"Go on, baby. Go play."
"Mommy an' Mama p'ay too?"
"You'll be alright, angel. Mommy needs to talk to Mama." Dinah smiles encouragingly, gently nudging her towards the play area.
"You're okay, nena. We'll be right here." Ally soothes, giving Lauren the courage to go play on the swings.
"What do you need to talk about?" The shorter blonde bites her lip, looking over at her girlfriend.
"Work need me to go away for a few days."
"When?"
"Friday." Dinah answers quietly.
"This Friday?"
"Yeah."
"How long have you known?" Ally asks, glancing over at their little one to check on her.
"They told me on Monday."
"Why have you waited until now to tell me? What about Lauren? Your milk's just come in and she's really attached to you at the minute."
"I was worried how she was gonna react."
"That doesn't explain why you couldn't talk to me about it, Dinah. You're leaving in just over 24 hours, when were you going to tell us?"
"I was gonna talk to Lauren tonight after we talked."
"You need to give her more notice than that, D! She's relying on you so much at the minute and she's barely been big since you started nursing. You can't just tell her right before you leave!" Ally rants, raising her voice slightly, drawing Lauren's attention. She sends the girl a reassuring smile and lowers her voice again as she turns back to Dinah.
"I'm sorry, I know I should've told you as soon as I knew and then I should've told Laur right after that but I was worried how you'd both react. I haven't had to go away for work for a while, not since we've had Laur anyway."
"Isn't there anyone else that can go?"
"I asked, they need me. If I don't go, I'm fired."
Ally nods, taking a deep breath as she glances over at the spot their little one had been playing only to see that she's not there. "Where's Lauren?"
"What do you mean? She's right over- fuck. Uh, you go that way and I'll look over there?" Dinah suggests, her voice panicked as she waits for her girlfriend to nod before taking off to check around the play structure.
————
"C-Camz." Lauren chokes out.
"Hey, baby. What's wrong?" Her girlfriend's raspy voices replies down the phone.
"Can- I need you to come get me."
"Okay, love. Where are you?"
"The pppark."
"Alright, I won't be long. Want me to stay on the phone?"
"Please."
"I will, babe. Why are you at the park, Lo?"
"Came with Mo-Dinah and Ally."
"Where are they now?"
"They were fighting, I don't like it."
"Lauren, did you run away from them?"
"I don't like it when they fight!"
"Baby, you can't just run off! Especially not when you're little, which I can tell you still kind of are by the way. They're probably worried sick!"
