Chapter 40

Dyson realized as soon as he entered the villa there was no noise, of any kind; it was far too quiet for Bo and Kenzi to be inside. As he silently closed the door behind him, he could not help but inhale deeply, his nose scrunched as he followed the pungent scent which seemed to fill the air around him.

As he cautiously entered the living room, he was mildly concerned to see the state it was in. He looked around slowly. The room looked as if a tornado had touched down - the sofa was over turned and shattered pieces of pottery were strewn across the floor.

As he carefully stepped around the destruction avoiding glass and other debris which could alert Bo and Kenzi of his presence, he noticed that the smell became stronger.

A fleeting thought raced by as he eyed the rest of the room: he hoped they were okay. No matter what he felt towards Lauren, he could not deny his feelings, his concern for both Bo and Kenzi.

However, any thoughts or concerns for their well-being were forgotten when he nudged aside a pillow with his foot.

He saw a viscous-bloody stain on the floor.

Bo was about to have the abomination.

He looked to his right as he heard a moan, his knife twirled in his hand as followed the sound.

LGLGLGLGLGLGLG

"How much longer?" Lauren bit out as she fidgeted in the backseat of the limo.

Jacob looked at Lauren and frowned, he was concerned. She was paler and seemed more exhausted than she should be. The trip had taken more out of her than expected.

Hale had been speaking to him in hushed tones; they were trying to come up with a plan where no one was going to get hurt. It was a fallacy and he could feel the Ash knew it as well. Someone was going to be hurt; there was no way around it.

"I'm fine." Lauren told him. She had seen the expression on Jacob's face and knew he must be worried about her. She felt as if she had been run over by a truck, her entire body hurt, but she didn't have time to think about herself.

She ran her hand through her hair in frustration - she could not stand this much longer, all of this not knowing was driving her crazy. She could not let this get to her, she had to stay focused, otherwise what good would she be when she got to Bo?

She watched as Jacob looked at the time. If the frown on his face was any indication, she was not going to be happy with his answer.

"Another ten minutes, at least." He said quietly.

Lauren closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

Another ten minutes.

Ten minutes that Dyson had to do whatever he wanted.

She clenched her fists tightly. The last thing Bo had said to her was she'd call her back as soon as she was settled on the bed which seemed like hours ago.

'She's fine... she's fine.' Lauren kept telling herself. She had to be fine.

Lauren let her head drop back against the seat as she thought about what had happened with Kenzi.

She could not imagine how Bo must have felt having to pulse Kenzi. She knew Bo would never willingly do that to her best friend yet she had been put into a position where she had no choice.

Lauren had felt what it was like when Bo was still learning to control her Succubus powers. She had prepared herself; she chuckled silently, no one could prepare themselves for Bo.

It had been overwhelming.

It was addicting.

It was mind-boggling.

Kenzi...

Simply put Kenzi wasn't ready - of course she had seen Bo using her gifts, but she had never been a recipient of them.

She wouldn't have any idea of what was going to happen to her.

How could she know?

How could she resolve the fact that her body, her mind had betrayed her without a fight?

How would she know that she'd do anything Bo might have asked without question?

How she would go beyond what she would normally do for Bo as her best friend-slash-sister.

How her body would crave Bo's touch? How her every thought would be about Bo?

Lauren felt her body shiver as she thought about it - the desire, the want the ache she had experienced.

But she wasn't Kenzi and she could not put herself in the brunette's shoes. Lauren could only pray - something she had started after learning of Bo's pregnancy - that the situation would not cause any lasting problems between Bo and her best friend.

Lauren shook her head, they would all have to cross that bridge when they came to it, and right now she wished she was at Bo's side, not sitting in the back of the limo rushing towards the Villa.

Lauren flinched as she moved her leg, the pain shot up it, making her pause before taking a deep breath. Lauren knew she and Dyson were never going to be life long friends, not with Bo involved, but she never thought it would get to this point.

She never believed he would attack her.

