4 weeks later…

Kenzi and Bo sat in their father's house waiting for him. The senator was always busy and often his meetings or phone calls ran over. They sat in hard, expensive chairs as the housekeeper served them tea. She looked uncomfortable, apologizing over and over for the wait, which made them smile, they knew how things worked with their father.

Kenzi laughed when she was handed her teacup. "I feel like I'm a little underdressed for a tea party." She gestured down at her outfit.

"Oh, no dear, you look perfectly fine." The housekeeper serving them said reassuringly, not realizing Kenzi was joking.

Kenzi and Bo exchanged a glance and hid their smiles as the woman patted Kenzi's back and scurried out of the room.

Kenzi watched her go. "I feel like the nannies we had growing up had more of a sense of humor than these new people. They're all business, all the time."

"I bought Lauren an engagement ring." Bo blurted out, and Kenzi looked at her wide-eyed from the abrupt change in conversation.

Kenzi stared at Bo, considering that a moment, analyzing the situation and her response. "Isn't there a rule or something about making big life decisions after a tragic event. Like shouldn't you wait a few months after being shot before you ask your girlfriend to marry you? If that isn't a rule, it should be."

Bo scoffed, and held back from rolling her eyes. "I wanted to marry her before I was shot."

"Still." Kenzi's face turned inquiring. "It was only a few weeks ago. What's the rush?"

Bo shifted uncomfortably feeling Kenzi weighing her with her eyes. "What rush?" She suddenly sat her teacup down. It landed hard on the table. "Five years together is rushing?" She asked but didn't pause for Kenzi's response. "I want to start moving forward with my life." She paused and pointed to the door. "Dad thinks I should ask her."

Kenzi didn't hold back her eye roll. "Since when do you listen to him?"

Bo ignored the question. "I know there's no one else out there for me. Lauren's brilliant, beautiful, loyal, honest, sexy, kind…"

Kenzi waved her hand at her. "Yeah, yeah she's the perfect woman."

"Maybe not perfect but perfect for me," Bo added more sugar to her tea. "I'm going to ask her tonight after the ceremony."

That surprised Kenzi, she toyed with asking again what was the rush, but decided against it. Bo's face showed no sighs of doubt so she accepted her decision. "Aw, you're so cute, all in love and stuff. I gotta say I never thought you would want to get married. Honestly, I never thought you'd want a relationship." She playfully squeezed Bo's cheek. "My big sis is growing up."

"I don't think I could be happy without her, and I don't want to find out," Bo said not caring if it sounded melodramatic or not, it was how she felt.

The housekeeper tentatively stepped back into the room. "Senator Dennis will see you now." She gave a little bow at the end, which caught Kenzi and Bo off guard, and they both laughed out loud. She looked flustered, turned red and briskly walked out of the room.

Kenzi sideways glanced at Bo. "He makes them bow?"

Bo shrugged. "She's young maybe she doesn't know how to act." They stood up from the chairs and stretched out their bodies, which were sore from sitting in the uncomfortable chairs for so long. "Do you think dad pulled some strings to get me this medal?"

They walked slowly towards their father's office. "You deserve it," Kenzi said.

"Maybe, it just looks bad if my father gets me a promotion, and a medal. Plus, I wonder if it's not so he can use it in his campaign fundraising. I can see the posters now, Senator Dennis' hero daughter…blah, blah."

"All politicians use their family during elections. It's just how it works."

"I guess. But if I get an award for my work, I want to earn it. I don't want to get it to help my father's reelection."

Kenzi turned to Bo, with a mix of shock and frustration. "Bo, you were literally shot in the line of duty, the least they can do is give you a medal."

The conversation stopped when they reached their father's office door. They were beckoned inside, and Harvey Dennis sat on the edge of his desk, his sleeves rolled up, a radiant smile. Bo took a few seconds to assess her father. He looked just like he did on TV, or on a campaign poster, and Bo wondered if he was doing a photo-shoot later, probably.

He greeted them with a booming voice and hugged them both tight. He gestured for them to seat. He smiled and opened his mouth but was cut off when his assistant rushed in with a phone in his hand. "Sir, it's important."

His smile faltered, and he apologized and quickly followed his assistant out of the room.

Bo patted Kenzi's knee. "We should go. He's busy. We'll see him at the ceremony…" She hesitated. "Maybe." And with that, they headed out the door, and out of the house.

XXXX

"Another round?" Dyson asked lifting his glass in front of Lauren and Tamsin, his eyebrows wiggling up and down encouraging them.

