Authors Notes:

Here we are with another update to the saga! Thank you all so much for your reviews and comments, they really make me a better writer. I also appreciate all of the follows and favourites - I feel so honoured that there are people who like my story.

This chapter starts with a bit of a time jump backwards to see where Bo & Kenzi are at... So without further ado - Here's the next chapter!

...

Chapter 3

"Yo! Bo-bop-a-lou-ah! Where you at sugar crotch?" Kenzi yelled out as she made her way into the darkened crack shack the human and the succubus had come to call home. It barely had walls, so was always cold, not to mention the wiring was sketchy at best. But this was their own place and it had many benefits including being off the grid and set up so they paid for none of their utilities. It wasn't exactly legal per se, but the young goth had her talents and there was no way she wasn't going to make full use of them.

Reaching for the light switch by the door the young human took a sharp intake of breathe at what she saw as a dim light was cast over the open space "what the black hole?! Everything okay succubutt?"

Bo had been sat on their red plush lounge holding her knees to her chest in the dark, Kenzi couldn't tell how long she had been there, but judging by the empty bottle of vodka on the floor she gathered it had been a while.

"Earth to Bo, anyone alive in there?" Kenzi queried as she sat herself down in front of her best friend and waved her hands back and forth in front of the woman's face "tell mama-Kenzi what's goin' down - who do I need to get skull crackin', Wolf Man? Hotpants?" Kenzi was getting more worried by the second.

Bo replied with a sad, watery chuckle "Try both, Kenz. They've become the dream team and left me behind."

"Alrighty, enough with the cryptics, what's going on?" Kenzi was starting to guess the answer though.

"I saw Dyson today and I tried to, well, you know..." Bo explained hoping her friend could fill in the rest.

"You tried to get into his leathers, yeah, yeah, I get the picture... So what happened?" The goth was glad to be spared the details, a sometimes rare courtesy.

"Well, he... He didn't want me Kenz!" Bo whined out throwing her hands up "he was all 'what about Lauren', 'I can't do this with you anymore' and 'you should have made a choice'... He even went as far as telling me he's working on breaking his mate bond! He doesn't even want to love me anymore! What the hell is all that about?!" She asked exasperated of her friend.

Kenzi had remained silent, nodding her head and listening intently to what her friend was saying. Seeing it was her time to reply, she chose her words carefully "Well, maybe it might be exactly what he said... It's gotta hurt a little watching you go to Lauren, or Rainer, or Tamsin, and didn't you have a thing with his wolf-bro? Cayden or what's it... And then there was Ryan not to mention..."

"Alright, jeez! I get it, I've have some... Fun... Over the last few years. I just thought, well, I thought he'd always be there for me, y'know? I mean, after Rainer died and Tamsin dumped me, I figured I could at least still count on him and Lauren! But now, neither of them want me!" Bo was getting visibly agitated.

"Hold the phone! One thing at a time, we'll talk about the doc in a mascara pumpin' second..." It wasn't her best line, but Kenzi still amused herself "can you really not maybe see something slightly wrong with what you just said? Bo-bo, you know I'm always going to be in your corner, but it's time for a reality bite. You ready babes?"

Bo lifted her head to look at her friend and sighed "Fine. Hit me"

"Okay, but remember, you asked for it!" Kenzi tried to prepare her friend as she steeled herself for what she was about to say. She just had to remind herself that it was for the best "You keep saying you want the dream life, spouse, house and ankle-biters, and you have had lots of people willing to take that plunge with you"

"I'm sensing I'm not gonna like the 'but' that's coming" Bo interjected.

"Ha. Butt coming... Joke on the inside. Moving on! Bo-banana. You've been stringing them along. Every time one of them might have a moment of security thinking you've chosen them, you're off chasing another tail! That's gotta hurt a wolf's pride and I'm guessing you just found the limits of his patience. If you were in his shoes, wouldn't you want to be able to move on?" Kenzi braced for the reply. While her BFF could save the world without batting an eyelid, she sometimes handled matters of the heart with all the finesse of a very sexy bull in a china shop.

"Alright, fine. I guess I made him wait a bit long. I just, well, I never expected him to move on without me! I mean, I thought the mate bond at least guaranteed that I'd have options! Can he even break the bond? Is that even possible?!" Bo asked or more, whinged.

