Chapter 34 – The Scientific Method
The Congo Rainforest, 6:53 pm
"We're here." Lauren paused at the edge of a clearing. "My old research camp." She tossed her backpack on the ground, and stretched out her overworked latissimi dorsi before stepping, wide-eyed, into what little remained of her first field research expedition site. The others followed behind, and Lauren could feel their eyes boring holes in the back of her head. She knew they wanted answers. But Lauren had been so fixated on finding the camp and setting up before it got dark, that she hadn't even had time to process her sudden burst of Bruce Lee-style action heroics.
But now, they were here. With a half an hour to spare. And Lauren would be forced to confront the issue sooner or later.
She opted for later.
"Ai, my aching everything," Kenzi let her pack slide from her shoulders before collapsing to the grass in a heap. "Being outdoorsy is vastly overrated. Someone hand me an X-Box and a Mountain Dew, stat."
Dyson dug through his pack. "I have peanuts and a book of crosswords."
"The hell you need crossword puzzles for?" Hale snatched the book and flipped through the pages. "This is a jungle trek, grandpa."
"It's for downtime." Dyson smacked his friend on the back of the head, and snatched his puzzles. "I need to keep my mind nimble. My body is a temple, and my mind is a…"
"…aaaanoying?" Kenzi finished for him. "Shut up and nut me." She stuck her hands out. Dyson complied, spilling a handful of peanuts into her eager palms.
"Consider yourself nutted."
Lauren shuffled around, oblivious to the conversation taking place behind her. The site was so much smaller than she remembered. She thought back to when she'd first set eyes on the place, after almost a week of searching for the perfect base camp. They'd stumbled upon this overgrown clearing and she knew it was perfect – almost as thought it was meant for her. Some other research team had surely been here years prior…there was no way such a clearing, almost a perfect 200x200 meter square, could have just appeared in the midst of such a dense jungle…and so close to a source of water. At the time it made her excited to think that she was following in the footsteps of explorers and scientists that had come before her. Lauren frowned, as she reflected on just how different she was from the person she'd been back then - almost as though her past self really WAS one of those other scientists, other explorers. A completely different human being. Someone younger, and more idealistic. Someone who had never even heard the word 'Fae'.
Aside from the distinct lack of tall vegetation stretching to the canopy above, very little remained to suggest that anyone had been here at all. Where six large, white tents had once stood in a well-mowed clearing, high grasses and shrubs had retaken the area, growing wild throughout. The tree where they'd hung their portable shower had also grown – its lowest branches no longer within reach. Well, Lauren grinned, Dyson and his monkey arms could still reach. The thought of Dyson made her turn back to the others – about ten feet behind her, Bo was just emerging through the jungle, bringing up the rear of the group. She stood tall but she was sweating, huffing and puffing, clearly suffering from the heat and humidity but trying not to show it.
Lauren felt a wave of guilt wash over her as her girlfriend, her Bo, took a long gulp of bottled water. Lauren sighed. She hadn't been treating Bo well at all since the incident with the j'ba fofi. Bo, who had listened to her and supported her while she talked about her first experience in the Congo. Her internal sigh turned into an external chuckle as she watched Bo miss her mouth on the second gulp, dribbling water all down the front of her shirt.
Bo heard the noise, and grinned. She playfully spat a stream of water toward Lauren – who leaped out of the way with feigned incredulity. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Getting you wet."
"Take it to the bedroom, people." Kenzi's words were almost unintelligible through her peanut-filled cheeks.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Bo shot back.
"And please mamma, you gotta watch the teeth. Those nuts are sensitive," Hale added. Kenzi replied by fiercely chomping down on the peanuts, grinding her molars for good measure.
"Good to know that, whilst being transported through the jungle, we were also transported back to our preteens." Ciara gave Hale a look of fierce annoyance.
Lauren continued exploring her former stomping ground. She grinned and bit her lip, as she came across a faint path between two massive buttress roots. The path led deeper into the jungle, and Lauren knew the way very well. For all the difficulties she had with coming back here, there was one thing that she had been looking forward to. Something she desperately wanted Bo to see. She looked up at a sky that was just beginning to fade from red to purple. Almost the magic hour. Just a few more minutes.
Her momentary joy was interrupted by her wolfy companion clearing his throat. "So…Lauren…."
