A/N: Here we are at the end. Thank you to everyone who has followed and reviewed this story. I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

Lauren stood in Bo's bedroom, fidgeting nervously. It been a few days since Bo had completed her Dawning and things were finally returning to normal, or as close to normal as things were ever going to be for them. Stella had moved on to the next fae and Lauren could honestly say she was not sorry to see the last of that uppity bitch's backside. Trick wasn't speaking to either of them, apparently watching his granddaughter, um 'waxing' his bar top with her human girlfriend was simply too much for him to handle. Kenzi had informed the quote "crazed up sex-fiends" later that Trick and Stella ducked out fairly early into the performance, but that she had to literally drag Dyson's ass from staying for the second act. Lauren's first instinct was to be repulsed, but after allowing the information to marinate it made sense. Dyson at his base was just a guy and knowing that even he acknowledges that Bo is all hers dissolved any fears she used to have about him. He and Tamsin had gone back on their beat and for the most part, per Bo's request, he had been staying clear of them. Lauren had yet to wrangle out of either of them what had happened during the transfer ritual, but she was confident, there was no stopping Dr. Lewis when she was on a quest for answers.

"OK kids, we all set?" Kenzi asked. Lauren was pleased; physically the girl had made a fantastic recovery. The psychological trauma would be a much slower healing process and it would be up to Kenzi to decide when she was ready to deal with that. For now she was more or less back to normal; at the very least she was well enough to act as moderator for them as they performed their mating ritual. Kenzi bounded forth, armed and ready with a baseball bat. After much discussion it had been decided a bat would be most useful in a "just in case" scenario. They needed for Bo to still be awake and able to return some chi on the off chance she took too much.

"As ready as I'm ever going to be." Lauren offered her lover a small smile. She really wanted Bo to know how much she trusted her. This was something that they had been preparing for awhile now and ready or not, it was time.

"We don't have to do this Laur, maybe we could just-"

Lauren cut her off, "Bo stop, it will be fine, I promise." She had been feeling more like her old self since Bo had completed her Dawning, but she was still prone to erratic moods and sudden bouts of sexual overdrive. According to her research, once the ritual was complete she would be on a more even keel; she desperately needed to be on an even keel again. As much as she loved sex with Bo, it would be nice if that wasn't what occupied ninety percent of her thoughts.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I trust you, come on." Lauren took Bo's hand, pulling her close. She knew she needed to be the strong one. Bo closed her eyes and nodded her head. That was good enough for her, "OK just like we talked about, feed until you feel me start to slip, then transfer the essence back into me." Lauren closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I love you Bo."

"I love you too."

Lauren felt the soft lips of her girlfriends tentatively pressed against her own. She waited for Bo to take the lead, but sensing her falter, Lauren took control. Deepening the kiss, she felt Bo give in to it, letting go and losing herself to the moment. The fire inside grew as pleasure exploded throughout her body; the succubus was feeding. It was slower this time and the sensation lingered far longer. Lauren could feel herself floating as if she were on a cloud. Warmth and desire consumed every pore; she was one with her lover again. The connection was abruptly severed the second she felt her mid drift and the edges of her vision blacken. Weakened she collapsed forward into waiting arms. She could feel the tears of her lover falling on her face, but she was powerless to stop them. Bo was kissing her again returning her chi. To Lauren it felt like she was being invaded. She felt her strength increase and was becoming lucid as the succubus gave back. A sudden orgasm rocked her body causing her to cry out in pleasure; strong arms cradled her until everything stopped.

"Baby are you OK?" Bo lowered them to the ground and tears shown in the panicked succubus's eyes as she looked down into Lauren's.

"Yeah I guess," Lauren blinked a few times, shaking her head to clear out the fog. Her hands instinctively traversed her body, verifying that she was real and still alive.

"Wait, was that it?" Kenzi interrupted the lovers, standing over them looking confused and slightly annoyed.

"What did you expect?" Bo asked over her shoulder, her focus still on Lauren.

Kenzi shrugged, "Dunno, I guess I thought there would be more or that at least it would take longer. All you did was chi suck her and put it back, I've seen you do that bunches of times."

"Kenzi," Bo warned.

"Oh please, I'm just sayin' when you compare my harrowing ritual with the kitsune to this," she made a waiving motion towards the pair, "pretty lame." Kenzi paused before asking the obvious, "So total lameness aside, did it work; are you guys mated or whatever?"

Bo stared at Lauren, "I'm not sure, do you feel any different?"

"Sort of, I can feel you again." Lauren tapped into her inner resources, searching her mind and body finally realizing, that yes she did feel differently. She could sense Bo, though this time it seemed to be more on a visceral level. She was in tune with the succubus's emotions, but they were no longer eclipsing her own. Her strength appeared to be increased, though that could simply be from the adrenalin rush of the feeding and the post orgasm endorphins.

