"LoLo?"

Lauren blinked sleepily, groaning as she turned onto her side. She opened her eyes lazily, feeling a weight on her chest.

"Camila?" Lauren asked, finding that the little girl was sitting on her. Lauren sat up, putting her arms around Camila to steady her. She suddenly realised that she wasn't wearing any clothes, and Dinah was next to her fast asleep, and memories of the night before came flooding back. "What're you doing here?" She asked in panic, hoping that Camila was unaware of what she had walked in on.

"It's morning," Camila groaned dramatically.

"How did you get out of your crib?" Lauren asked, holding the duvet against her chest.

Camila simply shrugged.

"Uh, okay, I need you to go back to your room for a few minutes," Lauren said, running a hand through her tangled hair.

"That looks like my paci," Camila giggled, reaching out to touch nipple.

"Mm, tastes like one too," Dinah smirked, having woken up now.

"Mila, go to your room," Lauren said, placing Camila on the floor.

"Give me my sippy," Camila demanded.

"If you can be a good girl and go brush your teeth then I'll give you your bottle, okay?" Lauren bargained, to which Camila nodded before scampering out of the room. "For fuck's sake," Lauren hissed, throwing on a hoodie and pair of sweatpants.

"It's fine, she knows nothing," Dinah rolled her eyes.

Lauren sighed before walking out of the room, closing the door behind her and then jogging up the stairs.

"Show me those pearly teeth," Lauren said, walking into Camila's bathroom.

"Eee," Camila sung, grinning widely.

"That's my girl," Lauren said, giving Camila a high five before putting her hands on her shoulders to lead her to her bedroom. 

"Why weren't you and Dinah wearing pyjamas?" Camila asked curiously as she lay down on her changing mat. "And why were you sharing your bed with her?"

"Uh, I don't know, Camz, can you lift your hips for me?" Lauren asked, trying to change the topic.

"Why don't you know?" Camila asked, clearly confused.

"Tell you what, why don't we go get you your bottle and then we can talk about it," Lauren sighed, deciding to be upfront with Camila.

"Okay," Camila shrugged. "Where's my paci?"

"We're not going to get too attached to this, hmm," Lauren said, pushing the plastic soother into Camila's mouth. She couldn't deny that the little girl looked adorable with the round object bobbing in and out of her mouth rhythmically. 

"Hungwy," Camila lisped. 

"Do you want your breakfast now or do you want to have your bottle and then some food later?" Lauren asked as she slipped a short dress on over Camila's head.

"Bott'we," Camila decided after a moment's thought.

"Okay, c'mon then," Lauren hummed. She made Camila's bottle agonisingly slowly in an attempt to postpone what was bound to be an awkward conversation, despite the impatient whines of the girl sitting on the counter.

"LoLo, I want my milk," Camila pouted, reaching over and trying to get it herself.

"Hey, careful, this is hot," Lauren warned, pouring it into the bottle.

"Can I go play outside after we talk?" Camila asked, crossing her legs as she took her bottle.

"It's a bit early," Lauren said, glancing at her watch which showed that it was 6:50. "Why don't we watch some Sofia?"

"Peppa?" Camila asked, reaching for Lauren.

"Sure," Lauren said, lifting Camila down.

"Why weren't you wearing 'jama's LoLo?" Camila asked, jumping onto the sofa.

"Uh, well...," Lauren started awkwardly. "I have a very special relationship with Dinah, and it's pretty normal for people who love each other to be intimate."

"What's intimate?" Camila asked. 

"Something you'll learn about when you're older," Lauren said, not wanting to go into any details.

"Do you love me too?" Camila asked innocently, chewing on the teat of her bottle.

"You, my little munchkin, are one of the sweetest little girls I've ever looked after," Lauren said, pulling Camila onto her lap and causing her to giggle. "Now, let's watch some Peppa," Lauren said, turning on the TV as Camila nestled down in her arms.

"Are we going to the park today?" Camila asked as the familiar theme song started playing.

"Maybe, doll, we've got some other stuff we need to do too," Lauren said. "You need to get some homework done."

