DISCLAIMER: The characters herein are used without permission. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This one may be a bit choppy as I did it moving from three different viewpoints. Hopefully it works despite my lack of finesse.
WARNING: If you're a Dyson fan you might not enjoy this story as he is painted the villain to a point in it. I have nothing against Dyson, I like the character and adore the talent of the actor, but I felt it unfair that Lauren got the short end of the trust stick when he has so many huge secrets on the show that he's keeping from Bo. So why should he get the girl?
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
SPOILERS: This is set after season 1 episode 8.
FEEDBACK: To north_h7@hotmail.com
Reason
By North
"That's it, Bo! You are going to the doctor and you're going to her right now!" Of course, Kenzi's authoritative tone would have gone over much better if she weren't tightly pressed up against the wall with a hungry succubus holding her there. Bo's eyes glowed electric blue and only Kenzi's hand on Bo's lips kept that deadly kiss from contact inches away from her.
She tried again to reason with her tormented and dangerous best friend. "You SO don't want to mess up our platonic bonding, okay? Like, I know I'm super hot but neither of us want this. Am I right or am I right?"
She stared wide eyed at her friend who visibly fought to control urges that were driving the dark woman mad. Bo's whole body shook with the effort to restrain herself.
"That's my Bo, Come on. Take a deep breath, count to five. Let it out, count to six. Come on Bo, you can do this. "
By millimetres, Bo let up. The pain etched on her face was awful. Kenzi wished she could help, but letting Bo kill her wouldn't do either of them any good.
She looked down and to the side, considering what to say, how to say what needed to be said. She bravely stared back up at her friend who was now a few paces from her, eyes returned to a dark brown and filled with tears – again – for what nearly happened – again.
"Look Bo, I know hot doc hurt you, but you can't go on like this. You need the treatments."
Bo shook her head, "Kenzi, I'm so sorry-"
Kenzi waved it away, "Yeah, been there, done that. Got a few t-shirts already. But it's getting worse. You have to get her help. I'll go with you if you want."
"I'll go for you."
Both women turned to see the towering form of the blond wolf man in their doorway. He had eyes only for Bo.
Kenzi cocked an eyebrow. "It's the pussy way to go, but it's your call Bo."
Ever since that night with Lauren, Bo wouldn't say her name or speak about it, not even after a round of some seriously hard drinking. Kenzi had tried everything to get her pal to open up but the woman remained stolid on her refusal to deal with it. So they spent the night together and it had a dual purpose. Kenzi thought it was obvious that Lauren had always wanted Bo. Period. That she went on the orders of the Ass, as Kenzi liked to call the ruler of the Light Fae, was shitty but hey, the lady did it to protect her girl. It made sense to Kenzi, apparently not so much to Bo. Kenzi got why Bo was so upset, but to the point of not getting the treatments she needed to curb her succubus hungers which would kill was taking the whole wallowing thing too far.
Bo wouldn't look at either of them. "That would be great, Dyson. Thank you."
"Of course." He said, and walked out after another one of his manly weighted stares at Bo.
Kenzi sighed, saying, "Wait up howler, I'm going with you." She reached past Bo to grab her coat, but not before whispering to her friend with surprising sympathy, softening the actual words. "Ya big pussy."
The car ride there had been filled with inane chatter, mostly on the part of Kenzi with an indulgent Dyson. When they got to the place though, Dyson got all serious as they walked down the hall. He held up a hand. "You should wait here. I want to talk to Lauren alone."
"What? And miss out on the action? I'm Bo's best friend. I get dibs on bitching out the person who did her wrong."
He looked down at her from his impressive height where they had stopped in the hallway. "There is Fae business I need to make clear to her. Stay here."
Dyson stalked off as if Kenzi would listen to him. He should have known better. As soon as he was around the corner, she tiptoed in exaggerated fashion to the door, peeking in and catching the entire show.
The doc was there in her white lab coat and black slacks. She looked up surprised to see Dyson. He didn't waste time, getting right to the point.
"I'm here to pick up her medicine."
The surprise only got more so for Lauren. "You're not qualified to administer her treatments."
"I think we'll be able to manage just fine without you." He sneered.
So the rumble begins, Kenzi thought.
"I don't trust you."
"You're the one who told me 'It isn't your trust that I'm concerned with.'" He told her mockingly. "You ruined that forever."
Surprise was quickly losing the war to anger. Kenzi had never seen the doctor angry before. This was getting interesting. "And just who told The Ash about my giving her treatments to begin with, Dyson? You were the only one who knew that was also Fae. Kenzi would never tell and Bo never breathed a word...except to you. Did it help your standing to get closer to the Fae on high? Was it worth it? The only one who truly betrayed Bo is in this room and it wasn't me."
