green ➸ camren

forty two

"He's awake!"

Lauren groaned half heartedly, rolling over on the couch and glancing at Camila, who had her eyes trained on the television.

"You said that last time, goofball," Lauren rubbed her eyes. She'd nearly fallen asleep herself.

They'd been at Maia and Toby's house for a little over an hour now. Lucas still hadn't woken up, and Presley had taken the job of guarding his crib while he slept.

"Hims has his eyes open!" the little girl protested, bounding back into the living room and looking at Lauren hopefully. Camila giggled, turning to Lauren and giving her the same expectant look as Presley was.

"You better be telling the truth," Lauren teased, reaching out and ruffling Presley's hair. The smaller girl seemed to be in a better mood today. Part of Lauren wondered if it was because she'd finally spoken to them.

Turns out, Presley wasn't lying. When Lauren entered the nursery, Lucas was standing up in his crib with a sleepy smile on his face.

"See?" Presley smiled proudly, tugging on Lauren's sleeve. "Can I play with him now?"

"He's gotta eat first, goof," Lauren laughed, gently lifting Lucas from the crib and holding him against her hip. "Then we can play."

"What's he eat?" Presley asked, tilting her head to the side and following Lauren as she made her way into the kitchen. "Can I help you?"

"I guess that depends on what Maia's left out for him," Lauren smiled softly, still getting used to Presley's tiny voice. It was quiet and raspy - different than what Lauren would have imagined - but it fit her perfectly.

"Here," Lauren carefully lowered Lucas into his high chair, pulling it over by the table. "He likes bananas. Let's give him a banana."

"Right, bud?" Lauren crinkled her nose, bending down and giving Lucas a goofy smile. The small boy giggled, drumming his hands on the tray of the highchair.

Lauren kept an eye on Presley, who was making silly faces at Lucas, while she sliced up the banana. Pulling up a chair in front of his high chair, Lauren sat down and placed the bowl of banana slices on her lap.

"Wanna give him one?" Lauren turned to Presley and nodded towards the bowl. Smiling shyly, the smaller girl carefully picked up a slice of the fruit and held it out in front of Lucas.

"It's a banana...na," Presley giggled softly, wiggling the food to catch his attention. Lauren watched as the smaller boy accepted the piece of banana from Presley, bringing it to his mouth with a closed fist.

"I think he likes it," Presley whispered, looking up at Lauren and smiling hopefully. Laughing, the green eyed girl gave her a soft nod.

"I think so too," she whispered back. This earned a crooked smile from Presley, who clapped her hands together and carefully handed Lucas another piece of banana.

Meanwhile, Camila leaned against the archway that entered into the kitchen, watching the interaction between Lauren and Presley. There was a tenderness in Lauren that she'd never experienced with anyone else. To Camila, Lauren was an angel on earth.

It was present in all of her actions. Lauren truly was ethereal, from the way she spoke to the way she treated others. Camila was proud of herself for realizing that from the start - and holding onto that fact even when she seemed to lose everything else.

"I like babies," Presley spoke up quietly, waiting to feed Lucas another banana slice. Lauren smiled softly, looking down at the smaller girl.

"You do?"