"Am I allowed to go out on my own?" Camila asked, looking up at Lauren.

"You know you're not," Lauren replied, tapping the base of Camila's bottle to prompt her to drink her milk.

"But everyone else gets to," Camila objected.

"You're not everyone else, Mila," Lauren sighed.

"Why not?" Camila asked.

"What if you and Dinah go do something special together?" Lauren suggested.

"Okay, let's go wake her up," Camila said, scrambling to her feet. 

"Alright," Lauren sighed, standing up and handing Camila her bottle. "She's not going to be happy, though."

"Dinah!" Camila shouted, bursting into Lauren's room and climbing into the bed.

"For fuck's sake," Dinah groaned.

"D," Lauren warned, walking in.

"What's up, kid?" Dinah sighed, sitting up lazily.

"LoLo said we can do something special," Camila said, bouncing up and down.

"She did, did she?" Dinah asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Babe, we still need to get you dressed and give you a bath," Lauren sighed, climbing back into bed and locking hands with Dinah. "You've got your milk, love, do you think you could let me get some more shut-eye?" Lauren yawned.

"No," Camila whined.

"C'mere," Lauren hummed, pulling Camila towards her. 

"Fine," Camila mumbled, snuggling into Lauren and pushing the bottle teat into her mouth.

"Good girl," Lauren said softly, stroking Camila's back soothingly. 

By some miracle, Camila fell asleep sandwiched between the two girls, not waking up until she felt Lauren shaking her arm four hours later at 11.

"There she is," Lauren hummed as Camila's eyes fluttered open. "You've had a nice long sleep," she said, lifting Camila into her arms and grabbing the now empty baby bottle. "Even Dinah got up before you," Lauren laughed.

Camila whined, turning into Lauren's chest and rubbing her eye.

"Shh, baby,"Lauren said, patting Camila's back and reaching for the pacifier that had fallen out of Camila's mouth and onto the duvet before standing up with Camila balanced on her hip. "Can I put you down, doll?" she asked, pushing the soother into the little girl's mouth.

"Why?" Camila whimpered, clinging onto Lauren even tighter.

"Because you're a big girl and you can walk, can't you?" the older girl tried to encourage.

"I like it when you hold me," Camila said, jutting out her bottom lip around her pacifier.

"I know, I know," Lauren said, patting Camila's diaper and suddenly noticing how heavy it was. "Should we change this icky diaper?" Lauren asked. Not waiting for a reply, she firmly placed Camila on the floor, having to practically prise her off of her torso.

Camila immediately burst into tears, stamping her foot stubbornly as hot tears ran down her face and her pacifier fell to the floor.

"Camila, you can either keep your pacifier in your mouth or you can give it to me to put away," Lauren said firmly, holding the plastic soother up in front of the little girl.

Camila angrily grabbed it, throwing the object to the floor still sobbing hysterically.

"What's going on?" Dinah asked from the doorway.

"Someone's having a little tantrum," Lauren sighed, picking up the pacifier and putting it in her pocket.

"Gimme," Camila whined, shrieking louder as the reached for the object.

"My love, I need you to use your words to tell me what's wrong," Lauren sighed. When Camila didn't stop crying, she decided the best solution was to ignore the little one and start making the bed, which only aggravated Camila even further. 

"Lauren," Camila sobbed, wanting the older girl's attention.

"I could make you a fresh bottle, but I think a fresh diaper and some food would do wonders," Lauren suggested, bending down in front of where Camila was sitting on the floor. The small girl's sobs died down now that Lauren was close to her.

"Okay," Camila choked out, reaching for Lauren. 

The older girl lifted Camila to her feet, not giving in and carrying her, before ushering her upstairs. 

"Can I leave you here for a few minutes?" Lauren asked, undressing Camila and lifting her into the bathtub before turning the tap on.

"No," Camila whimpered, reaching for Lauren desperately. 

"Shh, it's okay, I just need to throw away this diaper," Lauren tried to explain.

"I don't use diapers," Camila pouted stubbornly, crossing her arms. "Stay with me."