Whoa, this was news, Kenzi leaned in more to catch every word, alarm bells ringing in her head.
"You nearly broke her heart, hopping into her bed just because the Ash told you to." His contempt was as thick as molasses.
"If you thought it was only because of orders, you wouldn't be here right now speaking to me this way." Lauren insisted, furious, slamming down her clipboard on the nearest desk. "I was trying to protect her."
"Trying to protect your own self-interests you mean." Dyson was all looming arrogance. "You humans are all alike. You would do anything to satiate your curiosity. Yours is about the Fae, even bedding one of us. You traded your freedom to study us, so it isn't really a surprise that you'd sell your body along with your soul. I'm just surprised it took you this long."
The slap surprised Kenzi, but only caused Dyson to smirk. Lauren held her now bruised hand after striking the werewolf. She looked on at him, outraged.
"You don't have the slightest idea what I sold my freedom for. I went to Bo's bed because of how I feel about her, because I was trying to save her from a suicide mission against Vex!"
"Right," he retorted, derisive, "which is why you called the quarantine on her house when she was contaminated."
"Only because there was no choice! I was relieved I was able to cure her in time, but Dyson, if that creature got loose it could have decimated the city, killing hundreds if not thousands of people! All those lives lost. It was for the greater good, something Bo understands. Something you Fae don't."
"Careful what you say about the Fae, woman." He stood nearly over her now and Kenzi leaned in more, worried this would get seriously ugly fast.
Lauren stood straighter, despite cradling her damaged hand. "Why? Can't face the truth? Everything you do has an agenda Dyson, just like all the Fae. And the agenda is all about how to best serve your own interests. Unlike the Fae, humans sometimes do things for the sake of others. Bo is like that. What you can't stand is that she's more human than Fae. She puts others first and strives to help them while you just help yourself. Just like you've helped yourself to Bo."
He raised his hand and then Kenzi couldn't keep still anymore. Things had already gone too far. "Yo doc! How's it goin'?" She put a fake bright smile on her face and lightly smacked Dyson on the side fearlessly. "I'm getting cooties hangin' outside so long. You ready to roll, big guy?"
"I just need the serum." He growled, low and barely human sounding, his eyes not having left Lauren though his arm had lowered as soon as Kenzi had entered the room.
Lauren stared at him a moment longer. She glanced at Kenzi and then went to her desk, taking out some vials and a capped syringe. She scribbled quickly on a pad of paper before tearing it off. She gave it all to Kenzi who took them readily enough. "You make sure to give these directly to Bo and no one else." The doctor flicked her eyes at the werewolf pointedly. "If Bo has any problems or questions she can call me, or if she'd rather, you can. Instructions and my contact information are on the paper."
"Gotcha doc." She gave her a sympathetic look and then tested the waters. "What happened to your hand?"
Lauren looked down at it like she'd never seen it before. "A stupid mistake."
Black brows rose high over startling blue eyes. "Seems to be going around, stupid mistakes, that is. Well, catch ya later doc."
She waltzed out the door dragging a lumbering wolfman out with her, wishing like hell she had her own set of wheels.
In the car the silence was deafening. Kenzi's wheels were turning faster than the car's. "Yo big guy, you don't really believe all that stuff you lay on me about being genetically superior and all that do you?"
Dyson glanced at her and those pale eyes of his turned inscrutable. "Well, we are superior to humans. But it doesn't mean I don't like you. You're the head of my Team Dyson fan club right?"
She saw his closed smile now for what it was and gave him a fake one right back. "Oh ya, Team Dyson all the way."
If he heard the dripping sarcasm in her voice, the man behind the wheel never said.
"Where are you going?"
Kenzi checked herself out at the question. Boots, leggings, long black sweater that hung about mid thigh, coat. "Out?" she replied.
Bo shook her head from over the couch where she was regarding her friend. "I'm feeling much better. You don't have to worry about my trying to make you a snack anymore."
"Aww, sweetie," Kenzi went over to her fragile friend and gave her a quick smack of the lips on Bo's forehead. "I just gotta run some errands. I'll be back soon."
Her succubus gal pal frowned, "I shoulda asked Dyson to stay. I don't know why you rushed him out of here."
No, no and so no! Kenzi temporized, telling the truth, just not all of it. "He was getting on my nerves with his elitist Fae crap. Here," she grabbed the game controller and dropped it into Bo's hand, then turned the TV and game console on. "Save the world from killer robot hookers. I'll be back for supper and I'll bring Thai."
