All human AU. My all human version of the Bo and Lauren relationship. Characters from the show will make an appearance, but they may connect differently than in the show. POV will likely shift between Lauren and Bo.

I don't own Lost Girl. I know that shocks you.

Doctor Lauren Lewis was having a shit day.

Maybe that wasn't a fair way to phrase it. She was having a long day. A hard day. An irritating day. The kind of day that made you want to throw your laptop against a wall and shout obscenities at the next person that interrupted you.

No, actually, shit day was accurate.

She sighed exasperatedly as she dug through her desk drawer. Seriously, she had been at this job for two weeks and already her office was in shambles. Well, really, it just hadn't been organized in the first place – her flight in two weeks prior had been majorly delayed, meaning her first day of work had started almost as soon as she landed. She'd hastily thrown things in her office and hit the ground running, so to speak, and it hadn't really let up since. Her boxes were late arriving, and had actually just made it to her about three days ago, so she wasn't even remotely close to unpacked, She was wearing unfamiliar clothes because, of course, when all of her earthly possessions were held up in transit, her wardrobe was with them, and she'd had to just go buy something, anything, that would make her look vaguely professional at work. Her wifi hadn't been connected yet, because of course mild competence was too much to ask of anyone…overall, things since moving had not been going her way.

Despite all of that, she had woken up this morning with a renewed sense of purpose. Today was going to be different, she told herself. Today was going to be better. Her schedule was light today, the lightest day so far, and she was actually looking forward to organizing her office, tying up some loose ends, tucking into reports and charts and other administrative items that needed her attention. Today was the day she was going to get her life in order.

She started her day at Starbucks, since, of course, she hadn't unpacked her coffeepot yet, only to arrive and find that some acne ridden teenager they'd hired had overloaded a breaker and fried their power. They wouldn't be able to make coffee for at least another hour.

Alright, that's fine, she could be flexible. She went to the cafeteria in the hospital and ordered a coffee from the surly cashier, trying to keep her tone light and bright.

"It's not ready." Said flatly, annoyed.

Lauren steadied herself before she answered. "Okay. How soon will it be ready?"

The girl looked at her, her gaze irritated and condescending. "You want me to make it?"

Lauren looked at her watch. 7:42am. "Um, it's not even 8 yet. You weren't going to make more?"

With a loud sigh, the girl turned around and made a display of banging the coffee grounds basket, the bag of filters, the sack of coffee grounds. "Seven minutes," she grumbled.

Lauren waited, trying to be patient. Finally, about ten minutes later, the coffee was ready. The girl poured her a cup, put the lid on, and gave her a fake smile as she gave Lauren her total. She edged the tip cup closer to her when she handed Lauren her change, which infuriated the doctor further. She grabbed two dollars out of her pocket and dropped them on the counter. Ignoring the tip cup, she turned away and took a sip, scalding her tongue and making her jump, which made the poor secured lid dislodge and the hot coffee to cascade down her shirt. She heard the girl snicker behind her. She didn't bother to turn back.

One quick trip home to change later and Lauren was officially late, dropping her leather bag beside her desk chair at 8:54 am. Her phone was blinking with unheard voicemails, and as she logged into her laptop, she let them play out loud.

She was halfway through the third message when her pager went off. A patient had taken a turn, a 23 year old stabbing victim. Grabbing her lab coat, she dashed out into the hospital.

Six hours later and Lauren was finally back in her office. Her patient was stable, at least for now, and she had been drafted into consulting on about seven others. Her head was throbbing from a mix of no caffeine and no food. With a sigh, she dropped back into her chair and was about to start working when she decided to go get something to eat first. Maybe a Coke or coffee, too, to take the edge off. She grabbed her purse and looked inside, checking to make sure she had her phone. That was when she realized her wallet was safely on the dresser in her bedroom, where she had left it last night.

And now, Lauren was rooting through her desk, desperately trying to find a charger for her computer, because the power light in the corner was blinking angrily, announcing that it too had had a shit day and was about to shut down. Finally, she spotted it, tangled in the back. She grabbed it, banging her thumb in the process, but managed to retrieve it. She had plugged one end into the wall and was about to connect it to her computer when the screen went black.

"Yeah, that seems about right," she said to herself with a deep sigh.

By 5, Lauren finally started to feel like she had made some headway. Not nearly as much as she was hoping, of course, but still, some. That was when her cell phone rang.

"Dr. Lewis," she answered, not bothering to check the ID.

"You've been in town for a month and haven't bothered to even call me. I'm hurt. I'm wounded. I'm deeply offended," the cockney accented voice said without preamble.

