Thank you all for your patience. I'm afraid life had gotten in the way a bit. Hopefully this chapter will help me redeem myself. As always, you guys are just the best! Truly! BTW, how are we supposed to wait until January for the next season? It's just too much to bear!
Keep those comments and PM's coming. As I've said, I really do appreciate and love them. And for those of you that do me the honor of sending PM's and Twitter comments, I do my very best to respond as soon as I can, so thank you for those as well. LOVE IT! LOVE YOU! LOVE EVERYTHING!
Oh and TGIPF! (Thank God It's Practically Friday!)
XOXO
Twitter: flrdramatic13
Kenzi tip toed into Bo's room careful to avoid the floor boards she knew from experience had a tendency to squeak. Quietly she placed the small box on Bo's bedside table and turned to sneak away but a hand grabbed hold of her wrist.
"Why are you in my room," a voice mumbled from under the covers.
"Morning!" Kenzi exclaimed.
"Is it?" Bo groaned.
"Yeah, it's after 10 already."
"Ugh…"
"Don't be such a grump. Get up and I'll make coffee." Kenzi knew Bo could never resist coffee.
Slowly and what seemed to be painfully, Bo kicked her bare legs off the side of the bed and yawned.
"I'm up, I'm up."
She blinked her eyes several times before her gaze stuck on the small box now on her table.
"Kenz, what is this?"
Kenzi clearned her throat and started walking backwards out of the room.
"A phone…"
"And how, did you get the phone?"
"I boughts it…" She smiled innocently.
"Kenzi…"
"Yes."
"How did you BUY it?"
"With money."
"KENZI!"
"Fine, whatever. I sold a watch and used the money."
Bo thought back to the night before when she watched her friend pilfer a watch off an innocent man's wrist. Shaking her head, she hoped her look of disapproval would send the message.
"Whatever, if the dude could afford a watch that expensive, he can afford another one. Besides, you told me to get you a phone. So I did. If you didn't want me to use my wiles to procure it, you should have been more specific."
With that Kenzi turned on her heels and dashed out the door.
Bo wanted to chide her best friend but all she could do was smile. She knew Kenzi always fell back on her street smarts, she should not have been surprised.
Opening the box, Bo took a look at the phone. It was certainly much nicer than she could have afforded for herself. Just another reason to adore Kenzi. Even though the gift wasn't purchased, per se, it really was the thought that counted in this situation.
Pulling herself off the bed, Bo wrapped her body in her favorite silk robe and padded down the steps.
The smell of coffee was already wafting through the house and Bo could feel her every fiber waking. She found Kenzi reaching on her tippy toes into the top cupboard for a mug. Placing a kiss on her friends cheek, Bo easily grabbed the mug and handed it over.
"Thanks!"
"Nope, thank YOU. The phone is awesome!"
"Yeah, I thought that's what you said earlier…"
"You know I'm not human first thing in the morning." Bo whined.
"You aren't human at night either." Kenzi eyed her friend hoping she could catch her drift. But the dubious look in Bo's eyes told her otherwise.
"Use your words, Kenz. If you have something you want to say, then say it."
"Fine. I will. I'm just going to put it all out there and you'll have to deal with it. Whatever. No skin of my ass…"
Bo stood pouring herself a cup of coffee and tapping her foot.
"Right. Ok, " Kenzi continued. "You were kind of a biotch last night to Lauren. There, I've said it. Do with me what you will."
Kenzi crossed her arms and waited for the onslaught.
"She said she wanted to be friends. To see where the future took us and what not. I was just giving her what she asked for."
"I wasn't on the call when the conversation took place but something tells me she didn't say 'go and gyrate on any one you like while I watch'. Did she?"
"No, but…"
"Bo, she is into you and you are like crazy bat shit over her. Those are the facts. She just wanted some time to process everything. What you should be doing is playing nice with her, not flaunting what she could have had if she chose you. And by the way, she didn't NOT choose you. If you think about it, she kind of did choose you."
Bo rolled her eyes as she poured a second cup.
"And how do you figure that my little romance gypsy?"
