a reason to love

chapter 2

Camila froze when she had made it to the top of the stairs. She heard Lauren speaking to the little girl. Taking a seat on the top stair, she listened to their conversation.

"How about we put you in the bathtub, sweet girl? Come on, it'll be all nice and warm." Camila could tell by the tone of Lauren's voice that she was trying pretty hard to convince the tiny girl that taking a bath was a good idea. "Here, let's take these dirty clothes off. We'll get you something nice and warm to wear after bath time," Lauren cooed. From the sound of it, this conversation was kind of one-sided. Camila had yet to hear the little girl's voice. When she mustered up the courage, she rounded the corner and stood in the doorway of the bathroom.

Lauren looked up as she saw Camila leaning against the frame of the door and then returned her attention to the task at hand. She had managed to get one arm and one leg of clothing off of her. Camila decided to try and be helpful. "Hey pretty girl," she said in a soft voice. "Would you like some bubbles in your bath?" she smiled as the little girl turned to look at her. Her face lit up and she caught herself, seemingly embarrassed, but she slowly nodded her head anyway. Camila started looking in the bathroom closet in search of bubble bath. She pulled out a bottle from the back, breathing deeply as she remembered the last time it was used.

"Camila, i'm serious. Stop with the splashing!" Lauren shouted while trying to grab her wife's hands to stop them from their assault on the water.

"Come on, Laur. What fun is taking a bath if I can't get you wet?" Camila smirked and Lauren felt her face flush. She had known Camila most of her life and still couldn't control the way she blushed every single time she teased her seductively. Sensing that she now had the upper hand, Camila moved to straddle Lauren, sitting in her lap and making their bodies glide against each other. She put one hand on the small of Lauren's back and rested the other one on her chest before settling in for a kiss. She started out agonizingly slow, their lips barely touching. Just enough to create a tingling sensation. Lauren moved her hands to Camila's hips, carefully rubbing the soft skin there and when she couldn't take her teasing anymore, she deepened the kiss. 6 years of kissing the same person and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Camz, did you find it?" Camila snapped out of her haze when she heard the familiar voice, but with a distant tone to it that made her cringe. She handed Lauren the bottle and watched as she put it in.

"Can I help you with getting the rest of your clothes off, Princess?" Camila asked quietly as she sat with her legs crossed in front of the girl. Camila must have said something right because the little girl lifted her arm so that she could pull the rest of her shirt off, and then lifted her leg to do the same with her pants. Once every article of clothing was removed, Lauren held her hands out to help the girl get in the tub. As she did, Lauren glanced in Camila's direction. There was something in her eyes that hadn't been there for a while. There was wonder, and panic, and need.

"Would you mind to help me with this?" Lauren asked quietly, still fearing that she would scare the little girl if she talked too loudly. It didn't even matter what she said, Camila almost melted right there on the spot after hearing her wife talk to her after so long. She knew this was far from a happy reunion and there was no real promise of reconciliation from her words, but something inside Camila almost exploded due to the sheer value of the hope she had that this could be a turning point.

Almost forgetting that she had been asked a question, Camila nodded her head. "Sure. Of course I will. I think you've got it, but I'll be here if you need me." Lauren nodded, still not looking her in the eyes and turned back to look at the tiny girl in their bathtub. Lauren began to work diligently, washing her hair and cleaning every inch of their unexpected visitor. Camila stood close, for moral support, but mostly she just made faces at the little girl, hoping to make her smile. Once she had successfully earned a giggle, Camila stood and got a towel out of the closet.

"Are you ready to get out?" the little girl nodded her head and Lauren passed the responsibility to Camila. Camila scooped her out of the water and stood her on the bath mat while she dried her the best she could. It was then that she noticed how cute the little girl really was. She had long, curly brown hair and bright blue eyes. Wrapping her once again in the towel, Camila picked her up and carried her to the bedroom that she and Lauren once shared.

"Hey, baby girl. How about we put this on for you to sleep in. We'll wash your clothes so you can put them back on tomorrow." Lauren said as she held out her arms, motioning for Camila to transfer the girl to her. She started to dress her in the smallest t-shirt she owned, which was still comically too big for the tiny girl. "Are you hungry or thirsty?" she asked, still a little flustered by the fact that she had not heard one word out of the girl. The little girl with the pretty blue eyes nodded her head and Lauren motioned for Camila to join them as they descended the stairs to the kitchen.

Camila sat down on a chair at their kitchen table and Lauren placed the little girl in her lap while she reached into a cabinet to grab the bread and peanut butter and then poured a small cup of milk. They both watched in amazement as the skinny little girl ate an entire sandwich in less than a minute. Lauren's eyes caught Camila's and they shared a brief sense of disbelief in their current situation. "Are you still hungry?" Lauren asked. The little girl shook her head and turned around to snuggle against Camila. Both Camila and Lauren felt their hearts stop. It was the cutest thing either of them had ever seen. In only a few moments, the girl in Camila's arms was snoring softly.

"Should we take her up to bed?" Camila asked, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. Lauren nodded and they both climbed the stairs to the room they once shared. Lauren pulled down the sheets and Camila carefully deposited the girl. As she turned to leave, a tiny hand grabbed hers. She looked down and smiled to herself. She had made a new friend.

"You should stay," she heard Lauren whisper. "She wants you here and I don't want her to be upset if she wakes up and can't find you." Camila nodded and gave Lauren a sad smile before moving the girl to the middle of the bed so that each of them could climb in on their respective sides. What an interesting night this had turned out to be. No one could have expected this turn of events. What were they going to do with this girl? Where were her parents? Why wasn't she talking? It was all such a crazy situation, but Camila knew one thing: this crazy situation had led her back to her wife's bed after 6 of the longest months of her life.