"Fae knows what's possible... Sounds like he's going to find out though. And Bo?" Kenzi wondered the same, but she had come to love the wolf like a brother so while she would never admit it to her best friend, she did hope he could manage it for his own good. "I think you should let him."

"WHAT?!" Bo's eyes flashed blue momentarily before she suppressed the blue banshee rising "since when were you on HIS side?"

"Hey! None of that dollface! I'm not on his side, but all of this is doing no one any good! What's the saying? If you love someone let them go and if their wolf bond sticks it's fae-tastic?" Kenzi quipped, she knew her friend would never let her inner succubus hurt her "all I'm saying is, I think you should be fair to his heart. Can you manage that?"

Bo took a deep breath before replying "Fine. I mean, I don't like it, but I can give the puppy some time to realise what he's missing" Bo smirked, she was confident he wouldn't stay gone for long. "But that's not the big problem. Kenz, Lauren thinks we're still on a break." Bo sighed sadly again.

"Problem numero dos comes out! Hotpants for the kill!" Kenzi wailed motioning a shot gun shot "why would she think you weren't on a break? Didn't you just get done telling me about all the fae pants you've been reaching into?"

"Yeah, but I'm a succubus! I'm allowed to 'reach into fae pants'! Hell, I NEED to! And she knows that." The young fae pouted.

"Yes, I'm positive madame geeks-a-lot understands your... needs. Hell, I'm pretty sure she was the one who told you that was what you needed! But didn't you break the one rule? Ring a bell lover-Bo? No Dyson?" Kenzi wasn't sure how much more of this conversation she could take. Damn this woman could be stubborn.

"Well... I..." Bo looked down as though she was ashamed of what she was about to say "I didn't think she'd find out."

"Wow Bo. Even for you, that's cold. Not that it's an excuse, but how did she find out?" The tiny human enquired.

"Her and Dyson are 'buddies' now" Bo explained with sarcastic air quotes "apparently, neither of them think I'm being fair so they've made a 'no Bo' pact, and she's sticking to it. She said I wasn't being fair and she deserved better... She even said she was tired of waiting for me to grow up!"

"I did notice the two of them getting chummy, I guess broken hearts call to each other!" As hard as she tried, Kenzi couldn't fault the two of them wanting out of the love triangle that Bo had locked them in. She was even feeling a bit pleased that the two of them had come together as she felt she may have played a role in their joining. "Bo. Real talk. I'm always gonna be here for you, and I'll always be your heart, but this one's on you. Dyson and surprisingly, Lauren are my friends too. Friends that you've been hurting and that's not cool. If you want my opinion, you should just let them move on and live their lives - no more back and forth or stringing them on, it's not fair. Think you can manage that Bo-fae-nita?"

Bo thought for a few moments before a smirk that worried Kenzi crossed her face. The succubus looked up with fire in her eyes "I can deal with Dyson, it's only a matter of time before he comes around, and even if he doesn't, I can manage. But Lauren? Lauren is mine, and she always will be. In fact, this ends tonight. I'm gonna get her back" With that, Bo was on her feet, shakily at first as the alcohol still hadn't lost all of its effects, but soon enough she was marching out of the door.

"Bo! No! That is NOT what I meant! STOP!" But she was too late, the succubus was already long gone.

"Shit meet fan, this is not going to end well" Kenzi leant back and sighed. She fidgeted with the ring on her left hand and silently wished she had just elected to stay at her fiancee's place for the night, she thought she could get wedding planning done with her maid of honour, but on this night her BFF's love life had eclipsed all. Oh well, it wasn't too late to call Hale and have him come over for the night. She knew time with the one she was going to marry would probably make her feel better, and if it didn't, she knew the two pizzas she was about to order would finish the job.

...

When Lauren saw Bo at her door, she was less than happy to see her. Add to that the fact that she was in the middle of dinner with the valkyrie and she knew nothing good was going to come of this visit. Trying to negate any damages Lauren kept the door only slightly open as she greeted Bo.

"Hello Bo." She had no intention of extending niceties to her former lover "I wish you had called ahead, now is not a good time." Lauren tried to keep her body blocking any view or path into the apartment. Tamsin noticed the cold shoulder the doc was giving to the succubus and wondered what had happened to the happy couple.

