Disclaimer: Lost Girl belongs to Showcase or SYFY and I am only playing in their universe.
A/N: Once again thanks to everyone who is stopping by to check out the story.
"The bus was really a very convenient way to travel around the country." thought Lauren who had just purchased several long ride tickets with about half of her money. The majority of the money she had taken from Taft wouldn't be touched for at least a year, in fear that it might be somehow used to track her. Lauren had reintroduced paranoia into her thinking not as a bad thing but more as a survival technique. She had used this particular state of mind once before as a way to stay alive but she was a lot younger then and didn't feel the effects it had on her system as badly. Then again in a war zone one's adrenaline was pumping pretty good, the body didn't notice a whole hell of a lot. Lauren never thought she would be in a day in day out fight for her life ever again.
This marked two weeks she had been on the run from the disaster her life had become, and as she settled into the worn but comfortable seat of the bus her body relaxed. The doctor had been in a frenzy for the last couple of weeks, running from place to place. Jumping at every shadow and strange sound, she had barely taken time to eat or sleep. Three times she had run into bounty hunters while trying to hide out in the city, hopelessly attempting to blend in. Three times she had just narrowly escaped the hunters' savage attacks. Sadly her knowledge of fae did come in handy when she had defended her life by taking theirs. They had never left her a choice. It was always a kill or be killed situation. Finally, with the realization that she couldn't keep running on impulse, her rational side took over and she forced herself to settle down and make some sort of long term plan of survival.
Using this time to think had led the good doctor to the bus. Lauren was now on a fact finding mission. She needed to scout the country to find the best place to hide out and make a new start. The busses took the major interstates and let her do her research from the comfort of an air conditioned seat. Most of her fellow bus riders were happy to sit down say a quick hello and then go into the little electronic worlds of their phones or tablets, hiding there until their destination was met and not bothering anyone along the way. Others wanted to talk so Lauren pumped them for all the information she could get about where they lived and what it was like. If she heard of a good place she would change her ticket at the stop and head out in that direction. She knew what to look for in most fae and was fairly sure that she had not been spotted getting on the bus but it would be just a matter of time before her luck ran out. She also figured the fae that wanted her dead would not be traveling by bus.
It was on her return trip across the country, some three weeks later, when fate stepped in. The bus pulled into a small desert town in the middle of nowhere. Okay it wasn't the middle of nowhere but it was really close. The bus cleared for a forty minute rest stop and a change of driver. Learning quickly that bus stops offered all sorts of interesting amenities, Lauren grabbed her backpack followed her fellow group of travelers inside. Grabbing a burger and fries, "Hell," she thought as she eyed her meal, she must have gained five to ten pounds eating this junk, but it didn't stop her from taking the next bite. She plugged in her phone and laptop to charge, purchased all the newspapers she could and settled in for a quick check in with the world.
Careful how she did her on-line searching as to not stand out to those watching the traffic on specific web sites. Lauren mixed in her tapping of the internet's legitimate fae news sites with hoaxes, anime, and fantasy gaming she hoped she covered her tracks as just a web surfer with an interest in other worldly topics. She groaned as there was nothing that she didn't know on any of the sites. Most of the blogs reported that the man that had been murdering the fae was dead, some reported that Lauren was wanted in connection to him. Evidentially Hale had withstood some type of rebellion and was still Ash of the light fae. There were other tid-bits of fae society but nothing of any consequence. She opened a few more anime sites just for good measure and then closed up.
She grabbed her phone and held it in her hand. Lauren had turned off the Wi-Fi option long ago and the GPS option was disabled. She was in no danger of outing herself with the tracking on her phone. She took a breath as she turned it on then ran the pictures quickly pausing here and there to remember. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" she asked then turned the phone off with the images of Bo and her other friends fresh in her mind. She lowered her head and fought off the tears that came with the loneliness she felt.
"You okay there Miss?" asked a rather disheveled old man with a cane. Lauren jumped at the voice, and then shot him a hard look, "Easy there." said the gentleman wide eyed at her reaction. "Just asking, not attacking. Hells bells, young ones these days, no manners to speak of, in my day…." the man was grumbling to himself as he banged his cane in a steady rhythm as he sped off in a bent up old man kind of way.
