"When we fight upstream against a rocky undercurrent, every foothold takes on a kind of urgency."― Arthur Golden

It had been three days since all hell broke loose. Three days of saving lives and looking over her shoulder. With more than thirty dead and a full infirmary, Lauren was exhausted. She had been pulling twelve and sixteen hour days since it happened and tonight was no different. It was late and she was preparing to return to Bo's waiting arms, but not before one more round. Lauren sighed. She splashed water on her face and looked at her weary expression in the mirror. What she wouldn't give for a full night's sleep.

"Aw, what's the matter, sweetie?" The echo of her voice against the bathroom tile made Lauren jump. "Didn't you like my cooking?"

Lauren looked at the reflection in the mirror before turning slowly to find the Fae standing in a stall doorway, arm stretching up the frame. "Evony."

She shrugged. "What can I say, I'm not a fan of the tuna melt."

"All those people that you killed and for what?" Her words were tougher than Lauren felt. Evony was dangerous even without Vex and Lauren was feeling particularly vulnerable, alone with the enemy.

"Who's to say?" she pushed herself away from the stall. "Though I must commend you on your damage control."

Lauren shook her head. "What are you talking about?

"I've been watching you, Doctor."

Goosebumps decorated her skin. "How…?" She asked, alarmed.

"A girl's got to have a few secrets." She smiled. "I can't give you all the answers, where's the fun in that?"

Lauren turned back to the sink and grabbed a paper towel. "Killing people shouldn't be fun."

"Ooh, preachy! How delightful!" She laughed, her hands clasped together. "If it isn't fun, you're doing it wrong, honey."

"Why are you here, Evony?" Lauren said, exasperated. She didn't have the patience for this game so late at night. "There are innocent people out there that are on death's door because you were bored. I have more important things to do than listen to your taunting."

Evony stepped up close behind her. "I came to warn you," she said menacingly. "I'm not completely without feelings."

Lauren paused and looked at Evony in the mirror. "Warn me about what?"

Evony tsked at her reflection and shook her head. "Now, that… that I can't tell you. It would ruin the surprise!"

Lauren lifted her chin. "If you're going to hurt me, do it now."

"Don't we think a lot of ourselves!" Evony chuckled. "Vex may be hung up on you, Honey, but honestly, you and your royal succubus bore the hell out of me."

"Then what do you want?"

"Everything," she purred.

Lauren swallowed carefully and blinked away the panic in her eyes. "I don't have time for this," she said, tossing the paper towel in the garbage.

The curl to Evony's lips was enough to make anyone uneasy. She looked at herself in the mirror as Lauren rushed to the door. "See you soon, sweetie."

Lauren paused for only a second while the words registered and then slipped out the door. Her heart pounded in her chest and she walked quickly to nurse's station where Kenzi was waiting for her. Kenzi and Oren turned as she approached.

"What's wrong?" Kenzi asked, knowing Lauren's uneasiness better than anyone.

"Evony," she replied, pointing her thumb toward the bathrooms.

Kenzi glanced at Oren before she pulled the sidearm from her hip and took off to ladies' room. It didn't take her a two minutes to sweep the area and return to their side. She shook her head. "No sign."

Lauren let out a breath. "I need to find the source of this outbreak."

"If I had to guess, I'd say tuna melt Tuesday went horribly awry."

"But it's food poisoning, people shouldn't be dying this quickly."

Kenzi frowned. "If only Vex and Evony would stick around instead of disappearing into thin air, maybe we could ask them."

"Who's with Bo?" Lauren said suddenly.

"Verns," Kenzi replied.

Lauren sighed and walked to the first bedside in the room. "Not sure I see the wisdom of leaving the oldest and slowest guard to protect the Queen," she grumbled.

"Verns is spry for an old guy," Oren offered. "Besides, he's been with her-"

Kenzi pulled him back and stared at him pointedly. "-All night, you know? Who knows if the old guy hasn't passed out in a deck of cards." She patted Oren's shoulder. "I'll check on her myself."

"Thank you," Lauren said, turning back to her patient.

When Kenzi nodded at him and turned to leave, his hand found her forearm. "What the hell was that?"

Kenzi waited until they were out of earshot before she stopped in the hall. "Doctor Lewis is not in a place to be questioned."

