Primarily Bo POV.

Enjoy!

"Where are all these people coming from?" Bo asked as she collected glasses off the bar. It was a frigid Saturday night in mid-January. Bo had volunteered to work at the Dal to give Dyson a break, and she was already regretting it. The bar was filled from wall to wall.

Kenzi laughed. "You haven't worked a Saturday in a while. And, besides, this is a good thing. This keeps the doors open."

Bo groaned and continued taking orders and preparing drinks. Although she was out of practice for a rush like this, she soon found herself falling back into familiar rhythms. She was partway through making a martini when she heard a familiar voice.

"This place is insane," Lauren commented, weaving closer to the bar.

Bo looked up and smiled immediately. She hadn't seen Lauren in a couple of weeks – okay, in 17 days, but who was counting – and she was happy she had come in.

"I'm so happy you're here," Kenzi said before Bo had a chance to say hello, sweeping in between Bo and Lauren. "Because you're our friend, and friends help each other!"

Lauren laughed. "What do you need me to do?"

"Bus some tables and take them to the kitchen? We're running low on glasses."

"She doesn't work here, Kenzi," Bo commented.

Lauren waved off Bo's comment. "Do you have a tray I can use?"

Kenzi provided a tray and sent Lauren off to collect errant glassware.

"Really, Kenz?" Bo asked when Lauren was out of earshot.

"What? We're slammed. She's one of us now, that means she gets stuck with chores too."

Bo rolled her eyes and went back to making drinks.

That night continued on, with Bo and Kenzi bartending and Lauren helping Tamsin as a bar back. Lauren seemed to fit into the flow of the bar easily, and by 12 the crowd started to thin out. The group continued to work, cleaning, restocking, and serving until the last customer left at 1:30.

Once the bar was closed, Bo slumped down onto one of the stools. "Well that was ridiculous," she commented, wiping her hands on her pants.

"But we made a killing," Kenzi commented, working at the register.

Lauren walked out of the back carrying a container of clean glasses. "I don't think I've been here before when it was this busy."

Bo got up and took the container from Lauren. "Before you do anything else we should probably make you fill out a W-2," Bo said with a smile.

"Am I hired permanently?" Lauren asked with a laugh.

"Seems like a good call. Have you been a waitress before?" Bo asked, stacking the glasses under the bar.

Lauren grabbed a rag and started wiping down liquor bottles. "Yeah, a little in high school and pretty consistently while I was in undergrad. I did a little bartending but not much."

Bo nodded. "I've done more bartending than waitressing," she commented, finishing up the glasses. "Let me do that, really, Kenzi shouldn't have even asked you to work," she said, taking the rag from Lauren.

"I don't mind, really," Lauren said. "This kind of work is nice sometimes. Weirdly therapeutic."

"You're welcome to come to therapy here anytime," Kenzi commented, as she finished closing out a register drawer.

"We really do appreciate you helping out," Bo said. Kenzi nodded her agreement and headed into the back office with a stack of receipts, leaving Bo and Lauren temporarily alone. They were quiet for a few moments, continuing to clean bottles and straighten the bar. "So," Bo said, clearing her throat, "you never said, did you ever go on that date?"

"I did," Lauren said as she refilled the napkin holder. "Crystal. She was nice."

"Oh, that's great," Bo said, nodding. How nice? Bo thought. She kept it to herself. "Do you think you'll see her again?" Yeah, that was more subtle Bo thought, sarcastically.

Lauren looked at Bo sideways and smiled. "Yeah, maybe," she said, her voice light. "Why, is that an issue?"

The comment was clearly a dig at Bo's question, but it was playful, and Bo couldn't help smiling herself. "Just want to make sure she's good enough for you, that's all."

"I don't see joint Christmas cards in the near future, if that tells you anything," Lauren said. "But it was nice. I knew it was going to feel weird going out with someone else, other than Nadia, you know? But it wasn't that bad. I'm glad I went. We had a lot in common."

"Like what?" You really need to stop now.

"Like we both just got out of long relationships. We both have a thing for another girl."

