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?

22. Chapter 22: Delirium

A/N: Hi Everyone! Sorry for the delay. I just want to give warning that my outline for this fic – having been written quite some time ago – included a childhood disease outbreak in the town that carried through a few chapters. I've re-written those chapters, taking time to "mellow out" the drama surrounding the disease as much as I could while still allowing for the plot points to take place. It's not the usual circumstance for a trigger warning, but considering the current world climate, I felt it appropriate to provide a little heads up as this may hit a little closer to home for some more than others.

I'll be uploading about three or four chapters in the coming days. I just want to take time to proof each chapter for story conflicts due to the changes I made. I hope all of you are well and finding ways to be mindful of your own needs as you help your family and friends navigate life. I wish you all health, happiness and the freedom to make the choices that are best for you in your life.

Stay safe everyone,

Cuddles

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Chapter 22: Delirium

The Homestead…

"Sister?"

Bo looked up from the fire to see Rudy walking into the living room, wiping her eyes.

"Hey, kiddo. What are you doing out of bed?"

"My tummy aches."

"Awww, I'm sorry to hear that, little sis, but you did eat most of a watermelon and then sweets on top of that. Are you gonna get sick?"

"Maybe?"

"You sit here. I'll be right back."

Rudy crawled onto the sofa while Bo ran off to the kitchen, hurrying back with a bucket that she placed on the floor in front of her little sister. She felt her head,

"You feel warm."

"Do I have a fever?"

"I think we're going to have to check that out."

Rudy laid down as Bo pulled two, then three blankets over her before heading into the bathroom. Bo never would have had all of the supplies they had now. It was Lauren who created a plan for a medicine cabinet that Bo built and inserted above the sink. Next spring, she was going to install a water tank and finish off the new plumbing her crew had started while she was in Boston. Bo knew Lauren spent so much time at the clinic doing work because they had no retention basin to have real running water at the homestead. Bo had made some improvements so that the water was drawn by pump now, but there was still the issue of having to refill the small tank beneath the sinks.

Bo was in love with a city-girl, so some things were going to be non-negotiable – like long, hot showers after a day of long, difficult surgeries. Of course, so far Lauren hadn't said a word. She was the grin and bear it type and for that, Bo loved her even more. The doctor had a Lewis-Archer, Inc. board meeting back in Boston in late April of the coming spring. She would be gone for about three week, so with any luck, Bo could get the plumbing done and surprise Lauren with it when she came back home. Bo was still trying to hold her ground on the internet stuff, but after last night, she might need to be a bit more flexible there as well. Maybe the cell tower could be at the edge of the property… many, many miles away. Maybe it could be rigged on the back side of the mountain where she wouldn't have to see it.

Shaking out her thoughts, she returned to the living room to find Rudy filling the bucket at her feet.

"Roo!" She said, running to pull her hair back and hold her head until she finally stopped, "You okay, kiddo?"

"I hate throwing up." She said, her head falling limp on Bo's lap as she groaned, "I don't feel good, Sister. I don't feel good at all."

"Do you want me to wake up Mom?"

"Yes, please." Rudy replied.

Bo nodded, helping her to lay back against the pillow on the sofa before rushing back to the kitchen to grab a cup of water. She added a straw and lid before heading back into the living room,

"Here, kiddo. Rinse your mouth."

Rudy did as she was told before laying back again, "I feel horrible."

"I'm sorry, kid. Let me get Mom."

She tucked Rudy back into the covers before grabbing the bucket and taking it back to the bathroom. Opening the dump chute Bo emptied the contents before rinsing it out in the bath. Yup, running water would be great with a kid around. She pulled out the can of disinfectant that Lauren had bought for the house and sprayed some in the bucket, bath and around the room before heading back out to the living room.

Rudy grabbed the bucket and tossed her cookies once more, "Awww, Rudy, I'm so sorry sweetie. Let it out, kiddo."

Bo felt so bad for the little girl. She looked exhausted and her eyes were filled with tears,

"Make it stop, Sister."

"I wish I could, Rudy." Bo replied, grateful when she heard her Mother's voice,

"Rudy?"

"She's sick, Mom. I haven't been able to take her temperature because…" Bo stopped, quickly sliding the bucket under Rudy as she vomited again, "… this is the third time."

Mary moved quickly to her younger daughter, pinching her earlobes between her fingers, "She's very warm."

"You can tell that from her earlobes?" Bo asked with a chuckle.

Mary nodded, pressing the back of her hand to Rudy's forehead before helping the youngster to lean back. She looked at Bo, "Do you feel sick at all?"

Bo shook her head, "Not at all."

"Me either, so it's not the food. Is Lauren ill?"

Bo shrugged, "She's at the clinic."

"Good. Get your keys. We're heading to town."

"To town?"

Mary nodded, checking Rudy's throat, "Swollen glands, sore throat, vomiting… yes, to town. Call Lauren, please… actually, I'll call Lauren. You go warm up the truck."

Bo stood and turned to the windows where the solar lights illuminated a snowy scene outside,

"Mom, the snow is too deep. We're going to have to take the dogs."

"We can't take one of the snow machines?"

Bo shook her head, "I don't want to chance it breaking down with her this sick. I haven't run them or worked on them yet. I thought I had more time."

"Damn early winter." Mary said.

Bo sighed, "We'll be okay. I've taken a few trips on the trail today, so unless there are heavy drifts, there should still be a shallow well on the trail that we can run through. It'll be narrow, but I think I have a solution to help with that."

Mary nodded, "Solution?"

"Never you mind. Just trust that I know more about sledding than I did when I was ten. You just get Rudy ready to run."

Mary smiled, "Very well. I'll ride in the basket with her. Take no chances, Ysabeau. We need a full team of sixteen."

Bo nodded, "Let's be quick. Grab every blanket you can find. I'll be right back."

Bo hurried out to the garage and returned with a tall metal device with a handle on top, "Chip off some of that flaming wood along with some hot coals. Fill this. This anchors inside the basket. It's insulated on the outside so it won't burn your legs and it will keep her warm."

"Wh…"

"I invented it, Mom. Trust me. I'll be ready for you both in fifteen minutes. Don't forget to bring a vomit bag."

She watched as Bo rushed off towards the kitchen before returning to Rudy's care, "Can you sip some water, child?"

"No. It'll make me throw up again, Mommy."

"Rudy, you have to stay hydrated, sweetheart."

"It won't stay in, so what's the point?" Rudy groaned, shivering.

Mary nodded, "I'm going to go get you some warm clothes. Your sister is getting the sled ready."

"I'm too cold to go outside, Momma. Please. I just want to stay here and sleep."

"Rudy, we have to go see Lauren. You're sick, sweetie." She picked up the thermometer from the kit Bo had left open on the end table, "Open, Rudy."

"Can't Lauren come here?" she asked before closing her mouth around the thermometer. It was in for about thirty seconds when she suddenly pulled the device free and thrust her head into the bucket.

Mary sighed, brushing the hair from Rudy's face, "I'll call Lauren, Roo."

The youngster moaned, her head bobbing from side to side before it finally found its place on the pillow. Mary wiped her mouth clean with a wet wipe, placed a cool cloth on her forehead and sighed. Rudy rarely got sick and it pained her to see the child in this condition.

Mary hated to disturb the doctor while she was clearly focused on something else right now. Still, Lauren would want to know if Rudy was sick, so she picked up her phone and made the call,

"Mary?"

"Hi Lauren. Sorry to bother you. I didn't know the clinic's number."

"It's okay. Is this about Bo?"

"No, Lauren. Rudy is sick."

"Rudy?"

"Yes. She has vomited four or five times now. Honestly, I've lost track. Her glands are quite swollen, she's got chills, weakness, body aches, a stomachache..." Mary began, rifling through as many symptoms as she could remember.

"Did you take her temperature? I have a thermometer in the kit under…"

"We found it." Mary said, pulling the digital device from Rudy's mouth when the beeps sounded, "Her temperature is 103.3, Lauren."

"Okay. There is some acetaminophen in the kit. It's the white packets with pink writing – not red – pink. The red is the adult dosage. Pink is the child dosage."

Mary rifled through the kit until she found a stack of small square paper pouches with pink print. She read the large letters, "Acetaminophen. Found it."

"Give her both tablets with a little water. They're chewable, so they should go down easy. It's important that she not vomit them up, so go easy on the sips of water."

"Okay." Mary nodded, tearing open the packet and handing one to Rudy, "Lauren wants you to chew these up, sweetie. You need to try not to get sick after you take them."

"No, Momma, no! I'll throw up again."

"Rudy…"

"No, Momma! No! Please just let me sleep."

"Mary, put me on speakerphone, okay?" Lauren asked.

Mary nodded, doing as Lauren asked. The doctor's voice came through loud and clear,

"Rudy, please try, baby girl." Lauren replied, "If you can keep the pills down, it will help your fever and the aches you're feeling. Will you try for me?"

"Okay. I'll try."

"That's my brave girl. Thank you."

Mary watched as Rudy took the pills with a small sip of water. She waited to be sure they stayed down and then returned to her call with the doctor, taking her off speakerphone.

"I don't suppose you can come home?" Mary asked.

"I'm so sorry, Mary. I have an emergency case here so I can't leave. I just finished a surgery about an hour or so ago. I really can't leave him yet, but I would like to see Rudy as quickly as possible. Can you and Bo drive her in?"

"We'll be there as soon as we can." Mary replied, not mentioning they were coming by sled.

Lauren nodded, "A cold cloth on her forehead may ease some of her discomfort, but she's more likely got chills and won't want to be cold."

"Is the cold bad for her?" Mary asked, not wanting to worry the doctor about their mode of transportation.

"No. Cold will actually help bring down her fever. She just won't like it."

Mary nodded, "We'll be there as soon as we can."

Lauren replied, "See you soon. Be careful. Bo was right. It was rough going coming out from the house until about mile two and that was probably six to eight inches ago or more."

"We'll make it." Mary said, ending the call. She looked down at her daughter, shaking her head. She hated when this little ball of energy was ill. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it was never just a cold.

She moved back to Rudy's bedroom, satisfied that her child was comfortable on the sofa for the moment. She pulled out every warm piece of clothing she could find before grabbing her own gear. Back in the living room, she dressed Rudy, then pulled on her own outerwear. Just as she finished, Bo entered the house, ready to go.

"I have sixteen hitched up to the sled with a team of six in front of that to cut the trail. I'm ready to go."

"That… will that work?" Mary asked.

"It has to." Bo replied, looking down at her little sister, "It's deep out there, Mom."

"Headlamps?"

"Yes." Bo replied, handing one to her Mom before donning one herself, "I mounted them to the collars of the dogs as well. Kyle will be pissed that I used our inventory, but it's worth the argument if it increases our odds of making it there."

"Can we make it?"

"We have to." Bo said, lifting Rudy from the couch. The youngster wrapped her arms around Bo's neck, laying her head on her shoulder,

"Bo?"

"Yea, kid. It's me."

"I feel terrible."

"I know, Sweets, but Lauren is gonna fix you right up." Bo smiled, carrying Rudy towards the garage.

Mary filled the tin with flaming coals from the fire before smothering what was left beneath the mantel and securing the screen to prevent any embers from escaping. As she moved towards the garage, she turned down the wicks on the oil lamps. With one last look around the house, she exited to the garage, bracing herself for the snow and winds.

Bo already had Rudy in the sled and was double checking the lines. Mary handed her the tin and watched as she zipped open the basket and clamped the bottom into a round insert in the base of the sled,

"That's ingenious." Mary smiled.

