SNOWSWEPT

by CuddleFae

Dr. Lauren Lewis has been assigned to oversee the opening of a new hospital. Overwhelmed by all there is to know and learn in an unfamiliar land, she crosses paths with a mysterious woman with a dark past - a past that has caused her to live by one rule. Trust no one. Thrown into a desperate struggle, can they overcome the barriers between them in their fight to survive?

16. Chapter 16: Reunions

A/N: This was the second of a two-chapter update! If you haven't read Chapter 15 yet, go back! Thanks in advance for reading and reviewing! I am truly so very grateful for all of the support you've given me. Best wishes to all of you for a very happy and healthy 2020!

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Chapter 16: The Reunion

Bette's Bed and Breakfast, Grand Hall

Bo had been wandering the corridors of the massive bed and breakfast since Betsy had left her to unpack. Truth be told, there was very little in her bags. Pictures of the dogs, some toiletries, sunglasses, T-shirts, shorts, running tights and shoes, scuffs, undergarments, hoodies, hats and rain gear. She'd brought some rope in hopes of finding a ceiling beam to hang it from so she could still do her workout. She'd also brought three journals since she thought she might like to write about the trial… and how she was feeling being in Lauren's state but not seeing her.

She had agreed to meet Betsy in the Grand Hall in a half hour. She stared up at the ceiling of the large space shaking her head,

"You could fit five of my houses in this room."

She slowly turned around, her bare feet taking slow steps across the shiny hardwood floors,

"Great craftsmanship." She noted.

She moved towards the walls, her fingers grazing the crown molding, "Wow. This is really old wood working. It looks like it was hand tooled like the floors. Very cool."

Betsy smiled, watching her visitor appreciate the finer touches on the old home,

"So you're saying you would be willing to go tour the old homes of Boston with me?"

Bo turned, smiling at the older woman, "If they're anything like this, definitely. I may just fall asleep in a hallway. I've never seen ceilings this high in my life."

"Well, the bedroom ceilings are just as high."

Chuckling, the brunette removed her hand from the wall and stuck her feet back in her scuffs, "It's still a bit claustrophobic for me."

"You don't say?"

Bo shrugged, "I've lived off grid my whole life and by that, I mean I've lived outside. I would go into town twice a month in winter to trade my furs. That's the only time I would stay at my friend's hotel. She has high ceilings too. My room was at the very top of the building, so there were windows all around me. I slept with them open so I could breathe."

"So you don't have a home?"

Bo smiled, "I just finished building my home a few months back. Then, some very bad people came and shot it up. I did some of the repairs before I left, but I spent a good amount of time in the hospital after I got myself shot."

Betsy's face dropped, "Oh my. I had no idea."

"You don't know about the trial?"

Betsy hooked her arm through Bo's elbow and led her to a window seat on the other side of the ballroom. She pulled open the curtain, anchoring them with the sashes, unlocked the tall windows, then grabbed the long pole that hung behind the curtain, hooked it into the metal circle on the frame and pushed the window up. A cool sea breeze immediately swept through the windows, feathering loose strands of Bo's hair off of her face to her shoulders. The brunette smiled, closing her eyes as the fresh scent filled her senses.

"You really are a fan of the outdoors." Betsy smiled, taking a seat beside Bo.

The brunette turned her gaze to the ocean, "I'm a native of the outdoors. I feel relaxed and at home there."

Betsy nodded, "I've got something to tell you and I must admit, I'm a bit concerned about how you're going to react to the news."

Bo's eyes went wide, "Something's wrong."

Betsy shook her head, raising her hands, "Not in the way I suspect you expect. Please… relax and let me explain."

Relax, Bo thought. Right.

"I've heard you have quite the temper and…"

"I won't hurt you."

Betsy looked visibly uncomfortable, "Well, I suppose that's good to know." She took a deep breath, "I'm begging your forgiveness for misleading you, but… well, we didn't know where else to turn."

"Oh, this is going to be good. There's over seven billion people on the planet and you need some off-grid musher who most of the world has never even heard of?"

She lowered her head, "You're the only one that can help. Stephen and I… we're very worried. We called the Nurses who now reside in your town and they suggested we get you to Boston."

Bo froze, slowly standing and taking a few steps back from Betsy, "This is about Lauren."

"Yes."

"Is she okay?" Bo asked, panic rushing through her body.

"Yes. She's uninjured… physically."

Bo heaved a sigh of relief as Betsy continued.

"Bo, she's making some very bad choices. You have to help us."

"No."

"Bo…"

"No."

"You love her. How can you turn your back on her?" Betsy pleaded, following the brunette across the full expanse of the dance floor as she marched towards the grand entryway.

"Bo!"

The brunette turned on the older woman. There was fire in her eyes as she pointed her finger rhythmically as she spoke,

"She left without saying goodbye. She hasn't called. She hasn't sent a single text reply. She clearly either doesn't want to speak to me or has more important things to do."

"She's shutting down, Bo. She's withdrawing from the world and throwing herself into her work."

"She knew exactly what she was doing when she left Alaska. Work was the reason she came back here. She must be very happy."

She turned and headed for the staircase as Betsy called up to her,

"No, Bo. She's not. Her friends – the nurses back in Alaska - they called Stephen. They're worried about her as well. Their friends told them that Lauren has begun staying out late, she's drinking and in the past week, she's rescheduled two surgeries and passed off two or three others to colleagues. Lauren never misses a surgery. Never. If you know her as Carolyn says you do… if you love her as Carolyn says you do… you know that's a big red flag."

She watched as Bo stopped halfway up the bottom part of the long, spiral staircase. Slowly, she turned back to Betsy,

"We'll go to dinner… now… and talk. I don't know what I can do to help." Bo replied.

Betsy nodded, "That's fine and… well, for the record, Stephen and I have an idea of how you can help."

Bo descended the staircase, "Okay then. Let's go."

"Uh… do you want to put on some shoes?"

Bo stopped, looking down at her feet. She sighed, "I'll meet you in the car."

Betsy watched as she ascended the stairs two at a time, "Well, this should be interesting."

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Later… at the restaurant…

"Wow. The view is… magnificent." Bo commented, taking a seat across from Betsy who had kissed Stephen on the cheek before sitting next to him.

Stephen smiled, "This is our favorite restaurant. I know that some of the items on the menu may be foreign to you, but I would be happy to explain…"

Bo waved him off, "I'll tell you what. Why don't you two just order for the table and I'll taste everything as the mood hits me. So far, the preview of our dinner conversation has chipped away at my appetite a bit."

The couple looked at each other than looked back at Bo who was now staring out the large windows at the ocean,

"Looks pretty rough out there today."

Stephen nodded, "The Cape is known for its rough seas when storms are coming. There's a doozy headed our way tonight. I'm afraid it will be a stormy evening."

Bo smiled politely, taking a deep breath, "So, about Lauren…"

"Straight to the point, all business, huh?" Stephen asked.

"From what Betsy told me, that's the point of this dinner and my being here, so yes… straight to the point."

"Evony has backed Lauren into a corner. Of course, Lauren has a fantastic legal team who is building their case and we are using all our connections to help, but this is going to take time unless we find a loophole or some serious evidence against Evony. In the meanwhile, Evony and Nadia are apparently making Lauren's life a living hell at the hospital."

Bo scowled, "Why would Evony make things hard on Lauren when she props her up as her star surgeon?"

"There's another star in town, so Evony is doing what she has to do to get some PR for the hospital. She doesn't care if it's good or bad as long as people are talking about her hospitals. Once she garners their attention, she'll put the proper spin on the news and come out smelling like a rose."

"Another star?" Bo asked.

"At another hospital?"

Bo nodded, "Right. That dude at another hospital. Carolyn had mentioned him. Lauren says he sucks."

"Bo, we need you to talk to her. Maybe a visit from you will help."

Her stomach sunk as she lowered her eyes to her hands, now sliding back and forth on her thighs. She shook her head,

"I don't think she'll want to see me."

"Of course she will." Betsy urged.

"You don't know our relationship. I can't just drop in on her without warning. We'll need a buffer – someone to distract from my existence so that she doesn't blow up at me before I have a chance to talk to her."

Again, the two looked at each other before turning back to Bo, "I think we've got the perfect buffer."

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Driveway of Lauren's Beach House, Three Hours Later

Bo's mind was filled with images of the onslaught of experiences that had been the last three hours. They'd had a fantastic dinner. Her palate had experienced flavors she didn't know existed in the vast expanse that was the ocean. She's never had lobster or shrimp or that wonderfully flaky fish – whatever it was. The vegetables reminded her of the ones her Mom used to pull from the restaurant garden. They were incredibly fresh and roasted to perfection.

After the meal, Stephen had arranged for her to spend some time in the kitchen with the chef so she could see how the east coast cooked food. Her mind was already trying to come up with an Alaskan off-grid version of their cooking techniques.

When they left the restaurant, they'd walked down Commercial Street which was alive with music, dance and a large population of people that shared her lifestyle. She had no idea a place like this existed in the world. Of course, when they'd gone into the Tea House to see one of Stephen's old friends perform, Bo was expecting the Cher look-alike to be a woman. To her surprise, it was a man dressed in drag who proceeded to give her a lap dance. Bo was still trying to process the experience as she spoke to Betsy,

"What is Stephen doing here? It looks like there's a lot of people around."

Betsy nodded, "His friend is having a big party.

Bo watched out of the car window as two women ran naked from the back door and splashed into the ocean. They surfaced, wrapped in each other's arms and began… well…

"This is some party." Bo said, looking to Betsy so she didn't have to look at the two women, "Is this how all East Coast parties are?"

Betsy shook her head, "I've been to a lot of parties at this house, but I've never seen one quite like this."

The pair watched as two more naked women ran for the water. Betsy cleared her throat, turning in her seat to face Bo,

"I promise, this is not the sort of party we usually see at this house."

Bo smirked, "You're not worried about Stephen being in there all by himself?"

Blonde hair caught Bo's eyes, a woman running for the water chased by another woman – both naked.

"Geezus, what the hell is going on here?" Bo asked, "This looks more like an orgy than a party."

They both watched as Stephen came out onto the porch, losing his balance when what looked like all of the remaining guests from inside the house ran for the water all at once, nearly running him over.

Betsy was out of the car in a flash, concerned for her partner. Bo sighed with relief when he caught himself on the vertical support of the porch railing. A wave of shock ran through the brunette as he yelled,

"Lauren! Where the hell are you! Get out here!"

Bo walked slowly towards the house, her eyes scanning the bodies in the water, then the house, waiting for Lauren to appear. Finally, she saw the blonde stagger from the back of the house towards Stephen. Thankfully, she was fully clothed, but she was clearly drunk.

Bo walked towards her, "L-Lauren?"

The blonde looked her way, wine shooting out of the bottle in her hand when she threw her hands over her head in excitement,

"BO! My beautiful Bo! Bo the Beautiful! Love of my life, only woman for me! Do you see all of those women? I left the house when they started getting naked because I only have eyes for you! I'm so glad you're here, Bo! I missed you so much! I know I haven't replied… I've been really shitty about that, but I was afraid you hated me for not replying, so the longer I didn't reply, the more I thought you hated me, and it just went around and around and around and around. But now you're here and I love you and I'm sorry I didn't reply!"

She fell into Bo's arms, "Oops. Sorry."

She stood, putting her hand on the rail of the porch until she found the steps. She sat down and continued to ramble,

"You look really, really angry, as you should be. I was really shitty to you. Almost as shitty as Evony and Nadia have been to me. But you'd be surprised how much you can forget when you drink a bottle of Kenzi's favorite wine. That's right, I got me some Senor Malbec in your bestie's honor. It's almost like being in Alaska and watching her down most of the bottle while I have a half a glass. I honestly don't know how she does it! I get drunk almost every night trying to drink how much she drinks! I want to talk to her about donating her liver to science. She must have a superhero liver!"

"Lauren!" Stephen yelled, giving the blonde a shake, "Snap out of it!" He turned to Betsy, "She's three sheets to the wind."

"Great." Betsy replied, shaking her head.

"Stephen! Betsy! You came too? I don't think this is your kind of party. I mean… I thought it was, but then all of a sudden, all of these interns crashed the dinner and before I knew it, they were dancing on the tables. They busted open my liquor cabinet and started doing shots on people's belly buttons."

She turned to Bo, "You ever seen people do that, Bo? They were setting shots on fire on each other's belly buttons. Weird, huh? Kids these days. I thought I was going to have to do drunken first aid on third degree burns! I finally convinced them to stop and then they went after my stereo. I decided, fuck it and tried to go up to bed, but there were these three naked ladies in there. Whoa… too much for my eyes. But I fixed them! They didn't know I had a hammock on my back porch. I could sleep there!"

Lauren went to raise the bottle to her mouth, but Bo took it away, "Hey! Give baby back her bottle! I gotta keep up with Kenzi! Maybe then she'll like me."

Bo shook her head, "Kenzi isn't here, Lauren and she would never expect you to drink as much as she drinks."

"She thinks I'm a loser. She thinks I'm stuck up and snooty and she hates doctors. She thinks I think I'm better than her, but I don't think I'm betterer. I think she's betterer because you like her more. She's your bestie and you'd rather spend time with her than me. She knows all your secrets and I only know what you tell me. You don't tell me your secrets because you don't trust me. Give me back my bottle, please. Give it!"

"No! I'm not going to let you drink yourself into oblivion!"

"Oblivion would be awesome! Evony could never find me there! I wouldn't have to take orders from Nadia! Did you know she gave my ex-wife my ex-position at my ex-surgical ward? I went to Alaska and I came back a big X! I can't even take a job somewhere else! But it's okay! I'm fucking up their reputation good! I cancelled two surgeries… I mean… surgeries this week and I handed a bunch off to Evony's new star. He's an idiot and a horrible surgeon. He killed two patients already! Serves her right for hiring that asshole and making Nadia chief. She should have known to do those surgeries herself."

Bo watched as Lauren's expression changed and she started to cry, "They died because of me! I should have done the surgeries! I knew he couldn't handle them, and I gave him the surgeries anyway! I'm a killer! I'm a killer and a killer!"

"Lauren, you're not a killer. You don't have a mean bone in your body." Bo said, trying to make sense of what the doctor was saying.

