Chapter 2

September circa 2006

"Babe? You home?"

Lauren walked through the door of the small house in Westwood and smiled as she took in the warm homey atmosphere. She had to admit she had her doubts when they'd decided to rent the house but once they got their things moved in Bo had done a fantastic job making it feel like a real home. It had been a few months since the pair moved in together and with her residency ending she was hopeful things would settle down. She'd been offered a position at the UCLA Medical Center and was excited to join the research hospital as a full time staff member.

"In here!"

Lauren laughed softly as she entered the kitchen to find Bo covered in flour and the countertops an absolute mess. "Uhh…what happened here?"

Bo gave her a cheeky smile as she walked over and put her arms around the young doctor effectively ruining her clothes. "I was going to surprise you with a midnight snack." She placed a soft kiss on Lauren's lips and the blonde sighed happily as she melted into the embrace slightly. Her schedule had been off the charts crazy lately and she felt bad that she'd been more of a roommate than live in girlfriend lately. She squeezed Bo's waist a little as she looked past her with amusement.

"And what exactly were you making?"

Bo bit her lip as she gave her an embarrassed smile. "Brownies. Kenz gave me a foolproof recipe. She must have forgotten about my significant lack of culinary prowess."

Lauren laughed and shook her head as Bo gave her a sheepish smile and kissed her nose playfully. "When you become a rich and famous doctor and I get my business going we're so hiring someone to do this."

It was moments like this that she appreciated the most cause it meant Bo was thinking about their future together and as reward Lauren nodded and leaned in for a soft kiss. "When that happens we'll have a whole staff of people do this. And save me some grief in having to help you clean it up."

Bo laughed and nodded as she looked at Lauren happily. Sure, she'd only met the woman a few years ago but as far as she was concerned this was it for her. She was going to marry Lauren and sometime soon as soon as she was comfortable financially. She was so certain of this that Bo had actually purchased a ring in anticipation of the day she could put it on Lauren's finger and show the world that the doctor was hers. She had just gotten word of some inheritance that was coming her way and she wanted to find out what that was about before she made and decisions about her future with the doctor. She wanted to be sure she would be able to provide for the blonde as much as the Lauren could provide for her and she wanted to be able to give the blonde whatever she desired, whenever she desired. Money wasn't an end all for Bo but she knew if things kept going the way they were that Lauren would be the breadwinner and she wanted to contribute as much as possible to this.

However tonight was not the night for any serious thoughts so she just shook her head and laughed as she pulled Lauren towards the back of the house. "Well, I'm pretty sure there's something more important that needs cleaning…we'll get to the kitchen tomorrow."

Lauren grinned and followed the laughing brunette to the bedroom. Who cared that it was almost one in the morning and she was drop dead exhausted after having finished her 20 hour shift. She was home with the woman she loved and she was going to do everything in her power to keep her happy as long as possible.

ooOOoo

Present Day

"Good morning Kate."

Lauren gave the mediator a strained smile as she took a seat across from the woman in the hotel's five star restaurant. Lauren was familiar with the downtown area so she had arrived a few minutes early and given herself time to compose her thoughts as she wasn't quite sure what the lawyer would ask her.

Kate gave her a genuine smile in return and glanced at her phone with a nod. "Right on time, thanks for meeting with me Doctor."

Lauren relaxed slightly. "You can call me Lauren, Doctor is too formal for all this right?"

Kate nodded somewhat awkwardly. "Right. So I ordered coffee but wasn't sure what else you'd like."

Lauren absentmindedly flipped through the menu but pushed it aside after a few minutes since she really didn't need to look at it. She knew the menu like the back of her hand as she and Bo had spent many weekend getaways at this particular hotel. She looked up at Kate evenly. "How about we talk about whatever it was you wanted to ask?"

Kate cleared her throat and nodded. "To the point. Got it. Okay, so why don't you start at the beginning. Tell me how you and Bo met."

Lauren sighed as she leaned back in her chair. She really didn't want to take a trip down memory lane but she had some inclination as to why Kate wanted the full story. After thinking quietly for a few minutes she smiled sadly. "We met ten years ago through mutual friends. One of my classmates at Yale was friends with Bo's best friend. When I moved to LA my friend dragged me out to have some resemblance of a social life and that's when we met."

