What's up, people. So, it's been a while since I updated. Insert generalized excuses here.
But, people, there is something serious I need to talk to you about, something that will seriously change everything for all of us - and, yes, you guessed it, it's lynedele77. PEOPLE. Have you READ her story, Fae to Fae, available just a few short keystrokes from this very page? I mean, no joke, it is SO GOOD. I haven't been updating because I've been sitting in a dark room just reading Fae to Fae over and over and over again while painting a portrait of lynedele77 using only the powder flavor packets from Kraft macaroni and cheese. But not in a creepy way, in a totally cool way. Also, unrelated, if anyone has any tips on how to get rid of ants, I have so, so many in my house right now.
Speaking of lynedele77, she and I are still planning to do a collaboration - we have a pen name and title and title and everything. Basically it's going to be the story of how Bo and Lauren would survive a post-apocalyptic world inhabited only by mutant geese and Elvis Costello impersonators. Or it could be something else entirely. I guess you'll have to read and find out. No, I'm not telling you the pen name or the story title. I want to be mysterious. Maybe the story is on the site right now...maybe everyone knows about it but you, and you're just missing out...MAYBE IT'S FAE TO FAE AND LYNEDELE77 IS JUST SOMEONE I MADE UP...
Oh, also, this chapter almost didn't get posted. In fact, as I type this, I'm still debating. So, if you like it, you have lynedele77 to thank, because she threatened to stab me in the face with a sharpened soup spoon if I didn't post. She's such a caring person. High five, lynedele77.
Enjoy.
Ouch. That was the first thought through Bo's mind as she woke up in Lauren's hospital room; the muscles in her neck and lower back were tight, sore and clenched from sleeping while sitting in the plastic chair, her upper body bent forward against Lauren's hospital bed.
She sat up, gingerly, feeling her body react as she did so. She was too old to sleep this way. She began rolling her shoulders, rotating her head, trying to work out the stiff knots and kinks that had settled within her.
She took a deep breath and looked at Lauren, finding her still asleep, her face turned slight to the side, aimed at where Bo had been sleeping.
"Hey, baby," Bo whispered, careful not to be loud enough to wake Lauren. She glanced down to the foot of the bed and saw Nadia, also asleep in her chair, her jacket laid across her chest like a makeshift blanket.
She turned back to look at Lauren, careful not to wake anyone in the room. "You don't get to scare me like that again, okay?" she whispered. "When you wake up, you're going to promise me that this is never going to happen again."
Bo reached her hand up, ghosting her fingers against Lauren's hair lightly, barely moving the strands. "You have to stay safe, and healthy, and unhurt…you can't let anything happen to you, alright? Nothing, because if something happened to you, I couldn't…I wouldn't…you just have to be safe, alright?"
Lauren remained still in her sleep, unmoving, and Bo brought her hand back down to rest on Lauren's forearm. "You don't get to leave me. You don't get to die. Do you understand? You have to stay healthy, strong…you have to stay with me. You can't let yourself get hurt."
Bo stared at Lauren for a few moments, watching her chest moving subtly with her breath, watching the slight flutter of her eyelids, indicating that she was likely dreaming. "We belong with each other, okay? You're stuck with me. Do you understand? You don't get to do this. It's going to take more than a car accident to take you away from me. Okay? You can't leave me."
She felt herself break, tears leaking down her cheek. She reached her free hand up to wipe the droplets away. "I love you, and you don't get to leave me, okay? You just don't. Whatever happens you wake up, whatever they tell us…you don't get to leave me. You're going to be fine, okay? That's all – you're going to be fine, and we're going to go home, to our home, and we're going to play with Zeus, and we're going to forget that this ever happened, because this is just a blip on the radar, alright? This is nothing. This is a bad memory that we'll vaguely recall when we're old."
Lauren sighed slightly in her sleep, shifting and wincing barely perceptibly as she did so, and Bo felt her heart ache. "I hate that you're in pain right now. I wish I could take it away, but I can't." The tears continued to fall from her eyes, and this time she didn't bother to wipe them away. "I hate that I'm so goddamn helpless right now."
There was no response from Lauren, who continued to sleep silently. Bo sighed and leaned forward again, ignoring the protests from her back as she laid her face down against Lauren's forearm, searching for the smell of clean cotton her skin beneath the smells of antiseptic, of rough blankets, of thin hospital gowns and plastic IV tubing. The smell came to her, slightly, vaguely, and she inhaled it greedily, letting it lull her softly back to restless sleep.
Thirsty. That was the first word that came to Lauren's mind as she felt herself waking up. She shifted slightly and heard a soft crinkling sound as she did so.
