Welcome back, everyone! Really enjoyed hearing what crimes you all wanted to commit. You all are criminals.

Hope everyone has a good time with this chapter. Turning up the angst in this one.

Again, as with past chapters, the case (the drunk woman) is an actual case I have. Frankly, that's going to be true for every case that gets mentioned.

Enjoy!


Lauren arrived at the sushi restaurant at 12:45p. She tried to tell herself that she had just reached a convenient stopping point in her work, and that was why she left as soon as she did, but the reality was she knew that wasn't true. Since Bo had left on Sunday they hadn't seen each other. They had texted, like they always did, and but they both had been busy early in the week and they hadn't had time for much more than that. And, even though it had only been three days, Lauren found herself missing Bo.

She chose to ignore what that might mean as she walked toward the restaurant door. She knew at some point she and Bo needed to talk, and they would, but the fact was that, for now, Lauren wanted to just enjoy this. She wanted to languish in the beginning of whatever this was, before they got weighed down with labels and ideas of where this was going and all the other specifics that could mess this up.

Lauren was about to reach for the door handle when she felt someone touch her shoulder. She turned around and saw Bo standing behind her. Before she could register more than the fact that it was Bo, Bo's mouth was against hers. Lauren's eyes dropped closed and her hands went to Bo's ribs, pulling her close and holding her there.

Bo felt like heaven, and Lauren's brain became wrapped in a fog of sensation. She felt Bo's hand come up under her face, cupping her jaw, and she sighed.

Through the haze of the kiss Lauren slowly became aware of the noise of the street behind them, and she pulled back, remembering that they were in public. Bo stumbled forward slightly, just a bit, as the kiss broke, pressing her closer into Lauren's body. Lauren opened her eyes and made no move to step back, happy to have Bo this close to her again. Bo licked her lips and opened her eyes to look at Lauren.

"Hi," Lauren said.

"Hi," Bo answered with a giddy smile that Lauren knew was mirrored on her own face. "Sorry to ambush you. I was planning on just saying hello."

"Hello," Lauren said, giving Bo another quick kiss.

Bo reached up and tucked a piece of Lauren's hair behind her ear, and then she stepped back, realizing that standing this closely was leading to temptation. Bo cleared her throat softly. "So, we finally made it for sushi," Bo said as they walked inside.

Lauren looked around at the modern and sparse interior. "I'm excited to try it. The miso was good."

"You barely ate it," Bo said with a laugh.

Lauren shrugged. "What I had was good, though."

After talking to the hostess they settled into their table, looking over the menu.

"Are you still feeling okay?" Lauren asked.

Bo nodded. "Yeah, the fever never came back."

"Good. I was worried you'd get sick again, since you didn't get a lot of sleep on Saturday."

The corners of Bo's mouth edged up in a slight smirk. "Yeah, someone did kept me up that night."

Before Lauren could answer, the waitress came over to take their orders. When she left again, Bo leaned her elbows on the table. "So, how's working going today?"

Lauren leaned against the table too, her posture unconsciously mirroring Bo's. "Just the usual. Oh! Did I tell you about the drunk woman?"

"The drunk woman?"

"I'll take that as a no. Okay, so this woman got plastered the other night, and she passed out in a parking lot."

"Her life sounds like it's right on track."

Lauren laughed lightly. "That's not even the crazy part. So, this cop finds her and arrests her – I guess she had a warrant out for her or something. So, he brings her to us and we start an IV to get her sober again, but before we do, we do a blood draw to get her levels. Guess what her blood-alcohol was?"

Bo sat back for a moment, thinking. "Hm…I'm going to say .30?"

Lauren shook her head. "Try again."

".35?"

"Higher."

".40?"

"Higher."

"Oh, come on, don't you just die after .40?"

Lauren laughed. ".428."

"Jesus," Bo whispered.

"I know, right? She was so drunk that she verbally abused almost all the nurses, and then started smoking in her hospital room."

