N: is this good? I doubt it, but I had a weird idea and went with it. I've been reading a lot about metaphysical things for the second angel book, and this is what happens. So, enjoy this tired mess, I need to think what comes next! I will also be posting a new giveaway over on goodreads on the seventh, so look out for my blog for details. I'm off!

Lauren

I took on the task of driving from Tamsin, it was the only way I could remain focused and not panic. It was an almost three-hour drive that felt like an eternity as news report after news report came forth. There were more casualties, hundreds injured and a grim outlook overall. Tamsin filled the silence of the car by grumbling and cursing names that sounded like she was reading them from a Greek mythology book. Every so often she would pull out a sleek looking cell phone and angrily text away. If I wasn't on the precipice of losing my mind, I'd ask her who she was talking to.

I leaned forward in the old leather seat of Fulvios silver Alfa Romero, stretching my back and spotting the sign for Verona just ahead. "We're close." I pointed at the sign, looking over at Tamsin. "Should we go to the main hospital?" I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Tamsin shook her head, "I'm not sure. The latest report is stating they've set up a triage area. Some are at the main hospital, some are with the IFRC, and some are just plain wherever they can get help."

I felt my hands began to shake, tears rising quickly. "Tamsin…I don't know what to do." I began to slow the car down as the sight of police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, and rescuers running back and forth.

She leaned over, looking at my dirty chef's coat. She suddenly reached over, ripping buttons off and tugging the long coat open. She squinted at me as she pulled her hair up into a tight bun. "It's close enough to pass as a doctor's coat." She smiled tightly at me, "Pull up, tell them you're from the next town over to help. I'm your best nurse and that should at least get us somewhere. Even if you smell like marinara."

I nodded, "Ok." I drove the car up to the first police officer, "Mi scusi, sono un dottore per aiutarti. Questa è la mia infermiera, puoi dirci all'ospedale?" The young, frightened officer looked me over, believing the white coat and fancy car as that of a doctor and pointed behind him.

"Abbiamo bisogno di tutto l'aiuto, dottore. L'ospedale è lì." He spoke quickly and almost shoved the car when I thanked him.

I shook my head, fighting tears. "I don't like the fear in his voice." I twisted the steering wheel in my hands.

"Neither do I." Tamsin squeezed my shoulder and pointed towards an open spot near a row of ambulances. "We do this together, we find her." She paused, staring in my eyes. "And we'll be prepared for whatever." She pushed the car door open before I even rolled the car to a stop. She scanned the area, looking at that weird phone of hers. "We have to hurry, fate is counting down the minutes."

I had to take a minute, to collect myself before I climbed out of the car. I was instantly assaulted by sounds, the smells, and the total madness that was this hospital. I stared at Tamsin, "How close are we to the train wreckage."

Tamsin ran around to grab me by the arm, pulling me. "We're less than a mile away, hence the havoc." She nodded towards the hospital. "Let's start there and work outward. If she's outside, it means she's less critical than the others." I started running with the blonde, running past frantic nurses and doctors doing their best. I had to look away to stay on course, any time I saw a flicker of brown hair, my heart seized.

Tamsin ran us inside, stopping a nurse carrying arms full of bandages. "Excuse me, have you seen this woman? She was in the main car that took most of the damage. Car dodici." She held up her phone with a picture of Bo grinning next to me. "She's my sister, and my boss here wants to take over her care."

The nurse huffed, until she looked at my frazzled coat. "Check intensive care. Most of that car was taken there." She glanced at Tamsin, whispering, "Not many will make it, tell the doctor she can be better help outside."

Tamsin gave a smug smile, thanked the nurse and took my hand. I'd heard what the woman said, and it sat in the bottom of my gut like a lead balloon. "Tamsin..."

"Shut it. I need you to fight with me, fight for her. I have to prove the three very wrong." She hustled us along until we found the ICU unit. She pushed past the doors, throwing a gown and mask in my face. "Cover up, we're less suspicious in gowns. I'll start on the left side, you go to the right."

I pulled the gown on slowly, staring at Tamsin when the words fell out. "Why are you doing this? Who are the three you keep talking about? Who are you?" An awkward silence fell between us, leaving nothing but the sounds of machines beeping, and breathing for the patients lying in the beds. This hospital was overloaded and I understood why the nurse was irritated with me. I was catching frightening key words in Italian on a few of the charts at the end of the beds. It made my heart drop further, and pray Bo wasn't in this room.

