Grace was practically screaming in her bassinet, it was going on four in the morning and Lauren was still working on papers.
"Grace, please." Lauren begged. "Please be quiet." Her hair was a mess and she was exhausted.
Kicking her feet, Grace rolls in the bassinet causing it rock dangerously.
Lauren sighed and put her pen down. She lifted Grace out of the bassinet.
The tiny six month old immediately nuzzled Lauren's chest, releasing a softer cry.
Lauren sighed, she pulled her night shirt down and Grace immediately latched onto her nipple.
Closing her eyes, Grace relaxes as she begins to slowly nurse.
Lauren leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes.
"You should get some sleep." Lucy says softly, running a hand through Lauren's hair.
Grace taps her hand against Lauren's chest and whines as she continues to nurse.
"I have to finish these papers." Lauren opened her eyes and looked at Lucy. "Plus, she's hungry."
"You can finish those tomorrow and she can nurse while you're laying down." Lucy responds softly.
"They need to be finished tonight. I need to spend time with the kids tomorrow." Lauren said quietly.
"Laur, just do them tomorrow night." Lucy responds softly.
"They need to be done and I'll forget tomorrow. Plus, I can't sleep. I'm tired but I can't fall asleep." Lauren mumbled.
Grace released Lauren's nipple and began to softly cry.
Lauren looked down at Grace and frowned.
"She might want the other nipple." Lucy says softly.
Lauren looked up at Lucy. "W-What?"
"There might not be enough milk in that nipple, so she might want the other one." Lucy explains softly.
"She's been eating a lot lately." Lauren mumbled.
"That just means she's finally catching up to Jaden." The older girl explains softly.
A louder cry escapes Grace and she nuzzles Lauren's chest again.
Lauren jumped, she looked down at Grace.
"Switch nipples and you might be able to finish grading those." Lucy says softly.
Lauren nodded. She shifted Grace in her arms and revealed her other nipple to the small baby.
Grace immediately latches on and relaxes as she nurses.
Lauren looked up at Lucy. "Thank you." She whispered.
"Of course." Lucy responds softly, leaning in and kissing Lauren gently.
Lauren's eyes fluttered closed.
Pulling away, Lucy smiles softly. "Let's get these papers done."
Lauren nodded slowly.
Grace releases a soft grunt as she continues to nurse, kicking her feet slightly.
Lauren looked down at Grace and swallowed.
The tiny six month old begins shaking her head as she continues to nurse.
"What?" Lauren looked into the little girl's eyes. "Why are you shaking your head?"
Cooing softly, Grace stares up at Lauren, releasing her nipple.
Lauren furrowed her brows. "What?"
Grunting, Grace nuzzles Lauren's breast again before opening her mouth.
"How can you still be hungry?" Lauren muttered to herself.
"I don't think she's hungry." Lucy says softly, grabbing a pacifier and putting it in Grace's mouth.
The baby immediately relaxes and closes her eyes, keeping her hand on Lauren's chest.
Lauren sighed. "Why am I still so bad at this? I never know what she needs." She muttered to herself.
"Don't think like that, Grace is just a lot harder than most babies we've dealt with." Lucy explains softly, kissing Lauren's forehead.
Grace nuzzles Lauren's chest as she sucks on the pacifier, her eyes slowly fluttering closed.
Lauren closed her eyes. She took a deep breath.
"I can grade these if you want, I've seen you do it multiple times and you have your correction sheet in front of you." The oldest girl says softly.
"It's okay. I can do it. Thanks." Lauren said.
Nodding, Lucy moves to take Grace only for the baby's eyes to fly open and her to start crying.
Lauren groaned quietly and closed her eyes. "I haven't slept in three days." She muttered, looking down at Grace. "No wonder Marley couldn't deal with you and didn't want you." The words left her mouth before she could stop them.
Grace's bottom lip pouted out before tears welled up in her eyes, almost like she knew what Lauren had said.
****
Three weeks later
Grace was barely nursing and when held she just curled into whoever had her, not even getting excited when she saw Lauren.
Lauren sighed heavily, sitting down on the couch with Grace in her arms. She'd had a hard day at work and was really tired.
The baby didn't even nuzzle her chest like she normally did, only laying her head against Lauren's right breast.
Lauren closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Shifting uncomfortably, the baby releases a soft whine, looking up at Lauren.
