Santana looked at her watch. It's almost seven, and she's tired. It's Friday and work was hell. All that she's thinking about now was coming home. She was driving through the heaviest traffic and it was making her head ache. She's tired and she's pissed with all these honkers up on her ass and she just wanted it to be through. It was ten minutes before eight when she was actually out of the congested city streets and she was driving uptown, to Lima Heights.
She's driving home.
After a hard day's work of being confined in a law firm, all that Santana would need was home, food and sleep. It was arduous, but it also provided well for her and her family.
She pulled up the driveway and sprinted to the porch and to the door. The moment she had opened it, delicious aromas permeated into her nostrils. She knew too well what that scent was. It was her wife's own brand of spaghetti sauce.
And spaghetti was her favourite after all.
"Mama!" a little girl scurried towards Santana and hugged her legs before the thought even registered to the Latina and instantly, Santana's tiredness and aches and stress faded away like a mist on a summer day.
"Mama, you're thlipperth," the young girl around two years or three said as she adorably looked at her mother and held the pair of pink slippers to her Mama.
"Thanks, Nicki…" she patted the young girl's light-brown hair.
"You're weecome, Mama," Nicki said and dragged her mother towards the kitchen. "Meatballth for Mama!" she ranted into the room. "Mommy ith cooking meatballth for Mama!"
A youngster around the age of sixteen was sitting on the counter, twirling her own white spaghetti and looked up to the Latina. She parted her lighter-than-Nicki's-brown-hair and grinned at Santana.
"Hi, Mama," she slipped from her stool and quickly went over to Santana and kissed Santana's hands.
"How was school, Kara?" Santana asked the teenager.
"She auditioned for Glee Club, San," Brittany answered Santana's question without turning from the stove.
"Wow," Santana breathed out proudly and looked at Kara, who in turn looked at her sneakers as if it was the most interesting thing in the room.
"Hey," Santana went up to her eldest daughter. "Kara, baby…I am so proud of you. I and Mommy was part of Glee Club and now…now, you…you're just better than any of us and I am pretty sure you are better than anyone else…" she smiled at Kara and Kara smiled back at her mother, more confident and sure.
She quickly hugged her daughter and they stayed on like that for a moment, until Nicki felt left out and started tugging at her Mama's work clothes.
"Oops, we seem to have forgotten the little person," Santana clicked her tongue and scooped Nicki up and carried her in her arms.
"Mama, Mama…" Nicki rambled. "Why ith Kerry'th thpaghethi ith white?" she motioned for Kara's plate.
"Kara wants it that way," Santana answered flatly.
"Mama, can I have thpaghethi like Kerry'th too?" Nicki asked as innocently as possible, and all the while making a cute face.
"Sure, when you get older, okay? Right now, you've got to eat what Mommy cooks, right?"
"Rigth," Nicki's head bobbed up and down.
"Because?"
"Good for Nicki!" Nicki yelled,
"Nicki…remember what I told you about shouting?" Brittany shushed her youngest child.
"Thorry…" Nicki tried to put her index finger over her lips and raised her shoulders together. Santana, by then went over to Brittany and smiled behind the blonde's back.
"Hi, babe…" she said cheerfully.
"Hi, San…just a few more minutes, I know you're hungry," Brittany answered as she threw Santana a sideward glance. "Why don't you put Nicki on the high chair? Kara, help your Mama…"
"Okay," Kara complied with Brittany and brought out the high chair, on which Santana had put Nicki on. Santana then went up to her wife and hugged her from behind. Kara only smiled at the sight of her parents.
Nicki sat opposite of Kara and was intently looking at her older sister, who resumed on eating the white spaghetti.
"You want?" Kara held up her fork.
"Yip…" Nicki's head bobbed up and down.
"Mom, I'm going to give Nicki a bite of my spag…" Kara mumbled.
"Okay, but just a bite, don't ruin her appetite. Just like what you're doing with your own," Santana warned.
"No…I'm not going to, and for the record, Mama…" Kara groaned. "I'm still hungry. Mom, how long will that take?" she asked Brittany, clearly failing to hide the eagerness in her voice.
Brittany's cooking was something the whole Lopez-Pierce family would always look forward to. Not just because Brittany cooks reasonable foods and nutritious ones, but because the blonde cooks like a seven-star gourmet chef. From Santana to Kara down to Nicki, their first best thing was the blonde's recipes.
Brittany set the table and sat beside Santana, while Kara and moved beside Nicki and started eating. She warily looked at her parents as they looked at her.
"Uh, yeah…" Kara dropped her fork. "Sorry. I forgot. Okay… in the name of the Father, the Son…and the Holy Ghost,"
After their prayer, Kara resumed to her ever-so-slow-eating while also sharing some of her pasta with her sister. "I'm gonna feed her, Mom," she mumbled once she dunked the first forkful of pasta inside Nicki's mouth.
"Yummm…" Nicki cooed.
Santana and Brittany just watched in awe as their kids spent quality time and Santana felt so much joy. Suddenly, she felt that Brittany was looking at her so she turned her head towards the blonde.
"I know…it feels great, right?" Brittany sighed happily.