Tamsin jammed her arms into the long green sleeves. "I'm not sure if I told you, you'd believe me." She slowly met my eyes, letting out a soft sigh. "Let's find Bo, and maybe then I'll tell you everything." She smiled and walked off to check the beds.

I clenched my jaw and walked slowly to my side. I would barely look at the names and faces, but it was difficult. Many of the patients were covered in bandages and bruised. Even some of the charts listed the patient as a John or Jane Doe. I moved cautiously, checking over each of the beds one by one, finding small relief when Bo wasn't one of them.

I'd almost reached the end, when Tamsin called my name. "Lauren, I think I found her." Her voice wavered as I froze where I stood. I looked over at the blonde, her green eyes rimmed with tears.

I shook my head, "No. No." I curled my hands in fists. "It can't be."

Tamsin walked over, gently taking my hand and pulling me close to her side as she walked us back to the bed. "True love will save her. You just have to fight."

I closed my eyes, refusing to look until Tamsin squeezed my hand harder. I reluctantly opened my eyes, and knew instantly, it was Bo. My knees buckled at the sight of her wrapped in bandages, a breathing tube in her mouth, and leaned forward to grab onto the end of the bed. I let out a sob, "It's her." I stared at the beauty mark on her right cheek, the dark brown hair laying around her shoulder, and her hands. Her hands had been one of my favorite part of her, so elegant and warm when they held mine. "It's her." I let out a slow, fearful, breath. Tamsin reached for her chart as I ran my eyes over all the tubes and wires keeping Bo alive. Even as the chart stated she was an American Jane Doe, I knew it was my Bo.

Her heart monitor beeped slowly, tiredly, as if her heart was on the verge of giving up. I moved to pick up her hand when a loud Italian voice coming from a female doctor, shouted at us, questioning who we were and why we were in the ICU.

Tamsin stepped in front of me, prattling off on in clipped Italian, explaining to the doctor who I was. I turned away, knowing we were about to be thrown out on our asses, when Tamsin placed both of her hands on the woman's face and spoke calmly. "Listen, there isn't time to brawl over this. I need you, we need you. I need to know where this woman's things are, then I need you to let my friend sit by her love." I watched as her hands began to glow a soft pale pink color the longer she spoke to the nurse. "How bad is our friend?"

The doctor immediately relaxed and smiled painfully as Tamsin dropped her hands. She smiled tightly at me, pulling up a chair for me to sit in. "Sit, hold her hand. She might not be conscious, but she will feel you." The doctor then moved to a small cabinet next to the bed and removed a large plastic bag full of clothes and a bag. She handed it to Tamsin, "We're only able to find her phone in her coat. We've not had the time to search further." She paused. "Your friend is very ill. She took much of the brunt of impact when the train derailed. We've induced a coma to keep her stable until more surgeons arrive. She has many broken bones, bruises." She pointed towards Bo's forehead, "In here. She's tired, her brain is..."

I waved her to stop. "Please, just tell me if she will be okay." I sat down in the chair, picking up Bo's hand and crying as it felt so cold in mine.

When the doctor didn't answer immediately, I knew and looked towards Tamsin. "Why? Why is this happening now?"

Tamsin blinked back a few tears and refused to answer me. She thanked the doctor and asked her to leave us with Bo. The doctor whispered a few condolences and that she would be back in a few hours to check on us. Tamsin went through the plastic bag and found Bo's passport in the bottom of her bag along with the small camera she carried everywhere. I continued to stare at Bo, desperately trying to gain my bearings as to what I had to do next.

"Look, look at these as I tell you the truth of who I am, and what we have to do to save her." She slid the camera in front of me. There were pictures of us, Fulvio, and Bonnie all laughing at dinner. Tamsin stopped on one of me cooking her lunch. "She loves you. You love her. And love is the strongest power in the world. It can heal..."

I sniffled, pushing the camera away. "It can heal this much." I closed my eyes, "Her last message to me, it's as if she knew."

"In a way, she did." Tamsin moved so she was leaning forward with me. "I'm a cupid. A god of love, one of many demi-gods out there circulating through the worlds doing our best to keep love alive."