"Actually, now is a good time for me!" Bo stated pushing past Lauren and into the apartment. Lauren turned following the path of the brunette with fiery eyes. Bo continued "now is a great time for you end this nonsense and" Bo stopped mid sentence as she took in the scene taking place in the loft. She took detailed notice of the plates of food and the whiskey glasses as well as the form of a tall blonde. Tamsin had gotten out of her seat and was leaning with both elbows behind her on the counter watching the drama unfold in front of her with a shit eating grin plastered on her face.

Bo's face contorted to one of rage in an instant as she launched into a full on verbal assault "What the FUCK is this?! Lauren? You're on a fucking date with her?!" Bo thrust her hand forcefully in the valkyrie's direction.

"What's the matter succubitch? Worried about a little competition?" Tamsin couldn't resist stirring the pot a little, she was a warrior after all, she thrived off battle. She felt a slight twinge of regret when she saw the frustrated look on the doctor's face, but it went away as soon as she saw how angry the succubus had become.

Bo rounded on the warrior fae "Was I talking to you, skeletor?! You better not have laid a finger on her or so help me God I will"

"You'll what? Kiss me to death?!" Tamsin moved to a foot away from Bo and stood towering over her "I'd watch who you're threatening or I'll make you doubt you were ever born!"

Lauren watched on in horror as the two fae eyed each other menacingly. She noticed Bo's eyes turn blue and Tamsin's face begin to darken and sink, she knew she had to do something or the whole city might implode from the damage two of the mightiest fae battling could cause.

"ENOUGH!" Lauren's voice thundered through the room, even giving the human a shock at the power that she just projected. It was certainly enough to get the two fae's attention as they both paused their arguing and turned stunned towards the darker blonde.

Realising that she had both of their attention, Lauren continued "Sit down, the both of you!" The rage in her eyes sent shivers down both the warrior fae's spines. They sheepishly retreated to the kitchen counter and sat on the two stools next to each other and faced Lauren silently, looking like guilty toddlers caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Neither of them would look her in the eye.

Lauren internally congratulated herself for being able elicit such a reaction from two of the most powerful beings she knew. She inhaled deeply before allowing her angry expression to soften only a fraction and kept authority in her voice as she spoke. "Bo, not that it should matter, but this isn't a date." Lauren motioned with her hand between herself and Tamsin. The valkyrie only smirked knowing that she had ruffled the succubus. "You have no right to come marching in here uninvited, nor do you have a right to attack someone for the mere act of existing in the same space that I do! Hear me clearly, we are not together. Do you understand Bo? That means who I spend my time with is NONE of your concern! Have I made myself clear?!"

Tamsin was starting to feel a little sorry for the succubus. Not enough to leave the room and give up the entertainment factor of watching the succubus being put in her place, maybe just enough to not openly mock her in that moment and remain a silent party to the events unfolding.

Bo raised her head to make eye contact with Lauren "Sweetie, you don't mean that. C'mon, it's you and me! BoLo! Remember? we can't be over" Bo moved to vacate her seat and make her way towards Lauren but was stilled when the doctor raised her hand in a 'stop' motion.

"Tamsin?" Lauren addressed the Valkyrie who looked up in acknowledgement "would you mind giving us a few minutes?"

Bo smirked at the valkyrie being dismissed but her joy was short lived when she heard the reply from the warrior fae "sure Lo, I'll just be up in my room - if the succujerk gives you any trouble, just yell out and I'll drop a bitch." With that the valkyrie made her way with a confident swagger towards the stairs.

Lauren knew Tamsin had only used a nickname to get under Bo's skin, but she decided to let it slide and focus on the task at hand.

"HER ROOM?! What the fuck is going on Lauren?! She lives here?!" Bo cried out. Her mind was reeling as she tried to understand the situation. Tamsin had to suppress a chuckle at hearing the baby fae's outcry. She was grateful she had still been within hearing range to at least hear that, she happily continued up the stairs with a pleased grin stuck on her face.

"Bo, for once can you not go off without all of the information?!" Lauren replied with great frustration.

"Fine. You've got a few minutes to tell me why I shouldn't just go up there and end her right here and now. She has no right" Bo had more to say but Lauren had reached the end of her tether.

"No Bo! YOU have no right! You can't come in here and throw threats around! You can't come here and make demands as if you own me - you do NOT own me and you will NOT treat me as if you do!" the doctor was growing wearier with the interaction by the second.

