AN

This is part one of the ending. Hopefully, part 2 will be posted soon. The chapter was getting too large, so I decided to break it up.

XXXXX

"No, Bo! Stop! Please." Bo faintly heard Katerina shouting over and over again behind her. She had no intention of stopping or listening. Her skin tingled with an energy that seemed not to belong to her. The rhythm of her heartbeat was foreign to her. An unknown, powerful force spilled through her nerves and veins.

She glanced down at Lauren, her wife, relieved that she'd found her, even in this state. Lauren's eyes fluttered open and in her light brown eyes Bo could read her unspoken thoughts, that's how it worked with them, they didn't need words. Their connection was deeper than that. She turned away from Lauren's burnt flesh, and pleading eyes, she was unable to bear the pain she saw in them.

She tightened her grip on her wife as she carried her through the burnt building, all that remained now was smoke, ash, dust, the fire was gone. It had done its damage quick and was gone just as quickly.

A crowd-light Fae, dark Fae, and humans alike-stood unmoving outside the building, waiting to see the survivors leave the compound. In a cloud of dust and smoke, Bo emerged from the building with Lauren in her arms, and Katerina trailing behind her. The crowd was perfect for Bo, she needed their chi, and she would take it all if she needed to, to save Lauren, her love, she'd drain them all without a second thought. Her mind seemed not to be her own, with her single-minded focus on Lauren and nothing else. Her head swam with memories of Lauren, of images, thoughts, feelings, everything inside her faded until there was nothing but her love for the woman in her arms.

She fell to her knees and gently laid Lauren on the ground. She rose to her feet slowly and stared at the motionless crowd in front of her. The ground beneath them shook, as her eyes turned blue, the wind stirred in a forceful gush.

Protectively, Katerina reached for Lauren, wrapping her arms around her body, her eyes wide on Bo's towering stance. She watched as Bo pulled a stream of chi from everyone around them. Her skin glowed, it was faint at first, then the intensity grew until she was burning bright as if a raging inferno from within her was burning through her skin.

Katerina's mouth fell open as she glanced down. Suddenly, Lauren's skin glowed delicately like an apparition, as a stream of chi entered her mouth, and the sight captivated Katerina.

Lauren felt the chi enter her as if Bo was pushing her power, her strength into her, fusing it with her own strength. Her entire body was numb from the burns that covered her skin, but as Bo's power swelled within her, she felt the tingling sensations of her flesh growing back. It burned as if she was on fire again. She gasped out, but more chi entered her body quickly. She felt like she was dying, and tears fell from her eyes. And then her eyes locked on Bo's burning blue eyes. She heard Bo's soft voice, "You can't go, Lauren. I need you."

Serenity filled her mind, and she smiled back at Bo, her eyes flicked shut. The pain inside her subsided and everything went black.

XXXX

Nick hurried away from the burning building. Exhilaration rushed through him, as he smelled their bodies burning. He'd done it. He'd gotten his revenge. He shifted his eyes over the landscape looking for his escape.

He halted when he saw the gray-haired woman in front of him, staring at him. He was angry, furious with this Dr. Everett; she needed die like the others for what she'd done to him. She'd used him, manipulated him, and tortured him.

He slammed his fist against the side of his body, ignoring the fact that he was naked, after shifting he didn't have his clothes. He would kill this doctor, and then he'd be free to finish all his work with the last two. His sister and her lover, they were next of course. Yes, his memories returned, and he remembered their wickedness, and he would finish them, just like Evony…just like Trick…just like this Doctor.

But before he could go to his sister, he had to stop this Dr. Everett with her smug smile and arrogant gaze.

He tried to stomp down his rage. He needed a clear head. He had to keep his mind calculating.

He lumbered forward, his body on alert, his eyes locked on her. She laughed at him. He stopped and gaped at her, he hated it when those monsters laughed at him, he was no joke, hadn't he just proved that?

"Don't make this more difficult Nick. This is the end of the line for you." Dr. Everett called out at him. "I knew you'd be too cowardly to self-destruct."

"You're here to kill me?" He snarled back. "I did your dirty work." He gestured to the burning building behind him. "Their blood is on your hands."

"Nice try, Nick." She said calmly. "I do not feel any guilt over what we did. I may have killed many Fae today, but I did that for a higher purpose. To save lives, to push change. What you did was only for yourself. And I will not let you live."

He walked purposely toward her. He was stronger than this old Fae. She could not defeat him, not him.

