Hey, guys. How many people forgot about this story? Remember when I used to update quickly? Good times.

So, here's the deal - it took me a while to get to this chapter, because I like to waste time and ignore my responsibilities. For those of you who are "responsible" and "adults", I really recommend trying this. Seriously, it's so fun.

Anyway, I hadn't written anything, and my lovely beta, lynedele77 kindly reminded me that I needed to write something or she would harm me, both physically and emotionally. She's such a supportive person. I started writing and it was TERRIBLE - like, seriously, really terrible. So, I sent it to her, and then said never mind, then wrote a new chapter, then said never mind, and then wrote a third chapter, and when I told her not to read it because I was going to rewrite it she told me if I didn't just shut up and let her read what was going on she would murder my family. Again, such a supportive friend. High five to lynedele77.

All of that to say that you only have this chapter because lynedele77 is awesome. Also, she might murder me. If she does, take the time you won't be using to read this story to read Fae to Fae, because, seriously, it's so good.

Enjoy!

"Get the ball, Zeus! Zeus, get the ball!" Lauren called, clapping her hands on her legs as the tennis ball she had just thrown bounced through the yard.

Instead of chasing the ball, Zeus sat still, looking at her with his head cocked.

Lauren sighed, walking out to get the ball herself. Zeus watched her as he continued to sit next to the back door of Bo and Lauren's house.

The late October air was cool, and a slight breeze blew as Lauren walked back toward the house, tennis ball in hand. As the evening sun dipped lower in the sky, she shivered slightly and pulled her sweater tighter around her. Zeus continued to look at her, his tail wagging slightly harder as she approached. She walked up and scratched him behind the ear. He leaned in and sniffed her other hand, which was holding the tennis ball.

"Want to play?" she asked him.

He wagged his tail harder.

"Yeah?." She moved the ball in front of his face, trying to get his attention. He started to follow the ball with his head, his eyes wide in anticipation. "Okay, Zeus, here we go – fetch the ball, Zeus!" Lauren threw the ball back out into the yard.

Once again, Zeus followed the ball with his head but remained still. When the ball finally stopped rolling in the grass, he looked back at Lauren and cocked his head to the side, causing one ear to stand straight up and the other to flop over.

Lauren groaned. "Alright, fine," she grumbled, walking back out to retrieve the ball once again.

"Playing fetch alone?" Bo asked with a smirk, walking out the back door of the house. Zeus looked up at her happily, immediately padding over to her and pushing his head against her leg. She patted his head and she waited for Lauren to make it back to them.

"He just doesn't know how to do it," Lauren said with a shrug. "He'll learn."

"Or maybe he just enjoys watching you chase it. It isn't a bad view," Bo teased.

"I don't think the dog is staring at my ass, Bo."

Zeus gave a quick bark and Bo laughed. Lauren rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance with both of them and dropping the tennis ball into the grass near the door. As she rubbed her hands together, dislodging the few blades of grass that had stuck to her, Bo reached over and hooked her fingers into Lauren's belt loop. She tugged Lauren towards her and kissed her sweetly.

Lauren smiled in response. "What was that for?"

"You're just so damn cute," Bo answered.

Lauren grinned and pulled Bo back into her, their kiss quickly growing more heated. Before it could progress further, however, they felt Zeus worming his head between them.

Lauren broke the kiss, her breath slightly disrupted.

Bo sighed at the loss of contact. "Yeah, so this dog…we're definitely on board with this decision?"

Lauren kissed Bo's cheek lightly. "Yes. We are."

"Great. I was worried we'd changed our minds."

"We haven't."

"Awesome," Bo said, sighing.

Lauren grinned again, pecking Bo's lips. "How does the house look?"

"Like a tornado whipped through it," Bo answered, pushing a stray piece of Lauren's hair behind her ear. "They've started working, though."

"That's good. I'm sure it'll come together fast."

Bo laughed. "Ever the optimist, Doctor Lewis." Bo laced their fingers together as they started to walk toward the car, Zeus trailing after them. "The contractor is saying that the foundation work will be done soon, but this project is going to take forever."

"We have time," Lauren assured. "It's not like we're in a rush."

"Yeah, I guess."

"It'll get done."

"I know. I just… I want to move in with you." Lauren laughed, and Bo glanced at her. "What?"

"You do live with me," Lauren noted.

"Yeah, but not in our house. I want to live with you in our house."

Lauren shook her head. "You're so impatient."

"I prefer 'focused'," Bo corrected with a smile.

