Finding Our Way

by CuddleFae

Lauren has gone and is no longer returning Bo's calls or texts. The last they talked she told Bo she just needed time and space. Bo follows every lead she can find but after a year she is still missing. The gang says to forget her but how do you forget the one person who holds your heart? Bo believes that love will always find a way. The search is on... AU

25. Chapter 25: Xmas Trees & Cub Craziness

A/N: Thanks again to everyone for your support of this story. Your comments in the reviews and PM's I've received are greatly appreciated! So, on to a new chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 25: Christmas Trees & Cub Craziness

Lauren and Bo had spent the rest of the afternoon at the bank working with Marietta to get their accounts set up. Marietta had given them a few brochures about each of the checking, savings and investment funds they had, and then left Bo and Lauren to discuss their options on their own.

"This is too much, Lo. I mean… look at all of this!" Bo tossed the growing stacks of paper towards her fiancé. "I mean I had a high school finance course! Since then, I've been living the cash life so I couldn't be tracked." She looked at her partner with a hopeless look on her face, "Help." She said softly, "Please tell me you know something about money."

Lauren had been raised around money and therefore taught all about bank accounts, best practice financial investments, budgeting and trust funds. She smiled and placed her hand on Bo's,

"Actually, I was raised in a wealthy family so finance was part of the required household education along with a lot of charity balls and etiquette lessons. My brother and I were required to give one third of our savings to charity and another third to an investment each year."

Lauren laughed at the memory of her meeting with Jonathan, her father's accountant,

"I invested all of my money in MacIntosh which is now known as Apple because I liked their original rainbow striped apple logo. I was also the champion of the 'little guy' and firmly believed that Bill Gates had stolen Steve Jobs' ideas. My six year old mind believed that Mr. Jobs needed my money."

"Well, I hope that Steve is looking down on you tonight realizing that it was you who was responsible for his success Doctor Lewis."

"My father tried for years to get me to sell that stock, but I never did. The older I got, the more I kept it just to piss him off."

"You little rebel." Bo said with a smirk.

"Yea, well when your parents spend more time worrying about money and image, their kids will eventually do something to show their dislike of how they're being treated. Losing money wasn't exactly easy for them. He was so frustrated, but it was my money and their signatures were no where on the accounts."

"Well, once we deal with the Morrigan, we'll deal with getting your finances back to you. So, I guess we should get to this?"

Lauren nodded waving Marietta back over to the table. She heaved a big sigh as she set to the intimidating task of arranging their multi-billion dollar finances. For a moment, she actually wished her father was here to help her but the moment passed quickly when she thought of his demeanor. She wondered if her parents, brother and grandparents were still alive or if they had even bothered to look for her after her disappearance at the hands of the Fae. She always thought she was probably reported dead due to the disease in the Congo.

The blonde shook off her thoughts and turned to the task at hand. This was her family now. She was surrounded by love… surrounded by people who cared enough to put themselves in harms way for her and she would gladly do the same for them.

… … … … … … … …

"Mamma! Mommy! Looky! Uncle Chase took a picture of my big fish!" Ethan came running at Bo with Chase's cell phone in hand.

"Careful, buddy! Don't drop your uncle's phone!"

Ethan put the phone right in front of Bo's face. She pulled his hand a little further away so she could focus and there was her proud little boy holding up what appeared to be about a twenty-two inch bass.

"Oh my goodness! He's a monster! Did you really reel him in on your own?" She looked up at Chase who nodded to confirm his affirmative answer. "You are so strong, buddy!"

"Yea, Mamma. I feel… I guess…" Ethan struggled to find his words.

Lauren had been watching the exchange. It was a big fish for her son to handle. Just a week ago, he struggled to land a fourteen-inch bass on the boat. Something was changing and she wasn't sure she was going to like it.

"Tell us, buddy. What do you feel?" Bo encouraged.

"I feel like I have big muscles, Mamma." Bo looked at Lauren who shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, is our big strong fisherman hungry?"

"No. Aunt Kenzi got us take out. We already ate."

"Oh yea?"

"Yea, Mommy. Mamma's gotta have her meat!" Ethan exclaimed. Bo and Lauren looked at Kenzi.

"What? She does!" Kenzi defended.

Ethan's moms just sighed and moved to the kitchen to grab something to eat before they headed out.

"Well, why don't you run and clean that room of yours so we can leave to get the tree as soon as your Mamma and I are finished having lunch. Your grandparents and great grandparents are coming with us so we're going to stop over at the farmhouse to pick them up before we go." Lauren instructed making sure she spoke loud enough to let Chase and Kenzi in on the game plan as well.

"Really?" Chase looked up, "Beli and Vesta are coming too? For a Christmas Tree?"

Bo waited until Ethan had gone to his room, "Yea, apparently they want to support all of us young 'uns."

"Thank you for considering me part of your under thirty-five club, cuz!"

"Sure thing, old man!" Bo joked as she munched on a huge forkful of the fresh salad Lauren had thrown together for her.

"I'm going to go check out Ethan's progress and see if I can help at all."

"Bo, do you really think you should help? It's supposed to be a punishment."

"I know, Lauren but could he really control it? I don't want him to be ashamed of his Fae shifter, you know?"

"The whole 'its part of his nature' thing?"

"I guess. I just… it feels like just yesterday that you were telling me I wasn't a monster. I don't want him to ever feel like I did. Accepting your Fae isn't easy – especially after you kill for the first time. God, Lauren I wish I could prevent that moment from ever happening for him."

Lauren was uncharacteristically silent. Bo walked over to her, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Hmmm. Here, give me your dish. Go check on our son so we can get this show on the road." Lauren pushed back whatever it was that was bothering her, "We've got two Christmas Trees to get!"

"Two?" Kenzi asked.

Lauren turned to Kenzi to dodge Bo's concerns, "Yea. John and Madge are going to put one up outside the Farmhouse this year. We don't actually chop down our trees. We dig them up at the roots and then re-plant them after Christmas. Ethan always picks the spot. He wants one planted by his bedroom window this year so that when it grows, he sees it when he wakes up in the morning."

"The kids got vision, I tell ya!" Kenzi commented.

… … … … … …

Bo picked up two of the three piles that Ethan had made as he sorted out the clean, dirty and torn clothes and sheets. He had another pile of broken items, among them the two pieces of baseball bat that were currently in his small hands. Bo stood with the piles in her arms but stopped in her tracks when she heard the sniffled comment come from her son,

"Stupid tiger!"

"Hey, hey little man. Your tiger is not stupid. Why would you say that?"

"He broke my baseball bat!"

"I see." Said Bo.

"No, Mamma! You don't know baseball… no offended."

"You mean, no offense and I'm not. Do you want to explain that bat to me?"

"Mamma, it's a signed David Ortiz bat! He's like the fourth best hitter the Red Sox have had! Like in ever! I'll never get a bat like that again! Stupid tiger!"

"Hey, now. Your tiger is just a little dude like you. He's not stupid. He just has to learn to control himself. Do you remember how your Mommy lost control?"

"Yea. That was scary."

"I'll bet. I used to lose control of my Succubus like that too. I hurt a lot of people, Ethan. Look around at your room and remember that you may have hurt your stuff, but you didn't hurt another living being."

"Okay, Mamma. I ripped my Red Sox baseball hat and my Roger Clemens baseball camp T-shirt. Why did the ss…. Baby tiger do it to my baseball stuff?"

"Ethan, you're talking about your tiger like it's a visitor to our house. Remember, your tiger is part of you. The sooner you start to talk to it and make it a part of you, the sooner you'll realize that it already knows you. It likes what you like, so it wants you to like what it likes."

"Like meat?"

"Yes and apparently scratching and chewing on wood. Your tiger really did a number on the bed posts there, buddy."

"I think I remember that part. I needed to stretch my paws and I just wanted to scratch things. I'm not sure why."

"You'll figure it out sweetie. Just be patient, okay? Your Mommy and I will try to be too. I'm sorry we got upset with you this morning."

"It's okay, Mamma. I'm sorry I broke my stuff."

"I know you are, baby. Luckily, Christmas is in a few weeks so you can ask for replacement items for some of these things."

"Do you think Santa Claus would bring me a new Davey Ortiz baseball bat?"

"I guess if he knows Davey he could get him to sign a new one for you."

"That's so cool! My friend Jonathan said Santa Claus knows ever-body so I'm sure he knows Davey!"

"Okay. Well, let's make a list of all items torn or destroyed," Bo held up the brim of his baseball cap allowing the remainder of shredded material to hang loosely, "In last night's tiger raid." Bo gave Ethan a tickle as he giggled.

"Okay, Mamma. We can start with the throwaway pile. At least he didn't find my baseball cards!"

"Yea, maybe we'll move those to a shelf out of reach of your little beast, eh?"

"That's probly a good idea Mamma."

"Okay, here we go." Bo said as she held a paper and pen. She and Lauren would have a much easier time with Christmas shopping this year knowing exactly what he wanted replaced. Now she just had to convince Mommy that they actually should replace his things.

… … … … … … … …

Lauren had been quiet all afternoon, but Bo had not questioned her about it. She knew her lover would talk to her about what was bothering her eventually. They had promised full disclosure. If Bo was being honest, she thought about pushing into her thoughts a few times to seek out the concern but felt that would be overstepping. If the thought flowed into Lauren's mind willingly, she would hear it so for now, she would wait.

The family outing was a success and yielded two beautiful beach pines for the holidays. Jake, Josh, Little John and Joshua had been at the farmhouse for lunch and after a little arm-twisting, had agreed to join them. The boys were running in and out of the large trees, occasionally jumping out to scare each other. Watching the little boys laugh and play together kept everyone smiling throughout the day.

Bo felt lighter somehow. She just wished Lauren felt as good as she did today. Once they had the trees wrapped and in the back of Chase's truck, they headed back to the houses to pot them. Since Madge and John never had a Christmas tree before, Lauren and Ethan set about decorating theirs first with strands of popcorn and chains of paper rings. Madge had a few small dove figurines attached to plants around the house. Ethan had suggested that they were prefect for a Christmas tree. Madge had quickly agreed and moved them to the tree. John was given the task of figuring out lights. He quickly found a set of LED lights he had used at the restaurant for the solstice a few years ago and hung those on the tree.

Ethan stepped back with Lauren and said, "It's perfect, Granma! You made a Christmas Tree!"

"Well, we couldn't have done it without you and your Mommy! I must say, this was a fun day and the house smells wonderful!" Madge gave Ethan a tight hug, and then looking down at him added, "Thank you, my boy. You've given your Granma a lot of great memories today."

Lauren smiled at the beautiful exchange. Her son had always brought so much joy to everyone he was near. She was glad she had a son who could give back some degree of happiness after all of the trouble she had been for the Martini Clan from the time she arrived.

"Is that what you think?" Bo whispered in her ear. "That you've been nothing but trouble for these people? For me? Lauren, everyone in this room loves you."

"I… " Lauren exhaled sharply. She didn't want to fight or talk about this right now, so she conceded the point to her mate, "I know, Bo. Can we not talk about what's going on in my head right now?"

"Okay, but we will, yes?"

"Of course."

Ethan yelled out to the group, "Does anyone want to eat the monster bass I caught today?"

"That sounds fabulous young man. Let me get a look at that guy before your Granma puts him in the pan." Ethan led Vesta to the sink where his fish lay packed in ice. The great grandfather hung on every word of the tale of the bass' demise.

Emma and Ella arrived for dinner, so Bo and Lauren spent some time catching up with them. Madge and John had again outdone themselves with another smorgasbord of a dinner. After having their fill, the family moved into the living room and played charades for another hour. The boys were having so much fun, but there were bedtimes to be respected so the goodbyes began around eight o'clock. John pulled Bo aside when she got to him,

"So, training sessions resume tomorrow my young Padawan?"

"Yes, sir."

