Come Home Soon
A/N: First of all, I have no idea how the leave process works. But this just wouldn't leave my mind. So here, have this little one shot. If you like it that's cool. If you don't that's cool too.
E5O x
There's one thing that Quinn Fabray dreads. She dreads the moment when camouflaged uniforms march their way up her street, outside her front window, up to her front door.
She tries not to live her life in fear. Because it's nothing compared to the fear her wife lives in everyday.
She always knew Santana would join the military. She had known since she was seven years old. Since the day they became best friends. Santana never wanted to play barbies or dress up in Quinn's older sister's clothes.
She wanted to play cops and robbers. Or build forts to hide in. And sometimes they'd compromise with each other. Santana would let Quinn being her barbies inside the fort every now and then. And Quinn would pretend to let Santana save her from a bomb.
As they grew up, it became more of a reality for Quinn. Santana was eventually going to leave. And there might not be a chance she would come back.
Quinn had been the one to kiss Santana first. They day Santana left for holiday military camp when she they were fifteen.
"I'm sorry." Quinn quickly pulled away, leaving Santana still in the haze of the kiss.
"For what?" The Latina frowned.
"For kissing you!" Quinn shrieked, pacing back and forth.
"Q, relax." Santana laughed, stopping the blonde in her tracks. "I liked it. But seriously, you're going to kiss me now? When I'm leaving? You couldn't have done this earlier?" Santana smirks.
"I knew you liked me." Quinn pointed.
"I love you Q. Don't worry, I'll be back in two weeks. Don't miss me too much." Santana pecked her on the cheek. "By the way, you;re my girlfriend now, so keep that in mind!" Santana hollered on her way to the bus.
Quinn stood rooted to her spot, smiling stupidly to herself.
No one dared mess with either girl. Quin would go on to become head cheerleader, as well as valedictorian and Prom Queen. Santana didn't mind that her girlfriend was elected Prom Queen alongside her best friend Sam as King. He quickly gave up the first dance to the Latina.
Quinn went onto college, whilst Santana left for the military. They remained in a long distance relationship. One that Quinn was afraid wouldn't work. And at one point they broke up. Quinn dated some guy from her college. But he was nothing compared to Santana. No one was. And when Santana appeared out of nowhere, waiting outside her dorm, every feeling she tried to rid of the Latina, plummeted back into her heart. She ran full speed at the Latina, jumping into her arms.
"I love you. I love you.I love you." Quinn rambled into Santana's hair. The Latina placed her back on the ground.
"I fucking missed you Q." Santana brushed a much longer blonde strand from Quinn;s face.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm on leave for a month. So I was wondering, what are you doing this month?" Santana smirked. Quinn had no answer, except to grab the Latina by the collar f her jacket, and drag her full force into her bedroom.
They rekindled their love. And when the month ended, Santana dropped down to her knee on the night before she left. She'd taken Quinn out along the waterfront.
"What are you doing?" Quinn swatted at Santana's shoulders, looking around to see if they had captured any onlookers. "Get up right now!" Quinn ordered.
But Santana never did listen. She pulled out the little box from her back pocket, popping it open.
"Quinn Fabray, will you marry me?" Santana smiled, that heart warming smile, that got Quinn every time.
"You can't be serious." Quinn laughed lightly.
"I'm completely serious. I don't wanna lose you again Q. I've been yours ever since we were seven. I want to know that no matter what, you'll always be mine. I don't want to go away again, thinking that you'll move on and marry someone else. I want you to be my wife." Santana stood up, placing her forehead against the blondes.
"Please say yes." she whispered.
"You do realize you have to be extra careful now." Quinn cried.
"I love you. You know that." Santana stole a kiss through salty tears, grabbing her fiance's hand. She slid the ring on perfectly.
"I love you too." Quinn snatched a chaste kiss.
They made love that night. All night, up until an hour before Santana had to leave.
"Tell me you love me." Santana whispered as they pressed their foreheads together.
"I love you." Quinn told her.
"I can't wait to marry you Q." She kissed her before her friend Noah called her away.
It was the first time Quinn hadn't felt so lonely watching her lover walk away in her uniform.
They married seven months later when Santana returned. Noah had been her best man. And Quinn had her friend Mercedes as her maid of honour. They had a small, intimate ceremony. Only Quinn's sister came from her side of the family. And Santana had trouble telling half of her family that they weren't able to come.
Quinn convinced Santana to wear a dress. Santana agreed to wearing a navy colored dress, whilst Quinn dolled up in white. Santana's Father walked both girls down the aisle. That was the day Quinn became Quinn Lopez.
Santana was due to leave in a years time after the wedding, just after Quinn's graduation.
