"There's something about wanting to protect a person that is hurting more than you that takes away the pain of losing your baby."
Normani and Dinah love their little family. But something was missing. Something that could only be filled by the love...
QUICK REMINDER: I am not a lawyer, a judge, or a social worker. A lot of what I write is for dramatic effect.
It was a quiet, broken day in the Kordei-Hansen household. Normani and Dinah hadn't slept a wink the night before, opting to stay awake and just watch their little girl as she slept between them, face free of all the worry and sadness she had after the judge's decision yesterday. Demi was set to arrive at 9am, two hours from now.
The tension that surrounded the women was achingly similar to that of the miscarriage they faced months ago. But this hurt more for some reason. Being able to count down the time they had left with Lauren and knowing they couldn't fix anything made everything within them ache. Even with just two hours left, the mothers intended to convey just how much they loved their daughter.
After a few minutes of tummy rubs from Dinah, and hair stroking from Normani, Lauren began to come around, her heavy eyes peeling open as she blinked awake and willed for all of yesterday to be a dream. Based off her mommies red-rimmed eyes, it wasn't.
"Mommy," she croaked out in a whisper, fresh tears springing to her eyes.
"Shh, angel. No crying. There's no need for that," Normani gently cooed, wiping her fingers over the slightly wet cheeks of the five-year-old.
"I don't want to go," Lauren sobbed, shaking her head in refusal. God, how Dinah and Normani wished the judge could see how broken she made their little girl with her decision.
"We'll always be with you, Lo. Even if you are with your dad, you will always have us. Don't forget that, angel," Normani whispered, pressing a kiss to Lauren's forehead, willing away her own tears that threatened to fall.
"Promise?" Lauren asked, sniffling back her tears as she briefly looked to Dinah for reassurance.
"Pinky swear, baby girl," the Poly stated, holding out her pinky, which almost instantly had a small finger wrapped around it, locking in the promise.
And with that promise the day began, the mothers getting to work with feeding the three girls one last time before their family of five became a family of four.
Camila was basically oblivious to what was about to happen, but Ally was well aware. She was a big girl, she understood that her little sister was being taken from her and she was not happy about it one bit.
The breakfast, consisting of yogurt, mangos, and peanut butter pancakes, all of Lauren's favourites, wasn't as tense as everyone thought it would be. Having a babbling two-year-old around to ease the fear and tension streaming through everyone definitely helped, but Lauren was now keeping a brave face. She refused to cry or let this bother her. But it worried Normani and Dinah that their little girl seemed to have regressed suddenly, acting like she did when she first arrived with the rigid muscles and withdrawn behavior.
By the end of the meal, it was 8am. Lauren asked if she could take a shower, something neither woman denied her since they knew she had fears that Mike would treat her the same way Mr. Rob did. It also explained why she ate so much food the previous night and this morning. She believed that at her new home she wouldn't get to eat or clean herself as often as she did with her mommies.
As Lauren showered Dinah and Normani packed her bag. Demi told them that Mike requested they didn't send her with her clothes. That didn't stop the mothers from placing Lauren's favourite things into a backpack, including her soft blanket, Dinah's hoddie that the little girl slept with, Nala, and her pacifier.
Upon entering her room and looking to the two women holding her Simba backpack, the tiny brunette bursted into fresh tears. Maybe her mommies would find a way to make it better. They always did.
But Normani and Dinah couldn't do anything except hold their daughter until her tears stopped, and finally allow her to dress into any outfit she wanted. Lauren decided on her jeans and a plain white shirt. Everything else she liked too much to have taken from her by Mike.
Demi arrived at 9am on the dot. Suddenly, Camila seemed to know what was happening.
"Please don't take her, Demi," Normani nearly begged as she held back Raider who was barking loudly. Dinah was basically restraining a sobbing Camila who was reaching out for her big sister, repeating "no, 'o'o," over and over. Ally just cried on the stairs.
"I'm so sorry, guys. I promise to find a way-,"
"She's our daughter. Not his," Dinah finally sobbed out, unable to control her own sadness as she looked at Lauren's wet green eyes from where the child stood at the bottom of the house entrance.
"I will get you visitation rights. I promise," Demi stated, frowning at the family before her. She couldn't help but feel like this was her fault, even if it was the judge who made the final decision. Not only was a family being broken apart, but two sisters who went through everything together were getting torn away from each other. All for the sake of a man who got clean and wanted to make things right? How was anything about the current situation fair?
"We have to go," Demi said softly, turning to Lauren and offering a hand. The small child took it and began to walk to the car, not looking back. If she looked back, she would cry, and big girls don't ever cry.
~.~.~
Camila was the definition of a mess. Not that the rest of the family wasn't broken, but Camila was the most emotional one.
Once the door shut she began her ear piercing screaming. Dinah put the toddler down, trying to calm her own crying only for it to pick up when she saw her youngest daughter run for the door and strain to reach the handle.
"'o'o!" Camila sobbed, trying to push the door open. "'ant 'o'o! 'O'O!"
"Baby, shh. Calm down," Normani croaked out, pulling the two-year-old from the door. Camila threw herself onto the ground, screaming out her frustrations as she kicked her legs and called for her sister. No one knew how to stop her.
Ally began to cry harder when this happened, reaching for Normani who didn't hesitate to hold her and take her to the living room to calm down while Dinah composed herself and handled the two-year-old sprawled out on the floor.
"Mila. My love," Dinah whispered, wiping her cheeks as she knelt to the ground and brushed back the hair of her daughter. "It'll be okay," she said a little louder, laying down beside Camila. The toddler was on her back, looking up at the ceiling while Dinah laid on her stomach, her hand instantly rubbing soothing circles over the girl's tummy. "It'll be okay. We'll see her again," she repeated, silently crying as she watched her two-year-old fall apart.
There was nothing anyone could do except cry. From five to four in less than 24 hours. It was a broken day in the Kordei-Hansen family.
yelp. I have a lot of people angry at me right now.
I thought that maybe giving you guys a bonus chapter (even if it's short) would make it better, but reading over it now I realize that I'll probably be getting more threats.
With all of the response in the last chapter, you guys got this story to #118 in Fanfiction.
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So thanks for that... I think?
I promise, your suffering will be temporary. Maybe.