"Way to go Lauren," sighed the doctor. "You just offended an old man trying to being kind to you." She shook her head and took another bite. "Damn," she thought as she fought to swallow. Placing the final bite of her burger in her mouth she stuffed her belongings back into her bag and went to find the old guy and make her apologies. The man was nowhere to be found. She frowned, it didn't set right with her that he went away mad but she couldn't do anything about it now.
There was the tone across the intercom of the bus stop to let customers know that a bus was loading. Half the place took a look outside or checked watches to see if it was their time to load up for the rest of their ride. Lauren saw her bus start up and changed direction from her search of the old man to join the rest of the group she was riding with. Everyone was on board and the bus moved out. The new driver was introducing himself and cracking a few bad driving jokes that were in really bad taste but well meant as they pull on to the truck route to hit the Interstate.
Lauren was staring out the window as they moved out of town when a pickup went roaring by. The little old man from the bus stop was at the wheel grinning like a fool. A laugh escaped the doctor's lips as she questioned a man of his age driving but he seemed to be doing fine as the vehicle moved right on down the road. It was late and Lauren had just closed her eyes as the driver's voice came on over the speakers. "Looks like we have a bit of a rural traffic jam here and maybe a small fender bender," any sleepiness that Lauren had been feeling left. The bus rolled to a stop.
Looking out the window she saw a herd of goats on the road. "Goats?" she said aloud. Another man near her said, "Yea they are used for clearing brush in this area and for knocking back weeds. They are never out at night, this group must have gotten loose." Then Lauren saw the pickup that was driven by the older man. It was off in a ditch to the side. The old guy was hopping around, waving his cane and yelling at the herd of hooved offenders. Lauren stood up, grabbing her bag and moved to the front of the bus.
"I'm a doctor and I need to check on that man." she told the driver. He gave her a look that showed his doubt of her claim. Lauren did not really look like her normal kept up self. With a heavy sigh she said impatiently, "Really I am. I have a duty to check this guy."
"All right," the driver opened the door. "I'll move the goats along, you check out the old guy."
Lauren could hear the old fellow's anger even if she could not make out all of his words, "Mangy SOBs, no good can eaters, hairy, smelly upstarts… right in the middle of the road, barnyard idiots….no common sense to speak of…" Lauren was trying not to laugh. His tone of voice was not unlike what he had used when she had offended him at the bus stop.
When the old guy stopped to take a breath the doctor broke in, "They don't have any better manners than me." This time it was the old guy's turn to jump and shoot evil looks. There was a gash across the man's cheek but nothing too bad. "And it's my turn to ask if you are okay." Lauren continued as she stepped forward, reaching out and turning his head carefully to the side to check out the wound.
"Ahh..." he struggled for the word, settling on one he started again, "Missy do I look okay to you? I am madder than hell at a herd of goats for wrecking my truck and they don't even give a damn." Pulling back he looked her straight in the eye. It was as clear and uncomplicated a look as she had seen in years. This man would tell you the truth whether you wanted to hear it or not. "How totally refreshing," thought Lauren and smiled. He pulled a bandanna from his pocket and wiped his face off and dabbed at the small cut.
"Okay, so we call you good. I would be more worried if you and the goats were arguing about who was at fault." She smiled and the old guy smiled back. "Your cheek needs some attention." She motioned and reached for him again. The old guy brushed a hand over his face and then made a "bahing" noise not so unlike the goats on the road and made a "this is nothing gesture" so Lauren halted her motion.
"Lady," yelled the driver. "We all good? I can call it in but it would be nice if we could get a move on. Time is money you know." Lauren waved to the driver and turned back to the old man.
"I will have the driver call it in, help shouldn't be far off. Take care of that cut okay." She said. "Oh, and I was sorry I offended you earlier sir. It wasn't my intent, just caught up in my own business lately and meant you no disrespect." Turning she started back towards the bus. Maybe it was her tone or use of the word sir but the old man's eyes and mannerisms softened as he watched the woman walk away from him.