"Bo… I just wanted to say… if you and Lauren wanted the farmhouse, Madge and I would be happy to…"

"No, John, absolutely not. This is your home and will remain your home as long as you live. After that, I would hope that Josh and Jake would consider living here or their boys. This will always be the Martini gathering place, John. Lauren and I will make the beach house our home."

"So, Lauren mentioned she went into the extra room. Do I sense a lab construction project coming on?"

"Yes, after we finish Kenzi's place. Can you get the crews together this week to start? I'm going to give Kenzi free reign in the remodeling, but she'll need your guidance for the security features."

"I'll be happy to work through the plans with her and the architects."

"Thank you, John. And thank you for everything today. You have been more than a mentor and friend to me. In the absence of my father, you have been…" Bo got a little choked up, "I love you, John. You and Madge are like parents to me. Thank you."

"You're welcome, dear and we feel the same about you." Madge came up behind Bo and hugged her from behind. "Besides raising Ella for Elaina, I've never had many daughters around here. I consider myself blessed to have you, Lauren and Kenzi around. The women finally outnumber the men!"

Bo and Madge laughed at John's expense, "Yea, but you still love us anyway!"

"That we do, my love. That we do." Madge placed a light kiss on John's lips. Bo watched the affectionate moment between the two with awe. She hoped that she and Lauren would still be in love after that many years.

… … … … … … …

The young family returned to the beach house. Bo and Lauren sent Ethan to shower while Bo and Kenzi sat down in the entertainment room. Kenzi immediately started playing her robot hooker game.

"Kenz, I need you to meet with John tomorrow about your place. I think he's going to try to get the architect over to the diner as well."

"Wow, you trying to get rid of me that quick, Bo-bo?"

"Not get rid of you, Kenzi. Gosh, we'll be able to talk to each other from our decks. I really want this house to be your dream house, Kenz. Everything you've ever wanted."

"Okay, Bo-Bo. I get it. Alright, what's my budget?"

"Make the house a home, Kenzi – whatever it takes. The only thing I will insist on is that you heed John's warnings with regards to security. Let him use whatever he feels is necessary to make the house safe."

"I will, Bo-Bo. I know the big bad will be coming some day. I want your kids safe when they're with Aunt Kenzi, so I will do whatever he asks as well as add some of my own technology."

"Thanks, Kenz."

"So, what's up with Lauren today?"

"You noticed too?"

"Yea. Not exactly chipper. Did you guys fight?"

"No! Well, not that I know of. I'm going to ask when we go to bed."

"Great, stress her out before she tries to sleep."

"Well, if I don't she won't sleep anyway. She never sleeps if she has something on her mind."

Just then, a little tiger cub ran into the room and sat down on the floor next to Bo, blue eyes staring up at her, "Oh, little man… you shifted?"

The tiger cub reared up on its hind legs and put two paws on Bo's knees. She lifted him onto her lap and realized quickly that the little cub was wet. He moved up until his head was against Bo's. She heard his little voice. He was upset,

'Mamma, I tried not to shift. I was in the shower… my fur is all wet. It's icky. I can't shift back. I wanna be a boy again!'

'You are a boy, buddy. A Fae boy – the coolest Fae boy ever. What did we say about being patient?'

'I know, Mamma. But I just want to go to bed a boy.'

'Well, how about we start by drying off your coat, hmm?'

'Don't throw me in the dryer, Mamma!' Bo chuckled,

'Of course, not silly! We're gonna use Mommy's hairdryer, okay?'

'Will that work?'

'It works on our hair so I'm sure it will work on yours. Ready?'

'Yes, but can you say g-night to Aunt Kenzi for me?'

"Aunt Kenzi? Ethan says good night. He can't shift back right now and he's wet so we're going to go use the hairdryer to get him dry."

"Goodnight, Buddy! You'll get the hang of this soon! Video game breakfast tomorrow… uh, minus the paws?"

Bo translated and began to reply when Ethan suddenly shifted back. Bo barely caught him but did manage to get scratched across the face by a random claw during the process.

"Hey, buddy. You okay?"

"I shifted back, Mamma!"

"Yes you did! Do you know how?"

"You told me Aunt Kenzi wanted to play video games and that I couldn't bring my paws! Then, poof! Here I am!"

"Poof is right!" Ethan saw the blood dripping down Bo's cheek,

"Mamma! I'm sorry! I hurt you! Mamma I'm so sorry!" Ethan was now visibly upset and squirming in Bo's arms. "Stupid tiger!"

"Hey, you stop that right now young man!"

Bo sat and pulled Ethan firmly onto her lap. He was shivering, so Bo grabbed the blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around him, "You will not call your tiger stupid again… do you hear me? We've talked about this, Ethan."

"But he hurt you!"

"Yes, but remember – he IS you. Once you can truly merge with him and talk to him the two of you will work together to control when and how you shift. Right now, you're letting him have free reign in there, buddy. You have to teach your tiger that the two of you have to work together."

"Do you work together with your Stunkubus?"

Bo chuckled not bothering to correct her son. She figured it was going to take another year or so until he could pronounce that word, "Yes, we talk all the time – especially when she wants to come out and it's not an appropriate time for her to do so."

"Can you decide when she comes out?"

Bo looked at Kenzi who had been following the conversation. "Kenz? Would you mind?"

Kenzi paused and thought a moment looking at Ethan and knowing that Bo was trying to prove a point here, "Okay Bo-Bo but NO kissing and NO funny business. Just enough to heal the scratch."

"Scouts honor, Kenz."

"You were never a scout, Bo."

"Okay, so blood oath or whatever."

"That's better."

"So when I pull chi with my succubus, she always wants more than I let her take. First I tell her we're going to take some chi to heal the scratch that my little tiger accidentally put on my face."

Bo tickled Ethan when she used the knickname and he chuckled.

"When I tell her that, she also has to know that there won't be any contact and she can't use her thrall. Kenzi is my best friend, she's not Mommy so there's some ways that I can feed with Mommy that I can't use on Kenzi."

"That's how you and Mommy made me!" Ethan said, proud of himself for knowing the answer.

"That's right. So, I tell my succubus we're going to pull a sip of chi from our bestie and then I let her come to the surface to take some of my control."

Bo looked at Ethan, her eyes now glowing blue. He flinched a bit,

"It's okay, buddy. It's still me only now I can hear my Succubus' voice too. Now I turn towards Aunt Kenzi and I pull a little chi."

Bo pulled a thin stream of chi from Kenzi for a moment, then stopped.

"Now, watch my cut." Ethan watched as the scratch he had put on Bo's face healed before his very eyes.

"Mamma! Mamma! It's gone! Your face is gone!"

"My face is gone?" Bo joked.

"I mean… my hurt is gone!"

"Is it?"

Ethan touched the spot where the small cut had been, "Your face is all pretty again, Mamma. I'm sorry I hurt you."

"I know, buddy but I heal, see? I don't want you to hurt me, but if it's an accident I'll heal."

"But Aunt Kenzi doesn't heal, right?"

"Not without help from Mommy or one of the other Druid healers so you have to be even more careful with Aunt Kenzi if one of them isn't around, okay?"

"Okay. I won't hurt you Aunt Kenzi."

"I know you'll try not to, little dude. It's all good."

Ethan got quiet, staring at the floor. Bo gave him a minute, figuring he would soon ask a question but he did not speak. She waited another minute and when he didn't move, she tapped him on the shoulder,

"You in there, little man?"

Ethan's head did not move. Bo gripped her son's chin and turned him to face her. Bo's eyes popped open wide when she saw the telltale dark blue eyes of the young boy's tiger cub staring back at her,

"Ethan?"

There was no response.

"Uh, Hi there. I don't believe we've met. I'm Ethan's Mamma and this is his Aunt Kenzi."

Blue eyes turned to Kenzi and back to Bo.

"Can we talk to Ethan?" Bo was greeted with a nod before Ethan's head dropped and he fell back against her chest.

"Ethan! Ethan!"

Lauren had been standing behind them all along. She saw Bo begin to panic and ran to her,

"Shhh… baby, it's okay."

"I was trying to teach him to talk to his tiger. I think he did and now… God Lauren what have I done?"

"Bo, relax. He's very young and he did just connect his mind to his tiger. You saw his eyes. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of concentration to do that. To you and I it's now second nature but remember, he's just learning. Push a little chi into him. He'll perk right up."

Bo complied and gave Ethan a little boost. He slowly stirred, opening his eyes to look up at Bo.

"Hi Mamma, I talked to my tiger. He's mad at me for calling him stupid."

"Well, can you blame him?" Bo asked.

"No. I wouldn't like it if someone called me stupid either. He's nice, Mamma. He 'pologized for breaking my baseball stuff."

"Well, that was nice of him. Did you talk about tonight or tomorrow morning?"

"Yes. He said he would let me have hands in the morning to play with Aunt Kenzi. He likes space invaders. But when we're on the beach, he wants me to let him run. He liked flying kites and running. He doesn't like showers. He thought he would but he didn't."

"Okay, buddy. Well, you just keep talking to him okay?"

"Okay, Mamma. I will."

"But Ethan," Lauren added, "Make sure one of us is with you when you do so we can give you chi to wake you up. It takes a lot of energy to do what you just did."

"I stronger now, Mommy! I caught a really strong fish all by myself!"

"Yes you did, but remember that the harder you work, the more energy you need. And we're going to get back to your Druid lessons tomorrow, Mister. You haven't been to see Gaia all weekend."

"Yes, Mommy." Ethan hung his head. Bo couldn't understand why Lauren was being so hard on him tonight. Come to think of it, she'd snapped at him a few times today.

"Okay. Bedtime then." Lauren turned and walked down the hallway into Ethan's room.

"Goodnight, Aunt Kenzi."

"Goodnight, little dude. I love you my man!"

"I love you too Aunt K." He leaned over and gave Kenzi a hug.

"Goodnight Kenz."

"Goodnight Bo-bo. Get that woman straightened out, you hear? She's grumpy."

"I'm on it. Thanks for coming today, Kenz. It was great."

"You bet, Bo-bo."

Bo carried Ethan to his room where Lauren was picking up the pile of broken or to be discarded things. "I'm going to take these things out to the trash."

"Actually, I wanted to go through them." She put Ethan down,

"Get in your bathroom and brush those chompers little man." She turned to Lauren,

"I think I can fix the bat but didn't want to say anything to him."

"So keep the bat and we'll toss the rest."

"Hey. Stop. Why are you being like this?"

"Like what?"

"Lauren?"

"I'm just tired, Bo."

"Okay, then why don't you go get ready for bed and I'll take care of this pile and put Ethan down."

"I have to say good night."

"Fine."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Great." Lauren threw her hands up in the air and walked into Ethan's bathroom. She placed a kiss on the top of his head and said, "Good night buddy."

"Good night, Mommy." Lauren turned to walk away when Ethan called out to her, "Mommy?"

Lauren sighed and turned her head around, "Yes, Ethan?"

"Are you mad at me?"

She was being a bitch and she knew it. She sighed and lowered her head,

"No, Ethan. I'm not mad at you. Mommy's just tired. It's been a long day."

"Okay Mommy. Well, sleep tight then. Don't forget to say your tiger prayer."

"I won't buddy. Goodnight."

… … … … … …

Bo entered the master bedroom after putting Ethan down to find Lauren already in bed facing away. She got herself ready for bed and lit the fireplace with a well-placed fireball before sliding under the covers, wrapping her arms around her mate. Lauren didn't move or roll towards her. She didn't take the hand of the arm the now draped her body. She was stiff and non-responsive.

"Are we going to talk about it?" Bo asked.

"Not tonight."

"I'm not going to let you take whatever this is out on Ethan, Lauren. It's not fair to him. He's just a kid."

"I know, Bo. I don't have to be told how to treat my son."

"Wow. Nice one. Good night, Lauren." Bo rolled away from Lauren to the other side of their king sized bed. She wanted to give her a large berth tonight. There was so much negative energy coming off of her and Bo had never seen her aura this dull.