"Yeah. Come on, Britt, let's eat," Santana smiled.
After their dinner was over, Kara did the dishes as Santana changed and sat in the study, reading the evening paper and Brittany was in Nicki's room, cleaning-up and changing the kid into a pyjama. In fifteen minutes, the Brittany-and-Nicki-duo went into the study and looked at Santana.
"Hi," Santana smiled at her wife. "Hi, Nicki…"
"Mama!" Nicki babbled and instantly her hands went out to her Mama, to which Santana happily accepted and pretty soon, Nicki was back in Santana's arms again. Brittany then settled on Santana's left side and leaned her head on the Latina's shoulder.
Kara went in the den shortly after, and she squeezed herself in between her Mommy and her Mama. She started fidgeting on Nicki's fingers and giggles fluttered in the air.
"Hey, Kerry," Santana shifted into a position in such a way that she can see Kara's eyes. "How about we play Xbox, huh? Macho a macho…"
"Mama, you never win over me," Kara groaned. "Old people are no game," she joked.
"So you're challenging me, huh," Santana quipped.
Brittany stood up and plugged the game in and handed a console to each. Santana and Kara and Brittany started playing. Nicki was between Santana's squatted legs, Kara was also assuming the position, and so is Brittany.
Kara had almost got the first place had it not been for her bump on Santana, and this resulted to a very unexpected winner. Brittany won the game.
A few more rounds and Nicki started yawning. This did not go unnoticed by Brittany's watchful eyes. The blonde clapped her hands and motioned for the upstairs. "Okay, wrap it up, people, bedtime now."
Kara started to climb stairs and went to her room, which was the nearest to the stairway on the second level of the Lopez-Pierce house. Brittany went through the second floor hallway, carrying Nicki in her arms, with Santana tagging along. On second thoughts, Santana stopped on Kara's door and knocked.
"It's not locked," Kara said right after Santana's first knock.
Santana got in her eldest's room and roamed her eyes around. It was neatly kept, and she was grateful Kara knew how to keep her room in utter neatness. The hungry shark hamper was almost full, since she was going to do the laundry the next morning. Although, Santana noticed something that she is pretty certain she had not given to her daughter. It was a fluffy teddy bear and it read Stephen.
Well, maybe Britt had given her that and maybe Stephen was the name of that bear.
"Said your prayers?" Santana asked.
"Not yet. You came in when I was about to, Mama," Kara answered flatly.
"Want to say it together?" Santana offered.
"Would love to, Mama," Kara said as she parted her comforters so Santana could join with her. They later sat in silence and just prayed to God.
"Goodnight, baby…" Santana kissed her sixteen-year olds forehead. "I love you. And Mommy too," she said.
"I love you, Mama…I love you both…"
"Goodnight. I'll turn off this desk lamp, okay?"
"Yes, please, Mama…"
Santana stooped to click the switch off when something caught her eye. It was her daughter's school works and she just realized that most of them were graded A or A+. One paper did catch her attention…
"my Mama and my Mom deserves all the love I can ever give them from my little heart…and I know that they will always love me forever and I know for a fact that I would love them back…for forever and a day… I maybe sixteen…but…sixteen or sixty…I will still be their little girl and they will still be my Mama and my Mom…and I love them…so much. And I am so sure that they'd love me back."
Santana tore herself away from the paper and folded it, her tears at bay and kissed her daughter lovingly on the forehead and she finally turned off the lights, except for Kara's lavender nightlight and she exited the room, her tears of pride and joy falling from her eyes profusely.
Brittany caught up with her in the hallway, just in time. Nicki had already fallen asleep and Brittany instantly noticed the tears on her wife's eyes.
"San…are you okay?" Brittany asked worriedly.
"Yeah…yeah…I am…" Santana said, dabbing at her tears with the back of her hand.
"Why are you crying?" Brittany said as Santana got inside their bedroom.
"Nothing…"
"Santana…tell me," Brittany knelt in front of her crying wife, not really knowing what to do with Santana.
Santana, on the other hand, could not grasp for the proper words and just showed Brittany their daughter's paper.
"Oh my God," Brittany fought the tears of pride coming from her eyes.
"I know…I am so proud of her…" Santana concluded.
"Me too…she's so…grown-up, San…"
"I know…" Santana turned to switch off the lights. Immediately, she felt Brittany's slender arms wrap around her waist. And Brittany started whispering in her ear.
"San…look at me," Brittany said. Santana quickly turned and looked deep into the blue eyes.
"Yes?" Santana asked.
"Thank you. I am so thankful. I really thank God for all this. For every single thing that involves you and me. Thank you for Nicki, for Kara…especially for Kara…I know she'll grow up into a respectable, beautiful, smart, responsible young lady…I am so proud of her, Santana…and what she is today is because of you," Brittany smiled.
"No, Britt…it's us… God and us…" Santana said. "US, remember that," Santana emphasized the word 'us' by holing Brittany's hand into her own and kissing it.
"I love you," Brittany murmured as sleep started to pull her.
"I love you too, baby…" Santana kissed Brittany's lips so lightly and snuggled further into her wife's warmth, silently thanking the heavens for the day.