"Think about it Bo. After your talk, she felt awful. Like she needed to see you and talk to you in person. This chick literally got off a plane and immediately came running to you. She could have gone home. Called you in the morning or sent you a stupid impersonal text. But instead, she rolled her little suitcase right into the Dahl and found you entertaining the masses. And what's worse, she came to talk to you and you blew her off as if you didn't care. When you and I both know that you do. Immensely!"
"Why do YOU care so much?" Bo's words were sharp but Kenzi didn't miss a beat.
"I care because I love you. As far as I'm concerned we're sisters. And in all the time I have known you, you have never and I mean NEVER talked about someone the way you have about Lauren. You have NEVER played games before either. And now that you are, that tells me you are more invested in this, in her, then you've ever been before. Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you…BUT – before you answer, think of this: Did I crack even one joke just now?"
Bo's mouth dropped open slightly at that. She had never heard Kenzi speak about anything so passionately other than her fear of spiders. And on top of that, if she was willing to stand here and not crack one joke, it meant something. Bo realized at that very moment that she might have been very wrong. She may have very well blown any chance she had by acting like a child.
Bo sighed as she sat down. Kenzi placed her hand on her friend's shoulder giving it a gently squeeze.
"Sorry for being so harsh my dear, but it had to be said."
Bo offered her a smile as Kenzi took a seat across from her.
"I'm not saying that I was wrong in doing what I did, mainly because I don't like to admit it when I am, but IF I were wrong, how would you suggest I proceed?"
Kenzi nearly jumped out of her seat.
"Girl, you have totally come to the right place! I have so many ideas; I'm not even sure where to begin."
Bo reached across the table and took Kenzi's hand.
"Let's just start simple here. Ok? It's not like I'm professing my undying love for her. I just want her to know that I'm sorry for behaving so poorly. It was stupid and childish."
"Yes, very asshole- like." Kenzi couldn't help but chime in.
"Sure, ok. Asshole-like," Bo acquiesced. "What do I do?"
"Well, if you're starting small, then I'm going to suggest you go with that apology you mentioned. I think that would go a long with her."
"I can do that."
"You need to woo her."
"Kenzi? Woo her? Seriously? What century is this?"
"Umm, the century where you get your dream girl because your best friend knows her lady shiz!"
"Fine. Fine, I can do that. I can apologize."
"Yes, that part, I know you can do. What worries me is that you'll apologize today and act like a douche tomorrow. You need to get control of your shit. Accept that things aren't going to move at the pace you'd like and deal with it. Think you can do THAT?"
Bo nodded.
"Good, that's phase one."
"Phase one? Jesus, what's phase two?" Bo raised her eyes slightly concerned.
"Patience my dear child. We aren't there yet."
Kenzi didn't know what kind of love spell Lauren had her friend under but she was thrilled. Kenzi grabbed her coffee and stood prepared to leave. This was a victory she was not expecting, at least not so quickly.
"Oh, one more thing, Trick wanted me to remind you about Saturday."
"Saturday?"
"Black and Blue at The Dahl babe!"
"Ah, right. Ok. Thanks."
With that, Kenzi literally twirled out of the room, leaving Bo, alone with her thoughts.
By the time Lauren had arrived at the station it was already after 10AM and the office was buzzing. The energy was high and exciting and Lauren couldn't wait to find Dyson. The trip had taken a toll on her and she was desperate to get back to doing something that was not only productive but would also take her mind off of Tamsin, Bo and whatever it was Kenzi was planning now. Lauren liked Kenzi, she was sweet and obviously meant well. And her loyalty seemed unrivaled, that was for sure. But she was also exhausting and Lauren had very little energy left to expend.
Dropping her coat off at her desk, she went in search of her partner. It only took Lauren a few minutes to find Dyson slamming down folders in one of the interrogation rooms while mumbling to himself. Lauren tried not to laugh but from where she was standing his mumbling sounded more like a growl and it reminded her of Kenzi's loving nickname for him, "Wolf Man." Dyson eventually saw her standing in the door way and immediately waved her in.
"Good, you're back. Grab that file will ya?"
He pointed to the one on the very edge of the table. As Lauren picked the file up, she casually opened the front cover, catching the name printed in bold, block lettering. She furrowed her brow, not recognizing the name in connection to their current case.