Lauren smiled in spite of herself. "Hello, Vex."

"No, no, don't you do that! Don't you use that sweet Lauren-y voice and expect me just to melt! You've been ignoring me and you know that plays into my deep emotional abandonment issues from when my parents left me alone in the woods for weeks at a time!"

"They didn't leave you, Vex, they took you to summer camp."

"In the woods, Lauren. In the woods!"

"In cabins. With a lake."

"The woods."

"And what do you mean weeks at a time? Didn't you get kicked out almost immediately?"

"See? Even that hellish 'camp' abandoned me. All the more reason for you to call me."

Lauren laughed. "I've been in town for two weeks, not a month. I've just been insanely busy."

"A likely story. Alright then, love, you're coming out with me tonight."

"What? Tonight? No, Vex, I can't, my stuff isn't unpacked and –"

"Abandonment! Abandonment!"

"You can't just shout 'abandonment,' Vex, that's not a thing."

"You can't? Fascinating. Tell me more about that tonight."

"Vex –"

"Pick you up in an hour, love!"

"Vex!"

"Ta." And with that, the line was dead.

At 6:15 Lauren's desk phone buzzed.

"Yes?"

"Um, Dr. Lewis, there's a…man? Down here to see you."

"I'm her boyfriend, darling, don't be shy, now. Christ, is that a cartoon rabbit on your shirt? Why would an adult wear that?" Lauren rolled her eyes as she heard Vex antagonizing the front desk.

"He, um…he says he's your boyfriend?"

"I'll be down in a minute, thanks."

"I know what you're thinking, why would someone as dashing as me be with a lowly doctor, but let me tell you the sex is downright Olympic –" Lauren hung up the phone before finishing hearing what Vex was telling the desk. Probably better that she didn't know.

A few minutes later, Lauren arrived at the front of the hospital where she saw Vex, clad in leather and eyeliner. "Darling!" he said, loudly, as she approached.

She couldn't help smiling, despite the embarrassment. Lauren had known Vex for years, practically her entire life, and despite his flamboyant ways, she had always loved him.

He didn't hide his gaze as he examined what she was wearing. "Well the first order of business is getting you something new to wear, this simply won't do."

"I'm not changing, Vex."

"No? Alright then, we can work with this. You're gorgeous, as always, anyway. A few drinks should do the trick." He turned his attention to the seemingly still confused girl at the desk. "You however – something lower cut, darling, let those girls breathe."

"Um…thanks?" The girl said, clearly unsure what do.

"Please stop antagonizing my co-workers, Vex." She smiled warmly at the girl. "I apologize for my…for…well, for Vex."

"Oh – that's alright, Dr. Lewis."

"Such a lovely voice," Vex said. "Darling, have you ever done any singing? I know this BDSM club with the best band –"

"Come on, Vex," Lauren said, dragging him out the door.

"Ciao, darling!" Vex shouted over his shoulder.

Once they were outside, Lauren turned to Vex. "Was that necessary? I do have to work here, you know."

"Oh, sweetheart, lighten up. Anyway, you look gorgeous as always, give Vexy a little love," and he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

She smiled. "It's good to see you, Vex." And it was, she realized. Despite his inappropriateness, seeing him felt like going home; it felt warm and comforting.

He linked his arm with hers. "Alright, now, off we go. I'm taking you to a bar."

She laughed. "What kind of bar?"

"I'll have you know that I frequent respectable locales."

"Right. Is this going to be one of them?"

He laughed at her comment, loudly. That was something else she'd always loved about him – he was never afraid to show his appreciativeness for a joke or a jab, even if it was at his expense. "Oh, Lo, how I've missed you."

The Dal Riata was a hole in the wall type of bar in a two story building in downtown. When Lauren and Vex entered she noted that it was about half full, and seemed calm by her standards, downright dead by Vex's.

"Darling, welcome to Shangri-La," he said as swept in.

"Really? This is the bar?"

He laughed. "This is my bar. I'm an investor."

A word like 'investor' coming from someone like Vex feel strange. Vex had been raised with money, too much money, really. He never had to work, and he had never chosen to. 'Investor', even in a bar, seemed too adult for someone like Vex.

Vex and Lauren had known each other as children, when they went to boarding school together. Although their personalities seemed like an unlikely fit, they had always been close. It may have had something to do with their sexual orientations, but they were friends long before either of them had that figured out, so who knows.

They approached the bar where a tall man was cleaning glasses. "Dyson, I'll have something straight in a shot glass and this gorgeous creature will have –"

"Beer, thanks," Lauren said.

The man smiled. "Ah, the famous Lauren," he said.

