CHAPTER 37

Bo wasn't sure how long she'd been on the floor rocking back and forth. She had trashed the villa in anger until she sank to the ground as her legs gave out on her and her mind spiraled out of control.

She kept shaking her head, trying to clear the images of Lauren running for her life with Dyson chasing after her with a smirk on his face.

Bo knew Lauren would not have a chance against Dyson, much less if he decided to change into his wolf form. Nor would Lauren have a chance against him in human form – he could kill her with his bare hands.

Dyson would make a game of it.

But, would he make Lauren suffer?

Or would he... kill her and get it over with?

Had she suffered?

Was she suffering?

Was he keeping Lauren alive, only to torture her?

Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!

She did not want to see Lauren's body torn apart like Dr. Everett had been.

Kenzi had told her about the pictures she had seen at the precinct the day she and Lauren began their relationship.

Would he hurt Lauren?

Would he... violate her?

Would his anger be so great that he would take Lauren against her will simply to cause pain?

Bo could feel the tears streaking down her cheeks.

Not that, please, not that.

She had to be alive, she had to be.

Lauren had to have gotten away.

She had to.

But it's been so long and no one has called.

'That's never a good sign.' as she physically shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"BoBo..." Kenzi whispered as she approached her best friend, her sister. "You can't do this... it's not good for you or the baby."

Kenzi had been watching Bo rock back and forth, muttering to herself since Dyson hung up on her earlier.

This was of course after she had trashed the villa they were staying in. Bo had gone on a rampage, knocking things to the ground, breaking vases that looked really old in Kenzi's estimation and tearing things off the walls.

'Jake probably isn't getting his deposit back.' she thought as she stood back and let Bo do her thing. Nothing she said or did helped; Bo was beyond her reach.

If it had been possible, Kenzi was sure Bo would have swam back to get to Lauren and she'd be right there with her.

Kenzi still winced as she rubbed her upper arms where Bo had grabbed and shook her, yelling she would kill Dyson when she had the chance.

"And no one is going to stop me!" Bo ranted.

"Lauren wouldn't want you to Bo." Kenzi had tried to explain. "You don't kill in cold blood. Yeah, you may have done so in self-defense, but you're not a killer Bo."

"Really? Tell that to the guy I killed in the elevator the first time we met Kenzi. I'm sure he'd have something to say about that!" she yelled getting into Kenzi's face.

"You were protecting me!" Kenzi stressed stomping her foot, thinking back to the night in question. "If you hadn't done what you did, he would have raped me! Do you understand? You saved me!"

Bo looked at her for a long time before turning away. She had not spoken a word to her since.

The only thing she had done was rub her stomach and mutter to herself.

Hour after hour passed and Kenzi could see Bo sink deeper into despair. If Dyson showed his face, he was as good as a rug in front of the fireplace.

Kenzi grimaced at the picture her mind showed her.

'He's a dead Fae.' she thought.

As much as she cared for him – he was beyond hope. She did not recognize this person masquerading in Dyson's body.

Hell, she didn't even know Trick anymore.

It did not matter that she knew he had been helping Dyson, she simply could not imagine it. 'He's Bo's grandfather for fuck's sake.'

He should have been watching Bo's back.

He should have been thrilled at becoming a grandfather.

Had he honestly thought they would not find out that he was helping Dyson?

That his secret was safe?

Kenzi wished she could see his face as it crumbled; when he found out they knew. But she highly doubted they would ever visit the Dal again.

'There goes my free beer for life.' she griped.

"She's okay... she's okay." Kenzi heard Bo say.

She could kill Jake for this... he should have called by now.

As soon as she thought that, she began to wonder. "What if something happened to him? What if the reason he hadn't called was that he couldn't? What if Lauren was fine but he wasn't?" she gasped.

And what if?

What if they're either hurt or worse?

Kenzi started looking for her cell phone. The last time she had seen it, it was on the coffee table – before Bo went all Randy Quaid on the place.

She had to find that damn phone. "Shit... what did you do with the phone Bo?" Kenzi asked knowing she wasn't going to get a reply. "Come on... come on where are you?"

Kenzi stopped suddenly.

"Oh God!" she gasped as she heard the faint sound of the telephone ringing. "BoBo! Get your shit together and help me!" Kenzi was searching frantically. "No!" she cried out when the ringing stopped.

She had a general idea of where it was, but that was it. When Bo trashed the place she didn't hold back.

"Come on... come on ring again." Kenzi begged as she tossed cushions out of the way.