"The misconception about the Fae, through their own egotism, is that we are immortal." She pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at Nick's body. "We're not."

A barrage of gunshots blasted from the gun, and Nick fell heavy onto the ground, dead before he even hit the ground.

XXXX

Light fingers brushed Lauren's face, moving slowly over her cheeks and forehead. The touch was soft, gentle, soothing.

She sighed into the caress and kept her eyes closed and felt warm breath on her ear followed by a kiss on her neck. With great effort she finally opened her eyes, the light in the room was soft. It didn't take her eyes long to adjust, she turned her head and found herself staring into Bo's familiar deep, caring brown eyes. Her heart fluttered, as it always did, and she was lost, for a moment, in the gaze.

Bo brushed her lips over her mouth and drew back. She reached for a glass of water that sat beside the bed. She lifted her chin and brought the cold water to her lips. Lauren sipped slowly, her eyes still locked on Bo's eyes.

"Good," Bo whispered and kissed the side of her mouth. "Better, my love?" Bo watched her closely, and Lauren nodded, her throat was too sore to speak.

Bo bent down and rested the side of her face against Lauren's shoulder. "You have to stop doing this. How many times do I have to watch you die?" Tears from Bo's eyes ran down her skin. Lauren answered simply by rubbing her fingers gradually down Bo's back. "Now that you're awake I'm going to sleep." She closed her eyes against Lauren's skin and let her body relax, for the first time in hours, into the bed and Lauren.

Lauren trailed her thumb down the chain around Bo's neck, tears burning her eyes before she also settled into a deep sleep.

XXXX

It took several days until Lauren was healed enough to talk about the attack. She composed herself to ask the questions that she had avoided during her recovery. Bo gave her a brief recap of the events.

"They're dead. Trick and Evony." Bo answered simply after Lauren asked what happened to them. "Someone, no one knows who, dropped a bomb into Trick's office and they were killed instantly in the blast."

An anxious knot lurched in Lauren's stomach. "What about the formula, did it get sent out?"

"No," Bo gave a breathy laugh. "Kenzi lost her nerve and didn't send it. She called Dyson to feel out the situation when she didn't hear from us, and he told her about the bomb."

With signs of distress over Lauren's face, Bo ran her fingers over her cheek and scooted closer to her. Even though Lauren was healing and safe now, naturally some troubled part of her worried about Lauren's well-being. She knew that protective part of her would never go away, her urge to keep Lauren safe was too strong.

Lauren met Bo's eyes for a long moment as if trying to read her mind. She took a deep breath and asked, "So what's happening now with no leadership?"

"Dr. Everett is the new Morrigan and the Light Fae are without a leader." Bo was conflicted about Dr. Everett's new position, fearing she might end up the same as Trick and Evony.

That was not what Lauren expected to hear, she jerked upward, standing quickly. "What?"

Bo put her hands on Lauren's shoulders and eased her back down on the bed. "Relax, Lauren. Dr. Everett seems to want change. She's called a meeting with all the Light and Dark elders." She explained to Lauren, but also saying the words to reassure herself. Her eyes danced over Lauren's confused face. "She wants us there to represent a human voice for the discussion."

It took a long moment for Lauren to understand what Bo was saying. "How do we know it isn't a trap, that she wants change?"

Bo took Lauren's hand and kissed the top of it. "Her granddaughter, Katerina saved you. We owe them, at least, the chance to hear them out."

"You saved me." Lauren moved her hand over the top of Bo's hand.

Bo smiled sadly. "I wouldn't have been able to save you if she didn't found you first. You really don't remember?"

Lauren shook her head, and she wondered how she could have forgotten what happened, such a traumatic event. She supposed it was her minds way of protecting her from the pain.

"She was there at the compound. She found you badly burned and pulled you to safety." Bo lowered her voice and eyes. Her stomach ached at the memories of Lauren's burned face and body. She assumed it would take a while for those images to fade into the background of her mind.

"Was she hurt?" Lauren asked she thought it was farfetched that Katerina would have been safe from the blast. That particular part of the story caught her attention the most.

"A little but maybe her Fae powers protected her?"

"Sounds like she had advanced warning of the bomb," Lauren said bluntly.

"It's possible." Bo raised her eyebrows. "But she did save several Fae, and you, that were badly hurt." She added when a skeptical expression crossed Lauren's features.