"No," she cut him off.
"You don't even know what I was going to…"
"Nope."
Dyson frowned. "Don't you think we should discuss what happened?"
"Yes, but not now." Her observant eyes darted down to his leg. "Besides, you have a leech on your calf." Dyson looked down to where a huge black blob, almost as big as his thumb, was having him for dinner.
"UGH!" Kenzi gagged.
"Don't choke on the nuts. I know they're quite a mouthful." Hale teased.
Dyson carefully extracted the parasite from his skin. He held it up to Bo. "Your sister?"
Bo's eyes darkened. "What is THAT supposed to mean?"
"You can't deny that you have a lot in common. Blood sucking, chi sucking. Extracting the essence out of your prey in order to feed yourself? You're a glorified, sexualized leech."
Bo puffed her chest out. "Oh yeah, big man? Why don't you come over here and say that?"
"I would, but you've been traipsing through the jungle all day and you're probably starving."
"I'd rather suck the life out of THAT thing." She pointed to the leech.
"Does a leech have a sex drive?" Ciara wondered aloud.
"UGH!" Kenzi gagged again.
"Little mama you gotta take your tiiiiime with those nuts. Savor them."
Kenzi glared at Hale. Bo glared at Dyson. Lauren sighed, and looked up at the sky again. Deep purple. Close enough. "Bo," she ventured, "Dyson's a jerk, but he's not entirely wrong. You must be tired. You haven't fed in days."
Bo opened her mouth to protest…but it was true. She was tired, and sore, and practically starving. "Yes." She slumped her shoulders in pouting defeat.
"Come with me." Lauren smiled and stuck out her had. "I think I know exactly what you need to make you feel better. The rest of you can set up camp, right?"
"Roger!" Kenzi saluted. She had pick-pocketed the rest of Dyson's peanuts while he and Bo were going at each other, and her cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel.
Hale shook his head. "Dyson man, that chick just stole your nut sack."
"Bro, at least I HAD one to begin with."
Ciara rolled her eyes. "You ladies had better move along; idiocy can be contagious. We'll get everything set up while you're away."
"Thanks," Lauren shot Ciara a grateful look. But really…for as annoying as they could be, she was glad that Dyson, and Hale, and even Kenzi, were here. And really, for the enormous changes that had occurred in the intervening six years…THAT was the biggest difference between her first Congo expedition and this one. The first time around she had arrived, ready to save the world, with a couple of local guides and some research assistants she barely knew. This time, she was ready to save the world surrounded by her best friends, and people she loved. She glanced over at Bo, who smiled, slightly puzzled, wondering where they were going. It was something about the way Bo's eyebrows crinkled together…it almost took Lauren's knees out from under her. Lauren tried to gulp down a crazy wave of emotion that coursed through her body. She took Bo's hand in hers, and led Bo down the faded path and into the jungle. "Don't wait up!" Lauren shouted over her shoulder.
Bo grinned. She definitely liked the sound of that.
Almost ten minutes had passed, with Lauren leading Bo wordlessly through the trees. The well-worn, heavily trodden path was long gone, but Lauren knew the way by heart. She practically skipped.
Bo was having a hard time reading her girlfriend. It seemed like she'd gone from being furious to giddy, at the drop of a hat. That fact, combined with her heroics from that afternoon, was throwing Bo off. Bo could always feel an undercurrent of sexual desire coming from Lauren whenever they were together…even when it was faint, it was still always there. But something had shifted. Something felt…odd. "You seem awfully chipper," Bo finally said.
Lauren grinned. "There's something I'm dying to show you. Until I met you, I would have said it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."
Bo smiled in spite of (or perhaps because of) the cheesiness.
"I remember when I first found this place; I thought I'd discovered a new life form. And I had…just not in the way I expected." Her heart beat faster; through the trees and bushes ahead she could see a faint, blue-green glow.
Bo's keen eyes had caught sight of it too. "Neon signs in the middle of the jungle? Alien casinos? Is there something you need to tell me, Mulder?"
"Not exactly, Scully." Lauren laughed. "I wouldn't blame you for mistaking it for aliens though." As they drew closer, the light became brighter, so much so that it was throwing shadows off of nearby plants. Lauren brushed a huge leaf aside, leading Bo into a previously hidden path amid the trees, and through an opening in the underbrush.
