Lauren squeezed her eyes shut. She was on the verge of waking up, but she wasn't ready. She wanted to sleep more. She opened one eye when a bag hit her chest.

"Breakfast," Bo said shortly before taking a seat. "We need to leave soon."

It didn't surprise Lauren that Bo's mood was off this morning, especially after last night, but it aggravated her greatly.

Lauren rose onto her elbows and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked at Bo, who was sitting, fully dressed, reading her phone. "Morning," Lauren mumbled under her breath and peered into the bag to find two bagels inside. She wanted to ask if there was any coffee but decided against it.

"Where do you get off being upset in this situation?" She finally asked annoyed at Bo's attitude.

Bo blinked at her for a few seconds and took a huge bite of her bagel. "My girlfriend goes off with three Dark Fae thugs, putting her life at risk. A life I had just saved, by the way. You do remember that you nearly died, in that cell, in front of me right? And I have no right to be upset about any of it?"

Lauren's mind still heavy from sleep pondered Bo's statement. She pulled a bagel from the bag. "Well living on the run is no life either."

Bo shook her head and tossed her phone on the table. "That's crazy to me."

"Only because you've never had to live that life. My father couldn't outrun the Fae, and you think three teenagers could? And what would our lives be like? Working odd jobs always looking over our shoulders. That's no life. I need more than that to be happy."

"Huh," Bo said and balled up the plastic bag in her hand. "Funny, all I need is you to be happy."

Lauren hesitated for a moment, and with some effort to control her frustration she said. "I don't believe that would be true after a few years of running."

Lauren grabbed her bag and headed to the bathroom to shower quick and put on fresh clothes. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out Bo's ring that she had put in a small pocket. She sighed and rolled her eyes at herself, for bringing it, for keeping it.

Lauren reentered the room and Bo, still conscious of the time, started loudly tapping her boot on the floor, for several minutes.

Bo stopped when Lauren glared at her. "Why did you refuse to see me at the Dark Fae complex? Every day for three months I asked to see you." Bo knew these questions would more than likely lead to an argument, but she couldn't stop herself from asking. She had to know.

Something about Bo's question infuriated Lauren. She snapped back. "We were nothing at that point, I thought."

Bo grimaced and stood up firm. "So, you wouldn't even give me the chance to apologize for that? Even see me once?"

"Do you know what it was like for me to hear those words from you?" Lauren responded with a tiny shake in her voice. "I trusted you more than anyone else in the world." She clenched her hands together trying to distract her mind from crying. She didn't want to cry in front of Bo about this. "That's not something you can say and then brush it aside."

"I didn't mean it. I was terrified for you." Bo's voice was getting louder, but she was actively trying to remain composed.

All thoughts of crying left Lauren, and now she was getting livid. "Because you didn't trust me enough to let me make my own decisions about my life."

Bo banged her fist on the table. "Damn it! I didn't trust them!" Bo was now shouting. "The Morrigan is a known psychopath. She'd kill you just for fun."

Lauren slightly taken back by Bo's yelling retorted. "At least she didn't brand me and trade me."

"Not yet you mean." Bo snapped back. In truth, she felt guilty about saying that, but she held her face firm to hide that.

They glared at each other, for a short moment. Lauren, too flustered by Bo's statement to offer a reply, walked over to the door and opened it hard. "Can we go now?" She slammed the door hard behind her and stood outside waiting for Bo to join her.

Bo wandered around the room, too heated to follow Lauren, just yet. She straightened up the blankets on the bed, a little. She gazed at the pillow Lauren had slept on and with great effort resisted her urge to bury her face in it and inhale Lauren's smells.

Gingerly, she strolled to the door and left the room.

XXXX

In the car, Lauren turned the music on to a loud volume and looked out the window.

An hour into the drive, Bo shut off the music. As softly as she could she spoke. "Lauren, I'm so sorry for saying that. Please believe me. That's not how I felt ever. I was upset and said something stupid and untrue." She tapered off into silence, and Lauren doesn't reply.

They sat in silence for twenty more minutes.

Lauren dragged her eyes from the window and stared at Bo. "You can't always save me, Bo. I have to be able to save myself."

Bo took a quick look at her, and her body tensed uncomfortably for a second, but she continued to listen.

" You can't protect me from everything. My life will always be in danger with the Fae. And I refuse to run scared into the night. That's giving them too much control over my life." Lauren said adamantly.

Bo's immediate impulse was to take Lauren's hand, but she shifted in her seat instead.

"One thing, I learned losing every one of my family members is that I have to be able to take care of myself. I wish you could understand that." She sighed when she was done, having gotten all that out in almost one long breath.

Bo remained quiet, feeling anxious after hearing Lauren say all that.

Lauren added. "What you viewed as giving up, I viewed as taking control."

"So, is that what all this is about, with your father's research, taking control?" Bo asked with an uneasy tone.

"Absolutely." Lauren responded confidently.

More silence then Bo changed the subject. "I'm glad you had Dr. Everett this whole time. To teach you. I know how important becoming a doctor is to you. I'm happy the Dark, at least, gave you that."