Lauren was struggling to understand everything, process it all. She knew Katerina and she didn't seem the type to go along with something like this. "All this makes me uneasy."

"I don't know all the ugly details. If she did know about it, maybe she changed her mind and wanted to help. And all I know is that she saved you. That's enough for me."

"We need answers." Lauren brushed her fingers through her short blonde hair, most of her hair made been burned away in the fire, and she was self-conscious about it. She touched it absentmindedly, all the time, during her recovery.

Bo smiled and paused to consider. She knew Lauren's immediate concern was figuring out what happened, but her immediate concern was Lauren and nothing else. "I agree. But you need to rest. I'll go talk to her."

Bo eased Lauren down. Her mouth inched closer to Lauren's lips. When their lips touched, Bo's heart raced, its beat matching the energy around them. Lauren tangled her fingers in Bo's hair, telling her she wanted more. Bo hesitated briefly, concerned about Lauren's health. When Lauren squeezed her tighter urging for more, Bo's tongue slipped inside her mouth, making them both tremble at the caress.

Emotions and desire threatened to overwhelm Bo, her body shaking, she drew back ending the kiss. She ran her fingers through Lauren's hair. "I like your short hair it's sexy."

Lauren frowned and veered her eyes down. Bo lifted her chin to look into her eyes, a gesture that sent a flutter through Lauren's stomach. "I'm serious. You're as beautiful as ever."

"You always know how it make a girl feel good about herself," Lauren said, in a shaky breath.

Bo kissed her forehead, keeping her lips there for a long moment. It was a small thing to say, no effort at all, really it was the truth, and it warmed her heart to see that it meant so much to Lauren to hear it. "I'm just honest about what I see, and you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Lauren cupped her face. "We'll have to agree to disagree on that because you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Bo leaned in and kissed Lauren again, softly and tenderly, silencing the world around them, and Lauren wondered how such a simple embrace could be so heartbreakingly lovely and comforting.

XXXX

Lauren's words about the attack played over and over in Bo's mind. And couldn't shake them off, so she decided to go talk to Dr. Everett as soon as possible, for answers.

Bo crept silently through the Dark Fae complex. As she walked by various Fae, she heard them whispering. She ignored their mutterings and gapes and walked with confidence. She knew it was about what happened during the fire, if they were afraid of her, she didn't care, it was a good thing, as far as she was concerned. Let them fear her.

Bo sat in the Morrigan's office and waited for Dr. Everett. She slowly sipped the water they offered her and studied the office. Dr. Everett had thrown out all of Evony's belongings and replaced it with her own. She noted that the office felt warmer, more comfortable, less formal. She found her mind wandering back to the events of the bombing, but quickly blinked away the thoughts. It was too hard to think about the way Lauren looked that day; her body trembled at the images.

Bo heard a light tapping on the door, and Katerina entered the office quickly. "How's Lauren?" She whispered, taking a seat next to Bo.

"Better." Bo held her eyes levelly.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. It took a moment for Bo to decide what to say. "Thank you, for what you did for Lauren." She kept her eyes down, disappointed in herself for not being by Lauren's side when the bomb went off.

"Lauren's a friend, of course, I'd save her."

Bo nodded and played with her fingers. "We appreciate what you did and everything, but we were sort of wondering if you knew about the bomb in advance."

Katerina stiffened, a small bitter smile crossing her lips. "It's a complicated situation."

After a few more moments of awkward silence, Bo said, "That sounds like a yes."

"I did know," Katerina answered honestly. "Please believe I didn't know Lauren or you would be there. When I found out Lauren was at the compound, I rushed over. I was too late, but I was able to get into the building and find her."

"So that means Dr. Everett was behind it." Bo declared through a tight jaw and fierce eyes.

"But for a greater good, for change." Katerina's tone turned all-business, almost robotic.

Bo shook her head in frustration. "There's always another way. She didn't have to do this."

Katerina sighed and grew hesitant about the conversation. "She believed it was the only way to force change. Nothing is simple in the Fae world. And sometimes it takes a dramatic event to force things."

Scowling, Bo leaned closer to Katerina. "Well, an innocent person was hurt for this. Therefore, I don't think it was worth it."

There were another few seconds of silence. "Is one life more important than many lives?"

"Yes. If that life is my wife, then yes, absolutely." Bo answered defensively.

"My grandmother would say that's selfish and narrow-minded," Katerina said, suddenly turning more antagonistic.

