Later that night
Bo and Lauren were fast asleep when Lauren started to stir. It wasn't her dream that was disturbing her but sounds only she seemed to hear. She wasn't getting anything through the baby monitors and nothing on the cameras was visible. She had turned over to see Bo half naked snuggled up next to her. She gently rolled the Succubus over on to her back and stood to grab her robe. Rushing out of the room and down the hall, she opened the door to Charlotte's nursery.
Gently opening the door and walking over to Charly's crib, she bent over the young shifter. Charlotte seemed to be deep in a dream. But by the way she was throwing her arms around it looked more like a nightmare. Lauren turned and quietly pulled a chair over to the crib. Letting out a low roar, she extended her hand out to take one of Charlotte's. That seemed to calm her down and Lauren settled into the chair, resting her head on the crib rail.
A single tear escaped the Doctor's eyes as the mother in her was overcome with grief. Not the grief from the events of the night. The grief knowing that her daughter was likely dreaming of her kills and there was nothing Lauren could do about it, other than what she was doing. Sitting there. Stroking Charlotte's paw with that of her own.
Closing her eyes Lauren thought about her own nightmares. But she was a grown shifter. Charlotte was still young. Her kills had tainted her innocence. All of Charlotte's kills had been about current threats or impending threats. She had all but taken care of Persephone and her flock that had come for them. To Bo and Lauren it looked like Charlotte was simply being a shifter, not knowing she was being a protector. It made them proud but now sitting there, Lauren was worried.
For weeks after they first met Lauren had to convince Bo that she wasn't a monster. But how on earth was she going to convince Charlotte that she wasn't one? Make her understand what Lauren herself struggled to learn? Or maybe she wouldn't think that at all. She was born a Succubus and a shifter. Perhaps she was already used to her nature. She certainly used those powers earlier that night. Lauren knew she wasn't alone in raising them but she was alone in being the shifter parent. The one that knows their hunger and need to fight outside of their Succubus powers.
Succubus. Since Charlotte couldn't tell her what she was dreaming about. How much of it was her Succubus causing her distress? This would be something she and Bo would need to discuss. How they were going to get them to get a full nights sleep when they couldn't control how they slept.
Being a Doctor, Lauren knows all about sedation but would never want to do that to her kids. They didn't deserve to be knocked out for something they couldn't control. It couldn't be fear from what was outside. Lea and Mikayla were taking turns sleeping. One watched the skies while the other one rested. Sure they had security cameras but if there were birds still out there, they might not capture them on the camera.
That was something else. What if Charlotte had been poisoned by the birds she had eaten so far? Lauren didn't want to wake her for tests. When she roared gripping Lauren's hand, she sent a pulse into her hand and was rewarded with a pulse coming from Charlotte. Lauren wanted to laugh. Bo had tried that so many times and it backfired. She just hoped it would calm her down during her attempt just then.
"It's ok sweetie. Get some rest". Lauren said in the lowest roar that she could muster without Bo hearing her through the monitors. She hadn't heard Charlotte through the monitor. It was her instincts that brought her to the nursery. Ethan and Dillon were sound asleep from what she had seen when she peeked her head into their room before she reached Charlotte's room. But they hadn't killed yet.
"Lauren? Bo called sleepily as she walked through the door. Lauren put one finger over her lips and patted her lap for Bo to come to her.
"I think she's having a nightmare". Lauren said once Bo had taken a seat in her lap.
"But is she ok? Or can you tell she's ok? Bo asked looking at their daughter.
"Physically she seems fine. I think her kills are giving her bad dreams". Lauren said.
"Shit". Bo mumbled. She looked at Lauren's paw and noticed when Charly was sending pulses into it. She wanted to laugh but kept quiet so as not to wake her.
"Bo? Can you sit with her? I want to go get a needle and some vials to run some tests". Lauren asked.
"Of course. You look like you've been here awhile. Go and get whatever you need". Bo cooed standing to her feet and pulling Lauren to hers. She watched the Doctor walk out and down the other hall towards Aife's side of the house. She chuckled about how Lauren always thought like a Doctor. But she too was worried. This had been the first night Charlotte had waken them up when she wasn't awake herself.
Bo wanted to pull the covers over her but the shifter had shredded what blankets and sheets were under and over her. She smiled at how much she looked like Lauren. They would likely go around and around for years saying the kids2 looked like each other. She frowned when it seemed Charly was still having her bad dreams. Flashing her eyes blue.
"Rest". Bo said in her deepest Succubus voice.
Bo turned when she heard Lauren walking in. She had a about five empty vials and one needle. Taking all of it from Lauren, Bo waited for the Doctor to walk over to Charly and find a vein. It would be easy if she was in human form but she had obviously shifted after her bath earlier that night.
