Author's Note:
Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews =) I'm glad you're all enjoying it. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it.
Can Bo handle what's coming? Can she accept what she has to do to get what she wants?
Chapter 2 – Long Way to Go
"Ah Bo, I don't know about you but most people would call that stalking," Kenzi said before shoveling a spoon full of Crunch Berries into her mouth.
"Oh come on Kenz, I just want to see if she'll go in again today. She seemed too…friendly with that waitress if you ask me," Bo said hissing that last part as she cringed at the memory. It may have seemed to be harmless flirting but that didn't mean she liked it.
"Bo, honey, your jealous is showing," Kenzi teased.
"I just…I have to know what happened to her. Whatever it is, it has to be Fae related. Wanna come with to Trick's later?"
"Buy me a drink and I'll think about it," she replied even though she knew she didn't have to pay. Bo rolled her eyes and then moved in to give her friend a hug.
"Thanks Kenz, I knew there was a reason I kept you around," she said before giving Kenzi a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Hey! I am a valuable asset Succubitch and don't you forget it!" Kenzi exclaimed waving her spoon at Bo.
"Love you too," the Succubus replied before grabbing her jacket and making her way to the door. "I'll pick you up later."
When Bo arrived at the diner, it was quiet, unlike yesterday. The waitress that was flirting with Lauren was nowhere to be seen, so she just took a seat in a booth farthest from the entrance. She hadn't been sitting long when a waitress appeared to take her order. Not really in the mood to eat, she ordered a coffee.
After half an hour of waiting, Bo was starting to feel ridiculous. Every time the door would open, Bo's eyes would go straight for the entrance, hoping that it was Lauren that walked through the droor. Checking her phone, she saw a few messages from Dyson and that it was almost 10 a.m.
Just then, the waitress that had been talking to Lauren burst through the doors of the diner. Bo watched the waitress, as she got ready for her shift. Throwing caution to the wind, the Succubus got up from her seat and made her way to the diner counter and took a seat there.
"Excuse me miss?" She asked trying to get the woman's attention.
"Ye—…Oh. It's you," the woman replied. Bo raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. Instead of saying anything, she chose to ignore it. Since it looked like this woman knew Lauren, or Karen rather, she was going to get answers.
"May I have more coffee please?" Bo asked innocently.
"Sure," the waitress mumbled, walking over to Bo begrudgingly. As she poured Bo's coffee, the Succubus reached out and touched the woman's arm.
"Thanks…" Bo whispered seductively as she thralled the waitress just enough to get what she wanted. The woman immediately flushed and giggled, as she pulled back slightly from Bo but not enough that Bo still couldn't touch her.
"Y-you're welcome," she said shyly.
"Well…" Bo paused as she read the waitresses nametag. "Jaime, can I ask you something extremely important?" She asked her thumb slowly stroking the back of Jamie's hand, not really using her powers anymore. The woman just nodded as she stared at the Succubus. Bo scanned the diner again to make sure no one was within earshot and continued.
"Jamie, the woman you were talking to yesterday…Karen was it? Does she come here often?"
"Yes…" Jamie replied breathlessly. "S-she comes here every Wednesday and Friday for lunch at exactly 12 o'clock sharp. God you're beautiful…"
Bo just gave her a small mischievous grin.
"…And how long has she been coming here?" Bo prompted, hoping no one would interrupt them.
"For about six months now, give or take a few weeks…can I have your number?" At that, Bo let go of the woman's hand and gave it a soft pat.
"I would, but I have somewhere to be. Maybe next time?"
Leaving a tip for the waitress, Bo made her way to the door.
"But I LOVE YOU!" Jamie yelled just before the diner door closed behind the Succubus.
"I know…" Bo whispered before she continued on.
When Bo and Kenzi got to Trick's, he was in his lair. He didn't look up from what he was reading until Kenzi dropped herself into a seat right next to him.
"Hiya gramps!" She said picking a miniature statue of a hippogriff from his desk and examining it.
"Don't touch that Kenzi!" Trick hissed grabbing the statue and putting it aside. He sighed and put down his magnifying glass and looked up at Bo and Kenzi. Bo opted to stand and just leaned against Trick's workstation.
"Since you're apparently not here to drink, to what do I owe the pleasure ladies?" He asked taking a seat.
"Memory manipulation…or erasure or…whatever," Bo said started. "What kind of Fae messes with memories?"
