A Little Help From My Friend
Summary:
What would you do if you ran into a girl you knew in high school who's now living on the streets with her two year old son?
G!PBrittany
A/N:
Good day, everyone!
I'm quite excited about this story and I hope you are too. I want to thank the amazing AuntySnix26 for her help and dedication to this story amongst all her other stories. Let me know what you think.
Chapter One
Swing, whack, smack!
"I have a kid!" She snapped, adjusting the baby bag on her shoulder, "The last bed's ours."
"Fuck you and your stupid kid, I want the last bed!" Yelled the bearded, shaggy man laying on the floor clutching his face.
"Come inside, ma'am." Said the old woman standing at the front door, ushering Brittany inside, "I'm sorry, folks. The last bed's taken. Come back tomorrow at five."
Brittany sighed, adjusting the small boy asleep in her arms as she was led to the last available room, dragging a small suitcase behind her. Her eyes were bloodshot and carried bags underneath them as she struggled to stay awake.
"Here you are, ma'am."
"Thank you." Brittany mumbled, entering the room and plonking her bags down next to the cot as the door shut behind her, "Okay, buddy. There ya go." She muttered, laying her son down on the cot and covering him with the thin sheet.
"Dai digun." He mumbled as he rolled over and smushed his face into the pillow. Brittany smiled and rubbed his small back, pressing a kiss to the back of his head and sighing as she removed her shoes and lay down next to him, "Wazut." He squeaked and Brittany cuddled into him.
"Sleep tight, baby. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'm getting off the subway right now," she said, phone to her ear as she stepped off the subway and tucked her free hand into her coat pocket.
"Why'd you take the subway? Was your car stolen?" The woman on the other line asked.
"No, my car's parked above the stairwell. The subway was quicker."
"Well, did you manage okay? Did they mug you? Are you hurt?"
"Rachel, would you calm down, I took care of it." Santana sighed, moving away from the train and running a hand through her hair.
"How'd you take care of it? What did you do? Did you blow him?" Rachel asked.
"No, I didn't do that. Jesus, Rach. I'm a businesswoman, not a prostitute." Santana sighed, moving to the bathroom and sighing as she knocked on the door, "Rach, I gotta check my hair and redo my make-up so, I'll talk to you later."
"Okay. Be careful, though. If somebody tries to steal from you, pretend you have a gun."
"Okay, Rach. Bye." Santana sighed and hung up, tucking her phone into her purse and banging on the bathroom door, "Yo, open up."
"Ahma, is it the dino?" Asked a small voice from inside and Santana frowned, pressing her ear to the door.
"Yeah, it's the dinosaurs, buddy. We're safe in here. Just close your eyes. Tight, tight, tight. And the dinosaur will go away." Replied a woman's voice - a voice familiar to Santana - followed by a deep intake of breath and a shaky exhale.
"Hello?!" Santana called, continuing to knock on the door, "I gotta use the mirror in there so, could you hurry it up?"
"Ahma, it's a lady dino." Observed the small voice and Santana frowned even harder.
"Uh, look, I don't mean any trouble. I just need to use the mirror." She said, knocking on the door again.
"Ahma."
"Yeah, buddy?"
"It's a nice dino." The small voice said again and Santana smiled softly, flattening her palm against the door.
"I'm not a dinosaur. But the dinosaurs are after me and I need somewhere to hide. Could you let me in? They're huge. One of them's purple with a long neck and I think he wants to eat me." She said, playing along for the small being inside the bathroom. She listened to the tiny gasp on the other side of the door and smiled.
"Ahma. The lady gon' get eaten." Said the voice followed by a sigh before there was some shuffling on the other side of the door and it unlocked. Santana stepped back and watched as it opened and a tiny blonde head popped through the crack, "Hi." The boy said with a shy smile.
"Hi, sweetie." Santana breathed as she got down on her haunches and sniffed, "What are you doing in there?"
"Me and Ahma is hiding from tha dino's." He said, gripping the door as his bright blue eyes looked at Santana, "Ahma says you can come hide wiv us."
