Author's notes: This takes place between the end of 2x06 to the end of 2x08. I also owe a great debt to lonejaguar for prodding me in the right direction on a few occasions.

7. Truth

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." | Oscar Wilde

"Lauren?"

"She's gone."

So much for their plans. Lauren was gone and there wasn't anything left to be done with the day so Bo skulked to bed. Kenzi nipped at her heels, concerned. Something was different. Kenzi encouraged Bo to be patient with Lauren and to believe there was an explanation when Bo was ready to jump to conclusions. It was unexpected and, she had to admit, refreshing. Kenzi retreated for a time, leaving her to her thoughts.

Bo flopped onto her back on her bed. A day that had started with such promise, she mused, had now turned to shit. First Dyson and Ciara, now Lauren had a girlfriend. Everything was coming up roses for Bo… roses sprouting from a steaming pile of horse crap. The urge to flail was great but she resisted as she heard Kenzi on the stairs. Bo buried her face in her pillow.

"Honey BoBo…" She tsk'd, setting a pair of teacups on the nightstand, sitting down beside Bo, and rubbing her back. "Oh, sweetness, we'll get through this."

"It's bad luck, right? I just have really bad luck picking the people I let myself get attached to."

"Are you sure you didn't set yourvajajay to stump instead of stun?"

Bo laughed in spite of herself and pushed Kenzi away playfully. "You're bringing the jokes, right now?"

"So Lauren has a girlfriend. She should be the one wondering how long she'll have to wait for you to be done with Lauren."

"Kenzi…"

"Oh, come on. We both know I'm the only Human you can find it in your heart to love."

"Love? Why would you go right for that?"

"Oh, I dunno. I was kinda tipped off by how you went prone the minute you got home after finding out about the girlfriend."

"Wouldn't you?" Bo mumbled into her pillow.

I never dated a girl with a girlfriend."

Bo lifted her head. "But you've dated a girl?"

"When I was ten I wanted to marry my best friend."

"That's totally not the same thing."

"So you didn't do everything but single-handedly load the U-Haul for Lauren when she escaped?"

"That's different. I wanted her to be safe."

"Be real. You could have set her up in a motel room. Probably would have been harder for Lachlan to find her, too."

"But then I wouldn't be there if…" she trailed off.

"Ah!" Kenzi pointed at her.

"… she needed me," Bo finished, realizing her slip. She turned her back to Kenzi, glaring over her shoulder. "Go away, Kenzi."

"Suit yourself." Kenzi hopped off the bed and strutted towards the stairs. "Get some sleep. It'll hurt less in the morning."

It didn't. If anything, it stung more in the light of day because Bo had to pretend everything was a-ok when it was most definitely not. She worked her next case without Lauren. That is, until Lauren called her and tried to help which only served to piss Bo off. It was like she didn't appreciate the implicit meaning of her help. But what burned the most was her almost amnesia-like avoidance of telling Bo that she had a girlfriend at all. And after giving her chance after chance to come clean, Bo was running out of patience.

Bo held the box in the palm of her hand. She had been staring at the damn thing since Evony gave it to her. All she wanted to do was to talk to Lauren, to open the box and to free Nadia. Whatever horrible aftermath would befall them after that, was all that she had to look forward to at this point. Worst case scenario, Lauren would leave town with Nadia and they'd never see each other again. Yeah, that was pretty much the worst thing she could think of.

"Shit." Bo sighed.

She had become decidedly pessimistic about how it all would pan out. Sitting in the Camaro outside of the Dal, she saw Lauren go in a few minutes before. Bo couldn't sit still any longer, she climbed from the car and walked into the building with purpose.

After ten minutes, Bo felt like an asshole. Of course, she had a coma girlfriend. When was that going to come up in conversation? And of course Lauren was so devoted that she gave up her very freedom because she felt responsible for Nadia's condition. Not because she loved her, Bo pointed out to herself-because she felt responsible. Duty. And now with every thing on the table, a narrow piece of metal took center stage between them.

"What do you think it is?"

Lauren blinked. "It looks like a nail, or a pin or something. Part of a clasp."

Bo dropped it. "Oh shit, what if it's got the plague on it?"

"You're fine. I always have the antidote on hand in the lab."

"And yet, all I can think of doing is washing my hands for an hour."

"Could this be a set up?" Lauren eyed Bo. "You did get this from the Morrigan."

Bo looked up from the table and shrugged. "Let's just pretend she's a reputable source and figure this out."

"All right, Doctor. Time's up." The guard walked toward the women.

"We have got to figure out how to spend more time together," Bo griped.

Lauren covered the nail and pushed it into Bo's hand. "Keep that safe," she whispered.

Bo nodded quickly as the guard pulled Lauren away from her. She couldn't take her eyes off her as the guard led Lauren out of the Dal. In moments like this, their connection complicated everything. The longing in Lauren's eyes left Bo with a lump in her throat. And Bo's rage grew with every guard that man-handled Lauren but she couldn't interfere. Lachlan was a loose cannon and Bo couldn't put Lauren in any more danger than she already had. With one last glance, Lauren disappeared through the doorway and the world went dark.

The lure of Lauren was her foil and it had been a week since she'd seen her. When Bo heard her hushed voice stealing time on the lab phone, she would have agreed to just about anything if it meant she could see her again. And "anything" in this case was a body bag. The stale and sour smelling bag was a vault of odors to the deceased and diseased. Bo gave herself the chills. Gross.

