A neurosurgeon informed the three mothers that Natalia might experience some brief deficits following her surgery but it was expected and they shouldn't worry too much. They'd be ordering a CT scan to conclude whether or not they'd managed to resect the entirety of the tumour but they were confident that they had. The little girl would need to stay in the hospital for a week for observation but if things went as smoothly as they hoped, she'd be home and sleeping in her own bed the very next week.
Camila felt intrusive as she stood beside Lauren and Ashley as the doctor conveyed the news but Lauren's hand held hers firm and she knew that's where she was wanted. That's where she needed to be. The trio had concluded that she was as much a mother to the little girl as either of them.
Camila came to know that this was her first act as Natalia's mother, though not officially, and it was standing with her other parents and learning that she was going to be okay.
Natalia was going to be okay.
Lauren let the knowledge flow through her live a river running rampant and every part of her heart felt as if it could start beating again. Like it had stilled through the duration of this whole ordeal and only now could she allow herself the privilege of living again.
Ashley was ready to pop a bottle of champagne for any and everyone in the hospital. She was ready to scream it from every rooftop that her daughter was going to live a long and prosperous life. She didn't know she could feel that type of joy until it settled upon her. She knew that come the weekend, she'd be downing more shots than she ever had in her life because finally she could do so. She could begin her life again knowing her daughter wouldn't be suffering the way she had been.
And Camila...Camila was just ready to see Natalia again. She was overjoyed and ready to party the very same way Ashley was...but more than anything, she just wanted to see Natalia again. To know she was there, real and alive. That's what she wanted more than anything in the world. And never had she felt such a pull towards another human in her life but she blamed the maternal instinct that was starting to flow through her relentlessly. Her daughter had gone through a major surgery and she just needed to know for herself that she hadn't lost her. It was as simple as that.
She didn't even know that she'd been feeling so...lost until she was offered a light at the end of the dark tunnel.
She offered Lauren and Ashley to visit their daughter first because only two were permitted into the room at a time. Camila was happy to just take a moment and lather in the knowledge that life would be simpler again.
Sinuhe perched herself down beside her oldest daughter with a gentle smile settled on her face and Camila knew her mother knew her thoughts. Camila knew Sinuhe could understand her relief.
"You didn't even give me a warning that I'd be a grandma." She nudged the singer playfully.
"I wasn't even given a warning I'd be a mother," Camila scoffed before rolling her eyes. "But she's mine, mami," The singer spoke the words softly, letting them settle upon her. "They both want her to be as well. They're my family."
"You know I love Lia and Lauren," Sinu sighed softly. "And I suppose I can learn to love Ashley."
"Good," Camila feigned a playful glare. "Cause she's important to me now, we're actually pretty good friends." The brunette still couldn't fathom the absurdity of her life but she loved it. "I proposed to Lauren," She confided softly. "She said no and I guess I understand it, but I think it was a no...for right now."
"She needs to feel absolutely ready," Sinuhe reminded her daughter. "I can understand how now wouldn't be the right time for that decision. I'm sure she wants exactly what you want, mija, but she wants both of you to be as committed to following through as the other. With Natalia's life on the line, I'm sure she couldn't have been sure of anything."
"I hate when you make sense." Camila sighed softly.
Lauren, in a room just down the hallway, couldn't tear her eyes away from her daughter's droopy eyes and lopsided smile as Ashley retold a silly story Taylor had told her about. The green-eyed mother couldn't find in her to speak, all she could do is stare in wonderment at the strength of her daughter. She let Ashley bring out their daughter's personality so she could just...appreciate. She sat on the chair beside the bed and just let her eyes linger on the beauty of the girl laying on the hospital bed.
"Hey, I'm gonna give Mila a chance to come in," Ashley drew Lauren's attention away from their daughter. "I'm sure she's dying to see Nat."
"Thank you," Lauren spoke softly, her eyes finding her daughter again.
"Hey, Laur," Ashley crouched down beside her ex-wife and offered her a soft smile. "She's here," She tucked a strand of the woman's hair behind her ear, seeing the disbelief still settled in those shimmering green eyes. "She's alive. She's real."
Ashley lifted herself slightly and pressed a kiss to her ex-wife's forehead before slipping out of the room only for Camila to enter it moments later.
The brunette took a moment to pause in the doorway, her eyes taking in the tiny girl settled in a bed far too big for her with a small patch of hair missing on her head but instead replaced by a stitched cut where she was sure they'd operated. Natalia tried for a smile but fell short and Camila couldn't find it in her to care. Because there was her little girl, eyes open and happy to see her and oh-so very alive.
She made her entrance slowly, knowing Lauren was there but unable to offer her girlfriend any portion of her attention. Not when Natalia was looking at her the way she was, like she'd missed her even though it hadn't even been a day since they'd last seen one another. Not when Natalia's eyes held love that Camila treasured more than anything else in the world.
And that's the first time she could conclude that maybe she loved someone more than Lauren. It was the first time she found that her heart could be split in two and divided to two individuals. Natalia held half and Lauren the other. She was theirs in every way she could be. This was it for her, the two girls in that room were everything.
She took Natalia's hand in her own and brought it up to her lips, pressing a kiss to her daughter's fingers before allowing a tear to slide down her cheek. Because up until that very moment, she knew there was a strong possibility she'd be losing her. Up until that very moment, she had had to imagine a life without Natalia.
"It's unreal, isn't it?" Lauren spoke gently. "How it all just...attacks you at once."
"It's the best and worst feelings." Camila nodded before finally looking to the woman she loved. "It's everything."
"I can say yes now, Camz," Lauren looked between her daughter and the love of her life. "I'm saying yes now."
"Yes to...?" Because Camila was still too distracted by the knowledge that Natalia was not going anywhere.
"Marrying you." Lauren reminded her girlfriend with a soft smile. "I'm saying yes to marrying you and I hope the offer still stands because I'm sure now." The green-eyed woman stood up and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sure she's alive and I'm sure you'll stay and I'm sure I will. So, if you'll still have me, I'd really like to be your wife. I'd love it, in fact."
Camila held Lauren's gaze for a moment, her mind reeling from the words that had just parted through Lauren's lips. But the moment was brief and the very next moment, her hand was found behind her fiancee's head and drawing her lips over to meet her own over the bed of their daughter.
"Yes?" Camila felt she needed the clarification.
"Definitely yes," Lauren smiled against the lips of the woman she had just promised her life to. "But I'm gonna ask you to take my last name, saves our kid having to extend her name any further." She chuckled softly.
"I was born to be a Jauregui, Laur," Camila rolled her eyes and let Lauren go. "It's about time we made that official."
