name?" Lauren Lewis discovered it was all in how the name was said.
"Do you think you could ever see Bryce as your son, too?" Of all of the things for Bo to ask right now, why would she ask that? It threw Lauren a bit because she wasn't expecting it. Not that she hadn't thought about it, at least in passing, but there had been so many other things to worry about that she never really considered it would be any other way.
"Don't you think it's a little early to think about that? Especially right now?" It was one thing to think of them as a family, but did she think of Bryce as her own son? How did that even work?
"Sure, but do you think you ever could?" Bo's eyes were in that open state. It's not something Lauren had seen much of since she killed Lachlan. They had all been so focused on the war and keeping control of the family that they hadn't really stopped to talk like this in weeks. Whenever they had free time, they either spent it being with Bryce or having sex. Even their post-sex conversations steered more toward Bryce's care or their jobs.
"He's a wonderful young man, and I would love nothing more than to watch him grow up." It was true. Lauren already considered herself part of the family, and she wanted to be with Bo and Bryce, but she didn't know exactly what to say in this moment.
"Good answer, Artful Dodger." Bo gave a one-sided smirk, but she looked slightly terrified. Lauren stepped forward and ran her hands down Bo's bare arms. They had gained more muscle this past month since she had started working out more.
"Can we talk about this again when we're not in a full-blown war?" Lauren leaned in to kiss her slightly to help calm her nerves. It worked as she felt Bo's body relax again. "Our relationship is still kind of new, too. I know we have history, and I know we're destined to work together, and I know I love you, but we have no guarantees of what'll happen tomorrow. What happens if I make a wrong move? What if I get killed?"
"You've been sitting on that one for a while now, haven't you?" Bo let out a deep sigh and narrowed her eyes in concern.
"Well, it's true." Lauren was flying blind, and the man who was supposed to be helping was sitting around and just watching her instead of leading like he should be. Lauren ran the bottom of her palms across her forehead and eyes, trying to relieve the tension she felt. She definitely regretted stopping Bo now.
"Lauren, it's a risk we all take. Are you afraid to get close to Bryce like a parent because you're afraid of dying?" Bo had mentioned how her demeanor shifted when Bryce was born. She said something clicked in her head when she was holding Bryce one day, and her heart and mind just seemed to agree it was time to slow down. The problem was that everything was speeding up now.
"I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of leaving him behind in this world. In this family." Lauren remembered learning about the family, and she had spent her life running from it, but it still somehow managed to bring her back. What chance did Bryce have of escaping and having a normal life if he wanted? Especially if his mom was don and his mom's girlfriend was the consigliere. No matter where he went, he would always be in danger.
"Your parents were both wonderful people. They loved you, and you're amazing. I know you wouldn't be any less of a parent to Bryce." Bo pulled Lauren's hands into hers, folding their fingers together. Lauren could only watch it happen; she was always amazed at how perfectly their hands fit together.
"That's a heavy burden to bear." She was going to be late, but she didn't care anymore. It would be the first time she was ever late to Trick's and didn't have a work-related excuse. Somehow, Lauren realized she didn't care.
"Lauren, just last night, I saw you order a young woman's death. You're the strongest person I know. If you can handle doing that, if you can handle being consigliere, then you can handle this." Bo moved back, and her nudity wasn't the only thing on display. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't think I already knew the answer. I just wanted to hear you say it; it makes this more real to me."
"You need me to say it?" Lauren felt her body relax a bit as she smiled at Bo. She loved this woman so much and would do anything for her.
"I need you to mean it."
"Then, can we talk about this again when the war has settled? I'm not saying you're wrong about me. You do know the answer, but I just need time to process the answer myself. That makes it more real to me." Lauren licked her lips before she moved forward and cupped Bo's cheek in her hand, feeling the long, tangled locks between her fingers.
"But you've thought about it?"
"I've thought about it a lot."
"Then, that's good enough for me for now." Bo wrapped her arms around Lauren's neck and pulled her in for a kiss. It had just the slightest hint of seduction and a large amount of love and happiness. It still felt weird to be happy and sated and rested when there were soldiers out there losing their lives for them.
"I have to meet Trick soon. Think I have time for a shower?" Lauren needed to ignore that for now. She was doing things she never imagined she would be able to, yet here she was foregoing her own personal morals for the greater good. They were the bad guys to the rest of the world; she knew that, yet somehow she felt like they were doing the right thing. They were protecting their own family and weren't harming any civilians. That was one of her main commands; if a civilian is present at all, her soldiers are to back down. Only one person had disobeyed so far, and she directed Beth down at the station to hold the woman when the civilian posted eye witness testimony. Lauren could have gotten her out, but she needed a lesson to be taught to the others without adding more bloodshed within the family.
"You'd better hurry up. Wouldn't want to keep the don waiting." Bo disappeared around the corner again, and Lauren found herself moving on instinct now. It was like this pull Bo had over her; she was unable to resist, and she would never want to.
"Of course not, Don." Lauren had never said it out loud before, though she knew it would happen eventually. It was instinct, and the way Bo was exuding power and control lately, there was going to be a day very soon when she would be saying that for real.
