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?

35. Chapter 35: Moving Forward

A/N: Disclaimer - I want to mention again that I am not a native Alaskan. My knowledge comes from research, travel experience and lessons from indigenous peoples I've met in those travels (very) loosely adapted to Lost Girl characters. If you have kids and want them to learn about Alaskan native culture, has a show called Molly of Denali. The show was developed in Boston with a group of Native Alaskan advisors - including elders – so is true to native culture. The show features fictional character Molly Mabray, a ten-year-old Gwich'in/Koyunkon/Dena'ina Athabascan girl. The producers have used only Alaskan Native voice actors to play the cast of six central characters. I'm not sure about availability from nation to nation, but the show airs on PBS Kids and PBS Kids digital platform in the US. Hopefully you can access it if you choose.

Be well, all!

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Chapter 35: Moving Forward

Bo's Truck, Four Hours Later…

Lauren sat staring out of the window from the passenger seat, watching the seemingly endless mountain ranges on the road to Anchorage. What was supposed to be a quiet meeting with Anna had become an impromptu meeting with Anna, Kate, Stephen and the rest of the doctors on staff. Not all at once, but in small groups. While it was unexpected, Lauren was honestly glad her plans were out in the open.

The first meeting was easy, but it was at the second meeting with Dr. Omar Robinson who was to be her Chief of Emergency Medicine that had her resetting her approach…

Flashback…

"… do you have any questions, Dr. Robinson?" Lauren asked after explaining that she would be leaving her position with the hospital in favor of running the Trauma Center in town.

He sat, clearly stunned upon hearing the news. Finally, he lifted his eyes to meet Lauren's, "Dr. Lewis…"

"Lauren."

He shook his head, "You called me Dr. Robinson, so if you don't mind, I will address you as Dr. Lewis during this… difficult… conversation."

"Difficult?" Lauren asked.

He heaved a great sigh before he spoke, "Dr. Lewis, you drew me to this iceberg of a state with a salary that matched the best offer I've ever had, state of the art equipment and the chance to run the E.D. my way."

Lauren nodded, looking at Stephen before turning back to Omar, "We want all of our doctors to have the best chance to succeed in a challenging environment."

"I understand and appreciate that sentiment…"

"It's not just a sentiment, Doctor Robinson. It's the reality we've created for you," Lauren defended.

"Yes, but the biggest selling point for me was that you were to be my mentor. I would be watching those reputable hands reach into the chest of gunshot victims, elderly patients, small children with heart defects and anyone else who walked through those doors," he shook his head, "I was going to learn from the best. I was going to learn faster, more efficient methods that would push emergency medicine to a new level. Now you tell me you're taking your talents back to a clinic setting?"

Lauren's mouth dropped open and not a sound came out, but thankfully, Stephen was there to respond,

"Doctor Robinson, I've been here for half the time that Doctor Lewis has, but I assure you that the need for a Trauma Center is very real. To have a dedicated surgeon for that purpose will prevent your E.D. from being overrun with cases that you would have to divert to a smaller hospital or worse, to Seattle. While Lauren is known as the world renowned cardiothoracic surgeon, she actually started out as a Trauma Surgeon. It is her first love."

"Really?" Omar asked, turning his attention to the blonde.

"Yes. My career began in the military. During my first job in an E.D. on American soil, I used a shortcut I'd invented in Afghanistan to… well, long story short, it improved oxygen flow to cardiac tissue long enough for us to get soldiers to legit hospitals in Germany. A battlefield isn't exactly the best place to crack a chest."

He smiled, "I'm can only imagine, but can I ask why we aren't just opening a trauma center at the hospital?"

Lauren looked at Anna who nodded. The blonde took a deep breath before turning to the surgeon,

"If I can be completely honest with you… Omar, I need a break. For more than a decade, I worked for a woman who flew me all over the world to exploit my talents. I sacrificed everything for the job and… well, I'm just…"

"Burned out?" he asked.

Lauren smiled, "I think… stale is a better word. I was forced into a job and a reputation I never wanted because…"

"It improved her bottom line. Say no more… Lauren," he smiled, "I worked for her too. You remember that gap in my resume you asked about?"

Stephen laughed, "We assumed but didn't want to ask just in case you were one of many who had signed a non-disclosure agreement."

Omar nodded with a grin, "I did, but I'm not afraid of her anymore… thanks to you, Lauren."

The blonde smiled, "It wasn't enough to expose her, Omar. If I could, I would hire every doctor who ever worked for her who felt as all of us do. Stephen and I set out to build a healthcare system that is idealistic. I'm sure there are plenty of naysayers, but when I left medical school, I had a fire in me that was doused within one year by politicians and health insurance companies. The following year it was the pharmaceutical industry that put a nail in the proverbial coffin of all my hopes and dreams of medicine."

"So you've opened up coffin?"

Lauren laughed, "Ironically morbid, but yes. What will it take to keep you here, Omar?"

He smiled, "The explanation is enough, Lauren. I'll meet you half was with a little understanding and a request that you let me spend some days at your Trauma Center to work side by side with you."

Lauren smiled, "Deal."

"Deal," He replied, shaking her hand before he asked, "Are you okay?"

Lauren turned to Anna, "Well, I have the support I need to work through some of the issues I'm dealing with. I suppose that I've had more change and trauma in the past several years than I had cared to admit. I mean, let's face it, doctors as a species are their own worst enemies when it comes to self care, so not only am I taking care of my own mental health, but I'm also going to have Anna run groups for our staff."

He smiled, "I think that's a great idea," he turned to Anna, "I'd love to suggest a topic… or, I suppose it's more of an idea."

"Oh? What's that?" Anna asked, lifting her pen to her tablet.

"Doctors need to listen to Nurses and Techs. There are some things that are just not in our wheelhouse, and we need to respect the people who spend the most time with our patients. I think doctors can create a very toxic work environment if they don't raise up those who have traditionally been placed beneath in the medical hierarchy of importance."

Lauren smiled, "Have you met our Chief Nurse, Carolyn Donahue and the Chief Surgical Nurse, Shannon McCarthy?"

Omar nodded, "Actually, I just had lunch with them in the cafeteria two days ago. They're a delightful couple with so many tremendous ideas. I'm trying to steal their friend Kelly Chapman from cardio."

Lauren chuckled, "Not if I get her for Trauma first."

"Hey! Not fair!" Omar laughed.

"Hey!" Tara said, "I know I've been the silent party at this meeting, but I have to put my foot down when you two start arguing over a Nurse who I happen to love having in my department!"

Lauren laughed, "Did you two know that Kelly's fiancé is the chief of our medi-vac team?"

"I didn't!" Omar smiled, "Score one for the E.D. position!"

Lauren shrugged, "Maybe, but he usually handles the most serious cases, so it may mean score one for Trauma! Plus, Kelly has been flying with him on the search and rescue events. She does love emergency cases. I think she enjoys the autonomy of it."

Tara frowned, "You'd better find me an exceptional replacement, Lewis!"

Lauren shrugged, "Shannon is never going to be far from cardio surgeries. I'd be willing to bet she'll schedule herself for all of them and give the other nurses the ICU and floor care."

Omar added, "Carolyn believes Kelly needs to get out under Shannon's shadow. She said she's proving to be just as talented now that she's being scheduled separate from her."

Tara agreed, "That may be true. I'd better get Shannon to start finding a team of cardio nurses."

It was something Lauren hadn't considered before about Kelly. The three had just always been together, but now that she thought about it, maybe that was why she had always struggled with professionalism. Now that she had more responsibility in life and death situations, she had changed. Lauren just hadn't realized it until now. She would talk to Carolyn about considering personnel changes and pushing the nurses into specialties if they had specific interests.

"I hate to cut the fun short, but Lauren does have another meeting in five minutes, and I'd like her to have a break," Anna said.

Omar nodded, "Of course. Thank you all for your time."

"You're welcome and thank you for your understanding."

He smiled, "Hey, you're building a team here. We all need to play our part to get the win."

"Let's hope there are more wins beyond this one," Stephen said, standing to shake Omar's hand, "I'll see you later today when I make my rounds."

"Of course. Thank you, Stephen. If I may, I just want to say that… no matter how long your sabbatical from retirement may last, I'm looking forward to learning everything I can from Lauren's mentor."

Stephen laughed, "Be careful what you wish for, Doctor Robinson."

Lauren nodded, shaking her head, "Good luck. He's not going to give you any answers – even if your patient is coding. I still remember yelling at him for being too calm when my first transplant patient's heart wouldn't start."

"Oh my. You lost your first patient?"

Lauren shook her head, "No. I just panicked because the heart didn't start right away. It just needed a beat to respond to the shock. I was yelling at him before I realized the heart was beating. It was probably the single most embarrassing moment of my career. The nurses were kind in trying to hide their laughter behind their masks, but when Stephen started to full on belly laugh, everyone let it rip – even the anesthesiologist – and he never laughed – ever."

Omar smiled, "Well, at least your patient lived."

"True," Lauren smiled, "Thanks again for coming in, Omar."

"You're welcome. Take care, Lauren."

End Flashback…

"Do you have any regrets?" Bo asked.

Lauren shook out her thoughts and turned to Bo. It took her a minute to remember what they had been talking about, "Ask me in a month."

Bo smiled, "Why a month?"

Lauren shrugged, "I'm guessing that's how long it will take until they all stop looking at me with pity in their eyes. Of course, there will also be the looking over my shoulder to double check every diagnosis I make and concern over asking too much of me."

"So, you do have regrets?" Bo asked, unsure of exactly what Lauren was saying.

"I guess. Well, not really. I mean… I don't know, Bo. As long as they don't make it weird. They're professionals and hopefully Anna will guide them through this. I just hope Carolyn, Shannon and Kelly understand – Shannon especially."

"I don't think I'll be able to stop myself if she is nasty to you over this."

Lauren placed her hand softly atop the hand that Bo had on her thigh, "I'm going to ask you to try. Please, Bo – she's been in a surgical room with me for a decade. Her background doesn't allow for trust to come easily. It took time for Shannon to trust me and Kate is going to have to earn that trust just as I did. This is just a big change for someone like Shannon."

"Change is part of life, Lauren. It's time Shannon put on her big girl pants and got used to that." Bo said, the hand on her steering wheel rolling back and forth over the top of the wheel until she popped on her turn signal and headed into the parking lot.

Lauren sighed as they pulled to a stop, "She may be okay. Stephen thinks Kate will be every bit as reputable as I am if she has someone touting her accomplishments like he and Evony did for me."

"So, you saw her operate?" Bo asked.

Lauren shook her head as they got out of the truck and walked slowly towards the door, "I have only seen film of Kate in a surgery, but her surgical room is very similar to mine… except for the music."

"Music?" Bo asked.

Lauren nodded, "Her transplant playlist is Broadway show tunes."

Bo shrugged, "Well, that doesn't sound much like Shannon's cup of tea."

Grinning, the blonde nodded, "You don't know the half of it. The surgery I observed, Kate had one of the Nurses rewind "Impossible Dream" five times just to make sure that the ending came right when she shocked the heart and it started to beat again. I've never seen a heart surgeon do a happy dance over a patient to the sounds of a Broadway tune, but that's Kate – the new face of our cardiothoracic surgery department."

"Well, I don't know much about… whatever that dance is, but I'm sure Shannon will whine about it just because it's not what you would do."

"I guess it's like you said – Shannon is going to have to move forward." Lauren reached out and took Bo's hand with a smile, "…because that's what I'm doing - leaving cardio surgeries behind unless they come into the trauma center and I'm on call," she sighed, "I'm moving forward."

Bo smiled, "With me?"

Lauren turned to face the brunette, her fingers sliding behind her ear as she cupped her chin and placed a sweet kiss on her mouth, "With you."

"You're sure?" Bo asked, noting that it almost sounded like Lauren was trying to convince herself.

The blonde smiled, "For now, yes. If I really miss it that much down the road, I can always go back to it. Look at Stephen. I mean, he's not going to take on anything too complex since his hands aren't as steady as they used to be, but even assisting on a surgery, his experience is invaluable. He'll retire again soon, but he'll have the proper people in place before he does and I'll be there to offer my support and observations. I'll drop by the hospital on occasion to observe or lend a hand when the mood hits me – if trauma is covered."

Bo nodded, "Okay. I just want to be sure, you're sure."

Lauren nodded, "It will be an adjustment, but I am, Bo. I want to do this… with you."

She kissed Bo again, this time deepening the kiss before she abruptly pulled back with a smirk and pushed open the door while Bo sat, eyes closed a finger on her lips until she heard her name,

"Bo? You coming?" Lauren asked with a chuckle.

The brunette opened her eyes and offered a wicked grin, "I wish."

"Faith is waiting for us or I would throw you in the back seat and grant that one." Lauren said, holding out her hand.

"Not helping," Bo scowled, taking the offered hand. She followed her lover into the reception area where they greeted Doctor Grays' granddaughter, Hope. After catching up, they were sent to the main greenhouse where Faith was awaiting their arrival.

"I missed this place," Bo said, her eyes immediately traveling up to the high glass ceiling. In a few more months, the artificial lights would no longer be necessary. The sun would rise for longer and longer periods each day, providing the solar nourishment needed by the trees and plants that adorned the space.

"Me too," Lauren said before turning down the path into the small indoor forest. She searched for her favorite bench at the peak of the bridge that rose over the small creek.

Bo followed, her fingers finding the wooden railing she had carved out so that the senior doctor would have something to grip along the slick path,

"This piece of woodworking is my pride and joy. It's better than anything I've ever made. This wood was such a lucky find."

Lauren paused on the bridge, leaning back on the rail, her hands working back and forth over the smooth, sand colored wood, "It reminds me of the sand on my beach back East. The color is the same."

Bo nodded, "I'd never thought of that. It really is."

She stood in front of Lauren, placing her hands on the rail on either side of the blonde. She leaned in, her lips ghosting over the soft sensitive skin of the blonde's neck. She breathed in her scent, moaning softly before she whispered,

"I missed the smell of you, Lauren… the feel of your skin… especially this spot just behind your ear." She pulled back slightly, watching as her finger traced the curve from behind Lauren's ear, down the side of her neck, over her collarbone to the top of her chest before she sighed and pulled back, closing her eyes, "I could get lost in you… here in this place."

"Then it's time you build a greenhouse of your own." Faith spoke from the bottom of the short rise before the bridge. She gripped the railing with one hand while she supported herself with a cane in the other.

"Faith! What happened?" Lauren asked as she and Bo both moved towards the older woman, but they were instantly called off,

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I took a little spill a few months back and broke my foot. I was in a little boot for a while, now I'm free of the boot but still need this blasted cane for now."

Bo shook her head, "You fell? Where?"

Faith took a seat on the bench, looking up at Lauren with a smile, "If I tell her, do you promise to stop her from building railings on every single walkway in every greenhouse? It kills the aesthetics."

Lauren laughed as she took a seat by her friend, "That depends. Do you need them?"

Bo sat on the other side of the elderly woman, "Where did you fall?"

"On the way down the walk from here. I went too fast and lost my footing. The next thing I knew, Hope and Kip were standing over me telling me that an ambulance was on the way."

"Were you dizzy before you fell? Did they check…"

"Lauren," Faith began, placing a reassuring hand on her friend's, "I'm a doctor as well, remember? I did not have a heart attack, a stroke or any other catastrophic event. I was simply in a hurry to get back into the office for an appointment and slipped. I'm okay."

The blonde nodded, "Okay."

Bo knew that the doctor hated when they fussed over her, so she changed the subject, "So Kit's still in the picture?"

Faith nodded with a smile, "On the daily. That boy is smitten, for sure."

"And Hope?" Lauren asked.

"She's holding back in talking about him. I can tell. She's taken a liking to him just the same. They remind me of the two of you when you're together… just a little more awkward."

Lauren smiled, "Ah, young love. I remember it well."

"You do?" Bo asked before she realized she had said anything aloud.

"Jealous?" Lauren teased.

Faith turned, eyeing Bo with interest as she replied, "No, of course not. I mean, it was a long time ago, right?"

Lauren chuckled, "What was a long time ago?"

"Your 'young love'," Bo said, using air quotes.

The blonde shrugged, "Crystal was my first and you know what they say about your first."

"No, I don't know what they say. Do you want to educate me?" Bo asked.

Lauren shrugged, "They say you never forget your first."

Bo considered the comment before she smiled and looked up at the blonde, "I guess that's true."

"Oh?" Lauren asked, her interest peaked.

"Sure. Mine was a boy named Kinto. He was smart, kind, great with a sled and very handsome."

Lauren laughed, "Your first was a boy?"

Bo shrugged, "Is that a problem?"

"No." Lauren said, "Of course not. I'm just surprised, that's all."

Faith held up a hand, "Why don't we go for a walk and leave the past where it belongs?"

Bo and Lauren offered a collective sigh and a nod, following the wise woman down the path.

"It will soon be time to harvest the plants from the boxes. Would the two of you care to come and help? You might bring Mary and young Rudy along. The child should have a chance to gather what she planted, after all."

Bo smiled, "I'm sure they would both love that – Rudy especially. Mom has had her in my seed house all winter long. I was in there just yesterday and her seedlings are all beyond ready for planting. Hopefully it's only a matter of weeks until the melt begins."

"Let's hope it's after you win your big race." Faith smiled.

Bo nodded, "Amen to that sentiment. She'll be impossible to live with if I don't win."

"And you?" Faith asked.

Bo shrugged, "Honestly, I haven't even considered the possibility of not winning. It hasn't even been a thought. I've never been this confident in a race, yet I have a completely different team, a new sled and I'm on a different training schedule since I ran the Quest. I really have no idea what will happen. I just know that I feel… confident. Hopefully that's not a bad sign."

They entered the main greenhouse, the temperature rising instantly. Bo took everyone's coats and hung them on the coat tree, then caught up with the pair by the seedling tables.

"Wow. That's a lot of trees." Bo said, looking down the rows, seeing no plant varieties this season – only trees.

Faith nodded, "There were too many wildfires last season, so I've agreed to give the park service two hundred seedlings to plant. They'll need another year in here, but if you walk to the end of this room, you'll see I've added another building adjacent to this one. I've started about fifty seedlings over there. We'll plant the rest after we do the trimming to these. Do you both remember?"

"Yes. I've been looking forward to this all day." Lauren smiled, clapping her hands together as she surveyed the rows.

She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, donned an apron and a pair of gloves then headed to the wall where all of Faith's tools were now mounted and stored. She recognized the carvings above each row almost immediately,

"Bo this is beautiful. A peg board, cupboards, cabinets… the detailing is magnificent and the words - you carved them in script… you have such incredible talent. Your new business is going to be amazing, Sweetie."

Lauren's fingertips traveled over the words, shovels, pickaxes, and trimmers as she searched for the perfect pair of pruning shears. She then pulled a stool over to the first row of worktables and took a seat in front of the first tree. Faith and Bo watched with adoring smiles as their beloved doctor began to talk to the tree,

"Now I'm sure this must seem awfully intimate since you don't know me, but I'm going to prune your limbs. I'm a doctor in the human world, so you can trust that I have your health in mind." She began to clip small portions of the branches as she continued, "I'm going to give you a wide base so that you have a solid foundation to survive the winter snows piling up around your boughs from the ground. Then you'll taper towards the top so that you're sleek and aerodynamic at your peak height. That will help you to survive the high winds that come year-round."

She worked, her cuts small and precise as one would expect from a surgeon, "How does that feel so far? You know, I always feel so much better after a quick trim of my hair. I wonder if this is much the same for you? One thing I know for sure is that I will follow your progress over the years and care for you to be sure you grow up with both strength and beauty. Why, you ask? Because there is no rule that you can't have both."

Faith turned away from Lauren to see a lovestruck young woman who could not tear her eyes from a certain young doctor. She spoke through her smile, "There are many trees to be trimmed, Ysabeau. Would you like to watch your love all day or help me work while we talk?"

Bo turned to Faith who smiled knowingly, "Yes, I know you want to talk, Child. Let's go to the other end, work on opposite sides and talk. We'll meet Lauren in the middle."

Bo nodded, "Mind if I just watch her work for another minute or two?"

Faith smiled, "I'll get us set up. See you at the end of the row."

The brunette gave a nod, but her eyes were still followed Lauren's every move. They'd come here before, but Bo had been so caught up in her own shit, that she'd never really watched Lauren in this setting. She was smiling, she was engaged, and she was, simply… happy. Bo could feel her heart beating hard in her chest and she swore she fell even more in love with her fiancé in that moment. She hoped that Lauren could feel what she was seeing. This is what her world could be like every moment of every day if it's what she chose. Realistically, she knew that Lauren could never leave medicine altogether, but maybe she could find some balance.

Bo hesitated but decided that putting the thought in the blonde's ear might not be a bad idea. She walked over and whispered into her ear,

"I've never seen you look so happy. Are you considering the Bo Dennis world of employment?"

Lauren smiled, "I'm trimming a tree. How is that your world of employment? As far as I know, Faith isn't paying me to enjoy myself."

"Just a thought. You love surgery, but I've never seen you smile like this at the clinic." Bo said, kissing Lauren's neck.

"Bo, I'm holding shears."

"You pulled your hair up. You know having your neck exposed like this drives me crazy."

Lauren smiled, "Well, if I cut my finger off, I'll effectively end the decision about my surgical career."

"Right." Bo said, pulling back, "Just do me a favor?"

"Anything, Love."

"Just… keep in touch with how you're feeling right now… with how much you enjoy this. We could add a nursery to my furniture store."

Lauren paused her work and looked down the row of trees. She looked up at the artificial lights that adorned the glass roof remembering what it was like to sit in this space and plant seeds. She did love working with the plants and trees. She never considered it a job. She didn't think she could ever consider it a job. She pondered the idea for a long moment. What if a hobby she loved was her job?

She looked over to Bo who was pulling on an apron. Tying it behind her back, she turned and winked at the blonde before heading down the row to where Faith was taking a seat across the table from her. Lauren's eyes followed the brunette, watching as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail as well,

"Well, we do have our love of each other's necks in common," Lauren chuckled before heaving a sigh and turning back to her tree, "God help me I love that woman more than words can ever say. Will you fall in love with one of the trees we plant near you?" She laughed, "Do trees fall in love? Maybe you fall in love with the sun and the moon. That would make sense. What if you fall in love with a tree a row over and we don't plant you together? That would be terrible. Can you give me a hint? Maybe grow one branch longer than the others in the direction of your love?"

Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Faith and Bo had quickly reconnected. Bo shared the tales about her time away. They talked easily as they always did, but eventually, Faith called the brunette on the fact that she had still not told Lauren about Scout and Jake – the two men who were staying in two of the loft rooms in the barn.

"Ysabeau, I'm surprised that after all you've done to get back to that woman, you're still keeping secrets."

"It's not a secret. I mean, she knows there's people in the lofts and that there are people recovering from the race mishap. I mean, she operated on Scout and she knew Jake was in the clinic for treatment. What's the difference if she knows who they are to me? I just…"

"Haven't told her that at least one of them will be by your side indefinitely?"

Bo sighed, "It's not indefinitely."

"Okay, so it's just until you need your life saved and he actually saves it before you save yourself."

"Have you not met me? I almost died at least five times in the past year."

Faith smiled, "It's funny, don't you think? You live here in civilization – a place most people consider safe because you have stores, hospitals, doctors and other people – and you almost die several times. But when you go off on your own with just your dogs for four months out in the middle of nowhere, nothing happens."

Bo shrugged, "What can I say? The Spirits love me."

Faith shook her head, "Of course they do."

"I'll tell her. I promise. We've just been catching up slowly. She's been telling me all about her time away and how it changed her. We'll get to my story eventually."

"Okay. But if she asks, you know I won't lie to her." Faith cautioned.

Bo nodded, "I know."

"Now, have you managed a night indoors yet?" Faith asked.

Bo shook her head, "No, but I did sleep on a makeshift enclosed porch last night."

"I've never heard of a makeshift enclosed porch. Was it enclosed or not?"

The brunette turned and smiled at the blonde, "Actually, it was Lauren's idea. She wanted us to sleep together so created a compromise with the help of Path and Slate. They made modifications to the porch to add a recessed bed, half walls, a fire pit for warmth and even a spot for Harper. The sky was visible, I still had fresh air but there was a solid roof over our heads. It was warmer and gave us both what we needed."

Faith nodded, "So you intend to spend the rest of your days sleeping on a porch?"

Bo shook her head, "Lauren seems to think that sleeping there will make it easier for me to move into an enclosed space. I actually did spend some time last night and this morning inside the house – more than I have since I came back to town, so I guess it worked."

Faith nodded, "Well, we'll give that another week. What else did you wish to speak of, Child?"

Bo looked up at Lauren, then back to the tree she was working on, "I'm having trouble with… you know… a personal problem."

"Can't get it up, huh?" Faith asked, her face deadly serious before she burst into laughter.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Bo said, turning her head slightly to be sure Faith hadn't pulled the blonde's attention, "This is serious. I said no to her last night. I mean, eventually we… you know, but… I mean, I'm wildly attracted to her, but when we get to… that point… something happens and I just sort of… shut down. I gave to her, but it took a while for me to allow her to… reciprocate."

Faith pulled herself together and nodded, "Okay. Let's review our steps to your reorientation to the community."

Bo nodded, "First, be patient with myself and others, as I would with the weather and my team off-grid."

"Good." Faith looked at Bo looking at Lauren, "Are you sure you don't want her to know these? It would help her to understand your moments of silence or your long pauses during conversations. Either could be misconstrued as a negative response… or who knows what else… you know, depending on the situation."

Bo shrugged, "Maybe you could write them down for her and give them to her? I feel like… I feel like a weirdo when I say them out loud."

Faith chuckled, shaking her head, "You're going to marry this woman, Child. She would want to know – from you."

"Right. From me." Bo nodded, looking up at Lauren before lowering her eyes again, "I'll write them down and give them to her."

"Bo…"

"I can't say the steps out loud to her. I feel like she'll turn me into some weird science project she has to treat like that tree she's pruning."

Faith looked at Lauren and considered Bo's concern about how the doctor might respond. As she observed the blonde, she noted that she was speaking to the tree like it was a child, trimming the tiniest of snippets as she worked. It was as if the tree was her patient. Interesting. Bo might have a valid point, but still…

"Perhaps you tell her that before or after you explain the steps? I'll leave it to you."

They talked for some time, reviewing the plan they had come up with several weeks ago. When they had finished their session, they worked in silence for the next few hours, eventually meeting Lauren in the middle... well, a bit past the middle. The doctor certainly took her time with each patient… or tree.

While Bo moved pots to the other greenhouse and began on some additional seedlings, Faith took the opportunity to work side by side with Lauren. The blonde opened up about the little breakdown she'd had and her new plans for working parttime at the clinic unless there was an emergency at the hospital. She told Faith about Anna and how she had helped her through the night but reminded her that she still wanted to continue their sessions. She did not want to talk to Anna about Bo because her fiancé would be working with her friends and just didn't want to make the mistake of crossing those lines again.

Eventually, they all moved to the fruit and vegetable greenhouses, gathering some food for a light lunch and conversation about Bo's business plan, eventually agreeing that she might use some of Faith's products for landscaping projects as needed. Both Bo and Lauren enjoyed the company and the freshly harvested food. After saying their goodbyes to Faith, they made their way back to Talkeetna. Rudy would be waiting, so they didn't want to be late.

Once at the school, they met up with Mary and Molly who had just arrived from the General Store. Mary looked tired, but they were informed it was because she had just taken a three-hour nap in the back office. She felt refreshed and ready for the ride back to the homestead.

The school bell rang, and they watched as the young students flooded out of the front doors, some running down the road to buy after school candy at the General Store and others rushing to their waiting parents, showing them pictures they had drawn or papers that had star stickers on them.

Lauren watched, a broad smile stretching across her lips at the sight of proud parents taking the offered gifts while the kids jumped excitedly up and down, pointing out the specifics of their work. She felt a pull unlike anything she had ever felt before. Actually, she had felt it before, but like so many other thoughts and dreams she'd had over the years, she'd packed it away beneath the stoic personality of the dutiful Cardiothoracic Surgeon she had been molded into.

Bo had called her name twice before she finally placed a hand on her shoulder, "Lauren? Are you okay?"

The blonde nodded, her eyes set on a little girl sitting on the front step of the school, "Yes. I was just wondering why Poppy is sitting alone. Caleb or Carina usually walk her out of the building."

Bo scanned the area for the two older siblings but didn't see them or the parents, "I think the bigger question would be, where are Carter and Shawna?"

"Molly is checking with her," Lauren nodded back in Poppy's direction.

"Actually, it looks like Molly is taking her hand and walking her over here." Bo corrected.

Poppy's big eyes moved up to meet Lauren's. The doctor knelt down, "Hi, Poppy. How are you?"

The child shrugged, "Is my Mommy okay?"

Lauren looked up at Molly who explained, "Dr. Lewis isn't working at the clinic today, Poppy. A new doctor is going to take care of your Mommy."

After a quick glance at Poppy, Lauren turned her gaze to Molly who smiled and placed two hands on her belly and made a half circle. The blonde's eyes went wide as she mouthed, "Really?"

After receiving Molly's affirmative reply, she looked back to Poppy, "We have a very special doctor in town now. Their job is to deliver little brothers and sisters to their siblings."

"Really?" Poppy asked.

Lauren nodded, "Really."

"They wouldn't let me go to the clinic to meet my new little sister, but they let Caleb and Carina go. It's not fair."

Lauren offered a sad smile, "I'm sorry, Poppy."

Molly explained, "Poppy had an appointment at the dental clinic today, so she had to stay in school for her appointment. I'm supposed to call…"

"Please. Allow me." Lauren insisted, pulling out her phone and stepping away from the group.

"Dr. Callie Frye, please? This is Dr. Lewis."

"Hi, Lauren. It's Kelly. Dr. Frye is with a brand-new patient."

Lauren could hear the energy in her friend's voice. She smiled in reply and asked, "Would that by any chance be the new sibling of one Poppy Summer?"

Kelly gave an enthusiastic reply, "It is! She has a new baby sister. Of course, Caleb is already plotting the birth of his new baby brother in nine months."

Lauren laughed, "He wanted a brother so badly."

"Well, you wouldn't know it from how he's coddling and cuddling that little baby right now. He's only got eyes for her… while he's telling her all about how she's going to be a big sister to a baby brother next."

Lauren chuckled, "That's nice to hear. So, is Poppy permitted to come to the clinic now?"

"Yes, of course! Carina just delivered about twenty minutes ago, so she's pretty wiped, but Carter said they can't name the baby without Poppy's vote, so they're waiting for her."

"Great. Molly will bring her over now then."

"You're not coming over to see the new baby?" Kelly asked in a tone that let Lauren know she was clearly surprised.

"No, I'm not coming in today. Didn't Stephen get there?"

"Yup. The big man is here and cracking the whip in your absence."

Lauren smiled, "You'll all be better for his teachings."

"You can say that again. He taught me a new trick in the practice lab for putting in the central line. I've never seen it done that way – not that your way isn't fine."

Lauren grinned, "I'm aware of his technique and agree that it's great. I just prefer my way. Some habits are hard to break."

"It's like you say – whatever gets the job done best for each person."

"That's right." Lauren said, "Well, I'm going to let you get back to work. Enjoy having a baby around."

"You know I'll soak up every minute."

"I'm jealous. I would do the same." Lauren replied, "See you later."

"Bye, Lauren."

The call ended and the doctor immediately turned to Poppy, "You have a little sister!"

"Really?" she smiled, "Is her name a 'P' like me?"

Lauren smiled, remembering how the youngster had confided that she didn't like that her name didn't start with a 'C' like everyone else in her family,

"Well, your Daddy is waiting to name her until you get there."

"I want her to be Paxtyn."

"Paxtyn?" Lauren asked.

Poppy nodded, "Yup. Gran read me names from our family book and I picked that one!"

Lauren grinned, "Well, I hope they pick Paxtyn then."

She took Molly's hand and started to pull her toward the clinic, "Well, we gotta go, Dr. Lewis! Come on, Molly! Come on, Elise!"

Elise said goodbye to Rudy and rushed after Molly and Poppy, waving to everyone else while Bo walked back over to Lauren,

"Are you sure you're okay?" Bo asked.

Lauren smiled and nodded, "Looking at Poppy and hearing the happy news just takes me back to long ago when I had dreams… before I became Dr. Lauren Lewis."

She took Bo's hand and pulled her away from Mary and Rudy,

"I want to find the woman I had hoped to be, Bo. There were so many things I wanted to do and be in my life and I want to focus on those dreams before it's too late."

Bo smiled, "It's never too late, Lauren. You can do whatever you want for the rest of your life."

Lauren sighed, looking past the brunette to the gathering in front of the building that was slowly beginning to disperse,

"Some things have a limited shelf life. I can feel the clock ticking."

Bo frowned, "What clock? What are you talking about, Lauren?"

The blonde turned to Bo, her face serious, "When I was younger, I dreamt of having a child… of being a better parent to a child than my parents were to me. I know we talked about adopting Rudy if anything happened to your Mom and I know I was hesitant to sign the papers, but that was when I had the hospital and the weight of being Dr. Lewis on my shoulders. But now, I think I could do it… I think I would want to do it… I mean… if you would… you know… want to be a parent."

Bo was dumbstruck. Unable to speak, she simply nodded, tugging at her collar, with one hand while the other moved to her belly. Lauren quickly shook her head,

"Oh… no. I mean, I would carry the baby. I just… we don't even have to talk about it right now. Just think about it, okay? I mean, we're not even married yet and we haven't even made any real wedding plans." She shrugged, "You know what? It was silly. Forget I mentioned it." Lauren said, waving Bo off as she walked towards the kennel, "I'm going to go get the teams ready."

Bo stood, watching her fiancé walk away, still shocked by the topic of conversation. Lauren never said anything she didn't mean. It wasn't silly… she was serious… this was… huge.

Bo caught sight of the O'Breen family. She had talked to Ciara, the Mom, several times while waiting to pick up Rudy. Of course, if she was being honest with herself, Bo had to admit that she stood and listened while Ciara did the talking. She had kids but was now a single parent. Her eyes traveled back to Lauren, her mind still reeling at the thought of a baby, especially seeing the situation the O'Breens were in. Looking back to Ciara, her mind traveled to an earlier time in their lives.

Flashback…

Ciara's husband Stephan had been a coworker of Bo's on Denali. He loved that mountain – loved climbing that mountain. He wanted everyone to know the thrill of making the summit, so he rarely said no to a potential client. On the day that he died, Bo had refused to take up a group of college hot shots. They had no climbing experience, and one of them was not in proper condition to do a 5K walk on a flat road, let alone summit Denali. In addition, two members of the group had asthma – one chronic – something Bo knew would put them at very high risk for pulmonary crisis the closer they got to the summit.

Bo's team had argued back and forth for a solid thirty minutes – something they had never done before. If she was hesitant, they usually respected her opinion because of her overarching experience in all things snow, ice and climbing. Sadly, that was not the case this time around. While three of the team's guides walked away with Bo, Rush agreed to take the group with Stephan and chance hooking up with some other guides along the way.

Bo was furious. She and other guides on their team tried to talk Stephan out of it, but he reminded her he had a baby on the way and needed the money. She told him that was exactly why he shouldn't do the climb. Bo tried to talk to Rush privately, but he was angry with the entire team for not supporting Stephan's decision. She reminded him that every other guide team had rejected the group and they were right for doing the same. Taking it a step further, she told Rush that if he went up with them, she feared he wasn't coming back. He said they'd be fine and they parted ways.

Worried, angry and frustrated, Bo reported the group to the Ranger's office, leaving the matter in their hands then went back to town to Kenzi's and sat at the bar. She told her friend what had happened and that she had even offered to give Stephan her trapping contracts for the months she was training for the Iditarod, but he said it would never pay what the tour group was paying him. They were rich kids of richer parents and just this one climb was going to bring in enough money to pay for almost a year's expenses for the family.

Kenzi reassured Bo that it wasn't her fault and if anything happened it was on him, then Ciara walked over to the bar. She had been having lunch with her colleagues from work and had overheard their conversation. She asked Bo a lot of questions and Bo answered honestly, but eventually, Ciara said she had to trust that her husband knew what he was doing… it was his fulltime job, after all and Bo was just a part time guide for larger groups. If he thought that he and Rush could handle it, she believed him. Bo all but begged her to call the Ranger's office and talk to him before they left, but Ciara refused to betray his trust – saying that he would never risk his life for a client knowing his family counted on him to come home.

Ciara returned to her table and Bo knew that if Stephan did survive the climb, she would likely have created a riff with her friends and her climbing team that may never heal. Kenzi reminded her that she had to try, so if she lost them over this, she would have to move forward with her life. Bo nodded, downed her drink and headed upstairs to her apartment in the hotel.

Around noon the next day, Bo headed down to the Trading Post and then to Pops' General Store in Anchorage. He told her that the Denali Park Rangers had just called looking for her – that they needed her and her team. When she asked why, her heart sunk when he said it was to help them find a group they believed had been caught in an avalanche on Denali. She wasted no time hitching up her team and heading up to the mountain. Bo had only joined the rescue team for about twenty minutes when Harper caught a scent and led them to a body… it was Stephan.

Bo kept her dogs out searching for Rush and the rest of their group as long as she could. By the time she pulled them for rest, they had found the younger guide and two additional members of the group. They camped for the night, taking another day and a half to find the rest.

Unbeknownst to Bo, all of the families had gathered at the Park Office. When Bo and three other rangers arrived with the bodies, the scene was devastating to watch. Ciara was accompanied by Dyson and Hale, two long-time friends of Stephan's. Bo watched, helplessly, wondering what else she might have said to keep him from climbing that day. Nothing came to mind.

As she turned to leave, needing to tend to her team, Ciara ran to her side and thanked her for finding him so quickly. Bo gave the credit to Harper. Ciara removed a bracelet from her wrist, then took the baby blue ribbon from her hair. She strung the ribbon through the hole in the bracelet and then knelt in front of Harper. Bo would never forget the words she spoke,

"You are known as an Iditarod Champion, but today, you are the Champion of the O'Breen Family. Thank you, Harper Dennis, for bringing Stephan home to us. I hereby present you with this Champion's medal. Okay, so it's not a medal, but it's the bracelet given to me by my Mother, a native warrior woman from my homeland far away from Alaska. May you follow in her footsteps all the days of your life and beyond."

With that, Ciara tied the makeshift necklace around Harper's neck, shook her paw, kissed the top of her head before she turned to Bo,

"Thank you for trying to stop him. I can't imagine what you're feeling. I just want you to know that Stephan never believed any of the things Big Jim said about you. He thought of you as a kind and caring woman with an adventurous spirit."

She turned, lowering her eyes to her husband's body as she spoke, "He always believed that one day you would have a real place in this town… that you would be accepted for who you are." She looked back to Bo, "If there is ever anything that I can do to help you find your way in whatever life you choose to live, just ask. If I have a way to meet your needs, I will make it happen. Thank you for trying to talk to me. You must think I'm an idiot for trusting him when most of the team didn't, but… in our marriage, we had always agreed that to love each other meant to trust each other," she shrugged, "You had every right to refuse to help with the search. Thank you for coming, Bo. Thank you for bringing Stephan home to me."

It was the first physical contact Bo had been offered out of kindness in… well, as long as she could remember. Even Kenzi didn't hug her. She stood stiffly as the blonde held her tightly, her body quivering as she released her tears. Bo's eyes welled with tears as she raised her hands and awkwardly placed them on Ciara's sides until the woman pulled back,

"Sorry. I know you don't like people to touch you. I just didn't know how else to say what I needed to say. Take care, Bo."

She stood, paralyzed as the woman walked to Stephan's body, falling into Dyson's arms. He nodded towards Bo, pulling her from her stupor. She cleared her throat and turned to her team,

"Let's go get you your reward, Ladies," Bo said, looking down at Harper who let out a whimper, "Don't look at me like that. The cold wind is irritating my eyes. I'm fine."

Present Day outside the school…

Bo smiled at Ciara's three-year old son Dax, who gave her a speedy wrist wave as his Mom helped him through the snow. Bo laughed and walked towards the building to meet them halfway, feeling bad for how hard the little man had to work to get to her.

"Bo!" He smiled, running into her right leg and throwing his arms around it.

"Hi Dax!" Bo grinned before reciprocating greetings from Ciara's eldest, Cinda and her middle child, Seth. She looked back down at Dax, kneeling in front of him, "How are you, Dax?"

"I good. How you, Bo?"

"I'm good, Dax." She replied, watching him look around her. She knew what he was looking for, but she asked anyway, "Whatcha looking for, Dax?"

"Hopper not here?"

Bo smiled, "She's at home babysitting the puppies."

"Snow?"

Again, Bo smiled, "Yes, Harper is with Snow and her sisters."

"I get a puppy."

Bo looked at Ciara who nodded and smiled, "I ran into Ned Landis. His dog is due in two months. I was going to ask… if it's not too much trouble… when they're born, if you wouldn't mind…"

Bo waved her off, "I'd be happy to come and help you pick a good puppy for Dax. What about training?"

"LJ offered to help with training. Do you think that's okay?"

"Of course, but if you would rather have me, I'm there, Ciara."

Surprised by Bo's offer, she lifted Dax into her arms, "You would come out to our place and help train our pup?"

Bo smiled and shook her head, "No. You have a job, so I would meet you at the Kennel after you drop your kids of at school and we would go to the training field with Dax and your pup… unless he's starting preschool."

Ciara shook her head, "We still haven't managed the potty training. It's so frustrating."

Bo chuckled, shaking her head, "I'm afraid I have zero expertise in that area, but Kyle, LJ and I can work with the pup and Dax while you're at work. Where is he staying while you're there?"

"Actually, Dyson has been helping me."

"Dyson?" Bo asked, shocked.

Ciara nodded, "He's great with the kids and they simply adore him. The old preschool used to be in the rear of the sheriff's office. When the school moved into the new building, they started using the old space to store their files. Dyson rearranged things to make a playroom for Dax, so he stays there during the day. Dyson has a nanny cam set up so he can watch him when he has to be at his desk."

"And if he has a call?"

"Hale watches him or… well, you know his dispatcher and secretary, right?"

Bo nodded, "Kara and Jill."

"Right. If he has to run out and Hale isn't around, they take over and help out with Dax. So far, it's been working out."

"Good. That's good." Bo said, eyeing Ciara curiously, "So, you and Dyson, huh?"

Ciara blushed, "You think it's too soon?"

"No, Ciara. Of course not. Stephan has been gone for three years."

She nodded, her eyes watching Bo's reaction carefully, "You're still mad at him."

Bo paused for a moment, allowing the anger to rise so that she could identify it as Faith had taught her. She let it settle, took a deep breath, and released the feelings into the air. Her emotions settled instantly, and she smiled, feeling a bit lighter as she spoke,

"I'd be lying if I said there's not anger there, but I'm learning to let it go. It's just that…"

Ciara nodded, saying what she knew Bo felt all along, "If he had listened to you, I wouldn't have to worry about who was going to watch Dax because I wouldn't have to go to work. Stephan always called his work an educated risk… and an educated choice. But I suppose you're right, Bo. If it had been either of those things, he would have determined the risk was too great and he would have listened to you. He made the choice for the wrong reasons. Rush had his whole life ahead of him. He was young and trusted an older and more experienced guide against your better judgement. Even more, Stephan should have measured the risks against leaving his children fatherless…"

"And his wife without a partner to share the load," Bo added, "He's gone and you're alone with the kids. He didn't do right by you and Rush is gone to young, so yes – it still makes me angry."

Bo shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut tight as she repeated her exercise. When the anger passed, she spoke, her eyes filled with hope that Ciara knew was sincere,

"You deserve a life, Ciara and if Dyson can provide what you need, you have my blessing."

Ciara smiled, "That means to the world to me. I know you had… something… with him and…"

Bo waved her off, shaking her head, "Dyson and I… it was never going to be anything, Ciara. I was looking for something… else."

She grinned, "Someone of the fairer sex, perhaps?"

Bo laughed, "So you know about me and Lauren?"

Ciara smiled, "The two of you talk about each other all the time. I may live off grid, but I'm still in town enough to hear the gossip and even if I wasn't listening, anyone with eyes can see you are drawn to her. You can be on opposite sides of the hotel restaurant, and you still find each other."

The woman smiled as she noticed Bo looking past her to find Lauren across the street outside of the kennel.

"You find her even when she's on the other side of the street." Ciara chuckled, drawing Bo's attention back to her.

