There's No Way

Emergency Contact

[Camila's POV]

Dr. Harris' office was small, but well maintained. The walls were painted a fair shade of beige, accented with clean white trim. The waiting room was adorned with potted plants and framed floral paintings. Instead of lines of chairs like you would find in a typical doctor's office waiting room, Dr. Harris had opted for a few plush, brown leather couches. Shawn walked over to one of them and took a seat while I walked up to the counter to check in. The woman at the front desk was a kind older woman. She asked me a few basic questions before handing me a clipboard and pen with some paperwork to fill out.

"Just have a seat, make yourself comfortable, and fill out this paperwork for me. When you're done just bring it back up to me and Penny will come out to get you." I nodded and glanced at the nameplate that was sitting on her pristine desk.

"Thank you, Eleanor." I said shyly. She smiled and nodded in reply as I made my way over to where Shawn was sitting, now flipping through a Cosmopolitan magazine that had been sitting  on the coffee table in front of him.

"I had no idea that girl magazines were so...dirty," he remarked. I snorted at his observation.

"They're not all like that, but yeah Cosmo can get pretty wild," I replied. He turned the page, eyes widening at whatever he had seen before closing it up and setting it back down on the coffee table. I began diligently filling out the paperwork, eventually coming to the emergency contact section. I looked over at Shawn only to find that he had already been staring at me. His face reddened slightly, knowing that he had been caught.

"Sorry," he said timidly. I just chuckled and shook my head.

"You can stare if you want, baby." I placed a quick kiss to his cheek before turning my attention back to the papers in front of me. "Is it okay if I put you as my emergency contact?" I asked. His face lit up.

"Whoa babe, this is kind of a big step. You really want me to be your emergency contact?" He asked jokingly. I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

"Well I mean it's not like I really have anyone else..." I added. His face immediately fell upon hearing my words. I could tell he felt bad and wanted to say something, but he didn't. Instead he just brushed a strand of hair out of my face and behind my ear.

"I would be honored to be your emergency contact," he said. I smiled at him and wrote down his name and contact information. Under the contact information was another question: relationship to the emergency contact. I looked at the checkbox options.

Parent/Guardian, Sibling, Spouse & Friend.

"Ok here's another question," I said looking up at Shawn once again. "Would you prefer to be my spouse or my friend?" He looked down at the paper and then back up at me, smiling.

"I mean, I wouldn't mind being your spouse," he answered with a wink. I shook my head and rolled my eyes in an attempt to play it cool, but I couldn't control the swarm of butterflies that took flight inside me upon hearing his words. I looked back down at the papers again before placing a small checkmark in the box marked 'Spouse'.

I had returned the clipboard and pen with my completed paperwork to Eleanor before returning to the couch with Shawn. My stomach was in knots was I waited for Dr. Harris to come out. Soon enough, the door opened and a calm voice was echoing through the waiting room.

"Camila?" she asked. I gave Shawn's hand a gentle squeeze before letting go and walking over towards her. I reached out and shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Dr. Harris." I said timidly.

"Oh please, call me Penelope or Penny – whichever you feel more comfortable with. Dr. Harris feels too formal," she explained. I nodded before following her back to a small, nicely decorated room.

----

[Shawn's POV]

I knew she was nervous and honestly I felt nervous for her too, but hopefully after this first session she'll feel better about coming to see Dr. Harris. I let out a deep exhale as I saw Camila walk back with Penelope, the door closing behind them. I flipped through a few more magazines, messed around on my phone for a bit, even counted the fucking ceiling tiles. The appointment was supposed to last an hour but it felt like it was taking forever. I grabbed my phone to check the time. It had only been 20 minutes. I let out a deep sigh.

"You seem nervous. Would you like a bottle of water?" I looked up to where the voice was coming from. Eleanor had a concerned look on her face.

"Y-yeah, actually I would love a bottle of water." I stood up and made my way over to the front desk as Eleanor turned around and opened the mini fridge that was hidden under her desk, pulling out a drink and handing it to me. "Thanks," I said, taking the bottle from her.

