Title: Faemous Last Words

Author: hbomba

Rating: M

Summary: Light homage to the movie A Family Man. Are all mistakes unfixable? Does love transcend place and time? Are Bo and Lauren destined to be together?

A/N: On a somewhat alternate timeline to the show, but makes allowances for most of what's happened. All hail the Gatekeeper, lone jaguar, my favorite editor.

CHRISTMAS

"Don't do this, Lauren." Bo followed her around the apartment as she stuffed anything that would fit into an ample luggage set.

"I can't stay here anymore, Bo. The Light think they own me and the Dark seek to control me. I have too much at stake in this turf war. I have to leave."

"What if I win the turf war? For you."

"Bo…"

"Please, Lauren," she implored. "We are right there, you just have to give us a chance." Lauren dropped a bag on the bed and turned to face Bo. She could see the pain already imprinted there and Lauren hadn't even left yet. "You'll never know unless you try."

"Bo." She smiled and cradled Bo's face with both of her hands. "I love you, I do, but I have been trying for five years."

"It'll be different. I'll protect you, even claim you." Bo flinched when she said it and Lauren did too. She had tried that tact before and it was met with staunch resistance. This time it was met with Lauren's quiet exit.

Lauren was gathering her toiletries from the washroom and Bo hung in the doorway watching her calm and methodical movements. She had run many times before, Bo could tell, because she used to run too. Until she found something worth sticking around for and Bo counted Lauren among those reasons. Bo knelt down beside her as she pulled an organizer from the vanity. "Would you stay if I asked you to?"

She took a long time to answer, Bo's question just dangling in the air between them. Air so thick, it felt like sludge through her nose, and she was drowning.

"Bo… I have to." Instantly, Bo deflated, falling back onto her rear and crumpling against the wall. "Come with me." Lauren had leaned across the gap between them.

"Lauren," she sighed. "I'm through running." She held her hands. "Stay and fight."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry." She brushed past Bo and out of the bathroom.

Still on the floor, Bo pulled her knees to her chest and let her forehead rest on them. She could hear Lauren sweeping from room to room, gathering and saying goodbye to her things. When she heard her keys, panic set in. "Lauren?" She called out for her, hoping she hadn't abandoned her without so much as a goodbye. Bo began to cry, it started as a trickle down her cheek and soon her chest was heaving with the ache of loss. When she heard the boots scuffing on the laminate flooring she looked up but did not raise a blade to protect herself. It was Lauren, and she knelt beside her, kind eyes imploring her to be okay. "Don't leave me, Lauren."

A sad smile. "You're going to be fine." Her hand squeezed Bo's shoulder and lifted her chin. "Bo Dennis you are a force of nature." She kissed her, carefully, like a porcelain doll. And much like the succubus' self-preservation instinct of her very life force, the instinct to save her relationship evoked a similar response in Bo. When Lauren tried to pull away, Bo gripped her hand and pressed her mouth harder against Lauren's. She wasn't there to take Lauren's chi but this was last ditch town, words could never sway Lauren so it was up to Bo to remind her of their connection. An endless minute later, Lauren tore her mouth away. "Bo," she rolled her forehead against Bo's. "This isn't the end." Her lips brushed Bo's ear as she stood.

Bo listened to the slow footsteps picking up speed as they neared the door. The rustle of her gathering the luggage and finally leaving out the front door, then the cool slide of her key in the lock punctuating Bo's abandonment.

10 YEARS LATER

"Good morning, Doctor Lewis," an unknown face said to Lauren as she breezed through the hectic lobby with her coffee.

A smile and a nod would suffice on most occasions and this morning was no different. Even if she was on her way to the most important meeting of her career. She wore her finest suit and her best lab coat, her heels click-clacking along the long corridor as she approached the boardroom. Felix "Newt" Newton stood outside, checking his watch. When he saw Lauren, he started walking toward her. Lauren's expression bottomed out.

"What is it?" Lauren asked, breathlessly.

"The board chair canceled the meeting."

"Nobody told me."

"That's what I'm doing." He smiled.

"How can they cancel without hearing my side?"

"They don't care, Lauren. They want to see the results of your personal research. You're using the facilities so they believe that makes it theirs."

"This is a research hospital. Of course I do research in the labs. And my experiments are no more theirs than the grey matter that conceived them."

He shrugged. "Well, they're going to pull your funding if you don't show it to them."

"How can they be so fickle?" Lauren wondered aloud.

"That's the way of the world, Doc."

Lauren found herself back in her office, sterile and impersonal, staring at her computer before giving up completely and staring at the walls. Hours passed and Lauren gave in to another wasted day, not working on her research for fear that the labs had been kept under surveillance. She couldn't chance it. Her work was too important. Too fragile. She packed her research into her bag and locked her office door, leaving when night fell.

She went to the bar on the corner for a drink and to people watch as she often did when she was stressed. She wasn't ready to go home to her empty apartment and its TV dinners paired with three-hundred dollar glasses of wine so she settled in a booth with a good view of the front door. She always liked to know who was coming or going. Keeping track of the loners was how Lauren often did not leave alone.