Ouch. That was the second word that came to Lauren's mind as her body screamed in protest to her motion. Everything seemed to hurt. There was a dull ache extending over the length of her entire body, and she sucked in a sharp intake of breath when she shifted her arm, and IV line tugging sharply. She forced her eyes open.
Hospital. She could heard the beeping of heart monitor, could make out the low thrum of speech coming from the nurses in the hallway. Alright, so she was in a hospital bed. Why? Where was she?
A mass of dark hair at her side drew her eye, and she looked down to see someone resting against her arm, fast asleep. Bo – her left arm was curled under her, supporting her head and neck, and her right was resting on Lauren's forearm, her fingers curled slightly to prevent the hand from falling.
What was going on? Where was she? She took a deep breath, trying to make her memory clear, as she glanced around the room for something to jog her memory. As she did so, her eyes caught on a second person seated in a chair at the foot of the bed, also asleep, a coat draped over her, falling off to the side.
Nadia?
Confused, Lauren looked at Nadia for a few moments, willing herself to remember. Nadia…Nadia…Nadia…she tried to remember something about this. Had she been with Nadia?
How had Lauren ended up here, in a hospital bed? Why did everything hurt? She glanced to the window and noted that it was faintly light outside. What time was it, morning or evening? What day was it?
She felt frustrated, tired, and sore. She glanced at the IV line and saw the clear drip in it. She knew it was likely connected to painkillers, but given her level of pain, they either weren't working or weren't being administered. She sighed slightly, trying to move just a little as she took inventory of her sore muscles.
She tried to hold back the whimper that came to her throat at her motion. Feeling defeated, she glanced back at Nadia, who was stirring slightly. As Lauren looked at her, Nadia's eyes slowly opened.
"Hey," Lauren rasped out, keeping her voice low to avoid waking Bo.
At seeing her eyes open, Nadia startled slightly and stood up, walking up beside Lauren opposite the sleeping Bo. "Hey," Nadia whispered back, resting a hand on Lauren's shoulder lightly. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore," Lauren answered, wincing slightly. Her voice was hoarse and her throat was sore. "What happened? Where am I?"
Nadia moved her fingers slightly to rub Lauren's shoulder reassuringly. "What's the last thing that you remember?"
Lauren closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think. She sighed deeply. "I don't know," she mumbled. "Everything hurts."
Motion on her other side got her attention as Bo stirred at the sound of her voice, sitting up. Lauren turned her head slightly, her eyes falling closed another moment as the muscles in her neck clenched with the motion.
She felt soft fingers trailing down the side of her face as she opened her eyes, and immediately saw Bo, her face flushed with sleep, her eyes concerned. "Hey, baby," she whispered to Lauren.
"What's going on?" Lauren asked.
Bo gave her a slight smile, her eyes slightly watering. "You're okay," Bo answered. "You're going to be okay."
"Where am I?"
"New Orleans."
"New Orleans? Why am I in New Orleans?"
Bo looked at her for a moment and then glanced over at Nadia, as if looking for guidance on how to proceed.
"What's the last thing you remember, Lauren?" Nadia asked.
Lauren thought back for a moment. "The last thing I remember…New Orleans…I had a medical conference. I was asked to go to the conference because Dr. Myer couldn't for some reason."
Nadia nodded and glanced at Bo.
"Wednesday," Bo supplied. "Is that normal?"
"Is what normal? What day is it?"
"Halloween," Bo answered. "Saturday."
"Saturday? What the hell happened?" Lauren sat up slightly straighter and immediately regretted it. "Ouch," she moaned slightly.
Bo laid her hand on Lauren's shoulder, as if the touch could ease Lauren's pain. "You were in a car accident," Bo answered.
"You and I went for drinks," Nadia contributed. "You were heading back to the hotel and your cab was hit."
"When did that happen?"
"Thursday night, so that was…" Nadia looked her watch, "about thirty-two hours ago?"
"Thirty-two hours…" Lauren repeated, slowly.
Bo absentmindedly ran her hand down Lauren's arm. "How do you feel? Are you okay?" her voice was thick with concern.
Lauren gave Bo a small smile, touched by the care in her voice. "I think I'm okay. I just feel like I was hit by a bus."
"It was just a car, don't be dramatic," Bo said, a slight smile on her face.
Lauren couldn't stop the light laughter that bubbled up from her as the tension in the room broke slightly. Quiet tears were running down Bo's face as she leaned forward, bringing her face down to kiss the back of Lauren's hand on the bed.
"So, what happened?" Lauren asked, glancing at Nadia. "After the car accident – what's going on?"
Nadia shrugged slightly. "We don't know, honestly – they haven't told us anything. But you're in a regular room now, so that's a good sign."
"Mmm," Lauren hummed. She looked back at Bo, who was holding Lauren's hand in both of hers, looking at her intently.