"Anything?" Lauren asked as she began to put some scrubs on slowly. Her clothes had been cut away from her when they prepped her for surgery.

"Nothing... Lauren, please." Jacob tried to reason with her. He had watched as she struggled to put weight on her injured leg. She needed to rest, to heal, why couldn't she see that?

She had been through a very traumatic event and he was certain she didn't know the full extent of her injuries otherwise she probably wouldn't have been so stubborn.

"No!" she closed her eyes as a wave of pain nauseated her.

"You need to get back in bed." he demanded, taking a step towards her.

"I'll tell you what I need. I need to get to Bo!" she yelled, staring him down as she shook.

Jacob knew Lauren was in pain, it was easy to see, but she had refused any pain medication. Although he had assisted the healing process, he could not heal her completely.

He had managed to reduce the recovery time to a month. Lauren would need physical therapy and would most likely walk with a discernable limp until then.

If she had been Fae, the recovery time would have been days with no evidence of an injury.

"Try again." she said, gritting her teeth against another onset of pain. She pushed herself to a standing position – she grunted. Lauren knew she was pushing herself, but she felt she had no choice.

She had no earthly idea where Bo and Kenzi were, it was the safest thing to do they all thought. She would not have been able to give up their whereabouts if asked and Lauren would not want it any other way.

Anything she could do to protect Bo and the baby had to be done.

Now, while she lay in bed, her girlfriend – her everything – was most likely under the impression that something terrible had happened to her and she was helpless to do anything about it. She knew that this feeling of helplessness and the pain from her injury was taking its toll on her – it was affecting her mood and rational thinking, causing her to lash out on Jacob.

Jacob was and had done more for them than Trick had and she was grateful beyond measure, but she could not stand the thought of Bo going through this mental anguish.

Lauren took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." she said as she turned and faced him. "I know you didn't mean to forget to call her with everything that was going on. I know that. But Bo, she's probably thinks I'm dead or... or that I'm lying somewhere hurt and she can't get to me. She's probably thinking it's her fault. I can't just sit here. I can't."

Jacob nodded slowly – his ear glued to the phone, praying either Bo or Kenzi would answer.

Kenzi's head popped up as she heard the phone. She scrambled across the room; she picked up the blanket which had been draped on the back of the sofa and threw it to the side. "Ah ha!" she cried out as she spotted the phone.

Her hand closed around it.

"FUCK!" she yelled when it stopped ringing. She felt like crying, she had realized that earlier she could have called the cell phone using the telephone in the villa, however Bo in her temporary insanity had pulled it from the wall.

Kenzi looked at the display, hoping there was a voice mail at least. She frowned.

She did not recognize the number.

She hit redial and waited.

"Damn it! It's restricted."

Hale had come back into Lauren's room to check up on her. To say he was surprised to see her standing was understated in his estimation.

She should not be out of bed.

It wasn't possible.

He had gotten an update on her condition from Dr. Barber.

"She's very lucky. The damage to the bone and tissue surrounding it was extensive. It was touch and go for a moment or two. To be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to save her foot. It was literally hanging by one of the tendons and the muscles were torn to shreds. The damage was more substantial than we initially believed when she was brought in." he said pointing to the scans of Lauren's leg. "When I heard that she had applied pressure to Colin's wound, I was astonished. Considering the pain that she would've been in, I am very surprised that she didn't lose consciousness at the onset of the attack; much less have the strength of mind and body to attempt First Aid on him."

Hale blew out the breath he had been holding as he looked not only at the x-rays but the color photos they had taken.

Evidence of the brutality Dyson had inflicted on Lauren.

"She'll have a long recovery ahead of her. But don't worry, we'll look after her." Dr. Barber had told him.

Hale thanked him for the information and walked down to Lauren's room, nodding at Raymond who stood guard.

"Lauren?"

Lauren turned and saw Hale standing in the doorway.

"Either you're one Hell of a fast healer or there's something we've overlooked all this time. You shouldn't be out of bed." he told her as he stepped inside.

"Could you close the door please?" she asked. "You may want to kill the surveillance as well." she said gesturing to a camera mounted near the ceiling.

Hale followed Lauren's gaze. He could see the camera in question and he had a feeling whatever she was going to tell him probably should not be recorded.

"Raymond." Hale said as he stepped outside of the room.

"Yes Ash." he replied, bowing his head.

