Author's Note: I felt bad when I didn't update yesterday. So here it is. Hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Lost Girl and the characters. I just used them for my story.
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Chapter Four
New Haven Police Department
District 9 East Shore
New Haven, CT
Bo stood at the parking lot looking at the back of the Audi. She did it again. She didn't say goodbye to her last time because she just pedaled away and left them. Now, she had all the time in the world to say a proper goodbye or the clichéd 'See you around' statement but no, she just frozen up. She kicked an invisible pebble and cursed, frustrated at herself. "Shit, shit, shit I fucked up." She growled. She turned around when she heard Hale laughing.
"Why are you laughing? Something funny?" She huffed.
"She broke you partner. You didn't say a word, you didn't move an inch. What happened?" He grinned.
"Vex happened. I was so shocked when he kissed me."
"Really, that's your reason? Hey Bo, it's me Hale your partner and I know you. You had a chance to recover after Vex kissed you. Just admit that you didn't know what to do when she stood in front of you."
"Yeah you're right. I was actually thinking what to say to her when she stood in front me and hugged me. I fucked up."
"No you did not. You may not bid her a proper goodbye or hugged her back but all throughout this evening, you protected her." Bo tried to protest at his words. "I heard it, I saw it and I read between the lines. And she knew it. Or Vex knew it." He looked at his phone and texted. He retrieved Vex' card and looked at the back. "There, you owe me."
"Why do I owe you? And who were you texting with?"
"I never had a chance to answer one of Vex' questions earlier so I texted my answer to him. You'll thank me later for this. Or maybe I can be your best man at your wedding." He smirked.
"Ha ha ha you're funny Hale. Wedding? You're insane."
"I'll have you remember this moment Bo. Wait, my phone has an incoming text." He smiled. All is well in the world." He saw Bo's frown. "Don't worry partner, I already had the answer to your most important question. Do you want to know what it is?"
"Okay Hale, I'll humor you. What is it? Spill it now or else…"
"You don't have to threaten me Bo." He paused dramatically. "Lauren is not dating anyone." He looked at his partner's face. "You're welcome."
"Really? Was that you and Vex were texting about?"
"No. That 'Lauren is not dating anyone' thing, Vex already told me earlier.
"When was this? I was there all the time but I never heard Vex told you anything of that kind."
"That's not true. You were not with us when I lead them to the interrogation room. But that's not when he told me about it. Na-ah."
Bo remembered the moment when Vex and Hale were talking through their eyes. "Okay, no I got it. It was when Ryan's name got in the picture right?" Hale nodded. "Yeah I got it. Thank you Hale."
"So what are your plans?"
"Plans? For what?"
"For that 'Lauren is not dating anyone' thing?"
"I think that it could wait." Hale frowned. "Yes, it could. Remember Lauren is our main witness. Our main purpose now is to protect her. If ever what Vex told us about Saunders' family is true and will use it to jeopardize our case, we need to protect them first. Both of them. I can't prioritize my personal life over this Hale. We do this then we can talk about that. And besides we can be friends for now. I can do that."
"You're right. We need to work on this case first. But hey, there's an upside on this situation. Now you have a plausible excuse to see her or to talk to her." Hale's eyes lighted up. "I have an idea. Text her and ask her to text you back as soon as they get home, you know for security reasons. You'll have plus points there."
"Wow, your Ivy League education came through this time." Bo teased. "What a brilliant idea!" She took out her phone from her pocket and started texting.
Hi Lauren, this is Bo. Can you do me a favor please? Text me as soon as you and Vex got home. Thank you.
Her thumb was hovering above the Send button. "Okay Bo, this is it," she muttered to herself. She hit Send.
"That's not hard, isn't it? Texting is fun." Hale smiled.
"Yeah right." She rolled eyes. "We better get back inside so we could start the paperwork for the case. It's already past midnight. I think this case will be all over the news in the morning. Remember, the victim is a doctor in Yale Hospital and the suspect is a lawyer. This can be a high profile case. And we need to go to the hospital later. We also need to reach out to Dr. Woods' other colleagues and their department head. We need a plan."
"A plan? "
"Yes, a plan. This is not our usual 'discover a crime-catch the suspect-do the paperwork' kind of case. Like now, as soon as we are inside what are the first things we need to do? First, we write the report of our interview with our witnesses. Second, are we going to conduct the second part of the interrogation? We only have 24 hours to hold the suspect in detention unless we can get a court order to hold him longer. Third, how are we going to do the interviews later? If the victim is awake, we need to talk to her. We also need to talk to her attending physician. And so on and on. There are so many things to do."