I laughed sarcastically, this was unbelievable, even for Tamsin. "Yeah, and I'm Hera. Tamsin, now isn't a time for jokes."

"You know Hera is actually a giant sweetheart? She just got a bad rap by a few cults in the 8th century." Tamsin laid a hand on my forearm, forcing me to look at her. "I'm going to get such shit for meddling, but I've grown attached to you and Bo." She smiled as I opened my mouth to tell her to stuff it, "Remember, Lauren. Remember it all. Your souls have been intertwined for centuries, Bo is your true soul mate."

I felt the air sucked from my lungs as flashes of a thousand centuries passed before my eyes. Bo and I always together, in varying forms, loving but not in true love form. Until now, I saw a glimpse of Bo and I together in the future, both of us bonding in an unbreakable love that would carry us through all of time. I just needed to stay strong until her soul made its decision to stay or leave. I gasped for air, and looked dead at Tamsin, "You're not a boy?"

Tamsin laughed shaking her head, "No I'm not." She let out a breath, "So what do you say? You want to give up or fight?"

I looked back at Bo, and answered without a second thought. "Fight."

Bo

I woke up, feeling lighter than I'd ever have before. I was swathed in warm, fluffy, white blankets and appeared to be in a white room. A room that reminded me of the apartment I lived in for two months in Paris. I sat up, looking around. The windows across from me were open, the white curtains fluttering from a light breeze. I took a deep breath of the cool air and smiled. I swung my legs to the edge of the bed, reaching for my phone on the bedside table.

"There's no phone up here, Bo." A smooth, low, feminine voice graced my ears from the doorway. I looked up to find a tall, beautiful brunette with glowing grey eyes. She smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"Amazing?" I squinted at her, "Where's my phone? And why am I back in Paris?"

The woman pushed away from the doorframe, and walked over to me. This is when I noticed she was dressed in an all-white, perfectly tailored suit. "We chose Paris so you'd wake up calm. We've found over the years that a person waking up in a familiar place, instead of the usual limbo, is more receptive to what we need to tell them." She tucked her hands into her front pockets. "And human phones don't usually make the transition." She tilted her head to the side, "My name is Meg and I'm an angel. Welcome to the limbo, Ysabeau."

I stared at the woman, a small smile creeping across my face. "This is a joke, right? Bonnie conned the special effects team into doing this. Payback for when I switched the catering to vegan organic, right?" I stood up, smoothing out the soft linen top and pants I wore. "Even the wardrobe team got in on it?"

Meg stared at me with her glowing eyes, her polite smile still holding. "It would be a great prank, but no. This isn't a prank." She pointed to the blank wall behind her. It flickered into a screen filled with images of a train. "You're in limbo, Ysabeau. The place between the living and heaven." She let out a sigh. "I'm truly an angel, and that" She pointed to an image of Tamsin, "is your cupid. A strange woman who has a defiant way about her, and the one who asked I personally bring you here until this is resolved."

I laughed again, "This is an elaborate prank. You're good, I hope Bonnie hires you for that weird Sci-Fi show her cousin is working on."

Meg gave me a harder look, turned to the side and waved her hand at the wall. The screen began cycling through images of me getting on the train, messaging Lauren, then chaos. The train began to tumble like a broken dryer.

"Four days ago, you left on a train to Verona. That train derailed and crashed, sending you and many others into peril." Meg looked back at me. "The fates got a wild hair in their hat and this thread was spun, and sadly you were in the wrong place at the wrong time." She waved her hand again, more images of the train accident rolled past, finally stopping on an image of a woman in a hospital bed covered in bandages and wires. "That is you, Ysabeau. You've been in a medically induced coma for three days, hence why you're here with me now."

I looked at the woman, then back at the screen. Moving closer to get a better look, I noticed Tamsin sleeping in a chair on one side of the bed, and another blonde with her head on the bed, asleep. "Who is that?"

"That is Lauren, you're soul mate." Meg glanced at me, "and one half of the solution of getting out of limbo."

I turned to glare at her for a moment, "You're not kidding, are you? And why am I not freaking out that I'm lying in a hospital bed, probably dying?"