"Who's O'Breen?"
Dyson tore it from Lauren's hand with a grin spread the length of his face.
"She, my favorite detective in the whole world, is the product of all of YOUR hard work!"
"A family member?"
"Exactly! And, also as you predicted, although less fortunately, Red is gone."
Lauren nodded slowly, a little upset that she was right about that one. "Well, I guess we expected it but that does put us back at square one in terms of intel. Even though he never really gave us anything concrete. Do we know exactly what happened? Has a body turned up yet?"
Dyson shrugged.
"No. At this point, we know that Damian found out he was talking to us, even if he wasn't cooperating. So I wouldn't be surprised if he was 'taken care of.'"
"Certainly fits the pattern that this group follows." Lauren ran her fingers through her hair with a frustrated sigh. "I should've seen it sooner. Immediately."
"Lauren, like you said, you just started working here. I've been on this case for months and got nowhere. And now we know – we can get ahead of them now."
Lauren nodded.
"Right. I'm guessing that's where this O'Breen comes in? So what type of relation is she?"
"I read your report and you were 100% right. Those irregular transactions you noticed on his bank account weren't anomalies like we originally thought. She's his sister. Full name Ciara O'Breen. And what's even better, she has no clue that her brother is basically Criminal Number One around here. She seems to think that he owns a cargo shipping company here and in the states."
Dyson was in such a good mood he was practically drooling while telling Lauren what following her threads led him to.
"That's good. That's really good. If she really doesn't know anything we can approach her in a lot of different ways. And if he is shielding that piece of his life from her, then…" Dyson jumped in, excited to finish Lauren's train of thought.
"Exactly! We can leverage her. We set up some surveillance, get close and establish a relationship."
This was just the kind of distraction Lauren needed. She felt her heart rate kick up. "This is…such great news. Really, I needed this. A little bit of a win."
Dyson looked up from the files and smiled at Lauren, tapping his fist lightly on the desk in front of him. "I know what you mean."
Lauren took a seat across from Dyson and pushed up the sleeves of her button down collared shirt. "Ok. So tell me more and how I can help going forward. I'm happy to work up a profile on O'Breen now that we know who she is so we can find out the best way to approach, but in terms of executing tactical field operations, I'm afraid I would be out of my depth."
"No worries, partner! That will be my role." Flipping through the files, Dyson brought them back to the first page and started walking Lauren through the information they'd already been able to gather. "So, they've got different last names because she has a different father. From what I've been able to dig up they weren't raised together. Hardly ever saw each other. But, from what I can tell, they either reconciled or reconnected or something because the money transfers you found only started 4 years ago. I think she's our in."
Lauren nodded along as Dyson continued. "I had a uniform follow her into a coffee shop just a few blocks from here. So, if you can work up a full profile on her and help me get inside this woman's head, help me sequence an approach and build a backstory I think I can do the rest…"
Lauren began flipping through the other pieces of paper scattered on the table.
"Your backstory doesn't even have to be that far from the truth. I still need to dig a little bit deeper, obviously, but if she truly doesn't have a clue here you should be able to approach her as a detective who shares a love of coffee."
"If that's the case I could go right now and just…" Dyson paused for dramatic effect as he looked away briefly and then snapped his head back toward Lauren in his best 'male model' pose "…put the moves on her."
Lauren couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"First, I think we should put a team on her. Have her followed. Nothing too obvious, but just home, work and make sure she isn't "running into" any of Damian's obvious known associates. In the meantime, I can start working up a profile on her." Lauren smiled and gave Dyson's hand a light slap across the table, "See if I can't supplement that scruffy charm of yours."
"Aww, you're worried about me?" He teased her.
"No," she joked back, "I could care less but should one hair be harmed on your little head I'm pretty certain that Kenzi and Bo will mount mine on their wall."
Dyson began organizing the folders on the table, in an obvious move to stay distracted and Lauren realized she had hit a nerve. She wondered if she should ask but it wasn't her business, was it? Before she even had a chance to decide Dyson dropped the folders he was fiddling with and ran his hands through his curly hair.