"I hear you partner. Let's go. We should talk to Sergeant Smith about our concerns."
"Before we do that, let's talk about how you hugged her back." She crossed her arms on her chest.
"What?! Are we going to discuss that now?"
"Uhuh."
"I hugged her back because she hugged me first Bo. What should I do, froze up like you?" He teased.
"Oh shut up."
"Are you jealous?"
"No, of course not."
"But your face says otherwise. It's just a hug between friends."
"Oh sure, but you have that look in your face."
"I do not. Lauren is just dreamy, she's wonderful to look at."
"So I thought you don't like blondes."
"Yeah I do not. It's not a matter of preferences Bo. It's just a little crush. Nothing more."
"Be sure of that partner. Or else, I'll tell Kenzi." She smiled smugly.
"As if she cares. Lately, she's all Nate this, Nate that." Hale frowned.
"Oh I didn't know Hale. I wished you told me sooner." She saw her partner's sad face. "Okay, alright you can crush a little on Lauren. But that's it. Nothing but a little crush. Or I'll end you."
"Whoa, I'm your partner Bo! Promise it's just a teeny weeny crush, just like this." Hale pointed at the little space between his thumb and forefinger. And then he smirked. "You got it bad woman!"
Bo scowled. "Let's go inside."
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"Lo, what you did was awesome! You broke her." Vex laughed.
"Well that's not my intention. I just want to have a proper goodbye."
"Is that a proper goodbye? You didn't give her a chance to hug you back."
"Vex I think what I did was for the best. If I had given her a chance to hug me back, I don't know if I want to stop it. Or maybe I'll do something more extreme."
"Like kissing her?"
Lauren blushed. "Maybe. My emotions were scattered when I realized that we're going home. I was nervous but at the same time, I like to be devious. I was happy but then I was sad. I just found her and I got to know her better but it was time to say goodbye."
"Lo, it's not a goodbye. You can see her now every time you want. Do you realize that you will see her until the case is closed? You are one of their material witnesses and she and Hale handle the case. You will be communicating with her. Haven't you realized that we did not sign any report after the interview? They will write the report and we need to sign them. She has your number. She can text or call you any time she wants."
"Oh. I didn't realize all of that."
"It's okay Lo. You were still processing all of it." His phone buzzed. "Let's see who is texting me. Aha! I know I can count on Hale. He delivered."
"What is it?"
"Bo is single and very much available." He winked.
"Really?"
'Yes, she is. Are you happy now?"
"I am relieved."
"Just relieved?"
"I already processed everything that happened Vex and I realized that we can't be anything unless the case is finished. It's her career on the line. And after that, how sure are we that anything will happen between us?"
"Act on it. I mean Lo, you know that sometimes feelings are fleeting. But it doesn't mean that they are not true. What you felt for her from the first time you saw her may be love. And it endured for how many months even though you didn't see her at all. So when a feeling like love is true and enduring, then it could be epic. But in order for it to be those three, then you should not just sit there and let destiny do its work for you. I don't personally believe in destiny. But some people do. What I believe in is that for you to be successful and happy, you should do it yourself. As I said, act on it. Like you Lo, some people may say you are destined to be a doctor. Okay I get that. But in order for you to be a doctor, you studied hard. You made it happen. You did your share of work on your destiny. I think it's the same when it comes to your love life."
"Thank you Vaughn." Lauren touched Vex' cheek. "That's beautiful. But it's too early to tell if this is really love or just infatuation."
"I know, I know. That's why I'm telling you to act on it. It may be love or infatuation but you felt it. There's nothing wrong with that. I know you're scared because before all of this, she's just a ghost." He saw Lauren cringed. "I know, not a pleasant comparison. But now reality is setting in." Vex smiled. "But I'm serious Lo. Me thinks she will be busy on the case but you will see each other. You can be friends for now. It won't hurt to be friends with her right?" He smiled at her.
"It's okay. My residency can also be a hindrance for now." She smiled sadly.
"Cheer up. We can't know what the future may bring. But promise me something."
"What is it?"
"I will call first dibs to be the godfather of your first child with Bo."
"What?! What are you talking about?"
"Just promise me Lo."
"Okay Vex, whatever. It's just ridiculous." Lauren laughed. "Hey tell me, what's with the kiss on her cheek?" She raised her eyebrow.
"Just a kiss between future in-laws." He laughed wickedly. "It's a ruse. I need her to be appalled because I need to invade her personal space. If I didn't do that, she may have punched me."
"A ruse to invade her personal space? Why?"
"Because I need to tell her something to keep her on her toes. Or maybe I just want to kiss her." He smirked.
Lauren looked at Vex. She sighed. "Okay."
