Bo POV. Enjoy.

"It is the most important of our many traditions!" Vex said loudly, leaning across the bar. It was early afternoon on an unseasonably warm, lazy Saturday.

"I'm not arguing with you, Vex," Kenzi said, putting away glasses.

"To bring an end to this sacred event would be a crime on par with human trafficking!" Vex replied.

Bo walked into the bar, carrying a grocery bag of lemons and limes. "What's on par with human trafficking?"

Dyson walked out of the back room, carrying liquor bottles. "Vex is talking about trick or treating."

"ADULT trick or treating," Vex clarified.

"He's worried we're going to cancel the bar crawl," Kenzi said.

"Oh. Are we?" Bo asked.

"No," Kenzi said, reaching for another glass.

"Wait – you aren't canceling?" Vex asked.

"Why would we cancel it? We made a killing last year," Dyson answered. "And, also, Halloween is in two weeks. If we had canceled, you really thought that you could convince us to change our minds and pull all this off by then?"

"Oh," Vex said, sitting back. "Alright, then. Unrelated, can I have off on Halloween?"

Dyson laughed. "When was the last time you actually worked?"

Bo walked behind the bar and grabbed a cutting board. "I have a trial that day, so I can't promise I'll be here, either," she said

"Nate is going to help out," Kenzi answered. "I think we'll have enough coverage. Tamsin also said she was free."

"Coverage for what?" Lauren asked, walking in.

Bo felt her heart rate pick and an involuntary smile tug at her cheeks. "Adult trick or treating," Bo answered.

"My brilliant idea," Kenzi said, with an exaggerated hair flip.

"It's basically a bar crawl." Bo continued. "Everyone starts and ends here, there's a costume contest, it's a whole thing. It's $50 a person for an armband, and you get 10% off at all the participating bars. They make a lot of money, so we get a good response, and since it starts and ends here, we get people buying drinks when they're starting to party and when they're too drunk to realize they should stop. One of our best days of the year."

"Sounds fun," Lauren said, sitting on the stool beside Vex.

"It is, darling, and this year you are going as the Sonny to my Cher," Vex said.

"Sorry, I can't," Lauren answered, grabbing a pretzel. "I'll be with Bo."

Vex turned to Lauren and Bo could have sworn she saw some strange expression pass between the two of them, but it was over quickly enough that she assumed she must have imagined it.

"Yeah, Dr. Lewis is my star witness," Bo said, sliding the cut limes off the cutting board into a bowl.

"Well that's remarkably dull," Vex said. "Can't you just, you know, let it go or whatever? It's Halloween, after all," Vex asked, waving his hand in a vague sweeping motion at Bo.

Bo smiled. "Oh, Vex, you truly are the moral conscience of us all."

By 8:30 the bar was mostly full. Dyson and Bo were bartending, with Kenzi waitressing and Tamsin pitching in as a bar back. Vex was wandering around, trying to get a dance party started while Nate played guitar in the corner. Lauren sat at the bar, a book in hand.

"You know, most people don't come to a bar to read…" Bo's eyes scanned the cover of the book, "…The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Seriously? The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?"

Lauren laughed. "I know, I know, it's dorky, But what can I say? I grew up in England. I like British humor."

"Can I get a gin and tonic?" someone asked a few seats over. Bo felt a flash of annoyance. Yes, she was working, she knew that, but still, it had just sounded rude. Or you just wanted to talk to Lauren.

Bo made the gin and tonic and passed it to the customer. "So, do you exclusively read dorky British books?" Bo asked.

"Sometimes I read dorky American books," Lauren answered. Bo laughed and Lauren smiled. "What about you, Prosecutor Dennis? Is it all John Grisham for you?"

"Uh, no, not a fan," Bo said, pouring a beer for another customer at the bar. "I have read a few Terry Pratchett books. I like British humor, too."

"Sir Terry Pratchett," Lauren corrected.

"Yes, excuse me, Sir Terry Pratchett," Bo answered. "But the truth is I don't find time to read very often. My reading routine is more along the lines of news articles online and Buzzfeed."

Lauren laughed. "Yeah, I'm in mostly the same boat."

"Hey, Bo, I need two martinis and a rum and coke," Kenzi said, walking up to the bar. She looked at Lauren. "Seriously, Doctor? You brought a book at a bar?"

Lauren laughed and rolled her eyes. "Geez, I feel so judged at this bar."

"You're hot and you're in a room filled with alcohol. Go get some strange, Doctor Hotpants!"

"Doctor…what?" Lauren asked.

Bo flashed Kenzi a look. "Leave her alone, Kenz, if she wants to read, let her read."

Kenzi put her hands up in front of her. "Hey, if she wants to read, that's fine with me, I'm just saying she's young, she's hot, she might as well get out there and shake what the good Lord gave her and get some action."

"Um…thanks?" Lauren said.

"It's a compliment, sweetie," Kenzi said with a smile, putting her hand on Lauren's shoulder.

"She's not kidding, she does think that was a compliment," Bo said, finishing the drinks and handing them to Kenzi.