"I love Thai." Already, Bo was concentrating on the video game.
Bo was so riddled with guilt and self-loathing right now, she wasn't anywhere near as observant as usual. Thanks be, Kenzi thought, raising her eyes heavenward in an unseen show of exasperation. She'd tell Bo the whole story, but she had to get the entire enchilada before spilling the beans to Bo. That meant a little personal P.I.'ing on her own.
She said good bye and went on her way.
It was easy as pie to pick the lock. It seemed the higher the security condo, the easier it was to flirt your way past the guards and a lock was a lock was a lock. Once inside, Kenzi couldn't help but whistle appreciatively. "Nice digs, Doc."
It was nice, not overdone. Classy in an understated, but comfortable kind of way. A burgundy rug led the way to the living room which was hardwood floor, chocolate coloured sofa and sienna painted walls. Kenzi touched and fingered nearly everything as she walked by stuff. In the kitchen she opened the fridge and saw a bottle of opened white wine. She helped herself to a sip – or four - before putting it back. Snooping around, she mostly saw nice but meaningless scenery art, some photos of trees until-
"Aha."
The willowy young woman went over to the side table near the couch where a frame sat with a photo of a slightly younger Lauren with a guy looking close to the same age. They were both smiling and it was Fall judging by the leaves around them. Without hesitation, Kenzi dismantled the frame to check the back of the photo.
"So who are you hot guy?" she flipped the back and read. Her eyebrows rose."Peter, huh?"
Thinking, she looked around and her eyes quickly fell on to the laptop resting on the coffee table. Putting the photo back in the frame and back in its place on the table, she gleefully sat on the couch and pulled the laptop to her, rubbing her hands together.
"Now let's see what secrets you have, Dr. Hot Pants." A clattering of keys and she was up and running, humming to herself happily. "Someone as OCD as you has gotta have a personal organizer in her...yes!" Kenzi's pale eyes quickly read the contents. "What's with all the hospital visits every Wednesday afternoon?" She clicked on a few more files, scanning them at light speed. Her black brows rose higher as she read and Kenzi muttered the only thing she could at this latest revelation. "Oh, shit."
Bo was still reeling at all the revelations Kenzi had laid on her. It was a lot to take in. Dyson couldn't be trusted and Lauren, well, Bo was looking into that now that her best friend had given her the low down. She stood in the elevator impatiently. It pinged and the doors opened. Immediately she was seen by the person at the front desk, a man about her age with an everyday face, everyday brown hair, and an everyday 'you shouldn't be here' frown.
Within four strides she was leaning over the desk, laying her hand over his and allowing her succubus influence to enthral him. "I'm supposed to be here."
"Sure," he said with a now dopey smile on his face and a glazed look to his eyes. "I'll buzz you through."
She smiled, "Thanks."
It didn't take long going down the deserted hall to find the room Lauren was in. Bo could hear her talking to a woman, presumably a nurse, from the conversation.
"No changes?" Bo heard the flipping of pages and could easily picture Lauren looking through the chart on a clipboard.
"None, he's been stable. And the Ash's care has helped to keep his body in optimum condition if he wakes."
"When he wakes." Lauren stated like a fact rather than a slim possibility. After what Kenzi had read in the files on Lauren's computer, and a lot of reading up on medical terms, Bo knew Lauren's hope was one of the heart, not the head.
"Of course." The woman demurred. "I'll leave you two alone now for you to have your visit."
Bo quickly went into the empty room behind her. She listened for the buzz of the door and only after some seconds later did she carefully slip out again and to the corner room where Lauren was.
The door was ajar. The room inside however was decorated as if it were a bedroom. The bedding wasn't the austere white or despairing flat grey-green of most hospitals, but instead a rich burgundy duvet with gold brocade. The man in question, whom Bo had to agree with Kenzi's assessment as very good looking, lay propped up against opulent pillows and cushions of colors matching the bedding. A comfortable easy chair perched next to the bed where Lauren sat. She brushed the bangs, a shade darker than her own hair, out of his closed eyes. Around them were machines beeping in their own synchronicity.
Although she saw more of her profile than her full expression, Bo could make out a watery smile on the doctor's face. The other woman was dressed in simple jeans and a violet shirt. Her dark brown leather jacket hung on the back of the mocha coloured easy chair.