They noticed that lately Charlotte tended to stay in her shifter form. Especially after the boys were born.
"Bo if you want to go back to bed you can, these tests will take hours yet". Lauren said.
"Not on your life Dr. Lewis. I want to know what's wrong with our baby too. Especially if it turns out to be more than nightmares". Bo said.
Bo walked over to Lauren when she stopped moving. "Hey? What is it?
"As much as I want to..need to run these tests, I will never like sticking our kids with needles". Lauren sobbed for a few seconds.
"I know. It's painful to do and watch but it will be over long before you know it". Bo cooed rubbing Lauren's back. She never liked needles either and cringed when Lauren finally inserted the needle to draw blood.
Bo sent pulse after pulse into Charlotte once Lauren had penetrated her skin with the needle. The jig was up. The shifter was awake with golden eyes flashing.
"Shh sweetie. It's only your mommies". Bo cooed. She wasn't about to pulse her again.
Lauren reached down and grabbed a bottle of milk and handed it to Charlotte. She laughed when she turned the bottle upwards and downed it in one gulp. Even if she was long over bottles in human form, she still needed milk for her bones in any form.
"I'm almost done sweetie". Lauren said taking the last two vials of blood. She nearly cried again when she heard Charlotte's little roars in protest.
"There! All done". Lauren smiled down at Charlotte. Bo was rubbing her back as she smiled at her too. Perhaps Lauren should have waited until she had woke up on her own but either way, they had her blood so Lauren could run her tests now.
"Come on Charly, lets go and get you something to eat". Bo said picking her up as Lauren gathered her vials and needle to dispatch of it.
The trio went downstairs and Bo held Lauren's hand as a show of solidarity and support that even though she wasn't a shifter like them, she was Charlotte's mother too and would be supportive.
Two hours passed before Lauren was finally satisfied that she had exhausted all of the testing she needed to run. Bo had been playing with Charlotte after feeding her. The twins were thankfully still sleeping. Lauren would feed them when they woke up. It was only fair to Bo as Charlotte was basically two babies in one body.
Aife
Aife had been awake for hours trying to remember something of her time with Hades that could help them. Nothing was coming to mind and her Succubus nearly surfaced when she thought of him and how he raped her. A rape that resulted in Bo. Just because he was Bo's father doesn't give him a pass to see her or her family.
She wasn't the best parent either but wouldn't sit back and allow that bastard a shot at Bo. From what she had seen there was six Succubus in one house. Four of them were shifters. She and Bo were all Succubus. That should be enough for them to have a chance at kicking his ass for good. Whenever he surfaced. She knew he was coming. She always knew it. Even when Bo was with the humans, it worried her that he would get to her.
Now Bo had a family of her own. Two parents in the house. Two protective parents too. Neither of them would be handing their kids over to the Dark or needed to give them to humans in order to hide them. If Hades wanted them, the bastard would get all that he deserved and then some.
Kenzi
Kenzi had been busy trying to run their PI business and Geraldine's. She had finally found some people she could trust to work their cases and get back to her with any questions. They wanted to buy them out but Kenzi refused to sell it because it was something she and Bo owned. They never had an office in the old days and this was clean and legit. It was also in the best part of town too.
Geraldine's was special to her too. It was hopping just about every night. Even on Monday's. The liquor poured, and people danced. She found four new Ogres as her new bouncers. They loved that Lauren had eaten the Morrigan and freed them of their contracts with her. So they didn't mind just being bouncers and it was rare for anyone to start fights lately. She wrapped up her lastest meetings and decided she would go and check in with Bo and Lauren.
Bo and Lauren's
Bo had tired Charlotte out enough that she was ready for a nap. She placed her in the downstairs bassinet and joined Lauren in the kitchen as they fed Ethan and Dillon. The boys nearly ate the forks with every bite. Bo thought it would prudent to just put slabs of meat in front of them but Lauren wanted them to learn table manners since they had human forms too.
Bo laughed thinking about her first few weeks of learning how to feed Charlotte. She nearly bit Bo's fingers off whenever she came at her with any bottle or bite of food. Luckily for Bo there was always a shifter on duty in case she had any questions. They knew all about how to feed a shifter baby who was in human form.
Aife walked in and over to the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee. She turned around to stare as the mothers continued feeding the babies. She had heard Bo and Lauren with Charlotte earlier and didn't want to interfere with their parenting time. She laughed wondering if Charlotte was giving Bo hell like she had given Aife after the first weeks she was born. Once she was sure Bo was ready, then she called LouAnn to find a family to take Bo.