"You're leaving me here?" said the old man incredulously. "I'm hurt and my truck is wrecked and you are just going to leave me here?"
Lauren turned and gaped at the man, "You said you were fine and he will call for help…"
"I'm an old man. I could die…" he stammered.
Lauren rolled her eyes, "No sir, you are not going to die."
"Couldn't I? Like your some type of expert on these things." scoffed the man.
She was ready to proclaim her experience but stopped. Her actions at Taft's compound and the death of the bounty hunters had stripped her right to use the title of doctor. Faltering she settled on, "I have training."
"Oh really! Training huh." The man's eyes flared at her almost as if he caught her in the lie. "Great, so you flunked out of med-school and are diagnosing me as fine. I'm a dead man. Go on back to your bus and your trip. I'll just wait out the end in my demolished truck." The man turned and stumbled towards his truck. Lauren could have sworn he was putting an act on but why? She looked for signs of fae but there just weren't any. It was just something about his mannerisms that had her thinking of the past.
"Lady, what's it going to be? Call it in or is he okay?" the driver yelled. Lauren turned to answer and she saw the faces of her fellow riders looking out now. Most were concerned but they all wanted to get moving. She knew this was going to cause her problems but she couldn't bring herself to leave the man.
"Go on, I will get help for him. I can work something out with my ticket at the bus stop." Lauren said. The driver held out a clipboard. Lauren quickly walked over and signed the waiver saying she had left the vehicle on her own and then watched as the bus moved off. She turned to the old man and found him sitting in the bed of his truck waiting for her with a please look on his face. It was almost as if she had passed a test he had set for her. As she moved closer, he tossed her the keys.
"Damage isn't so terrible, thought the side was totally bashed in but it's not so bad. See if the thing fires up." The old man almost twinkled as he worked his way to the passenger side. Lauren ground her teeth together as the once "I'm dying" man had turned into a "Goodie, we're going for a ride" man, but she did as he asked. The engine turned over after a bit of gentle persuasion and she was able to back it onto the road. "Damn straight. Fine automobile this is. She won't be done in by some large hairy hooved rats." One of the wayward goats bleated loudly as if offended. He smiled and patted the dash with affection, "Drive down the road and hang a left at the first turn you come to."
Lauren shook her head and then pulled out leaving the bleats of the goats behind them. They drove to the turn off. It was the corner of nothing and nobody. Lauren gave the man a doubtful look. He just barked another order, "Turn here, go down fifteen miles and we will be there." Lauren hesitated, "Damn…girl…" he said "drive and put your foot into it. I'm old and I need to get home to bed. I've been in a car wreck for heaven's sake."
Smiling, it hit Lauren finally as she saw the old man fight to say girl and not soldier. He had to be old military. It had been a long time since she had heard that tone. "Yes sir." She responded and the man nodded curtly with that pleased look on his face as if he had just verified something he had suspected. The trip was exactly fifteen miles as the man had said, Lauren had never doubted that it would be. What the truck drove up to was a surprise. The rundown building had a neon open sign flashing haphazardly in the window and a series of local club symbols down the side of the building, the only one that was the least bit legible was an old V.F.W. sign. "Well," thought Lauren, "at least I qualify to go in and get a drink."
Pulling the truck in, Lauren parked and turned to the man. He spoke up before she could say anything. "Don't just sit there…. Help an old man out." Lauren shot the man a look and he was a bit taken back, "um... I meant I could use some help here. If you would…" his change in attitude was welcome and Lauren opened her door and move to help with his door. To her surprise the side of the truck was pretty banged up, Lauren had to put some work into opening the door. She now felt she might need to check the old guy out more thoroughly than she had before. She held out a hand and was surprised to find he handed her his cane. With a few quick motions he was out and taking the cane from her. "Thanks," he said and began to wander towards the door, "I owe you drinks at least, come on."