"Okay? Really? I kissed her and that's your reaction?"
"Well, what do you want me to say? It's okay Vex. I'm not petty." She smiled. "Or maybe because I'm just tired and sleepy."
"Oh no no no! You won't sleep on me. I'm widely awake and we are going to watch Grey's Anatomy!" He whined.
"Uh Grey's Anatomy? What's with your obsession with that TV series?"
"Three words Lo – Doctor Izzie Stevens." He winked.
"I thought you didn't like blondes." She laughed. "I actually prefer House over Grey's Anatomy but yeah, I could watch it with you. I watch it for the science."
"It's always science for you. But hey, I also watch House with you. I watched it because of Dr. Allison Cameron. So we're near…" he heard a text message alert and looked at his phone "… I think it's your phone."
Lauren opened her phone and read the message. "Oh, it's Bo."
Vex smiled and asked eagerly, "What did her message say?"
"She wanted me to text her as soon as we got home."
"How thoughtful." He gushed. And she listened. Very good, Officer Dennis. He parked the car and got out. "It looks like Ciara is still awake." The house's lights were all off except the ones in the living room.
The house they were living in was a huge one – four floors with a basement. The living room, dining room and kitchen were all in the main floor. The second floor belongs to Lauren – her room, her office alongside a makeshift laboratory, her library, her walk-in closet and her own bathroom. The third belongs to Vex and the fourth, also known as the attic, belongs to Ciara. The basement was empty, save for some furniture that were stacked in the corner.
The three of them were renting this house since 1999, the year when they graduated from their college degrees. They left their respective residential colleges and searched for a suitable house. They found this advertised as a colonial house in the Westville side of the city. The owner initially wanted them to buy the house but they told him that they were just fresh graduates and they didn't have the money to buy it. After a few meetings, he reluctantly had them rent the house. The agreement was that they will have to pay half-a-year deposit plus half-a-year advance. They also had the option to buy the house after 10 years. The three thought it was a win-win situation since the house is huge and it was only 12 minutes away from Yale New Haven Hospital.
The two entered the house and saw their housemate waiting in the living room, worry etched on her face.
"There you are. I'm so worried for the two of you, especially for you Lauren. I didn't expect that you will be involved with police matters. What happened? Dyson has been calling me all night. Ryan too."
"I already talked to them Ci. Initially, Ryan wanted to cancel his flight from New York to come here but I stopped him." Lauren told Ciara.
"Really? That man was stubborn, wasn't he? He can't resist doing things for you when you already told him many times that you can't reciprocate his feelings for you. Such a martyr." Ciara rolled her eyes.
"Not just a martyr, but a masochist. He had been acting like a jilted boyfriend every time he learned that Lauren was dating in the past. Dyson and I already gave him an earful about it." Vex relayed. "He just can't let it go. He said he will wait for Lauren to wake up and realize that she loves him too. What an insufferable bastard!"
"Did you already talk to him about it? As in seriously talked to him?" Ciara looked at Lauren.
"Ci, I already had 'the talk' with him. Dyson, Vex and I tried so many times. We thought that if I talk to him alone and have that heart-to-heart talk that he would just give up. But he was so stubborn. So now, I just let him be." Lauren sighed. "I got tired of telling him off and I hate that I pitied him sometimes. I told him that I love him but only as a friend and a brother, nothing more." She cupped her face and crossed her legs. "Uh can we talk about something else?"
"Yes, we can." Vex smiled wickedly.
Lauren glared at Vex. Ciara saw it and asked, "What's that all about? And before I forgot, what happened tonight? I need to know the details."
"Well since I started it all, let me tell you what happened from the time I was called in our department head's office up to Vex' call." Lauren told all the details, leaving out the identities of the police officers who responded to her call. Vex tried interrupting Lauren's narrative but was unable to do so he just shut up his mouth.
"Wait, so this is all about Nadia?" Ciara asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. She was abused by her supposedly secret husband." Vex answered.
"Okay, so what happened? I mean, where had you been? It's already midnight. What happened after Vex' call?"
"It's my time to tell you what I knew." He seamlessly continued Lauren's narrative. When he mentioned Percy Saunders' name, Ciara interrupted.
"Wait, wait! Please don't tell me Percy Saunders is Nadia's secret husband and he's the suspect?"
"You got them right Ci!"
"I so hate that man! So Nadia is in the hospital right now? Was it bad?" Ciara asked.
"I saw her before she was loaded in the ambulance. It was really bad. She had welts all over face and arms. Her clothes were torn and bloody. And she was unconscious." Lauren said.
"Oh my God, that's terrible."
