"Look at you." Marie called out as Lauren greeted her at the taxi, bending down to meet the tiny, plump woman in a huge hug. "It's been too long since I've seen you in person. I've had to rely on all those newspaper articles about you and your fiancé." She teased with pride as she released the brunette.
Marie's relationship to Lauren very much mirrored Clara's relationship to Camila. She was like her foster mother for the last few years when Clara was out of the picture. Her support of Meg as well as Meg's relationship with Lauren was amazing in aiding the brunette in her acceptance of herself and the security she needed to settle into it. Even when Charles, or 'Charlie' as Lauren would teasingly call him, would make little comments that were disapproving about her and his daughter, Marie was not above telling him to shut up or leave the room. It was that protection that Lauren had needed and found in Marie.
"I'm just glad you could make it to the wedding."
The older woman waved her hand at her. "Like I would ever miss it. But, onto the real topic. Camila. She's good to you?"
Lauren smiled and looked away with a bit of a blush. "Would Meg let her near me if she wasn't?" The apprentice rolled her eyes as she walked around the car and took her still nervous and silent girlfriend's hand. Lauren was afraid to ask but the gentle smile on Meg's face calmed most of her worries.
"Good point, but that's not the question I asked. Is she good to you?"
"Yes. Very. She's amazing and I can't wait for you to meet her."
"She's upstairs?"
"No. She had to take her dads to check into their hotel but she should be back soon. So, let me give you the grand tour while we wait."
The small woman hooked her arm in Lauren's and the quartette loaded into the elevator. "Tell me about her. I know nothing about musicals so I hadn't heard of her professionally until you were attached to her. I remember you describing her from our many conversations about your time in high school and that you said she was loud, obnoxious, narcissistic, but caring. I thought that was quite a combination but didn't push it at the time."
The brunette smiled and looked down to the woman who smiled right back. "She is not as loud, not as obnoxious, and not narcissistic any more. But she is still very caring." Lauren assured her. "She is... God, I don't even know how to explain it." She exclaimed in excitement and a small jump.
"Well, she's forgiving." Meg offered. "She forgave Lauren for her cruelty in the past and forgave my behavior when they first got together, letting me keep my best friend when she could have easily had me thrown out."
"She wouldn't have done that."
"And why didn't she do that?" Marie asked, looking back at Lauren.
"A lot of reasons. Mostly, she saw Meg in a different light when I explained that while, Meg ended our relationship, it was very much my fault. I think she felt bad for her."
"Your girlfriend felt bad for your ex-girlfriend because of something you did?"
Lauren nodded her head and smiled as the exited the elevator. "I told you. She is very caring. She has a big heart. It doesn't matter how mean or hurtful or how much of a possible threat you could be to her, she'll always give you at least a second chance. So, let me show you the place."
"Are you okay?" The apprentice asked, lowering her head to Kim's.
She nodded and mashed her lips between her teeth but it was clear her mind was elsewhere. "I like her. Lauren was right, she's a sweet heart."
"So, this is just regular nerves?" Meg asked, stepping in front of her girlfriend to cut her off from the other two as Lauren showed Marie the photos Camila had picked out for the living room.
"Yeah. Just regular nerves. Not, freeze up and fear her locking me in a closet type nerves. Regular, she's the mother of my girlfriend and is very protective of her little baby and wants the very best for her which she thought she had found in Lauren who she also accepts as her daughter and I'm clearly not her type nerves."
Meg closed her eyes and opened them with a faint smile. "It's not like that. She sees Lauren as her daughter but not because we were dating when she met her. You have to remember that Clara wasn't always around."
"But she's not even mad at Lauren for what she had done to you."
"She was very disappointed, but at the same time... it was kind of my fault too."
"How?" Kim asked, very interested in that explanation. She had to admit it was one of the few things about the brunette that rubbed her the wrong way. And the more she got to know and fall for Meg, the more what Lauren did bothered her.
"I knew Lauren loved Camila in a way that she never could love me, but I kept the relationship going. Granted, she should have ended it, but I should have as well. Mom even warned me about it. She knew how it was all going to play out. That's why she was disappointed, not mad. I let myself get hurt. I-"
Her words were cut off as Kim pulled the conjoined hands behind her, pulling Meg closer. She hooked her fingers behind her neck and captured the apprentice's lips in a deep, possessive kiss and Meg unconsciously let out a moan.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
Meg panted with her eyes closed and her forehead resting against Kim's. "I know."
Marie and Lauren looked over their shoulders at the moan and saw the couple. Smiling, both turned back around to look at the photo. "So, you like her for Meg?"
The brunette nodded, keeping her eyes on the picture. "I do. She's what she needs. Both are what the other needs." She added in response to the next question that was going to be asked. "I know Kim was probably incredibly nervous today, but there's an explanation for it and she loosens up once she gets to know you."
