You people are going to be so spoiled. I mean, three updates in three days? Remember when this was normal? Those were the days.
Hey, have you guys read Fae to Fae? You should. It's written by this girl, lynedele77, and I know I've never mentioned this, but DAMN that bitch is awesome. You heard it here first.
Alright, so here's this one. Enjoy!
Bo woke up to the sound of her cellphone buzzing beside her. She was disoriented – where was she? She glanced around for a moment, noting that she had fallen asleep sitting on the floor, her back against the wall. Lauren was curled beside her, leaning into her chest, and Bo's arm was protectively around her shoulders.
As Bo's eyes alighted around the room, she remembered – they had come here last night, or, more accurately, early this morning. They had spent some time walking around the house, talking about the progress, noting how they would arrange furniture, before they had sat down and, apparently, fallen asleep.
Bo's phone continued to buzz beside her and a moment later Lauren stirred, the noise waking her up as well. Bo picked up the phone and saw "Kenzi" displayed on the screen.
"Hello?" Bo said, accepting the call, her voice thick with sleep.
"Are you dead in a ditch?"
"Huh?"
"It's afternoon. I've been calling for three hours. Are you dead in a ditch?"
"Who is it?" Lauren asked, groggily, turning her face slightly into Bo's chest.
"Kenzi," Bo answered Lauren.
"Yes, hi, it's me. Are you dead?"
"No, I was just…Lauren…why do you think we're dead in a ditch?"
"Who is dead in a ditch?" Lauren asked.
"No one, Kenzi's just being weird," Bo answered Lauren.
"I'm being weird? Where the hell are you?"
Bo sighed, signaling to Lauren to hold on. "We're at the house. We aren't dead."
"Oh, good, because if you were dead I wouldn't be able to yell at you for not calling me and letting me worried sick because I couldn't get ahold of you!" Kenzi exclaimed.
"Dude, chill," Bo replied, yawning.
"I'm sorry, did you just…I know you didn't just tell me to chill."
"Did you just say, 'dude, chill'?" Lauren asked.
Bo rolled her eyes. "Should I just put this on speakerphone?"
"Yes," Lauren and Kenzi answered in unison.
Bo sighed and hit the button place the call on speakerphone. "Alright. Kenzi, we aren't dead in a ditch, we just weren't ready to sleep when we got back, so we came to the house."
"Hi, Kenzi," Lauren interjected.
"Hey, Lauren, how are you feeling?"
"Better, thanks," Lauren answered.
Bo looked at Lauren and then at the phone with her mouth slightly open. "Hey, how come you're nice to her but not to me?"
"Because you're a pain in my ass," Kenzi shot back matter of factly.
"Hurtful," Bo noted.
"Accurate," Kenzi responded.
"How's Zeus?" Lauren cut in.
"He's great," Kenzi replied, her voice warming with affection.
There was a yelp in the background a wide smile came across Lauren's face. "Hey, Zeus!" she exclaimed, happily.
Bo sighed, but couldn't stop her smile.
"Are you at home? If you don't mind giving us a few minutes to go back to the apartment and shower we can come get him," Lauren continued.
"Take your time," Kenzi commented. "No rush."
"SERIOUSLY. Why are you so much nicer to her?" Bo asked Kenzi.
"See you soon!" Kenzi chirped before hanging up the phone.
Bo disconnected her end of the call and turned to Lauren. "My sister likes you more than me," she commented.
"I'm loveable," Lauren replied, keeping her face straight and serious.
Bo laughed, pulling herself up off the floor and sweeping the dust from her pants. She reached down and gingerly pulled Lauren to her feet as well. "Yes," she commented. "Yes, you are."
Once back at the apartment, Bo came to the realization that leaving fruit in a bowl on the counter was not a good idea if you weren't going to be home for week. Also not a good idea? Leaving milk that was close to the expiration date before you left in the refrigerator. Or forgetting to take out the trash.
Bo and Lauren stood in the entryway, taking stock of the potpourri foul odors that needed to be addressed. "Maybe we should just burn this place…" Bo offered.
Lauren nodded. "That might be the best idea."
Despite the cold air outside, Bo crossed into the kitchen and pushed open a window. "At least that will vent it a little bit, I guess…"
Lauren laughed and walked to Bo, running her fingers down Bo's arm until her fingers tangled with Bo's, pulling her slightly. "Come on, we need to shower and change," she commented, leading Bo toward the bedroom.
