After holding Camila close for a while, Lauren gently pulls her back and brings her hands up to wipe away her tears, "now, before we figure everything out, let get something to eat, okay? I don't know about you but I'm pretty hungry" She asks with a soft smile, leaning in to press a gentle kiss onto the youngsters forehead.
Camila sniffles and nods, managing a small smile of her own as she leans into the older woman's touch, closing her eyes content.
Lauren allows her lips to linger for a while, but after a few seconds, she pulls away and once again brings the girl to her chest, "I know this is gonna take some getting used to for the both of us, but I want you to have the childhood you've always dreamed of baby, and I'll do everything in my power to make it happen" She says, her voice a mere whisper.
She felt if she spoke any louder, she'd ruin the quiet atmosphere.
The youngster lifts her head up from the woman's chest and nods, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek before once again burrowing herself into her chest.
*
A few hours later once the two had eaten and were ready for the day, they found themselves sitting on the couch, Camila sat contently on Lauren's lap whilst the woman holds her close.
"Alright, I know this is going to be hard, but we'll go slow, okay?" Lauren speaks as she runs her fingers through the youngsters hair, her phone in her free hand.
Camila nods against the woman's chest, her focus drifting between the hand running through her hair and the website that was loaded up on the phone that was being held a little away from her face.
Lauren smiles, "Good girl. Now, when you're in your headspace, how old do you think you are? If you're not sure, that's okay, I just think it'll be easier for when she get some stuff in for you" she explains.
Camila hesitates. Honestly, she wasn't really sure. She'd never actually been able to experiment with her headspace as she was hardly ever allowed to fall into it.
"I...I don't know" she whispers eventually, hoping Lauren wouldn't be mad.
"That's alright. I'm sure we'll figure it out once we're in some kind of routine hey? Now, why don't we order a few things on line and go from there?" Lauren asks, opening up a new page on google.
The youngster nods her head, grateful she wasn't being told off. If this was her dad instead of Lauren, she was sure she wouldn't be able to sit for a week.
"Okay, why don't we just get simple things for now. I don't want to overwhelm you" Lauren announces, "now, tell me to stop when you see something you like, alright?" She continues as she adjusts the small girl in her arms slightly, beginning to scroll through a list of baby items that were made for children at heart.
Camila nods, excitement building up in her tummy. She gazes intently at the woman's phone for a few minutes while she scrolls, but soon, she see's an item that catches her eye causing her to tentatively reach out.
"See something you like sweetheart?" Lauren asks as she stops scrolling, bringing her attention to the youngster currently occupying her lap.
"The...the paci's" Camila shyly whispers.
Lauren internally awes and adds the pacifiers to her basket, "alright bug, lets carry on looking" she says softly, continuing to scroll.
Over the next half an hour, Camila picks out a few more items. She was shy about it, only speaking in barely a whisper, but the fact that she told Lauren what she wanted without hesitation made the woman proud.
Altogether, she picked out the pacifiers, of course, bottles, a few stuffed animals along with a soft pink comfort blanket and...diapers.
The small girl was nearly in tears when she stopped Lauren scrolling to click on them, feeling embarrassed and honestly a little mortified that she was actually asking for something that made her feel so vulnerable, but...she did it.
And as soon as Lauren had added baby wipes, baby powder and a few other small items into the basket, she orders every single item on the list and sets her phone down onto the couch, wrapping her arms back round the youngsters waist.
"Are you okay?" She asks quietly.
Camila nods and shyly looks up, "thank you" she whispers back.
Lauren smiles and presses a kiss onto the girls forehead, "You're more than welcome baby, now, why don't you say we go to the mall to get you some clothes and things for your room?" She asks, bouncing her slightly on her lap.
The small girl frowns, "but you've already got me stuff" she replies tentatively.
"That's for when you're little sweetheart. You need some clothes to wear for when you're big" Lauren chuckles as she stands up, holding Camila bridal style in her arms and walking towards the front door before setting her down.
Camila nods, "Okay" she whispers, a small smile appearing on her face as she watches Lauren go back the living room to pick up her car keys.
"Lolo?" She asks quietly as the woman walks back to her.
Lauren smiles and glances up from putting her shoes on, "what's up baby?" She asks softly, walking back towards the youngster.
"I don't...I don't have any shoes" Camila murmurs, nervously playing with her hands as she looks down at her sock clad feet. Lauren had let her borrow some fluffy socks earlier. They were a little big, but she liked them.