"Yeah, well, I don't think they'd care too much. Certainly not Bo, anyway"
Lauren bit her lip trying to figure out how best to proceed. She felt a little bit like a jerk. They were having fun, bonding with each other, joking around. And she totally stepped in it. Not to mention that fact that Lauren did genuinely care about Dyson and if something was wrong, she wanted to help. On the other hand, there was a part that only wanted to dig deeper for selfish reasons. If it involved Bo, Lauren wanted to know about it. Finally finding the courage to ask, she opened her mouth to speak but Dyson cut her off.
"I wish I had some of your profiling skills to use in my personal life."
Lauren relaxed a little and laughed.
"Yeah well, I wish I had some of MY skills for my own life. It's something that takes objectivity and in our own lives, especially matters of the heart, it's like wearing blinders. You know something funny? Extensive anthropological and psychological studies have shown that the less you think about emotions, the better you are at relationships. So, really profiling skills would be the last thing you want. Trust me, sometimes you can't shut it off."
Dyson just nodded and Lauren realized she had been rambling a little bit again. It seemed that he wanted to talk, which she knew was out of character for him but as her partner the job extended far beyond the field. They had to have each other's backs. She cleared her throat and thought carefully before proceeding.
"So, umm, everything ok with you and Bo?"
He took a sip of his coffee, letting the liquid roll around his mouth before speaking.
"It's nothing."
"Doesn't seem like nothing. I said her name and your whole face went pale."
"Let's just say she gave me the big kiss off."
Lauren's mouth went dry.
"What? When?"
"The other night. I've been really cool about us, about her seeing other people…even sleeping with other people. We've always wanted different things but I just thought, given some time our lives would align, you know?"
Lauren's mind was racing. Why had Bo broken it off? Was it because of her, because of their talk? Was there some other reason? Lauren closed her eyes and tried to shake the thoughts out of her head. She desperately wanted answers but knew that asking Dyson would be salt in a wound. As her mind continued to race, Lauren smiled wryly to herself and thought, 'See? Profiling. Never shuts off.'
"I do. I'm sorry Dyson. I really am."
"And what's worse, she wants to be my friend. I mean, how do you stay just friends with someone when your feelings run so much deeper? How would anyone stay just friend with someone like Bo?"
That comment hit Lauren harder than she could have expected. And to her surprise, it occurred to Lauren not only that she had asked the same thing of Bo, but also of Tamsin.
"And, on top of that, I'm currently crashing on her couch." Dyson was smirking now and it put Lauren more at ease.
"Sounds really comfortable." She joked.
Mumbling, Dyson motioned toward the door, "Very. So you can imagine I will be busing myself with work for the next few days."
"Ditto."
Dyson rubbed his tired face before speaking again.
"OK, so, I am gonna go start the paperwork to put a team on Damian's sister and you get cracking on filling in the gaps of that profile of yours. We'll touch base once things start to come together."
"Yes, sir!" she smiled broadly at him.
"Oh and Lauren, there's an envelope on your desk…"
Before he could finish panic washing over Lauren's entire body. The last time she got an envelope Bo found out who she really was. Lauren wasn't sure she could handle another surprise.
Dyson watched as Lauren took the largest gulp of air her lungs would allow and raised an eyebrow at her.
"You ok?"
"Uh huh." The pitch of her voice was so high she was certain dogs would begin barking at any second.
"OK…well, I was just going to say, the envelope on your desk, it's for the Annual Black and Blue Dinner Saturday. It's our yearly get together, all departments, all significant others and an open bar."
Lauren felt her whole body exhale.
"Oh, great. That's great."
"I don't know that I'd say 'great' but it's a free meal." He laughed.
"That's pretty great in my book."
"Just don't forget to R.S.V.P. or you'll be stuck with the salmon, and trust your partner when he says, you don't want the salmon."
"So noted."
"Ok, " he smirked, "back to work."
With that he turned and was out the door. She watched him cross the room and waited until he was completely out of sight before heading back to her own desk. With everything going on in her personal life, she was thrilled that things were finally starting to pan out on the work front.
Lauren was opening the invite to the Black and Blue Dinner when her phone beeped from deep inside her purse. Digging it out, she had 1 new text message from an unknown number.
Unknown: Operation BoGo is a GoGo! Over!