"Have security turn off the surveillance camera in Dr. Lewis' room and get me the footage starting when she was brought to her room. I don't want any copies lying around, do you understand?"

"Of course." he replied.

"Thank you." Hale said before returning to the room.

As he closed the door behind him, he looked up and waited for the red light to turn off, which indicated that the camera was no longer recording. Once the camera was off, he clapped and rubbed his hands together, "Okay, which one of you." he said looking from one to the other. "Is going to tell me what's going on?" he asked. "There is no way in Hell, you should be on your feet." he told Lauren.

"I had some help." Lauren stated obviously.

Hale cocked his head to the right. "I can see that. I just want to know how."

As much as Lauren knew this wasn't as important as getting to Bo was, she knew she had to answer. She took a deep breath forcing herself to calm down.

"I helped her." Jacob said quickly.

Hale turned in Jacob's direction. "You did?"

Jacob nodded.

"Do you want to explain how? Because that's some trick." Hale exclaimed.

Jacob had no choice. He bowed his head in deference to Hale's position. "My name is Salus Quintus."

Hale frowned. "I thought your name was Jacob Camden?"

"It is an alias I developed three hundred years ago..."

"I... wait." Hale paused. He recognized that name. It meant something to him; he had heard it before but where? 'Quintus... Salus Quintus?'

It came to him.

He was at his family's estate and his father was bragging about an acquisition he had made recently and he wanted to show him.

"What's so big about a book?" he asked when his father had taken him into his study.

"Son." his father replied in his baritone voice, clapping his hand on Hales' shoulder. "This book was written by Salus Quintus, one of the greatest, if not the greatest healers in all Fae culture. And this." he said pointing to a worn leather bound book in protective glass case. "This." his voice took on a reverent tone. "Is one of his journals, look, you see there. He talks about attending a banquet with the Roman Emperor Caligula."

"My father has one of your journals." he said. "I still don't understand what's going on."

"This is all well and good, but, can we take a trip down memory lane later? I need to get to Bo!" Lauren snapped.

"You haven't spoken with them?" Hale asked frowning.

"They're not answering." Jacob replied.

Hale shook his head slowly. "This is not good."

"What do you mean?" Lauren asked panicking. "Why isn't good? What's going on?" she demanded as she tried to take a step towards him and had to stop as her leg refused to take the pressure.

Hale looked away for a moment. "Shortly after I spoke with Dr. Barber about your condition, I was informed that Dyson used his access code to initiate a trace on a phone call he made – this was not long after we lost him. We believe he called Bo."

Lauren felt as if a vacuum had been formed around her and all the oxygen in the room had been sucked out. She reached out for the bed and collapsed on it.

"Was he able to pinpoint the location?" Jacob asked rushing over to Lauren's side.

Hale shook his head slowly. "I don't know. The tracking log, everything was wiped from the system. They could tell he logged in, but that was it. He had some serious help to do that. We're looking into it."

Jacob felt his heart sink. "No..." he picked up the cell phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Kenzi!"

"Jake!" Kenzi cried out, tears blinding her as she heard his voice over the telephone. She was so going to kick his ass when she saw him next. He had to stop doing this kind of shit to her. She couldn't take it. "BoBo, its Jake." she said turning to look at her.

"Kenzi, are you okay?" he asked worried.

She frowned. "Of course we're not, jackass! We've been on pins and needles wondering what the Hell was happening! How do you think we are? Bo's a basket case! I... we didn't know if you were dead or alive!" Kenzi took a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry Kenzi." Jacob said quietly. He didn't think he'd ever be able to make up for this. Ever since he had gotten shot, Kenzi had... well, she had become skittish. They hadn't gone out for dinner again. She told him they could simply order in and play Robot Hookers while having pizza.

He had to find a way to make this up to her.

"What... what about Lauren?" Kenzi asked interrupting Jacobs' thoughts.

Kenzi paused petrified to hear what he might tell her. "Is... is she okay?" she asked, her hand trembling.

Kenzi thought about letting Bo listen to the conversation, but thought better of it. If it was bad news she did not want Bo to hear it from any one but her.

Bo was rocking back and forth, in the back of her mind she could hear Kenzi talking to her but she paid little attention to the words or their meaning.

She kept thinking of Lauren.

Her smile, her goofy laugh, her impersonation of her prom date Andrew, everything that made Lauren lovable and hers.

Bo's heart and mind were fighting, not only amongst themselves but also with her inner-Succubus; the one who relished each time it was let loose.