Meg waved her hand once more, the screen cleared from the wall, leaving it white again. "It's part of being in limbo. Panic, and fear do very little to keep you thinking clearly." She tucked her hands in her pockets again, "I, we, need you to prove to the three fates that you need to live. Lauren has started the fight down on earth, slowly unraveling the binds tied around her heart to let her love for you be the only thing in the universe. It's up to you, Ysabeau."

I shook my head, "That's easy, I love Lauren." I looked around the white room, "Send me back, and I'll prove it." I folded my arms across my chest.

"If it was that easy, I would've delivered you down myself." Meg moved to a small closet, opened it and removed a white sweater and pair of white slip on shoes. "The other floors are colder, us angels and demi-god like to keep it cold." She set the shoes on the floor in front of me, and held up the sweater for me to slip my arms into it. "I have a lot to show you, Ysabeau."

When I wrapped the sweater around me, I stared at the angel before speaking. "Why is this happening? Now, of all times. I sent a message to Lauren, telling her I loved her in this life and the next."

Meg sighed, offering her arm for me to take. "And that's where things became muddy. Clotho had already spun the initial thread for this train accident, and was casting out more threads to a few of the passengers. Did you have a strange gut feeling that propelled you to send that message?"

I nodded as we exited the white room, entering a white hallway made of glass and marble. "Yes."

Meg frowned, "As I suspected, that was Clotho. We haven't figured out why she cast such a wide net. Perhaps we can ask her in a few moments." Meg walked us through the hallways into a large conference room. There were handfuls of white suited people milling about, looking at tablets, large digital maps of the world, and speaking in a multitude of languages.

"Are you sure this isn't heaven?" I whispered it, afraid to disturb the pristine atmosphere.

"Heaven is brighter, and has zero technology. The gods prefer it to be old fashioned. Leaving the technology to us." Meg directed me to a side room, "Do you know why you fell in love with Lauren?"

I scoffed, "Is this an interrogation of sorts?"

Meg chuckled, "Not at all. I'm asking it in question with an answer behind it way." She walked us to a glass oval table, letting go of my arm to move to the edge. "Do you know why you felt an instant attraction that went beyond simple lust?"

I folded my arms across my chest, hiding my hands in the long sleeves of the sweater. "No, I mean it felt like love at first sight. Maybe it was lust, or love, I'm not sure. More so when she disappeared after our first date." I frowned at the memory.

Meg smiled and waved me over. "Love at first sight is real. Humans won't believe it as real, just a fairytale idea to add a little romance to the reality that lust at first sight is far more common." She tapped the table, a large old piece of paper appeared. I leaned over, "Is this a family tree?"

"It's a soul chart." She pointed at the top. "Souls have existed long before the concept of living beings and time ever came to fruition. Souls will carry on long after there is no time again." She glanced at me, smiling, "Stick with me, it does get confusing." She pressed on the top of the chart, zooming in on the two lines of text. "This is you and Lauren. Paired up at the beginning." Meg then drew her hand down to other lines. "Through time, your souls have come together and forming bonds in each portion of time." She continued moving her hand around. "You've been best friends, relatives, companions, but never lovers in the true love sense. Your souls have always missed each other or have been interrupted by extenuating circumstances. Whether it be war, famine, natural disaster, or just missed connections."

I leaned forward, swallowed up in the strange chart that made a ton of sense to me as it was explained. "A psychic at a party once told me I was soon to find my soul mate, and when I, I needed to fight harder than I ever have to have them." I looked at Meg, "She was right? Wasn't she?"

Meg nodded, tapping on another edge of the glass table. A image of Tamsin popped up. "Tamsin was sent down by Aphrodite and Eros to bring you and Lauren together, lock your souls together." She let out a slow breath, "You see, Ysabeau, it's been a hell of a job bringing you and Lauren together in love. Hence why the big guns brought in the big guns. Tamsin is our best cupid, and yet…" Meg threw her hands up, "it looks like fate wants to fiddle with it."

"Tamsin is cupid?" I gave Meg a strange look.

"The best we have." Meg slipped her hands into her pockets. "Your human body is dying, Ysabeau. Medical science is doing everything it can to keep you alive, but sometimes the three sisters are far too powerful. I'm running out of time, and Eros and Aphrodite aren't powerful enough to stop them."