Lauren opened her eyes and looked at Grace tiredly.
Grace shifts again and turns her head toward Lauren's chest, dropping her mouth open.
Lauren sighed. "Hungry?" She whispered.
The seven month old doesn't respond, nuzzling Lauren's chest again.
Lauren ran her fingers through her hair.
Tears fill Grace's eyes and she releases a soft cry.
"Please don't cry? I'm too tired today." Lauren begged.
Opening her mouth, Grace tries to nurse through Lauren's shirt and bra.
Lauren squeezed her eyes closed and let out a long breath through her nose.
Whining, Grace smacks at Lauren's chest in frustration, tears in her eyes.
"Ouch." Lauren opened her eyes and looked at her granddaughter in surprise.
Nuzzling her chest, Grace whines again, trying to latch on.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Lauren pulled her shirt down and shifted her bra to reveal her nipple to the small baby.
Immediately latching on, Grace closes her eyes as she begins to nurse.
Lauren leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes.
Clenching her fist against Lauren's chest, Grace struggles to open her eyes.
"You're tired." Lauren mumbled. "I am too."
Humming, the baby slowly falls asleep, still sucking on Lauren's nipple.
"She asleep?" Lucy asks, walking into the living room, Jaden was finally asleep in his crib.
Lauren nodded.
"Do you want to try and put her in her crib tonight?" Lucy asks softly, she wanted a night with just them.
Lauren shrugged. She looked up at Lucy. "I don't know if she'll sleep."
"I mean we can try." The older girl says softly.
Lauren nodded. "Yeah. I need a break." She admitted.
Smiling, Lucy gently reaches down to take Grace from Lauren.
The baby released a soft whine as Lauren's nipple fell from her mouth.
Lauren fixed her bra and shirt.
Grace began fidgeting in Lucy's arms before her eyes flutter open and her bottom lip begins to pout out.
Lucy looked at Grace. "Go back to sleep. Lauren needs some sleep too."
A soft cry escapes the baby and she begins kicking her feet.
Lucy shook her head. She carried the little girl into the nursery and laid her down. "Cry yourself to sleep." She said quietly, leaving the room.
Grace's cry quickly grew louder before Jaden's identical cry joined in the mix.
Lucy closed the door and made her way to her and Lauren's bedroom. "They need to learn to go back to sleep on their own. They are old enough for that now."
Biting her lip, Lauren nods her head, fighting the urge to go and get Grace. They hadn't really slept apart in almost two months.
"Hey, She'll be okay." Lucy said. "She'll need to get used to this." She moved over to Lauren and pulled her into her arms. "It'll be okay."
Burying her face in Lucy's neck, Lauren takes a deep breath and tries not to cry.
"She'll be okay." Lucy rubbed Lauren's back. "I promise."
"She needs me." Lauren sobs out, gripping onto Lucy's shirt.
"Yes. But she needs to learn to sleep on her own." Lucy said.
The younger girl shakes her head and continues to softly sob. "She needs me."
"Laur, listen to me. She needs this. You need this. We need this." Lucy said. "We need some time in our own bed tonight."
Swallowing thickly, Lauren nods her head. "I'll try."
Lucy nodded. "Okay."
After two hours, Grace was still crying while Jaden was sound asleep.
"Laur, please relax." Lucy begged the younger girl. "She'll be okay."
Shaking her head, Lauren fights the urge to get up and grab Grace. "It's been two hours."
"It'll take her some time but she needs to get used to sleeping in her own bed otherwise she'll be a nightmare later on when she's older." Lucy said calmly.
"I just, I need to check on her." Lauren says softly, pulling away from Lucy and making her way to the nursery.
Grace was laying in her crib, crying and kicking her feet, tiny tears rolling down her cheeks.
Lauren's heart broke in her chest. "Grace." She whispered.
Lucy grabbed Lauren's arm before she could make her way into the nursery. "Don't."
Grace's cries grew louder as if the baby had heard Lauren.
"Please." Lucy squeezed Lauren's hand. "She'll be fine."
The baby's cries were growing raspier because of how long she'd been crying.
"She'll calm down eventually. She has too. If you give into her now, she'll never sleep in her own bed again." Lucy said.
Shaking her head, Lauren looks toward the nursery. "She needs me." She whispers.
Grace let out a louder cry, almost like a scream.
Lucy sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "Lauren, you're exhausted. You've done nothing but work and look after her. You need a break."