Her mind was trying to tell her to think logically – what chance did Lauren really have against Dyson? How could she possibly escape? Why did she choose this day to walk home? Why wasn't she there to protect Lauren - why did she leave today? Jacob could have sent her tomorrow. Then again, there was no guarantee that Dyson wouldn't have waited until tomorrow.

How was she going to handle being a single mother? She didn't have a clue, she was going to follow Lauren's example and help raise the best kid in the world with all the love it could ever need.

She gasped.

Lauren would never know if the baby was a boy or a girl. She would never see Ethan or Charlotte. Never see their first steps, hear their first word, first birthday...

Shut up! Bo told herself. She did not want to listen to her mind, it kept going over the same things and she was sick of it.

Her heart took the opportunity to weigh in on the situation.

How could she think Lauren would not survive?

Did she have that little faith in her?

She had to hold onto hope, there was always a possibility Lauren was still alive. Lauren would do everything she could to survive. They had not gotten this far only to come up short this close to the baby's birth.

There was no way Lauren would not be there to hold Ethan or Charlotte. Lauren would be there to witness the baby's smile, yawns, every moment.

How dare she blame Lauren for walking home?

She should be ashamed of herself thinking that way even if only for a moment. Lauren would be crushed if she ever found out.

Bo shook her head. It's not Lauren's fault. I'm sorry.

Her inner-Succubus roared, drowning out everything, demanding that both the heart and mind shut the HELL up!

It would knowif Lauren was dead.

It would feel the emptiness of the void that its existence would become without Lauren.

She is safe – know this. Do not despair, think of the fledgling. It still grows within us waiting for the day to join us.

Believe this, if Dyson has so much as touched a single hair on Lauren's head, he will beg for a quick end, which we will not give. We will taste his blood and it will be glorious!

Bo nodded her head in complete agreement. This was something she could grab onto and focus on.

She no longer cared for Dyson's place in her life or what he may have done in the past. He had done the unforgivable - he had threatened Lauren's life – something so precious and dear to her – that there was no place on Earth he could hide if the unthinkable happened.

Bo did not care for any rules that the Light Fae had. She would clear a path of destruction until she reached her goal: the complete obliteration of Dyson.

She would do this or die trying.

"She's okay... she's okay."

Continue telling yourself this Isabeau – do not let her know for a moment that you did not believe in her; that you had a single moment of doubt in your... our mind - she will make it through this.

Bo again nodded as she thought about Lauren.

How it felt when Lauren trailed her hand across her back during her initial examination when she was brought into the Light Fae compound. It was electric and that first spark lit the fire which had never truly gone out.

It may have dampened, but the embers still glowed hot and were ready to ignite at a single touch – a single glance. And when the flames were coaxed back to life, it burned brighter than the sun.

She's okay.

"Just a second." she heard Jake say as the sound became muffled.

"Kenzi?"

"HOT PANTS!" Kenzi shouted for joy.

"Kenzi, where's Bo. I need to hear her voice, please!" Lauren begged tears streaming down her face. "I have to."

Kenzi put the phone on speaker next to Bo's ear. "Bo..." she whispered. "Come on... say something please." she urged. She felt her heartbreak a little more.

Bo kept rocking silently – she could feel something placed close to her ear. She heard Kenzi yell out the two words she hoped and prayed meant only one thing.

"Hot Pants!"

Lauren...

Kenzi was urging, pleading her to speak, to say something, anything, yet her mind refused to co-operate.

"Bo, sweetheart, please. Please say something." Lauren pleaded running her hand through her hair, wanting nothing more than to be at her side right now.

Bo shook her head...

This was some kind of trick of Dyson was playing. He had found some Fae who could imitate voices. He was trying to drive her insane, letting her think she was hearing Lauren's voice.

No matter how much she wanted it to be true.

Her Succubus railed against such thoughts.

Listen to her voice – do you not recognize it? Can you not feel it in our soul – calling to us? Let it caress you as her hands do.

Do not lose yourself to doubt. Do not lock yourself away, listen to her. Let her love guide you back – let her make us whole.

You would wish no less from her if the situation were reversed.

Bo closed her eyes as tears began to fall.

"Bo..."

Can you not hear the anguish in her voice?

Do you not feel that? The fledgling recognizes its mother's voice. Can you not feel it moving for joy now that its family is complete?

Soon little one, soon we will be together and nothing will ever separate us again, this I swear to you.

You are ours and let no one say differently.

You have completed us in a way we never imagined. We could not love you more if we had made you.

