Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 74th cycle. Now cycle 75!

"Three & Four"
(Older) (Quinn,) Santana/Brittany
Trinity series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

Brittany wasn't sure how much time had gone, between the moment she'd returned to the delivery room and the moment their child cried its first cries. All she knew was that she sincerely hoped the baby's ears and brain were not developed enough yet to have retained or understood some of the words Santana uttered in the throes of labor.

But then they heard it, their baby's first cries, and all words left either of them. They had a daughter. The moment they saw her, crying, her little limbs moving about, they knew she was theirs, and that they loved her more than they already did.

The girl was cleaned up and looked after. When they called her forward, Brittany felt so nervous, but it all went away as soon as they'd put the bundled up infant in her arms. She was crying, but not as much as she was smiling, walking slowly back to Santana's side as she looked to their little girl, touched her hand… She was really here, really real…

"Santana, she's perfect," she beamed, hating to part with her but carefully handing her over to her wife. Santana was crying, too, and whatever fury had lived in her throughout the delivery was completely gone.

"Hi there," Santana didn't know what to say for a moment, looking at this child who was, as Brittany had declared, perfect. She really was. "Welcome to the world," she sniffled. "It's not always what we'd hope," she chuckled. "But sooner or later, it will surprise you," she looked back to Brittany, who was trying and failing to stop her crying.

Soon enough they would be moved to another room, and the new mothers would get to spend some time together with their daughter before friends and family came around to see her, too. For now they sat together, looking at the baby in Santana's arms.

"We don't have to decide on her name even if they're coming, do we?" Brittany asked, nodding to the door to refer to their visitors to come.

"Absolutely not," Santana agreed. "Although… My mother probably won't let it go. She's been 'discreetly' suggesting them to me for weeks." Brittany laughed, which made the baby react, and she gave her a finger to hold on to. As she did though, a thought came unbidden; it made her smile.

"Florence," she spoke, and she knew she wouldn't have to explain it to her. They'd had their honeymoon in the Italian city. They'd found out their donor was willing over there. It preceded the entire process and it was by no means a guarantee at the time, but to them it was as good as the beginning of the child they now held in their arms.

"Florence…" Santana repeated, looking at the girl. "Flo," she smirked. "I think it suits her," she nodded.

"Florence… Quinn," Brittany added, and Santana felt a new tear rolling down her cheek, a different tear, and she nodded. "Lopez Pierce," Brittany counted off the last names, and Santana let out a breath.

"It's a mouthful. Hope she doesn't resent us for it."

"She doesn't have to use them all every time," Brittany pointed out.

"No, she doesn't," Santana agreed. "But they'll still be hers, and one day she'll know why."

"I almost forgot," Brittany spoke a few seconds later. "I got a call."

"Yeah, what was that about?" Santana asked, remembering as well. Brittany could have waited until later to tell her, but there was something about this moment, the two of them sitting here with the baby, with Florence, and they were all so happy. If she told her the news now, then they would have that much more to remember this moment for.

"It was Sherry Weston," she revealed, and tired as she was, Santana didn't need much to understand what this meant.

"What did she want?"

"She offered me a job, as an assistant choreographer," Brittany told her, and though she had to remember to be quiet so not to startle their baby daughter, Santana looked newly energized.

"Tell me you took it."

"Of course I did," Brittany promised, and Santana reached out her free hand to tug her close and give her a kiss. "We still need to figure out the details, but…"

"Doesn't matter," Santana shook her head. "I'm so proud of you right now."

"That makes two of us," Brittany smiled. "I mean, I'm proud of you," she clarified, "For what you just did," she looked back to Florence.

It was not two minutes later that the room was invaded by Santana's mother and sister, Brittany's mother and father and sisters, who had come in from Lima as soon as they'd heard they were headed to the hospital, and their friends, Rachel, Puck, Winger, Claudia, Lucas, Hattie, and June. The nurse insisted that they couldn't stay all at once for very long, so Santana and Brittany got to the point, presenting them their daughter, Florence Quinn Lopez Pierce. There was a moment of silence at this, for the friend they had lost, many months ago, and the new mothers liked to think that she was here with them, in spirits if in no other way.

For a long while after this, the baby girl went from one person to the next, every one of them eager to meet her. Brittany was forced to remember that it wasn't just Quinn they were missing in this scenario, not just her and Spencer. Her dear grandfather was not doing well back in Lima, and Santana had already agreed they should take the baby back to their hometown for a visit, so their old friends could meet her, too, but also so that Joseph Pierce had a chance to meet his great granddaughter before he passed.

When the room had finally cleared, and the little family was once again on its own, Florence was surrounded by her mothers alone, and they sang to her, for the first and certainly not the last time in her life, a lullaby.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!