Bo shrugged, "I designed it with Lauren in mind. She was always cold riding in the basket. Of course, now she'll be driving her own sled most of the time… I mean, weather permitting and all."

Mary nodded, "I'm only going to say this once, because I hope you'll know what I mean. Your Father tried to control every single thing I did… where I went, how I went there, the route that I took, who I was seeing, how long I stayed and more. He controlled what I did for work, play and with my children. He controlled my schedule down to the second. He controlled everything in my life including what happened in our bedroom. There's a song the boys at the beach played in Hawaii that reminded me of my life with him… rather, it was a song I wish I would have known and blasted through our house with him in it."

"What song is that?" Bo asked.

"It's called 'Hold on Loosely' by a band oddly named .38 Special. Strange."

"A rock song?" Bo asked, surprised.

"Like I said, the boys at the beach played it. I wasn't familiar with it when I lived on the North Slope. Have a listen… learn from it… learn from the life your Father led."

"I want nothing from him."

"Then don't follow his lead, Ysabeau. Learn how to be a proper partner in a marriage. It's not ownership, it's a partnership… or it should be."

"I'm nothing like him!" Bo shouted.

"Please don't fight." Rudy said, her head bobbing to the side.

Bo looked at her little sister, releasing a heavy sigh before signaling her Mom to slip into the basket behind her daughter,

"We all have parts of both parents in us whether we care to admit it or not. The question is, which parts will we choose to nurture, and which parts will we send into the darkest depths of our souls never to see daylight."

"I…"

Mary waved off her daughter's planned retort, "Bo, as your friend Kenzi would say… let my words marinate for a while rather than taking offense to them. Let's get your sister to town."

Bo heaved a sigh once more, walking back to the front of the sled. She slapped the center line of the front team of five, getting their attention,

"Elsa, Anna, Belle – come on girls." The three dogs moved to the forward sled, Bo hitching them to the extra line in front of her team before adding in the additional three dogs behind them, "Jenna, Muk, Atalanta! Come on, girls."

Bo moved to the front of the group. She knelt down and rubbed the heads of the leads, "Rudy is sick, Ladies. She's very sick. We have to get her to Lauren. Do you understand? I need you to run to Lauren. Get us there safely. Work hard. Work together with the ladies behind you. Show us the way, okay?"

Elsa stood, licking Bo's face, "Thank you, Girl. I knew I could count on you. She looked out to the group, "Let's get Rudy to Lauren, kids. I believe in you. Work together and make Lauren proud."

She walked off to the side, sliding a big wedge-shaped device in behind the team, slipping it to the lines. Mary's head tilted as she quietly watched her daughter mount the framed screen-like grate system to the team,

"What's that?"

Bo shrugged, "I hope it will cut a trail. If it doesn't, I'll take it off and leave it in the trees. I thought of it while sifting flour a few weeks back. I thought of the plow at the front of the Talkeenta train and… well, I haven't tried using it yet, so this will either be a brilliant idea or a waste of time and materials."

"You trust these six youngsters to cut a trail?" Mary asked, nodding towards Lauren's team.

Bo ran long lines from the device back to either side of the basket of her sled, "That will be up to you and how strong they are. If I have to, I'll swamp them out with my front six."

"That's a lot of trust for a young team." Mary replied, her voice holding all of the worry Bo expected a veteran musher would expect.

"I can't explain it, Mom but I believe they'll do it. They love Rudy. They love Lauren. They'll do the job."

Mary took the lines her daughter offered before Bo brought a long wooden dowel with notches in it to Mary, "Hook the lines to the dowel and think of it as the rail of a sled. That's how you'll control the front group while I control the back."

"I've never worked with Atalanta." Mary replied.

"Would you rather have Persephone?"

Mary shook her head, "You're working her in with your new group, so it's where she needs to be. This will be a crucial test."

"Agreed." Bo replied, "Okay, so be sure to call names before you give a command. I'd hate for us to end up in a ditch because my dogs listened to your command."

Mary nodded, "I won't be driving your team anymore, Ysabeau. They should never obey anyone but you."

"Agreed." Bo replied, turning on all of the headlamps she'd attached to the dog's collars before heading back to step onto the rails of her sled. She turned on her own headlamp and lowered her goggles before pulling on her gloves and tucking them under the sleeves of her coat,

"You're up, Mom. Keep them about twenty-five yards in front of us, okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Mary replied.

"Mommy?" Rudy said, lifting her head to look up at Mary.

"We're on our way, child."

"I feel really bad. I think I might die."

Mary's throat tightened, "I know you feel bad, but death is not an option, Roo. You just keep breathing. Hold tight to me now. We're going to see Lauren soon. Are you going to get sick again?"

"I don't think so." Rudy replied, her tiny body rumbling with shivers.

Mary released the dowel and reached inside to feel Rudy's head. She looked up at Bo, shaking her head, fear in her eyes before she hid them behind her goggles, "She's burning up."

"Let's get going then."

Mary looked back to Rudy. Lauren wanted her cool, but she was pretty sure the doctor didn't expect her to arrive hypothermic, "It's warmer down near the tall metal container, Sweets. Can you get down there?"

She watched as Rudy found her way to the length of the sled where the cushion was at its thickest and the warmth was making Mary's legs sweat. She didn't care as long as the child was warm,

"Try to sleep, Roo. We'll be there soon."

She watched as Rudy pulled the blankets up around her ears and settled between her legs, her head coming to rest on her thighs. She yanked the zipper to her neck and lowered her goggles once more. Turning on her headlamp, she looked up at Bo and gave her a nod before calling out,

"Elsa! Anna! Hike! Hike! Lay that trail, girls! Go on! Find Lauren!"

Bo watched as the lines stretched out and the makeshift trail plow moved. The snow sifted through the device breaking it up and spreading it wide causing her to smile beneath her mask. Once there was about fifteen feet between them, she called out to her team,

"Nike! Diana! Hike! Hike! Follow that plow, girls!"

Bo grinned when she heard her Mom give a whoop, "It worked! My daughter is a genius!"

It warmed Bo's heart to hear Mary say those words. As a child, her Mom used to say them all the time and it was part of the reason a younger Ysabeau always loved school and made very good grades. Her Mom was her best friend and she never wanted to let her down. Of course, the younger Ysabeau also had different goals back in those days. An Iditarod Championship and a college degree were the only things she really cared about other than what she had to do to survive. Now, her only goal was to get her little sister to Lauren… fast.

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Clinic, Talkeetna

Bo ran into the clinic, carrying Rudy, "Lauren! Lauren! I can't wake her and she's burning up!"

Mary ran in behind Bo, her face reflecting all the worry Lauren had come to expect in the parent of a sick child.

Lauren looked at Bo, "You came by sled! Bo…"

Bo shook her head as she helped Mary unwrap the blankets so that Lauren could examine the child,

"We had no choice. The snow was over the wheel wells of the pick-up truck and we knew there was no road. We might have driven it right onto the lake and I had no way of knowing if it's fully frozen yet!" Bo yelled back, "The only other option was snow machine, but you had the bigger one and it's the only one I had time to tune up this early in the year and…"

"You're blaming me?" Lauren interrupted her eyes glaring up at Bo,

"No! I just… can we just focus on Rudy?" Bo replied, but Lauren maintained her gaze, "Please! Lauren!"

"Yes. Of course." Lauren said, snapping out of her thoughts to begin connecting the child to a series of monitors.

Bo and Mary watched Lauren, looking up to see Shannon and Carolyn's arrival. The two nurses moved quickly to either side of the table. They offered a nod to the two blood relatives of the child before looking up at their boss,

Lauren turned to Carolyn, "I'd like a full blood panel. Hang fluids and let's see what we find."

Shannon drew blood from one arm while Carolyn began an I.V. on the other side.

"What's that?" Mary asked.

Carolyn explained, "This is the line through which we will administer fluids, nutrients and medicines to help your daughter along. She's vomiting, so we know we won't be able to give her anything by mouth, but we can give her anti-nausea meds. Shannon is drawing blood so that we can see if there's anything in there that will tell us what's going on."

Lauren lifted the stethoscope from Rudy's chest and wrapped it around her neck, "I'd like a Chest X-ray and let's prep the nebulizer just in case."

"Chest X-ray? Nebu-what?" Bo asked.

"The X-ray is to look for abnormalities in her lungs." Lauren replied, using her stethoscope to check Rudy's heart and lungs, "Lungs sound clear, so I'd expect the images to be normal. The nebulizer is just in case she starts to have difficulty breathing. Despite her lungs sounding clear, she is congested."

Bo looked at her Mom, then Lauren, "So you think this has something to do with her heart?"

Lauren shook her head, "I said no such thing, Bo."

Bo could hear the tone in her fiancé's voice. It was anger with a touch of annoyance, but she didn't care. She just wanted… no needed… her little sister to be okay,

"Then what's wrong with her?" Bo asked.

Lauren paused her examination of her patient, looking up at Bo, "I don't know. I am trying to conduct an initial assessment in order to determine just that. Now, I realize you are both worried and upset… fearful, even. However, Rudy is stable for now, so if you can both stand and observe silently and allow me to explain things as I draw conclusions, you may stay. If you cannot allow me to do my job, then I will ask one of my nurses to escort you to the family waiting area until such time I am ready to present my diagnosis and treatment plan."

Bo moved to speak, but Mary put her hand over her daughter's mouth, "I understand. We'll wait patiently. Thank you, Doctor Lewis."

"Thank you, Ms. Dennis." Lauren replied, her eyes meeting Mary's, acknowledging that the use of the titles meant the mother understood that the blonde was doing her job – a job deserving of her respect. The gesture was appreciated.

Still, Lauren couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the glare Mary gave her daughter. It appeared that no matter the age of the child or distance between them, some aspects of parent-child relationships never changed.

The doctor returned to her head-to-toe examination of her young patient. Her fingers gently moved Rudy's hair off of her neck to get a better view of a small, raised bump,

She grabbed a piece of gauze from the surgical tray, "Shannon, turn her head to the right, please?"

The Nurse did as asked so that Lauren could look more closely at the area with a penlight. She dabbed the bump with gauze, noticing that it was weeping a bit,

"Check her skin." Lauren replied, quickly.

The two set to work checking Rudy's skin while Carolyn returned with the portable X-ray machine,

"Clear, ladies."

Shannon and Lauren rolled the portable lead curtains over, boxing in the patient while Carolyn readied the machine.

"Bo, Mary, if you wouldn't mind moving to the waiting area to assure you are not exposed to the scan's radiation? I promise you she's in good hands."

Mary nodded while Bo replied, "No. We want to stay with her. You said we could stay if we were quiet."

Bo looked to where her Mom's hand lay firmly on her forearm, "Ysabeau, these are the most important people in your life. They care as much about Rudy as we do. Come on. Let's let them do their work."

Lauren looked at Bo as her Mom pulled her away, the brunette's gaze never leaving Rudy. The doctor's bigger concern was the fear in her eyes. Her fiancé was struggling to find balance in this new life. She only hoped that her friend and colleague, Faith Gray would be able to help her.

Mary led Bo to a chair by the window, "Ysabeau, relax. She's getting the best of care here."

"Why won't she wake up, Mom?"

Mary smiled, pulling Bo down, "Sit. Let me tell you a story."

"Mom…"

"Ysabeau," Mary cautioned, "When you were five years old, you became very, very ill. You had the measles. You were covered head to toe and your fever was very, very high. You slept for two straight days. I was terrified, but after three days, you started to feel better. Your fever broke and you got your appetite back. I couldn't make enough soup to satisfy your cravings and you wouldn't stop complaining about how much everything itched."