"Yea, I guess I'm hooked." She smiled, turning back to Ciara, "Life with a man was never in the cards for me. In my experience, they're either distrustful, crude, idiotic, inappropriate or the lovesick puppy type who always want to protect a woman. I don't need protecting and I don't need an idiot I can't trust, so if I tried to live with one, I would have eventually strung him up to my sled and shouted 'Hike!' at the top of my lungs."

Ciara burst into a fit of laughter at the thought of Dyson being dragged by a sled, "Well, at least your dogs would have gotten a good workout. How's training going?"

Bo nodded, "Good."

"I heard you won the Yukon Quest. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Bo said.

"Well, I guess I'd better get these kids home and into their chores." Ciara said, giving a half smile.

Bo considered the woman's demeanor for a moment before she asked, "Do you get lonely out there?"

Ciara shrugged, "It was never my idea to live off grid, Bo."

The brunette nodded, "You fell in love, got married, had a family in a version of a life plan that no longer exists, Ciara. You're allowed to change the plan. Why not move here?"

"And take the kids away from their home?"

Bo smiled, "You know how I lived… before."

"Your life was what my husband wanted, Bo."

The brunette looked up at Lauren, "It's all… so clear now."

"What?"

"You… Stephan… me… Lauren…" Bo smiled, "It's like the universe picked us up like dice, rolled us and then let us fall where we may. Stephan wanted my life, you wanted a career in a city, Lauren wanted your life and I wanted Stephan's life. Now, we all finally have a chance to have what we wanted."

Ciara's brow furrowed, "You know I wanted a career?"

Bo grinned, "Your business deals are legendary around here. Kyle has been nagging me to get your advice on the kennel. Stuff like marketing and contracts – well, it's not our thing. We hired an accountant that we share with the hospital, but selling products... that's a whole different game."

Ciara's smile could have lit up the dimly lit winter day, "I'd love to help, Bo. I…"

Bo watched as the smiled faded and the woman's eyes turned to her son, "I have limited time, but I could do what I can."

Looking up at Lauren, she had an idea, "Ciara, how would you and the kids like to come to a Dennis Family dinner tonight?"

"Um… I don't want to impose, Bo. My children can be quite the handful and I'm sure that your family would enjoy the peace and quiet of home without my brood descending on the house."

Bo laughed, "Have you met my little sister?"

"Yes, and she's adorable." Ciara grinned.

"And a ball of energy – especially when her cousin Elise is there too. It's a fun time, Ciara. Please say you'll come. You can bring Dyson if you'd like."

"You're sure it's no trouble?"

"None at all." Bo grinned, "Why don't you talk to LJ about transportation to The Homestead. Lauren and I already have full sleds, but maybe Kyle and Tamsin can help get your kids there. If not, ask Dyson."

Ciara nodded, "I'll figure it out. Thank you so much for the invitation, Bo. It will be so good to be in the company of others. This will also give us the opportunity for the kids to hang out with friends in town until dinner. We really don't get out much. They'll be so excited."

Bo smiled, "Sounds perfect. See you at dinner then."

"I'll see you soon then!" Ciara waved, heading down towards the school with Dax to gather her kids.

Bo pulled out her phone and sent a text off to Molly letting her know she would head back to The Homestead with her mom to get some extra food cooking for their extra guests. Molly sent back a 'the more the merrier' reply, also asking if she was going to offer her land on the river. Bo replied that she was dating Dyson, so she was more likely to move to his home. Of course, Bo didn't mention there was no way on earth she would live near the Sheriff. That would just be too awkward even though she would welcome Ciara and her kids. Kids.

Her eyes found Lauren working over at the kennel, now heading to the training field with her three dogs. Bo thought about what her fiancé had mentioned earlier and sighed. Lauren was a natural with the dogs, with Rudy and Elise, with Poppy and just about any child she encountered at the clinic. Of course, Lauren's parenting expertise was not what Bo was worried about.

Bo turned back to see Dax struggling through the snow behind his mom. He was the resident miracle baby in town. He was born soon after his father's death on Denali. The stress of Stephan's death had brought on premature labor, so Dax was almost lost to this world. There had been no doctor at the clinic that night. The doctor who preceded Lauren was only available from nine in the morning until five in the evening. That night, three women – including Molly – had helped Ciara through the early stages of the eventual breech birth. It was one of Hop's sons who finally found a guy with a helicopter to fly both Ciara and Dax to Anchorage for emergency care. That guy was Kurt.

She couldn't help but smile at Dax as he stopped to pick up a handful of snow and put it in his mouth before starting to walk again. He fell more times than he took steps and eventually, Ciara turned and waited for him, picking him up to hurry over to join Cinda and Seth. She gave each child a dollar and they ran off to the General Store, Cinda carrying Dax. Ciara pushed the hair back out of her face, taking a moment before following the kids to the store. She was tired – how could she be anything but? Working a farm off-grid, caring for three kids while working as many hours as her boss would give her to make ends meet. Bo suspected her days began around four in the morning and didn't end until midnight. She couldn't imagine.

Bo turned back to the school yard, noticing there was a group of kids now shoveling off the outdoor skating rink. They used sleds turned on their sides as the goal cages and homemade hockey sticks. The puck was an oval-shaped river rock. In their brand of hockey, it was good that the clinic was now open twenty-four hours. Lauren had seen more than one player take a rock to the head.

Bo spied an old trash can at the corner of the rink which gave her an idea. She was really short on time for the rest of this year, but how hard could it be to carve out twelve sticks and a lightweight puck that they could store in that old can? Maybe the clinic would donate helmets with facemasks and the kennel could make some goalie pads and a chest protector from sled material.

She sat down in the snow, watching the game for a long while, contemplating what it would be like if her own kid was out there playing or down at the General Store with friends buying penny candy. They would meet her at the kennel just before dinner and they would race home on sleds, Bo teaching them everything she knew about life, racing and their culture. Lauren would teach them about the rest of the world. Their child would know they were loved and their child would have choices, just like Rudy. They would never be left alone to fend for themselves. They would never believe money could buy happiness and they would never be left to be raised by a nanny while their parents went off to some fancy party. Lauren would never allow it.

Eventually, twilight was coming to an end and the game broke up. She stood and headed across the street to the kennel where Lauren stood waiting for her at the fence.

"I didn't know you were such a hockey fan," Lauren smiled.

Bo nodded, leaning into the blonde's chest, "Yes."

"What?" Lauren asked.

"Yes," Bo repeated quietly.

"Yes what, Bo? I don't understand."

"Yes to a kid or two... or more if it's what you want."

Bo lifted her eyes to meet Lauren's, a tear slowly rolling down her cheek, "I thought about it and I'm on board with kids."

Lauren smiled, "Are you serious? I mean – you don't have to decide today. It's a big decision, Bo. It's not like we can change our minds once I'm with child."

Bo smiled, "A mini-Lauren would make me very happy… more if it's what you want… and don't even get me started on what Rudy would think about having a niece or nephew."

Frustrated by the rail of the fence between them, Lauren climbed the fence and jumped into Bo's arms, the brunette catching her midair and lowering her gently to the ground. They laughed as they wrapped each other in a loving embrace,

"I love you, Lauren."

"I love you too, Bo."

The brunette pulled back, kissing the blonde soundly, "So, when would we… I mean… how would we…"

"Medical science is amazing, Bo. We would meet with Doctor Callie Frye, my new Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology who would help us with the entire process. There will be testing to be sure I can carry a child, then there will be choosing a donor."

"What? You mean we have to pick a guy?" Bo asked.

Lauren shrugged, "If we agree we want a guy who knows they're our child's father. Otherwise, we use a sperm donor. If I don't have viable eggs, I could potentially use one of your eggs. I mean, if we want the baby to be from both of us in one form or another, using your egg would be ideal."

Bo nodded, her mind filled with questions and all sorts of things to consider. The longer she was silent, the more concerned Lauren became that their celebration would be short lived. She gave her several minutes more before she asked,

"Change your mind?"

Bo looked up to see a concerned Lauren, "Oh, no. No, sorry. I was just… I mean, if we wanted to have one from my egg and one from yours, I would have to carry a child, right?"

"Bo, I told you, I don't expect…"

"But… I think I might… I mean… maybe I might want to."

Lauren smiled, "We don't have to decide tonight. Let's table this discussion until after we're married, okay? I'd like to have at least a year without children so that we can get all of our own stuff straightened out. There's a lot of change happening… my job, your job, the new house, the Iditarod, the hospital opening, the Gala… gawd, the gala!"

"What do you say we just worry about family dinner for now, huh? Dyson and Ciara are coming to dinner with her kids."

"Dyson and Ciara, huh?"

Bo smiled, "Apparently, they're a thing."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"Hopeful. She would be good for him and he would be good for the entire family. He'll be there for them… all of them. Dyson is a protector… a caretaker. It would be nice for Ciara to have that for a change. She's tired, Lauren. She needs a break."

"Are you worried about her health?" Lauren asked, concerned.

Bo nodded, "I am. She's running a farm, paying the bills and caring for three kids on her own. She never got much down time after a very difficult birth…"

"I'm aware of the circumstances surrounding Dax's birth. Tragic."

Bo agreed, "I know you can't say, so I won't ask, but it would be nice to know the family – including Ciara – has been into the clinic for checkups."

"Message received loud and clear," Lauren smiled.

"Thank you. Well, I told Molly we'd pick up some extra supplies and bring mom back to the house to get started. She'll be leaving the clinic soon. I'm guessing Poppy is introducing her to her sister."

Lauren laughed, "Whose name probably starts with a 'p'."

"If her parents and siblings know what's good for them," they laughed, "All ready?"

Lauren nodded, "Yes. Let's get going before we're late."

Bo nodded, "I'm going to cook outside since I invited the extra guests."

"Good. I get cooking lessons tonight!" Lauren smiled, taking Bo's hand as they headed into the Kennel. It was time to round up the dogs and the passengers and head home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three Days Later…

Lauren headed out of the side door of the garage, following her three favorite pups. She had taken Rudy to school with Bo this morning before heading back home to do some paperwork for the new Trauma Center. She and Stephen had met with Bo, Path and Slate about the project last night, so she had to sign off on all of the contracts, orders and new equipment. She would then use her scan app to send the documents back to Carolyn who would get started on ordering the medical supplies and machinery from their vendors before passing everything back to Path and Slate who would meet with Bo again before breaking ground.

Betsy had hired Ciara to work with their various business interests and she had jumped right in. Betsy said she was the most intelligent business mind she had every met and the two became fast friends. Together, they had been helping Lauren to learn a bit more about the business side of things and she was catching on fast. More importantly, she was enjoying the work and didn't miss the operating room as much as she feared she might. She did a video call or stopped by to see Thea every day and Kate kept her informed about her progress. So far, everything was working as planned. They'd hoped to discharge her by the end of next week if she was strong enough.

Today, Lauren was going fishing with Bo once the brunette was finished in the barn loft apartments. She had been visiting some of the residents lately but didn't say much about who they were to her. Lauren was pretty sure at least one was one of her construction workers and one other was from the Quest race. Still, it seemed strange that she hadn't told her about them. Lauren was curious, but she had decided not to bring up the subject.

She played with the dogs in the yard for a while before heading over to the shed and pulling out two fishing rods and the tackle box, then headed down to the beach. She put a sinker on the end of her line and began practicing her casting. It took a few tries, but eventually she began getting good distance – even better than yesterday.

"Nice cast, Doctor Lewis."

The voice of a stranger startled the blonde causing her to drop the rod, pull the axe from the sand and turn towards her target with axe overhead. Luckily, Bo wasn't far away and shouted,

"STOP!"

Lauren's eyes traveled from the man to Bo and back to the man, her axe remaining at the ready. Bo rushed to her, stepping between the blonde and the man,

"I'm sorry, Lauren. I should have told you we were coming," she gripped the axe handle, "Let it go, Lauren. It's okay. He's a friend."

Lauren's eyes went wide when she finally recognized the fear on the man's face. She released the axe and swallowed hard, looking at Bo,

"Dammit, Bo!"

"I know. I'm sorry," She turned to her friend, "I'm sorry."

The man walked slowly towards Lauren, "Apologies, Doctor. It was my understanding that you knew the story of why I was here."

Lauren glared at Bo, then turned back to their guest, "I'm sorry. Who are you?"

He bowed, "You were one of the surgeons who repaired my damaged body after The Quest race."

Lauren searched her mind, her shoulders relaxing as she began to remember.

"I am called Scout Senegal of the Haa Héen. We dwell just across the Canadian border in the Yukon not far from your village of Skagway, Alaska. Our sister, Ysabeau Haa Héen Dennis, has saved my life, so I am duty bound to remain by her side until such time that I am afforded the opportunity to return the gift of life."

"Sister? Ysabeau Haa Héen Dennis?" Lauren asked.

Scout nodded, "I would be happy to explain how this arrangement came to be. It is rather complicated and your Ysabeau has not taken well to my presence nor that of my sister who is acting in my stead until I am well."

Bo could see Lauren's shoulders rise as the tension took hold of her jaw and neck, "Sister?"

She turned to Bo and spat, "She's here? She's been here all along?"

Scout smiled, "So you know of my sister Storm?"

"Yes!" Lauren spat before shrugging off the hand that Bo placed on her shoulder, taking the axe from her hand and heading upriver, "I need some space."

"Lauren!" Bo called, "Lauren!"

"I have an axe and a knife, Bo. I'll be fine!" She said, waving the axe over her head.

Bo turned to Scout, "I said wait until after I talked to her!"

"I didn't realize you had not come directly to the river. Apologies, Ysabeau, but it has been two weeks and that was the agreed upon length of time that we would give you space."

"Well, I'm now officially asking for a few more hours so that I can go grovel! Fuck!" She screamed, waving her hands over her head before hurrying to the shed and grabbing her own axes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hotel Talkeetna

Kenzi pulled a menu from under the bar and slid it in front of the customer, "Hi, I'm Kenzi, owner of this fine establishment. Do you need a room and a meal, just a meal or just a room?"

The woman smiled, "I suppose a room and a meal would be my best option."

Kenzi sighed, "Okay. I'll have to feed you first. The room is going to be about an hour. Do you mind waiting? If you do, I'll have to send you to Anchorage to the hotel that I co-own with my friend Vex."

"How long a ride is that by sled?"

Kenzi shook her head, "Depending on your skill as a musher and how strong your team is, I'd have to say about four hours given the weather."

"Any other way to get there?"

Kenzi gave a nod, "Last train leaves in thirty minutes. I can give you a meal to go or you can eat on the train."

The stranger nodded, "I'll wait for the room here."

"Train car or room upstairs?"

"Excuse me?"

"I have old train cars behind the hotel on the track that are converted to efficiency apartments or I'll have a room available after the dinner rush. The apartment has a bathroom, bedroom, sitting area, satellite WiFi, a fridge, toaster oven and a single burner. The single room has a bed, sitting area and a bathroom. I take it you followed the sign for dog parking if you traveled here by sled?"

"Yes and I'll take the room."

Kenzi pulled out the clipboard, "Name, ID and will that be cash or credit?"

The woman slid a native ID to the owner in addition to two hundred dollars, "Will that cover me and three meals for tonight through tomorrow… same time?"

Kenzi smiled, "Yup… and then some."

"Keep the change as a tip."

"Generous."

"You're a friend of a friend," came the reply.

Kenzi looked down at the ID, then back at the woman, "Well, Storm Senegal-Kani, I'm not sure who our mutual friend is, but your tip is appreciated. Should I know you?"

"I know your best friend, Bo Dennis."

Kenzi pulled her head back, "Really? She hasn't mentioned you."

The woman nodded, "Yes, well that's apparently true for everyone she's told me about."

"And how, exactly, did you meet our beloved Bo?"

"She saved my brother's life, so by the laws of our people, I was bound to serve her until such time he is able to return to his duties… which he did about an hour ago."

Kenzi nodded, "I see. So, you'll be leaving town?"

She shook her head, "No. I'm a veterinarian and am working the Iditarod. I'm looking for a place to stay until then."

"I see. And where are you stationed during the race?"

"I'm on staff for the inspections in Anchorage prior to the start, so will be there for the first week, then I am doing on-call inspections throughout the race, then emergency care and inspections at the race end."

"Wow. That's… a lot of… inspecting. I suppose you've done this before?"

She nodded, "Yearly since I was in college. I'm a big proponent of the race provided mushers treat their dogs appropriately."

Kenzi nodded, "And are you a proponent of Bo?"

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I mean, did she give you any reason to show bias towards her in any way?"

"My work is with the dogs, not the mushers."

"Yes, but you see, the mushers can't do their work without the dogs. The last thing my bestie needs is someone seeking revenge in a position of power over her team or someone who wants something and is in a position to do a favor to get a favor, if you get my drift."

Scout put the menu down, "I'll have the beef stew."

"Good choice," Kenzi replied, leaning in, "Now, is that all you want… while you're here?"

Scout sat back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest, "That will be all."

"Good." Kenzi said, picking up the menu and heading back to the kitchen with the order in hand. She pulled out her phone and called Bo,

"What?"

"Don't what me! Who the hell is this Scout chick and what does she want?" Kenzi asked, waving her free hand.

"What?"

"You heard me!"

"She's there?" Bo asked.

"She's a vet in the Iditarod, so yes, she's here until after the race. Is she friend or enemy? I can poison her stew right now."

"Kenzi! You will do no such thing! I'll explain later. I've got to go. I've just explained it all to Lauren. You'll hear it from me… or her… tomorrow."

"Fine. I'm putting her up in your room tonight. It's the only one I have available. Goodbye."

"Kenzi!" Bo shouted, but it was too late, "Fuck!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Homestead

"Bo, don't be ridiculous! He can eat with us! That poor man has been confined to that barn room for more than two weeks!

"Lauren, he doesn't have to eat with us. He's got a nice apartment there and your nursing staff has been taking good care of him. He got out and took a walk today and will head into town tomorrow to see his dogs."

"His dogs?"

"Yes, the dogs that were injured at the Quest? Cassie and his sister have been taking care of them."

"I just can't believe you didn't tell me he was here, Bo!" Lauren said, her face half anger, half anguish.

Bo pleaded, "We've been through this, but if you need me to apologize again, I will… over and over and over again until you believe me. Scout was injured. You brought him back here on the Medi-Vac chopper. You saved his life! Where did you think he would go after the clinic?"

"Home!" Lauren replied, "Especially since I didn't know he was the one that you had this life-pact thing with!"

Bo sighed, "Is it really him you have a problem with or his sister?"

"Of course, I have a problem with his sister, Bo! You told me she hit on you – repeatedly! You told me she stripped herself bare in front of you! You told me she reminded you of me! Everything about that is just… creepy!"

"Creepy?" Bo asked.

"Yes! And manipulative! Can't you see she can't be trusted? Why would you not have told me she was here when you told me about what happened in their village?"

"Knock, knock?" Both women turned to see Scout, hands folded, standing at the screen door off the kitchen, "Am I early?"

Lauren sighed, eyeing Bo angrily before moving to open the door, "Of course not. You're welcome anytime, Scout. Please, come in."

The man entered, moving to the side to allow Lauren her space, "Thank you, Doctor Lewis."

"Please, Scout. Call me Lauren."

He bowed, "Lauren."

"Can I get you a drink? We have water, cold tea and hot tea."

He pulled a baggy from his jacket, "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to make a tea of this?"

Lauren smiled, "Native medicine for healing?"

"You've seen such a thing?" He asked, moving to the counter where Lauren was grabbing the kettle and filling it with water.

"Yes. I'm using several teas brewed by an elder that resides in the village where Bo was raised as a child. They are counteracting a poison administered to her mother."

Scout turned to Bo, "And have you found the source of the poison yet?"

Lauren looked between the pair, "So you are aware of what is happening to Mary?"

He nodded, "Ysabeau shared much with me while on her Vision Quest. I became her mentor and confidant for that time while she became my mentor for all things sled racing and survival. It was a life trade."

Lauren nodded, "To answer your question, we have not yet found the source of the poison, though our friend, the FBI Agent…"

"That would be Tamsin, yes?" Scout asked.

Lauren looked surprised, her eyes moving quickly to Bo, then back to Scout, "Um… yes. She is working on a lead to the source. So far, Mary's bloodwork continues to improve, so we believe that whoever was administering the poison has ceased their actions."

"You can only hope. If they have stopped, I suppose that is both a blessing and a curse."

Lauren nodded, "They could resume once she is well, and the damage would be twice as bad the second time around."

"Yes. From what Bo has described, I agree," Scout nodded.

He gave Lauren the baggie so that she could make the tea as they spoke,

"Lauren, I wish to say that my sister will not be on your property again. I've sent her on her way as I am fit to resume my responsibilities. She is, however, a veterinarian and one of the lead inspectors for the race, so it is possible that one or both of you may run into her at the race. I have expressed to her that it would be completely unprofessional and inappropriate for her to have any contact with Bo or her team… or mine for that matter… since we are of the same clan and there could be accusations of bias that would hinder Bo's success."

"And will she respect your wishes?" Lauren asked Scout.

"If she does not, I will report her to the appropriate authorities."

"No. If you do that and she has had contact with my dogs, they will definitely cry bias," Bo countered, "And you are not running this race, Scout. I cannot run my best race and watch out for you. Your injuries have not fully healed."

"I will drop out, if necessary, Bo. But I must start the race with you. I do not trust this Jake no matter how much he may have done to save us at the Quest."

Bo invited Scout to sit. Lauren sat beside him, and Bo sat across from Lauren, though the blonde's eyes remained on Scout as Bo spoke,

"What have you learned about him?" Bo asked.

He shrugged, "I know what you know from the night we spent with him at the start of the race."

"And that is?" Lauren asked, looking between the two.

Bo began, "He showed up at our fire the first night and asked if we would share. He shared that he was born in Alaska, raised in Montana and moved back to Alaska to start a new life after the death of his father two years ago. His mom died when he was five years old in a sledding accident. His dad didn't like him sledding, but he raced anyway. His resume included trapping, ranching, martial arts instructor and he was in the military for five years… so the story goes."

"Do you know what branch?" Lauren asked.

Bo shook her head, turning to Scout, "Lauren is ex-military as well. She did a turn in Veterinary Medicine while in Afghanistan taking care of the military dogs – the bomb dogs, guard dogs and service dogs - as well as humans. The Marines paid for her medical school, and she paid them back."

Scout nodded, turning to Lauren, "I was a Canadian Ranger stationed in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. You?"

"I was ROTC registered for the marines, before I declared pre-med and completed my cardiothoracic and trauma fellowships…"

"Lauren was a very gifted student. She started college much younger than most," Bo interjected.