The zipper opened in front of her face and Lauren's relieved expression was the first thing that she saw out of the dark. She tried to avoid the unavoidable by making excuses not to meet Nadia, but Lauren prevailed and Bo stared down at the gorgeous girlfriend. This was terrible.

Over the next few days, Bo was haunted by Nadia and who she was and what she meant to Lauren. Scenario after scenario played out in her brain and Bo was miserable. When the opportunity came to "borrow" Lauren from the Ash, Bo eagerly arranged it.

Driving across town, with Lauren in the seat beside her made Bo feel invincible. Together they would take on the Lich, from his inane speeches to the open sores on his face, Bo was glad to have back-up for this mission, especially if the Lich was as all-knowing as people say-she would counter with her own know-it-all Human. She watched Lauren carefully as she basked in the sun that shone through the Camaro's windows and Bo found herself angry that the Fae could keep her locked away, even from the sun.

"It's a nice day." She smiled at Lauren.

"It's beautiful."

"Has it always been like this, Lauren?" Bo asked, meaning her untenable situation with the Ash.

Lauren considered her question and then smiled. "No, it's never been like this."

"I've never had to chase someone as much as I chase you. It's like once I get permission to make the date and get past all of your guards and chaperones, there's the Ash sitting on the front porch with this huge shotgun."

Lauren laughed and settled into quiet contemplation. "The old Ash treated me as an advisor, let me have my autonomy and self-respect…"

"And Lachlan…"

"Doesn't."

Bo drove the Camaro into the lot and parked near the entrance. She clicked the key off and turned to Lauren. "He can't take those things from you, Lauren."

"He can take anything he wants."

"No." Bo shook her head. "I won't let him."

"Bo…" She smiled, and in the sunlight she looked ethereal.

"Who knows? Maybe the Lich has the answers we need to break your contract with the Ash…"

"Maybe." Lauren nodded, suddenly sad.

"It's not always gonna be like this. I promise."

A huge thunder clap erupted, followed by a rumble. "We should get inside…"

The thunder and lightning had foreshadowed their evening with the Lich. From the boredom of his salons and speeches to the peril of their lives on the line for his amusement, Bo was filled with white hot power, pulsing through her veins like a super charged lava flow. The Lich would not harm Lauren, he would not harm anyone ever again.

"What good is having all those secrets if you keep them to yourself, anyway?" She asked Lauren as they walked away from his body, Christoph following close behind.

On a night when there was so much to say, so much to tease apart and even research, Bo turned down the medical tests and as much as she wanted to take Lauren home with her, she met Dyson a few miles from the compound and he returned her to her quarters as directed by the Ash. Bo hated playing by the rules (even if she was still breaking them,) especially when they were Lachlan's rules but until she could work this very sizeable problem out, she had to play nice.

A few days passed and she was back in the body bag, being wheeled through the compound to Lauren. She tried not to breathe in the acrid odors of the bag but soon found herself lightheaded. Succumbing to her need to breathe, Bo scrunched her nose and inhaled deeply. Disgusting.

She could hear a door open, it's telltale squeak signaling Lauren's lab. She heard Lauren making small talk with the tech that had wheeled her in and finally the zipper was coming down and the cool, air conditioned air of her lab washed over her.

There were still so many questions and Lauren hadn't made peace with the biggest one of them all: Who had cursed Nadia? But Bo remained positive, more certain than ever that this was a case she could solve.

"We're one step closer to getting Nadia back to you. That's good, right?"

She kissed Bo hard, her mouth hungry and eager in the bright blue light of Nadia's stasis chamber. Nadia. Shit. Lauren threatened to overwhelm them both right there in front of Nadia and Bo was happy to be along for the ride. But it wasn't in a vengeful I'm-going-to-steal-your-girlfriend-and-there's-nothing-you-can-do-about-it way. That wasn't that at all. She wanted Lauren to be happy and like it or not, Nadia had dibs.

She met the force of Lauren's kisses with her own, holding her head in her hands until Lauren seem to awaken from her own desire. Lauren took a step back.

Bo laughed. "What was that?"

"C'mon. Not in here."

"You just kissed me, surely we can talk."

"Bo, please." Her reply was a desperate squeak.

Lauren opened the side door and scanned the hall. She grabbed Bo's hand and pulled her down the hall and into what she could only assume was a janitorial closet. Inside, Bo looked around. It wasn't roomy, but Lauren had made the most out of the space. A small desk, a folding chair, shelving and papers, papers everywhere. She reached around Bo and shut the door behind her.

"Do they know about this office?"

"Sometimes I need a little privacy."

"So, no."

"No." Lauren wrung her hands. "Look, Bo…"

"Lauren," she sighed. "This must be really confusing. I get it."

Lauren shook her head. "I'm not confused." She took a step toward Bo. "I want you."

Bo's smile broke like the sunshine after a ferocious rainstorm and she stepped into Lauren's space. Just as their lips were about to touch, Lauren whispered: "Bo, I can't."

Bo straightened and took a step back. "You just said…"

"And I wasn't lying."

"But…?"

"I have to save her."

"You know that I'll help you."

"And after?"

Bo's face fell. "Lauren."

"I owe her that much."

"Lauren, you've already given up five years of your life to the Fae."

Lauren exhaled a painful sort of sigh. "And so has she."

TBC