"That's not fair," Oren complained. "Verns is a good guy, so what if he's a little jaded?"

"Oren, he made a three course meal- all spaghetti- while he was on detail and ate it on the royal china from the 17th century." Kenzi started walking again. "He's lucky Lauren came home, I didn't know how else to keep Bo away from him."

Oren swallowed and worked hard to hide the smirk on his face as he followed her. "So where'd you go the other night?" he asked quietly.

"I, uh… needed some air."

"Because of what happened between us?" They turned a corner and he skipped to keep up.

"Maybe."

"Was it something I did?" Oren asked.

As much as Kenzi wanted to say 'it's not you, it's me,' she couldn't pretend that it kind of was Oren. He was so gentle with her, it made her feel feeble. She didn't want to be someone's girlfriend, she just wanted the trappings of a relationship with an equal.

"No." She shook her head, stopping in front of the elevators. "I'm just going through some stuff. Listen, I'm really sorry but I have to check on the Queen." She pressed the call button.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a nod, feigning acceptance. "We can talk when I get back."

The elevator door slid open and Kenzi took a step forward until the words sunk in and she paused. "Where are you going?" Her shock was tangible.

"To recruit troops from the next colony," Oren said. "The Queen asked me this morning. I leave tonight."

"They're sending you alone?"

Oren shrugged. "Don't have much choice, if you haven't noticed we're down a few bodies."

Kenzi stood inside the elevator, holding a hand over the door. "Stay safe, Soldier," she said.

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied. "I should get back. I'm sure Doctor Lewis needs a hand." He nodded at her before he disappeared around the corner to the clinic. "Bye Kenzi."

When Lauren returned after fifteen hours in the lab and infirmary, she was filthy and exhausted. Bo ran her a bath and threatened to burn her clothes but she was only partially kidding. She had the clothing removed and sat carefully in an upholstered Victorian rosewood chair as Lauren sank into the bubbles.

"Oh my god," she said, exhaling. "I've been dreaming about this all day." She relished the tingle on her skin as the heat seeped into her skin.

"Me too," Bo said, rolling up her sleeve casually.

Lauren narrowed her eyes. "What are you up to?"

"You need to relax," Bo said, with a smirk.

"Relax," Lauren repeated with a similar smirk on her face. "I see."

Bo shifted forward in the chair. "Now, I know I'm not a doctor…" Her arm dipped into the tub, her hand coming to rest on Lauren's knee before slipping up her thigh. "But I have a feeling I know the proper course of treatment."

When her hand covered Lauren's center, she sighed. Bo blinked lazily as her fingers traced her folds. It was a luxurious treatment that Lauren hadn't expected but now that Bo was teasing her, she was certain she never wanted her to stop.

She leaned over Lauren, besieging her mouth with her own. Overwhelmed by Bo's scent, enticed by her lips, and destroyed by her touch. It was the Queen's trifecta and if Lauren were a betting woman she'd have bet it all by now. She craned her neck, arching her back, her breasts lifting out of the water as Bo's fingers continued, gentle, but insistent.

Lauren's eyes fluttered open and she watched as Bo licked her lips, concentration playing out on her face as she touched her. She was weightless in the water, floating in the depths of the claw foot bathtub, anchored only by Bo's touch. She inhaled, her heart beating faster now, her body straining as her toes begin to curl.

"Don't stop," she whispered, gripping the sides of the tub. Bo leaned forward, hovering on the edge of her seat as she drew Lauren out, circling her core. Her knees pressed against the sides of the tub as the Queen stroked her faster. Her hands came to grip the tub's edge on either side of her head and Bo bit her lip at the sight of Lauren arching out of the water. A low moan rumbled in her throat, growing louder as Bo swept over her one last time. White lights exploded behind her eyes, the breath caught in her throat, and there was only one word on her lips. "Bo," she moaned. In the blind reckoning of her orgasm, Bo kissed her again. It was a possessive melding of their mouths and Lauren was overwhelmed for a second time.

The water sloshed in the tub and Bo withdrew her arm, patting it dry with a nearby towel as Lauren slowly came back to herself. Sitting back in her chair, Bo folded her hands in her lap regally, and when Lauren opened her eyes it was the sight of her Queen that made her smile. She shook her head.