"I'm no good. I'm no good to anyone. I should just quit medicine. I tried, but Stephen and Betsy and Patrick and Elijah and Harvey and Tom all said I shouldn't quit. I can't quit. I have to fight for everyone. Why, Bo? Why do I have to fight the battle for everyone?"

Bo offered a sympathetic smile, "Because it's what we do, Lauren. We fight the battles for the little guy."

"I think I'm just a little guy, Bo. I'm a nobody."

"That's not true, Lauren."

Lauren laughed, "Oh yes, it is. Evony has made sure of it. She's taking me to the board to have my license revoked for not doing the surgeries. She's saying I have a drinking problem and that I've done drunken surgeries. I haven't, but I have no proof that I haven't. I thought we were supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. What proof can she have that I was drunk when I did a surgery?"

"I don't know, Lauren."

"She's a monster, Bo. She and Nadia are monsters bent on destroying my life. I think I'm going to drive trucks, Bo. Do you think I can drive trucks?"

Bo shook her head, "I think you can do anything you put your mind to, Lauren, but I think patients need Doctor Lewis. Anyone can drive a truck, but there's only one Doctor Lauren Lewis."

"Awww. You're such a sweet talker. Do you love me? No, you hate me because I was an asshole. I didn't talk to you. Radio silent. I went radio silent when you needed me most. I'm an idiot."

"You're not an idiot, Lauren."

"Did I tell you that Evony is suing me?"

Bo looked up at Stephen and Betsy who replied, "First we're hearing of it."

Lauren looked at the couple, "You're so cute together. You didn't know that Evony was suing me? You gotta talk to Patrick. I have a plan. I hatched a plan with him today. We're totally going to take Evony by surprise. I can't wait to see the look on her face."

"Oh? What's the plan?" Bo asked, turning to Betsy and Stephen to whisper, "And who the hell is Patrick?"

"Her lawyer." Betsy replied quickly.

Lauren began. She spoke rapidly and slurring her words, "We got video evidence of Evony telling the interns to crash this party, pic me drunk, naked and in bed with them so she could put the final nail in my coffee... coffin. They crashed, but I was smarter. I got myself drunk before they could get me drunk. See what I did there? I beat 'em to it! I won! And, I put on three layers of clothes so they can't get them off. Most women struggle to get one layer off! I dare 'em to get all three of these off! Oh… and lucky… when I checked my bed to take off the sheets so they couldn't put me in there, I found three… count 'em… one, two, three ladies in my bed, so they can't take me there. Know how I did it?"

"Did what?" Bo asked.

"Got their phones! Know how I did it?" Lauren asked.

"No." Betsy said when Lauren looked her way.

"I collected all their little cellphones when they came into the party – you know, so they wouldn't 'drive' after drinking! They all fell for my safety speech! Claudia gave me the intern's code and I found a video of Evony talking to the group in her office. Nailed it!"

"Where's the phone, Lauren?" Stephen asked.

"Hi Stephen!"

He smiled, "Hi Lauren. Where's the phone?"

"What phone?" She asked.

"The one with the video of Evony. The intern's phone."

Lauren held her finger up over her lips, "Shhhhhhhhh. Wanna know what I did? I found a video that's going to put Evony in jail!"

"We know, Lauren. Where's the phone with the video?"

She pulled a sim card out of her pocket and handed it to Stephen. She opened the inside zipper pocket of her windbreaker and pulled out a phone. Stephen took that as well.

"Know what the code is on the phone?" Lauren giggled, "So stupid. It's 1-1-1-1. Claudia told me. Claudia's a good nurse. She doesn't like the Interns much. She was here and helped me. She left though. I told her there might be trouble so she should left… I mean right… I mean – leave! Leave! Yea!"

"Lauren!" Betsy yelled, "Oh for crying out loud!"

Lauren frowned, "Sorry."

Bo shook her head, "It's okay. Tell us what was on the video, Lauren."

"I didn't watch the whole video. Claudia the nurse said the Intern videotaped a conversation where the interns were gonna blackmail me to get better grades in the program. They were gonna try to get me drunk and naked, then pose on the bed with me." She giggled again, "See? I'm perfectly fine and fully clothed! Three layers! Did you know I put on three layers?"

"You told us, yes. Good idea."

Lauren gave Bo two thumbs up, "They failed! Epic failed! Now they're gonna epic fail out of medical school!"

Bo nodded, "Okay then. Good to know."

Lauren leaned over to Betsy, "Shhhhh!"

Betsy pulled her ear away as Lauren's saliva flew into her ear, but Lauren pulled her closer again, trying to whisper, but speaking in a full voice,

"Wanna know a secret, Betty?"

"My name is Betsy, Lauren."

"Right. So, Betty… wanna know a secret?"

"Sure." Betsy said, shaking her head.

"They coulda got me naked if they had flown my Bo here. Yup! Only my Bo can get me naked, so the jokes on them! I gotta call her. She's gonna be mad that I didn't call her yet."

She looked around her, "Where's my bottle?"

"All gone." Betsy said.

"I gotta call Bo. She's the love of my life, ya know. I'm just afraid to tell her. What if she doesn't feel the same? What if she says… 'Lauren! Are you crazy? I can't love a fancy doctor from the Lower Forty-Eight. You're not good enough for me!'… she could say that, yes she could. I think she was calling me to break up with me. I think when I left, she looked at her life and realized I was holding her back. If I picked up the phone, she could have broke up with me!"

She looked up at Stephen, "Right Stevie? Before me, she was free to roam and live out of the grid thingy. She could… you know…" Lauren closed her eyes and began to sing, "Give me a home, where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play…" She stopped and looked back to Stephen, "She coulda done that if she didn't have me for a ball and chain. I suck!"

Stephen shook his head, leaned down waving the phone and whispered to Betsy, "Do you two have this? I'm going to go handle this with her lawyer."

Betsy nodded, watching as Stephen opened the sim card slot on the side of the intern's phone, powered up the device and then entered the pin to open the phone. He took it back to his car where he could listen to the videos and speak with Patrick privately. Hopefully, this would be what they would need to counter anything Evony was planning. Hopefully, this would get Lauren her freedom and then some.

Betsy looked at Lauren, "Why don't you ask Bo how she feels, Lauren?"

"Huh?"

Betsy nodded towards Bo, leading Lauren to look up in her direction. She grinned,

"Bo! Hi Bo! You're so pretty!"

Betsy shook her head and stood, walking to Bo, "She's all yours."

Bo turned and looked at Betsy, "Hey! I didn't bring me here! Why do I get to deal with drunk Lauren?"

When Betsy didn't turn back around, Bo sighed moving to Lauren to sit beside her. The blonde gave her an awkward smile,

"Do you hate me?"

Bo shook her head, "No, Lauren. I don't hate you, but I'm not fond of drunks."

"I not drunk!" Lauren said, sitting up straight and holding a single finger in the air.'

"Right. And I'm not Alaskan."

"You're not Alaskan? You lied to me!" Lauren said, truly offended.

Bo shook her head, "Oh boy."

"Oh boy yes or oh boy no? Are you Alaskan or not? Be honest!"

"Yes, I'm Alaskan, Lauren. Sober you knows that. I think it's time for you to go to bed."

"No way! There's bare naked ladies in there!" Lauren's eyes went wide, "Hey! That's the name of a band! There's a band in my bed!"

She jumped up from her seat on the steps and turned to Bo. Using her phone as a microphone, she started to serenade the brunette,

"It's been one week since you looked at me. Cocked your head to the side and said I'm angry! Five days since you laughed at me saying get that together come back and see me! Three days since the living room, I realized it's all my fault, but couldn't tell you. Yesterday you'd forgiven me but it'll still be two days till I say I'm sorry…"

Lauren stopped singing and dropped to her knees, "That sounds just like us only it's been a lot more days and it wasn't the living room, it was the hospital room. I left you in the hospital room. I didn't even say goodbye. I suck."

She walked to Bo, sitting down beside her, "You didn't forgive me yet, did you. You're mad at me, huh?"

Bo shrugged, "I was very upset with you, yes. But I think I've gathered some additional information that explains a little more about what's been going on here. Why don't we get you back to the Bed and Breakfast so you can sleep this off."

"Oh, no. We can't leave them here alone. They'll trash my house. I have to make sure it's nice in case I have to sell it."

Bo nodded, "Well, where would you suggest you sleep, Lauren?"

Lauren smiled, "Why don't you do that mean Bo thing and kick all of them out? The house smells like booze, but we can stay in the guest house."

"Guest house?"

Lauren giggled, "Yes, silly. That little house over there."

Bo looked up to see where Lauren was pointing and shook her head. She thought that was a neighbor's house. She never dreamed that the blonde would own an additional house almost the same size as the main house. She was starting to understand a little bit more about the extent of Lauren's wealth.

She stood, "If I go to talk to those women, will you stay here?"

Lauren nodded, but before Bo could do anything, a police officer pulled up to the house. Stephen and Betsy got out of the car and spoke to the two officers that exited the vehicle before all of them walked towards the house. Bo stood, telling Lauren to stay where she was before walking towards the group.

"What's up?"

Stephen smiled, "Bo, these are old friends of Lauren's – officers Kane and McNally."

"Lauren's worried. She doesn't know how to get these women out of here safely. She asked me to kick them off the property, but I don't know how to do that either. I mean… they're naked and drunk. I'd rather not…"

The two officers laughed, "We feel the same way, Ma'am. We have a few female officers coming with a wagon. They'll take them away, let them sober up and then release them. It's private property, so they technically haven't done anything wrong unless Lauren tried to ask them to leave earlier and they refused."

Bo looked at Stephen who gave her a nod, so she continued, "Lauren said a bunch of these women are young interns who crashed the party. It was supposed to be a simple dinner party with some friends, but when the young 'uns showed up, the alcohol started to flow and things got out of hand. Apparently, they broke into her liquor cabinet. She left the house and sat out back until we came. I haven't been inside, but Stephen has."

They turned to Stephen who rubbed the back of his neck, "Lauren isn't going to be happy when she sees the place. They trashed it."

"Well, she can take photos, check to see if anything is missing or broken and then file a report in the morning. Usually, we like to take the pictures ourselves, but we'll just do a quick video of the place if that's okay."

Stephen nodded, but Bo wanted Lauren out of the way before they went in. He didn't want the officers to know how drunk she was. Right now, she just looked distraught. She wanted to keep it that way so it couldn't be spun into something else.

"Can you give me a minute to get Lauren over to the guest house? She's pretty shaken up. I'd rather she not know what happened inside right now."

"Sure thing, Ma'am."

"Thank you."

They all stood still as Bo walked back to Lauren. She stood in front of her,

"Lauren, if you want to save your career and reputation, I need you to stay quiet and walk as upright and straight as you possibly can with me."

"Uh… where?"

"To the guest house. The police are going to come over here and if they know you've been drinking, things might not go so well for you. Do you understand?"

"Walk with you. Stand straight. Be quiet."

Bo nodded, extending both of her hands to Lauren. She used her body to block the officer's view of Lauren as they walked, keeping one arm under her right armpit and the other wrapped around her petite frame. She could feel how thin Lauren was through her thin layers.

"Okay. In we go." Bo said, opening the door to the guest house.

It was a quaint space and appeared to be free of unwanted guests. Bo led Lauren to the sofa and then headed up the steps to check on the bedrooms. She heard voices and shook her head. Deciding she needed to bring a little bit of Alaska to the East Coast, she stood outside of the door and slowly slid her hand down her leg to lift the cuff of her pants. Pulling the Bowie knife from its ankle sheath, she used her other hand to turn the doorknob slowly.

When it opened, she slid the knife inside the door along the frame, then her arm, then the rest of her body. Inside, she found two women in the throes of passion.

"Ahem."

They both rolled over, pulling the sheets up over themselves. Bo chuckled, rubbing her knife back and forth across her thumb,

"Wow. There's two modest women at this party who feel a need to cover up. Lauren would be so proud."

"What the fuck! Can't you see…"

"See what? That you're trespassing? Were you invited into the guest house? For that matter, were you invited to this property or are you one of the crashers?"

"Nina said anyone could come! We didn't know anything about invites!" The other girl argued. Bo noted that this woman didn't want any trouble. Nina, on the other hand, was asking for trouble – whoever she was.

"Doctor Lewis invited a few friends over for dinner. Do you consider yourself friend, colleague or student?"

The pair looked at each other, then back to Bo,

"Who are you?" The more defiant woman asked.

"Security. Who are you?" Bo asked moving to her side of the bed, flipping her knife end over end in her hand.

"You're not security." She replied.

"So that's the answer you're going with? Did I mention that wrong answers result in physical harm?"

"Tara, we should go." The nervous girl said.

"I'd listen to her if I were you, Tara." Bo said, turning to the woman who seemed more reasonable, "Why don't you get dressed and head on out. There's transportation for everyone on the way. Actually, it's probably here by now."

"Doctor Lewis got us all rides?" The anxious girl asked.

Bo nodded, "For those who want to cooperate, yes. She doesn't want anyone driving home drunk and ending their careers before they have a chance to start."

"She can't end our careers."

Bo smiled, "Well, little miss defiant, apparently you haven't read your code of ethics. Breaking and entering would give you a police record, kiddo. Police records and medical licenses don't mix."

"She won't press charges. Evony won't let her."

Bo grinned, "So, Tara - you worship at the altar of Ms. Fleurette-Marquis, huh? I thought you med students were supposed to be super smart."

"Tara, please. We should go."

"Annie, I'm fine. She's got nothing on us. We didn't do anything wrong."

Bo turned to the fearful woman, "Annie, I'd recommend you head on out of here. When you go out, just do exactly what you're told and you'll be fine."

The woman hesitated, but with a bit more encouragement from Bo, she exited the room. Bo turned back to the woman still in the bed,

"So, what's it gonna be, Tara? Leave peacefully or do I have to call law enforcement to have you forcibly removed?"

"You gonna make me?" Tara smirked.

Bo smiled, "You see, that's the difference between you and me. I know my rights and you don't know my rights."

"What about my rights?"

"Actually, you don't have any rights at the moment. You're the one that's trespassing. I have a right to defend myself in this space, as I was invited here for the expressed purpose of defending this property against trespassers like yourself."

