Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.
Pairings: Bo/Lauren Set directly after our story "Faeral", the third story in an AU plot line.
Rating: M (Contains scenes of violence, sexuality and nudity)
Faery Tale: Chapter Twenty-Five
By: The Rainbowwriters
The stillness that filled the main room of the Dal was by no means comforting or easy. Even though the soft lighting provided by the myriad of candles, and the soothing scent of burning herbs that was coming from a small bowl on the bar top suggested that anyone in the room should be enjoying a sense of ease and relaxation.
In a darker alcove set close to the back of the bar area, Thistle sat, her hands working with speed and precision, as she braided long strands of what looked like vine, with a thicker coarser rope like material. She stopped occasionally to add a bead, crystal or feather to the intricate strand before continuing as she had before. All the while her lips moved in silent incantations as the strands passed through her hands and fingers.
In stark contrast to the harvester's focused busyness was Dyson's lack of it. The tall shifter sat perched on the bar stool at Kenzi's bed side, one hand up on the bed, resting over the young woman's bandaged arm very lightly. One might be forgiven for thinking he was a statue, except for the fact that occasionally his soft eyes panned across to watch the harvester at work, before turning back to look at the sleeping girl in the bed beside him.
For her part Kenzi had seemed to rest fairly peacefully since Bo had left her side to go and talk to Thistle, though in someways it was hard to tell as the bindings that held her body safely secured minimized her movement to the extreme. The only thing that really showed any fluctuations were the monitors built into the bed and the two that were set up behind it. Even those though had seemed to just pump out regular 'acceptable' results.
So much so that they had almost become background noise in the large open space. The consistency of them enough even to make the large fae doctor back away from his patient more or less all together. Dr. Trebecker having taking a seat at the bar, taking the time to go over the results from the last few hours, the time that Kenzi had been at the Dal.
Slowly and with a soft groan it became obvious that Kenzi's latest period of unconsciousness was up. Keeping her eyes closed she took a moment to discern what she could from just lying there in silence. The first thing she assessed was easy. She still felt like hell, though credit to whatever fae drugs she was getting, she couldn't say her body actually hurt at this precise moment in time. It just felt heavy, almost in fact alien to her, like she was in it but didn't actually own it, couldn't make it do anything.
The next thing that was easy to focus on was the smell of Dyson. He was close, a thought that instantly made her feel a little better. When she had been so sick before waking up alone was one of the scariest things about it.
Taking a slightly deeper breath, as much as her bindings would allow Kenzi then let the essence of what was 'the Dal' consume her. A place that she should probably feel afraid in, being a human, but had never felt that way. Not since the first time she had entered, beside Bo, when Trick had announced to everyone to back off. She had felt untouchable that moment, which helped at this moment because she felt safe at the Dal despite all that was going on.
"Hey Dyson." Kenzi still didn't open her eyes, saying his name quietly. The soft enquiry drew no response from the sentinel. "Hey wolf man it's rude to ignoring the dying." She tried again, this time a little louder, her blue eyes slowly opening
"I'm not ignoring you and you're not dying." Dyson shifted on his perch a little so he could see her easily. He moved a hand up to brush at her damp bangs. "Do you need something?"
"Yeah a vodka, you gonna get me one?" Kenzi made the joke softly the tongue slipping out in an attempt to wet her dry lips.
"I'll buy you a whole case as soon as you're well enough." He promised, his voice soft as he smiled at her.
"Yeah about that..." The young woman breathed in too deeply without thinking about it and groaned in pain. "You want to tell a crazy human who has more than once done something dumb for your ass, what's going on?"
Quick lines of disquiet creased on Dyson's forehead for a moment as he tried to think of where to start, what to say.
"Dyson please." Kenzi groaned, pressing her head a little back into the pillow. "I might do dumb things but I am not stupid. What is wrong with me? It's something huge, that much is obvious." She let her blue eyes roll a little to highlight the high tech medical bed. "Don't hold out on me."
"I know you want the truth from me." The wolf admitted with a soft sigh. "But.." He frowned more pronouncedly and shook his head.
"But what?" Kenzi pushed. "But you can't tell me because it's so horrible? You said I wasn't going to die, a girl might have believed you." She let the air out of her lungs in a soft sad huff.
"You're not going to die." Dyson moved his other hand off Kenzi's arm and took hold of her hand. "It's just I don't know how much I should tell you, how much you should know. What Bo would want me to tell you." He explained more.
"I don't see Bo-Bo here right now so why don't you just tell me everything you think I should know without putting her in the picture." The young woman offered.