"You have nothing to be worried about, you know. Penny is not just a fantastic therapist, she's an incredible friend and listener too, and in many cases that's exactly what people need. She's in good hands, I promise – and I'm not just saying that because she's my daughter. She really is a fantastic doctor," Eleanor explained. I nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, she's your daughter?" I inquired.

"Yes, turns out no matter how old they get you can still get them to do what you tell them by threating to ground them. How do think I got this job?" She joked.

"Fair enough," I laughed.

"I assume you're the husband?" Eleanor questioned. For a moment I considered correcting her, but opted not to.

"Yes," I replied simply as she smiled.

"I can tell you take good care of her," she stated confidently.

"I try my best," I responded with a nod. Eleanor and I continued talking for what felt like 15 minutes but in reality must've been much longer because soon enough Camila and Penelope were walking back out into the waiting room. I placed my arm around Camila as she approached me, kissing her cheek.

"Hi baby," I said quietly.

"Hi," she whispered back.

"Shawn?" I turned to see Penelope still standing at the door. "Can I talk to you alone for a bit?" she asked. I glanced down at Camila quickly before looking back to Penelope.

"Uh, y-yeah, sure." She must've noticed that her request caught me off guard because she quickly explained herself.

"It's nothing bad, I promise. I just have a few questions." I nodded and started walking towards the door where she was waiting.

----

Penny had led me into a small room, I presume the same one she had talked to Camila in.

"Sit down, make yourself comfortable," she said as she gestured towards the couch. I nodded, walking over and taking a seat. She sat down in the chair across from me before taking a deep breath and eyeing me curiously.
"You...you were the one who found her...that night...correct?" she asked. I took a deep breath before responding with a simple 'yes'.

"I know this is probably going to be tough, would you mind telling me about how that happened? Why you went back, what you saw, how you reacted, how she reacted, et cetera." I swallowed hard, taking another deep breath before telling her the story in detail from my perspective. Her eyes widened in shock when I told her that I had comforted Camila by holding her in my arms and kissing the top of her head.

"She let you do that?" she asked, amazed. I nodded and thought back on the moment for a brief second, tears already freely flowing down my cheeks from the uncovered memories.

"I guess I never thought about how weird it was that she was okay with it," I replied.

"Was she still naked?" she asked.

"I had helped her cover herself up, but she wasn't clothed," I responded. Penelope sat in her thoughts for a moment before speaking up again.

"Were there ever any other moments like that one?" she questioned. I nodded and told her the story of the panic attack that Camila had in the shower, and how I had comforted her once again. She continued to look at me with some combination of shock and amazement.

"How long have you guys been together?" she asked.

"I asked her to be my girlfriend a few weeks ago, but there's always been something between us. I guess we just never defined it or made it official until a few weeks ago," I answered. She sat there listening to my response, her brows furrowed in concentration.

"Ok Shawn, forgive me for asking such a personal question - but have you and Camila had sex yet?" she asked. Her question caught me off guard slightly, but I answered her anyways.

"Um, w-we haven't gone all the way, technically but we've done...things...before, I guess." I felt like an idiot for stumbling over my words so much, but then again I wasn't necessarily planning on describing my sex life to a complete stranger today.

"Do you mind me asking how far you've gone?" I stared at her blankly for a moment before clearing my throat and answering her question.

"Um, j-just oral." I could feel cheeks begin to flush at the intimacy of our conversation.

"Ok, another weird question: does it...go both ways...if you know what I mean?" she questioned. I avoided eye contact as I cleared my throat once more.

"Yeah," I said simply. Yep. Definitely blushing.

"Sorry, I'm not trying to be a creep. It's just...her boundaries are shocking. After what she went through, most people wouldn't want anyone to even look in their direction, but with you it seems she's able to completely let her guard down and still feel safe." I watched as she shook her head in amazement. She sat there for a moment, clearly deep in thought, before speaking up again. "I have no idea what you're doing, but keep doing it. Something about you brings her peace and comfort and that's exactly what she needs." I nodded in agreement as we both stood up and walked back out into the lobby.

"Ready to go?" I asked as I walked up to Camila and intertwined her hand with mine. I knew she could tell that I had been crying, and that was confirmed when she brought my hand up to place a soft kiss to the back of it.

"Let's go," she responded as we walked out of the office hand-in-hand.