"Take your time," Bo said, squeezing her shoulder. "I'll warm up dinner." She circled the tub.

"Bo?" Lauren said, finally.

She paused with her hand on the doorknob. "Hmm?"

"Don't eat anything until I test it."

Bo smiled and bowed her head. "I wouldn't dream of it." She turned the knob and pulled the door open throwing a last look over her shoulder as she went.

Grinning, Lauren sunk deeper into the tub, the remaining bubbles popping in the silence. In all her imaginings, she never expected anything like that. It had been a horrible day, one that did not deserve to be put behind her. There were more dead than on a bad day in a war zone, over half the infantry was sick or dead. Evony had poisoned not only the food in the Commissary, but also the rations in the Mess hall and only a scant few had avoided them.

She toweled off and redressed, looking into the bathroom mirror until she couldn't say how long she had been staring at herself. Life was catching up with her, her hard life was beginning to show in the lines by her eyes and around her mouth. She blinked and turned away from it, redressing in clean clothes Bo had set out for her and leaving the bathroom to join Bo in the dining room. She took samples from their plates and disappeared into her office, emerging some time later with the good news. "All clear, let's eat," she called down the hallway. Bo stared at her over folded hands at the dining room table when she came into the room and she stopped short.

"Tell me about your day," Bo said as she poured an exceptional red wine into a pair of glasses.

"I'd rather not," Lauren sat next to Bo. "It was terrible." She unfolded a napkin into her lap and received the wine glass as it was offered it to her.

Bo enjoyed the mouthful of wine before swallowing. "I have to admit that I am jealous of you."

"Why?"

The small potatoes were pushed around on her plate before they were cut in half. "You're on the front lines, Lauren. I'm just sitting in a box, being guarded." Bo chewed the potato carefully. "Tell me, how is a pair of Humans and weaker Fae supposed to protect me. Don't you think I can protect myself?"

"Of course," Lauren said defensively. "Of course you can."

The Queen sipped her wine thoughtfully. "That settles it then. Starting tomorrow I will no longer be sequestered away from our enemies."

"Bo…"

"No," she said definitively. "I can't stay in hiding while my kingdom falls apart. I owe it to the people of our colony to be there for them, to use my eyes and my senses to help capture Vex and Evony again."

There were times when Bo held her head like she did in the portraits Lauren studied around the castle's halls that told Lauren this wasn't something that was questioned or doubted. This was a royal decree. Lauren held her gaze and nodded. "As you wish."

It came in the early hours of the morning; the idea that she could fix the serum. That she had finally pinpointed why it didn't work, and she turned it over and over in her mind so as not to lose it to the fugue state of slumber. The notion itself was simple, but the implications complex. It wasn't so much about a lack of confidence in her hypothesis than her anxiety over how to deliver it.

She was staring Bo down from across the breakfast table, the scent of coffee and pastry filling the living area. The sun lit up the city below the penthouse as it crept over the horizon and it didn't escape Lauren how strange it was to be having a civilized breakfast while the castle crumbled beneath them. Kenzi stood to the side and Verns remained by the elevator. Lauren was explaining her epiphany, when she asked the impossible of Bo.

"I used a synthetic last time and I think that is why the chain broke down." Lauren paused and took in a breath. "If I can just get an organic sample, maybe I can make a serum that's permanent."

Bo nodded and popped a piece of croissant in her mouth. "I'll put feelers out."

Lauren drew in a breath, glancing at Kenzi. "With all due respect, I think we need Violette's expertise on this one."

"Absolutely not," Bo said sharply, interjecting as soon as she heard her name.

"Bo, you asked me to fix this, you have to trust me now."

"We'll source the materials ourselves." Bo stood abruptly and, leveling her gaze upon Lauren, she turned and disappeared into the Library. When the pocket door slid shut Lauren turned to Kenzi.

"Find Violette," Lauren said in a low voice, her eyes trained on the library door.

"I don't know, Lauren. Bo seemed pretty serious..."

Lauren shook her head. "I'll worry about Bo. Right now, I need you to deliver this list to Violette." Lauren scribbled on a scrap of paper. "We need this as fast as you can get it. Do what you must do to cooperate with her."

