I do not own Glee or any of the original characters. It all belongs to Fox and RIB. Any characters you do not recognise are my own creations.
Family Portrait universe. Santana has some serious investigating to do, superhero style! Just a little outtake from the main story.
TWO-SHOT
Part 1/2
Shelby rubs the back of her neck as she studies her emails, stifling her third yawn of the morning. It's Sunday morning, and all she wants to do is play with her girls and maybe even squeeze in some time to relax before her busy week. She has been inundated with requests from new clients, which means she has a full week of orientation ahead of her. Shelby loves her job, but it's always hard when she gets a new client. Bringing them out of their shell and encouraging them to be honest about their needs can be difficult, and she likes to see them as often as possible in the early stages. Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to do that with several new clients. She needs to work out a timetable for the next couple of weeks, a timetable that suits not only the new clients, but also her existing clients. Balancing that with a busy home life with three rambunctious girls is going to be very difficult indeed.
"I am... SPARTACUS!"
Shelby rolls her eyes when she hears Santana's loud yell. She sighs. Maybe she deserves a little break from her work. She has, after all, been sitting in front of her computer for over two hours. Pushing her laptop aside, Shelby stands up from the kitchen table and peers out into the hallway, giggling at the sight that greets her. Santana...in her vest and panties...cape dangling from her neck and toy sword held aloft. Insane. Her girl is insane.
"No you're not." Shelby watches as Quinn joins her little sister in the hallway, a stern expression on Quinn's features as she appraises Santana's attire.
"Yes I am," Santana states in a deadly serious tone, "I'm totally Spartacus."
"No," Quinn shakes her head, "you're a badly dressed superhero," she quips.
"Well, you're a butt!" Santana retorts, looking extremely put out by her sister's comment.
"Alright, alright," Shelby says, holding her hands up as she steps forward. "No name calling please," she tells them both, "and, Santana, maybe a little less yelling," Shelby adds. "Brittany is napping and I would prefer it if you didn't wake her up."
"But I'm Spartacus, mama," Santana innocently argues, "he yells his name. It's, like, the rules." Santana's eyes are wide and sincere, and it kinda makes Shelby just want to grab her and hug her for the rest of the day.
"You're not Spartacus," Quinn says matter of factly. "You're Santana. You're in a cape and you lost the rest of your clothes." Shelby frowns when she sees Santana's face fall, the girl's bottom lip quivering ever so slightly. She hates the look on any of her little ones.
"Oh no, Santana!" Shelby animatedly exclaims, gasping loudly as she holds her hand over her heart. Both Santana and Quinn's heads whip around when they hear the anguish in their mama's voice, "someone stole your clothes!" Shelby leans against the wall and sighs sadly, shaking her head with faux irritation. "Who would do that?!" Quinn stares at Shelby as though the woman is completely insane, but one quick, stern glance from her mama ensures that she keeps her mouth well and truly closed.
"It's okay, mama," Santana reassures her, crossing the hallway as quickly as she can without running. "Don't be sad, mama," Santana whispers, tenderly patting Shelby's arm.
"Ugh...if only we knew someone who could get your clothes back," Shelby sighs. She's somewhat proud of herself for the acting performance she's giving. Her old drama teacher would be proud! "Someone who is super enough to take on this case," Shelby hints. She watches as Santana's eyes widen and flash with realization.
"That's me!" Santana excitedly exclaims, "I'm a superhero, mama! I'll find the clothes!" Shelby gasps,
"yes! You are a superhero, aren't you?" Shelby grins. "We're so lucky that you're here," Shelby tells her sincerely. "Will you take the case for mama, my sweet girl?"
"I'll do it, mama!" Santana tells her with a serious nod.
"Well thank you, my little superhero!" Shelby cheers. "I'm such a lucky mama."
"You're real lucky," Santana agrees. "This is a big case, mama." Shelby chuckles lightly,
"It sure is, cutie," she agrees. "Now, do you think Bugs maybe saw who took them?" Shelby questions. Santana's eyes widen,
"I'll go ask him!" Shelby watches as Santana all but flies out of the room, smiling adoringly at her retreating girl as she rushes upstairs to interrogate her stuffed toy.