"So being unconscious is normal?" Bo asked, the panic still in her eyes.

"Did you see the sore that Lauren was examining?"

"A sore? What kind of sore!"

"Ysabeau, relax. I think your sister has Chicken Pox."

"Chicken Pox?"

"Yes, child."

Lauren walked into the waiting area, her hands in her lab coat pockets, a smile on her face,

"Rudy has Chicken Pox."

"Is it serious?" Bo asked.

Lauren smiled, "It's a common childhood illness, although it's uncommon in children who have been vaccinated."

Mary nodded, "She did not receive the vaccine. It was on the schedule for the next doctor's visit I could afford."

Lauren shook her head, once again faced with one of the inadequacies of a system that has always impacted her ability to do her job on a daily basis.

"Well, the bright side is that once infected, most children won't get it a second time. For now, it's just got to run its course. My bigger concern is the unvaccinated who she's come in contact with recently."

Mary shook her head, "School, the Kennel and its customers, our family and us."

Bo shook her head, "Was I vaccinated, Mom?"

Mary shook her head, "We didn't have access back then, Ysabeau."

"So that's a no, then?" Bo asked.

Mary shrugged, "Your brothers all had the disease, but they were with your Father when that happened, so you weren't exposed. I'm afraid you've never had them either."

Bo sighed, looking up at Lauren, "I guess I'm someone she's been in contact with. Now what?"

Lauren sighed, "I'm afraid you'll be sleeping alone for now, Miss Dennis. You'll need to quarantine yourself back at the homestead." She turned to Mary, "And you?"

"I had the chicken pox as a child." Mary replied.

"I guess you and I will be staying in town with Rudy." Lauren replied while Bo pouted. She turned to the brunette, "You should get going, Bo."

"I'll stay at the hotel."

"Bo, you cannot be around crowds. It would be irresponsible. There may be others who have never been vaccinated or infected. It's bad enough that Rudy could have infected kids or teachers at her school. Because you were around her, you may have infected Kyle, Kurt, customers at the Kennel, LJ…"

Bo waved her hands, "Okay, okay. I know how it works." She then pivoted, "Wait… you mean I have to be alone at the house?"

Lauren chuckled, "Seriously? When I met you last winter, you hated being around even one person let alone groups of people. You don't think you can find your inner anti-social personality again for about another seven days?"

"That long?" Bo whined.

Lauren explained, "Rudy's blisters are just showing up. Usually there's a rash before the blisters form. I guess none of us noticed it."

Mary shook her head, "I noticed it when she got out of the sun shower. Because there was no sun to warm the water in the overhead bin, I heated the water on the stove. I thought her skin was red in spots because I had made the water too hot. I'm so sorry."

Lauren offered a sympathetic smile, "It's okay, but that means she has been contagious for at least 2 days – more likely four or five. Anyone who she has been in contact with who has not either had the condition or had the vaccine is likely infected. That means she could have started infecting kids up to five days ago. That would have been around Tuesday or Wednesday last week."

She turned to Bo, "Now, if you're infected – and the way that little girl hangs all over you, it's likely – you should start showing signs in the next day or two. The incubation period is about fourteen to sixteen days, but for some it can be as little as ten or as many as twenty-one days. For that reason, I want you to isolate for a total of sixteen days."

"Sixteen days? But Lauren…"

"Don't argue with me, Bo. I cannot risk you infecting others. Someone will come for home visits throughout the day… someone vaccinated or previously infected. If you disobey, I'll have Dyson throw you in a cell to make sure you are not a risk to others."

"You can't do that!" Bo shouted.

"As the Chief Medical Officer in these parts, I can, and I will. This is the doctor talking, Bo and you know that in medical situations, my patients come first. You are now a patient. I'm doing this for you and for the well-being of everyone in this town. You want to live among the people – among your family and friends? Well, this is how it's done. You're not living off-grid anymore. It's not about you anymore. It's about what's best for everyone. It's about what's best for the team."

"So who is the someone you're sending?" Bo asked, her shoulders slumping.

Lauren shook her head, "Stop. You'll be fine. Your Mom or I will try to come, but someone will have to be here with Rudy and I may have a damn plague on my hands by mid-week. Chicken pox can be dangerous in young children because of the risk of fever and dehydration, not to mention the blisters getting into subdermal places. In adults, it can be even worse because of the fevers." Lauren stopped herself from saying fatal. She didn't need her fiancé in even more of a panic, "In addition, I've got a new surgical patient back there from the sledding accident."

"But I've got the construction crew, the store and… and I made an appointment with Doctor Gray." Bo replied.

"Faith can video chat with you." Lauren replied, "Her receptionist will set it up. If we get a rapid influx of patients, she'll be called in to help out as will all doctors from surrounding areas."

"She's a shrink. Not a doctor."

Lauren chuckled, "She's a licensed Psychiatric physician, Bo."

"But I can't give the greenhouse chicken pox." Bo replied, "Can't I stay there?"

"I do not know if Faith was vaccinated. I don't know about her clients or her family who frequent her home. You could pass this to any of them – if you haven't already - and this disease is particularly dangerous in the elderly." Lauren cautioned.

Lauren shook her head, "Now, I'd better call Molly and find out if they've all been vaccinated. I'll have her check in with LJ and the Kennel staff as well. I also have to remember to call the school, local hospitals and clinics as well as our Department of Health."

Mary placed a hand on Lauren's shoulder, sensing the blonde's sudden panic over the potentially large number of infected patients, "We'll handle it all. I'll stay here with you until you handle your calls. Think of me as your temporary receptionist. I have to be here for the little one anyway."

Lauren's head snapped up as she suddenly remembered an appointment, "Oh, no! Greta! She came in for the interview. I'm sure they wouldn't have been able to afford vaccines for the family."

"We'll trace it back, Lauren. I'm with you." She smiled.

Lauren visibly relaxed as she nodded, "Thank you, Mary."

Taking a deep breath, Lauren sunk her hands into her coat pockets again and turned to Bo, "Give me a minute."

She walked to her desk and picked up her cell, dialing the hotel. Kenzi answered,

"Hey Doc. What's up?"

"Oh, the usual. Two a.m. research, emergency tourist case, Rudy has the chicken pox and a high fever, Bo was never vaccinated…"

"Oh, shit."

"Yup. She's not too happy about being quarantined at home alone. Care to take her on at the hotel? I mean… that is if you've either had chicken pox or been vaccinated."

"Doc, I've had every childhood disease known to mankind and nursed myself through them all since my no-good Mother was busy doing my stepfather's bidding. Boy did she have her priorities mixed up. That…"

Lauren shook her head as Kenzi went off on a Russian rant about her Mom. How Kenzi felt about her Mother was no secret, but Lauren was in a hurry,

"Kenzi!"

"Uh… sorry. Right. Bo at the hotel. Will she make my guests sick?"

"Is anyone in my old room?" Lauren asked.

Kenzi shook her head, "Nope. It's been empty for over a week now that tourist season is dying down."

"And her room?" Lauren asked, aware that her legal team had been staying there while the hospital was being completed, but they had talked about heading to Seattle for a while. She felt bad about not spending more time with them lately.

"Patrick and Penelope headed to Seattle last night after going out with the gang. I haven't heard from them since. Betsy and Stephen also headed back to Boston just after P-squared headed out…"

"P-squared?" Lauren asked.

"Yea, Patrick and Penelope. P-squared."

Lauren shook her head, "Are Betsy and Stephen really driving all the way back to Boston?"

"Betsy promised Stephen that if they flew here, she'd drive back with him. Guess she's a woman of her word."

Lauren shook her head, "I can't believe she agreed to that."

Kenzi laughed, "Yea, but she'll have the last laugh. She made a list of all of the things she wants to see in the Northern U.S. and planned their rest stops around them."

"Ohmagosh. Stephen hates traveling." Lauren laughed, "But that is sweet revenge for Betsy."

"She's a sharp one, that Betsy. She said she would connect Stephen to your meeting via FaceTime or Zoom with a nice backdrop of a scenic national park." Kenzi chuckled, "Now, about our BoBo… what's the plan? Sneak her in the back and tuck her away in your old apartment?"

"That depends. So you definitely had a full-blown case of chicken pox? A mild case could mean you're still at risk, so I want to be sure since you were an unsupervised child." Lauren insisted.

"Had 'em when I was five years old and I've got the pox scars to prove it." Kenzi replied.

"I can't believe your Mother left you alone that young. Unbelievable."

"Yup. Mother of the Year, that one. My Aunt Ludmilla stopped in once a day to make sure I was still alive."

Lauren shook her head. Hearing yet another horror story from Kenzi's childhood made her think of Elise – more certain than ever she had done the right thing having custody awarded to Molly and Mark.

"Okay, well the fact that you should be immune is great. Can you keep her isolated?" Lauren asked.

"You mean do I have a strong lock for the door, and can I wait on her hand and foot? It'll cost ya."

"Fine. What do you need?"

"Winter's coming and I'll need lots and lots of soup for my freezing cold customers."

Lauren rolled her eyes, "Boston Clam Chowder."

"Yup and lots of it." Kenzi said, knowing she had won big, "With extra helpings for Moi."

"You'll check on Bo at least five times a day?"

"Yes."

"You'll stop in for breakfast and before bedtime?"

"Yes."

"You'll sit with her and talk to her so she's not bored?"

"Yes." Kenzi said, but then asked, "Wait… are you not coming to see her? Ohmagosh – she really did screw up your relationship!"

"Relax, Kenzi. I'm just going to be busy with an epidemic of Rudy-pox-clones coming into the clinic. She probably infected half the school unless the kids were vaccinated."

"Oh." Kenzi said, the realization hitting her just before the irony of Lauren's statement, "Right. Because vaccines and medical access were so readily available around here before you came, Doc."

"Thank you for your sarcasm. Not helping. I believe what you meant to say is that I should brace myself." Lauren sighed.

"Sorry I don't have better news, Doc." Kenzi replied.

"It's not your fault, Kenzi." Lauren replied, taking a deep breath, as she mentally prepared herself for the work that was to come, "Okay, well, I'm going to get moving here. Bo will be there in a little bit. Do you have room in your kennel for a team of sixteen… plus six?" Lauren asked.

"She brought a team and a half?" Kenzi asked, surprised.

Lauren peered out the window, "When was the last time you looked outside?"

Kenzi shrugged, "Dunno. My windows are pretty much frosted over."

"Kenzi, there's about four feet of snow on the ground."

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say?" Lauren asked.

Kenzi sighed, "Doc, it's Southern Alaska, at the base of a mountain range. That's like a tiny, little, itty bitty snow drift in Boston. But that does mean that my guest snow machines are buried."

Lauren shook her head, then realized it was almost six a.m., "Right. Well, she'll be there soon. Get your kennels ready. Someone will pick up the dogs later today… or maybe they'll have to stay with you."

"I take it she'll have Harper and your dogs with her in her room?" Kenzi asked.

"Probably just Harper. My girls are getting pretty attached to the rest of the pack, so will probably settle in at the kennel rather than go up with Bo and Harper without me there."

"The pups?"

"They're having a sleepover with Elise and Janie. Thank goodness Mary said no to Rudy staying overnight there." Lauren said before looking up to see an impatient Bo staring at her, "I've got to go, Kenzi."

"Okay. I'll have everything ready. I've got to go too."

"Thanks, Kenzi."

"Yea, well just make sure you keep your end of the deal, Doc. Yummy."

"Boston Clam Chowder. Got it." Lauren chuckled.