Kate nodded and gave her a small smile. "Okay, and you two were married not too long after right?"

Lauren laughed sarcastically. "A few years, but I guess yes, not too long after."

Kate nodded and looked at her thoughtfully. "When you were finished with your residency?"

Lauren nodded sadly. "Yeah, up until that point we didn't have time. I was working long hours and never home. I'm honestly surprised she stuck around at all. There would be times when I wouldn't see her for days at a time and we lived together. The only resemblance I'd have of her in the house at all were her things and…"

Kate watched Lauren's eyes cloud over and she knew the blonde was remembering something. She leaned forward slightly and gave her a gentle smile. "And what Lauren?"

The blonde cleared her throat. "And yeah, her things around the house, food in the fridge etc. Once my residency was finished I accepted a full time position at UCLA Med and I thought that would be the end of the crazy schedules but I was wrong."

ooOOoo

December 2007

"Bo…seriously?"

The brunette sighed into the phone as she rubbed her head lightly. It was well after midnight and having to make this phone call to her wife on Christmas Eve was not the most fun thing she'd done this year. They'd barely been married for six months and she felt like the entire time they'd officially been spouses all she'd done is let the blonde down. "Lauren, I'm sorry but I need to be in New York this weekend."

Lauren huffed slightly. "It's Christmas Bo. What is so important that it can't wait a few days?"

Bo ground her teeth and tried not to scream into the phone. The pair had been having quite the time coordinating schedules lately and she knew this latest bomb would hit them hard. She'd inherited a large sum of money from her grandfather that she didn't know existed and she'd decided about a year ago to start up a business with that money. Lauren had been supportive of this decision but it seemed like the last three or four months had been a rough patch for them. Bo was now the one working the long hours as Lauren's hectic schedule had calmed slightly and at least she knew what her hours would be a month in advance so she could plan around them. Granted, the doctor still worked eighteen hour days, but it was with some regularity now so the pair had adjusted to her work schedule and for a short while seemed to be okay with it.

"Lauren, I've told you before I need to meet with the investors."

Lauren hummed in annoyance. "Bo, I understand why you're doing what you're doing but all I'm asking is if it needs to be right now?"

Bo growled lowly. "If not when Lauren? And it's not like I'm gone all the time, or at all hours of the night."

Lauren bit her tongue as she knew this could erupt into a major fight if she weren't careful. This had been a point of contention with the pair lately and Bo had always been vocal about her displeasure of Lauren's schedule but she thought they had both understood that if she put a few years in now she'd be able to settle down later. Lauren sighed in defeat and smiled sadly. "Okay, Bo I don't want to fight, it's Christmas. Please be safe and I'll see you when you get back okay?"

Bo tapped her pen on her desk in annoyance. This was Lauren's way of trying to end the conversation without them fighting and she noticed more and more over the past few months that this had been happening. She was not liking being the bad guy in this situation since she'd been so patient when Lauren was doing her residency and even after when Lauren had promised her schedule would calm down. "I'm sorry Lauren, really. If I could change it I would."

Lauren nodded even though the brunette couldn't see her. It was unfair to put Bo in this situation as she'd done this to her on more than one occasion and couldn't even remember if they'd ever spent a New Year's Eve together due to her always having to be at the hospital. It was just sad that now that she had the time to spend with her Bo's schedule was the one throwing a wrench in things. "I know love. Okay, call me tomorrow?"

Bo sighed. It was a good sign that Lauren called her love, something she had been doing less and less of lately. She felt a tight smile grace her lips knowing that her wife was trying to salvage this almost fight. "Of course honey. Goodnight."

Lauren said goodnight and hung up the phone in defeat. She looked around their home and sighed at how lonely she felt almost instantaneously. As a surprise for Bo she'd actually left her shift early and came home to put up some cheap Christmas decorations she'd bought at the little party store on the way home. It wasn't much, they didn't even have a tree, but she was trying to form some sort of normalcy for them and give them time to spend their first Christmas as a married couple together, if only for a few hours. She angrily drank the rest of the wine in her glass and mentally berated herself for being so stupid. It wasn't uncommon for one or both of them to be home alone but for some reason Lauren felt like this weekend was a sign of things to come and if she didn't do something about it they would be this way for a long, long time.

ooOOoo

Present Day

Kate nodded as Lauren took a sip of her coffee, grateful for a break in the conversation. Their food had arrived and for a couple of minutes the pair ate in silence before Kate cleared her throat. "So Lauren, once you formed the Lewis Foundation what happened?"