"A ghoul is trying to take possession of your body." Dyson spelled out with his next breath. "It's inside you trying to fight against you."
"Wow, I'll eat anything." Kenzi made the soft attempt at humour, but didn't pursue it when she saw the look on Dyson's face.
"It came from your encounter with the Norn." He went on, giving Kenzi more of an explanation for the look on his face. "Why didn't you tell me?" He added in a soft pained whisper. "You crazy little thing." He brushed her damp forehead again.
"I guess I need to work on my sharing skills." Kenzi offered with a soft apologetic smile, her eyes closing a little under the touch. For a long moment she just lay in silence at Dyson held her hand lightly in his own. "What happens now?"
"We get it out." The wolf summed up. "That is Thistle does. That's why she's here." He explained more thoroughly.
"Ghoul extractor, now that's a specific kind of job." Kenzi's voice was a little weaker as her strength ebbed slightly.
"Kenzi, what you will go through, it won't be like anything else you have ever experienced..." Dyson began.
"Oh I don't know D-man, I did some whacky shit on the streets." Her smile was uneven.
"I'm not sure I even want to think about that." He actually smiled this time. "Seriously Kenzi, you have to stay strong. Remember who you are, who we are. Remember to fight for what you want, what you love." He urged her, his voice and tone unusually emotional.
"Woo there wolfie, talk like that could scare a girl." Kenzi curled her fingers around his hand. "This new fae, Thistle, she's good right? Like the best ghoul extractor you guys could find? You trust her." She pushed for at least that kind of encouragement.
"She is..." Dyson took a slight breath as he thought how to word his reply. "She will fight as hard as any one of us would to help you. She has given Bo her word and she would not break that."
"It's just her eyes that are freaky then." Kenzi summed up letting her own eyes close.
"They see more than any of us." Dyson said oddly cryptically. "Rest now, you need your strength for the ritual.
Kenzi seemed to settle back against the bed again, happy at least to have had her main question addressed, when she slowly eased one eye open again and looked at Dyson.
"Don't leave me this time shit head." She said with a smirk.
"I'm not going anywhere." He put both of his hands around hers, gripping it harder than maybe he should have. "Not this time."
-x-
The temperature in the ornately decorated and lovingly furnished bedroom beneath the main rooms of the Dal was at least three or four degrees warmer than anywhere else in the way station. What was normally a room of strict order, looked more dishevelled and disorganized than it possibly had for a long while.
The first obvious 'atrocity' was a tangled heap of dark green cloth that was strewn in a messy heap on the floor in front of the beautifully carved, obviously antique armoire. Upon closer inspection this mound of fabric was actually the ornate hunter green crushed velvet throw, emblazoned with the McCorrigan coat of arms, hand stitched in golden thread, that had once been so carefully draped over the sleigh style double bed that dominated the centre of the room.
Then between this the first casualty and the bed, were several items of discarded clothing, a leather jacket, a boot, a pair of scrubs pants, another boot and so it went on, all randomly thrown onto the polished and buffed redwood floor, or strewn on one of the tapestry like rugs that were neatly and strategically placed at the sides and foot of the bed.
Some of the last more obvious losers in the 'battle of the bedroom' were the elegant, fringed pillows that normally rested neatly up along the top of the Blood King's bed. The two long cylindrical shaped cushions were covered with a rich green fabric, the patten a complex mixture of the family crest and other runic symbols. Gold tassel hung off each end in a last token of decadence. Now however one was stood on its end, jammed down between the bed and the night stand, and the other was missing completely, though a slim trail of gold thread leading under the bed, gave a hint as to where it had rolled to at some point in time.
Oblivious to all of this however, was the brunette who was lying on her back on the beautiful antique sleigh bed, one hand thrown up onto the plain cream pillow under her head, the other reached out to lay across the soft creamy coloured breasts of the blonde who lay beside her. Both women were breathing rather raggedly, though the grin on Bo's face was anything but tired.
"Okay," The succubus managed to settle her breathing enough to talk. "That was..." She paused just to think of an adequate term, failing she settled for what worked. "New, really really wonderful, but new." She shifted a little from being flat on her back to turning onto her side to actually look at Lauren.
The blonde had one arm hung low over her body, across her stomach, it rose and fell with each of her fast breaths. Her other hand had been on Bo's arm, but as the succubus shifted onto her side and moved her hand off her lovers breasts she put it down on top of her other one.
"Yes." Lauren turned her head to look Bo. "Wow." The word sounding very strange coming from the usually eloquent doctor.
