This Is the Safest Place I've Ever Known

21

A/N: Managed some quick turnaround between chapters. Not sure that will happen in the near future again.

There's a little bit of sadness in this chapter, but mostly it's fluff. You'll see what I mean as you read.

Hopefully you read and enjoy. :)

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Lauren woke up to someone softly calling her name and rubbing her back slowly. She blinked a couple of times as her eyes adjusted to the low lighting in the room. Only a lamp was on, and it was placed off in the corner and set to a dim setting, leaving the living room area in mostly darkness.

Just enough light allowed her to see Ally sitting beside her on the edge of the couch, smiling softly. She reached out to gently brush stray hairs out of Lauren's face. "Hi, sweets. I heard you weren't feeling too well today," she greeted, keeping the volume of her voice low.

Lauren clenched her eyes shut for a moment before she opened them again. "Bad." Simple, but an effective way of describing how she felt earlier. She still didn't feel completely better, but she would take being able to keep her eyes open in the darker lighting as a win for the moment.

Ally hummed softly before asking, "Are you feeling better at all?"

Lauren gave a slow, careful nod. "I'm hungry," she mumbled into her blanket. "But, but not a lot." She was still sleepy, and her head hurt too much to really try and make a coherent sentence. The thought of eating a whole lot made her want to throw up again, but she didn't want to say that aloud.

"That's alright. Wanting to eat anything at all is a good sign," the older woman was quick to assure, seeming to understand what Lauren meant, much to the girl's relief. "Do you think you could handle a peanut butter sandwich and a banana?"

Lauren considered the question for a moment. She put the corner of her blanket into her mouth as she thought about it. Finally, she gave another slow nod.

Ally smiled and gently ruffled the girl's hair. "Good girl. Think you can come to the kitchen with me?"

Lauren started to sit up, and as she did so, she realized there was something else she needed to do before that. "Be back," she said before hurrying to the bathroom, leaving behind a confused Ally.

She made it just in time to not make a mess again. As she washed her hands, she wondered if maybe Camila was on to something about wearing pullups to bed. She immediately discarded that thought, however.

The near accident was only due to having slept for so long that day because of her migraine. That was all. She was not a baby. She was coming around on the idea of being a Little (once again, Camila might have been on to something about that), but she was not a baby.

She returned to the living room area and found Ally waiting for her on the couch. The older woman smiled at her. Ally made no mention of her sudden disappearance but instead stood and held her hand out. "Still hungry?"

Lauren took hold of the shorter woman's hand and followed toward the kitchenette, trailing just behind Ally.

Dinah and Camila sat at the small table in the alcove just off to the side. The brunette had her laptop and a notebook out, and they talked quietly among themselves.

Normani stood at the counter by the stove. "Hey there, sleepyhead," she teased softly as she turned with a plate in hand.

Lauren frowned as a sudden realization hit her. "What time is it?"

"A little after eight," Dinah answered from beside Camila. "You slept for almost eight hours. Feeling any better, little lion?"

Lauren shrugged in reply. Her stomach did that thing where it turned warm and fuzzy at the pet name. Her head swam a little bit, but she didn't think that had anything to do with her headache. "Not as bad as before," she answered.