Lauren

Dr. Lauren Lewis is a human scientist and physician. At the time the series begins she had been owned by The Ash as a pledged servant, and in servitude to the Light Fae, for five years.

Lauren
File:Lauren Infobox S4 (1).jpg First appearance: It's a Fae, Fae, Fae, Fae World
Name:	Lauren
Aliases:	Dr. Lauren Lewis Amber Karen Beattie (real name)
Status:	Alive
Species:	Human
Affiliation:	Light Fae (S1, S2, S3) Dark Fae [deliberately] (S4)
Occupation:	Chief Medical Officer for The Ash Scientist Physician Waitress (while hiding) Eco-terrorist (as a teenager)
Known Relatives:	Brother (name not known) Edna (Aunt)
Powers:	Lauren does not have supernatural powers, but she has extraordinary human skills: Genius-level intellect Diplomatic Brilliant scientist with specialization in genetics and cryptozoology In-depth knowledge of, and experience with, the Fae Knows how to handle explosives and make pipe bombs
Portrayed by:	Zoie Palmer

Character arc

Despite being human, Lauren's position earns her the respect of the Light Fae. She was seduced by Bo during their first meeting and has since fallen in love with her. A scientist with specialization in genetics and cryptozoology, she has extensive knowledge of the different species of Fae and their abilities, and finds the sphere of human medical science mundane by comparison.

Bo feed control test with Lauren
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In the first season, she helped Bo learn how to control her Chi and sexual energy feeding.

In the second season, after The Ash who convinced her to serve him and the Light Fae was left in a comatose state from being critically wounded in a suicide bombing arranged by Aife, Lauren was passed on to Lachlan, the new Ash, as "chattel."

It was revealed in Fae Gone Wild that Lauren's first encounter with the Fae occurred in the Congo (Africa) while she was performing humanitarian work and witnessed the results of a deadly virus. The epidemic, which only afflicted Fae, brought Lauren into contact with The Ash. When Lauren's scientific skills were successful in combating the disease, he revealed to her the existence of his secret world and convinced her to work with the Light Fae in annihilating the virus – but not before her partner, Nadia, who had accompanied her, was mysteriously infected. After Nadia fell into a coma Lauren pledged herself to The Ash in return for using the Light Fae's facility and scientific resources to find a cure for her. At the time Lauren met Bo, she had been the property of The Ash for five years.

Lauren's loyalty to The Ash and the Light Fae is unquestionable. After a suicide bomber attacked The Ash and Light Fae Elders inside The Ash's compound, she stayed by his side almost nonstop while he was in critical condition and then fell into a coma. Her loyalty to The Ash causes Lauren to take her work very seriously and for this she is often considered uptight, especially by Kenzi. However, Lauren has shown to be relaxed and friendly in Bo's company and outside of work.

Despite Lauren's loyalty to The Ash, she has helped Bo on many occasions against The Ash's will and at the risk of punishment.

In Vexed, The Ash ordered Lauren to find a way to prevent Bo from finding out about Vex, the Dark Fae Mesmer, and confronting him, which would have resulted in her being punished and executed by The Morrígan. Lauren seduced Bo and they made love for the first time. The following morning, under questioning by Bo, Lauren admitted to being ordered by The Ash to distract her, and tried to explain that she had done it to protect her from harm; but Bo, feeling hurt, responded angrily and stormed away from Lauren. Their relationship was strained for some time afterwards, but their mutual attraction continued to exist and Bo eventually forgave her.

She is very much in love with Bo and has shown jealousy towards Dyson, just as he has been jealous of Lauren. Despite this, when Nadia awoke from her coma, Lauren resumed her relationship with Nadia out of loyalty to her.

In the third season, a part of Lauren's past is disclosed and we learn that her "real" name is Karen Beattie and that she is a fugitive wanted by the International Criminal Offences and Criminal Intelligence Bureau. In ConFaegion, Lauren reveals that she studied at Yale University and had served in Afghanistan, and knows how to make a bomb. After she leaves the Light Fae and protection by The Ash, Lauren is accused by The Morrígan of being a terrorist when the syringe used to drug and kidnap Dyson in Hail, Hale is found with her name on it.

In Let the Dark Times Roll, Lauren and Bo are reunited thanks to The Morrígan.  Lauren is shocked to learn that Bo is now Dark Fae, but Bo, in turn, is shocked when Lauren reveals that she was staying with the Dark by choice. She told Bo that when The Una Mens started killing humans and she ran for her life, the Light Fae did not bother to come looking for her, but the Dark had sought her out and offered her protection. With the Dark, Lauren could come and go as she pleased, on her own terms, without a binding agreement or a "dog collar", and felt free for the first time.  Bo told  Lauren that if she claimed her, she could be free and protected, but Lauren turned Bo down because being claimed by Bo meant being owned by her and said to Bo, "You're Fae. I'm human. So I'll always be a prisoner. The least I can do is choose my own cage."

