Christmas in July
Brittany felt as if she was going to melt. She had been living away from the North Pole for three and a half years, and while she had adjusted to life in Lima long ago, there were days that the heat and humidity in the summer got the better of her.
"It's so hot out here." Brittany huffed, fanning herself with her hands to no avail. Currently she was sitting on a park bench with Santana, watching Alex, Ally, and Noelle play on the playground. When they first got there an hour ago, she felt fine, but now she felt overheated, which she thought was weird because she wasn't doing anything physical. She was just sitting.
Santana was hot too, it was a sunny day in July after all, but when she examined her wife, she saw that her cheeks were flushed and she had tiny beads of sweat on her forehead. She couldn't help but to chuckle. "You look like my mom when she's having a hot flash."
Brittany rolled her eyes. "If this is what a hot flash feels like, then I feel sorry for your mom. It feels like I'm in the depths of hell and someone turned up the heat."
"Is my little Christmas elf having a hard time dealing with the summer heat today?" Santana teased as she reached down into the diaper bag for a cold bottle of water.
"Yes." Brittany said and took the bottle that Santana offered her. She opened it and gulped down the entire thing. "That helps. You wouldn't happen to have a cool pack or something in there would you?" She asked wiping the sweat from her forehead.
Their diaper bag was from the North Pole, and thanks to the wonder of Christmas Magic, it allowed them to put a lot of things in the bag. She knew that Santana liked to be prepared and packed more than they needed for 'just in case' moments, so she thought she may have a cool pack.
"Are you really that hot?" Santana asked frowning in concern. It was a hot day, but it wasn't that hot for Brittany to be having that kind of reaction.
"Yeah. I'm melting."
Santana reached over and put her hand on Brittany's forehead. She was burning up. Her frown deepened. She bent down, reaching into the diaper bag again, and after a few moments of searching; she pulled out a thermometer. She took off the cap and turned it on. "Open up." She said.
Brittany did as she was told, and when Santana put it in her mouth, she held it under her tongue. When it beeped to indicate that it was finished, Santana took it out of her mouth and read the temperature.
"You have a fever…101.8."
"Really?" Brittany said taking the thermometer out of Santana's hand and reading it for herself. She couldn't believe it.
Santana reached down into the bag and pulled out one of the ice packs that she was using to keep the drinks cold. "Put this on the back of your neck and sit here while I go get the kids. I'm taking you home."
"We don't have to leave, I feel fine. I'm just hot." Brittany said taking the ice pack. She put it on her neck and immediately she felt some relief. "See, this will help cool me down."
"Britt, that temperature isn't from being outside. You have a fever. I bet you're coming down with a cold."
"A cold in summer? San, I hardly ever got sick in the North Pole. I don't think I'm going to get a cold in July."
"Well, to be on the safe side, we're going home." Santana said and she leaned over, kissing Brittany's cheek. The warmth that she felt on her lips let her know she was making the right decision.
While they were on the way home, Brittany's nose started to run, causing her to sniffle a few times, and then as they were pulling into their driveway, she sneezed. Brittany glanced at Santana, who gave her a look that she could only interpret as, "I told you so."
Brittany was about to protest, but then she sneezed and sniffled again. She had to accept defeat. Maybe she was getting sick. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't had a cold in years.
Santana gave her a sympathetic look and opened the center console for a napkin. She gave it to Brittany so she could wipe her hands and blow her nose. She unbuckled her seat belt and turned to look into the back at the kids.
"Hey guys, Auntie Brittany isn't feeling well, so we're going to have to cancel the sleepover." Alex and Ally groaned in disappointment. Noelle was only nineteen months old, so she didn't really understand. "I know, but I don't want you all to get sick too. I'll ask Abuela if Noelle can stay with you at her house; how's that sound?"
"Okay!" Alex said at the same time that Ally said, "Great!" They were still disappointed that they couldn't stay at Santana and Brittany's house, but they were glad that Noelle would be able to stay with them.
Brittany sneezed again and she groaned. "Why?!" She whined. She did not want to be sick.
"Because you're human and everyone gets sick every now and then." Santana said with a soft smile. "Come on, let's get you into bed."
Brittany sighed. "Okay."
They got out of the car, and when they went inside, Santana set Noelle on the floor of the living room, and then she turned to the twins. "I want you two to play in here with Noelle for a few minutes until I get Auntie Brittany in bed, and then we're going to go over to Abuela's."
"Okay." Ally said and Alex nodded.
"Thanks."
Brittany and Santana went into their room and Brittany immediately started undressing. She was happy to be out of her sweaty clothes. "I'm going to rinse off." Brittany said and walked into the bathroom.
"That's probably a good idea." Santana said following her. She leaned against the doorframe and watched Brittany turn on the water. "I think I'm going pack enough clothes for Noelle to stay with my parents for a few days."
"Yeah, I guess that would be for the best." Brittany sighed. She didn't want her to get sick as well. She put her hand into the water to feel it, and then she adjusted the handle.
Santana nodded. "Can I get you anything right now?"
Brittany shook her head. "No. Thanks."
Santana walked over to Brittany and kissed her on her forehead. She was still burning up. She reached in and felt the temperature of the water. It was lukewarm. "You should stay under the water for a little while, maybe it will bring your fever down a bit."
"Maybe."
"I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay." Brittany said and she stepped into the shower. She closed the curtain over and let the water fall over her body.
Santana left their room and popped into the living room to check on the kids before she went into Noelle's room to pack her bag. Once she was finished, she took Noelle's bag into the living room and then she went into the kitchen to do a quick inventory of things she thought Brittany would need before she poured a glass of water and went back into their room. Brittany was still in the shower when she walked into the bathroom.