Lauren didn't appear too happy about Bo sharing that fact, but continued nonetheless, "The Navy actually provides doctors to the Marine Corp, so once they navigated the red tape, I served as a Major in the First Battalion, Fifth Marines Unit," her eyes dropped to her hands before she whispered, "Oorah."

The two remained silent for a moment, each caught up in their own memories of war and its consequences before Scout turned to Bo,

"Of course, the wars we fought had rules and code of conduct. The war you've fought since your teen years had no such guidelines… no code of honor."

Lauren looked at Bo who lowered her eyes from Scout's. As silence engulfed the room, Lauren watched the brunette fall into deep thought. Honestly, Lauren had never thought of Bo's life that way and as she watched Scout's eyes on her, the doctor saw the connection the two shared. He knew a side of Bo that she had never met… never experienced.

He knew the woman who had gone on a four-month quest into some of the harshest climates on the planet with no human companionship, no human support and no modern conveniences. No human contact. He knew a woman who had clearly been lost enough to become vulnerable and share things Bo may or may not have shared with her during their time together.

Lauren thought back to their separation and suddenly realized that when Bo had rejected the advances of Storm, she was rejecting an attractive woman knowing that Lauren might have been sharing her body and bed with another according to their agreement. She rejected the comfort of that woman in her bed despite the long, lonely, isolated and arduous journey… despite not knowing if Lauren would even return home to her.

She reached out and placed her hand on Bo's, "You were telling us about this man named Jake?"

Bo stared at Lauren's hand on her own, her mind slowly coming back to the present before she nodded,

"He was in the military for five years, but left during don't ask, don't tell so I'm guessing he's… family," she said to Lauren, "His Mom was native Yuit from the southern coast of Alaska. His family fished crab, tuna, haddock and halibut on St. Lawrence Island in the Central Bering Sea."

"Do you trust him?" Lauren asked.

Bo shrugged, "He's the one that intervened at the end of the Quest when those men tried to take me down. If it weren't for him, they would have succeeded, and I might very well be dead right now… the victim of a broken neck from a fall… or worse."

"But do you trust him?" Lauren asked again.

Bo wasn't sure how to respond. She turned to Lauren, "Apparently he had drinks with Patrick last week. They were both at the bar in Anchorage."

"Small world." Lauren replied.

"Yes, my thoughts exactly," Bo replied.

"So, I'm guessing there is not trust for Jake?" Scout suggested.

Bo shrugged, "I'm just not sure. It may all be a perfect coincidence, but he may be inserting himself into my life very carefully with ulterior motives. I'm just not sure."

Scout nodded, "You believe he may be tied to your father?"

Bo shook her head, "Great spirits, I hope not."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Final Weekend before Iditarod Departure

"Bo? Are you sure this is alright? I mean, shouldn't you be bonding with your dogs… alone… during this last training run?" Lauren asked.

Bo smiled, dragging the second sled into position before walking to get the bundles of lines for each sled. She looked over at the kennel, surveying the group of thirty dogs she had settled on over the last few weeks. By Monday, the group would be narrowed to twenty and then, to her final team by race time.

"Bo?"

She turned to Lauren, "What? We are bonding. I'm driving my team, you're driving your team… plus eleven. My dogs need to get accustomed to having another sled near them. I want to be sure that there is no residual anxiety over what happened at the Quest, so this will give me the opportunity to check on that."

Lauren shook her head, her face filled with worry, "What if I'm not fast enough? What if I hold you back… or the dogs back? What if I fall off and lose the whole team?"

"Then I get Kurt to go up in the chopper to find them as he has many times before. He's paid well as a member of my team, so he'll do what he has to do just like everyone else," she hooked her lines to her sled, "It's two people, enjoying the ride while the dogs enjoy what they love the most – running like they were born to do. For the musher, it's training. For them, it's playing in the snow. It's all about attitude and perspective. It's not a job – it's an adventure. I actually hate calling it training."

"I didn't realize we were going for a training run. Did you mention something that I forgot, Ysabeau?"

Both women turned to see Scout standing at the garage entrance. Bo sighed, "We're not… I mean, you and I are not. Lauren and I are going out… a little weekend getaway."

"I can be ready in twenty minutes." Scout said, turning towards the barn, but Bo ran after him,

"Scout!" She caught up, "Hey, buddy. If you don't mind, I'd like you to stay here… keep an eye on my mom and Rudy."

"My duty is to you, Ysabeau. I am at full strength and if you are still concerned that I could hold you back, I can send Storm to…"

"No. Absolutely not. I don't want her anywhere near me or Lauren." Bo snapped, "No offense. Besides, I thought she was leaving town."

"She is… in time to attend the race… apparently. Ysabeau, I understand that my sister took… liberties, but I assure you…"

"Scout, you have no control over her, so please don't make me promises you can't keep or try to defend her character. I am of the belief that you do not know who your sister truly is. She still grieves for the loss of her wife and I believe she holds me responsible in some way since the man who caused her death was my father. I don't trust her, Scout and there is nothing you can say or do to change that."

"Ysabeau, she would never jeopardize your eligibility for this race and she would never jeopardize her standing as a Veterinarian."

Bo considered his statement, "Maybe, but this is my family, Scout and I will not jeopardize them or my relationship with any of them… especially Lauren. I've hurt her enough and I will not allow Storm proximity close enough to either of us to hurt her again."

"That is your prerogative. Still, I believe I should accompany you…"

"Scout, this is my last weekend with my fiancé. I would like some alone time with her."

"I will keep my distance," He defended.

"With all due respect, Scout, in order to perform your duty, you must be able to see me, yes?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Yea, well I don't think I want your eyes on me when I'm with Lauren… if you get my drift."

Scout looked confused and just when Bo thought she was going to have to spell it out for the man, his eyes went wide and he nodded,

"Oh! I understand. Yes. You will need your privacy." He nodded, "May I at least use the GPS tracker? If you are in the same place for too long, I would know to come for you."

Bo sighed, "If you must. You know, I'm just wondering about this whole oath thing. If Storm can fill in for you as your closest blood relative, doesn't the same apply to your oath if you were to say… save the life of my blood relatives? Would that forgive the debt you owe me?"

Scout considered Bo's question before replying, "Honestly, I'm not sure. To my knowledge, such a situation has never arisen."

Bo nodded, "Well, I would say we would be even if you saved my mom, Rudy or my brother Tosh. They're my closest blood relatives."

"I will look into it. For now, I will respect your wishes… and your privacy. I will look after your family while you are away."

Bo smiled, "Thank you, Scout."

The pair turned to head back into the garage, but noticed Lauren was gone. Bo called into the house, but there was no answer. She walked through the side door to check the back yard, but she was not there either. Finally, she heard Scout call her name. She ran back around the house to see the man pointing towards the barn.

Bo swallowed hard as she watched Lauren standing, arms folded across her chest, in front of Storm. Scout was quick to defend,

"I swear I did not know she was coming. I've told her to stay away."

Bo turned to Scout, "Well, like I said, I don't trust her, you cannot control her, and I don't fucking need this right now."

As Bo moved to intervene, Scout placed a hand on her shoulder, "Maybe you should allow them to speak. For the last few days, I've had the opportunity to spend time with your Doctor Lewis. She really can resolve her own conflicts, Ysabeau. Why not give her the chance to deal with my sister on her own terms?"

Bo turned to Scout, "I'm fairly certain I was speaking English, but if you need me to say it in Tlinglit, I will do so. I do not trust your sister."

Scout nodded, "That was still in English."

"I know," Bo snapped.

Scout bowed, "As you wish."

Bo walked towards the pair, coming to stand just behind Lauren, mirroring her fiancé's posture as she listened to Storm speak,

"… I must admit, you are as striking as Ysabeau. You make a beautiful couple."

"Hitting on my fiancé now?" Bo snapped.

"Apologizing. I am sorry that you would suspect anything else, but apparently I have done things to breech the trust we once shared."

"To be clear, we didn't share anything, though it wasn't for your lack of effort."

Storm nodded, "Your friend Kenzi has allowed me to see that my actions may have been perceived as a threat."

"A threat?" Bo asked.

"Yes, she explained that your good doctor here could perceive my actions as a threat."

Lauren finally spoke, "Believe me when I say that there isn't a single soul on land, sea or sky who could pull Bo from the life we have together. What I don't understand is why you are here? Why now? How did you even know where we were or what had happened to your brother?"

Lauren stepped closer, staring into the woman's eyes, "He was on my surgical table with no identification, brought there by chopper from the Canadian border into the U.S. to my clinic that is so new, it is not on any map. He was near death, so I am sure he did not call you. My staff did not call you because they did not know how to contact his next of kin."

Upon further analysis, Lauren made another discovery, "Come to think of it, I remember you. You were at the Quest that day. I saw you. You were at the finish line… pumping your fist when the others tried to take Bo down," she leaned in, "Who are you?"

Storm stared at Lauren who held perfectly still as the woman replied, "Apparently there is widespread concern among the members of Bo's family that I may do something to jeopardize her Iditarod race as some sort of revenge for what her father took from me."

Bo leaned in suspiciously, "Interesting. First, you used the word widespread which tells me you have been inserting yourself into the lives of my blood kin. Second, you called Big Jim my father, but we've already discussed the fact that he was never a father to me. Third, answer Lauren's question… what is your purpose here?"

Storm nodded, "You say Big Jim wasn't a father to you, but you have his filthy blood coursing through your half-breed veins."

"Sister! That's enough!" Scout protested, but a stronger voice moved into the group,

"It is true that she has his blood, but his marriage to me was not legal by tribal or federal law. He was married to another at the time he married me and I can produce both tribal and federal documents to that fact."

Bo turned to see Mary standing, an axe in either hand, "Mom, go back inside."

"If this concerns Big Jim, this concerns my family and contrary to popular belief, Ysabeau Dennis is not the Matriarch of this family. I am," Mary replied, definitely, "You have business with me?"

Storm laughed, "Business? I'll tell you about our business! Your husband took my wife from me. By our laws…"

"You believe you have the right to take my life?" Mary asked before the group was distracted by the sight of two trucks and a snow machine and a sled team pulling into the driveway. Lauren turned back just in time to see Storm slowly pulling a long blade from the sheath behind her waist. As Lauren took a step forward, to stop the woman's attack on Mary, Scout intervened, stepping in front of her,

"What is this, Sister?"

She did not remove her eyes from Mary's, but spoke to Scout, "Justice."

"This is no justice. The council agreed that this woman had no role in the betrayer's misdeeds. Justice has been served."

"There is no justice until she is dead!" Storm said, striking out at Mary, but Scout raised his hand, blocking the woman at her forearm.

"Storm, you know my oath." Scout said, "I must protect them. Bo saved my life on that trail and Lauren saved my life on the surgeon's table. I will not allow you to harm them."

She smirked, "Well, as luck would have it, I'm not aiming for them."

"Storm!" Bo said, blocking the woman's next attempt, "You are not going to do this!" She held tightly to the wrist that held the knife, her eyes mere inches from the other woman's, "Big Jim's base of power was not on the North Slope where we lived. He married before my mother for a hideaway and to breed sons - nothing more."

Bo knew her words would cut her mother deeply, "Sorry, mom."

Mary did not react to Bo's words, instead taking two steps closer to Storm.

"Then you admit she enabled him to hide from justice!" Storm declared, dodging Bo and pulling her hand back to strike at Mary, but it was Lauren who blocked this attempt.

"I want justice!" Storm shouted, pushing Lauren aside and storming towards Mary, but the elder Dennis side-stepped her advance, leaving the raven-haired woman face down in the snow with Mary's axe at her throat,

"And I want peace!" Mary said, slowly pulling her axe away and standing upright, "That man destroyed every life he touched… both yours and ours! We owe you nothing!" She nodded to the people behind her, "Now, I'm not sure who it is you believe you've picked a fight with, Child, but I have fought off bears three times the size of you to protect my family and Ysabeau has done the same. Trust me when I say you do not want to do this."

Mary slowly backed away from the woman, the axe in her left hand in a defensive posture while the axe in her right was ready to throw at an instant. She backed into a position in front of Bo and Lauren. Tosh, Molly, Mark, Tamsin and Acacia moved towards the three women, ready to act if necessary. Seeing no escape, Storm rolled over and got to her feet, eyeing Bo. She turned to run towards the river, but Bo was too quick. She dove, grabbing the intruder by the ankle and pulling her down,

"Oh no you don't. You don't get to run free after attacking my family – not by anyone's law." She gave a loud whistle. Harper was there in an instant, her teeth bared as she growled down at the assailant of her Master,

"This is over." Bo said, releasing her and getting to her feet. She stepped back towards her family again as she spoke, "Don't even think about attacking Harper. She may not be as strong as she once was, but I assure you that she still knows how to make a kill with one well-placed bite."

Storm rolled over and slowly stood, eyeing Harper cautiously before turning to Bo, "This will never be over until I have justice."

The woman used an underhand throw of a concealed knife, hurling it at Bo, but Scout stepped in front of the blade which entered his torso just below the heart on the left,

"Scout!" Bo shouted, catching the man as he slumped to the ground.

Storm's eyes went wide as she watched her brother fall, but before she could reach for him, she heard two pistols cock on either side of her head. She turned to see Tamsin and Acacia flanking her. Her jaw tensed and her brow furrowed as she dropped the axe and raised her hands up behind her head. Acacia gave Tamsin a nod and the blonde holstered her weapon before placing the handcuffs on the aggressor. She then followed procedure and searched her for additional concealed weapons.

Lauren immediately applied pressure to Scout's wound, shouting towards the house for Shannie to bring the first aid kit. Molly and Mark ran for the house to keep Rudy and Elise inside with Carolyn.

Tosh moved to his sister, putting an arm around her as they watched Lauren work. When Bo caught sight of Storm being escorted away, she stepped in front of her, Tamsin and Acacia tightening their grip.

She stood nose to nose with the woman as she spoke, "So, all of those things you said about your wife not really being your true love?"

Storm scowled, "She was everything in the world to me and your father killed her!"

Tosh stepped forward to stand by his sister, "And you killed his wife."

Storm nodded towards Mary, "She looks alive and well to me."

Acacia came to stand beside Tosh, "I think you should hear the man out, lady."

Storm turned back to Tosh who looked at Acacia, then Tamsin who gave him a nod. His eyes welled with tears from rage as he gripped the woman by her shirt and slammed her against a tree. Acacia and Tamsin stood by, monitoring to be sure no real damage was done as Tosh spoke,

"It was you. You poisoned my mother. Slowly. Over time. We thought it was Big Jim, but it was you. Then, you tried to do the same thing to Mary."

"You can't prove that!" Storm smirked, "None of you can!" She eyed the agents, but Acacia grinned back at the suspect,

"Ah, but we can. We exhumed the body."

Storm was silent, not exactly sure what that meant. She stared at the two agents, eventually speaking a bold, "So?"

Tamsin laughed, "One of the disadvantages of living off grid is that you don't know a whole helluva lot about today's science. You see, there's this stuff called DNA and there are these fields of study called forensics and cellular biology. When those doctors get together, they can prove all sorts of shit. Then, of course, there are these undercover FBI Agents whose job is to witness stuff like this."

A handsome man stepped forward and tipped his cowboy hat to Bo and Tosh. Bo immediately recognized him, "Oh my…"

"I know. And I'm sorry I couldn't tell you who I really was." He turned to Storm, "Ma'am. The name is Jake. Jake Mammoth. I've been tracking you for a little over a year now. You've been following a kind, middle-aged woman by the name of Mary Dennis and her child. Just the other night, you made your way along the wall at the back of the house and slid beneath the window screen. You pried open the window and put a drop of this solution in each of the sleeping woman's eyes."

He held up a small bottle of dark purple liquid in one hand and a warrant in the other,

"We searched your hotel room… the room that we knew you would need when Scout no longer needed you to honor his oath by monitoring Bo from a distance. Kenzi was happy to provide a free train car upgrade to the couple staying in that room since it would give us access to your window from across the street. From there, we were able to watch you making your poison."

Mary couldn't help but wipe her eyes, now understanding why her vision had been blurry the last several days.

Bo came to stand in front of Storm adding the weight of her hand to the woman's chest, "Her eyes? What the hell is wrong with you!"

Storm spat, "You have everything I had! Everything! It's because of Big Jim that I now have nothing!" Tears streamed down her cheeks, "He took my life, and I will not rest until I have hers! It's my right!"

Tosh shook his head, leaning in closer as he tightened his grip on her shirt and used the other hand to apply pressure to her throat. Bo gripped his wrist, "Brother…"

He leaned harder on Storm despite his sister's warning, "It's your right? You have NO rights here! Your tribal law says a life for a life, but Big Jim's legal wife was my mother, not Bo's! You poisoned my mother through her teas and when she passed, my wife began drinking those teas in her honor. She was dead in months from the same damn mystery disease that useless cuss of a doctor couldn't figure out! You had your justice when you took my mom from me…" his jaw clenched, "… but according to your tribal laws, I have yet to have justice for the death of my wife!"

He pulled a knife from Bo's leg and held it to her throat, the pressure making a tiny cut before Tamsin and Bo gripped him and pulled him back as he screamed, "You… you killed her! You killed my wife! You killed the mother of my children!"

He turned into Bo and openly wept in her arms while Tamsin and Acacia walked their prisoner to the truck, handing her off to Adam. Mark came to his father's side, Molly joining him as the three wept together. Bo never knew her sister-in-law, but it was now very clear to her that Tosh had suffered more than she had ever imagined. At least she still had her mother, Lauren and a half-sister as well.

Tamsin and Acacia returned to Bo's side, Mary joining the group as well. The younger Dennis looked up at the pair of agents,

"So, mystery solved?"

Tamsin nodded, "I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you anything, Bo. We weren't one hundred percent sure until Jake got pictures of her in the room at the hotel last night. The pictures he got of Storm breaching your mom's bedroom window earlier this week were grainy at best." She kicked at the dirt, "She must have checked the calendar to know which night would be darkest."

"So, we have to worry about her eyes?" Bo asked.

Tamsin pulled out a pink solution and handed it to Mary, "I called Airynn Tinuit as soon as Jake told me how she was introducing the poison. Kenzi cleaned the room and found enough of the purple stuff to give to Amelia who made an antidote with Airynn's help. Jake has been dropping it into your mother's eyes every night to counteract the effects. If he hadn't been following her, Mary would have been blind by now."

"It was a close one." Acacia said, "We got lucky."

Bo nodded, "I'll have to send Airynn a fruit basket."

"A what?" Molly asked, twisting her face at Bo's remark.

"It's apparently a ritual thank you in the lower forty-eight. I've been reading about… you know what, forget it." Bo said, looking at Jake as he walked towards the group, "So… Jake Mammoth Federal Agent, huh?"

He grinned, "That's me."

"So, all of that stuff you told me during The Quest about your family being native was…"

"Absolutely true," he smiled, "I couldn't lie to you since I knew you were a friend of Tamsin's. She wasn't happy I told the truth, but Acacia assured her you weren't the type to hop on the internet mid-race to search my name."

"So you were really born here, huh?" Bo asked.

He nodded, "I left Alaska to go to the academy. I wanted knowledge of the federal justice system to help my village and it landed me a job as an undercover agent in native villages working for joint indigenous-federal cases. This particular job is what brought me back here… well, my skills in native life is what brought me back. Tamsin found my name in the database and Acacia agreed I would be perfect. Little did I know that I would actually get to race in the Quest to protect the innocent I would be watching."

Tamsin sighed, "I knew you would never buy into me entering the Quest… for any reason."

Bo laughed, "Well, congratulations for even considering it."

"Oh, that was only for about five seconds. Kyle saw the pamphlet and put her foot down… directly on mine." Tamsin laughed, "She said I'm good enough for travel, but no way good enough for a race."

"She didn't see you in action at the Iditarod," Bo smiled.

Tamsin laughed, "Luckily I didn't have to run the whole race."

Bo nodded, turning to Jake, "So how did you like racing?"

"It was certainly interesting." Jake replied, "Mind you, I don't actually have any designs on running the Iditarod, but if you needed a pacer for the first few legs, I might be up for that."

"A pacer, huh? If you trained a bit, I'd bet you could be a contender. You did alright out there." Bo smiled.

"Sure, I did alright, but I cheated."

"Cheated? How?"

He shrugged, "The Feds gave me fresh dogs at five different secret checkpoints where I reported my findings, got food, slept and got warm while someone else trailed you via GPS. There was a chip embedded in your sled courtesy of Tamsin."

Bo turned to Tamsin, but before she could speak, the blonde shook her head, "Kyle didn't know. She never would have agreed. It would have been a betrayal in her eyes."

"But not in yours?"

Tamsin shrugged, "I did my job, I did it well. You and Scout are both alive. That's all that matters to me. You want to be mad, go ahead. I'll always know you're alive and even if I'm uninvited to your wedding, I'll know you and Lauren are getting married because I made the right decision."

Bo nodded, turning back to Jake, "So how did you know what they were planning?"

Jake smiled, "I showed up at various campfires and no one was the wiser. They just thought I was behind them the whole time. Being cocky as hell drew their attention too."

"You baited them," Bo said, "That was dangerous."

Jake shrugged, "I had backup. Snipers in the woods at every campfire. I wasn't in any danger, but they were."

Bo nodded, "Wow. And the race officials approved that?"

"They weren't given a choice. It was that or shut down the race and refund the entry fees."

"But the entry fees were already spent on the race and prize money," Bo concluded, "Still, it was impressive that you were able to keep up on that last leg of the race."

He grinned, "Again – cheated. I had a fresh team, sled and I was very well rested. That's how I was able to keep up with you down the homestretch… until I had to take those guys out. I had planned to be with you right to the finish line in case anyone tried to pull anything to stop you from crossing, but when that big guy pulled out that whip…"

Bo nodded, "I get it."

She turned, her attention drawn to Lauren calling Kurt. She turned back to Jake, "We'll talk more later, huh?"

Jake nodded, the two turning their attention back to the agents and Scout. Tamsin gave a nod to the three agents by the truck holding Storm. They nodded back before setting off to take their suspect into town. Bo walked over to where Lauren and Shannie were tending to Scout,

"Is he going to be okay?" Bo asked.

Lauren nodded, "We're going to have to move him to the beach by the river. There's too much tree cover here for Kurt to land."

Bo quickly surveyed her property, shaking her head, "Tell him to land in the clearing to the northwest of our house. We'll move him there. It's not as far and he'll have plenty of space to land."