Tonight, she watched a female urchin hustle pool in the back for most of the night as she sipped dirty martinis with two olives. She went to the bar for another and when she returned the urchin that had kept her so amused was gone. She sat, the sting of defeat hot in the air, and finished her martini in a few gulps.

Lauren could swear she heard a muffled cry for help through the back door on her way to the bathroom. She pushed out the door onto the abandoned patio. Looking down the alley, she saw a flash and then another muffled grunt. Boldly, she wandered out into the alley. She used to have someone protect her but since they parted, Lauren had learned she could do it for herself. She saw the urchin and a dirty man with a knife to her throat. Lauren recognized him from earlier, when the urchin had hustled him.

"Let her go," Lauren said coolly.

"Mind your own business lady," the man said.

"Come now," she called to them. "She beat you-"

"She cheated me!" He shouted.

The urchin whimpered as his blade drew blood. "C'mon, let her go, nobody has to die today." Lauren walked toward the pair.

"I dunno, seems like you might." He waved his blade around.

Her hand was slow in her pocket, movements almost imperceptible to the human eye and Lauren knew that's all he was. A human. And while many humans do pose great threats, this one was just a sad sack that got drunk and busted. A flick of her wrist and the shuriken was embedded in his wrist and the knife fell to the pavement. The urchin grabbed the knife and backed away from Lauren as the sad sack ran in the other direction.

"What the hell was that?" She said, holding her bleeding neck.

Lauren smiled and walked over to the urchin. She knelt down in front of her and picked up the shuriken that the sad sack had pulled from his arm before he ran off. "Beats pepper spray, don't you think?" Lauren stood. "Now, let me see that cut of yours."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just because you got me out of a jam, doesn't mean I'm going to let you play doctor."

Lauren pointed at her doctor's bag, waiting in the wings on the empty patio. "But I am a doctor."

"So was Jack the Ripper."

"Well, that's just one theory…" Lauren corrected, reaching for her wound. "You're going to need stitches."

She remained defiant. "I'm kind of busy right now."

Lauren laughed and nodded. "I see. My office is a block away if you change your mind." She picked up her bag and walked toward the street, when she had halved the distance, Lauren heard her behind her.

"Hey, wait up!" The urchin ran after Lauren, who smiled over her shoulder.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" The urchin hissed, pulling away from Lauren.

Lauren sighed and set the needle on the metal surgery tray. "Look… what's your name?"

"Meredith," she grumbled.

"Okay, Mere-"

"But don't call me that," she snapped. "Call me Meri."

"I'm going to numb the site with an injection so I can clean the wound and stitch you up."

Meri squeezed her eyes shut. "Just do it."

Lauren worked quickly once the injection had taken effect. She swabbed away the dried blood and dirt before flushing the wound and stitching it close. Taping a square of gauze over the stitches, she dabbed at the superficial cut on her arm before rolling back on her stool. "Come see me in a few weeks and I'll take the stitches out. Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"

Meri looked down at her arm. "Thanks," she said. "You've done enough."

She nodded. "Here's my cell phone number," She scribbled a number onto her prescription pad. "If you need a place, no questions asked."

Meri scrunched her face. "Why are you doing this?"

"You remind me of someone I knew a long time ago."

"Then don't you think you should call them?"

She shook her head. "What's done is done."

"So cynical, Doctor." She tsk'd. "Surely, a little company might brighten your night."

Lauren didn't even think before blurting an answer. "I have what I need, I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression."

"That's funny, because this whole time I assumed you were trying to pick me up. I saw you watching me all night."

"I only wanted to help." Lauren said quietly as Meri moved closer.

"And I just want to thank you in my own way…" She sat on Lauren's desk beside her hand. "You must live nearby…" Meri said and Lauren nodded. She leaned forward. "Take me home with you," she whispered into Lauren's hair.

Lauren would be lying if she said this wasn't exactly where she had planned to be, as she flopped onto her back next to Meri, breathing heavily. Meri had the very fortunate look of someone she knew a long time ago. Someone who was more than just a someone to Lauren.

Her long dark hair, and brown eyes were just the tip of the succuberg. Her wardrobe was black on black on black and her body was ample. Lauren had found the very vision of Bo in her twenties. And what a vision it was. Meri was nowhere near as beautiful, Lauren could attest to that, but she could pretend. She could pretend like she had been pretending for the past ten years.

Lauren sat up and stepped out of bed, cinching a robe around her waist. "It's getting late and I have to open the clinic in a few hours…" She folded her arms.

"You're kicking me out?" Meri sat up abruptly.

"I don't do the morning after thing very well. It's best if we say goodbye now."

"You said I could crash here."

Lauren stared at Meri and Meri stared right back. She did offer. "I just can't." Lauren sighed. "You need to go."

