"She has her problems," Lauren explained as she watched Dinah unloading the dishwasher from where she was sitting on the counter. "But she's a good kid who's clearly going through something."

It was 5 in the afternoon and Maddie was due to arrive soon for her first extra class. 

"How's she a good kid if she's always kicking off in your classes?" Dinah rolled her eyes. 

"She doesn't kick off, D," Lauren sighed. "She just doesn't do very well at English."

"Fine, but why does she have to come here for classes?" Dinah asked. "Is that normal?"

"Well, she really is quite far behind, and I've tried giving her classes in school but there are just so many distractions," Lauren justified.

"But what if she's a bad influence for Camila?" Dinah objected.

"It's not like she'll be here all the time," Lauren rolled her eyes, hopping off the counter. "I'm going to go get Cammie up from her nap before Maddie gets here."

She walked up the stairs, quietly making her way into Camila's room and moving over to draw the curtains first.

"Look who's already awake," Lauren smiled at the little face that was looking up at her with big eyes , blinking sleepily. "Hi there, nena," she cooed as she picked Camila up.

Lauren always treasured the moments right after Camila had woken up, since she girl was always the most affectionate and cuddly then.

"Did you have a nice nap, my love?" she asked softly, opting against taking away her pacifier seeing as Camila was awake anyway. She walked up and down the room a few times, rubbing Camila's back as the small girl cuddled into her chest, giving her a little bit of time to adjust to the light before going downstairs. The small girl had slept in only an oversized T-shirt with her diaper, but she seemed comfortable so Lauren didn't think to change her.

"Mama?" Camila finally spoke up once Lauren was at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm right here, baby," Lauren promised, patting Camila's bottom. She came to a halt. "Shoot," she murmured.

"What is it?" Dinah asked.

"I forgot to change Camila's diaper," Lauren sighed. "And Maddie's going to be here any-,"

She was cut off by the sound of the doorbell.

"I got her," Dinah offered, taking Camila from Lauren's arms. "Shh, don't cry, kiddo, let's go get you cleaned up."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Lauren said sympathetically before making her way to the front door. 

"Hi, Miss. Jauregui," Maddie smiled when Lauren opened the door. 

She was evidently slightly nervous and was rubbing the sole of her shoe against the pavement as she waited, her backpack hanging loosely off of her left shoulder.

"Come in, Maddie," Lauren smiled. "Sorry about the racket, Camila's just woken up from her nap, it should quieten down in a few minutes."

"Better than an empty house," Maddie shrugged, stepping in. 

"Uh, just straight ahead," Lauren smiled, showing Maddie through to the kitchen. "Would you rather work in here or the living room?"

"Here, please," Maddie said, sliding onto one of the chair's at the kitchen island.

"How was dinner with your friend? Megan, was it?" Lauren asked, moving to the coffee machine to make herself something strong enough to teach Maddie on.

"Oh, uh, didn't end up happening because my mum forgot to leave money for pizza," Maddie shrugged.

"Oh, so what did you have?"

"Cereal."

Lauren didn't reply, pretending to be busy drying her mug. There was definitely something wrong, but she didn't want to push Maddie too far.

"Look, it's Mama," she heard Dinah's voice approaching followed by the sound of baby whimpers.

"Come here, doll," Lauren said, taking Camila back and balancing her on her hip.

"Hi, Maddie, I'm Dinah, Lauren's girlfriend," Dinah introduced herself.

"It's nice you meet you," Maddie said, evidently still nervous.

"Maddie, love, I'm just making Camila a snack, do you want anything?" Lauren asked.

"Um..," Maddie trailed off hesitantly. Of course, she was hungry, but she didn't want to be a burden.

"I'll make you one anyway and you can eat what you want," Lauren smiled, taking down a glass bowl for Maddie and a plastic pink one for Camila. 

"Wan' mimi," Camila whined, patting Lauren's breast.

"Not now, nena, we're going to have a snack and then DJ will give you a bottle, we can have mimi milk later," Lauren explained, walking over to the highchair and sitting Camila down in it, placing a small handful of blueberries on the tray to keep the little one busy. She then scooped some yogurt into both bowls as well as some cut up strawberry slices and a drizzle of honey and peanut butter.

