FULL CIRCLE

Forgiveness is hard

When the girls woke up, they were quickly spirited into the bathrooms, where they were needed to prepare for the day. Lauren made a call into her boss, informing him that though she was still working on the case, her hours at the office were limited due to the situation. She wasn't comfortable leaving Camila, Leah, Jesse and Rose for long periods of time. The person she was replacing put their retirement on hold until the situation was resolved and she couldn't be more grateful.

While everyone was eating breakfast, Lauren locked herself in her room and made a phone call that she was dreading.

Taylor picked up on the first ring and shouted, "LO! How's work? Is Being San Francisco's top prosecutor cramping the sex life yet?"

Lauren smiled, and then sobered when she remembered her reason for the call. "Actually, I need to talk to you and Chris. I'm here in Miami and would like to meet up if it's possible. I've met Leah, and I know she would be excited to meet you both."

Taylor, who was standing in her closet looking for clothes to wear for work, shakily, sat on the ground in shock. Tear pricked her eyes when she thought of the niece she had never gotten to watch grow up, and she asked, "Leah? Is everything okay? Is she sick? Is that why you're here?"

Lauren then told her all that had happened since she got the call from Rose about Demi's attack, and Taylor was stunned that after all these years Brad was back.

"What do you need Lauren!? I'll help in any way I can! I'll call into work so Chris and I can meet you anywhere. Does mom know? " Taylor ranted panicking as she got up, grabbing whatever she could throw on in her hurry.

They continued to talk, and agreed to have a family meeting at Camila's restaurant, wanting to keep her daughters mother aware of the situation.

The last thing Lauren said was, "I need a favor from you."

Lauren and Camila dropped off Leah, meeting with the principal to explain the extreme safety measure's in Leah's schedule. The principal was horrified of the situation, and promised both mothers that Leah would always be in the presence of at least two adults. She also made a list of all the people that could pick her up from school, and both mothers felt relief fill them, knowing school would be a difficult place to grab her if enough people were on alert.

When they saw Leah safely to class, Camila dropped Lauren off back at the house so she could use Demi's car and put in a few hours at the office before the meeting with her siblings.

When lunch rolled around, she made a quick stop at the hospital, checking in on her mother as she slept peacefully in her coma, and made sure to talk to the hospital staff, passing around pictures of Brad Dinah had left her.

When she entered the restaurant, she was surprised to see Camila chatting happily to Clara and her siblings.

When Lauren approached them, they were quick to hug her sympathetically, all of them infuriated that Brad was once again tormenting their family.

"Mija I'm so sorry." Clara whispered, holding her close, trying to calm herself. WhenTaylor had called her, she was happy that Lauren was reunited with her daughter, but worried and fearful of the threat hanging over them.

Clara released Lauren and saw the fear and anger in her daughter's eyes, and it panged her heart to know that she couldn't comfort her in this situation. The mistake she had made years ago still strained their relationship, but she couldn't fault Lauren for that. She had made her bed, and she would lie in it for the rest of her life.

They all sat in the booth farthest away from prying eyes, and talked about the situation and what they could do to help.

"I can hire private investigators to help the police find him. I know a good guy that is very good at this sort of thing." Clara suggested quietly.