She opened the medicine cabinet and took out a bottle of Tylenol and a bottle of ibuprofen. She set them on the counter, intending to have Brittany alternate between them every four hours to help combat her fever. "How are you feeling? What symptoms are you having?"
"So far it's just a runny nose and sneezing, although I'm starting to feel a tingle in the back of my throat." Brittany said.
"It might be from the postnasal drip. Do you feel anything in your chest?"
Brittany shook her head even though Santana couldn't see her. "No."
"Headache?"
"Um, kinda, but it might just be from the fever."
"Yeah, maybe. Are you achy?"
"Not really."
"Well that's good." Santana said and looked into the cabinet again to see what kind of over-the-counter medications they had. She wasn't sure since neither of them had been sick in a while. As it turned out, they had two half-used boxes of different kinds of cold and sinus medications, both of which were nearing their expiration date. "I need to stop by the store after I drop the kids off and pick up a few things."
Brittany turned off the water. "Okay. I'm feeling a little tired, so I think I'm going to take a nap."
When Brittany opened the curtain, Santana took Brittany's towel off the hook and opened it up for her, silently inviting her to step out of the tub. When Brittany did, she dried her off. "I think a nap is a good idea. If you have a cold, you'll need plenty of rest and fluids, antibiotics aren't going to help."
"I know; it'll have to run its course." Brittany sighed. "I'm sorry I'm getting sick."
"Britt, don't apologize. You can't help it." Santana said wrapping the towel around Brittany.
"I know, but you took the week off work and we had so many plans for Lisa and Miguel's visit. I know if I'm sick, you won't want to leave me alone to visit with them."
"Honey, it's okay. They only got here yesterday, so I'm sure we'll have plenty of time before they leave to spend with them."
"I hope so." Brittany pouted.
Santana felt the urge to kiss Brittany to make the pout go away, but she held back, because she was hoping that if she avoided kissing her, and pumped herself full of Vitamin C, she would be lucky enough to escape getting sick as well. She wrapped her arms around her and gave her a comforting hug. Brittany wrapped her arms around her as well and held her tightly.
"Don't stress about it. A few days in bed and you'll be as good as new." Santana said.
"I guess on the bright side, I'll be able to start those shows on Netflix that I've wanted to watch."
"See, there's a silver lining." Santana chuckled and pulled out of the hug. She reached for the Tylenol bottle and opened it, pouring two pills into her hand. Then she took one of the cold and sinus boxes and pushed one of the pills out of the wrapper. She held all three pills in her palm for Brittany to take. "Here, take these."
Brittany took a big sip from the glass of water before popping the pills into her mouth and swallowing.
"Come on, let's get you into bed." Santana said as she grabbed the box of tissues off the counter.
Just as they were walking out of the bathroom, and Santana flipped off the light, Brittany sneezed twice.
"Bless you, bless you." Santana said and pulled out a tissue, handing it to Brittany.
"Thanks." Brittany mumbled, blowing her nose.
Once Brittany was dressed in her pajamas, Santana flipped the comforter down to the bottom of the bed, and tucked her into bed under the sheet. She wanted Brittany's fever to break before she laid under the comforter. She kissed her on her forehead. She couldn't tell if Brittany's fever had changed after the shower; she was still warm to the touch, and she didn't have the thermometer handy as it was still in the diaper bag that was in the living room.
"Britt, can you get the thermometer?"
Brittany nodded and snapped her fingers, the thermometer appearing instantly. Santana took her temperature again. "101.6." Santana said shaking her head. She was hoping that the shower would have lowered her fever more than that, but she was glad that it wasn't any worse. She hoped that the meds would kick in soon.
"I'm going to run into the kitchen and get one of the cool packs out of the freezer. Hopefully that will help cool you down."
"Don't bother, I'll do it." Brittany said and snapped her fingers, the small, blue gel pack appearing in her hand.
Santana took it and placed it on the back of Brittany's neck. Then she had a thought. "Does using your magic when you're sick affect you? Will it tire you out or anything?" If it did, she didn't want Brittany using her magic until she was better.
"Not really. It expels energy, but it's not quite on the same level as physically walking into the kitchen to get this."
"Okay, good." Santana said readjusting the cool pack. "Are you going to be okay while I'm out? I could ask mom to run to the store for me if you want."
Brittany shook her head. "I'll be okay. I'm not that sick yet, it's just the sniffles, and I may not get any worse. Seriously, don't rush back. I'm just going to be sleeping and I'll feel better if you visit with your family for a couple of hours."
Santana knew there was no point in arguing with her, and since she was just going to be sleeping, she nodded. "Fine, I'll make you a deal. If you promise to call me if you can't sleep, or you need anything, I'll visit for an hour, and then I'll go to the store. That should give you at least two hours to get a good nap."
Brittany smiled, she was happy with that plan. "I promise."
Santana smiled as well. "Well, I better get going; the sooner I leave, the sooner I can come back."
"Thanks, San. Love you."
Santana leaned down and kissed Brittany on her cheek. "Love you too."
"Give the kids a hug and kiss for me." Brittany said. She would have loved to do it herself, but she knew that it wasn't a good idea.
"I will; now get some sleep, babe."
-()-()-()-()-
When Santana returned home a little over two hours later, she loaded all the plastic bags from the store into her hands, not wanting to make more than one trip. As she stepped into the house, and noticed the state that it was in, she almost dropped them.
"What the hell?" Santana said and kicked the door shut with her foot. She scrunched her eyebrows as she glanced around the living room. There was a decorated Christmas tree siting in its normal spot, and stockings were hanging from the fireplace mantle.
She went into the kitchen to set down the bags on the counter, and when she went in, she saw that it too had a few random Christmas decorations placed around the room.
