lost // camren

prologue

As soon as she was placed into the waiting arms of Clara and Michael Jauregui, the pink blanket that she had been gently coddled in was quickly swapped out for a scarlet strip of fabric. When the doctor reappeared back into the room to check some vital signs, he was nothing short of surprised as he chuckled quietly at the pair's antics and not so secret house pride.

"Nice color on her," Dr. Archer nodded his head toward the small child that the parents were ogling over. Michael shifted, got up from the bed softly and walked over to Dr. Archer with that familiar smile that Dr. Archer always saw after labor on every parent.

"Thank you, Todd. You know how Clara is with her 'house pride'," Michael rolled his eyes, but the smile that held so much love for his wife and first daughter didn't waver and stayed plastered down to his face.

"I'm sure it was all Clara's idea," Todd said sarcastically and laughed, putting his hand on Michael's shoulder, suddenly making the mood shift to a serious one. "Have you thought about what you two are going to do?"

Michael's whole demeanor changed. It was like a string had been holding him up before, but now he just crumpled. His shoulders dropped down, his knees bent a little, and his head fell into his waiting hands. Todd regretted the words as soon as they came quietly out of his mouth, but they were out there, and the doctor had been curious to get answers.

"We've talked about it almost every day, but haven't come to a conclusion. We aren't agreeing on anything it seems," Michael confided in the taller man before him. "It's a disaster."

Todd couldn't help but feel terrible for the couple. The situation they had been thrown into was not ideal for anyone, and he couldn't help but feel pity begin to bubble in his stomach, just like most other families that knew about the Jaureguis' situation in the Wizarding World.

"I'm sure you will agree on something soon, Micha--" Todd began before a stressed out Michael interrupted him.

"We have to, you know? I don't even want to think about what will happen if we don't, Todd, I can't think about it," Michael looked like he was close to tears now, so the doctor decided to spring into action.

"Hey, just settle down, Michael. Everything will work out in time, it will, you just have to believe," the man abandoned his doctor mindset and simply acted on his care for his close friend. "Go and enjoy this moment with your wife and your new baby girl."

Michael simply nodded his thanks, unable to form a sentence of thanks. He took a deep breath and moved back to where his wife and new child laid.

Clara felt the bed dip beside her, turning to smile at her husband as she acknowledged his return.

"What was that about?" she asked, simply out of curiosity, not noticing the redness beginning to form around her husband's eyes as she focused on the small baby girl in her arms.

"He was wondering if we had come to a decision yet," Michael decided to not try and lie about the conversation he and Todd had. The pair had been debating on the best course of action for months now, and even now they still couldn't decide on anything that seemed to fit.

He heard Clara sigh, and his happiness slowly diminished. The moment of his baby girl being born now over, reality striking the both of them.

"Your parents are still in the States, mine are who knows where. Derrick and Andrea don't have the money, nor the stability to provide for another newborn. We don't have many options, Michael. I don't know why you're taking your frustration out on me when I am in the same predicament as you," Clara stated, feeling Michael tense beside her. She could practically feel the stress radiating off of him, as she had been able to for what felt like forever now.