Demi POV
Luckily, I'd caught Lauren in my arms. She jolted awake, looking around petrified and hyperventilating.
"Laur, hey... Shhh, what's wrong?" I spoke softly, trying to calm her. Lauren shook her head, clutching her hands over her ears as she only hyperventilated worse. "Lauren..." I cooed. Not even second later, Lauren blacked out again, falling towards the floor. I quickly caught her, keeping her from falling completely.
"Lolo?" Camie teared up, jumping up from the table and running to my side where I was making sure that Lauren was breathing. I was thankful that she was, but that didn't exactly alleviate my concerns.
I scooped Lauren up in my arms, supporting her head as I looked around at the girls, "Umm, can you guys grab the bags? We need to get her to the hospital right now." I was honestly terrified as we ran out of the mall, especially with Lauren's recent injury. Something really could be seriously wrong. We ran onto the bus looking for the driver, quickly finding her. "We need to get Laur back to the hospital like right now," I exclaimed, trying to be calm despite my anxiety about the situation.
"Okay, there is one literally a couple of minutes down the road, let's go." I nodded and we got onto the bus. Within less than five minutes, we pulled up at the hospital. Camie cried and begged when Dinah and Mani told her to stay with them on the bus while Ally and I took Lauren into the hospital and got her checked out.
"She was hyperventilating and then she just passed out, she recently had head trauma, but she was cleared at the hospital. I- Um, she's schizophrenic. I'm just so worried. I don't know what happened," I rambled worriedly. I was relieved when they immediately took her back while Ally and I were left to fill out her information.
We had just finished filling the paper out when a woman with warm blonde hair approached us, "You two are with, Lauren, correct?" We both nodded. "Right this way. They've got her admitted and in a room. She is up in CT right now, but her vitals are stable and she should be back down shortly," she spoke calmly, leading us down a series of hallways then into a room.
"Thank you so much," Ally responded, sitting in one fo the chairs.
"Of course. Let me know if you have any questions at all and I or someone will be back if there are any updates."
"Will do," I replied, sitting next to Ally as the nurse walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. I sighed, releasing a breath that I hadn't even realized I was holding.
Ally put a gentle hand on my knee, "I'm sure she's going to be alright.
"I'm just so worried, Ally. You know there's always that little voice in the back of your head that is wondering, what if she's not gonna be okay?"
She sighed, "I know, love, but we have to ignore those thoughts and hope for the best, yeah?"
I nodded, "You're right." Moments of lingering anxiety later, a doctor brought Laur back into the room and got her situated before pulling a chair up in front of us for an update. Ally and I listened tentatively, awaiting the doctor's response.
"Lauren's CT came back and there was no bleeding or serious swelling. There was some mild swelling. However, I was made aware that Lauren recently suffered from a head injury, can you tell me more about that?"
I nodded, "Yeah, um, she was attacked and had some external injuries but she as okay. She's been really shaken up, I'm wondering if it was a kind of panic attack maybe?"
"You say she's been really shaken up, that's to be expected after a traumatic event like that to some degree, but would you say that she's been behaving drastically different?" she asked.
"I mean, she has had some regression, but she was also recently diagnosed with scizophrenia, which I'm sure has affected her as well," Ally responded.
The doctor nodded, "I understand. She is stable and all things considered, the panic attack is very plausible. Are severe panic and anxiety attacks a frequent issue for her?"
I sighed sadly, "Most definitely."
"I'm going to prescribe her a nonrefillable xanax prescription for when it's absolutely necessary until you're able to get her in with a psychiatrist. Sometimes immediate relief is required when episodes are this frequent and severe."
"Okay, thank you. Does she have to stay overnight?" Ally asked.
The doctor shook her head, "She's all stable and good to go, I'll just have to grab her discharge papers and prescription and you'll be able to take her home."
"Thank you so much," I said, relived that Lauren wasn't going to be stuck staying the night in the hospital.
"It's no problem at all, I'll just go grab those papers and I'll be right back," the doctor spoke before briefly heading out of the room only to return with a folder and a couple of papers for us to sign. We took care of Lauren's discharge before thanking the doctor once more. Ally held on to the folder whild I scooped Lauren up in my arms now that she was no longer hooked up to anything. I sighed, looking down at her and holding her closer.
"You ready?" I asked Ally, who nodded.
"Yep."
We quickly got checked out and head back to the bus, where Camila was near inconsolible, probably worried sick about Lauren, poor kid. Camila ran up to Ally, Lauren, and me, tears streaming down her face, "L-Lauren i is okay?" she sobbed, struggling to catch her breath.