… … … … … … … …

Bo could hear mumbling next to her in the bed. She listened and heard random names and chemicals being spouted out of the doctor's mouth. She saw Lauren twitch and roll. She was pushing against the bed and the pillow before she screamed,

"No! Let me out! You can't do this! You're mad! You'll never get away with this!" She fell silent and rolled back over continuing to moan and mumble. She screamed, "BO! NO! RUN!"

Bo had seen enough. She reached over to pull Lauren to her when she suddenly shifted, flipping over as she did. With one, two, three swipes of her paws as the change took place, Bo felt a sudden rush of fluid down her face, midsection and shoulder. She reached up to feel her face.

"Oh, God."

She said as she realized they were deep… really deep. She went to look down at the damage done to her torso but when she tried to move her arm to lift her shirt, she realized her arm was badly damaged. She sat up and used her other arm to lift her shirt.

"Not good. Not good." She was getting dizzy. She hadn't fed today other than the casual pulls while they walked through the forest.

"Lauren." She looked over to see Lauren staring at her now in her tiger form.

'Bo… I'm so… Oh Gods… I'm a monster.' Lauren let out a mighty roar before leaping down from the bed and out the window. Bo strained to see her go, shouting into her mind

'Lauren, please! I need you!'

Kenzi burst into the room and threw on the light switch. She gasped when she saw Bo lying alone in a pool of blood in her bed. "Bo! What the fuck! Bo!"

"Kenz… It was Lauren…"

"What? Why would…"

"No time, Kenz… need chi… losing a lot of blood here."

"Take mine…"

"Not enough… get me outside, Kenz. Help me out onto the deck."

Kenzi moved under Bo to get her outside but she was barely standing. She dropped her to the chair by the door and said,

"…give me a sec."

Kenzi picked up her phone, "Emma, sorry to bother you. Lauren shifted and cut Bo up pretty bad. I can't move her."

Less than a minute later, Emma and Ella were in the bedroom with them. Kenzi remarked, "I gotta learn that teleporting thingy. Totally handy."

They teleported Bo outside and helped to push Chi into her as quickly as they could. Ten minutes later she was fully healed and fed,

"Thank you so much for coming. I have to go after Lauren. The things she said… something was going on with her all day. I should have made her talk to me. I have to find her. Kenzi, will you stay with Ethan?"

"Sure, Bo-bo. Go get your girl."

Bo took the stairs back up to the bedroom two at a time. She pulled on her leather jacket and shoes as she went into her closet to grab her weapons. She strapped a dagger to her thigh, sheathed her grandmother's sword before throwing it over her back then took her crossbow in hand and headed towards the door. Kenzi was explaining to Ella and Emma what had happened,

"Bo, you can't go into those woods." Emma cautioned, "Plus, it's dark out. How will you see her?"

"It's almost a full moon, Emma. Succubus eyes, remember?" Bo lit up her eyes and smiled,

"Besides, I've been in there before. I know what's waiting but I'm prepared this time. Trust me, I'm not planning on dying while carrying a newborn with another on the way and the most precious kid in the world laying up there in that bed. Besides, Kenzi would kill me if I died."

"That's true. Plus, the prophecy can't be fulfilled if she dies now, right? I think it's a safe bet she's going to survive this. Bloody, maybe, but alive."

"Thanks for staying positive there, Kenz."

"Always got your back… from a distance, Bo-Bo."

Bo ran off into the woods while Emma, Ella and Kenzi returned to the house. It didn't take long for Bo to notice that Lauren was running the route she always took through the woods. She was a creature of habit and that would make things a little easier for Bo.

After about twenty minutes, she hears growls and breaking tree branches. She runs towards the sound trying to stay behind cover as she moves. Finally, she arrives at a clearing to the massive white tiger taking a large swipe at a wolf. The wolf goes flying into a tree. Before it can realize what's happening, the dazed wolf stands only to be pounced on in the next moment. With one great bite at the neck, the tiger clamps down as the wolf whines and tries to wiggle free.

Bo feels a little bad for the wolf in that moment, but she knows this is the cycle of life in the animal kingdom and her fiancé is now part of that cycle. She is just glad that the tiger is the victor. She moves carefully towards the tiger who stops and looks up never releasing her prey from the strong jaw hold.

"Lauren… please. Baby, please…"

Bo walks forward only for the tiger to run off again but this time, Bo is in hot pursuit. They run, darting in and out of trees, over large rocks and boulders until finally Lauren stops in a clearing. She turns on Bo, growling viciously, teeth bared, blood on her face from the recent kill.

"Lauren, please. I know there is nothing I can do to make you shift back, but I'm begging you please. Talk to me. What's going on? Please don't do this to Ethan… to our unborn children… to us. We promised no more running. Please."

Bo continued the staring stalemate with the tiger until finally, Lauren shifted back. Bo looked upon her mate whose mouth, chin, neck and chest were covered in blood.

"Do you see me, Bo? This is what I am! I'm a killer! A monster! And I've made our son one too! What do you think is in my body right now? There's a one in five chance that it will be the same evil that makes me the monster I am today. I could have killed you in bed just now. I can't live like this. I'm a monster."

Lauren broke down in tears and fell to the earth beneath her feet, her fists pounding into the pine needle covered ground. Bo ran over to her and pulled her into her embrace as Lauren yells,

"I'm a monster… I'm a monster… I'm a fucking monster!"

Bo continually repeats "You are NOT a monster" over and over again until Lauren finally quiets.

Bo just holds Lauren for a moment before she speaks,

"Well, I guess we've come full circle. This time you're the one bloodied and being told you're not a monster."

"My son has nightmares from watching me torture and kill… and enjoy doing it. He fears becoming the monster he saw me become. Do you know how it felt to listen to that conversation you had in the living room with him? He called himself a monster!"

"And do you think he is?"

"He's an innocent child! I put that demon inside of him!"

"Oh, you mean the demon that gave me the life I now carry inside of me? Do you have any idea how precious this child is to me, Lauren? You know that all of this is about control. Turn on your science brain, doctor and heal thyself! You are not a monster – none of our children will be monsters because we will teach them and train them. They will be strong and good beings of this world who are both Fae and Druid. Whatever their Fae turn out to be we will love them regardless. Do you have any idea how ridiculous what you are saying sounds? I'm desperately hoping our kids never truly become Succubae! The shame that society places on sex, the difficulty with feeding and monogamy… I mean, look what it did to us!"

Both women took a deep breath and relaxed into the other,

"So, do you want to tell me what all of that screaming was about before you shifted? I've heard your random science chatter before, Lauren and that wasn't it."

"I was having a nightmare."

"Well, that was pretty obvious. You were pushing someone or something away, yelling 'let me out' and 'you can't do this' among other things. Sounded a little like things one might say if they were caged?" Bo hinted that she had an idea of what may have been the theme of the nightmare.

"Taft's lab. Being in the cage. They're injecting me. Taunting me. Bo, can we go home? I promise we can talk about it when we get back but I'm tired and cold and bloody. I feel…"

"Say no more, baby. Let's go home. Are you going to walk with me or shift?"

Bo waited and watched as the stallion appeared before her. Lauren lowered her shoulder so Bo could climb up. Rather than backtrack through the woods and risk having to battle their way out, she ran the sort distance to the coast and down to their home. Bo encouraged her as they moved,

'If this is a monster, then monsters are amazing creatures. Feel the wind, Lauren. Feel the speed. Feel the sand beneath your feet and the spray off the ocean. This is life, Lauren. You're alive and you have so much to look forward to, baby. Please don't run away again unless I'm with you like this.'

'I'll try, Bo. I'll try.'

'I love you, baby… so much.'

'I love you too, Bo. I'm sorry for running.'

'Yea, healing me first would have been nice.'

'Sorry.'

… … … … … … …

Bo and Lauren arrived back at the beach house about ten minutes later. The girls were now joined by Madge and were seated around the fire pit closest to the house. Kenzi tossed a blanket to Bo who threw it over the stallion's back. Lauren shifted and walked up the stairs without saying a word.

Kenzi watched as Bo's eyes flared blue. Storm clouds were rising out of the east and a light snow began to fall.

"Bo…" Madge cautioned.

"Nightmares. Nightmares! Those fucking scientists in Tafts lab, Kenz! They fucked her head up beyond belief! She thinks she's a monster! Lauren… thinks she's the fucking monster! She's been locked up by the Fae, used, tortured, beaten and thrown in a dungeon, enslaved for years, her girlfriend put into a coma only to be killed by ME! I cheated on her with Dyson, then Rainer. She was left alone and pregnant after being manipulated by Taft and was experimented on while being kept in a dog cage, Kenz! She saves us all and how do the Fae thank her? They declare her public enemy number one and hunt her down! They kidnapped her son and then he was forced to watch as she killed the real monsters! She was happy before the Fae, Kenz. She was happy!"

"She was content, Bo… not happy. With you she's happy."

"Yea, I can vouch for her as miserable as hell without you, Bo." Ella added.

"Not to mention impulsive, out of control and withdrawn." Added Emma.

Madge walked to Bo and took both of her hands in her own. Looking into the eyes of the young woman she had come to love like a daughter she spoke,

"Bo, I think we all know that Lauren has been happier than we've ever seen her since you came – even with the problems you've had to work out, she's truly happy."

"She thinks she's a monster Aunt Madge… Lauren… the woman who would walk through fire for any of us without concern for how it might hurt her. She thinks she's the monster. Worse than that, she thinks she has instilled some form of evil in Ethan and our unborn children."

"Because he's a tiger cub?"

"I think so. And this baby inside of me," Bo paused an placed her hand on her belly,

"Madge, I'm afraid she resents the child I'm carrying because it was born of her shifter abilities. What if she doesn't want my baby?"

"Hmmm… now that sounds familiar. She thought you wouldn't want Ethan."

"But that's because she thought I would be a shitty parent. This is because she thinks our child is… is a monster." Bo's tears were streaming down her face. Kenzi came over to her friend making eye contact with Madge.

"Come on Bo-Bo, let's walk. Madge will check on Lauren." Madge turned and walked up the stairs. Kenzi turned back to Ella and Emma.

"We'll keep an eye and ear out for Ethan, Kenz. You guys go."

Ella spoke, understanding what Kenzi's final concern was about taking some alone time with her friend. Emma gave Kenzi a small smile signaling it was okay.

Kenzi and Bo walked for about ten minutes in silence as the young Druid waited for the Succubus to calm. She had been here many times with her best friend. Talking her down from her panic was never easy, but she knew if she was given time to talk it out, Bo would move forward and ultimately solve any problem thrown at her.

"We need to contact Tamsin. Taft's people… they all knew, Kenz. They knew exactly what they were doing. Humans tortured her, Kenz. She was in the cage. Watching her re-live it in her nightmare was horrible. She was screaming to be let out of the cage. I think that's why she shifted in bed. She was trying to break out of the cage in her sleep. I think that's why the cage looked the way it did when Dyson and Hale found it. She literally fought her way out of a steel cage to get away from the Fae. I guess she was afraid of the human scientists, but the Fae… she was terrified of the Fae. That was enough motivation for her to chew through fucking steel bars!"

Kenzi could see the anger beginning to rise again, but she just kept walking knowing the moment she was waiting for was about to arrive.

"AAAAGGGGHHHHHH!" Bo screamed out into the night sky across the sea. "STOP FUCKING WITH HER LIFE! JUST FUCKING LEAVE HER ALONE! HAVEN'T YOU ALL DONE ENOUGH?!"

Bo dropped to her knees pulling wet sand into her hands as she rocked back and forth. As the movement slowed, Kenzi walked over to her and silently laid a hand on her shoulder.

"All of those years being forced to serve the Fae… never having a way out… the cage may have been bigger, but it was still a cage. They all need to pay, Kenzi. Taft's scientists, the Fae… all of them."

"She's safe now, Bo."

"No, she's not, Kenz. Don't you see? She won't be safe until 'The Queen' takes her throne and ends all of this."

