Lauren blinked sleepily as she sat up in bed, stretching her arms out behind her as she adjusted to being awake. She glanced at her clock, which showed that it was five to six, before lazily pulling herself out of bed. Even though it was earlier than she really needed to wake up, she had found that Camila did better when she wasn't in a rush. As well as that, it was always a challenge getting her ready for school and so it took much longer than it would with a normal child.

She jumped into the shower. Half an hour later, she was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and a slightly more formal white silk shirt.

After two cups of black coffee and answering a few emails, she made her way to Camila's room where she found the little girl fast asleep in her crib. She opened the curtains, despite the fact that it was still dark outside, and then walked over to the crib, reaching down to gently shake Camila's arm.

"Good morning," Lauren said animatedly as Camila's eyes fluttered open. The small girl whined, reaching up for Lauren. "Hang on, have you meds first," Lauren said, handing her the small blue tablet. "Good girl, up we get," she said, lifting Camila out of the crib and putting her down on the floor. "Did you sleep well?" she asked as Camila lay down on the changing mat.

"Yes," Camila said, starting to wake up. "Can we walk to school?" Camila asked hopefully as Lauren started to change her.

"I think so," Lauren agreed. "You have sports today, don't you," she said, pulling Camila's PE kit out of the cupboard. "You're going to be wearing a diaper to school today instead of a pull-up, how do you feel abut that?"

"Why?" Camila asked.

"Because it's a better option for you," Lauren said, choosing her words carefully. "I'll see you at lunchtime for a change anyway, but if you find it really unmanageable, tell Miss Epseley and I'll get you into a pull-up as soon as possible."

"Okay," Camila said quietly, sitting up so Lauren could help her change.

"Good girl," Lauren hummed as Camila cooperated with her. "Right, go brush your teeth and I'll help you with your hair when you come down," Lauren said, giving Camila a reassuring smile before jogging down the stairs to the kitchen to start making breakfast.

She poured some cold milk into a sippy cup and placed it on the table before making a plate of toast and fruit for for Camila.

"Look!" Camila exclaimed, running down the stairs, smiling widely to show Lauren her freshly cleaned teeth.

"Good job," Lauren praised. 

"Can I have chocolate milk?" Camila asked.

"No, love, you know that you like having it after school and you can't have it twice, it's too much sugar," Lauren said, nodding towards the sippy cup that was already on the table.

"Can I sit on your lap?" Camila asked, grabbing the sippy cup and reaching for Lauren. Before the older girl could reply, Camila was distracted by the garden, quickly running outside into the cold morning air.

"Camila!" Lauren called, moving towards the garden door. 

"What?" Camila asked, looking over her shoulder.

"We need to get ready for school," Lauren explained.

"I want to play," Camila shrugged.

"Five minutes, doll," Lauren called out before walking back inside. 

She decided to go upstairs and grab Camila's favourite stuffed bunny from her crib, hoping that him sitting at the table would encourage her to calm down a little bit. She picked up the rabbit, but as she did, something blue and familiar caught her eye. She pushed the other toys in the crib to the side to reveal a stash of tiny blue pills that had been carefully tucked away. She sighed heavily, realising what had been happening, before putting the teddies back and going downstairs with the bunny.

"Mila!" she called, waving the bunny at her. 

"Mr. Bunny!" Camila exclaimed, bouncing over and grabbing it from Lauren. 

"Let's eat breakfast now," Lauren said, leading Camila over tot he table.

"You don't eat breakfast," Camila shrugged, pushing the toast away.

"I'm not a growing teenage girl," Lauren rolled her eyes, sitting down with yet another cup of coffee. 

"Fine, but no crust," Camila sighed.

"Are you going to be okay at school today?" Lauren asked, sipping her coffee.

"I don't know," Camila mumbled quietly, thinking back to the accident she had had the day before at school. 

"Try not to worry too much," Lauren tried to reassure her.

"Can Mr. Bunny walk to school with us?" Camila asked, hugging the soft animal to her chest.

"Sure, love," Lauren nodded, reaching over to feed Camila a bite the fruit that she was neglecting. "I was thinking Dinah could come over again, you were really tired the last time you met her so you might like her more now, hmm?"

"Okay," Camila said, standing up with her sippy cup. "More," she said, giving Lauren the cup.

"Ask nicely," Lauren warned, raising an eyebrow.

"More milk please," Camila said quietly.

"Go get your shoes and I'll help you put them on," Lauren said, walking over to the fridge. "Bring your coat too."

Five minutes later, the two were walking down the road, one of them with a sippy cup and toy rabbit and the other trying to keep the first from running across a road.

"Camz, is that sippy empty?" Lauren asked, reaching over to inspect it. "There's a bit more left."

"I can't," Camila whispered, stopping in her tracks as they grew closer to the school.

"Hey, what's going on?" Lauren asked, although she definitely already knew.

"They're gonna make fun of me," Camila said, her lip wobbling as a tear ran down her cheek.