"And as a doctor I couldn't stop but to assess her condition. I really wanted to check her thoroughly but Bo stopped me from doing it. She said that I need to turn it off and just be what I needed to be that time." Lauren told Ciara.
"Well that's a good advice. Since you were the main witness, you can't just touch the victim as you please. Good thing Bo stopped you." Ciara nodded. "Wait, who's Bo?"
"Ci, let me continue my story. You will know who Bo is."
"Okay Vex, please continue."
He continued where he left off. But this time, he didn't leave out any details. Lauren rolled her eyes.
"What? The Bo that you mentioned was the Officer Dennis that you were pining for?" Ciara was shocked. "So how was it? What happened when you saw her? Hey, you left out those details in your story. You're bad."
"No, I just want to concentrate about the details of the case. I consciously left out the identities of the police officers." She crossed her arms across her chest. "How was it? I was shocked at first. She had the same reaction. I shook her hands and I looked at her eyes, those dark brown eyes. I was momentarily lost in them. And when she smiled and her dimples showed, she completely took me over. She was suddenly shy and looked down. When she realized that she's still holding my hands, she laughed a little and looked at me. She really looked at me and I saw that she was excited and happy to see me. What I couldn't forget was the tenderness on those eyes and it was simply breathless to see someone look at me like that." She can't help but smile when she remembered that moment.
"Wow! That's amazing Lo. The look in your face just now was priceless. You are totally smitten." Vex grinned.
Ciara just looked at Lauren like she's an alien. "Who are you and what did you do to Lauren?" She smiled. "I can't believe I heard that from you. Was she really a babe?"
"Totally! She's beautiful and hot. When I saw her coming out of the house, it was like seeing a pin up girl emerging from a box. Even though she was on her uniforms, you can see the curves." Vex answered.
Lauren raised her eyebrows and put her hands on her hips. "Uhm Vex, do I need to know something? You are totally perving on her just now."
"No, no I'm just describing her. Don't tell me you didn't see that? If you will say you didn't, I'll tell you now that you're a terrible liar. I saw you checking her out."
Lauren put up her hands. "Okay I saw that." She looked at Ciara. "She's really beautiful and I loved her smile. And besides that, she was very kind and thoughtful." She remembered Bo's text. "Oh shit, I forgot to reply on her text." She searched for her phone and typed in her reply.
Hi Bo. We just got home 20 minutes ago. Sorry for not replying sooner. Ciara was really worried when we got here and demanded that we tell her what happened right away. Thank you and please be careful on your way home later. Good morning!
She smiled and hit Send. "Oh and her partner Hale was also kind. He's very friendly. I like him. And I saw that he and Bo were not just partners but were good friends."
"Yeah I agree. He's not dense and he's fun to be with." Vex nodded. "He's a cool guy."
"I can see that you enjoyed the night and the company of these fine police officers, of course except the Nadia and Percy side of the whole situation, but really how will this affect the two of you?" Ciara asked. "I mean, do we have to tell Dyson and Ryan that we need them here? Have you realized its enormity? Once this case comes out, it will be all over the news. There's a possibility that your names will be dragged with this mess."
"Yeah we are aware of how big this case can be. And I trust the police will protect our identities, for now of course. And the fact that Nadia was still unconscious, Lauren and I were the only ones that identified Percy Saunders."
"We should also consider what you told the police about Percy's family, Vex." Lauren reiterated.
"And what is that?" Ciara asked.
"Oh that the Saunders' family owned the state of Delaware. Well, that's what I knew 11 years ago."
"How's that possible?"
"I'll tell you the same thing I told Hale – business holdings. Their family owned a lot of businesses in the state. But that's 11 years ago. I don't know if it's still the case until now."
Ciara looked at Vex. "I think you should know, you're a businessman for Christ's sake. I know you have networks around the states. Maybe you can check with your fellow businessmen."
"Unfortunately my network can only reach the state of California. I may stretch the limits to Nevada, Arizona or Utah but not as far as Delaware. And if I have a network that can reach that far, I may need to do some favors for them. As of now, I don't want to risk it. I think we need to refer to the police for that information. I trust Bo and Hale to do their jobs."
"I agree with Vex, Ci. I know that if we are going through that route, Dyson and Ryan will be dragged into this." Lauren said. "We need to wait. If their family will retaliate due to Percy's arrest, then that's the time we talk with the police and see what we can do. As long as my name and Vex' name weren't divulged to the public, we are not to drag anyone into this case. I told Dyson not to tell Dad. I don't want them to know."
"Did you tell Ryan the same thing? You know how he is." Vex asked.
"I already texted him. And he said okay."
