Photograph (camren)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

A few weeks later. (April 2nd)

After the first two weeks of getting used to sleeping alone again, Camila found herself back in the old habit of surrounding herself by work. She worked almost seventy hours at the hospital throughout the week, still taking part in the courses she had yet to finish, and on the days she had off, she'd help Joe out at the Bubble.

Ally was nearing her third trimester in the pregnancy, which made her slightly hungrier than usual and less in the mood for Camila's bullshit when the older of the two started to worry about her. All of which our dear little doctor answered with what Ally was expecting but also tired of hearing. The ever so ambiguous and never fully straight forward, 'I'm fine'.

Which wasn't entirely a lie.

The brunette had poured her heart and soul into the contest assignment her and her fellow residents had been given when they were still interns. Then later found out she had made it to the second round and in turn received a new set of scans, MRI's, CAT's, and plenty more to dissect. Which had kept her up pretty late at home and at the research library in the hospital on the nights she didn't feel like going to bed when she knew her lieutenant wouldn't be there waiting for her.

She eventually stopped going to the dance classes with Dinah and Normani.

Cooking class too.

The girls had decided to let her off with it because they all knew that Camila had laid her eye on saving a child's life. (She figured that out quite easily the evening she saw the scans. Tiny lungs, what could she say?) Which didn't necessarily anger them, but Ally explained her worries to both Dinah and Mani later that same night, and well. Now they're worried too.

Nobody had really heard from Lauren recently.

The last letter Camila received had almost been two weeks ago, and she tried not to let it bother her. Mind you their apartment is over-flowing in paper planes and loose sheets of paper by now and the only thing she wants is to hear Lauren's voice. Like the night before the exam when she had called to wish her luck.

Or the night of her birthday when she heard her in the foyer.

Or when she told Camila she wanted to marry her.

The necklace Lauren had made for her from her first set of tags remained around her neck wherever she went. At the hospital she'd tuck it underneath her scrubs, at the bar it'd be covered by the white blouse, and at home? At home she'd usually just opened it up right before bed and wish her lieutenant good night.

Right now, she was sat in the corner of the research library. Glasses sat on her nose like usual these days, while sporting a rather messy top knot, with a classic caramel latte by her side. Tonight, after already knowing what the diagnosis was early on, Camila had come up with a plan for treatment as well as a way to operate.

To the others, including her most fierce competitor, Kyle Henderson, the multiple small tumors seemed inoperable. But with her love for pediatrics and noticing the not yet developed lungs on the scans, Camila couldn't bring herself to give up. This led to countless hours in this exact spot and coffee stains on her notes, but in the end, it had led to a solution.

The solution being, microsurgery.

Although she was almost certain no one had even attempted microscopic lung surgery on anyone under the age of consent at this hospital, Camila was determined to bring it up with her uncle, the chief, the next morning. But for now, she was quite content to sit there in the library instead of facing an empty apartment.