"Just remember, you brought this on yourself." She stood and jumped into her pants, jerking them over her hips hastily. Her skin tight top followed next. "You did a good thing tonight and then you went and did this."

"Excuse me? You came on to me."

She balled up her underwear and jammed them into her pocket. "And you could have had everything, but you ran away."

It was unclear whether Meri was talking about herself or someone else but Lauren was flabbergasted. "I think you should leave."

"You've spent a lifetime pushing people away and running when you should stay, why should I be any different?"

"Are you implying we should get together based on what happened tonight?" She crossed her arms.

"See you around..." Meri looked down at the prescription paper with Lauren's phone number on it. "…Lauren." She smiled. "Stay out of trouble."

When Meri left her apartment, Lauren shivered. She had turned into a disgusting parable. She was too tired to change the sheets, so instead, she curled onto the couch and drifted off to the strains of eighties sitcoms.

The television's blue glow barely illuminated the living room when she woke a few hours later with a stiff neck. She didn't recall her sofa being so firm. No longer caring about changing the sheets, she headed upstairs. In her sleep addled brain, things were not making sense but she was sure that it was the dreamy haze that had been cast, bringing her to the side of Bo's bed, watching over her as she slept.

The sound of metal unsheathing and in one swift motion, Bo held a knife at her throat. "Lauren," she sighed in relief, lowering her blade. "What's wrong?"

Lauren was returned to ten years ago and Bo's beauty was unspoiled by time. The succubus wet her perfectly pouty lips, before smiling at her, and Lauren thought she might just shatter into a million pieces. She didn't understand what was happening, if she was dreaming now or if the other reality had been the dream. All she knew was that she couldn't look away. She didn't know how she ever turned completely away from her.

"Come back to bed, you'll catch a cold," Bo cooed.

She was drawn into her lair, that giant four poster bed that felt as much like home as the circle of Bo's arms. She felt shy when she dropped her robe and Bo's eyes raked over her appreciatively, she wondered how everything could feel so fresh and yet so safe and comfortable. Did she live ten years without Bo only to be reunited in some dream or was this another slight of Fae? Whatever the case, there was no avoiding climbing in that bed with Bo or the conveyor that seemed to lead to her arms. She let herself be wrapped in Bo's embrace, even stealing the kiss she had waited ten years to feel again.

It was like waking up from a nightmare of her own making. Her mouth was hungry, her lips soft and unyielding, but it was Lauren who held Bo's face as she began to cry. Bo's eyes opened, confused as she pulled away.

"Are you okay?" How was it that Bo didn't seem to be aware of their time apart?

"Better now," Lauren sniffed and rolled onto her back, hand on her forehead.

"What's going on with you?" Bo stroked her shoulder.

Lauren shook her head. "I had a bad dream." It could have been a lie, it could have been the truth for all she knew.

"Get some sleep." Bo kissed her shoulder and pulled her close and Lauren felt the tears well up once again.

Lauren stretched as she slowly became aware. She was alone. Maybe last night was just a really vivid dream? She inhaled and smelled the coffee's dark aroma. Her eyes flew open. Not alone at all. Bo sat on the edge of the bed sipping coffee from what used to be her favorite mug.

"Hey," she said with another perfect smile. Lauren gathered the sheet to her chest and scooted back against the massive headboard. Bo frowned. "That must've been one bad dream."

Lauren smiled sheepishly. "Yeah," she said. "It was."

"You should get ready, you're going to be late."

"I don't suppose there's any getting out of it, is there?"

"You know Evony will be banging down the door if you miss your appointment with her."

Lauren stretched but for the life of her, could not relax. She was back under Evony's thumb, still working at the clinic, she deduced. She sat up, cross-legged and Bo passed her a mug of coffee. She sipped it, and she was home. Ten years without those beans, without that roast, without a brew with as much character as Bo's. That special little roaster whose signature blend was Bo's blend. A small moan of pleasure escaped Lauren and Bo raised her eyebrows.

And then Lauren stood, naked as the day was long and quickly found her discarded robe from the night before. She looked over her shoulder to find Bo watching her every move and she felt the heat rise up on her cheeks. She walked to the steamer trunk that held her wardrobe ten years ago and lo, there it was. She picked through her clothes, finding old favorites and things that were far less memorable. She could feel Bo's eyes on her, hear her sipping another signature brew, as Lauren assumed the uniform of her former life.

Bo dropped her off at the clinic and Evony was already there, terrorizing her staff. She was mid-rant when Lauren walked past the spectacle and pulled her away from her best lab technician and into her private lab.

"Evony," she said cordially, though it pained her to do so. "How long has it been?"

"A week. Like always." And she didn't sound excited about it either.

"Of course. How are you feeling?" Lauren raised a tablet and started to jot notes down as Evony spoke. It had been ten years but Lauren could still remember the particulars of Evony's case. It was a miracle she was still standing.

"What are you going to prick me with this week, Doctor Lewis?"

Lauren snapped on a pair of gloves and smiled. "It's nothing you haven't felt before."