Bo saw it before Lauren did. While they were out having lunch by the boardwalk, a man recognized them and gripped his hip. Bo didn't know which weapon was there, but she knew that he was part of her father's regime. Right now, this man would attack them in a public place and in front of her son. All truces were off right now; it was kill or be killed out there. It made sense why Trick never left the compound. Bo didn't want to be like that, though. She wanted to send a different message. She wasn't scared, and she didn't want Bryce to grow up scared, either.
Instead of alerting Lauren, Bo moved her hand atop Bryce's shoulder and gripped Lauren's hand. She kept her eyes lightly on the man as she continued to enjoy her family outing. He seemed to realize how dangerous she was, and that made her swell with pride a bit. She hadn't gone out to fight, and she had been extra cautious. She was quite aware there were two of her own soldiers close by keeping a watch on them, too. That was Lauren's doing; there was to be one person on Bryce and one person on Bo at all times. If Lauren was with either of them, then her person could take a break. Nobody said anything about the things they saw, either. That was even more testament to how much power and respect Lauren had gained because they had long ago stopped being careful.
Bo felt a bit trapped and wish they could just have a normal family outing without threats or without bodyguards hiding in the crowd. It was a beautiful day, and they were having fun. Even though Bo had learned to cope with her position, she still longed for that normal life. She still wanted that white picket fence and a dog running through the yard. She wanted more kids, and she wanted to feel safe bringing those kids into the world. She wanted away from this war, and she just wanted that boring suburban life with Lauren.
Bo knew better, though. She could have the suburban life with Lauren; hell, they were already mimicking it now. It would never be boring, though.
"What are you thinking?" Lauren ran her thumb across the top of hers, causing a familiar sensation to rise in Bo. This was not the time or place to start planning when she would get Lauren naked again.
"Just about you. Us. This." Bo smiled and pulled Bryce in closer. He huffed at her.
"Mom. You're messing up my shirt." Bryce had taken to some of Lauren's habits lately. He didn't use to care if his clothes were ironed, but he saw Lauren one morning ironing her outfit and had asked numerous questions. Since then, he always wanted his clothes pressed neatly just like Dr. Lauren's. "Lauren, tell mom to stop. She'll wrinkle my shirt."
"Sorry, bud. I don't think I can help you this time. You know how your mom gets when she wants hugs." Lauren bit her lip, which brought back memories of a few nights ago when Bo had turned a hug into something a lot more primal. She had ripped Lauren's shirt and buttons went flying across the floor. They were too busy to laugh until after they finished. Lauren didn't even complain about her ruining the shirt, which actually surprised Bo.
"I can give you some hugs later." Bo looked at Lauren, knowing her girlfriend would understand her meaning completely. Lauren cleared her throat and blushed. Bo loved how easy it was to still get that reaction from her.
"You better say no. She'll mess up your shirt, Dr. Lauren." Bryce still hadn't stopped calling her that. It was one reason Bo was so pushy the other day about asking Lauren about Bryce and their future. She wanted to have a talk with her son about them becoming an actual family, but she needed Lauren to verbally commit to that first.
"Good thing I have spares, then, because I can't resist your mom's hugs. They're the best." Lauren sounded and looked so confident. Bo actually felt herself blush, and she had been the one to start the innuendo.
"Finish your poutine, baby. We need get moving if we're going to make the game." Bo pushed his plate closer to him, and he took the hint. It was actually Lauren's idea to go to a Marlies game today, and Bo realized she hadn't done that in a long time. Avery usually took Bryce to Leafs games because her father gave him the box, but Bo liked the idea of them going as a family. Lauren was showing her she was invested completely, but she wanted to hear her say it. She didn't want to have the talk with Bryce until she knew Lauren was ready, too.
"Dr. Lewis, I hate to bother you, but you may want to check your messages." One of the soldiers walked up to their table and leaned down. Lauren had turned off her phone and said she was going to devote the next few hours to family time; that if something happened, she could deal with it later.
"It's okay." Bo mentioned it was a bad move, since they were at war, but she somehow respected Lauren even more for being able to find a way to balance her family life away from "family" life. It was impressive and made Bo feel a little jealous that her own absent parents and controlling grandfather couldn't have done the same. Bo couldn't remember a single day when Trick wasn't doing work, even when they went on vacations.
Lauren nodded and walked away from the table to do business, which impressed Bo, too. She didn't want to talk business in front of Bryce. If Tony was interrupting their family time, then it must have been something major; Lauren scolded a soldier once before for interrupting family time, so they knew it had to be a serious emergency.
Bo watched Lauren's body language as she talked to someone on the phone. She was calm and smiling, as though it were a casual conversation; she was so good at masking things and was going to be amazing if they ever had to go to court for something. Her brother was a good lawyer, but nothing like the former Mr. Lewis. Lauren was just amazing.
"Everything good?" Bo smiled as Lauren came to sit back down and picked up her fork. She didn't act like anything was wrong, but Bo knew it had to be bad.
"Everything is taken care of. Nothing to worry about. We'll talk later." Lauren pierced her salad onto her fork and smiled like nothing was wrong, so Bo believed her. She had to believe her, even if it killed her not knowing what just happened. "If we get there early, I'll bet we can get some of the guys to sign a puck for you."
"Oh! Yes! Please, mommy? Can we do that?" Bryce looked to Bo like everything was her decision. It made her realize that one day, everything would be. She would be the one in power, and her longing for a normal life would be washed away completely. Somehow, though, she had a feeling Lauren would find a way to make her wish come true.