Lauren steadied her breath to keep from screaming.
Lauren: Kenzi? How did you get my number?
Unknown: I got your address; did you really think I wouldn't be able to get your phone number? Point is, we're up and rolling so just try and be patient with her, would ya?
Lauren: I'll try…
It took all her might to bear in mind that Kenzi was only trying to help her friend. It was a good thing, a positive thing. Not something that Lauren should be annoyed with. But it did make her extra grateful for this work up. It would be just the thing she needed to keep her mind occupied. Everything else could wait, she had a job to do. Reaching back for the envelope she lifted the invite out and gave it a quick glance.
All she needed to read was the first line, "14th Annual Black & Blue Dinner The Dahl"
"Of course it is," she mumbled to herself.
It wasn't that she didn't want to go, she did, but she was afraid which Bo she would find that night.
The hours ticked by and Lauren couldn't help but feel proud. She had managed to dig up more information on Ciara O'Breen then she thought possible. Thanks to the invention of social media she know knew that Ciara was single. She had been engaged several years ago but her fiancé had died in an attempted robbery; which, Lauren noted, may or may not be relevant information. She also worked at a prestigious investment firm and was on track to become a partner. This fact was especially peculiar. She was making her own money, good money and yet she was accepting monetary transfers from her brother every few months. The only scenario that made sense was that she was investing it for him, but Lauren couldn't dig up any stock purchases or CD's in Damian's name. That would take more than a few hours' worth of poking around the internet. She also now knew that Ciara sat on the board of the Royal Ontario Museum and owned a decent collection of fine art. A fact that Lauren knew Dyson could use when looking to make conversation with her.
All of these facts combined with what they already knew meant Lauren had good reason to be proud. She was finally doing what she loved. She was about to continue her profile when a loud growl rumbled from her stomach. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually eaten other than the handful of pretzels she had on the plane. She wouldn't get much further without sustenance. She stood slowly letting the blood begin to flow normally through her legs. She had been sitting for hours and her body was not happy. Turning around to grab her suit coat she came face to face with the eyes that had been haunting her for days.
"Bo, Hi." Her voice didn't hide her surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Umm," Bo stumbled a bit, "I was gonna call but, I don't have your number…"
"Right," Lauren smirked. "Kenzi told me about her little accident with your phone."
"Exactly. So I figured I'd just come down here in person. Am I interrupting?"
"No. Not at all. I was just going to grab some lunch from the deli."
Lauren studied Bo's face carefully unsure why she was here at all.
"Ok. Sure. Well, I'll let you go then…"
"You're welcome to join me, if you want."
Bo placed her hands in the back of her jeans pocket and bit her lip. She wanted to go with Lauren, there was no doubt about that. But she didn't want to appear too excited at the invitation.
"Bo?"
"Yeah, sorry. I'd love to."
Bo stepped back to let Lauren out from behind her desk before handing her the jacket she had been reaching for.
"Thanks."
The deli was only a half a block away but as they walked in silence it might as well have been miles; neither wanted to speak first.
By the time they had each grabbed something to eat and found a seat it had been at least 10 minutes of painful silence. The first sound shared between them was the crunch of lettuce as Lauren chewed.
Bo cleared her throat and prepared to do what she came for.
"Listen, I owe you an apology."
Lauren said nothing, making it harder for Bo than she would have liked, but she knew she deserved that.
"I have been informed that I was 'asshole-like' last night. And I'm sorry about that."
Lauren nearly spit out the water she had just sipped.
"Asshole-like?"
"Apparently."
"Let me guess, Kenzi?"
Bo shrugged.
"Who else?"
Lauren smiled and continued picking at her salad.
"Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I feel terrible about that."
"I appreciate you saying that Bo, but you don't owe me anything."
"I do. I really do. It would be one thing if I was just a terrible person, naturally, but I'm not. In my mind I figured I was just giving you what you asked for, Bo the friend. But in reality I was going out of my way to make you uncomfortable. I've been a little out of sorts lately."
"Because of me?"
"No, because of me. Because I haven't been able to recognize myself since we met. And I guess I was just acting out. But I took it too far last night, with you."
"I appreciate that, Bo."
