Bo circled the bed Lauren was asleep in. She kept noting the time and the doctor's movements. She hadn't moved. She took a deep breath and kept walking. If she sits, she will break. Break into thousands of pieces just like Lauren must have when she asked for the break. Aife had left hours ago at Bo's insistence. This is their time. Time for them to be alone. Time for Lauren to know just how much Bo loves her. It hurts that she doesn't. That she doesn't hurts Bo. She can't keep being that Bo. The Bo that rarely talks outside of sleeping with the doctor. She needs to be the Bo that Lauren fell for. But she also needs to be the Bo that jumped from the train. She's different. Lauren is different. The woman has a gf out there living in the fae world that she could go back to at any given time. Time. Something the doctor knows she doesn't have a lot of.
Bo stopped walking when Lauren finally moved. She took a seat and poured a glass of water. "Easy, Lauren." She whispered.
"Bo? Where am I? Where are we?." Lauren asked.
"You are in bed. We are alone. Like we need to be." Bo replied as she helped Lauren drink the water.
"What happened?." Lauren asked.
"Hades showed up. He tried to kill you but he's dead now." Bo was careful with her movements. While Lauren looks well, looks can be deceiving and she could still be injured.
"Bo." Lauren sat up.
"Easy. Easy." Bo held her hands out to help the woman move.
"Are you okay?." Lauren asked.
"I was about to ask you that." Bo turned around to get a hot towel to wipe Lauren's face.
"I can do that. It's okay." Lauren pushed Bo's hands away.
Bo frowned but gave the woman the towel. Once she watched her clean her face, arms and hands, she took it back. "Lauren, we are far away from Toronto. I had mom find this place so that you and I can talk. Really talk. Hades has been dealt with. Now we need to deal with us. If there's still an us. But first, we need to get you something to eat." She helped Lauren to stand and the blonde walked to shower once Bo showed her a new robe and house shoes.
"Fix it, now." Bo nodded at the cook.
"Yes, ma'am". The chef bowed.
Bo sat at the table drinking a glass of water. What can she say? What will Lauren say? She fidgeted in her seat when Lauren walked towards her. She jumped to help the woman sit.
"You're quiet, Bo." Lauren looked up into dark eyes and watched her return to her seat.
"Lauren we are here because of a lot of shit that happened. I am not pointing fingers because I would have to point them at myself, too. We need to be fixed and I don't know how to do that other than one idea." Bo leaned back to give the chef room to put their plates down. "This looks like enough, you can go." Bo looked at him.
"An idea? What idea?." Lauren asked as she held a fork.
"Lauren, you were so disgusted with me that you injected yourself to forget me. Then you fell in love with another woman. I don't know why you loved Nadia. I don't know why you loved me. I don't know why you love Crystal. I want you to date the both of us. I want to be sure that I'm your choice because I know you are mine. I want us to get to know each other again. There are things about you that I don't know. There are things about me that you don't know. It's just where life has brought us right now." Bo took a small bite of food in case she needed to respond in a hurry.
"Bo, those are private relationships. I can tell you what I love about them but I don't do that. That's one of your things with Kenzi and Dyson." Lauren took a bite and a drink.
"You are right. I do talk to them about us because you won't talk to me about us. I know that's part of your DNA as a doctor to hold things inside. But I thought we were good. I really did. My mouth and body may have wound up on other people, intentionally or not. But my heart has always been yours. I don't know how you feel if you don't tell me. I do that same stuff. We need to date. I want you to date the both of us. I want to know your heart is mine and mine only. I need to be sure. I want you to be sure that I am your choice." Bo leaned back and pushed her food away.
"Bo, Crystal means a lot to me as she should, intentionally or not. She means a lot to me. She wasn't the one that left me on the side of the road. She wasn't the one that disgusted me so much that I did all of that to myself. If you had forgotten me, you could have stopped and helped a stranger in distress. That's who I thought you were when I still remembered you before all of that. I was gagged and knocked out and you just kept going with him. Now, I am not saying Crystal is my Dyson because she is not. She's a woman that I still love. If we are going to be friends, then we will be friends. I know you love me. I felt it that one time you touched me. I felt it all. It was strong and it was powerful. Just like I thought our love was back then. They come first, Bo. Something will always bring the fae to be more important to you than I am." Lauren took a big bite.