Bo spoke sarcastically as she made air quotes around the words,

"I am already the Queen of the fucking Fae. I just have to do this Druid Queen thing. I don't know what I'm waiting for… I mean I know what I have to do to help Lauren put all of this behind us… to stop her from having to always look over her shoulder and worry if she and our children are safe. I have to put on my big girl pants, walk into the farmhouse and tell Beli and Vesta that I'm ready to take the throne."

Kenzi sat in silence, she knew Bo was still processing what she was saying,

"So why haven't I done it, Kenz? Do I not love my fiancé enough to do what has to be done to save her?"

"I think you're waiting, Bo."

"For what?"

"Your Father… I think you're hoping he comes back and takes his place as our King so you don't have to."

"That's not how it works, Kenz. I was apparently destined to take my Father's throne as part of the prophecy. He relinquished his throne to his sole heir when he was taken by the Dark King. I'm it, Kenz. This is all on me. But maybe you're right about one thing… I think I am waiting for him. I just feel… incomplete. The prophecy says he'll return. Apparently each elder holds a piece of the prophecy and my Father holds the piece about Lauren. Why wouldn't he have told me? Is she destined to die anyway after working so hard for years to survive Taft hell?"

Bo thought of her father, "He told me he would return, Kenz. I guess it's just the anticipation of it all."

"He'll be here Bo, and until he is you have very wise people who knew him very well for most of his life to guide you in your choices. You're not alone, Bo-Bo. Don't forget that."

"And what does all of this mean for Lauren… for Ethan… for our unborn children? I mean, if Lauren marries me, this is all on her too, Kenz. She has some big role in this prophecy that hasn't been revealed to us yet. Maybe she doesn't want that? She doubts herself, Kenz. Maybe she doesn't really want any of this. Maybe it's all too much for her."

"Bo-Bo, we all know that Lauren is one of the strongest women we've ever met. Whatever is going on with her right now, she'll get through it. You just have to be there for her to help her, not out here babbling about revenge and her not wanting to be by your side despite the responsibilities that will come with it. She loves you, end of story. You love her, end of story. She's having growing pains that are very similar to the ones you had when we first met. The whole, 'I'm a monster' thing… been there, done that, got the T-shirt, babe. So go do what she did for you. Help her believe she… and your kids… are not monsters. Just young 'uns who need to learn control."

"I guess you're right, Kenz."

"Of course I am. Now how about tonight you just go take care of your girl?"

"Okay, but can you contact Tamsin?"

"Bo-Bo, according to Caden, Tamsin and Dyson are on their way. I don't think we can reach them right now. Everything in good time my friend, but for now go get your girl."

Bo took Kenzi's hand, "Thanks, Kenz. You always know how to calm me back down. You ready for the quick way home?"

"No, no… Bo it makes me feel…"

But it was too late. They vanished from their position on the beach and re-appeared in front of the fire pit where Emma and Ella were engaged in what appeared to be a heated make-out session.

"Shit! Bo, I hate that!"

"Sorry, Kenz. Get a room you two! I'm back… you can head home to do that!" Ella and Emma laughed as Bo waved goodnight to everyone. Right now, she needed to be with Lauren.

She entered the house and walked down the corridor stopping to check on Ethan before continuing down the hallway. He was still in his human form,

"Well, at least one thing is going right so far tonight."

She entered her room to see Madge sitting in the chair by the fireplace watching Lauren as she slept. Bo whispered to her Aunt,

"Did she fall asleep quickly?"

"Out like a light, though her sleep has been restless. Maybe you should sleep…"

"No, Madge. I can't do that. Look, she hurt me with her claws – I won't lie – but she has to learn to trust that I'll heal and that she won't always hurt me. I will not take steps backward in our relationship – not after all we went through to finally be under the same roof. "

"I'm not asking you to take a step backward, Bo… just a step back. Just for tonight?"

"I cannot be afraid to sleep with her, Madge. No matter what."

Bo sighed as she walked closer to Madge and sat on the floor by the fireplace. She stared at the flame for a few moments before drawing a small piece of it into her palm. She rolled it around on her hand before closing her fist around it, creating a small puff of smoke as it extinguished. She looked up to Madge,

"Did I ever tell you that Lauren was the first human I ever slept with that I didn't kill?"

Madge shook her head.

"She initiated it. I was terrified of hurting her but she told me she trusted me… that I wouldn't hurt her. I can't explain why but in that moment, I put all of my trust and belief in her and let it happen. When she fell asleep afterwards, I had to keep checking her to be sure she was really breathing."

Bo chuckled at the memory and Madge just smiled.

"And you want her to know you have that kind of trust and belief in her now."

"Yes, but it's more than that, Madge. Not long after Lauren and I met, I took this case that led me to going undercover as a boxer. While that was going on, the sister of the boy I killed showed up in town. It had happened when we were just sixteen but I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the first time I'd ever killed and I had no idea what I was. My very religious adoptive parents had led me to believe that sex was the work of the devil. So having killed him that way, I ran thinking I had the devil inside me." Bo shifted her legs straight out and leaned back against the warm stone of the fireplace.

"That week, I had convinced myself I was a monster. I had allowed myself to be beaten up in the ring, hoping for death so others would be safe from my succubus. I stood there taking punch after punch while Kenzi and Dyson could only watch. Dyson called Lauren because I refused to heal with him. I thought I deserved to die, but I couldn't even do that right. I figured if I didn't take any chi, I would eventually die of hunger. After the last beating I took it was Lauren who convinced me that I wasn't a monster. I was ready to turn myself in for Kyle's murder. She stopped me… and my friend Hale created a witness protection program story that through her off the trail." Bo thought for a minute,

"I think that's why I was so relieved to meet my father. Everyone had thought the Dark King was my daddy, so I was sure I had evil in me. To meet my father and know that part of me is about peace and balance… well, it's what made me sure I could be what Lauren would need."

"And you want to make sure she knows she's not a monster…" Madge stared at Bo, 'I understand."

"Do you?"

"Yes, dear. You want Lauren to believe and trust in herself as well as you. To finally believe that once and for all, you are here in the purest and most steadfast of ways."

"I will NEVER leave her, Madge. I am not complete without her. Being away from her for all of those years after she left was terrible but nothing was worse than last month. I was so close to her, yet she didn't believe in my love for her. She didn't trust me. If she believes herself a monster, then she still believes me to be one."

"Because you could never love a monster unless you were one yourself."

"It's pretty simple." Bo said. She turned to look up at Lauren, shocked to find the woman was staring right back at her.

"Hey…"

"Hey…"

"How long have you been awake?"

"Hmmm, let's see… since you asked if I'd fallen asleep quickly."

"You were awake that entire time?" Bo asked.

"Your thoughts woke me when you were talking to Kenzi outside. You were pretty upset, so I closed my eyes and lay down and just listened… then just kept listening. It calmed me to hear your voice." Lauren paused for a moment, making sure she had her mate's full attention,

"You're not a monster, Bo."

"Neither are you, Lauren."

Lauren went to stand, "No, please baby. Stay in bed. I'm coming up to lay with you."

Lauren moved to protest, but Bo cut her off.

"It was an accident, Lauren. If you start to have nightmares again, I'll wake you but I'm not sleeping anywhere else. You heard me tell Madge. I won't do it. You won't hurt me. You've shifted under me several times while we've slept and never hurt me. It was the nightmares, Lauren. You didn't do this to me – the scientists did. And they're going to pay, Lauren."

"Madge, when you go back please tell John we're going to speed up our training. I am going to talk to Beli and Vesta tomorrow about starting the process of taking the throne. Bo's pulling on her big girl pants and getting ready to fulfill the prophecy – including the parts you haven't told us about yet. My family will be safe… all of Druid-kind will be safe."

"Are you sure, Bo?" Lauren asked, sitting up in bed.

"Tamsin and Dyson are on their way. They'll probably have Bruce, Caden, Vex and Hale with them. I'm sure they'll have word from Trick on what's happening with the Fae. I don't know why… I can just feel it."

Madge explained,

"You're the Queen of the Fae, dear. Even for the Fae it is based in nature. When other Fae see you, they will recognize you as their queen. It is probably why Evony is not fighting harder to find you. If Fae loyal to her see you, they will follow you. Beli and Vesta have first hand knowledge of all that Trick knew of your Fae prophecy. Your Fae throne is tied to the Fae people themselves – not just the land as is the case with the position of Ash and Morrigan. Your people's plight will be known to your subconscious even when you are not with them. Eventually, you'll will learn to call that information in to your conscious mind but it will take some years to learn to listen to the universe."

Madge stood and turned to Lauren,

"I don't doubt your love for Bo, Lauren… or your belief in her. We've had too many discussions about how you feel about this woman to doubt where your allegiance lies with regards to your intended."

Madge sighed, "...But you have to realize that by marrying her, you will be marrying the Queen of the Fae and Druids. You will be forced to assume your role in the prophecy by the very nature of your marriage ceremony, as will your children. I need you both to realize that."

The older Druid looked between the pair and allowed them a moment to think on what she had just said,

"So Lauren..." Madge took her hand, "I need to know daughter, are you sure you want this marriage with Bo and all of the responsibility that will come with being her Queen?"

"I would die for her, Madge. I cannot live without her. I've tried. Even for my son I could not bring myself to live without her. I will rule by her side. She needs me. I am her soul… her balance. When she begins to slip into the darkness, I will be the one to pull her back to the light. I will care for our children when her duties do not allow it. I will rule in her stead when she is not present."

Lauren turned to Bo, "I will be whatever my Queen needs me to be and accept the prophecy held by her father as it pertains to me – no matter what the cost."

Bo smiled and moved to cup Lauren's cheek,

"I will only ever need you to be you… my tender, loving and passionate mate… mother to my children… and defender of the weak. You are my champion, Lauren Lewis. Now and always."

They heard a sniffle and both spun their heads towards Madge to see tears running down her cheeks,

"Good Gaia! This wedding ceremony is going to be the death of me. You two are just beautiful."

She placed a hand on each of the girls' cheeks,

"Just beautiful. I am so proud of you both. I wish life had been easier for each of you, but if it had been, you wouldn't possess the strength or the passion for justice you now possess. You will be great rulers. Innocent Fae, Druids and Humans will all be safe in their lives for your efforts."

Madge turned to walk away until hearing Bo call out, "Madge?"

"Yes, dear?"

Bo and Lauren looked at each other then back to their Mentor,

"We'd like to get married next month. Can that happen? We'd rather not be pregnant whales when we say our vows."

"I will talk to Beli tomorrow and begin the preparations. Do you know what you want?"

"Kenzi is handling all of the arrangements. Our friend loves planning parties. We've already told her to talk to you about the Druid ritual so she knows of anything special that needs to be incorporated beyond our vows to each other."

"So the young Druid has free reign?"

"Yes, as long as she keeps it small. Ethan wants fire pits for tables down the beach. He doesn't want anything special… just the log and wood tables we make for family fire dinners."

"Excellent idea! Very romantic, that young man of yours! And the guest list?"

"Well, obviously all of our immediate family. Our Fae friends will be here soon – we just don't know exactly when, nor do we know if they'll be staying for any length of time."

"Ah, the wolf and the Valkyrie."

"Yes, ma'am." Bo replied.

"Well, I will have Kenzi take you into town. There is an old woman there – also part Fae, part Druid like yourselves. She will make your wedding attire – it is an old custom for Druids. Her name is Hattie."

"She's a weaving Fae?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, dear." Madge replied.

"There's 'weaving' Fae? What…"

"I'll explain later, Bo. It's a good thing. Trust me."

"Always."

"Okay, girls. The sun will be up soon. This old broad has a lot of phone calls to start on in the morning."

"Please tell John if he needs to delay the start of construction on Kenzi's place because of wedding stuff, that is fine."

"Kenzi and I will handle the wedding with Beli and your cousins. John and Vesta will handle your coronation rites – they are traditional, so don't require a lot of planning. John will be able to handle the initial construction planning and then hand it off to Chase who I have a feeling will find great incentive in finishing Kenzi's home sooner rather than later."