"He's saying that now, but we won't know in the near future. Ryan has the tendency to insert himself into someone else's problem. And he's kind of tactless. He can't zip his mouth shut." Vex told them.
"Don't worry, I'll call Dyson later and I'll tell him to talk to Ryan about this." Ciara said.
"Thank you Ci." Lauren smiled at her. "So what are we going to do now?" She looked at Vex. "Are we still going to watch your favorite TV series?"
Vex rolled his eyes. "Yes I need this. After we've gone through this evening and the coffee was still in my system, I'm still awake. And I need to put my mind into other things."
"Okay, you know I can't refuse you anything now." Lauren laughed a little. She turned to Ciara and asked, "What about you?"
"I think I need to end my day now. I had spent my night worrying about the two of you so I need to decompress. Whenever the two of you spend time outside of this house, it always lead to trouble. Your middle names should have been 'Trouble'." She shook her head. "See you in the morning, 'Trouble's."
"What, that's not true! It's just Lauren. I was there to save her from herself." Vex whined. When he saw Ciara trudging up the stairs to her floor, he whispered to Lauren, "Well it's about time. I don't want to watch Grey's with her because she's always tell me what was wrong with every scene. I just want it to be nice and quiet."
"You know I also want to do that but I don't want to spoil your Grey's addiction and because you always join me when I watch House so it's just fair."
"Oh I thought it's because you love me." He frowned.
"You're like a child sometimes." She lovingly messed up his hair. "Wait, before we proceed, can I do my night rituals and change clothes? It's a little bit uncomfortable now since I had worn this since this morning."
"Go on. I'm just going to suggest that. I'll also change clothes."
After ten minutes, Lauren was walking down the stairs when she saw what Vex had worn. She can't help but laugh at his pajama set. "Really, black silk with pink hearts? Where did you find that?"
He laughed. "You just have to know the funky websites to shop. I bought them online and then I had them delivered here." He winked.
"Them? How many of those did you buy?"
"Just enough to quell my curiosity. You want? I'll you show you their website." He looked up and down at Lauren's pajama set. "Yours is cute. A light pink shirt with a big cat in the center then a light blue jammies with pink cats everywhere, nice."
"It's like we didn't grow old."
"You didn't grow old. Your pajama sets were always like that, with animals. You just changed the sizes but not the designs. Unlike me, I hadn't worn any boring pajama set ever since we moved here. It's because I bought them and not my mother. Thank God for that." He turned to Lauren. "Do you want anything to drink? I'll fix myself a gin and tonic."
Lauren sighed. "Yeah I want some wine. It will help me with sleep and maybe numb my brain." She sat at the couch in front of the newly bought LCD television. She turned it on and saw that they have Netflix. "We already have Netflix? When did you subscribe?"
"It came with the television. I specifically indicated that I wanted a TV LCD unit with a subscription to Netflix. It's a necessity for me. After checking in with all my business managers, I don't have anything to do. And I think that Netflix is the future. Count on it." Vex handed her a chilled bottle of red wine and a glass. He went back to the kitchen to fetch his bottle of gin, tonic water and lime juice. He also brought a bucket of ice and wedges of lime.
Lauren saw all of these and asked, "Are we going to get drunk?" She laughed.
"Of course not. I just don't want to be disturbed going back to the kitchen if we need more while watching."
"Okay. So what episodes are we going to watch?"
"The last 4 episodes of Season 2."
"Uh, why? We already watched those episodes."
"It's because the Season 3 Premiere will be on the 21st and I want to refresh my memory."
"If you want, I'll just tell you every detail."
Vex raised his eyebrows. "Showoff. Even the sex scenes?"
Lauren blushed. "Of course not. Let's just watch."
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District 9 East Shore
Bo and Hale went inside the station and were met by Sergeant Smith. "Dennis, Santiago before you proceed on doing the necessary paperwork, I would like to sit down with you and talk about the case. I talked to Lieutenant Jenkins on how we proceed on building a case against the suspect. Both of you will do all the interviews of all the witnesses, as well of the victim. You've already done that with Dr. Lewis and Mr. Tate. But if you need to question them further, you can also do that since the two of them are very important to this case especially Dr. Lewis. I also told Lt. Jenkins about what Mr. Tate told us regarding Mr. Saunders' family and he said he will get back to me."
"Sir, how about the interrogation of the suspect?" Bo asked.