"Like before?" The concern for her "mate" shown brightly in Bo's eyes; she knew better than anyone, save Lauren herself, how negatively this had been affecting her.

"Oh God please not like before, haven't I suffered enough?" Kenzi's fierce melodramatic objection produced an eye roll and a chuckle from the doctor.

"You suffered?"

"Hell yes I suffered Dr. Can't-keep-it-in-her-pants. The things I have seen, oh the horror, I will probably be in therapy till I'm seventy."

This elicited another chuckle from Lauren with Bo joining her, "And on that note, since I think I have regained the ability to stand let's go downstairs and talk to Hale." Lauren stood carefully on shaky legs assisted by her lover. Bo wrapped a steadying arm around her as they, trailed closely by Kenzi, slowly descended the stairs. Lauren's eyes landed on Hale standing in the middle of the succubus's living room watching their progress with his personal secretary. The new Ash appeared nervous, like he just wanted to dispense with the formalities and get the hell out.

Bo seemed oblivious to his mood and was beaming when she asked him, "So can you tell, are we mated?"

Hale chuckled lightly as he attempted to posture himself with some authority, "Yes, I can see the bond, you are mated. And to celebrate this joyous occasion I present you each with a present." He held out the first of two contracts to Bo, "Unaligned succubus, by order of the Ash I hereby bequeath to you ownership of one Dr. Lauren Lewis." He turned to Lauren offering her the other, "And to Dr. Lewis, the employment contract we agreed upon." He handed them each a fountain pen then took a step back, "I will give you some time and privacy to read through them."

The women adjourned to the kitchen area and read each document thoroughly before signing. The previous afternoon, Lauren had taken copies to a fae lawyer she had befriended years ago after saving his life from an attempted poisoning. It wasn't that she didn't trust Hale, she was simply wary and wanted there to be no loopholes that could once again tie her for life to the Light. In many ways Hale would have been ideal for a master; he respected her opinion, treated her as an equal and he cared. Even though Bo was vehemently unaligned, he had gone above and beyond to expunge her legal issues stemming from the riot, so not bad indeed. Nice as all that was the doctor still preferred belonging to her girlfriend. The lawyer had verified that everything was in order and after several read-throughs both Lauren and Dr. Lewis had agreed. Ever the pragmatist she made sure to read both hers and Bo's extra carefully again before she allowed them to sign. Lauren returned the documents to Hale and watched as he imparted his official Ash seal on them, and then the secretary took them and used a portable printer to make a copy of each as per Dr. Lewis's insistence.

Hale adjusted his suit and offered the women a tight smile, "All set then ladies?"

"Everything appears to be in order Ash," Lauren empathized with him, barely anointed and already making controversial deals. He would never say anything to either her or Bo, but Lauren had full knowledge that the elders were not pleased with their prized slave mating with and then having to relinquish ownership of her to the unaligned succubus. The irony of it did not escape her, as once again her valued skill set was worth the Light compromising its values. Lauren squashed the bitterness she felt before it could rise, not today. In her hands she held her freedom or as close to freedom as the fae would ever grant her. Normal working hours, monthly stipend, health benefits, freedom to conduct her research; it was the best she could hope for. She smiled as she felt Bo wrap her arms tightly around her. She turned to face her lover grinning at that familiar twinkle in her eyes.

"Oh I know where this is going," Kenzi teased.

"With that I will leave you, um too it. Take the week Dr. Lewis and I will see you back to work next Monday." Hale, clearly not interested in watching the pair consummate their mating, grabbed Kenzi by the hand leading her and the secretary quickly out the door.

"Uh huh," Lauren was aware of their departure, but barely acknowledged it. Her focus was on a pair of chocolate brown eyes darkened by desire. Consumed by her own lust, the doctor opted to skip any preamble, "Take me to bed Bo."

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Several rounds of lovemaking and straight up fucking later found the two women wrapped tightly in each other's arms; their bodies slick with sweat and barely able to catch their breath. It was everything Lauren could have asked for on her sort of fae wedding night. Bo snuggled into her, placing a soft kiss in her hair, "Mmm… that was amazing, you were amazing."

Lauren chuckled, "You weren't so bad yourself there." She sank back into the bed feeling warm and sated. Lauren was surprised at how happy she was to have that connection to Bo restored. The past few days she had felt so empty and suddenly she was whole again. The doctor noted that it was different this time; before she had been smothered by her mate's emotions now it was as if Bo were wrapped loosely around her like a blanket. It was nice.

"I'm so happy Laur."

