Hey, everyone! Thanks for your feedback. It's great to hear how this story is being received.

So, when I started writing this story I had two specific moments in my head - the first was Lauren calling Rainer a dick in chapter one, and the second one appears in this chapter. So, that's fun lol.

Hope everyone enjoys this one. This one is more dramatic than we've been lately, but we still aren't trying to steer toward angst.

Enjoy!

Lauren woke up and stretched her arms over her head. It was Saturday morning and Lauren was blissfully aware that she didn't have anything scheduled that she was required to do today. Bo had decided to go home the night before – after a week of trial, Lauren had suggested it, actually. Although Lauren wished she could have woken up with her, she knew Bo needed to rest, and it wasn't a given that she would get it if she stayed with Lauren.

After getting a shower and cleaning up around the house, at about 11:00a, Lauren called Bo, hoping she would have time to spend time together. The call, however, went directly to voicemail. Lauren left a quick message and dropped the phone back on her bed. Lauren was mildly surprised; in all the time she had known Bo, she didn't recall ever calling Bo and finding her phone to be off. With a shrug, Lauren continued with her day.

At 5:30p Lauren headed to the Dal and looked around, trying to find Bo in the crowd. It was strange that Bo hadn't called her back – Bo was typically good about that. She didn't see her, however, and so she walked up to the bar and sat down.

"What's up, Doc?" Kenzi asked, placing glasses under the bar.

"Nothing, just came by to see everyone. Is Bo around?"

"Haven't seen her since yesterday," Kenzi said.

Lauren paused. "Since yesterday?"

Kenzi glanced up. "Yeah, she stayed with you last night, right?"

"No…"

Kenzi looked confused. "No, she had to have been with you. She didn't come home."

Who did she stay with? The thought was tinged with jealousy, but before it could fester, she saw the look on Kenzi's face and she started to get worried. Kenzi looked genuinely confused and concerned. "You've tried calling her?" Kenzi asked.

Lauren nodded. "I called her a few hours ago and left a voicemail. Her phone was off."

Kenzi pulled her phone out of her pocket and signaled to Lauren that she would be back, walking toward the back office.

"What's going on?" Dyson asked, walking over.

"Oh, uh, just trying to get up with Bo, no one seems to know where she is. Have you heard from her?"

"No, sorry," Dyson said. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Lauren answered. "Just, you know, Kenzi said she wasn't home last night, just seems weird that no one has seen or heard from her."

"Voicemail," Kenzi said, walking out of the back. She looked worried.

"Don't worry about it, Kenz, you know how Bo can get," Dyson said. "She probably just got wrapped up in something. I'm sure she'll call."

"Yeah," Kenzi said quietly, thinking. "She hasn't had any bad cases lately, has she? I mean, no threats or anything?"

"Threats?" Lauren asked. Now she was starting to feel concerned.

"She's gotten threats from time to time, nothing serious," Dyson answered. "Seriously, I'm sure this is nothing. She'll probably come by any minute."

Lauren's thoughts trailed back to Bo's strange demeanor after the mystery call last night, and for a moment felt irritated with herself for not pushing the matter further. She tried to push the thought from her mind as she smiled at Dyson. "I'm sure she will."

Within an hour the gang, sans Bo, was gathered at the bar. The mood was upbeat, but Lauren couldn't help checking her phone every few minutes. Bo, where are you? She tried to do it discretely, but she noticed that Kenzi was doing the same thing.

Finally Lauren heard Kenzi's ringtone shout out loudly. Kenzi grabbed for it, and Lauren saw relief wash over her face. "Bo," she said, accepting the call and walking back toward the back office.

Kenzi was gone for a few minutes. Lauren kept stealing glances at the door. Why hadn't Bo called her? Although she was happy to hear that Bo was calling, the time she had been missing still nagged at Lauren.

When Kenzi finally walked back into the main bar, she looked pale.

"Dyson, we need to go," she said, grabbing her jacket off her chair.

"Why, what's up?" Dyson asked.

"She went home."

Dyson froze. "She did what?"

"She's been there since last night. And he's out. We need to leave, now," Kenzi answered.

"Shit." Before Kenzi was done speaking, Dyson was out of his chair, getting his own jacket.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Ciara asked, clearly confused.

"Who's out?" Vex asked.

"Bo went back home. Kenzi and I need to get there. If she's gone back there…I doubt things are good," Dyson answered.

Kenzi didn't say anything, but she gave Dyson a knowing look with seemed to affirm his comment.

Lauren's heart started speeding up. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's, uh…I'll call you later," Kenzi said, grabbing keys from her pocket. She leaned down and kissed Nate, dropping the bar keys into his hand. "Can you lock up for me?"

"Uh, sure…" Nate answered.

"Someone needs to explain what is happening here," Tamsin said.

Dyson and Kenzi shared a quick glance. "Look, we'll explain later, okay? For now, we need to go," Kenzi said.

Dyson leaned down to kiss Ciara. "Later. I promise," he said, and with that, Dyson and Kenzi were out the door.