Tamsin glanced down at her full glass and frowned. "Nah, buddy, still working on this one." She looked astonished at his glass. "How did you finish that so quickly?"

He shrugged and winked. "We all have our talents."

Lauren finished her drink and handed him her glass. "I love vacation Lauren; she drinks a lot." He said with a laugh, taking her glass from her. "Almost as much as me."

"I'm not on vacation, Dyson. My new internship doesn't start for a month. That's all." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not loafing around." She said indignantly.

He cocked his head and gave her a knowing look. "Sure. That's why I came to your apartment at two yesterday, and you were still in your PJs."

"I was studying." She reached out and took the full glass back from Dyson. "Don't drink too much, we have Bo's award ceremony a few hours." She reminded him.

"Sounds like another reason to drink." He said, drumming his fingers on the table.

Lauren flicked the side of his face, and he gave her a toothy grin and swatted her hand away.

"What, Doc? Those things are soo boring. A stuffy room full of pretentious speeches." He leaned his head back with a fake yawn.

"I agree, Lewis. Those things are the worst." Tamsin interjected, and Dyson nodded at her comment with a beaming smile.

"It's for Bo." Lauren darted her eyes between them. "She needs our support."

"Bo and I are good enough friends that I think she'd understand my boredom. Plus, I would support her drinking decisions if the situation were reversed." He pointed at the fries in front of Lauren.

Lauren glared at him and shoved the basket of fries at him, and he smirked and ate one in an exaggerated gesture.

Tamsin bent over to retrieve her fork off the ground and frowned at the couple walking quickly up to the table. "You do know them," She asked jerking her head towards the brisk walking pair.

The question surprised them and in unison, they looked in the direction she gestured to and frowned when they saw the couple pushing their way through the crowd towards them.

"Shit, Nadia," Dyson muttered swirling his eyes over to Lauren for her reaction. Lauren kept her face blank and watched as Nadia and the man following her settled in front of them.

Nadia smirked smugly directly at Lauren and held the man's hand. "Hey, Lauren. Weird seeing you here," She pulled the man forward. "You remember my husband, Frank." She pouted her lips, something she undoubtedly practiced a lot and thought looked adorable.

Frank shifted uncomfortably and nodded at the table. He looked like Nadia had forced him to come over, and he would rather be anywhere than at that table.

Lauren gave her a long, considering look, deliberating her response. "How could I forget?" She said at last, turning her head away.

Tamsin slouched in her chair and darted her eyes uneasily from face to face, feeling the tension in the air. Too much of her life she'd spent reading people, faces, body language, sometimes she observed too much. But growing up in group homes, reading social cues and those around her was the only way to protect herself.

"Dyson," Nadia gave him a small nod, which he answered with an eye roll and ignored her.

Nadia gave Lauren a once-over and turned to Dyson. "Still Lauren's protector I see," She said in an inflated upbeat voice.

Lauren and Dyson both scoffed at that, but Nadia looked unfazed.

"What can we help you with, Nadia?" Lauren crossed her arms over her chest, stiffly and narrowed her eyes.

"I just wanted to say hello to an…" Nadia cozied up to Frank and looked Lauren up and down again. "old friend."

Dyson and Lauren stared at Nadia. Tamsin forced her head down again, Nadia's tone, when she talked to Lauren, made her skin crawl all the way down to her stomach and up her shine. Sometimes she wished there were cliff notes to go with this group so she could keep up everything.

Lauren hesitated briefly, "Well, hello and congrats again on your marriage." She attempted to sound casual but failed miserably, when the sarcasm dripped from her words.

"Lovely to see you again, Nadia. We wouldn't want to keep you." Dyson waved her off. "And we'd like to get back to our drinks and conversation." He spoke loudly, making Nadia flinch.

Nadia put on a haughty smile and walked off, Frank trailing behind her, they disappeared into the crowd of the bar, quickly.

With Nadia gone Tamsin straightened up. "That was awkward as fuck," She said once they were out of earshot.

Lauren gathered up her stuff. "Yeah, the joys of catching up on old times with old friends, it's thrilling really." She pulled out some money and shoved it into Dyson's hand. "I should get home. Bo needs me." She stood quickly headed towards the door.

"What's up with that?" Tamsin asked, nodding at Lauren.

Dyson watched as Lauren exited the bar, he mulled over the interaction and his friend. "The thing you have to understand about Lauren is she's very smart and she skipped grades, so she was always surrounded by older kids." He paused, fingers rubbing over the table edge. "So, when she entered college she was young and maybe a little naïve, less experienced than everyone else. I would think she felt overwhelmed."