"Lauren, we're almost there." Jacob told her.

Lauren nodded tersely. She knew it wasn't Jacob's fault; she clenched her hands together and looked out the window, ignoring the beauty of the countryside as they continued their trek.

LGLGLGLGLG

Dyson stared at the step which led to the second floor. He had cleared the rest of the first floor prior to making his way up. He smirked as he noticed large pots filled to the top with various knives and other items which could be lethal in the right hands.

"Kenzi." He chuckled.

He knew how inventive the petite thief could be, this just brought his opinion of her to a higher level. She would do what it took to protect Bo – much less the thing Bo was carrying.

"You're a true friend Kenzi." He whispered. "Too bad." Dyson gripped the banister and took a cautious step up. The scent was getting stronger. Making his way to the top of the stairs, he paused momentarily, noticing Kenzi's slumped form off to the side of the landing.

Keeping an eye out down the hall, he crouched down and felt for her pulse. It was racing. He had no idea what had happened to her but he did feel relieved for as long as she was unconscious, he wouldn't have to hurt her.

He could live with that.

He took a moment to look at Kenzi and noticed the makeshift weapons she had on her – he carefully took the flare gun from behind her back and tossed it over the landing.

He noticed the sharp point on the spear gun and hated to think of the damage either of the weapons Kenzi had brought with her could have caused.

As soon as he tossed the spear gun over the banister he reached out and touched Kenzi's face. "Don't wake up." He said quietly.

"GOD!"

Dyson quickly looked down the hall. "Bo." he whispered. She was close. "Sorry Kenz…" he said as he stood taking one last look at her. "I hope you'll understand one day." Taking a deep breath he began walking down the hallway.

LGLGLGLG

Lauren could not help but gasp as the villa came into view. "It's beautiful." She told Jacob.

Under different circumstances Jacob would have felt proud of his choice of dwelling, of Lauren's approval of it. Instead all he wanted to do was blot it off the face of the Earth.

No longer would he be able to come back and spend idyllic weeks soaking in the sun or enjoying the beautiful countryside which had drawn him to it in the first place.

Dyson Thornwood had ruined it for him.

"Lauren wait!"

"Doc!"

Both men called out as Lauren practically jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped.

"Let go of me!" Lauren cried out as Raymond detained her, he had gotten to her before she had made it past the car. Not that she was going very fast in the first place with her damnable leg hindering her speed.

She struggled against him, trying to break free. Why was he stopping her from getting to Bo? "Son of a bitch!" she gasped as he held on.

"Dr. Lewis, you are ruining any chance of us surprising Detective Thornwood." He hissed in her ear, squeezing her a little tighter than he actually had to.

He had no objection in silencing the human doctor if it came to it. The Ash may not have told him everything about the situation, but he was smart enough to know this revolved around the doctor's relationship with, he swallowed in disgust, the un-aligned Succubus.

If it wasn't for the fact that his family had sworn their fealty - their loyalty to the Santiago family - he would not be here; avoiding the well placed elbows of the puny human trying to break free from his grasp.

"Raymond, let her go." Hale ordered as he and Jacob reached them.

Raymond sighed inwardly and released his hold on the squirming human and bit back a smile when she started falling to the ground.

Jacob reached out and stopped her momentum. "Are you okay?"

Lauren shot Raymond a look of pure hatred. "I'm fine." she huffed.

"You and I will talk later." Hale told Raymond pointedly before walking over towards Lauren, he shook his head. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked her.

"I have to get to Bo." She replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Hale stepped closer to Lauren, close enough to make her take a slight step back. "And," he cocked his head. "What are you going to do if Dyson's in there?" He gestured to the Villa. "Huh? Do you want him to finish the job he started with you? I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with that." Hale sighed.

"Doc... Lauren…" Hale placed his hand on her shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes. "You can't let your emotions get the better of you... look what happened with Dyson. Please, let us handle this."

Hale knew his words might not make a difference but he had to try. He had to make Lauren see reason.

