Hold On, Let Go
She awoke in darkness. She was certain her eyes were open but she couldn't see anything in front of her. She felt cold. Her body was shivering. She went to wrap her arms around herself when she realized why she was so cold. She was completely naked. There was not one bit of clothing on her body. She lifted herself off of the stone ground she laid on. She tried making out any shapes or figures but it was just too dark to see a thing. She felt a gust of wind then heard a few footsteps. She couldn't make out in which direction they were coming from.
"Show yourself!" She shouted.
She then felt as if a tornado had started around her. Wind was circling her naked body. She could hear hurried footsteps all around her. She still couldn't see anything but darkness but she felt as if the room was spinning around her.
"Show yourself" she shouted again. "Coward!"
Just then the room stopped spinning. The footsteps stopped and a flash of purple light was seen five feet in front of her. She went to reach for it but the purple light spread in a circle around her. She then realized the light was coming from hands, hands of at least twenty dark figures surrounding her. They were wearing dark purple robes with hoods on them. The hood had a gold lining on the edge.
"What is the meaning of this?" she asked but no one answered. Instead the lights became brighter and she could finally see the room she was in. It was a cave. Crystals were embedded into the stone wall. The purple light illuminating from the figures' hands reflected off of the crystals. It would've been beautiful if not for the situation she was in.
"Explain yourselves." She tried getting some answer out of them. One of the figures stepped out of the circle and closer to her. When she thought it was about to say something she heard a loud painful screech. She had to cover her ears in an attempt to muffle the sound and stop the pain in her ears.
"Enough!" she shouted. The figure listened. "Stop hiding behind your hood and tell me why I am here."
"You are our answer. You are our savior. You will do what you must to save us all." The hooded figure said without looking at her. Before she could ask what he had meant the purple light became even brighter. The hooded figure stepped back into the circle. They all extended their hands out. The purple light from their hands shot out directly at her. It was all too much. The force lifted her twenty feet from the ground. It felt as though every cell in her were to explode. She tried this whole time to seem brave. She didn't dare show any weakness but the pain was too much. She let out a curdling tortured scream. Before everything went black all she could see were a set of black and hollow eyes staring intently back at her.
Lauren awoke with a scream and jolted right up from her bed. The pain was so real. Everything seemed so real. She was screaming so frantically that she didn't notice the pair of arms trying to hold her close and calm her down.
"Shih, shh. I'm right here. It was just a dream. Everything is okay." She heard a voice sooth in nerd ear.
"Bo?" She forgot Bo stayed the night in her loft, or in her bed. Kenzi then came bursting through the door with Geraldine in her hands. "What's going on? I'm so ready to chop some fae baddies head off." She exclaimed as she swung her sword around trying to kill the invisible threat.
"It's nothing." Bo said. "Lauren just had a bad dream."
"No. Bo it wasn't a dream." Lauren sounded frantic. She was afraid, so afraid that she had broken out on a sweat. Her heart was beating rapidly. It felt as if it were about to burst out of her chest cavity. She wasn't the only one that was frightened. Bo looked to Kenzi for help, she had no idea what to say or do.
"Lauren, I've been here with you all night. I can assure you whatever happened in your dream didn't really happen." Bo said softly.
"I'm not crazy Bo. I know it was real." Lauren snapped back. How could they not believe her? Since they defeated the Garuda everyone tried going back to their normal everyday lives. It mostly worked for everyone but Lauren. In the month since then she barely ever slept. She hardly ever had contact with anyone outside of her assistants and colleagues. She threw herself in finally opening the neutral medical clinical for all fae and even humans that knew of the fae world. She would find any reason not to go home. She would keep her mind occupied so it would forget about sleep. Those she worked with respected her. She was seen as a hero in the fae world. They knew of her involvement in bringing the Garuda down. They tried to look after her. Lauren's closest friend in the clinic was Dr. Evert. She was her mentor and even thought of Lauren as the daughter she never had. Dr. Evert was the one to call Bo to drag Lauren out of the clinic and back into her house. Hale, the acting Ash, gave Lauren the week off. He knew how much she needed it as much as anyone else. He didn't let her refuse it. It wasn't an order but a request from a friend. Bo finally got her home. She decided she would stay with Lauren for a few days to make sure she was taking care of herself. Lauren didn't refuse but she didn't like being treated like a child either.