Pulling away from Lucy, Lauren makes her way into the nursery.
Grace was kicking her feet and crying loudly as tears continued rolling down her cheeks.
Leaning down, Lauren gently picks Grace up, rocking.
Grace stared up at Lauren, her cries turning into soft whimpers while tears continue to roll down her cheeks.
"Shh." Lauren cooed, wiping away Grace's tears.
Grace's whimpers slowly turn into hiccups as she calms down, her eyes fluttering closed.
"She's going to be hard to get to sleep in her own bed now." Lucy said from behind Lauren.
Biting her lip, Lauren continues to gently rock Grace before looking up at Lucy. "Then she'll stay in our bed."
"Until she's in high school?" Lucy looked at Lauren. "You really want that. Her to sleep in the same bed as us until she graduates high school and goes off to college."
Lauren doesn't respond, rocking the baby.
Lucy sighed, she ran her fingers through her hair.
Slowly, Grace falls asleep, curled up in Lauren's arms.
Lauren waited until Grace was fast asleep before laying her back down in the crib, making sure she didn't wake up.
The tiny girl remained fast asleep, relaxing even more as Lauren lightly covered her with a blanket.
Lauren bit her lower lip and stepped away from the crib.
Lucy held her hand out for Lauren, leading her toward their room.
"I'm sorry." Lauren mumbled. "I hate hearing them cry."
"I do too, but sometimes you have to let them cry." Lucy says softly, laying down on the bed.
Lauren curled into Lucy's arms.
"I love you." Lucy says softly.
"I love you too." Lauren whispered.
"Get some sleep." Lucy says softly, kissing Lauren's forehead.
"I love you." Lauren mumbled.
****
Camila sighs as she watches Marley sleep, she was growing restless because they were on the tour bus, driving to their next location.
She ran her fingers through her hair and shifted on the bed.
Shifting, Camila kisses Marley's shoulder and pulls her closer, hoping to fall asleep.
Marley shifted in her sleep and mumbled something Camila couldn't make out.
Trying to fall asleep, Camila closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "I'm so tired." She mumbles.
Marley rolled onto her side, gripping the sheets in her fist.
Sitting up, Camila runs a hand through her hair.
She climbed out of bed and went into the lounge area.
Pulling out her phone, Camila looks for Lucy's number.
When she didn't find it, she looked at the time and wondered if Lucy and Lauren would be asleep yet.
Putting her phone away, she runs a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry."
Marley shifted awake in the bed, running her fingers through her hair. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, sitting up.
"I'm sorry." Camila mumbles again, sitting on the couch and putting her head in her hands.
Marley frowned as she got out of the bed. "Huh?"
The older girl was sat on the couch, mumbling to herself.
"Mama?" Marley's whispered, leaning against the doorframe.
Swallowing thickly, Camila looks up and takes a deep breath. "What's up?"
"You were mumbling." Marley said.
"I can't sleep." Camila says softly.
"You can't sleep?" Marley echoed.
Nodding his head, the older girl takes a deep breath. "I don't know what to do."
"Talk." Marley shrugged. "I'll listen. I'm a good listener." She moved into the room and sat down.
"I feel like I'm hurting you." Camila says softly, looking up at her.
Marley just sat there. She told her mother she'd listen and that's what she was going to do. She wasn't going to interrupt her mother. She would just sit there and listen until her mother was finished.
"Like maybe you don't want me here with you even though you told the world about us." Camila says softly, looking down.
Marley still said nothing, furrowing her brows.
Taking a deep breath, Camila looks up at Marley. "I need to know if you want me here or not."
Marley frowned. "W-why wouldn't I want you here?" She swallowed.
"It's just that you always pull away from me." Camila mumbles softly.
"After shows and rehearsals, I'm tired." Marley explained.
Nodding her head, Camila looks down again. "I just, I miss you."
"You miss me?" Marley asked. "But I'm right next to you."
"But you're always so busy." The older girl mumbles.
"I can't help that." Marley mumbled, looking down. "I'm doing my job."
Swallowing thickly, Camila looks up and lifts Marley's head. "Even on your days off you're busy."
Marley swallowed. "I don't really get any days off. They want another album out of me by the end of this tour, plus six new singles."
"I just want one day with you, not six million people and you." The older girl whispers.
"The day after tomorrow?" Marley suggested. "We could go to the beach? Or a museum? Or the movies?"