"Oh. My." Bo's mouth dropped open. She was standing in front of a small pool, no larger than a jacuzzi, with small streams of water leading in and out via two tiny cascading waterfalls. Surrounded on all sides by kapok trees, hidden from the rest of the world, she could just see the moon peeking through the branches above like a skylight. But what really made this place special….what REALLY made it amazing, was that the crystal clear waters of the pool and its rim were glowing a spectacular blue/green, bathing the entire scene in ethereal light. "What is?" Bo stammered. "How?"
"Eustigatophytic Xanthophyceae Lewisius." Lauren recited. "EXL, for short. At least, that's what I named it, when I found it. At the time I thought it was bioluminescent algae."
Bo turned to Lauren, her face lit from below. "Bioluminescent? Like that movie with the blue people?"
"The Smurfs?"
Bo gave Lauren a playful slap in the arm. Lauren laughed. "Yes, Bo. Sort of like 'Avatar'. But it's not alien…it's Fae." She kneeled down next to the algae, which spread from the pool and past the rim, surrounding it almost a foot wide on all sides. "This is actually an extremely simple, plant-like form of UnderFae. The Khassu call it Malahmwezi: it's their word for 'Moonlight'." She touched it with a fingertip, and the Malahmwezi responded by brightening slightly. "Isn't it beautiful?"
"It is." Bo knelt next to Lauren, placing a hand on the small of her back. "It's incredible." She bent over, and gave Lauren a soft peck on the lips.
"I haven't even told you the best part," Lauren added. "It's not just about appearances. As with most things Fae, the Malahmwezi…I guess it's just easier to call it the 'EXL'… displays properties beyond anything you would find in so-called 'normal' flora. You see, it gives the water here restorative healing properties. Go ahead and take your clothes off."
Bo raised an eyebrow. "Was this all just an elaborate plot to get me naked?"
"Would I need an elaborate plot for that?"
"No," Bo admitted. "But, for as beautiful as it all is, I'm not sure how I feel about getting into a pool of slime in the middle of a jungle."
Lauren chuckled. "Here." She placed Bo's hand on the algae. To Bo's surprise, it was hard and smooth – almost like glass. "In its bioluminescent state, it solidifies. And the EXL kills off any impurities – there are no harmful creatures or bacteria in here. I've done tests, Bo. This is quite likely the purest, cleanest water on the planet Earth. Do you want me to go first? I'll go first." Lauren unabashedly stripped off her shirt, followed by her pants and undergarments, folding them into a neat pile next to the water. Bo watched with a gulp as Lauren stepped to the edge of the pool and tested the temperature with a toe. Satisfied, she slid her body into the water, slowly, luxuriating in the feeling of warmth and renewal that spread through every bit of skin the water touched until at last her feet hit the bottom. The waters of the shallow pool reached just above her belly button.
Bo watched, mesmerized, as Lauren's lithe body and toned muscles were lit blue by the bioluminescent algae. She watched as Lauren splashed water on her face and arms, then floated over and stuck her head beneath the upper waterfall, soaking her blonde hair. Any time Lauren moved, disturbed the water in any way, the color shifted almost imperceptibly to allow a slight hint of green. Lauren closed her eyes and moaned, allowing her entire body to relax as the warm water soaked into her pores. She opened one brown eye, and looked at Bo. "Are you coming in, or are you just going to stand there with your tongue hanging out?"
"Honestly? You look too perfect in there. I'm happy just appreciating the view."
Lauren grinned devilishly, and splashed water at Bo.
"Hey! You're getting water on my boots!"
"Bo Dennis, take your clothes off immediately and get into this pool. That's an order."
"Well, when you put it like that." Bo laughed as she stripped off her jungle khakis. Kenzi was right to have advised against leather. Even the breathable, moisture-wicking hiking gear was caked in dirt and sweat; Bo was more than happy to be rid of it. She threw her clothes on top of Lauren's neat pile, and cannonballed into the pool.
She felt better immediately. Immediately. It felt as though the water soaked directly through her skin, lubricating her aching bones and muscles, coating them in a gel of pure, pain relieving bliss. She dunked underwater, soaking her entire head in the pool before emerging, with trickles of water dripping from her long brunette hair.
"How does it feel?" Lauren asked.
