Bo opened one eye and looked at their alarm clock. It wasn't early, early but it was early enough. She slightly moved in the bed and the blonde's voice opened her other eye.
"Bo?". Lauren gently rolled over and took the woman into her arms.
"Shhh. She might hear us". Bo whispered.
"Who? Aife?". Lauren asked.
"Charlotte. If we move or put one foot on the floor, it will wake her up". Bo whispered again.
Lauren smiled. "Was last night that bad?".
"You don't know the half of it. I should be a scientist so you can take them to the amusement park. That kid had them ride every ride like thirty times. Then she showed them how to jump off and over all of the rides. I could have joined them but I was too big to ride the kiddie rides." Bo replied.
"Bo, they are kids. They like to play". Lauren gently kissed Bo's cheek.
"They are not kids. They are our gang. Charlotte is the mob boss". Bo replied.
Lauren laughed and covered her mouth when she felt it was going to be heard.
"Your turn is coming, doctor". Bo rolled over onto her back.
"I will take them some time. Right now I need to check on my patient". Lauren kissed Bo and rose up and out of the bed.
"Shit, Kenz!". Bo whispered and followed the doctor to shower.
Charlotte
Charlotte was awake just like her succubus mother predicted. She paced back and forth outside of Kenzi's room. She looked down the hall and saw nothing. Not even her brothers coming. Her mom's bedroom door was still closed, so she started pacing again. Finally, she settled at the threshold and closed her eyes.
She opened one eye when she heard her brothers coming towards her. She patted the floor for them to join her as they lay at the door. All three closed their eyes and took deep breaths.
"Charlotte, what are you doing?". Bo broke the silence.
Their oldest looked at Kenzi's door and Bo caught on. "I will unlock the door but Kenz is still probably sleeping. You will need to move out of the way so I can enter the passcode". She waited for the trio to flank her and stepped forward to punch the code in. Not really a security risk, but Lauren wants to make sure the kids can't just bust in and jump all over the bed.
Bo and Charlotte poked their heads in the door and looked around. Hale was awake and holding one of Kenzi's hands. Bo sighed when she noticed she was still in human form.
"Has she been asleep all night, Hale?". Lauren asked as she entered the room.
"I'm not sure, Doc. I have been up long enough to shower and get dressed". Hale looked back to Kenzi.
"It's good if she has because that gives her body more time to adjust to the serum. But given the time, it shouldn't be long before she stirs". Lauren checked Kenzi's vitals. Everything was stable.
Bo looked down and saw Charlotte ready to jump on the bed. "Come here baby." She held her arms out and Charlotte jumped into them. "Now you can see her. She's okay".
Lauren pulled a chair over and helped Ethan and Dillon stand on it in their shifter form. "Now we can all see her". The blonde smiled.
"What did you make her?". Bo asked.
"A cheetah". Lauren replied.
"Whoa, Doc. That is awesome". Hale smiled.
"Well, besides you, we are all shifters. I figured Kenzi would want to run with us should we ever need to as a family". Lauren explained.
"Charly's ready to play with the cheetah too". Bo cooed against her ear. Charlotte purred and Bo knew to stop.
The kids stared at Kenzi and their parents stared at them. They all seem so into the woman even though they rarely spend any time with her outside of her babysitting them.
"She'll be fine". Lauren rubbed Ethan and Dillon's backs before washing her hands and prepared herself for Kenzi waking up.
"Babe, why don't you get them some breakfast. I will stay with Kenz". Bo looked at the blonde. Lauren smiled and nodded.
"Come on Charly, Ethan and Dillon. Let's go eat". The blonde called as she walked out of the room. Bo watched them go towards and down the stairs before she took the seat on the opposite side of Hale.
"Are you worried and not telling Lauren?". Hale asked.
"Of course not, I trust Lauren's brilliance. I just don't know what Kenzi will think of all of this. I know Lauren had to have told her what she's going to be. You know Kenz, she'll freak if she finds the littlest of flaws. Hell, look at me. I'm flawed too". Bo shrugged.
"We talked about this, Kenzi will be fine. It's a testament to her love for all of us that she wants to be Fae. A testament to her ever growing friendship with Lauren that she'd trust her to do this. She wouldn't have asked or thought of this years ago. But here we all are, one big happy family". Hale smiled at Kenzi and then at Bo.
"Do you need me to step in and take some cases? We don't know if Kenzi will need time to recover". Bo offered.
"No. We took care of that too. Our clients have been assigned new PI's while Kenzi and I are out on medical leave". Hale smiled and waved Bo's offer off.
"You're a good man, Hale. Not too many Fae would do what you've done and are doing". Bo reached over and patted his hand.
"I could say the same for you, Bo. You're a good woman. Normally, a Succubus wouldn't have picked and stayed with a human. You guys have overcome so much. It's good to see all of that hard work and dedication pay off with the family you have". Hale watched Kenzi as he spoke.
"You're not going to give my daughter a siren cheetah to babysit so soon are you?". Bo laughed.
"Whoa. No. Not right now. Yours are enough for now. Whew. Charlotte? I couldn't watch her by myself. That kid has energy and a ton of curiosity." Hale laughed.