Bo came back an hour later with a bag full of enough clothes for the week and some Chinese food. She called out for Lauren but got no response. She hoped she hadn't escaped back to the clinic. She went searching for Lauren throughout her loft. As she made her way upstairs she heard a muffled cry coming from behind one of the doors. She slowly made her way to the door and opened it carefully. What she saw broke her heart. This was Anima's room. Lauren was curled up into the bed. She had Anima's favorite black and white letterman jacket on. She was sobbing uncontrollably into the pillow, the pillow that still smelled like Anima. Lauren hadn't once spoke about losing Anima. She bottled it all up, until now that is. Bo carefully made her way into bed with Lauren and wrapped her arms around her. They stayed like that for hours while Lauren let it all out.
That was three days ago and Lauren hadn't brought up that event since then. Bo had stayed with her every day since and Kenzi even decided to give Lauren some support. "Why don't you go and get Lauren some water Bo-bear?" Kenzi suggested.
Bo looked back at Lauren who was looking down to the sheets covering her. "Okay but I will be right back."
As Bo left the room Kenzi made her way next to Lauren. She gently nudged Lauren's shoulder. "Talk to me hotpants." She said softly.
"It was so real, so painful." Lauren muttered.
"What was?" Kenzi asked.
"Everything. I was surrounded by complete darkness, then I wasn't. Then they shot me with this purple light." Lauren explained frantically.
"Who is they?" Kenzi ailed. Lauren's words were coming out too fast and jumbled.
Lauren stared back at Kenzi. She was trying to get her to understand but she just didn't know how to. She shook her head. "I don't know." Lauren hung her head in defeat.
Kenzi felt horrible. She wanted to help Lauren but she just didn't know how. "Hey, it's okay. We will figure it out." She offered.
Bo then came back with a glass of water in her hands. "Here, drink this. It's nice and cold."
Lauren took the drink offered to her and took long gulps of it. It wasn't much but it managed to calm her down. She put the glass down after she finished drinking it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you guys."
"Nah, I could use a little excitement in my life." Kenzi joked.
Bo looked at the clock that read eight in the morning. "Well I don't think any of us are going back to sleep anytime soon. Why don't I make us some breakfast?"
Lauren and Kenzi both looked to each other. "You making us breakfast?" Kenzi asked. "You can't even make toast without burning it." Lauren had to laugh at that statement because it was very true. Bo had to admit how nice it was to see Lauren laugh, even if it was at her expense.
Bo playfully pushed Kenzi. "I'm sure I can manage eggs and toast."
"Oh, I have to see this." Kenzi said as she raced down the stairs and to the kitchen. Bo was about to follow her when a hand stopped her. She turned to face Lauren.
"Bo I just wanted to say thank you for everything." Lauren started.
"You don't have to thank me. I'd do anything for you." Bo stated with certainty.
Lauren's heart swelled. Bo was definitely not like anyone she has ever met before. "Actually I do. I know I haven't been myself for a while now. In all honesty this whole month as been a blur to me. The only thing I can remember are those few moments with you. I've lost two people I love in less than a year and I just don't know how to handle it."
"You don't have to do it by yourself. I'm here now. I can help you get through this." Bo said as she tucked a stray piece of blonde hair behind Lauren's ear.
"I hope you are going to turn into Martha Stewart in the next five seconds 'cus Mama Kenzi is hun-ga-ry." They heard Kenzi shout from the kitchen.
"I better get down there before she chews her arm off." Bo joked.
"I'll be down in a second. I think I will shower first." Lauren said. Bo nodded then made her way down the stairs.
Lauren started to undress the cool hair felt amazing on her naked body. She walked into her adjoining bathroom and started running the shower. She stepped in when it was warm enough. She then felt a tingling sensation on the left side of her stomach. The tingling then became a sharp sting, a painful sting. She hissed in pain and looked down to see bruises going down her side. She touched them to feel another jolt of pain. She cried out in pain then muffled the sound quickly. She had no idea what to think but she couldn't tell anyone until she knew more about it.
"Her Lauren, is everything okay." She heard Bo asked from the other side of the door.
"Yeah." Lauren squeaked out. She hoped it sounded convincing.
"You sure? I thought I heard you scream out." Bo pressed on.
"It's fine. The water was just hotter than I thought." She lied.
"Alright. Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes." She heard Bo say.
"Okay. I'll be down soon." She responded hoping to assure Bo. She heard a muffled 'okay' from Bo then heard her retreat down the stairs. Lauren bit down on her hand as the stinging became stronger. It stayed that way for another three seconds, three long seconds. After the pain subsided she saw that the black and blue bruises became bigger. She definitely needed to figure out what all of this meant.
A failed attempt at making breakfast and a few hours later the three ladies made their way into the Dahl. Trick was in his usual spot behind the bar drying up some glasses. "What can I do for my three favorite ladies?" he asked them.