"Okay, this isn't right." She said setting the bags down, turning on her heel, and heading towards their bedroom. As she passed the dining room, she noticed that there was a huge poinsettia sitting on the table and silver reindeer on the buffet. "Something definitely isn't right." She said shaking her head and picked up her pace. She considered checking the other rooms, but changed her mind and went straight to Brittany. When she entered the bedroom, she found her sound asleep.
Their room seemed just as she left it, but to be sure, she looked in the bathroom, and to her great surprise, the decorative towels that were hanging on the racks were not the ones that were there before, it was a Christmas towel set, and outlining the mirror was a string of garland.
Santana went up to the bed and sat beside Brittany. She saw the cool pack that she had given her sitting on the pillow. She picked it up, noticing that it was warm, and set it on the nightstand. She put her hand on Brittany's forehead and she was still feverish. She thought about waking her to ask her what was going on, but as luck would have it, Brittany started to stir on her own.
"Hey, Britt." Santana said as her eyes fluttered open.
"Hey." Brittany mumbled and rubbed her eyes.
"How do you feel?"
"About the same, except I'm stiff. My shoulders, neck, and back are a little achy."
Santana nodded. "How did you sleep?"
"Okay, I woke up a few times from sneezing, but I went right back to sleep."
"Did you get out of bed?"
"No."
"Okay, great." She said, but thought, "Maybe she was sleep decorating? That's a new take on sleep walking."
Just as Santana was trying to figure out how to ask Brittany how the Christmas decorations ended up around the house, Brittany sneezed, and instantly a miniature desktop Christmas tree appeared on the nightstand.
Santana's eyes widened as she stared at the tree. "What in the hell?" She whispered.
Brittany's eyes flitted to where Santana was looking and she scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "How'd that get there?"
"Umm…you just sneezed and it popped up." Santana said in disbelief.
"Really? That's weird." Brittany said and she cleared her throat.
"Britt, I don't know how to tell you this, but there are Christmas decorations all over the house."
"What?"
Santana nodded. "I could be wrong, but I think that every time you sneeze, your magic goes a little haywire and Christmas decorations appear."
Brittany couldn't believe it. She had never lost control of her magic like that. Then, as if to confirm it, Brittany sneezed again and Santana was now wearing a sweater that could have been a contender at her office's 'Ugly Christmas Sweater Party'.
Brittany's eyes widened in surprise, as did Santana's. They both just stared at the sweater. "Hold on, let me try something." Brittany said and snapped her fingers. Then she snapped them again.
"What'd you do?" Santana asked.
"Nothing. I tried to make your sweater and the tree disappear, but they didn't."
"Try to do something else. Turn on the lamp."
Brittany snapped her fingers and the lamp turned on. She snapped again, summoning a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "That still works." Brittany said and then she sneezed again, causing a string of twinkle Christmas light to hang around the whole room.
"I think we need to call the North Pole." Santana said looking up at the lights.
"I think so too." Brittany said and reached for her cell phone, but then she stopped. "Wait a minute." She said and looked at the time. It was almost five o'clock in the afternoon, which meant that it was almost ten o'clock at night in the North Pole. "It's late there. Do you think I should wait until tomorrow?"
Santana shook her head. "I don't think so. Santa will want to know about it."
"You're right." Brittany said and searched for the number before making the call. She put it on speaker so Santana could hear
It rang a few times before Joy answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hi Joy, it's Santana and Brittany Lopez. Is Santa in?" Brittany asked.
"Oh hi girls! It's good to hear from you! I'm sorry to say that you've missed Santa. He has a long day ahead of him tomorrow, so he went to bed early tonight."
"We're sorry to call so late, but I may be having a problem. Do you think we should wake him?"
"That depends, what kind of problem? Maybe I can help."
"I seem to have partially lost control of my magic."
"Oh?"
"I'm coming down with a cold and every time I sneeze, something just pops up. I saw it happen three times, but I've been in bed and Santana says there's other Christmas decorations around the house."
"I see."
The tone in her voice made it sound as if she knew something. Brittany and Santana glanced at each other nervously.
"I'm not sure I like the sound of that." Santana said.
"Me either. What do I have?" Brittany asked.
"It's…well it's a medical condition that affects your magic, but it's nothing to be too alarmed about."
"How can I not be alarmed?" Brittany said. "I've never lost control of my magic before. I've never heard of anyone losing control of their magic like this either."
"That's because it's a rare condition. It's not well known." Joy said. "There has only been about ten documented cases in the past five hundred years. I think the last case was about fifty, maybe sixty years ago."
"A rare condition?" Brittany said. "What is it? How did I get it?"
"It's called Alfsson Syndrome or A.S. for short. It was named after the first elf that reported it. It's such a rare condition that we haven't been able to study it enough to know that much about it. The studies that the doctors have conducted haven't been able to pinpoint a definitive cause, because each case had different physical and environmental circumstances. The only common factor that they all had was that they were all suffering from an illness at the time that they couldn't control their magic. Thankfully, it's relatively harmless and it doesn't appear to be a permanent condition or have any lasting effects. All the previous cases reported regaining control of their magic after they recovered from their illness and none of them ever reported having a repeat instance."
"So what should we do about it?" Santana asked.
"I'll go to the hospital in the morning and speak with one of the doctors. I'll ask them to make a house call and examine Brittany, as well as collect some data to add to our study of A.S., but there's nothing you can really do, except to let it play out and end on its own. Get plenty of rest, stay hydrated, and try to boost your immune system. The quicker your cold goes away, the quicker your bout of A.S should subside."
Brittany sighed because she was hoping for more than that. Santana had been hoping for more information as well, but she was glad to hear that it would only be temporary.