She winked and they all laughed. "Don't worry girls, there will be a lot to do, but getting it all done by next month will allow you to relax and just concentrate on being pregnant mommies."

"And our duties as Queens?"

"It will be a daily job but the best of leaders are best at delegating authority. If you choose your court well, your job will be simple. Your Father knew this. He was very well liked as King because he involved people in the decisions that affected them. Of course, having people who are bred to bring peace and balance to all life does make it much easier to rule than if you are surrounded by anger, angst and violence all the time. Hopefully, you will be the leader the Fae will need as well."

"How does one person govern two kingdoms that are always at odds with one another?" Bo asked as Lauren gave her hand a supportive squeeze.

"I believe that is the part we are yet unaware of, my dear. Beli believes that the book of prophecies that was in Trick's possession when they lived in his castle addressed that issue. She has only a vague recollection of the words because he interrupted her when she was reading the book. After she had read it, he hid it from the library so she never laid eyes upon it again. We believe it has to do with Lauren which in turn we believe is why both the light and dark were always so keen on possessing her."

"What does grandmother recall from what she has read?"

"The gist of the reading was that the Fae and Druid would 'unite under one queen with a right hand that would equal her power'. How that is to come about, she does not know but believes it only makes sense that the rulers would have to be part Fae and part Druid."

"This truly is fate, then?" Lauren asked moving her finger between she and Bo.

"It appears so, dear. Do you think it odd that a human, turned Fae and Druid against her will, has fought so hard to be with a woman who had no idea that she would become Queen?"

Bo and Lauren looked at each other, "Fated." They said together.

"Well, the fates can take a nap for now because we all need our beauty rest. Good night Madge. And thanks again." Bo said with sincerity.

"Hmmm… some of us more than others, my dear. Sleep tight you two."

"Thank you, Madge." Lauren said as her adopted mother disappeared.

Bo turned to Lauren, "Tired?"

"Exhausted." Bo said, "Wanna cuddle?"

"Hmmm there's nothing I'd love more than to fall asleep in your arms."

"Do you feel better?"

"Yes, Bo. Thank you for bringing me to my senses. I have some work to do… Ethan has some work to do but… about what you said to Kenzi… I don't think the child you are carrying is evil. I just wish it wasn't going to have to kill to survive."

"That's the PETA supporter in you. You're going to have to move past that Lauren. You are part of the animal kingdom… part of balancing the species. The only guilt you should feel from killing is innocent humans. If you can't believe that, how can our kids ever be okay with their own identities? You have to set the example, here Lauren."

"Are you trying to tell me I'm gonna have to step up, Succubus?" Lauren tickled Bo as she spoke.

"Damn straight, Queenie!" The pair hugged as they rolled over in bed wrapped in each other's arms.

"Hungry?" Bo asked Lauren.

"Actually, while we were running back here I remembered I'd left a fresh kill in the woods. I almost went back for it until I remembered you were with me. The idea of Kenzi seeing me walk up to the beach house with a dead wolf hanging out of my mouth helped me to resist the urge to pick it up."

"Well, Mamma does need her meat!"

"Somehow I think she instead of seeing 'cheeseburger' she would have seen 'dead carcass hanging from horse's mouth'." They laughed again.

"Take some chi sweetie. I fed while I was walking with Kenzi."

Lauren leaned in a ghosted her lips against Bo's, "Hmmm… I felt like its been weeks since I've kissed you."

"We definitely did not do enough kissing today, love."

Bo traced Lauren's lips with her fingers as she pressed a soft kiss there. She kept her finger next to their connected lips, wanting to feel the connection in every way possible. She loved the intimacy of their kisses and the warmth she felt rush through her body when their mouths connected.

She parted her lips granting Lauren's searching tongue access as the kiss deepened. She felt the incredible sensation of Lauren pulling a long, sensual draught of chi from her essence and moaned into the doctor's mouth. She felt her nipples harden against Lauren's chest before a warm hand slid beneath her shirt and began rolling a sensitive nub between incredibly soft and skilled fingertips.

There were benefits to having a doctor's well skilled hands attached to your mate. Bo found herself being rolled onto her back as the blonde took control. She felt the long, thin, muscular leg slide into her heat applying just the right amount of pressure, causing her to raise her hips seeking more contact. Bo bent her leg slightly forcing her thigh into Lauren's mound and the dance began. Desperate for more contact, Bo spoke,

"Shorts, off… please."

"Yours too… God, I want to feel you."

They took a quick break to pull each other's shorts off before resuming their previous position. Hands cupping, squeezing and rolling nipples as tongues slid in, out and around each other's mouths their legs quickly became soaked with each other's sweet nectar. The silence in the room gave way to moans, panting and lude, wet sex as movements became more frantic.

"I need to be inside you, Lauren…" The doctor lifted her hips as her mate wasted no time sliding her fingers deep into her heat.

Lauren slid her hand down between them,

"Let me in, Bo."

The brunette complied with the request and spread her legs to allow her lover the same access granted her. Bo screamed out when Lauren entered her deep, their pace quickening as their fingers plunged deeper into their growing wetness. Thrusting of hips and hands hastened in cadence with heavy breaths.

"Lauren, I'm going to… Come with me, baby."

Bo looked deep into Lauren's blue eyes as she fell over the edge, taking Lauren with her into the abyss. They continued to stroke each other deeply and slowly as they came down from intense orgasm, their eyes never losing contact. Their movements slowed but they remained inside of each other as they drifted off to sleep safe in the warmth of the other's arms.

… … … …

Bo awoke to a growling sound in the bathroom… a very familiar growling sound… followed by the tipping of something that sounded very much like a trash can. She rolled over and saw the clumsy white striped paws of her fully shifted son and a sprawl of Q-Tips, tissues, and an old mascara bottle…

'Shit… he's in the fucking trash. What could possibly attract him in the trash can?' She received the answer from her mate's panicked thoughts as she jumped from the bed.

'Fuck! My bloody rag from last night... I used it before I stepped in the shower. He smells the blood from the wolf, Bo.'

'Lauren… you're naked…'

'Shit! Lauren turned around and grabbed Bo's sleep shorts and shirt from the floor and threw them on.'

Bo rolled over, pulling the covers up to cover her chest as Lauren emerged from the bathroom holding the tiger cub by the scruff of the neck, bloody rag in his mouth.

'And how do you propose we handle this?'

'I guess it smelled good and apparently it tastes good. I mean… it was good enough for you, right Mommy?' Bo looked at Lauren with pleading eyes not to yell at their son.

Lauren held the cub at arms length as she partially shifted so she could speak to her son. God she couldn't wait until his brain and hearing developed enough so he could understand human words.

'Tastes good, eh?'

'Yes, Mommy… well, it actually smelled better than it tastes. It tastes sort of bitter.'

'That's the perfumes in the laundry detergent and the fabric softener on the cloth. What do you think would have been a better option than dumping the trash all over our bathroom floor and chewing on a not-so-good-tasting bloody rag?'

'Staying human and waiting for Aunt Kenzi to make me video game breakfast?'

'Well, apparently your tiger is hungry and I'm not sure he would like pancakes. Can I have the rag while we talk?'

Ethan dropped the rag into Lauren's waiting hand. She pulled him under her arm and carried him over to Bo.

'Stay with Mamma for a minute and do NOT bite her! I don't care how hungry you are, young man!'

'I won't Mommy. I promise.'

Ethan made his way up the down comforter and plopped down in front of the Succubus as she lay on her side with her head propped up listening to Lauren's half of the conversation. Her son pushed his paws forward, sliding his back in as close to his mother as he could get before plopping his head down in apparent frustration.

Bo put her arm around him and began stroking the fur on his belly. She watched, as the young cub seemed to relax. Lauren walked back into the room after cleaning up the mess in the bathroom to find her fiancé and son lying together in that moment. As evident from the look in the succubus' eyes, Bo clearly had nothing but love for her young cub. Ethan's eyes were closed, his paws parted allowing the soothing gesture from his Mamma. Lauren pulled her cellphone from her jacket and opened the camera app before snapping a picture of the pair. Bo and Ethan heard the sound and looked up,

'Couldn't resist. You two look adorable. Now, about that hunger little man. I have ground meat in the refrigerator courtesy of your Uncle Chase.'

'Yummy!' The tiger cub jumped from the bed as Bo tried in vain to grip him. His mom's watched horrified, helpless do to anything as the moment unfurled in slow motion before them. Ethan was air born, pawing at the air, unaware of how high up the bed was for a cub's legs versus his usual human ones.

'Humph.' He landed with a thud, belly to the ground with his paws spread out to the sides, stunned by the fall. Lauren fought hard against her instinct to run to him and pick him up as Bo shouted into her mind,

'Wait, Lauren! He has to learn… just see if he's okay… let him figure it out.'

They watched anxiously as their son pawed his way to a standing position before looking between the two of them, his eyes finally setting on Lauren's partially shifted form,

'Did you see that Mommy! I flew!' He darted out of the room and into the kitchen leaving Lauren laughing her ass off.

'What did he say?'

'He's proud of himself, Bo. He said he flew!'

Bo laughed with Lauren before she heard her wife,

'Now get up, Succubus. The day has apparently begun despite the fact that we only slept for about three hours.'

'Ah the joys of motherhood.'

Lauren sauntered over to the bed where her naked mate lay covered. She pulled the covers down to expose the succubus' breasts. She looked at them lovingly before tracing one areola with her fingertip. She leaned down as if to kiss Bo's mouth before suddenly changing her trajectory and taking one of the now erect buds in her mouth. Teasing and sucking on the nipple, she finally released it with a loud pop before sliding her mouth up to her lover for a kiss. She deepened the kiss and pulled deeply from her lover's essence before pulling away.

'I have to go feed our son, lover.'

Bo's arousal was high as Lauren slid her hand down Bo's soft skin and directly into her heat. She thrust her fingers in, rubbing her hardened numb with her thumb. Lauren looked over her shoulder making sure to shield her actions with her body, but had heard Kenzi talking to the cub in the kitchen. She had another minute or two at best. She pulsed her succubus several times watching, as her eyes became a brilliant blue.

'Ah, there you are, my succubus. Good morning. Will you come for me?'

'Lauren… please…'

'Hmmmm… patience dear, just a few more seconds…'

Lauren sent several pulses through the hand that was buried in her mate as she quickened the strokes of her thumb and pulled more chi from her mate. After several more thrusts and another pulse or two, she was able to watch as her mate's aura flared a brilliant white. She knew what was coming as she felt Bo's walls clench around her fingers now forcing their way in and out of her. Lauren curled her fingers and pressed her lips tightly against the brunette's to muffle the scream she was expecting. As Bo came down form her arousal, Lauren spoke into her mind,

'Tu es superbe quand vous venez, mon amour.' Lauren kissed her lips one more time before turning and leaving the room.

'Wait! What did you say? Where are you going?' Bo sat up trying to hide her ample breasts from the open door.

'Try Google Translate… I'm going to feed our hungry cub!'

'Lauren!'

The blonde laughed as she walked through the door. Bo was sat dumbfounded trying to wrap her head around the moment she just shared with her very sexy fiancé. She dropped back to the bed running her hand over her breasts remembering the sensation of Lauren's mouth on her nipples.

'Hmmm… you are a Succubus' dream, Lauren Lewis.'

'Hmmm… and you are my dream, Bo Dennis. Now get up! Your son is too adorable! He's chasing the bowl all over the kitchen floor!'

Bo arrived in the kitchen after throwing some clothes on and immediately found a bowl slamming into her foot. She looked down to find the tiger cub looking up at her, tongue licking at the blood-covered mouth. She sat down and held the bowl in place giving a nod to her son to continue as Kenzi reprimanded,

"Aw, Bo-bear… you ruined our video! We wanted to show him how funny he looked chasing his bowl around the floor!"