"Wait, she was smoking? In the room?"

"I know. Insane."

"Was she charged?"

"With what?" Lauren asked.

"With being drunk in public. Was she charged?"

Lauren shrugged. "I don't know, we don't get much information about that stuff. I know she was arrested on a warrant, because she's handcuffed to the bed. Other than that, I don't know."

The waitress came back, bringing their food. They started eating, engaging in a relaxed conversation as they did so. By the time they were done, Lauren was surprised to see that almost 45 minutes had gone by.

Lauren sighed, looking at the time. "I guess I need to get ready to go back to work," she said, her voice sounding far less than perky.

"Really?" Bo's voice had the same tone.

"An hour goes by too fast," Lauren complained.

Bo smiled softly at Lauren. "Yeah. Hey, can I say something weird?"

Lauren smiled. "Sure, what?"

"I just…I don't know, these last few days, I know we don't normally see each other every day or anything, but –"

"I missed you, too," Lauren said, cutting Bo off.

"Yeah?" The way Bo said it, Lauren could hear the relief in her voice that she wasn't the only one. It made Lauren smile.

"Yeah."

"I think the gang is getting together on Friday night. Are you free?"

Lauren nodded. "I think Vex said something about that. I'll definitely be there."

"Good," Bo said. They began gathering their things, getting ready to leave. They walked out together and stood on the sidewalk, neither one actually wanting to go. They made small talk for another minute or two, delaying the inevitable.

Finally, when it was clear that it was time to go, Lauren pulled Bo in and kissed her. It was a kiss of longing, a kiss that communicated how little desire Lauren had to return to work. Lauren had her hands tangled in the front of Bo's coat, using it to hold Bo to her. They stopped kissing for a moment, keeping one another close, their breath mingling. "I'll see you Friday," Lauren said quietly.

"That seems really far away."

Lauren smiled. "I know. But it'll be here fast."

Bo put her hand behind Lauren's head and kissed her again. "Promise not to forget about me before then?"

Lauren laughed lightly. "I'll do my best…Beth, is it?"

Bo leaned close to Lauren's ear. "Joke all you want, the next time I get you alone, I'll make sure you say my name."

Lauren shivered and felt a shot of arousal streak through her. "Is that a threat?"

"A promise," Bo said, giving her a last, slow kiss. Bo turned and left after that, leaving Lauren staring after her, her heart hammering.


On Friday evening, Bo was sitting at the bar at the Dal, munching on pretzels and watching with amusement as Kenzi trained the newest bartender. Kenzi was trying to hide her growing irritation. She was also failing miserably.

"You have to shake it until the tumbler is cold. Strainer – you need to use a strainer. No – wait – you pour from the tumbler, not from the mixing glass. Present it with a napkin." Kenzi smiled and handed the cocktail to the woman at the bar. "Here you go."

"Um, I ordered a rum and coke?" the woman said.

Kenzi tried to hold her composure as she turned to Matt, the new bartender. "She ordered a rum and coke. What did you make?"

"A rum and coke," Matt replied, uncertainly.

"Then why were we shaking it?"

"Because…that's how you make a rum and coke…" Matt's voice was trailing off, quieter and quieter.

"It's made with COKE. Why would we shake that?"

"To make it fizzy?"

Kenzi pointed to the woman's glass. "There is no fizz in that drink. Which I think leads me to my next set of questions."

Bo continued to watch with an amused smile when she felt someone slide onto the stool beside her. "What are we watching?" Lauren asked.

"New bartender. Kenzi's about to implode."

Lauren smiled, snagging a pretzel.

"The drink is called RUM and COKE. What do you think the ingredients are?!"

Lauren laughed quietly, and Bo leaned slightly closer to her, trying to stifle her own laugh. Her left side was pressed against Lauren. Lauren turned her head slightly to speak to Bo so only they could hear.

"How long has this been going on?"