"Come with me," Shelby states to Quinn as she makes her way into the living room. She spots Santana's clothes straight away and picks them, stuffing them underneath the coffee table. "Your sister has a very active imagination," Shelby states as she moves a toy box and places it in front of the table to hide the clothes. "Sometimes you just need to let her have her big, fun adventures," Shelby explains as she sits on the sofa. She pats the space next to her, pleased when Quinn immediately does as encouraged and sits next to her.
"It's silly though, mama," Quinn states. "She thinks she's Batman, and then she thinks she's Spartacus."
"No," Shelby shakes her head, "Santana doesn't think she is anyone. She just likes to pretend," Shelby corrects Quinn. "Your sister has so much energy, and she's using it all up in a fun way. There's no harm in letting her play pretend, whether she's Batman, Spartacus, or even Batticus!" Shelby grins. "Just let her play her games. If she's being annoying, then you just let me know, but if she's just playing her games...there's no reason to stop her," Shelby states kindly.
"Yeah, I guess," Quinn nods, looking a little ashamed of herself.
"If she asks you questions about the missing clothes, will you please play along?" Shelby questions her. "Just think up a solid alibi," she winks, making Quinn giggle.
"Okay, mama," Quinn smiles, "I'll play along." Shelby smiles sweetly at her girl and leans forward, tenderly kissing her forehead.
"Thank you, my good girl."
0-00-0
Shelby sings softly to herself as she walks downstairs, looking around for her girls. She walks into the living room and finds Brittany laying on the sofa and staring at the television, her pacifier dangling from her lips. She smiles when her baby girl giggles at the cartoon on the screen and leans against the door frame, content to just watch her youngest girl smile at the television screen.
"No go there." Shelby grins when she hears Brittany whisper to Scooby and Shaggy to stay out of the big, scary mansion. "No go." It reminds Shelby of when the adult versions of her girls watch horror movies, the three of them always yelling at the screen whenever a dumb character decides to go for a walk in the woods when there's a killer on the loose. "Uh oh!" Shelby can't hold back her chuckle, and Brittany whips her head around to face her, a wide grin spreading across her lips. "Mama," Brittany coos.
"Hey there, angel," Shelby smiles as she walks across to the sofa. She comes to a stop at the back of the sofa and leans over it, placing a sweet kiss to the tip of Brittany's nose. "Mama came to find you because it's almost time for lunch, are you hungry?" Shelby asks, already knowing the answer.
"Hungry, mama," Brittany confirms, nodding desperately and clutching her tummy. Shelby rolls her eyes. The way Brittany acts, anyone would think Shelby never let her eat. "Food now," Brittany states as she scrambles to her feet and rushes around the sofa. "Come, mama." Shelby laughs lightly and allows Brittany to pull her towards the kitchen. She stops short in the doorway and almost laughs out loud when she notices what Santana is up to.
"Where's the clothes, perp?" Santana demands as she shines her torch in Quinn's face, her brow furrowed as she stares her older sister down. Quinn, to her credit, is playing along as much as she can. The girl merely wincing at the bright light and shrugging. "Let me help you, Quinn," Santana states in an adorably stern voice, and Shelby can only imagine where the girl had heard that before.
"I was with mama," Quinn states lamely. "I don't know where your clothes are," Quinn adds, attempting to placate her younger sister. "Mama," Quinn lets out in a helpless tone, her hazel eyes pleading with Shelby to help her.
"Food!" Brittany interrupts, and Shelby is surprised to see that Brittany had already plonked herself down into her special booster chair, the girl apparently unfazed by the antics of her sisters.
"Honey, your sister has a really good alibi," Shelby states as she finally steps all the way into the kitchen. "Maybe you should let her go. You can always question her again later if you find more evidence," Shelby reasons.
"Mama, I'm Batman," Santana whines, "you can't call me honey. Don't abarrass me at work," Santana complains.
"Embarrass," Shelby corrects her with a fond smile. "I'm sorry, Batman," Shelby adds as she holds her hands up, "I won't embarrass you whilst you're working." Santana nods, seemingly accepting her mama's apology.
"You were Spartacus earlier," Quinn remarks, rolling her eyes so violently that Shelby is convinced they're about to roll right out of her pretty head.
"Spartacus is," Santana falters, her brow furrowing as she thinks for a moment. "Spartacus is taking a nap!" she exclaims after a few seconds. "Batman had to take over." Shelby bites down on her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing at Santana's response. Right, Santana, a nap.
"A nap?" Quinn questions in disbelief, not missing the warning glance that Shelby shoots her.