You shall be protected and loved beyond reason.

Isabeau... speak to her.

The block of ice which had formed around Bo's heart protecting her from anymore heartache began to break into shards; jagged and sharp. She was sure when they hadn't heard from anyone it only meant one thing: Dyson had killed Lauren and she could do nothing to stop it.

She could not protect the most important person in her life.

And no matter how much her heart and inner Succubus told her, pleaded with her to believe, she still had her doubts.

"Bo... honey." Lauren hiccupped through her pain. "I'm here... I'm sorry..."

Another shard cracked, Bo gasped at the sudden pain she felt. She couldn't have heard Lauren's voice, it wasn't possible.

Dyson killed her – he as much as promised when she heard him tell Lauren to run.

"Keep talking Lauren." Kenzi urged.

Lauren kept wiping at the tears that blurred her vision. In the back of her mind, she noticed Kenzi had called her by her name and not some nickname. She knew the situation was serious.

"We need to get them together as quickly as possible." Jacob told Hale looking away from Lauren and her anguish.

"Can she walk?" he asked staring at his friend.

Jacob looked at Lauren who kept talking in soft tones. "She'd crawl over broken glass if she has too to get to Bo." he said with absolute certainty.

"You and I are going to need to talk later on. You do know that right?" Hale asked him.

"Of course Ash."

Hale sighed deeply. This situation was becoming a nightmare. "Where are they?"

Jacob rushed to the bathroom and got a paper towel. "Can I trouble you for a pen?" he asked.

Hale reached into his coat pocket and handed it to him. 'I wonder how Dad would feel if he knew I was talking to Salus Quintus?' he thought.

Jacob wrote down the address.

"Impressive." Hale said as he read the address. He frowned. "If Dyson knows where they are..."

"Kenzi and Bo are in danger." Jacob said.

Hale caught the slight inflection in Salus' voice when he said Kenzi's name. 'Lil Mama... I hope you know what you're getting into.' he thought. As much as he cared for Kenzi – he knew he had lost any chance with her.

He – they had danced around their feelings for each other for so long, now that he was Ash; acting or not, he could not do a thing about it. His hands were tied.

Now it seems as if Kenzi had a new dance partner. He sighed as his shoulders slumped slightly. He didn't have time to think of affairs of the heart, at least not his. He took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. "Get her ready." he said.

"We'll never make it in time." Jacob surmised. "He has a huge head start on us."

Hale wanted to scoff, but he couldn't.

Although he could tell that both Bo and Kenzi were fine at the moment, Dyson would get there before them.

They had to move quickly if they wanted a chance.

"I'll be back in ten minutes. She'd better be ready. I have a few phone calls to make, namely the Ash of that area. I need to let him know we're coming." Hale said as he looked at Lauren before leaving the room.

Lauren could hear Jacob and Hale speaking in the background, but her entire focus was on Bo, or rather Bo's lack of reaction.

"Honey, I know you can hear my voice. I'm… I'm sorry we didn't call. I... I was a little out of it." she said laughing nervously. "I love you Bo. Please I need you. I want to be in your arms where I feel safe, protected and loved. I want to wake up and see you smiling at me because you watched me sleeping. I need to look into your eyes and get caught up in the love I see in them and be amazed that someone, anyone, that you could love me so much."

"BoBo please... talk to Lauren. You'll feel better I promise." Kenzi urged, ignoring the wetness she felt on her cheeks.

"Isabeau... you are carrying our child, do you hear me?" Lauren's voice got louder. "Little Ethan or Charlotte need you to talk to me. Otherwise... otherwise they'll use your bladder like a trampoline, remember?" Lauren didn't know what to say. She couldn't see Bo's face and judge if her words were reaching her.

Bo gasped.

No...

Only Lauren knew that.

She had told Lauren earlier... when she was alive.

Could it be possible?

Bo's heart beat wildly in her chest.

Her inner Succubus strained against the mental barriers Bo had put up to deal with the situation.

It had recognized its mate's voice earlier and rejoiced.

"That's right Bo... it's me, Lauren. Don't you remember? Take two frownie brownies and call me in the morning. Remember? I told you all about that. How it didn't matter how scared I was for you, it took all of my training not to laugh when you growled at me. How adorable it was..."

"Lo... Lauren?" Bo uttered as the memory of them having dinner, listening to and watching Lauren demonstrate the incident came rushing back to her. "Bay… baby?" she started sobbing. "You... you're alive? Tell me I'm not dreaming... I don't want to wake up if I'm dreaming..."