"It's his first night. I'm thinking it may be his last."

"You're hard people to work for," Lauren commented, crunching on another pretzel.

"You handled it pretty well," Bo commented.

"Yeah, but I'm awesome," Lauren said, keeping her eyes on Matt and Kenzi.

Bo couldn't hold back her short burst of laughter. "Yeah, you're right, you are," she said with a smile. "Also, hi," Bo said. She gave Lauren a quick peck on the lips.

"Hi," Lauren answered.

"Alright, just pour a beer for this guy," Kenzi said, directing Matt to the beer taps. Matt grabbed a glass, set it on the rail, and pulled the handle. Kenzi immediately put the handle back up. "Seriously? Seriously? You don't even know how to pour a beer?!"

"It was…going in the…glass…" Matt said, uncertainly.

Kenzi was silent for a few moments, taking steadying breaths. "Dyson!" Kenzi shouted, walking back toward the office.

Matt turned forlornly and looked at Bo. "Chin up, Matt," Bo said.

"I mean, when they asked if I had experience I said yes, because you always say yes in interviews, right?"

"As a general rule you shouldn't lie during interviews," Bo said, eating another pretzel.

"But I'm alright, right? I'll learn," Matt said.

"I doubt you'll have time for that," Lauren said, taking another pretzel herself.

"What?" Matt asked.

Dyson walked out of the office. "Matt, can I talk to you for a second?"

Matt threw a look back at Lauren and Bo before walking back to the office where Kenzi and Dyson were waiting.

"Poor Matt," Lauren said when the office door had closed.

Bo shrugged. "Dyson said he interviewed well, anyway. He'll be alright." She turned to Lauren. "Hi, again," she said, pulling Lauren in for a longer kiss.

"Hi," Lauren said, pulling back.

"I'm glad you came out tonight."

"Me too," Lauren said. She glanced around the bar. "So, I guess I can't order a drink?"

Bo looked down the bar, seeing there was no one left to make drinks. "Of course you can," she said, getting up and walking behind the bar. "What would you like?"

"Rum and coke actually does sound good," Lauren said.

Bo nodded, grabbing the rum. "Shaken or stirred?"

Lauren laughed while Bo started making the drink.

"Hey, are you Bo?" a woman asked, walking up to the bar. Her voice was pinched and agitated.

"Yeah, can I help you?" Bo answered, looking up for just a moment while she returned the liquor bottle to the shelf.

"Uh, can you at least give me your full attention?" the woman said, angrily.

Bo was taken off guard. Who was this? "Um, sure, sorry," Bo said, turning to full face the woman. "What can I help you with?"

"I'm Ashley."

"Hi, Ashley," Bo said. "What can I do for you?"

Ashley stared at Bo for a moment, her mouth gaping. "I'm Ashley," she said, stressing her name.

Bo nodded slowly. "Okay. Do I know you?"

Ashley laughed derisively. "God, you're such a bitch."

Bo was taken aback. "Oookay…"

"I can't believe you're breaking up my relationship and you have the nerve to stand there like it's nothing!"

Bo looked at Lauren in confusion. "What is she talking about?" Bo asked.

Lauren, bewildered, looked at Ashley and then back at Bo. "I don't have any idea."

Ashley turned to Lauren. "Who the hell are you?"

"Lauren…" Lauren said, uncertainly.

"Well, Lauren, this doesn't concern you, so why don't you butt the fuck out?"

"Hey, whoa, you can't talk to her like that!" Bo said immediately. "Take it down a notch or I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Ashley looked back at Bo, the fury growing on her face. She looked back between Lauren and Bo for another moment. "Oh, shit, are you sleeping with her?!"

Bo looked at Lauren and then back at Ashley. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I don't believe this!" Ashley exclaimed. "You don't even care about her! You break up my relationship and you aren't even being faithful to her!" Bo continued to stand in confused silence. "She and I have something really special. Really special. And you go and convince her that she can have something with you, so she cheats on me with you, and all the while you're sleeping with her!" Ashley said, pointing at Lauren at the last "her."