Hanging up the call, Lauren rubbed her neck. It looked like she wouldn't get any sleep unless she got some downtime after her meeting. A nap would be great but she had so much to do. She sighed, beginning the short walk back over to her fiancé. She dreaded this conversation, but hopefully the musher would be able to focus on the positive. At least she'd be nearby where Lauren could stop over as she was able – which probably wouldn't be today. She paused where Carolyn and Shannon were standing by Rudy's bedside,

Thank you so much for coming in two hours early. I'm sorry…"

Carolyn waved her off, "Doctor Lewis, you know us better than to thank us. We knew what working here meant. Some days we get to leave early and some days, we'll be here for thirty-six-hour shifts. The patient load has been easy lately, so we're pretty much just making off for the easy load. Now, how can we help?"

"Make sure someone is monitoring Rudy while I go check on the surgical patients. Did someone follow the debris protocol on Mrs. Bonners infected wound?"

Carolyn nodded, "Kelly's still working on it. It's a mess."

Lauren nodded, "Okay then, if you can rearrange my schedule to accommodate the calls I've missed as well as the ones that are coming up – particularly Doctor Grace – that would be great. Tech maintenance is…"

"Three o'clock, I know. Maintenance check on the ultrasound machine and recalibrate the CT-scanner," Carolyn nodded.

"What would I do without the two of you?" Lauren smiled.

Carolyn shrugged, "Just keep an eye on your tablet and I'll keep inputting changes to your day as the need arises. Shannon will manage the surgical patients in your absence, and I'll handle the walk-ins and general care patients."

Lauren nodded, before walking over to Bo. Looking at the brunette, she could see the sadness in her eyes. This was going to be long few weeks.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Shannon, we are not waking her up! She hasn't slept in more than thirty-eight hours!" Carolyn whispered, though her flailing hands and crossed brows emphasized her anger at her partner's insistence that they wake their sleeping boss.

"But look at her, Carolyn! She's gonna fall out of her desk chair!"

Carolyn shook her head, "I don't care! We can roll her chair over and prop her against the wall, but you are not waking her up. We finally have a break. You wake her and she'll go back to work. Let her sleep!"

"Well, apparently Bo doesn't she hasn't slept since she is calling for the fifth time in as many minutes – only now she's switched to the damn land line!" Shannon replied, her voice breaking through the whisper for a moment until Carolyn slammed her hand over her mouth. "Look, I'm sorry, but Bo is not going to stop calling until she talks to Lauren."

"She's being a big baby, Shannon and you know it. She just wants to complain about having to be cooped up in her hotel apartment and that is the last thing Lauren needs right now."

Shannon sighed, "I have to admit, she is a little high maintenance. She's driving Kenzi crazy."

Carolyn nodded, "You know it's bad when Kenzi's begging for the 'old Bo' to come back."

"The backwoods scary Bo? No thanks. I've heard enough about her to know that would be the last thing any of us would want – especially Lauren." Shannon giggled.

"I hope you're not speaking of my fiancé in such a disrespectful manner... especially not in association with me because, for your information, I fell in love with – what did you call her – backwoods scary Bo?"

Carolyn and Shannon froze, their eyes set on each other as panic engulfed their faces. They slowly turned to see Lauren wiping the drool from her mouth and rubbing her neck.

"Uh… Doctor Lewis…" Carolyn began, "We… uh… well… you see…"

Shannon cut her off, "You know I'm a straight shooter, Doctor Lewis, so here it is. Bo isn't running a fever yet, she has no blisters. You've confined her as a preventative measure – one that any doctor would take. She's driving Kenzi crazy with the requests for company while the woman is trying to run a business. She's called your cell – which we silenced so you could sleep – twenty-seven times and called the land line of the clinic five times now in the last five minutes. She's being a little high maintenance for a grown ass adult considering you had wanted to confine her to the homestead where she would have had absolutely no one nearby. So, yes… we're all a bit frustrated with your fiancé and if we're not allowed to express that frustration just because she's about to be your wife… well, that's just unfair."

Lauren nodded, looking down at the drool on her desktop. She shook her head, reaching over to grab a disinfectant wipe from the container on her desk. She cleaned up the spot, but then decided she might as well just clean off the entire work surface as she spoke,

"I suppose you're right. This is our workplace and my personal life shouldn't be something you should have to deal with. So can I ask why you didn't wake me?"

Shannon began to speak, but Carolyn cut her off, stepping forward, "It was me. I wouldn't let Shannon wake you because – well, you haven't slept in over thirty-eight hours, Lauren. It's starting to impact your mood with these little kids we're treating and that's not fair to them. They didn't ask for chicken pox, but they did come here expecting sweet, caring Doctor Lewis… and a lollipop."

Lauren tossed the wipe in the trash and looked between the two women, her eyes finally settling on Carolyn, "I've really been that bad?"

Carolyn shrugged, "You've always asked me to be honest as your nurse and assistant. Have I ever lied to you?"

Lauren shook her head, "No."

Carolyn nodded, "Okay. Then you need to go home – and by home, I don't mean to the hotel, but I will accept the apartment upstairs as long as you stay there. Get some sleep, relax, eat some good food, watch a movie, put your feet up, read a smut novel..."

"Smut novel?" Lauren asked.

Shannon slumped, "Oh my gawd! Sex, Lauren! Read some smutty fiction paperback where two hot lady lovers get all hot and heavy! Do something that doesn't have to do with being a doctor or serving others! Service yourself for once!"

Carolyn slapped Shannon who suddenly realized what she'd said, "Uh… that's not what I meant… I mean… well, frankly, that might actually be a good idea since Bo's gonna be out of commission for a while. It's a proven stress reliever…"

Carolyn slapped her partner again, this time harder.

"Ow-a! Stop hitting me!" Shannon replied.

"I'll stop hitting you when you stop making Lauren feel uncomfortable. You know she doesn't like to talk about sex."

Lauren scowled, "I'm a physician! I have no problem talking about sex."

Shannon laughed, "Yea, if we want to talk to the doctor."

"What?" Lauren asked.

"Oh, come on, Lauren. You've got so many hang ups about sex, it's unreal."

"I do not!" Lauren denied, shoving her hands deep into her lab coat pockets.

"You do, but that's a topic for another time. You need to get out of here. That's an order." Shannon stated emphatically until she saw the look on the doctor's face, "Okay, so you're the boss you give the orders…"

Carolyn covered for her partner, "Only you're not the boss right now. You're our friend who is incredibly overworked, exhausted and in desperate need of sleep, so yes – your faithful nurses are giving the orders tonight."

Shannon nodded, "We've got things covered here and Doctor Mallie is on in another hour or so."

Lauren frowned, "I thought she was covering the Anchorage clinic?"

Carolyn shook her head, "You gave me permission to rearrange schedules, so I did. I spoke with the entire team of doctors so that they would know what you were handling here."

"You told them about Bo?" Lauren asked, horrified at how they would see her if they knew her personal life was interfering with her work.

"I told them that you had a family situation that you were trying to juggle with this. I didn't disclose any personal medical information. Besides, they were all more concern about the potential exposure to the community. I suppose when this first happened, none of us considered the possibility of so many being unvaccinated. We've added a line note on all patient charts to verify vaccination backgrounds. So far, most don't have any recollection of their vaccines and practically none have written records."

Lauren shook her head, "Honestly, I never thought to look for that either – it's why I didn't want this job when Evony first offered it. I'm not a Primary Care Physician. The consult Evony brought in as a Family Medicine Specialist last year should have caught that – and done charts on every member of this community. I have no idea what she was paying him to do."

Shannon signed off on a chart, and smirked, "Another thing to thank Evony for."

"Well, I'd be willing to bet he she paid him to do a lot of fishing." Carolyn smirked, turning to look at the large fish mounted on the wall, "If old George Haywell didn't love that thing so much, I'd take it and throw it back in the lake."

Lauren shook her head, "You will do no such thing." She chuckled, "But feel free to wrap it up for George for a Christmas present. He can hang it over his fireplace, and we'll be rid of the damn thing."

Shannon gave the doctor a high five – which Lauren missed, "It's okay, Doc. Keep working on it. One day you'll land a nice, solid five."

Lauren turned to Carolyn, "Let's see what kind of records Anchorage has on these people. They did travel to the remote clinic before Evony opened this one. Maybe they did their vaccinations. If not, we can at least hope for some basic medical records that would allow us to start building patient histories."

"This to-do list just keeps growing." Carolyn replied, writing notes while Lauren just shook her head and took a deep breath,

"Well, we'll be playing catch up, but let's get to ordering vaccines. Start with childhood diseases and then go on to the standard STI panels and…"

"Doctor Mallie already placed the order, Doctor Lewis." Carolyn interrupted.

Shannon spoke, "We're getting a campaign going – and we're stealing Bo's new accountant with LJ's permission – to get some help with creating the pamphlets and posters."

Lauren rolled her eyes, "Bo is not going to be happy about that. She's just started working there."

Carolyn shrugged, "LJ said she needs Bo to sign off on a few things, so they're at a standstill until she comes back to work."

Lauren hesitated, thinking that Bo wouldn't like that either, "Carolyn, make a note for me to call Kyle about signing off on things for LJ until my lovely fiancé it back at work, "She turned to Shannon, "Okay and this campaign… what's that about?"

"Vaccinations. We're clarifying the misnomers and starting with the youngest in the population. After talking to Molly and Mark, we've learned that access has been a real issue, so Doctor Mallie has taken steps to order estimated quantities of each childhood vaccine that we believe our community will need… and she wants your permission to open a lab here in town. She was going to email you and Stephen with detailed plans after our call. I would think she's done that by now, so if he agrees, she just needs your okay to move ahead."

"And when was that?" Lauren asked, opening her laptop.

"It was about two hours ago, but Doc…"

"Two hours? You let me sleep for two hours?"

Carolyn shook her head as she stepped to Lauren's desk and closed the laptop, "Stop it. Stop it right now. You're exhausted. You're making mistakes, Lauren. You need to sleep."

"Doctor Lewis." Lauren spoke, her tone firm.

"No, it's Lauren. You are officially off the clock and we all agreed - it's Lauren during off-hours and Doctor Lewis in our professional setting."

There was a long moment of silence as Lauren moved her gaze between the two women until Shannon finally spoke,

"We called Stephen."

"You WHAT?"

Carolyn shook her head, "Give it up, Lauren. Just stop. Geezus, you're as stubborn as Bo!"

"I am not!" Lauren defended.

"You are. You're not listening to us and worse yet, you aren't respecting our judgement which is insulting." Shannon exclaimed, her voice raised and fists balled, "Carolyn is right. You need to sleep and you have a partner in this business for a reason. Stephen will handle the supervisory role for now."

"He's coming back?" Lauren asked.

Carolyn nodded, "Yes and you owe Betsy a really, really nice dinner since we interrupted theirs."

Lauren sighed as Shannon explained what Carolyn had been doing, "Our little Lynnie here has worked miracles with shifting the schedules of the doctors and nurses to cover all of us through the duration of this outbreak. No one is going to work more than an eight-hour shift. Everyone will have at least twelve hours off. We all need to stay healthy to handle the community."

Carolyn nodded her agreement, speaking softly to try to calm the situation. Lauren did not like giving up control, and it was her job as her assistant to help with that,

"Yes and you hired Doctor Mallie because of her expertise in infectious diseases. No, disrespect, but his is her wheelhouse, Lauren – not yours. You can oversee her decisions with Stephen when he's not available but for now, you need to sleep so that you are able to properly supervise what's going on here. Let Doctor Mallie handle the initial steps."