"You must not be too lonely with pretty girls like nurse Chloe looking after you I bet." Lauren looked directly at him as if he would answer her at any moment. "A lot of my research says you can hear me. So if you want me to stop teasing you, you're going to have to tell me to shut up." No answer. "Okay then, but I have to tell you that thanks to the Fae treatment, your body looks better since before the car crash. In fact you're looking pretty buff. When you wake up I'm worried you're going to be an egomaniac and a heartbreaker for all the ladies."
No answer.
Bo watched as Lauren continued to speak to her comatose brother as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She watched Lauren look to her brother after every sentence, searching for a response. She witnessed the gentility with which Lauren lovingly adjusted the pillows and fixed his sleep top. It wasn't until Lauren picked up the book and started reading that Bo felt the sting of tears as her heart clenched at the sight.
"I don't know why you insist Pride and Prejudice is your favourite book." Lauren leaned back in the chair, book open. "But if you get out of your girly taste for Jane Austen, not that I'm complaining mind you, you'll have to raise a hand for me to read you something else, Peter." She flipped another couple of pages, "I think we were at the part when she's about to learn Mr Darcy's secret."
As Lauren's slightly burred voice filled the air with a romantic tale of love against all odds, Bo quietly left, her head and heart overflowing.
Lauren sighed as she entered her apartment. She dropped her keys carelessly into the bowl on the entryway table and hung up her jacket as if it was the weight of the world in her hands. A few steps to the fridge and she brought out a beer. She paused at the open door and then put the beer back, closing the fridge door, instead opting for the cupboard and bringing out a bottle of vodka. The doctor grabbed a glass and took both items out with her to the couch where she sat with them in front of her. She poured a drink and downed it, poured another but left it in front of her next to the bottle on the coffee table. Lauren stared off into nothingness in the dark apartment, her mind filled with the heartache that ate at her and striving to find a way around it. Thoughts whirled with no answers and no hope as her hand rubbed at the Ash's necklace like a festering wound. Her eyes burned like her throat and she forsook the drink to drop her head into her hands.
"Hard day, huh?"
Her blond head flew up at the sound of the melodic voice. Before she had a chance to scramble for a light, a switch was flicked and the hallway light leading to her bedroom came on, illuminating the living room softly. It revealed Bo standing there in her trademark leather pants and coat with a leather vest top, dark hair soft and pulled back, her eyes darker than sin staring at her as the succubus leaned against the corner wall, one foot edging into the room, the other in the hallway.
"Bo? What are you doing here?"
The dark woman didn't answer. She moved with cat like grace, her boots resounding loudly in the silence as she walked across the floor towards Lauren. With a careless gesture Bo picked up the glass, nearly brushing Lauren with the reaching arm, and then threw back the drink before setting it down. She then took ownership of the couch merely by sitting on it. One leg was drawn up on the cushion as she sat sideways facing Lauren, the arm that had held the drink now draped along the back of the sofa.
"Your brother's cute. Looks a lot like you." Was all the succubus said.
Lauren's heart still beat hard from being startled and no less from the confusion that now overtook her. Deeply at sea, overcome with a sense of surrealism, Lauren glanced to the photo of her and Peter and back to Bo. "My brother? How...?"
"A friend." The dark woman replied, never taking her eyes off of Lauren. "Really the best friend a human or Fae could ever have. Lauren, why didn't you tell me?"
Kenzi, it had to have been Kenzi. Lauren had never met another succubus so she didn't know if Bo's constant directness was innate to Bo or all her kind. This was the conversation she never wished to have with the woman she was so drawn to since their very first meeting. "Tell you what Bo? That my brother is in a coma and will likely never wake up? That the Ash made me an offer I couldn't refuse: a chance for Peter's recovery in return for my loyal service? That I'm owned? You made it clear what you thought of being owned or someone who took that choice."
Bo leaned forward then and put a hand on Lauren's knee. "For your brother."
Lauren stared at the hand. "Does it matter why?" she nearly whispered.
"Of course. But I've looked into the accident Lauren and there are some things I think you should know."
"I'm listening." She was afraid of what she would hear and her hands gripped each other tightly.
"I can't prove it, but I think the Fae might have been behind the accident to begin with. A dark Fae had been driving the car that hit your brother while he was biking, right? That's how the Ash got involved. But he couldn't punish the dark Fae because it would start a war. Instead he offers you help in return for servitude. But what if he had arranged it somehow to begin with? What if he had wanted a brilliant young doctor to help his Fae and chose you? How better to rope you in and tie you to him then to have some underling set up something with the other side. An exchange of favours. And the Ash has exactly what he wants – you."
