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Seven

Anna was currently passed out on the couch, drugged up with medicine to treat her symptoms of the flu, and the girls were close by, never wanting to be to far from Anna in case that she awoke. When they did have to leave the living room or the kitchen, they would run to where ever it was that they needed to go and do whatever it was as quickly as possible only to run back to where Anna was - each worried that she wouldn't have anyone if she woke up; and while each were aware of the others being close by, they couldn't help but come back to Anna, making sure she was okay. They would carefully touch her forehead to make sure her fever didn't spike, or they would tuck Anna back into her blanket if she moved or turned in her sleep, or they would sit at the edge of the coffee table with their eyes cemented on Anna, watching her small chest rise and fall.

Lauren was currently in that position, her eyes never leaving her little girl - she would sometimes get up when she saw Anna turn in her sleep, Lauren's heart racing, worried that her little girl was in pain. When she saw Anna whimper and then fall back into her restless slumber, she sat back down, but her face twisted in concern everytime. She hated this, she whished that she could do something to make her little munchkin feel better, but she couldn't do anything - just watch until she woke up.

"Babe, why don't you go eat? I can watch her while you do." Normani's voice came from behind her, causing Lauren to jump slightly, never realizing that someone had been behind her. Lauren shook her head in the negative, determined to be the first one there when Anna woke up. Lauren felt Normani tug her arm, but she didn't budge - she was stubborn like that, and all the girls knew it.

"Lauren," Lauren heard Ally's voice now, her tone calm and firm, causing green eyes to move to the smaller woman. Once Ally was sure that she had Lauren's attention, she pointed to the table where there was a plate full of food on the counter and said, "go, you need to eat." Lauren shook her head, her eyes going back to Anna, her protective nature appearing. She wasn't hungry, and even if she was, she was too busy to notice.

"She won't wake up, okay? Go eat something." Normani said, but she watched Lauren wave her off. Normani sighed, knowing there was no way that Lauren was going budge - just like she had done when Mila had twisted her ankle on stage and fractured it in the process; Lauren had spent a better part of week glued to Camila's hip, doing anything and everything Mila demanded, but last time she had also taken care of herself. The look Normani saw in Lauren's eyes was new, and while it made her heart fill with love, it worried her that Lauren would forget about herself. Normani sighed, and then proceeded to quickly pick Lauren bridal style and quickly run out of the kiving room as to not awake Anna with Lauren's protests.

"Normani, put me down!" Lauren yelled furiously. Normani put her down, but wrapped her arms around Lauren tightly as to not let Lauren run away.

"Lauren will you please listen for a moment?" Normani said, rising her voice slightly as Lauren continued to struggle in her arms. 

"Just let me get back! What if she wakes up and I'm not there?" Lauren said, looking up at Normani, sadness and insecurity twisted into her green eyes - Lauren wanted Anna to see that Dinah wasn't the only one that cared for her; she was there too and she just wanted Anna to realize that she would take care of her.

"Lauren, I get that you're worried, but you haven't eaten all day, and that's not okay." Normani said, her voice rising in sound as she tried to get Lauren to listen to her. Normani was well aware that Lauren could forget to take care of herself - the longest being two days before her body couldn't handle the neglect anymore - and Normani was trying to avoid that happening again.

After a few minutes of struggling to get loose from Normani's embrace, Lauren breathed in deeply and layed her head on Mani's chest. She knew she could forget sometimes, but, if she was being honest, she just wanted to be the one to hold Anna this time. Lauren was aware that Anna needed time, but she had let Dinah, Ally, and Normani hold her, and she didn't want to be last - it made her feel like she had failed to connect with Anna. She wanted to be the first one Anna saw, the one that would greet her with a warm smile as she would extend her hands out and Anna would climb into her lap, rocking her side to side, feeling her little girl in her arms. She sighed; maybe she was a little jealous, but who wouldn't be? It was her daughter and she wanted to be able to hold her and make her daughter feel safe and loved, and she hadn't been able to do so yet, making her a little desperate.