Evony monopolized Lauren's morning and she spent the afternoon reminiscing in her lab. That night with Bo and the blackout. A perfect reunion. When she had moved over her, Lauren knew that she was all she needed. And that need scared the hell out of her.

She sat on a stool and wheeled herself over to the microscope where she had successfully married Fae with Human genes. It was an old friend. She had followed that path to its natural end. And she failed. Again.

But once what she had done was out, she was a marked woman. If they had let it slide that she had the ability to change Fae Human and Human Fae before, the fact that she did it again-and to herself-was wildly disapproved of. She had felt the power of the Fae and their vulnerability as well. She had made love to Bo as a succubus and the tug of war of chi had been so pleasurable that it was easy to see why Bo used to have a hard time stopping the flow.

She left work early. Tis the season, she thought as she walked out into the balmy weather global warming had gifted them with. She shrugged out of her jacket and walked toward a nearby park.

"Staying out of trouble, Doc?"

Lauren turned. It was Meri, sitting on a bench at a bus stop. "You…"

"Me…" She nodded. "C'mon Doc, you're a smart cookie. Figure it out."

"You're Fae." She sighed. "I should have known."

"I was giving you my best moves, but then I guess when you've been a Succubus' main squeeze off and on for years, it would take a lot to impress you."

Lauren looked around, for who she couldn't say. "Who sent you?"

Meri laughed. "Who sent me? Oh, that's rich, lady. I'm here to give you a second chance." She stuffed an airline ticket into Lauren's hand. "Get your shit together, your time is running out."

Lauren looked at the ticket dated December 25. "But I just got here-"

"And here I thought this would be nothing more than an inconvenience to the famed Fae doctor."

"How do you know about me?"

Meri blinked. "Are you kidding? They tell stories about you in school. You're the MacGuyver of medicine-whatever that means."

"And how do you know about me and Bo?"

"Okay, seriously?" Meri laughed again, a hearty, belly laugh. "They teach that in school, too. 'Never trust a human-look what she did to Bo.'"

"What did it do to her… when I left?"

"Full-on Succubus meltdown." Meri made a gesture that resembled an explosion and Lauren quickly got the picture.

"So why did you come find me?"

"As a Time Bender, I am always looking for a challenge and I thought what an achievement it would be if I could get Fae's very own Romeo and Juliet together in time for the holidays."

"I can stay?"

"This is just a glimpse, I'm afraid. Unless…"

"Unless what?"

A smug smirk. "Can't say…"

"So you're toying with my emotions?"

"The way you toyed with Bo's?"

"That's not fair. I loved Bo."

"Loved? Past tense?" She chuckled. "That's a good one."

"I'm sorry?"

"You should be. What you had with Bo, that was epic love, Doc. What do you have now? A good job, pulling down six figures. Are you fulfilled, Doc? Do you sleep well on the knowledge that you are developing pharmaceuticals for yet another big Evil? The Fae don't run your life, but she doesn't cushion your fall either." A city bus pulled up to the curb and Meri walked toward the opening accordion door. "Time is running out, Doc," she said, disappearing into the bus.

She barged in the front door of Bo's condo and dropped her things next to the front door. "Bo, are you home?"

"Upstairs," came her voice and Lauren couldn't help the grin that spread from ear to ear.

She only had a few weeks with Bo and she was going to blow off steam with her whenever she got the chance. She took the stairs two at a time. Meri had challenged her to get her shit together and Lauren was still trying to figure out how to do just that, but right now getting her shit together, included capturing Bo's mouth with her own and sitting in her lap as they undressed each other. Her teeth scraped Bo's earlobe as she whispered her deepest desires into her ear. Lauren's words rippled through her like a never ending shiver.

"What's gotten into you?" Bo asked, excited by Lauren's bravery.

"Nothing you couldn't best," the mirth in Lauren's voice almost overwhelmed Bo.

Bo chased Lauren off her lap and stood, tearing at her clothes. Lauren peeled away her shirt and her fingers worked the button at her waist. She wanted Bo desperately. She needed her urgently. And Bo could sense her need as she crushed Lauren against the wall with her own body. Grunting at the impact, Bo's mouth covered hers. She was so familiar and yet so foreign after so long. Lauren held Bo's head in her hands as she pressed her face against her bared breasts.

She held her so firmly, so tight that there was no doubting that Bo needed her, too. They tumbled onto the bed together, ecstatically. Lauren explored every inch of her, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She caressed her, smoothing her hands over her skin, feeling her ribs ripple beneath her fingertips.

She was breathless, unhinged, and more than ready for what Bo had in store for her. Bo's breath was in her ear and Lauren's arousal was a steady pulse drumming between her legs as they kissed. That smile as she pulled away-it was a jab to the gut, her sparkling teeth, beauty mark, and the only lips that she could ever need. She was lost to her kiss, found in her arms, and the memory of both were scorched into her brain.

