By Sun and Candlelight / CAMREN

Chapter 43 - Camila's Surgery

In honor of 7/27 <3
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Dinah and Lauren had been waiting two hours when a nurse came out to talk to them. They both jumped up nervously as she approached.

"Everything is going well," she said, "Dr. Torres asked me to come give you an update. She's stabilized the knee but still has a bit of work to do with all of the scar tissue remaining from Camila's previous trauma. It's going to be a while longer, probably a couple of hours in case you want to go get something to eat or take a walk..."

"Okay, thanks," Dinah said, turning and flopping back onto the sofa.

Lauren sighed and sat down beside her. They went back to waiting, neither saying anything about food or taking a break. About a half hour later they both looked up at the sound of footsteps entering the room. Dinah let out a deep breath and her voice cracked.

"Mom," Dinah said, standing and quickly being enveloped in Eliza's arms.

Dinah held Eliza tightly, feeling the warmth of her mother's love. She glanced up to see John standing back a bit and giving her a soft smile. Eliza moved from Dinah and pulled Lauren into a tight hug. Lauren wasn't used to such affection and she felt her emotions get the best of her. She found herself crying into Eliza's shoulder as Eliza rubbed her back softly.

"Oh, sweetheart," Eliza said softly, "It's going to be okay."

When Lauren calmed, they all sat down, and Dinah updated them with the news from the nurse. They discussed what happened at the park.

"Eliza, she was protecting Lori," Lauren said, her voice catching.

"Of course, she was," Eliza said plainly, "She'll never let anyone hurt Lori."

"Mom, how are you so calm?" Dinah asked, as she was reaching the end of her rope.

"Trust me ladies, she got it all out on the way here," John said, looking at Eliza with a soft chuckle, "I heard words come out of her that would make a sailor blanche. If she had gotten her hands on that dog or it's owner, it would not have been pretty."

Eliza shook her head and took a deep breath, "Believe me, Dinah, I'm not okay but we need to hold it together for Camila. She's gone down a long road once and now she has to do it all again."

Dinah dropped her head, looking entirely resigned.

"I saw Normani and the girls before I left," Eliza said, "Lori is just fine, Lauren. Normani helped me pack bags for both of you. We've been through this before and I figured you'd both stay here at least one night."

"Are you staying?" Dinah asked.

"We'll see how things go," Eliza said, "We can't all stay in her room, but we might go to the hotel across the street – or we might drive home."

"How about I grab us all some coffees?" John offered.

They all gave him their orders and he headed downstairs to the coffee shop.

"It was sweet of him to come," Lauren said to Eliza as John got out of earshot.

"He's family," Eliza answered plainly, "And you are too, Lauren. We're here for each other."

Lauren took a deep breath and sat back, pulling her legs up underneath herself. She was lost in thought when John returned and handed her a coffee. They all sat quietly as time seemed to tick by at a snail's pace. Finally, Dr. Torres walked into the waiting room.

"She did well," Dr. Torres said immediately. The group all let out a collective breath at the encouraging words.

"The knee is stabilized," she said, "She has so much muscle damage, from the previous injury and from this one – we were able to use a process called scaffolding to do some repairs. Basically, we use sutures made from swine tissue, which helps enhance muscle regeneration."