Lauren reached across the table and took Bo's hand in her own. The softness of her skin took Lauren by surprise. It had been a few days since she last experienced those same sparks run through her like electricity. She hoped Bo hadn't notice the blush in her cheeks.
"Well, I mean it. I really do want to be your friend, if that's what you need right now."
With Bo's eyes locked on hers, and her silky skin now pressed to her palm Lauren had no idea what she wanted. It was becoming a familiar yet unsettling feeling.
"I realized something today, actually."
"Oh yeah?" Bo asked.
"Yes. I realized that asking you to be my friend was unfair to you; just as it would be if our roles were reversed. There is an attraction between us, that's pretty obvious," Lauren looked down at their now interlocked fingers. "So, if you can't be my friend, Bo, I understand. But I do want you in my life and I know that's selfish. So I'll take from you whatever you can give, IF you can even do that."
Bo squeezed Lauren's hand gently assuring her.
"I want to be whoever you need me to be."
Lauren was certain that comment wasn't meant to be sexy, and maybe it was just the way that Bo's mouth had formed the words 'need me' but either way she felt her stomach drop. She could barely manage a nod to show Bo she had heard what she said.
"So, I guess we'll just figure this out as we go then?" Bo asked nervously.
"Yes, please." Lauren's voice was hushed and desperate.
"Ok, good. Good." Bo smiled feeling more like herself than she had in days. The weight that she had been carrying had been lifted and she took solace in knowing whatever the cards dealt, she and Lauren were in this together.
Bo watched as Lauren's other hand reached across the table and found her face. With her thumb, she wiped away a small crumb that had landed just below Bo's bottom lip. It took every ounce of strength Bo had not to capture that finger in her mouth. Armed with nothing more than a prayer and sheer will, Bo managed to keep her composure and simply smile
"I know about Dyson. He told me this morning."
"You were right. I needed to make some decisions in my life. I needed to grow up a bit."
Lauren had been amazed that Bo had cut that cord. Dyson was her security blanket and Lauren knew it. If she was willing to draw that line with him then Lauren knew Bo was not chasing after her like some prize. Whatever Lauren was feeling, Bo was feeling the same and she could easily take comfort in that.
The rest of the lunch had gone quickly, too quickly. Bo regaled Lauren with the details of Kenzi's crash landing in the tub which proved to be pure enjoyment. And Lauren had told her about her trip to DC, leaving out the kiss she had shared with Tamsin. This was a moment between her and Bo and she didn't need thoughts of Tamsin confusing her or upsetting Bo unnecessarily. Right now, lunch with Bo was the only place she wanted to be and that HAD to mean something.
"So your mom, she's an author?" Bo asked.
"Yes, romance novels. I'm sure you can imagine what kind of childhood I had."
"Lots of talk about 'throbbing members' and romantic 'rendezvous' in sand dunes, I imagine." Bo joked.
"You don't know the half of it. My mom even used me in one of her stories once. The character was nothing like me so I'm not sure why she said it was based on me. She actually used the phrase, "lusty Lauren". Can you say, 'mortified'?"
Bo couldn't hold her laughter at that one. And even though Lauren was embarrassed, she would have shared all of her embarrassing family stories if it would mean she would get to hear Bo's melodic laughter.
"Lusty Lauren? That's amazing. "
"Yeah, that's the word I'd use, amazing." She rolled her eyes.
Lauren was playing with the straw in her drink as she considered how to dig a little deeper with Bo. She knew nothing about her, really. Ripping off the band aid, Lauren just went for it.
"So, what about you? I know Trick is your grandfather, but what about your parents? Did you grow up around here? Did you go to college? When's your birthday?"
Before she could stop herself she had all but given Bo a full interview and thoroughly embarrassed herself.
"Sorry about that. Too much, too soon. Sorry…"Lauren apologized.
"No it's ok. It's fine. Umm, my parents…let's see. Mom and dad died in a car accident when I was 4."
"Oh god…I'm sorry…." Lauren had no idea how she had managed to take a light fun lunch and turn it into this mess.