"And how exactly do you intend to defend yourself?"

Bo smiled, "Well, I will ask you one more time, politely, to follow Annie and leave this property."

"And if I don't?" She smirked, crossing her arms over her chest, "You think you're so bad with that knife. It's not like you're gonna use it."

Bo enjoyed wiping smirks off the mouths of smart asses. In one fluid motion, her knife was flying across the bed, hitting its mark just to the right of Tara's ear. It was buried deep in the headboard. Oops. Lauren would probably not be very happy about that. A little wood filler and some stain – it would be good as new.

Bo walked to the bed, straddling the woman. She gripped the knife and pulled it from the headboard,

"Now," she began, running the blade over her index finger, "What did Doctor Lewis ever do to you that you would show up uninvited and then disrespect her property?"

"She's a bitch! A real ball-buster! She's got us working ridiculous shifts! She quizzes us constantly and never lets up!"

Bo laughed, "Wait. All of this is because she's pushing you to be the best you can be?"

"Best? I am the best! But she busts my ass constantly! She picks at every little detail! She's obsessed! Even Doctor Anastas says so!"

Bo rolled off the woman, standing up and leaning against the wall. She took a deep breath, "And do you know how Doctor Anastas' surgical record compares to Doctor Lewis' surgical record?"

"Well, the two don't compare. Doctor Lewis is renowned worldwide. Still, I'm just an intern! I don't need to be world renowned. I don't even need to be renowned at the hospital! I just want to pass. I want to have a life outside of medicine! Doctor Anastas said that's why she and Doctor Lewis got divorced… that Lewis didn't know how to balance work and play."

Bo's temper was beginning to max out. Fucking Nadia. She took a few steps towards Tara,

"Well, for now, we won't discuss how unprofessional it is for Doctor Anastas to talk to you about Doctor Lewis' personal life. We will, however, discuss the fact that you want to be a mediocre doctor. I mean… really? If by some chance Doctor Lewis does allow you to move on in your education after your time with her, do me a favor and don't come anywhere near me with a scalpel?"

"Seriously? I have every intention of being an outstanding doctor! I bust my ass!"

"Oh yea? Well, if you're busting your ass, you sure do complain about it enough! You can't have it both ways, kiddo! You're either going to work hard because you want to be an outstanding doctor or you're going to work good enough and be a fair doctor. Personally, I don't know anyone who would want a doctor tinkering around with their heart if they aren't the best. I mean, when we go to a doctor, isn't the whole idea to get better and – most of all – live?"

"Yes, but…"

"Okay, so you need a heart transplant. Who do you want to do it?"

"Doctor Lewis."

"Why?"

"Because I know that she'll…"

Bo smirked, "You know that she'll be well prepared? That she'll study before the procedure even though she's done it a hundred times or more? That she'll care about you and want you to survive? That she'll fight like hell in surgery if something goes wrong to be sure you'll survive? That if something goes wrong in surgery, she has a lot of ideas for how to fix whatever goes wrong? Should I continue?"

"No."

"What would you let Doctor Anastas do to your heart?"

Tara shrugged, "I mean… if Doctor Lewis wasn't available…"

"When would Doctor Lewis not be available?"

It was Tara's turn to smirk, "Well, she wasn't available for several surgeries in the past two weeks."

"And do you know why?"

"People are saying she's been drinking too much. That's she's hung over."

"People? What people?"

Tara shrugged, "Honestly, I heard it directly from a conversation between the boss and Doctor Anastas."

Bo laughed, "And do you think they knew you and others were listening or did they make sure they were alone?"

Tara thought for a moment before answering, "I guess they weren't very careful."

"And do you realize that they could both find themselves in a whole lot of legal trouble if Doctor Lewis found out they were spreading rumors about her to her subordinates?"

"I didn't really think about that." Tara admitted.

"You kids and your gossip. You do it so often that you don't even recognize that it can be legally considered slander! How about I make a suggestion about the things you're hearing from those two women?"

"Okay."

"Doctor Lewis has been placed under a contract that does not allow her to practice medicine within a certain distance of any of the Fleurette-Marquis hospitals should she resign or be fired. Of course, if she were fired, there would be an inquiry and her medical license would be in jeopardy. Now, suppose you were an angry ex-wife or a boss who was angry that you were considering quitting your job? Suppose the ex-wife is a real vengeful sort and the boss is a win-at-all-costs type. How far do you think they would go to get the ex-wife/doctor fired so that she would not only never be able to practice medicine again, therefore eliminating any competition for patients and acquire said vengeance for the ex-wife."

Tara sat there, mouth open, staring at Bo, "No way!"

Bo shrugged, "Just consider that there are always two sides to every story. In this case, Doctor Lewis' side and the new team of Evony and Doctor Anastas' side. Do your homework. More importantly, remember why you're studying medicine."

"I want to be a doctor."

"No good enough. Why do you want to be a doctor? Why did you pursue an internship at this particular hospital? Why cardiothoracic surgery – one of the hardest specialties from what I've heard."

Tara leaned forward, her arms on her legs, "My grandmother… she died of heart failure. They lost her on the table when a heart came in that was supposedly viable. I don't want other grandmothers to die needlessly."

"Then you did set out to be the best." Bo clarified.

Tara shrugged, "I guess when I first started out… yea."

"Do you have a picture of your grandmother?"

"Sure. I carry it with me everywhere I go."

"Where is it?" Bo asked.

"In my phone." Tara said, reaching over to the nightstand. She opened her phone and showed the picture to Bo.

The brunette smiled, "I never knew my grandmother. It would have been nice to know her."

"I guess I'm lucky I got to know mine then. She was so full of life. She's the one who got me interested in science. She was a medical researcher."

Bo smiled, nodding, "I want you to make her picture your home screen wallpaper."

"Why?" Tara asked.

"I want you to remember why you're doing this whole doctor thing. When Doctor Lewis starts pushing you hard, open your phone and look at your grandmother… ask her if Doctor Lewis is pushing you too hard."

"Yea, I guess."

You do know that only six interns in the entire country get to work with Doctor Lewis, right?"

"Yes."

"And if you make it through the program as one of her interns, you'll be considered the best of the best?"

"Yes."

"And I'll bet that right now, you're tired and frustrated because you're watching other interns who don't have to work as hard as you, but instead of complaining, why don't you step back and watch the other doctors. Watch how they do their thing, then compare them to Doctor Lewis. Watch how they talk about their patients when they're not with their patients and then compare that to your mentor. I believe you'll find that you are working for a consummate professional who will do everything in her power – often defying the odds – to save her patients and give them the best possible outcomes."

The woman had no reply, but instead, sat thinking about what Bo had said.

"Tara, I'm fairly certain that what I've said here… well, I think you already knew most of it – other parts, you just needed a reminder. I think you also know that I'm right when I say that Evony and Doctor Anastas have gotten in your ear and are asking you to defame Doctor Lewis."

The woman went to speak, but Bo held up her hand,

"I don't want to know if I'm right, but if they have and you know others they have gotten to, you – and they – should know that Doctor Lewis is done being their doormat. She and other doctors are going to take a stand. Instead of blindly following them, why don't you grab any doctors' contract and give it a read so you'll know exactly who their boss is. Doctor Lewis may be willing to let you see hers if you told her you wanted to know what the business side of being a doctor is like."

Bo sighed, "Anyway, after you give a contract a read, consider what it would be like to work for Evony after you graduate and finish your residency. Maybe you could even go to another hospital – or even online – to see if you can read the contracts of doctors at other hospitals to see how they compare. I'd hate for you to take a job not knowing what's expected of you."

Bo turned to leave, but stopped, "Oh and before you complain anymore about how hard Doctor Lewis is pushing you, I'd like you to consider how hard she works. From what I've witnessed, she's always the first to arrive and last to leave. She may have hit a rough patch in the past two weeks, but you really have no idea what has been going on behind the scenes. Employees have bosses – even top-notch Cardiothoracic surgeons. Evony sent Lauren to Alaska against her wishes. She came home and all she had worked for had been given to her ex-wife who everyone knows is a massive asshat. Get on the right side of this, Tara. Show me that you're worthy of becoming a doctor – that you'll always do the right thing for your patients and the hospital."

Reaching the door, she bent down and picked up the bra at her feet. She tossed it back to Tara,

"Oh, and I still expect you to be out of this house in fifteen minutes. I'm giving you ten to find and change the sheets and five to dress and exit."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Bo smiled, "Now that's more like it." She moved to leave the room, but stopped, turning back, "Did you drink a lot? I mean… do you need a ride?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm fine to drive. My car is in the driveway. Will Annie be in trouble?"

"Not if she wasn't drinking."

Tara nodded, "She wasn't."

"Good. Clock starts now."

Leaving the room, Bo checked her watch, then closed the door quietly behind her. She headed back down the stairs where she found Lauren sound asleep on the couch. Hopefully she was out when Annie came by, so she didn't give away her drunken state.

Bo felt fairly certain she'd done some damage control tonight. She didn't say Lauren hadn't been drinking, merely suggested that Evony and Nadia might be lying or embellishing the truth to get her fired. Either way, she had two more names for Stephen to give to Lauren's lawyer. Hopefully those two would lead to others who would give statements as to what was happening.

She stood over the blonde, happy she was sleeping peacefully… for now. Bo knew all too well what happened when you combined bad days with drunk nights. Nightmares, your mind repeating failures in your head, and headaches that woke you up. Why was the doctor doing this to herself? Or more importantly, what had Evony and Nadia been doing to break her like this? Lauren was the strongest woman she'd ever known. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

She leaned down and whispered in Lauren's ear, "Lauren? Lauren."

"Mmmm… sleeping."

"I know, but wouldn't you feel more comfortable in a bed?" Bo asked.

"I'll sleep in a bed when I go home to Alaska. It's the rule."

Bo frowned, "What?"

Lauren's eyes opened slightly, "You know! The rule! I decided on the plane!"

"What rule, Lauren?"

Lauren sat up in a huff, waving her hands as she spoke, "I will not sleep in a bed until I can sleep in Bo's bed again. It's the rule! Of course, if she doesn't want me, I'll sleep in my bed over the clinic… and hate it!"

"Lauren, it's me. Bo."

"You're not Bo. Bo wouldn't come here. She's in Alaska. She's staying there, so I'm moving there. I can't be without her. I just can't. She may not want me, but if I can at least be closer, maybe it won't hurt so bad that she doesn't want me."

Bo sat down in front of Lauren, on the edge of the couch, "Now why would you think Bo doesn't want you?"

"Well, duh. I gave her the silent treatment. Well, that's what she'll think. Actually, I did it because I was afraid."

"And now? Are you still afraid?"

Lauren rolled her eyes, closing them again, "Yes. I'm afraid of not having her in my life."

Bo smiled, "Well, I have a feeling that won't be an issue. There may be some bumps in the road, but she'll forgive you eventually."

"Do you know Bo?"

"Yea, I do." Bo smiled.

"You sort of sound like her." She yawned, "You look a little like her too."

Bo nodded, "So do you want to go to a bed?"

"No! The rule!"

Bo smiled, "Right. The rule."

Deciding she would wait for Tara to leave, Bo covered Lauren with a blanket from the back of the sofa and moved to the kitchen. She searched the cabinets for tea and found what she was looking for, then set to making a pot of tea. Once the kettle was on, she moved to the window to see what was happening outside. She smiled seeing the property was clear of all guests. She moved to the side door and noticed Betsy and Stephen speaking with a tall man in a suit. They were walking towards the guest house.

She moved to Lauren, making sure she was on her side and then moved back to the kitchen, taking a seat at the round, wooden table.

Stephen, Betsy and their guest entered the house, immediately walking towards Bo who pointed towards Lauren and put a finger on her lips. They nodded and came to sit with her at the table. Speaking softly, Betsy did the introduction,

"Bo, this is Patrick, Lauren's lawyer."

"Pleased to finally meet you, Bo. Lauren has talked about you non-stop since she got home."

"Oh?" Bo asked, wondering why she would have come up in a legal conversation.

"Yes. Lauren and I have known each other since she became a lawyer. Eventually our professional relationship became a friendly one. Her Dad sort of pushed us together hoping dating me would 'turn Lauren straight'. We dated for years until we 'broke up' siting irreconcilable differences."

"Lauren dated you?" Bo asked, confused.

Patrick laughed, "Sort of… you see, our differences are that we're completely incompatible since I prefer men. It was a great guise while it lasted. Of course, her Dad was pretty pissed when he found out. Still, my legal firm knew they couldn't fire me for being gay, so I've continued to be promoted through the ranks for years. I just made partner at my firm. But, then all of this mess started for Lauren and they were siding with her Father – their long-time client."

"Let me guess, he brings in a ton of money for them." Bo smirked.

Patrick nodded, "Always lawsuits in medicine. So, this lawsuit created a conflict of interest since they're also Evony's firm."

"So what's the plan?" Bo asked.

Patrick grinned, "I'm going out on my own and most of my clients are coming with me. My old would-have-been-partners will be gunning for me, but we have the evidence and I have a good idea of how they'll play this since I've been working with them since I passed the Bar Exam."

"Don't you need capital to start up a law firm?" Bo asked, "I mean, I don't know much about being a lawyer, but I know every business needs start-up money."

Patrick nodded, "I've got backers in Stephen and Betsy as well as a few other doctors at other hospitals closer to where I grew up. I'm taking a few of my law school buddies with me as well as two lawyers from the old firm who were just behind me in becoming partners. Now, they'll start as partners. Then, we have Lauren's accountant, Penelope who is great with finance law. We're representing Lauren and the multitude of doctors who want to leave Evony's employ. We'll also be representing other members of the hospital staff – and you, if you so choose. Lauren has secured my services for you and your company so that Evony can't allow any backlash to fall on you for what happens with Lauren's case."

Bo sat back in her seat, "Wow. That's really… mature of her to think of me. Thank you."

"Of course. Now, let's get started on…" They all turned when they heard footsteps. Patrick looked at Bo who waved him off. He looked worried about what she may have overheard and rightfully so.

"I'll just be leaving now…" Tara said as she scurried through the living room, "… Thanks for the chat… uh… security lady."