Lauren looked at him, confused. "Pardon?"

"Vex has been talking about you. I'm Dyson, by the way," he said, extending his hand.

"Hi, Dyson," Lauren said, feeling awkward. Vex was ignoring them, looking around the room.

"Where's everyone else? I wanted to introduce Lauren around."

"Kenzi is here somewhere," Dyson answered. "Ciara is on her way, I think, she texted me earlier. Bo is working late, so I doubt we'll see here. I think Nate is coming by, Kenzi mentioned something about that, and –"

"What up, bitches," said a blond woman, walking up behind them.

"—Tasmin is here," Dyson finished.

"Darling!" Vex said to Tasmin. "This is Lauren, Lauren, this is Tasmin, when you stopped calling me I had to find another blond."

Lauren smiled, awkwardly. "Hi, I'm Lauren."

"Alright, enough intro, time for drinking," Vex said, sweeping by.

Within a couple of hours the "gang" had assembled, it seemed, and Lauren was quietly sitting, watching them, trying to keep everyone and their relationships sorted in her mind, which was growing increasingly difficult due to the alcohol and lack of food in Lauren's system.

First, there was Dyson, the tall bartender. He tended to be quieter than the others, but was friendly. He put her generally at ease. Next to him was Ciara, clearly his girlfriend based on the way they interacted. They had a sweet and easy chemistry that Lauren found endearing.

Tasmin was an intimidating presence. Smart, clearly, and sarcastic, dry and funny. Near her was Kenzi, a tiny bit of a girl with dramatically dark hair and strikingly bright eyes. Lauren's awkwardness felt most pronounced with these two women – it was clear they were very different personalities, and Lauren sense that her reserved nature wasn't drawing them to her. Lauren wanted to fix that, of course, but the truth was she'd had a shit day, she was tired, and the alcohol was buzzing around her brain, so she continued to just observe, feeling more awkward and trying to drink it away.

Nate arrived later, obviously Kenzi's boyfriend. Despite Kenzi's standoffishness, Nate seemed open and warm, and was friendly to Lauren immediately, for which Lauren was grateful.

The night wore on, and soon Lauren was drunk. There really wasn't another way around it. Vex had continued to bring drinks to her all night, and even though she knew what he was up to, she hadn't been out for a long time and felt good to let her mind relax. She knew she should be talking more, getting to know everyone, but the fact was she wasn't always the best in these situations. The patrons in the bar continued to filter out, and by ten it was just the seven of them.

And then the door to the bar flew open, and a man walked in.

He was tall, probably close to Dyson's height, with dark wavy hair and a beard. They all looked up when he came in, and Lauren felt as though she detected a reaction from the rest of the group. She continued to observe.

"Hey, Kevin," Dyson said, standing up and walking back behind the bar to retrieve some more beer.

"Is she here?" Kevin asked, abrasively.

Dyson gave a wry smile. "What, she won't answer your calls?"

The man sighed in frustration. "Look, I know she's upstairs, alright? I'm just going to go up and talk to her.

"Uh, no, you're not," Kenzi said. "That's my apartment too, you know. And, anyway, Bo is working late."

"Like hell she is."

Kenzi rolled her eyes and went back to her drink. Nate stood up and walked over to the clearly agitated Kevin.

"Listen, man, she really is working late. Why don't you come sit down, have a beer, and just relax? I'm sure she'll be here soon."

Kevin looked at Nate like he was something that came in on his shoe, but silently walked over to the table and sat down.

"Oy, Kevin," Vex said. "Still chasing after Bo, then, are you?"

Kevin regarded Vex with disdain. "So this is what you all do all night, then? Sit and drink?" Kevin asked.

Tasmin rolled her eyes. "Lauren, this Kevin Rainer, Bo's..."

Kevin turned to Lauren. "I'm Bo's boyfriend," he said, with special emphasis, as if he were trying to remind everyone else at the table. "Who are you, anyway?"

Lauren studied the man for a moment. "Wow," she muttered, thinking her voice was quieter than it was.

"What?" Kevin asked, looking at her again.

Lauren was drunk. That's could be the explanation for what she said next. "You're total dick," she said, simply.

Kenzi's mouth dropped open. Tasmin was visibly trying to hold back a laugh. Vex was looking on with what could only be described as pride. Even Ciara was grinning.

Kevin, clearly pissed, surveyed the table, his eyes finally ending on Nate. "Tell Bo to call me," he said, and he stalked out of the bar.

The other six turned to Lauren, almost in unison.

"Oh, girl, I like you," Kenzi said with a laugh, pouring Lauren another beer.

Reviews are always appreciated if you are so inclined