What's up, party animals.
So, is this the longest I've gone without posting a chapter? Probably not. But still, feels like it's been a while. To the reviewer who said, if it makes me feel better, child sex offenders get beat up in prison - I'm not proud of this, but that actually does help, thanks.
So, this chapter - guys, let me tell you, it has angst, murder, international espionage...it's the total package. It's crazy. It's a wild ride. There's also a solid chance that this is the world's most thinly veiled lie. Whatever.
Also, Bo and I share culinary skills. I'm relating to that part of the story on a very deep and personal level.
Not proofread or edited, as always. But I am consulting with a potential beta. So...you know, quality may improve at some point lol
Enjoy!
Ten days later, Bo was sitting in Lauren's office, her arms crossed in front of her, cutting her eyes at Lauren. "You lied to me," she said, simply.
Lauren sighed. "I didn't lie to you. We are going to get lunch. Just…afterwards."
"It's a Wednesday, Lauren! You can't make me do this on a Wednesday."
"The stitches have to come out. They're already pulling at your skin – frankly, I should have made you do this a couple days ago."
Bo didn't say anything, continuing to sulk.
Lauren sighed. "Look, when the stitches are out, I'll let you pick where we go to lunch, alright?"
Bo hesitated. "Do I really have to do this?"
"Yes."
Now it was Bo's turn to sigh. "Alright, fine, let's get it over with, I guess."
Lauren smiled at her, but inside she was dreading this almost as much as Bo. It wasn't that it was going to be that bad of a procedure – it was simply, actually, it shouldn't really even hurt – but she knew Bo was dreading it and that made Lauren hate the thought of it as well.
They walked down to where the doctor was waiting for them, and Bo began to visibly tense when she saw the tools the doctor had prepared.
Lauren got Bo settled and started talking to her, trying to take her mind off things. "So, is Kenzi working Saturday?"
"No, she's off," Bo answered, her eyes drifting to the tools even as she tried to keep herself from looking that way.
"Good," Lauren said. "I was thinking that might be a good day for you two to learn how to cook."
Bo turned to fully look at Lauren. "Wow, first needles, now cooking lessons. When you pile it on you really go for it, don't you?"
Lauren smiled at her and ran a hand through Bo's hair. "I'll put together a list for you and Kenzi," she said. "Just some basic ingredients, nothing crazy."
"You might want to write down the types of pots and pans we need, too."
Lauren looked at her, quizzically. "You won't need anything special, just basic cookware."
Bo smiled at her slightly, and Lauren's heart warmed. "Sweetie, we don't cook. It's not a given that we have anything."
Lauren smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll put that on the list, too."
Bo winced as the doctor started working, and Lauren moved a half step closer, pulling Bo's face to her chest. "It's okay, baby, it'll be over quick."
Bo didn't say anything back, sitting perfectly still.
"It's healed really cleanly," Lauren said. "It shouldn't even leave too much of a scar. We'll put some cream on it, keep the skin moisturized, and that should help it fade. You might always feel like that part of your hand isn't as sensitive, though, when you cut it, it went through some nerves, so they won't fully repair. But it won't be painful, and you'll get used to it fast, so you probably won't even really ever notice. The last stitch is coming out now – and that's it. Just have to check it over, and then you'll be done, but everything looks great."
The doctor finished up and after giving Bo a few instructions, left Lauren and Bo alone. Bo turned to Lauren, smiling slightly. "You have a really good bedside manner," Bo said.
Lauren smiled, feeling lighter when she saw the tension draining away from Bo. "Lunch?" she asked.
Bo sighed and looked at her watch. "I'm short on time."
Lauren was hit by a wave of disappointment. "Oh."
Bo bit her bottom lip, thinking for a moment. "Hey, didn't we pass a vending machine on our way down here?"
"You need something better than vending machine food for lunch, Bo," Lauren answered.
Bo stood up and kissed Lauren. "Nothing's better than lunch with you. Come on."
At noon on Saturday, Bo and Kenzi were walking through the grocery store, trying to gather items from Lauren's list.
"How did you get me roped into this?" Kenzi grumbled, walking beside Bo as she pushed the cart.
"I don't even know how I got myself into it," Bo commented, looking at the shelves.
"Well, I know how she got you. The same way Nate got me to stand for three hours outside a concert hall hoping to get an autograph from his favorite drummer."
"With a promise of shoes and sex?"