She grabbed her bag from the back of the truck and carried it towards the dilapidated old building. The old man held the door for her and the two entered the space. Lauren stopped and took in the interior of the establishment. There were several tables and a bar to the side. An old time jukebox played softly in the corner. The bar was lined with people but the tables were mostly empty. Overall the place was a dump, maybe she didn't really want to have a drink after all. The smell of alcohol, popcorn and spicy food was overwhelming. "You know I think I just need to call a cab, and head back to the…"
"A cab," snorted the old man, "Just where do you think you are, New York City."
"Stand down Colonel," said a soft female voice, heavy on the Indian accent, Indian as in India not Native American. "You're late and if I'm not mistaken this young lady has just done you a great favor getting you here before I became overly concerned." Locating the speaker seated only a few feet away from her, the woman sat at the only clean looking spot in the whole place. The older woman was lovely with the kindest eyes the doctor had ever seen. Lauren smiled a hello and thank you in her direction. "Miss Lila," the old man growled and looked a bit embarrassed. The older woman gently placed a hand on the man's chin and turned his head to see the cut. He pulled his head back and took the hand at his face and gave it a reassuring pat. Turning to Lauren, he mumbled, "My apologies for snapping..." Holding his gaze he quickly regained his swagger. "Are you going to tell me your rank or are you going to keep me guessing?"
Lauren smiled, "I was special forces, sir. Civilian assist, medical and science specialist. No rank given." The old man looked horrified. Lauren didn't know if she should feel offended or what by the man reaction.
"Missy did you see action? Wait don't answer that I can tell you did. They didn't give you a rank. That is downright…" the man sputtered in indignation, "Damn it, this new military and it's stupid ideas." After a quick breath he yelled, "BOYS FRONT AND CENTER." The man voice held such command Lauren took a step back. The whole place jumped at the thundering sound. There was a soft chuckling from the table as Lila was watching with a glint in her eye.
There was a banging and scuffling sound from the kitchen as the rickety old door opened; the boys came out on the double. Boys was a term used loosely. This was evidentially a senior citizen hang out. The Colonel had them all beat in age but the others couldn't be far behind. "What the hell are you shouting about Colonel? We have the supper special about ready to go." Yelled the youngest of the group but the trio stopped moving at the sight of the new comer. They all turned and looked at Lila who held her hands up and then turned back to Lauren and the Colonel.
"Boys of the crew and fellow soldiers" said the old man loud enough to draw the attention of the whole crowd, bar and all, "We have a problem." Lauren watched as the men tensed and started to give her more serious looks that mere curiosity. The group at the bar turned and moved off their stools to stand looking in their direction. "Pissed off old people are scary." thought Lauren. Colonel cleared his voice and said, "Once again this new military of ours has done an injustice to one of its own." The entire place groaned as one. Two or three dropped their head to their chest while others just crossed their arms in front of their bodies. A few of the people at the bar turned to take a seat. "As you were," snapped the old man and the serious feel of the place was back in a heartbeat. Lila began chuckling again. Colonel smiled, "I think that it is a travesty that this solider was not given a rank as reward for her service. As ranking officer…"
"Long retired…"said one of the men who had arrived from the kitchen under his breath. Colonel growled and shot him a look that the other man could not hold.
"As ranking officer at this post I call attention." Everyone snapped to, Lauren was taken back but quickly stood at attention. "For service to your branch and country as a medic/ science person I promote you to the rank of …." the old man looked her over. "First Lieutenant, congratulations and well deserved." The group clapped a quick round of applause, there were various yells that were associated with the different branches of the service and then the group just at waited at attention. Colonel was smiling broadly, "Back to your regular duties." The group of men and women moved back to their seats at the bar and location in the kitchen. Lauren looked around in a bit of a daze but a little pleased none the less, "Lew," which now seemed to be Lauren's new name, "Lew, for you, drinks are on the house." He slapped her back and shuffled off.
Lauren was making her way to an empty table. There was a banging from the kitchen and a huge commotion and the boys came out in a jumble of arms and legs yelling. "Soups on." As two men worked a large pot of something with a strong spicy smell out to a long table another fellow followed quickly with a huge basket of bread. "Mess is on. Line up already." A taller well build man yelled again. There was a less than an enthusiastic race to the food table, in fact there was no race at all. The men looked down a bit put out. Lauren, after being treated so well by the group, stood, walked over and grabbed a bowl.