After a few moments of silence, Joy added, "I wish I could give you better advice than that, but we don't have any known ways to counteract it, except to get better. I know it probably doesn't seem helpful, but this seems to be one of those times that you just have to be patient."
"No, you've been a great help." Brittany said.
"One more thing, and this is important; Brittany will have to stay at home, away from everyone else until she's regained control of her magic. I know being forced into isolation isn't ideal, but we can't risk her secret being found out, especially by the wrong person."
"I understand. We already sent Noelle to stay with Santana's parents because we didn't want her to get sick as well, so nobody should notice anything. Hopefully it'll will pass in a few days."
"I'm sure it will." Joy said. "But to be on the safe side, I'll have a doctor call you tomorrow to schedule a home visit."
"That would be great. Better safe than sorry." Santana said.
"Well, I better let you two go. I have a few things to do before bed, and Brittany should be resting; unless you have something else you need help with?" Joy asked.
"No, we're good. Thanks for everything, and tell Santa we said 'hi'." Brittany said.
"I will and you're welcome." Joy said. "Goodnight ladies."
"Goodnight." Brittany and Santana said at the same time and then Brittany hung up the phone.
They both looked at each other and then Brittany sneezed. They didn't see anything appear in the room.
Santana chuckled. "I'm guessing whatever that is; it's somewhere else in the house. I can't wait to find it." She definitely found the humor in the idea that their next few days would be full of things popping up randomly.
Brittany flopped down on her pillow. "I would have to contract some random and rare condition that makes my magic go crazy, wouldn't I?"
"I mean, where would the fun be if you didn't?" Santana joked. Now that she knew that it was harmless, she didn't mind making jokes.
Brittany couldn't help but to crack a smile. "You know, I am kind of interested to see what kind of decorations my subconscious can produce."
"Me too." Santana said. "It'll be like our own private Christmas in July celebration."
Brittany sat up again and wrapped her arms around Santana, pulling her into a tight hug. "I just wish that I didn't have a cold and that I could kiss you, and maybe do other things. I could use a few days of romantic alone time with you."
Santana nodded. "Me too…but just because that's off the table until you feel better, it doesn't mean that we can't be close."
Brittany pulled out of the embrace and shrugged her shoulders, but she did have a playful smile on her face. "I guess I can settle for cuddling."
"I mean, I am the best cuddler ever." Santana said smugly and adjusted her shirt.
Brittany giggled. "You are."
"So, here's what I think we should do…"
"Oh please tell me."
"I'm going to get you a new cool pack for this fever, and set up a comfy spot on the couch for you to rest while I make you a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. That way you can enjoy the decorations, and probably add to them; then after we eat, we can get back into bed and cuddle while we start this Christmas in July celebration off right and watch your favorite Christmas movie."
Brittany nodded. "But you know, if it's Christmas, we need to make cookies and-"
"Okay, slow down there." Santana interrupted, playfully rolling her eyes, because even when she was sick, Brittany still had a sweet tooth. "We don't need to rush. You're sick and we still have a few days of this ahead of us. I'm going to venture to guess that you're going to get a little worse before you get better. So today you get soup, tomorrow I'll make you cookies, and we'll see what else, okay?"
Brittany pumped her fist. "Yes!" She cheered. Then she sneezed, causing a red and white stocking cap to appear on both of their heads.
Santana shook her head in amusement, but took the hat off Brittany's head because she was sure that it wouldn't help her fever go down. She reached over to the nightstand for a tissue and handed it to Brittany.
"Thanks." Brittany said wiping her hand and nose. "While I'm resting on the couch, I'm going to make a list of calm and rest-y Christmassy things we can do while I'm sneezing out more decorations."
"Eww, Britt." Santana said scrunching her face.
"Sorry, that's bad wording, but you get it."
"I got it, and we can do whatever you want, as long as your list is 'calm and rest-y'."
"I just made that up."
Santana chuckled and leaned in, kissing Brittany on her forehead, still feeling the fever tinge her lips. "Come on; let's go into the living room so you can see your handy work."
-()-()-()-()-
Santana unlocked the door that led to the garage from the kitchen so she could get something from the outside refrigerator, but what she saw when she opened the door shocked her. She couldn't believe her eyes. She had to take a few deep breaths. "Brittany." She said calmly, forcing her voice to stay even.
"Yes?" Brittany called from where she was lying on the couch.
"Can you come here?"
"Do I have to?" Brittany groaned.
She didn't want to move. It took a lot out of her to get out of bed to move to the couch. It was day three of her cold, and while her temperature was only slightly elevated and was now a low-grade fever, she wasn't feeling any better. She felt terrible, so much so that she only ate one of the Christmas cookies that Santana had made her the day before.
"I know babe, but I really need you to come here for just a second."
Brittany huffed and practically rolled off the couch, pulling the blanket around her. She trudged into the decorated kitchen. "What is it?"
"You're A.S. is working overtime today." She said and opened the door further, pointing into the two-car garage that thankfully was not housing their cars at the moment, but currently had six inches of snow covering the floor.
"Oh shit!" Brittany blurted when she saw the fluffy and pristine snow. She started giggling after a moment.
"You think this is funny?"
Brittany bit her lip, but she couldn't help the laugh that came out. "I mean, it's a little funny."
"I didn't even know you could do this? What else can you do? Can you make it rain too or maybe hurricane?"
"Don't be ridiculous San; I can't make it rain or start a hurricane."
"But you can make it snow indoors?!"
"Apparently." Brittany said. She didn't know she could do that either. She was glad it was in the garage and not the house. That would have been more problematic and damaging. Thankfully, the base wall of their garage was concrete block and not drywall.
"What the hell are we going to do about this?"