Lauren looked at the villa then nodded once.

Jacob felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders as he listened. He thought Lauren would not acquiesce, that she would be Hell bent to get inside despite the inherent danger - her need to get to Bo over-ruling her sense of self-preservation.

He was relieved beyond belief. "We have to hurry." Jacob said as he looked at the Villa trying to spot any indication which would alert him to Dyson's presence inside.

LGLGLGLGLG

"Damn it Lauren, you're having the next one!" Bo cried out as the contraction wracked her body in pain. She breathed heavily and wished this was over and done with. Once again she wondered why she couldn't just pulse herself and take the pain away.

"What makes you think there's going to be another?" Dyson asked casually as he leaned against the door leading to the bedroom, his eye brow raised, satisfied with Bo's shocked reaction when she heard his voice.

"No... no... no." Bo murmured as she shook her head, trying to push herself off the bed only to fall back exhausted. "This is not happening."

"Yes, it is." Dyson replied. "Miss me?" He asked, pushing off the door as he stepped inside, closing it behind him.

"Stay away from me!" Bo yelled looking around the bed for some kind of weapon.

Dyson clenched the knife in his hand tighter. "What kind of welcome is that?" he asked as he frowned. "I came all this way to see you Bo." He took a step closer.

Why couldn't she understand this was for the best? He didn't want to hurt her, he only wanted to obliterate what she carried inside her. She would be mad at him, but in time, he was positive she would get over it.

Bo was his and this passing infatuation with Lewis was just that, an infatuation. It was nothing like the love he carried for her. He would make her see the error of her ways.

He would forgive her.

All he had to do was get rid of the thing first.

LGLGLGLGLG

"Oh God." Kenzi groaned out loud as she cradled her pounding head. This was worse than any hangover she'd ever experienced. She winced as her eyes opened slowly, taking a shuddering breath; memories of what had happened washed over her. To say she was embarrassed about her behavior; and how she could face Bo later, was one thing but knowing that she was in a desperate need of an ice cold shower because of what happened, was another.

She knew Bo did not want to zap her with her wicked and utterly addicting, if she were truthful with herself, mojo, but Bo had no choice. She was protecting both of them.

Kenzi was not in control of her actions, her thoughts and she shuddered as she recalled the things she would have done to Bo had she not intervened.

She knew she would probably do the same thing if one; she had those powers, and two, if push came to shove. Kenzi slowly got to her feet, only to immediately duck when she heard voices coming from downstairs.

"Shit!" she uttered as she felt for the spear and flare gun she had brought up with her. "What the Fae?!" she gasped as her hands went around her waist while she looked around – they were missing and everything else was still stashed downstairs - pots full of wicked and nasty items which could cause all kinds of damage in her hands.

LGLGLGLGLG

"I need to get up there!"

Lauren knew she had agreed with Hale's reasoning while they were outside of the villa. Intrinsically he made sense and she had every intention of following Hale's instructions once they entered the villa - she had to. She didn't have any weapons on her - no way to protect herself if things went south in a hurry.

But how could anyone expect her to keep her word once they got inside?

Her pulse raced beneath her skin as she looked at the state of the living room. She gasped in horror as her eyes darted around the room, she had not anticipated this.

She quickly turned to Jacob who had been walking behind her and grabbed him by his shirt and jerked him towards her. "Where is the bedroom?" She growled her knuckles white as she gripped the shirt tighter.

"Upstairs..." He answered, stunned by the look on Lauren's face. Gone was the intelligent woman he had grown to respect, her eyes were wild with fear, he could practically taste it in the air. He could not stop his backward motion when she pushed him away.

Before Lauren could even take a step in the direction of the bedroom, Hale blocked her path. "Get out of my way!" she said with deadly intent. She wasn't going to allow anyone to stop her - not now - not after her imagination had gone into overdrive with various scenarios as to why the villa - what she had seen of it - was destroyed.