"Do you want to shower first?" Bo asked as she walked to the dresser, looking for clean clothes.
Lauren didn't answer. Instead, she walked over to Bo and wrapped her arms around Bo's middle, dropping a kiss to the back of Bo's neck. "You could join me…" she commented.
Bo closed her eyes for a moment, trying to focus. She turned in Lauren's arms and kissed her firmly, feeling Lauren's mouth open under hers. Before the kiss could develop further, Bo pulled back. "I don't think you're supposed to do that yet," she answered Lauren, her voice breathy.
"I'm fine," Lauren replied, her voice low, as she drew Bo back in.
Bo was lost; this simply wasn't fair. Why did she have to be the sensible one here?
She pulled back again, feeling her heart hammer harder as she looked at Lauren's half closed eyes and saw her chest rising and falling with her breath. She smoothed a piece of hair behind Lauren's ear. "We can't."
Lauren pulled Bo back in for a third kiss, her tongue pressing against Bo's, and Bo felt her resolve slip further. Maybe it would be fine…
She just had surgery. Stop.
Bo pulled back again. "You need to go get a shower. We have to go get Zeus. You aren't allowed to do this yet." Her words were partly for Lauren and partly a reminder for herself.
"Maybe I need help in the shower?" Lauren offered, her hands roaming against Bo. "You could come with me…"
Bo felt herself slipping again, felt her body gravitating towards Lauren, felt her lips approaching Lauren's, but stopped herself. If Lauren wasn't medically cleared to have sex yet, she definitely wasn't cleared to have sex in a shower. She stepped back, withdrawing herself from Lauren's grasp. "Okay," she said, clearing her throat. "Go get a shower. I'll start cleaning the kitchen."
Lauren looked at her with an amused smile. "Are you trying to distract me from wanting to have sex with you by talking about the rotting smell in the kitchen?"
"Yes," Bo replied, firmly.
Lauren trailed her fingers against Bo's cheek, stepping closer again and giving Bo a last, lingering kiss. "A shower with me is more fun than cleaning the kitchen," she noted.
Bo battled against herself a moment longer before putting her hands on Lauren's shoulder's holding her at arm's length. "Shower. Then we go get Zeus. Go."
Lauren smiled, trailing her finger down the line from Bo's chin to her cleavage.
Bo took a deep breath and put her hand over Lauren's, moving her finger away. "Dammit, woman," she breathed out.
Lauren just laughed.
A short time later, when Bo and Lauren were showered and changed, they prepared to head over to the Dal to meet with Kenzi. When they got in the car, Bo passed Lauren a granola bar. Lauren accepted it, looking at Bo in confusion.
Bo looked at her with a smile. "It's Wednesday. You need lunch."
Lauren laughed. "Oh, yeah. I guess it is Wednesday. I actually forgot."
Bo pretended to look hurt. "You forgot?"
Lauren rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, it hasn't exactly been a normal week."
"No, no, it's fine," Bo replied, faking sniffling. "I get it. This relationship just means more to me than it does to you. It's okay."
Lauren laughed harder. "Oh, come on, seriously?"
Bo put the car in gear and pulled out into the street. "No, really, it's okay. I mean, I have been in this relationship longer than you."
Lauren glanced at Bo, confused. "What? What do you mean?"
Bo smiled as she paused at the stop sign, looking for oncoming traffic. "Well, you lost a few days of it. So, technically, I've been in this relationship longer than you, right?"
Lauren smiled. "I don't think you get extra points for my memory loss."
Bo glanced at her, her face falsely serious. "Yes. Yes, I do get extra points."
Lauren just shook her head, laughing. They rode the next few minutes, talking about nothing in particular. "I should probably see if Dyson or Kenzi are willing to give me a ride to the rental car place so we can turn this in," Bo commented.
Lauren nodded. "Sorry I can't help with that."
"Yeah, I'm really holding it against you," Bo laughed, sarcastically. "Seriously, stop apologizing for having surgery."
Lauren smiled. "Hey, I don't know if I've said this, but…thank you."
"For what?" Bo asked, glancing over at Lauren as she pulled the car into the parking lot of the Dal.