"But…"

Carolyn shook her head, "You really do need to let her take the lead on this, Lauren."

"Here…" Shannon held up a hand, turning to walk back to the Nurses' station. She grabbed two files, walked them back to Lauren and slammed them down on her desk,

"Open them."

"What?"

"Open them. Go on, open them!"

Lauren took a seat and opened the two charts side by side as Shannon spoke, "Look at the admission times on both patients."

Carolyn spoke carefully, "Those are my initials. I crossed out the times and entered the actual times. After we found those errors, we double checked all of your charts. We made time corrections on seven others before we decided to check everything on each chart."

Shannon explained, "Look down at the diagnosis."

Lauren's eyes skimmed the notes she'd written, noting the handwriting barely resembled her own.

Carolyn explained, "You were suddenly dealing with cases of measles. You probably didn't notice, but I disconnected your laptop from the Wi-Fi so that none of your record entries would send to the state database. The County and State Board of Health would have been here in a blink if we were dealing with a measles outbreak."

Lauren shook her head, "I… I don't…"

"You don't remember?"

"No." Lauren said with a sigh, "I guess I'm pretty tired. Thank goodness I didn't attempt any surgeries."

Shannon smiled and nodded, "Lauren, I wouldn't have let that happen. Now, go up to your apartment. Get some sleep… a lot of sleep. We'll make sure you're not bothered by anyone."

"No one's up there?"

Carolyn shook her head, "Stephen and Betsy are going to stay at the hotel. Kenzi is already prepping your old apartment for them."

"Near Bo's apartment?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, Lauren. Betsy had the chicken pox when she was a kid. She's going to look after Bo and put the smackdown on her when she's being annoying." Shannon chuckled until she saw Lauren's face, "Those are Kenzi's words, not mine."

Lauren's face softened a bit as she picked up her phone, "Wow. She really did call…"

"A lot." Carolyn finished, "Now go. Talk to Bo for a few minutes but get some sleep. We'll see you bright and early tomorrow at..." Carolyn searched the schedule, "Okay, so not so bright and early. You're on the eleven to seven shift."

"Wow. I don't think I've ever started work that late in my life. Are you sure…" Lauren began, but Carolyn cut her off, shaking her head,

"I'm sure, Lauren. Just have your phone near your bed in case something comes up that we need your approval or expertise. Molly left some homemade soup and fresh-baked bread up there for you. She changed the sheets and cleaned things up… vacuumed, dusted… the usual."

"She didn't have to…"

"Accept it, Doc. It's what families do for each other." Shannon smiled, "Now… run along and get started on that sleepy time."

Lauren lowered her eyes to the charts, slowly closing them. She'd made careless errors and recognized the danger of that as a physician. She stood and walked past the two women, but turned back,

"Thank you. Both of you. What you did… well, no one has every stood up to me like that and… well, you were right to do so. I appreciate both of you as Nurses, so I'm sorry if I was intolerable to work for today." Lauren went to walk away, but turned back again, "I also appreciate you as friends… and your ability to separate the two worlds."

Carolyn and Shannon leaned in against each other, smiling as Carolyn offered a sincere, "We will always do anything we can to support you – both as Doctor Lewis and our friend Lauren."

Shannon laughed, "You're our sister from another missus and mister!"

Lauren smiled, turning away to head up to her apartment. She reached the bottom of the stairway and heard the phone ring followed by a collective groan from the pair. Shannon called out to her,

"Please don't forget to call Bo so she stops calling us!"

Lauren waved over her head. As she scaled the stairs, she was suddenly looking forward to some fresh soup and bread. She was especially ready for the sleep that was to follow. She opened the door and smiled as her eyes traveled over the apartment that had been fully renovated for her after the fire. At least Evony had done that much for the town. Lauren still found it hard to stomach that her former boss had left physician, medical services and construction contracts unpaid and patient bills unsettled. Thankfully, their settlement handled all of those payments for the citizens and businesses of the town as well as the health insurance companies.

Lauren walked slowly through the space, smiling at the photo frames she had gradually added to the wall. She had only slept here three or four nights a week after the fire – and gradually much less after that, but still – this would always be her first Alaskan home. Even though it wasn't the original, it still felt like the place where she had weathered her first winter storm… the place where she recovered from her first sled run… the place where she and Bo first made love. She closed her eyes as memories of the night rushed through her mind. That night, every inch of her body was cold as ice from hypothermia, but the contrast of Bo's firm, strong, warm body against hers was a sensation she would never forget.

She chuckled to herself, thinking of what Shannon had said earlier. No, Lauren didn't need smut novels. She had Bo Dennis and Bo Dennis could do things that an author could never dream up for characters in a book. No, Lauren's fiancé was fire and ice, passion and peace, love and lust or any other mix you could dream up. She could be fucking Lauren's brains out one minute and in the next, bring her to climax in the most loving and gentle way. No, a smut novel would never hold a candle to the reality that was Bo Dennis.

Lauren ran her hand across the books on the shelf, a finger landing on an old romance novel. She paused, laughing to herself, "Well, since Bo is in quarantine, Shannon may have a point… this might at least pass the time."

Lauren chuckled, pulling the book from its place and laying it on the table for later. Her gaze moved past the bookshelf to the next section of frames, stopping at another picture of her lover. This one was a picture of Bo with her dogs that Lauren remembered taking from the window of the clinic soon after their first night together.

They were basically friends with benefits at that point. Of course, 'friends' was a strong word for their relationship back then. Bo didn't have friends. She didn't have family. She had people who traded for her furs and skills. They were people she protected and people who were her business partners in her construction company, her work as a guide, her trading partners and her sled team. Other than that, Bo disappeared into the woods each night - or into the hotel if she was staying in town. Of course, she might even bed down with her dogs in the old barn if the mood hit her.

Lauren lifted the next picture from the sofa table, her finger tracing the dark mane of hair, "You look so angry… so dark. This is how I found you… how you'll never have to be again."

Lauren smiled, "Of course, it's funny that you are the one I fell in love with. I didn't exactly trust you back then, but I loved you… damn I loved you. I was terrified of what I felt for you – not just because I thought you were too antisocial to be in a relationship… okay, face it, I thought you were the Alaskan version of Tarzan to my Jane…" Lauren chuckled, shaking her head, "I didn't trust myself. Nadia had told me so many times that our divorce was my fault… I thought I wasn't capable of love."

Replacing the picture, Lauren again turned to the wall, smiling when her eyes landed on a picture of them right after they became engaged,

"When I think about who you were when we met – hell, when I think of who I was when we met – I still can't believe we have what we have now. I can't believe we're going to have a life together." Her eyes filled with tears, "I love you so much, Bo Dennis. We're a little out of sync right now, but I know we're meant to be… I know we'll be okay. As long as we're both alive in this world, we can't not be together. We're just… inevitable."

Her phone buzzed on the table. She immediately rushed over and looked at the screen. She grinned and picked up the device,

"Hey there." She smiled.

"Hey there? That's all you have to say? I've called you about fifty times!"

Lauren rolled her eyes, shaking her head, "Do you know I was just looking at the pictures on the wall, tables and shelves in my clinic apartment? I was looking at the one that I took after our first night together. I was a popsicle and you were like a wildfire beside me. I can still feel your warmth when I think about that night… about my skin pressing against yours for the first time."

There was silence. Lauren smirked, "And you didn't call me fifty times, but even if you did, I told you that I wouldn't be able to talk to you if I was with patients."

"Really? All day?"

Lauren nodded before she realized Bo couldn't see her. She really was exhausted, "I know that Shannon and Carolyn talked to you, Bo so don't start something that will cause me to hang up on you. I'm not doing this. I warned you this was going to be difficult. If you're going to make things hard on everyone who cares about you, I'm going to have LJ strap you to his sled and take you back to the homestead where you can shout at the world all by yourself."

"You wouldn't."

"I would. You're driving everyone crazy, Bo. We've all got jobs to do – very busy jobs, especially with almost one hundred potential infections. Remember that when you call the clinic, you are calling a place where I am working… where people expect me to give them my undivided attention. Besides, you have a job to do too."

"Oh?"

Lauren smiled, "You have to get better and as long as you're pinned down at the hotel, you could call LJ and check on things he might be able to email you for approval. Or, an even more pressing matter – you could call your Mom and start working on plans for our wedding. She spent most of the day just sitting here staring at Rudy once we got everything organized… unless you've changed your mind about getting married."

"Maybe I have. You're being pretty mean to me. Is this how it's going to be after we're married?"

Lauren smirked, "If you're going to be a needy, stubborn nag, yes. If you're going to be the Bo Dennis I fell in love with, then no."

"I don't think I know who that Bo is anymore." Bo replied, her voice cracking a bit.

Lauren sighed, "You've got a lot going on this last little while. You just need to rest and focus on something positive."

"Will you stop being mean to me?" Bo asked.

Lauren shook her head, "If you start being realistic with the calls, yes because otherwise, I'm going to have to buy a phone company." Lauren laughed, but when Bo started stuttering out a reply she knew she had taken her comment to heart. She quickly added, "Bo, calm down. I'm just kidding. This is just temporary, Sweetie. You're going to be fine. But seriously, I am worried about you. I really think that you should call Doctor Gray."

"I know."

"You do?" Lauren asked, surprised.

"Of course. I'm being a pain in the ass because I don't like being alone."

"That's perfectly normal, Bo."

"Now you know this is not normal. Not for me. You do remember that I was alone in the world with my dogs since I was a teenager, right? Now I'm sitting here practically in tears because I have to sleep without you again tonight and it hasn't even been three days!"

Lauren smiled, "That's adorable."

"It's pathetic." Bo pouted her reply.

Lauren giggled, "Like a puppy and puppies are adorable."

"Harper is downstairs with Kenzi. Even she turned her back on me." Bo whined.

Lauren laughed, "Kenzi is probably feeding her steak."

"Yea, well how do I compete with that? I don't have any steak for her."

Lauren smiled, "You wait until Harper has had her fill, then you give her what no one else ever has."

"What's that?" Bo asked.

"Your special brand of love."

"Now who's being adorable." Bo smiled.

Lauren shrugged, walking to the stove and smelling the fresh bread in the basket. She broke off a piece before moving to the icebox to pull out the soup. She turned on the propane stove and set the pot on top to heat before taking a bite of the bread,

"Mmmm."

"What?" Bo asked.

"Molly's fresh bread."

Bo smiled, "I ate a whole loaf by myself."

"You didn't!"

"I did. I'm going to gain a hundred pounds being locked in like this."

"No, you won't because you're going to control yourself, Bo Dennis. You have training runs coming up."

"Shit."

"What?"

"I didn't think about what would happen if I actually have the pox. I'm going to miss a month of training."

Lauren shrugged, "Yes, you will for as long as you have a fever, but after that, you'll be able to go out on training runs as long as you're not near others. You might feel a bit run down, but it won't hurt you or anyone else if you go. LJ and your Mom can run the dogs as well to be sure they cover the distance you want them to cover each day. In the meantime, you can certainly still do the workouts you do in the mornings at the homestead. You don't have rafters, but I'm sure you can find a way to workout."

"Who will run the store if I have pox?" Bo asked.

"Bo, they'll set up a schedule as always. Kyle will handle it. Don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay." Bo groaned.

"Well, I'm going to have some dinner and get some sleep."

"Carolyn said you haven't slept a wink in almost forty hours. That's not good."

"She wasn't supposed to tell you that." Lauren said, stirring the soup.

"Well, she did and that's not good. Who will take care of me if you're sick?"