"Lauren, I would leave all of that for you. Look around, I already have. I can quit the fae cases. I can quit talking to other people about our relationship. I can stop talking to them, period. But I want us to talk like we are talking now. I want to go out on dates with you to get to know this new Lauren in front of me. Perhaps, we don't love each other like we used to. Perhaps, we don't know each other like we used to. But we both need to know. It wouldn't be fair to other people if we move on and then come back to each other. I have done that with Dyson. He thinks I will come back to him. I won't. My heart is not there. It is here. Sitting in a chair across from me." Bo pointed across from her seat.
"Crystal, won't date me, Bo. She knows about us. She knows there's something here. I won't do that to her. I won't bring her into something that shouldn't involve her. She's always been good and thoughtful to me. I know what I have with her. But you are right. We should date, slowly. I don't know you. You don't know me. We could be shelves of our former selves out from under fae eyes." Lauren finished her food and took another drink.
"Then I say we stay here. In this house and we date each other. You will have a room. I will have a room. At the end of each date, we will both go to our separate rooms, should we not be ready to reconcile again." Bo pulled her food back to her and started eating again. "Enjoy your day." She spoke without looking up.
"I'm going shopping. I will." Lauren stood and walked out. "This is not mine."
"Aife sent two cars. You have your pick." A man spoke.
"No. I won't be a kept woman by a mother succubus. I will go and get my own car." Lauren walked away and kept walking. She never looked back. She is sure Bo is still sitting at that table. Staring at the chair the blonde has just vacated.
Bo washed their dishes by hand and walked outside. It was still early morning and she needed the air. Normal people could and would probably be able to handle what she proposed to Lauren. To date her while living with her. But normal people don't have a succubus. They don't have a hunger that can never be sated because she can never get enough of Lauren. All of her is interesting to Bo. At least the Lauren she used to know. She hopes she's still the same woman. She hopes she's still herself. Still Bo.
She blew out a breath and took a seat. Lauren has gone shopping, so she needs to think of something to get out of the house and do. The Dal, she thought. Taking a deep breath, she stood and locked the house before leaving.
The Dal
"Dyson, I can't keep pulling your ass out of the fire if you keep playing with matches. Crystal is the Morrigan's human. Don't go there again. You will upset the Elders." Trick marched over to the wolf. Dyson looked like he was walking in with his ass between his legs.
"It's stupid, Trick. Since when does the Morrigan have a favorite human? Besides I only went to see her to convince her to reach out to Lauren again. Things were better off when Lauren didn't remember Bo." Dyson looked down at Trick and Trick turned to walk away.
"Bo is not coming back to you. She fought her father last night and brought Lauren back. Kenzi is still her human and things are normal. You just never liked this normal." Trick replied.
"You didn't either. We both talked about how one day Lauren will die. Imagine Bo in that kind of pain at losing a friend. She needs a love that will never die. She needs me and you know it." Dyson walked away and waited to be served by someone else. He didn't need daddy Trick today, he needs the Blood King. Grandfather to Bo Dennis.
"You people will respect my choice. Do not ever do this shit behind my back again." Bo raged from the door.
"Bo? I didn't hear your car pull up." Trick turned around.
"I have a new one. It's cooling off outside." Bo walked forward. "Dyson, I don't know what you are planning but I do know what you are thinking. No. I will not come back to you. I don't need to. I have someone. Someone more important to me than any time you and I have spent together. You don't have to like her, but you damn sure will respect her presence here and in my life. If you can't do that, we are nothing." Just as quick as Bo entered. She turned away from him.
"Bo?." Dyson grabbed her arm.
Bo looked down at his hand and her eyes flared blue. "Let go."
Dyson let go but his mouth couldn't resist staying shut. "We were always more than friends, Bo. Somehow you have forgotten that. Somehow you have forgotten that I am the one you come to heal with. She can't possibly heal a succubus. She can't. She's a human. You can't change that."
"You are out of my life but before I go. She does heal me. She heals me in more ways than you ever could. Stay away from Lauren. Stay away from me. We are done." Bo turned around again and walked away from him. She took a seat far on the other side of the bar.
Lauren
Lauren didn't lie, she did go shopping. She strolled slowly through a clothing store, picked out a few outfits, paid for them and walked out. She put her sunglasses on and walked to her car. She heard her stomach growl and knew she's hungry again. She drove around and picked a random spot to eat.
"Look, Evony, just keep up our agreement and do something about that stank dog." Crystal waved her hand in the air as she spoke.
Lauren sighed when she spotted that figure in front of her. She thought about leaving but they have always been civil and friends if nothing else. "Hey you."
"Lauren! Hi!." Crystal smiled.
