Bo and Lauren sat on the roof of the yellow Camaro eating dinner and waiting for dusk before going to the lab.
"This reminds me of some of our dates that weren't really dates back when we were together in secret," Bo said wistfully before taking a bite of her sandwich.
Lauren gazed up at the sky and stayed silent.
"There are a lot of things we never got to do together because we couldn't." Bo paused and glanced quickly at the side of Lauren's face. "That makes me sad. I wish we could have done more normal things when we were together."
Lauren shrugged, "I wouldn't change any of it." Suddenly, she turned to Bo, her expression dark. "I have to tell you something and it might…I don't know how you'll feel about it."
Bo straightened up, feeling nervous. She stared at Lauren's eyes they looked very serious and distant. "What is it?" Bo asked timidly.
Lauren put her hands over face and sighed into them. Without looking at Bo she spoke. "Dr. Everett's granddaughter, Katerina, and I…we sort of…more than once…" She finally looked back at Bo. "We slept together."
Bo jumped off the car and stared at Lauren in shock. "Is she your girlfriend?" She asked her voice strained and unsteady.
Lauren shook her head. "No, she lives in California. She visited a few times and well I was lonely and…" She drifted off into silence and fidgeted with the wrapper of her sandwich.
Bo felt like she was punched in the stomach, she couldn't breathe, the sting of Lauren's admission dazed her.
Bo started pacing back and forth in front of her. "So, you wouldn't even see or talk to me once for a year and you sleep with some random girl? I can't believe this." The shock of hearing this finally burst into anger for Bo.
Lauren glared at her, watching her movements. "I was single. You have no right to be upset. You broke up with me!" She said heatedly and crossed her arms over her chest.
Bo's defenses sparked, and she shot back. "You really don't have to keep reminding me of that. I'm perfectly aware of what happened."
For a few seconds, Bo simply stared at Lauren then she took a deep breath. "Do you love her?" She asked through clenched teeth. The question held a distinctive jealous tone.
"What? No, I only love…" She paused and they stared at each other, neither saying anything.
In a low voice, Lauren started again. "I only love you. I'm pathetic because you can break my heart, and I still love you."
Bo stepped closer to her and gently held Lauren's wrist. "Well, I still love you also."
Lauren pulled her arms away and slipped off the car. She backed far away from Bo, tears faintly in her eyes. "Don't." She put her hand up. "I would trust you with my life, in a second but not with my heart. Not anymore."
Bo stopped and made a beseeching face and inched toward her. "I can get that trust back I know it, if you'd only give me the chance."
Lauren stayed out of her reach and answered sorrowfully. "I don't think you can."
Bo's heart, nearly, stopped and a million things raced through her mind. "I'm not going to stop trying until I prove it to you." She held a breath. "We're not broken beyond repair. I know that."
"Bo," Lauren sighed with a frown. "Can we get to the lab? I think it's dark enough."
Bo's chest burned with anxiety, and she stalled, not answering. She didn't want to end this conversation like that.
Lauren silently opened the car door and pulled out her bag. "I have to go change."
Bo stood and watched Lauren walk off, with every step Lauren took further away from her the more her chest tightened.
XXXX
Lauren returned wearing all black, black tight pants, black boots, a black tank top. She pulled a black hat onto her head.
For some reason, Bo's anxiety seemed to disappear seeing Lauren like that, or maybe just being near her again. She grinned at her and wondered, for a second, what Lauren would do if she just pulled her into her arms, right then, and kissed her. Maybe she would pull away but maybe not. One thing Bo knew, above all else, they weren't over, they weren't broken. Although, Lauren's words said one thing, her eyes said another.
Lauren looked down. "Too much? I've never done any spy work before, I didn't know how to dress."
Bo pushed down all thoughts of kissing her and said. "I think it will work."
Bo didn't look back at Lauren as she walked off toward the lab.
Lauren rushed up to join her, and Bo asked, "What are we looking for in there? It would be helpful if I had a clue."
Lauren adjusted her clothes; the pants were really tight and uncomfortable. She was discovering. "Honestly, I don't know. Perhaps another flash drive, I don't know…I was just hoping for any clue."
They looked at the building, with the small lab inside. It wasn't exactly run-down like the rest of the town, but it didn't look like the kind of place a lab would be located.
"Guess we should go around back," Bo whispered and Lauren nodded in agreement.