Bo smiled, standing from her seat, "My name is Bo."

"The Bo?" Tara asked.

"The Bo?"

Tara explained, "The one Nadia and Evony have been complaining about?"

Bo laughed, shaking her head, "Wow. I feel so special that they're bringing gossip about little old me to the high-class East Coast drama."

"Nadia hates your guts."

"Feeling's mutual. She put her hands on Lauren, so I handled her."

"I can imagine." Tara replied, "You're such a badass." She laughed.

Bo shrugged, "Come and visit Alaska some time. You'll find it's not so badass at all. We just believe in doing the right thing by others and so does our justice system. Not as much red tape up there."

"Isn't it super cold there?" Tara asked.

"Doctor Lewis tells me you were in the teens and twenties here last winter. Not much worse than that most of the time."

Tara cocked her head, "Nadia said it was below zero."

"I doubt she ever looked at a thermometer. The woman didn't have the right clothes and she'd cry over a hang nail."

Tara laughed, "True. She has to have everything her way." She lowered her head, "I've been thinking about what you said… about the way they behave. I don't want to be like them. Doctor Lewis is the best. If they're screwing with her… well, maybe they need some badass Alaska justice."

Bo grinned, "Maybe they do. However, since they do things differently around here, this is Doctor Lewis' attorney. If you'd like, you could talk to him right now. No pressure – only if you're serious about what you're saying, and you would be willing to stand up in court. Doctor Lewis has plenty of connections – if she loses and they screw you over, she knows plenty of people who aren't controlled by Evony who could help you with a new internship. I'm sure of it."

Stephen nodded, "That's very true."

Tara looked up to see the man sitting across the table, "Ohmagosh! You're… you're Doctor Stephen Archer! You invented the… ohmagosh. I'm sorry. I'm fangirling all over you. I'm sorry. You're just… I wrote a paper on you in my undergrad class! Your out-of-the-box thinking has saved lives and money!"

Bo smiled, "He's Doctor Lewis' mentor."

"You?" Tara asked.

He smiled, "She's the only intern I never broke. I ran that woman into the ground, and she kept up with me every step of the way… even taught me a thing or two."

"So it's true? She helped you with the design of the valve you created?" Tara asked.

Stephen smiled, "If it weren't for Lauren, I never would have thought of it. The company that manufactured the device wouldn't allow her name on it because she was a first-year intern at the time… bad for business and bad for FDA approval."

"Well that sucks." Tara said before realizing how that may have sounded, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate that…"

"Relax, child. I understand. It did suck… financially as well. Lauren wasn't getting any of the royalties from sales of a device she helped to create. So, I put my partner's name on the patent with mine and when Lauren was established, she transferred credit in her will so there would be no backlash. She died about seven years ago, so Lauren has been getting credit ever since."

"And that's where the rumors came from." Tara concluded.

Stephen nodded, "She's a very private and modest surgeon. She didn't need the credit and really didn't care about the money, so didn't allow a press release. Of course, she could have used that money when she was putting herself through medical school.

"I thought she came from money." Tara stated.

"She did – money that her Father earned. His children have to earn their own way. She won't get anything until they're deceased. Of course, after this mess, she will likely be cut off altogether."

Tara sighed, "Wow. Kinda stingy, aren't they?"

Bo nodded, "Doctor Lewis has never taken the easy road."

Tara frowned, "And now they're really trying to make a big mess of her life, huh?"

Bo shrugged, "Doctor Lewis is a fighter. No matter what happens, her life will go on and she'll find a way to be happy."

Tara nodded, "I'd like to make a statement, Sir."

"Oh?" Patrick said, his interest peaked.

They all watched as Tara stood not far from the door, fighting with herself over what to do. Finally, she turned and walked towards the table. She noticed her boss on the couch,

"Is she asleep?"

Bo nodded, "She is."

"I don't want her to hear what I have to say. I'm pretty sure she's gonna hate me."

Bo shook her head, "I happen to know that Doctor Lewis is one of the most forgiving people in the world when you come clean about a mistake."

Tara stood, looking at Bo, "Okay."

She walked to the table and sat down just as the tea kettle started to whistle. Bo stood, turning to the table,

"Who would like tea?"

Everyone raised their hands. As Patrick opened a pad of paper and took out a pen, Bo prepped the tea. It was going to be a long night and Bo still wanted to get Lauren into a bed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Early Morning, Lauren's Guest House…

Lauren's eyes fluttered open, then immediately slammed shut, "Arghhhh. Room's spinning."

"Try putting your foot on the floor." Bo said from across the room.

Lauren froze. Surely her mind was playing tricks on her. She opened her eyes and turned her head, the room going for a wicked spin once again. As it spun, she could have sworn she saw Bo. Unfortunately, her stomach became very unhappy and left her stumbling for the bathroom. Bo followed closely behind, catching her when she almost took a spill. When she finally made it to the commode, she emptied the contents of her stomach… several times.

Finally, she sat back, leaning into Bo, "It's you."

Bo nodded, "It is."

"When did you… why did… how did you get here?"

"Uh… two days ago, but here on this property, last night. I came because your friends, including those in Alaska, brought me here under the guise of a trial. I got here because they all pitched in and bought me a ticket. In the end, they wanted me here because they're worried about you and… even though I'm still kinda mad at you, I'm worried as well."

Lauren sat up, sliding across the floor so she could lean against the cabinet. Bo slid opposite her and leaned against the wall opposite Lauren.

"I'd really like to brush my teeth right now, but I'm worried about standing up."

Bo smiled, "Let me help you out. Are there guest toothbrushes in this house?"

Lauren nodded, "Second drawer."

"Okay."

"Oh boy!" Lauren said, lunging for the toilet once more.

Bo shook her head, knowing this was going to be a long morning for the blonde. She laid the toothbrush on the counter before heading over to pull back Lauren's hair for her. After several minutes, Lauren relaxed again. But only a few minutes later, she was back at it again.

Yup, it was going to be a while.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Early Evening – Lauren's Guest House

Bo had been roaming Lauren's guest house, checking out her book collection, ordering take out since there was no food and sitting in the doorway watching the ocean tide come in. She didn't want to go far just in case Lauren started to get sick again, but she wasn't as worried since it had been about five hours since she had last used the bathroom. Hopefully that part was over. She had fallen asleep about four hours ago, so Bo hoped that when she woke up, the worst was over.

Patrick, Betsy and Stephen had been over to discuss her case. Lauren had lasted for about an hour before falling asleep on the table. Bo had taken her upstairs and then sat with them while they finished reviewing everything they had to go on. When Patrick left, he said he would be in touch tomorrow for a possible meeting with Evony and her team the following day. He was hoping the threat of a lawsuit would turn things around quickly.

Bo hoped so too. Not only did she want to be sure Evony couldn't royally screw her company over, she also wanted to get all of this behind them and move on.

"Bo?"

The brunette stood, turning back to find Lauren coming down the stairway.

"How do you feel?"

"Like I've been run over by a dogsled, but it's my fault. Thank you for taking care of me. You really should have let me suffer on my own as punishment for the way I treated you the past month."

"Lauren, we've been through this…"

"I know, I know. I still feel horrible."

"Do you mean that figuratively or physically?"

"Both." Lauren said, "Unfortunately."

Bo nodded, "Well, hopefully that will be your last drunken night for a very, very long time to come."

Lauren sat down at the table, "I've really gotta stop doing this to myself."

"If you want to date me, yes you do."

"Sorry you had to watch me vomit for hours on end."

"Yea, not my idea of a good time – particularly since I've waited all of this time to see you."

"I do appreciate it. You really didn't have to stay, but I'm glad you did. It's always nice to have someone there with you when you're losing half of your internal organs."

Bo laughed, "As a witness – I can promise that no internal organs were lost during your drunken event."

"Well, I suppose that's a positive."

"How much do you remember?" Bo asked.

Lauren shook her head, "I remember realizing you were here and were going to be with me every miserable step of the way as I paid the price for getting drunk. I also remember our conversations about us and my 'radio silence' as you called it. I remember apologizing profusely, but not feeling that anything I said was enough. I remember you being quite upset but assuring me you would forgive me in time."

"Do you remember Patrick being here."

"Right! We have a lawsuit and a plan." Lauren replied.

Bo nodded, "He's going to give us a shout tomorrow morning.

"Good, good." Lauren replied, "So, what's your plan?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to stay, of course. But… only if you want to be here."

Bo smiled, "Then I'll stay."

Smiling, Lauren made a proposal, "How about we have a quiet dinner, maybe a walk on the beach and a movie tonight. Then, tomorrow I'll take you out for an adventure."

Bo offered a soft smile, "Sounds perfect."

"Good." Lauren replied, "It will give me some time to get hydrated and back to normal. You're going to love tomorrow."

Bo smiled, "I'm sure I will."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tall Ship Gracie Marie

"Okay, open your eyes." Lauren said, watching Bo's mouth drop open when she did as instructed.

"Oh. My. Gawd!" Bo said, her eyes traveling up the tall masts of the ship, "We're going on that thing?"

Lauren smiled, "It's not a thing, it's a ship and technically, the ship is a she. She's the Gracie Marie."

"That's a cute name."

"My friend that owns and captains the ship named her after his little sister. She died when she was six of Leukemia. She loved the ocean and loved being out on the boat. He felt it was appropriate that she sail the seas in her afterlife… so to speak." Lauren explained.

Bo nodded, "That's a nice story."

Lauren approached the gangway, "Permission to come aboard, Sir?"

The man laughed, "Lauren, you know you're always welcome! How are you? It's been too long!"

"I'm great Hank. How are you?"

"Good, good." He turned to Bo, "And you must be Bo? Lauren's date?"

"Yes. It's nice to meet you. The ship is beautiful."

He smiled, "She is indeed. I'm Hank, the First Mate. You'll meet the Captain after the trip. He's got to take care of the paying customers first and has some VIP's on board he has to tend to."

Lauren smiled, "I already told him to pretend we're not here. We'll be fine."

"I'm sure." Hank replied, "Well, head on up to the forward section of the ship. Lauren you know what to do if there's anything that Bo didn't pick up on during her land training."

"I certainly do. Thank you, Hank!"

"Sure thing."

Bo followed Lauren to the forward section, greeting various deck hands as they walked. Finally, Lauren got her set up at the bow of the ship, to take in the scenery until it was time for them to get to work. It truly was beautiful here. She could see why Lauren settled here. In its own way, it had a touch of Alaska to it. There were evergreen trees – much taller and fuller than most near the town thanks to the bears, the frost, heavy snows and wildfires, but there was definitely a lot of green… and blue. Bo had never been out on a calm, clear ocean that wasn't covered in icebergs and whitecaps. Suddenly, she didn't feel a need to have the knife that was strapped to her lower leg with her. It was calm and quiet out here. She felt… at peace.

She looked up at the men climbing the masts to untie the top sails and release them onto their gear. Her job would come next when she would help to raise the sails beneath them so they could leave port. Everything had been demonstrated and explained to her at least three times. She was looking forward to this. It was a new experience and only now did Bo realize she enjoyed new experiences. Her life had become about daily routines. Get up, start a fire, feed dogs, let dogs out, have breakfast, set traps, take dogs for training run, check traps, eat lunch, head into town, work in the kennel, training run, work in the kennel, train pups, work in the kennel and so forth. This was exciting.

"LET FALL!"

Bo smiled as the top sails fell and the sailors returned to the deck. She'd been given the opportunity to climb the mast but didn't think she would care to do it again. The view from the top made her stomach roll, something that the most experienced sailor agreed still happened to him. He told her that the hairs still stood up on the back of his neck when he looked down from the top. He also said he'd be more worried if they didn't. No one has any place up on the mast if they don't have at least a little fear of being up there.

"PREPARE TO HOIST THE JIB SAILS!"

That was the command the crew around Bo had been waiting for and she knew her role. She quickly moved to the forward side of the halyard at the fore jib sail.

The first mate moved to Bo, "Remember to check…"

"That the halyard runs straight to the top of the mast and make sure the shackle is securely fastened to the sail." Bo held out each line, "Clear!"

He smiled at Lauren who smiled as she readied her own lines. The captain called out,

"Prepare to hoist the fore and aft jib sails!"

The chain of command followed the voices along the rails of the ship before the first mate yelled back,

"Prepared to hoist!"

"Haul away on the halyards!"

Bo set to work, hauling the sail up, keeping pace with the rest of the crew so that the sails went up evenly. She caught a glimpse of Lauren, her muscles flexing under the stress of the heavy aft sail.

"Remember to anchor your halyard tight, Bo!"

"Got it!" Bo called back, "Double check me, Hank?"

"I've got her, Hank!" said, Chip, double checking Bo's knot around the cleat, "That's a perfect knot, Bo. I take it this isn't your first time on a tall ship?"

Bo smiled, "First time on a ship, yes. First time with knots, far from it."

"Good job. Now you can sit back and watch the crew set the mains."

"SET YOUR LOWER TOP SAILS! MAN THE LOWER TOP SAIL GEAR! EASE YOUR CLOTHES, HAUL AWAY YOUR SHEETS, SHEETER HO!"

Bo had no idea what they were doing but watched as the sky was suddenly filled with massive white sheets of cloth that fluttered in the wind until they were pulled tight. Next, the top sails that had been lowered by those climbing the masts were set in place and secured. It took the entire crew working together to get the full sails up and set. In Bo's mind, it was the ultimate feat of teamwork.

Hank moved towards Bo with Lauren walking closely behind, "Captain wants the two of you to relax and enjoy the view for the rest of the trip. You helped to load all of tomorrow's gear, so he considers your room and board for the night paid in full. Thanks for your help. It's been a long day with a full load of tourists, so the guys and gals working the ship are grateful for two hard-working women like yourselves at the back end of the trip. Best to just stay out of their way now so they can tack as needed."

"Thanks for the experience, Hank. I've never done anything like this before. It's really cool. You all work like a well-oiled machine."

He smiled, "That's a compliment to any First Mate. Thanks, Bo." He tipped his hat to Lauren and headed back to work.

"So, you're enjoying it so far?"

Bo grinned, "How can I not? This is so cool."