"Yay! Bo clapped once the boys had eaten every bite of food she and Lauren had for them.
"Bath time". Lauren cooed picking Dillon up as Bo carried Ethan up the stairs and to their bathroom. Twenty minutes had passed and all four had cleaned up and joined Aife downstairs.
Bo found a cartoon for them to watch as Lauren cleaned up the kitchen. Once everyone was settled, Bo and Lauren sat down to talk with Aife.
"So about last night. I was thinking about it and I think Bo and I need to head over to the Dal and grab every book of Trick's we can find". Aife suggested.
"No I won't leave Lauren. Not after last night". Bo said.
"Bo. Lea and Mikayla are still out there. Nothing is coming in here and besides I'm waiting for the tests to be completed". Lauren said softly.
"The boys are still teeny tiny and Charlotte is actually sleeping. I can't risk it". Bo said.
"Bo we can't stay in here forever and if you don't go, I will". Lauren said.
Bo sat back and thought about it. If anyone knew what to look for in Trick's books it was Lauren but Bo wouldn't be comfortable with Lauren going either. If Hades wanted Lauren or any of them, who was to say he coudn't appear out of nowhere and take them.
"No. Mom and I will go. But first I will check in with Lea and Mikayla. If anything happens, shifter or no shifter, I will drain the both of them". Bo said with her eyes flashing blue.
"Calm down Isabeau. We won't be gone all that long. But we will need an extra set of hands to get the books". Aife said.
"Well I have never been a book nerd but what books are we going to get? Kenzi asked from the doorway.
"We are going to the Dal to get Trick's books to bring them back here". Bo said.
"Well three of us won't be enough. Let me call Tamsin". Kenzi said pulling her phone out.
"She...she won't answer". Bo said.
"What? Is she drunk off her ass somewhere? Kenzi asked.
"I'm so sorry. She's dead Kenzi". Lauren said softly.
"What?! When? How? Kenzi asked.
"We found out that she was hired by Hades to bring Bo to him. She was a threat to all of us". Aife answered.
"That's not true? Is it Bo? Kenzi asked. She was stunned. She had just talked to the Valkyrie the day before.
"She admitted to me in the very spot that you are standing right now". Bo said.
Kenzi jumped from the spot and nearly hit Lauren. She bowed her head and dropped a few tears. She opened a window, went to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer and poured it out on to the grass. "For my homie".
"We don't have time to be emotional right now. We don't know where they are and when they will strike again. The sooner we get to the Dal, the sooner we can come back here". Aife said.
"Mom's right. Kenzi are you gonna stay here or come with us? Bo asked rubbing her friend's back.
"I'll go". Kenzi said.
"Then lets go. Lauren, I will stop and talk to Lea and Mikayla from the car. We will be right back". Bo said looking directly at the Doctor.
"I can grab some extra hands from my guys at Geradline's. Between all of us, it shouldn't take long to grab every book we can find and load them into your car or my truck". Kenzi said looking at Bo.
"Ok, call them and have them meet us there. We'll take my car and they can bring a truck". Bo said waving for Aife to walk out ahead of her. Kenzi walked behind Bo and within minutes they were in Bo's car and about to pull up to Lea and Mikayla.
"We're heading to the Dal to grab a few things but we will be right back". Bo said looking at Lea. Bo felt like draining everyone and everything but her friends and family and then none of this would be necessary.
"We got this Bo. We were about to take turns circling the house". Lea said softly.
"Whatever you think you need to do, do it. We won't be long". Bo said waving goodbye as she sped away. Kenzi was still on the phone with her guys. As big as they were, they could probably carry about ten books under each arm.
Lauren had run down to get the test results. It would be something that she could pour over while the boys were engrossed in their cartoons and Charly was still sleeping. Lauren was relieved that it actually looked like she was sleeping and not having a nightmare like it had looked earlier.
"Ok. Let mama see what I can find in your blood work". Lauren cooed over her young shifter.
Bo, Aife and Kenzi.
"Tamsin couldn't have been here for that". Kenzi said.
"She's been alive for as long as I have. It's beyond possible". Aife said from the front seat.
"She didn't have a reason to lie about it. She did fight me with a rune glass once. So it has to have some truth to it Kenzi". Bo said from the driver's seat.
"But if she was after you, wouldn't she have already taken you to him? Kenzi asked.
"I don't think she knew she would find me. She was in my bathtub spouting off something about brown and blue eyes that day I was looking for Lauren and had taken a bath before Hale's inauguration". Bo said.
Kenzi thought back. Tamsin had been acting suspicious and seemed to cling more to Bo after she and Lauren had broken up. She knew Massimo was Tamsin's pusher but he was only a human. Hell she wanted Massimo to help turn her Fae but he was being a dick about it so she had put off asking him for any kind of help.
