Hey, guys.

Second chapter, as promised. Hope anyone who is still reading (or if you're new) that you're enjoying! Let's get to it.


Lauren worked late. The hospital was crazy, and there was plenty to do. She checked in with her patients more than she normally would, spent a few minutes speaking to an elderly woman on her rotation who was in the late stages of cancer. By 7:30 she felt like she had run a marathon and finally packed up to go home. She walked inside the apartment and Zeus walked over to great her, pushing his nose against her hand and wagging his tail. She opened the door to the back garden and let him run, stretching his legs even though she knew the dog walker would have taken him out already.

There was no sign of Bo, and she reached in the fridge and grabbed a handful of cold grapes, deciding to call that dinner, at least for now. She popped one into her mouth, feeling the icy explosion of sweetness as she went to their bedroom and changed, donning a tee shirt and sweatpants, and then returned to let Zeus back in. He skittered inside with youthful energy, panting happily as he took a sloppy drink from his water dish.

She turned the TV, dropping the remote onto a cushion as she walked to retrieve the laundry that was wrinkling in the dryer. She placed the basket on the floor and sat on the couch. As Zeus nestled beside her, she began folding.

When the laundry was done she carried the basket back to the bedroom, sorting it quickly and putting things away. She absentmindedly started cleaning around the apartment. She eventually made her way back to Zeus and sat beside him, scratching behind his ear. He shuffled closer to her, nestling his head into her lap, and she reclined her head against the back of the couch, listening to something she didn't care about drone on the television.


Lauren woke up to people excitedly talking about the greatest blender ever to be conceived by mankind. Zeus snored softly beside her. Groggy, she glanced around. The apartment was dark, still, and silent but for her dog and the ultimate blender. She clicked the TV off and carefully stood, without waking Zeus.

She walked toward the bedroom and found the bed still made from the morning. Surprised, she looked at the clock and noted that it was after 3 in the morning.

Where was Bo?

Alarmed, she walked back to the living room and snagged her phone from the coffee table. There were no messages. Quickly, she opened her message thread and typed out a text.

Lauren: Where are you?

Her nerves were wired, but before she had time to process what to do next, her phone chirped.

Bo: I'm at the house.

Lauren stared at the screen. The house? What the hell was going on?

Lauren grabbed a sweatshirt and her keys, heading out of the apartment to find Bo.


Lauren pulled up at the house a short time later. Bo's car was parked in front, and Lauren could see lights inside glowing faintly. She paused for a moment, trying to mentally prepare herself for the unknown that waited inside. She surveyed the front door and noted that they needed a welcome mat. Who cares about a welcome mat, she berated herself. Taking a deep breath, she climbed out of the car and started walking towards the front door.

"Bo?" she called out as she walked in.

"Back here," came the reply.

Lauren followed the voice and found Bo, dressed in jeans and sweatshirt. Lauren took in the soft lines of the heather grey sweatshirt across Bo's shoulders, the way the crewneck was slightly stretched from years of being pulled on and off. Lauren knew if she turned around fully she would see "Harvard Law" written in maroon on the front, with "just kidding" printed in smaller font below. The words were faded now, worn down from washings.

The moment sat frozen, unbroken in time. A breath that never resolved. A heartbeat that never sounded. Lauren felt the void of sound like a pressure in her ears, the silence tight around her.

Bo was standing in a hallway. Her hair was in a messy bun and her clothes, face, and hands were streaked with paint. She had a roller in her right hand, a full paint tray sitting to her right side, with a half empty gallon of paint waiting on her left. She didn't look at Lauren as she approached, just kept working. Lauren regarded her another moment, noting the different colors of paint on her hands and face, noticed the wall was inexplicably two different colors, as if she had started with one and changed to another halfway through.

Lauren waited a moment, and then spoke. "What are you doing?" The words felt sacrilegiously loud, shattering the brittle silence.

"Painting," Bo answered, simply. She kept working.

When it was clear she wasn't going to continue, Lauren made her next attempt. "Okay…why?"

"This hallway won't get a lot of natural light. I figured we needed it to be a light color. If you don't like this one, I can change it, but I think it might work."

Lauren took a breath and approached, gently putting her hand over Bo, stilling the roller, slowly moving it from the wall. Bo's fingers felt cold and wet beneath hers. She extracted the roller from Bo's grip and rested it in the tray. Bo's eyes were still trained on the wall, and Lauren reached up to Bo's cheeks, turning Bo's face to her. Bo's eyes were…vacant.