"You know any time you want to bring 'Now Bo, Harder, right there Lauren' out to play in the future, is fine by me." Bo slid her hand onto Lauren's on her stomach, interlacing their fingers.
A hot embarrassed blush filled Lauren's cheeks.
"Hey no blushing," Bo pressed up briefly from where her head had been resting on the pillow to kiss Lauren's cheek. "It's a good thing, that... that was a very good thing." The succubus stressed the word 'very' with a flare of her eyes. "Take charge Lauren is sexy, so sexy." She dropped a second kiss, this time on Lauren's shoulder, before resting her head back on the pillow.
The blonde kept her eyes on her lover as she spoke, the embarrassment she had initially felt dimming instantly.
"Though..." A soft smirk pulled at Bo's lips for a moment as she shook her head slightly.
"What?" Lauren frowned instantly a little worried.
"In my grandfather's bed." The succubus gave a soft giggle as she squeezed Lauren's hand. "Dr. Lewis..." She winked.
"Oh god..." The blush instantly returned to Lauren's cheeks as she looked around desperately for a sheet, anything to cover herself, as if somehow that would make it better.
Bo laughed brightly from her place beside her as the blonde rolled on her side away from the succubus to gather up the something to cover at least part of her. The only thing within arms reach was one of the extra pillows that had been tossed off the bed at some point. She grabbed it and held it to her body making Bo laugh a little harder.
"Some help you are." Lauren playfully scowled as she shifted her grip on the pillow and lightly batted the succubus with it. "This is horrible of me, Trick let me stay here because of everything that is going on and I..."
"Lauren it was hardly just you." Bo scooted to sit up as her lover had, pausing for a moment to reach out to pick up something off the mattress where Lauren had been laying. "Now that can't have been comfortable to be laying on." She held up her hair slide.
"Didn't notice." Lauren shook her head honestly, but then blinked. "Wait...do I remember pulling your hair, like hard, really hard?" A quizzical frown danced on the blonde's face.
"No." Bo reached to put the metal hair slide on the nightstand but as she turned to look at Lauren again there was a huge grin on her face. "Maybe." She amended her initial answer. "I didn't mind." She changed it again.
"Urgh." Lauren rolled her head back a little and shook it. "You think this is funny don't you?" She asked fixing Bo with her brown eyes.
"A little." Bo admitted honestly resulting in a soft huff from Lauren. "Hey..." She added reaching out to put her hand on Lauren's arm and turning her to face her a little more. "It's okay, what we did, well no it was amazing but what I mean is..." The brunette floundered a little.
"I know what you mean." Lauren smiled softly. "But still I should, we should..." She glanced around the room. "Okay, step one, clothes." Putting the pillow down beside her, Lauren turned her back to Bo as she eased to the edge of the bed.
Bo went to follow suit but stopped instantly.
"Lauren." The succubus' voice was completely different to the soft playful tone that it had been before. Bo then pushed up onto her knees on the bed and moved over to Lauren who had stopped in place. Reaching up Bo gathered Lauren's hair with one hand moving it off her bare shoulders before passing her hand of the soft cream coloured skin. "Your shoulder."
The blonde reached her hand to the zone, her finger tips feeling for the ridges of broken skin but finding instead just flawless warm flesh.
Moving off the bed completely Bo came around to where Lauren was standing, giving her a full look over. Even as Lauren just stood there, her fingers running over and over where there had once been the long angry track marks on her arm. A look of complete non-comprehension was fixed on her face.
"I don't..." She began.
"How do you feel?" Bo asked her voice filling with something like hysteria, but not from fear or worry but excitement.
"I don't know... I..." Lauren paused, she hadn't thought about it. It had just been all about them and making love and then... the blonde did a quick self assessment. She knew that after taking the tea some of the body ache and fever that had filled her body had eased, but she had still had a lot of pain in her shoulder and head. Now though there was nothing. Her arm felt fine, her head was clear, she didn't even feel feverish. "You healed me?" She looked at Bo, her face a mixture of awe and disbelief.
"No, I mean Lauren if I could do that I would have but I can't." Bo shook her head.
"You must have, it's the only explanation, what did you do?" Lauren gently pushed the succubus to think harder about what had happened.
"Lauren I didn't do anything. We made love." She clarified what had so recently taken place. "Technically, a lot of the time I just did what you told me to do."
"This doesn't make any sense." The blonde shook her head her mind spinning slightly as she moved a little away from Bo, but only so she could actually start gathering the clothes they both needed. "How could..."
