Hey, everyone. Another upload, as promised. Hope anyone who is reading is doing okay with this so far - it came to me as a long thing, so I hope everyone is okay to roll with that. To whoever asked if this was based on a real case I had, yes, the facts are related to one of mine, but the content of the story and Bo's journey is different.

Hope you enjoy!

By 6 Lauren was drained, her early morning trip to Bo catching up with her fully. She had texted Bo once or twice, but hadn't heard anything back. She walked back to her cancer patient's room, but found her sleeping. Realizing there wasn't much more to do, she knew it was time to leave. With a deep breath, she shut down her office and headed home. When she pulled up at the apartment it was dark. She knew that meant Bo was likely not home, but she walked back to the bedroom quietly, hoping against hope that she was wrong.

The bed remained untouched, neatly made.

With a sigh, she walked to the fridge and surveyed the contents before shutting the door without taking anything.

She was contemplating texting Bo futilely for the third time of the day when her cell phone rang with Bo's office number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dr. Lewis? This is Helen." Her voice was low, like she was trying to be quiet.

It took Lauren a moment for Bo's secretary's name to register in her mind. "Oh, Helen, hi. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I mean…well, you know. Listen, do you think you could come pick up Bo?"

"Of course, is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's…well, she's asleep on her desk right now…"

Lauren sighed. "Of course she is."

"Yeah," Helen said, her tone matching Lauren's. "Look, she'd kill me if she knew I called you, but…"

"Right. I'm on my way," Lauren answered.

Lauren arrived at the office a short time later. Most people were gone, but Lauren was let in the door by Helen. They greeted one another warmly. Lauren had only met her a handful of times, but she knew that she and Bo were good friends. She was glad Bo at least had Helen looking out for her at work.

"I tried to get her to go home sooner, but…well, I don't have to tell you, I guess," Helen commented.

Lauren couldn't stop the short, wry laugh that burst out of her. "Yeah, you definitely don't have to tell me. Thank you for calling me."

"She's…taking this one really hard. I mean, we all are, but…"

Lauren nodded. "She hasn't talked to me about it," Lauren admitted. "She's just…I don't know."

Helen nodded. "She hasn't been like this in a while. She was workaholic Bo for so long, but she had gotten so much better since…well, since you, I guess. This one is just…"

Lauren nodded and lapsed into quiet. After a few moments, Helen inclined her head to indicate direction and they walked back toward Bo's office.

When they entered, Bo was slumped forward, her body sagged against the desk in a pose Lauren knew was going to make her sore. She looked around the room, at the papers strewn about, the open files, the suit jacket draped over the arm of a chair, the heels that had been kicked off in the corner. Her eyes, caught the edge of the desk, the place she had been standing when she and Bo had their first kiss in this very room after another case that had thrown Bo. The day felt so unreal, so disjointed, so scattered.

Helen glanced over at Lauren. "Do you want me to help you get her to the car?"

Lauren took a steadying breath, trying to bring herself back to the moment. "Yeah, let's get her up. How long has she been asleep?"

"The last time I talked to her was around 4:30, probably, maybe 5. I was trying to get her to go home then. When I came back here around 6 she was out."

Jesus Christ, 4:30. Bo had been up for almost 39 hours by that point.

Lauren knelt down beside Bo and rubbed a hand down her back. "Bo?" she said quietly.

Lauren didn't expect this gentle coaxing to have an effect, but almost instantly Bo's eyes flew open and she jerked upright, causing Lauren to jump. Her eyes were wild and disoriented.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's just me," Lauren said quickly, getting Bo's attention, trying to keep her voice soothing and calm.

Bo looked at her like she didn't know who she was for a moment. "Lauren?" she said, her voice sounding slurred.

"Come on," Lauren said, straightening from her kneeled position, her left arm wrapped around Bo's back, her right hand clasping Bo's, trying to guide her upwards. "Time to go home."

Bo started to stand, her movements halting like she was drunk. "I can't leave yet, I have to go get my car."

"I have your car already. Come on," Lauren said as she felt Bo's weight sagging against her side, her legs unsteady and unsupportive.

"Okay, where are my keys?"

Lauren looked at her, slightly surprised as Bo continued to sway into her. "At home. You aren't driving anything. Come on."

"Wait, I have to get my…" Bo reached over and started trying to gather the work from her desk. Lauren leaned after her, trying to gather her back into her upright position.

"How about I bring that over to you later?" Helen asked, stepping forward and reaching her hand toward the papers on Bo's desk.

Bo jolted back, alarmed, looking at Helen. The movement startled Lauren and Bo knocked back into her shoulder. "Jesus Christ, Helen. When did you get here?"

Helen looked at Lauren, helplessly.

"Okay, let's go," said Lauren, resettling her arm around Bo's waist, trying to guide her out of the room, her fingers fitting into the curve of Bo's hip. She kept her right hand in Bo's, her fingers loosely weaving with her wife's, as she pushed her body against Bo's to convince her to step. "Helen, thank you, bring that by whenever you get the chance." She shuffled Bo forward before turning to Helen. "Nothing until I text you," she whispered at her.

Helen smiled slightly, and Lauren accepted the silent affirmation.

Lauren continued to walk Bo forward, feeling Bo sway with her steps, her arm tightening instinctively against her as she felt continuingly unsteady. Bo's breaths felt shallow and insufficient, but as she held her Lauren swore she could feel Bo's heart racing. Helen helped Lauren open the door as she guided Bo out, and she shot Helen one last grateful smile over her shoulder. Helen gave a tight smile back and a nod, her eyes betraying her concern as she looked after Bo's retreating back.

Lauren got Bo to the car and deposited her in the passenger seat and soon they were headed for home. Lauren periodically glanced at Bo, trying to assess her. Bo was awake, but her head was lolling slightly from side to side like she couldn't quite control her body anymore.