She'd dreamt about it, she'd fantasized about her, even remembering being with Bo before, but it was never like this, so full of life and kinetic energy. Lauren tried to catch her breath, head pressed back, deep into her pillow as Bo retreated to her side of the bed. She propped her head up with one hand and a sly smile drifted across her features. Bo was satisfied and Lauren felt powerful.

She was there to savor her, to remember all the ways they loved each other, to tempt fate. She wanted to revel in their love and forget all the things that were wrong with it.

15 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

The line for Santa Claus stretched across the mall entrance. Lauren sidestepped a crying toddler and walked past the café on the corner, scanning the crowd of overwrought mothers-the holidays were a punishing time-but for once, Lauren felt exactly the opposite. She decided to order a coffee while she waited for her.

Sipping the coffee in her right hand, she nearly jumped when hands gripped her hips and her voice was in Lauren's ear. "Do you wanna sit on Santa's lap?"

Lauren spun around. "You're terrible." She thrust the coffee in her left hand at Bo.

"Thanks." She grinned and took a sip. "So what's on the agenda?"

"Presents."

"Aren't you one of those people that do all your shopping by September?"

Lauren smiled sheepishly. "I used to be."

"What happened?"

"I guess, time caught up with me."

Bo smiled. "It has a way of doing that." A contemplative silence fell over the pair as they walked into the department store. "So what's the plan?"

"Presents." Lauren unfolded a list written neatly on a lined paper.

"I meant about Christmas," Bo said. "Do you want to do the rounds or hang back this year?"

Lauren stopped walking by a mirrored pillar and looked at Bo with great intensity. "I just want to spend some time with you," she said walking to a rack and inspecting the clothing critically.

"Are we really going to find something for Kenzi in here? I mean, look around, the median age is On Golden Pond."

Lauren laughed. "It's a little more Cocoon, I think."

Bo lowered her gaze to the floor before looking up at Lauren with an impish smile. "I just wanna spend time with you, too."

Lauren's pinky brushed across Bo's hand. "It's settled then."

Bo peered at her over the lid to her coffee cup. "Now let's find the Hot Topic or Kenzi will never forgive me."

10 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

It was a mild December to say the least. No snow, no ice, no slush. There were pedestrians in flip flops and shorts. It was surreal. As such, Lauren found it difficult to get into the holiday spirit. No amount of Christmas carols or tinsel and garland had changed that. Of course, she had impending doom on her mind every minute of every day. Just counting down to that moment. That decision. That impulse.

But right now she was lacing up a pair of white figure skates while Bo chattered beside her. They were subjugated to the indoor rink due to the weather. It didn't matter, her heart wasn't in it. Bo's voice cut through her thoughts. "Earth to Lauren."

She smiled, playing that she had been listening all along. "Hmm?"

"Where were you?" She prodded.

Lauren shook her head. "Nowhere," she stuttered. "It's nothing."

"You've been drifting in and out all day."

"Just some holiday malaise." Lauren flipped her hair and Bo stared. "Promise." She smiled.

"Yeah, things are so different now."

"Our family has lost so much this year…"

Bo tied up her skates and stood wobbly in front of Lauren, hand extended. "But we must carry on."

Lauren took Bo's hand and stood, ironically more steady on her feet than Bo and shuffled to the ice surface. She released Bo's hand and skated onto the ice, and Bo followed suit albeit a lot less sure-footed. Skating side by side, the women wrestled with a real silence. One that was steeped in truths left unsaid and a desire to not upset the balance.

Bo took a swing at small talk as they skated by a young skater practicing her spins. "So are you making any progress with Evony?"

"I'm afraid it's slow going and she just wants me to rush a solution. It has to be safe. I'm a doctor, I can't just be-"

"Lauren, I get it." She smiled. "It was a failed attempt at small talk."

Lauren stopped suddenly, Bo continuing past her. "Why is that?" She asked when Bo had stopped a few feet from her.

Bo glided slowly toward her. "The small talk or my complete inability to make it?"

"I'm serious, Bo. What are we hiding from?"

They stood in a corner of the rink, skaters buzzing by them every few seconds. "Okay, mine?" Bo's face was innocent.

Lauren nodded. "Give."

"The Light Elders are sniffing around. I don't know what they're up to, but they're breathing down our necks. Now you."

"Evony has been trying to get me to sign with the Dark."

"Well, you can't do that."

She sighed. "What the hell am I going to do?"

Bo took Lauren's hand in her own. "Job one is letting me help."

"Bo, we talked about this."

"I know you think you can handle everything on your own, I'm just saying you don't have to."

"Bo…"

She squeezed Lauren's hands. "Let me fight for you, Lauren."

3 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Christmas loomed closer than ever and Lauren had been in panic mode for a number of days. Given the fact that time was running out, Lauren was enjoying Bo's proximity as she knelt on the floor, unrolling wrapping paper for a large box. Her eyes were drawn to her cleavage, whose bounty knew no bounds. There was a light sheen of body glitter on her breasts and Lauren was entranced.