"It's a lot like sledding, eh? Captain leads his crew through commands and the ship sails in the same way that you serve as the captain to your dogs who run the sled on your orders."

Bo smiled, "I guess I hadn't thought about it that way. I'm just glad I'm not the musher of this team. I'd have us on land by now."

Lauren smiled, "Okay, let's head aft and get out of their way."

Bo followed Lauren towards the rear of the ship. As they walked, Lauren kept her eyes to the water as she saw a shadow emerge. She grinned when she realized what she was seeing,

"HUMPBACK, MIDSHIP, STARBOARD SIDE!" Lauren shouted, taking Bo by surprise.

Heads turned and everyone cheered as the whale breeched, hefting its massive frame out of the water and landing with a splash away from the ship.

"Whoa!" Bo said, moving to the rail, "That was amazing!"

Grinning, the brunette was transported back to her youth when she went out with the village captain on a whale hunt. She knew that her village needed the food, the oil, the blubber and the skin the large mammal would provide, but she hated killing them. They were such beautiful animals and it did her heart good to know that in these waters, no one would be hunting this one.

"Have you seen a whale before?" Lauren asked.

Bo explained how villages were all granted at least one whale hunt per year depending on the size of their village. The animal was hauled on shore and divided up among everyone, the captain getting the best cuts so that he could sell them and recoup the cost of the vessel and a small token for himself.

"It's nice to know this guy won't be killed."

Lauren nodded, "True, as long as he stays in friendly waters. I'd like to think he and his family have put down roots here and are year-round residents."

Bo smiled, "I noticed a lot of signs for whale watches on our way to the dock. Is that common for this area?"

"Oh, yes. It's a hot spot for whale watchers." Lauren replied.

The pair watched as another whale breeched, an entire pod now swimming alongside the ship. Lighthearted conversation centered on ocean wildlife and the beauty of the natural environment that surrounded them continued for the duration of the trip.

When they entered port, the pair helped with the sails, then cleaned up the ship as instructed. Finally, Lauren took Bo back to the Captain's quarters. They knocked,

"Come."

Lauren opened the door to find her friend, the captain, writing his reports. She stepped inside,

"Elijah?"

The captain looked up, a smile stretching across his face, "Lauren! How was your sail?"

The pair met in the middle of the room, embracing for a long moment before pulling back and smiling at one another. Lauren's eyes sparkled as she said,

"It was perfect, my friend. Thank you so much." She stepped back, keeping a hand on his shoulder as she opened her hand to Bo, "This is my girlfr… this is Bo."

Bo stepped up, recognizing Lauren's embarrassment, "Lauren's girlfriend. It's very nice to meet you. That was quite an experience."

He shook Bo's offered hand, smiling as she took Lauren's hand, giving it a squeeze to help her relax. They hadn't talked much about their status as a couple since they'd met at the mess of a party at Lauren's house, so Bo thought she would set the record straight. She was definitely still upset that Lauren hadn't returned her messages, but they would talk more about that later.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Lauren tells me you're a native of Alaska. Do you get out on the water much?"

Bo smiled, "Not since I was a child. I've never been on a ship like this. She's amazing."

Elijah smiled and nodded, "Yes, Lauren and I have very different tastes in women. The love of my life is this ship while the love of her life is 100% Ysabeau Dennis."

Bo looked at Lauren, then back to the captain, "You know my real name?"

Elijah laughed, "Oops. I think that was supposed to be a secret. Did you know my friend here thinks you have the most beautiful name ever given to a human being?"

Bo grinned at Elijah, her gaze moving to Lauren as she replied, "I didn't. Thanks for letting me in on that secret. I might have to let her use it on special occasions."

Lauren turned to Bo, "My friend Elijah can't keep a secret, so if there's anything you don't want everyone to know, don't tell him."

The captain smiled, "I'm a firm believer the truth will set you free."

Lauren smiled at Bo, "I agree. When you finally release your truth – for better or worse – you feel lighter… terrified, but definitely lighter."

Bo replayed the words that Lauren had said earlier, "I may not have believed in it before, but I do now. You're my soulmate, Bo. I'm sure of it. I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

"Well, from what Lauren told me of her plans, you two are going to head ashore for some take out, then come back on board for the night. We set sail on our sunrise cruise at 5:30am. I suppose the first one on board will wake you up by their presence alone."

He pointed to the corner, "There's a bed over there. A head on that side. You can shower by jumping off the dock into the water. I don't have any toothbrushes, so you'll have to pick those up in town unless you brought them."

"We can get by on next to nothing. Bo lives off-grid and has been teaching me how to live with less." Lauren reminded.

Elijah nodded, "Right. So you've told me. She talks about you like you're superhuman."

Bo laughed, "I can assure you, I'm quite mortal and all flesh and bone. I've got the scars to prove it. So you're really doing it, huh Lo? You didn't sound too convinced when we talked in March – seemed to just be an idea you were kicking around in your head."

Lauren smiled, "I'm really doing it."

"I take it I have a standing invitation – if it's okay with Bo?"

Bo looked between the pair, but Lauren nodded, "You will always have a bed in Alaska when you visit, Eli. I really hope you come visit sooner than later. I think you'll love it as much as I do."

He smiled, "I'll get there in the off-season. Promise."

"It'll be cold."

"It's Alaska. Isn't it always cold?"

Lauren grinned, "It's perfect in summer. I'm looking forward to getting there for the last of it."

Turning to Bo, Eli spoke, "I hope you know how lucky you are. This woman is one of the good ones. She's got her quirks and she's definitely a bit of a control freak, but for this one to up and move herself for love of woman and land… well, that's saying something because she has been a lover of these waters for as long as I've known her. You must be something special for Lauren to move all the way to the northwest."

Bo didn't know what to say in response. She felt… pressure.

Lauren smiled, "To be clear, Eli, I'm not just moving there for Bo."

"I know, I know. You're moving there for those dogs you're obsessed with and a more well-rounded work experience with people who really need and appreciate you. I've been listening, Little Lo." He turned to Bo, "From what I hear, you're a triple threat she can't resist."

"Triple threat?" Bo asked.

"Brains, brawn and beauty!"

Bo smiled awkwardly as Eli slapped Bo on the back. She hated when men did that to women like they're 'one of the guys'. She replied, simply, "Right."

She looked at Lauren who scolded her friend, "Eli!"

Lauren looked at Bo, "Sorry. He can be an ass sometimes. I'll be right back. I want to ask Hank if we can catch a ride. I have to get to him before he leaves for dinner."

Lauren rushed out of the captain's quarters taking the steps to the upper deck two at a time. It left Bo and Elijah standing alone. After a moment of awkward silence, he sighed,

"Look, Bo. I'm sorry for being such an ass. It's just… well, I've loved Lauren since we were little kids running up and down the beaches here in summer. It matters to me that she's happy. Frankly, I'm a bit upset that you're as beautiful and talented as you are. Lauren can't stop talking about you and… well, I guess I'm jealous. I think in some strange alternate universe sort of way, I'd always hoped that one day Lauren would decide she was straight as an arrow and choose me. I guess the good thing about meeting you is… well, it's a reality check. The way she looks at you… she's clearly, completely and totally off the market for good. That woman would follow you through the fires of hell."

Bo sighed thinking of all Lauren had followed her through already. She nodded, "She already has, really."

Elijah smiled, "They had her holed up here on my ship for a week when she arrived… the Feds, I mean. They were taking down some group in a place called… Sitka?"

Bo nodded, "Yes and a group here on the east coast. We were all locked up and under guard until they knew they had everyone. Thanks for keeping her safe."

"When Lauren told that woman… Tamsin… that she had a friend who owned a tall ship, she was sold. From that point on, they used Coast Guard surveillance when we were on the water and checked every passenger manifest before we left port."

Bo hadn't been informed that Lauren was on lockdown. She felt bad that she had brought additional stress down on her with all she was dealing with from Evony.

"The trick was arranging her schedule with Evony being the bitch she is. She insisted on having her attend these medical conferences and galas to rub elbows with the big brass in the medical world. That just made things hell on the Feds who were running her security detail." He shook his head, "But, all of that is over now… Evony is over now and that's a huge relief for anyone who cares about Lauren."

Bo nodded, "For sure."

After another moment of silence, Bo spoke, "I've never heard of you before. Has Lauren kept in touch with you all year?"

Eli nodded, "Since she left, yes. We would text or call almost daily just checking in with each other. Like I said, we're childhood friends. I may love Lauren on a different level, but she thinks of me as a brother, so we interact like siblings. It's tough at times, but I've come to accept my role in her life. I'll always be there for her even though it will always be platonic on her side."

"So, she knows how you feel?" Bo asked.

"Yup. Hope you don't feel weird about us hanging out. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. I know that more than most."

"Why?"

When we were kids, we used to debate the existence of soul mates. As you probably know, our favorite doctor doesn't believe in anything that cannot be observed through science, so she never agreed with me on that topic… until now. Lauren told me about a week ago that she believes you are her soulmate. The problem was, she thought she'd destroyed what you had by keeping her distance from you for as long as she had. She didn't know how to break the ice to open the door again. She was frozen in silence because she was terrified you would reject her."

Bo smiled, "The truth is, I may have – at first – but that would just have been my anger talking."

"Yes, I've also heard about the famous Bo Dennis temper."

Bo chuckled, "Yea, but I'm working on that."

"Good for you. Lauren has no time for temper tantrums. Nadia used to pull those all the time. When it happened, Lauren would come out to the Cape and – if I was heading out – would set sail with us until she calmed down. The very first fit Nadia threw, Lauren came out here and lived on my ship for a week. The second time, she decided she'd better just by her beach house. They weren't married at the time. I'm surprised they ever were, honestly. I tried to talk her out of it, but she thought Nadia was the best she could do."

Bo nodded, "Well, I think you and I are on the same page about her ex-wife – and I've only met her one or two times."

"Be happy that's all you had to deal with. I reached a point where I made Nadia complaints off limits – she was taking up that much of our friend time. Drove me crazy – especially after Lauren went against my advice and married the bitch."

Bo nodded, "It's good to know that she has a friend to talk to… one that's not tied to me. She didn't have that while she was living in Alaska until the nurses came, but still… they're sort of her employees, so I think it's still not quite a true friend you can vent to. She tried to tell me that after the Iditarod, but I didn't really listen. I'm glad she has a Kenzi."

Eli laughed, "The hotel owner."

"Yup."

"And your bestie that hates her guts."

Bo shook her head, "Kenzi doesn't hate Lauren… she just doesn't trust doctors."

"Well, I hope she'll lighten up. It's important to Lauren that she learn to get along with her for your sake."

Bo shrugged, "It doesn't matter to me what Kenzi thinks of Lauren. It's not her call."

"I'm glad to hear you say that." Elijah said, "I just don't want to see her hurt – by anyone. She doesn't deserve it."

Bo sighed, "I'm sorry you have to deal with those feelings you feel. I guess it's hard to have me here."

Elijah shrugged, "Not really. She's happy. That's all that matters. Sure, there's the occasional twang, but all in all, I'm kind of used to it."

"Are you sure it's a good thing for you to maintain a relationship with her?" Bo asked.

He shrugged, "I'd rather have her as a friend than not at all. I mean… we were friends first… we've never crossed that line… not so much as a kiss, so it's all fantasy on my part."

"Uh… ew." Bo replied.

"Oh, no. I don't… not that kind of fantasy… I mean… I don't… you know… when I'm alone… that would be… creepy. No, I wouldn't cheapen Lauren to that… you're right… ew."

"Bo? Hank's ready to go." Lauren called from up the steps

Bo turned to Elijah, the two sharing an awkward 'should we hug or shake hands' moment before finally settling on a handshake.

"Bo, whatever happens with you two, please trust that she's all in… and completely and totally all in to finding forgiveness for being an idiot. I'm sure this is all very hard on you, but please know that Lauren has been on shaky ground emotionally since coming home. She's realized that she made a huge mistake by not communicating with you but dealing with Evony also had her pretty messed up. In fact, she was so completely overwhelmed by her feelings for you and what her boss was doing that she was ready to give up everything to come back to you... medical license included."

"I would never ask her to do that." Bo replied, emphatically.

Elijah nodded, "And we wouldn't let her. Her friends held a little intervention of sorts to talk her out of that. We all know that Lauren wouldn't be Lauren if she wasn't helping the sick. It's at the very core of who she is."

Bo nodded, "Agreed."

"We've gotta go, Bo!" Lauren called down.

Elijah smiled, "You'd better go."

"Right. It was nice meeting you. Thanks for the chat." Bo said.

"Of course. Thanks for listening… and thanks for giving her this chance."

Bo smiled and headed up the stairs to meet Lauren. Elijah had certainly given her more to think about… and more reasons to trust Lauren. She had a feeling that before the night was over, her mind would be filled with more news about the real Lauren Lewis.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lauren and Bo made their way back to the ship, take out containers in hand. Lauren had challenged Bo to a contest in which they would take turns naming wildlife species in alphabetical order. They were on the letter 'X' when Bo said,

"XZebra."

"Zebra starts with a 'Z', not an 'X'. There is no 'X' in Zebra."

"Sure there is."

"No, there's not."

"Okay then, name one species that starts with the letter 'X'."

"Xenarthra."

"What?"

"It's a subspecies of the Sloth."

"Okay, then that's my 'X' animal."

"You cheated!"

"I did not! I asked you a question and you answered. I simply used the new information I received from a casual conversation."

"You're still a little cheater."

They boarded the ship, Lauren calling out to Hank so he would know they were on board. Security would take watch starting at nine tonight. The doctor led the way to the bow of the ship, grabbing the lantern that hung near the bow and setting it down between them for when the sun went down. Together, they unpacked the takeout containers, each digging into the food with ravenous appetites.

"I had no idea I was this hungry." Bo said.

Lauren nodded, "I couldn't manage breakfast… hell, I haven't managed much food for the last several days. I guess my body has reached its breaking point."

"Lauren, you have to take care of yourself. You can't afford to give up any pounds. You'll waste away to nothing."

"I'm a doctor, Bo. I know how to take care of myself."

"Really? Well, according to those in the know about Lauren Lewis – including our nurses back in Talkeetna – your diet has mostly been alcohol for almost two weeks."