"Well, thank you, sweetheart but, I just saw the dinosaurs leave on that train. So, you guys can come out now." Santana said gently and watched little blue eyes widen in excitement. The small child moved back into the bathroom and came back out a minute later with a tall blonde woman in tow, "I thought I recognised your voice. Brittany Pierce, right? You went to WMHS?"
Brittany nodded and lifted the baby bag onto her shoulder as she took her son's hand and lifted their suitcase, "Yeah. Santana Lopez. Captain of the cheerios. Hi."
"Right. Hey. Is he yours?" Santana asked, giving the small boy a smile.
"Yeah. Uh, Zaire, this is my old friend from school, Santana. Santana, this is my son, Zaire." Brittany said, placing her hand on her son's head and gripping the handle of the baby bag.
"Zaire. That's such an unusual name." Santana said, bending down and holding out her hand, "It's very nice to meet you, Zaire."
Zaire took Santana's index and middle finger and shook them with a shy smile and his head burried in Brittany's thigh. Santana chuckled and ruffled his hair, standing up straight and eyeing the suitcase Brittany held behind her. With furrowed brows and concerned eyes she inhaled.
"Did you two sleep here last night?" She asked hesitantly, playing with the ring situated on her right middle finger.
"Uh... yeah. Plan B." Brittany answered, embarrassed.
"You slept in the bathroom of a subway?"
"We didn't get to the shelter in time for a bed last night so..." Brittany muttered, looking down at Zaire as he scanned the place for imaginary dinosaurs.
"How old is he?" Santana asked, concern and worry written all over her expression.
"Nineteen months."
"Jesus... how long have you guys been homeless?" Santana asked, running her hand through her hair.
"Eighteen months."
"Oh, my god, Brittany." Santana said, gobsmacked at the news, "You know, I have a guest room. En suite bathroom. I mean, I'm all alone at my place; it'd be nice to have some company. Would you guys maybe like to crash there? You can stay for as long as you want."
"I don't wanna impose."
"Impose? It's not an imposition; I'm all alone. I want you guys to stay. Please? I'm an excellent cook."
Brittany smiled tiredly and glanced at her son who was sucking on the tip of his index finger, "Yeah, okay. Thank you." She said, bending down and hoisting Zaire into her arms.
Santana smiled victoriously and gave a single nod, "Great. Lemme just fix my hair and touch up my make-up and we can go." She said earning a nod from the tired woman.
"Ahma, there!" Zaire squeaked as Santana combed her fingers through her hair while looking in the mirror in the bathroom, "A wah-wah."
"The wah-wah's not gonna hurt you, buddy. I got you." Brittany said as Zaire burried his head in her neck, gripping onto her raggedy shirt.
"What's a wah-wah?" Santana asked as she dabbed on some lipgloss with her index finger.
"A dog. He's afraid of them." Brittany muttered as she watched the dog canter past while Zaire squeezed her tighter.
"Ah." Santana said, nodding and zipping her make-up bag closed before stuffing it back in her purse and slinging the large bag over her shoulder, "I'm more of a cat person myself. Does he like cats?"
"Loves cats. He calls them mow-mow's." Brittany said and Santana smiled, rubbing the small boy's back as she exited the bathroom.
"Okay, let's go. My car's parked just above the stairwell." She said, making her way toward the stairs with a very tired Brittany behind her, "You look like you haven't slept in months."
"Sounds about right." Brittany said, stifling a yawn as they began to climb the stairs.
"Jesus, that's shit. I'm sorry." Santana said, sniffing as she climbed the stairs, making sure not to touch the railing while Brittany followed closely behind, Zaire looking at all the passing people as she walked, "Sorry; I need to watch my language more. I work in stocks so, sometimes I don't realize what I'm saying."
"That's okay. He's heard worse." Brittany informed her as they reached the top of the staircase and stepped into the cold New York air.
"My car's just over here." Santana said, clicking the unlock button on her car keys as she approached a black Nissan Juke, "Oh, shit - he needs a booster seat. I mean, not shit. I mean, shit. I mean... ugh, god, I'm sorry."