Sensing the shift in Katerina's tone, Bo regarded her furiously, holding her hand up as a warning that Katerina was crossing a line. "Your grandmother can piss off then, because Lauren is important to me, and I wouldn't sacrifice her for any cause."

Katerina gave her a flat, emotionless expression. "My grandmother would say that makes you weak."

Bo scoffed. "Can you think for yourself or do you simply spout out your grandmother's rhetoric? Take it from me, families don't know everything, it's better to make up your own mind about something then blindly follow them."

Katerina gave a small shrug and brushed her black hair back. "Maybe you're right. I do feel uneasy about all the lives that were lost, and if Lauren had died, I'd never forgive myself."

"If Lauren had died, I would've killed you and your grandmother with my bare hands. Believe that." Bo's expression darkened and her eyes stared at Katerina with intensity.

"I care about Lauren and while you were away, I looked after her." Katerina's tone softened her voice with a hint of regret.

"Lauren can take care of herself." Bo smiled inwardly, "She likes to remind me of that."

"Bo, I am sorry about what happened to Lauren, truly." Katerina's posture shifted, and Bo caught a glimmer of tears in her eyes when their eyes met.

"I don't need you to be sorry. I need you to think for yourself."

Katerina's lips tightened, and she made no further arguments, she merely gave Bo a short nod of understanding.

Dr. Everett entered the room. She gave Katerina a pointed looked. She rose automatically and gave Bo a small smile and nod and exited the room, without a word.

Bo watched as Dr. Everett took her place behind the desk. Her expression was hard to read, and Bo wondered if she hadn't perfected her fronts over her long life. Never letting those around her know the true persona that laid underneath.

There were a few forced attempts at small talk before Bo fell silent and crossed her arms.

Dr. Everett studied Bo's face with a critical eye before she cleared her throat. "What can I do for you?"

"Funny enough, I have all the answers I was looking for." Bo said sharply.

"Is that right?" She stared at Bo, and lines of age, and maybe stress marked her face.

Bo nodded.

"Whatever you think about my actions, I did what I did, for a greater purpose. And I am committed to change." She admitted, her tone remarkably flat.

Bo paused and tried to process her words, this proclamation sent her mind into a fit of revulsion. "No one ever thinks they're the villain in their own story. Humans and Fae alike, have a remarkable ability to justify anything. Even murder."

"You think I'm a murderer?" She asked abruptly. She gazed at Bo with eyes that were frightening but calm, an odd mix, Bo thought.

"Um, yeah."

"There are limitations with what one can accomplish through nonviolence. Do you believe Trick or Evony would have ever allowed the Fae to change, to eliminate the old systems, for something new?" As she spoke as leaned closer to Bo, resting her elbows on the desk, watching for Bo's reaction.

Bo sank back into her chair to put more distance between them. "No. But also believe you can force change without murdering innocent Fae, or humans."

"That's a child's view of the world, very naïve and incorrect." She stated, leaning back again and clasping her fingers together, eyes continuing to study Bo.

"I disagree."

"Would you take an innocent's life to save Lauren's life?"

Bo tried not to grimace at the question, and she didn't answer. Dr. Everett's words implied that Bo would murder an innocent person for Lauren, and honestly she wasn't sure.

Dr. Everett's lips twitched at Bo's silence. "See, we're not so different."

"You're wrong." Bo declared emphatically, but she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I'm your ally here, Bo. You will see at our meeting with the elders, I want the Fae to move into the future shedding the old ways. You can trust me."

"I only trust myself, Lauren and Kenzi, no one else," Bo said casually, but her firm expression contradicted her tone.

"I didn't do any of this because I'm cruel, not because of some selfish desire. It's because I'm old, I've seen too much. I'm tired, and I want the Fae to change their ways." Dr. Everett's voice turned sweet, almost motherly.

Part of Bo knew she should refuse to work with Dr. Everett, it seemed like madness, after what she did and she didn't trust her. But another part of her worried that maybe this was their only opportunity to push for real change in the Fae world. She was conflicted to say the least.

They made arrangements for Bo and Lauren to return to the complex to attend the summit with the elders the following day. And Bo started off to her apartment to spend a few peaceful moments with her wife before they had to face the elders. Her mind buzzed with thoughts about what changes the meeting would bring, what it would mean, if anything. She forced down her thoughts with a renewed vigor to get home quickly to her wife.

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AN

Sorry I broke up the ending but it's easier to manage this way. I'll try to post part 2 soon.