Lightning (Camren)

Chapter Twenty-Six

More time had passed and the girls were finally sitting in the waiting room in the hospital for Camila's surgery pre-op to begin. The hospital was running a little late with patients on that day, but the two knew that they would get called in eventually. Lauren was told that she could go in with Camila just to call her nerves. They knew surgery and the thought of it may have been terrifying, so they thought that she would need some kind of comfort.

"Lauren, I'm scared," Camila finally admitted to her girlfriend. "The thought of getting any type of surgery is scary. What if I don't wake up from the anesthetic? What if they mess up the operation? What if they accidentally perform the wrong operation on me? Like, what if I came out of the room with a third leg or something."

Her girlfriend laughed at the last comment, then reassured her, "Everything will go fine, Mila. These doctors have been trained for years, and they don't make any mistakes really. I've observed many of the doctors here, and I can reassure you that they are very sincere when it comes to their jobs."

"Phew! What a relief! I don't know what I'd do if I grew a third leg!" Camila joked.

Lauren added, "And that... that could never happen. I'm pretty sure that you can't attach a third leg on to someone. That'd be some kind of weird cosmetic surgery I think. Like, if someone wanted to look like an alien or something."

Camila giggled at the thought of that. Her nerves had finally calmed a bit because of hers and her girlfriend's terrible jokes. They were always so lame, that they were hilarious. It was something that she loved about their relationship. It was nothing but lame jokes, snuggles, and kisses. Those three things formulated her basic idea of a perfect relationship. Except it was missing one thing.

"Hey Lauren? Can I ask you something?" she asked her giggly girlfriend beside her.

Lauren's face grew serious as she replied, "Sure. What's up?"

"Well. I've been thinking about something lately, and I know we're in a public place, but... I feel like the virgin Mary," Camila answered.

Her girlfriend raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean, Camz?"

"You know? The virgin Mary. She never had sex before and had already given birth to Jesus."

"You've been talking to Ally again, haven't you?"

"No!" Camila exclaimed. "Like, we have twins, but we've never done anything other than hugging and kissing. I just feel like the virgin Mary. Hopefully you get the connection, otherwise I'd just sound stupid."

Lauren nodded her head in understanding, then finally said, "I feel that way too, Mila. But there's a reason for that. I-I'm kind of nervous. And, I've been waiting for the perfect time to do that, you know? I want it to be a special moment. With your surgery happening tomorrow and the twins, there hasn't really been enough time."

"I understand, Lauren. I was just wondering. It was just on my mind because I wasn't sure if we'd ever get to that point. I guess I just needed reassurance that you were actually thinking of it like I was."

"Of course I was," Lauren smiled.

The two were interrupted by a nurse who had called them in, "Karla Cabello? The doctor will see you now."

Camila and Lauren jumped to their feet excitedly, then followed her to the room with a skip in their step. The nurse seated Camila in a chair, then instructed Lauren to sit in the chair next to her. As she left, the doctor walked in and greeted them both with a smile, "Good morning, Ms. Cabello and Ms. Jauregui."

"Good morning, doc!" Lauren and Camila both said together.

"How are things going to go today?" Camila asked the question that she had pondered over for a few days.

He answered her reassuringly, "All we have to do is take a blood and urine sample from you, then you'll receive a physical just to determine that you'll be fit for the operation tomorrow morning. But no need to worry, I can see that you're perfectly healthy, so things are probably going to run smoothly."

Camila, who was now feeling much more confident in the pre-op appointment, just smiled and nodded along. The appointment went just as well as it was supposed to. The doctor administered a blood test, then instructed Camila to go pee in a cup in the bathroom, and finally gave her a short physical. There were a few complications with the urine test, since Camila was unable to see where cup was and if she was even getting anything in it, but everything turned out okay in the end.

The doctor checked Camila's heart beat during the physical, noticing how uneasy her breathing was due to nervousness, then checked her blood pressure and reflexes. Everything was normal, just as expected. Just as the doctor was about to leave, he was stopped by the sight of Camila holding her hand out in his direction. 

"What are you doing, Ms. Cabello?" he asked her.

Camila responded, "I want my lollipop."

"But this isn't a children's doctor's office, this is an office for adults and surgery pre-op patients. We don't have any lollipops here."

She frowned and said, "I'm paying a lot for this operation, so I think that I should at least get myself a free lollipop."

He let out a laugh and replied, "As much as I can agree with that Ms. Cabello, we don't have any here. Otherwise, I'd be more than happy to give you one. Now how about this? I'll bring one in for you tomorrow that you can have after your operation. Sound good to you?"

She nodded, then he left the room silently after leaving the two girls with a packet full of things to do before the operation. Once the two were told that they could leave, they left the hospital with their fingers intertwined. Camila felt Lauren's hand grow cold and start to shake as they approached her car, and she was very confused as to what was wrong with her girlfriend.

"Lauren? Why is your hand trembling? Are you alright?" Camila asked the worried-looking Lauren beside her.

She let out a sigh, then responded, "I just remembered that we were meeting Lana Del Rey tonight. Camila, I'm about to meet my idol. She's the person that I've looked up to for years, and I'm going to see her. I feel like I'm going to throw up because of how nervous I am. I've got butterflies in my chest, and my nerves are bouncing around everywhere. I don't know if I can do this."

Camila stopped in her tracks at the sound of Lauren discouraging herself, and knew that she had to make her scared girlfriend feel better. "Lauren! Don't put yourself down that way! I'll let you in on a little secret. That's how I feel about you every single day, without the feeling going away one bit. I always feel nervous to be around you, Lauren, but I push through those feelings because I know that they just remind me of how much I love you. You can do this, and you will. Dylan left those tickets to you, and you're going to use them. I'll be there right by your side the whole time."

Instantly, Lauren threw herself into her girlfriend's arms because of her kind words. She really felt like she could trust and count on Camila for anything, and this time was no different. There was no one else that she'd rather be with. 

"Thank you, Camila," she mumbled.

"Any time. I'm always here for you," Camila replied. "Now let's get home and get ready to meet Lana! We have to look our best, don't we?"

Lauren hummed, "Mhm."

The two continued their walk to the car with their hands held together like glue. Lauren's nervousness began to diminish as she thought of all of the good things that were to come in their lives. Camila's surgery, the puzzle and singing competitions, the twins, and their whole lives that they had ahead of them.