Lauren sobbed as well. "Bo..."

Kenzi calmly accepted she was crying like a baby when Bo finally acknowledged that she was taking to Lauren.

Jacob turned away and bit the inside of his cheek.

Human and Fae emotions were closely related, which was one of the ways most Fae had been able to successfully acclimate themselves in human society.

The emotions he witnessed or experienced in the past had nothing on this moment. He closed his eyes and quietly thought of Madeline. 'Your daughter will never know anymore pain as long as I live. I swear to you.'

It was a bold promise and he knew he might not be able to keep it, but it felt right to say it.

He walked over to Lauren and sat down next to her and placed her hand in his and offered his support. "The Ash will return shortly, we are leaving."

"Bo... sweetheart, did you hear that?" she said excitedly. "I'm coming to you... we won't be apart any more."

"Don't hang up!" Bo said frantically.

"No!" Lauren shook her head. "I won't… I'll talk to you the entire time, I promise."

"Let them know the Ash is contacting his counterpart there to inform them we are coming..."

"Are you listening Bo?" Lauren asked.

"Ye... yes." she replied holding Kenzi's hand.

"We think Dyson found out where they are." Jacob said.

"What?" Both Bo and Lauren cried out.

"The Ash stated that Dyson had accessed his departmental account and traced a phone call after he attacked you."

"Attacked? Lauren… oh my God! Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?" Bo was so relieved to hear Lauren's voice it never dawned on her why they had been out of contact for so long.

"I'll tell you when I get there..." Lauren said.

"NO! You'll tell me now!"

Lauren and Jacob looked at the phone. Lauren had only heard that tone of voice once before, during the incident with the Lich. "Bo... you need to calm down. You're probably worrying Kenzi and think of the baby." Lauren urged.

Bo took a deep breath and tried to push the Succubus down when all she wanted to do was let it run loose.

It would take care of things.

It would do what Bo could not.

"Lauren, just tell me."

"I... I had to have surgery."

Bo felt an icy calm settle over her. "How long will it take you to get here?" she asked reasonably.

Lauren blinked at the sudden change in Bo's voice. "I... I'm not sure." she replied, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"Dyson is probably on his way over..." Jacob said.

"What! What are we waiting for? We need to leave." Kenzi cried out, jumping up from the floor and started thinking about what they needed to take with them. "Come on BoBo... let's haul ass!"

"No Kenzi." Bo said shaking her head. "I'm staying."

"Are you crazy?" she asked putting her hands on her hips.

"Bo, you have to leave." Lauren told her.

"I'm not leaving. He hurt Lauren... he needs to be put down." she said decisively.

"Fuck." Kenzi murmured.

"Bo... think of the baby." Lauren said.

"I am thinking of the baby. As long as Dyson's alive, we'll never know a moments worth of peace. Never."

Kenzi stared at Bo.

She couldn't believe what she had heard.

It was Dyson for crying out loud.

He was the first person Bo had slept with without worrying about sucking the life out of him and up to a corpse.

He was Dyson.

And no matter how much Kenzi might have wished this could have ended differently – she knew there was no other way.

He had attacked Lauren and even in her book, you could not come back from that. She would mourn the passing of the man she once knew and cared about. But this version of him – she would not shed a tear.

It was going to be difficult, but she had to think of a way to take that burden from Bo's shoulders.

Bo could not kill Dyson.

As much as she seemed ready to do so – it would damage her in the end. She did not think Bo would want to explain she had to kill the baby's father once Ethan or Charlotte got older.

'Talk about therapy bills.' she thought.

She started thinking about their security.

Perhaps she could do a 'Home Alone' type of warning system.

The villa was so secluded, that they had not thought about needing any type of security detail.

It had been stocked with supplies, enough to last them a good month or two. They had picked up the keys to the place from the caretaker when they arrived.

No one except for Jacob knew where they were.

"BoBo... I'm going to be right back." she said as she walked to the front door. Taking a deep breath, she opened it.

It was a beautiful day.

The sun had begun its assent, the clouds moved across the sky and a gentle puff of wind ruffled Kenzi's hair.

She stepped out on the porch.

She held up her hand to shade her eyes as she stepped on to the circular driveway. The road to the villa was made of gravel. She could recall the sound of the taxi's tires crunching on it as they approached the place.

This was a good thing.

They would be able to hear anyone coming up the drive.