Quinn landed her dream job as a professional photographer. She made sure to take lots of pictures to send to Santana. Santana often awaited her hand written letter from Quinn, with a beautiful photo of her wife inside. The wall next to her bunk was covered in photos of Quinn.
When Santana returned eight months later, they purchased a house, where Quinn set up a studio in the shed. Quinn took a million and one photographs of her lover. Some for others to see and some that she would tuck away for herself. Some of Santana sound asleep, wrapped in the sheets of their bed. Their bed. The first bed that they shared. A bed that would smell like Santana when she was away. A room that would hold Santana's belongings. Clothes of Santana's that Quinn could wear.
Photos hung on the walls of the two of them.
A shower they could christian.
A kitchen bench they could taint.
Santana loved to watch Quinn work. She loved seeing the passion in Quinn's eyes. The way Quinn would look at her with this weird, yet adorable face, before snapping her eyes open excitedly and lifting her camera to shoot away.
Santana knew how to fire a gun, but was at a complete loss for words when it came to cameras. So she would sit in Quinn's studio, watching her wife live the way she would when Santana wasn't there.
Their neighbors came to love them. Nearly every person would say hello when they would go out for a stroll. Little girls would comment on how pretty Quinn's dress was. Boys would be impressed at how much of an arm Santana had on her when their ball would stray towards the couple. Men often complimented Santana on her being on the army. Other couples would invite them for dinners.
They made friends with the couple three houses down. Brittany and Mike Chang. Both dance teachers. They had a two year old little boy, that had amazing balance. Quinn would awe over the way Brittany and her little boy would interact. Santana never missed the way Quinn would smile at the Chang's little family.
"I want to have a baby with you." Santana had told her one night when Quinn climbed in bed next to her wife.
"Pardon?" Quinn stopped fluffing her pillows, turning to see if the statement was true.
"You know? Like a family. I want us to have a family." Santana explained. "I want someone to be here with you while I'm away. If we plan it right, I can be here for most of the pregnancy and maybe even the birth." Santana carried on.
"Wait, you;re actually serious about this?" Quinn frowned.
Santana had expected her wife to be a little more happier. "Well yeah. I love you Quinn. I want to have a family with you. But obviously you don't." Santana had thrown back the covers, stepping off the bed. She pulled on her slacks.
"That's not what I said! I just. You don't see it the way I see it." Quinn spoke through frustration.
"Then please, explain to me how you see it? I thought you'd be happy." Santana spits.
"Of course I'm happy. But I can't do it on my own Santana. I can't raise a baby and worry about you overseas." Quinn tells her, she gets up onto her knees, wading through the sheets over to her lover, grabbing her hand. "I want to have babies with you. I just don't want to do it alone."
"You won't be alone. Like I said. We'll plan it right. If I could have the baby I would." Santana tells her, while Quinn leans back, dragging her wife on top of her. And that's when it hit them. "No." Santana told her.
"But you just said!" Quinn protests.
"But it's not like it would be unplanned!" Santana told her. Quinn had to agree. She looked up into her lovers eyes, seeing the hope.
"You really want to have a baby with me?" Quinn asked quietly.
"More than anything in this world. I promise, I'll have the next one." Santana grinned.
"The next one!"
"Well he'll need a friend." Santana shrugged.
"He?" Quinn arched a brow.
"Or she. Whatever. We're having a baby!" Santana captured her wife's lips.
It was three months later when they had found the right donor. They'd agreed to start the process a month into Santana's deployment. She'd be away for eight months, so Quinn would be alone for the first seven months.
Santana waited for the black screen in front of her to light up. Soon after her wives glowing face popped into place.
"Hey baby." Santana smiled.
"Hi Mami." Quinn grinned.
"NO freaking way! Are you serious?"
"The doctor confirmed it today! We're having a baby." Quinn smiled through teary eyes.
"God I love you." Santana slipped a smile through her tears.
Off screen Quinn heard a "Yo Lopez, are you crying?"
"Shut it Puckerman. I'm gonna be a Mom." Santana cursed.
A few moments later, Noah Puckerman's face popped into the screen with a grin. "Congratulations Quinn!"
"Thanks Noah."
"You have to send me pictures of your belly every week." Santana told her.
"Every week!"
"Yes, every week!" Santana enforced.
"Fine." Quinn rolled her eyes. "Tell me you love me first." Quinn smirked.
"I love you and our baby."
Quinn sent pictures every week like she had been told.
When Santana arrived home, Quinn's sported the cutest stomach Santana had ever seen. The Latina placed a kiss on her wife's stomach, before placing a kiss on her wife's lips.