"Lauren... no." Hale told her. He knew he was going to have a fight on his hands after they entered the living room. He couldn't let her get hurt, not when they were so close.

"No?" she asked incredulously. Was he insane? Did he think he was going to truly stop her?

"We have to..."

"We." She poked him with her index finger in the chest. "Don't have to do anything but get upstairs now!"

"Keep your voices down." Jacob interjected. Things were escalating far too quickly - tempers were getting out of control.

Raymond was moving in the Ash's direction when Hale shot him a look, telling him to stand down. He sighed, he was being handcuffed by the Ash's decisions - he wasn't allowed to do his job. It went against everything he had ever trained for, everything which had been drilled into his mind since he was a child.

Protect the Santiago family at all costs.

If something were to happen, he would never forgive himself.

His eyes left the brewing storm of wills and looked around. He had not had the opportunity to secure the location - no thanks to the human. He could not understand how the Ash could interact with them so easily or why he'd want to. He simply knew he had a job to do and he would perform it to the best of his abilities with extreme prejudice.

"Lauren, calm down." Hale pleaded with his hands in front of him as he tried to get her to a saner state of mind.

Lauren could not listen anymore - she pushed passed Hale and limped towards the stairs.

"Sorry Lauren, I can't have you going in half-cocked." Hale apologized as he grabbed her from behind.

LGLGLGLGLG

Kenzi blinked as voices - in an attempt to be quiet - drifted upwards.

She slowly peered downstairs - she smiled - so much so her cheeks began to hurt in protest. "DOC!" she whisper yelled. 'That's got to hurt.' she thought as she watched Lauren's neck snap in her direction.

Jacob and Hale were holding Lauren back and looking like they were having a Devil of a time doing it. The other guy; someone she hadn't seen before was simply watching with a look of indifference on his face. 'Fae.' she thought. 'Gotta give it to her, she's feisty.' Kenzi mused as Lauren continued to struggle against Hale.

She stood up and tossed her hands in the air in frustration. "Is there some reason you're holding Hot Pants back?" she called out - any thoughts of keeping her voice down, went out the window.

"Kenzi..." Lauren called up. "Is he here? Is Dyson here yet?" she asked as she continued to struggle against Hale.

Kenzi frowned; she knew he was on his way. "I haven't seen him..." she trailed off. A prickling sensation raced up her neck as she looked down the hallway toward the master bedroom noticing the door was closed.

Seeing it closed did not disturb her, too much. 'Maybe Bo was keeping it closed in case I went cray-cray for her vajayjay again.' she thought to herself as she shuddered.

However the longer she stood there the worse the sensation felt, as she took a step in the direction of the master bedroom all thoughts of Lauren, Jacob, Hale and the Faehole drifted to the furthest recesses of her mind.

They weren't as important to her as what was behind the now ominous looking bedroom door. Kenzi wasn't sure if it was Bo's pheromones' continuing to work their mojo. It didn't matter she thought as she continued to walk closer.

Kenzi stood in front of the door and gulped. She was absolutely certain she had armed herself before coming upstairs with Bo.

And the fact that Lauren and the others were still downstairs could only mean one thing: Dyson was here.

She stared at the door, half of her wanting to throw it open with a resounding thud, the other, frightened out of her mind of what she might see behind it.

What if he was waiting for someone to come through the door?

What if he'd hurt Bo or the baby?

Bo was in no shape to take him on. 'Unless she chi-sucked him.' Kenzi cringed. Licking her dry lips, Kenzi reached out for the door knob.

Author's Notes:

No, I haven't died and yes, it has been a LONG time since I updated the story. I have no excuses except I wasn't feeling it. But I decided to finish typing out this chapter and five edits later, here we stand, ten pages more.

I would like to thank all of you who have had a vested interest in the story. I hope this tides you over somewhat. I hope the next update won't take almost two years.. yikes.

Thank you again for making this my most reviewed story ever. Full stop. Thanks to Kraven for the beta.