Lauren looked up from the microscope and smiled at the blonde figure in the doorway. "Brittany," she grinned, "what are you doing here?" Brittany shuffled forward, her cheerio's uniform a stark contrast against the pastel surroundings of the lab.

"I..." she trailed off and smiled, grinning happily at seeing her sister but also confused in what she wanted to say. "Santana," she stated simply.

Lauren frowned, pulling away from her workstation. "What about Santana?" She asked. Nervously, Lauren's younger sister placed her books on the table before she looked back up at her. "Did she do something?" Lauren urged, worried as she gestured for Brittany to sit down.

"Remember when we were younger?" Brittany asked, "and you'd read those bedtime stories when you lived with us?" Lauren nodded. She used to read Grimm's fairytales to Brittany, though afterwards she'd regret it when Brittany would come into her room crying, telling her that there was an evil witch in the room. Back then, she'd told Brittany that they were fake, that there were no evil witch's with gingerbread houses.

These days, she realized that those stories were more real then she could ever had known.

"I think Santana's a fairy," Brittany whispered seriously, as if someone was around to hear.

"A fairy?" Lauren raised her eyebrows, resisting the urge the to point out that fairies didn't exist, but the 'fae' did. Though fae was the genesis, not the species as Brittany was implying. But she couldn't, not without exposing the fae and that was a death sentence for her.

"Yes, I..." She trailed off, "her eyes went weird and...she got really angry at someone..." Lauren frowned at her.

"What do you mean by her 'eyes went weird?'"

"You probably think I'm being stupid, like everyone else does," Lauren felt hurt flush inside of her at Brittany's words.

Shaking her head, she grabbed her sister's hands, "I've never thought you were stupid, Brittany, you know that." Slowly, Brittany nodded. Living under her sister's shadow, her parents had constantly pointed out that all of Brittany's intellect must have been given to her sister, with little left over for her. However, Lauren always believed that her sister had more strength and bravery than anyone realized, especially more then herself.

"But everyone I've talked to thinks I'm crazy. Quinn just shook her head and Mr Shue just told me to not watch T.V. too late at night."

"I'm your sister, you can tell me, I'm not going to judge you okay?"

Brittany slowly nodded, and swallowed as she thought back. "Santana got really angry, and grabbed this boy's head...the boy started crying and ran away, and I...I think she's like one of the fairies in those tale's, but when she gets really angry she gets all red and..." Brittany took in a deep breath, "I think she's going to become evil and then a prince will come in and chop her head off and I don't want to marry a prince, I want to marry Santana."

Lauren blinked at her sister. "Look I-" she paused as she saw movement out the corner of her eyes. Looking up, she felt herself smile, "Bo," she said as the woman stepped into the room, looking between the clasped hands.

Bo raised her eyebrows, "Lauren," she said with a tight smile, "ah...I didn't mean to interrupt, I just...look I'm sorry, I'll come back later," Bo rushed, quickly running away from the two of them.

Lauren looked at her sister and then at the retreating Bo. "One moment," she whispered to Brittany, carefully placing her sister's hands down before she ran after the succubus, "Bo, where are you going?" She shouted.

Bo paused, and turned back, "I didn't mean to interrupt," she said over her shoulder. "It's not my place. Whatever's happening between you and-"

Lauren frowned at her, as she moved herself to be in front of Bo. "Brittany's my sister," she explained, "the only reason why she gets in here, is because the fae don't view her as a threat, she's very...she's my sister," Lauren said, looking down at the floor as she smiled, "but she came to me distressed and-"

"Even more reason why I shouldn't be here," Bo said, a soft, gentle smile on her features. Reaching out, she took Lauren's hand in hers and brushed her thumbs against the back of them. "If you need me, just call, okay?"

"I miss you," Lauren said as she looked down at their hands. Admitting for the first time in a few weeks, what she was feeling. "I...miss us," she whispered, "your friendship means so much to me and..." Silently, she cursed herself. The word friendship was far from what she wanted to say, but somehow it spilled out.

How do you admit that you're staying long nights at work, lying to your actual girlfriend about the reasons why, constantly debating with yourself, because you're hoping that the woman you have feelings for, would walk through the doors of your lab and...and say what you've been wanting to hear from her since you first met.

"I miss you too," Bo breathed out. "I came to...say that..." she shook her head, "it doesn't matter."