Lauren chuckled as they reached the car, arranging Zeus in the backseat. "Maybe we could go look at furniture this weekend," Bo suggested, climbing into the driver's seat. "We can start figuring out how we're going to want to arrange everything. Also, I know you're going to be all picky about your desk."

"I'm not picky," Lauren defended.

"You got annoyed with me for buying the wrong pens two weeks ago," Bo countered

"Well, yeah, I mean, red ink? We aren't barbarians."

Zeus awkwardly turned around twice before dropping with a huff in the backseat, his chin on his paw. Lauren looked back at him with a smile before giving his nose a rub.

Bo shook her head, maneuvering the car back toward the road. "It's already 7:30, we should probably just pick up dinner on the way home."

Zeus yelped in the backseat.

"Zeus wants a taco," Lauren said, offhandedly.

Bo rolled her eyes.

"Hey, you know we haven't talked about what we're doing for Halloween, and it's coming up on Saturday," Bo commented, slowing down for a stop sign.

"Do we need to help at the Dal?"

"Kenzi and Dyson haven't said. I think Vex is planning to do the bar crawl, so we could tell them we can't help."

"I feel like we should at least offer to help out," Lauren commented. "I mean, Kenzi is trying to plan a wedding. A night off with Nate might be good for them."

"Either way, we need to decide if we're going to dress up, because we don't have costumes if we are."

Lauren hesitated for a moment, thinking. "I don't think I've dressed up for Halloween since…well, honestly, I don't remember the last time I dressed up for Halloween."

"As long as you're something slutty, I'm on board," Bo answered with a mischievous grin.

"Ha, ha," Lauren fake laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Hm. Why don't I carry a baby and you cover yourself in dirt?"

Lauren looked at her blankly. When Bo didn't elaborate, Lauren sighed. "Alright, why would we do that?"

"Because together we would be Mother Earth," Bo answered with a self-satisfied grin.

"God, you're so dorky," Lauren groaned, shaking her head.

Bo smiled. "You have something better in mind, Doctor Lewis?"

"I don't know, maybe something that doesn't involve me rolling around in dirt, though, thanks," she laughed.

"Hey, I'm just saying it's a look you could pull off."

"So I can pull off unwashed, dirty chic. Good to know," Lauren grinned.

Bo lifted Lauren's hand and kissed the back of it.

"But you know what, I'm fine with anything, because in four days my week gets amazing."

"What happens in four days?"

"On Thursday Dr. Myer leaves for a conference, and I don't have to see him until the following Tuesday. I can't wait."

Bo smiled at Lauren's happiness. "What's the conference?"

"It's just this annual thing in New Orleans."

"Big deal?"

"Sort of."

"I'm surprised they didn't send you."

Lauren laughed and Bo glanced over at her. "Why is that so funny? You're brilliant and sexy. I would definitely pick you to promote my hospital."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Thanks. I don't think the board cares about 'sexy' so much for the conference, though."

"Then I have to question the priorities of the Board."

Lauren chuckled. "I've only been at the hospital for, what, like eighteen months? Plus the Board loves Dr. Myer."

Bo reached her hand over to Lauren's lap, threading her fingers through Lauren's as she drove. The sun had set, and Bo found herself enjoying the silence of it, appreciating the feeling of being in the enclosed bubble of the car with her girlfriend, feeling like they were the only two people in the world.

Zeus barked again from the backseat.

"He wasn't kidding about that taco," Lauren noted.

Bo sighed heavily.

The next morning Lauren woke up and padded to the kitchen to see Bo sitting on the couch, the news turned on, drinking coffee, a stack of papers spread out before her. She was holding up what looked to be some kind of report when Lauren walked in, and with a slight smile Lauren noted Zeus was sitting with her, sprawled on the couch, his chin resting on her leg.

"Morning," she said, walking to the coffeepot.

"Morning, baby, how'd you sleep?" Bo asked, continuing to read.

Lauren filled her mug and added some milk before walking back over to Bo. "What is all this?"

Bo glanced up. "Nothing crazy, I just got a call early this morning about a new case, and I had them e-mail me everything they had so far."

Lauren shook her head. "It's like you have a whole day before I even get up."

Bo waved her off. "This is nothing, I swear, just figuring out some charges, that's all."

Lauren nodded and nudged Zeus, trying to get him to move so she could sit on the couch. Zeus sighed loudly in response, licking his lips, refusing to move off of Bo.

Lauren stared at him. "Seriously? She didn't even want you, you know."

Zeus yawned and relaxed against Bo again, his weight shifting just slightly as he pressed into her.

Lauren sighed in defeat and crossed over to sit in the chair near the couch, glancing up at the news.