"I already did the first part. The paperwork was already done. We are still waiting for the results of the fingerprints from forensics on the whip found in the basement. I don't know how long will it take but I put a rush on it. The thorough search done by Mendoza, Torres, McBride and Carson produced a cache of weapons – knives, leather crops, blow torch, five different kinds of thin sticks made of wood and plastic and lots of thick transparent plastic bags. They also found different kinds of guns and ammunitions. We need to know if the guns have licenses. There's a lot of work to do so we need back up and support. Lt. Jenkins in turn will speak with the chief later for a briefing of this case."
Both officers nodded.
"Now, one of initial challenges would be keeping the suspect in our custody. We just have 24 hours and we know the forensics can't be rushed. The victim was still unconscious. There's a possibility that tomorrow night, he will be free." He shook his head and sighed. "Nonetheless, both of you should go to the hospital later to interview the victim's boss and her co-workers. You also need to interview her attending physician to know the extent of her injuries. That's all for now. I'll let you go. After the paperwork, please go home and rest. Sunday will be your off day, as long as you are not needed. I think we all need that off because I bet that starting Monday, we won't be getting any decent sleep. Good luck to the both of you."
"Thank you Sir." Hale said.
They went back to their respective desks and started transcribing. Both did not succumb to idle chit chat, the need of silence is inevitable. It's already 1:00 in the morning and both knew that they badly need to finish the paperwork so they could go home and have a decent sleep. Fatigue and somnolence were starting to creep into their body.
A text message alert intruded into the stillness of the early morning vibe in the station.
"Whose phone was that?" Bo asked.
"I think it's yours." Hale pointed out. He saw the light on Bo's phone.
Bo opened her phone and smiled while reading the message. "It's Lauren. They got home 20 minutes ago." She looked up at Hale. "Looked like Ciara was waiting for them and demanded an explanation why they went home at this ungodly hour."
"Good for them. I, for once, is really looking forward on hugging my bed this very minute. I hadn't been awake this long since last year's raid in that infamous warehouse in the wharf." He sighed. "Are you done? Just going to print this one and off we go."
"I'm finished with mine and already printed. I just need to think about my reply to Lauren. I can't think straight. I'm so sleepy."
"Hey, we'll be off in a minute or so. Wait, did you bring your car or your bike for work?" Hale asked.
"Oh my car was still in Firestone's so I brought my bike."
"Leave your bike and I'll drive you home. You can't ride your bike if you are that sleepy."
"No, it's okay Hale." She saw Hale's face. "Okay fine. Thank you. What about you?"
"I'm not that sleepy, although I just want to lie down and rest. I drank what's left with Vex's coffee that's why I'm still a little bit perky."
"Obviously, you offered to drive me home." Bo laughed. "Now, what will I tell her?" She hesitantly typed her reply and hit Send.
'What did you say?"
"Just a simple thanks and greeted her a good morning."
"Okay. Let's go." They went out to the parking lot and searched for Hale's Ford Fusion. They got in and he started the car.
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Westville New Haven
"This TV series really has the tendency to ruin your idea of good relationships. My brain was fuzzy because of the wine and now, because of the tangled love affairs." Lauren lamented.
"As if House has no relationship issues or whatsoever." Vex said.
"Yes but not as blunt as Grey's." She searched for her phone. "Vex, uh where's my phone?"
"There in your hands silly. Are you drunk?" Vex looked at the bottle of wine. "Oh my God, you finished the wine off. Are you okay?"
"I'm okay. Just a little bit light headed and fuzzy but I can still understand what we're watching."
"I loved these episodes, there's a lot of Izzie Stevens. Poor Denny."
"Shit. She texted an hour and half ago and I didn't see it." Lauren tapped her forehead.
"Who?"
"Bo. She said thank you and good morning. Hmmm, maybe she's already asleep." She thought for a while and smiled. She typed furiously and hit Send.
"What are you doing? Are you drunk-texting Bo?" Vex asked.
"I just typed in some words. They were very harmless, don't worry. And no, I'm not drunk. How dare you insinuate that I am." She dramatically slaps her chest.
Vex laughed. "You are so gonna regret this tomorrow Lo." He shook his head. "Hey, let's sleep this off. You already finished the bottle."
"But there are still two episodes that we need to watch." She whined.
"We'll just catch up tomorrow okay? It's Sunday."
"Okay. I'm looking forward to watching this TV series full of twisted love affairs." Her words slightly slurred.
"Time to get up. C'mon, let me get you into your room."
"How about our mess? I want to clean them first."
"It's alright Lo. I'll get into it promise. Just let me help you go into your room. You should sleep. You were up early yesterday morning."
"Really? Why?"
"You were always waking up early because you said you wanted us to have a good breakfast." Vex said while helping Lauren climb the stairs.