"Hi. Look, I was just going to get something to eat but I didn't know you would be here. I can go." Lauren turned to go
"No. You can stay. I'm glad you are taking care of yourself. Knowing when you need to eat and not putting it off for something or some patient." Crystal gestured for Lauren to sit.
"Thank you." Lauren nodded and took a seat.
"I was just talking to the Morrigan after my meeting finished." Crystal took a drink.
"How are you? How is all of that going?." Lauren asked.
"She's keeping her word. She knows better than to cross me, her money will slow down." Crystal smiled.
Lauren opened her mouth and closed.
"Bo?." Crystal asked.
Lauren looked at her and shook her head.
"Listen, I won't push you to talk about that relationship with me. But you need to know there is talk going around about it. That wolf came to me implying we should join forces to break up you and Bo. Don't let him win, Lauren. You are much better than he will ever be. He's an asshole in every sense of the word. I know you love me as a friend but you love her even more. It's in your eyes whenever her name is mentioned. It's in your subconscious. It's everywhere on and in you. You deserve to be happy and you deserve to see if you still have that with her." Crystal tapped Lauren's shoulder.
"Crystal, that relationship is private. It should have stayed private. I won't talk to you about Bo. I wouldn't talk to her about you today." Lauren replied.
Lauren had a look in her eye and Crystal smiled. "Nope. I won't date you when you love someone else. But date her. You two have been separated for years. You need to get to know each other again and see where it takes you. Just be happy, Lauren. We'll always be friends." Crystal smiled and threw her tab money on the table and left the blonde to think without her in her face.
Lauren watched Crystal leave and shook her head. The woman is amazing and sweet. But she's right. Lauren needs to think of her own happiness above everything else. She is not sure she knows how to do that after years of pent up anger and sealed lips when she really wanted to speak or scream. Like just before she injected herself to forget Bo. She had never felt so hurt and betrayed in all of her life. But that's what they do. They don't talk, they assume. One of the best parts of Bo before Lauren fell in love with her was how she would jump in to help a stranger in need. How could she not see Lauren? How could she not help her? Was she so angry about their break that she just didn't give a damn anymore? With the injection reversed, that question burns more than anything.
She thought about what Crystal just said. Dyson is angling to use them to get back together so his path to Bo will be free and clear. She thought about last night. They had literally called Hades out. The man that really wants Bo all to himself for murderous reasons. He said Bo can't love but the doctor knows that she can.
Are you afraid doctor? "Yes, I am." Lauren answered her own internal question. But only Bo can truly answer that question over time. She felt that love Hades called Bo incapable of when she touched her and every feeling she had for the woman came back. Don't let him win, Lauren. You need to get to know each other again and see where it takes you. Just be happy, Lauren.
Bo
Bo sat holding a bottle of whiskey as she sat on their patio deck. She took a drink and swallowed it slowly. She had done this before. Drank and drank after days spent looking for Lauren. She can't live without Lauren, she just can't. Even in the darkest moments Bo has to live with herself and her succubus, Lauren is the light that has always brought her back.
She hadn't done that for the blonde until last night when she literally brought her back. Brought her back to life and according to the shit she heard at the Dal, back to the same bullshit that ran her off in the first place. That's all on Bo. She is going to have to practically tattoo off limits on her entire body because someone will think they have a chance with her.
"Bo?." Lauren called quietly behind the woman. She watched her body tense and the succubus stood and turned around. "Marry me."
"I'm sorry, what?." Lauren's eyes went wide.
"I love you, Lauren. Marry me." Bo stepped forward.
"Bo." Lauren sighed.
"Listen to me. I know we have so far to go and so much to get through but I'd like to do that as wives. The bullshit will stop. People will stop plotting our downfall." Bo walked circles around the woman as she spoke.
"Bo, Fae marriages last for thousands of years." Lauren rolled her tongue in her mouth.
"So, I can be happily married to you for that long." Bo replied as she continued the circle. "I can't live without you, Lauren. I can't. This isn't about my succubus needs, it is about my entire need and want for you."
"How did you go from wanting to date me to wanting to marry me in just a few hours?." Lauren asked.
"Dyson and my father. They won't determine who I'm in a relationship with. My heart knows what it wants and all it wants is you." Bo stopped and stood in front of the doctor.
"No." Lauren replied.
"No?." Bo frowned.
"No. I won't marry you, Bo. But I will date you. We really do need to get to know each other again. If you still feel that way after a certain amount of time, I will consider marrying you." Lauren replied.
Bo stepped into the woman's personal space, took her head into her hands and whispered. "I will make you change your mind."
"We'll see". Lauren gently gripped Bo's hands as they stood forehead to forehead.
TBC