Lauren's eyes looked behind Bo, to see her sister playing with the microscope, flicking her eyes back to Bo, she frowned. "It matters to me," she said.

"Lauren," Bo began, smiling, "I can't do this, I can't pretend that...Nadia doesn't exist. I can't be around you without wanting to kiss you and I can't not remember the nights we've had together, and I don't just mean the ones you've spent in my bed," she smiled bitterly and looked down. "I came to say goodbye, I'll call you when I need help and I'll talk to you but I don't think I can hang out and just be friends with you any more."

Lauren inhaled sharply, "why not?" she asked. But she knew, because that's how she felt about Bo. She knew that if she wasn't careful, she'd end up doing something she'd eternally forget and that wasn't her. It'd never been her.

Bo smiled, stepping forward, she kissed Lauren's lips softly. "If you need me, I'm here, I'll always be here, but...I can never be just your friend," she said. Lauren didn't cry. She felt it pull inside of her, the want to, but defiantly, she shook her head, felt her expression tighten as Bo kissed her again.

"I don't want you to go," she whispered when she felt Bo press their foreheads together.

"I can't, and it's not fair on either Nadia or myself." Lauren nodded, kissing Bo one last time, on the corner of her lips before Bo pulled away. Torn between promising impossible things, and running away, Lauren stood frozen as she watched Bo leave.

"Lauren," Brittany whispered beside her, instantly recognizing what had happened and wrapping her sister into her arms.

She didn't cry then, but she pulled Brittany closer and wrapped her tighter. "I don't know what to do," she whispered before shaking her head, "but it doesn't matter," slowly she took a breath and asked Brittany to tell her about Santana.

xxx

Lauren knocked on the door, nervously fidgeting with her sleeves. If she kept busy and helped Brittany out, then maybe she wouldn't have to think and keep checking her phone every five minutes for something...anything that might suggest...that it'd been a week since Bo kissed her goodbye. A long, sleepless week where Nadia just sat quietly beside her.

She didn't know the details, didn't know much about Bo, but she sensed that Lauren needed space and was kind enough to give it to her without questioning.

Unintentionally, she had made Lauren feel worse.

"Lauren!" Brittany shouted happily as she opened the door. "Santana wouldn't come over," she frowned. "When I told her that you wanted to meet me, she said she was busy." Lauren nodded. Logically, it was impossible that Santana knew exactly who she was but still, it was odd that she left.

"What did you say to her?" Lauren asked as gently as she could.

"I asked her if she could come over and that my doctor sister wanted to talk to her." Lauren nodded. Possibly Santana didn't like the idea of a doctor talking to her, or perhaps the idea of Lauren, who she'd never met before, might intimidate her.

"Where does Santana live?" She asked. When Brittany relayed the answer, Lauren's stomach dropped. Dark fae territory, she sighed. There was no way she could go, not for...her hand reached into the leather jacket's pocket, slowly extracting the phone. Bo was top of the list, and easily, Lauren clicked her name, dialing.

"Hey, what's up?" she sounded happy, and for a moment, Lauren's heart clenched and unclenched, the emotions bubbling inside of her before her sister's eye caught her.

"I...I need your help."

"Of course," Lauren could hear her smiling, picture it perfectly in her head, the way the lips pulled and the teeth... "What can I do?"

xxx

"Who the hell are you?" Santana asked, looking the woman up and down.

Raising an eyebrow, Bo breathed in. Lauren had said that she might be difficult, "Bo, Brittany sent me." Santana took a step back.

"You're...you can't be here," Santana stated as she went to slam the door shut.

"You really love her, don't you?" Bo said, "and it hurts you so much, because you know what you are, you know what that means." Santana paused, her eyes flicking behind her. "Come with me, I'm not going to do anything. I just want to talk." Santana nodded, stepping out the house and walking with Bo to her car.

"Where are we going?" She asked, climbing in.

"To get milkshakes," Bo replied, "milkshakes make conversations easier." Within moments, Bo and Santana were sitting in the same place that Kenzi and Bo had gone the first day they'd officially met.

"Tell me about her," Bo coaxed, "Is she smart?"

"No," Santana laughed, "well not in the conventional sense I guess, but sometimes she comes out with brilliant things," she said.

"But I bet she has that smile, the one where she might look away from you, but you know that smile is just for you," Bo whispered, "She'll look into your eyes and...you can't help but smile back," Santana nodded, her eyes looking away.