"Because you lurve her," Kenzi answered in a sing-song voice.
Bo shrugged. "Yeah, well."
Kenzi stopped, putting her hand on the cart to stop Bo as well. "Wait, you aren't going to start denying it?"
Bo looked at Kenzi and shrugged again.
Kenzi was frozen, her mouth agape. "This is…you…my mind is…what?"
Bo rolled her eyes and started walking again. "It's not that crazy, Kenz."
"It is, though. It is. Because this is you we're talking about."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're…Bo. You're like a Vulcan."
"Well, that was needlessly nerdy."
"You're the master of not having feelings," Kenzi continued.
"That's a bit harsh."
"The ice queen."
"See, now you're just being hurtful."
"The –"
"Alright, alright, I get it," Bo said, cutting Kenzi off. "I'm not a girl who is big on love. Got it. But that doesn't matter, I'm still capable of being in love."
"I have known you since…well, count how old we are, that's how long I've known you, and in all that time I have never once heard you admit that you are in love with someone."
"Things change," Bo answered, referring to the list in her hand as she scanned the shelves.
Kenzi just stood, staring at Bo and shaking her head. "Are you going to marry her?"
"You have weddings one the brain," Bo answered. "I've been dating her for less than five months."
"But you live with her –"
"I'm not even having this argument again."
"—and you're in love with her. So, I mean, my question isn't really that crazy in the grand scheme of things."
Bo was quiet for a minute, and then she turned to Kenzi. "Are you and Nate going to have kids?"
Kenzi balked. "What?"
"Are you going to have kids?"
"I just…we…I don't know."
"How many are you going to have?" Bo pressed.
"I didn't even say –"
"How soon are you going to start trying to have them? Right away? Or do you think you'll wait a couple of years, get some traveling in first?"
Kenzi put her hands up. "Alright, settle down, Nate and I aren't at that point yet. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
"Really?" Bo said, cocking her head to the side. "Why not? I mean, you love him, you're going to marry him, my question isn't that crazy in the grand scheme of things."
Kenzi sighed. "Alright, fine, I concede."
Bo smiled triumphantly. "Boom. Now, Lauren said we need some weird ass herbs, let's go."
They started walking to the next aisle. "I still don't know why I'm doing this, I'm not in love with her."
"But you love me," Bo said with a smile. "But the real reason you're doing it is because you want to be all cute and domestic for Nate so he'll realize what a good homemaker you are and want to have lots and lots of babies."
"What?" Kenzi said, slightly offended. "That's not –" she caught Bo's smile and realized she was being messed with. "Oh. Ha, ha," she fake laughed, while rolling her eyes.
Bo laughed to herself while she scanned the rack, looking for what Lauren had written down.
"Hey, off topic, just hypothetically," Kenzi said, twisting her fingers together. "Do you think…would I be a good mom?"
Bo picked up a spice container and turned to Kenzi, raising her eyebrow. "Do you want to be a mom?"
Kenzi shrugged, trying to looked bored and nonchalant, and act that was virtually useless when she was talking to Bo. "I don't know. I mean…maybe?"
Bo smiled. "You'd be a kick ass mom," Bo answered, turning back to read the label on the container in her hands.
"Really?"
"Hell yeah."
Kenzi didn't respond, but Bo did see her smiling slightly out of the corner of her eye. "Alright," Kenzi said. "What else do we need?"
"Chicken," Bo answered, referring to the list.
They walked down the aisle and found the meat. "Breasts or thighs?" Kenzi asked.
"I like breasts," Bo answered.
"I'm asking what's on the list, perv, not for your personal sexual preferences."
Bo nodded. "Yeah, I walked right into that one."
"I always thought you were a leg woman."
"A leg woman when it comes to chicken, or when it comes to Lauren?" Bo asked as she started going through the packages, trying to find one that would work with the list Lauren had given her.
"Ew."
"Because when it comes to Lauren –"
"Alright, alright, fine, I'll stop," Kenzi said. "I don't need to hear about my sister's sex life."
Kenzi started rifling through the packages herself. "Dude, did you know you can buy this shit pre-cooked? Let's just get that and tell Lauren we figured it out on our own. We can get out of this whole thing."
Bo stood for moment thinking about it, and then sighed. "I can't lie to her. Plus she already knows there's no way I could have cooked chicken."
Kenzi sighed. "Alright, what else do we need?"