Bo looked up at Lauren lost in thought. "See something you like?"

Lauren swallowed. She thought briefly about denying her lecherous gaze and then she remembered how little time they had left. How it would all unravel in a few short days and she hadn't worked out how to take this whole Groundhog's Day fiasco off repeat yet. And in the spirit of making the most of a situation, Lauren crawled across the unraveling spools of wrapping paper and there, on their hands and knees, with wrapping paper crackling beneath them, did their lips meet.

It started innocent enough, a gentle kiss that led to another, and another, and then Bo was pulling her underneath, crawling over her. To be under Bo was to be consumed by greatness and Lauren was captivated by her. Slowly, expertly, she peeled away Lauren's clothing. When Bo made love to her, even undressing became an artful process.

Bo straddled her hips and Lauren leaned up and pushed Bo's top up her belly with flat palms, her fingers spreading as she pushed it higher until Bo tore it over her head. Lauren took the opportunity to push forward and steamroll Bo onto her back. She yanked her leggings down and away and covered her over with her own body.

"Bo," she whispered, just to hear her name.

Pressing herself against Bo, Lauren's hips began their incomparable dance and Bo was beside herself. The slow pull of her body against Bo threatened to send them into a frenzy. There came a point, like always, when Bo assumed control and Lauren, a willing passenger, relished the ride.

Her hair fanned out on the wrapping paper beneath them, the crackle and hiss of their movements on top of it adding to the noise of their encounter. Bo was impatient, wanton and Lauren was greedy because all she wanted was more.

They rolled around, the jolly paper sticking to the sweat from their bodies and nothing seemed more apropos than Bo wrapped in Christmas paper and Lauren tearing it away as she was consumed by her once again.

CHRISTMAS EVE

She saw her from across the room, aglow as she leaned against the bar, sipping a glass of red wine. Bo stalked closer, weaving through the mass of bodies pressing together in the pre-Christmas crowd at the Dal. When she emerged she walked to Lauren. The hunger she felt watching her from across the room was multiplied exponentially standing in front of her. Bo kissed her cheek.

"You're a sight for sore eyes." Bo's mouth was at her ear, one hand on the bar, the other squeezing Lauren's waist. "How're you doing?"

"The clinic is closed for the next four days and there's just one thing on my to-do list and that's you." Bo grinned as Lauren touched her arm lightly. "How're you?"

"I'm great. I just found out my date is a sure thing." Bo smirked.

Lauren hummed. "All class, Ms. Dennis."

"Doctor Lewis?" A voice came from behind them.

Lauren turned and a courier thrust an envelope into her hand and a clipboard at her face. "Sign here, please." Lauren snatched the clipboard out of his hand and signed on the line with her name. "Merry Christmas," he said and she knew he was probably being ironic. The eyes met as she tore into the ominous envelope. She held her breath and scanned the page cleaving her hand.

Bo chewed her lip as she watched Lauren squirm. "What is it?"

The look on Lauren's face told her everything. And then Lauren confirmed it. "The Light want me to honor my re-commitment and report back to the compound on January first."

"Shit." Bo tapped her finger on the bar, wheels turning.

"I need to go. I should go." Lauren set her wine glass and turned away.

Bo's hand clapped onto her wrist. "Lauren, wait."

She shook her head, disengaging from Bo. "I need to leave."

"We need to talk about this."

"What do you want me to say, Bo? Fight for me? They're never going to leave me alone." She spun around disappeared into the crowd.

"Lauren, wait." Bo's voice chased Lauren into Bo's condo.

She skidded to a stop in in the living room. "I can't. I can't keep doing this." Her voice was hard, angry.

Bo stepped quickly into Lauren's space. "Just stop!" She grabbed her shoulders. "Nobody is going to hurt you, don't you see I'd do anything to keep you safe?"

"It's always us against the world, Bo. When is it going to just be about us?"

"Right now." Her mouth was greedy as she covered Lauren's.

She pulled away. "Sex won't fix this," she whispered, her forehead rolling against Bo's.

"Please," she choked.

Lauren stood there, awed by Bo-her presence, bigger than life itself-and Bo kissed her again. There were tears in her eyes as they made love, a somber enactment of their feelings. Bo held her, clutching at her skin and whispering her need. It would be a long night in Bo's clutches, close enough to taste and yet so far away.

She lovingly dispatched all of Lauren's clothes and crawled after her, onto the bed. A scorching kiss ignited the blaze in her belly and she would be changed. Bo pulled her into her lap and threaded their legs together. Lauren's arms encircled her neck as they started to move together. So gentle were her movements that went Lauren climaxed, her release seemed to be endless. Wave after wave crashed over her and Lauren was lost, unable to remember anything but Bo. It was Bo and Bo alone that she needed, everything else was incidental. The Light, the Dark, the Fae that wanted her dead, it didn't matter when she was with Bo. Especially when they were together like this.