Bo caught herself raising her voice and took a breath. She looked up at Lauren,

"Sorry. I must sound like your Mother."

"My Mother?"

"Just another bit of information I've picked up during my time with your friends."

"How did my Mother come up in conversation?"

Bo shrugged, "As one of the numerous explanations for why you – shall we call it 'let loose' – the past two weeks."

"Oh, so I have Mommy issues."

"And Daddy issues, apparently."

"Wow. My so-called friends are apparently prepping me for the loony bin behind my back." Lauren threw down her fork and started to stand, but Bo placed a firm hand on her leg,

"Lauren, stop. These people care about you. They care about you and me as a couple despite not knowing me. They're giving me insight into your past in hopes of helping me to understand where your mind was when you went radio silent. They're not saying these things out of malice or to prep you for the loony bin. They're saying these things so that I'll open my heart and mind to what has been going on in your life. Honestly, it's helping me… a lot."

"How can learning about my past with my parents possibly help you with my general lack of attentiveness."

"It helps me to realize that you weren't being inattentive, you were running away from a situation with Evony that you could not control. You are aware that you are a control freak, right?"

Lauren shrugged, "Yes, but I think it's one of my more charming characteristics."

Bo had to chuckle, "Have you ever thought about why you need to control things all the time?"

"Not really. It happens in the moment and I don't even realize I'm doing it. I suppose I've always thought it just came from overseeing so many life and death situations for most of my day. My job is all about controlling something that is out of my control. It's not easy when I lose those battles."

"Like with Elise's Mom."

Lauren nodded, "That's just one of many examples."

"Is that why you told Patrick to sell everything – that you want to move to and work in Alaska?"

Lauren shrugged, "To avoid life and death situations? Uh… have you not seen the number of life and death situations I've had to handle since moving there? I mean…. Here, there are predictable situations with predictable procedures and outcomes. In Alaska, I rarely see the same condition twice. One week I'm treating three people who fell through the ice attempting to jump a frozen river on a dog sled, the next week two kids come in who tried to do a somersault on a snow machine. I've had broken bones, severed arteries, broken backs, broken necks, hypothermia, helicopter and plane crashes… every day is an adventure."

"Do you miss the routine? I mean… knowing that you're going to do a heart transplant or a valve replacement each day instead of the unexpected and unpredictable random trauma cases?"

She picked up Lauren's fork and handed it to her, encouraging her to eat. The blonde relented and took a bite as she considered Bo's question for a moment. It seemed the brunette might be on to something,

"Actually, I've enjoyed the variety in Alaska. I've enjoyed the somewhat slower pace. I've enjoyed being able to take time off. Mostly, I've enjoyed the people and the fact that medicine in Talkeetna is not about money – it's about healing and getting people back to their lives. It's the kind of medicine I set out to practice when I first went to medical school. I guess that's why I'm making the change."

Bo nodded, "It sounds to me like you handled not being in control much better in Alaska."

Lauren laughed, nodding her head, "Well, hanging out with Bo Dennis allowed me to practice handling the unexpected."

Bo looked out to sea, giving a slight nod of the head, "You know, I've never thanked you for standing by me through all of the things that have happened with my family. You've had to put up with attempts on your life, my temper, my crazy Father and now my crazy Mother. You've been shot at, set on fire and more. You've had to adapt to a whole new way of living and I do recognize the whole 'no running water' thing at my homestead is rough."

Lauren laughed, "You didn't mention catching my own breakfast from the river. In Boston, I'd hit a drive through for a cup of coffee and some oatmeal."

Bo laughed, "You've gotten quite good at it, though."

"True. Fishing in the early morning with the mist hovering over the river has actually become one of the most relaxing parts of my day."

"Still, I'm sorry that my life has put you in danger so many times. Despite that, you've always stuck by me. I think I owe you a little trust for your little disappearing act.

Lauren shook her head, "You don't owe me anything, Bo. I'm not keeping score."

"I'm not either, Lauren but I did finally realize that this relationship has got to be about give and take. I'm choosing to give you a little latitude on this because you did that for me for months. I was quite uncooperative and angry in our early months together. I want to be sure to show a little gratitude in the form of repaying your trust and loyalty."

"Thank you." Lauren replied, unsure of what else to say.

"Of course, there was that very stressful night when you almost got yourself killed. I don't think I'll ever forgive you for that."

"Which time was that?" Lauren laughed.

"Uh… 3-team dog sled, blizzard, no lessons…"

Lauren shrugged, "I was testing my pups to see if they were good enough to lead Bo's sled someday."

Bo laughed, "You make me sound like Santa."

"Well, you have given me an incredible gift."

"Oh? And what gift is that?" Bo smiled, expecting a comical response from Lauren, but the blonde's eyes filled with tears as she spoke her answer,

"Unconditional love."

Bo's eyes filled as well and she shrugged, "As I've told you before, I love you Lauren. You're that once in a lifetime for me. Even if we decide we're better off apart, I'll still love you. I will never love another like you. I know it sounds like some love-sick pathetic pup, but it's my truth. I can't help that my heart has set anchor with you. It has. I have to live with that – with or without you. If it's without you, I'll do my best to find love again – perhaps the kind that Stephen and Betsy have. But for now, I'm choosing to fight to save what we have."

"And for that, I'm grateful." Lauren replied, "Because I don't want to live without you. We just have to stop hurting each other."

Bo smiled, closing up the containers of take out. Lauren picked them up, "I'm going to take these down to the refrigerator. I'll be right back. The sun should be setting soon – west is over there."

Nodding, Bo turned to the port side of the ship. She wished she had her Adirondack chairs here. She looked around, searching the deck for something they could sit on, but saw nothing.

"I brought chairs." Lauren said, returning with two folding chairs and blankets, "And blankets."

"Awesome. I was just looking for a place to sit."

Lauren opened one chair, extending the leg support as well, then did the same for the other. She intentionally set her chair with a bit of space between them, not making assumptions that Bo would want to be physically close. She then turned and picked up the blankets from the deck. When she turned back around to hand one to Bo, she found the arm rests touching.

"As I said. I want this to work, Lauren. I want us to just… be us. We wouldn't sit that far apart."

"Right." Lauren said as she nervously sat in her chair.

Bo took the blanket that Lauren held and laid it over her own, then pulled both blankets over the two of them when Lauren sat down. She took Lauren's hand beneath the cover, noting the shake of her hand.

"Feels like a first date, huh?" Bo asked with a smile.

Lauren smiled, but her eyes brimmed with tears again, "I've decided that when I go back to Alaska, I'm going to make an appointment with Doctor Gray. Because of doctor-patient privilege, she would never discuss the content of your sessions with me, but it could give her insight if we're both seeing her, making it easier for her to lead us through discussions about our individual perspectives on our relationship."

Bo's eyes stayed fixed on the horizon as she asked, "What would you think of couples counseling?"

Lauren turned to Bo, "I would be open to that once I have a few sessions under my belt, if that's okay. I feel a bit unhinged right now. I want my confidence and strength back, Bo. I don't know how to do that… I don't know where it went."

Bo shrugged, "If you want my completely uneducated and unprofessional opinion, I think you stopped trusting yourself last night, Lauren. I think you realized that you had been reckless over the past couple of weeks, and it was a wake-up call. Now, you wonder just how far you could go, and it scares you."

Lauren was quiet for a while, but finally answered quietly, "I think your uneducated, unprofessional opinion is right on the money. I don't trust myself to make good choices right now. If I can't trust myself, how can you trust me?"

Bo thought for a moment, unable to keep the question from her mind – she decided to be honest and ask about what was on her mind,

"You didn't do anything else… reckless… did you? I mean… with anyone else?"

"No! No, of course not! I mean… I had a couple of invitations when I was hanging out in bars, but that's why I would leave. I didn't trust myself to make a bad decision if I got too drunk while out in a bar. That's why I question whether or not you can trust me when I can't trust myself!"

Bo turned back to Lauren, "Because I don't just trust your choices, Lauren. I trust your heart. I trust that when you screw up, it isn't because of a choice made from malice, hate or deception. It's from the most innocent of emotions… fear, sadness, hurt or maybe even anger."

Lauren sighed, "I suppose that's true. More importantly – look."

Following the blonde's finger as it pointed to the horizon, Bo caught sight of a sky streaked with brilliant patterns of pink and purple.

"Wow. It's… beautiful." Bo said, her eyes firmly set on the vision before her, "It's like we're at home on the river, Lauren. All that's missing is the snow on the mountains."

Bo caught herself, looking over at Lauren, "Not that this isn't beautiful. It is… it really is."

Lauren smiled, "I knew these colors would be familiar to you. The backdrop of white makes them even more brilliant in Alaska. But just wait… here, you'll see many, many more colors. It's like a watercolor painting in progress, only it's different every night."

Bo turned towards the horizon again and noticed a brilliant orange streak forming between two shade of lavender. The brunette smiled, "Wow, that's amazing."

Lauren nodded, "And we've still got about fifteen or twenty minutes more until the sun goes down."

Lauren watched the expression on Bo's face change with the colors, each more brilliant than the next. The brunette sighed, relaxing back into her chair. Her eyes remained focused on the now brilliant orange streaks that filled the sky for as far as she could see. She spoke softly to Lauren,

"Thanks for this, Lauren. This is so relaxing to be here staring at the sky while the water beneath the ship rocks you my body into this sleepy mode. I've never felt so… at peace. This truly is a beautiful sight to behold."

It was a beautiful sight to behold and one the blonde had hoped she would see in this moment.

She kept her eyes set on Bo as she replied,

"Yes, it is."

Bo turned to Lauren, now understanding the beauty to which she was referring. She blushed, giving Lauren a soft smile. She leaned over and laid her head on the blonde's shoulder,

"I'm still mad at you, Lauren… but I love you to the moon and back."

"I'm still sorry, Bo and will be every time I think of this time we've been apart… but you are my everything, Bo Dennis and I will do anything in my power to make you believe that is the truth in my heart."

She leaned over and kissed the top of Bo's head before snuggling down into the chair, pulling the blankets snug over their bodies and giving Bo's hand a squeeze.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Captain's Cabin – One Hour Later

"Lauren, I really don't mind taking the couch." Bo insisted, still standing next to the single bed holding a blanket in her hand.

The sofa and bed were perpendicular to each other, making it easy for them to see each other as they spoke. Lauren smiled back at the brunette,

"Bo, you're my guest. It was my idea to sleep on the ship and not drive back to the B&B so we could each have a proper bed. I'll take the sofa. Really - I've slept on here many nights."

Relenting, she crawled into the bed, "Elijah told me you used to come here when you and Nadia argued."

Lauren smiled, laying down on the sofa and pulling the blanket over her. She turned on her side, propping her head up with her hand so she could talk to Bo,

"Well, that's how it began. It sort of evolved into my problem solving space. Bad surgery, visit from the parents, especially rough week with Evony… actually, there were more and more reasons to be here and less reasons to be at home as time went on."

"I guess things were over with Nadia before you ever really ended things?"

Lauren shrugged, "I suppose. I mean, I'm not the one that ended things. She made the decision to go elsewhere for sex. Of course, it took me a while to figure out that was happening - I was oblivious. I guess it was more that I didn't really care… I mean, I cared but it wasn't a priority for me… I was content. I didn't realize she wasn't happy." She lowered her head, pulling at the loose threads on the blanket, "Or maybe I knew but I wasn't willing to listen or to do anything to save our marriage."

She looked back up at Bo, "I never really thought of love as something I couldn't live without… not until you. I suppose growing up with parents who had children more to 'carry on their line' than because they loved kids was part of the reason. I never knew the love of my parents. I only knew what Lewis' were and were not supposed to do. It was all duty, no fluff. I suppose it's why my brother left home when I went off to college."

"Where is your brother?"

Lauren shrugged, "I honestly don't know. The last time I heard from him, he was working with an environmental group to save the planet. He called for bail when he got arrested for using pipe bombs to stop the construction of a pipeline in Canada."

Bo nodded, "Yea, the pipeline has a love-hate relationship with Alaska. Some of us love it, some of us hate it. Mostly, none of us talk about it too much. It's something that's out of our control."

Lauren smiled, "Well, that's where my brother comes in. He and his group fight the battles that most people think are out of their hands. Unfortunately, they tend to walk a very narrow line when it comes to the legality of the things they do."

"I guess no one complains about the activists back home. They're going to bat for us, so no sense giving them grief. Still, the oil companies don't like them much. I still think I could make my truck run on solar. I told Kurt to work on a design. I don't need to travel fast – I just need something strong enough to haul that big ass truck through the snow from town to the homestead and Talkeetna to Point Siku or Anchorage depending on the day."

Lauren nodded, "So, how about you? Did you ever see yourself falling in love?"

Bo smiled, "When I was a kid, we would watch Disney movies on VHS during recess when it was too cold to go out or if there had been a polar bear siting."

Lauren laughed, "You say that as if it's so normal. Sorry, kids! No recess today! We saw a polar bear and don't want you to get eaten! We'll just stay inside and watch Disney movies."

Bo chuckled, "Of course, Balto was my favorite movie until I learned that he wasn't the actual real-life doggy hero of the story. The other movies… well, I never really saw myself as a princess in some guy's fairy tale and watching those movies – well, I thought that love only happened for those girls. So, I tried to be girly and I talked to my Mom about being girly. Of course, life at home reminded me that the prince isn't always kind, handsome and loving."

"I suppose the example you had was anything but."

Bo nodded, "And my Mom led me to believe that it was okay for men to treat a woman that way. Then I met a girl named Nellie. She invited me to her house and I pretty much fell in love with her parents. They treated each other with respect and they showed affection rather than anger. After dinner every night, Nellie got to pick the record that played and her parents would dance and dance while she watched. Finally, they would pick her up and hold her between them – all three of them dancing."

Bo lowered her eyes as the memory hit her full force, "I was so jealous… and I was angry that my parents weren't like that. I spent a lot of time with Nellie and her parents that year. But when I finally asked my Mom why our family wasn't more like theirs, she forbid me to go there again. That's when my love-hate relationship with my Mom began."

She looked back up at Lauren, "It's funny how when she went missing and I was left alone, all of my anger and memories of the bad stuff just seemed to float away. Over the years, my memories of her were all focused on the good things she did – the happy times we had. I had honestly forgotten about Nellie and her family until now."