Bo passed the list to Kenzi. They started walking to the next aisle. "Hey, can we get Skittles?" Kenzi asked as they passed a candy display.
"Obviously," Bo answered.
"I don't even…what is all this?" Lauren asked, looking through their shopping bags.
"Groceries," Bo answered. "We got almost everything on the list, I think…"
"This bag is just candy…" Lauren said, going through them. "And this one…did you buy cooked chicken?"
"I told you not to buy that," Bo said under her breath to Kenzi.
"I'm not sleeping with her, I can lie to her," Kenzi answered back.
"You left it in the bag. Were you planning on telling her you cooked it and then repackaged it?" Bo asked with an eye roll.
"This bag is just chips and pretzels," Lauren commented.
"Geez, your wife is crabby," Kenzi groused under her breath to Bo. Bo discretely hit her in the ribs with her elbow. Kenzi glanced at her, affronted. "OW," she said, calmly and loudly.
"What?" Lauren said, looking up.
"Nothing. So what did we get that was wrong?" Bo said, trying to look innocent.
"Where did you find this much pre-cooked food?" Lauren asked.
"The more stuff we buy precooked, the faster the cooking part goes for us. It's time efficient," Bo commented.
"You bought cardamom," Lauren said, giving Bo a bewildered look.
"Yeah, it was on the list," Bo said.
"Cumin was on the list…"
"Seriously? Fuck, that was expensive."
Lauren shook her head and started laughing slightly.
Nate started laughing on the couch behind them.
"That's enough from the peanut gallery, thank you," Kenzi said over her shoulder at him.
"I'm so glad I cleared extra phone memory to capture this evening," Nate said with a smile, taking a bite of popcorn.
"Did you seriously make popcorn just to watch me fail at cooking?" Kenzi asked.
"Yeah, I couldn't ask you to make it, you always burn it," Nate answered with a smile.
"How? How do you burn popcorn? There is literally a button on the microwave that says 'popcorn'," Lauren said.
"We tried that! It still burnt," Kenzi said.
"It's because you buy the small bags and the popcorn button cooks it too long," Nate said.
"See? That's totally not our fault," Bo noted.
"They print the cooking time on the box," Lauren answered.
"Yeah, but who is going to take the time to read that?" Kenzi asked.
"Yeah, seriously," Bo agreed.
Lauren looked between them, in openmouthed shock. "I just…how have you two survived?"
"We own a bar that has a kitchen, and we hired a cook," Kenzi answered.
"Exactly," Bo affirmed.
Lauren sighed. "Alright. Fine. Come on, Bo."
"Oh, no, are we skipping cooking lessons?" Bo said in a giddy voice with a wide smile.
Lauren smiled and shook her head. "We're going back to the store. Nate, Kenzi, we'll be back in a few minutes."
"Hey, while you're there, get some of the big bags of popcorn," Kenzi said.
Lauren just sighed.
Lauren and Bo walked up and down the aisles of the grocery store, Bo pushing the cart while Lauren put items in the basket.
"Can we get ice cream?" Bo asked.
Lauren laughed. "You're an adult. Buy whatever you want."
"No, I mean, you and I should go out and get ice cream. Skip this whole cooking nonsense."
"You need to learn how to cook, Bo."
Bo reached out to stop Lauren and pulled her in close. "Or we could skip it, go back to your place…" Bo ran her hands delicately against the sides of Lauren's breasts.
"The only breasts you need to handle right now are in the kitchen," Lauren said, pulling Bo's hands down.
"We can do it in the kitchen," Bo said, leaning in to give Lauren a lingering kiss.
Lauren returned the kiss for a moment and stepped back with a smile, shaking her head. Bo sighed dramatically, returning to push the cart.
Lauren shook her head and smiled. "I genuinely don't know how you haven't starved to death."
"I'm really good at making cereal."
"Seriously? That's your claim to fame? Cereal?"
"Well, alright, maybe really good is an exaggeration. I always end up with way too much milk."
Lauren couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out of her.
Bo and Lauren continued through the store, Bo pausing while Lauren read labels and made selections. She kept referring to Bo, asking her to make choices, select brands, those kinds of things.
Lauren was holding two kinds of spices, asking Bo which one she preferred, going over the pros and cons of each. "So, this one might taste better tonight, but this one can be used in a wider variety of recipes. What do you think?"
Bo looked at the spices and stepped from behind the cart, pulling Lauren too her and kissing her deeply. She ran her tongue over Lauren's and felt Lauren almost stumble into her with surprise, kissing her back firmly.