Once the two girls had eaten their snacks, Dinah took Camila into the living room to have a bottle while Lauren started working with Maddie on her essay.

"But I wanna play with Mama and Maddie," Camila pouted as she followed Dinah into the living room.

"I know, bubs, but right now they're doing some work," Dinah explained. "Here, drink up your milk."

Camila whined, climbing into Dinah's lap with her fingers in her mouth.

"Why do you want to suck your little fingers when I have a perfectly good bottle right here, hm?" Dinah asked, shaking the bottle.

Camila whined, squirming uncomfortably in Dinah's lap. She wanted comfort, and Lauren wasn't there to give her that.

"Oh, babe, don't cry," Dinah sighed as Camila's fussy whines turned into sobs. "I don't know what you want, you have to tell me," she said as the small girl rolled out of her lap and onto the floor.

Camila sobbed as she curled up on the floor. Her whole body ached with discomfort and she didn't know what to do about it.

"Come on, work with me," Dinah tried, sitting down on the floor. "Do you want your toys?"

Camila didn't respond, instead starting to cry even louder.

"What is going on?" Lauren asked, walking in. "Oh, baby, come here," she said, picking Camila up. "I know, my love, I know," she soothed, bouncing the small girl in her arms. Her nose was running and she was coughing from choking on her tears. 

"I didn't do anything," Dinah said, putting her arms up.

"Dinah, I'm trying to teach, can you not watch her for just an hour?" Lauren groaned.

"Bestie, I tried," Dinah scoffed, moving to sit on the sofa instead.

"Well, unless you want to go teach a 16 year old Shakespeare, you're going to have to try harder," Lauren sighed. "Camila, my love, I know you want to stay with Mummy but right now I can't play, can you go play with DJ?"

"I need you," Camila whimpered.

"Tell you what," Dinah stood up. "I'm going to go get the nursing blanket and you can feed Camila while you teach Maddie, that way you can keep an eye on the both of them, okay?"

"No, D, that's not the point," Lauren huffed. "Just give me the bottle."

She took the bottle before walking back into the kitchen with Camila in her arms.  

"Maddie, how's it going?" she asked, sitting back down and situating Camila comfortably in her arms.

"Fine, I guess," she shrugged. "I don't really know what more to write."

"Uh, okay, give me your paper," she said, struggling to feed Camila while paying attention to Maddie. "Camzi, sweetheart, are you comfortable?"

Camila nodded, curling into Lauren's chest and suckling contently at the bottle.

"Maddie, you can't possibly-," Lauren cut herself off, wanting to make sure she didn't come across as too critical. "Why don't we read through these exemplar example essays before going back to writing yours?"

"Okay," Maddie nodded.

"When can Maddie play with me?" Camila asked, spitting out the teat of her bottle.

"Baby, Maddie's here to do school work," Lauren explained.

"Trust me, I'd much rather be playing," Maddie told Camila.

"But after?" Camila asked.

"I'm sure Maddie's busy, baby, Lauren said, trying to give Camila her bottle again.

"I'm not," Maddie shrugged. "I'll play with you."

"You're more than welcome to stay for dinner, love," Lauren said, standing up with Camila in her arms so that she could reach Camila's backpack. "Why don't you start on your homework now if you want to have time to play with Maddie."

Much to Lauren's relief, both Maddie and Camila quietened down for the next hour and got on with their work with Lauren giving each one a little bit of help every few minutes.

"Right, girls, I think you've both worked really hard and that we can come to a stop now," Lauren said as she finished reading over Camila's work. While there were still lots of simple mistakes, she could tell that her work was slowly improving. 

"That was exhausting," Maddie sighed, closing her laptop.

"Are you sure you want to stay for dinner? Maybe I should call your mum and check," Lauren said, pulling out her phone.

"No!" Maddie said quickly. "I, um, I already told her."

"When?" Lauren asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I told her this morning I would be home late," Maddie said nervously.

"Okay," Lauren said warily. "Camz, love, do you want to show Maddie your toys while me and DJ get dinner ready?"

"Yes!" Camila giggled excitedly.