"Me too," Lauren smiled as Bo's hands leisurely explored her body. It was the unconscious action one does in the afterglow following volcanic orgasms. As much as she wanted to revel in the sensations, Lauren felt compelled to talk to her lover. There had been things niggling at her confidence and they needed to be addressed; if she wanted them to have a real shot, then it was time to stop avoiding. There would be no more putting things off and there was no time like the present, "Bo about us being together, it's not going to be like it was before."

"I know."

"Do you?" It was imperative that the doctor made her point clear; this needed to be a new beginning for them. The pre-Dawning incarnation of their relationship was fraught with half-truths and misunderstandings; communication was the only way to break the chain. "The way you put everyone, including yourself ahead of me is all of the time is unacceptable. I understand that you have commitments and things will come up, but I will not tolerate being brushed aside simply because I'm not fae."

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way, I wasn't trying to exclude you."

"I know that, and I know that you were under a lot of stress." Lauren accepted Bo's apology as sincere.

"That's no excuse." Bo squeezed her tightly for reassurance.

"No it isn't, but I don't want to dwell on it. It was a unique and very stressful situation." Lauren really wanted Bo to understand that she wasn't angry; nobody had seen the Dawning coming. The prospects of failure were daunting and Bo had a right to be selfish. "I want us to move forward, have a fresh start. I have made you aware so be better about it."

"I want that too, the fresh start I mean." Bo sighed, "I want to give this a real shot, even if that means talking about things I don't want to."

"I'm glad you feel that way." Lauren smiled sadly; it was never going to be easy for them. There were so many damn elephants in the room it was hard to pick just one. She knew for certain that she absolutely didn't want to talk about Dyson, so that was probably the best place to start.

Bo was not oblivious to her subtleties, "I don't like the sound of that, what is it?"

"Dyson."

"Dyson," Bo grumbled, "um why has he been harassing you or something?"

"I know that you had a fight with him." Kenzi had informed her previously about Bo's encounter with the wolf-man and now it was time to hear it from her girlfriend.

"So?" Bo groaned in annoyance, "you really want to know?" Lauren nodded her head yes. It wasn't that she saw Dyson as a threat anymore, it was simply he is someone important in her girlfriends life and they had an argument. She wanted to share in all aspects of Bo's life. "OK fine, he showed up here drunk one night spouting off about how he is in love with me and that we belong together because we are both fae. I told him that you and I were together and whatever feelings he has for me aren't mutual so he needs to back off."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

Bo shrugged, "It's just Dyson. I really didn't think it mattered and I handled it."

"See that's the problem, you don't have to take on everything alone anymore. I want you to include me, especially when it comes to something like this." Lauren really needed Bo to understand this or they were going to continue having problems. "Is that why he has been avoiding us?"

"I guess, I said that until he sorted his shit out then I didn't want him around." Bo took a deep breath before continuing, "Dyson will always be special to me, but come on Laur the guy's in love with me, we can't exactly be friends."

"Very true," and it was. Lauren knew that dealing with an ex can be messy, and one that is professing their love would compound things exponentially. What Lauren also knew and Bo didn't seem to yet realize was that Dyson would always be in love with her. He hated mated with her and now he was stuck. Lauren's empathy only extended so far and she had to wonder about someone who was 1500 years old yet had never been in love then chooses to tie himself to a 30 year old, baby fae succubus.

Bo arched up and stretched her back before settling into the pillows, "So what's next?"

Lauren wasn't necessarily ready to move on from their discussion of the wolf, but they were both tired and could pick that back up later. "I guess we should talk about Trick."

Though probably not pleased, Bo seemed to accept this, "Ok what about him?"

Lauren knew she needed to tread carefully, the man was the only family Bo had. Despite this, she could see his objections, both overt and covert, towards their union as creating issues for them in the future. "I know he's your grandfather and I don't want to cause problems in your relationship, but babe he really does not like that you are with me. I can only imagine how he feels about us being mated."

"He can get over it. The man knew me for two years before bothering to tell me we were related. The chance for him to question my choices has passed."

Lauren hadn't been expecting this response, "Still-"

"No, I am serious." Bo cut her off. "We are together, he can either accept it or he can't, but either way it's his issue, not mine. I love you and I won't tolerate anyone disrespecting you." As if to emphasize her point Bo reached down and grabbed the Ash's pendent from Lauren's chest. She yanked it off and tossed it across the room, "Nobody owns you."

"Technically you do." Lauren couldn't hide her smile at that notion. Not that being owned by her lover was necessarily a good thing, but considering the circumstances it was about the best she could hope for. Lauren had given up on any idea of severing ties to the fae a long time ago. She knew too much so they would never let her leave. If she ever tried to run she would be hunted down. The contract with the succubus simply offered her protection and Lauren was confident that Bo would never try to impart any kind of authority over her unless it was a kinky role playing game, which she would definitely not be opposed to, mmm… maybe tomorrow.