"What's the ex-"
"I can't tell you that. That is up to either her or Meg. I found out second hand so it's not my place to pass on. But get to know her." She urged. "She loves Meg and pulled her out of a situation she didn't need to be in, one where she was only allowing herself to get hurt."
"Again."
Lauren dropped her eyes to the floor and nodded her head in acceptance of the remark. "Again."
~/~/~/~
"Where are they?" The diva whispered as she approached Kim who was standing in the kitchen, getting a glass of water from the tap.
"In the office."
"So... How did it go?"
The assistant took in a deep breath and looked over her shoulder to the open office door. "Thankfully, Lauren said she likes nervous wrecks."
The diva winced. "That bad?"
"Uh... let's just say she had to tell me five times to call her 'Marie' and not 'Ma'am' before she gave up. And it took the first half hour of our meal for me to find more words than 'yes' and 'no' but those only extended to 'please' and 'thank you'." She looked down at her glass in disappointment with herself and Camila pulled her into a hug.
"Don't yell at yourself. The fact that you went and sat through the whole thing is a big step."
"Yeah, but she doesn't know about everything." Kim tried to explain as Camila pulled away, running a comforting hand up and down her arm. "To her I just looked like a scared little kid. I feel like a scared little child."
"Just be thankful you didn't make an impression like Lauren did on her first time meeting her, or worse, the impression she made on my dads. You looked nervous. She looked like an alcoholic who couldn't control her anger and had no concern for the law."
Kim mashed her lips between her teeth again. She couldn't argue with that. "She's coming over to my place for dinner tomorrow night so maybe I'll have another chance."
"Hey. And you can cook. That's another step above Lauren." Camila offered, earning a bit of a laugh from the assistant. "And if she loved Lauren as much as they made it out to be, then she's going to think you are absolutely perfect for Meg, because you are. You and Lauren have similarities but where you vary is where Meg needs you to."
"So why did you bet on Ally?" Kim asked playfully, catching Camila off guard and slightly embarrassed.
"Well, at the time she had said she wanted someone feisty who would challenge her. My mind went directly to Ally because she is the epitome of both. I never thought that she would be too much. But we also weren't discussing anything long term either. So, technically, I was right. Besides, that whole fiasco helped you win her over. She saw what she needed versus everything that she thought she wanted."
"That's a good recovery, but I was only teasing you."
"...oh." Camila's nerves dropped. "That wasn't funny. I actually feel really bad about that whole thing."
"Don't feel bad." Kim cooed as she hugged the diva again. "You didn't even really know me then. You thought I was just some psycho fan probably."
"My biggest fan." Camila corrected her, hugging her back. "Not psycho."
They both turned to face the office when they heard someone clear their throat. Lauren, Meg, and Marie were standing at the other end of the kitchen as the pair continued their embrace.
"It looks like they have a problem with us hugging." Camila noted, teasingly, pulling the assistant closer and maintaining a lock on Lauren's smiling eyes.
"I have no problem with it now that I know Kim is over her crush on you."
The assistant's eyes widened in horror and Camila laughed lightly, well aware of the former fascination.
"I agree." Meg added. "I just want to make it clear that I don't do threesomes."
Kim's eyes were about to bulge out of her head in shock that this was being discussed in front of Marie, but the tiny woman just smiled.
"To be honest, I don't think any of us are the type for threesomes." Camila added, pulling away from Kim who was now diverting her eyes in embarrassment. "Breathe." She whispered. "Joking is a good way to break the ice."
"Not when it's about having sex with her daughter."
Meg caught sight of the hushed conversation and smiled adoringly as she pushed between her mother and Lauren to get to her girlfriend. "My mother's not a prude. Just to let you know." Kim looked over and smiled weakly at Marie, but couldn't hold her gaze for long. She was beginning to panic and Camila saw it. She was about to push away and go running out the door with all the unwanted attention on her right now.
"Lauren Jauregui, where are your manners?" She asked, pulling the attention away from the younger woman.
The brunette faltered and then caught up. "Sorry. Camila, this is Meg's mother Marie. Marie, this is my fiancé Camila."
The diva beamed a smile and approached, shaking the woman's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"You as well. I wanted to congratulate you on your engagement in person and to meet this woman that roped Lauren in. One that Meg also speaks praises of."
The diva bobbed her head from side to side. "It's all a strange twist of fate that has brought the group of us together. But we all fit so perfectly at the same time."
"Our own dysfunctional family." Lauren added as Camila leaned into her for a hug.
"Just wait until that first kid comes." Meg chimed with her back to them, still calming Kim down discreetly with gentle kisses to her cheek occasionally. "Can you imagine how spoiled he or she is going to be with all of us? I can imagine the little one running around the studio with all of us chasing after it. Which brings me to a question we were discussing the other night."