"Well then it looks like I'll just have to carry you huh? We can stop off at Walmart or something to pick you up a cheap pair until we can get you some decent ones" Lauren replies with a grin, holding her arms out.
Camila giggles and steps forward, allowing herself to be lifted into the woman's arms before wrapping her legs around her waist. She contently lays her head against her shoulder and nibbles on the end of thumb as Lauren walks out of the front door and locks up behind her.
"Alright baby, have any stores in mind?" Lauren asks as she walks down to the car, shifting Camila so she was now sat on her hip. She needed a free hand to unlock the car once she got down there.
The youngster allows her legs to hang limply by Lauren's waist now that she was sure she wouldn't be dropped, "uhhh, I don't know Lolo. I've never been to the mall before" she replies quietly, her hand coming up to tightly grip the top of the woman's V-neck shirt.
Lauren looks at her, a sympathetic look on her face, "Well we'll soon fix then" she says with a soft smile as they arrive to the car. She hesitates between the back and passenger, but eventually decides on the back and pulls open the door.
"In you go sweetheart. You okay to buckle up?" She asks, gently easing the youngster down onto the seat behind the driver one.
Camila nods her head and reaches for the seatbelt. She struggles for a second, but eventually manages and looks at Lauren with an accomplished, shy smile.
"Good girl" Lauren praises softly before closing the door and heading round to the drivers side. After buckling herself in and sending a glance back at Camila, she starts the car and pulls out of the driveway, heading towards Walmart.
The drive there was near silent, the only sound being the radio. It wasn't uncomfortable though, which Lauren found nice, and soon enough, she was pulling up outside Walmart.
"Okay, lets go get you an appointment with some shoes" Lauren says with a chuckle as she unbuckles her own seatbelt and climbs out of the car, walking round to the back to where the youngster was sat.
After opening her door too, she reaches in to unbuckle her seatbelt, "you okay?" She asks quietly as she gently cups the girls cheek.
The youngster nods, "Yeah" she whispers, sending the woman a shy grin.
"Good girl" Lauren grins back, sliding her hand underneath the small girls armpits and lifting her up into her arms.
She closes the door behind her and locks her car before beginning to head into the store, ignoring any weird she looks she gets from holding Camila in her arms. She got it, it was a little weird to be carrying a teenager, but it really wasn't any of their business.
"Alright, baby, take your pick" she announces as she stops by the large selection of shoes, setting Camila down onto her sock clad feet and taking her hand instead.
The youngster nibbles nervously on the end of her thumb as she gazes at all the different options, not knowing which to pick. She'd never had the opportunity to actually get a pair of shoes before, so this, even though it was basically an everyday thing to some people, was so new to her that it felt overwhelming.
"I..I don't know" she whispers, feeling her eyes fill with tears.
Lauren gently pulls the girl to her chest and holds her close, "Shh, it's okay, there's no need to cry. Would you like me to pick for you? Mhhh? Would that make it easier?" She asks softly, hating the fact something so small was making the youngster feel so overwhelmed.
Bringing her sweatshirt clad arm up to wipe away her tears, Camila nods her head, "yes please" she whispers, relief filling her body.
"Alright sweetheart, I think a simple pair of sneakers will do for now. They'll have more of a variety at the mall" Lauren says, holding the girl close to her side as she pulls a pair of shoes off the shelf.
She spends a few minutes working out Camila's size, and soon enough the two were walking out of Walmart, the new pair of sneakers on Camila's feet.
**
Lauren sighs with an accomplished grin as she gazes at Camila's now full closet. She had just spent the last half an hour putting everything away while the youngster napped, and she had to say she was proud of herself for getting it all done so quickly.
Originally, Camila was going to help, but as she had fallen asleep on the way back from the mall, she was unable to do so. Lauren didn't mind though as she knew it would probably happen, the girls yawning and constant rubs of the eyes giving it away that she was tired and in need of a nap.
Grabbing all of the bags and closing the closet doors, Lauren makes her way out of the spare...Camila's room and closes the door behind her. She hums underneath her breath as she walks to the kitchen, and after getting rid of the bags, she goes to check on the youngster.
It had been nearly an hour after all, and she didn't want her sleeping too long as she wouldn't sleep tonight.
That wouldn't be fun for either of them.
Pushing her bedroom door open, Lauren walks in and perches on the end of the bed, gazing softly at Camila's sleeping form.
Yeah...they could do this.
**
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