Lauren relayed the message while Bo looked down at Scout. He reached up for her hand as he spoke, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea my sister had such anger for you and yours. I didn't listen to you."

Bo smiled, "It's not your fault so don't even think about getting any ideas about a new oath. You stepped in front of that knife and took the blade for me. I'd say your oath is fulfilled."

Scout shook his head, "Your brother, Tosh… she killed his wife as well as his mother. All this time and… I never knew. I owe him…"

"No, Scout. Storm owes him and she will pay through the federal justice system." Bo replied, "Still, I don't understand. She told me it had only been a year since her wife had died. How could she have killed my brother's mother and wife?"

Scout shook his head, "She has carried this anger for decades, Ysabeau. She and her wife were married at just nineteen years of age. They were very young… too young for marriage in the opinions of many. But… theirs was a love for the ages, much like that of you and your doctor, so the marriage was permitted. They were rarely apart except for…"

"The day my dad and his men came into her store."

He nodded, "Storm sought vengeance immediately when the white man's justice system did not agree with her request."

"A life for a life." Bo concluded.

Scout gasped as pain rushed through his wound. Bo gripped his hand tightly until it passed before he continued,

"She disappeared for two years… a chance to grieve with the land was the request she made to the council, and they granted it. When she returned, she reported to the council that justice had been served. She told our parents that your brother's mother had been killed in a tin dog accident."

Bo nodded, "And of course, your elders believed her."

"Of course. As you know, we do not approve of the use of such machines. They are dangerous to mankind and to the land. Knowing Big Jim as we did, we naturally believed that he would own such a contraption and that it would kill his wife."

Bo nodded, "And Tosh's wife?"

"A rumor reached Storm that she became ill from a virus and succumbed to its affects. Of course, her death was not what my sister sought… or so I thought." Again, pain struck, causing him to gasp, but he shook his head, "No one knew how the rumor had reached Storm and when she was questioned, she said she overheard it in town when she did a supply run. I didn't want to doubt my sister's honor, but I knew she did not speak to anyone when she was in town. She should pay for her crimes."

Bo nodded, "Tamsin and Acacia will see to it."

He shook his head, "She should stand before our tribal council as well."

Bo sighed, "They will have to take that up with the federal system. My friends are federal agents. They have taken her into custody."

"Please, Bo. Get a message to my family. They need to know what Storm has done. She must be held accountable by both legal bodies. It's our law."

"Your family won't defend her?"

"Absolutely not. She has gone against the orders of the council by killing your brother's mother. She did so again if she did, indeed, kill his wife. Today, she tried to take your mother's life… and yours. If I die…"

"You're not going to die." Bo said as pain ripped through him again.

"Bo, there is a metal box beneath my bed in the barn. It has my final wishes…"

"No! You are not dying! You stay with me." Bo said, her eyes welling with tears, "You have to stay with me. You've been annoying as hell, but you're always right! You helped me make it back! You have to stay!"

She looked up at Lauren who checked his pulse, "He's just unconscious, Bo. Shannie spoke with Kelly. She has Kate standing by with Doctor Omar Robinson. Remember? I told you he's our new Chief of Emergency Medicine. I promise he's in good hands, Bo."

They looked to the sky as Kurt zeroed in on his target, landing the chopper perfectly, "Okay, let's get him into the chopper."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Four hours later…

Bo sat rotating the puzzle piece in her hand, unable to find the spot where it belonged. Of course, she wasn't exactly concentrating. Her mind was filled with the chaos of earlier in the day. Elise and Rudy were blissfully unaware of what had transpired as they had spent their time building a fort in the house with Carolyn. For the last hour, they had drawn Bo and Lynnie into putting together a puzzle. Lynnie came to sit beside Bo again,

"Kelly just called. Scout is out of surgery. He's going to be fine." Carolyn said with a smile, "Do you want me to go tell Lauren?"

Bo shook her head, looking out the window, "I'll do it."

She stood from the table, pulled on her outdoor gear and headed for the door. Lauren was casting her fishing rod over and over again. In fact, she had been casting the rod for the last two hours. Bo smiled,

"Catch anything?"

No response.

"Tough audience." Bo mumbled, moving to stand beside the blonde, "Kelly called. Scout is out of surgery. He's going to be okay."

Lauren nodded, "I told you."

"Wow. I get 'I told you so' because I was worried about the guy?"

"Yes!" Lauren shook her head, "No. I'm sorry. I just… I thought we were past all of this, Bo."

"Lauren, we are. Storm was the last skeleton in my proverbial family closet."

"Really?" Lauren asked, turning to Bo, "I thought the last skeleton had been long buried last spring."

Bo frowned, "Are you saying you don't want to be a part of this family?"

"No, Bo. Of course not. But I definitely need a beat to process everything that happened this morning. I mean, it's easy to feel like this nightmare of yours will never end."

As soon as the words were out of Lauren's mouth, she regretted them. She could see the look of shame on Bo's face. Worse yet, the look of the blame she no doubt felt for again putting them all in mortal danger. It took Bo four months in the wild to shed that damn Athabascan black bird from her conscience and in one statement, Lauren feared she had brought it back,

"Bo… I'm not blaming you. It's not your fault."

"Really?" Bo snapped, "Because it certainly sounds like you're associating me and my family history with what you are currently forced to deal with… like I have a choice! I mean, it is my family history and believe me, I tried to run from it – for years…" she turned towards the mountain, "As it turns out, I can't run from my problems."

Lauren felt terrible about her choice of words. She weaponized Bo's past because she was angry with Bo about Storm. She had a right to be angry, but she had no right to lash out with such a personal attack.

"But you… you do have a choice, Lauren. You didn't ask for my past and if you can't handle the possibility that one day, you may turn a corner and come face to face with another Storm, Big Jim or Elijah Tarook, you can choose to walk away from all the crazy that is my family any time you'd like. I wouldn't blame you."

"Bo, that's not what I'm saying. I'm sorry," Lauren said softly, "I didn't mean it the way it came out. I just thought we had finished swimming in the turbulent wake that Big Jim left behind him…" She sighed, "…bad analogy, but hopefully you get the picture. Like I said, this thing with Storm was just out of the blue. I didn't even know she was in town, then she shows up here. She was so eerily friendly, then suddenly turned into this…"

"Vengeful, murderous, psychopath?" Bo concluded.

Lauren nodded, "I needed some time to process."

Bo nodded, "I understand, but you've been processing with that fishing rod for two hours."

"Two… two hours?" Lauren asked, looking up at the sky, "I didn't realize. I just…" she could see the look in Bo's eyes, "…and you have to get going."

"Yup. No pressure, but I do have to get to that training run. The race…"

"…won't wait. It's your job… in two weeks. I know. You have to leave on Monday for a full week, then be back here for prep and packing before we all head to the start. I remember."

Bo nodded, "So, we had a plan to run the trail together for a couple of days."

"You still want me to go?"

"You have to ask?" Bo smiled.

"I thought you might not want me to…"

"Go with me? Why? Because Storm went all revenge-crazy on us and got hauled off by the Feds to serve what will likely be a life sentence for trying to kill you and my Mom… and did kill Tosh's mom and wife…"

"I hope he finds some closure now." Lauren added, "And I'm glad you didn't get killed."

Bo shrugged, "Because Scout's chest intercepted the knife," Bo shook her head, "At least he's alive and his debt to me is paid. No more sidekick."

Lauren nodded, "How do you feel about that?"

Bo shrugged, "Grateful for him saving my life, but it would have been nice if he'd raised a forearm – even a hand. Getting stabbed in the hand is much preferred to getting stabbed in the lung. Stupid bastard."

"Bo…"

"Okay, he's brave."

"You're angry with him." Lauren realized.

"Yes! How could he not know? How could he not have enough knowledge about how she felt to at least drop a hint to me that she was dangerous to my family? I mean, he let me believe that her wife had died recently. He let me believe she was more horny than hopeless! Yes, I'm pissed at him!"

Lauren shook her head, "I haven't known them for as long as you have, but at first glance, it didn't seem to me they were that close."

Bo shook her head, "He still lied about her facts using that 'it's not my story to tell' bullshit. But on the other hand, I'm angry with myself for making assumptions about their sibling relationship based on my own relationship with Roo."

"Oh?"

Bo shrugged, "Rudy and I have known each other for less than a year and she tells me pretty much everything. I'd like to say I do pretty much the same – as age appropriate, that is. They just seemed… close and they've been together all of their lives, so I assumed… I guess I read that wrong."

Lauren shrugged, holding up the fishing rod and wiggling the sinker she'd been using to practice "Well, if it's any solace to you, I've been trying to kill a fish with a sinker for two hours in order to process this mess, then blamed you for it anyway."

Bo smiled, "It is a mess, isn't it?

Lauren grinned, kissing Bo on the cheek, "But it's our mess."

"It is." Bo smiled.

"So, when did you plan to leave?"

"Now?" Bo said, hesitating at first.

"I'll be ready in ten. I've just gotta pee and get dressed."

Bo smiled, "So, you'll still go with me?"

"If I don't, she wins, right?" Lauren reasoned about the chaos of the morning.

Bo smiled, "I suppose that's one way of looking at it, but I'd rather think of it as Bo and Lauren rising above whatever life throws at them in order to live the life they choose."

"I like that." Lauren grinned, "Okay then. Let's go."

"We'll have to wake the dogs. At least they got some extra sleep in."

Lauren nodded, "I'm okay with that."

"We're traveling at the coldest time of day, so when you're too cold, just let me know and we'll set up camp," Bo said, a slight look of concern on her face.

Lauren smiled, "It's okay, Bo. I'll add some layers while I'm inside."

"Speaking of inside, we'll have to say our goodbyes again." Bo said, nodding towards the house.

"I'm okay that too." She smiled, following Bo inside.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wednesday – Rest stop about one hundred miles from The Homestead

Bo opened her eyes to see empty blankets beside her and only a few of the dogs from her team. She quickly sat up and scanned the area, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Lauren sitting by a roaring fire, staring out at the mountains that were once again illuminated by an almost full moon.

Bo didn't know why she bothered to worry anymore. Lauren had handled herself so well through the entire weekend that Bo had rearranged her training plan so that they could run together through tomorrow. While Bo would have preferred that they just travel straight through to the race start, Lauren convinced her that she needed to go it alone for the sake of her team this close to the start of the race. Bo had argued that she had a full week remaining to train, but Lauren reminded her that she had already been gone later than promised, so really felt obligated to check in with the clinic and hospital – if for no other reason than to check in with Stephen and chat with Kate about Thea.

Bo could have argued both points, but just like Lauren was concerned about Bo doing the right thing for her job, Bo knew Lauren had to do the same for her young patient. Mutual respect was just one of many topics they had discussed during their time together and Bo was working on doing what she had to do to show that respect for her partner.

The blonde had taken to rising early in the morning and starting the fire before doing some yoga, meditation and stretching. When she was finished, she would sit with any of the dogs who showed an interest in sitting with her by the fire while she had coffee and took in the scenery of the day. This was her time with the land and her dogs, so Bo had not interrupted the established routine for days. Somehow, she sensed that Lauren needed it… and her open fire coffee was amazing.

Bo set to the task of her usual morning routine, feeding the dogs their nutrient mix and then making a human breakfast. Lauren had offered to handle the dogs, but that was something Bo really needed to do so the dogs didn't get too far from their race routine. Salmon or trout had both been fairly simply to catch along the new route Bo had chosen, so her concerns about finding proper proteins for the teams had been relieved.

She was happy to see Lauren embracing subsistence life. Of course, the blonde had twice burned meals and once undercooked fish, so Bo had been dealing with Lauren's perfectionist frustrations. She had repeatedly reminded the blonde that she was handling the mushing life much better than anyone she'd ever traveled with except Molly and her Mom. She also shared plenty of embarrassing childhood stories about learning how to cook over open fire heat, but Doctor Lauren Lewis simply hated to fail at anything.

The doctor in her also struggled with cleaning and gutting fish with an ulu. When Bo had killed a rabbit for stew on Sunday, Lauren insisted on getting the meat free her way. Bo could only giggle as she watched the doctor pull her scalpel and forceps from her emergency kit and quite literally perform surgery on the creature, removing the skin from the muscle tissue and insisting they use the heart and liver as well. No waste was her rule when it came to killing animals for food.

Bo's cheeks were sore from smiling at Lauren so much throughout their shared travels. Her fiancé was simply adorable and Bo had grown more and more certain with each day that she couldn't wait to marry her. Last night, they had fished for today's breakfast for the dogs. Lauren's pout was adorable when Bo landed three salmon and a trout, before she had caught a thing. While she cleaned her fish, Lauren kept at it, her casts all but willing a fish to bite her line. Finally, she landed a massive salmon and the grin remained on her face for hours.

Reluctantly, Bo tore her eyes away from the blonde and turned her thoughts to the task at hand. She began stirring the chow for the dogs and then set to cooking two pieces of salmon with a wild berry glaze. As expected, Lauren was attracted by the wonderful aroma and came to stand by the larger campfire.

"Good morning, my love." Lauren smiled, kissing Bo on the cheek, "That smells delicious."

Bo smiled, nodding towards the dogs, "You're spoiling them with a fire of their own."

Lauren shrugged, "It's their last morning of luxury so scold me if you must."

Bo smiled, "Bring that cute little behind here and I'll give you a spanking."

Lauren giggled as Bo stood and pulled her close, squeezing her bum, "You didn't have enough last night?"

Bo smiled, "With you, it'll never be enough, Lauren."

The blonde took Bo's face in both hands, landing a passionate kiss on her mouth until she'd had her fill, then quickly dropped her hands and walked to the other side of the fire, casually asking,

"So what smells so good?" She smirked, turning to stare at her lover who was standing, lips still puckered, eyes closed until she realized she was alone.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, her mouth twisted into a dopey smile until she could finally form words,

"You are evil, Lauren Lewis."

The blonde chuckled, "That didn't answer my question."

Bo smiled, "Okay. I'll play."

Lauren's voice was low and seductive in reply, "Goodie."

"For today's breakfast menu, Doctor Lewis, I have prepared salmon with a wildberry glaze. The berries were harvested fresh this morning from the base of that cluster of rocks over there. I thought you might like something… sweet on your palate this morning to compliment the tasting I provided last night."

Lauren watched as Bo moved her hand down her chest, over her midsection, finishing with a pull of her hand between her legs. The blonde licked her lips, her eyes dwelling on Bo's lowerbody for a long moment before she pulled herself from the trance to find her words,

"Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be another way to cook a piece of salmon in the wild, you come up with this. You really should do a Bo Dennis cookbook."

"Hmmm. That's an idea." Bo said, her mind moving quickly to how she might work a cookbook into her new business plan.

"I'm sure Molly would be happy to put it on the shelf in the general store. We've got a binding machine for hospital manuals in the office. You could print them as needed and also sell them electronically."

"Sounds like a good idea." Bo smiled.

"Do you want me to feed both teams? I know you have been doing it for the sake of your routine, but will one day hurt?"

Bo nodded, "I think that would be fine. Breakfast will be up in about fifteen minutes. Do you want potatoes and greens?"

"Yes, please," Lauren smiled, rounding the fire to place a kiss on Bo's cheek, "I love you."

Bo smiled, "Love you more."

Lauren chuckled and grabbed the two buckets, hauling them over to the dog's sleeping area. Bo looked up and watched her walk away. Her heart was filled by the sense of happiness she felt from Lauren this week. It was a stark contrast to where she had been a few weeks ago.

Taking a deep breath, she looked out at the lake, allowing her eyes to drift to the sky before she lowered them once more, eyeing the water's current suspiciously. She sighed, whispering to the flames,

"I hope the weather holds."

The pair finished their tasks and sat down by the fire to eat. When they were finished, they took their wooden bowls and utensils to the lake, broke a hole in the ice by the water's edge and rinsed them off. Bo dropped a bucket into the lake and brought it back over to water the dogs and fill their bottles while Lauren set to the task of checking lines and leads. When Bo was finished, she put out the fires and then packed up the sleds.

"Okay. Everything is set." Bo smiled, looking down at the dogs, "Looks like they can use another hour or so. Want to walk a bit?"

"Definitely," Lauren said, standing, "You know, I have to admit, I had no idea that mushing took so much out of your legs."

Bo shrugged, "Well, if you're on the straight and narrow, not so much but we just traveled along that river trail, so it does take its toll since you have to lean harder to prevent your sled from sliding or tipping."

"Well, apparently I didn't lean hard enough." Lauren frowned.

Bo shook her head, "You held on to the sled, Lauren. That's all that matters. You held onto the sled and had the presence of mind to drop the brake. Otherwise, we might still be searching for your team. Even the most experienced mushers hit bumps they can't counterbalance. Hell, you saw two professionals lose their teams last year at a checkpoint. You stopped one team yourself. As I said when it happened, you were flying down the hill."

Lauren shrugged, "I have to admit, it really is a lot of fun."

"You're a speed addict, just like my little sister." Bo laughed.

They walked along the edge of the frozen lake for a while, taking their time and looking at the scenery as light allowed. After a while, Lauren wrapped her arm into the crook of Bo's elbow,

"Is this what our life would be like if we lived off-grid?"

Bo smiled, "Our life could be however you want it to be, Lauren. If we make the move across the river, we could build up on the mountain or at the bottom – as long as we're not directly beneath the landing area of an avalanche."

"Avalanche?" Lauren asked.

Bo sighed, "I forgot you weren't around in the earlier months of winter to see the snow come down the mountain."

"So exactly where would we build to avoid a mountain full of snow?"

"Upriver where I proposed to you or anywhere north of there. There's a vertical rock ridge and an overhang at the bottom. It tends to divert snow back towards the mountain. Of course, we can also go downriver closer to the fishing wheel and bridge… or even past that if you wanted to. The river is louder there since it gets deeper and wider. There's also more wildlife since the salmon spawn nearby."

"I'm sorry I asked," Lauren replied.

"Really?"

Lauren smiled, "I guess I just thought you would tell me where and that would be the end of it."

Bo placed a hand on Lauren's forearm, pulling her closer, "I thought we were a team. Shouldn't we both make that decision?"

The blonde smiled, leaning into her lover, "I suppose you're right. I guess I wasn't really asking where we would live as much as I was asking how we would live."

"I'm not sure I understand what you're asking."

Lauren pulled Bo to a stop. She wrapped her arms around the brunette and leaned in, placing her head on her chest. Her eyes scanning the mountains before she closed them and listened to the slow steady sound of Bo's heart,

"It's funny. I've listened to so many heart sounds in my life, but yours is the only one that calms me when I hear it."

Bo smiled, "Maybe because you can count on mine to beat the way it's supposed to?"

"Or because I know it beats to keep you alive and to give love to mine?"

"That's nice." Bo sighed, kissing the top of the blonde's head, "Lauren, we can live however you want to live, wherever you want to live. I'll eventually accommodate to living indoors again. We can live like we've been living these last five days whenever you want. We can figure out some sort of hybrid version between the two or we can just take trips like this when the spirit moves you. I think that once you figure out what it is that you want to do, we'll be able to decide."

"But what about you? You want to build your furniture and your sleds."

Bo smiled, "I can do that from the river, or I could so that from a shelter built in the woods. It really doesn't matter to me, Lauren. You're the one who has given up her way of life to be here with me and my family. I want the next step to be your choice. You've done your part. Please let me do mine."

"Correction. I came back here for me and my work. I wasn't sure you were coming back to me. Sure I hoped, but we had an agreement, so I knew I had to make the decision to move here for myself. It was the right decision. You are a perk."

Bo smiled, "I love you so damn much, Lauren Lewis."

She could feel Lauren nod before her shoulders began to quiver and then shake as she broke down. Bo rubbed her back, whispering to her,

"Don't cry my love."

Lauren's voice broke as she replied, "I'm just so grateful to you. I've always been the dutiful, stoic doctor who could handle anything. I feel like I've just become this damaged, broken weakling in the last week and it's just amazing to me that you've stood beside me."

Bo smiled, "In a few weeks, I'm going to vow to stay with you for better or worse, darling. Of course, I'm here for you."

"There's still time to run." Lauren chuckled, "I'm a walking, talking emotional roller coaster. I've never been like this. I've always been the tough, smart, focused professional. Look at me now. Maybe you should run."

"Never." Bo replied, laughing with the blonde, "Rudy would never forgive me if she didn't get her new sister."

The pair laughed harder, thinking of the youngster.

"Honestly, I'm grateful to be going home. I miss that little girl." Lauren smiled.

"I'm so glad you love my little sis to pieces."

"How could I not?" Lauren smiled, "She really is an equal mix mini-me and mini-you."

Bo nodded, "I have such big dreams for her. I hope she grows up to go to college and… well, in the end it will be her decision. I just…"

"Hope she's not like you?"

Bo pulled Lauren closer, putting her chin on top of her head, "Yes."

"Well, the good news is, that kid idolizes you. I hope she grows up to be just like you. She'll be able to live the life she chooses rather than have a life rammed down her throat like we did. There will be no confusion about who she is, how she wants to love, where she wants to live or what she wants to do for a living. She'll follow her passion and her gut right to her dreams because she'll have a supportive, loving mother, sister and extended family behind her all the way."

Lauren pulled back, looking into Bo's eyes, "She'll be fierce, determined, smart and beautiful. She'll always crave knowledge and she'll have life skills that will see her through any rough. Her curious nature will never prevent her from asking for help if she needs answers or direction and there will be plenty of people to offer advice – but she won't follow it blindly. She'll figure out her way of doing things – like aligning her dog team differently than her big sister would but achieving the same result nonetheless."

Bo grinned, "You noticed that on our race to town last week, eh?"

Lauren nodded, "And the way she ran her lines. You were worried, but it worked."

"She figured that her height was a factor. I'd never considered it… adding a second handrail to the sled so that she could run the lines at her height from the front of the sled. She was right – running them in the usual way does risk the nose of the sled coming up. That kid is sharp as a tack."

"She is," Lauren smiled, "just like her big sister."

"You give me too much credit, Lauren."

The blonde shrugged, "Not in my opinion. She's growing and learning the behaviors you've been modeling for her since the day you came into her life. Your mom taught both of you some life skills too and they're the characteristics the two of you share. You may have forgotten much of what she taught you over the years, but her lessons were driven into you until they were second nature just like they will be for Roo."

Bo sighed, turning towards the lake and looking up at the stars, "Well, hopefully history doesn't repeat itself. I really wish I knew more about her father. I'd love a guarantee that he won't show up one day."