Lauren chewed on a piece of toast thoughtfully. "Honesty I thought it was the solution to all our problems. Bo's company was thriving, I'd been able to start the foundation and hire a good staff to run things in my absence. It was the first time in as long as I can remember that we were able to live a normal life."

Kate sipped her coffee and motioned with her hand. "So what happened?"

Lauren sighed as she pushed her plate back slightly. "It seemed the more normal things got the more they went to shit. It was like us having so much time together was detrimental to our relationship."

Kate looked confused. "How's that?"

Lauren shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she sighed. "Bo wanted a family."

Kate nodded. "That's understandable. Did you not want a family?"

Lauren folded her arms in defense as she stared at Kate with a look of both anger and sadness. "I did want a family, but we weren't ready."

Kate sat back and rested her chin on one hand thoughtfully. "Did Bo realize that?"

Lauren sighed and shook her head as she spoke in annoyance. "How exactly is this contributing to the mediation?"

Kate gave her an even stare. "Lauren, I'm just trying to understand why you don't want to be associated with her company. It seems from the look of things the personal side died a while ago, but I don't see the professional correlation."

Lauren looked up at her angrily. "The personal side died when she started screwing around on me. Before that things were fine. And I don't appreciate being made to be the one at fault here Kate. Sure, I wasn't easy to be with, my schedule didn't allow for a normal relationship but at the end of the day what Bo and I had was real. And let's not forget, I wasn't the one who was unfaithful. It was her infidelity that broke us, not my long work hours or lack of desire to have a child for so long. It's not that I didn't want to be with her as much as possible or that I didn't envision a family for us one day Kate. Why else do you think I was working as hard as I was to move ahead? I needed to know I could provide for our family same as she could. If we were going to work we needed to be on level footing and build our family together."

Kate took a calming breath as she looked at Lauren thoughtfully. She could see how fragile this woman was even though her demeanor said otherwise. She could tell that Lauren was broken and trying to salvage whatever was left of the shell of herself that she once knew but the thing Kate couldn't understand was why. "Lauren, to be blunt here, everything you've told me so far only points to the downfall of what was once maybe a great relationship. It sounds like you realize your work schedule was a problem early on and then your decision to not have children when Bo wanted to only further damaged the relationship."

Lauren growled softly. "Our relationship is great. You're making assumptions about us that are unfounded."

Kate nodded and gave her a small smile. "Okay then why don't you tell me."

Lauren opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it as she glared at Kate. "Why rehash old matters? Point is I don't want anything more to do with her once this is all over."

Kate sighed and nodded. "Lauren, I know it doesn't seem important to you, but I need to understand everything in order to help you guys okay?"

Lauren contemplated that statement and nodded. "Short version, we tried, we failed and now I want out. What more do you need?"

Kate laughed softly as she saw the stubborn streak surfacing from the doctor. "How about a legitimate reason for not wanting Dennis Enterprise tied to your foundation?"

Lauren scowled as she played with her cup of coffee. Having to explain this to the stranger was going to sound weird and even in her head she knew it was ridiculous. With a big sigh she looked up at Kate sadly. "Because the first time Bo's company donated money was to help with fertilization research."

Kate nodded but didn't say anything and Lauren looked down as she continued. "We'd been at odds about having a child and my stance was because even with in vetro fertilization we still wouldn't be certain of the genetic makeup of the child. So her solution was to dump a large sum of money into the foundation and have us figure out how to eliminate potential risk."

Kate looked confused. "She wanted you to come up with a new way to get pregnant?"

Lauren smiled tightly. "We'd been developing ways to combine genetics from non-standard sources and she thought I could figure out a way to make a baby out of her and my DNA."

Kate's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Is that possible?"

