No Fate But My Own
Chapter 37
"Okay, Lauren. It's time. I need a big push now!"
Bo wiped the blondes sweaty brow with the hand that wasn't caught in a death grip. She kissed Lauren's heated skin. "You're doing great, baby."
Lauren let out a primal scream as she pushed.
"That's good, Lauren. I see the head. Take some short breaths for the next couple of contractions and then I want you to push again. Okay?"
Lauren closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing and keeping her calming power active. When the contractions had intensified and she had moved into the second stage of labour she had started to have problems with her telekinetic abilities. Bo had used her ability to stop the telekinesis and then Lauren had called her calming power to try to keep it at bay. She was struggling to hold her power in place as she felt the baby crown. After another contraction subsided Lauren looked over at Bo. "I need you to use your sway. I can't hold the calm anymore. I'm so tired."
"I've got you, Lauren," Bo replied and gripped her lover's hand between both of hers as she pushed a slow and steady stream of her swaying power into her.
Bo watched Lauren's face slacken. "Okay. Is it time for her to push again, Doc."
He looked at the striking couple before him. "Ready when you are, Lauren."
The blonde rolled her eyes in agitation. "I was ready four contractions ago," she growled, before pushing hard.
"That's it! Keep pushing." Moments later the doctor held up a perfect screaming fair-haired baby girl. He handed the baby to one of the waiting attendants and then focused on the blonde again. "Alright, I'm going to assist Baby two into the birth canal, Lauren. I'll tell you when to push!" Lauren was looking at the succubus with a dreamy look on her face oblivious to the doctor. When he told her to push she didn't even acknowledge that she heard him.
It was Bo that Lauren was fixated on. "Ready for round two, baby? It's time to push. I love you so much. You are doing so good."
Lauren nodded and finally focused on the doctor. After several big pushes he brought up the second baby girl. This one had a head full of dark hair. "Oh, Lauren. They are both so perfect," Bo cooed, as baby number two was placed beside her sister. Bo leaned down and kissed an exhausted, Lauren, who was having trouble keeping her eyes open. "I am so proud of you and of the family you have brought into this word. I love you so much, Lauren. So, so much."
"Mm, I love you too. More than anything."
"More than science?" Bo asked with a dopey grin.
Lauren let out a little chuckle, "Even more than science. I am yours forever."
A flash of light caught Bo's eye. She turned to find one of the orderlies standing over the bassinet where the babies were bundled together. Then she saw the small dagger in his hand. However, he seemed to be frozen on the spot hovering over the crib. He was mumbling something softly. Bo approached the immobile man and looked down into the crib.
Bo's breath caught as she saw jet black eyes looking at and holding the man's malicious intent at bay. "I call the brotherhood to protect and enforce the old laws. I call the brotherhood to assist me in this holy mission to rid this world of these abominations. Old Gods, give me strength."
Bo felt her own eyes change as this man talked about killing her family. She reached out and grabbed the man around the neck and pushed him back until she had him up against the wall. "They are not abominations! They are innocent and a result of a true and pure love," Bo growled.
There was a loud commotion outside. And then the panicked voice of Kenzi as she entered the room. "We have company out here, Bo! They are overwhelming the guards!"
"THE BROTHERHOOD ANSWERS MY RIGHTEOUS CALL!" her captive screamed in her face.
She opened her mouth to ask what he was talking about and who the brotherhood were when Bo heard something that chilled her to the bone. "She's haemorrhaging. We need to stop this bleeding or we'll lose her."
"See! The Old Gods have heard our plea, they are killing the mother who brought these hell spawn into this world. They will not desert us. The old laws of the fae will be honoured and obeyed. The blood laws will be upheld by the brotherhood of blood. Not even being the Blood Kings kin will protect you from what must be done. The cleansing has begun!"
Kenzi was thrown forward as a half dozen men all wearing the same strange armour entered the room. Bo watched in horror as the doctor that was trying to save Lauren was run through with a broadsword.
Bo crushed the throat of the man she held captive. She took the small dagger from his hand before releasing him. Bo held the dagger by the blade and threw it at the man wielding the big ass sword.
She smiled wide when the dagger found its mark in the mans neck. All that practise paid off, she thought as she moved forward quickly and scooped up the sword. Bo placed herself between her family and the men who were trying to destroy it. She cursed as four of the five men rushed her at once. The fifth was disposed of by a bloody but uninjured Bruce. He snapped the fae's neck as if it was a twig before entering the room.
Bo braced herself for the onslaught, but watched as they flew backwards away from her. Their bodies hitting the wall or other equipment, giving her a momentary reprieve as they tried to get up. Bo turned to find a very pale and barely conscious Lauren, whispering to Kenzi who was by her bedside. "Bruce! Get your ass here and pick her up, we need to get her to the lab!" Kenzi ordered. The huge muscle man stomped onto one of the brotherhood that was laying on the floor in front of him with such force that it crushed his skull before moving forward to scoop up the blonde.