Brittany let out a soft chuckle and shook her head, "That's okay. He knows what he should and shouldn't say. As for the booster seat, it's okay. He can sit on my lap." She said and Santana nodded, pulling open the trunk and taking Brittany's suitcase and baby bag, putting them in and shutting the trunk. She moved to the right side of the car and pulled open the passenger door, "Thank you." Brittany said and Santana smiled, shutting the door as soon as Brittany and Zaire were seated safely in the car.
"Okay. The drive to my place is about a half hour. Is he gonna be okay? He doesn't mind cars?" Santana asked, shutting the driver's door behind her and putting on her seat belt.
"He's never been in a car before." Brittany said as Zaire pressed his tiny hands flat against the dash while Brittany pulled the seat belt around his tiny waist and clipping it in place.
"Never been in a car, huh? Well, this is gonna be super fun. Ready, buddy? Listen to this." Santana said, gaining Zaire's attention as she stuck the key in the ignition and revved the engine earning wide, excited eyes from the tiny blonde, "Cool, huh?"
"It go voom-voom." Zaire squeaked as he clapped his hands, "Again."
"Okay, ready?" Santana asked earning a furious nod before revving the engine again. Zaire squealed in delight and Brittany chuckled, pressing a kiss to his head. Santana laughed and pulled away from the curb.
"Voom-voom moving." Zaire observed and Brittany nodded.
"Yeah, buddy. The voom-voom's moving. Cool, huh?" She humored him and he nodded, stinking his index and middle finger in his mouth as he pressed his free hand to the dash.
"The voom-voom can go fast too, wanna see?" Santana asked as she turned left onto an unusually empty street.
"Yeah! Voom-voom!" Zaire said excitedly and Santana chuckled, slamming her foot down on the accelerator and smiling as he squealed in joy, "Fast!"
"Yeah, fast." Santana nodded, slowing the car down and making a right turn, "Aw. Lots more cars. I can't go fast anymore."
"Oh. Okay. Thank you, Santa." Zaire said with a wide smile before sticking his fingers back into his mouth and staring out the window.
"It's Santana, buddy. Can you say Santana?" Brittany asked and Zaire frowned, deep in concentration.
"Sa'tana." He attempted and Santana smiled.
"That's right. Good job, kid." She said, ruffling his hair and continuing straight, "So, what happened after high school? I mean, we kinda lost touch after graduation."
"Uh, yeah well, when I was twenty-six my parents died and they didn't have much money to begin with but, they left everything they had to me. So, I sold their house and used the money to move over here and rent out a small, one bedroom apartment. And, my first week here, I met this girl at a bar and... I got her pregnant." Brittany said, covering Zaire's ears as he stared out the window in wonder, "So, I let her move in with me and nine months later, she had Zaire... and bolted two hours after he was born."
"Jesus..." Santana said as they now sat in traffic.
"So, I took care of him as best I could but, I couldn't get a job because I couldn't afford a nanny and soon, all my money was gone and we were evicted. He was a month old when we started staying at shelters. Eighteen months later... here we are." Brittany said, removing her hands from her son's ears and kissing his cheek, "You doin' okay, kiddo?" She asked and he nodded, drooling all over his fingers as he looked out the window at all the other cars.
"I'm so sorry, Brittany. You guys didn't deserve to go through all that shit." Santana muttered, frown deep in place as she stared at the road ahead, "You guys can stay with me as long as you need. It'll be nice to be able to cook for more than just myself."
"Thank you. I can't tell you how much that means to me. You're saving our lives here." Brittany said with a swallow, "What about you? What did you do after high school?"
"Well, I moved out here and went to college and it bored the shit out of me - sorry - and, uh, when I was twenty-four I got a job at Redditch and Troye and I've been working there ever since."
"That's pretty impressive. You've done well for yourself." Brittany said with a sad smile, "More than I can say for myself."
"Don't say that. You've done everything you could to make sure little Zaire's safe. I commend you for that." Santana said, hitting her blinker and making a left turn.
"Thank you." Brittany said, palming Zaire's tiny head and pecking his cheek.
"Ahma? Where we go?" He asked curiously.
"We're going to Santana's house." Brittany informed him and he frowned.
"House?" He asked.