I clenched my jaw, looking back at the table, a live feed of my hospital room. That's when I heard Lauren's raspy voice, "I named a ravioli after you. Fulvio is putting it on the menu every night until we bring you back." She swallowed audibly, her voice choking around tears. "I keep talking to you even though I don't think you can hear me. Tamsin and the nurses tell me you can." She paused, picking up my hand. "Tamsin says the more I talk to you, the more the fates listen and might change their mind. Bo, I love you. I need more than a few days with you. I need a more time to love you like I should've back in that snowy state." She sniffled and kissed my fingers.

I looked down at my hand, then at Meg. "I can feel her. I can feel her warmth and her lips." My heart skipped a few beats, "That's good, right?"

Meg smiled, nodding. "It's a sign. But please, think of all the reasons why you love Lauren." She stepped closer to me, her grey eyes glowing with hope. "Think of them, then bury them into the depths of your heart. The fates will know if you're lying."

I bit my bottom lip, closing my eyes and thinking of all the times I knew I was falling for her, had fallen for her, and imagined my life with her. I pushed them down into my heart, picturing my heart swelling with love.

I opened my eyes, and looked right in Meg's. "Can we go see the fates now?"

Meg grinned, "Yes." She stepped back, holding out her arm. I slid my hand into the crook of her elbow. "Mind you, the fates are a peculiar bunch. Very different than the mythology written about them. I'll try to get Clothos to explain why she chose you, Lachesis and Atropos are the ones you'll have to convince."

I nodded curtly, pretending to understand everything she was saying. "Ok."

Meg patted my hand, "It's fine, the three will explain what they do when you meet them. They very rarely get visitors."

We walked a few steps, my mind poking at a thought. "Meg? The look on your face tells me I'm a rare case. That you've never gone to these lengths before, why? Why me? Why Lauren?"

Meg furrowed her brow as she guided us back through the conference room and down another pristine hallway. "We ran a thousand different scenarios the second the accident occurred. And they all lead to the same endgame." She looked down at me, "Love is a faltering entity in the world. Greed, power, money is replacing it at a rapid rate. But there have been, and are, a few soul pairings that break the cycle and flood the universe with a pure love. Imagine a dam breaking, flooding the world with healing powers? You and Lauren are one of those pairings. A pairing the world needs more now than ever." She smiled, her eyes glassing over. "It took us a minute longer than Tamsin to figure it out, when she did, she called me and we began meddling. Unfortunately, the fates are sticklers with their tapestries. They hate undoing or cutting pieces out to reweave."

"The fates." I suddenly remembered from the one mythology class I took in high school. "The ones who weave the tapestry of life."

Meg pointed towards a large white door, "They're in there. Shall we?" She looked at the white watch on her wrist, "Time is running out. It's been three weeks now since you've been in a coma. The doctors are losing hope."

"Three weeks? But it's not even been an hour since I woke up?" I moved away from Meg.

She reached for the door handle, "Time moves differently here. Slower while the earth moves faster." She opened the door, waving me forward, "I'll be right behind you."

I sighed, hugging my arms closer to my body and walked into the white light filling the doorway.

I half expected three ancient crones, huddled over a spinning wheel. Spinning golden threads of life and weaving them into a mystical map of life. Instead, I found three young women sitting on a leather couch, watching TV. The room wasn't pure white like the rest of limbo, it had burgundy walls lined with shelves filled with books. There were comfortable chairs spread around, blankets tossed haphazardly on the arms. In the far corner by the tapestries edge sat a spinning wheel the size of the empire state building, a thin gold thread glinting around the wheel.

A massive tapestry hung behind the TV, filled with all the colors in the rainbow and sparkled as the light hit it. I found myself staring at the massive piece, marveling in its sheer size and beauty. I couldn't hold back the whisper of awe as I walked further into the room.

The one woman, with almost sea blue hair, sitting in the middle of the couch popped her head up and looked back at me and Meg. "Meg! Fancy you coming to see us!" She stood up, her accent a mixture between Irish and English. "What brings you to us?"

The second woman, with silver hair stood up next, grinning at the sight of us. "We never get visitors." I was taken aback by the exuberance of this silver haired beauty, her accent had more Irish to it.

"That's because fate and destiny aren't always popular dinner guests." The third woman sat on the back of the couch, her radiant blue-black hair shining. "Let me guess, this is the favor Tamsin and you called in?" This woman's accent had a touch of German to it, making me very confused. Weren't these three sisters? Or was that mythology as well?