"Yep," Santana nods. "He yelled out, I am SLEEPY, and then he just felled down," she explains, as though it's the most obvious scenario in the world.
"Hungry!" Brittany yells, the girl not at all pleased that dumb sleepy superheroes are distracting her mama from giving her food. She notices that her mama still hasn't moved towards the fridge and lets out a long suffering sigh, allowing her forehead to drop down onto the surface of the table.
"How about you take a break for lunch, Batman," Shelby suggests, more than happy to indulge her girl. If she wants to be Batman, then Batman she shall be! Santana falters, adorably wrinkling her nose as she studies her mama.
"Batman can't get spanked. Right, mama?" Santana innocently questions, ignoring yet another eye roll from Quinn.
"Well that's where you're wrong," Shelby says lightly. "Batman can most definitely get spanked." Santana's eyes widen,
"oh." Santana immediately switches her torch off and sits down properly on her seat. "Lunch is a good idea." Shelby smirks. Batman may be super smart and tough, but mama will always win.
"Have a seat, Quinn," Shelby instructs her as she moves around the kitchen, collecting everything they'll need for lunch. "And remember what I said to you," she adds, shooting Quinn a stern look. Quinn nods, looking suitably chastised. Shelby makes a mental note to keep an eye on Santana and Quinn's interactions this afternoon and pulls the already prepared sandwiches out of the fridge.
"Cheeeeeese!" Brittany breathes out, her eyes wide with glee as she stares at the plate of sandwiches in her mama's hands.
"That's right, sweet girl," Shelby grins as she puts the plate on the table, not at all surprised when Brittany immediately grabs one, the girl all but inhaling it. "Slow down, honey," Shelby states as she sits down at the table with her girls, "nobody is going to take it away from you," she teases.
"The clothes stealer might," Santana interjects, and Brittany looks downright horrified at the mere thought of someone taking her food away from her.
"Don't worry, Britt," Quinn says as she gently pats her sister's arm, "the clothes thief won't take your sandwiches. "That's why he's called the clothes thief, he only steals clothes," she adds in a reassuring tone of voice.
"Clothes stealer," Santana corrects Quinn as she munches on her own sandwich.
"Stealer doesn't make sense," Quinn shoots back.
"I'm Batman," Santana shrugs, "I don't have to make sense." Quinn opens her mouth to argue with Santana, but stops when Shelby meaningfully clears her throat. Her mama's eyes are easy to read and the message is clear; stop.
The rest of lunch is relatively peaceful, and Shelby is glad that she had been able to go back to working on her laptop whilst the girls ate. She doesn't want to do much more work today, she'd much rather join in with the fun that her girls are having. She can always go back to her work once the girls are asleep. Although, she had been a little distracted by Brittany suspiciously guarding her sandwiches from the clothes stealer. You know, just in case.
"I'm going back to work, mama," Santana announces as she noisily scrapes her chair along the kitchen floor, the girl surprising Shelby when she continues to pull the chair out of the kitchen. What on earth is that girl up to now? With a small sigh, Shelby glances at Quinn and realizes she needs to have a little talk with her before she goes to check on Santana's shenanigans.
"I already warned you, Quinn," Shelby begins, "lay off of Santana. She's just having a little fun, and I'm sure she'd much prefer that her big sister had some fun with her instead of making fun of her," she states firmly. "Now, it's perfectly okay if you don't want to play her game, but leave her alone about it. Got it?"
"Yes, mama," Quinn mumbles. Shelby watches out of the corner of her eye as Brittany rushes after Santana,
"maybe you and I can have a little fun," Shelby suggests. "It looks like Brittany is desperate to be on Batman's team, so maybe we should make it a little more interesting," she grins. Quinn's eyebrows widen in surprise,
"you wanna be the bad guys?" Quinn gasps.
"Well, I already hid Santana's clothes," Shelby smiles, "I guess I already am the clothes stealer," she chuckles. "What do you say, baby girl? Are you on team mama?"
"Yes!" Quinn immediately agrees. This definitely sounds like something she could have some fun with. "Maybe we should have a hostage, mama," she quickly adds, her eyes gleefully lighting up. Shelby laughs at the mischievous grin on Quinn's face, and she soon matches it.
"I'll go get Bugs!"
To be continued... please review. The 2nd (and final) part will be posted on Monday.