"And now you can show him how supportive at least one of his Succubus mom's is at helping him to eat!"

Lauren looked slightly guilty before she spoke, "But it really was cute."

Bo watched as Ethan licked his bowl clean before crawling into her lap. He sat there licking his paws and his lips, cleaning them of the blood until all that remained was his snow-white fur. Bo looked up at Lauren,

"Now, the shift back part."

"That's easy dudes,"

Kenzi stated with confidence. We're supposed to have video game breakfast. He's probably still hungry, so I'll just start the pancakes. He'll smell them and shift.

"And how do you suppose that will work?"

"Video games – fingers, not paws… Video game breakfast… keep up, Succubae!"

Kenzi moved to grab the griddle from the cabinet. She pulled down the flour, sugar, eggs, milk and mixing bowl. She made the mix going to the fridge to grab semi-sweet chocolate morsels for Ethan and blueberries for herself. The griddle was almost to temperature when she hit it with some cooking spray and ladled the first portion of batter onto the griddle. Ethan watched her intently, his ears perking up when he heard the mix hit the griddle. After a few minutes, he was lifting his snout sniffing at the air,

"I think Aunt Kenzi may be on to something here, Mamma."

Lauren stated as she watched her son. She was tempted to partially shift so she could hear her son's thoughts but decided to support Bo's thinking that they needed to let him work through this on his own. The waiting and watching was difficult. She was getting just a taste of what Bo was coping with not being a shifter herself.

Kenzi flipped the first four chocolate chip pancakes onto a plate before moving onto the blueberry ones. She placed a lid over the first batch so they would stay warm. When hers were finished, she plated them and carried both plates to the table with a bottle of syrup and a few pats of butter along with some cutlery. She put Ethan's telephone book on the chair for him to sit even though he hadn't shifted back yet. She sat and began eating her pancakes as he kept eye contact with her. They watched as Ethan stood from Bo's lap and shifted, walking to his place at the table and digging into the pancakes.

"Best pancakes ever, Aunt K! Are we gonna play video games?"

"As soon as you finish your cakes and we load the plates into the dishwasher, little dude."

Lauren placed a cup of milk in front of her son and ruffled his blonde hair before moving back to the kitchen to make blueberry pancakes for she and Bo.

"Here you go, my naked little boy. Put this on so Aunt Kenzi doesn't have to see your bird flying around the house."

"It's called a penis, Mamma. It's not a bird. You're silly!"

"And your Mommy is clearly a doctor." Kenzi added in a mumbled sarcastic tone as she rolled her eyes.

Ethan stood and got on the step stool to rinse his plate before putting it carefully in the dishwasher with his cutlery. He opened the fridge, dragged out the gallon jug of milk, and placed his cup on the floor.

"Need help there, buddy?" Bo asked.

"No, Mamma. I can do it. I'm strong."

The women all laughed at Ethan's confidence as he poured the milk into the cup, spilling a little on the floor before tipping the container back to slow the flow and hit the cup. He put the lid back on the milk and put his cup on the counter. Then ran over to the sink and used the step stool to reach a sponge. Mopping up the mess on the floor, he tossed the sponge over the edge of the sink, before moving his step stool to reach the jar of his Mommy's homemade oatmeal cookies.

"Only two, buddy."

"I know, Mommy."

He took the two cookies and his cup of milk in hand before looking at his Mommy's stern look. He ran back to the cabinet, moved his step stool towards the area beneath the cabinet where his plastic plates were stowed. He placed the cookies on the plate before gripping his milk and walking through the living room down the shallow stairs to the entertainment room where Kenzi had the video game challenge ready to go.

"He's such a good boy, Lauren. You really did do a good job raising him. You are an excellent, mom. Our kids are so lucky to have you."

Bo rubbed her belly. It was still hard to believe there was a baby growing inside of her. She and Lauren had an appointment with the Druid healers tomorrow. She was nervously excited about her first exam.

"They're lucky to have you, Bo. You're so good with him when he shifts. I'm all controlling and loaded with do's and don'ts. You just accept him for who he is."

"Isn't that what you did for me?"

"Touché."

"Learning to accept yourself as you are is hard for a human. It was hard for me when I added Succubus to the description. You've added a whole boatload of Fae to your story, Lauren. Be patient with yourself. You're still a baby Fae in so many ways. Yes, your control is better, but you still have an awful lot to go through. Trust me on that. Just be glad you're through your Dawnings. I still can't believe you didn't have to do any of that weird stuff that I had to do. It was all so strange and confusing – like being in a cartoon."

"Well, we're in reality now. We have to head over to the farmhouse." Lauren stood and cleared the table with Bo as they moved their conversation to the kitchen.

"Kenzi's house, coronation, wedding."

"Right… plus, we need to go shopping, Bo." The succubus leaned over her shoulder and whispered,

"First, I want to see Uncle Arranz about Ethan's broken bat."

"Uncle Arranz? Does he have connections to the Red Sox?"

"No, but he is a Druid that specializes in metals, minerals and the elements. He told me during one of our training sessions that all materials that come from the earth possess energy even after we've harvested them from our good mother. So, what do you think?"

"I think we ask him. That bat means to the world to Ethan. He sat and waited for the teams to come out of the dug out and his was the only bat Davey stopped to sign that day."

"Okay, then we'll see what we can do about getting that repaired. I don't think we can replace his Roger Clemens baseball camp T-Shirt but maybe we can get him something signed by him?"

"Bo that would be SO expensive."

"Yea and from what I understand, memorabilia is worth more as it ages… when it's from the right players, that is. He's one of the all-time greats!"

"Okay. Well, let's ask Kenz if she can watch him for a few hours today so we can get some shopping in, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan Doctor Lewis." Bo pulled Lauren in for a kiss and a hug.

"Bo?"

"What names are we going to take?"

"Well, we've already partially discussed that but I guess since they're going to start drawing up documents they're going to need a decision soon, eh?"

"To be sure."

"Do you want to ask Ethan?"

"Well, Dennis and Lewis are both boys' names, so he could still keep his name. If we don't use either of those, we would just need to add on to the end."

"Okay, so what are our options?"

"Beattie or Lewis is all that comes from my side. I don't want to be Beattie and Lewis was given to me by the Fae."

"So I take it you want to use one of my names?"

"Yes."

"Okay, on my side there is Dennis and McCorrigan. I'm not bound to Dennis since that is the name of my adoptive parents. While I'm grateful for the first fifteen years of support and guidance they provided, they were religious fanatics who shaped a belief system that would prevent me from accepting myself. If we use McCorrigan, we seem bias for the light Fae."

"What about Martini?"

Bo thought for a moment. She realized that she never thinks of herself as a Martini even though she actually is by blood and love, "I guess that's a real option that I hadn't considered, but does that show me siding with Druids over Fae?"

"Maybe, but which race is more in line with who you are Bo and what you want for your people? This is YOUR name for YOUR family and you. It's not about the Fae or the Druid people and as much as I respect and love the fact that you want to name yourself based on how others would view it, hasn't your entire journey about choosing the life you choose on your terms? Your terms aren't selfish, Bo. Your terms are about what's right for everyone."

"How do you feel about becoming a Martini?" Bo felt Lauren's positive energy before she even spoke.

"It doesn't matter what I feel, Bo. You are the one that will be identified with the name first and foremost. Your wife will be identified by you – whoever you are and whatever you do."

"You're hiding, Doctor Lewis…"

"What?"

"I felt the pulse come from you when I asked you the question. Tell me the truth… you would like to take the Martini name, wouldn't you?"

Lauren sighed cursing their link, "Damned link."

Bo chuckled,"Talk to me, baby. Regardless of who I may be, this isn't about me… there is a 'we' here that I must consider no matter how trivial a name may seem right now."

"Bo, you know my history with the Fae… right up until I became one. Trick did not think I was good enough for you. He was always playing for Dyson and while I read in your journals that he eventually supported us, it just feels like he got too tired of fighting – I don't know that he still really supports it. For that reason, taking the name McCorrigan would be…"

"Say no more, Lauren. I totally understand. Well, beyond Martini our only option would be to create a totally different name all together."

"Well, when you merge our existing names you get our existing names, really." Bo looked at Lauren, "Dennis… Lewis? They both end in 'is' so the only option would be Denlew or Lewden and they just sound… well, just… no way." They both laughed.

Bo suggested, "We could do a word scramble… denils or lindes or islend…" They laughed again.

"What about combining Martini and McCorrigan… uniting the Druid and Fae in name as well as community?"

"McTini? Marrigan?"

"No! That sounds too much like the Morrigan and McTini sounds like a drink."

"Agreed."

"Bo, I think we both know that you are a Martini at heart."

"I think I am, Lauren." Bo fell silent, raising her eyes to her mate's only when she felt her fingers beneath her chin.

"Hey… what's going on in there? Don't make me pry." Lauren pointed to her head before placing a gentle kiss there.

"You know, when I first arrived you were sitting at dinner with all of the Martini's around you. It was like you were the center of their world. You were all laughing and having fun… Ethan was this happy, bubbly, bouncing little boy."

Bo paused to gather her emotions as she recalled the memory.

"Hey…" Lauren knew there was more, "Did something happen?"

"You fit in so well with everyone and I felt like an outsider to my own blood relatives. I thought of the possibility of me being the one who may have to walk away from my own family if you had chosen Ella. I was so jealous and felt so alone… society's outcast… forever to be the unaligned succubus who everyone tried to kill and no one could ever be with."

Lauren pulled Bo in for a tight hug and whispered in her ear as she fought against hope to hold back the tears,

"But you were wrong, weren't you? You are loved here, Bo. You have a family here."

"I know that now, Lauren. You gave me that. This place, these people… it just feels right to me, Lo."

"So, do we have a name then?"

"Are you really okay with becoming a Martini?"

"I am."

"One step left…" They turned and walked down into the entertainment room.

"Hey Kenz, can you pause the game for a moment? We have to go over to the farmhouse for a bit, then run some errands. Can Ethan hang out with you?"

"Aww, can't I come, Mamma?"

"Not this time, buddy. We're actually going to do a little Christmas shopping for a little boy we know…"

Ethan laughed as he caught on to what Bo was saying, "Are you gonna get me cool stuff, Mamma?"

"We're going to look around and see what we can find. Hopefully you'll like what we pick out."

"Mommy?"

"Yes Sweetie?"

"I know I broke them myself, but will you buy me just a pair of pants and a shirt? I'm wearing my five year old stuff and…" Ethan was suddenly very upset and clammed up.

Kenzi nudged him, "What's up little man? Did something happen?"

Ethan looked at his Aunt for a moment, "It's okay, little dude. Talk to Auntie K. You know you can tell me anything. I got your back, bud."

"Little John called my pants 'floods'."

Ethan hung his head as he admitted the source of his shame.

"I told him my tiger tore them but he called me a liar and told me I didn't have a tiger. I told him I did too and he still didn't believe me. Then Jake called me a liar too and now they won't talk to me."

"Is that why you didn't want to go fishing with Uncle Chase today?"

"Uh-huh." He nodded confirming his Aunt's suspicion. Kenzi looked up at Bo with a look that Bo found very familiar. The light in the room dimmed. Bo glanced outside and noticed some storm clouds on the horizon.

"Kenz…" Bo cautioned.

"No, Bo. You know there is one thing I do not tolerate and that is bullying. His own blood!"

"Kenz, I need you to look outside."

"Aunt K, you're making it rain." Kenzi looked up at Ethan seeing the fear on his face. "Please don't make it rain."

Kenzi knew that the young Druid-Fae had been through enough in his life. She didn't need to be the source of more fear.

"I got it under control, little dude. Don't sweat it. But you need to stand up for yourself. You can't let your cousins get away with talking to you like that."

"But they're bigger than me and if I tell my uncles then they'll call me a tattle tale!"

"Hey, there's tattling and then there's telling. Tattling is when you tell on someone because you want to get them in trouble. Telling is when you don't feel safe and you need help from someone. If you feel like your cousins are going to hurt you or if they're making you feel bad, then you tell. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And don't call me that… you know that's what you call old people like your mommies!"