"Fine. Look, I'm sorry. Explain to me why you're living with her and not me. Tell me all about why you've left all your real family to play with the dark and while you're at it, lay out why after all this time you suddenly don't love me anymore" Bo was trying to speak calmly but it came across more childish than anything.

Lauren sighed and took the seat next to Bo, maintaining some distance between herself and the woman before her. "Alright. I'll answer the easy one first. The Morrigan feels there might be an attack from some disgruntled Light fae or something and that I could be a target. Until we know more or it's all safe, Tamsin is basically my bodyguard and shadow. I'm not too happy about it all, but I just have to live with it. She has moved in so that she can be my protection 24/7."

"See Lauren! This is what I mean, if you came back to your family this wouldn't be a problem"

"Bo, you're the only one in our mismatched little 'family' that seems to see this as me leaving! Dyson doesn't have a problem with still being my family" Lauren noticed the eye roll that the mention of her wolf shifter friend elicited from Bo, but decided to press on "Kenzi doesn't have an issue, hell, even Trick doesn't have a problem with me working for the Dark and he's the damn Ash of the Light! For Gaia's sake Bo, you're the only one who has a problem with it and you're supposed to be unaligned for crying out loud!"

"Fine, everyone's all buddies with your new dark self. Still, you just said some people from the Light might be after you - wouldn't it all work out better if you just went back to the light?" Bo queried honestly.

At this Lauren's voice raised and her hand movements became erratic as she spoke angrily "Bo, are you really that selfish?! You would have me go back to being a slave just so you could, what? Keep track of me better? Is that it? Have the dark given me too much freedom for you to stomach? Well here's some news, I'm staying with the Dark. Not only am I a free woman with them, they also appreciate me for who I am and what I do." She couldn't believe that Bo could be so callous after everything she had shared of her horrific time with the Light.

"No, Lauren, that's not it. I'm sorry, you're free to do whatever you want and work with whoever you want and I suppose I can deal with you having Tamsin as your housemate or security or whatever. She's not that bad a person if I'm honest, I just don't like the idea of well... Y'know." Bo didn't want to have to vocalise that she didn't want Lauren moving on with anyone else. "You can be whoever you want to be, but Lauren" She took the doctor's hand in hers and stared deeply into her eyes "be it with me. Come back to me and let's work on us" Bo pleaded hoping the beautiful blonde would agree.

Lauren removed her hand from Bo's but kept the eye contact to reply "Bo, nothing has changed. Hell, you were trying this on with Dyson only a few days ago! You still won't choose, and even if you did, it wouldn't be for long. The second a new fae is in town they'll be in your bed or even your fucking 'destiny' within the hour!" Lauren added as much sarcasm to the word destiny that she could, accompanied with air quotes. "Bo, you taught me that I can be free to love. I will probably always hold a space in my heart with you in it because of that, I honestly don't know if I could ever get over you, and I will always love you in some way or another. But Bo, you also are the one who made me believe I am worth more than to be led on and strung around and treated as a second choice every day. I'm sorry Bo, but you and I, we're really over" Tears were streaming slowly down the doctor's face as she poured her heart out to the one who was once her world. The sense of loss she felt in that very moment was enough to leave a tangible hole in her chest.

Bo also had tears in her eyes as she realised that this might be the one time she couldn't win. She bowed her head and spoke through her own tears "Lauren. I... I don't even know what to say. I'm sorry that you feel that way and I'll leave it for tonight, but Lauren?" Bo paused making sure she had the blondes attention "I promise you that you will be mine. We're meant to be and we will be, no matter how long it takes for you to realise it." Bo picked up Lauren's hand again and placed a soft kiss on it before putting it back on the counter and taking her leave. Lauren stared at the spot that Bo had just occupied until she could hear the lift doors opening, knowing it was taking her past down with it.

Bo was concentrating so hard on looking good while she walked out of the apartment that she didn't notice someone jump away from the door and pretend to be fidgeting with their keys to the opposite apartment as she took her leave. She walked away too quickly hear the mystery man on the phone.

"We have a problem. The doctor isn't alone, we'll have to change our plans".

...