"Tell me about it". Bo laughed.
Lauren and the kids
Charlotte sat huffing in her seat. She had already finished eating but had to wait to take a bath. She still hates those things. She watched Lauren wipe the boys' mouths and called them to follow her. Charlotte jumped out of her seat and followed her mother and brothers. She stretched out on the bathroom floor and decided to get a quick nap in before it will be her turn to be bathed.
Lauren laughed at how Charlotte was doing everything to get out of her bath. She was fake snoring trying to convince her mother she is fast asleep.
"You will grow out of that Charlotte. You are our daughter. We love cleanliness". Lauren laughed as she made faces at Ethan and Dillon. Charlotte is almost another year older and the boys are aging rapidly too. This is wild. Just a few years ago, it was only her and Bo. Going about their days working in labs or out on stakeouts. They had picked up a routine of one fixing dinner if the other had been caught up at work. Then Charlotte happened and all work stopped. For the doctor at least.
Then that left Bo to do all of the work. Raising Charlotte. Staying up at all hours of the day. Feeding herself and her succubus. Feeding the baby. Working with the medical staff to ensure they were doing all that they could for Lauren. Being a mother and a mate.
Lauren wished Aife would have known about Charlotte sooner. She would have assuredly come to help. Help Bo rest and feed Charlotte. Help Bo know what it's like being a mother to a baby succubus on top of being a shifter. Lauren has all the money in the world but her family is priceless. They truly are. The kids have made them grow up in ways they didn't know that they needed to. Bo has never been so patient in her life before. The blonde teared up at the thought of Bo crying and sulking in her seats and bed when Lauren was in her coma. Lauren knows that kind of pain. She had that time with Nadia. Your love is sleeping and as powerful and as knowledgeable as you are, you can't wake her up. So, Charlotte did.
Lauren's eyes went wide when it dawned on her why the kids were at Kenzi's door. She dried the boys and sent them to their room until she could bathe Charlotte. They are good boys, they will stay and wait for Charlotte to be ready.
Bo walked back and forth. She'd look at Kenzi after every fourth step. She stopped when she heard feet coming towards them.
"I've got it". Lauren spoke as she called Charlotte to her arms. The young shifter jumped up and looked at Bo, then back at Lauren. "It's okay sweetie, do it".
Charlotte looked at Dillon and Ethan. "Oh, I get it". Bo smiled as she lifted the boys into her arms. "Go!". She cooed.
Hale covered his ears as the kids roared. After a few rounds, Kenzi finally stirred.
"Charlotte, I need to put you down, but don't jump on the bed, okay". Lauren looked down at her. Charlotte nodded and Lauren put her down. The blonde quickly washed her hands and went to Kenzi. "Kenzi, can you hear me? It's Lauren".
Kenzi rocked her head back and forth. She moved her lips and Lauren poured a cup of water for her to drink.
"Easy, Kenz". Hale moved closer.
"I need to examine her". Lauren looked at them.
"Come on my loves, mama needs to examine Kenzi". Bo called to the kids and Hale followed them out. "Go play".
The succubus and siren walked down the stairs and Bo opened the patio doors to let the kids out.
"I'm going to get some coffee". Hale spoke softly as he walked past Bo.
"I need to eat something". Bo followed him into the kitchen. It was quiet as they moved around. "She'll be fine, Hale".
"I know. I know. Kenzi's been a human in this world for so long, some Fae might not like the sudden changes". Hale noted.
"I'll kill them. They won't get near Lauren or Kenzi. This is my family. Lauren can do whatever she wants, when she wants. I won't take her science from her or shame her into doing anything other than what she wants to do. Kenzi is a lucky one. She wanted to be Fae and the right doctor helped her. Any other doctor would probably expect favors in return or make her some kind of freak. We are good. We will be good". Bo rambled off. She knew what Hale was getting at. Lauren knows how to turn humans Fae. The Fae could think she might want to turn them human should the opportunity arise. This is just a simple procedure to give a patient something she wants. There won't be more unless Lauren consciously agrees to it, and even then, Bo would make sure she's fine with doing it again.
"I'm done". Lauren walked in. Hale smiled and took the Doctor a cup of coffee. Lauren nodded and drank it.
"I'll watch the kids, you two go". Lauren smiled as she took her next sip.
"I'm good, Hale can go see her". Bo gestured towards the stairs.
"Thanks, Lauren. Thanks, Bo". Hale smiled. The women nodded and he sighed as he walked away.
"Something wrong?". Lauren set her cup down.
"To piggyback on what Hale said just now. Thank you, Lauren. I know you did your very best to help her with this. Having said that, Hale also suggested that the Fae could come to us with a preemptive strike to stop you from performing that procedure on them". Bo spoke softly as she stared at the woman.
"I have no intention of doing this again. Everyone we care about are all Fae. We will protect humans, of course, should they ever need our help. But I'm not doing that again, Bo". Lauren smiled warmly.
"Okay but still the threat is out there. It will be out there as soon as Kenzi shifts and is involved in some kind of fight". Bo took a seat and pulled Lauren into her arms. They faced the window and saw the kids running and jumping.
