Chapter 29

She came to her senses slowly, aware first of an inkling of light penetrating her eyelids: morning had broken. Her breathing shifted from deep rhythmic inhalations to short sighs as she rolled onto her back, caught in the netherworld between fragments of thought and muzzy remnants of pleasant dreams. She lifted one arm over her head and arched into a languorous stretch. Her breath hitched as she became aware of long forgotten sensations; the activities of the last few days had definitely taken a toll on her muscles.

Her calves were fatigued from the long hike and her neck and shoulders were tight from carrying a loaded backpack. Her abs were a little sore from the violent twisting and rocking motion of the mechanical bull—she was definitely going to have to do more yoga to avoid that in the future, because she would be talking to Trick about the economic merits of bull riding over Bingo.

All the soreness was more than compensated, however, by the extremely pleasant warmth that still resided in her lower belly and radiated near-electric tingles at every slight shift in position or even the barest whisper of fabric or air moving over her bare skin. She felt the residual pleasure all the way from the top of her head down to her toes, and relished the noodly, limber feeling her entire body had—the aftereffects of a night spent exploring the whims of a succubus. And one or two of her own.

Smiling, she turned her head and cracked open an eye to see what time it was. The clock was cruel in its honesty: 7:07. She'd slept for only an hour—it had been a very busy night. Still she felt surprisingly renewed. Her smile grew larger when a soft snore riffled beside her; Bo was still asleep. The two times they'd shared a bed before she'd been last to wake. She'd never had the luxury of watching Bo at rest.

She rolled over, and raised herself onto an elbow. With her right hand, she reached as if to stroke Bo's cheek, but held off at the last second; loathe to disturb the peacefully slumbering woman.

She was so beautiful when she slept—her face clear of any worry, any responsibility.

It occurred to Lauren that Bo had a lot to bear in the coming weeks, but she forced herself to dwell in the moment, rather than speculate about the uncertain future.

Actually, dwelling in the most recent past wasn't too bad either…

They'd been driven to the motel by one of Rosetta's baristas—he'd been dispatched earlier that day to fetch their SUV, and had been instructed to pick up and deliver at their request.

They'd sat in the back seat, trying to behave, as the man drove them the short ten minutes across town. After a few minutes, Lauren had to lean over and whisper in Bo's ear:

"You don't have to do that, you know. Can't you tell; I'm more than ready?"

Bo was confused, but when Lauren pointedly looked at their hands, she understood.

They'd been holding hands since leaving the Dal at Dark, and Bo had relished the contact so much that she'd run her free hand up and down Lauren's arm and across the back of her hand in lazy patterns, enjoying the feel of soft skin.

Lauren swallowed and continued in a husky voice, "Really, you don't have to use your powers, Bo, I'm hovering on the edge as it is."

Bo smiled, confidence surging at Lauren's admission. "Oh. Good to know." She waited a beat, before she leaned in and whispered in Lauren's ear, "But I'm not doing anything—no powers involved." She raised three fingers in the air, "Scouts honor, Doctor." She nipped Lauren's earlobe gently and then pulled back, her heart rate speeding up at the quiet moan of frustration it elicited from Lauren. She let her hand slide from Lauren's arm and ran it lightly down her thigh, dipping inward at the knee and then tracing a slow path up again.

Lauren leaned her head back on the seat and whispered breathlessly, "My god, what you do to me."

Bo captured her mouth in a sweet kiss. When she pulled back she replied, "Glad I'm not alone in the deep end of the pool."

The SUV finally came to a halt and they tumbled from the car and into the lobby. Bo giggled at how casual Lauren tried to appear as they walked through the crowded lobby; but the lust in her eyes was like a neon sign and every head turned to watch the women as they crossed to the elevator.

When the doors slid shut Bo burst out laughing, "You just made every person in that lobby's wet dream come true."

Lauren's brow furrowed, "Me? You're spouting off sexual pheromones so thick I'm sure they're all going at it like bunnies by now."

Bo giggled, "Bunnies?" She was tempted to hit the emergency stop button; Lauren biting her lower lip like that was almost too adorable to resist. Risking the potential for being caught, she stepped forward, backing Lauren into the wall and began to nuzzle her neck, smiling as she felt Lauren's head loll back to grant better access.

When the elevator doors opened, she pulled Lauren from the elevator and they hurried to their room at the end of the hallway. Bo was barely able to get the door closed behind them before Lauren pushed her against it. Her look was so intense that Bo stilled.

