“You have me.” Lauren told her simply. “You’ve always had me.”

Bo shook her head. “I don’t though, that’s the thing.” She brushed Lauren’s hair back behind her head and the doctor leaned in to the touch automatically. “I offered to claim you…”

“To own me?” Lauren stated.

“To claim you so you could truly be free.” Bo clarified softly. “The Morrigan will never let you do that.”

Lauren huffed quietly. “I come and go as I please…”

“But you can never leave forever.”

“And you would let me leave forever?” Lauren didn’t mean to sound as incredulous as she did but the idea that Bo would let her walk away was more than she could fathom.

“I wanted to spend my life with you Lauren. To have a family and a home. To have it all.” Bo slumped back and shook her head. “I wanted to claim you so you could be free to do that, to not wear their collar or answer every time they rang their bell.” Lauren choked on a sob. “I wanted to claim you not for myself but for you.”

“I… I didn’t know…” Lauren wiped fiercely at the tears. “I…”

“And now… Rainer….” Lauren’s gaze flicked to the entrance, imagining this man who stood in the kitchen. “He’s connected to my destiny, to who I really am.” Bo kissed the tears from Lauren’s fingers. “But you…” She tilted Lauren’s head up to fully meet her gaze. “You are my life, my future and the reason I am as strong, and as stubborn as I am.” Lauren laughed despite herself. “You are the reason I fight; every day I fight. For you.”

Lauren cupped Bo’s face in her hands, studying the face she knew so well. Eyes that were brown as rich chocolate with the tinge of blue that always danced at the edges, especially when Lauren touched her. The succubus could lie about her hunger for the doctor but her eyes always betrayed her desire. She leant in, yearning to taste Bo but scared to try. Placing a warm kiss on Bo’s forehead, Lauren pulled back and watched Bo silently. It was only seconds that Bo sat, her eyes closed as she relished the kiss before opening her eyes once more.

“I don’t know why I need Rainer.” Bo spoke, her voice in this new silence made Lauren jump. “Or where this journey will take us but I need to find myself and he is a part of that somehow.” Lauren felt the familiar twist in her gut. Jealously. She got to her feet, offering Bo her hand and helping her up.

“I don’t trust him.” It was Lauren’s truth and in the silence, it felt too big to contain. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Bo.”

“I don’t want to get hurt either.” Bo admitted. “I’m tired of that.” Both women smiled sadly. It was true, they had hurt and been hurt. “But I have to know.” She looked up hopefully, begging Lauren to understand.

Lauren only nodded. She didn’t always understand why Bo made the choices she did but she had to trust she knew what she was doing.

“And I hope when I come back, I will be more… better.” Bo told her, brushing the dust from her pants. “Maybe one day, for you?”

A crash and shouting floated up from downstairs drawing both their attention to the doorway. Bo started out, towards the voices downstairs.

“Bo?” She reached out, grabbing Bo’s wrist and pulling her back. Their bodies melted together so effortlessly, their lips finding the others with natural ease. Hands roamed freely, over landscapes that were constantly changing but eternally familiar.

Bo broke the kiss, her head resting gently on Lauren’s forehead. “I have to….” she nodded towards the door, the move so tiny it would have been missed if not for the proximity.

“I know.” Lauren sighed sadly. Bo stepped away but their hands and fingers remained entwined until the last possible moment.

“I love you.” Lauren whispered as their fingers eventually separated and Bo disappeared downstairs.