“You’re amazing, you know that?” Bo’s eyes sparkled in the half-light.

Lauren looked into the rouge liquid swirling in her glass. She shook her head. “It’s you who are the special one. The Succubus Queen, leader of the Fae. It’s a little daunting, to love someone as destined as you. I’m just trying to keep up.”

Bo’s mouth quirked upwards. “Don’t believe the hype.”

“I’ve seen your power with my own eyes and it is terrifying and magnificent.” Lauren finished her glass of wine and set it on the coffee table.

“Don’t you think you’re a little biased?”

“I’ve been your doctor, your lover and confidant but even I don’t know what you are truly capable of. You’re an enigma, a wild card and I’m betting on you.”

“Why, Doctor, I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“Only you.” Lauren smiled.

Bo reached across the expanse of the couch and pulled Lauren into a kiss. It was soft and tender and she was being pulled under by Bo once again. “Please stay,” Bo whispered in the charged air between the women.

The desperation had gone from Bo’s request. No longer a plea, it was a hanging question and Lauren knew what her answer was. So why, she wondered, should she withhold it? “I’ll start packing tomorrow.”

Bo squeezed her knee. “You mean it?”

“Absolutely,” Lauren nodded.

Setting her wine glass on the side table, Bo leaned across the velvet couch to kiss her. Soft and sweet, chaste, even but Lauren felt Bo coming back to her. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, Bo was emerging from her cocoon of grief. She was not leaving Kenzi behind but rather coming to terms with the fact that sometimes even a Queen can’t decide who lives or dies. That a friend lost on the battlefield, even a noble sacrifice cannot be resurrected sometimes. And that love did not die with Kenzi. In fact, her heart crowded her chest now, beating for Lauren, for her family.

Tomorrow they would start again as Lauren and Bo, the Doctor and the Succubus, lovers at the edge of the world, having wasted far too much time over the past year. It was time to simplify. They would be together, finally. No more half-assed commitments, Bo would check-in for Lauren because her love kept Bo grounded, safe and it filled in the voids Bo could not fill herself. There would be no more sacrifices for the Fae’s cause–whatever that was anymore–because Bo was the most powerful Fae and it was time she bought into it, too. So she would move forward without Kenzi but continue to pull strength from her loss, convincing herself that she could take a step forward with the ache she felt in her chest. She would never leave her behind, never forget the gift of her friendship and the love they shared. Kenzi was one in a million and Bo would defend her memory with every slash of her sword and swipe of her knife. Kenzi would become the fire in her belly, the reason for it all. Bo was no longer afraid anymore.
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Fin.