On September the 12th 2017 Quinn gave birth to a little girl.
"I'm going to kill you!" Quinn screamed at her wife.
"Technically, I didn't do this." Santana quipped, receiving a disbelieving glare from her wife.
"This was all your idea!" Quinn yelled before screaming through a contraction, her grip tightening on Santana's hand.
"Okay Quinn, I'm gonna need you to start pushing now." The doctor told her.
"Come on baby. You can do this." Santana encouraged.
"I can't." Quinn breathed.
"You can. You're the most courageous person I know." Santana kissed her forehead. It was enough to give Quinn strength. She'd pushed and pushed until a screeching cry rang through the room, and Quinn had flung herself backwards to catch her breath.
"Would you like to cut the cord?" The nurse asked Santana. She looked to Quinn for confirmation. Her wife nodded with all the energy she could muster. Santana hadn't even bothered to check the sex of her baby. She was in awe of her child. Cutting the cord with shaking hands, before the nurses placed the baby on Quinn's chest.
"She's a very healthy little girl." The nurse complimented.
Santana's eyes welled up.
"What do you want to call her?" Quinn asked.
"Spencer Maria Lopez." Santana spoke, kissing her daughter on the head. "Ola mija."
Santana had never broken down the way she did when she had to leave when Spencer was only five months old. But Quinn had reassured her that she would send pictures and they would skype as often as they could. That Quinn would tell Spencer stories about her Mami and remind her everyday how much they both loved her. And that Santana would be back for her first birthday.
When Santana returned eight months later, Spencer was already crawling and pulling herself up to stand. Her hair was Quinn's shade of blond with matching Hazel eyes. Santana held her daughter tightly the moment she saw her, whispering her love in Spanish hushes.
They held Spencer's first birthday at their house. Where Brittany and Mike brought little Aiden over. And Santana met new people that Quinn had befriended through Spencer's play center. She hit it off with one of the husbands, Finn who was married to Quinn's friend Rachel. Finn was into sports and hunting. And asked questions that Santana didn't mind answering.
Puck had even traveled away from his family to come meet his God daughter on her birthday.
Three years passed. Three years spent of watching Santana leave and return. Three years of having to raise her child practically on her own. Three years of having to enforce both hers and Santana's love for Spencer. Years of showing Spencer photo's of Santana while she was away. Years of holding Spencer on her lap whilst they chatted to her Mami on skype.
Years of writing letters or sending emails. Years of arguments and make up sex. Years of worrying about whether or not her wife was safe. If she'd been hurt.
And now, as Quinn saw the uniforms coming. Her ears rang through her mind. The sound of her three year old daughter playing with blocks, fading into the deafening pound from her heart beating against her chest. Her legs drag her towards the front door, and the moment she sees Noah Puckerman striding in line with the other two men walking towards her, she breaks down.
Noah runs to catch her, holding the frantic blonde in his arms. "It's okay Quinn.." he tells her.
"Mrs. Lopez." The man takes off his hat. "Lieutenant Lopez was shot yesterday during battle. She has received a bullet to the neck. Luckily the bullet missed all her major blood vessels as well as her spine. But she's in intensive care. If you wish we can arrange transport for you and your daughter." The man explained.
Quinn couldn't believe what she was hearing. She paused, looking at Noah with desperate eyes. "It's true. She's alive. I don't know how she did it, but she's alive." Noah told her.
Quinn gripped onto his shoulders even harder this time, crying tears of joy.
"Mommy." A little voice spoke. Quinn whipped her head around, pulling her daughter into a tight embrace. "Mommy, why are you crying? Why is uncle Noah here? Where's Mami?" Spencer asked through worry building tears.
"Listen baby. Mami's been hurt. But she's okay. So we're going to pack up some things and go see her, okay?" Quinn explains to her daughter, kissing away her tears. "Stay with uncle Noah while I pack some things." Spencer does as she's told, jumping into her Uncle Noah's arms.
"Is my Mami okay?" Spencer asks him.
"She's more than okay. She's the bravest woman I've ever met." Noah tells her.
.
Quinn's afraid of seeing Santana. Of letting Spencer see her Mami. She doesn't know the damage that's been caused. How Santana may look. If it will frighten Spencer. But she walks through the door to room 209. Seeing the bruises up the left side of Santana's face. Seeing the tube that's running out of her neck. The way her hair runs down her right hand side. The IV drips that are stuck into her hands. But it's the smile that her wife cracks that brings her to tears.
"Hey baby." Santana croaks.
"Mama!" Spencer yells, running towards the bed.
"Ola Mija." Santana moves her head to the side to look down at her little girl, even though it hurts like a bitch.