"Come here a sec, munchkin," Lauren said, pulling Camila towards her so she could clip her pacifier onto the oversized T-shirt she was wearing. "Don't suck your thumb, okay?" she said, booping Camila's nose with her finger.

"C'mon!" Camila squealed, taking Maddie's hand and dragging her upstairs.

"Wow, you sure do have a lot of toys," Maddie said, looking around Camila's room.

"This is baby," Camila said, holding up her baby doll. "An' dis is her pram," she said, showing Maddie the pink pushchair. 

"Wow, does she sit in it when you go out?" Maddie asked, sitting down cross legged on the floor.

"Yeah," Camila nodded enthusiastically. "Her pram is just like mine but my blankie is in my pram and she doesn't have one."

"We could try making her one sometime," Maddie suggested with a small smile.

"Really?" Camila beamed. "Oh, and look!" she said, running over to the corner and picking up her favourite night time story book before running back and sitting herself down in Maddie's lap. "This is one of my favourite stories for ni ni time."

"What's it about?" Maddie asked, opening the book and starting to flip through the pages.

"A little princess who goes dancing in the clouds every time she goes nini," Camila explained. "Can we build a lego castle?"

"Okay, as long as you help me tidy up after," Maddie said, knowing how messy lego could be.

"I'll get it!" Camila said excitedly. "Maddie, look how high I can jump!" she said, climbing on top of her toy box.

"I don't think you should-," Maddie was cut off by the loud crash of Camila falling off of the toy box.

After a second of shock, the small girl burst into tears.

"Are you okay?" Maddie hurried over. "C'mon, let's go get your Mummy," she tried, biting her lip nervously at the situation.

"Hey, what's going on?" Lauren appeared in the doorway.

"I d-didn't-," Maddie broke off, tears clouding her own eyes as Lauren hurried over to the little girl who was crying, scooping her up off of the floor and into her arms.

"Shh, you're okay, nena," she soothed.

"Oh, sweetheart, it's not your fault," she said, moving to sit down next to Maddie when she saw that she was crying. "Come here," she said, wrapping an arm around Maddie too now that Camila was quietening down.

"I'm sorry," Maddie whispered.

"Accidents happen, sometimes we learn a lot from falling over, don't we Camzi?" Lauren said, rubbing Camila's back. "Where does it hurt?"

"My knee," Camila pouted, holding it up.

"There we go," Lauren said, kissing it better for her. "Now, I think you're both really tired and we should do something a bit quieter instead of playtime."

"Watch Sofia?" Camila asked hopefully. 

"I don't think Maddie would like Sofia, angel, but watching something on the TV is a good idea," Lauren said softly. "How about Matilda?"

"It's scawy," Camila protested.

"Matilda's not scary, chick," Lauren chuckled. "Okay, do you want to watch Paddington?"

"I like Paddington," Maddie said when Camila nodded.

"Okay, I think Camila needs to have a bath and get into her pyjamas before dinner, if you go downstairs Dinah should be in the kitchen," Lauren said, ignoring Camila's whines of protest.

"Wanna stay with Maddie," Camila whined. "Can Maddie have a bath too?"

"No, sweetheart, Maddie doesn't have any pyjamas here, does she? We need to get you all squeaky clean right now so that you don't need to worry about having a bath after your movie," Lauren explained. "But Maddie isn't going anywhere, she's going to be right downstairs with DJ waiting for you."

"Okay," Camila finally conceded.

Maddie made her way downstairs, making sure she had brushed away all her tears before walking into the kitchen.

"Miss Jauregui's just giving Camila a bath," Maddie explained, hovering awkwardly in the doorway.

"Is Camila okay?" Dinah asked, having heard the crying.

"Yeah, she just fell and got hurt," Maddie explained.

"Oh, yeah don't worry about it, she's always falling over with how hyper she is," Dinah smiled. "How was your day at school?"

"I hate school," Maddie sighed. "I mean, who doesn't?"

"Why do you hate it?" Dinah furrowed her eyebrows. "I mean, it can be boring at times, but hate, that's a strong word, you know?"

"I suppose it's better than being at home, like, at least there's food and stuff, but it's just monotonous with all the classes and-,"

"What do you mean?" Dinah interrupted, looking over her shoulder from where she was pan-frying the broccoli."