"It's snow, it's July, it'll melt." Brittany said shrugging her shoulders.
"And what am I supposed to do, just open the door and shovel it into the yard so all the neighbors can see it?"
"Of course not, wait until it gets dark; that is unless it starts to melt before then."
Santana just stared at Brittany incredulously, then she looked to the snow, and then back at Brittany again.
"It seems a shame to let all this amazing snow go to waste. We should at least make a snowman or something." Brittany said.
Her tone and outlook on their current situation was so innocent and cute that Santana couldn't even be annoyed. She started chuckling. "Make a snowman, in July, in our garage…well that is definitely one thing that I never thought I would say."
"Let's do it." Brittany said eager to touch the snow.
"Oh no, this isn't 'calm and rest-y'. This is the exact opposite of that. You heard the doctor after she examined you yesterday. You. Have. To. Rest."
"But San!" Brittany whined.
"No, even your mom told you to rest when she called."
"It's Christmas in July and you can't have Christmas without snow. That's just a fact."
"What about the Southern Hemisphere where it's summer time in December. No snow for Christmas. That's why Christmas in July exists in the first place." Santana reasoned.
"Whatever. I'm talking about the here and now. We have snow."
"But you're sick."
"So."
"So? Two minutes ago you huffed at me because I made you exert the energy to leave the couch, and now you want to make a snowman?"
Brittany had to agree that she had a point. Playing in the snow was probably not the smartest thing to do when she had a cold…but she wanted to. She was feeling a rush of adrenaline that was giving her a boost of energy.
"Just one each."
"Brittany."
"Oh come on, San. This is our special Christmas in July celebration, and I haven't been able to do anything but look at the decorations and watch movies. I didn't even get out of bed yesterday, except to go to the bathroom and shower."
"You didn't like that? When was the last time that you and I got to spend all day in bed cuddling together?"
"Okay, it was great, and I loved it, but I wanna make a snowman with you in our garage." Brittany said pouting.
Santana's resolve started to crumble with that protruding and quivering lip. She was never very good at telling Brittany 'no', especially when she could tell that it was something that she really wanted, so after a few moments, she caved. "Okay, fine. We can make a snowman."
Brittany pumped her fist. "Yes!" She chirped.
"Ten minutes tops and you have to bundle up. I don't want you in the snow in your pajamas and bare hands and feet. You'll end up with pneumonia and then we'll have to rush you to the North Pole because there is no way we can take you to a human hospital. We might end up with an avalanche in the cafeteria or something. Whether it's decorations or snow is to be determined."
Brittany chuckled, opening her blanket and pulling Santana into her, wrapping the blanket around both of them.
"You have to take a warm shower afterwards too."
"Maybe we can take a bath together." Brittany offered.
"That could be arranged…just don't make me regret this decision. Please don't over exert yourself and don't get soaked. I don't want you to get worse."
"I'll take it easy, I promise." Britany said and then she released Santana from her hold. She set the blanket on the counter and snapped her fingers, instantly covering them in their snow gear. She took Santana's gloved hand into her own. "Let's go make a snowman."
They stepped down into the snow and they started rolling snowballs around.
"You know, this will make it easier to get rid of the snow later." Brittany said. "It'll be easier to move if it's compacted."
"I'm pretty sure consolidation wasn't on your mind when you talked me into this."
"No, but it's another perk." Brittany said and playfully threw a snowball at Santana, hitting her on the side of the head.
Santana shrieked and reached down, making a quick snowball and threw it at Brittany, but she purposely hit her in the arm so it wouldn't touch her skin.
After a few more snowballs were thrown, they conceded their battle and continued making their snowmen.
"This is a lot of fun." Santana said with a chuckle.
"It is. You know, I always loved doing this. As a kid, our yard would be covered in snowmen sometimes. Of course, I was making them well into my nineties too. I think I made one right before I became your scout elf."
"Grandma." Santana joked.
"You love me, all 102 years of me." She was actually a month shy of her 102nd birthday, but she was rounding up for simplicity.
"I do love you." Santana said and she felt the urge to kiss Brittany, but she knew that she shouldn't. She couldn't wait until she could kiss her wife again. So instead, she said, "I loved making snowmen too. Every year when we got the first snow, Miguel and I would make one in the front yard with Mom and Dad, and then when I got older and thought I was too cool for people to see me doing it, I'd make one in the backyard so no one could see me."
"Sneaky. I have to say, I like making them with you the best." Brittany said flashing Santana a smile. "And Noelle, of course."
"Yeah, me too."
"I wish she was here to do this with us. I miss her." Brittany said.
"I do too; but she's having a blast with the twins being spoiled rotten by everyone."
"I'm sure, but let's Skype with her after our bath. I want to see her."
"Okay."
"Hopefully we can bring her home soon, although you seem fine, so maybe I'm not contagious."
"I wouldn't say that for sure. I've been doing a fair number of preventive measures to make sure I don't get it. I'm drinking Vitamin C like it's going out of style and I nearly used up a whole container of disinfectant wipes this morning while I was cleaning."
"I hope you don't get it. This cold sucks." Brittany said clearing her throat. The postnasal drip had made it feel raw the past few days.
"Do you need to stop?"
Brittany shook her head. "No, I'll be okay to finish."
"Okay." Santana said a little leery. She started to roll the snow faster so they could be finished as soon as possible.
Once their snowmen's bodies were built, Brittany snapped her fingers.
"Is that coal?" Santana asked as two carrots, four sticks, and a lumpy bag appeared in her hands.
"No, it's just rocks. I had to improvise."
As they were finishing dressing their snowmen, Brittany sneezed, and for a moment Santana thought more snow would appear, but they couldn't see anything new in the garage.