"For…everything. For coming to New Orleans, for taking care of me, for putting your whole life on hold to look out for me, for –"
Bo twisted the keys in the ignition, turning off the car, before reaching over to halt Lauren's speech by putting her hand on top of Lauren's. "Baby," she began, drawing Lauren's eye. "Don't thank me for any of that. I love you. I would do anything for you. Coming to New Orleans, taking care of you, being there for you…don't thank me for that. And as far as putting my life on hold for you…I didn't. Not actually. Because you're my life. So, don't thank me."
Lauren sat back, letting Bo's words sink in. She wanted to say something – she felt like she needed to say something – but instead, the only word that came to her mind was, "okay."
Bo smiled and opened the door. "Alright, now that we've settled that, let's go get our dog."
Lauren grinned and followed Bo out of the car and into the Dal.
Once inside, Lauren and Bo were greeted by Vex, who was sitting at the bar, Tamsin, who was standing behind it with Dyson and Ciara, and Nate, who was sitting a few seats down from Vex.
"She lives!" Dyson commented with a broad smile when Lauren walked in. "Welcome back, Doctor."
Lauren smiled. "Nice to be back," she answered.
"How are you feeling?" Ciara inquired.
"Much better, thank you."
"Hey, Dyson, would you mind taking a field trip with me later to drop of the rental car?" Bo asked.
Before Dyson could answer, there was a yelping sound as Zeus bounded down the stairs at the sound of Bo's voice.
A wide grin split Lauren's face. "Zeus!" she exclaimed, intercepting the dog and wrapping her arms around his neck when he ran toward them.
Bo involuntarily winced and moved down beside Lauren, quickly. "Baby, please be careful, you just had surgery, and –"
"Shhh," Lauren replied as Zeus licked her face. "I'm fine, stop worrying so much."
"Welcome back, bitches," Kenzi called out, coming down the stairs behind Zeus. She walked over to Nate and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "All taken care of," she commented to him. "December 19th."
Nate nodded. "Sounds perfect."
"What's December 19th?" Tamsin asked, grabbing a bottle from the back bar.
"Our wedding," Nate answered.
Almost in unison, everyone turned their attention to Nate and Kenzi.
"I'm sorry – what?" Dyson asked.
"Am I very stoned, or did we agree that you were doing that in a few weeks?" Vex interjected.
"To answer your first question, Vex, I have no doubt that you are very stoned at least seventy-five percent of the time," Kenzi replied. Vex nodded. "And to your second question – we just decided to move the date back a few weeks, that's all."
"Cold feet?" Tamsin asked with a smirk.
Bo's eyes were trained on Kenzi. When Kenzi finally looked at her, Bo said quietly. "You didn't have to do that, Kenz."
Dyson looked between Kenzi and Bo. "Didn't have to do what? What's going on?"
"I did have to do that," Kenzi replied to Bo. "It's family. I didn't want to get married without my family."
Lauren, finally understanding at least in part what was happening, turned to Bo. "What? I told you to go."
"We didn't want to get married without our family, Lauren," Nate commented, standing up. "You couldn't be there on the 18th. So we moved it."
Lauren froze looking at Nate. "Wait – what?"
"I am so very confused. And growing bored," Vex cut in, inspecting his fingernails.
"Lauren can't fly for six weeks," Bo answered him, her eyes still on Kenzi. "So Nate and Kenzi moved the wedding until she could be there."
"Really?" Ciara asked.
Nate and Kenzi looked at one another and shrugged. "Yeah," Kenzi answered. "It's not a big deal, really. Just had to call them and rearrange a few things."
"Kenzi…" Bo began.
Nate halted Bo before she could continue by walking over to Lauren and wrapping her in a gentle hug. "We're really glad you're okay," he said. "Welcome home."
Lauren was dumbfounded. "Nate, this…you didn't have to…"
Kenzi rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, don't make this a thing."
Bo looked back at Kenzi. "Well, I mean…I'm sure you had to pay a fee, or –"
Nate put his hand up. "It's not much, really."
"And you can just work for free to pay it off," Kenzi said with a smile and wink.
"I can't believe you have changed this at the last minute, I have a very busy work schedule to consider," Vex huffed at the bar.
"I'll let you have a plus one, and, as the bride, insist that no one is allowed to tease you about bringing Dave," Kenzi noted.
"I do love weddings," Vex replied with a grin.
Thoughts are encouraged