"The orb." Bo suddenly interjected, her eyes, having panned across the room initially to locate her outfit, and landed on the antique box which held the delicate looking sphere. A sphere that, though looking a little duller than it had before, was just as awe inspiring and beautiful as ever. The succubus reached to pick up the box, the centre of the orb instantly glowing again the second her hand came closer.
Lauren crossed back over to where the succubus was stood, the lines of confusion on her face clearing a little as she looked between Bo and the box in her hand. The electric blue centre of the sphere being echoed by bright flashes in the succubus' eyes.
"When we were making love," Lauren remembered suddenly. "Your eyes were blue."
"What?" Bo looked up shaking her head. "No, I mean... that's only when I feed... The chi..." Bo frowned slightly at her lover. "I don't feed off you." She stated clearly.
"You weren't feeding." Lauren shook her head a wild theory turning in her mind as she stepped a little closer to the succubus. "I don't know for sure and I have no idea how, but..." She stopped just short of the brunette. "I think you took chi from the orb and used it to heal me as if you were healing yourself."
"What?" Bo just blinked in stunned shock.
"This is..." Lauren looked up into her lover's eyes, her own eyes filled with wonder and awe. "Unheard of, unbelievable." A smile of pure love filled the blonde's face. "Bo," She reached out and ran her over dark hair. "You're amazing." She shook her head a little obviously completely taken aback by the whole situation. She drew her hand down over Bo's shoulder and arm, then brought both of her hands to cover the succubus' where she held the box. As she did so the orb inside seemed to glow a slightly brighter shade of blue.
"I don't know about that." Bo shook her head. Though there was no denying that something definitely miraculous had happened, the succubus wasn't convinced that it was all because of her.
"I do." Lauren quickly countered her lover's comment. "I'll have to do tests." She moved back from Bo to gather the last of their clothes. "On me for once not you." She added with a smile over her shoulder at the brunette.
"Now?" Bo asked putting the box aside again for the moment, the succubus' tone changed from the positive up beat one that it had been to something more distracted and almost disappointed. It was as Lauren pulled on her scrubs top that she keyed in to the most likely reason for the change in her lover's mood.
"When Kenzi is better." She carried the succubus clothes to the bed, putting them down on it. "I'm not going anywhere Bo." She added. "Apart from upstairs to check on how my favourite patient is doing."
Bo's look of relief was stunning.
"How do you always know just the right thing to say?" The brunette smiled at her lover with a look of pride as she pulled on her pants.
"Because I know your heart." Lauren replied without hesitation.
Bo laughed softly and nodded in confirmation as she pulled on her top, flicking her hair out of the edge of it.
"I can't believe..." Bo suddenly stopped and looked at Lauren. "Look at you." She crossed quickly to the blonde who was now dressed and had even managed to make her hair look presentable. "Oh Lauren." She pulled her lover close in a tight embrace, holding her, her eyes closing as she just let the feeling of a whole, healthy Lauren fill her being. Lauren said nothing, just held her lover back tenderly. "Sorry." Bo apologized after a long moment stepping back slightly.
"No need." Lauren shook her head smiling softly. "Let's wash up and get back to Kenzi." She offered a plan of action, looking off towards the door as she bent down to rescue the lost decorative pillow.
"Actually I have to leave Kenzi in your capable hands for a while, not long, I just have to find something and our dear friend The Ash is my first port of call." Bo agreed to the idea to move, but not on their destinations.
"You're going to the compound? What do you need?" Lauren asked as pulled the other pillow out from where it was wedged.
"Well I'm hoping that Hale has, or can get me some iridium." Bo explained moving as her lover was to surface tidy the room. "Apparently its old and rare and has mystical qualities that Thistle thinks she can use to seal the vulnerable point in Kenzi's soul aura thing." She plumped up a regular feather pillow that had gotten particularly squashed. "I'm hoping he has an old bangle or something lying around somewhere." She smiled at Lauren with a soft eye roll. "Apparently old fae families like to use it for jewelry."
"They do." Lauren nodded, for some reason her smile brighter than Bo as she stopped what she was doing and moved back to her lover's side. "They also use it to make pendants of ownership." Her smile turned into a positive beam as she stopped in front of Bo. The succubus' brown eyes came up, first meeting her lover's eyes and then dropped a little to the chain around her neck.
"You mean..." With her hand slightly shaking Bo reached out and slipped her fingers under the amulet that laid against Lauren's skin.
The blonde merely smiled that 'oh so Lauren' smile and gave a single simple nod.
-x-