Lauren walked into the hospital room with Dinah right behind her. Camila looked up and gave them a bright smile.
"Hey guys," Camila said, sounding much more like herself than she had the previous night in the ICU.
"Wow, look at you," Lauren said, grinning and approaching the bed.
Lauren leaned down and gave Camila a soft kiss. Camila immediately reached her hand up behind Lauren's neck and pulled her back in for a much deeper kiss.
"Well, gross," Dinah said, chuckling, "You're back."
Camila pulled back from Lauren and looked at Dinah, "Come here, you."
Dinah walked over and leaned in and Camila pulled her closer for an awkwardly positioned hug. Dinah chuckled as she tried to keep her weight off Camila while still giving her a warm embrace.
The nurse walked in and introduced herself to all three women.
"I'm Carol," she said with a friendly smile, "I'll be on the day shift for the next few days. Let's see how long you'll be staying."
She picked up the chart and read over everything. She checked Camila's vitals and updated the information.
"Looks like I'll have you for a couple of days at least," she said, "We need to talk about your pain level. We're going to try to wean you off some of the medication you've been taking, but we need you to feel good enough to start therapy."
"Therapy? Already?" Camila asked, sounding surprised.
"Yep, Jack will be in here in about an hour," she answered, "He'll come twice a day. For now, we're going to get you sitting up and standing for a very short period. No walking today, but you need to get moving."
"Okay," Camila said, determined. She glanced at Lauren who gave her an encouraging grin.
"On a scale of one to ten, one being no pain at all and ten being unbearable," the nurse said, "How do you feel right now?"
"Six?" Camila said, sounding unsure.
"There's no right answer," the nurse said, smiling, "Just try to remember how you feel now and you can go up or down depending on the pain level later. It's perfectly normal for you to be hurting after what you've been through."
Camila nodded. She was familiar with the questions, having been through it before, but somehow everything felt different this time. She didn't feel nearly as discouraged. She could see a happy future in front of her despite the setback. She wanted to be as helpful as possible and do whatever she could to heal.
"I have a very important question," Dinah said, winking at Camila, "Does Camila have any diet restrictions?"
The nurse chuckled, "No, you can bring in outside food if you like."
"Thank god," Camila sighed out, grinning at her sister.
"The food isn't that bad here," the nurse said, smiling.
"It's not Big Belly Burger," Camila answered, "or donuts."
"I'm not sure how you have that body if those are on your regular diet," the nurse said, shaking her head.
"It's beyond irritating," Lauren said, "She eats like a horse."
"Okay, that's all I have for now," the nurse said, "Just push the button if you need me."
"One question," Lauren said walking over and taking Camila's hand, "Our daughter is three and she's dying to see Camila. Is that permitted?"
"Of course," the nurse said smiling softly at Camila, "Obviously just be careful that she doesn't climb on your leg. I have two kids and I know how three-year-olds can be."
YOU ARE READING
By Sun and Candlelight / CAMREN
FanfictionLauren is raising her three-year-old daughter alone. She's moved them to Alta Vista where she'll teach at the community college to get a fresh start and get away from her family. Camila lives in Alta Vista with her sister Dinah. She's trying to reco...
