Lauren looked up when she saw Shawn and a lady enter. The little girl ran to Shawn and hid behind him. She looked up at the tall lady. She looked really pretty. She hoped the lady was nice. Daddy always told her that ladies were mean and that men only wanted what was best for her. But Ms. Manibear was really nice. She really liked her. Lauren wanted her to come back.
"Lauren," Shawn said, crouching down in front of the little girl, "this is my wife, Camila. Camila, this is Princess Lauren."
Lauren turned to the lady, Camila. She crouched down and smiled at her. Lauren took a step back. Camila kept smiling at her. Lauren stared at her, liking her hair. She had nice eyes as well.
"I'm really glad to meet you Lauren. Shawn has been really excited to meet you."
Lauren looked at Shawn. "'causa p'incess?" Lauren asked him, tilting her head a little.
Shawn smiled. "Yeah. I always wanted to meet Princess Lauren. Where is Prince Benji?"
Lauren looked over to her bear on a beanbag. "S'eepin'."
Camila smiled. "You are really pretty."
Lauren smiled. Camila was nice. Just like Manibear. The little girl walked to Camila and placed her hands on the woman's face. Lauren gave Camila's head a pat. "P'etty."
Camila grinned. "That's such an honor."
The little girl giggled, her eyes wide. She turned to Shawn. "Lawn?" She asked, a small frown on her face.
Shawn smiled. "That's my name."
"I go home?" the little girl questioned. She watched as the smile left Shawn's face. She tilted her head, confused as to why.
"Lauren, there is something I have to tell you," Shawn whispered, patting the chair Lauren was sitting on.
The little girl nodded, taking the seat.
-
Camila watched the little girl look up at Shawn, her eyes filled with wonder. She knew Shawn was going to break that, and she just hoped it didn't break that little girl's heart.
In a matter of seconds, Lauren got into her heart. She was too cute to not fall for her.
"Lawn? Home?" Lauren asked, her little legs swinging.
"Lauren, your daddy, he did something bad. And he tried to hurt the police officers that wanted to keep you safe."
Camila watched as the little girl frowned, her legs coming to a halt. "Bad?"
Shawn nodded. "The officers had to stop him."
"No home?"
"No, he's not coming home," Shawn told the girl, tears in his own eyes.
"No 'day? 'mowwow?" Lauren asked him, looking even more confused.
"Lauren, your dad isn't coming back, ever. I'm really sorry," Shawn whispered, reaching over to touch her hand.
Lauren's eyes filled with tears. She pulled away quickly. "Wan' daddy!"
The detective sighed, looking at Camila. The woman gave him a small smile. She could see how much it was hurting him.
Camila sat down next to Lauren. "You know, my daddy's gone too."
Lauren looked up at Camila, her small tears streaming down her face. She rubbed her eyes. "Wan' daddy."
Camila frowned, her hand running through Lauren's hair. She wanted to tell her it was okay. That it was okay to miss her father, but she didn't know if it was the right thing, not after what he did.
"Lauren," Shawn whispered, trying to get the girl's attention.
Lauren turned, so her back to Shawn. The girl looked at Camila. "I no, home?"
Camila smiled at the little girl. "You'll stay with Shawn and me until we find your family."
Lauren sighed, getting off the chair. She pressed her body against Camila. The married woman smiled as she rubbed Lauren's back. She pulled the girl onto her lap and continued to rub her back. Lauren leaned into Camila, her eyes and hands staying on her hair.
Camila looked at Shawn, who looked angry. She could still see the hurt in his eyes. The two sat there until Lauren's went limp. Camila stood up and placed the girl on the bean back with her stuffed bear. Shawn took off his jacket and covered the girl with it.
Lauren snuggled closer to her bear. Camila turned and grabbed Shawn's hand, pulling him out of the room.
"Talk to me," she whispered, looking up at him.
Shawn let out an angry sigh. He ran his hand through his curly hair. "I hope her father is suffering. He hurt her in ways no one should should have ever been hurt. She's suffering, she's going to have to learn that that wasn't love."
Camila wrapped her arms around Shawn. She felt him tense up in her arms.
"We're going to help her," Camila whispered, looking up at him. "She had a father who loved her the wrong way. So be the father that loved her the right way. The way a father is supposed to love their child. Shawn, as long as she has people to fall back on, she will be okay. And we're going to be those people."
Shawn sighed. Camila felt him relax against her arms. She pulled away and wiped the tears in her eyes.
"She's mad at me," Shawn whispered, his voice soft.
Camila grinned. "Just wait until she's a teenager. She just found out her father isn't coming back. She loves him, as much as we wish she didn't. She's going to be mad at someone. It won't be long. Sofi would get mad at me for minutes when we fought."
"I love you," Shawn whispered, pressing his lips against Camila's.
"Detective Mendes," a female voice called.
Camila felt her heart drop, hoping they didn't find anyone. Camila pulled away from Shawn and saw a blond woman walking towards them.
"Ms. Olsen, please just call me Shawn," he greeted, smiling at her. "Ms. Olsen, this is my wife, Camila. Camila, this is Lauren's social worker, Elizabeth Olsen."
Camila felt relief. She smiled at the woman. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Olsen."
The blond woman shook her head. "Elizabeth please. So I call my supervisor and I have the paperwork for Lauren's stay. Thank you both for doing this. She's familiar with you Shawn, I'm sure she'll be okay with you two."
Camila smiled. She looked back to Lauren, who was asleep. She turned to Elizabeth. "Thank you, for letting her stay with us."
Elizabeth shook her head. "No, thank you, for giving Lauren a temporary home."
Shawn nodded. A smile on his face.
Elizabeth gave them her card, Shawn did the same. "I'll set up an appointment for a house check. We'll work with getting you two fostering licenses."
"Thank you," Camila whispered, reached over to grab Shawn's hand, giving it a squeeze.
Elizabeth looked at the sleeping girl. "Take her home."
-
Shawn smiled when he could feel Lauren's breath on his neck. He made sure his jacket was covering her body.
"What's the rooming situation?" Camila asked, looking at her husband, hugging Benji.
"I was thinking we put her on our bed and we take the floor? We'll turn the guest room into her room tomorrow." Shawn didn't know if Lauren's father shared a bed with her. He didn't want to put that thought in her head.
"You work tomorrow," Camila asked, confused.
Shawn shook her head. "Called out. I'm not letting you do this yourself. We're in this together."
Camila smiled at him. "Together."
Shawn placed Lauren on the bed and let Camila pull the covers up. She placed Benji next to the girl, who quickly hugged her bear.
The married couple through blankets and pillows on the ground. They quickly got ready for bed and laid down.
"What are you thinking about?" Camila asked, turning to her husband.
Shawn turned and stared at her. "I just want Lauren to have a good life."
Camila leaned over and gently kissed his lips. "That's what we are here for."
-
We'll delve deeper into Lauren's former home life later. But we'll keep it light until that moment comes.