'But knowing Dyson, he'll probably wolf out – cheater.' Kenzi gripped.

She had to think of something.

She gazed across the expanse of the estate. There were pine and fur trees all over the place. It was built on a hilltop, with craggy outcroppings buttressing it.

She smiled.

Trust Jake to send them to Halkidiki, Greece.

Her smile faltered.

Instead of being an idyllic setting for Bo to have the baby, it was the end of life as they knew it. Everything would change after today.

She had no idea how much time she had before Dyson made his move.

She had already taken stock of the place when they first arrived. It was beautiful, thick white-washed walls, the ocean in the background, it was perfect.

It should have been perfect.

Then she thought about the weak points of the place.

'Too many damn windows.' she thought. They were designed to allow the cool salty air from the ocean to keep the temperature pleasant. "This is the last place I'd come to if this were a zombie apocalypse." She grumbled out loud. "Okay, okay, calm down – you can do this." Kenzi told herself as she began to look around the outside of the villa. She jogged over to a shed she had seen when they first arrived. She grabbed the handle and turned, letting out a grateful sigh she wasn't going to need to search for keys or try to pick it open.

She stepped inside and waited for her eyes to adjust to the lack of sunlight in the room. Her eyes took stock of what she had to work with.

A few empty bottles...

'Molotov cocktails, if I can find some gas.'

'Maybe I can break them up and scatter the pieces around the porch and the house. Give us a heads us when he steps on them or maybe he'll cut his paws – whatever.'

Her brow furrowed as she thought of it more.

'If I do that, he'll hear us if we try to high-tail it out of here.'

'Shit!'

"Keep looking... keep looking." she murmured. She peeked into to jars she saw lined up on the window sill, there were assorted nuts, screws and washers. "Not enough for what I'd need." Kenzi grumbled.

She slowly turned around.

"Huh... an oar?" she reached out and took it outside, leaning it against the door. She looked around for its companion and noticed it was damaged. "Can't use that." she said.

Kenzi went back inside, lifting a tarp and practically drooled as she spotted a spear gun. "That's what I'm talking about."

She rummaged around and was able to locate three more spears; she gathered them together, took them outside and placed them next to the oar.

She was about to leave when out of the corner of her eye she noticed a hard shell case.

"Oh please let this be what I think it is."

She placed the case on top of the work counter, flicked the latch and opened it.

Her eyes lit up.

She reached in and pulled a flare gun from its foam housing. She turned it from side to side, examining her find. She opened it and saw it was preloaded. She looked back inside the case and there were two more unused flares.

She carefully placed the flare gun back in its protective case, closed it and tucked it under her arm.

She knew it would be used as a last resort, when there was no other choice.

She was disappointed that she hadn't found as much as she thought she would.

Normally, whenever they left the Shack, they would take along an assortment of weapons, as they never knew what could happen. This time they weren't able to as they took a commercial flight and airport security tended to frown upon passengers bringing in weapons into their country.

They had not thought they would need weapons of any kind. They simply expected to chill and wait for Lauren to join them whenever she could.

If they had needed anything, Jake had told her to call him and he would make arrangements to have it delivered.

"Dumb ass." she grumbled, as she stopped to resituate the oar as she walked back to the villa. "Making me think he was hurt again. Why the Hell couldn't he be a dork!" It would have made things so much easier in her mind to ignore her growing feelings for him.

And that scared the shit out of her.

They hadn't known each other for very long, but Kenzi could see that he had the possibility of becoming very important.

At least, he wasn't Hale.

Another dumb ass in her estimation.

Kenzi sighed deeply.

She loved Hale – he was her Bestie, next to Bo.

He had a place in her heart, that wasn't going to change but she knew it wasn't going anywhere.

It couldn't – well – maybe it could have at one point, but their time had passed.

And Jake...

It wasn't simply the fact he had been there for not only her, but the rest of them too. But, she could tell he had feelings for her even if he had not admitted them.

Not that she was going to.

'Stupid Fae laws.'

'Well, if Bo and Lauren could...'

Kenzi shook her head to clear her wandering thoughts – her love life would have to take a back seat for now.

She was going over the villa in her head from top to bottom. What were the strongest and the weakest points and how could she fortify them.

'Fuck Dyson if he thinks he's getting past me.'

She dreaded the thought of going against him and for a brief moment hoped she might be able to get through to him. To make him understand this was wrong on so many levels.

Everything pointed however to the probability that he might hurt her to get to Bo. He would simply see her as an obstacle to get around in order to achieve his goal.

