A/N: There was a recent Tumblr glitch that caused a bit of data loss on my page. Luckily it was jut a few posts, but I had a moment of late-night panic when I realized I have a bunch of stories on my page that I haven't backed up anywhere else. I'm uploading the MaYaD-related oneshots here so all can enjoy. Each chapter is a different story and there's nothing tying them all together except the sacred love of Brittany and Santana and their cute little babies. Enjoy.
"Bejeebus"
Brittany's knees ached against the tile floor beside the bathtub. She leaned forward to scoop up a full cup of water to pour over three-year-old — pardon, three-andahalf!-year-old Ruby's shoulders and pudgy little belly. Ruby grinned up at her, giggling in delight as she crowed "Another waterfall, Mom-ny!" Brittany smiled and scooped up more water, pouring it over her daughter.
Brittany reached for the shampoo and rubbed it between her hands before signaling to Ruby they had moved to that portion of the bath. Ruby sat up straight and tilted her head back, keeping her neck strong as Brittany sudsed the baby shampoo into her thick black hair. Feeling the slip of her daughter' hair between her fingers was calming. She could see Ruby grin, almost purring like a cat as her scalp was gently scratched. Then Brittany folded a dry washcloth and held it up to Ruby's eyes, letting Ruby grasp it before she searched out the floating cup and scooped up water to rinse the shampoo out. She saw tiny creases form at the sides of Ruby's eyes as Ruby squinted beneath the washcloth, determined to block out any shampoo the washcloth didn't catch. Brittany repeated the motion, watching the bubbles slide out of Ruby's hair into the bath water.
About halfway through the rinse, Ruby opened her mouth. "Mom-ny, where's my bejeebus?" she asked.
"Your what?" Brittany asked, preparing to have another Body Parts conversation with her daughter.
She had had this conversation many times over the years, most often in the bathtub. When Caleb had been small, he would point to parts of his body and she would name them, always with clinical terms. "That's your shoulder," she'd say, and he'd repeat the word. "That's your foot," she'd said, and he'd repeat. Then, with a sneaky smile, he'd point to the faucet and she'd say, "That's the shower's knee." Caleb would double forward laughing, then go back to pointing at places on his own body before finding another object for Brittany to "name."
Ruby had never made a game out of the Body Parts conversation, but she had a natural amount of curiosity.
"My bejeebus," Ruby said, as though it were a well-known body part. "Where is it?"
Brittany smiled at Ruby, even though Ruby couldn't see her from under the washcloth. Since starting day care, Ruby had brought home dozens of words she didn't know the meaning of and didn't always pronounce correctly.
"You don't have a penis, Ruby," Brittany said. They'd had this conversation before. "You have a vagina, just like me and Mama."
"I know that," Ruby said, sounding annoyed as she spat some water away from her mouth. "But everyone has a bejeebus."
Brittany frowned, pouring the last cup of water over Ruby's head and watching as the water ran clear down her back. "I don't think that's what it's called, Ruby," she said. "I never heard 'Wello 'Tonio talking about a bejeebus, and he knows all about the human body."
"Well he should know," Ruby said, as though she was disappointed in her grandfather. "Maybe he could figure out a way for people to stop getting theirs scared out."
"Scared out?" Brittany asked.
"Yeah," Ruby said, growing frustrated as she plunked the washcloth down into the water and looked up at Brittany. "Someone needs to figure out how to help people not get their bejeebusses scared outa them."
At that, Brittany broke into quiet laughter. She loved how her daughter's mind worked. Everything was still so tangible to her, so literal and important.
She leaned forward, grinning. "Oh, I remember," she said, pointing to the dip in Ruby's breastbone that rested above her round little belly. "Your bejeebus is right here. It helps you be brave. You know it's working when you get scared but do something anyway."
Ruby mulled this over, tucking her chin to look at where he mother's finger was resting on her chest. "But it can get scared out?" she asked, concerned.
"Not yours," Brittany said. "You have a good one. That's why you're the bravest girl I know."
Ruby beamed up at her mother, proud. Then her grin turned sneaky and she said, "We should see if we can get Mama's to jump out sometime."
Brittany chuckled, amused by her daughter's wicked impulses. "Oh, don't you worry," she said, mostly to herself. "You do that every day without trying."