Lauren smiled, "I think Doctor Gray would call that a breakthrough moment."

Bo nodded, "She would say something like – and how do you feel about that? Or why do you think the negative memories faded away, Bo?"

The pair laughed, but Lauren tossed out a serious question,

"Why do you think you forgot all about the bad stuff? I mean… forgetting he was your Father, forgetting about your brothers?"

Bo shrugged, "Doctor Gray said it's our mind's way of protecting itself when it has information it can't or doesn't want to process. She said it especially happens with traumatic memories."

Lauren nodded, "I suppose anything associate with your Dad or your brothers – especially their departure – would fit the bill."

Bo agreed, "And it's probably why I never allowed love into my life… until you."

"Well, if we're being honest, I sort of pried my way in."

"Like a can opener opening the old, rusty, steel can that I was until you turned me into an open book." Bo laughed.

Lauren grinned proudly, "I did do that, didn't I."

"Yes, you did, Doctor Lewis. My heart… hell, my life – will never be the same."

"Is that a bad thing?" Lauren asked.

Bo smiled, "No, it's a good thing. A very good thing. I have an amazing life now. I don't regret my past – it made me the strong, independent, knowledgeable woman I am today. I do regret the life of isolation I created for myself. I mean… it's a huge planet, right? I've spent it all in one place. I mean – look at Betsy. She desperately wants to travel with Stephen, but because he won't leave Boston or go past a train stop to a big city, she's forced to settle for traveling with her girl band."

Lauren nodded, "Believe me, we've tried for years."

"Well, maybe if he loves me enough, he'll come to Alaska for our wedding someday."

Lauren's eyes went wide, her mouth hanging open at Bo's words, "Wedding?"

Bo scowled, "Nadia ruined it for you?"

Lauren grinned, "No. I mean – my marriage to her, yes – but marriage to you, absolutely not. For you, I would marry again in a hot New York minute!"

Bo smiled, "Okay. Well, I'm not asking yet. I mean, you still have some making up to do for being so mean to me for the past month."

"Well, how can I make it up to you?" Lauren smiled.

"Well, I'm kind of cold."

"Cold?" Lauren asked, "You need another blanket?"

"Wow. You really are out of practice, aren't you?" Bo laughed as Lauren's face twisted with confusion, "Get over here, Lewis! I want some body heat. Naked Lewis body heat!"

"Oh!" Lauren replied, no moving until she realized what Bo was saying, "You mean…"

"Yes. I mean I want to have wild, passionate nooky with my soul mate."

"Nooky?" Lauren laughed, tossing back the blanket and standing from the sofa, "I must admit, this is not the reunion I expected for us when I left Alaska, but I will certainly take it."

"Romantic reunions are overrated. This whole makeup sex thing has always worked for us."

Lauren grinned, pulling off her sweater and tank top all in one move, leaving herself naked from the waist up.

"Yup." Bo grinned, "Make up sex is definitely the best. Lauren Lewis, you are surely a sight for sore eyes." Bo said, rolling onto her side and sitting up, watching carefully as her girlfriend unveiled the rest of her precious flesh, "Show me, Lauren. I want to see all of you. I've missed you so damn much."

Lauren hooked two thumbs in the waistband of her sweatpants, slowly pulling them down to reveal shorts beneath. She leaned over, her chest barely out of Bo's reach,

"Tomorrow, we are going to eat. You are still beautiful as ever to me, Lauren but you've lost way too much weight. I'm worried about you."

"Well, you'll be happy to know that I'm feeling much better now that the woman I've missed more than I can ever say is here with me."

She stood in her shorts, pulling off one sock at a time, slowly, "I'll take off my shorts if you take off your top."

Bo wasted no time, ripping off her upper layers in one swift move, "Show me."

Lauren laughed, pulling the covers off of Bo. She lowered her mouth to her breast, taking all she could get into her mouth, her other hand touching the free mound of flesh. She pulled back, caressing the hardened nipple with her tongue before looking at the wet peak,

"I missed these beautiful breasts." Her eyes wandered to the brunette's, "I missed my beautiful Ysabeau. I love you… so much."

She captured her lover's mouth in a soft, passionate kiss as she hooked her fingers into Bo's shorts and began to pull them down, revealing her full, naked form.

Her hands caressed her legs, trailing up over her hips to her waist, "So soft. So damn beautiful."

"Your turn. I've waited long enough." Bo said, fire in her eyes as she stared up at Lauren's breasts, taking them in her hands, thumbing the erect nipples while the revealed the naked skin of her lower body.

Bo pulled her down, wrapping her arms around Lauren as their flesh fused together in a fervent embrace. Lauren's lips found her lover's and the dual began for dominance. Neither could wait to touch, caress and feel the sweet ecstasy the other provided, soothing body, spirit, mind and body as no other ever had.

"Bo…"

"I know."

Bo's hands ventured towards Lauren's need, the blonde maneuvering to offer the same relief to her lover. Eyes met in the moment they shared entry into the other, Lauren moving to provide the needed pressure for both.

"Lauren…"

"You feel so good."

"You feel so damn good."

"I've missed you, Bo."

"I'm like a teenage boy here… I can't… gawd, Lauren I'm gonna…"

"Me too…"

Lauren locked her eyes on Bo's as they climaxed together, neither willing to stop after they did, "Bo!"

"Geezus, Lauren!"

"I'm gonna…"

"Me too! Damn, my body just craves you, Lo."

"Mine too. Bo… Bo…"

"Ahhhh…"

They fell limp in each other's arms, hearts pounding, skin hot, breathing heavy, but Lauren wasn't satisfied… not by a long shot. She pressed her thigh into Bo's center, straddling her leg and began to move.

"I'm so glad you want to go again. I was afraid to ask." Bo giggled.

"I'm afraid you'll have to beg me to stop because my body doesn't know the meaning of no right now."

Bo smiled, reaching down between Lauren's legs and entering her, "Then let me give you something to ride."

"Ahhhh… that feels so good. I've missed you so much."

"That feeling is mutual." Bo grinned, "Just curious… how long do we have before we get interrupted?"

Lauren looked up at the clock on the wall behind Elijah's desk, "About six hours."

"Okay. After this round, can we set an alarm on one of our phones?"

Lauren stopped, looking down at Bo, "You want to stop?"

Bo laughed, "Hell no, but I also don't want Elijah walking in on us in the middle of…"

Lauren could see the look on Bo's face, her shoulders slumping as she threw her head back in frustration, "Ugh! He told you he's in love with me, didn't he!"

Bo nodded.

"Asshole! He's angling to make you uncomfortable or to put a well-placed doorstop between us so he can always enter into our lives whenever he wants to." Lauren groaned her annoyance, "I love Eli dearly, but he is so insecure about our friendship." She sighed, "Although I suppose it's not entirely unwarranted."

"Let me guess – Nadia forbid you from seeing him?"

Lauren shrugged, "She didn't like it – well, she didn't like him – at all. She never trusted me alone with him, but Bo, honestly, I'm 100%…"

"… not looking for a man." Bo chuckled, "And believe me, if I had any doubts, the last thirty minutes have made me well aware of how you feel about me and I am 100% certain that what you feel for him cannot touch what you feel when I do this…"

Bo wiggled her fingers inside of Lauren causing her to thrust down hard, throwing her head back. When her fingers went still, Lauren looked down at her with a look of love that reassured Bo of all she needed to know, "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"

"I just want to say… it kind of creeps me out that he might have fantasies about you and if he were to actually see us together… see you like this… damn I love seeing you like this…" Bo took a breast in her mouth, reaching deeper into Lauren causing her to thrust down faster and harder on her fingers,

"We'll set an alarm, but first you need to make me come. I so want to come for you right now. Fuck, Bo you feel so good!"

Bo watched as her lover came hard, crying out her name. The vision of the blonde soaking up every ounce of pleasure, pushed Bo over the edge as well, her vision blurring under the rush of ecstasy that overcame her. Lauren fell limp snuggling into the crook of Bo's neck, breathless.

"I'll get my phone in a minute." Lauren said.

"Take your time." Bo said, gripping the blonde's sexy, plump ass while pressing her thigh into her heat.

"Bo…"

"You can get your phone after you come for me again."

"Mmmm… there are not enough hours until sunrise." Lauren replied.

Bo smiled, "Yea, but I have this room at this bed and breakfast where we can go when we dock."

"You do, huh?"

Bo giggled, "Yup. We may have to hole up there for the day."

Lauren smiled, "That sounds… magnificent."

"Perfect. Now get up here and sit on my face."

Lauren giggled, "With pleasure."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

New Offices of Patrick Lloyd, Boston, Massachusetts

"Nice of you to join us." Patrick said with a chuckle as Lauren entered the room.

The blonde noticed the smiles on the faces of Penelope, Stephen and Betsy as she took a seat next to her attorney.

Lauren nodded, "Yea, well I left my phone on Elijah's ship and had to wait for them to return to port."

Stephen snickered, "So that's why you weren't answering my calls. I thought it might have been because of the extra curriculars going on at the Inn all morning."

"Extracurriculars?" Lauren asked, unaware of what he was talking about.

Betsy slapped his arm, "Stephen, leave the poor girl alone. I, for one, am happy that the woman is finally in love for the long haul. She's finally got a stable, healthy relationship… a somewhat noisy one for a public B&B, but healthy and apparently happy relationship."

"Oh. My. God." Lauren replied, dropping her head into her crossed arms as she finally realized what everyone already knew.

Patrick smiled, patting his friend's arm, "It's okay, Lauren. We've all had healthy recreational activity in our lives. There's nothing wrong with taking your turn. I'm just glad she makes you happy."

Lauren looked up at Patrick, "She truly does."

"Good. Now, let's see if we can't get you on your way to a happily ever after. Where is Bo? I have papers for her to sign as well."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't know you needed her here." She turned to Betsy, "Can we talk outside for a moment?"

Betsy nodded, "Of course. Excuse us?"

Lauren stood, her eyes landing on Penelope, "I'm glad you're here, P."

"It's all good, Lauren. If you need a townie to help you show Bo around, just let me know."

Lauren smiled and gave the Boston native a nod. As they exited the room, she chuckled to herself thinking of Bo trying to understand anything Penelope said. Bostonians have a very distinct accent and a language all their own to go with it. Who knows… maybe they would hit it off.

"What's up, Lauren?"

The blonde paced the hallway for a few minutes as she spoke, "I didn't want to bring this up in a room full of people, but Bo had a panic attack the minute she heard we had to take a Ferry, Subway and walk a few blocks in the city. She doesn't do well around people, Bets… well, she's better than she was when we first met but large crowds of strangers would set her off. That's why I was so shocked to see her here at all. I mean… she actually went into a public airport? A major hub?"

Betsy tightened her lips and slowly tossed her head from side to side, "She went in, they flew her first class which – as you know – is very private and not very crowded. They had trouble getting her off the plane. She stuck to the walls and… she had a knife, Lauren… a knife!"

"Well, you can't say I didn't tell you that she was sort of a female version of Tarzan with a bit more knowledge of small cities."

Betsy nodded, "So where is she?"

"I left her tending the gardens with your staff. She was quiet, but smiling. She loves…"

"I know. It's the first thing she looked at when we arrived. She walked across the lawn, pulled off her shoes and plopped right down in the flower beds."

"She tended gardens with her Mom when she was a child. Gardening is a source of happiness for Bo because of the happy memories she associates with them. It helps relieve her anxiety when she's upset."

"Geez, Lauren. Have you fallen in love with a basket case?"

"Excuse me?" Lauren asked, her brow furrowing in anger.

"I'm sorry. That didn't come out like… I shouldn't have said that. It just seems that…"

"She has issues? Who doesn't, Betsy? I've just spent the last couple of weeks drunk off my ass. My boss is a controlling manipulative bitch! My ex-wife has joined forces with her to try to ruin me. Half the people I work with are choosing sides, not realizing this isn't a fucking reality show! They're messing with real people who are basically indentured servants to one woman's ego! Stephen won't leave Boston unless it's on a train to a specific destination – more specifically a city he's familiar with. You stay with him despite the fact that he is preventing you from following your dreams – dreams, if I'm being honest, you don't have that many more years to fulfill. So, before you judge Bo for taking issue with the massive population of our city, I'd say the fact that she got on the plane puts her heads and tails above my beloved mentor. She has issues? Who doesn't have issues, Betsy!"

Betsy had never seen Lauren so angry – especially not at her. The thing was, everything she had said was absolutely true, "You're right. I was out of line."

Lauren planted her hands firmly on her hips, "Ya think? Dammit, Betsy! If I can't count on you and Stephen to have my back in this, then I really should just throw away my damn license and join Bo in a life of raising dogs and racing them. I can become a paramedic and join the emergency crews that there aren't nearly enough of for the size and dangers of the Alaskan territories. I could be happy doing that just as easily as being in an operating room.

"I'm sorry, Lauren." Betsy said, watching the blonde pace the room, her anger still raging.

"I thought I could talk to you about this. I thought you might be able to help Bo ease into some of the things she'll have to do in this lawsuit with Evony, but apparently, I'm better off just talking to Patrick."

"I can prep her, Lauren. You know I'm the best person for the job."

"Do I?" Lauren asked, turning to face Betsy, her hands still on her hips.

"I was wrong, Lauren. I said I'm sorry. I had a lapse in judgement. I just keep forgetting how new Bo is to the city."

Lauren shook her head, "You'd better adjust your perception, Betsy. It's not about being new to the city, it's about having been alone most of the days of her life. Completely alone in wide open, empty space. Since her early teens, she was pursued by men who wanted to kill her. She has quite literally had to fight – and at times, kill – to stay alive. All she knows about Boston is what she read on the internet. That means, she knows about crime, gang violence, inequality and how crowded it is."

"That's what she thinks of Boston?" Betsy asked, shaking her head, "Do you realize that Anchorage, Alaska is ranked in the top ten for violent crime?"

Lauren again shook her head, "Most of their crime is because there aren't enough police to cover the populated areas because they are so far apart. Bo knows the rules in Alaska, so she handles her own problems in accordance with the native laws. She doesn't rely on government regulations. Here, she's at the mercy of our ways, our laws and our law enforcement. She's a fish out of water, Betsy."