Bo picked the lock, and the door cracked open, the hair on the back of Bo's neck prickled as she gazed into the darkness.
Lauren cautiously followed behind Bo, she also felt uneasy looking into the darkness. She handed Bo a flashlight and turned hers on, after closing the door. "His lab is in the basement," Lauren said to Bo in a low voice.
They reached the door, at the bottom of the stairs, and Bo kneeled down at the lock. But before she could touch it, the automatic door whooshed opened, and bright lights within the lab turned on.
They hesitated and stared at each other, for a moment. Bo shrugged, and they entered the lab side by side.
Lauren walked over to a wall with switches. She pressed a few, and nothing happened.
Bo slowly inspected the room, being cautious of her surroundings. Ahead of her, she saw metal tables, empty glass cases, a hospital bed, and cabinets.
Lauren's heart raced, being in her father's space, and she sighed. There didn't appear to be much left behind. She reached out her hand and ran it along the surface of a large cabinet her attention focused on watching the dust slide off under her fingers. She closed her eyes and thought about her father, trying to get inside his head, to think like him. Where would he leave something important? She wondered in a loop.
Bo bent down opening various drawers. She turned and watched Lauren. "This place looks pretty cleaned out."
Lauren nodded and sighed. "It was a long shot for sure, but I was hoping…"
Bo stood and stepped closer to her. "Since your family was claimed, so to speak, by the light maybe Trick has whatever information you're looking for," Bo suggested.
Lauren ran her fingers through her hair. "That would make things more difficult."
Bo gently took her hand. "Are you ok? Being in your father's old lab, it must be hard."
"I don't know. It's a big, empty and hollow space that's a pretty fitting symbol for what my family became."
Bo squeezed her hand. "We'll keep looking."
After two hours of searching and finding nothing. Lauren put her hand on Bo's shoulder. "I don't think we'll find anything. We should go." She removed her hand and took an uncertain step back away from Bo, ignoring that part of her that wanted to touch and feel Bo more.
"Are you sure?" Bo asked but knew, based on Lauren's expression, that they were done searching.
Lauren nodded. "I'm sorry for asking you to take me here. It was a waste of time."
"No, you had to know. It wasn't a waste to try." Bo said and turned her attention away from Lauren when she heard a crash of thunder from outside.
Lauren sighed, wishing they left earlier. Now they would have to walk back to the car in the rain.
XXXX
Nick's eyes opened into darkness. A shiver crept through his body at the darkness. His side ached, and his head throbbed.
He blinked out the images plaguing his thoughts, faces with horror-stricken expressions, blood, pain, and oddly enough feelings of happiness and excitement.
He could feel that his arms were still strapped down, so struggling would be futile, if he had the strength to struggle, which he didn't.
He saw a beam of light as the door of his cell opened, and heard footsteps growing louder and louder as the person approached his bed.
"How are you feeling?" Came the same voice from before, but this time with a gentler tone.
He didn't answer.
The gray-haired woman came into his view, her expression blank.
"Who are you?" He asked, almost choking on the words.
"Oh, Nick who I am is irrelevant. Who you are is the question of the day."
"You know who I am." He said, an uneasy feeling creeping into him.
"I don't believe we do." She disappeared from view. "You aren't who you used to be, not anymore."
She jammed a needle into his arm, taking his blood. "But first we need to see if it worked."
"If what worked?" His eyes were focused on the needle in his arm.
"Your transformation. Your rebirth."
She left his side again, leaving her words hanging as she left the cell.
He closed his eyes and hoped sleep would grab him quickly.
XXXXX
They made it back to the motel, both dripping wet. Lauren looked down at her wet clothes. "I'm going to go change."
Bo stopped her. "Can we talk?" She glanced down at her feet. "Talk more about us?"
"What's to talk about? I can't trust you. I'm sorry." She grabbed her bag and rushed off the bathroom.
Bo had a hard time breathing. Her chest was uncomfortably tight. She slipped out of the room for some fresh air. She leaned her head far back letting the rain wash over her face.
Lauren exited the bathroom to find Bo gone. She gently opened the door and saw Bo sitting in the rain, alone. She paused and grabbed a blanket off the bed. She cautiously stepped outside with the blanket over her head.
"Bo, what are you doing out here in the rain?" She asked, looking down at her with a sympathetic expression.