And she would not let him, as long as there was a single breath left in her body, she would use it to protect Bo and the munchkin.

She entered the villa and could still hear Bo's voice in the background. 'Good, she needs to keep talking to Lauren.'

Kenzi placed all the items she brought back with her from the shed on the dining room table. She looked over her meager haul and knew that she would need more.

She bit her lip. "Think, think." she told herself. She snapped her fingers and rushed into the kitchen. It was a beautiful set-up: stainless steel appliances, an eight burner gas stove with convection oven and a microwave tucked into a built in cubby.

Just because she did not cook did not mean she did not appreciate good shit when she saw it.

Copper pots and pans were hanging above the kitchen island that had a built in sink. She reached up and took down the biggest pot she could find and placed it on the counter. She took all the knives from the magnetic strip they were affixed to and put them in the pot.

She pulled out drawers, searching for anything which could be used as a weapon. She lifted a meat tenderizer and smiled at the weight of it. 'Gonna crack some heads.'

She went through the entire kitchen until she had taken everything sharp, pointy or just plain mean looking and put them in the second pot she had to take down.

She thought about placing items all over the house, so no matter where they might have to run, they would have something to protect themselves with.

Kenzi looked up quickly.

She thought she had heard a noise.

Grabbing the meat tenderizer and holding it tightly she cautiously approached the kitchen window that looked out onto the expansive front yard.

Her heart was pounding in her chest.

'If this were a movie – Dyson would pop up and smile, scaring the shit out of me.'

Taking a deep breath she stared outside for a minute or two before her overactive imagination finally calmed down.

Once she was sure it was safe, Kenzi moved away from the window, grabbed one of the pots and took it into the dining room; placing it on the table along with the other items.

She ran back into the kitchen, looking around once more prior to taking the other pot into the living room where Bo was.

Bo was still on the phone pacing.

'More like waddling.' she quipped silently back and forth.

Kenzi frowned as she noticed Bo's hand on her back, grimacing from time to time. She had noticed this earlier and had brought it to Bo's attention.

"My back hurts, that's all." Bo replied when Kenzi had asked if she was okay.

Kenzi wasn't sure if Bo was telling her the truth and that worried her.

"Lauren, you sure you're okay?" Bo asked her once again.

"I'm fine." she said trying not to wince as she gingerly placed her weight on her injured leg when Jacob brought a wheelchair for her. She thought she was going to collapse again, the pain was unbearable.

"You know I don't believe you?" Bo replied grimacing as her back spasms again. "Lauren..."

"Yes love." Lauren said as Jacob wheeled her out of her room. Hale was waiting for them and led the way through the back of the medical facility. She could see that it had been cleared of the personal that normally would be working back here on various projects.

"Can you tell our baby to stop making my back hurt?"

"Your back is hurting?" Lauren replied looking behind her at Jacob. "How long has it been bothering you?

"It started last night." Bo said reaching behind her and trying to massage her back and not doing a very good job at it.

"You mean before you left?" Lauren questioned as Jacob pushed through the exit.

Bo thought about it for a moment or two. "Yeah, after, well, you know." she replied blushing as she thought of how they spent their night together. "Why?"

"She's already passed the gestational cycle for wolves and she's too early for humans..." Lauren muttered to herself as her mind tried to grasp the implications.

"What are you talking about?"

Lauren turned to face Jacob. "We have to hurry."

"Hello... I'm still here – you know, your partner the one who almost went crazy because I thought you were dead. The one carrying your baby! Stop leaving me in the fucking dark!" Bo yelled angrily.

"Shit BoBo... take a pill."

"Don't start Kenzi. I shouldn't have to go through this – you shouldn't have to… I just want some answers!"

"I think you're going into labor." Lauren said quietly.

Author's Notes:

Yes, I'm leaving it there. I did not forget the story. I was having a little bit of a mental block. Chapter 38 is ready to go, it is shorter than this chapter, they can't all be long.

Thanks to Chris for being my 250th review for the story. (Happy dance)

I am working on chapter 39 and I think this will run 40 chapters with an epilogue.

I notice I've been working on this story for about four months. I think this is the second longest story I've written and trust me, I'm not doing that again.

Thanks to Kravn and EBlaine for making this story what it is.

Like this chapter, the next one won't be going up until 39 is finished and ready to go.

Reviews, I REALLY, really like them. I'm hoping to hit at least 260 with this chapter... don't let me down.