"Actually it's a penthouse." Santana said, "It's really big. And, actually, I think you'll find the guestroom pretty useful. The guy that owned the place before me was a midget and he lived there with his wife. The en suite bathroom in the guest room actually has two toilets - one big, one small - two showers - one big, one small - two sinks - one big, one small - and a huge bath."
"Bath?" Zaire asked and Santana smiled sadly.
"You've never seen a bath before?" She asked.
"I usually scrub him down with a sponge, soap and a bucket of warm water at the shelter. He hasn't had a bath since he was a baby." Brittany said and Santana gulped and nodded.
"Well, I think you'll love bathing, buddy. And I have bubbles too so, you'll have a lot of fun." She informed him and watched his eyes light up.
"Bath, Ahma!" He squeaked and Brittany and Santana laughed.
"Bath, kiddo. You're gonna have a bath."
"Home sweet home."
"Wow. It really is big." Brittany said, bags and Zaire in tow as she entered the large penthouse behind Santana who shut the door behind them.
"Here, lemme show you to your room." Santana said, putting down her purse on the table behind the couch and moving toward the bedrooms, "There's clothes in the closet that you can wear. They used to be my brothers so, they should fit you. They might be a bit big but, we'll get you clothes that fit soon. I actually think I have some of his clothes from when he was Zaire's age too."
"Wow. Thank you. How come you have your brother's clothes? I thought you lived here alone?" Brittany asked, following Santana down a long hallway toward the door at the end on the right.
"I do. After he died my parents sent all his stuff over here; they said it hurt too much to have constant reminders of him." Santana said, opening the bedroom door and switching on the light.
"I'm so sorry. I had no idea." Brittany said and Santana smiled.
"That's okay. It happened a while back so..." she said, getting down on her haunches and giving Zaire a smile as he hid behind his mom's leg, "Do you wanna see the bathroom, Zaire?"
"Yes please." He mumbled, taking Santana's outstretched hand and letting her lead him to the en suite bathroom with Brittany following. She slid open the bathroom door and walked inside, "Tiny toilet. For me?" Zaire asked and Santana nodded.
"And this is your sink and your shower. And on the other side is mommy's sink, toilet and shower. And this," she said, touching the edge of the huge, oval bath tub, "Is the bath. There's bubbles under mommy's sink and soap and sponges under yours."
"Thank you, Sa'tana." Zaire said, poking his chin with the tip of his index finger as he wrapped his free arm around Santana's leg.
Brittany smiled and observed the bathroom, "It's huge. And that shower is so cute. Really, I can't thank you enough for this." She said.
"So, stop thanking me and make yourself at home. I'm gonna go make lunch. Are either of you allergic to anything?" Santana asked as Zaire let go of her and made his way to his own little sink, playing with the taps and washing his hands three times before smelling them and smiling.
"No. Nothing." Brittany said.
"Great. Are sandwiches okay?" Santana asked earning a sharp nod.
"More than okay. I can't remember the last time I had a sandwich. And little man here has never had one." Brittany said as she watched Zaire step into his tiny shower and press his face against the glass.
"Never had a sandwich? Well, prepare to be wowed. My sandwiches are amazing." Santana said with a wink, "Why don't you two take a bath and clean up. You can just throw your clothes in the hamper and I'll throw them in with my laundry."
"Alright. Will do." Brittany said as Santana opened the closet and dug out a box.
"All the clothes in here should fit Zaire." She said, patting the box and smiling, "Okay. See you in a few."
"Great. Thank you again." Brittany calles after the brunette as she smiled and left the room, "Okay, buddy, bath time. You want bubbles?"
"Yeah. Bubbs!" Zaire exclaimed, exiting his shower and climbing into the bath.
"We gotta put water in first." Brittany said, lifting the small boy out of the tub and sliding the bathroom door shut before turning on the water and pushing in the plug, "Clothes off." She instructed as she opened the cupboard under her sink and took out the bubble bath, pouring a cap full into the tub and placing the bottle on the edge of it while Zaire clumsily undressed himself.
"I get soaps." Zaire declared as he marched over to his sink, butt naked and bent down to open the cupboard under the sink. He pulled out a bar of soap - still wrapped - and a sponge along with a bottle of shampoo and conditioner - untouched, "We bath?"