That leaves three, Bo thought, as she rushed forward, impaling the one that had just managed to stand straight through the chest. Two. She met the next fae as he swung his sword at her, their blades clashing together.
Kenzi slipped behind Bo and approached the crib. "Kenzi! Get them and Lauren out of here!" The succubus blocked another strong blow causing the other fae to become off balance. Bo thrust out a leg and kicked him in the stomach, sending him stumbling backwards into the other medieval fae that had started his approach. Blood burst from his mouth as he fell onto his comrades sword. One.
Kenzi took the opening and followed a retreating Bruce from the room and into the corridor. Bo wasted no time in approaching her final adversary as he struggled out from under the dead weight of his comrade. His eyes widened when he got free and sees the angry succubus approaching. He fumbled with the dagger at his hip. He threw it at Bo hurriedly. It flew end over end and impaled her in her right thigh. Bo didn't slow down her eyes flashing from blue to black. She ripped the blade from her leg and kicked him in the face, sending him back to the floor landing hard on his back.
Bo straddled the fae and plunged the dagger into his stomach. She didn't want him to die straight away. She wanted answers first. He convulsed beneath her, blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth, eyes wide with fear. "What are you?" he managed to splutter.
Bo hesitated for a moment. She didn't feel evil and malicious intent coming from the man slowly dying beneath her unlike the orderly. All she felt was his undeniable faith and belief that he was doing his Gods work.
Bo cocked her head. "I am just a woman protecting her family."
"No! You will be the destruction of the fae. You and The Ash and The Morrigan! The laws were written in blood by The Blood King and we were brought forth to enforce and protect the sanctity of the laws and the fae that are ruled by them. Any true believer of the old ways can call us forth. There are still many who believe in the old ways."
Bo remembered what the orderly had mumbled. He had summoned the brotherhood to his aid. A lot of good that did him, Bo thought. Was he the only one or was there others out there with the same warped belief system. "You must know that I am The Blood King's granddaughter and that he sanctioned and voted with the rest of the council to reform the archaic and barbaric laws of the fae. Some of those laws needed changing surely you can see that! The fae need to evolve in order to survive."
He shook his head as she spoke, refusing to listen to the blasphemous words coming from this seductress demon's mouth. "We were brought to be, for one sole purpose..." He coughed up more blood as his breathing became more laboured. "One reason. To abide by the words written in his own blood. The brotherhood exists because he had wished his laws to be obeyed and abided by for all time. You cannot stop us. We are infinite. We are the will of The Blood King. We exist because we are written in his blood."
Bo had heard enough. She bent down and drained him of the remainder of his life force. She needed to get to the lab and her family.
Bruce, carrying Lauren, followed Kenzi through the secret escape route that only Lauren and a few other key personnel knew about. Bruce lay the unconscious blonde on the lab table and checked her pulse. "She barely has a pulse, Kenzi. What is it that we can do here."
"Doc says she has something that will heal her. She had a breakthrough earlier today with it. It's untested, but it's all we got!" she replied as she typed in the code to the refrigerated cabinet. Kenzi found the box exactly where Lauren had told her it would be. She opened it up to find four vials laying side by side in the same injectors that Bo's suppressant used to come in. The stuff looked radioactive with its fluorescent green appearance, but she grabbed one and went back to Lauren's still form.
Kenzi pulled the gown down to expose the blonde's chest stopping just above her breasts. Bruce reached out. "Are you sure about this?"
"We can't just let her die! This is a chance and Lauren knew that it would be her only one... Besides, if there is one thing I know about Lauren is that she is a freakin' genius when it comes to all this science crap. Now let go of my hand big man and let me plunge this thing into her chest!"
Bruce released her arm and watched her inject the mysterious miracle serum into the doctor's heart. The blonde started to convulse. Bruce held the blonde's shoulders down firmly. The convulsions subsided, but she didn't regain consciousness.
The sound of a door opening caught Kenzi's attention and she saw one of the guard's enter the lab his revolver drawn. He approached slowly, lowering his weapon. "Is Dr. Lewis alright? Is she dead?" His eyes were wide as he took in the blood soaked gown. At that moment Lauren gasped and opened her eyes. Bruce bent down to check on her. "Oh, that's too bad. Oh well, I'll have to do it myself," the guard said before pointing his revolver in Lauren's direction.
"No!" Kenzi screamed, moving into his line of fire. The guard fired and the young girl slumped to the floor unmoving.
"Kenzi!" Bruce moved forward, his body transforming until he was shiny and silver as if he was covered in metal. The guard fired frantically as the metallic muscle man roared and ran at him. His gun clicked empty and he screamed just seconds before Bruce thrust a punch that went right through the fae's chest.
Bo burst through the doors a little bloody and worse for wear from fighting her way though the medical complex in time to see Bruce's bloody retaliation. The succubus' gaze found Lauren bending over Kenzi, her hands pressed against her stomach. Bo ran and collapsed onto the floor at Kenzi's side. "Kenzi! No, no, no, no."