Nadia cleared her throat softly. "Um, I think I'm going to go get some coffee – you guys could probably use some, too, yeah?"
Lauren came out of her trance slightly and gave Nadia a small smile, grateful to her for finding an excuse to give her time alone with Bo. "Thanks," she said.
Nadia nodded, giving Lauren a gentle touch on the shoulder before walking out of the room.
"Hey," Lauren said, softly, when Nadia had left the room.
"Hey," Bo answered, her voice cracking slightly. "How do you feel? Are you okay?"
Lauren nodded and immediately winced, stilling her movements.
Bo stood up and leaned over Lauren, kissing her gently on the lips. Lauren responded under her, and she could feel Bo's tears dampening her face as Bo gently cupped Lauren's cheeks. Bo broke the kiss a few moments later, moving to kiss Lauren's forehead, then her eyelids, then her cheeks, then back to her lips to kiss her one more time.
When Bo pulled back slightly she looked at Lauren, staring deeply into her eyes. "God, you scared me," she whispered.
Lauren reached her arm up, ignoring the protest of her muscles as she pushed a piece of loose hair behind Bo's ear. "Sorry," she murmured. "I didn't mean to."
Bo laughed slightly, standing up straighter and swiping the tears from her cheeks. "So, you don't remember anything after Wednesday?"
"No, I don't think so," Lauren answered. "It will probably come back to me."
Bo nodded. "Yeah, I guess."
"Did I miss anything important?" Lauren asked.
"You promised to come to my office naked," Bo answered. Lauren rolled her eyes, and Bo laughed lightly.
They were quiet for a few moments before Lauren spoke again. "Where's Zeus?"
"Kenzi has him. I called her when Nadia called me."
"Nadia called you?"
Bo nodded. "Yeah, she saw the accident, and she called me after they got you here."
Lauren was confused for a moment. "How did she call you?"
"She had your phone," Bo answered. "You two must have switched them accidently when you had drinks. Once she figured out your passcode she called me and I came." Bo touched Lauren's hair again, smoothing the strands. "It was a weird way to meet your ex," Bo commented with a smile.
Lauren chuckled slightly. "Yeah, I guess it would be. Sorry about that."
"I'll try to forgive you," Bo teased with a smile.
Bo and Lauren sat quietly for a bit, looking at one another as Bo continued to stroke Lauren's arm, smooth her hair, run the back of her index finger across Lauren's cheek.
"Happy Halloween," Lauren said, gently, after a few minutes of silence.
Bo smiled. "Happy Halloween."
"We seem to end up at one of our places of employment every Halloween," Lauren commented with a smile.
A laugh came from Bo's chest. "Yeah, I guess we kind of do." She lifted Lauren's hand and kissed the back of it again. "I think I like us ending up at my office better," she commented. "Of course, I guess last year had its drawbacks, too. I mean, I wasn't even single last year."
"You aren't single this year," Lauren quipped.
Bo laughed silently and nodded. "Yeah, you're right, I'm not." She looked back into Lauren's eyes. "I don't think I've ever been that scared," she commented. "All I could think was…I just hate that you were alone when it happened, and I was here with Nadia, and I kept thinking…God, I don't know, what if you needed blood, or a kidney, or…I don't know, whatever else someone might need when they've been in a car accident? What if you were awake, and you were scared, and you didn't know I was here? Or what if, I don't know, what if you had some kind of crazy amnesia, and you forgot me?"
"I couldn't forget you, Bo," Lauren answered, calmly.
"But you could have," Bo pressed. "What if you had some kind of crazy head injury and you forgot everything?"
Lauren reached up and gripped the front of Bo's shirt, pulling her down into a deep kiss. After a few moments, they pulled away breathless. "I couldn't forget you. I don't care what crazy injury could have happened – I couldn't forget you."
The tears were falling from Bo's eyes again, and she pushed them away quickly. "Sorry," she mumbled. "It's…been a long night."
Lauren nodded and wiped the last of the tears away with the pad of her thumb before pulling Bo back down, her lips opening slightly under Bo's, and sighing as she felt Bo's tongue. As she kissed Bo she vaguely noticed that the pain in her body faded, that the ache that had settled over her had lessened. Bo curled her fingers around the sides of Lauren's face, careful to avoid any of the shallow cuts that rested there.
Bo's heart was thudding in her chest, the adrenaline from the last two days making her feel erratic, jittery, on edge. She continued to kiss Lauren and felt her mind struggling to process the fact that she was kissing Lauren, that Lauren was here, alive, safe, and not a dream. She pushed her tongue harder against Lauren, as if to reassure herself that his wasn't a dream, this wasn't a mirage. This was real. Lauren was real. And everything was going to be okay.
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