"Te extrañé mamá" Spencer replies. Santana's lips break into a proud smile.
"When did you get so smart?" Santana croaks.
"Mommy taught me." Spencer tells her Mami. Santana looks over towards Quinn who still hasn't moved from the spot she's standing in.
"Did she? Have you been looking after her?" Santana asks.
"Yup!" Spencer nods proudly.
"That's my girl." Santana reaches out a hand that Spencer gladly takes. "Hey baby, I think Uncle Noah wants to show you something." Santana looks towards her friend who takes the hint.
"Yeah come on beautiful, how about I get you some hot Cocoa?" Spencer grabbed her Uncle's hand, waving goodbye to her mother's.
It had been at least a minute silence before Santana spoke first. "I'm sorry." She told her wife.
Quinn etched closer, shaking her head. "I thought you had died." Quinn's voice cracked.
"So did I." Santana laughed.
Quinn slapped her wife's arm, without realizing the pain it must've caused the Latina. But she didn't care. She was upset. "I thought I had lost you! I thought I was alone." She broke down. Santana reached for her wife's hand with all the energy she could muster.
"You're never going to be alone." Santana told her.
"Tell me you love me." Quinn whispered, falling onto the chair at Santana's side.
"I love you. I've loved you since the day you forced me to be ken so you could be barbie. And I'll always love you. No matter where I am." Santana whispers.
They sit in silence as Quinn cries.
"I'm going to stand down." Santana tells her.
"What?" Quinn looks up with disbelief.
"I don't want to miss out on that little girl of ours growing up. I don't want to miss another day without you. I want to wake up to you every morning. I want to heal from this and deal with the post traumatic stress this brings. And then, then I want to expand our family. I want you to get back into your photography. I want you to live a normal life, without worrying about me everyday. I don't care about what's going to happen as long as we're together. Who knows? I might re-enlist. I might become a boot camp officer. I don't care. I just want you and Spencer and the next little boy or girl we have."
Santana breaks down, letting the tears drip over her bruised face.
"I love you so much." Quinn whispers, taking her wife's lips with a soft kiss.
.
.
A year later, Santana had fully recovered with a scar to prove it. Her purple heart hung in case in their living area, next to a photo of her and her two girls in the hospital.
Noah often visited when he was on leave and skyped every now and then. Apparently the force wasn't the same without Santana. But that wasn't enough to get her back.
It had been a tough road for Quinn, dealing with Santana's out bursts. Holding her wife when a loud noise would alarm her. Explaining to Spencer that Mami was just upset and that it had nothing to do with Spencer herself. Losing her cool with Santana many a time. Sleeping on the couch when the two of them had had an argument. But they made up eventually, through a haze of make up sex and therapy.
"He said yes." Santana explained, covering her hand over the phone. Quinn stood up quickly.
"Are you serious?"
"Deadly." She held up her hand to her wife. "Thank you so much Mr. Anderson. You don't know what this means to us." Santana gushed. "We'll let you know. Thank you again Blaine."
"I can't believe we managed to get the same donor we had for Spencer." Quinn squealed. "Now our little girls will actually be related."
Santana quickly grabbed her wife's wrists, staring into the hazel eyes. "Blood doesn't make a family Q." She told her. "This is just a bonus." she kissed her excitedly, before pulling back with a quirked brow. "And girls?"
"Or a boy." Quinn shrugged, before being dragged away for some celebratory sex.
.
It was three weeks later when the doctor presented them with the news that Santana was officially pregnant with their second child. They'd called Santana's mother immediately, before skyping Noah then calling Blaine with the news.
.
It was on March the 6th 2020, when Santana gave birth their second daughter.
"I can't do this. I can't do this!" Santana panted through the contractions.
"Yes you can!" Quinn told her.
"It's okay baby." Santana's mother brushed back her daughters hair.
"You can take a bullet in the neck, but you can't push a baby out of your vagina? Suck it up Lopez." Both Santana and her mother stopped, looking at the blond in disbelief. Had she really just yelled at Santana as if she was a Soldier?
But the contractions kept coming and Santana screamed through the pain. "You can do this baby. You're the most courageous person I know." Quinn whispered. Santana gripped onto her wife's hand, clutching so tight that Quinn was sure it was going to break. She screamed until the sounds of Santana's cries were matched with those of their daughter's.
"She's a beautiful little girl." The nurse informed as Quinn cut the cord.
They placed her onto Santana's chest while the Latina caught her breath. "She's beautiful." Quinn whispered.
"So Q." Santana breathed. "What do you want to call her?"
"Welcome to the world, Isabel Jade Lopez." Quinn kissed her daughter on the head, before kissing her wife with so much passion.