"Sorry, I know this is a mess," Bo commented, continuing to read. "I'm going to take it to work with me, so it'll be cleaned up."

Lauren laughed. "You live here now, you know, you're allowed to make a mess."

Bo glanced up with a bemused smile. "I know, but I also know it drives you crazy."

Lauren thought about denying it, but the fact was Bo was right. "It doesn't really matter," she commented. "Once the house is ready we'll have offices, anyway."

"True," Bo answered. "Then I can make a huge mess and just close the door."

Lauren shook her head. "How you keep track of everything is beyond me."

"Organized chaos, baby, organized chaos."

"Still, it would drive me crazy. Oh, hey, speaking of work, I'm probably going to be working late tonight," Lauren commented, taking a sip of her coffee.

Bo nodded.

Lauren propped her feet up on the coffee table, continuing to watch the news while Bo read. A few minutes later, Bo spoke again.

"Oh, hey, I did have another Halloween costume idea."

Lauren glanced over. "Is it another pun?"

Bo grinned. "No. I just got thinking about last Halloween."

Lauren paused for a half second before a smile broke over her face at the memory of their first kiss. "Last year was kind of a great year."

"It got better in the Spring," Bo remarked off-handedly.

"True."

"Anyway, I was thinking – what if you dressed like an escaped convict? It would be like an inside joke for us."

"What would you be?" Lauren asked.

Bo shrugged. "I don't know, I hadn't really thought that far ahead. Mostly I got distracted by the idea of you in handcuffs."

Lauren laughed. "Alright," she said, thinking, "what if you dressed as a doctor? I wouldn't mind seeing you in a lab coat."

Now it was Bo's turn to laugh. "Alright, I'll dress as Doctor Lauren Lewis, star witness."

Zeus yawned again, pushing his head against Bo who absentmindedly reached down to scratch his ear.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Maybe we should dress Zeus as your nurse," she huffed.

After work Bo headed to the Dal to see Kenzi. Lauren had said she planned to be home around 7:30, so Bo figured she could kill two birds with one stone – she could talk to Kenzi about Halloween, and pick up dinner from the bar.

When Bo walked in she found the bar half full, mostly with regulars. She spotted Kenzi almost immediately and approached the counter.

"Jesus, the service here is terrible," she teased, grabbing a stool.

"Well, we don't have great clientele," Kenzi answered, smiling. "Where's Doctor Hotpants?"

"Working," Bo said, grabbing a pretzel. "So I thought I'd come annoy you."

Kenzi rolled her eyes. "Great. Always nice to be an afterthought."

Bo blew Kenzi a kiss and took another pretzel. "So, what's the deal on Halloween?"

"Same as always, the bar crawl," Kenzi answered, grabbing a liquor bottle and making a drink.

"Need extra help?"

"Are you offering?"

Bo rolled her eyes. "No, I thought I'd find some vagrants for you. Yes, I'm offering. Lauren too, actually – it was actually more her idea. She thought you and Nate might want a night off."

"Aw, LoLo is such a nice person."

"Hey, what about me?"

"You I'm on the fence about," Kenzi quipped, passing the drink to the customer with a smile.

Bo rolled her eyes. "You know, I could just tell Lauren you don't need help then she and I could go dancing…"

Kenzi laughed. "Alright, alright, we'd love some help. I hired some new staff, so I can have them close. We could all go out dancing by, like, 11, probably."

Bo nodded. "Okay, that sounds good." She grabbed the menu and started looking at it.

Kenzi rolled her eyes. "You're a part owner of this bar and you don't know what's on the menu?"

"You know I like to look anyway," Bo defended, rolling her eyes. A few minutes later she glanced back up at Kenzi, who was looking at her impatiently. "Hi. I'd like to place an order, please."

Kenzi shook her head, grabbing an order pad. Bo stated her order, and Kenzi typed it into the system. "Alright, that's $22.37," she quoted Bo.

Bo looked at her, unmoving. When Kenzi just waited, Bo shook her head. "I'm sorry, I thought I was part owner of this bar, why am I paying full price?"

Kenzi lifted her left hand and pointed to her ring. "Don't forget to tip," she smirked.

Bo arrived home and laid the food out on the counter before heading to the bedroom to change. Lauren wasn't here yet, so she took the time to grab a bottle of wine from the fridge and to set the table. Sure, she couldn't cook, but she figured she could at least pretend to put together a nice dinner of…well, bar food.

She had just finished setting out the plates when she heard Lauren's key in the door. When she walked in, Zeus started barking. Bo looked at him surprised.