Meg nodded, coming to stand next to me. "It is." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ysabeau, I'd like you to meet Clothos, Lachesis, and Atropos. The three ladies in charge of the tapestry of fate."

The one with the sea blue hair rushed forth, holding her hand out. "I'm Clothos, but call me Cloe." She waved at the one with silver hair coming up to stand next to her, "This is my sister Lachesis, and over there on the couch is Atropos, Atty for short."

I took the woman's hand, feeling the energy coursing through her. "You can call me Bo." I glanced at Meg, nervous as all hell. Could it be I was standing in front of three gods of fate? And none of them were wearing togas, fancy robes, just old jeans and random t-shirts.

"Yes, you are standing in front of the gods of fate, and we can tell when you're lying. But we like to think ourselves to be fancy artisans, not gods." Cloe smiled, tapping her head, "We can read thoughts." She took my hand and pulled me to her sisters, "Would you like tea? Cookies? Snacks? We're just watching Lachesis's soaps of the week."

Atty sighed, sliding off the back of the couch. "Cloe, they're here on business." She pulled on her T-shirt emblazoned with the coca cola logo. "Meg, this favor is a huge one. You know when those two get stuck, I can't do much but cut and let fate be fate."

Meg nodded, walking behind me. "I know, but you read the email I sent you." She looked at all three sisters, "All of you?"

Cloe's smile faded, and she looked over at Lachesis. "We did." She held my hand, running her fingers over my knuckles like an innocent child. "I cast the net wide to find five souls that needed fates intervention. Death brings life to others. The death of one inspires a thousand." She smiled weakly at me, pointing at the tapestry behind her. "Lachesis, can you explain?"

Lachesis smiled and skipped to the tapestry. "We work in beautiful ways. Painful and beautiful." She ran her fingers over closest edge, an unfinished edge. "This is the train accident. You can see where good is being born out of sadness. The son of the man who just died, will grow up to save millions with his new surgery techniques. The sister of the woman who dies in the morning, she will push forth major changes in the railway industry that will save thousands." She pulled on a thread, making it light up, "And these three will inspire loved ones to live to their fullest, creating a thread of life where no real living existed." She smiled as I saw the small cuts and knots in the threads. Lachesis turned to me, "Your thread is here."

She stared at me with sparkling teal eyes, she looked at her two sisters, her smile turning pale and serious. "This is one of the few. She is one of the few true souls." She stepped away, dropping her hand and curling her fingers into a ball as if she touched something powerful. She moved along the tapestry, finding a bright golden thread, throbbing with light. "This is her." She took the thread in her forefinger and thumb, "Lauren…"

Cloe ran to stand next to her sister, both running their hands over the thread and murmuring to each other. I looked at Meg, "What's happening?"

"You're one of the soul pairings that bind this whole tapestry together." Atty appeared next to me. "Cloe is having a minor meltdown, she rarely makes mistakes but is crapping her pants that she may have." Atty leaned closer to me, "You see how the bottom of your thread is thinning out?"

I nodded, "Yes."

"You're dying, Ysabeau. I had Poseidon hide my scissors in one of his sea caves after Tamsin explained the situation. It won't last though, Cloe knows when I'm bullshitting her. But I owe Tamsin a few favors." Atty looked in my eyes with hers, I gasped at the sight. Her eyes looked exactly like the galaxy in those science pictures my one professor showed us. "Why do you love this Lauren?"

I swallowed hard, trying to fight off the fear of being told over and over I was dying. I looked to Meg who gave me a reassuring nod, tapping at her hear. I looked back to find Cloe, Lachesis, and Atty all standing in front of me. Staring at me to give them the answer, the reason to change fate. Cloe had a sad smile on her face, "I've made a mistake, Ysabeau, but I need you to show us why we need to cut this thread and reweave it." She motioned to my dying thread, pointing at Laurens bright vibrant one. "We need you to tell us, convince us. Altering the universe is not something we can do lightly without immense repercussion, mistake or not, we are altering more than just two simple threads. Reversal of fate must matter." She looked at her sisters who nodded in agreement.