The men smiled as she ladled up a bowl full and grabbed some bread. From the smell she figured she would need something to kill the fire. She picked up a beer. Moving back to her table she could feel the eyes on her as she took her first taste of the mystery food. It was almost too spicy to swallow. She could have sworn some people around her were exchanging money as if they had bet on something. Lauren had eaten a bunch of strange stuff with the fae so she just chalked this up to an experiment in pain and took another bite. With a mumble of voices, the evening carried on with Lauren now just along for the ride.
A glass of some type of chilled white wine appeared before Lauren as she struggled to finish up the last spoonful of liquid fire in front of her. She grabbed for it, as her beer had long since been emptied. Lila smiled down and motioned to the chair across from Lauren. Happy to have the company and the pain relief, Lauren welcomed Lila to her table. The wine disappeared in two rather hasty gulps. Lauren looked longingly at the glass. A bottle was set on the table with a gentle thump. The two women smiled at one another. "Lew, Reinforcements have arrived." said the older woman, Lauren let out a relieved sigh and poured another glass. Holding the bottle out the older woman smiled and said, "I have had my glass for the night. I really shouldn't be drinking anything but I figure one glass on a night out can be forgiven at my age."
The women passed the time chatting about small things, staying mainly around the excruciatingly hot meal Lauren had just consumed. "You know," Lauren poured the remains of the wine bottle into her glass. "All that chili or stew or soup…." The woman laughed and decided on stew. "All that stew needed was a touch of lime and some heavy carbs of some type and it would have been pretty tasty." Lila raised an eyebrow and thought about the additions to the crew's supper special stew and had to agree. Lauren laughed, "It's has to do with the acid in the lime and how it would work with the peppers…." The scientific explanation of why lime tasted so good with peppers on a chemical level was long and mind numbing. It was the excitement in which Lauren gave the explanation that caused Lila to grin, she liked this woman. It was obvious she hadn't been able to just relax and talk to anyone in some time the way she was going on.
The conversation drifted around to Lila's role in this whole scene. Lila smiled a kind smile, "What we do for love, No." she put a mock French twist on her statement and Lauren grinned, "The Colonel and I are married." The good doctor raised an eyebrow. Lila waved a hand out, "Yes, yes, no accounting for taste." The older woman giggled and then stole a glance at her husband holding court by the pool table. As if sensing her gaze upon him he turned and shot her his best roguish look and winked. The show of emotion was sweet to see and caused a flash of difficult memories to surface in Lauren's mind. She quickly dismissed them.
"We are the head of the local community. This is an unincorporated area so anyone in the surrounding forty miles has no type of town like amenities, city cops, town hall, that type of thing. If there is a problem, we would normally have to wait for the county to get to the issue. That requires patience and as mainly a group of older folks, or senior citizens, that just doesn't work so well. So an informal community was formed and we settle things ourselves. Have for many years, it just works for us." said Lila, Lauren was thinking how nice it would be to live in a place where problems were handled that easily. Lila watched Lauren's eyes blink and noticed how tired the other woman was. Not just from the day's excitement but from what life had been throwing at her new friend. The girl had a story to tell and Lila was in need of a challenge.
"I think you need to stay here for at least tonight Lew." Lila said and Lauren hesitated. "You have had to kill the taste of the stew with far too much alcohol to be allowed out and about. Better safe than sorry they say." Lauren started to protest. Even in her semi inebriated state her defenses were up. Lila gave her such a mothering look that Lauren's mouth automatically snapped shut. "Young lady, you pulled my husband from a car wreck and drove him to find me. You respectfully stood by as the crew and the others here at the bar preformed a ceremony that might have brought up bad memories, they forget war and things are not always remembered fondly. Then you consumed food so hot it would be lethal to some palates just so you did not offend my friends. The least I can offer is a safe place to stay."