"I mean good food," Maddie rolled her eyes.

"You think school food is good food? That's rare for a kid, you know," Dinah laughed uneasily.

"Sometimes hot food just tastes better," Maddie shrugged. 

"So what do you eat at home?" Dinah asked.

"Cereal," Maddie said curtly. "Sometimes with milk."

"Is money short at home?" Dinah asked hesitantly, not wanting to overstep.

"No, my mum leaves me loads of money to get food, but I'm not really good at buying food and ordering makes me anxious," Maddie explained.

"Do you, uh, have a favourite food?" Dinah asked.

"Hm, maybe white chocolate and blueberry muffins, I had them once at the park with my mum when I was six, they were amazing," Maddie said, smiling at the memory. "Or mac n cheese, obviously. What's yours?"

"Your memory is what's amazing," Dinah joked. "I think mine is mac n cheese, too, actually," she said thoughtfully. "I don't get to eat it much because Lauren insists on keeping healthier food in the house for Camila, but it can't be that weird gloopy kind."

"Yeah it has to be crispy at the top and really cheesy," Maddie agreed. "Like, real cheese, not processed stuff."

"Exactly," Dinah smiled. "I hope you like chicken," she said, crouching down to check on the chicken parmagiana in the oven.

"I'm not picky," Maddie replied.

"I wish Camila was like that," Dinah chuckled. "She's one of the pickiest kids I've ever met, it's a good thing she likes milk or we'd be getting nowhere. Lauren's good with her, she's good with kids, you know? I'm not."

"Really? I mean, I know I'm not a kid but you're good with me," Maddie said absent-mindedly.

"16 is definitely still a kid," Dinah chuckled. "And I appreciate that, Maddie."

"I get why Camila likes Miss Jauregui, though," Maddie shrugged. "She's so...calming."

"Lauren's definitely special," Dinah said, smiling to herself.

"When did you guys meet?" Maddie asked, leaning against the counter.

"I met Lauren at a party when we were 19," Dinah chuckled. "She was with her friends, and I was alone, and I saw this beautiful girl with long hair sitting down at the other side of the bar so I bought her a drink, which she refused, but she did give me a dance and one thing led to another..."

"What, you had sex the first night you met her?" Maddie asked with a mischievous smile.

"Uhh," Dinah trailed off, unsure as to whether or not to tell the truth. "We were young," she shrugged. "Not a word of this to anyone at school, though," she laughed.

"My lips are sealed," Maddie giggled. "Lauren's hot, though," she added mischievously. 

"Hey, that's Miss Jauregui to you," Dinah laughed in shock, playfully wagging a finger at the teenager.

"What're you two giggling away about?" Lauren smiled, walking in with Camila in her arms. The little girl's wet hair hung limply by her face and she was in a fresh diaper and her sleepsuit, gurgling quietly as she suckled on her fingers of the hand that wasn't tightly gripping her blankie.

"Nothing," Dinah chuckled, shooting Maddie a pointed look which only caused the younger girl to start laughing more.

"Do you need any help finishing dinner?" Lauren asked, gently bouncing Camila in her arms.

"No, it's all good, should I blend Camila's up for her?" Dinah asked.

"Baby, do you think you'll eat some big girl food?" Lauren asked gently. 

Camila didn't reply, resting her head against Lauren's chest.

"I don't think so, hmm?" she said, stroking the sleepy girl's hair. "Yeah, just blend it. I think she'll want milk more than anything," she said as she picked up the nursing blanket and sitting down at the kitchen table. "No, sweetheart, no mi-mi until you've hand your num-num."

"Lauren makes up loads of words for Camila," Dinah told Maddie. "Don't ask me what half of them mean."

"D, it's just baby talk," Lauren laughed. "Camz, what's num-num?" she asked.

"Num-num," Camila echoed, opening and closing her hand.

"Is num-num your food? Yes, it is," she cooed. "And mi-mi?" she asked, nodding when Camila's hand found her breast. "What a good girl I have, hmm? And what about baba, where's Camila's baba?"