"Who is having the first kid?" Kim asked, showing she was capable of holding a conversation.
"Uh... I don't know." Lauren confessed. "I think I am, giving Camila some time to either go back to the stage or venture off into TV or movies or something."
Camila nodded. "I had wanted to be the first at one time, but that was sort of impulsive decision making on my end of things. I think that would be best if Lauren was to have the first, mainly because she's been through it before and I have a lot to learn. I would be an absolute mess going through it for the first time, but if I see how she does it-"
"You'll be less likely to drive us all insane." Meg jibed. Marie turned her attention quickly to the diva to see her reaction. This would be a good show of exactly how well they all get along.
Camila smiled and blushed slightly, resting her head on Lauren's shoulder. "Exactly. I mean, not only did I grow up without a mother, but I'm also an only child. Give me a three-year-old and I'm good. Give me a baby and I'm terrified I'm going to break it."
"So, do you want a boy or a girl first? I mean, I know it's some time away in the future, but..." Kim asked, jumping up to sit on the counter top. Meg stood between her knees, facing the group and pulled Kim's arms around her waist.
Lauren mashed her lips and smiled as she looked down to Camila who looked uncertain. "What do you want?" Camila shrugged.
"I just want a baby. Gender is not important. You?"
"Part of me wants a girl because she would just fit in with us more, but part of me wants a little boy. I can imagine you spoiling him with dance classes and music lessons and then him growing up into a six foot tall football player who gets protective of you."
"And not of you?" Camila asked with a smile.
Lauren shook her head. "If I have a hand in raising him, you'll be his first priority."
"Oh, booooo." Meg and Kim called out. It had been the newly acquired response to every time the couple said something sappy. "You two are like, nauseatingly sweet." The apprentice added with a disgusted look on her face.
"And you two aren't?" Lauren argued back. "I mean, all it takes is one look from Kim and you completely cave on anything."
"Are they always like this?" Marie asked, leaning over to Camila as the two continued to banter back and forth.
"You mean they weren't like this before?"
She shook her head. "They were close but there was always... like, a push and pull between them. More augmentative, not this playfulness."
The diva raised her brow. "They still have moments like that with Lauren storming off and Meg following until she gets her way. But not all that often."
"At least that hasn't changed."
Camila shrugged as she pulled away from Lauren and stepped to the older woman. "It hasn't but it has at the same time. Meg follows until Kim stops her. They've been working on Meg learning when to fight and when to let it go."
Marie shook her hand in the air. "Wait. You mean that Meg has not only admitted to having a flaw, but is working on fixing it?"
The diva laughed and nodded her head, seeing an in for Kim. "They're fixing each other. They're good for each other."
The older woman looked back to her daughter and her girlfriend who were still smiling and teasing with Lauren. That was the main reason why she wanted to see Lauren and Camila today and not wait until the wedding. She wanted to see Lauren and meet this woman who kept the brunette's heart for so long, but she also wanted to get a read on her daughter's new girlfriend from them, fearing she was in a relationship that could end like the other.
"I know what you're thinking." Camila commented, cutting off the woman's train of thought. "She's young, she's nervous, seemingly a push over, and not strong enough to be what Meg needs. Am I right?" Marie nodded her head. "That's what I thought at first too. When Lauren put them together in her mind, I thought she had lost hers. I thought Meg would run the poor girl over and Kim would never know what hit her. Meg did too. But Kim surprised us both. Give her a chance to get over the nerves and you'll see that she is very strong minded and can handle herself while still needing the attention that Meg needs to give."
"Why is she so nervous?"
Camila sighed and looked over to the trio as Lauren made her way to stand next to them, continuing their 'who's more whipped' discussion. "Take Lauren's family situation when you first met her and multiply it by about ten. Throw in a few broken laws and some emotional damage." Marie's eyes narrowed at the thought of something that drastic and wondered it Camila was living up to her 'diva' nickname. "What you get is a very strong woman who is fighting to overcome her past. I don't pity her, but admire her."
~/~/~/~
"Three days." Camila remarked as she wrapped her arms around Lauren from behind while the brunette pulled the covers down on their bed. "We will be married in three days."
Lauren turned around and sat down on the edge of the bed, cupping the diva's hips in her hands. "It's still too far away. We still have tomorrow and our separation day to get through. That's going to kill me you know."
"No, it won't. You'll live for no other reason than to get to the wedding day."
The brunette dropped her brow. "You're spoiling my rant here."
"Sorry." Camila apologized with a peck on her lips before she tried to pull away.
"Na-ah. Where are you going?" Lauren asked, pulling the giggling diva back towards the bed and then dropping her hands to the back of her legs, brushing her thumb over the soft skin.