Dinah POV
"She's been absolutely impossible to calm down. She's not even in her headspace, she was just so worried about Laur, she's been having an anxiety attack this entire time," I explained. Demi sat down next to me, Lauren on her lap, sleeping.
"Mila, hey... slow breaths. Lauren is okay and she will continue to be okay. She had a panic attack, but she's okay." Ally spoke softly, holding Camila's shaking hands in her own.
"Promise?" Camila sobbed.
"Of course, love," Ally reaffirmed to Camila, who was still distraught.
"We just have to pick up her prescription so when she has bad panic attacks like that, she's able to calm down." Demi said as she texted the driver that as well.
"I'm just so glad she's alright, I was worried that it had something to do with her head," I said, gently rubbing Camila's back to comfort her. She climbed onto the couch between Mani and me, sniffling and rubbing her eyes.
"You okay, sweetheart?" Mani asked Camila, who nodded, quickly perking up when she noticed Lauren moving on Demi's lap.
She looked up at me, "Lolo?!"
I nodded, "Yeah, baby, but be gentle, okay?" She nodded quickly and sat by Dems and Lauren, watching calmly as Laur opened her eyes, her eyes darting around for a moment, taking in what was happening around her before burying her face in Demi's shirt.
Demi POV
Lauren hid her face in my shirt, rubbing her eyes. She held onto my shirt tightly, I assumed trying to comfort herself. I gently swayed her side to side.
"Lolo?" Camie cooed, resting her head on my side. Lauren peeked out, holding onto Camie's hand before sliding off of my lap and cuddling up to her. My heart melted a bit.
"Awww," we all cooed at the pair, watching them.
"What do you two think about a little movie time, yeah?" I suggested. Camie nodded, Lo just remaining snuggled into her little friend's embrace. I'm sure they were both exhausted after this afternoon, so a movie probably was a good idea.
"What do you think about watching Boss Baby?" Dinah suggested. I smiled at the idea. Camie nodded with excitement, having not seen the film as of yet.
"Okay, well, I'll grab us some goodies and we can get all cozy in the lounge and put Boss Baby on. How does that sound?" I proposed, standing up to head to the kitchen, Lauren rushing to my side. The smaller girl whimpered, tears brimming her eyes as she clung onto me. "Darling, I'm right here. Would you like to come with me while I grab drinks and snacks?" I told Lauren calmly, knowing she'd had a rough enough day as it was. She nodded quickly, sticking right by my side the entire time that I prepared a snack tray for everyone and grabbed some drinks, making sure to put Camie's and Lauren's in sippy cups before carrying everything to the back lounge. I put everything on the table, sitting down and getting cozy with Ally and Lauren as Mani pressed play on the movie. I was relieved when Lauren had some snacks and juice throughout the first half of the movie before falling asleep. I peeked over her, seeing Camie had also fallen asleep.
"They're so precious, right babe?" I asked Ally. She didn't respond so I looked over at her, noticing that she was asleep as well. I giggled a bit to myself. The only one up besides myself was Dinah.
She looked around, laughing quielty as well, "I guess we're the only ones up," she said.
I nodded, "Apparently." My phone dinged. It was the driver with Lauren's meds. "I'll be right back, It's Laur's meds," I told Dinah, carefully getting up, making sure that I didn't wake either Ally or Lauren.
I walked to the front of the bus, opening the door, "How is she?" the driver inquired.
"She's doing better. Most of the girls are taking a nap right now. She had a panic attack, but she's okay," I responded as she handed me the prescription.
"I'm glad. She's had such a rough time lately it seems."
I nodded, "Yeah, I'm just hoping we can get the rest of the way home smoothly."
"That's the plan, we don't have much longer to go, I'll get us there as smoothly and as soon as possible," she spoke with a smile.
"Thank you."
"Of course, I'm going to get back on that now," she giggled.
"You're silly, drive safe," I responded.
"As always."
I chuckled a little to myself as I set the prescription on the counter in the kitchen, Dinah walking up and joining me in the front lounge.
"Whatcha doing?" She questioned, leaning on the counter.
"Nothing really, I'm just hoping that things will be easier on Camila and Lauren once they get back home. It's still going to be a huge adjustment for them," I thought aloud to Dinah, who kindly listened.
"I'm sure things won't be prefect and you're right, it will be a big adjustment for them, but in the long run, it'll be better for them because they will have that stability of being at home and in one place without the added factor of a constantly changing environment," Dinah replied.
I gave it a thought, "You're right, Dj."
She flipped her hair dramatically, "I'm always right."
I laughed, "Oh my god, Dinah."
"Whaaat?" she giggled.
"You're a mess," I told her playfully.
She smiled, "I knowww."
I sighed to myself, just hoping to myself that this transition went as smoothly as possible for everyone, especially Camila and Lauren.