"I honestly hadn't thought of that before."

"Yea, well my mom clearly had a weakness for bad boys." Bo sighed.

"Ask her."

"I'd rather ask Tamsin first. She may know something from her investigation."

"You don't think your mom would be upset about you asking around without her knowledge?"

Bo shrugged, "Upset, maybe."

"Think about it, sweetie."

"I will."

"Come on. Let's head back. The dogs will be getting restless."

Bo nodded, "I'll bet they're not the only ones."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Bo laughed, "You're a speed sledding junkie, Lewis. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

The blonde smiled, "How far will we go before the next break?"

"Think you can do a full one hundred miles on a fifteen- or twenty-minute break half way through?"

"Why a break at fifty miles?" Lauren asked.

Bo explained, "Because thirteen of the twenty-three checkpoints are over forty miles. For training, I use fifty miles as the sweet spot for breaks in the race."

Lauren nodded, "What's the longest distance?"

"Depending on the year, eighty-five miles," Bo replied, "So are you game for two sets of fifty miles?"

"I won't know until I try." Lauren smiled.

"That's my girl." Bo said, proudly, taking Lauren's arm in her own as they headed back to their camp.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Homestead

The two young girls and two older women turned their sleds on their sides for the fifth time, each putting their hands on their hips, lowering their heads and working hard to catch their breath until Mary yelled again,

"Hup!"

Each of them quickly moved to the side of the sled, grabbed handle and sled, then groaned as they righted the sled. Mary shook her head,

"Brake! Not one of you remembered to drop the break first! Again!"

A collective groan came from the group while a giggle came from behind Mary. The elder turned to see Kyle taking a sip of her coffee in a vain attempt to hide her grin. Molly gave her an elbow in the side causing the spectator to give a firm 'ow'.

"Do you wish to demonstrate?" Mary asked, eyeing her assistant.

"No, coach. I'm happy to observe."

"Observation does not involve sound. Please try to remember that. They do not need to be discouraged."

"Yes, Ma'am." Kyle replied, straightening out her mouth before suddenly becoming very interested in the color of the contents of her mug.

Mary turned back to the group, "Focus on the reason you are doing this. You fell from your sled and managed to stay on your feet. Jumping on the rails of a sled moving faster than you would not be possible. You must slow the sled to catch up with it. Remembering to drop that brake is your only chance at avoiding a very long hike through deep snow – possibly unfriendly wilderness – if you lose your team. In addition, if it's as dark as it is now, there will be no sunlight to warm you and all of your gear will be on that lost sled. Now… hup!"

All four dropped their brakes and then righted their sleds, jumping on the rails.

"Perfect! Now, next step. Putting it into action. Rudy! Hitch up any three dogs to your sled."

"Yes, Momma."

They all watched as Rudy went into the barn and returned with leads on Rocky, Adrienne and Paulie. She put Adrienne in the lead with the two males behind her, then stepped on the rails,

"Ready."

Mary nodded, "Shannon and Carolyn, please jog about thirty long paces down the trail towards your house. If Rudy should miss, please stop her team."

"Yes, Ma'am." The said in unison.

Mary turned back to her daughter, "Roo, flip your sled."

Rudy did as she was told, turning her sled on its side.

"Good. Now, lay face down about a body's length from the sled, facing Shannon and Carolyn's house."

Again, the youngster did as she was told.

"Elise, pay attention. You're up next, Child," Waiting for a nod from Elise, she turned back to Rudy, "Now, on my command, the dogs will run. The good part, they'll be slower than they would be if you fell off while you were traveling. The bad part, you'll still be off the sled in deep snow and they're quick to start. Think of that all-important first step."

Mary came around the sled, looking across the bench to see her young daughter eyeing the brake line with intensity. She could see her hands pressing into the snow until they found solid ground, her toes doing the same. She smiled, knowing the youngster was fully focused on a perfect drill,

"Hike! Hike Adrienne! Hike Rocky! Hike Paulie! Hike! Hike!"

Rudy reached for the line, her fingertips making contact and pulling it loose, but the line slipped through her hand and never contacted solid ground. She stood and chased the sled, but she gradually lost ground and surrendered when she saw Shannie and Lynnie maneuver towards the center line to grab and stop Adrienne.

Mary waved her daughter over, the youngster scolding herself until she arrived at her mother's side,

"I should have pulled down, not towards me. I won't have enough time to grab the line and then push it into the ground. Crap." She said, looking at her hand.

Mary grabbed it, shaking her head at the red spot on the palm of her glove, "Drawing blood is never good. Lesson learned, yes?"

She grabbed a handful of snow and formed it into a ball, handing it to Rudy who squeezed it into her hand,

"The line will cut my hand when they take it if I don't do this right."

"Indeed," she smiled, putting an arm over Rudy's shoulder, "Let's make that the last painful lesson you must learn today."

"I don't want to quit!" Rudy said firmly.

"And I'm not asking you to, Child. I'm asking you to stop making mistakes that will cause injury. If you knew what you did wrong after you did it, you should have known to avoid it before you did it."

Rudy nodded, "Think through every action involved in every plan to better estimate your outcome."

Mary shook her head, "You are much too smart for a fourth grader, even if you are entering the gifted program."

Rudy's eyes went wide, "With Elise? Really?"

Mary smiled, cupping her daughter's chin, "I had a meeting with Mrs. Collier last week and she explained that she believed you were perfectly suited to the program. The tests she sent you to take on Monday and Tuesday? Well, those tests were to see if you qualified for the special classes and you did, Child! I'm so very proud of you."

The light coming from Rudy's face could have lit a thousand candles. She turned to Elise who was clapping her hands,

"Now we'll have all of our classes together!" she smiled.

"Well, maybe not math. I still hate math, unless Sister and Lauren are playing math games with me. They make it fun, but not fun enough for me to be super good at it." Rudy said scrunching up her nose.

Mary smiled, "That may be true, but your scores are still exceptionally high for a student your age, Roo… even in math."

Lynnie and Shannie walked up to the celebration, Shannie saying sarcastically, "Hey, we found these three dogs down the trail. Did you lose them when you were laying on your face in the snow?"

Rudy cocked her hip and rolled her eyes, "Very funny. Let's see you do it."

"Ohmagosh! Roo! What did you do?" Lynnie asked, seeing the blood in the snow.

"It's okay. The cold will stop the bleeding. The brake rope cut her hand…" Mary began, but Rudy cut her off,

"Because I was stupid," she turned to the two women, "but I was super smart on my tests! I'm gonna be in the gifted program with Elise!"

Shannie was first to pick up her young friend to give her a congratulatory spin before handing her off to Lynnie who did the same. Of course, the celebration was short lived as Mary wanted everyone back to work,

"Okay. That's enough celebrating. Back to it, Roo. Correct your mistake or that cut will get deeper."

Rudy nodded, "Okay, but my first mistake was wearing knit gloves. I think I'll go get my leather-palmed gloves first."

"Good idea," Mary said, "But wrap that hand before you put it in the glove."

Lynnie shook her head, "Are you sure you don't want me to check that?"

"She tore the callous about half way across her hand. You'll need to shave it before covering it. I don't think it needs stitches – at least not if she handles this drill correctly this time around."

"And if she needs stitches?" Lynnie asked.

Mary shrugged, "Then she won't be able to drive a sled for a few weeks which means she'll have more time for those new classes and she'll also be forced to think through her technique before she does this drill again."

"Tough love, huh?" Shannie asked.

"You may not agree, but the pain of a cut is nothing compared to what a pack of wolves, a moose or a bear would do to her if she found herself having to walk home in the cold darkness out there because she lost her sled. Life out here is tough and we are merely eggs compared to what the land will make us endure."

"Eggs?" Shannie laughed.

Mary smiled, "Fragile shell filled with gooey stuff. The shell breaks and tears too easily and without the gooey stuff, we're nothing."

Shannon nodded, "We're eggs."

Carolyn cocked her head and nodded, "We're eggs."

"Now, if you wouldn't mind? Catch my daughter's chosen team once more? I'll be sending Elise next."

Mary nodded to Elise who looked at Molly. Her adoptive mother gave her a smile and a single fist pump, nodding to her gloves. Elise nodded and walked to the garage, learning from Rudy's experience while her friend turned her sled over once more and readied herself on the ground.

Mary watched with careful eyes as her daughter's positioning changed this time… then changed again. She smiled,

"Think it through, Child. There's no hurry to begin."

Mary could see the concentration on Rudy's face as she lifted her hand and practice the motion she would use, then changed that motion several times until she gave a nod. Mary took a breath and…

"Hike! Hike Adrienne! Hike boys! Hike!"

Rudy reached up, grabbing the base of the handrail, and hanging on as the sled took off. Mary's eyes went wide as she watched her pull until her elbow was hooked around the rail, her other hand gripping the anchor and pressing it into the ground until it caught,

"Whoa Adrienne! Whoa Rocky! Whoa Paulie!" She held on until the sled came to a full stop, "Down, Adrienne! Down!" The lead dog laid down in the snow and the two boys followed her lead. The youngster then pressed the brake into the snow before double checking that the anchor was set. She stood, using all of her strength to right her sled and stepped on the rails. She turned to see her mom smiling,

"Well done, Roo! Well done!"

Everyone gathered around her sled, Mary nodding, "I'm surprised you had the strength to hold on after all of the drills we did today. That was a perfect example of what to do. Just be certain to be aware of where your legs are at all times. You don't want them under the sled rails or hanging out where they could be broken by a tree or rock that you pass."

Elise made the connection, "That's why we did all of those leg up things?"

"Strong abdominal muscles are essential to the maneuver," Mary replied.

Rudy sat back on the seat when she saw Shannie and Lynnie in front of the dogs, "Tell me about it!"

"Okay, Elise! Your turn!"

"Goodie!" She smiled, stepping onto the rails in front of Rudy, "I'll take us back, Roo!"

"You really expect us to be able to do that?" Lynnie asked Mary.

"Twice as well," Mary grinned before walking back to the start, "because you're the adults!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Trail to The Homestead, fifty miles out

Bo could see that Lauren was struggling to control her sled. Bo loved those long, lean legs, but she could see them quivering from twenty yards back. Her bigger concern was that they were about to hit a long downhill that immediately transitioned into a very steep uphill. Lauren would have to peddle the sled and Bo just didn't know if she had anything left in the tank. Of course, there were plenty of difficult sections of trail beyond the one ahead.

Bo thought hard about any other trails nearby that they could use, but none would be flat enough for the blonde to sit on the bench for any substantial period. That was really what she needed right now. She sighed, considering crossing the lake, but wasn't sure how Lauren would feel about that given what had happened the last time.

With no time to lose, she gave a command to her team and caught up with Lauren's sled in less than a minute. She signaled the blonde to stop and she obliged. Bo lifted her goggles and pulled down her mask,

"How are you?"

Lauren shrugged, "I'm okay."

"Your legs look like they're shaking. Are you sure?"

Again, the blonde shrugged, "I'm tired, but I can make it."

"I need you to be honest with me, Lauren. There's a very difficult section of trail ahead. There's a very steep downhill that crosses a creek. There are two sharp turns that will challenge your strength. Right after that, there's a steep uphill that will require you to peddle. It's maybe a thirty-five-yard climb. What do you think?"

Lauren looked at the trail ahead and then to her team, "My team will help me. I can do it, Bo."

The brunette nodded, "Do you want to rest for a bit before we hit that section? We're almost ten miles into the trip."

"Are there any other sections like the one that's ahead?"

Bo nodded, "About six or seven. We can cut out a bunch of those if we cross the lake, though."

Again, Lauren looked at her team, then back to Bo, "I haven't crossed water since my trip to the North Slope with your mom. I'm not sure how I feel about it."

"Lauren, I've done crossings my entire life. My mom went in once, LJ went in once and I've gone in maybe three times. That's five times in my life and I'm still here. Trust yourself, trust the dogs… remember?"

"I do, Bo. I mean, when I'm at my strongest like I was that day with your Mom. I'm just worried that if…" the blonde shook her head, but Bo already knew what she was worried about, so she finished,

"You're not at your strongest right now, so if you had to haul yourself out of the water or hold onto the sled, you're afraid you wouldn't be able to."

Lauren nodded, "I don't want to let you down, so you do what you think is best and I'll trust you."

Bo nodded, "Fair enough. Follow me."

Lauren did as she was asked, though she was a bit confused by the direction they were headed. She was sure the lake was in the opposite direction and the trail they had been on was not the trail they were on now. Still, she said she would trust Bo, so she followed.

About ten minutes later, they arrived at the opening to what looked like a cave. Lauren followed Bo to the entrance where the brunette looped her team around to face the opposite direction they'd traveled, so Lauren did the same, pulling up beside her. Bo dropped her brake, but stopped Lauren from dropping hers. She grabbed two axes and motioned to Lauren to grab her spear and axe, then said,

"I'm going to check to see if there's anyone home. If there is, it's possibly a momma bear and her cubs. If that's the case, she won't be happy to see me. If I come running out, don't wait for me. Go. I don't want you or your team in harm's way as tired as you are. I'll be right behind you."

"Then why am I pulling out my weapons?"

"To be ready in the unlikely event that she gets past me."

Lauren nodded, "Right."

"Ready?" Bo asked, standing to the side of the entrance against the cave wall.

"As I'll ever be."

"Remember, it's just like spear fishing."

Lauren nodded, "But thicker skin, so throw harder. I remember."

Bo smiled, "Love you."

"Love you. But don't make those the last words you say to me."

"Why? They wouldn't be good last words?"

Lauren rolled her eyes, "Of course. I just don't want today to be the last time I hear them!"

"Got it." Bo smiled.

Lauren watched nervously, perched on the rails of her sled, spear at the ready, axe down for an underhand throw,

"Easy my girls. Stay! Stay!" she shouted as Bo turned on her headlamp and entered the cave.

Thirty seconds passed… one minute… another thirty seconds… Lauren tightened her grip, calling out to her team again as they grew restless. Belle and Anna held… two minutes…

"All clear!"

"Geez, Bo! What took you so long?"

"The cave is really deep. I was surprised. I've passed it before, but I never had any idea it was that big inside. It's amazing, really."

"Great. So do you want to tell me why we're here?"

Bo smiled, "Welcome to Hotel Dennis! We're spending the night."

"Bo, we've only been on the trail for a few hours and we agreed…"

"That we would get home today. I know. That was before I became aware of the condition of your legs, my dear fiancé. You held out on me, so I'm changing our plans. No arguing. There's nothing worth risking your life for back home. Thea needs you alive and trust me when I say that if anything happened to you because I pushed you when I knew better, I would never race again."

The look on Bo's face told Lauren there would be no argument… she wouldn't dare. Bo had already gone through this with LJ and the blonde wouldn't be the cause of her having to do so again.

She dropped her anchor, "Easy, girls! Lay down."

She walked to the cave and rotated her head around, allowing the light from her headlamp to show her tonight's hotel room.

"We'll make a big fire near the opening. It will heat the cave and keep out anyone who's looking for an invitation to share the space. I don't see any tracks, so I'm fairly certain we're safe here. The dogs will let us know if we have intruders until we get the fire going." Bo explained.

Lauren nodded, "I'll get my gear, though I'm not sure the girls will be too happy with me."

Bo shrugged, "I'm sure they'll forgive you. They've had a few hours on the trail. Let's get everything in and get a fire started. Then, I'm going to have a look at those legs of yours."

A smile stretched across Lauren's face, but Bo quickly shut her down,

"No, Lauren. I mean it." They walked to the sleds, "There's a few more things native medicine can teach you about rapid recovery."

Bo grabbed a bucket and dug past the snow to the outer layer of the permafrost. She grabbed her shovel and dug in. It was hard work, but Lauren noticed that she eventually hit solid ice. She dropped large chunks of the icy dirt into the bucket, then moved to the foliage nearby. She was looking for something specific, Lauren noticed, so she decided to unpack the sleds while Bo did whatever it was she was doing.

By the time Bo returned, she was dragging a tarp, a bucket and a towel with something that resembled a bluish-purple mud. She put everything in the cave against a side wall, then went back outside. When she returned, she brought with her the dogs - sleds and all – in addition to two long, slender tree trunks.

Lauren went to speak, but Bo left the cave again, this time returning with five more tree trunks.

"It's pine, so it's going to burn hot and fast. We'll add hard wood once we get it going." She explained, disconnecting the dogs from the sleds, and turning them on their sides to further barricade the door. She got the fire going just outside the entrance, then returned to give each of the dogs a dried salmon snack. Tails wagged while they each moved around the space to discover their perfect spot, then set to chewing the delicious treat.

As Bo worked, Lauren watched what appeared to be a frame come together. Perhaps she was building a bed? A few minutes later, the tarp with the muddy ice was tossed into the frame and Bo told Lauren to strip off everything from waist down. Seeing where this was going, the doctor questioned the wisdom of laying in ice cold mud when the temperatures were already sub-zero, but Bo reminded her that the cave was warming up now that the fire was started. She also promised her that she would feel better when she was finished.

Putting her trust in Bo, Lauren did as asked while Bo chopped the ice into small pieces. She then had Lauren sit on the ice. Bo smeared the colorful mud around the towel and laid it over Lauren's legs before wrapping the tarp tightly around the blonde's legs.

"Twenty minutes." Bo said, setting the timer on her phone.

"Then what?" Lauren asked, "I die from hypothermia and you bury me?"

Bo smiled, "What happened to trusting me?"

"I'm a doctor, Bo. This seems counterproductive."

Bo nodded, "Lauren, the mud is protecting your skin from the ice I don't think I have to explain to you what the ice is doing since I'm sure you've treated injuries with ice before, right?"

"Yes, of course but not in this climate."

"Again, natives do things differently here. You warm frostbitten skin, we put ice on it."

"What?"

Bo shook her head, "Do me a favor? Just concentrate on what you feel in your legs. I believe you'll be surprised by the sensation you begin to feel in about five minute or so."

"Numbness? Loss of function? Frostbite?" Lauren asked, sarcastically.

"Numbness, maybe. Loss of function, not really. Frostbite, definitely not," Bo said, "trust me, Lauren. Please. This is not my first trip and you have seen native medicine heal when your medicine could not. Just look at my mom. Does she look fifty-five years old?"

"Actually, no." Lauren shrugged, "She's got amazing skin."

Bo smiled, "She does, and she's never once used any of that fancy skin care stuff that I've seen east coast women using at like fifty bucks a bottle."

Lauren shrugged, "Well, if my legs look ten years younger after this, I'll want the recipe."

Bo laughed, "Well, this is going to work much deeper than the outer layers of skin so I can't promise it will serve as part of your skincare routine."

The pair sat and talked for about ten minutes before Bo asked, "Have you noticed any new sensations in your legs?"

Lauren smiled, "Well, thanks to that fire, I'm much warmer. I'm actually sweating."

Bo grinned, "That's not the fire. That's your legs."

"What?"

"Close your eyes and focus on the sensations in your legs. I'm going to get some lunch started. You may not like what I make, but it will help your recovery." Bo smiled, "Close your eyes."

"I need a kiss first."

Bo chuckled, giving the blonde a peck on the lips, "Now, focus."

Lauren closed her eyes, focusing on the feeling of her legs. Bo watched as the blonde's body relaxed, then gathered a handful of a stiff weed that resembled straw, pulled her mask over her face, then lit the end. She walked to Lauren and sat the burning weed beside her, using her hands to direct the smoke towards the blonde. Lauren took a deep breath,

"Mmmm… what is that? It smells good."

Bo chuckled, "Breathe it in deeply then if you like it."

Within a minute, the blonde was sleeping soundly. Bo checked the timer for Lauren's wrap, then kissed her on the forehead, taking a moment to be sure her breathing was deep, slow and steady. She smiled knowing that the inhaled smoke would not only allow Lauren to sleep away and worry or anxiety but also cause her muscles to relax fully. It was a native mixture her mom had been taught by her great grandmother.

She turned and used her boots to cover the burning plant in dirt, then walked back past the fire to the tarp that held the food she had foraged. She gathered up each of the four corners and carried the bundle back inside. Pulling out her cook gear, she tossed various parts of each plant into the bottom of the largest pot, followed by some chopped root vegetables and frozen herbs she'd found around the rocks. Finally, she went to her pack and grabbed the last of the reindeer meat and tossed that into the pot as well. She stirred it carefully, then sat it close to the base of the fire to cook. In the smaller pot, she warmed some water over the fire.

The timer went off on her phone so she headed back over to Lauren, unwrapped her legs, then used her hands to pull the now-melted permafrost mud and therapeutic plant mixture from her skin. She moved back to the fire and grabbed the warm water pot, then poured it over Lauren's legs before wiping them down with a towel. She threw the muddy towels into the laundry bag and then slid the tarp out from under the blonde, slipping a blanket beneath her instead.

Next, she went to work on the muscles, starting at the foot and working towards the heart to improve the circulation in her legs. That would help to circulate the medicines from the plants that had penetrated the blonde's skin. Lauren would miss the deep muscle massage and Bo was glad for it, because she knew it would hurt. Feeling how tense the muscle tissue was, she now knew that Lauren was in more pain than she'd let on. In that moment, Bo knew she made the right decision to stay the night.

After about thirty minutes, Lauren's eyes began to open. Bo smiled when she moaned at the sensation of hands massaging her legs,

"Gawd that feels so good," the blonde mumbled.

"What do you feel?" Bo asked, the pressure now much lighter than it had been during the first fifteen minutes of the massage.

"Warm… hot, actually. My legs feel hot… deep in the muscle. How do my legs feel hot?" she said, her eyes fluttering open.

"Well, the mixture that I used to wrap your legs creates an absorbed medicine that enters the muscle through your skin. Massaging your legs from toe to thigh aids in circulating that medicine to speed recovery. The smoke you inhaled is a native sleep remedy and muscle relaxant. The combination of medicine, massage, sleep and muscle relaxant caused the generation of heat you feel."

"So you drugged me, huh?" Lauren laughed.

Bo laughed, "Yes. But don't worry, you got yourself naked. I was very respectful."

"It would be interesting to study your medicine for practical use during small minor surgeries."

Bo shook her head and smiled, "Ever the doctor. I wouldn't know anything about that. Just a few more minutes and you'll be free."

"I won't argue with that. It feels amazing. Massage as long as you'd like." Lauren smiled, putting her arm behind her head, "How long have you been doing this?"

"Thirty minutes each leg."

"Aren't you tired?"

