A Little Extra Help (Camren)

2

Today is Wednesday. Wednesday's meant doctor days. Therapist and regular doctor, in that order. It'd be a tough day for the both of them, considering Camila absolutely despised doctors of any kind. Lauren had woken up first, so she crept out of bed and got everything prepared. She got herself ready first and then laid out a nice outfit for Camila. She set two granola bars on the counter and two bottles of water right next to them. The last thing she did before waking her wife was turn the faucet on to fill the tub. "Camz," she said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. She began rubbing her back to get her to wake up and eventually Camila groaned and rolled over. Lauren put her hand on Camila's forehead and she felt a little warm. While Camila was still half asleep, she got the thermometer and sat back down. "Camz, open your mouth." Without opening her eyes even a little bit, Camila opened her mouth and closed it again, holding the device between her lips. "You have to get up soon, baby girl. You have doctors today." Camila groaned again. And so it begins. The thermometer beeped and Lauren was delighted to find that Camila actually didn't have a fever. "No fever, Camz!" At this, Camila finally opened her eyes and gave Lauren a smile. "No medicine!" Camila beamed. Lauren smiled back. "That's right, baby." Lauren knew Camila didn't really understand why she needed the medicine. She didn't understand a lot of things, not that was a problem. All Camila knew was that the medicine hurt. She understood something was wrong with her body but she didn't quite understand what. "Alright let's go. Bath time." "Bubbles?" Camila asked, tilting her head to the side a bit. "No bubbles, Munchkin," Lauren giggled. She stood up and urged Camila to follow her which she did. "We gotta get going so I'm gonna help you." Usually Lauren would fill the tub up and let Camila bath herself at her own pace. But if she let her do that this morning, they'd never make it to the appointments. Camila was sore but not so sore that she couldn't walk. She held onto Lauren's arm and they made their way to the bathroom. Camila stripped and slowly climbed into the hot water, sinking down low so the water could cover her entire body. It soothed her muscles to lay back like this. Baths were a better option for Camila. She couldn't stand for more than fifteen minutes; it put to much strain on her muscles and joints. And Camila got distracted way too easily to only shower for a few minutes. So baths it was. Camila dunked her head under to get her hair wet and when she sat back up, Lauren lathered shampoo all through her waves. She grabbed the little pitcher and rinsed Camila's hair, letting Camila play with the pitcher while she applied conditioner. Big mistake. "Gimme that, you weirdo," Lauren teased. Camila giggled and tried to hold it out of Lauren's reach. "If you don't give me that in three seconds I'm gonna tickle you. One...Two..." Camila quickly thrust the pitcher in Lauren's direction, fearful of being tickled to death. "You're a smart girl." Lauren smiled and she rinsed the conditioner out. As Lauren began to clean the rest of her body, Camila asked. "Lolo, I am smart?" "Of course you're smart." Lauren rubbed soap into Camila's arms and legs. "I'm not smart like everyone else." Camila challenged. Lauren continued rubbing Camila's belly while she spoke. "Jut because you're not smart like everyone else doesn't mean you're not smart. You know things other people don't know."  "Like what?" "I don't know, baby." Lauren said, rinsing her off. "What do you think about?" Camila thought for a moment before saying, "Sometimes I think about the stars." "Yeah?" Lauren said, standing up. She pulled Camila up with her and wrapped her in a fuzzy, white towel. "What about the stars?" Camila spoke as they walked back into the bedroom to get her dressed. "Abuela is a star. And tia Lucy and tia Mimi." "They're stars?" Lauren asked as she pulled Camila's underwear onto her wife's body. She was very interested in how Camila's brain was working right now. "Mmhmm." Camila nodded, holding her arms up so Lauren could put her shirt on. "They turned into stars after they died and now they're watching us and making sure we're safe." "See look at that," Lauren said, finally finished with getting Camila ready. "I didn't know that. Look how smart you are." Camila gave a big smile and looked down at the floor, her cheeks burning red. Lauren kissed Camila's nose before fragging her out to the car. On the walkway, Camila said, "Lo, I don't wanna go to the doctor." "I know, Camz. We'll get it over with and then we'll go see Dinah and Lukey, yeah?" Camila smiled excitedly and she opened up the passenger door. She settled herself in the specially made seat; a white, foamy thing that sat on top of the original seat. It had spaces for her legs and it kept her spine straight. Lauren climbed into the drivers' seat and they were on their way, soon parking at the therapist's office. Lauren, as usual, helped Camila into the office and sat her down, kissing her forehead before walking back out to the waiting room. "So, Camila," Dr. Remz said. Camila didn't like her. But to be fair, she didn't like any doctor. She only came here because she knew it made Lauren feel better. So once a week, she tortured herself by answering Dr. Remz's questions and talking about her feelings. "How've you been since I saw you?" "Good," she responded simply. Remz was lucky if Camila uttered a single word during their sessions. "How's your illness been?" "Fine." "That's it?" "The medicine hurts," Camila gave her. "I keep throwing up." It frustrated Camila that she couldn't keep her food down. She like food a lot, but not enough to taste it a second time. And the worst part about it was that it made Lauren upset; she could tell. She didn't like making Lauren upset. "How do you feel about that?" Dr. Remz probed. "I don't like it." "No?" Camila shoot her head. "It makes Lauren sad." "It makes Lauren sad." She wrote something down then looked back at Camila, staring. "I'm sure Lauren knows you can't help it." "I don't like when Lauren's sad." That was the last thing Camila said for the session.