"I thought you said I needed to conserve my energy for the honeymoon."
"I did. But like you said, that's in three days and one of those days I won't even be around to touch you."
"Touch me?"
"Among other things." The brunette added, slowly ghosting her fingers up Camila's legs, smiling as the diva tried to hide hers. "You see, the honeymoon, or at least the first night, is going to be romantic love making."
"And tonight isn't?" She asked playfully as Lauren's fingers began to slide up her sleep shorts and the curve of her butt.
"Tonight... could be many things."
"Many things? Oh, I see." Camila teased as Lauren ran her hands down her legs, capturing her shorts between her fingers as she went, gently tugging them down. "Is this how you seduced that stripper?"
The brunette froze, having barely lowered Camila's shorts. "Um..."
"Yeah. Exactly. So, while I am very interested in what all tonight could be... I'm thinking that I need to make a point in saying that while you technically didn't do anything wrong, I would appreciate it if you didn't give any other woman attention like that again. It's far to easy to fall in love with you and I don't want someone feeling that they could be persistent enough to take you away from me."
Lauren dropped her head and rested it against Camila's stomach as the diva ran her hand over her brunette hair and continued her lecture.
"I would also like to avoid any incidents like we had when we went out to dinner with Scott and Dinah just two months ago. Do you remember that?" Lauren growled as the memories came back to her.
"What I'm saying is that you already have this guest appearance lined up for TV once the wedding is over. Take what experience you get from that to decide if you are interested in a movie before we start looking into it." Scott suggested as he and the three women sat down at the restaurant table.
"I have to also think about where my family life is going to be at that time." Camila remarked, pulling Lauren's attention to her. "I do want a child, or one of us pregnant by our first anniversary."
Dinah looked at Lauren who looked right back. "I'm glad you decided to share that with me." The brunette jibed and Camila pursed her lips at her.
"I can't be on stage if I'm pregnant or if you are."
"And why not?"
"That's six nights a week that you would be home by yourself. I can't be on stage wondering if you're in labor at home or if you slipped and fell in the bathtub or something went wrong and you couldn't get a hold of me because I'm working."
The other three shook their heads. "You're being a little dramatic, Baby. But." She interrupted her prepared rant. "If you are that concerned about it but want to go back to stage, then we can time it so your contract ends when I enter the third trimester. That way you are home for any possible labor issues."
"Do you have a solution for everything?"
The brunette shrugged. "Theoretically, yes. Whether or not they work is up in the air. Especially since you don't have a clue about what you want. Do you want to do TV and movies or stage? Do you want to have the first kid, or me? When you decide just let me... oh shit."
"Lauren! Oh my God. It's been forever since I saw you last." Everyone looked up to their waitress as the lanky brunette with the bluest eyes smiled her perfect smile at the stunned brunette. "Or heard from you even. I left you like, ten messages."
The brunette fumbled as Camila looked to her. "Sweetie, aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?"
"Um... yeah. Camila this is... is... is...Krystal! This is Krystal. She modeled for one of the photo shoots I did... a while ago, before you and I met back up and fell deeply and madly in love with one another to the point that nothing could ever possibly tear us apart or even pose a threat."
The diva raised her brow at the brunette before turning to the model / waitress. "Well, it's nice to meet you Krystal. I'm Camila, Lauren's fiancé."
"Yeah, I totally saw your picture in the paper. That's why I stopped calling." Camila had to give her some credit for that at least. "Oh, you'll never believe who else works here, Lauren." The waitress commented with a hint of resentment in her voice and Lauren couldn't even force a smile.
The waitress turned around and caught sight of someone, waving them over. The brunette felt her face burning as Dinah and Scott hid their smiles behind their glasses and napkins as another tall and beautiful brunette woman approached.
"Look who I found." Krystal joked with the new addition as Camila turned back to Lauren.
"I think another introduction is required, Baby."
"That won't happen again. I promise." Lauren assured Camila, flopping back on the bed and the brunette moved to straddle her hips.
"Don't promise something you can't keep. I've only met two of your harlots. There are fifteen others and the seduced stripper who's probably still smitten with you."
"Well, if it's any consolation, there will never be anymore that you could run into other than those."
"It's a tiny one." Camila confessed as Lauren ran her hands up the diva's side and underneath her shirt. "You sure are persistent tonight."
"I need to make things up to you." She explained slyly.
Camila looked up in contemplation as the brunette's hands roamed over her sides, her back, and her stomach. "I don't think that works. Because right now, all I would be able to think about is that what you are doing to me, you've already done to them."
"Baby..." Lauren whined as she tried to hold on as Camila pulled away.
"Hey, just think... this will make the honeymoon all that much more special."
The brunette watched as Camila retreated to the bathroom and smiled. She had a plan already.