"Have you eaten?" Lauren asked.

Bo jumped, like she had just been awakened. Lauren sighed. Bo cleared her throat. "Um, I don't, uh…"

"You don't know," Lauren supplied.

"What time is it?" Bo asked.

Lauren glanced at the clock. "Almost 7." Lauren saw Bo hesitate. "What?"

Bo rubbed a hand on the side of her face like she didn't want to ask the next question. "What…what day?" she asked, her voice low and embarrassed.

"Wednesday." Bo said nothing and after a moment Lauren looked over at her to see she was silently crying. "What? Are you okay? What happened?" Lauren asked urgently, alarmed.

"I didn't know it was Wednesday," Bo answered, her voice breaking. "I didn't…"

"Okay, okay, hang on," Lauren said, finding a gas station to pull over into. She pulled the car into a spot off to the side and turned to Bo, who had her face in her hands. "Okay, what is happening, what's wrong, what –"

"It's Wednesday," Bo answered back, cutting her off. "I forgot it was Wednesday. I didn't call you. I always meet you, and I didn't even…"

Lauren gathered Bo into her arms and ran her hands down Bo's hair. "Shh, okay, okay, it's okay." Lauren felt the jerky movements of Bo crying into her chest and felt like she was dying inside. God, what a mess. What a horrible week. "It's okay, baby. It's okay."

She felt Bo's racking sobs, but heard no sounds. She felt the tears sink through the front of her shirt. She ran her fingers over Bo's scalp, felt the soft strands sliding through her fingers. Her arm pulled Bo tighter as she wished she could transfer the pain to herself. She pressed her lips gently to Bo's temple, feeling the pulse pounding under the skin.

Achingly slowly, Bo seemed to calm. Her breathing began to level and slow. "Bo," Lauren whispered into her hair. When she received no reaction, Lauren lifted her from her chest holding her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "Bo, we need to get home, okay?"

Bo looked at her through watery eyes, looking like a hollowed-out shell. She nodded vaguely.

"We're going to go home, and you're going to lay down, alright? You need to eat something, but…let's just let you lay down first, okay?"

"I don't know if I can sleep," Bo answered. Her voice sounded haunted, afraid.

Lauren nodded. "That's okay. I'll lay with you, alright? I'll help you."

Bo looked at her for a moment and then nodded.

"Okay, good," Lauren said. She pulled the car out of the parking space and continued them home.

When they arrived, Bo and Lauren headed inside. Bo was unsteady on her feet, and Lauren had a moment where she was legitimately worried Bo would fall over. Slowly, Lauren worked Bo towards the bedroom. Once inside, she eased Bo's pants down before setting her on the edge of the bed. She kneeled down in front of her, removing her shoes and freeing her skirt from her ankles. She then stood and unbuttoned Bo's blouse, then pulled the shirt and bra off. She walked to the dresser and grabbed a tee shirt, lifting Bo's arms to slide it over her head.

Through this whole process, Bo sat like a zombie, silently complying with Lauren's unspoken instructions. Once she was changed, Lauren stepped back and changed herself and then returned to arrange Bo into the bed before climbing in beside her, pulling Bo to lay on her chest.

They laid in silence, Lauren running her hands across Bo's shoulders and over her scalp as she tried to will Bo to sleep. After ten minutes had gone by, she felt Bo move slightly.

"It was my fault," Bo said, her voice hoarse.

"What was your fault?" Lauren asked, her voice quiet and low.

"She had kept going back to him. I finally convinced her to get a protective order, to keep him away. I told her it would make them safer. I got Peters to talk to her about it." Lauren went still, listening. "I told her where to go, how to do it. I don't know if I told her that the first 24 hours were the most dangerous. I can't remember if I told her that." Lauren felt like she was tearing apart from the inside as she listened in silence. "He did it that night, just hours after they served him. I don't know if I told her…" Bo's voice caught and she started to cry.

At some point, Lauren felt Bo fall asleep. She wanted to cry with relief. When she was certain she wouldn't wake Bo, she extracted herself from the bed and walked to the living room, picking up Bo's cell phone on the way. She opened Bo's contacts and scrolled until she found Helen's name, and she punched the number into her own phone.

Helen picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hi, Helen? This is Lauren Lewis. Sorry to call you at home, but –"

"How's she doing?" Helen cut her off. Her voice was fast and anxious.

"I just got her to go to sleep, so that's a start."

"Small victories."

"Yeah, really," Lauren agreed. "Listen, I don't really know how this works, but if at all possible for me to prevent it, Bo won't be at work tomorrow."

"I figured, I've got it covered, don't worry."

"Thank you so much."

"Try to keep her home Friday, too," Helen said. "I've already reorganized her calendar. I have a couple of her hearings covered, and a few other things had come out anyway. There's nothing she needs to come here to do. If she insists on working –"

"She will."

"—I can bring her anything she needs," Helen finished, a smile evident in her voice. "But, I may 'forget' some of the bigger files, if that's okay."

"God, please do," Lauren answered, relieved.

"Just take care of her, okay? I've known Bo a long, long time. She'll kill herself on this if you let her."

"I won't let her,' Lauren answered.

"She talks about you a lot. Like, nauseatingly a lot," Helen said with a good-natured laugh. "I know you won't let her. Bo's been there for me, a lot. More than I want to admit, actually. Just…seriously, take care of her for us, okay?"

Lauren smiled. "She loves you and Mae," Lauren commented, referencing another secretary at the office Lauren knew Bo was close to. "I may have to call you for backup."

"We're happy to provide it."

"We'll get her through this," Lauren said with more confidence than she felt. "She's going to be fine."

Review if that feels like something you want to do