Kenzi laughed and high-fived her nephew, "Now, what are we gonna do about your cousins?"

Lauren intercepted the question, "I think when we're over at the farmhouse today, we'll have a little chat with their dads."

"NO! Mommy! You'll get them in trouble!"

Lauren shook her head, "I won't tell them what they said, Ethan. I will ask them to explain to their son's that your Fae shifter has come out and that they need to know what to do if you should shift."

Lauren paused, unsure how to explain the next part. Bo heard her thoughts and jumped in,

"Ethan, I need you to listen very carefully to this next part. Okay?"

"I'm listening Mamma." Ethan turned to face Bo as she spoke.

"If you shift around your cousins, we're not sure how they will react. We'll make sure their dad's tell them that you won't be able to understand them but you don't have a lot of control in that shifted form. If they're scared, they may try to hurt you."

"I don't want to hurt them Mamma."

"I know, buddy and I'm not telling you too. But I want you to remember that you are faster than them. You can run to the farmhouse or to the beach house. If you're on the boat, you run to one of your uncles, do you understand?"

"I understand, Mamma. If someone tries to hurt me, I run to my aunt or uncle."

Lauren added, "No matter where you are, buddy. If anyone tries to hurt you ever, you run."

Ethan ran over to his Mommy and jumped into her arms. She gave him a huge hug. Bo watched knowing the emotions ran deep for the pair. He had been taken before and the memories were still fresh for both of them… too fresh for Bo's liking.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Is Chase coming over?"

"No, he was working at the restaurant this morning. There were rough seas today, so they cancelled fishing. Josh and Jake were going hunting. Maybe it's Emma or Ella checking in?"

Lauren walked to the door, looking out the windows to see who it was. She smiled when she opened the door, "Hey guys!"

"Hey sis, mind if we come in? We brought fresh kill for the animal inside!"

Jake elbowed her as he gave her a sideways hug. He was carrying a large box, which made Lauren's eyes flash a dark blue at the smell.

"We got a deer, sis! Clean shot right through the head. My brother here still has mad skills. The farm down the road also gave us another load of beef. They heard the queen is here so it's an offering. You're going to get a lot of that sis. You better invest in a freezer."

"Well, actually we're going to be going through a lot more meat now."

She looked down at Little John and Joshua who were waiting patiently for their hugs. She squatted down and gave them each a hug as they shyly said their hellos.

"More meat because of Kenzi no doubt. That girl can put away some serious grub, sis!"

"Yea, but that's not the only reason. Can we step over here into the dining room?"

"Sure, Laur. Do you want the boys to go play?"

"Actually, I want to talk to you guys too."

Lauren pushed into her link with Bo and asked her to come to the dining room to talk to the boys.

"Bo will be here in a second."

"Let me just put this meat in the fridge."

Lauren halted Jake suddenly,

"No… I mean… let me explain first, then we'll move the meat. Trust me. We just can't take that box of meat in there right now. It's hard enough for me to resist tearing into it. I can't imagine… well… please… sit."

Bo entered the room and gave hugs all around before sitting next to Lauren who pushed the box of meat to the other end of the table.

"Okay, so I'm going to explain this so that the boys can understand." She nodded to the dads who nodded in reply.

"You know how I have Fae inside of me?"

Little John replied first, "Uh-huh… you have a phoenix and a unicorn and a shifter and a stuck-un-bus."

Bo laughed. It was amazing that little kids just couldn't pronounce that word.

"That's right, Little John. Now you know that Ethan is my son, so what's in me can be in him too. Just like he's blonde because I'm blonde."

"But Aunt Bo is his Mamma and her hair is dark." Joshua made the statement, clearly confused by the contradiction.

"That's right. Because there's this stuff in us called DNA and these things called genes all determine what we look like from how tall we are to what color our hair is and a lot of other things too. Get it?"

Jake added, "Little John, your Mommy had blonde hair like your Aunt Lauren but your hair is black like mine. Get it?"

"OOOhhh, I get it." Little John said. Joshua nodded as well.

"Well, you know all of those Fae inside me? Ethan has some of them inside him too."

"Is he gonna freak out like you did?"

"Well, that's where all of you come in. You spend a lot of time with Ethan and most of the time, Fae don't start to change until they're teenagers. For some reason that we can't explain, Ethan's shifter DNA has started to come out early so he's shifted into a tiger several times a day for the last few days."

There was silence as the boys looked at each other. Bo and Lauren recognized the guilt written all over their faces. They only hoped they would fess up on their own so they could keep their promise to Ethan about not telling on their cousin. Surprisingly, it only took a few minutes of silence and stares from the couple before Joshua caved first,

"Aunt Lauren?"

"Yes, Joshua."

"I have a 'fession to make."

"A confession, bud? About what?" Josh asked his son.

"Ethan told us that he was a tiger."

"And…?" Jake asked, anticipating that he was not going to like what came next. He looked at Josh who shook his head back at his brother. Their anger at their sons was already growing.

"We laughed at him…" Said Joshua.

"And we called him a liar." Said Little John.

The room fell silent as the two young Druids sat awaiting the wrath of their fathers. But it didn't come. Lauren had motioned to the two young dads to stay calm and Bo had such a pleading look on her face they held their tongues. They were guys and they knew how the bro-code worked. This could go horribly wrong for Ethan if they didn't handle this well. They didn't want him to lose the support of his cousins but they felt horrible that they hadn't seen this happening.

"We're so sorry, Aunt Lauren and Aunt Bo. We've been mean to him all weekend. We wouldn't talk to him.

Jake asked, "Can I ask why you would treat Ethan that way, boys? He's your cousin. You could have asked Aunt Lauren or Aunt Bo if you thought he was lying. If Ethan lies, they would want to know. But it's not fair to call someone a liar if you don't know for sure."

Jake was trying to make some sense of how his son and nephew had treated their cousin so badly when they all seemed to get along so well.

"Well, I don't know about you, bro but it sounds to me like our sons were just flat out bullies to a little kid." Josh couldn't hold it in any longer. "And we didn't raise no bullies."

"No we didn't, Jake."

"So let me ask you something dear boy of mine." Josh directed his question at his son Joshua, "If some kid was bullying Little John, what would you do about it?"

"I'd tell him to stop, Dad."

"And if he didn't?"

"I'd call a big person for help."

"So when Little John was making fun of your cousin Ethan, you didn't feel a need to have his back?"

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"Apologies don't tell me what you were thinking, dude."

"I sided with Little John."

"And LJ, you did the same thing… you sided with Joshua against your cousin. The two of you ganged up on a six year old kid. Are you proud of yourselves that you could make a six year old feel like shit?"

Little John and Joshua were crying now. Bo gripped Lauren's hand trying to steel the doctor's reserve. She could feel how bad Lauren felt for the little guys. She loved these boys to death, but they had to learn and their parents had a right to do it their way.

"So, what are we gonna do to make this up to Ethan, boys?" Jake asked.

"Take him fishing?"

"A fishing trip doesn't fix a broken heart." Jake was very plain in his statement.

"You've hurt that boys' feelings and made him feel bad. Being men doesn't mean you don't take care of people's hearts. You are Druids and what are Druids about?"

"Peace and Balance." The boys chimed together.

"I think that human school is a bad influence, Jake." Josh stated to his brother.

They both knew the two boys didn't want to go to the Druid school. They liked playing human sports in P.E. class and at recess. Joshua really liked math and Little John really liked science so they were playing a card they knew would send a clear message to their sons.

"Yea, they're making our sons forget who they are."

"No they're not, Dad!"

"You watch your tone, young man. No Druid would treat a member of his family this way."

"We didn't mean it. We thought he was lying! We never saw him shift before."

Lauren brought a calming voice to the conversation. They were starting to go in circles, "Do you believe he is a shifter now?"

"Yes, ma'am." The boys said in unison.

"Okay, then I know what you can do for him."

"Anything, Aunt Lauren. We didn't mean to hurt his feelings. Ethan's our blood. We wouldn't ever hurt him and really mean it. We'll do anything to make it up to him."

Bo finally spoke, "Here are some things you boys need to understand. First, I have told your great grandparents that I am going to begin my transition to the throne. That means that Ethan is going to become an heir to the throne. A lot of people will want to hurt him. Bad people."

"The Fae?" Little John asked.

"Not all of the Fae. We have friends among them but yes, there are some Fae included."

"We'll have his back, Aunt Bo."

"Just support him, boys. That's all we ask. He's young and doesn't have much knowledge of Druid life. He's going to need you to help him understand what it means to be a Druid because – at least for now – his Fae lessons are going to have to come first."

"Okay."

"Second, he is shifting quite randomly right now. He has no control over when he shifts and once he does, he needs some sort of trigger to shift back."

"What's a trigger?" Joshua asked.

"A trigger is something that he really wants that will cause him to shift back to be on two legs."

"So we just tell him we're going fishing and he'll shift back?"

"Actually, that's exactly what we did yesterday morning to get him to shift back. The problem is, he's so young that he can't understand a human voice yet. You would have to show him objects or do things to make him understand. Aunt Lauren is the only one who can talk to him from a distance and only if she partially shifts. I can talk to him when he touches me. So this morning, Aunt Kenzi got him to shift by putting his favorite pancakes at his seat."

"Yea, that'll work. Our cousin will do anything for food." Joshua joked. "He eats almost as much as Aunt Kenzi and they're both so little!"

"Yea, that is pretty amazing. Now, speaking of food… and the reason Aunt Lauren had your dads keep that box in here is that any type of blood smells really good to him. That box of meat will surely make him shift. Aunt Lauren is having trouble resisting it right now. I can feel her hunger."

"You can have a steak, Aunt Lauren. We've seen you eat them raw before and we don't care."

"I know you have, boys and I appreciate that you don't judge me for that or think I'm gross."

"We're Druids, Aunt Laur. It's just what we do." Little John looked at his father and his uncle wanting them to understand that he knew what he had to do. They both nodded.

"So, Ethan is playing video games with Aunt Kenzi right now. When that meat box is carried out into the kitchen, he is going to smell it and he is going to shift. I just want you to be prepared for that. When he shifts he can scratch you with his claws and they can do some serious damage so be aware around him. He already had some hamburger this morning, but as a growing tiger cub, he will eat meat about three times a day from what your Aunt Lauren is thinking."

"It's okay. We'll help him Aunt Bo. Don't worry. You can count on us. We won't screw up again." Joshua stated as Little John nodded.

"Okay and then there's one last thing and this is probably the scariest part. Do you remember what I said about Ethan liking blood?"

"Yea." The boys nodded as Bo continued,

"Well, he'll like your blood too. So if he bites you, you have to point your finger at him and say 'no' as loud and as clear as you can. When he realizes what he has done, he may run and hide so just get one of us and we'll help him. He feels really bad when he bites someone but he doesn't have a lot of control right now. He's bitten me twice and I'm not going to lie, it hurts."

"But Aunt Lauren healed you right away, right?"

"Actually my Succubus healed me. Remember that I can draw chi and heal myself. You guys would need a Druid healer."

"Or we can just keep the bite and it would be another battle scar. Dad says chicks dig scars!"

"Well, the problem is that bites can get infected, so we want to be sure we heal it, okay?" Lauren wanted to be sure the boys understood.

"Now, the last part is if your dads are okay with you hanging around with Ethan right now knowing that you could get bit or scratched and need healing." Lauren looked at her brothers hopeful that they wouldn't shut her son out.

Jake and Josh looked at each other than shrugged, "It's cool with us, Laur. The little man needs his family right now. Guys are you cool with the potential danger?"

"Danger is our middle name, Dad!" Little John said and Joshua nodded.

"Okay then. Just remember when you're with him that he can't understand you if he shifts. Get an adult if you can't get him to do what you want him to do when he is a tiger cub."

"Everyone ready to carry that meat into the kitchen?"