"Bo! I need you to apply pressure to the wound! Bo! Focus!" Lauren yelled, getting Bo's attention from the despair she felt at seeing her best friend bloody and unconscious. Bo replaced Lauren's hands as tears ran down her face.
Lauren ran to the cabinet and grabbed the serum that had just saved her life. She was worried because it hadn't been made for human's. Lauren had felt confident it would be okay to use on her because she wasn't completely human anymore. Kenzi on the other hand was all human.
She sat down, holding the serum in her hand. "Bo this hypodermic holds a healing serum I have been working on. It's how Kenzi saved me."
Bo looked up at Lauren her eyes filled with desperation. "Well, what are you waiting for? Give it to her!"
"I don't know what effect it will have on her. It wasn't created for humans. I hadn't gotten that far. It hadn't even been tested until Kenzi used it on me. It may kill her, Bo."
"She'll die anyway without it, right?" Lauren's eyes said it all. "Then do it, Lauren! I won't lose her!"
Lauren injected Kenzi. Her eyes opened wide for a second before closing and her body began to convulse violently. "Bo! Breathe some chi into her!"
The succubus didn't hesitate and did as Lauren said. The shaking continued, but it was less violent and the young woman remained unconscious. Bo lifted up her hand to see the bullet wound slowly re-knitting itself. She put her hand back over the wound because it was still bleeding. Lauren grabbed some gauze from a first aid box on the wall and taped it to Kenzi's stomach so that Bo could remove her hands. "How long will it take?"
Lauren shook her head. "I don't know."
Bruce approached them. "We have to go. We don't know who is friend or foe. Bo, carry Kenzi. Lauren, grab your daughters. I need my hands free in case there is trouble between here and the car that will get us out of here."
Lauren got up and approached the plastic crib. The babies were awake and alert. "Oh, Bo. They're so beautiful," the blonde said in awe as she got her first proper glimpse at her daughters. Bo was holding Kenzi's still form in her arms effortlessly.
Bruce put a hand on Lauren's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Doc. But we really do have to go."
Lauren nodded and gripped the side of the crib. "No. You're right. There will be time for me to bond when we are safe. Lead the way."
They rode the elevator down. Bruce made sure that they were pressed against the walls. Bo with Kenzi in her arms on one side and Lauren with the crib on the other. He stood in his full body armoured glory right in front of the door. He ensured that they knew to stay in the elevator until he gave them the all clear and pressed the button to take them down to the parking garage.
As soon as the doors dinged open, Bruce stepped out. Lauren pressed the button to close the doors again just as heavy machine gun fire started to fire in short bursts into Bruce. She then pressed the emergency stop button.
As the gunfire and screams continued to rage outside, Kenzi began to stir in Bo's arms. Bo knelt down, laying her on the floor. "Hey there, welcome back," Bo said with a full dimpled grin as her friend opened her eyes and focused on her.
She puts a hand on her torso, "What the hell happened. Did what I think happened, happen?"
"If you are thinking that you got shot, by being a human shield for me. Then the answer is, yes."
Kenzi sat up slowly, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Go me!"
They hadn't noticed that the gunfire had ceased outside the elevator doors and they all jumped when someone knocked from the other side. Bruce's voice sounded out telling them that it was all clear. Lauren pressed the button and the doors opened. Bruce was literally painted in blood as he stood before them. He smiled down at Kenzi, "Welcome back, little one."
She returned his smile. "Yep. Damn straight. You can't get rid of me that easy, buddy. I'm bullet proof."
"I'm glad." Bruce stepped forward and lifted Kenzi onto her feet. "Time to go. Can you walk?"
"Yeah. I think I can manage. Let's blow this joint bitches before someone else tries shooting at me."
Bo and Lauren each grabbed one of their daughter's and held the precious bundles close as they made their way through the dozens of bodies littering the parking garage. "Jesus, Brucie! You are totally bad ass!" Kenzi remarked as they climbed into the armoured SUV.
Bruce chuckled and shook his head at the humans' ability to make light of any given situation no matter how dire it was. "Why do you think The Morrigan assigned me to keep Lauren safe," He responded with a wink.
"We will have to get some capsules as soon as possible. Drive carefully, Bruce," Lauren said from the back seat never taking her eyes from the dark haired bundle in her arms.
"Yes Ma'am."
"Where are we headed?" Bo smiled when her daughter clung to her finger. She had never felt so complete than she did in that moment as she gazed down at her daughter.
"I think the safest place will be at The Dal with Trick," Bruce responded as he started the car and headed in that direction.
I'm not so sure about that! Bo thought as she remembered what brotherhood fae had told her before he died. She felt her anger stirring as she said, "I think that's a good idea. The Dal is a sanctuary and I have quite a bit to say to Trick."
Lauren looked over at Bo questioningly, but said nothing. They drove the rest of the way in silence...