A small smile grows on Camila's lips. "I'd like that."
Marley looked up, she smiled shyly.
Leaning over, Camila captures Marley's lips in a slow and passionate kiss.
Marley let her eyes flutter closed.
Cupping her cheek, Camila slowly deepens the kiss, pulling Marley closer.
Marley relaxed against Camila's soft touch.
Their kiss was slowly growing heated and Camila was trying to calm herself down as she grows aroused.
Marley pulled away, taking a deep breath. "Can we watch a movie?" She asked quietly.
Clearing her throat, Camila nods her head and shifts on the couch, grabbing a pillow to hide her erection.
Marley got up and moved over to the box of movies they had brought with them.
The older girl closes her eyes and tries to get rid of her erection.
"What do you want to watch?" Marley asked, looking through the box.
"Doesn't matter." Camila responds softly, watching Marley.
"What's the problem now?" Marley asked, turning to look at Camila.
Frowning, Camila tilts her head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"You just seem to be in a mood." Marley said sheepishly, shrugging.
"No, I'm just trying to get rid of my arousal." Camila responds softly, leaning over and kissing Marley's cheek.
"Oh." Marley swallowed. "Help me pick a movie?"
Nodding her head, Camila moves closer and looks at the movies. "How about a Disney movie?"
"Which one?" Marley asked, putting away all of the movies that weren't Disney.
"The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast." Camila says softly.
"Both?" Marley asked.
Nodding her head, Camila smiles softly. "Let me just go change."
Marley nodded. She stood up and moved to set up the DVD player.
Getting up, Camila goes to the bedroom and changes her clothes.
She could hear Marley fighting with the technology to get it to work and she found it quite comical.
Chuckling, she makes her way back into the living room. "Everything okay?"
"Ouch!" Marley jumped back, shaking out her hand. "That thing just electrocuted me." She exaggerated, putting her finger in her mouth and literally licking her wound.
Moving over to her, Camila grabs Marley's hand and sucks the injured finger into her own mouth.
Marley tilted her head to the side in confusion, furrowing her brows. She shrugged and turned her head to look at the DVD player, glaring at it.
Releasing her finger, Camila turns Marley's head and kisses her gently.
Marley's eyes fluttered closed.
After a few minutes, Camila pulls away and moves to start the movie.
Marley watched Camila for a moment before turning her attention to the DVD player.
Camila moves to the couch and holds her arms open. "Come here."
Marley nodded. She moved over to the couch and dropped down.
Pulling her closer, Camila kisses Marley's forehead and turns her attention toward the movie.
Marley curled into Camila arms and rested her head on Camila's shoulder.
Relaxing on the couch, Camila holds Marley close, watching the movie.
Marley drifted off to sleep not long after the start of the movie.
A few hours later
Camila groans as she's woken up, trying to curl around Marley more.
Marley shifted so that her back was resting against Camila.
"Camila, Marley." Annie calls out, gently shaking Camila's shoulder.
Groaning, Camila shakes her head and curls into Marley even more.
"Ah!" Marley screamed, waking up from a nightmare. She was breathing heavily, hunched over on the couch.
Sitting up, Camila cups Marley's cheeks. "What happened?"
Marley closed her eyes and swallowed. She ran her fingers through her sweaty hair. "Just a nightmare." She breathed out.
Kissing her forehead, Camila sighs softly. "What was it about?"
Marley shook her head. She didn't want to repeat it.
"Okay baby," Camila says softly, rubbing her back before looking up at Annie. "What's up? It's three in the morning."
Marley brought her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them, wrapping her arms around her legs.
"Marley had a three o'clock call time, it's going on three-thirty now." Annie says softly.
Marley swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and looking up at Annie. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
"It's okay sweetie, I was just coming to check up on you. You have the rest of the day off after your interview." Annie says softly.
Marley nodded. She seemed really tired and her skin was paler and sweatier than usual.
"Are you okay?" Annie asks softly.
Marley swallowed and nodded. "Y-Yeah."
"Are you sure? We can cancel the interview." Annie says softly.
"I'm f-fine." Marley repeated. She felt like she'd let her fans down far to much and had made a promise to herself that this would stop. She'd be there for them and her girlfriend.
Camila frowns and feels Marley's forehead. "You're going to go back to bed, we can reschedule the interview for later today."