Tamsin waited a few minutes after she heard the door close to make her way down the stairs. She couldn't explain the tightening she felt in her chest when she saw the doctor sitting on the couch with her head in her hands as sobs rocked her body. She also couldn't explain why she didn't just turn around and go back upstairs, but before she knew it, she was tentatively sitting down on the couch leaving a small space between her and the doctor. She sat silently trying to think of an acceptable response to the situation she found herself in. She made a move to put her arm around the doctor, if for nothing else than to stop the heartbreaking sound of muffled crying coming from beside her, but she stopped short and did another thing she wouldn't be able to explain to herself later in the night, in fact, she would internally scold herself for be so... awkward.

Tamsin lightly punched the doctor's arm and said through an uncomfortable looking grin "Hey there, champ... Uh, everything okay... Buddy?"

Lauren looked up with red eyes and tear stained cheeks in shock and confusion at what the valkyrie had just done, but she felt an appreciation for what Tamsin must have been trying to do, as strange and uncomfortable as it was. She let out a sad chuckle before replying "ha, okay isn't really how I'd put it" Lauren shook her head to rid herself of the feelings threatening to spill over. Breathing deeply she set her resolve to keep moving and looked to the well meaning blonde beside her "sorry for all... This. Welcome to your new home, it's great here!" She attempted a joke which came across more depressing than she had meant.

Tamsin laughed sympathetically "It's all good doc. Little excitement for the night!" trying to make light of the situation and move on "how about I reheat that awesome pasta and we forget the last hour ever happened?" The strong fae usually wasn't this caring, but faced with the broken woman in front of her, she didn't feel her usual glistening personality would be appropriate in this situation.

Lauren nodded without any enthusiasm. Tamsin took this as all the encouragement she needed and jumped up off the couch. Making her way to the kitchen she called over her shoulder "you take a minute to get cleaned up, I'll top up our glasses and we can drink so much that we couldn't remember this night even if we tried! It's an old norse remedy, works a charm, I promise"

The rest of the night passed without incident with the two blondes sharing a meal dotted with polite small talk that grew to loud stories and inappropriate jokes as the scotch flowed and was replaced by shots of buckthorne well past the clearing of the dinner plates and into the night. The two women ended the night on opposite ends of the couch laughing about the time Kenzi had gone on a bender of stealing peoples underwear right off their bodies unnoticed and blaming on Dyson's shadow thief training.

"No joke! We were helping out a woman, well, she turned out to be an evil mermaid, but that's not the point. We're there meeting this woman and Kenzi is holding up a pair of pink panties for everyone to see asking if anyone is missing them! I had never been so embarrassed! Dyson just said he didn't train her to do that, but I'm not sure I trust the scruff - seems suspiciously like an alpha dog thing to do!" Lauren was drunkenly telling the story with her hands more than her words and Tamsin found herself laughing so hard she had to clutch her mid-section to prevent it falling out.

After a short while a comfortable silence fell over the women as they both retreated into their own thoughts. It had gotten late into the night and both women were showing signs of the days events catching up. Lauren spoke first "Well, today was... Eventful. I'm going to stumble to bed." Lauren paused considering her next words "and Tamsin? As unhelpful as you were when Bo was here"

Tamsin merely smirked, still quite proud of her handiwork while Lauren continued "the rest of the night hasn't been completely awful, so, well, thanks."

"Whoa there, don't lay the compliments on too thick! A girl could get a big head!" Tamsin replied holding her hands up to emphasise her sarcasm. "It's all good. What time are we leaving in the morning?"

Lauren smiled at the fae's antics "7, I like to get there early... And we're taking my car. Always. We're always taking my car from now on, I'm not getting into that crash magnet again. I choose life!"

"Wow, first you're going to torture me with an early morning and then you insult my baby." Tamsin feigned offense "whatever, I'll see you in the morning. Can't wait to watch you watch a microscope for a day, I'll try to contain my excitement. Night!" Tamsin jogged up the stairs before the human had a chance to give a witty comeback.

"Night, Tamsin" the doctor said under her breath whilst shaking her head as she retired to her own room.

If this was day one, neither of them wanted to hazard a guess as to how all of this was going to turn out.

...

Well there you have it folks - day 1 has come to a close! Hope you like where it's going.

For the Bo fans out there, please don't despair, sometimes you need to go back a bit before going forward - while this is a COPDOC story, I won't be hating on the other characters - I just like the idea of Bo having a journey of getting her head together.

Please let me know what you thought in the comments :-)

Until next time, I'll stay LostAtTheCarnival.