Tamsin nodded at that. "Yeah, I've noticed kids who are pushed quickly through school struggle in social situations. Being younger and smarter than all your peers is probably hard to deal with on top of everything else teens go through." She smirked. "Sometimes, it's good to be painfully average."

"You're not average." He said, and her face lit up, and she quickly veered her eyes away. He continued. "Lauren had a job tutoring and that's how she met Nadia." He paused, conflicted about whether it was his place to tell Tamsin this information. He sighed. "Things didn't end well. Nadia made Lauren believe they were girlfriends but the whole time she was seeing that guy Frank and Lauren had no idea. He went to another college, and Lauren didn't know anything about him. She only found out when Nadia got engaged and basically told Lauren she was only using her for sex, and they were never a couple."

Tamsin's jaw dropped, wondering how someone could be so cold. "Wow, that's harsh. I wish I knew Lauren back then I would have kicked Nadia's ass for her."

"Yep, Nadia's a bitch. Sorry, but it's true. I don't know, but I think Nadia was her first love, or what she thought was love, and I think the experience scarred her for a while. She avoided relationships after that until she met Bo." He veered his eyes to Tamsin. "Bo was pretty much, as you can imagine, a big party girl in college, but for whatever reason they were drawn to each other." He shrugged. "I always thought they were a good match because Bo was someone Lauren could trust, and she was able to pull Lauren back from living too much in her own head. And Lauren helped Bo grow up and focus on finishing school and then starting her career. Lauren grounded her."

They sat in silence for a time, sipping their drinks slowly. Tamsin's head was spinning with this new information, and she knew it was years ago but part of her felt bad that Lauren had to go through that when she was so young.

"This Nadia thing makes me happy that I never bothered with relationships," Tamsin said at last, breaking the silence.

"I'll drink to that," He held up his glass and swallowed his drink quickly.

XXXX

At the apartment, Lauren leaned against the doorframe and watched as Bo did sit-ups on the floor, only in her bra and shorts. It was quiet in the room, save Bo's steady, deep breathing. She flicked her brown eyes over Bo's body slowly up and down. Sweat pooled on her face and stomach, Lauren played with her bottom lip while keeping her eyes on Bo's movements and exposed skin.

Bo noticed she was being watched, so she stopped and glanced up, her eyes lit up and she smiled. "There you are," She said, propping her elbow on the floor and resting her head in her hand.

"You're not overdoing it, are you?" Lauren crossed her arms and stared at Bo's scar with a frown.

"No way, Doctor. But I have to get my body strong before I go back to work."

"Too much physical excretion can inhibit your recovery," Lauren said using her professional doctor tone, but Bo's eyebrows rose, and she bit her lip.

After staring at Lauren with an amused expression, Bo shrugged. "I'm a very physical person. It can't be helped."

"Why do I get the feeling we're talking about two separate things?" Lauren sat on the edge of the bed and Bo crawled slowly up to her on her knees. When she reached her she wrapped her arms around Lauren and kissed her neck.

"You're all sweaty," Lauren said and brushed Bo's damp hair from her face.

Bo pushed her back onto the bed. "You like it." She kissed her and caressed her tongue against Lauren's tongue and slid a hand up her shirt, teasing the side of her breast through her thin bra.

Breaking kiss momentarily but keeping their faces close, Lauren said. "I thought we were abstaining from sex," She wrapped her arm around Bo's body, shoving her closer to her.

"Who said anything about sex? I just want to kiss you." Bo drew back and straddled Lauren. She tugged on her jeans, lifting her slightly off the bed.

"I see that look in your eyes." Lauren glanced down and watched Bo rubbing her fingers over her zipper, teasing her. Unconsciously, she arched upward.

"I can't help it that you're so delicious to look at." Bo hands now massaged and squeezed up and down Lauren's legs. "I can't help the way I look at you."

Lauren hesitated over her next words. She didn't want Bo to stop, but considering their agreement about no sex and Bo's award ceremony she knew they had to stop before things went too far. "We have to get ready for your ceremony." She forced the words out faltering as her desire and need to be touched built with every stroke from Bo's hands.

"I know," Bo answered, but her lips were on Lauren quick, her tongue sliding in a long, sensuous kiss. Lauren rubbed her hands along the smooth, hard perfection of Bo's bare back, her longing stirred more forcefully.