"Well you see Bo decided she would try to be the fae version of Betty Crocker and almost burnt down Lauren's place so now we are here hoping to the gods that you can whip us up something real quick." Kenzi explained.
"It was not that bad." Bo argued.
"Sweetie, you stated a fire, in my toaster." Lauren reasoned and couldn't help but laugh.
"I said I'd get you a new one. Besides it was a contained fire." Bo stated but Kenzi, Lauren and even Trick laughed at her expense.
"I think I can make a breakfast special for my girls." Trick said. He then turned to Lauren. "It's good to see you out."
Lauren smiled back at him. "It's good to be out. After we are all done eating do you mind if I ask you a few questions? It's about a patient I am taking care of." She lied.
"You can take the girl out of the lab, but you can't take the geek out of the girl." Kenzi teased.
Trick just smiled. "Of course you can." He then went to the kitchen to make their breakfast.
Dyson then came through the door. "Hello ladies." He greeted,
"What brings you're here Dl-man?" Kenzi asked.
"Actually I'm here in search of the doctor's expertise." He explained.
Before Lauren could answer Bo cut in. "Actually Dyson, Lauren is on vacation. I'm sure there is someone as qualified to help you with whatever it is you need."
"Well I guess it will have to wait until you are back at the clinic then." Dyson said.
"If it is not life threatening then that sounds like a good idea." Lauren said. Dyson still hadn't told anyone of getting his love back. The only one that knew was Kenzi and she knew it wasn't her business to tell. He could see how Bo looked at Lauren. She never looked at him the way she does her. He only hoped she would after she told him he had his live back.
"Here you go ladies. Three bacon egg and cheese sandwiches on a roll, and for you Kenzi extra bacon." Trick said as he put the plates down. All three ladies took a big bite out of their sandwiches and moaned in appreciation. "Dyson, I didn't know you were joining us. Would you like one as well?" Trick asked Dyson.
Dyson couldn't take his eyes off of Bo and Lauren. They were too close for his liking. "No thanks. I better get going." He said as he left.
Lauren then walked towards Trick. "Do you mind if we speak privately?" She asked.
Trick nodded and led her down to his study. "What can I help you with Lauren?"
"Do you know anything about fae that feed off of dreams?" She asked.
"Well there is the mare, but you know all about them since you and Bo went against one last year." He stated.
"No, not like the mare." Lauren started. "I mean is there a fae that can make your dreams real enough to hurt you."
Trick looked to Lauren cautiously. "What is this about Lauren?"
"I told you, it's about a patient."
"We both know that's not true."
Lauren suddenly felt her throat go dry. If she was going to vet his help she needed to be truthful. "If I tell you I need you to give me your blood oath that you will not speak a word of this to anyone, especially not Bo."
Trick could tell she was scared. "I give you my blood oath."
Lauren the slowly lifted up her shirt to reveal the bruise that formed on the left side of her stomach. It had gotten bigger since the last time she saw it and it was starting to sting again.
"Who did this to you?" Trick asked.
"That's the thing. No one did. I didn't have this before I fell asleep. I then woke up with this. And it stings horribly."
"What was your dream about?"
Lauren began to explain the dream to him. Trick listened intently. After she was he sighed and went to retrieve a book. He opened it to a picture of what looked like Anima and the word 'Spiritus' under it.
"Is that?" Lauren started.
"Yes it is." Trick answered. "See I knew Anima before she came to you. She was the one that took my wife." He explained. "I had this picture drawn from my memory of her. See I wanted to hunt her down and make her pay but that was before I understood her purpose." The picture was of Anima's true form. She was naked with her brilliant black wings extended behind her and her eyes were black.
"But she is gone. What does she have to do with this?" Lauren asked.
"This is just a theory but I think you have been touched. I know why Anima came to us. At first I thought it was for me or Bo but then I realized it was you." Trick explained. "What I never understood is why she appeared before you. Not many Spirits do that but since she did it means that you have formed a bond, a very powerful unbreakable bond. You were not only protected by her but her entire kin as well. At least until it is your time."
"And my time is up isn't it?" Lauren asked.
Trick sighed. "It's just a theory Lauren."
"It's okay Trick. I've known why Anima came to me and I've made my peace with it all." Lauren said softly.
"I'll look into it. It may not be true. We may find another reason for this." Trick tried to assure her.
Lauren just looked past him with tears swelling in her eyes. "Thank you, Trick but we both know no one can stop death."
Sorry for the delay but life got in the way. I hope you liked this quick little update. I don't think I will be following season 3 and 4 cannon so much. Thanks for reading. Please review, favorite and follow.