Bo sat in the hard plastic chair, watching the beeping monitors flash above her mother's head. She knew she should feel tired, but honestly she just felt wired, jittery. It was 7:10p, and she had been up for…she had lost track at this point. She had checked her phone when she left Lauren's the night before and everything had developed from there. Had she fallen asleep at some point since getting here? She couldn't remember.

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Lauren. She sighed. She needed to answer, but…how did you explain something like this? Bo felt she had done a fairly good job of not letting Lauren know how truly fucked up her family was. If – when – she found out about this, that was over. Bo didn't want to expose Lauren to any of this. Lauren was too good for this nightmare. She didn't want Lauren to know the disaster she had started dating. But there was really no getting around it, was there?

With a sigh, she hit the button to accept the call.

"Hello?"

"Where are you? What's going on?" Lauren's voice was streaked with worry, and Bo hated herself for knowing she was the cause of it.

"It's fine. Everything's…fine," Bo said, trying to make her voice smooth and convincing.

"Kenzi said you went home. She and Dyson seemed pretty alarmed about that. Right after you called, they just took off."

Bo sighed and closed her eyes. "Shit. I told her not to come here," Bo mumbled, more to herself than to Lauren, pinching her fingers on the bridge of her nose.

"Bo," Lauren said, her voice calmer. "Please. What is going on?"

"It's just…family stuff. I don't want to drag you through it."

"I'm asking you to. Please."

Bo drew another deep breath. "My family is just…sort of a mess. It's going to be okay. I just felt like I needed to come here and deal with some things. I'll be home in a few days. I promise we can talk more then." It was a lame answer, and Bo knew it, but she was silently begging for Lauren to accept it. Her head ached, she was drained, and she didn't feel like she had the energy to explain everything and then hear the hesitation in Lauren's voice when she tried to think of the right things to say.

"I don't like this," Lauren said, quietly. "I don't like knowing you're there, wherever you are, and that you're alone."

"I'm okay, really. The nurses are around, and –"

"You're in a hospital?" Lauren exclaimed.

Fuck. Bo forgot that she hadn't mentioned that. "Um…"

"Which one?"

Bo drew a deep breath. "It doesn't matter. Look, there was an…incident, and my mom got admitted. I'm just staying here for a little bit to sort things out. She's going to be fine, though, and I'll be home in few days."

"Bo…"

"Lauren, please. I know I just took off and I owe you an explanation but…" Bo knew she was begging now, and she spoke quickly as she was suddenly seized with the desire to cry. She really did need to get some sleep.

"Okay," Lauren said, her voice gentle. "Call me, alright? Call me when you know more."

Bo had a moment when she didn't want to get off the phone. She didn't want to talk about what was going on, but…she didn't want Lauren to go. "Are you at home?" Bo asked.

"I'm at the bar. Kenzi and Dyson just left. I guess they're coming to find you."

Bo nodded, even though she knew Lauren couldn't see her. "Hey, I forgot to ask last night, how was that thing at work? With the patient who needed a transplant?" She knew her voice sounded thin and hollow, but part of her mind was chanting for her to just keep Lauren talking. When she heard Lauren talk, things didn't seem as bad.

There was a hesitation before Lauren answered. "He's fine, he's stable. Seems like it's going to work out okay."

"Good," Bo said. "Good."

"Hey, Bo?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lauren's voice was gentle and filled with concern.

"Yeah," Bo answered. "I just…miss you, that's all."

"I miss you, too," Lauren answered.

Bo glanced back at her mother and nodded. She wished Lauren were here, but she also knew that she wanted to keep Lauren as far away from this part of her life as possible. "I'm sorry I just left. I know I shouldn't have done that. I just…reacted, I guess. I didn't think."

"You don't have to apologize," Lauren said. "It's not like you need my permission before going somewhere. I was just worried about you, when I couldn't reach you and I heard that Kenzi hadn't seen you, it scared me."

"Yeah, I know. I'm really sorry. I'm not good at being a girlfriend."

"You're an amazing girlfriend," Lauren said, her voice betraying slight surprise that Bo was doubting herself in this area. "Since we've been together…being with you is incredible. You just have to remember that you can talk to me."

Bo smiled. "That's the part I'm usually not good about."

"You'll get better," Lauren said.

"I know I don't need permission. But it's also shitty to just leave without telling you and turn my phone off."

"Well…yeah, that's true. I guess I should be angry."

Bo smiled again. "Are you?"

"Furious," Lauren said lightly with a laugh.

Bo was quiet for a moment. "I'm really lucky to have you."

"Yes, you are."

"Thank you," Bo said.

"For what?"

"For…I don't know. Being you, I guess. Just thank you."

"I don't really know how to respond to that," Lauren said, after a moment's hesitation.

Bo sat back in the chair and let her eyes drop closed. "You don't have to."

At 10:00p, Bo walked out of the front doors of the hospital. Her mother still wasn't awake, but that was probably to be expected. Bo just needed some air, and maybe some coffee.

