For Real and Forever

The honeymoon period, as their caseworker and support group had called it, had ended about a month after the twins had been living there. The second and third months had been rough, but now, moving into the summer, a routine had been established and the family was doing okay. Interestingly enough, Nana Judy's bestowing nicknames on the twins (Pudge - Kai and Fudge - Kona) had seemed to be the turning point where the twins realized they were here for good.

"It's like in that book, Holes," Santana had said. "Once you get a nickname, you're part of the team."

One surprising aspect was the sleep deprivation. Word had gotten around, after the first misguided person had suggested that they were somehow "cheating" by adopting three-year-olds rather than babies, not to test Santana's or Quinn's patience. The twins had nightmares quite frequently. Now, Quinn or Santana would check on them around ten p.m. and again at one in the morning. Some of the trust issues they were still working through meant the boys would sometimes just stay in bed, wide awake, and not come get them. So they checked in every once in a while - hence the lack of sleep.

Tonight, when Santana peeked into the twins' steampunk-themed bedroom, she found Kona sitting up in bed, staring wide-eyed out of the window. Not wanting to scare him, she knocked gently on the door. "Kona," she said. "Come with me."

He scrambled out of bed and ran over to her, clutching her hand.

She picked him up and carried him to the kitchen. "Can't sleep tonight?"

"No."

Santana sat him in his chair, and grabbed a box of graham crackers, breaking one in half to share with him. "Do you know why you can't sleep?"

He shook his head.

She nodded and kissed him on the forehead. "That's okay. Can I tell you a funny story?"

He nodded vigorously. He was their quiet one - Kai had gotten comfortable with talking to them rather quickly, but Kona was still reserved.

"It's about me and Mama. Way, way back before we got married, when we were still in college, we were getting ready for the summer family reunion with my family - like the one we're going to tomorrow. But I had to tell her something before we went…."

"Baby, I think your copy of Eyes of the Dragon has had it," Santana said.

"It's pretty much held together by duct tape and prayers at this point," Quinn said, closing the book as Santana flopped down next to her. "How were your trainees this morning?"

"Water Zumba attracts a very...interesting group of people. But overall the class went well. Hey, can we talk about something?"

"Sure," Quinn said slowly.

"It's nothing bad," Santana assured her, grinning. "I just thought I should...er...fill you in before the reunion. There's something I haven't told you."

"Oh god, that's how cheesy spy/assassin movies start," Quinn groaned. "How many political figures have you offed, Santana? If that's even your real name!"

Santana laughed. "And people say I'm the dramatic one. No, it's about my family. You moved to Lima right before we started eighth grade, so you never met my brother."

"Brother?" Quinn asked, shaking her head. "You don't have - you do?"

"He's twelve years older than me, and an incredibly sore subject with my family. My mother sort of acts like he doesn't exist, and my dad keeps quiet about him mostly so he doesn't upset mom. But his name is Cesar, and he's going to be at the reunion this week."

"Okay…."

"I know, I know. He's really my half-brother, but Dad didn't like me using that distiction because, in his words, 'Family is family. It's for real and forever.' He's a foreign services officer over in Belgium, so he's not around a lot."

"Any other secret family members I should know about?"

"Nope, just that one," Santana said with sheepish smile. "I...we have a weird relationship, and I really didn't know how to bring him up. 'Hey, by the way, I have a big brother' seemed a little rachet, but it ended up being how I did it anyway."

Quinn leaned over to kiss her. "I can't wait to meet him."

"Was your brother a spy?" Kona asked, wide-eyed.

Leave it to the kid to latch on to that, Santana thought. "No, he's not. But Quinn was super nervous to meet him. She was nervous to meet all my family - she was afraid they wouldn't like her. But you know what?"

"What?"

"They loved her! And they're going to love you and Kai as well," Santana reassured him.

"For real and forever?"

"Exactly. Let's go back to bed, Fudge."