"Amaaaaaaaaaaazing," Bo replied in a drawn out half-moan. She leaned against the pool's edge, allowing her legs to float back up to the surface. As soon as her knees emerged above the water line, she felt a soreness return to the area. She quickly submerged them again. She stared up through the canopy at the night sky, where the first stars were beginning to appear. "I don't know that I've ever felt this good before."
"Never?" Lauren raised an eyebrow.
"Never." Bo sighed, contentedly. "This might even be better than chi."
Lauren wondered in awe at the scientific ramifications of that statement. How powerful was the Malahmwezi for Bo to say something like that? But before she could get too far into her ruminations, she heard Bo whisper "Come here."
It was the way Bo said it that kicked Lauren into overdrive – her libido seemingly intensified by the healing waters. It was that certain way Bo sometimes had of making every syllable that slipped from her lips sound like sex. Lauren glided across the small distance between them, stopping in front of Bo, breathing deeply in expectation of what was to come.
But it did not appear, at least not initially, that sex is what Bo had in mind. "Turn around," she whispered, and Lauren complied. Her back was to Bo's chest – she could feel Bo's hardened nipples pressing against her skin. Still, Bo made no move other than to slowly rub Lauren's neck. Lauren leaned back against her girlfriend, until her head rested in the hollow of Bo's shoulder. "How does that feel?" Bo asked.
"Good." Lauren replied, trying to impose as much meaning into the word as she possibly could. Out loud: 'good'. Implied: 'Ok, but I wish your hands were elsewhere'. This wasn't lost on Bo. But all the weeks of back and forth with Lauren before they'd got together had trained Bo in the art of self-control. She felt the immensity of Lauren's desire, but Bo could be patient. And really, Bo grinned internally, Lauren had no one to blame for that but herself.
"So," Bo began. "What happened with you today? The bats? The kung fu?" She never took her hands off of Lauren – she wasn't sure she could, even if she tried. The waters rippling below them were amplifying every single sensation.
Lauren sighed in resignation. Of all things they could and should be doing, she couldn't believe that Bo wanted to talk. "I'm not sure, Bo. Anything I say right now would only be speculation without verifiable evidence."
Bo's nimble fingers worked from Lauren's shoulders, down to her forearms. Perhaps it was just Bo's imagination, but it seemed as though Lauren's muscles, already well-toned, were even firmer than usual. "Okay then, don't guess. Just tell me what you felt."
Lauren paused to think. She looked up and caught a glimpse of Bo's eyes – the Succubus' deep brown orbs seemed to flash blue – whether that was from desire or just a reflection of the ambient light, Lauren couldn't be sure. Lauren had seen Bo's eyes go blue before, during particularly intense lovemaking sessions. Sometimes, between Lauren's natural inclination to take charge in the bedroom, and Bo's sweet, soft-hearted romantic gooey-ness, it was easy for Lauren to forget that Bo was powerful enough to kill her in an instant. "Power," Lauren said out loud. "That's what I felt, back by the river. I was way more powerful than I should be."
Bo gently massaged Lauren's palms and fingers. "You felt powerful enough to take on an entire flock of vampire UnderFae?"
"I wasn't worried. I knew I could handle them. It doesn't make any sense, but that's what I felt."
Bo furrowed her brow, deep in thought. She paused from her deep massage long enough to ask, "How does the scientific method go?"
Lauren spun around, a sideways grin on her face. "Say again?"
"It's been a long time since high school chemistry. But I remember there were a few steps…something about variables and hypoglycemia."
Lauren laughed out loud, and stroked Bo's cheek. "I think you mean hypothesis. To answer your question in its most basic form, the major steps in the scientific method are to make observations, propose a hypothesis, design an experiment to test the hypothesis, test the hypothesis, and then accept or reject it accordingly. Why on earth do you ask?"
Bo pulled Lauren closer, their wet bodies sliding against one another. "I have a hypothesis that I wanna test out."
"Really?" Lauren breathed, wrapping her legs around Bo's waist. "I applaud your healthy scientific curiosity."
"So, can I try something?"
"Anything." Lauren agreed without a second thought.
Bo grinned. She leaned in and parted Lauren's lips with her tongue, slowly circling before diving in again. Lauren responded immediately, sliding her hands from Bo's waist to her chest, palming Bo's breasts and eliciting a moan from her girlfriend.