Bo felt her heartrate pick up, and she looked back at Lauren, who was still smiling. "But you're going to see her again?"

Lauren shrugged. "She's nice enough, we had a good time. It was nice just being out with someone again, getting used that feeling. Other than Nadia I've never really done that."

Bo nodded. "Makes sense." Are you going to go on dates with other people, too? She held the question in, continuing to work.

"What?" Lauren said, looking at Bo.

Bo looked up. "I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking something."

Bo looked at her quizzically. "What?"

"You had something you wanted to ask. What is it?"

Bo sighed. "Nothing. I just…I was wondering if you were planning on seeing other people, other than this one girl."

"Is someone else offering?"

Bo smiled. "Touché."

They lapsed back into an easy quiet before Lauren spoke again. "If someone else asked, I would consider going, honestly," she said. "I know that's not where you are. But if someone else did ask, I'd think about it." Bo nodded. "The truth is, Crystal was barely a date. I don't see that being a real romantic connection for me. But the feeling of being out with someone else, even with someone like her, where I didn't see a future…it was fun. It was casual and there was no pressure, and I actually enjoyed myself. If someone else asked me, I would be willing to do that again."

"What if someone else asks you and this time there is a spark?" Bo asked. "What would happen then?" Bo was trying to choose her words carefully, but they both knew what she was really asking – if you meet someone else, will you try to have a relationship with them? Or would you wait to see if you could have something with me?

"I don't know," Lauren said, quietly. "Until that happens, I don't think I can know." Bo nodded and stayed quiet. Lauren walked closer to her. "If that did happen, what would that mean for us?"

Bo sighed. "If you find someone who is good for you, who you like, you shouldn't worry about me before you go out with them. We'll still be friends. I can't promise I'll be perky about it, but ultimately I think we both deserve to be happy."

Lauren nodded. "That's a very mature answer."

"Can you promise not to date someone prettier than me?"

Lauren laughed. "Less mature."

Bo smiled. She had a vague awareness of Lauren coming closer, drawing toward her like an orbit. She took a steadying breath and tried to clear her senses. Lauren did the same and pulled back slightly, just enough to break the trance they were both falling under.

"I should probably go," Lauren said, quietly.

"You don't have to," Bo said. "I'll behave."

Lauren smiled. "You're not the one I'm worried about."

Bo felt her heart flutter, and Lauren leaned in and gave her a light kiss. "I'll talk to you later," Lauren said.

Bo watched Lauren leave. When the door closed behind her, she drew in a deep breath. Damn, Lauren was sexy. She shook her head to regain her bearings and went back to cleaning the bar. Friends, she reminded herself. Right. Friends.

The following Wednesday Bo was at her desk doing research for a case. She was reading from her computer screen, making notes on a legal pad when she heard her phone buzzing on the other side of her desk. She reached over and opened the text message she had just received.

Lauren: Hey, would you be free to get lunch today?

Bo answered immediately. Sure, where do you want to meet? After pressing send, she had the vague thought that maybe she should have waited a minute before answering. Her response had been so automatic, so instantaneous, that it might make her look needy. What if Lauren thought –

Before she could finish her train of thought, Lauren had texted back. Vinny's, at 1? Bo smiled again. Well, if she looked overeager, at least it looked Lauren was behaving the same way. She texted back and confirmed the plan before returning to her work.

Vinny's was a hole in the wall sandwich shop roughly halfway between Bo's and Lauren's work. It was always fairly busy, but despite that there was usually a table available and the food was pretty solid. Bo arrived at 12:50 and as she was walking to the door almost collided with Lauren, who was also on her way in.

Bo made a show of looking at her watch. "We're both early? I don't think that's ever happened," she said with a laugh.

Lauren smiled. "I think you're right." They stood for a minute, unsure of what to do next, and after a few moments Bo reached out and wrapped Lauren in a tight hug. Lauren responded immediately, wrapping her own arms around Bo and turning her face into Bo's hair.

The hug lasted a few seconds longer than a normal hug hello, but when Lauren and Bo pulled back neither acknowledged it. They entered the restaurant to eat.