Bo shrugged, continuing her work, "This is a good test for my hands… gripping the rail of the sled for a couple weeks is important, so I'm actually happy to know I'm not tired yet."

Lauren smiled, "Me too. I mean… I'm happy for selfish reasons, but more because I know you'll hold onto your sled during the race."

Bo stopped, wiping the last of the slippery substance from the blonde's legs, "Okay. Get those thermal layers on so your legs don't get cold. Then, you may want to do some of your stretches throughout the rest of our stay so that you don't get stiff. We've got about forty-two miles to go tomorrow, and I want you ready to rock and roll."

"Yes Ma'am." Lauren grinned, tossing Bo a salute.

The brunette moved to the fire and poured the stew into two wooden bowls, then grabbed two wooden spoons and walked over to Lauren,

"I didn't make any bread. I'll save that for dinner."

Lauren looked into the bowl, took a whiff and pulled away, "Whoa. Something doesn't smell so good."

"Yea, you're probably not going to like the greens and some of the spices. They're very bitter, but very necessary to your recovery. I'm eating the same soup in solidarity."

Lauren slowly sampled a bite, her face curling up, "Ugh."

"Not the best stew to taste, but trust me when I say you will feel like a new person in the morning. The bread at dinner will help."

"Great." Lauren replied, shaking her head as she took another bite.

Bo, shrugged, digging into the stew. She supposed it was an acquired taste and if so, she had definitely gotten used to it. She ate this mixture regularly during the race and so did the dogs. It was good for all of them to eat midday, giving them a burst of fuel, immunities and energy while servicing the muscles as well.

When they finished eating, Bo cleaned up while Lauren did some stretching. They mixed the dogs some lunch and fed them before settling in against the cave wall,

"What now?" Lauren asked.

"Now, we entertain ourselves. There's something I wanted to show you. I'm not sure if it's a new idea, but I came up with it last year and finally figured out a way to build it."

Bo grabbed a small cloth bag and emptied it into the dirt floor of the cave between them. She assembled what appeared to be a three-floor tower that was three by three squares wide. She then pulled out two additional bags, handing one to Lauren,

"So… this is 3-D tic tac toe. You're the X's."

Lauren's eyes were wide as she looked at the playing tower and pieces, "Bo, this is amazing. Rudy and Elise will play this for hours."

Bo smiled, "I hope so. I was thinking of giving it to Elise for her adoption anniversary."

"That is incredibly sweet of you to remember."

Bo shrugged, "How can I forget? She loved her Snowball and that little pup took to her like… well, like I took to you."

Lauren laughed, "You weren't all that keen on me at first."

"Well, I may have talked a tough girl game, but your beauty melted my soul the moment I first laid eyes on you, Doctor Lewis."

"Is that so?"

"The truth finally comes out," Bo laughed.

"Okay, let's play. Normal tic tac toe, but more ways to win, right?"

"Right. I figure you can play until all of the boxes are full or you can just play until someone gets a row."

"Wow. This will be really difficult to defend."

Bo smiled, "I have you on the defensive already?"

Lauren laughed, "Have a look, Champ."

"What?" Bo asked, looking at Lauren who nodded at the tower.

Bo examined the moves she'd made and then she saw it, "Dang! How did I miss that?"

"I take it this is the first time you've actually played the game?"

"Well, I played against Harper."

"Against Harper?" Lauren laughed.

"Sure. She pointed to where she wanted the pieces and I placed them for her. She's actually quite good."

Lauren shook her head, "Well, I'll have to challenge her when we get home. If I've beaten you already, I'll have to find someone else to play."

"Hey! There are still plenty of open boxes and therefore plenty more ways for me to win."

"Or for me to win." Lauren smirked.

Bo looked at the tower again, "No way! Okay! Stop talking. I need to focus."

Lauren grinned, "Yes, dear."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Next Day, Morning Routine

Bo grinned, listening to Lauren as she successfully hit her target with her axe, saying 'pichew' followed by a celebratory dance. She was fairly certain that the blonde did not know she was watching from just inside the cave entrance because if she did, she would have at least dropped the dance.

Eventually, Bo had to have her fun, so she walked slowly from the cave, circling around the blonde so that when she spun around waving her arms over her head in celebration, she would come face to face with her fiancé.

Once again, Lauren hit her target and when the celebration ensued, Bo allowed her laughter to ring out. As suspected, embarrassment caused the doctor's cheeks to flush,

"Um… I was just… happy with my… uh… success," she squirmed before heaving a sigh, "Okay, so that's a little embarrassing."

"Why? I've told you before that I love after hours Lauren. You're never this lighthearted at home and especially not at the clinic. You should celebrate. From what I see, your throwing accuracy has to be at ninety percent." Bo smiled.

Lauren shrugged and shyly corrected, "It's actually at ninety-two point three percent."

"Of course. I'm sorry I underestimated you." Bo chuckled.

Lauren turned to retrieve her axes, "Don't you have doggie feet to check?"

Bo smiled, following the blonde, "Done. Your dogs too."

Lauren reached for the second axe, but turned to Bo, "I know how to take care of my dogs, Bo."

The brunette shrugged, "I know but one or two of them could end up being one of my backup dogs, so taking time with them is just something I need to do."

Lauren nodded, "I thought you were considering two of Rudy's dogs."

Bo sighed, "I was… and I'm pretty sure she really wants me to use Jenna and Muk."

"They're good dogs."

"Really good dogs."

"And that's a problem?" Lauren asked, sensing something in what Bo wasn't saying.

Bo shrugged, "She's going to be a musher, Lauren. I just… I just know it. She's better than me. She's way better than me. She'll be race-ready well before she's of age. Jenna and Muk are going to be a big part of that. I want them to be her dogs. They're four years old now, but one or both could very well be her Harper. I don't want to take that from her."

Lauren smiled, "That's sweet."

"Believe me when I say that I see their potential. If I had been working them for the last few weeks, I may very well be taking one or both, but I'm going to try to hold off for now. I have other dogs who I think might be able to match their skill and speed. Honestly, this team is probably one of the strongest I've ever had… minus the obvious."

Bo turned, looking at the dogs as they slept, her heart clenching at the thought of another race without Harper. She sighed, reminding herself it was inevitable. She just wished she'd had one more run. She turned to Lauren,

"You know, when I took them for that short run yesterday, I was amazed at how in-sync they've become. I honestly don't have to give many commands. Much of what they do is instinctual. Aphrodite has become as strong a leader as Harper ever was."

"But you don't really have the same connection with her that you have with Harper."

Bo nodded, "That obvious, huh?"

Lauren wrapped her arms around her waist, "Bo, I know this is hard on you, but you always said that you would be happy for Harper the day that she got to live out her life just being fat and happy."

Bo raised her eyebrows, "If only she could get fat."

"Well, Cassie's working on adjusting her diet, so that should help. Remember, she's become quite active now that she's got her mobility back."

"Yea, but once she stops moving, she gets stiff. I hate watching her get up after she's been laying down for a while."

"At least she's getting up, huh?"

Bo nodded, "I suppose."

"So, we're a bit out of our routine this morning."

Bo shrugged, "Blame it on the morning sexcapades."

Lauren chuckled, placing a kiss behind Bo's ear, then trailing down to her collarbone, "Well, we can go back in the cave while the dogs eat or we can have breakfast."

Bo smiled, "As much as I would love to go back into the cave and ravage you some more, we really should get back on the trail. If you get tired again, I don't want us getting caught out in the open overnight."

"My legs feel great, Bo. Really. Whatever you did to me worked. I'll be fine, I promise."

"Okay," Bo said, offering a gentle kiss, "Hungry?"

Lauren grinned, "If you're cooking, of course!"

"Will you be my sous chef?"

Lauren's mouth twisted to one side, "Are you sure? I mean, I have yet to successfully cook a meal over the fire."

"Well, today, you are going to have another go at cooking. We have that big steak left that we have to use since I set it to thaw last night."

"Bo, you know what happened with the first steak you had me cook."

The brunette shrugged, holding back her laughter, "It's not a big deal that you flipped it into the fire instead of keeping it in the pan. It could happen to anyone."

"Go ahead – laugh. I know you want to," the blonde pouted, "I suck at outdoor cooking."

Bo chuckled, "That's not true, Lauren. You made us great pancakes the second day."

"I made the batter! You actually cooked the pancakes!" Lauren argued.

"Come on, you're going to do this. Have a little faith." Bo said, guiding the blonde towards the cave where the fire had died down to hot coals.

Lauren fed the dogs while Bo got everything prepped for the fire then waited for the chef to arrive. Needless to say, the blonde was not overly enthusiastic about another attempt at cooking steak, but Bo was not going to take no for an answer – especially since they both needed the protein,

"I just want you to remember when you're eating whatever comes out of this pan that you insisted. If it tastes like crap, you'll have no one to blame but yourself – especially if it's a black, hard rock that no longer resembles meat."

"Here we go," Bo said, ignoring the pessimist in her fiancé, "Put a dab of that fat on the griddle."

"Ewww. It's disgusting. Do you know what this does to your arteries? You know I've seen first-hand, right?" Lauren said.

"What I know is that we're going to be running for hours in sub-zero temperatures and this will help you with that extremely lean muscle mass of yours. Fat in the diet is insulation from the cold. I am genetically modified for this climate. You, my sweet, are not."

"Fine," Lauren said, coating the flat pan.

"Now, season your meat just as you would if you were cooking at home. You're just using these crushed fresh spices. This one tastes like salt, and this is like pepper. We have this and this which are the closest thing the forest has to the taste of rosemary and garlic. Choose your poison." Bo said, holding out the four small jars.

"I'm going basic salt and pepper." Lauren said, smearing the spices on the meat.

"Okay, place your pan on the red-hot coals and allow the pan to come up to temperature."

Lauren placed the plan on the flattest spot she could, "Now that's the problem. What's up to temperature? There's no thermometer. How do you know?"

Bo nodded to the cave entrance, "Get a small handful of snow."

Lauren hesitated, but then did as asked.

"Now, squeeze the snow in your hand until it's water. When you think the pan is hot enough, put some droplets of water on the surface. Listen for the sound of the sizzle. When it sounds like the pan when you cook in the kitchen, you know it's the right temperature. If it's too hot, put the pan on the cold ground and then move it to a cooler spot in the fire to try again."

Lauren dropped some water into the pan and listened to the sizzle, "It sounds the same."

"Good. Now, put your meat on the griddle and time it. How long do you cook a steak at home?" Bo asked.

"Well, this one is a little thicker than what we usually have at home."

"I figured you didn't want me to lose a finger processing the deer with an ulu, so I stuck to two-inch cuts of meat."

Lauren nodded, "Well, I usually go 6 minutes on each side for nice pink steak, so I'm going to say 8 minutes because it's almost an inch thicker. What do you think?"

"I think it's sound reasoning."

"So you're not going to tell me?" Lauren asked.

"Nope." Bo smiled, "I'll eat whatever you make no matter what."

"Fine," she said, dropping the steak onto the pan and starting the timer on her phone, "No complaints."

Bo nodded, "No complaints… unless you drop it in the fire again."

Lauren slapped Bo, "I'm never going to live that down."

"Probably not, but it will get funnier with age… especially when that perfectionist in you calms down."

Lauren heaved a great sigh, "Blame my parents."

Suddenly, the air in the cave was quite heavy. Bo decided it was time to address yet another secret,

"Do you want to talk about it? We agreed we would out all of our skeletons."

Lauren nodded, "I've just never really known how to talk about them… except to Patrick since our parents traveled in the same circles and, well remember, we were fake engaged."

Bo nodded, "I'd never really thought about it that way… I mean, you and Patrick as young kids attending the same gala's and such."

"I don't remember a time that I didn't know Patrick. I trust he would say the same about me. We've been through a lot together… fought a lot of the same battles with our parents. I think that most people just think of the privilege of having money… they don't think of the responsibilities, demands and expectations that come with it if you're born into that world. I never asked for money and I certainly didn't want it to define my life as it has. I certainly didn't want to go to galas, fundraisers and fancy dinner parties where I was propped up and put on displace as the perfect daughter to my very imperfect parents. Thinking back on it, I followed behind them all night long, hands folded neatly in front of me, my hair perfectly styled by my mom's stylist, dressed by my mom's wardrobe specialist and armed with the social skills taught me in my etiquette lessons."

"Ettiquette lessons?" Bo asked, "Really?"

Lauren nodded, "Why would I lie? It's embarrassing to say! Money buys the obscenest things for the wealthy. The poor and homeless are looking for soup and a warm grate to sleep on in the street while my family was throwing money at the wealthy so that they could throw another party in the name of some charity that barely donated ten percent of the funds to the people in need. It's a disgusting way of life and I won't live it anymore."

Bo nodded, "Is that why you're spending so much of it on the hospital?"

Lauren turned to face Bo, "We can put as much as you want into your business too, Bo. I don't want you to think of it as my money and your money. We're getting married. What's mine is yours."

"And what's mine is yours too, Lauren but that's not what I mean. I get the feeling you see that money as sort of… dirty."

Lauren looked at Bo, then back to the pan. She poked around at the steak while she spoke,

"A lot of that money is from Evony, so on some level, I guess I do have that in my head… more wanting doctors she's wronged to finally be able to practice ethical, sound medicine. I think the other side of it is that dream of normalcy. I just want to be a normal person with a normal amount of money, a normal amount of respect, a normal car, a normal bank account… I just want…"

"To be normal." Bo concluded.

"Yes. Gods, yes."

"I know the feeling," Bo replied, "But Lauren, we're born into the life we're born into. You can't control that. What you can control is how you use that life. You're doing good things with that money and ironically, by doing so, you're going to generate more money."

Lauren nodded, "Well, I guess my conscience is clear in that I earned every penny of what is in my bank accounts and investments on my own. Well, except for the Trust Fund from my grandmother. That transferred to my name when I was twenty-one, but I've never touched it. Betsy handles the account and is under strict instructions not to tell me anything about it. She insisted someone needed to keep her honest and check her work, so Patrick does that."

"You didn't get anything from your parents?" Bo asked.

Lauren shook her head, "When I left, my Dad cut me off so nothing of mine is or ever belonged to him."

"He may have cut you off financially, but I'll bet he used your 'world renowned cardiothoracic surgeon' title to prop himself up at those fancy parties. He would at least want some credit for sending you to college. You did become brilliant there." Bo sniggered, but Lauren shook her head.

"Remember, Bo, I was in the military. They paid for my tuition."

"Oh. I didn't realize…"

"I've never told you the story really. I applied to the academy without their knowledge or consent. They were furious, but once you enlist, it's not like you can say 'oops, changed my mind'. It's the military, so I knew he wouldn't be able to control me anymore."

"So, you left one system of control for another?"

Lauren shrugged, "One that I knew had rules and ethics… most of the time. You know I like both."

"Have you seen your parents since then?"

"After my discharge, I went back home. My grandmother was ill…. I had to be with her."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Bo said.

"Yea, I was too. That's how I ran into Patrick again. My parents started pushing the issue of marriage and both our parents started doing things that would keep us in each other's company. Seating arrangements at Gala's, Patrick being my lawyer… that sort of thing."

The phone alarm sounded. Lauren moved to flip the steak, but Bo stopped her, "Suggestion? Why not pull the pan off the fire, flip the steak over the ground or a plate and then put it back on the fire?"

Lauren shook her head, "Wow. I can't believe I didn't think of that."

Bo smiled as Lauren did as suggested, and then added, "Well, I think failure tends to have a paralyzing effect on you. Just my two cents. I'm not a professional."

"But your theory has merit. In piano lessons, making a mistake earned me a rap on the knuckles with a ruler. At home, grades less than an 'A' earned me an additional hour with a tutor three times a week in that course. You get the idea. I was raised to be perfect and anything but was unacceptable."

Bo hesitated, but held her breath and asked, "Lauren, do you know where your parents are?"

The blonde shook her head, "I don't even know if they're alive… my brother either. I mean… I told you about our environmental action group days. I'd heard he was arrested, but that was purely speculation. I'd also heard he was killed, but again… possibly just rumor. I really have no idea, Bo."

"Okay." she said, thinking about what Lauren had said and watching her carefully for a long moment. The topic clearly made her uncomfortable, but Bo wasn't sure why, exactly.

She pressed on, "Please forgive me if I'm heading into dangerous territory, but… would you want to find them? I mean, before we get married?"

Lauren laughed, "So they can tell me again what a failure I am for leaving the family, not to mention get into their critical analysis of my lifestyle choices. Oh, and moving to Alaska should be a great discussion too."

She paused before looking up at Bo, "Although, I'm fairly certain that if they are still around, they must have heard about my brilliant take down of Evony." She smiled, "They held stock in many of her companies. The fallout must have been spectacular given they'll see it as being caused by me - their own flesh and blood."

Bo sighed, "Couldn't Patrick…"

"No, Bo. If I get Patrick involved, that will push him back into his father's world. I won't do that to him… not when he's finally finding his feet with his practice here."

Bo nodded, "Sorry. Like I said, I really don't know much about this situation."

Lauren nodded, "And that's my fault, but…"

"You don't really want to talk about it."

"No, Bo. I mean… yes, I want to talk about it with you. I don't want to have any secrets, but no, I don't know what my next steps will be. I really hadn't thought about them for a long time until the night you proposed. After my little breakdown, they came to mind. It was funny that the happiest night of my life was suddenly the darkest night of my life after realizing that I wasn't happy in my professional life. It was a big moment... an overwhelming moment. My parents were a big part of that deafening reality."

Bo went to speak, but Lauren held up a hand. She removed the griddle from the fire and placed it on the ground between them, adding a few more spices before letting the steak rest. She sighed,

"I am well aware of how the 'poor me' sob story must sound, so I'm sorry if I sound ungrateful for my privileged upbringing, but… well, like I have said before, having money doesn't necessarily bring the privileges people perceive. Wealth has its consequences and your life is not your own unless you let it all go. If you keep it, there will always be people telling you how you should be using it or asking for you to invests."

Lauren smiled, "Actually, since coming here, that hasn't been the case."

Bo nodded, "I've always found it interesting that I came from a family who had only what they could eat or make from the land, but we were happy… at least until my brothers followed my dad into the 'family business'."

She sighed, "You had everything money could buy and yet neither of your parents ever showed you any love or affection. I can't imagine not getting tucked in by my mom at night or reading bedtime stories with her."

Lauren shrugged, "I did those things. It was just with my grandmother or my nanny."

"You can't tell me it was the same." Bo imagined.

"I guess, at the time, I didn't know any better. It was my norm. As I got older and I went to the homes of other students – to study or for team parties – I started to see first-hand how their lives compared to mine. Needless to say, that was when I realized I had reason to feel the way I did. My home wasn't at all… well…"

"Normal?" Bo asked, earning a nod from Lauren, "I take it these friends also had money?"

Lauren shook her head, "They had it all. They had wealth, love, hugs, family vacations, real discussions about life and careers…" she paused, a smile stretching across her face, "A girl in my study group – her name was Becca. We had studied at her house, but my dad forgot to pick me up. Her parents were kind enough to invite me to stay for dinner. I could tell Becca wasn't very happy about it. Anyway, they were talking to Becca about the pros and cons of all of her college and career decisions and then, they said what seemed to be the strangest thing to me."

"What was that?"

"They said 'whatever you decide, we'll support you one hundred percent, sweetheart. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters to us'."

Lauren lowered her eyes, a tear rolling slowly down her cheek, "My parents never would have said that to me." She looked up at Bo, "My brother said Becca and her friends had hit the birth trifecta. They had love, money and happiness. We just had the money." She sighed, "But he promised we would always have each other…" she lowered her eyes, "Guess not."

"Well, if you don't want to use Patrick, I'm sure Tamsin would help you out if you wanted to at least to try to track down your brother."

"Unless he's a wanted criminal which is entirely possible. Then she would have to track him down to arrest him. Do I really want to put her in that position?"

Bo shrugged, "As long as he hasn't killed anyone, what's the worst that could happen?"

Lauren sighed, offering only silence as she thought about her brother and the pipe bombs. She stared into the fire, "I'll think about it."

"Fair enough. I'll be here if you need to talk or process," Bo promised, then thought better of it, "Or you can talk to Anna or Grace. They're probably better with this sort of thing."

Lauren turned to Bo, realizing the sacrifice she was offering, "No, Bo. I may need to talk to them at some point to process how bringing him into the mix might impact the rest of our friends and family, but in the end, you're the one walking this road with me. You, Bo Dennis, are the person I will always choose to share things with when I need to talk. We're in this life together, right?"

Bo smiled, taking the hand Lauren offered, "Together."

Lauren smiled, "I love you so much, Bo."

The brunette lowered her eyes for a moment as emotions overcame her. When she looked back up at Lauren, her eyes were brimming with tears,

"I must have one of those head-over-heels, stupid puppy dog grins on my face right now."

Lauren chuckled, "I love those stupid grins."

Bo smiled, "Well, I would love to try that steak you cooked before it gets too cold."

Lauren nodded, "Well, let's cut it in half and see how I did."

Bo handed Lauren the knife and the blonde proceeded to cut the steak in half, using the knife to turn the inside edge of one piece up to see the cook,

"Ohmagosh! I did it! It's perfect!"

Bo smiled, "I'll be the judge of that."

She cut off a piece of one half and took a bite, closing her eyes and chewing slowly while Lauren waited… and waited…

"Bo!"

"What?" She asked, cutting off another piece, "Why in the world would I stop eating the most wonderful steak I've ever had just so I could tell you how wonderful it is? This is… orgasmic!"

Lauren slapped her arm, "Jerk!"

The blonde suddenly realized what the brunette had said, "It's really that good?"

She cut off a piece of her half of the steak and put it in her mouth, the flavor hitting her taste buds immediately,

"Mmmm… damn I'm good!"

Bo laughed, "You have officially bested me on grilling steak on an open fire."

Lauren grinned, "Now, if I could just beat you in a fifty-yard sprint."

Bo shrugged, "A young musher can dream."

They laughed together, finishing their steak and then began the clean-up process. As they worked, Lauren's mind wandered to the life they had led the last few days. It was hard work, but it was quiet, simple, beautiful, and intimate… always intimate. She had always used that word to describe a sexual relationship, but now she knew better. Whether they were in or out of their outdoor bedroom, there was a closeness that remained… it was their new constant.

Even now as they cleaned up and slowly packed the sleds for their inevitable departure, they were in sync with one another. They didn't need to talk, they just did. There were soft touches and meaningful glances as they worked, in addition to an occasional soft whisper of adoration.