"That's our family. Our crew. That little genius assembled her own group. She will call on them if and when they are ever needed. We got this. We got Kenzi. We got them." Lauren pointed.
"I love you, Dr. Lewis". Bo smiled and kissed the back of Lauren's ear.
"I love you too, Bo Dennis". Lauren smiled.
Bo laughed. "I need a title. Bo Dennis sounds so plain".
"Mrs. Lewis-Dennis has a nice ring to it". Lauren gently pushed back against Bo.
Bo smiled. "Wait, what!?".
Lauren pushed off of Bo and turned around. She smiled at the woman and got down on one knee. "Bo plain Dennis, will you marry me?".
"Wait, what?". Bo's eyes went wide. The doctor was on the floor in front of her. Her lab coat just touched the ground. She watched the woman pull a box out of her pocket and opened it with tears in her eyes. "Lauren".
"Marry me". Lauren whispered.
"Lauren, we never talked about this. Kenzi is in her sick bed. The kids are barely out of pampers. I don't know where mom is. Our lives are so out of order right now". Bo pulled her hands to her mouth. She panted and panted. "Yes, I will marry you". She cried and fell into the blonde's arms when Lauren stood up.
The women jumped when Aife appeared. The old Succubus had Amani in her arms. "We are such bad parents". Bo shook her head.
"Not at all. I took her for a nice long drive". Aife smiled as she rocked the baby in her arms.
"There's your maid of honor, Bo". Lauren smiled.
"Well, it's about faeing time". Aife laughed.
"What did I miss?". Bo asked.
"Remember yesterday when you heard someone at the door. You had to come and let me in? Well, I wasn't going out to go out. I was going to pick up an engagement ring for Lauren". Aife rocked Amani again. "By the way, we just booked the church, didn't we Amani?". The old grandmother cooed.
"Wait, what?". Bo said again.
"That's her new thing". Lauren smiled.
"You asked my mother to do that?". Bo smiled.
"Asked? Hell no. She told me to". Aife laughed.
"I don't know what to say". Bo cried into her hands.
"You can tell Kenzi, we purposely didn't tell her, just so that you could". Lauren rubbed the woman's back.
"This is going to be a gorgeous wedding. My little badasses all dressed up and Charlotte being forced to behave". Aife rocked with laughter.
"I got to tell Kenzi". Bo cried as she ran up the stairs.
"Thank you, Aife". Lauren smiled as she watched the succubus play with Amani.
"What the hell are you thanking me for, Lauren? You gave me a family. You made my daughter a mother. You made me a grandmother so many times over. I get to be a mother and grandmother at the same time. My mother never got that chance. Now her namesake is getting everything I wanted when I was her age. Not all of this but a chance to be a mother. You two are everything good about the Fae world. I wanted to blow it all up. Hell, I came close. But I never would have thought of it had I known our lives would turn out like this. You love my daughter, you let a crazy b...like me live with you. You don't ever have to thank me for anything". Aife stared hard at the blonde with every word she spoke.
Lauren was speechless. That's probably the most she's ever heard the woman say in one breath.
She smiled and poured herself another cup of coffee then started the baby formula for Amani.
"We need to have a short engagement. I want Bo to be holding Amani at the altar while she's still that size". Lauren glanced at them.
"I told the priest to be ready at any time. Even though we have the church booked in advance". Aife replied.
"You actually went in a church?". Lauren asked.
"For the two of you? Hell yes I did..we did". Aife corrected herself.
Lauren nodded and took a seat so Aife could hand Amani to her. "I got her". The Succubus smiled and took the bottle.
Lauren smiled at the baby. Blonde strands of hair are starting to surface. She took her seat and sat quietly watching this little section of their family.
Bo gently opened the door and poked her head in, again. She smiled when Hale called her over.
"Kenzi, hi". Bo sat next to the bed.
"Well you look, happier". Kenzi spoke.
"I am. But I need to be sure you are ready for the shock". Bo cleared her throat.
"Okay, I'm ready". Kenzi held the sides of the bed.
"We're engaged". Bo showed her ring.
"What?!". Kenzi and Hale screamed.
"When the hell did this happen?". Kenzi wanted to jump up and down but thought better of it.
"Just now. Lauren, Amani and mom surprised me". Bo spoke through teary eyes.
"That's wonderful, Bo. Congratulations!". Hale jumped over and high fived the woman.
"Who's going to be your maid of honor?". Kenzi asked.
"Mom. Mom is". Bo bowed her head. She felt bad excluding Kenzi in the ceremony.
"Lauren need a best man? I'm game". Hale smiled.
"No thanks, Hale. I've got one, I hope". Lauren stepped into the room.
"I can't marry you and be that". Bo smiled.
Lauren turned to Kenzi. "Me?! Aww shit, doc".
"Kenzi?!". Bo jumped and pulled Hale away.
"She's about to shift". Lauren pulled them to her.
"Do something, Doc". Hale panted.
"I can't do anything about this! We have to wait it out!". Lauren screamed over Kenzi's screams.
"Shit, I hope our windows hold out". Bo covered her ears.
"It will get better after her first shift". Lauren covered her own ears and hoped the kids are alright.
TBC