I do not own the rights to the TV show, the characters, or the music. This is just me writing as a fan.
No copyright infringement intended. Pls don't sue me. :)
Do leave a review if you've enjoyed this chapter.
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"You're doing it again," Dyson said softly, watching Bo push her food around her plate.
They were at the Italian restaurant where they'd had their first date. His attempt at rekindling something that felt increasingly like it was slipping through his fingers.
"Hmm?" Bo looked up, realizing she hadn't heard a word he'd said in the last ten minutes.
"Drifting away," he reached across the table and took her hand. "Where do you go?"
To a small flower shop. To hazel eyes and gentle smiles. To the feeling of finally being whole.
"Nowhere," she squeezed his hand, guilt churning in her stomach. "Just tired from work."
"Bo..." he hesitated, then seemed to gather his courage. "I need to ask you something."
Her heart stopped. Did he know?
"Are you pregnant?"
The question caught her so off guard she almost laughed. "What? No. Why would you think that?"
"You've been different lately. Emotional. Distant." He ran his thumb over her knuckles. "I thought maybe..."
"No," she pulled her hand away, suddenly needing space. "I'm not pregnant. Again."
"Would it be so terrible if you were? This time? I mean, I don't-"
The waiter arrived with their dessert, giving Bo a moment to compose herself. When he left, she looked at her husband - really looked at him. He was trying so hard to fix something he didn't even know was broken.
"Dyson, I..."
ring ring*
Her phone buzzed. A text from Kenzi:
"BOBO! EMERGENCY! Mom says I can't have a pet dragon but Lauren says there are REAL DRAGONS in the ocean! They're called sea dragons! I NEED TO SEE THEM!"
Despite everything, Bo smiled. Trust her sister to unknowingly provide the perfect escape.
"It's Kenzi," she showed Dyson the text. "Mom needs help."
He nodded, understanding as always. "Go. I'll get the bill."
...
Lauren was closing up shop when she heard the bell chime. "We're closed!" she called out, not looking up from her ledger.
"Even for scientific emergencies?"
Lauren's head snapped up at Bo's voice. The brunette stood there, looking uncertain but determined.
"Bo..."
"Kenzi needs to know about sea dragons," Bo said quickly, as if the words might desert her. "And I... I needed to see you."
Lauren's grip tightened on her pen. "We said..."
"I know what we said," Bo took a step forward. "But I can't... I can't keep pretending that everything's fine when it's not. When I feel like I'm drowning every time I try to be who I was before I met you."
"Bo, please," Lauren's voice cracked. "Don't make this harder."
"Harder?" Bo laughed, but it was hollow. "How could it possibly be harder? I wake up every morning trying to convince myself that I'm doing the right thing. That staying away from you is noble or honourable or whatever lie I tell myself that day."
"It is the right thing," Lauren insisted, but her feet carried her closer to Bo anyway.
"Then why does it feel like I'm dying inside?"
They stood there, inches apart, the air heavy with everything they couldn't have.
"Tell me you don't feel it too," Bo whispered.
Lauren closed her eyes. "You know I do."
"Then why are we doing this to ourselves?"
"Because you're married, Bo!" Lauren stepped back, running her hands through her hair in frustration. "Because Dyson is a good man who doesn't deserve this. Because I refuse to be the person who destroys a marriage!"
"What about me?" Bo's voice was small. "Don't I deserve to be happy?"
"Of course you do," Lauren's expression softened. "But not like this. Not by hurting someone else."
"So I should just keep hurting myself instead?"
The question hung between them, heavy with truth.
Lauren moved to touch Bo's cheek, then caught herself. "You should go home, Bo. To your husband. To your life."
"What if I don't want that life anymore?" Bo's eyes filled with tears. "What if I want a life where I don't have to pretend? Where I can just... be?"
"Bo..."
The brunette stepped closer, her hand finding Lauren's. "Tell me you don't think about that kiss every day. Tell me you don't lie awake at night wondering what could have been."
Lauren's breath hitched. "Please don't."
"Tell me you don't love me," Bo's voice was barely a whisper.
Lauren looked into those brown eyes she'd been trying so hard to forget. "I can't."
The admission hung between them like a physical thing. Bo leaned forward, her forehead resting against Lauren's.
"Then help me figure this out," she pleaded. "Because I don't know how to keep living this lie."
Lauren pulled away slightly, her hands coming up to frame Bo's face. "You need to be sure, Bo. You need to be absolutely certain. Because if we do this... if we really do this... there's no going back."
Bo covered Lauren's hands with her own. "I've never been more certain of anything in my life."
The door chimed again, making them jump apart. Tamsin stood there, taking in the scene with knowing eyes.
"Well," she drawled. "I guess this means we're finally done with the noble suffering part?"
Lauren glared at her friend, but couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips. "Don't you ever knock?"
"And miss dramatic moments like this? Never." Tamsin grinned, then grew serious. "But she's right, Bo. You need to be sure. And you need to be honest - with yourself, with Dyson, with everyone."
Bo nodded, wiping at her eyes. "I know. I will be." She looked at Lauren. "I promise."
As she turned to leave, she paused at the door. "Lauren?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for teaching my sister about sea dragons."
Lauren smiled, her heart feeling lighter than it had in weeks. "Any time."
The door closed behind Bo, and Tamsin turned to her friend. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Are you ready for what comes next?"
Lauren touched her lips, still feeling the phantom warmth of Bo's forehead against hers. "I don't know. But I think... I think it might be worth finding out."
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#The story is coming to an end. Finally after 10 years. LOL. How do you think Dyson is going to react? Leave a review and tell me your guesses!