"Uhuh because breakfast foods are good sources of important nutrients such as calcium, iron and…" She faltered and thought hard to finish her rant. "... B vitamins as well as protein and fiber. The body needs these essential nutrients and research shows that if these are..." Her head lolled to Vex's neck and the rest of her words were muffled. "... missed at breakfast, they are less to be compensated for later in the day."
"Good to know." Vex laughed. "You are heavy we're you're like this Lo. I should have chosen a bottle with much lower alcohol level."
"What did you give me? I didn't notice. I just drank and drank."
"A Zinfandel with 16% alcohol content."
"It's likely that if someone will calculate my blood alcohol content right this very minute, it would be high and I would be considered legally intoxicated in all or most states and..." She cleared her throat. "... would be subjected to criminal penalties."
"Hey, there's an upside on that." He said while opening the door.
"What?"
"Bo will catch you and will likely interrogate you. She will read your Miranda rights and will lock you in a cell by yourself so she could you visit every night." Vex wiggled his eyebrows.
"That's interesting. What are we going to do huh, knit? Read books?" She sat on her bed and put both hands on her face.
"I don't know, maybe some hanky-panky." He smirked and sighed. "Okay, I will go down and get a bottled water. I know you have a pounding headache now. Do you still have Tylenol? You need to drink one so you could sleep well. Wait for me."
She sighed and lay on her bed. She wanted to process all the things that happened the previous day but her headache prevented her to do so. She just wanted to sleep so she could start fresh in the morning. After a while, she heard Vex trudging up the stairs and her door opened.
"Lo, take a Tylenol and drink up. Then go to sleep please. I already cleaned the mess downstairs and I'm also ready to end my day." Vex sat down at the side of the bed and looked down at her.
She sat up and swallowed a Tylenol. "Thank you. We'll talk tomorrow okay. I know you were waiting for me tonight and you want to talk about something right?" She raised her eyebrow when Vex was caught off guard by her statement. "You thought I didn't know huh. I know you very well Vaughn." She placed her hand on his cheek.
"Okay. So go to sleep now. We'll talk when you wake up. Goodnight Lo." He kissed her forehead and stood up.
She lay down when she heard the door clicked. She smiled and searched for her phone. She texted and hit Send. She was already asleep when her phone's screen lit up.
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Downtown New Haven
Hale dropped Bo in front of a quaint bungalow. It was his grandfather's house and was standing next to his bar, The Dal Riata.
She turned around and leaned down at the opened passenger window of Hale's car. "Thank you for the ride Hale and see you later. Drive carefully." She stood up and tapped the hood. She waited until Hale's car turned the corner. She sighed. People were still flocking the bar and the music very loud. She wondered if her grandfather was still awake. She looked down at her watch and decided not to bother her grandfather.
She stood in front of the house's door and punched in the security system PIN. As a police officer, she made sure that the house was installed with a dependable security system. She just can't jeopardize the safety of her family especially that the house was in the middle of Downtown New Haven. Crime rates were still high in this side of the city and she can't ignore that fact.
She went inside the house and tried to navigate the house without the lights. She went straight to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She retrieved a bottled water and sat down on one of the chairs. She was opening the bottle when she heard someone walking towards her. She turned around and looked at a surprised Kenzi.
"You know that I can hear you breathe Kenz. Why are you still awake? Were you doing some homework? Or you just came from the bar?"
"Hells no! No to doing homework and coming from the bar. I'm just browsing some stuff and hacking some databases for your search! I can show you some tonight if you are still up to it." Kenzi smiled at Bo. "I came down to get a bottled water and some food so I can continue my favorite pastime."
"Okay. But Kenzi, you can now abort your search for me."
"Oh, why? Are you giving up? Yes I know, we already looked on a lot of headshots and I certainly couldn't stand some of the pictures. But I can still hack some databases for you. You know I have a lot free time."
"No Kenz, I'm not giving up. It's just that I already found her."
"What?! How? Why didn't tell me sooner?"
"It is because I just found her." She put up her hands to stop Kenzi's rants. "I'll tell you how after I changed my clothes. Go to my room and I will tell you all about it."
She walked up the stairs and went straight to her room. The second floor has four rooms, one for each of the household's family members – Bo, Kenzi, Tamsin and Trick. Trick's room was always closed due to the fact that he also has a room at the basement of the bar wherein he usually retire after a day of work. Next to it was his office, thus the preference over his room in the house.
She removed all her clothes and changed to her favorite sleep wear – plain white shirt and her John Jay College basketball shorts. Kenzi was critical of her choice of sleep wear but it's comfortable so she had to roll with it. She pulled her guns from the holsters and put them in her gun safe.