Kenzi sighed. "You got it." She turned, grumbling. Kenzi never liked Violette. She said it was because she didn't like traitors but Lauren suspected it had something to do with the time Kenzi had caught them together and they weren't discussing tax receipts. Instead, Lauren's shirt hung inside out from her waist, her pants unbuttoned and Violette's hand shoved deep into her underwear.

It was a dark time for Lauren, Kenzi knew that, but she hated watching her go down that path just the same. It was in the past, or so she thought, though judging by the Queen's reaction, it seemed very much a current concern of hers. She knew just where to find Violette, despite having no contact with her in three years. And so, a quick stop at her bunk to gather a few essentials and she was taking a horse from the stables, charging through the colony to the Outlands once again.

Lauren had wasted another day in the lab, working and reworking her serum so that it was ready for the organic material she was still waiting to be delivered. Kenzi had been gone three days and had not sent back confirmation that she had found Violette yet.

The Commissary was still shut down as was the Mess hall but the mess of the outbreak was finally clean. A Marsh test told her it was arsenic that Evony used in addition to food poisoning, a cruel and clever combination that kept Lauren busy enough treating the wrong symptoms. It was a frustrating conclusion, so much death to make a point that still hadn't been made. Lauren sat in the Conservatory under a bright sun and blue skies. Waiting was the hardest part, but despite her feelings to the contrary, Lauren knew Violette would come through. Her eyes combed the lush fauna of the and found herself remembering the last time they were together.

Lighting a cigarette, Violette inhaled deeply, looking over Lauren's form as she exhaled. She whispered something in French and Lauren looked up, unable to make out what she had said. "Hmm?"

"I said, 'heavenly creature, you haunt me still,'" she said, her accent thick. She took another drag from her cigarette and began to button up her shirt. "Because I was never brave enough to make love to you."

Lauren's mouth went dry. If she had even once thought that Violette carried a torch for her, she probably would have ceased all contact. After all she was a scoundrel and Lauren was the leader of the Human Resistance. It was her job to be in bed with the fringe element but things with Violette had gotten out of hand and the longer the war raged on. The more lonely she became, the more often their encounters occurred and Lauren knew that Kenzi couldn't stand the self-loathing it took to bed Violette again and again. It was always the same, she'd turn up with a box full of contraband, a beer for Kenzi, a bottle of wine for Lauren and whatever else she had ordered. Money or an equitable trade would exchange hands and Kenzi would walk the perimeter while the women concluded their business. Thinking back it was rather obvious to Lauren that Vi had designs on her, why she couldn't see that back then, was just as lost on her.

A hand slapped the marble table in front of her and Lauren blinked, looking up finding a scowl on Kenzi's face. "You're back," Lauren said, unable to hide her relief. "Where's Violette?"

"She'll come in her own time. As usual." Kenzi dropped into the chair across from her.

Lauren accepted the dig. "Kenzi…"

Kenzi shook her head. "I can't believe you're letting her back into your life."

"You know she's the only one that would've been able to find what we needed."

"Pff," Kenzi scoffed. "You didn't even try, Doc."

Lauren sighed. "We don't have the luxury of time right now, Kenz."

"You should've seen her face when I told her you needed her services again." Kenzi leaned forward. "Doc, you've got bigger worries than Vex and Evony."

Her back straightened. "I can handle Violette."

"Can you?" Kenzi asked in a hushed tone. "Do I have to remind you how long it took you to say Sayonara last time?"

"Things are different now," Lauren insisted.

"That's what I'm afraid of, Doc," Kenzi said, hands to the sky. "Bo and Violette in the same room? Do you not even see the problem you face?"

"I really think you're making a bigger deal than is necessary about this," she reasoned. "We're all adults."

Kenzi shook her head again. "The most powerful Fae, a Fae crook and the Human doctor. Are you kidding me? That's how jokes start."

Lauren sighed, slumping in her chair. "So what am I supposed to do?" she asked. "Tell me, because I'm stumped."

"Guard her heart," Kenzi said. "And your home together."

Lauren smiled then, nodding as she covered Kenzi's hand fleetingly. "When did you get so smart?"

Kenzi rolled her eyes. "When you weren't looking, apparently."

END PART FOUR