Trick raised a quizzical brow at his granddaughter's question. Guessing that he wasn't going to get any further explanation from Bo, he stood up and walked over to his book.
"Before I tell you, is there a reason why you're asking?" The Blood King asked turning to face both Bo and Kenzi. In most cases he wouldn't ask but something was different about the way Bo was acting. She seemed eager…desperate even, and he didn't miss it. Picking up the giant 'Fae Book' as Kenzi now nickname it, he made his way back to his seat.
"Lauren," Bo said simply. Trick stumbled and dropped the large book and stared hard at Bo.
"What?!"
The Succubus sighed impatiently.
"Yes Trick. Lauren. Human doctor Lauren. Just…could you please give us something?" She demanded. Gathering his composure, Trick picked up the book and went back to his seat.
"There are two things that I know of that can cause that kind of…problem," he said hesitantly. "The thing is, it's not easy to find this person or object," he finished. Trick placed the book on the table and opened it up to the desired page as Kenzi and Bo leaned in to look.
"No Fae-ing way!" Kenzi exclaimed.
"Angels?" Bo asked looking skeptically at her grandfather.
"Yes, but these aren't the kind of Angel's that you're thinking. Bo they're dangerous and when it comes to memory manipulation, whatever it was that Lauren did, it had to have come at a hefty price," he explained.
"Hold the phone," Kenzi jumped in. "You're saying Angels exist? Shit! I need to start praying!"
"Like I said, these aren't the kinds of Angels you're thinking about. They are very misleading. They shouldn't be taken lightly or trusted and there aren't many of them left. They hardly ever make themselves known, especially to human kind. They're very dangerous Bo, I don't want you doing anything stupid," Trick stood up from his chair and moved over to one of his cabinets. He opened the door and pulled out a necklace.
"This, is the 'Memoria Extermina', meaning memory erase," he said holding up the necklace for Bo and Kenzi to see.
"This is just a replica, but what it does is, it can erase memories to be replaced by new ones. It works like hypnotism, you swing it back and forth in front of the person and they become entranced within a few seconds. The person with the necklace can say or do whatever they wish."
"Okay, but are these memory erasures permanent or can they be reversible?" Bo asked moving over to take a closer look at the necklace.
"Before I answer that, you have to at least give me something Bo," Trick said. Bo knew he hated feeling like he was in the dark about things. Bo agreed and so she and Kenzi recalled the story to Trick. To say he was surprised was an understatement. Bo could see that something was troubling Trick by the end of the story. Bo started to feel a little uncomfortable at the look on Trick's face. Whatever was coming out of his mouth next wasn't going to be good news.
"This can't be good," Trick said. "Bo, if it is the necklace, it's going to be incredibly difficult for you to try and help Lauren."
"What do you mean?" Bo didn't like the sound of what was coming next.
"These necklaces were created by the Angels. Whoever used this on Lauren didn't want her to remember anything at all. They don't want her to be found either. For these necklaces to work, they must be on their person. Not to mention, it can't be removed without you getting burned if you try to touch it," Bo tried to remember if Lauren had been wearing one yesterday. She found it difficult to believe that Lauren would have anything other than the Ash's pendant around her neck.
"In order to restore a persons memory, you simply destroy it. The problem is, it has the potential to cause problems mentally for a person and they could lose themselves completely. The thing is, with humans, there's a high possibility of them dying once it's destroyed. Actually, I'd bet on it happening instantly. The only way to bring back her memory is by helping her remember or finding an Angel to help remove the magic of the necklace. Both methods aren't exactly easy to achieve either."
For a while the room was quiet. Even Kenzi had no comment. This worried Bo. How could she get back the old Lauren if it meant killing her in the process? Would she have to start from the beginning again? Could she love this…Karen the same way she loves Lauren? Bo had so many questions and it frustrated her.
"Couldn't Bo just like, bring her back to life or something with her super Succubus thingy majiggy mojo breath of life?" Kenzi asked.
"No. There's a reason why we hardly ever use these items. In fact, it was believed that only two of these necklaces still existed. One is stored within the confines of the Ash's vault. The other is somewhere in Italy."
The more Bo heard, the more she disliked it. She had only two options and both seemed like a long shot. She hated making decisions.
'Could I really bring back Lauren's memories without having to destroy that necklace?'
"You have to know at least one Angel?" She asked Trick.
"I do, but…it's complicated, AND," he said holding up his hand to stop Bo before she could interrupt him.