In Origin/It Begins, while secretly searching through the Dark archives, Lauren found a passage predicting the release of Rainer, the betrayal of the Fae, and subsequent calamity upon their universe. She overhead The Morrígan, Bo's mortal enemy, tell Trick that everything would be easier for all of them if "the succubus was dead." Fearing for Bo's life, Lauren hurried away to warn Bo about what she had discovered regarding Rainer; however, Bo refused to believe what Lauren found in the Dark's history book and heed her warning. When Bo accused Lauren of trying to get back at her, Lauren shot back: "I stayed with the Dark for you. I isolated myself for you. This was all for you. Everything that I do is for you." But Bo, still stinging from their fallout, reminded Lauren that she had chosen her and Lauren had broken her heart. Lauren, who in Of All the Gin Joints had covertly procured a sample of The Morrígan's DNA to create a serum that would alter her biology, seduced and tricked the Dark Fae leader in order to administer it and transformed The Morrígan into a human, rendering her powerless and unable to harm and kill Bo.

In Dark Horse, Lauren had been taken captive and handcuffed by a deranged Massimo. Bo came to save her and while he was distracted with Bo, Lauren freed herself from her handcuffs, seized the Twig of Zamora out of his pocket and destroyed it. In so doing, its protection was eliminated and Bo was able to kill Massimo. The relationship between Lauren and Bo was made whole again, and Lauren stayed behind to care for The Morrígan (who had confronted Massimo, her human son, in an attempt to stop him from pursuing his mad quest to become all-powerful), while Bo left to battle against her father and stop him from emerging out of Hel.

Personality

Lauren is diplomatic, quick-witted, analytical, and cool-headed.

Although on the surface she appears to be serious and intense, Lauren has a good sense of humor, and can down shots or a bottle of beer with a drinking buddy.

Lauren possesses a brilliant intelligence, often talking about scientific details (because of this, Kenzi has called her a "geek"). She is focused and figures out solutions to complex menaces and dangers.

"I stayed with the Dark for you. I isolated myself for you. This was all for you. Everything that I do is for you."
4.12 "Origin/It Begins"

She is willing to risk her life for those she loves. Lauren repeatedly helped Bo behind The Ash's back with whatever she needed. In Blood Lines, for example, Lauren helped Bo locate the Koushang in The Ash's vault so that she could protect herself against Aife.

Lauren is loyal and protective towards those she cares about. She sacrificed five years of her life trying to find a cure for Nadia's coma, and although she fell in love with Bo, when Nadia was freed from the curse that left her comatose, Lauren resumed her relationship with Nadia out of loyalty to her.

She is loyal to her affiliation. After Aife's terrorist attack against the council of Light Fae Elders and The Ash was critically injured, Lauren stayed by his side.

Lauren is perceptive and pragmatic. She was keenly aware of being the property of The Ash, and despite her loyalty and service to the Light Fae she knew that she was a prisoner among them. After seizing the opportunity to distance herself from the Light (Adventures in Fae-bysitting), and then accepting that she could not completely escape from the Fae, Lauren accepted a negotiated offer from The Morrígan to join the Dark Fae in which she was given both protection and the freedom to come and go without restriction in return for her service to the Dark (Let the Dark Times Roll and Of All the Gin Joints).

Relationships

• Bo: Lauren is the first human Bo did not kill while having sex, and the first human she made love with. Despite a rocky relationship, Lauren and Bo rekindled their romance and sexual partnership in It's Better to Burn Out Than Fae Away; which also revealed that Lauren had a girlfriend, Nadia, who had been lying in a comatose state for five years, during which time Lauren had been trying to find a cure for it. When Nadia is freed from the hex and revived, Lauren resumed her relationship with her, and Bo became "a very good friend." After Nadia's death and the defeat of The Garuda, Bo asked Lauren in Caged Fae to be with her in a real relationship together. Bo initially tried to be sexually monogamous, but it caused problems for her succubus feeding needs. Lauren understood Bo's nature and told her she could feed from others, except for Dyson (because he was her ex-lover). Their union was the first time Bo said "I love you" to anyone.

"One word...epic." (Bo to Lauren)
3.04 "Fae-de To Black"

However, after Bo went through The Dawning there was a subtle but perceptible change in her priorities, and Lauren’s needs often became secondary, to be remembered later.  In Delinquents, after Tamsin provoked Lauren by gloating that she and Bo had kissed without it having involved feeding, Lauren felt hurt and discouraged, and not able to give Bo what she needed, driving her to reassess the relationship they had together. Lauren then told Bo that she was not happy, that she felt like she was losing herself, and wanted a break from their relationship.