Lauren laughed and shook her head. "Theoretically yes, but in the lab it just wasn't possible. After a few years she got frustrated with me saying I was sabotaging the research because I didn't want a child."

Kate looked at her carefully. "I hate to ask but…"

Lauren gave her a cold stare. "I would never let my personal feelings get in the way of my professional ones. I would never purposefully destroy research."

Kate nodded. "Okay, okay I understand. So is that why you think Bo wants to remain a benefactor?"

Lauren shrugged. "I'm not sure why she wants to stay tied to the foundation. Maybe just as a reminder about what we had I'm not sure. In any case, I don't want any reminders of her."

Kate sighed and nodded as the waiter cleared their plates. She wasn't sure how to use this piece of information to aid the mediation but she knew it was going to be vital down the road. As they waited for the check she looked at Lauren and sighed softly. "Can I ask you a question Lauren?"

The blonde nodded and sipped the remainder of her coffee. "Sure."

Kate cleared her throat. "Do you think your failed research has anything to do with Bo's cheating?"

Lauren stared at her in shock as she tried to process the question. She'd considered a lot of reasons for Bo being unfaithful and it had crossed her mind that some sort of revenge was the reason but having it voiced was something altogether different. She stood up abruptly and grabbed her bag in slight annoyance. "I think Bo's cheating had to do with her inability to cope with things like an adult. Instead she ran off and indulged herself when she saw fit. She didn't care to deal with the problems we were having at home and because of her impulsivity she won't need to worry about dealing with that ever again."

Kate smirked slightly as she looked at Lauren knowingly. "Not quite the response I was expecting about your great relationship Doctor."
Lauren turned on her heel and stormed out of the restaurant. Kate knew she'd hit a nerve and for the first time that morning she finally understood a little bit more about the torrid relationship the doctor and the businesswoman had really shared.

ooOOoo

June 2007

Lauren peered one eye open and groaned slightly as she looked up at Bo who was smiling down at her lovingly. Lauren covered her face in embarrassment and groaned into the pillow. "What are you doing Bo? That's creepy."

Bo laughed and tucked one arm around the soft skin of Lauren's stomach lightly. "I'm watching my wife sleep…am I not allowed to do that? I swear I remember that being in the vows somewhere that I get to watch you sleep."

Lauren laughed and buried her face in Bo's neck lightly. "I think you were drunk by that point Bo."

Bo laughed and stroked Lauren's back lightly. "No honey, and even if I was I will remember yesterday for the rest of my life."

The pair shared a smile as they looked at each other with the look of new lovers who couldn't get enough of each other. They had made their union official yesterday with a small gathering of friends and family and for both women it was the best day of their lives. Being married was something they both wanted and had discussed early on in their relationship knowing it was something they would eventually have an opportunity to do once their lives settled down a little.

"So tell me wife…what are we going to do today?"

Lauren raised an eye at Bo and smirked. "If you ever call me wife again you will be sleeping alone for a long, long time."

Bo laughed and nodded as she kissed Lauren's forehead lightly. "I'm sorry my love. Never again."

Lauren smiled and pulled Bo closer to her in effort to meld their bodies together. "I was thinking we could stay like this for a while…what do you think?"

Bo smiled and hummed happily as the ridiculous smile wouldn't seem to work itself off her face. "Sounds like perfection." She hated to admit it but for her this was the end all, be all and she couldn't be happier. She never thought she'd find someone like Lauren who loved her unconditionally and she had to check herself every day to make sure this wasn't some cruel dream where she would wake up and find herself alone and miserable. Bo knew she would sacrifice her entire being if it meant keeping Lauren Lewis happy and she had no intention of ever letting the woman down or being reason for her to shed a tear. Ever.

Lauren sighed as her body buzzed with pure, unadulterated happiness. The blonde had spent her entire life living as she was supposed to and following the rules she was supposed to follow and it was the first time in her life where she'd done something for herself and kept it completely protected as hers alone. She would go to any length to make Bo happy and she knew she had to make changes in her professional life in order to do so. She wasn't willing to give up her now wife for her success but she was hopeful she could find a balance of the two and be the provider she wanted to for the brunette. It was the moment of total happiness and safety she had been waiting for her entire life and now that the moment was here she wouldn't let anything take that away from her. Ever.