Lauren looked at the dog. "Alright, seriously, what the hell, you bark at me but not at her?"

Zeus sneezed and wandered over to Bo, brushing himself against her leg protectively.

"Unbelievable," Lauren muttered. She walked over to Bo and gave her a quick peck hello. "You got us dinner?"

Bo smiled. "Maybe I made us dinner," she challenged.

Lauren pointed to the bag on the counter. "That says 'The Dal Riata'," she commented.

"You really could have been a detective."

Lauren shook her head and accepted the glass of wine Bo had poured for her.

"Kenzi said she does need our help for a little while on Halloween, if you don't mind."

"Sure, no problem."

They sat down, getting ready to eat dinner. Zeus wandered over and sat beside Bo. Lauren rolled her eyes. "Maybe we do need to get rid of this dog."

Bo grinned. "I don't know, he's starting to grow on me."

Lauren laughed, taking a bite of her dinner.

"Anyway, Kenzi said she has people to close, so we can go out and drink, and dance, and act generally like delinquents if you want."

Lauren laughed. "Oh, how well you know me," she smiled.

By the time Bo got to work on Tuesday she found that she was in a good mood. Yeah, she had a ton of work she needed to do, and yeah, the next few weeks were looking like they were going to become an absolute nightmare, but it didn't matter. It didn't matter that the coffee was burnt, or that her phone wouldn't stop ringing, or that she was drowning in paperwork, or that she had a mile long list of unanswered e-mails. Nothing could touch her good mood.

Bo had just reached for another file when she felt her cell phone buzz on the desk beside her.

Lauren: Fuck today.

Bo: Was that supposed to say 'fuck me today'? Because I can be there in fifteen.

Lauren: Dr. Myer just backed out of the conference. He isn't going.

Bo: Why?

Lauren: I don't know, something about family being in town or something.

Bo: Can he do that?

Lauren: He did.

Bo: Sorry, baby, I know you were looking forward to a week away from him.

Lauren: That isn't the part I'm upset about.

Bo was confused for a moment. A few seconds later, Lauren texted back.

Lauren: They want me to go instead.

Bo: Are you serious? That's great! Isn't this supposed to be really important?

Lauren: Yeah, I mean, it is.

Bo hesitated.

Bo: But…?

Lauren: It's in New Orleans.

Bo felt her heart sink as that detail came back to her.

Bo: Oh…

Lauren: Yeah.

Bo sighed. Okay, so Lauren was going to be gone for a week. That was fine, it wasn't a big deal. Besides, this was huge for her – she had told Bo how important this conference was to the hospital. The fact that she was being asked to go, even at the last minute, was a huge vote of confidence. She was proud of her. She should be excited for her.

Lauren: Any chance you want to take off work and come with me?

Bo glanced at the files threatening to topple over on her desk. I wish I could, but I don't think I can get off, she texted. I have a lot to do before we go to Nate and Kenzi's wedding.

Lauren: Great.

Bo felt like she could feel Lauren's disappointment through the phone.

Lauren: We aren't going to get to spend Halloween together.

Bo's eyes reflexively moved to the side of her desk, her mind flashing back to last Halloween when she had kissed Lauren for the first time.

God, this sucked.

Bo: I know, but it's okay. It's just a week, right? It'll be over fast.

Lauren: Fuck today.

This time Bo didn't bother to make a funny comment back. She looked around at her office, annoyed by the massive stack of files, the bitter, stale coffee, the shrill ring of the phone, the oceans of paperwork, the miles of unanswered e-mails.

Bo: Yeah, fuck today.

Bo left work at noon on Wednesday. She told her secretary she was taking the rest of the day off, and headed out to pick up lunch for her and Lauren.

Once she had the food, she headed to Lauren's apartment. Lauren had just gotten home when Bo arrived, and they kissed hello. They moved to the kitchen and ate quickly, chatting and catching up on the day, before hastily throwing the plates in the sink and moving to the bedroom to pack Lauren's things.

They had intended to pack the night before, but every time they tried, Bo got…distracted. Hey, her girlfriend was going to be gone for a week, alright? By the time the alarm clock had gone off in the morning Bo and Lauren had been asleep for almost two hours and the suitcase was still sitting, open and empty, in the corner of the bedroom.

As Lauren moved around the room, quickly gathering the various items she would need, Bo watched her, desperately trying to think of a reason to make Lauren stay. She thought about just asking her not to go, but she didn't, because the truth was as much as they were both dreading this, it was important for Lauren's career. Going to this kind of conference, representing the hospital – it signaled Lauren's importance. Bo wanted that for her. She deserved that sort of recognition.