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In Let the Dark Times Roll, Bo and Lauren are reunited after not seeing each other since their encounter in front of Dr. Isaac Taft (Those Who Wander). They kissed passionately, happy to see each other again; delighting in their reunion, they made love hastily. Lauren suddenly realized that Bo was at the Dark Fae party and asked her why she was there. Bo revealed that she was now Dark but intended to reverse her alignment. Later, Lauren broke the news to Bo that she had chosen to join the Dark Fae after accepting The Morrígan's offer to protect her, while allowing her freedom to come and go. When Bo told Lauren that she could free and protect her by claiming her, Lauren refused her offer. Bo walked away, feeling shock and disbelief.

In Dark Horse, Bo found out that Lauren had been kidnapped by Massimo and set out to rescue her. After killing Massimo, Lauren saw that Bo was wearing the necklace gift that she was going to give to Bo and which Bo had found while searching through Lauren's desk in Turn to Stone. Impressed with Lauren having turned The Morrígan human, Bo said to Lauren: "I've always known you were extraordinary. But now, a human doctor who can turn the Fae mortal? They're going to be coming for you." To which Lauren replied, "Yeah? Let 'em try." Hearing her defiance, Bo then said to Lauren, "You really are Dark." To which Lauren responded, "No, Bo. I'm yours." The two then kissed, and Bo went off to fulfill her destiny while Lauren stayed with Evony (The Morrígan).

• Nadia: Lauren's human girlfriend, she contracted a mysterious disease when she accompanied Lauren to the Congo as a photographer. In reality, she had been cursed so that The Ash could get leverage on Lauren. In exchange for helping her find a cure for Nadia's condition, Lauren had to swear allegiance to The Ash and become his property. She had been in a comatose state for five years before Lauren met Bo.

Lauren and Nadia

In Death Didn't Become Him, Bo asked The Lich for the meaning of the nail that The Morrígan had given her in It's Better to Burn Out Than Fae Away. The Lich told Bo, with Lauren at her side, that Lauren's girlfriend wasn't sick — she had been cursed and the nail was an African shaman cursing nail. Somewhere there was a piece of wood with Nadia's nail in it. Remove the nail and she would most likely awaken.

After being sworn to secrecy by Lachlan, Bo freed Nadia from the curse. Out of loyalty to Nadia, who had no sense of the passage of time, Lauren renewed her relationship with her at the expense of her relationship with Bo. However, Nadia became possessed by The Garuda, causing her to begin to lose control over herself, turn psychopathic and psychotic, and threatening Lauren's life – forcing Bo to kill Nadia.

• Trick: Both Lauren and Trick have shown much respect for one another and Trick seeks out Lauren's advice due to her extensive knowledge about the Fae.

• Dyson: Lauren and Dyson have had a very strained relationship in the past due to his contempt for humans. As Lauren's status among the Fae is that of property, regardless of being a scientist and physician, he has been dismissive of her, treating her with arrogance and open hostility. Their mutual love for Bo has led them both to display jealousy at times towards one another. However, Dyson begins to get to know Lauren through Bo, and they have worked together to help her, and his negative attitude towards Lauren has gradually lessened, to where he offers her moral support after she breaks up with Bo in Delinquents.

• Kenzi: Lauren has a strained relationship with Kenzi because she broke Bo's heart when The Ash ordered her to distract Bo away from Vex, and Kenzi, being protective of Bo, does not entirely trust Lauren. Lauren suggested that it is also based on Kenzi wanting to be the only human in Bo's life. Although in It's Better to Burn Out Than Fae Away, after Bo finds out from The Morrígan that Lauren has a girlfriend, Kenzi tells Bo to give Lauren a chance to explain herself.

• Hale: Lauren and Hale seem to have a friendly relationship but have had little personal interaction. He has known her only in her association with the Light Fae and her relationship with Bo. He became the acting Ash in Season 3, making her his property by default. In Adventures in Fae-bysitting, Lauren asked Hale for a brief sabbatical and he turned her down, reminding her that she was pledged to The Ash.
  
  When she, in turn, reminded him that she fought by his side against The Garuda, he allowed her only the weekend as time off, to which Lauren responded, "It's true what they say about power, it doesn't change people, it reveals them." After this, Lauren accepted Dr. Isaac Taft's offer to join him in conducting cutting-edge medical research in his laboratory, took off her Ash ownership necklace, put it inside her desk drawer, placed her cell phone on the desk, and left the Light Fae.

• Tamsin: Lauren's relationship with Tamsin is borderline hostile, since the latter first appeared with the intent of finding evidence that Bo had chi-drained a Dark Fae outside The Dal, leaving him in a coma. Tamsin's objective was to arrest Bo and turn her over to the Dark Fae. Their enmity reached a critical point when Tamsin brazenly told Lauren about her and Bo kissing, earning a slap from an offended Lauren.