"Yeah, buddy, we're gonna have a bath." Brittany nodded with a smile and lifted Zaire into the filling tub. She then began to undress herself and climbed into the tub across from Zaire. She took the bar of soap from her son and placed it in the soap dish before taking the shampoo and conditioner while the sponge soaked in the bubbly water.
"I got diddindum." Zaire observed with a smile, "Ahma got diddindum like me."
Brittany chuckled and realised he was speaking about his crotch, "Yeah, buddy, good job." She said, "Lie back. We gotta wash your hair."
"Kay." Zaire said, lying back in the full tub and running his palms across his head, wetting his hair.
"Okay. Up." Brittany said, grabbing her son's hands and pulling him back into a sitting position. She stopped the water and then squeezed shampoo into her palm before beginning to massage it into Zaire's hair, "You look like a grandpa." She joked and watched her son's face screw up into laughter.
"Grandpa!" He giggled before Brittany dipped her hands in the water and spun Zaire around so his back was facing her front.
"Lie back again." She instructed and Zaire obeyed, lying back with his head in her lap as she began to rinse his hair, "Your hair's gonna be nice and smooth and shiny when we're done with you."
"Shiny like glitter." Zaire said and Brittany smiled.
"Shiny like glitter." She confirmed and watched her son's happy smile as his eyes lit up, "Sit up."
"Up." Zaire said, sitting up and craning his neck to smile at his mother.
"Now, conditioner." Brittany said, squeezing conditioner into her palm and rubbing her hands together before rubbing it into Zaire's hair, "Now, we wait two minutes. Scrub the soap into the sponge and wash all over." She instructed.
Zaire did as instructed - standing up in the tub - and giggled when he scrubbed his tummy, "Tickles." He mumbled with a laugh and Brittany smiled as she began to wash her hair, closing her eyes and humming in relief as the hot water embraced her hair.
She'd not had a proper bath for eighteen months - only occasionally scrubbing herself down with the leftover soap and water she'd used to bath Zaire at the shelter - and felt an overwhelming sense of thanks as she lay in the tub and washed her hair.
"Ahma, I done." Zaire announced, placing the sponge in the water and squeezing it, rinsing it out before washing all the soap off his body with it.
"Good boy." Brittany mumbled, massaging conditioner into her hair and rinsing her hands, "Sit down and lie back again."
Zaire sat down, back facing his mother, and lay down so Brittany could rinse the conditioner out of his hair, "Ahma, look!" He exclaimed, pointing at the ceiling with a large smile. Brittany looked up and saw a gorgeous painting of Van Gogh's The Starry Night on the ceiling.
"Wow," she uttered, smiling softly, "Relaxing."
"Relaxing." Zaire repeated and smiled.
"Very good." Brittany smiled, praising her son's pronounciation of the word, "Sit up. You're all done."
Zaire sat up and turned to face his mother, running his palms over his hair and smiling, "It doesn't stick no more." He smiled and Brittany pecked his forehead.
"We're very lucky for Santana. Remember to thank her for the bath." She said and Zaire nodded his little head. Brittany then lay down and rid her hair of the conditioner, sitting up again and smiling as her son began to laugh.
"Bubbs!" He squeaked through his laughter, palming Brittany's head and pulling off a pile of bubbles. Brittany laughed and lifted him into the air, bringing him toward her and pecking his nose before throwing him up and catching him, "Again!"
She repeated the action and put him down before beginning to scrub herself clean.
As soon as the two blondes were done bathing, Brittany pulled a towel off the heating rack and wrapped it around Zaire, patting him on the buttocks before sliding open the door and ushering him through, "Wait on the bed." She instructed before grabbing a towel for herself and drying off her body, "Okay, let's see if there's jammies in this box, huh?"
"Ziggyzut." Zaire muttered, poking the towel and smiling.
"That's a towel, buddy. Can you say towel?"
"Towl." Zaire said and Brittany smiled.
"Close enough." She said before removing all the very small items of clothing from the box and pumping her fist in the air at the sight of a pair of Hulk pajamas for ages two to four, "Arms up."