"I like where this is going already," Lauren whispered against Bo's parted lips. Bo found herself rapidly losing control of the situation, and shook her head in an attempt to refocus.
"You said you felt powerful," Bo managed to say. Lauren, busy kissing Bo's slender neck, simply let out an 'mmm' of agreement that vibrated on Bo's extra-sensitive skin. By now, Lauren knew all of Bo's 'spots', having performed a series of incredibly erotic mapping expeditions during their past few sexual encounters. Lauren was quite confident that she could make Bo come without ever 'going south'. Lauren nipped at a certain spot near Bo's collarbone, and grinned as she felt the Succubus writhe against her.
Bo gritted her teeth, and pressed on. "I think I can tell you if you actually are more powerful."
Lauren's tongue paused on Bo's neck. She pulled back, eyebrows quizzically arched. "How?"
Bo rolled her eyes in mild frustration. "I'm a Succubus. Do I have to spell it out?" Bo hoped not. She still felt a little bit weird about taking chi from her girlfriend. Humans didn't provide as much sustenance as Fae, and they grew weak much more quickly. For as strong as Lauren's desires were…she was still human. But if something had happened to Lauren…surely Bo would be able to tell the difference.
"Oooh." Realization dawned on Lauren. She ran a hand through Bo's hair and grinned. "Are you going to eat me?"
Bo spun Lauren around, and pressed her against the side of the pool. She slid her thigh in between Lauren's legs, and slowly began to slide back and forth. "I'm not going to eat you. I'm going to fuck you. And when you come, I'm going to taste your chi. And it's going to tell me whether you're more powerful or not." Bo thrust her thigh upward, drawing an audible gasp from Lauren. "How's that for an experiment?"
"Not ba-ad." Lauren moaned and threw her head back, prepared to lose herself fully to her girlfriend. All in the name of science, of course.
Thirty feet away, and invisible to the naked eye, an old man averted his gaze to afford the two women some privacy. He had sensed the blonde woman's arrival in Africa several days prior, and he knew that the moment he had envisioned so many years ago was close at hand. The man had been following the woman and her companions since they arrived at the outskirts of the jungle. He had not seen The Doctor for quite some time…not since performing the Ceremony of the Ulamuzi in the Okahange Temple six years ago. He had known, from the moment she entered his village, that she was the one he had been waiting for. And before the Ash had taken her away, he himself had placed the Siancyn in her palm and marked her. Chosen her.
The Khassu Elder winced, as the noises from the Malahmwezi pool grew louder and more zealous. He had no interest in desires of the flesh – at an age of nearly three thousand years, his thirst for women had deserted him long ago. But again, there was no need to be rude. He placed his hands over his ears, and began humming a popular Khassu folk tune about a group of hunters who accidentally got drunk on fermented jaholi fruit.
Lauren moaned, as Bo's two fingers worked in and out, bringing her closer and closer to the brink. Lauren wasn't sure if it was the EXL, or her weird burst of power, or whether she just really wanted Bo at the moment, but everything seemed to be exaggerated. Everything. From the sensations she was feeling to the brilliant blue light dancing off of Bo's skin to the sound of her own hitched breaths. "I knew…this…amazing…water…biolumi…" she struggled to form a coherent sentence.
Bo was a bit more successful in that regard. "You know, I was watching you standing there, holding that stick right after you'd finished of the vampire freaks…and I have never, EVER wanted you so badly."
"Then take me. Don't ever stop." Lauren's body moved in time with Bo's, the water lapping at their waists. Bo groaned. She wanted nothing more than to have a taste of this absolutely delectable woman, but she didn't feed. Not yet. She could take chi from anyone at any time…but chi was more potent when her partner was aroused.
And chi was MOST potent when her partner was orgasmic.
Bo nipped and sucked at Lauren's exposed neck, while her fingers worked their magic down below. When she added her thumb into the mix, stroking Lauren's most sensitive areas, the blonde practically jumped out of her skin. Bo watched, awestruck, as her girlfriend gave herself over completely to Bo's touch – it was the only time Lauren ever allowed herself to be so vulnerable. Lauren, in this state of pure, uninhibited bliss, was the most beautiful thing that Bo had ever seen. Bo gulped and leaned in, her fingers never stopping their work, to whisper in Lauren's ear.