Finally, they went outside to give the dogs their last light meal and some water. Then, they went for a walk to stretch their legs before the long drive back. They would walk and stretch again after their long nap. As they wandered the lake's edge, Bo taught Lauren more lessons in foraging and spotting options for proteins in the wild. When they returned to camp, the dogs were taking their after-meal nap. They sat down by the fire, leaning back against outer wall of the cave as light snow began to fall.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Lauren smiled, turning her eyes up to watch the flakes as they rained down in the dim moonlight.

Bo smiled, "Check out the sky over Denali."

Lauren turned and looked up, "Wow. What is that purple?

"It's called alpenglow."

"Okay, but why is that happening?"

Bo shrugged, "It's a fall, winter or spring thing and events have to line up perfectly for it to happen."

"You know what I'm asking you, Bo."

The brunette leaned over and kissed the blonde's cheek, "Spirits help me, I'm in love with the eternal scientist who will never let me off the hook without the details."

Bo smiled, weaving her fingers between Lauren's and kissing them. Lauren grinned, "You love that I'm a curious geek."

"You're absolutely correct." Bo smiled, "Okay, so this is the way I understand it. The sun is directly below the horizon, so the light can't reach the mountains. Instead, the light reflects off whatever water, ice particles or snow are low in the sky. Without those elements in the atmosphere, you have a regular old sunrise or sunset… or at this time of year, twilight. In the spring, it's more pink than purple because there's more light breaking through but it's cold enough that there's still snow or ice in the atmosphere – especially on Denali where those components exist during all four seasons."

She looked back up to the sky, "Up on the North Slope, the colors are stunning because the arctic desert…"

"Aka, permafrost land…" Lauren said, holding up a finger as she spoke.

"Correct, Doctor Lewis. A+. Anyway, up there, if you look towards the mountains, it looks like a painting because you can see it across the entire horizon. Plus, the entire landscape is white which I think is just magical in comparison to when this happens over grass and trees that are dark green."

"Is there a place where you can't see this?" Lauren asked.

Bo shook her head, "Not that I know of. I've seen it down in the Tongass National Forest, in Scout's village, the Chugach Mountains, and from a camp on the Kenai River. I was really blown away by the colors down on the Aleutian Range from the Cook Inlet. I thought I had a picture somewhere, but it's probably in a box under the bed."

Lauren smiled, "You really need to go through the stuff you moved from the barn into the house. It's been almost a year since you moved in there, Bo."

The brunette nodded, "You're right. Now that we'll both be working less, I should have time to go through some things. There's probably stuff in there that Rudy would get a kick out of."

They sat for a moment staring at the sky, "There's a new thing they discovered back in I think 2015 or so. I heard these guys talking about it in a bar in Canada. They called it Steve, like the guy's name. NASA gave it a more scientific name, Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, so they gave it the acronym… well, STEVE. The Canadians got their name after all."

"Good for them." Lauren smiled, "Who discovered them?"

"Well, the first guy was Notanee Bourassa. He's a tech guy who is also in this amateur astrology club. They're somehow connected to NASA through this citizen's program. It's pretty cool, actually. At any moment, all of these people from all over the world are sharing what they're seeing in the sky with those space people who are sort of the international hub for all of the information. They all talk about it on some group that has to do with faces or something."

Lauren coughed out her coffee, "Do you mean Facebook?"

Bo shrugged, "Dunno. Anyway, this guy reported it and all of these people started saying that they'd seen it too."

"So, and I hate to be predictable, but…"

"What is Steve?"

Lauren smiled, "You know me so well."

"Yes, my little geekling, I do." Bo smiled, "Again, I'm no expert. Hell, I'm not even an amateur, but every once in a while, there's this long purple streak that appears with the regular green auroras. That's what people in Alberta, Canada saw. They started to talk about it on that face group and they suddenly realized other people were seeing it too."

"But what makes it happen?"

"As my mom would say, patience, Child." Bo laughed.

"I have none. You know that."

"Okay, so Steve is not an aurora. At least, not the usual kind. Auroras occur all over the plant, they're sort of an oval shape, you can't see their borders and they can last for hours. They're mostly green, blue, red or a combination of those colors."

She used her hands to demonstrate as she explained further, Lauren hanging on every word, "Now, Steve is a line and you can see both where he starts and where he ends. He's very purple and he's kept in the yard by a green picket fence structure that moves like the aurora ribbons. Steve is shy. He only comes out for about twenty minutes, but has stuck around for about an hour in some places."

Bo turned back to Lauren, "They say that both auroras and Steves come from charged particles when the sun is interacting with the earth's magnetic field lines, but Steve only appears in the lower latitudes. They're closer to the earth's equator so he's usually seen in southern Canada. I've only seen one."

"In Scout's village?" Lauren asked.

Bo shook her head, "On a trail about two hundred miles from the village. I needed some… space to think. Naturally, he followed me."

"Because of his oath?"

Bo nodded, "Because of his oath. Anyway, Scout says that their village teacher – who has internet access so keeps the elders apprised of the events in the outside world that may impact the village – explained to him that these particles that are in a Steve are extremely hot. They're called a SAID."

"Said what?"

"No, that's what they're called, not what he said. The particles. It stands for something… a sub auroral something drift."

"Ion?"

"Right!"

Lauren smiled, "I've heard of SAIDs before. They've been around since the early 70's I believe. This is interesting. From what you're explaining, I would theorize that they particles in Steve's are hotter than those in auroras because they're closer to the equator."

"And lower in the atmosphere." Bo added.

"An indicator of climate change, maybe?"

Bo shrugged, "That would make sense, but like I said, I'm no astronomer and even less of a scientist."

"I would beg to differ, Ms. Dennis."

"Oh, Doctor Lewis?"

Lauren smiled, "We really have to discuss what our names will be after we get married."

"Still not hearing how I'm a scientist." Bo deflected, knowing her mind had been made up long ago and Lauren knew it… although given recent events, she did understand why Lauren may want to lose the Lewis name, "I'll be open-minded about the name, but that will come later."

"Okay then. By definition, a scientist studies or has expert knowledge in a natural or physical science. I'd say you qualify."

"Why, because I know a little about a purple light in the sky?" Bo asked, sarcastically.

Lauren smiled, "No, because your curiosity is exactly what we mean by studying. In addition, you can't deny you are an expert in nature. How many times did I pick the wrong berries in the last five days even after you showed me the right ones? I had no idea that if you broke through the ice on the lake at the waters' edge that there would be frozen plants that could be dried and ground up for tea. I still get confused by which skids work in which kind of snow on my sled. You are without a doubt, a scientist, Bo Dennis."

"Wow. I'm a scientist." Bo said, the realization hitting her.

"The things you loved in school as a child are still a part of you, Bo. Your mom said you always loved science. You still do."

Bo smiled, "I still do."

"So, we have science in common. Now, I just need to win one of those sprints and we'll have being sled champions in common!" Lauren said, standing up and offering a hand to Bo.

"You'll be a champion if you can beat me in a sprint?" Bo smiled before taking the hand and allowing Lauren to pull her to her feet, right into her arms.

"Yes. I'll be the Sprint Champion of the Bo Dennis School of Mushing."

"Wow. I'm a teacher too?"

"And all this time, you thought you were just a builder, carpenter, trapper, fisherman, and sex practitioner." Lauren grinned.

"I'm a sex practitioner as well?" Bo laughed.

"Yes, and may I be the first and only woman to say that you are exceptionally well practiced… especially when you do that thing with your… well, you know."

"Mmmm… you do love that thing." Bo growled, leaning in to find a small piece of exposed skin before pulling her coat up tighter around the blonde's neck.

Lauren leaned in, nipping at Bo's earlobe before capturing her lips in a long, deep kiss. The brunette moaned into her mouth before the blonde pulled back, offering another peck before releasing Bo so abruptly that she fell face first into the snow.

"Time to go. Come on, girls!" Lauren yelled, pulling the leads of her dogs from the ground and starting the process of hooking them to the sled.

"Now?" Bo asked from the ground, seeing that her own dogs were now growing restless after seeing Lauren's actions, "Crap."

Lauren nodded, focused on her dogs, "We're all fed, my legs feel great and you've had more rest than you would usually have after such a short leg on the trail. Get up, Dennis. Time to get back in the race!"

Bo looked up getting an excellent view of the blonde's ass, "So, you think that teasing me will get me too distracted to win the first sprint? Well, two can play at that game, Doctor. Game on."

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Fifty Miles from The Homestead

Bo and Lauren had started their first race after a three-mile warm up through the woods. Once they broke free of the trees, they found themselves on a nice flat section of trail. It was a vast stretch of open space where the only sounds were the rhythmic breathing of musher and dogs, the occasional sound of gear shifting and the whoosh of sled rails against snow that was perfectly matched for Kyle's new experimental runners. Bo felt that her sled was lighter and faster than ever, despite still carrying a sizeable load of gear.

She had worked hard to strike a balance between challenging and restraining her team throughout these days with Lauren. She needed to challenge the dogs while not allowing them to injure themselves this close to race time. Experience had taught her that an unaware musher could kill dogs simply by not knowing enough about the breed. Sled dogs loved to run and – given the chance – they would literally run themselves to death if the musher didn't force them to rest.

Admittedly, she would have liked to do the straight run of one hundred miles all in one go, but she had Lauren and her young team to consider. While the blonde had great stamina and seemed to be handling her team very well, Bo was watching the health of the dogs closely and teaching Lauren more about canine care each day. Elsa, Anna and Belle would do anything for Lauren and while they were strong, they were not full grown and could end up lame or worse if not properly controlled.

As Bo eyed the blonde a good distance in front of her, she could see that her team was running with great speed. As she judged the distance and pace, she decided she needed about twenty yards from the start to get ahead of Lauren's team. Elsa, Anna and Belle were fast, but Bo felt certain they would never outrun her veterans.

Still, they were a feisty crew, so Lauren had good reason to believe she might take Bo's team on at least one of the five to ten sprints they would do before reaching the homestead. This one was the longest sprint.

Prior to departure…

Lauren stood upon the rails of her sled, holding up her GPS coordinator, "Is three miles enough of a warmup?"

Bo nodded, "Yup. It looks like we can take the trail to the edge of the woods and that will be 3.2 miles. The race starts there?"

"Sounds like a plan. The finish is one mile from the tree line then?"

Bo nodded, "So, 62°38'10.3"N 150°49'22.1"W

"Agreed." Lauren nodded, setting her GPS as well, "But we're side by side coming out of the woods."

"Nose to nose. Once a nose is past the tree line, it's game on."

"Agreed." Lauren smiled, "The winner gets a kiss from the loser."

"Agreed." Bo smiled, "And do I get a kiss before we become trail rivals?"

Lauren leaned in as if she was going to kiss her lover, but quickly pulled back, throwing Bo off balance, "Sorry, you have to earn it. Hike! Hike!"

The blonde kept her eyes on Bo until she could no longer rotate her neck far enough, "See you on the trail, lover!"

Bo shook her head, "I love that woman. Hike! Hike! Let's go home, girls!"

On the trail…

Bo was still worried about Lauren's level of fatigue, but when they came out of the woods, she could see that the blonde was driving her team hard to win the first sprint of the day. Still, Bo had moved ahead during the first stretch of trail. It took some effort, but she knew from experience that if she gave the blonde too much of a lead, catching her would take a lot of effort. Lauren had almost beaten her twice this week.

Thinking of those close races, Bo took a look over her shoulder to check her lead, but the blonde was nowhere in sight. Checking over her other shoulder, she found the same scenery. Where was Lauren? A shock of panic ran through her,

"Whoa! Whoa, Nike! Whoa, Diana!" Bo called out, bringing the team to a halt before dropping the anchor and stomping it firmly into the ground.

She turned around, scanning the horizon, but saw no trace of the blonde and her team. She pulled out her binoculars and began to retrace their path on the trail, but there was nothing.

"Shit. People don't just disappear." She said, "Especially not a musher and an entire team of dogs." She hopped back on the rails of her sled, pulling anchor and turning her team back.

She kept her eyes on the trail as she drove the team forward, watching for signs of the team or where the second set of sled tracks had strayed from her own. Eventually, she entered the woods about a mile from where they had exited. She drove her team hard until she finally caught sight of the double sled rails. She pulled the team to a stop, setting anchor and jumping off the sled to look around for any evidence of what had happened.

Finally, she called out, "Lauren! Lauren!"

There was no response, "Elsa! Anna! Belle!"

Suddenly she heard a faint bark behind her. She turned to see Lauren and her team exiting the woods in the distance. Bo rushed to the sled and grabbed her binoculars, lifting them to her eyes and zooming in on the blonde.

She shook her head and smirked when she saw the devious grin plastered across the blonde's mouth while she called out to her team,

"Hike! Hike! Give it all you got, my girls! Hike!"

"Bending the rules, huh? You sneaky little…" Bo laughed, shaking her head. Her team was on a tight trail with trees on either side. She knew it was going to take time to turn them around, so she took the best option. She carefully unhitched the center line, tying it off to the handle, then ran to Nike and Diana,

"Come on, girls. Let's get the team turned around." She pulled their leads, making a tight turn between the sled and the tree line until they were past the sled, then she flipped the sled around and reattached the center line.

As she mounted the sled, she called out, "Lauren has laid down the challenge, Ladies! We've got a lot of ground to make up! Let's see exactly how good you are! Hike! Hike! Push Nike! Let's go Diana!"

Bo pushed her team, gaining several yards on Lauren's team about every twenty yards, so she looked for that next gear she knew her team had,

"Finish line! Finish line!" She called, watching her team carefully to see if any of the dogs couldn't keep up with the pack. Quietly, she thanked Lauren for the challenge. It would be a test unlike anything this team had been given to date and Bo would know if she had the team that would get the job done.

She checked her GPS for the finish line coordinates. She was running out of trail, but they still had a shot to catch up to the blonde,

"Hike! Hike! Get Lauren, girls! Get Lauren!" Bo shouted, grinning when her team found yet another gear. Timing her move to the feel of their strides, she jumped off the sled and peddled hard, pushing her legs towards the finish. Nike and Diana were just about ten yards behind the blonde's right leg.

"Hike! Hike!" Bo shouted again, waving when she saw Lauren peek over her shoulder.

The blonde took a page out of Bo's book and hopped from the rails, peddling as hard as she could.

Bo smiled, admiring Lauren's effort. She knew the blonde would pay for it later, but she would also not hesitate to make camp for another night if Lauren couldn't finish the last fifty miles all in one go.

The first pair of dogs passed Lauren and Bo called out, "Find Elsa! Find Anna! Hike! Hike!"

Lauren called out, "Hike, Elsa! Hike, Anna! Come on, baby girls! You've got this! Hike! Hike!"

The blonde's legs were burning and she was begging for the alarm on her GPS to go off as she saw the front of Bo's sled some into view. She put her head down and pushed with everything she had until finally, the alarm sounded.

She looked up to see Elsa and Anna had literally nosed out Nike and Diana, but in her surprise, she slipped and fell, releasing her sled.

Bo saw Lauren go down, but quickly reached out and grabbed the handle of the blonde's sled, keeping pace with the other team until she was able to rein them in,

"Whoa Elsa! Whoa Anna! Whoa Nike! Whoa Diana! Whoa girls! Whoa!"

Luckily, both teams cooperated and both sleds came to a halt. Bo set the brake and anchor on her own sled first, then did the same for Lauren's before running back to check on the blonde who was lying face down in the snow.

She rushed to her side, "Lauren! Lauren!"

Rolling her over, she found the blonde laughing, throwing her fists over her head, "We won! We won!"

Bo shook her head, "Geezus! You scared me to death!"

Lauren smiled, "I really don't care. You owe me a kiss!"

Shaking her head, the brunette couldn't help but laugh at the free spirit beneath her. She leaned in and kissed her lips, the blonde gripping the back of her head to take her fill.

"Wow." Bo said, blinking as she sat back up.

"I won. A little peck could never be enough of a reward. If it weren't so freaking cold out today, I would insist on a good fuck as well."

Bo laughed, "One touch from these hands and your mood would be gone. It is a cold one."

Lauren nodded, "I did let go of the sled."

"You got lucky. I was close enough to reach the handrail and the dogs were kind enough to follow my commands."

"I should have called to them. I'd love to know if they would stop for me."

Bo shrugged, "It's not just your leads you have to worry about with that. Those young rookies of mine probably wouldn't stop which would force your three to continue running."

"Peer pressure?" Lauren asked.

Bo shook her head, "Physics. They're forward of the rest of the dogs. They'll get run over and they know it, so they'll keep running."

"Got it." Lauren said, taking Bo's hand to get some help up.

They walked back to the sleds, hopping onto the rails and releasing their brakes before giving command to their teams to head for home. They ran side by side for some time before Lauren asked,

"You know how I have that leash that attaches to my surfboard?"

"Yup." Bo replied.

"Why don't you use one of those? Attach yourself to the sled so that even if you fall off, you'll still be with the sled."

Bo replied, "Stop your team."

"Huh?" Lauren asked.

"Stop your team. Whoa Nike! Whoa Diana!" Bo said, dropping anchor and walking to Lauren's sled once she was stopped.

"What's wrong?"

Bo planted her hands on her hips and sighed, "You have a cracked stanchion."

"What?" Lauren asked, moving to the side of the sled where Bo was standing.

Bo checked the wood, "Right where it connects to the runner. Disconnect the dogs, will you?"

"Sure. This is bad, right? I mean, can we just unload everything to the bench? I can stand or lean against it."

Bo stood shaking her head, "The runner is cracked. Damn!"

The brunette surveyed the land, seeing a cluster of trees to the right, "I have an idea. Start a fire for me?"

"What?"

"I need a fire. I'll explain while I work. Can you make the fire?"

"Yes, of course," Lauren said.

"We've got to work fast or we're going to have to properly cool down the dogs. They really shouldn't be stopped after a hard sprint like that."

Lauren nodded, "I'll make the fire and then walk both teams."

Bo agreed before each woman set to their respective tasks, Lauren taking the additional step to bring the dogs around the fire as well. It was cold out and they were going to be on the move again eventually. She didn't want them getting too tight since warming up again would be difficult in these conditions. At least it was still clear, so visibility was excellent. Of course, the thought of the weather turning was never far from her mind. Lauren had learned during this trip how quickly the weather could change this close to the base of the mountain so she was taking no chances.

She grabbed the lines of the two teams, "Come girls, we're going to take a little walk. Sorry it will be slow and not too scenic, but you need to warm down those muscles properly before you bury them in ice beneath your bodies. We've got to conserve what's left of your hay beds just in case Bo can't fix my sled."

Lauren walked the dogs for about fifteen minutes while Bo moved into the woods just ahead of where they had finished their race. She pulled out her axe seeking the perfect tree for her plan while her mind raced with the details of how she would build out the repair.

When Lauren returned, she got another fire going for the dogs with the last of the wood she carried on her busted sled and anchored the two teams to ground before walking over to Bo,

"Wow – chopping down cedar trees? Can I help?"

Bo nodded, "Grab your axe and start chopping the branches off of this section of the trunk. I'm going to fashion a brace for your sled. Hopefully it holds. If not, we'll bury our supplies, ride back on one sled tonight, then I'll pick everything up tomorrow with LJ. I'm sure he would be happy to go for a training run with me."

"Are you kidding?" Lauren asked, "He would be ecstatic."

"Did he say something to you?" Bo asked as she began skinning the section of tree Lauren had cleared of small branches, "I need another section the same size."

Lauren nodded, "He misses running with you. He said he knows it's important that he learns to drive on his own, but he admitted that it gets lonely out there day in day out, several runs a day."

"I've really got to try to spend more time with him. He's going to lose his love for mushing if he's not having fun."

They worked in silence for a long while. Lauren eventually just sitting back, amazed that what had been a tree trunk was now slender pieces of wood.

"You're setting them on fire?" Lauren asked, surprised.

Bo nodded, "Fire makes the wood stronger."

After each piece went into the fire, she buried it in snow. When she pulled it out, it was pliable and easy to brace against the curved wood of the runner and stanchion. She clamped the pieces together and started a small fire next to the sled,

"Okay. Now we wait. I'll check the rest of your sled and then check mine as well."

"Is this my fault?" Lauren asked.

Bo shook her head, "Not at all. Sleds shouldn't crack like this one did. I'm not sure how this happened. You've done a good job packing balanced loads and you're carrying less weight now than you did on the trip here. I inspected the sleds last night and while I suppose there is a slight chance I missed the crack at its smallest, I honestly don't think it was there. So, it either happened in the last three miles or it was a bad piece of wood. Right now, let's just stay warm, hope the glue dries quickly and that the brace holds, then we'll get back on the trail."

Lauren nodded, "Do we ease up on the pace?"

Bo shrugged, "Nope. We push on. I'm going to use your sled, you'll use mine."

"Bo…"

"No argument, Lauren. If that sled breaks while you're going top speed, you won't know how to handle it. I've had sleds break on me before, so it's safer if I use yours."

Lauren sighed, "Fine, but I thought I was here to handle anything."

"This is something you learn running the trail behind the house, not out here where we have no help around if you get hurt."

"And if you get hurt?" Lauren asked.

"Then the healthy person will be a doctor. No pressure." Bo smiled.

"Great." Lauren replied, but she couldn't argue Bo's logic. She was able to handle a sled better. She did have more experience with everything that could possibly go wrong and if something did go wrong, it was better that Bo be the one injured, like it or not.

Bo sighed, "Okay, let's play the awareness game."

"You mean the children's game."

"It works for adults in this situation as well, so I prefer awareness game," Bo smiled.

"Fine."

Bo smiled, "I spy with my little eye, a bear cub."

"What? Where?" Lauren asked, her eyes darting left then right.

"Remember, this is an awareness game. The cub isn't right in front of you, but it's there. Be aware of not just what you can see, but what may be camouflaged or what is at the edge of the visible horizon as well."

The blonde turned slowly, looking to see what she could find both near and far.

"Be patient. Look for color and movement. Spot the contrast that doesn't match the scenery you have become so familiar with. Remember, where there's a cub, there are probably others and a mother as well."

Finally, Lauren smiled and pointed, "There."

Bo gave a nod, "See? Your vision is getting better with each day."

Lauren smiled, clapping her hands rapidly in front of her, "Give me another one."

Bo chuckled, "There's that Lauren Lewis enthusiasm. Okay, let's see… I spy with my little eye…"

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