"So, you have a brother?" Bo asked, taking another bite of her sandwich.

Lauren nodded. "Michael. He's two years older than I am." Lauren took a sip of her drink. "He does something with computer engineering, I don't really understand it," Lauren said with a wave of her hand. Bo laughed and Lauren looked up. "What?"

Bo shrugged. "I mean, you say that like it's so complicated you could never understand it."

"I probably couldn't. I'm not great with computers and technology."

"Lauren, you're a doctor. I'm sure you could understand anything you wanted to learn about."

Lauren blushed slightly and looked back down. "That's not really true. I'm just good with science, that doesn't mean I'm good at everything."

"I was always terrible at science," Bo commented.

Lauren looked back up with a mischievous smirk. "Well, you're a lawyer. You're smart. I'm sure you could learn science."

Bo laughed. "You obviously don't know many lawyers. We aren't that smart. We just went to school for a long time. There is a difference." Lauren left and shook her head. A few beats later, Bo asked, "so are you and Michael close?'

Lauren nodded. "We don't talk as much as we should, but we try to. He got married about two years ago, and between that and my work schedule, we just don't seem to catch up as often as we should. What about you? Do you have siblings?"

"Just Kenzi and Dyson," Bo answered.

"That's kind of amazing," Lauren commented.

"What is?"

"The way you made your own family. I mean, I have Vex, and I guess I think of him like a little brother, but if someone asked me about my siblings I wouldn't mention him, you know?"

"Well, maybe that's because you have Michael to mention."

"Maybe," Lauren said with a shrug. They ate their lunch for a few more moments. "So any new fun cases?"

Bo thought for a second, chewing. "Nothing that I would consider 'entertaining'. More just 'vile and disgusting'."

Lauren looked up, clearly curious.

"Child pornography," Bo said. "Not entirely my case, but I'm assisting with some research."

"The world is a fucked up place," Lauren said with disgust.

Bo laughed, and Lauren looked at her, confused. "What?"

"Nothing, I just don't think I've ever heard you say 'fuck' before."

Lauren looked at Bo with a slight bemused smile. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You were just thinking about a child porn case you're working on. How did you turn your mind off of that so fast and find something funny?"

Bo thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just used to it, I guess. You compartmentalize and just shut it off when you need to. I'm sure you do that, too."

Lauren nodded. "I do, but I don't know that I can transition out of it as fast as you do."

"Well, maybe it's because my experience with it is a less direct, you know? I'm working with files, you're working with actual people." They were quiet for a few more moments. "Do you ever struggle with it? With turning it off, or transitioning out, or whatever?"

"Sometimes. The other day, when that woman died, that one was hard on me. I don't know, some days I feel like I can do it with no problem, but others it's like I can't do it at all."

Bo nodded. "I get the same way sometimes. It's hard to explain."

"I get that," Lauren agreed.

"Sometimes I worry that I can turn it off too well, though," Bo said. "Like, what are you becoming when you can just see those things and move on like nothing happened?"

Lauren put her hand on top of Bo's. "You aren't 'becoming' anything," she said.

Bo looked at where their hands sat together and smiled. "You're definitely a healer," Bo said.

"Hmm?"

"You told me I was a protector. You're a healer. You fix things for people, physically and emotionally. You make things better." Lauren looked at Bo, not saying anything, her thumb unconsciously tracing circles on the side of Bo's hand. "You make me feel better."

Lauren smiled at Bo. "You make me feel better, too." They sat like that for a few more moments, and finally Lauren cleared her throat and pulled her hand back. Bo was momentarily sad at the loss. "Sorry," Lauren said.

"Hey, we're friends, right?" Bo said with a smile.

Lauren laughed. "Yeah, yeah."

They kept eating and talking, and when they were done they stood, cleaning up their plates and napkins.

"We should do this again," Lauren said, throwing things away. "We really don't get to see each other enough."

"Wednesdays are usually the best days for me work-wise," Bo said. "Want to plan on doing this again next week?"

Lauren smiled. "Absolutely."

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