"I need to tell you something," Bo breathed.
"Yes?" Lauren whimpered…Bo's words sounded like they were coming from the other end of a very long tunnel, so lost was she to sensation, perched right on the edge…
"I love you."
Three things happened to Lauren, in very quick succession. With one final thrust of her fingers, Bo sent Lauren spiraling into pure and utter orgasmic ecstasy. Lauren's eyes shot open, as she felt Bo's lips on hers, ratcheting up the intensity twenty-fold as the Succubus began to feed. And in some corner of Lauren's brain that wasn't being turned to a gooey pile of bliss, Bo's three words managed to register. "I love you."
Neither woman was prepared for what happened next.
The Khassu Elder was not prepared either. He remained totally unaware, humming his folk tune and swaying to the music. Just as he reached the third verse, where the drunken hunters go cliff diving into a mud hole, a blast of energy like a five megaton bomb knocked him clear off his perch in the tree. He plunged through the thick branches, collecting scrapes and scratches until he landed unceremoniously on the jungle floor – barely avoiding impalement on the two foot long spikes of a hokawandi bush. He lay on the dirt, gasping, trying to catch his breath, staring up at the sky.
Once he'd finally regained the ability to breathe, he began to giggle softly. Oh yes. Yes indeed. He had certainly chosen well, when he'd chosen the blonde doctor. He picked himself up off the ground, brushed the dirt from his travelling robe, and headed back to his village to make preparations for his wanted and unwanted guests.
"Bo? Are you ok?" Lauren had lifted her unconscious girlfriend from the pool, and laid her on the EXL of the rim. Bo was still breathing, and her vitals seemed fine, but she hadn't opened her eyes in nearly ninety seconds. What Lauren wouldn't give for some smelling salts right now. "Bo, can you hear me?" She gently shook her girlfriend's shoulders. "You need to wake up!"
Suddenly Bo jumped bolt upright, knocking Lauren back into the pool with a splash. Bo's eyes rolled back in her head, and she let out a scream of pleasure before dropping back, panting, to the ground. "Oh my god. Omigod omigod omigod," was all she managed to say.
Lauren clambered rather clumsily back out of the pool and kneeled next to Bo. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I have no idea what happened…"
"I'll tell you what happened." Bo sat up, struggling against the dizzy feeling of her brain sloshing against her skull. "I was trying to suck chi, and a Tom Jones five star sex bomb blew up in my face."
With a perfectly straight face Lauren replied, "Maybe Kenzi was right about getting armor plated protection."
The two women looked at each other, and began to giggle. "Are my eyebrows still there?" Bo reached up to check, sending Lauren into a fit of near hysterical laughter.
"My god, Bo." Lauren finally managed to sputter out, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Did I break you?"
"You tried." Bo laughed, and wiped one of Lauren's tears from her cheek. "I really don't know…everything was normal, and then your chi was too much for me to handle. You proved my hypnosis right, that's for damn sure."
"Hypothesis."
"That too." Bo stared at her girlfriend, her smile slowly dropping into a much more serious expression. "There's definitely something going on with you. You've rocked my world before…but you'd never literally blown me away."
Lauren rested her chin on Bo's knee, and stared up into Bo's deep brown eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Nah. It's ok. A Succubus just isn't used to being with someone who can fight back, that's all." Bo grinned, running a hand through Lauren's hair. "But we need to find out what's happening to you. I mean, it's not that I don't like it…but I don't want to be blown to Kingdom Come every time I tell you that I love you."
Lauren smiled. "I love you too, you know."
Bo's answering grin was a mile wide. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to hear you say that." She leaned over and kissed Lauren gently, then stood up on still-wobbly legs. "Come on, Sex Bomb," she said. "We should get back to camp before the others start to worry."
"There's no rush." Lauren grinned, holding Bo's hand and leading her slowly back to the pool. "I'm guessing you need to recover from your…recovery." She put her palm on Bo's chest, feeling her rapidly increasing heartbeat. "Why don't we stay here a little bit longer? I can help you relax."
"Relax, huh? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Bo rolled her eyes, but reluctantly allowed herself to be led back into the bright blue, healing waters. Despite putting on the show, she knew she wasn't fooling anybody…least of all herself. In truth, she'd follow Lauren anywhere.