But, seriously, did they really need to give her that kind of recognition for a week? Over a weekend? Over Halloween?

Bo crossed the room to where Lauren was standing. She turned her around, pressed her against the wall, and kissed her soundly. Lauren reacted almost immediately, melting into Bo without thinking. A few seconds later her brain caught up, and she tried to push Bo back slightly. "Baby," she breathed, "this is what happened last night. I have to get packed."

Bo sighed, trying to think of a response, but when no words came to her she pressed into back into Lauren, their lips colliding once again.

Lauren feigned a struggle for a moment, but a second later her arms wound their way around Bo's neck, her mouth opening. Bo felt her thoughts become fuzzy and disconnected as Lauren took over her senses, the smell of clean cotton washing over her.

"I have to pack or I'm going to be late," Lauren mumbled against Bo.

"Mm," Bo hummed. "Maybe you'll miss your flight."

Lauren smiled against Bo's lips and quickly kissed her one more time, not allowing Bo to take any advantage. "Come on, help me pack," Lauren suggested slipping past Bo and turning her focus back to her previous task.

Bo sighed in defeat and turned to the closet, helping Lauren gather her things.

"Are you sure you want to be a doctor? Because I'm starting to think you should do something else," Bo joked.

Lauren laughed. "It's just a few days."

"I know. But…Zeus will miss you," Bo responded.

Lauren glanced at her. "Doubtful, he didn't even react when I got home. Also, are you trying to use our dog against me?"

"Is it a working?"

"A little."

"Then yes."

Lauren laughed.

It felt strange sleeping without Bo. She knew it would, but she was still struck by it as she laid on the unfamiliar sheets in the hotel room. She missed the rhythm of Bo's breathing, the way Bo's skin was always warm, the way Bo would unconsciously reach and touch her, even in her sleep. Everything she missed was small, insignificant, but somehow it all added up to something much larger, something that kept Lauren tossing and turning throughout the night.

By the time morning came Lauren felt groggy. She took a colder than normal shower in an effort to shock her brain awake, then proceeded to dress quickly and prepare for the conference. She needed to get her head straight. Yes, she missed Bo, and yes, she wished Bo were here, but the fact was, Bo wasn't here, and she just needed to accept that and move on. With new resolve, she finished putting on her makeup and headed to the conference.

The main conference room was conveniently located in her hotel. After checking in and getting her name tag, she walked over to table that held muffins and urns of coffee. She was surveying the selection when she heard a familiar voice call her name.

"Lauren?"

She turned around quickly, her eyes landing on Nadia.

"Nadia?"

Nadia smiled brightly. "Hi, I didn't know you were coming to this," she commented giving Lauren a quick hug.

"I didn't either, at least not until a few days ago. The doctor that was supposed to come had something come up. So here I am. Anyway, how have you been?"

"I've been really good. Just, you know, working a lot," Nadia answered, moving to grab a cup of coffee.

As her hand went for the mug, Lauren caught a flash in the corner of her vision. "Wait – is that what I think it is?" Lauren asked, her eyes falling on the two bands around Nadia's finger.

Nadia looked back up at Lauren, smiling broadly. "Yeah, actually."

"Oh my God, that's amazing! When did you get married?"

"About a month ago."

"I knew you were seeing someone, but you didn't tell me it had gotten that serious," Lauren commented.

Nadia shrugged. "It hadn't, really. I mean, it just kind of happened so fast, you know? One day we started talking about it, and before we know it…I know pronounce you. It was kind of crazy."

Lauren smiled shaking her head. "You always were more impulsive than me."

"You need someone impulsive," Nadia answered, laughing. "Speaking of, how's Bo?"

"Bo is…great. Bo is Bo," Lauren answered, involuntarily smiling widely as Bo's name fell from her lips.

Nadia gave her a knowing look. "So you're thinking about it, too."

"Thinking about what?"

"Seriously Lauren? I've known you a long time."

Lauren sighed in defeat. "Alright, so maybe I've thought about it."

"Maybe? That smile says otherwise," Nadia teased, taking a sip of her coffee. "I always wondered what it would take to get you down the aisle."

"I wasn't opposed to marriage," Lauren defended.

Nadia shrugged. "I know that, but you weren't exactly for it, either."

A shuffling in the conference room drew their attention as people began to gather and take their seats. "Hey, I told some people I'd sit with them," Nadia commented, looking back at Lauren. "But do you want to grab a drink on Bourbon Street tonight?"

Lauren nodded. "Absolutely. Sounds great. See you then."

Thanks, lynedele77. Everyone else, let me know what you think