As she walked out the doors, she was greeted by Dyson and Kenzi, who were getting ready to walk in. "I told you not to come," Bo said, wearily.

Kenzi nodded. "What's going on?"

"She's unconscious. She was awake by the time they got her here, but she was so high I don't think they got much useful information out of her. She went into surgery this afternoon, and that went fine. She'll be alright, I guess."

"What happened?" Dyson asked.

"Jack happened," Bo answered.

Dyson nodded. "When did he get out?"

"A while back; honestly, I'm surprised it too this long for something to happen. Bo looked at the time. "How did you get here this fast?"

"You may have to take care of some speeding tickets for us when you get back," Kenzi joked.

Bo smiled. "She should probably be waking up soon. I don't know if I should let her sleep and come back tomorrow, or if I should go back in and try to deal with her when she wakes up tonight."

"You should probably wait until morning. You look like shit," Kenzi commented.

Bo smiled. "Thanks, that was helpful."

Kenzi wrapped her arm around Bo's shoulders. "Come on, let's go find a room."

Bo slept fitfully, and by 5:00a she was showered and getting ready to leave for the hospital. She told Kenzi where she was heading, who just groaned her response before going back to sleep. Dyson had been even less responsive, sleeping through the entire morning routine while sharing a bed with Kenzi.

Bo grabbed a coffee from the machine in the hospital before heading into her mother's room. When she walked in, her mother opened her eyes and looked at her.

"Hey," she said, her voice hoarse and scratchy.

"Hey," Bo said, placing her bag on the chair beside her as she sat down.

"I'm surprised you came," her mother croaked out.

"Not as surprised as I am," Bo commented. They sat in silence for a few moments. "So, what's the end game here, mom? What's the plan?" Her mother looked at her, quizzically. Bo shrugged. "Just going to wait around until he finally kills you? Going to do it yourself and just overdose? What?"

"Bo…"

"You almost pulled it off this time. They said when they got you here you were almost already gone. A little while longer before the ambulance arrived, and I'd be picking out a casket now."

"Sorry to disappoint," her mother scratched out, rolling her eyes.

"Why do you keep doing this? And why do you keep letting him do this? You know he left you there, right? When the ambulance got there, he was long gone. He didn't even call anyone. Your neighbor, luckily, heard something and called the police. He left you to die. Think about that."

"That isn't true."

"That is true. Those are the facts," Bo said, harshly.

"He loves me," her voice was stronger, but still coarse.

"Bullshit. He doesn't love you. This isn't love, mom!"

Her mother sank back against the bed, the paper mats under the sheet crinkling when she moved. "He loves me and I love him. It doesn't matter what you think."

"So, when he beat you up a few days ago, that was love? Yeah, the doctors told me. Or was it love when he gave you the last hit of heroin? Was that love? Was it love when you were high out of your mind and he beat you up some more? Or was it the last dose, when you were barricaded in the bathroom. Did you know it was laced with fentanyl? It's amazing that alone didn't kill you. Did you know the ambulance crew had to break the bathroom door to get to you? And where was he – oh, that's right, he was gone. Was that love?" The edges of Bo's vision were blurring with rage.

Her mother ignored her, refusing to look at her.

"Do you know what love is? It's when you're too busy at work to eat, so your partner brings you food. It's caring more about your partner's bad day than your good day. It's taking care of each other, no questions asked. The person you love is the person who makes you better, makes you healthier. The person you love doesn't give you fatal amounts of heroin, beat the shit out of you, and leave you in a dirty bathroom to die."

Her mother looked like she might cry for a moment, and Bo backed off, realizing she was being too aggressive. Bo sighed. "Are you even going to testify against him?"

Her mother looked at her, plaintively. "I love him, Bo. Haven't you ever been in love?"

Bo shook her head. "Love is what I have with Lauren. It isn't this."

Her dropped her head back, closing her eyes. "You just don't understand."

Bo sighed. "You're right, I don't. I'm leaving. Call me if something changes, but I'm not going to watch you kill yourself anymore." Her mother didn't say anything as she stood to leave. "Bye, mom." Bo turned and walked toward the door.

Bo walked to the nurses' station, taking steadying breaths. By the time a nurse addressed her, she felt that she could speak calmly.

"Can I help you with something?" the nurse asked.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm Bo Dennis, my mom is in room 3507 – I was just wondering if I could find out her prognosis? When she should be able to be released, aftercare, that kind of thing."

The nurse nodded. "Sure, sure," she said, typing into the computer. "It looks like the doctor will be coming around to see your mom later this morning, maybe around 8. If you want to come back then, I'm sure she can answer your questions."

"Thanks."

Bo pushed back from the counter, turning to leave. She would come back and wait for the doctor. Maybe she could even avoid seeing her mom until then. As she took a step, her eyes landed on Lauren.

She was certain for a second that her mind was playing tricks on her – Lauren was hours away, and it wasn't even 6:00a yet. How could Lauren be here? She stood frozen in place for a moment, waiting for the mirage to evaporate.

But it didn't. Lauren stepped closer, and without a word, gathered Bo into a tight embrace.

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