"Okay, I know that one," Dinah rolled her eyes, nodding towards one of the steralised bottles in the sink. "Maddie, what plate did you want?" Dinah asked hesitantly, unsure as to whether or not to use a children's plate.

"I'm sixteen," Maddie said with a raised eye-brow. "I think I can use an adult plate."

"Right," Dinah chuckled, carrying a serving bowl of rice and another of broccoli to the table before going back to get the chicken.

"Come on, sweetheart," Lauren said, lifting Camila into her high-chair. "I know, baby, you just want cuddles, huh?" she said when Camila began crying. "It's okay, my love," she hummed, clipping a bib around Camila's neck and taking the plastic bowl of blended rice and chicken from Dinah as well as a soft baby spoon.

"Maddie, do you want me to serve you?" Dinah asked, sitting down at the table.

"Yes, please," Maddie nodded.

The conversation flowed easily with Lauren feeding Camila her food between bites of her own. By the time they had finished eating, Camila was impatiently banging the tray of her high chair, wanting to be let out, and Maddie looked a bit tired too

"Lo, c'mere," Dinah said while they cleared the table, pulling Lauren to the side. "Just let her stay the night, her mum isn't home and the girls are so cute together."

"D, we can't, it's unprofessional and breaches just about every safe-guarding rule," Lauren sighed. "We need to get her home."

"Fine," Dinah huffed.

"I did promise them a movie, though," Lauren sighed.

"I'll make the hot chocolate," Dinah said excitedly.

Lauren shook her head playfully at Dinah before moving back to the table to wipe Camila's face clean.

"Mi-mi," Camila whined, squirming in Lauren's arms.

"I know, I know," Lauren said, grabbing the nursing blanket. "Maddie, should we go start the movie? I'll drive you home after," she said, dimming the living room lights.

"Padd'ton," Camila lisped as Lauren turned on the movie.

"Yes, baby, we're watching Paddington. Maddie, are you comfy? You can take a blanket from other there, and I'm pretty sure Dinah's bringing you a hot chocolate."

She wrapped the nursing blanket around her body before lifting her top and opening the cup of the nursing bra, gently cradling Camila against her chest. The little girl latched on almost immediately, her blankie now forgotten on the side of the sofa as her hand reached for Lauren's other breast for comfort.

"Close your eyes, angel," Lauren whispered, knowing Camila was on the brink of sleep already. "It's okay, you can go nini, Mama's right here."

Fifteen minutes later, Camila was asleep in Lauren's arms while Dinah and Maddie were drinking what looked like extremely sugary hot chocolate topped with both whipped cream and marshmallows. 

"I'm going to take Camz up to bed, D, do you think you could drop Maddie home for me?" Lauren asked, adjusting Camila in her arms. 

"Of course," Dinah nodded.

"Okay, you can change the movie if you want now that Camz is out, but she's 16, D, so nothing that'll give her nightmares and nothing inappropriate," Lauren warned quietly. "And for the love of god, she has to go home, okay?"

After Dinah begrudgingly agreed, Lauren took Camila upstairs to her crib, hesitating before changing her mind and going to her and Dinah's room, opting to let Camila sleep in their bed for the night, despite whether the fact that it would mean Camila waking her up at some ungodly hour.

"Shh," she whispered as Camila started waking up, whining and turning onto her tummy. "Mama's just getting into her jammies," Lauren said when Camila made grabby hands for her. She quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a sports bra before getting into bed, lifting Camila into her arms.

"Mama," Camila whispered, nuzzling into Lauren's chest.

"Can you stop sucking your thumb, nena?" Lauren asked, gently tugging at the little girl's digit. "That's not what I meant," Lauren chuckled when Camila pulled Lauren's thumb into her mouth instead, suckling rhythmically at it as her eyes grew heavy

"You know, sometimes it feels like it's just you and me," Lauren whispered, patting Camila's back with the hand that the little girl wasn't sucking the thumb of, hoping to put her back to sleep. "Just you and me against the whole world, babe. You're all mine, munchkin," she said, kissing Camila's forehead before leaning back against the headboard of their bed.

"All mine," she repeated as Camila's breathing evened out, demonstrating that she was fast asleep.

***