When Bo took a half step back, Lauren's eyes were slow to drift open and she looked slightly dazed. "What was that for?"
Bo kept her hands at Lauren's waist, looking into her eyes. "Because I love you, and I think you're amazing, and you want you to know that now so you won't be offended when I tell you that cooking is so boring."
Lauren wanted to feign irritation, but Bo was still standing so close to her, breathing her air, and her hands were still on her, and she realized that she just couldn't. She smiled at Bo, leaning in to kiss her again, gently. She leaned in to Bo's ear. "Please?" she said, her voice low and sultry, a tone she knew Bo couldn't resist.
"Oh, come on, that's cheating," Bo groaned.
Lauren smiled wickedly and gave Bo a quick peck, holding up the spices again. Bo sighed and pointed to the one on the left.
"Really? That one?" Lauren said.
Bo just laughed, grabbing both spices from Lauren and putting them in the cart.
Bo and Lauren walked back into the apartment with their bags.
"Honey, I'm home," Bo said loudly as the door opened. As they came in, they saw Nate and Kenzi separate suddenly on the couch.
"Wow, was quick," Kenzi said, trying to compose herself, smoothing her hair.
Bo laughed. "Sorry to break up the party."
Kenzi cleared her throat. "So, yeah, it's getting late, right, Nate? Maybe we should do the cooking lessons another time."
Nate finished composing himself. "No, the night is young, let's do this."
Kenzi turned to him, her eyes wide. "Seriously? The promise of sex won't even deter you from this?!"
Nate gave her a knowing smile. "Oh, you were just making out with me hoping it would distract me from the cooking lessons? I had no idea that was your plan. I feel so used," he deadpanned.
Kenzi groaned dramatically. Bo shrugged. "Lauren didn't go for it either."
An hour later, Bo, Lauren, Kenzi, and Nate were standing in the kitchen while the smoke alarm angrily beeped. Lauren sighed. "How did you…I mean, how?"
"It's a scientific fact that turning up the heat makes things cook faster," Kenzi said.
"Yes, it does. It also burns them,' Lauren said.
"Cooking is boring," Bo complained.
"The fire wasn't exciting enough for you?" Nate quipped.
Lauren sighed, shaking her head. "Alright, let's clean up and try this again tomorrow."
After cleaning up the kitchen and silencing the smoke detector, the couples retired to their rooms for bed. After washing their faces and brushing their teeth, Bo and Lauren headed to Bo's room and got undressed. Bo pulled out a tee shirt for Lauren to sleep in, and tossed it to the side, crossing the room to Lauren, pulling her in for a kiss.
Lauren smiled against Bo's lips. "I thought you were going to let me borrow a shirt," she said, her arms winding around Bo's neck.
"You don't need it yet," Bo answered with a smile, kissing Lauren again. The stood together a while longer, kissing lazily, gently swaying as if they were dancing to music that only they could hear. It was calm and unhurried, and Bo felt like she was melting with the depth of it.
A while later, Bo pulled back, gazing into Lauren's eyes which were half closed and dreamy. God, she is so fucking gorgeous Bo thought. Everything about Lauren was perfection; the way her eyelashes naturally curled upwards, the way her eyes sparkled when she looked at Bo, the way her laugh was throaty and easy to draw out, the way her lips were always so soft, all the time, no matter what, the way she fit in Bo's arms like she had been molded especially to be held by her, the way her fingers, those damn doctors' fingers, were always precise in their movements.
Her mind fascinated Bo. It was always active, always moving. She wondered what it would be like to be inside Lauren's head, to hear her thoughts, to follow the way she processed things. It was so bizarre; Bo had dated, okay? She had dated a lot – men, women, whatever. She had experience. But with Lauren…she never cared about things like that before. She had never wondered how Rainer arrived at ideas, she had never pondered how Ryan processed information. She never cared. With Lauren…
Lauren reached her fingers up and stroked Bo's hair pushing it back from her face. Bo smiled. She had never dated someone who did that, either – she had never been with someone who was always pushing her hair away so her face could be viewed totally unobstructed.
"What are you thinking about?" Lauren murmured softly.
Bo felt like Lauren could probably feel her heart beating through her chest. God, she wanted to give his woman everything. She wanted to tear the moon out of the sky and hand it to her. She knew, in that moment, that there was virtually nothing Lauren could ask of her that she would deny, if it was in her power to make it happen. Hell, even if it wasn't in her power.