"Let's go sit down," Lauren said, gently, reaching for Bo's hand and guiding her slowly back towards the front of the house. They reached a wall without fresh paint and Lauren eased Bo down until she came to a rest on the floor. Bo didn't resist, but sat quietly. Lauren crossed her legs and sat at her side, looking at her.

"How long have you been here?" Lauren asked. Her tone was still pitched low, still delicate.

"I don't know what time it is," Bo answered, still not looking directly at Lauren.

"It's almost 4."

Bo's shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly. "I have to get a shower and get ready. I need to be at work in about two hours."

"You can't go to work like this," Lauren answered.

"I have a meeting at 6 with CID." Lauren registered the acronym with vague awareness, not sure what the letters specifically meant, but knowing they were some division of law enforcement.

"About today?"

"Yeah."

Lauren nodded. "You need to come home afterwards."

"I can't." Bo's voice was tight, but robotic.

"Baby, please, look at me," Lauren said, taking Bo's jaw in her hands and turning Bo's eyes back to her. Her voice was louder now, and something about even that small increase in volume made Lauren's hands shake, though she wasn't sure if was anxiety, adrenaline, or both. "You're really scaring me."

"I'm sorry," Bo answered. "I'm okay."

"You're clearly not."

Bo took a deep breath and Lauren saw, with some sagging relief, some life reenter her gaze. "I'm a little tired," Bo conceded. A tiny concession. Miniscule. Lauren seized it.

"What time did you leave this…I mean yesterday…how long have you been up?"

Bo thought for a second. "I got the call at…2, I think?"

"You've been awake for 26 hours?"

"I don't know," Bo mumbled.

"You have to call whoever you're supposed to meet with and move it back, or get someone else to cover it," Lauren said. "You can't go like this."

"I just need a shower and some coffee."

Lauren consciously fought back the urge to scream. As she tried to formulate the words to say next, Bo spoke again.

"Would you…can you give me a ride home? I don't know if I should drive…I'll get Walters to pick me up for the meeting. I'll figure out my car later."

"Bo…"

Bo looked at her fully. "Please, Lo."

Lauren's heart seized and the weakness, the plaintiveness in Bo's tone. "Honey, you can't work like this…"

"Trust me, I've had as much rest as everyone else I'm meeting with."

Lauren paused. "I don't like this," she said, her voice barely higher than a whisper.

Bo nodded. "Me either."

"Do you promise to have him bring you back right after the meeting?"

"Her. And no." Bo's voice was calm and even.

Lauren looked at her, somewhat surprised by her response. "No?"

Bo rested her head back against the wall, keeping her eyes on Lauren. "I can't promise that," she said, simply.

Lauren felt irritation rising to anger pooling inside of her. "You can't or you won't?"

"Both." Bo kept her eyes on Lauren, but her tone didn't change, remaining calm and steady.

Lauren was shifting decidedly away from calm and steady. "Then what if I refuse to take you home?"

Bo nodded, and cast her eyes down again. "Then I'll drive myself. If I have to, I can." Her voice still didn't waiver.

"No, you can't," Lauren shot back.

Bo just shrugged, keeping her eyes down.

Lauren stood up, pacing slightly in the room. Bo remained unmoved on the floor. After a minute, Lauren crossed her arms and looked down at Bo, whose eyes were trained on the floor.

Bo looked…broken. Lauren felt it like a physical pain, and it melded with the anger Lauren was feeling, leaving her with a mixture of emotions she couldn't quite process at the moment. She detected a slight sway as Bo was sitting. She can't even keep her full balance sitting still, Lauren noted. No way could she drive like this.

"Come on," Lauren said, extending her hand down to Bo to help her up. Her tone was clipped and short.

Bo glanced up and accepted her hand, staggering slightly on her feet as she stood, quickly attempting to hide it.

A fresh burst of irritation fired through Lauren. Yeah, you need to work like this she thought sarcastically, but she bit the words back. Placing her hand on the small of Bo's back, she guided her out of the house to the waiting car, depositing her beside the closed passenger side.

Lauren walked around to the driver's side and fiddled with the key ring, grabbing the ignition key. When she was about to open her door, she glanced over and saw Bo, still standing beside her door, staring up into the sky. Lauren froze for a moment, looking at her. Silently, she saw Bo close her eyes, and inhale a deep, slow breath. Then, Bo opened her door and climbed inside, never seeing Lauren observe her.

This is bad. This is bad. It was the only refrain in Lauren's head as she got in the car and started heading them back to the apartment.


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