Lauren laughed, "Kenzi."

"Ha. Ha."

"I'll be fine, Bo. They've given me a twelve-hour reprieve. I'm going to sleep a little and set my alarm in time to call Anchorage for your Mom's test results."

"My Mom went to Anchorage?"

"No, silly. I sent her bloodwork there since we don't have a lab… yet."

"Yet?"

"Yes, apparently we're opening a lab in town. Stephen's on his way here to meet with Doctor Mallie about the

Details."

"So no more flying blood back and forth?"

"Nope." Lauren smiled, "I protested when I first heard, but now that it's sinking in, it will be much easier. I've just got to find Lab Techs and Phlebotomists now."

"Phleb whats?"

"The people that draw the blood, Bo."

"Oh." Bo replied.

Lauren ladled out some soup and grabbed a spoon and napkin. She broke off another piece of bread and went to her kitchen table. Placing the phone on the table, she put Bo on speaker,

"I can hear you slurping." Bo laughed.

"It's hot."

"It's good for you." Bo replied.

"It's good period. I wish I could cook like Molly." Lauren smiled.

Bo shrugged, "Go hang out in her kitchen for a few nights. She'll teach you."

"I have to find the time first."

"True."

"I'd still love to get some of those recipes you've made in the pit. I could live on that salmon dinner forever."

Bo laughed, "You and your salmon."

"What can I say. I'm a native Alaskan who just happened to be born on the east coast." Lauren smiled.

"So, you want me to plan our wedding?" Bo asked.

"Yes."

"Do you have a date for our winter wedding in mind?" Bo asked, "I mean, you should get to decide something."

"Christmas." Lauren replied.

"Christmas?" Bo asked.

"Or not." Lauren laughed.

"No, it's fine with me. Whatever you want. I was just surprised you wanted to get married that soon." Bo replied.

"Getting cold feet, Miss Dennis?" Lauren chuckled.

"Nah. I'm too hot to have cold feet."

"You are hot. The hottest musher in the whole of Alaska." Lauren teased, but Bo was silent.

"Bo?"

"Hm. What?" Bo responded.

"Bo are you alright?" Lauren asked.

"Actually, when I said I was hot, I meant… hot… like the temperature hot." Bo sat down in the recliner by the window, sliding it open a crack, "Uh… I don't feel so good. I think I need to lay down."

"Bo?" Lauren said.

"Tired. So tired." Bo said, slipping off to sleep, the phone hitting the floor with a thump.

"Bo? Bo? Bo!"

Lauren ended the call and quickly called Kenzi, turning off the stove and rushing down the stairs into the clinic. As she turned the corner at the base of the stairway, she ran into Shannon,

"Lauren Lewis! You are supposed to be…"

"I'm on the phone with Kenzi – she's running up to Bo's room. Shannon, Bo passed out while I was talking to her. She said she was hot – really hot. You know chicken pox is usually easy on kids, but in an adult…"

"I know, I know. Come on, I'll drive."

Lauren shook her head, "Bo said the roads were too bad. It's why she brought the sled…"

Shannon shook her head, "The plows have been out on the main roads. We'll be fine. Don't forget your medical bag. It's under your desk."

Shannon turned, quickly moving to Carolyn, "Bo's sick. I'm going with Lauren down to the hotel. You have things covered here?"

Carolyn nodded, "Go. Charlie and Sam will be here in ten minutes, so we'll be fine."

Shannon gave her partner a quick peck on the lips and moved to the Nurses' station to grab her backpack and truck keys. Holding them up to Carolyn, she began,

"I'm taking the…"

"Go!" Carolyn shouted, turning back to the patient in her care and taking a deep breath.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Talkeetna Hotel

Lauren entered the room to find a very worried Kenzi sitting beside Bo, both women on the floor. There was blood coming from Bo's forehead,

"Kenzi!" Lauren called out.

"Doc, I-I didn't know what to do! I came in and she was like this. I think she hit her head on the radiator when she passed out. I just… I tried to…"

"It's okay, Kenzi. We're here now." Lauren said, switching places with the younger woman. Shannon handed her a penlight which the doctor used to check Bo's pupils,

"Pupils dilated, but responsive. Probably just a little concussion."

"Thank God. No serious head injury." Shannon replied.

"Hopefully. It looks like she just grazed the edge of the heater. It's just this little cut," Lauren said, now analyzing the wound, "… well, it is a bit deep, so it's going to need a few stitches. Can you…"

"… handle the stitches? Yes." Shannon asked, already catching on to Lauren's train of thought. She dug through the medical kit while the doctor pulled out her stethoscope and electronic thermometer.

She checked Bo's heart, lungs and temperature before calling out the information to Shannon who would record the vital signs,

"Heart rate is rapid, lungs have fluid. She's got pneumonia. My bigger concern is that her temperature is almost one-hundred and five. That's an extremely high fever for an adult."

Kenzi's concern grew, "But she'll be okay, right? I thought she was just being moody! She woke up this morning and didn't eat breakfast. She didn't eat lunch or dinner yesterday. She just kept complaining that she missed you. She didn't tell me she didn't feel well, I swear!"

Lauren placed a calming hand on Kenzi's shoulder, "I believe you, Kenzi. It's okay. Chicken Pox symptoms tend to come on suddenly because the virus has already been in the body for several days doing its damage to the immune system."

"Here, Lauren." Shannon said, pulling back Bo's hair to reveal a small blister, "There's vesicles here, here and here."

The doctor nodded, "And along her arm up towards her neck on this side as well."

Shannon sighed, "So she's at day four or five then?"

Lauren shook her head, "A ten to twenty-one-day incubation period after exposure, early symptoms appear about two days after that, which is when a person feels general malaise…"

"Who's General Mayonnaise?" Kenzi asked.

Shannon shook her head, "You do try, but that's general malaise – a fancy word for feeling off your game."

"Oh. And it's named after a General?" Kenzi asked.

Shannon just shook her head while Lauren continued, "She would have started to feel body aches, fatigue, loss of appetite…"

"She really hasn't been eating like Bo usually eats." Kenzi replied.

Lauren nodded, "Now that you mention it, she ate LJ's beef stew the other day with us, had a few pieces of watermelon with Rudy, but that was about it before she came here."

Kenzi shrugged, "She ate a piece of bread and maybe a third of a bowl of stew since she got here."

"That's all?" Lauren asked.

Kenzi nodded as the doctor continued her exam, lifting Bo's shirt to find the tell-tale rash, had advanced further than she'd expected,

"Shit." Lauren said, "So there's still some papules, but almost everything has become a vesicle."

"Is that bad?" Kenzi asked.

Lauren shrugged, "It's just part of the disease Kenzi. My concern is that her fever is as high as it is already. This is just the start of the second phase of the Chicken Pox rash."

Shannon added, "There's usually up to five hundred of these papules, but it looks like Bo has more."

Lauren agreed, "Her case is severe, indeed."

"And that's bad?" Kenzi asked.

Shannon watched while Lauren began an I.V., but Kenzi wanted information.

"Will one of you please tell me…"

"Kenzi!" Shannon began, "This is serious, okay?"

"What! It's chicken pox! It's just a little kid disease! A little itching, a little scratching, a bunch of dots that become scabs and then it's gone and you have a few little scars! It doesn't kill people!"

Shannon stood, taking Kenzi away from Lauren, "Kenzi, like Lauren told you – this disease is serious in adults. That's why we were screening adults at the clinic first. She's already got pneumonia. It's rare, but she could also get meningitis, sepsis… Bo spent her life away from people. She may not have all of the immunities that the rest of us have. We were born and raised in a crowded city on the east coast and you have had people from all around the world visit your hotel. She's in trouble, Kenzi."

Shannon shook her head, lifting Bo's shirt to reveal more rash-covered skin. She looked up at Bo's friend,

"Kenzi, do you remember her complaining of anything other than being tired and having no appetite?"

"Uh… she had a headache… she said her joints hurt, but said it was probably because of being too out of shape for how hard she was pushing the sled the last few days before you stuck her in this room… and she was dizzy when she woke up this morning. Does that mean anything?"

Lauren turned to Shannon, "Did the acyclovir come in yet?"

Shannon shook her head, "It made it as far as the Anchorage post office this morning. It's supposed to be here tomorrow."

"That's not good enough." Lauren replied, picking up her phone.

"Hey, Doc. What's up?"

"Hi Kurt. Bo's sick with a very high fever. I also have Mr. Landry at the clinic and he's got a high fever as well. There's a drug that came into Anchorage today…"

"Is that the acyclovir?"

"Yes! Do you have it?" Lauren asked, hopeful.

"Not yet, but Dr. Mallie just sent me on an errand to get it. Apparently, old Mr. Landry's fever is dangerously high, so she needs to get him started on it right away."

Lauren nodded, "Same goes for Bo. Can you drop some off here before you go back up to the clinic?"

"Sure thing. I'm at the chopper now with passengers and the drugs. Give me about an hour. I'm trying to beat the storm."

"Storm?" Lauren asked.

"I guess you haven't looked outside. The weather broke about fifteen minutes ago, so I have clear skies, but there's a new front comin'. Hopefully we still have a couple of hours if we're lucky. Anything you're gonna need to take care of Bo, you'd better get there now, Doc."

"Got it. Thank you." Lauren replied, turning back to Bo, but Kurt continued.

"You bet. Can you make sure Kenzi knows too?"

Lauren looked at Kenzi, "Sure thing."

Kurt added, "Another thing, Carolyn called all medical personnel in – said they can bed in your apartment, the kennel or Mark and Molly's General Store. We'll figure it out."

The doctor turned to Kenzi, "Do you have any beds to spare for my medical staff tonight? Carolyn called everyone in because a bad storm is coming."

Kenzi nodded, raising a thumb to point towards the radio, "I just heard that before you got here. I have six rooms free – actually, make that five since Patrick and Penelope are apparently coming back with Betsy and Stephen."

Lauren shook her head, "I won't even ask how those two ended up with Betsy and Stephen. God, I hope they make it back before this storm hits. I'd hate for them to get stranded somewhere."

Kenzi shook her head, "They were almost here – I think Kurt was picking them up."

Lauren turned back to her call, "Kurt, did you pick up Stephen…"

"All passengers, present and accounted for, Doc. Stephen brought two new doctors back with him as well."

"Two new doctors?"

"Uh… he said 'almost doctors'. He called 'em residentials or something." Kurt replied.

"Residents?"

"Yea, that's it."

Lauren nodded, "Almost doctors is good enough. I'll give Stephen a call. Thank you."

"Gotta run, Doc. See you in a bit."

"Thank you, Kurt. I can't tell you how much…"

"Buy me a beer when I get there, Doc. I'm ready for a beer and some sleep."

"You've got it, Kurt. Fly safe."

"That's the plan. Kelly will kill me otherwise."

Lauren heard a chuckle and the sound of the chopper starting before the call was ended. She turned to Shannon,

"Kurt was already assigned to do the pickup by Dr. Mallie. He should be back in about an hour or so."

The Nurse nodded, "And until then?"

"Acetaminophen to lower the fever and – once she wakes up – oatmeal bath for what I'm sure will be very uncomfortable skin."

"Oatmeal?" Kenzi asked.

Lauren nodded, "Yes. What are the chances you have oatmeal here?"

"It's a staple here, Doc. I've got sacks of it in the kitchen. It's whole oats – not that instant stuff you buy back east."

"Perfect. Can you put some in one of the clean paint buckets you have down there and bring it up?"

"I'm on it, Doc." Kenzi said, "Anything else I can do for her?"