"Bo." Lauren paused, looking for the words. "I need to tell you—everything. I've been so wrong to keep secrets in the past; I don't want to do that anymore." She took a deep breath and started to say something more, but her words were cut off in a gasp as Bo shifted quickly and reversed their positions, so that Lauren was now pinned against the door.

"Lauren, believe me, I'm really glad to hear that. So glad. But, uh…I'm not really in the mood for talking right now."

Lauren nodded, "Me neither, but I need you to know: I'm in this. I want you. Not just tonight. I want us to work."

Bo smiled. "I like the sound of us." She leaned in to capture Lauren's lips, her hands tugging the form fitting t-shirt untucked. "And now, Doctor, let's see about getting you out of your clothes."

Bo stirred and stretched. Lauren smiled as she watched Bo's waking ritual. She snuggled up behind, throwing an arm over Bo's waist, her heart catching at the satisfied mumble of approval that greeted her embrace. Bo pushed back against Lauren's body and both women took deep breaths at the intimate contact.

"G'morning." Bo's morning voice was deep and coated with drowsiness. She cleared her throat, "I could get used to this, you know."

"I'm counting on it." Lauren replied.

They lay quietly for a few minutes, comfortable with the silence.

Bo rolled over. "We still have a lot to work out—I don't want to keep making the same mistakes." She reached up and stroked Lauren's face tenderly, but her eyes were serious. "I know I have a tendency to walk out when the emotions run high, I've conditioned myself to do that; and you, my dear, have a tendency to put a plan in motion without consulting anyone about it—which makes trust a little harder to come by." She stretched up and gave Lauren a gentle kiss to lessen the impact of her words. "I think laying it all out there on the table will help us understand how to avoid screwing us up." She laughed, "I think I'm suggesting we beef up our healthy relationship skills."

Lauren nodded, her eyes glistening. "Good advice." She shrugged and grinned, "We're just like any average couple." She thought for a moment, then added, "Well, like any couple if you take out the political difficulties of me being pledged to the Ash's service and you being unaligned, and me being human and you being the Fae's Champion, and you having a biological imperative that is sure to push my normative cultural stance on monogamy."

Bo blinked. "I think I need caffeine if we're going to talk about biology and norms."

Lauren grinned. "And possibly breakfast. I haven't gotten such a good work out in ages."

Bo looked pleased, "I'm hungry too." Glancing at the clock, she continued. "Lochlyn's plane won't be here for hours, and Kenzi is not about to grace us with her presence this early—how about we go to the diner around the corner and have that talk?"

Lauren smiled, "I'd really like that." She started to get out of bed, but Bo's arm stopped her.

"Lauren?"

"Yes?"

"I may be the Fae's Champion—but you are their Wizard, you know."

She laughed, "Actually, I think that's Trick's role."

Bo shook her head. "Don't underestimate yourself. You have no idea how important you are—even if the Fae never admit it—they need you. You have a role in their world—and in this battle—the plan to use the Naga poison is brilliant." She cradled Lauren's face and added, "I don't stand a chance in hell without you."

Lauren placed her hand on Bo's and leaned into the caress. She knew that Bo was trying to tell her that she viewed her on equal footing—and that made her heart soar.

She raised an eyebrow at the succubus. "I'm taking a shower before breakfast. They're really into water conservation in BC, would you like to practice some good stewardship with me?"

Bo chuckled, "I don't care what you call it, but if it means I get to shower with you, then I'm all for being green!"

"C'mon then, time will pass quickly; and I want to enjoy every minute I have with you before the real world steps in." Lauren held a hand out and Bo took it with a gentle squeeze.

a/n: Well, this is it, kiddies! I think this is a fine place to leave off our girls, getting ready to do what they do (at least in our imaginations): fight the good fight. Together. sigh If only.

At any rate, I may come back and pick this up to carry through the greater Garuda battle, or do some small one shot sorts of things...but, I'll be taking a little break...this turned out to be a 110 page single spaced story-a wee bit longer than my original envisioning! I've got some catching up on other things to do! But, I so, so, SO appreciate all of you who stuck with this from beginning to end and especially those who took the extra time to send a comment along-it definitely helps, knowing there are folks out there reading! So...if you enjoyed and you want a little more, let me hear about it-that will do a lot to get the motivation up to put something else out there! In the meantime...happy reading! ;)