"As we'll ever be." Jake said. He then joked sarcastically, "Hey Bo? Is he gonna like eat my leg trying to get the box?"

Bo pulled out the broken bat she'd been holding and displayed it on the table,

"Don't be cocky, Jake. Do you see this bat? Boys, do you see this? Ethan did this with his teeth. If he bites, you scream and don't be afraid to hit him on the nose if he doesn't let go, okay?"

"Whoa… little dude's got bite." Jake said as he inspected the broken bat.

"But we're working with him night and day. Okay, let's do this." Lauren said with some hesitation. She didn't like the fact that they were about to bait their son.

"Bo, should I warn him?"

"I think it's best he be exposed to casual things like this. They could have just walked in knowing none of this. I for one would like to know how he's going to respond to this."

"I guess you're right. Boys, I just don't want you to be afraid of your cousin."

"It's okay, Aunt Lauren. You're here so we know he won't hurt us. Your tiger can still kick his butt."

"That's very true. Jake, Josh?"

"Yea, sis?"

"Scruff of the neck – just lift and hold him out. He'll get the message."

"Good to know."

The group entered the large open area and moved slowly toward the kitchen. It only took a moment for Ethan to stand from where he was seated, his head turned around, eyes deep blue.

Lauren shouted, "Ethan!"

He looked at her for a moment,

"Mommy… it's so hard…" bless his little heart he tried to resist the urge but a moment later, he was a tiger cub running towards his Uncle Jake at full tilt.

"Here he comes, Jake." Josh warned.

Ethan latched on to Jake's leg and bit down hard right through the jeans. He started to thrash his head from side to side. Bo yelled,

"Lauren!"

"I got it." Lauren partially shifted and pushed into her son's mind,

'Ethan Dennis Lewis! Let go of your uncle's leg right this instant!'

'He has meat Mommy. Gimme!'

Lauren walked over to Ethan and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck as he clawed at her and growled.

'Don't you dare growl at me, mister!'

'Mommy it smells so good!'

'Your hunger comes AFTER the safety of others! How many times do I have to say it? Look at your uncle's leg!'

Bo had been listening as Lauren nodded to her, "Jake, can you pull up your pant leg for Lauren?"

"Bo, he doesn't need…"

"Yes, he does, Jake. I know he hurt you… he needs to see it… it's the only way he understands."

Jake reluctantly pulled up his pant leg revealing several deep bite marks – one that had torn the flesh. He was bleeding steadily.

'Look at it, Ethan!'

'Mommy! I'm sorry! I don't want to hurt people!'

'Then you have to control your hunger, buddy. It's the only way. You have to learn! Now, I have to shift back for a minute to heal your uncle's leg. I'm going to give you to your Mamma so your cousins can meet you as a tiger cub. Do NOT bite them! They are sorry for not believing you and have promised to have your back.'

'You told!'

'No, we didn't. We told them you were a tiger and they confessed.'

'They did?'

'They did and they're very sorry. Now I have to heal your uncle. Be good for your Mamma.'

Lauren handed him to Bo who pulled him to her chest tightly before squatting down to her nephews.

"Guys, this is your cousin Ethan. Say hi."

"Hi Ethan." Joshua said quietly.

"Hi Ethan." Little John said in a similar volume.

The pair just stood there staring at their cousin in his tiger form. Ethan stared back moving his eyes between the two.

'Mamma?'

'Yes, Ethan?'

'Why are they just staring at me? Do they think I'm a monster?'

"Boys, Ethan wants to know why you're just staring at him. He thinks you may think he's a monster because he bit Jake."

"We think you're cool, Ethan."

Ethan looked at Bo who spoke to the boys, "Remember how he can't understand you?"

"Sorry, I forgot. Can we touch him?"

"I think that would be a good way to let him know you don't think he's a monster."

The boys slowly reached out and started touching Ethan's fur. Gradually they relaxed,

"Hey, he's really soft and fluffy!"

"Yea, he's like a big stuffed animal only real!"

"He's really our cousin Ethan… it's so cool!"

"He likes when you scratch behind his ears, huh Aunt Bo."

"Yup and he really likes when you scratch here under his chest and rub his belly."

Little John moved his hand to scratch Ethan's chest. Ethan began to purr as his cousins scratched and petted his fur.

'They're not afraid of me Mamma!'

'Nope and they won't be as long as you don't bite or scratch them.'

'Mamma, can I go over to Uncle Jake and 'pologize?'

'Yea, but maybe we should put the box of meat away first?' Lauren looked up hearing the conversation.

'If it's okay with you, I'd like to try to leave it and walk past it. I want Mommy to be proud of me. She's pretty mad right now.'

'Well, before you say that, I think you should look at the big smile on Mommy's face right now. I think she heard us talking.'

'Mommy? Can I 'pologize to Uncle Jake?'

'Yes, buddy. Are you sure you can make it past the meat box? If you can't I'll move it.'

'I wanna try, Mommy.'

'Okay, buddy. Just focus on getting to your uncle.'

Bo put Ethan down and he began to walk towards his Uncle Jake. He paused at the large box of meat and took a sniff, then paused again. Lauren could sense his struggle – she knew how hard it was to walk past such temptation, but he continued. He climbed into his Uncle's lap who pulled him up to his chest. Ethan tucked his head under Jake's chin,

'Please tell him I'm sorry, Mommy. Please tell him I didn't want to bite him. He just smelled good… then I tasted him and I just couldn't stop.'

Ethan let out a growl as he continued to rub up against Jake's neck.

"Jake, Ethan wants you to know that he didn't want to bite you but you smelled so good that he just had to taste you and once he did he just couldn't stop. He's really, really sorry."

"Tell the adorable little dude it's okay, Lauren. I'm all healed thanks to his awesome Mommy but make sure he knows I will drop kick him if he ever does that again."

"I am not telling my son you'll drop kick him. You can tell him that yourself."

"So, are we giving the hungry little dude some meat or not?"

Lauren looked at Bo, "I don't know, Lauren. He had two cups of ground beef about two hours ago."

"He's gotta wait for at least two more hours. He had four pancakes and two cookies after that in addition to two cups of milk now."

"We told you, Aunt Lauren. The kid can put away some food."

Everyone laughed at Little John's comment.

"Okay, so how do we get him shifted back?"

"Well, we were actually going to take the boys miniature golfing since we can't go out on the boat with them today. What would you think of that?"

Jake asked but he could see the hesitation. "What up ladies, you don't trust us with the cub?"

"It's not about trusting you, Jake. If he shifts in public…"

"Oh, full on Druid golf. It's sort of a practice course for Druids. There's no clubs. They have to use the elements to move the ball. Ethan is young but he'll be able to do some of them. At the very least, it will get him practicing drawing chi."

"Well, that's something. He's burning chi like crazy. Beli and Vesta have insisted he learn to do it on his own."

"Yea, as a Druid he needs chi even though his tiger can survive off of meat."

"Well, as long as you understand that you could end up with a tiger cub as your companion for the entire trip, he's all yours."

"Well, we can make a family event out of it. Kenzi, Chase, Ella, Emma and you guys? Josh's wife is working so if…"

Bo interrupted, "I think having the whole gang there would be great. Especially Ella in case the little guy there does any damage. Lauren and I have to decline. We have meetings with the elders then have to go do some shopping."

"Yea, I hear we're all celebrating Ethan's Christmas this year." Josh said.

"Yup… apparently we're going all in. It should be a lot of fun." Lauren said.

Bo brought up the apparent problem in getting things moving, "So, getting Ethan changed back? Lo?"

"Oh, yea. Sorry. That's my cue." Lauren did a partial shift to talk to Ethan.

"Jake, you're going to want to put him down for the shift."

Jake quickly lowered Ethan who looked around confused until he heard Lauren's voice. He shifted suddenly back to his human form as Bo quickly threw a blanket over him.

Ethan looked down at his bare legs then up at his Mommy.

"I know I'm not supposed to say stupid tiger, but Mommy, this is ridicalus! That was my last pair of jeans and they didn't even fit right!"

"Wait!" Joshua said. "I'll be right back."

He ran out of the house as everyone stood there looking at each other trying to see if anyone knew what he was doing. Joshua came back into the house with big bag.

"Aunt Lauren, Aunt Bo… my Mom just made me clean out all of the clothes from the closet that didn't fit me anymore. The bag was in the back of my dad's truck to go to Goodwill but he keeps forgetting to drop it off.

"Well, I guess Gaia had other plans for the clothes! She made me keep forgetting because she knew Ethan would need them." Josh defended his forgetfulness.

Joshua took the bag over to his cousin, "There's definitely stuff that will fit you in there. Some cool shirts and jeans. There's even some dress up stuff if they make you wear it to go to dinner or something."

"I can clean out my closet too, Ethan. I have old stuff too." Little John added.

"Thanks guys. That's really nice of you to do for your cousin. He is pretty much destroying clothes every time he shifts. He's wearing his five year old clothes and they're too small."

"We know… we were picking on him for wearing flood pants, too. We're sorry we were mean to you, Ethan. We didn't know you were Fae." Little John and Joshua patted their cousin on the back. "Come on, we'll help you put this stuff away so we can all go golfing.

The group of boys started to walk towards Ethan's room but he paused at the box, "Hey… we're going miniature golfing, remember? Stay human will ya?" Joshua said as he pushed his cousin towards his room.

"Thanks, Joshua. I never knew meat could smell so good." Ethan smiled.

"Yea, well I have blood in me, but I'm not meat so don't get any ideas." The boys all laughed as they turned the corner into Ethan's room.

Everyone stood in silence as all eyes fell to Lauren. The worry on her face was evident,

"Okay, tiger mom. You gotta let the cubs leave the den. We got him, Lauren. Now that we know what to expect we'll be fine. We'll get Ella to go with us for the healing factor, I promise. We just saw her a little while ago and she was complaining about how slow the lab is right now since you're stabilized. Some golf will do her good and where she goes, Emma goes. Those two are inseparable these days. Kenzi!"

"Yo!"

"Turn off the game, girl! We're going to play Druid Mini-Golf!"

"They never have clubs small enough for me!"

"Good thing then because this place doesn't use clubs! It's all about Druid skills girlfriend and you've got skills! Call Chase and tell him we're picking him up!"

"On it!"

Ethan came out of the bedroom with his cousins all smiles, "Look Mommy! A Red Sox T-shirt! It's the one we gave him for his birthday!"

"That's awesome, buddy! Joshua, you have no idea how happy I am to see that shirt. His cub destroyed all of his Red Sox gear – hats, bat, t-shirts. Thank you so much for that shirt. You know he's lost without his Red Sox!"

"I know. We keep asking Uncle James when he's finally going to have us up to Boston so we get to go to a game at the world famous Fenway Park." Little John stated sounding a little upset that they hadn't had the opportunity yet.

"Yea, we want to go to a game when they're playing the Philadelphia Phillies – that's our team. We want to see the Phillies beat the Sox." Joshua said as he nudged his cousin Ethan.

"Never happen!" Ethan said as they all laughed.

"Okay, in the truck everyone – three in the front, three in the back. We'll drive over to the farmhouse and then add another car there. Later Bo, Lauren!"

"Bye everyone!"

Ethan ran up to his moms, "Bye Mommy, Bye Mamma." He gave them a big hug.

"Bye buddy. You'll try really hard not to shift, right?" Lauren asked.

"I will Mommy. I don't want to tear these new jeans and my new T-shirt."

"Have fun and work really hard to feed and use your Druid skills, buddy. They're really important." Bo added.

"I know, Mamma. Bye!" And just like that, their little boy was out the door.

"Nervous?" Bo asked Lauren.

"Yea, aren't you?"

"Yea, but he's right you know."

"I know. We have to let the cub leave the den. It doesn't mean we have to like it though."

"Come on. We're late for our meetings."

"Oh joy… meetings."

"We don't have to do any of this if you don't want to, Bo."

"No, really… I want this… let's do it."

… … … … … … … …