Lauren shook her head, "If you have another bucket and a plastic tarp, I could use some snow to try to bring her fever down."

"Snow? We've got plenty of that." Kenzi smiled, pointing towards the small window, "Just a bucket?"

Lauren looked at Bo. Her cheeks were very red, and she wasn't sweating, "I'm going to need to cover the bottom of the bathtub."

"Wow. That's… a lot of snow. I'll figure it out. Be back in a jiffy."

Shannon placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder, "Lauren?"

The blonde nodded, "Acetaminophen, fluids, ice bath to bring down the fever then switch over to an oatmeal bath for itching when she wakes up. Are you sure you want to be here and not at the clinic with Carolyn? There's a storm coming. It sounds like we're going to be here for a while."

"I'll call her and ask where she wants me for the night. I'm sure Stephen can roll up his sleeves and help at the clinic if necessary."

Lauren nodded, "He brought two Residents with him as well."

"That will help. I don't suppose he brought any new Nurses." Shannon suggested.

Lauren shrugged, watching as Shannon started the I.V. for Bo's bag of fluids, "They're in the budget but I'm pretty sure we're still interviewing. They're not exactly rushing here."

Lauren nodded, "I know that when I thought Alaska, I thought desolate, barren winter. I was hooked by her beauty as soon as I saw that my mountain I'll have to speak with Penelope about getting in touch with the Webmaster about beefing up the public relations stuff. I think an interview with you, Carolyn and Kelly might help. You three had your reservations but then voluntarily moved here."

Shannon smiled, "Lauren, we first came because we wanted to work with the best. We followed you. You're a talented physician and a fair boss… not to mention fair, compassionate, dedicated, professional…"

"Okay, how much time do you want off?" Lauren said with a smile.

Shannon chuckled, "I know it's completely unlike me to be mushy, but it's all true. I love my job. I love the people here. I love this land. I've never felt so challenged by work, yet so relaxed by life. We're very happy with our decision to move here, Lauren. You've changed our lives for the better."

Lauren smiled, brushing a stray piece of hair from Bo's face, "I'm glad I could help."

"So, what are your thoughts?" Shannon asked, sitting cross-legged facing the doctor.

Lauren stared straight ahead, her eyes set on Shannon's as they each thought things through silently. Finally, the blonde spoke,

"I wish she would wake up so that I could ask her about the headaches. I'm concerned about how long she's been unconscious… I mean… is she unconscious or just asleep? I don't know without running an EEG."

"If only we had one." Shannon replied.

Lauren nodded, but had no suggestions at the moment. Shannon, on the other hand, had an idea,

"We could do sensory response. At least we'd know which ones are more responsive than others."

Lauren nodded, "That's one idea… anything else?"

Shannon shrugged, "Blood pressure is normal?"

"A little low, but that's normal for Bo."

"Elite athlete, all-natural diet so no excess salt."

Lauren nodded, "Her bloodwork is always amazing."

Shannon nodded, "I'm jealous."

They sat silently once more before Lauren spoke again, "Maybe we should take her back to the clinic. If we get stuck here and she gets worse…"

They both turned towards Bo when they heard her groan, "Mmmm… what the… my head is pounding."

The brunette raised her hand to her forehead, but Shannon stopped her, "Bo, you hit your head. Can you tell us where it hurts?"

"Hmmm… what?" Bo's eyes barely opened, "Shannon? What are you doing here? What's happening? Why am I on the floor? I was… I was talking to…"

"I'm here, Bo." Lauren said, moving to Bo's side and taking her hand.

The brunette turned towards her, "Lauren… I don't feel so good."

"I know, Sweetie. Tell me about your head."

Again, Bo lifted her hand, but again, Shannon stopped her, "Bo, we need to know if it just hurts on your forehead."

"Forehead, side head, what does it matter?" She asked, trying to sit up, but deciding against it.

"Does your neck hurt or the lower part of the back of your head?" Lauren asked.

"No. Just the front and a little on the side." Bo replied, "But I feel like my face is on fire. I'm so… hot. Like, really, really burning up. And tired. I feel like I could sleep for a year."

Lauren nodded, "Bo, you have the Chicken Pox."

"Chicken pox? Then why do I feel like I was run over by a team of thirty dogs?"

"Remember that I told you in adults, it can be very dangerous." Lauren reminded.

"Well, you'd better marry me now then because I feel like I'm gonna die." Bo said, "I've never felt this bad in my life. It feels like a super bad flu."

Lauren nodded, "I know, Sweetie, but Shannon is going to give you some Acetaminophen to try to bring your temperature down. Then we're going to give you a nice cold bath."

"Cold?" Bo asked, "I've already got chills."

Lauren explained, "I know, Bo but we have to. Your fever is pushing closer to one hundred and six. If we don't do something soon, you're going to fall asleep and we may not be able to wake you up. Getting your fever down is crucial."

Bo's eyes went wide, "Is that Yuji?"

"Who?" Lauren asked, "Bo, there's no one here but me and Shannon."

"Yuji. My Mom's lead dog. She's laying there with Harper." Bo replied.

"Where, Bo?" Shannon asked.

"Right there! On the sofa!" Bo insisted.

Both the doctor and nurse followed Bo's finger to a small stool in the corner of the room before looking at each other and shaking their heads.

"This is going to be a long night." Shannon said, Lauren nodding her agreement before Kenzi entered the room with two of her employees.

"We've got everything you asked for as well as a thermos of Bo's Mom's special tea. She said it's been helping Rudy's symptoms – particularly the fever."

Lauren took the thermos, "We'll let her sip the tea while she's in the bath. Come on. Let's get her in there."

"Men. Let's help them get Bo into the bathtub." Kenzi ordered.

"I'll need help with the tarp and ice. That goes in first." Lauren added.

Kenzi nodded, "I didn't have enough buckets, so the ice is in the tarp. Is that okay?"

"Perfect, actually. Bring it in, guys." Lauren said, leading the way to the bathtub, "Just lift the entire tarp up and put it into the tub."

The guys did as asked before Lauren and Shannon pulled the tarp from the tub, making sure the entire basin was covered with snow, "Now, we'll put this tarp on top so that Bo's skin doesn't get burned by the ice."

The pair worked together to lay the tarp over the snow, smoothing the wrinkles out and making sure the drain was clear so the snow would run out of the tub as it melted from Bo's intense body heat. Once finished, they lifted Bo, clothing and all, into the bath, laying her atop the large sheet of plastic. She shivered almost immediately,

"Okay, Bo. This is going to be cold, but we've got to get that fever down." Lauren explained, looking up at Kenzi, "Do you have an electric blanket?"

Kenzi nodded, "On my bed."

"Get it, please?"

She nodded and headed for the door, "Just tell those guys where you want those buckets of oatmeal."

Lauren gave a nod to Shannon who set to the task of getting the oatmeal moved where they needed it while the doctor did her best to comfort Bo.

"My whole body feels like I was lying in a field of poison ivy." Bo said, teeth chattering.

Lauren smiled, "I know, Bo. We're going to give you a warm oatmeal bath after we get your fever down. It will help. If we can't get your fever down and the itching gets too bad, let me know and we'll start painting you with calamine lotion."

"Ooh. Sexy." Bo said, her head falling back against the tub, "I'm going to sleep now."

"No, Bo. Please stay awake."

"Then you'd better talk to me…"

"No, Bo. You talk to me. If I'm doing the talking, you'll just fall asleep."

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting to hear your voice all day." Bo gave a weak smile.

"I know and I'm sorry, Sweetie."

"Did you sleep yet?" Bo asked.

Lauren shook her head, "Let's just worry about you first."

"That's a big no then. Lauren, I shouldn't have to tell you that the human body has limits."

The doctor nodded, "I know all about the limits of the human body. I'm the doctor, remember?"

"Shannon, send her to bed, please. She needs to sleep." Bo said.

Shannon laughed, "There's no way she's sleeping right now, Bo. Once we get you under control and back to sleep, I'll make sure she sleeps as well."

"Deal." Bo replied, turning to Lauren, "Lauren, I'm really, really cold. I don't think I can do this."

The brunette wrapped her arms over her chest while shivers wracked her body.

"Here, Bo. I need you to take these for me." Shannon said, giving Bo two prescription strength Acetaminophen and a few sips of water.

"What was that?" Bo mumbled, closing her eyes.

"Something to get your fever down. When Kurt gets here, we'll be giving you an anti-viral that should help with the symptoms as well." Lauren explained.

"Great. Still incredibly cold. Are you sure we have to do this?" Bo asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. So how about you tell me something that will make you think of being warm?" Lauren asked.

Bo smiled, "Being in your arms. Being in the sun at your beach house in Provincetown. Summer on the dock at the lake. Summer sitting by the river watching the dogs play in the water. Spring nights by the fire listening to you tell me how much you loved the salmon dinner I made for you. Molly's soups and stews…" she lifted her hand towards Lauren's voice, "…your love… your love makes me warm."

Lauren smiled, but stopped when she saw Bo's head drop to the side, "Bo! Bo! Wake up!"

The brunette's eyes flew open, "Lauren?"

"Stay awake, Bo."

"Wh…where am I?"

Lauren's eyes filled with tears, "You're in your room at Kenzi's."

"The snow is so deep."

The blonde nodded, taking Bo's hand and lifting it to her cheek, "I know. There's a front coming in."

"Early for this time of year. Get the dogs. Use Harper on the lead next to Yuji instead of Yara. She's a good old girl, but it's time for Yara to retire. Harper will take over."

"Who is Yuji?" Shannon whispered.

Lauren shook her head, "I don't know either of those names… only Harper."

"Bo, I don't know who Yuji and Yara are, Sweetie."

"Sure you do, Mom. They're you're leads. You said you wanted to retire Yara. Put my Harper there. She won't let you down."

Shannon shook her head, "She's hallucinating, Lauren."

The blonde clenched her teeth, "Bo, do you know who I am? Open your eyes, Bo. Open your eyes."

"I can see just fine."

"Open your eyes, Bo."

Lauren reached up and lifted Bo's eyelid, making sure her pupils were still responsive, "I don't think we're going to be able to keep her awake. How long until Kurt is scheduled to arrive?"

Shannon checked her watch, "Another fifteen or twenty minutes, maybe."

"We don't have that kind of time." Lauren said, her voice filled with a sense of urgency as she checked the brunette's pulse. She shook her head, "Rapid, thready pulse."

"Ideas?" Shannon asked.

Lauren stood, grabbing her coat and Shannon's, "Here. Put this on. Gloves and hat too."

"Uh… Lauren?"

The blonde walked to the other side of the room and threw open the window. The wind gusted and blew the lamp out, then followed with a whirl of snow,

"We're going to drop the temperature in this room."

"You're going to make her hypothermic, Lauren." Shannon replied.

Lauren nodded, "Not with her fever as high as it is, but we'll get her close. Either way, her temperature will be down."

"And her heart?"

"Her heart rate will slow which is better than where it is now." Lauren replied, releasing Bo's hand so that Shannon could feel her pulse.

"Wow."

"Yea. I've got to do something until that acetaminophen kicks in." Lauren replied, looking down at her fiancé, "Bo? Bo?" She tapped the brunette who finally responded,

"Not the lake."

"Bo?"

"I won't let you cross the lake."

"Okay, Bo. I won't cross the lake." Lauren replied.

"Good. Good."

"Bo?"

"I wish I was worthy." Bo mumbled.

"Worthy of what, Bo?"

"Mom? Mom! Mom! Harper!" Bo asked, "Lauren?"

"I'm here, Bo."