Zaire stuck his arms in the air and Brittany began to place the hulk t-shirt over his head, helping him stick his arms through the holes and pulling it down to his waist, "He's green." Zaire observed.
"That's right, Zay, he's green." Brittany said, giving the nineteen month old a high five before digging out a pair of bright purple briefs and helping him stand, "Legs."
The boy stuck his legs into the briefs and Brittany let him pull them up over his buttocks, "Purple." He said and Brittany pecked his cheek.
"That's right again." She told him and he gave her a thumbs up, "Put these on. You know what to do." She said, handing him the black shorts with the word Hulk at the hem of the left pant leg and watching as he clumsily slipped them on.
"I done!" He announced happily and Brittany smiled, sitting him on the bed again and proceeding to slip on a pair of black socks followed by Hulk slippers, "Shoes!"
"Yeah, shoes. For jammies. They're called slippers." She told him and he smiled, repeating the word perfectly, "Yep. Slippers."
"Ahma, I cold." Zaire said, clutching his upper arms and shivering.
"Aha!" Brittany said in victory, pulling out a Hulk robe for ages three to four, "Put this on; it'll warm you up."
"Now, Ahma jammies." Zaire said as he pulled on the robe and attempted to tie the strings, "Wigwham."
"Robe." Brittany corrected gently, "It's a robe."
"Aw, don't you just look so handsome." Santana cooed as Zaire walked into the living room in the Hulk pajamas. Brittany followed in a pair of jeans and a button-up, "And mommy looks gorgeous too. I'm so glad I've finally found a use for those clothes. I was just gonna give them to charity."
Brittany smiled and ducked her head to find her son before looking back at Santana, "So, your brother was a Hulk fan, huh?"
"Oh, yeah. He had to have Hulk everything." Santana confirmed with a chuckle, grabbing two plates filled with a large sandwich and potato chips, "I hope you like potato chips, buddy. They're barbecue flavor."
"Chippies!" Zaire clapped as Santana placed the plates on the dining room table with Zaire close behind her. She then lifted him up and put him in a high chair she'd taken out of the closet.
"Was that your brothers too?" Brittany asked as Santana adjusted the high chair to be level with the table.
"No, it used to be mine. My mom gave it to me for when I had a baby. But, that never happened." Santana said, putting Zaire's pastrami, lettuce, tomato and cheese sandwich with a side of chips on the table in front of him, "I removed the tray. I figured he's big enough to eat with the table."
"Thank you. What do you say, Zay?"
"Thank you, Sa'tana. And thank you for my bath ohso." Zaire said, placing both his hands on either side of the plate and smiling up at Santana.
"You're very welcome, sweetie." She said, making her way to the kitchen and grabbing a small cup with pepsi in it, "This is gonna make you very hyper so, drink it slowly."
"Kay. Thank you."
"It's pepsi, is that okay?" Santana asked Brittany who nodded and seated herself at the table, eyes on Zaire who was waiting patiently for everybody to sit down, "Great. Wine?"
Brittany's eyes widened and she nodded, "Yes. Please." She said, a hint of excitement in her voice. Santana smiled and nodded, moving back to the kitchen and beginning to pour wine into two glasses.
"Been a while since you had wine, huh?" She asked, putting the cork back in the bottle and lifting the two glasses along with her own sandwich and moving to the table. She sat down and handed Brittany her wine.
"Yeah. A long while." Brittany said, smelling the wine, "Lambrusco?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?" Santana asked, giving Zaire a wink earning a smile.
"It's one of my favorites." Brittany said, "Thank you, again, for all of this."
"Stop. It's really more than okay. I already feel less lonely actually having someone to talk to." Santana said, reaching across the table and giving Brittany's hand an affectionate squeeze, "Why aren't you eating, buddy? Do you want something else?"
"I wait for you." Zaire told her and she smiled widely, her dimples on display.
"Such amazing manners. You can eat now, sweetheart." She said, stroking his cheek as he lifted half of his sandwich and looked at Brittany who chuckled and gave him a nod before he took as big a bite as he could manage, smiling as he chewed.
"Yummy."
A/N:
Any thoughts?
Follow me on tumblr - cttyler