"Must be in the house somewhere. Which is where we should be." Santana said. She had let Brittany talk her into playing in the snow for a few minutes, but if she tried to extend it further than that, she was going to put her foot down.
Thankfully, Brittany nodded. Her energy was draining fast, she was feeling achy, and her nose was starting to run again. "Yeah, I think we should go in too." That was enough activity for her for the day.
They went into the kitchen and stripped off their snow gear and boots. "Just leave it on the floor; I'll clean it up later." Santana said. She checked Brittany over and the clothes that she had been wearing under her snowsuit were dry. She was thankful for that. "Let's go take a bath."
They walked to their bathroom, and Santana started to run the water. Once they were naked, Santana stepped into the tub first, and then she helped Brittany in before she sat down and Brittany leaned into her. Santana wrapped her arms around her, holding her tight.
They were quiet as the tub filled up. Brittany turned off the water with a snap of her fingers when it was full. It was so calm and peaceful in there; Santana placed a few soft kisses on Brittany's temple and shoulders.
"Are you warm?" Santana asked rubbing her hands up and down Brittany's arms.
"Mm-hmm. Feels good."
"And are you feeling okay?"
Brittany nodded, sniffling a bit. "I'm tired, but I'm okay."
"You should take a nap."
"A nap sounds good. Will you lay with me until I fall asleep?"
"Yes, of course. I might take a little nap with you too."
"Thank you for taking care of me, and letting me make a snowman, even though you didn't want me to. I had the best time doing that with you."
Santana kissed Brittany's temple. "I had a good time too."
"Christmas in July rocks." Brittany mumbled sleepily.
"It does."
"We should share this. When I get better, we should have everyone over. The house is so warm and festive, and it would be a shame not to let the kids see it at least. We should get presents for everyone, have a big turkey and ham dinner with all the sides, and then we should have hot chocolate with candy canes sticks while we watch a Christmas movie."
"That sounds fun, Britt. I'll call mom and Lisa."
"Let's keep it as a surprise from the kids though."
"If you want."
"Mm-hmm. I can't wait to see their faces."
-()-()-()-()-
Three more days passed before Brittany was well enough for them to have their family over. After her sneezing had subsided, they decided to conduct a test to be sure that it was safe to have people over again. Santana had Brittany sniff different spices and scents, deliberately causing her to sneeze, and then they checked every crevice of the house to make sure that no more decorations (or snow) appeared. When they were sure that Brittany's cold and A.S. had passed, and they were confident that she had full control of her magic again, they invited the family to come over the next day.
"I can't wait to give Noelle a hug. I miss her so much." Brittany said as she stole a grape off one of the platters and popped it in her mouth.
Six days was the longest that she had ever been away from her. At Brittany's insistence, Santana had gone over to her parents' house a few times during the week to check on Noelle and to have quick visits with her family, but Brittany had only been able to interact with Noelle through Skype.
"She'll be here any time now." Santana said with a smile as she put the finishing touches on her pie.
"Then before she gets here, let's use our time wisely." Brittany said taking Santana's hand, pulling her into her, and kissing her softly. She was trying to make up for the lack of kisses in the past week and used every reason she could find as an opportunity to kiss Santana.
Santana moaned as Britany's lips touched hers. She loved being able to her kiss again. She held her tighter as she deepened the kiss. They didn't part for over a minute.
"I'm so happy that we can do this again." Brittany sighed contently.
"Me too, but it was worth the sacrifice. I didn't get sick." Santana said.
"I'm glad. I would have been a sad panda if you had caught my cold."
"Ah, well it's a good thing we avoided that. I don't like it when you're sad."
"Me either." Brittany cooed and pecked Santana's lips again.
"But hey, one good thing that came from all this is that we now have a bunch of new Christmas stuff. We don't have to buy anything for years."
Brittany giggled. "True. You know, I'm actually going to miss having A.S. As far as medical conditions go, that one was a lot of fun. It was like playing 'Where's Waldo'. I loved finding all the decorations around the house."
"Or snow." Santana said with a chuckle.
"Yes, the snow! Garage snowmen are the best kind."
"I mean, clearly." Santana said playfully rolling her eyes.
Brittany giggled and leaned in, kissing Santana again, just because she could.
Santana was just slipping her hand under Brittany t-shirt when she heard a car pull into the driveway. She pulled out of the kiss. "They're here."
Brittany nuzzled her nose with Santana and whispered, "We can continue this later."
"I hope so." Santana said and pecked Brittany's lips again.
They walked into the living room just as Alex and Ally were rushing through the front door.
"Auntie Tana, Auntie Brittany! We're here!" They cheered when they saw them, but as soon as they noticed the decorations, they stopped in their tracks, and looked wide-eyed around the room. "Wow!" They breathed.
Brittany and Santana just chuckled as they reveled in the twins' reactions. Brittany even snapped a picture of them on her phone.
"It's all Christmassy?" Alex said.
"But it's summertime." Ally said scrunching her eyebrows in confusion.
"That's right, it is summer, but Auntie Brittany thought it would be fun do Christmas in July." Santana said.
"Christmas in July? Sounds fake. Is that a real thing people do?" Ally asked putting her hand on her hip.
Brittany chuckled. Sometimes she sounded and looked just like Santana. She could imagine Santana at nine years old, questioning an adult about the validity of anything she deemed far-fetched. "Yes, it's a real thing."
"But we've never done it before." Alex said.
"Well, yes, that's true; but it's fun to try new things, isn't it?" Santana said.
"Do we still get to have Christmas in December?" Ally asked suspicious that she had to choose one or the other.
"Yes." Brittany chuckled. "Think of this as an extra Christmas."
The twins' smiles just widened. "Two Christmases!" Alex cheered and he looked at the tree again, noticing that there were presents underneath. "And we get presents!"