The older woman laughed, "Actually, she's more a polar bear out of the snow."

"Whatever!" Lauren said, throwing her hands up, "Geez! Forget it! Forget I asked."

"Lauren, relax. I'll help you. I'll help Bo. I got her from the airport to my place. She'll be fine."

Lauren sighed, "This must be how she felt when I was in Alaska."

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. I just feel this need to protect her."

"Then you will. And we'll all help you, Lauren. Now, come on. Let's get back into our little meeting so you can get home to her before she turns my property into a jungle."

The pair walked back into the meeting room where Stephen was reviewing documents with the other two. Each resumed their seats and began reading over the documents that Patrick had drawn up with his partner. After about an hour of reading, Lauren sat back in her chair, running her hands through her hair and tossing it back over her shoulders before she spoke,

"This intern of mine – Tara."

"Yes?" Patrick asked.

"She's legit?"

Patrick nodded, "As you read, she reported the incident and twelve interns, nurses and surgeons have come forwards thus far corroborating her story."

Lauren shook her head, "So they really have teamed up to ruin me."

"Looks that way. I'm sorry, Lauren. I really never thought that Nadia would…"

She waved him off, "Please spare me the platitudes, Patrick. This is all my fault. I should have known better than to sign that contract. I should have said no when Nadia asked me to marry her. Hell, for that matter, I should have said no to a first date. I thought she lacked integrity and honesty from the start. My gut is never wrong, and I didn't listen. I was chasing some stupid social standard about having to be part of a couple."

Patrick shook his head, "Really, Lauren, I shoulder much of the blame as well. I knew my law firm was engaging in ethically and morally questionable cases, but I still went along with them. I was making a ton of money and that was all that mattered. Once I started to realize that I had all of the material possessions a girl could possibly want, I was already sucked into their world."

Penelope closed the file she'd been reading, "Well, if the two of you are finished reviewing your past mistakes, can we get on with the future and how we're going to kick the shit out of these two no-good, lying, manipulative, greedy, controlling, obnoxious bitches because I haven't even begun to discuss their financial records and the laws Evony and her partners are breaking there."

Stephen laughed, "Why don't you tell us how you really feel, P?"

Betsy shook her head, "Geezus, Stephen, have you read this? I mean… all of it? In all my years practicing law, I have never seen a contract like the one Lauren entered into. Worse yet, every three years, the contracts became more and more restrictive."

Betsy opened a folder and threw a stack of packets on the table, "Each of these doctors have similar contracts and those are only the ones who have chosen to fight Evony on this. Serious, Patrick, how in the world did your firm get away with this?"

Patrick looked at Lauren who sighed and lowered her eyes to the table. Betsy's eyes remained focused on the man at the head of the table, but he did not seem to have an answer,

"Patrick?" Betsy urged, but it was Lauren who spoke,

"The truth is, my Father was the President of the hospital at the time. He handled all contracts through his team of attorneys. Patrick had no control of the situation. He just moved the papers from his bosses' hands to the client and back again."

Betsy shook her head, "Patrick you had to know…"

The lawyer slammed his fist down on the table as he shouted at Betsy, "Of course I knew!"

Stephen intervened, "Betsy, this is no time for finger pointing. Patrick has already admitted there is more he could have done."

"And he is doing something now." Lauren added, offering a smile to her lawyer and long-time friend, "And now, like me, he's leaving the lucrative contracts, paychecks, perks and elite party life behind for a downtown office with a very nice view of other brick buildings on all four sides." She looked at Patrick and laughed, "I thought you said there was a view?"

He smiled, "When you're on the ground floor in the east conference room, you can see a good chunk of the harbor."

"Well, if you can see a good chunk, it's well worth it." Lauren replied sarcastically with a laugh.

Patrick shrugged, "I'm following Penelope's business model to the penny. For now, this is all we can afford."

Lauren smiled, "Well, I think it's great. Seriously, I'm just happy you're choosing to go out on your own."

He took a deep breath and smiled awkwardly at Betsy who folded her hands and spoke,

"I'm sorry. I seem to be rubbing everyone the wrong way today. I'm jumping to conclusions, being a judgmental old biddy and… well, I'm just plain impatient. I just… I'm sick and tired of Evony's games and going after all these good people…" She sighed, "I had no idea that Evony was… I'm sorry I missed this, Lauren. I guess I'm just angry at myself. I should have offered to see your contracts and take a second look."

Lauren shrugged, "It wouldn't have done any good. Patrick's bosses would have rejected any changes that wouldn't have been of benefit to the hospital."

Betsy shook her head, her anger over the situation apparent, "It was a conflict of interest for them to represent both you and the hospital that employed you. Ethically, it was just…"

"Wrong." Lauren finished, "But my eyes are open to that fact now, Betsy. Still, if you had made recommendations for Patrick to suggest, they would have found an excuse not to use them." She took a deep breath and looked around the room, "Still, we have a future to build, so let's not dwell in the past. Let's move forward and help all of these people to get what they've deserved all along."

Patrick nodded, stacking up his file folders and pulling out a single page,

"Okay then. This is the list of suits and counter suits I've now officially filed." He pulled up another page, "This is the list of plaintiffs we've accumulated," He pulled out one more sheet, "And this is the list of Alaskan business contracts. We are suing to have all these contracts rewritten, with the permission of the business owners. It would go a long way in convincing them to participate if Bo would sign off on hers first."

Passing them to Lauren, the blonde shook her head as she read the list of surgeons first,

"Wow. These are some real power players at the hospital… and beyond…"

She searched each column's header, her eyes going wide,

"Geez, Patrick - you've got top surgeons from her hospitals in New York, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, Pittsburgh and the list goes on from there… hell, you've even got Toronto." She looked up at Patrick, "I always thought this was personal – I mean, something that had only happened with Evony and me – largely because of my Father's involvement as the President of the Board of Directors."

She chuckled to herself, "I thought I was the only one. I felt so… used and… trapped. I had no idea how many doctors were working under the same conditions."

Penelope nodded, "She gets the best recruits straight out of their residency with a big salary and lots of benefits. They don't read the fine print. They're young, they have massive loans…"

Stephen nodded, "They see a way to bail out of their debt and they sign for the money without knowing what the long-term effects will be on their lives."

"Or their souls." Lauren said, speaking almost in a whisper. Her mind traveled back over the numerous battles she'd had with Evony over transplant patients or life-saving experimental procedures. Most ended with her boss refusing to back her because the "customer" couldn't pay.'

"Evony called my patients 'customers'… can you believe it?" Lauren said, looking up at Stephen.

He shrugged, "Sadly, I can. I remember you telling me…" He shuffled through a stack of folders. Finding what he was looking for, he slid he folder over to Patrick, "Her name was Gracie Lee. She was what, Lauren… seven?"

The blonde's shoulders slumped forward as she shook her head, "She was five when she came to me, six and a half years old when the heart and lungs of a matching donor became available. She had been on the transplant list for two and a half years before we met. When she finally needed to be on a machine to keep her heart beating, she was transferred to my hospital."

Stephen could see that Lauren was still visibly shaken by the memory, so he reached over to Patrick and flipped to the necessary page,

"Here are Lauren's notes from the meeting with the transplant team. The donor heart belonged to a young teen. It was slightly large for the child's chest, but Lauren knew she could make it work. Instead the team – led by Evony's voice - gave the heart to a sixty-year old congressman. She said according to 'her information', he was a better size match. When Lauren questioned where she got her information, Evony told her from a team of doctors she employs to help her make such decisions."

"I threatened to quit if my decisions were going to be governed by a group of doctors I didn't know or have a chance to discuss my cases with. She reminded me of my contract. I lost the argument right then and there because I didn't have the guts to challenge her."

Patrick whispered, "Oh God."

Lauren nodded, "The Congressman's body rejected the heart four months after his surgery. Gracie died six weeks before that, still waiting for a heart. She was just shy of her seventh birthday." She shook her head, "She put her bottom line before the life of a seven-year-old child who had a much better chance of surviving than did that old man. He had money, the kids' parents didn't. It's always about the money with her."

Lauren stared down at the list before looking up at Patrick "How did you get all of these doctors to take a stand?"

Patrick grinned, looking at Penelope, "I showed them all what a real contract for a doctor of their caliber should look like. I showed them the growing list of personnel who were joining the lawsuit… from there, it didn't take much."

"What do the asterisks next to some of the names mean?" Lauren asked, recognizing all of them.

Patrick smiled, "Those are the ones who signed as soon as they knew you were leading the charge. You're a highly respected professional, Lauren. They all spoke out when they heard that you were in the same situation as they were. Until now, they'd believed that their contracts were crappy so that she could afford to keep you on her payroll."

Lauren laughed, "I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad about that. I'm not gonna lie – it's a bit unsettling that my colleagues believe I would buy into a lucrative contract. It's an insult to think I would put money first."

Penelope redirected, "Look at all of the testimonies of the hospital personnel. It's amazing that this many people are coming forward. I didn't know this many people on staff were Team Lewis."

Lauren slowly turned her head towards Penelope, "And why is that such a surprise? I'm a very good doctor and a very nice person."

Penelope laughed, "Relax, Lauren. It wasn't a personal insult. It was just an observation. I mean, other than Stephen, would you honestly walk into a courtroom for many of your colleagues, nurses or friends? I mean, there are over a hundred names on this list!"

Off the top of her head, Lauren could think of about ten people she would go to court for, so she shrugged, "Okay. Point taken."

"Thought so." Penelope replied.

Patrick closed the folder, "So, we're moving forward?"

Lauren nodded, "As long as I can convince Bo, we'll move forward as you suggest. I can't imagine she won't want to stick it to Evony."

They all turned towards the door when they heard a commotion outside. Patrick stood and walked to the door, but his secretary stepped in just before he was able to open the barrier,

"Mr. Lloyd, there is a woman here who is demanding to see Dr. Lewis."

"Who?" Patrick asked.

"I don't know, Sir. She won't give me her name."

"Is it Evony?"

She shrugged, "Apologies, but I'm new here. I don't know who that is."

"Dark hair, attractive…" He looked over at Lauren and mouthed, "Cast iron bitch."

Lauren laughed as the secretary responded,

"I'd say she's both of those."

Patrick nodded, "Send her in."

He resumed his seat at the head of the table and slid the folders into his briefcase before closing and locking it. He slid it under the table between his feet just as the door opened.

Lauren's mouth dropped open as she looked up to see a disheveled Bo standing in the doorway.

"Geezus, Bo!" She stood and walked to her, checking her for injuries.

"I'm fine, Lauren. I had a scuffle with the big dudes at the door. He wouldn't let me in."

Patrick stood, "My security team?"

Bo stepped around Lauren and nodded, "You need a better team."

Patrick looked at Bo, then at Lauren in disbelief, "They're former Division I collegiate football players… of the big, strapping lineman variety."

Lauren laughed, "Could you be any gayer, Patrick?"

He chuckled, "Even lawyers are entitled to a little eye candy going to and from work."

Bo wasn't amused, "Have you heard the phrase the bigger they are the harder they fall?"

"That's really a thing?" Patrick asked.

"Big is usually slow. That's why a woman of my size can take down a bear."

Patrick's mouth dropped open, "You've taken down a bear?"

Bo shrugged, "Big and slow… if you have the right knife."

He looked at Lauren, "Knife?"

Lauren smiled, "Bo doesn't like guns."

"Oh, well in that case. I totally understand." He replied, shaking his head.

Lauren turned to Bo, "How on earth did you get here?"

Bo shrugged, "Uh… a boat… some cars… the back of a motorcycle… a really long walk… the back of a kids' motorized scooter and the darkest train I've ever been on in my life… I mean, other than when the train runs in winter and it's dark out."

"How… resourceful." Penelope stuttered out, looking at the very large knife in the woman's right hand.

Lauren followed Penelope's eyeline and noticed what was in her girlfriend's hand. She leaned into Bo's ear and whispered to her. The brunette looked down at her hand,

"Oops. Sorry. I was feeling rather…"

Lauren gave her free hand a squeeze, "It's okay. You're safe here, Bo. You can put that away."

"Safe? Lauren, I took down those goons at the door with the threat of shiny metal, a right cross and a left hook."

Lauren looked up at the group before stepping between them and Bo, "Bo, please. Put the knife away. You and I both know you're fast enough to pull it out and throw it at any threat before they could do us any harm. Please."

Bo peeked out from behind Lauren's head, eyeballing each of the occupants of the room before looking back at Lauren and putting the knife away in the sheath on her shin. She followed Lauren to the chair beside her,

"You remember Patrick, don't you?" Lauren asked.

Bo gave Patrick a nod and the lawyer responded in kind. Stephen and Betsy smiled at Bo before the brunette glanced at the woman across the table.

"Who's she?"

Lauren smiled, "This is Penelope. I told you about her, remember?"

"The money lady."

Lauren grinned, "That's right. And we're all actually quite happy to see you."

"Speak for yourself." Penelope mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Bo said, leaning forward in her chair, eyes on the woman.

Penelope raised her hands, "Lady, I'm not looking' for any trouble."

"Could have fooled me." Bo replied.

Penelope shook her head, looking around the room before her eyes settled on Lauren, "Seriously? This is the woman I've been reading contracts and crunching numbers for all this time? She walks in here, threatens us with a knife…"

"I didn't threaten! I pointed…" Bo looked at Lauren, "I just pointed."

Lauren put a hand on her shoulder, "I know, Bo. But you have to remember that things are different here. Just like I had to adjust to the lifestyle in Alaska, I would expect that you would be prepared to adjust to life here in my city."

Bo sighed, "Fine."

Lauren turned to the group, "If we could get to the part where we explain to Bo what we need from her, I think her trip will have been well worth it."

Lauren eyeballed Betsy, looking for her promised support and the older woman came through, "I agree. It took a lot of courage for Bo to travel here on her own. Let's show her what we've worked so hard to do for our Alaskan friends."

Lauren smiled and Bo visibly relaxed in her chair. Patrick began,

"Okay then." He pulled out his briefcase and opened the files again, passing copies of Bo's documents to everyone, "Let's get started then…"

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