She picked up her guitar and started strumming a tune. Every time she held her guitar, she remembered her father. Her father taught her to play guitar when she's only 9 years old. She remembered vividly how his eyes sparkled every time she learned a simple tune. She shook her head and cleared her throat. Now is not the time to reminisce on those times. She needed to shove it down and think about other things. Then she thought of Lauren. And she smiled.
She was still smiling when she heard a knock on the door. It was opened and she saw Kenzi and Tamsin, who had a black eye and a bruise on her chin.
She looked at Tamsin. "You looked like shit. What happened?"
"A moron decided to be more stupid and brought her girlfriend in the bar. Then he invited one of his friends and didn't know that this friend was his girlfriend's ex. Emotions and knuckles both flew. I helped to pacify the brawl but instead of thanks, I got these." She pointed to her face. "So before I smacked them on their faces, Bruce decided to give me my night off." She sighed. "Trick will kill me."
"Did anyone check that? Let me get my medicine kit." Bo shook her head. "This had been what, your third in a month? The bruise on your cheek was not yet healed then now your chin. So what's next, your forehead, the other cheek?" She sighed. "I told you to stop your bartending. You already got your degree. You should think of other jobs. Why don't you just enter the police academy?"
Tamsin blanched. "I don't know. Let me think about it. I love bartending because the pay was alright then there were the tips. Then of course, the entertainment you know." She smiled wickedly.
"Are you sure they were clean when you pick them up huh? And don't tell me you bring them here? If you do, I'll smack you. You're taller than me but I'm not afraid of you." Bo growled.
Tamsin put up her hands. "Of course not Bo. We usually end in a hotel or her/his place. And yes, I think they're clean."
"You think? Sexually transmitted diseases are really common these days, Tamsin and lots of people who have them don't have any symptoms. They can be dangerous. So if I were you, get yourself tested before it's too late." She looked at Kenzi. "Kenz, please search a hospital or a clinic near here so Tamsin can go there and have herself checked for venereal disease."
Tamsin rolled her eyes.
"As soon as possible Tam. I know you are sexually active and you have multiple lovers. Those reasons should push you to get yourself checked. I'm not kidding. One of my fellow policemen was also promiscuous. He didn't heed the advice of his friend. Do you know what happened to him? He found out he had STD because his faithful girlfriend had an annual exam at her job. They were checked for STD's and was shocked to find out that she has gonorrhea. She said she never had multiple lovers so she knew her boyfriend was cheating on her because of that. See? Before he realized his mistakes, it was too late. She broke up with him and spread the news about his promiscuity."
"Okay Bo, I will get myself checked."
"Good. So why are you exactly here in my room?"
"Kenzi dragged me here because she said you already found the mystery girl." She smirked.
"Let me check your bruise first then the story." Bo dabbed a cotton to the bruise to put away the blood. "Kenzi can you please get the ice pack from the freezer and a bottled water too?" Kenzi nodded. "Thanks."
"And then you, sit there and be comfortable." Bo pointed at the couch inside her room.
Kenzi came back with the ice pack and a bottled water.
"You know the drill." Bo said, handing over the ice pack and bottled water to Tamsin. She retrieved the bottle of Tylenol from the medicine kit and gave one to her as well.
Tamsin put the ice pack on her chin and looked at Bo. "So are we just going to talk about venereal diseases or what?"
"I got my laptop here so that as soon as Bo say her name, we could search further. I want to see her."
Bo sighed and sat beside Kenzi. "Alright. Her name is Dr. Lauren Lewis. She was working in Yale Hospital."
Kenzi's jaw dropped. "But we already gone through all the employees of that hospital and that name did not register in my search."
"Maybe because she's still a resident? I don't know if she will be listed as a regular employee of the hospital." Bo said.
"Oh shit, yeah I didn't bother to search through the interns, residents, etc. I'm so sorry Bo." Kenzi frowned.
Bo side-hugged her. "It's okay Kenz. I really appreciate all your help in finding her. I know you were working extra for that while you were studying. But I already found her so I'm okay with that."
"Yeah well let me see. Usually a Yale Hospital resident also studied in Yale University, right?" Kenzi typed quickly at her laptop.
"They usually do I think. What are you searching for?" Bo looked at the laptop's screen.
"I'm just googling her." Kenzi pointed out results. "Here it is. Wow, it's looked like your mysterious lady was famous when she was still a student. Here's one result from the Yale University website. It was year 1999. Bo, take a look if this your Lauren Lewis."
Bo and Tamsin looked at the screen. Tamsin and Kenzi heard a gasp from Bo. They looked at her and saw Bo was nodding. "Yeah that's her."
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Author's Note: Please read and review. Thank you.