"We can try potty-training again, Mila," Lauren said, moving to sit on the toilet seat.

"I did try I can't do it," Camila whined.

"You can, baby," Lauren promised. "It just takes practise, doesn't it? We only stopped because we got so busy with your school work."

"No more diapers?" Camila asked hopefully.

"You still need to-," Lauren cut herself of and sighed. "Let's get you all shiny and clean and then we'll talk about how we're going to do this."

"Can I get out yet?" Camila asked.

"Not just yet," Lauren said, grabbing a loofah and starting to clean Camila gently. "Do you want to do the rest?" Lauren offered, having finished cleaning most of Camila's body. She always gave Camila the option to do certain things herself, despite the fact that the little girl often proved either incapable or unwilling to do them herself.

"Out," Camila whined, pushing the loofah away.

"Okay, hang on," Lauren said, quickly cleaning Camila's privates before starting to drain the bath. "I know, I know," she hummed as Camila fussed. "Upsie diasy," she hummed, wrapping Camila up in her hooded towel and lifting her onto her hip. "My good little girl, hmm?" 

"I'm good," Camila whispered, resting her head on Lauren's chest.

"That's right," Lauren said, walking into Camila's bedroom and putting her down on the floor. "Go lie down, doll," Lauren said, nodding towards the changing mat. 

She watched as Camila crawled to her changing mat, and it occurred to her that the small girl seemed to react much better to being treated like a small child. In fact, the younger Lauren treated her, the more well-behaved she seemed to be.

"Love, I'm going to put you in a pull-up," Lauren explained, bending down in front of Camila who was laying on her changing mat. "And when you need to go potty, you're going to tell me and I'll take you to the bathroom."

"Kay," Camila said, busy playing mindlessly with Lauren's fingers. 

"I'm gonna take my hand back so I can change you," Lauren said, tugging her hand away from the little girl. "Look, baby," Lauren said, handing Camila a soft toy to play with instead.

"Paci?" Camila asked hopefully.

"We said no paci, didn't we," Lauren reminded her. 

"No," Camila whined, kicking her legs.

"Excuse me, Mila, we don't do this when we want something," Lauren said, placing a firm hand on Camila's stomach in attempt to calm her down. "If you're a good girl you'll get your pacifier back later, but for now you'll have to do without, won't you?"

"I don't want to tell you when I need to go potty," Camila said as Lauren helped her into a new pull-up. 

"Why don't we have a secret code word then?" the older girl suggested, lifting Camila up so she was sitting on her bottom.

"Butterfly," Camila said with a nod.

"Okay, then it's settled, all you need to do is say butterfly," Lauren said, opening Camila's cupboard and pulling out a baby grow and a skirt to put on top of it.

"I don't like those," Camila whined.

"I know, but if you do go potty in your nappy then you don't want it to sag, do you?" Lauren said, snapping the buttons at the crotch closed.

"Don' wan' that," Camila whined, pushing Lauren's hand away as she tried to help her into the skirt.

"Fine, let's just go get some food in that tummy," Lauren said, pulling Camila to her feet.

"You carry me," Camila pouted, stamping her foot and leaning against Lauren.

"Nuh-uh, big girls can walk, can't they?" Lauren said, ushering Camila out of her bedroom. 

"What took you so long?" Dinah asked as Camila and Lauren walked into the kitchen. 

"Don't ask," Lauren joked, rolling her eyes. "Babe, go sit with Dinah, I'll make you something to eat."

"Carry me, please," Camila begged, teary eyed.

"Love," Lauren sighed, picking Camila up and bouncing her in her arms. 

"She's fine," Dinah insisted, motioning for Lauren to put the little girl down.

'No,' Lauren mouthed to Dinah before turning her attention back to Camila. She knew that it looked a bit like she was giving in to Camila's every whim, but in reality she knew Camila was having a difficult time and just needed some love and care that had never been offered to her before.

"What do you want to eat?" Lauren asked as she walked over to the fridge with Camila still safely in her arms.

"Toast?" Camila asked softly. 

"Alright, toast it is," the older girl said, putting the bread into the toaster. 