"But she's human," she whispered, "and in a few months I have to choose a side, but if I don't choose Dark..."

"You're family will permanently disown you," Bo finished.

"And Brittany's...human. She has a shortened lifespan, when I'm thirty, I'll still look twenty, but she will look thirty and then she'll look forty and fifty and..."

"But that's a fair few years away," Bo defended. Suddenly, her mind went to Lauren, only then realizing that Brittany wasn't the only one growing old, her sister was too. Lauren would die before her. Shutting her eyes, she took in a breath. No wonder she had stayed with Nadia, at least she'd be there for her.

"It's still too soon."

"I know."

Santana's eyes flicked up, "why did Brittany send you here?" She asked suspiciously. "How did she even find you."

Bo laughed, "Lauren...works for the Light."

"I knew it," Santana whispered under her breath. "I saw a photo of her and that necklace...I've seen similar." Shaking her head, she looked at Bo. "But that doesn't explain why you'd do something like this, talk to me about..." Santana trailed off, "oh," she whispered. "You-"

"Don't say it," Bo said sharply, "Lauren has a girlfriend, granted they hadn't officially talked in five years and in that time she was with me, she hadn't made a single suggestion that there was someone in a coma she was waiting on, but it's not like it matters, it's not like it proves that she has any sense of real feelings for me even if...she...did say..." she trailed off, sniffing as she shook her head, suddenly feeling pathetic. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

"I'm a cheerleader," Santana said, "Head Cheerleader, which has always been my dream. And now I've got about a month until I choose a side and then go and visit my two other sisters," she said. "And then I'll never see Brittany again and everything will get better."

"You're lying to yourself," Bo told her. "For a while you've been planning on how to run away from all of this, fantasizing in wrapping Brittany in your arms and leaving everything behind, but you know the Morrigan, the Ash and your family would drag you back, kicking and scream and take Brittany away from you any means possible, so you stay quiet and push it off, pretending it doesn't hurt."

Santana glared at Bo. "Shut-up."

"You don't have to choose the Dark."

"I do," she said, "I'm not like you, I don't have the luxury of sitting on the fucking picket fence and pretending that I don't have to choose, because I do, and it has to be Dark. Without my sisters, my family, I'm nothing. Do you understand that? I'm a fury I need my family, my sisters!"

"I know, I've met the fury before," Bo said to her, "But Santana, you can be more then just a fury, and if you love Brittany-"

"Who are you to say? You're here, with me as the woman you love is with her girlfriend. You know what, Brittany's mentioned you before, mentioned how Lauren was happy for the first time in five years and how some 'mysterious girl' was making her happy. You know what? Lauren even came home to her family for a few nights instead of working late - and that made Brittany happier then ever.

"But lately she hasn't been answering the phone again, and I bet that's your fault, I bet that when her ex-girlfriend woke up - after five years - you got scared and ran, didn't take into consideration that it'd been five-fucking-years and that people change and it's your fucking fault that Brittany's crying and I can't do a damn thing about it because I have to leave her in a month and all I want is for her to be happy in the last month because that will make it all worth it!"

With that, Santana stormed out.

xxx

Santana didn't go home. After hours of walking around the city, she finally grabbed a cab and made her decision in what she wanted. Instead of going home, pretending that nothing had happened, she went to Brittany's, knocking on the door furiously. When it finally opened, she grabbed Brittany and kissed her.

"Santana," Brittany breathed out.

"I want to stay with you," Santana told her, "forever but if I do, then they'll kill you like they killed...but if I choose the Light, I can at least..."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Brittany said, "But Lauren said you're a fairy," Santana grinned. Slipping her hand down and taking Brittany's in her own. "Santana, if you're a fairy, can you make the sun come out, I'm tired of the clouds."

"I'm not a fairy, not quite. I'm..." she sighed, "I'm glad it's you, anyone else wouldn't accept me."

"I love you Santana," She frowned, confused, "that means I love everything about you, even if you're mean sometimes and make people cry."

Santana grinned, almost crying as she kissed Brittany again, "I'd choose the Light for you," she whispered. "If you promised to stay with me through the worst of things that are to come." Brittany nodded easily, smiling with her child-like innocence as she linked their two pinkies together and lifted them up for Santana to see.

"Pinky-promise."

"I've..." Santana swallowed, "I don't know yet."

"You don't have to know anything yet," Brittany said as she tugged Santana inside, "but I'd really like it if we could have a bath again."

"Okay."