Ally bounced on her toes. "Are they from Santa?"
"No, Santa only does presents on Christmas Day. This is just us." Brittany said.
"Are you excited?" Santana asked.
The twins nodded emphatically. "Yes!"
"There's decorations all over the house. Some of them are a lot of fun, go find them." Santana said and the twins ran off as everyone else walked into the house. Maribel was carrying Noelle while the rest were carrying food.
"Baby girl!" Brittany cheered walking straight to Noelle, quickly greeting the others on her way.
"Mama!" Noelle said smiling widely, pointing at Brittany. She held her arms out to Brittany.
Brittany took her into her arms, twirling in a circle before she gave her a tight hug and kissed her all over her face. Noelle giggled from all the kisses. "I missed you so much, my love."
"And she missed you too." Maribel said and leaned in giving Brittany a kiss on her cheek. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Me too. This cold put me on my butt." Brittany said.
"But you still managed to make the house look great." Maribel complimented. "I love the idea of a Christmas in July party. What made you think about it?"
"Oh, you know, it was just a random thought that popped in my head." Brittany said airily.
"Probably brought on by the cold." Santana said as she came to stand beside Brittany. Of course, Brittany was the only one that caught the double meaning and she winked at Santana.
"Mama!" Noelle said when she saw Santana. She hadn't started differentiating between Santana and Brittany by name. For the time being, they were both 'Mama', but they hoped that one day Brittany would be called 'Mommy' and Santana would be called 'Mama'.
"Mija! Did you finally find your mommy?" Santana said and wrapped her arms around Brittany and Noelle for their first family hug in a week. She kissed Noelle's chubby little cheek. "Have you been a good girl for Abuela and Abuelo today?"
Noelle giggled when Santana bopped her nose with her finger.
"She was an angel." Maribel said. "I don't know what your father and I are going to do with ourselves when everyone leaves tomorrow. The house is going to be so quiet without three kids running through it."
"Well, when Noelle is having a meltdown over anything in the near future, I'll be sure to call you so you can be a part of it." Santana quipped.
Maribel just rolled her eyes playfully.
"Bue!" Noelle said pointing to one of the blue ornaments on the tree. She had learned to say her colors recently and she loved saying them when she saw them.
"That's right, baby girl. It's blue." Brittany said and kissed her on her cheek. "Let's go look at all the pretty ornaments."
"Mija, come help me." Maribel said as she headed towards the kitchen
"Okay." Santana said and kissed Noelle on her cheek and then placed a soft, lingering kiss on Brittany lips. "Go show the baby all your decorations." She whispered.
"I kinda wish we still had the snow." Brittany whispered back.
Santana snorted out a muffled laugh.
Brittany giggled as well and pecked her lips again. "Go help your mom."
While Santana and Lisa helped Maribel with the food, and Carlo and Miguel went back to the car to get the presents that they had hidden from the kids, Brittany took Noelle to the tree so she could see the different ornaments.
The twins came back into the room as Carlo and Miguel were putting the presents under the tree and they ran over to them to see which ones had their names on it.
"This one is yours Noelle." Ally said lifting one and showing it to her.
"Mine." Noelle said reaching for it.
"Not yet, baby girl. You can open it later."
"Mine!" Noelle said adamantly.
"No, not yet Noelle." Brittany said taking her away from the tree, hoping to distract her.
"Uh-oh, she's going all Santana on you." Miguel chuckled.
"Hey, I heard that!" Santana called from the kitchen.
"Good. It's true!" Miguel called back. He turned to Brittany and said, "She got pissed one year because our Abuela wouldn't let us open a present on Christmas Eve, so when we woke up the next morning, ALL the gifts were opened. She had gotten up in the middle of the night, took the paper off every present, and then spread the ripped up paper all over the living room as an act of defiance."
Brittany chuckled. "Yep, that sounds like something she would do. How old was she?"
"I was almost eight, so she was-"
"I was four." Santana interrupted coming into the room. "I was annoyed because we always opened a gift on Christmas Eve, but for whatever reason she wouldn't let us."
"What exactly were you hoping to open?" Brittany asked.
"A Furby." Santana shrugged.
"That explains it." Brittany said playfully rolling her eyes. "I remember those. The kids went nuts for them."
"The kids?" Miguel said with a chuckle. "Like you weren't one of those kids."
In actuality, in 1998 when Santana was four years old, Brittany was seventy-four years old.
"That's true." Brittany chuckled covering up for the slip. "But let's just say, at that time, I was more interested in how toys were made than playing with them."
"Really?"
"Mm-hmm. I liked to tinker."
"Sounds complex for a four year old." Miguel said.
"I was mature for my age."
"I like mature." Santana said and leaned in, kissing Brittany softly. "Older women are hot."
Miguel chuckled. "She's like two months older than you."
"More or less." Brittany said and Santana winked at her.
Noelle was struggling in Brittany's arms to get down, undoubtedly wanting to go back to the twins that were still looking at the presents.
"Okay, let's get you something to eat." Brittany said heading towards the kitchen, hoping to use a cracker or a piece of fruit as a distraction.
-()-()-()-()-
After dinner, the kids couldn't handle waiting for the presents anymore, so they gathered around the tree and the twins passed out the gifts to everyone. Instead of opening them one by one, they all just tore into their gifts, except Brittany, who was helping Noelle open hers.
The twins seemed excited about the books, movies, and gift cards to their favorite stores, but Noelle didn't seem to care so much about the toys, as she did with tearing the paper and playing with the boxes.
"Typical. Buy them a toy and they want the box." Maribel chuckled.
"For real. Both of you were crazy about boxes." Carlo said to Santana and Miguel.