"No, sweetheart," Lauren sighed, bending down. "Mrs. Williams told me she's going to have a conversation with your class about it and that it's not something to worry about."

"Please don't make me go," Camila begged.

"Okay, let's have an action plan, hmm?" Lauren said, pushing a strand of Camila's hair out of her face. "Why don't I walk you all the way over to your classroom, and we can put your bunny in your backpack in case you need him," she said, taking the bunny from Camila and placing him into her backpack. "C'mon angel, you got this."

Camila nodded, taking a deep breath before wiping away her tears and reaching for Lauren's hand. 

"I'm so proud of you," Lauren said softly. 

They walked into the school and, as promised, Lauren walked Camila all the way down to her classroom.

"Good morning, Camila," Mrs. Williams said from her desk with a warm smile. "Would you like to hang up your coat and then go sit down?"

Camila didn't respond, looking up at Lauren nervously. 

"Go on, sweetheart, I'll see you at lunch," Lauren reassured her, gently nudging Camila towards the coat pegs as Miss Epseley walked over to talk to her outside the classroom.

"I hope she was okay yesterday," Miss Epseley said kindly.

"It was a hard day for her and she was a bit hesitant about coming in, she's got her stuffed bunny in her backpack and I told her that if she wants a change earlier then she can tell you," Lauren explained.

"Got it," Miss Epseley nodded. "It's a refreshing change to actually know what's going on at home, her other babysitters don't usually tell us much."

"What about her parents?" Lauren asked in confusion. 

"They're not usually around," Miss Epseley said with a sad smile.

Lauren couldn't stop thinking about Miss Epseley's words as she walked back to her classroom. The day dragged on until it finally came to last period and Lauren was in her classroom, with Dinah, sipping on the Starbucks her girlfriend had brought for her.

"Come on, D, she's not that bad," Lauren sighed, watching as her girlfriend propped herself up on a desk, crossing her legs.

"She's a tiny Hitler," Dinah scoffed, sipping her sugary frap. "At least it's just for another week."

"Uh, I have a feeling I might be babysitting her a bit longer," Lauren sighed. "She has a really tough time with her parents, it's pretty complicated."

"How old is she?" Dinah asked.

"She's fifteen," Lauren said. "But honestly, it's more like looking after a five year old most of the time."

"Why does she still use bottles?" 

"I only give her one when she's having a really hard time, but she has a lot of special needs, you'll understand once you know her a bit better," Lauren explained. 

"Ugh, fine," Dinah sighed, throwing her head back.

"I really needed this, by the way," Lauren said, nodding to the coffee she was holding.

"You and your coffee," Dinah tutted playfully. "I got you those pacifiers you asked for, by the way," she added.

"There's only one thing I like more than coffee," Lauren smirked, standing up and moving closer to her girlfriend, pushing her body up against hers and gently joining their lips.

"Mmm," Dinah mumbled, kissing back passionately.

"Lauren!" A voice called out, and running footsteps caused the two girls to quickly part.

"Hello, little miss," Lauren smiled, picking up the little girl who was reaching up for her. "Did she have a good day?" she asked, walking over to Miss Epseley with Camila still in her arms.

"Um, a few blips," Miss Epseley said in a tone that indicated it was something to be discussed in private.

"Right," Lauren nodded. "Say bye, Mila," Lauren prompted, rubbing Camila's back.

"Bye," Camila mumbled into Lauren's shoulder.

"Bye, Camila," Miss Epseley laughed softly before disappearing down the corridor.

"Hey, hun," Dinah said, waving at Camila.

"Why is she here?" Camila complained, wriggling out of Lauren's arms.

"We spoke about it this morning, baby," Lauren reminded her, watching as Camila entertained herself spinning around on Lauren's share.

"Isn't she charming," Dinah muttered under her breath.

"I'm going to put her down for a nap when we get back anyway," Lauren reassured her. "Sweetheart, can you come here please?"

"Can I have chocolate milk when we get home?" Camila asked hopefully.

"Of course, love," Lauren said. "But you still need to have a nap before dinner so you don't get cranky," she reminded her.

"No," Camila said, stamping her foot. "No nap."

"Let's just get home," Lauren said, giving Dinah a quick kiss, knowing she wouldn't be happy with Camila stealing her attention. "Dinah drove here but we don't have your carseat, angel," Lauren said. "So you can either be a really good girl for me or we can walk."

"I'll be a good girl," Camila promised before skipping ahead.

"I'm sure she'll be fine without one," Dinah said, noticing the worry on Lauren's face.

"I hope so," the older girl sighed.

"Yo, kid, get back here," Dinah called.

"Do you have any experience with kids at all?" Lauren burst into laughter as Camila ignored her.

"Camila, this is the car, come here, please," Lauren said, watching Camila run over to her. "Will you be okay if I sit in the front with Dinah?" Lauren asked as she strapped on Camila's seatbelt.

"Yup," Camila said, bouncing up and down as Lauren shut the door.

"So help us god," the older girl joked before sliding into the passenger seat.