"I'm not telling you where he is or how to find him. He's too dangerous. Why don't you just help her remember? One of the things that really help is love. You have to show her things that could spark even just moments of her old self."
"Why do I get the feeling this also isn't going to be as easy as finding an Angel?" Bo asked giving her grandfather sideways glance from where she was standing.
"Because it will be difficult. You have to do it in a way that's subtle. Rushing into it could scare her Bo. You could push her away. You have to approach this with a plan. Another way this could go wrong is if it really isn't Lauren. Bo, you need to be certain that this is Lauren before you jump into this head first."
The succubus glared at him.
"I know its Lauren and I will get her back. I don't know if I can spend days that turn into years trying to get her to remember. I miss her Trick. I miss Lauren," she said swallowing the lump in her throat.
"I miss her too, but would you be ready for what you might find out when you finally restore her memory? What if she wanted to have it erased? She wasn't exactly living the high life Bo. She was a ward of the Ash, respected maybe but she was disposable. Don't you think maybe she left for a reason? What makes you think Hale is going to welcome Lauren back with open arms? Even if he does, the Fae elders would never tolerate it. Maybe it's a good thing this happened, why don't you just get to know Karen?"
"Are you fucking kidding me? I know Lauren. She wouldn't have done something like this without thinking about it first! Don't you think she would've known the consequences? I refuse to believe that she was THAT upset with me to go and have her memory erased Trick!" Bo exclaimed slamming her fist onto the table next to her. She didn't know why she was getting so worked up but she didn't want to be told that Lauren did this by choice. She didn't want to be told that at the end of it all it was her own self that drove Lauren away.
"Bo, please..." Trick pleaded moving over to try and console her but she shrugged him off.
"No! If you're not going to help me, I'll figure this out on my own…and it's not Karen. It's Lauren," she said before turning on her heel and walking out.
"Well…guess I'll be seeing ya round aye Trickster?" Kenzi said hurriedly giving him a quick pat on the back before running after Bo. Trick sighed. He picked up the phone and started to dial.
Friday couldn't come around fast enough for Bo. If there was one thing she really wanted to do, it was to hear Lauren's voice again. For now, she didn't care that it was Karen that would be talking to her. She needed to see her again. In a way, Bo looked at this as an opportunity to at least know a little bit about Karen. Maybe something would give her some clue as to what may have happened to her.
'Don't kid yourself, you just want to see her,' she thought to herself.
Kenzi, thankfully, had agreed to go with her. So when they got to the diner, they took a seat at the counter. They had 15 minutes before Lauren would get in, so they ordered lunch and talked about Kenzi's Aunt Ludmila. The waitress that Bo had talked to the other day was nowhere to be seen. In a way Bo was glad. Least there wouldn't be any awkwardness.
As the time ticked on, Bo started to feel nervous. She started to fidget with her cup and couldn't help but check the clock every minute. It had to be the longest 15 minutes of her life. When the door opened, the Succubus could almost feel Lauren's presence. Trying to act nonchalant, she kept her head turned toward Kenzi, as the younger woman continued to talk about how her Aunt Ludmila tried to put her in a white and pink polka dot onzie with bunny ears once.
When she felt Lauren sit down next to her, Bo refused to turn around. Kenzi started to make jerky head movements toward the blonde but Bo couldn't bring herself to turn around. The Succubus could hear Lauren place her order and proceed to ask how things were to the waitress that served her. Kenzi just glared at Bo and decided to take matters into her own hands.
"Hey! Laur—I mean, Karen!" She exclaimed leaning over Bo to look at the other woman and wave at her. Bo's eyes widened, mortified at what Kenzi just did. Turning around slowly she watched as Lauren's eyes landed on her.
"Oh!" Lauren said, her smile widening as she kept her eyes locked on Bo. The Succubus couldn't help but feel herself melt at the sight of that smile. She really did miss it.
"Hi there," the blonde continued. "It's Kenzi and…Bo right?" She continued still smiling at Bo before looking over at Kenzi.
"Yup, we didn't know you were gonna be here today. What a coincidence, right Bobo?" Kenzi said nudging Bo. Finally snapping out of it, she smiled and nodded.
"Umm…yeah, we really liked the uhhh…coffee here and the food is p-pretty good," she managed before reaching for her coffee and taking a sip. She mentally cringed at the now cold liquid.