Bo sideways glanced at Lauren and a warm smile is on Lauren's face and Bo's stomach lunges.

"She reminds me a lot of my father. And she's a good teacher. She helped me see that there's a lot of good in the Fae as well as the bad. Things aren't black and white in the Fae world just like in the human world." Lauren responded.

"Hmm. I've seen a lot more bad than good personally." Bo said bluntly.

"Well, I never want to become bitter like Nick and let that consume me. From where I sit I can see the good, not only the bad."

"Like what?"

"Dr. Everett was kind to me when she didn't have to be. Dyson is a jerk for sure, but he helped us." She paused and smiled sadly at Bo. "Then there's you."

"The one who broke your heart?" Bo said through gritted teeth.

"That doesn't take away all the good in you. All the good you've done. You can make mistakes and still be good, same as everyone. You saved and helped me so many times, and I haven't forgotten that. I never will. No one is defined by a single moment in their life."

Bo looked at her, her stomach in a tight knot, she opened her mouth to speak.

Lauren spoke before she could. "Thank you for saving my life. You made me a stronger person just by knowing you."

The tension in Bo's body lifted a little. "Lauren..." Bo whispered out, and her eyes left the road briefly and landed on Lauren.

Lauren looked back out the window. "We're almost there. Maybe we should wait until dark to go to the lab."

XXXXX

They stared down a long road in the small town. Tiny houses and shops were scattered here and there. Bo was trying to decide on a conversation to start with Lauren. Inside of her, a mini conflict was being waged about how to approach a relationship talk with her. She didn't want to push too much, but she didn't want Lauren to slip through her fingers again.

Lauren tilted her head back and inhaled the air. "Still smells like I remember."

"Did you like living here?" Bo finally asked.

Lauren shrugged. "It was ok. We lived in a lot of weird places. This was one was as odd as the rest. But it was home." She started walking forward.

Bo wanted so badly to take her hand, let her show her around her old town, listen to her stories as she would have if they were together.

"What do you want to do with the time we have?" Bo asked, looking around. There didn't appear to be too much to do in this town.

Lauren stopped and glanced quickly back at Bo. "Let's go see if anyone lives in my family's old house."

Bo nodded and settled in at her side. They were walking close, their shoulders brushing against each other. Bo felt her heart speed up at the brushes and drew a breath to relax her body. She wondered when, if ever, Lauren would stop causing her so much inner distress.

"I have, recently, been wondering why my father choose this place to live. So close to Trick and the Morrigan, maybe he was done running at that point and wanted to get caught." Lauren said her voice was growing thick and somber as she said the words.

Bo couldn't stop herself, she squeezed Lauren's hand quickly but let go just as quickly. "Or maybe he thought his research could buy your family's freedom."

"Possibly," Lauren replied then drifted into silence as memories of her father overtook her.

After a long walk, they reached a small gray house. "Here it is." Lauren waved her hand toward it.

"Looks empty."

Lauren nodded and slowly strolled up the walkway to the front door. "It's locked." She said while jiggling the doorknob.

A smile spread across Bo's face, and she kneeled down in front of the door. "I've learned some tricks for my PI work." After a moment, of picking the lock, she pushed the door open.

Lauren entered first, followed closely by Bo.

They both froze and their eyes danced over the room. It was much darker inside the house than outside, and it took their eyes a moment to adjust. When things became clearer, they could see the mess that was spread before them. The house was trashed, holes in the walls, broken and knocked over furniture, litter spread out everywhere. The scene was chaotic.

"Someone's been in here," Bo whispered.

"Looking for something or just random destruction is the question."

Bo nodded. Bo grew uneasy about the situation. She sensed that this was deliberate, and undoubtedly connected to Lauren's father and his research.

They crept slowly through the house avoiding tripping on the clutter. When they reached Lauren's old room, it was empty. Lauren scanned over the space. Bo studied her face and shifted her attention to the room.

"It's a nice room." She said gently. "You were probably happy here."

Lauren shoved her hands into her pockets and continued. When they reached her parent's old room, it was empty as well. "I don't think my father would have hidden any information here. It would have been too risky."

Bo remained quiet, letting Lauren take the lead in this situation.

"One more place I want to see." She pointed up. "The attic."

The door opened to the dusty attic with only a single item in it, a telescope. Lauren grinned slowly. "It's still here." She walked up it. With a single finger, she wiped away some of the dust and stared at it fondly.

"Is that yours?" Bo asked.

Lauren held it tight. "Yea." Lauren said her eyes sparkling. "I would spend hours and hours up here, looking at the stars and thinking about the universe. Feeling small and insignificant but not being sad about that. I just knew that was our place in this vast universe; we're all just a tiny part of it, and that's ok."

Bo rubbed her back and Lauren didn't move away. "Is that when you started liking Star Trek?" She asked with a hint of joking in her voice. She always teased Lauren about Star Trek.

Lauren turned to her and smiled at the ground. "It is a fascinating show, you know."

Bo lightly touched her chin and brought face up, so their eyes could meet. They were suddenly transported back to a time, not that long ago, when they spent their time in the library getting to know each other. Becoming friends, slowly growing to love each other, even if they didn't know it at the time.