"Once she's asleep can we do something special?" Dinah smirked, running a hand down Lauren's leg as they pulled out of the parking lot. 

"No," Lauren laughed quietly. "Uh, Camz, bum on your seat, please," Lauren said, glancing in the rear view mirror.

"Can we watch a movie instead of a nap?" Camila asked, lying down across the backseats.

"If you're really good then yes," Lauren said, reaching back and unzipping Camila's backpack, pulling out the soft bunny she had put in there that morning. "Show Mr. Bunny how still you can sit," Lauren said, handing Camila the rabbit. 

"I think she needs a nap," Dinah rolled her eyes as they pulled into the driveway.

"D," Lauren warned. "Don't make me babysit the two of you."

"Out," Camila bounced in her seat.

"Dinah will help you, love," Lauren said, nudging her girlfriend expectantly.

Dinah reluctantly made her way around to the backseat, opening the door and unbuckling Camila's seatbelt for her.

"Freedom!" Camila shouted excitedly, bursting out of the car and starting to run around crazily until Lauren swept her up into her arms. 

"In we go," Lauren said, putting Camila down and guiding her towards the front door. "Go upstairs and I'll meet you there in a minute."

"Seriously, how can you not see she's a menace?" Dinah sighed once Camila was out of earshot. 

"Look, I found out this morning she's been tonguing her meds, so just take it easy on her, okay?" Lauren raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, I'll try," Dinah agreed.

"Thank you," Lauren sighed in relief. "I need to go change her but I'll be back in a minute," Lauren said, giving Dinah a small kiss before jogging up the stairs.

"LoLo, off," Camila whined when Lauren came into her room.

"Shh," Lauren soothed, kneeling down next to Camila who was already lying on the mat. 

She took off Camila's messy diaper as quickly as she could, knowing it wasn't comfortable for the little one, before wiping her down.

"What do you want to wear, Milz?" Lauren asked, helping Camila out of her PE top as well.

"My unicorn dress!" Camila exclaimed excitedly.

"Sweetheart, we're going to be winding down, why don't you choose something a bit more comfortable, I'm sure you can show Dinah all of your dress up another time," Lauren reassured her, knowing Camila wanted to impress Dinah.

"No," Camila whined, kicking her legs.

"Okay, okay," Lauren soothed, placing her hand on Camila's bare stomach, right on the waistband of her diaper. She waited for her to calm down before speaking again. "How about leggings and your unicorn jumper?" Lauren suggested.

"Okay," Camila whispered, letting Lauren dress her. "I want you to hold me," Camila insisted, reaching for Lauren.

"Can you take your thumb out of your mouth, darling?" Lauren asked as Camila crawled into her arms.

Camila shook her head, but Lauren pulled it out anyway.

"C'mon, doll, I want to show you something," Lauren said, putting Camila down and standing up, ushering her down the stairs. "D, where's your bag?" Lauren asked upon entering the kitchen.

"Here," Dinah said, throwing it to Lauren.

"Look what D got you, Milz," Lauren said, taking out the packet of pacifiers. "Look at that, hmm," she said, pointing at the little stars drawn on it. "You like stars, don't you."

"M not a baby," Camila whined, pushing the packet away and slipping her fingers into her mouth.

"Hey, kid, it's not for babies," Dinah interrupted, sitting down on a chair. "It's just a pacifier and I'm sure it'll taste way nicer than your thumb or your fingers," Dinah explained, opening the packet and taking it out along with the clip. "See, it clips on to your top right here, and you don't need to use it out of the house, but me and Lo aren't going to say anything, are we? So you can use it right now."

"M'kay," Camila finally agreed. 

"Good girl," Lauren praised, mouthing a thank you to Dinah before gently pushing the rubber teat into Camila's mouth. "There you go."

"I wanna s'ow you the twampowine," Camila said, her voice heavily lisping due to the teat, as she tugged Dinah's arm.

"Later, baby, we're gonna watch a movie first and have some quiet time, why don't you and Dinah go choose what you want to watch while I get your milk ready."

"K," Camila said, grabbing Dinah's hand and leading her into the living room. "Can you put on frozen?"

"Sure thing, kiddo," Dinah said, turning her attention to the remote. 

"Here we go," Lauren said, walking in with a sippy cup and a plastic bowl of apple slices for Camila and a bag of crisps for Dinah. "Camz, let's take this out," Lauren said, tugging gently on the loop of the pacifier. 

Camila whined and turned away from Lauren .

"You can have it back, doll," Lauren promised, now pulling it out more forcefully and quickly exchanging it for the sippy cup.

"I want my bottle," Camila sobbed, stamping her foot and throwing her sippycup on the floor.

"Excuse me, Camila, we don't throw things," Lauren sighed, picking up the sippy cup. "And we're not using a bottle right now, you know that."

"She's tired, Lo," Dinah mumbled, earning a nod from the older girl.

"Come here, sweets," Lauren said, pulling Camila into her lap. "Shh," she soothed, rubbing her back, and within minutes Camila was fast asleep in her arms.

***