"Well it's true. They have amazing turkey sandwiches. Mrs. Mickelson, the owner, also makes the best cherry pies. I come here every Wednesday and Friday because that's when she makes her famous pies. You really should try some," Lauren replied and quickly thanked the waitress when she brought her coffee.
"Well, can't say 'no' to a good pie right Bo? Besides you owe me for that thing," Kenzi hinted. Bo just rolled her eyes and told her she'd buy both of them a piece of pie.
"Actually, don't worry about it. The pies are on me," Lauren cut in. "You can thank me later after you've tasted it," she finished giving Bo a quick little wink. Bo swallowed hard.
'Is it just me or is it getting a little hot in here?' she thought to herself.
"I'll thank you now anyway," Bo said giving her what she hoped would be a sexy smile. It must have worked because she saw Lauren's eyes dart quickly to her mouth and the quick spike in her aura, before returning her eyes back back to Bo's. Had Bo blinked, she would have missed it.
"Ahem, hate to interrupt whatever this is, but the Kenz needs some pie like pronto…" Kenzi interrupted. Bo started to second-guess her decision about bringing Kenzi along. The Succubus just laughed nervously and agreed.
For the next hour Bo, Lauren and Kenzi started to talk about the 'who's' the 'what's' and the 'where's'. They learned that Lauren, or Karen rather, was working at a local High School teaching Science. She lived alone in an apartment not too far from the diner and had moved into town a few months ago. She said she worked as a scientist with someone by the name of Taft before that but decided she'd had enough and that teaching was more her calling. Bo's ears quickly perked up at the name. It seemed familiar but she couldn't remember why.
Brushing it off, she continued to listen to the blonde. After learning a bit about Karen, they told her what they did. Leaving out the Fae, they told her they were private investigators and lived on the other side of town. Kenzi made it clear that Bo was single and looking. The Succubus just nudged her in the ribs and told her to shut up.
Bo couldn't help but feel like the Lauren in front of her was different somehow, yet familiar. She may call herself by a different name and believe she's a different person but she could still see remnants of the old Lauren in the there. She may seem a lot more carefree and open but Bo could see Lauren. Not to mention, her being a science teacher could not have been a coincidence.
"Mmm, why are carbs so damn tasty?!" Lauren exclaimed taking a bite out of her food. "Actually, I know why. It's an interesting fact, they increase the body's insulin, which clears competing amino acids in a path of serotonin to the brain and then…why are you looking at me like that?" Lauren stopped as she watched Bo.
"God, I love it when you totally geek out," Bo blurted out loud before she could stop herself. At the moment not really realizing that she'd already heard this once before until she realized she'd said what she said out loud. They were instantly cloaked in an awkward silence.
"Wow, I'm sorry, but Bo you have to take Karen on a first date first!" Kenzi said breaking the silence. Embarrassed, Bo just sat there in disbelief at what she just said and mentally kicked herself.
"Shit! I'm s-so sorry Karen, I d-didn't mean it like that…" Bo stuttered.
'God Bo! You fucking idiot!' She mentally chastised herself.
"I-it's okay…so…any luck with the person you're looking for?" Lauren asked quickly changing the subject. She still looked a little taken aback but gave Bo a polite smile and was that…a blush? Bo shook her head and mentally kicked herself for reading too much into it.
"Well, we may have some idea where she might be, but it's just the problem of making sure it's really her," Kenzi answered.
"A-and you say she looks like me?" Lauren questioned again.
"Yup. You also have quite a lot in common too," the Goth continued before Bo could stop her.
"Anyway," Bo cut in wanting to leave before Kenzi could reveal too much. "We uh…better get going. Kenz and I have to go…look for something," she said hurriedly.
"We do? Oh right! Yeah…client thing. Right. Was nice talking to ya Hotpants. Thanks for the pie and Bobo, I'll be waiting in the car while you get the rest of the bill," Kenzi said quickly before rushing out of the diner.
"She sure is something isn't she?" Lauren asked watching Bo. The succubus smiled and let out a small laugh.
"She sure is…anyway La—Karen. Thanks again for the pie…you're right, it was very good," Bo said still embarrassed about what she blurted out earlier.
"Don't worry about it," the blonde replied. "I'll ah…see you around?" Lauren asked.
"Of course…" Bo answered with a wide smile.
'You can count on it.'
With a final wave goodbye, Bo left feeling like she was on cloud nine. For the first time in eight months she felt genuinely happy again. There was still a long way to go, but she would find a way. She wasn't going to give up. Not yet.