Lauren broke the kiss, their lips hovered a breath apart. "We'll be late. You need a shower." Lauren gripped Bo's back, digging her nails into her skin when Bo pushed hard into her.

Bo kissed her again, this time hard and hungrily. "I know," Bo whispered into her mouth. Her fingers unbuttoning Lauren's jeans, Lauren extended her legs straight, and Bo pulled them and her underwear off in one quick motion.

"We should stop," Lauren whispered, but reveled in the feeling of her half naked body rubbing against Bo's bare skin. It had been so long since they have touched so intimately. Her skin felt extra sensitive at the contact. She tangled her fingers in Bo's hair and drew her closer.

"I know." Bo unfastened Lauren's bra and removed the last of her clothing, leaving her completely naked beneath her. Bo stopped and rested her head between Lauren's breasts. "Do you want to stop?" She asked quietly, her breathing heavy, drawing circles with her finger on Lauren's stomach.

Lauren arched forward and flipped them over. She hovered over Bo and locked their eyes together, their lips barely brushing. Yearning clouded her mind, and all thoughts of stopping disappeared. "No."

Bo ran her hand down Lauren's back. "Then don't."

They hesitated while their hands roamed each other's body then simultaneously their hands reached for Bo's bra, it was pulled off in a blink. Lauren didn't wait her mouth was on Bo's breast quickly, and Bo tilted her head back hard into the bed.

Keeping her eyes closed, Bo whispered. "Maybe we should take this to the shower, to save time."

Lauren didn't remove her mouth but gave a small nod. After several seconds, Bo watched Lauren get up, admiring the view of her naked body. She suddenly had the desire to ask Lauren right then to marry her. The words were so close to coming out, that she squeezed her lips shut to stop herself.

Lauren leaned back when Bo didn't follow her, "Are you coming?" She trailed a finger down the side of Bo's face and along her bottom lip.

Bo sat up and hugged Lauren tight, burying her head in her neck. "Do you want to be with me forever, Lauren?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

Bo kissed her neck. "I just want to hear the words, that you want me, now and forever." She continued trailing kisses up and down Lauren's neck and chin.

The kissing stopped when Lauren stood and stepped away from the bed. She suddenly felt self conscious about not wearing any clothes. She tossed her shirt back on and crossed her arms over her chest.

Bo watched her motions with a frown. She rose to a sitting position. Sadness and hurt flashed through her eyes at Lauren's reaction.

"We need to get ready." Lauren looked at the time. "There's not a lot of time left."

Cautiously, Bo gave Lauren a soft caress down her arm. "Lauren, what just happened?" She swallowed the hurt in her voice, to sound soft and gentle.

Lauren slipped her underwear and pants back on. "Bo, I don't know what you're asking me, but I'm only 26 years old, I just changed my career, you just got shot…" She drifted off, buttoning her jeans, keeping her head down, hoping that was enough to end the discussion for now.

Bo stared at her for several seconds. "Wow, Lauren. You can't even just say in casual conversation that you want to be with me?"

Lauren lifted her head and stared back. "Why would you even ask me that? One thing I'm certain of is that I love you. Of course, I want to be with you."

An awkward silence fell; both averted their eyes away, each lost in their thoughts and waiting the other to say something more.

Abruptly, Bo looked up and met Lauren square in the eyes, a knot twisting in her stomach, her thoughts on the ring in her pocket. "But not for forever?"

"That's not what I said." She searched Bo's eyes pleadingly.

Bo sprang to her feet, breaking the eye contact, and walked to the bathroom with quick steps. "Well, really you didn't say much of anything." With her back to Lauren she added. "How long is it going to take until you figure out what you want?" She slammed the bathroom door behind her hard.

With a heavy sigh, Lauren stepped to the bathroom door and lightly knocked, "Bo?" There was no answer, and she listened as the shower water turned on. She put her hand on the doorknob and turned, but it was locked. She stared at the door, for a long moment, before going to the closet to pick out her outfit. She selected a dress and hung it on the door next to Bo's clothes. She brushed her fingers over Bo's dark blue uniform before she crawled into the bed. She wrapped herself in a sheet and curled into a ball, holding back her tears, faintly listening to the shower in the distance.

XXXXXXXXXXX

AN

Hi there,

Next update, Bo's award ceremony.

Any interest in a few flashbacks? I'll write a few if there's interest. I know it's my story but I like to get your opinions…We're in this together!

Seriously, thank you so much for reading and leaving comments!