"Why do we even bother buying her toys?" Santana said to Brittany. At nineteen months, Noelle's attention span was about two to three minutes before she moved on to the next activity.
"I don't know." Brittany giggled.
"The twins will still play with boxes for hours." Lisa said. "Although, the boxes have to be bigger than they used to be."
"We have a space station made from boxes in our play room." Alex said proudly.
"It literally takes up the whole room. You can't even walk in there without tripping on it." Miguel said.
"Auntie Brittany, you didn't open your gifts. What did you get?" Ally said.
"Oh, yeah. I guess I was just having fun watching everyone else."
Brittany's gift were small enough that they fit into envelopes. She opened Maribel and Carlo's gift first, and it was a gift card to her favorite day spa. She opened Lisa and Miguel's gift next, and it was a gift card to one of her favorite restaurants. When she opened Santana's card she was expecting to find a gift card, but instead, she found two folded pieces of paper. She unfolded the first one and it was a booking confirmation for an Airbnb beach house in the Hamptons for four nights during the last week in August. The second paper was their flight itineraries into New York's JFK.
"Santana." Brittany breathed out, looking up at her. "Honey, what is all this? I thought we were keeping the gifts below fifty dollars."
"I know, but I cheated. A few days ago, you said we needed a couple of days to ourselves where one of us wasn't sick, so I booked a romantic getaway that I thought you'd like.
"Like it? I love it!"
"Mom and Dad are already planning to keep Noelle, so we're all set. We can hang out on the beach, go to a couple of wineries for tastings, and maybe go into the city one day for shopping and sightseeing. I was also thinking we could have a nice dinner out and take in a show."
Brittany's heart fluttered in her chest and she leaned over, kissing Santana softly. When they parted a moment later, Brittany sighed. "This is perfect, thank you. But now I feel bad for just giving you makeup."
Since she had been sick, she had called Maribel with a list of what she wanted to give Santana and asked her to go to the store to buy and wrap it for her.
"Don't feel bad. I needed the makeup, and your birthday and our anniversary are in August, so this is part of your birthday and anniversary presents as well."
"Aww, thanks babe. This is so sweet." Brittany said leaning into Santana, kissing her again.
"It is sweet." Lisa said and playfully smacked Miguel in the arm. "I want a romantic getaway."
"What?" He yelped, completely taken by surprise.
"Me too." Maribel said looking pointedly at Carlo.
Santana and Brittany just watched the two couples stare at each other for a few moments and then Carlo and Miguel gave in. They knew they were not going to win.
"Okay, sure." Miguel said.
"Plan it and let me know where we're going." Carlo said.
"Yes!" Lisa and Maribel high-fived each other.
"Thanks for showing me and Dad up, Santana." Miguel grumbled and threw a crumpled ball of wrapping paper at Santana, hitting her in the forehead.
"Well if you weren't so cheap, it wouldn't be so easy to do." Santana said throwing the paper back at him.
"I am not cheap. I'm financially practical." Miguel argued.
"No, you're cheap." Santana said with a flick of her hand.
"Can we stay with Abuela and Abuelo when you go on your trip?" Ally asked interrupting Santana and Miguel's bickering.
"We'll see." Lisa said.
"It all depends on when we can go and your school schedules." Miguel added.
"We'll make it work Mija." Maribel winked at Ally. She would take any chance she could to spend with her grandkids.
Ally giggled.
"Can we have dessert now?" Alex asked. He had been eyeing a chocolate peanut butter pie for over an hour, and now that he had his presents, his patience for dessert was wearing thin.
"Yes, absolutely. Give me just a few minutes to make the hot chocolate; then we can have dessert and watch the movie." Brittany said.
-()-()-()-()-
Later that night, after everyone had gone home, and Noelle had been bathed and put to bed, Santana and Brittany cuddled together on the couch, enjoying the warm, calming hue of the lights of the Christmas tree one last time as they planned to take down all the decorations in the morning.
"I'm tired." Santana sighed into the crook of Brittany's neck, her warm breath tickling Brittany's skin. "But I had so much fun today."
"Me too." Brittany hummed sleepily.
"Everyone seemed to enjoy it too. The twins want to do Christmas in July every year now."
"That's not surprising. I mean, two Christmases must seem like a dream come true to a nine year old."
"True."
"Who knew that my cold would start a new family tradition?"
Santana chuckled. "It's been an interesting week."
"Mm-hmm, but what would life be if it wasn't interesting."
"Boring." Santana said lifting her head so she could see Brittany's face. "You have definitely made my life more interesting and more fun. I can't imagine life without you anymore."
"It's a good thing you don't have to." Brittany cooed and softly pressed her lips to Santana's.
Santana whimpered as Brittany deepened the kiss, and when they parted several moments later, she sighed contently. "I think we should continue this in the bedroom."
"I think that is best idea ever." Brittany whispered.
They stood up from the couch and Brittany held her hand out for Santana. As they walked out of the room, hand in hand, Brittany snapped her fingers, turning off the lights of the Christmas tree. When they went into their room, they made love over and over again, making up for the days that they couldn't be intimate, and when they fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms, it marked the perfect end to their first of many Christmas in July celebrations.
-()-()-()-()-
A/N: I just love this universe. It's so fun to write, and as it is my beta's favorite universe out of all my stories, she had a special request that I write a one-shot, and I couldn't turn her down. The premise of Brittany losing control of her magic was all her idea; I just took the idea and ran with it, molding it into this story.
I hope you all liked this little addition to the universe, and as always, I love your feedback. If you have a few seconds, please send me your thoughts.
A huge thanks to naynay1963 for not only piling more writing onto my already full plate (kidding, I absolutely love it) but also proofreading and finding my silly errors.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.