A/N: I haven't forgotten this fic. I just don't have an actual plan and so chapters take a while to write.
Maybe read and enjoy?
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Dinah woke to the sound of someone knocking on the front door. She grimaced at the soreness in her neck as she slowly attempted to get up from the recliner.
Lauren and Ally had only gotten worse since the early morning. By lunch, both girls had developed fevers and their runny noses had worsened. The couple also struggled to get them to eat at lunch time when it was time to take another dose of medicine. Dinah was beginning to worry that they would need to take the girls to the doctor. She did not want to have to force Ally into a car while the girl was absolutely miserable from illness.
The knocking at the door continued, and Dinah groaned softly as she stood up. She went to place Lauren down on the recliner, but the girl whimpered and wrapped her arms tightly around the woman's neck.
"No go, no go," Lauren whined.
Dinah sighed tiredly, Lauren had been clingy since the first time they had woken up that day, but settled the girl on her hip and moved to the door. "You're just a little monkey today, aren't you?" she asked rhetorically.
As she looked through the window blinds, Dinah frowned seeing who was there. "Mama H?" she said in a mix of confusion and disbelief seeing none other than Andrea Hamilton standing on the front porch. "I didn't forget any plans. I don't think. I would have remembered planning for you to come over," she said as she urged the older woman inside.
Andrea chuckled softly and shook her head. "No, you didn't forget anything," she assured as she headed further inside the house.
Lauren whimpered slightly seeing a new person and tucked her head into the crook of Dinah's neck.
Dinah gently pat the girl's back as they walked toward the kitchen. "It's okay, Lauren," she murmured soothingly. "This is Mani's mom," she explained. "Not to be rude," she said toward the older woman, "but what are you doing here?"
Andrea set a couple of bags on the countertop. "Normani called me earlier. She told me about your girls being sick, and wanted to know when to worry and go to the doctor. I thought I might stop by and drop some groceries off for you." She looked up and nodded toward the younger woman. "Mani also might have mentioned a certain little one not letting you out of sight."
"You are way too good to us," Dinah praised as she sat down at the table. She shook her head as Lauren immediately settled in her lap with her head against her chest. "Don't tell my mom this, but I love you more than her right now." She frowned in thought and then added, "Also, I want it in writing I didn't invite you to meet Ally and Lauren first. You showed up on your own."
Andrea laughed lightly as she started to unpack some of the groceries she had brought. "I will take full responsibility for meeting the girls without Milika here." She turned back to Dinah and smirked mischievously. "We could always blame Normani."
Dinah nodded excitedly. "I am always up for blaming Mani."
"Excuse you!" Normani exclaimed as she entered the kitchen. "I refuse to be blamed for anything," she stated as she sent a glare in Dinah's direction. "Also, hi, Mom. What are you doing here?"
"Being a God-send by bringing us groceries," Dinah answered. "Since someone-" she pointed toward Lauren, perfectly content in her lap, "-refuses to let me put her down for more than two seconds."
Normani shook her head amusedly. "I really didn't think Lauren would be so clingy."
"I didn't either, but apparently so."
Lauren began to cough, and Dinah grimaced at how thick and congested it sounded.
"We'll get you through this, kiddo," the blonde promised as she pat the girl's back soothingly. She looked to Normani. "Where's Ally?"
"Napping in her bed," Normani answered. "I'm not sure if we'll get either of them to eat dinner tonight."
"I might be able to help with that," Andrea said. "I'll make dinner tonight. Do you have any cups for the girls? I bought Pedialyte for them. Keeping them hydrated is important."
Dinah stood up and set Lauren on the chair in her place. She shook her head with an exasperated smile as the girl whined and reached for her. "I know, little monkey, but I would like to be able to do things, too." She knelt down in front of Lauren, who took the hint and wrapped her arms around Dinah's neck and her legs around the woman's waist. "I will grab their cups," she said as she exited the kitchen.
Normani laughed softly. "I don't know what Lauren would if Dinah wasn't taking the day off tomorrow."
"I feel as though Dinah could use a break," Andrea mused.
"Yeah, since we woke up at about 2 this morning, Lauren has refused to be away from her," Normani stated. "I'm surprised that she's openly affectionate like this. Neither of the girls have been since they first arrived."
"Well, every child desires comfort when they're not feeling well." Andrea gave a pointed look in her daughter's direction. "You were an extremely clingy child when you were sick."
Normani narrowed her eyes. "I was not. Stop telling lies."
"Mani, you are clingy when you're sick," Dinah said as she returned to the kitchen with cups in hand. "Honestly, I'm glad you're not also sick on top of the girls. I don't think I would survive."
Normani huffed and crossed her arms over her chest as she grumbled, "I'm not clingy."
Dinah rolled her eyes. "Please. You think you're all tough and cold-hearted, but you're an actual teddy bear," she stated as she filled Lauren's sippy cup with ice and some of the electrolyte drink Andrea brought.
Normani gasped. "Take that back right now."
"Mani is bear?" Lauren asked as she scrunched her nose, visibly confused. She knew Normani was definitely not a bear.
Dinah chuckled softly as she moved sit at the table again. She settled Lauren in her lap and handed the girl her sippy cup. "Normani is soft and cuddly like a teddy bear," she explained. "She just likes to think she isn't."
Lauren sat and sipped on her drink for a few moments and watched Normani help Andrea prepare dinner.
"I would like to point out that you, Dinah Jane, can be extremely clingy as well," Normani said as she chopped vegetables.
Dinah shrugged, unbothered. "Sure, I've never denied that."
"Face it, Normani, you've always been a softie," Andrea chimed in.
"I didn't ask you to come to my home and insult me. Actually, I don't remember asking you to come here at all."