Looking back on everything that had happened once Charlotte was born, she knew they weren't going to play around with threats or possible threats. Tamsin was on her last life. That's what the Fae groupie med students told her once when they were all drunk at the clubhouse and she had to kick them out. Bitches had drunk up all of her best Vodka.
"Kenzi are you coming inside? Bo asked looking at her friend who was lost in thought. Kenzi thought about it. If she went in she could slam a few shots first.
"Yes". Kenzi said.
For the next hour they looked for and picked up every book that they could find. Bo wasn't sure why Aife wanted them, but it had to be important. Besides they had no idea where those freaking birds were hanging out and if any of them were close to Bo and Lauren's house. It was bullshit that her kids couldn't go outside and play like normal kids should be able to play. She knew it wouldn't be like that forever since they would grow in size and likely be too heavy for a bird to pick up.
"Is that all of them? Bo asked wiping the dust off her hands.
"It should be enough. Lauren is a Doctor I am sure it won't take her long to speed read the ones we found". Aife laughed.
"That's true. Let's get going then". Bo said. She wanted to keep her word about coming right back home.
Kenzi had her guys to put some of the trunks of books into their truck and follow them back to Bo and Lauren's.
Bo and Lauren's
Lauren had gotten lost in Charlotte's blood test results before she noticed Bo, Aife, Kenzi and some rather large men had walked in.
"Where do you want them Dr. Lewis? Spencer asked.
"In the guest room behind the kitchen". Lauren said.
"Damn how many rooms do you guys have? Kenzi asked. She had been all over the house and never once noticed a guest room behind the kitchen.
"Please be quick about it". Lauren said pointing to Charlotte. She had already woken up once since they had left for the Dal.
"Hurry". Bo said and watched as the men literally picked up four trunks a piece and carried them behind Bo who was pushing hers.
"So how many did you find? Lauren asked.
"Quite a few. Some are falling apart but are still readable". Aife said washing her hands.
"Lauren you can read them but you are not to get lost in them". Bo said as she escorted Kenzi's men out.
"Thanks boys. There will be an added bonus on your paychecks". Kenzi said.
"Lauren what did you find in Charly's results? Bo asked looking at the pile of paperwork on the coffee table.
"Nothing alarming. She was probably having nightmares". Lauren said softly. She knew Bo was a worrier like her.
"Are you sure? She seemed really agitated". Bo said softly.
"I have looked over and over it, Bo. There is noting wrong with her besides being a powerful baby. Like they all are and will be". Lauren cooed looking at Charlotte.
"Lauren's right they will be very powerful but it's good to run tests. You never know what kind of diseases birds carry. Charlotte won't always encounter Fae birds. Some of them will be plain ole, nasty bastards". Aife said.
"Kenz can you baby-sit while we read through those books? Bo asked.
"Yes. It will give me some much needed downtime". Kenzi said. She had a long week and news of Tamsin's death was something she knew she needed to deal with privately.
Bo and Lauren's lives were different now besides being in love with each other and loving their kids, they had to keep their personal feelings about people that threatened them in check. She wondered what would become of her, if she ever pushed how they just killed people and got over it so easily. Lauren had died and came back. She still seemed like the old Lauren but she was a lot more ruthless. For the first time Kenzi was starting to wonder if she could live in their lives. If she would become expendable.
Looking out at the group, all she could see was Succubus powers in each of them. They would always be able to heal and save themselves. She didn't know anyone that would be a threat to them. There was not anyone to blackmail her. She was still Bo's claimed human but how much was that worth now that Bo had a family to look out for and protect? She can't even ask her about it because Bo was already worried about the impending threat of her father.
Charlotte woke Kenzi out of her daydreaming with a loud roar. She didn't scare her brothers because they had headphones on and were trying to dance along to the cartoons. Charlotte jumped from the bassinet and went to join her brothers on the couch. She giggled when she settled in to watch the cartoon.
Outside
As Bo and Aife flipped through book after book, Lauren went out to talk to Lea and Mikayla. They were going to set up bird seeds around the house and see who they could draw in. Every bird was to be caught and examined for Fae traits. Lea had called in more shifters to set up around the house. She even asked for younger ones as they would be small enough to hide before pouncing on the flocks that they were expecting to come.
Elsewhere
"Well Tamsin was useless to us. It is of no matter. I see a way to get Isabeau or one of her little bastards". A voice laughed looking down at the dead Valkyrie.
TBC
Charlotte tries to train her brothers.
Lauren goes through the books to learn about Bird shifters.
Bo does some research of her own.
Didn't like this chapter but it was necessary.