Lauren did not miss the emphasis on the word safe. "Come on," said the woman as she stood up and held out her hand. Lauren took it. With every bit of her concentration, background knowledge and fae experience, she looked for the trap. Where was the essence of otherworldly nature that would show fae behind all this? There was nothing that raised any alarm in Lauren. Lila paused letting the doctor take her time making a decision. When the pretty brown eyes showed a drop in tension, Lila motioned to Lauren's bag and gave her friend time to pick it up then headed for the door. Saying some quick words to the remaining crew members and others, the women left the bar out the back way and into the cool night air.
The evening air might have been chilly, but it was the beautiful night that slowed Lauren's movements. Looking up into the clear evening sky, the number of visible stars was amazing. "The night sky is a definite benefit of the lack of …everything in this part of the world." Said Lila when she noticed where Lauren was looking. "A strategic benefit to this place is that it is open enough to see anything that is coming at you." Lauren head snapped down and she looked at Lila who was still looking up as the night sky. The older woman said quietly as she lowered her gaze to give Lauren a very serious look, "Just seems to me, you need a place that provides a good point of view." Walking forward Lauren was going to say something but held her tongue as the older woman just knowingly move on with a satisfied look on her face.
Reaching their destination of about three hundred yards behind the bar, there was a large Quonset hut and a series of four dilapidated cabins. Lauren looked at the buildings and then at Lila. The older woman gave a sigh, "The last manager of the Fort talked the community members into adding some hotel-like cabins. It was going to bring in loads of new business." Lauren narrowed her eyes looking at the age of the buildings, Lila snorted a laugh an added, "By the way the Fort is the name of the fine establishment you were just in." Lauren nodded her understanding. She must have missed the name, it was probably among the faded paint on the front of the bar.
Lila reached into her pocket and pulled a set of keys out. Moving to the metal hut she unlocked the building. Hitting the lights, the building revealed a short hallway with three doorways. Lila said, "It has an office and work area that has acted as storage for years." Moving to the door on the right she open up a door to a small office, moving down the hall she open up to a large shop area full of all types of things that Lauren couldn't even begin to take in. "And finally the living quarters," Lila moved back to the door on the left and opened it. There was a nice sized apartment. The older woman smiled, "No frills but it's clean. The space has one bedroom, full bathroom and kitchen with a small living room." Lauren almost got a tear in her eye at the thought of having a place to call her own again.
Stammering Lauren finally got out, "It's just for the night okay. You don't even know me or my name…"
"Nope, it will be for as long as you want it. As for what I know about or don't know about you. Well I like what I have seen so far. As you learn to trust our little crew you will share more but for now I am satisfied with what I know." said Lila with those amazing all-knowing eyes almost glowing. "I need some help talking care of this old place and you need something to take care of." Seeing Lauren's face start to tense up again the older woman put up a hand, "I have been around long enough to know what I am talking about so hush. Get some sleep Lew and I will see you in the morning to talk about what your new job entails."
Lauren was about to say, "What new job?" but Lila moved quickly tossing Lauren the keys and stepping back before Lauren could get the words out. As the old woman opened the door and left there was no way Lauren was going to let this generous woman walk back to the Fort alone so she ran after her. As she opened the hut's door she saw that the Coronel had pulled the truck around and was helping his wife into the cab. The heavy dented door gave him a little bit of trouble but he managed. The old guy smiled as he walked around the vehicle and made to jump in the driver's side. He threw Lauren a salute and then slammed the door and drove away as Lila waved out the window.
Lauren was at a loss. She moved inside and then secured the door behind her. Taking in the stark surroundings she tried to make sense of the last, checking her watch, six hours of her life. Shaking her head she looked in the bed room and saw a raised king bed. "Now this is just plain unfair," she told herself as she touched the soft blankets that acted as the bedspread. "Okay, one day just to help out," she told herself and then she would be on her way again. Lauren did a full out search of the place, including all the vents, closets and even under the rugs. She set noise traps at all the doors and windows to alert her of any intruders. Finally too exhausted to continue she crawled into that large soft bed and drifted off to sleep still wondering what the hell she had gotten herself into.