"It's ok, stop apologizing." She took Lauren's hand again. "When they died Trick adopted me. It's pretty much all I've ever known. I did grow up around here because he has owned the Dahl since before I was even born. It might be the only thing he loves more than me. I didn't go to college. Never wanted to. I just wanted to sing and hang out at the bar. It's not that I didn't have aspirations or anything, it's just that it always made me happy so why try for something else? And my birthday is July 1st, Canada Day! Yay! Umm, and I think that covers it. Yes?"
"Yes, it does. Thank you for humoring me and sorry again about the inquisition."
They had finished eating and Lauren began to dread going back to work. It was amazing, just a few hours ago, that's all she wanted to do. But now, after sitting here with the REAL Bo, she wanted nothing more than to stay put. There was a glow, an energy that Bo emitted and like a moth to a flame, Lauren was drawn to her. There was so much she didn't know about her and so much she wanted to learn. Lauren had noticed that the more time they spent together the more Bo opened up. It was gradual and Lauren had to push a little but it was definitely happening.
Eventually, they did make it back to the station but Lauren had no idea what to do next? Did they make future plans? Wave goodbye? She was lost on this one. But luckily, Bo made the next move.
"I guess, I'll call you later then?" What should have been a statement had come out like a nervous question.
"Definitely." Lauren jumped to answer. "Oh, but you'll need my number again."
"Good point!" Bo handed her phone over and watched as Lauren typed furiously.
Smirking mischievously, Lauren gave Bo back the phone and waited for it to register.
"Lusty Lauren!" Bo exclaimed. "That is fabulous. Although now, every time you call, I'm going to be laughing so hard I might not be able to answer.
"I'll do my best to be understanding." Lauren smiled back innocently.
The silence had fallen between them again but this time Lauren took Bo's hand.
"Thank you for coming by. That meant a lot."
Bo nodded, thrilled beyond belief that she had cleared the air with Lauren.
"I owed you that apology regardless of what you say. And now, we're ok, right?"
"More than ok, Bo."
Bo's smile did not do justice to the happiness that was running through her veins at that moment.
"And I'm going to see you Saturday right?" Bo held her breath hoping the answer would be yes.
"Saturday? Oh, the Black and Blue Dinner. Of course."
"You'll have fun. It's always a nice night."
"Are you attending as a guest or…"
"Working. Yeah."
"Oh. Well, at least I'll get to see you."
"And hear me," Bo continued, "I'm the entertainment."
Lauren was beaming.
"I have been dying to hear you sing again."
"You should have just asked. I'd sing for you anytime Lauren."
"Good to know. Sing for ME Saturday, ok?"
"I will…"
"I don't want to cut this short, but I really should get back in there. We're finally getting somewhere on this case."
"Oh, of course. People to save, criminals to capture. Don't let me stand in the way."
Bo backed away, prepared to turn and leave but Lauren took the hand she was holding and pulled her closer. Sweetly, and as innocently as she could, Lauren placed a small kiss on the corner of Bo's lips. Just barely off the cheek but close enough to her lips to mean more than friendship. It was more than Bo could have imagined and although it was by no means a declaration of any kind, it was enough to keep Bo sated.
"I'll call you later, ok?"
"I look forward to it."
Hesitantly, Lauren dropped Bo's hand and made her way back into work. It had been a perfect afternoon and she planned to bask in it for the rest of the day.
Bo's mood had been so completely altered that when she walked into the house singing at full volume, Kenzi was skeptical.
"Is that you or have you been body snatched?" Kenzi yelled from the kitchen.
Weaving her way through the house. Bo found her best friend and planted a kiss on the top of her head.
"So I take it things went well then?"
"Yes. Very well. We had lunch, like friends."
"Imagine that!" Kenzi grinned knowingly. "And you apologized, right?"
"I did. You were right about that."
"When are you going to learn that I am ALWAYS right? Always!"
Bo pinched Kenzi's cheeks before heading straight for the stairs.
"Where ya going?"
"I wanna write a little."
"A new song?"
"Uh huh."
With that Kenzi heard Bo's bedroom door close and she grabbed for her phone. She sent Lauren a quick text. Just two words. "Thumbs Up!"
From where she stood in the kitchen she could hear Bo strumming on her guitar. It was the sound of happiness.
"Phase One complete! Next up, Phase Two, the grand gesture!"