"Are you okay?" Bo hovered over Tamsin as the Valkyrie stood doubled over in pain by the bar. The blonde had been doing her best to hide how much pain she was in, but there were times when it was simply to great a task; just like hiding her irritation.
"I'm fine!" Tamsin growled at the younger woman. It had been a little over a week since she'd finally told Bo she was dying and the Succubus had been constantly fussing over her ever since.

"Really, I'm fine." Tamsin added in a softer tone as she took in the wounded look on Bo's face. As frustrated as the blonde was by Bo's compulsion to protect her, she couldn't help but feel like a jerk whenever the succubus pulled out those puppy eyes on her. "I'll warn you if I'm about to drop dead on the floor." She tried to crack a smile, but the joke fell flat.

"That's not funny, Tamsin." Bo snapped at her, before walking off to join the others back over by the pool table. All of the Sunshine gang had turned up at the Dal, and from the pitying looks she was getting from them all, Tamsin could tell Bo had told them all she was dying. Even Lauren seemed to be looking at her with a bit less vehemence these days. Though the intensity of her glaring tended to change depending on just how close Bo was standing next to Tamsin.

Turning her back on the others, Tamsin slumped down on to one of the stools at the bar and ordered another drink. The bourbon tasted sour as it made its way down the back of her throat. Everything seemed to have started to taste wrong; like her taste buds had died already and the rest of her body was just catching up. All of her senses were slowly failing the ageing Valkyrie. Colours seemed weak and diluted to her weary eyes, and that was only when they would focus in the first place.

Tamsin picked up her glass and took another gulp, despite the rancid taste. Alcohol helped to keep the edge off and the Valkyrie was definitely on edge as she sat at the bar. She'd positioned herself so that she was facing the door and she scanned the faces of every patron walking in and out of the bar, looking for any sign of another Valkyrie. It would only be a matter of time before whichever foolish young fae had taken on the contract against her and Bo would come to make their move.

"Bo's only trying to look out for you, you know." Tamsin only just managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes as Bo's tiny human took the seat in front of her, blocking the Valkyrie's view of the door. "She worries about you."
"She worries about everyone." Tamsin sneered. For all Bo had barely let her out of her sight all week, Tamsin knew it was just out of guilt. Bo had some misguided idea that it was her job to keep everyone in her little gang safe and sound. Tamsin wasn't exactly sure when it was that she had joined the ranks of Bo's friends, but the succubus seemed determined to look after her. Tamsin wasn't stupid enough to think for one minute that her devotion was out of any kind of love for her; it was simply pity. "She should be worrying about her damn self for a change. I told her she shouldn't be out tonight. It's not safe."

"Uh huh, because of course it's much safer for her to be at home, cuddled up with her big bad Valkyrie." Kenzi teased, alluding to the fact that Tamsin had stopped Bo from going out most nights for the better part of a week. Instead, they had spent their night's curled up on the couch, with Bo and Kenzi forcing the older woman to watch insufferable reality shows that actually made Tamsin want to eat her own gun.
"Screw you." Tamsin rolled her eyes at the human, though she was wearing a wry smile. It had been nice to spend time with Bo and not have it be all about sex. The succubus had point blank refused to feed on Tamsin since she had learnt the Valkyrie was dying; and that Bo herself had considerably shortened the time she had left.

"I know Bo cares...I just wish she wouldn't look at me like I was made of glass." Tamsin let out a heavy sigh as she finished off her drink and ordered two more for her and Kenzi. "I never wanted her to see me as weak."
"You're anything but weak, Tam-Tam." Kenzi surprised her by moving to place a hand on top of hers and squeezing it lightly. "You're dying and you're still doing everything you can to protect her. That earns you some serious bad-ass points in my book."

"Thanks." Tamsin laughed at that, feeling a little better from Kenzi's attempt to cheer her up. "You should go join the others. They'll be missing you."
"Yeah, Bo sent me over to come get you. She doesn't want you thinking she's fussing or something; she totally is." Kenzi added in a stage whisper, drawing a genuine smile from the Valkyrie. The human's brutal honesty was something she could admire.
"Subtle, Kenzi. Real subtle." She shook her head, but allowed the human to drag her over to where the rest of the group were sitting around the pool table.

"Hey partner, want the next game?" Dyson asked as he sunk the black ball in to to one of the corner pockets, finishing his game against Hale.
"Sure, rack 'em up." Tamsin shrugged off her jacket and draped it over the back of Bo's chair. She got her reward for joining the others when the succubus leant in close to kiss her cheek.
"Save some of your energy for when we get home." She whispered seductively in Tamsin's ear, drawing a smirk from the older fae. Lauren didn't seem very happy with the display. She dropped her gaze to the ground and excused herself to the bathroom. Tamsin's grip on her pool cue tightened as she watched Bo get up and follow her.

"I need your help." Bo was waiting by one of the sinks as Lauren emerged from a stall. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she was wearing a serious expression; the kind Lauren had seen a million times before, usually when the shit was about to hit the fan.
"There's a surprise." Lauren rolled her eyes. She made her way over to the sinks to wash her hands, trying her best not to look up at Bo. She knew the only way she could turn her down was if she wasn't looking her in the eye while she was doing it.

"Tamsin's in trouble." The doctor started to crack up laughing at that. Once she realised Bo wasn't asking for herself, but for the Valkyrie, it became a whole lot easier to say no.