Lauren continued to sit in stunned and confused silence. Her confusion grew when she saw something like understanding break across Bo's face. "You're here about Tamsin."

"Uh, yeah, she told me you two hooked up."

Bo nodded. "Of course she did." She glanced at Lauren who was looking down, confusion evident on her face, mixed with hurt. "But you know what, Ashley? Tamsin told me about you, and you're right, I think what you two have is really special. I was going to break up with her anyway, because I met Lauren," she said, gesturing to where Lauren was sitting. Lauren looked up, the confusion becoming more pronounced. "So, you know what? I'm going to step aside. I think you two have a real shot. You should be together." As she was finishing the speech, she saw the door open and Tamsin step inside. She took one step, saw Ashley at the bar, and spun on her heel, walking back out. "I think you should go call her. Really."

Ashley seemed surprised. "Really? Just like that? You're going to give her up?"

"Absolutely. You two have a shot at something real, I don't want to mess with that."

Ashley smiled slightly, nodding. "We do, you're right."

Bo nodded back. "I'm glad you came in. Sorry for the trouble I cause, I promise I won't interfere."

Ashley hesitated for a moment. "Well…okay, I guess. I guess I should go call her…"

"Absolutely. Go do that," Bo answered.

Ashley nodded and walked out of the bar. Lauren continued to stare at Bo, her expression clearly showing she was lost. Bo put a finger up, signaling Lauren to wait a moment before speaking. "TAMSIN!" she shouted.

Tamsin entered through the back door, trying to look innocent. "Hey, guys, what's up?"

"I thought I told you to stop doing this!"

Tamsin put her hands in front of her. "I couldn't get her to leave!" Tamsin answered. "You see how she is!"

"Yes, I saw how she almost attacked Lauren because she thought I was cheating on you with her."

"You two are sleeping together?"

"Not the point, Tamsin!"

"I'm sorry, can someone tell me what's going on?" Lauren asked.

Bo sighed. "So a few years ago Tamsin figured out a sure-fire way to end any potential romantic involvement she wasn't interested in pursuing. While some people try to be adults and opt for honesty, Tamsin just tells people that she and I are together, thus ending the impending relationship."

"It works really well," Tamsin commented.

"Tamsin!" Bo shot back.

Tamsin shrugged. "What can I say? I'm loveable, and bitches be crazy."

"I'm not agreeing with the loveable part," Bo said.

Tamsin's cell phone started ringing. She looked at the screen and then immediately back at Bo. "Why is she calling me?!"

"Oh, I should have mentioned, we just broke up," Bo answered. "Sorry. It wasn't working out. You and Ashley seem to have something really special."

"You Vexed me!"

"You what?" Lauren asked.

"We're breaking up, Tamsin. Maybe Kenzi would be willing to be your fake girlfriend now. I'm out."

"She threatened to stab me the last time I did that."

"Consider this to be me threatening to stab you as well."

Tamsin sighed. "Okay, fine. But when this girl goes crazy and I go missing, just know it's on you."

"I can live with that," Bo answered.

Tamsin groaned. "She's calling again. Can't we please be dating just this once? Last time, I swear."

"No."

Tamsin turned to Lauren. "You know, I feel like you and I are getting really close –"

"TAMSIN!" Bo said, cutting her off.

Tamsin sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll deal with her, are you happy?"

"Ecstatic," Bo said, sarcastically.

Tamsin picked up the phone and dialed Ashley's number. While the phone rang, she point at Bo and Lauren. "Oh, and congrats on you two, we were all wondering when that was going to happen." Before Bo and Lauren could reply, Tamsin had walked outside.

Lauren turned to Bo. "Um…"

Bo pulled out another glass. "Shots?"


I lied about the angst. Just wanted to mess with you all. Let me know what you thought!