"You," Bo answered simply. There was really nothing else to say, was there?
A few hours later, Bo and Lauren were tangled in the sheets, sweaty and out of breath. Lauren curled herself around Bo, dropping light kisses onto her collarbone.
Bo was fairly certain she had just seen the face of God. She tightened her arm around Lauren. She was officially ruined for anyone else. She was done. She leaned her head forward and kissed the top of Lauren's head, taking a deep breath of her hair.
"You always smell like clean cotton," Bo said, her voice dreamy.
"You always smell like coffee," Lauren answered.
"Probably because I think it's replaced most of my blood," Bo answered.
Lauren laughed lightly, the vibrations of her body against Bo made Bo's heart race. Lauren and Bo continued to lie together, gently touching each other, relaxing. Bo's thoughts ran back over the day, and a thought snagged in her mind.
"Hey," she said, quietly, unsure if she should be bringing up this topic. "Do you ever…" her voice trailed off, trying to think how she wanted to phrase this.
Lauren snuggled against her side. "Do I ever what?"
"Do you ever think about…I don't know, babies?"
She felt Lauren's smile against her skin. "If you're worried that I got you pregnant, I can tell you that, medically, we would be considered low risk."
Bo couldn't stop the laugh that rumbled through her and she felt Lauren echo it.
Bo stroked her hand down Lauren's spine. "No, I mean, just the future and stuff. Like, kids?"
Lauren stilled against her, thinking. "I don't know," she said softly. "Sometimes, I guess."
"What do you think about?"
Lauren was quiet for a moment, thinking. "Nothing specific, really. Just general things. What about you?"
"Sometimes."
They were quiet for a bit longer, continuing to gently touch, each thinking.
"When you think about the future," Lauren said, softly, tentatively, "does it…am I in it?"
"You are it," Bo answered without thinking. Upon realizing the words she let slip, she stilled again, waiting for a reaction.
Lauren didn't answer, and Bo's heart started speeding up. She needed Lauren to say something. She needed confirmation that she hadn't said something Lauren wasn't ready to hear.
The waiting was torture, and a moment later she felt something wet drop to her chest. Was Lauren crying? She saw Lauren try to discretely move her hand to her face to wipe away a tear.
"Baby?" Bo said, her voice full of concern.
She felt a smile come from Lauren against her chest and it calmed her somewhat. "God, I'm so lucky to have met you," Lauren said quietly. "I don't want to do anything to mess this up."
"Me either," Bo said.
Lauren turned her head slightly and kissed the top of Bo's breast before laying the side of her face back against it.
Bo was debating breaching the kids topic again, but wondered if she should just let it drop for now. She and Lauren had just admitted something pretty important to each other – maybe that moment needed to be left undamaged.
"Bo?" Lauren said, quietly, like she was going through a debate in mind similar to the one Bo was experiencing.
"Yeah?" Bo answered.
"Do you think about having kids?"
Bo sighed. "I don't know. I like kids. I just…never thought about having them."
Lauren was quiet for a beat, and then said, "I've never thought about having them, either. I don't honestly know if I want to or not."
Bo released a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding, and relief flooded over her. She adored Lauren, and if Lauren had said she definitely wanted kids, Bo didn't know what she would have said.
Bo was so lost in her own thoughts, she failed to notice that Lauren still felt slightly tense in her arms. Lauren cleared her throat and spoke again, her words coming out fast. "I know that might a, I don't know, a deal breaker, or whatever. I really, really don't want to mess this up, and –"
Bo pulled Lauren up and quieted her with a kiss. "I don't know if I want them or not either," Bo said when they broke apart, and the relief that came over Lauren's face made her heart seize. "I mean, if you decided you definitely did, I'd be willing to talk about it. But…I don't know that it's something I need."
"Really?"
"Really."
Lauren visibly sagged in relief against Bo, and Bo smiled again, gathering Lauren into her arms and kissing her. "So," Bo said. "Just to even things out – when you think about the future –"
Lauren cut her off. "It's you."
Bo felt breathless as she stared into Lauren's eyes, watching them sparkle. She wanted to say something, something to mark this. These moments didn't come that often, right? She needed to do something. She looked into Lauren's eyes, sinking into their depths, and said the only thought that was clear in her mind.
"I love you."
As always, I love to hear your thoughts