"No." Marley shook her head. "I'm fine."
"No you aren't, we'll reschedule the interview and cancel tomorrow." Camila responds, sadness already filling her eyes.
"No." Marley snapped. "I'm fine. Don't cancel anything." She stood up and walked away.
Sighing, Camila runs a hand through her hair. "I will talk to her."
Annie nodded. "Yeah."
****
The next day
"Are you sure you want to?" Camila asks softly, rubbing Marley's hips, their foreheads pressed together.
"Yes." Marley nodded. "I'm sick of disappointing you and everyone around me."
Frowning, Camila pulls Marley closer. "You're not a disappointment." She whispers before connecting their lips in a slow and passionate kiss.
Marley's eyes fluttered closed.
Slowly, Camila deepens the kiss and lays Marley down on the bed.
Marley snakes her arms around Camila's neck and tangled her fingers in Camila's hair.
Tilting her head to the side, Camila slips her tongue into Marley's mouth.
Marley's muscles relaxed under Camila's touch.
It wasn't long before Camila was slowly stripping their clothes.
"You're so beautiful." She whispers, caressing Marley's cheek.
Marley didn't say a word. She just stared into Camila's eyes lovingly.
Reaching between them, Camila lines herself up with Marley's entrance and slowly thrusts into her. Their eyes locked the entire time.
Marley closed her eye for a brief moment, taking a deep breath.
Leaning down, Camila kisses Marley passionately as she begins thrusting into her at a slow and loving pace.
Marley moaned quietly against Camila's lips.
Camila's movements were slow and passionate, she didn't want to fuck, she wanted to make love.
Marley's mouth fell open against Camila's lips in a silent moan.
They made love for hours before they finally stopped and fell asleep.
****
Marley woke up, covered in an uncomfortable sweat. She sat up and ran her fingers through her soaking hair.
Sitting up, Camila looks at her tiredly. "What's wrong?"
Nodding her head, Camila gets up. "Let's take a shower then."
Marley nodded. She ran her fingers through wet hair.
Helping her up, Camila leads Marley to the bathroom.
Marley followed Camila, gripping her hand.
Turning on the warm water, Camila watches Marley quietly.
Marley leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath through her nose. Her heart was racing in her chest and she had no idea why.
"Come here." Camila says softly, stepping into the shower and holding her arms open for Marley.
Marley rubbed her eyes and pushed herself away from the wall. She made her way over to the shower.
Wrapping her arms around Marley's waist, Camila kisses her forehead. "Are you okay?"
Marley nodded. "Y-Yeah."
Rubbing her back, Camila holds Marley close and sways them as the water falls.
Marley rested her head against Camila's shoulder and closed her eyes.
"I've got you." The older girl whispers in Marley's ear, gently rubbing her back.
Marley weakly wrapped her arms around Camila.
"What's wrong?" Camila asks softly, kissing Marley's forehead.
"Nothing." Marley said. "I don't know."
Slowly, Camila pulls away and begins washing Marley's body.
Marley's muscles relaxed under Camila's touch but her skin felt warm against Camila's.
"I think you're getting sick." Camila says softly, continuing to wash Marley's body.
Marley shivered, swallowing thickly.
"After this we'll lay back down." Camila says softly.
Marley nodded slowly.
It wasn't long before they finished their shower and were laying back down, Camila holding Marley close.
"Do you want to call the kids later?" Camila asks softly, kissing Marley's forehead.
Marley shrugged half-heartedly. She didn't feel very good but didn't want to tell Camila.
"It's okay to say no if you're not feeling well." The older girl says, pulling the blanket over them and holding Marley close.
Marley shook her head. "I'm... fine."
"Don't lie to me." Camila whispers, rubbing Marley's back.
Marley shifted on the bed before sitting up quickly and leaning over the side of the bed, losing whatever she had left in her stomach. She coughed.
Rubbing her back, Camila sighs softly. "Good thing I put the trashcan there."
Marley groaned quietly.
"You okay?" Camila asks softly, kissing her shoulder.
Marley coughed again as more vomit came up.
Rubbing her back again, Camila can't help but frown. "Is your stomach hurting?"
Marley nodded.
"I'm going to call Annie and have her bring some medicine." Camila says softly, getting up.
Marley nodded again, coughing.
Getting up, Camila grabs her phone and leaves the room.
Marley slumped back on the bed, closing her eyes.