After a moment, Bo kept her voice low and said. "I know." She rubbed her fingers over Lauren's chin slowly.

They both held their breath and leaned in pressing their lips together. They wrapped their arms around each other's bodies straining to be closer.

They remained there lost in their deep kiss until a crashing sound from downstairs broke them apart.

"What was that?" Bo murmured and clutched Lauren tight.

Lauren shrugged. "Old rundown house, it could be anything."

"Should we go check it out?" Bo asked when Lauren didn't say anything or move.

They slowly descended the stairs, the old wood creaking beneath their feet. Listening for any more sounds but the house was quiet.

At the bottom, Bo took the lead, and they searched the house. It was the same muddled mess from before, and no one else was there.

They glanced around the living room for any signs of what caused the loud sound. Bo bent down inspecting the litter on the floor, none of it appeared to be important.

Lauren felt a cold shiver and wrapped her arms around her body, watching Bo.

They heard another sound, the loud and soft rustling and crunching of papers, but they couldn't see anything. Bo rose to her feet quickly and stood by Lauren as they listened and scanned the room.

"I think that came from the kitchen," Lauren whispered to Bo.

Bo took her hand, and they walked together into the other room.

Easing slowly into the kitchen, they found it empty.

"Maybe it's a ghost," Bo whispered trying to lighten the mood.

Then a soft click, a loud click, a soft click, at the edge of their vision they saw a flash of movement and turned, in unison, to look but nothing.

Before they could even blink, something leaped at their feet. Lauren jumped back, Bo grabbed her waist and turned them using her back as a buffer. They glanced at each other then at the floor. Lauren covered her mouth to keep from laughing. And Bo tilted her head and saw a black cat looking back at her.

"Damn cat," Bo said and glared at it as it scurried off away from them.

Lauren was giggling with her hand still over her mouth. Bo grinned at Lauren watching her laugh. Her heart ached it had been a while since she'd seen Lauren like that. Kiss her. A voice shouted inside Bo's head. She ignored it, resisted it, but didn't want to. But part of her knew she couldn't keep kissing Lauren until they had a real talk. But she could hardly stand not being able to kiss her.

Lauren stopped her giggle fit, and her eyes danced back and forth between Bo's eyes and lips. Bo noticed and after wavering briefly slowly pushed forward but Lauren stepped back.

Lauren ran her fingers through her hair pushing it off her face. "Now that we're safe from that cat, maybe we should get out of here."

When Bo spoke her voice was faintly unsteady, too many emotions and thoughts were rushing through her. "Are you sure you don't want to look around more?"

Lauren shook her head. "This house is depressing. I want to move on from it."

Lauren climbed over some of the mess on the floor and left the house.

Bo watched her but didn't follow her. She quickly made her way up to the attic and grabbed the telescope.

When she walked outside Lauren was standing in the yard, head up looking at the sky, waiting for Bo.

Bo nudged her shoulder and Lauren glanced down at the telescope then back at Bo.

"I thought you might want this," Bo said with a bright smile.

Lauren grinned and nodded. "Thanks." She said softly.

"We should put it in the car before going to the lab," Bo suggested, and Lauren agreed.

They slowly walked back to the car. "Lauren what's your plan for your father's research? I mean if it turns out to be what you think it will be."

Lauren stopped in the middle of the road. "If Dr. Everett and I can put the missing pieces together, you mean?"

Bo nodded. "What will you do with that information?"

Lauren stepped closer to Bo, her eyes locked on her. "We're going to use it to break the system. Change the Fae world for the better, for humans and Fae alike." After she said it, she strolled off in the direction of the car.

Bo stood, for a moment, frowning and confused, she pulled the telescope up and rested it on her shoulder and walked briskly to join Lauren by her side.

XXXX

Nick awoke in a bright room, with no memories of the last few years. He blinked slowly trying to focus his mind on where he was and what he was doing in this room strapped to this bed.

His eyes darted around the room, but he couldn't see anything.

Suddenly, a gray-haired woman appeared in his line of sight.

"You were out longer than last time," She said in a coolly detached voice.

"What am I doing here," He choked out, his throat dry from thirst.

"You're helping me with an experiment." She answered and disappeared from his view.

He stared at the ceiling, and her voice came from a distance. "You don't remember what you did to your sister and all those Fae do you?"

"Lauren?" He asked confused. What would he ever do to his sister? He wondered. "Where's my father?" He demanded.

"Oh, I think when those memories return, you'll be in for a treat." She hovered over him again with a needle in her hand.

"What's that?" He asked nervously trying to shift his body, but the straps prevented that.

She leered at him, for a really long moment. "This is my experiment."

She jammed the needle into him, and a sharp pain coursed through him and he gasped out loudly.

She brushed his hair back. "Sleep now. You're about to be reborn as something brand-new."

Unable to fight the sleep, his eyes closed and darkness followed.

AN

It's going to take me longer than I thought to wrap up this story, so there will be few more chapters than originally planned.

Thanks for reading :)