• Lachlan: He became the new Ash when the previous Ash was left critically injured and in a comatose state after a suicide bomber attacked the Light Fae compound. Lauren sought refuge in Bo's house after he commanded that all humans under his control must be locked away when not working. After imprisoning a rebellious Lauren inside a dungeon in the compound, Lachlan realized he needed Lauren's expertise to defeat The Garuda and revealed to her that the previous Ash had a Dark Shaman curse Nadia into a coma so that he could retain Lauren as his scientist and physician human property, then offered to find a way to lift the curse in return for her obedience. Afterwards, he enlisted Bo in locating the shaman and removing the curse – with the condition that she never tell Lauren or anyone else what she had done. Lachlan led Lauren to believe that he was responsible for freeing Nadia from the curse she had been hexed with, and Lauren was so grateful that she renewed her pledge to The Ash.

• Brother: In Turn to Stone, Lauren revealed to Crystal that she had a brother and they had been inseparable. They decided together "to change the world", but their cause had turned into blowing up pipelines. Lauren knew how to build pipe bombs and made them for her brother to position; however, one location was supposed to have been deserted but wasn't, and eleven people were killed in the explosion. She had trusted her brother and he failed her. This led Lauren (then known as Karen Beattie) to go on the run, change her identity, and keep running ever since. Lauren told Crystal that not a day had gone by that she did not hate herself for what had happened. (By the details in the wanted poster, the incident occurred in 1998, when Lauren was 17 or 18 years old.) She never saw her brother again after this. (His name remains unknown as of the end of Season 4.)

• Edna: Her aunt. In Original Skin, Lauren's persona was transferred into limbo when a demented Fae psychopath possessed her body after she drank beer spiked with Gorgon blood. She told Hale that while in limbo she had seen her Aunt Edna and she had given Lauren her cheesecake recipe. (She did not disclose if her aunt was alive or dead.)

Quotes

File:Lauren.png

• "Look, if somebody that I slept with and care about told me that they had a girlfriend in a coma trapped inside a top secret facility run by a society of uber-humanoids called the Fae — I'd think it was a blow off. I really need you to meet her." – to Bo (about Nadia) (Death Didn't Become Him)

• "I heard you needed me. I came." – to Bo (Something Wicked This Fae Comes)

• "...I know that I’m merely acting out of a transference of grief onto you. Wanting to have sex is a very common response to grief. Biologically speaking, the transference often helps move the pain. Sort of use it as something else. Turn it into something different. Something better." – to Bo (Lachlan's Gambit)

• "Wow. Even in Dyson's subconscious you're thinking of me. Score one for the doctor — unless that's Dyson talking." – to Bo (as she moans her name) (La Fae Époque)

• "I stayed with the Dark for you. I isolated myself for you. This was all for you. Everything that I do is for you." – to Bo (Origin/It Begins)

Trivia

• Her sexual orientation is homosexual.

• The Bo and Lauren romantic relationship is sometimes referred to as Team Lauren or Doccubus.

• Lauren revealed in ConFaegion that she was in Afghanistan for a time; however, it remains unknown if this was with the military, a United Nations organization, or another organization such as Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

• In Hail, Hale, The Morrígan described Lauren as the Chief Medical Officer for The Ash.

• In Turn to Stone, when Lauren reveals her past to Crystal, we also become aware that Lauren's background shares some similarities with Bo's:

(1) both committed a crime at about the same age:  Lauren made a pipe bomb that killed 11 people when she was 17 or 18 years old – Bo killed her boyfriend when she was 18 years old;

(2) both go on the run after the crime and assume false identities;

(3) both hate themselves for what they had done:  Lauren for being the reason behind the deaths of 11 persons – Bo for killing her boyfriend and then sexual lovers during 10 years on the run;

(4) both had led secret lives;

(5) both kept running and hiding until:  Lauren is discovered by The Ash in the Congo – Bo is discovered by the Fae.

• In It's Better to Burn Out Than Fae Away, Lauren jokingly told Bo the story of going to her high school prom and the male date she went with. Lauren may not have yet been aware of her true sexual orientation, or not yet ready to embrace it, as the "coming out" process is personal and individual. As seen in the series, her intimate relationships and sexual activities have only been with women.

Appearances

• Season 1
• Season 2
• Season 3
• Season 4
• Season 5

Showcase synopsis

Lauren (Zoie Palmer)

Lauren is Bo’s human lover and formerly a doctor for the Light Fae. An experienced global scientist, Lauren’s work with the Fae gives her the medical knowledge to be a true asset to the gang. Although their relationship began as a result of Lauren’s secret mission for the Ash, Bo has come to rely on Lauren – and Lauren on Bo. She escaped after unwittingly betraying the Fae at the end of season 3.