Bo shrugged and stayed quiet.
Lauren took a seat next to Bo and covered her with the blanket, so they were both under it. She tentatively rested her head on Bo's shoulder. They both remained under the cover of the blanket, for several long minutes, both crying silent tears and not looking at each other.
They reentered the room and Lauren threw the wet blanket on the floor and got under the sheets on the bed.
Bo slumped into a chair, still wearing her wet clothes, and closed her eyes.
"Bo, you should change out of those wet clothes," Lauren said softly. "And you can sleep in the bed."
"I'm good here." Bo responded flatly.
Lauren's throat got tight as she studied Bo from a distance. She rose from the bed and went to the bathroom for a towel.
When she returned, she stood in front of Bo and pulled her up by her hands. Without speaking, she stripped Bo's wet clothes off her body, and Bo didn't resist. After her wet clothes were placed at her feet, Lauren gently took the towel over Bo's face and slowly wiped the water droplets away.
Bo closed her eyes tight, feeling the soft towel on her face. Lauren wrapped the towel around Bo's body and held her close. Bo rested her head on Lauren's shoulder and quietly wiped away a few tears.
After Bo was dried off, Lauren held her hand and led her to the bed. Bo complied and slipped under the bed sheets. Lauren joined, and Bo turned her back to her.
Lauren studied Bo's back, mentally struggling with herself. Finally, she scooted closer and whispered into Bo's ear. "I miss you, Bo. I can't tell you how much." She paused briefly to compose herself, to push away the tears. "I can see how sorry you are, truly I can and I should have let you apologize sooner." She held in a deep breath. "I'm sorry for that."
Bo stayed silent, and Lauren rested her head on her shoulder. "Let's work together on rebuilding our friendship and trust. We'll do that first and see what happens."
Bo moved onto her other side so that they were now facing each other. She tenderly held the sides of Lauren's face. "I can make it all up to you, I know I can. We still love each other, what else matters?"
Bo pressed her cheek into Lauren's chest; the warmth of Lauren's skin warmed her cold body. Lauren rubbed her hands over Bo's arm to help warm her. They both closed their eyes, and exhaustion overtook them and they fell into a deep sleep.
XXXX
The next morning, Bo was putting the bags in the car, and Lauren walked out to join her.
"Thank you, so much for everything. It really does mean the world to me, to have you with me, for all this." Lauren said her eyes drifted from Bo to the ground.
"I'm happy you came to me. I'm glad I could help." Bo said.
Lauren looked up and smiled. Within a half second, she glanced behind Bo and her smile slipped away. "Is that cat following us?" She asked Bo, having noticed the cat from yesterday lurking behind Bo.
Bo spun around and caught sight of the cat before it ran off.
Slowly, Bo turned back to Lauren and their eyes met, and a spark of realization hit them both at the same time.
"Shit," Bo darted off in the direction of the cat and Lauren followed behind, trying to keep up.
"Shit. Shit. Shit." Bo repeated looking for the cat and having no luck. She stopped and buried her face in her hands. "How could we have been so stupid?"
"Do you think it's a shifter that works for Evony?" Lauren asked that was her thought, and she wanted to see if Bo had the same idea.
Bo sighed. "Who else?"
They sighed simultaneously and regarded each other for a second.
Lauren spoke first, "We have to go. Get back quickly."
Bo nodded, and they ran to the car as fast as they could.
XXXX
They made it back to the Dark Fae complex in record time.
Lauren delicately stepped out of the car and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Bo, you know I must go back, right?"
Bo shot Lauren a concerned look but pushed it aside and forced a smile. "Whatever you think is best."
Lauren slipped Bo's phone out of her pocket and typed in her number. "This is my new number." She handed her back the phone. "I'll call you as soon as I can and let you know I'm safe."
Bo reached for the phone and gently pressed her body into Lauren, wrapping her arms around her.
Lauren hugged back tightly and kissed Bo's cheek, her lips lingered there longer than was necessary before she stepped back.
"Thank you again," Lauren said and flipped around toward the doors.
Bo waited in her car, for a few minutes, then she stepped out of the car and entered the Dark Fae complex.
XXXX
Evony stared at Bo, as if reading her mind, for ten minutes without saying a word. She abruptly rose to her feet and swaggered behind Bo, gripping the chair behind Bo's head. "What is the unaligned succubus doing in my office I wonder?"