Lauren sat still for what felt like an eternity, counting her breaths. She fought to choose the words and only came up with the hard truth. "I know."
"What?" Hands reached for her face, turned it towards Bo. "What do you mean you know?"
"And still work for him you mean?" Lauren felt so tired, meeting Bo's searching gaze. "I didn't realize it at first of course. I was so worried about my brother and scared. And naive. But I put it together eventually."
"Then how, how do you still let him own you?" Bo's voice roughened, lowered. Angry.
"Because it changes nothing. My brother still needs what the Fae can offer and modern medicine can't. It's not so bad, or at least it wasn't until...until things changed."
"What changed?" The dark woman was so insistent. This close Lauren caught the scent of leather. With warm hands on her she remembered how tender and earnest they were touching her that night Bo and her had shared. It hurt. It hurt too much. She withdrew her face from those hands.
"I met you." Her gaze was steady now, allowing Bo to see what she would. It didn't matter now.
Bo's expressions changed so rapidly it was hard to read the many conflicting emotions she was going through. Lauren's heart went out to her, but then again, Bo had held Lauren's heart for a while now, longer than she knew, if the Fae woman knew it at all.
Finally the face softened, eye holding a wealth of sorrow and tenderness. "Lauren." She took the blond's hand away from its death grip on the other and warmed it in hers. "There has to be a way."
Lauren smiled unhappily. "A way to what? For me to be free? For my brother to wake up? For you to forgive me?" She shook her head, resigned. "There isn't any way. Nothing has changed."
"Everything has changed."
The kiss was a surprise to Lauren. Her mind only kicked in after the shock of irresistibly soft lips claimed hers. The innateness of Bo was that she was a physical person, not one for reason but for this, for the truth beyond words that could only be found in touch.
It was Lauren who pulled away, hands shaking where they pushed against strong, bare shoulders. "What are you doing?"
She nearly drowned in the dark gaze. "Trusting you," Bo replied before leaning in and taking Lauren in her arms to kiss her again.
Deft hands began to pull out her violet shirt, reaching bare skin with a seductive and insistent touch. Another hand came and took hold of the necklace. It was déjà vu.
Bo pulled back just enough to see Lauren. The dark woman dared her with her gaze to stop her as she made a fist around the offensive mark of ownership and ripped it off. "No one owns you Lauren. No one. Not even me."
Lips that were more demanding took Lauren again, a tongue that elicited unwanted moans from her burned fire down into her belly, lower still, causing her legs to tremble. As much as a long damaged and lonely part of her heart rose at Bo's determination, Lauren's fears and knowledge of the unlikely odds and the way the world was versus how Bo would have it, filled her head. It caused her body and mind to be at war with each other. Even as her body gave way to seek the more ardent caresses, her mind tried to withdraw, tried to convince her to pull back.
Warm lips and hot breath caressed her ear, "Stop thinking so damn much."
"But –" she couldn't complete the sentence 'but we could never win.'
"How you feel about me, that's what's important. What you want, what I want. How I feel about you." A voice suddenly vulnerable asked, "You feel this, right? This, me, is what you want?"
Lauren almost shook her head. Her and Bo were identical in their yearning for love, always denied, always disappointed. But here Bo was, loving her. "I love you, Bo. But I want you safe and alive and happy more than I want the same for myself."
Bo pulled back and stood up. Certain she had gotten through to the succubus at last, helping her see reason, Lauren hung her head, waiting for the dark woman's departure out of her apartment and out of her life.
A hand appeared in front of her face. She looked up in confusion at the woman standing tall holding her hand out to her.
A raven eyebrow quirked, "Bed?"
A thousand intelligent things should have come to Lauren's mind, but all she could say was, "Huh?"
Bo smiled at her. "You can't say something that romantic, mean it, and not expect me to move this to the bedroom. Lauren, I've been wanting what you're offering me for what feels like all of my life. I promise you we will figure this out together. But we can figure out tomorrow, tomorrow. Give me tonight to start and we'll go from there."
Well, Lauren had to admit, finding a timid smile curving her own lips, it seemed Bo had mastered the art of reason after all. She just had an innovative way of communicating it. Apprehensive yet wanting, hesitant yet longing, Lauren took the hand and gripped it with all the certainty her heart, not her head, could offer.
With her usual sassy smile and sway of her body, Bo led Lauren to the bedroom saying, "It's a start."
As Bo bared Lauren's body and her soul while lying upon cotton sheets, the dark woman said the one last thing that would be spoken between them until morning.
"And for the record – I love you too."
It was all the reason Lauren needed. All the reason in the world.
The End