Kenzi walked off and Bo turned her eyes back to Lauren. "Sorry. Kenzi can be…direct."

Lauren smiled. "It's okay. I like her."

Bo's heart warmed in her chest. Kenzi could be brash and abrupt, Bo knew that better than most, but the truth was Kenzi was practically Bo's sister, and seeing that Lauren was accepting of her made her affection for Lauren grow slightly.

"I didn't mention Nadia to her, either, so she doesn't realize quite how inappropriate she was, either," Bo said.

"Oh, that's…that's actually fine." Lauren ran her finger around the rim of her glass. "That's, uh, that's actually not an issue any more, so…"

Bo stopped and looked at Lauren. "It's not?"

"No. Not for a couple weeks or so."

Bo felt frozen. She could hear her blood thrumming in her ears. Lauren is single. Lauren is single. Lauren is single.

But you're not.

Bo snapped herself back to reality. "Oh, I'm really sorry."

Lauren gave a small smile. "Don't be. It was time."

"How did it go?"

"Actually? Really well. I think we might even be able to be friends again after a while."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, is that weird?"

Bo shrugged. "I've never been able to stay friends with my exes, that's all."

"Of course not, darling, your exes are wretched," Vex said, propping himself up next to Lauren. "And you, love," he said, looking fully at Lauren now, "it's time for you to rebound. Come meet this lovely Vietnamese gymnast I just found." He grabbed Lauren's hand and began to drag her away. Lauren followed, tossing Bo an apologetic look.

Bo gave a small smile in response and wave to indicate it was okay. She sort of hated Vex at that second, but she knew that wasn't fair. Lauren was single, and Kenzi was right – she was young and beautiful. She should be out mingling, finding someone. Bo wasn't an option, and even if Bo were single, her track record was far from positive. Lauren deserved someone great. Someone better. With a sigh, Bo went back to work.

About an hour later Lauren returned to the bar in front of Bo. She made some vague comment about the girl Vex had introduced her too, and then dismissed the encounter quickly. She and Bo fell back into their easy conversation, and before they quite realized what had happened it was last call and the bar was emptying.

Invite her to have a drink with you after closing, Bo thought. The words were about to come out of her mouth when she hesitated.

What are you doing, Bo?

The truth was she wanted Lauren to stay. She loved talking to her. And, yeah, it had been a busy night, and a drink would be nice, but what was her end game here? If she asked Lauren to stay it would be because she was attracted to her. It would be because she wanted to believe for a moment that it was a date, that they could be a couple. It would be unfair to Rainer, unfair to Lauren, unfair to everyone.

But the number one realization Bo had in that moment – she didn't care.

"Do you want to stay and have a drink after closing?" Bo asked. Out of the corner of her eye, Bo saw Kenzi's head perk up.

Lauren looked a Bo for a long second, and Bo felt certain that she could see the wheels turning in Lauren's mind. It was almost curious to Bo – this was one way she and Lauren were so different. Where Bo was impulsive, Lauren was calculated and thoughtful.

Lauren cleared her throat. "I'd love to, but I think I should probably head home." Bo felt slightly deflated, but then Lauren's voice continued. "Rain check?"

Bo smiled. "Definitely."

Kenzi and Bo flopped onto their couch at 3:00a, both tired, but neither quite ready to go to sleep.

"So are we going to talk about that, or what?" Kenzi asked.

"What?" Bo asked.

"Don't give me that, you know what."

Bo sighed. "There's nothing to talk about, Kenz."

"Bullshit."

Bo ran her hands over her face.

"This is the gummy bears all over again," Kenzi said, shaking her head.

"What?"

"Don't you remember? When you, me, and Dyson decided we were going to make the world's biggest gummy bear?"

The memory came back to Bo. It had been when she, Kenzi, and Dyson were 12. They were at Dyson's house and got the brilliant idea to make the world's biggest gummy bear, so they took two bags of gummy bears, put them in a bowl, and microwaved them until they were liquid. Dyson had warned Bo not to touch the bowl, that it was going to be hot, but Bo hadn't listened. She scalded two of her fingers so badly that they had blistered.

"This isn't the gummy bears."

"You always have to push the envelope, go for something that you shouldn't. You have a boyfriend. And, yeah, he's an ass, but until you end that, you need to leave Lauren alone or this time the one getting hurt could be her."

"I wouldn't hurt her, Kenzi."

Kenzi put her hand on Bo's back. "I know you don't want to. But what are you doing?"

Bo sighed in frustration. "Nothing. I mean, I don't know, I just…I just like spending time with her, Kenz, is that so wrong?"

"Of course not. But we both know that this isn't just you making a new friend." Bo didn't answer. "Look, for what it's worth, I like Lauren. And I think she could be good for you. She might be the person who helps you sort through your shit. But if you fuck this up now you're going to ruin it for yourself."

"I know."

"So dump Rainer. Talk to Lauren. Get on top of your shit."

Bo looked at Kenzi. "You should be a motivational speaker," she said, sarcastically.

"Tough love, babycakes, tough love."

As always, I love to hear from you all