"I can't find you. I can't find you, Lauren. Did you leave? Did you leave me?"

Lauren's eyes welled with tears. Shannon placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before moving to the other side of the bathtub. She leaned down closer to Bo's ear and took her hand.

"Mom? Mom?" Bo asked, "Mom!"

"I'm here, Daughter." Shannon said, doing her best to mimic Mary's tone and words.

Bo smiled, "I'm glad I found you. They said you were dead. I knew you weren't dead. I knew it in my heart."

"You were right, Ysabeau." Shannon said, choking down the tightness in her throat. She needed to be strong for Lauren right now. She needed to stay focused on the job. Bo was a patient right now. Lauren was a doctor. Focus.

"I never gave up hope. I never gave up hope."

"You are so strong, Ysabeau." Shannon replied, hoping the words would allow Bo to summon up a little more strength to battle this virus.

"I used to be, but now that's just a mask I wear, Mom. I thought that family made people stronger, but with me, I've become weak – even Lauren thinks so. I almost got them all killed. The guilt… the guilt is too much, Mom. I live in fear that it will happen again… that this time… I won't be able to save them."

Shannon shook her head, "A family is a blessing, Ysabeau."

"They are… but I'm a curse… a wicked, dark curse on them sired by a man who is pure evil. He's in me, Mom. His evil lived in me for years. Did you know I killed men, Momma?"

Shannon and Lauren looked at each other before the nurse replied, "You had to defend yourself, Ysabeau. You were justified."

Bo shook her head, "I was seventeen. I was in the Yukon… gold country. I was working a mine to make extra money. We were paid in gold. I worked for a month, then left because I found a lead that you had headed northeast. Two men followed me from the mine. Their sleds were weighed down with all of their gold and equipment. I was carrying a full team of sixteen and had been training for my first Iditarod. I was turning eighteen and eligible to race in five months."

The pair watched as Bo grinned, "You would have been proud, Mom. I was fast. So fast."

Bo's hands reached up as if she were gripping the rail of a sled, the blanket falling to her waist. Lauren quickly pulled it up to her chest beneath her armpits as the brunette continued to speak,

"Still, they were gaining on me. I headed for a river crossing and banked hard right. One of them flipped his sled on the turn, spilling a bag of gold. The second one kept coming after me. He was yelling at me… telling me he was going to kill me and then have his way with my dead body. Gross, huh?"

Lauren lowered her lips to the top of Bo's head, "Gods, Bo."

"I couldn't… I was scared. I knew there was no one to help me. No one would find me. So, I reached down and pulled out my axe, removed the blade cover and waited for a long straightaway."

Shannon could see Bo's jaw clench as a long shiver rocked her body, but she continued, "I turned on the rails, double checking my balance. The man was laughing, still calling out to me. My axe was behind my back. I signaled the team to slow down, drawing him closer before using that underarm throw you taught me. It landed right in his neck."

Bo dropped her hands to her lap, "The look on his face… his smile turned to fear. It happened so fast. Then he pulled the axe out and fell off the sled. I stopped his team."

Bo looked up at Shannon, "Mom, do you think the Spirits forgives us? When we kill… will we still soar with the spirits when we pass into the afterlife?"

Shannon smiled, "I think we do, Ysabeau."

"I don't think I will. I did an evil thing… just like my Dad. I took his gold and his food. I took his dogs because I didn't want them to freeze to death. I didn't know if that other guy would come after me or not and I didn't want to wait around. I didn't bury the guy. I took my axe and then I searched him for a wallet. There was a picture. I still have it. I look at it once in a while. I think he had a wife and two kids. A boy and a girl. I wanted to find them. To tell them. But I didn't. I was afraid they would put me in jail. Do you think anyone ever told them that their Dad was murdered? Maybe it was his sister and he was an Uncle. Maybe it was his cousin. I don't know. I just know that I murdered a man who had family and I think the Spirits have cursed me for it."

Shannon scowled, "That is not true. The Spirits are not vengeful, Ysabeau."

Bo smiled, "You sound like Polly Porter, Momma. Remember how she always used to quote the Bible to us and tell us we were pagans for believing in the Athabascan Spirits and not the one true God and his son?"

Shannon nodded, "Yes, I remember, Child."

"I always wondered."

"Wondered what?" Shannon asked.

"Who was right."

"What?" Shannon asked, wondering if Bo was confused again.

"You know – who's right. Is there God? Does he have a son? Or are we right and there are Athabascan Spirits. Or are one of the other hundreds of religions or beliefs right? How do we know if we're on the right path?"

Shannon looked at Lauren who only shrugged. Shannon mouthed 'really' to the doctor who shrugged once more, so the nurse replied,

"I believe that whatever beings are guiding us live in our souls, Ysabeau. Labels are different for everyone but they're there for us no matter what we call them. The important thing is that they are from love and forgiveness. If we follow that path, we will find love and forgiveness."

Bo asked, "So when I die, they'll tell me I lived a good life even though I had Dads' darkness in me?"

Shannon paused, considering how to respond. She looked at Lauren whose eyes were now filled with tears and replied,

"Yes, because you also have my light."

Bo shook her head, "I think I'm all dark meat. Get it? Dark meat, not white meat? I'm dark inside."

Shannon palmed her face, dragging her fingers slowly down to cover her lips. Shaking her head, she asked her patient why.

"I killed another man. I took a bet and he drove a tin dog onto a lake and drowned. I knew it was going to happen, but I took the race anyway."

"Did you tell him to drive the machine onto the lake?" Shannon asked.

"I didn't not tell him."

"Ysabeau, out here, we all make choices. He made a bad choice. We all know crossing water is dangerous unless it's the dead of winter. There's never a guarantee." Shannon repeated the lesson Bo had taught the group of medical professionals early on in their time on Alaskan soil.

"I got my brothers killed. My brothers are dead because of me."

Shannon shook her head, "No. Your brothers are dead because of your Father. He led them down his dark path and they made the choice to follow."

Lauren whispered, "Her speech is slurred, Shannon."

"How much longer do we wait, Lauren?"

The doctor shrugged, "Five minutes."

Shannon gave her a nod, both women turning when Bo began to speak again, her words slow and difficult to hear as her teeth chattered from the cold,

"Dad's men attacked my h-homestead. I l-lost track of how many I k-killed, but one I remember. I left him bleeding… up on the mountain… across the river… probably still there… begged me to carry him down… to bring him… my doctor… she would save him… would have saved him. Sh-she would n-never let a patient… d-die. I didn't tell her. I never went back. I left him there… bleeding. I knew he would either bleed out and die or bleed enough to attract an animal who would eat him – alive or dead. I knew and I did nothing. I wasn't willing… t-to risk… L-Lauren. N-not her… fight. None of this… her f-fight. I'm bad… bad for her."

Shannon's words were sharp as she stressed her point to the brunette, "No. No, Bo. You knew and you did nothing because you were busy saving your family and friends. You knew and you did nothing because you were shot and almost killed in that fight. By the time you were conscious again, he would have been long dead. Even if Lauren knew, she would have chosen to save you… not him."

The Nurse looked up at her boss, wondering if she was right. What would Lauren have done?

Bo nodded, "It's a Mom's duty to excuse her child's mistakes, but really Mom – I'm a killer. I am darkness. I am evil – j-just like my Dad. The f-funny part is, I met this woman. This incredibly brilliant, beautiful s-soul who is goodness in its purest form. She thinks she l-loves me, M-Mom. She thinks she wants to m-marry me. She actually thinks I'm… worthy… of her... of her… t-time. I have no idea what she sees in me… but… pretty sure she'll f-figure me out."

Lauren's head snapped up, her eyes set on Bo as she continued,

"I'm not good enough for her, Mom. She's smart… so s-smart. She's got money. She's got so many people who love her. They love her. She's happy… generous… caring… strong… compassionate. She's a l-loving woman who is fun to be around. Mom… she is walking… talking… perfection. She is everything I'm not and s-so much more. You will love her." Bo chuckled, "You'll probably want to trade me for her. She would make a… m-much better… d-daughter for you."

Shannon shook her head, "I'm sure she's wonderful, Ysabeau, but no one could ever replace you. I'm sure that if she's fallen in love with you that you're perfect for her. If she's as smart as you say she is, she wouldn't just fall for any woman who comes along."

The pair turned when they heard Kenzi's voice, "Kurt's here!" She looked at the open window and the two inches of snow on the floor, "What the hell are you doing?"

Lauren shook her head, "I didn't have a choice, Kenzi. Her fever was still climbing, so unless you wanted your best friend to be dead, this was the only option. Now, I have what I need."

Shannon was already unwinding the bag of fluids and readying Bo's arms for the I.V. while Lauren pulled out the Acyclovir. Lauren put the fluids on ice so they would enter her patients' bloodstream cold and not start to raise the body temperature. She needed to continue to keep Bo cool until they could get her to the hospital where she had additional medications. Once everything was set up, the blonde turned to Kenzi,

"You can close the windows."

"Oh. Thank you for the permission to rescue my electric and propane bills!"

Lauren shook her head, "I'll pay the difference."

"Kenzi?" Came Bo's weak voice.

The brunette stopped, looking past Lauren to her friend, "BoBo?"

Lauren moved to her left, allowing the younger woman to kneel down next to Bo, "I'm here, Bo."

The brunette gripped the sides of the tub, trying to lift her torso as she opened her eyes and looked right at Kenzi. She blurted out the words, insistent as she spoke with a sense of absolute resolution,

"You have to stop Lauren, Kenzi. She can't marry me. I'm a curse. She'll die if she stays with me. She has to go back to Boston. I'm not good for her. I'm not worthy of her, Kenzi. You have to tell her. I love her so much that I can't tell her. I can't let her go. But you could tell her. She could let me go. She wanted to do it before. She could walk away. She could still save herself."

Tears streamed down the blonde's face as she packed up her medical bag. She stood, pulling on her coat before she grabbed her hat, gloves and goggles. She looked up at Shannon,

"I'm going back to my apartment. You'll stay with her until Kurt comes back to take her to the clinic?"

Shannon shook her head, "Lauren, you know this is just the fever. She doesn't mean what she's saying."

"Shannon, you've been listening to her rant for the last fifteen minutes. This is coming from the deepest recesses of her mind and memory. She may be wrong, but she believes what she's saying. Until she works through whatever this is in her conscious life… the wedding is off."

Lauren turned and walked from the room, leaving Kenzi with wide eyes, staring at an empty doorway. As Bo sagged back into the tub, her eyes falling closed, her friend caught her head, preventing it from slamming against the porcelain. The young hotel owner stood, turning to Shannon,

"What the hell just happened?"

Shannon sighed, her eyes set on the doorway as Lauren left, "Uh… well… um, Bo just said some… things."

"Things?" Kenzi asked, planting her hands on her hips.

"Yup. Things she's going to regret when she wakes up and realizes what she said. I think Lauren might have taken what Bo said the wrong way… well, at least I think it's the wrong way. I mean, Bo doesn't really believe she and Lauren shouldn't be together, does she?"

Kenzi's shoulders dropped as she shook her head, "Bo needs to worry less about her chicken pox and more about her damn foot in mouth disease! I swear that girl is her own worst enemy."

"Kenzi?" Shannon asked.

"Have you ever heard of the self-fulfilling prophecy? Bo Dennis is the Master."

Shannon sighed, watching as Bo's friend left the room, shouting Russian phrases. She looked around, noticing she was suddenly alone in the room. She threw up her hands, talking to no one in particular,

"Oh. I get it. Shannon will clean all of this up. Great. Just great."

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