Dinah pointed at the two and said, "You're not kicking her out. Nothing will get done without her." She waved her hands around Lauren to prove her point.
Ally trudged into the kitchen rubbing her eyes with a fist. She looked around the kitchen, and when she noticed Andrea, she immediately ran over to Dinah.
Lauren whined grumpily and pushed Ally back as the older girl tried to climb onto Dinah's lap as well. "No, no."
"Okay, okay, that hurts," Dinah grunted and lifted Lauren up and set her on the table top even though Lauren pouted. She scooped Ally up and sat the girl in her lap. "It's okay, Ally. That's Normani's mom, Andrea. She's really nice."
Normani walked over and handed Ally her own cup. "Drink that for me, please," she requested softly. "It's not medicine, I promise," she added as the girl gave her a skeptical look.
"Juice," Lauren said as she shook her cup.
Dinah gently put her hands over Lauren's before the girl dropped her cup. "Well, it's sort of like juice," she conceded. She turned back to Ally. "It's not medicine, promise. Little Lo has already has some, and she likes it."
Ally glanced between Dinah and Normani, her brows narrowed suspiciously, as she took the cup. She looked to Lauren, who nodded quickly and gave a thumbs up. Finally, she hesitantly took a sip. "Okay, it's good," she said before taking a longer drink.
Normani shook her head and laughed under her breath as she returned to help Andrea. "What else do you need help with, Mom?"
"I've got it from here. Just need to put everything in a pot and let it cook for a bit," Andrea answered. "Maybe we could move to the living room and I can properly meet these two?"
"Sorry you're doing so with them sick," Dinah said as she stood up with Ally in her arms.
Lauren pouted and whined, reaching for the blonde.
Normani laughed and scooped the girl up from the table. "Am I not good enough for you?" she asked.
Lauren wrapped her arm around the woman's neck and laid her head on Normani's shoulder. "Manibear," she said decidedly.
Normani groaned softly as Dinah laughed gleefully.
"Manibear, hm? Very fitting, I think," the younger woman said. "What do you think, Ally?"
Ally tilted her head to the side slightly and looked at Normani in deep thought. "Yes, I like it," eventually decided.
Normani rolled her eyes but couldn't stop a smile from forming. "Fine, I'm outnumbered, it seems."
"So if Normani has a nickname now, do you have one, Dinah?" Andrea asked.
"DJ is Simba!" Lauren immediately answered as Normani sat down on the couch. She ran her hands messily through her hair, making it so that her face was covered by wildly stray locks and grinned. "DJ is Simba."
Dinah sighed exasperatedly. "I can't believe that's how she figured out nicknames."
"Well, it's sort of fitting," Andrea teased.
"I would argue with you, but you're being nice and helpful, and I don't want that to stop."
"I think Ally is the only one without a nickname," Normani mused, more to herself than to everyone.
"We'll find one," Dinah said. "Hopefully it'll be a little more creative than Simba."
"I'm sure you'll come up with something," Andrea assured with a smile. She directed her attention to Ally, who was sat comfortably in Dinah's lap where she had settled in the recliner. "Do you like it here with Mani and Dinah, Ally?"
Ally nodded but regarded the woman with a sense of suspicion. "Lolo and me like it here." She looked up to Dinah for a minute and then said, "They're nice. And, and they got us toys."
"Yeah? Well, they better have gotten you lots of toys," Andrea said as she laughed.
Ally glanced between Dinah and Normani for a moment before hesitantly whispering, "I miss my Mommy and Daddy, though."
Dinah's chest constricted at the admission, and she hugged the girl softly. "Ally, it's perfectly okay to miss them," she assured. "Mani and I will never be upset with you and Lauren for missing your Mommy and Daddy." She hugged the girl tighter as Ally clung tightly to her shirt.
Normani looked at Lauren in her lap, and noticed the three year old seemed to be a mix of downtrodden and worried as the girl eyed Dinah and Ally. "You can go over there, Lo," Normani gently encouraged.
That was all Lauren need to scramble off the woman's lap and hurry over to the recliner to climb up and throw herself on top of Ally.
Dinah grunted a bit. "You gotta learn to do this without hurting me," she grumbled as she shifted to sit comfortably with both girls in her lap. Eventually she placed both girls beside her on the recliner seat.
Andrea watched the two girls for a moment before looking to Normani and quietly asking, "Have you looked into having them talk to someone? That's a lot to handle at such a young age."
Normani nodded. "We have, and we had a children's psychologist make a couple of home visits." She shook her head with a small sigh. "On top of processing their grief, Ally refuses to get into a car. We're trying to work on it."
"I just hope we're doing a decent job," Dinah commented.
Andrea smiled as she looked at the younger woman. "Well, maybe I'm a little biased, but I think those two are in the best of hands."
Normani reached for her mother's hand and squeezed it softly. "I really needed to hear that," she murmured softly.
Andrea squeezed her daughter's hand back and then stood up saying she was going to check on dinner. Normani followed after to help.
Ally watched the two go and then said, "Mani's mom is nice."
Dinah nodded and smiled. "She is pretty nice. She's one of my favorite people."
"What is your mom like?" the six year old asked curiously.
Dinah blew out a breath. "She'll be nice with you and Lauren. You don't have to worry about that," she promised.
Now that Andrea had met the girls, Dinah figured it was probably about time her own mom met them, too.
Lauren sneezed and rub her nose with her arm as she sniffled.
That meeting could wait just a little longer, though.
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A/N: Hopefully you enjoyed, let me know what you think!]
I am completely winging this fic so updates might take a while. I'm terrible about planning out stories.
See you in the next update. :)