I closed my eyes, my whole body shaking at the gravity of the situation. I suddenly heard Lauren's broken voice in my ear, riddled with tears, begging and pleading for me to wake up. Squeeze her hand, do anything to give her and the doctors hope I wanted to live. I pictured my hand in Lauren's, and squeezed as I called upon my heart and began telling the three sisters all the reasons why I loved Lauren, and why I needed them to reverse fate. I felt the tears roll down my cheeks as I poured out my heart, squeezing my hand and imaging Lauren feeling it. I gave it my all, I opened the depths of my soul and prayed it was enough.

Lauren

"Lauren? I brought you coffee." Tamsin's tired voice woke me up. I ran hands over my face, scrubbing away the exhaustion and took the coffee.

"Thanks." I took the paper cup and sipped the hot liquid, welcoming the sting of heat. "Did you see Dr. Fiordi?"

Tamsin sat down next to me, brushing some hair from Bo's face, "Yeah. Still the same. She's trying to get Bonnie to find one of Bo's parents to sign off on…" Tamsin drifted off, and sighed. "This is bullshit."

I bit the inside of my cheek, staring at the coffee cup. It was bullshit. We'd spent the last four and half weeks sitting in this hospital room every day. I only left Bo's side to use the bathroom and shower. Tamsin brought me food, Fulvio brought me warm comforting hugs, and when we found Bonnie alive, she gave me all the resources I would need back in the states. Four and a half weeks, and Bo had not moved a muscle. Her bruises faded, her cuts healed to the point she looked less and less rough, making it even harder to sit next to her and not hold her. The prognosis wasn't good, even after they removed the breathing tube last week, giving me a glimmer of hope. Bo was in a critical condition and after a few surgeries, the medical team was downgrading her. Her body had taken a beating, being tossed around as the train rolled and twisted. She didn't have much time left, and I only had so much power as a random stranger Bo dated for a second.

I suddenly felt rage boil over, "You're fucking cupid, can't you fucking do something? Zap her with love and get her to wake up?" I quickly stood from the car, clutching the coffee to funnel out the anger. "Or is that bullshit?" Over the last few weeks, I'd come to full embrace that Tamsin was cupid. She was a god of love and I was somehow caught up in a weird game of soul mates. At the end, it all made sense and in the idle moments, Tamsin would tell me stories of some of the best love stories she ever pulled together. But I was still angry, and she was the direct object for me to throw that anger at.

"Kiss my ass, I spoke to Meg a day ago. She was doing her part, and getting Bo to the fates." She glared at me, "But you can't give up like I feel you want to. It's not hopeless yet, so stop thinking it. The three sisters will smell and it run with it, especially Lachesis. She's like an innocent little lamb that takes signs and rolls with it. And as it stands, I owe Atty ten cases of that weird moonshine she likes." Tamsin mumbled, standing up from the chair. She grabbed my arm and shoved me back to mine. "Sit down, and talk to Bo. Hold her hand and talk to her, keep fighting through your doubts and she will hear it. She will draw strength from it, and hopefully convince those buttheads." She gave me a hard look, "I'll be back, I need to get more coffee." She snatched my cup from my hand and strode off frustrated.

I frowned, but sat down, my jaw clenched so tightly it was going to snap. I was on the verge of giving up. Science was a hard line to break, and medical science even tougher. I closed my eyes, crying for the millionth time and picked up Bo's hand. I kissed the top of it, hating that it her skin felt cold and lifeless. I sighed and started talking to her, "Squeeze my hand. Take a big breath, open your eyes, or just smile. Anything to know you're still in there. I'm fighting, Bo. Fighting so hard like Tamsin tells me I should. I've not left your side, and won't. Ever." I wiped away a few tears, "I love you, so much. Even more as these days have passed." I paused, feeling a tingle in the bottom of my heart, the words falling out before I could stop them. "I love you in this life and the next, forever and beyond."

I closed my eyes, moving to set Bo's hand back down on the bed, when I felt her hand squeeze ever so slightly around mine. My eyes flicked open, and I held my breath. It was my imagination, my tired brain crafting hope where I had none left to give. I shook my head and set her hand back down on the blanket, slowly pulling it free so I could drink my coffee, when she squeezed harder and gripped onto my hand. I froze, looking down at her hand as her fingers flexed, her knuckles turning white as she clutched onto mine. I swallowed the massive lump in my throat down and looked up, and burst out in tears.

Bo was awake, and looking right at me with those big brown eyes.