"I want Milo," Camila said, referring to her ragged old teddybear that usually stayed in her room.

"Do you want to go get him while I cut your toast?" Lauren asked, waiting for Camila to nod before putting her down.

"She's not a baby, Lo," Dinah sighed once Camila was out of earshot. "Treating her like one isn't going to help anything."

"It actually does, D," Lauren sighed. "She's never had anyone looking out for her, and she has so many behavioural problems that this is the only way to manage her."

"Got him!" Camila shouted, running into the kitchen with Milo in her hand.

"Good job, angel," Lauren praised, carrying the plate to the table and patting the chair she wanted Camila to sit on.

"Thank you," Camila said, picking up a strip of buttered toast.

"Mila, I thought we could do something nice for Mummy and Daddy, they're coming back tomorrow," Lauren said.

"Hallelujah," Dinah mumbled, earning herself a stern look from Lauren.

"That's my phone," Lauren said when she heard a ringing sound. "Dinah, can you still with Camila?" she asked, not waiting for a response before darting off.

"Hello? Oh, hi, Serena," Lauren said, glancing at Camila to make sure she was eating her breakfast.

"Hi Lauren, how's the child?"

"Uh, Camila is just fine," Lauren replied.

"Great, do you think you'd be able to babysit a bit longer?"

"I thought you were coming back tomorrow," Lauren furrowed her eyebrows. 

"Change of plans, I'll pay you double," Serena said, her tone indicating her boredom.

"It's not about the money, I can't babysit Camila any longer, I have...a life to get back to," Lauren sighed, feeling guilty at her words.

"Fine, just find her a new babysitter," Serena sighed. "Got to go, tell baby I love her," Serena said before hanging up. Lauren sighed, pressing her fingers against her temples before walking back to the table.

"Hey, D, I think it's time you get going," Lauren said, shooting Dinah a knowing look.

"Uh, yeah, you're right, see you tomorrow at four?" she asked, standing up. "I'll see you around, kid," Dinah said, ruffling Camila's hair.

"LoLo, look what I'm making for Daddy," Camila said, holding up a drawing.

"Camz, just let me say bye to Dinah and then we need to sit down and have a chat," Lauren said before starting to walk towards the door with Dinah.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Her parents aren't coming back on time," Lauren sighed, talking quietly.

"You're not...,"

"No, no, I told Serena I can't babysit her anymore, but I need to find someone else and break the news to her."

"Damn," Dinah sighed. "Call me, okay?"

"Yeah," Lauren said, letting Dinah out before going back to Camila. "Hey, sweetheart, do you think we could have a quick chat?"

"Okay," Camila hummed, reaching up for Lauren. "LoLo, butterfly," Camila whispered, squirming in the older girl's arms.

"Let's go to the bathroom first," Lauren said, walking in the direction of the guest bathroom but stopping when she felt Camila's pull-up getting warm and the little girl hid her face in her shoulder. "It's okay, doll, accidents happen and it's a good think you were wearing protection," Lauren said gently. 

"Wet," Camila said quietly.

"I know, baby, can we go have our chat first?"

"Okay," Camila nodded, wrapping her legs around Lauren's waist.

"So, I just got a call from Mummy," Lauren said slowly, dreading Camila's reaction. "And she said she can't get back tomorrow like she was going to, which means we need to find another babysitter to look after you."

"Why isn't Mummy coming?" Camila asked quietly, started to play with Lauren's hair.

"She got a little bit busy, love," Lauren sighed, stroking Camila's back.

"Why can't you keep watching me?" Camila asked.

"Because...I just can't," Lauren said softly. "I'm sorry baby, but I just don't have the time," Lauren explained. 

"But you love me," Camila pouted.

"You'll be okay, sweetheart," Lauren promised. "I'm going to find you someone else to look after you and I'll show her exactly how to do everything."

"Want mummy," Camila whined, tears starting to fill her eyes.

"Shh," Lauren soothed, pulling Camila closer towards her chest.

Her heart was breaking for the little girl, but there wasn't much else she could do.

***