Bo moved over her, her body so supple and smooth, Her hands found her hair and Lauren kissed her again. A deceptively slow and methodical kiss. An unforgettable kiss that heralded another level. Moving faster now, she was insistent, grinding against Lauren as her hand slipped between their bodies. Bo sighed at the contact. "Lauren…" Her breath was in her ear and Lauren felt softer in her arms.

They moved in unison, hips engaged in a delicate tug-of-war, Bo's mouth was everywhere, teasing her, engaging her. Lauren needed Bo, her very breath depended on it and when she lay gasping for breath, Bo was there to kiss her back to life. The tears that followed were cause for concern, but Bo held her until they passed, without question.

Moving closer to her, Lauren rest her head on Bo's shoulder. The urge to tell Bo about the Time Bender was overwhelming. She inhaled.

"I need to tell you something and it's going to sound crazy and it might hurt you, but I can't bear this secret any longer."

Bo cocked her head. "Post-sex confessions? I didn't know my game was that good." She smirked.

"A had a run-in with a Time Bender, Bo."

"At the clinic?"

"No, I picked her up at a bar."

Bo grabbed the sheet and pulled it protectively around her. "What?"

"I picked her up in an alternate timeline."

"So you're a time traveler now?"

"Peripherally. I don't control when or where I travel, the Time Bender does."

Bo stood and slipped into her favorite kimono. "So why are you here?" She said, hand on hip.

"Ten years ago, I left you and started a new timeline but I never stopped working so that I could come back to you." She reached for Bo. "But Bo, I have to leave again."

"You always leave," Bo whispered sadly.

And like that, she felt it in her bones, it was time. The pressure was building. She remembered mistaking this feeling for the need to run. Now, it was a hollow act. A decision that threatened to break her into two. Lauren gasped for air as she stuffed the contents of the steamer trunk into a duffle bag.

"Lauren, don't do this."

It was happening. She had come full circle. She pulled the ticket from her back pocket and inspected the time and date again. "I can't stay, Bo. I want to-more than anything in this great big world-but I can't." She held Bo's bewildered face in her hands and kissed her softly. "You won't understand this now, but I'm going to return to you, Bo. And I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Lauren…" It was a plea of desperation, a sigh of love, a moan of dissatisfaction. She was caught off-guard and unaware.

"If I go, we can be together always, Bo. There's no telling if I'll make this breakthrough if I stay."

Bo recoiled. "This is about science?"

"This is about me becoming Fae, for good. I have the means to make it happen in a different timeline, but not here."

Bo's shoulders sagged. "I love you. I wish you would hear me when I say that, Lauren. I don't want a Fae, you. I just want you. And I'll take you for as long as you'll have me," she said before whispering: "Take a chance, Lauren."

"Bo… Do you know what you're asking?"

"I want you now, Lauren, I don't want to wait ten years."

Lauren looked at her watch and then the ticket again. She could hear Meri in her head: You're running out of time, Doc. Lauren was gathering her cosmetics from the bathroom cabinet. And then she said the words that still burned Lauren's soul.

"What if I asked you to stay?"

Lauren dropped the make-up bag and stood quickly. Bo froze, spooked by Lauren's reaction to her plea. And then she charged forward, kissing Bo with such force that they stumbled backwards, Bo's back slamming into the dingy white tiles, cracking the ceramic. There were many times she looked back on this very scene and heard those words repeating in her head. And she always thought if she ever had the chance, she would change her fate.

Science was Lauren's mistress, but Bo was her le grand amour and she didn't want to go another ten years without her, even if it meant they would be together forever. There was no telling if Bo would move on in that time and that was another gamble Lauren couldn't really afford to take.

Bo's hands were in her hair and then at her waist, lifting her up. "You'll stay?" She asked hopefully.

Lauren nodded, unable to speak the words that would shorten her life by hundreds of years, instead she whispered the words that would live for thousands of years with Bo: "I love you."

There comes a time in your life when you simply have to accept you are no longer in control. Such was the case when Lauren crawled into bed with Bo and woke sometime later in her own bed, ten years in the future. Despite making the decision to stay, despite not going through the motions of leaving, despite giving up everything to be with Bo-it still wasn't enough. She was still sitting in front of her sad little piano, plunking notes at four a.m.

She checked her research in the wall safe when it became apparent that her being back wasn't a farce and it was untouched. At least she had the means to become Fae now. At least she could return to Bo, changed, and the whole experience will be just another memory. At least that's what she hoped. She withdrew a test tube from the safe. She rolled the tube between her fingers nervously. It was the only serum she had time to concoct and there was no telling what the tempestuous future-present would hold for Lauren and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

"Here goes nothing," Lauren said to her empty apartment.

"Nice place," Bo's voice cut through the static of Lauren's brain.

She stood. "Bo?" The Succubus moved into the living room, her gloved hands touching the artifacts of Lauren as she passed through the space. "How did you…?"

"I found the Time Bender." She smiled. "You didn't tell me she was a doppleganger."