"And why should I care?" She challenged, looking Bo dead set in the eyes. She didn't care what kind of help Tamsin needed. She didn't know what could possibly be so important that Bo would dare to ask her to help the other woman. Not after the way things had ended between them, because of the Valkyrie.
"She's sick. She's dying." Bo's answer knocked the wind right out of the good doctor. She had every right to be mad at Bo and Tamsin for what had happened. She had every right to hate them; but she didn't have it in her to want either one of them dead. She wasn't that kind of person.
"What can I do?"

Lauren listened patiently as Bo told her everything she knew about what was happening to the ancient Valkyrie. She was frowning by the time Bo had finished. "Tamsin isn't sick, Bo. She's old. If she's on her last life then there's nothing I can do about it...it's just her time."
"No. I can't accept that, I won't accept it!" Bo recoiled as Lauren reached out for her arm. She shook her head, refusing to give in so easily. "There has to be something we can do. Even if we can't stop it, we have to be able to slow it down. You kept Nadia alive for years-"
"Bo, that was different." Lauren knew where the succubus was headed. Things with Nadia had been different though. There'd been something to fight, something to overcome. Death itself had its sights set on Tamsin, and no amount of modern medicine could delay the inevitable; even the fae weren't immortal.

"Why? Because we're talking about Tamsin? Please, Lauren. I need you to at least try!"
"What makes you even think someone like Tamsin would agree to that? The Valkyrie are among the proudest of the fae! They see death in battle as the final honour, they don't lie down and wait for it to come to them."

"Let me work on Tamsin. Just be ready to dry freeze her, or whatever the hell it is you've got to do to keep her alive." Bo already had a plan in mind, she just needed Lauren to be ready. They'd only get one shot at getting Tamsin in to the cryogenic chamber that had kept Nadia alive for so long. Even so close to death, the Valkyrie was still dangerous; Bo was going to have to wear her out good before trying to get her to Lauren.

Bo did her best to wear a natural looking expression as she and Lauren joined the others back at the pool table. Tamsin looked between the two ex-lovers, something akin to jealousy crossing her face. Ignoring her puzzled expression, Bo slid right up to her current lover. "Hey baby, why don't we call it a night and take off?"
"Sure." Tamsin's smile was strained. She was old and tired, and her impending death was hanging over her like a dark cloud. Once she was out of the way, Lauren and Dyson would be free to scrap over Bo's attention again; Tamsin would be six feet under ground. "Let me just finish this game-" Tamsin leant in to give the succubus a searing kiss, but their lips had barely met when a loud bang sounded from over by the door.

Tamsin instantly recognised the sound as a gun shot. Though the Valkyrie favoured knives over firearms, preferring a more personal kill, the sound of a gun being fired was almost as familiar as bird song and afternoon traffic; she was also far too familiar with the pain of being shot. At present, that searing pain was travelling across her stomach and up her chest. There was screaming and general chaos as the fae around the bar started to flee. Tamsin let out a grunt as Bo tackled her to the ground, pulling her down behind the pool table and out of the shooter's firing line. Tamsin caught a flash of flaming red head and expensive leather boots before she hit the ground. Her eyes closed over at the sound of a second gunshot, this one coming from Dyson's gun.

"Tamsin! Tamsin!" Somewhere far away, the Valkyrie could feel Bo shaking her, telling her to open her eyes. With the growing pain in her chest, that sounded like too much effort to Tamsin, she lay on the ground, the sounds of the outside world slowly fading. There were more gunshots, and then the pain in Tamsin's stomach increased tenfold as Lauren slammed her hand down over the bullet wound that the first bullet had ripped through Tamsin. The Valkyrie's very essence of life was leaking out on to the floor, staining the stone tiles of the Dahl, along with Bo and Lauren's hands. They were both applying pressure to Tamsin's gunshot wound, trying to quell the flow of blood and keep her alive.

The weight of the two women bearing down on her roused the blonde slightly. Her eyes peeled open to find Bo frantically watching over her. She used her free hand to brush a stray strand of hair out of the Valkyrie's eyes; it had come loose when Bo had knocked her to the ground. Tamsin managed a weak smile, her lips just barely curling up. "Guess I lied...about giving you notice." Tamsin began to choke, the effort of talking simply too much for her.
"Don't say that!" Bo snapped back at her. "You're not dying on me here! You got that? I won't let you! We won't let you." She shot Lauren a stern glare, and the doctor nodded in agreement. She ripped her belt off and started to use it as a tourniquet around Tamsin's waist.
"That's right. We won't. Hang in there Tamsin." Lauren didn't sound anywhere near as convinced as Bo, but she was still trying to save the Valkyrie's life.

"The shooter got away!" Dyson growled as he suddenly lurched in to Tamsin's blurry line of sight. "She was a redhead, about five-six, definitely fae... How's she doing?"
"If we can get the bullet out, and she's got enough strength, and maybe if Bo can feed her...I don't know. She might make it." Lauren's expression was forlorn. She might not have been very keen on the fae cop, but the woman was important to Bo. Lauren had already given Bo her promise that she would try and keep the Valkyrie alive for as long as possible; she wasn't about to go back on that. "Help me get her on to the table."

A/N: So it's been over a year since I last updated...not sure how that happened :/ Work, my health, other fics, and life in general seem to have gotten in the way; but I am hoping to finish this off in another two or three chapters.