Evony was trying to exert power over Bo, and she inwardly rolled her eyes at the display.
Bo faced forward not turning to look at her. "I'm here to make a deal. For Lauren's safety."
Evony drummed her fingers hard on the chair. "And why would Lauren be in danger? We've treated her fairly for a year, why now?"
Evony appeared to be playing dumb about the spy shifter, so Bo didn't say anything about it.
"Do you want to hear my proposal or not?" Bo snapped back. She hated all the games every Fae she knew liked to play.
Evony stepped back to her desk and sat back down, her eyes never leaving Bo. "Please, continue." She said dryly.
"I will work for you in exchange for Lauren's guarantee safety, in writing of course."
"Hmm." Evony paused and leaned closer to Bo with a smirk with an underlining hint of ridicule. "Not interested, join the Dark and we have a deal."
Bo leaned closer to Evony. "No, I will not join a side, ever. But I could be of great service to you with access to the Light and the Dark."
Evony pushed back into her chair and squinted her eyes at Bo. "Give me your blood oath and we have a deal. Your blood oath to work for me and Lauren will be guaranteed her safety."
Bo stood and held out her hand. "Deal."
Evony firmly took her hand. "You a fool. Love has made you a fool." She pressed a button on her phone and two tall men entered the room swiftly. She whispered in one's ear. With a large uninterested wave of her hand, he rushed off. "He'll be back with all the necessary paperwork."
XXXX
Dr. Everett paced back and forth in her office. A black cat leaped at her feet. Within a second, the cat was gone, and a beautiful black haired, bright green-eyed young woman stood before her.
"Is Lauren safe?" Dr. Everett asked the young woman.
The woman looked at her and walked over to a cabinet and pulled out some clothes and started pulling them on.
The young woman nodded. "Yes. There were no complications, but she didn't find anything of use."
Dr. Everett nodded. "That's probably for the best. I knew nothing would be there, but Lauren insisted on going."
The young woman finished dressing. "She was with the unaligned succubus, Bo. Did you know she would seek her help?"
"Oh, yes I suspected that. Young lovers can never stay apart for long. At least she had someone to keep her safe." She paused. "In addition, to you that is."
The young woman tied her hair back into a tight ponytail. "And your experiment how is he doing."
"I fear results are inconclusive, at this time, further tests will be needed."
They sat in silence for a moment.
Dr. Everett sat at her desk. "Katerina, you better be going and don't let Lauren see you." She said and turned her attention to the work on her desk.
Katerina nodded at her grandmother and slipped out a secret door in the office.
XXXX
Bo was clicking through her phone, in a long hallway of the Dark Fae complex, when Lauren spotted her.
Many Fae were rushing around. Somewhere behind Lauren she heard the clicking of high heels, she hide and watched as Evony strolled up to Bo. They talked and Bo walked off quickly.
Lauren followed her. She sideways glanced into an empty room and pulled Bo into it.
Bo stared at her wide-eyed and Lauren frowned back.
"What are you doing here?" Lauren whispered. "Are you looking for me?"
Bo silently cursed herself for not slipping out the back. She didn't want Lauren to know about the blood oath.
Bo pursed her lips, pausing for time.
Lauren's eyes quickly darted back and forth between Bo's eyes hunting for an answer.
Bo was having a hard time mustering the courage to tell her the truth. She sighed. "I made a deal with the Morrigan for your protection."
Lauren was stunned and couldn't speak.
"I'm going to work with her and she's agreed to keep you safe." Bo continued, avoiding Lauren's eyes. "I gave her my blood oath."
Silence crawled into the room and both were lost in their own thoughts.
"I can't believe you did that for me." Lauren said in a small voice eyes downcast.
"Why?" Bo asked matching her volume. "I would do anything for you."
"But-" Lauren started and stopped.
They stared at each other, neither knowing what to say.
Bo needing to clarify said. "This doesn't mean I think you can't save yourself but we're a team. If your life is in danger, mine should be also."
Frowning, Lauren released an unstable breath. "You're so incredibly frustrating and crazy. I can't believe you did that."
"Lauren, I-" Bo started but Lauren didn't allow her to finish, she pressed her lips hard against Bo cupping the back of her neck, tangling her fingers into her hair. Bo kissed her back, drawing Lauren's body closer to her as they deepened their kiss.