"She doesn't hold a candle," Lauren rushed Bo, hugging her tightly.

"Get your things," Bo whispered in her ear. "We're going home."

"Maybe just one candle?" The Time Bender's voice cam from the darkness of the foyer. She stepped into the light. "I'm afraid I'm going to need that research, Doctor."

Lauren's eyes grew wide at the double-cross. "That's why you sent me back even when I chose to stay-"

Meri smiled. "You're too smart for me, Doc."

"This whole thing was a plant. You were never in danger, you picked me up. I can't believe I fell for it."

"Come on, I threw in some variables you had never seen before. Time Bending is pretty amazing, wouldn't you agree?"

"You're amazing, is that what you want to hear?" Bo snarked.

"Coming from the Dark Queen, that is high praise indeed." She smiled. "Now, if you'll hand over the research-"

"You didn't really think it would be that easy…"

"So far, so good."

"Why should I give you my research?"

"Maybe I'll send one of you to eighteenth century France and the other to Feudal Japan and see how our star-crossed lovers find each other then." The test tube in her hand was the only prototype, everything else was theory and Lauren would be damned before she let it go. She brought it to her lips and drank it in one gulp. Meri lunged forward. "You had to force my hand…" She paced in front of them, watching Lauren carefully. "Uh oh! What's this? Did the all-powerful Doctor make a dud?"

"The men you work for are-"

"The same men that you work for." Meri tapped her foot. "I need the blueprints, Doc."

"You just saw for yourself, it doesn't work."

"Yeah, but if I report back for nothing they'll make me work with that travel agent again…"

"Just go, Meri, you don't need them. You could live in any time you choose, why be a slave?"

"Because sometimes it's safer than living your own life, eh Doc?"

Lauren looked away before lifting a file from the wall safe and handing it to Meri. "I trust they will destroy this."

"Lauren-" Bo moved to stop her.

"Let them. I was going to give this up if I stayed with you. The only reason I'm here is because she couldn't get into the wall safe. Isn't that right?"

Meri shrugged. "Caught me again, Doc."

Lauren pushed the notebooks of research toward Meri. "Take them."

"Whatever you say, Doc," she said receiving the stack of binders.

She was at the suite's elevator, pulling Bo along before Meri noticed. "Stay out of trouble…" Lauren called to her as they stepped out of the suite.

Her hand smacked the Emergency Stop button, jostling the elevator car between floors.

"I missed you too," Bo said lecherously. "But are you sure you wanna do this right now?" Lauren turned, then, with a hand on her side and Bo knew that her joke had fallen by the wayside. "What's wrong?"

"The serum… it's working." Lauren doubled over and Bo lurched forward to steady her. They sank to the floor together, Lauren recoiling into a ball as Bo watched helplessly. Her whimpers turned to groans and her breathing became erratic. She was sweating and shivering and Bo began to panic.

"Lauren." Bo shook the blonde when she started to fade. "Stay with me, Lauren." She looked around feebly. "I need you, Doctor."

Her words seem to unlock Lauren, as she uncoiled and raised her glowing palms. A moment later she held fireballs in each of her hands. "Jesus," Bo said. "What type of Fae are you?"

Lauren flicked her wrists and the fireballs disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. "An Elemental," Lauren said. "Not my first choice, but they forced my hand." She clambered to her feet and pulled Bo to hers before hitting the Emergency Stop button again. The car creaked, starting to slowly descend once again.

Life was different now for Lauren. Different for them both. She had made the change without much thought and now grappled with its ramifications. She had given up her humanity, for a chance at eternity with Bo. Had it really worked? She leaned against Bo and began to tremble.

"What is it?" Bo asked her, voice full of concern.

"I'm Fae. After all this time." She squeezed Bo's shoulder. "I'm starting at square one again." She sighed.

"But you have me," Bo grinned against her cheek. Her smile was infectious, even when Lauren couldn't see it.

She nodded. "I have you." Lauren kissed her tenderly. "And that was the goal, after all."

"You okay?" Bo appraised Lauren's posture.

"Yeah," she closed her eyes and savored the feeling of a life yet to be lived. "Can't imagine things being any better."

In the cold and dingy motel room, covered over by a blanket absurd with its flower print, Bo held her in the darkness. The things you miss in a decade may be milestones, but it was the little things, like being held, inhaling her perfume and lotion, chasing her hair away from her face as they lay together. Or that unmistakable scent of leather, whiskey, and spices that claimed everything Bo touched.

"Bo?" She asked into the dark.

Bo seemed to rouse from a half-slumber. "Hmm?"

"Where are we headed?" They had been driving for hours with no signs of letting up before Lauren convinced her to stop for the night. When they did stop, the engine smelled of burning, hot acrid smoke escaping from under the hood of the rental car.

Bo squeezed Lauren against her. "Does it matter?"

Lauren smiled. She had a point. It could have been ten years in the past or ten years in the future-it didn't matter now-they were together. The future was endless and so were they.

Fin.

.