"Hmm… you are right," Bo rolled on top of her pinning her to the mattress as her lips sought Lauren's neck. Sensitive flesh pinched between Bo's lips and teeth causing the blood to find the surface as the doctor struggled. Eventually Bo pulled back, a smug grin adorning her face, satisfied fully with her handiwork. "There, now everyone will know you belong to me."

Lauren's hand flew to her neck wincing as her fingers brushed the tender spot, "Seriously Bo, a hickey?"

Bo grinned, "Just be sure to come back every three days so it can be reapplied."

"You ass," Lauren playfully shoved the woman off her, grateful that the mark would fade by the time she went back to work.

Bo returned to her previous position with her head on Lauren's chest, humming quietly as she traced lazy circles over the doctor's stomach. "Can I ask you something?"

"Mmm…" Lauren wasn't really sure she could handle any more deep conversations. The night's activities had worn her reserves down considerably, but considering it is not everyday one becomes mated to a succubus, she conceded, "What do you want to ask Bo?"

"Why do you have a baby monitor at your place?"

"Huh?"

"Kenzi told me that the night she stayed with you after you sprung her from the hospital that you gave her a baby monitor and told her to call you on it if she needed anything."

Lauren laughed as the memory washed over her, "Oh that."

"Yes that, I've been meaning to ask you about it for awhile. Should I take that as a hint you want to get pregnant, do we need to have that discussion already, because I don't know if I'm ready for all of that yet."

She knew Bo was teasing her, well at least mostly. It was an odd thing for her to have lying around the house seeing how as she didn't have children. Still she could hardly resist teasing her lover back, "Wait weren't you the one proposing to me a couple weeks back and now you aren't sure?"

"Yeah well, uh…"

Fun as it was to listen to Bo stumble over her words, Lauren wasn't interested in prolonging her torture, "Bo it's OK, I'm just teasing, I know we are not even close to there yet. Yes I do want to have children, eventually, but unlike many things we have and will come across the explanation for this one is simple; I found them in the closet after I moved in.

"Oh."

"Yeah oh, the previous occupants left behind a small box in the hall closet when they vacated. The monitors were in there along with some dishtowels and a travel blender." Lauren barely remembered moving into her current residence. That day and the weeks preceding it after she left Africa were mostly a blur to her now. She had been so overcome by grief that she had barely comprehended her surroundings let alone what she had agreed to with the Ash. Someday she would share with Bo the entirety of that story instead of just the cliff's note's version along with countless others leading up to their first meeting. "I left the box sitting in the back of the closet originally thinking that the owners may come by to claim it at some point and simply forgot about it over time."

"What made you think of it?"

"Nadia," Lauren sighed, guess there was no escaping the heavy stuff tonight. "When she was sick, well when I thought she was sick, I spent most of my time on the main floor in my home lab trying to figure out what was wrong with her. I didn't want her to keep traipsing up and down the stairs with the fever she was running and I had been thinking about getting her a call bell or something when I remembered I had them. I added some fresh batteries and they worked great. After she died I threw out the box and the remainder of its contents, but I kept the monitors."

The silence hung in the air between them as Bo processed the information before finally speaking, "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that."

"I am too. Nadia deserved so much better than that." It was all she could think to say in the moment.

"Yeah…"

"It's OK Bo; I've made my peace with it." And she had. Maybe it was cliché, but giving the woman a proper goodbye had gone a long way towards healing that wound.

Bo nodded in understanding, "What about us? Uh, I mean are you sure you are OK with this?"

Lauren considered this, was it ever truly going to be OK between them? Bo was a succubus for God's sakes, they were not exactly known as "relationship" material. "It's not going to be easy, but the secret to any relationship is trust, communication and compromise."

"Hmm… I like the sound of that." Bo assumed her regular position as big spoon indicating to Lauren she was ready for sleep. "I love you Lauren."

"I love you too Bo," Hearing Bo say the words always filled Lauren with a warmth that was unmatched. She snuggled her back against her lover-no not just lover, her mate, allowing Bo's strong arms to envelop her. "Goodnight."

Bo placed a gentle kiss against her neck, "Mmm… goodnight."

Lauren let herself drift; she knew that tonight's discussion had merely been the tip of that proverbial iceberg. Still she was pleased they had opened the door for future communications. The human/fae dynamic merely added steps to an already complicated relationship. A relationship that in many ways was just like any other. Lauren knew that for now at least it was enough to be held in Bo's arms. Tomorrow would mark the beginning of the next stage in their journey. Whatever else, she was confident that they were both all in and for Lauren Lewis that made all the difference.

The End.